Bowl week brings lots of excitement
Hopefully everyone had a great holiday weekend, and let?s hope 2007 will bring happiness to everyone.
Each year has some good things and bad, and unfortunately the end of 2006 and beginning of 2007 haven?t quite gone my way. Yes, I?m talking about the college football bowl games.
I love bowl week and enjoy catching every game I can on the tube. Last year was somewhat of a disappointment as the Big Orange failed to make a bowl appearance, but I just knew this would be different.
As most of you know, before the bowl games started this past weekend, I was holding down the No. 3 spot in our Southern Standard ?On the Line? Picks with a 119-71 record. That?s not too bad over a 19-week period.
For some reason the games this year just didn?t seem to have all that much excitement to them. Yes, there were a few upsets, but nothing that kept me from flipping through the channels this year, until Monday night?s match up in the Fiesta Bowl.
Boise State and Oklahoma put on a show for all of us bowl fanatics. The No. 9 Broncos ended a perfect season with a 43-42 overtime win over the Sooners and to tell you the truth I couldn?t have been happier.
Yes, I picked Oklahoma in the paper, and for three quarters I was cheering on the Sooners. But my perspective of the game soon changed and by the fourth quarter I was hoping for a Boise State victory.
They played head-to-head with the Sooners and pulled out no trick plays until the final play of regulation, which by the way was perfectly executed. Fourth and 18 with just a few seconds left in regulation and the old hook and ladder worked to perfection.
Now the question has to be asked, should Boise State and Ohio State be playing for the National title? I have to say ?yes.? The Broncos, who are now 13-0, showed the heart and determination of a champion. And I know in some cases teams who finished with a perfect season didn?t have a tough schedule and just don?t have the pedigree to be a top team. But in Boise State?s case, there?s no reason they shouldn?t finish the season ranked No. 2, if Ohio State wins.
No, they didn?t have as tough a schedule as USC, Florida or Ohio State, but they did have several games against ranked teams and they put 40 points or more on the board in just about every game they played. Oh well, maybe some day there will be a playoff tournament, but I doubt it.
And what can I say about Michigan? Anybody but USC could have won that game and it would have been OK with me, but no, the Wolverines had to choke. I was tempted to pick up the phone Monday night and give a call to my brother-in-law who is a big Michigan fan, but I thought it wise to let him cool off for a couple of days before offering by condolences. Sorry, Wally.
As for next year, I?m setting my sights on running away with the ?On the Line? picks. The guest pickers have a big advantage since they only have to put their reputation on the line for one week, anyone can do that. But to be a regular on the panel you have to be able to grind it out week after week.
Happy New Year, and just wait until next season.