San Fransisco Vs. Baltimore, Super Bowl XLVII

One Harbaugh will win Super Bowl XLVII. Another will lose it. John turned 50 on Sept. 23, the day his Ravens played New England in a Sunday night game. Jim turned 49 on Dec. 23, the day his 49ers played Seattle in a Sunday night game. A  huge amount of the pregame coverage will surround the brothers Harbaugh, but there's plenty of other, on-field stuff worthy of tuning in for.

Baltimore advanced while playing on the road, traveling to New England and upsetting the heavily favored Patriots 28-13, the 49ers rallied from a 17-0 hole to defeat the Atlanta Falcons, who had posted the best regular season record in the NFC.

The Patriots started out against the Ravens strong, jumping to a 3-0 lead and -- after a Baltimore score -- entering halftime up 13-7. New England had the better regular record, not to mention a playoff pedigree having played in five Super Bowls in the past 11 years. They also had  Tom Brady, who last Sunday passed Joe Montana as the quarterback with the most playoff wins ever. But the second half was all Baltimore. The Ravens scored touchdowns on their first three possessions, two of them on Joe Flacco touchdown passes to receiver Anquan Boldin.

"We came here last year and left with a bitter taste in our mouths," Baltimore's Boldin told reporters after the game. "We felt like this team took something away from us. And we wanted to come back and make that right." 

John Harbaugh to reporters, after the Ravens' win, that he and his brothers had a "few dreams" -- one of which may have been meeting up in the Super Bowl -- as well "as a few fights ... just like all brothers."

"We'll let the two teams duke it out, as much as possible," John Harbaugh said, smiling.

The 49ers haven't been in the Super Bowl since 1995, and their 2000s were marred by mostly losing regular seasons. Since the 2011 hiring of Jim Harbaugh, a former NFL quarterback himself who'd been coaching at nearby Stanford, things have turned for the best. The next season, they made it to the NFC Championship, only to fall to the eventual Super Bowl winners, the New York Giants. San Francisco's defense thrives on turnovers. It's also where they stole momentum against Atlanta, taking the ball away from Matt Ryan twice during the second half. Colin Kaepernick didn't put up impressive numbers, but he was solid in the 49er's victory over the Falcons. Trailing by three scores midway through the second quarter, San Francisco rallied for two quick touchdowns -- one on a LaMichael James 11-yard run, the other on a four-yard reception by tight end Vernon Davis.

This Super Bowl matchup features two of the most dominant inside linebackers of their eras. San Francisco's Patrick Willis counts Baltimore's Ray Lewis as a friend and mentor. The two have combined for 19 Pro Bowl appearances and 12 first-team Associated Press All-Pro selections. Lewis plans to retire after this game.

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NFL Conference Championship Games

The Patriots (13-4) advanced to a Jan. 20 rematch with Baltimore for the American Football Conference championship. The Ravens (12-6) two days ago knocked off the top-seeded Denver Broncos 38-35 in double overtime. Last season, the Patriots were able to survive a challenge from the Ravens thanks to a late field-goal miss by Billy Cundiff.

Tom Brady is the main reason New England is so tough to beat in a playoff situation, the Patriots also run a very balanced offense.

''I think the two best teams are in the final,'' Patriots quarterback Tom Brady said. ''Baltimore certainly deserve to be here and so do we.''

The Patriots were made early 9 1/2-point favorites against the Ravens.

This season, Justin Tucker beat out Cundiff for the kicker's job. Tucker hit a 47-yarder against Denver on Saturday to lift the Ravens to a 38-35 win in double overtime, extending Ray Lewis' career for at least one more week and putting the 17-year veteran one win away from his second Super Bowl. Baltimore halfback Ray Rice rushed 30 times for 131 yards and a touchdown.

''We fought hard to get back to this point and we're definitely proud of being here,'' Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco said. ''We feel like it's going to take a lot for somebody to come and kick us off that field come the AFC championship game.''




The Falcons and 49ers haven’t met since Week 4 of the 2010 season at the Georgia Dome. At that time, Mike Singletary was San Francisco’s head coach and Kaepernick was playing at the University of Nevada. The Falcons won, 16-14, when Bryant hit a 43-yard field goal with two seconds remaining. The Falcons’ chances against Kaepernick will hinge on the status of the pass rusher John Abraham. After Abraham hurt his ankle against the Seahawks, Russell Wilson flourished because he did not face pressure.

The experience of playing a mobile quarterback like Wilson had better help the Falcons prepare for Kaepernick, who is even more dangerous running the read-option behind a bullying offensive line.

"Russell Wilson and Colin Kaepernick are mobile quarterbacks who throw the ball at extremely accurate levels," Falcons safety Thomas DeCoud said. "We can use this game as a cheat sheet to prepare for next week." .

Ryan will have the chance to make some hay downfield with wide receivers Roddy White and Julio Jones. No team spreads the ball around as well as Ryan and the Falcons.

San Francisco’s Colin Kaepernick set an NFL single-game rushing record for a quarterback with 181 yards and two touchdowns. He also passed for 263 more yards and another two scores. Vernon Davis was targeted five times overall by Kaepernick. He could get even more opportunities Sunday.

"We're one step closer to where we want to be," said Kaepernick.

Though the 49ers must travel cross country for the game, they opened as 3-point favorites.

Tennessee Recruiting So Far

With less than a month left before National Signing Day, Tennessee is clamoring to improve their #28 recruiting class rank. So far UT has 17 commits with 3 4*s and 1 in the ESPN top 300.

Riley Ferguson  #15 QB-PP  ESPN Top 300
Corey Vereen #21 OLB
Austin Sanders  #26 OT

Tennessee has several offers out with 5* and 4* players who are yet to declare. While having a top 25 recruiting class is respectable, playing in the SEC makes it a bit tougher than most conferences. UT needs to secure at least a top 15 class and actually needs a top 10 class within the next 2 years to compete with the rest of the SEC competition.

A few of the undeclared prospects Tennessee needs to secure are:

Derrick Green #5 RB
Vonn Bell  #5 S

Both of these players have been highly recruited and have Tennessee high on their list. Green took an official visit to UT on  09/14/2012, the first one he took and one of only three he has taken so far. Green's list is very long, so to have him on campus is a big plus. It is unfortunate that Tennessee has went through a coaching change this season, but the good news is Jay Graham was retained and was Green's recruiter for his visit. Vonn Bell grew up close to Tennessee Football and has an official visit scheduled for 01/25/2013. He has been recruited and will visit Ohio State and Alabama in January also.

Marquez North and Shelton Gibson have taken or will visit in January and have been offered by the Vols, although they are still uncommitted. Landing any of the undeclared recruits listed will push UT's class significantly higher, which doesn't necessarily equal success, but could definitely make a huge difference next season. Tennessee has also offered Robert Nkemdiche, the #1 recruit in the nation. There probably isn't a realistic chance of landing him, but at least UT and Butch Jones are going all out on the recruiting trail so far.

UT's 2013 class really comes down to this month, good visits, and a whole lot of luck. Realistically it will take UT at least two years, two winning years, to get a great recruiting class.  With all that came out about Derek Dooley's recruiting practices, it should be safe to say UT can only get better on the recruiting trail.

As of today the top 5 recruiting classes look like this:

1	Notre Dame Fighting Irish	23
3	Alabama Crimson Tide	21
2	Florida Gators	25
4	Ohio State Buckeyes	21
5	USC Trojans	15

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SEC Hate and Too Much Love

As a die-hard fan of the Tennessee Vols and college football in general, a few things have come to my attention in the last few years. One is that the SEC as a whole is hated by almost everyone who isn't directly a fan of one of the SEC teams. Another thing is that SEC team fans will pull for the conference no matter who is actually playing. For the latter, I cannot understand why anyone would pull for a rival team.

There are several reasons why the SEC is hated by other conferences, the biggest one being they have six National Championships in a row and are looking at a 7th. Perhaps the perception of it being a "thug league"?  Miami, and therefore the ACC, would make a much better case for "thug conferences." Look at UNC as well, where's the ACC hate? Its not like the b10 is even close to being clean either. Especially in the last few years, if you didn't know any better, you'd think the b10 was the ruthless league that bent rules for the well being of the football team. There is some media bias, but ESPN and other media outlets ride the coat-tails of the "flavor of the month", the SEC has been good for 7 years. If the ACC, or any conference for that matter, had won 6 NC in a row, the media would be totally bias to them also. The fans of SEC schools are quite insufferable, I'll get more into that next. SEC fans will take every opportunity to remind fans of other teams how dominant the SEC is, usually in a rude and degrading manner. This is something I will never really understand.

OK so, hate the SEC don't hate the SEC, I don't really care. What bothers me most about this whole thing is the fact that fans pull for the SEC Conference. Why, please tell me, would you pull for a rival team to win against anyone? Especially in a big game. It is absolutely ludicrous to me. Auburn fans telling Notre Dame fans the SEC is the best and Alabama will win. No team from their respective conference should ever want an in-conference rival to win, ever. Florida lost last night, that's good for everyone but the Gators and Gator fans. Tennessee has been terrible the last few years and we need recruits, recruits from Alabama, Florida, Georgia, recruits from anywhere we can get them. So if a recruit was on the fence between UF and UT, a Florida loss helped Tennessee in recruiting. If Alabama wins another National Championship, it benefits Alabama and Alabama only. So how does it make sense to pull for another SEC school that isn't your team? It doesn't, in no way, shape, form, or fashion does this make any sense whatsoever.

Please SEC fans, we want the SEC teams to lose and lose badly, to be embarrassed on national TV. Think about it before you post on ESPN and other sites, it only benefits your school if they are the ones playing in the game. Who cares if everyone hates the SEC, we aren't advocates for the conference, we are fans of our team.


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NFL Wild-Card Preview

Cincinnati (10-6) at Houston (12-4)

When: 4:30 p.m. ET Saturday

This game will include a matchup of the two best interior defensive linemen in football: J.J. Watt and Geno Atkins. Houston drummed the visiting Bengals, 31-10, in an opening-round playoff game last season. With the Texans forced to start a rookie quarterback in T.J. Yates, running back Arian Foster carried the offense with 24 carries for 153 yards and two touchdowns. Defensive end J.J. Watt also scored on a 29-yard interception return in the first postseason game in Texans history. In the span of a month, Houston slipped from having the AFC’s best record to squandering a first-round bye by dropping three of its final four games. Particularly alarming are the struggles of quarterback Matt Schaub, who has one touchdown pass and three interceptions in the past four games. For the first time since 1981 and 1982, the Bengals have reached the playoffs in consecutive seasons. The next goal will be winning in the postseason for the first time since 1990.

Minnesota (10-6) at Green Bay (11-5)

When: 8 p.m. ET Saturday

It's a quarterbacks league, and the Vikings don't exactly have a dominant defense. There aren't many bigger upsets possible than a Christian Ponder-led team beating an Aaron Rodgers-led team in back-to-back weeks. The Vikings have won four consecutive games since their Dec. 2 loss to the Packers but must snap a three-game losing streak at Lambeau Field to advance. The Weather Channel forecast calls for temperature at kickoff at around 20 degrees but with no snow. The Packers can’t ask much more from Rodgers, who threw for 365 yards and four touchdowns without an interception Sunday. Rodgers, though, did lose a fumble that led to a Vikings touchdown and was sacked five times as rookie right tackle Don Barclay struggled in pass protection.

Indianapolis (11-5) at Baltimore (10-6)

When: 1 p.m. Sunday

The Ravens have won at least one playoff game in every year of the John Harbaugh-Joe Flacco era. But this is the worst defense they've had by far, and the offense was poor enough to get the coordinator fired in December. Baltimore hardly is a heavy favorite. Harbaugh has led the Ravens to an NFL-best five consecutive playoff appearances and is yet to lose an opening game since taking the reins in 2008. With negative differentials in turnovers (12) and points (30), the Colts are the NFL’s most improbable playoff team. Indianapolis, though, is among the league’s best when it comes to winning close games. Nine of 11 victories have come by seven points or less.

 

Seattle (11-5) at Washington (10-6)

When: 4:30 p.m. Sunday.



The Redskins beat Seattle, 23-17, in Week 12 last season but both teams have changed radically since then with the addition of Wilson and Griffin at quarterback. The Seahawks struggled on the road for much of the season, but their victory in Chicago was the biggest win of their season. Seattle followed that up with a blowout win over Buffalo in Toronto. The Seahawks aren't the same team away from home, but they are good enough to be the favorites next week in Washington. The Redskins simply can't match the Seahawks' defensive talents. Three rookie quarterbacks will start in Sunday's wild-card game. Two will face off in this matchup. It's the battle of the read option. It's the most intriguing game of the weekend, and it comes last.


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Discover BCS National Championship Game-Notre Dame vs. Alabama

Discover BCS National Championship Game (Miami, Fla. – Monday, January 7, 2013)
Notre Dame vs. Alabama – 8:30 p.m. ET (ESPN)

Two of the most storied programs in college football history will square off for the national championship when undefeated and top-ranked Notre Dame collides with No. 2 and reigning champion Alabama on Jan. 7 at Miami's Sun Life Stadium. Despite its unrivaled tradition, Notre Dame has not won a national title since 1988 and has not been atop the rankings since 1993. Alabama, meanwhile, will be chasing its third national championship in the past four years under Nick Saban, who has restored the luster to one of the few programs that can stand up to Notre Dame's legacy. The teams have met six times, with the Fighting Irish winning five.

The 2012 National Champion Crimson Tide are back in the BCS title game. An upset loss against Texas A&M almost prevented Alabama from making the game but their tough SEC schedule and dominant defense helped them earn their spot. The Alabama defense held four opponents scoreless while only allowing two teams over 14 points. The one lapse of the year was against Texas A&M where they allowed over 400 yards of offense and 29 points. The Crimson Tide will be happy to match muscle vs. muscle with Notre Dame's defense behind a powerhouse offensive line that averages 315 pounds per man. Alabama has a pair of 1,000-yard backs in junior Eddie Lacy and freshman T.J. Yeldon, who combined for 27 touchdowns and piled up 334 yards in the SEC title game win over Georgia. Quarterback AJ McCarron threw for 26 touchdowns against only three interceptions and showed he was much more than a caretaker of the offense by leading late drives to beat LSU and Georgia. His top weapon is Amari Cooper, who has 53 receptions and nine touchdowns. Notre Dame's defense has been getting all the publicity, but the Crimson Tide have their own elite linebacker in C.J. Mosley and held 10 opponents to less than 14 points while recording four shutouts.Alabama's recent experience on the biggest stage cannot be overlook. Never was that more apparent than in last season's BCS championship game, when the Crimson Tide avenged their only regular season loss with a dominating defensive effort in a 21-0 victory over LSU. And while Notre Dame always plays a schedule dotted with top programs, Alabama is part of college football's best conference in the SEC, which, by the way, has won all six BCS title games since its inception in 2006.

Although they did not enter the season as a contender for a national championship, Notre Dame earned a spot in the game through their tough play and going undefeated despite a very tough schedule. Their undefeated season included wins against Michigan, Michigan State, University of Miami, Stanford, Oklahoma, and USC. They now will face their toughest opponent by far in Alabama. The Fighting Irish have been utilizing the no-respect card as a motivator throughout the season, and the oddsmakers provided them with more fuel by installing the one-loss Crimson Tide as a 10-point favorite. Notre Dame played perhaps its best game in a 30-13 rout at Oklahoma on Oct. 27 - another contest in which it was a huge underdog and the consensus was that the Irish could not compete. Te'o, the Heisman Trophy runner-up, is the heart and soul of a defense that permitted only nine touchdowns overall and two on the ground. He has seven interceptions and played behind a stellar defensive front featuring ends Stephon Tuitt (12 sacks) and Kapron Lewis-Moore sandwiching the massive Louis Nix III. Notre Dame's running back corps of Theo Riddick, Cierre Wood and George Atkinson III combined for 2,000 yards and will test a defense that allowed a national-low 246 yards. Still, Notre Dame's offense revolves around dual-threat quarterback Everett Golson. He threw for 11 touchdowns against five interceptions and had four of of his five-highest passing totals in November. Golson also rushed for 305 yards and five scores and his ability to keep the chains moving against Alabama's defense will be vital.


Notre Dame will come out and play for 3 quarters, maybe even lead for awhile. I live in and write about SEC country, so maybe I am somewhat biased, but I can't see the Irish winning this game. The close wins and a less than impressive schedule have me a little worried for Notre Dame, the fans will point to wins against Michigan, Michigan State, University of Miami, Stanford, Oklahoma, and USC. I do think OU and Stanford were great wins, but the rest were not that impressive as the season unfolded. I think that Notre Dame could pull this off, but their margin of error is almost zero. I'm gonna say 21-17 Alabama wins.

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Allstate Sugar Bowl-Florida vs. Louisville

Allstate Sugar Bowl (New Orleans, La. – Wednesday, January 2, 2013)
Florida vs. Louisville – 8:30 p.m. ET (ESPN)


The Gators were one of the nation’s biggest surprises this season.

They followed up a 7-6 mark in coach Will Muschamp’s debut season with an 11-1 record in 2012, highlighted by victories over Texas A&M, South Carolina, LSU and Florida State. And if USC had upset Notre Dame, Florida could possibly be playing for the national title.Florida’s turnaround was led by a smothering defense, which isn’t surprising considering Muschamp’s background. The Gators rank in the top six nationally in total defense, rush defense and scoring defense and have allowed opponents to throw just five touchdown passes. Safeties Matt Elam and Josh Evans, defensive tackle Sharrif Floyd and linebacker Jon Bostic have had career years. The Gators have one of the most productive rushing attacks in the country, led by Mike Gillislee. The senior running back has 1,104 yards on the ground and 10 touchdowns, averaging 4.7 yards per carry. Louisville linebackers will have to stop the screen passes from QB Jeff Driskel to Gillislee, as Gillislee has the speed to break short passes for a huge gains. Florida prides its self as a defensive team, and one of the major factors its secondary will face will be the difficult task of containing Bridgewater. Junior Matt Elam is a quick, hard-hitting safety that will try to stop Louisville's big plays. Elam was named to the Walter Camp Second-Team All-American Defense after he recorded 65 tackles, four interceptions and one sack this season. Florida will be without outside linebacker Jelani Jenkins, who went through surgery on his right foot after breaking a bone during the last game against Florida State.


There is one player on the Cardinals that would put fear in any team—Teddy Bridgewater.
Bridgewater has thrown for 3,452 yards with 25 touchdown passes. He is ranked sixth in the country in passing percentage at 69 percent. The 6'3" sophomore quarterback has had several Heisman-like performances this season. Whether playing hurt or under pressure, there isn't a quarterback in the country that has the poise like Bridgewater. Although he will have a broken wrist on his non-throwing arm, the Gators will do everything they can to contain the young quarterback. Louisville went into its regular-season finale at Rutgers without many people giving the Cards much of a shot to win. Rutgers jumped out to a 14-3 lead. But Bridgewater refused to be denied. Playing through his injuries, he led Louisville to a 20-17 comeback win to clinch the BCS spot. Bridgewater ended up throwing for 3,452 yards, 25 touchdowns and seven interceptions on the season and was one of the most efficient quarterbacks in the entire nation. He may have been an unknown outside the Big East before the season began; that is no longer the case. Bridgewater allowed his team to survive the loss of leading rusher Senorise Perry, who tore his ACL against Syracuse and is out for the season. He allowed his team to win games it struggled in for a large chunk of time. And he allowed his team to survive some pretty shaky play on defense. It’s safe to say that many expected Louisville to be better than it was defensively this season, particularly up front. But for a majority of the season, the Cardinals had a hard time consistently stopping the run or consistently getting a pass rush going.

I have a hard time thinking the Cardinals can pull this off, the Gators have survived the SEC and exceeded expectations this year. It could be a long night for Charlie Strong and his Cardinals.

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