Much like Chinese food, the 2009 college football season initially had me satisfied, but as we reach the end of the regular season, I find myself empty and wanting more. Perhaps we have been spoiled the past few years by an abundance of memorable moments and games:, the Crabtree catch against Texas, an epic Heisman race, Appalachian State upsetting Michigan, countless last second/overtime decisions involving LSU, Charlie Weis tearing an ACL while standing on the sidelines.
Ten years from now, what will we remember about the 2009 regular season? Due to the outcomes, we won’t remember how Texas A&M and Auburn ALMOST shook up the BCS picture during rivalry week. We’ll simply remember that Florida, Alabama and Texas all ran the table and went into the conference title games undefeated. Looking back, I honestly cannot think of a defining moment for the season. One can only hope that something so incredible will happen during the postseason which casts a shadow on the dull regular season.
Perhaps one reason for the season being a little less exciting than usual was poor play of from a lot of teams who typically in the national championship picture. Oklahoma, Florida State, Michigan, and USC all had disappointing seasons. Even some of the teams you expect to compete for their conference, such as Tennessee, Miami and LSU, also didn’t necessarily perform as expect. A few of the preseason top 25 teams had major letdowns early in the year. Ole Miss, USC and Oklahoma never did play like top ten teams, yet all three were in the top eight to begin the year. But you already know how I feel about preseason polls, so I won’t climb back on that soap box.
The Heisman race this year was one of the least interesting in the past decade. We began the year with two Heisman winners returning which is unheard of. Also returning was Colt McCoy who had a ridiculously high completion percentage and gaudy stats worthy of the trophy last year as well. It was almost a foregone conclusion that Tebow, Bradford or McCoy were going to win the Heisman in 2009. But then Bradford got banged up, Tebow started distributing the ball to teammates more often, and McCoy decided to put up mediocre numbers instead of the eye popping stats from last year. There were a handful of running backs, and a few other skill position players, who made a decent claim for the award as well. But there just wasn’t any one player who you could watch week in and out and say ____ is simply the best college football player every single game. Nobody stepped up and stood out. The Heisman race mirrored the rest of the season: mediocrity and forgettable moments.
But it wasn’t all bad- it was still college football, after all. The postseason could totally redeem the less than stellar regular season for all we know. We won’t be returning two Heisman trophy winners next season, that much is safe to say.
Recap of my SEC predictions:
The SEC played out almost exactly as I predicted, from a standings aspect at least, records were a little off and I swapped UGA/UT and Arkansas/Ole Miss in standings. Overall, I feel like I had a pretty good grasp of the conference before the year started. Here is a recap:
EAST:
Florida
Actual: 12-0 (8-0) 1st Place
Predicted: 11-1 (7-1) 1st Place
Tennessee
Actual: 7-5 (4-4) 2nd Place
Predicted: 6-6 (3-5) 3rd Place
UGA
Actual: 7-5 (4-4) 3rd Place
Predicted: 7-5 (5-3) 2nd Place
South Carolina
Actual: 7-5 (3-5) 4th Place
Predicted: 6-6 (2-6) 4th Place
Kentucky
Actual: 7-5 (3-5) 5th Place
Predicted: 4-8 (1-7) 5th Place
Vanderbilt 4-8
Actual: 2-10 (0-8) 6th Place
Predicted: (1-7) 6th Place
WEST:
Alabama
Actual: 12-0 (8-0) 1st Place
Predicted: 10-2 (7-1) 1st Place
LSU
Actual: 9-3 (5-3) 2nd Place
Predicted: 10-2 (6-2) 2nd Place
Ole Miss
Actual: 8-4 (3-5) 3rd Place
Predicted: 9-3 (5-3) 4th Place
Arkansas
Actual: 7-5 (3-5) 4th Place
Predicted: 8-4 (5-3) 3rd Place
Auburn
Actual: 7-5 (3-5) 5th Place
Predicted: 6-6 (3-5) 5th Place
Miss St.
Actual: 5-7 (3-5) 6th Place
Predicted: 4-8 (1-7) 6th Place
I already have a good feeling how things are going to shake out next year in the Southeastern Conference, but you might just have to wait until August before you find out. Next year promises to be a little more exciting across the country than this year. There are some high impact guys who are going to be freshmen in the fall and I think a few of them could make some serious noise in the SEC.
Tired of reading about my predictions? Welp, here is one more batch before the bowl game pick ‘em extravaganza (winners in caps):
Oregon State @ OREGON
CINCINNATI @ Pittsburgh
WEST VIRGINIA @ Rutgers
Arizona @ USC
FLORIDA vs. Alabama
TEXAS vs. Nebraska
CLEMSON vs. Georgia Tech
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