Final Four 2017 Breakdown

March Madness reaches its crescendo this weekend. 68 teams started on the road to Phoenix, and now four remain. Of these four we have two number one seeds, two surprises and yet three teams competing in their first Final Four ever and one blue blood, blue chip program.

In this piece I will be breaking down the Final Four teams and the match ups albeit in brief, but if you like what you are reading, please comment and let me know.

On Saturday night we have the two semi-final matchups; South Carolina (7) v Gonzaga (1) followed by Oregon (3) v North Carolina (1).

South Carolina Gamecocks

(SEC, 26-10)

The lowest ranked seed and the best story of the tournament, an embattled head coach whose behaviour on the sidelines sometimes draws more headlines than his teams play. Frank Martin led the Gamecocks to the tournament on a bad run of only three wins in their last 9 games, the last two being defeats to Ole Miss and Alabama - two teams who did not make the tournament.

However, Martin can coach defence and in the same vein of Rick Pitino's Louisville national title winning side of recent years, defence can get you further in a single-elimination format. They have defeated Marquette, Duke, Baylor and Florida, all teams with powerful offences that they have slowed down by being physical. Can they slow down Gonzaga who are as big and as powerful in a good match-up contest. Their own offensive efficiency despite Sindarius Thornwell's heroics might mean this is one game too far; yet they have showed that there is more to the SEC than just John Calipari and the Kentucky Wildcats.

Gonzaga Bulldogs

(WCC, 36-1)

The King of the mid-majors finally made the Final Four after numerous falls following numerous seedings as No.1. This year, Mark Few has garnered his best team full of versatility owing to the nine-man rotation Few employs. Led by Polish senior guard Przemek Karnowski and junior guard Nigel Williams-Ross; the Bulldogs can mix it up defensively in a low scoring game such as the press versus West Virginia or dominant with their size as they did against Xavier in that 24 point victory in the Elite 8.

The thing to fear of the Bulldogs is the stage itself, this is the first time these players would have played in a venue this size and the same applies to Few also. This is a stage Few and his team were made for, now he has to fulfil all the promise and handle the expectation, firstly to overcome the stellar South Carolina defence then who knows.

Oregon Ducks

(Pac-12, 33-5)

These mighty Ducks have had to overcome the most adversity following the loss of Chris Boucher to an ACL injury before the tournament started, and yet the play of three guys Tyler Dorsey, Dillon Brooks, Jordan Bell have taken turns to dominant games. Against Kansas they dominated the paint owing to Bell's size and favourable matchup versus the Jayhawks smaller guards; this might not happen against the North Carolina Tar Heels who won the battle of the paint versus Kentucky.

The Ducks can have offensive nights and can stop teams but can they do so against the Tar Heels who have modified their tempo from game to game, and who matchup well in the paint with them.

North Carolina Tar Heels

(ACC, 31-7)

The Tar Heels have been here before, Roy Williams has been here before. They are probably the favourites to win it all, and it is the versatility of their line up and potential to alter their game to the opponent. Against Kentucky they took Justin Jackson and his offensive potential and instead told him to go man-to-man on Malik Monk prompting Jackson to shoot less and getting more points from Theo Pinson and game-winner Luke Maye. 

The Tar Heels have other game changers in Kennedy Meeks and Stilman White, while questions remain over the full fitness of Joel Berry who has an ankle injury.  The Tar Heels unlike the other teams in the field, have more answers than questions hanging over them. If Jackson can be unleashed from defensive duties will the Ducks be able to handle a team that can easily score 70+, can the Ducks match that.

Final Four predictions

Gonzaga over South Carolina; North Carolina over Oregon

Title match

North Carolina defeat Gonzaga in a classic and Roy Williams is cutting down the nets.

College Football Week 3 review

Thanks to the wonders of scheduling, we had the marquee match-up of the season in just the third week of the season.  The walking hyperbole or is it hype machine, Johnny Manziel, whose performance on the road at Alabama helped him win the Heisman Trophy this year welcomed the National Champions to College Station, Texas; as the #6 Texas A&M Aggies hosted #1 Alabama on Saturday.

The game that was hyped to the hilt for once did not disappoint as the Crimson Tide remained unbeaten winning 49-42 on the road to stay the No.1 team in the country.  Yet the Aggies still put up a lot of questions of this weaker Bama defence, as wide receiver Mike Evans had 7 catches for 279 yards and 1 touchdown.

The questions of the defence come down to the giving up of 628 total yards (464 passing yards by Manziel), and yet they won by a touchdown owing to A&M having one more turnover.  AJ McCarron marshalled the offence 20-29, 334 yards and 4 TDs with TJ Yeldon having 149 yards off of 25 carries.  Yeldon has filled the hole left by Eddie Lacy. Yet it is the winning mentality of the Crimson Tide who retained enough players from the Championship side to retain a cohesiveness, whilst the offensive line improved allowing McCarron time to throw; the defence needs to step up in later contests down the stretch - Zach Mettenberger must be licking his lips at the prospect of facing this team.

The SEC is fast becoming the highest scoring conference helped by teams like the Aggies; the Tide and LSU Tigers so often renowned for being professional and getting the job done, are now scoring 40 plus points regularly and this is good for the product of College Football.

One reason for the high scoring must be a reaction to the Oregon Ducks and the Chip Kelly offense; the Ducks continued their march with a 59-14 home victory over the SEC's Tennessee Volunteers led by Marcus Mariota throwing for a career-high 456 yards and four touchdowns.  Amazingly, the Volunteers scored on their first possession, but where you worried?  Mariota is my favourite for the Heisman Trophy, if they remain undefeated then the sheer volume of points and dynamic ability will seal it for him.

The Big 10's big noise are the Ohio State Buckeyes who went undefeated last year but were ineligible for bowl selection.  Eligibility is available this year and they intend to make it count with so many players returning. On Saturday, they travelled to California and won 52-34 with fifth year quarterback Kenny Guiton getting his first start and leading them to victory with 21-32, 276 yards and 4 TDs.  In comparison to Braxton Miller who gives you options on the run, Guiton is a better pocket passer and gives time for receivers to get separation and hits his targets.

Florida State Seminoles decimated the Nevada Wolf Pack 62-7 at home, redshirt freshman Jameis Winston went 15-18 for 214 yards and 2 touchdowns.  The Seminoles along with the Louisville Cardinals (who won 27-13 at Kentucky) are attempting to make the ACC get noticed and the play of Winston and Cardinals' Teddy Bridgewater, who is projected as the top quarterback in the upcoming draft, are turning heads.

Another QB who could be drafted high will be UCLA's Brett Hundley who led his Bruins to a supreme road victory at the #23 Nebraska Cornhuskers.  Hundley led his team from an 18 point deficit to win comfortably 41-21 thanks to a 28 point third quarter.  Hundley went 16-24, 294 yards for 2 TDs with help from RB Jordan James who had 105 yards off 22 carries, Hundley had 61 yards off 16 carries.  Hundley's leadership is vital to the Bruins going forward and they need to keep winning for the eventual meeting with the Oregon Ducks in the Pac-12.

And poor old Texas Longhorns, lost for a second consecutive week, to go 1-2 for the first time since Mack Brown's debut season.  They lost 44-23 at home to Ole Miss Rebels (who next play Alabama in two weeks time) thanks to Jeff Scott 164 yards off 19 carries who ran at will against the struggling Longhorns, who have a problem but seem to have no idea of stopping it.

What to watch in Week 4:
Tajh Boyd and #3 Clemson return to national stage on Thursday night at North Carolina State; On Saturday, upset alert as Purdue (who nearly beat Notre Dame) travel to #24 Wisconsin; Alabama are at home to Colorado State (snooze); #23 Arizona State at #5 Stanford should be a great match-up and close contest and Auburn travel to #8 LSU for a typical SEC slugfest.

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2013 FCB Week 1 review

And we are off.  The race for the final BCS National Championship before the inaugural four team play-off next year has began in earnest.

Week One in College Football is a rare monster, not as traditional as Opening Day in Baseball, not as glamorous as week 1 of the NFL season yet due to the ESPN monster it is just as hyped an event.  These are the stars of the NFL future, although amateur by definition they are as feted as former college now NFL stars Andrew Luck and Robert Griffin III.

Last year was Year One of Johnny Football and the huge rotation of Jadeveon Clowney's monster hit in January led to him being earmarked as the next Lawrence Taylor or Ray Lewis.  Fittingly, it was Clowney and his side, South Carolina Gamecocks who opened up the College Football season at home to North Carolina Tar Heels.  The Gamecocks scored on their opening drive, a huge 65 yard TD pass from Conor Shaw to Shaq Roland gave the #7 ranked Gamecocks a lead they never relinquished, winning 27-10.  The Tar Heels offered little on offence, a blessing considering Clowney's sub-par performance where he had no sacks and only three first half tackles.  An upset stomach was apparently too blame, although the humidity at the 6pmEST kick-off could be as much at fault.

National Champions, Alabama Crimson Tide opened on neutral territory at the Georgia Dome versus the Virginia Tech Hokies.  Although the scoreline looks lopsided 35-10, the Tide were helped by Christian Jones scoring a kickoff return TD, a punt return TD and a reception TD for 256 total yards.  The Hokies exposed a new offensive line for Alabama who lost three four-year starters to the draft this year; they packed the box with eight defenders prompting confusion and panic for QB AJ McCarron who finished with 10-23, 110 yards, 1 TD and 1 INT.  The same packed box allowed RB TJ Yeldon 75 yards of the 96 total rushing yards.

They may be National Champions but even champions have some weaknesses that were exposed and need rectifying before next week's huge match-up versus Texas A&M Aggies and Johnny Manziel.

Following on from his NCAA squabble about signing for paid autographs, Manziel was punished with having to sit out the first half of their home opener versus Rice.  At half time the Aggies needed him as they held a slender 28-21 lead over the unfancied Rice Owls.  Manziel answered the call with three TD passes to help them come out 52-31 victors.  Manziel seems to have this aura about him off the field which cannot be put into question in spite of his off-the-field behaviour.

Oregon may have lost Chip Kelly to the Philadelphia Eagles, but for new Head Coach Mark Helfrich it is the same old story as they decimated Nicholls State College 66-3 with three players having 100+ yard games rushing including QB Marcus Mariota had 113 yards in addition to his 234 passing yards.  The Ducks had 772 total offensive yards and remain favourites for the Pac 12 title this season with Mariota an under the radar Heisman selection.

Fresh for bowl eligibility this season, Urban Meyer hopes to lead the Ohio State Buckeyes to the National Championship after going undefeated last season.  They opened on Saturday with a 40-20 home victory over Buffalo Bulls.  Braxton Miller went 15-22, 178 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT but the impressive performance was RB Jordan Hall who had 2 TDs for 159 yards off 21 carries. However, there were moments of worry for the Buckeyes that many better teams would have taken advantage of.

However, that is why many ranked sides open up against easy opposition to give them the opportunity to iron out any creases on both sides of the ball in a real game time situation.  Some choose to open with a tougher opponent such as LSU Tigers who played Big 12 TCU at Cowboys Stadium and proved victorious 37-27 for a big non-conference win before the conference slate begins.  QB Zach Mettenberger went 16-32 for 251 yards, 1 TD and crucially no turnovers for the senior man, as his side had 448 total yards.  TCU led by Gary Patterson have been touted as a side who can step up and mix with the big boys of the SEC, whilst they did themselves justice they only had 259 total yards so to lose by only 10 points was some marker of their intentions and the grit in the side.  This close encounter was the game of the weekend.

And just behind was Georgia 35 Clemson 38 with two good QBs Aaron Murray and Taj Boyd trading blows but with Boyd coming out on top.  Clemson reside in the ACC but are now in the Championship talk after defeating an SEC side.  Boyd - who along with Teddy Bridgewater (see below) is NFL bound - had 270 yards passing and 3 TDs and also ran for two close to goal TDs for five in total.  Murray had 323 yards passing but one crucial INT with no TDs; and again he came up short in the big game versus a ranked opponent being sacked four times in the process. The Tigers of Clemson made sure their roar was heard on Saturday, expect them to replace Georgia as the #5 ranked side in country come Monday with the new rankings.

Sunday night, another Heisman favourite Teddy Bridgewater the No.1 ranked QB prospect for the NFL draft in 2014 started his campaign with his Louisville Cardinals as they attempt to seek perfection to get to the National Championship.  They made short work of the Ohio Bobcats winning 49-7 at home with Bridgewater going 355 passing yards and 5 TDs.  Louisville play in the ACC, a weak conference in comparison to the SEC, Big 10, Big 12 and Pac 12, they also have a weak schedule so need to run the table and hope teams lose games to their advantage.

Oregon Ducks still swimming

The NCAA released the results of their 27 month investigation into Oregon's College Football recruiting policy, you wonder why it took them so long if they return with such a woeful punishment for such a prominent school, whose illustrious coach is now in the NFL.

The punishment along with public censure including: A loss of one scholarship from two recruiting classes, including last year's class, and a maximum of 84 total scholarship players -- one below the limit -- through the 2015-16 academic year. Three years of probation ending June 25, 2016. A number of recruiting restrictions, including a ban on subscriptions to recruiting services during the probation period, believed to be a first for NCAA sanctions. 

Whereas other schools who have been convicted of wrong-doing have suffered with a post-season bowl ban, Oregon who have lost a National Championship match and been in the hunt for the BCS title for the last four years, unlike say Ohio State and USC who both had to endure post-season bans.  Last season, the Buckeyes went undefeated through the season and yet could not be selected for the Championship game due to their ban, a slight on a sub-par College Football season as you could not get Alabama versus Ohio State, Nick Saban v Urban Meyer.

Pete Carroll was in charge of the USC Trojans during the period under their investigation, Carroll quickly upped sticks and left for the safe confines of Seattle in the NFL, many felt Chip Kelly's decision to leave for the Philadelphia Eagles smacked of the same conviction to avoid any punishment.  And yet Kelly has been banned from College Football for only 18 months, so if the Eagles experiment (where he threatens to run rough shod over the NFC East) is a failure he can return to the safe haven (a la Steve Spurrier) in two seasons.

As well as Chip Kelly the head coach, the others who failed to monitor - the Athletic Director and University President have all been replaced, meaning none have really suffered any personal setback to their tenure.

Oregon lose one scholarship per season for two years, and are under probation for the same period of time - a mere slap on a wrist to a fashionable destination for young student athletes.  If you are not going to ban the school from the post-season, you make it harder for them to get there.  Apparently, it makes it harder for the school during recruitment with the reduction of one scholarship, yet they still have 24 full scholarships to offer to players who can rule the roost in the Pac-12 conference.

Oregon are head and shoulders above the other Pac 12 schools, owing to USC being behind the eight ball for so long.  Oddly, the punishments served to them by the NCAA to remain in a period of strength and not have to worry too much about the ramifications.  In a way, did they really do anything wrong in the first place?