The bowl pairings are out and the Buckeyes are in the Fiesta Bowl playing what will likely be a very angry and motivated Texas Longhorn team. As I posted earlier this week, the bowl scenario is potentially disastrous for the Big Ten, with the probability of an 0-5 record with two other games that I think are “pushes”.

While I think Texas will provide a fantastic barometer for the 2009 OSU offense, my early advice for Big Ten fans is be afraid, be very afraid. Much more to come this week.

You’re welcome.

With the bowl announcements happening as I type this, the national championship appears to be set with Florida’s comeback win over Alabama and Oklahoma’s beatdown of another helpless Big XII opponent.

1.) I nailed Florida-Alabama, with the exception that I didn’t give Alabama quite enough credit. Nor did I quite give Percy Harvin quite enough credit- Florida is clearly a different team without him. I wrote:

The only thing that I think will keep it close to the 10 point spread is the injury of Percy Harvin. Florida has loads of playmakers, but Harvin is the guy that most of the offense is built off of. It’s more than the fact that he’s the second-leading rusher and leading receiver on the team; he sets up almost as much production for other players because he garners so much attention. If he’s not playing quality minutes, the Gators will look different on offense, the effect of which could go either way.

The draw play up the middle wasn’t there for Florida (aka “Harvin specialty”), but the passing game was varied and key and in the end, made up for the loss of Harvin. Six different Florida receivers caught passes and three of four touchdowns came through the air.

I was surprised at the success Alabama had on the ground, but the physical play has been their bread and butter. Plus, Glen Coffee is my second favorite running back. That dude’s going to be a good pro.

In the end, it was Tim Tebow putting the Gators on his shoulders and willing his team to the win. Alabama owned the 3rd quarter but Tim Tebow led the Gators to two consecutive scoring drives in the 4th quarter- one for 62 yards, the other for 65 yards. Whether Florida is the 1st or 2nd best team in the country is academic, they’re certainly the best team in the SEC. And for Alabama, they put up a great effort, but the showed to be what they are- a very good defensive team and a pretty one-dimensional offensive team. One could argue that without Julio Jones, ‘Bama could have had three losses this year, not one. That’s why recruiting the premier players does matter- one guy can make the difference.

2.) Missouri could not make a stop against Oklahoma, eventually getting caught up in the offensive tidal wave that is OU. The numbers for the Sooners continue to be gaudy- another 60+ point game, 627 total yards, and a pleasant surprise from the defense holding a solid Tiger offense to 21 points, and only 7 in the first half.

It’s cliche to say it will be nice to see what Oklahoma can do against a good defense. But, it’s worth mentioning that the average ranking of defenses OU has played is 77th and against two of the three best defense OU played (Cincinnati and Texas) OU was held to “only” 35 points. Take that for what it’s worth, but also consider what a good defensive effort on behalf of OU did against the juggernaut that was Texas Tech- holding Texas Tech to only 21 points, their lowest point total by 14 points. For that comparison, I’d rather see OU against USC, but Florida will provide a very good defense to measure against.

Here are the stats from the game:

3.) USC thoroughly dominated UCLA, though the scoreboard didn’t completely reflect it. USC was surprisingly ineffective after the 1st quarter and missed covering the spread by 10 points, hardly the “what about us” dominance USC needed to display while being left out of the national championship. And because of one bad 2nd quarter against Oregon State, even after the emotional win over Ohio State, USC is left completely out of the conversation. If you’ve watched them play this year either on tv or live as I have, you know that defense is scary good, and would provide an amazing game against OU, Texas, or Florida. Too bad we’ll never see it.