FanHouse LarryBirdine

FanHouse gathers around the TV to bring you insights from Bowl Season '08.

Death, taxes and pregame smack talk -- they're all inevitable. Oklahoma cornerback Dominique Franks delivered a doozy today ahead of Thursday night's BCS championship game, challenging Gators quarterback Tim Tebow and ripping the offensive talent in the SEC for good measure.

Exhibit A:

"With us being in Florida and playing against Florida, everybody's going to think Tebow should have won the Heisman," Franks said. "But the right person won the Heisman, and we're going to go out there and show everybody the reason why he won it."

Exhibit B:

"If you look at the three best quarterbacks in the country, they came from the Big 12,"

Exhibit C:

"The three best receivers in the country came from the Big 12. The three best tight ends came from the Big 12. So we've faced some great offenses, and a lot of people don't understand that other conferences don't have what we face."

And with that, ESPN now has more than enough filler for the next few days of idle chatter before the big game. This is nothing new for Oklahoma before a BCS Championship game -- more on that in a moment -- and frankly, Franks wasn't finished talking.

Although they were only in the game for a very short period of time, Green Bay's starters looked to be in regular season form last night. The Packers defensive unit held the Tennessee Titans to a three-and-out before being removed from the game, while Brett Favre (8 of 10 for 82 yards and 1 touchdown) and the offensive unit obtained the lead prior to being ousted.

"From what we've shown this preseason, I think we have a real good confidence going into the season," Pro Bowl defensive end Aaron Kampman said. "We're excited to get started and look forward to the challenge of Philadelphia."

Unfortunately, Green Bay's reserves weren't nearly as impressive as the starters, giving up the lead and being picked apart by Vince Young (108 total yards and 2 touchdowns) and the Titans offense. But that wasn't without lack of effort. They briefly got back into the game in the third quarter when Larry Birdine sacked Young, forcing a fumble that was picked up by first-round draft pick Justin Harrell and returned for a touchdown.

That appeared to be the final positive for the Packers as their offense and special teams struggled throughout the remainder of the game. Quarterback Aaron Rodgers had his worst performance of the preseason, being shut down on consecutive series, while managing to complete only three passes.