NCAA Football – Stanford became the dominant force in Orange Bowl

The Stanford Cardinal’s quarterback, the talented and Heisman Trophy runner-up Andrew Luck, was expected to put on one heck of a show against the Virginia Tech Hokies. And he did, proving to have the sort of talent and attitude sought after by the NFL scouts as he lead Stanford to an easy 40-12 win over Virginia Tech.

What we really were not expecting was for the rest of the guys from Standford to put on their A-game like they did. Throwing for an impressive 287 yards and four touchdowns, Andrew Luck guided the Cardinal to its first BCS Championship Bowl victory in over 14 years.

If he decides to join the draft, Luck is expected to be the No. 1 pick for the following season. Should he join, there would be a series of issues that Stanford would have to deal with immediately. As of press time, the future of Jim Harbough is uncertain. It still remains a mystery whether the head coach and the starting quarterback will return for the following year.

Stanford fans were on the one hand jubilant with the win and with having to settle, if I may, with the Orange Bowl. And yet they didn’t miss a beat to chant along the final celebration requesting

Merseyside derby suggests change in the dominant force

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Having to sit and watch as the club they had just taken over was beaten in convincing style by its biggest rivals (who also happen to be succeeding despite the fact that they have been forced to work with a far more modest budget) surely can’t have been the most pleasant of experiences for the new owners of Liverpool Football Club.

However, the fact Everton were able show they are, for now at least, the best side on Merseyside (and perhaps by a considerable distance on the evidence of the terrible display put on by their rivals at the weekend) means that Toffees fans have good reason to smile this week. Although anyone who follows the Betfair Football Andy Gray predictions would have seen it coming.

The Toffees still look to be an outside bet to qualify for the Europa League at the end of the season, but the club looks all set to begin a run of form which could see them rise swiftly up the table, something that Liverpool fans can only dream of at present. In fact, the Premier League betting suggests Everton could finish above Liverpool for the first time in four seasons.

With manager David Moyes showing a level of passion and realism that Roy Hodgson seems to have failed to develop during his long career, Everton could be set for bigger things.

If they can find a backer who is prepared to put only a fraction of the money into the club that Liverpool are going to require, they will be more than capable of matching the likes of Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal in the competition for that fourth and final Champions League place on a regular basis.

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