Breaking Down Russell Athletic Bowl

By Jesse Lawrence

As we inch closer to the December, 29th Russell Athletic Bowl between the Oklahoma Sooners and the Clemson Tigers, the ticket prices are bound to change. For this game, we are starting to see a drastic decrease in the prices of tickets to the game in the home of Disney World. 

According to Totally Tickets, the average price of a ticket to the game in Orlando Florida costs $91.23, but can cost as little as $28. This price represents a 14% decrease in price over the past 7 days for Oklahoma football tickets. This decrease in price could be due to the loss of Clemson quarterback Deshaun Watson. 

Watson was the explosive spark that drove the Clemson offense for much of the season. When Watson was on the field, he threw 14 touchdowns and only two interceptions for the tigers. He was the catalyst to the nations 60th best scoring offense. While that rank doesn’t seem very good, they may have been more productive if Watson had played the whole season. Cole Stoudt started the year as the starting quarterback, but threw 10 interceptions on only six touchdowns. Stoudt will start on December 29th. 

The Oklahoma Sooners have performed poorly late in the season as well, especially on defense. This correlates to the price of Sooners Tickets on the secondary market. The Sooners rank 48th in the nation in points allowed, and could not contain the high-powered offenses of TCU, Baylor, West Virginia, and Oklahoma State. Despite the all-American talents of Erik Stryker and Zach Sanchez, they had huge holes in the defense and were exposed by better teams all season. 

Luckily for the Sooners, they don’t have to deal with Watson. Stoudt may lead the team in passing yards, but has been extremely inefficient. If quarterback Trevor Knight can contain his play and not make mistakes, they should be okay. Knight hasn’t played very well at times this season, but the sooners score the 11th most points in the country (38.9). Running back Samaje Perine could have trouble running into a defense that features Vic Beasley, one of the nation’s best defensive linemen. The Sooners may have to depend on the play of Knight and receiver Sterling Shepard. I wouldn’t expect Perine to be a non-factor, as he has been one of the best running backs in the Big 12 all year long. 

Both of these proud programs want to end this season on a positive note, This should be an incredibly hard-fought games by coaches and players who want to revive the image of their seasons. Both of these programs are extraordinarily proud, and this game should fire up both of these teams, especially the seniors.


Jesse Lawrence is the CEO of TiqIQ.com, a leading online ticket search engine.

Lots of Tigers Jockeying for BCS Position

And then there are three.

As another undefeated team bites the dust—this time it's Baylor getting blown out by Oklahoma State, 49-17—the BCS title game picture actually is becoming more and less clear at the same time. More clear because without question No. 1 Alabama and No. 2 Florida State will face each other if they both win out. Less clear because if either team should lose, it can potentially bring a one-loss team back into the picture.

For now, Ohio State is projected to be a solid No. 3 in the next BCS standings and it's extremely unlikely that the Buckeyes will fall behind any one-loss team, even if that's a one-loss SEC champion Auburn or Missouri. They will be getting a major boost if Michigan State can defeat Minnesota next week and arrive at the Big Ten title game at 11-1 and ranked in the top 10.

But that's where the intrigue comes in. Michigan State has the potential to defeat Ohio State and if Alabama and/or FSU should stumble in the next two weeks, what then?

Projected BCS Standings:

1. Alabama, 2. Florida State, 3. Ohio State, 4. Auburn, 5. Clemson, 6. Missouri, 7. Oklahoma State, 8. Stanford, 9. South Carolina, 10. Michigan State.

11. Baylor, 12. Oregon, 13. Arizona State, 14. Wisconsin, 15. LSU, 16. Fresno State, 17. Northern Illinois, 18. Central Florida, 19. Louisville, 20. Oklahoma.

21. Texas A&M, 22. USC, 23. Duke, 24. UCLA, 25. Georgia.

(FULL ARTICLE @ BLEACHER REPORT)

Upsets Shape Up BCS Landscape

Three upsets on Saturday significantly shook up the BCS landscape, making the initial release of the standings next Sunday perhaps less intriguing. Now there's a clear separation of the top five teams from the rest of the pack, and two of them are scheduled for a titanic showdown next Saturday.

In the final simulated BCS standings, the top five teams are, in order: Alabama, Oregon, Clemson, Florida State and Ohio State. After that, there's a big dropoff to No. 6 LSU and the other assortment of one-loss and lesser unbeaten teams. (See BCS Guru for complete Week 7 simulated BCS standings, with an explanation of methodology below.)

The winner of next Saturday's Clemson-Florida State game will emerge as the primary challenger to the presumed Alabama-Oregon pairing, with Ohio State another slot behind. The way the polls and computer rankings are shaping up, the Tide and Ducks will meet in Pasadena on Jan. 6 this season as long as they both remain unbeaten—no matter what happens with the other teams.

Ohio State most likely will play in the BCS title game provided that there are no two unbeaten teams from the SEC, Pac-12 or ACC. The Buckeyes probably won't be jumped by a one-loss team, except for one—if LSU beats Alabama and Texas A&M to win the SEC West and then the conference championship, there is a possibility the Tigers could finish ahead of an unbeaten Buckeyes team, though a remote one.



(FULL ARTICLE @ BLEACHER REPORT)

Clemson or Oregon? Who's Got the Inside Track?

Oregon was held to fewer than 60 points by Colorado in a 57-16 victory Saturday night. As a result, the Ducks were severely punished for that indiscretion and dropped to No. 3 in the latest simulated BCS standings.

Oregon fell behind Clemson, which gained just enough vote shares to jump into the slot behind Alabama. The Ducks' computer ratings took a hit after beating lightly-regarded Colorado, as margin of victory has no bearing on the BCS computers.

Florida State also moved up, to No. 5, after destroying previously-ranked Maryland, leapfrogging Ohio State, which also defeated a ranked team in Northwestern, though in less impressive fashion.

This sets up a gargantuan matchup between Clemson and Florida State in two weeks (assuming no #Clemsoning takes place next week against Boston College, while the 'Noles have a bye week), on the eve of the release of this year's initial BCS standings. But before we get to that, a more important question needs to be asked:

Between Clemson and Oregon, if both teams run the table and win their respective conference championships, which is more likely to finish No. 2 behind Alabama?

(FULL ARTICLE @ BLEACHER REPORT)

Who Else After LSU and Alabama?

Before we start hyping the Nov. 5 "Game of the Century, 2011 Edition" and pondering a rematch between these same teams in New Orleans next Jan. 9, here's a reminder:

There are other games that still have to be played and they might still matter, just a little.

To be sure, the LSU-Alabama showdown deserves all the attention it gets, including the belated move to primetime after CBS traded with ESPN for, essentially, "a game to be named later." And we will get into that plenty next week.

But it will be next week. Thanks to ingenious scheduling by the SEC, somehow BOTH teams have a bye to get ready for this titanic tilt. While they practice, a few other teams will be jockeying for the spot in the on-deck circle, hoping for a shot at the winner in the BCS national championship game.

The latest BCS standings tell this much: The top three teams - LSU, Alabama, Oklahoma State - control their own destinies. After that, it's far from certain.

This week's BCS Bowl projections:

Rose Bowl: Oregon vs. Wisconsin
Fiesta Bowl: Oklahoma State vs. Boise State
Sugar Bowl: Stanford vs. Nebraska
Orange Bowl: Clemson vs. Syracuse
BCS Championship: LSU vs. Alabama

(Full analysis exclusively at SB Nation)