yeah, i was on tex tech vs minny 2 yrs ago and wish i would have played minny 1st half and tex tech 2nd half..!!
i was on virginia big last yr and had a big fat middle at half and almost pulled the trigger on tex tech 2nd half but i was so far ahead since uva was getting +6 that i didn't want to give away what looked like an automatic win...i ended up covering but it would have been nice to get that 2nd half play in
i'll be on ole miss, i hate playing 1st halfs but maybe a small one for fun...
btw-doesn't missouri/northwestern kinda remind you of michigan/nebraska in the same alamo bowl a few years ago?? team that was expected to do much better possibly disinterested playing in a lower bowl vs a team that has nothing to lose and jacked up to make a statement..?? both missouri and michigan were both DD favs also...
i was on virginia big last yr and had a big fat middle at half and almost pulled the trigger on tex tech 2nd half but i was so far ahead since uva was getting +6 that i didn't want to give away what looked like an automatic win...i ended up covering but it would have been nice to get that 2nd half play in
i'll be on ole miss, i hate playing 1st halfs but maybe a small one for fun...
btw-doesn't missouri/northwestern kinda remind you of michigan/nebraska in the same alamo bowl a few years ago?? team that was expected to do much better possibly disinterested playing in a lower bowl vs a team that has nothing to lose and jacked up to make a statement..?? both missouri and michigan were both DD favs also...
Big of you to lay down the weapons in the BCS debate, I'll do the same.
I did have a question with OU-Florida. I'm in the minority of winning sports bettors who think this game is going over. I think OU's tempo, great offense, only good to very good defense, and bad kick coverage leads to their huge over trend. I think Florida's offense is also ahead of their defense, but all of this isn't really news considering the game is lined at 70+.
The thing I keep thinking about is how almost all of Florida and OU's recent opponents have made a point of trying to "play keep away", and keep OU/Florida's offense off the field. Yet the scores have still been crazy. I think when Florida gets matched up against an offense who is actually better than theirs, and works even faster than they do, the points are going to fly like fur. I picture an OU touchdown, a 40 yard Florida kick return, followed by a TD 2 minutes later... several times in this game. Stoops knows his offense and pace is his strength, and he won't back down. Urban has no reason at all to go conservative either. Maybe the layoff leads to rust, but I see a big shootout. GL
I did have a question with OU-Florida. I'm in the minority of winning sports bettors who think this game is going over. I think OU's tempo, great offense, only good to very good defense, and bad kick coverage leads to their huge over trend. I think Florida's offense is also ahead of their defense, but all of this isn't really news considering the game is lined at 70+.
The thing I keep thinking about is how almost all of Florida and OU's recent opponents have made a point of trying to "play keep away", and keep OU/Florida's offense off the field. Yet the scores have still been crazy. I think when Florida gets matched up against an offense who is actually better than theirs, and works even faster than they do, the points are going to fly like fur. I picture an OU touchdown, a 40 yard Florida kick return, followed by a TD 2 minutes later... several times in this game. Stoops knows his offense and pace is his strength, and he won't back down. Urban has no reason at all to go conservative either. Maybe the layoff leads to rust, but I see a big shootout. GL
It reminds me more of the Texas/Iowa Alamo game a couple years ago. I'll tell you something about Missouri. Their fans don't travel well. So even though the game is being played in Big 12 country, I don't see Missouri being the overwhelming fan favorites in this game. Especially since their BCS hopes are gone. Plus I kind of like Northwestern because with the exception of a couple games, they have played some pretty good defense this year. NW isn't an offensive juggernaut. But Missouri isn't exactly the steel curtain on defense. So I can possibly see NW outrushing Missouri here. Plus they'll be a hell of a lot more motivated than the Arkansas team that Missouri played last year. And NW being a senior oriented team should also help them in this game.
I think this game is going under the total. I just think when you get two teams together who have around a +20 turnover margin total a piece, it can be more of a Mexican standoff than a scoring fest. I don't see either team giving each other any gifts. And I can see both offenses having to drive the length of the field to score. OU will have had a month to work on their special teams. And something tells me they are going to play better in that part of the game this time. Plus i like the fact that some key OU defensive players (future NFLers) are getting healthy for this game. By all rights, with two possible Heisman QB's going after each other, you would think it would go over. But I think it's going to be a tight game either way. And when I think of tight games, I think more about a game being played in the 20's or 30's more than I do the 40's. I could always be wrong. One team could grab the momentum and run with it. And then we end up with a 49-31 type of game. But I just don't see that here.
gosooners,
thanks for your time today my friend...I'm interested to hear more guys thoughts like trent and jimmy regarding the Clemson vs. Nebraska game because I orignally leaned to Nebraska, but I can't get it out of my head how poorly they've played on defense this year...agree with conan regarding La. Tech...also agree Rice will be supremely motivated...I play bowl games light, use them maily to scout for next year, but I do enjoy all of the football during the holidays...BOL to you in the bowl season bud...
thanks for your time today my friend...I'm interested to hear more guys thoughts like trent and jimmy regarding the Clemson vs. Nebraska game because I orignally leaned to Nebraska, but I can't get it out of my head how poorly they've played on defense this year...agree with conan regarding La. Tech...also agree Rice will be supremely motivated...I play bowl games light, use them maily to scout for next year, but I do enjoy all of the football during the holidays...BOL to you in the bowl season bud...
VOR...I agree with you about the OSU-Miami game and the late (very late) interference call. It was pretty close between those two conferences that year win/loss percentage-wise going into that game. And the scored showed it.. If Miami had won, the conference records would have ended up Big East (3-1) and Big 10 (4-3)
uke1:
I would just have slight lean towards the under. Ole Miss don't have what I would call a great defense. But they are probably good enough to slow Tech down and hold them under their scoring average. But it will be close. Tech still has an offense that is very hard for most teams to deal with because their wide gaps offensive line is so hard to penetrate. Much of what happens with this total depends on what the Ole Miss offense will be able to do to keep Harrell and Tech off the field. And I think they'll have success against Tech's defense. Something else that could help the under is if they have very cold or bad weather day for that game. Which is possible on Jan 1 in Dallas. GL
Fair enough on the Florida total. I kind of agree with each team having to go the length of the field, but I'm not sure OU is going to fix their defense/special teams problems when facing a team with Florida's talent. I wouldn't be surprised to see OU play even faster than ever with the time to prepare. That is really the only time they had great success against Texas' D, and I think it could be their ace in the hole vs Florida.
I am curious to see how Florida defenses OU. When OU played against the two best defenses they faced this year vs TCU and Texas, RB Demarco Murray wasn't 100 percent in either of those games. I believe the improvement of their run blocking schemes combined with Murray's better running has made OU a very tough run offense to defend. When Ole Miss played Florida, they were able to outmuscle the Florida line, and they gashed them for about 140 yards rushing that day. I believe OU will try to do the same thing with Murray and Brown. And try to play a ball control type of game. Kevin Wilson is a brilliant offensive coordinator. And I'm wondering if he's thinking of trying to just overpower Florida instead of trying to beat them with speed. Which they won't. If there is a position that OU matches up well with Florida, it's got to be OU's offensive line vs Florida's defensive line. In my opinion the Sooners can win that battle. As for OU's defense and special teams, I can't disagree with you. I feel like OU will be somewhat improved on defense because of getting everybody back. But the special teams is still a concern. Especially when facing a top notch unit like Florida's. So the Sooners are really going to need to work on their punting drills and be aware of how good Florida is at getting penetration and blocking punts. Which if it happens can change the momentum of a game in a hurry. And if I was the special teams coach, I would have my kicker practicing pooch kick type kickoffs to keep Florida from making the big return. Stoops is aware of all of this. So I'm sure they are working hard to correct it. It worries me somewhat that the game is played in Florida. But one thing different about this OU team compared to their past teams is the ability to play well on the road. OU has struggled away from home for the last few years now. But this team has the mental toughness that I haven't seen in past OU teams to not only win, but win big in hostile enviornments. Which they are going to need here against a loud SEC crowd.
GS, a couple of questions:
1) What schemes has the OU coaching staff changed since the loss to Texas?
2) You say you like the matchup between the OU O-Line vs the Florida D-line. Really? If the OU line couldn't protect Bradford in the Cotton Bowl, how are they going to protect him against a much better and faster Florida line/ linebackers? I believe, along with others, that the OU O-line is vastly overrated, and quite honestly, fat and slow. When you put extremely athletic players across from them, bad things can and will happen, a la Texas at the Cotton Bowl. Also, something to seriously consider is, who is officiating this game? The Big 12 was outwardly known for letting holding calls go all season. This could come back to bite not only OU, but the Big 12 as a whole come bowl games. This is not to be overlooked.
3) Oklahoma looked far from mentally tough in the Cotton Bowl, and that was only half of a hostile environment. What's shown you that this team has the mental toughness to play well in a, as you say, hostile SEC crowd? Maybe you're counting the Ok. State game? What other game did they play in that had a hostile environment besides the Cotton Bowl, AND, what tough game did they play in this season against a highly ranked team, AWAY FROM HOME, besides Texas? Thanks and BOL this bowl season!
1) What schemes has the OU coaching staff changed since the loss to Texas?
2) You say you like the matchup between the OU O-Line vs the Florida D-line. Really? If the OU line couldn't protect Bradford in the Cotton Bowl, how are they going to protect him against a much better and faster Florida line/ linebackers? I believe, along with others, that the OU O-line is vastly overrated, and quite honestly, fat and slow. When you put extremely athletic players across from them, bad things can and will happen, a la Texas at the Cotton Bowl. Also, something to seriously consider is, who is officiating this game? The Big 12 was outwardly known for letting holding calls go all season. This could come back to bite not only OU, but the Big 12 as a whole come bowl games. This is not to be overlooked.
3) Oklahoma looked far from mentally tough in the Cotton Bowl, and that was only half of a hostile environment. What's shown you that this team has the mental toughness to play well in a, as you say, hostile SEC crowd? Maybe you're counting the Ok. State game? What other game did they play in that had a hostile environment besides the Cotton Bowl, AND, what tough game did they play in this season against a highly ranked team, AWAY FROM HOME, besides Texas? Thanks and BOL this bowl season!
GS, I also believe that there will be a TON of Sooner fans at the Nat'l Champ. game. There's no way that it will be a true Florida home game. People thought the same thing when Texas went to the Rose Bowl against USC, and it turned out to actually be 55% Texas fans to 40% USC fans (5% 3rd party/ non-affiliated team fans). Oklahoma travels well and will be very well represented in South Beach. I take it you're going to the game?
jb...I'm not going to argue with you about this game based on a game that was played two months ago. Your welcome to your opinions. But I'm not going to clog up this thread arguing with you about a game that I'm not even playing. These are my opinions and your not going to change them. So don't try. As for the attrendance at the game. There will be 75,000 Florida fans and 15,000 OU fans.
