Cowboys ÜberFan

Archived from MVN.com (2007)

Wouldn’t it be great if all the NFL players headed back to campus for a week to determine which university has the best Alumni Team? We’re doing it virtually over the next several weeks at MVN.

NCAA Alumni Tournament Introduction
Click above for the intro to the tourney.

The Elite 6
Click above to see the top 6 teams.

The Middle 8
Click above to see the middle 8 teams.

The Bubble 9
Click above to see the 9 teams on the bubble.

Round 1 Match-ups
Click above to see the match-ups from round 1.

Here are the results from Round 1:

Tennessee over Alabama
MVN Writers 100%
MVN Readers 76%

Michigan over Virginia Tech
MVN Writers 80%
MVN Readers 73%

USC over Oklahoma
MVN Writers 100%
MVN Readers 84%

Texas over Virginia
MVN Writers 100%
MVN Readers 100%

Miami over Notre Dame
MVN Writers 100%
MVN Readers 82%

Florida State over LSU
MVN Writers 80%
MVN Readers 50%

Georgia over Auburn
MVN Writers 60%
MVN Readers 40%
My Tiebreak - Georgia

Ohio State over Florida
MVN Writers 80%
MVN Readers 51%

No surprises, all the higher seeds advance, although the voting was tight on a couple of them. Ohio State won by one reader vote and Florida State and LSU tied among the readers. Texas had none of that, as they swept both the writer and reader voting. Poor UVa simply got steamrolled.

Let’s be honest, there were a couple cream puff teams in the first round that never stood a chance. Now we’ve cut the fat and the next round features four close games. Check out the match-ups below.

To rock the vote, click the NCAA Alumni Tournament graphic on the top right of the page. You should see polls on the right side of the subsequent page. If you don’t see the graphic that means you’re already on the voting page.

Don’t just pick based on favorites or alma maters, because then this turns into a glorified popularity contest. The reader votes count half, with the MVN writers counting the other half. I’ll break the ties.

If you have any changes to the rosters, post them in the comments below the post.

Onto the games…

1 Tennessee vs 8 Ohio State

Match-Up
Peyton Manning gets to test his skills against perhaps the best secondary in the whole tournament. Ohio State will roll out Nate Clements, Antoine Winfield, Chris Gamble and Shawn Springs against the Tennessee three and four receiver sets. The UT line is a bit suspect, so OSU will blitz their LBs and try to beat up Manning. OSU should be able to control the running game, so Manning will have to carry the load.

Guess: 17 points

Match-Up
The Buckeyes will try to pound the ball behind their excellent line. However, Tennessee’s all-world defensive line won’t be pushed around. The match-up of OSU’s receivers against the UT secondary favors the Buckeyes, but I’m not sure that Troy Smith will be able to take advantage of it. He’ll have trouble seeing over the huge Volunteer defensive tackles, who run 6′6″ and 6′7″, while he’s only 6′1″.

Guess: 10 points

Special Teams Edge: Ohio State

Overall
Ohio State’s defense matches up well against Tennessee, with great coverage players and enough pass rush to keep Manning uneasy. However, Troy Smith won’t have it much easier, as Tennessee will stop the run and force him to air it out. In the end, with the game on the shoulders of Peyton Manning and Troy Smith, I think the winner is fairly easy to predict.

2 Michigan vs 7 Georgia

Match-Up
Georgia dispatched of Auburn and their excellent offensive line. Now they get to face the other dominant offensive line in the tournament. After a cakewalk in round 1, Mike Hart will get to feel the wrath of a full-grown NFL defense. Richard Seymour and Marcus Stroud will make running between the tackles a hazardous endeavor. Tom Brady will have to work for his yards, and he fully knows how dangerous it is to throw in Champ Bailey’s direction.

Guess: 16 points

Match-Up
Michigan’s defense matches up well against this offense. They have the speed at linebacker and safety to contain the Georgia tight ends. Charles Woodson and Leon Hall should be able to keep Hines Ward and Reggie Brown in check as well. Georgia will try to establish the run, but Musa Smith is a back-up in the NFL for a reason.

Guess: 10 points

Special Teams Edge: Georgia

Overall
Neither team will be able to rely on their running games to control the ball. So the onus falls on Tom Brady and David Greene to move the ball and score points. Hmmm, three time Super Bowl winner versus an NFL back-up. Tough call.

3 USC vs 6 Florida State

Match-Up
This match-up doesn’t bode well for the Trojans. Kamerion Wimbley and Greg Spires will test the young USC tackles, and Carson Palmer doesn’t move well. Plus, with Ernie Sims, Lawrence Timmons and Derrick Brooks, the Seminoles have plenty of speed to keep Reggie Bush from running wild. With no exploitable mismatches in the secondary, Carson Palmer will have a long day avoiding hits from FSU’s athletic front seven.

Guess: 10 points

Match-Up
Florida State should have plenty of room to run on the edges, with a favorable match-up between Walter Jones and Tra Thomas versus Kenechi Udeze and the ancient Willie McGinest. Warrick Dunn and Leon Washington will take full advantage, running both toss plays and screen passes. Brad Johnson will dink and dunk to his all-star receiving crew, which should have no trouble gaining separation versus Brian Kelly and Daylon McCutcheon.

Guess: 20 points

Special Teams Edge: Florida State

Overall
I’m seeing the first upset of the tournament here. The offensive line is the weak link for USC, and Florida State has the talent to expose it. We all know that if your defensive line can dominate, you can quickly turn a great quarterback into a mediocre one. Against FSU’s deep secondary, Carson Palmer will have the unfortunate combination of no open receivers and a collapsing pocket.

On the other side of the ball, the focus is on the line, and again FSU has a distinct advantage over USC. FSU’s front five will wear down an undersized USC line. This will allow Brad Johnson plenty of opportunity to get the ball to his three-headed monster of Anquan Boldin, Javon Walker, and Laveranues Coles.

Add the fact that USC doesn’t have a legitimate kicker, and you’ve got an upset brewing.

4 Texas vs 5 Miami

Match-Up
Tighten up your laces, because this is going to be some smashmouth football. Texas will attempt to use their massive line and powerful fullback to pound the Hurricanes into submission. However, Miami is strong up the middle, which is where Texas would like to run, and the Hurricane linebackers will be a green and orange swarm on every play. Plus, they have the depth to rotate their whole front seven. I don’t see Vince Young passing for a lot of yards, but he’ll make the occasional key play to keep the chains moving. I’m not convinced that Cedric Benson can be effective against this defense, and with both Ricky Williams and Priest Holmes questionable, he’ll have to carry the load.

Guess: 13 points

Match-Up
Vinny Testaverde better break out the Ben-Gay early for this one. With Shaun Rogers and Casey Hampton plowing up the middle, he’ll get knocked around. Miami will try to keep Texas on their heels by relying on their stable of running backs. While Texas will win a lot of battles up front, they only have one starting caliber NFL linebacker, so Clinton Portis, Frank Gore and Edgerrin James will get some yards, especially outside the tackles. While the deep Texas secondary matches up well against the Miami all-star receivers, those corners won’t be able to contain Andre Johnson, Reggie Wayne and Santana Moss all day.

Guess: 17 points

Special Teams Edge: Miami

Overall
This is a tough call. Miami’s defense will mostly control the Texas offense, but you know that Vince Young will make a play or two along the way. On the other side of the ball, Miami has talent on the edge to score points. However, Vinny Testaverde is old and has never handled pressure well. Miami’s front five is solid, but Texas has three Pro Bowl level players along the line, so they’ll get pressure. If Vinny just protects the ball and hits an occasional throw, they should score enough to win. However, I can also see Vinny fumbling four times and throwing three interceptions to single-handedly lose the game. You pick ‘em.

VOTE! VOTE! VOTE!