MikesPickz.com » College Football

Auburn vs Oregon: The Unexpected

Mike — Tue, 11 Jan 2011 07:58:53 +0000

After a 37 day wait, the BCS Championship game has come and gone. The game was filled with excitement, but it was not what it was made out to be. For a month, we have heard about the high flying Oregon Ducks offense – the highest scoring offense in the FBS. For a month, we have heard about Cam Newton and Auburn’s tremendous offense. For a month, we have heard about the potential record scoring game we would have. No-one could have expected what actually occurred in Glendale.

The outcome was not the surprising part. I felt that Auburn would win the game and I had them picked on my Yahoo! ticket with 15 confidence points. The means to the end was the unexpected part. Who would have predicted a score of 0-0 at the end of the first quarter? Who would have predicted Oregon would go two quarters without scoring a single point (1st and 3rd)? Not me, my BCS score prediction was 38-35.

Defense dominated this game. Auburn was just too big and too strong on the defensive line (led by the best lineman in the country – Nick Fairley). Oregon could not run the ball and that ultimately cost them the game. The Ducks defense did step up in the 4th quarter to give them a chance. A key strip of Cam Newton led to the game tying touchdown and two point conversion, but they could not consistently stop Auburn’s rushing attack which compiled 255 yards.

In fact it was true freshman running-back, Michael Dyer, who was the most outstanding offensive player in the game. The game clinching play occurred with a little over 2 minutes left in the game. Dyer rushed to the right and was seemingly tackled, but continued to run for a huge gain. He landed on an Oregon player and therefore was never down, everyone was confused but his teammates urged him to continue running since their was no whistle. The play was reviewed and upheld, see for yourself:

The BCS championship was not as expected, but it certainly delivered as an entertaining football game. I can only imagine what would happen if TCU had a chance to play Auburn. TCU matches up with Auburn better than Oregon did. TCU has the number one defense in the country for a reason, and their offense was ranked number five, one spot ahead of Auburn.

[Photo Credit: FratHouseSports.com]

Where will Jim Harbaugh end up?

Mike — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 01:00:15 +0000

Former NFL QB, Jim Harbaugh had been a hot commodity of late. He is currently the head coach of Stanford University, who will be playing the Orange Bowl against Virginia Tech. Harbaugh guided his team to an 11-1 record and the #4 rank in the BCS.

He was drafted by the Chicago Bears in 1987 with the 26th overall pick. He is most noted for his play with the Indianapolis Colts. He was awarded All-Pro honors and he was a Pro-Bowler in 1995 with the Colts. He is a member of their Ring of Honor.

As a coach, he led the San Diego Toreros to two conference titles in three years and he turned the 1-11 Stanford football team to an 11-1 powerhouse in four seasons. He has great reputation in the NFL and as a head coach and this is why he is wanted by so many teams.

Currently, the teams that have been rumored to be interested in Harbaugh are the San Francisco 49ers, Denver Broncos, Michigan (college) and of course Stanford would want him to remain.

I expect him to be the next head coach of the 49ers for several reasons:

It’s the next step: He has had tremendous success coaching at the collegiate level, and I’m sure he has some curiosity as to whether or not he could coach at the NFL level.
It’s close to home: He wouldn’t have to move to take this job. He grew up in Palo Alto and now coaches there. Palo Alto is very close to Santa Clara, where the 49ers team headquarters is and it is close to San Francisco where the home games are.
Money?: If Harbaugh is after money, he will definitely get more money by leaving Stanford. Every team on the list can offer more money than Stanford, and that could be a factor that plays an important part. The 49ers need a solid head coach that can particularly groom QBs. As a former QB, Harbaugh is the perfect person and the 49ers will offer a generous contract for that.

Where do you think Harbaugh will end up? Comment Below

[Photo Credit: CoachesHotSeat.com]

Boise State Wins Bowl Game

Mike — Thu, 23 Dec 2010 07:35:39 +0000

The Boise State Broncos beat the Utah Utes in the MAACO Bowl on Wednesday night, although most people probably didn’t even realize they were playing at that time. It wasn’t much of a contest, Utah jumped to a early 3-0 lead only to get obliterated 26-3.

The game was sloppy on both sides and it wasn’t until Doug Martin rushed for an 84-yard TD in the second quarter that Boise’s offense showed any life. Can you blame them? They were one field goal away from making a BCS bowl on a much bigger stage against a much more notable competitor. Although, Utah was ranked as high as #6 in the BCS this season, they struggled tremendously down the stretch.

For Boise St. this was a solid win to show that they are a great football team, but it doesn’t take away any doubt from the people that thought they shouldn’t contend for the BCS Championship. Utah was good, and they had a 9-bowl winning streak, but they are not from a ‘power’ conference. This power conference idea is somewhat funny since three teams in the WAC Conference finished in the Top 25, compared to only two from the PAC-10, six in the SEC, three from the Big-10, and five from the Big-12. Personally, I feel that Boise State would have competed with, if not beat, either Auburn or Oregon.

Next season, Utah will move to the PAC-12 and fight for an automatic BCS Bowl bid, while Boise State will take Utah’s spot in the Mountain West Conference, an non-automatic qualifier.

[Photo Credit: NationalChamps.net]

Mark Cuban to Fund an End of the BCS?

Mike — Thu, 16 Dec 2010 06:27:41 +0000

In a recent article posted to ESPNDallas.com, Tim MacMahon discussed Mark Cuban’s newest investment idea. You may recall that he failed to buy the Chicago Cubs and Texas Rangers (which was rigged…) this year. Instead of attempting to buy another baseball team, he is looking a funding a major college football playoff system.

Cuban is quoted in the article,

Put $500 million in the bank and go to all the schools and pay them money as an option.” Say, ‘Look, I’m going to give you X amount every five years. In exchange, you say if you’re picked for the playoff system, you’ll go.’

He later adds,

It’s an inefficient business where there’s obviously a better way of doing it. The only thing that’s kept them from doing it is a lack of capital, which I can deal with.

He would develop a system with a 12 or 16 team playoff system and the bowls would still exist, only it would be more profitable to make the playoffs instead of a bowl.

When you’re a billionaire looking for a way to spend some money, you certainly can think of interesting ideas. Will it happen? Probably not in the near future, but it is an interesting proposal. Personally, I would support Cuban’s initiative. I think college football needs a playoff system, and the only reason it doesn’t exist is because of how profitable the bowls are. If Cuban has some spare capital, it might be a perfect marriage. The only change I would make is to have an eight team playoff instead of 12 or 16.

Do you support Cuban’s initiative?

[Photo Credit: REUTERS/Craig Sjodin/ABC/Handout via NYPost.com]

Daily Diss: Cam Newton Not an All-American

Mike — Mon, 13 Dec 2010 03:44:00 +0000

Auburn’s Cameron Newton has been the most talked about college football player for the entire season. It started for his play and then for his alleged pay-for-play scandal, in which his dad was found guilty of, but Auburn and the QB had no knowledge of. Through all of this, Cam Newton has done one thing – win football games. The Auburn Tigers are undefeated and ranked #1 in the BCS. The Tigers will play for the BCS Championship against the Oregon Ducks on January 10th.

Cam Newton has been the best college football player in the nation, pretty much by everyone’s standards, except by the standards of the Football Writers Association of America. Let’s take a look at Newton’s accomplishments this season:

Walter Camp Award: This award “is given annually to the collegiate American football Player of the Year, as decided by a group of National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I-A head coaches and sports information directors under the auspices of the Walter Camp Football Foundation.*”
Maxwell Award: This award “is presented annually to the collegiate American football player judged by a panel of sportscasters, sportswriters, and National Collegiate Athletic Association head coaches and the membership of the Maxwell Football Club to be the best football player in the United States.*”
Davey O’Brien Award: This award “is presented annually to the collegiate American football player adjudged by the Davey O’Brien Foundation to be the best of all National Collegiate Athletic Association quarterbacks.*”
Heisman Trophy: This award “is awarded annually to the player deemed the most outstanding player in collegiate football.*”

Yes, Cameron Newton is the collegiate American football player of the year, the best football player in the United States, the best of all NCAA quarterbacks, and the most outstanding player in collegiate football, but NOT a first team All-American.

The FWAA stuck it to Cam Newton for his off-the-field issues and its embarrassing. The All-American team loses some credibility in my mind for this. They chose Kellen Moore as the first team QB. He was a great QB and a Heisman finalist, but he finished fourth in the Heisman voting, behind Newton and another QB, Andrew Luck.

* – All quotes from Wikipedia.org

[Photo Credit: Zimbio.com]

Daily Diss: Todd Haley Refuses to Shake Hands

Mike — Mon, 15 Nov 2010 22:30:32 +0000

Today’s Daily Diss award goes to Todd Haley, the head coach of the Kansas City Chiefs. After the Broncos thrashed the Chiefs yesterday, Haley refused to shake hands with Denver head coach, Josh McDaniels. The picture is pretty classic.

Apparently, Haley thought that McDaniels was running up the score. The Broncos jumped out to an early 35-0 lead, but were then outscored 29-14. I don’t think that is considered running up the score in my book. Haley later apologized and said he should have shaken hands with McDaniels.

If anyone had the right to think the opponent was running up the score, it was the entire Indiana Hoosiers Football team. Indiana got thoroughly beaten by Wisconsin on Saturday. The final score in that game – 83-20. Yes, 83 points is excessive, but the BCS sort of encourages that type of play. When it comes to getting votes, nothing is more impressive than a huge blowout, if only Indiana was a decent team.

What do you think of Haley refusing to shake hands with McDaniels?

[Photo Credit: Justin Edmonds, Getty Images North America via DenverPost.com]

Transcending the Sport

Jonathan Velez — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 15:30:07 +0000

Ever so often in sports you get these certain athletes that prove to be much more than the ordinary athlete. They tend to be superstars or trailblazers, if you will, creating a new path for the next generation. For example, the Michael Jordan’s, Magic Johnson’s and Wayne Gretsky’s of the world are prime examples of trailblazers during their time. Trailblazers in sports come with great rarity. This rare breed of athletes transcends the game, making their impact on the sport and culture over time and leaving a lasting impression. In today’s sports world, we have the opportunity to witness the impact of two of the biggest and brightest trailblazers we have yet to come across.

Venus Williams and Serena Williams are infamously known as “the Williams Sisters”. The Williams sisters have built legendary careers, which are far from finished, that has witnessed Venus Williams win five Wimbledon appearances to go along with seven slams overall and Serena Williams setting the Australian open record by winning the open five times, not to mention her total of twelve grand slam titles. Aside from having storied careers at only the ripe young ages of 29 years-old (Venus) and 28 years-old (Serena), the Williams sisters have single handedly revived Women’s tennis.

It was the two young ladies from Compton, California with their tenacity, work ethic, determination, and will to win that put tennis at the forefront of the sports world. The Williams sisters are truly trailblazers of women’s tennis. They have used tennis to spearhead their entrepreneurial spirit and spark their business savvy getting involved with fashion, entertainment, even becoming part-owners of the NFL Miami Dolphins franchise. Serena Williams recently had a fashion line with Puma and currently has a line with Nike, which appears to be worth $40 million.

Before the Williams Sisters came around, their was a young and fresh new teen with a golf club that hit the scene ready to make his impact, Tiger Woods. The impact Tiger Woods made was not only on his own sport but on sports in general. Think about it, there would be no Lebron James without Tiger Woods. Tiger Woods broke down numerous barriers that allowed for the likes of Lebron James, Sidney Crosby, and almost every other young and talented athlete to endure the financial opportunities they have.

If you remember it was Tiger Woods, with a $40 million endorsement deal from Nike and another $20 million endorsement deal from Titleist before he hit his first professional golf tournament. I think it’s safe to say that Tiger Woods influenced Lebron James receiving a $90 million endorsement from Nike before bouncing an NBA ball in some kind of way and the NHL’s decision to make 22 year-old Sidney Crosby the face of their league. Aside from Tiger Woods’ recent personal issues that have been publicly displayed, he has transcended the role of an athlete and significantly impacted all sports sending everyone on the search to find the next “Tiger Woods”. Oh, and did I mention Tiger Woods has won 71 official PGA tour events and 14 majors? Legendary!

The notion of a superstar athlete was birthed by Magic Johnson, lived its adolescent years through the eyes of Michael Jordan, and became a mature adult through the likes of Tiger Woods.

If you devour through every athlete that has come through any and every sport, it is hard to find any other athlete that has impacted their sport more than Tiger Woods has in golf and the Williams sisters in Tennis. Yes, Lebron James is one of the biggest and brightest sports stars and will one day be spoken in the same breath as possibly being “the greatest” basketball player ever. However, has he been a trailblazer creating a brand new pathway for the next generation of athletes, or is he simply stepping in the footprints of Magic Johnson and Michal Jordan? His career is in no way, shape, or form close to being over so we shall see whether the imprint he leaves on the sport and culture outshines that of Magic and Jordan.

Tiger Woods and the Williams sisters have each catapulted their sports to a new level of mainstream. They have opened doors for other athletes in their sports and other sports to receive various opportunities. They each have changed the culture of their sports in ways that were once unimaginable but are now sheer reality.

This is a guest post written by Jonathan Velez

College Football Bowl Season is Set to Begin! [Updated 1/7]

Mike — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 09:46:13 +0000

The 2009- 2010 College Bowl Season is set to begin on December 19th with the New Mexico Bowl (Fresno St. vs. Wyoming) and the St. Petersburg Bowl (UCF vs. Rutgers).

There are several games that should be incredible to watch, most notably Oregon vs. Ohio St. in the Rose Bowl, Florida vs. Cincinnati in the Sugar Bowl, TCU vs. Boise St. in the Fiesta Bowl, Stanford vs. Oklahoma in the Sun Bowl and of-course the BCS Championship. This year, the BCS championship will feature Heisman Trophy winner, Mark Ingram, and the Alabama Crimson Tide vs. the Texas Longhorns.

The BCS might not be the most popular system (who wouldn’t love to see Florida have a chance at revenge against Alabama or to see the explosive Oregon Ducks have a shot at the title), but that is an entirely new blog post.

This year will be the first year that MikesPickz will officially predict every game of the Bowl Season, without further ado, here are this year’s picks:

(The team in bold is my pick, [bracket is confidence points])
Current Record: 19-15
Last update: 1/7

Saturday, December 19th
New Mexico Bowl: Fresno State [34] vs. Wyoming (Loss, 35-28, 0/34 points)

St. Petersburg Bowl: UCF vs. Rutgers [13] ( Win, 45-24, 13/47 points)

Sunday, December 20th
New Orleans Bowl: Mid Tenn vs. Southern Miss [23] (Loss, 42-32, 13/70 points)

Tuesday, December 22nd
Las Vegas Bowl: BYU vs. Oregon State [10] (Loss, 44-20, 13/80 points)

Wednesday, December 23rd
Poinsettia Bowl: Cal vs. Utah [5] (Win, 37-27, 18/85 points)

Thursday, December 24th
Hawaii Bowl: Nevada [30] vs. SMU (Loss, 45-10, 18/115 points)

Saturday, December 26th
Little Ceasers Bowl: Ohio [25] vs. Marshall (Loss, 21-17, 18/140)
Car Care Bowl: Pittsburgh [28] vs. North Carolina (Win, 19-17, 46/168)
Emerald Bowl: USC [29] vs. Boston College (Win, 24-13, 75/197)
Sunday, December 27th
Music City Bowl: Kentucky vs. Clemson [27] (Win, 21-13, 102/224)

Monday, December 28th
Independence Bowl: Georgia [20] vs. Texas A&M (Win, 44-20, 122/244)

Tuesday, December 29th
Eagle Bank Bowl: UCLA vs. Temple [1] (Loss, 30-21, 122/245)
Champs Sports Bowl: Miami [16] vs. Wisconsin (Loss, 20-14, 122/261)

Wednesday, December 30th
Humanitarian Bowl: Bowling Green [12] vs. Idaho (Loss, 43-42, 122/273)
Holiday Bowl: Arizona vs. Nebraska [8] ( Win, 33-0, 130/281)

Thursday, December 31st
Armed Forces Bowl: Air Force vs. Houston [31] (Loss, 47-20, 130/312)
Sun Bowl: Stanford [7] vs. Oklahoma (Loss, 31-27, 130/319)
Texas Bowl: Navy vs. Missouri [11] (Loss, 35-13, 130/330)
Insight Bowl: Iowa State vs. Minnesota [15] (Loss, 14-13, 130/345)
Peach Bowl: Tennessee vs. Virginia Tech [22] (Win, 37-14, 152/367)

Friday, January 1st
Outback Bowl: Auburn [24] vs. Northwestern (Win, 38-35, 176/391)
Capital One Bowl: LSU vs. Penn State [9] (Win, 19-17, 185/400)
Gator Bowl: Florida State vs. West Virginia [19] (Loss, 33-21, 185/419)
Rose Bowl: Oregon [14] vs. Ohio State (Loss, 26-17, 185/433)
Sugar Bowl: Florida [21] vs. Cincinnati (Win, 51-24, 206/454)

Saturday, January 2nd
International Bowl: N. Illinois vs. South Florida [33] (Win, 27-3, 239/487)
Cotton Bowl: Oklahoma State [6] vs. Ole Miss (Loss, 21-7, 239/493)
PapaJohns Bowl: South Carolina vs. UConn [3] (Win, 20-7, 242/496)
Liberty Bowl: Arkansas [18] vs. ECU (Win, 20-17, 260/514)
Alamo Bowl: Texas Tech [26] vs. Michigan State (Win, 41-31, 286/540)

Monday, January 4th
Fiesta Bowl: TCU vs. Boise State [2] (Win, 17-10, 288/542)

Tuesday, January 5th
Orange Bowl: Iowa [4] vs. Georgia Tech( Win, 24-14, 292/546)

Wednesday, January 6th
GMAC Bowl: C. Michigan [32] vs. Troy (Win, 44-41, 324/578)

Thursday, January 7th
BCS Championship: Alabama [17] vs. Texas (Win, 37-21, 341/595)
Final Score Prediction: Alabama 24 – Texas 13