The True Champion

So last night Florida defeated Oklahoma, winning their second championship in three seasons. Of course I was wrong yet again with a prediction.

I do not agree that Florida really "won" a championship though. They are the champions because they benefitted from a flawed system in which biased pollsters and computers that can't think, decide who the champion is from a select few schools. Before the season starts, 110 teams, approximately, are automatically out of championship contention. Florida and Oklahoma can lose games and it doesn't even hurt them. Texas and USC lost one game each, being punished for it. Because of biases, USC was still able to remain ahead of other more deserving teams throughout the season (at the time though, now I fully feel they are deserving of possibly being national champion). Texas Tech lost to Oklahoma and their season was over. The whole system is a complete joke. Utah lost ZERO games this year, was undefeated, and does not even get serious championship consideration. Screw the BCS and get a freaking playoff system like any other real sport.

Texas, Florida, USC, and Utah all have legitimate arguments for being national champion (TOO BAD THEY AREN'T PLAYING IT OUT ON THE FIELD SO THAT WE CAN ACTUALLY KNOW WHO REALLY IS), but I think Utah really got shammed. I don't care if they play in a "lesser" conference. Who is anyone to determine what is a lesser conference, and what is a major conference? If a team is good, a team is good. Utah was UNDEFEATED. They beat Alabama, a team that was ranked number one for five weeks. They beat them by more points than Florida did. Utah also beat TCU. Also, I don't care what conference a team plays in, undefeated is undefeated. If it was so easy, more teams would do it and it would happen more often. I would really like to see the champion be decided on a field, but if I had to choose one team just from what they've shown this season, my vote goes to Utah as the NCAA football national champion.

Finally, here's my predictions for this weekend's playoff games:

Ravens @ Titans -

I totally disrespected the Ravens. That defense is amazing, especially since they have God, aka Ed Reed on their team. The Ravens will shut down the Titans running game (they have the longest streak in the NFL without allowing a 100 yard rusher at 36 games and counting) and Ed Reed will wreck havoc for Kerry Collins. Don't forget, this used to be one of the most bitter rivalries in the NFL before the divisions were re-aligned. The Titans defense is really good too, but I think the Ravens offense will do barely what it has to, to win the game. It also helps when the defense is scoring touchdowns for you. Also, the last time the Ravens played a playoff game in Tennessee, they beat the Titans on their way to winning the Super Bowl. My final score is Ravens win the game 10-7.

Cardinals @ Panthers -

I underestimated the Cardinals, and overestimated the Falcons. However, the Panthers are the real deal, and they are healthy. Also, the Cardinals are nowhere close to as good on the road as they are at home. This should be an easy win for the Panthers. Deangelo Williams will run the ball easily and Steve Smith will have a field day. The Cardinals will have to be one dimensional and pass the ball to keep up with the Panthers. Also, Anquan Boldin might not be healthy for this game. The final score for this game is Panthers win 38-17.

Eagles @ Giants -

Another matchup between two bitter NFC East rivals. They split the season series 1-1, with the Eagles winning the most recent matchup. This will be another physical battle. Brandon Jacobs should be back from his knee injury. However, Donovan McNabb is on fire. He'll lead the Eagles to the NFC Championship game yet again. Manning will do what he can to get the Giants the win, but he's going to really miss not having Plaxico Burress to get plays with. I also just don't see them moving the ball easily on the Eagles defense. Jim Johnson is one of the best in the game. Eagles win the game 24-21.

Chargers @ Steelers -

This might be the best game of them all. The Chargers are on fire, and the Steelers defense is still the best in the game. The Steelers won the last matchup between these teams 11-10 earlier this season. The Chargers are much, much better than they were at the time, but they will miss LT. Darren Sproles can't and won't run against the Steelers defense at all, they are just too good. Philip Rivers will do his best, but it won't be enough against such a great defense. Troy Palamalu will make plays, and James Harrison will continue to wreck havoc. The Chargers will find a way to score a couple of touchdowns, but the Steelers offense will do just enough to win. Hines Ward is the toughest receiver in the game, and Willie Parker will have a good game. I also expect Santonio Holmes to make a couple of big plays. The key for the Steelers is to protect Ben Roethlisberger. I believe they will, and they'll win the game 20-14.