If you like underdogs and great stories, you’re going to like this year’s Orange Bowl. And if you don’t like those things, you’re probably an Alabama fan? Everybody, save for maybe Ole Miss alumni, was a fan of Mississippi State and their incredible run this season. The Bulldogs jumped to national relevance with an upset win over then No. 8 LSU to open their conference play. They followed that up with wins over then No. 6 Texas A&M and then No. 3 Auburn and all of a sudden Mississippi State was getting College Football Playoff mentions. Beating three Top 10 teams in a row can rush an unranked team up the charts in a hurry, especially when those wins are in-conference SEC victories. The Bulldogs’ run as No. 1 in the nation ended in mid-November with a five-point loss to Alabama. But there are a lot worse things to do in college football than fall to the Crimson Tide by less than a score and their College Football Playoff hopes didn’t end until rival Ole Miss downed them on the final week of the regular season. Quarterback Dak Prescott led Mississippi State’s run to relevance and more as a classic dual threat college QB. While Prescott’s Heisman candidacy couldn’t make it the whole year, he was on many a pundit’s “Watch” throughout the season. The junior had only middling passing numbers – 2,996 yards and 24 touchdowns to 10 interceptions – but had opposing defences running scared with his 939 rushing yards and 13 rushing touchdowns. That said, the more defences forced Prescott to pass, the farther down Heisman Watches he fell, something Georgia Tech likely has noted heading into the New Year’s Eve battle. Speaking of Georgia Tech, they had a pretty memorable out-of-nowhere season too, just with none of the hype or national fanfare. The Yellow Jackets’ solid season was interrupted by back-to-back losses to basketball powerhouses Duke and North Carolina, but the team managed to rebound and finish strong enough to earn a top-tier bowl bid. Wins over ranked opponents Clemson, in a rout, and Georgia, in a significant one, had fans and experts alike thinking the Yellow Jackets could steal the ACC from Florida State. That didn’t happen, with the Seminoles squeaking out a two-point win, but Georgia Tech was never going to make the College Football Playoff, so this Orange Bowl bid was as good as they could have hoped for. Tech’s an interesting team in that they have one of the nation’s top offences based almost solely on the run. Outside of Wisconsin, maybe no team puts as much an emphasis on the ground game as GT. Using a combination of quarterback Justin Thomas, who led the team with 965 rushing yards, and running backs Zach Laskey and Synjyn Days, who combined to add 1,541 more, the Yellow Jackets finished third in the NCAA in rushing, averaging 333 yards per game. This one should be heavy on offence, but in a game featuring the fifth (Thomas) and sixth (Prescott) best running quarterbacks, the edge on defence should go to the Bulldogs. Neither Mississippi State or Georgia Tech had defences to write home about this season, but the Bulldogs did rank decently against the run. If they can take away GT’s ground game in any significant way, they’ll put the game in the hands (literally) of a QB who averaged 13 pass attempts per game (of course the Bulldogs also boast the fourth worst pass defence in the nation, so it could be pick your poison.) They’ve each had great stories this season, but only one can finish on a high note. The Bulldogs enter the game as seven-point favourites and after knocking off a number of SEC powerhouses, should be able to do the same to an ACC (sorta)powerhouse. It could be the start of another good run for Mississippi State. With bleak pro prospects, Prescott should return for his senior season and head coach Dan Mullen should have a lot more luck on the recruiting trail this off-season. Eye on Sunday LB Benardrick McKinney, Mississippi State If Prescott declares, a lot of pre-draft talk will be about the quarterback and where he fits into the draft, if at all. Scouts will make the trip to the Mississippi State pro day where they would do well to focus more attention on McKinney. McKinney may be the best inside linebacker in the draft and has a real shot at getting selected in the first round. QB Dak Prescott, Mississippi State Prescott’s game is suited much better to college than the pros. He was exposed down the stretch when opponents took away the run and forced him to air it out. That won’t change the fact that if the junior declares there will be tons of discussion about which round he should be selected, if he’s selected at all. Prescott has gotten some early mid-round draft grades but will likely be a late-rounder at best and would be wise to return to school for another season. SS Isaiah Johnson, Georgia Tech A look at several draft boards around the Internet doesn’t produce many Georgia Tech products. The one name that came up is Johnson, who projects as a late-rounder early in the evaluation process. Discount Nike Air Max Nz . Two-time Olympic bronze medallists Savchenko and Szolkowy received 79.02 points to finish ahead of world bronze medallists Meagan Duhamel and Eric Radford of Canada, who had 77.01 points. Cheap Nike Air Max Nz . Catch the game on TSN starting at 7pm et/4pm pt. Tampa Bay currently holds the last of the Atlantics three automatic bids to the playoffs, but the Maple Leafs are just one point behind. http://www.airmaxcheapnz.com/ . "Theyve been good against everybody," he said. Carlos Gomez launched a three-run homer and Matt Garza battled into the seventh inning for his first win in four starts to help the Brewers continue their mastery of the Rockies with a 7-4 victory Saturday. Wholesale Nike Air Max Nz . On Thursday, they signed former Browns linebacker DQwell Jackson. Terms of the deal were not immediately available. Nike Air Max Sale Nz .com Tours Nova Scotia Open. The 27-year-old Sloan, a former Texas-El Paso player from Calgary matched first-round leader Rodriguez at 10-under 132 on Ashburn Golf Clubs New Course.Detroit, MI (SportsNetwork.com) - Matthew Stafford had three touchdown passes, and Joique Bell scored twice as the Detroit Lions pounded the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 34-17, at Ford Field on Sunday. Stafford went 26-for-34 for 311 yards with touchdown passes to Bell, Calvin Johnson and Joseph Fauria for the Lions (9-4), who have won two straight after consecutive road losses. Johnson finished the game with eight catches for 158 yards, while Bell had 18 carries for 83 yards and a rushing touchdown while adding five catches for 50 yards for Detroit. The Lions are still in the hunt for the top spot in the NFC North, as the team sits a half-game back of the Packers for first place. Green Bay hosts Atlanta on Monday night. Josh McCown was under pressure all day as he was sacked six times and took several hard hits. He completed 20-for-39 passes for 250 yards with two touchdown passes, but he was picked off twice and also lost a fumble. Vincent Jackson caught 10 passes for 159 yards, and Mike Evans caught both touchdown passes for the Buccaneers (2-11), who have lost their last three games. Detroit turned the ball over on downs at Tampa Bay 24-yard line on the opening possession of the game. The Buccaneers, though, went three-and-out and the Lions got the ball back at their own 30. Johnson caught a 21-yard pass on 3rd-and-10, while Eric Ebron made a 12-yard grab on 3rd-and-10. Catches of 15 yards by Johnson, and 13- yards from Golden Tate got the ball to the Tampa 6, and Stafford threw a right corner fade that Johnson came down with for a 7-0 lead with 2:57 to play in the first. Tampa Bay came back with a successful drive to get on the board, as Patrick Murray booted a 54-yard field goal down the middle to make it a 7-3 game with 13:32 to play in the half. The Lions then went three-and-out, but the defense came up with a big play as Glover Quin picked off a tipped pass to give his team the ball back at the Tampa 34. Facing a 3rd-and-goal at the Tampa 1, Bell bulled his way up the middle to give his team a 14-3 lead with 6:01 to play in the half. Another turnover from Tampa, this one a fumble from McCown that Detroit recovered at the Tampa 32, led to a 46-yard field goal from Matt Prater that gave the Lions a 17-3 lead with 3:01 to play in the second. Tampa quickkly got into scoring position out of the two-minute warning as McCown went deep and Jackson came up with a 50-yard grab to the Detroit 8.dddddddddddd. The Lions nearly escaped without giving up any points, as James Ihedigbo picked off McCown in the end zone. However, he decided to bring the ball out and wound up getting it stripped, with Tampa getting the ball back at the Detroit 10. Four plays later, McCown found Evans in the left side of the end zone for a 5- yard score to make it a 17-10 game at the break. Detroit forced a Tampa punt on the opening possession of the second half, and a 53-yard catch from Johnson set up a 23-yard boot by Prater for a 10-point lead early in the third. Tampas next two touches ended with punts, and the Lions started a drive at their own 12 that saw Bell gain 27 yards on the first snap. Getting the ball across midfield, Stafford then connected with Johnson for 18 yards to get into the red zone, and Fauria caught a 10-yard score for a 27-10 lead with just 15 seconds left in the third. The Buccaneers came back with their best drive of the game. A 24-yard pass interference call on Detroit got the ball across midfield, and McCown went into the left corner of the end zone for Evans, who used his bicep and helmet to come down with a 26-yard score to make it a 27-17 contest with 12:52 left. Tampa got across midfield on its next possession, but ultimately had to punt, pinning Detroit at its own 8. Bell took the first snap around the right tackle for 57 yards down to the Tampa 35. A 15-yard catch from Johnson got the ball to the 5, and the next snap saw a Stafford pass batted into the air. Bell, though, came down with the ball and ran his way in for a 34-17 lead with 5:01 to play. The Bucs punted on their next drive, and failed on fourth down on their next possession as the Lions held on for the victory. Game Notes The Lions controlled the ball for 36:35 and totaled 407 yards of offense. Tampa managed just 233 yards, including a meager 26 yards on 14 rushing plays ... Detroit hosts Minnesota next Sunday ... Tampa plays in Carolina next Sunday ... Detroit has won three of the last four meetings with Tampa Bay, and leads the series, 30-27 ... It was the 43rd 100-yard game of Johnsons career. China NFL JerseysCheap Nike NFL JerseysNFL Jerseys CheapWholesale NFL JerseysCheap Basketball Jerseys OnlineStitched Hockey JerseysWholesale Baseball JerseysFootball Jerseys OutletCollege Jerseys For SaleCheap MLB JerseysWholesale Soccer JerseysWholesale Jerseys For SaleWholesale NFL Jerseys ' ' '