Big Game College Picks

I've tried this in the past, but with low results (thanks to my friend Clark for pointing this out for me...)

But what the heck - if I go on a hotstreak, then I may be the next Brandon Lang.

Texas - 25 vs Baylor
KSTATE + 3 vs Oklahoma State
Nebraska - 2 vs Texas A&M
OU -30 vs Iowa State
Texas Tech +3.5 vs Missouri
Kansas - 4.5 vs Colorado

I know, I know, all Big 12 games. But what else do I know? I'll throw some SEC and ACC matchups in here as well.

Florida -7 vs Kentucky
Auburn +10.5 vs LSU
Tennesse vs Alabama
Virginia +4 vs Maryland
Miami vs Florida State

So here are the picks. No explanation for any of them except that I rock.

Nebraska -2
OU -30
Texas -25
Kansas -4.5
Texas Tech vs Missouri - over 75
Kansas State +3.5
Kentucky +7
LSU -10.5
Tennessee -1
Virginia ML to win over Maryland
Miami vs Florida St. Under 44.5

USF loss - and other funness of college sports

How about that. Another top 5 team loses to an unranked opponent in the 2007 football season. For those counting, that makes a total of 6. Unreal.

For all the hubbub going into last night's showdown at Rutgers, it seems something was loss. Most glaring, we are talking about the fact that college football fans around the nation were tuned into RUTGERS VS. SOUTH FLORIDA! Seriously, what is happening in the world of college football?

No knock on the folks from Jersey and Tampa, but this is NOT the marquee matchup everyone built it up to be. Certainly you have two programs on the rise. But let's be honest here for a minute - no one REALLY cares. There is a reason that Big East matchups with BCS implications are ending up on the ESPN Thursday night game. The folks in Bristol know full well the teams gathering momentum in the Big Least cannot compete for ratings with traditional powers of other schools. Perhaps on the field the gaps are narrowing, but as polls, computers, and the much-maligned BCS shows, college football is not always about what is played on the field.

The simple fact is, the South Florida's of the world are eons away from competing with the Texas's that dominate the national football scene (stealing of hand signs be damned). Years of prestige, history, fan support, and tradition cannot be dethroned by an upset victory over West Virginia - just like Rutgers couldn't dominate the scene in 2006 with the victory over Louisville.

In plain English, Louisville, South Florida, West Virginia, Cincinnatti, UCONN, and the rest of the Big East are not football powers. ESPN may want them to be for ratings - just like they want Matt Ryan from Boston College to be the Heismann trophy winner - but facts show these teams cannot compete on the bottom line with the major programs in the country. They may sneak up every now and then and take a bite out of national title picture, but at the end of the day - Texas, Oklahoma, USC, Florida, LSU, Ohio State, Michigan, Notre Dame (dammit all), Auburn, and the other big schools will find themselves pairing off for the title.

However, these games do make Thursday nights pretty fun...

Wrong Hotseat

So Nebraska fired their Athletic Director Steve Pederson. I wonder how long until Bill Calahan follows him out the door. I figure if its not by the end of next week's home loss to Texas A&M, we;ll be able to see the torches from the lynch mobs in Lincoln from space.

Do you think Nebraska's interim AD will be able to lure exiled coach Frank Solich back? 9-3 sounds mighty good to Conrhusker fans everywhere.

Shows what I know at Nebraska

Ok, so earlier today I said they needed to fire Bill Callahan at Nebraska. Great news, they fired his boss instead. Not sure what the administrators in Lincoln are thinking. It's said the AD let the program as a whole drop considerably, not just the football team. Of course, let's be honest. No one in Nebraska gives two shakes of a corn husk if the women's water polo team is successful or not. It's all about Conrhusker football. And the teams back to back losses have cost Steve Perderson his job. I, for one, am happy. While it has been nice to domiate Nebraska over the pass few years, as a Longhorn fan I yearn for the days when traveling to Lincoln was a challenge, and bringing the Cornhuskers to Austin generated excitement state wide. Do you think it's unrealistic for the new AD to call Coach Solich at Ohio University and get him back? 9-3 sounds pretty good right now (see prior post - HOTSEAT)

Midseason Review Revisited

See previous blog re: Midseason College Review. Take this for next week too – apparently the entire season will run this way. Does anyone want to win a national title? At this rate, my beloved Longhorns may get themselves back into the chase before you know it…

There are 6 teams left undefeated. My guess is after Saturday, there will be less. My picks to lose:

South Florida – yes, they dominated Central Florida, a program on the rise. But this Thursday, the Bulls will travel to Rutgers. I don’t know if you are aware, but this is in New Jersey. Home of Tony Soprano, Bruce Springstein, and Bon Jovi. This year’s version of Rutgers (South Florida) will find out from last year’s version of Rutgers (uh, Rutgers) how much high expectations can affect your play, especially in a hostile environment. Ray Rice runs the Scarlet Knights to victory.

Kansas (maybe) – Until they play someone who we recognize a REAL football power this year, or get that signature win showing us the Jayhawks are for real, I am not willing to bet on Kansas this year. Traveling to Colorado is always a challenge (just ask Oklahoma), though the talent on this year’s Kansas team seems thus far to be far superior to Mark Mangini’s teams of the pass. Todd Ressing leads KU’s resurgent offense as the first year QB, avering 275 ypg. As recently as last week, the Jayhawks had the #5 offense in the country based on total yardage (currently #7). Where KU supporters point to (and rightfully so) is the defense played in Lawrence this year. In total D, Kansas ranks 3rd – in points given up per game, KU is 2nd behind only Ohio State at 9.5 points per game. These numbers are impressive – but the question remains: can they beat anyone of merit? With CU, Missouri, Texas A&M, and Oklahoma State in the next 4 games, we should find out just how good Kansas really is. My guess? 2-2 over the next four weeks, starting this Saturday in Boulder.

Hotseat City

Shocking revelations? Not on the menu today. Today we tackle who to fire in the Big 12, because the rest of the country is laughing at what has become a lackluster, uncompetitive conference.

It starts at the top - or should we say bottom, for some coaching staffs. The front runner - Bill Callahan at the University of Nebraska. I bet NU administrators are clamoring for the days of Frank Solich (the coach they fired after he finished a season 9-3). Since coming to Lincoln, Callahan has shown the same shortcomings he exhibited when coaching the NFL's Oakland Raiders - namely that his reputation as a west coach offensive genius is unearned. The real problem over the past few years has been the disappearance of the Cornhuksers once vaunted defensive unit. Back in their heyday, the Nebraska Black Shirts were some of the hardest hitting, most ball-hawking defenses in the country, regularaly ranked among the nations elite. What they have now is a team giving up 38 points in ONE half to Oklahoma State, following a week in which they were dominated by Missouri. I bet ex-Husker head coach Tom Osborne is turning over in his, uh – Senator seat.

Coach # 2 to go – Coach Fran. What more does a coach need to succeed? Huge fan support, world class facilities, ridiculous amounts of “tradition” and no pretty coed cheerleaders on the sideline to distract your players? It should be the perfect situation in which to rebuild a once proud football school. The problem is, Coach Fran is a wuss. You know that sleezy friend we all have: the one who has a great family life, a wealthy wife, beautiful children, a great job – but screws it all up for a wild night with some hooker name Shameeka. That’s Fran. He has the tools in his hands to make the Aggies a power, but he is so pathetic at being a real man, he has no chance. Take the Miami game – he was afraid to run big Javorski Lane. The Texas Tech game? Afraid to bring pressure on Tech QB Graham Harrell – instead opting to sit back in zone and avoid the big plays. What was the big thing coming out of College Station when they fired RC Slocum? The offense was too predictable and run oriented. Now we have Coach Fran, and the offense looks the same without the normal dominating attitude once exhibited.

The great thing about these two? They will square off this weekend in Lincoln. Some say it’s a chance for one of these teams to turn their seasons around. I say it’s a chance for school officials to get together at the 50 yard line prior to kick off and kill two birds with one stone…

Midseason College Review

Midseason Review

Well, that was weird. What else can you say after the first 6 weeks of the college football season? I know it’s not exactly the mid point of the season just yet, but amidst the large number of “stunning” upsets we’ve seen thus far, it seems appropriate to put some perspective into the almost-midway point of the 2007 college football year.

The big stunner of the year? Call it a toss up between the Michigan Wolverines blowing what should have been a home snoozer against Appalachian State or USC widening some eyes with a loss to lowly Stanford. Here’s the kicker – I expect to see USC and Michigan in Pasadena for this year’s Rose Bowl. Michigan is quietly rebuilding their year following the early season debacle against ASU. The home loss to Oregon suffered the following wee does not look as embarrassing for Lloyd Carr’s boys as it may have at the time – Oregon is a top 10 team who took the current #2 team to the wire two weeks ago (Cal escaped Eugene with a 31-24 win). With the lack of any potential contenders save Ohio State at the end of the year, it is conceivable to think Michigan (then 9-2) could be hosting OSU for a shot a Pasadena. I’ll ride with the Wolverines. As for USC – they still have the talent to win out in the Pac 10, which with Cal and Oregon still on the schedule is a very attainable goal. Despite the stunner in LA, USC’s fate is still in its hands as the season moves forward, and betting against a Pete Carroll coached team hasn’t been the wisest of moves over the past decade. Given the way the college season has gone thus far, I wouldn’t be surprised to see the Trojans return the National title game. With games at Oregon and Cal, two top 10 teams, the BCS numbers could skyrocket up for USC in the coming month.

On a side note -Strangely, the Wolverines fell out of the top 25 after the Miracle in the Big House by the boys from Boone, while the Trojans of USC fell all the way to…10. Odd – ASU was a two time defending I-AA national champion, while Stanford hasn’t done anything of real significance in the post Tyrone Willingham days. I’d take ASU in a head to head matchup against Stanford, but the media darlings as we know them at ESPN still feel like USC is a top ten team?

The funny thing about the season thus far, especially in the past two weeks, is that we have all accepted that on any Saturday, the Stanfords, South Floridas, and Appalachian States of the world can beat the worldbeaters. But I think a shot of perspective would do the trick now. We are at the midpoint of a wonderfully entertaining college football season. And we have learned that parity is the key to this year’s campaign. But the season is 12 weeks for a reason. The BCS games are still attended by the tops in the country, and this seasons lineup, despite the early round shakeups, will likely mirror seasons past. One losses and two losses (OK, Notre Dame, sometimes three) may be detrimental to your National Title hopes, but your BCS dreams are alive and well. So while we’ve had a hell of a September and October, don’t expect January to look much different than prior years.

Mid Season Bowl Predictions

ROSE: Michigan vs. USC

SUGUAR: Florida vs. Va Tech

FIESTA: Ohio State vs. West Virginia

ORANGE: Boston College vs. California

NATIONAL TITLE: LSU vs. Oklahoma