last nights semis were the worst collective display of defense I've ever seen. I think a lot of HS teams could have put up 24 on any of the 4 teams playing.
I get that no draftable player wants to get hurt and those big dudes get out of shape quickly but my lord they all looked horrible. No one wanted to hit or tackle and they were all gassed by halftime.
Your observation raises the question of why they make these teams wait nearly a month after their conference championships to play these important games. Definitely a lot of rust out there and uncharacteristic mistakes in both semifinal games.
Lot of people saying the Georgia qb is not that good and they had like 5 first rounders on D drafted this year from the championship team last year--players they lost although probably replaced by 5 stars anyways. TCU did well physically against Michigan and also slowed a great Texas RB earlier this year. But TCU has stellar corners as well. If Georgia tries to out physical TCU they may be in for a surprise. TCU WR Johnston is a dawg. Georgia has had an incredible two-season run. But you know what, every college team in history is far from perfect. I can see TCU sticking around and putting in a scare but the Georgia depth can take over in the 4th quarter as they did versus Ohio State. Go TCU! But I'd guess Georgia wins, 33-20.
Ya I loved that game the Boise hook and lateral play was great.
Boise State produced a lot of solid nfl players and they could have won a natty given the chance. They beat Oregon back to back seasons around the same time Oregon made the championship game where Oregon lost a very close game that they could have won to Cam Newton and Aubrun. Boise basically beat every powerhouse school they played but still the pundits doubted them and always had illogical, double standard excuses.
I loved Boise, but the knock was they played one such game a season (at the most) and the rest of the schedule was not great. Very different than playing what would now be Power 5 teams week in and week out.
To Ponce de leon: you sound like the not so smart people would think Alabama could beat the Texans (as an example): no just no. I do not think a team of HS all stars would score on any of those teams.
I am pretty sure the UGA players wanted to hit but often they are not close enough to the OSU receivers :( I also think Harrison would take issue with the assertion that UGA did not want to hit anyone (clean albeit vicious hit).
Why do they wait? A few reasons (and these will be gone when the 12 team starts): 1) exams but more importantly 2) the connection to the bowls that are played on or around January 1. 3) TV money. When the 12 team playoff starts, there will be about a 12 day period (that is in the contract as a minimum) between the conference championship games and the first playoff games. This year those first round games would have been held as early as December 15.
As for fatigue, I think that there are several reasons. A lot of games these teams played were blow outs so a player like Jalen Carter does not play as many plays. Specific to the UGA OSU game, Mercedes Benz is a hot stadium. My nephew was at the game and commented on how hot it was in the stands. Add in running around with pads and a helmet on. Also you cannot replicate that intensity and speed in practice very often.
last nights semis were the worst collective display of defense I've ever seen. I think a lot of HS teams could have put up 24 on any of the 4 teams playing.
I get that no draftable player wants to get hurt and those big dudes get out of shape quickly but my lord they all looked horrible. No one wanted to hit or tackle and they were all gassed by halftime.
Fun games to watch though if you are into Madden
You must have been watching the old 60s game of electric board football.