BCS GOT IT RIGHT.....FINALLY, PLUS COLLEGE BEST & WORST
I know I poo-poo'd the BCS Saturday night, expecting the poll/computer driven aberration that decides who will get the huge money in the premiere bowl games. I was wrong, at least for one week & I'm glad I was wrong. The top 3, Florida, Alabama & Texas wasn't a surprise, but #'s 4, 5 & 6 were. Boise State, Cincinnati & Iowa belong were they were ranked. USC landed at #7, followed by TCU, LSU & Miami to round out the top ten.
What you have to understand about the BCS Poll is it's driven by a number of factors. Wins, who did you beat? Who has your opponent beaten? Who has beaten your opponent? The win factor & your "strength of schedule" is carried out all season. For instance, if Oregon beats USC on Halloween, it benefits not only the Ducks, but it helps everyone they've played, most of all it would help Boise State. The Broncos handed Oregon their only loss this season, way back on September 3rd. If Oregon can run the table, it benefits Boise State as much as the Ducks. Boise's schedule is pretty soft & except for Oregon, road wins at Fresno State & Tulsa, are about the only wins they have to hang their hats on & accumulate BCS points. Fresno doesn't have anyone left on their schedule that will help Boise's strength of schedule. Tulsa does have Houston, East Carolina & So. Miss, so they could help Boise with a win or two in these games.
Cincinnati has 6-1 Pitt & 5-1 West Virginia left. Also helpful to the Bearcats, Pitt has South Florida, Notre Dame, West Virginia & Cincy. If Cincy can win out, they're in the BCS, the Big East Conference Champ has guaranteed spot. If they do win out, I think it will be tough for USC to pass them, even with a victory at Oregon.
Iowa is the quietest undefeated team in the country. Even at 7-0, They still get less press than Penn State, who they beat on the road & Ohio State, who might be the 3rd or 4th best team in the Big-10. The conference champion gets an automatic bid from the BCS too, so next week's game at Michigan State & their November 14th trip to Ohio State will tell the tale. They look like Big-10 Champs to me, but at the same time, ranked 6th by the BCS is right about where they belong nationally.
Florida & Alabama are probably destined to play each other in the SEC Championship game. Florida's trip to Jacksonville to play Georgia at "The world's greatest outdoor cocktail party", has certainly lost a lot of it's luster with Georgia's poor performance so far this year. I don't see them losing to either South Carolina or Florida State, so look for them to be undefeated going to the SEC championship. Alabama has Tennessee & LSU the next 2 weeks, but both games are at home. Season ending rivalry game with Auburn won't trip them up either. So one of these 2 teams will play for the national championship. The other will be an at-large team in a BCS bowl.
Texas also controls their own destiny with road trips to Missouri & Oklahoma State the next 2 weeks & Kansas in Austin November 21st. Stay clean & they're in the Big-12 Championship game, which they should win. I don't think Texas is as good as they were last year, but they should be the other team in the BCS Championship.
USC has to beat Oregon in 2 weeks. It's their only chance to get to the January 7th title game, they need a lot of help. I think they'll end up playing Iowa in the Rose Bowl. Like I said before, an Oregon win vs. USC benefits Boise State as much as it does the Ducks.
The Best of College Weekend #7:
1. The BCS got it right as I detailed above.
2. The Iowa Hawkeyes. In their big road tests at Penn State & Wisconsin, they were down 10-0 & never got rattled. There was no panic, they stayed with their game plan, executed it & most importantly, they shutout both teams in the second half while scoring 26 points of their own. This isn't a spectacular team, but they know how to win.
3. Kansas State made quite a turnaround in 8 days. After being shelled by Texas Tech 66-14, the Wildcats bounced back in a major way, hanging 62 on Texas A&M Saturday. Bill Snyder's offense improved by 48 points & his defense, 52 points better. That's a 100-point swing in one week.
The Worst of College Weekend #7:
1. Where was the Washington defense? As I detailed Saturday night, Arizona State threw a 50-yard touchdown pass right down the middle of the field to a wide-open receiver with 5-seconds left to win the game. I watched the play twice on YouTube this morning & Sun Devil Chris McGaha was at least 10-yards behind the defense. What was more unbelieverable to me, McGaha wasn't alone, there was another ASU receiver running down the opposite hash mark just as wide open. Washington defensive coordinator Nick Holt, who's seen screaming at players on the Huskie bench week after week, took the cowardly way out after the game, totally avoiding the media. What defensive formation did he call in a tie game with :10 left? I've never, ever seen 2 guys that wide open, behind the defense, with the game on the line. Inexcusable.
2. Where was the Nebraska offense? This will be their Achilles heel. In 12 quarters against BCS competition, they've scored touchdowns in 2 of them. As good as coach Bo Pelini & his brother Carl are with the defense, it's all for naught playing in a conference that puts a premium on scoring. He can hold those teams down, maybe to their season-low, but if they can't score at least 24 points a game, they will continue to be an also-ran in the Big-12.
3. The officiating & replay officials in the Arkansas-Florida & Mizzou-Oklahoma State games were atrocious & embarrassing. In both games the officials literally changed the momentum with repeated bad calls & reviews.
Team Most Likely to Give Their Fans a Heart Attack:
Without doubt, it has to be Notre Dame. On Saturday, they had 3 shots at the tying touchdown inside USC's 5-yardline with 9 seconds left in the game. Except for their opening day beatdown of Nevada, every game they've played has gone down to the last minute of the 4th quarter. They lost at Michigan with 11-seconds remaining, they won at Purdue with a Jimmy Clausen to Kyle Rudolph touchdown pass with 25-seconds left, they topped Washington in overtime & a last minute Kyle McCarthy interception at the Irish 4-yardline preserved a win over Michigan State.
College Play of the Week:
TCU punt returner Jeremy Kerley, ran about 100-yards to score a touchdown on a 69-yard punt return. He also broke 6 tackles in the highlight play of the weekend for the 8th ranked Horned Frogs.
What was I Thinking?
Oklahoma's Sam Bradford has to be kicking himself after re injuring his right shoulder in Saturday's game with Texas. Let's look at his history. He won the Heisman Trophy last season, the Sooners won the Big-12 Championship with a record-setting offense. He played behind what might have been the best offensive line in college football history. Four of those starters graduated. He's deemed the consensus #1 draft pick by almost every NFL scout. But in January, Bradford decides to come back to OU for his junior season. Now OU is pretty much out of the BIg-12 title picture, forget about a return to the BCS Championship game, he's had his throwing shoulder injured twice, he could be facing surgery on it. If he doesn't return to Oklahoma for his senor season, he will certainly be downgraded by pro teams in the upcoming draft. He will also go nearly a year without playing football, never a good thing. He seems like such a good kid, he just made a very costly, $10-25 million decision returning to OU.
Today's real name of the day: T-Bob Hebert, center LSU. He's the son of former NFL QB, Bobby Hebert & no, T-Bob isn't a nickname, it's his given name.
What you have to understand about the BCS Poll is it's driven by a number of factors. Wins, who did you beat? Who has your opponent beaten? Who has beaten your opponent? The win factor & your "strength of schedule" is carried out all season. For instance, if Oregon beats USC on Halloween, it benefits not only the Ducks, but it helps everyone they've played, most of all it would help Boise State. The Broncos handed Oregon their only loss this season, way back on September 3rd. If Oregon can run the table, it benefits Boise State as much as the Ducks. Boise's schedule is pretty soft & except for Oregon, road wins at Fresno State & Tulsa, are about the only wins they have to hang their hats on & accumulate BCS points. Fresno doesn't have anyone left on their schedule that will help Boise's strength of schedule. Tulsa does have Houston, East Carolina & So. Miss, so they could help Boise with a win or two in these games.
Cincinnati has 6-1 Pitt & 5-1 West Virginia left. Also helpful to the Bearcats, Pitt has South Florida, Notre Dame, West Virginia & Cincy. If Cincy can win out, they're in the BCS, the Big East Conference Champ has guaranteed spot. If they do win out, I think it will be tough for USC to pass them, even with a victory at Oregon.
Iowa is the quietest undefeated team in the country. Even at 7-0, They still get less press than Penn State, who they beat on the road & Ohio State, who might be the 3rd or 4th best team in the Big-10. The conference champion gets an automatic bid from the BCS too, so next week's game at Michigan State & their November 14th trip to Ohio State will tell the tale. They look like Big-10 Champs to me, but at the same time, ranked 6th by the BCS is right about where they belong nationally.
Florida & Alabama are probably destined to play each other in the SEC Championship game. Florida's trip to Jacksonville to play Georgia at "The world's greatest outdoor cocktail party", has certainly lost a lot of it's luster with Georgia's poor performance so far this year. I don't see them losing to either South Carolina or Florida State, so look for them to be undefeated going to the SEC championship. Alabama has Tennessee & LSU the next 2 weeks, but both games are at home. Season ending rivalry game with Auburn won't trip them up either. So one of these 2 teams will play for the national championship. The other will be an at-large team in a BCS bowl.
Texas also controls their own destiny with road trips to Missouri & Oklahoma State the next 2 weeks & Kansas in Austin November 21st. Stay clean & they're in the Big-12 Championship game, which they should win. I don't think Texas is as good as they were last year, but they should be the other team in the BCS Championship.
USC has to beat Oregon in 2 weeks. It's their only chance to get to the January 7th title game, they need a lot of help. I think they'll end up playing Iowa in the Rose Bowl. Like I said before, an Oregon win vs. USC benefits Boise State as much as it does the Ducks.
The Best of College Weekend #7:
1. The BCS got it right as I detailed above.
2. The Iowa Hawkeyes. In their big road tests at Penn State & Wisconsin, they were down 10-0 & never got rattled. There was no panic, they stayed with their game plan, executed it & most importantly, they shutout both teams in the second half while scoring 26 points of their own. This isn't a spectacular team, but they know how to win.
3. Kansas State made quite a turnaround in 8 days. After being shelled by Texas Tech 66-14, the Wildcats bounced back in a major way, hanging 62 on Texas A&M Saturday. Bill Snyder's offense improved by 48 points & his defense, 52 points better. That's a 100-point swing in one week.
The Worst of College Weekend #7:
1. Where was the Washington defense? As I detailed Saturday night, Arizona State threw a 50-yard touchdown pass right down the middle of the field to a wide-open receiver with 5-seconds left to win the game. I watched the play twice on YouTube this morning & Sun Devil Chris McGaha was at least 10-yards behind the defense. What was more unbelieverable to me, McGaha wasn't alone, there was another ASU receiver running down the opposite hash mark just as wide open. Washington defensive coordinator Nick Holt, who's seen screaming at players on the Huskie bench week after week, took the cowardly way out after the game, totally avoiding the media. What defensive formation did he call in a tie game with :10 left? I've never, ever seen 2 guys that wide open, behind the defense, with the game on the line. Inexcusable.
2. Where was the Nebraska offense? This will be their Achilles heel. In 12 quarters against BCS competition, they've scored touchdowns in 2 of them. As good as coach Bo Pelini & his brother Carl are with the defense, it's all for naught playing in a conference that puts a premium on scoring. He can hold those teams down, maybe to their season-low, but if they can't score at least 24 points a game, they will continue to be an also-ran in the Big-12.
3. The officiating & replay officials in the Arkansas-Florida & Mizzou-Oklahoma State games were atrocious & embarrassing. In both games the officials literally changed the momentum with repeated bad calls & reviews.
Team Most Likely to Give Their Fans a Heart Attack:
Without doubt, it has to be Notre Dame. On Saturday, they had 3 shots at the tying touchdown inside USC's 5-yardline with 9 seconds left in the game. Except for their opening day beatdown of Nevada, every game they've played has gone down to the last minute of the 4th quarter. They lost at Michigan with 11-seconds remaining, they won at Purdue with a Jimmy Clausen to Kyle Rudolph touchdown pass with 25-seconds left, they topped Washington in overtime & a last minute Kyle McCarthy interception at the Irish 4-yardline preserved a win over Michigan State.
College Play of the Week:
TCU punt returner Jeremy Kerley, ran about 100-yards to score a touchdown on a 69-yard punt return. He also broke 6 tackles in the highlight play of the weekend for the 8th ranked Horned Frogs.
What was I Thinking?
Oklahoma's Sam Bradford has to be kicking himself after re injuring his right shoulder in Saturday's game with Texas. Let's look at his history. He won the Heisman Trophy last season, the Sooners won the Big-12 Championship with a record-setting offense. He played behind what might have been the best offensive line in college football history. Four of those starters graduated. He's deemed the consensus #1 draft pick by almost every NFL scout. But in January, Bradford decides to come back to OU for his junior season. Now OU is pretty much out of the BIg-12 title picture, forget about a return to the BCS Championship game, he's had his throwing shoulder injured twice, he could be facing surgery on it. If he doesn't return to Oklahoma for his senor season, he will certainly be downgraded by pro teams in the upcoming draft. He will also go nearly a year without playing football, never a good thing. He seems like such a good kid, he just made a very costly, $10-25 million decision returning to OU.
Today's real name of the day: T-Bob Hebert, center LSU. He's the son of former NFL QB, Bobby Hebert & no, T-Bob isn't a nickname, it's his given name.
Comments