Here is my recap of my simulated quarter finals of the NCAA Playoffs which took place Christmas Weekend:

Friday:

Saturday:

  • TCU (3) 24 – Ohio State (6) – 7 (Miami, FL): TCU proved their legitimacy as a three seed by soundly defeating Ohio State 24-7.  The TCU defense held Terelle Pryor and his mates to under 200 yards of total offense.  TCU was lead on offense by 158 yards rushing by 5’ 9” sophomore running back Ed Wesley. TCU protected the ball and did not have any turnovers, where as Ohio State Junior QB Terelle Pryor, dealing with off field issues, threw 3 picks.
  • Stanford (4) 33 – Va Tech (12) 21 (Tempe, AZ): Va Tech played hard and at half held a 21-14 lead. Stanford Junior Quarterback Andrew Luck took over the second half leading three long scoring drives and the Stanford defense completely shut down Va Tech and Sr. Quarterback Tyrod Taylor.
  • Arkansas (8) 35 – Auburn (1) – 24 (Miami, FL): In the only upset of the day, Arkansas beat bang up Auburn 35-24. Auburn Junior Quarterback Cam Newton tried to play on a severely sprained ankle but had lost most of his running ability. Forced to throw the ball and become a pocket passer, Newton struggled completing less than 50% of his passes and throwing a couple of picks. Junior QB Ryan Mallett, who was knocked out of the previous loss to Auburn, played a very effective game completing 22-31 passes for 259 yards.

Summary:

  • Three of the top 4 seeds have made the semi finals, with Arkansas, at #8, being the surprise team remaining.
  • The Big Ten conference has no teams in the final four. Stanford and Oregon represent the Pac-10, Arkansas the SEC, and TCU the Mountain West.
  • TV Ratings were off the charts!!

Next Weekends Matchups to be played in Pasadena, CA (The Rose Bowl Location), times EST:

  • Saturday 3pm (Pasadena, CA) – Arkansas (8) vs Stanford (4)
  • Saturday 8pm (Pasadena, CA) – TCU (3) vs  Oregon (2)