The Craziness Continues

People said that Week 12 was supposed to be a snooze-fest and that it lacked any exciting match-ups. Boy were they wrong. Oklahoma State was upset by Iowa State last night. Clemson went down earlier today getting decimated by NC State. Oregon just lost to USC 38-35. And Baylor is going to hold on to win 45-38. Beyond the upsets, there have been some other great games with Michigan beating Nebraska, Tennessee beating Vanderbilt in overtime, and Virginia beating FSU with a missed last second field goal. It has been a hell of a day.

First lets get to the upsets and the BCS implications.

• In one weekend, the #2, #4, #5, and #7 teams all lose. The Oregon-USC game was great one. It looked like USC was going to demolish Oregon when they were up 38-14, but after a kick return for a touchdown and a couple USC turnovers it was 38-35. They had a chance to tie it at the end, but the field goal went sailing. This all but eliminates them from a chance at the national championship game. I had felt that Oregon wasn't as good as everyone said, and it seems that is true.

• Oklahoma lost in a shootout to Baylor. Baylor was up 38-24, but Oklahoma comes back to tie it with less than a minute left. Baylor seemed content taking it to overtime with no timeouts left, but Bob Stoops calls a timeout to ruin that plan. That definitely backfires and Robert Griffin III leads his team down the field and scores with 8 seconds left. The rivalry game against OK State has definitely lost some of its intrigue now. IF the Big 12 wants any chance to have a school in the national championship game, they better root for Oklahoma State because the Sooners have no chance now. 

• What will be interesting to see in the BCS rankings when they come out tomorrow is to see if LSU, Alabama, and Arkansas are ranked 1,2, and 3. It would be the first time one conference sweeps the top 3 of the BCS rankings. It would almost guarantee and All-SEC national championship game unless something crazy happens. After today, I wouldn't be surprised if there was more craziness. 

Some other news from the college football world.

• Penn State and Wisconsin both won today to set up a winner-take-all game next week with the winner going to the first Big 12 championship game to represent the Leaders division. 
• The winner will take on Michigan State who clinched the Legends division with a win over Indiana and Michigan beating Nebraska. As a fan of the game, I would love to see and Badgers-Spartans rematch after they played an instant classic back in October.
• Virginia won a nailbiter against FSU to give them a chance to win the Coastal division next week against the Hokies. Just to win the game the had to survive a five minute review of an FSU catch, a defensive penalty, and a field goal attempt by one of the best kickers in the ACC. FSU's Hopkins missed the kick and it set up a great game next week as the Cavs and Hokies battle for a chance to play Clemson in the ACC title game.

Murray will have his chance to celebrate in Atlanta.

• Georgia looked awful in their game against Kentucky but did enough to beat the Cats 19-10. They clinched the SEC East and will be playing in the SEC title game in Atlanta. GO DAWGS!!!

Let The Mayhem Begin

Mayhem is going to be paying a visit to the BCS.

The BCS is in turmoil... once again.

With Oklahoma State losing to Iowa State 37-31 in double overtime, there is no clear #2 team in the country. First, I feel awful for Oklahoma State, having to suffer through the tragedy involving Kurt Budke. I'm sure they were looking for anything to make themselves feel better and a win tonight might have helped.  Second, I have to give props to the Cyclones.They looked like they were going to end the season with a losing record, but now have a huge win and are bowl eligible. Third, congratulations to Alabama, Oregon, Oklahoma and all the other one-loss teams who now have a chance at making the national championship.

There a nine legitimate 1-loss teams and an undefeated Houston who all feel they have a right to play in the championship game. In actuality, there are five teams that have a shot of making it to the big game. Virginia Tech, Clemson, Houston, Stanford, and Boise State have just not done enough to warrant them getting an opportunity to win it all. That leaves us with Alabama, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, and Oregon fight for the number two spot behind LSU. Let's take a look at these teams chances and why they might deserves the spot.

Arkansas
This is the team that nobody is talking about right now, but are 9-1 and if they win out should be a huge player in the championship game possibilities.  The issue with that scenario is they would have to beat LSU, which looks unstoppable. It wouldn't be the first time Arkansas beat a #1 LSU team in the final week of the regular season. I'm sure you guys remember the triple overtime game back in 2007. If that happens though, it would further increase the mayhem, with LSU joining all these teams with one loss. They seem to be a lock to go to the title game with their superior schedule, but it would be hard to deny Arkansas a chance. Even in this situation, I think they would have to win the SEC, which would require Arkansas jumping Alabama in the rankings and LSU staying ahead of Bama. Chances are they lose to LSU and they would be eliminated from this conversation.

Oklahoma/Oklahoma State
These two teams will play each other on December 3rd eliminating one of the teams from contention. Oklahoma probably has a better chance of making it to the championship game because of a better non-conference schedule and because of the Oklahoma tradition. If Oklahoma State wins, I don't see them factoring into the conversation even though they should. They will have wins over Oklahoma, Kansas State, Texas, Baylor, and the rest of the Big 12. It just will be hard to come back from the tough loss they suffered tonight. The loss hurt Oklahoma as well. A win over OK State won't look as good as it would have if Oklahoma State came in undefeated. A win on December 3rd may not help Oklahoma enough to jump over Alabama and Oregon even though Oklahoma has more high-quality wins over good teams than Oregon does.

Oregon
In all likelihood, if all of the top teams win out and no more upsets occur, it will come down to Oregon and Alabama. Personally, I don't think Oregon deserve it more than Alabama does. There are only three team even worth mentioning when talking about football in the Pac-12. Those teams are Oregon, Stanford and USC. Outside of playing each other and Oregon playing LSU, none of them have played a legitimate team. Neither Stanford nor USC have a quality win other than Stanford's triple overtime win over USC. Unless Oregon can destroy USC, they shouldn't be considered over Alabama. Oregon's one loss was to #1 LSU. It doesn't sound bad, but they were manhandled by them. The score was 40-20 before they scored a garbage time touchdown.

Alabama
Alabama has taken care of every one of their opponents except one, #1 LSU.  Sound familiar? The difference is Alabama loss was an overtime loss with a score of 9-6. Alabama stayed competitive the entire game and even looked like the better team. They have also played a tougher SEC-schedule and played a Penn State team that was undefeated outside of the Alabama game before Paterno was fired.  It is also most likely unless voters change their votes to avoid an all-SEC national championship. Alabama holds a sizable lead over Oregon in both human polls and the computers.

Of course none of this could matter because half of these teams could lose before the season ends. Iowa State has shown us anything can happen. Either way we are in for an exciting ending to the season and a controversial one. It looks like the BCS is going to take another beating in the media for not having a playoff system. There is no way this season ends without a few schools complaining about the system. All we can do is sit back and enjoy. LEt me know what you think about this mess. Feel free to leave a comment on who you think should make it to the national title game.

College Football Update - October 1st

Here's just few of my thoughts from today's games.

• It's been a great day of college football for Georgia fan. Georgia pulled off a 24-10 win over Mississippi State in a game where the defense showed its skills. Even better news is that South Carolina was upset by Auburn and now has a SEC loss of their own. To add on the good news, Florida just lost 38-10 to Alabama with Brantley limping off the field right before halftime. With a relatively easy schedule the rest of the way, we just need one more team to beat South Carolina and we could see the Dawgs playing in the SEC Championship Game. 
• Both Texas and Oklahoma breezed through Iowa State and Ball State, respectively, and head into the Red River Rivalry game undefeated. Texas is going to be looking to ruin Oklahoma national title run and reassert themselves in the college football landscape after a rough year. 
• Texas A&M got a taste of what the can expect on a weekly basis next year as they lost Arkansas 42-38. The blew another huge lead ans they went into the half leading 35-17 only to watch Arkansas outscore them 25-3 in the second half. They wanted to leave the Big 12 to escape from Texas's shadow, but they will soon realize they will have to play four to five Texas-talented teams every year now. 
• Boise State continued their bid for yet another undefeated season beating Nevada 30-10. I'm sure it was nice for them to get revenge after Nevada ruined their season last year. It will be interesting to see what bowl they end up in this year. 
• Did anyone see Clemson being 5-0 at this point of the season? They started the year unranked and have now beaten Auburn, Florida State, and Virginia Tech in three straight weeks. With the toughest part of their schedule past them, you have to wonder where this Clemson team ends up. Also it looked like Virginia Tech was going to be able to escape their early season upset this year, but it hit them again. 
• Oh, how the mighty have fallen? Ohio State loses again, this time to Michigan State. With a trip to Nebraska next week and Wisconsin coming up in few weeks, the season could get ugly fast. Ohio State fans must be crying for Tressel right now.
• Wisconsin just introduced Nebraska to the Big Ten and they did it in a humiliating fashion. Montee Ball had a huge 4-TD game and led the Badgers to a 48-17 win.  With their toughest game past them, Wisconsin has some a chance to make some noise in the national championship picture.

My Conference Alignment

The layout of conferences in college has been hectic these days. Every day news comes out about some school switching from one conference to another. Here is a quick recap of the changes that have occurred.

• Colorado has moved from the Big 12 to the new Pac-12
• Utah has moved from the Mountain West to the new Pac-12
• Nebraska has left the Big 12 for the Big Ten
• BYU has left the Mountain West and has gone independent
• Boise State has moved from the WAC to the Mountain West
• Fresno State, Hawaii, and Nevada will be joining Boise State next year and join the Mountain West
• TCU is leaving the Mountain West and is planning on joining the Big East
• Texas A&M will officially be leaving the Big 12 for the SEC
• Syracuse and Pitt will move from the Big East to the ACC

Personally I am not a fan of the realignment and expansion occurring at this moment, but I can't do anything about it.  However, I can give you my view on what the conferences should look like. I am a fan of the 12-team conferences, so in my world I have every conference end up with 12 members. Also, I do not like the concept of independent schools, so you will see I give every independent a conference to call home. Check out what my conferences would like.

ACC

Boston College
Clemson
Duke
Florida State
Georgia Tech
Maryland
Miami (FL)
North Carolina
North Carolina State
Virginia Tech
Wake Forest

I have the ACC staying the same as it is now. In my world, Pitt and Syracuse stay in the Big East.

Big 12

Baylor
Oklahoma
Oklahoma State
Texas
Texas A&M**
Texas Tech
Southern Methodist*
Iowa State
Kansas
Kansas State
Missouri
Nebraska**

*New Member
**Rejoins or Stays

For the Big 12, Nebraska transfers back and SMU joins as the 12th member of the conference. This just makes sense. Nebraska already has the history with conference and SMU can join some of its old Southwest Conference rivals, like Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech and Baylor.

Big East

Cincinnati
Connecticut
Louisville
Pittsburgh**
Rutgers
South Florida
Syracuse**
West Virginia
Army*
Navy*
Central Florida*
East Carolina*

*New Member
**Rejoins or Stays

So there are some big changes in the Big East.  Pitt and Syracuse stay in the conference that they have been with the past 30 years; TCU decides not to join the Big East: and Army, Navy, Central Florida, and East Carolina join and new members. It made no sense to me geographically how TCU could move from the Mountain WEST to the the Big EAST. All of the new schools geographically make sense. Central Florida would give South Florida a more local conference rival. East Carolina would help the Big East spread more into the South and help USF and UCF not seem so far away from every other school in the conference. Army and Navy can join together which will keep the rivalry alive and no longer have to be independents.

Big Ten

Illinois
Indiana
Iowa
Michigan
Michigan State
Minnesota
Northwestern
Ohio State
Penn State
Purdue
Wisconsin
Notre Dame*

*New Member

As you read earlier I had Nebraska rejoin the Big 12 and in its place I have Notre Dame join. Once again it makes sense geographically and they play Michigan, Michigan State, and Purdue every year already.

Pac-12

Arizona
Arizona State
California
Colorado
Oregon
Oregon State
Stanford
UCLA
USC
Utah
Washington
Washington State

I kept the Pac-12 the same as it is now. 

SEC

Alabama
Arakansas
Auburn
LSU
Mississippi
Mississippi State
Ole Miss
Florida
Georgia
Kentucky
South Carolina
Tennessee
Vanderbilt

I kept the SEC the way it now as well and don't have Texas A&M join. Why mess with a good thing?

Mountain West

Air Force
Boise State
Colorado State
New Mexico
San Diego State
TCU**
UNLV
Wyoming
Fresno State*
Hawaii*
Nevada*
BYU**

I have the Mountain West add the new member that are joining in real life (Fresno State, Hawaii, and Nevada) and I have TCU and BYU come back. This ends up being a pretty good conference that could compete with many of the other conferences, such as the Big East and ACC. In my world, the Mountain West would become a BCS conference.

I just feel these conferences would work out well and make sense. This was my first post in quite a long time, but keep a look out for my next one where I will talk about what the college football postseason would look like in my world.

Chick-fil-A Bowl
South Carolina Gamecocks vs. Florida State Seminoles
Both teams made it to their conference championship and lost. They each look to redeem themselves tonight and get to ten wins for the season. Florida State quarterback Christian Ponder will end his long college career today and he must go through Marcus Lattimore and the Gamecocks. I like Florida State to pull out a win tonight. I see Ponder playing his heart out and leading the offense to a good game. On the other side the defense should be able to stop Garcia from playing well and causing a couple interceptions. Florida State wins this one 28-24.

AutoZone Liberty Bowl
Georgia Bulldogs vs. Central Florida Knights
It’s probably no surprise who I think will win this game. I like the Bulldogs to win one lead by quarter back Aaron Murray and wide receiver A.J. Green, who may be playing his last collegiate game before going to the draft. The Knights have a strong defense, but the Bulldogs should overcome it, with a big pass plays and solid runs by Washaun Ealey. Mark Richt always seems to get his team ready for bowl games as the Bulldogs have won seven of their past eight bowl games. I see Georgia winning 30-21.

Hyundai Sun Bowl
Notre Dame Fighting Irish vs. Miami Hurricanes
Miami is playing with interim coach Jeff Stoutland leading them after Randy Shannon was fired earlier this year. I feel the team may not be completely prepared for this game and will suffer another disappointing loss. Jacory Harris hopefully should be able to start after his injury which will give his team an emotional boost, but I'm not sure that will be enough. Notre Dame freshman quarterback has lead the Irish to three straight wins, all against teams with at least seven wins. If Miami can get their running game going early, they could win this, but I see Notre Dame winning 31-24.

Bowl Prediction: Part 7

Yesterday was quite an exciting day with two 2-point games, a double overtime game, and the biggest upset of bowl season thus far. I went 2-2 and am at 8-10 for the bowl season. There are four games today and there are some really good match-ups set for us.


Meineke Car Care Bowl

Clemson Tigers vs. South Florida Bulls
I’m expecting a scoring game as both teams boast a quality defense and should do a good job against each other’s offense. Clemson’s offense will be led by quarterback Kyle Parker and running back Jamie Harper as they look to score without the help of suspended running back Andre Ellington.  His absence should hurt a little, but they should be able to score just enough points to win this game.  It will be the defense that wins this game for Clemson, though. The Clemson defensive line will continuously disrupt Bulls quarterback B.J. Daniels and Da’Quan Bowers should add to his NCAA leading 15.5 sacks. Clemson should win this one 17-10.

Bridgepoint Education Holiday Bowl
Nebraska Cornhuskers vs. Washington Huskies
The two teams played each other back in September and Nebraska destroyed the Huskies. I see a closer game this time, but Nebraska should still win. Quarterback Taylor Martinez should be playing and should do well. If not, he can hand it off to Roy Helu Jr., who can break off huge runs. Jake Locker should have a much better game than last time as he plays the last game of his college career. I see Nebraska winning 38-24.

Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl
North Carolina Tar Heels vs. Tennessee Volunteers
Tyler Bray will try to lead Tennessee to its fifth straight victory against the Tar Heels at LP Field in Nashville.  He became the starter when the Volunteers were 2-6 and led them to a bowl game.  It will be interesting to see how he does against the Tar Heels because the teams he beat were not nearly as good as UNC. The combined record of the four teams were 13-35. Tyler Yates will lead the Tar Heels and should do well against a poor Tennessee secondary leading them to a 24-21 victory.

New Era Pinstripe Bowl
Kansas State Wildcats vs. Syracuse Orange
This is another game where one team has a slight home-field advantage and I am not choosing that team.  I like Kansas State led by running back Daniel Thomas to win this one. Their running game should overpower the Orange and be able to overcome and deficiencies their defense have in their run defense. Syracuse will use running backs Delone Carter and Antwon Bailey often and should be successful, but it won’t be enough.  The Wildcats win this one 20-17.

Bowl Predictions: Part 6

Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl
Army Black Knights vs. Southern Methodist Mustangs
I have been giving teams that are playing at home or close to home an edge in my predictions, such as Hawaii and Baylor, and it has proven not to be a deciding factor.  SMU is playing in Dallas and I wanted to give them the edge. but I feel that being at home may just be a distraction. SMU quarterback Kyle Padron has three great receivers to throw to in Aldrick Robinson, Darius Johnson, and Cole Beasley. They should have a big day, but I feel the SMU defense will have trouble against Army’s triple-option just like they did against Navy’s earlier this year.  Also, Army is 6th in turnover margin, while SMU is 108th. It should make a huge difference and Army should win 30-21.

Valero Alamo Bowl
Oklahoma State Cowboys vs. Arizona Wildcats
This should be a fun game to watch.  I can’t wait to see the nation’s leading receiver Justin Blackmon and his over 150 yards per game.  Oklahoma State’s last game was a wild loss to the Sooners, which they almost won and could have gone to the Big 12 Championship game. I’m sure they will be looking to show that they still are a top team in the conference.  The Wildcats are led by quarterback Nick Foles and have a great passing offense, but it quite one-dimensional. I see the Cowboys winning with their own great passing offense along with running back Kendell Hunter supporting them on the ground. They should win 38-24.

Texas Bowl
Illinois Fighting Illini vs. Baylor Bears
I see Baylor winning a close one here.  The teams are very equally talented, but the Bears have a more balanced offense. The Bears can expect to see a lot of running from Illinois led by running back Mikel Leshoure. Quarterback Nathan Scheelhaase should add to the rushing as he is more comfortable running with the ball than passing. On the other side, Baylor is led by quarterback Robert Griffin III and running back Jay Finley.  Griffin III is also dangerous running the ball, but is a much better passer than his counterpart. I like the Bears pulling this one off by a score of 21-17.

Bowl Predictions: Part 5

So both the Mountaineers and Mizzou lost yesterday and I have picked the wrong team to win in five straight games to bring my record down to 4-7.  This prediction thing is not working out as I planned.  Turnovers are playing a huge part in these bowl games as West Virginia turned the ball over five times and the game winning score in the second game came off of a 72-yard interception return. There are three games today and I’m confident I can turn this losing streak around.

Military Bowl Presented by Northrop Grumman
East Carolina Pirates vs. Maryland Terrapins
I really like the Pirates offense with Dominique Davis Davis throwing the ball and Jonathan Williams running it, but their defense is horrendous. Maryland should be able to whatever they want against offense. Danny O’Brien should have fun going against the awful defense.  The Maryland defense should be good enough to handle Davis and should be able to intercept him at least once as they rank in the top ten in turnover margin.  I see Maryland winning 30-17.

Bowl Prediction: Part 4

Georgia Tech gave away the game last night after turning over the ball four times including two muffed punts.  Air Force took advantage and sent the Yellow Jackets to its sixth straight bowl loss. The loss also sent my bowl record to 4-5. There are two really good games tonight to watch and let's hope I can sweep the to go over .500.

Champs Sports Bowl
West Virginia Mountaineers vs. North Carolina State Wolf Pack
The Wolf Pack will test the Mountaineers' top-5 defense in what should be a close game.  The Wolf Pack are led by quarterback Russell Wilson who will look to wide receivers Owen Spencer and Jarvis Williams to help lead the Wolf Pack to victory.  I don't see that happening though. West Virginia's defense should be able to hold them off enough to let running back Noel Devine end his college career with a win.  What I felt was the best team in the Big East should be able to pull off a 24-21 win. 

Insight Bowl
Missouri Tigers vs. Iowa Hawkeyes
I really liked Iowa to win this one despite losing their last three games and that I felt Missouri is a better team. They always seem to play their best for bowl games as they showed last year against Georgia Tech.  I changed my opinion after running back Adam Robinson was suspended for possession of marijuana. Iowa will also be playing without suspended receiver Derrell Johnson- Koulianos. I see Missouri pulling out a win as Blaine Gabbert leads his team to a 27-20 victory.

Bowl Predictions: Part 3

After correctly predicting the first three games last week, I looked to be heading on the right track, until Tulsa embarrassed Hawaii on its own field.  Then two days later, Toledo lost a heart breaker to Florida International. I finished 3-2 last week to bring my overall bowl record to 4-4. Hopefully, I can pull it back up to a winning record. I’m only doing the Independence Bowl in this edition and look for more predictions tomorrow.

Advocare V100 Independence Bowl
Air Force Falcons vs. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
I hope you guys like watching the triple-option offense because that is all you will be seeing this whole game.  It should be a quick one as these are the top two teams in rushing and in the bottom four in passing.  It might be a major conference bias, but I’m going with Georgia Tech in this one. Coach Paul Johnson beat Air Force five straight times when he was at Navy. Also Tech’s biggest weakness has been run defense, but I feel they can do a good job stopping Air Force because all they have to do is practice on their offense. I believe back-up quarterback Tevin Washington can be good enough to help lead Tech to a 31-28 victory.

Bowl Predictions: Part 2

My bowl predictions did not start so well as I went 1-2 in the first three games.  BYU, Northern Illinois, and Troy and demolished their opponents. Northern Illinois showed that they didn’t need ex-head coach Jerry Kill, and Corey Robinson played masterfully for Troy throwing for four touchdown and had no interceptions.  Hopefully, I do better in the next few games.

Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl St. Petersburg
Southern Miss Golden Eagles vs. Louisville Cardinals
This here is a classic case of offense vs. defense.  Southern Miss has an explosive offense lead by quarterback Austin Davis. He can spread the field with the help of receivers Kelvin Bolden and Johdrick Morris or hand it off to running backs Hardy and Johnson. Louisville touts one of the nation’s top defenses thanks to first-year head coach Charlie Strong. They’ll have their hand’s full with the Southern Miss defense but should be able handle it.  I think Louisville will pull this one out thanks to Southern Miss’ weak defense.  QB Adam Froman, coming back from an injury, will play in the game, but Justin Burke will start.  Strong will probably switch back and forth between the two, but running back Bilal Powell will make all the difference as he leads the Cardinals to a 31-23 victory.

MAACO Bowl Las Vegas
Utah Utes vs. Boise State Broncos
This is probably the game I am most excited for this week. It features two teams that were once ranked in the top five of the country and is the first bowl to have ranked teams. It will be interesting to see if Boise State comes out flat due to the disappointment of not playing in a BCS bowl game or if they will look to let out their frustration.  I think Chris Peterson will have his team ready and Kellen Moore will lead his team to one last win.  It will be interesting to see how Kyle Brotzman does after missing the two huge field goals in the Nevada game and one against Utah State. Utah should still be able to keep it relatively close (for a Boise State game), but I see Boise State winning 38-24.

San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl
Navy Midshipman vs. San Diego State Aztecs
Is it possible to come up with an even wordier bowl game title? I really like the Aztec in this game. They have the home field advantage in addition to more time to prepare for this game because Navy just played Army on December 11th. Navy has a great running game with their triple-option offense, but the Aztec have shown they can stop a triple-option offense when they played Air Force.  Aztec running back Ronnie Hillman has been dealing with injuries, but the extra rest will serve him well. A healthy Hillman will really help quarterback Ryan Lindley because the defense will have to divert some attention to the run, which should open up passing lanes. They win this one 31-21.

Sheraton Hawaii Bowl
Hawaii Warriors vs. Tulsa Golden Hurricane
This will be quite an entertaining game to watch, especially if you like offense. Hawaii and Tulsa rank in the top ten in offense and both average nearly 40 points per game. Tulsa quarterback G.J. Kinne is their most dangerous weapon because he can beat defense through the air or run on them.  He is the team’s leading rusher. Hawaii is lead by their own quarterback Bryant Moniz, who leads college football with the most passing yards. He should have a fun day going against Tulsa’s passing defense, which rank 119th in college football. I see the Warriors winning this one 42-31.

Little Caesars Bowl
Florida International Golden Panthers vs. Toledo Rockets
So this is the second match-up between a MAC and Sun Belt team. In the first one I went with the MAC team, picking Ohio over Troy, and it didn’t work out so well. I’m going to go with the MAC team again in hopes that the conference redeems itself.  Rockets quarterback Austin Dantin, who had separated his shoulder, is supposed to be back for this game. He will look to get the ball to wide receiver Eric Page, who should provide the team with a nice boost in special teams as well. Running back Adonis Thomas will balance the offense by finding holes in the line to help his team to a 30-24 victory.

Bowl Predictions: Part 1

It’s finally here. The time of year that you’ve waited for all season. It’s bowl season.  I’ll be examining every bowl game over the next few weeks, but this edition will take a look at this weekend’s bowls.  Look for the next edition to be up by Monday and will cover all the bowls up to the Little Caesar’s Bowl. But we’ve got three great games this weekend and while they may not be the best bowl games, they are the first ones. Let get right into it with my predictions.

New Mexico Bowl
Bringham Young Cougers vs. UTEP Miners
I’m excited for this game for mainly one reason and it’s because it is the first bowl game of the season.  The two teams enter this game heading in different directions. BYU won five of its last seven games to become bowl eligible, while the Miners lost five of its last six. UTEP quarterback Trevor Vittatoe’s ankle is a major concern, but it is probable that he plays. He won’t be at 100%, but will be motivated nonetheless, as it is most likely be the last game of his career. BYU is led by running back JJ Di Luigi and should be in for a good game against UTEP’s weak run defense. One thing I feel will work in UTEP’s favor is that they should be more excited to be here since it will be their players’ first bowl appearance. However, I still see BYU winning this comfortably in a 31-17 game.

uDrove Humanitarian Bowl
Fresno State Bulldogs vs. Northern Illinois Huskies
This should be a relatively close game. Talent-wise I like the Huskies with Chad Spann, one of the nation’s leading rushers, and quarterback Chandler Harnish, but I think Fresno State should pull out a win.  Northern Illinois is going to have to play this game without head coach Jerry Kill, who left for Minnesota. Pat Hill should have Robbie Rouse, Fresno’s own talented RB, ready and should have a slight home-field advantage as they play on Boise State’s blue turf. As long as Fresno can hold onto the ball and not turn it over, they should pull this one out 28-24.

R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl
Ohio Bobcats vs. Troy Trojans
I am excited for this game because of Troy WR Jerrell Jernigan. I was able to watch him against Oklahoma State earlier this season and he played a terrific game with a touchdown on offense and 100-yard touchdown on a kickoff return.  While he may be fun to watch, I feel his quarterback Corey Robinson may make too many mistakes and will let Ohio take this one.  I feel Bobcat running back Vince Davis and backup quarterback Phil Bates should be able to run over the Trojan defense. I see Ohio winning this 28-27.

Goin' Streaking

"We're going streaking!"

No one actually followed Will Ferrell when he exclaimed, “We’re going streaking!” in Old School. Maybe he should have screamed it to the NBA instead of a frat party. He could have found some followers there.  The three division leaders in the East, the Celtics, Bulls, and Heat, are all on win streaks of 7 games or more and hope to keep them going. Frank the Tank really wishes he had partied with these teams right now.  It’ll be interesting to see how long these teams can go before they lose.  Let’s check out each streak and see how they’ve done it and if it's likely they'll continue.

Boston
Boston has won 12 games in row after beating the Hawks 102-90.  Overall, it have been an impressive streak with two wins over Atlanta in addition to wins over Chicago, Denver and New York. Their next few tough games are at Orlando on Christmas Day, San Antonio on January 5th, and then Chicago on January 8th.  Overall it could be a manageable schedule up until the Spurs game.

Interesting Stat: They have had seven different leading scorers over their twelve game streak. Paul Pierce, Ray Allen, Kevin Garnett, Rajon Rondo, Shaquille O’Neal, Nate Robinson, and Glen Davis have all been the leading scorer. This balance among the team will really help in the next few games with Rondo out.

Concern: Rajon Rondo will miss the next couple of weeks due to an ankle injury.  He will be missed as he leads the league in assists and is able to bring this team together.  Robinson has shown he can be productive in limited minutes and did well against Atlanta, but we will have to wait and see how he does in the starting role.  (And does anybody else love his early-90s, Fresh Prince haircut?)

Miami
Miami has now won 10 in a row and will look to make it eleven in New York on Friday night. Everyone had been waiting for this team to show their potential, and now we see it.  Dwayne Wade and LeBron James have fully adjusted and are playing extremely well together.  What has been most impressive about this team has to be their defense.  They have the best defense in the league, giving up barely over 91 points a game.  Of the three teams streaking right now, they have the hardest upcoming schedule as they have to play the Knicks twice, the Mavs, and the Lakers all before New Year’s.

Interesting Stat: The Heat have not allowed over 100 points in a single game during this streak and is allowing a mere 85.5 points per game.  It seems Spoelstra’s “do something good on defense, you can do what you want on offense” reward system is working. They also have nine of the ten games by double digits easily handling their opponents.

Concern: The schedule. They have a lot of good teams coming up and I doubt they will make it to New Year’s still on this streak. They are bound to have a close game sooner or later, which will be fun to watch. The Heat are 0-3 in games decided by 5 points or less. We still do not know how they will play in a close game with their new confidence.

Chicago
Chicago has won seven in row so far and it hasn’t been easy.  They won an overtime game against Houston and then had to go through the Lakers and Thunder. Their upcoming schedule won’t be as hard.  They play only one team above .500, the Knicks, in their next eleven games.  The combined winning percentage of those opponents is .341. If it wasn’t for Joakim Noah’s injury, I would have confidently said the Bulls would be riding an 18-game winning streak heading into their January 5th match-up against the Celtics.

Interesting Stat: Derrick Rose has made 19 three-pointers during this seven game streak. He made a total of 16 in each of his previous two seasons.  Rose has fully taken on the leadership role for this team and has drastically improved his game this season.  Before the season he had asked, “Why can’t I be the MVP of the league?”  What seemed quite unrealistic at the time doesn’t sound so crazy anymore.

Concern: Joakim Noah’s thumb injury. He will be out for the next 2-3 months and this a huge loss to the Bulls.  The energy he brought to the team was immense. The loss in rebounds is huge as he was one of the NBA’s top five rebounders and led Chicago to be the second best rebounding team in the league. Boozer and Gibson have to try to take over and at times play like a center. We may see Omer Asik playing more minutes, but there are also rumors that the Bulls may sign someone new.