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As Auburn proved, a team can come out of nowhere and win the National Championship.

The way I see it, 2011 is a three horse race between Alabama, LSU and Oklahoma. It will become a two horse race after November 5th when LSU travels to Tuscaloosa. I expect the winner of that game to go onto New Orleans and beat the Sooners.

The rest:
Boise – Schedule is too weak. The only way they get in the big game is if all the big boys have 2 or more losses.
Stanford – I know everyone is in love with Andrew Luck, but his head coach is gone and historically hyped players have a less than stellar follow-up season: Mark Ingram, Tim Tebow, Jake Locker, etc.
Florida State – With a weak ACC, the Seminoles could sneak in there if they beat Oklahoma.
Oregon – After losing bad to LSU, it’s going to be tough to get back in the mix.
Arkansas – if they can go undefeated (Alabama, LSU, Texas A&M, Auburn. MSU, S Carolina) they deserve the BCS birth.
Wisconsin – The Badgers could sneak in the back door behind NC State transfer QB Russell Wilson but they will have to go through Nebraska and back-to-back road games versus Michigan State and Ohio State. Then there is the inaugural Big Ten Championship Game.
Nebraska – The Cornhuskers basically the same story as Wisconsin but have OSU & MSU at home. October 10th in Madison, WI will be huge.

Alabama: The defense did not give up their third first down until the 4th quarter when all the freshmen and walk-ons were in the game. The offense should improve once Duron Carter debuts this week and Darius Hanks next week. Superfrosh Cyrus Kouandjio is a starter by Week 4.

Arkansas: Joe Adams had two electric punt returns for touchdowns. However, part of the credit goes a lame undisciplined Missouri State team. Tyler Wilson looked pretty good at QB but Ark had 102 rushing yards.

Auburn: Last year, they made a lot of daring escapes. This year, there is no Cam Newton to help out. Auburn may have already used up this season’s allotment of luck.

Florida: Urban Meyer leaving Florida was a good thing for them. Will Muschamp will turn the program around but don’t expect them back in the top 2 any time soon. The Gators are my dark horse pick for the SEC East title.

Georgia: Everything about this match-up was bad news for the Bulldogs – the uniforms were stupid and distracting to the players; UGA was looking ahead to South Carolina; UGA did not respect their opponent;  heaping all their hopes on Isiah Crowell was a big mistake; Richt’s recruiting did not address needs. Richt has lost his edge and is not fully dedicated to the program. Time to go.

Kentucky: Rich Brooks had 4 straight winning seasons and bowl games. Last season, UK went 6-7 & a bowl game. Could that have been due to leftovers from the Brooks era? Randall Cobb, Derrick Locke and Mike Hartline are all gone. Joker Phillips’ cupboard is bare.

LSU: I fully expected LSU to beat Oregon but that was due to my lack of faith in Oregon. I fully agree that they are highly overrated despite the way Brent Musberger was gushing over them. No disrespect to the Tigers. They are a legitimate candidate for the big game. The quarterfinals begin November 5 in Tuscaloosa.

Ole Miss: I blame this on the curse of the Rebel Bear. It is so pathetic that Ole Miss gave into the politically correct crybabies and did away with the Colonel. The real curse is Houston Nutt. He can’t coach, he can’t recruit and he is finding it harder to find anyone left to believe his BS. Let the next coach speculation begin.

Mississippi State: The other Dawgs did what you’re supposed to by beating their cupcake du jour. Vick Ballard had a good game. Dan Mullen is doing good things in StarkVegas. He’ll never win big at MSU but 8-9 wins ever year might be enough.

South Carolina: I have been saying all summer that this is Spurrier’s swan song. He is putting it all on the line to win this season before he retires to the golf course. This should be evident in the fact that he has no solution at QB after Garcia finished his seventh year of eligibility. The Gamecocks are good for a couple of trap games. They may win the East but after they are trounced again in the SECCG, it’s tee time.

Tennessee: UT has some rocky roads ahead but step one is beating the teams you are supposed to beat. Tyler Bray will be a beacon of light but not much else after that. If Dooley wants to stick around in Knoxville, he needs to find his “Herschel Walker”.

Vanderbilt: They have excellent academics.

Okay, how can you have a Military Bowl with no military teams in it? Oh well. Maryland (8-4) vs. East Carolina (6-6) Washington D.C. Dec. 29 2:30 p.m. ESPN zzzzzz…

Texas Bowl Wake me when it’s over. Illinois (6-6) vs. Baylor (7-5) Houston, Tex. Dec. 29 6 p.m. ESPN

Alamo Bowl Unlike the original Alamo, the Cowboys win this one big. Oklahoma State (10-2) vs. Arizona (7-5) San Antonio, Tex. Dec. 29 9:15 p.m. ESPN

Why is the Armed Forces Bowl in Fort Worth, Texas? There is nothing about that city that makes me think of the Armed Forces. It seems to me they are preying on our patriotism.  SMU (7-6) vs. Army (6-5)    Dec. 30 Noon ESPN

Pinstripe Bowl Who thought outdoor sports in New York City in December was a good idea? Football at Yankee Stadium has been done. It was boring. So are these teams. Kansas St. (7-5) vs. Syracuse (7-5) Bronx, N.Y. Dec. 30 3:20pm ESPN

Music City Bowl North Carolina disappointed to be 7-5 vs. Tennessee thrilled to be 6-6. Nashville, Tenn. LP Field Dec. 30 6:40pm ESPN

Holiday Bowl Oh, come on now! Hasn’t Washington’s Jake Locker (6-6) suffered enough from his stupid decision to return for his senior year? Nebraska (10-3) romps. San Diego Qualcomm Stadium Dec. 30 10pm ESPN

The Little Caesars Bowl in Detroit pitted Toledo (8-4) vs. Florida International (6-6) on a NFL Sunday the day after Christmas. Could you pick a worse time? Ford Field holds 65,000. The reported (i.e. alleged) attendance was 32,431.

………………..

The Karma Bowl (aka: Independence Bowl) Last year the Georgia Tech (6-6) fans had a good laugh at Georgia for going to the Indy Bowl in Shreveport, La. The tables have turned, Nerds. Air Force (8-4) and GT are both running teams. So this game should be over by 7pm.    Dec. 27 ESPN 5pm

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Finally, some interesting games with worthier teams:

Champs Sports N.C. State (8-4) quarterback Russell Wilson had a breakout year throwing for 3,288 yards and 26 touchdowns. After three losing seasons, things finally seemed to be clicking for coach Tom O’Brien until the Terps lost the season finale to Maryland and the ACC Atlantic division title.  Despite being 9-3, West Virginia has been a bit of a disappointment. They were thought to be a lock for the conference champ in a weak Big East. But a 2-game hiccup in October dashed their hopes of a BCS game. The Mountaineers recently hired a coach-in-waiting, so who will the players listen to? Orlando, Fla. Dec. 28 6:30 p.m. ESPN

Insight I hope these two black & gold teams don’t get mixed up. Missouri (10-2) made some noise earlier in the season by upsetting #1 Oklahoma and going 7-0. Then reality set in with two straight Big XII losses (Nebraska, Texas Tech). Iowa (7-5) and QB Ricky Stanzi did not have the senior season they were hoping for. They hung the only loss on Michigan State this year but lost their last three (Northwestern, Ohio State, Minnesota). Tempe, Ariz. Dec. 28 10 p.m. ESPN

Hey, coach. Which team am I on again?

While waiting for an interesting bowl game to emerge, I got to thinking about Colorado‘s move to the Pac-10. Clearly this is “all about the Benjamins” i.e. money.

Geographically, the Colorado campus is much further from the other eleven Pac-10 conference members than from the Big XII campuses. So, there is no advantage there. Football-wise, overall the Big XII is stronger than the Pac-10, despite Oregon’s BCS Championship Game berth. I am guessing the CU accountants have bigger pull in Boulder than anyone else.

On the Pac-10′s side, they pick up the Denver TV market but little else competition-wise:

• Football – the Buffs have not had a winning season since 2005. They have not had less than 5 losses since 2001 when they went 10-3 and lost the Fiesta Bowl to Oregon 38-26.
• Men’s Basketball – one NCAA tournament appearance since 1997–1998. They have 78 losses the past four seasons (20, 20, 22, 16).
• Baseball – this is odd to me. The Pac-10 is a rich baseball conference. Yet, Colorado has NO baseball team. Also they have no hockey team. Colorado College is a national hockey power.
• Women’s Basketball – no significant accomplishments.
• Other – CU’s greatest successes has been in skiing and cross country. However, U. of Denver has won the last three championships.

With 35 bowl games, 72 teams became bowl eligible.

2 left out:
W. Michigan – no big surprise at 6-6 – MAC
Temple – a small surprise in that they were 8-4. But, MAC had 4 teams with better overall+conf records. Nobody wants the 5th place MAC team in their bowl.

1 screwed themselves:
Arizona State upset Arizona to get to 6-6. However, two of their wins were against I-AA teams and count as one win. They filed a waiver but no dice. Schedule stronger, Sun Devils.

6-6 teams in bowl games:
Florida Intl – tied Troy for the Sun Belt championship – lamest conf ever.
Middle Tenn – #3 Sun Belt
E Carolina – C-USA had 6 bowl tie-ins. ECU was #5
UTEP -  #6 C-USA.
BYU – playing UTEP in the New Mexico Bowl, ugh.
Georgia
Georgia Tech
Illinois
Kentucky
Louisville
Tennessee
Washington
Clemson
Army – 6-5 and probably loses to Navy this Saturday.

1 loss is all it takes:
Boise will play Utah in the Maaco Bowl in Las Vegas on December 22. Fittingly enough, that is a Wednesday – one of their favorite days to play on.

10 Bowls we can do without:
New Mexico Bowl, Albuqurque, NM – BYU (6-6) vs. UTEP (6-6) – zzzzzzzzzz…
New Orleans Bowl, New Orleans, LA – Troy (7-5) vs. Ohio (8-4) – N.O. already has the Sugar Bowl. Do they really need another in that run down old relic?
St. Petersburg Bowl, St. Petersburg, FL – Louisville (6-6) vs. Southern Miss (8-4) – another crappy game in another crappy dome.
Military Bowl, Washington DC – Maryland (8-4) vs. East Carolina (6-6) – no offense to our armed forces but these two bowls are just useless.
Armed Forces Bowl, Fort Worth, TX – SMU (7-6) vs. Army (6-5) – I love our military but do we really need two of these bowls using up money that could go to the actual military?
Pinstripe Bowl, New York, N.Y – Syracuse (7-5) vs. Kansas State (7-5) – football in Yankee Stadium with two mediocre teams…yawn. Been there, done that.
GoDaddy.com Bowl, Mobile, AL – Miami (Ohio) (9-4) vs. Middle Tennessee State (6-6) – they will be lucky to half fill the stadium
BBVA Compass Bowl, Birmingham, AL – Pittsburgh (7-5) vs. Kentucky (6-6) – that name just rolls off the tongue, doesn’t it?
Humanitarian Bowl, Boise, ID – Northern Illinois (10-3) vs. Fresno State (8-4) – YES! Idaho in December! That is exactly where I want to be!
Little Caesars Bowl, Detroit, MI – Toledo (8-4) vs. Florida International (6-6) – Right, I am spending my Christmas in Detroit instead of Miami.

74½:
The over/under is for Auburn vs. Oregon is 74½. Take the over!

As of today (11/30/10), there are 35 bowls and 70 teams with at least 6 wins.

6-6 SEC & ACC:

• Georgia
• Kentucky
• Tennessee
• Clemson
• Georgia Tech

.

Ugh, how’d you like to have one of these 6-6 dogs in your bowl?

• Brigham Young
• Louisville
• East Carolina
• UTEP
• Western Michigan
• Florida International
• Troy

.

6-5:

• Illinois – last game @ Fresno State (7-4), no gimme
• Pittsburgh – last game @ Cincy, Pitt is 1.5 pt underdog
• Army – last game Navy, Navy prob wins

.

5-6 with one to play:

• Washington – last game at Wash St, UW should win
• Middle Tennessee – last game at Fla Intl (6-5, 6-1 Sun Belt Champ) – FIU probably wins this one.
• Louisiana Tech – last game vs. #17 Nevada – La Tech probably finishes 5-7
• Oregon State – last game vs. #2 Oregon – always an exciting game but not this year, Beavers.
• Arizona State – last game at #23 Arizona – ASU 6 pt underdog.

After last week’s snoozefest of games, we finally got some exciting games.

In the SEC, Auburn wins at Alabama 28-27 to stay undefeated. Arkansas upsets LSU 31-23 to possibly sneak their way into the Sugar Bowl. UGA and Tennessee both win to become bowl eligible.

Going Bowling:

SEC will again send ten teams to bowl games. The Pac 10 currently has THREE teams bowl eligible. Oregon State would need a miracle win over #2 Oregon to get to 6 wins. Washington has to win at Washington State.

SEC – 10

ACC – 9

Big Ten – 8

Big XII – 8

Pac 10 – 3

To date, there are 35 bowls and 70 bowl eligible teams including such 6-win stalwarts as UTEP, Western Michigan, Florida International and Troy.

Army (Armed Forces), Navy (Poinsettia) and Air Force (tba) will all go bowling. Congratulations to our awesome military academies!

Teams that needed a home win to become bowl eligible and lost:

Texas A&M defeated Texas 24-17 in Austin. Sad.

All Louisiana-Monroe had to do was beat lowly La.-Lafayette (3-9). Laffers win 23-22.

Cal and shifty head coach Jeff Tedford lose in Berkeley to Washington (5-6) 16-13.

Now to the fun part: the HAHA awards.

Top HAHA this week goes to Boise who lost to Nevada 34-31. God bless the Wolfpack for exposing these imposters. You did not belong. Now go away.

Georgia Tech (6-6) fans got pretty cocky after beating UGA in 2008 and then winning the ACC in 2009. It’s been all downhill from there. The Jackets lost their second straight to a weak Georgia (6-6) team who was looking to become bowl eligible 42-34.

Miami loses to South Florida? At home? Pathetic.

Rich Rodriguez might be on his way out in Ann Arbor finishing 7-5 and losing yet again to Ohio State 37-7. This was the Buckeyes 7^th straight win over Michigan.

Kansas finished 3-9 under coach Turner Gill. Professional loudmouth Charles Barkley called Auburn racist for not hiring Gill. I think things turned out okay for the Tigers.

Mixed feelings HAHA of the Week:

Despite three Notre Dame interceptions and a fumble, Lame Kiffin and his uninspired USC Trojans lost to the Irish in L.A. 20-16. Both teams finish 7-5.

Game of the WEAK:
Buffalo (2-10) feeling charitable, allowed Akron to get their first and only win of the season 22-14.

This was an odd weekend. There were not a lot of high profile games and no real upsets.

Several teams were on the brink of big upsets and blew it:

#5 LSU survived Ole Miss 43-36. The Rebels led 36-35 with under 5 to play.

#17 Iowa seemed pretty content to lead #9 Ohio State 17-10 in the 4^th because they could not stop the Buckeye offense after that while twice going three-and-out. Final: OSU 20 Iowa 17.

San Diego State was up on #23 Utah 34-24 but details are what usually separate good teams from not so good teams. After the Utes cut the lead to 3, they blocked a 4^th quarter punt and recovered it on the 3 yard line. You know what’s next.

Purdue on the brink of a big win over #12 Michigan State blew a 15 point 4^th quarter lead. The Spartans took the win 35-31.

HAHAs:

#8 Nebraska proved once again, they are NOTHING without quarterback Taylor Matrinez. Texas A&M wins 9-6.

The Big 10 looked like chumps this week. With Illinois playing Northwestern at Wrigley Field, it should have been a great celebration of college football, but they turned it into big friggin’ joke. First was the release of photos of the playing field showing one end line ¼ of a stride from a brick wall. Then the Big 10, Illinois and Northwestern officials knocked their three stooges heads together two days before kickoff and decided it was unsafe – this coming months after all had approved everything. Both teams were forced to attack the west end zone – even on a Northwestern interception return, the refs made the Wildcats go to the other end to kick the extra point – as well as sharing a sideline. The Big 10 looked like idiots.

I cannot sign-off without throwing out the HAHA of the Week: Lame Kiffin and his lame-o daddy D-coordinator lost to Oregon State 36-7. Pat Haden would be best served to give Kiffin and his goons (coaching staff) pink slips and start fresh in 2011.

I heard some announcer mention that when Missouri beat Oklahoma that they were acting like they had just won the National Championship. And that is exactly why they will lose on Saturday to Nebraska. Much like another game played in another city named Columbia a few weeks ago (South Carolina-Alabama), the underdog home team topped the #1 team and the city went crazy. Moron Mizzou fans stormed the field in celebration. You will NEVER see fans do this at schools of top tier programs because they expect to win these games. Therefore, I say, so sorry Tigers fans, you blew your wad and it is all downhill from here. Nebraska wins big.

On that note, Michigan State has overachieved and congratulations to them. Iowa puts an end to this silliness in Iowa City.

ESPN has never met a hyperbole they did not like. I understand they are in the business of getting eyeballs to their network but they are trying so hard to blow up the Southern Cal vs. Oregon game into something it isn’t. Matt Barkley is NOT Carson Palmer. He is closer to John David Booty. Oregon romps. Again.

UGA and their unrealistic fans just cannot except that they are not an elite team. Georgia has two National Championships, 1942 and 1980. They are still living off the fumes of the latter even though none of the current players were alive at the time and Mark Richt was backing up Jim Kelly at Miami (Fla). Long story short, UGA fans are insane. After losing four in a row, the Dawgs have won three in a row against the SEC bottom feeders and now they think they are hot sh*t. Florida is working on a surprising three game losing streak of their own. Coming off a bye week, I have a feeling the Gators will arrive in Jacksonville ready.