Mr. Prime Rib of Pageantry

Thirsty Thursday Week 1

2008-08-28T15:54:00.000-07:00

(Pumpin’ for Thursday has been replaced this year by “Thirsty Thursday”. The best drinking times most people had in college took place on Thursday, the night before the day only freshman and MBA students scheduled classes. While it’s not the best chance for a “social encounter” the stay at home drinking game is always an economical way to get plastered and if there’s college football on what better setting for a drinking game. Mr. Prime Rib of Pageantry will help you each week by setting some rules for your “Thirsty Thursday” drinking game)

NC State at South Carolina (-11.5), Over/Under (47.5)

Take a sip…

Every time you hear the words “Ole Ball Coach”.

Every time you hear the words “Tom O’Brien” and “rebuilding job” in the same sentence.

Every time a school besides NC State or South Carolina is mentioned

Take two sips…

Whenever Chris Folwer stops rambling about the other 117 teams in Division I and starts calling the game again.

Every time you hear the words “Boston College”.

Chug if…

If the “Gamecocks” are ever referred to as “undersized” (after giggling of course)

If you flip over to Barack Obama’s speech and he doesn’t say “Hope”, “Change”, or “tax breaks for the rich” before you have to flip back.

Do a Keg Stand if…

If someone mentions that the football scenes for “The Program” was filmed at Williams-Brice Stadium

If Steve Spurrier does that thing with his lips that he used to do when he coached the Redskins.

Buy a Round if…

NC State covers the 11.5 and the Under. Wait until South Carolina’s offense covers an 11.5 point spread before putting money on it.

Welcome to Mr. Prime Rib of Pageantry!

2008-04-08T03:54:00.000-07:00

The Pride and The Pageantry is now Mr. Prime Rib of Pageantry!

The truth is I was never really married to the name "The Pride and The Pageantry", it was a little too poetic for what I was really looking to do with this blog. Which is cover college football in an irreverent fashion. Yet, for the first year, I did exactly the opposite. I broke down stats and rankings and picked games and did a lot of stuff that a lot of other people do better. What I have is a sarcastic wit and I think this name better reflects it. So where does it come from?

Zoolander, the ill-timed comedy that had at least six laugh out loud moments and is an enjoyable rainy day movie whenever its on. When Derek Zoolander receives thanks from the Prime Minister of Malayasia, he acknowledges him as "Mr. Prime Rib of Propecia". Substitute Propecia with the often used word to describe all intangible things college football, Pageantry, and you have the new title...Mr. Prime Rib of Pageantry.

With the name change comes an easier to use URL. No pausing to see if a comes before e or vice versa, because the word Pageantry isn't in the URL at all. It is simply http://mrprimerib.blogspot.com

Also URL's show up on your address or location bar alphabetically. So visitors to Mr. Prime Rib of Pageantry will be reminded of the new address briefly before checking their Myspace. I know, devious.

Anyway I hope you enjoy Mr. Prime Rib of Pageantry as much if not more so than The Pride and The Pageantry as I aspire to covering college football with my tint of sarcasm, year round.

Who is Terrelle Pryor?

2008-02-05T19:13:00.000-08:00

He is the consensus #1 Quarterback High School Prospect...

He draws comparisons to Vince Young...

He is the prototypical "Spread Offense" Quarterback.

He has a well produced video...

He's also a pretty good basketball player...

His school choices appear to be narrowed down to Ohio State, Michigan, Oregon, Penn State and Florida. But most people feel that his choice is between Ohio State and Michigan where Rich Rodriguez was recruiting him once to go to West Virginia to succeed Pat White.

Michigan fans are finding his connections to The Ohio State sketchy.

He's being guided in his recruiting process by Charlie Batch which is kind of like looking for law schools with Jackie Childs.

His choice is seen as the first contest for Rich Rodriguez against The Ohio State University and as a recruiter in general. If he is able to land Pryor away from Columbus it should make what some say will be a rebuilding year in Ann Arbor a little more tolerable.

Bertuccci's Bowling for Bowls Classic: BCS National Championship Game

2008-01-07T09:13:00.000-08:00

Welcome to the Bertuccci's Bowling for Bowls Classic! brought to you by Bertuccci's...Bertuccci's, What's not to Love!

BCS National Championship Game

Location: Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans, Louisiana

Matchup: LSU (SEC Champ) vs. The Ohio State (Big 10 Champ)

Spread: LSU -3.5

Smartass Comment about the Bowl Itself: Isn't it strange that the most important game is the only one with an eponymous corporate sponsor? Where's Lay's Potato Chips at?

Thoughts: Because Ryan Perriloux didn’t get into a night club fight (that I know of), allowing Gary Crowton to use both his quarterbacks… Because I don’t think James Laurinatis will be able to tackle Jacob Hester… Because Les Miles will treat this like a home game and go for it on 4th and anything less than 4…Because it pretty much IS a home game for them…Because the administration at Michigan deserves to see the coach they never wanted dismantle their biggest rival…Because I picked them back in August…Because my brother doesn’t read this blog…and because when you’re head and your heart disagree its better to go with the former…

Pick: LSU

Confidence: 24 out of 32

Bertuccci's Bowling for Bowls Classic: GMAC Bowl

2008-01-06T12:35:00.000-08:00

Welcome to the Bertuccci's Bowling for Bowls Classic! brought to you by Bertuccci's...Bertuccci's, What's not to Love!

GMAC Bowl

Location: Ladd-Peebles Stadium, Mobile, Alabama

Matchup: Bowling Green vs. Tulsa

Spread: Tulsa -5.5

Smartass Comment about the Bowl Itself: I find GMAC Bowl Sunday has become more about parties and the commercials than the actual game itself, still a uniquely American tradition.

Thoughts: This bowl has traditionally been an offensive shootout since the 2001 classic between Marshall and East Carolina that everyone who saw it remembers. This matchup promises to hold to that tradition. Tulsa's QB Paul Smith was second in the country in passing yardage. While Tulsa's pass defense ranked 108the nationally. That is the formula for a high scoring, pass filled shootout. The game features two coaches, Tulsa's Todd Graham and Bowling Green's Gregg Brandon who will likely be considered for bigger schools coaching jobs in 2009. I like Smith and the Golden Hurricane in a pinball game.

Pick: Tulsa

Confidence: 10 out of 32

Bertuccci's Bowling for Bowls Classic: International Bowl

2008-01-04T23:15:00.000-08:00

Welcome to the Bertuccci's Bowling for Bowls Classic! brought to you by Bertuccci's...Bertuccci's, What's not to Love!

International Bowl

Location: Rogers Centre, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Matchup: Rutgers vs. Ball State

Spread: Rutgers -9

Smartass Comment about the Bowl Itself: It doesn't help our reputation across the globe that we export this one of all bowl games. And why isn't Mexico vying for this bowl or do I need to ask?

Thoughts: One thing I love about Ball State is that they have a player older than me. Which makes me feel better about my place in life. Brandon Crawford and the rest of the Ball State defense will be responsible for stopping Ray Rice in his last game. I almost never pick against Rutgers and don't see any reason to do here. The MAC, which used to be a breeding ground for great NFL players like Ben Roethlisberger and Byron Leftwich is down and has been down for a couple years now. I don't see the conference winning any bowl game, nonetheless this one.

Pick: Rutgers

Confidence: 23 out of 32

Bertuccci's Bowling for Bowls Classic: FedEx Orange Bowl

2008-01-03T16:04:00.000-08:00

Welcome to the Bertuccci's Bowling for Bowls Classic! brought to you by Bertuccci's...Bertuccci's, What's not to Love!

FedEx Orange Bowl

Location: Dolphin Stadium, Miami, Florida

Matchup: Kansas (At-Large) vs. Virginia Tech (ACC Champion)

Spread: Virginia Tech -3

Smartass Comment about the Bowl Itself: The arrow between the E and the X points you to insignificant victory.

Thoughts: Kansas will try to score its first win over a Top 25 team this season, IN A BCS BOWL GAME. That's all I need to know. And oh by the way Missouri won by thirty-one two days ago. I don't mind that Kansas is here because it gives us our own day to giggle at Mark Mangino several times and see if he found any new places to gain weight over banquet season.

Pick: Virginia Tech

Confidence: 26 out of 32

Bertuccci's Bowling for Bowls Classic: Tostitos Fiesta Bowl

2008-01-02T15:54:00.000-08:00

Welcome to the Bertuccci's Bowling for Bowls Classic! brought to you by Bertuccci's...Bertuccci's, What's not to Love!

Location: University of Phoenix Stadium, Glendale, Arizona

Matchup: West Virginia (Big East Champion) vs. Oklahoma (Big XII Champion)

Spread: Oklahoma -9

Smartass Comment about the Bowl Itself: The Tostitos Fiesta Bowl...where there are more sights of the word Tostitos than Tostitos in a bag of Tostitos. Yumm...Tostitos!

Thoughts: If yesterday didn't provide enough excitement for you, here's a game with two teams with something to play for. West Virginia with a chip on their shoulder due to the departure of their old Head Coach. Oklahoma returning to the site of last year's embarrassing loss to Boise State. That matchup here is Oklahoma's 8th ranked Rushing Defense against Pat White and Steve Slaton and the West Virginia spread option offense. While an angry West Virginia team may be tough to bet against, Oklahoma is as talented on the offensive side of the ball and much better defensively.

Pick: Oklahoma

Confidence: 28 out of 32

Bertuccci's Bowling for Bowls Classic: Allstate Sugar Bowl

2008-01-01T20:00:00.000-08:00

Welcome to the Bertuccci's Bowling for Bowls Classic! brought to you by Bertuccci's...Bertuccci's, What's not to Love!

Location: Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans, Louisiana

Matchup: Hawai'i (At-Large) vs. Georgia (At-Large)

Spread: Georgia -7.5

Smartass Comment about the Bowl Itself: Where would people from Hawai'i be excited to travel to for a bowl game? Can someone answer me that?

Thoughts: Nobody loves the mid-majors more than me. Last year's Boise State win over Oklahoma was one of the greatest moments of my sports watching life. A Hawai'i win wouldn't make it any less special, in fact it would further the cause for more access to BCS and New Year's Day bowls. I just don't think this Hawai'i team is capable. They have playmakers at the WR position and June Jones' offense could frustrate Georgia for a while. But Georgia is the tougher more talented team, playing as well as anyone in the country. They slept on a smaller conference opponent the last time they were in the Sugar Bowl. I don't see them doing that again.

Pick: Georgia

Confidence: 21 out of 32

Bertuccci's Bowling for Bowls Classic: Rose Bowl presented by Citi

2008-01-01T16:30:00.000-08:00

Welcome to the Bertuccci's Bowling for Bowls Classic! brought to you by Bertuccci's...Bertuccci's, What's not to Love!

Location: Rose Bowl (duh!), Pasadena, California

Matchup: Illinois vs. Southern Cal

Spread: USC -13.5

Smartass Comment about the Bowl Itself: Haven't I said enough. The most arcane institution in the sport and all that holds back college football from being even better than it is.

Thoughts: Juice Williams is a fun player to watch and Rashad Mendenhall is a bruising runner. That's great but they are a step below USC and the rest of the teams playing in the BCS for that matter and should be outclassed here. Any other team but Illinois makes this perhaps the best game of the day but instead we're stuck with what we have. Which could be a close game for a half just to make me worry about such a bold prediction but I doubt it.

Pick: USC

Confidence: 31 out of 32

Bertuccci's Bowling for Bowls Classic: Capital One Bowl

2008-01-01T13:15:00.000-08:00

Welcome to the Bertuccci's Bowling for Bowls Classic! brought to you by Bertuccci's...Bertuccci's, What's not to Love!

Location: Citrus Bowl, Orlando, Florida

Matchup: Michigan vs. Florida

Spread: Florida -10

Smartass Comment about the Bowl Itself: Any chance I won't see an ad where some family's frequent flyer miles are blacked out?

Thoughts: I'm sure Michigan's seniors are going to play hard in their last game. I'm sure the Wolverines are going to play hard for Lloyd Carr. But this is the same spread offense that Appy State and Oregon ran on them, run better than anyone. It's almost impossible for Michigan to stop Tim Tebow in this game, forget the Heisman curse. Forget Michigan

Pick: Florida

Confidence: 30 out of 32

Bertuccci's Bowling for Bowls Classic: Gator Bowl

2008-01-01T13:00:00.000-08:00

Welcome to the Bertuccci's Bowling for Bowls Classic! brought to you by Bertuccci's...Bertuccci's, What's not to Love!

Location: Jacksonville Muncipal Stadium, Jacksonville, Florida

Matchup: Texas Tech vs. Virginia

Spread: Texas Tech -6

Smartass Comment about the Bowl Itself: Jacksonville...Florida's New Jersey!

Thoughts: Lot of talent on display. Especially when Texas Tech has the ball. Quarterback Graham Harrell will try to get the ball to Michael Crabtree while being rushed by Defensive End Jake Long for Virginia who projects to go in the first five picks of the draft. While Texas Tech had a good season last year, it should have a great one next year. Starting with this game.

Pick: Texas Tech

Confidence: 17 out of 32

Bertuccci's Bowling for Bowls Classic: AT&T Cotton Bowl

2008-01-01T11:30:00.000-08:00

Welcome to the Bertuccci's Bowling for Bowls Classic! brought to you by Bertuccci's...Bertuccci's, What's not to Love!

Location: Cotton Bowl, Dallas, Texas

Matchup: Arkansas vs. Missouri

Spread: Missouri -3

Smartass Comment about the Bowl Itself: Is this why a stadium that hosts 3 games a year and is 75 years old is still standing?

Thoughts: If Darren McFadden doesn't play for Arkansas, you don't really need any but here we go just in case. Its been history that teams that are spurned by the BCS lay eggs in the bowls they are usually sent to but I don't think this will be the case for Chase Daniel and Mizzou. There are some legit doubts about how good the Big XII North is the meat behind Mizzou's 11-2 record. I think Daniel, who won't come out for the draft next year wants to start off a Heisman campaign right in this game and more importantly prove that Missouri is as good as their record. A one dimensional (or no dimensional) team like Arkansas would be a good win.

Pick: Missouri

Confidence: 15 out of 32

Bertuccci's Bowling for Bowls Classic: Outback Bowl

2008-01-01T11:00:00.000-08:00

Welcome to the Bertuccci's Bowling for Bowls Classic! brought to you by Bertuccci's...Bertuccci's, What's not to Love!

Location: Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, Florida

Matchup: Wisconsin vs. Tennessee

Spread: Tennessee -2

Smartass Comment about the Bowl Itself: Because at 11am on New Year's Day all you want to see is Aussie Chips on your television set every commercial break.

Thoughts: Who would've thought Wisconsin's season of high expectations would end up here? Bret Bielema is once again challenged with stopping another SEC offense, like he did last year in the Capital One Bowl against Arkansas. We'll see Erik Ainge without OC David Cutcliffe, who took the head coaching job at Duke and six players who were declared Academically Diseligible (last time I promise). Plus you have to wonder how good the practices were for Tennessee with all this going on weeks after they almost won the SEC.

Pick: Wisconsin

Confidence: 11 out of 32

Bertuccci's Bowling for Bowls Classic: Chick-Fil-A Bowl

2007-12-31T19:30:00.000-08:00

Welcome to the Bertuccci's Bowling for Bowls Classic! brought to you by Bertuccci's...Bertuccci's, What's not to Love!

Location: Georgia Dome, Atlanta, Georgia

Matchup: Auburn vs. Clemson

Spread: Clemson -2.5

Smartass Comment about the Bowl Itself: Name was changed after too many southerners started ordering peaches from their local Chick-Fil-A.

Thoughts: Both are Ag schools, Both have the nickname Tigers, Both have orange in their uniforms, Both are coached by men named Tommy, Both are ranked too high preseason and fail to meet expectations...the similarities are endless between Clemson and Auburn. Which is what makes this game hard to pick. Clemson Quarterback Cullen Harper has improved exponentially this season but couldn't "win the big one" against Boston College earlier this year. This game has less pressure, I think Harper will prosper which is why I'm going with the Purple Tigers here.

Pick: Clemson

Confidence: 3 out of 32

Bertuccci's Bowling for Bowls Classic: Insight Bowl

2007-12-31T17:30:00.000-08:00

Welcome to the Bertuccci's Bowling for Bowls Classic! brought to you by Bertuccci's...Bertuccci's, What's not to Love!

Location: Sun Devil Stadium, Tempe, Arizona

Matchup: Indiana vs. Oklahoma State

Spread: Oklahoma State -4

Smartass Comment about the Bowl Itself: If a coach had any kind of Insight, his team wouldn't be sent to a second-tier bowl like this.

Thoughts: Head Coach Bill Lynch got the Hoosiers to this bowl fulfilling the promise of the late Terry Hoeppner in the biggest feel good story of the college football season. Everyone knows Mike Gundy by now. You might not know Okie State WR Adarius Bowman 6'4" 220lb. Wide Receiver who could be a first round pick in the NFL Draft. Just as I like to pick against teams that aren't happy to be in mid-level bowls, i like to pick teams like Indiana who treat them as if they were on New Year's Day or later. That's why I'm going with Indiana but as the confidence tells you, I wouldn't bet my car on it.

Pick: Indiana

Confidence: 2 out of 32

Bertuccci's Bowling for Bowls Classic: Roady's Humanitarian Bowl

2007-12-31T17:00:00.000-08:00

Welcome to the Bertuccci's Bowling for Bowls Classic! brought to you by Bertuccci's...Bertuccci's, What's not to Love!

Roady’s Humanitarian Bowl

Location: Bronco Stadium, Boise, Idaho

Matchup: Fresno State vs. Georgia Tech

Spread: Georgia Tech -6

Smartass Comment about the Bowl Itself: How many Roady’s truck stops do you think Larry Craig did Humanitarian duties in?

Thoughts: Not only is Georgia Tech in the ACC’s “punishment bowl” for an underachieving season, they lost head coach Chan Gailey to firing and will be coached by DC Jon Tenuta who, while a great DC gives me flashbacks of Robert Loggia in “Necessary Roughness” taking over Hector Elizondo’s playbook and whistle. Can he get the Yellow Jackets motivated to play this game. Maybe but I doubt it.

Pick: Fresno State

Confidence: 12 out of 32

Bertuccci's Bowling for Bowls Classic: Gaylord Hotels Music City Bowl

2007-12-31T14:00:00.001-08:00

Welcome to the Bertuccci's Bowling for Bowls Classic! brought to you by Bertuccci's...Bertuccci's, What's not to Love!

Gaylord Hotels Music City Bowl

Location: LP Field, Nashville, Tennessee

Matchup: Kentucky vs. Florida State

Spread: Kentucky -10

Smartass Comment about the Bowl Itself: None! The Music City Bowl is a fine tradition in a fine town! (they haven’t let me in yet)

Thoughts: I’m going and will be blogging the experience for this blog when I come back. I’d rather save my witty commentary for then. As most people know Florida State has suspended 34 players out of Academic Diselgibility after an online course cheating scandal was uncovered involving players. Kentucky Andre Woodson gets to showcase his skills in a real competitive game. FSU is coming with nothing to lose so I expect them to make a game of it for a while but they simply don’t have the manpower to compete and I’m not sure if they ever did.

Pick: Kentucky

Confidence: 29 out of 32

Bertuccci's Bowling for Bowls Classic: Brut Sun Bowl

2007-12-31T14:00:00.000-08:00

Welcome to the Bertuccci's Bowling for Bowls Classic! brought to you by Bertuccci's...Bertuccci's, What's not to Love!

Brut Sun Bowl

Location: Sun Bowl Stadium, El Paso, Texas

Matchup: South Florida vs. Oregon

Spread: South Florida -6.5

Smartass Comment about the Bowl Itself: The thought of the smell of Brut in the sun is almost enough for me to not watch this game.

Thoughts: After Dennis Dixon got hurt and quarterback Brady Leaf took over the wheels came off. Just as you can imagine they would if their running back Johnathan Stewart got hurt and Tomlinson Jana-Carter was their running back. South Florida is another team that couldn’t hold onto #2 but they played remarkably well out of conference including a win at Auburn. I expect them to impress here, easily handling the Ducks.

Pick: South Florida

Confidence: 22 out of 32

Bertuccci's Bowling for Bowls Classic: Armed Forces Bowl

2007-12-31T13:00:00.000-08:00

Welcome to the Bertuccci's Bowling for Bowls Classic! brought to you by Bertuccci's...Bertuccci's, What's not to Love!

Bell Helicopters Armed Forces Bowl

Location: Amon G. Carter Stadium, Fort Worth, Texas

Matchup: Air Force vs. California

Spread: California -3.5

Smartass Comment about the Bowl Itself: You know, I was on the fence about what brand of helicopter to buy after Christmas but since they support college football, I’m gonna go get me a Bell! Maybe two!

Thoughts: Let’s say you played football for Cal in 2007. You started out the season with a big win over Tennessee. You were one of the 15 teams ranked #2 this season, even though like 13 other teams, you weren’t that good. You stumbled, check that, you collapsed down the stretch and are on your way to Fort Worth, not New Orleans where you thought you might be, to play in the Armed Forces Bowl, not the BCS National Championship as you thought you might be, to play a service academy with their option offense and Coach of the Year candidate Troy Calhoun. Not exactly Remember the Titans. I don’t see this season ending well for Desean Jackson and the Bears.

Pick: Air Force

Confidence: 14 out of 32

Bertuccci's Bowling for Bowls Classic: Petrosun Independence Bowl

2007-12-30T13:00:00.000-08:00

Welcome to the Bertuccci's Bowling for Bowls Classic! brought to you by Bertuccci's...Bertuccci's, What's not to Love!

PetroSun Independence Bowl

Location: Independence Stadium, Shreveport, Louisiana

Matchup: Colorado (Big XII, No. something) vs. Alabama (SEC, No. I have to be honest I’ve been guessing this whole time)

Spread: Alabama -3.5

Smartass Comment about the Bowl Itself: Everyday Should be Saturday does it better than I could. The first and worst of the bad bowls.

Thoughts: I hate both these teams and neither deserves to be in any kind of bowl. Alabama finished their season shamefully and they’ll be reminded of that on their way to Shreveport. Colorado had to score eleventy billion points to beat lowly Nebraska. I’m taking Alabama slightly because I believe Nick Saban is on the verge of looking ridiculous and a man like Nick Saban can not be made to look ridiculous.

Pick: Alabama

Confidence: 1 out of 32

Bertuccci's Bowling for Bowls Classic: Valero Alamo Bowl

2007-12-29T19:30:00.000-08:00

Welcome to the Bertuccci's Bowling for Bowls Classic! brought to you by Bertuccci's...Bertuccci's, What's not to Love!

Valero Alamo Bowl

Location: Alamodome, San Antonio, Texas

Matchup: Penn State (Big Ten No. 5) vs. Texas ATM (Big XII No. 5)

Spread: Penn State -5.5

Smartass Comment about the Bowl Itself: Almost as important as the Spanish-American War.

Thoughts: Some interesting pregame nuggets in the days before this game. First, Penn State Quarterback Anthony Morelli noshowed the pregame press conference, then in a Texas ATM pep rally, a cheerleader wished death upon Penn State coach Joe Paterno. The Aggies have been a disappointment for years now and are under an interim coach, you know how that usually goes.

Pick: Penn State

Confidence: 19 out of 32

Bertuccci's Bowling for Bowls Classic: Autozone Liberty Bowl

2007-12-29T16:00:00.000-08:00

Welcome to the Bertuccci's Bowling for Bowls Classic! brought to you by Bertuccci's...Bertuccci's, What's not to Love!

Autozone Liberty Bowl

Location: Liberty Bowl, Memphis, Tennessee

Matchup: UCF (Conference USA No. 1) vs. Mississippi State (SEC No. 5)

Spread: UCF -3

Smartass Comment about the Bowl Itself: If Patrick Henry were alive today, I have no doubt he’d say “Give me Liberty Bowl or give me death!”

Thoughts: A showcase game for the nation’s leading rusher Kevin Smith of UCF vs. Mississippi State’s run defense which gives up 4.25 yards per carry and 159 yards per game. Sylvester Croom pulled a miracle getting his team here, against a dynamic player like Smith. It is hard to expect them to triumph.

Pick: UCF

Confidence: 13 out of 32

Bertuccci's Bowling for Bowls Classic: Meineke Car Care Bowl

2007-12-29T13:00:00.000-08:00

Welcome to the Bertuccci's Bowling for Bowls Classic! brought to you by Bertuccci's...Bertuccci's, What's not to Love!

Meineke Car Care Bowl

Location: Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte, North Carolina
Matchup: Wake Forest
Spread: TCU -2.5

Smartass Comment about the Bowl Itself: Its a sad day that we don't even notice when bowls are named after auto shop chains anymore.

Thoughts: A battle of two coaches who probably will not finish their careers at their respective schools after they are shown a plethora of opportunities. Both Jim Grobe and Randy Edsall have taken two schools who usually use football to warm up their fandom for March. I remember Wake taking pictures the entire time they were in Miami for last year's Orange Bowl, when they got beat by Louisville. I have a feeling they want to take care of business here while UConn may be amazed to be even in a bowl. That is why I am taking the Demon Deacs, slightly

Pick: Wake Forest
Confidence: 6 out of 32

Bertuccci's Bowling for Bowls Classic: Texas Bowl

2007-12-28T20:30:00.001-08:00

Welcome to the Bertuccci's Bowling for Bowls Classic! brought to you by Bertuccci's...Bertuccci's, What's not to Love!

Texas Bowl

Location: Reliant Stadium, Houston, Texas
Matchup: TCU (Mountain West No. 3) vs. Houston (Conference USA No. 3)
Spread: TCU -6

Smartass Comment about the Bowl Itself: At least the bowl games aren't bigger in Texas.
Thoughts: Houston is playing without Head Coach Art Briles who left for Baylor. TCU gets Defensive End Tommy Blake for this game. Blake was supposed to be a surefire NFL Draft prospect but he's been in and out on cloudy circumstances to say the least. TCU is the better team and should win easily here.

Pick: TCU
Confidence: 18 out of 32

Bertuccci's Bowling for Bowls Classic: Emerald Bowl

2007-12-28T20:30:00.000-08:00

Welcome to the Bertuccci's Bowling for Bowls Classic! brought to you by Bertuccci's...Bertuccci's, What's not to Love!

Emerald Bowl

Location: AT&T Park, San Francisco, California
Matchup: Oregon State (No. 6 Pac Ten) vs. Maryland (No. 6 ACC)
Spread: Oregon State -5

Smartass Comment about the Bowl Itself: What is a better December destination Em Bowl or Em City?

Thoughts: Battle of two teams who laid eggs in some highly visible Thursday night games. Oregon State vs. Cincinnati in Week 2 and Maryland vs. West Virginia the week after. I'm going with the devil I know best from the better conference, especially having already won 3 in a row.

Pick: Oregon State
Confidence: 4 out of 32

Bertuccci's Bowling for Bowls Classic: Champs Sports Bowl

2007-12-28T17:00:00.000-08:00

Welcome to the Bertuccci's Bowling for Bowls Classic! brought to you by Bertuccci's...Bertuccci's, What's not to Love!

Champs Sports Bowl

Location: Citrus Bowl, Orlando, Florida
Matchup: Boston College (No. 5 ACC) vs. Michigan State (No. 6 Big Ten)
Spread: Boston College -4

Smartass Comment about the Bowl Itself: Do the T-Shirts say "Champs Sports Bowl Champs"?

Thoughts: Almost Top Tier program + Poor Traveling Fanbase= Low Bowl Invites= Matchups vs. Inferior Opponents= SEVEN GAME BOWL WINNING STREAK. Yeah that's how its done. Their last five bowl wins were vs. Toledo, Colorado State, North Carolina, Boise State (before Boise State was cool), and Navy. Michigan State doesn't appear to pose any more of a threat than those five schools did. Especially not with star Defensive End Jonal Saint-Dic Academically Diseligible. Matt Ryan and the Eagles should be able to take their frustrations of almost making a BCS bowl only to slip this far out on the Spartans, continuing their postseason "dominance".

Pick: Boston College
Confidence: 25 out of 32

Bertuccci's Bowling for Bowls Classic: Pacific Life Holiday Bowl

2007-12-27T19:49:00.000-08:00

Welcome to the Bertuccci's Bowling for Bowls Classic! brought to you by Bertuccci's...Bertuccci's, What's not to Love!

Pacific Life Holiday Bowl

Location: Qualcomm Stadium, San Diego, California
Matchup: Texas (Big XII No. 3) vs. Arizona State (Pac Ten No. 2)
Spread: Texas -2.5

Smartass Comment about the Bowl Itself: The Bowl itself is one of the best December bowls around. The fact that the second place team in the Pac Ten goes here because the Pac Ten doesn't want their teams playing in any January bowl but the Rose Bowl is the joke.

Thoughts: First a little trivia, the last National Champion to come from a non "BCS bowl", BYU in the 1984 Holiday Bowl. As for this year's version its a battle of two teams who are almost mirror images of each other. Both teams have playmakers (Limas Sweed, Mike Jones) at WR. Both schools feature picturesque females that belong on recruiting brochures. Both teams defend the run well (Texas 10th, Arizona State 13th national rankings), but not the pass (Arizona State 69th, Texas 109th). All makes for a typical Holiday Bowl, fun, high scoring, close with the ball flying in the air a lot. I like ASU here slightly because of the matchup of their Wide Receivers against that awful Texas secondary.

Pick: Arizona State
Confidence: 8 out of 32

Bertuccci's Bowling for Bowls Classic: Motor City Bowl

2007-12-26T19:30:00.000-08:00

Welcome to the Bertuccci's Bowling for Bowls Classic! brought to you by Bertuccci's...Bertuccci's, What's not to Love!

Motor City Bowl

Location: Ford Field, Detroit, Michigan
Matchup: Purdue (Big Ten No. 5) vs. Central Michigan (MAC No. 1)
Spread: Purdue -8

Smartass Comment about the Bowl Itself: The second most significant match at Ford Field to the Vince McMahon/Donald Trump "Hair vs. Hair" Match!

Thoughts: Another rematch, this time of a Purdue drubbing of the Chippewas back in September. While a closer game is expected, Central Michigan will have to give up less than the 223 yards rushing it gave up in the last matchup or their average of 163 yards per game to avenge their loss. Purdue would come here with a "vacation attitude" if the game was played anywhere other than Detroit.

Pick: Purdue
Confidence: 27 (out of 32)

Bertuccci's Bowling for Bowls Classic: Sheraton Hawai'i Bowl

2007-12-23T07:27:00.000-08:00

Welcome to the Bertuccci's Bowling for Bowls Classic! brought to you by Bertuccci's...Bertuccci's, What's not to Love!

Sheraton Hawai'i Bowl

Location: Aloha Stadium, Honolulu, Hawai'i
Matchup: Boise State (No. 2 WAC) vs. East Carolina (No. 3 Conference USA)
Spread: Boise State -11

Smartass Comment about the Bowl Itself: Hopefully we'll see more of (Boise State Running Back) Ian Johnson's wife than (East Carolina Head Coach) Skip Holtz's dad.

Thoughts: ECU has donated thousands of tickets to military servicemen and women which is an awfully nice gesture and hopefully those who receive the tickets will cheer for the Pirates out of good faith gesture but it still may do them no good. Ian Johnson may not even have to have that good of a game. East Carolina ranks 115th nationally in passing defense.

Pick: Boise State
Confidence: 20 out of 32

Bertuccci's Bowling for Bowls Classic: Las Vegas Bowl

2007-12-22T19:00:00.000-08:00

Welcome to the Bertuccci's Bowling for Bowls Classic! brought to you by Bertuccci's...Bertuccci's, What's not to Love!

Pioneer Las Vegas Bowl

Location: Sam Boyd Stadium, Las Vegas, Nevada
Matchup: Brigham Young (No. 1 Mountain West) vs. UCLA (No. 4 Pac Ten)
Spread: Brigham Young -5

Smartass Comment about the Bowl Itself: Because college sports and gambling were meant for each other!

Thoughts: While this is a rematch of a 27-17 UCLA win in Week 2 few are just assuming a repeat result. For one, BYU got hot after that game winning 9 of their next 10. And two, UCLA fired Head Coach Karl Dorrell and is currently without a Head Coach for next year. Defensive Coordinator Dewayne Walker is heading the team in what may be an audition for a job some Bruin fans hope he doesn't get.

Pick: Brigham Young -5
Confidence: 9 out of 32

Bertuccci's Bowling for Bowls Classic: New Mexico Bowl

2007-12-22T15:00:00.000-08:00

Welcome to the Bertuccci's Bowling for Bowls Classic! brought to you by Bertuccci's...Bertuccci's, What's not to Love!

New Mexico Bowl

Location: University Stadium, Albuquerque, New Mexico
Matchup: Nevada (No. 4 WAC) vs. New Mexico (No. 5 Mountain West)
Spread: New Mexico -3

Smartass Comment about the Bowl Itself: New Hampshire gets the first-in-the-nation primary, New Mexico gets the fourth-in-the-nation bowl. Sounds about right.

Thoughts: This is a glorified extra home game for New Mexico. Made even moreso by the fact that Nevada's bringing nobody to the game. Nevada Quarterback Colin Kaepernick could be getting Colt Brennan-like buzz in four years but I'm not sure how up for this "bowl" Nevada is going to be. New Mexico ranks 25th in scoring defense and is playing for their first "bowl win" in 46 years (the 1961 Aviation Bowl in Dayton, OH...yes there used to be a bowl in DAYTON, OHIO)

Pick: Nevada -3
Confidence: 7 out of 32

Bertuccci's Bowling for Bowls: PapaJohns.com Bowl

2007-12-22T12:00:00.000-08:00

Welcome to the Bertuccci's Bowling for Bowls Classic! brought to you by Bertuccci's...Bertuccci's, What's not to Love!

PapaJohns.com Bowl

Location: Legion Field, Birmingham, Alabama
Matchup: Southern Mississippi (Conference USA No. 3) vs. Cincinnati (Big East No. 4)
Spread: Cincinnati -11

Smartass Comment about the Bowl Itself: PapaJohns.com...when dialing a phone to have your pizza delivered just isn't convenient enough!

Thoughts: One of the more lopsided matchups. Damien Fletcher and Southern Miss had a disappointing season leading to Jeff Bower's dismissal, Bower will coach this game but his team is outmanned by a Cincinnati team which averages 36.8 points per game. The Golden Eagles will play hard but will have trouble playing catchup with the 90th ranked Passing Offense in the country.

Pick: Cincinnati -11
Confidence: 32 out of 32

Bertuccci's Bowling for Bowls Classic: R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl

2007-12-21T06:11:00.000-08:00

Welcome to the Bertuccci's Bowling for Bowls Classic! brought to you by Bertuccci's...Bertuccci's, What's not to Love!

R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl

Location: Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans, Louisiana
Matchup: Memphis(Conference USA No. 4) vs. Florida Atlantic (Sun Belt Champion)
Spread: Florida Atlantic -2

Smartass Comment about the Bowl Itself: Apparently Ray Nagin's plan for the reconstruction of "Chocolate City" is to host as many bowl games as possible.

Thoughts: This used to be the easiest money a gambler could ever win, betting against the Sun Belt in the New Orleans Bowl, but this regular season the tide might be changing. This year Sun Belt teams have wins against BCS schools like Minnesota (Florida Atlantic), Oklahoma State (Troy), and Alabama (Louisiana-Monroe). Memphis ranked 99th in my TPTPI, the lowest of any team still playing. For those two reasons Howard Schnellenberger and the Owls of FAU have more than a chance here.

Pick: Florida Atlantic -2
Confidence: 5 out of 32 (When measuring confidence 32 is approaching a drunk girl at 1:45am the night after she broke up with her boyfriend, 1 is approaching Elisa Cuthbert)

Bertuccci's Bowling for Bowls Classic: San Diego Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl

2007-12-20T19:34:00.000-08:00

Welcome to the Bertuccci's Bowling for Bowls Classic! First off thanks to my employer Bertuccci's for making a donation of DOUBLE what I make for writing this blog to sponsor my picks and pregame commentary for each bowl game (as long as I added an extra C so their association with me or this blog didn't turn up on any search engines)...Bertuccci's, What's not to Love!

San Diego Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl

Location: Qualcomm Stadium, San Diego, California
Matchup: Utah (Mountain West No. 2) vs. Navy (Agreement to play if Bowl Eligible)
Spread: Utah -9

Smartass Comment about the Bowl Itself: Shouldn't it be the "Poinsettia Pot"?

Thoughts: While the Midshipmen are in a better position than most teams whose coach left them before a bowl game. Paul Johnson's right hand man and OC Ken Niumatalolo takes over, so don't expect the Middies to start throwing. Tom Rinaldi probably knows who Utah Running Back Darrell Mack is, But can Utah stop Navy's option offense? They've had about a month to run nothing but the "Option Drill" in practice. Have to think they'll be ready.

Pick: Utah -9
Confidence: 16 out of 32

Killing Time...Killing the System: A 16-Team Playoff

2007-12-19T19:07:00.000-08:00

How it Would Work: Automatic bids for the champions of EVERY conference (ACC, Big Ten, Big XII, Big East, Pac Ten, SEC, Conference USA, MAC, Mountain West, WAC, Sun Belt) and five at-large teams would play in a 16 team tournament just like you see in Division I Football Championship Subdivision and Basketball. Games would be held at the venue of the higher seed until the Championship Game at a site of a former BCS bowl.

How it Would Play Out this Year:
16. Florida Atlantic at 1. Ohio State
15. Central Michigan at 2. LSU
14. UCF at 3. Virginia Tech
13. Brigham Young at 4. Oklahoma
12. Florida at 5. Georgia
11. Arizona State at. 6. Missouri
10. Hawai'i at 7. USC
9. West Virginia at 8. Kansas

Why it Would Work: It's December-January Madness Baby! The polls and computers would only provide a basis for at-large selection. Bowl Presidents would go homeless. Dream matchups would start in the Quarterfinals and we could all have fun speculating on that FAU-Ohio State spread. In seriousness the inclusion of the small conferences is something I really wish could be worked into any system as while it would provide for some laughers in the formative years, it could extend a parity in college football to all 119 teams and who knows we could get some REAL upsets. This is the exact formula Division I-AA has been using for years and by the way, the best team has won that tournament three years in a row (Appy State).

Why it Wouldn't Work: Some of the games, those taking place in the North could look like last Sunday in the NFL. It would be tough to fit four games in a time frame that doesn't interfere with either finals of the first semester or the beginning of the second. The players probably don't feel like playing four extra games to win a National Championship and yes, games between high seeds wouldn't be as important when you have FIVE at-large entries into the tournament. Its nice to hope the bowls could go away but they do provide a good revenue stream to the universities and to hope to see them dissolve is unrealistic where as the Plus-One and much further on down the road the 8-Team model from yesterday I could see happening in my lifetime.

With all that said, lets enjoy what we have now as it starts Thursday for if nothing else it is still college football in 32 ultimate stages with pride on the line and pageantry on display...

Killing Time...Killing the System: An 8 Team Playoff

2007-12-18T19:50:00.000-08:00

How it Would Work: This is the playoff system desired by most fans of the sport and probably the only one that could ever happen at the Division I-A level. Six of the eight teams would be the champions of the six BCS conferences. Two at-large teams would be the two highest rated teams remaining from the BCS standings. Quarterfinals would take place on New Year's Day at the four BCS bowl sites. Semifinals would take place at two of the four BCS bowl sites and the National Championship would take place at a third BCS bowl site.

Why it Would Work: The conferences would be satisfied that they each have equal access to the National Championship. The bowl sites would be satisfied with added revenue and television coverage coming to their stadiums. The regular season would be ENHANCED because while yes rare regular season 1vs2 matchups may not have the same stakes, matchups between elite conference teams in the BCS conferences and especially the conference championships would have higher stakes. Everyone stands to benefit here except...

Why it Wouldn't Work: ...the travelling fan. The logistics of fans being able to travel to possibly two more bowl destinations is the only legitimate drawback to this plan. Schools could only do so much to get their fans to these games at an affordable price. It would be difficult even for large fanbases like Ohio State and Oklahoma, nonetheless any private school. It also seems unfair that an undefeated team would have to win three more games beyond the 12 it had already played but I hope this season has proven that college football seasons are like snowflakes, no two are comparable.

Killing Time... Killing the System: A Seeded "Plus One"

2007-12-17T19:44:00.000-08:00

How it Would Work: To better ensure clarity in a Plus One format two of the bowls would feature the Number 1 and Number 4 teams in the BCS Standings and one of the bowls would feature the Number 2 and Number 3 teams in BCS Standings.

How it Would Play Out This Year:
Rose: Ohio State vs. Oklahoma
Orange: LSU vs. Virginia Tech
Fiesta: USC vs. West Virginia
Sugar: Georgia vs. Missouri

Why it Would Work: Its a playoff, in case you couldn't figure that out, disguised as the BCS. Only when media would call the four seeded teams the "Final Four" would anyone even figure out what is going on. The bowl season wouldn't have to be extended, each bowl would still be a big game, just two would determine the entries into the BCS National Championship.

Why it Wouldn't Work: Because its a playoff, therefore at least the Pac Ten and the Rose Bowl would be steadfast against it. A "Plus One" is much more realistic when you don't threaten the conference-bowl relationships, because even though fans don't care, the universities do. The Rose Bowl would much rather be a place for the Big Ten and Pac Ten champions to play than a national semifinal. Of course if the system were to truly blow up and six teams in six conferences ran the table, this format wouldn't help that very much at all.

Killing Time...Killing the System: The "Plus-One"

2007-12-13T18:53:00.000-08:00

How it Would Work: Using the in place "Double Hosting Model", the number of BCS bowls would be reduced from five to four. The BCS National Championship would take place between the #1 and #2 teams AFTER the bowls which would take place January 1. Assumedly for the conference commissioners, university presidents, and bowls to go along, traditional conference tie-ins to bowls would have to be preserved.

How it Would Play Out This Year:
Sugar: LSU vs. West Virginia
Rose: Ohio State vs. USC
Orange: Virginia Tech vs. Missouri
Fiesta: Oklahoma vs. Georgia

Why it Would Work: Well it would certainly solve THIS YEAR'S problem (two teams we don't know are any more proven than four others) and for that reason it seems to be the next step for the BCS especially with the current commissioner of the BCS behind it. Each team in the National Championship Game would have a win against a top ten team to legitimize it.

Why it Wouldn't Work: For a scenario like this year's where it would provide a solution, there are more scenarios in which the "Plus One" would delay the controversy or create one itself. In seasons where only one team was undefeated, they would have to win two games to prove a point they may have already proven through the course of the regular season. A more valid point would be that if three teams with rightful claim to a national champion won three separate bowl games, no controversy would be settled at all. The worst case scenario would be if by result of this system we got exactly the situation 2007 presented, a conglomerate of one and two loss teams that would be ranked based more on the timing of their loss than the quality of their season.

Killing Time...Killing the System: A Seeded BCS

2007-12-12T20:24:00.000-08:00

How it Would Work: Just as the #1 and #2 teams in the BCS Standings would go to the BCS National Championship Game, teams 3-10 would go to bowls pre-slotted to take them according to a rotation with the first bowl at the double-hosting city taking the matchup between BCS teams #9 and #10, regardless of conference affiliation.

How it Would Play Out This Year:
BCS National Championship: #1 Ohio State vs. #2 LSU
Orange: #3 Virginia Tech vs. #4 Oklahoma
Rose: #5 Georgia vs. #6 Missouri
Fiesta: #7 USC vs. #8 Kansas
Sugar: #9 West Virginia vs. #10 Hawai'i

Why it Would Work: The entire system would be centered on merit and the best teams would seemingly go to the best bowls. Factors like conference tie-ins, television ratings, fanbase traveling reputation would take their rightful secondary role in determining bowl placement to the quality of the actual football team and its season. The likelihood can be assumed to be increased that all five games would be competitive and in a year in which three teams have rightful stake to the championship, the third team could prove worthy by beating the next best team in the country and have a remote chance at a shared championship.

Why it Wouldn't Work: First off the wheels that run the system (the conferences and the bowls) would never go for it. They'd make sure each BCS conference is represented and while that happens in this year's scenario it wouldn't be a guarantee. Also there would be no assist for non-BCS teams like Hawaii and Boise State last year to make it to a BCS Bowl as Boise got in on an amendment that allowed it to be represented for a top 12 ranking and how could I be for anything that would've interfered with what happened last January 1. There is a principle that the bowls should be allowed to invite the teams they choose, otherwise what incentive do they have to be involved with a BCS. One would have to be nervous for the ratings for that 9 vs. 10 matchup also.

Killing Time, Killing the System: The Current BCS

2007-12-11T19:56:00.000-08:00

So we have some time between the Heisman Trophy presentation and the highly anticipated San Diego Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl (by the time it kicks off, if you're like me you're just happy to see college football on). So in that time rather than putting forward a computer simulated playoff. I'll take a look at every possible system that could determine a National Champion in college football and weigh its pros and cons. I'm probably wasting the same amount of energy but its mid-December and quite frankly, there's nothing else to do. So let's start with the current Bowl Championship Series

How it Works: A combination of poll and computer rankings called the "BCS Rankings" sort out the #1 and #2 teams in the country to play in the "BCS National Championship", after that four bowls (Fiesta, Orange, Sugar, and Rose) select from conference champions not in the BCS National Championship and four at-large teams of the bowls choosing. Bowls are autonomous to select what teams they want as long as each conference champion is represented.

How it plays out this year:
BCS National Championship: LSU vs. Ohio State
Fiesta: West Virginia vs. Oklahoma
Rose: USC vs. Illinois
Orange: Kansas vs. Virginia Tech
Sugar: Hawaii vs. Georgia

Why it Works: In the end, the winner of the BCS National Championship is either the consensus best team in the country all season long or just beat the consensus best team in the country all season long while other major bowls go on to keep their identity or tradition.

Why it Doesn't Work: Its arbitrary but that point's been beaten to death. The new system has diluted somewhat New Year's Day as just two of the BCS games are played on what is supposed to be college football's showcase day. While Howard's Rock, Script Ohio, and The Third Saturday in October are great traditions in college football, the conference tie-ins to bowls is draconian and detrimental to the games themselves. For example, the Rose Bowl selected three loss Illinois over two loss teams Georgia and Missouri to uphold a tradition only the Tournament of Roses committee cares about any more and for that the Rose Bowl is worst off and leaves this system to be mocked even more.

Tim Tebow wins the Heisman Trophy: Five Thoughts

2007-12-09T19:39:00.000-08:00

1. Congratulations to Jesus Christ on his 23rd Heisman Trophy

2. Most important lesson here: Don't have an abortion, for you may have a future Heisman Trophy winner in your womb.

3. No truth to the rumor that Jon Kitna called Tim Tebow afterwards and called him a kook.

4. Would you believe, enormous boobie girl nowhere to be found? Again if anybody's seen her at ONE Gator game, let me know.

5. What card show do I get my picture of Chris Weinke, Eric Crouch, and Jason White standing next to each other signed at? What's that you say? ANY card show? How much? Really? Free? The heck you say!

A Look at the Four Heisman Finalists

2007-12-07T15:35:00.000-08:00

Colt Brennan, QB, Hawaii, Senior
Record: 11-0
Stats: 337-472, 4174 Yards, 38 Touchdowns, 14 Interceptions
Best Game: vs. Washington (12/1) 42-50, 442, 5TDs, 0INTs
Worst Game: The ones they played Northern Colorado, Charleston Southern, UNLV, Idaho, Utah State and Louisiana Tech
Thoughts: You can thank Brennan (and to a lesser extent Graham Harrell of Texas Tech) for the introduction of the phrase "System Quarterback" into the college football lexicon.

June Jones countered this this past Sunday by calling Tim Tebow a "System Quarterback". Truth is coaching is dominating college football right now and every quarterback in the country is recruited and trained to run a coaches system. All quarterbacks are "System Quarterbacks" and Brennan ran June Jones' system better than anyone has.

It doesn't help though that he played a terrible non-conference schedule and played most of his games after writers deadlines, when they are often found drunk.

Chase Daniel, QB, Missouri, Senior
Record: 11-2
Stats: 372-534, 4170 Yards, 33 Touchdowns, 11 Interceptions
Best Game: vs. Kansas (11/24) 40-49, 361, 3TDs 0INTs
Worst Game: vs. Oklahoma (12/1) 23-39, 218, 0TDs 1INT
Thoughts: While his numbers are comparable to Brennan's against what is perceived to be tougher competition. He had a two game audition for the trophy the final two weeks of the season and ended with mixed results. He did nothing to seal the trophy (which has consistently been given to the Quarterback of the best team in the country in absence of a dominant individual performance) last Saturday in the Big XII Championship Game. Its tough to win a Heisman when your worst game is your last and one of two you played on national television.

Darren McFadden, RB, Arkansas, Junior
Record: 8-4
Stats: 304 Carries, 1725 Yards, 15 Touchdowns
Best Game: vs. South Carolina (11/3) 34 Car, 321 Yds, 1TD
Worst Game: vs. Auburn (10/13) 17 Car, 43 Yds, 0TDs
Thoughts: McFadden, who was the preseason favorite for this award hasn't been able to sustain any Heisman campaign momentum as when he was effective in the first five games of the season, Arkansas was only 3-2. His breakout game was against South Carolina and you may remember better that he almost single-handidly beat a team that is playing for the National Championship anyway. He is the "Anti-Daniel" as he left voters with a great closing statement but a vote for McFadden seems to be a vote for two games and Arkansas' pedestrian record even in the SEC doesn't help his cause either.

Tim Tebow QB, Florida, Sophomore
Record: 9-3
Stats: 217-317, 3132 Yards, 29TDs, 6INTs, 838 Rushing Yards, 22 Rushing TDs
Best Game: at South Carolina (11/10) 22-32, 304Yds, 2TDs, 1INT, 120 Rush Yds, 5 Rush TDs
Worst Game: vs. Georgia (10/27) 14-22, 236Yds, 1TD, 0INT, -15 Rush Yds, 2 Rush TDs
Thoughts: I think the numbers clearly tell you that Tebow had statistically the best season of anybody in the country. Two things stand between him and being a clear favorite for this award. He's only a sophomore and no sophomore has ever won the Heisman but many people who may have been able to win it as sophomores have. Those people will be casting votes and don't seem too eager to give the opportunity for this award to Tebow when they never had it as sophomores. Also, Florida's season could be labeled a disappointment. Most Heisman winners take their teams to meet or exceed expectations, Tebow even for all his statistical production, didn't.

And the winner is...

Tebow, those numbers are insane, his worst game was due to a shoulder injury in a game he probably shouldn't have played in and he still accounted for 3TDs. In the last four games he was a dominant player in blowout wins he was for the most part responsible for. He has the numbers, the visibility, and the closeout of a season worthy of this award regardless of class or team expectations.

Heisman Voting by Electoral College

2007-12-05T18:30:00.001-08:00

An ESPN Poll asked readers to pick their Heisman trophy winner between the four finalists. Hawai'i Quarterback Colt Brennan, Missouri Quarterback Chase Daniel, Arkansas Runningback Darren McFadden, and Florida Quarterback Tim Tebow and broke down the results by state. Unlike most of these polls, the results proved to be quite interesting. Here are the results as of 9:00pm Wednesday night.

If you can't read it that gives:

Brennan: Hawai'i, California, Nevada, Utah, Idaho, South Dakota, Maine, Washington, Delaware

Daniel: Missouri

McFadden: Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, Arizona, Texas, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Iowa, Arkansas, Wisconsin, Ohio, Tennessee, Georgia, Vermont, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Kansas

Tebow: Oregon, North Dakota, Minnesota, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, West Virgiinai, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York, Massachusetts, New Hampshire

Too Close to Call: Alaska, New Mexico

If the Heisman were decided by the Electoral College this poll would give Electoral votes in the following:

Brennan 94

Daniel 11

McFadden 160

Tebow 255

Too Close to Call 8

While the Heisman Trophy is not decided by Electoral College, it is decided regionally which should be interesting in the closest race in a long time

College Bowl Mania

2007-12-04T07:04:00.000-08:00

With the upcoming Bowl Season approaching, my competitive itch needs to be scratched.

Therefore I have started a group in ESPN's College Bowl Mania

Click Here to see the group I started called "Pride and Pageantry".

If the link doesn't work (and chances are it won't), just type Pride and Pageantry in the search bar, this is a public group.

Whether you are a friend, regular reader, casual reader, or Google sent you here in your search for Song Girl Pics, consider yourself welcome to play along.

Brennan WAC Offensive Player of the Year

2007-12-04T06:22:00.000-08:00

Colt Brennan was named WAC Offensive Player of the Year for the second year in a row.

This was no surprise as in addition to winning WAC Offensive Player of the Year last year, Brennan won several WAC Offensive Player of the Week awards.

Boise State Running Back Ian Johnson was second in voting for WAC Offensive Player of the Year.

In addition, Hawaii's Wide Recievers won a new award given for WAC Offensive Unit of the Year.

Fresno State linebacker Marcus Riley won WAC Defensive Player of the Year in an announcement that did not receive a giggling response.

Bowl Matchups: Quick and Initial Thoughts

2007-12-03T10:36:00.000-08:00

There will be plenty of time to talk about these games, the snubs, the system, Plus One's, playoffs, etc. Here are my thoughts on each matchup in one sentence or less...

Allstate BCS Championship Game
LSU vs. Ohio State
It would kill Michigan fans if Les Miles game plan beats the Buckeyes as bad as Urban Meyer's did.

FedEx Orange
Virginia Tech vs. Kansas
I'll spend four weeks getting the image of Mark Mangino in South Beach out of my head.

Tostitos Fiesta
Oklahoma vs. West Virginia
If you can't score more than 9 points on PITT, I have to wonder if you even belong here.

Rose Bowl presented by Citi
Illinois vs. USC
It may be a three touchdown romp but at the least the rest of the year can go on with me knowing the Pac Ten AND Big Ten were represented, carrying on one of college football's more arcane traditions.

Allstate Sugar
Hawaii vs. Georgia
There are some vague similarities between this year's Georgia team and last year's Oklahoma team.

Capital One
Michigan vs. Florida
Lloyd Carr goes out with a reminder of what did him in at Michigan, the spread offense.

AT&T Cotton
Missouri vs. Arkansas
Missouri got jobbed not because it lost the Big XII Championship game, but rather because their fans went.

Gator
Texas Tech vs. Virginia
Just remember "The chicken's involved, but the pig's committed".

Outback
Wisconsin vs. Tennessee
If Tennessee does that Orange jerseys, Orange pants thing again, that won't be good for my hangover headache.

Chick-fil-A
Clemson vs. Auburn
Same mascot, same colors, same perennial underachievement.

Pacific Life Holiday
Arizona State vs. Texas
Always a fun one and this should be no different as the points should go up pinball style.

Valero Alamo
Penn State vs. Texas A&M
San Antonio, where underachievers go to finish out the string, has its ideal matchup.

AutoZone Liberty
UCF vs. Mississippi State
Can Sylvester Croom hold Kevin Smith to under 250 yards rushing?

Brut Sun
South Florida vs. Oregon
Matchup of the two ugliest uniforms in football.

PetroSun Independence
Alabama vs. Colorado
Nick Saban will probably call this a "war" just to prove he has no perspective.

Gaylord Hotels Music City
Kentucky vs. Florida State
Cha-Ching!

Champs Sports
Boston College vs. Michigan State
In a way, BC can credit their notoriously bad traveling fanbase for their seven game bowl win streak.

Insight
Indiana vs. Oklahoma State
Indiana's a feel good story but it'll be tough to root against "I'm 40!"

Meineke Car Care
UConn vs. Wake Forest
Chris Paul's a real talent but UConn's got too much on the frontcourt.

Emerald
Maryland vs. Oregon State
Wouldn't a nut company want their bowl BEFORE Christmas, the only time most people eat nuts?

Pioneer Las Vegas
UCLA vs. BYU
Since this is their third year in a row in this game, the BYU in Las Vegas jokes still don't violate the "Rule of Threes".

San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia
Utah vs. Navy
As long as Navy is bowl-eligible they will play in this game for the next three years.

Motor City
Purdue vs. Central Michigan
Rematch of a 45-22 Purdue win on September 15.

Papajohns.com Bowl
Southern Miss vs. Cincinnati
Unless Brian Kelly leaves before this game, the Golden Eagles have no chance.

Sheraton Hawai'i
Boise State vs. East Carolina
Hopefully we'll see more Chrissy Johnson than the last time she was in Hawai'i.

R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl
Memphis vs. Florida Atlantic
FAU gets to play in a bowl against a team ranked 99th in my computer rankings.

Texas
TCU vs. Houston
Appropriately named but I'd give anything to bring back the Bluebonnet Bowl.

Bell Helicopter Armed Forces
California vs. Air Force
So how many hippies you think are going to make the trip to Fort Worth for this?

International
Rutgers vs. Ball State
A chance to bet against an "Unhappy to be here team".

Roady's Humanitarian
Georgia Tech vs. Fresno State
A chance to bet against an "Interim Coach Team" and an "Unhappy to be here team" at the same time.

GMAC
Bowling Green vs. Tulsa
One day before the National Championship which is too much anticipation for me.

New Mexico
Nevada vs. New Mexico
Its difficult to take this "bowl" seriously when the only Mountain West team it invites to play in it is New Mexico.

Pumpin' for Thursday: Week 14

2007-11-29T14:00:00.000-08:00

This is the final PFT for the 2007 season, but worry not problem gamblers, "Bertuci's Bowling for Bowls" begins Thursday, December 20. I don't know what I'm missing here but it looks like the oddsmakers are giving us a Holiday present for this the final edition of a pick segment that has had mediocre results at best...

Rutgers (+2.5) at Louisville, Over/Under 60

Vegas Algebra says: Louisville 31.25 , Rutgers 28.75

Thoughts: Rutgers is undefeated midweek and having already accepted a bid to the International Bowl (below preseason expectations) is looking for a statement conference win to the end the year, its Pitino season in Louisville and the team isn't healthy and Steve Kragthorpe has been shooting down coaching rumors the past two weeks.

Suggestion: I like Rutgers, Ray Rice, and Ray Rice's mom huge over a Louisville team which may mail it in. Rutgers likes to run first and throw when necessary so I can't expect them to light up the Louisville secondary the way others have, which is why I like the Under

Hello...still...Greg Robinson

2007-11-28T18:46:00.000-08:00

In news that comes as little surprise to those who know Syracuse football but turns some heads nationally, Greg Robinson will be back as Syracuse's Head Coach in 2008.

The move has less to do with anybody's pleasure with Robinson's performance in his three years at Syracuse (at 7-28, 2-19 in the Big East, how can it be?) but rather a reluctance to buyout Robinson's contract (a buyout was projected at $3 million, a little steep for a private school but it could've been done) and a greater reluctance to give Athletic Director Daryl Gross the autonomy to head another football coaching search.

There is also a sentiment that Robinson has been a victim of timing from the day he was hired and that his young team should improve in 2008.

Still, the empty seats in the Carrier Dome and the emergence of football powers throughout the Big East are making Robinson's Pollyanna act at Syracuse wear thin and another losing season will seal his fate undoubtedly in 2008.

The Pride and The Pageantry Index: November 28, 2007

2007-11-28T17:20:00.000-08:00

Rank Team Conf W L OW OL OOW OOL TPTPI
1 West Virginia Big East 10 1 69 61 799 732 0.623127624
2 Missouri Big XII 11 1 73 70 834 733 0.617468218
3 LSU SEC 10 2 78 65 888 798 0.612733204
4 Georgia SEC 10 2 75 67 852 699 0.609748595
5 Florida SEC 9 3 80 61 819 724 0.60388399
6 Virginia Tech ACC 10 2 76 67 803 769 0.601771161
7 Ohio State Big Ten 11 1 67 76 816 747 0.593950635
8 Tennessee SEC 9 3 79 64 867 814 0.592664883
9 Boston College ACC 10 2 72 70 807 745 0.591848017
10 Arizona State Pac Ten 9 2 63 62 755 677 0.588354114
11 Oregon Pac Ten 8 3 70 55 724 708 0.58821483
12 Oklahoma Big XII 10 2 71 72 875 819 0.585717313
13 Illinois Big Ten 9 3 77 66 793 774 0.583246404
14 South Florida Big East 9 3 74 64 757 733 0.582629365
15 Clemson ACC 9 3 74 69 812 750 0.576202846
16 Kansas Big XII 11 1 59 83 837 716 0.57165236
17 Brigham Young Mountain West 9 2 63 66 667 703 0.57044683
18 Auburn SEC 8 4 77 66 830 725 0.56933795
19 Texas Big XII 9 3 71 72 874 820 0.5647364
20 Southern California Pac Ten 9 2 56 70 781 648 0.563401687
21 Cincinnati Big East 9 3 67 70 769 715 0.561574065
22 Texas A&M Big XII 7 5 82 60 780 768 0.56053472
23 Virginia ACC 9 3 69 74 876 808 0.558806247
24 Penn State Big Ten 8 4 76 67 853 846 0.557915941
25 Michigan Big Ten 8 4 74 68 803 746 0.556829789
26 Kentucky SEC 7 5 79 62 801 738 0.556092136
27 Connecticut Big East 9 3 65 74 789 711 0.55281295
28 Wisconsin Big Ten 9 3 67 76 806 754 0.550932401
29 Oregon State Pac Ten 7 4 65 60 673 624 0.548813345
30 Florida State ACC 7 5 77 67 926 782 0.548733086
31 Wake Forest ACC 8 4 71 71 889 794 0.548722519
32 California Pac Ten 6 5 70 55 747 685 0.546775648
33 Michigan State Big Ten 7 5 79 64 843 854 0.546246856
34 Oklahoma State Big XII 6 6 83 58 770 770 0.544326241
35 South Carolina SEC 6 6 82 61 820 740 0.543123543
36 Mississippi State SEC 7 5 74 68 838 715 0.541296907
37 Rutgers Big East 7 4 65 62 683 670 0.541197456
38 Arkansas SEC 8 4 67 73 824 703 0.540857424
39 Alabama SEC 6 6 82 61 803 760 0.540152186
40 UCF Conference USA 9 3 66 78 833 882 0.538095238
41 UCLA Pac Ten 6 5 67 58 763 665 0.537942068
42 Nebraska Big XII 5 7 87 55 848 830 0.536845577
43 Hawaii WAC 11 0 43 84 564 643 0.536109897
44 Colorado Big XII 6 6 81 62 856 837 0.534619618
45 Texas Tech Big XII 8 4 67 76 820 748 0.531672197
46 Utah Mountain West 8 4 67 72 803 816 0.531670155
47 Maryland ACC 6 6 77 63 793 735 0.529744764
48 Boise State WAC 10 2 57 82 686 789 0.529640491
49 Georgia Tech ACC 7 5 71 71 826 726 0.528887457
50 Tulsa Conference USA 9 3 62 80 807 887 0.524906671
51 East Carolina Conference USA 7 5 73 70 818 894 0.520529023
52 Air Force Mountain West 9 3 57 81 746 741 0.519442048
53 Troy Sun Belt 8 3 55 74 679 698 0.518271712
54 Purdue Big Ten 7 5 70 73 798 769 0.517901916
55 Indiana Big Ten 7 5 70 73 794 776 0.517021699
56 Fresno State WAC 7 4 60 67 633 704 0.513673386
57 North Carolina State ACC 5 7 80 62 795 761 0.51358817
58 Louisville Big East 5 6 69 60 715 657 0.511362481
59 Washington Pac Ten 4 8 81 55 800 757 0.509579603
60 Arizona Pac Ten 5 6 66 58 669 622 0.509316132
61 New Mexico Mountain West 8 4 61 79 736 768 0.506864235
62 Vanderbilt SEC 5 7 77 66 836 730 0.506858483
63 Kansas State Big XII 5 7 75 67 809 737 0.499072648
64 Washington State Pac Ten 5 7 71 64 797 739 0.496849682
65 TCU Mountain West 7 5 64 77 818 831 0.496798242
66 Mississippi SEC 3 9 87 55 793 758 0.496658789
67 Iowa Big Ten 6 6 69 75 881 828 0.493459869
68 Miami (Fla.) ACC 5 7 73 70 911 800 0.492520715
69 Northwestern Big Ten 6 6 67 75 792 765 0.488083123
70 Pittsburgh Big East 4 7 69 59 683 683 0.485440341
71 Wyoming Mountain West 5 7 74 67 781 871 0.484768087
72 Ball State MAC 7 5 63 79 724 830 0.484137936
73 Bowling Green MAC 8 4 56 87 754 816 0.482534557
74 Notre Dame Independent 3 9 82 58 819 821 0.480204704
75 Central Michigan MAC 7 5 61 81 737 818 0.479110812
76 Southern Mississippi Conference USA 7 5 61 82 745 831 0.477298981
77 North Carolina ACC 4 8 74 69 830 732 0.474917102
78 Houston Conference USA 8 4 51 91 781 779 0.471404388
79 Navy Independent 7 4 48 80 676 696 0.469768752
80 Louisiana Tech WAC 5 6 60 68 648 699 0.468278624
81 Florida Atlantic Sun Belt 6 5 53 77 774 742 0.467848313
82 Iowa State Big XII 3 9 80 63 789 782 0.46777725
83 San Diego State Mountain West 4 7 66 64 673 703 0.467029954
84 Louisiana-Monroe Sun Belt 6 6 61 78 721 782 0.464351273
85 Syracuse Big East 2 10 83 57 826 812 0.464163614
86 Western Michigan MAC 5 7 68 74 737 819 0.462015883
87 Stanford Pac Ten 3 8 65 60 750 678 0.459484339
88 Toledo MAC 5 7 69 74 700 867 0.457103774
89 Miami (Ohio) MAC 6 6 60 84 837 867 0.456132629
90 Akron MAC 4 8 74 69 769 928 0.455362748
91 Army Independent 3 8 70 60 661 741 0.45527992
92 Baylor Big XII 3 9 75 67 780 775 0.451986436
93 San Jose State WAC 5 7 63 74 667 782 0.449173039
94 Marshall Conference USA 3 9 84 70 773 923 0.449171848
95 Ohio MAC 6 6 58 85 730 836 0.444336156
96 Middle Tennessee Sun Belt 5 7 62 76 686 806 0.443750729
97 UNLV Mountain West 2 10 80 60 753 885 0.442307692
98 Nevada WAC 5 6 54 75 647 714 0.441785126
99 Memphis Conference USA 7 5 50 93 762 811 0.441764675
100 Duke ACC 1 11 84 59 847 845 0.439687381
101 Buffalo MAC 5 7 61 82 816 881 0.437665519
102 Texas-El Paso Conference USA 4 8 69 74 698 865 0.436236348
103 Minnesota Big Ten 1 11 84 58 730 830 0.433595161
104 Colorado State Mountain West 3 9 69 71 754 767 0.432860195
105 Temple MAC 4 8 66 76 762 921 0.42891843
106 Arkansas State Sun Belt 5 7 57 82 766 872 0.426113505
107 Eastern Michigan MAC 4 8 64 78 721 831 0.42482591
108 UAB Conference USA 2 10 76 67 739 843 0.424183486
109 Tulane Conference USA 4 8 62 80 737 819 0.420055789
110 New Mexico State WAC 4 8 61 78 613 741 0.415940955
111 Kent State MAC 3 9 67 76 722 847 0.411807162
112 La.-Lafayette Sun Belt 3 9 63 76 704 802 0.405984575
113 Rice Conference USA 3 9 64 79 722 857 0.40058908
114 Utah State WAC 2 10 68 73 759 871 0.399212461
115 North Texas Sun Belt 2 9 60 68 607 760 0.390839055
116 Florida International Sun Belt 0 11 71 59 703 819 0.388549985
117 Southern Methodist Conference USA 1 11 70 72 735 947 0.376557153
118 Idaho WAC 1 11 61 66 598 743 0.372474781
119 Northern Illinois MAC 2 10 59 83 703 835 0.363684927
Football Champ Sub 0.1 1 10

Hello...Art Briles, Goodbye...Art Briles

2007-11-28T16:27:00.000-08:00

Art Briles has left the University of Houston to take the opening at Baylor

Briles was 34-28 with Houston, leading the Cougars to a 8-4 record and berth in the Texas Bowl in 2007.

Briles contract at Baylor is for 7 years at a salary of $1.2 million a year.

He will attempt to post the first winning season at the Big XII's only private university since 1995 and take the Bears to their first bowl since 1994.

Goodbye...Bill Doba

2007-11-27T10:36:00.000-08:00

This happened last night but I missed it in my coaching carousel coverage..

Bill Doba (30-29 over 5 seasons) gets to move out of Pullman, Washington.

Hello...Houston Nutt

2007-11-27T10:13:00.000-08:00

A day after resigning as head coach at Arkansas, Houston Nutt has agreed to become the head coach at Mississippi

Nutt is now the fourth coach in the SEC West to have coached at two schools in the division.

Tommy Tuberville (Mississippi, Auburn)
Sylvester Croom (Alabama as an Assistant, Mississippi State)
Nick Satan (LSU, Alabama)

The coaching carousel in the SEC West has become...dare I say...incestuous!

Tuesday Morning Superhangover: The Firings

2007-11-27T09:45:00.000-08:00

As the regular season has ended for many teams, so has the coaching tenures for many coaches. Whether they were fired, resigned, retired or bought out, the truth is they used to coach at universities that if they wanted them would have retained them, so for simplification let's just call of these partings "firings" and comment on them as so...

Dennis Franchione 32-28...Nobody didn't see this coming. The perennial mediocrity at Texas' second largest university and an e-mail fundraising scandal sealed Coach Fran's fate.

Bill Callahan 27-22...Your school hiring a predecessor you once called a "crusty old fuck" as your boss to replace your old boss because of a performance by your defense, is as good of a sign as it seems. Reportedly the meeting between Tom Osborne and Bill Callahan was 15 minutes. 15 minutes? What was talked about in the 14 and a half minutes after the words "You know why I brought you in here".

Ed Orgeron 10-25...This was the first surprise of the coach firing season. When a coach recruits as well as Coach O did (and I'll be able to read about how he did so this Christmas, hopefully), schools usually give you the rope needed to see that recruiting through. Ole Miss didn't win an SEC game however and blew a fourth quarter lead to rival and once on the hot seat Mississippi State and Sylvester Croom. That embarrassment must've been the nail in Coach O's coffin.

Chan Gailey 44-32...now starts the parade of coaches fired because of failure to meet expectations whether they be high...

Ted Roof 6-45...low...

Jeff Bower 119-82-1... or somewhere in-between Anyway, this is by far the most surprising firing of the past week. Technically a forced resignation, Southern Miss I guess expected a Hawaii-like season from Bower this year, unless Coach O feels like contending for Conference USA titles, Southern Miss will end up regretting this decision as East Carolina did in the years after firing Steve Logan.

Sonny Lubick 108-74...Lubick has reportedly been offered an Assistant AD job which may be more of an olive branch than anything else. Lubick has been contemplating retirement all year but if you can get a buyout after what you decided was going to be your last season anyway, wouldn't you?

Houston Nutt 75-48...Nutt was reportedly offered a 2-year extension but turned it down as he had seen the writing on the wall. Off-the-field issues and the Mitch Mustain fiasco had more to do with Nutt's leaving than anything on the field, Nutt and Arkansas can only benefit from this parting which is sure to not be the last of what is turning out to be an offseason heavy in coaching turnover.

Tuesday Morning Superhangover: The National Championship Picture

2007-11-27T09:27:00.000-08:00

As we thought it would, the National Championship game picture is a lot clearer than it was last week and thanks to Arkansas, and Missouri, some teams previously left for dead are now very much alive. This weekend two games will ultimately decide which two teams play in the BCS National Championship game in New Orleans:

Pittsburgh at West Virginia and Oklahoma vs. Missouri in Kansas City in the Big XII Championship Game. West Virginia and Missouri being the teams in line to play for the National Championship. But this season the theme has been that as soon as a team warrants our attention they quickly are proven to be an afterthought. That said here are the scenarios:

1) If West Virginia and Missouri win: West Virginia vs. Missouri (I know sounds too easy)

2) If West Virginia wins and Missouri loses: West Virginia vs. Ohio State (and this game is as much of a laugher as last year's and NOT in the Buckeyes favor)

3) If West Virginia loses and Missouri wins: Missouri vs. Ohio State (I'll get back to ya)

4) If West Virginia and Missouri lose: Breathe...take a deep breath. Ohio State would be in, that much is certain. Then you take your pick from this pool: Kansas (only one loss but recent with as poor a non-conference schedule as you'll find) West Virginia (having just lost to an unranked opponent, not likely), Missouri (would have the same record as Oklahoma having lost to them twice so not over Bob Stoops' dead body), Oklahoma (would have to leap a lot of teams but if they dominated Missouri it wouldn't be impossible), and either Georgia or LSU (If LSU won the SEC Championship, they could get to New Orleans after all)

One would think West Virginia has an easy road to New Orleans at home vs. Pittsburgh. But the "Backyard Brawl" is tricky, and you don't need me to tell you that stranger things have happened.

Tuesday Morning Superhangover: The Games

2007-11-27T08:54:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving is known for three "vices", Overeating, Overdrinking, and Overfootballwatching. I did all three but my fourth vice, blogging had to be neglected as when you're entertaining and visiting family its tough to get away to a computer even on what was the most important college football weekend of the year. But now that the weekend is over I should probably give some thoughts on the weekends events, this being a college football blog and all. Let's start with whats most important; the games, or at least the ones I was able to watch...

USC 44, Arizona State 24- There may come a year that these two are battling for Pac Ten titles year after year. Arizona State wasn't quite "Ready for Prime Time" but this was fun game to watch for reasons other than the hot tail on the sidelines.

Colorado 65, Nebraska 51 Its sad what has happened to this rivalry, once an Orange Bowl playoff game. Now we need gimmicks like Eric Cartman introducing Colorado to get people to watch. And when did the Big XII become the WAC?

Arkansas 50, LSU 48 Of course Les Miles is getting second guessed for some of his play calls in this one. That's what happens when your Les Miles. Its just too bad Glenn Dorsey couldn't be at 100% to add to this matchup vs. Darren McFadden. As it was Run DMC almost single-handedly beat the #1 team in the country. Simply an amazing performance.

Hawaii 39, Boise State 27 If you're seeing more "Vili the Warrior" and less Chrissy Johnson, that ain't good if you're a Bronco fan or a heterosexual male. Boise State needed more tackling practice but this was an impressive win for a team that I rarely watched sober and played two Division I-AA teams, Idaho, and Utah State. This win and a win over Washington should be enough to get Hawai'i into a BCS Bowl.

West Virginia 66, Connecticut 21 Ladies and Gentlemen you now need to start paying attention to the 'eers. A brutal matchup for any lucky DC that should have to play them. But of course now that you're paying attention they are twice as likely to lose.

Tennessee 52, Kentucky 50 Another SEC classic. Even as a Yankee I have always loved this conference and the games seem to get better each year. Now is it politically incorrect to expect Andre Woodson to run those last three yards into the endzone?

Missouri 36, Kansas 28 This was a fun one even if Mizzou seemed in control throughout. Chase Daniel is making the "Best player on a winning team" argument for the Heisman Trophy which will be discussed much more next week.

The Pride and The Pageantry Index November 20, 2007

2007-11-20T19:55:00.000-08:00

Rank Team Conf W L OW OL OOW OOL TPTPI
1 LSU SEC 10 1 66 56 703 622 0.63040604
2 Georgia SEC 9 2 65 55 661 540 0.61297246
3 Oregon Pac Ten 8 2 60 47 588 561 0.608311169
4 Florida SEC 8 3 69 50 634 560 0.604481217
5 Ohio State Big Ten 11 1 67 72 777 695 0.602137176
6 West Virginia Big East 9 1 53 57 651 551 0.601308425
7 Missouri Big XII 10 1 58 65 689 566 0.600296081
8 Arizona State Pac Ten 9 1 50 56 622 512 0.597974277
9 Virginia Tech ACC 9 2 62 58 618 588 0.590988241
10 Boston College ACC 9 2 61 59 628 580 0.588679009
11 Tennessee SEC 8 3 67 54 668 642 0.586158602
12 Illinois Big Ten 9 3 75 64 751 728 0.584228054
13 Texas Big XII 9 2 61 61 683 659 0.581780924
14 South Florida Big East 8 3 64 54 604 573 0.581296891
15 Oklahoma Big XII 9 2 59 64 700 655 0.573534144
16 Cincinnati Big East 8 3 62 55 593 579 0.573268621
17 Kansas Big XII 11 0 45 76 671 556 0.57266598
18 Clemson ACC 8 3 62 58 620 582 0.569103262
19 Virginia ACC 9 2 56 65 691 627 0.567020216
20 Auburn SEC 7 4 66 55 643 564 0.564999623
21 Kentucky SEC 7 4 65 54 625 565 0.563502674
22 Connecticut Big East 9 2 53 66 635 557 0.56041406
23 Penn State Big Ten 8 4 74 65 812 782 0.560206289
24 Michigan Big Ten 8 4 73 66 771 703 0.560023216
25 Wisconsin Big Ten 9 3 66 73 765 705 0.555012113
26 Nebraska Big XII 5 6 76 44 655 669 0.553981278
27 Brigham Young Mountain West 8 2 50 59 529 539 0.553187386
28 Oregon State Pac Ten 7 4 61 55 589 539 0.552562724
29 Florida State ACC 7 4 62 59 723 602 0.551704351
30 Oklahoma State Big XII 6 5 70 51 612 607 0.55113255
31 Southern California Pac Ten 8 2 45 63 650 494 0.550378788
32 Wake Forest ACC 7 4 62 59 706 616 0.54879909
33 South Carolina SEC 6 5 67 53 637 560 0.548571239
34 Alabama SEC 6 5 68 52 618 582 0.54844697
35 Mississippi State SEC 6 5 67 52 622 570 0.548329262
36 Michigan State Big Ten 7 5 77 62 799 793 0.548282856
37 Texas A&M Big XII 6 5 69 52 603 612 0.545561677
38 California Pac Ten 6 5 65 52 654 597 0.544836858
39 Rutgers Big East 7 4 60 58 594 583 0.539496422
40 UCF Conference USA 8 3 56 65 652 678 0.535779531
41 Washington Pac Ten 4 7 74 43 636 624 0.533338883
42 Colorado Big XII 5 6 73 50 656 697 0.531596452
43 Texas Tech Big XII 8 4 62 70 698 653 0.530678734
44 Utah Mountain West 8 3 53 67 660 637 0.529868169
45 Boise State WAC 10 1 42 77 573 589 0.527022145
46 Maryland ACC 5 6 67 51 601 582 0.524542276
47 North Carolina State ACC 5 6 68 52 612 591 0.524151742
48 Georgia Tech ACC 7 4 55 65 652 554 0.523415121
49 Tulsa Conference USA 8 3 53 67 633 692 0.522085477
50 UCLA Pac Ten 5 5 56 51 613 532 0.520525038
51 Air Force Mountain West 9 3 53 75 648 640 0.520307648
52 Arkansas SEC 7 4 53 65 641 540 0.519357273
53 Louisville Big East 5 6 66 53 606 577 0.519011531
54 Purdue Big Ten 7 5 68 71 760 720 0.518816028
55 Indiana Big Ten 7 5 68 71 757 723 0.518309272
56 Vanderbilt SEC 5 6 65 56 649 565 0.515880499
57 Troy Sun Belt 8 3 50 69 583 599 0.515210168
58 East Carolina Conference USA 6 5 61 59 643 682 0.511851058
59 New Mexico Mountain West 7 4 56 64 566 624 0.511331805
60 Hawaii WAC 10 0 30 77 448 477 0.511267997
61 Wyoming Mountain West 5 6 67 52 599 696 0.510786034
62 Arizona Pac Ten 5 6 61 54 590 532 0.510315431
63 Kansas State Big XII 5 6 64 58 652 580 0.50823664
64 Fresno State WAC 6 4 51 55 475 551 0.506306778
65 Mississippi SEC 3 8 74 46 611 593 0.503383922
66 Washington State Pac Ten 4 7 65 51 631 605 0.498710955
67 TCU Mountain West 6 5 57 64 653 659 0.49632918
68 Northwestern Big Ten 6 6 67 72 758 717 0.494481771
69 Iowa Big Ten 6 6 67 73 831 769 0.494129464
70 Ball State MAC 6 5 58 65 595 665 0.49019155
71 Pittsburgh Big East 4 6 59 52 548 557 0.489747666
72 Miami (Fla.) ACC 5 6 58 62 710 620 0.488761677
73 Stanford Pac Ten 3 7 58 47 582 536 0.481333589
74 North Carolina ACC 3 8 68 52 620 578 0.480897455
75 San Diego State Mountain West 4 6 55 54 532 532 0.477293578
76 Iowa State Big XII 3 9 77 56 678 691 0.475786686
77 Notre Dame Independent 2 9 76 48 682 698 0.475456883
78 Bowling Green MAC 7 4 48 75 611 650 0.475346881
79 Houston Conference USA 7 4 46 74 655 666 0.474716698
80 Central Michigan MAC 6 5 54 68 581 663 0.474435562
81 Florida Atlantic Sun Belt 5 5 49 62 614 593 0.472895534
82 Navy Independent 7 4 44 75 607 595 0.470212779
83 Louisiana Tech WAC 5 6 56 63 556 607 0.468448968
84 Southern Mississippi Conference USA 6 5 51 69 574 643 0.466776537
85 Syracuse Big East 2 9 71 50 675 661 0.465152855
86 Miami (Ohio) MAC 6 5 49 73 693 662 0.465043087
87 Akron MAC 4 7 63 60 631 741 0.461984786
88 Louisiana-Monroe Sun Belt 5 6 53 65 572 607 0.459501863
89 Army Independent 3 8 66 55 570 644 0.458289651
90 Baylor Big XII 3 9 71 60 664 675 0.457465481
91 Duke ACC 1 10 76 46 657 687 0.456412504
92 Nevada WAC 5 5 46 63 506 559 0.454788517
93 Toledo MAC 5 6 55 67 571 678 0.453337633
94 Western Michigan MAC 4 7 60 62 585 672 0.453159179
95 Middle Tennessee Sun Belt 5 7 58 70 600 689 0.447098445
96 Memphis Conference USA 6 5 45 76 587 633 0.442600935
97 UNLV Mountain West 2 9 67 52 599 701 0.442159458
98 Temple MAC 4 7 58 64 609 745 0.441058618
99 San Jose State WAC 4 7 55 62 524 615 0.440964995
100 Marshall Conference USA 2 9 73 57 587 724 0.438161229
101 Minnesota Big Ten 1 11 82 56 697 772 0.43655289
102 Buffalo MAC 4 7 55 68 662 704 0.435642988
103 UAB Conference USA 2 9 66 55 569 652 0.434684685
104 Ohio MAC 5 6 49 72 577 646 0.434063372
105 Arkansas State Sun Belt 5 6 46 72 619 675 0.428142035
106 Texas-El Paso Conference USA 4 7 55 67 545 677 0.427816472
107 Kent State MAC 3 8 58 63 576 661 0.424261911
108 Eastern Michigan MAC 4 8 59 73 638 728 0.423582457
109 Tulane Conference USA 4 7 51 69 573 635 0.421993528
110 Colorado State Mountain West 2 9 59 60 591 604 0.416993872
111 New Mexico State WAC 4 8 56 72 523 638 0.414701766
112 La.-Lafayette Sun Belt 3 8 52 66 559 622 0.406852723
113 Utah State WAC 1 10 63 57 594 706 0.399458042
114 Rice Conference USA 3 8 51 71 573 665 0.392909036
115 Florida International Sun Belt 0 10 62 50 556 661 0.391000998
116 North Texas Sun Belt 1 9 55 55 522 670 0.384479866
117 Idaho WAC 1 10 54 53 450 593 0.382925658
118 Southern Methodist Conference USA 1 10 58 62 581 733 0.374934274
119 Northern Illinois MAC 2 9 50 73 575 671 0.364075759

So What's Alabama getting for that 3.87 Million?

2007-11-19T21:12:00.000-08:00

Interesting note from the weekend. Not only did Louisiana-Monroe upset Alabama.

The lowest paid head coach in Division I Football Bowl Subdivision Charlie Weatherbie ($130,000/year) beat the highest paid coach Nick Saban ($4,000,000/year).

Coach salaries courtesy of Wreck Ramblin'

Lloyd Carr Retires, but then again We Knew He Would a Week Ago

2007-11-19T09:29:00.000-08:00

Lloyd Carr announced his retirement today during a 10am Press Conference during which he was expected to.

As passed along here last Monday, the first reports of this impending announcement came not from a Detroit, Ann-Arbor, or University of Michigan newspaper or television station but from a Michigan fan blog called MGoBlog.com.

How this report was treated is an interesting study in journalism in 2007 and beyond.

The New York Times and close friend of mine Pete Thamel credited MGoBlog but not without taking a pot shot at the blogs other more fan-oriented content.

ESPN treated the report as a rumor and never mentioned MGoBlog in any of the speculative stories it ran last week, that I had read at least and on Saturday when it became more apparent that Monday was going to be the announcement that Carr was retiring ran the following sentence on its ticker "Lloyd Carr expected to announce retirement Monday, ESPN.com has learned".

My question is since MGoBlog's information turned out to be dead on, shouldn't it have been credited as the source of these reports? Or does news have to come from Institutionalized (what is "Mainstream" nowadays?) Media in order to be credited?

I have a feeling in journalism schools all over the country, students are being told that blogs are a fad and will be obsolete in three years and that the access they are paying $100,000 and taking classes for four years for will be theirs and theirs alone once they graduate, but in today's media climate, is that necessarily the truth? Or is the truth that news told from outside Institutionalized Media will be treated as conjecture until someone inside Institutionalized Media reports it as fact?

I have no doubt Lloyd Carr's retirement will not be the last major sports story to be broken by someone in the "blogosphere", I do wonder when that person will first get credit.

Ohio State beats Michigan: Five Thoughts

2007-11-19T09:02:00.000-08:00

Ohio State beat Michigan 14-3 in the 104th edition of College Football's greatest rivarly. Here are my first five thoughts.

1. This was the complete antithesis of last year's supposed classic. As sloppy of a game as you will see all season. Fumbles, drops, tackling and 60% of Chad Henne's passes intended for Yao Ming. If you watched that fantastic HBO documentary and tuned in for the first time to see College Football's greatest rivalry expecting either an offensive display like last year or a physical fundamentally sound war like Woody and Bo coached in during the 70's you were disappointed. But then you remembered in 1950 these two teams combined for 45 punts and you figured this game was at least better than THAT.

2. We often hear about how rivalry games bring out the best in players, but rarely hear about how they bring out the worst. To paraphrase Jeff Goldblum's character in Jurassic Park "Your people spent so much time wondering whether or not they could they never stopped to think whether or not they SHOULD". Mike Hart and Chad Henne should've sat this game. But of course as seniors in their last Ohio State-Michigan game after being 0-3, we knew there was no way they weren't going to play. Their complete ineffectiveness (Hart 2.4 yards per carry, Henne 32% completion percentage) is not how they wanted to go out, I'm sure.

3. All the NFL players and other famous people that went to Ohio State and LeBron James announces their lineups? For this game couldn't ABC get someone that actually went to the school for something other than an exhibition high school game?

4. I haven't heard any quotes from Mike Hart. Did he say "There's nothing special about our offense?"

5. Of course this was the last edition of this game for Lloyd Carr, but then again we already knew it would be (more on this later).

Pumpin' for Thursday: Week 12

2007-11-15T15:14:00.000-08:00

Oregon (-12.5) at Arizona, Over/Under 67

Vegas Algebra says: Oregon 39.75, Arizona 27.25

Thoughts: I think 11 weeks of picking Thursday games has taught me that a road favorite in the top 5 has no chance of beating anyone by two touchdowns or more. Also you have to look at each school's contribution to post-graduate athletics. Oregon has given us...

Meanwhile Arizona has given us...

and...

Suggestion: I like Arizona spread Under the Covers. Or Arizona to cover the spread and the under. Actually I like both.

The Pride and The Pageantry Index: November 12, 2007

2007-11-13T05:27:00.000-08:00

Rank Team Conf W L OW OL OOW OOL TPTPI
1 LSU SEC 9 1 60 44 541 486 0.645155794
2 Oregon Pac Ten 8 1 53 38 465 443 0.641459648
3 Florida SEC 8 3 60 41 502 429 0.613649174
4 Georgia SEC 8 2 55 47 513 414 0.607957358
5 Arizona State Pac Ten 9 1 48 51 546 440 0.605862376
6 Missouri Big XII 9 1 50 55 537 449 0.599251425
7 Ohio State Big Ten 10 1 55 61 596 520 0.597854238
8 Virginia Tech ACC 8 2 53 48 483 443 0.592775806
9 Kansas Big XII 10 0 41 61 527 424 0.589518773
10 West Virginia Big East 8 1 42 49 493 417 0.588431013
11 Oklahoma Big XII 9 1 48 56 556 501 0.587273488
12 Texas Big XII 9 2 57 56 593 561 0.585224048
13 Illinois Big Ten 8 3 64 52 570 552 0.584685598
14 Tennessee SEC 7 3 57 45 523 486 0.583995511
15 South Florida Big East 7 3 55 43 452 439 0.582436038
16 Virginia ACC 9 2 53 57 585 520 0.577807487
17 Cincinnati Big East 8 2 48 49 458 426 0.576947567
18 Kentucky SEC 7 3 54 46 479 429 0.57688326
19 Connecticut Big East 8 2 48 51 481 419 0.576035354
20 Clemson ACC 8 2 48 51 482 421 0.575868318
21 Penn State Big Ten 8 3 61 55 630 587 0.574165814
22 Auburn SEC 7 4 62 49 548 472 0.572683914
23 Wisconsin Big Ten 8 3 61 55 565 549 0.571544548
24 Boston College ACC 8 2 47 52 483 428 0.569920389
25 Alabama SEC 6 4 57 42 481 431 0.569731858
26 Mississippi State SEC 6 4 56 44 491 426 0.563860414
27 California Pac Ten 6 4 56 43 511 475 0.562392177
28 Michigan Big Ten 8 3 57 59 603 515 0.562346835
29 Oklahoma State Big XII 5 5 63 39 466 483 0.55658433
30 Nebraska Big XII 5 6 71 41 567 583 0.553861519
31 South Carolina SEC 6 5 62 48 547 466 0.553176882
32 Florida State ACC 6 4 54 47 552 466 0.552886654
33 Oregon State Pac Ten 6 4 54 45 453 437 0.549974464
34 Southern California Pac Ten 8 2 41 59 571 419 0.549191919
35 Texas A&M Big XII 6 5 64 48 525 522 0.547436088
36 Wake Forest ACC 6 4 54 48 541 480 0.547174051
37 UCF Conference USA 7 3 50 52 513 518 0.544491832
38 North Carolina State ACC 5 5 58 43 467 454 0.538893099
39 Rutgers Big East 6 4 52 46 436 448 0.53860929
40 Brigham Young Mountain West 7 2 40 50 391 411 0.53854946
41 Purdue Big Ten 7 4 58 58 581 541 0.538547237
42 Michigan State Big Ten 6 5 64 52 610 606 0.53763689
43 Boise State WAC 9 1 37 62 444 449 0.536168799
44 Maryland ACC 5 5 55 43 457 436 0.533551775
45 Colorado Big XII 5 6 67 46 567 591 0.532505867
46 Louisville Big East 5 5 55 43 440 447 0.529625774
47 Georgia Tech ACC 6 4 49 51 492 423 0.52942623
48 Vanderbilt SEC 5 5 54 49 501 436 0.520807214
49 Washington Pac Ten 3 7 64 36 499 500 0.519874875
50 Tulsa Conference USA 7 3 45 54 469 535 0.519055596
51 Iowa Big Ten 6 5 59 60 648 594 0.514697579
52 Texas Tech Big XII 7 4 51 63 563 510 0.513949397
53 New Mexico Mountain West 7 3 43 56 435 461 0.513544485
54 UCLA Pac Ten 5 5 50 49 534 453 0.512783611
55 Arkansas SEC 6 4 45 54 489 414 0.512654787
56 Air Force Mountain West 8 3 44 63 488 492 0.511915454
57 Wyoming Mountain West 5 5 55 46 458 541 0.511891842
58 East Carolina Conference USA 6 5 55 54 542 568 0.510729286
59 Washington State Pac Ten 4 6 56 43 500 478 0.510640144
60 Utah Mountain West 7 3 41 59 515 476 0.509919273
61 Kansas State Big XII 5 5 52 53 535 443 0.509377739
62 Fresno State WAC 6 4 47 50 402 466 0.508051451
63 Indiana Big Ten 6 5 56 60 578 542 0.506760804
64 Hawaii WAC 9 0 23 66 344 343 0.504395434
65 Troy Sun Belt 7 3 39 59 455 428 0.502801789
66 Central Michigan MAC 6 4 47 53 430 497 0.50096548
67 TCU Mountain West 5 5 51 51 496 523 0.496687929
68 Northwestern Big Ten 6 5 54 62 569 550 0.496244688
69 Pittsburgh Big East 4 5 48 44 410 419 0.49562362
70 Mississippi SEC 3 7 59 42 470 450 0.494796599
71 Miami (Fla.) ACC 5 5 47 54 566 467 0.494652938
72 North Carolina ACC 3 7 58 44 492 438 0.49157179
73 Stanford Pac Ten 3 7 55 43 507 466 0.48587946
74 Arizona Pac Ten 4 6 50 48 459 424 0.485056741
75 San Diego State Mountain West 4 5 44 45 399 394 0.484090269
76 Duke ACC 1 9 68 34 496 531 0.479073353
77 Houston Conference USA 6 4 41 59 493 508 0.478126873
78 Notre Dame Independent 1 9 70 35 507 560 0.477124336
79 Iowa State Big XII 3 8 64 50 552 538 0.475489077
80 Ball State MAC 5 5 47 56 460 498 0.473197093
81 Baylor Big XII 3 8 63 49 512 545 0.470529264
82 Navy Independent 6 4 36 62 479 422 0.46658135
83 Louisiana Tech WAC 4 6 48 51 430 453 0.464168297
84 Florida Atlantic Sun Belt 5 4 36 55 463 446 0.46402882
85 Akron MAC 4 6 51 52 489 562 0.463890608
86 Toledo MAC 5 5 46 57 440 517 0.4632435
87 Bowling Green MAC 6 4 39 64 468 492 0.461195388
88 Syracuse Big East 2 8 56 44 526 491 0.459301868
89 Southern Mississippi Conference USA 5 5 43 57 438 486 0.458506494
90 Miami (Ohio) MAC 5 5 42 60 526 515 0.457203198
91 San Jose State WAC 4 6 47 52 410 471 0.4537188
92 Army Independent 3 7 51 49 439 471 0.450604396
93 Nevada WAC 5 4 34 58 411 405 0.449590615
94 Middle Tennessee Sun Belt 5 6 45 62 475 508 0.4447204
95 New Mexico State WAC 4 7 52 55 381 498 0.44226152
96 Louisiana-Monroe Sun Belt 4 6 44 54 417 470 0.442020799
97 Buffalo MAC 4 6 45 58 516 533 0.441420863
98 Kent State MAC 3 7 51 51 438 511 0.440384615
99 UNLV Mountain West 2 8 54 44 450 532 0.440072322
100 Marshall Conference USA 2 8 60 49 455 547 0.438752312
101 Memphis Conference USA 5 5 39 62 440 488 0.43660379
102 Minnesota Big Ten 1 10 68 47 520 591 0.435391148
103 Temple MAC 3 7 51 51 456 580 0.43503861
104 Western Michigan MAC 3 7 49 51 428 506 0.434561028
105 UAB Conference USA 2 8 53 48 452 474 0.434406475
106 Texas-El Paso Conference USA 4 6 45 57 418 510 0.433195994
107 Ohio MAC 5 6 44 66 489 540 0.432441028
108 Arkansas State Sun Belt 4 6 41 58 473 522 0.425914928
109 Colorado State Mountain West 1 9 54 46 490 514 0.417011952
110 Tulane Conference USA 3 7 44 55 434 472 0.416979397
111 Florida International Sun Belt 0 9 54 38 418 500 0.407312684
112 Eastern Michigan MAC 3 8 50 61 477 571 0.407195211
113 La.-Lafayette Sun Belt 2 8 48 52 419 490 0.405236524
114 Rice Conference USA 3 7 43 59 443 507 0.402363261
115 Utah State WAC 0 10 54 44 441 538 0.388125117
116 North Texas Sun Belt 1 8 45 45 385 509 0.38543997
117 Idaho WAC 1 9 42 47 353 439 0.372381824
118 Northern Illinois MAC 2 8 39 63 456 486 0.362195579
119 Southern Methodist Conference USA 1 9 44 55 442 552 0.358389224
Football Champ Sub 0.1 1 8

BREAKING NEWS (or Internet Rumor, time will tell)

2007-11-12T20:00:00.000-08:00

MGoBlog is reporting that Lloyd Carr will announce his retirement following Saturday's Ohio State game.

TPTPPPCS Rankings

2007-11-09T19:00:00.000-08:00

This week:

I unveiled the second week of my TPTPI computer rankings.

and unveiled a poll based on won-loss record and quality of losses I called the Paul Poll after my friend and BCS proponent Paul.

If you combined The Pride and The Pageantry Index with the Paul Poll. You would get "The Pride and The Pageantry Paul Poll Championship Series" Rankings which sounds ridiculous, of course. Awarding 25 points for a 1 ranking, 24 for a 2 and so on... here is how the two polls combined would look.

Team PP TPTPI TPTPPPCS
1. Ohio State 25 21 46
2. Oregon 22 24 46
3. LSU 20 25 45
4.. Arizona State 21 22 43
5. Kansas 24 13 37
6. Oklahoma 19 16 35
7. Boston College 15 18 33
8. Missouri 18 14 32
9. Virginia Tech 13 19 32
10. Georgia 12 20 32
11. Connecticut 17 9 26
12. West Virginia 16 8 24
13. Hawaii 23 0 23
14. Florida 0 23 23
15. Texas 11 6 17
16. Virginia 7 10 17
17. Alabama 0 17 17
18. South Florida 0 15 15
19. Boise State 14 0 14
20. Penn State 3 11 14
21. Auburn 0 12 12
22. Clemson 10 0 10
23. Cincinnati 9 0 9
24. BYU 8 0 8
25. Michigan 5 3 8
26. Tennessee 0 7 7
27. USC 6 0 6
28. Kentucky 0 5 5
29. Illinois 4 0 4
30. Florida State 0 4 4
31.. Purdue 2 0 2
32. California 0 2 2
33 South Florida 1 0 1
34. Colorado 0 1 1

Weekend Preview: Week 11

2007-11-09T18:04:00.000-08:00

You can't blame the schedule makers for what seems like a Saturday light on "Big Games". Several games this week pit teams that were preseason favorites against each other, only one or both teams faltered somewhere along the way. So what you have is a weekend of intriguing games with no true marquee games.

Michigan at Wisconsin (12:00pm, ESPN)- Exactly what I'm talking about. This was supposed to decide the Big Ten championship and at least a trip to the Rose Bowl. Instead you have a Michigan trying to make the country forget Appalachian State against a Wisconsin team decimated by injuries.

Wake Forest at Clemson (12:00pm, ESPN2)- If Clemson wins they will play Boston College next week with a berth in the ACC Championship game on the line. Unfortunately Gaines Adams will not be suiting up. Music City Bowl officials along with Josh and I will be scouting the Deacons. Here are highlights from last year's contest.

Arkansas at Tennessee (12:30, Lincoln Financial)- "Poor" Darren McFadden, a Heisman race has opened up for him to take over in the final month and he's playing on "Lincoln Financial". Two more teams on "Music City Bowl Watch".

Illinois at Ohio State (3:30, ABC)- I'm thinking of a phrase that rhymes with "Crap Game". I'm sure ABC's regional map has blacked out this game in the Boston market and will force me to watch...

Florida State at Virginia Tech (3:30, ABC)- Another ACC "Quarterfinal" for if VaTech wins they will play Virginia for the ACC's Coastal Division championship.

Auburn at Georgia (3:30, CBS)- The only matchup between ranked teams this weekend.

Virginia at Miami, FL (7:15, ESPN2)- The final game at the Orange Bowl and quite frankly not enough of a big deal is being made of this. Three of college football's most memorable moments happened here and one of mine.

Tom Osborne going for two unsuccesfully

Doug Flutie's Hail Mary...

and FIU coming into the OB and getting their behind kicked! (volume low)

Its also the only sporting venue where I made out with a random girl, believe it or not. I will miss the Orange Bowl, its a shame Miami sucks so much that one of college football's most storied stadiums is getting its sendoff on ESPN2, not even ESPN1. I just hope the homeowners of Little Havana will be able to make money without football fans parking on their lawns.

Florida at South Carolina (7:45, ESPN)- Anytime the "Ol' Ball Coach" plays the Gators its an event.

Kansas at Oklahoma State (8:00, ESPN)- Its been fun debating Kansas and all, but I mean really. The best is ABC in the ads for this game shows Mark Mangino with the caption "Rising Coaching Star Lives Here"...what exactly do they mean by "Rising"? I prefer "The Biggest Winner".

USC at California (8:00, ABC)- This game was also supposed to be for a trip to the Rose Bowl and Desean Jackson's showcase before the NFL Draft. Now it might be for a trip to the Holiday Bowl. The lack of importance in this game and John David Booty back at QB makes me think USC should win now even though I predicted the opposite back in August.

Pumpin For Thursday: Week 11

2007-11-08T14:17:00.000-08:00

Louisville at West Virginia -15, over/under 63.5

Vegas Algebra says: West Virginia 38.75 Louisville 23.75

Derek Says: Take Louisville and the under. It seems Derek is trying to make something happen by taking these inflated numbers and going against his normal picking strategy. Two good offensive teams, one who plays zero defense, playing on Thursday night, usually a recipe for a lot of points, we'll see.

Mark Dantonio is a Man too!

2007-11-07T11:45:00.000-08:00

Paul likes this clip because he quotes a Hebrew proverb...

I like it because he calls Mike Hart "little"...

And I'm sure thousands in Middle Michigan love knowing they have a coach who seems obsessed with beating "That School two hours East"...

"The Paul Poll" November 8, 2007

2007-11-06T19:30:00.000-08:00

When ranking teams in college football there seems to be two schools of thought:

1) That teams with lower winning percentage can and sometimes should be ranked higher if their schedules are much more challenging than that of the team with a higher winning percentage. That a one loss season in say the SEC or Pac Ten is better than an undefeated season in the Big XII or Big Ten. This is what I try to quantify in The Pride and The Pageantry Index

2) That each team should be judged by how they have handled only the schedule in front of them. That the 12 game season is in essence a three month tournament. This is the view of my friend Paul. To hold him to this principle I will attempt to rank the top 25 teams in an order in which no team is ranked higher than a team with fewer losses at this point in the season. Each team with equal number of losses would be ranked upon the quality of that loss. No team would be ranked higher to a team they had beaten if both teams had equal amount of losses.

Here is how such a ranking would go:

1. Ohio State 10-0
2. Kansas 9-0
3. Hawaii 8-0
4. Oregon 8-1 (California)
5. Arizona State 8-1 (Oregon)
6. LSU 8-1 (Kentucky)
7. Oklahoma 7-1 (Colorado)
8. Missouri 7-1 (Oklahoma)
9. Connecticut 8-1 (Virginia)
10. West Virginia 7-1 (South Florida)
11. Boston College 8-1 (Florida State)
12. Boise State 8-1 (Washington)
13. Virginia Tech 7-2 (LSU, Boston College)
14. Georgia 7-2 (South Carolina, Tennessee)
15. Texas 8-2 (Kansas State, Oklahoma)
16. Clemson 7-2 (Virginia Tech, Georgia Tech)
17. Cincinnati 7-2 (Rutgers, Pittsburgh)
18. BYU 6-2 (UCLA, Tulsa)
19. Virginia 8-2 (Wyoming, NC State)
20. USC 7-2 (Stanford, Oregon)
21. Michigan 8-2 (Appalachian State, Oregon)
22. Illinois 7-3 (Missouri, Michigan, Iowa)
23. Penn State 7-3 (Michigan, Illinois, Ohio State)
24. Purdue 7-3 (Ohio State, Michigan, Penn State)
25. South Florida 7-3 (Rutgers, UConn, Cincinnati)

The Pride and The Pageantry Index: November 5, 2007

2007-11-05T19:40:00.000-08:00

As soon as I find an easier to read format for which to post this, I will use it as I understand its a big clusterf*** right now. Basically its College Football's RPI a decent enough indication of how teams measure up heavily weighted towards schedule strength. A few notes:

-I've quadruple checked Florida's rating, as even with three losses they rate ahead of the three remaining unbeatens Ohio State, Kansas, and Hawaii (all of which have had suspect schedules so far).

-Hawaii is still getting the respect, with a 15-56 opponents' record, that you think they'd get according to this rating system.

-Your biggest mover is Florida State ip 15 spots to 22

Rank Team Conf W L OW OL OOW OOL TPTPI LW
1 LSU SEC 8 1 51 34 403 353 0.655489418 1 0
2 Oregon Pac Ten 8 1 50 32 378 376 0.652431836 2 0
3 Florida SEC 7 3 49 33 372 310 0.610144124 13 10
4 Arizona State Pac Ten 8 1 39 42 428 308 0.608343398 3 -1
5 Ohio State Big Ten 10 0 42 53 452 375 0.607691084 6 1
6 Georgia SEC 7 2 45 38 374 302 0.603842391 9 3
7 Virginia Tech ACC 7 2 44 38 360 313 0.596466696 15 8
8 Boston College ACC 8 1 38 42 357 303 0.594949495 4 -4
9 Alabama SEC 6 3 48 33 355 319 0.594639521 14 5
10 Oklahoma Big XII 8 1 41 43 392 379 0.593377494 16 6
11 South Florida Big East 6 3 48 31 315 329 0.592746744 12 1
12 Missouri Big XII 8 1 40 46 400 328 0.592142999 5 -7
13 Kansas Big XII 9 0 34 51 398 319 0.588772664 7 -6
14 Auburn SEC 7 3 50 42 417 343 0.583910183 8 -6
15 Penn State Big Ten 7 3 55 43 477 459 0.583016091 21 6
16 Virginia ACC 8 2 45 46 446 380 0.582240641 28 12
17 Connecticut Big East 8 1 36 45 365 300 0.58166249 18 1
18 West Virginia Big East 7 1 32 40 327 265 0.579063438 10 -8
19 Tennessee SEC 6 3 47 36 382 360 0.578505396 11 -8
20 Texas Big XII 8 2 45 47 451 401 0.576900898 29 9
21 Kentucky SEC 6 3 45 36 345 312 0.575722983 30 9
22 Florida State ACC 6 3 44 38 409 337 0.572023693 37 15
23 Michigan Big Ten 8 2 45 51 459 379 0.571308174 22 -1
24 California Pac Ten 6 3 44 38 393 349 0.567371749 20 -4
25 Colorado Big XII 5 5 60 33 413 451 0.56708296 17 -8
26 Boise State WAC 8 1 36 45 319 344 0.564731021 34 8
27 Illinois Big Ten 7 3 50 46 429 414 0.562640866 19 -8
28 Clemson ACC 7 2 36 44 363 291 0.558205912 23 -5
29 Purdue Big Ten 7 3 48 48 439 401 0.555654762 32 3
30 Wake Forest ACC 6 3 42 41 409 347 0.554930038 26 -4
31 South Carolina SEC 6 4 48 41 402 342 0.554743567 31 0
32 Oklahoma State Big XII 5 4 48 35 347 346 0.553225891 27 -5
33 North Carolina State ACC 4 5 52 30 329 339 0.551313024 49 16
34 Texas A&M Big XII 6 4 51 41 383 394 0.550404286 33 -1
35 Wisconsin Big Ten 7 3 47 48 423 405 0.550085812 47 12
36 Mississippi State SEC 5 4 45 36 351 313 0.548820281 38 2
37 Oregon State Pac Ten 5 4 47 34 311 347 0.54717344 35 -2
38 Cincinnati Big East 7 2 35 45 351 306 0.546756088 55 17
39 Nebraska Big XII 4 6 61 33 420 458 0.544058062 25 -14
40 East Carolina Conference USA 6 4 48 41 394 419 0.540819133 51 11
41 UCF Conference USA 6 3 41 42 376 378 0.538323053 41 0
42 Georgia Tech ACC 5 4 44 37 336 325 0.537574009 36 -6
43 Washington Pac Ten 3 6 55 28 372 385 0.537512003 45 2
44 Vanderbilt SEC 5 4 45 41 377 329 0.534015379 46 2
45 Rutgers Big East 5 4 44 36 314 340 0.53391947 40 -5
46 Southern California Pac Ten 7 2 32 52 447 310 0.532542828 54 8
47 Louisville Big East 5 4 43 38 328 332 0.528563412 57 10
48 New Mexico Mountain West 6 3 39 42 318 339 0.528411974 39 -9
49 Brigham Young Mountain West 6 2 32 41 279 300 0.527144403 43 -6
50 Kansas State Big XII 5 4 43 42 381 331 0.525608155 24 -26
51 Michigan State Big Ten 5 5 53 43 453 457 0.525492216 52 1
52 Texas Tech Big XII 7 3 40 53 425 361 0.52523188 48 -4
53 Arkansas SEC 6 3 36 46 363 307 0.521626623 65 12
54 Iowa Big Ten 5 5 52 46 481 454 0.518915748 59 5
55 Wyoming Mountain West 5 4 42 40 355 380 0.515734749 50 -5
56 Air Force Mountain West 7 3 38 49 343 370 0.513657284 60 4
57 Indiana Big Ten 6 4 44 52 442 398 0.510714286 69 12
58 North Carolina ACC 3 6 49 34 351 324 0.508514056 68 10
59 Fresno State WAC 6 3 36 46 323 338 0.508342251 56 -3
60 UCLA Pac Ten 5 4 37 44 408 329 0.505682865 44 -16
61 Maryland ACC 4 5 42 38 341 312 0.504162413 42 -19
62 Troy Sun Belt 6 3 34 47 370 359 0.503429355 72 10
63 Mississippi SEC 3 7 55 36 380 377 0.502693179 66 3
64 Washington State Pac Ten 3 6 49 34 368 376 0.50216997 61 -3
65 Central Michigan MAC 5 4 41 42 322 378 0.500876841 64 -1
66 TCU Mountain West 5 4 40 44 373 385 0.500005235 77 11
67 Stanford Pac Ten 3 6 46 35 382 349 0.497926905 53 -14
68 Utah Mountain West 6 3 33 48 370 357 0.497605584 70 2
69 Pittsburgh Big East 4 5 44 39 332 357 0.496635793 75 6
70 Tulsa Conference USA 6 3 33 47 356 378 0.494170073 67 -3
71 Northwestern Big Ten 5 5 46 50 428 409 0.492420848 62 -9
72 Houston Conference USA 6 3 32 50 382 359 0.49066851 71 -1
73 Duke ACC 1 8 57 26 360 399 0.489728347 74 1
74 Miami (Fla.) ACC 5 4 34 48 435 323 0.489675619 63 -11
75 Arizona Pac Ten 4 6 45 43 381 348 0.486340254 82 7
76 Hawaii WAC 8 0 16 56 245 247 0.485602981 73 -3
77 Notre Dame Independent 1 8 57 28 385 409 0.484293558 58 -19
78 San Diego State Mountain West 3 5 37 34 279 290 0.47689686 90 12
79 Navy Independent 5 4 33 49 364 316 0.47393193 78 -1
80 Kent State MAC 3 6 45 39 344 362 0.473003507 86 6
81 Ball State MAC 5 5 43 52 393 425 0.471425814 79 -2
82 Toledo MAC 5 5 43 51 377 430 0.470513987 85 3
83 Southern Mississippi Conference USA 5 4 33 48 339 330 0.469274207 95 12
84 Baylor Big XII 3 7 50 43 392 398 0.467867837 83 -1
85 Akron MAC 3 6 45 39 362 422 0.46662415 80 -5
86 Bowling Green MAC 5 4 34 50 355 354 0.466446146 92 6
87 Miami (Ohio) MAC 5 5 40 54 447 434 0.464610452 88 1
88 Iowa State Big XII 2 8 54 40 410 400 0.463777252 102 14
89 Texas-El Paso Conference USA 4 5 39 44 314 363 0.462003603 76 -13
90 New Mexico State WAC 4 6 45 44 285 370 0.461587615 81 -9
91 Middle Tennessee Sun Belt 5 5 38 50 350 382 0.46044461 98 7
92 Louisiana Tech WAC 4 5 37 45 310 347 0.454681293 89 -3
93 Army Independent 3 6 40 41 323 339 0.452225766 84 -9
94 Syracuse Big East 2 7 45 39 403 380 0.452084474 87 -7
95 Nevada WAC 5 4 31 53 347 336 0.450425876 99 4
96 Florida Atlantic Sun Belt 4 4 28 45 349 310 0.449178394 93 -3
97 San Jose State WAC 3 6 40 40 294 348 0.447819315 94 -3
98 Buffalo MAC 4 6 43 53 440 459 0.446316509 91 -7
99 Ohio MAC 5 5 37 55 371 409 0.444997213 101 2
100 Minnesota Big Ten 1 9 58 37 377 449 0.444367274 100 0
101 UNLV Mountain West 2 7 45 36 322 413 0.442857143 97 -4
102 Louisiana-Monroe Sun Belt 3 6 39 42 334 398 0.438145112 96 -6
103 UAB Conference USA 2 7 42 40 324 347 0.432368467 103 0
104 Western Michigan MAC 3 6 39 44 322 384 0.432295755 104 0
105 Temple MAC 3 6 39 45 341 438 0.424911364 105 0
106 Arkansas State Sun Belt 4 5 31 52 369 384 0.420368059 107 1
107 Memphis Conference USA 4 5 30 53 336 349 0.41446174 112 5
108 Eastern Michigan MAC 3 7 42 52 375 435 0.414144996 108 0
109 Colorado State Mountain West 1 8 42 39 369 369 0.412037037 109 0
110 Florida International Sun Belt 0 9 49 34 343 417 0.40800967 106 -4
111 Marshall Conference USA 1 8 48 40 310 415 0.407401602 113 2
112 Rice Conference USA 2 7 39 44 317 378 0.404524092 115 3
113 Tulane Conference USA 2 7 36 44 311 343 0.399439348 111 -2
114 La.-Lafayette Sun Belt 1 8 39 41 300 356 0.385857046 117 3
115 North Texas Sun Belt 1 7 34 38 293 356 0.380227059 114 -1
116 Southern Methodist Conference USA 1 8 38 42 315 410 0.373898467 118 2
117 Utah State WAC 0 9 41 39 326 400 0.368508953 110 -7
118 Idaho WAC 1 9 37 43 288 369 0.365839041 116 -2
119 Northern Illinois MAC 1 8 33 52 340 371 0.341445355 119 0

Pumpin For Thursday: Week 10

2007-11-01T15:45:00.000-07:00

Virginia Tech at Georgia Tech -2.5, Over/Under 41.5

Vegas Algebra says: Georgia Tech 22, Virginia Tech 19.5

Matchups:

When Georgia Tech Runs:

Georgia Tech’s Rushing Offense ranks 13th nationally, Virginia Tech’s Rushing Defense is 9th.

When Georgia Tech Passes:

Georgia Tech’s Passing Offense is 107th, Virginia Tech’s Passing Defense is 50th

When Virginia Tech Runs:

Virginia Tech’s Rushing Offense is 96th, Georgia Tech’s Rushing Defense is 8th

When Virginia Tech Passes:

Virginia Tech’s Passing Offense is 102nd, Georgia Tech’s Passing Defense is 34th

Thoughts:

Don’t think Georgia Tech Defensive Coordinator Jon Tenuta was up late trying to figure out the Virginia Tech offense. This might be a yawner even with Virginia Tech playing its second Thursday game in two weeks. Josh and I are going to the Music City Bowl in December in Nashville, a second tier bowl matching ACC and SEC teams. Josh bought ten upper level tickets for the purpose of scalping but those tickets will only have value if the teams selected to go have well traveling fanbases like Virginia Tech’s and not as much Georgia Tech’s. Therefore a Georgia Tech win tonight, makes the Rambling Wreck an easy take for the Chick Fil-A Bowl in Atlanta and may slip the Hokies and their rabid fanbase to Nashville to hopefully play Tennessee and line Josh’s pockets. Go Jackets!

Suggestion:

Doesn’t look like the Hokies will be able to do anything offensively against Georgia Tech in Atlanta, give the points and the under looks safe here, even as low as it is. But get ready for the understatement of the year…I’ve been wrong before.

The Pride and the Pageantry Index: November 1, 2007

2007-10-31T20:43:00.001-07:00

It's about time when people all over the country start trying to figure out "Who the Best Is" or in college football's case "Who the best two are". Arguments for teams with higher strength of schedules versus teams with better regular season records will invade the blogosphere in due time, if they haven't already. Well here is my unique computer rating system, well not really unique it goes by a formula very similar to college basketball's RPI heavily weighted (50%) towards strength of schedule (opponents win percentage) with regular season record counting 25% and Opponents Opponents Winning Percentage accounting for the other 25%. The emphasis on strength of schedule doesn't bode well for undefeated Hawaii (you don't see them, they're 74^th) or USC (54^th) as these teams are where they should be at as far as regular season (in USC's case worse). This is if nothing else a unique look at a team's "resume" as we get closer and closer to the controversial selection of BCS participants.

Rnk Team Conf W L OW OL OOW OOL TPTPI LW
1 LSU SEC 7 1 0.875 40 29 0.580 298 274 0.521 0.63885 -
2 Oregon Pac Ten 7 1 0.875 36 29 0.554 283 254 0.527 0.62742 -
3 Arizona State Pac Ten 8 0 1.000 28 36 0.438 308 216 0.588 0.61570 -
4 Boston College ACC 8 0 1.000 29 35 0.453 253 212 0.544 0.61258 -
5 Missouri Big XII 7 1 0.875 34 36 0.486 291 230 0.559 0.60124 -
6 Ohio State Big Ten 9 0 1.000 33 45 0.423 329 275 0.545 0.59771 -
7 Kansas Big XII 8 0 1.000 29 40 0.420 281 234 0.546 0.59655 -
8 Auburn SEC 6 3 0.667 44 31 0.587 336 283 0.543 0.59570 -
9 Georgia SEC 6 2 0.750 35 31 0.530 270 211 0.561 0.59298 -
10 West Virginia Big East 7 1 0.875 31 35 0.470 261 225 0.537 0.58786 -
11 Tennessee SEC 5 3 0.625 40 26 0.606 279 264 0.514 0.58773 -
12 South Florida Big East 6 2 0.750 31 26 0.544 211 204 0.508 0.58654 -
13 Florida SEC 5 3 0.625 39 28 0.582 270 219 0.552 0.58533 -
14 Alabama SEC 6 2 0.750 34 31 0.523 246 225 0.522 0.57961 -
15 Virginia Tech ACC 6 2 0.750 34 32 0.515 257 222 0.537 0.57921 -
16 Oklahoma Big XII 7 1 0.875 31 36 0.463 283 273 0.509 0.57734 -
17 Colorado Big XII 5 4 0.556 47 28 0.627 300 326 0.479 0.57203 -
18 Connecticut Big East 7 1 0.875 29 37 0.439 253 222 0.533 0.57160 -
19 Illinois Big Ten 6 3 0.667 44 34 0.564 298 315 0.486 0.57025 -
20 California Pac Ten 5 3 0.625 37 28 0.569 271 258 0.512 0.56894 -
21 Penn State Big Ten 6 3 0.667 43 36 0.544 352 332 0.515 0.56747 -
22 Michigan Big Ten 7 2 0.778 37 41 0.474 327 276 0.542 0.56720 -
23 Clemson ACC 6 2 0.750 32 33 0.492 251 219 0.534 0.56716 -
24 Kansas State Big XII 5 3 0.625 38 30 0.559 263 237 0.526 0.56716 -
25 Nebraska Big XII 4 5 0.444 51 25 0.671 308 332 0.481 0.56695 -
26 Wake Forest ACC 6 2 0.750 31 34 0.477 301 233 0.564 0.56688 -
27 Oklahoma State Big XII 5 3 0.625 38 29 0.567 249 242 0.507 0.56661 -
28 Virginia ACC 7 2 0.778 34 39 0.466 334 271 0.552 0.56534 -
29 Texas Big XII 7 2 0.778 35 39 0.473 331 286 0.536 0.56505 -
30 Kentucky SEC 6 3 0.667 41 35 0.539 293 279 0.512 0.56446 -
31 South Carolina SEC 6 3 0.667 38 36 0.514 304 250 0.549 0.56061 -
32 Purdue Big Ten 7 2 0.778 37 42 0.468 323 293 0.524 0.55971 -
33 Texas A&M Big XII 6 3 0.667 40 35 0.533 282 276 0.505 0.55968 -
34 Boise State WAC 7 1 0.875 28 37 0.431 233 239 0.494 0.55755 -
35 Oregon State Pac Ten 5 3 0.625 37 29 0.561 226 241 0.484 0.55754 -
36 Georgia Tech ACC 5 3 0.625 35 30 0.538 241 224 0.518 0.55505 -
37 Florida State ACC 5 3 0.625 34 31 0.523 291 244 0.544 0.55377 -
38 Mississippi State SEC 5 4 0.556 42 33 0.560 295 263 0.529 0.55106 -
39 New Mexico Mountain West 6 2 0.750 30 35 0.462 231 236 0.495 0.54193 -
40 Rutgers Big East 5 3 0.625 34 31 0.523 227 239 0.487 0.53957 -
41 UCF Conference USA 5 3 0.625 35 31 0.530 249 281 0.470 0.53885 -
42 Maryland ACC 4 4 0.500 37 28 0.569 238 227 0.512 0.53757 -
43 Brigham Young Mountain West 5 2 0.714 28 31 0.475 198 211 0.484 0.53689 -
44 UCLA Pac Ten 5 3 0.625 30 34 0.469 306 222 0.580 0.53551 -
45 Washington Pac Ten 2 6 0.250 47 19 0.712 252 291 0.464 0.53458 -
46 Vanderbilt SEC 5 3 0.625 34 35 0.493 266 241 0.525 0.53379 -
47 Wisconsin Big Ten 7 2 0.778 33 46 0.418 319 293 0.521 0.53362 -
48 Texas Tech Big XII 6 3 0.667 35 40 0.467 297 263 0.530 0.53259 -
49 North Carolina State ACC 3 5 0.375 42 25 0.627 240 240 0.500 0.53218 -
50 Wyoming Mountain West 5 3 0.625 34 33 0.507 266 282 0.485 0.53133 -
51 East Carolina Conference USA 5 4 0.556 38 34 0.528 304 292 0.510 0.53029 -
52 Michigan State Big Ten 5 4 0.556 40 37 0.519 333 333 0.500 0.52363 -
53 Stanford Pac Ten 3 5 0.375 39 25 0.609 253 266 0.487 0.52031 -
54 Southern California Pac Ten 6 2 0.750 24 43 0.358 328 214 0.605 0.51790 -
55 Cincinnati Big East 6 2 0.750 26 39 0.400 249 230 0.520 0.51746 -
56 Fresno State WAC 5 3 0.625 32 34 0.485 223 247 0.474 0.51729 -
57 Louisville Big East 5 4 0.556 38 37 0.507 275 284 0.492 0.51521 -
58 Notre Dame Independent 1 7 0.125 49 19 0.721 275 298 0.480 0.51153 -
59 Iowa Big Ten 4 5 0.444 44 36 0.550 348 346 0.501 0.51147 -
60 Air Force Mountain West 6 3 0.667 32 40 0.444 257 272 0.486 0.51034 -
61 Washington State Pac Ten 3 5 0.375 39 27 0.591 249 284 0.467 0.50600 -
62 Northwestern Big Ten 5 4 0.556 38 40 0.487 297 305 0.493 0.50582 -
63 Miami (Fla.) ACC 5 3 0.625 27 38 0.415 305 238 0.562 0.50437 -
64 Central Michigan MAC 5 4 0.556 38 39 0.494 275 318 0.464 0.50158 -
65 Arkansas SEC 5 3 0.625 28 39 0.418 261 223 0.539 0.50002 -
66 Mississippi SEC 2 7 0.222 47 26 0.644 299 312 0.489 0.49981 -
67 Tulsa Conference USA 5 3 0.625 28 35 0.444 255 272 0.484 0.49944 -
68 North Carolina ACC 2 6 0.250 42 25 0.627 233 239 0.494 0.49934 -
69 Indiana Big Ten 5 4 0.556 36 43 0.456 323 294 0.524 0.49761 -
70 Utah Mountain West 6 3 0.667 30 44 0.405 312 297 0.512 0.49745 -
71 Houston Conference USA 5 3 0.625 28 37 0.431 265 270 0.495 0.49547 -
72 Troy Sun Belt 6 2 0.750 23 41 0.359 266 263 0.503 0.49290 -
73 Hawaii WAC 8 0 1.000 15 52 0.224 211 200 0.513 0.49029 -
74 Duke ACC 1 7 0.125 45 21 0.682 257 287 0.472 0.49027 -
75 Pittsburgh Big East 3 5 0.375 38 30 0.559 231 269 0.462 0.48866 -
76 Texas-El Paso Conference USA 4 4 0.500 33 34 0.493 223 255 0.467 0.48790 -
77 TCU Mountain West 4 4 0.500 32 36 0.471 268 289 0.481 0.48058 -
78 Navy Independent 4 4 0.500 30 36 0.455 244 238 0.506 0.47883 -
79 Ball State MAC 5 4 0.556 34 45 0.430 302 304 0.498 0.47867 -
80 Akron MAC 3 5 0.375 37 32 0.536 273 315 0.464 0.47794 -
81 New Mexico State WAC 4 5 0.444 37 37 0.500 213 258 0.452 0.47417 -
82 Arizona Pac Ten 3 6 0.333 36 35 0.507 281 237 0.542 0.47247 -
83 Baylor Big XII 3 6 0.333 39 36 0.520 286 277 0.508 0.47033 -
84 Army Independent 3 5 0.375 33 32 0.508 228 244 0.483 0.46836 -
85 Toledo MAC 4 5 0.444 38 41 0.481 284 326 0.466 0.46801 -
86 Kent State MAC 3 6 0.333 41 37 0.526 290 306 0.487 0.46780 -
87 Syracuse Big East 2 6 0.250 37 32 0.536 307 277 0.526 0.46204 -
88 Miami (Ohio) MAC 4 5 0.444 34 42 0.447 324 325 0.499 0.45960 -
89 Louisiana Tech WAC 3 5 0.375 32 34 0.485 234 242 0.492 0.45907 -
90 San Diego State Mountain West 2 5 0.286 31 26 0.544 185 216 0.461 0.45870 -
91 Buffalo MAC 4 5 0.444 35 43 0.449 327 341 0.490 0.45785 -
92 Bowling Green MAC 4 4 0.500 29 40 0.420 251 265 0.486 0.45675 -
93 Florida Atlantic Sun Belt 4 4 0.500 27 40 0.403 280 268 0.511 0.45423 -
94 San Jose State WAC 3 5 0.375 31 34 0.477 221 240 0.479 0.45206 -
95 Southern Mississippi Conference USA 4 4 0.500 26 39 0.400 236 236 0.500 0.45000 -
96 Louisiana-Monroe Sun Belt 3 5 0.375 31 34 0.477 250 281 0.471 0.44991 -
97 UNLV Mountain West 2 7 0.222 42 32 0.568 267 352 0.431 0.44717 -
98 Middle Tennessee Sun Belt 4 5 0.444 32 42 0.432 258 289 0.472 0.44524 -
99 Nevada WAC 4 4 0.500 25 43 0.368 260 231 0.530 0.44121 -
100 Minnesota Big Ten 1 8 0.111 46 32 0.590 271 333 0.449 0.43482 -
101 Ohio MAC 4 5 0.444 31 45 0.408 275 306 0.473 0.43339 -
102 Iowa State Big XII 1 8 0.111 43 35 0.551 309 290 0.516 0.43238 -
103 UAB Conference USA 2 6 0.250 33 34 0.493 238 244 0.494 0.43221 -
104 Western Michigan MAC 3 6 0.333 36 41 0.468 275 324 0.459 0.43187 -
105 Temple MAC 3 5 0.375 30 37 0.448 258 310 0.454 0.43119 -
106 Florida International Sun Belt 0 8 0.000 41 25 0.621 250 298 0.456 0.42466 -
107 Arkansas State Sun Belt 3 5 0.375 28 38 0.424 247 293 0.457 0.42022 -
108 Eastern Michigan MAC 3 6 0.333 34 44 0.436 279 325 0.462 0.41676 -
109 Colorado State Mountain West 1 7 0.125 32 35 0.478 284 270 0.513 0.39821 -
110 Utah State WAC 0 8 0.000 38 28 0.576 240 308 0.438 0.39737 -
111 Tulane Conference USA 2 6 0.250 28 37 0.431 222 249 0.471 0.39572 -
112 Memphis Conference USA 4 4 0.500 19 47 0.288 238 245 0.493 0.39213 -
113 Marshall Conference USA 1 7 0.125 37 35 0.514 214 308 0.410 0.39068 -
114 North Texas Sun Belt 1 7 0.125 31 34 0.477 229 305 0.429 0.37692 -
115 Rice Conference USA 1 7 0.125 31 36 0.463 219 273 0.445 0.37387 -
116 Idaho WAC 1 8 0.111 31 35 0.470 209 275 0.432 0.37058 -
117 La.-Lafayette Sun Belt 1 7 0.125 30 36 0.455 213 265 0.446 0.36992 -
118 Southern Methodist Conference USA 1 7 0.125 27 37 0.422 240 283 0.459 0.35691 -
119 Northern Illinois MAC 1 8 0.111 31 48 0.392 284 319 0.471 0.34172 -

Pumpin for Thursday: Week 9

2007-10-25T15:53:00.000-07:00

#2 Boston College (+3) at Virginia Tech, Over/Under 42

Vegas Algebra says: Virginia Tech 22.5, Boston College 19.5

Thoughts: I could tell you each teams Run/Pass Offense/Defense stats and what they can and should do but its Thursday night in Blacksburg. Nobody stands a chance, especially a top 5 team that is coming off wins vs. UMass, Bowling Green, Army, and Notre Dame in a year where being a top 5 team in October means nothing.

Suggestion: Lay down the 3 and take Virginia Tech because it is Thursday night in Blacksburg. The forecast calls for rain so a sloppy game is possible take the under. And don't feel bad, nobody in Boston's watching anyway.

You Make the Call...

2007-10-20T21:20:00.001-07:00

During Friday Night's Louisville-UConn game with the game tied 7-7 :

this play happened

Now the wave happened...whether or not it was a proper 'fair catch' wave seems to be the issue for debate but the players pulled up (for if you tackle a player after calling fair catch its a penalty) and Larry Taylor ran the return the rest of the way for a touchdown but I agree with all Sean McDonough's points (which I usually do, except for one).

So should this have been a reversed call or not?

What I'm Watching: Week 8

2007-10-20T11:00:00.000-07:00

12:30pm Tennessee at Alabama (Lincoln Financial)-The game that is ALWAYS played on "The Third Saturday in October". I don't get Raycom or Lincoln Financial or whatever but I wish I did as knowing no matter what year it is, no matter what the sports or political landscape, this game is always played on the Third Saturday in October is one of those cool traditions that makes college football what it is.

3:30pm Miami at Florida State (ABC Regional) or USC at Notre Dame (NBC)- Depending on which no longer relevant rivalry is closer or shows any kind of offensive competence. I'd watch Florida-Kentucky but with no Noah, Horford, or Brewer on the other side Gillespe's squad should roll.

7:00pm Cleveland at Boston (Fox)- I'm writing this during the 8th inning of Game 5. Hopefully I won't regret that.

9:00pm Auburn at LSU (ESPN)- Assuming the Red Sox game doesn't go until 1:30am this 9pm game should be a solid nightcap

This Week in Pageantry...

2007-10-19T00:01:00.000-07:00

While you were wondering why they don't call it "University of West Florida"...

A Baylor Assistant Couldn't Wait in Line...

Arizona State's National Championship push ended before it got started...

Purdue did their best Appy State impression BEFORE last Saturday's game

Nebraska fired their AD, which should help their run defense tremendously

Cal fans said I told you so

Coach Fran tried to enlist some VIPs

The WAC had a WACky Weekend with Boise State and Hawaii surviving.

and Rocket Ismail compared Notre Dame's football season to a Big Mac...

Pumpin for Thursday: Week 8

2007-10-18T15:30:00.000-07:00

South Florida (-3) at Rutgers, Over/Under 52

Vegas Algebra Says: South Florida 27.5, Rutgers 24.5

Stats Say:

South Florida Rushing Offense: 181YPG (35th nationally)
Rutgers Rushing Defense: 139YPG (45th)
Most of South Florida's success should come through the run

South Florida Passing Offense: 213YPG (73rd)
Rutgers Passing Defense: 158YPG (5th)
South Florida QB Matt Grothe will not be able to pass on Rutgers

Rutgers Rushing Offense: 182YPG (32nd)
South Florida Rushing Defense: 106YPG (26th)
No reprive for Ray Rice's disappointing Senior season against the Bulls run defense

Rutgers Passing Offense: 308YPG (12th)
South Florida Passing Defense: 178YPG (15th)
The surprising Mike Teel goes up against a great Bull secondary in the key matchup of this game

South Florida Turnovers Gained: 21 (T-4th)
Rutgers Turnovers Lost: 10 (T-33rd)
This is how South Florida's been winning, forcing turnovers as they did against West Virginia

Rutgers Turnovers Gained: 9 (T-98th)
South Florida Turnovers Lost: 13 (T-62nd)
South Florida has coughed up the ball but Rutgers hasn't had many opportunities to say the least

Game Plans:

Rutgers: Get Ray Rice going, protect the ball and keep the Thursday Night crowd in Piscataway involved in the game.
South Florida: Force Mike Teel to make mistakes allowing the Bulls to work from a short field and establish themselves as the second best team, if not the best, in the country.

My Thoughts:

Maybe its the ugly uniforms, maybe its the lack of a brand name but count me among the South Florida naysayers. Grothe's been okay and the rest of the offense is pretty pedestrian and I don't know how they would stack up against even some of the one loss teams in the top ten. Rutgers at home with 3 points looks like the best bet here. And it's Thursday bet the over

Pumpin' For Thursday: Week 7

2007-10-11T13:51:00.000-07:00

Florida State (-6) at Wake Forest, Over/Under 44

Vegas Algebra Says: Florida State 25, Wake Forest 19

Stats Say:

Florida State Rushing Offense: 120YPG (88th nationally)
Wake Forest Rushing Defense: 111YPG (27th)
Florida State shouldn’t be able to run the ball

Florida State Passing Offense: 225YPG (63rd)
Wake Forest Passing Defense: 247YPG (83rd)
Florida State’s opportunities should come via the pass

Wake Forest Rushing Offense: 139YPG (71st )
Florida State Rushing Defense: 82YPG (11th)
Wake Forest will not be able to run the ball

Wake Forest Passing Offense: 199YPG (84th)
Florida State Passing Defense: 221YPG (59th)
Wake Forest could be able to pass

Wake Forest Turnover Gain: 14 (T-21st)
Florida State Turnover Loss: 3 (T-3rd)
This is the key matchup Florida State protects the ball well and Wake Forest takes it away often

Wake Forest Turnover Loss: 14 (T-90th)
Florida State Turnover Gain: 10 (T-68th)
Conversely Wake Forest gives up the ball too often but Florida State hasn’t taken it away

Wake Forest Interceptions Lost: 10 (T-102nd)
Florida State Interceptions Gain: 5 (T-72nd)
Wake Forest Quarterback Riley Skinner throws too many interceptions but FSU’s Pass Defense is pedestrian

Game Plans:

Wake Forest: Throw the ball early to get the lead and take advantage of the Thursday night home crowd. An early turnover would help.
Florida State: Stop the run and force Riley Skinner into obvious throwing situations and capitalize on opportunities.

My Thoughts:

I think Florida State’s game plan is more likely to work and Skinner seems like the type who forces things when playing a big opponent on a big stage. Plus he’s only a sophomore. I think this is one instance where its okay to take the road favorite on a Thursday. Also like the over here because the running game is taken out of the game plans for both teams.

Pumpin' for Thursday: Week 6

2007-10-04T16:46:00.000-07:00

Kentucky at South Carolina (-3.5), Over/Under 57.5

Vegas Algebra says: South Carolina 30.5, Kentucky 27

Thoughts: By far the most intriguing Thursday game so far. South Carolina and Kentucky are both atop the SEC East and both have one impressive win (Georgia and Louisville respectively). Kentucky quarterback Andre Woodson is getting Heisman consideration but Steve Spurrier is 14-0 against Kentucky.

Suggestions: For the past five weeks this site has been crunching numbers and paying attention to facts like Spurrier's record against Kentucky and South Carolina's Top 25 Defense. And PFT is slipping, therefore I am gonna pick this game solely on feel. Kentucky FEELS like a team of destiny and its rare you get a chance to pick a Top Ten team AND get 3.5 points. It's Thursday and Steve Spurrier's involved so the OVER sounds like a good bet here too.

You Can't Grieve Forever

2007-10-01T23:23:00.000-07:00

Memphis is going to go ahead and play their nationally televised Tuesday Night ESPN game against Marshall despite the death of defensive lineman Taylor Bradford.
Bradford was shot and killed on campus Sunday evening.
The players voted, unanimously, to play this game as scheduled.

Sunday Hangover

2007-10-01T22:49:00.000-07:00

Such a crazy week it took me a few extra days to digest the action. Half the top 10 lost, and 7 of the top 13.

USC 27 Washington 24- Don't get tied up in how close this game was. USC is still great, every team has off games, and Washington isn't bad. But thank god for the BCS. Imagine if LSU won out and we didn't have a way to guarantee those two teams would play each other? What a sham that would be.

Colorado 27 Oklahoma 24 and Kansas State 41 Texas 21-I guess that takes a little luster off the Red River Shootout this week.

Auburn 20 Florida 17- Urban Meyer tried the late timeout gimmick that worked twice in the NFL. Auburn's unflappable kicker made it twice and down go the Gators.

California 31 Oregon 24- A fun game despite only 55 points scored. 11 for 161 and 2 touchdowns for Dasean Jackson and Dennis Dixon threw for 306 yards. Cal moves up to number 3 in the country and they play USC on November 10th. That should be worth watching.

Ohio State 30 Minnesota 7 and Wisconsin 37 Michigan State 34- They're both in the top 5 nationally now and they'll face each other on November 3. But they still have to contend with Michigan which plays Wisconsin on November 10 and then Ohio State on November 17.

Maryland 34 Rutgers 24- Last year's Cinderella is this year's wicked stepsister. Make room for South Florida and Cincinnati. South Florida is #6 in the AP Poll.

Kentucky 45 Florida Atlantic 17- Kentucky is now ranked 8th. In football. For now. They played South Carolina on Thursday, then LSU and Florida. If they win all three of those games they should jump USC and everyone else into the #1 spot. If the Heisman were about on-field performance and not pre-season hype, Andre Woodson would be a top contender. 16 touchdowns, 1 interception.

Hawaii 38 Idaho 20- Colt Brennan throws for only 368 yards and 5 INTs but the Rainbow Warriors still win big.

A Leopard Can't Change His Spots

2007-09-28T21:34:00.001-07:00

Linebacker Willie Williams was kicked off the Louisville football team after being arrested earlier this week. He was pulled over by the cops (after pursuing him several blocks) who found him attempting to hide/destroy marijuana by chewing on it. They found pot elsewhere in the car and charged him with misdemeanor possession, misdemeanor driving without a license, and a felony for tampering with evidence.
You may remember that on a recruiting trip to the University of Florida, a few years ago, Williams hugged a female student without her permission, hit a man at a bar and set off three fire extinguishers in his hotel, all in a span of five hours.
That prompted a review of Williams's background which showed that he had been arrested 11 times starting when he was only 14 years old.
Williams enrolled at Miami (who took him because hey, what's one more criminal on the roster), redshirted one year, played sparingly in another, then asked for his release.

What I'm Watching: Week 5

2007-09-27T23:51:00.000-07:00

12:00pm LSU vs. Tulane (ESPN2) - It's always good to watch the best teams in the country play, even if the games are only interesting for a half, or a quarter, or a half of a quarter. I won't be watching Notre Dame because they suck and I don't care about teams that suck.

1:38pm Oklahoma vs. Colorado (FSN) - Should be starting right around the time the LSU game turns into a blowout. Right now Oklahoma is the third ranked team in the nation. They should beat Colorado, even on the road which would set up a great matchup next week against Texas.

3:30pm California vs. Oregon (ABC) - You think the Pac-10 is weak? The winner of this game becomes poised for a huge game against USC. That's the good thing about the Pac-10, everyone plays everyone else. Dennis Dixon vs. DeSean Jackson should be exciting to watch. The over/under on this game is 72. I expect at least 80.

8:00pm USC vs. Washington (ABC) - I chose this one over Auburn/Florida but because of remote controls you don't have to. What an early season schedule for Washington, before October 1st they'll have played Syracuse, The Ohio State, Boise State (Derek's 3 favorite teams) and now USC. As impressive as Jake Locker is I'd be shocked if the Huskies stayed within 20 points of the Trojans.

Pumpin' For Thursday: Week 5

2007-09-27T11:09:00.000-07:00

Southern Miss (+10.5) at Boise State, Over/Under 49.5

Vegas Algebra says: Boise State 30.0, Southern Miss 19.5

Thoughts: Both Southern Miss and Boise State were off last weekend, giving both squads a chance to rest and a week to prepare. However, nothing prepares a school to play on the “Smurf Turf” of Boise State’s home field. In fact, Boise State is riding a 31-game home winning streak in regular season games and is 53-2 in its last 55 home games overall. That is true home-field advantage.

This Broncos squad is not the giant-killing, Fiesta Bowl-winning squad of last year with the loss of starting QB Jared Zabransky to the NFL. RB Ian Johnson still leads a rushing offense that racks up 199 yards per game, although collectively their opponents allowed an average of 208 YPG. Also, the 30 PPG average of the Broncos is misleading. After rolling Weber St. at home 56-7, Boise State only managed 10 points in a 24-10 road loss at Washington and 24 points in a 24-14 home victory over Wyoming (The Broncos were a 12 point home favorite in that contest).

Southern Miss averages 27.3 PPG, scoring 35, 19, and 28 points in their three games. The 19 points came in a 39-19 road loss to Tennessee, which they followed up with a 28-21 victory at East Carolina. This will be the Golden Eagles third road game in a row.

Sophomore tailback Damion Fletcher is the workhorse of the Southern Miss offense, leading a rushing attack that is averaging 182 yards per game on the ground. Senior QB Jeremy Young is a dual-threat option, passing for over 200 YPG and chipping in over 60 yards rushing per game.

With both teams favoring the ground game and Southern Miss coming in averaging over 27 PPG, it was surprising to see Boise State as a double-digit favorite. Truth is, oddsmakers usually give the Broncos a 6 to 6.5-point edge for the blue field before taking into account the opponent. With this knowledge, the Broncos are 32-12 ATS as home favorites since they started making lines on there games.

Suggestion: With two run-oriented teams and Boise State probably still receiving the benefit of the doubt based on previous years, this line is way over-inflated. Take Southern Miss plus the points. The half-point on the over/under allows for a 28-21 Boise State victory. Go under.

Mike Gundy is a Man!

2007-09-24T15:16:00.000-07:00

Jenni Carlson of "The Daily Oklahoman" newspaper in Oklahoma City penned this column questioning the attitude of former starting QB Bobby Reid.

This is what Head Coach Mike Gundy thought of it...

I sometimes wonder if coaches do this just to make YouTube at this point.

Mike Patrick, "Leave Britney Alone"

2007-09-24T15:12:00.000-07:00

I've said before on this blog that Mike Patrick is a perfect college football announcer when he isn't paired with blowhards who go off tangent. Well I think he thought he was at a Duke blowout of Florida State with Dick Vitale instead of an overtime SEC game.

Also...a pretty good ending to a football game.

Charlie Weis wishes to be added to your Friends list

2007-09-22T16:36:00.000-07:00

Notre Dame is 0-4. Charlie Weis sure could use some friends right now.

Click here to add Charlie Weis as your friend.

Syracuse beats Louisville: Five Thoughts

2007-09-22T14:34:00.000-07:00

In what is being coined "The Biggest Upset in Big East History" by those that saw it. Syracuse upset Louisville 38-35. Luckily for me the game was carried locally here on the abc station. I guess us New England Orange alum still have some pull. Onto the five thoughts:

1) Syracuse could not stop any pass in between the linebackers and secondary. Why Louisville ran the ball or passed up the sidelines is beyond me especially late in the game. I am sure Steve Kragthorpe is going to get torched locally in Louisville.

2) As an alum, I was proud to get the win but Syracuse did everything they could to give this game away, including Andrew Robinson doing his best Jerome Bettis impression in the Louisville red zone when the game was set to be iced.

3) The announcers were right, it was unrealistic to hope for a national championship from a team with a secondary like Louisville's. If I played Fantasy College Football I'd start whatever quarterback played them each week. South Florida especially should whoop on them too.

4) "The Ville" is a lame nickname for a city, especially when so many towns and cities end in "ville". KFC buys advertising at Papa John's stadium. I don't know what the obesity rate is in Louisville but I'm guessing its above the national average.

5) Syracuse football is newsworthy for the first time since switching nicknames to "The Orange". So it'll be fun to see what media outlets are slow to come around. Espn.com has already screwed this up (Update: ESPN has figured out their error, less likely from this blog, more likely from the 1500 alumni who work there)

As you can imagine the people at Card Chronicle aren't taking it well and my friends at Troy Nunes is an Absolute Magician are taking it probably too well

What I'm Watching (or Listening to): Week 4

2007-09-22T08:46:00.000-07:00

(I apologize Thursday's "Pumpin for Thursday" didn't get posted, but if you bet off of it, there's no need for me to apologize, I had Texas ATM and the Under) onto Saturday...

12:00pm Syracuse vs. Louisville (Sirius 126)- I really hope someday I have my son on my knee telling him about the days Syracuse was a 36.5 point underdog and NOT on free television and his eyes will open wide in disbelief, I hope. Florida International isn't even a 36.5 point underdog this week.

3:30pm South Carolina vs. LSU (CBS)- Steve Spurrier against arguably the best team in the country easily trumps the "Winged Helmet" vs. the "White Helmet" on ABC. LSU has yet another chance to make a case for being the best team in America against a quality opponent.

8:00 Iowa at Wisconsin (ABC)- Nobody knows how good this Wisconsin team really is especially when they let The Citadel hang with them for three quarters, if Penn State beats Michigan, then the Big Ten is a three team race between Penn State, Wisconsin, and Ohio State.

10:28 Washington vs. UCLA (FSN)- Its like the Super Bowl except this time the black head coach that loses this game spends the rest of the season on the Hot Seat.

What I'm Watching: Week 3

2007-09-14T16:37:00.000-07:00

12:00 (Pittsburgh vs. Michigan State, Illinois vs. Syracuse, Virginia vs. North Carolina)- On second thought, a good time to go to the gym, do a good husbandly deed or sleep in to recover from a hangover.

3:30 Ohio State vs. Washington (ESPN)- Washington has looked impressive in wins over Syracuse and Boise State, but this is their biggest test. However, its also Ohio States. I have no idea how this one is going to go when it first looked like a chance for the Buckeyes and their fans to enjoy Seattle. Besides isn't Florida vs. Tennessee already a foregone conclusion and just be happy either Michigan or Notre Dame will have three losses before the end of Rosh Hashanah, you don't have to watch the game to find out which one.

8:00 Boston College vs. Georgia Tech (ESPN2)- The ACC Championship in September. While USC-Nebraska is the sexier matchup. This game should be the better of those two.

10:00 Florida State vs. Colorado (ESPN)- Two schools who rarely meet in the regular season. Two student bodies who rarely go to class. This game is best viewed drunk.

So How'd the Turtle Do?

2007-09-14T08:56:00.000-07:00

The Maryland Terrapins lost last night to West Virginia 31-14 (Why did they NOT go for two after the final touchdown? Don't they know some people have money on the line?). While the extra point attempt proves Ralph Friedgen didn't care about people like myself who took the Turtle and the points, we know he cares about his Friedgen Rules which as explained measure miscues against total plays. So here is the recap of Maryland's performance against the Friedgen Rules formula (12% and under is considered passing).

Fumbles: 1
Interceptions: 2
Sacks: 4
Dropped Passes: 0
Penalties: 5

Total Miscues: 12

Total Plays: 67

Friegen Rules Pct.: 17.9%

Not sure if 0% would've stopped Steve Slaton last night but the formula holds true.

Pumpin' for Thursday: Week 3

2007-09-13T15:00:00.000-07:00

West Virginia (-16.5) at Maryland, Over/Under 65.5

Vegas Algebra says: West Virginia 41, Maryland 24.5

Thoughts: West Virginia is the third straight road favorite on Thursday Night to start the year which is astonishing. Out of the three home dogs (Mississippi State, Cincinnati, Maryland) the Terps are by far the best coached. Maryland coach Ralph Friedgen is known for two things, devouring the buffet at ACC Media Day and his ”Friedgen Rules”. “Friedgen Rules” correlate a team’s miscues with its likelihood of winning the game.

“The statistic is derived by adding a team's interceptions, fumbles, dropped passes, sacks and penalties during a game and dividing that by the team's total number of offensive plays. The key is to keep the result under 12 percent -- meaning that the team is committing a human error on 12 percent or less of its plays.”

The merit isn’t necessarily in the statistic itself as I’m sure UM has hit under 12 percent in miscues and lost and missed the 12 percent goal and won. It’s that Friedgen’s players are always conscious of the need to hold onto the football, protect the quarterback, and limit penalties. Against a big-time opponent like West Virginia that has to be worth something.

Suggestion: A well coached team at home in a quasi-rivalry game and 16.5 points is impossible to pass up. Maryland should at least put a scare into the Mountaineers. West Virginia’s poor secondary makes it possible to take an over bet here but 65.5 points is ridiculous, styles and game plans may make this number impossible. Go under.

What I'm Watching: Week 2

2007-09-08T08:35:00.000-07:00

12:00 Miami (FL) vs. Oklahoma (ABC)- A rematch of what felt like every Orange Bowl in the 80's. It was a little bullshit Miami got to play for the National Championship on their home field so many times. Expect OU to extract revenge. Where are Barry Switzer and Jimmy Johnson? Well actually they're on Fox Pregame tomorrow.

2:30 North Carolina State vs. Boston College (ESPN 2)- In Boston, Tom O'Brien is a college football Johnny Damon. Which means everyone in the city read about his departure in the agate of the Boston Globe thought "what an asshole" then went back to watching Red Sox Extra Innings Extra Extra three hours after the game is over. For those in Boston who give a shit, the Eagles should light up their old coach's new team.

6:00 Notre Dame vs. Penn State (ESPN)- Now THIS is an old school college football game that will take us in the Northeast back to a point when most of our programs were relevant. Unfortunately this year at least, Notre Dame isn't. Penn State should win by a significant margin.

9:15 Virginia Tech vs. LSU (ESPN)- A 9:15 start time so I can watch this whole game with a Red Bull Vodka in my hand in the presence of horny single women...brilliant! Make this a tradition. Games that get done at 10:30 give me too much time I have to pay attention to my friends. This should be a defensive quagmire as both defenses are miles ahead of the offenses.

Pumpin for Thursday: Week 2

2007-09-05T20:06:00.000-07:00

(Each Thursday I will make my spread prediction for the ESPN Thursday Night Game which I give weekly to my friend Josh
for his sportsbook account. As for you...all picks are for entertainment purposes only. You can't sue me to recover loss wagers)

Oregon State (-3.5) at Cincinnati, Over/Under=45.5

Vegas Algebra says: Oregon State 24.5, Cincinnati 21

My thoughts: Two Thursdays and so far two road favorites. Interesting although Vegas is really putting Nippert Stadium on a pedestal with this tight spread. Yvenson Bernard is a star whom the country may not get many chances to know. This is one of the few times he will be on a national stage. Sammie Stroughter is also expected to play for Oregon State returning from 'personal issues'. Cincinnati has a young team but they are capable of scoring too.

Suggestion: Learn two lessons from last week and take Oregon State. 1) Road favorites can cover on Thursday (LSU over Miss St.), 2) The mid-bottom of the Big East can't compete with the Pac Ten (Washington over Syracuse). I like the over, as I usually do on Thursdays and Oregon State. Speaking of LSU and Syracuse. I wonder what Joseph Addai and Marvin Harrison are upto these days?

Because I Promised It!

2007-09-04T18:52:00.000-07:00

DeSean Jackson's 77 Yard Punt Return vs. Tennessee

Bowden Bowl IX: Florida State vs. Clemson Running Diary

2007-09-03T17:10:00.000-07:00

Bobby Bowden (Head Coach of Florida State) and his son Tommy (Head Coach of Clemson) have been playing each other for nine years now. The luster of the father vs. son matchup has lost its shine a little. Still its an intriguing enough matchup that it took over the Miami/Florida State spot on Labor Day Monday. Like Miami, Clemson will probably underachieve as much as the Seminoles but for now this exciting rivalry is Running Diary worthy

First Quarter

-Clemson's touching of Howard's Rock and running into Death Valley is by far the coolest pregame introduction in all of sports. I won't debate this.

-Bobby and Tommy are the guest lineup introducers which is a great idea by ESPN for its showcase games. Although I probably would've chosen Jenn Sterger and Cameran from Real World San Diego.

-Death Valley is LOUD! Already causing Drew Weatherford to burn a timeout

-The new AT&T commercial with Roger Clemens' not able to hear his wife's displeasure at his comeback is perhaps the best of these spots yet, I have to admit.

-Clemson forces FSU to punt on its first drive. The Nole offense at least early on looks only marginally better.

-Clemson is using some Spread Option lining James Davis directly behind center. Davis runs for Clemson's first first down. Awesome play call!

-Clemson is forced to a punt after a good non-call after a hit almost out of bounds on Quarterback Cullen Harper

-Florida State goes three and out. So far the improvements from the new offensive staff have yet to be seen.

-Good to see former NC State coach Chuck Amato staying employed, even without shades

-I've come to realize that Mike Patrick is a fine announcer who up to this point has always been paired with annoying blowhards (Dick Vitale, Joe Theismann, Paul Maguire) but he and Todd Blackledge are perfect for prime-time college football.

-How long does it take to body paint your whole body? I'm past the age where its acceptable but I'm just wondering.

-Last 9 plays for FSU, 3 yards. Maybe Jeff Bowden wasn't the problem. Maybe Drew Weatherford has been.

-Jacoby Ford on a reverse off a GREAT block by the receiver to the FSU 25

-James Davis makes a great cut block for C.J. Spiller. If Clemson doesn't get 6 here it might be a deflator for this crowd, which is jacked right now.

-TOUCHDOWN Harper to Tight End Brian Linthincum. Good catch! Extra point makes it 7-0. FSU NEEDS to respond because this game is already in danger of getting away from them. 7-0 Clemson.

-We need a cease and desist on the use of "Zombie Nation". I'm dead serious.

-Fumble recoverd by Clemson! Oh boy...

-James Davis immediately cashes in for a TOUCHDOWN! on an impressive run. I think I'm live blogging a possible blowout. 14-0 Clemson.

-Its almost frustrating that Clemson looks like a National Championship contender right now, and their running game and defense are of that caliber. But Harper and the passing game are going to have to win one or two games on their own and history says that doesn't happen for Clemson.

-20 yard completion gets negated by an Illegal Motion penalty. Bobby Bowden can't be having fun right now.

-First Quarter recap. Clemson's defense is pushing FSU's offense around. Clemson is dominating on the ground but Harper is having trouble getting going. Florida State looks lifeless and Death Valley is still loud. Florida State 0, Clemson 14.

Second Quarter

-TOUCHDOWN! Cullen Harper to Aaron Kelly on a receiver screen. Clemson's tiger needs to bulk up, lift some weights or something. My high school spends more money on their mascot outfit. Yeah this game's about over. 21-0 Clemson.

-Blackledge points out how tired the 'Nole defense looked on the Kelly touchdown. Hard to imagine that they couldn't be with the offense only giving them 5 minute breaks.

-Another three and out for Florida State. Jimbo Fisher's play calling isn't the most creative when behind.

-Okay a fake punt looks to be stuffed by Clemson but the punter gets the kick off JUST behind the line of scrimmage. Punt only goes for 18 yards though.

-A fumble by CJ Spiller gives Florida State something to build on. What the offense can do afterwards at this point, I don't think anything.

-Incomplete pass to my friend Josh's favorite player De'Cody Fagg.

-Gaines Adams on the sidelines Holly Rowe asks him "How hard are you working right now getting used to the NFL"...Right now? Not very.

-Why do I have a feeling "Good Luck, Chuck" isn't going to get many good reviews?

-Ray Ray McElrathbay is out for the season but his little brother Fahmarr is doing very well and not asking for an allowance. Ray Ray got custody of Fahmarr from his mother who has a drug problem. Touching story even for cynical types like me.

-Clemson's running game is doing what it wants to do against Florida State's winded defense.

-Super Blue-Chip Florida State CB Myron Rolle is featured. He's a world traveler and a bookworm. He received his first A- last semester. I don't think I ever got an A- in college. The picture of him riding a camel should be his Facebook picture.

-Florida State BLOCKS a punt! Now if the offense can get a first down they could cut into this Clemson lead.

-Clemson is having a great tackling day. Many impressive open field tackles. Florida State needs a touchdown here. Nothing less.

-4th and 8, Florida State makes a FIELD GOAL. Considering the field position they got after the blocked field goal, this drive is yet another disappointment from the offense. 21-3 Clemson.

-ESPN chooses the skycam angle for CJ Spiller's 52 yard kick return. I think the opinions on "skycam" run 50-50. Thumbs down here.

-A bomb threat reportedly was called in to an administration building early today. Are kids trying to get out of exams already? Are there exams for students to try and get out of already?

-The injured tackle for Clemson majors in "Workforce Training", as in getting a job? In what?? Although I probably shouldn't make fun. I should've minored in "Workforce Training".

-Clemson gets a FIELD GOAL by kicker Mark Fuckholes. At least that's what I think his name is. 24-3 Clemson.

-I will have an RV someday. You can just about guarantee that.

-Oh oh oh oh...Oh oh oh oh..Oh oh..Oh... Oh oh...Oh oh...

-Florida State is more or less running out the clock on the First Half. Check that they pass a few times but have to punt over to Clemson who will likely kneel on the ball to go into the locker room after an impressive first half.

Second Quarter Recap: Florida State has lost this game. They simply don't have the offense to come back 3 touchdowns. They are getting beat up on the line of scrimmage. Clemson is running all over their defense that can't get off the field. Florida State 3, Clemson 24

Third Quarter

-Jacoby Ford looks dead as he's getting carried into the locker room with an apparent shoulder injury. Yuk, that was ugly.

-Cullen Harper eludes a couple tackles and makes a first down on 3rd and 16, everyone is running on Florida State. The spot helped but you're going to get the benefit of the doubt when your opponent is tackling like Florida State is.

-Florida State eventually forces a punt which is poorly played and goes into the end zone.

-Florida State finally gets a drive going when Drew Weatherford overthrows his receiver on 4th and 4. A holding penalty on the Left Tackle would've negated a catch anyway. The Left Tackle Rose is getting grilled by his Offensive Line Coach. The rant was properly muted.

-"Todd's Taste of the Town" is Mac's Drive-In in Pendleton, SC. He got the cheeseburger steak with gravy, fries and sweet tea. That sounds like a tasty heart attack.

-Bad snap on the punt and the Clemson punter Jimmy Maners, is smart enough to run it out of bounds for an intentional SAFETY. 24-5 Clemson.

-Anyone else surprised Penn State vs. Notre Dame isn't on ABC?

-Antoine Smith to the Clemson 1. Hmmmm.

-TOUCHDOWN Antoine Smith! All of a sudden this is a game. Florida State is inexplicably going for two. They aren't getting three possessions in the Fourth Quarter. The difference between a 12 point and 11 point deficit is irrelevant. The conversion fails. 24-11 Clemson.

Third Quarter Recap: Some bad special teams play. Stops on defense and a newfound running game have Florida State back in this one. Tommy Bowden is starting to look like his father was in the First Half. Florida State 11, Clemson 24.

Fourth Quarter

-Florida State has good field position again. Inside the Clemson 35. Fagg blows a sure touchdown with a drop.

-On 4th and 2 Weatherford completes to greg Carr. 1st and 10 at the Clemson 15. I'm starting to feel happy I did this.

-Fagg gets a hand on a ball and takes it to the Clemson 10. 3rd and 5.

-Delay of game penalty on Florida State takes it back to the 15. Patrick blames the Freshman center. Freshmen get blamed for everything.

-TOUCHDOWN! Weatherford to Goodman. Camera pans to a Jenn Sterger wannabe. Ladies and Gentlemen this somehow became a VERY good game. 24-18 Clemson.

-Clemson is mounting a drive into Florida State territory as the heat is causing Spiller and others to come off the field with cramps.

-Drive stalls but the punt back spins and goes out of bounds at the 4 yard line. This likely means this will be Florida State's last chance to come back and win this game.

-Florida State goes 3 and out as the toss is behind Fagg. Clemson and Spiller and Davis can run out clock and do so in Seminole territory.

-Clemson fails to close out Florida State and the Seminoles will get the ball back. No confirmation if Meineke Car Care bowl officials are already at this game scouting both teams.

-Weatherford to Antoine Smith for a 28 yard game and then again for 9 yard gain.

-Smith runs again for 11. He has really led this surge in the second half. Imagine if he showed up in the first.

-Incomplete pass intended for Fagg but he had a man all over him.

-Corner blitz forces 4th and 10. This is your ball game...

-SACK! Clemson ball. 2:24 left. Can they screw this up again? If anybody can at this point. It might be Tommy Bowden. Ok Tommy you have two runningbacks, and your opponent has one timeout left. No need to get cute. And my cute I mean pass.

-Davis and Spiller can't get a first down and Florida State will get the ball ONE MORE TIME. Clemson is in no rush to punt and takes a timeout. I feel better and better about picking Georgia Tech to win the ACC.

-Florida State ball with :29 left. Weatherford sacked AGAIN! A FSU baton twirler is still cheering. Apparently she doesn't know in football the lower score loses.

-Weatherford almost completes a pass but the ball is knocked away and we have a final...wait we have a review. Hilarious scene as students dumb enough to storm the field on the first game of the season, not from Appalachian State are being called back off the field, then run back on and are called off again.

-The call stands, incomplete pass, game over. Idiot students can storm the field in the first game of the season. I have a feeling they won't have too much to celebrate if Clemson can't close out opponents like they almost couldn't tonight. I think I just blogged a game between two mid-level bowl teams.

Final Score: Florida State 18, Clemson 24.

Sunday Hangover...

2007-09-01T21:34:00.000-07:00

Posting the Sunday Hangover early this week as I am currently at my Fantasy Football Draft. If you're curious my keepers are:

Larry Johnson, RB Penn State
Joseph Addai, RB LSU
Marvin Harrison, WR Syracuse
Phillip Rivers, QB NC State

Wish me luck adding to this corps. Okay onto my thoughts on as many of Saturday games as possible:

Appalachian State 34, Michigan 32- Sixth Thought: Appy State got $400,000 to travel to Ann Arbor (that whore) for this game. Thanks guys lets do that again. No?

East Carolina 7, Virginia Tech 17- An emotional day in Blacksburg obviously. The emotion made the Hokies a little tight in the first half. I had a feeling it would.

Western Kentucky 3, Florida 49- Couldn't Florida wait until WKU joined the Sun Belt before practicing on them.

Georgia Tech 33, Notre Dame 3- Quarterback by Committee...Brilliant! Tashard Choice had a huge game (196yds 2TDs) as I predicted

Tennessee 31, California 45- A very fun game to watch with all that speed on one field. Yes I'll have DeSean Jackson's punt return as soon as it hits YouTube.

Western Michigan 24, West Virginia 62- Western Michigan, you're no Eastern Washington.

Oklahoma State 14, Georgia 35- A surprise how lopsided this one was. I'll learn not to understimate Georgia early out of conference again.

Troy 26, Arkansas 46- Houston Nutt is just happy the season has finally started.

Youngstown State 6, Ohio State 38- The sweater vest beats his old school.

Florida International 0, Penn State 59- FIU needs to rethink having a football program, I mean really.

Washington State 21, Wisconsin 42- Strong showing from Tyler Donovan keeps the hype machine going.

Arkansas State 13, Texas 21- Arkansas State statistically won this game. This would've been a bigger upset than Appy State over Michigan.

North Texas 10, Oklahoma 79 In case you thought the Sun Belt was catching up to the rest of Division I (Football Bowl Subdivision).

Nevada 10, Nebraska 52 Sam Keller is very impressive against a Nevada team I thought was better than this.

Wake Forest 28, Boston College 38- Jeff Jagodzinksi takes a big step towards an ACC Atlantic Championship already.

Western Carolina 6, Alabama 52- Nick Saban trounces a school I didn't know existed for his first win in Tuscaloosa.

UCLA 45, Stanford 17- Karl Dorrell gets a conference win early in a game they were supposed to win by this much.

Appalachian State beats Michigan: Five Thoughts

2007-09-01T20:21:00.001-07:00

If your fan enough of college football to read this blog, you know by now that Appalachian State beat Michigan today 34-32 in the biggest upset in college football history, at least in terms of stature of programs. I caught some of the game at Buffalo Wild Wings on my way to my fantasy football draft.

Here is the blocked field goal that won the game for Appy State:

The first thought is Chad Henne, Mike Hart (who had a monster game by the way), and Jake Long all passed up the NFL to come back to win a National Championship. That mission has been blown in the first week.

The second thought is why Michigan would schedule the Division I Football Championship Subdivision defending National Champions on the first game.

The third thought is the ridiculous term "Football Championship Subdivision" has gotten more play today than any other time since its inception.

The fourth thought is this was a great first game for the new "Big Ten Network" even if the Big Ten got a little embarrassed....okay very embarrassed.

The fifth and final thought is Hahaha!

Here is the moratorium at "The M Zone"

What I'm (or would be) Watching

2007-08-31T21:37:00.000-07:00

Every Saturday I'll post here the games I plan to watch all day.

This weekend is my Fantasy Football Draft so I will be on the road much of the day. But if I were on my ass in front of the television here is what I'd be watching.

12:00 East Carolina vs. Virginia Tech (ESPN)- Go Hokies! Seriously. If one needs a reminder of the importance of college athletics to a university, tune in to see Blacksburg start to heel on the gridiron. No win will bring any of the victims back but a college and a community will cheer for a change.

3:30 Georgia Tech vs. Notre Dame (NDBC)- And the Irish starter is...(drum roll) PRESSURED! early and often. The premiere of the Tashard Choice show.

8:00 Tennessee vs. California (ABC)- The one game Pac 10-SEC Challenge. If a pinky is serious, Erik Ainge or any self respecting man isn't going to admit it. I think we'll see our first Desean Jackson punt return TD tonight as well.

10:15 (after Tenn-Cal) Idaho vs. Southern California (FSN)- To see if Idaho is still on the field or if their coach pulled them off at the request of their parents.

Zach Smith You Got...

2007-08-31T16:29:00.000-07:00

Here is Brandon Lafell's block on Zach Smith from last night. Oww!

Pumpin for Thursday: Week 1

2007-08-30T14:56:00.001-07:00

(Each Thursday I will make my spread prediction for the ESPN Thursday Night Game which I give weekly to my friend Josh
for his sportsbook account. As for you...all picks are for entertainment purposes only. You can't sue me to recover loss wagers)

LSU (-18) at Mississippi State (over/under 45.5)

Vegas Algebra says: LSU 31.75, Mississippi State 13.75

My thoughts: How is this NOT a three touchdown spread? I kind of count on betting against new quarterbacks giving up 20+ points to win you money early on in this and get us all excited. As is I gotta think.

No way in hell Mississippi State is scoring more than 10 points in this game. They probably won’t even get in the end zone. Sylvester Croom is on the hot seat and will probably coach more aggressively than he should. LSU should get at least one defensive touchdown and a couple offensive ones. I like them at least 31 to 3.

Suggestion: Give up the 18 points, because it should be more. Go under because it’s the first game of the year and these defenses are both going to be way ahead of the offenses.