For me, last week was a mixed bag. Calling the Arkansas/LSU game almost makes up for the failures of my ACC predictions. The SEC proved dominate again (except for South Carolina) and as predicated Louisiana/Monroe kept rolling. Not as predicted, the Hokies beat the Wahoos.
As a rule I try not to give too much credit to any one player and especially not a coach. Football, after all, is a team sport. That being said, I must personally congratulate Missouri Defensive Coordinator Matt Eberflus for devising a package that befuddled Kansas for three quarters and held on for the win. Sir, my hat is off to you.
As far as the Series of Unfortunate Events - We are half way there. Wins by Oklahoma and Pittsburgh will throw everything into a tizzy. Do you put Georgia in the Championship Game with two losses over Kansas with one or let soft schedule Ohio State play soft schedule Kansas?
This week's musings:
Thursday night's matchup brings us a battle between #10 Louisville and #16 Rutgers. Of course that was the Preseason Polls. Since then - - let's just say neither team is currently ranked. How did Louisville get to 5-6? Another example of the fine prognosticators that bring us the worthless preseason polls. Ohio State's record and schedule aren't much, if any, better than Kansas' but since they were rated higher in the preseason they will end up ranked higher at the end. This system gives way too much power to the schools PR teams and not enough to the football teams. Such things should be decided on the field.
Does this mean I am a supporter of a playoff system? Why yes it does, with reservations. I do not want the entire bowl system scrapped but I would like to see the top eight or 16 teams battle it out for a true championship
What a whacky year we've had and because of the whackiness we have 7 games worthy of our attention.
UCLA-USC is interesting because of the cross town rivalry, the possibility that a victory could save Bruins coach Karl Dorrell's job, and finally because a USC loss would definitely knock the Trojans out of any BCS contention and open that spot up for Hawaii. UCLA's prospects don't look good, remember they lost to Notre Dame but did hold Utah to 44 points.
Next we have the ACC title game, Boston College-Virginia Tech. This is everything a title game should be, the two best in the conference playing for the championship. Tech continues to impress but will they be able to stop the Eagles passing attack? Probably not but the Hokies still win.
Now the SEC Championship Game is a little different story. Georgia is generally considered to be playing the best football, however they are staying home for the weekend. That leaves the recently defeated LSU Tigers against the three loss Tennessee Volunteers. One could argue that Tennessee is playing almost as well as the Bulldogs and LSU seems to be distracted by rumors of a couple of their coaches departing and that's why the Tigers will lose (probably in three overtimes).
After years of Big12 North mediocrity, Missouri and Kansas have risen to national contention. Oklahoma rules the South but with two loses, is nothing but a spoiler. Another Oklahoma loss nearly cements the BCS spot for Hawaii. The questions remain - Was the real Big 12 Championship Game last week? - And can Missouri not beat themselves again against the Sooners?
Arizona/Arizona State will be close, the Wildcats play everyone close. And there's always Army/Navy which is worth watching because this game is played by real men.
The odd ball in this list is, needless to say, the much bally hoed (at least in this column) Florida International-North Texas game. This is FIU's last, best hope of winning a game. Go Golden Panthers!
I am again ready to admit to being mistaken (not wrong mind you but mistaken). West Virginia is not as overrated as I had once believed. In fact, if one goes back to the basics of football, one would realize that the Mountaineers do exactly what good teams do. They run the ball very well (2nd best rushing attack in the country with 310 yards per game) and they play excellent defense (#6 in the nation). Will this make them a national champion? Probably, though they still need to win two more games.They should be favored to do so. However, this endorsement, no doubt spells their doom.