Week 14 College Football Predictions

Thursday
Ohio at Central Michigan (+3.5): Ohio's defense and Central Michigan's offense have been the teams strengths and constants this year which poses for an interesting matchup in the MAC title game. Ohio should play it tough and close all the way through, but I think the Chippewas may have just a bit too much on offense for the Bobcats to come out with a victory.
Central Michigan 24 Ohio 17

Friday
Southern Miss at Houston (+4.5): Just like in the MAC title game, the Conference USA title poses a matchup between two teams with completely different styles and philosophies. Southern Miss is known for their stingy and hard-hitting defense, meanwhile Houston is known for putting points on the board early and often. Houston has had a knack for playing the close games this year and against the Golden Eagles' defense, I think that poses well for SMiss.
Southern Miss 27 Houston 24

Saturday
Rutgers at West Virginia (+8.5): The 9-2 Mountaineers, coming off a disappointing 24-19 loss to South Florida a week ago, is over a touchdown favorite against 10-1 Rutgers? Now, I do think it'll be tough for Rutgers to win in Morgantown, but I wouldn't put it past them. They have the kind of power offense in tailbacks Ray Rice and Brian Leonard that could frustrate and wear down the under-sized Mountaineer defense. The weakness on the Scarlet Knights' defense is their secondary and as most know, West Virginia doesn't throw the ball much during the course of a game. I'm going to stick with the home team, but not by much.
West Virginia 28 Rutgers 24

Army vs. Navy (+20): One of the oldest rivalries in Division I-A football. The past couple years, I don't think there's any doubting who the best and the worst academies are in football, the best being Navy and the worst being Army. Even the history surrounding these two schools and the rivalry in which they present won't be able to help Army in the least bit on Saturday.
Navy 42 Army 21

Louisiana Tech at New Mexico State (+10): The Aggies hadn't beaten a Division I-A school for over a year until they beat Utah State 42-20 last weekend to improve them to 3-8 on the season. Now a home game against the three-win Bulldogs to close the season? New Mexico State could very well begin their upcoming season having won their final two ball games, both against Division I-A schools.
New Mexico State 38 Louisiana Tech 28

Stanford at Cal (+28.5): My problem picking this game is that enormous spread. Even though it's against one-win Stanford, I have a hard time picking a somewhat struggling Cal club to win by more than four touchdowns in this historic rivalry. Cal should win, don't get me wrong, but not by quite as much as the spread would have one believe.
Cal 31 Stanford 10

USC (+14) at UCLA: Danger zone right here for the 10-1 Trojans. After their dominating 44-24 win over Notre Dame a week ago and moving up to #2 in the BCS, USC could very well have a letdown and UCLA, their inner-city rival, is not the team they want to do that against. With Pete Carroll's experience, I think he'll pull the Trojans through with a victory, but it won't be easy.
USC 31 UCLA 21

Air Force at TCU (+17): What happened to Air Force? They started the season strong and were one two-point conversion away from upsetting Tennessee. They now stand at 4-7, officially eliminated from bowl competition, and well on their way to finishing 4-8 after a loss on the road to TCU.
TCU 38 Air Force 21

Fresno State at San Jose State (+4.5): Following a horrendous 1-7 start for Fresno, they've won three straight and are beginning to play like the team we all knew they could be. With that momentum, I think Pat Hill will motivate his troops enough to close the season out with four straight victories and carry something positive over from a tough season into next year.
Fresno State 28 San Jose State 24

UConn at Louisville (+27): I like Louisville. It's amazing how Michigan didn't drop at all in one poll following a three (but, really a ten or eleven) point loss to Ohio State on the road, yet Louisville dropped several spots following a three-point (actually a three-point) loss on the road to Rutgers. All four teams were unbeaten at the time they played one another. If Louisville wins, they're very deserving of a BCS bid, whether they're the Big East champs or not. They've played a semi-tough schedule (tougher than some teams ahead of them), usually excel when it comes to style points, and should close the season off at 11-1 following this win. UConn is pesky though, and I don't really see Louisville covering the spread.
Louisville 28 UConn 13

Colorado State (+3) at San Diego State: Who can play worse? The 4-7 Rams or the 2-9 Aztecs? That's up in the air as of late, but I'm going to predict that SDSU plays worse and the Rams finally win again. Yeah, it's been a while. Where's Bradlee Van Pelt when you need him?
Colorado State 24 San Diego State 17

Oregon State at Hawaii (+8): Hawaii was limited to 42 points last week against Purdue! That's seven under their season average of 49 and very much under their average in the past few games, when they've scored 60+ four times. Don't expect them to reach the 60 plateau this week, either. Heck, I'm even going out on a limb here and picking the road underdog Beavers to upset Hawaii.
Oregon State 38 Hawaii 35

Louisiana-Monroe at Louisiana-Lafayette (+2.5): The Louisiana rivalry we've all been waiting for is finally here! Okay, so, maybe not. But, it could be a pretty competitive game for sixty minutes. I'm going to go with the 6-5 Rajun' Cajuns on this one, but not by much.
Louisiana-Lafayette 28 Louisiana-Monroe 21

Troy (+12) at Florida International: Troy could very well claim the Sun Belt crown with this win. There's no better team to do that against than the 0-11 Golden Panthers. Check that. Make it 0-12 Golden Panthers, as Troy wins and improves to 7-5.
Troy 31 Florida International 10

Georgia Tech (+2.5) vs. Wake Forest: Georgia Tech's Reggie Ball has been inconsistent in his entire career as a Yellow Jacket. What he's been most consistent about is his inconsistency. He and the coaching stuff don't utilize wideout phenom Calvin Johnson enough and that may come back to bite them in this game. Wake is coming off a big win over Maryland and outside of their breakdown a couple weeks ago against Virginia Tech, they've played solid football all season. Edge- Wake.
Wake Forest 24 Georgia Tech 17

Florida (+3) vs. Arkansas: Should be a good old-fashioned SEC brawl. But, I give the edge to Darius McFadden and Arkansas. Florida has won ugly all year long and I think that'll finally catch up with them in the SEC title game.
Arkansas 24 Florida 21

Oklahoma (+3.5) vs. Nebraska: This is the toughest Nebraska game I've had to predict. It wasn't tough picking USC or Texas against the Huskers, but Oklahoma? Without Adrian Peterson? The Sooners are 6-0 without their stud tailback, a feat I didn't think could've been accomplished. Kudos to Bob Stoops and the rest of the coaching staff. Even though it's still hard for me to pick OU to win the Big XII title game without the man in the backfield, I just have a gut feeling that they will. It should be a close, hard-fought battle between these two clubs, but I just feel that Oklahoma is more determined than Nebraska following the dropping the soap job they suffered against Oregon and the losses of Rhett Bomar and Adrian Peterson throughout the season.
Oklahoma 24 Nebraska 21

Saints 31 Falcons 13

I could point the finger all around on this loss and I'm going to do just that. The Falcons lost their 4th straight on Sunday to fall to 5-6 on the season after starting the year a very promising 5-2.

One major problem on Sunday was the fact that Atlanta had to fight from behind just about from the outset. On the third play from scrimmage, Drew Brees connected with Devery Henderson on a 76-yard touchdown pass to put the Saints up 7-0. Atlanta drove right back, but Morten Andersen missed a very makable field goal. The Saints struck again to take a very quick 14-0 lead. Two field goals later and it appeared that Atlanta would go into the half just down 14-6 and receiving the ball to start the second half. But, on the last play of the opening half, Drew Brees lobbed a 50-yard hail mary that was caught in the end zone for a touchdown to extend the lead to 21-6. All the momentum the Falcons had in the second quarter was nullified based on that one play to end the half. The Falcons scored first in the second half to close the gap to 21-13. The Saints came with an all out blitz on a third down play later in the game and Michael Vick threw to a wide open Roddy White at the five yard line where he could've just waltzed into the end zone from there and potentially tied the game. Roddy turned his head just as the ball hit him and he dropped it. The balloon popped right there and the game was essentially over.

In the game, quarterback Michael Vick ran for 166 yards (a season high) on 12 carries. The Falcons as a team ran for well over 200 yards on the day. But, outside of Vick's scrambling, there were not many positives to point to offensively. Roddy White dropped two potential touchdowns. Michael Jenkins dropped a third down pass on the run that could've gone for a very long gain and maybe a score. Ashley Lelie dropped a couple passes. When the receivers weren't dropping them, Vick was throwing the ball away, getting hit as he threw it, or getting passes batted down. If not for the 40-yard hook up with Alge Crumpler on his only catch of the game, the Falcons' passing numbers would've looked even more anemic.

Allright, so, let's dish out some blame and see where we can go from here. First off, we have to look at the defense. On the third play from scrimmage, they gave up a 76-yard touchdown to immediately trail 7-0. They were down 14-0 following two "drives" less than five minutes into the game. The Falcons defense MUST play better if they want to get back on track and win some games. The secondary is giving up huge plays and the front seven is not getting to the quarterback enough. Hopefully, with John Abraham and Ed Hartwell getting healthy again and more playing time, they'll aid in disrupting the quarterback's rhythm. The secondary needs all the help they can get.

Offensively, what do we want to do? Why in the world is Greg Knapp going back to the playcalling from the first couple weeks? Atlanta scored 41 and 29 in consistent weeks when they didn't rely as heavily on the run. The playcalling allowed the receivers, quarterback, and line to get into more of a groove. Why back down from that? Why have Vick's numbers been down since those two weeks, his completion percentage in particular, outside of the drops? The playcalling! How does Knapp expect Vick, his receivers, and the line to get into a rhythm when Vick's running around all the time and is only called to throw on third and long? No quarterback will get into any rhythm with his receivers and line through that kind of playcalling.

Vick now leads the team in rushing with 870 yards on the ground. He's gained well over 300 yards in the past four games. Why is he being called on for the rushing yards? The lack of productivity from the two tailbacks. Again, Warrick Dunn was held in check, averaging 2.7 yards per carry on Sunday and Jerious Norwood averaging 4.0 yards a carry. Dunn is now averaging 4.2 yards a carry on the year after averaging well over five in the first few weeks and averaging 5.1 a carry last year. The Falcons cannot solely depend on Vick's scrambling ability as their source of a ground game. Dunn and Norwood have to contribute more, ESPECIALLY if Knapp continues this line of playcalling.

The receivers need to stop dropping the football. It pained me at times to watch USC's receivers on Saturday night catch almost everything that was thrown their direction. I laughed and told my father that their receivers catch the ball better than the Falcons' receivers do. It's true. Michael Jenkins has made a couple outstanding catches this year, but he does not catch the ball consistently enough. Roddy White is a notch below Jenkins at this point, because he hasn't made any great catches, but isn't bashful about dropping the easy ones. Roddy, stop trying to catch the ball with your chest! Use your hands! Ashley Lelie played fabulously in his first few games for the Falcons, but has been just as poor in catching the ball as the other two guys in recent weeks. People wonder why Alge Crumpler is Vick's favorite target. How about the guy catches the ball way more consistently than any of the receivers! That certain touchdown pass Vick threw to Roddy White was the gamebreaker. If White catches the ball, at worst, it's a 21-19 game with Atlanta carrying all the momentum into the 4th quarter. Following that drop, Atlanta had no more energy and adrenaline left in them to come back.

The O-Line needs to improve as well. Vick was hurried all game long and hit more times than he should. Last time I checked, the Saints tallied three sacks against the Atlanta quarterback. The line is also having problems opening many holes in the run game. The only effective back for the Falcons in recent weeks has been Vick due to his scrambling.

Potentially the most important ingredient is to find an identity. The Falcons simply don't have one. For the first few games into the season, Atlanta wasn't shy about running the football and did so at record-breaking numbers. But, with that came the risk of not being able to outscore the opponent or come from behind. They turned things around against Pittsburgh and Cincinnati, when the passing game was kicked up a notch, yet the running game was still effective enough to garner over 150 yards. Since then, Atlanta has gone back to their early season philosophy of running the ball early and often. What has resulted? Four straight losses. With the defense being as beat up as it is, Atlanta can't stick to this offensive philosophy if they want to win football games and have a chance at making the playoffs. If the defense was steady and healthy enough, the all-out running attack could be successful, but with neither of those factors being a reality, the current philosophy and "identity" will do nothing but make the Falcons play from behind early, often, and have difficulty in coming back to win football games.

Up next is a road game against Washington who is coming off a win against the Carolina Panthers. The Falcons need this game. They've lost four straight and are dangerously close to being on the outside and looking in on the playoff contenders. Even at 5-6, the Falcons are right in the thick of things because of all the 6-5 and 5-6 NFC clubs. The New York Giants, Philadelphia Eagles, Carolina Panthers, Minnesota Vikings, San Francisco 49ers, and Atlanta Falcons are all either 6-5 or 5-6. Atlanta has two road games coming up against Washington and Tampa Bay. If they win those two games, they'll be right in the thick of the wild card race. At this point in time, Atlanta needs to concentrate on a wild card berth, because it'll be very difficult to make up three games in five weeks against the Saints to win the division. Do the Falcons have the kind of talent necessary to win the next two games and go on a run to end the season? Yes. But, did they have the talent to beat the likes of Detroit, Cleveland, Baltimore, and New Orleans? Yes again. It all comes down to coaching and execution. If Atlanta goes in to D.C. with a good gameplan and they execute enough on both sides of the ball, they could very well come out with a win. But, one thing they have not done is execute on both sides of the ball for quite some time.

Week 13 College Football Newsletter

The Bonehead Call of the Week
These go to announcer Brent Musberger for some of his commentary during the Notre Dame/USC game on Saturday night. First off, the guy compared Irish quarterback Brady Quinn to Atlanta Falcons and ex-Virginia Tech quarterback Michael Vick. I'm sorry, but comparing their foot speed would be like comparing Roger Dorn's to Willie Mays Hayes' from the flick "Major League." Secondly and more importantly, Musberger, Kirk Herbstreit, and Bob Davie brought up the possibility of Michigan and Notre Dame playing a rematch in the Rose Bowl if USC should win their final game against UCLA. Musberger claimed that regardless of Saturday night's outcome, Notre Dame deserved to play in the Rose Bowl against Michigan. What was his reasoning? Some 1920 history lesson involving Knute Rockne. I'm sorry, but Michigan whooped Notre Dame 47-21 earlier in the year at South Bend. What right does the Irish have in heading to Pasadena with their two losses coming by the combined score of 91-45? Outside of those two teams (Michigan and USC), Notre Dame's ten other opponents are a combined 54-62 (.466). Other opponents are much more worthy of potentially facing off with 11-1 Michigan in the Rose Bowl. Even though I'm not in favor of a rematch between the Wolverines and Buckeyes in the title game, at least the two teams played a fairly even game for the majority of the sixty minutes. Michigan simply took the Irish out to the barn for a brutal beating. Sorry Brent, but not even history should be on the Irish's side this time.

The Bonehead Play of the Week
Even though Missouri ended up winning the football game against Kansas, they are awarded the bonehead play of the week. The Tigers were already up 20-10 in the third quarter when quarterback Chase Daniel hooked up on a slant route that was covered man-on-man. Unfortunately for the Jayhawks, that one man was what separated the receiver from the end zone and he was behind the ball and the receiver. The wideout wasn't even touched on his way to the end zone for what would be an 80-yard touchdown reception. But, hold on a minute. There's a flag on the play. When the receiver was at the Jayhawk 20-yard line and running full steam ahead toward the end zone, a teammate of his late the smack down on a Jayhawk who was fifteen yards away from the receiver. He was called for a personal foul, the touchdown was taken off the scoreboard, and Mizzou was backed up fifteen yards. They didn't convert on the next down and were forced to punt. On the ensuing drive, KU ran the ball right down the Tigers' throats and closed the gap to 20-17.

The Conference Yo of the Week
SEC. Like great football games? Look no further than the SEC this past weekend. LSU "upset" then 10-1 Arkansas 31-26 to move up to #5 in the BCS. Mississippi won the Egg Bowl against in-state rival Mississippi State 20-17. Tennessee squeaked by Kentucky 17-12. Georgia won a tough one in the hedges against Georgia Tech 15-12. Florida found a way to upend the pesky Seminoles of Florida State 21-14. South Carolina upset Tommy Bowden and the Clemson Tigers 31-28. SEC finished the week 6-3 with Vanderbilt, Auburn, and Alabama having already completed their regular seasons. The three non-conference wins were against teams with a combined record of 23-13 (.639).

The Conference Yo No of the Week
ACC. Virginia and Virginia Tech wasn't much of the game as the Hokies shutout the Cavaliers 17-0. Georgia Tech lost to 7-4 (now 8-4) Georgia 15-12. Florida State fought back from a 14-0 deficit, but found a way to lose 21-14 to the Florida Gators. Wake Forest pulled away from Maryland late to win 38-24. Miami (Florida) became bowl eligible with an upset win over Boston College 17-14. East Carolina defeated NC State 21-16 to send Chuck Amato packing. Clemson fell to in-state rival South Carolina 31-28. Finally, in perhaps the best game of the weekend in the conference between teams with a combined record of 3-21 (.125), North Carolina outlasted winless Duke with a 45-44 win. The conference finished 4-8, losing all four of their non-conference games.

Game of the Week
There are twelve games (at least) that deserve some recognition. Here's the rivalry week special countdown of the top dozen games of the week.

12. Miami (Florida) 17 Boston College 14- On the 22nd Anniversary of Doug Flutie's miracle pass, Flutie was a member of the announcing team only to witness the favored Eagles get beat up front to send Larry Coker off with one final win in his tenure to make the 'Canes bowl eligible.

11. South Florida 24 West Virginia 19- The Bulls played with a level of tenacity that the Mountaineers couldn't match until it was too late. Whether the 'Neers were looking ahead to next week's showdown with Rutgers is debatable, but this is one game in which they didn't appear to want it as much as their opponent.

10. Texas A&M 12 Texas 7- Like hard hits? Defense? This was the game for you, but not if your name is Colt McCoy. That guy's been roughed up in his past two games. His body may be thanking the Sooners for coming through on Saturday so he doesn't have to gear up until the bowl game.

9. Florida 21 Florida State 14- The Gators appeared to be on their way to cruising after getting out to a 14-0 lead, but the Seminoles fought back and wouldn't go away. It took a late 4th quarter score to vault the Gators to the hard-earned victory.

8. Cincinnati 26 UConn 23- Unlike many other Big East clubs, Cincinnati didn't allow the letdown week virus hinder them too greatly. In potentially Mark Dantonio's final game with the Bearcats, Cincy fought back for a tough road win against a pesky UConn squad.

7. Oklahoma 27 Oklahoma State 21- Even though the game was not as high-flying as I had anticipated, it still came down to the last play in the game and in a rivalry matchup like this, that's all I really want to see.

6. LSU 31 Arkansas 26- It was hard-nosed and low-scoring through the first half. Then it went from a classic defensive SEC duel to a Pac-10 shootout. Arkansas now has to gear up for the SEC title game against Florida while LSU sits pretty at #5 in the BCS.

5. Georgia 15 Georgia Tech 12- Unlike the last game I mentioned, this one played out like a SEC dogfight for sixty minutes. The key question was, which defense could force the quarterback into making the most stupid decisions. Georgia's defense outdid Tech's in that regard, forcing Reggie Ball to fumble the football and the 'Dawgs took it in for six. They also forced him into throwing an interception and making a number of other bonehead plays.

4. Tennessee 17 Kentucky 12- The Vols are lucky to head on to bowl season with a 9-3 record following this game. Kentucky had two opportunities inside the ten-yard line in the 4th quarter, but scored zero points in those two drives. Even two field goals would've vaulted them out to a lead.

3. Oregon State 30 Oregon 28- The Civil War was anything but civil in this matchup. As can be expected, it being a Pac-10 matchup, this game played nothing like the before-mentioned Georgia/Georgia Tech matchup. It went back and forth throughout the second half until Oregon State knocked home the eventual game-winning field goal in the final couple minutes.

2. Hawaii 42 Purdue 35- Hawaii shutout Purdue for the first thirty minutes and took a 17-0 lead into the second half until the Boilermakers finally woke up. Purdue then scored 35 of the next 45 points to take a 35-27 lead before Hawaii put on a late run to win their 10th game of the season. Purdue has one win against bowl eligible teams and has yet to beat a team with an above .500 record.

1. South Carolina 31 Clemson 28- Lou Holtz was probably going nuts over this win, especially since Notre Dame got blown out for the second time this season. There were so many sudden changes in momentum throughout the contest that I'm surprised coaches on both sidelines weren't being carted off because of heart attacks. Carolina took a 31-28 lead late in the game on a field goal and Clemson had a chance to tie it up, but on the second to last play, the Gamecocks sacked Will Proctor and the Tigers' kicker missed it wide right (or left, if you're in his shoes).

Biggest Disappointment of the Week
Boise State 38 Nevada 7. Nevada came into this home game winners of eight of their last nine games and ranked first in all the country in turnover margin. It had all the ingredients of a potential upset which would knock Boise State from the rankings of the unbeaten and a BCS game opportunity. But to say the Wolfpack was sloppy would be quite the understatement. They turned the ball over regularly which put the always potent Broncos' offense at the cusp of the red zone at the outset of their drive. Last I saw (in the first half mind you), Nevada was at -3 in turnover margin for the game. BSU took advantage of all the mistakes and Nevada paid dearly. Did I pick Boise to win? Yeah, but by one score. Never did I imagine this game getting so out of hand.

Kudos
Rivalry games. This has to be my favorite week in college football. Records play little to no factor in these games. If there's one game these teams circle before the season starts, it's that of their rival. Many did not disappoint this weekend, either. Texas A&M upset Texas 12-7. LSU beat Arkansas 31-26. Oregon State won the Civil War battle over Oregon 30-28. Steve Spurrier and South Carolina upset Clemson 31-28. Florida outlasted Florida State 21-14. Tennessee caught a few breaks in their 17-12 victory over Kentucky. Ole Miss found a way to win the Egg Bowl over Mississippi State 20-17. Oklahoma found a way to win in Stillwater over Oklahoma State by the score of 27-21. Georgia and Georgia Tech got rough for sixty minutes, with the Bulldogs coming out with a big 15-12 win at home. BYU beat Utah on a last second touchdown pass by John Beck 33-31. There was more intensity this past weekend of the season than I've witnessed in any other week this year. If there ever was a playoff, many of the games would be similar to what I witnessed over the weekend. Many games this weekend lived up to their hype (outside of the primetime game in L.A., of course) and depicted what rivalry games are all about.

No Kudos
Fair weather media. All of you know I've been against a rematch between Michigan and Ohio State for the national title from the start. Whether one wants to agree with me or not is debatable, but at least I've stayed consistent. The same cannot be said for the national media. Directly following the Michigan/Ohio State game two weekends ago, all I heard from the majority of "experts" and "analysts" was that Michigan and Ohio State were the two best teams in the country, they didn't want the game to end, and wanted to see a rematch between the two clubs. Following USC's 44-24 win over Notre Dame on Saturday night, I heard anything but that from the very same "experts" and "analysts." The same guys who said Michigan was definitely the 2nd best team in the country following their 3-point loss to Ohio State were saying that USC was the second best team in the country and that Michigan should get ready for the Rose Bowl. What, if Florida beats Arkansas on Saturday, will they stand up and claim that the Gators are the 2nd best team in the country? We have the right to change our minds from time to time, but so quickly? Why? What does a 44-24 win by USC over Notre Dame prove over a week prior? Let's not forget that Michigan pounded the Irish, as well. So, how in the world can we leapfrog USC ahead of Michigan after they beat a team in a similar fashion that the Wolverines did? That doesn't make any sense to me. If the guys wanted to say that if USC wins out, they're the most deserving, then that's fine by me. But for them to flip-flop over a win against a club that Michigan handled similarly doesn't make any logical sense. What if USC doesn't beat UCLA handily next Saturday, will they flip-flop again? Make up your minds guys. The thing I'd be most frightened of if I was USC would be not knowing if the media will flip-flop again or not following their game against UCLA on Saturday.

Player of the Week
Dwayne Jarrett- wide receiver- USC. This pick is not based on numbers, but upon the overall performance I witnessed on Saturday night in the Trojans' 44-24 victory over Notre Dame. Jarrett made NFL-type catches all game long to help quarterback John David Booty move the offense. Did anyone see that one-handed grab Jarrett made along the sideline? While I stick to my previous claim in the year that Georgia Tech's Calvin Johnson is the nation's best receiver. I will now say that Dwayne Jarrett is the second best in the country. On the day, he caught seven balls for 132 yards and three touchdowns. If not for Notre Dame's late score, Jarrett would've outscored the Irish all by his lonesome. Some players this past weekend may have put up more gaudy numbers than Jarrett, but nobody was as valuable in as big a game like this to their club as #8 was to USC.

Surprise of the Week
Missouri 42 Kansas 17. Missouri has been down and out of late, losers of four of their last five coming into this game, while Kansas was coming off a big 39-20 win over Kansas State. Mizzou shot themselves in the foot a couple times with stupid mistakes (see the bonehead play of the week for an example) and Kansas closed the gap to within three at 20-17 garnering all the momentum with that score. But Missouri went on to score the final 22 points in the game to rout the Jayhawks. Missouri had been playing so poorly of late, that I wasn't even expecting them to win this game, let alone pull away by 25 at the end. It seems that when things have gone wrong for the Tigers this year, the mistakes happen in bunches, but they managed to limit those errors and redeem themselves unlike in weeks past.


Nebraska Game (from a non-biased person's viewpoint)
While I was unable to see the second quarter, I will make do with what I viewed/heard and what I remember.

First off, hats off to Colorado for their first half performance. As I've always said, in rivalry games, records are irrelevant. Colorado illustrated that point for the first 40 minutes. If not for the trick play by the Huskers to put them up 14-7, CU could've very well gone into the half tied at seven a piece. But, Colorado was simply Colorado on this day. They ran the ball very efficiently at times and forgot how to run at others. As usual, their passing game was, how do I put this nicely? Off. As usual, their defense was tough for a while, but got worn down in the second half. This was just another day at the park for the Buffaloes.

For Nebraska, senior quarterback Zac Taylor was on the money in his final home game. Tailback Brandon Jackson was efficient in the backfield. Even though Taylor's final numbers were rather impressive, his receivers still found a way to drop some passes. Terrance Nunn is extremely talented, but needs to learn how to hang on to the football. On defense, Nebraska gave up large chunks of yardage against the run for the first 40 minutes, but kept CU's offense in check the rest of the way through.

What's there to say? Both teams came ready to play their rival on Saturday, but the better team came out victorious. NU got fancy on a few occasions with trick plays and for the most part, those trick plays paid dividends for the Huskers. Who knows what the score would've been without the trickery. Either way, the creativity gives next week's opponent, Oklahoma, a few more things to worry about.

Nebraska better watch out in Boulder next year, though. Up 30-14 with under a minute to go, Bill Callahan called for a toss play when he knew darn well CU was expecting the Huskers to run it right up the middle to run the clock out. The end result? A touchdown to go up 37-14. While I personally don't care one way or another if a team "runs up the score," because I say, hey, it's the defense's job to stop the opposing offense. If they can't get it done, it's their own dang fault! While I say that, I know darn well that CU coach Dan Hawkins and his returning players will remember that late score and it'll linger in their minds until they are able to take the field again next year in Boulder.

What's next for Nebraska? No, not a rematch with Texas, as the Longhorns dropped their final two games of the season. Oklahoma, who squeaked by in-state rival Oklahoma State 27-21 in Stillwater on Saturday. Personally, if I was Nebraska, I would've rather played Texas again than OU. NU almost beat the Longhorns the first time, falling 22-20 in an odd series of events that ended the game. Texas lost a shootout to Kansas State and then fell to Texas A&M in a defensive slugfest. I would've been pretty confident going into a game against Texas if I was Nebraska. Oklahoma, meanwhile, is the hottest team in the Big XII. They enter the title game at 10-2 and someone should put an atstrict by that record, because we all remember that dropping the soap experience they had against Oregon. They lost last year's starting quarterback Rhett Bomar just before the season started and then lost star tailback Adrian Peterson a few weeks ago. What has OU done since then? They haven't lost. Their running game is still solid (just ask Okie State) and their defense is playing the best of anyone in the conference over the past few weeks. While it's still a winnable game for Nebraska, I'm definitely not as confident rolling into this contest against the hottest team in the conference in Oklahoma as opposed to a beat-up and struggling Texas squad.

What does Nebraska have to do to win the game against OU? First and foremost, they have to win battles up front. Remember when Zac Taylor was sacked nine times against them last year? NU can't let that happen again and expect to win. The Huskers have also struggled against the run at times this year. That's Oklahoma's strong suit on offense. Nebraska needs to limit OU's carries and yards per carry if they want to win the game. Offensively, Nebraska's tailbacks can't be careless with the football as they've had a tendency to do the past few weeks and the receivers need to hang on to the football when Taylor fires the ball in there. Callahan also needs to mix the plays up and attempt to attack OU's defense with a balanced offense to hopefully get them off balance a little. OU has a solid defense, so if they force the Huskers into being one-dimensional, it could be a long day for Taylor in the backfield. Taylor has been very efficient this year, but he needs help from the guys around him. If the O-Line protects him long enough in the passing game, opens enough holes for the tailbacks to penetrate through, and the skill players make a minimal amount of mistakes, the offense should perform well. If the Huskers' D can limit the Sooners' yards per carry and prevent the deep ball in the passing game, all should be well.

It makes for an interesting matchup. It's still hard for me to believe that Oklahoma is playing as well as they are without Adrian Peterson. If they go on to win the Big XII title without their stud tailback, head coach Bob Stoops will be a shoo-in as Big XII coach of the year. Even if they lose, I'd probably reward him with the honor. In either scenario, Nebraska took another step in the right direction this season and even in a loss, shouldn't hold their heads down at all.

Solich Update
Well, ladies and gentlemen, perhaps Frankie's boozing incident a year ago was the foreshadowing of a celebration to come for the former Nebraska coach. Following this past week's 34-24 win over Miami (Ohio), Solich and his Bobcats are 9-3 (7-1 in conference) and moving on to the MAC title game to face 8-4 Central Michigan on Thursday night. Congrats to Solich.

Gill Update
Gill's Buffalo Bulls closed the season this past week with a 55-28 loss to the before-mentioned Central Michigan Chippewas to finish with a record of 2-10 (1-7 in conference).

Rant of the Week: Notre Dame
I'm growing rather weary regarding the neverending hype which surrounds Notre Dame. In years' past, I wouldn't be so hard on the Irish due to their usually nightmarish schedule. There have been years when Notre Dame has faced off against the likes of: Michigan, USC, Boston College, Florida State, Tennessee, Miami (Florida), BYU, etcetera, to go along with the likes of Georgia Tech, UCLA, Navy, Purdue, and Michigan State. This year that's not the case, though. In Notre Dame's twelve games this season, they've faced off against seven bowl contenders (all with winning records). These teams include: Georgia Tech (9-3), Penn State (8-4), Michigan (11-1), Purdue (8-5), UCLA (6-5), Navy (8-3), and USC (10-1). Georgia Tech can be stopped if Calvin Johnson is limited in his receptions. Penn State has beaten one team with a winning record all year. Purdue has yet to beat a team with a winning record. UCLA is stingy, but much like Georgia Tech in that they can't hurt you offensively very often. Navy is the most respectable of the academies on the gridiron, but doesn't have the size and speed to matchup with teams like Notre Dame. In Notre Dame's two lone games where they were matched up against one of the better teams in the country, they got blown out 47-21 and 44-24 by Michigan and USC. That's a combined 91-45 (average: 45.5-22.5). To go along with the seven games I've already mentioned, ND has faced the likes of: Michigan State (4-8), Stanford (1-10), North Carolina (3-9), Air Force (4-7), and Army (3-8). Michigan State has average talent, but has had a way of collapsing under John L. Smith. North Carolina played a rather brutal schedule, but that doesn't dismiss the fact that they only won three games against teams with 3 combined wins. Most of their losses were in blowout fashion. Air Force provided an early test for Tennessee, but showed that it may have been a fluke, as they have played anything but that well the rest of the way through the season. Army is the worst of the three academies. Finally, Stanford has stunk it up since week one of the season. They have played one of the tougher schedules in the nation, but again, they're 1-10 and the majority of those losses weren't pretty from a Cardinal fan's perspective. If you exclude USC's and Michigan's records, Notre Dame's opponents are a combined 54-62 (.466). I don't want to hear how Notre Dame may play in a rematch against 11-1 Michigan. They don't deserve that opportunity. If USC wins next week against UCLA and goes on to play Ohio State for a right at the national championship, I can think of several teams who'd be more deserving of a Rose Bowl bid. Let me count the ways or teams, in this case: Florida, Arkansas, LSU, Auburn, Oklahoma (if they beat Nebraska), Boise State, Louisville, West Virginia (if they beat Rutgers), Rutgers, among others. I just listed eight teams right there and those were the first eight that popped into my mind. I'm sure I could come up with other more deserving teams. Notre Dame has a porous defense, especially against the pass. Their offense is solid, but fails to live up to their billing against good defenses. Just look at the games against: Georgia Tech (14 points), UCLA (20 points), Michigan (21 points), and USC (24 points). In those four games, they went 2-2, scoring a combined 79 points (average: 19.8). Notre Dame deserves a Gator Bowl invite, but nothing more than that. I don't care about their rich history or tradition. Bowl games and the prestige which comes with them should invite teams the most deserving, teams who have earned their spot in that game throughout the course of the season. Notre Dame's resume' is solid for a bowl game, but as far as I see it, not too impressive when it comes to a potential BCS bowl invite.

Inside the Numbers: Conference Strength
Many arguments flare up this time of year, especially in regard to who is most deserving of going to the national title game against unbeaten Ohio State. There are some quality one-loss teams left in the field along with an undefeated mid-major club in Boise State. Who's the second best team? How can we ever be 100% sure one way or the other? I think those two words are misused often times. It's not the BCS's job to pick the two "best" teams to play in the title game as many like to suggest. It's the BCS's job to select the two most deserving teams, the two teams who have most earned their way to play in the title game. Sometimes the second best team may not be as deserving as another. They may not have earned their way as much as another. Many like to argue about the major conferences and the strength (or lack there of) of each in comparison to the others. I briefly wrote about this a few weeks ago, but thought I'd get even more in-depth this time around. What conference has the best winning percentage against bowl eligible and above .500 teams? What conference has played the toughest non-conference and overall schedule? What percentage of the conference is bowl eligble and what percentage of it has a record above .500? The true determinant of a conference's strength is in its depth and in how it performs against major notable programs. That's what the bowl season is all about. You're not going to see too many conference rematches come bowl time ::knocks on wood::. There aren't going to be Florida/Auburn matchups or Wisconsin/Minnesota rematches. No, conferences battle it out with one another during the bowl season to potentially hold bragging rights into the off-season that they were the strongest conference due to these big victories against major notable programs. One or two teams at the top don't make for a great conference. Depth matters. Why? How valid can those one or two teams be at the top if they've beaten on teams at or below the .500 mark all year? How valid is Notre Dame's 10-2 mark this season, in that they've beaten five dreadful opponents and lost to their only to great opponents by the combined score of 91-45? Not very, as far as I'm concerned. So, here you have it. I will attempt to delve into this as much as possible. It's common for us to hold personal conference biases, many times based on where we're located or who we root for. I urge everyone to put their biases aside and read through some very eye-popping numbers. Hopefully, it can give some a more open perspective on things.

Let's start with strength of schedule. The Pac-10 has played the toughest non-conference schedule. Their opponents have gone 192-168 (.533). The ACC is second, with their non-conference opponents going 253-323 (.439). The Big Ten is third, their opponents have gone a combined 189-295 (.390). The Big East ranks just behind it- their opponents have gone 185-297 (.384). The Big XII is not far behind at 220-357 (.381). Finally, in terms of non-conference opponents, the SEC finishes dead last at 205-368 (.358). In overall schedule, again, the Pac-10 is first, their opponents going a combined 742-617 (.546). The SEC finishes second this time, their opponents have gone 917-809 (.531). The Big East is third- their opponents have gone a combined 555-520 (.516). The Big Ten is not far behind at 823-777 (.514). The ACC ranks fifth amongst conference overall strength of schedule. Their opponents are currently 869-858 (.503). Finally, the Big XII ranks last at 868-861 (.502).

I will now rank teams based upon the percentage of clubs within a conference that are bowl eligible and also teams within the conference who have winning percentages of over .500 (one can be 6-6 and be bowl eligible). Eight out of ten teams are bowl eligible in the Pac-10 (Arizona, Arizona State, California, Oregon, Oregon State, UCLA, USC, and Washington State), so they lead the way at a clip of 80.0%. There are three conferences tied for second at 75.0%: Big XII with nine of twelve teams being eligible (Kansas, Kansas State, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas, Texas A&M, and Texas Tech), Big East with six of eight teams being bowl eligible (Cincinnati, Louisville, Pittsburgh, Rutgers, South Florida, and West Virginia), and the SEC with nine of twelve teams being bowl eligible (Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, LSU, South Carolina, and Tennessee). The ACC ranks fifth, having 66.7% of their teams bowl eligible, or eight of twelve (Boston College, Clemson, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Maryland, Miami (Florida), Virginia Tech, and Wake Forest). The Big Ten ranks last with seven of eleven or 63.6% or teams being bowl eligible (Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio State, Penn State, Purdue, and Wisconsin). The SEC ranks first in having eight of twelve teams with a winning record or 66.7% (Arkansas, Auburn, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, LSU, South Carolina, and Tennessee). The Big East ranks second, as five of eight teams in the conference or 62.5% of the clubs have winning records (Cincinnati, Louisville, Rutgers, South Florida, and West Virginia). The Pac-10 is third, as six of ten or 60% of the teams in the conference have a winning record (Arizona State, California, Oregon, Oregon State, UCLA, and USC). The Big XII ranks fourth, as seven of twelve or 58.3% of the teams in the conference hold winning records (Kansas State, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Texas, Texas A&M, and Texas Tech). The ACC ranks fifth with six of twelve or 50.0% of their teams holding winning records at this time (Boston College, Clemson, Georgia Tech, Maryland, Virginia Tech, and Wake Forest). Finally, the Big Ten ranks last, with five of eleven or 45.5% of their teams holding winning records at this juncture (Michigan, Ohio State, Penn State, Purdue, and Wisconsin).

I'm next going to look at the conferences' winning percentages against bowl eligible teams as well as teams with winning records. Again, the Pac-10 ranks first, as they have posted a 40-48 (.455) record against bowl eligible teams. The Big East is second, posting a 24-31 (.436) record against such teams. The SEC is third, going 38-50 (.432) against bowl eligibles. The Big XII ranks fourth in that category, as they have gone 39-53 (.424). The ACC is fifth, going 33-56 (.385) against bowl eligible teams. Finally, the Big Ten is last, posting a 28-45 (.384) record. The Pac-10 also leads the rankings in their record against teams with winning records, going 29-40 (.420). The Big East is again second, going 17-27 (.386). The SEC is third again, going 29-48 (.377). The Big XII is fourth, having gone 26-45 (.366) against such teams. The ACC is fifth, going 23-49 (.319) and finally, the Big Ten is last, with a record of 15-40 (.273) against teams with a winning record.

I will next look at the balance of the conferences and their depth. I will do that by excluding the top two teams from every conference to see how much they skew the conference's numbers. I will exclude Louisville and Rutgers from the Big East, Michigan and Ohio State from the Big Ten, Florida and Arkansas from the SEC, USC and California from the Pac-10, Oklahoma and Nebraska from the Big XII, and finally, Boston College and Virginia Tech from the ACC. If I exclude these teams and their records against bowl eligible teams and winning clubs, the Big XII ranks first with their left over record against bowl eligibles being 29-48 (.377). The Pac-10 is second with a record of 26-44 (.371). The SEC is third with a record of 25-47 (.347). The ACC ranks fourth with a record of 23-52 (.307). The Big East ranks fifth with a record of 11-29 (.275). Finally, the Big Ten ranks last with a record of 15-44 (.254). When excluding these teams, the conference with the best winning percentage against clubs with winning records is the Pac-10, as they have gone 19-37 (.339). The SEC is 2nd, going 20-45 (.308). The Big XII is third, having gone 18-41 (.305). The ACC is 4th, having gone 14-45 (.237). The Big East is fifth- they've gone 7-25 (.219). Again, the Big Ten is ranked last, having gone 6-39 (.133). I will now only look at the two teams I excluded from each conference in the previous rankings to calculate how large of a percentage the teams make up in the conference's wins against bowl eligible opponents and their wins against teams with records above .500. Oklahoma and Nebraska only make up 25.6% of the Big XII's win against bowl eligible teams to rank them first. Florida and Arkansas make up 34.2% of the SEC's wins against bowl eligibles to rank them second. Boston College and Virginia Tech make up 34.3% of the ACC's wins against potential bowlers to rank them third. USC and California have won 35.0% of the Pac-10's games against bowl eligible teams to rank the conference fourth. Michigan and Ohio State have made up 46.4% of the Big Ten's wins against bowl eligible teams to rank them fifth. Finally, Louisville and Rutgers have made up 54.2% of the Big East's wins against bowl eligibles to rank them last amongst major conferences. Nebraska and Oklahoma have only won 30.8% of the Big XII's victories against teams with winning records to rank the conference first again. The SEC is again second, with Florida and Arkansas winning 31.0% of the conference's games against teams with winning records. The Pac-10 is third, USC and California making up 34.5% of the conference's wins against teams above .500. Virginia Tech and Boston College have won 39.1% of the ACC conference's games against teams with winning records to rank the conference fourth. The Big East is fifth, with Rutgers and Louisville winning 58.8% of the conference's games against teams with an above .500 record. Finally, the Big Ten finishes last, as Ohio State and Michigan have made up 60.0% of the conference's wins against teams better than .500.

Finally, I have averaged the conference's wins against bowl eligible teams and winning clubs by the number of teams in conference to calculate the average number of wins per conference in both categories. The Pac-10 ranks first against bowl eligible teams with an average of 4.0 wins per team. The Big XII is second, hauling in an average of 3.3 wins per club. The SEC is third, with an average of 3.2 wins. The Big East is 4th, raking in an average of 3.0 wins. The ACC is 5th, each team winning an average of 2.9 games against bowl eligible teams. In last again is the Big Ten, who have averaged to win 2.5 games against bowl eligible programs. The Pac-10 is fist in the average number of wins each team has against opponents with a winning record with 2.9. The SEC is 2nd with 2.4. The Big XII is third with 2.2. The Big East is ranked fourth with an average of 2.1. The ACC is fifth with an average of 1.9 victories per team against opponents with a winning record. Finally, the Big Ten averages 1.4 such wins per club.

There were twelve total categories and to my surprise, the Pac-10 finished first. I tallied conferences numbers based on their ranking, so like in golf, the lower the number, the better the score. Here are the final results:

1. Pac-10 (20: 1, 1, 1, 3, 4, 3, 1, 1, 2, 1, 1, 1)
2. SEC (31: 6, 2, 2, 1, 2, 2, 3, 2, 3, 2, 3, 3)
3. Big XII (36: 5, 6, 2, 4, 1, 3, 4, 4, 1, 1, 2, 3)
4. Big East (44: 4, 3, 2, 2, 5, 5, 2, 2, 6, 5, 4, 4)
5. ACC (52: 2, 5, 5, 5, 4, 4, 5, 5, 3, 4, 5, 5)
6. Big Ten (66: 3, 4, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 5, 6, 6, 6)

If one wants to compute things differently, they could tally up the rankings and power points of each major conference team and come to a power ranking average. This is how the conferences rank, first according to their actual ranking and second, according to their power numbers. Keep in mind that the power scores represent three major factors: 1) the team's record, 2) their opponents' record, and 3) their average margin of victory. The value of the numbers are displayed as I just wrote them, starting with the team's own winning percentage and moving on down from there.

1. Big East (38.9: 2, 8, 13, 39, 41, 52, 75, 80)
2. SEC (42.2: 6, 7, 14, 18, 19, 33, 35, 50, 57, 84, 87, 96)
3. Big XII (50.3: 15, 17, 20, 24, 30, 42, 42, 56, 66, 90, 97, 105)
4. Pac-10 (50.5: 3, 21, 32, 45, 45, 52, 59, 65, 69, 114)
5. Big Ten (51.1: 1, 5, 10, 27, 51, 52, 62, 77, 81, 92, 104)
6. ACC (54.3: 12, 22, 25, 26, 27, 44, 47, 64, 73, 91, 103, 117)

1. Big East (122.9: 167.8, 153.8, 148.9, 117.0, 116.3, 108.5, 87.4, 83.2)
2. SEC (120.9: 162.0, 159.8, 148.3, 143.6, 142.5, 122.8, 121.9, 109.6, 106.4, 82.6, 79.8, 71.9)
3. Big Ten (113.5: 176.6, 164.9, 150.0, 129.7, 108.6, 108.5, 104.3, 85.0, 83.1, 73.6, 64.6)
4. Pac-10 (112.03: 167.3, 138.1, 123.6, 114.7, 114.7, 108.5, 105.8, 102.3, 95.6, 49.7)
5. Big XII (112.025: 147.7, 146.7, 139.8, 135.5, 128.5, 116.1, 116.1, 106.7, 98.6, 76.0, 70.4, 62.2)6. ACC (106.5: 149.0, 137.0, 135.1, 132.2, 129.7, 115.6, 112.4, 102.7, 88.9, 74.5, 67.4, 33.9)

If one wants to delve into things even further, we could average the conferences' rankings from the three sets of standings above.

1. Big East (6: 4, 1, 1)
1. SEC (6: 2, 2, 2)
3. Pac-10 (9: 1, 4, 4)
4. Big XII (11: 3, 3, 5)
5. Big Ten (14: 6, 5, 3)
6. ACC (17: 5, 6, 6)

If one believes that the two sets of rankings I just mentioned are too similar and shouldn't be noted separately, then we could average the conferences' rankings in those two sets and make that equivalent to one set and then average that number with the first set of rankings. The results would be as follows.

1. SEC (4: 2, 2)
2. Big East (5: 1, 4)
2. Pac-10 (5: 1, 4)
4. Big XII (7: 3, 4)
5. Big Ten (10: 6, 4)
6. ACC (11: 5, 6)

My Top 119 Poll
1. Ohio State (12-0): 176.6
2. Louisville (10-1): 167.8
3. USC (10-1): 167.3
4. Boise State (12-0): 166.8
5. Michigan (11-1): 164.9
6. Florida (11-1): 162.0
7. LSU (10-2): 159.8
8. Rutgers (10-1): 153.8
9. BYU (10-2): 150.4
10. Wisconsin (11-1): 150.0
11. Hawaii (10-2): 149.3
12. Virginia Tech (10-2): 149.0
13. West Virginia (9-2): 148.9
14. Auburn (10-2): 148.3
15. Texas (9-3): 147.7
16. Notre Dame (10-2): 147.3
17. Oklahoma (10-2): 146.7
18. Arkansas (10-2): 143.6
19. Tennessee (9-3): 142.5
20. Nebraska (9-3): 139.8
21. California (8-3): 138.1
22. Clemson (8-4): 137.0
23. TCU (9-2): 136.1
24. Texas A&M (9-3): 135.5
25. Boston College (9-3): 135.1
26. Wake Forest (10-2): 132.2
27. Georgia Tech (9-3): 129.7
27. Penn State (8-4): 129.7
29. Houston (9-3): 128.7
30. Missouri (8-4): 128.5
31. Tulsa (8-4): 123.8
32. Oregon State (8-4): 123.6
33. South Carolina (7-5): 122.8
34. Nevada (8-4): 122.2
35. Georgia (8-4): 121.9
36. Southern Mississippi (8-4): 119.6
37. Ohio (9-3): 118.6
38. Central Michigan (8-4): 117.3
39. Navy (8-3): 117.0
39. South Florida (8-4): 117.0
41. Cincinnati (7-5): 116.3
42. Oklahoma State (6-6): 116.1
42. Texas Tech (7-5): 116.1
44. Maryland (8-4): 115.6
45. Oregon (7-5): 114.7
45. UCLA (6-5): 114.7
47. Florida State (6-6): 112.4
48. Western Michigan (8-4): 111.3
49. Utah (7-5): 110.4
50. Kentucky (7-5): 109.6
51. Minnesota (6-6): 108.6
52. Arizona State (7-5): 108.5
52. East Carolina (7-5): 108.5
52. Pittsburgh (6-6): 108.5
52. Purdue (8-5): 108.5
56. Kansas State (7-5): 106.7
57. Alabama (6-6): 106.4
58. Northern Illinois (7-5): 106.2
59. Washington State (6-6): 105.8
60. Middle Tennessee State (7-5): 104.9
61. San Jose State (7-4): 104.6
62. Iowa (6-6): 104.3
63. Rice (7-5): 102.8
64. Miami (Florida) (6-6): 102.7
65. Arizona (6-6): 102.3
66. Kansas (6-6): 98.6
67. SMU (6-6): 96.7
68. Wyoming (6-6): 96.6
69. Washington (5-7): 95.6
70. Troy (6-5): 95.3
71. Louisiana-Lafayette (6-5): 94.6
72. New Mexico (6-6): 91.2
73. Virginia (5-7): 88.9
74. Air Force (4-7): 88.8
75. Connecticut (4-7): 87.4
76. Ball State (5-7): 86.3
77. Indiana (5-7): 85.0
78. Kent State (6-6): 84.8
79. Akron (5-7): 83.9
80. Syracuse (4-8): 83.2
81. Fresno State (4-7): 83.1
81. Michigan State (4-8): 83.1
83. Marshall (5-7): 82.8
84. Vanderbilt (4-8): 82.6
85. Arkansas State (6-6): 82.1
86. UTEP (5-7): 81.5
87. Mississippi (4-8): 79.8
88. Toledo (5-7): 78.8
89. Colorado State (4-7): 76.5
90. Baylor (4-8): 76.0
91. North Carolina State (3-9): 74.5
92. Florida Atlantic (5-7): 73.6
92. Northwestern (4-8): 73.6
94. Tulane (4-8): 73.5
95. Central Florida (4-8): 72.2
96. Mississippi State (3-9): 71.9
97. Iowa State (4-8): 70.4
98. UAB (3-9): 68.7
99. New Mexico State (3-8): 68.5
100. Bowling Green (4-8): 67.9
101. Louisiana-Monroe (3-8): 67.8
102. Army (3-8): 67.5
103. North Carolina (3-9): 67.4
104. Illinois (2-10): 64.6
105. Colorado (2-10): 62.2
106. Idaho (4-8): 62.0
107. North Texas (3-9): 58.2
108. Miami (Ohio) (2-10): 57.5
109. Memphis (2-10): 56.6
110. Louisiana Tech (3-9): 54.6
110. San Diego State (2-9): 54.6
112. UNLV (2-10): 54.3
113. Buffalo (2-10): 53.2
114. Stanford (1-10): 49.7
115. Eastern Michigan (1-11): 47.5
116. Utah State (1-11): 40.2
117. Duke (0-12): 33.9
118. Temple (1-11): 33.5
119. Florida International (0-11): 30.9

Week 12 NFL Picks and Results

Thursday
Miami at Detroit: The Lions have been playing very poorly on Thanksgiving the past couple years. Miami is playing their typical second half ball under Nick Saban and Joey Harrington will come back to Ford Field with something to prove to the Lions' fans.
Miami 24 Detroit 10
Miami 27 Detroit 10 (1-0)

Tampa Bay at Dallas: Unless the Cowboys collapse because of the shortened week and a letdown, I can't see them losing this one.
Dallas 20 Tampa Bay 10
Dallas 38 Tampa Bay 10 (2-0)

Denver at Kansas City: It's hard enough to win at Arrowhead as it is. On Thanksgiving and coming off a Sunday night home loss to San Diego, it's going to be extra tough for the Broncos.
Kansas City 20 Denver 17
Kansas City 19 Denver 10 (3-0)

Sunday
Jacksonville at Buffalo: Even in their shortened week, I like the Jaguars and their defense to come through big in Buffalo.
Jacksonville 24 Buffalo 14
Buffalo 27 Jacksonville 24 (3-1)

Houston at NY Jets: With the game in NY and the Jets wanting to rebound from their disappointing 10-0 loss to Chicago, I'm going with the J-E-T-S, Jets, Jets, Jets!
NY Jets 24 Houston 17
NY Jets 26 Houston 11 (4-1)

Pittsburgh at Baltimore: Pitt is starting to play better ball, but will that be enough to overtake the 8-2 Baltimore Ravens? Signs point to yes according to my magic 8 ball.
Pittsburgh 21 Baltimore 17
Baltimore 27 Pittsburgh 0 (4-2)

Cincinnati at Cleveland: The Bengals' defense played some opportunistic football last week against the Saints. They should have an easier go of it against the Browns. I look for Cincy to get back on track to improve to 6-5.
Cincinnati 27 Cleveland 17
Cincinnati 30 Cleveland 0 (5-2)

Arizona at Minnesota: Minnesota is sinking fast, but at home against the Cards, I like the Vikings in this one.
Minnesota 17 Arizona 10
Minnesota 31 Arizona 26 (6-2)

San Francisco at St. Louis: The Rams are falling apart and what? The 49ers are 5-5? That's hard for me to believe. Even though the Niners have all the momentum right now, it's hard for me to pick them on the road in St. Louis.
St. Louis 24 San Francisco 17
St. Louis 20 San Francisco 17 (7-2)

New Orleans at Atlanta: It's now or never for the reeling Falcons. Even after their three-game losing streak, they're just a game back of both New Orleans and Carolina. A loss here would essentially put them three games back of the Saints (with the head-to-head tie-breaker). With the game at home and potentially getting John Abraham and Ed Hartwell back on defense, I like Atlanta to get back on track with this one.
Atlanta 27 New Orleans 24
New Orleans 31 Atlanta 13 (7-3)

Carolina at Washington: Jason Campbell performed well in his debut, but he hasn't seen the Panther defense. I like Carolina to keep on rolling with a win in D.C.
Carolina 24 Washington 10
Washington 17 Carolina 13 (7-4)

Chicago at New England: With this game being in Foxboro and the Bears offense not clicking on too many cylinders of late, I'm going with the Pats.
New England 17 Chicago 14
New England 17 Chicago 13 (8-4)

Philadelphia at Indianapolis: The Eagles McNabbless against the Colts in Indy following their first loss of the season? Yeah, I'm thinking Indy.
Indianapolis 28 Philadelphia 10
Indianapolis 45 Philadelphia 21 (9-4)

NY Giants at Tennessee: The G-Men should bounce back from their poor showing in the Monday night game against Jacksonville. They better. There are plenty of teams breathing down their neck at 6-4, 5-5, and 4-6.
NY Giants 24 Tennessee 17
Tennessee 24 NY Giants 21 (9-5)

Oakland at San Diego: One of the worst against one of the best. I wonder who I'll pick in this one.
San Diego 24 Oakland 3
San Diego 21 Oakland 14 (10-5)

Monday
Green Bay at Seattle: If the game was played at Lambeau and I was guaranteed Brett Favre's health, I may go with the upset, but with neither of those factors appearing to be very relevant (for the former) or certain (for the latter), I'm going with the Seahawks.
Seattle 24 Green Bay 10
Seattle 34 Green Bay 24 (11-5)

Week 12 Record: 11-5 (.688)
Overall Record: 102-72 (.586)

Week 13 College Football Picks and Results

Tuesday
Bowling Green at Toledo (+6): Bowling Green has lost four straight, including one to Temple (their lone win of the season). Toledo hasn't faired too much better, but well enough for me to pick them at home in this one.
Toledo 28 Bowling Green 17
Toledo 31 Bowling Green 21 (1-0) (1-0)

Thursday
Boston College (+3.5) at Miami (Florida): Without Kyle Wright at quarterback and all the other adversity Miami has had to face throughout the season, it's tough for me to pick them in this one.
Boston College 21 Miami (Florida) 10
Miami (Florida) 17 Boston College 14 (1-1) (1-1)

Friday
Northern Illinois (+7) at Eastern Michigan: Northern Illinois has been up and down all year. They should carry some momentum with them into this game following their 31-10 blowout win over Central Michigan.
Northern Illinois 28 Eastern Michigan 14
Northern Illinois 27 Eastern Michigan 0 (2-1) (2-1)

Ohio (+3.5) at Miami (Ohio): At 8-3 and rolling as of late, Frank Solich's Bobcats should seal the deal on their way to the MAC title game.
Ohio 24 Miami (Ohio) 14
Ohio 34 Miami (Ohio) 24 (3-1) (3-1)

Kent State at Ball State (+4): Kent State has been very inconsistent during their 6-5 campaign. I look for them to finish the season on a high note against the Cardinals.
Kent State 24 Ball State 21
Ball State 30 Kent State 6 (3-2) (3-2)

Texas A&M at Texas (+13): Colt McCoy is expected to be back, but that's still not enough for me to take the 'Horns to cover the spread. Texas has the better team, but with McCoy's health being questionable and TAMU having a knack for playing the close games, I'm thinking this rivalry will not disappoint its fans.
Texas 31 Texas A&M 24
Texas A&M 12 Texas 7 (3-3) (4-2)

Central Michigan (+17) at Buffalo: CMU fell flat on their face in the loss to Northern Illinois last week. This will be a good bounce-back game against the 2-9 Bulls.
Central Michigan 31 Buffalo 17
Central Michigan 55 Buffalo 28 (4-3) (4-3)

Western Michigan at Akron (+2): The Zips need this one to finish with six wins and an outside chance at a bowl game. But, going up against the rugged and tough WMU defense, I don't think that'll happen.
Western Michigan 21 Akron 17
Western Michigan 17 Akron 0 (5-3) (5-3)

LSU (+1.5) at Arkansas: I'm pulling for the 'Hogs, but I like how LSU's defense matches up with the Arkansas offense more than Arkansas' defense with the LSU offense. It should be a good and semi low-scoring game, but I like LSU to officially end Arkansas' title dreams.
LSU 24 Arkansas 21
LSU 31 Arkansas 26 (6-3) (6-3)

Tulane at Tulsa (+6.5): Tulsa has lost three straight after starting the year 7-1. With the game at home, I like the Golden Hurricane to end their current skid.
Tulsa 31 Tulane 21
Tulsa 38 Tulane 3 (7-3) (7-3)

Colorado at Nebraska (+15): Will Colorado's offense make an appearance like they did in their two wins against Texas Tech and Iowa State? I'm not thinking so, but their defense should keep things from getting too ugly.
Nebraska 24 Colorado 10
Nebraska 37 Colorado 14 (8-3) (7-4)

Oregon at Oregon State (+3): The Ducks are struggling and should fall on the losing end in the Civil War in Corvallis unless they get things turned around and fast!
Oregon State 28 Oregon 21
Oregon State 30 Oregon 28 (9-3) (7-5)

Air Force (+11) at UNLV: UNLV is stuck at one win, with that win coming against a Division I-AA squad. They'll remain stuck at that one win following this game.
Air Force 24 UNLV 14
UNLV 42 Air Force 39 (9-4) (8-5)

Fresno State (+12) at Louisiana Tech: Following their brutal schedule in the first half of the season, Fresno has a chance to close the season out strong. Already winners of two in a row, this one should make that three.
Fresno State 31 Louisiana Tech 17
Fresno State 34 Louisiana Tech 27 (10-4) (8-6)

Saturday
South Florida at West Virginia (+19.5): USF has struggled some on the road this year. The only thing playing in their favor is the possibility of West Virginia overlooking them as they play Rutgers next week. Even if that's the case, I see the Mountaineers coming out victorious.
West Virginia 45 South Florida 21
South Florida 24 West Virginia 19 (10-5) (8-7)

Kentucky at Tennessee (+19): The Vols played exceptionally well last week against their in-state rivals Vanderbilt. Kentucky had a serious let-down against Louisiana-Monroe and nearly lost the game. UK should be focused again in Knoxville, not enough to pull off the upset, but enough to make things fairly interesting.
Tennessee 35 Kentucky 24
Tennessee 17 Kentucky 12 (11-5) (9-7)

Wake Forest at Maryland (+1.5): Neither team has won pretty this year and both are coming off devastating losses, as Maryland got beat down by Boston College 38-16 and Wake got similarly annihilated by Virginia Tech 27-6. With the game at home, I'm giving the slight edge to Maryland.
Maryland 24 Wake Forest 21
Wake Forest 38 Maryland 24 (11-6) (9-8)

East Carolina at NC State (+2.5): How can the Wolfpack be favorites? They lost by two touchdowns last week to then one-win North Carolina. I don't care what conference they play in, I'm going with ECU.
East Carolina 21 NC State 14
East Carolina 21 NC State 16 (12-6) (10-8)

Syracuse at Rutgers (+14.5): Will the Scarlet Knights bounce back like West Virginia and Louisville both did following their losses? Or will they collapse and fall flat on their face the rest of the way through due to that one flat effort and showing? With the game back at home, I'm thinking the former is more likely than the latter.
Rutgers 24 Syracuse 7
Rutgers 38 Syracuse 7 (13-6) (11-8)

Kansas at Missouri (+7): These two clubs are going in opposite directions and even with the game in Columbia, I give the edge to the Jayhawks.
Kansas 31 Missouri 24
Missouri 42 Kansas 17 (13-7) (11-9)

North Carolina (+6.5) at Duke: Here it is, Duke's last chance of the season to get a victory. Unfortunately for them, I'm not seeing it happen.
North Carolina 24 Duke 10
North Carolina 45 Duke 44 (14-7) (11-10)

UAB at Central Florida (+2): George O'Leary's Golden Knights have not played up to their expectations this season following a bowl appearance last year. In any case, UAB hasn't been playing well either and with the game at home, I look for UCF to close the year out with a win.
Central Florida 24 UAB 21
Central Florida 31 UAB 22 (15-7) (12-10)

San Diego State at New Mexico (+10): I'm not picking SDSU to beat the spread anymore. Just from saying that, they'll probably do it this week.
New Mexico 31 San Diego State 17
New Mexico 41 San Diego State 14 (16-7) (13-10)

Oklahoma (+6) at Oklahoma State: The Cowboys have a way of giving their inner-state rivals fits, especially in Stillwater. I look for recent history to repeat itself with OSU pulling off another win at home against the Sooners.
Oklahoma State 31 Oklahoma 28
Oklahoma 27 Oklahoma State 21 (16-8) (13-11)

SMU at Rice (+4): Both teams are playing better ball of late. SMU is bowl eligible at 6-5 following a win against Tulsa a week ago. Rice is also 6-5 and winners of five straight. Being on such a roll and with the game at home, I give the slight edge to Rice.
Rice 24 SMU 21
Rice 31 SMU 27 (17-8) (13-12)

New Mexico State (+6) at Utah State: Here it is! New Mexico State has the opportunity to beat a Division I-A team. Both their wins this season have come against Division I-AA clubs. Unless they lay a flat egg on offense, I see the Aggies doing just that.
New Mexico State 28 Utah State 21
New Mexico State 42 Utah State 20 (18-8) (14-12)

Marshall at Southern Miss (+7.5): The Thundering Herd needs this one to become bowl eligible. In Hattiesberg, that's going to be quite difficult. I do look for them to keep it close until the end, though.
Southern Miss 28 Marshall 21
Southern Miss 42 Marshall 7 (19-8) (14-13)

Florida (+10) at Florida State: The Gators are a ten-point favorite over FSU in Tallahassee? When's the last time that happened? Florida, while being 10-1, hasn't dominated many opponents in terms of final score. I'd be hard-pressed in seeing this game being anything different.
Florida 24 Florida State 17
Florida 21 Florida State 14 (20-8) (15-13)

BYU (+11.5) at Utah: BYU is rolling, winners of eight straight. Chalk up number nine as they beat their inner-state rivals by a couple touchdowns.
BYU 31 Utah 17
BYU 33 Utah 31 (21-8) (15-14)

Mississippi State at Mississippi (+3): The one thing that would shock me about the outcome of this game is if there were many points scored. Neither team's offense has fared all too well, while their defense has been aggressive, stingy, and what's kept them afloat in some ball games. At home in Oxford, I'm giving the slight edge to the Rebs.
Mississippi 17 Mississippi State 14
Mississippi 20 Mississippi State 17 (22-8) (16-14)

San Jose State (+7) at Idaho: Idaho is coming off a humiliating loss at the hands of 3-7 Fresno State. Look for them to fall again.
San Jose State 28 Idaho 14
San Jose State 28 Idaho 13 (23-8) (17-14)

Arizona State at Arizona (+4): Arizona has beaten: Washington State (6-6), California (8-3), and Oregon (7-4) consecutively to become 6-5 and become bowl eligible. ASU has been all over the place and is playing their rival at the wrong time.
Arizona 28 Arizona State 24
Arizona State 28 Arizona 14 (23-9) (17-15)

TCU (+9.5) at Colorado State: TCU is coming off a 52-0 shutout win over San Diego State and is playing some of their best ball of the season. Following a strong start (due to their weak schedule), CSU has struggled immensely. These trends should continue in this game.
TCU 31 Colorado State 14
TCU 45 Colorado State 14 (24-9) (18-15)

Cincinnati (+4) at UConn: This has all the ingredients of a let-down game for the Bearcats and UConn is not a team they want to have that fallback against. But with how tough a schedule they've played thus far and how competitive they've been against those teams (outside of the loss to West Virginia), I can't see this tough-nosed team doing that.
Cincinnati 17 UConn 10
Cincinnati 26 UConn 23 (25-9) (18-16)

Louisville (+12) at Pittsburgh: What happened to Pitt? This is a club that started the year 6-1, but have since lost four straight and it'll come as quite a shock if that doesn't become five after this game.
Louisville 38 Pittsburgh 24
Louisville 48 Pittsburgh 24 (26-9) (19-16)

Georgia Tech at Georgia (+2): Georgia has a very solid defense, but Tech's defense isn't to be overlooked. Offensively, GT definitely holds the advantage with one Calvin Johnson. If quarterback Reggie Ball can get him the football and avoid making mistakes, Tech should come out of Athens with a big W.
Georgia Tech 17 Georgia 14
Georgia 15 Georgia Tech 12 (26-10) (19-17)

Virginia at Virginia Tech (+17.5): Both teams are playing some of their best football of the season. Virginia Tech improved to 9-2 following the 27-6 dismantling of then one-loss Wake Forest a week ago on the road. Virginia improved to 5-6 following their 17-7 win over Miami. With the game at Lane Stadium, I like the Hokies in this one, but think the spread is a bit much.
Virginia Tech 24 Virginia 10
Virginia Tech 17 Virginia 0 (27-10) (20-17)

South Carolina at Clemson (+5): The Tigers have been struggling as of late and Carolina has been playing some good football, especially on the defensive end. Even though I think Clemson may be the more talented and better of the two teams, I'm leaning toward the Gamecocks to pull this one out.
South Carolina 24 Clemson 21
South Carolina 31 Clemson 28 (28-10) (21-17)

Notre Dame at USC (+7): When's the last time Notre Dame played a defense as good as USC's? Michigan. What happened in that game? They lost by twenty-six points. The Irish are coming off wins against: Stanford, Air Force, Navy, North Carolina, and Army. It'll be hard for them to go from playing the academies alongside a one-win Stanford club and a two-win North Carolina program to a 9-1 USC team at the Coliseum.
USC 31 Notre Dame 17
USC 44 Notre Dame 24 (29-10) (22-17)

Memphis at UTEP (+11.5): How inconsistent is UTEP this year? Geesh. Even so, at home, with Jordan Palmer at the helm, I like the Miners to break even for the year and pray for a bowl game at 6-6.
UTEP 35 Memphis 21
Memphis 38 UTEP 19 (29-11) (22-18)

Boise State (+3) at Nevada: This has to be one of the toughest games Boise State has had to face this year. How focused are they? Are they upset that they have no chance to go to the title game as an unbeaten? Or are they bound and determined to just go to a BCS bowl game? Nevada has won five in a row and eight of nine. I'm half-tempted to take the Wolfpack, but with how much is at stake in this game for the Broncos, I'm going to go with them by a field goal.
Boise State 31 Nevada 28
Boise State 38 Nevada 7 (30-11) (23-18)

Purdue at Hawaii (+17): Does Purdue want to show itself as being legit? Beat the 9-2 Warriors at their home stadium. Purdue has yet to beat a team with a winning record this year. I don't expect them to start there in this game.
Hawaii 49 Purdue 24
Hawaii 42 Purdue 35 (31-11) (23-19)

Troy at Middle Tennessee State (+9.5): This game is for the Sun Belt title. At home, I give the edge to the 7-4 Blue Raiders (only four losses to: Oklahoma, Louisville, Maryland, and South Carolina). I look for Troy to keep it fairly close, however.
Middle Tennessee State 24 Troy 17
Troy 21 Middle Tennessee State 20 (31-12) (24-19)

Arkansas State at Louisiana-Lafayette (+5): Just like with the previous Sun Belt game, I'm going to give the advantage to the home team.
Louisiana-Lafayette 28 Arkansas State 21
Louisiana-Lafayette 28 Arkansas State 13 (32-12) (25-19)

Florida International at Florida Atlantic (+4.5): Could the winless Golden Panthers win their one and only game against their inner-state rival? I'm not thinking so and neither is Howard Schnellenberger.
Florida Atlantic 24 Florida International 14
Florida Atlantic 31 Florida International 0 (33-12) (26-19)

North Texas at Louisiana-Monroe (+7): Flip a coin on this one. I'm going with the Mean Green of North Texas in a very close game.
North Texas 17 Louisiana-Monroe 14
Louisiana-Monroe 23 North Texas 3 (33-13) (26-20)

Week 13 Record For the Win: 33-13 (.717)
Overall Record For the Win: 453-168 (.729)
Week 13 Record Vs. the Spread: 26-20 (.565)
Overall Record Vs. the Spread: 305-316 (.491)

Week 12 NFL Predictions

Thursday
Miami at Detroit: The Lions have been playing very poorly on Thanksgiving the past couple years. Miami is playing their typical second half ball under Nick Saban and Joey Harrington will come back to Ford Field with something to prove to the Lions' fans.
Miami 24 Detroit 10

Tampa Bay at Dallas: Unless the Cowboys collapse because of the shortened week and a letdown, I can't see them losing this one.
Dallas 20 Tampa Bay 10

Denver at Kansas City: It's hard enough to win at Arrowhead as it is. On Thanksgiving and coming off a Sunday night home loss to San Diego, it's going to be extra tough for the Broncos.
Kansas City 20 Denver 17

Sunday
Jacksonville at Buffalo: Even in their shortened week, I like the Jaguars and their defense to come through big in Buffalo.
Jacksonville 24 Buffalo 14

Houston at NY Jets: With the game in NY and the Jets wanting to rebound from their disappointing 10-0 loss to Chicago, I'm going with the J-E-T-S, Jets, Jets, Jets!
NY Jets 24 Houston 17

Pittsburgh at Baltimore: Pitt is starting to play better ball, but will that be enough to overtake the 8-2 Baltimore Ravens? Signs point to yes according to my magic 8 ball.
Pittsburgh 21 Baltimore 17

Cincinnati at Cleveland: The Bengals' defense played some opportunistic football last week against the Saints. They should have an easier go of it against the Browns. I look for Cincy to get back on track to improve to 6-5.
Cincinnati 27 Cleveland 17

Arizona at Minnesota: Minnesota is sinking fast, but at home against the Cards, I like the Vikings in this one.
Minnesota 17 Arizona 10

San Francisco at St. Louis: The Rams are falling apart and what? The 49ers are 5-5? That's hard for me to believe. Even though the Niners have all the momentum right now, it's hard for me to pick them on the road in St. Louis.
St. Louis 24 San Francisco 17

New Orleans at Atlanta: It's now or never for the reeling Falcons. Even after their three-game losing streak, they're just a game back of both New Orleans and Carolina. A loss here would essentially put them three games back of the Saints (with the head-to-head tie-breaker). With the game at home and potentially getting John Abraham and Ed Hartwell back on defense, I like Atlanta to get back on track with this one.
Atlanta 27 New Orleans 24

Carolina at Washington: Jason Campbell performed well in his debut, but he hasn't seen the Panther defense. I like Carolina to keep on rolling with a win in D.C.
Carolina 24 Washington 10

Chicago at New England: With this game being in Foxboro and the Bears offense not clicking on too many cylinders of late, I'm going with the Pats.
New England 17 Chicago 14

Philadelphia at Indianapolis: The Eagles McNabbless against the Colts in Indy following their first loss of the season? Yeah, I'm thinking Indy.
Indianapolis 28 Philadelphia 10

NY Giants at Tennessee: The G-Men should bounce back from their poor showing in the Monday night game against Jacksonville. They better. There are plenty of teams breathing down their neck at 6-4, 5-5, and 4-6.
NY Giants 24 Tennessee 17

Oakland at San Diego: One of the worst against one of the best. I wonder who I'll pick in this one.
San Diego 24 Oakland 3

Week 13 College Football Predictions

Tuesday
Bowling Green at Toledo (+6): Bowling Green has lost four straight, including one to Temple (their lone win of the season). Toledo hasn't faired too much better, but well enough for me to pick them at home in this one.
Toledo 28 Bowling Green 17

Thursday
Boston College (+3.5) at Miami (Florida): Without Kyle Wright at quarterback and all the other adversity Miami has had to face throughout the season, it's tough for me to pick them in this one.
Boston College 21 Miami (Florida) 10

Friday
Northern Illinois (+7) at Eastern Michigan: Northern Illinois has been up and down all year. They should carry some momentum with them into this game following their 31-10 blowout win over Central Michigan.
Northern Illinois 28 Eastern Michigan 14

Ohio (+3.5) at Miami (Ohio): At 8-3 and rolling as of late, Frank Solich's Bobcats should seal the deal on their way to the MAC title game.
Ohio 24 Miami (Ohio) 14

Kent State at Ball State (+4): Kent State has been very inconsistent during their 6-5 campaign. I look for them to finish the season on a high note against the Cardinals.
Kent State 24 Ball State 21

Texas A&M at Texas (+13): Colt McCoy is expected to be back, but that's still not enough for me to take the 'Horns to cover the spread. Texas has the better team, but with McCoy's health being questionable and TAMU having a knack for playing the close games, I'm thinking this rivalry will not disappoint its fans.
Texas 31 Texas A&M 24

Central Michigan (+17) at Buffalo: CMU fell flat on their face in the loss to Northern Illinois last week. This will be a good bounce-back game against the 2-9 Bulls.
Central Michigan 31 Buffalo 17

Western Michigan at Akron (+2): The Zips need this one to finish with six wins and an outside chance at a bowl game. But, going up against the rugged and tough WMU defense, I don't think that'll happen.
Western Michigan 21 Akron 17

LSU (+1.5) at Arkansas: I'm pulling for the 'Hogs, but I like how LSU's defense matches up with the Arkansas offense more than Arkansas' defense with the LSU offense. It should be a good and semi low-scoring game, but I like LSU to officially end Arkansas' title dreams.
LSU 24 Arkansas 21

Tulane at Tulsa (+6.5): Tulsa has lost three straight after starting the year 7-1. With the game at home, I like the Golden Hurricane to end their current skid.
Tulsa 31 Tulane 21

Colorado at Nebraska (+15): Will Colorado's offense make an appearance like they did in their two wins against Texas Tech and Iowa State? I'm not thinking so, but their defense should keep things from getting too ugly.
Nebraska 24 Colorado 10

Oregon at Oregon State (+3): The Ducks are struggling and should fall on the losing end in the Civil War in Corvallis unless they get things turned around and fast!
Oregon State 28 Oregon 21

Air Force (+11) at UNLV: UNLV is stuck at one win, with that win coming against a Division I-AA squad. They'll remain stuck at that one win following this game.
Air Force 24 UNLV 14

Fresno State (+12) at Louisiana Tech: Following their brutal schedule in the first half of the season, Fresno has a chance to close the season out strong. Already winners of two in a row, this one should make that three.
Fresno State 31 Louisiana Tech 17

Saturday
South Florida at West Virginia (+19.5): USF has struggled some on the road this year. The only thing playing in their favor is the possibility of West Virginia overlooking them as they play Rutgers next week. Even if that's the case, I see the Mountaineers coming out victorious.
West Virginia 45 South Florida 21

Kentucky at Tennessee (+19): The Vols played exceptionally well last week against their in-state rivals Vanderbilt. Kentucky had a serious let-down against Louisiana-Monroe and nearly lost the game. UK should be focused again in Knoxville, not enough to pull off the upset, but enough to make things fairly interesting.
Tennessee 35 Kentucky 24

Wake Forest at Maryland (+1.5): Neither team has won pretty this year and both are coming off devastating losses, as Maryland got beat down by Boston College 38-16 and Wake got similarly annihilated by Virginia Tech 27-6. With the game at home, I'm giving the slight edge to Maryland.
Maryland 24 Wake Forest 21

East Carolina at NC State (+2.5): How can the Wolfpack be favorites? They lost by two touchdowns last week to then one-win North Carolina. I don't care what conference they play in, I'm going with ECU.
East Carolina 21 NC State 14

Syracuse at Rutgers (+14.5): Will the Scarlet Knights bounce back like West Virginia and Louisville both did following their losses? Or will they collapse and fall flat on their face the rest of the way through due to that one flat effort and showing? With the game back at home, I'm thinking the former is more likely than the latter.
Rutgers 24 Syracuse 7

Kansas at Missouri (+7): These two clubs are going in opposite directions and even with the game in Columbia, I give the edge to the Jayhawks.
Kansas 31 Missouri 24

North Carolina (+6.5) at Duke: Here it is, Duke's last chance of the season to get a victory. Unfortunately for them, I'm not seeing it happen.
North Carolina 24 Duke 10

UAB at Central Florida (+2): George O'Leary's Golden Knights have not played up to their expectations this season following a bowl appearance last year. In any case, UAB hasn't been playing well either and with the game at home, I look for UCF to close the year out with a win.
Central Florida 24 UAB 21

San Diego State at New Mexico (+10): I'm not picking SDSU to beat the spread anymore. Just from saying that, they'll probably do it this week.
New Mexico 31 San Diego State 17

Oklahoma (+6) at Oklahoma State: The Cowboys have a way of giving their inner-state rivals fits, especially in Stillwater. I look for recent history to repeat itself with OSU pulling off another win at home against the Sooners.
Oklahoma State 31 Oklahoma 28

SMU at Rice (+4): Both teams are playing better ball of late. SMU is bowl eligible at 6-5 following a win against Tulsa a week ago. Rice is also 6-5 and winners of five straight. Being on such a roll and with the game at home, I give the slight edge to Rice.
Rice 24 SMU 21

New Mexico State (+6) at Utah State: Here it is! New Mexico State has the opportunity to beat a Division I-A team. Both their wins this season have come against Division I-AA clubs. Unless they lay a flat egg on offense, I see the Aggies doing just that.
New Mexico State 28 Utah State 21

Marshall at Southern Miss (+7.5): The Thundering Herd needs this one to become bowl eligible. In Hattiesberg, that's going to be quite difficult. I do look for them to keep it close until the end, though.
Southern Miss 28 Marshall 21

Florida (+10) at Florida State: The Gators are a ten-point favorite over FSU in Tallahassee? When's the last time that happened? Florida, while being 10-1, hasn't dominated many opponents in terms of final score. I'd be hard-pressed in seeing this game being anything different.
Florida 24 Florida State 17

BYU (+11.5) at Utah: BYU is rolling, winners of eight straight. Chalk up number nine as they beat their inner-state rivals by a couple touchdowns.
BYU 31 Utah 17

Mississippi State at Mississippi (+3): The one thing that would shock me about the outcome of this game is if there were many points scored. Neither team's offense has fared all too well, while their defense has been aggressive, stingy, and what's kept them afloat in some ball games. At home in Oxford, I'm giving the slight edge to the Rebs.
Mississippi 17 Mississippi State 14

San Jose State (+7) at Idaho: Idaho is coming off a humiliating loss at the hands of 3-7 Fresno State. Look for them to fall again.
San Jose State 28 Idaho 14

Arizona State at Arizona (+4): Arizona has beaten: Washington State (6-6), California (8-3), and Oregon (7-4) consecutively to become 6-5 and become bowl eligible. ASU has been all over the place and is playing their rival at the wrong time.
Arizona 28 Arizona State 24

TCU (+9.5) at Colorado State: TCU is coming off a 52-0 shutout win over San Diego State and is playing some of their best ball of the season. Following a strong start (due to their weak schedule), CSU has struggled immensely. These trends should continue in this game.
TCU 31 Colorado State 14

Cincinnati (+4) at UConn: This has all the ingredients of a let-down game for the Bearcats and UConn is not a team they want to have that fallback against. But with how tough a schedule they've played thus far and how competitive they've been against those teams (outside of the loss to West Virginia), I can't see this tough-nosed team doing that.
Cincinnati 17 UConn 10

Louisville (+12) at Pittsburgh: What happened to Pitt? This is a club that started the year 6-1, but have since lost four straight and it'll come as quite a shock if that doesn't become five after this game.
Louisville 38 Pittsburgh 24

Georgia Tech at Georgia (+2): Georgia has a very solid defense, but Tech's defense isn't to be overlooked. Offensively, GT definitely holds the advantage with one Calvin Johnson. If quarterback Reggie Ball can get him the football and avoid making mistakes, Tech should come out of Athens with a big W.
Georgia Tech 17 Georgia 14

Virginia at Virginia Tech (+17.5): Both teams are playing some of their best football of the season. Virginia Tech improved to 9-2 following the 27-6 dismantling of then one-loss Wake Forest a week ago on the road. Virginia improved to 5-6 following their 17-7 win over Miami. With the game at Lane Stadium, I like the Hokies in this one, but think the spread is a bit much.
Virginia Tech 24 Virginia 10

South Carolina at Clemson (+5): The Tigers have been struggling as of late and Carolina has been playing some good football, especially on the defensive end. Even though I think Clemson may be the more talented and better of the two teams, I'm leaning toward the Gamecocks to pull this one out.
South Carolina 24 Clemson 21

Notre Dame at USC (+7): When's the last time Notre Dame played a defense as good as USC's? Michigan. What happened in that game? They lost by twenty-six points. The Irish are coming off wins against: Stanford, Air Force, Navy, North Carolina, and Army. It'll be hard for them to go from playing the academies alongside a one-win Stanford club and a two-win North Carolina program to a 9-1 USC team at the Coliseum.
USC 31 Notre Dame 17

Memphis at UTEP (+11.5): How inconsistent is UTEP this year? Geesh. Even so, at home, with Jordan Palmer at the helm, I like the Miners to break even for the year and pray for a bowl game at 6-6.
UTEP 35 Memphis 21

Boise State (+3) at Nevada: This has to be one of the toughest games Boise State has had to face this year. How focused are they? Are they upset that they have no chance to go to the title game as an unbeaten? Or are they bound and determined to just go to a BCS bowl game? Nevada has won five in a row and eight of nine. I'm half-tempted to take the Wolfpack, but with how much is at stake in this game for the Broncos, I'm going to go with them by a field goal.
Boise State 31 Nevada 28

Purdue at Hawaii (+17): Does Purdue want to show itself as being legit? Beat the 9-2 Warriors at their home stadium. Purdue has yet to beat a team with a winning record this year. I don't expect them to start there in this game.
Hawaii 49 Purdue 24

Troy at Middle Tennessee State (+9.5): This game is for the Sun Belt title. At home, I give the edge to the 7-4 Blue Raiders (only four losses to: Oklahoma, Louisville, Maryland, and South Carolina). I look for Troy to keep it fairly close, however.
Middle Tennessee State 24 Troy 17

Arkansas State at Louisiana-Lafayette (+5): Just like with the previous Sun Belt game, I'm going to give the advantage to the home team.
Louisiana-Lafayette 28 Arkansas State 21

Florida International at Florida Atlantic (+4.5): Could the winless Golden Panthers win their one and only game against their inner-state rival? I'm not thinking so and neither is Howard Schnellenberger.
Florida Atlantic 24 Florida International 14

North Texas at Louisiana-Monroe (+7): Flip a coin on this one. I'm going with the Mean Green of North Texas in a very close game.
North Texas 17 Louisiana-Monroe 14

Mora, Sr. Refers to Vick as "Coach Killer"

Atlanta Falcons head coach Jim Mora, Jr.'s father let his views be known this past weekend that he sees Falcons quarterback Michael Vick as a "coach killer" and how this worries him, since his son is the coach in Atlanta.

For those that don't know, ex-Falcons coach Dan Reeves was fired after Vick's first three years in Atlanta. The thing about it is, Vick hardly played in his rookie year. He played and led the Falcons to the playoffs in year 2 (his first year starting), where he led them to the first ever playoff win at Lambeau field in a 27-7 win over the Packers. In year 3, Vick got severely injured in the Falcons' final pre-season game against the Baltimore Ravens. He was unable to play for most of the season when the Falcons went 2-10, but went 3-1 with him back in the lineup. Reeves was fired for the dismal season. So, a rookie (redshirt basically) season, a playoff season where they became the first team to beat the Packers at Lambeau, and an injury-plagued season was the reason for Reeves' early departure? Reeves had been their years prior and with inconsistency. Inconsistency has been the Falcons' forte, as they have never had back-to-back winning seasons.

Jim Mora, Jr. then jumped aboard and his first season there, the Falcons finished 11-5 (led by Vick), got a first-round bye in the playoffs, trounced St. Louis at home in the second round, before losing to Philadelphia in the NFC title game. Year 2, they started the season 6-2, but due to a battered and bruised defense that started more back-ups and rookies than original starters, the Falcons collapsed in the second half of the season to finish 8-8. This season, the Falcons again got off to a good start at 5-2, but have lost three straight to fall to 5-5. Like last season, an injury-depleted defense has hindered them enormously. Vick has the sixth highest winning percentage of all starting quarterbacks in the league. How can he be construed as a "coach killer?" Joey Harrington, Alex Smith, Tim Couch, Kelly Holcombe, J.P. Losman, Daunte Culpepper, Jon Kitna, Josh McCown, Kerry Collins, Kyle Boller, David Carr, Chad Pennington, Aaron Brooks, Drew Brees, Byron Leftwich, David Garrard, Carson Palmer, Chris Simms, Tim Rattay, Mark Brunell, Eli Manning, Peyton Manning, Kurt Warner, and others have had ups and downs during their career. The only one to win a Super Bowl out of all these quarterbacks is Kurt Warner. Are any of these quarterbacks "coach killers?" While it's true that the players have to execute in order to win, the game does not sit on the shoulders of one starter. It's a team game. LaDanian Tomlinson wouldn't be able to his job as effectively if the line didn't do theirs. Peyton Manning wouldn't be able to do his job effectively if the line and receivers didn't do theirs. If Michael Vick consistently led the Falcons to losing records, then Mora, Sr. might have a point, but that's not the case. The truly funny part is that Vick is 26-years old and is 2-2 in the playoffs, taking the Falcons as far as the NFC title game (with Mora, Jr. as coach). Mora, Sr. is 0-6 all-time in the playoffs. I wonder who he'll blame for that.

Hate Mail! Yes!

As those who check in on a weekly basis will know, I write a college football newsletter every week. In it, I include the following: An intro that sums the weekend's games up, the bonehead call of the week, the bonehead play of the week, the game of the week, player of the week, kudos, no kudos, Nebraska game (from a non-biased person's viewpoint), Solich update, Gill update, inside the numbers, rant of the week, and my calculated version of the rankings, all 119 of them (thanks to excel).

I attempt to do things from a non-biased perspective. There is no conference I love more than another. Heck, last year, I felt the ACC and Big Ten had the strongest of the major conferences and this year, it's completely backwards. Of the six major conferences, I believe the Big Ten to be ranked #5 and the ACC at the very bottom. I select the player (or players) of the week based on a player or players making the most difference for their team in a qualified matchup. I typically won't hand out this award to a quarterback who throws for 500 yards against a Division I-AA team. I don't select the game (or games) of the week based on hype. I thought the Michigan and Ohio State game was a pretty good one on Saturday, but do I believe it to have been the best game of the weekend? No, I don't. Since I'm from Nebraska, I give weekly updates on how Ohio head coach Frank Solich and Buffalo head coach Turner Gill are doing with their respective programs. I also give a very non-biased run-down of the Nebraska games. Some points may tick Husker fans off a bit and yet others may make them smile. All-in-all, I attempt to lay things out in a manner very different from most analysts you'll see on television. I'm not going to include Notre Dame into every discussion such as ESPN analyst Lou Holtz. I'm not going to do similar such things with SEC programs such as Craig James, ABC analyst. I try to combine wit, humor, sarcasm, opinion, and facts. I'm not a huge fan of any one program and am not a huge "hater," for lack of a better word of any one program.

In the most recent newsletter, which I sent out earlier today, I gave a detailed look at all the one-loss teams (along with Boise State, who is unbeaten) and their resume's in order for people to see the layout and to come to a conclusion on who is the most deserving at this point of playing against Ohio State in the national championship game. Following the detailed analysis, I counted down from 10 to 1 on the teams I felt were most deserving of playing in the title game. Since I didn't have Michigan ranked 1 or even 2 on the list, I then listed the top ten reasons why there shouldn't be a rematch between Michigan and Ohio State. In response, I received the following e-mail from a regular reader and an avid Michigan fan. His name will remain anonymous. I've known him for quite some time and didn't want to get into it over something this silly, but thought many "points" made in the e-mail deserved some attention. You'll see after you read it. Here is the hate mail! Yes!

" Just my response

There should be a rematch because that was unquestionably the game of the year, the game of the week, and the new game of the century. Games like LSU/Ole Miss that come down to the wire are great, but that game meant nothing and it lived up to the hype because everyone expected LSU to blow out Ole Miss, but LSU like most other SEC teams is overrated. Michigan played from behind all game...thats why it was a good game....They lost schembechler the day before (the bob devaney of Michigan), went into the Shoe and kicked Ohio State's ass for the first quarter, than lost their edge and slowed down. Michigan can put the points up right with Ohio State. No team in the country has a better chance at stoppin ohio state than michigan, and no team in the country can stop michigans running game. Michigan played from behind against the number 1 defense in the nation and still rushed for 160 or so.

The argument about why should Ohio State have to prove something again is completely stupid....why should Texas have to play Nebraska again for the big 12 title....no wait, we will call the game off, texas already beat nebraska so they would beat them every time.....nope, doesnt work like that. To be the best you have to beat the best, sometimes twice, and sometimes on a nuetral field. If the big 10 had a conferance championship game there would be this very same rematch and nobody would say a word about it. If there was a rematch in Glendale the winner wins, loser loses....winner is national champ because they won the game that mattered, all these other games are irrelevant once the championship game is paired up.

The Big ten is actually the best conferance in the land if you look at the top...they have 3 teams in the top 9 i think in the bcs. Penn State and Purdue are both 8-4. I'll admit they arent as good as their records indicate and the rest of the conferance is mediocre at best, but nobody gives a shit about the bottom teams. Is the big 10 bad because their upper teams dont get upset by the bottom teams....(oklahoma state beat Nebraska, Vandy beat Georgia, Cincy beat Rutgers)...did you ever think that maybe the big name teams just werent that good. The Big LEAST sucks.....West Virginia is legit ....Louisville is ok, but Rutgers, come on???? Cincy has 2 wins over teams with winning records (USF, Rutgers), Pitt has 1 (Cincy), USF has 1 (Pitt).....Louisville isnt that impressive....a win over 7-4 Kentucky who barely beat ULM, a win over K-State who doesnt impress me either, and wins over Cincy and WVU....WVU is the only good win they have. Rutgers hasnt beaten shit (USF, Pitt, Navy whose qb broke his leg in the first quarter, and Louisville are their teams with a winning record). West Virginia is the only team in the Big East thats worth a shit and maybe the only team that can score with oohio state besides michigan.

And the argument about the pass interference call is legit, I was suprised they called it to, but there were several other calls that went against Michigan. Mario Manningham was in on the first touchdown of the game and they called him down at the 1, which was no where near correct, Michigan scored anyway but it wasted precious time. Steve Breasten was in on the reverse, and even if he wasnt in, there wasnt conclusive video evidence to overturn the call on the field and it was overturned, michigan scored anyway but once again precious seconds wasted. Shawn Crable clearly hit Smith in the helmet, but the dumbass referee called in a late hit, not roughing the passer (both are 15 yards so it doesnt matter) but it shows the referre's were fuckin morons and could fuck up a wet dream. Adrian Arrington got thrown down by his facemask late in the game, I beleive a couple of plays before the mysterious pass interference call....and it was left a no call.

The argument of the poeple have spoken is irrelevant because the votes came from states like Arkansas, Florida, California, etc...the heavily populated states happen that hold the one loss teams, no shit they dont wanna see their team left out. Who cares what the people want, the BCS has never cared before.

Heres why Michigan should play again:

Notre Dame and Arkansas wont even be considered because they lost to two other 1 loss teams, so those two teams are out.

Florida- Michigan would beat Florida by 20 or so with how lack luster Florida is this year. They struggled to beat a poor, very poor South Carolina team, a highly over rated georgia team, and they won by 6 @ Vanderbilt...are you serious....Florida is a joke. In their last 4 games vs d1 opponents they have scored 80 points and given up 76.....how can they be considered a contender, they are averaging a 1 point win over their last 4 games vs d-1 competition. Plus Tim Tebow would be eaten alive by the Michigan front 7 and he is their big play threat I would say, him and that percy whatever.

USC is as useful as a poopy flavored lolly pop. Main reason they should be left out....they lost to UNRANKED OREGON STATE. They beat Washington at home by 6 on a crazy time scenario, they were less than impressive vs Arizona (20-3), Wash State (28-22), and Arizona State (28-21). What has USC done this year besides blow out Arkansas early....nothing. Cal isnt very good either, they lost to Tennessee, Arizona, and USC.

If anybody has a beef right now it should be West Virginia because they lost on the road to Louisville in a tight game....and they have the offense to play against Ohio State. The rest of the 1 loss teams are pretenders....Michigan and West Virginia are contenders."

I'm sorry, but how angry, immature, and ignorant are many of these "points?" He has a right to his opinion just as much as the next person, but give me a break. Am I supposed to believe that these weak arguments are based on his true knowledge and beliefs or based upon his love of Michigan? I'm thinking I believe the latter as oposed to the former. It's funny, because if Michigan won the game, he'd be on the direct opposite side of the argument. He'd be saying exactly what I'm saying right now, that Michigan beat Ohio State and they shouldn't have to play them again. If that happened, I'd be saying the exact same thing, just as I am now.

But, let's peruse over some of these "points" the young man attempts to make throughout the e-mail. Allright, his first comment is utterly ridiculous.

"There should be a rematch because that was unquestionably the game of the year, the game of the week, and the new game of the century."

What? The game of the week? A game where Ohio State was ahead by two scores most of the game? The game of the year? That was better than Oregon/Oklahoma? Texas/Kansas State? Louisville/Rutgers? Tennessee/Florida? Not even close! The game of the new century? Oh, come on. He's trying to tell me that this game was better than last year's title game between Texas and USC? Again, not even close. Being a bit dramatic and exaggerative, aren't we? He then continued.

"Games like LSU/Ole Miss that come down to the wire are great, but that game meant nothing and it lived up to the hype because everyone expected LSU to blow out Ole Miss, but LSU like most other SEC teams is overrated."

LSU, like most other SEC teams, is overrated? Let's browse over this point. I get tired of Craig James since he harps on the SEC being head and shoulders above every other conference, but do you know what? The SEC is the best conference this year. They have: Arkansas (10-1), Florida (10-1), LSU (9-2), Tennessee (8-3), Auburn (10-2), Georgia (7-4), Alabama (6-6), South Carolina (6-5), and Kentucky (7-4). When all is said and done, the SEC will have nine of their twelve teams bowl eligible. Let's compare that to the Big Ten who has: Ohio State (12-0), Michigan (11-1), Wisconsin (11-1), Penn State (8-4), Purdue (8-4), Iowa (6-6), and Minnesota (6-6). When all is said and done, they'll have seven bowl eligible. Wisconsin and Purdue have two of the weakest schedules of major conference teams in the nation. Comparing the SEC to the Big Ten this year is like comparing the Big East to the MAC. Also, that game meant nothing? Every game means something. In baseball, perhaps that's not as much the case since there are 162 games in the season, but in a 12-game regular season, every game is meaningful. If LSU had lost that game, they would've fallen to 8-3 and in a bind with the likes of Tennessee battling it out for a superior bowl game. He continued.

"Michigan played from behind all game...thats why it was a good game....They lost schembechler the day before (the bob devaney of Michigan), went into the Shoe and kicked Ohio State's ass for the first quarter, than lost their edge and slowed down."

Let me check out these numbers and stats here, because I don't recall Michigan ever kicking Ohio State's tail in the game. Let me check this out to make sure I get these numbers right. Allright, that's what I thought. Michigan's only lead of the game was following their first drive when they went 80 yards in seven plays to take a 7-0 lead. That would be their only lead of the game. Ohio State answered right back to tie things up at seven. This all occurred in the first quarter. The score was all even, 7-7, after one quarter of play. So, if he wants to contend that Michigan was beating Ohio State's behind following UM's first drive of the game before OSU even had the ball, then sure, he's right. But if he wants me to believe that Michigan dominated the whole first quarter, I'm going to have to disagree with that. He continued.

"Michigan can put the points up right with Ohio State. No team in the country has a better chance at stoppin ohio state than michigan, and no team in the country can stop michigans running game. Michigan played from behind against the number 1 defense in the nation and still rushed for 160 or so."

Going into the game, Michigan averaged to allow just under 30 rushing yards per contest. On Saturday, Ohio State rushed for 187 yards on 29 carries (6.4 per). Michigan has an impressive front seven, don't get me wrong, but they didn't face many run-dominated teams to being with. Notre Dame, Purdue, Central Michigan are all pass-oriented teams. Wisconsin and Minnesota go as their running games go and are usually fairly successful, but outside of those two clubs, who else have the Wolverines played that consistently run for a great deal of yards? The same goes for Ohio State. Michigan ran for 130 yards on 30 carries (4.3 per) on Saturday. That's not necessarily "stopping" the run game of Michigan. OSU did a better job of that than Michigan did, don't get me wrong, but OSU was not dominant against the run on Saturday. Also, he should check out LSU, Virginia Tech, and quite possibly USC when it comes to defense. Michigan and Ohio State have pretty solid D's, but neither defense is the best in the country. I don't care what the stats say. Ohio State's D is more opportunistic than anything and Michigan's defense is stingy. He continued.

"The argument about why should Ohio State have to prove something again is completely stupid....why should Texas have to play Nebraska again for the big 12 title....no wait, we will call the game off, texas already beat nebraska so they would beat them every time.....nope, doesnt work like that. To be the best you have to beat the best, sometimes twice, and sometimes on a nuetral field. If the big 10 had a conferance championship game there would be this very same rematch and nobody would say a word about it. If there was a rematch in Glendale the winner wins, loser loses....winner is national champ because they won the game that mattered, all these other games are irrelevant once the championship game is paired up."

Well, I personally don't agree with the conference title games. These teams fight for eight, sometimes nine weeks in conference and even if a team finishes the regular season with the best record in conference, what's their reward? Another game, this time for the official title. Conference titles are just there for added revenue. Texas already beat Nebraska in Lincoln this year. They shouldn't have to do it again. If they beat A&M on Saturday, they should be crowned the Big XII champs. The Big Ten, Pac-10, and Big East don't have conference title games. Why should the ACC, SEC, and Big XII have them? The only game that matters is the national championship, eh? So, the game this past weekend didn't mean anything? It didn't matter? The game of the week, year, and new century didn't matter? Hmm. That's quite the game of the week, year, and new century then, isn't it? Michigan does not deserve a Mulligan. If Ohio State lost, this kid would be saying the direct opposite, but since his Wolverines lost, he's up in arms and thinks a rematch is the way to go. The fact that Ohio State beat Michigan on Saturday when losing the turnover battle by three (3 to 0), had more than 100 total yards than the Wolverines, and got shafted on a pass interference call toward the end of the game (along with making some other very TIMELY penalties) shows me that Ohio State is most definitely the better of the two teams. If the Buckeyes can lose the turnover battle by three and still basically win the game by two scores, that's amazing first of all. That is rarely ever the case. But, that game doesn't count? Doesn't mean anything? If Michigan were to rematch them and beat the Buckeyes in the title game, then that'd be the only one that mattered, even though Ohio State beat them 50 days earlier and tied the season series at one game a piece? Riiight. Say what you want buddy. You're just arguing yourself in circles and making contradictions left and right, yet he continued.

"The Big ten is actually the best conferance in the land if you look at the top...they have 3 teams in the top 9 i think in the bcs. Penn State and Purdue are both 8-4. I'll admit they arent as good as their records indicate and the rest of the conferance is mediocre at best, but nobody gives a shit about the bottom teams. Is the big 10 bad because their upper teams dont get upset by the bottom teams....(oklahoma state beat Nebraska, Vandy beat Georgia, Cincy beat Rutgers)...did you ever think that maybe the big name teams just werent that good."

If I look at the top? Give me a break. What, if I look just at the top, is the Mountain West conference nearly as strong as the ACC? Are the independents nearly as strong as the ACC? No. You can't just look at the very top and state a conference is the best. Let's look at this, just when it comes to the six major conferences and their two best teams: ACC- Georgia Tech (9-2) and Boston College (9-2), Big Ten- Ohio State (12-0) and Michigan (11-1), Big East- West Virginia (9-1) and Louisville (9-1), Big XII- Texas (9-2) and Oklahoma (9-2), Pac-10- USC (9-1) and California (8-3), and SEC- Arkansas (10-1) and Florida (10-1). There's not a big difference there between the conferences. The Big Ten has the only unbeaten, I'll give them that. But, on any given day, most of the teams could beat the other. Who has Michigan beaten of these teams? Nobody. To answer his question, no, the Big Ten isn't bad because the top teams don't get by bottom teams. There are only two top teams, though. That's the problem. There are more bottom teams than top teams in the conference. Only 7 of 11 are bowl eligible in the Big Ten and two of those 7 are at 6-6. Penn State may be a legit 8-4 (or 7-5), but Purdue is anything but a legit 8-4. They had trouble with Division I-AA Indiana State. Wisconsin may be 11-1, but have played one of the weakest schedules by a major conference team in all of football. They lucked out by not playing the Buckeyes, or else they'd definitely be 10-2. The Big Ten only has two teams that can go out of conference and win consistently (Ohio State and Michigan). The Pac-10 has three teams that can do that (USC, Cal, and Oregon). The Big XII has at least two teams that can do that (Texas and Oklahoma). The SEC has several teams that could do that (Arkansas, Florida, LSU, Tennessee, and Auburn). The Big East has three teams that can do that (Louisville, West Virginia, and Rutgers). The only conference I'm uncertain about is the ACC. Georgia Tech and Clemson may be the two teams that could do such a thing, but I'm not as sold on them as I am on these other clubs. That's what bowl games are all about, conference vs. conference matchups. If Michigan and Ohio State win their respective bowl games, but the other five eligibles lose, does that make the Big Ten the toughest conference? No, of course not. Even if they get favorable matchups and finish 5-2, that still doesn't make them the toughest conference. There should be tough matchups week in and week out and not a bunch of yawners. If teams in one conference can consistently compete with those of another major conference, then you've got my attention, but overall, the Big Ten has not done that for me this year. He continued.

"The Big LEAST sucks.....West Virginia is legit ....Louisville is ok, but Rutgers, come on???? Cincy has 2 wins over teams with winning records (USF, Rutgers), Pitt has 1 (Cincy), USF has 1 (Pitt).....Louisville isnt that impressive....a win over 7-4 Kentucky who barely beat ULM, a win over K-State who doesnt impress me either, and wins over Cincy and WVU....WVU is the only good win they have. Rutgers hasnt beaten shit (USF, Pitt, Navy whose qb broke his leg in the first quarter, and Louisville are their teams with a winning record). West Virginia is the only team in the Big East thats worth a shit and maybe the only team that can score with oohio state besides michigan."

I don't think he did his homework. First off, Louisville beat West Virginia 44-34 and the game wasn't even that close. I guess that was just another one of those pointless mulligan-type games, wasn't it? Louisville is 6-1 against bowl eligible teams and if Miami (Florida) wins their final game, one can up that mark to 7-1. The Cardinals' opponents have a very simliar record to opponents of Michigan. So, there goes that argument. Rutgers is 5-1 against bowl eligible teams and that could potentially be 6-1 if UConn wins their final two games. Rutgers also has yet to face West Virginia. Speaking of the Mountaineers, they have the weakest schedule thus far of the three one-loss teams in the Big East. They are 4-1 against bowl eligible teams. That could potentially move up to 5-1 or 6-1 if Marshall and/or UConn win out. The Big East has 6 of 8 teams bowl eligible (75%) compared to 7 of 11 in the Big Ten (64%). UConn is also alive if they win their final two games. Is the Big East better than the SEC? No, of course not. But is there a good argument that from top to bottom the Big East is as good as, if not better than some of the other major conferences? Yes, most definitely. He continued.

"And the argument about the pass interference call is legit, I was suprised they called it to, but there were several other calls that went against Michigan. Mario Manningham was in on the first touchdown of the game and they called him down at the 1, which was no where near correct, Michigan scored anyway but it wasted precious time. Steve Breasten was in on the reverse, and even if he wasnt in, there wasnt conclusive video evidence to overturn the call on the field and it was overturned, michigan scored anyway but once again precious seconds wasted. Shawn Crable clearly hit Smith in the helmet, but the dumbass referee called in a late hit, not roughing the passer (both are 15 yards so it doesnt matter) but it shows the referre's were fuckin morons and could fuck up a wet dream. Adrian Arrington got thrown down by his facemask late in the game, I beleive a couple of plays before the mysterious pass interference call....and it was left a no call."

Mario Manningham didn't look in to me, but regardless, Michigan scored on the next play. Valuable time was consumed? What, 15-20 seconds? Breaston wasn't in either. They overturned it for a reason. Again, Michigan scored and how much time was wasted, 15-20 seconds? So, 30-40 for the game? That wouldn't have mattered at the end when Michigan had no timeouts and Ohio State had control of the football. The referee made the technical wrong call on the unnecessary roughness penalty, but regardless of the name, it was 15 yards and a first down. Even if the ref called it illegal deer hunting, it still would've resulted in a 15-yard penalty and an automatic first down. He continued.

"The argument of the poeple have spoken is irrelevant because the votes came from states like Arkansas, Florida, California, etc...the heavily populated states happen that hold the one loss teams, no shit they dont wanna see their team left out. Who cares what the people want, the BCS has never cared before."

The people=money and ratings, so yeah, the people do matter and the BCS should care just a bit that the people don't want to see a rematch, that 35 of the 50 states don't want to see a rematch. Let's see here. Let me count the states that have voted no: California (66-34, 27,532 votes), Alaska (52-48, 476), Hawaii (60-40, 1,473), Oregon (64-36, 3,870), Washington (56-44, 6,380), Idaho (59-41, 1,790), Montana (51-49, 640), Nevada (58-42, 2,047), Utah (56-44, 3,132), Arizona (54-46, 6,812), New Mexico (52-48, 829), Wyoming (53-47, 394), Colorado (53-47, 5,639), Texas (62-38, 23,527), Oklahoma (65-35, 5,561), Kansas (67-33, 4,441), Nebraska (64-36, 3,899), Missouri (51-49, 5,366), Arkansas (89-11, 4,806), Louisiana (73-27, 4,930), Mississippi (70-30, 1,179), Alabama (81-19, 6,094), Georgia (70-30, 15,889), Florida (67-33, 20,246), South Carolina (63-37, 4,804), North Carolina (55-45, 9,901), Tennessee (72-28, 7,374), Kentucky (57-43, 7,548), Virginia (57-43, 18,162), West Virginia (82-18, 1,987), Indiana (57-43, 8,794), Ohio (65-35, 40,856), Maryland (53-47, 6,082), New Jersey (53-47, 10,894), and Rhode Island (52-48, 1,679). Pennslyvania and Delaware are both split at 50-50 currently. Alrighty, let's go with this,state by state. California, okay, he's got a point there. It's the most heavily populated state in the country where USC resides. Alaska? No. They don't have a Division I-A football team. Hawaii has a solid 9-2 club, but they're not in the running for the title, so no again. Oregon has two bowl-bound teams in the 7-4 Oregon Ducks and 7-4 Oregon State Beavers. With each having four losses, I think it's obvious to see that neither have a chance to make the title game, so no again. Washington's two big schools are 6-6 (Wazzu) and 5-7 (UW). One of the two is bowl bound (barely), so no again. Montana doesn't have any Division I-A teams. Nevada has the Wolfpack who are 8-3 and a potential bowler and one-win UNLV. Neither will contend for the title. Utah has the 7-4 Utes, 1-10 Aggies, and 9-2 Cougars, none of whom will have a case for the championship game. Idaho has the 11-0 Boise State Broncos and the Broncos may go to a BCS game, but are too far back of the pack to goto the championship game. Arizona, New Mexico, Wyoming, Colorado, Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, and Missouri don't have any teams vying for a title bid. Arkansas does, but it is not heavily populated. Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina don't have any teams near the top of the rankings. Florida is rather heavily populated and are home to the 10-1 Florida Gators, so there is another example of where this person was accurate. Tennessee, Kentucky, and Virginia don't have teams in the top ten that'll contend for a title. West Virginia does, but like Arkansas, it isn't heavily populated. Maryland, New Jersey, and Rhode Island don't have any teams that'll contend for the title. Ohio's Buckeyes are already a lock for the title game, so they have nothing to worry about. Indiana is home to Notre Dame who is 10-1, but again, like Arkansas and West Virginia, it isn't too heavily populated. So, if I tally the states who are heavily populated and play host to one of the teams vying for a chance at the title as a whole one and the states that aren't very heavily populated but have teams contending for a chance at the title as .5, the total tally is 3.5 out of 35 states. That comes out to be 10%. So, this individual was 10% correct. In the academic world, that would be just above a 0 or not turning in an assignment. That's not too impressive, yet he continued.

"Heres why Michigan should play again:

Notre Dame and Arkansas wont even be considered because they lost to two other 1 loss teams, so those two teams are out."

I agree with Notre Dame, because Michigan's regular season is over with. The worst Michigan can finish is 11-1 and that's where they stand now. The best Notre Dame can finish is 11-1 with that being a 47-21 loss to Michigan, so I agree with Notre Dame not deserving to go. But, Arkansas is a different story. Arkansas is 10-1 with two games remaining. Their only loss was a 50-14 blowout loss to 9-1 USC, who also plays two more games. A lot can happen in two weeks as we've seen over the previous two. If Arkansas beats up on 9-2 LSU and 10-2 or 11-1 Florida, they may have a chance if USC falls to UCLA and Notre Dame falls to USC. It could even be possible if USC loses to Notre Dame, although that'd be more difficult since the computers and humans seem to love the Irish. It's very unlikely, but Arkansas has a better shot in my mind than Notre Dame. He continued.

"Florida- Michigan would beat Florida by 20 or so with how lack luster Florida is this year. They struggled to beat a poor, very poor South Carolina team, a highly over rated georgia team, and they won by 6 @ Vanderbilt...are you serious....Florida is a joke. In their last 4 games vs d1 opponents they have scored 80 points and given up 76.....how can they be considered a contender, they are averaging a 1 point win over their last 4 games vs d-1 competition. Plus Tim Tebow would be eaten alive by the Michigan front 7 and he is their big play threat I would say, him and that percy whatever."

A very poor South Carolina team? They've played just about everyone tough. Carolina at 6-5 is like Purdue at 8-4. One might as well reverse those records, because that's where they belong. Yeah, that's true, Florida has only outscored their last four Division I-A opponents by the score of 80-76. These opponents have a record of 30-16 (.652). Following their game with Florida State and their SEC championship game with Arkansas, Florida will have played ten bowl eligible teams in thirteen games. Michigan played seven in twelve games. "Percy whatever?" It sounds like this young man has watched a lot of Florida football, wouldn't you say? While I think USC has a better case than Florida, I do believe that overall, Florida's resume' is more impressive than Michigan's, if the Gators win their final two games. In Michigan's last four games, they've played teams with a 25-22 (.532) record and that includes 12-0 Ohio State. If one were to take them out of the equation, the three previous opponents are a combined 13-22 (.371). He continued.

"USC is as useful as a poopy flavored lolly pop. Main reason they should be left out....they lost to UNRANKED OREGON STATE. They beat Washington at home by 6 on a crazy time scenario, they were less than impressive vs Arizona (20-3), Wash State (28-22), and Arizona State (28-21). What has USC done this year besides blow out Arkansas early....nothing. Cal isnt very good either, they lost to Tennessee, Arizona, and USC."

We can't judge a team based on one game, can we? Especially in a two-point loss, right? If USC hadn't come back to come within a two-point conversion of tying the game, then it'd be more difficult for me to say they deserve a shot to play Ohio State more than Michigan, but the game was 33-31 and since that time, USC has been rolling, winning 100-19 in their past three games against teams with a 16-17 (.485) record and that includes 1-10 Stanford. They beat Oregon 35-10 and California 23-9. Following their games with Notre Dame and UCLA, USC will have played ten bowl eligible teams in twelve games and Washington was one win away from becoming bowl eligible. So, USC was one game away from playing eleven bowl eligible teams in twelve games. They're 7-1 thus far against such teams and their non-conference schedule included: Arkansas (10-1, SEC title game), Nebraska (8-3, Big XII title game), and Notre Dame (10-1). In just three non-conference games, USC has the chance to have played three teams who will play in BCS games. Michigan just played one such team in Notre Dame. To say that USC doesn't deserve to go because of a two-point loss to Oregon State, a bowl-bound team and then pointing out some hard-fought wins. Michigan had hard-fought wins against Northwestern (4-8), Ball State (4-7), Penn State (8-4), Iowa (6-6), Minnesota (6-6), and Wisconsin (11-1). I'm basing these opinions on a team's entire resume', from game 1 through game 12 (or thirteen in some cases). I'm not basing them on one game of the season. He continued and concluded with the following.

"If anybody has a beef right now it should be West Virginia because they lost on the road to Louisville in a tight game....and they have the offense to play against Ohio State. The rest of the 1 loss teams are pretenders....Michigan and West Virginia are contenders."

I like West Virginia. They have a very fun team to watch, loaded with speed on offense in quarterback Pat White, tailback Steve Slaton, among others. But, let's be realistic here. To this point, West Virginia has played against five bowl eligible teams compared to seven for Michigan, eight for both Florida and USC. Their 44-34 road loss to Louisville wasn't even that close. It was tight in the first half, but West Virginia got sloppy in the third quarter and it was a three score game in the 4th. Was that their Mulligan? They lost by 10 on the road to Louisville and that's better than Louisville beating then unbeaten West Virginia by 10 and falling to then unbeaten Rutgers on the road by 3? How does that work? It shouldn't matter "who" it is that has the kind of offense that can put up points against the only unbeaten left (outside of Boise State). Hawaii and BYU might be able to score some against Ohio State, but they wouldn't be able to stop the Buckeyes and aren't deserving of a title bid. The team who should play Ohio State is the team who has the most impressive resume' at the end of the season. If USC beats Notre Dame and UCLA, they will have gone 9-1 against bowl eligible clubs, including wins over potential SEC champ Arkansas by the score 50-14, potential Big XII champ Nebraska 28-10, and potentially Notre Dame who could very well receive a BCS bid.

It sounded like a very angry rant by a die-hard Michigan fan, didn't it? The game didn't count. What if Michigan had won? Would it have counted then? Would they hold the same opinion on the rematch? My hunch is that they wouldn't. It reminds me of people's war views based on party affiliation. When Bill Clinton bombed the former Yugoslavia during his tenure, many Democrats went along with the president and many Republicans strongly disagreed with his actions. When the War on Iraq sprung up, those same Democrats disagreed with the president and the Republicans supported his actions. Michigan had their chance to goto the title game with a win over Ohio State this past Saturday, but they lost, plain and simple. Another one-loss team deserves a shot to dethrone the Buckeyes. Ohio State proved their a better team than Michigan. Why must they prove that again? If they were to rematch, Michigan would hold the edge for the simple fact that Ohio State may not come with as much energy, focus, and determination the second time around for the pure simple fact that they already beat Michigan! The Wolverines, on the other hand, would want payback and would come with more focus, energy, and determination for the Buckeyes. Is Michigan the 2nd best team in the country? It's hard to say, but it's safe to say they're not the best team in the country. They won the turnover battle by three on Saturday and still lost by 3 and that includes a very late score. In my mind, it was a 42-31+ game. Who's better than Ohio State? It's impossible to know until other clubs play the Buckeyes. Michigan lost and if Ohio State hadn't played sloppy during portions, they would've lost quite handily. How will we know if a team like USC, Florida, or maybe Arkansas could beat the Buckeyes unless they play them? The season's not even over yet, so chill! USC could fall to Notre Dame and Florida could fall to Arkansas. In that scenario, there'd be little argument over a rematch. Arkansas may have a slight argument, but not as much as if Florida or USC ran the table. Relax. There's a lot of football left to be played.