NCAA Conference Championships Recaps 2009

If asked coming into today what the best game of the day would be, nearly everyone in America would say Florida vs. Alabama without a second thought. This just goes to show why they play the games, and why they need more games to determine who the best team is. Well, after today, Alabama should be the unanimous #1 after their dominating performance against the Gators. Alabama was in control of the Gators the whole game, winning by a final score of 32-13. Tim Tebow was in tears at the end as the winning streak ended at 22 games. His shedding of tears even made ESPN's top 10 plays of the day.

In the early game, Cincinnati and Pittsburgh turned in an exciting high-scoring game in a light snow. Cinci quarterback Pike had an off day in throwing 3 picks but the Bearcats were able to battle back late to narrowly escape from Heinz Field with a victory and 12-0 season. Pittsburgh built a 31-10 lead just before the half but Cincinnati returned a kickoff for a touchdown with a minute to go in the first half. Cincinnati tied the game at 38 late in the 4^th and Pittsburgh drove down to take the lead with just under 2 minutes to play, but they botched the extra point. Cincinnati took full advantage of that and scored a touchdown and the extra point as time ran out to win 45-44. A truly heartbreaking loss for the Panthers, who will now probably have to settle for a Meineke Bowl bid instead of a BCS Bowl.

Georgia Tech and Clemson had an equally thrilling game. It was a see-saw battle with Tech leading mose of the way that featured exactly zero punts. Both offenses shined just as expected. CJ Spiller racked up 233 yards on the ground while Dwyer, Nesbitt and company compiled 333 rushing yards. Tech had a chance to put the game away when they were driving in Clemson territory with a 6 point lead and 8 minutes to go, but they couldn't convert a 4^th and 1 at the Clemson 40 yard line. Clemson quickly scored a touchdown on the ensuing possession, but Tech answered with a long scoring drive of their own and took a 39-34 lead with 1:20 to play. Clemson went 4 and out on their final possession to secure the victory for the Yellow Jackets. GT will be in the Orange Bowl, likely against TCU and Clemson probably will go to the Gator Bowl again, but they may fall to the Champs Sports Bowl or Music City Bowl.

In the Big 12, offense was almost non-existent today. Nebraska barely got 100 yards of total offense but had the lead with 1 second to play in the ball game. A last second field goal by Texas pulled them over for a 13-12 victory. This lackluster performance from the Longhorns will spark lots of debate as to whether they really deserve to play for the national title with TCU, Cincinnati, and Boise State also undefeated. Chances are slim the BCS will bump one of them over perennial power Texas, but I think it should happen. TCU hasn't come close to losing and has played nearly as tough a schedule.