Bowl Wk 3

Well this was a doozy of a week. Not just close games but it was the week of the underdog. Of the 13 games played this past week, the favorite only won five of them. That made for an exciting week in Vegas and it upset my Bowl Pick 'em ranking as well (I started the week in the 98 percentile of all players and ended up 78 percentile).

I had already picked Baylor over UCLA and SMU over Fresno. But the biggest surprises for me were:

Rice over Air Force: Wow...nobody even knows where Rice is.

Syracuse over high-scoring West VA: That was a real shocker given the West VA set a scoring record in the Orange Bowl less than a year ago.

Texas over Oregon State: This one hurt...I have really enjoyed watching the up and coming Beavers this year as they have put together a solid team. But I think their coach must have been talking to BYU coach Bronco Mendenhall (an OS alum) because had OS not stuck with their QB so long (after three turnovers) then I think they would have pulled out the win.

And MSU over TCU was a great game to watch. Down to the wire, trading field goals in the last two minutes to decide the game. Great comeback by MSU.

Bowl Wk 2

Don't sit around waiting for the BCS Bowls to enjoy college football. The BCS might sponsor the more popular and best teams but there is a lot of talent and excitement in the "lesser bowls".

But not necessarily all of them. I'll admit...I wasn't too interested in the Beef "O" Brady Bowl or the New Orleans Bowl and those were not very close games. Nonetheless they did display excitement for fans of those teams.


MAACO Bowl
I did not have this one high up on my Bowl Pick 'em confidence chart because BSU has been iffy at times and  Sarkisian and UW are known for pulling off the big games (even when they struggle or lose to so-so teams). And this came down to the wire as expected with an interception in the last minute sealing the win for BSU. This game looked like tow teams re-building and I expect we'll see bigger wins from both next season.


Poinsettia Bowl
This was a very lopsided 6 - 3 game until the 4th quarter when BYU finally decided to win the game. But as we have seen at many a BYU game this season it was nto the offense that made that decision. In fact, the BYU defense scored more total points than the offense. (Actually...Kyle Van Noy scored more TDs than both teams combined). Once again, BYU has a very talented but poorly coached offense and the credit for the W goes to the passionate play by the defense and special teams (five punts inside the 10).

R E A L L Y ?
I have heard good things about James Lark and was even told by a friend two years ago that BYU should have been starting him. Bronco's "man crush" on Nelson hurt BYU this season as I have posted about before but seeing Lark in action proved my earlier points. This was my first time watching Lark as the BYU QB and I was impressed...and frustrated. He has a great arm and accuracy like the BYU QBs of yesteryear. His only fault was poor decision making...which would have only improved if he had been playing more this past season. Aaarrrgghh....lessons learned (I hope).

Bowl Wk 1

Two weeks without college football and now three weeks of games most any day of the week- that's the next best thing to the start of the season!

New Mexico Bowl
I thought Arizona would pull this off quite easily. Boy did I mis-judge the Wolfpack. But Arizona reminded the other 123 FBS teams to never give up, never give in and yes, HECK YES, it's possible to score two TDs in 0:46 seconds. And win the game, too, after being down 21 - 0 in the 1st quarter and still down 17 at the start of the 4th. Thanks, Wildcats, for re-storing everyone's faith in the possible.

Idaho Potato Bowl
And I really expected USU to manhandle Toledo...but I didn't expect them to wait until the 4th quarter to do so. Stout defense and explosive run game - USU has something good going on and I think they were underrated all year...and last year, too. Not to mention some bad bounces of the pigskin that would have had them ranked last year and likely had them in a BCS bowl this year.

R E A L L Y ? ?
Is the SEC so dead-set on winning another straight BCS Championship that they bend the rules a bit? SEC teams have had their share of run-ins with NCAA violations / suspicions and I think this was a gross error on the part of SEC brass making it look like the "winning at all costs" goes all the way to the top...or did it start there? Read the full article HERE.

Bowls and Heismann

It happens every year...I wake up the Saturday after Conference Championship weekend and wonder what I used to do on Saturdays. For the last 15 Saturdays I have either been going to a game, watching a game or both. Guess it's time to get ready for Christmas (the second most wonderful time of the year).

The 35 bowls are now set (you can join our Yahoo! Bowl Pick'Em Contest by clicking HERE) and the Heisman Trophy sits atop the Manziel's mantle. It's that time of year to speculate about bowl games, whine about the dumb match-ups (BCS and otherwise), watch the start-up of the annual coaching carousel, talk about "maybe next year" (for those teams who under-performed), and then sit back and hope our team makes good at season end.

Wk 14: Con Champs

College football finalized its conference champs and the bowls are set. ( You can join our Yahoo! Bowl Pick'Em Contest by clicking HERE ). This Championship Weekend was no different in surprises than the last few weekends: an upset, two down-to-the-wire games, controversial calls, controversial no-calls -- everything we have come to expect.

Wk 13: Rivalries

No real surprises this week (we've had a truck-load of those the last two weeks). But Showdown Saturday or Rivalry Week lived up to it's annual hype as teams that have been bragging or hurting for 365 days had a chance for payback.

Wk 12: It Sux to be #1

I expected a pretty causal Saturday of CFB - but "not so fast my friend". I am sure they are still partying in Waco, Berkeley and especially in South Bend. Sometimes it just sucks to be #1...and #2. Top teams always have a huge target on their backs no matter who the opponent is, and there is plenty of game footage to help them prepare. Sometimes the opponent is a rival, sometimes it's a nobody, but when you're ranked high they are always the hunter and you - the hunted. Thanks, Baylor and Stanford, for ushering in the ever eminent BCS chaos...

Wk 11: The First Fall

Even the mighty fall - eventually. Louisville lost to unranked Syracuse. The mighty Tide was rolled over by up-and-coming Aggies (and all of Oregon Nation cheered...). Number One fell and then there were three - all vying for a shot at the crystal football. Will one of them fall and make it an easy choice championship match-up? Or will two fall and ignite controversy? Or will three unbeatens remain leaving us all to wish for the BCS "play-off" to start this year?

Wk 10: Survival

Whew...that was close! Not that it mattered much to me but 'Bama barely survived the upset and Notre Dame took 3OTs to decide it did not want to be upset. No major shifts in the polls but I bet that a lot of thinking about shifting went on...and that'll show up in the polls the next few weeks.

Wk 09: The Underdog Strikes

This weeks lesson: "Never look past the underdog. This is college football. Anything can happen." Of the 10 unbeaten teams that headed into Saturday only five escaped unscathed. Four of the losing five lost to un-ranked teams. Long-time rivalry emotions, trap games, and just bad luck may have been to blame - in part. But bottom line: the underdogs came ready to play. It was the day of the underdog.

Wk 08: Midpoint

We now find ourselves 51 days into the season with 49 left to go. At this midpoint of the season we do not find much poll controversy...but just give it a another week or two. A Florida loss could drop them below LSU whom they beat. Any slip by 'Bama or the Ducks will put everyone into a tizzy. And traditionalists would love to see ND and the Sooners back in the title hunt and will toot their horn at every chance.

Wk 07: ...and Bake

And the Top 25 was baked well: #5 lost to an un-ranked; #6 had a scare; #8 had a scare; #3 lost to #9; and #15 lost bad. The cake is almost done and the first BCS rankings are out. There may not be much mixing left to do but I'm sure the icing, as always, will be debated.

Wk 06: Shake...

The shake up has begun. And I think the "bake" will happen next week as the Top 10 continue into some tough games where they will have to prove their ranking. October is the month of put up or shut up and the when the real sorting process begins (and when the BCS whining starts...but that's next week).

Wk 05: Hold On

Whew! Exciting weekend and just a preview of things to come. Very soon...like next weekend. Yes, there will be a shake up of the Top 10 since #4 and #10 play each other as well as #5 and #6. Not to mention the lesser teams that are already better prepared than their Top 25 opponent. There are 19 un-defeateds left - but not for long...

Wk 04: Coaching Diatribe

OK, OK - so my ranting about the Top 10 last week and this weeks results show why I have a college football blog and not my own website or TV show. Just when I thought I was going to be able to prove some of those professional voters wrong, I get humbled. That is the unpredictability of the game. So I will have to whine about something else this week: BYU coaching...

Wk 03: Tremors

A few more cupcake games (are we done yet?) but enough shake-up in the Top 25 to start making the season very interesting. Now it gets fun...

Wk 02: Second Helping

Remember last week when most top teams played cupcakes? Usually in the second week everyone starts playing better teams after beating up on the week-1 weaklings. But this weeks match-ups looked oddly similar to week-1 and there was not much to look forward to. But a few of those the supposed "weaklings" had other plans that resulted in yet another exciting weekend of college football (and upsetting for some).

Wk 01: Here We Go

We are underway in the final two BCS seasons leading up to the first "playoff" season in 2014 (finally). The results of Week #1 2012 were not surprising and there were no real controversies (darn it!). But I still have a few things to say...

Off-Season 2012

FINALLY - It's the most wonderful time of the year! There were quite a few typical off-season stories ranging from the coaching carousel to multiple players (mostly SEC) being suspended or dismissed from the school. (And, on that note, I must say "Kudos" to SEC Coaches Richt and Miles for reminding their staff, players, fans and the nation that no one, not even the top running back or the Honey Badger, is above the law). But the biggest off-season stories were the changes to the BCS and the Penn State fiasco.