Florida Gators Win National Championship

by Deb Cupples |  I'm in Gainesville Florida, and it's just after midnight on Friday Jan 9.  I'm hearing horns honking in the distance, people hooting, and firecrackers going off. 

Given the town's reaction, I'm assuming that the Florida Gators won the national championship game.  Now, I'll do a Google search and make sure.... 

By George, BCS's web site says that the Gators beat Oklahoma:

"Their 24-14 win over No. 2 Oklahoma in a choppy, sloppy affair Thursday night made them a national champion. But it might have done little to quiet fans of Southern California, Utah and Texas, all of whom already claimed the top spot."

I don't know what that second sentence means, which is a dead giveaway that I don't follow sports very closely.  At any rate, congratulations to the Gators!

Comments

[James Stripes]

I give up on football annually, only looking in briefly at the start of the season to see whether my alma mater will do well. If they show promise, I follow things a bit. Nevertheless, I know this much: the BCS was supposed to end the endless disputes regarding who deserves the national championship by pitting the top teams against each other in a championship game. A few problems emerge, however. Utah beat everyone they played, but had an easy schedule. USC, the preseason favorites, lost to Oregon State, but more or less demolished everyone else. And their conference, the Pac-10, is always tough from top to bottom. Utah won all their games, and their "easy" schedule included Oregon State.

The Gators can enjoy their victory, but it is hollow. Football needs playoffs.

[Deb Cupples (Buck Naked Politics)]

HI James,

thanks for explaining that!

[Steve]

Pac 10 tough from top to bottom? Ha. Did the teams in Washington combined win any games at all? Pac 10 only put 5 teams in bowls. So half the conference wasn't good enough to go to a bowl. How many New Years Day or later bowls? That would be one. Pac 10 has one good team and four that somehow managed to win weenie bowls.

[James Stripes]

Half the Pac-10 in bowls, and most won. That's a typical year, too. How many conferences can make that claim? Since the Pac-10 teams mostly play each other every year, it's difficult for more than half to ever go to a bowl. Losses accumulate when other Pac-10 teams are on the schedule. If a Pac-10 team ever finishes undefeated, that almost merits a national title by itself.

But, as I said, I give up on football every year my alma mater does poorly, and they finished almost last in the Pac-10 this year, so I don't know anything.

[mdvgator]

The Gators not only won the National Championship, but it made OU look like they were pretenders, not contenders. Most of the team is coming back, so watch out in 2009!

Go Gators!

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It goes without saying that Steve was and still is infinitely and incomparably more important than anything that ever happens to the Oregon Ducks. But we graft emotions about the important stuff in life, stuff we couldn’t ordinarily find voice to express, into the rise and fall of the sports teams we support.