Read the arguments from Loyal Homer and Sports Geek about which BCS teams they believe were the most impressive from this BCS bowl season.
Unlike most red-blooded American males, I actually prefer the NFL to college football. Before the stoning commences, let me explain myself. I went to a college without a football team. Yes, they actually have those. Because there was no football team to pull for, I turned all my gridiron loyalty to the NFL. In recent years I have actually started to follow college football a little more. What caught my attention, you ask? The University of Florida Gators. In the past four years the Gators have had two 13 win seasons, set a school record for consecutive wins (22), and won two national championships. (Their Congressional praise following the 2008 national championship is one of the best viral videos of the year.) The Gators are a modern dynasty and Babe Ruthless loves dynasties. The team boasts the coach with the greatest winning percentage (among active coaches with at least five years experience), and one of the most exciting players in all of college football history, Tim Tebow – who by the way broke Herschel Walker’s SEC record for rushing touchdowns this season. The Florida Gators are the most impressive BCS team of 2009. For further proof look at the team’s bowl game against fourth ranked Cincinnati.
Exhibit A: the Allstate Sugar Bowl. The Florida Gators all out owned the Cincinnati Bearcats, winning 51-24. The fact the Florida straight up owned the game, and demolished Cincinnati by more than three scores, should come as no major surprise. But what does come as a shock, even to Gator fans, is that Tim Tebow saved his best for last. Tebow’s amazing performance broke record after record. Tebow’s completions and touchdown totals not only set or matched the high marks for Sugar Bowl history, but he now holds the BCS bowl game records for passing yards, completion percentage, and total offense. His mind blowing stats for the game read as follows: 533 yards of total offense (482 passing yards and 55 rushing yards); four scores (three passing and one rushing); and a completion percentage of 88.6 percent (31-36). This otherworldly level of play would make a fan out of nearly anyone.
Besides the superb quality of football the Gators displayed at the Sugar Bowl, the game also featured the drama surrounding Urban Meyer. On December 26, 2009, Meyer announced that he would resign following the Sugar Bowl (a statement which he has already rescinded). This came as a shock to many throughout the sports world because Meyer was experiencing so much success. There was so much speculation about the cause for his departure from coaching, especially since he was so successful and appeared to be at the top of his game. Although he cited health concerns, he publically detailed no specific ailment that impelled this move. Whether his resignation really was a proactive health measure, an effort to spend more time with his family, or a response to the debilitating separation anxiety that was sure to result following Tebow’s departure for the NFL, his decision was shocking and captivated the attention of the nation. Even non-football fans were asking “who is this Irving Myers and why is he quitting?” With all eyes watching Meyer and Tebow, the team pulled possibly the greatest George Costanza impression ever in college football – they left on a high note.
The Meyer and Tebow era Florida team is the type of team that inspires movies. They achieved at the highest level possible, made fans of the entire nation, and actually exceeded the hype.
I am a Huge Gators fan but I will say this, last years team was much more impressive because of the wide recievers they had and the defense was the same only a year younger which made it so impressive. I wish I could agree that they were impressive this year but as the season went on they had several holes that were being exploited and many Gator fans had a bad feeling about the bama game. I totally expected Tebow to have one of his best games in his last game, that’s the only way for his story at Florida could end and playing a bad defense in Cinci was very helpful. So while I would like to believe they were the most impressive team, I would disagree because of they struggled at the end of the year. I would have to say Bama was more impressive (as much as I hate to admit it). They shut down the QB who set all those BCS records.
Your objective perspective is as rare as it is refreshing! Well said, Chris.
Are you an SEC homer, or does your objectivity carry through to a healthy amount of respect for what Iowa did?
Chris,
While, I agree with you that playing a porous Cincinnati defense improved the stats line for the Gator offense across the board, this is not the only way the story could have ended. In fact Florida was fairly lucky to achieve the storybook ending that they did. The story could have ended with Tebow taking a lick to the head, scrambling his egg like we saw a few times this season, and ended up like Colt McCoy watching the game from the sidelines (although I still think Florida would have won unlike Texas). Or the Urban Meyer saga could have been an even bigger distraction that it already was, further distracting the team from the task at hand… beating Cincinnati.
Yes, the Gators were more impressive last year. That is also why they were national champs. But they were a very impressive team to watch this year as well. Given the choice between watching the Sugar Bowl or the BCS National title game, I would have preferred to watch what the Gators could do rather than watch Alabama play with a McCoy-less Longhorns anyday.
I am objective enough to admit that Iowa finally brought some respect to the Big Ten but I am a big believer that the Big Ten as a whole is a 2nd tier conference and their athletes can not compete with the best that the SEC, Big 12 or Pac 10 have to offer, just look at the Big Ten’s record in BCS games versus the other conferences.
What is that theory based on? Two high profile losses by Ohio State alone?
I agree with the above comment from Chris. “The Big Ten as a whole is a 2nd tier conference.”
You must both be allergic to fact.
The Big Ten is 8-11 all time in BCS games, the SEC is 12-5,PAc 10 is 9-4. That is were I get my info on saying that the Big 10 is not a top conference with top teams.
Babe Ruthless is obviously an idiot, Urban Meyer has never taken losses well and tends to over react to them, also we saw what Florida did against Bama (not much). Tebow is a horse it would take a tank to injure him in the last game of his storied career. Knowing or assuming that Meyer was coaching his last game only motivated that team and anyone who assumed it would do anything else doesn’t understand how much players want to send a coach who they love out with a win in his final game, not a bad motivational tactic by Meyer to get his team focussed and erase the memory of that SEC championship game.
Chris,
You state that the Big 10 has an all-time record of 8 wins and 11 losses in BCS bowl games, which means they have appeared in a total of 19 BCS bowl games. While I’m not great at math, I do know that those 19 appearances are 2 more than the SEC and 6 more than the PAC 10. Put another way, the same conference you discount as not being a legit contender, boasts the third most BCS bowl wins and has bested the SEC in total number of BCS bowl appearances. It appears that you have SEC tunnel vision.
As, for your Tim Tebow statements…it appears that you have some sort of man-crush on him. While he is certainly not made of glass, he is not a tank either. Concussions are like tattoos. Once you get your first one the next is soon to follow, and its usually bigger and worse. I also disagree that Meyer’s resignation drama was a clever “win one for the gipper” ploy as much as it was Brett Farve-esque waffling.
Much like the TSD explanation page says:
“Sports debates are like rating crabcakes or sunsets or scotch. Everybody can separate good from bad, but the best often are matters of personal preference, rather than quantifiable measures.”
- Dave Fairbanks, Daily Press
Enjoying the Gators play this year is just a matter of opinion. Much like it is your opinion that I am an “idiot”. And much like it is my opinion, that your comments are the ramblings of a large, hairy guy (just a guess) who probably has way too many cats and smells like sweat socks.