We're going simple this week. We've been off a week due to technical difficulties and now we just need to keep it simple this week. Every game involving the top 10 in the BCS will be discussed and the importance of each.
1) Texas at 7) Texas Tech- Can Mike Leach tell the world he can win a big game. TT is 8-0 but have played pretty much nobody. Texas is playing their 4th top 10 team in as many weeks and is 3-0 so far. If Tech wins this, they are in the national title hunt with Oklahoma and Oklahoma State still to play. Expect a lot of points and no one should go to sleep in this one.
Arkansas State at 2) Alabama- This is not one that Alabama can overlook. Arkansas State is good. YES!! I said it! The Red Wolves are good. They beat a Texas A&M team, albeit awful, but no one at the time even expected the former Indians to even be on the same field. The 12th man got scared in that one, but don't expect Sabanation to let another Louisiana-Monroe happen to them. Better team, should be better results.
3) Penn State has a tough matchup with Idle this week.
Nebraska at 4) Oklahoma- This used to be for all the marbles in the Big 8. This USED to be a matchup the entire world waited for. This was the Game of the Year every year and even the Game of the Century one year. This game is not even thought about on the national radar anymore. This game is played two years on, two years off. A rematch in the Big 12 Championship game is not expected. This game isn't expected to be much either.
Washington at 5) USC- Is Washington this year's Stanford?? NO!!!
8) Florida vs. 6) Georgia at Jacksonville, FL- This will be the game of the year. The Cocktail Party will be the biggest one in a while. Historically Florida has been better in this series, but will history continue to side with them or will it be UGA's first 2 game win streak in this series in a long while?
Iowa State at 9) Oklahoma State- Why is this on ABC in some markets??
10) Utah at New Mexico- If Utah continues to win, they could bust the BCS and with a few losses to the top teams, up close enough to maybe get into that #2 spot?? I think not, but still a great team and a great story.
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Bowl projections after week 9
I have had a glitch in the computer this past week so I was not able to get week 9 out there. After my bowl projections, I will do a week 10 preview.
BCS Title: Penn State vs. Florida
Orange: Florida State vs. West Virginia
Fiesta: Texas vs. Boise State
Sugar: Alabama vs. Oklahoma
Rose: USC vs. Ohio State
GMAC: East Carolina vs. Central Michigan
International: Cincinnati vs. Western Michigan
Cotton: Texas Tech vs. LSU
Liberty: Tulsa vs. Ball State
Capital One: Georgia vs. Michigan State
Gator: Oklahoma State vs. Virginia Tech
Outback: South Carolina vs. Iowa
Insight: Wisconsin vs. Kansas
Chick-fil-a: North Carolina vs. Kentucky
Music City: Mississippi vs. Georgia Tech
Sun: Notre Dame vs. Oregon State
Armed Forces: Rice vs. Air Force
Humanitarian: Fresno State vs. Miami (FL)
Holiday: Missouri vs. Oregon
Alamo: Nebraska vs. Minnesota
Independence: Kansas State vs. Louisiana - Lafayette
Papa John's: South Florida vs. Troy
Texas: Houston vs. Colorado
Car Care: Louisville vs. Wake Forest
Emerald: California vs. Virginia
Champs Sports: Northwestern vs. Boston College
Motor City: Northern Illinois vs. Pittsburgh
Hawaii: Arizona State vs. Hawaii
New Orleans: Central Florida vs. Arkansas State
St. Petersburg: Connecticut vs. Memphis
Las Vegas: Arizona vs. BYU
Congressional: Navy vs. Maryland
New Mexico: San Jose State vs. TCU
Poinsettia: Utah vs. Buffalo
BCS Title: Penn State vs. Florida
Orange: Florida State vs. West Virginia
Fiesta: Texas vs. Boise State
Sugar: Alabama vs. Oklahoma
Rose: USC vs. Ohio State
GMAC: East Carolina vs. Central Michigan
International: Cincinnati vs. Western Michigan
Cotton: Texas Tech vs. LSU
Liberty: Tulsa vs. Ball State
Capital One: Georgia vs. Michigan State
Gator: Oklahoma State vs. Virginia Tech
Outback: South Carolina vs. Iowa
Insight: Wisconsin vs. Kansas
Chick-fil-a: North Carolina vs. Kentucky
Music City: Mississippi vs. Georgia Tech
Sun: Notre Dame vs. Oregon State
Armed Forces: Rice vs. Air Force
Humanitarian: Fresno State vs. Miami (FL)
Holiday: Missouri vs. Oregon
Alamo: Nebraska vs. Minnesota
Independence: Kansas State vs. Louisiana - Lafayette
Papa John's: South Florida vs. Troy
Texas: Houston vs. Colorado
Car Care: Louisville vs. Wake Forest
Emerald: California vs. Virginia
Champs Sports: Northwestern vs. Boston College
Motor City: Northern Illinois vs. Pittsburgh
Hawaii: Arizona State vs. Hawaii
New Orleans: Central Florida vs. Arkansas State
St. Petersburg: Connecticut vs. Memphis
Las Vegas: Arizona vs. BYU
Congressional: Navy vs. Maryland
New Mexico: San Jose State vs. TCU
Poinsettia: Utah vs. Buffalo
Sunday, October 19, 2008
Week 8 recap
If we did not know who the best team in the country is up to this point, we know now. Texas destroyed Missouri on national television and if they can finish off the murderor's row that is the Big 12 schedule as well as win the Big 12 championship game, possibly against the same Missouri team, then Texas should be favored in the BCS national title game.
They are trailed in the BCS by Alabama and Penn State, both undefeated. Alabama once again did what they had to do to get by their opponent. Penn State struggled with a bad Michigan team starting off, but rolled in the second half.
Oklahoma is listed as 4th in the latest BCS, but unless Texas loses two games, that may be the highest they go because the pollsters will not put Oklahoma in the national title game if they are not in the Big 12 Championship game. Look at Georgia in 2007.
USC walloped Washington State 69-0 in the worst loss in Wazzu history.
Oklahoma State and Texas Tech continue to stay undefeated as they continue to roll through the Big 12 schedule.
If the season ended today, there would be two non-BCS teams in the BCS games. Utah is #11 in the BCS and Boise State is #12. Despite its one loss to Oklahoma, TCU is up there also at #14. If they beat Utah, watch out!
A couple of upsets this week budged the nation a little bit. Arizona is trying to prove that they belong in a bowl game as they stay up late and defeat California 42-27. Maryland, another team that beat Cal this season, shut out Wake Forest and put the rest of the ACC back in the race. Virginia is also playing much better as they defeat North Carolina in overtime.
Vanderbilt may not make a bowl after all. A week after losing to one Bulldog in Miss State, they lose another to Georgia. Vanderbilt really needs to beat Duke in their next game. Otherwise, they may not be playing in a bowl again.
Georgia Tech finally makes their way into the rankings after they ruin Dabo Swinney's debut as the interim head coach of Clemson. They might be playing their way towards Tampa if they are not careful.
Also, congratulations to Northwestern. For the second straight year, Pat Fitzgerald has led them to 6 wins. Only this year, they should win more than six and actually get to go to a bowl game this season.
Also joining the rankings this week is more non-BCS love in Ball State and Tulsa. Tulsa put up 77 points on national television while Ball State continues to win despite losing their best receiver early in the season.
This week's bowl projections and next week's preview coming later this week.
They are trailed in the BCS by Alabama and Penn State, both undefeated. Alabama once again did what they had to do to get by their opponent. Penn State struggled with a bad Michigan team starting off, but rolled in the second half.
Oklahoma is listed as 4th in the latest BCS, but unless Texas loses two games, that may be the highest they go because the pollsters will not put Oklahoma in the national title game if they are not in the Big 12 Championship game. Look at Georgia in 2007.
USC walloped Washington State 69-0 in the worst loss in Wazzu history.
Oklahoma State and Texas Tech continue to stay undefeated as they continue to roll through the Big 12 schedule.
If the season ended today, there would be two non-BCS teams in the BCS games. Utah is #11 in the BCS and Boise State is #12. Despite its one loss to Oklahoma, TCU is up there also at #14. If they beat Utah, watch out!
A couple of upsets this week budged the nation a little bit. Arizona is trying to prove that they belong in a bowl game as they stay up late and defeat California 42-27. Maryland, another team that beat Cal this season, shut out Wake Forest and put the rest of the ACC back in the race. Virginia is also playing much better as they defeat North Carolina in overtime.
Vanderbilt may not make a bowl after all. A week after losing to one Bulldog in Miss State, they lose another to Georgia. Vanderbilt really needs to beat Duke in their next game. Otherwise, they may not be playing in a bowl again.
Georgia Tech finally makes their way into the rankings after they ruin Dabo Swinney's debut as the interim head coach of Clemson. They might be playing their way towards Tampa if they are not careful.
Also, congratulations to Northwestern. For the second straight year, Pat Fitzgerald has led them to 6 wins. Only this year, they should win more than six and actually get to go to a bowl game this season.
Also joining the rankings this week is more non-BCS love in Ball State and Tulsa. Tulsa put up 77 points on national television while Ball State continues to win despite losing their best receiver early in the season.
This week's bowl projections and next week's preview coming later this week.
Friday, October 17, 2008
Week 8 preview
Week 8 has already started off with a bang with BYU getting beat by TCU on Thursday night. Saturday could be called statement week by many. There are 4 games involving two top 25 teams and many others that are very important to the national landscape. 2008 has turned almost as wild as 2007 up to this point. The only two things we haven't had are a FCS team shocking the world and Stanford knocking off a top 5 team. The latter can still happen as a better Stanford team than last year gets USC at home later on this year. Although an FCS team hasn't shocked the world this season, the place where the world was shocked, Ann Arbor, MI, was shocked this past weekend by a bad Toledo team. Wisconsin does play Cal Poly at the end of the season and the Mustangs did start off the season by beating San Diego State. The Badgers are a little bit better than the Aztecs, but watch out!!!
Look at that! I got caught looking ahead............on to the week 8 preview.
Game of the week: Missouri at Texas- Texas is now the #1 team in all the land. Missouri could've been #2, but someone forgot to tell Oklahoma State that they were supposed to lose last week. Win this and Missouri could be right back in the national title hunt. Lose this and they may be hurting when it comes to the Big 12 North. Expect it to be a close one but Texas wins.
Kansas at Oklahoma- Wait a minute! Kansas is having to play a decent opponent from the Big 12 South?? They are having to actually prove themselves to be able to make it to the BCS? Why would Kansas want to do this to themselves?? Wait, it's the rotation of the schedule. They actually have to beat someone this year!! Whoa!! I don't see it. OU in a laugher.
Vanderbilt at Georgia- last time Vanderbilt went into Georgia, they won! Last year in Nashville, Vandy should've won if not for a late fumble. No fumbles or INTs this week and Vandy wins. New QB Mackenzi Adams will fumble and will throw at least one INT and Georgia wins a close one. Georgia still alive in the SEC East, Vandy not although this would be a bigger win than the Auburn win two weeks ago.
Ohio State at Michigan State- Ohio State feels as if they are back in the BCS title hunt. Michigan State feels as if they are getting no respect. This would not be as major as Nick Saban's upsets over Ohio State in the 1990s but it would be awfully close. Jim Tressel will not let it happen. Ohio State does what it is supposed to do, even in East Lansing and beats Michigan State.
Ole Miss at Alabama and Michigan at Penn State- two games very similar in stature. Neither road team is expected to do much against the home teams. Both home teams have done nothing but dominate this season. Both road teams historically have played well if not beaten the home teams, especially in Michigan's case. Expect both home favorites to win closer than the experts think.
Look at that! I got caught looking ahead............on to the week 8 preview.
Game of the week: Missouri at Texas- Texas is now the #1 team in all the land. Missouri could've been #2, but someone forgot to tell Oklahoma State that they were supposed to lose last week. Win this and Missouri could be right back in the national title hunt. Lose this and they may be hurting when it comes to the Big 12 North. Expect it to be a close one but Texas wins.
Kansas at Oklahoma- Wait a minute! Kansas is having to play a decent opponent from the Big 12 South?? They are having to actually prove themselves to be able to make it to the BCS? Why would Kansas want to do this to themselves?? Wait, it's the rotation of the schedule. They actually have to beat someone this year!! Whoa!! I don't see it. OU in a laugher.
Vanderbilt at Georgia- last time Vanderbilt went into Georgia, they won! Last year in Nashville, Vandy should've won if not for a late fumble. No fumbles or INTs this week and Vandy wins. New QB Mackenzi Adams will fumble and will throw at least one INT and Georgia wins a close one. Georgia still alive in the SEC East, Vandy not although this would be a bigger win than the Auburn win two weeks ago.
Ohio State at Michigan State- Ohio State feels as if they are back in the BCS title hunt. Michigan State feels as if they are getting no respect. This would not be as major as Nick Saban's upsets over Ohio State in the 1990s but it would be awfully close. Jim Tressel will not let it happen. Ohio State does what it is supposed to do, even in East Lansing and beats Michigan State.
Ole Miss at Alabama and Michigan at Penn State- two games very similar in stature. Neither road team is expected to do much against the home teams. Both home teams have done nothing but dominate this season. Both road teams historically have played well if not beaten the home teams, especially in Michigan's case. Expect both home favorites to win closer than the experts think.
Week 7 Bowl Projections
I will admit. I cheated. This is being done after BYU lost on Thursday night. Here goes!!
BCS Title: Penn State (National #1) vs. Florida (National #2)
Rose: USC (Pac-10 champ) vs. Ohio State (at-large)
Sugar: Alabama (at-large) vs. Oklahoma (at-large)
Fiesta: Texas (Big 12 champ) vs. Boise State (at-large)
Orange: Virginia Tech (ACC champ) vs. West Virginia (Big East champ)
GMAC: East Carolina (C-USA #2) vs. Ball State (WAC)
International: Cincinnati (Big East) vs. Central Michigan (MAC #4/5)
Cotton: Texas Tech (Big 12 #2) vs. LSU (SEC)
Liberty: Tulsa (C-USA champ) vs. Kentucky (SEC #6)
Capital One: Michigan State (Big Ten #2) vs. Georgia (SEC #2)
Gator: Florida State (ACC #2) vs. Notre Dame (Big East/Big 12/ND)
Outback: Minnesota (Big Ten #3) vs. South Carolina (SEC)
Insight: Northwestern (Big Ten #6) vs. Colorado (Big 12 #6)
Chick-fil-A: North Carolina (ACC #2) vs. Mississippi (SEC)
Music City: Georgia Tech (ACC) vs. Vanderbilt (SEC #5)
Sun: California (Big 12 #3) vs. Kansas (Big 12/Big East/ND)
Armed Forces: Air Force (MW) vs. Rice (C-USA)
Humanitarian: Clemson (ACC #8) vs. Fresno State (WAC)
Holiday: Missouri (Big 12 #3) vs. Oregon (Pac-10 #2)
Alamo: Iowa (Big 10 #4/5) vs. Oklahoma State (Big 12 #4/5)
Independence: Nebraska (Big 12 #7) vs. Florida International (SEC #8/Sun Belt)
Papa John's: Louisville (Big East) vs. Troy (SEC/Sun Belt)
Texas: Kansas State (Big 12) vs. Houston (C-USA)
Car Care: Miami (FL) (ACC #6) vs. South Florida (Big East)
Emerald: Oregon State (Pac-10 #5) vs. Boston College (ACC #7)
Champs Sports: Wake Forest (ACC #4) vs. Wisconsin (Big Ten #4/5)
Motor City: Western Michigan (MAC) vs. Connecticut (Big Ten #7/at-large)
Hawaii: Stanford (Pac-10/C-USA) at Hawaii (WAC)
New Orleans: Arkansas State (Sun Belt champ) vs. Memphis (C-USA)
St. Pete: Pittsburgh (Big East) vs. Southern Miss (C-USA)
Las Vegas: BYU (MW #1) vs. Arizona State (Pac-10 #4)
Congressional: Navy (Army/Navy) vs. Buffalo (ACC/at-large)
New Mexico: TCU (MW) vs. New Mexico State (WAC)
Poinsettia: Utah (MW) vs. Northern Illinois (Pac-10/at-large)
Teams that finish .500 with nowhere to go: Temple, Bowling Green, San Jose State, and Louisiana Tech
BCS Title: Penn State (National #1) vs. Florida (National #2)
Rose: USC (Pac-10 champ) vs. Ohio State (at-large)
Sugar: Alabama (at-large) vs. Oklahoma (at-large)
Fiesta: Texas (Big 12 champ) vs. Boise State (at-large)
Orange: Virginia Tech (ACC champ) vs. West Virginia (Big East champ)
GMAC: East Carolina (C-USA #2) vs. Ball State (WAC)
International: Cincinnati (Big East) vs. Central Michigan (MAC #4/5)
Cotton: Texas Tech (Big 12 #2) vs. LSU (SEC)
Liberty: Tulsa (C-USA champ) vs. Kentucky (SEC #6)
Capital One: Michigan State (Big Ten #2) vs. Georgia (SEC #2)
Gator: Florida State (ACC #2) vs. Notre Dame (Big East/Big 12/ND)
Outback: Minnesota (Big Ten #3) vs. South Carolina (SEC)
Insight: Northwestern (Big Ten #6) vs. Colorado (Big 12 #6)
Chick-fil-A: North Carolina (ACC #2) vs. Mississippi (SEC)
Music City: Georgia Tech (ACC) vs. Vanderbilt (SEC #5)
Sun: California (Big 12 #3) vs. Kansas (Big 12/Big East/ND)
Armed Forces: Air Force (MW) vs. Rice (C-USA)
Humanitarian: Clemson (ACC #8) vs. Fresno State (WAC)
Holiday: Missouri (Big 12 #3) vs. Oregon (Pac-10 #2)
Alamo: Iowa (Big 10 #4/5) vs. Oklahoma State (Big 12 #4/5)
Independence: Nebraska (Big 12 #7) vs. Florida International (SEC #8/Sun Belt)
Papa John's: Louisville (Big East) vs. Troy (SEC/Sun Belt)
Texas: Kansas State (Big 12) vs. Houston (C-USA)
Car Care: Miami (FL) (ACC #6) vs. South Florida (Big East)
Emerald: Oregon State (Pac-10 #5) vs. Boston College (ACC #7)
Champs Sports: Wake Forest (ACC #4) vs. Wisconsin (Big Ten #4/5)
Motor City: Western Michigan (MAC) vs. Connecticut (Big Ten #7/at-large)
Hawaii: Stanford (Pac-10/C-USA) at Hawaii (WAC)
New Orleans: Arkansas State (Sun Belt champ) vs. Memphis (C-USA)
St. Pete: Pittsburgh (Big East) vs. Southern Miss (C-USA)
Las Vegas: BYU (MW #1) vs. Arizona State (Pac-10 #4)
Congressional: Navy (Army/Navy) vs. Buffalo (ACC/at-large)
New Mexico: TCU (MW) vs. New Mexico State (WAC)
Poinsettia: Utah (MW) vs. Northern Illinois (Pac-10/at-large)
Teams that finish .500 with nowhere to go: Temple, Bowling Green, San Jose State, and Louisiana Tech
Monday, October 13, 2008
Week 7 Recap
This week saw 3 of the top 5 go down and #5 become the new #1 despite another top 5 not losing. Texas earned their way to the #1 spot in sort-of a boxing type deal where as the team that beat #1 became #1 no matter whom was ahead of them. Alabama sat down in front of a TV this week and saw Oklahoma, Missouri, and conference rival LSU all go down but received little respect in the coaches poll. AP saw Alabama come 15 points away from being in that #1 spot. Also a barrage of coaching changes saw Auburn lose to Arkansas after firing the OC and Tommy Bowden quitting after underachieving again. Two of the top players on the team responded like that was the best thing for the program. Unlike Terry, I feel like Tommy gets back into coaching someplace because the man can coach, just not at Clemson where he is expected to win a national title with talent that would finish 7th in the SEC or Big 12.
There are plenty of other big winners this week as well as losers!!!
USC found their way back into the Top 5 this week after beating Arizona State. Who has USC beaten??? Texas Tech arguing has beaten the same caliber teams without a loss and sits at #7, Oklahoma State just beat the #2 team in the country in some polls at their place and they are undefeated. How are they #8??? How is BYU #9 and Utah not even in the top 10???? Remember, Utah beat the team that beat USC and are undefeated! Other undefeateds include Boise State, Ball State, and Tulsa which all keep on keepin' on!!!
Many other one loss teams made their case this week as well. Florida destroys top 4 team LSU as they vault to #4 and #5 in some polls. Georgia's only loss this year is to the #2 team in America yet sit at #10 with USC and Florida losing to .500 teams and in the Top 5.
Kansas remains alive beating a Colorado team that many thought would actually compete.
Ohio State is moving their way back up as well beating Purdue.
Michigan State gets a chance to prove they are for real this week as they beat an undefeated Northwestern team in Evanston. Next up: Ohio State.
North Carolina does not give the voters a chance to allow Notre Dame back in the rankings. With the loss to UNC, Notre Dame might end their season in 2008 rather than Jan. 1, 2009.
Finally, probably the most impressive in week 7 that still went unnoticed was Penn State destroying an overrated Wisconsin team, but still finds themselves undefeated and #3.
There are plenty of other big winners this week as well as losers!!!
USC found their way back into the Top 5 this week after beating Arizona State. Who has USC beaten??? Texas Tech arguing has beaten the same caliber teams without a loss and sits at #7, Oklahoma State just beat the #2 team in the country in some polls at their place and they are undefeated. How are they #8??? How is BYU #9 and Utah not even in the top 10???? Remember, Utah beat the team that beat USC and are undefeated! Other undefeateds include Boise State, Ball State, and Tulsa which all keep on keepin' on!!!
Many other one loss teams made their case this week as well. Florida destroys top 4 team LSU as they vault to #4 and #5 in some polls. Georgia's only loss this year is to the #2 team in America yet sit at #10 with USC and Florida losing to .500 teams and in the Top 5.
Kansas remains alive beating a Colorado team that many thought would actually compete.
Ohio State is moving their way back up as well beating Purdue.
Michigan State gets a chance to prove they are for real this week as they beat an undefeated Northwestern team in Evanston. Next up: Ohio State.
North Carolina does not give the voters a chance to allow Notre Dame back in the rankings. With the loss to UNC, Notre Dame might end their season in 2008 rather than Jan. 1, 2009.
Finally, probably the most impressive in week 7 that still went unnoticed was Penn State destroying an overrated Wisconsin team, but still finds themselves undefeated and #3.
Thursday, October 9, 2008
Week 7 preview
Many teams are already halfway through the regular season. All schools have a ways to go. Some, like Auburn, are still looking for their identity while teams like Oklahoma and Missouri just keep on rolling. This week there are plenty of big matchups to choose from.
1) Texas vs Oklahoma -Red River shootout is the game of the year so far this season. The winner of this should have the inside track to the Big 12 and possible national title. Does Texas jump to #1 if they blow out Oklahoma? I have a feeling we will not be able to find out.
2) LSU at Florida - the last two national champions. Unfortunately, they have to play each other instead of Ohio State this week. What was Florida thinking in losing to Ole Miss?? This could've been a much bigger matchup. It'll still be a big one.
3) Oklahoma State at Missouri- both teams need to play well in the big game. Both teams need defenses to step up since both offenses are potent. Will it be the Zac Attack or will the Pokes be chasing Chase all night???
4) Penn State at Wisconsin- here we go again. Wisconsin overrated, losing to one team they shouldn't lose to, and not beating any of the big boys. Could this change this week??
5) Notre Dame at North Carolina- the first time ever that ND is having to earn their ranking. Will they be able to in Chapel Hill???
Other games could be the talk of the weekend, including Texas Tech-Nebraska, Arkansas-Auburn, and Vanderbilt-Mississippi State. Yet another Big weekend to attempt to solve the 2008 puzzle.
1) Texas vs Oklahoma -Red River shootout is the game of the year so far this season. The winner of this should have the inside track to the Big 12 and possible national title. Does Texas jump to #1 if they blow out Oklahoma? I have a feeling we will not be able to find out.
2) LSU at Florida - the last two national champions. Unfortunately, they have to play each other instead of Ohio State this week. What was Florida thinking in losing to Ole Miss?? This could've been a much bigger matchup. It'll still be a big one.
3) Oklahoma State at Missouri- both teams need to play well in the big game. Both teams need defenses to step up since both offenses are potent. Will it be the Zac Attack or will the Pokes be chasing Chase all night???
4) Penn State at Wisconsin- here we go again. Wisconsin overrated, losing to one team they shouldn't lose to, and not beating any of the big boys. Could this change this week??
5) Notre Dame at North Carolina- the first time ever that ND is having to earn their ranking. Will they be able to in Chapel Hill???
Other games could be the talk of the weekend, including Texas Tech-Nebraska, Arkansas-Auburn, and Vanderbilt-Mississippi State. Yet another Big weekend to attempt to solve the 2008 puzzle.
Bowl projections after week 6
BCS Title Game Oklahoma (National #1) vs. LSU(National #2)
Orange Virginia Tech (ACC Champ) vs. West Virginia (Big East Champ)
Fiesta Texas (at-large) vs. BYU (at-large)
Sugar Alabama (at large) vs. Penn State (at-large)
Rose USC (Pac-10 Champ) vs. Ohio State (Big Ten champ)
GMAC East Carolina (C-USA #2) vs. Ball State (MAC)
International Cincinnati (Big East 4/5) vs. Central Michigan (MAC)
Cotton Missouri (Big 12 #2) vs. Kentucky (SEC)
Liberty Tulsa (C-USA champ) vs. Mississippi (SEC #6)
Capital One Illinois (Big Ten #2) vs. Georgia (SEC #2)
Gator Florida State (ACC #3) vs. Notre Dame (Big East #2/Big 12 #4/ND)
Outback Florida (SEC) vs. Michigan State (Big Ten #3)
Insight Nebraska (Big 12 #6) vs. Purdue (Big Ten #6)
Chick-fil-A North Carolina (ACC#2) vs. Vanderbilt (SEC)
Music City Georgia Tech (ACC) vs. Auburn (SEC #5)
Sun Kansas (Big 12#5/BE #2/ND) vs. California (Pac-10 #3)
Armed Forces Air Force (Mountain West) vs. Rice (C-USA)
Humanitarian Boston College (ACC #8) vs. Boise State (WAC)
Holiday Texas Tech (Big 12 #3) vs. Oregon (Pac-10 #2)
Alamo Northwestern (Big Ten #4) vs. Oklahoma State (Big 12#4/5)
Independence Kansas State (Big 12 #7) vs. South Carolina (SEC #8)
Papa John's Pittsburgh (Big East) vs. Troy (Sun Belt, no SEC team available)
Texas Colorado (Big 12) vs. Houston (C-USA)
Meineke Car Care Clemson (ACC #6) vs. South Florida (Big East)
Emerald Miami-FL (ACC #7) vs. Oregon State (Pac-10 #5)
Champs Sports Wake Forest (ACC #4) vs. Michigan (Big Ten #5)
Motor City Minnesota (Big Ten #7) vs. Western Michigan (MAC)
Hawaii Arizona State (Pac-10) vs. Nevada (WAC)
New Orleans Arkansas State (Sun Belt #1) vs. Southern Miss (C-USA)
St. Petersburg Central Florida (C-USA) vs. Louisville (Big East)
Las Vegas Utah (Mountain West #1) vs. Arizona (Pac-10 #4)
Congressional Navy vs. Middle Tennessee (Sun Belt, no ACC team available)
New Mexico TCU (Mountain West) vs. Fresno State (WAC)
Poinsettia UNLV (Mountain West) vs. Connecticut (at-large, no Pac-10 avail)
Orange Virginia Tech (ACC Champ) vs. West Virginia (Big East Champ)
Fiesta Texas (at-large) vs. BYU (at-large)
Sugar Alabama (at large) vs. Penn State (at-large)
Rose USC (Pac-10 Champ) vs. Ohio State (Big Ten champ)
GMAC East Carolina (C-USA #2) vs. Ball State (MAC)
International Cincinnati (Big East 4/5) vs. Central Michigan (MAC)
Cotton Missouri (Big 12 #2) vs. Kentucky (SEC)
Liberty Tulsa (C-USA champ) vs. Mississippi (SEC #6)
Capital One Illinois (Big Ten #2) vs. Georgia (SEC #2)
Gator Florida State (ACC #3) vs. Notre Dame (Big East #2/Big 12 #4/ND)
Outback Florida (SEC) vs. Michigan State (Big Ten #3)
Insight Nebraska (Big 12 #6) vs. Purdue (Big Ten #6)
Chick-fil-A North Carolina (ACC#2) vs. Vanderbilt (SEC)
Music City Georgia Tech (ACC) vs. Auburn (SEC #5)
Sun Kansas (Big 12#5/BE #2/ND) vs. California (Pac-10 #3)
Armed Forces Air Force (Mountain West) vs. Rice (C-USA)
Humanitarian Boston College (ACC #8) vs. Boise State (WAC)
Holiday Texas Tech (Big 12 #3) vs. Oregon (Pac-10 #2)
Alamo Northwestern (Big Ten #4) vs. Oklahoma State (Big 12#4/5)
Independence Kansas State (Big 12 #7) vs. South Carolina (SEC #8)
Papa John's Pittsburgh (Big East) vs. Troy (Sun Belt, no SEC team available)
Texas Colorado (Big 12) vs. Houston (C-USA)
Meineke Car Care Clemson (ACC #6) vs. South Florida (Big East)
Emerald Miami-FL (ACC #7) vs. Oregon State (Pac-10 #5)
Champs Sports Wake Forest (ACC #4) vs. Michigan (Big Ten #5)
Motor City Minnesota (Big Ten #7) vs. Western Michigan (MAC)
Hawaii Arizona State (Pac-10) vs. Nevada (WAC)
New Orleans Arkansas State (Sun Belt #1) vs. Southern Miss (C-USA)
St. Petersburg Central Florida (C-USA) vs. Louisville (Big East)
Las Vegas Utah (Mountain West #1) vs. Arizona (Pac-10 #4)
Congressional Navy vs. Middle Tennessee (Sun Belt, no ACC team available)
New Mexico TCU (Mountain West) vs. Fresno State (WAC)
Poinsettia UNLV (Mountain West) vs. Connecticut (at-large, no Pac-10 avail)
Sunday, October 5, 2008
Week 6 recap
The shocker of the week for week 6 in my humble opinion was not Vanderbilt over Auburn or Hawaii over Fresno State. It is the fact that Notre Dame is 4-1 and NO WHERE close to the top 25! Has the media finally quit drinking the Blue and Gold koolaid?? Where's Beano Cook when the Irish need him?? Where's Lou Holtz? That's right. Lou is now a doctor. I would not even send my worst enemy to Holtz for a check-up. Here is the week 6 recap.
Oklahoma continues to dominate by stomping on the Baylor Bears and continuing to prove why they are #1. Alabama held off a mad rush by Kentucky to remain #2 in the AP Poll. #2 in the Coaches goes to Missouri who destroyed Nebraska for their first win in Lincoln in 30+ years and they should continue to play with consistency like they have all year, especially on offense.
Upset alert: Colorado over Texas!! I fell for that too, but Mack Brown and company did not and Texas won 38-14 to stay in the top 5.
The game of the week was a classic as Auburn went into Vandy Stadium and came out with a loss by 1 point, a missed extra point. Vanderbilt is starting to believe that they can win. Will they be able to keep it up???
Fresno State and South Florida founds ways to lose to unranked opponents at home. Kansas came mighty close to losing to an unraked on the road.
The Hawaii team that went to Fresno Saturday night was not the Colt Brennan-June Jones Hawaii team. Who is their coach and their quarterback now? Despite not many people knowing that, Hawaii found a way to make the national news for something besides blowout losses to Top 10 teams.
South Florida wasn't supposed to lose to Pittsburgh, especially with Pittsburgh losing to Bowling Green first game. Pitt has turned it around and have started to look like a Big East contender and could shock someone if they were to make it to a BCS game.
Kansas was down to Iowa State in Ames 20-0 at halftime and came back and won 35-33. This would've been Gene Chizik's first signature win had the Cyclones held on.
Texas Tech routs Kansas State. I was a Texas Tech doubter, not anymore.
Second year in a row, Miami-Florida State was a battle of two non-top 25 teams with FSU holding off a late Miami rally to win 41-39. Week 7 preview coming up soon.
Oklahoma continues to dominate by stomping on the Baylor Bears and continuing to prove why they are #1. Alabama held off a mad rush by Kentucky to remain #2 in the AP Poll. #2 in the Coaches goes to Missouri who destroyed Nebraska for their first win in Lincoln in 30+ years and they should continue to play with consistency like they have all year, especially on offense.
Upset alert: Colorado over Texas!! I fell for that too, but Mack Brown and company did not and Texas won 38-14 to stay in the top 5.
The game of the week was a classic as Auburn went into Vandy Stadium and came out with a loss by 1 point, a missed extra point. Vanderbilt is starting to believe that they can win. Will they be able to keep it up???
Fresno State and South Florida founds ways to lose to unranked opponents at home. Kansas came mighty close to losing to an unraked on the road.
The Hawaii team that went to Fresno Saturday night was not the Colt Brennan-June Jones Hawaii team. Who is their coach and their quarterback now? Despite not many people knowing that, Hawaii found a way to make the national news for something besides blowout losses to Top 10 teams.
South Florida wasn't supposed to lose to Pittsburgh, especially with Pittsburgh losing to Bowling Green first game. Pitt has turned it around and have started to look like a Big East contender and could shock someone if they were to make it to a BCS game.
Kansas was down to Iowa State in Ames 20-0 at halftime and came back and won 35-33. This would've been Gene Chizik's first signature win had the Cyclones held on.
Texas Tech routs Kansas State. I was a Texas Tech doubter, not anymore.
Second year in a row, Miami-Florida State was a battle of two non-top 25 teams with FSU holding off a late Miami rally to win 41-39. Week 7 preview coming up soon.
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Week 6 preview
Could we have the week of the upsets Part Two. Last week, the numer 1,3, and 4 teams went down. This week should weed out some other wannabees while solidifying other teams for national prominence. There is more than 5 matchups this week that are important to the national scene.
1) Missouri at Nebraska- Missouri has done a good job winning at Columbia in recent history, but have not won in Lincoln since the mid-60's. If they want to consider themselves a national title contender, they need to do something they haven't done in 40 years. Expect Missouri to finally break the curse and possibly move up in the polls.
2) Auburn at Vanderbilt- How do you put the Gameday game at #2?? Very simple. As people in Nashville would say, it just ain't as important. Auburn is still looking for an offensive identity while Vanderbilt will be looking to get to 5 wins, one away from bowl eligibility.
3) Oregon at USC- another battle of two top 25 teams. USC is hoping not to lose two in a row this season like they did last season. 2nd game of the two in a row last season-at Oregon. Oregon will be down to their 4th string QB but the Ducks could still pull off the upset. Don't expect it. USC wins by a touchdown.
4) Ohio State at Wisconsin- both teams were thought to be going into this game undefeated. Neither are. Wisconsin will be ready to hurt someone after last week's collapse. Expect another blowout to go against the Buckeyes.
5) Texas at Colorado- Colorado has played spoiler twice in 3 years already in this situation. Oklahoma goes up to Boulder last season, loss. West Virginia goes up to Boulder earlier this season, loss. Texas goes up to Boulder Saturday.....................we'll see.
Other important matchups for the national scene are: Penn State at Purdue, Stanford at Notre Dame, Kentucky at Alabama, Texas Tech at Kansas State, UConn at North Carolina, and Texas A&M at Oklahoma State. What a great weekend for some football. I fully expect to be talking more upsets on Sunday.
1) Missouri at Nebraska- Missouri has done a good job winning at Columbia in recent history, but have not won in Lincoln since the mid-60's. If they want to consider themselves a national title contender, they need to do something they haven't done in 40 years. Expect Missouri to finally break the curse and possibly move up in the polls.
2) Auburn at Vanderbilt- How do you put the Gameday game at #2?? Very simple. As people in Nashville would say, it just ain't as important. Auburn is still looking for an offensive identity while Vanderbilt will be looking to get to 5 wins, one away from bowl eligibility.
3) Oregon at USC- another battle of two top 25 teams. USC is hoping not to lose two in a row this season like they did last season. 2nd game of the two in a row last season-at Oregon. Oregon will be down to their 4th string QB but the Ducks could still pull off the upset. Don't expect it. USC wins by a touchdown.
4) Ohio State at Wisconsin- both teams were thought to be going into this game undefeated. Neither are. Wisconsin will be ready to hurt someone after last week's collapse. Expect another blowout to go against the Buckeyes.
5) Texas at Colorado- Colorado has played spoiler twice in 3 years already in this situation. Oklahoma goes up to Boulder last season, loss. West Virginia goes up to Boulder earlier this season, loss. Texas goes up to Boulder Saturday.....................we'll see.
Other important matchups for the national scene are: Penn State at Purdue, Stanford at Notre Dame, Kentucky at Alabama, Texas Tech at Kansas State, UConn at North Carolina, and Texas A&M at Oklahoma State. What a great weekend for some football. I fully expect to be talking more upsets on Sunday.
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Week 5 recap
This weekend was upsets galore. The team that proved the most this week had to have been Alabama going into the blacked out Sanford Stadium and hanging 31 in the first half over Georgia. Alabama rose all the way up to #2 in the Associated Press and many are now picking them to play for the national title. Don't speak too soon, Tide fans. The Florida Gators also went down losing to Ole Miss after giving up their first three turnovers of the season. Once again, an SEC team won on the road in a hostile environment.
The main upset this week was #1 USC. Once again, they go into Corvallis and once again lose to the Beavers of Oregon State. Maybe unfairly, but because of their soft schedule, USC may have left their national title chances at Reser Stadium on Thursday night.
Wisconsin found a way to lose at the Big House again. They were up 19-0 at halftime, managing mostly field goals in that game. Michigan may not be the same Michigan as in the past, but it is still tough to win Big Ten games with only field goals.
What has happened to East Carolina??? After beating Virginia Tech and walloping West Virginia, they lose in overtime to NC State and do not even show up against Houston. The media darlings, the fighting Skip Holtzes have quit fighting for some reason.
Clemson found a way to be Clemson again. Just when you think Clemson has righted the ship, they found a way to lose to a somewhat disappointed Maryland team. That is the second win in a row against a Top 25 team after losing to Middle Tennessee in the second week of the season.
Next week should be exciting as well. Preview coming Wednesday. Also, look forward to the VinSane bowl projections, coming after next week's games.
The main upset this week was #1 USC. Once again, they go into Corvallis and once again lose to the Beavers of Oregon State. Maybe unfairly, but because of their soft schedule, USC may have left their national title chances at Reser Stadium on Thursday night.
Wisconsin found a way to lose at the Big House again. They were up 19-0 at halftime, managing mostly field goals in that game. Michigan may not be the same Michigan as in the past, but it is still tough to win Big Ten games with only field goals.
What has happened to East Carolina??? After beating Virginia Tech and walloping West Virginia, they lose in overtime to NC State and do not even show up against Houston. The media darlings, the fighting Skip Holtzes have quit fighting for some reason.
Clemson found a way to be Clemson again. Just when you think Clemson has righted the ship, they found a way to lose to a somewhat disappointed Maryland team. That is the second win in a row against a Top 25 team after losing to Middle Tennessee in the second week of the season.
Next week should be exciting as well. Preview coming Wednesday. Also, look forward to the VinSane bowl projections, coming after next week's games.
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Week 5 preview
This week starts the meat of most conference schedules. The last week in September is indeed the most important week in September, some teams have succeeded expectations, such as Vanderbilt, Alabama, and BYU. Others, like Ohio State, West Virginia, and Clemson, have found a way to disappoint. Last week was a good week to be a couch potato, but this one will be a better weeks. These games of the week will go a long way to determine conference and national titles.
1) Alabama at Georgia- Alabama has not beaten Georgia since 1994. Most games involving these two have been classic. This one is sure to not disappoint either. UGA is going on a blackout for this game. I would love for the Tide to come out with the white helmets in this one. Expect Georgia to win a close one.
2) Illinois at Penn State- JoePa is proving this year that even though he may not be able to stand for a whole game, boy can he and his staff still coach em up. Ron Zook needs a second signature win. That will not happen this week.
3) TCU at Oklahoma- does TCU pull off the inevitable again? Last time they played OU in '05, they won in Norman. They also lost to SMU that year, but that was taken care of last week. TCU will keep it a game but Sooners in the end.
4) USC at Oregon State- 5 words: USC needs to win this. 2 words: they will.
5) Wisconsin at Michigan- This would right Michigan's season. However, Wisconsin still has a chance to be undefeated and win the Big Ten. Expect the Big Badgers to dominate Big Time in the Big House!
1) Alabama at Georgia- Alabama has not beaten Georgia since 1994. Most games involving these two have been classic. This one is sure to not disappoint either. UGA is going on a blackout for this game. I would love for the Tide to come out with the white helmets in this one. Expect Georgia to win a close one.
2) Illinois at Penn State- JoePa is proving this year that even though he may not be able to stand for a whole game, boy can he and his staff still coach em up. Ron Zook needs a second signature win. That will not happen this week.
3) TCU at Oklahoma- does TCU pull off the inevitable again? Last time they played OU in '05, they won in Norman. They also lost to SMU that year, but that was taken care of last week. TCU will keep it a game but Sooners in the end.
4) USC at Oregon State- 5 words: USC needs to win this. 2 words: they will.
5) Wisconsin at Michigan- This would right Michigan's season. However, Wisconsin still has a chance to be undefeated and win the Big Ten. Expect the Big Badgers to dominate Big Time in the Big House!
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Week 4 recap
How could this have been a big weekend??? The #1 and #2 ranked teams did not play this weekend. What would I have missed if I decided not to look at a Tv or go to a game this weekend?? Well, here is what happened!!!!!
This was a huge, huge weekend.
Georgia did not disappoint as they crossed the Mississippi for a non-conference regular season game for the first time since 1960. Many thought they would get caught looking ahead just like their opponents in the Sun Devils did the week before. Not only did they bring their game west, but they also brought UGA VII over as well and gave him a 3-0 record as a mascot. All Arizona State did was prove for the second week in a row that they did not belong on the national stage and they better find an offensive line before Pac-10 play starts or they might not see a bowl game this year.
LSU vs Auburn actually had a little bit more offense that most as well as myself expected. LSU goes into a very tough Jordan-Hare and pulls out a victory. Many feel like LSU should be given a shot at the national title if they are undefeated. With that schedule they will play, I believe if they are 12-0 at season's end, they should jump USC, Oklahoma, and whomever might be undefeated in front of them and they should get to play in Miami in mid-January.
West Virginia is proving they don't belong. Boulder is a very tough place to play. Ask Oklahoma last year, but there is no way that game should have even been close. Look for them to have an average season and possibly play in a lower tier bowl. Pat White may end his college career where he ended his high school career, at Legion Field in Birmingham, AL.
Boise State and Ball State are trying to do what we know now that East Carolina will not do, bust the BCS. They joined the likes of BYU and Utah with huge wins this weekend over BCS league teams. Boise State dominated Oregon for the first 45 minutes at Autzen Stadium and held on at the end. Ball State was close against Indiana and blew it away in the last two quarters. Tulsa is also still undefeated with their blowout win over New Mexico. That game against Arkansas is looking more and more winnable every week.
Speaking of Arkansas, they could not hang with Nick Saban's men as Alabama calls off the Hogs in a defensive domination for the Tide. Defense has never been a problem with Bama teams. It looks now like they have an offense to help out.
Urban Meyer continues to prove that Tennessee is not important. Second straight year that the Gators dismantle the Vols, this time at Knoxville. I wonder how many hits that www.firephilfulmer.com has received.
Vandy Vandy has shown their gold. After their win in Oxford over Ole Miss Saturday night which was not televised, the Vanderbilt Commodores are 4-0 and are now ranked in the AP Top 25 for the first time since 1984. Vandy is also 2-0 in SEC Play now. The rest of the seaosn will be tough, but Vandy will get to play Mississippi State, Kentucky, and Duke and well as potential upsets to try and get that first bowl game since 1982, maybe Birmingham playing Pat White????
Week 5 preview coming either Tuesday or Wednesday!
This was a huge, huge weekend.
Georgia did not disappoint as they crossed the Mississippi for a non-conference regular season game for the first time since 1960. Many thought they would get caught looking ahead just like their opponents in the Sun Devils did the week before. Not only did they bring their game west, but they also brought UGA VII over as well and gave him a 3-0 record as a mascot. All Arizona State did was prove for the second week in a row that they did not belong on the national stage and they better find an offensive line before Pac-10 play starts or they might not see a bowl game this year.
LSU vs Auburn actually had a little bit more offense that most as well as myself expected. LSU goes into a very tough Jordan-Hare and pulls out a victory. Many feel like LSU should be given a shot at the national title if they are undefeated. With that schedule they will play, I believe if they are 12-0 at season's end, they should jump USC, Oklahoma, and whomever might be undefeated in front of them and they should get to play in Miami in mid-January.
West Virginia is proving they don't belong. Boulder is a very tough place to play. Ask Oklahoma last year, but there is no way that game should have even been close. Look for them to have an average season and possibly play in a lower tier bowl. Pat White may end his college career where he ended his high school career, at Legion Field in Birmingham, AL.
Boise State and Ball State are trying to do what we know now that East Carolina will not do, bust the BCS. They joined the likes of BYU and Utah with huge wins this weekend over BCS league teams. Boise State dominated Oregon for the first 45 minutes at Autzen Stadium and held on at the end. Ball State was close against Indiana and blew it away in the last two quarters. Tulsa is also still undefeated with their blowout win over New Mexico. That game against Arkansas is looking more and more winnable every week.
Speaking of Arkansas, they could not hang with Nick Saban's men as Alabama calls off the Hogs in a defensive domination for the Tide. Defense has never been a problem with Bama teams. It looks now like they have an offense to help out.
Urban Meyer continues to prove that Tennessee is not important. Second straight year that the Gators dismantle the Vols, this time at Knoxville. I wonder how many hits that www.firephilfulmer.com has received.
Vandy Vandy has shown their gold. After their win in Oxford over Ole Miss Saturday night which was not televised, the Vanderbilt Commodores are 4-0 and are now ranked in the AP Top 25 for the first time since 1984. Vandy is also 2-0 in SEC Play now. The rest of the seaosn will be tough, but Vandy will get to play Mississippi State, Kentucky, and Duke and well as potential upsets to try and get that first bowl game since 1982, maybe Birmingham playing Pat White????
Week 5 preview coming either Tuesday or Wednesday!
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Week 4 preview
Week 2 and 3 were pretty slow. Week 4 is when America gets to start seeing what teams are all about. This is the week where most conferences get their conference season started. The top 5 this week are very important to the national landscape. There are other very important games this week as well.
Top 5 games of the week:
1) LSU at Auburn- A battle of two top 10 SEC Tigers where both sides are saying, "Thank God for our defense." Last time these two tangled in Auburn, it looked very similar to Auburn's game last week with Auburn winning 7-3 in 2006. 2004 saw Auburn win 10-9. Don't expect much scoring this year on the Plains as both teams look to get a head start on the SEC West.
2) Wake Forest at Florida State- Battle of two top 25 ACC teams which will deem very important. Wake is now considered the class of the ACC, but FSU needs to win this in order to get back to where it was before. FSU will still be without many of its starters due to the suspensions handed down before the Music City Bowl last season. Expect Wake to run over the Noles while FSU throws past the Deacs. Whichever is done better will be victorious in this one.
3) Georgia at Arizona State- Someone forgot to tell ASU that there are 12 games in the season. This was to be the game of the week but the Sun Devils quit in the fourth quarter and got beat in OT by UNLV. Despite this, expect Dennis Erickson to keep this close for a little while but UGA in the end.
4) Florida at Tennessee- UT is out to prove that UCLA was a fluke. Florida wants to be undefeated going into the UGA game in Jville later in the year. Will the Gators be up for this??
5) Boise State at Oregon- Fresno could not keep it up, losing to Wisconsin last week. If Boise beats Oregon, Boise State will be the non-BCS darlings alongside East Carolina.
Other game of note:
West Virginia at Colorado- West Virginia has lost one already. I don't expect them to get a shot at the national title with one loss. If they want to prove they still belong despite the loss to ECU, they need to step up in primetime on Thursday night.
Others worth watching this weekend:
Notre Dame at Michigan State-first road game for the Irish.
Alabama at Arkansas- two losses in a row at Fayetteville for the Tide.
Troy at Ohio State- How does Tressel's boys respond to the beatdown at the Coliseum??
Rice at Texas- Only worth it if Rice wins. Expect it to be close for at least two quarters in this one.
Buffalo at Missouri- Second week in a row for a hail mary by Buffalo?
Vanderbilt at Mississippi- Vandy 3-0, Ole Miss should be 3-0. We'll see what happens!
TCU at SMU- last time TCU went into Gerald Ford stadium, that was their only loss of the season.
This Saturday will be a good day to sit in front of the TV if you are not headed to a game. I will be doing that as well as listening to XM Radio for games not televised.
Top 5 games of the week:
1) LSU at Auburn- A battle of two top 10 SEC Tigers where both sides are saying, "Thank God for our defense." Last time these two tangled in Auburn, it looked very similar to Auburn's game last week with Auburn winning 7-3 in 2006. 2004 saw Auburn win 10-9. Don't expect much scoring this year on the Plains as both teams look to get a head start on the SEC West.
2) Wake Forest at Florida State- Battle of two top 25 ACC teams which will deem very important. Wake is now considered the class of the ACC, but FSU needs to win this in order to get back to where it was before. FSU will still be without many of its starters due to the suspensions handed down before the Music City Bowl last season. Expect Wake to run over the Noles while FSU throws past the Deacs. Whichever is done better will be victorious in this one.
3) Georgia at Arizona State- Someone forgot to tell ASU that there are 12 games in the season. This was to be the game of the week but the Sun Devils quit in the fourth quarter and got beat in OT by UNLV. Despite this, expect Dennis Erickson to keep this close for a little while but UGA in the end.
4) Florida at Tennessee- UT is out to prove that UCLA was a fluke. Florida wants to be undefeated going into the UGA game in Jville later in the year. Will the Gators be up for this??
5) Boise State at Oregon- Fresno could not keep it up, losing to Wisconsin last week. If Boise beats Oregon, Boise State will be the non-BCS darlings alongside East Carolina.
Other game of note:
West Virginia at Colorado- West Virginia has lost one already. I don't expect them to get a shot at the national title with one loss. If they want to prove they still belong despite the loss to ECU, they need to step up in primetime on Thursday night.
Others worth watching this weekend:
Notre Dame at Michigan State-first road game for the Irish.
Alabama at Arkansas- two losses in a row at Fayetteville for the Tide.
Troy at Ohio State- How does Tressel's boys respond to the beatdown at the Coliseum??
Rice at Texas- Only worth it if Rice wins. Expect it to be close for at least two quarters in this one.
Buffalo at Missouri- Second week in a row for a hail mary by Buffalo?
Vanderbilt at Mississippi- Vandy 3-0, Ole Miss should be 3-0. We'll see what happens!
TCU at SMU- last time TCU went into Gerald Ford stadium, that was their only loss of the season.
This Saturday will be a good day to sit in front of the TV if you are not headed to a game. I will be doing that as well as listening to XM Radio for games not televised.
Monday, September 15, 2008
Week 3 recap
Week 3 did not see many surprises when it came to who won the game. The surprises came, for the most part, on how teams won the game, whether it was a blowout when expect to be close or "closer than the experts predict". The conversation going into Saturday was about Ohio State vs. USC in what was dubbed "The Collision in the Coliseum". What came about was "The Drubbing in the Coliseum." USC proved that they deserved to be #1 while Ohio State proved that they did not deserve to play for the national title for the third straight year. Despite what people think, there were other games this weekend.
#2 Georgia is #2 no longer thanks to barely queaking by a team that lost to Vanderbilt the week before. Even though this year's Vandy is not your father's Vandy or your older brother's Vandy, there's a faction of people out there that think that losing to Vandy is like losing to Appalachian State. Georgia starts the year out #1. They are 3-0 and have dropped to #3 in the polls without losing.
#3 Oklahoma is now #2 thanks to beating a Washington team on the road that many feel were robbed the week before. Brigham Young showed that Washington was no fluke by blowing out an overrated UCLA team. Can these two keep it up during the season or will they find ways to lose to inferior opponents on the road like they have in the past????
Speaking of Vanderbilt, they are #26 in the latest AP Poll. That's right! If Vanderbilt goes to Oxford and beats an improving Ole Miss team, they will more than likely jump into the Top 25. Whodathunkit???
Down the road from Oxford, we saw a baseball match of sorts with what will more than likely be the lowest scoring game of the season. Neither Auburn nor Mississippi State wanted to win that game and the best of the worst pulled it out in that one.
Missouri is starting to make people believe that they belong in the national championship conversation while Kansas is once again proving to be overrated.
In the Pac-10, one team was caught looking ahead while the other took too long to adjust to the time change. Arizona State was leading UNLV late but the Runnin' Rebs came back to tie the game and take it to overtime. The Rebs then won the game when they blocked ASU's FG in OT.
California did not start scoring against Maryland until late in the 4th quarter but it proved to be too late. Maryland lost to Middle Tennessee the week before and Troy beat Middle Tennessee in the first week. Why isn't Troy ranked in the Top 25???
Middle Tennessee almost pulled off the Bluegrass Miracle Part Deux. MTSU had success against Vandy the last two times they played and almost equalled that success with Kentucky. MT came up a yard short on a tipped hail mary, once again in Lexington. Finally, something goes UK's way at the end of a game.
Charlie Weis goes on the injured list for the Irish.
Week 4 preview coming Wednesday.
#2 Georgia is #2 no longer thanks to barely queaking by a team that lost to Vanderbilt the week before. Even though this year's Vandy is not your father's Vandy or your older brother's Vandy, there's a faction of people out there that think that losing to Vandy is like losing to Appalachian State. Georgia starts the year out #1. They are 3-0 and have dropped to #3 in the polls without losing.
#3 Oklahoma is now #2 thanks to beating a Washington team on the road that many feel were robbed the week before. Brigham Young showed that Washington was no fluke by blowing out an overrated UCLA team. Can these two keep it up during the season or will they find ways to lose to inferior opponents on the road like they have in the past????
Speaking of Vanderbilt, they are #26 in the latest AP Poll. That's right! If Vanderbilt goes to Oxford and beats an improving Ole Miss team, they will more than likely jump into the Top 25. Whodathunkit???
Down the road from Oxford, we saw a baseball match of sorts with what will more than likely be the lowest scoring game of the season. Neither Auburn nor Mississippi State wanted to win that game and the best of the worst pulled it out in that one.
Missouri is starting to make people believe that they belong in the national championship conversation while Kansas is once again proving to be overrated.
In the Pac-10, one team was caught looking ahead while the other took too long to adjust to the time change. Arizona State was leading UNLV late but the Runnin' Rebs came back to tie the game and take it to overtime. The Rebs then won the game when they blocked ASU's FG in OT.
California did not start scoring against Maryland until late in the 4th quarter but it proved to be too late. Maryland lost to Middle Tennessee the week before and Troy beat Middle Tennessee in the first week. Why isn't Troy ranked in the Top 25???
Middle Tennessee almost pulled off the Bluegrass Miracle Part Deux. MTSU had success against Vandy the last two times they played and almost equalled that success with Kentucky. MT came up a yard short on a tipped hail mary, once again in Lexington. Finally, something goes UK's way at the end of a game.
Charlie Weis goes on the injured list for the Irish.
Week 4 preview coming Wednesday.
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
Week 3 preview
Week 2 did not have much of anything when it came to games. Week 2 for the most part was a "almost only counts in horseshoes" week including an almost in the Horseshoe. Week 3 figures to be a more exciting week and a week that many might decide to let the yardwork wait another Saturday. Others may try to do the yardwork in the morning, that way they can have the afternoons and evenings all to themselves either in the living room or the sports bar, with the spouse's approval of course.
Week 3 Top 5:
1) What a shocker. Ohio State at Southern California- a Keith Jackson-type game that will get even the most casual of college football fans going. Ohio State survived a Bobcat scare last week and now travels to the Coliseum. Chris Wells should be back running for the Buckeyes, while Sanchez is expected to throw it all over the place.
2) Wisconsin at Fresno State- a battle of 2 Top 25 teams that Fresno State finally gets to play at home. Wisconsin is taking a big chance by flying out to Cali, but this is not a no-win situation for the Badgers. If they win, expect the Big Ten competitor to climb at least two spots.
3) Oklahoma at Washington- after last weekend's robbery at home, the Huskies will once again host a ranked team. Does anyone remember two years ago when Oklahoma went to Oregon and lost a controversial game??? What did the Sooners AD say after that? To paraphrase, if Pac-10 officials are officiating that game, then the Sooners will not honor the game. Ask the Huskies how they feel about Pac-10 officials now.
4) Kansas at South Florida- USF squeaked by their state rivals last week. This is the first ranked non-conference team that Kansas has played since, well, no telling but it's been a long time. And they are travelling too. Amazing!!! What do the Jayhawks do in a situation they have not seen in many years??
5) Oregon at Purdue- The Boilers could really make a statement here by beating the Ducks. Oregon has aspirations of a Pac-10 title. They do not need to blow this one after getting off to a good start in 2008.
If you missed week 2, please do not miss week 3. Find a TV with picture-in-picture or head to your favorite place where there are multiple TVs. I will be running back and forth from one room to the other because I will not have that this weekend.
Week 3 Top 5:
1) What a shocker. Ohio State at Southern California- a Keith Jackson-type game that will get even the most casual of college football fans going. Ohio State survived a Bobcat scare last week and now travels to the Coliseum. Chris Wells should be back running for the Buckeyes, while Sanchez is expected to throw it all over the place.
2) Wisconsin at Fresno State- a battle of 2 Top 25 teams that Fresno State finally gets to play at home. Wisconsin is taking a big chance by flying out to Cali, but this is not a no-win situation for the Badgers. If they win, expect the Big Ten competitor to climb at least two spots.
3) Oklahoma at Washington- after last weekend's robbery at home, the Huskies will once again host a ranked team. Does anyone remember two years ago when Oklahoma went to Oregon and lost a controversial game??? What did the Sooners AD say after that? To paraphrase, if Pac-10 officials are officiating that game, then the Sooners will not honor the game. Ask the Huskies how they feel about Pac-10 officials now.
4) Kansas at South Florida- USF squeaked by their state rivals last week. This is the first ranked non-conference team that Kansas has played since, well, no telling but it's been a long time. And they are travelling too. Amazing!!! What do the Jayhawks do in a situation they have not seen in many years??
5) Oregon at Purdue- The Boilers could really make a statement here by beating the Ducks. Oregon has aspirations of a Pac-10 title. They do not need to blow this one after getting off to a good start in 2008.
If you missed week 2, please do not miss week 3. Find a TV with picture-in-picture or head to your favorite place where there are multiple TVs. I will be running back and forth from one room to the other because I will not have that this weekend.
Monday, September 8, 2008
Week 2 recap
In Week 2, we saw one major upset, which by year's end may not be an upset. We also saw one minor but important upset and a bunch of close calls that easily could've turned seasons around.
Start with East Carolina putting a major beatdown on West Virginia. People were still not giving ECU a chance in this one even after the Pirates beat Virginia Tech. West Virginia would have had no trouble with the rest of their schedule until Auburn in mid-October. They may still have no trouble the rest of the way until Auburn, but West Virginia did not think Skip Holtz could get his boys ready twice in two weeks for top-20 matchups. Because Holtz did get his Pirates up for both, they now rest in the top 15 of most polls.
The minor but important upset started our week 2 off in fine fashion as Vandy beats Steve Spurrier and South Carolina for the second year in a row. This may be what Vanderbilt needs to catapult themselves into six wins and a bowl berth. Possibly in nearby Birmingham. South Carolina, on the other hand, had aspirations of an SEC East title and may now not even crack the Top 5 in the East.
The close calls will start with the call that may not have needed to be called. The BYU-Washington game ended after an unsportsmanlike penalty after a touchdown resulted in a long extra point. That point went on to be blocked and that was the game. If Washington comes back and wins this in overtime, this may give the Huskies momentum and carry them to a well needed bowl game to help Tyrone Willingham keep his job. Instead BYU stays alive for the BCS and Ty may be looking for his fourth head coaching job in a decade.
South Florida and Central Florida may have played for the last time in a while, maybe ever unless they are matched up in bowls. This could have possibly turned out to be a great rivalry and eventually pushed UCF into a BCS conference, possibly the Big East, in a number of years. As far as the season is concerned, if USF loses this one, they would have a tough time getting up for the rest of the season and pushing forward in Big East play. UCF would have gained a lot of confidence by winning this game and perhaps George O'Leary may have started talking to the Orlando Sentinel again.
In Winston-Salem, if not for a pass interference call, Ole Miss and Houston Nutt may be going into week 3 undefeated. Ole Miss is already considered a sleeper in the SEC West and fought hard in this game but just could not stop the Deacs at the end. If Wake Forest loses this game, there would be NO ACC teams ranked in the Top 25, so the ACC commish and the rest of Wake's conference brethren better be glad Wake pulled this one off. May the Big East rule become the ACC rule??
In Columbus, they are complaining about how Ohio State was dropped two spots after the win. They better be happy the game with USC this weekend is still a big game. Had the Ohio University returner not fumbled the ball near the out-of bounds line, we might be talked about #1 vs. unranked rather than #1 vs. #5. Well, maybe not that extreme but the highest they would have been is 20th.
Finally, in South Bend, if San Diego State doesn't fumble at the half yard line, Notre Dame may not be looking so hot headed into Michigan. Now they are a favorite to beat Michigan. Explain that one to me please. A team that should've lost to a team that lost to Cal Poly San Lius Opispo (pronounce that if you can) is favored against Michigan?? Well, stranger things have happened.
Wekk 3 preview coming on Wednesday!
Start with East Carolina putting a major beatdown on West Virginia. People were still not giving ECU a chance in this one even after the Pirates beat Virginia Tech. West Virginia would have had no trouble with the rest of their schedule until Auburn in mid-October. They may still have no trouble the rest of the way until Auburn, but West Virginia did not think Skip Holtz could get his boys ready twice in two weeks for top-20 matchups. Because Holtz did get his Pirates up for both, they now rest in the top 15 of most polls.
The minor but important upset started our week 2 off in fine fashion as Vandy beats Steve Spurrier and South Carolina for the second year in a row. This may be what Vanderbilt needs to catapult themselves into six wins and a bowl berth. Possibly in nearby Birmingham. South Carolina, on the other hand, had aspirations of an SEC East title and may now not even crack the Top 5 in the East.
The close calls will start with the call that may not have needed to be called. The BYU-Washington game ended after an unsportsmanlike penalty after a touchdown resulted in a long extra point. That point went on to be blocked and that was the game. If Washington comes back and wins this in overtime, this may give the Huskies momentum and carry them to a well needed bowl game to help Tyrone Willingham keep his job. Instead BYU stays alive for the BCS and Ty may be looking for his fourth head coaching job in a decade.
South Florida and Central Florida may have played for the last time in a while, maybe ever unless they are matched up in bowls. This could have possibly turned out to be a great rivalry and eventually pushed UCF into a BCS conference, possibly the Big East, in a number of years. As far as the season is concerned, if USF loses this one, they would have a tough time getting up for the rest of the season and pushing forward in Big East play. UCF would have gained a lot of confidence by winning this game and perhaps George O'Leary may have started talking to the Orlando Sentinel again.
In Winston-Salem, if not for a pass interference call, Ole Miss and Houston Nutt may be going into week 3 undefeated. Ole Miss is already considered a sleeper in the SEC West and fought hard in this game but just could not stop the Deacs at the end. If Wake Forest loses this game, there would be NO ACC teams ranked in the Top 25, so the ACC commish and the rest of Wake's conference brethren better be glad Wake pulled this one off. May the Big East rule become the ACC rule??
In Columbus, they are complaining about how Ohio State was dropped two spots after the win. They better be happy the game with USC this weekend is still a big game. Had the Ohio University returner not fumbled the ball near the out-of bounds line, we might be talked about #1 vs. unranked rather than #1 vs. #5. Well, maybe not that extreme but the highest they would have been is 20th.
Finally, in South Bend, if San Diego State doesn't fumble at the half yard line, Notre Dame may not be looking so hot headed into Michigan. Now they are a favorite to beat Michigan. Explain that one to me please. A team that should've lost to a team that lost to Cal Poly San Lius Opispo (pronounce that if you can) is favored against Michigan?? Well, stranger things have happened.
Wekk 3 preview coming on Wednesday!
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
The VinSane Week 2 preview
This is the first installment of the VinSane weekly preview. I did a season preview last week, but probably should've done a weekly preview also. I will definitely have a little bit on at least 5 national games of the week and then mention other games of note! Let's do the preview.
Thanks to the events of Week 1, upsets included, the game of the week becomes:
West Virginia at East Carolina- WVU had an easy time with the 'Nova and now plays a team that just upset its former conference brethren in Charlotte. This game will be played at ECU so that gives ECU a better chance. WVU will win the game but it will not be by much.
South Carolina at Vanderbilt- Steve Spurrier starts Chris Smelley against the Dores but Vandy has a lot of confidence going into this game after blowing out Miami(OH). Winner of this game looks pretty good early in the SEC season and this may be the upset Vandy needs if they want to play for a bowl for the first time since 1982.
Miami(FL) at Florida - The last win for the Gators in this series was 1985, but looks to be the better team and have the better athletes in this one. Miami(FL), like the Gators, are coming off an easy victory in the first week, but will have had two extra days to rest by the time this kicks off on Saturday night.
Cincinnati at Oklahoma- Both teams breezed through the first week but Oklahoma has a history of losing to teams that they shouldn't lose to early, remember TCU (at home) '05 and Colorado '07.
Stanford at Arizona State- There is talk of Pac-10 title in Tempe, AZ. There is talk of bowl game plus in Palo Alto after the upset over Oregon State. Can Stanford make it 2-0 in Pac-10 play. That would be a good start!!
Other games of note:
Tulane at Alabama- Tulane practices in Birmingham all week for the first game of the season for the Green Wave. The Crimson Tide is high after beating down the Clemson Tigers. America may be sentimentally pulling for Tulane in this one, but don't expect much from the Wave without their star, Forte.
Ole Miss at Wake Forest- The Deacs, with Clemson losing last week, are now expected to win the ACC. They handled the hype against Baylor in the week. Can they continue against Houston Reb??
Central Michigan at Georgia- How does Georgia respond after losing the #1 ranking without losing a game??
Southern Miss at Auburn- Second game of the year, what happened to Auburn last year?? Lost to South Florida. So Miss and new head coach Fedora will be looking to pull off the major upset. Auburn will be looking to finally getting the spread moving.
Ohio at Ohio State- Will Ohio State get caught looking ahead to USC by the fighting Solich's??? I think not!!!!!
Miami(OH) at Michigan- Does Michigan lose first two home games of the season two years in a row?? Does Michigan lose Coach Rod's first two games?? We'll see!!
Northwestern at Duke- Someone will start out 2-0. Will it be Fitzgerald or Cutcliffe?? This was Duke's only win last year.
Minnesota at Bowling Green- BGSU shocked some by beating Pitt last week. No shock this week when they beat the Gophers.
Texas Tech at Nevada- Red Raiders' biggest test before the Big 12 season.
Louisiana Tech at Kansas- Does La Tech pull off an upset two weeks in a row??? Derek Dooley starting to take a little bit after his dad.
Georgia Tech at Boston College- first Big ACC game and both got by fairly easily in the first game
BYU at Washington- If BYU goes to the BCS, they need to win this one.
There's others, but this should be an exciting week 2.
Thanks to the events of Week 1, upsets included, the game of the week becomes:
West Virginia at East Carolina- WVU had an easy time with the 'Nova and now plays a team that just upset its former conference brethren in Charlotte. This game will be played at ECU so that gives ECU a better chance. WVU will win the game but it will not be by much.
South Carolina at Vanderbilt- Steve Spurrier starts Chris Smelley against the Dores but Vandy has a lot of confidence going into this game after blowing out Miami(OH). Winner of this game looks pretty good early in the SEC season and this may be the upset Vandy needs if they want to play for a bowl for the first time since 1982.
Miami(FL) at Florida - The last win for the Gators in this series was 1985, but looks to be the better team and have the better athletes in this one. Miami(FL), like the Gators, are coming off an easy victory in the first week, but will have had two extra days to rest by the time this kicks off on Saturday night.
Cincinnati at Oklahoma- Both teams breezed through the first week but Oklahoma has a history of losing to teams that they shouldn't lose to early, remember TCU (at home) '05 and Colorado '07.
Stanford at Arizona State- There is talk of Pac-10 title in Tempe, AZ. There is talk of bowl game plus in Palo Alto after the upset over Oregon State. Can Stanford make it 2-0 in Pac-10 play. That would be a good start!!
Other games of note:
Tulane at Alabama- Tulane practices in Birmingham all week for the first game of the season for the Green Wave. The Crimson Tide is high after beating down the Clemson Tigers. America may be sentimentally pulling for Tulane in this one, but don't expect much from the Wave without their star, Forte.
Ole Miss at Wake Forest- The Deacs, with Clemson losing last week, are now expected to win the ACC. They handled the hype against Baylor in the week. Can they continue against Houston Reb??
Central Michigan at Georgia- How does Georgia respond after losing the #1 ranking without losing a game??
Southern Miss at Auburn- Second game of the year, what happened to Auburn last year?? Lost to South Florida. So Miss and new head coach Fedora will be looking to pull off the major upset. Auburn will be looking to finally getting the spread moving.
Ohio at Ohio State- Will Ohio State get caught looking ahead to USC by the fighting Solich's??? I think not!!!!!
Miami(OH) at Michigan- Does Michigan lose first two home games of the season two years in a row?? Does Michigan lose Coach Rod's first two games?? We'll see!!
Northwestern at Duke- Someone will start out 2-0. Will it be Fitzgerald or Cutcliffe?? This was Duke's only win last year.
Minnesota at Bowling Green- BGSU shocked some by beating Pitt last week. No shock this week when they beat the Gophers.
Texas Tech at Nevada- Red Raiders' biggest test before the Big 12 season.
Louisiana Tech at Kansas- Does La Tech pull off an upset two weeks in a row??? Derek Dooley starting to take a little bit after his dad.
Georgia Tech at Boston College- first Big ACC game and both got by fairly easily in the first game
BYU at Washington- If BYU goes to the BCS, they need to win this one.
There's others, but this should be an exciting week 2.
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
The VinSane Week 1 wrapup
In Week 1, we learned a little bit about what will happen in college football in 2008, but did not have anyone "shock the world" the way that 2007 started. The preseason top 10 took care of business in the first week with the exception of Clemson. Much of America, especially the Southeast, is ready to put the team that beat them, Alabama, in their place in the Top Ten. As Nick Saban said, "It is just one game." If they play every game like they played that "one game", they might have a chance to shock the world as the season goes along.
Other teams that lost that should not have been a surprise include the likes of Pittsburgh, Texas A&M, Michigan, and Rutgers. America's favorite mustached sweetheart, Dave Wannstedt, is once again trying to tell the one's who annoint him that he does not belong in a head coaching position.
At A&M, Mike Sherman is taking his first as a head coach at any college. He found out that college is very similar to the pros. You have to be ready to play every single week, no matter who the opponent may be. While at Green Bay, he found himself losing to the Detroit Lions every once in a while, and Arkansas State played the role of the Lions.
Michigan, of all teams, should have been ready to play. Utah could be playing in the BCS and the Utes jumped this hurdle with perhaps only one more hurdle to go against Brigham Young. They do not need to get tripped up on the straightaway before the final hurdle.
As bad as Rutgers played, they probably should've lost 44-7. Fresno State is yet another team that could crash that big BCS party.
Week 2 presents a brand new number one team and very few intriguing matchups. It's still a week where teams do not need to be caught looking ahead. Other teams, such as Clemson and Virginia Tech, will try to fix what is broke.
The VinSane Week 2 preview coming up tomorrow.
Other teams that lost that should not have been a surprise include the likes of Pittsburgh, Texas A&M, Michigan, and Rutgers. America's favorite mustached sweetheart, Dave Wannstedt, is once again trying to tell the one's who annoint him that he does not belong in a head coaching position.
At A&M, Mike Sherman is taking his first as a head coach at any college. He found out that college is very similar to the pros. You have to be ready to play every single week, no matter who the opponent may be. While at Green Bay, he found himself losing to the Detroit Lions every once in a while, and Arkansas State played the role of the Lions.
Michigan, of all teams, should have been ready to play. Utah could be playing in the BCS and the Utes jumped this hurdle with perhaps only one more hurdle to go against Brigham Young. They do not need to get tripped up on the straightaway before the final hurdle.
As bad as Rutgers played, they probably should've lost 44-7. Fresno State is yet another team that could crash that big BCS party.
Week 2 presents a brand new number one team and very few intriguing matchups. It's still a week where teams do not need to be caught looking ahead. Other teams, such as Clemson and Virginia Tech, will try to fix what is broke.
The VinSane Week 2 preview coming up tomorrow.
Sunday, August 24, 2008
The VINSANE Top 25
Here's how I feel the Top 25 will go after the Conference Championship/Army-Navy weekend. This is what I project the final BCS standings to look like. If there are any objections, I want to read about them.
1) Florida
2) USC
3) Oklahoma
4) West Virginia
5) Georgia
6) Virginia Tech
7) Wisconsin
8) Ohio State
9) BYU
10) Missouri
11) South Florida
12) LSU
13) Oregon
14) Boise State
15) Texas
16) Texas Tech
17) Auburn
18) Clemson
19) Wake Forest
20) Utah
21) Arizona State
22) Nebraska
23) Illinois
24) Fresno State
25) Tennessee
Others that could be included with a few breaks this year:
Florida State, North Carolina
Pittsburgh, Notre Dame
Purdue, Iowa
Kansas State, Oklahoma State
UCLA, Arizona
South Carolina, Alabama
Tulsa
1) Florida
2) USC
3) Oklahoma
4) West Virginia
5) Georgia
6) Virginia Tech
7) Wisconsin
8) Ohio State
9) BYU
10) Missouri
11) South Florida
12) LSU
13) Oregon
14) Boise State
15) Texas
16) Texas Tech
17) Auburn
18) Clemson
19) Wake Forest
20) Utah
21) Arizona State
22) Nebraska
23) Illinois
24) Fresno State
25) Tennessee
Others that could be included with a few breaks this year:
Florida State, North Carolina
Pittsburgh, Notre Dame
Purdue, Iowa
Kansas State, Oklahoma State
UCLA, Arizona
South Carolina, Alabama
Tulsa
Saturday, August 23, 2008
Conference predictions for 2008.
Welcome to College Football 2008. If you thought 2007 was a wild one, wait until you watch the 2008 edition. As most of us already know, craziness has already begun. In the SEC, you have a team in the Georgia that was picked #1 in both Coaches and Associated Press poll but is expected to do this without winning the SEC East as the SEC Media pick Florida to win that division before either poll came out. Did that not keep Georgia from going to the BCS national title game in 2007? They were stuck playing Hawaii in the Sugar Bowl instead of Ohio State in the same stadium a week later because they forgot to show up against Tennessee in mid-October. This will be a sensational season with many, many upsets and teams that aren't supposed to "be there" actually winning a few more games and grabbing the national spotlight away from the powerhouses. No, Appalachian State will not shock the world for the second straight year, but there are conference predictions I will make to start the season.
1) Conference champions
ACC-Virginia Tech gets revenge from the first ever ACC title game and beats Florida State in FSU territory down in Tampa. No more Jacksonville Landing for the ACC Champion. Clemson finds a way to lose two games that they shouldn't.
BigEast- West Virginia will finally beat South Florida after losing two in a row against them. People say Pittsburgh won't be far behind, but when it comes to Dave Wannstedt, I'll believe it when I see it.
Big Ten- Everyone picks Ohio State to be undefeated and playing the SEC Champion in the national title game. All they have to do is win the USC game and they have sealed their trip to Miami. They will not be going to the BCS title game, nor will they be making a return trip to Los Angeles. Wisconsin wins the Big Ten by virtue of their victory over Ohio State on October 4.
Big 12- Missouri might as well go ahead and reserve hotels for two weeks in KC. The week after they play Kansas in what I still call the Border War, they should be returning to Arrowhead to face Oklahoma. Boomer Sooner will have a few close calls from the likes of Texas and Texas Tech but should come out unscathed heading into the Big 12 title game. Oklahoma gets by Missouri for the third time in two years and heads to the Fiesta Bowl again.
Pac-10- Southern California continues their domination of the Pacific-10 conference in football. Unlike the last two years, this year's conference championship will not be shared. USC should go undefeated if they get by Ohio State. The Pac-10 representative in the Rose Bowl presented by Citi or AT&T or whoever this year will not be Arizona State. I see the Oregon Ducks heading to Pasadena.
SEC- Sorry Georgia, sorry LSU. I tend to be on the side of SEC media instead of national media on this one. I am picking Florida vs. Auburn on this one with the Gators winning the SEC championship.
Now for non-BCS love.
Conference USA- George O'Leary set UCF up with a tough non-conference schedule but should roll into the C-USA title game when they go to Tulsa and lose in the championship game. 3rd time in 4 years that these two will have played each other in the championship game, this being the first that would be played in Tulsa.
MAC- Bowling Green vs. Central Michigan will be the matchup in Ford Field. Miami Univ. will contend in the East while Western Michigan and Ball State could represent the West in Detroit.
Mountain West- This should be an exciting race with as many a 3 teams not only playing for a Mountain West title, but could be this year's BCS crasher. A tough call here, but Brigham Young will be the MWC champs with Utah and TCU not far behind.
Sun Belt- The last two years, the Sun Belt champion has gone on the road on the last Saturday of the regular season and stolen the crown. If that were the case, then Arkansas State would be going to Troy December 6 to win the Sun Belt, but they will actually be playing for second place that day. Florida Atlantic will be the rep in the New Orleans Bowl for the second straight year.
WAC- WACky again with the last two BCS crashers coming from this conference. Fresno State could make it a third. They will beat Boise State for the conference title. Meanwhile, Hawaii's offense will be nowhere to be found.
1) Conference champions
ACC-Virginia Tech gets revenge from the first ever ACC title game and beats Florida State in FSU territory down in Tampa. No more Jacksonville Landing for the ACC Champion. Clemson finds a way to lose two games that they shouldn't.
BigEast- West Virginia will finally beat South Florida after losing two in a row against them. People say Pittsburgh won't be far behind, but when it comes to Dave Wannstedt, I'll believe it when I see it.
Big Ten- Everyone picks Ohio State to be undefeated and playing the SEC Champion in the national title game. All they have to do is win the USC game and they have sealed their trip to Miami. They will not be going to the BCS title game, nor will they be making a return trip to Los Angeles. Wisconsin wins the Big Ten by virtue of their victory over Ohio State on October 4.
Big 12- Missouri might as well go ahead and reserve hotels for two weeks in KC. The week after they play Kansas in what I still call the Border War, they should be returning to Arrowhead to face Oklahoma. Boomer Sooner will have a few close calls from the likes of Texas and Texas Tech but should come out unscathed heading into the Big 12 title game. Oklahoma gets by Missouri for the third time in two years and heads to the Fiesta Bowl again.
Pac-10- Southern California continues their domination of the Pacific-10 conference in football. Unlike the last two years, this year's conference championship will not be shared. USC should go undefeated if they get by Ohio State. The Pac-10 representative in the Rose Bowl presented by Citi or AT&T or whoever this year will not be Arizona State. I see the Oregon Ducks heading to Pasadena.
SEC- Sorry Georgia, sorry LSU. I tend to be on the side of SEC media instead of national media on this one. I am picking Florida vs. Auburn on this one with the Gators winning the SEC championship.
Now for non-BCS love.
Conference USA- George O'Leary set UCF up with a tough non-conference schedule but should roll into the C-USA title game when they go to Tulsa and lose in the championship game. 3rd time in 4 years that these two will have played each other in the championship game, this being the first that would be played in Tulsa.
MAC- Bowling Green vs. Central Michigan will be the matchup in Ford Field. Miami Univ. will contend in the East while Western Michigan and Ball State could represent the West in Detroit.
Mountain West- This should be an exciting race with as many a 3 teams not only playing for a Mountain West title, but could be this year's BCS crasher. A tough call here, but Brigham Young will be the MWC champs with Utah and TCU not far behind.
Sun Belt- The last two years, the Sun Belt champion has gone on the road on the last Saturday of the regular season and stolen the crown. If that were the case, then Arkansas State would be going to Troy December 6 to win the Sun Belt, but they will actually be playing for second place that day. Florida Atlantic will be the rep in the New Orleans Bowl for the second straight year.
WAC- WACky again with the last two BCS crashers coming from this conference. Fresno State could make it a third. They will beat Boise State for the conference title. Meanwhile, Hawaii's offense will be nowhere to be found.
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