THE REITMEYER RANT PLAYOFFS

NATIONAL SEMI-FINALS
GAME 1
Florida @ TCU, Amon G. Carter Stadium
Saturday Jan 2nd, 3:30
Weather at kickoff- 53 degrees, partly cloudy, 8 mph winds
In a match-up of mirroring teams Florida and TCU battle for the rights to be the first team to get into the first every Reitmeyer Rant College Football Championship Game. Both Florida and TCU have explosive offensives, but their defenses are what carry the team.

Florida enters the game after beating Virginia Tech in the 1st Round 31-3 and then defeating Cincinnati 34-20 in the East Regional Finals last week.

TCU has cruised into this week’s game dominating Miami in the 1st Round 45-7 and then cruising past Boise State in Phoenix 51-21 to get to this point.

TCU enters the game winning their past 15 games at home; they have not lost at Amon G. Carter Stadium since October 18th 2007, when they lost to Utah 27-20.

This game started out slow as both teams defense stood tall as the offenses tried to feel out the other team. After going 3-and-out on their first two drives Florida struck first when Tim Tebow hooked up with TE Aaron Hernandez for an 18-yard score with 4:29 left in the first quarter. The Florida defense who had two sacks on TCU’s first two possessions stepped up and did some scoring of their own. On a third and 13 Andy Dalton tried to force a pass to Antoine Hicks, but Janoris Jenkins stepped in front of it a darted down the sideline for 28 yards and another Gators touchdown. After that, the rout was on.

TCU was able to mount a drive midway through the 2nd quarter and cut the Gator lead to 17-3 at the half, but the Horned Frogs would have an uphill battle in the second half.

TCU got the kick to start the second half and played very conservative in their first possession, possibly just trying to keep the Gator offense off the field. Despite having entered the game with the best scoring defense in the nation TCU was being outgained 274-31 at halftime and Florida had begun to move the ball at will on them. The two-headed running monster of Michael Tucker and Joseph Turner did most of the work on the opening drive for TCU. Turner carried the ball 4 times for 21 yards and Tucker added 33 yards on 3 carries to get the Horned Frogs into the Red Zone. After abandoning the run once in the Red Zone, Dalton threw three straight incompletions and TCU had to settle for another FG.

Tim Tebow saw the blood and went for the kill after watching TCU eat up nearly six minutes of clock and only come away with a field goal. The Gators needed just four plays to add to the lead on a shovel pass to Chris Rainey that went 41 yards for another Gators touchdown. Now up 24-6 midway through the third quarter the Florida defense pinned their ears back and attacked the Andy Dalton and the TCU offense.

The Gators had five sacks in the second half and nine for the game, and also picked off Dalton two more times in the second half. Joe Haden returned his interception 71 yards before being tackled at the 13 yard line, setting up another Florida score. It was the first time that Dalton had thrown three or more interceptions since the last home loss for the Horned Frogs nearly two and a half years ago.

Tim Tebow will get a chance to win his third national championship with the Gators next week in the Rose Bowl in Pasadena.
FLORIDA 38, TCU 6

GAME 2
Oregon @ Alabama, Bryant-Denny Stadium
Saturday Jan 2nd, 8:00
Weather at kickoff - 30 degrees and clear, light winds
Opposites attract in semi-final #2. We have the speed and finesse of the Oregon Ducks travelling south to take on the size and strength of the Alabama Crimson Tide.

#1 seeded Alabama enters the game carrying the nation’s longest winning streak at 15 games. They have convincing wins over Pitt in the first round and Georgia Tech in the second round to get them into this game. Alabama has also won 15 straight homes games, their last home loss came in November of 2007 when Louisiana Monroe, upset them 21-14.

Oregon is the highest seeded team remaining at #7. They defeated Penn State 38-20 in the first round, and then beat Texas last week on a last second FG in a thrilling 48-45 victory.

This marks the first time Oregon has visited a team from the SEC since opening the 2003 season with a 42-34 win at Mississippi State. It is the first time Oregon has ever faced Alabama.

The Crimson Tide won the toss and chose to defer until the second half allowing Oregon to take the opening kick. The Ducks went three-and-out on their first drive completing two short passes on second and third down after a two-yard loss by running back LaMichael James on first down. Alabama took control with good field position after a nice punt return by Javier Arenas. The Tide then gave the Ducks a steady dose of Mark Ingram and Trent Richardson. Alabama moved the ball slowly, but effectively, down the field and attempted only one pass their entire first drive. Alabama finished the 42-yard drive with Mark Ingram hammering it home on a one-yard run on fourth and goal.

The next Oregon drive was completely different from their first. Oregon took over at the 31 after the Alabama score and using screen passes, draw plays and misdirection, to keep the Alabama defense on its heels. It seemed to work as the Ducks put together a 11 play, 69 yard drive for a touchdown. No play on the drive was longer than eight yards, and Jeremiah Masoli capped the drive with a qb keeper from two yards out to tie the score.

After some defensive adjustments from both sides, the scoring slowed down considerably. Alabama won a second quarter field goal kicking contest when Leigh Tiffin made two, to Oregon’s Morgan Flint making just one. Alabama led at the half 13-10.

The Crimson Tide came out in the second half poised to repeat the style of play from the first half. After running the ball five straight plays, the Tide went play action and Greg McElroy found Marquis Maze for a 51-yard scoring strike. A hold by the Bama defense and another field goal by Tiffin put the pressure on Oregon as the entered the fourth quarter down 23-10.

Oregon came out of the gate in the final stanza and tried to get it all back on one play, but it was Mark Barron that made the play on the ball, as he intercepted the Masoli pass attempt. Alabama then played keep away from the Ducks using their power running game with Richardson and Ingram to keep the chains and the clock moving. Ingram finished the drive off with a 7-yard touchdown run and put the game on ice.

Oregon made a valiant comeback attempt scoring 10 points in the final 5:16 of the game, but it was too little too late.

Alabama will be playing for the national title game for their first time since 1992 when they beat Miami in the Sugar Bowl. The Tide will be seeing a familiar opponent in the title game as the Reitmeyer Rant Playoff will have an all-SEC title game.
ALABAMA 30, OREGON 20

NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP
Monday January 11, 2010
Pasadena, CA
The Rose Bowl
#5 Florida Gators vs #1 Alabama Crimson Tide