FSU vs Kentucky

[kocurt]

Is anyone else suprised that the FSU third stringers are hanging with Kentucky and giving them all they can handle?! This is a team that beat the best the SEC has and they are struggling to beat a team minus 36 players! Thats a shocker to me. I expected a 42-17 type of game.

[Jim]

Is anyone else suprised that the FSU third stringers are hanging with Kentucky and giving them all they can handle?! This is a team that beat the best the SEC has and they are struggling to beat a team minus 36 players! Thats a shocker to me. I expected a 42-17 type of game.

also am surprised the way Oklahoma State started off vs. Indiana. OSU has a 28-10 lead in the 2nd.

[Jim]

This wzas a great game. A Florida State team, embarrassed and depleted hung in there and played well. Too bad they didn't play with this intensity during the year. They might have been in the Orange Bowl had they done so.

[INSIDE99]

FSU 18 penalties for 230 yards.

I have sat through 10 bowl games in the last two weeks and have never seen anything remotely close to how bad these officials were. Same story for FSU. Handicapped by penalties. The refs hate this team.

[Bucs90]

Gotta applaud those FSU players. Now, for one, they aren't exactly scrubs, as FSU always has a lot of raw talent even in their backups, and seems to be a good QB away from top 10 status again for the past few years.

But for those 2nd and 3rd stringers to pull together and play like that is great. UK probably thought they'd walk into a pushover scrimmage game, and caught a big suprise.

[Bucs90]

But, that said, is this post symptomatic of the many folks who are squirming a bit with the SEC's 3-0 bowl start? Clemson vs Auburn underway. UT vs Wisky should be a toss up, great game. Unranked Arkansas faces the team that was #1 in the nation going into the last weekend of regular season. UGA gets the only undefeated team in 1-A. Florida should win over Michigan, it would be a big upset if they don't.

Lots of folks are bothered by this SEC 3-0 start. It may mean nothing if the conference goes ahead and wins only 4 or 5 of the bowls. But the thought of SEC fans reacting to an 8 or 9 win bowl season sickens some I'm sure.

[Jim]

Hawaii vs. Georgia === Georgia -9.5
Ohio State vs. LSU === LSU -6
Michigan vs. Florida === Florida -11
Missouri vs. Arkansas === Mizzou -something
Wisconsin vs. Tennessee === Vols -4.5

Looks pretty favorable to me. Unless Missouri brings in some attitude and is still pissed about losing to Oklahoma, the Razorbacks might surprise even there! I think Hawaii is the one to watch out for primarily and then Wisconsin. I feel confident that regardless of how the SEC winds up doing they'll win the national championship. I hope you're a Les Miles fan as we all know Les is.

[Bucs90]

Ha ha, no Jim, I'm not a Les Miles fan, I'm a me fan. Just kidding.

I'm suprised UT is favored over Wisky. I think Wisky's running game makes the difference and the Badgers win by 6. UT has had trouble with running games lately. The other picks look about right. Arky vs Mizzou depends on Runningbackzilla, aka Darren McFadden. If he erupts, they'll win. If not, Mizzou wins by 10.

[Coach 3]

No i am not drunk...just the sincerest hail and farewell to the UK 2007 teams for bringing my family wonderfully exciting offensive football,thrilling games and making my daughter a rabid sec football fan for life...only thing topping this was the 1997 Wolverine national title ride... happen to have met andre woodson 2 weeks ago in lexington....pleasant 5 minute football chat..a very humble, very polite and soft spoken young man...he actually spontaneously apologized to my daughter for mistakes in the Tennesseee game...can only wish these young guys every success in their life's journey...now i am going to go get drunk....

[Bucs90]

It took this season to make your daughter a rabid SEC fan? I thought being born in the South caused that to be genetically programmed in. Guess I was wrong! Happy New Years to all!

[Tyler Durden]

Is anyone else suprised that the FSU third stringers are hanging with Kentucky and giving them all they can handle?! This is a team that beat the best the SEC has and they are struggling to beat a team minus 36 players! Thats a shocker to me. I expected a 42-17 type of game.

FSU has recruited better players than UK every year for over 20 years, so why would this be a surprise? All of the Noles backups are better than UK's backups and probably starters.

[Bucs90]

Agreed. FSU, IMO, probably has far more raw athletic ability on their roster (or what is left of it!) than UK. UK had a great season, led by Woodson, and their team chemistry carried them to wins over teams that maybe had more physical ability.

But, there must be something said for FSU's players. They rallied around their team and fought their hearts out. FSU is one of those teams that you can never take lightly simply because of the athletes they recruit. Even though they may not be that good over the season, they have the ability to be great on any given day.

[aufan59]

Hawaii vs. Georgia === Georgia -9.5
Ohio State vs. LSU === LSU -6
Michigan vs. Florida === Florida -11
Missouri vs. Arkansas === Mizzou -something
Wisconsin vs. Tennessee === Vols -4.5


That is a factor of SEC strength:

Michigan: 2 conference losses, 3rd place in conference
Florida: 3 conference losses, tied for 4th place in conference

Result: SEC favored by 11!

Ohio State: 1 conference loss
LSU: 2 conference losses

Result: SEC favored by 6!

Missouri: 2 conference losses, 2nd place in conference
Arkansas: 4 conference losses, tied for 5th place in conference

Result: huge mismatch considering circumstances, yet Big 12 only favored by 3?

Hawaii: undefeated, best team in WAC
UGA: 2 losses, I'll say 2nd in SEC.

Result: SEC favored by 9.5

Wisconsin vs UT is a match up favorable to the SEC as far as conference standings go. All though if I counted the SECCG I could say this was as even match up in this department.


The same trend was pretty much the same for the other bowls. Yes, SEC is favored ATS against their opponents, but if you really look at it, they are out matched. You would have to match up the SEC teams all against other conference champions to get SEC as underdogs. But that isn't logical or fair.

["14-O" U.]

FSU 18 penalties for 230 yards.

I have sat through 10 bowl games in the last two weeks and have never seen anything remotely close to how bad these officials were. Same story for FSU. Handicapped by penalties. The refs hate this team.

I (and one of my sons watching with me) thought the refs sucked and the vast majority of the bad calls went against FSU. I don't recall ever feeling that way about an FSU game before - usually Bobby seems to get more than his share of the calls.

[Tyler Durden]

Bobby was really upset over Carter getting that penalty for diving into the endzone

[aufan59]

Watching it I kept saying to my self, "Kentucky really doesn't want to win this game."

If they didn't fumble on that second drive in the first quarter, they got up 14-0 and most likely will be a blow out. The pick 6 after the excellent goal line stand, taking the FG off the board, fumbling it after the interception.

Get FSU credit though. I think this one shows that they still have some talent, and it shows how much motivation plays a role in bowl games.

[Bucs90]

I think motivation plays a huge role in bowls. During the game and in the weeks prior. The holidays can pack on some pounds. 5-10 pounds of bad body weight can make a big difference on the field. If some players aren't motivated, and get "heavy" during the month off, it can affect them. Coaches try to keep them running and practicing, but those holidays can be awful on the diet!