College Football

It's halftime and the offensive explosion that many of us anticiapted hasn't come to pass yet. Florida and Oklahoma head into the locker room tied at seven, with both defenses making critical stops to steal some of the offensive momentum. The two quarterbacks have combined for three interceptions so far, but the offenses have been unable to take advantage of the good fortune. A few points that I saw in the first thirty minutes:

1. Percy Harvin's ankle looks fine. And with Chris Rainey going down it had better hold up for another thirty. 

The biggest game on the college football landscape is finally here, with the media days (should there really be a Super Bowl-like media day for a college football game? But we're all supposed to eagerly go along with the NCAA's assertion that these are student-athletes. When the schools and governing body treat them as such I'll truly believe that.) finally done and all the talking stopped. It's time for Florida and Oklahoma to settle this on the field once and for all.

Seemed like just another Sunday before the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl within the college football world, with the focus going to the NFL Playoffs and college basketball. Well, the NFL brought college football into the news in a way that has to be a shock to some. According to ESPN's Chris Mortensen, the powers that be at Boston College have thrown a possible deterrent to head coach Jeff Jagodzinski interviewing with the Jets on Monday in regards to their head coach opening: if he goes through with the interview he'll possibly lose his job.

Happy New Year! The first day of 2009 offers up some intriguing matchups on the gridiron, but given the recent phenomena of spreading out bowl games over an entire month New Year's Day can seem a bit barren to some. Bragging rights for conferences are on the line as well, most notably in a couple of matchups between the Big Ten and SEC along with a traditional showdown in Pasadena. The league/team with the most to lose: Virginia Tech, champions of the ACC.

The final days of 2008 are upon us, which means that there will be a glut of bowl games on television and how much each game means is essentially up to the fan bases involved. Outside of the BCS games, it's usually about one of two goals: a springboard into next season (Florida State most likely will be a favorite in the ACC next year) or a final chance to cap a successful campaign (Louisiana Tech did that tonight with a win in the Independence Bowl).

Now that the presents have been unwrapped and many of you are rushing to stores for post-Christmas deals, it's time for college football to blitz into the new year with a glut of games. You can argue all day about the merits of thirty-four bowl games (personally, I think it's too many), but at the least some of these games offer momentary diversions from college basketball, which in many cases is still a week or so away from conference play.

Tonight at the Nokia Theater in New York City another college football player was awarded the Heisman Trophy, adding another member to the prestigious fraternity. Oklahoma quarterback Sam Bradford (1,726 points) won the trophy in a close vote, becoming the fifth Sooner to win the honor. Texas quarterback Colt McCoy (1,604) was second while 2007 winner Tim Tebow (Florida) finished third with 1,575 points. Tebow had the most first place votes, but now it will be Bradford who looks to avoid the "Heisman hangover" that hits so many winners in their bowl games.

Cheerleader of the Day

Thanks to our friends over at Icon Sports Media, CHN has access to thousands of great college & NBA basketball photos.  Each day, along with our daily Big Picture, we'll be featuring a Cheerleader (or Dancer) of the Day.

That time of the college football season is now upon us. The weeks leading up to bowl games when banquets and trophy presentations honoring some of the nation's best players for their work throughout the season. A number of awards will be given on ESPN Thursday, and a couple have already been announced. With all these opportunities for making predictions at our disposal, how could Billy Palmer and I not make our own selections?