College Football - Week 12

How the mighty have fallen. Who would've thought that BOTH Oregon and Kansas State lose in the same week. At the very least, there's no debate as to who should be ranked #1 (all the AP voters chose Notre Dame...when's the last time all of them picked the same team earlier than week 14?!).

Let's look at what went down last week.

What We Learned

Oregon was thought to be the best team in college football last week after the Tide lost to Texas A&M. Even though K-State was ranked ahead of them in the BCS, most people had Oregon leap-frogging them at some point given they had games against ranked teams like Stanford, Oregon State, and either USC or UCLA. Now they'll have to jump over 2 SEC teams to make it to the NC and I don't think that will happen. Georgia and Bama will play each other, causing one to drop out. Florida is the other team. It's games like these that make it hard for me to pick Oregon to go to the NC, especially against some SEC team with a great defense. Anytime the Ducks have gone up against a team with a good-to-great defense, they've struggled mightily. Arizona State gave them a tough time, Stanford is the next best D and they lost, look to the Rose Bowl against Ohio State and the BCS championship game against Auburn. Against great defenses, the Ducks tend to lay eggs.

K-State was the real shocked this weekend to me. Baylor is good, but they're not that good. I've thought of K-State this year as a poor man's Alabama. Maybe their QB was more rattled than what they let on. But allowing Baylor to throw up 52 points in only three quarters of play is bad. Great to see how well their program is doing, though. The Big 12 could certainly use another team not in Oklahoma or Texas to strengthen the conference.

To my fellow Ute fans, I feel for you. Not going to a bowl game is rough. Even though I don't worry about the Utes next year, I can tell the momentum has been snatched away from the fan base. And to be honest, I'm kind of glad. Before switching to the Pac-12, Utah was coming off a great Sugar Bowl win against Alabama. So everyone thought heading into the Pac-12, they were going to compete every year with USC and Oregon to see who'd take the Pac-12 championship. Hasn't been so. What I wanted for Utah was for them to go through the humbling process. Almost every week, I hear Coach Whittingham compare the new Pac-12 and what the Utes will have to learn to do better with the MWC and what they were able to get by with doing. Ute fans now realize how difficult the grind of a major conference is and know it's not going to be easy. They can appreciate a 7-5 season more now, whereas in the MWC that record would have been indicative of a failure. Utah has been humbled, so now I wish them nothing but success. In fact, they're the team I'll pull for in the Pac-12 because I don't really like anyone else. And besides, isn't it better to be a Utah fan right now than a BYU fan?

My Buckeyes BARELY beat Wisconsin in overtime last week but I'll take it! Wisconsin has finally found their niche after starting the season off slowly. Except for a Michigan State loss, the Badgers have been playing very well as of late. All four of their losses this year have come by 3 points except the overtime OSU loss which was by 6. So to beat this team with the Buckeyes ridden with injuries is a win in my book. Just one more win to end the year...

Games to Look Forward To

Ohio State at Michigan... Always the game of the year for me.

Oregon at Oregon State... The Beavers just got the blueprint on how to beat Oregon. Can they use it correctly?

Florida at Florida State... I've been high on FSU all year and they've still managed to win all their games but one. This would be a great statement game to make against a very good Florida team. If nothing else, this game probably sways some good Florida recruits so it's a game both team want to win.

Oklahoma State at Oklahoma... Two pretty good teams. This rivalry is still really good despite not being as big as Oklahoma - Texas. But with recent success by the Cowboys (and having lived in Oklahoma City), this game is now really fun to watch.

Wisconsin at Penn State... Is it possible that the top two teams in the Leaders division of the Big Ten are both ineligible for bowls this year? Is that part of the reason why the Big Ten has been seen as 'down' this season?

Stanford at UCLA... Should be a really good game to watch. Both teams are coming off big wins, but UCLA is at home. I think Stanford squeeks this one out.

South Carolina at Clemson... Kudos to these teams for scheduling each other at the end of the year. The winner makes a real good case (unless you're South Carolina, in which two SEC teams will already be chosen) for a BCS bowl bid.

Notre Dame at USC... This was a much better game before finding out that Barkley was going to be out. Notre Dame should win this game. USC is playing without their star and not going to the Pac-12 championship. They have nothing to play for. They may just head out to the beaches before it gets too cold.

My Big 5 Picks

Ouch...1-4 last week. Lots of upsets. 40-20 on the year. Hopefully they go better this week:

1. OHIO STATE OVER MICHIGAN!!! (on the road)
2. Notre Dame over USC on the road
3. Clemson over South Carolina
4. Stanford beats UCLA on the road
5. Oregon beats Oregon State on the road

I'm staying away from possible upsets this week since I think all all of them happened last week! I'll take mostly road teams, though, which will still be difficult. Have a good week!

College Football - Week 11

Quite a bit of movement around the top 25 this week thanks to a slate of upsets. A lot of close games though. Let's look at the week that was.

What We Learned

Texas A&M went into Tuscaloosa and defeated the #1 team in the country. This was the team people thought could beat the Jacksonville Jaguars...turns out they couldn't even handle the 3rd-biggest school in Texas. The freshman quarterback came in and cut up the Alabama secondary. The Tide's lack of a pass rush was never so apparent. Similiar to Bama's loss to Utah in the Sugar Bowl in 2008, they let A&M get ahead in the first quarter almost as if they weren't prepared. Utah scored enough points that game to not have to score again, though they did. If Bama plays in the NC and is in the game after the first quarter, they'll probably be okay. But that's becoming a big 'if.'

Michigan needed a late comeback to hold off Northwestern at home. Granted the Wildcats have been slowly getting better over the past few years, but good enough to push Michigan around at home?

I was high on Syracuse at the beginning of the year but it seemed like they just couldn't hit their stride. It finally happened. They took out an undefeated Louisville team which made college football fans across the country happy since now they won't have to fend off an argument about why undefeated Louisville deserves a chance in the title game. They don't.

Florida needs to find a way to throw the football. LA-Lafayette is not a team that should be slowing them down. They showed that Georgia is a little more deserving of that spot in the SEC championship game.

Notre Dame would be a horrible choice to put in the NC game. Barely outlasting Boston College isn't very impressive.


Games to Look Forward To

Northwestern at Michigan State... N'Western has had a pretty good year so far. Michigan State is on the verge of becoming bowl eligble. The Spartans have had a long, disappointing year. Expect them to come out a littler hungrier than Northwestern and squeeze out a victory.

USC at UCLA... The winner of this game will get a shot in the Pac-12 championship game against Oregon.

Texas Tech at Oklahoma State... Should be a fun shootout to watch.

Ohio State at Wisconsin... OSU is coming off a bye week while Wisconsin is coming off a dominant performance against Indiana. Since this game is being played at Camp Randall, the Badgers will probably get the nod. I think the bye week will have allowed a lot of the banged-up Buckeyes to heal and come back strong. As long as their offense can contain Ball and slow down that run game, Ohio State may go into their rivalry game with a chance at perfection this season.

Utah State at La Tech... Who saw this one coming?! These two are playing for essentially the WAC championship. It would be a great story to see the Aggies pull it out. It'll be tough.

Stanford at Oregon... This is where Oregon's strength of schedule will start to build, propelling them over K-State if both remain undefeated. Oregon may struggle a little this game, but they'll grab the victory and run with it (literally). Huge rushing output in this game for the Ducks.

My Big 5 Picks

Went 3-2 last week. Da da da! 39-16, 71%...not too shabby. Here's what will make it even better:

1. Ohio State beats Wisconsin
2. USC beats UCLA
3. Oregon beats Stanford
4. Michigan State upsets Northwestern
5. La Tech beats Utah State

It's hard for me to pick upsets a week after a bunch of them happened, so I'm sticking with the favorites in these close games except MSU. Go Buckeyes!!

College Football - Week 10

Went 4-1 this week putting my total to 36-14 on the year. If only MSU could've held on...

As I'm writing this, Boise State just got upset by SDSU. The Aztecs aren't horrible, and the Broncos have also lost to the Spartans this year. That means the only good teams they've played have beaten them. This means I don't really know where to put them in terms of ranking. Same goes with Stanford. They beat USC but lose to Washington and Notre Dame. All of their wins and losses have been within one possession except the 2 horrible teams they pounded in Duke and Colorado. The last 3 weeks will help us see where Stanford ranks as they will play the Oregons and UCLA, 2 of the games on the road. I'm not buying Stanford this year with the loss of Harbaugh and Luck recently. Maybe in the next couple years, though, they'll be a great team again.

Right now, I've got Oregon and USC at the top of the conference. The next tier, which is a surprisingly good tier, includes Oregon State, Arizona, Arizona State, UCLA, Washington, and Stanford. Soaking it up at the bottom are Utah, Cal, Colorado, and Washington State. I think Utah and Washington State are on the verge of getting a lot better. The Pac-12 may actually become a really good conference in football. That would definitely compensate for their quality of basketball.

What We Learned

Texas A&M has a high-motored offense led by their Heisman candidate QB Manziel. They pushed Florida and LSU to the brink in their first year of SEC play. Not bad. This team is only going to get better, too. Now they get to attach SEC to recruiting players which will land them even more talent. Hopefully they straighten up their defense.

I know someone will want me to address Mississippi State. They're not as good as I had them ranked previously, but they are in the top 25. They've turned a lot of corners in the program, and they'll continue to get better. I'm really interested to see who they get in their bowl game. Some have them ending up in the Gator bowl or the Chic-Fil-A bowl. I'd love to see them matched up with the other MSU, Michigan State, in the Gator bowl. I think the Spartans get handled.

The Big 12 is collectively getting better. Just look at K-State. They've moved to the top eschelon of college football. Oklahoma has always been up there showing how strong their program is. Plus their fans are insanely loyal. Texas, Texas Tech, and Oklahoma State are all in down years but they've improved. With the additions of TCU and West Virginia, the Big 12 might be able to run with the best of them again.

The Big Ten is having a down year but it's not as bad as people think. It seems like it just took some teams a little while before getting their act together. Michigan, Michigan State, and especially Wisconsin were all late bloomers. They're not great, but they're good teams. Ohio State and Penn State shocked everyone at how good they'd be this year. My Buckeyes are the first 10-0 team in the country. They got off to a slow start, too, with a new coach and a new system. Nebraska and Northwestern are doing fairly well. Indiana and Purdue are some of the best teams with only 3 and 4 wins. If the conference can just start out a little stronger, they could actually have a pretty solid conference.

While I'm going through conferences, I might as mention a little conference some of you may have heard of: the SEC. Apparently I'm an SEC homer. I actually hate the SEC. Know what other teams I hate? The Yankees, the Steelers, the Lakers, and oh yes, Michigan football. Other hated teams and players around the country include Duke and North Carolina basketball, the Chicago Bulls of the 90's, and Tiger Woods. What do all of these people and programs have in common? They're successful. They're great programs. Nobody hates Appalachian State football (maybe Michigan) because they're horrible. Think the Charlotte Bobcats are hated? By who? In fact, most people cheer on underdogs who haven't achieved as much.

Same thing with the SEC. Nobody hates the Pac-12 or Big 12 and it's because they're not the best. People, like me, hate the SEC. Because they're the best. Pick a category. Recruiting? Top recruiting class for over the past 10 years every single year. National championships? Last 7 years with 4 different teams. All-Americans? More than any other conference over the past 10 years. Best non-conference winning percentage, which may not mean much if not coupled with the best record in BCS games over the past 15 years. Most NFL draft picks over the past 10 years. Hopefully we can all grudingly concede along with all of the scouts and coaches out there that, at least for right now, the SEC is the best conference in college football.

Games To Look Forward To

Oregon State at Stanford. Two ranked teams whose victory would really boost their resume.

Mississippi State at LSU. This game may be more of a reflection on who rebounds the best from each of their losses. LSU should pull it out.

Arizona State at USC. The Trojans stayed close in the Oregon game. We'll see how much that took out of them.

West Virginia at Oklahoma State. Should be another shootout, really fun to watch.

Kansas State at TCU. Normally I wouldn't think twice about this game, but with Optimus Klein out and K-State on the road, this may be an upset.

Northwestern at Michigan. N'Western is the better team, especially if Denard is out. But it's at the Big House so it should make for a tight game.

Texas A&M at Alabama. The high-octane offense of the Aggies will be matched up with arguably the best defense in the country. This game will come down to what Alabama can do on offense against Texas A&M's sketchy D.

My Big 5 Picks

A lot of teams have bye weeks this week, so here are my picks (without OSU):

1. Oregon State beats Stanford on the road
2. LSU rebounds and beats Mississippi State
3. Nebraska beats Penn State
4. Alabama beats Texas A&M
5. Michigan upsets Northwestern at home

Not a lot of upsets this week. I would have picked TCU to upset K-State but nobody knows if Klein will be back this week or not. So I'll stay away from it. Have a great week!

College Football - Week 9

Another crazy week in college football. The year is starting to heat up and wind down all at the same time. My picks weren't great this past week at 2-3, so on the year I'm 32-13. Here's the rundown from last week and the picks for this week.

What We Learned

The Buckeyes looked great on the road against Penn State. The score was even more lopsided than it showed at the end. The offense looks really good and will get better. The defense, normally their staple, will improve a lot over the next year. The D-line is one of the best in the country.

Kansas State dismantled another good team last week in Texas Tech. Still visually less talented than Alabama, but these two teams just might meet to have the Tide prove it.

Notre Dame showed they could win a game on the road against a tough team. Despite their record, I still don't think they're a top 5 team. I have them around the 6 or 7 spot.

Despite Mississippi State's loss to Alabama, they're still a really good team.

It's safe to say that people were a little eager to overhype Oregon State. They're not a bad team, definitely top 20, probably top 15. A loss to unranked Washington knocks them out of the top 10, though.


Games To Look Forward To

Texas A&M at Mississippi State. These two teams are about even so far this year, so it'll be nice to see which team can pull this game out.

TCU at West Virginia. TCU is coming off a loss and West Virginia isn't as good as we once thought. With both teams having recently joined the Big 12 conference, each want to prove they belong at the top. We'll see in what order.

Nebraska at Michigan State. Nebraska is a bad road team against good teams with good defenses. Martinez tends to struggle. Michigan State has massively underachieved this year but came out with a road win against Wisconsin, not easy to do. This will be a great game to watch.

Texas at Texas Tech. Both are 6-2, both are vastly improving from where they were. Only one team will get bragging rights.

Oregon at USC. At the beginning of the year, this would've been a great game. Right now, USC is going to get handled.

Oklahoma State at Kansas State. Two of the most high-powered offenses take the field. K-State will pull this one out, but their defense will be tested.

Arizona State at Oregon State. Watch out for second potential upset from ASU.

And the match-up of the week: Alabama at LSU. Bama wins this one hands down. They don't quite have the offense to keep up with the Tide. Expect another low-scoring game but the Tide will win comfortably.

My Big 5 Picks

1. Ohio State over Illinois
2. Alabama over LSU on the road
3. Oregon beats USC
4. Michigan State upsets Nebraska
5. TCU over West Virginia

Have fun!