Oregon Defense stiffens, A new Dennis Dixon is born.

Last night Oregon squared off against Oklahoma State in the Holiday Bowl. With Oklahoma State the heavy favorite because of their high powered offense coming out of the Big-12, Oregon's best hope was to carry their momentum from their last game, winning 65-38 over rival Oregon State, to spur them on to a win against the Cowboys. Last night was a very slow start for the Ducks, only producing one offensive play, which was a Jeremiah Johnson 76 yard run for a Touch Down. The Cowboys however, produced many by scoring 17 points, and the Ducks were VERY lucky that they didn't score twice as much in the first quarter. The Second quarter looked to be very high powered and exciting, hopefully with a more even play by teams. But at the half, the score was the same, 17-7 Oklahoma State. Oregon hadn't been moving the ball all day, so I could see how Oregon didn't score. But with Oregon's defense stiffening up and holding the high-flying Oklahoma State offense to no points, It was a whole different ball game. If Oklahoma State couldn't score, then Oregon was bound to find a way with all their offensive talent.

At the start of the third quarter, Oregon started out by returning the opening kick-off 95 yards, all the way to the 1 yard line. Then quarterback Jeremiah Masoli ran in a 1 yard touchdown to cut the lead to only 3 points. Then on the next drive, Jeremiah Masoli ran for ANOTHER touchdown, this time with POWER. He didn't make a cut, or spin away from a defender. Actually, he could have ran the touchdown without even having contact with the defense, but he aimed right at it and ran right over the Oklahoma State defense. Next, Oregon's defense finally let up the first score since the first quarter. With Oklahoma State RB Kendall Hunter running 4 yards to take the lead by 3. But Oregon answered right back with a 17 yard touchdown by QB Jeremiah Masoli. With that one being his third, Oklahoma State was looking to keep on answering back as the third quarter came to a close. They did. QB Zac Robinson ran it in from 1 yard out to take the lead 31-28. But after that score, Oregon took over. Masoli threw a jump ball to the corner of the end-zone, which was caught by Jaison Williams, putting Oregon up by 35-31. Then with Oregon's defense holding Oregon State to a punt, they marched right down the field and capped it off with a very motivated 29 yard touchdown run by LeGarrette Blount. Now with Oregon's lead stretched to 11 points, their was no looking back. Oregon came out of this one with the W, 42-31. During this game, a new Oregon football era was born. With both RB LeGarrette Blount ,and QB Jeremiah Masoli coming back next year. Oregon's offense looks set. Look out Pac-10 defenses, USC, their may be some competition arising.

Notre DANG!!!

Last night, Notre Dame entered yet another bowl game while having not won any sin 9 years. Except this time, it was in Hawaii, v.s. Hawaii. Playing for their season, which hasn't been very impressive, Notre Dame came out to end their bowl game losing streak. This time, it was different. Notre Dame's QB Jimmy Clausen threw for 401 passing yards along with 5 touchdowns, both in which were Notre Dame bowl game records. Pretty impressive since he's playing for a school who's had many great quarterbacks including Joe Montana, Joe Theismann, and Brady Quinn. Notre Dame ultimately won 49-21, bringing hope to Irish fans.
My question to you is, where was this in the regular season? I heard the announcers RAVING about how good their young players are, and how many great plays that they're making for them. Ummmmmmmm.......... NEWS FLASH!!!!! When your 6-6, you don't have much to RAVE about. I mean it's understandable to enjoy the performance, and talk about their recruiting class and how good it's going to be. But if your team just had a lukewarm season at 6-6, and all of a sudden they blow out a WAC team, you can't go crazy! Just settle down and look at next years recruiting class, and next years schedule. Cause while you may have some great young talent, your ALWAYS losing some. And just one crack in an offensive scheme, could self destruct your entire game plan.

Les Miles bringing LSU a Bright future

Did you know that 48% of LSU's football team is made up of freshman? You probably didn't. You probably just thought that LSU was having what Michigan and Notre Dame fans would say, a "rebuilding year". Well actually, LSU lost almost half of their starters, including starting QB matt flynn, battering ram Jacob Hester, and DT Glenn Dorsey. This year, they started a couple of freshman, but left it up to most of their more experienced players to do the work. Something they unfortunately couldn't do at the QB position. All 3 of LSU's QB's are freshman, and are bound to make mistakes. But if you look at all of the players returning, and all of the players coming in, they're looking pretty good. They already have Top dual threat QB in the nation, Russell Shepard, committing early to LSU. Along with already committed prospects RB micheal Ford, DT Josh Downs, OT Stavion Lowe, DT Chris Davenport, CB Janzen Jackson, DT Joshua Downs, Athlete Drayton Calhoun, OLB Kevin Minter, RB Dexter Pratt, all of which are in the Top 150. They also have #6 recruit in the nation WR Rueban Randle, #2 recruit in the nation Dre Kirkpatrick, #9 recruit in the nation Saftey Craig Loston, #17 prospect in the nation WR Marlon Brown, and #18 in the nation RayRay Armstrong all on their board. And that's just the top 20. LSU not only has many great freshman, but a HUGE recruiting class. I'm guessing that they're going to have the best recruiting class in the nation. LSU fans are giong to be in for a ride next year. GEUAX TIGERS!
If you want more proof, go to http://insider.espn.go.com/ncf/recruiting/tracker/espnu150?&action=login&appRedirect=http%3a%2f%2finsider.espn.go.com%2fncf%2frecruiting%2ftracker%2fespnu150

Perfect Season v.s. Perfect Playing. Who wins the Sugar Bowl?

The Sugar Bowl, a BCS bowl, this year featuring a very intriguing match-up that may be predicted in any way that you want. Have you ever heard that opposites attract? Well they did in this years Sugar Bowl when Coach of the year Nick Saban leads rock-solid SEC power house Alabama to face Undefeated #7 BCS buster Utah. Both these teams are very very VERY different if you ask me. Alabama has that slow but steady approach with huge players on both sides of the ball that will run you over and hit you hard. But Utah comes from the Mountain West conference, a small conference that doesn't hold much of a challenge, but has tremendous QB play by their QB Brian Johnson throwing for 2,636 yards. With Alabama's solid play all around, and Utah's exciting big play capability, it's bound to be an unpredictable game. It'll come down to simply one thing; who comes to play. Here is a table of stats comparing the two teams.

Here's how Alabama's offense matches up to Utah's defense. Matchup Utes Defense Crimson Tide Offense Points/Game 17.3 (19) 31.2 (57) Rush Yards/Game 104.8 (33) 196.5 (42) Pass Yards/Game 191.1 (95) 170.7 (183) Total Yards/Game 295.9 (33) 367.2 (104) Third Down Pct. 30.3% (17) 42.4% (73) Fourth Down Pct. 40.0% (70) 80.0% (101) Sacks 23 (111) 17 (64) Sack Yards -144 (129) -125 (87) Rushing TDs 10 (27) 32 (20) Passing TDs 14 (74) 10 (203) Carries/Game 382 (44) 535 (27) Yards/Carry 3.3 (45) 4.8 (44) Completion Pct. 54.6% (128) 58.2% (111) Yards/Pass Attempt 6.1 (48) 7.3 (85) Pass Rating 108.7 (38) 125.8 (119) Avg. NCAA Football Ranking 41.4 60 Here's how Utah's offense matches up to Alabama's Defense Matchup Utes Offense Crimson Tide Defense Points/Game 37.4 (20) 13.0 (8) Rush Yards/Game 168.4 (79) 78.8 (8) Pass Yards/Game 236.8 (76) 178.1 (53) Total Yards/Game 405.3 (50) 256.9 (9) Third Down Pct. 45.5% (40) 27.0% (4) Fourth Down Pct. 66.7% (23) 50.0% (243) Sacks 21 (102) 24 (101) Sack Yards -171 (154) -179 (76) Rushing TDs 23 (69) 4 (2) Passing TDs 26 (33) 15 (87) Carries/Game 475 (66) 367 (26) Yards/Carry 4.3 (93) 2.8 (16) Completion Pct. 67.6% (50) 51.4% (17) Yards/Pass Attempt 7.6 (58) 5.4 (9) Pass Rating 149.7 (29) 101.6 (23) Avg. NCAA Football Ranking 42.8 31 My prediction is that Alabama will seek revenge from the SEC championship game loss, and come out victorious winning 34-24.

The Chick-fil-A Bowl Prediction

This year in The Chick-fil-A Bowl are two teams that finished going in different directions. With LSU losing its last 3 out of 4 games, and Georgia Tech doing the opposite by winning its last 3 out 4 games. This game, in many ways, is set up to be a great game. Although LSU is coming in with 2 more losses than Georgia Tech, they still play in a lot tougher conference. But, Georgia Tech has the nearly unstoppable running game. I think that this game doesn't mean any more than getting prepared for next year for either side. LSU has only freshman QB's on their roster and are gonna try to play it conservative as far as the passing game goes. But Georgia Tech is going to take advantage of all their talent that will be leaving them next year. Georgia Tech is playing for the seniors, and LSU is playing for the future.
The game will be taking place at the Georgia Dome, giving Georgia Tech an obvious home field advantage. But LSU fans don't miss out on a chance to go to a game, so don't be surprised to see an even number of fans for both teams. Here are my keys to the game for both teams.

Georgia Tech:

1. Run the ball successfully- Georgia Tech has ran the ball with a sense of power and urgency for the last couple of weeks, and they're going to have to rely on the running game if they want to win. If they don't run the ball well, then they're not going to be looking good offensively.
2. Play physical up front- In order for them to stop LSU's running back Charles Scott, they need to play mean up front. Smash Mouth Football. If they don't do that, then they'll find LSU running the ball up the middle all day without hesitation. This is very essential for their defense.
3. Take care of the ball- With Georgia Techs great running ability, they should be able to produce long drives for scores. But that can't happen unless they hold on the football and avoid stupid throws. As long as they hold on to the ball producing steady drives, it will make winning almost certain.

LSU:

1. Stack the box- With the great running game that Georgia Tech has, LSU needs to stack the box with big, strong, fast lineman. If they can hold Georgia Tech to an unsuccessful running game, then it will force them to pass, which Georgia Tech is not good at, which will create opportunities for LSU on defense.
2. Play well in the Trenches- LSU's offensive and defensive line has really helped LSU win this year, and without it, they wouldn't be in this game. They really need to fight in the trenches to open up holes for RB Charles Scott, and stuff Georgia Techs offensive line from getting to the linebackers. If they do that, then they will surely win on New Years Eve.
3. Win the Turnover margin- LSU's passing game hasn't been very successful under the spotlight this season. As a young QB, Jarrett Lee has thrown 16 interceptions and hasn't helped LSU's turnover ratio very much. Les Miles can not call plays to where Jarrett Lee has to force a throw that isn't their, otherwise more interceptions will come. They can't drop easy interceptions on defesne, and they can't make stupid throws on offense if they want to win the turnover margin. If they do this, then they will be hard to beat on New Years Eve.

My prediction is that LSU will finally play that all around great game that they've been waiting for winning 31-24 by ending Georgia Techs last second drive on an interception.