smokinandjokin

How could you leave off the clock stoppage after you gain first down yardage so they can move the chains? That rule makes the end of close games so intense! As long as the team is throwing downfield and moving the ball, the clock will stop. Teams with 0 timeouts can use the middle of the field instead of just the sidelines.

Bad play call. It was 2nd and 7 and they should have run. On 3rd & 7 they ran White and he got 5 (actually he got 6 but fumbled backwards a yard.) You can make that argument, but you could also make the argument that White was their best player last night. They haven't punted in that situation in three years. If they make it, they win the national championship. If they punt, they give it to Vince Young with a timeout and over 2 minutes left. Texas probably scores anyways. I see what you're saying though, Texas on the 15 is better than Texas on the 42. But White was unstoppable all night and all year in short yardage...You can't play scared there, especially with the way your defense was playing. BTW, Bush wasn't in motion in an effort to show pass. He wasn't on the field, he was on the sidelines. That came from one of the defenders, not from the coaches. But you're right, it was stupid. Just a waste. Young is awesome, you're right. But I don't know if you were watching or not, but USC had their linebacker Cushing (#10) spying Young from the very first play. He just was about 10x less athletic than Vince. You think USC gameplanned for a month for Texas and didn't have a spy for Young??? Every team spies him, and the result has been pretty much the same all year for all defenses.

Nice yams.

Bush is rarely on the field in short yardage or goalline situations. I think White's 26 TD's this year are proof of that. The real idiotic play was the first 4th & 1 in the 1st quarter, when they emptied the backfield by putting Bush in motion and then sneaking Leinart. That is White's bread and butter.

Congrats to Texas on the National Championship. They played balls to the wall and earned the win. No disrespect to Texas, but I would not say the better TEAM won...I would say that they absolutely had the best PLAYER on the field, and that was enough to make the difference. USC did not have the speed at linebacker to contain Young. There were many swings up and down in this game. USC not giving it to White (he wasn't even in the game!) and letting Leinart sneak on the early 4th down was a huge mistake. Bush's lateral was idiotic, and Leinart lobbing up the INT when he should have fired that pass was a momentum changer. Not to mention, Texas fumbled about 5 times and only lost one of them, including a big one by VY which could have cost them the game. I have no problem with the knee down/forward lateral TD; Texas had gone 70 yards at that point and probably would have scored a TD anyways. But the lack of review is cause for concern. I like the call to go for it on that last 4th down. You make it, it effectively ends the game. USC has played that way for three years, so why change and punt when everything is on the line? Besides, giving it to Vince with 2 minutes left at the 15-yard line and one timeout probably equals the same result: TD. In the end, I thought Leinart played huge in the 2nd half, and did everything possible to win. Vince simply did his thing last. If there was 1:20 on the clock instead of :20, you have to think USC at least ties it up (but who would have stopped Young in OT from the 25??? They couldn't stop him from the other 25.) It was a great game, and I think these two teams proved why they were 1 and 2 in the nation all year. They are heads and shoulders above every other team. I watched every bowl game, and no team, including Penn State, Ohio State, West Virginia, or LSU would have been within 10 points of either USC or Texas. As a USC alum, I am sad to see a national title and the streak slip away, but there is no shame in losing that game. It hasn't happened often, but Leinart was the second-best QB on the field. Congrats Horns.

I'm with yah Rich, I like a solid 17-16 game also. But nine 3-and-outs in the second half alone (including seven in a row)??? [NOTE: One of those was a 4-and-out for FSU]. That is not a defensive struggle, that is an offensive struggle. I enjoy watching dominating defenses, but fumbles, missed kicks, and penalties made it easy for the respective D's. Most Division 1 teams can prevent a first down when you are consistently 1st and 20. BTW, I forget his name, but #1 for PSU (Anwar or something) was solid all night. I think he gave up that jump ball to the 2-yard line in the second OT, but other than that he was smothering his coverage assignment.

I have to get this off my chest... I have been at three Sabres home games this year, and I was a little disappointed by the crowd when the "Let's Go Sabres" chant would start up. I don't approve. It sounds WAY too much like "Let's Go Rangers." We have lucked out to play in a city with three syllables that ends in an "O." It sets up perfectly for the "Let's Go Buf-fa-lo" chant. Why have the fans started to stray from this classic? Is anyone else upset by this, or am I the only lunatic? C'mon, say it with me: LET'S GO BUF-FA-LO!!!

The other two were the New Orleans Saints and Cheektowaga High School.

Nicely done.

Southern California 38 University of Texas 27

And the typical answer from One Bills Drive: "We will be evaluating all menu options at each and every concession stand during the offseason, and we will make those decisions when the time is right."

Yeah, let's wait to hear what they have to say, because this regime is always completely upfront with the fans and media about everything. We are never forced to speculate about who's the starting QB, who's injured, why suspensions were handed out, etc...

Imagine you are working for a paper and are assigned to the Bills press conference this afternoon. We'll say for the point of this thread that Ralph, Donahoe, Mularkey, Modrak, and Levy will all take questions. If you had one question, who/what would you ask? Mine would probably go to Mike Mularkey: "Why did you find it necessary to bring in your butt-buddy of a strength coach and force out a man who was highly regarded and had two decades in the position? And as a follow up, did that change contribute to the Bills' swoon in the 2nd half of not just games, but the season as a whole?" I would also ask TD when the open house is.

Don't buy that B.S.!! They're just trying to throw off the angry mob! Go get 'em Angry Mob- 1pm...dont fall for that 2:30 crap!!!

Happy Birthday X.B.! Drink it down!

I don't think it was a very good game at all. Triple OT does not automaticallly equal a good game. Both teams were impotent on offense, but the speed of the defenses had a lot to do with that. However, both teams did everything they could to lose the game. Penn State could have locked up the win early and fumbled on the 5-yard line. Both kickers missed a boatload of easy kicks. Five points and nine 3-and-outs in the second half was a joke. Robinson impressed me with his ability to take a hit, but not much else. Weatherford sucks.

April does a nice job getting first-year fringe players fired up to make a difference on special teams. That is a lot different from managing the $10 million egos of Eric Moulds and Sam Adams. April for head coach is not the dumbest thing I've ever heard, but it's on the list.

For those of you who don't know, Audioslave is lead singer Chris Cornell, formerly of Soundgarden, along with the drummer, bassist, and guitarist from what once was Rage Against the Machine. In summer of '05, they became the first American band to play a concert in Cuba since the Castro Revolution. My bro just got me the "Live in Cuba" DVD for Xmas and it is unreal. They tore up Havana. Tom Morello is fierce on the guitar. I highly recommend.

I wasn't aware of that. Why was ND going to close? Nobody with the money to attend during wartime? No students cause they were overseas? I agree, the game is a nice tradition, but that's about it. Just like the past 50 years, Navy will not compete with Notre Dame anytime in the next 50 either. It's tradition, but it's a cupcake.

JoePa 6-1 vs. Bubba Bowden in his career.

I would bet Evans or McGee is the fastest on this year's team. Maybe Roscoe is in there too. But for all-time fastest Buffalo Bills in the 40, I think Pete Metzelaars and Jamie Mueller both ran a 4.22

She looks enough like John Elway, I'd try her at QB.

I know, you're right...Agreements with other schools are made a good five years in advance. I know it's a long-standing rivalry, but Navy is not in Notre Dame's league. They haven't won in 50 years or something like that. (ND had a rivalry with Army too, and they let that lapse.) Syracuse and BYU are a little on the weak side. Those three should be tossed aside. The other teams all have good programs and could be up or down any given year. But to say they played a tough schedule THIS year??? Not even close.

Thanks for the chuckle. NOTRE DAME'S WINS IN 2005 Pittsburgh (5-6) Under .500 in the Big Least! Michigan (7-5) Good win in the Big House Washington (2-9) They beat Idaho and Arizona. Wow! Purdue (5-6) JV teams could score 35 on Purdue BYU (6-6) They went 5-3 in the Mountain West Conference ( ) and their non-conf win was Eastern Illinois Tennessee (5-6) Vols also lost to Vanderbilt Navy (8-4) Nice record, but it IS only Navy. Not in ND's class Syracuse (1-10) Only win for 'Cuse was UB Stanford (5-6) Irish squeak out a win on last minute drive ND LOST to Michigan State (5-6) at home So where are these quality teams on the ND schedule? Who did they beat? I see only two teams with a winning record, one of which was Navy. Like I said, their best 'win' was a 34-31 loss to USC.

I agree, they are much better than last year....But who have they beaten??? BYU and Tennessee? Their best 'win' was a 34-31 loss to Southern Cal.