College Picks, Week 13

With Thursday night games and family things happening this week, picks are being made on a Tuesday night. This is Rivalry Week, with many, many grudge matches taking place all over the country. In most of these games, you can throw out the records, as pride and bragging rights are more than enough. The BCS also is a player this week, as teams continue to position themselves for a big-money bowl.

Last Week: 12-8
Season: 158-82

Oklahoma State at Oklahoma: The Sooners’ national championship hopes disappeared on the turf of Jones AT&T Stadium in Lubbock last week, as QB Sam Bradford suffered a concussion on the first offensive play from scrimmage, and OU was upset by Texas Tech. Now, the Sooners find themselves fighting for a South Division championship and a spot in the Big 12 championship game. OSU is barely bowl-eligible at 6-5. This is their Super Bowl. OSU lives to beat OU. The Sooners will be forced to focus on OSU and to not overlook the Cowboys. If Bradford returns, as expected, the Sooners could be dangerous. The bleeding stops Saturday in Norman. Pick: OU

Missouri vs. Kansas at Kansas City: 20 years ago, these schools made up two-thirds of the Bermuda Triangle of college football. Both schools won one game each that season. This season, KU is 11-0, and Mizzou is 10-1 with a close loss to OU in Norman. This is the game of the year. Both teams are great on offense. KU is slightly better on defense. However, Missouri has scored a minimum of 32 points in every game this year. Unfortunately, someone has to lose this game. Missouri earns a trip to San Antonio for the Big 12 championship game. KU stays in the running for a BCS at-large bid. Pick: Mizzou

Nebraska at Colorado (Friday): Winner gets a trip to Shreveport or to some other Big 12 bowl locale. The loser stays home. This is most likely Nebraska coach Bill Callahan’s last game. When we last saw the Huskers, they were hanging 73 on Kansas State, a week after giving up 76 to Kansas. Talk about Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Husker. CU has lost four games to Big 12 North teams. This game is as unpredictable as it gets. The Huskers are playing better as of late. Pick: Nebraska

Texas at Texas A&M (Friday): This is the swan song for Aggie coach Dennis Franchione, who will most likely be fired after the game. Texas finds itself with a chance to win the Big 12 South with a win and some help from the Oklahoma Aggies. Texas gets revenge for last year’s A&M win in Austin. Pick: Texas

Kansas State at Fresno State: K-State plays a rare season-ending non-conference game. It’s a tough ending to a tough season. The Wildcats can still qualify for a bowl with a win. The win doesn’t happen. There’s a reason why few teams want to travel to Fresno. It’s a tough place. Pick: Fresno State

Alabama at Auburn: The Iron Bowl. The Four Million Dollar Man, Nick Saban, takes his Tide to the Loveliest Village on the Plains a week after an inexcusable loss to Louisiana-Monroe. It doesn’t get any better for the Tide. War Eagle gets its sixth win in a row over Bama. Pick: Auburn

Arkansas at LSU (Friday): Houston Nutt enters perhaps his last game as coach of the Razorbacks as a decided underdog on the road at the #1 team in the nation, LSU. The Bayou Bengals are two wins away from a national championship game on their virtual home field at the Superdome in New Orleans. Do the Pigs have a chance? Not much of one. Pick: LSU

Tennessee at Kentucky: This game was once played for a barrel of bourbon, before two Kentucky players were killed by a drunk driver in 1999. It became smart to de-emphasize the alcohol. The rivalry hasn’t cooled off at all. Tennessee needs a win to earn a spot in the SEC championship game. Kentucky has had some good wins, but has fallen victim to the brutal SEC schedule. The Cats smell blood, and can make their season with a win over the Vols. It doesn’t happen here. Tennessee gets the win. Pick: Tennessee

Florida State at Florida: The Seminoles have shown flashes of brilliance this season, and flashes of mediocrity. The Gators have three losses to SEC opponents. Throw out the records in this one. However, there’s a guy named Tebow that plays for the Gators. Advantage, Florida. Pick: Gators

Clemson at South Carolina: Another bitter in-state rivalry, with two coaches which have active agents. Tommy Bowden is about to get run off from Clemson after not winning a division or conference championship in nine years. Steve Spurrier is rumored to be unhappy at South Carolina and has been mentioned in connection with the Texas A&M job. Which team wants to fight for their coach? The ‘Cocks have been in freefall. Pick: Clemson

Georgia at Georgia Tech: The Bulldogs enter this game as a team that no one wants to play. The Yellow Jackets enter this game as a team that a lot of teams want to play. This could be the last game of the Chan Gailey era in Midtown Atlanta. The Bulldogs are too much. Pick: Georgia

Ole Miss at Mississippi State: The Egg Bowl. The Rebels have shown themselves to be the worst team in the SEC. MSU is bowl-eligible in Sylvester Croom’s fourth year, and are trying to solidify a bowl bid. Rebels get Croomed. Pick: Mississippi State

USC at Arizona State (Thursday): Thursday Night Football returns to the wild Pac-10, where both USC and ASU suddenly have Rose Bowl hopes once again. This has been a bad year by USC standards. The Trojans have lost two games. ASU now controls their own destiny in the Pac-10. The Fighting Sun Devils won’t blow it. Pick: ASU

Connecticut at West Virginia: Believe it or not, this is for a conference championship. UConn is 5-1 in the Big East, and has an opportunity to go 10-2, win the conference, and go to a BCS bowl. They haven’t played a team as good as West Virginia. The Mountaineers have a good chance to play for a national championship. They take no prisoners against UConn. Pick: WVU

Virginia Tech at Virginia: Big game in the Commonwealth for a division championship in the ACC. Virginia Tech has the tradition, while Virginia has the home field. This is the Cavs’ year. Pick: Virginia

Utah at BYU: The Holy War. BYU has rolled through the Mountain West. That continues here against their archrival. Pick: BYU

Duke at North Carolina: A great basketball game, a horrible football game. Duke is so bad, they lost by three touchdowns to Notre Dame. Pick: UNC

Notre Dame at Stanford: Notre Dame makes their annual trip to the West Coast to play Stanford. The Irish need a win to avoid a 10-loss season. Stanford attempts to earn wins over USC and Notre Dame in the same season. Coach Jim Harbaugh is a Michigan man, and thus has no love lost for the Irish. Pick: Stanford

Oregon at UCLA: The Ducks find themselves reeling after the season-ending injury to QB and Heisman Trophy candidate Dennis Dixon. Oregon has plenty to play for, as they can still go to the Rose Bowl as long as they win out and Arizona State loses. UCLA defines inconsistency. Pick: Oregon

Boise State at Hawaii (Friday): The game of the year in the WAC. Both teams have an outside chance at the BCS. They have one loss between them. There will be a lot of points scored in this game. It will be a wild scene in Honolulu. The home island advantage is too much for the plucky Broncos to overcome. Pick: Hawaii

NFL Highway, Week 11

The NFL Highway always leads through Nevada. Don’t let anyone tell you different. They’ll never have a team of their own, but a TON of money passes through that state in relation to the NFL. That is due to legalized sports betting.

The NFL had its share of excitement on Sunday. There was a blowout of collegiate proportions, there were field goals bouncing off goal posts, and the two NFC leaders continued on their collision course.

The Dallas Cowboys continued their run through the NFC, holding on for a win over their archrival Washington Redskins, 28-23. Tony Romo threw four touchdown passes to Terrell Owens to give the Cowboys the win. Jerry Jones got lucky on a quarterback, and was willing to pay a mortal enemy to come over to his camp. Both moves are paying off in spades up to this point. As long as Tony throws the ball to T.O., T.O. is happy.

In Green Bay, the Packers continued their roll, defeating Vinny Testaverde and the Carolina Panthers, 31-17. The combined ages of the quarterbacks in this game was 82. 38-year-old Brett Favre continues to amaze, and is having a career year in leading the Pack to a 9-1 record.

The play of the day occurred in Baltimore. Cleveland kicker Phil Dawson attempted a 51 yard field goal to tie the game on the last play and send it into overtime. The ball bounced off the upright and went down on the field. The officials called it no good. One of the officials, however, noticed that the ball bounced off the upright, then bounced off the top of the goal post fixture before bouncing down onto the field. After a consultation, the officials reversed themselves and declared the field goal good. The players had already gone toward the locker rooms, and were summoned back to the field for overtime. Dawson then kicked a field goal in overtime to win the game for the Browns, 33-30. The Browns are a fun team to watch. By the way, both veteran kickers in this game are graduates of Lake Highlands High School in Dallas: the Browns’ Dawson and the Ravens’ Matt Stover.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are starting to take control of a bad NFC South division. The Bucs throttled the Atlanta Falcons, 31-7. The game wasn’t even that close.

In Cincinnati, Antrel Rolle ruined Carson Palmer’s day. Rolle returned not one, but two interceptions for touchdowns to help the Arizona Cardinals beat the Bengals, 35-27. The Cardinals are 5-5 and are only a game out of first place in the NFC West. That is news, for the Cardinals to still be in contention this late in the season. The Bengals’ wheels are falling off at 3-7.

The Houston Texans returned Matt Schaub and Andre Johnson back from injury, and not a moment too soon. Houston disposed of the New Orleans Saints, 23-10, earning bragging rights to the riverboat casinos in Lake Charles. The Saints are a disappointing 4-6.

The Indianapolis Colts are becoming slightly mortal due to the injury bug. The Colts struggled but managed to use a last-second Adam Vinatieri field goal to defeat the Kansas City Chiefs, 13-10. The Colts can’t wait to get Marvin Harrison and Dwight Freeney back from injury.

In Jacksonville, the Jaguars proved that they are a better team than the once-awesome San Diego Chargers, with a 24-17 win. The Chargers are so ordinary. They will need to make a good playoff run, including an upset, to save coach Norv Turner’s job. At this rate, they will do well to make the playoffs.

Note to NFL GMs: The Minnesota Vikings have two good running backs. They have no quarterback. They will consider all reasonable offers in the off-season. Chester Taylor ran all over the horrible Raiders’ run defense for 164 yards and three touchdowns, as the Vikes ruined Daunte Culpepper’s return with a 29-22 win. The Raiders are one of several teams with a dreadful 2-8 record.

The New York Football Giants went to Detroit and showed why they will probably be the best NFC wild card team in the playoffs, as they intercepted QB Jon Kitna three times and handled the Lions, 16-10. Detroit still has a chance to make the playoffs in the mediocre NFC, but they’re not quite ready for prime time.

The Miami Dolphins have staked their claim as the worst team in the NFL. They are now 0-10, as the Philadelphia Eagles earned a 17-7 win in the City of Brotherly Love. The Dolphins still have a chance to become the first team in NFL history to go 0-16.

Staying in the AFC East, the New York Jets returned to the win column, with a 19-16 overtime win over the mighty Pittsburgh Steelers. That just goes to prove that on any given Sunday in the NFL, anything can happen.

The ugly game of the day was in the Suck Bowl in San Francisco, where the St. Louis Rams out-uglied the 49ers to get a 13-9 win. Both teams are tied for the cellar in the NFC West with 2-8 records. A tanker spilled oil into San Francisco Bay last week. It is not certain that it wasn’t the local NFL teams that caused the spill, as both the Niners and Raiders are pretty putrid.

A surprisingly high-scoring game took place in Seattle on Sunday, as the Seahawks outlasted the Chicago Bears, 30-23. The Seahawks earned a measure of revenge for last year’s playoff loss, and are establishing themselves once again as the team to beat in the NFC West.

Sunday Night Football on NBC was not family entertainment. The New England Patriots annihilated the Buffalo Bills, 56-10. Believe it or not, one of the touchdowns was on defense, and Bill Belichick actually started emptying the bench in the 3rd quarter. The Patriots have only punted 22 times in 10 games. They are a well-oiled killing machine. They could have scored 70 or 80 if they had wanted. But, they have to play the Bills twice a year, every year, and payback is always possible.

More Bowl Projections

Every week in college football brings the unexpected. Last week was no exception, as BCS #2 Oregon and BCS #4 Oklahoma were defeated, throwing the BCS into even more chaos. Here are this blog’s latest bowl projections.

This list projects LSU as the winner of the SEC championship game. It also projects Missouri to defeat Kansas this week, and to go on to defeat Oklahoma or Texas in the Big 12 championship game. Sorry, as I like the Fighting Manginos, and I love the Sooners, but Mizzou is playing more than well enough to beat both teams. Mizzou would use wins over those two teams to leap past West Virginia into a spot in the national championship game.

Hawaii is 15th in the BCS this week. Even with a win over Boise State, the Warriors probably will not get the votes or computer points they need to finish in the top 12 of the BCS. They really need Connecticut to beat West Virginia this week and win the Big East. A non-BCS conference champion can also qualify for the BCS if they finish in the top 16 and ahead of a qualifying conference champion.

Projections:

BCS NCG: LSU vs. Missouri
Rose: Arizona State vs. Ohio State
Orange: Virginia vs. West Virginia
Fiesta: Oregon vs. Kansas
Sugar: Georgia vs. Virginia Tech

Capital One: Michigan vs. Florida
Cotton: Oklahoma vs. Tennessee
Outback: Illinois vs. Auburn
Gator: Texas Tech vs. Clemson
Holiday: Texas vs. USC
Chick-Fil-A: Kentucky vs. Florida State
Alamo: Texas A&M vs. Wisconsin
Sun: Oregon State vs. Connecticut
Champs Sports: Boston College vs. Penn State
Liberty: UCF vs. Arkansas
Independence: Mississippi State vs. Nebraska
Insight: Oklahoma State vs. Indiana
Motor City: Michigan State vs. Miami, Ohio
Meineke Car Care: Cincinnati vs. Wake Forest
Las Vegas: BYU vs. Purdue (Pac 10 without enough qualifying teams)
Armed Forces: Air Force vs. Houston
GMAC: Central Michigan vs. Tulsa
Poinsettia: Navy vs. Utah
Humanitarian: Boise State vs. Iowa (ACC without enough qualifying teams)
Papajohn’s: Memphis vs. Ball State
New Orleans: East Carolina vs. Troy
Texas: South Florida vs. TCU (Big 12 without enough qualifying teams)
Emerald: California vs. N.C. State
International: Bowling Green vs. Rutgers
New Mexico: Fresno State vs. New Mexico
Hawaii: Hawaii vs. South Carolina (C-USA without enough qualifying teams)

You Can't Just Be Good To Win A Championship..Part 2

Injury affected another team's championship chances Saturday night. Oklahoma quarterback Sam Bradford suffered a concussion on the first offensive play from scrimmage against the Texas Tech Red Raiders. The Sooners quickly discombobulated, and are presently having their posteriors handed to them.

You have to be fortunate in regard to injuries in order to win a championship.

As for the Sooners, they royally stink tonight.

Addendum: The Sooners didn't stink in the fourth quarter, but had dug too large of a hole for themselves to totally complete their comeback.

Knee-Jerk Reactions

I'm really glad that Ohio State-Michigan game is over. I tried really hard to watch it. It was really tough to watch. Ohio State is pretty decent, but they might finish as low as 5th in the Big 12 (OU, KU, Mizzou, Texas). Michigan isn't even as good as A&M. I don't know how Meatchicken beat Illinois, because the Illini are playing really well right now.

Do you think Mike Shula is laughing now? Alabama is paying Nick Saban $4 million per year. The Crimson Tide lost today to Louisiana-Monroe, 21-14. Shula made half that as coach of the Tide, and might have gotten the Tide to actually beat ULM. The Tide now have to play hated archrival Auburn next week.

The Tennessee Volunteers came back from a 24-9 deficit to beat Vanderbilt, 25-24. Vanderbilt has improved so much. However, they just can't get over the hump in the SEC. Tennessee has to win at Kentucky next week to represent the SEC East in the SEC championship game.

More later...

Potential For Mayhem

This weekend presents the beginning of some very interesting scenarios in the world of college football. There is a chance that there will be a team with two losses in the national championship game. It’s not a great chance, but it exists. The only guarantee is more chaos.

There are currently seven teams in the top eight of the BCS standings with zero or one losses. Each of those teams play games that they could very well lose. No game is a gimme, especially in this, the weirdest of college football seasons.

Below are a list of those teams, and their chances of winning each individual game:

1. LSU: at Ole Miss (80%), Arkansas (80%), SEC Championship Game in Atlanta vs. Tennessee (70%), Georgia (50%), or Florida (60%).
2. Oregon: Has already lost game #2 to Arizona. Will fall behind one-loss teams in the next rankings. Remaining games: at UCLA (50%), Oregon State (60%).
3. Kansas: Currently undefeated. Plays Iowa State (80%), Missouri (50%), possible Big 12 Championship Game vs. Oklahoma (50%).
4. Oklahoma: at Texas Tech (70%), Oklahoma State (80%), probable Big 12 Championship Game vs. Kansas (50%) or Missouri (50%).
5. Missouri: at Kansas State (70%), Kansas (50%), possible Big 12 Championship Game vs. Oklahoma (50%).
6. West Virginia: at Cincinnati (50%), Connecticut (80%), Pittsburgh (95%).
7. Ohio State: at Michigan (60%).
8. Arizona State: USC (60%), Arizona (70%).

None of these games will be easy. All of these teams are playing decent teams, rivals, or both. Any of these teams that can go undefeated through the next three weeks will have a case to be in the national championship game.

NFL Picks, Week 11

There are no more byes left on the schedule. 16 big ones coming up!

Last week: 6-8 (yuck)
Season: 95-41

Washington at Dallas: The Redskins are pretty ordinary, evidenced by last week’s home loss to the Eagles. The Cowboys are showing themselves to be the class of the NFC. This is shaping up to be a special season in Dallas. Pick: Dallas

Carolina at Green Bay: The Packers continue to look good, and are tied with the Cowboys for the best record in the NFC. Panthers coach John Fox has chosen 44-year old Vinny Testaverde as his starter over a healthy David Carr. Two months ago, Vinny was watching games at his house on TV. Brett Favre isn’t as old as Vinny, but he’s a better quarterback. Pick: Packers

Oakland at Minnesota: The sorry Raiders visit the great not-quite-white North this week to play the Adrian Peterson-less Vikings. In his place, Chester Taylor comes up big for the Vikes this week. Pick: Minnesota

New Orleans at Houston: Houston’s Third Team (behind the Texans and Cowboys) visits this week, reminding Texans fans of the botched 2006 draft, when Reggie Bush was not picked by Houston. This one is hard to pick. The Saints lost last week to the winless Rams. The Texans aren’t real great, but have won four games. Make that five. Pick: Houston

Tampa Bay at Atlanta: The Falcons are becoming winners, as they have won the last two games in a row. The Bucs are in first place in a mediocre NFC South. Atlanta wins another one. They’re hot! Pick: Falcons

Arizona at Cincinnati: The Bengals won a game last week by kicking seven field goals. Can they score a touchdown on the Cardinals? Which Cardinals show up? Can they play two good games in a row? Pick: Cincinnati

NY Giants at Detroit: Giants looked really mediocre last week against Dallas. Lions went back to being the normal Lions last week in Arizona. Can Detroit rediscover the mojo? Yes. Pick: Detroit

Kansas City at Indianapolis: Colts return home licking their wounds after blowing a chance to win last week in San Diego. Chiefs stunk last week against Denver. Colts bounce back. Pick: Indy

Miami at Philadelphia: The Dolphins are 0-9, and start John Beck at QB this week for the first time. They are also bringing Ricky Williams back from a drug suspension, but not for this week. The Eagles earned a good comeback win last week in Washington. In spite of their problems, they should hand the Dolphins defeat number 10. Pick: Philly

San Diego at Jacksonville: San Diego really saved their season last week, as they held on for a 23-21 win over the Colts. Jacksonville scored an important win as well, going on the road to defeat the Titans. The Jaguars, most weeks, are a pretty solid team. Pick: Jags

Cleveland at Baltimore: New Browns vs. Old Browns, Part 2. The Ravens are quickly becoming an ugly, ugly team. Their offense has never been good, and their defense is getting injured and old. The Browns, on the other hand, are the surprise of the year in the NFL. Derek Anderson lights another defense up as the Browns prepare to trade Brady Quinn for a #1 pick in next year’s draft. Pick: Browns

St. Louis at San Francisco: The Suck Bowl. The Rams finally hit the win column last week, as Marc Bulger and Steven Jackson have returned from injury. The Niners have slipped into futility again, as Alex Smith and Trent Dilfer have both been ineffective at quarterback. Rams get another win this week. Pick: St. Louis

Chicago at Seattle: The Bears scored two touchdowns in the last four minutes of last week’s game against the sorry Raiders, behind (or in spite of) QB Rex Grossman. Seattle flexed their muscle last week againt the awful 49ers, and has the advantage again this week. Pick: Seattle

Pittsburgh at NY Jets: Pittsburgh is good. The Jets are not. Pick: Pittsburgh

New England at Buffalo: Ambush alert. The Patriots are coming off a bye to play a Sunday Night game against the resurgent Bills. Believe it or not, this might be a good game. However, don’t pick against the Pats. Pick: New England

Tennessee at Denver: Where did the Broncos come from? They looked like a pretty good NFL team last week in disposing of the Chiefs. The Titans, meanwhile, were mediocre in losing at home to the Titans. Can Denver play two good games in a row? Sure. Pick: Denver

You Can't Just Be Good To Win A Championship..

..you have to be lucky or fortunate when it comes to injuries.

Oregon's Heisman Trophy candidate QB Dennis Dixon blew out his knee in the first quarter of tonight's game at Arizona. It appears to be a torn MCL. It's too early to tell how long he will be out. Arizona promptly took control of the game, and now leads by two touchdowns early in the second quarter. This game is far from over. However, Oregon now has a terrible chance of getting through their last three games undefeated.

Oregon currently sits at #2 in the BCS standings. Their chances for a national championship just went way south.

It doesn't just take skill to win a championship. It takes health.

College Picks, Week 12

This is a big week in the world of college football. For some teams, such as those in the Big Ten, it is the end of the season. For others, the jockeying for positions in the BCS and other bowls is well underway. Here are this week’s picks:

Last week: 15-5
Season: 146-74

Oklahoma at Texas Tech: The ABC Saturday Night cameras move to West Texas for this one. The Sooners and their fans are still stinging from their last trip to Lubbock in 2005, when Big 12 officials gave Tech a game-winning touchdown on a questionable goal-line call, following two botched calls on the game-winning drive. Sooners are playing for a lot more this year, such as the South Division, a Big 12 championship, and an outside chance for the BCS national championship game. As always, there will be a lot of points scored when Tech takes the field. OU will score more. Once again, don’t look for your late local news earlier than 10:30 PM CST on your local ABC station, because this will be a long game. Pick: OU

Iowa State at Kansas: The Jayhawks are so good, this game rates as the 2:30 PM CST telecast on ABC. The Cyclones have won two conference games in a row, after playing conference leaders Oklahoma and Missouri tough. This will be tougher than it should be, but KU continues its rendezvous with destiny. Pick: KU

Missouri at Kansas State: Mizzou prepares for its Thanksgiving showdown by visiting the Little Apple and the reeling Wildcats. When we last saw the Power Towel guys, they were getting their heads handed to them by Nebraska, 73-31. Is there anything left in Manhattan? K-State will play hard, but it won’t be enough. Mizzou is really good. Pick: Missouri

Oklahoma State at Baylor: OSU is playing for a bowl. Baylor is playing for pride, and to send soon-to-be fired coach Guy Morriss off with a W. This will be entertaining, if nothing else. Pick: OSU

Duke at Notre Dame: Mike Krzyzewski takes his Blue Devils to South Bend to meet his former assistant, Mike Brey. Oops, wrong sport. This is football. Both teams are 1-9. Duke has won 5 games in the last four years. However, their margins of defeat are decreasing against ACC foes. This is uncharted territory for the Irish. They can’t take any opponent for granted, not even Duke. This humdinger of a game will be on national television. I’m sure NBC is really excited about that. The long-suffering Dukies deserve for something good to happen to them. Pick: Duke

Oregon at Arizona (Thursday): Ambush alert. The Ducks go to the desert with a huge target on their backs as the #2 team in the BCS standings. Strange things happen on Thursday nights on ESPN. Ducks don’t survive. Pick: Arizona

Ohio State at Michigan: Ohio State fell from the top spot in the BCS rankings last week, but can go to their first Rose Bowl in Jim Tressel’s tenure with a win against the school up north. Lloyd Carr is rumored to be retiring after this season. Michigan, in spite of last week’s loss, can become the first team to lose to Appalachian State and still go to the Rose Bowl. Ohio State is a better team. Pick: Ohio State

Northwestern at Illinois: Ron Zook was always known as a great recruiter. He put himself on the map as a coach last week in Columbus against TOSU. Now, the Illini have a chance to play in a New Year’s Day bowl. All they have to do is beat the purple of Northwestern. They do it. Pick: Illinois

Kentucky at Georgia: Kentucky can no longer win the SEC East, but they can still earn a good bowl bid. Georgia still has a chance at a BCS bowl bid, and a slight chance to win the SEC East. Bulldogs come back with red uniforms this week, but still win the game. Pick: Georgia

Penn State at Michigan State: The Land-Grant Trophy is on the line here, as the Spartans attempt to secure a bowl bid. Will Penn State show up to play on the road? Good question. MSU got some good momentum last week with their win over Purdue. Good things continue for Sparty. Pick: MSU

Miami at Virginia Tech: Miami was awful last week in closing the Orange Bowl with a 48-0 loss to the Virginia Cavaliers. Now, they head to the mountains to take on nemesis Virginia Tech. Tech shouldn’t have much problem with this one. Pick: Virginia Tech

Purdue at Indiana: The Old Oaken Bucket is at stake here. Indiana is bowl-eligible, but needs a win to secure their first bowl bid in over a decade. Purdue lost an inexplicable game last week at home to Michigan State. Purdue has played in big games before. Pick: Purdue

Maryland at Florida State: Florida State returns home and attempts to improve their bowl position. It wasn’t too long ago that FSU played for national championships. This edition of the Noles should have enough to win this week. Pick: FSU

Louisville at South Florida: The Disappointment Bowl. Louisville’s entire season has been a disappointment, and the Cardinals are in severe danger of not making it to a bowl game. South Florida has had a disappointing second half of the season, losing three in a row after being ranked as high as #2 in the nation. Bulls bounce back here. Pick: USF

Mississippi State at Arkansas: Houston Nutt is trying to save his job. Or is he? Do the Hogs care if he stays or goes? The fans want him out. On the other side, Mississippi State finds themselves bowl-eligible and looking for more. The big mo is definitely with the guys from Starkville. Pick: MSU

Vanderbilt at Tennessee: Vols are in control of their own destiny in the SEC East, and need wins over Vandy and Kentucky to earn a date against LSU in the SEC championship game. Vandy is no pushover for anyone. However, the Vols should be able to get a win in this one. Pick: Tennessee

California at Washington: As competitive as the Huskies have been this year, they are in last place in the Pac-10. This is a good last place team. Cal has lost four in a row after having a chance to be #1 in the nation. Tough pick here. Cal bounces back. Pick: Cal

West Virginia at Cincinnati: The two best teams in the Big East face off in the 'Nati. West Virginia would win 8 of 10 games on a neutral field. But, this isn't a neutral field. Cincy makes a mess out of the Big East race. Pick: Cincinnati

Boston College at Clemson: This is for a division championship in the ACC, and the winner earns a trip to beautiful Jacksonville for the ACCCG on December 1. BC has lost two in a row. Clemson has home field. Death Valley will be rocking. Pick: Clemson

Harvard at Yale: The classic old-school college rivalry. Both schools rank high on the famous alums chart. This one happens to be for the Ivy League championship, as both teams are undefeated in the conference. Yale is undefeated for the season and is looking to repeat as Ivy League champions. Pick: Yale

Sometimes, The War Never Ends

Next Saturday in Kansas City, the Kansas Jayhawks and Missouri Tigers will play the biggest football game in their history, providing both teams take care of business this week. Both teams happen to be in the midst of the best starts in the history of both schools. This game is normally a home-and-home affair, but has been moved to Kansas City for the next two years. Arrowhead Stadium will be a zoo.

These two states once fought a war against each other. For over ten years before the Civil War, abolitionists in Kansas fought with slaveholders in Missouri over the issue of slavery. The Missourians wished to settle in Kansas with slaves, while the settlers of Kansas wished to not have the scourge of slavery in their territory. Groups of settlers went back and forth between the two states in guerrilla warfare over the issue of slavery.

The above shirt celebrates the destruction of Lawrence, Kansas. In 1856, Missourian William Quantrill led a band of raiders known as "Bushwhackers" into Lawrence, where they went on a four-hour rampage and burned the city to the ground. On the back of this shirt is Quantrill's slogan: "Raise the Black Flag and Ride Hard Boys. Our Cause is Just and Our Enemies Many".


Kansas fans have responded with a shirt featuring radical abolitionist John Brown, who led the Pottawatomie Massacre, a retaliation for Quantrill's Lawrence Massacre. Brown's group killed five pro-slavery settlers north of a place called Pottawatomie Creek in Kansas. Brown advocated violence in favor of the cause of abolition of slavery, and was hanged after attempting to start a slave rebellion in Harper's Ferry, Virginia in 1859.

These shirts are kinda funny, but they are really sick. And people think the South is still fighting the Civil War? The South has nothing on these Kansas and Missouri fans. They act as if they still want to fight the war. I've been reading Kansas message boards where fans refer to Missouri as the "slavers". Like people in Missouri would want to bring slavery back. Puhleeze.

Therefore, KU and Mizzou are mortal enemies. Up until this year, both schools have mostly stunk in football. The football game hasn't mattered nearly as much as their annual basketball games, where they have the biggest hoops rivalry in the Big 8/Big 12.

I really don't have a dog in this hunt. My mother was born in Missouri, but moved to Oklahoma as a child. I've watched both schools all my life. As a Sooner fan, it benefits my team for KU to win this game and to be undefeated going into the Big 12 championship game. This game will be fun to watch. I've been geeked up about it for a month.

These shirts, however, are insane.

Special thanks to AOL's Fanhouse for the tip.

Bowl Projections

At this time of year, there is a lot of interest in bowl projections. This is the first of a series of mid-season bowl projections. I am not connected with any administrators or guys in the bowl blazers. I’m just a guy with a computer, an internet connection, and a TV.

This is a wild and crazy season. This is perhaps my favorite college football season of all time due to the randomness and unpredictability. Anything can happen in the next three weeks, and probably will.

There will be a lot of horse trading among the bowls. There will be a lot of teams at 5-7, just missing on bowls. A team can go 6-6 and make it to a bowl only if its conference needs them to fill its bowl tie-ins. According to these projections, there will be two more spots available than eligible teams to fill them. On the other hand, the Big Ten will have three 6-6 teams. The Big Ten will give two teams to other bowls in order to make room for two of their 6-6 teams.

These projections are based on LSU and Oregon remaining in the #1 and #2 spots in the BCS rankings. They also take the following events into account:

Big 12: Missouri defeats Kansas (sorry, even though I love the Fighting Manginos), and loses to Oklahoma in the Big 12 Championship Game.

Big Ten: Ohio State defeats Michigan for the conference title. Also, the conference gives Iowa to the Independence Bowl and Purdue to the Las Vegas Bowl. This creates room for in the Big Ten bowls for Northwestern (Motor City) and Michigan State (Insight).

SEC: LSU wins their remaining games, including the conference championship game. Tennessee wins out, earning the privilege of losing to LSU in the SECCG. Georgia also wins out, and earns a BCS bid due to its 10-2 record and high ranking.

ACC: Virginia defeats Virginia Tech to win its division. Clemson defeats Boston College to win its division. Virginia defeats Clemson in the ACC championship game. Virginia Tech remains high enough in the rankings to earn a BCS bid.

Pac 10: Oregon wins out, earning a spot in the BCS National Championship game. USC defeats Arizona State, earning a return trip to the Rose Bowl.

Big East: West Virginia wins out, earning the BCS spot.

Where’s Hawaii? I project for them to lose to Boise State. Boise will finish just below #12 in the BCS, and will not be ranked higher than a BCS conference champion, barely missing a BCS bowl.

Projections:

BCS NCG: LSU vs. Oregon
Rose: Ohio State vs. USC
Fiesta: Oklahoma vs. Virginia Tech
Orange: Virginia vs. West Virginia
Sugar: Georgia vs. Missouri
Capital One: Michigan vs. Florida
Cotton: Kansas vs. Tennessee
Outback: Illinois vs. Auburn
Gator: Texas vs. Clemson
Holiday: Arizona State vs. Texas Tech
Alamo: Penn State vs. Texas A&M
Chick Fil A: Kentucky vs. Florida State
Sun: Cincinnati vs. California
Insight: Michigan State vs. Nebraska
Texas: Oklahoma State vs. South Florida
Champs Sports: Wisconsin vs. Mississippi State (ACC without enough eligible teams)
Las Vegas: BYU vs. Purdue (Pac 10 without enough eligible teams)
Independence: South Carolina vs. Iowa (Big 12 without enough eligible teams)
Motor City: Northwestern vs. Central Michigan
Music City: Alabama vs. Boston College
Liberty: Arkansas vs. UCF
Emerald: Oregon State vs. Georgia Tech
Humanitarian: Boise State vs. Maryland
Meineke Car Care: Wake Forest vs. Connecticut
International: Rutgers vs. Bowling Green
GMAC: Tulsa vs. Miami, O.
Armed Forces: Houston vs. Air Force
New Orleans: Troy vs. East Carolina
Papajohn’s: Memphis vs. TCU (Big East without enough eligible teams)
Poinsettia: Utah vs. Navy
New Mexico: Fresno State vs. New Mexico
Hawaii: Hawaii vs. Southern Miss

This is very much a jigsaw puzzle, and will definitely change. There is a lot of football left to be played in the next three weeks.

Ugly Uniform of the Day

A uniform has to be pretty bad to earn repeat status as UUOTD. Oregon State did just that.

Last Saturday night, OSU-West wore these ugly pieces of thread on national television. These were unveiled earlier in the year at a press conference, when they earned their first mention as UUOTD. These uniforms make these poor guys look like they're wearing bras out on the field. This is not what these young men signed up for when they accepted scholarships to Oregon State. Yuck.

Nike makes good shoes. They need to stick to shoes and to get out of the uniform business.

The Ugly Uniform Bowl, aka the Civil War, is December 1. This is when the Beavers visit Eugene to take on the Oregon Ducks. Here's hoping the OSU team plays better than they look on that day.

NFL Highway, Week 10

Back on the NFL highway for another week...

There are two kings of the hill in the NFC. One of them is the Dallas Cowboys. The Cowboys went to New York and earned a surprisingly easy win over the Giants, 31-20. Tony Romo threw four touchdown passes for the Cowboys. Dallas is now 8-1 for the first time since the Barry Switzer era. The Cowboys now have a two-game lead in the NFC East.

The other king of the NFC hill is the Green Bay Packers. The Packers knocked Vikings star running back Adrian Peterson out of the game in the third quarter with a knee injury, and rode Brett Favre's three touchdown passes to an easy 34-0 win. Favre is doing things on the field that shold be illegal at his age. He is truly greatness. The Pack is looking ahead to a showdown with the Cowboys on Thursday night, November 29.

Elsewhere in the NFC, the Philadelphia Eagles went into Washington and stole a 33-25 win from the Redskins. Donovan McNabb and Brian Westbrook combined for a 20-point fourth quarter for the Eagles. The Eagles needed this one in the worst way after getting throttled last week by Dallas. The Redskins go to Texas Stadium next week to take their licks from the Cowboys.

The Detroit Lions proved themselves not ready for prime time on Sunday, as they went out to the desert and lost to the Arizona Cardinals, 31-21. The game wasn't really that close. The Lions are still the 3rd best team in the NFC, as if that matters a whole lot.

The New Orleans Saints had a good run going. However, all good things must end. The St. Louis Rams got off the schneid in the Big Easy, pasting the Saints, 37-29. Marc Bulger is now healthy for the Rams, and celebrated with two touchdown passes.

The NFC South is a pretty pathetic division. The Atlanta Falcons proved it by going to Carolina and getting a win over the quarterback-starved Panthers, 20-13. Joey Harrington threw the game-winning touchdown pass to Alge Crumpler with 20 seconds left in the game for Atlanta. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers now have sole possession of first place after their bye week, at 5-4.

Never give an NFL team up for dead. That's what I did with the Denver Broncos. The Broncos went into Kansas City and delivered a 27-11 whipping to the Chiefs. Selvin Young rushed for 109 yards for the Broncos. The plug and play running back system finally worked again for the Broncos.

There is still a winless team in the NFL, and it resides in Miami. The Dolphins played tough against the Buffalo Bills, but the Bills broke Miami's heart with a game-winning field goal with 46 seconds left. The Dolphins are now a woeful 0-9. The Dolphins have a chance to be the first franchise to have both a perfect season (1972) and a winless season. The Bills, meanwhile, are 5-4.

Sunday's game in Pittsburgh did not disappoint. Lots of points were expected, and lots were scored, as the Steelers pulled out a 31-28 win over the Cleveland Browns. The Steelers came back from a 15 point deficit to win the game. Derek Anderson threw three touchdown passes in a losing cause for the 5-4 Browns. Ben Roethlisberger accounted for three touchdowns for the Steelers.

The Jacksonville Jaguars broke out of their slump with a 28-13 win in Nashville over the Tennessee Titans. Both teams find themselves tied for second in the AFC South at 6-3. Both teams stand a good chance at making the playoffs as wild cards, if not as a division champion.

For at least one week, the Cincinnati Bengals found a defense. They held the inept Baltimore Ravens offense to a touchdown, and used seven Shayne Graham field goals to gain an unexpected road win, 21-7. The Bengals now have three wins, and two of them are over the Ravens. The Ravens are looking very mediocre.

The Oakland Raiders are officially horrible. The Silver and Black were leading an ugly game against the Chicago Bears, 6-3 with less than four minutes left. Bears QB Brian Griese had left the game with a concussion, and was replaced by ex-starter Rex Grossman. The Bears promptly scored two touchdowns to win the game 17-6. The Raiders allowed Sexy Rexy to beat them with a 59-yard touchdown pass to Bernard Berrian with 3:11 left in the game. The Bears are now 4-5. The Raiders are now 2-7 and headed further down the toilet.

The San Diego Chargers escaped with their lives in the Sunday Night extravaganza. The Chargers rolled to a 23-0 lead thanks to Darren Sproles' kickoff return and punt return for touchdowns. They then let the Colts back into the game, as Indy cut the lead to 23-21. The Colts had a chance to win the game, when Adam Vinatieri pushed a chip-shot field goal wide right, allowing the Chargers to hold on for the win. It would have been a disastrous loss for the Chargers. Instead, they move into sole possession of first place in the AFC West. All is not right in San Diego, but the Chargers are very relieved to get out with a win.

The Amazing Race...Or, Kirk Herbstreit's Saturday

The folks at ESPN/ABC value the college football knowledge and expertise of Kirk Herbstreit. Every week, he appears on College GameDay at a campus location, then appears later that night on an ABC Saturday Night game. Most weeks, GameDay and the Saturday Night game are not at the same location.

Today is not Kirk's longest single-day trip, as he appeared earlier this season on GameDay at Virginia Tech and did a game that night from Berkeley, California. Just last week, he was on GameDay in the morning in Eugene, Oregon, then did the night game in Boston. Today's trip, though, if done conventionally, would be worthy of a spot on The Amazing Race. Luckily for him, ESPN provides a private plane and a pilot.

This morning, GameDay was live from the campus of Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts. Williamstown is in the far northwest corner of Massachusetts in the Berkshire Mountains. Tonight, Kirk is in Stillwater, Oklahoma to broadcast Kansas-Oklahoma State. Without the pilot, he'd be busting it through the mountains to Albany, NY to catch a flight to Chicago, Cincinnati, Cleveland or Detroit, just to catch another plane to Tulsa or Oklahoma City. He'd then have to rent a car and drive an hour to an hour and a half to Stillwater. Good luck with all that.

Good private pilots are very valuable. On the other hand, Kirk probably won't realize he is in Stillwater until he gets to the hotel tonight.

Is There Any Defense in Texas?

Today was not a good day to be a defensive coordinator at a Division I school in Texas. The results to date:

Texas A&M gave up 40 points, losing 40-26 to Missouri.

Rice and SMU went up and down the field on each other. Rice outscored the Mustangs, 43-42.

The Houston Cougars were smashed by the University of Tulsa. TU beat Houston, 56-7.

Texas and Texas Tech played pinball today in Austin. The Longhorns won, 59-43.

The biggest defensive breakdown occurred today in Denton, as Navy's option outscored the North Texas spread offense, 74-62. That was a football game, not a basketball game.

Baylor is playing at Oklahoma as I type. It would be shocking if Baylor gave up less than 40 points to OU. Addendum: Baylor scrapped with OU, but the Sooners won, 52-21.

No wonder the first coach firings of the season are occurring in Texas.

There is no "D" in Texas.

Knee-Jerk Reactions

What’s up with Nebraska? Just as the hangmen are about to get Bill Callahan, the Huskers go out and hang 73 on Kansas State. Was Callahan playing the wrong quarterback all along? Nebraska is 5-6. If they beat Colorado in two weeks, they will be bowl-eligible. There are a bunch of Big 12 teams that will be 7-5 or 6-6.

Speaking of coaches on the hot seat, Dennis Franchione took the A&M train wreck up to Missouri and gave the Tigers all they wanted. Mizzou pulled away at the end to win, 40-26. The Ags were within 24-19 and 31-26 in the second half, but could not get over the hump. Buyout negotiations continue in College Station.

Don’t look now, but Mississippi State is now bowl-eligible. For the second year in a row, embattled coach Sylvester Croom beat his alma mater Alabama, 17-12. The Bulldogs now have six wins. They’ll need a seventh to be sure of an SEC bowl bid, but they have a game with Ole Miss at the end of the year.

The Big Ten is weak. So weak. First, Michigan goes down to Wisconsin, 37-21. Then, #1 Ohio State fell at home to the Fighting Illini of Illinois, 28-21. The Rose Bowl will have a Big Ten team after all. The BCS national championship game will not.

NFL Picks, Week 10

NFL Picks, Week 10

Last Week: 12-2
Season: 89-41

Dallas at New York Giants: When these teams met in Week 1, the Cowboys won a 45-35 shootout. The Giants have now won six in a row, but are coming off a bye. Look for more fireworks here. Tony and the Fighting Romos come through again. Pick: Dallas

Minnesota at Green Bay: Another divisional rematch. The Packers are rolling at 7-1. The Vikings have the NFL’s latest rookie sensation in RB Adrian Peterson. AD is forced to be a one-man gang, and still rushed for a league record 295 yards last week. Brett Favre is 39 going on 29. Go with the fountain of youth. Pick: Pack

Jacksonville at Tennessee: David Garrard may be back this week for the Jags. That shouldn’t matter, as the Titans are tough at home. Pick: Tennessee

Denver at Kansas City: The Broncos are hemorraging before our eyes. The Chiefs have lost RB Larry Johnson for this week. Not to worry, because they have brought Priest Holmes out of a cryogenically frozen state for this week’s game. The Chiefs are simply better at this point. Pick: KC

St. Louis at New Orleans: The Rams are slowly getting their team back, as QB Marc Bulger has joined RB Steven Jackson in returning from injury. But, they run into a hot Saints team. The Rams remain winless for another week. Pick: New Orleans

Buffalo at Miami: While on the subject of winless teams, we move over to Miami. The Dolphins are down to backups at multiple positions. They play a Bills team that is 4-4 but could be easily 6-2. The Bills are turning out to be pretty decent. Pick: Buffalo

Cleveland at Pittsburgh: These two teams, fan bases, and cities hate each other. Both teams have been scoring a lot of points this year. This week, the Steelers score more. Pick: Pittsburgh

Philadelphia at Washington: Just another NFC East bloodbath. The Eagles will bleed more than bathe. The Redskins aren’t quite as ugly. Pick: Washington

Atlanta at Carolina: The Falcons got their first win last week. The Panthers may be forced to start their fourth quarterback, Matt Moore. Flip a coin on this one. Pick: Carolina

Chicago at Oakland: The Raiders went back into their dreadful state last week in a loss to the Texans. Now, the suddenly mediocre Bears visit. This has the potential for ugliness. Go with the Bears’ defense here. Pick: Chicago

Detroit at Arizona: The NFL’s surprise team visits the desert in search of win #7. They get it. Pick: Detroit

Cincinnati at Baltimore: This was once a premier matchup. Now, it’s a disappointing team vs. a mediocre team. This one is in Crab City, so go with the home team. Pick: Baltimore

Indianapolis at San Diego: The Chargers are desperate after laying a big fat egg in Minnesota last week. The Colts blew a chance to beat the mighty Patriots last week. San Diego will give the Colts all they want. But, the Colts are simply better. Pick: Indy

San Francisco at Seattle: Yuck. Get ready for an all-time low TV rating in the history of Monday Night Football. The Seahawks should have more than enough to handle the Niners. Pick: Seattle

Ugly Uniform of the Day-Addendum

Recently, the West Virginia Mountaineers earned UUOTD with their gold jerseys. Just when you thought it couldn't get any worse, it did.

Thursday, West Virginia wore gold jerseys and gold pants against Louisville. Their fans filled the stadium wearing gold, making for a gold-out.

These uniforms are even worse. They look like canaries. The crowd looked like empty seats in the Pittsburgh Steelers' stadium. Only difference is that that's the color of the seats in Pittsburgh, while it was the color of the crowd in Morgantown on Thursday night.

Ugh.

A Bad Joke

No, this is not Mack Brown at Christmas.

I received a stack of sample Christmas cards in the mail today. They had a University of Texas theme. Anyone who knows me knows that I like the Texas Longhorns about as much as I like broccoli or a root canal. Someone must have been wanting to play a joke on me by putting me on this mailing list. This is bad.

LOL

Sports By Brooks

I'd like to thank Sports By Brooks for linking to this week's college picks. The exposure is always appreciated.

Brooks Melchior is the author of the well-visited blog. I spent the summer of 1993 in Charleston, South Carolina. That season, Brooks Melchior was the voice of the single-A Charleston Rainbows of the South Atlantic League. I went to a few games at their old ballpark. Those were fun times.

Welcome to all who come over from Sports by Brooks. Thanks for stopping by!