Some Sanity, Please

In the aftermath of a loss in any big game in any sport, fans of that team come unglued. In this country, nowhere is that more apparent than in college football. Millions of fans buy tickets, travel long distances, and donate large sums of money to support the school of their choice. Coaches reap a lot of the benefit of that interest, with six and seven figure contracts to coach young men on their way to the NFL and/or college degrees. With the steep increase in pay comes a steep increase in expectations. While some of those expectations are warranted, some fans have outrageous demands that they place on coaches, much more than they experience in their everyday lives at their own jobs or with their own families.

I was reminded of this Thursday night, as my Oklahoma Sooners lost yet another national championship game, 24-14 to the Florida Gators. The sentiment I am about to explain is not limited to OU fans, but also applies to fans of Ohio State, Texas, Florida, or any other big-time college program you can name. Combined with the anonymity of the Internet, anyone with a computer and a Web connection can get behind a keyboard and post some hot but absolutely stupid opinions about any subject, including a great football coach.

OU has now lost five BCS bowl games in a row. It would be just as easy to insert Ohio State and Jim Tressel in this conversation, as they have lost three BCS bowl games in a row.

After Thursday night’s game, I visited a leading OU fan message board. There were some OU fans calling for the resignation of Bob Stoops. How asinine! Somebody was drinking too much. In the last ten years, Stoops has only won six conference championships, won one national championship, and played for three others. In addition, his teams’ success has resulted in unprecedented financial success for the OU athletic department. Yet for some, that’s not enough. Especially when said team has lost five BCS bowls in a row. Some fans expect a national championship every year, or their self-importance is wounded. Many of these are the same type of fans that jump on the bandwagon of whatever team happens to be good at the time. There is a good chance these people were nowhere to be seen when John Blake was leading the Sooners to records of 3-8 and 5-6, and Oklahoma had little hope of a return to national relevance. Many are derisively referred to by Oklahoma State fans as “Wal-Mart” Sooner fans, or fans that have never set foot on the campus but bought a shirt at Wal-Mart and adopted the team because they live there and the team is successful. Some of these types of fans, on the other hand, are actually graduates of the school. I cannot properly explain how silly this is. A newspaper writer in Oklahoma in the 1950’s explained it to his editor much better, though in a very politically incorrect way: “How much rice can a Chinaman eat?”

There should be reasonable expectations for a highly paid coach. Coaches like Bob Stoops, Texas’ Mack Brown, Ohio State’s Jim Tressel, and others like them are expected to contend for conference and national championships every year. That is reasonable when a coach is making upwards of 2 and 3 million dollars per year. At that level, consistent and consecutive seasons of 8-4, 7-5 or even worse are unacceptable. Just ask former Tennessee coach Phil Fulmer, among others. However, it is totally unreasonable and outrageous to expect a coach to win a national championship every year. It takes some good fortune on top of talent and strategy to actually win a national championship.

I’m not happy that OU is not currently successful in big-time bowls. However, I’m not willing to throw this group of coaches off the bridge because they had the audacity to lose big games.

Bob Stoops isn’t going anywhere. If he does, it’ll be on his own terms. To expect OU to force him out is a totally ridiculous idea, and isn’t going to happen.

Note: I didn’t go to OU. However, I have a college education, and have been on the OU campus more times than I can count, sometimes for academic reasons. I even went to games when John Blake was the head coach and the team often couldn’t line up properly. I’m not a Wal-Mart Sooner fan.

Bowl Picks, Part 3

Bowls To Date: 12-10
Season: 231-93

The bowl season drags on and on. Next up is New Year’s Day. Once upon a time, New Year’s Day was a celebration of college football. You had the Cotton Bowl when it was a big game. You had the Rose Bowl, when it was an excuse to prepare for the really important game that night. Then, you had the Orange Bowl, which usually featured a Big 8 team and/or Miami playing for a national championship. Ok, not every year, but it sure seemed like it. Now, there is a glut of meaningless games on New Year’s Day and spreading to the days after. There is only one game that counts, and it is on January 8.

Outback Bowl, January 1, Tampa: Iowa vs. South Carolina: Slow Big Ten team plays underachieving SEC team. Gamecocks coach Steve Spurrier was once quarterback for an NFL team in Tampa. They went 0-14. He’ll do better on New Year’s Day. Pick: SC

Konica Minolta Gator Bowl, January 1, Jacksonville: Nebraska vs. Clemson: Middle of the road Big 12 team meets middle of the road ACC team. It won’t be great TV, but they’ll sell plenty of tickets and fill plenty of hotel rooms. Pick: Clemson

Capital One Bowl, January 1, Orlando: Georgia vs. Michigan State: See Outback Bowl-slow Big Ten team plays underachieving SEC team. That’s right, the Bulldogs underachieved, having lost to both rivals in Florida and Georgia Tech. Still, they should be able to handle the Spartans. Pick: Jawja

Rose Bowl presented by Citi, January 1, Pasadena, California: USC vs. Penn State: Once again, USC is in the Rose Bowl, and once again, a Big Ten team loses the Rose Bowl. Penn State should be able to keep it close, but SC’s defense should keep Penn State’s offense out of the end zone for most of the game. Pick: USC

FedEx Orange Bowl, January 1, Miami: Cincinnati vs. Virginia Tech: This really is a BCS bowl game. None of the other BCS bowls wanted either of these teams, but the Orange Bowl gets the national championship game this year, so they’re stuck with this matchup. VT came out of a gaggle of evenly balanced teams in the ACC. Cincinnati dominated the Big East this year. Pick: Cincy

AT&T Cotton Bowl, January 2, Dallas: Ole Miss vs. Texas Tech: Ole Miss surprised the SEC and the world this season in their first year under Houston Nutt. Tech has won 11 games for the first time in the history of man. Make that 12. Pick: Tech

Liberty Bowl, January 2, Memphis: Kentucky vs. East Carolina: Zzzz. Did you know this is Kentucky’s third bowl in a row? So-so SEC team vs. champion of Conference USA. Give me the SEC. Pick: Kentucky

Sugar Bowl, January 2, New Orleans: Alabama vs. Utah: Bama has to be disappointed after running the table in the regular season before losing to Florida in the SEC championship game. The Utes had an awesome year, going undefeated to represent the non-BCS world in one of the $17 million BCS bowl. This won’t be as bad as Hawaii’s game last year against Georgia, but don’t look for the ’06 Boise State team to show up, either. Pick: Alabama

International Bowl, January 3, Toronto: Buffalo vs. Connecticut: Somebody has to go to Toronto in January for a bowl game. It may as well be two snowbound schools. At least the game is indoors. Buffalo won the MAC in Turner Gill’s third year as coach. UConn is becoming a bowl regular. The Bulls have had a great run, but UConn knows what they’re doing here. Pick: UConn

Fiesta Bowl, January 5, Glendale, Arizona: Texas vs. Ohio State: The Longhorns are really, really mad that they came out on the wrong end of the Big 12’s three-way tiebreaker for the South division championship. They really do have a case to be in the national championship game. On the other side of this matchup is Ohio State, winners of 10 games and a regular to this game in the desert. The Buckeyes had a nice season in the Big Ten, but they’re no match for Texas. Pick: Texas

GMAC Bowl, January 6, Mobile, Alabama: Tulsa vs. Ball State: Ball State had a great season, going 12-0 before being upset by Buffalo in the MAC championship game. Since then, head coach Brady Hoke has flown the coop for the warmer climes at San Diego State. Tulsa had a great year, as well, winning 10 games. Tulsa has faded a bit at the end of the season, losing three of their last five games. Pick: Ball State

BCS National Championship Game, January 8, Miami: Oklahoma vs. Florida: Get ready to stay up all night for this one, as there will be lots of offense here. Both teams have Heisman trophy winners. Both teams won premier conferences. Bob Stoops has national championship rings from both schools. As a Sooner fan, I cannot review this game objectively. Sooners win national championship number 8. Pick: OU

Bowl Picks, Part 1

Week of December 6: 5-5
Season: 213-77

There are 34 bowls this year. This means that every team in the Football Bowl Subdivision with a winning record made it to a bowl game. If rewarding excellence is the purpose of bowl games, then some of these games are an absolute joke. What these games provide are a way to fill some hotel rooms and to give some cities some publicity on national TV. And, they provide programming for ESPN. Some of these games are glorified exhibitions between mediocre teams. Others are great matchups.

The first of three installments of bowl picks:

EagleBank Bowl, Dec. 20, Washington, D.C. Navy vs. Wake Forest. This amounts to a home game for Navy against a team that the Midshipmen upset earlier in the year. My question is: who wants to go to a bowl game at RFK Stadium in D.C. in December? That’s not exactly a garden spot. Wake Forest gets revenge. Pick: Demon Deacons

New Mexico Bowl, Dec. 20, Albuquerque. Fresno State vs. Colorado State. The first edition of this bowl that does not feature the hometown Lobos. Fresno State has been to bowl games before, while the Rams have made a major improvement this year. Pick: Fresno State

magicJack St. Petersburg Bowl, Dec. 20, St. Petersburg. Memphis vs. South Florida. The latest bowl to be played in a baseball stadium, this new bowl is sponsored by a tool that allows you to plug your phone into a computer. Ok, at least it’s not sponsored by LoJack. Who wants to watch a bowl game between Memphis and USF? Ugh. Pick: USF

Pioneer Las Vegas Bowl, Dec. 20, Las Vegas. Arizona vs. BYU. Did you know Las Vegas got three inches of snow yesterday? This is BYU’s fourth consecutive trip to this bowl. I wonder how this bowl would do without BYU in it. Zona finally gets to a bowl in Mike Stoops’ fifth year. The Mountain West has had its way against the Pac-10 this year. That won’t change in this game. Pick: BYU

R&L Carriers New Orleans Bowl, Dec. 21, New Orleans. Southern Miss vs. Troy. Southern Miss makes a bowl game in a rebuilding year. The men of Troy, Alabama once again won the Sun Belt conference. Troy is a little better than Southern Miss. Pick: Troy

San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl, Dec. 23, San Diego. TCU vs. Boise State. There’s something wrong when a matchup between the 8th and 11th ranked teams in the nation occurs two days before Christmas in a bowl named for a credit union. At least it’s in San Diego. This game has greatness written all over it. Can the Broncos go 13-0? I don’t know. Pick: TCU

Sheraton Hawaii Bowl, Dec. 24, Honolulu. Notre Dame vs. Hawaii. It’s pretty sad when Notre Dame can royally suck and still get a trip to Hawaii. Problem is, they’re playing Hawaii on their home field. It’ll feel just like a BCS bowl in one way for the Irish: they’ll lose. Pick: Hawaii.

Motor City Bowl, Dec. 26, Detroit. Florida Atlantic vs. Central Michigan. Yuck. There are some bad bowls out there, and this is one of them. Florida Atlantic went 6-6, played in the worst conference in college football, and still made it to a bowl. There’s something wrong with this picture. Central Michigan had it going this year in the MAC before losing to Ball State and Eastern Michigan. Pick: Central Michigan

Meineke Car Care Bowl, Dec. 27, Charlotte. West Virginia vs. North Carolina. Good matchup bound to sell lots of tickets in Charlotte. Tar Heels were one of the better teams in a dreadfully balanced ACC. West Virginia was favored to win the Big East, but ended up here. Pick: North Carolina

Champs Sports Bowl, Dec. 27, Orlando. Wisconsin vs. Florida State. Badgers nearly lost their last game to Cal Poly. Seminoles showed signs of improvement this year, but aren’t quite where they want to be. Pick: FSU

Emerald Bowl, Dec. 27, San Francisco. Miami vs. California. Canes visit the City by the Bay. Hopefully, they’ll have a good sightseeing trip, because there’s no way they’ll beat Cal out there. Pick: Cal

Independence Bowl, Dec. 28, Shreveport. Northern Illinois vs. Louisiana Tech. How did the 6-6 Huskies get into this bowl? The former executive director of the bowl now works for NIU. This is a really lame matchup, brought about because the Big 12 and SEC each sent two teams to the BCS and didn’t have enough teams left for the Indy Bowl to pick. Somebody has to win this game. Pick: Tech

A Load of BCS

The pairings for the BCS are set. As expected, there are a lot of happy people in Florida and Oklahoma. There are a lot of upset people in Texas. The rest of the country is indifferent to the results of a sham of a system designed more to generate money for bowls and certain conferences than to determine a true national champion.

Some thoughts on the various BCS matchups:

Orange Bowl: Virginia Tech vs. Cincinnati. Not too long ago, these schools were members of the Metro conference for basketball and other sports, and independents in football playing each other every year. Fast forward 20 years, and these two schools are playing each other in a big-money bowl. On the field, it’ll actually be a pretty good game. However, it is a TV ratings disaster in the making. Plus, how many people are going to pay $125 per ticket to see Virginia Tech play Cincinnati? Good luck filling the stadium for this one. This is the price the Orange Bowl pays for hosting the national championship game a week later. VT won a very balanced but mediocre ACC. Cincinnati won an equally mediocre Big East going away. Both teams would finish 5th or worse in the Big 12 South, and it is questionable if either would win the North. Boise State would beat both teams by at least two touchdowns. So would Texas Tech. Flip a coin for a winner here. Picks will be made in a future blog post.

Sugar Bowl: Alabama vs. Utah. The Crimson Tide are back on the map in Nick Saban’s second year, going undefeated before losing the SEC championship game to the Florida Gators. Utah, in the meantime, went undefeated and won an underrated Mountain West conference. This will be a pretty good game.

Fiesta Bowl: Ohio State vs. Texas. The Buckeyes are here on the strength of their large traveling fan base, their huge alumni base, and their ability to draw a TV audience. Their second place finish in the Big Ten is not impressive due to the weakness of that conference. The Big Ten is definitely stronger in the classroom than on the field. Texas, on the other hand, has a case to be in the national championship game. The Longhorns were the only team to defeat Oklahoma, and were a last-second touchdown pass away from going undefeated. This is the most attractive matchup of the non-championship BCS bowls.

Rose Bowl: USC vs. Penn State. Penn State is this year’s sacrificial lamb put up by the Big Ten to be slaughtered by USC. 5:00 Central Time on New Year’s Day would be a good time to eat your black-eyed peas, as USC will have this one well in hand by then.

BCS National Championship Game: Oklahoma vs. Florida: Look for lots and lots of points in this one. Both teams are averaging over 50 points per game, and won the two dominant conferences in college football: the Big 12 and SEC. There is a possibility of a matchup of Heisman Trophy winners here, with Florida’s Tim Tebow and OU’s Sam Bradford. That is, if Bradford does what many expect and wins the Heisman on Saturday night. OU is looking to break a string of four consecutive losses in BCS games, including losses in the championship game in 2003 and 2004. This blog would love to see a rematch of OU and Texas in this game. However, Florida is very deserving of their spot here.

Cool Uniform of the Day

Credit must be given where credit is due, and this blog will do just that when it is warranted.

Saturday, Nike rolled out a great uniform design that works for one and only one team. The United States Military Academy, aka Army, rolled out these black and camouflage uniforms for their annual grudge match with Navy. The helmets and pants are camouflage, as are the numbers and lettering on the black jersey. On the back of the jersey, in place of the name plate, appears the quote "Honor. Duty. Country.". On one pants leg appears the Army quote, "Boots On The Ground", while "West Point" appears on the other leg.

No other team should try to duplicate this look. However, for Army, this is an awesome look. These guys look ready to head for the Middle East and kick the crap out of a bunch of terrorists.

Army lost the game to Navy in a big way, 34-0. However, they won the uniform battle.

Go Army.

Breaking Ties Is Hard To Do

There is going to be a Big 12 championship game Saturday night in Kansas City, and Oklahoma is going to be in it. The Sooners used a 61-41 win at Oklahoma State to impress enough of the BCS computers to pass Texas in this week’s BCS ratings, enabling OU to win the league’s 5th tiebreaker over Texas and Texas Tech for the spot in Kansas City against the Missouri Tigers. (Wait, that’s a basketball score! The two schools have scored fewer points in basketball games against each other!)

The involvement of hard drives and statistical formulas provides a fitting end to the greatest season in the short history of the Big 12. OU, Texas, and Tech ran up point totals that would make the best video gamer proud. Not far behind them was Oklahoma State. The Cowboys were the fourth best team in the South division, but would have won the North. Heck, the Cowboys would have won the ACC, the Big East, and a few other conferences.

OU, Texas, and Tech were ESPN and ABC’s dream. The ABC Saturday night crew spent a lot of time this fall in Texas and Oklahoma, as that is where the best matchups were. It’s not that there was a lack of defense here. It’s just that the offenses were so good that nothing could stop them. These four teams gave fans plenty of reason to spend money to attend games and to make time to watch them on TV.

Teeth are gnashing and mouths are wailing tonight in the city of Austin, as the Texas Longhorns came out on the wrong end of this tiebreaker. They have good reason, as Texas beat OU in Dallas, 45-35. The wildcard in this scenario is that there is a third team in this scenario, Texas Tech, that finished with the same record as OU and UT. If the head-to-head result between OU and UT matters, then so does the head-to-head matchup between UT and Tech. By the way, Tech won that game, 39-33 in Lubbock. OU’s later pounding of the Red Raiders does not take away from Tech’s great season or their role in the tiebreaker.

Is there a better way to break the tie? Perhaps. The SEC and ACC drops the third team from the tie if said team is more than 5 places below the higher-ranked team in the BCS standings. That would not happen here, as Tech is ranked 7th behind OU’s 2nd and UT’s 3rd. Maybe the three schools should do what high schools in Florida do: meet at a neutral site on a Tuesday night, play one quarter each against each other, and let the two top teams play a final quarter for all the marbles. Just kidding, as this would be logistically impossible. A more logical solution would be for the three coaches to meet at a truck stop in Wichita Falls and flip coins. Or, draw straws. Or, better yet, play Rock, Paper, Scissors. Ok, with as much money as these teams generate and these coaches make, they could meet at the Grand Hyatt at DFW Airport. The truck stop would make for better TV, though. Kinda like the real story in the book, Friday Night Lights. To sum it up, there’s not a good way to break a tie between three really good teams.

There is hope for the Longhorns. OU could very well lose to Missouri Saturday night in Kansas City. And, the Longhorns could very well stay ahead of Florida if the Gators defeat #1 Alabama in the SEC championship game. Both of these scenarios would give Bevo a trip to Miami for the national championship game.

The BCS is good for nothing but controversy. So is anything involving OU and Texas.

College Picks, Week 14

Last Week: 12-8 (.600)
Season: 192-68 (.738)

In many ways, this is the biggest weekend of the college football season. Big rivalries are being played this weekend. Bowl bids are on the line. Spots in the BCS National Championship Game are at stake. The only guarantee is that something really strange will happen.

Oklahoma at Oklahoma State: The Sooners, fresh off a 65-21 beatdown of Texas Tech, visit Stillwater to take on the Cowboys. As always, this is OSU’s Super Bowl, but the Cowboys actually have a pretty good team this year. This is a dangerous game. A win gives OU strength of schedule points in the BCS computers, possibly enough to pass Texas in the standings for a trip to the Big XII championship game. This will be quality television on Saturday night. That’s good, because you can’t buy a ticket to this one unless you buy OSU season tickets. It’s a lot cheaper to stay home and watch and listen to Brent and Kirk. Pick: OU

Texas A&M at Texas (Thursday): Poor Aggies. The worst A&M team in a quarter-century has to visit Austin when the Longhorns need BCS style points. If you don’t get enough turkey at dinner on Thanksgiving, you’ll get more of it from this game. Pick: Texas

Baylor at Texas Tech: The Red Raiders went home with their heads between their legs after the butt-kicking they took in Norman last week for their first loss. Baylor will show up and represent themselves. Tech will be on the rebound, though, and should be dangerous. Pick: Tech

Colorado at Nebraska (Friday): Believe it or not, the Huskers can win their eighth game of the season by beating the Buffs. They should be able to do so with relatively little problem. Pick: Nebraska

Kansas vs. Missouri at Kansas City: A disappointing season ends for the Jayhawks at Arrowhead Stadium. After losing two mid-season games to Texas and Oklahoma State, the Tigers have feasted on Big 12 North opposition. They’ll do so again while awaiting their chance to mess up the BCS next week in the Big 12 championship game. Pick: Mizzou

Auburn at Alabama: The Iron Bowl. Tommy Tuberville better have an iron posterior, because his seat is hot after this debacle of a season. All will be well on the Plains if War Eagle can upset the hated Tide. Auburn has won five in a row in this series. Bama looks to erase that record of futility while they keep their undefeated season alive. There is way too much going Bama’s way. Pick: Alabama

Florida at Florida State: The Seminoles finally had a great game last week as they plastered Maryland on the road. They’ll need another one this week at home if they want to beat the Fighting Tim Tebows and truly mess up the BCS. At least a couple of Big 12 teams will be rooting for them. Even in Tallahassee, though, the Gators are too good. At least this year, they are. Pick: Florida

Oregon at Oregon State: With a win, Oregon State can go to the Rose Bowl for the first time since the days of leather helmets. It hasn’t been quite that long, but it’s been long enough for the Beavers. As far as the Ducks are concerned, which set of ugly uniforms will they wear this week? Pick: Oregon State

Georgia Tech at Georgia: This game is like a box of chocolates: you never know what you’re going to get. Both teams have looked awesome at times. At other times, they’ve been pretty mediocre. Go with the home team here. Pick: Georgia

South Carolina at Clemson: No matter how much Clemson seems to disappoint on a yearly basis, they usually seem to find a way to beat the Gamecocks. USC-East ought to be able to win this game. They’ll find a way not to. Pick: Clemson

Virginia at Virginia Tech: The Hokies actually have a chance to come out of the scrum in the ACC to advance to the ACC championship game. All they need to do is beat the Cavaliers. Virginia has looked really good at times, and really awful at times. Pick: Hokies

Maryland at Boston College: The Eagles have a chance to survive the other half of the ACC to make the championship game with a win. They got a big road win last week at Wake Forest, while the Terps laid a big egg at home in being squashed by Florida State. It’s really cold in Boston at this time of year. Pick: BC

West Virginia at Pittsburgh: The Backyard Brawl. Both teams have shown flashes of brilliance. Both teams have also shown flashes of inconsistency. The Mountaineers will be looking for revenge, after the Panthers knocked them out of a shot at last year’s national championship. Pick: Pittsburgh

Western Michigan at Ball State (Tuesday): Ball State is still undefeated, but must face a strong and dangerous Western Michigan team. The Cardinals are kings of the mid-week MAC games. Give them another one. Pick: Ball State

Houston at Rice: The battle for the Bayou Bucket is also a battle for the Conference USA West division championship. If you like offense, this is your game. Pick: Rice

LSU at Arkansas (Friday): These teams play for a trophy that looks like a golden boot, but is really the states of Arkansas and Louisiana on top of each other. Both teams will be glad to end this season. LSU has more talent, though they have struggled of late. Pick: LSU

Notre Dame at USC: Yawn. When Notre Dame loses this game, they’ll be 6-6. What bowl will pick them in spite of that record? Some bowl will, and that game will be ugly. Not as ugly as this will be, though. Pick: SC

Kentucky at Tennessee: Phil Fulmer’s farewell as coach of the Vols. Rocky Top bounced back last week to beat Vanderbilt. Kentucky is bowl eligible, but still hasn’t beaten the Vols in a coon’s age. They won’t win this year, either. Pick: Tennessee

North Carolina at Duke: Blue Devils have won four games this year, and have a chance to spoil the Tar Heels’ season. Carolina was embarrassed last week by rival N.C. State, 41-10. The Heels won’t let that happen two years in a row. Pick: UNC

Vanderbilt at Wake Forest: Both teams are looking for more respect and a better bowl. Vandy has been slipping in the second half of the season, while Wake lost a nail-biter at home last week to Boston College, most likely costing themselves an appearance in the ACC championship game. The Deacons are a little better than Vandy. Pick: Wake Forest

College Picks, Week 13

Now is the time when all of this starts to get good. Conference championships, bowl bids, national championship game appearances, and pure bragging rights will be decided over the next three weeks. Here is this week’s 20 fearless picks:

Last week: 13-7
Season: 180-60

Texas Tech at Oklahoma: The latest and possibly greatest of a series of gargantuan matchups in the Big 12 South. A Tech win would send them to the Big 12 championship game and a possible trip to the national championship game. An OU win would create a possible three-way tie for the Big 12 South title, sending the team with the highest BCS ranking to Kansas City to play Missouri. OU has lost two, count ‘em, two home games in the 10 years of the Bob Stoops era. Pick: OU

Iowa State at Kansas State: Plenty of good seats are available as the Cyclones and Wildcats battle for the Big 12 North cellar. K-State is in the market for a new coach, as well. Which team will get up for this stinker of a game? Pick: Iowa State

Miami at Georgia Tech (Thursday): The Canes suddenly have control of their own destiny in the ACC Coastal division. Which means, they’ll lose, as all the other teams have done in that league when faced with a similar situation. It is forecast to be cold in Atlanta on Thursday night. Pick: Tech

Michigan at Ohio State: Michigan is having its worst season since Henry Ford started building cars. The Buckeyes are out for blood, and won’t feel sorry for the mediocre Wolverines. This is a no-brainer. Pick: TOSU

Michigan State at Penn State: This is the Big Ten championship game. Penn State goes to the Rose Bowl with a win. Michigan State needs help. The Spartans would most likely be co-champions of the Big Ten with a win, but would lose a tiebreaker to Ohio State. That is, if they don’t get unlikely help from Michigan. The Lions can start booking trips to California. Pick: Penn State

Indiana at Purdue: The only thing on the line in this game is the Old Oaken Bucket. Indiana has been awful this year. Purdue has only been mediocre. Pick: Purdue

N.C. State at North Carolina: This is the ACC, which means anyone can win, and usually does. Carolina is just a little better, and is playing at home. Pick: UNC

Tennessee at Vanderbilt: Tennessee lost to Wyoming. How in the world are they going to beat Vanderbilt in the Commodores’ best season in 25 years? Pick: Vandy

Air Force at TCU: A TCU win gives the Frogs yet another 10 win season. Pick: TCU

Ole Miss at LSU: Ole Miss has improved this year. LSU pulled the biggest comeback in school history last week to beat Troy. Pick: LSU

Boston College at Wake Forest: Huge matchup in the ACC Atlantic division. BC won last week in Tallahassee, where the Deacons also beat Florida State earlier in the year. Can the Eagles win two road games in a row? No. Pick: Wake

Stanford at California: The Big Game. In High School Musical 3, Gabriella accepted an academic scholarship to Stanford. Her boyfriend Troy, on the other hand, accepted a basketball/music scholarship to Cal. Pick: Cal

Illinois at Northwestern: The Illini have been disappointing this season, while the Wildcats have had a great year, and could be playing somewhere on New Year’s Day. Pick: Northwestern

BYU at Utah: The Holy War. BYU can still get a share of the conference title, while Utah can go to a BCS bowl with a win, capping an undefeated season. Pick: Utah

Oregon State at Arizona: Last season, Oregon traveled down to Tucson with a chance for a national championship. They lost. Now, Oregon State goes down to the desert with a chance to go to the Rose Bowl. Tucson is where dreams go to die. Pick: Arizona

Iowa at Minnesota: Two weeks ago, the Gophers lost the Little Brown Jug to Michigan. Last week, the Gophers lost Paul Bunyan’s Axe to Wisconsin. This week, they play Iowa for Floyd of Rosedale, a bronze pig. The pig goes back to Iowa City. Pick: Iowa

Pittsburgh at Cincinnati: The Bearcats are staring a BCS bowl in the face, while coach Brian Kelly is flirting with the Tennessee job. Still, the Bearcats have been impressive this year while rotating quarterbacks due to injury. Pick: Cincy

Florida State at Maryland: The Terps kept their conference title hopes alive last week with a game-winning field goal to beat North Carolina. The Seminoles are still just one of many ACC teams with approximately the same record, a far cry from the decade of the 90’s in Tallahassee. Pick: Maryland

Washington at Washington State: The Apple Cup. This year, it would be more accurately known as the Rotten Apple Cup. U-Dub is 0-10, while Wazzu is 1-10 with only a win over Portland State. Wazzu has allowed less than 50 points to only two Pac-10 opponents. UW hasn't been quite as bad, but the Huskies have only been competitive in one game, a 28-27 loss to BYU. If you want to see some bad football, tune in to Fox Sports Net at 12 PM Pacific. Pick: U-Dub

Yale at Harvard: In the Ivy League, this is simply called, “The Game”. Harvard can win the Ivy League with a win. Pick: Harvard

College Picks, Week 12

Last Week: 16-4
Season: 167-43

This week is a relative breather in college football, as we await the next titanic Big 12 South matchup between Oklahoma and Texas Tech. This week’s picks:

Texas at Kansas: The last time Texas visited Larryville, the Longhorns needed some last-minute heroics from Vince Young and some questionable officiating to win. After the game, KU coach Mark Mangino accused the Big 12 officials of conspiring to allow Texas to win in order to keep their national championship hopes and Big 12 payday alive. KU lost last week to Nebraska, and probably won’t be able to keep up with the Horns. Pick: UT

Oklahoma State at Colorado: Saturday Night Football moves this week to Boulder, where OSU will be looking to rebound from the butt-kicking they took last week in Lubbock. CU will be jacked for this one, but the Buffs aren’t as good as OSU. Pick: OSU

Nebraska at Kansas State: Two teams headed in opposite directions. The Huskers are trying to squeeze out a bowl bid in Bo Pelini’s first year. K-State is playing out the string as the Ron Prince era comes to an end. Pick: Nebraska

Texas A&M at Baylor: The Suck Bowl. The two Big 12 South teams that are unranked and headed nowhere. Both teams will be glad to play someone the other can beat. Pick: Baylor

Missouri at Iowa State: Missouri dominates the Big 12 North. Pick: Mizzou

Virginia Tech at Miami (Thursday): ESPN is showing some good games on Thursday nights. This is another one of them. Tech is coming around, evidenced by their convincing win over Maryland last week. Miami is no pushover, but VT is better. Pick: Tech

Cincinnati at Louisville (Friday): Winner gets a barge on the Ohio River. Cincinnati can win out and go to a BCS bowl. The Bearcats should be able to win this one against a rival on the road. Pick: Cincy

Notre Dame vs. Navy at Baltimore: Last year, Navy finally beat the Irish in triple overtime, winning this game for the first time since Roger Staubach was their quarterback. Can they make it two in a row? Yes. Pick: Navy

Ohio State at Illinois: The Buckeyes can still win the Big Ten, but they need some more help. Meanwhile, they should get revenge for last year’s loss in Columbus. Pick: TOSU

Georgia at Auburn: Yes, that was Auburn that was tied with Tennessee-Martin in the third quarter last week. The Tigers went on to beat UTM 37-20, but looked awful doing it. Georgia is trying to salvage a season in which they were ranked #1 in pre-season. Pick: Georgia

South Carolina at Florida: Steve Spurrier returns to the Swamp once again. The Gators, however, are on a mission in the second half of the season, and are destroying all comers. How did this team ever lose to Ole Miss? Pick: Gators

California at Oregon State: The Beavers are in control of their own destiny. All they need to do is win out, and they are going to Pasadena for the Rose Bowl. They win this one. Pick: OSU-West

Minnesota at Wisconsin: The Gophers are slipping back to becoming the same old Gophers, after winning 7 of their first 8 games. Wiscy has been injury-plagued and inconsistent. This one is in Madison, so go with the home team. Pick: Badgers

North Carolina at Maryland: The Tar Heels are one of the better teams in a balanced ACC. But, they’re not that much better than Maryland. The Terps come through at home. Fear the turtle. Pick: Maryland

Boston College at Florida State: In Massachusetts, BC is a well-respected university. In the South, BC is a headache powder. It’ll be a tough trip to Tallahassee for the Eagles. Pick: FSU

Vanderbilt at Kentucky: Two teams headed in opposite directions. Pick: Kentucky

BYU at Air Force: The two best teams in the Mountain West conference not named Utah or TCU. Pick: BYU

Northwestern at Michigan: Northwestern is having a better season than Michigan. But, this is in the Big House, and the Wolverines haven’t given up on the season just yet. Pick: Michigan

Tulsa at Houston: The Hurricane have been rolling through Conference USA. The Cougars should make it tough for Tulsa, but TU is playing too well this season. Pick: Tulsa

DePauw at Wabash: The 115th Battle for the Monon Bell. Both teams are good this year, but Wabash is undefeated and ranked #3 in the nation in Division III. Pick: Wabash

College Picks, Week 11

Last Week: 16-4
Season: 151-39

Another set of picks, just in the nick of time before Thursday night’s games…

Oklahoma at Texas A&M: Aggies are riding high after winning two in a row. Sooners are still on a redemption tour. No one has come close to them except Texas. Look for more of the same here. Pick: OU

Oklahoma State at Texas Tech: The next in a series of titanic Big 12 South matchups. ABC’s cameras return to Lubbock for the second Saturday night in a row. Tech finds themselves ranked #2 in the latest BCS rankings. This will be yet another Big 12 game where offense will rule and defenses will be outmatched. Pick: Tech

Baylor at Texas: The Bears are improving, but will be no match for the Longhorns. Pick: UT

Iowa State at Colorado: Battle for last place in the Big 12 North. Colorado is a better team, especially at home. Pick: CU

Kansas at Nebraska: The Huskers have some problems, but get the Jayhawks at home. The last time these teams met, KU broke 70. They won’t score that many points this time, but they should be good enough to win in Lincoln. Pick: KU

Kansas State at Missouri: Kansas State fired coach Ron Prince this week, meaning there wasn’t enough Purple Reign in Manhattan. K-State would really like to win like it was 1999. The Wildcats now travel to Columbia, where Mizzou takes no prisoners. Pick: Missouri

TCU at Utah (Thursday): This game has Mountain West and BCS implications. A TCU win gives them at least a share of the conference title and a shot at a BCS bowl. A Utah win keeps the Utes’ unbeaten season alive, and keeps them in prime contention for the BCS. As much as I’d like to see the Frogs win, the Utes are at home on a Thursday night. Pick: Utah

Maryland at Virginia Tech (Thursday): The ACC is nothing if not balanced. Maryland is the only team left in the conference with less than 2 losses. That will change Thursday night. It’s hard to win in Blacksburg on a Thursday night. Pick: VT

Alabama at LSU: Nick Saban returns to Baton Rouge, home of the national championship trophy he won with the Tigers in 2003. Tiger fans will be waiting for him, loud and drunk. Bama is now #1 in the nation, but not for long. Pick: LSU

Michigan at Minnesota: This battle for the Little Brown Jug will be nothing if not interesting. Michigan comes into this game at 2-7 and headed nowhere. Minnesota is 6-2 and coming off a heartbreaking loss at home to Northwestern, in which the Wildcats returned an interception for a touchdown in the closing seconds of the game for the game-winner. Can the Gophers recover? Good question. Pick: Michigan

Ohio State at Northwestern: This will not be a pushover for the Buckeyes. Still, TOSU should have enough to win. Pick: TOSU

Penn State at Iowa: Lions are three wins away from an undefeated season, while rooting for Alabama and Texas Tech to lose. This won’t be an easy road trip, but these guys won in Columbus. Of course they’ll win in Iowa City. Pick: Penn State

Clemson at Florida State: This was scheduled to be another Bowden Bowl, but Clemson fired Tommy Bowden last month. Seminoles fumbled a win away in the final minute at Georgia Tech last week. Still, these Seminoles are better than they have been in recent years. Pick: FSU

Oregon State at UCLA: Beavers can still win the Pac-10 if they win out. They’ll outscore the Bruins this week. Pick: OSU-West

California at USC: The Bears should be able to hang with USC. They won’t win, though. Pick: SC

Notre Dame at Boston College: Who does the Pope root for? Or, does he care about American football? The Irish return to Boston for a tough matchup with a feisty Eagles team. Pick: BC

Florida at Vanderbilt: Vandy is looking to make some more noise and to become eligible for its first bowl since the Reagan administration. Gators beat Georgia like a drum last week. Nashville will be rocking Saturday night. However, Florida is better. Pick: UF

Stanford at Oregon: Quack, quack, quack. Pick: Oregon

Wyoming at Tennessee: The Vols put coach Philip Fulmer out to pasture this week. Fulmer only won 75 percent of his games and a national championship as head man of the Vols. But, it’s “what have you done lately?”, and the Vols aren’t doing much these days. Wyoming will be a much weaker opponent than what Tennessee is finding in the SEC. Pick: Vols

Fordham at Holy Cross: Once again, who does the Pope root for? Holy Cross, Batman! Pick: Crusaders

College Picks, Week 10

Last Week: 15-5
Season: 135-35

Nebraska at Oklahoma: This was once one of the biggest games of the year, every year. Now, it’s just another Big 12 North-South game played twice every four years. Nebraska is showing signs of improvement under Bo Pelini. However, they’re no match for the Sooners in Norman. Pick: OU

Texas at Texas Tech: The biggest game in the history of Texas Tech. It’s always a big game when the Longhorns visit Lubbock, but it’s never like this. UT is undefeated and ranked #1 in the nation. Tech is also undefeated and ranked #7 in the BCS. Like most games in the Big 12 this season, there will be lots of points in this one. With all the passing, this game will take all night, so all those Saturday night anchors at ABC stations around the country will just have to wait to do their local news. Tech is really good, but Texas is better. Yuck. Pick: Texas

Iowa State at Oklahoma State: ISU is just in over their heads this season. OSU lost a close game last week in Austin. This one shouldn’t be close. Pick: OSU

Kansas State at Kansas: Both teams got their heads handed to them last week, though K-State was a little more respectable last week against OU. KU royally stunk last week against Tech, but is a little better than K-State, especially in Larryville. Pick: KU

Missouri at Baylor: The Tigers are on a redemption tour of their own, and hung half a hundred on Colorado last week while holding the Buffs scoreless. Baylor led Nebraska in the third quarter before losing to the Huskers last week. Mizzou is still a lot better than Baylor. Pick: Mizzou

Colorado at Texas A&M: Both teams need a win in the worst way. The Aggies got their first conference win last week against Iowa State. Make that two in a row for the Ags. Pick: A&M

Florida vs. Georgia at Jacksonville: The World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party takes place once again on the banks of the St. Johns River. This is also, for all intents and purposes, the SEC East Division Championship Game. Both teams have scored some big wins. Both teams have an unexplainable loss: Florida to Ole Miss, and Georgia being whipped by Alabama. The Gators have revenge on their minds. Pick: Florida

Tulsa at Arkansas: This was once an annual trip to Fayetteville for the Golden Hurricane. TU is undefeated, ranked 18th in the nation, and leads the nation in scoring and total offense. TU broke a contract with Texas Tech to play this game, which happens to be in the Hogs’ worst season in years. The Hogs are improving, but not up to their fans’ standards. Still, there’s a big difference between Conference USA and the SEC. Pick: Arkansas

TCU at UNLV: Viva Las Vegas. Pick: TCU

Florida State at Georgia Tech: Don’t look now, but the Seminoles are 6-1. They go to Atlanta to face the triple option offense of the Ramblin’ Wreck. Pick: FSU

Oregon at Cal: Ok, which team is going to wear the loud yellow uniforms? Pick: Cal

West Virginia at Connecticut: This is bizarro world: UConn is ranked, and West Virginia is not. That won’t last long. Pick: WVU

Michigan at Purdue: The Wolverines have to win out to have a winning season. That is unlikely. Pick: Purdue

Wisconsin at Michigan State: Spartans are a top-level Big Ten team, and look to finish third behind Penn State and Ohio State. Pick: MSU

Northwestern at Minnesota: Minnesota is also making a run toward the top of the Big Ten, as is Northwestern. This should feature lots of offense. Pick: Minnesota

Temple at Navy: John McCain’s alma mater should get a relatively easy win. Pick: Navy

Miami at Virginia: What once looked like a bad Virginia team is now leading their division in the ACC. What a difference a few weeks make. Pick: Virginia

Pittsburgh at Notre Dame: The Panthers have been hard to beat this year. The Irish are improved, but not national championship caliber. Pick: Pittsburgh

Iowa at Illinois: A team that begins with I will win this game. Pick: Illinois

Occidental at California Lutheran: Occidental is one of Barack Obama’s alma maters, and is undefeated on the season. Oxy and Cal Lutheran are playing for the lead in their conference. Pick: Occidental

College Picks, Week 9

This week features a virtual national championship playoff game in the Big Ten and some wild skirmishes in the Big 12.

Last week: 15-5
Season: 120-40

Oklahoma at Kansas State: Sooners continue their redemption tour in Manhattan, Kansas. The Wildcats just can’t keep up with the high-powered offenses in the Big 12. Pick: OU

Oklahoma State at Texas: Battle of unbeatens in Austin. In four of the last six years, OSU has led at halftime, sometimes convincingly, before losing to the Longhorns every time. Look for lots of points here, with Texas scoring more. Pick: UT

Texas Tech at Kansas: Toughest test of the season thus far for the Raiders. Jayhawks were outscored last week in Norman by OU, 45-31. Flip a coin here. When in doubt, go with the home team. Pick: KU

Colorado at Missouri: Missouri is more like Misery right now, after two consecutive losses to Big 12 South opponents. Buffs won last week against K-State, but Missouri is still better than Kansas State. Tigers bounce back. Pick: Mizzou

Baylor at Nebraska: Huskers should be able to win this one, but Baylor won’t make it easy. Pick: Nebraska

Texas A&M at Iowa State: Two teams battling for Big 12 mediocrity. Pick: Iowa State

Auburn at West Virginia (Thursday): At the beginning of the season, many thought this game might have national championship and BCS implications. How things have changed! West Virginia lost two games early, while Auburn has fallen apart in SEC play. I don’t know if this game will be worthy of a couch-burning, but the Mountaineers should defend their home turf. Pick: WVU

Penn State at Ohio State: Joe Paterno is 174 years old, and has his best chance for his last national championship with the Lions, as they come in undefeated. The Big Horseshoe on the Banks of the Olentangy will be rocking, as the Buckeyes still own the Big Ten. Pick: TOSU

Alabama at Tennessee: This game is supposed to be on the Third Saturday in October, but someone at the SEC office had other ideas this year. That just postponed another loss for the mediocre Volunteers. The Tide remain undefeated for another week. Pick: Alabama

Boston College at North Carolina: The ACC may not have a great team, but they have a lot of decent teams. These are two of them. Pick: UNC

Illinois at Wisconsin: This game once had Rose Bowl implications. Now, it is a battle between disappointing teams. Pick: Wiscy

Wake Forest at Miami: Wake got blasted last week at Maryland. The Canes are a shadow of their former selves. Pick: Miami

Georgia at LSU: Another titanic showdown in the SEC, where there is a Super Bowl just about every week. Tigers got a good come-from-behind win last week at South Carolina, and are home. Pick: LSU

UCLA at Cal: The University of California will win this game. The question is: which one? Pick: Berkeley

Michigan State at Michigan: Spartans were on a roll until last week when they were ripped by Ohio State. This week, they face the reeling and rebuilding Wolverines. Michigan is very mediocre this season, but ought to be able to beat their in-state rival. That would really chap some people in East Lansing, in this, the Wolverines’ worst season in the last 50 years. Pick: Michigan

Virginia Tech at Florida State: Two ACC powers struggling to move past the pack in this balanced conference. The Seminoles are getting better every week. Pick: FSU

Wyoming at TCU: Wyoming? Please. Pick: TCU

Notre Dame at Washington: Huskies are on the way to a possible winless season as they continue the Tyrone Willingham Death March. Pick: Irish

USC at Arizona: Trojans continue their march through the Pac-10 with a trip to the desert. Pick: SC

Slippery Rock at California (Pa.): The Rock has a tough test in the Hotel California. The one in Pennsylvania, that is. Pick: California

As the BCS Turns

The first installment of Bowl Championship Series rankings came out on Sunday. As expected, Texas is on top of the rankings.

1 Texas
2 Alabama
3 Penn State
4 Oklahoma
5 USC
6 Oklahoma State
7 Georgia
8 Texas Tech
9 Ohio State
10 Florida
11 Utah
12 Boise State
13 LSU
14 TCU
15 Missouri
16 South Florida
17 Pittsburgh
18 Georgia Tech
19 Tulsa
20 Ball State
21 BYU
22 Northwestern
23 Kansas
24 Minnesota
25 Florida State

Some more observations:

• There is a good chance that at least one BCS conference team will go undefeated. Texas has at least two games left that they could lose: at home against Oklahoma State, and at Texas Tech. They stand a good chance of winning both of those, however. Alabama is undefeated, but still has SEC West battles against LSU and a weakened Auburn team. Penn State has a titanic road trip this week at Ohio State, but should be able to win the remaining games thereafter. At least one of these three teams will probably be in the national championship game, barring a collapse.

• The Big 12 South continues to have a murderers’ row, with four teams in the top 8: #1 Texas, #4 Oklahoma, #6 Oklahoma State, and #8 Texas Tech. OSU must visit Austin this week to play Texas. Tech must still play all three of the other Big 12 South powers. OU has a home game with Tech and a dangerous road trip to Stillwater to play OSU. With just a tiny bit of help, the stage is set for an OU-Texas rematch in the national championship game. Right now, the BCS computers like all of these teams. It is impressive that OU has a loss and is still ranked #4.

• Penn State plays Ohio State in Columbus on Saturday night in what may as well be the Big Ten championship game. No other team in this conference can touch either of those teams. Michigan thought they had something going when they led Penn State 17-7 in the third quarter. Penn State broke out the hammer, crushed the Wolverines, and won 46-17.

• USC is dominating the Pac-10 after an inexplicable brain fart on a Thursday night at Oregon State. It would be a huge upset if they lost to another Pac-10 team.

• There is a very good chance that a non-BCS conference team will make it to a BCS bowl for the third year in a row. For this to happen, one of these teams must finish in the top 12 of the BCS standings, or in the top 16 and ahead of the champion of a BCS-qualifying conference (such as the ACC or Big East). Currently, Utah and Boise State are undefeated and ranked 11th and 12th, respectively. Lurking at #14 is TCU, with one loss. It would be very interesting if TCU could qualify for a BCS bowl with a loss, provided they win at Utah. Boise State, however, has a very good chance to finish undefeated. Also in the rankings are undefeated Tulsa at #19 and undefeated Ball State at #20. Only one of these teams can make a BCS bowl, per the rules of the system.

That's all for now...

College Picks, Week 8

Last Week: 13-7
Season: 105-35

The wheat is being separated from the chaff in another wild college football season. This season is still very fluid. It remains to be seen if a team can win a national championship with two losses, as LSU did last season. The only thing guaranteed in college football is chaos. Now, on with the picks...

Kansas at Oklahoma: The Fighting Manginos are solid once again this season, but are not quite as good as they were last year. OU is mad, very mad, after last week’s debacle in Dallas. Pick: OU

Missouri at Texas: What was once a potential meeting of top 5 teams is now a do-or-die game for Mizzou. The Longhorns are flying high after a dominant 2nd half against OU. Look for plenty of points here. Pick: Texas

Baylor at Oklahoma State: The last thing the Bears needed was another juggernaut in the South division. OSU is coming off the biggest win in school history last week at then 3rd-ranked Missouri. Cowboys should be on letdown alert here, but should still win. Pick: OSU

Texas Tech at Texas A&M: This is the worst A&M team since before Jackie Sherrill arrived in Aggieland a quarter-century ago. Tech barely escaped last week with an overtime win over Nebraska. Pick: Tech

Nebraska at Iowa State: Iowa State has a long way to go to be competitive in this conference, proven by last week’s shellacking at the hands of Baylor. The Huskers nearly pulled an upset last week in Lubbock. Pick: Nebraska

Kansas State at Colorado: Buffs have come way down to earth after hitting Big 12 play. Wildcats got a conference win at Texas A&M last week. Winner has chance to go to a bowl game. Pick: Colorado

BYU at TCU (Thursday): One of two games that BYU has a chance to lose. Pick: TCU

Ole Miss at Alabama: Bama was idle last week and was passed by Texas for the top spot in the polls. Which Ole Miss team shows up? The one that beat Florida in the Swamp? Or, the one that lost at home to South Carolina? Bama wins a close one at home. Pick: Alabama

Ohio State at Michigan State: Big, big game in the Big Ten. Winner has inside track to the Rose Bowl. MSU can really put themselves on the map with a win. But, TOSU has played big games before, especially in the Big Ten. Pick: TOSU

Georgia Tech at Clemson: What was once supposed to be a national championship-caliber season for Clemson has deteriorated into a mid-season coach firing. Now, they must face the Ramblin’ Wreck of Georgia Tech. Tigers come up big under interim coach. Pick: Clemson

Purdue at Northwestern: Wildcats suffered their first loss last week. They should be able to bounce back against the Boilermakers. Pick: Northwestern

Florida State at NC State (Thursday): Don’t look now, but the Seminoles are on the way back. They’re not national championship caliber just yet, but they should be able to contend for an ACC title. Pick: FSU

Hawaii at Boise State (Friday): Battle of the last two BCS crashers. This season, Boise State is one of ten undefeated teams remaining. Hawaii is in a serious rebuilding phase. Pick: Boise State

LSU at South Carolina: The Gamecocks can redeem themselves here with a win. The Tigers are hurting after being slaughtered last week in the Swamp. The Tigers have more talent. Pick: LSU

Virginia Tech at Boston College: Tech needs this one to stay on top of the ACC. Eagles have given the Hokies fits over the years in both the Big East and ACC. Pick: VT

California at Arizona: Big game for bowl positioning in the Pac-10. Weird things happen in late night games in the desert. Pick: Arizona

Michigan at Penn State: A long season for the Wolverines got longer last week with a loss to Holy Toledo. Penn State is cruising through an undefeated season. Pick: Penn State

Miami at Duke: The last time Miami visited Duke in 2006, a Duke team that went winless that year nearly beat the Canes. Duke is a lot better this season. Pick: Duke

Wake Forest at Maryland: Anything can happen in the ACC, and usually does. Pick: Wake Forest

Hofstra at Maine: Hofstra is now better known as the host of Wednesday night’s presidential debate. Their football team isn’t that bad, either. Pick: Hofstra

The South Is Where It's At

At the halfway point of the college football season, we find:

• There are ten undefeated teams remaining in the Football Bowl Subdivision.
• Five of those teams are in BCS conferences.
• Three of them are in the Big 12 South division: Texas, Texas Tech, and Oklahoma State.
• Oklahoma only fell to #4 in the latest AP writers’ poll. However, they have the worst record in the state. Oklahoma State and Tulsa remain undefeated.
• It’s early, but OU is not only #4 in the nation, but #4 in the South division standings after two weeks of conference play.
• The Big 12 South Division contains four of the top eight teams in this week’s poll: #1 Texas, #4 OU, #7 Texas Tech, and #8 OSU.

This is an incredible geographical concentration of football excellence. Oklahoma State joined this dogpile with an upset at previously third-ranked Missouri, 28-23.

Poor Baylor. The Bears have to play all these teams. Likewise for Texas A&M. However, if there was ever a year for A&M to stink, this is it, as they would have a hard time with these teams regardless.

Missouri and Kansas this week must fight for the honor of the North division in trips to Texas and OU, respectively. The rest of the North division looks relatively weak, though Nebraska nearly shocked Texas Tech in Lubbock on Saturday.

These teams should do a good job of knocking each other off in the last two months of the season, keeping one out of the BCS national championship game. The team with the best shot of appearing in Miami appears to be Penn State. The Nittany Lions are undefeated and are the best team in a weak Big Ten conference. Who will play them? Who knows. Alabama is strong and still undefeated, but must finish their SEC schedule. If USC can keep from farting around in the Pac-10, they have a good chance to get back to that #2 spot. Or, if a team survives the Big 12 with only one loss, they have a chance to be in Miami as well. In that case, Texas is in the driver’s seat.

The only guaranteed thing remaining in this college football season is change. Stay tuned.

College Picks, Week 7

Last Week: 17-3 (Awesome!)
Season: 92-28

This week includes the mother of all rivalries: OU-Texas. Interestingly, the Big 12 has three of the top five teams in the nation, and four of the top seven. That will change after this week.

Texas vs. Oklahoma at Dallas: Sooners are ranked #1 in the nation, while Texas has whipped five opponents to start the season, and is ranked #5. This has all the makings of a great game. Pick: OU

Oklahoma State vs. Missouri: Look for lots and lots of points in this game. Mizzou has an even more high-powered offense. OSU’s roll stops here. Pick: Missouri

Nebraska at Texas Tech: The Huskers got spanked last week by a good Missouri team, and now must go out to the plains of West Texas for another potential thrashing. Get your licks in on Nebraska now, because they’ll be back. Pick: Tech

Colorado at Kansas: Crucial game in Big 12 North. Colorado is stumbling after last week’s annihilation by Texas. Pick: KU

Kansas State at Texas A&M: Which team shows up for this game? A&M gets what looks to be a rare conference win. Pick: A&M

Iowa State at Baylor: Battle of Big 12 bottom feeders desperate for a win. Baylor has shown flashes of brilliance and is playing at home. Pick: Baylor

LSU at Florida: Which Gator team shows up? The one that whipped Tennessee and Miami, or the one that lost to Ole Miss? LSU has already won a big road game this season at Auburn. Pick: Florida

Tennessee at Georgia: Is it too early to start the countdown on Phil Fulmer? Georgia, and it might not even be close. Pick: Georgia

Notre Dame at North Carolina: Carolina is an interesting team. It’s always a big game when the Fighting Irish come to town, but the Tar Heels should be ready. Pick: UNC

Ohio State at Purdue: Purdue got spanked last week by Penn State, while the Buckeyes proved themselves on the road at Wisconsin. Look for form to hold true this week. Pick: TOSU

Arizona State at USC: USC came back to life last week by drilling Oregon. Arizona State heads back to the desert with their heads between their legs. Pick: USC

TCU at Colorado State: TCU is toying with the rest of the Mountain West before they run into BYU and Utah. Pick: TCU

Clemson at Wake Forest (Thursday): Clemson has been sorely disappointing this year, after being picked by some to finish undefeated. Wake lost an inexplicable game last week to Navy. Strange things happen on Thursday nights, but Wake should have the edge. Pick: Wake Forest

Minnesota at Illinois: The Gophers need just two more wins to become bowl-eligible. They won’t get one this week in Champaign. Pick: Illini

South Carolina at Kentucky: Gamecocks saved some face last week with a win at Ole Miss. UK had their chances at Alabama before losing, 17-14. Pick: Kentucky

UCLA at Oregon: Late night game at Autzen Stadium does not bode well for the Bruins. Ok, the game isn’t late out there, but it is for the rest of us. Oregon should cruise. Pick: Oregon

Michigan State at Northwestern: Wildcats are undefeated, putting my preseason projections to shame. Spartans have only lost once, at California. Winner stays tied for first place in the Big Ten. Pick: Northwestern

Vanderbilt at Mississippi State: Commodores are riding high after last week’s win over Auburn. Can they keep the string going? They will this week. Pick: Vandy

Arizona at Stanford: Wildcats only need two more wins to become bowl-eligible. Stanford is wildly inconsistent. This will be an up week for the Cardinal. Pick: Stanford.

Stony Brook at Liberty: Stony Brook is 1-4 this season, and must travel down to Lynchburg for this one. It’ll be a long trip back to Long Island for the Seawolves. Pick: Liberty

College Picks: Week 6

Last Week: 14-6
Season: 75-25

Another week of picks…this week includes the first week of conference play in the Big 12.

Oklahoma at Baylor: Poor Baylor. The Bears open Big 12 play against the #1 team in the nation. Sooners get a warm-up for Texas this week. Pick: OU

Texas at Colorado: Longhorns rolled through their non-conference schedule. Buffs have a chance to pull the upset at night in the mountains. However, the better team should win this game. Pick: Texas

Texas A&M at Oklahoma State: Aggies vs. Aggies. The Texas Aggies are struggling in a big way, and now enter conference play. OSU has a very good chance to move to 5-0. If they don’t, something is wrong. Pick: OSU

Missouri at Nebraska: If Missouri is going to contend for a conference and national championship, they must win this game. The Huskers came close but just short of an upset over Virginia Tech last week. Missouri is a better team than the Hokies. Pick: Missouri

Texas Tech at Kansas State: See Missouri. If Texas Tech is going to contend for any type of championship, they must win this game. This will be closer than it should be, but Tech should win the game. Pick: Tech

Kansas at Iowa State: Jayhawks are favored in dangerous road trip. They should live up to that billing. Pick: KU

Oregon State at Utah: One week after knocking off top-ranked USC, the Beavers must travel to Salt Lake City to face the Utes. That’s an order as tall as the Wasatch Mountains. Pick: Utah.

Kentucky at Alabama: Alabama proved last week they are the real deal. Pick: Alabama

Florida State at Miami: Florida State appears to be slightly ahead of Miami in their respective rebuilding processes. This was once the biggest game in America. Now it’s barely on the radar outside Florida. Pick: FSU

Illinois at Michigan: The Wolverines saved their season last week with a comeback win over Wisconsin. The Illini were competitive with Penn State for part of the game last week. Someone at the Big Ten office doesn’t like the Illini, sticking them with back-to-back road trips to Penn State and Michigan. Pick: Michigan

Ohio State at Wisconsin: Buckeyes visit Madison in a huge game with Rose Bowl implications. Badgers still don’t know what happened to them last week in Ann Arbor after blowing a 19-0 lead. Pick: Ohio State

Oregon at USC: Trojans were exposed as mortal last week by Oregon State. USC bounces back against the Ducks. Pick: USC

Auburn at Vanderbilt: Hell is freezing over. Vanderbilt is ranked 19th in the nation, and College Gameday is broadcasting from Vandy on Saturday morning. All good things come to an end, though, as Auburn restores order in the SEC. Pick: Auburn

Connecticut at North Carolina: Huskies are 5-0, but face their biggest test yet. Pick: North Carolina

Boston College at N.C. State: Wolfpack coach Tom O’Brien faces his former team. Pick: Boston College

Duke at Georgia Tech: Don’t look now, but the Dukies are 3-1. Yellow Jackets run all over Duke with the option. Pick: GT

Penn State at Purdue: Nittany Lions face challenging game as favorite in Big Ten. Purdue got plastered last week at Notre Dame. Penn State should be able to handle this one. Pick: Penn State

Iowa at Michigan State: Michigan State could be a surprise team in the Big Ten. They need this game to stay in the lead. Pick: MSU

South Carolina at Ole Miss: It’s desperation time for the Gamecocks, who can’t seem to capture the previous success of current coach Steve Spurrier and former coach Lou Holtz. They now head to Oxford to take on last week’s upset king Ole Miss. Pick: Ole Miss

Hardin-Simmons at Mary Hardin-Baylor: Both schools own the American Southwest Conference and Division III in Texas. UMHB has been a little better in recent years. Pick: Mary Hardin-Baylor

College Picks: Week 5

This is already a crazy week in college football, as #1 is up for grabs thanks to USC’s Thursday night loss to Oregon State.

Last Week: 15-5
Season: 61-19

TCU at Oklahoma: The game of the week in the chicken fried kingdom has the Horned Frogs headed up I-35 to take on the Sooners. TCU has won their last two games in Norman: in 1996 and 2005. The Sooners have a better team this year, and won’t be overlooking the Frogs. TCU is by far the best non-conference team on OU’s schedule. Pick: OU

Arkansas at Texas: Hurricane Ike got this game two weeks ago, and the two teams happened to have a common open date this week, so they’ll try again. Arkansas is in a major rebuilding mode under Bobby Petrino. There is a good chance they may not win another game this season. The Longhorns have been impressive against inferior competition. This might get ugly. Pick: Texas

Virginia Tech at Nebraska: The Huskers have a chance to put themselves back on the map as the Hokies visit Lincoln. VT is looking better after blowing their opening game against East Carolina. The Huskers aren’t quite ready for prime time yet, but their time is coming. Pick: Virginia Tech

Army at Texas A&M: The real Army visits the fake army in College Station. The poor Cadets are winless against a weak schedule. Just what the doctor ordered for the Aggies. Pick: A&M

Louisiana-Lafayette at Kansas State: Another rent-a-win. Pick: K-State

Troy at Oklahoma State: Troy visits their second OSU in a row after losing to The Ohio State University in Columbus last week. Last year, the Trojans shocked the Cowboys in Alabama. Mike Gundy is still a man. OSU gets revenge. Pick: OSU

Colorado vs. Florida State at Jacksonville: Buffs got a big win over West Virginia last week. Now, they must go cross country to play an FSU team that lost at home to Wake Forest last week. The run ends for CU. Pick: FSU

Alabama at Georgia: Bubba Bowl. The Crimson Tide have returned to their traditional place in the Top 10. Georgia sits at #3, with a chance to move as high as #1 with a win. Bulldogs get a big win this week. Pick: Georgia

Tennessee at Auburn: The Vols are in sad shape after being walloped by Florida. Philip Fulmer better be checking his retirement accounts, because he may be forced to use them after this season. Auburn, on the other hand, lost a tough game at home last week to LSU. War Eagle won’t lose twice in a row. Pick: Auburn

Wisconsin at Michigan: The rebuilding year continues for Rich Rodriguez at Michigan. Wiscy is solid again, as usual. Pick: Wisconsin

Purdue at Notre Dame: Notre Dame was starting to feel good about itself until the Irish went to East Lansing last week and lost. Make two losses in a row to Big Ten teams for the Irish. Pick: Purdue

North Carolina at Miami: Butch Davis returns to South Florida to take on the Canes in their new digs at Dolphin Stadium. Miami got a big win last week over A&M, but a lot of teams are going to beat A&M this year. The Tar Heels have enough to pull this one off. Pick: North Carolina

Fresno State at UCLA: Which UCLA team shows up? The Bruins are reeling after a season-opening win against Tennessee. Can Fresno pull out the win here? Yes. Will they? Nah. Pick: UCLA

Illinois at Penn State: The Nittany Lions are looking like the favorite in the Big Ten now. They open Big Ten play against last year’s Rose Bowl team, the Fighting Illini. Pick: Penn State

Mississippi State at LSU: Tigers are still the favorite in the SEC West. Bulldogs just can’t hang with the Tigers. Pick: LSU

North Texas at Rice: North Texas is looking to drop to Class 5A after the next realignment. Just kidding. Pick: Rice

Ole Miss at Florida: The mighty Gators roll on. Pick: Florida

New Mexico at New Mexico State: Not many people outside of New Mexico care about this one, but don’t tell anyone in the Land of Enchantment. Pick: New Mexico

Nevada at UNLV: Another in-state rivalry. UNLV looks like it is turning the corner. Pick: UNLV

Austin Peay at Eastern Kentucky: Let’s Go Peay! EKU is at home in this one. Pick: Eastern Kentucky

College Picks, Week 4

Last Week: 14-6
Season: 46-14

This week’s games begin on Wednesday night, so the picks are a little early.

Kansas State at Louisville (Wednesday): Steve Kragthorpe has to be wondering if it was worth it to leave Tulsa for Louisville. The Ville has struggled in the last season plus the first part of this one. They get a home game against Kansas State, who suddenly isn’t afraid to go on the road to play a decent team. This will be a pretty good game, especially for a Wednesday night. Pick: Louisville

West Virginia at Colorado (Thursday): The Mountaineers were proven mortal by East Carolina two weeks ago. They now head to the other mountains to take on the improving Buffs. Tough pick. Strange things happen on Thursday nights. Pick: Colorado

Baylor at Connecticut: It’s a long way from Waco to East Hartford. The Bears have to be feeling pretty good after getting two lopsided wins in a row. But, the Huskies are feeling even better after pounding Virginia. Pick: UConn

Miami at Texas A&M: In the 90’s, this would have been a titanic matchup. Now, it’s two names with not nearly as much game. The Aggies regained a bit of respect by going out and getting a win at New Mexico in their last game. The Canes are a shadow of their former selves. Pick: A&M

Sam Houston State at Kansas: Mismatch alert. Pick: KU

Rice at Texas: The Feisty Knightbirds come into this one with a winning record after three games. The Horns have been impressive in wins over Florida Atlantic and UTEP. Pick: Texas

Iowa State at UNLV: The Clones go to Sin City to face a hot UNLV team. The Rebels got their biggest victory in years last week with a 23-20 overtime win at Arizona State. Pick: UNLV

Buffalo at Missouri: The Bulls are improved, but aren’t in Mizzou’s league. Pick: Missouri

Massachusetts at Texas Tech: There is a really big difference between Amherst, Massachusetts and Lubbock, Texas. UMass is a pretty good FCS program, so there may not be quite as much difference between the football teams. Still, Tech should win comfortably. Pick: Tech

Florida at Tennessee: It’s going to be really hard for the Big Orange to beat the Gators, even in Knoxville. Pick: Florida

Georgia at Arizona State: The Bulldogs leave the Peach State for a non-conference game for the first time in eons. They head to the desert to play an ASU team that is reeling from a shocking overtime loss at home to UNLV. The Bulldogs have fallen from 1st to 2nd to 3rd in the polls without losing. They get a statement win this week. Pick: Georgia

LSU at Auburn: LSU visits the Loveliest Village on the Plains for a titanic SEC Saturday night battle. This has become the biggest game in the SEC West year after year. Winner gets the inside track to a trip to Atlanta in December. Pick: Auburn

Notre Dame at Michigan State: The Irish are smiling after last week’s whipping of Michigan. They now head up the road to East Lansing for a chance to go undefeated against the Great Lakes State. Michigan State is improving a lot. The green team wins this one. Pick: Michigan State

Virginia Tech at North Carolina: Ambush alert. Butch Davis has the Tar Heels up and going now, evidenced by last week’s thrashing of Rutgers in New Jersey. Tech has already lost to East Carolina before winning home games over Furman and Georgia Tech. Pick: North Carolina

East Carolina at N.C. State: Pirates have been giant killers this month with wins over Virginia Tech and West Virginia. The Wolfpack aren’t as good as either of those teams. Pick: East Carolina

Arizona at UCLA: Both teams lost on the road to Mountain West teams last week. Arizona lost at New Mexico, while the Bruins were pounded by BYU, 59-0. Can the Bruins find anything after that debacle? Probably. Pick: UCLA

TCU at SMU: The Iron Skillet is on the line once again. TCU is rolling right along, and won’t overlook the Ponies. Pick: TCU

Alabama at Arkansas: The Hogs are the worst 2-0 team in America, having squeaked out wins over Western Illinois and Louisiana-Monroe. Alabama has shown signs of returning to greatness. Pick: Alabama

Mississippi State at Georgia Tech: State lost a baseball game last week to Auburn, 3-2. Georgia Tech has looked pretty good running the option, but lost last week in a trip to Virginia Tech. Pick: Georgia Tech

Central Michigan at Purdue: These teams play all the time, it seems. They played twice last season: a regular season game in West Lafayette and in the Motor City Bowl. Purdue won both games. They’ll win this one, also. However, it won’t be easy. Pick: Purdue

College Picks: Week 3

Better late than never….

These picks are being made somewhere above the Atlantic Ocean. By the time I post these from the Newark airport, some of these games will be in progress.

Oklahoma at Washington: Washington lost last week on a questionable call of celebration in the end zone after a potentially game-tying touchdown. The Tyrone Willingham Death March continues, as the mighty Sooners visit the Great Northwest. The last time the Sooners visited the Northwest, Oregon stunned OU on some questionable late-game officiating. Perhaps the Pac-10 refs will get it right tonight. Pick: OU

Arkansas at Texas: Postponed. Pick: Hurricane Ike

Kansas at South Florida (Friday): I would have picked South Florida, and they won. This one doesn’t count.

Iowa State at Iowa: The Cyclones have won their first two games, but take a step up in competition against the Hawkeyes. The Cyclones more than hold their own against Iowa, a point of contention among Hawkeye fans. Go with the home team here. Pick: Iowa

Nevada at Missouri: Is Nevada trying to join the Big 12? This is their second game in a row against a Big 12 team, as they lost at home last week to Texas Tech. The Wolf Pack visit Columbia in what could be either a good game or a blowout. Missouri cruises in this one. Pick: Mizzou

New Mexico State at Nebraska: Years ago, this would have been a mismatch of Biblical proportions. It still won’t be close. Pick: Nebraska

Washington State at Baylor: Wazzu is at rock bottom. They can only go up. They now go into the land of Dr Pepper to take on Baylor, who pounded Northwestern State last week. Hey, it was Northwestern State, but it’s news when Baylor pounds anybody. Two in a row for the Bears. Pick: Baylor

Missouri State at Oklahoma State: Rent-a-win. Missouri State gets to pay for a women’s sport with the money from tonight’s check from OSU. Pick: OSU

SMU at Texas Tech: The Mustangs aren’t ready for prime time. Tech is. Pick: Texas Tech

Ohio State at USC: TOSU flies to the Left Coast bumbling and stumbling. USC is a well-oiled machine. Pick: USC

Michigan at Notre Dame: Zzzzz. The names are big, but that’s all in this game. Notre Dame struggled last week against a San Diego State team that lost to Cal Poly the week before. Pick: Meatchicken

Oregon at Purdue: Good intersectional matchup as the Ducks fly to Indiana. Go with the home team. Pick: Purdue

Wisconsin at Fresno State: This is what the little guys live for: a home game against a big-time opponent. The Badgers enter a hornets’ nest, or better yet, a dog pound. Pick: Fresno State

Georgia at South Carolina: If Georgia is going to contend for an SEC or national championship, they have to win this game. The Ol’ Ball Coach and the Gamecocks beat the Dawgs in Athens last year. But, they also lost to Vanderbilt last week. Georgia is really good. Pick: Georgia

Auburn at Mississippi State: Auburn continues their run through the state of Mississippi, having disposed of Southern Miss last week. This is a possible land mine for War Eagle, but Auburn should win here. Pick: Auburn

California at Maryland: The Pac-10 is racking up some miles in non-conference matchups this week. The biggest thing the Terps have going for them this week is home field. Pick: Cal

Stanford at TCU: Stanford is improving under Jim Harbaugh. The Frogs are tough, especially at home. Pick: TCU

Georgia Tech at Virginia Tech: Battle of the Techs. Georgia Tech is now running the wishbone under Paul Johnson, and is 2-0 as a result. VT is still trying to bounce back from the stunning loss to East Carolina. This game is in Blacksburg. Pick: VT

Virginia at Connecticut: This is a rebuilding year for the Cavaliers. One of their close victories last season was over UConn. The Huskies get revenge this year. Pick: UConn

UCLA at BYU: UCLA looks for their second win over a big-time opponent under Rick Neuheisel. BYU is very fortunate to be undefeated after last week’s event in Seattle. Pick: BYU

Air Force vs. Houston at Dallas: Instead of playing in a hurricane in Houston, these teams will play in the rain at SMU. Pick: U of H

Arizona at New Mexico: If Mike Stoops wants to take the Wildcats to a bowl and keep his job, U of A must win this game. Los Lobos is 0-2 against the state of Texas, having lost to TCU and A&M. Pick: Arizona