Cliche Fest

Big football day yesterday but two things really stood out. Why is it that coaches speak to field reporters in a series of over-used cliches? Game after game as I channel surfed I heard about "one game at a time," and "big players make big plays," and "we'll have to play better during the second half," and "we just have to play within ourselves." How come the Florida coach didn't say, "we're getting our butt kicked out there"?

And, I don't mean to sound sexist but ever since Howard Cosell wrote his biographical apologia and titled it, "I Never Played the Game", I've wondered about the expertise of the sideline bimbos who report from the field breathlessly, their carefully coiffed golden locks waving in the breeze as they report that the Pitt tight end suffered a bad groin pull or his jock is chafing but he'll be back in the second half.

I seriously rooted for Pittsburgh to upset Cincinnati and thought it had happened until the last 30 seconds of the game. Had Cincy lost, it would have dropped them in the standings and improved the odds of TCU getting a serious BCS shot.

Florida didn't show up. If Tebow wasn't the son of a preacher with bible verses lettered on his eye black patches I'd swear he'd been out drinking and doing the dirty deed all night long with a platoon of nubile cheer-leaders. Florida simply didn't bring it. The result is that if the game means anything at all, Florida lost the national title and Tebow lost the Heisman yesterday.

Alabama, on the other hand, had been my hope for an "easier" opponent for Texas at Pasadena. I've got a bit of sympathy for 'Bama since I've got two significant pieces of paper for my wall from a couple of Alabama universities. They aren't Bama, but if Auburn can't play and Troy surely never will, then I'll root for the Tide. Mark Ingram actually did fulfill the cliche about great players having great games when the stakes are high. I'd say he picked up a lot of Heisman votes for his effort.

But Texas was the show for this transplant to Texoma-land. It should have been a walk-over but they must have been reading their own press releases all week. Colt McCoy almost made Tim Tebow look good yesterday in comparison. His team was flat and they didn't make the big plays. Nebraska came to Arlington hungry and almost took the turkey back to Lincoln. Only a booth review to put a second back on the clock gave the Longhorns a chance to win. They will be number two in the BCS standings this week, but just barely and McCoy may have lost that grand trophy and the trip to New York City.

They will all likely be playing on Sunday in coming years. Some will deliver, some won't. They will make a lot of money, however. The bad news is that some of them will be playing in places like Detroit, Cleveland and Oakland for at least a short period.