The Best of Big-Time College Football
Can you top what we just saw? I don’t know, but we’ll find out a week from Monday night in the National championship game in Dallas.
Oregon outgunned Florida State. Ohio State overran Alabama.
It was a draining Thursday of college football in the Ducks win in the Rose Bowl and the Buckeyes stunning win in the Sugar Bowl.
Talk about a wealth of riches, a treasure trove of talent, have you ever seen so much firepower than the four teams brought to the first ever final four of college football playoffs?
Marcus Mariota and the Oregon offense did its job, but it was the Ducks defense that did something, no one thought possible. Not just holding up on defense, but taking the ball away from the Seminoles.
Oregon’s defense had four fumble recovering and an interception in a six series sequence, swiping away everything FSU quarterback Jameis Winston had to offer. Four turnovers in the third quarter alone led to 27-Oregon points, forcing the Seminoles to play catch-up. And early on, Oregon had kept Florida State from scoring touchdowns on 3-possessions is the red zone.
There would be no comebacks this time, FSU did just that, rallying from 16-17 and 21 point deficits during the regular season. But they were not playing Wake Forest or Virginia, this was Oregon, who made them pay everytime they turned the ball over.
Mariota wound up with 338-yards passing; his running backs combined for 301-yards rushing, and young WR-Darren Carrington, son of the ex-Chargers DB, broke their back with two long catch and run TDs. When they were done, Oregon put 639-yards of offense up on the board, and Jameis Winston’s (24-0) career record in Tallahassee, ended in a defeat.
The Sugar Bowl would not be easy, nor sweet for Alabama. Speaking of a wealth of talent, the Tide offense had it, with a dynamic quarterback, the best receiver in the country, two big running backs, a massive offensive line, and a bigger and deeper defensive front. What the Tide did not have was a secondary capable of holding up. They lost (42-35) despite having numerous chances to put scores on the board..
Ohio State’s young quarterback Cardale Jones, their third string guy on the depth chart, replaced the injured JT Barrett, who had replaced the regular starter Braxton Miller. Jones kept going down the field, and OSU made catches and got yards after the catch for scores. Urban Meyers offense had 348-yards alone in the first half, staggering stats considering this was Alabama you were playing.
Lane Kiffin’s offense struggled after early scores, and Nick Saban’s defense, which had given up 40-pass plays of plus 20-yards this year, was exposed time and time again as the Buckeyes rallied.
The Buckeyes survived bad field position to hit enough big plays, including huge runs from Ezekiel Elliott (54-85Y) to break the Tide’s back. But it was an unsung OSU defense that really turned the tide, with 3-interceptions of Sims, and hold Bama to (1-11) on third downs.
All that talent in Tuscaloosa, and they will all be together next Monday night, watching somebody else play in the title game many people they would be an automatic to get to.
Can Oregon or Ohio State top what we saw on January lst? Anything is possible when both teams have all this firepower. Some New Year’s Day to remember if you love college football.
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