Championship Saturday :)

High noon on the first Saturday in December. UCF and SMU just kicked off in the CUSA Championship game in BrightHouse stadium. I started to drive over to that one, but the 50" Samsung is doing the job nicely. UCF is a sleeping giant in college sports. They are the 2nd largest university in the country (really) and are in very fertile recruiting zone geographically. The football team is led by George O'Leary who is a boring no nonsense kind of old school guy. They lost oh so close games to NC State and to Kansas State, and tripped up against Southern Miss. But with freshman Jeff Godfrey at QB, they are a very good team. The Knights have a AQ level defense and now with Godfrey (think Charlie Ward if you are old enough) they can move the chains and score points. They will need to against the Ponies of SMU because June Jones has a prolific passing attack, just like when he coached the Falcons and Hawaii. If UCF wins and I think they will, they will probably play the Georgia Bulldogs in the Liberty Bowl. Oh yes, the Knights basketball team beat the Gators on Wednesday night. UCF is coached by Donnie Jones, a Billy Donovan protoge. The team is led by a number of local players like Keith Clanton, as well a kid from Illinois named Marcus Jordan. His dad played a little hoops back in the day - Michael Jordan.

Before I move on to the other college games, A few notes from the prep ranks. Starrs Mill edged Tucker last night up in cold Georgia. They will have a battle of 14-0 teams for the 4A title next weekend, as the Panthers face Chattahoochee (I'm not crazy:)). In Tallahassee, Navarre and Lincoln went to 3 overtimes, before Lincoln prevailed thanks to a missed PAT. Lincoln hosts Gainesville next week for the right to get beat by the Dwyer/Armwood winner in the Florida 4A title game. In 6A, the north semi final will be Dr Phillips at Sanford Seminole, while down south Miami Central plays Weston Cypress Bay. A Dr Phillips vs Central championship game would be the best AND the one I predicted. In 5A, the semis have Lakeland vs Plant, and a big rematch between St Thomas Aquinas and Bradenton Manatee. I'm glad the championship games are in Orlando again this year.
Up in Alabama, Daphne beat Hoover 7-6 for the 6A crown. Out in Texas the big game was Coppell trying to unseat Trinity Euless, but Euless won 41-40! South Panola won the Mississippi big school crown again and next year that start a home and away series with Hoover. One more prep note, Colquit County Georgia has lost 5 games (including a spanking by South Panola) this season under Rich Probst, but have now navigated their way to the championship game in the largest classification in Georgia. Camden, Valdosta and Lowndes are all at home, while Colquit is still playing. Olathe North made it to the Kansas 6A championship, but lost. Olathe North is a juggernaut in Kansas. Down 435 across the state line, Rockhurst Missouri won the state championship again!

OK, Georgia Southern continues their FCS playoff quest with a trip up to William and Mary today. Go Eagles!

At 4:00, we have the SEC Championship in Atlanta, with Auburn and South Carolina in a rematch. The SEC is the ultimate league for college football. Nothing against the Pac 10, Big 10 or Big 12, they are all good, but the SEC is another level of passion. I'm on the record for not liking Auburn, but they have been amazing this season and Cam Newton has been the best player in the country this season. The war beagles have also been very lucky. But it takes luck to go undefeated in the SEC.

When South Carolina played at Auburn a couple of months ago, the Gamecocks turned the ball over 4 times in the 4th quarter to allow the game to slip through their fingers. I'm picking coach Spurrier to find a way to win his 8th official SEC title this evening.