CFB Week 12 (11/11-11/18) News and Picks

counselor said:
Wish I would have checked in to see your case of insanity to talk you off it...

FWIW, Wisconsin -13.5 is pure butter, IMO...

Good luck
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Yeah, I wish you did too. I'll keep Wisky in mind this week. They looked like shit during the 1H against Indiana.
 
like texas too. nebraska should have won by 3 or 4 td yesterday. ku is not a good team. they have no oline and not much of a dline or secondary either. texas should rip them a new one like tech did.
 
I agree, Cubsker. Reesing hides alot of problems on that OL.

What do you think about Nebraska against KSU this week?
 
like texas as well. for similar reasons mentioned here.

lean heavily towards rutgers as well. hate the revenge aspect and the long travel aspect for this game though.
 
vegaskyle said:
like texas as well. for similar reasons mentioned here.

lean heavily towards rutgers as well. hate the revenge aspect and the long travel aspect for this game though.
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Rutgers is playing better ball at this point and both teams are well-coached. I don't like the revenge or USF coming off a bye week to get healthy.

I made the line Rutgers -3 and I'm catching more than a TD. At the very least it's a good value play.
 
RJ Esq said:
Rutgers is playing better ball at this point and both teams are well-coached. I don't like the revenge or USF coming off a bye week to get healthy.

I made the line Rutgers -3 and I'm catching more than a TD. At the very least it's a good value play.
Click to expand...


definitely playing better right now than usf. agree.
 
Added:

Texas -13 (-110)

Just like the matchup alot and think Texas has to win and win big for style points.
 
BCS Realpolitik: Clouds part at the top, but an open door for Florida and Oklahoma

from Dr. Saturday - NCAAF - Yahoo! Sports by Matt Hinton
In a perfect world, the Doc would be given carte blanche to publicly torch the Bowl Championship Series in effigy and institute the elaborate, double-elimination battle royale of his dreams. But we live in the world we live in, so each Sunday the Doc looks at what the new BCS numbers mean for the rest of the season. Rooting interest: chaos. Always chaos.
ept_sports_ncaaf_experts-109076194-1226280688.jpg
Penn State's fall supposedly brings the picture into focus, but it really changes nothing as far as the championship game goes. The ball is still in the court of Alabama and Texas Tech, just as it's been the last two weeks, and the Tide and Raiders are Miami-bound if they win out. The only difference with the Lions' exit from the championship picture is that there's no major undefeated team left to cry foul when it's snubbed. Iowa's upset was crazy and all, but it only makes the situation slightly less chaotic.
Keep a couple things in mind with this week's numbers: a) The computers really love Utah, which probably doesn't matter as far as the championship is concerned, and really hate the Trojans, which definitely does matter. And b) The Coaches' poll still isn't docking Oklahoma for the Sooners' loss to Texas; OU comes in one spot ahead of the Longhorns, and only one spot behind Texas in the Harris Poll, which should have major implications on the eventual title game.
Sitting pretty. It seems clear now the SEC and Big 12 are on a collision course for the championship, via their own conference championships. Florida and Alabama are already locked into the SEC title game in Atlanta, with a mythical championship bid explicitly on the table if both take care of business for the rest of the regular season. That situation is easy.
The realm of chaos is the Big 12 South, if Texas Tech happens to lose to Oklahoma in two weeks. If the Raiders win, again, they're in. If they happen to lose to the Sooners, though, then ... bring on the tiebreaker procedures!
1. The records of the three teams will be compared against each other.
​
All three would be 1-1 against the other two. Next.
2. The records of the three teams will be compared within their division.
​
All three would be 4-1 within the division. Next.
3. The records of the three teams will be compared against the next highest placed teams in their division in order of finish (4, 5 and 6).
​
All three would be 3-0 against teams 4, 5 and 6 in the division. Next.
4. The records of the three teams will be compared against all common conference opponents.
​
All three would be undefeated against common conference opponents. Next.
5. The highest ranked team in the first Bowl Championship Series Poll following the completion of Big 12 regular season conference play shall be the representative.
​
ept_sports_ncaaf_experts-736249220-1226280632.jpg
Since the votes in this scenario would be tallied the day after Oklahoma finished off back-to-back wins over Oklahoma State and Texas Tech, the Sooners would have all the momentum. The question is whether that would be enough to push OU past the "incumbent," Texas, which has to hope to beat Kansas and Texas A&M badly enough to maintain its lead in the computer polls. But since the human polls are already waffling between Oklahoma and Texas despite the Longhorns' win in the Cotton Bowl, it seems the Sooners have the upper hand if they win out. As it stands, I'd peg the championship game as a collision of the winners of Alabama-Florida and Oklahoma-Texas Tech.
A little help? If that's the case, Texas is going to have a virtually impossible time coming out of that tiebreaker as the South "champion": The Longhorns need Texas Tech to lose, obviously, but even if Oklahoma was to beat the Raiders and then lose to Oklahoma State, Tech would still hold the tiebreaker advantage over Texas. With the poll situation favoring the Sooners, the 'Horns really only have one realistic hope, which is a victory by Missouri (or whomever wins the North Division) in the Big 12 Championship. In that case, UT could fall back to No. 2 as an at-large and face the SEC champion for the title.
The question in that scenario is whether voters would find sudden sympathy for USC as a conference champion over an at-large team. Barring a series of upsets too incredible to consider, this is really the Trojans' only hope ... except they're on pace to be relegated to at-large status, as well, as long as Oregon State keeps winning. The computers don't like USC (it's four spots behind Utah, which has a tougher remaining schedule with BYU on tap), and I still think the Trojans have to pray for those upsets. No even remotely likely scenario gets them to No. 2.
For chaos' sake. If Oklahoma beats Texas Tech, the Big 12 South is chaotic enough; among the Sooners, Raiders and Longhorns, at least one and possibly two of them will be left out of the picture with one loss, and there won't be any good way to distinguish between them. USC will have a legitimate gripe, but with its schedule, the high profile, "Is this not America?" snub is going to come from among the Dust Bowl trifecta. I get the feeling the Lonestar State is going to become very well acquainted with algorithms over the next three weeks.
 
from Burnt Orange Nation by PB @ BON
Apologies for going dark this weekend; traveling has kept me from a computer until just now. I've yet to see Saturday's victory over Baylor. Solid enough win, though--certainly good enough to keep the BCS dreams alive. Especially now that the single biggest hurdle--a Penn State loss--has been cleared.
Below I've got your full breakdown of Texas various post-season scenarios. They're better than you might think.
THE ROAD TO MIAMI


There are multiple ways this can happen for Texas, all of which we can break down by what Texas Tech does in the coming weeks. At this point, it's more likely than not that a Big 12 team is going to the title game. All scenarios below assume Texas beating Kansas and Aggie. Beyond that, here's how it breaks down for the Longhorns:
IF TEXAS TECH BEATS OKLAHOMA AND BAYLOR
The Red Raiders win the Big 12 South. Can Texas still get to Miami? It's possible in two different scenarios:
Scenario 1: Tech loses Big 12 Title Game. Could the Red Raiders really be jumped by Texas in this scenario? With wins over Texas, Oklahoma, and Oklahoma State? I'm not so sure, but it's possible if Tech gets blown out by the North representative. Human voters would have to decide whether the Red Raiders are the Big 12 South's best team or if they--not Texas--were the undefeated team in the South because this year's game was in Lubbock. I wouldn't count on this scenario, but it'd be interesting and close.
Scenario 2: Tech wins Big 12 Title Game. I'm not so sure this isn't the more likely path for Texas, the story unfolding as so:

  1. Texas beats KU and A&M handily.
  2. Tech looks terrific running the table to 13-0.
  3. Florida loses to FSU before beating Bama. (Or Bama is upset in an ugly game before beating Florida.)
  4. Human voters decide the Big 12 was the nation's best conference, bar none.
  5. Human voters think about the classic in Lubbock and decide a rematch isn't something that must be avoided.
Farfetched? I dunno... Think it through with me. I'll grant that an undefeated Bama or one-loss Florida is gonna get a Title Game bid, but if there's SEC chaos down the stretch? Who do human voters choose to face Tech? The Trojans? They might not win the Pac 10, if Oregon State wins out. And if the Beavers do lose? USC takes another blow in the computers.


One loss Penn State? Not in this year's Big 10. What about a one-loss Bama team that beats Florida? It'd be close, but... Texas would finish well ahead in the computers with a better resume. It's hardly inconceivable, but the human voters would have to decide in consensus: No Rematch.

IF TECH LOSES TO OKLAHOMA
Scenario 1: Oklahoma loses to Oklahoma State. The Red Raiders win the Big 12 South, winning the head-to-head tiebreaker with the Longhorns. At this point, Texas just roots for the North Division champ to win the Big 12 Title game. If it happens, Texas is the one-loss team still standing in the Big 12 and goes to Miami, barring a huge swell of human voting for USC that overcomes their computer problems. Not likely. Texas would be Miami-bound.
Scenario 2: Oklahoma beats Oklahoma State. Now things get really complicated. The Longhorns, Red Raiders, and Sooners finish in a three-way tie in the South, pushing the tie-breaker down to step 5: BCS Standings. AW thinks the narrative would be "Oklahoma hasn't lost since October, most recently beat Tech, and should be the Big 12 South title game participant." That's certainly one possible narrative, but I'm not so sure the most likely. Here's how I see the debate unfolding:

  1. Best win? Tech got their big win over Texas at home. Oklahoma got their big win over Tech at home. Texas got their big win over Oklahoma... on a neutral field.
  2. The loss? Texas and Texas Tech dropped one on the road. Oklahoma dropped theirs on a neutral field.
  3. Oklahoma has some recent BCS history working against it.
  4. Texas Tech has some "gimmick"/no precedent history working against it.
The humans would have the final say, but Texas has at least as good an opportunity as would Tech and OU. More on this scenario if the Sooners win next week.
One more thing to consider: What if Oklahoma/Tech wins the tie-break, goes to the Big 12 title game, and loses? Texas or Texas Tech/OU slides up. I wouldn't bet against the Horns.
OTHER BCS BOWLS


THE ROSE/SUGAR/ORANGE BOWL


I actually think these are all out of play, barring serious chaos in the Big 12 down the stretch. I think it's Miami, Fiesta Bowl (discussed below), or Cotton Bowl, at this point.
The reason? For Texas to get an at-large selection in the Rose, Orange, or Sugar, it would necessarily mean the Fiesta Bowl spot is taken by the Big 12 North Champ and no Big 12 team is headed to Miami. That's not likely without some chaos.
THE FIESTA BOWL


The Fiesta Bowl scenarios I can imagine for Texas all come about if the Red Raiders or Sooners play for the Big 12 title game, then win, earning a national title berth. The Fiesta would have an at-large big to use replacing their team lost to Miami and could select Texas.
If it's the Longhorns who play in Kansas City--a win sends them to Miami. A loss sends the North Division champ to Tempe, while Texas drops to the Cotton or Holiday Bowl.
CHARTS? CHARTS


For fun, here's a easy-to-follow table predicting the result of various scenarios, assuming (1) Texas wins out and (2) Misses the Big 12 Title Game.
<table border="1" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1"> <tbody> <tr> <td>
</td> <td>GM 1</td> <td>GM 2</td> <td>B12 TITLE</td> <td>TEXAS BOWL</td> </tr> <tr> <td>TECH</td> <td>OU (W)</td> <td>BU (W)</td> <td>WIN</td> <td>Fiesta</td> </tr> <tr> <td>TECH</td> <td>OU (L)</td> <td>BU (W)</td> <td>WIN</td> <td>Fiesta</td> </tr> <tr> <td>TECH</td> <td>OU (W)</td> <td>BU (W)</td> <td>LOSS</td> <td>Miami</td> </tr> <tr> <td>TECH</td> <td>OU (L)</td> <td>BU (W)</td> <td>LOSS</td> <td>Miami</td> </tr> <tr> <td>OU</td> <td>TECH (W)</td> <td>OSU (W)</td> <td>WIN</td> <td>Fiesta</td> </tr> <tr> <td>OU</td> <td>TECH (W)</td> <td>OSU (L)</td> <td>LOSS</td> <td>Miami</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> That's three ways Texas can get to Miami without playing in Kansas City. Now toss in that Texas could win the South tie-breaker under numerous scenarios, and you can see why I'm not ruling out anything at this point.
 
haha love that crabtree sign...

what a great year in the big 12..gotta say all my favorite games this year have been from that conference.

gl RJ.
 
Revenge for 2004:

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<table class="card"><tbody class="card-tbody"><tr><td class="cc c">The dream is still intact

from Block U by JazzyUte
Late Thursday night, as a hush fell over the sold out Rice-Eccles Stadium crowd, reality began to sink in that maybe, just maybe, Utah's dream season was coming to a crashing halt. Brian Johnson had just thrown another incomplete pass and the Utes were forced to punt from their own twenty, giving TCU solid field position for what could likely be the final drive of the game.
On the second play of that drive, Andy Dalton found Jimmy Young down the middle for a huge 22-yard gain. It put the Frogs in field goal range and three plays later, Ross Evans -- who had missed a field goal on their last drive -- lined up in hopes of making it a seven point game.
He missed.
With that miss, Utah was given new life. They still trailed by a meager four points, but they had two timeouts and over two minutes left on the clock to make something happen. If there was ever a time for Brian Johnson to come alive and keep Utah's dream season afloat, this was it.
A new buzz worked its way through the crowd as the fans began to believe again. Their faith was reinforced by the first three plays of that possession. Johnson first found Brent Casteel for a five yard gain and then followed it up with a quick seven yard pass to Freddie Brown. But it was the next play, a 22-yard pass to Casteel, that made all 45,000-plus in attendance believe again. Just like that, Utah was on the cusp of another late-game rally.
After a pass interference call moved the ball to the 31, Johnson threw the ball away on the first play, connected with Bradon Godfrey for a five yard gain on the second and overshot Casteel on a long bomb down the sidelines on the third. The latter would have been a touchdown, sending the entire stadium into pure bedlam. Unfortunately, the pass was overthrown and now Utah, and the hopes of an undefeated season, faced a 4th down.
Kyle Whittingham could have taken a timeout but decided to put the game in the hands of Brian Johnson. It paid off and Johnson hit Brown for an 11-yard gain on the crucial fourth down play. Utah was back in business, closer to the goal and now with four new set of downs to work with.
Two plays later, Johnson again found Brown, this time for a touchdown, launching a frantic scene that was replayed a few minutes later when Robert Johnson intercepted Dalton's pass to seal the win. After downing the ball, everyone in that stadium exhaled and then began the chaotic celebration. The Utes were 10-0 for only the second time in school history and had now just defeated arguably their toughest test in clinching the school's second BCS berth.
​
This marked the second time fans had stormed the field this season. The first came after another memorable last-minute drive by Brian Johnson. I don't think anyone could have expected a game to top that one in terms of excitement, but I think you can make the argument Thursday's battle with TCU did just that. It was an amazing effort by Utah and a wild finish that will be remembered for years to come.​






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FIVE POINTS: South Carolina 34, Arkansas 21

from Garnet And Black Attack by cocknfire

1. I want to be Ellis Johnson when I grow up. I'm so glad I was right about Ellis Johnson. Pay no attention to what I've written in the past: In my heart, I knew that Johnson would be the best choice for the job. Okay, so I was wrong. Never have I been happier, though, to be incorrect. The defense clamped down on Arkansas, holding one of the most explosive passing offenses in the SEC -- this is, admittedly, a rather dubious honor -- to 255 yards. Michael Smith? 25 yards on seven carries. On a day when the offense was -- um -- schizophrenic, the defense once again led the way to a win.
2. The rotating QBs. Yeah, let's not do that again. Steve Spurrier's not necessarily backing down, but I'm guessing we won't see quite as much swapping as we saw Saturday. It really didn't work; the combined passer rating for Chris Smelley and Stephen Garcia was 119.99, which is pretty mediocre for college football. I'm still not sure what the attraction is; from what I've seen (and granted, I didn't get to actually see Saturday's game), I still think Garcia's the better passer as well as the superior runner. But, at the very least, Spurrier needs to choose one quarterback -- for every possession, at least.
3. K-Mc's night. Kenny McKinley had his best game of the year, passing the century mark in yardage and Sterling Sharpe for a career.

<hr> <table> <thead> <tr> <th>vs Arkansas / 11.8.08</th><th colspan="4">Receiving</th> </tr> </thead><thead> <tr> <th>
</th><th>Rec</th><th>Yards</th><th>Avg</th><th>TD</th> </tr> </thead> <tbody> <tr> <td>Kenny McKinley</td> <td>7</td> <td>130</td> <td>18.6</td> <td>1</td> </tr> </tbody> </table>
<hr>
It's a shame that the best receiver in South Carolina history won't get an SEC championship. But an Outback Bowl sendoff wouldn't be so bad.
4. The running game survives. It wasn't pretty, but the Gamecocks managed 132 yards rushing, mostly through sheer force of will. They carried the ball 34 times, averaging 3.9 ypc. It's enough to make opponents account for the run, but the rushing game will have to be more intimidating if South Carolina ever wants to be better than third in the SEC East.
5. Rankings, bowls, etc. South Carolina moves to 23rd in the USA Today Poll, 24th in the AP and 25th in the BCS (for whatever good that does us). It might be a brief stay, depending on how respectable the likely loss against Florida is and what else happens next week. But it's still a good place to be to set up the Gamecocks if they can defeat Clemson and win a bowl game. The Outback Bowl still looks good, as long as South Carolina can reach 8-4.
GRADE: B-
Again, it's a win, and a pretty solid one at that. But this team is still missing something and needs to find it for its first nine-win (counting bowl game) season since 2001.
 
Thoughts on the Defense: Talent or Coaching?

from Georgia Sports Blog by Paul Westerdawg
<center>
willie%20martinez%20double%20thumbs%20up.jpg

Who has two thumbs and has given up 125 points in 3 games?</center>
Much is being written about the state of the Georgia Bulldog defense and Willie Martinez's approach to pretty much everything.

Let me first say that Richt is right. Most fans wouldn't know Cover 1 from Cover 2, 3, 4, 0 or man for that matter. I'm not that different. I'm not going to sit here and pretend to tell you why this part or that part of the scheme is wrong.

I just know something isn't working.

Is it Talent or Is it Coaching?
I get asked that a lot. I'm of the opinion it's both. From my seats, the coaching side of the equation looks to be less about scheme or play calling than our fundamental approach.

I said several times in the days and weeks following the losses to UF and Bama that I didn't feel that we had the healthy talent to beat either team. I still feel that way.

However, our defensive talent level doesn't explain why we didn't appear to compete in those games for painfully long stretches. I sincerely respect the field position disadvantages that our offense created for our defense against Florida. But after the first half of that game, the Georgia defense rolled over and played totally dead. In the Alabama game, it's hard to say that they put up much of a fight until things were totally out of hand.

In other words, I buy the argument that we lacked the healthy talent to get the outcome we wanted versus those Top 5 teams. However, the process of getting to the outcome raised red flags for me in those games that exploded off the field when watching the Kentucky game.

Offensively, Kentucky is the least talented group that Georgia will face this season outside of Vanderbilt. Yet, they attacked the Georgia defense with almost 230 yards rushing, 70 plays and 38 points. Granted, three of their TDs were field position related drives of 9, 29 and 4 yards. But as someone else said yesterday...there's nothing that prohibits us from holding them to field goals in those spots.

My concern boils down to this. The defense isn't playing with the violence or tempo of our successful units. No one we're playing could possibly fear this unit. They don't attack their opponents. They don't hit like prior Georgia defenses (outside of Rennie Curran). They don't run towards collisions like prior Georgia defenses. And they don't appear to reject failure as an option like prior Georgia defenses (all referring to those under Richt)

Granted, the scheme used by Willie Martinez and Brian Van Gorder requires dominating defensive line play, and we most certainly do NOT have that right now. However, that doesn't explain what looks to be a reluctance for our linebackers to play on the opponents side of the offensive line. It doesn't explain why we look tentative at the point of collision, and it doesn't explain the inconsistent performances of key players who DO have the talent to perform at a higher level.

So yes. There most certainly IS a talent gap between this unit and that of 2005 or 2002. But I'll be damned if I believe that our talent gap and injury situation is so severe that Kentucky's offensive personnel is superior to our defensive personnel.

Even if you disregard the 3 TDs that came from RANCID special teams play and offensive fumbles, they still gave up 17 points and 226 yards of rushing to a team that averages less in both categories in SEC games...and is much more banged up at key personnel areas than they were earlier in the season.

This group needs a major overhaul one way or the other. That doesn't mean fire Willie Martinez. We're averaging 10+ wins a year with Willie. But it's a group that's broken right now, and either he or Richt needs to spend an enormous amount of time fixing it at the DNA level.

The Good News:
The defense is most in need of a speed rusher, senior leaders, getting healthy and a coaching commitment to not accepting these types of results. The 2009 horizon looks better in most of these areas
  • Speed Rusher - Justin Houston shows signs of promise. He could be a Marcus Howard type player for the Dawgs. He's probably a year and half ahead of Howard at the same point in his tenure. Cornelius Washington is also redshirting. Washington was a high school sprinter who may grow into the type of edge performer Georgia needs. A healthy Rod Battle (while not a speed rusher) would also help here.
  • Senior Leadership - I've mentioned this before, but there is only 1 impact player on either side of the ball right now who is a healthy senior -- Mohamed Massaquoi. Next year, Asher Allen ,Geno Atkins, Jeff Owens, Kade Weston, Rod Battle, Prince Miller and Bryan Evans will all be seniors. Anyone of any age can lead, but it's usually the seniors who take you to the promised land. It was Jon Stinchcomb who deliverd the fire and brimstone message to his teammates at halftime in Auburn 2002 down 14-3, and it was Boss Bailey and Tony Gilbert who rallied the defense in Tuscaloosa and Columbia in '02 before the key stops.
  • Getting Healthy - This year we've played without Owens, Kade Weston, Rod Battle and Jeremy Lomax (injured but muddling through) for over half our games due to injury. We get them all healthy next year.
If we get back the Eye of the Tiger, the rest of it will mostly sort itself out.

Agree? Disagree?

PWD


(I'll do the special teams report tomorrow night. I'm sleepy)

448134410
 
5 Thoughts ... Nov. 10
Five Thoughts: 2007 Thoughts | Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4
- Week 5 | Week 6 | Week 7 | Week 8 | Week 9 | Week 10
What Time Is The Bowl? What Time Can You Show Up?

[FONT=verdana, arial, sans serif][SIZE=-2]By Pete Fiutak [/SIZE][/FONT]
1. If you thought you hated the bowl season before, just wait until you see what you’re in for over when all the dust settles in early December.

As many as six bowls, the Poinsettia, Texas, Music City, PapaJohns.com, Hawaii, and Independence Bowl, might have to scramble for the best at-large team possible, and why? A few of the major conferences aren’t going to come remotely close to filling out all of their bowl slots.

The SEC will be the biggest culprit. Two SECers are certain to be in the BCS, likely leaving three open SEC bowl spots. The hope for the bowls will be for Vanderbilt to finally get off that five-win bump, but it’s unlikly to happen at Kentucky or against Tennessee, as bad as the Vols might be right now. Auburn’s probably going to be stuck on five wins with Georgia and Alabama to close, and Arkansas needs to beat both Mississippi State in Starkville, as well as LSU, to be bowl eligible. That’s not going to happen.

The Pac 10 will be almost as big a problem, and it won’t have the excuse of putting two teams into the BCS (unless Oregon State wins out against Cal, at Arizona and Oregon). Arizona State going 3-6 hasn’t helped, Stanford will need to pull off an upset against USC or at Cal to be eligible, and UCLA isn’t going to be alive in the chase.

The Big 12 will likely leave two bowl spots open with Colorado and Texas A&M, two teams that appeared headed for six wins, needing to pull off shockers to be eligible. The Buffs will have to beat either Oklahoma State or Nebraska at Nebraska, while Texas A&M will have to win at both Baylor and Texas.

What does this all mean, really?

Get ready to see an infiltration of MAC teams in the bowls. The Sun Belt will be certain to get two teams into the bowls, and there might be a third. The Big Ten won’t have teams like Michigan or Purdue available, the ACC will likely leave Clemson at home, and the Big East will do what it can to fill in as many blanks as possible. And that leads to the other major bowl story that’s going to kick in … ticket sales.

The biggest or the big bowls always sell out, but the midlevel to minor bowls, even if a local interest is available, has a nightmare of a time putting bodies in the seats as is, and now there’s this little old economic crisis that’s kicking everyone’s butt. America will have a hard enough time buying princess and power ranger crap for the kids this Christmas, much less the extra disposable income to go see 7-5 XYZ State play a meaningless game on the other side of the country.

Right now, the Hawaii Bowl officials are praying for the Warriors to be bowl eligible. They’re not getting a Pac 10 team as is, and if Hawaii isn’t in, there will be exactly five people at the game. And that leads to the other problem: will the teams accept the bowl bids?

At best, schools break even when it comes to bowl games, but that’s rare. Mediocre teams going to lousy bowl games lose their shirts when they have to eat the tickets they don’t sell to their fan bases that don’t travel. Schools like to use bowl games to reward the band, top boosters, and other VIPs, but that’s not going to happen for a lot of schools. Expect the bowls to do whatever possible to keep the local teams within range and not demand a massive influx of fans who have to fly in.

Remember, bowls are bowls, not a playoff. This should be a fun time to see the best games and best matchups possible, but instead, we're all going to see everyone who didn't have a losing record. Yippee.




And Don't Forget That Pro Gig To Be Open On The Other Side Of Town

 By Richard Cirminiello[FONT=verdana, arial, sans serif][SIZE=-2] [/SIZE][/FONT]
2. A note to any athletic director looking for a new head coach in the offseason: Give a long, hard look at Kelly. For you larger schools with deep pockets, that’s Brian Kelly, the current Cincinnati coach. For you smaller schools, that’s Chip Kelly, the offensive coordinator at Oregon.

On Saturday, Kelly’s Bearcats surprised West Virginia, 26-23, to create a three-way tie atop the Big East. Cincinnati controls its own destiny for earning a BCS bowl berth, an incredible development considering how badly the school has been besieged by injuries at quarterback this fall. He’s won wherever he’s been, has a proven offensive system, and is hailed as an outstanding tutor of quarterbacks. In just two short years, Kelly might be on the brink of outgrowing the Queen City. Although he has no southern ties, Tennessee and Auburn, if Tommy Tuberville doesn’t survive, should have his name on the short list. Or he might just sit tight and wait to see if Penn State has an opening in the near future.

The other Kelly, Chip, has also endured a spate of problems at quarterback, yet is still the architect of a high-powered attack that’s No. 12 nationally in scoring and No. 13 in total offense. He attacks at all times and stretches defenses, causing fits for opposing coordinators wherever he’s been. A native of New Hampshire and a former coach at the state university, he’s got deep ties in the Northeast that could benefit a program, like Syracuse, that’s pining for a young offensive innovator and a fresh infusion of energy.

As the coaching carousel begins to spin a little faster in November, you might want to remember the names Kelly and Kelly. Both Brian and Chip are already bucking for promotions after just two seasons in Cincinnati and Oregon, respectively.






Screw it. OU vs. Texas Would Be Fun.
[FONT=verdana, arial, sans serif][SIZE=-2]By [/FONT][/SIZE] Richard Cirminiello[FONT=verdana, arial, sans serif][SIZE=-2] [/FONT][/SIZE]
3. What happens in the Big 12 South if Oklahoma beats Texas Tech in Norman two weeks from now?

If the Sooners can extend their home winning streak to 25 games, Judge Mills Lane will be needed to separate Oklahoma, Texas Tech, and Texas in a divisional race that’ll have a ripple effect all the way to Miami. Assuming there are no upsets in the final weekend of the regular season, we could be headed to one of the most important and granular tiebreaker scenarios in recent history. According to Big 12 rules, the first four tiebreakers will not be enough to declare a winner. No. 5 will. And that’s when things get rather interesting.

The fifth rule calls for the BCS rankings to determine a divisional champ. Now what? The three teams could have almost identical resumes, including a loss against one of the other contenders. Does Oklahoma get a bump for finishing the year with wins over Texas Tech and Oklahoma State? If so, how can they possible be ranked ahead of Texas, which beat the Sooners, 45-35, in Dallas? Do the Red Raiders automatically get dismissed by the voters because they don’t have as rich a tradition and weren’t supposed to be here? Texas probably has the inside track, but only by a narrow margin. The ‘Horns will be rooting hard for the Sooners in less than two weeks. So should anyone else who’ll enjoy a one-for-the-ages debate over which program is most deserving of a Big 12 South Division crown. .








And Then Watch As Missouri Makes It All Moot
By Matthew Zemek

4. As a diehard opponent of the BCS, I'm now rooting for just one thing.

Florida beating Bama would be nice, but as long as Oklahoma turns back Texas Tech on Nov. 22 in Norman, we'll have another tainted title tilt in college football.

It's really simple to understand. If Oklahoma does beat the Red Raiders before holding off Oklahoma State in the Bedlam Series, the Big 12 South will have three 11-1 teams, barring the improbable.

You go ahead and tell me how to fairly decide the Big 12 South champion under those circumstances. Texas will have beaten Oklahoma. OU will have beaten Tech. Tech will have beaten Texas. These three titans will all own impressive records and awesome resumes in college football's toughest division, not to mention its best conference. But because primacy should be (rightly) given to conference champions, we're essentially going to have a mini-BCS scenario if the Longhorns, Sooners and Red Raiders all end up at 11-1. The team that has the highest BCS ranking will almost surely head to Miami to take on the Florida-Alabama winner (and that Gator-Tide situation deserves its own dose of attention; I digress...), but it only reinforces the fact that the BCS system--and everything involved in it--is painfully yet obviously arbitrary. A system that tries to create the appearance of objectivity is bereft of that very attribute. The BCS is just as political and unscientific as previous postseason plans, no matter what the microchips might suggest.

It's impossible to deny: If OU beats Tech and we see this three-car crash at 11-1, we're going to have a BCS title game participant punch a plane ticket to Miami on the basis of a pure technicality.

John Swofford, the latest BCS train wreck is comin' around the bend. You're naturally going to insist that the BCS system is in a state of perfect health, but that stubborn line of argumentation will only make you all the more clueless, and that much less of a leader, as a result.

The emperor still has no clothes. As a result, two 11-1 teams in the Big 12 South will be rightfully ticket on Sunday, Nov. 30, when BCS standings will determine who plays Missouri in the Big 12 Championship Game for a spot in South Beach on Jan. 8.

The Big 12 Tie-Breaker: The Hottest Cheerleaders

[FONT=verdana, arial, sans serif][SIZE=-2]By Pete Fiutak [/SIZE][/FONT]

5. Let me settle this Big 12 South tie-breaker mess for everyone before it even happens, if it happens. Remember, this is all moot if Texas Tech beats Oklahoma and/or if Oklahoma State picks off the Sooners or the Red Raiders.

Assuming Oklahoma beats Texas Tech and the Sooners, Red Raiders and Longhorns finish with one loss, the tie-breaker will go to the BCS rankings. Super. So the Big 12 title will probably be chosen by voters who have seen each team play once or twice, if that. So to help the voters who decide two-thirds of the BCS, this is how you need to look at the tie-breaker: who won where?

Along with strength of schedule, home field advantage needs to be a part of the overall mix far more than it is. Winning a game on the road deserves more love than winning one at home, and close losses on the road should be viewed differently than losing at home or at a neutral site.

Therefore, if Texas Tech loses to Oklahoma, that will mean the Sooners' part of the tie-breaker is based on a home win, while the loss (to Texas) will have happened at a neutral site. They didn't play a true road game in the tie-breaker mix, so, theoretically, they had the easiest path of the three teams.

Texas Tech will have lost to OU on the road, and the win will have come to Texas in the final seconds at home.

And then there's Texas. The loss in the equation came on the greatest play in the history of Texas Tech football on the road in Lubbock. The win came at a neutral site, beating Oklahoma in Dallas. Therefore, Texas, didn't have a home game in the mix and ended up having the hardest path of the three in the three-game round-robin tournament.

I still think Oklahoma is off to play for the national title if it wins out, but by who deserves to be playing for the Big 12 title, go with 1. Texas, 2. Texas Tech, 3. Oklahoma. Or else just hold a rock-paper-scissors playoff and you'll probably have the right answer.<rte_text></rte_text>

 
For the Tennessee faithful:

<embed allowScriptAccess="never" src="http://www.heavy.com/ve/690df55ff7457848f1762b96a1252a43" wmode="transparent" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="512" height="512"></embed><div style="margin-top:5px;margin-left:30px;"><a href="http://www.heavy.com/video/60855">More funny videos like the "Rocky Top" at Heavy.com</a></div>
 
vegaskyle said:
The Big 12 Tie-Breaker: The Hottest Cheerleaders


sweet. the longhorns win the tiebreaker.
Click to expand...

I don't know about that. Texas cheerleaders are cute but Tech cheerleaders are hot and slutty. Something about those black stretch pants.

Then again, if we were talking about the Texas chaps girls vs. the Tech cheerleaders it wouldn't be a contest.
 
Headlinin': In its mind, Vols' coaching search is gone to Carolina

from Dr. Saturday - NCAAF - Yahoo! Sports by Matt Hinton
ept_sports_ncaaf_experts-661178648-1226327034.jpg
• Tennessee is going Butch. Butch Davis, that is, who the Knoxville News-Sentinel reports is the leading candidate to replace Phil Fulmer. Davis has already denied interest in Tennessee, of course, and of course verbal denials mean nothing. Ah, the pas de deux of the coaching search.
Vol fans still prefer Mike Leach, and if Davis doesn't bite, the good Cap'n will be on the short list, according to the same sources that talked to the Sentinel about Davis, along with Cincinnati's Brian Kelly and maybe Tim Brewster.
And about that loss to Wyoming: Tell Anthony Parker (above) the Vols were just going through the motions. He's not crying because Knoxville police had to break out the tear gas.
• The vultures are circling. Syracuse is officially eliminated from bowl contention, and a few strangers showed up to cover Greg Robinson's Sunday press conference after Rutgers' "painfully easy" win over the Orange. But G-Rob's still got a job, as of this morning, and talked mainly about the possibility of platooning quarterbacks Andrew Robinson and Cameron Dantley over the last three games.
Although Syracuse has been embarrassing and would conceivably lose to a program like Wyoming throughout Robinson's tenure -- 'Cuse took double overtime to beat the Cowboys in 2006, in fact -- the Syracuse Post-Standard's Donnie Webb points to Tennessee's humiliation as a warning sign of what can happen if players openly quit on a lame duck coach. Apparently this hasn't happened yet with the Orange, in his opinion, and with vetting already quietly underway and Senior Day coming up Saturday against UConn, if the axe doesn't fall on Robinson today, he might just make it through another week or three.
ept_sports_ncaaf_experts-56955231-1226327006.jpg
• Li'l Hawk to the rescue. Cody Hawkins has faced the ignominy of getting benched by his dad repeatedly during Colorado's 1-5 slide since beating West Virginia, but it was the diminutive slinger that came off the bench to throw four touchdown passes in the second half -- including the game winner with just under a minute-and-a-half to play -- to get the Buffaloes past Iowa State after a 10-0 halftime hole. It was probably the best effort of Cody's career, keeps CU alive for a bowl game and should end the Buffs' quarterback controversy -- for now. Just for fun, enjoy following the evolution of Colorado fans' sentiments about Cody's dad, Dan, on the Daily Camera's comment thread, before and after the QB change around 1:30 p.m. Mountain time.
Quickly ... Auburn assistant athletic director Virgil Stark died Saturday night of cardiac arrest. ... More attrition from USC's star-studded backfield: Running back Broderick Green will transfer to be closer to family in Arkansas, where there may be a few more carries waiting for him. And, upon further review, Pete Carroll thinks the officials were alright, after all, in SC's win over Cal. ... North Carolina tight end Zack Pianalto suffered a broken leg in the Heels' win over Georgia Tech, and will be out "indefinitely," which should mean "at least until the bowl game." ... Tim Brewster is focusing on Wisconsin, for obvious reasons after Minnesota's loss to Michigan. ... Mohammed Massaquoi's afternoon against Kentucky, like Matt Stafford's, was the best day of his career. ... Saturday's loss to North Carolina was Georgia Tech's worst under Paul Johnson, who was not too happy with starting quarterback Josh Nebitt's decisions on the option before he was pulled in the third quarter. ... And Rick Neuheisel is returning to Seattle Saturday when UCLA visits Washington. Any chance they'll try to get him back?
 
Penn State Has Fallen And They Can't Get Up

from Boiled Sports by J Money
Thanks Penn State, for doing the Big Ten proud, you clowns. You have the road paved for you to either make the BCS national title game OR at least make a case for (again) why this system sucks. Instead, you laid a smelly egg in Iowa and lost the game to a team that really shouldn't have been on the same field with you.

I often say I hate being forced to defend teams that I don't like. But I live in Big 12/SEC country now and so that happens a lot. I am a Big Ten loyalist -- not that I root for Big Ten teams, necessarily, but I don't like it when the idiotic statement is accepted as fact that the Big Ten is lousy. It's not that bad.

There was a guy in my office two weeks ago who claimed that he thought Penn State was "maybe #25 in the nation." Now no matter whether you think the Big Ten is down or not, that's just silly and I told him so. When teams from the MAC, the WAC, the ACC and the Big East are in the Top 25, you simply cannot make that claim. Penn State is a good football team. But again, I hate to defend them because, well, I can't stand them or their senile coach (hint -- when you're too old and decrepit to even stand on the sidelines, it's over).

And then PSU goes and loses by a point to Iowa. And while I do think Iowa isn't nearly as good as PSU, they're having a quietly decent season. Which brings me to another point.

How come when a mediocre SEC team (like, oh, say, Ole Miss) squeaks one out against Florida, people say that just shows how tough the SEC is, but when the exact same kind of thing happens with Iowa and Penn State, it "proves" that PSU isn't for real? I don't follow.

While I do agree Florida is the best team in the SEC (Alabama will find this out in the conference title game), they lose to a team they never should have lost to. Why doesn't this disqualify them in voters and media memebers minds? Ah, because they've all collectively decided that the SEC is "so good" that it's "hard" to go undefeated. Yeah, it's hard to go unbeaten in any conference, stooges. Including the Big Ten.

The other frustrating media thing is when they all sing the praises of a darling like Ball State or Boise State and how they can go undefeated and "not get their shot." Yes, see, that's because they play cream puffs and come from truly second-tier conferences. Yet it's fun to act like they deserve a shot and a one-loss (or, let's face it, even if they'd been unbeaten) PSU team doesn't because the Big Ten is "down."

Whatever, I'm salty.

In Other Moron Media News

Todd Blackledge of ESPN fame was on ESPN radio this morning talking college football and he shocked listeners by saying he has no problem with no playoff and doesn't even think we need the title game that we have... basically saying he liked the old bowl system where if two unbeaten teams played in different conference-affiliated bowls and both won, that the voters got to decide... and that if they split the national title, then it's "okay to have several winners."

What is this, peewee football? Unbelieveable, that a clown like Blackledge could think that. I'm so tired of this arcane argument that the lack of a playoff system makes college football so much more interesting. It's a tired and ignorant argument. Yes, it creates discussion and arguments on The Sports Reporters. But so what? Don't you think it'd be more interesting to actually see the top 6 or 8 teams (or, hell, the top 4 teams) duke it out for a title? I just fail to see how one meaningful bowl game (and 30 meaningless ones) at the very end is better than some incredibly meaningful playoff bowl games followed by a true national champ. You can still have your useless Pointsettia Bowls and Music City Bowls and Sun Bowls. Nobody cares about those besides the schools playing in them (and Vegas) and that would continue. They're meaningless now and they would continue to be just as pefectly "traditional" and meaningless as the deceitful powers-that-be want you to think they care about them being.

College football is so much fun and so exciting and yes, there's a desperation involved because of the system. But the little bit you'd lose would be far outweighed by actually deciding a champion on the field.

I'm sure this won't be the last time I ramble about this before January.
 
from Dr. Saturday - NCAAF - Yahoo! Sports by Matt Hinton
ept_sports_ncaaf_experts-295643627-1226338946.jpg
The South Bend Tribune's Jeff Carroll is brutally honest about Notre Dame's direction after the Irish's sixth straight loss at the hands of "little brother" Boston College: ND is 1-15 against teams that finished with winning records over the last three years, and the shutout in Chestnut Hill may have been the anvil that broke the camel's back in terms of goodwill among the faithful:
... if you do not have grave concerns at this point about his ability to steer a college program you are obstinately refusing to recognize what is right in front of your eyes. If your faith in his ability to motivate isn't shaken to the core, you are electing delusion.
When the book is closed on Weis' tenure at Notre Dame, there is a good chance that this may be the evening that revealed once and for all an irreversible downward spiral. The Irish offense, formerly a unit on the move, was an undisciplined, penalty-ridden mess. Special teams were a gaffe machine, with Golden Tate's fumble of a punt return, along with yet another blocked punt, adding to the comedy of errors.
Weis put it on the line this week, announcing proudly that he had hammered his players mentally for last week's second-half collapse against Pitt. And as it has countless times during his reign in these make-or-break games, Notre Dame responded by coming out as flat as a highway blowout.
​
Weis' answer: Not enough Weis. Now that the "hot seat" talk is migrating from ignorable rival chirping (and upscale, urbane, contrarian finger-pointing) into the local press, Weis is going to take "a more active role" in getting the offense untracked, or at least preventing Jimmy Clausen from another four-interception disaster when the ND defense is holding up its end of the deal. That probably means Weis is taking command of playcalling duties from Michael Haywood, his forté as a Super Bowl-winning coordinator with the Patriots and in briefly resurrecting the Notre Dame brand with Brady Quinn pulling the trigger. X-in' and O-in' is what the man does, after all.
The question is, how much trouble is the ND offense really in, to the extent that Weis needs to -- or is able to -- step in and save it. Clausen is on pace to go over 3,000 yards passing with 24 touchdowns. The Irish scored at least 24 points in six of seven games before Saturday's debacle. Yeah, the results have been fairly grim against decent teams, but what's so critical about that all of a sudden:
ept_sports_ncaaf_experts-309802563-1226339033.jpg

Service academies included as teams w/ < 7 wins, for the sake of honesty.​
By comparison, in fact, this year's offense has been about as productive, and slightly more consistent from one pole to the next:
ept_sports_ncaaf_experts-927209391-1226339048.jpg
2008 to date has been right down the chalk of previous returns under Weis, though Michigan's collapse has softened the schedule a little, maybe. That must be it. So welcome back Weis to the control panel for the last three games, and a presumptive bowl game, somewhere or other. Expect great immediate returns against Navy and Syracuse, and one very ugly finale at USC. These days, until Clausen turns the corner the way Quinn did as a junior, that's just Notre Dame football as usual.
 
Kicking job is open again

from Bevo Beat
Mack Brown said that Longhorn coaches will track Ryan Bailey and Hunter Lawrence closely this week to see who gets the nod to kick Texas’ field goals this week.
Earlier this year, Lawrence moved in and claimed the starting job when Bailey was hampered by injury. On Saturday, Bailey returned the favor.
Texas coaches said Monday that Lawrence was nursing an injury last week, but he got the first shot at field goals against Baylor. Lawrence ended up missing two attempts, his first misses of the season, before giving way to Bailey the rest of the game.
 
Aztec4Life said:
With ya on Texas and Tulsa...love 'em both.

Who's driving this bandwagon anyway?

'an_horse'
Click to expand...

I'm blaming BAR for Texas and CB for Tulsa. I jumped on both after I saw them on it and thought both lines looked good and that it would only get higher.

Crazy that the Texas line fell.
 
RJ Esq said:
I'm blaming BAR for Texas and CB for Tulsa. I jumped on both after I saw them on it and thought both lines looked good and that it would only get higher.

Crazy that the Texas line fell.
Click to expand...

Funny, because I liked both Tulsa and Texas before I saw some of the fellas on 'em.

The Texas line is going back up, or at least it looks that way. -13.5 at my book now.
 
The line that jumped way off the page at me was the Utah St. v. La Tech line. La Tech coming back home and needing one more win to get bowl eligible against a Utah St team that has to make a long trip and isn't that good on the road.

Also the line is about 10 points too low.
 
Profiles in Disillusion: How Penn State's loss makes Michigan State the biggest loser

from Dr. Saturday - NCAAF - Yahoo! Sports by Matt Hinton
A weekly look at conquered favorites and other notables picking up the pieces of shattered ambition.
ept_sports_ncaaf_experts-704033234-1226347435.jpg
Thanks for the apology, Daryll, and yes, it is your fault. Off his worst statistical game of the season and a key interception that set up Iowa's game-winning drive, Daryll Clark is shouldering all the blame for Penn State's crushing last second loss, and Black Shoe Diaries wholeheartedly agrees:
From the opening series he seemed tentative and unsure of himself. He seemed like he was struggling with his reads, his timing was off, and he often overthrew his receivers. This is a problem that has plagued him all season. This week it finally bit him with the interception in the redzone.
[...]
Final Grade: F
​
Receiver Deon Butler said losing after a 9-0 start is "like a huge bomb exploded," but a "lesser bowl" is out still out there, namely the Rose: The Lions are still Big Ten champs with a tiebreaker over Ohio State if they win their last two.
On that note, the big, ironic loser with PSU's loss: Michigan State. The Spartans had a fighting chance of coming out of a three-way tie with a Rose Bowl bid if they beat an undefeated Penn State in two weeks and wound up in an "A beat B who beat C who beat A" scenario with the Spartans, Lions and Buckeyes all stuck at 7-1. Now, assuming Ohio State beats Illinois and Michigan, an MSU win over Penn State would drop the Lions to 6-2 and leave only a two-way tie with the Buckeyes, who'd take the head-to-head tiebreaker courtesy of its blowout win over the Spartans last month; Penn State, correspondingly, controls its destiny because of its head-to-head win over OSU. But the only route to Pasadena for the Spartans is an Illinois or Michigan upset over Ohio State. Thanks a lot, Daniel Murray!
Will the real West Virginia please stand up? Bill Stewart was "proud of his football team," the local Charleston Gazette was disappointed to see such a stirring comeback wasted in overtime and the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette was straightforward about what has to happen for West Virginia to win the Big East after its home loss Saturday to new, surprise conference frontrunner Cincinnati. The Mountaineer blogs, on the other hand, were more to the point:
ept_sports_ncaaf_experts-97702502-1226347466.jpg
That's WVU offensive coordinator Jeff Mullen, and West By God Virginia would like to see him fired, please:
Sometimes we’re Texas Tech with 5 wideouts, sometimes we’re channeling 1970 in a single receiver, double tight end, I set, sometimes, we run fully loaded shotgun, sometimes we run half the team in motion. But every time, we suck.
​
Until the wild comeback in the last two minutes of regulation to force the ill-fated overtime, that's about covers it. The Mountaineers failed to reach 100 yards rushing for the first time in seven years, which hardly seems possible with Pat White and Noel Devine in the same backfield, and at one point in the second and third quarters went three-and-out six times in a row. Not that Mullen is under any kind of real fire from anyone who matters, yet, but White won't be around much longer, so just grit those teeth, WBGV, and learn to tolerate a little, you know, diversity.
We still support you. All 16 of us. This was the scene Saturday in Seattle for Washington's loss to Arizona State, the Huskies' eleventh in a row dating back to last year:
ept_sports_ncaaf_experts-613169375-1226347491.jpg
John of UW Dawg Pound was in the crowd, officially estimated at more than 57,000. Can you spot him?
Actually, the Seattle Times' Bud Withers thinks keeping the game close for three quarters represents some kind of progress at this point in the Huskies' interminable slide, as does the Worldwide Leader's Ted Miller. And the Sun Devils' 16-0 run to pull away in the fourth quarter? Let's just focus on the fun times, alright?
Elsewhere in Disillusion: Oklahoma State has to refocus its goals after being rocked at Texas Tech. ... Even reading an Aggie fan's recap of Texas A&M's 34-points loss to Oklahoma is painful. ... And Tennessee fans grade the Vols after their loss to Wyoming. Aw, y'all do still care.
 
Washington Huskies: The Worst of the Worstest

from The Sporting Blog
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North Texas remains a terrible football team, a haphazardly assembled collection of football players no doubt trying very hard to play the game of college football in an organized, non-embarrassing fashion. They have the worst defense out of 119 teams in the Football Bowl Subdivision. They are not, by any stretch of the word, good, and surrendered 77 points in a single game to Rice this season. San Diego State is a terrible, terrible football team (1-9). So is SMU (1-9), or even Syracuse (2-8), probably the most high-profile college football program currently undergoing a four-month long public humiliation this season. All of these programs can claim one precious commodity, though. Each has at least one victory, or in Syracuse's case, two victories, presumably because they were having some kind of 2-for-1 sale at Costco on victories, and Greg Robinson happened to have the company card. (Or because he continued his mysterious spell over Steve Kragthorpe. Either way it works.)
There remains one sad, miserable wretch of a team sitting weeping on the ash-heap of their season without even a win over a Division-1AA opponent. The Washington Huskies sit at 0-9 on the year, the last winless team in major college football. Three games remain on their schedule, and two are potentially winnable: UCLA and Washington State. (They are not beating Cal, because Cal is good, and Washington is the opposite thereof.)
If the Huskies lose to UCLA and get to the Apple Cup rivalry game against Washington State (1-9) still looking for their first win, it may be essential viewing of the most desperate sort, like watching two homeless men fight over the last can of Sterno in an alley. You'll hate yourself for watching it, you really will ... but you won't be able to look away, either.
 
A Few Baylor Post-Game Thoughts

from Burnt Orange Nation by PB @ BON
I finally had a chance to sit down and watch the Baylor game and have a few assorted thoughts before we turn our attention to Kansas.


  • Pushing the boulder uphill a second time is harder. And not just for the team--for the fans, too. I got two texts on Saturday calling the crowd "weak" and "pathetic," and an email from 54b likening the scene to attending a funeral that turned into a tax seminar. Given the heartbreak in Lubbock and 11 a.m. kick, it's understandable--if not quite excusable--but here's to hoping fans get it together for Thanksgiving against Aggie. Depending what happens in Norman this Saturday, how we perform in our finale may well play a significant role in settling a tiebreaker. Given what fans have come to expect from this team, the least they can do is show up and be rowdy.


  • The return of four-wide. I noted several times last week that Texas' biggest mistake against Tech was the slow and steady post-OU retreat to vanilla offense. Greg Davis on Saturday got back to the more aggressive four-wide sets that helped Texas work Oklahoma's defense for four quarters. (Note, too, that this is what Texas Tech does, though in more extreme form.) Especially with Malcolm Williams' emergence as a legitimate deep threat, it's almost incomprehensible that Texas wouldn't operate from that formation more often than not. Consider:

  1. With Blaine Irby out, our tight ends are awful. Kudos to Greg Smith on the tap-in touchdown, but let's be real: these guys are slow, poor receivers, whose minimal contributions amount to pass protection. And even there, they're not very good. Be done with them, Greg.
  2. Texas' most lethal weapons are Shipley and Cosby working to find space against a defense spread too thin.
  3. Malcolm Williams gives safeties something to think about other than "watch Shipley/Cosby and try to decapitate them."
  4. A fourth receiver does the same thing.
  5. Our so-so running game benefits from a defense that has to defend receivers sideline-to-sideline.
All told, the decision should be an easy one. Again, the larger point is that Texas beat Oklahoma because Davis brought the heat and lost to Tech because he didn't. If the Longhorns catch the breaks they need and wind up in Kansas City and/or Miami, this offense needs to (1) be oriented towards attacking and (2) have used its final games perfecting it.


  • Credit to the DBs. Texas joined Oklahoma as the only Big 12 team to force Robert Griffin into a poor day passing the ball. Outside the nifty 55-yard touchdown pass to Kendall Wright, Griffin completed just 5 of 18 passes for 16 yards. And for all the grief Ryan Palmer has endured from us fans over the last three seasons, it was his pick-six that turned the game. A nice bounceback effort from the defense against an offense whose only bright stars are underclassmen.
  • Rushing game does its job. There was nothing sexy about the Texas rushing attack on Saturday, but it was effective as a complementary piece, with Fozzy handling the featured duties and Vondrell nicely filling in alongside. On a meta level, this is all Greg Davis needs from the rushing game--a serviceable attack with enough punch to keep defenses honest and help spring openings for the passing game. On a micro level, Davis could serve to be a little more creative in developing a few different looks for the tailbacks. We rarely run draw plays, seem unable to run a simple screen pass, and appear mostly disinterested in using play-action to help Colt and his receivers. We can do better.
  • What is this "missed field goal" you speak of? One of the least talked about stories of the Longhorns this year has been the transformation of Hunter "Did I really need a scholarship?" Lawrence to Hunter "I don't miss anything, period" Lawrence. Like everyone else, though, he perhaps suffered from a little Lubbock Letdown, as he missed two field goals Saturday. I'm not worried, but as I watched the replay before looking at the box score, I was a little bit stunned to see both missed kicks.
  • The big question for 2009 is apparent: How to replace Miller, Melton, Orakpo? Henry Melton has had a quietly excellent season. Roy Miller and Brian Orakpo are your defensive MVPs. All three graduate this year. Just a heads up: This is the potential Achlles' Heel heading forward.
  • Awards. As always, a few awards to finish the wrap:

  1. Offensive MVP: Quan Cosby. You hurt your back, you call in sick to work for a week and buy an ergonomic chair. Quan goes for 116 and 2 TDs.
  2. Defensive MVP: Roy Miller. He's absurd. Should be a first-round draft choice.
  3. Play of the Game: Ryan Palmer INT for six.
  4. LVP: The crowd. Booooo.
 
Muschamp's not talking about the future

from Bevo Beat

Texas defensive coordinator Will Muschamp played it close to the vest Monday on his future job prospects. When a reporter asked whether Muschamp and Mack Brown had some type of understanding about when it would be appropriate for Muschamp to weigh the various jobs he’s been linked to, the coach replied curtly, “We’re not talking about any other jobs.” End of discussion.
The next topic was the progress of Sergio Kindle, the Longhorn junior who has played as both a linebacker and defensive end. Muschamp said he’s put Kindle in some tough situations and occasionally asked too much of him, and he’s been pleased with how Kindle has handled the dual roles. Then, when asked whether Kindle’s long-term future would be at LB or DE, Muschamp wouldn’t bite. “I think his future is at Texas,” Muschamp said. “We’re going to continue to develop him as both a linebacker and a standup defensive end.” End of discussion.
 
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Why opponents are throwing the kitchen sink at Texas

from Bevo Beat
After they carefully dissect their opponents’ game films, Longhorn coaches always know exactly what percentage of the time an opponent’s defense usually blitzes, both this season and in years past. But come game day, the Longhorn opponents are throwing far more blitzes at Texas than they normally use.
After scratching their heads about it after several games this season, the Texas coaches have started asking some of those opposing coaches what they were thinking when they made up their defensive game plans against the Longhorns.
The answer to the riddle, head coach Mack Brown said, is Colt McCoy.
“We’re hearing from other teams that they’re blitzing more because they think he is so accurate that if they sit back in zone, they’ll never get the ball,” Brown said Monday. “So, they’re blitzing to stop the run, put people in the run lanes, and try to get him off his rhythm and make him move so he can’t just sit back there with his quick release and his accuracy and move the ball like we’ve done.
“That makes sense.”
 
Reesing banged up but ready to go

from Bevo Beat

Kansas coach Mark Mangino said Monday that quarterback Todd Reesing took a beating in Saturday’s 45-35 loss to Nebraska but that he’ll be ready for Texas on Saturday.
“He’s fine,” Mangino said. “He’s just banged up a little bit, but nothing that’ll slow him down in any way.”
Reesing is coming off his season-worst performance in terms of completion percentage, connecting on 15 of his 30 passes. But he still racked up 304 passing yards, his sixth 300-yard game of the season.
Mangino said that he’ll gladly trade completion percentage for productivity. “He’s making plays. That’s the bottom line,” Mangino said. “You’d like to see the completion percentage higher, but in this case, it doesn’t speak to his productivity.”
 
Mack sees larger role for Whittaker

from Bevo Beat

Saturday’s team-leading 77-yard performance may be the breakout that redshirt freshman tailback Fozzy Whittaker has been looking for. At least, it impressed his coaches.
“Everybody now is seeing the vision and the burst that we saw in August,” said Texas offensive coordinator Greg Davis.
But since August, Whittaker has battled injuries to both knees, limiting him to appearances in just four games this season. Coaches are also no longer concerned about Whittaker’s ability to pick up pass rushers and protect quarterback Colt McCoy.
“He needs to get stronger,” head coach Mack Brown said of the Pearland product. “These big linebackers, it’s hard for him at his size. High school backs do not pass protect a lot. So, he knows what to do now, he just needs to get stronger so he can handle them all. He got ran over once on Saturday protecting, but he gave his body up and Colt still got the pass off. …
“He’s in playing shape now. After his knee, it was really hard to hit him because he wasn’t well. Now, he seems to be getting it all. We think he can really help us here at the end. I really think Vondrell played better, as well.”
 
Harrell, McCoy remain atop weekly Heisman poll

from Bevo Beat
With a month to go in the Heisman race, Texas Tech quarterback Graham Harrell retained his lead atop the Rocky Mountain News’ poll of 10 Heisman voters from around the nation. Texas quarterback Colt McCoy remains second.
This week, Harrell received seven first-place votes, up from five last week. McCoy received two first-place votes after receiving none the week before. But the overall points gap between Harrell and McCoy widened.
Oklahoma’s Sam Bradford remained in third place, with last year’s Heisman winner, Tim Tebow of Florida in fourth, and Texas Tech’s Michael Crabtree in fifth. That’s exactly the same top five as a week ago.
 
Well, It's About Time: Weis Finds Himself on the Hot Seat

from The FanHouse - NCAAfootball
by Chris BurkeFiled under: Notre Dame, NCAA FB Coaching, NCAA FB Rumors
weis5.jpg
Notre Dame's seemingly never-ending quest to "Return to Glory" hit another snag on Saturday night when the Irish were blanked, 17-0 by a very average Boston College team.

And in light of that loss - which drops Notre Dame to 5-4 - Chicago Sun-Times columnist Neil Hayes wrote that Charlie Weis is now fighting for his job.
Weis left Boston, where he built his reputation as one of the game's foremost offensive minds while an offensive coordinator for the Patriots, with his career at a crossroads and his future as Notre Dame's coach very much in doubt.
The Weis Watch is officially on, and based on the fact that his team is regressing during his all-important fourth season, justifiably so.
​
I'll make a leap here and assume that Hayes means this year's team has regressed since the start of the year - as opposed them being worse than last year because, frankly, I'm not sure they could be worse than last year.
 
Poon-per Bowl Championship Series: The Field

Here we are with the final installment of Round 1 of the Poon-per Bowl. I'm a little disappointed that I wasn't able to provide a more competitive opponent for the ACC, but I felt like I had to represent some of the schools that otherwise would have never had an opportunity to compete with the big girls.

Round 2 will begin next week starting with the Big XII vs. the SEC. Does the Big XII belong on the same field as the SEC? Will the SEC put out their 'A' team this time after very narrowly escaping the Big Ten? How could there possibly be another 24 girls from these two conferences that are as hot as the girls from Round 1? All these questions and more will answered as the Poon-per Bowl continues on with the best of the best.

ROUND 1

Game 1: Big XII (Winner) vs. Big East
Game 2: SEC (Winner) vs. Big Ten
Game 3: Pac-10 (Winner) vs. Conference USA
Game 4: ACC vs. The Field (best of the rest)

Click here for the Big XII
Click here for the Big East
Click here for the SEC
Click here for the Big Ten
Click here for the Pac-10
Click here for Conference USA
Click here for the ACC

The Girls of "The Best of the Rest"

ARMY
​

BYU
​

BALL STATE
​

BOISE STATE
​

CENTRAL MICHIGAN
​

COLORADO STATE
​

IDAHO
​

MIAMI (OH)
​

NOTRE DAME
​

OHIO
​

SAN DIEGO STATE
​

UNLV
​


UTAH
​

Thanks to everyone for all the previous feedback from Round 1 and please continue to leave your thoughts and comments as some tough matchups are on the way. We will definitely be needing your votes in the near future when it comes time to select the All-Poon-per Bowl Team. And last but not least, a very special thanks to all the lovely ladies that help make college football the best sport on earth.
 
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