Archive for January, 2010

The last time Georgia Tech played in the Orange Bowl (Jan. 1, 1967) it was Bobby Dodd’s last game as head coach. On the other side of the field was Florida quarterback Steve Spurrier, the Heisman Trophy winner. Much has changed. Spurrier completed 14 of 30 passes for 160 yards and the Gators won the game 27-12. History will also note that future Atlanta Falcons running back Harmon Wages completed a pass in the game for the Gators.

On that historical note, here are five burning questions about tonight’s Orange Bowl game between Georgia Tech and Iowa:

1. Did Iowa put its time off to good use? The Hawkeyes haven’t played a football game since Nov. 21 when they beat Minnesota 12-0 for the Floyd of Rosedale Trophy. So the Iowa defense, which is already a salty bunch to begin with (10th nationally in total defense at 286.87 ypg), has had about 44 days to get ready for Georgia Tech’s option attack. Norm Parker is one of the best defensive coordinators in America but …

Continue reading Five burning questions about the Orange Bowl »

Hope everybody had a Happy New Year. We’re heading towards the home stretch in the bowl season with the BCS championship game set for Thursday night. So what have we learned?

1. The SEC is what everybody thought it was. It became apparent after the first month of the season that the SEC had two great teams (Alabama, Florida), two teams that were pretty good (LSU, Ole Miss) but lacking in several areas, and a bunch of teams that were, by SEC standards, just okay. The bowl season has reflected that.

There have been some good wins (Florida over Cincinnati, Ole Miss over Oklahoma State, Georgia over Texas A&M, Auburn over Northwestern) and some really bad losses (Tennessee getting dominated by Virginia Tech, South Carolina not even showing up against Connecticut, and LSU once again having clock management issues in losing to Penn State). Arkansas, we have to say, was fortunate to beat East Carolina when the Pirates missed three field goals in the final 1:08 and overtime.

But …

Continue reading SEC’s “okay” season could end in another national title »

 Happy New Year everybody! When it comes to college football New Year’s Day just ain’t what it used to be. The BCS title won’t be decided until Jan. 7. The Orange Bowl in on Jan. 5. The bowls are too spread out to the point where an outdoor hockey game in Boston is probably going to draw a pretty good TV rating today.

Still, here are Five Burning Questions we begin the first day of 2010:

1. Will Bobby go out a winner? It is still surreal to me that Bobby Bowden will be coaching his last game today when Florida State takes on West Virginia in the Gator Bowl (1 p.m., CBS). West Virginia has the better team but I’m hoping that Florida State’s players will understand that they are a part of history and will play at a very high level and win one for “the old man,” as he is affectionately called. These players don’t understand it now, but when they are fathers and grandfathers they will look back on this game as one of the most important events of their lives. …

Continue reading Five burning questions for New Year’s Day »