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| Tony Washington IS The Hulk! |
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| Mariota and the rest of the Ducks refuted the popular myth among the FSU Rank that Oregon was soft. |
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| "Hello Mr. Winston. My name is Chris Seisay. I'm the redshirt freshman cornerback you were planning to pick on today." From the Oregonian: No Florida State receiver eclipsed 100 yards. [Top FSU receiver Rashaad] Greene, mostly covered by [Tony] Hill but occasionally Seisay, had six catches for 59 yards. The longest Florida State completion was 29 yards. |
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| Winston crushed. |
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| Running Back Thomas Tyner had a phenomenal game. He came back from injuries to run for 124 yards and 2 TD's. He and . . . . . |
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| 4th string RB Keni Benoit, who mopped up in the fourth quarter, both wore Florida State players like capes as they showcased Oregon's speed. |
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| Ahh, that's a shame. Charles Nelson's cape fell off. |
There is so much to say about this game, one could write volumes. Yet all that comes to my mind is,
"Wow".
"Holy Moly".
"Did you see that?!?"
I'm wanting to get into Florida State's mind, a sad and scary place indeed. In the weeks before the game, Coach Jimbo, Jameis and the rest of the gang all kept yammerin' and yakkin'. "29 points" this, "Undefeated" that, and "We've been here before."
I got the feeling they were hoping someone would say, "OK you've done enough already. Here's your Rose Bowl trophy."
While they were puffing their chests and saying all the right things at Disneyland and leading up to the game, I just had this feeling that they looked across at Oregon, thought about how they had been pulling rabbits out all season to preserve their win streak. And . . . .
They knew.
They knew it in the back of their minds.
It was over. All over.
They weren't facing the second and third best ACC teams. This wasn't a paper Notre Dame. This was a stratosphere of a next level. A heavyweight. A killer of giant killers.
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| Victory cigars on the SI cover to counteract its voodooness. |
We stopped at Oregonian sports writer Ken Goe's house. And Goe made an interesting observation as he was hooking up his garden hose to spray us out of his yard.
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| The grandboys with Ken Goe, who refused to sign a release for this picture. |
He said, "At halftime, Florida State had Oregon right where they wanted them." Down by only 5. They had just picked Mariota for only his third time. They would receive the ball first in the second half. Momentum was clearly on their side.
It was time for the Seminoles to take charge and pull out another trademark comeback win. They must have felt really good coming out of the tunnel for the second half.
What was different this time? Oregon's defense is a truly unheralded juggernaut in the second half of games. Also, Oregon's offensive pace routinely has a devastating effect on opposing defenses as the game goes on.
As the game went on, Florida State saw what they couldn't believe; felt what they couldn't admit. Not only was the game slipping away from them, it was free falling.
the first play to the snap on this play? 12 seconds. FSU, to a man,
insisted after the game that Oregon's super fast pace had no impact on them. But on this play, they thought it was going to be another screen pass to the wideout. Oregon made it look that way and had been doing that play all day. But just as importantly,
they did not give FSU time to think and plan for other options. They had no time to communicate.
Winston: "Oh my! Oh Dear! Auntie Em, it's a twister, it's a TWISTER! Help. Help.
OH, JESUS TAKE THE WHEEL!!!!"
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| FUMBLLLLLE!! |
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| FUMBLLLLLE!! |
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| INTERCEPTIOOOOON!! |
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| FUMBLLLLLE!! |
WHATEVER JAMEIS . . . .
Then came the after-party. The Oregonian's John Canzano wrote a great piece that measured the difference between the two Heisman quarterbacks. I got tired of hearing people say how they were "similar". They couldn't be more different.
That was obvious enough in the game. It became crystal clear in the post-game interviews. The following is an excerpt from the article showing Jameis Winston in total denial that Oregon had "honestly" beaten them.
But here's what Winston said: "This game could have went either way, if you want to be -- if everybody in this room just want to be real with themselves, this game could have went either way. We turned the ball over a lot. We beat ourself. Just be real with yourself right now. We beat ourself."
"Tonight was unfortunate," Winston said. "It wasn't just they were stopping us. Their offense did great. Their defense was great. But we were never stopped at all." [I'm . . . . . I'm speechless.]
"It was never over," he said. "Honestly, it was never over. We just got beat, turned the ball over too many times. But it still ain't over. We can go play again, honest."
[And then when Winston looked at the crowd and noticed everybody just slack jawed and staring at him, he added, "29 WINS!"]
Here is the video of the post game interview if you can't believe he actually said that, or his grammar was that poor. In this video they cut to Coach Gumbo and asked him one question about whether or not Oregon's pace had any impact on his team. Again, total denial. I highly suggest he reviews the film and sees it for himself. They were not making plays on the Ducks because they were not given enough time to read and react.
SHUT THE FRONT DOOR!
OREGON DID WHAAAAAAT?!?!?!?
You've probably seen this already as it has gone viral. Because he was busy beating Alabama, Ohio State's coach Urban Meyer hadn't yet heard the final score of Oregon's win over FSU . . .
FUN FACT
This is the first true official NCAA top division playoff national football championship.
In 1939, the NCAA held it's first official national basketball championship.
The players: Ohio State vs. Oregon. Oregon won that game 46-33. Sounds like a pretty good football score too.
ONE FIRST THOUGHT ON THE NEXT STEP
This is a new experience in college football. And the Ducks and Buckeyes have to figure out some new guidelines as they are the first teams to win a bowl to only prepare for another bowl.
Case in point. Did you see all the Duck players passing around the Rose Bowl trophy and kissing it like moms on a new baby?
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| Thomas Tyner |
Am I the only one who worried about them germing up that thing?
More important wisdom later.
--KB
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