THE CRIMSON PIGSKIN e-LETTER
THE CRIMSON REEL
Wondering which motion pictures warrant a chunk of your Saturday afternoon with college football wrapping up? Look no further. Here are three quick holiday theater release reviews for CPEL readers.
Bedtime Stories – Adam Sandler makes a funny kids' movie. There are some good laughs and a couple of items the commercials didn't cover. Worth going to see with the movie passes you found in your stocking.
Marley & Me – This is a tear-jerker with Owen Wilson and Jennifer Aniston. If you welled up while watching Ol' Yeller or Where the Red Fern Grows as a kid, take a backpack full of facial tissue. Reminds the viewer of Jay Cronley's Tulsa World stories about his Springer Spaniels except this one isn't funny at times.
Yes Man – Just say NO to the latest effort by Jim Carrey. While there are some chuckles during the show, there are some groaner moments and this one may be best watched with a remote at the ready after it comes out on dvd.
CPEL movie reviews. Something for everyone.
FIESTA
The Texas Longhorns were able to overcome a great defensive effort by the Ohio State Buckeyes last night. UT scored with 16 seconds remaining in the game and won 24-21. This wasn't exactly the We're number one! Blowout mandate Horn fans had hoped for but it is a BCmeSs bowl victory over a quality opponent. The win serves to remove a bad taste left over from being left out of the BCmeSs championship game.
Texas faithful checked another item off the Christmas wish list when a December 23rd news report stated wide receiver Jordan Shipley was granted a sixth year of eligibility due to medical hardship. Sooner fans and OU defensive backs will remember Shipley better as simply "number 6". This perspective was gained from seeing Shipley's back as he raced to the end zone a couple of times contributing to the OU loss at Dallas in October. The Washington Post quoted Shipley as saying "It is definitely a blessing to be able to play one more season at Texas." Indeed. God bless us every one.
G-M-A/C A GOOD BOWL
Tonight the Golden Hurricane faces once beaten Ball State in the GMAC Bowl. The venue for this match-up is in Mobile, Alabama. Kick-off is set for 7pm CST. According to Weather.com, current weather conditions in Mobile include mostly cloudy skies with a temperature of 72 degrees. Judging from the radar (CPEL is not in the meteorology business.) there may be some showers before the game is completed.
Tulsa's main chance at victory is grasping onto an offensive identity which has been missing since the last series in the loss at Arkansas in November. "Throwing" caution to the wind, the Hurricane needs to line up five wide receivers and play some good ol' sandlot ball, "slinging it all over the yard" as Jim Traber would say. They can remain competitive in this game if quarterback David Johnson can make instinctive plays, comfortably directing a wide-open offense and finding receivers to get the ball to. Bowl time is too late for TU to worry about balancing the passing and running games. The offensive line is not going to "bowl" over Ball State's defensive line.
Defensively, TU has to avoid gambling and attempt to create turnovers without sacrificing good tackling over it. How many times in big games, have defensive players missed tackles while trying to strip the ball from a runner? A lot. Tulsa just needs to settle into a fast-paced rhythm and enjoy playing football again. If they don't make mistakes, there will be a chance to claim victory at the end of the night. Ball State 38, Tulsa 28.
HOLIDAY BOWL
Oklahoma State's Dez Bryant and Zac Robinson bore the brunt of a physical Oregon Duck defense Last Wednesday night in San Diego, California. After the Cowboys played very well in the first half, the Ducks began to pull away in the third quarter, eventually winning 42-31. This was due to three factors. Oregon made some very good half-time adjustments. Injuries to Bryant and Robinson slowed the Pokes' offense down and finally, Jeremiah Masoli, the UO quarterback, took matters into his own hands, keeping the ball on a number of occasions just to deliver punishment to OSU defensive backs, ala Walter Payton, before either being brought down or entering the end zone.
Oklahoma State message boards were abuzz after the game with reports of many San Diego area Sooner fans appearing at the game wearing red, along with a number of Southern California fans in their team regalia. Had Oklahoma State won, there would have been posts about how head coach Mike Gundy now has to replace three assistant coaches. Perhaps this would be a good time for T-Bone to poll the 2-3 Big 12 Southern Division plug and start over? Maybe not.
THE SHOWDOWN
Sooner fans knew in their hearts, this time would come. Since Bob Stoops left Florida after winning a national championship as defensive coordinator to become head coach at Oklahoma it was inevitable the two teams would meet. Due to conference alignments, it would likely be for a national championship. But when? It just happened to be at the end of Stoops' tenth year at OU.
Enter the Big 12 Conference. With a three way tie for first place in the Big 12 Southern Division and the knowledge a second Texas victory over Missouri wouldn't gain enough BCmeSs points to get the one-loss Longhorns into a national title game, the conference tie-breaker system which selected the team with the highest current BCmeSs ranking to represent the division paved the way to Miami and a title shot for Stoops' Sooners.
The Stoops-Florida connection may be the best hope for an OU victory in Thursday night's BCS National Championship game. If the Oklahoma coaching staff has dug deep and come up with a game plan worthy of an OU versus Florida title game, then the boys in red will have a chance to join Notre Dame as the only university with eight (8) national championships. There are a number of hurdles to jump before that happens.
On the other sideline stands one of the best coaches, if not the best, in the nation. Urban Meyer took a team in Utah to an undefeated season before rolling into Gainesville, Florida and the rest is history in the making. Just two seasons ago, the Gators won a national title, at the expense of a much slower Ohio State team. The game was never close and never in doubt.
Oklahoma's troubles only begin when considering the best coaches in America have had a month to plot their championship doom. Most, if not all, of the mental edge goes to Florida. UF's outstanding quarterback and winner of the 2007 Heisman Trophy, Tim Tebow, didn't win again this year. That is motivation for him to bring his best game ever to the show Thursday. Oklahoma's quarterback, Sam Bradford, did win this year's award. This very scenario has motivated more than one stellar championship defensive effort for opponents. If that isn't enough, the Gators enter the game ranked second, behind OU which is perched above them at number one for the first time since October.
In favor of Oklahoma from a football perspective, Florida will need its All-American linebacker and speedy defensive backs to try to cover OU's plethora of receivers. No one prepares a quarterback to play better than OU's quarterback coach Josh Heupel. This game will not be an exception. Bradford can scramble, unlike the Heisman winner Oklahoma took to its last championship dance. Should Florida turn the ball over, as in most big games, OU's offense will make sure the ball makes it to the end zone. UF's offensive coordinator bailed out and went to Mississippi State last month. This has caused grief for more than one bowl team in the past. Tebow is practically a coach on the field so this probably won't be much of a boost for OU.
Oklahoma's defense has been susceptible to giving up some easy points at times this season. The way Oklahoma's defense can withstand Florida's running attack will be a key to the game. If it holds up through one half of play, the team which makes the best half-time adjustments will have a decided advantage in the second half. The Sooners must avoid allowing UF frequent long kick returns. This was another weak spot OU has had another month to shore up.
The emotional edge seems to play the biggest role in games of this magnitude. Since Florida has the motivational edge and they've been in the big one recently enough their players remember what it takes to win, while time has edged the players from OU's last title game team off the roster, CPEL has to cringe while taking OU's propensity for showing up flat in these games in recent years to making the following prediction (Hear the cringe?) Florida pulls away from a gutsy Sooner squad late in the 2nd half. Gators 45, OU 31
THE PERCENTAGES
The Ducks' victory over OSU brought the CPEL season record to 43-13. That's 77% for all those David Letterman fans out there. Two games to go!
Thanks for reading and have a great week!
Carlos
www.crimsonpigskin.com
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