(11) Virginia Tech vs. Tennessee: I like the Hokies in this one, both teams are similar with a good running game and a great defense. In the end though I think Tech has more overall talent and will win a close game 24-21.

Oklahoma vs. (21) Stanford: This is going to be a fun game to watch Stanford’s Toby Gerhart against the tough run defense of the Sooners, led by All-American Gerald McCoy (DT). While Stanford’s the ranked team, they will be without their starting quarterback and have to be underdogs against Oklahoma. As long as Gerhart’s on the field I would never want to discount the Cardinal’s chances, but I think they come up short against a Sooner team that wants to avenge their disastrous season. Oklahoma wins 31-20.

(3) Cincinnati vs. (5) Florida: Instead of the Sugar Bowl they should call this the “Coaching Uncertainty Bowl” with the controversy we’ve seen at both schools over the last month. As much as I love the Bearcats and Tony Pike, I don’t think they have the ground game or defense needed to stop Florida. I think the Gators will be able to move the ball effectively, and their defense should be able to slow down Pike and Gilyard (note to Florida, kick the ball out of bounds instead of kicking it to Gilyard. If you don’t believe me, ask the Pitt Panthers) enough for Florida to win this game pretty easily, 38-24.

(8) Ohio State vs. (7) Oregon: The Rose Bowl this year should be a fun (and high scoring game to watch). Both the Buckeyes and Ducks have electric offenses that can score from anywhere on the field. The Ohio State offense is a little less refined but is more balanced overall. The Ducks on the other hand are very good and running back, quarterback and tight end, but lack top notch talent across the board. The Ducks defense isn’t as talented as Ohio State’s, but shouldn’t be taken lightly otherwise you will find yourself on the other end of a blowout (just ask Cal and USC). In the end I think the Ducks better execution will win the day in Pasadena 42-38.

(12) Penn State vs. (13) LSU:  History has shown that Big Ten teams don’t fare to well when they go head to head with an equal from the SEC, and I think history is about to repeat itself tomorrow. Penn State has some elite talents on their football team, but they lack the vertical attack to match the Tigers score for score if need be. While the Nittany Lions have a couple players who will be playing on Sunday’s next season, they lack the overall defense needed to stop the Tigers size and speed. I think Penn State keeps it close early, but the Tigers pull away in the end 31-17.

(16) West Virginia vs. Florida State: The “Bowden Bowl”, a match-up of his current team against his former team, is a nice retirement party for Bobby Bowden (though I don’t know if he’ll like his parting gift from the Mountaineers). I suspect that Florida State will be fired up for their coach, but emotion is about the only advantage they have over WVU. The Mountaineers have an immensely talented (and quick) offense, and while they’ve had their share of inconsistencies I see them putting on quite a show tomorrow against FSU. The Seminoles will be starting a freshman at quarterback, and while he has a promising future, I think he will have his hands full with the Mountaineers defense tomorrow. If the Mountaineers can get pressure on the quarterback early, they can neutralize the Seminoles extremely talented receiving corps. WVU wins this one easily 38-24.

Yesterday the New York Mets finally got their man, agreeing to terms with LF Jason Bay on a 4-year $66 million dollar deal. It seemed like a perfect match, Bay was the best hitter on the market and the Mets were a team devoid of power last season. Bay gets to sign for roughly the money he wanted and for a team with a solid nucleus that can compete in the National League. The real question though is how will Bay translate into Citi Field. Citi Field is without a doubt a pitcher’s park, but I think reports of it being ‘death to hitters’ is greatly exaggerated.

Much of this theory, especially the ominous belief that it kills right-handed hitter power, seems to come from the major drop off in production by All-star David Wright last season. In 2008 his slugging percentage was .534 (and had been .523 or better since he entered the league), this past season it dropped to .447. His home run numbers had an even more precipitous fall, peaking at 33 in 2008 and falling down to 10 last season (he did have about 100 less at bats, but that doesn’t account for the entire drop off). No one seems to consider the possibility that Wright just had a fluky down year, and everyone assumes that Wright’s drop-off was due solely to Citi Field, so logically no one can hit there. False, Wright hit 5 home runs at home last season and 5 on the road (and he had a couple more games and 20 more at bats on the road). Yes, his overall offensive numbers were down at home, but not to the point where you’d legitimately worry that it is affecting his offensive production. Bay’s numbers will translate just fine to New York and Citi Field, it’s his defensive numbers that will cause the biggest concern.

Citi Field is a spacious outfield, and Bay isn’t anywhere close to a Gold Glover out there. While I don’t think he’s as bad defensively as some defensive numbers suggest (Fenway is tough for any left fielder), Bay will give up some runs with his glove. It is even a more pronounced problem, because the Met’s pitching staff is so bad right now. Unless they find some quality arms (and soon), Bay will likely get more than his fair share of balls in left. Overall though I like this move for the Mets, it answers some of the Phillies moves, and will give the Mets the offense they need to compete (once they find a couple of arms to go with Pelfrey and Santana).

I know the media, fans, and bloggers like to jump on Brett Favre, and talk about how he can’t finish a season anymore. Or the dissension he causes in the locker room is catching up with the team. But come on, let’s be realistic! That is the least of the issues with this Vikings team. Yes he had a heated exchange his coach, but I don’t think that’s by any means out of line. This isn’t what Anquan Boldin did last season to Todd Haley or what we’ve seen from other players in the past. This was a heated discussion because Favre didn’t want to leave the game when his team could still win and because he was unhappy with the game plan. What is so wrong with that, he didn’t throw a tantrum or cuss him out after the game to the media. He simply was unhappy with how the game was going (as was every Viking fan in the country I presume). I mean we have situations where Tom Brady calls out his teammates commitment and effort (after he has one of his worse games of the season), and that’s barely mentioned in a negative light. Some bloggers and media members even credit him with ‘inspiring’ his team. We also have situations where Phillip Rivers is yelling and screaming at the refs about any call he doesn’t agree with. Yet somehow, someway Brett Favre is the team cancer and the troublemaker in the NFL, disrespecting the game left and right.

What is a team cancer and troublemaker for the Vikings is the play of their offensive line (though Adrian Peterson’s fumbling is a close second). This was supposed to be the best offensive line in football, but they have aged mighty quickly this season and of late have been one of the league’s worst. Peterson hasn’t averaged more than 4.0 yards a carry since week 10, and has only gotten higher than 4.o yards per carry six times this season (Browns, Lions twice, Rams, 49ers, and Ravens). Of those only three were 100+ yard days, Cleveland, Baltimore and Detroit. The O-line has crumbled in pass protection giving up now 34 sacks on the season. Those 34 sacks tie them with the Eagles for 20th worst in the NFL, only the Eagles and Packers are playoff teams with equally or worse offensive lines (though the Steelers could still join that group). Favre and the Vikings have gotten this far without a consistent running game or a decent offensive line. Imagine what they could do if they actually start playing up to their potential once the postseason begins?

Urban Meyer is not the next Brett Favre:

I know we can tend to jump to conclusions and while Meyer’s new announcement ruined my blog from yesterday (as well as every other sport blog in the country), I’m happy that he changed his mind (though I’m not too sure the rest of the SEC will agree with my premise). Meyer should be coaching, and if the leave of absence will do him good and he can come back healthy and refreshed, then all the power to him. Meyer is definitely in the prime of his career, and should be on the sideline for years to come. His return is huge for the Gators, and I’d suspect they will continue to be perennial National Champion contenders.

Colts Screw-Up My Fantasy Team Their Undefeated Season:

Rex Ryan should be sending Jim Caldwell a nice Christmas gift after the Colts pulled their starters yesterday in the 2nd half, allowing New York to come back and win. Not only did it end the Colts undefeated season, but with the Broncos loss, the Jets are now in prime playoff position. The Colts meanwhile now no longer have the “pressure” of the undefeated season, or whatever other rosy scenario they try to paint to their fans. Which by the way, were none too happy about them sitting Manning and the rest of their starters. I can totally understand resting a few guys or sitting Manning the last couple of series in the 4th if they had the lead. But to just openly concede the game like that is pretty bad (in front of your home crowd no less).  I really don’t buy any of the excuses of resting their starters or protecting them from injury. History shows that teams who rest their starters in the last week or two of the season come out flat in the playoffs after their bye week. Sure their are exceptions to the rule, but too long of a lay-off is an issue that has hurt the Colts in the past, why go down that road again? The worst part is the Colts were in prime position to be able to rest most or all of their starters next week at Buffalo. The Bills are a floundering team, and Indianapolis would have probably jumped out to an early lead, giving them ample opportunity to rest Manning and Co. and maintain their perfect season. While I hope the Colts can overcome any rust when they make the playoffs they just put a huge target on their back for whatever Wild Card team that makes it since they didn’t eliminate the Jets from the playoff picture.

In less than 24 hours, coach Urban Meyer of Florida has changed his mind and decided to take a leave of abscence.  More on this later…

In one of the most shocking stories to come out of the sports world in recent memory, Florida Gators head coach Urban Meyer is leaving after this season health reasons. While reports are murky about the exact cause, you have to hope and pray that Meyer is okay and it is nothing life threatening. Though this move is the best for Coach Meyer and his family it is sad to see him leave coaching in his prime.

In five years with the Gators, Meyer has won two National Championships and won at least nine games a season (three seasons of 12 or more). Meyer has led the Gators to a 56-10 record* (with the Bowl game to go) and has a career 95-18 record (again with one game to go). Everywhere Meyer has coached, he has won and built a solid program. In two years with Bowling Green, two with Utah and five with Florida, Meyer has won five conference titles and never finished lower than third in the conference. By comparison over the same nine year period USC coach Pete Carroll  went 97-19 (including his Bowl Game this season), one undisputed National Championship and one AP National Championship. While Carroll’s numbers are impressive, it should be noted that twice his team finished 5th in the Pac-10, and he also had the recruiting resources of USC for all nine seasons, which might be a bit better than those of Bowling Green and Utah.

To me there is no question that Meyer is the greatest coach in college football over the last ten years. While questions now swirl about the future of Meyer and the Gators, I wonder how Meyer will be remembered years from now? And are his two National Championships enough to keep him in the great coach conversation and even in the College Football Hall of Fame?

At the beginning of the season if you told the Pitt Panthers that they’d end up in the Meineke Car Care Bowl (MCC from now on) they’d probably be pretty satisfied. Going in to the year Pitt would have been happy with a solid mid-range bowl, they were losing their best playmaker (LeSean McCoy) to the NFL and had serious questions at quarterback. By the end of the season, the MCC Bowl represents a major disappointment after last second losses to West Virginia and Cincinnati knocked them out of major bowl consideration.

The Tar Heels are a bit of the opposite of the Panthers, at the beginning of the season they would have been a bit disappointed to go (return) to the MCC Bowl. Despite losing their top three receivers, UNC looked like a team on the rise. With a good quarterback T.J. Yates and a top notch defense, they could have maybe made a run at the ACC title. After a disappointing season which saw them lose to both UVA and NC State (two of the ACC’s weaker teams), the Tar Heels should be pretty happy they ended up with roughly a home bowl game.

So who comes out ahead when these to teams meet on the field today? I think it will be close but I see Pitt squeaking it out in the end. Both teams have very good defenses, with UNC’s the more dominate of the two (and balanced). But Pitt has the offensive weapons to go along with their defense. Bill Stull has really come on this season to be a pretty good quarterback for the Panthers. Pittsburgh has possibly the best running back-wide receiver combo in college football with Dion Lewis and Jonathan Baldwin. Lewis has filled McCoy’s shoes and is one of the best running backs in the country despite being a true freshman. Lewis had 98 more rushing yards this season than Heisman winner Mark Ingram (despite playing in one fewer game this season). Baldwin is one of the best receivers in the nation who is overlooked because Pittsburgh is a balanced offense, with a strong running game. Baldwin was third in the nation among receivers with 1,000 or more yards in yards per catch (20.0). In addition with Baldwin and Lewis the Panthers have a number of other quality weapons who would be top receivers or running backs on most other teams. One other player that did stand out is TE Dorin Dickerson, who had 10 touchdowns this year and was named first team All-American.

Given Pitt’s offensive weapons, I think they get by the stellar Tar Heels defense, 21-17.

Merry Christmas from Fanspeak.com!  Hope everyone has a very happy holiday!

By Guest Blogger Megan Shoup:

As 2009 and this decade draw to a close, its fun to think about what have been your favorite sports moments this year.  What about this decade? 

This year I think started with an exciting Super Bowl to end last NFL season with the Steelers ending up as the Champions!   But that was just the beginning, as all the major sports had intriguing playoff and championship match ups.  What about 2000 to 2009?  Tons of great Championship memories!  The one that sticks out in my mind the most was that catch by David Tyree in the Giants vs. Patriots Super Bowl.  That catch saved the game, and led to a Giants Super Bowl victory and spoiled the Patriots perfect season.  We also had several exciting Olympic games, with Michael Phelps breaking the Olympic record. 

Fanspeak.com will new a more in depth look back on 2009 and this decade before New Year’s.  But what is your favorite moments from this year?

While there might be a signing or two over the next few days, usually the Hot Stove cools down around Christmas for a few days. With this brief cool down period I thought it would be a good time to take a quick look at who has helped themselves or hurt themselves so far this offseason:

Playoff teams:

New York Yankees: They lost Johnny Damon and Matsui but have signed Nick Johnson and traded for Granderson and Vasquez. The Yankees added some big names and filled big holes in CF and in the rotation (which i’m sure Sabathia and company are thankful for), but they did pay a price for them. The 6 players they gave up all had pretty decent value to the Yankees and leave a hole in the organization most notably in their bullpen. I think the signing of Johnson was their best move, he doesn’t have Matsui’s power but he is an excellent hitter. The Yankees still need to fill their hole in LF and add at least one bullpen arm. Right now they are neck and neck with the Red Sox for best team in baseball.

Boston Red Sox: They lost Jason Bay, but did sign John Lackey, Mike Cameron and Marco Scutaro. Losing Bay is tough, but Cameron’s defensive ability almost makes the move a wash. Also the Red Sox hitting this year will be better with a full season of Victor Martinez and the major upgrade at SS with Scutaro. The best part about the Red Sox moves is that they haven’t sacrificed any of their top young talent or prospects, giving them plenty of flexibility to make additional moves. They still need to add another big bat, and some bullpen help.

Minnesota Twins: The Twins added J.J. Hardy which fills a major need but they lost Orlando Cabrera so its a minimal improvement. The Twins could still use a 3b, and another starter if they really want to contend with the Yankees and Red Sox.

Los Angeles Angels: The Angels signed Matsui, but they did lose both Lackey and Figgins, neither of whom have been replaced. The Angels have a big hole at the top of their rotation right now. The Angels could use some bullpen help, a frontline starter and another bat. Los Angeles will need to fill at least two of those needs if they hope to stay atop the AL West.

Philadelphia Phillies: The Phillies finally got Roy Halladay, but they gave up Cliff Lee for three lesser prospects than those they gave up for Halladay. While their might be a slight improvement I doubt it will make a drastic difference in their rotation. Adding Polanco gives them better production from 3B, but wasn’t a huge upgrade. The Phillies need to still add help at the back of their bullpen and in the back of their rotation.

St. Louis Cardinals: The Cards could still potentially resign Matt Holliday or Pineiro so its hard to say whether or not the Cards are winners or losers just yet. Signing Penny was a smart move and if the Cards add another quality pitcher their rotation could be unstoppable. They will need to find a way to replace Holliday’s production if he doesn’t resign.

Colorado Rockies: The Rockies lost Jason Marquis, and he will need to be replaced in the rotation. Outside of that the Rockies need to add a few bench and bullpen players. The most important thing for the Rockies is the continued development of their young players, as their are no major holes in the roster.

Los Angeles Dodgers: The Dodgers have lost Randy Wolf, and Jon Garland and Padilla could be joining him from their rotation exodus. The Dodgers will likely lose Orlando Hudson as well which leaves a big hole in their middle infield. Los Angles needs to add a 2B, two starters some bullpen help and a couple of bench players. Right now they are a team without direction and I don’t know if they will make the playoffs unless they make a major move or two.

So who do you think are the Winners and Losers among last season’s playoff teams?