LSU Tramples Arkansas; 41-17

Jordan Jefferson passed for 208 yards and rushed for 53 more as his two touchdowns helped lift LSU to a 41-17 decimation of the Arkansas Razorbacks, Friday night. Kenny Hilliard rushed for 102 yards and a touchdown, and Michael Ford added in another 96, as No. 1 LSU (12-0, 8-0 SEC) further solidified their standing as the most dominant team in college football.

The Razorbacks (10-2, 6-2 SEC) took an early 14-point lead, taking a recovered fumble to the house early in the first quarter. But that resilient, grind-it-out LSU offense never cracked, sticking to the running game and pounding Arkansas’ defense into the dirt. The Tigers scored three touchdowns, gave up an Arkansas field goal, and then capped the game off scoring three more unanswered touchdowns.

LSU looks towards facing No. 14 Georgia in the SEC Championship Game next Saturday, and will likely be voted into the BCS Championship Game regardless of the outcome.

Oregon Routs Oregon State, Clinches Pac-12 Championship Game

After a relatively slow start, the Oregon Ducks picked up steam, putting up big numbers in their routing of state, Pac-12 rival Oregon State Beavers on Saturday.

Darron Thomas ran the show, passing for 305 yards and four touchdowns. Electrifying freshman, De’Anthony Thomas, also kept the Oregon offense rolling, hauling in 10 receptions for 86 yards and a touchdown, and adding in 71 yards on the ground, as the No. 9 Ducks (10-2, 8-1 Pac-12) rolled over division rival Oregon State to solidify home field advantage in the Pac-12 Championship Game vs. UCLA next Saturday.

LaMichael James rushed for 142 yards and a touchdown through three quarters, but left the game early with what looked like a hyper-extended left elbow.

Alabama Cruises Past Auburn

Auburn didn’t even stand a chance. Trent Richardson destroyed the Tigers’ defense, stomping all over them for 203 yards on the ground, and the Alabama Crimson Tide sailed over rival Auburn in a 42-14 smack down in this year’s Iron Bowl.

A.J. McCarron picked up 184 passing yards and three touchdowns, but kudos went to Alabama’s stingy SEC defense. The No. 2 Crimson Tide (11-1, 7-1 SEC) held Auburn (7-5, 4-4 SEC) to 140 yards of total offense, limiting their electrifying running back, Michael Dyer, to a menial 48 yards through four quarters.

Houston Dismantles Tulsa, Remains Undefeated

Case Keenum continued to plead his case for Heisman candidacy, picking apart the Tulsa secondary for 457 yards (33-47) and five touchdowns in Houston’s 48-16 rout of the Golden Hurricane, Friday afternoon.

Keenum hit eight different receivers, including Patrick Edwards, who was on the receiving end of four touchdown passes and 187 yards worth of receptions and yards after the catch.

No. 6 Houston (12-0, 8-0 C-USA) will take on No. 24 Southern Mississippi in the Conference USA Championship Game next week, where the Cougars will look to expand on what has already been a golden season.

Wisconsin Smashes Penn State, Clinches Big Ten Championship Game

Montee Ball further padded his Heisman resume, adding in 156 yards and four touchdowns as the Wisconsin Badgers burrowed through Big Ten rival Penn State, 45-7 blowout. Russell Wilson picked up 186 passing yards and two touchdowns, and No. 15 Wisconsin (10-2, 6-2 Big Ten) solidified their position in the Big Ten Championship Game next week against No. 13 Michigan State.

Justin Tucker Saves the Day, Texas Squeezes Out Over Texas A&M.

Justin Tucker knocked down a clutch 40-yard field goal with time expiring, and the Texas Longhorns barely came out victorious over state, Big-12 rival, Texas A&M, squeezing out a 27-25 road win for all of the chips.

Led by QB Ryan Tannehill, A&M had marched down the field and scored on the Longhorn secondary, leaving just under two minutes for Texas to mount a game-winning drive. But Case McCoy would not be denied, scrambling to the A&M 23-yard line for a 25-yard pickup that would move Tucker into field goal position and seal the deal for the Longhorns.

Georgia Coasts Past Rival Georgia Tech, Clinches SEC Championship Game

Aaron Murray was the crutch for Georgia, passing for 252 yards and all four of his team’s touchdowns, and the No. 14 Bulldogs (10-2, 7-1 SEC) got the win over rival Georgia Tech in the “Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate” game on Saturday.

Though they allowed 243 yards on the ground, the Georgia defense forced two interceptions and held Georgia Tech to 112 passing yards. Georgia can only hope to improve on their rush defense, as they’ll have to take on a run-heavy No. 1 LSU in the SEC Championship Game next week.

Virginia Tech Zips UVA, 38-0

The score tells it all. David Wilson rushed for 153 yards and two touchdowns, and Virginia Tech completely dominated rival Virginia, leaving them scoreless through four quarters. Tech’s defense picked off UVA QB Michael Rocco twice, and No. 5 Virginia Tech (11-1, 7-1 ACC) smashed their division rival while advancing to the ACC Championship Game against No. 20 Clemson, next week.

Baylor Outscores Texas Tech, 66-42

Heisman hopeful, Robert Griffin III, looked on from the sidelines after suffering a concussion in the second quarter. But the damage had already been done. RG3 reached the endzone three times in the first half (once in the air, twice on the ground), and second string quarterback Nick Florence added in two more passing touchdowns as No. 17 Baylor advanced to 8-3 (5-3 Big-12)  in their win over rival Texas Tech.

Terrance Ganaway trampled over the Tech defense, rushing for 246 yards and two touchdowns and the Baylor Bears moved on to the Big-12 Championship Game vs. No. 22 Texas next week.

Andrew Luck Picks Apart Notre Dame, Stanford Wins; 28-14

Andrew Luck proved why he’s the best QB in college football, completing 20 of his 30 pass attempts for 233 yards and four touchdowns, leading the Stanford Cardinal to a two-touchdown victory over the Fighting Irish.

Stepfan Taylor rushed for 118 yards on 20 carries, and the No. 4 Cardinal (11-1, 8-1 Pac-12) recorded their eleventh win of the season. They won’t, however, play in the Pac-12 Championship game because they lost the tiebreaker to Oregon earlier in the season.

South Carolina State Defeats Clemson

Connor Shaw did it all, passing for 210 yards and three touchdowns and rushing for 107 yards and another touchdown, as he led his South Carolina State Gamecocks to their tenth win of the season.

Kenny Miles also added in 71 rushing yards, but it was Shaw’s picture-perfect performance that got South Carolina State (10-2, 6-2 SEC) the win over Clemson, Saturday night.

Oklahoma Comfortably Crushes Iowa State.

After upsetting a perfect Oklahoma State the week before, Iowa State looked to make Oklahoma their next victim. The Sooners were not on board. Though Landry Jones was picked off twice, he still decimated the Iowa State defense for 256 yards. Blake Bell picked up two rushing touchdowns, but the MVP award would go to kicker, Michael Hunnicutt, who knocked down four field goals (20, 28, 37 & 21) and gave the Oklahoma Sooners (9-2, 6-2 Big-12) some desperately needed points.

Boise State Spreads Out Wyoming. Broncos Win; 36-14

At the helm of one of the nation’s most potent offenses, Kellen Moore stood tall, delivering three touchdown strikes and 279 passing yards in Boise State’s tenth win (10-1, 5-1 MWC) of the season.

Doug Martin rushed for 153 yards and two touchdowns, and the Bronco defense picked off Wisconsin QB, Brett Smith twice, as No. 7 Boise State advanced to the Midwest Conference Championship Game vs. New Mexico next week.

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This years NBA Final is giving fans not only incredibly entertaining play on the court, but countless underlying stories that have kept everyone talking, even on the off days.

Everybody knows that superstars run the NBA, and because of that, commissioner David Stern must have had a grin as wide as the Grand Canyon when the Miami Heat and Dallas Mavericks reached the finals.

I want to start by saying that Dwyane Wade deserves every bit as much recognition as LeBron James for bringing Miami this far. I most definitely do not wish to ignore his accomplishments because he has a solid argument to be just as talented as any other player in the world. The thing about Wade is that he has already been to the promised land. He has hardware on his side, and that can never be taken away from him no matter how many times he may lose from here on in.

Now that I’ve said that, we can move on to who we all know who the big story really revolves around here.

LeBron James has been criticized more than any other player in the league for not having a championship ring on his finger at this point in his career. He has upped his game to the point where he is unquestionably the best player in the NBA, and probably the world. At this point, the only thing he has to worry about, is his legacy moving forward. If LeBron really wants to go down as one of the absolute best, he’s going to need the hardware.

Dirk Nowitzki is at this moment considered by many to be the greatest international player ever to grace the NBA, not to mention the best shooting big man of all time. He has brought a style of play that nobody has ever seen in the history of this game, and as of late has proved to be impossible to guard at virtually any spot on the court. Unfortunately he, like LeBron, is missing the same thing that they have been chasing their entire careers.

These two probably could not be more different people if they tried, aside from the arc of their careers to this point. Although Dirk has been around the block a few more times than LeBron, they find themselves at a similar point in the eyes of the rest of the world. Both men have been to the finals one time, been unimpressive to say the least, and gone home with disappointment rather than future hall of fame votes. This is their second chance.

The term “on fire” does not even begin to describe the way each of them have been playing to this point in the playoffs, not to mention the impressive performances that have kept fans on the edge of their seats thus far in the finals.

Even their stats are similar. To this point Dirk has 28.1 points per game in the playoffs to LeBron’s 25.5 (but when we factor in how much more help LeBron has on the floor, the numbers seem to even themselves out). Rebounds? Dirk has 7.8 per game to LeBron’s 8.8. Even their shooting has been incredible with both men raining down countless outside shots and going on uncanny made free-throw streaks to lead their teams to victory.

This will surely prove to be a battle between these stars, and nothing should be taken away from either of them no matter the outcome of the series. Unfortunately the key word there is should, and the fans, or the media for that matter, doesn’t exactly abide by the same rules of respect that I do.

Nobody knows what will happen in the remaining games in the finals. In 2006 most everybody believed that Dirk and the Mavericks had the series wrapped up halfway through game 3, but some teams lay eggs and we just can’t see it coming. One thing is for absolute certain, the remaining games in the coming days just may decide a lot about how these two players are remembered.

Should Dallas lose, Dirk’s chance at a ring may be gone for good. He will be remembered as a great scorer and shooter who just could never get over the hump. In the spectrum of all-time players, he will be considered really good, but not great, somewhere many players would appreciate being, but somewhere a true champion never wants to end up.

Should Dallas win, in my opinion, Nowitzki will be knocking on the door of the hall of fame. A complete career, an MVP award, a ring, and the honor of being not only the best player ever from Germany, but probably ever as an international player in the NBA. Not matter what would happen after this year, he would go out the way he wanted to.

On the other hand, if the Heat were to lose, the media would have a field day. Worse than the Brett Favre retirement fiasco, worse than Tiger Woods’ scandal, we would hear about LeBron’s uncanny ability to lose the big game for an entire year before the next season started again.

That would make two times that it seemed “King James” would finally reach the promised land and come up short. His career is already complete aside from the championships, and since everybody knows he wants to the the absolute best, the rings are what he needs.

He is still incredibly young and has plenty more time, but this one would have a real toll on him and maybe the rest of his career. He is focused and ready now, and everyone is sensing that this is the time, no more excuses.

If they win, all the talk goes away. He would have it all. The rings, the MVP’s, the scoring titles, everything. He would already be considered one of the greatest, no matter how hated he may be around the country. The only thing left to do would be to build a trophy room and wait for more championships to roll in after having the confidence of the first. Comparisons to the great one’s would be everywhere. His dream would be achieved.

I for one, can not wait to see what happens. These last few games of the season is going to have an incredibly impact on how people view these two outstanding basketball players. Most people don’t realize it quite yet, but LeBron James and Dirk Nowitzki really are playing with their legacies on the line.

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