BCS Championship: Special teams will decide it
BCS Championship: Special teams will decide it
With two Heisman winners taking the field as opposing quarterbacks on Thursday to lead two explosive offenses in the BCS Championship, plus two high profile coaches in Urban Meyer for Florida and Oklahoma's Bob Stoops, it's easy to understand why special teams might not get much press for this game. But make no mistake, kickers and return specialists will be a huge part of the game to decide this season's champs.
It all boils down to special teams in the end.
Nobody’s tuning in to Thursday’s BCS Championship Game to watch the kick-offs and punts. And there’s nothing quite as anticlimactic as the sight of a place-kicker trotting onto the field, especially with two offenses as prolific as those belonging to the Oklahoma Sooners and the Florida Gators. This is precisely why special teams hold such betting value for handicappers.
While everyone watching at home is running to the fridge to grab a cold one between touchdowns, the kickers, returners and coverage units are deciding the field position for the next offensive play. Their importance increases when the betting odds are close – as they are in Miami, with the Gators laying four points at press time. And since college place-kickers have yet to develop much leg strength and accuracy, having a good one on your team is a premium advantage.
Florida has this advantage in spades on Thursday night. Jonathan Phillips has made 11 of his 12 field-goal attempts this year and all 10 of his kicks from inside the 40. The one blight on his record: a missed PAT, leaving Phillips 71-for-72 in that department. Sooners PK Jimmy Stevens is a wayward 8-for-11 on figgies (7-for-9 inside the 40) and 92-for-97 on PATs. On kick-offs, Florida’s Caleb Sturgis cranks out an average of 63.7 yards, ahead of OU’s Matthew Moreland at 62.2 yards. This category is more of a wash, though, since Sturgis also had eight kicks go out-of-bounds to Moreland’s two.
The Gators undeniably have the better punter in this matchup. Florida’s Chas Henry has a cannon for a leg, blasting punts an average of 42.8 yards downfield to put the Gators No. 17 in the FBS in raw distance. Even better, 20 of Henry’s 41 punts were placed inside the 20-yard line. Oklahoma’s Mike Knall managed just 36.4 yards per punt, leaving the Sooners No. 116 out of the 120 FBS teams in distance. Sixteen of Knall’s 51 punts landed inside the 20.
The return game is where things go seriously awry for the Sooners. They lost their main weapon when RB DeMarco Murray (hamstring) was injured while bringing back the opening kick against Missouri in the Big 12 title game. Murray was No. 10 in the FBS with an average return of 27.64 yards, better than Florida’s Brandon James at No. 56 with 23.69 yards. There will be lots of ink spilled on the effect of Murray’s absence in the OU backfield, but this is where it could really hurt the Sooners.
Oklahoma wasn’t nearly as successful returning punts this year. James excelled in this role, finishing No. 13 in the nation with 14.14 yards per return with two TDs. Oklahoma’s Ryan Broles was No. 39 with 9.7 yards per return and one TD. Both teams have excellent punt return coverage, but Broles will find it more difficult than usual to get a head of steam after catching Henry’s booming punts. The Sooners have also allowed four kick returns for TDs this season; Florida hasn’t allowed any.
The importance of special teams in this matchup is magnified by the sheer volume of their workload for these two clubs. Oklahoma led the FBS in kick-offs this year with 119. Florida was fourth with 104. The punters should be a little busier Thursday night given the strength of these two defenses, but either way, the Sooners are effectively going to be giving up yardage to Florida with each attempt
Oklahoma has been good enough to overcome this deficit against just about every team it’s faced this season. But how about a championship-quality team like the Texas Longhorns? Jordan Shipley took a kick-off 96 yards to the house in the second quarter of the Red River Shootout to bring Texas to within 14-10. The Longhorns eventually rallied to win 45-35 as 7-point dogs. Do not be surprised if this scenario plays out again at Dolphin Stadium.
With two Heisman winners taking the field as opposing quarterbacks on Thursday to lead two explosive offenses in the BCS Championship, plus two high profile coaches in Urban Meyer for Florida and Oklahoma's Bob Stoops, it's easy to understand why special teams might not get much press for this game. But make no mistake, kickers and return specialists will be a huge part of the game to decide this season's champs.
It all boils down to special teams in the end.
Nobody’s tuning in to Thursday’s BCS Championship Game to watch the kick-offs and punts. And there’s nothing quite as anticlimactic as the sight of a place-kicker trotting onto the field, especially with two offenses as prolific as those belonging to the Oklahoma Sooners and the Florida Gators. This is precisely why special teams hold such betting value for handicappers.
While everyone watching at home is running to the fridge to grab a cold one between touchdowns, the kickers, returners and coverage units are deciding the field position for the next offensive play. Their importance increases when the betting odds are close – as they are in Miami, with the Gators laying four points at press time. And since college place-kickers have yet to develop much leg strength and accuracy, having a good one on your team is a premium advantage.
Florida has this advantage in spades on Thursday night. Jonathan Phillips has made 11 of his 12 field-goal attempts this year and all 10 of his kicks from inside the 40. The one blight on his record: a missed PAT, leaving Phillips 71-for-72 in that department. Sooners PK Jimmy Stevens is a wayward 8-for-11 on figgies (7-for-9 inside the 40) and 92-for-97 on PATs. On kick-offs, Florida’s Caleb Sturgis cranks out an average of 63.7 yards, ahead of OU’s Matthew Moreland at 62.2 yards. This category is more of a wash, though, since Sturgis also had eight kicks go out-of-bounds to Moreland’s two.
The Gators undeniably have the better punter in this matchup. Florida’s Chas Henry has a cannon for a leg, blasting punts an average of 42.8 yards downfield to put the Gators No. 17 in the FBS in raw distance. Even better, 20 of Henry’s 41 punts were placed inside the 20-yard line. Oklahoma’s Mike Knall managed just 36.4 yards per punt, leaving the Sooners No. 116 out of the 120 FBS teams in distance. Sixteen of Knall’s 51 punts landed inside the 20.
The return game is where things go seriously awry for the Sooners. They lost their main weapon when RB DeMarco Murray (hamstring) was injured while bringing back the opening kick against Missouri in the Big 12 title game. Murray was No. 10 in the FBS with an average return of 27.64 yards, better than Florida’s Brandon James at No. 56 with 23.69 yards. There will be lots of ink spilled on the effect of Murray’s absence in the OU backfield, but this is where it could really hurt the Sooners.
Oklahoma wasn’t nearly as successful returning punts this year. James excelled in this role, finishing No. 13 in the nation with 14.14 yards per return with two TDs. Oklahoma’s Ryan Broles was No. 39 with 9.7 yards per return and one TD. Both teams have excellent punt return coverage, but Broles will find it more difficult than usual to get a head of steam after catching Henry’s booming punts. The Sooners have also allowed four kick returns for TDs this season; Florida hasn’t allowed any.
The importance of special teams in this matchup is magnified by the sheer volume of their workload for these two clubs. Oklahoma led the FBS in kick-offs this year with 119. Florida was fourth with 104. The punters should be a little busier Thursday night given the strength of these two defenses, but either way, the Sooners are effectively going to be giving up yardage to Florida with each attempt
Oklahoma has been good enough to overcome this deficit against just about every team it’s faced this season. But how about a championship-quality team like the Texas Longhorns? Jordan Shipley took a kick-off 96 yards to the house in the second quarter of the Red River Shootout to bring Texas to within 14-10. The Longhorns eventually rallied to win 45-35 as 7-point dogs. Do not be surprised if this scenario plays out again at Dolphin Stadium.
