LIVE BLOG: BCS National Championship Game

I haven't live blogged since Ohio State won at Texas 16 months ago, but I'm not at the game, nor am I at a party. I just inhaled some pasta, I've got some beers here and I'm amped to watch this shite.

And for some reason, Chris Weinke and Danny Wuerffel escorted fellow former Heisman Trophy winner Tony Dorsett to midfield for the incredibly weak pregame coin toss. This happened at 8:20 p.m. ET. More to follow:

8:26 p.m. -- Ohio State's Chris Wells bolts 65 yards for a touchdown on the game's fourth play from scrimmage. I don't want to get too excited about an early big play, because we remember what happened last year after Ted Ginn returned the opening kickoff for a touchdown, but I will say this: The Bucks did not lack speed on that play. Nor did any of them break an ankle during end-zone celebrations.

8:30 p.m. -- Not surprisingly, John Boel calls from a viewing party in Louisville, where the fellas estimated I'd be at BAC .12 by now, but they're all impressed when I tell them I've just finished dinner and haven't even cracked open my first Budweiser just yet. Then LSU puts the finishing touches on an unimpressive three-and-out and punts it back to the Buckeyes.

8:31 p.m. -- Cracked open my first Budweiser.

8:37 p.m. -- A huge pass from Todd Boeckman to Brandon Saine puts OSU in the red zone.

8:45 p.m. -- LSU has the ball and it's 3rd and 6. FOX play-by-play guy Thom Brennaman says, "Third and sex." Hee hee.

8:50 p.m. - 9 p.m. -- Sent out annoying text to friends letting them know about this weak liveblog.

9:13 p.m. -- Still sending out these annoying text messages. Sorry peoples! And in the meantime, LSU has tied the game 10-10 in the second quarter.

9:16 p.m. -- Wells delivers a stiff-arm that would make Peter North proud. First down, Buckeyes!

9:17 p.m. -- Boeckman passes to Brian Robiskie for another OSU first down.

9:27 p.m. -- LSU seems to have settled down and is playing well. The Tigers are moving the ball well after blocking an Ohio State field goal attempt a few minutes earlier.

9:30 p.m. -- LSU goes up, 17-10, and is fully in control of this game. A 10-yard touchdown pass from Matt Flynn to Brandon LaFell puts the Tigers in front.

9:32 p.m. -- I went to the fridge to pick up beer No. 2 and, even though I put on about 10 holiday pounds and I look like Valerie Bertinelli did a year ago, I returned with the beer, and some chips and salsa. Despite my gigantic new gut, I can't guarantee that the ice cream will go untouched later either.

9:52 p.m. -- I've lost a lot of interest in this dumb-ass blog. LSU is up, 24-10, at halftime. And Thom Brennaman is OK for a national-title game. He's done plenty of big MLB and NFL postseason games, but should Charles Davis really be the analyst?

10:02 p.m. -- Could intermission promotions be any more queer? It's so uncomfortable watching Chris Myers -- what happened to him, btw? -- try to get the crowd into a field-goal competition between former OSU and LSU kickers. And after Josh Houston won it for Ohio State, Myers put his microphone in front of him without asking any questions, producing a very awkward "Um, thanks a lot. That was fun."

10:22 p.m. -- LSU looks solid on its first two plays of the second half, unfortunately. I love the 30-minute halftimes.

10:28 p.m. -- Beer No. 3. I am so fat.

10:34 p.m. -- Consecutive personal fouls against OSU turn what should have been a change of possession to another trip to the red zone for LSU. This sucks.

10:37 p.m. -- Three different Buckeyes couldn't bring down a 210-pound LSU wideout, and the score is now 31-10. Now Googling images of Valerie Bertinelli.

10:46 p.m. -- There's seriously nothing to blog about, especially since I'm fielding all kinds of text messages from trash-talking friends. I called out a friend who went to Ohio University, a notorious party school, for being anti-Ohio State. I enjoyed his reply: "Not at all. I went to OU for the weed, not the football."

10:50 p.m. -- Malcolm Jenkins, who's been beaten for at least one of LSU's touchdowns tonight, returns an interception to the LSU 11-yard line. And on 3rd and 1 from the 2 a minute later, Chris Wells is knocked backward for a three-yard loss. I agree with Tressel's call to go for it on 4th down, and it pays off as Boeckman finds Robiskie in the end zone to make the score 31-17 late in the third quarter. Sportswriting is easy when you're in your living room.

11:02 p.m. -- I held my hand up in the air with my fingers pointing skyward, and my thumb tucked underneath. I'm not indicating which quarter is beginning, but I'm letting the fridge know I'm coming for beer No. 4. Sincerely, Rich Decker.

11:03 p.m. -- I vow to begin my New Year's situps tomorrow, or sometime thereafter.

11:23 p.m. -- Is it 9:30 already?

11:29 p.m. -- There's 5:50 left in the fourth quarter, but I think Ohio State thinks it's the third quarter. That's the only explanation I can think of when I see the Buckeyes, trailing by two touchdowns, taking their sweet-ass time.

11:58 p.m. -- If they ever make a movie about Les Miles, I think Kurt Russell has the lead role locked up. Goodnight now.

The Need For Speed

Let me tell you a little bit about speed as it pertains to college football.

Speed changed the game of football about 15-20 years ago. Smashmouth style was the norm for decades, but then Bill Walsh perfected the west coast offense in the early 1980s. Once the popularity spread, all those speedy athletes growing up in Florida suddenly had NFL futures.

But first they had to play in college, so Florida, Florida State and especially Miami grabbed them up by the dozen. And once schools outside the Sunshine State took note of the need for speed, NCAA football became a track meet.

Ohio State's John Cooper was probably the first Big Ten coach to bring in "athletes," those not necessarily dedicated to one position or another. They ended up playing skill positions for sure, often wideout or cornerback, and they usually returned kicks. He's known more for his awful record against Michigan and in bowl games, but Cooper doesn't get the credit he deserves for being a good recruiter, for helping bring speed to the Big Ten.

And Jim Tressel picked up right where Coop left off, as far as recruiting players with game-breaking wheels.

But let's not forget that speed is rooted in the south more than any other area. Sure Texas and California have plenty of it, but as far as an entire region, the south is where it is, and the SEC is Exhibit A.

Everybody wants to talk about how Florida's speed is what killed Ohio State in last year's national championship game. This is actually not true. Florida's team is what dominated the Buckeyes. Sure I'm a diehard OSU fan, but I have no problem admitting where the fellas might be weak. If you want to talk about a decisive edge in speed that resulted in an embarrassing Buckeye loss, we can talk about Florida State's dismantling of Ohio State in a Sugar Bowl 10 or 12 years ago. Cooper and the boys had no answer for Peter Boulware and company. Few did in the 1990s, and you can thank speed above all else for that.

Last year, OSU was slower, sure, but the Buckeyes simply played bad football. Missed assignments, ill-timed turnovers and other mistakes gave Florida several scoring drives on short fields. Certainly the Gators had a lot to do with OSU playing poorly. They were far hungrier, partly a result of hearing for six weeks how inferior they were to the favored Buckeyes. This time around, OSU has heard for a month how it will be overmatched, and for a year how it was slow and weak and undeserving.

But nowadays in the sport, the playing field is much more level. Just ask Michigan, or Appalachian State. Or plenty of other teams this year who were involved in any of the many upsets. Recent scholarship limitations haven't only made it possible for middle-of-the-pack squads to pick up higher-quality players they weren't getting five years ago, but by so doing, they're also taking away a blue-chipper from one of those Florida schools, for example. Just look at Louisville since 2000. Lots of Sunshine kids are leaving burn marks on the Cardinal Stadium turf in recent years.

So for a month now, the common wisdom has been that speedy LSU will run circles around Ohio State's cornfeds. Not so fast. If LSU wins, it will be because its Glenn Dorsey-led defense will have rattled OSU quarterback Todd Boeckman into making mistakes. If the Tigers can't pressure Boeckman, he'll have a nice night finding guys like Brian Robiskie and Brian Hartline. And if they're doing that, that means running back Chris Wells is probably chewing up nice gains on the ground as well.

So while Boeckman might be OSU's X factor, its defense has no X factor. The Buckeyes have future NFL stars on each layer. End Vernon Gholston and linebacker James Laurinaitis are studs, and cornerback Malcolm Jenkins is among the finest cover guys in the country. The Bucks didn't give up too many big plays this year, but even if they give up two, maybe three, tonight -- which is possible because the Superdome's turf track will reveal a slight edge in speed for LSU -- I still think Ohio State has enough firepower to get its score into the middle 20s. And if that happens, then the Bucks will silence those with the gigantic SEC boner and hoist another national championship trophy.

And finally, here's a video clip we shot at work a month ago when the BCS bowl pairings were announced:



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The Last Word?

It appears I may have written my last "Word From The Wise" column.

Not because I'm done being an expert on college sports, because we all know that's not true.

Rather, we're changing the format of my NCAA football column this fall, and I actually need your help.

I've been asked to do away with the prose portion and instead begin to use Google maps in the column. In fact, the entire piece will be done in map format. I'll highlight big games on the upcoming weekend schedule, as well as other things to watch for. The map will live throughout the season, instead of a new column -- and therefore new URL -- being generated each week.

And don't worry; I'll still be able to incorporate my weak sarcasm, so content won't be a problem. But what I need from you is a new name for the project. Word From The Wise is no longer accurate.

Enter your nomination here.

Word From The Wise

New column out today.

Word From The Wise -- Audio Blogs

I forgot to tell you; I'd been recording some audio blogs about the BCS bowl games. They're not very good, but here's a listen anyway.

Listen here.

What happened to Ohio State?

Word From The Wise

New column out today.

Word From The Wise

New column out today.

Word From The Wise -- OSU-Michigan Pictures

I'm really disappointed in my Ohio State-Michigan pictures. I didn't have good battery power, and with the fading light I must have used an incorrect setting for nearly two full quarters. Hopefully, I'll be able to redeem myself in Glendale. But first I have to get the green light from the honchos here at work just to go to Glendale.

Anyway, here are the pictures.

Word From The Wise -- The Audio Blog

As you know, I was doing some work out of Columbus on Saturday at the Ohio State-Michigan game. I'll post pictures and perhaps other content soon, but just wanted to share my audio blog, which is now on the MyFox network of sites.

Click here to listen now.

I haven't listened to it yet, so I don't know how it turned out, but any feedback is appreciated.

Thanks.

Word From The Wise

New column out a little early this week. It's Ohio State-Michigan week. I suggest you read it.

And remember, I'll be posting pictures and an audio blog, perhaps another column, from my perch on the sidelines, so check back often for all that stuff in a few days.

Word From The Wise

New column out this week.

Word From The Wise

New column out today.

Word From The Wise

New column out today.

Word From The Wise

New column out today.

Word From The Wise

New column out today.

Word From The Wise

New column out today.

Word From The Wise

New column out today.

Word From The Wise -- Special Edition

Unlike last year when I was able to post to Word From The Wise in a more-frequent blog style, this year's version is more structured. My new superiors want me to publish only on Friday, so after watching Craig James and Doug Flutie's post-game remarks regarding Ohio State's 28-6 defeat of Penn State Saturday, I couldn't help but have this reaction, all brought to you in a special extra bonus format for you on a Sunday:

I know it's part of our nature to root for the underdog and find chinks in the armor of our top-ranked teams. I didn't argue when many said OSU was an unconvincing preseason No. 1, even after its season-opening victory over Northern Illinois and right up until kickoff at Texas on the second weekend. But the Buckeyes dismantled the Longhorns and have since won by decisive margins the last two weeks. Many were hopeful to rank OSU No. 1 and Notre Dame 1A, until the Irish were blown away at home last week by Michigan. And did you see them call on another divine miracle last night at Michigan State?

So after Saturday's late 14-6 OSU lead turned into a 28-6 final score with a pair of interceptions returned for touchdowns, the best that James and Flutie could come up with was skepticism about OSU's offense, that maybe it wasn't as dominant as people thought it would be, as if to blame Jim Tressel and his troops. And that was the end of the analysis.

What Flutie and James should have mentioned was this:

Ohio State has officially overcome the loss of nine defensive starters, all of whom were on NFL rosters when the season began two weeks ago. Everyone and their brother and uncle and stepson makes mention of the nine lost starters from a year ago at the top of each broadcast, during every game and in the midweek analysis. By now, it's tremendously tiresome. But thanks to ABC newcomer Paul Maguire, who referenced the nine a few times yesterday ... FOUR WEEKS INTO THE SEASON, I think we know now the Buckeyes had some defensive holes to fill. And guess what? They've filled them, so quit talking about it.

The defense held Penn State to two field goals, and save for a Malcolm Jenkins roughing call on the last play of the half Saturday, it would have been one.

Remember when Tressel won games by scores like 16-12 and 13-9 in 2002? Those were near blowouts by his standards, as he played an offensive style that revolved around ball control and field position. His offense didn't boast two Heisman Trophy candidates like it does this year, but those Bucks in 2002 won the national championship. So in addition to a defense that is now officially outstanding, probably equal to the defense of 2002 as well as last year's, Tressel now has an explosive offense that simply seemed quiet yesterday because the game was played on a wet track and Penn State offered a decent defensive showing as well.

Ohio State is the best team in the country, and not because Notre Dame lost eight days ago. It's because the Bucks' defense is typical Tressel, the offense has numerous weapons and a mammoth o-line and the kicking game is getting better. This is the end of the story.

Word From The Wise

New column out today.

Word From The Wise

New column out today.