this bracket was guest written by C.Rock
BRACKET #24
Click HERE for second round results.
Click HERE for third round results.
BRACKET SEMI-FINALS
(105) 1994 Alabama - 17
(152) 1979 Oklahoma - 23
The vaunted Crimson Tide defense led by Shannon Brown and Willie Gasten couldn't slow down All-American tailback Billy Sims and QB J.C. Watts as the Sooner back compiled 32 carries and 210 yards on the ground. The stat of the game is OU's time of possession of 38 minutes vs 22 for the Crimson Tide.
(233) 1987 UCLA - 27
(24) 1996 Florida - 41
Troy Aikman, Gaston Green and Flipper Anderson got their yards but unfortunately for the Bruins, so did the Fun 'N Gun stylings of Danny Wuerffel, Ike Hilliard, Reidel Anthony and Jacquez Green to the tune of 511 yards of total offense.
BRACKET FINAL
(152) 1979 Oklahoma - 23
(24) 1996 Florida - 33
OU entered the game confidently after upending the favored Crimson Tide in the previous round. Rumor has it that the entire defensive line, headed by Keith Gary, Johnny Lewis and John Goodman spent the night before the game enjoying the sites and sounds of downtown Gainesville much to the chagrin of the Sooner stars Billy Sims and J.C. Watts.
The Ole Ball Coach, Steve Spurrier, drew up some odd 5-wide sets(even putting Fred Taylor into the slot) for the Gators to unload on a Sooner defense that, coming from the late 70's in Big 8 country, had never seen anything like it. Spreading OU out far and wide, Wuerffel worked his way all over the field in the first quarter on two consecutive drives hitting Ike Hilliard to the left, Reidel Anthony to the right and Jacquez Green cutting across the middle. Wuerffel's stats after the first quarter of play were 11-13 for 137 yards and 2 touchdowns with hardly a tap from the Sooner defensive line - raising warning flags and causing extreme friction on the sideline between the Sooner defense and offense. Luckily for OU, Billy Sims called it a night early the previous day allowing himself to be ready for the showdown as he found the running easy going in the first piling up 54 yards and a touchdown keeping it close at 14-7.
The second quarter found the Gator offense equally successful as the previous quarter pushing the lead to 24-10 entering halftime.
Coming out of the half, the Sooner defense looked rejuvenated as they shut down Florida. The Florida punt after the opening drive was blocked allowing OU and J.C. Watts to punch in a quick score cutting the lead to 24-17. On the ensuing drive, Wuerffel led Florida deep into OU territory only to have his pass to Ike Hilliard picked off in the end zone and returned all the way to the Gator 22 yard line. The OU offense was then introduced to Jevon Kearse who on consecutive plays knocked Sims for no gain and Watts back for a 6 yard loss on an option keeper. OU nailed a 45 yard field goal and had closed the gap to 1 at 24-20.
The ensuing kickoff was fumbled by Florida and appeared to recovered by OU which would have completely turned the tide. Unfortunately, defensive back Basil Banks (who was playing on special teams) was flagged for offsides on the kickoff forcing OU to kick again. Oh how turnabout is fair play. This kickoff was taken by Jacquez Green and returned all the way to the Sooner 4 yard line where Fred Taylor punched it in on the next drive all but taking the wind out of the Sooner sails...Florida 31-20.
On the next drive OU ended up with another field goal cutting the lead to one score at 31-23. Spurrier on his next possession tried to kill the clock by running Fred Taylor led to little if anything for Florida. The final back breaker for OU was the punt from Florida that should have given Watts and Sims great field possession but took an unlikely bounce and roll all the way to the Sooner 2 yard line where on the very next play from scrimmage Reggie McGrew and Ed Chester met in the backfield bringing down Sims for a safety and the closeout, 33-23.
The Ole Ball Coach, Steve Spurrier, drew up some odd 5-wide sets(even putting Fred Taylor into the slot) for the Gators to unload on a Sooner defense that, coming from the late 70's in Big 8 country, had never seen anything like it. Spreading OU out far and wide, Wuerffel worked his way all over the field in the first quarter on two consecutive drives hitting Ike Hilliard to the left, Reidel Anthony to the right and Jacquez Green cutting across the middle. Wuerffel's stats after the first quarter of play were 11-13 for 137 yards and 2 touchdowns with hardly a tap from the Sooner defensive line - raising warning flags and causing extreme friction on the sideline between the Sooner defense and offense. Luckily for OU, Billy Sims called it a night early the previous day allowing himself to be ready for the showdown as he found the running easy going in the first piling up 54 yards and a touchdown keeping it close at 14-7.
The second quarter found the Gator offense equally successful as the previous quarter pushing the lead to 24-10 entering halftime.
Coming out of the half, the Sooner defense looked rejuvenated as they shut down Florida. The Florida punt after the opening drive was blocked allowing OU and J.C. Watts to punch in a quick score cutting the lead to 24-17. On the ensuing drive, Wuerffel led Florida deep into OU territory only to have his pass to Ike Hilliard picked off in the end zone and returned all the way to the Gator 22 yard line. The OU offense was then introduced to Jevon Kearse who on consecutive plays knocked Sims for no gain and Watts back for a 6 yard loss on an option keeper. OU nailed a 45 yard field goal and had closed the gap to 1 at 24-20.
The ensuing kickoff was fumbled by Florida and appeared to recovered by OU which would have completely turned the tide. Unfortunately, defensive back Basil Banks (who was playing on special teams) was flagged for offsides on the kickoff forcing OU to kick again. Oh how turnabout is fair play. This kickoff was taken by Jacquez Green and returned all the way to the Sooner 4 yard line where Fred Taylor punched it in on the next drive all but taking the wind out of the Sooner sails...Florida 31-20.
On the next drive OU ended up with another field goal cutting the lead to one score at 31-23. Spurrier on his next possession tried to kill the clock by running Fred Taylor led to little if anything for Florida. The final back breaker for OU was the punt from Florida that should have given Watts and Sims great field possession but took an unlikely bounce and roll all the way to the Sooner 2 yard line where on the very next play from scrimmage Reggie McGrew and Ed Chester met in the backfield bringing down Sims for a safety and the closeout, 33-23.
1996 Florida (#24 overall seed) advances to the Bracket of Champions. The Gators will face the winner of Bracket 41 in the first round.
No comments:
Post a Comment