Irish, Tide ready for big showdown

Posted on January 7, 2013 by Ray Hamill

It all comes down to this.

After five weeks of preparation and 34 “warm-up” bowl games, the BCS Championship is on the line Monday night, when No. 1 Notre Dame takes on No. 2 Alabama for the title of national champs.

And there are, of course, numerous intriguing matchups and questions heading into the showdown.

Can a stingy Notre Dame defense contain the best rushing offense in college football?

How will Alabama center Barrett Jones’ injured foot hold up against Irish nose tackle Louis Nix III, considered one of the best defensive linemen in football?

Can the Irish handle the hype, or will Alabama’s veteran players — making their third national championship appearance in four years — handle the occasion better?

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As good as it gets for college football purists

Posted on January 5, 2013 by Ray Hamill

The Coaches’ Trophy: Who will hoist the hardware and be crowned National Champions after the final gun on Monday?

If the billing is anything to go by, Monday’s BCS Championship could be a classic.

In fact, on paper at least, you’d have to go back a long time to find a college championship game of any kind as eagerly anticipated as this one with even the casual sports fan offering an opinion on the showdown one way or the other.

And that should come as no surprise considering the pedigree of these two programs. In fact, when it comes to the 76-year history of the poll era, nobody can match the success of Alabama and Notre Dame, with the Crimson Tide boasting a record nine titles in that time and the Irish just one back, while the names alone evoke images of history, tradition and everything good college football stands for, past and present.

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Mixed fortunes for SEC in bowl season

Posted on January 4, 2013 by Ray Hamill

The SEC may be considered the strongest conference in college football, but so far the 2012/13 bowl season hasn’t shown it.

Through Thursday’s games, in fact, the SEC is batting a mere .500 (a 3-3 record), with surprising losses for Florida (to Louisville) and LSU (to Clemson), and Mississippi State falling to a Northwestern program that had not previously won a bowl game of any kind dating all the way back to 1949.

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Manziel, Te’o frontrunners in fascinating Heisman race

Posted on December 8, 2012 by Ray Hamill

The winner of the 2012 Heisman Memorial Trophy will be announced Saturday evening, bringing closure to what has been one of the craziest campaigns the most prestigious individual trophy in college football — and arguably in all of sports — has seen in some time.

The only question now is whether there’s one more more surprise in the works in what has been a season full of them.

Of the three finalists, Texas A&M freshman QB Johnny Manziel appears to be the consensus favorite, but only barely over Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te’o, with Kansas State QB Collin Klein rounding out the field and by now considered little more than an outside shot.

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More than just SEC title on the line for Alabama and Georgia

Posted on December 1, 2012 by Ray Hamill

Love it or hate it, there’s no getting away from the fact the SEC is a dominant force in college football.

And that dominance will be on display once again Saturday as No. 2 Alabama (11-1) takes on No. 3 Georgia (11-1) for the SEC title in the most anticipated showdown of the week.

But there’s much more than just conference bragging rights on the line, with the winner heading to Miami on Jan. 7 for a BCS Championship showdown with No. 1 Notre Dame and the loser dropping out of consideration for any of the five BCS bowl games.

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Bruins look for payback, Kent State playing for BCS inclusion

Posted on November 30, 2012 by Ray Hamill

A busy weekend of championship action gets under way Friday evening with a pair of intriguing matchups, including a rematch between No. 16 UCLA and No. 8 Stanford for the PAC-12 title at Palo Alto.

The two schools will play for the second time in just six days after the Cardinal beat the Bruins in the regular season finale 35-17 last Saturday, earning a spot in the conference championship in the process, while also eliminating Oregon.

Rain could be a factor in the game, with stormy weather forecast, although the field at Stanford Stadium is expected to hold up well after it was redone during the offseason because of problems with the surface a a year ago.

Game time is set for 8 p.m. Eastern time on Fox.

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Irish through to BCS Championship, but who will they play?

Posted on November 27, 2012 by Ray Hamill

The Fighting Irish are on their way to the BCS Championship game thanks to a 22-13 win over USC this past weekend, but they’ll have to wait another few days to find out who they’ll play there.

With the hard-fought victory over their arch rivals, the Irish retained the top spot in the BCS standings and that guarantees them a trip to Miami for the Jan. 7 showdown.

Now the big question heading into the final weekend of the regular season is whether No. 2 Alabama or No. 3 Georgia will earn the right to battle Notre Dame for the Coaches’ Trophy and give the SEC a seventh consecutive national crown.

As expected, Alabama knocked off Auburn this past weekend, while Georgia stormed past Georgia Tech, setting up a mouthwatering showdown for the SEC championship this coming weekend, with the winner heading to Miami in the new year.

The good news for fans growing weary of the SEC dominance in recent years is that we won’t have to endure a second consecutive all-SEC BCS title game.

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Big Saturday of action atop the BCS

Posted on November 23, 2012 by Ray Hamill

There’s more than a place in this year’s BCS Championship on the line at the LA Coliseum this weekend. This is rivalry weekend. There’s pride on the line.

Make no mistake about it, USC would love nothing more than to upset bitter rivals Notre Dame on Saturday night and knock the Fighting Irish out of the championship picture, a victory that would not just make up for a disappointing season, but also might save head coach Lane Kiffin’s job.

Kiffin and his players came into the season as the No. 1 team in the country with Heisman favorite Matt Barkley at quarterback, while the Irish were unranked. Ironically, it’s the Irish who are now No. 1 and feature one of the Heisman frontrunners in linebacker Manti T’eo, while the Trojans have slipped out of the top-25.

USC (7-4) will also have to do without Barkley for Saturday’s game after the senior injured his shoulder in last weekend’s loss to crosstown rivals UCLA.

The Irish, meanwhile, are 11-0 for the first time since 1989 and are back at the pinnacle of college football for the first time in 19 years. The big question for them, however, is how they will handle the pressure of being top dogs, something that hasn’t worked out well for the No. 1 team recently, with Alabama and Kansas State falling on two consecutive Saturdays.

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Irish primed for shot at national title, SEC not done yet

Posted on November 21, 2012 by Ray Hamill

The top of the BCS standings took a big hit Saturday night, but the national title picture became a little clearer in the process.

Simply put, if the Irish can close out the regular season with a victory at rivals USC on Saturday, they will secure a spot in the Jan. 7 national championship game and will likely play either Georgia or Alabama.

But then again, when it comes to the BCS, things often don’t go according to plan.

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