College Football News & Weekly Picks!
BCS
a viewers guide to the bowl games – delmarvanow.com
Dec 14th
The BCS championship game will be a rematch between LSU and Alabama.
Oklahoma State complained it should have had a shot at the top-ranked Tigers, BCS bashers had more fodder for the we-need-a-playoff debate and many fans scrunched up their noses at the thought of another field goal-kicking contest like the previous incarnation of the Game of the Century.
The good news, particularly if you’re in the no-rematch camp, is that there are 34 other bowl games with some great players, great matchups and even some interesting nicknames, starting with that rascally Honey Badger in the Bayou.
Here’s a rundown of some of the things to look for over the next month or so:
TOP GAMES
Even if you’re not a fan of LSU and Alabama getting a return engagement in the BCS title game, you HAVE to watch. It is for the national title, after all.
But there are plenty of other games worth watching.
Fiesta Bowl, Stanford vs. Oklahoma State, Jan. 2, Glendale, Ariz. If the national championship game were to have an undercard, this could be it. Two great offenses, two great quarterbacks in Andrew Luck and Brandon Weeden — expect lots of yards and points in what has the potential to be the most entertaining bowl of them all.
Rose Bowl, Wisconsin vs. Oregon, Jan. 2, Pasadena, Calif. Speaking of shows, how about Badgers running back Montee Ball and Ducks dynamo LaMichael James trading jukes and touchdowns? Going to be some day on the couch the day after New Year’s.
Alamo Bowl, Baylor vs, Washington, Dec. 29, San Antonio, Texas — Robert Griffin III on one side, Keith Price and Chris Polk on the other, not a lot of defense. Yeah, this is going to be good.
Cotton Bowl, Arkansas vs. Kansas State, Jan. 6, Arlington, Texas Arkansas’ two losses were to LSU and Alabama, K-State’s to the two big Oklahoma schools. All you need to know.
Playoff
Dec 14th
This year’s BCS matchups have certainly met the annual expectation of controversy and scrutiny. From the BCS National Championship matchup to the Sugar Bowl featuring two at-large teams outside the Top 10, lines in the sand have been drawn for and against certain teams belonging.
Now that the dust has settled on this year’s matchups—and the various publications criticizing or supporting them—it’s a good opportunity to explore the much preferred hypothetical playoff possibilities.
Proponents of a playoff system have varying degrees to which they think it should be carried out. Some favor a simple four-team model, others prefer six, eight, or even 16 teams.
Funeral held for Notre Dame student killed in video tower fall – ESPN
Nov 2nd
Notre Dame football coach Brian Kelly and several of the team\’s players were among several hundred mourners Monday at the funeral of a student killed last week when a tower from which he was videotaping a practice toppled over.A bell tolled as an altar boy holding aloft a large crucifix led Declan Sullivan\’s casket out of the St. Mary Catholic Church following the 90-minute funeral service in suburban Chicago.Holding hands, the junior\’s mother and father followed closely behind the dark-wood casket — Alison Sullivan falling into the arms of a clergyman in white robes after pallbearers carefully slid her son\’s casket into a silver hearse.
via Funeral held for Notre Dame student killed in video tower fall – ESPN.
Oklahoma Sooners, Oregon Ducks sit atop first Bowl Championship Series standings – ESPN
Oct 18th
The first BCS standings are out and Boise State isnt No. 1.In fact, the Broncos arent among the top two teams who would qualify for the Tostitos BCS National Championship game.Oklahoma was first and Oregon was second in the standings released Sunday, with Boise State in third place and in need of plenty of help to become the first team from a conference without an automatic Bowl Championship Series bid to play for the BCS title.
Auburn is fourth, followed by TCU and LSU.
Boise State’s No. 3 spot is the highest ever for team from a non-automatic qualifying conference.
How important is being in the top five of the standings? If history is a guide, 20 of the 24 teams to play in the title game were in the top five in the initial standings. No team has reached the title game from lower than 12th in the initial release.
On the flip side, the Sooners and Ducks begin this race from the front row, but they can’t quite say they’re in control of it. Only once in 12 seasons of the BCS have the teams that were at the top of the first standings played in the championship game. That was 2005 with Southern California and Texas.
via Oklahoma Sooners, Oregon Ducks sit atop first Bowl Championship Series standings – ESPN.
RB Ingram out vs. Penn State
Sep 11th
According to ESPN on College Game Day…Mark Ingram out for tonight’s Alabama game vs. Penn State.
Alabama v. Texas
Dec 7th
Alabama and Texas get to play in a national title game. For TCU, Cincinnati and Boise State, the math doesn’t quite add up but they still get a spot in a BCS bowl.
The quirky, imperfect method of choosing a national champion succeeded Sunday in matching top-ranked Alabama against No. 2 Texas in the BCS championship — a Jan. 7 game between undefeated teams that will bring together Heisman Trophy hopefuls Colt McCoy of the Longhorns and Mark Ingram of the Crimson Tide.
And, of course, it also produced plenty for the little guys to get upset about.
TCU (No. 4 BCS, No. 3 AP), Cincinnati (No. 3 BCS, No. 4 AP) and No. 6 Boise State also finished undefeated. All three were included in the BCS, but none will play for the title — a predictable result that will renew the annual debate about college football’s way of determining the best team in the land.
“It’s a fair question,” said BCS executive director Bill Hancock. “The fact is that the charge of the BCS is to match 1 and 2 in the bowl system. It’s a limited charge. It’s what the BCS is designed to do. Based on the season’s play, we’re confident we’ve matched 1 and 2.”
12/5 Picks
Dec 4th
Ohio (9-3) at Central Michigan (10-2)
Line: Central Michigan by 13.
Friday, 8:00 ET
I really don’t understand how one MAC team can be a 13-point favorite over another if they have similar records. All of these teams are the same.
Prediction: Central Michigan 31, Ohio 30
Ohio +13 (2 Units)
Two more picks after the ads.
San Jose State (2-9) at Louisiana Tech (3-8)
Line: Louisiana Tech by 23.
Saturday, 2:00 ET
How cute, a 3-8 team favored by 23.
Prediction: Louisiana Tech 26, San Jose State 14
San Jose State +23 (4 Unit)
New Mexico State (3-9) at Boise State (12-0)
Line: Boise State by 47.5.
Saturday, 3:00 ET
How is Boise State favored by 47.5 when they average 44.3 points per game? Makes no sense.
Prediction: Boise State 45, New Mexico State 3
New Mexico State +47.5 (2 Units)
picks picks prediction free football nfl ncaa
Week 2 BCS Rankings
Oct 25th
Week 2 BCS standings are out. You can check them out on the ‘rankings’ page.
TCU has passed Boise State in the Bowl Championship Series standings, putting the unbeaten Horned Frogs in position to be this season’s BCS buster.
Florida, Alabama and Texas held onto the top three spots in the standings released Sunday night, keeping control of their chances to reach the national championship game.
Unbeaten Iowa moved up two spots to fourth place after beating Michigan State 15-13 with a last-play touchdown pass by Ricky Stanzi.
Fifth-place USC and sixth-place TCU also moved up two spots.
Boise State dropped from fourth to seventh. The big swing between undefeated Broncos and Horned Frogs came after TCU won 38-7 at BYU (6-2) and Boise State won 54-9 at Hawaii (2-5).
First BCS Rankings
Oct 18th
Florida, Alabama and Texas hold the top three spots in the first BCS standings and control their fates in the national championship race.
The Gators (.988) are in first, just ahead of the Crimson Tide (.952). Texas (.891) is third.
Boise State (.808) is fourth, but the Broncos still seem to be a long shot to play for a national championship.
Florida is No. 1 in the two polls used by the Bowl Championship Series — the USA Today coaches’ poll and Harris poll — and rated highest by the computers. The polls make up two-thirds of a BCS grade and a compilation of six computer ratings accounts for the other third.
Alabama is second in all the components. Texas is third in the two polls and sixth in the computer ratings.
With the strength of their remaining schedules, the Gators, Tide and Longhorns just need to win out to reach the BCS title game on Jan. 7 at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif., according to BCS analyst Jerry Palm.
Alabama and Florida would play each other in the Southeastern Conference championship game if each remains undefeated.
Florida’s first test as the top BCS team comes on Saturday at Mississippi State (7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN).
While the top teams in the standings are in good position, history is not on their side.
In the first 11 years of the BCS, the top two teams in the first standings have reached the title game once. Texas and Southern California did it in 2005 season. Overall, 10 of the 22 teams that were ranked first or second in the first standings made it all the way to the championship game.
That would seem to be good news for unbeaten Boise State, but the Broncos have other problems.
“The national championship is not realistic for them,” Palm said. “They’re going to get passed. Their support in the polls is eroding each week.”
Poll points, not rankings, are used in the BCS formula. Boise State lost 17 points in the coaches’ poll despite moving up a spot to No. 5 this week.
Palm said fifth-place Cincinnati, sixth-place Iowa, both unbeaten, and seventh-place Southern California, which has lost a game, are all in position to pass the Broncos if they keep winning because those three teams play tougher schedules the rest of the way.
Boise State, from the Western Athletic Conference, does not have another ranked team on its schedule.
The Broncos are trying to reach the BCS from a league without an automatic bid for the second time. To earn an automatic bid, teams from the WAC, Mountain West Conference, Sun Belt, Mid-American Conference and Conference USA need to finish in the top 12 of the final BCS standings.
But only one team from those leagues can bust the BCS and Boise State has competition.
“The only team that matters to Boise is TCU,” Palm said.
Undefeated TCU is in eighth place. If the Horned Frogs run the table in the Mountain West, Palm said they have a good chance to pass Boise State.
If I had to bet I would bet TCU eventually does,” Palm said. “Because they’re going to win a better league.”
Loading ...