Paramore column: Super Bowl was a classic

Much of the country is still buzzing over Sunday evening’s thrilling Pittsburgh-Arizona Super Bowl, and with good reason. I think it will go down as one of the best NFL title contests of all-time.

The Steelers’ execution on the game-winning drive was near-perfect, as underrated quarterback Ben Roethlisberger took his team 78 yards in eight plays, converting a huge third-down situation when failure to do so would have almost surely handed the game to the upstart Cardinals.

Obviously, MVP Santonio Holmes’ ballerina-style catch in the corner of the end zone was the play that produced the winning points, but the biggest moment of the game came when Defensive Player of the Year Rodney Harrison picked off Kurt Warner’s pass just before halftime and returned it 100 yards for a score.

It seemed to unnerve the Cards, as they committed three personal fouls on Pittsburgh’s first drive of the second half.

Statistically, you see how back-and-forth things were. The Cardinals outgained the Steelers 407-292, yet chose to rush the ball only 12 times. They practically ignored the best player on the field — receiver Larry Fitzgerald — for three quarters, then almost saw him win the game for them single-handedly.

All in all though, it was a classic, one that people will talk about for a long time.

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College football recruiting fans are eagerly anticipating Wednesday’s proceedings. That’s national signing day, and there are a dozen or so blue-chip players still undecided on where they will play this fall.

Alabama and Auburn are in on several of those prospects. The Tide is considered the favorite for a pair of in-state players, linebacker Tana Patrick of Stevenson and defensive back Dre Kirkpatrick of Gadsden.

Meanwhile, Auburn has made a major push with its new coaching staff, garnering last-minute drop-by’s from a handful of highly-touted prospects.

One of them is Oklahoma running back David Oku, who was on campus last weekend for an official visit. Rivals has him rated as the No. 1 all-purpose back in the country. He will purportedly choose between the Tigers and Tennessee.

According to Rivals, 10 of the 12 SEC programs are having Top 25 recruiting years. LSU is the unanimous choice as the top class from the conference.

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Bob Knight as Georgia’s basketball coach? So says longtime columnist Furman Bisher of Atlanta. That is, if the school offers the job.

By the way, when the Bulldogs hire their new man, it will be their seventh different coach since 1995. The laundry list includes Hugh Durham, Tubby Smith, Ron Jirsa, Jim Harrick, Dennis Felton, and Pete Herrmann.

Phil Paramore’s column appears Tuesday and Friday in The Dothan Eagle.