FOOTBALL

It was Championship weekend in college football, and invitations to the BCS National Championship were at stake.  Essentially, there were 4 possible teams who could play for the National Championship.  #1 Alabama, #2 Florida, #3 Texas, and #4 Cincinnati.  Up first… Cincy.

They played a hard fought, back-and-forth battle with rival Pitt in the Big East Championship, but with under two minutes to play, after Pitt had just missed a crucial extra point, quarterback Brian Pike and the Cincy Bearcats battled back.  Then Pike hit Armon Binns for a 29-yard touchdown pass to win the game.  Wow!  With the win, Cincinnati kept their championship hopes alive, but, essentially, they needed Nebraska to beat Texas in the Big 12 Championship.  Cincy 45, Pitt 44.

However, next up was the much anticipated SEC Championship between #1 Florida and #2 Alabama.  Both teams were undefeated and the winner was headed to the BCS Championship.  This was also a rematch of last year’s SEC Championship, and this year, Alabama was looking for revenge.  However, Tim Tebow was on a quest to win, count ’em, 3 National Championships in 4 years, and most likely be dubbed the best college player ever.  Well… wouldn’t happen.  Alabama came out swingin’, and Tebow was held in check.  Tebow even botched two crucial possessions that would have put Florida back in the game.  No, the star of the game was Alabama’s Heisman candidate — running-back Mark Ingram, who rushed for 113 yards and 3 Touchdowns.  And Alabama is off to Pasadena for the big game.  Alabama 32, Florida 13.

So… would they face the winner of Texas/Nebraska or the underdog candidate Cincinnati.  Well, most thought the Texas/Nebraska game in Dallas would be an easy Texas victory.  Their potent offense would probably be held in check due to Nebraska’s tenacious defense, but the Longhorns were expected to win handily.  This is not what happened.  Instead, it was a low-scoring affair, and Nebraska took a 12-10 lead with just 1:44 remaining.  Texas got the ball back, but struggled to produce.  Then, Texas QB Colt McCoy hit Jordan Shipley for a big gain to put the Longhorns in long field goal range.  But, when they attempted to move the ball closer, McCoy looked loopy and threw the ball out of bounds with just 2 seconds left, and the clock went to 0 seconds.  Was the game over?  Did Texas lose on an error?  The CornHuskers rushed the field, but, fortunately for Texas, the ref waved them away.  The lucky Longhorns would get to attempt a game winning field goal that would send them to Pasadena for the BCS Championship.  And… Hunter Lawrence hit a beautiful 46 yard field goal (hard for college) to win the game.  Texas 12, Nebraska 10.

So it will be Alabama/Texas for the big game NEXT year on Thursday January 7th.

And in the NFL, the Indianapolis Colts and New Orleans Saints were hoping to both go 12-0.  That’s incredible that two teams still remain unbeaten at this point.  The Colts won handily against Tennessee, but the Saints had a huge struggle with a feisty Washington Redskin team.  The Skins led almost the entire game, but Drew Brees worked his magic at the end and tied the game at 30 (primarily because Washington missed a crucial extra point).  And in overtime, the Saints methodically moved the ball down the field, and kicked an easy game-winning field goal.  Ladies and gentleman, the NEW ORLEANS SAINTS are 12-0.  Think about that.  New Orleans 33, Washington 30.  Indianapolis 27, Tennessee 17.