Beantown Sports Guys

Rose Bowl

I don't have a lot of time to post but I wanted to get this down before I leave for the Celtics game:

USC IS GOING TO BEAT DOWN TEXAS

I'm not a huge USC fan, but I can tell they have the talent and the coaching to beat Texas. Defense is the difference. Who will contain Vince Young? If they can shut him down, Texas could lose by more than 3 TDs. Yes, he has a gun for an arm. Yes, he can move and make throws when he is out of the pocket. But USC has a good secondary and their Defensive line will know how to stop him.

I think USC wins 34-20.

Dream Bowl

Penn State vs. Florida State in the Orange Bowl.

This is my Dream Bowl. I've loved both teams for as long as I can remember. I live in the state of New Hampshire and have only lived in two states my entire life ( Massachusetts being the other ).

And yet I love both of these teams.

I love Joe Paterno. He's like my grandfather in many ways.

I love Bobby Bowden. He's like my grandfather in many ways.

I love the uniform of Penn State. No logo on the helmet. Navy blue and white. Simple, yet, classy.

I love the uniform of Florida State. Maroon and Gold are two colors that just flow together.

I love the War Chant and the Tomahawk Chop.

I love the Penn State Fight Song.

I love how both teams have always seemed to have great defenses and at times have had very high scoring and flashy offenses.

I love how both head coaches are in their 70s.

I love how Joe Pa wears his shirt and tie, regardless of the weather.

I love Bobby Bowden's custom Oakleys.

And with 35 seconds, it looks as if Penn State is going to win this with a field goal. Perhaps they will miss it, perhaps it will be blocked. Perhaps they will make it, only to have Florida State's kick returner bring it all the way to the house for the heartbreaking win. Perhaps it will go into Overtime. Whatever happens, the ending will be special for sure.

And whichever team wins, I will be happy for them, and sad for the other.

But in this bowl game (at least for me) I will feel like a winner when it is all over.

How 'bout them....Bulldogs...actually, WHERE are them Bulldogs??!

I cannot believe what I am witnessing.

Georgia's defense has always been what keeps them in the games and gives their offense a chance to pick another team apart. So far, one West Virginian running back is destroying them by himself. Here is his statline so far:

7 carries, 103 yards, 2 TDs....with 14:10 left...in the 2nd QUARTER

They are even playing in the Georgia Dome. The score so far is a mere 28-0. I think Georgia only got past  midfield once in the game so far.

I'm not bashing games like this, because Georgia is higher ranked than WV (7th vs. 11th), but I've said for a while that aside from playoffs, college football should at the very least pit the # 1 team against # 2, the 3 against the 4, the 5 against the 6, and so on. I realize why they don't, because of the conferences and whatnot, but I don't care. Seeing a team like Penn State (# 5) playing against Florida State ( # 22 ) is absurd. Granted, I love both teams, but come on. Even if Florida State played tougher opponents, losses are losses. I understand the strength of schedule concept, making sure that teams that decide to play the tougher schedule aren't hurt as badly when they lose, but a loss at the beginning of the season should hurt you JUST AS MUCH as one at the end.

Bringing this concept into real life, my high school class had 720 kids. There were AP courses, A level courses, B level, and C level. In our high school, the academics are amazing. AP courses you were given actual college credits, A level courses are the equivalent of college courses, B level courses were the equivalent of your average level A courses, and C level courses equated to any other high school's B level.

With that in mind, one year a kid decided to take the easiest route to being Valedictorian, opting to take all C level courses. He was Valedictorian all right but barely got into any colleges because of the way he did it. Kids that had all A level courses at that time did not have their courses pro-rated. This has since changed, because if some kid has all A level courses and gets one B and another kid has all C Level courses and gets all As, where is the challenge in that? There isn't any, so my alma mater has since changed that little loophole.

College football is still pure. It's amazing, and it can change in the flick of your clicker (which is why I rarely turn away from games when they get out of hand). That said, Georgia just put together an impressive drive and scored their first TD. Now their defense has to step up and be the Bulldogs we all know and love, and shutdown this running game of West Virginia. If they can and force them to the air, they can exploit their 116th ranked passing offense and try to get back some of those points.

We'll see how this ends. Should be a good one.