Maddux Sports Blog

How bad could it get for the Sooners? They started out with reasonably high hopes this year, but the fates have conspired against them and they are just 2-2. After seeing them lose to a good but not great Miami team you really have to wonder how bad it could get for this team. A lot probably depends upon the status of Sam Bradford, but I think it has been clearly established by now that he doesn’t have the tools to work with that he did last year. Just looking at the schedule, I find it hard to believe right now that they will beat Texas. Kansas is playing very well right now, and they get the Sooners in Lawrence, so Kansas wouldn’t even have to pull off a major upset to win that one. Nebraska is also playing tough, and also gets to host Oklahoma. They also have to travel to pesky Texas Tech. And then the season ending game against Oklahoma State looms. I don’t want to suggest that it is going to happen, but it is certainly possible that a team that started the season ranked third overallcould wind up as bad as 6-6. 9-3 or 8-4 seems more likely, but no matter what this is not how Sam Bradford saw this season going when he decided to come back.

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The New York Rangers have become the latest NHL team to make a coaching change. This is getting to be an epidemic – the NHL revolving door is almost as big as the NBA’s . Some coaching changes make at least a temporary difference – Ottawa went on a nice positive streak before going back into the tank. This one is going to make no difference at all. John Torterella is perhaps a slightly better coach than Tom Renney, but not by much. The bigger problem is that the world’s greatest coach couldn’t have success with the overpriced, underperforming mess that is the Rangers. They are beyond hope, and that won’t change until GM Glen Sather is run out of town. That won’t happen in a hurry, so the Rangers are not a team worth betting on. It must be something in the air at Madison Square Gardens or something – no competence is allowed.

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It’s all over. The last game wasn’t exactly a classic, but it was interesting. Here’s what I took from the game:

1. Anyone associated with the Oklahoma program is going to be haunted for their entire lives by those two red zone failures. It’s bad enough that it happens once, but twice in one game is totally unacceptable.

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Right and Wrong:

Okay, my whole reason for writing this post was to use the lame-pun title—“ Better Sooners than Gators.”  But to use that title, Oklahoma would have to have been victorious, and they were not. (Also, I want to be upfront—I started this article and decided what its focus would be about five hours before the game started after reviewing various offensive stats.)  At that time, I decided this piece was going to be about two tough defenses and how they kept the scoring down and special teams play and how that turned the game around. I didn’t want to rehash how great the quarterbacks were or the receivers or the running game or even the offensive lines. (You’ve got to believe me—in one of the few prophetic moments of my entire life—I foresaw this would be the Battle of Two “Ds.”)

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It’s kickoff time, and I am about to watch what I hope will be a classic. I have gone back and forth for a while now, but I have settled on Oklahoma. Quickly, here are seven reasons why (as always, the disclaimer – this is my opinion and doesn’t necessarily reflect the opinion of Maddux Sports):

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With the GMAC Bowl in the books, there is now just one college bowl game left before the countdown to the college football season begins in earnest. Luckily for us, the last game is a gem. As we get closer to the Florida – Oklahoma showdown, I find myself changing my mind about the game a few times a day. I like Oklahoma a lot more than I like Florida from a personal bias basis, but my confidence has been shaken in them by the struggles of the big Big 12 teams in their bowls. As I drive my self crazy about the game, here are 10 things that will likely factor into my ultimate decision:

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There is absolutely nothing wrong with watching college football on a Friday morning. In fact, I could get used to it. Neither the West Virginia – Pittsburgh nor the Nebraska – Colorado games were classics, but they were both entertaining and a good way to spend a day. I had Colorado to cover so I was pleased, but I am disappointed for them that they didn’t become bowl eligible. The Nebraska wins that I don’t have to worry about watching the Gator Bowl – the Huskers against an ACC team is not a recipe for a good game.

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My PlayStation prognostications got off to a terrible start in the first week, going 0-3, but it rebounded very nicely this week with a 2-1 mark. If you haven’t been following it, I am having my PS2 simulate three college games each week using NCAA 09. Let’s see what happens this week. The machine is feeling a little cocky.

Texas (+6) vs. Oklahoma - The Red River Rivalry is one of my four or five favorite games of the year. I don’t have a particular tie to either team, but as a general rule I hate Oklahoma less. Given that, the results of the simulation worked very well for me. Texas couldn’t get much going, and Colt McCoy made more mistakes than expected, as Texas lost to Oklahoma 38-14. Sam Bradford is my favorite QB in the country right now, and he showed why in this game, throwing for four touchdowns and running for a fifth. Texas turned it over four times, including two picks by McCoy. This game is such a big one, because it probably effectively ends the season of the losing team. Those stakes on top of the screaming, divided crowd should make this one a classic. My machine says Oklahoma will cruise to the easy cover.

Penn State (-6) at Wisconsin – My first thought when I saw this spread was that it didn’t give Paterno’s boys enough credit. My PS2 agrees. The spread HD has been a potent offense this year, and the prowess continued. Wisconsin got out to a strong early start, and was actually up 14-0 in the second quarter, but then the wheels fell off. Penn State had 31 unanswered points, and ended up winning it 45-24. Evan Royster was again a big part, adding 112 yards and two touchdowns. Daryll Clark had two interceptions that he probably wishes he could have back, but he made up for it with five TD passes. Paterno continues to prove that you don’t have to be able to walk or stay up past 6:00 p.m. to coach well.

LSU (+6) at Florida – The machine was loving the favorites so far, but the trend ends here. This was a hard fought battle that was more defensive than some might have expected, and in the end the Tigers lost, but just by a field goal – 17-14. Tim Tebow ran and passed for a TD, but turned it over twice as well. A further blow for the Heisman defense. Jarrett Lee passed for both LSU scores. Showing how realistic these simulations can be, the incredibly fragile and overrated Percy Harvin was injured in the game.

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It’s time for another look at the key games of interest this weekend from among the top 25. As always, I haven’t picked these out because they necessarily represent the best bets, and I am not representing them as picks. They are merely the ones with the storylines that I find most interesting this weekend. Without further ado:

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I’m always on the lookout for new and different ways to pick games. Some things work and some things don’t. Often as not it seems to be the human factor that turns a good handicapping effort into a bad one. With that in mind, I thought it would be fun, if not useful, to take the human factor out of things. Each week for the rest of the season we are going to take three high profile games and let my PlayStation 2 tell me what t do. We’ll simulate the games using the starting rosters, and using NCAA Football 09 from EA Sports. We’ll keep track to see how things go and if it has strengths and weaknesses. Standard disclaimer – this is just for fun and doesn’t represent real picks in any way. Put another way, you would have to be on drugs to bet these.

Alabama (+6.5) at Georgia – The battle for early SEC supremacy should be a good one. It wasn’t too bad in video game form. Georgia jumped out to a quick 7-0 lead, but Alabama tied t up by the half. Georgia scored again early in the second half, but then things ground to a halt. There was just one more field goal, by Georgia, and the defenses were clearly in command. Neither team successfully established a run, and Alabama actually led in total offense, but Georgia won the game 17-7. That’s a cover.

Minnesota (+18.5) at Ohio State – This one sets up to be more interesting than t appeared it would be at the start of the game. Minnesota has played very well, and seems to finally be rebuilding. Ohio State is reeling, though they have new life thanks to Terrelle Pryor. I played the simulation with Beanie Wells back in action. Both teams struggled early, with just a field goal by Ohio State in the first quarter. The Buckeyes had the lead 13-0 by the half, and the Gophers couldn’t get anything going. Another touchdown in the fourth gave the Buckeyes a 20-0 win, and an uninspiring cover. Minnesota showed that they still have a lot of work to do, but Ohio State again didn’t look like the dominant force many expected them to be at the start of the season. Pryor completed 60 percent of his passes, but didn’t have near the game he did last week, and looked more like a freshman than the all-world stud he did last week. Wells only ran for 79 yards, but scored both Buckeye touchdowns. Minnesota’s passing was awful.

TCU (+18.5) at Oklahoma – The Mountain West continues it’s battle for legitimacy against potentially the second best team in the country. Both teams can score, but it is perhaps the defenses that are underappreciated and will dictate the tone of the game. At least that’s what happened in video world. Oklahoma got off to a solid start and looked like they would run away with it – they were up 14-0 by the beginning of the second quarter. TCU settled in and made a game of it, though, scoring the next 10 points. Ultimately, the Sooners were too much for the Frogs, but TCU was more than respectable, losing 23-10. That’s a cover for the underdogs. Sam Bradford’s passing yards were down, but he was still the star of the game, completing 72 percent of his passes, and tossing three touchdowns.

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