Ball or Nuthin' » NCAA Football

Alabama’s Win Does Not Validate SEC’s Aura of Dominance

T Lamont — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 04:56:40 +0000

With the Alabama Crimson Tide’s dominating win over the undefeated LSU Tigers, most will buy the outcome at face value and proclaim that Alabama proved that both teams belonged in tonight’s title game.

And they’d be right. But not for the reason that many think.

In their earlier meeting this season, Alabama outgained LSU, and controlled the flow of the game. However, there were a few select plays that allowed the Tigers to either put points on the board or keep the Tide from putting points on the board:

- Two missed field goals by Wade Foster (Alabama kicker)
- Another Alabama field goal attempt blocked by the Tigers
- A Jordan Jefferson special – - turning a broken play into a 34-yard pass connection
- An interception and 33-yard return by the Tigers’ Morris Claiborne
- The now infamous 4th quarter interception by Ed Reid
- A horrible set of offensive execution by the Tide in the game’s only overtime session

These events enabled LSU to escape with a 9-6 victory over Alabama at Bryant-Denny Stadium. And anyone watching that game should clearly recall feeling that way when the teams left the gridiron.

Dont'a Hightower and Courtney Upshaw were the obstacles that Les Miles' offense could not overcome.

And was it ‘Bama’s defense that was intimidating the LSU offense? Or was it plain and simple offensive ineptitude that defined the Tigers’ inability to move the ball?

Does it really matter?

Tonight, Alabama dominated in the same fashion, but also made a drastic improvement – it didn’t give Louisiana State anything to capitalize on…because it didn’t make any mistakes.

So, while the BCS had no choice but to place LSU in this game, making the Crimson Tide its opponent was indeed the right thing to do. And tonight, they proved that they are, and were, the better team.

Analysts and fans may began to jump on the SEC bandwagon after tonight’s result. However, they only need to remember how dominant ‘Bama was in its loss on November 5. Therefore, the Tide’s win doesn’t provide anyone with revelation of greatness for the SEC. They are the premiere conference in NCAA football, but errors from the nation’s best team opened the door for a less-talented team to rise above them in the rankings.

But as far as Alabama is concerned, revenge is a dish best saved for the BCS title game.

Sadly, Paterno Had To Go

T Lamont — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 06:51:02 +0000

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Child abuse. Sexual misconduct.

These are ugly terms that anyone, especially public figures, would make grave attempts to stay as far away from as possible.

They are very dissimilar to drugs and murder because, in most cases, the victims don’t convey a general sense of helplessness – both physically and mentally. Everyone looks to come to the aid of a child in trouble, often times without regard for themselves.

And that’s exactly what has made things so perilous for Joe Paterno.

If I receive information that someone who I am ultimately responsible for, say, one of my children, committed an act that inflicted harm upon another person, it is my job to do what is necessary to address the situation. I cannot leave it to the judgment of the offender, simply because of his/her demonstrated incapability of making clear decisions.

Joe Paterno's legacy will be tarnished by the circumstances of his dismissal from PSU.

It would also be my responsibility to determine the appropriate course of action to ensure that the offender is properly disciplined, and receives a punishment that is deemed suitable for the improper offense.

An assistant coach (in this case, defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky) is generally viewed as a subordinate under the head coach, thus, bestowing Paterno with some sense of inferred responsibility for Sandusky’s actions. As the patriarch of the Penn State football program, Joe Pa should have been held at the highest level of liability.

If you perform a little word association with anyone that you know, say “Penn State” to them. I’d be willing to bet that only the smallest fraction would not respond with “Joe Paterno.” The fact is that Paterno is Penn State. And then it really begins to make sense that Paterno’s dismissal is truly “for the best interest of Penn State.”

The best interest is not for the university to ignore information alleging that there was sexual misconduct with a minor by one of its employees.

Whether Joe Paterno did anything or not is not the question. The fact that he did nothing is more than enough to seal his fate.

LSU Wins Defense Dominated Game in OT, 9-6

T Lamont — Sun, 06 Nov 2011 04:06:43 +0000

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When #1 meets #2, a battle of wills is usually expected.

But very rarely is it realized to the degree that it was tonight.

In a classic tussle that may have determined the BCS champion, Louisiana State outlasted Alabama in overtime, 9-6.

This powerhouse matchup featured two ferocious defenses, and neither of them would disappoint. Both teams forced turnovers that kept their opponents at bay.

The Tigers were able to bottle up Heisman candidate Trent Richardson. Richardson flashed his explosiveness on a couple of runs, and at the end of a reception, but the LSU defensive speed keyed on him as the game progressed. Les Miles’ team caught him behind the line on back-to-back carries late in the fourth quarter, stalling a potential game-winning drive by the Crimson Tide. But the play of the game certainly came from LSU safety Eric Reid, who made a spectacular read and came up with an unbelievable interception on a trick pass play intended for tight end Michael Williams (which would have positioned the Tide on the LSU 1-yard line).

Alabama’s defense made things tough on LSU all evening. The Tide consistently stuffed the Tigers’ ground game, and pressured starting quarterback Jarrett Lee into throwing two interceptions.

Les Miles' defense came up with several big plays that led LSU to a tough road win.

But in overtime, it was Alabama that had the tide turn on them. LSU won the coin toss, and made the traditional choice of deferring to the home team to start the first OT session. A startling series of ineffective plays sealed the unfortunate fate for the Tide:

- A screen pass to the middle of the field was muffed due the to immense traffic around the intended receiver, Trent Richardson.

- A formation penalty which knocked Nick Saban’s team back 5 yards.

- An incomplete pass.

- Tide signal caller A.J. McCarron gets sacked.

This forces Cade Foster, who had already missed two field goals earlier in the contest, to attempt a 52-yarder…just to give Alabama a score in its first overtime possession. His confidence was clearly lacking, and the result – a miss – could have been predicted long before he took the field.

That left the Tigers with very little to do – gain a few yards to make the winning field goal attempt somewhat easier, and protect the ball. As expected, the visitors kept the ball on the ground. But Michael Ford found some running room on the outside edge after getting a pitch from Jordan Jefferson, moving the rock down to the Alabama 7-yard line. After a couple of ensuing running plays, Drew Alleman lined up a 25-yard field goal that split the uprights.

After all is said and done, the Tide will have to look back at the opportunities that it let slip by. Foster missed three field goals, two of which came from over 50 yards and another which was blocked. And, of course, Reid’s pick took Alabama out of a scoring opportunity in regulation that could have at least put three points on the board.

Not A Bad Day For the ACC

T Lamont — Sun, 18 Sep 2011 15:08:36 +0000

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For decades, the Atlantic Coast Conference has been noted as a basketball powerhouse. And over the past five or so years, Saturday mornings in the fall have proven what everyone has said to be correct.

To put it bluntly, ACC teams have been horrible on the gridiron.

There’s always a certain level of strength of schedule-type acceptance when it comes to playing teams in your own conference. Blowing out your conference mates would only damage the nation’s perception of the parity within the group. And there hasn’t been much statistical dominance in the ACC in quite some time. But it hasn’t been because teams haven’t been trying.

It’s been because no teams have been good enough to be dominant.

Sure, Florida State had its moments when it first joined the league. Miami was a big stage team for years. And we’re accustomed to seeing Virginia Tech finagle its way to the Orange Bowl on an annual basis.

But the BCS has to give somebody from just about every conference a chance to shine, right?

Perhaps the truest measure of the ACC’s ability can be seen in its non-conference schedule against the NCAA’s biggest opponents. The nation’s best programs have made a mockery of the conference, coming up with virtually all of wins in the inter-conference showdowns.

And what’s the kicker?

The ACC’s performance has been so bleak that a day like yesterday needs to be celebrated.

Clemson dominated Auburn – and it was domination, indeed. The ACC’s Tigers racked up 624 yards of offense against a program which is usually noted for its tough defense. As dictated by its equal aplomb running (238 yards) and passing (386 yards), Clemson did what it wanted to in a big matchup against a ranked opponent.

Jacory Harris and the Hurricanes got out to the early lead and never looked back against Ohio State.

The very mention of Ohio State and Miami traditionally draws even the casual football fan to the television set. They’ve slipped up a bit in recent years, but the press continues to keep the Buckeyes up on a lofty perch (albeit with an unusually low #17 ranking). The Hurricanes controlled this game behind Lamar Miller 184 yards, and by the defense keeping Ohio State one dimensional (only 35 yards passing).

Finally, nightcap action saw Seminoles of Florida State in a neck-and-neck duel with Oklahoma. Florida State knotted the score at 13 in the fourth quarter, but the Sooners countered with an eight play, 83-yard drive that put the game out of reach for the Seminoles’ low-powered offense. Being ranked #5 in the nation, Florida State certainly can’t be satisfied with moral victories. However, the result of this game remained a far cry from the outcomes of past top notch inter-conference matchups featuring and ACC team. The Seminoles represented themselves respectably, and that was something that the conference sorely needed.

Although the ACC accounted for itself well last night, it was still only one night. There remains an incredibly large amount of the season left for the conference to show its true colors.

Fans of programs in the conference can only hope that those colors look a lot like they did on Saturday night.

Plenty to Correct For Virginia Tech

T Lamont — Sun, 11 Sep 2011 03:26:50 +0000

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Many fans and analysts are quick to dispel the notion that there are moral victories in any sport, particularly football. And although it is clearly a matter of personal interpretation, we can be assured that the majority of coaches have the opposing sentiment.

In other words, when a team sticks close to a team that is generally considered to be superior, the former is thought of as an overachiever – at least for that one game.

But even if the moral victory philosophy doesn’t sit well, there is definitely a such thing as a moral defeat.

Sure, the Virginia Tech Hokies strolled into Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium on the heels of beating down Appalachian State, 66-13. In such a massacre, it becomes difficult to hypothesize about how good a team really is due to the contrast in the stature of the competing programs. But today, they tackled a familiar foe – one fully capable of pulling of an upset.

East Carolina has faced the Hokies frequently in recent years, and struck fear into Beamer’s team last season when they led their contest at halftime. But a second half collapse let Virginia Tech off the hook and propelled them to an 11-game winning streak, which culminated in a berth in the Orange Bowl.

Today’s battle was much closer throughout, as the Pirates eventually fell victim to a 17-10 score in favor of the visitors.

For ECU fans, this was not an easy pill to swallow – but it was a bearable one, nonetheless. They expected to lose this game, and they lost it in a good fashion. As for VT, well, let’s just say that they have lots to work on…including the following:

Special Teams Play: It amazes me how many analysts still hold on to the old adage about ‘Beamerball’ and Virginia Tech’s stellar special teams play. Punt blocks, good kicking, and special teams coverage were strengths of the 90′s and early new millennium editions of the Hokies. However, the truth is that opponents have victimized Tech more in recent years than the Hokies have victimized them. Today’s game proved to be no different, as the Hokies missed a field goal and lost yardage on a couple of punt return attempts. By contrast, ECU was very solid on special teams, giving good protection to their punter and displaying above average coverage on punts.

After some inconsistent results in the passing game, Wilson became the Hokies only option.

Passing Game / Playcalling: Tyrod Taylor is on the Ravens roster. So, a new era has arrived, and the ballyhooed Logan Thomas is finally under center. In his first NCAA road start, it was a tale of two halves for the 6’6″ sophomore. Thomas was incorporated early and often as a passer in the Hokies’ offensive schemes. After moving the ball well on two long first half drives, VT ended with no points. A missed 30-yard field goal attempt and a miraculous back of the end zone interception were the reasons that the Hokies were held to 3 first half points.

In typical Hokie-playcalling fashion, the visitors neglected a balanced attack and started to pound the ball on the ground. Now, we all knew that the Hokies had a physical advantage over the Pirates, and they began to exploit that by giving ECU a heavy dose of the speedy David Wilson (26 carries, 138 yards). Although this should have been a key part of their game plan from kickoff, the adjustment was clearly a circumstance of Thomas’ struggles. Virginia Tech was able to squeeze out a couple of touchdowns, and its defense (which played great all day) ensured that the Pirates would not get into any sort of offensive rhythm.

They got the job done, but at the expense of their new star quarterback’s confidence. It’ll be interesting to see how this plays out in the weeks to come.

Focus: The Hokies allowed themselves to be outfocused by the home team. Virginia Tech didn’t come out ready to play, allowing the Pirates to set the game’s tempo in the early going. But most notably, VT made many execution errors and were whistled for 12 penalties that accounted for 92 yards. Those totals more than double the norm for the Hokies, and any team that would have been just a little better than ECU would have walked away a winner.