Back From Hiatus.



Vice President Biden, Mr. Chief Justice, Members of the United States Congress, distinguished guests, and fellow citizens:
Each time we gather to inaugurate a president, we bear witness to the enduring strength of our Constitution.  We affirm the promise of our democracy.  We recall that what binds this nation together is not the colors of our skin or the tenets of our faith or the origins of our names.  What makes us exceptional – what makes us American – is our allegiance to an idea, articulated in a declaration made more than two centuries ago:
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.”
Today we continue a never-ending journey, to bridge the meaning of those words with the realities of our time.  For history tells us that while these truths may be self-evident, they have never been self-executing; that while freedom is a gift from God, it must be secured by His people here on Earth.  The patriots of 1776 did not fight to replace the tyranny of a king with the privileges of a few or the rule of a mob.  They gave to us a Republic, a government of, and by, and for the people, entrusting each generation to keep safe our founding creed.
For more than two hundred years, we have.
Through blood drawn by lash and blood drawn by sword, we learned that no union founded on the principles of liberty and equality could survive half-slave and half-free.  We made ourselves anew, and vowed to move forward together.
Together, we determined that a modern economy requires railroads and highways to speed travel and commerce; schools and colleges to train our workers.
Together, we discovered that a free market only thrives when there are rules to ensure competition and fair play.
Together, we resolved that a great nation must care for the vulnerable, and protect its people from life’s worst hazards and misfortune.
Through it all, we have never relinquished our skepticism of central authority, nor have we succumbed to the fiction that all society’s ills can be cured through government alone.  Our celebration of initiative and enterprise; our insistence on hard work and personal responsibility, are constants in our character.
But we have always understood that when times change, so must we; that fidelity to our founding principles requires new responses to new challenges; that preserving our individual freedoms ultimately requires collective action.  For the American people can no more meet the demands of today’s world by acting alone than American soldiers could have met the forces of fascism or communism with muskets and militias.  No single person can train all the math and science teachers we’ll need to equip our children for the future, or build the roads and networks and research labs that will bring new jobs and businesses to our shores.  Now, more than ever, we must do these things together, as one nation, and one people.
This generation of Americans has been tested by crises that steeled our resolve and proved our resilience.  A decade of war is now ending.  An economic recovery has begun.  America’s possibilities are limitless, for we possess all the qualities that this world without boundaries demands:  youth and drive; diversity and openness; an endless capacity for risk and a gift for reinvention.   My fellow Americans, we are made for this moment, and we will seize it – so long as we seize it together.
For we, the people, understand that our country cannot succeed when a shrinking few do very well and a growing many barely make it.  We believe that America’s prosperity must rest upon the broad shoulders of a rising middle class.  We know that America thrives when every person can find independence and pride in their work; when the wages of honest labor liberate families from the brink of hardship.  We are true to our creed when a little girl born into the bleakest poverty knows that she has the same chance to succeed as anybody else, because she is an American, she is free, and she is equal, not just in the eyes of God but also in our own.
We understand that outworn programs are inadequate to the needs of our time.  We must harness new ideas and technology to remake our government, revamp our tax code, reform our schools, and empower our citizens with the skills they need to work harder, learn more, and reach higher.  But while the means will change, our purpose endures:  a nation that rewards the effort and determination of every single American.  That is what this moment requires.  That is what will give real meaning to our creed.
We, the people, still believe that every citizen deserves a basic measure of security and dignity.  We must make the hard choices to reduce the cost of health care and the size of our deficit.  But we reject the belief that America must choose between caring for the generation that built this country and investing in the generation that will build its future.  For we remember the lessons of our past, when twilight years were spent in poverty, and parents of a child with a disability had nowhere to turn.  We do not believe that in this country, freedom is reserved for the lucky, or happiness for the few.  We recognize that no matter how responsibly we live our lives, any one of us, at any time, may face a job loss, or a sudden illness, or a home swept away in a terrible storm. The commitments we make to each other – through Medicare, and Medicaid, and Social Security – these things do not sap our initiative; they strengthen us.  They do not make us a nation of takers; they free us to take the risks that make this country great.
We, the people, still believe that our obligations as Americans are not just to ourselves, but to all posterity.  We will respond to the threat of climate change, knowing that the failure to do so would betray our children and future generations.  Some may still deny the overwhelming judgment of science, but none can avoid the devastating impact of raging fires, and crippling drought, and more powerful storms.  The path towards sustainable energy sources will be long and sometimes difficult.  But America cannot resist this transition; we must lead it.  We cannot cede to other nations the technology that will power new jobs and new industries – we must claim its promise.  That is how we will maintain our economic vitality and our national treasure – our forests and waterways; our croplands and snowcapped peaks.  That is how we will preserve our planet, commanded to our care by God.  That’s what will lend meaning to the creed our fathers once declared.
We, the people, still believe that enduring security and lasting peace do not require perpetual war.  Our brave men and women in uniform, tempered by the flames of battle, are unmatched in skill and courage.  Our citizens, seared by the memory of those we have lost, know too well the price that is paid for liberty.  The knowledge of their sacrifice will keep us forever vigilant against those who would do us harm.  But we are also heirs to those who won the peace and not just the war, who turned sworn enemies into the surest of friends, and we must carry those lessons into this time as well.
We will defend our people and uphold our values through strength of arms and rule of law.  We will show the courage to try and resolve our differences with other nations peacefully – not because we are naïve about the dangers we face, but because engagement can more durably lift suspicion and fear.  America will remain the anchor of strong alliances in every corner of the globe; and we will renew those institutions that extend our capacity to manage crisis abroad, for no one has a greater stake in a peaceful world than its most powerful nation.  We will support democracy from Asia to Africa; from the Americas to the Middle East, because our interests and our conscience compel us to act on behalf of those who long for freedom.  And we must be a source of hope to the poor, the sick, the marginalized, the victims of prejudice – not out of mere charity, but because peace in our time requires the constant advance of those principles that our common creed describes:  tolerance and opportunity; human dignity and justice.
We, the people, declare today that the most evident of truths – that all of us are created equal – is the star that guides us still; just as it guided our forebears through Seneca Falls, and Selma, and Stonewall; just as it guided all those men and women, sung and unsung, who left footprints along this great Mall, to hear a preacher say that we cannot walk alone; to hear a King proclaim that our individual freedom is inextricably bound to the freedom of every soul on Earth.
It is now our generation’s task to carry on what those pioneers began.  For our journey is not complete until our wives, our mothers, and daughters can earn a living equal to their efforts.  Our journey is not complete until our gay brothers and sisters are treated like anyone else under the law – for if we are truly created equal, then surely the love we commit to one another must be equal as well.  Our journey is not complete until no citizen is forced to wait for hours to exercise the right to vote.  Our journey is not complete until we find a better way to welcome the striving, hopeful immigrants who still see America as a land of opportunity; until bright young students and engineers are enlisted in our workforce rather than expelled from our country.  Our journey is not complete until all our children, from the streets of Detroit to the hills of Appalachia to the quiet lanes of Newtown, know that they are cared for, and cherished, and always safe from harm.
That is our generation’s task – to make these words, these rights, these values – of Life, and Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness – real for every American.  Being true to our founding documents does not require us to agree on every contour of life; it does not mean we will all define liberty in exactly the same way, or follow the same precise path to happiness.  Progress does not compel us to settle centuries-long debates about the role of government for all time – but it does require us to act in our time.
For now decisions are upon us, and we cannot afford delay.  We cannot mistake absolutism for principle, or substitute spectacle for politics, or treat name-calling as reasoned debate.  We must act, knowing that our work will be imperfect.  We must act, knowing that today’s victories will be only partial, and that it will be up to those who stand here in four years, and forty years, and four hundred years hence to advance the timeless spirit once conferred to us in a spare Philadelphia hall.
My fellow Americans, the oath I have sworn before you today, like the one recited by others who serve in this Capitol, was an oath to God and country, not party or faction – and we must faithfully execute that pledge during the duration of our service.  But the words I spoke today are not so different from the oath that is taken each time a soldier signs up for duty, or an immigrant realizes her dream.  My oath is not so different from the pledge we all make to the flag that waves above and that fills our hearts with pride.
They are the words of citizens, and they represent our greatest hope. You and I, as citizens, have the power to set this country’s course.
You and I, as citizens, have the obligation to shape the debates of our time – not only with the votes we cast, but with the voices we lift in defense of our most ancient values and enduring ideals.
Let each of us now embrace, with solemn duty and awesome joy, what is our lasting birthright.  With common effort and common purpose, with passion and dedication, let us answer the call of history, and carry into an uncertain future that precious light of freedom.
Thank you, God Bless you, and may He forever bless these United States of America.

-Barack Obama
44th President of the United States of America
Washington, DC
January 21, 2013

Alabama: 2013 Division I FBS National Champions


Alabama dominates Notre Dame to claim third BCS national championship in four years

Andrew Gribble | agribble@al.com By Andrew Gribble | agribble@al.com 
on January 07, 2013 at 10:41 PM, updated January 07, 2013 at 10:44 PM
MIAMI GARDENS, Florida -- The players who comprised Alabama’s roster Monday had nothing to do with the Crimson Tide’s gut-wrenching loss to Notre Dame in the 1973 Sugar Bowl, nothing to do with a similarly tough loss in the 1975 Orange Bowl and nothing to do with the other three losses in its six previous tries against the Fighting Irish.
Ask coach Nick Saban, and he’ll go one step further. This year’s team had nothing to do with last year’s national championship or the one Alabama seized in 2009.
But these players -- recruited exclusively by Saban’s staff and groomed in a program where expectations were re-established as “national title or bust” upon their enrollment -- had everything to do with avenging those haunted shortcomings to the Fighting Irish and enhancing the mystique of one of the greatest eras in Crimson Tide history.
And they did it without a hint of drama.
Alabama’s 42-14 victory on a breezy Miami night at Sun Life Stadium was a recreation of the runaway train routs that filled the space between its nail-biting thrillers against LSU, Texas A&M and Georgia.
The last time a team won the BCS title game by more than 28 points was 2005, when USC routed Oklahoma, 55-19 in the same stadium. The last team to win three titles in a four-year span was Nebraska (1994-97).
For some Crimson Tide players, such as quarterback AJ McCarron, who etched his name next to more records with yet another outstanding championship game performance, it was their third title. 
For sophomore safety HaHa Clinton-Dix -- who was all over the field in one of the best games of his career -- and a number of other underclassmen who embraced elevated roles in 2012, it was the second. 
For true freshmen such as wide receiver Amari Cooper and running back T.J. Yeldon, who shined Monday much like they did throughout the regular season, it was the first.
By the logic Saban applied throughout the year, this national championship was this particular team’s first and only.
“What you did last year is not going to have any impact or effect on what you do next year other than make the game that you play against whoever you're playing against a target,” Saban said earlier in the week. “You're going to be the target. Everybody is going to bring their "A" game to beat you because of what you've accomplished.”
Notre Dame, rejuvenated under third-year coach Brian Kelly after decades of mediocrity, didn’t play anywhere near its “A” game. The Fighting Irish were frazzled in every aspect of the game -- running routes too close to the sideline, missing tackles, muffing punt returns -- and the Crimson Tide was there to pounce on every opportunity.
It took the Alabama less than 3 minutes to strike first. It was the kind of drive that would replicate itself three more times during the Crimson Tide’s dominant first half.
McCarron loosened up the Notre Dame defense with a 29-yard pass to Kevin Norwood before he let Eddie Lacy and the Crimson Tide offensive line do the rest. Lacy ran through a gaping hole up the middle to score a 20-yard touchdown.
Six minutes later, the Crimson Tide did it again. Set up by more of Lacy’s running, McCarron found a wide-open Michael Williams in the back of the end zone with a 3-yard pass to cap a 10-play, 61-yard march down the field.
After ending a first quarter that saw it outgain Notre Dame 202-23, Alabama extended its lead to 21-0 on a 1-yard Yeldon touchdown run. It gave the Crimson Tide the same number of rushing touchdowns as Notre Dame allowed during the entire regular season.
The Crimson Tide capped the half with a 71-yard drive that ended with a whirling Lacy landing in the end zone after he caught and ran with an 11-yard McCarron screen pass.
It was 28-0 before halftime against a team that allowed more than 20 points just once all season.
McCarron’s third-quarter touchdown pass to freshman Cooper went for 34 yards and put him alone at the top among Crimson Tide quarterbacks with 48 for his career. It also capped a 97-yard drive and staked Alabama to its biggest lead of the game, 35-0 -- an advantage that was sliced on the ensuing drive by a 2-yard Everett Golson touchdown run.
The McCarron-Cooper battery hooked up one more time in the fourth quarter for a 19-yard touchdown -- one of the final marks on the Crimson Tide’s history-altering night.


Arkansas State: 2013 GoDaddy.com Bowl Champions


MOBILE, Ala. (AP) — Ryan Aplin threw for 213 yards and a touchdown, J.D. McKissic caught 11 passes for 113 yards and Arkansas State edged No. 25 Kent State 17-13 to win the GoDaddy.com Bowl on Sunday night.
Arkansas State's usually prolific offense struggled against Kent State, but the consistent Aplin-to-McKissic connection and a stingy defense was enough to help the Red Wolves to their first bowl win since joining the Football Bowl Subdivision in 1992.
Kent State was driving late in the game when quarterback Spencer Keith tried to scramble on fourth down and was stopped a few yards short of the marker with 52 seconds left. Neither team scored a touchdown in the second half.
The Golden Flashes were playing in their first bowl game since 1972.


Ole Miss: 2013 BBVA Compass Bowl Champions


Ole Miss crushes Pitt 38-17 in Compass Bowl
clarionledger.com
BIRMINGHAM — Bo Wallace threw three touchdown passes and Ole Miss beat Pittsburgh 38-17 in the BBVA Compass Bowl on Saturday to complete an impressive turnaround under first-year coach Hugh Freeze.
Ole Miss (7-6) took a five-win improvement over its 2-10 finish in 2011.
Pitt (6-7) struggled on offense as leading rusher Ray Graham was held out with a hamstring injury he suffered in bowl practice. The Panthers fell behind in the opening minutes after quarterback Tino Sunseri threw his first interception since Sept. 15 and trailed the remainder of the game.
Wallace's 13-yard touchdown pass to Ja-Mess Logan gave the Rebels the 7-0 lead. Wallace added first-half touchdown passes to Randall Mackey, for 27 yards, and Vince Sanders, for 18 yards.
Pitt, under first-year coach Paul Chryst, was making its third straight appearance in the bowl. The Panthers lost to SMU in last year's game.
The Panthers played their last game as a Big East team. They are moving to the Atlantic Coast Conference next season.
Wallace, chosen the game's MVP, completed 22 of 32 passes for 151 yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions.
Ole Miss backup quarterback Barry Brunetti had a 1-yard touchdown run in the third quarter and freshman running back I'Tavius Mathers added a 62-yard scoring run midway through the fourth quarter to cap the rout.
Pitt stayed close early with Devin Street's 10-yard pass from Sunseri in the second quarter. That was Pitt's only touchdown until Sunseri threw a 16-yard scoring pass to Mike Shanahan with only 2:23 remaining.
Sunseri completed 16 of 32 passes for 185 yards with two touchdowns and one interception.
Pitt had only one turnover in its last seven games of the regular season. It shared the nation's lead with only eight turnovers for the season.
Sunseri's streak of 271 passes without an interception, the nation's longest, ended on his second throw of the Panthers' opening drive. Senquez Golson's interception, returned 17 yards to the Pitt 23, set up Wallace's touchdown pass to Logan. It was only Sunseri's third interception of the season and his first since the team's third game against Virginia Tech.
Sunseri lost a fumble early in the second quarter for the Panthers' second turnover.
Wallace completed his first eight passes, including two for touchdowns but his hot streak ended with two second-quarter interceptions.
Kevin Harper kicked a 47-yard field goal, his longest of the season, for Pitt in the second quarter. Bryson Rose kicked a 31-yard field goal for Ole Miss and missed from 44 and 48 yards.
Pitt said Graham, the team leader with 1,042 yards rushing, suffered the hamstring injury in bowl practice.
Rushel Shell and freshman Malcolm Crockett, who had only 32 yards rushing in the regular season, shared the carries. Shell led the Panthers with 25 carries for 79 yards. Crockett added five carries for 18 yards.
Mathers led the Rebels with 96 yards rushing on only six carries. Jaylen Walton had 10 carries for 56 yards.
A strong turnout by Ole Miss fans within driving range of Birmingham pushed attendance to 59,135, easily a bowl record. The previous high was 42,610 for the 2010 game between South Carolina and Connecticut.
BBVA Compass Bowl Winners
Jan. 5, 2013 — Ole Miss 38, Pittsburgh 17
Jan. 7, 2012 — SMU 28, Pittsburgh 6
Jan. 8, 2011 — Pitsburgh 27, Kentucky 10
Jan. 2, 2010 — Connecticut 20, South Carolina 7
Dec. 29, 2008 — Rutgers 29, N.C. State 23
Dec. 22, 2007 — Cincinnati 31, Southern Miss. 21
Dec. 23, 2006 — South Florida 24, East Carolina 7


North Dakota State: 2012 NCAA Division I FCS National Champions


BRAG AND CHAT ABOUT IT HERE: Big second half lifts North Dakota State to second straight national title

FRISCO, Texas -- Make it back-to-back national championships for North Dakota State.

The Bison put together a dominating second half and took advantage of three interceptions to take a 39-13 victory over Sam Houston State. Before a partisan Bison crowd of 21,411, the Division I Football Championship Subdivision title was the 10th title in school history.

NDSU is the first FCS repeat champ since Appalachian State won three straight from 2005-07.

The Bison scored two touchdowns in the third quarter to break a 10-10 halftime tie.

Carlton Littlejohn's interception led to a one-yard touchdown run by Brock Jensen to make it 17-10. Then, after NDSU held Sam Houston on a fourth-and-3 thanks to pressure by defensive end Kyle Emanuel, Sam Ojuri scored from two yards out.

NDSU converted a two-point conversion when kicker Adam Keller, after a botched snap, hit Mike Hardie for a 25-10 advantage.

Brock Jensen scored on a one-yard run and Ojuri had an 11-yarder for another score in the fourth quarter.


Texas A&M: 2013 Cotton Bowl Champions


Manziel totals Cotton Bowl-record 516 yards as Aggies storm
past OU, 41-13
ARLINGTON — Johnny Manziel tiptoed the sideline for a 23-yard touchdown on Texas A&M’s first drive of the game.
The Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback known as Johnny Football and the 10th-ranked Aggies were just getting warmed up in the Cotton Bowl. There were
plenty more highlights after that nifty run.
In his first game since becoming the first freshman to win the Heisman, Manziel set a Cotton Bowl-record with 516 total yards and accounted for four TDs as the
Aggies capped their first SEC season with a 41-13 win over 12th-ranked Oklahoma on Friday night.
“There is too much talk about how you perform after the Heisman and about the layoff and all of that,” Manziel said. “There wasn’t anything holding us back. No
rust, there was no nothing. We played as a unit. … To go out and win 11 games and do what we’ve done, is impressive.”
With first-year coach Kevin Sumlin and their young star quarterback, the Aggies (11-2) fit right in with the SEC after leaving the Big 12. They broke the SEC record
with their 7.261 total yards this season (the first over 7,000 after 633 in Cowboys Stadium). They also averaged more than 40 points a game.
And they capped their debut season with an overwhelming victory in the only postseason game matching teams from those power conferences. It is the Aggies’
first 11-win season since 1998, when they won their only Big 12 title.
The chants of “S-E-C!, S-E-C!” began after Manziel’s 33-yard TD pass to Ryan Swope with 4 minutes left in the third quarter for a 34-13 lead. They got louder and
longer after that.
“To come in and go against a Big 12 rival and do everything we wanted as a team, and send these seniors out with a win, we couldn’t feel any better,” Manziel
said.
Texas A&M led by only a point at halftime, but scored on its first three drives of the second half — on drives of 91 and 89 yards before Swope’s score on a fourthand-
5 play.
Oklahoma (10-3), which like the Aggies entered the game with a five-game winning streak, went three-and-out on its first three drives after halftime.
The Aggies never trailed in their last six games. That included their win at SEC champion Alabama, which plays for the BCS national title Monday night.
SEC teams have won the last five Cotton Bowls, all against Big 12 teams, and nine out of 10. That included Texas A&M’s loss to LSU only two years ago.
Manziel set an FBS bowl record with his 229 yards rushing on 17 carries, and completed 22 of 34 passes for 287 yards.
Oklahoma, led by quarterback Landry Jones in his 50th career start, had 401 total yards as a team.
Jones completed 35 of 48 passes for 278 yards with a touchdown and an interception. He won 39 games and three bowls for the Sooners, in a career that started
on the same field in the 2009 season opener when he replaced injured Heisman winner Sam Bradford in the first college game played at Cowboys Stadium.
Already with a 24-yard gain on an earlier third down, the Aggies had third-and-9 on their opening drive when Manziel rolled to his left and took off. When he juked
around a defender and got near the sideline, he tiptoed to stay in bounds and punctuated his score with a high-step over the pylon for a quick lead.
Officials reviewed the touchdown play, but it was clear by the replay shown on the huge video screen above the Cowboys Stadium field that Manziel stayed in
bounds.
Manziel added a 5-yard TD run on a bootleg play in the second quarter, and capped the scoring with a 34-yard pass to Uzoma Nwachukwu with 9 minutes left in
the game.
The first TD run was Manziel’s school-record 20th of the season. He became only the fourth FBS quarterback with 20 TDs rushing and 20 passing in the same
season.
The other 20-20 quarterbacks were Auburn’s Cam Newton and Florida’s Tim Tebow, who like Manziel are Heisman winners from the SEC, and Nevada’s Colin
Kaepernick.
Manziel set an SEC record with 4,600 yards in the regular season, and just added to that in his 13th career game.
Oklahoma needed drives of 16 and 18 plays to get a pair of field goals by Michael Hunnicutt (23 and 24 yards). Jones threw a 6-yard TD pass to Justin Brown just
before halftime to make it 14-13.
Jones set Cotton Bowl records when he had 23 completions and 30 attempts (for 175 yards) by halftime.
Ben Malena (7 yards) and Trey Williams (30 yards) had the TD runs to cap the long scoring drives in the third quarter for the Aggies.
Manziel was picked off in the second quarter after his bootleg move and a throw that hit Malcome Kennedy in the hands in the end zone and deflected into the air.
Javon Harris grabbed the interception.
The Sooners then crossed midfield before Jones had a pass intercepted by Dustin Harris and returned to the Oklahoma 48.
That A&M drive started with a little trickery, Manziel holding the ball down in his left hand while faking a throw with his right hand. He then pitched to Kenric
McNeal, who threw a 20-yard pass to Mike Evans.
Malena then had a 23-yard run before Manziel’s bootleg run for a 5-yard TD.
Oklahoma was in the Cotton Bowl for only the second time. It was the first bowl matchup between the former Big 12 rivals, but the 17th consecutive season they
have played each other.
The Sooners had won 11 of 13 since Bob Stoops became their coach. That included a 77-0 Oklahoma win in 2003 that was the most-lopsided loss in Texas A&M
history.
Sumlin was the A&M offensive coordinator in 2002 when the Aggies upset the top-ranked Sooners. The next year, Sumlin was hired by Stoops as an assistant,
and he stayed there five seasons before going to Houston as head coach and then the Aggies.


Oregon: 2013 Fiesta Bowl Champions


Oregon defeated Kansas State 35-17 in the Fiesta Bowl tonight in Glendale, Ariz., to finish with a 12-1 record and seal their second consecutive season that ends with a victory in a BCS bowl. It marked the Ducks' third consecutive season - and third time in UO history - to win 12 games.
As the clock wound down inside University of Phoenix Stadium, Oregon fans chanted, "We want Chip!" and "One more year!" 
Top performance: Oregon redshirt freshman quarterback Marcus Mariota completed 12 of 24 passes for 166 yards and two touchdowns en route to being named the game's offensive most valuable player. De’Anthony Thomas returned the opening kickoff 94 yards for a touchdown and caught a two-yard touchdown pass from Mariota in the third quarter.
Key contributors: Oregon running back Kenjon Barner rushed for 142 yards on 29 carries. Michael Clay was named the game's defensive most valuable player.
Key sequence: Kansas State went on a strong drive near the end of the first half while down 15-10 only to miss a 40-yard field goal with about a minute remaining. Oregon,which had struggled on offense to that point, then drove 77 yards on five plays in 46 seconds and scored on a 24-yard pass from Mariota to Barner to make the score 22-10.
It was over when: Oregon drove 61 yards in seven plays, scoring on a two-yard run by Mariota to make the score 32-10 following a blocked extra point recovered by KSU and then run into its end zone for a rare PAT, one-point safety.
They said it: "If for some reason some teams want to talk to me it's because of those players over there," Chip Kelly in an on-field interview after the game when asked about whether he has interest in NFL head coaching jobs. 


What's Next For Stanford?


What's next for Stanford after Rose Bowl win
MercuryNews.com
LOS ANGELES -- Expect more of the same from Stanford next season -- more hit-and-miss offense, more immovable defense, more close games and more victories.
The number of wins, and Stanford's position in the preseason polls, depends partly on how many juniors enter the NFL draft.
Tight ends Zach Ertz and Levine Toilolo, linebackers Shayne Skov and Trent Murphy and defensive end Ben Gardner will evaluate their draft prospects and decide in the next 10 days.
Ertz, a potential first-round pick who is on track to graduate this spring, is expected to depart. Toilolo, an intriguing pro prospect at 6-foot-8, might not be far behind.
Stanford also will lose a handful of key seniors from an offense that ranked 69th in the nation in scoring and sputtered in the second half of Tuesday's 20-14 victory over Wisconsin in the Rose Bowl.
Without record-setting tailback Stepfan Taylor, center Sam Schwartzstein and starting receivers Drew Terrell and Jamal-Rashad Patterson, the Cardinal must find a new group of playmakers to complement quarterback Kevin Hogan, who will be a sophomore next season.
Taylor and Ertz scored half of Stanford's offensive touchdowns and accounted for the majority of its clutch plays.
"We'll get back to the running back-by-committee approach until somebody establishes himself as our workhorse," offensive coordinator Pep Hamilton said.
The line should be an elite unit given the four returning starters and presumptive development of several talented freshmen.
That should make life easier for Hogan, who was 5-0 as a starter but must polish his passing skills.
"There's no reason they're not one of the best lines in the country," Ertz said. "They'll blend well because they're all good friends off the field. It will be something special to see."
The same should be true of a defense that didn't allow a point in the fourth quarter of the final six games, especially if Skov, Murphy and Gardner return to school.
Stanford loses only one senior from the group that started the Rose Bowl: outside linebacker Chase Thomas.
Thomas is a significant loss -- his contributions as a playmaker and outspoken voice in the locker room have been invaluable the past two seasons. But Stanford is loaded with young talent on every level of the defense.
One candidate to replace Thomas is Noor Davis, a freshman who picked Stanford over ... Alabama.
"We don't rebuild," Skov said. "We just replace."
  • Stanford is 35-5 in the past three seasons.
  • Cardinal coach David Shaw is the first African-American coach to win a Bowl Championship Series game. This is the 15th year of the BCS.
  • The victory over Wisconsin improved Stanford's Rose Bowl record to 6-6-1.


Louisville: 2013 Sugar Bowl Champions




NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Terell Floydreturned an interception 38 yards for a touchdown on the first play, dual-threat quarterback Teddy Bridgewater directed several scoring drives and No. 22 Louisville surprised No. 4 Florida 33-23 Wednesday night in the Sugar Bowl.
Shaking off an early hit that flattened him and knocked off his helmet, Bridgewater came back to throw TD passes toDeVante Parker and Damian Copeland.
The two-touchdown underdogs from the Big East took a 14-0 lead in the first quarter and were never caught. It certainly was a sweet win for Cardinals coach Charlie Strong — he was Florida's defensive coordinator before leaving after the 2009 season and taking over Louisville.
Down 33-10 midway through the fourth period, the one-loss power from the Southeastern Conference tried to rally late on a 100-yard kickoff return by Andre Debose and a short touchdown pass in the closing minutes. Florida got no closer.

Rose Parade 2013

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Rose Parade 2013, a set on Flickr.

Here's some stuff from Pasadena...

Florida State: 2013 Orange Bowl Champions


EJ Manuel, Lonnie Pryor lead Florida State Seminoles to Orange Bowl win over Northern Illinois

 

Quarterback EJ Manuel scores a touchdown in the fourth quarter of the Discover Orange Bowl game with Northern Illinois and Florida State University on January 1,2013.
Joe Rimkus Jr. / Miami Herald Staff
Quarterback EJ Manuel scores a touchdown in the fourth quarter of the Discover Orange Bowl game with Northern Illinois and Florida State University on January 1,2013.
Jordan Lynch said he planned to have Florida State’s defense worn down and on its knees by the fourth quarter of Tuesday night’s Discover Orange Bowl.The Seminoles were hardly wheezing.
After what could best be described as a first half to forget, Northern Illinois’ dual-threat quarterback rallied the first Mid-American Conference champions to reach a BCS bowl game to within a touchdown in the third quarter.
But in the end, EJ Manuel, Lonnie Pryor and Florida State’s defense proved to be too much as Seminoles made their first BCS Bowl appearance in seven years a good one by holding on for a 31-10 victory in front of 72,074 at Sun Life Stadium.
Manuel threw a touchdown pass before the half — a 6-yarder to former Fort Lauderdale St. Thomas Aquinas standout Rashad Greene — and ran for another on the first play of the fourth quarter as the Seminoles, two-touchdown favorites coming in, completed just their third 12-win season in school history.
Pryor, who came in having run for 242 yards during the season, posted a career-high 130 yards rushing and scored on runs of 60 yards and 37 yards on a night the senior fullback will surely remember.
The Huskies, who came in having won 21 of its past 22 games including back-to-back MAC championships and became the first school from a nonautomatic qualifying conference to play in a BCS bowl game, trailed 17-3 early in the third quarter and appeared headed toward a blowout loss before Lynch and the Huskies offense came to life.
On third-and-15 from NIU’s 8-yard line, Lynch hit Akeem Daniels streaking down the Florida State sideline for a 55-yard gain. Two plays later, Lynch reeled off his longest run of the night — a 22-yard scamper — down to the FSU 11. On the next play, Lynch hit Martel Moore on a crossing route and he did the rest, diving into the end zone with 9:55 to play in the third quarter to make it 17-10.
Feeling a rush of momentum, NIU coach Rod Carey — who took over for the departed Dave Doeren (N.C. State) — called for an onside kick moments later, and the Huskies recovered. Cornerback Paris Logan pounced on the ball at the NIU 47-yard line.
But after driving down to FSU 23-yard line, Lynch scrambled and flung a pass toward receiver Jamison Wells. FSU safety Terrence Brooks stepped in front of it and picked it off. He returned the interception 20 yards.
Trailing 24-10 in the fourth quarter, NIU (12-2) ran a reverse to Da’Ron Brown. But he was hit in the backfield by FSU’s Xavier Rhodes, who forced a fumble and recovered it at the NIU 42.
Two plays later, Pryor was sprinting untouched toward the end zone.

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/01/02/v-print/3164108/ej-manuel-leads-florida-state.html#storylink=cpy

Stanford: 2013 Rose Bowl Champions


 In the end, Stanford held on to win the 99th Rose Bowl ever played, running out to a big lead in the first half and then hanging on for dear life.
 Jordan Williamson’s second field goal of the game, a 22-yarder with 4:23 left, proved to be the decisive score, putting Stanford up 20-14. A subsequent interception by defensive back Usua Amanam iced it for Stanford.
Early on, it looked like it would be a runaway game for the Cardinal.
A little trickery went a long way for Stanford the first time it had the ball. Wide receiver Drew Terrell took a handoff on a reverse and launched a 34-yard pass that Jamal-Rashad Patterson hauled in down the middle. The Badgers weren’t fooled on the play, but Patterson made a fine leaping grab.
On the next play, wide receiver Kelsey Young ran around the left side for a 16-yard touchdown and a 7-0 lead.
Hogan’s 43-yard pass to tight end Zach Ertz set up a 3-yard Stepfan Taylor touchdown on the Cardinal’s second possession.
Wisconsin drove 74 yards only to come up empty. An apparent 8-yard touchdown by Ball was nullified by a holding call. Curt Phillips threw what originally was ruled a 10-yard scoring pass to tight end Jacob Pedersen. But on a replay review, Pedersen was ruled down at the 1-yard line.
That set up a 4th-and-goal play, and defensive end Ben Gardner stopped James White, who took a direct snap, for no gain.
Wisconsin forced a punt and soon was threatening again. A tipped pass was caught by Jared Abbrederis for a 22-yard gain, and Ball bolted 10 yards for a touchdown on the next play.
A 47-yard field goal by Jordan Williamson boosted Stanford’s lead to 17-7.
The Badgers took over on their 15-yard line with 2:23 left in the half and drove 85 yards. Stanford was caught with its guard down on a first-down play at the Wisconsin 29, and quarterback Phillips ran 38 yards down the left side. Phillips cut the lead to 17-14 on a 4-yard pass to Jordan Fredrick with 19 seconds left before the break.
Wisconsin outgained Stanford 151-99 in the first half and had an edge in possession time by about four minutes.
The second half became a defensive struggle, as Stanford’s offense stalled. In the end, it was the defense that won the game, and the Rose Bowl, for Stanford.


South Carolina: 2013 Outback Bowl Champions


TAMPA, Fla. -- Shortly before the carnage came two conversations.
After Michigan's Floyd Simmons gained not-quite-four yards on a fourth-and-four play in the fourth quarter of the Outback Bowl, South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier watched as referee Jeff Maconaghy awarded a first down in spite of the fact that the nose of the ball didn't reach the first-down marker. Spurrier asked a nearby official for an explanation. Spurrier's memory of the exchange goes like this:
Spurrier: "You know the ball did not touch the first-down marker?"
Official: "I know it didn't."
Spurrier: "Well, why'd he give it to 'em?"
Official: "I don't know."
"That's what he said. We felt like he was pointing the wrong way. I asked if he meant that way," Spurrier said later, pointing in opposite directions. "He wasn't going to change his mind."
As the Gamecocks' defense prepared to retake the field following a booth review of the play, the conversation turned to big plays. After the apparent optical illusion that cost them a critical stop while trailing by a point, 22-21, free safety D.J. Swearinger implored his teammates to not leave the game in the hands of the officials. In the huddle, sophomore defensive end Jadeveon Clowney internalized this sentiment. If a Gamecock was to make a big play, the No. 1 recruit in the class of 2011 would make it. "When they gave them that first down," South Carolina defensive coordinator Lorenzo Ward said, "it made him turn it up a notch."
Michigan took the field for its first-down play. Quarterback Devin Gardner handed off to Vincent Smith. Then...
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!
"That's the hardest hit I've ever seen in my coaching career," said Ward, a 24-year veteran of the profession.
On the sideline, receiver Bruce Ellington -- who would later catch the game-winning touchdown -- never saw Clowney cruise missile into Smith six yards behind the line of scrimmage. Ellington didn't see Smith's helmet finally fall to earth 11 yards behind the line of scrimmage. "I just heard it," Ellington said. "I kind of jumped." After he finally saw the play, Ellington still couldn't believe it. "Man," he said. "That's a freak of nature."
South Carolina defensive tackle J.T. Surratt did see the hit, but the visual couldn't compete with the noise the collision produced. "It sounded," Surratt said, "like a car wreck."
The ball popped free as Smith careened toward the ground. In a move that will only further endear him to the 32 NFL general managers who covet him, the 6-foot-5, 273-pound Clowney plucked the ball from the turf and ran for a yard before the pile collapsed on top of him. "I was trying," Clowney said, "to score a touchdown." Within seconds, word of the hit had traveled around the world on Twitter. Within minutes, people across the country stared at their phones or their tablets and watched Clowney splatter Smith on a continuous loop. A debate raged as to where the hit ranked in the pantheon of football collisions. The closest comparison was the montage of Forest Whitaker's Jefferson in Fast Times at Ridgemont High after his car was vandalized.
The hit was perfect. It was clean. Clowney struck Smith's chest first. Smith, to his credit, popped up immediately. "He's a tough dude," Clowney said. Meanwhile, Clowney laughed at the notion that the hit was revenge for Smith's inadvertent first-half collision with Clowney's -- what's the phrase? -- first-round draft picks that left Clowney on the ground in pain. "He laughed about it," Clowney said. "I said, 'I'm going to get you later on.'"
Final
That Clowney's hit overshadowed a back-and-forth contest between two excellent teams, one that finally turned on a 32-yard touchdown pass from a backup quarterback to a guy who also plays point guard on the school's basketball team with 11 seconds remaining, should explain the beauty of the hit. Everything else in the Gamecocks' 33-28 win -- the gutsy play of South Carolina quarterbacks Connor Shaw and Dylan Thompson, that final catch by Ellington, the creativity of Michigan's offense with Devin Gardner comfortable at quarterback and Denard Robinson playing a Swiss Army Knife position -- seemed secondary to that moment when Clowney met Smith and millions of people simultaneously said "OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOH!"
The collision actually required a perfect storm of circumstances.
First, Spurrier had to yank Clowney near the end of the first half because Clowney looked and played tired. This angered Clowney, and he promised himself he'd play hard enough to stay on the field. Second, the officials had to make that curious call on the measurement after the fake punt. This not only fired up the entire South Carolina defense, but it also inspired Ward to be aggressive on the next play in an attempt to grab back the momentum.
Ward called a stunt named Cali. It requires Clowney to dip inside to allow the boundary corner (Victor Hampton) access to an outside rushing lane.
Meanwhile, Michigan offensive coordinator Al Borges had called a Power run to the left side. Wolverines offensive tackle Taylor Lewan -- whose play against Clowney on Tuesday further solidified his place near the top of the NFL draft if he chooses to turn pro -- noticed something amiss about Clowney's alignment. "The end lined up on me in such a gray area that I had to call a Deuce to the inside," Lewan said. Lewan explained that a Deuce call ties the tackle to the guard, and their responsibilities are the lineman nearest the guard and the backside linebacker. By making the Deuce call, Lewan had untied himself from tight end Mike Kwiatkowski, who had anticipated working in tandem with Lewan on the play. Lewan said Kwiatkowski didn't hear the Deuce call, and video replays make that quite obvious. Kwiatkowski fired off the line at an angle that would have been perfect had he and Lewan been working a combo block. But Lewan was working a combo block with guard Ricky Barnum. Clowney, the owner of one of college football's quickest first steps, shot the gap before Kwiatkowski could realize what happened. "He's got that little slip move," Spurrier said. "When they come at him, they get nothing but air." Smith never had a chance. "That miscommunication," Lewan said. "Those are the plays that can lose games."
On the next play, South Carolina's Shaw hit Ace Sanders for a 31-yard touchdown. At some point between the hit and Ellington's catch for the win, someone pulled Clowney aside on the sideline, pulled out a smartphone and showed him footage of the clip on YouTube. "Somebody just said, 'Make a big play,'" Clowney said. "It just came to me."
All it ultimately took was a properly motivated freak of nature, a prescient stunt call, a misheard offensive line call and a seemingly botched measurement that left everyone in garnet seeing red. "I'm glad the ref did that now," Spurrier said.


Read More: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/college-football/news/20130101/south-carolina-michigan-outback-bowl/#ixzz2GnEsRp5s


Georgia: 2013 Capital One Bowl Champions


ORLANDO – The players wore hats reading “CHAMPIONS” in all cap letters. The fact that “Capital One Bowl” — and not SEC or BCS — also was stitched on the caps in a much smaller script might deflate that declaration a bit, but it doesn’t take away from where Georgia may be headed.
Were the Bulldogs great in their final game of the 2012 season? Hardly. The defense, purported to be loaded with NFL talent, too often played sloppy and undisciplined. The quarterback, Aaron Murray, threw two interceptions in the team’s first three possessions. It is what happens sometimes in bowl games. The Dogs didn’t save their best for last. Their best came in the next-to-last game against Alabama.
But ultimately, what came out of Georgia’s 45-31 win over Nebraska in the Capital One Bowl were signs that this program isn’t likely to take a step back next season.
There will be new players. There will be a different team personality. The schedule will be tougher. But the Bulldogs just finished a season that saw them go 12-2 and come within five yards of winning the SEC championship and going to the BCS title game. They rebounded from the crushing loss in the SEC championship game to win a significant bowl game. They showed resiliency by losing two starting wide receivers (Marlon Brown, Michael Bennett) during the season and a third in Tuesday’s game (Malcolm Mitchell). They endured several early season suspensions on defense and played without two defensive starters against Nebraska (John Jenkins, Abry Jones).
Jarvis Jones and several defensive starters now are expected to leave for the NFL. Maybe Murray comes back, but probably not. But Georgia is in a good place now, a player again on the national scene, and nobody could have seen that coming two years ago in Memphis when the team schlepped off the field a loser to Central Florida in the Liberty Bowl, dragging a 6-7 record.
“The seniors started a legacy here,” freshman running back Todd Gurley said Tuesday. “They’re passing it down to us, and we’re just going to keep moving forward and winning each year. I know a lot of teams will have the goal of going to the national championship next year, but we really believe that. We’re going to bring in a great recruiting class and we’re going to get it done next year.”
Todd Gurley, here breaking through for a 24-yard touchdown, finished with 125 yards rushing to lead the Bulldogs. (Brant Sanderlin/AJC)
Todd Gurley, here breaking through for a 24-yard touchdown, finished with 125 yards rushing to lead the Bulldogs. (Brant Sanderlin/AJC)
As flawed as the Dogs looked against Nebraska, the result and the season projected well for the future.
It starts with the two freshmen in the backfield, Gurley and Keith Marshall. There were questions about the running game going into the season following the excommunication of Isaiah Crowell, but the two quickly eased concerns. In the final game of the season, Gurley rushed for 125 yards and a touchdown and Marshall made a difficult back-shoulder, 24-yard touchdown catch to give the Dogs a 38-31 lead early in the fourth quarter.
There’s the future.
It doesn’t matter if the starting quarterback is Murray or Hutson Mason. Georgia’s offense should function well, and the team should be in the middle of things again.
When asked about Marshall’s catch, offensive coordinator Mike Bobo said, “We’ve kept things pretty simple for him and Todd because they’re freshmen. But that play there gives us a level of confidence next year that we can expand their package.”
Gurley, Bobo said, brought “a physicality to the offense that we needed. He did a great job leading us as a freshman. I told him after the game, ‘You had a great year, but now you have a chance to be great. So let’s go to work.’”
Marshall said he battled knee tendinitis before the season, affecting his workouts. “I lost some of my explosiveness,” he said. “But it’s finally feeling better. I’m looking forward to getting started on my workouts.”
And then this: “Honestly, I feel we’re the best team in the country. We can play with anybody. We were one play away this year.”
There were hiccups Tuesday. The first half took nearly two hours. The two teams combined for 47 points, five offensive touchdowns, three interceptions (including Nebraska’s pick-six against Murray), a field goal and a blocked punt for a safety. The Dogs trailed 24-23, then 31-23. But Murray, after starting 11 for 24, stopped scaring NFL scouts. He connected with Chris Conley for a 49-yard touchdown, then later scrambled away from pressure to connect with Marshall. Later, he found Conley again on a “jailbreak screen” against Nebraska’s blitz — nice call by Bobo – for an 87-yard score. Checkmate.
It ended well. There’s reason to believe it could end well next season, too.
By Jeff Schultz