CFB 2010 Week 14 Rewind: Duck and Tigers and Frogs Oh MY! Edition

Dec 6, 2010

For all the excitement, intensity and unexpected surprises the 2010 regular season brought us fans week after week the final weekend, featuring conference championships and civil wars, had all the drama of an episode of the new Hawaii 5-0.

Both the big games – Auburn vs. South Carolina in the SEC Championship and Oregon vs. Oregon State in the Civil War – had some drama early. But then the second halves started and the air was let out of the potential upset balloons quicker than a Cam Newton reinstatement.

Auburn shook off the NCAA scrutiny its star quarterback and surefire Heisman winner brought to the school these past few weeks by drubbing the overmatched Gamecocks, 56-17. Newton solidified his stranglehold on the trophy when he was cleared by the NCAA to resume playing on Thursday and then went out and rang up 408 total yards and 6 TDs on Saturday. The Tigers scored the most points in SEC title game history and also registered the biggest margin of victory, while Newton became the 2^nd player to score 20 TDs both passing and running, joining his former teammate Tim Tebow.

With the win Auburn vaulted back to Number one in the BCS standings and locked up its spot in Glendale.

As for the Tigers’ opponent, that was never really in doubt either, despite a characteristic slow start for the hard charging Ducks. A couple of miscues and a slippery turf in Corvallis led to an early lead by the Beavers, but as always the Ducks scored a lot late, racking up 31 points in the final 37 minutes to beat their bitter rivals, 37-20.

Despite the drop to #2 in the poll, Oregon will play Auburn for the national title on January 10^th in Arizona. It will be the first national championship game for both schools, and it promises to be one whale of a high scoring ballgame.

On the outside looking in at all the festivities in the desert are TCU and Stanford. Although all they locked up BCS bowl bids, the Horned Frogs and/or Cardinal could have been in the title game should one or both of the top two faltered. As it is TCU got the better deal, heading to play Wisconsin in the rose Bowl in Pasadena, while Stanford has to travel all the way to Miami for the Orange Bowl.

Here’s a look at the final BCS poll and where the teams are going bowling.

Auburn (13-0) it’s the first time in the title game for Alabama’s perennial understudy. A championship would give the school even more bragging rights over the defending national champs, whom they beat in heartbreaking fashion one week ago
Oregon (12-0) three words: take the over
TCU (12-0) fresh off its second straight undefeated regular season the Frogs announced they will be joining the Big East in 2012. That way when they beat up all those little sisters of the poor they will have a shot at the title game
Stanford (11-1) how the Cardinal got selected to travel to Miami to play Va Tech in the Orange Bowl is beyond me. They don’t travel well and are better than the Hokies, yet could get waxed due to the “why the eff are we here?!” factor, not to mention the sea of VT fans in the stands
Wisconsin (11-1) the Badgers will be heading to Pasadena for the first time since 1999, and it promises to be one heck of a Rose Bowl as Wisky’s suddenly potent offense meets TCU’s notoriously stingy defense
Ohio State (11-1) as consolation for finishing tied with Wisconsin in the Big 10 the Buckeyes get to play another SEC team, Arkansas, in another BCS bowl, the Sugar. I hope for Jim Tressel’s sake they win this game…
Oklahoma (11-2) the Sooners finished the year on a high note, knocking off in state rival OSU and former Big 8 alum Nebraska in consecutive weeks. For that they earned the right to annihilate UCONN in the Fiesta Bowl. Yes, 4-loss UCONN is in a New Years Day BCS bowl, while Boise State is playing in Las Vegas on December 22^nd. Ay yay yay.
Arkansas (10-2) a win over the Buckeyes will validate the Hogs rise back to prominence, and have people saying Bobby Petrino is a better big game coach than the Sweater Vest. I repeat, ay yay yay.
Michigan State (11-1) the Spartans might have the best non-BCS game of the season when the meet Alabama in the Capitol One Bowl on New Years Day. I guarantee the worst part about that game will be the commercials
LSU (10-2) the Tigers will face Texas A&M in the Cotton Bowl on January 7^th in what looks like it could be a payback game for all of the Mad Hatter’s Lucky wins.

Other games of note include Florida and Penn State in the Outback Bowl, FSU and South Carolina in the Chic Fil A Bowl (to bad Bobby B. isn’t there to rematch the Ole Ballcoach), Michigan getting a New Years Day bowl, the Gator, vs. Miss. State, and the aforementioned Boise State Broncos playing Utah in the Las Vegas Bowl, a.k.a. the “We Almost Cracked the Big Time” Classic.

I’ll have a full bowl rundown later this week and plenty more as the games come up.

For now I am going to take a break from the sport and do something different – watch college hoops.