Teams who have a legit claim to CFB #1
01/06/2009 03:52 p.m. | Sports
Florida, Oklahoma, USC, and Utah.
Those four, which will be three on Friday, have a real claim. Let's break it down by team, and go ahead and mention the Longhorns who don't have a claim.
Florida - SEC champs and only have one loss on their belt. The one loss was to a strong Ole Miss team, and it was by 1 point, in a game that Florida missed an extra point. Ole Miss showed their strength by pounding 11-1 Texas Tech in the Cotton Bowl this past week. Florida beat Alabama convincingly, and is the fastest team in the league.
Oklahoma - Heisman quarterback running a very powerful offense. 60+ in their last 5 games, and 58 at half in the game before the streak started. The beat Tech, and their only loss was to a very good (but not great) Texas team.
USC - Best defense in the country, hands down. The obliterated Ohio State, and suffered a tough loss to Oregon State early in the year. Lots of turnovers and they were on the road. While the Pac-10 isn't perfect, they have a decent bowl record and aren't as soft as the ACC or Big East (or Big Ten). And they stuck it to Penn State in the Rose Bowl, while QB Mark Sanchez had a career day.
Utah - One word, undefeated. They beat everyone. They surprised Alabama, who had been number one for a few weeks. Their offense is inventive, their defense is strong, and they have a decent chance at beating Florida. While they play in a mid-major, they will never really get a fair shot until they play teams like Florida and USC during the season. But when that happens, they will likely lose, and then it won't really matter.
Texas - poor Longhorns. You beat Oklahoma by 10, but Florida will do much worse to them. You lost to Tech, who got pummeled by Oklahoma and Ole Miss. And while the loss to Tech was a close one, so was your win against a mediocre Ohio State. The same Ohio State who was crushed by USC. But, playing the what if game, if Crabtree dropped the ball, and Texas beat Tech, then they would be getting set to lose to Florida. The fact is Texas isn't that great, and they should be happy with a Fiesta bowl win, because it could be a championship loss, and a big one at that.
I am already excited about the Tebow victory. What a great player. I hope he goes 2/2 on passing/running TD's. Bob Stoops, prepare to have you world rocked in the big game, again.