Is it over yet? For the past week, I’ve found myself in sort of a trance. Football games on my TV left and right. When one ended, another one began. It was wash, rinse, and repeat since last Monday. If you happened to miss a game, let me help you! The Good: The Notre Dame Fighting Irish found themselves playing in a bowl game that was less than desirable for their fan base and players alike. For a major program, there’s always two ways to handle a bowl game that doesn’t fit expectations. The Irish showed they weren’t going to just go through the motions and might have found themselves the future of the program in quarterback Malik Zaire. Zaire was extremely poised during crucial moments of the game against LSU, and ended up with Zaire taking home the Music City Bowl’s player of the game award. After finding out that their record breaking quarterback, J.T. Barrett would miss the post season, Urban Meyer turned to untested Cardale Jones to lead the Ohio State Buckeyes into the two most important games of the season. All Jones has done is help lead the Buckeyes to 101 points in those two games, and dethroned everyone’s favorite to win the National Championship, Alabama. Jones, who started the season as the teams third-string quarterback, is doing his best to ensure that Ohio State will have the most heated QB battle in the nation next season. Regardless of what happens in the championship game against Oregon, Ohio State has exceeded even their expectations. The whispers amongst fans in regards to Andrew Luck’s inability to produce in the post season were getting awfully loud. Until Sunday, his eight interceptions in three games had people worried that maybe he wouldn’t be the answer needed in Naptown. With Sunday’s performance, while not gaudy, it was just want the Colts fans ordered. Luck and the Colts’ offense controlled play for the majority of their 26-10 win over the Bengals. The whispers have been silenced just a bit, but with a win next week against the Denver Broncos, the whispers could be all but gone! The Bad: For weeks I’ve stood on my soap box and whined to whoever would listen that the Florida State Seminoles were underrated. I thought that being 29-0 should give them a pass to be the No. 1 team in the country and the opportunity to play Ohio State in the Sugar Bowl. What I didn’t know is that even after coming from behind in so many games this season, when faced with adversity against an elite team, the Seminoles quit. After only scoring six points in three red zone chances in the first half against Oregon, the Seminoles showed nothing in the second half that resembled the team that we’ve seen for the last two years. Jameis Winston was even seen on the sideline arguing once again with coach Jimbo Fisher when things got out of hand. My allegiance to the Noles will never waiver, but the disappointment in how they handled themselves, both during and after the game, left a sour taste in my mouth. Leading 34-13 with four minutes to go, the Pittsburgh Panthers were already envisioning a win in the Armed Forces Bowl. As Lee Corso would say, “not so fast my friend.” Houston would recover two onside kicks and score three touchdowns in the final 3:41 to come all the way back and steal a win. Houston even decided to go for a two-point conversion, which was successful, to seal the deal. Being a Chicago Cubs fan I’ve seen my fair share of meltdowns, but I’m not sure I’ve seen anything quite like that.
