Auburn Beats Oregon, Completes Purchase of BCS Championship

The Tigers of the University of Auburn outlasted the Ducks of the University of Oregon to win the BCS Championship last night in Glendale, Arizona. The final score was a measly 22-19, considering the ridiculous productivity of both offenses during the regular season. All in all, the game was a defensive battle and for those who are not football junkies like Bronco Chase, the only exciting part was at the end. Indeed, the last 3 minutes or so were as much fun to watch as anything that has happened this season. There was a beautiful two point conversion, an almost tackle that led to a 37 yard back-breaking run, and a game winning field goal. Yet again the SEC wins the title. This is their 5th in a row and as we found out yesterday, we will never hear the end of it from SEC d-bag elitist Mark May.

As I mentioned, both of these teams had been lighting up the scoreboard all season long. Yet last night, we had a TCU/Wisconsin like final score. What happened? Auburn had a rough-ish night and Oregon's offense was stifled by Nick Fairley and company. Check out the yardage totals, they seem highly unlikely:

Auburn: 519 (265 passing, 254 rushing)
Oregon: 449 (374 passing, 75 rushing)

LaMichael James got stoned repeatedly. The Tigers did a great job shutting him down. Darron Thomas had a career night for yards and completions (27). As you can see, the yards didn't mean much. It did seem like Auburn's were at least a little more important. The biggest part was trying to keep the other team's offense off the field, and that meant eating up the clock and methodically moving down the field. Auburn just happened to do a better job at it than Oregon.

The best play of the night came from Auburn's freshman running back Michael Dyer. With 2 minutes to go, he broke through the line for what appeared to be a casual 6 or 7 yard gain. But Duck tackler Eddie Pleasant didn't finish the play. Dyer rolled over the top of Pleasant and raced down the sideline deep into Oregon territory and ended up with a 37 yard gain. Dyer's run set up the game winning field goal that sent the Tigers back to Alabama victorious.

The Ducks were held to under 100 yards rushing for the first time since September 4, 2009. Guess who they played that night. I'll give you a clue, the field that they played on was blue turf...

Here's the deal. I did not have a dog in the fight. I stated adamantly that I would be reluctantly cheering for the Ducks because anybody who plays the SEC is going to get that courtesy from me. Yet, during the course of the game, I found myself pulling for Auburn. I guess my hate for the Oregon Ducks is seeded even deeper than I had originally presumed. That's not a bad thing. I was just surprised and a little bit upset with myself. Sometimes you can't explain emotions that come out in the heat of the moment, but they are indeed your true feelings. Still, I got sick to my stomach every time ESPN showed a close up of Cam Newton's cheating face. I felt similar when Chip Kelley's arrogant crater-marked face was on my TV screen.

That leads me to this; Congratulations to the Oregon Ducks who will be named the National Champions retroactively after Auburn gets the title taken away from them due to NCAA violations. It sucks to be a cheater. But of course, the excuses are plentiful from Oregon. Read this article on ESPN. I will quote my favorite part.

'(Darron) Thomas felt it was Ducks miscues that hurt them more than what Auburn did: "I don't think Auburn stopped us from winning the game. We stopped ourselves."'

You keep telling yourself that. So here we are, everybody outside of a portion of the state of Alabama feeling let down, cheated, and unhappy with the results of the college football season. Life goes on, but not in the South when football is involved. Let's let si.com's Stewart Mandel take care of this one for us. The title is "SEC's run of titles obscures its dark side." That speaks for itself. I'm done talking about this for now.

With the victory last night, I went 5-0 in picking the BCS Bowl Games. Here are the final numbers for year:

Bowl totals: 23-12
Season total: 88-29

A great season, if I do say so myself. As far as I know, what I started this football season will continue next year. For now, it's Bronco Basketball season. I will have plenty on that. I am also preparing my all-bowl team. It will included the best players from each position that participated in the bowl season. Check back in for that. Until then, go Broncos!

Bronco Chase's Bowl Picks, 7th Edition

Now that's more like it! As you already know, I started off this bowl season going about .500. That was before I reeled off and took home the "W" in 13 of the last 14 match ups. I had won eleven in a row before LSU snapped my streak much like Boise State did to Utah. All good things must come to an end. The most important and impressive thing is that I am 4-0 in BCS games.

Anyway, I come to you today with a heavy heart, reminiscing of days past. As soon as I click "Publish Post" today, I am done with actual games to write about on my blog. The season will be over. But do not fret my friends, Leon Rice has the Bronco mens basketball team cooking up something special in Taco Bell Arena. Let us go over the recap of my last batch of picks, and then I will unveil the winner of the National Championship game tonight.

Discover Orange Bowl
My prediction was Stanford wins 24 to 21
Final score: Cardinal 40, Hokies 12






AllState Sugar Bowl
My prediction was Ohio State wins 31 to 24
Final score: Buckeyes 31, Razorbacks 26






GoDaddy.com Bowl
My prediction was Miami (OH) wins 28 to 24
Final score: Redhawks 35, Blue Raiders 21






AT&T Cotton Bowl
My prediction was Texas A & M wins 24 to 21
Final score: Tigers 41, Aggies 24






BBVA Compass Bowl
My prediction was Pittsburgh wins 31 to 21
Final score: Panthers 27, Wildcats 10






Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl
My prediction was Nevada wins 28 to 21
Final score: Wolfpack 20, Eagles 13






Batch total: 5-1
Bowl totals: 22-12
Season total: 87-29
_____________________________________

As a reminder: if the word "prediction" has stars, then it is an upset. It will look like this:

*Prediction*:

Also, I have analyzed some of the games with a write up, but not all of them. I wrote on all the bowls were WAC teams are involved and the BCS Bowls. The others just have when, where, the bowl name, who's playing, and a score prediction. Finally, I am including these bowls in my season long record.

January 10th at 6:30 PM
Tostitos BCS National Championship Game
Glendale, Arizona

(12-0, 9-0 Pac 10)
vs.

(13-0, 8-0 SEC)




Line: Auburn favored by 3
This one is for all the marbles. Two of the most prolific offenses in the history of the NCAA and two of the worst defenses ever will face off with the National Title on the line. Cam Newton, is fresh off of buying, er winning the Heisman and is playing extremely well. Oregon is led by perma-lisped, and convicted criminal running back LaMichael James. The Tigers score an average of 42.7 point per game and the Ducks put up 49.3. Defensively, Oregon gives up 18.4 and Auburn allows 24.5. On paper, this looks like a fairly easy win for the Ducks. However, Oregon’s schedule has been JV compared to what Auburn has had to go through. Cal showed the world how to beat the Ducks. It involves an athletic, powerful defensive line that can get pressure on quarterback Darron Thomas and limit James in his yards per carry. Fortunately for the Tigers, they have just that, led by the man-yetti known as Nick Fairley.

It’s too bad we couldn’t see one of these great offenses versus a great defense in TCU or Boise State. Instead we will see a fast paced, high scoring affair in which many people will wish that there was a way for both teams to lose, blow up, die, or cease to exist in some crazy way. If you can’t tell, I don’t like either of these teams. If Auburn wins, Newton will feel even more entitled than he already does and it will teach our children that cheating, lying, and being dishonest pays off as long as you are a freak athlete and can will a team to win all by yourself. Also, we’ll have to hear for another year how amazing the SEC is. That fire will be fueled for a long time. If the Ducks win, we’ll have to sit here and hear it from their ridiculous, cocky, blow-hard fans about how awesome the Ducks are. Eugene will finally be known for something else besides being the place where “Animal House” was filmed. I don’t know if I want to live in a world where Oregon fan has free reign to talk as much junk as they will if their team wins. They easily forget that this is basically the same squad that lost to Boise State two years in a row, and it is basically the same Bronco team that beat/destroyed them.

In other words, the college football landscape will either be populated with SEC elitists, jumping on their soap boxes, throwing their Bibles to the side, brandishing their red necks and farmer tans in their overalls, and through missing teeth and gingivitis infected gums proclaim the flawed gospel that is football in the South. “We live, breathe, eat, and dream this stuff year round! Nobody can stop us!” Only to make things worse, Mark May will have a fit of pleasure in his pants just as he has the last 4 years when other SEC teams have won it all. I just can’t take his seeing ugly, elitist face on my TV screen building up that conference any more than he already has. Or we will see hemp bracelet-wearing, lucha libre mask-donning, unfounded cockiness-weilding Duck honk tooting his own horn and in the most condescending way imaginable talk smack to any other team that even looks at them, all in between lengthy bong hits and making the “O” with their hands (that looks strangely similar to another sign that symbolizes a part of the female anatomy…). It will be like the d-bag boyfriend who picks fights with another dude for thinking about looking at his girl. That is Oregon in a nutshell. This is the world we live in and unfortunately, there is absolutely nothing we can do about it. So here’s to hoping that a sniper perches himself in the rafters or press box of University of Phoenix Stadium and does us all a favor.

Anyway, the game will be high scoring. I think Auburn’s defense is better than it shows on paper and what was seen against some pretty good offenses in the regular season. Nick Fairley owns LaMichael James for most of the game. The lesser of two evils here is Oregon, I guess. I will be reluctantly rooting for the Ducks in Glendale tonight. I still do not like their chances. The main reason for my decision is my complete and utter loathing for all things SEC and Mark May related. I don't know if it will be this close.
Prediction: Tigers 45, Ducks 38

Bowl totals: 22-12
Season total: 87-29

Well there we have it. Make sure you are tuned into ESPN tonight to catch this one. It should be a high-scoring affair. Sit back and relax. But make sure you check back in tomorrow to get my take on the whole shebang.

Kellen Moore=Heisman Finalist

Was there ever any doubt? I would say no. Especially since he has improved himself and his game extensively since he has come to Boise State. Seriously, it amazes me how good he is. This is a great article about Kellen by obnug's Kevan Lee. I implore you to read it.

Think about his first year, a former two-star recruit leading Boise State into Autzen Stadium, manhandling the Ducks (I hate the Ducks, by the way), going undefeated, and coming so close to beating TCU in the Poinsettia Bowl. He finished with a passer rating of 157.11.

He followed that up with another undefeated regular season, cut his interception total down from 10 down to 3, and avenged the loss to TCU by beating them on a much larger stage in the Fiesta Bowl. His passer rating improved to 161.65. I didn't think that there was any way that he could get better. I was wrong yet again.

Flash forward to the now, Kellen's junior year. He has already shattered the record books for Boise State, and he still has another year in front of him (unless you are Jesse Palmer or Mark May, of course). How does 33 touchdowns to 5 interceptions sound? He has also added another dimension to his game - the quarterback scramble. Sure, it isn't "Cam Newton" pretty, but it gets the job done. Beyond that, he is able to squirm out of would-be sacks game after game and either fire a rocket to Austin Pettis or run down the sideline for 10 yards and a first down. Amazing. At the end of the regular season his passer rating was a staggering 185.04, second only to Cam Newton.

Here are Moore's stats for his career;
97 touchdowns, 18 interceptions (10 came his freshman year), 10,528 yards, sacked 23 times (13 his freshman year), 167.93 passer rating, and a 37-2 record as a starter. That is unbelievable in every definition of the word. But think about this, Kellen is only 6 feet tall and was lightly recruited. He only had offers from Eastern Washington, Idaho, and Boise State. There are quite a few schools in the West that are now kicking themselves repeatedly for missing out on him. Their loss is obviously our gain. I contend, and correct me if you think I am wrong, that there has never been a smarter, more prepared, or more disciplined quarterback to ever play college football. There won't ever be again, either.

But there is more. Each Heisman Trophy candidate/winner has to have something more besides numbers. The Heisman Trust statement says, "The Heisman Memorial Trophy annually recognizes the outstanding college football player whose performance best exhibits the pursuit of excellence with integrity." Integrity, huh? That should disqualify Scam Newton and LaMichael James right off the bat. I don't want to go into detail about either, but you can google plenty of information about both of them.

Anyway, Kellen has more than proved his integrity and excellence both on and off the field. He will graduate next week (it took him just over three years to complete his bachelor's degree) with a communications degree and will stay in school to get his masters. He is also an academic all-American athlete, second team. That's not too shabby.

Think about this as well - Kellen Moore is a dying breed. In a world where a quarterback has to be a dual threat to have success, Moore has excelled in being a pure pocket passer. The only other quarterback in the nation that is even close to that is Andrew Luck. But even then there is plenty of video of Luck running down the field, trucking defenders as he goes. He is more NFL-ready and capable than Moore is, according to the "experts." No, Kellen is in a class of his own. Defensive backs are keyed in on stopping the pass, especially the long ball. Without a running threat taking snaps, they only have to worry about one thing. Yet, Moore always finds a receiver down field that he can get the ball to, even if the receiving window is the approximately the same size as a Big Gulp Slurpee from 7-Eleven. Kellen can fit it in there. How can he just sit back there, picking defenses apart? Aren't quarterbacks supposed to be able to challenge a defense in multiple ways, creating plays, opportunities, and openings with his sheer athletic ability and prowess? Kellen does not. Yet he still dissects defenses with precision and intelligence. It's remarkable.

So let me get this straight. He isn't a prototypical NFL height, weight, and pedigree quarterback (Andrew Luck, Matt Ryan). He's not your super-big, super-fast, dual-threat, freak of an athlete (Cam Newton, Terrelle Pryor, Tryod Taylor). He is his own thing. That alone is his special, intangible something that sets him as unique and qualifies him for winning the trophy. In a college football landscape where defenses, mis-perceived "lack of competition" reigns, and an ever-changing idea of what a quarterback is supposed to be are stacked against him, Kellen Moore defies all odds and rises above and beyond. Will there ever be another player like Moore to grace college football with his presence? The clear and obvious answer is a resounding "no." Kellen is unique. He is one of a kind. He is one in a million. He is every other cliché that you can think of. He is just a regular guy, Someone once said that if you didn't know who Kellen Moore was, you'd think he was the guy that comes over to help you fix your computer. Better yet,

Kellen is Kellen, Dork Assassin, the (reluctant) cool, calm, and collected leader of an amateur athlete rebellion, shattering the mold that recruit rankings, college football elitists, BCS conference schools, NFL scouts, and no-good, dribbling doubters and haters have forced upon the game itself and us as fans of it.

Ducks Dive-bomb the Bruins-Where Does That Leave the Broncos?

Autzen Stadium, Eugene Oregon. It went down just as most people expected it would. The final score was Oregon 60, Bruins 13. But that is what happens when one of the elite, top teams in the country playing at home goes up against a crappy PAC 10 bottom dweller. As you may recall, I picked the Ducks to win this one by a score of 45 to 21. However, I did not anticipate Oregon keeping their starters in the game through the entire third quarter and therefore running up the score. I guess Chip Kelly is unaware of the fact that he can exhibit good sportsmanship and win at the same time. Anyway and regardless of how long Darron Thomas and LaMichael James were left in the contest, the Ducks completely dominated a clueless and over matched UCLA team. It did seem that the Bruins were at least able to move the ball fairly well, mainly in the first half. But they could only come up with a couple of field goals to show for it, until garbage time in the fourth. I am still not overly impressed with the Ducks defense, but they made the plays when they had to and limited UCLA to only 13 points. With that said, the same Stanford team that Oregon beat held the Bruins to 0 points scored. Look for yourself here if you don't believe me. My point is Oregon has possibly the best offense in the nation (it is definitely the fastest-paced) and in order to beat them, you will need to outscore them and make a few stops here and there along the way. But their defense is not elite. It is good, that is for sure, but not amongst the best in the country.

So where does this leave the Boise State Broncos. I would think that as of Friday morning, nothing has changed. Oregon is still ranked ahead of them so there is no fear of getting jumped by the yellow and green-clad squad from Eugene. We will need to wait until Saturday when two of the teams within in jumping-threat distance square off in Alabama. LSU at Auburn will be the one to keep your eyes on. I think the winner has a good chance of moving up ahead of the Broncos, as Boise State does not play until next Tuesday. So there is no need to freak out or worry yet. Save that for Sunday when we as fans dissect every little detail about the ridiculous BCS Standings and get worked up over when our team fall in the polls and/or rankings.

The one thing that blows my mind is how quickly people forget. Was it not two years ago that a freshman quarterback led the Broncos into Autzen Stadium and orchestrated Boise State's first ever road win at a BCS-conference school? Was it not just last year in September that the Broncos completely outclassed and dominated an Oregon team that was hell-bent on revenge for alleged "cheap shots" committed in the contest last year? How did that work out for them? In fact, the only cheap shot that occurred during those two meetings came from the right fist of one Legarrette Blount after the second contest was over. The point is Boise State dominated both games and earned their wins when everybody thought they had no chance. Here we are again. Oregon is getting all the hype and everyone says that they would take Boise State to the woodshed. When have I heard that before?! My hope is that Boise State runs into them in either the National Championship game or the Rose Bowl. For some reason, the Broncos have to prove themselves yet again. There is not doubt that this Oregon team is the best one yet, even better than last year. But so is this Boise State team. The number one rushing offense versus the number one run defense. Now that would be something to watch. Let's hope it happens.