COLLEGE FOOTBALL WEEK 13, WHAT I SAW PART TWO
Bama-LSU rematch looking more likely I'm sad to report.
For those of you who want this rematch for the BCS title game, move on, I doubt I can change your mind. Well, maybe I can if you'll give this some real thought. Do we really want to see a team in this game that didn't even win their conference title? Alabama did not, with their 9-6 loss in one of the sloppiest games I've watched this season, LSU secured their shot at an SEC title, eliminating Alabama as long as they took care of business against Arkansas, which they did in fine fashion. So if we're sticking to the BCS formula, what if Georgia beats LSU? Do the Tigers & Tide switch places in the poll & still play for the BCS Championship? The pair has such an immense lead over 3rd place Oklahoma State, if the Cowboys were to pound Oklahoma next Saturday, they still might not rise to #2. So we'd be left with 2 teams playing for the national championship who failed to win their conference. Is that what you want? Of course there's no way Georgia will beat LSU, after all, they were beaten soundly by Boise State on opening weekend. I remember all the talk about Georgia being a 2nd rate SEC team, Boise didn't really beat a national power or anything. Folks check your BCS rankings, the Bulldogs are currently ranked #14, ahead of Wisconsin & Michigan, both expected to play in BCS Bowl games. Before you get your panties in a bunch, I'm not making a case for Boise, I'm making a case for SEC bias. I said Friday LSU looked like a national championship-caliber team & I still believe that, but playing Georgia in Atlanta's Georgia Dome is no walk in the park, unless you're Boise of course, that's where they beat the Dawgs. I guess my complaint is with morons like ESPN's Craig James who said on the BCS Countdown Show tonight he kept Arkansas at #3 on his ballot. I wonder how many voters went this way? How does a team that was absolutely crushed 41-17 remain as your #3 team? I've known for a very long time Craig James doesn't have a clue what he's doing, I just hope some of you saw Rod Gilmore make him look like a fool tonight. I wish ESPN would take notice. I loved watching Gilmore make salient point after point as James bristled. His body language was "get me outta here." In the end, I'm not saying Alabama doesn't deserve it's #2 ranking, but do they deserve such a margin over #3 that essentially can't be overtaken?
As the season ends, the pink slips go out immediately.
Illinois' Ron Zook, gone, Kansas' Turner Gill, gone, Arizona State's Dennis Erickson, the same as well as UAB's Neil Callaway & Memphis' Larry Porter. Washington State's Paul Wulff will most likely go by Tuesday. Erickson will retire from coaching, Gill may have to return to the MAC or Sun Belt if he wants to remain in charge of a football program & Zook is probably out of action for at least a year. As for Kansas' future head coach, the Jayhawk administration would show their sincerity about improving their football program & making it truly relevant by hiring Mike Leach. Who else could make recruits believe the university really cares about their football future? They won't do it, but it would be a bold move.
Who's on my Heisman top-5 right now you ask?
You did ask right? It goes like this:
1. Andrew Luck--Stanford--quarterback
Without him, the Cardinal wouldn't be a .500 team. He's done nothing to hurt his chances in my eyes.
2. Trent Richardson--Alabama--running back
Without #3, the Crimson Tide would still be a winning team, just not an 11-1 team.
3. Robert Griffin III--Baylor--quarterback
If he hadn't been knocked out of last night's game with concussion-like symptoms, he could very well have vaulted over Richardson, but he played less than a half. Like Luck, Baylor would be about 4-8 without him, maybe worse.
4. Case Keenum--Houston--quarterback
I rank him this high for his overall body of work, he holds every single lifetime NCAA passing record. Led his team to an undefeated regular season & into the Conference-USA championship game next week. Win it & the Cougars & Keenum are BCS bowl-bound.
5. Matt Barkley--USC--quarterback
Barkley had two luxuries the past two seasons, he played for an ex-NFL offensive coordinator & head coach plus he threw to 3 highly ranked NFL prospects, something the other QB's on this list didn't have.
So if Andrew Luck decides not to go pro, will RG3 or Barkley be the top pick?
Were you aware Luck, Barkley, Griffin & Oklahoma's Landry Jones all have college eligibility remaining? If they wanted to return for another year of racking up stats & wins at the collegiate level, they could. I doubt all of them will go pro, but which ones will? Stay tuned, we'll know in about 6-weeks.
Besides all the conference championship games, are there any other regular season games that matter in the long run?
Absolutely, OU plays at Oklahoma State, the winner gets a BCS invite to the Fiesta Bowl. When #22 Texas travels to Waco to play #17 Baylor, there's a chance RG3 can move into the top-2 of Heisman hopefuls, Luck & Richardson are finished for the season. Texas needs this win to stay ranked in the top-25, a big deal for donors, boosters & recruiting. Baylor has never beaten Texas & Oklahoma in the same season, they can accomplish that with a win next Saturday. With a win over Iowa State, the Kansas State Wildcats will most likely move from their current spot at #11 into the top-10 providing OU loses to OSU. That would go a long way toward K-State receiving an at-large BCS bowl bid.
Speaking of a Texas loss, when was the last time neither Texas, Ohio State or Florida weren't ranked in the top-25?
Hell if I know, but I'm going to look into it if they lose at Baylor, which would certainly drop them out of the top-25.
Mizzou ranked 25th in the BCS poll? You bet.
The Tigers are the only 5-loss team in the top-25. The computers like Mizzou more than the voters do, all of their losses were to ranked teams & 4 of the 5 were on the road. Their only home defeat was to then #4 Oklahoma State, the only loss by more than 10-points all season. They beat then #16 A&M on the road & two weeks later they defeated then #16 Texas, holding them with out a touchdown. So does this mean anything? Probably not, unless they thump someone in their bowl appearance, something Gary Pinkel's teams have only done twice in seven bowls. Regarding their bowl invite, the Big-12 won't lift a finger to help Mizzou secure a bowl invitation, they're truly on their own.
For those of you who want this rematch for the BCS title game, move on, I doubt I can change your mind. Well, maybe I can if you'll give this some real thought. Do we really want to see a team in this game that didn't even win their conference title? Alabama did not, with their 9-6 loss in one of the sloppiest games I've watched this season, LSU secured their shot at an SEC title, eliminating Alabama as long as they took care of business against Arkansas, which they did in fine fashion. So if we're sticking to the BCS formula, what if Georgia beats LSU? Do the Tigers & Tide switch places in the poll & still play for the BCS Championship? The pair has such an immense lead over 3rd place Oklahoma State, if the Cowboys were to pound Oklahoma next Saturday, they still might not rise to #2. So we'd be left with 2 teams playing for the national championship who failed to win their conference. Is that what you want? Of course there's no way Georgia will beat LSU, after all, they were beaten soundly by Boise State on opening weekend. I remember all the talk about Georgia being a 2nd rate SEC team, Boise didn't really beat a national power or anything. Folks check your BCS rankings, the Bulldogs are currently ranked #14, ahead of Wisconsin & Michigan, both expected to play in BCS Bowl games. Before you get your panties in a bunch, I'm not making a case for Boise, I'm making a case for SEC bias. I said Friday LSU looked like a national championship-caliber team & I still believe that, but playing Georgia in Atlanta's Georgia Dome is no walk in the park, unless you're Boise of course, that's where they beat the Dawgs. I guess my complaint is with morons like ESPN's Craig James who said on the BCS Countdown Show tonight he kept Arkansas at #3 on his ballot. I wonder how many voters went this way? How does a team that was absolutely crushed 41-17 remain as your #3 team? I've known for a very long time Craig James doesn't have a clue what he's doing, I just hope some of you saw Rod Gilmore make him look like a fool tonight. I wish ESPN would take notice. I loved watching Gilmore make salient point after point as James bristled. His body language was "get me outta here." In the end, I'm not saying Alabama doesn't deserve it's #2 ranking, but do they deserve such a margin over #3 that essentially can't be overtaken?
As the season ends, the pink slips go out immediately.
Illinois' Ron Zook, gone, Kansas' Turner Gill, gone, Arizona State's Dennis Erickson, the same as well as UAB's Neil Callaway & Memphis' Larry Porter. Washington State's Paul Wulff will most likely go by Tuesday. Erickson will retire from coaching, Gill may have to return to the MAC or Sun Belt if he wants to remain in charge of a football program & Zook is probably out of action for at least a year. As for Kansas' future head coach, the Jayhawk administration would show their sincerity about improving their football program & making it truly relevant by hiring Mike Leach. Who else could make recruits believe the university really cares about their football future? They won't do it, but it would be a bold move.
Who's on my Heisman top-5 right now you ask?
You did ask right? It goes like this:
1. Andrew Luck--Stanford--quarterback
Without him, the Cardinal wouldn't be a .500 team. He's done nothing to hurt his chances in my eyes.
2. Trent Richardson--Alabama--running back
Without #3, the Crimson Tide would still be a winning team, just not an 11-1 team.
3. Robert Griffin III--Baylor--quarterback
If he hadn't been knocked out of last night's game with concussion-like symptoms, he could very well have vaulted over Richardson, but he played less than a half. Like Luck, Baylor would be about 4-8 without him, maybe worse.
4. Case Keenum--Houston--quarterback
I rank him this high for his overall body of work, he holds every single lifetime NCAA passing record. Led his team to an undefeated regular season & into the Conference-USA championship game next week. Win it & the Cougars & Keenum are BCS bowl-bound.
5. Matt Barkley--USC--quarterback
Barkley had two luxuries the past two seasons, he played for an ex-NFL offensive coordinator & head coach plus he threw to 3 highly ranked NFL prospects, something the other QB's on this list didn't have.
So if Andrew Luck decides not to go pro, will RG3 or Barkley be the top pick?
Were you aware Luck, Barkley, Griffin & Oklahoma's Landry Jones all have college eligibility remaining? If they wanted to return for another year of racking up stats & wins at the collegiate level, they could. I doubt all of them will go pro, but which ones will? Stay tuned, we'll know in about 6-weeks.
Besides all the conference championship games, are there any other regular season games that matter in the long run?
Absolutely, OU plays at Oklahoma State, the winner gets a BCS invite to the Fiesta Bowl. When #22 Texas travels to Waco to play #17 Baylor, there's a chance RG3 can move into the top-2 of Heisman hopefuls, Luck & Richardson are finished for the season. Texas needs this win to stay ranked in the top-25, a big deal for donors, boosters & recruiting. Baylor has never beaten Texas & Oklahoma in the same season, they can accomplish that with a win next Saturday. With a win over Iowa State, the Kansas State Wildcats will most likely move from their current spot at #11 into the top-10 providing OU loses to OSU. That would go a long way toward K-State receiving an at-large BCS bowl bid.
Speaking of a Texas loss, when was the last time neither Texas, Ohio State or Florida weren't ranked in the top-25?
Hell if I know, but I'm going to look into it if they lose at Baylor, which would certainly drop them out of the top-25.
Mizzou ranked 25th in the BCS poll? You bet.
The Tigers are the only 5-loss team in the top-25. The computers like Mizzou more than the voters do, all of their losses were to ranked teams & 4 of the 5 were on the road. Their only home defeat was to then #4 Oklahoma State, the only loss by more than 10-points all season. They beat then #16 A&M on the road & two weeks later they defeated then #16 Texas, holding them with out a touchdown. So does this mean anything? Probably not, unless they thump someone in their bowl appearance, something Gary Pinkel's teams have only done twice in seven bowls. Regarding their bowl invite, the Big-12 won't lift a finger to help Mizzou secure a bowl invitation, they're truly on their own.
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