It All Comes Down To The Postseason For LeBron James

Great players are defined by the number of championships that they win and how they play in the postseason and in crutch time of the playoffs when it matters the most.

That doesn't mean that you can just look at the number of championships that two player have won and determine which player is better just on that number. For example, Robert Horry's 7 NBA championships doesn't make him a better player than Oscar Robertson, who won just one NBA championship in 1971 with the Milwaukee Bucks. Steve Kerr's 5 NBA championships doesn't make him a better player than Hakeem Olajuwon, who won just two NBA championships in 1994 and 1995 with the Houston Rockets.

However, the greatest players who have ever played in the NBA are separated by their performance in the postseason. For example, Karl Malone has the second most career points in NBA history, while his longtime teammate from 1985 to 2003 with the Utah Jazz, John Stockton, holds the NBA record for most career assists. However, both Malone and Stockton will never be considered two of the greatest players of all-time because they never won an NBA championship although they made the playoffs every year together and made two NBA finals in 1997 and 1998 but fell to Michael Jordan and his Bulls both times.

LeBron James can do whatever he wants in the regular season but it won't matter because his legacy will be defined by his play in the postseason.

Obviously, that doesn't mean that LeBron can go chill and grab a sandwich until the playoffs roll around, but we all know what LeBron is going to give us in the regular season. His regular season average is going to be around 27 points, 7 rebounds, and 7 assists because that is what LeBron puts up every year. Following his rookie season, his averages in the regular season for the last 7 years have been 28.7 points, 7.3 rebounds, and 7.1 assists.

There are still reasons to watch LeBron during the regular season.

It will be interesting to see if he has developed a post-up game, which would be a huge threat considering his passing ability and the fact that he is a huge 6 foot 8 inch small forward that can play anywhere from point guard to power forward. During the summer, LeBron worked with Rocket's great center Hakeem Olajuwon to improve his post-up game. LeBron said, "Just to see how he was able to dominate in the low post, for me as an individual, I just try to look at some of the things I feel I need to get better and hit home at it."

It will also be intriguing to see if LeBron is finally committed to being more aggressive in attacking the rim instead of settling for long jumpers and threes. Through the Heat's first three games LeBron has not even attempted a three point shot, while last season he averaged about 3.5 three point attempts per game. With his more aggressive and attack minded mentality, LeBron has been getting to the free throw line much more often. Through his first three games, LeBron is averaging 12.3 free-throw attempts per game, while last season he averaged about 8 a game.

However, until LeBron proves that he can get it done in June and win an NBA championship, he will never be one of the greatest NBA players to ever play the game and he will still have a ton of doubters.

LeBron will have to be able to get over the pressure of playing in an NBA finals and play like he did in the conference finals last year against the Bulls. In game 2 of that series, LeBron scored 9 of the Heat's 14 points in the 4th quarter to close out the Bulls after the game was tied at 73 with 5 minutes remaining. In the next game, LeBron once again scored 9 points in the 4th quarter to help the Heat beat the Bulls by 11 after they were up by just 3 at the beginning of the quarter. In game 4, LeBron scored 6 points in the the final 1:36 of overtime to extend the Heat's lead from 91-89 to 101-93 by the end of overtime. In game 5, LeBron hit a three point shot to tie the game at 79 with a minute remaining and then hit a jumper with just 29 seconds left in the game to give the Heat a 81-79 lead. LeBron averaged just under 26 points during the 5 game series with the Bulls.

However, if the LeBron that closed out the Bulls doesn't show up, the LeBron that was practically invisible in the 4th quarter of the NBA finals against the Mavericks will once again be without an NBA championship after this season and many more to come. In the NBA finals, LeBron averaged just 17 points per game (9 points less than in the Eastern Conference Finals) and struggled mightily in the 4th quarter. In the 6 game NBA finals against the Mavericks, LeBron scored a total of 18 points and averaged just 3 points in the final frame. When superstars are supposed to shine and great players are supposed to be made, LeBron failed to raise to the occasion.

John Skelton Will Need To Limit His Turnovers Against The Bengals

John Skelton Will Need To Limit The Turnovers For The Cardinals: In the last 6 games, John Skelton has been pretty solid, as the Cardinals are 5-1 with wins over the Eagles in Philly and the 49ers at home. In fact, with Kevin Kolb behind center, the Cardinals are just 2-6 including a 6 game losing streak that they went on earlier this season. Therefore, with Kevin Kolb out once again with a concussion, it may actually be a blessing in disguise for the Cardinals, who need a win and some help to stay in the playoff race. The only knock on Skelton can be his turnover problem. In his last 6 games, Skelton has thrown 10 interceptions including 4 multi interception games. Luckily for Skelton, the Bengals rank second to last in the league in interceptions with just 7 all season. If Skelton does turn the ball over against the Bengals, it will be costly because the Bengals don't give the ball back, as only the Patriots, Browns, and Titans have fewer giveaways than the Bengals.

The Quarterback Matchup Will Be The Key In The Raiders-Chiefs Game

Carson Palmer vs Kyle Orton: At the beginning of this season, Carson Palmer was refusing to play any longer for the Cincinnati Bengals and was asking owner Mike Brown for a trade and Kyle Orton was the starting quarterback for the Denver Broncos. After Jason Campbell was injured, Carson Palmer was traded to the Raiders and after Orton was dropped in favor of Tim Tebow, he was picked up by the Chiefs. Now, the two meet in a huge AFC West divisional game. Palmer is finally starting to get into a grove with his new team and he is beginning to run the offense with much more efficiency. After throwing 7 interceptions in his first 3 games with the team, Palmer has settled down and played much better. He has thrown for over 300 yards in two of his last four games. Although Orton has started just one game with the Chiefs, in that game his Chiefs pulled off the upset of the season when they beat the 13-0 Packers 19-14. Orton threw for 299 yard on 23 of 31 passing in their huge victory. Whichever quarterback has the better game will likely be sitting in the winner's circle after the game. 

Chris Johnson Will Need To Show Up For The Titans Against The Jaguars

What Chris Johnson Will Show Up For The Titans: This offseason Chris Johnson got paid the big money that he so desperately wanted. He signed a four-year extension worth 53 million dollars with 30 million dollars guaranteed. Since Johnson signed his new contract, he has been widely inconsistent. In games, where Chris Johnson has run for at least 65 yards, the Titans are 4-0. In games, where Johnson has run for less than 65 yards, the Titans are 3-7. It appeared that Johnson had turned the corner when he ran for 190 yards in a 23-17 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and then had a 153 yard rushing game in a 23-17 victory over the Buffalo Bills in week 13. However, in the last two weeks Johnson has really struggled in two straight Titans losses, as he has not run for over 55 yards in either game. Chris Johnson will need to have a solid game because in the Titans and Jaguars first meeting he ran for just 24 yards in a 16-14 Titans loss.

The Bills Will Need To Stop The Broncos Running Attack

The Bills Ability To Stop The Broncos Running Attack: Tim Tebow is not exactly accustomed to the cold weather. He grew up in Jacksonville and then played college football at Florida. When Tebow travels to Buffalo to take on the Bills, the game time temperature is going to be in the low 30's and it will be Tebow's first cold weather start of his career from high school to college to the NFL. Tebow said, "I've never worn sleeves, but I've been wearing sleeves in practice this week to try to get used to that." Even when the weather is not bad, the Broncos opponents see a heavy dose of the run but especially with the cold weather in Bufflo, the Bills defense should be ready for a lot of Tebow and McGahee running from out of the backfield. The Broncos, which rank 1st in the NFL in rushing yard per game at 163.1, will likely try to run the ball around 50 times, which they also did against the Chiefs in week 10 and the Chargers in week 12. Luckily for Tebow and the Broncos, the Bills struggle to stop the run. They rank 28th in the league in rushing yards allowed per game at 139.5, 29th in rushing yards per attempt at 4.8, and 29th in rushing touchdowns allowed with 16. If the Bills struggle to stop the run once again on Saturday, it will be a long day in Buffalo for the Bills, who have lost 7 straight after starting 5-2.

The Most Disappointing NFL Teams

1. San Diego Chargers: If you mull over the San Diego Chargers team numbers, it is hard to believe that they sit in 3rd place in their divisional race. Despite being ranked in the top 10 in the offensive categories of yards per game, passing yards per game, and points per game, the Chargers will need serious help to get into the playoffs. The Chargers, who usually start slow and heat up in November, did the opposite of that this season. They started off the season hot with a 4-1 record, but then they went on a 6 game losing streak to fall to 4-7. One of the main problems for the Chargers during their skid was Phillip River's turnover issue. In just the Chargers first 10 games, he had 17 interceptions including 10 picks in their 6 game losing streak. To put that in perspective, in the last two seasons combined Aaron Rodgers has thrown 17 interceptions, while Rivers threw 17 picks in a 10 game span this year. With Anotnio Gates declining in his 9th year in the league and having his worst season since his rookie year in 2003 and Malcom Floyd missing some time with a hip injury, Rivers has often forced way too many balls to Vincent Jackson. If the Chargers don't make the playoffs, it will be the first time since 2002 and 2003 that the Chargers failed to make the playoffs in two consecutive seasons.

2. Philadelphia Eagles: After the NFLPA and the owners agreed to a deal to end the lockout, the talk of the offseason was the Philadelphia Eagles. The Birds, who won the NFC East in 2010, made a huge splash in free agency by spending a ton of money. They signed quarterback Vince Young, running back Ronnie Brown, defensive end Jason Babin, defensive tackle Cullen Jenkins, and cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha, while they also traded for cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie. Vince Young went as far as saying that his new team was a "Dream Team." However, the so called "Dream Team" has not lived up to the hype. The Eagles began the season 1-4 and after a week 13 loss to the Seattle Seahawks, the Birds were sitting at 4-8. Michael Vick has been banged up all season long with a rib injury and their defense has been very susceptible to the run. DeSean Jackson is also having the worst season of his young career, as talks about his contract are continuing to swirl around Philly. Despite the Eagles last two victories to improve to 6-8, they will still need two victories and a Giants loss to the Jets and then a Giants victory over the Cowboys in week 17 to make the playoffs.

3. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: In 2009, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers were 3-13 and had their worst season since they went 2-14 in 1986. However, last year they were one of the pleasant surprises of the NFL, as they increased their win total by 7 games and had an impressive 10-6 year. Following their solid 2010 season, the Buccaneers have been one of the biggest disappointments this season in the NFL. A big reason for their struggles has been the very poor play of their defensive unit. They rank 2nd to last in points allowed per game at 28.6 and third to last in rushing yards allowed per game at 141.1. They have only held one opponent all season to less than 17 points and they have not held an opponent to less than 24 points in their current 8 game losing streak, as their opponents are averaging 32 points per game in this 8 game skid. Josh Freeman has also experienced a huge problem with turnovers. After throwing just 6 interceptions last year, Freeman has already thrown 18 interceptions, which is tied for the most in the NFC with Redskins quarterback Rex Grossman. In the Buccaneers current 8 game losing streak, Freeman has thrown 12 interceptions including a four pick game against the Bears and a three pick game against the Texans.

The Most Surprising NFL Teams

1. Cincinnati Bengals: After a disastrous 4-12 season in 2010 and Carson Palmer refusing to play any longer for the Bengals and asking owner Mike Brown for a trade, the Bengals have had one of the most impressive turnarounds of any NFL team this season. Their great success has been led by their first round pick A.J. Green and their second round pick Andy Dalton, who have formed an incredible connection on the offense side of the ball. A.J. Green has over 1,000 receiving yards and is just the fourth player since 1999 to have over 1,000 receiving yards as a rookie, joining just Anquan Boldin in 2003, Michael Clayton in 2004, and Marques Colston in 2006. The only passer ratings better than Dalton's 81.0 since 1999 are Matt Ryan's passer rating of 87.7 in 2008 and Ben Roethlisberger's passer rating of 98.1 in 2004. The Bengals, who started 6-2, now sit at 8-6 and are currently tied for the final AFC Wild Card spot with the Jets.

2. Denver Broncos: After a 1-4 start, most Broncos fans were turning to the NFL draft in April and hoping that their team would get the number 1 overall pick and be able to take Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck. And then Tebow-mania began. Since Tim Tebow took over as the Broncos starting quarterback, Denver is 7-2 including a 6 game win streak that they went on before they fell to the Patriots last week. Tebow, the most polarizing figure in the NFL, has captured the attention of the nation by his incredible 4th quarter comebacks. In his first start on the road in Miami against the Dolphins in week 7 with the Broncos down 15-0, he led two touchdown drives plus a two point conversion in the final 5 minutes of the game before a Matt Prater field goal won the game in overtime. In week 11 against the Jets, Tebow led a 95-yard touchdown drive in the final 5 minutes to top the Jets 17-13. In week 14 against the Bears, with the Broncos down 10-0 with under 5 minutes remaining in the game, Tebow threw a touchdown pass to Demaryius Thomas before setting up a Matt Prater field goal with seconds remaining in regulation. The Broncos would win the game in overtime after another Prater field goal 13 to 10. Currently, the Broncos sit atop the AFC West at 8-6.

3. Detroit Lions: Although many people really liked the Detroit Lions this off-season and predicated that they would make the playoffs, the Lions are still a surprise considering that they finished at the bottom of the NFC North last season at 6-10. They key to the Lions success has been a healthy Matthew Stafford. After missing a total of 19 games in 2009 and 2010, Stafford has played in all 14 games this season with the Lions and his connection with Calvin Johnson, also known as Megatron, has been deadly. Stafford, who ranks in the top 5 of nearly every passing category, has thrown 14 touchdown passes to Megatron. Only the Packers, Saints, and the Patriots have scored more points this season than the Lions, who have scored 24 pointsor more in 9 games this season. If the Lions win one of their final two games against the Chargers or the Packers on the road in Green Bay, they would clinch a playoff spot for the first time since 1999.

4. San Francisco 49ers: Jim Harbaugh, the former Stanford head coach, has changed the culture in San Francisco. After a 6-10 season in 2010, the 49ers are currently 11-3 and have already clinched their first NFC west title since 2002 and just their second since 1997. The 49ers have been led by an incredible defense. They have allowed just over 13 points per game, which is the best in the NFL and is 6 points better than the Seahawks, who rank 2nd in the NFC in points allowed per game at 19.5. The 49ers defense is led by their great linebackering core of NaVorro Bowman and the always great Patrick Willis. Alex Smith has also had a career saving season. The former numer 1 pick is having his best season in the NFL in his 7th year in the league, as Harbaugh has instilled a lot of confidence in his quarterback. Smith has taken great care of the ball this season and has made plays when he has needed to. Smith has thrown just 5 interceptions this season.

Kellen Moore Will Go Down As One Of The Greatest College Football Quarterbacks Of All-Time

Kellen Moore completed his career in a fitting fashion last night as the Boise St. Broncos beat the Arizona St. Sun Devils in the MAACO Bowl Las Vegas 56-24. Moore captured his 50th college football win in 4 seasons and once again proved that despite being apart of a non-AQ conference, the Broncos can beat the so called "big boys." Moore also threw for over 275 yards for the 9th time in 2011 and the 27th time in his career.

When the question is asked, who is the greatest college football quarterback of all-time, there are a wide variety of different responses.

Some fans would argue that Florida quarterback Tim Tebow was the greatest quarterback to ever play the college game. Not only did the 2007 Heisman Trophy winner play with more passion and bring more excitement to the game than any other quarterback in history, but he also achieved a lot in his career. In his freshman year in 2006, Tebow helped Florida win the BCS National Championship as a key contributor to the team, despite being the backup quarterback. In 2008, Tebow led Florida to a National Championship once again, as the 13-1 Gators beat Sam Bradford and the Oklahoma Sooners 24-14 in the title game. In that championship game, Tebow put together one of the most memorable 4th quarters in college football history, as he was 11 of 11 for 148 yards and 2 touchdowns, while also rushing for 45 yards in the final period.

Although Nebraska quarterback Tommie Frazier never won a Heisman trophy, he is often given consideration as the best college football quarterback of all-time. Frazier, who started for the Cornhuskers from his freshman year, led Nebraska to a BCS bowl game every year during his four year career and his Cornhuskers didn't lose a regular season game in his final three seasons. Despite losing the 1994 National Championship to Florida St., Frazier led the Cornhuskers to two straight National Championships in 1995 and 1996, including a 62-24 beatdown of Florida in the 1996 Fiesta Bowl. He won three straight National Championship Game MVP awards as well.

There are also arguments for many other college football quarterbacks as the greatest of all-time at the position. "Slingin" Sammy Baugh of TCU, Vince Young of Texas, Archie Manning of Ole Miss, Matt Leinart of USC, Doug Flutie of Boston College, John Elway of Stanford, Charlie Ward of Florida St., and Davey O"Brien of TCU are also all in the discussion.

Looking back at the career of Boise St.'s Kellen Moore, the Broncos star should also be in the discussion as one of the best college football quarterbacks of all-time.

Just looking at the pure statistical numbers that Moore put up don't tell the whole story of his impressive career, but they are still among the most impressive of any quarterback in college football history. Kellen's Moore passer rating was in the top 4 of the FBS every year in his final three seasons at Boise and his 182.6 passer rating in 2010 was the 3rd highest passer rating for a single season at the time. Moore's career passer rating of 169.2 is the third highest in FBS history, only slightly behind Tim Tebow and Sam Bradford. Kellen Moore was in the top 4 of the FBS in completion percentage in 3 of his 4 year's at Boise St and his 74.1 completion percentage in 2011 was the 3rd highest completion percentage for a single season in FBS history. Moore's career completion percentage of 69.6 is the 4th highest in FBS history. Moore also ranks 7th in career pass completions, 4th in career passing yards, 7th in career passing yards per attempt, 2nd in career passing touchdowns, and 3rd in career passing efficiency.

As good as those numbers are, the most impressive stat of Moore's is his ability to win games. In four seasons, Moore had an incredible record of 50-3, as his Broncos won 12 games in 2008, 2010, and 2011 and 14 games in 2009. His 50 wins are the most in college football history, 5 more than Colt McCoy's 45 wins from 2006 to 2009 with the Texas Longhorns. Moore's three losses were by a combined 5 points. Although many of Moore's wins came against far weaker opponents, it still takes outstanding play to win 50 games no matter what conference you play in. When Moore and his Broncos did play against AQ schools, they always ended up in the winning circle. Moore was 6-0 in his four year career against AQ opponents including victories over #17 Oregon on the road in 2008, another victory over #16 Oregon in 2009, a huge win over #10 Virginia Tech last year, and finally a win over #19 Georgia this season.

Moore may have even played a larger role in the grand scheme of college football. Because of the strong play of Moore and his Broncos, the BCS is likely going to scrap its automatic qualifying system to give every team a so called "even" opportunity to play in a BCS game. In fact, the 2009 Boise St. team is the only non-AQ school to ever receive an a-large bid into the BCS.

Whether the 6-foot Moore, who has limited arm strength, can be a good NFL quarterback remains to be seen. However, his college football career will go down as one of the greatest for a quarterback in history.

The Xavier-Cincinnati Rivalry Should Continue

Most people assume that the North Carolina-Duke rivalry is the closest major rivalry in college sports, as the two schools are located just eight miles from each other in North Carolina. However, the closest major rivalry in college sports is actually between the Ohio arch rivalries Xavier and Cincinnati, as the two schools are separated by just three miles. The close proximity of the schools and the fact that many of the kids who play in the game are from Ohio and played high school basketball against each other, make the rivalry one of the nastiest and fiercest in college basketball.

Leading up to the game this year on December 10th, the rivalry seemed to be even more heated than usual. Xavier, an undefeated and top 10 team, was looking for revenge after they lost by 20 points on the road to Cincinnati in their previous meeting. Prior to the game, there was a lot of chatter between players on both teams, especially Cincinnati, through social media, which added a lot of fire to the already heated rivalry. In an interview before the game, Cincinnati starter Sean Kilpatrick called out Tu Holloway. What asked if he was a better player than the preseason all-American, Kilpatrick said, "I'll let the fans decide," before saying, "Yes I am." When Kilpatrick was asked if Holloway would start for Cincinnati, he said, "Would he, with the players we have now? I would say no?" Then after the first half expired, Mark Lyons began to get into it with a few Cincinnati players that came off of the bench. All of the trash talking plus the game being between two heated rivals was all leading up to something bad. You could just feel it. 

With the game out of hand and the Cincinnati players frustrated after being down by 23 points, 76-53, all hell broke lose and a bench clearing brawl marred a great rivalry and a quality Xavier win. The fight between the two clubs was a disgrace to both universities and an embarrassment to both basketball programs and their players. Watching the tape of the brawl, which ended the game despite there being 9.4 seconds remaining on the clock, makes the fight seem more and more of a shame. Xavier center Kenny Frease was hit by a right forearm punch by Cincinnati center Yancy Gates and was then kicked by Cincinnati's Cheikh Mbodj, while he was bleeding out of his left eye from the punch from Gates. Punches were being thrown from all different angles from Xavier and Cincinnati players including Xavier starters Dezmine Wells and Mark Lyons.

The fight has received incredible national attention and even legal attention. Cincinnati coach Mick Cronin said, "It's a shame... I have never been this embarrassed in my entire career. It's a complete embarrassment. Toughness is doing the right thing. You take your ass-whipping and go home. If my players don't act the right way, they will never play another game at Cincinnati... The whole thing is frustrating because it shouldn't have happened." Cincinnati president Gregory H. Wiliams said in a statement, "We hold our student-athletes to a high standard, and this behavior will not be tolerated." Xavier coach Chris Mack tweeted, "If my players say they've been taught to be tough their whole life, they mean ON THE FLOOR. Nothing else is condoned." In a later tweet he said, "No one, no regrets our ending to the UC game more than me... Both teams were at fault." Xavier president Michael J. Graham said in a statement, "This behavior was not representative of Xavier's standards and has no place in intercollegiate athletics." Coaches from around the country entered into the discussion about the brawl. Kansas St. coach Frank Martin, who is considered by many to be the most intense and toughest coach in all of college basketball said, "It's a rivalry that's deeper than the game. But there's no place for that. We have to preach to our guys to never cross the line and that toughness on the street is a different word than toughness in education." 

The embarrassment of the brawl and the suspensions have already hurt both programs. Xavier, which was ranked in the top 10 and was 8-0 with wins over Vanderbilt, Purdue, and Butler, were hammered in their first game after the brawl by Oral Roberts 64-42, as Tu Holloway, Mark Lyons, and Dezmine Wells, the teams three leading scorers were unable to play. Meanwhile, Cincinnati still has to play Oklahoma and #13 Pittsburgh on the road without Yancy Gates.

Obviously, it is going to take some time to rebuild the image of these programs. However, the Xavier-Cincinnati rivalry should continue and the in-state rivals should continue to play each other every year. The brawl this season was a horrible scene, but if the rivalry was removed for this one incident, it would still be a shame.

The two teams have played each other 79 times dating back to their first meeting in 1928 and they have met once every season since the 1942. To put in perspective how historic this non-conference rivalry is, Kentucky and Louisville have played each other just 42 times and the Holy War between Villanova and St. Joe's has been played just 68 times. Therefore, it would be a shame to see these two great programs end their long and storied rivalry.

The Crosstown shootout, which the rivalry is also called, is a matchup that has had some great moments, especially in the last two decades. In 1996, Cincinnati, led by future first round pick Danny Fortson, were the #1 team in the country when unranked Xavier pulled off the huge upset over the Bearcats 71-69. In 1999, Xavier once again beat Cincinnati when the Bearcats were ranked #1 in the country, as they pulled off the huge upset 66-64 at home.

The two schools should continue to play but there obviously needs to be changes made to the rivalry. The biggest solution to the problem is to play the game on a neutral floor instead of at one of the school's campus. Since 2000, the teams have alternated from playing on Xavier's home floor at the Cintas Center to playing on Cincinnati's home floor at Fifth Third Arena. However, the rivalry should go back to playing on a neutral floor like Cincinnati Gardens, which has hosted 42 Crosstown shootouts including nearly every one of the rivalry games from 1948 to 1974. Although the game may lose a bit of its flavor by moving to a neutral site, the strong emotions of an entirely pro-Xavier crowd or an entirely pro-Cincinnati crowd, would help keep the players emotions in check.

Xavier athletic director Mike Bobinski has openly said that he would still like to continue the series with the Bearcats. He said, "We need to grow up. We have a chance to do things right and I don't think the right move is to walk away from this [rivalry]."

The Gildan New Mexico Bowl Preview

Obviously, the main attraction of every college football bowl season is the BCS games including the BCS  National Championship. However, some of the best plays and games come from the non-BCS bowl games. Here is a breakdown of the Gildan New Mexico Bowl from Albuquerque, which kicks off the bowl season on December 17th.

Gildan New Mexico Bowl in Albuquerque, New Mexico between Temple (8-4, 5-3 MAC) and Wyoming (8-4, 5-2 MWC) on December 17th: The Temple Owls are very proud to be in just their fourth bowl game in program history and their second in three years. Its only other two bowl game appearances were in 1979 when it beat the Cal Bears in the Garden State Bowl and in 1925 when it lost to Tulane in the Sugar Bowl. The Owls have one of the most underrated running backs in the country, as Bernard Pierce was second in the FBS amongst running backs in touchdowns with 25 and he even had a 5 touchdown game against Maryland on the road in one of his 6 multiple touchdown games. The Owls will be able to score on the Wyoming defense, which allowed an average of over 35 points per game against bowl opponenets. Temple are led by their tough defense though. It ranked 3rd in the FBS, only behind LSU and Alabama who are playing in the BCS National Championship, in points allowed at 13.8 per game. The Owls held Penn St. to 14 points in a near upset in September. The Owls defense will be the key in their victory over Wyoming.
Winner: Temple

An Overview Of The BCS Bowl Games

Obviously, every college football fan looks forward to the BCS bowl games including the BCS National Championship and this year features an incredible slate of BCS games, which fans should be very intrigued about.

In the Rose Bowl, two of the best running backs in the country, Montee Ball of Wisconsin and LaMichael James of Oregon, will meet in a game that features two of the top 4 scoring teams in the FBS. Wisconsin is playing in the grandaddy of them all for the second consecutive year, while Oregon is playing in its second Rose Bowl in three years. However, Wisconsin hasn't won a Rose Bowl since 1994 when they beat UCLA 21-16 and Oregon hasn't won a rose bowl game in almost 100 years since 1917 when the Ducks beat Pennsylvania 14-0.

For fans that love to watch great offenses and teams that score a lot of points, the Fiesta Bowl and definitely not the BCS National Championship is the game to watch. Oklahoma St., led by the lethal aerial connection of Brandon Weeden and all-American Justin Blackmon, will be playing in their first BCS bowl against the Stanford Cardinals, who are led by Heisman runner-up and future number 1 pick, Andrew Luck. Both teams have potent offenses that ranked within the top 5 in scoring in the FBS.

For the first time since 2000, the sugar bowl will be a matchup where neither team is from the SEC. However, the matchup of Michigan and Virginia Tech, two of the most high profile schools in the country with two of the largest fan bases in the country, is going to be a huge attraction. While Virginia Tech has dominated the ACC and is in its sixth BCS game and its fourth since 2008, Michigan is appearing in its first BCS game since the 2007 Rose Bowl.

Although the Orange Bowl is once again the least attractive of the BCS games, it does feature two teams that can score a lot of points. Clemson quarterback Tajh Boyd is in the top 10 of the FBS in passing yards and touchdowns, many of which go to his big time freshman receiver Sammy Watkins. The Mountaineers can also score some points and rack up a ton of yards, which they showed even against the incredible defense of LSU. West Virginia ranked 6th in the FBS in passing yards per game. Clemson is just playing in its fourth Orange Bowl and its first since 1982 when they beat Nebraska 22-15. West Virginia is playing in its first BCS bowl game since 2008 when they beat Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl 48-28.

The BCS National Championship is a rematch of the "Game of the Century" played earlier this year when the LSU Tigers beat the Alabama Crimson Tide in Tuscaloosa in a defense battle 9-6. The last rematch in a college football National Championship game was back in 1996 when the Florida Gators lost to Florida St. 24-21 in Tallahassee and then went on to beat Florida St. in the National Championship 52-20. The National title game features arguably two of the best defenses in college football history. Alabama ranked 1st in the FBS in points allowed at an incredible 8.8, while LSU finished 2nd allowing 10.5 points per game. Through Alabama's first 10 games, they were allowing just an average of 7.1 points per game including holding 6 of those opponents, Kent St., North Texas, Vanderbilt, Ole Miss, Tennessee, and LSU, to under 10 points. LSU's defense wasn't too far behind. In 8 SEC games and the SEC championship game, LSU allowed an average of less than 10 points per game and held everybody beside Arkansas to less than 11 points. Although the Alabama and LSU offenses should manage to put some more points on the board than in their previous meeting, don't expect an offense shootout with defenses like LSU and Alabama that have so many talented and NFL caliber players.

Montee Ball and Tyrann Mathieu Are Going To Make This Heisman Trophy Race Historically Close

It is very difficult to find an unprecedented circumstance when it comes to college football's most prestigious award, the Heisman Trophy. The trophy has been around since 1935 when Chicago halfback Jay Berwanger won the inaugural award and has seen everything from USC halfback O.J. Simpson winning the award by the largest margin of victory in the 1968 Heisman race to running back Reggie Bush's 2005 Heisman Trophy being vacated because of NCAA violations when he was at USC. The Heisman has also seen its fair share of close calls and narrow margin of victory. In 1985, Auburn running back Bo Jackson narrowly defeated Iowa quarterback Chuck Long by 45 points to win the Heisman. In 2009, running back Mark Ingram won the closest Heisman in history over Stanford running back Toby Gerhart by a slim 28 points. This year's Heisman is not only going to be tight at the top of the list, but it is going to be close all the way down to number 5 because of the fantastic seasons that Montee Ball and Tyrann Mathieu have both had.

It is incredible to look at the numbers that Wisconsin running back Montee Ball has put up, and think that he is probably going to finish in 4th in the Heisman trophy voting. By now, everybody has probably seen the stat that 45 teams in the FBS have scored less touchdowns than Montee Ball this season including high profile schools like Florida, Ohio St., Auburn, Tennessee, and Penn St. Ball has had one of the best statistical seasons for a running back in college football history. He leads the FBS with 1,759 rushing yards and an incredible 32 rushing touchdowns. Ball also has been effective out of the backfield as a reciever, as he has had 6 receiving touchdowns, which is 2nd in the FBS amongst running backs, who have had at least 14 carries this season. Montee has even thrown a touchdown pass against Inidana this season. Ball now holds the Big Ten Conference record for touchdowns in a single season and is just the 5th player in college football history to score 30 touchdowns in a season. His 38 total touchdowns are just one behind the FBS record for tochdowns in a season, which was set in 1988 when Oklahoma St. running back Barry Sanders scored 39 touchdowns. Obviously, Ball has been a scoring machine this season. Ball has reached the end zone at least 3 times in 8 of the Badgers' 13 games this season and he has had a multiple touchdown game in the other 5 as well.

If you look back at previous Heisman Trophy winners and runners-ups at the running back position, their numbers don't compare to the incredible stats of Montee Ball. In 2005, Reggie Bush won the Heisman trophy and received the 2nd most votes in Heisman history with 2,541. In 2006 and 2007 Darren McFadden finished as the runner-up in the Heisman trophy race to Troy Smith and then Tim Tebow the following year. In 2009 Alabama running back Mark Ingram won the Heisman Trophy becoming the first Alabama player to win the prestigious award. However, while it may seem surprising, Ball's stats are far more impressive than Bush's, McFadden's, and Ingram's. In 2005, when the Heisman was awarded to Reggie, he had rushed for 1,1658 yards and just 15 touchdowns. When McFadden lost the Heisman in 2006, he had rushed for 1,558 yards and 14 touchdowns and the next year when he lost the race, he had rushed for 1,725 and 15 touchdowns. When the Heisman was awarded to Ingram in 2009, he had just 1,542 rushing yards and only 15 touchdowns. Ball has rushed for more yards than Bush, McFadden, and Ingram, and while none of them had more than 15 touchdowns, Ball has more than doubled their rushing touchdowns with his 32. With this in mind, voters are going to look at Ball's incredible numbers and the Wisconsn back is going to get a lot of votes even if he does finish in 4th place.

There is no player in college football that makes more big plays than LSU cornerback Tyrann Mathieu, or more commonly known to his teammates as Honey Badger. The Chuck Bednarik award winner, as the nation's best defensive player, has made play after play to keep the Tigers undefeated this season, especially against top ranked opponents.

In the Tiger's huge 40-27 victory over #3 Oregon in their opening game of the season, Mathieu was all over the field, as he made 11 tackles, 6 of them being solo. In the second quarter, with the LSU offense struggling and the Tigers punting the ball back to the Ducks already down by 3 points, Mathieu made a huge play for his team. After Kenjon Barner fielded the punt from LSU punter Brad Wing he tried to spin around Mathieu, but Tyrann wasn't fooled and striped the ball away from Barner and took the ball into the end zone. The play changed the course of the game, as the Tigers took a 9-6 lead and stopped the Duck's offense momentum.

The Tigers can thank the Honey Badger for their big 47-21 victory over #16 West Virginia as well. In the first quarter of that game, Mathieu stripped West Virginia wide receiver Brad Starks and then recovered the football to halt a West Virginia drive. Mathieu sealed the victory for the Tigers during the end of the second quarter. With LSU up 20-7 and the Mountaineers looking to make the game a one score contest, Mathieu intercepted Geno Smith's pass and returned it to the West Virginia 1 yard line, which set up the LSU touchdown and their 27-7 lead at halftime.

Mathieu is also a huge reason that the Tigers were able to beat #3 Arkansas 41-17 and secure a spot in the SEC Championship game. Not only did the Honey Badger have 8 solo tackles during the game, but his big plays helped the Tigers jump out of an early 14-0 hole and outscore the Razorbacks 41-3 for the rest of the game. With Arkansas up 14-7 and expecting to pin the Tigers back deep into their own territory, they punted the ball to Mathieu. What a mistake. The Honey Badger took the punt back 92 yards to the house for the longest punt return for a touchdown all season and tied the game up at 14. Mathieu said, "I could hear my teammates in my ear saying, 'Man, we need you to go make a play.' I was able to help the momentum really go in our favor. You have no idea how bad I just wanted to go out there and make a big play for our team. I was fortunate enough to be able to do that." The Honey Badger wasn't done just yet however. With Arkansas looking to go up before halftime, Mathieu stripped Arkansas running back Dennis Johnson, which set up a LSU touchdown. In the blink of an eye, Mathieu's punt return and forced fumble gave the Tigers a 7 point lead and totally changed the momentum of the game.

Mathieu had his Heisman moments against Georgia in the SEC Championship game. The Bulldogs came out firing against the Tigers and took a 10-0 lead, while the LSU offense remained non-existent. They had just 12 yards of total offense on 5 possessions and were struggling to move the ball on the Georgia defense. With Georgia punting the ball back to LSU, the Tigers needed a play and guess who made it for them? Yes, the Honey Badger. He took the punt from Drew Butler and returned it 62 yards for an LSU touchdown and cut the Bulldogs lead to 3 points. After halftime, Mathieu recovered a fumble at the Georgia 27 yard line, which set up a LSU touchdown and gave them a 14-10 lead. After a three and out on the Bulldogs next possession, Mathieu had his signature Heisman moment. He took a punt 47 yards back to the Georgia 17 yard line after faking out and alluding at least 9 Georgia tacklers. Mathieu's fantastic return set up another Tiger touchdown and gave LSU a 21-10 lead. The LSU offense had mustarded a total of just 51 yards and yet the Tigers were leading 21-10 because of the great punt returns and a fumble recovery by Mathieu.

If you look back at the previous Heisman Trophy winners, many of them have won the Heisman trophy because of the great plays that they have made to lead their team to the National Championship game. Since 2000, of the 10 Heisman trophy winners (not including Reggie Bush), 8 of them have played on teams who played in the BCS National Championship Game. With this in mind, voters are going to look at all of the plays that Mathieu has made and his importance to LSU's Championships run and the LSU cornerback is going to get a lot of votes even if he does finish in 5th place.

Poland Will Have To Grab At Least One Point Against Greece If They Want To Reach The Knockout Stage

Poland vs Greece in Group A at National Stadium in Warsaw, Poland on June 8th: Poland has been waiting to kick off Euro 2012 since it learned that it would jointly host the European Championship with Ukraine on April 18, 2007 ahead of the bids from Italy and Croatia-Hungary. If Poland wants to avoid becoming just the 4th nation since the European Championship began in 1960 to host the European Championship and not make it out of the group stage, joining just Belgium in 2000 and Austria and Switzerland in 2008 to fail to make the knockout stage, they will have to get off to a solid start against a tough Greece side in Warsaw. It will be vital for Poland to feed off of the energy of their supporters when they take on Greece because there is going to be an incredible amount of energy in Warsaw with the opening of the tournament. Poland, led by boss Franciszek Smuda, will likely have to score first if they want to get any points from their matchup with Greece because of the strength of the Greece back four. Greece allowed just 5 goals in qualifying and didn't allow a multiple goal game in 10 matches. Greece will be looking to use their strong back four to make a run in Euro 2012 just like they did in Euro 2004 when they won the tournament after winning their quarter-final, semi-final, and final games all by a 1-0 score line.

Prediction: Poland 1 - Greece 1

Group-By-Group Euro 2012 Breakdown

The draw for Euro 2012 has finally arrived and it has been a long awaited day to see the four different groups for the second most prestigious international tournament, only trailing the World Cup of course. After 240 group qualifying games and 8 playoff matches, which saw 14 teams of 51 join host nations Poland and Ukraine in the exclusive European Championship, the 16 teams have been split into four different groups. Euro 2012 features to be an unbelievable tournament this upcoming summer. Of the top 14 teams in Europe, all of them but Switzerland, who is ranked 12th in Europe, are participating in the European Championship. Also, of the top 15 teams in the world, 11 of them are playing in Euro 2012. Here is a breakdown of the 4 groups:

Group A (Poland, Russia, Greece, Czech Republic):

Prior to the draw being released, Poland looked like a long shot to make it out of the group stage. They are the lowest ranked team in the tournament at 66 in the world and 33 in Europe. It looked likely that they would become just the 4th nation since the European Championship began in 1960 to host the European Championship and not make it out of the group stage, joining just Belgium in 2000 and Austria and Switzerland in 2008 to fail to make the knockout stage. However, Poland is very fortunate that they drew, by far, the easiest of the four groups. The Polish, led by coach Franciszek Smuda, drew the lowest ranked team in pot 2, Russia, the 2nd lowest ranked team in group 3, Greece, and the lowest ranked team in pot 4, Czech Republic. If you add the European rankings of the four team, it adds up to 72. To put that in perspective, Netherlands, which was in pot 1 just like Poland, and they drew a group that when you add the European rankings of the four team, it adds up to 17! 

Russia will definitely be the favorite, but the entire group is wide open and there for the taking. While the Russians will look for scoring from Roman Pavlyuchenko, the heart of their team is their defense. In qualifying, just Italy allowed fewer goals than Russia, as the Russians allowed just 4 goals in 10 matches and they didn't concede any goals in their final 4 matches. 

Greece as well thoroughly relies on their defense, as they allowed just 5 goals in 10 matches. They will be looking to use their great defense and tactics to make a run similar to their unbelievable Championship victory in 2004 in Portugal. 

The Polish will have a huge home field advantage and the energy of playing in Warsaw against Greece and Russia and Wroclaw in their final match against Russia. Although Poland is the lowest ranked team in the group, Czech Republic may be the most unlikely to make it out of the group stage.

Group B (Netherlands, Germany, Portugal, Denmark): 

In one of the greatest groups that you will ever see in any international tournament, it is just unfortunate that two of these very high quality teams will not make it to the knockout stage. To call this the group of death is probably an understatement and not doing it justice. Of the top 11 teams in the world and the top 8 teams in Europe, 4 of them are in this group. The group features the 2nd highest ranked team from pot 1, Netherlands, the highest ranked team in pot 2, Germany, the highest ranked team in pot 3, Portugal, and the highest ranked team in pot 4, Denmark. Their average world ranking is 5.75 and their average European ranking is 4.5, which is unbelievably impressive.

In qualifying, Germany and Netherlands were by far the most impressive teams in the group stage. The Germans had a perfect 10-0-0 record and had a goal differential of +27. Although the Netherlands dropped their last game against Sweden, they still finished the group with a +29 goal differential and they were able to score goals on everybody, as they racked up 37 goals in just 10 games. Klaas-Jan Huntelaar scored 12 goals for the Dutch, which is more goals than 24 other teams in the competition scored during qualifying. The Germans are the favorite to win the group, especially after they just convincingly beat the Dutch 3-0 on November 15th. 

However, it would not be surprising if any of these four teams won the group. The Portuguese have Cristiano Ronaldo, so that alone poises an immense threat to ever other team in the group. Ronaldo will need help though if the Portuguese side is going to advance. Nani will have to continue to play like he currently is for Manchester United and the back four, which has world class players like Pepe and Fabio Coentrao, will have to step up, especially since they have drawn high-powered offenses like the German and Dutch. 

The big question mark in this group is Denmark. The Danish actually finished ahead of Portugal in Group H qualifying. In fact, they beat Portugal on the final day of qualifying, 2-1, to take the group. The Danish will heavily rely on striker Nicklas Bendtner for their scoring, as they didn't score more than 2 goals in any qualifying match. 

Group C (Spain, Italy, Croatia, Republic of Ireland): 

Spain boss Vincente del Bosque said, "It's a complicated group. We've got an important team like Italy and two two teams that got through the playoff easily." However, you have to believe that the Spanish coach is fairly happy with his group, as the defending European champions avoided Germany and Portugal. Despite the fact that the Spanish had a perfect 8-0-0 record in qualifying, questions have been raised about the World and European Champions recently. They fell to England at Wembley on November 12th 1-0 and then tied Costa Rico in San Jose three days later 2-2 after trailing 2-0 until two late goals from David Silva in the 83rd minute and David Villa in the 90th minute. 

The Italians should be riding into Euro 2012 with some confidence. They breezed through qualifying, as they allowed just 2 goals in 10 matches and the Italians also beat the Spanish in their last meeting on August 10th 2-1. However, in qualifying and in their victory over Spain, the Italians played with talented strikers Giuseppe Rossi and Antonio Cassano. However, with Rossi likely out for the tournament with a serious knee injury and Cassano probably out as well after he had surgery to repair a small hole in his heart, the Italians will heavily relay on Mario Balotelli and Giampaolo Pazzini to proivde the scoring for the side. 

The Croatians could be the biggest question mark of any team in the entire tournament. The 8th ranked team in the world, has shown at times that it can be as good as any team in the world but it has been very inconsistent like when it fell to Georgia 1-0 in qualifying and then went on to win 4 straight qualifying matches. 

Lastly, while Ireland is going to have a difficult time doing much of anything in this group, they definitely have a ton of interesting storylines. Their Italian boss, Giovanni Trapattoni, is going to manage against his homeland and former team, as he managed the Italian national team for 4 years from 2000 to 2004. Since the Irish have not been in the European Championship since 1988, the Irish fans will be hoping for a nice showing in Poland-Ukraine.

Group D (Ukraine, England, France, Sweden): 

The English, led by boss Fabio Capello, have to be content with the Euro 2012 draw. They avoided Spain and Netherlands from pot 1, as well as Portugal from pot 3. However, the English side definitely has a whole lot of pressure and controversy surrounding them. Wayne Rooney has a three-match suspension and if his appeal is not succesful, he will miss the entire group stage. This would leave the English in a deep goal scoring hole without the Manchester United striker. Also, Fabio Capello will be under an immense amount of pressure since the English, who lost in the round of 16 in the 2010 World Cup, have never even made the finals of the European Championship. The Three Lions open up with a huge clash against Les Bleus in Donetsk, Ukraine. The English should be coming into the group as the favorites and with a huge amount of confidence. In their last two qualifying games, they beat the World and European Championship Spain 1-0 and then beat Sweden 1-0 as well, who is in there group for the tournament.

The French look like they have turned the corner from the disgrace surrounding their 2010 World Cup after Nicolas Anelka, Patrice Evra, Frank Rbery, and Jeremy Toulalan were all suspended after their revolt against former boss Raymond Domenech. Les Bleus have been playing some really great soccer recently under new boss Laurent Blanc. They are unbeaten in their last 17 matches and haven't lost in well over a year since September 3, 2010. The French will heavily relay on Frank Ribery, Karim Benzema, Florent Malouda, and Yoann Gourcuff. The other teams in Group D will have a lot of trouble breaking down the French defense, as they allowed just 4 goals in 10 matches during qualifying.

Ukraine and Sweden are the long shots in this group with powers like England and France expected to advance into the quarterfinals. Ukraine, like Poland, will have a huge home field advantage and the energy of playing in Kiev against Sweden and Donetsk in their final two matches against France and England. Ukraine should not be overlooked in this group. They tied Germany 3-3 after leading for much of the match 3-1, which is a very impressive showing considering that the Germans didn't drop one point in Euro 2012 qualifying. Sweden also should not be overlooked in this group. During qualifying, Sweden scored 31 goals, which was the third most goals scored in qualifying, only behind the Netherlands and Germany. Sweden even beat the Netherlands in their final qualifying match 3-2 to prove that they can play with any team in the world. Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who scored 5 goals in qualifying, will have to be a dynamic threat for Sweden if they want to sniff the top two.