No Trojan Horse was needed for the Irish to vanquish the Men of Troy. Photo by Jeff Gross/Getty Images
The Good
Notre Dame: South Bend to South Beach is a catchphrase being repeated over and over after the Irish secured a spot in the BCS Title Game with a win over their hated rivals. The victory is a microcosm for their season with a hard-nosed, business-like defense leading the way with a relentless rushing attack behind it. Now ND waits for the winner of the SEC title game to see who they face in Miami. The Irish’s return to national prominence certainly increases the number of people who hate ND for no other reason then they’re ND. Still the weeks of speculation and prognostication will fill college football headlines until January 7th.
Showdown Saturday: With the exception of a few games such as Bama-Auburn and UGA-GT, many of the rivalry games were great to watch. The Game was close, the Bedlam Series was filled with scoring, UF-FSU was tense and even the Commonwealth and Apple Cups were competitive. Even though Oregon pulled away in the Civil War, it still made for great TV. This is what college football is all about, with nothing more then the defeat of your school’s biggest rival fueling your team.
The Bad
Rutgers/Louisville: Both teams losing throws the Big East picture into disarray and they weren’t pretty. Rutgers got dismantled by Pitt and Louisville dropped their 2nd straight after starting the season 9-0. The two teams face each other next week will decide who goes to the BCS bowl. If Rutgers wins they will be the sole champ, but if they don’t then then things get alot more confusing. Louisville and Cincinnati both winning next week makes for a 4 way tie atop the standings.
Florida State: Things were looking good for the ‘Noles after clawing back from a 13-0 deficit with 20 unanswered points. However, they couldn’t hold onto the lead as the Gators took over in the 4th to win 37-26. FSU had a chance to not only beat their rivals but play a role in possibly determining the BCS title participants. They’ll still play for the ACC Title next week, but have to be disappointed with a game they had a chance to win.
The Ugly
Michigan: I’ll try not to sound too bitter in this one, but the Wolverines tried to lose this one multiple times and eventually succeeded. The first game was a tight game, but in the 2nd half Michigan decided to play a little too conservatively. Running Denard to the outside when it was obvious that was the play wasn’t going to help, neither was only attempting a handful of pass plays. The defense kept them in the game, but the offense doomed them.
Virginia Tech/Michigan State: Both the Hokies and Spartans won their final games and became bowl eligible, however it’s an end to two nightmare seasons. Each team expected to compete for their respective conference titles before the season started, but things quickly went downhill. It got ugly early and often as there were several games each team should have won. Maybe they’ll face each other in the Sheraton Compass Care Car Bowl of Idaho Bowl, but there is always next season.
Awards
The ‘Charlie Weis Ate My Cheeseburger’ Award for Defense: Alabama. Alot of teams have been able to shut down an anemic Auburn offense this season, but the Tide steamrolled them. In addition to shutting them out, they only allowed 71 yards passing and 92 rushing for 163 total yards as well as forcing 3 turnovers. The game was really over after the first Bama score and the countdown starts for the Gene Chizik firing.
The ‘Surely You Must Be Joking?’ Offensive Performance Of The Week: Kenjon Barner, De’Anthony Thomas and the Duck ground game in general. Barner had 198 yards with 2 scores and Thomas 122 yards as well as 3 rush TDs. Even QB Marcus Mariota had 85 yards and a TD on the ground. Those three combined for 405 of the 430 rushing yards Oregon, so it’s safe to say the Ducks were a tad ticked off after their loss to Stanford
The ‘These Are Not The Droids You’re Looking For’ Mystery Of The Week: During the time between the 1st and 2nd quarters of The Game, the Buckeyes’ 2003 BCS Title winning team was honored on the field. Included in the group was former coach Jim Tressel, who even got lifted onto the shoulders of the other guys and received a standing ovation from the crowd in Columbus. That in a nutshell is everything that is wrong with college football that someone who had such blatant disregard for the rules and lied about it would be welcomed back like some conquering hero.
