Back in the Saddle
Posted January 2, 2007, 8:37 PM ET

I hope everybody had a great holiday season and is fully energized for another crazy year of sports. After the traditional time off to spend with family and friends, I'm ready to get back to work.

The last few weeks in sports have really been incredible, and I'm still trying to get over the ending of the Fiesta Bowl. Surely by now you have seen the highlights of the Boise State-Oklahoma game, and if you stayed up like me, you probably couldn't believe your eyes watching that game unfold the way it did. I'm going on record right now, basically a few days into the new year, that you will not witness a sporting event this calendar year that will leave you as speechless as that game.

Like everybody else, I have watched endless hours of football, but that might have been the best game that I've ever seen....I still can't believe it....thanks to Boise State and Oklahoma for providing one of the most entertaining football evenings (and mornings) that I can remember.

Before the goofy bowl season started, I wasn't thrilled about the matchup of the 32 postseason games, but I have been pleasantly surprised by the competitive nature of the games since we turned the calendar to 2007. Leading into the Orange Bowl, we've had 10 games decided by three points or less, and that includes some incredible comebacks, rallies and storybook endings.

As usual, the more college games you watch, the dumber you become in trying to figure out the outcomes and winners. I've given up trying to reason why certain teams and coaches excel or flop in the postseason. There are a couple of teams/coaches that immediately come to mind....

Let's start with my alma mater, the Clemson Tigers. They were pathetic in their loss to Kentucky. It looked like the team and coaches would rather hang out back at the Esso Club than to compete against a middle-of-the-pack SEC team like Kentucky. At least South Carolina saved some face for the Palmetto State by bringing some passion and excitement to their bowl game. Right now, it looks like those two programs are heading in the opposite direction. Gamecock fans should be stoked by the job of Steve Spurrier, while Clemson fans are figuring out the buyout clause for Tommy Bowden.

Speaking of the SEC, my beloved Southern Fried Football™ brethren were swept by the Big Ten on New Year's Day...I can usually count on Phil Fulmer's team to lay an egg in the postseason. What is it with the Vols? They were flatter than Clemson and Fulmer had no clue. The Penn State kids played inspired and found a way to win for Joe Pa.

Arkansas outgained Wisconsin, 232 yards to -5 on the ground, and lost. The Big Ten has now beaten the SEC in 5 of the last 7 bowl games and oh, yeah...there's a big, big matchup on Monday night in the Arizona desert. What makes the showdowns between the SEC and the Big Ten so interesting is that they normally play great games and give us a feel for the power leagues around the country. The Big Ten is 0-4 without the SEC sweep....like I stated earlier, the more college football you watch, the dumber you get.

By the way, in doing some homework, I found out that the Big Ten now has an overall bowl record of 111-111-3 heading into the BCS title game on Monday night. I would have bet the ranch that the conference with all of its tradition, would have a better bowl record than .500. In fact, this year will mark the fourth consecutive year that the Big Ten will be .500 or worse in their bowl match-ups...but they have kicked the SEC around the past few years.

While the SEC has been lackluster in the postseason (the conference is 4-3 with both LSU and Florida yet to play), I wonder if we can get Phil Fulmer to exchange motivational tapes with Lloyd Carr? I couldn't believe how poorly the Wolverines played in getting hammered by Southern Cal. Anybody that is still whining about how Michigan should be playing the Buckeyes in a rematch should have to turn in their "College Football Fan" membership.

I'm happy for Wake Forest (I'm writing this before the start of the Orange Bowl), and it really doesn't matter how it turns out in Miami. Jim Grobe's guys have been an amazing story and every Swiss fan I know bought a ticket and headed to South Beach. One thing the ACC should do in football for 2007 is get the SEC off the schedule. Not only did Clemson and Virginia Tech lose to SEC teams in the postseason, but the ACC was a woeful 1-7 against the SEC in 2006. The only win....Wake Forest, of course. The Swiss won at Ole Miss. Ironically, while the SEC was being swept by the Big Ten in the bowl games, the ACC (Maryland) pounded Purdue of the Big Ten....go figure?

Notre Dame has lost a record-tying 8 consecutive bowl games, and now they get to play LSU in New Orleans. Good luck, Brady Quinn....the pounding he can expect to take on the Superdome field will come in handy, since he's likely to be taken first by the Oakland Raiders in April's NFL Draft. Quinn will find out that the Raiders can't block anybody, either.

I would love to be excited about the NFL Playoffs, but our local team decided to suck on a consistent basis all year. What else can you say about the Panthers, other than "thank goodness it's over"? The Panthers blew a golden opportunity to take over a terrible NFC...the fact that a team like Philly can win five straight, win the NFC East and be considered the "team to beat" should tell you how bad the NFC is...and how bad the Panthers' season turned out in 2006. Trust me on this one, but Philly is an afterthought if Jake doesn't toss one of his numerous, late-fourth-quarter INT's at "The Link" on a Monday night game in early December. That was the game that was the catalyst for the Eagles' remarkable run and it was also the telltale sign that the Panthers just weren't good enough to do anything about it.

By the way, is Jerry Richardson still pimping tickets for that home playoff game? What a crock.

Since the Panthers are out, we have to live vicariously through some other teams and fans.....

I don't trust the Colts' defense. I read this week where Indy's run defense is ranked the 7th worst in NFL history. I love Tony Dungy, and if Peyton Manning would win the title it would be a great story, but it ain't happening.

San Diego is a great story and watching LT is a joy. Philip Rivers winning a Super Bowl would be cool, too....but coach Marty Schottenheimer hasn't won a playoff game since he was with the KC Chiefs in 1993.

Why isn't anybody talking about the Ravens?

I mentioned how weak the collection of NFC teams are in the playoffs. I saw this week where the 6 AFC playoff teams are 21-3 against their NFC playoff competitors. Ouch.

How 'bout dem Cowboys? They haven't won a playoff game in ten years....and they will be hard-pressed to win this week in Seattle. I thought their defense was loaded...since Thanksgiving, the Cowboys' defense is giving up nearly 420 yards per game. Tony Romo is God, right?

Away from football, we had some bizarre news, too. Tiger Woods is an expectant father in 2007...that's great news. America's other sports marketing icon, Michael Jordan, officially announced that he is getting a divorce from his wife of 17 years. It was just last week where the NY Post was spotting Jordan out on the town with his former NBA buddies trying to pick up women to go clubbing....I'm sure that's the image Bob Johnson needs portrayed in image-conscious Charlotte.

Bobby Knight finally passed "The Dean" in total wins....and for the record, he has lost 100 more games than Coach Smith....and I love the new ESPN commercials involving Jay Bilas and the college basketball crew. "Duke Boy" is hilarious and it's one of ESPN's best spoof ads.

Enough of all this nonsense...I've got to get ready for the show. It's good to be back in the Big Chair.