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

I was thinking about Famous Last Words today and realized it’s fun to make up your own. I found some pretty easy ones from sports in the past week or so.

Notre Dame after Charlie Weis’ 1st year: ‘Great season Charlie. You know that 6-year contract we gave you? Let’s make it 10. We feel like there are a lot of great years ahead of us.’

Plaxico: ‘The elastic in these sweatpants should be a suitable holster for my semi-automatic handgun.’

Sean Avery: ‘Elisha, you should leave your fiance for me. We’ll be together forever. It’s not like he is friends with one of the most famous singers in the world who would write a song about how horrible you are.’

Cardinals/Eagles
Mike: What happened there? Is it just that the Eagles can’t play (or Reid can’t call plays) when challenged early in games? Warner threw 2 early picks in the game and the Eagles were able to get into the end zone when they made it to the red zone. The early lead gave the offense confidence and perhaps contributed to the Cardinals dropping passes throughout the game. After seeing that game a lot of people are likely thinking about getting back on the bandwagon. If they play like that, they can win out and get to the playoffs, I just don’t expect it to happen against the NFC East teams left to play. I also think we’ll see over the next few weeks if the Cardinals are good any more. Although, for them to win the division they don’t need to be any good. Maybe the lack of pressure has caused them to relax.
Matt: I thought this was going to be the best game of Thanksgiving Day. I stopped watching around halftime. Most people would want to point out this was another case of a west coast team going east. First off all, Arizona is not exactly on the west coast. Second, they are in the Mountain Time Zone. Third, how many teams from the west coast time zone are any good? A big fat ZERO. The records of those teams are what, 13-35?
Ahad: The Eagles were impressive, but I still have my doubts about this team. We will be able to get a read on this team after they play the Giants. A lot of Eagles fans are on the extremes about the performance of this team. One week they are worse than the Lions and the next they are Super Bowl Contenders. I try and remain objective and keep an even keel regarding the team. They still have an outside shot at the playoffs, but I’m not holding my breath.

Plaxico
Matt: He is an idiot. There are still lots more details to come out yet, but I agree with mostly everyone else with opinions in the sports world that he will never suit up for the Giants again.
Ahad: I agree that he is an idiot and should be penalized. I did see today that his teammate Steve Smith was held up at gunpoint outside his home. Maybe Plax was trying to hoard the cash before he starts losing game checks.

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

I’ve never really understood the Big 10/ACC Challenge. Why those conferences? Doesn’t Big 10/Pac-10 make more sense due to their college football connection? It’s not even a fair fight. The ACC has won every year and only Michigan St has a winning record out of the Big 10 schools. It’s been around long enough that it looks like its here to stay. One tweak I’d like to see is that each school play 2 games, 1 home, 1 away would be nice. It could also try and incorporate the 12th ACC team, who doesn’t play since there are only 11 schools in the Big 10. Although I do kind of like the penalty of the last place team being left out.

I mention all this because as I was looking at the upcoming college basketball schedule I saw some references to the Big 12/Pac-10 Hardwood Series. Not too terrible a name. Maybe a Pac-10/Big East matchup would be a little cooler. The farther the teams are apart the less likely they will play each other often. Now apparently last year was the 1st of this matchup. Nice job marketing this one, as I didn’t hear about it.

Here are this year’s matchups from the Pac-10. How many years until they can get all these games into a few day window instead of it running from November 29 until December 28?

Thursday, December 4, 2008
Oklahoma State at Washington
UCLA at Texas
USC at Oklahoma

Friday, December 5, 2008
Arizona at Texas A&M

Saturday, December 6, 2008
Baylor at Washington State
Oregon State at Iowa State

Sunday, December 7, 2008
Kansas State at Oregon
Nebraska at Arizona State
California at Missouri

Outside the four-day series window
Colorado at Stanford (Sat., Nov. 29, 2008)
Kansas at Arizona (Tue., Dec. 23, 2008)
Texas Tech at Stanford (Sun., Dec. 28, 2008)

Giants @ Redskins, Sunday 1pm
Evan: Giants have everything going for them, but the Redskins need the win more. Having said that, the Giants are too good. Pick: New York
Matt: I have to keep rooting for the Giants to take out the other divisional foes, so Dallas can have a clearer path to the playoffs. I think the Redskins have shown their true colors the past few weeks with the two losses in a row and then barely getting by the Seahawks. Clinton Portis is nicked up, and the Redskins really need to be able to run the ball to have a chance. They will fight hard and keep it close, but the G-Men will pull out the win. Pick: New York
Mike: I’m with Matt, I don’t think the Redskins are anything special. While they are 7-4, their biggest win was 8 points over the Lions. Not impressive. Pick: Giants
Ahad: The Giants are on a roll. The Redskins are haven’t proven anything to me yet. Pick: Giants

Saints @ Buccaneers, Sunday 1pm
Evan: Has there ever been a less glamorous 8-3 team than Tampa Bay? Pick: Bucs
Matt: The Saints were very impressive offensively on Monday Night. The defense stepped up and made plays when they needed to. However, Tampa’s defense should be able to slow down the Saints offense somewhat, and the Saints aren’t necessarily stout on defense, so the Bucs should score some points. The home team in these NFC South matchups has dominated this year, and I think the trend will continue here. Pick: Tampa Bay
Mike: That Saints performance the other night makes them a tempting pick. However, I learned to not go against the Bucs at home. Pick: Buccaneers
Ahad: The Bucs are tough to beat to beat at home and the Saints haven’t played well on the road. Despite an impressive win on Monday night, I am going against them. Pick: Bucs

Falcons @ Chargers, Sunday 4:05pm
Evan: Matt Ryan on the road? I don’t stink so. Pick: San Diego
Matt: Can you believe San Diego can still win the division at 4-7? I am not sure I have ever seen a team lose such close, heart breaking games in a season. This will be a tough one for the Falcons. They seem to have the advantage in this game, but San Diego is extremely desperate. A Falcons loss helps the Cowboys in their Wild Card chase. Pick: San Diego
Mike: The Chargers have had some tough times, a lot of that has to do with the difficult schedule the past few weeks. 1-4 in their last 5, that 1 being a 1 point win over KC. Ryan is 2-3 on the road for the Falcons, I don’t think you can take too much out of that. Pick: Falcons
Ahad: The Charges need this win. Ryan will struggle on the road and with Ron Rivera’s different blitz schemes. Pick: Chargers

Steelers @ Patriots, Sunday 4:15pm
Evan: The Steelers may be one of the few teams who can go into New England and win in November. Matt Cassel has been playing lights out. Pick: New England
Matt: Matt Cassel will be under siege this entire game from the Steeler D. Ben Roethlisberger will probably be under the same predicament. I expect the Steelers defense to get a few takeaways and the offense to get the ground game going. Pick: Pittsburgh
Mike: Cassel has been playing better, but he hasn’t seen a defense like the Steelers. I haven’t watched enough of the Steelers to understand how they are winning, but they are. Pick: Steelers
Ahad: This should be a solid matchup. The Steelers excel at stopping the run, but the Patriots don’t run the ball. The Pats will try and spread them out and throw the ball, which was successful for them all of last year. The Pats will look to apply a lot of pressure to Big Ben. The difference in this game will be which defense comes up with the big play. I see Big Ben turning the ball over at least once. Pick: Pats

Bears @ Vikings, Sunday 8:15pm
Evan: One more loss and the Vikings are done. Bears will stick a fork in them. Pick: Chicago
Matt: Chicago was able to beat the Vikings earlier this season in a high scoring affair where the Vikings special teams played horribly. Hopefully, they have that fixed by now. The winner of this game gets a leg up in the division. Pick: Minnesota
Mike: I’m not sure about either one of these teams. The Bears had an ugly loss to the Packers but got lucky in following that up with the Rams. Matt mentioned it was a shoot out of sorts. I don’t think the Bears up up those sort of points again. Pick: Vikings
Ahad: I don’t see another shootout in this one. Peterson had a little spat with Childress last week and I think he comes out on fire in this game. The Vikings will be able to control the Bears running game and the Bears passing game doesn’t scare anyone. Pick: Vikings

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

Super Bowl Thoughts
Evan: I’m rooting for a Jets-Packers Super Bowl. I don’t think it will happen, but I actually think the Jets have a better shot of getting there than Green Bay. The only team who could beat the Giants in the NFC is a healthy and drama free Dallas. There has been talk on sports radio this week of a possible Jets-Giants Super Bowl, which some think would be as bad as the Yankees and Mets in 2001. I disagree, what would save that Super Bowl from anti-NY sentiment is the Brett Favre factor and the fact that the Jets have been so terrible for a decade.
Matt: This matchup definitely won’t happen. The Packers are going to have a tough time making the playoffs alone, unless they end up winning their division. The recent prediction of a Jets-Giants Super Bowl is also very intriguing, if only because they would likely end up hosting their respective championship games in the same building, which are normally played on the same Sunday. I would like to see them figure that one out.
Ahad: I have no interest in a Giants-Jets Super Bowl. It won’t be as bad as the Mets-Yankees World Series, but it would be right up there with it. I don’t see either team making it to the Super Bowl.

Eagles
Mike: I said last week that the Eagles looked like a bad team. They certainly proved it this week. I’m not sure I understand Reid’s thinking of throwing Kolb out there only to bring McNabb back this week. Has he decided to run a 2 QB system? My only guess is that he was resting McNabb for Thanksgiving night. That doesn’t make no sense, but you have to think well outside the box at this point with Reid.
Matt: I don’t know what is going on with Reid this year, but he seems to be making some odd decisions, especially with play calling, and now player personnel. McNabb has had a rough few weeks. I was thinking during the Week 2 Eagles-Cowboys matchup that McNabb looked great and rejuvenated. He was running around making plays everywhere. But I also thought during that game that he was expending so much energy. He got tired at the end of that game, and is now tiring as the season has progressed. I doubt he will be in Philadelphia next year.
Ahad: The Eagles are a bad team. I have a problem will Reid pulling McNabb against the Ravens. Your best chance to win is with McNabb. You can’t ask an unproven QB to come against that defense and do anything. The way Reid did it also proved that he has no class and no loyalty. I was shocked to learn that Reid didn’t even tell McNabb he was being pulled himself. He made the quarterbacks coach do it. These two guys have been together for 10 years. McNabb has always been a company man, never said anything negative about the team or Reid, and Reid turns around and treats him like that. That is just disgraceful. Going back to McNabb this week just proves that Reid isn’t confident in his decision. He saw how bad Kolb was and realizes that if he sends him out there again, he might be booed out of town. At this point, I think they both need to go and the team needs to start over. For all the McNabb haters out there, please name 5 qbs who you would rather have. For as bad as he has been this year, he is still capable of being an elite qb.

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

Jets @ Titans, Sunday 1pm
Evan: I’m sticking with my philosophy of picking against the Titans until they lose. Pick: Jets
Matt: Oh boy, I would love to pick the Jets here. They are playing well, but the Titans are tough, especially at home. I feel like the Titans will force at least one Favre turnover, and that will be the difference in the game. Pick: Titans
Mike: I’ve been very surprised by the Jets play this year. Still, the Titans haven’t lost yet. I have the opposite approach of Evan. Pick: Titans
Ahad: Titans

Patriots @ Dolphins, Sunday 1pm
Evan: Who would have thought this would be a must see game back in August? The Dolphins have had a nice run, but Belichek holds grudges. Pick: Pats
Matt: Matt Cassell has turned himself into a pretty good QB. This was the upset of the year when the Dolphins wildcatted all over the Patriots earlier this year. Miami has won 4 in a row, and should have the edge at home. Pick: Dolphins
Mike: I stayed on the Pats bandwagon as long as I could this year. They just let me down for the last time in that blowout at the hands of the Chargers. Now their offense is looking good and they’ve been in every game since that Chargers loss. The Dolphins have been barely getting by. Their last 2 games have been 2 point wins against Seattle and Oakland. I think the Pats offense is rolling now. If their defense gets on board they could be dangerous. Pick: Patriots
Ahad: Patriots

Panthers @ Falcons, Sunday 4:15pm
Evan: Big NFC South matchup. Matt Ryan has not been sacked at home, I also think his TD/Int ratio is 11-1 at home. Pick: Falcons
Matt: Both teams run the ball well, but I am not completely sold on the Panthers yet. Jake Delhomme has struggled these past few weeks, and only because of their running game were they able to win. The Falcons lost a tough one last week, but I think they will rebound with a win here. Pick: Falcons
Mike: Maybe I’ve been a bad NFL observer, but I know very little about the Panthers. Apparently they are 8-2. Those losses were at Minnesota and at Tampa Bay. Carolina won their Week 4 matchup 24-9. Matt Ryan has had a few more games and is playing at home this time, so things will get a little closer. Still, I like the Panthers to take control. Pick: Panthers
Ahad: Falcons

Giants @ Cardinals, Sunday 4:15pm
Evan: Cards play very well at home. They must have enough film on Eli to come up with some kind of game plan, but it won’t matter because New York’s O-line is too good. Pick: New York
Matt: Can the Cardinals stop the run? If they can, and its a big IF, they will have a very good chance in this game. They have an active defense that gets after the passer, and that should cause Eli some problems. I don’t see the Giants defense slowing the Cardinals passing attack. I will go for the upset. Pick: Cardinals
Mike: No team has come into University of Phoenix Stadium this year and come out with a win. True fact. I also hear the Giants are a good road team. The Giants will continue to run the ball well and the d-line should be able to get to Warner. Pick: Giants
Ahad: Giants

Colts @ Chargers, Sunday 8:15pm
Evan: Chargers look cathartic. Pick: Colts
Matt: Will this be the nail in the coffin for the Chargers? The Colts have gotten back on track, somewhat. They aren’t blowing anybody out, but they are making enough plays to win. The Chargers, on the other hand, are not. They are at home, but I think Peyton gets some revenge. Pick: Colts
Mike: Are the Cots rolling now? 3 straight wins: New England, Pittsburgh, and Houston. All close games, but that’s ok, even against the Texans, who always seem to play the Colts well. Now the Chargers came across the country last week and, depending on who you ask, lost by 1 to the Steelers. I like the Colts to put up a lot of points, and the Chargers, not quite as many. Pick: Colts
Ahad: Colts