Another classic Friday Night Football game on ESPN where the No. 2 ranked Oklahoma State Cowboys went down in Ames, Iowa to the Iowa State Cyclones. That made the BCS picture a whole lot muddier but, you might disagree with me here, but I believe the right thing happened. Though it looks like chaos right now and I was anti-rematch three weeks ago, it’s clear that the BCS championship game has to, and I mean HAS TO be LSU vs. Alabama. Oklahoma State losing opens the door for that. LSU and Alabama are hands down the two best teams this year and the BCS is not to be involved in political choosing of teams (which it is anyway) but it is supposed to match up the two best teams.
My only problem with the rematch is that if Alabama wins this time, the two teams will be 1-1 against each other and that proves nothing while LSU wins the SEC Championship but Alabama wins the national championship. That is dumb. But we’ll get into that when the time is right.
For now, I can’t believe it’s already Week 12. Where has this college football season gone? It’s almost time for bowl games. But before bowl games comes conference championships and there’s a lot of spots up for grabs and teams fighting for bowl position as well. Iowa State became bowl eligible with tonight’s win.
In the major conferences, Virginia Tech beat North Carolina on Thursday night and has it’s final game against Virginia. Virginia today will play Florida State and needs a win to stay alive in the ACC Coastal. That’s right, if Virginia wins out, they’re going to the ACC Championship Game. Mike London has done a great job in Charlottesville.
The Big East is a jumbled mess and Cincinnati controls its own destiny but I think Rutgers could put an end to that today in one of my upset picks. If that happens, there will be a 5-way tie for the Big East championship headed into the final week of the season and get this, all eight Big East teams could end up bowl eligible.
In the Big East, Pitt is the biggest longshot. The other four teams, Cincinnati, Rutgers, West Virginia and Louisville will have a shot if Cincinnati loses. Rutgers would be a longshot too since it lost to both Louisville and West Virginia but Louisville beat West Virginia who beat Cincinnati and Louisville could find its way into the Orange Bowl.
Both divisions in the Big Ten need to be decided. A Penn State win and a Wisconsin loss or vice versa is all it’ll take to decide the Leaders Division while Michigan State can clinch the Legends Division with a win.
In the SEC, Georgia clinches the East with a win OR a South Carolina loss. South Carolina clinches the East with a win AND a Georgia loss. The West Division is LSU’s to lose and if they lose a game, the tiebreaker will likely give it to Alabama.
The Pac-12 is really interesting. Oregon clinches the North with a win but plays USC which could be a tough test. In the South, no one wants to win. UCLA had a chance to clinch last week and lost and Arizona State had a chance to retake control after the UCLA loss and they lost, so UCLA and Arizona State are still tied but UCLA holds the tiebreaker. The worst part is, it should be USC winning this division but they’re still ineligible thanks to Reggie Bush, who’s enjoying paychecks in the NFL while those that came after him at USC pay consequences.
Then, there’s the Houston Cougars out of Conference-USA. The pressure is on them now with Boise State losing and the Cougars moving into No. 11 in the BCS Standings. They can make a BCS bowl game but have to win their conference. Southern Miss has already clinched the easy C-USA East but in the West, Houston and Tulsa sit tied both at 6-0 in conference play and Houston faces a good SMU team. What else? Houston plays Tulsa next, so they could get caught looking ahead.
No. 16 Nebraska over No. 18 Michigan, 27-24
Both teams need to figure things out offensively. Both run first offenses but Michigan is limiting Denard Robinson while Nebraska is trying to find ways to get Taylor Martinez more involved. I’ll take Nebraska’s defense over Michigan’s in the Big House, where Michigan already lost to Iowa this year.
Result: Michigan 45, Nebraska 17
No. 17 Wisconsin over Illinois, 36-14
Wisconsin needs a win to stay in the hunt for the Rose Bowl. Illinois could be losing it’s fifth straight game. Things aren’t looking good for Ron Zook.
Result: Wisconsin 28, Illinois 17
Louisville over Connecticut, 21-14
Louisville can actually still win the Big East, but UConn needs to win for a chance to be bowl eligible.
Result: Louisville 34, Connecticut 20
UPSET: Rutgers over Cincinnati, 23-21
For whatever reason, I always pick Rutgers. Don’t let me down, Scarlet Knights. Cincinnati was in full control of the Big East, and still is after losing to West Virginia last week but a loss here sends the Big East into a frenzy.
Result: Rutgers 20, Cincinnati 3
No. 11 Houston over SMU, 38-24
Houston faces Tulsa on Friday. This has trap game written all over it for the undefeated Houston Cougars. We’ll see how good that defense is against SMU’s offense. If Houston can’t keep SMU under 20 points, then there’s no way they can compete against an Alabama in a BCS Bowl.
Result: Houston 37, SMU 7
UPSET: No. 21 Penn State over Ohio State, 21-14
Penn State hits the road for the first time since the Jerry Sandusky Scandal and takes the field for the first time since the announcement that its former coach, Joe Paterno, is battling lung cancer. Can the Nittany Lions play an emotionally intense game again and win in the Horse Shoe? It’s two interim coaches in Luke Fickell and Tom Bradley going at it except Fickell’s had all year with his team and is still trying to figure things out. I give the advantage to Tom Bradley and Penn State’s defense.
Result: Penn State 21, Ohio State 14
UPSET: Texas Tech over Missouri, 34-33
Missouri is coming off an emotional high by beating Texas while Texas Tech is looking to go off on somebody after a 66-6 embarrassment against Oklahoma State last week. Missouri doesn’t have the depth in the secondary to hold off Tech.
Result: Missouri 31, Texas Tech 27
No. 4 Oregon over USC, 45-33
I would not be surprised if USC won this game. I know USC has some questions on defense but they are still very underrated. The big question is if Robert Woods plays for USC and if he’s healthy. If he’s not, that’s a huge blow for USC’s offense. We’ll find out how good Oregon’s defense is in this game.
Result: USC 38, Oregon 35
No. 5 Oklahoma over No. 22 Baylor, 52-24
Can Baylor do it? Not with that defense they’re not. Baylor’s best chance is if Oklahoma comes out flat, but the Sooners know now with the Oklahoma State loss that they are in a good position to get to the national championship game if they just keep winning.
No. 10 Boise State over San Diego State 37-28
This game might be overlooked because Boise falls off the radar now that it has a loss, from TCU last week. Ronnie Hillman may not play for the Aztecs, which means they won’t be at full strength. Doug Martin is a gametime decision for Boise State. San Diego State is no slouch though although they need some receivers to eventually step up for Ryan Lindley.
Result: Boise State 52, San Diego State 35
UPSET: No. 23 Texas over No. 13 Kansas State, 31-24
Can Texas finally beat Kansas State? Kansas State just has Texas’ number. Kansas State hasn’t faced a defense like this yet though and Bill Snyder has never seen a Manny Diaz type scheme. I really think the Texas defense wins this game while the offense also puts up more points than expected against Kansas State’s suspect defense.
Result: Kansas State 17, Texas 13
No. 12 South Carolina over The Citadel, 53-9
Result: South Carolina 41, Citadel 20
No. 15 Michigan State over Indiana, 35-16
Result: Michigan State 55, Indiana 3
Northwestern over Minnesota, 34-13
Result: Northwestern 28, Minnesota 13
Buffalo over Akron, 24-14
The two bottom dwellers in the MAC East Division! This game is for last place!
Result: Buffalo 51, Akron 10
Iowa over Purdue, 28-17
Result: Iowa 31, Purdue 21
No. 14 Georgia over Kentucky, 30-13
A win and Georgia clinches the SEC East.
Result: Georgia 19, Kentucky 10
Georgia Tech over Duke, 45-14
Result: Georgia Tech 38, Duke 31
No. 24 Auburn over Samford, 42-6
How is Auburn still ranked?? A win against Samford should definitely boost their resume….. yeah….
Result: Auburn 35, Samford 16
Florida over Furman, 37-10
Result: Florida 54, Furman 32
Temple over Army, 31-28
This might be another year that a MAC team gets left out of a bowl game. Temple needs to win, win and win to make sure it’s not the one left out.
Result: Temple 42, Army 14
Eastern Michigan over Kent State, 24-17
-Eastern Michigan becomes bowl eligible with this win while Kent State is eliminated from bowl contention.
Result: Kent State 28, Eastern Michigan 24
No. 3 Alabama over Georgia Southern, 45-10
-How prepared is Alabama for Georgia Southern’s triple-option attack? Alabama will outscore Georgia Southern anyway though.
Result: Alabama 45, Georgia Southern 21
Wyoming over New Mexico, 38-17
-New Mexico just hired Bob Davie to be its new head coach.
Result: Wyoming 31, New Mexico 10
Wake Forest over Maryland, 24-20
Result: Wake Forest 31, Maryland 10
Arkansas State over Middle Tennessee, 35-17
Result: Arkansas State 45, Middle Tennessee 19
Tulsa over UTEP, 45-21
Result: Tulsa 57, UTEP 28
No. 6 Arkansas over Mississippi State, 38-17
-Mississippi State has been a disappointment. Arkansas sets up a huge showdown with LSU if they get this win.
Result: Arkansas 44, Mississippi State 17
No. 7 Clemson over NC State, 42-10
-where have Tajh Boyd and Sammy Watkins been? They’ve been quiet recently. Here comes a big game for both.
Result: NC State 37, Clemson 13
No. 19 TCU over Colorado State, 34-17
Result: TCU 34, Colorado State 10
UPSET: Miami over South Florida, 24-21
-South Florida needs the win to be bowl eligible or drop to 5-5. I like the Miami defense against South Florida’s receivers.
Result: Miami 6, South Florida 3
Washington over Oregon State, 35-13
Result: Oregon State 38, Washington 21
Rice over Tulane, 34-16
Result: Rice 19, Tulane 7
Texas A&M over Kansas, 45-20
Result: Texas A&M 61, Kansas 7
Troy over Florida Atlantic, 42-16
-Florida Atlantic is about to be 0-10. That’s a nice ceremonial exit for Howard Schnellenberger. He deserves better but he doesn’t have a quarterback.
Result: Troy 34, FAU 7
Navy over San Jose State, 35-21
Result: San Jose State 27, Navy 24
Notre Dame over Boston College, 30-17
Result: Notre Dame 16, Boston College 14
Nevada over Louisiana Tech, 37-27
-Louisiana Tech can win the WAC title with an upset here.
Result: Louisiana Tech 24, Nevada 20
Utah State over Idaho 37-34
-Utah State fighting to stay alive for a bowl bid.
Result: Utah State 49, Idaho 42 (OT)
Utah over Washington State, 28-27
Result: Utah 30, Washington State 27 (OT)
Florida International over La-Monroe, 34-17
Result: FIU 28, ULM 17
Air Force over UNLV, 35-24
Result: Air Force 45, UNLV 17
No. 1 LSU over Ole Miss, 38-7
Result: LSU 52, Ole Miss 3
Central Florida over East Carolina, 35-30
-The loser of this game is eliminated from the postseason. Plain and simple. Both teams sit at 4-6. Both teams had hoped to have better seasons before it started.
Result: East Carolina 38, Central Florida 31
Western Kentucky over North Texas, 36-24
Result: Western Kentucky 31, North Texas 21
UPSET: Vanderbilt over Tennessee, 24-21
-Tyler Bray may come back from his broken thumb for Tennessee. Tennessee is still looking for its first conference win of 2011 and needs this to remain in contention for a bowl at 4-6 right now. Vanderbilt’s defense is no joke though, especially that secondary with Casey Heyward and Sean Richardson that’s second in the nation in interceptions.
Result: Tennessee 27, Vanderbilt 21 (OT)
No. 25 Florida State over Virginia, 28-17
-Virginia needs the win to stay alive for the ACC Championship but Florida State has played its best football the last two weeks. The Seminoles want to finish strong.
Result: Virginia 14, FSU 13
UCLA over Colorado, 38-27
Result: UCLA 45, Colorado 6
Arizona State over Arizona, 49-31
-All I think about is last year’s overtime win for Arizona State where all Arizona had to do was make the extra point to win the game in regulation.
No. 9 Stanford over California, 34-18
BYU over New Mexico State, 24-10
Hawaii over Fresno State, 37-23
My only problem with the rematch is that if Alabama wins this time, the two teams will be 1-1 against each other and that proves nothing while LSU wins the SEC Championship but Alabama wins the national championship. That is dumb. But we’ll get into that when the time is right.
For now, I can’t believe it’s already Week 12. Where has this college football season gone? It’s almost time for bowl games. But before bowl games comes conference championships and there’s a lot of spots up for grabs and teams fighting for bowl position as well. Iowa State became bowl eligible with tonight’s win.
In the major conferences, Virginia Tech beat North Carolina on Thursday night and has it’s final game against Virginia. Virginia today will play Florida State and needs a win to stay alive in the ACC Coastal. That’s right, if Virginia wins out, they’re going to the ACC Championship Game. Mike London has done a great job in Charlottesville.
The Big East is a jumbled mess and Cincinnati controls its own destiny but I think Rutgers could put an end to that today in one of my upset picks. If that happens, there will be a 5-way tie for the Big East championship headed into the final week of the season and get this, all eight Big East teams could end up bowl eligible.
In the Big East, Pitt is the biggest longshot. The other four teams, Cincinnati, Rutgers, West Virginia and Louisville will have a shot if Cincinnati loses. Rutgers would be a longshot too since it lost to both Louisville and West Virginia but Louisville beat West Virginia who beat Cincinnati and Louisville could find its way into the Orange Bowl.
Both divisions in the Big Ten need to be decided. A Penn State win and a Wisconsin loss or vice versa is all it’ll take to decide the Leaders Division while Michigan State can clinch the Legends Division with a win.
In the SEC, Georgia clinches the East with a win OR a South Carolina loss. South Carolina clinches the East with a win AND a Georgia loss. The West Division is LSU’s to lose and if they lose a game, the tiebreaker will likely give it to Alabama.
The Pac-12 is really interesting. Oregon clinches the North with a win but plays USC which could be a tough test. In the South, no one wants to win. UCLA had a chance to clinch last week and lost and Arizona State had a chance to retake control after the UCLA loss and they lost, so UCLA and Arizona State are still tied but UCLA holds the tiebreaker. The worst part is, it should be USC winning this division but they’re still ineligible thanks to Reggie Bush, who’s enjoying paychecks in the NFL while those that came after him at USC pay consequences.
Then, there’s the Houston Cougars out of Conference-USA. The pressure is on them now with Boise State losing and the Cougars moving into No. 11 in the BCS Standings. They can make a BCS bowl game but have to win their conference. Southern Miss has already clinched the easy C-USA East but in the West, Houston and Tulsa sit tied both at 6-0 in conference play and Houston faces a good SMU team. What else? Houston plays Tulsa next, so they could get caught looking ahead.
No. 16 Nebraska over No. 18 Michigan, 27-24
Both teams need to figure things out offensively. Both run first offenses but Michigan is limiting Denard Robinson while Nebraska is trying to find ways to get Taylor Martinez more involved. I’ll take Nebraska’s defense over Michigan’s in the Big House, where Michigan already lost to Iowa this year.
Result: Michigan 45, Nebraska 17
No. 17 Wisconsin over Illinois, 36-14
Wisconsin needs a win to stay in the hunt for the Rose Bowl. Illinois could be losing it’s fifth straight game. Things aren’t looking good for Ron Zook.
Result: Wisconsin 28, Illinois 17
Louisville over Connecticut, 21-14
Louisville can actually still win the Big East, but UConn needs to win for a chance to be bowl eligible.
Result: Louisville 34, Connecticut 20
UPSET: Rutgers over Cincinnati, 23-21
For whatever reason, I always pick Rutgers. Don’t let me down, Scarlet Knights. Cincinnati was in full control of the Big East, and still is after losing to West Virginia last week but a loss here sends the Big East into a frenzy.
Result: Rutgers 20, Cincinnati 3
No. 11 Houston over SMU, 38-24
Houston faces Tulsa on Friday. This has trap game written all over it for the undefeated Houston Cougars. We’ll see how good that defense is against SMU’s offense. If Houston can’t keep SMU under 20 points, then there’s no way they can compete against an Alabama in a BCS Bowl.
Result: Houston 37, SMU 7
UPSET: No. 21 Penn State over Ohio State, 21-14
Penn State hits the road for the first time since the Jerry Sandusky Scandal and takes the field for the first time since the announcement that its former coach, Joe Paterno, is battling lung cancer. Can the Nittany Lions play an emotionally intense game again and win in the Horse Shoe? It’s two interim coaches in Luke Fickell and Tom Bradley going at it except Fickell’s had all year with his team and is still trying to figure things out. I give the advantage to Tom Bradley and Penn State’s defense.
Result: Penn State 21, Ohio State 14
UPSET: Texas Tech over Missouri, 34-33
Missouri is coming off an emotional high by beating Texas while Texas Tech is looking to go off on somebody after a 66-6 embarrassment against Oklahoma State last week. Missouri doesn’t have the depth in the secondary to hold off Tech.
Result: Missouri 31, Texas Tech 27
No. 4 Oregon over USC, 45-33
I would not be surprised if USC won this game. I know USC has some questions on defense but they are still very underrated. The big question is if Robert Woods plays for USC and if he’s healthy. If he’s not, that’s a huge blow for USC’s offense. We’ll find out how good Oregon’s defense is in this game.
Result: USC 38, Oregon 35
No. 5 Oklahoma over No. 22 Baylor, 52-24
Can Baylor do it? Not with that defense they’re not. Baylor’s best chance is if Oklahoma comes out flat, but the Sooners know now with the Oklahoma State loss that they are in a good position to get to the national championship game if they just keep winning.
No. 10 Boise State over San Diego State 37-28
This game might be overlooked because Boise falls off the radar now that it has a loss, from TCU last week. Ronnie Hillman may not play for the Aztecs, which means they won’t be at full strength. Doug Martin is a gametime decision for Boise State. San Diego State is no slouch though although they need some receivers to eventually step up for Ryan Lindley.
Result: Boise State 52, San Diego State 35
UPSET: No. 23 Texas over No. 13 Kansas State, 31-24
Can Texas finally beat Kansas State? Kansas State just has Texas’ number. Kansas State hasn’t faced a defense like this yet though and Bill Snyder has never seen a Manny Diaz type scheme. I really think the Texas defense wins this game while the offense also puts up more points than expected against Kansas State’s suspect defense.
Result: Kansas State 17, Texas 13
No. 12 South Carolina over The Citadel, 53-9
Result: South Carolina 41, Citadel 20
No. 15 Michigan State over Indiana, 35-16
Result: Michigan State 55, Indiana 3
Northwestern over Minnesota, 34-13
Result: Northwestern 28, Minnesota 13
Buffalo over Akron, 24-14
The two bottom dwellers in the MAC East Division! This game is for last place!
Result: Buffalo 51, Akron 10
Iowa over Purdue, 28-17
Result: Iowa 31, Purdue 21
No. 14 Georgia over Kentucky, 30-13
A win and Georgia clinches the SEC East.
Result: Georgia 19, Kentucky 10
Georgia Tech over Duke, 45-14
Result: Georgia Tech 38, Duke 31
No. 24 Auburn over Samford, 42-6
How is Auburn still ranked?? A win against Samford should definitely boost their resume….. yeah….
Result: Auburn 35, Samford 16
Florida over Furman, 37-10
Result: Florida 54, Furman 32
Temple over Army, 31-28
This might be another year that a MAC team gets left out of a bowl game. Temple needs to win, win and win to make sure it’s not the one left out.
Result: Temple 42, Army 14
Eastern Michigan over Kent State, 24-17
-Eastern Michigan becomes bowl eligible with this win while Kent State is eliminated from bowl contention.
Result: Kent State 28, Eastern Michigan 24
No. 3 Alabama over Georgia Southern, 45-10
-How prepared is Alabama for Georgia Southern’s triple-option attack? Alabama will outscore Georgia Southern anyway though.
Result: Alabama 45, Georgia Southern 21
Wyoming over New Mexico, 38-17
-New Mexico just hired Bob Davie to be its new head coach.
Result: Wyoming 31, New Mexico 10
Wake Forest over Maryland, 24-20
Result: Wake Forest 31, Maryland 10
Arkansas State over Middle Tennessee, 35-17
Result: Arkansas State 45, Middle Tennessee 19
Tulsa over UTEP, 45-21
Result: Tulsa 57, UTEP 28
No. 6 Arkansas over Mississippi State, 38-17
-Mississippi State has been a disappointment. Arkansas sets up a huge showdown with LSU if they get this win.
Result: Arkansas 44, Mississippi State 17
No. 7 Clemson over NC State, 42-10
-where have Tajh Boyd and Sammy Watkins been? They’ve been quiet recently. Here comes a big game for both.
Result: NC State 37, Clemson 13
No. 19 TCU over Colorado State, 34-17
Result: TCU 34, Colorado State 10
UPSET: Miami over South Florida, 24-21
-South Florida needs the win to be bowl eligible or drop to 5-5. I like the Miami defense against South Florida’s receivers.
Result: Miami 6, South Florida 3
Washington over Oregon State, 35-13
Result: Oregon State 38, Washington 21
Rice over Tulane, 34-16
Result: Rice 19, Tulane 7
Texas A&M over Kansas, 45-20
Result: Texas A&M 61, Kansas 7
Troy over Florida Atlantic, 42-16
-Florida Atlantic is about to be 0-10. That’s a nice ceremonial exit for Howard Schnellenberger. He deserves better but he doesn’t have a quarterback.
Result: Troy 34, FAU 7
Navy over San Jose State, 35-21
Result: San Jose State 27, Navy 24
Notre Dame over Boston College, 30-17
Result: Notre Dame 16, Boston College 14
Nevada over Louisiana Tech, 37-27
-Louisiana Tech can win the WAC title with an upset here.
Result: Louisiana Tech 24, Nevada 20
Utah State over Idaho 37-34
-Utah State fighting to stay alive for a bowl bid.
Result: Utah State 49, Idaho 42 (OT)
Utah over Washington State, 28-27
Result: Utah 30, Washington State 27 (OT)
Florida International over La-Monroe, 34-17
Result: FIU 28, ULM 17
Air Force over UNLV, 35-24
Result: Air Force 45, UNLV 17
No. 1 LSU over Ole Miss, 38-7
Result: LSU 52, Ole Miss 3
Central Florida over East Carolina, 35-30
-The loser of this game is eliminated from the postseason. Plain and simple. Both teams sit at 4-6. Both teams had hoped to have better seasons before it started.
Result: East Carolina 38, Central Florida 31
Western Kentucky over North Texas, 36-24
Result: Western Kentucky 31, North Texas 21
UPSET: Vanderbilt over Tennessee, 24-21
-Tyler Bray may come back from his broken thumb for Tennessee. Tennessee is still looking for its first conference win of 2011 and needs this to remain in contention for a bowl at 4-6 right now. Vanderbilt’s defense is no joke though, especially that secondary with Casey Heyward and Sean Richardson that’s second in the nation in interceptions.
Result: Tennessee 27, Vanderbilt 21 (OT)
No. 25 Florida State over Virginia, 28-17
-Virginia needs the win to stay alive for the ACC Championship but Florida State has played its best football the last two weeks. The Seminoles want to finish strong.
Result: Virginia 14, FSU 13
UCLA over Colorado, 38-27
Result: UCLA 45, Colorado 6
Arizona State over Arizona, 49-31
-All I think about is last year’s overtime win for Arizona State where all Arizona had to do was make the extra point to win the game in regulation.
No. 9 Stanford over California, 34-18
BYU over New Mexico State, 24-10
Hawaii over Fresno State, 37-23
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