Borderline Fantastic Sports

Ball St vs Buffalo, Friday 8pm (MAC Championship, Detroit)
Evan: Ball State wins, Letterman lobbies for a BCS bid
Matt: I actually don’t know all that much about Ball State, other than the fact they are undefeated. I hear their QB is pretty good. Pick: Ball State
Ahad: All I know about Ball State is that they are undefeated and they are very loyal to their conference. Apparently, that is why they turned down a potential bowl match-up with Boise State. Pick: Ball State
Mike: Letterman has already been campaigning for the national championship game. I’m with everyone else. I haven’t seen any Ball State games, I just don’t watch much football on Tuesdays. Still, they are undefeated for a reason. Pick: Ball State

Pittsburgh @ Connecticut, Saturday 12pm
Evan: Last year I would have picked UConn, but Pitt has surprised everybody. Pick: Panthers
Matt: I think this game could easily go either way. I am still trying to figure out how UConn was able to blow out Cincinnati. I think Pitt is the stronger team, so I will go with them here in a close one. Pick: Pittsburgh
Ahad: I believe one of UConn’s running backs is out for this game. I think Pitt is playing better right now. Pick: Pitt
Mike: A win here for Pitt and they clinch at least 3rd place in the Big East (they’ll wind up 2nd if Rutgers loses to Louisville Thursday). I like how Pitt has been playing these last few weeks. UConn has a nice team and in the powerhouse that is the Big East they could compete for the title next year. Pick: Pittsburgh

Boston College vs Virginia Tech, Saturday 1pm (ACC Championship, Tampa Bay)
Evan: I’m actually pretty excited about this game. I’m gonna root for Boston College just because Bruce Springsteen’s son goes there. However, I think the Hokies D will prevail in this low scoring affair. Pick: VT
Matt: Virginia Tech lost earlier this season at Boston College by 5 points, so BC already has somewhat of a psychological advantage over VT of having already beaten them. After looking at VT’s schedule this season, just about every one of their games has been close, decided by 10 or less points. Because of their experience playing close games this year, I think they will pull this one out in yet another close one. Pick: Virginia Tech
Ahad: V-Tech wins with defense, special teams and running ball. With Taylor running the offense the majority of the time, V-Tech pulls it out. Pick: V-Tech
Mike: Where did BC come from this year? Without Matt Ryan I wasn’t expecting anything from them. They have played well the past 4 weeks helping them to be the last team standing in the Atlantic division. BC’s win in the first matchup was at BC. I like how BC is playing these days. Pick: Boston College

Alabama vs Florida, Saturday 4pm (SEC Championship, Atlanta)
Evan: I hate picking games that involve the Gators, especially when they’re playing the number 1 team in the country (By the way, has there ever been a number 1 team that no voter actually thinks is the number 1 team like it is with Alabama?) Pick: Gators, 38-35
Matt: I am tempted to pick Alabama, but I think Florida has been playing too well to lose this game. Plus, I’d rather see them in the National Championship game against most likely Oklahoma. Pick: Florida
Ahad: I think the two best teams in the country are Oklahoma and Florida and that is the national championship game I want to see. Pick: Florida
Mike: I think Alabama’s best chance is to feed off of everyone that has been counting this game as a loss for them for the past 2 months. Alabama is undefeated for a reason. The Gators are just clicking too well at this point. Tebow is going to go out and dominate in the dome. He looked good in the mud in Tallahassee last week. Pick: Florida

South Florida @ West Virginia, Saturday 8pm
Evan: Pat White’s last home game, I’ll stick with the Mountaineers. Pick: WVU
Matt: West Virginia is at home, and they are playing an inconsistent South Florida team. I like WVU’s chances of rebounding after the loss to Pitt. Pick: West Virginia
Ahad: West Virginia looks to rebound after the Pitt game. Pick: WVU
Mike: Last week I said that Pat White wanted to wind down his career with a win against Pitt. That didn’t work out. Now he has a chance to get a win on Senior Day. South Florida should have taken the Big East this year but they’ve struggled. Pick: West Virginia

Missouri vs Oklahoma, Saturday 8pm (Big 12 Championship, Kansas City)
Evan: Really really rooting for Missouri, but Big Game Bob is back - Pick: OU
Matt: It is of course natural to root for BCS chaos, but I think Oklahoma will win handily and play Florida for the National Championship.
Ahad: The Sooners will have a field day with the porous Missouri defense. Sooners win easily and head the championship game. Pick: Sooners
Mike: I think an Oklahoma loss would cause less BCS chaos. Then it would be Texas vs SEC, no questions asked. Missouri lost last week to a 2nd string QB. I think Sam Bradford is at least a 1.5 string QB. Pick: Oklahoma

Oklahoma/Oklahoma State
Evan: I changed my mind about 12 times during this game as to who I wanted to win. Oklahoma’s offense looks pretty explosive, but I still have suspicions about the defenses they have played this year. Would love to see them go down to Missouri and watch a small armed conflict break out in the plains.
Ahad: I had no doubt that the Sooners would pull this one out. I think right now, Oklahoma and Florida are the best teams in the country. If OU falls to Missouri next week, BSC chaos will take place.
Mike: There will be BCS chaos no matter what happens and there should be. If UF and OU deserve to go just because they are the ‘hottest’ teams in the country then why play the first 7 games of the season? Let’s just play 4 or 5 and then feel who is hottest.
Matt: BCS chaos has already taken place, or it could be more of a Big 12 South chaos. They are going to have to implement an interdivisional playoff just to go to conference championship games now. I don’t feel there is any way Oklahoma will fall to Missouri, but if it does, oh boy, watch out. Can Texas actually play in the National Championship Game without winning its conference?

Florida/FSU
Evan: Tebow needs to start getting more mention for Heisman. One question - you are starting a college football team from scratch, who is the one current player you want to start your team with?
Mike: Each time I watch UF I forget how good Tebow is. Even in the downpour on Saturday he was throwing the ball around as if it were a clear day. I think he can thrive in any offense, which makes him better than any other QB to start your team.
Ahad: I haven’t watched Tebow as closely as everyone else, so I am not sure that I can say he would thrive in any offense. I don’t know if he would thrive in a West Coast offense, but then again not many teams run that in the NCAA. Right now, I would have to go with Tebow because of his versatility.
Matt: I would not think Tebow is well equipped at thriving in any offense. I mean, he is an extremely talented and intelligent player, but I don’t think he would excel in just any offense. Just look at the Urban Meyer coached Alex Smith and what he has done in the NFL to date. They are definitely two different types of players, though. Everyone else voted for Tebow, and I guess he would probably be at the top of my list as well. McCoy and Bradford wouldn’t be too shabby either.

Oregon/Oregon State
Matt: How about them Ducks? Thank god, because I really didn’t want to play Oregon State again in the Rose Bowl. Bring on USC!

Mike’s idea for A New Division
I’m still confused as to why teams would play in a division where, even if they go undefeated, they have no chance at a championship. Utah at least is likely to get a BCS bid. Boise St and Ball St don’t look to be getting so lucky. Ball State does still need to play Buffalo in the MAC Championship. So my question is about what it means to be D-1A vs D-1AA. Could these non-BCS Conferences drop down to 1AA? Or could they just split off an create their own playoff system at the end of the season? The only roadblock I see to this is the NCAA not allowing it and threatening D1 status in other sports.

There are 5 non-BCS conferences. I’m going to put them in a New Division. At the end of the season there is an 8-team New Division playoff. So each conference gets an automatic bid: Tulsa (assuming they beat East Carolina), Ball State (assuming they beat Buffalo), Utah, Troy, and Boise St. Then 3 at-large bids: East Carolina, TCU, BYU (or maybe Rice). Those are just from a quick glance of the standings. Now these aren’t the traditional powers. They aren’t well known. But these would be great games. Easily as good as some of the poor matchups the BCS gives us each year. By the championship round you’d know the teams fairly well if you followed the early round action. The games could take place in the weeks between the end of the season and New Years. It would give these schools more exposure than random .com bowl and a shot at some sort of championship.

Question from Ahad
Did they put in the rule that a team must win its conference in order to be eligible for the BCS Championship game? I thought that was the case after Oklahoma lost to K-State in the Big 12 title, but fell to #2 in the BCS. They went on to get crushed by LSU in the championship game.

Scores from Week 14

West Virginia @ Pittsburgh, Friday 12pm
Evan: West Virginia exacts revenge against the team that foiled their run to the championship. Pick: WVU
Mike: Cincinnati has the Big East wrapped up, unless they blow their game against Syracuse this week (which is possible now that Syracuse knows they’re allowed to win games). I agree with Evan about WVU getting revenge. I also think Pat White is just getting comfortable, it just took almost the entire season. Pick: West Vriginia
Ahad: West Virginia will get some revenge for last year. Too bad, winning this game won’t send them to the National Championship game. Pick: WVU
Matt: The revenge factor sounds good to me. Pittsburgh should have the advantage at home, but Pat White and Noel Devine push WVU over the top. Pick: West Virginia

Georgia Tech @ Georgia, Saturday 12pm
Evan: I’ve lost track of all the scenarios for the ACC title game, but Tech’s offense looks dangerous. At the same time, this is Stafford’s last home game. I like Georgia in a close one. Pick: Dawgs
Mike: I’m sick of picking Georgia Tech games. Georgia Tech is done with their ACC schedule, they will be spending most of their energy rooting for Virginia to beat Virginia Tech so that they play in the championship. The SEC hasn’t gotten a lot of respect this year after the first few weeks. I think this week their non-conference schedule will prove some of that wrong. Florida is headed to Florida State and South Carolina is headed to Clemson. They should be able to take all 3. Pick: Georgia
Ahad: G-Tech’s running game will cause a lot of problems for Georgia, but I think the lack of a passing game will limit what they can do offensively against a talented defense. I would love to see G-Tech pull this one out, but I don’t see it happening. Pick: Georgia
Matt: Georgia should be very nervous about this game. Georgia Tech’s option offense was quite formidable last week. However, I think the competition in the SEC will have Georgia ready for this one. The ACC just doesn’t match up. Pick: Georgia

Kansas @ Missouri, Saturday 12:30pm
Evan: Missouri
Mike: Evan has been begging me to include more Big 12 North matchups. Kansas needs this game to finish .500 in conference while Missouri is already headed to the Big 12 Championship. Last year this would count as an interesting matchup. Pick: Missouri
Ahad: This game will not be as good as last year’s match-up, but it should still be an interesting game. Kansas just doesn’t have the offensive firepower to keep up. Missouri will look to fine tune all aspects of their game to get ready for the Big 12 title game. Pick: Missouri
Matt: I think this is still an interesting matchup. Both teams should be able to put up some points. I think Missouri is the better team though. Pick: Missouri

Oregon @ Oregon State, Saturday 7pm
Evan: Lot of people will be rooting for the Ducks in this one. I feel very strange about this, because I am one of those people. It is not strange to root for the Ducks, but it is strange that I am doing because I want to see USC elevated to the Rose Bowl. This is the equivalent to the idea of rooting for the Orioles to beat the Red Sox the last game of the season so the Yanks can make the playoffs. It just feels wrong. Pick: Ducks
Mike: It sounds like Quizz is out for this game. That is trouble for OSU. This is a HUGE game for OSU. They haven’t been to the Rose Bowl since 1965. While I’d rather see USC play Penn State in the Rose Bowl I think this is a special year for Oregon State. Well, special as far as Pac-10 play goes. Pick: Oregon State
Ahad: Yet another Ducks game to pick. Even if Quizz is out for this match-up, I don’t think Oregon can pull off the upset on the road. The Beavers have a lot riding on this game and should pull out a victory. Pick: Beavers
Matt: I will be rooting for the Ducks, and the fact that Quizz is doubtful for the game helps their chances. I do believe the home team has won 10 out of the past 11 games between these two. Oregon has had two weeks to prepare and had been playing better since they slumped earlier in the season. Let’s make the home team 10 out of 12. Pick: Oregon

Oklahoma @ Oklahoma State, Saturday 8pm
Evan: The home team is undefeated in all of the games that have been played between the Big 4 in the Big 12 South (Oklahoma, Ok State, Texas, TT). Having said that, can anyone who is thinking rationally pick against an Oklahoma team that played the way they did last week, especially with the National Title game as motivation? Pick: Sooners
Mike: Oklahoma State lost to the other big guns in the Big 12 South and Oklahoma is playing better than those teams were. A rough year for Ok St to have such a great team and be in that divsion. Pick: Oklahoma
Ahad: Stoops says he is done campaigning for why his team should be ranked in the top 2 in the BSC. His team will take care of business and move onto the Big 12 title game. Granted the Cowboys have played the Sooners very tough the last few years and it is a road game for the Sooners, but I just don’t see the upset taking place. Pick: Sooners
Matt: Oklahoma is playing too well right now and has too much riding on this game to allow for an upset. Oklahoma State will keep it close (or closer than Texas Tech did), but Oklahoma is just too good right now. Pick: Oklahoma

Penn State
Mike: I think I’d feel better if the Michigan State game would have been closer. Now I know that this is a great Penn State team. That makes the Iowa loss even harder. I have little excitement about the Rose Bowl at this point. I’d have a much different feeling if we were heading into the playoffs.
Evan: I had some Michigan State fans over to watch the game, they were wholly disappointed. I’m rooting for Oregon State to lose to the Ducks, I’d much rather watch a USC/Penn State Rose bowl then a rematch of Beavers-Nittany Lions. I also think that beating the Trojans would legitimize Penn State in a way that beating Oregon State would not. I would also like to point out that this was written before I read what Mike had to say about the Pac 10 champ. Great minds think alike.
Ahad: I agree that this game only made the Iowa loss hurt so much more. I’m glad to see the seniors go out on a high note (I’m talking regular season). I don’t want to see Oregon State in the Rose Bowl. I have a bad feeling that the players will take them lightly as they beat them soundly in the previous meeting. I would love to see a matchup with USC. It can only legitimize the Big 10. Why was MSU calling timeouts at the end of the game? I heard rumblings that the coach thought they were running up the score. I can’t believe anyone would accuse JoePa of running up the score.
Matt: I am not sure which loss hurts more, the Iowa loss, the Michigan loss in ‘05, or the Minnesota loss in ‘99. This was the best game the team played since the Wisconsin game on both sides of the ball. Where was this long ball aerial attack all season? I was also curious about the timeout situation at the end of the game. Mark D’Antonio had a smirk on his face after they took that second one. Were we really running up the score? Come on, what, did we have just that one TD in the 4th quarter? That was our backup QB in there. As I touched upon last week, I was and still am frowning upon a PSU-Oregon State rematch. I would much rather prefer a showdown with USC. We will have to root hard for Mike’s Ducks next week.
Mike: I had the same thought as Matt about which loss hurt more. For some reason I was the most devastated by that ‘99 Minnesota loss. Matt and I were both at the ‘05 Michigan game and that was really painful. I think this year I might have started to believe some of the talk that we couldn’t stack up with the top teams. After coming off a sloppy start against Michigan and barely getting out of Ohio State with a win I thought we were making too many mistakes and wasn’t all that surprised. I think it was just that in ‘99 I didn’t know any better. I thought we were perfect. I didn’t analyze the team as much back then, I wasn’t a Penn Stater yet.

Pac 10 Champ
Mike: To me, this is a question of who I’d like to see Penn State play. We’ve already played Oregon State and beaten them badly. Playing them again would look to be an easy win but thinking that way would lead to a very close game. I also like Oregon State in general and would like to see USC out of any BCS bowl. Still, playing USC would give us the chance to prove to everyone that we are for real and that the Big Ten should not be judged on the fact that Ohio State fails to perform in big games.
Ahad: I spoke to this in my previous comments. I want to see USC in the Rose Bowl.
Matt: I am really hoping it will be USC.

Texas Tech/Oklahoma
Evan: In a way I’m not surprised. This will hurt TT in the next few years, as they will not get “benefit of the doubt” points as pollsters fill in their rankings.
Ahad: I had a very good feeling that Stoops would take care of business. He is very familiar with Leech’s offense, as he was the offensive coordinator back in 99. Stoops said that he often knew what play they were going to run before they ran it. OU dominate the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball and made it look easy. Also, OU was accused of running up the score to impress the voters. If they really wanted to run up the score, I doubt all the starters would have been pulled.

Rankings
Evan: BCS hasn’t come out at the time of this report, but Bama-UF are 1-2 in AP, not that that matters. Bottom line looks like the national championship should be (I say should because I’m still wary of UF-FSU) the Bama/Florida winner vs. either Oklahoma or Texas. Oklahoma has the opportunity to add style points when they play Ok State next week, while Texas has to play lowly A&M. Here’s my question - let’s assume Oklahoma beats Ok State and is the highest rated Big 12 South team, then they go to the Big 12 championship and lose to Missouri. Who would the UF/Bama winner play? - A 1 loss Texas team that didn’t even play for its own conference title? A 1 loss USC team who didn’t win the PAC 10 outright, or a 1 loss Penn State team?
Ahad: What is going to happen if the Big 12 south winner loses in the Big 12 championship game? This would cause BSC chaos and give PSU a shot at the National Title Game. I would love to see BSC chaos.
Mike: There would have to be quite a bit of chaos for Penn State to play in the championship game. The only matchup that would make it possible would be against Utah.

More from Matt about Bobby Engram
Bobby Engram came and watched the Michigan State game with the alumni group on Saturday. I did not get a chance to ask him how he felt about Deon Butler breaking his pass receptions record. He did, however, throw in a pair of his personal game tickets for a Seahawks home game into our weekly raffle. Kathleen and I ended up winning them! I think we are going to go to the Patriots game on Sunday Night Football on Dec. 7th. I can’t wait to see where these seats will be.

Scores from Week 13

The weeks are running out in the season and Ahad hold a 2 win lead over Matt and myself (3 wins ahead of Evan). Ahad was a little busy this week so he just sent his picks along without his insightful rationale.

Miami (FL) @ Georgia Tech, Thursday 7:30pm
Evan: Miami needs to win this game to keep the possibility of a watchable Orange bowl alive. Pick: Miami
Mike: I haven’t trusted Georgia Tech this year, but I also haven’t trusted the ACC. Previous events would predict that Georgia Tech will win to change the ACC standings once again. I’m sticking to the fact that Georgia Tech only beat Gardner-Webb 10-7. Pick: Miami
Ahad: G-Tech
Matt: I can see Georgia Tech winning this game, but I am not sure if they will. They have been inconsistent and have lost 2 of their past 3 games. Miami, on the other hand, has also been inconsistent, but they are riding a 5 game win streak. I am going with the hotter team. Pick: Miami

Michigan State @ Penn State, Saturday 3:30pm
Evan: Trip to Pasadena is at stake. Penn State players know this, and they know it might be the last one JoePa might get to. Pick: PSU
Mike: Since the epic battle for the Land Grant Trophy began in 1993, Michigan St has only won 4 times. All 4 of them were in East Lansing. Michigan St could give them trouble but this team is focused on a trip to the Rose Bowl. Pick: Penn State
Ahad: PSU
Matt: If PSU can shut down Javon Ringer, the game could end up being a blowout. It seems like Michigan State had struggled in their previous two games before the bye with Purdue and Wisconsin, so I am not buying that they are legit. I think Penn State will do its thing and secure the Land Grant Trophy and a trip to the Rose Bowl. Pick: Penn State

BYU @ Utah, Saturday 6pm
Evan: No BCS cinderella’s this year. Pick: BYU
Mike: First, don’t forget Boise St is 11-0, so even if Utah loses there could still be a non-BCS team. At the beginning of the year I would have expected BYU to be the undefeated team, but their loss to TCU killed that. I think Utah residents take care of their own, they don’t care much for those outside their borders. I think BYU would be happy with a Utah BCS bid. Its a nice payday for the conference too. Pick: Utah
Ahad: Utah
Matt: The only difference between these two teams is TCU. One was able to beat them, the other didn’t. I say the home team has a slight edge. Pick: Utah

Florida State @ Maryland, Saturday 7:45pm
Evan: Don’t know what to make of this FSU team. They win games you don’t think they will and then stink up joint the next week. I say they handle Maryland. Pick: FSU
Mike: I haven’t trusted Maryland this year, but I also haven’t trusted the ACC. Previous events would predict that Florida State will win to change the ACC standings once again. That sentence sounds familiar? Which Maryland team will show up this week? The decent Maryland team showed up to beat UNC after the bad Maryland team had lost to Virginia Tech. Pick: Florida State
Ahad: FSU
Matt: I don’t trust Maryland either, and I hate rooting for Florida State and Bowden, but I think they pull out the win. Pick: Florida State

Texas Tech @ Oklahoma, Saturday 8pm
Evan: Very excited about this one, mostly because I will be able to watch it from the comfort of my own lazy boy and big screen tv, which i’ve not been able to do for several football weekends in a row. Oklahoma wins, then the question becomes, how does that re-shuffle the numbers 2-5 spots in the BCS (assuming Bama stays number 1). Pick: Sooners
Mike: I see no compelling reason to pick against Texas Tech. They have faced every challenge so far this year. This far in I’m not going to question them. The only way I’d pick OU is because I’ve decided Texas Tech isn’t an undefeated caliber team. I think they are. Pick: Texas Tech
Ahad: Sooners
Matt: Both teams have been playing lights out this year. The way Oklahoma just explodes on offense is just extraordinary. Texas Tech isn’t too shabby, either. Should be a very entertaining game. I think Oklahoma exacts revenge from last season. Pick: Oklahoma

Bonus - This game was too special to pass up.
Washington @ Washington St, Saturday 3pm
Mike: Awesome. Are they even going to get the Apple Cup out of storage? Been looking forward to this one for a while. How much are tickets going for? Now Washington St does have 1 win, which is 1 more than Washington. Of course, that win came against Portland State, not a traditional power. Seeing as my method of picking Pac 10 games is to see the score against these 2 teams, I will do the reverse and see how these teams played against Oregon St and USC. Washington: 13-90, Washington St: 13-132. Wow. I’m blown away. I was heading toward Washington anyway, but wow. Pick: Washington Each of these teams has 1 game remaining next week. Washington heads to Berkeley and Wazzu heads to Hawaii. How is that fair? They should have changed the schedule and let the winner get the trip to Hawaii. Who cares if Wazzu had to play Cal twice? I don’t think it would have an impact on the standings.
Ahad: Washington State
Matt: This game is obviously a very big thing out here, even if both teams royally suck. Will Washington be able to avoid a winless season? I feel that Washington has had tougher competition this year, and that experience (albeit losing) will help them here. Pick: Washington

Indiana/Penn State
Mike: There isn’t much to say about this game. No surprise Daryl Clark made some mistakes, happens every game, especially in the 1st quarter. This was the first Penn State game I was able to watch on Big Ten Network. The first game I didn’t have BTN yet. The second game I had BTN but Verizon chooses 1 game to air nationally and PSU was not selected. All I really noticed was that the camera work was horrendous. The announcers weren’t that bad. I think Charles Davis was the analyst and he did a nice job. So far so good for BTN. As long as you avoid Friday Night Tailgate at all costs.
Ahad: I was a little concerned when I saw the score was 10-7 at the half. I guess the team came out flat again. That can’t happen against Michigan State.
Matt: The team did come out flat, and Clark turned the ball over a few times. I just don’t understand…you can see him making the effort to cover up the ball when he runs, but he still ends up fumbling it. I was surprised at how much we threw the ball. That was not expected in soggy weather conditions. The camera work was definitely awful during the game, but I did like the guys in the box. They were a little bit more pro-Penn State as opposed to that awful duo that includes Andre Ware. I would also like some clarification. If both USC and Oregon State win out, Oregon State wins the Pac-10 by virture of their win over USC. Does this mean we have to play OSU again in the Rose Bowl? Can something be done about that, cause I would rather see Penn State play someone different like USC.
Mike: From everything I’m hearing Oregon State goes to the Rose Bowl if they win out. I don’t think there are tiebreakers in the Big 10, which is why in 2005 Penn State and Ohio State were co-champions even though Penn State beat Ohio State. However, they do have tiebreakers for who will represent the conference in the Rose Bowl. The same may be true of the Pac 10.

Florida
Mike: I think the Gators are good.
Ahad: Judging only by the final score, the Gators seem to be clicking at the right time.
Matt: No one has even challenged the Gators since Ole Miss beat them. Florida is really, really good. Counting down to the SEC title game vs. Alabama now.

ACC
Mike: Right now the ACC Championship matchup is Maryland vs Miami. That could all change as both teams can lose the top spot by losing (Maryland vs Florida State and Miami vs Georgia Tech). Can we have the ACC Champ play the Big East Champ? It looks like most bowl projections are picking that matchup. Thrilling.
Ahad: If the ACC doesn’t play the Big East in a BSC bowl, that would make two games worthless. I don’t think even fans of both conferences think they deserve a BSC bowl.

CBS College Sports
Mike: I just got his channel today. I had CSTV in my Comcast days, but never watched it as nothing was ever on worth watching. Any thoughts?
Ahad: I only watched this channel in the dorm and haven’t missed it. Maybe if Comcast Sportsnet wasn’t around I would watch it.

Scores from Week 12

Virginia Tech @ Miami (FL), Thursday 7:30pm
Mike: Seems to me that Miami has lost to all the good teams they’ve played (Florida, Florida St, and UNC). This will be a classic ACC defensive struggle (what?). While this is a home game, there must be a difference this year playing in Dolphin Stadium vs the Orange Bowl. From what I know about these teams, or at least think I know, Virginia Tech likes to cause mistakes and Miami likes to make them. Pick: Virginia Tech
Evan: Thursday night games involving Virginia Tech usually means the game is at Virginia Tech, in which case I would pick them. However, we’re in Miami, and are the Hokies still on their third string QB? Pick: Miami
Ahad: VTech needs to straighten out their QB situation, but offense hasn’t been a strength for this team in a long time. Miami is still a very young team, but has a lot of talent, especially on the defensive side of the ball. Turnovers will be the key to this game. Pick: V-Tech

Northwestern @ Michigan, Saturday 12pm
Mike: So has Michigan figured things out or did they just match up well against Minnesota? Who knows about Northwestern. A loss to Indiana is a bad mark. They bounced back to beat Minnesota before getting blown out by Ohio State. I’ve been burned by thinking Michigan had things figured out before. Well, figured out enough to beat the average Big 10 teams. Pick: Michigan
Evan: Northwestern came back to reality last week. Even I am starting to feel a little bad for the UM fans, seeing their team lose at home so much. I’m going with a morale boosting win for the big blue (at which point some fans will be sick at the thought that beating Northwestern has become morale boosting). Pick: Michigan
Ahad: Michigan is actually starting to look a real team. Northwestern is on its way down. Pick: Michigan
Matt: I am still not feeling this Michigan is good again vibe. I am enjoying their current misery, and it will continue. Pick: Northwestern

Ohio State @ Illinois, Saturday 12pm
Mike: Really? This is one of the 5 best games of the week? Either we screwed up selecting games or this is a really bad week. Except, this game didn’t look appealing last year and what happened? I didn’t get to see this matchup last year, Penn State was playing at Temple. I did get to listen to the last few minutes on the ride home. No way Ohio State lets that happen 2 years in a row. They still want a BCS bowl this year. Pick: Ohio State
Evan: I may have had to think about this game a little more before I saw what both Ohio State and Illinois did last week. Pick: Ohio State
Ahad: Ohio State still has a shot at sharing the Big 10 title. Illinois has had a disappointing season. Pick: OSU
Mike: I can’t believe I forgot to mention that Coach Zook’s squad lost to Western Michigan. While they seem to be having a good season, they are still a directional state school.
Matt: What a disappointing team Illinois is this year. Wow. Juice Williams did play amazing last year in their upset over OSU, but can he do it again this year? I feel like Illinois will be fired up, and play their best ball of the season, but it won’t be enough, because OSU is rolling now. Pick: Ohio State

Arizona @ Oregon, Saturday 6:30pm
Mike: My Ducks are back. They’ve been quiet this year. Hanging outside the rankings so they couldn’t burn me in picks. Lucky for them, this week we had to go further down the board for games. Outside of the USC game that Arizona played well in, I don’t believe I’ve seen anything from these teams. Surprisingly, they are still in the Pac-10 hunt. That is, if you are open to the chance that USC or Oregon State will lose a game. I’m going to decide this game the way I should any other Pac-10 games the rest of the season. You might say a good way would be how the teams played against USC and Oregon State. But no, I’m going to go with how they played against Washington and Washington State. Arizona: 107-42, Oregon: 107-24. Ok, so I’ll pick Oregon. But I have to say Arizona, how did you give up 28 to Wazzu? Their next highest total of the season was 17 at Baylor. I guess you can chalk it up to the fat they had been shut out in their previous 2 games.
Evan: I’d like to thank Mike for doing some homework for me. That’s as good a reason as any to pick Oregon, also it’s at Oregon, and they’re supposed to be good there. Pick: Ducks
Ahad: I thought we were done picking Oregon games. The Pac-10 is still a weak conference. Pick: Arizona
Matt: Arizona seemed to hold their own against USC last weekend. I am not sure if they can do the same this week in Oregon. I think the Ducks have a big advantage at home. Pick: Oregon

Vanderbilt @ Kentucky, Saturday 8pm
Mike: First, since this isn’t a great week for college football, I wanted to see what the primetime games were. ABC: Oklahoma State @ Colorado or Boston College @ Florida State (I looked at the coverage map for ABC and realized I didn’t really care either way), ESPN: Mississippi State @ Alabama (at least you’ve got the #1 team), ESPN2: Vanderbilt @ Kentucky (good matchup but certainly not top of the line), ESPNU: Connecticut @ Syracuse. If you feel like waiting until a little later and get FCS Pacific you can watch UCLA @ Washington, which might be the most entertaining out of that lineup. So back to this game. Can I classify Kentucky as annoying? Not to me but to the almost top teams of the SEC. Losing to Alabama by 3 and Gerogia by 4. I saw almost top teams because they lost to Florida by 58. Vandy on the otherhand is in a tailspin. Remember the talk a few weeks ago about them becoming bowl eligible? Well they’ve lost 4 straight and are still not eligible. They even lost to Duke. Lucky for them next week they get Tennessee. It should be close, Kentucky hasn’t been pulling away from teams in the SEC. So it could go either way. But based on Vandy’s recent struggles, I have to go Pick: Kentucky
Evan: Kentucky looked real good last week. Most of that was because they were so hyped to play a Georgia team they thought was down and out. Kentucky historically plays to the level of their opponent (exception UF), that would normally be good news for Vandy, but their offense is so awful right now that it would be difficult to imagine them getting far on Kentucky’s better than average D. Pick: Cats
Ahad: There are some really bad games this week. I don’t know too much about either team in this matchup. Pick: Vandy
Matt: Kentucky played a good game last week, and have been one of the top defensive teams in the SEC. Vanderbilt, has really gone downhill since they were the host of College Gameday. I think Kentucky wins it big. Pick: Kentucky

Penn State/Iowa
Mike: What happened? Clark fumbled on the first drive. Nothing new, he makes a mistake early in almost every game. Clark threw a pick in the 4th Quarter. The wind caught it. The Penn State defense in the 2nd half shut down Iowa on 1st and 2nd down only to give up 1st downs with ease on 3rd down. It looked like the defense of the past few seasons. Only Saturday they didn’t just bend the way they used to, they broke.
Evan: I flipped between this game and the Bama/LSU game. I wasn’t surprised with how Penn State’s offense played, especially on the road, in that weather. What did surprise me was the way their defense let Iowa march up and down the field. Mike put it best when he said they finally broke.
Ahad: I was afraid this would happen. The team dominated in the first half but was unable to put enough distance between them and Iowa. The weather played a factor with the passing game, but it shouldn’t have come down to that. The offense failed to execute in the red zone and the defense wore down in the 2nd half. Maurice Evans has been almost invisible this season. He went from a first round pick to a guy that better stay in school. Who was in charge of calling time outs with Paterno in the booth? I bet it was McQuery. Why didn’t they start taking time outs when Iowa was in field goal range? Looks like they will have to focus on the Rose Bowl and a possible matchup with USC.

Alabama/LSU
Evan: A lot of hype surrounding this game. Bama is clearly the better team. LSU made a game of it by being at home and feeding off of the anti-Saban energy in the crowd. Bama/Florida should be a heck of an SEC championship game, but I will call it right now - John Parker Wilson has not impressed me, and the Gator defense he faces will be the best one he’s ever seen. Most of those Gators have been on the big stage before and they will take care of business.

Texas Tech/Oklahoma State
Evan: I was sure that TT would lose one of its last two games, now I’m not so sure. Their offense literally looks unstoppable, but I still have to wonder just how bad those Big 12 defenses are? It’s difficult to judge them based on limited cross-conference game action.
Ahad: I only saw the highlights of this game, but Texas Tech looked very impressive. I still say the Big 12 is the best conference in the NCAA.

Winning With Style
Mike: All week everything I heard about the PSU game was that they needed style points. I didn’t understand that. I don’t care if they win all their games 70-0 the rest of the way. If Alabama and Texas Tech win out, they will be #1 and #2. If one of them loses and PSU won out, being 12-0 would be style points enough. There was a gap between the top 2 teams and PSU. Who’s fault was that? Many are blaming PSU’s schedule, but in reality it is because of a weak Big Ten. When Illinois loses to Western Michigan, you know your conference is incredibly week. As for the schedule, PSU gets to schedule 4 non-conference games. They had 2 cupcakes: Coastal Carolina and Temple and 2 from major conferences: Oregon State and @ Syracuse. Both of those wound up being cupcakes. Turns out Oregon State was no cupcake, but no one knew it at the time. As for Syracuse, they have a solid history. When these games were scheduled there was no way knowing that Syracuse would be terrible and PSU would be great. Based on their status just a few years ago, the 2 programs could be swapped right now and no one would be all that surprised. Look down the road a bit and PSU has Alabama scheduled for 2 years. Looks like an amazing matchup right now. But what if one of the programs is really bad in 2 years. Will everyone be slamming one of the programs for scheduling such a weak opponent?
Evan: There’s not much you can do in the way of predicting how teams will be when you schedule them way in advance. UF played Hawaii this year, had they played them at the beginning of last year when they had Colt Brennan, the Gators still would have won, but it would have looked a whole lot better for their strength of schedule. The best thing you can do is root for your own conference. I’ve been saying for years that one of the differences that exists in the SEC as opposed to any other BCS conference, is that while there are rivalries, we all root for each other when we’re not playing each other. Not too long ago it was pointed out to me that Michigan and Ohio State fans could never root for each other, even in Bowl games. That kind of talk makes no sense to SEC fans. We understand that a rising tide raises all ships (no pun intended on that one).
Mike: First, Evan, how do you respond to this story about a couple shot to death after an argument about the Alabama/LSU game. When I first saw it, I immediately thought of your theory of conference harmony. Secondly, I forgot to mention about winning with style but your conference depends on your ability to win with style late in the season. You can win with style in Florida in November. What about the Big 10? You are just trying to make sure you keep all your digits.
Evan: I would be surprised if any of the people involved with that were actual alumni. Also, notice how I said that we root for each other when we’re not playing each other. During game weekends, the other team is our worst enemy, whether in conference or not. Cooler heads prevail during the week, when we see how our united strength is a benefit to all. You are correct about the big 10, you won’t get style points in November. Maybe give the receivers those hand warming gels to put underneath their gloves?
Ahad: I am not a big fan of this concept of winning with style points. It basically comes down to blowing out your opponent. Believe me, I am all for running up the score if the situation calls for it, but most of the time it is uncalled for. The risk of someone getting hurt increases drastically in a blowout. It shouldn’t matter if you beat a team by 20 or by 3. A win is a win. Granted, there are degrees of how convincing the win was, but embarrassing the other team is too risky. The concept of conference harmony makes sense to me, but I can’t see it happening. It is just my hateful side coming out.

Scores from Week 11

Our first game of the week, TCU-Utah was previewed yesterday.

Georgia Tech @ North Carolina, Saturday 12pm
Mike: What stands out when looking at the results for these 2 teams? They each have 2 losses. They each have lost to Virginia Tech and Virginia. In fact, they lost in consecutive weeks to Virginia Tech 20-17. Both teams need this game equally. The winner keeps pace with the top of the Coastal division. It’s difficult to predict Georgia Tech games. There is no way of predicting how the opponents defense will handle their offense. The Georgia Tech QB Josh Nesbitt may be out, leaving the job to Freshman Jayboo Shaw. Nesbitt threw 5 passes against Florida State, Shaw threw 1. So does the QB really matter. I think it’s a tossup without the QB issue. However if Nesbitt isn’t 100% or the Freshman starts I give the edge to North Carolina. Pick: North Carolina
Evan: Georgia Tech surprised me with how they played last week against FSU. UNC rolled over a weaker BC team. There is more momentum going for the Yellow Jackets. Pick: Georgia Tech
Matt: Both of these teams have been surprises this year, and it should be a good battle. Does the winner decide the ACC? We shall see. Ga. Tech was lucky to escape with a win last week. The fumble into the endzone at the end of the game cost FSU the win. That Ga. Tech player was fortunate to recover it seeing as he tried to pick it up and run with it. Just fall on it! I like what I have seen from UNC this year more than Ga. Tech. Pick: North Carolina
Ahad: UNC

Alabama @ LSU, Saturday 3:30pm
Mike: I will do my best to not let my desire for an Alabama loss to cloud my judgment. There is much talk about the Saben element. I’m not sure how much that will influence the outcome. This isn’t like the pros, the same players aren’t around. The crowd will be more interested than the people down on the field. The LSU crowd will already be nuts so adding the Saben part won’t make much difference. It’s been a few weeks since Alabama has been tested. Arkansas State and Tennessee don’t count. Close games against Mississippi and Kentucky, which shouldn’t have been close do. LSU’s loss to Georgia 2 weeks ago concerns me. Pick: Alabama
Evan: I’ll be glued to the tv for this game. I think it will be a battle royale, back and forth, up and down, in and out, etc… Too bad for LSU this is a day game. I gotta root for Bama to stay undefeated until the SEC championship game, and this is the toughest test they have left. Pick: BAMA
Matt: As much as an Alabama loss would be nice, it is not going to happen this week. LSU has struggled this year against the top teams in the SEC, getting blown out by Florida and Georgia. This game will be closer than those, but I am still feeling an Alabama win. Pick: Alabama
Ahad: LSU

Oklahoma State @ Texas Tech, Saturday 8pm
Mike: This looks to be an outstanding game. I would have expected a letdown from Oklahoma State after the Texas game, but they had Iowa State next up on the schedule. Will this be the letdown delayed a week? I don’t think so. It will just be that Texas Tech is the better team is playing at home. I think Texas Tech will be rolling into Oklahoma next week undefeated, but not coming out that way. Pick: Texas Tech
Evan: Texas Tech was introduced to the country last week as a major player. They still have no defense. These kids aren’t ready for the spotlight yet. Pick: Oklahoma State
Matt: Oklahoma State will have to run the ball to keep the Tech offense off the field and drain some clock. The OSU defense will have to step up and get some stops. Hard game to call. I am excited to get to watch Crabtree and Bryant, probably the top two wideouts in the country, do their thing. I am saying it comes down to a final play, Dez Bryant for the touchdown with 1 second left. Pick: Oklahoma State
Ahad: Texas Tech

Notre Dame @ Boston College, Saturday 8pm
Mike: An interesting choice for this week, neither team is in the Top 25. Boston College has lost 2 straight, including 1 to Clemson. Should a decent team be losing to Clemson this year? Notre Dame is coming off a 4OT loss to Pittsburgh where they forgot how to score when it got to OT. I’m going with Notre Dame learning a lot from that loss last week. Pick: Notre Dame Is it odd for Notre Dame to be playing a night game? I don’t pay close enough attention to Notre Dame to know this. I kind of remember an early season night game at Georgia Tech not too long ago.
Evan: The last time I remember watching a Notre Dame night game was the “Bush Push” game against USC a few years ago. I’ve always like to watch this battle of the Catholics, even when neither team is having a great season. I like ND to come out of this one with a last minute field goal.
Matt: Wasn’t the PSU-Notre Dame game last year a night game, with the all stadium white out? I don’t feel that BC is all that strong of a team, and I feel that Notre Dame is just a little bit better, so I like Notre Dame in a close one. Pick: Notre Dame
Mike: I believe the USC-Notre Dame game Evan is speaking of was a 3:30 game. That was the same day as the Penn State game at Michigan I was at, which started at 3:30. I remember because we were at a rest stop in Ohio when Notre Dame fans started coming in, looking nearly as depressed as we were. The ND game at PSU last year started at 6 I believe. Close enough to night.
Ahad: BC

This has been a busy week, the Thursday game snuck up on us. It’s a good one so we want it to count toward our pick total. Even if most us us will be completely guessing.

TCU @ Utah, Thursday 8pm
Matt: Not too much time to write an extended preview, but I like TCU in this game. Pick: TCU
Ahad: Utah looks to keep hope alive for a BCS game. TCU is a solid team, but home field makes the difference. I’m all for BCS chaos, except of course if it involves PSU. Pick: Utah
Mike: I’ve been looking forward to this game. However, I haven’t had the time this week to look too far into the teams. Based on results the teams match up fairly evenly. TCU’s loss came at Oklahoma. What stands out to me is TCU’s handling of BYU. While Utah’s game against BYU isn’t for a few weeks, I like that they handled them. Pick: TCU
Evan: Urban Meyer coached Utah. Pick: Utah

See, we did it quickly.