The SEC title game was a heartstopper, for sure. Anyone who still thinks Georgia isn't the real deal is just kidding themselves. I wish they could get better than the Cotton Bowl. They're clearly better than the Florida Gators (and proved as much on the field)! The Big Ten championship game just about had my eyes bugging out of my head. I would have been surprised enough by a Wisconsin victory, but I never thought I would see the Cornhuskers as thoroughly humiliated. 70-31?!
As far as dramatics go, I've gotta give a shoutout to a local high school game. The finish to the Class 6A Tennessee HS State Final between Maryville and Whitehaven actually outdid the ending to the Alabama/Georgia game, in my opinion. With about a minute left, Maryville had scored a touchdown to bring the game to within a one-point margin, 28-27. In what I thought was an uncharacteristically risky move on their part, the Rebels went for two and seemed to have converted and won the game.... but they were flagged for an ineligible receiver in the end zone. So they kick the PAT instead and it's off OT. Or is it? Whitehaven powers their way downfield and seem positioned to steal it in regulation. But, without any timeouts, the Tigers' QB forgets to spike the ball and the clock keeps moving. They try a running play instead, Maryville holds, and the clock runs out. Seems like the kind of thing LSU would do, doesn't it? In OT, Maryville goes first and scores with ease. A PAT after and it's 35-28, Maryville. Whitehaven also has little trouble making it into the end zone. But the Tigers decide they're gonna go for the win. The Tigers either really fake the Rebels defense out or simply performed one of the best examples of goal line blocking I've ever seen, because their RB walks into the end zone for the winning two-point conversion. FINAL SCORE: Whitehaven 36, Maryville 35.
Maryville HS has been an insanely good football team for as long as I can remember, and have piled up State title after State title, not to mention assembling incredible winning streaks along the way. They went on a 74-game winning streak in the 2000's. Friday night's loss broke a 43-game winning streak for the Rebels. Definitely one of the crazier finishes I've seen to any football game on any level. I must say I'm pleased with the outcome. As an alumnus of Knoxville Central HS, Maryville might as well be Notre Dame in terms of how much I loathe them. Incidentally, their band plays the same fight song as the Fighting Irish....
Perhaps, when Notre Dame gets their butts kicked by Alabama/Georgia, the AP will see fit to grant Ohio State the #1 ranking. They would be the only unbeaten team left in that scenario. That's gotta count for something.
