#1 OKLAHOMA SOONERS
vs
#2 FLORIDA GATORS
I would first like to say that I think it is a real shame that college football does not have a tournament to decide its champion like EVERY other sport does. I would love to see Utah, USC, Texas, Oklahoma and Florida fight it out on the field rather then a bunch of computers crunching numbers to decide who should play in the National Title.
On to the game.
Although I think that Texas in particular got jobbed and should be playing in this game, I will say that after the last week of the season the two best teams in the country were Oklahoma and Florida, so at least the BCS got that much right. This games pits SEC vs Big XII. Tebow vs Bradford. Stoops vs Meyer.
OKLAHOMA WITH THE BALL:
OU has scored more points this season than any other school in D1 history. The Sooners use a spread set with a hurry up mentality. This offense is all based on the efficiency of QB Sam Bradford, who threw for 48 TDs and just 6 INTs this season. The Sooners will be missing RB DeMarco Murray who tore his hamstring in the Big XII Championship game against Missouri, but will have Chris Brown to replace him. Although Murray was listed as the starter on the team Brown actually led the Sooners with 1,110 yards on the ground this year and 20 TDs. The Sooners also use the hurry up to keep the defenses from making personnel changes to match-up against the Oklahoma four and five receiver sets. Bradford has completed 30 or more passes to five different OU players and ten different players have caught touchdown passes. OU has averaged a play every 23 seconds on offense. The numbers are mind-boggling, take a look:
TOTAL OFFENSE – ranked 3rd nationally
7.05 yards per play
562.08 yards per game
PASSING OFFENSE – 3rd
9.74 yards per attempt
356.6 yards per game
49 touchdowns
7 interceptions
RUSHING OFFENSE – 18th
4.77 yards per carry
205.54 yards per game
45 touchdowns
SCORING – 1st
54.00 points per game
5 straight games of 60+ points
OKLAHOMA ON DEFENSE:
It is somewhat interesting that Bob Stoops is considered a defensive minded coach. He was a defensive coordinator for Steve Spurrier at Florida and his defenses when he first arrived at OU were spectacular, but recently he has left a lot to be desired. The Sooners rush the passer well, averaging over three sacks per game, but then that they won’t show up in the top 40 nationally in any defensive categories. This however can be misleading. The Big XII offensives are all so high powered that the defenses in the conference naturally will have high averages than most. There are five Big XII offenses in the top nine of overall offenses in the nation. The biggest thing that this OU team does on defense is it gives the high-powered offense a short field repeatedly. The Sooners forced 32 turnovers this season (15 fumbles, 17 INTs).
OKLAHOMA ON SPECIAL TEAMS:
The Sooners rank 5th in the nation in kickoff returns, but that is one place they will miss DeMarco Murray. He was their big threat returning kicks. With him gone it is not as dangerous to kick it deep to either Chris Brown or WR Juaquin Iglesias, both who returned kicks after Murray was injured. The kicking coverage is a different story. The Sooners have allowed five kicks to be returned for touchdowns this season, more than any other team. In a game that may come down to field position and who forces the other team to go longer for their touchdowns OU punting situation is not good. The OU punter Mike Knall averages just over 33 yards per kick, and the returners are only getting about 8 yards a try.
FLORIDA WITH THE BALL:
What more can be said about Tim Tebow and what he does for the Gators offense? Tebow has run for over 500 yards (3rd on the team) and passed for over 2,500 yards. If you thought Bradford’s TD to INT ratio was good, how about 28 TDs and just 2 picks all season for Tebow. Plus all the weapons that Urban Meyer has put on the field with him. Percy Harvin, who injured his ankle against Florida State and missed the SEC Title game, will not be 100% but will still play. He is probably the single most dangerous player in all of college football when he touches the ball. He has accounted for over 500 yards in both rushing and receiving and scored 16 touchdowns on top of that. Get this, he has 61 rushing attempts this season and has only been tackled behind the line on scrimmage three times. The team speed that the Gators have is what really separates them from every other team in the nation. On offense you have WR’s like Louis Murphy and Harvin as well as hybrid style players like Chris Rainey and Jeffery Demps that can just flat out fly. Teams cannot run with these guys in one-on-one coverage, and that lets Tebow pick apart zone defenses. The Gators scored 40 or more in five straight games this season against SEC teams, that had never been done before.
FLORIDA ON DEFENSE:
This is the place where the game will be won or lost. The Florida defense will be bigger, stronger and most importantly faster at every position then any team the Sooners have faced this year. Florida will challenge the big OU line with their aggressive pass rush, but for the most part will do that with only their four down linemen. The Gators will not be afraid to match up in single coverage with OU, even with their linebackers, because of their speed. The Gators are very young on defense. They start 1 freshman, 7 sophomores and 3 juniors, so they will have to be very disciplined because this will also be the best offense that Florida has faced this year. The Gators rank in the top 15 in every defensive category, check out the numbers:
RUSH DEFENSE – 15th
3.33 yards per carry
105.3 yards per game
PASS EFFICIENCY DEFENSE – 2nd
10 touchdowns allowed
24 interceptions
TOTAL DEFENSE – 7th
4.40 yards per play
279.31 yards per game
SCORING DEFENSE – 4th
12.8 points per game
19 touchdowns allowed
1 team has scored over 20 points since loss to Ole Miss Sept 27th
TURNOVER MARGIN – 2nd
+22 for the season
FLORIDA SPECIAL TEAMS:
I give a big edge to the Florida special team units and I predict a score for the Gator special teams in this game. The return men are all very dangerous and the kicker has only missed two kicks all season
IF OKLAHOMA WINS THE DIFFERENCE MAKER WILL BE…
Tight End Jermaine Gresham. I know it seems odd to select a TE to be the difference maker in a game packed full of speedy playmakers, but nobody has been able to stop Gresham this season. His size (6’6”, 261) makes him a tough match up for everyone. If the Gators can get away with using a linebacker on him then they win this battle, but if he is running up against guys in that secondary, good luck bringing him down.
IF FLORIDA WINS THE DIFFERENCE MAKER WILL BE…
The defensive line. All season Sam Bradford has been able to sit in the pocket and pick apart defenses, if the Gators can get to him and put him on the move or hurry a few throws it might be enough to throw off the timing of that OU offense.
PREDICTION
I would first like to say that I think it is a real shame that college football does not have a tournament to decide its champion like EVERY other sport does. I would love to see Utah, USC, Texas, Oklahoma and Florida fight it out on the field rather then a bunch of computers crunching numbers to decide who should play in the National Title.
On to the game.
Although I think that Texas in particular got jobbed and should be playing in this game, I will say that after the last week of the season the two best teams in the country were Oklahoma and Florida, so at least the BCS got that much right. This games pits SEC vs Big XII. Tebow vs Bradford. Stoops vs Meyer.
OKLAHOMA WITH THE BALL:
OU has scored more points this season than any other school in D1 history. The Sooners use a spread set with a hurry up mentality. This offense is all based on the efficiency of QB Sam Bradford, who threw for 48 TDs and just 6 INTs this season. The Sooners will be missing RB DeMarco Murray who tore his hamstring in the Big XII Championship game against Missouri, but will have Chris Brown to replace him. Although Murray was listed as the starter on the team Brown actually led the Sooners with 1,110 yards on the ground this year and 20 TDs. The Sooners also use the hurry up to keep the defenses from making personnel changes to match-up against the Oklahoma four and five receiver sets. Bradford has completed 30 or more passes to five different OU players and ten different players have caught touchdown passes. OU has averaged a play every 23 seconds on offense. The numbers are mind-boggling, take a look:
TOTAL OFFENSE – ranked 3rd nationally
7.05 yards per play
562.08 yards per game
PASSING OFFENSE – 3rd
9.74 yards per attempt
356.6 yards per game
49 touchdowns
7 interceptions
RUSHING OFFENSE – 18th
4.77 yards per carry
205.54 yards per game
45 touchdowns
SCORING – 1st
54.00 points per game
5 straight games of 60+ points
OKLAHOMA ON DEFENSE:
It is somewhat interesting that Bob Stoops is considered a defensive minded coach. He was a defensive coordinator for Steve Spurrier at Florida and his defenses when he first arrived at OU were spectacular, but recently he has left a lot to be desired. The Sooners rush the passer well, averaging over three sacks per game, but then that they won’t show up in the top 40 nationally in any defensive categories. This however can be misleading. The Big XII offensives are all so high powered that the defenses in the conference naturally will have high averages than most. There are five Big XII offenses in the top nine of overall offenses in the nation. The biggest thing that this OU team does on defense is it gives the high-powered offense a short field repeatedly. The Sooners forced 32 turnovers this season (15 fumbles, 17 INTs).
OKLAHOMA ON SPECIAL TEAMS:
The Sooners rank 5th in the nation in kickoff returns, but that is one place they will miss DeMarco Murray. He was their big threat returning kicks. With him gone it is not as dangerous to kick it deep to either Chris Brown or WR Juaquin Iglesias, both who returned kicks after Murray was injured. The kicking coverage is a different story. The Sooners have allowed five kicks to be returned for touchdowns this season, more than any other team. In a game that may come down to field position and who forces the other team to go longer for their touchdowns OU punting situation is not good. The OU punter Mike Knall averages just over 33 yards per kick, and the returners are only getting about 8 yards a try.
FLORIDA WITH THE BALL:
What more can be said about Tim Tebow and what he does for the Gators offense? Tebow has run for over 500 yards (3rd on the team) and passed for over 2,500 yards. If you thought Bradford’s TD to INT ratio was good, how about 28 TDs and just 2 picks all season for Tebow. Plus all the weapons that Urban Meyer has put on the field with him. Percy Harvin, who injured his ankle against Florida State and missed the SEC Title game, will not be 100% but will still play. He is probably the single most dangerous player in all of college football when he touches the ball. He has accounted for over 500 yards in both rushing and receiving and scored 16 touchdowns on top of that. Get this, he has 61 rushing attempts this season and has only been tackled behind the line on scrimmage three times. The team speed that the Gators have is what really separates them from every other team in the nation. On offense you have WR’s like Louis Murphy and Harvin as well as hybrid style players like Chris Rainey and Jeffery Demps that can just flat out fly. Teams cannot run with these guys in one-on-one coverage, and that lets Tebow pick apart zone defenses. The Gators scored 40 or more in five straight games this season against SEC teams, that had never been done before.
FLORIDA ON DEFENSE:
This is the place where the game will be won or lost. The Florida defense will be bigger, stronger and most importantly faster at every position then any team the Sooners have faced this year. Florida will challenge the big OU line with their aggressive pass rush, but for the most part will do that with only their four down linemen. The Gators will not be afraid to match up in single coverage with OU, even with their linebackers, because of their speed. The Gators are very young on defense. They start 1 freshman, 7 sophomores and 3 juniors, so they will have to be very disciplined because this will also be the best offense that Florida has faced this year. The Gators rank in the top 15 in every defensive category, check out the numbers:
RUSH DEFENSE – 15th
3.33 yards per carry
105.3 yards per game
PASS EFFICIENCY DEFENSE – 2nd
10 touchdowns allowed
24 interceptions
TOTAL DEFENSE – 7th
4.40 yards per play
279.31 yards per game
SCORING DEFENSE – 4th
12.8 points per game
19 touchdowns allowed
1 team has scored over 20 points since loss to Ole Miss Sept 27th
TURNOVER MARGIN – 2nd
+22 for the season
FLORIDA SPECIAL TEAMS:
I give a big edge to the Florida special team units and I predict a score for the Gator special teams in this game. The return men are all very dangerous and the kicker has only missed two kicks all season
IF OKLAHOMA WINS THE DIFFERENCE MAKER WILL BE…
Tight End Jermaine Gresham. I know it seems odd to select a TE to be the difference maker in a game packed full of speedy playmakers, but nobody has been able to stop Gresham this season. His size (6’6”, 261) makes him a tough match up for everyone. If the Gators can get away with using a linebacker on him then they win this battle, but if he is running up against guys in that secondary, good luck bringing him down.
IF FLORIDA WINS THE DIFFERENCE MAKER WILL BE…
The defensive line. All season Sam Bradford has been able to sit in the pocket and pick apart defenses, if the Gators can get to him and put him on the move or hurry a few throws it might be enough to throw off the timing of that OU offense.
PREDICTION
I think both teams are going to have success moving the ball, but I think that the difference in the game will be the overall speed of the Florida secondary and skill players. They will give the Sooners something they have not seen all year. I expect it to be close throughout the first half with Florida ahead by 3-7 points, but I expect Florida to pour it on in the second half and win their second title in three years rather easily. FLORIDA 45, OKLAHOMA 24
1 comment:
Love the format! It is going to look great with the Panthers holding up the National Championship Trophy on the lead photo!
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