1) Florida State Seminoles (beat No. 2 Auburn Tigers 34-31 to win National Championship)
Florida State could have beaten any team in the country this year, and that includes Alabama. It all starts with their star freshman quarterback, Jameis Winston who won the Heisman en route to leading the Seminoles to their first national title in what seems like forever. Winston had arguably the greatest season by a freshman, setting records in passing yards and touchdowns. He also had a future first round receiver in Kelvin Benjamin, a 6'5 phenom who turned 54 catches into over 1000 yards and a whopping 15 touchdowns, the biggest of which won the national championship game with 13 seconds left. Winston was surrounded by other veteran receivers in Rashad Greene and Kenny Shaw who combined for 2000 yards and another 15 touchdowns. Factor in a rush attack that produced 2800 yards on the ground over 14 games, good for 200 a game which helped take pressure off of Jameis to make his transition easier. Defensively, Florida State ranked in the top ten in almost every category. Their game against Auburn was only the second time all season that they had given up more than 20 points per game. The entire defense is riddled with NFL caliber players, and it showed when they limited teams like Miami and Clemson to 17 points and 14 points, respectively. All in all, everything just fell into place perfectly for this team that capitalized on so many opportunities to win the final championship game of the BCS era.2) Michigan State Spartans (beat No. 5 Stanford Cardinal 24-20 to win the Rose Bowl)
Even though they won the Rose Bowl, I still feel like Michigan State is still underrated. A lone early season loss to Notre Dame is really all that stood between this team and a shot at the national championship game. They still got to play in Pasadena for the first time in 25 years, and they won in great, old school fashion. Stanford came into the game as more than a touchdown favorite, but after the first drive the Spartans completely dominated the game. Michigan State's defense was the focal point of the team all year, a unit that ranked in the top three in all defensive statistics this year. They had relentless pass rushers and a secondary that earned the nickname "No Fly Zone" because of their ability to shutdown opposing receivers. Cardinal quarterback Kevin Hogan only completed 10 of his 18 passes against their secondary with one throw ending up as an interception. Offensively, this team struggled out of the gate as they had some difficulty scoring on some of their early, non-conference foes. But sophomore Connor Cook took on more responsibilities as the year progressed and became a strength on offense as opposed to a liability. What really helped was the emergence of Jeremy Langford as a true successor to Leveon Bell. Langford ran for 1400 yards and 18 touchdowns this year, often taking the pressure off of Cook and allowing the passing game to open up even more. Michigan State returns a ton of talent on both sides that should put them in top ten consideration next year.3) Auburn Tigers (lost to No. 1 Florida State Seminoles 31-34 in National Championship Game)
Auburn's magical season came to a disappointing end in the championship game that they lost with less than fifteen seconds left. In reality, Auburn really should have won this game with the way they dominated the first half. They posted a total of 449 yards, well above what Florida State was used to giving up this season, and were able to get their yards both through the air and on the ground. Tre Mason had another great game against the ferocious front seven of the Seminoles, gaining 195 yards and a touchdown on 34 carries. He was able to have the same success that he had had in the previous two games, often not getting touched until he was at the next level of the defense. What hurt Auburn in this game was the lack of rushing yards from their quarterback, Nick Marshall, who only gained 45 yards on the ground after averaged almost 125 in the regular season. He made some good plays through the air, but also threw an interception that allowed Florida State to creep back into the game. The defense played much better than I expected, but they could not stop Famous Jameis in the most crucial situation of the game. I don't blame them for not being able to stop the Kelvin Benjamin touchdown as that was a huge mismatch from the get-go (Benjamin is 6'5; CB Chris Davis is 5'11). But they let up a couple of big plays on the last drive that allowed the Seminoles to take the lead for good.4) Missouri Tigers (beat No. 13 Oklahoma State Cowboys 41-31 to win the Cotton Bowl)
Everyone talked about the turn around that Auburn made, but Missouri also went from a very dismal season (5-7; 2-6 in the SEC) before turning it around this year. It only took them one year to get acclimated to the way the SEC plays, and it showed in how they beat their former Big 12 rival. James Franklin struggled mightily to throw the ball, completing only 15 of his 40 passes, but he still made enough plays through the air to keep the defenses on their heels. The biggest contributor on offense was Henry Josey, who turned 12 carries into three touchdowns and 92 yards. Head coach Gary Pinkel has to be a little concerned that Josey has decided to enter the NFL draft this year. Defensively, Missouri did a fantastic job of limiting the Cowboy's air raid offense. Clint Chelf was forced into two interceptions while a fumble at the end of the game was taken to the house by the Tigers defense that helped seal the victory. With Florida down and Georgia and South Carolina losing their starting quarterbacks, next year could be a repeat year for Missouri as SEC East champs.5) Oklahoma Sooners (beat No. 3 Alabama Crimson Tide 45-31 in the Sugar Bowl)
This was probably the most impressive win of the entire bowl season. Alabama hadn't given up more than 40 points in any game in over a decade, and they got plastered by Bob Stoops who had been taking jabs at the SEC defenses this offseason. That is a hell of a statistic, but you should be even more impressed by the defense that forced a jaw dropping five turnovers against a Nick Saban coached team. The defensive backs intercepted AJ McCarron twice, one of which was almost taken to the house. They also forced three fumbles, the biggest of which came on Alabama's last drive and helped clinch the Sugar Bowl for Oklahoma. Despite giving up over 500 yards, the Sooners' defense was just more physical and surprisingly faster off the whistle than the Alabama offense. Oklahoma has found their quarterback for the next several years in Trevor Knight, who got the nod to start just minutes before the game began. He had the most successful day in the air of any quarterback I've ever seen against Alabama. While he did throw a pick, he more than made up for it with four touchdown passes and 350 passing yards. He made pinpoint passes to all areas of the field, including some incredible deep passes that landed perfectly in the hands of the receiver in stride. Stoops put this game into his quarterback's hands, and it definitely paid off in one of the biggest wins of his career.6) South Carolina Gamecocks (beat No. 19 Wisconsin Badgers 34-24 in the Capital One Bowl)
This is a little bit further back in the rankings than other polls have, but knock against this win is that Wisconsin lost their starting quarterback during the game which forced in Curt Phillips, a senior who has barely played in his career and threw two picks in the second half. Still, Wisconsin probably wouldn't have won this game considering the fact that they couldn't do anything about Connor Shaw, who tore them apart for 312 yards and three touchdowns on 88% passing. Wide receiver Bruce Ellington was a monster in the passing game, catching 6 balls for 140 yards and two touchdowns while Shaq Roland caught another 6 passes for 112 yards. The Gamecocks barely had to run the ball with how well they were moving it with the pass attack. They are a little bit lucky that Joel Stave went down with an injury as he had thrown for two touchdowns on only 12 pass attempts, but they were also having a huge issue with stopping the Wisconsin rush attack. Melvin Gordon and James White had their typical productive days, but it is hard to come back from a deficit with the running game. South Carolina had a great year, but it is going to be hard for them to repeat their success of the last three years with all the talent leaving for the NFL.7) Alabama Crimson Tide (lost to No. 11 Oklahoma Sooners 31-45 in the Sugar Bowl)
I understand the notion that Alabama didn't want to be here as they were seeking a third straight title, but it doesn't even begin to explain what happened in this game. I buy that argument, but only for a fraction of what occurred during the course of the game. You can't tell me that those seniors like AJ McCarron and CJ Mosley wanted to go out losing two in a row on the national stage. They simply got outplayed in this game despite outgaining the Sooners by 90 yards. The offensive line did not hold up very well against the speed rush of Oklahoma's front four, and it showed as McCarron was uncomfortable in the pocket all night and threw two costly picks that Oklahoma was able to take advantage of. McCarron was still able to throw fro 380 yards, but it was clear that he was not used the speed of the defensive line, as he was sacked five times in addition to his three turnovers. Alabama still made enough plays on offense to keep this competitive however. They have a fantastic young running back in Derrick Henry, who accounted for two touchdowns and 161 yards on nine touches. The problem as you can tell by the score was on defense, where a major liability that had existed all year was again exposed. The secondary could not do anything against the freshman, Trevor Knight. He picked them apart seemingly at will while the receivers all had great separation and made a lot of Tide players miss when in open space. This game was a very ugly way to end such a promising season.8) Clemson Tigers (beat No. 7 Ohio State Buckeyes 40-35 in the Orange Bowl)
Clemson finally captured a BCS Bowl victory in the last year possible. As was expected, Tajh Boyd and Sammy Watkins absolutely destroyed the weak Ohio State secondary. Boyd accounted for all six of Clemson's touchdowns, starting the game off with a 48 yard run up the middle of the defense to take an early lead. After that, he played a nearly flawless game by chucking it to Watkins. Watkins hauled in an astonishing 16 catches for 227 yards and two touchdowns. He made every catch, most coming off of quick passes to the outside were he had room to turn up field. He also had a fantastic touchdown grab over the defensive back where he simply plucked the ball out of the air. Defensively, Clemson did a fantastic job of harassing Braxton Miller all day, as he was sacked five times and was forced into two interceptions. He still accounted for four touchdowns, but they did not come easy. Carlos Hyde did not have a great day like he was used to either. While he still averaged 4.5 yards a carry, they came at a premium and was not as successful in busting off the eight and nine yard runs on first down. Clemson totally deserved this as they completely outplayed Ohio State, and won their first, and last, BCS Bowl.
No comments:
Post a Comment