Orange to Rose

I thoroughly enjoyed the Orange Bowl, although as an old man, I can barely make it up to the end of these things as hard as I try. Can they figure out a way to make football games three hours again, instead of the 4.5 these bowl games are running? Anyway, great game. Two teams just playing awesome defense and laying everything they had on the field. I also enjoyed the sportsmanship that these teams, particularly Penn State, displayed. There was no running around acting like idiots, no taunting, just playing hard between the lines until the whistle. These guys clearly respected each other, and they have been taught by a classy, great coach. I am glad Joe Pa has not retired. He is an example of a guy who just does it the right way, and passes that on to his players. I loved their post game comments, when Bowden said losing to Paterno that way produced no animosity whatsoever, and that FSU had played as well as they could play. Paterno responded that it was past his bedtime.

We can only hope the Rose Bowl is as competitive, while maybe having a little (a lot) more efficient offense and a few less penalties (I actually thought the refs did a good job in the Orange Bowl). Before the hype, I thought the Rose Bowl would be a very good game, and that despite having just awesome talent, I thought Texas could perhaps upset USC. One of the things that makes college athletics so special is that emotion is such an important part of the game and the outcomes. That, combined with the incredible (and deserved) hype that this USC team is getting, leads me to believe that Texas, with an explosive offense that actually averaged a point more per game than USC and a strong, fast, and disciplined defense that can at least slow down the SC offense just a tad, will win tonight.

Look for the Burnt Orange to get off to a strong start, and take a double digit lead at some point in the first half (maybe as high as 17 or 18 points). USC, with weapons everywhere, will show the heart of the chamipon that they are and furiously fight back to actually take a lead in the 4th quarter, before Vince Young leads his team to a late touchdown to bring the title back to Austin for the first time since 1969 (I think), when Richard Nixon called to congratulate Texas on winning the National title before the voting took place, despite the fact that the Joe Paterno led Nittany Lions were also undefeated. (See the more things change, the more they stay the same).

Final score: Texas 42, Southern Cal 38

In other news, it was great to see UConn lose in Marcus Williams' debut against Marquette last night. Unfortunately, I am sure Calhoun will have his criminals ready to play in March, but at least in his first game back, the thief was booed (I am assuming) and his team, undefeated until now, got waxed. I hope opposing fans rip criminals like Marcus Williams instead of hard working, great players like J.J. Redick.

If you liked my review of the Eagles, you may want to check out Sal Paolantonio's article today. He has a pretty good take on the Eagles that were this year, and some of the problems coming from the top. Here is the link: http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/columns/story?columnist=paolantonio_sal&id=2279971.

That is all for now. Until tomorrow, Hook 'Em Horns!!!