First, let me congratulate Delaware, Appalachian State, Northwest Missouri State, Valdosta State, Mount Union and Wisconsin Whitewater for getting to their respective divisions championship games.
Mount Union is seeking their 10th Division III championship in the last 15 seasons. 10 out of 15. This is an amazing accomplishment. You can compare this feat to three other sports dynasties, NY Yankees (1948-1962), UCLA (1964-1975) and Boston Celtics (1956-1969). This is the list and the measuring stick for greatness.
Mount Union is also seeking their third straight championship for the third time. They are playing Wisconsin-Whitewater for the third consecutive year. Good luck.
Appalachian State is seeking it's third consecutive Division 1AA (FCS) title. The Mountaineers started the 2007 season with a huge bang by upsetting Michigan in the Big House. If you have not watched App State's quarterback/Mr. Everything, Armanti Edwards, watch the title game against Delaware next weekend. For all the talk about Dixon, White, Tebow, Daniels, Bradford and Brennan, Edwards is equal or better. He has over 1500 yards passing and 1500 yards rushing this season with 14 TDs passing and another 21 rushing.
Northwest Missouri State finally got the monkey off their back, or better yet, the Grand Valley State off their back. Grand Valley State has beaten NW Missou St in the Division II Championship the last two years. Unlike the two championship games where the game was close, NW Missouri St dominated Grand Valley for most of this game. Behind Xavier Omon's rushing, the Bearcats punished the Lakers in 4th quarter to earn their ticket to the championship game.
Florida quarterback Tim Tebow won the Heisman Trophy last night beating out Arkansas running back Darren McFadden. McFadden also finished second in 2006. Brennan of Hawaii and Daniel of Missouri finished third and fourth respectively. Looking at the season as a whole, Tebow probably deserved the award, but McFadden is definitely the best college football player. SEC and Big 12 foes take note, Tebow and Daniel are back next season.
The bowl games kick off next week and unlike many college football "experts," I happen to love every game. Who cares if some games are not sold out or if some games match fairly weak opponents? The bowls give me a chance to see more football as well as a look at teams not seen to often. Here's my opinion about some of the early bowl games:
Utah v. Navy. I think this is an excellent match-up. Both teams are 8-4. After starting the season 1-3, the Utes went 7-1 down the stretch losing only to BYU. Navy finished with four wins, including big wins over Notre Dame and Army. This will be a high scoring game with Utah winning by a touchdown.
Southern Miss v. Cincinnati. The experts think Cinci will roll Southern Miss, but I think this game will be closer than expected. Sure, Southern Miss will be without Coach Bower (bad decision), and Cinci is very strong defensively, but I think Cinci is disappointed in their bowl selection and may play flat.
UCLA v. BYU. The Bruins won by 10 on Sept. 8th, but these two teams are headed in opposite directions. BYU finished 10-2 and won the MWC, and UCLA finished 6-6 that got Coach Dorrell fired. I see the Cougars winning the rematch by 10.
Boise v. East Carolina. Gotta love the Hawaii Bowl. I think if you don't make a BCS game, this is the bowl you want. Last year's bowl darling, Boise, looks to finish the season with a big win. East Carolina had an up and down year - losing a close battle to Va Tech, beating UCF and Houston, but losing to Marshall and Southern Miss. I think Boise wins by 10, but don't be surprised if the Pirates pull an upset.
I'll dissect the remaining bowl games in my next column. A big part of me is sad because another season is winding down quickly. Hopefully there will be some good early bowl games.
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