BCS Title Game: An Outsider's Perspective

Jennifer Mercer — Thu, 25 Dec 2008 02:30:47 -0500

The BCS National title game between Oklahoma and Florida is an intriguing matchup. Both teams have super athletes at every position, great head coaches, good coaching staffs in general, and both will be prepared as they have certainly earned the right to be in this game.

(Well Texas deserves to be in this game more because they beat the Sooners head to head. And, given my intense disdain for the 'Horns it almost kills me to say that they should be the team playing Florida for the NC, but I digress terribly.)

I heard some commentator say that Florida has the advantage here and the rationale was that OU's losing RB No. 7 makes them comparable to Alabama. Bosh Flimshaw can be blamed for this ridiculous notion.

Alabama has one serious receiving threat, Julio Jones, as they are primarily a running team. OU has about six serious receiving threats and can run the ball almost at will regardless of who lines up at the RB spot.

This game could be close because bowl games are funny. When teams have a month plus to prepare sometimes they can come out flat.

Florida has a chance in this game: 1) if OU comes out rusty and/or lays an egg offensively (the Heisman curse), 2) because OU's defense is a bit suspect and 3) the Sooners have struggled in recent bowl games.

There's no question in my mind that UF will be able to move the ball and score points. However, Florida needs to be VERY careful in this game because, in my opinion, it is a slaughter just waiting to happen. Oklahoma should win this game.

Furthermore, I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if the Sooners crush the Gators much like 1995 Nebraska did. Oklahoma just has way too much offensive firepower. And contrary to their woeful defensive statistics they can play some really good D when they are focused.

For me the game boils down to three matchups: 1) OU's OL vs UF's DL, 2) how will UF's D cover OU No. 18) 3) turnovers.

1) If Oklahoma's OL can protect Sam Bradford, as I think they will against the Gators front four and/or blitz packages then OU wins this one going away.

2) And No. 18 for OU how do you cover this kid? With a LB? Yeah right. He'll run away from any LB. With a FS? He'll out-muscle a FS. With a SS? Nope. There's probably only one SS in all of college football that could cover, shut down, OU No. 18 and that's Taylor Mays of USC. However, USC is playing Penn State in the Rose Bowl but I ramble.

Look for OU's No. 18 to have a big night. The only way to cover No. 18 is to employ some sort of bracket coverage, LB underneath and FS / SS over the top. But then if you do that other people will be one and one.

3) Which team will lose the turnover battle? In this game OU can probably afford to lose a couple of turnovers and still win. If UF turns the ball over a couple of times things will get ugly real fast for the Gators.

A "safe" prediction would be Oklahoma 35 Florida 27, but that's just not my style. I'll go out on a ridiculous limb and prognosticate a huge Oklahoma win.

Oklahoma 63

Florida 24

Stupid-Ass ESPN: Lose the Big 10 Bias on College Gameday and Scoreboard

Jennifer Mercer — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 16:52:55 -0500

ESPN. Let me take a moment to go off on these ignorant, sycophantic, pathetic, sh**heads.

ESPN used to be a network I watched regularly—now I can't stand it! Why, you ask? Because of the way it now runs its college football coverage.

Memo to the losers at ESPN: There is actually awesome college football being played outside of the University of Spoiled Children (USC) and the Big 10+1!

I've watched College Gameday and Scoreboard this season. All they do on Gameday, from what I've seen, is talk about the Big 10+1 and USC. And then, on the Scoreboard show, they repeat the same USC and Big 10+1 highlights that they showed repeatedly throughout the day. Trying to see highlights from the Big 12, SEC, other teams in the Pac-10 not named USC, Mountain West, etc. is damn near impossible.

And, please, could somebody give Mark "fat ass" May a towel so he can wipe off his chin after he talks about Florida or USC? Never in my life have I heard such a blithering, idiotic, knee-pad-wearing fat head blather on and on about the teams du jour! And Lou "grandpa" Holtz: Can someone give this old fart his Alzheimers medication?

The thing is that with every other sport, ESPN does a great job; it reports and shows favorites to no one. But when it comes to college football, it is so pro-Big 10+1 it makes me sick. I guess since it has a contract with the pathetic Big 10+1 to show every meaningless game, like Northwestern versus Indiana, which nobody outside of ESPN and those two lame-ass schools care about, it is in their best interest to promote the Big 10+1 at all costs no matter how foolish, stupid, and idiotic its staff looks.

And while I'm talking about looking foolish, stupid, and idiotic, let me mention one thing...

Please, could we dispense with the "Terrell Pryor is the greatest quarterback in the history of college football ever" hyperbole? Listening to these ESPN pud-pullers while they drone on and on about how great Pryor is sickens me to no end.

Yes, Pryor is a good player. Yes, he was highly rated coming out of high school. Yes, he plays quarterback for Ohio State. But, for the love of God in Heaven, could you ESPN dweebs insert just a tad of reality into your disgusting man-tard crush on this kid and look at the situation as it really is?

Terrell Pryor is the quarterback for the strongest team in the weakest FBS college football conference. The Big 10+1 is so weak it's below the ACC and Big East. And, yet, to hear those ESPN clowns, you'd think that: a) The Big 10+1 is the toughest conference in the nation, b) Ohio State plays a tough schedule, and c) The Big 10+1 actually matters. I guess delusion and stupidity, like arrogance and ignorance, go hand in hand.

Bottom line: ESPN lost whatever credibility it had when it became the cheerleaders, spokespeople and/or mouthpiece for the Big 10+1 conference.

Bleacher Report - Articles by Jennifer Mercer

BCS Title Game: An Outsider's Perspective

Stupid-Ass ESPN: Lose the Big 10 Bias on College Gameday and Scoreboard