Posted on 11/30/2006 2:29:05 PM PST by MikefromOhio
Weekend Thirteen cleared up the BCS title picture a bit. USC won convincingly against Notre Dame while Florida failed to get the style points needed to make a run at the Trojans and Wolverines. With Arkansas losing to LSU, Florida only theoretically has a chance at the title game. The weekend was not without surprises as Texas lost for the 2nd time in a row while West Virginia eliminated itself from Big East and BCS contention by losing to South Florida. The weekend also featured some great finishes with BYU, Georgia, Oklahoma and Tennessee pulling games out late. This week is Championship Week. The conference championship games for the MAC, Conference USA, ACC, SEC and Big XII will be played. Each of those games, along with the Army-Navy game, is the feature this week.
The MAC champion goes to The Motor City Bowl in Detroit, MI to face either the 7th best Big Ten team or an at-large team. As the Big Ten is getting 2 into the BCS, it will be the at-large team. Central Michigan can score in bunches while Ohio is on a roll.
The winner of this game goes to the Liberty Bowl to play against an SEC school while the loser of this game will most likely be heading to Mobile, Alabama for the GMAC bowl against a MAC team (probably Central Michigan). Houston lost a close game to USM earlier this season while it was still in the post-Miami funk after nearly defeating the Hurricanes in Miami.
I cant believe Im actually going to pick this. Wake Forest is the better team. Georgia Tech has the weapons to win, but not the quarterback. Their defense will keep them in this game, but the pick is Wake. The winner goes to the Orange Bowl while the loser goes to the Chick-Fil-A bowl (formerly the Peach Bowl).
The winner of this game is going to the Sugar Bowl unless Florida wins big and something absolutely screwy happens in the BCS. Arkansas must win this game to get into the BCS at all. Otherwise, LSU is going. It comes down to if Florida will be able to score consistently or if Arkansas will be able to make some plays through the air. Special teams will play a big factor in deciding this game. That favors Arkansas. With LSU not playing this weekend, the loser of this game is probably relegated to the Capital One bowl.
The winner of this game is going to the Fiesta Bowl. A good old school match-up that will be played in the Big XII championship for the very FIRST time in the 10 year history of the conference. Since the loss to Texas back in October, Oklahoma has been on a roll. Nebraska, minus a slip up against Oklahoma State, has only lost to USC and Texas, which was a much better team at the time of the loss. I have to give the edge to Oklahoma. Bill Callahan gets too conservative in big games like this and I think the Oklahoma offense will be able to move the ball against the Nebraska defense. The loser of this game will go to the Cotton Bowl.
Army and Navy square off again. This year Navy is the home team. Navy is the better team but Army did almost knock off Texas A&M earlier this season. This game will win Navy the Commander in Chiefs trophy for the best service team. Navy is slated to go to the Meineke Car Care Bowl in Charlotte, North Carolina.
(2) USC (-13.5) at UCLA
USC 43 UCLA 17
(3) Michigan BYE
Next Game: projected to be in the Rose Bowl
(5) LSU BYE
Next Game: projected to be in the Rose Bowl
Connecticut at (6) Louisville (-27)
Louisville 42 Connecticut 21
(7) Wisconsin BYE
Next Game: Accepted bid for the Capital One Bowl
(10) Boise State BYE
Next game: projected to be in the Fiesta Bowl
(11) Auburn BYE
Next Game: projected to be in the Outback Bowl
(12) Notre Dame BYE
Next Game: projected to be in the Sugar Bowl
(13) Rutgers at (15) West Virginia (-10)
Rutgers 22 West Virginia 20
(14) Virginia Tech BYE
Next Game: projected to be in the Chick-Fil-A Bowl (Peach)
(17) Tennessee BYE
Next Game: projected to be in the Cotton Bowl
(17) Texas BYE
Next Game: projected to be in the Gator Bowl
(20) BYU BYE
Next Game: accepted bid for the Las Vegas Bowl
Stanford at (21) Cal (-29)
Cal 43 Stanford 7
(22) Texas A&M BYE
Next Game: accepted bid to be in the Holiday Bowl
(25) Boston College BYE
Next Game: projected to be in the Champs Sports Bowl
Texas A&M BYE
Next Game: accepted bid to be in the Holiday Bowl
Florida State BYE
Next Game: Accepted Bid to the Emerald Bowl
Oregon St. at (24) Hawaii (-7.5)
Hawaii 43 Oregon St. 40
LOL
yeah...
It would be great if the knucklehead who made the league would remember to post his picks in the final couple weeks :)
"but it would get you laughed out of a world-class university such as the University of Michigan."
In one of his last interviews, if not the last, Bo Schembechler was asked about a UM/OSU rematch if it turned out THE game was close, he said no to a rematch, wouldn't be fair to the winning team. Would the UM laugh at the revered (deservedly) Bo Schembechler?
I know! That would be double sweet!
What about all of the conference champions? Cant leave them out just because they arent ranked. Or how about #17? Or say that 5th team in a conference? You will never find a system that is satisfactory and as long as the bowl system remains about massive payouts no system will ever seem fair.
Here's a slightly simplified 10-team version, but it basically doesn't change the BCS and BCS bowls, just adds a 4 game playoff after the bowls.
I know that but I said ALL conference champions. Not just BCS conferences. Either way I personally dont care for the idea of a playoff, it would ruin what major college football has been since its inception.
Minor conferences can make it by going undefeated. A 10-team playoff can very easily be expanded to 16-teams, which would bring in any actual deserving minor conference champs. There is no way a 2-loss WAC or Conf. USA champ is the best team in the country.
Bottom line, college football is total shit right now without a playoff, so even a SLIGHTLY flawed playoff is better than the fraudulent garbage we have right now.
http://cbs2.com/sports/local_story_339220843.html
"USC Fan Loses Eye After Pro-UCLA Group Attack"
..beyond disgusting.
I dont think it is. Last year we had the two best teams playing and this year the same, I dont care what anybody says Michigan is not a number 2 team. Yeah there have been some bad picks for the BCS title game, Nebraska and 2 Oklahoma teams come to mind however I think the BCS will get tweaked better over the years. The one major tweak would be that you have to be a conference champion and that all conferences must play a title game, which in itself would be a little playoff.
Oh, honestly! College football has never had a playoff so by your estimation it has been "total shit" all along? Nonsense! We Wolverines have always been entirely about:
1. Beating Ohio State
2. Winning the Big Ten
3. Winning the Rose Bowl
This has been sufficient for decades. All of the present obsession over having a single, undisputed "national champion" is relatively recent and unproven as a long-term operating principle. There are myriad potential and proven disbenefits to this new orientation. As a conservative, I am always reluctant to cast aside proven operating principles in pursuit of theoretical gains. But I suppose if I thought that college football has always been "total shit" I would feel differently.
If they don't prove it on the field it is just a single game against 2 beauty contest winners.
So why have playoffs in any sports, heck, why even declare a winner of games, just play for the joy of it. Silliness.
OBTW, every time ESPN polls it, roughly 85% vote in favor of college football going to a playoff.
I heard stories about some UCLA fans shoving USC fans after the game, but this is really sick.
I was at a dance recital instead of the USC/UCLA game. Glad I missed it for a lot of reasons, but especially because the level of civility at the USC/UCLA game has dropped so badly. I heard of a number of incidents at the game, but the guy losing his eye was obviously disgusting.
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