"Most Likely": Week 2

I've got a new weekly post I’m starting this week called “Most Likely”.

I will be asking the same 5 questions each week about my personal top 15 teams concerning their upcoming games. Hopefully, It will be a fun way to preview the games each week. 

Note: Preface each statement with “The team most likely to…”

Get upset (must be a 10+ point line): SOUTH CAROLINA – I really wish that I had Wisconsin in my top 15 because that would be the easy pick here, but since they aren’t I am going to have to go with the Gamecocks.  They are playing ECU this week and I've seen what ECU can do early in the season against the big boys.  This could be a possible game to keep an eye on. 

Pull the starters in the 2^nd quarter:  FLORIDA STATE - This is an easy one this week with FSU playing Savannah State who lost to OSU last week by  84. 

Look worse than their ranking: SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA – They are flying across country and will be playing at 11:30 AM PST.  Syracuse is coming off of a rough loss and will be hyped for this game.  USC will lose ground this week to Oregon in the rankings. 

Look better than their ranking: GEORGIA – People are thinking that Mizzou will be out for blood this week against the Dawgs, but I think Georgia impresses this week and shows everyone that they are the team to beat in the SEC East.

Climb into the top 15: OKLAHOMA STATE – While I really don’t see anyone falling out of the top 15 this week, if anyone does OSU will be there to take their spot.  I see them winning big against Arizona.  If one team were to fall out, it might be Nebraska with having to go to UCLA and already being on the cusp at #14.  

Check out my week 2 picks here!

Power Rankings: Week 1

The Dallas Hokie Power Rankings - Week 1

1)     Alabama (Prev. 1)

2)     USC (2) 

3)     Oregon (3)

4)     LSU (4)

5)     Georgia (5)

6)     West Virginia (9)
7)     Arkansas (8)

8)     Florida State (10)
9)     Oklahoma (6)

10)   Clemson (12)

11)   South Carolina (11)

12)   Michigan State (14)

13)   Virginia Tech (13)

14)   Nebraska (15)

15)   Michigan (7)   

On the verge (in no particular order) – Texas, Ohio State, Oklahoma State, Wisconsin

Biggest jump: West Virginia - 3 spots
Biggest drop: Michigan - 8 spots

While Alabama and Oregon both impressed this weekend, there was no real room for a change with the top five in the rankings.  But after that, things started to shake up a bit.  West Virginia benefited  from some lackluster performances by some of the teams ranked ahead of them and Michigan made a huge fall after their loss.  I didn't drop them completely out because, while they did look terrible, they played a great team and shouldn't be punished immensely for their loss.  Oklahoma State would be my pick to take their spot if they experience any sort of hangover this week.  Also, I left Virginia Tech and South Carolina in place because of their close wins over decent conference foes.  We will learn a lot more about those teams as the season progresses.  

Guest Post: Mrs. dallas hokie (Part 2)

If you missed part 1 of today's post you can check it out here.  Mrs. dallas hokie gave us some great info about Oklahoma State and this coming football season.  

In this post I ask her to make some predictions for the upcoming season.  I've read them and while I might not agree with everything, I can't argue with her logic.  

5) So we all know you hate OU and think Landry Jones is overrated, but who do you think will win the Big 12? And do you have a preseason pick for Heisman? If so, who? If not, why won’t Landry Jones win it? Also, who will play for the National Championship? Who will win?

Let me just say that as I have gotten older, I don’t hate OU – I’m just tired of OU because sometimes they just whip right into why their football program is better than ours (Not disputing that, it is historically better than ours) rather than having a good debate about our program and other Big 12 teams programs. But they should be cheering for OSU/Baylor/Kansas State to be better in football so our conference has more parity; it makes our conference more exciting. It’s kind of boring with Texas and OU always duking it out. I have had solid discussions with OU fans about our program and other Big 12 team’s programs, though. I respect their team and program and their history. And what annoys me most about Landry Jones is that molest-stache. Bothers me on Derek Holland. Bothers me on Landry Jones.

Honestly, I really have enjoyed watching Matt Barkley. Although I really think Collin Klein from Kansas State is such a talented, old-school style QB. He probably won’t win because he doesn’t put up the snazzy numbers that RG3 did/numbers that seem to win Heisman’s, and he plays for Kansas State. But he is so incredibly consistent. Landry Jones won’t win because he just hasn’t seemed consistent enough to me. I think a Heisman candidate shines when his team is losing/loses – and when OU lost to Baylor, TX Tech and OSU, he seemed to collapse into himself. But I could be incredibly wrong – his off-season could have been very productive and I wouldn’t know. So he could win.

As far as who wins the Big 12: I don’t know, I mostly think preseason predictions are a crapshoot anyway, because this is anyone’s game at this point. On any given day, any team can beat any other team. We can give preference to “Powerhouse” programs, but how many times do we see the mighty fall? Besides, I cheer for the underdog at all costs; I mean, I went to what is considered the “Little Brother” school in Oklahoma. Despite us having 50 National Championship, which is the 4^th most. That fun fact was for free.

6) Now let’s talk about conference realignment.  How do you feel about the addition of TCU and West Virginia in the Big12 this year? How well do you think Texas A&M and Missouri will fair in the new 14 team SEC?

I’m honestly excited to have TCU, mainly because we live so close to Ft. Worth that we can go watch Big 12 games! Yay! But I’ve always thought they did well in their conference and I’m excited to see what they bring to the table. Plus they defeated Boise State last season – this now makes me a huge fan. Honestly, West Virginia horrifies me. Their coach is our old offensive coordinator, so that’s kind of intimidating when someone knows your secrets. And their fans seem like hoodlums. Burning couches? I mean, really? Throwing snowballs with batteries in them? I mean, really? They realize they’re at a university, not a federal prison, right?

I hope TX A&M and Mizzou do well, because that looks good for the Big 12. Realistically? I think the first couple of years will be difficult for them. It’s an adjustment; especially an adjustment to being pilgrims in the unholy land of SEC. Those folks do not mess around. Football is the sport that counts in that conference, so they take it very seriously. I have my negative opinions about the SEC as a whole, but you can’t deny that their conference is nutso good at football. And neither of those teams have been nutso good at football recently.

7) Which Big12 team ranked in the top 25 will most likely end the season outside the top 25 and why? Kansas State, Oklahoma State, TCU, Texas, West Virginia or Oklahoma?

At this point, I don’t know. I want to say Texas because they have struggled pretty badly these last couple of seasons. And of course I don’t want to say OSU, but that’s a definite possibility. I think Kansas State comes in as the underdog, big time. I love Kansas State and hope they do well. Who doesn’t love a 72-year-old coach who wears a 2002 Holiday Bowl jacket?

8) From the expanse of knowledge you now have from marrying a Hokie… If VT wins the ACC, what will be the biggest reason for their success? If they don’t, what will be the reason for their failure?

All of these opinions are all based off of watching the 2011 season, so I’m a little harsh. But I think your defense would be the reason why you win. I saw your defense as reasons you guys won so many games. See follow up question for more reasoning. . .

The biggest reason for failure – Your offense. Last season you guys went 3 & out a ton and tended to not be as productive as you would like your offense to be. There was one game, it was either v. Clemson or v. UNC that your defense would force turnovers or recover a fumble and then your offense would come on and just fart it away. As a football fan, that bothers the crap out of me. I hate it when OSU does it – that’s usually the point that I expletive and yell the most. You have to use what your defense gives you and be productive with that.

9) Finally, who will win the match-up this weekend in Arlington between No. 8 Michigan and No. 2 Alabama?

As someone who has such strong disdain for Alabama and a mediocre feeling for Michigan, can I just say I want the earth to open up and swallow the stadium?

Thanks for taking the time to answer these.  We will have to do it again sometime! Great work beautiful!

Again if you missed part 1: You can read it here. 

Guest Post: Mrs. dallas hokie

In honor of the start of the College Football season, I figured it would be a good idea to let my wife share some witty banter and great insight on the upcoming season.  I have found her insight here to be pretty compelling and really like what she has to say.  Also, I need to give credit to the Pistol's Firing blog for the idea.  

This is post 1 of 2 so keep an eye out later for the second half later today.

1) Do you have anything to say before we get started? 

I attended and graduated from Oklahoma State University and loved all 4 years there. I merit the right to be extremely biased in their favor. I try to be as fair as I can, but you can’t help letting that bright orange, color your disposition.

2) I know you were a huge college football fan when you were in school.  During your time there, what was your favorite sports related memory?

When I was in college our football team wasn’t that great. The favorite game I ever went to was when we beat Kansas State (This was our Homecoming game, which is an over the top big deal at OSU) on a two-point conversion, in the last moments of the 4^th quarter, to win 41-39. I thought I was going to throw up. Because our fans are a lot like Cubs fans: long-suffering, you build a lot of character and are really just waiting for the “Poke Choke” and for us to fart something away and then lose. It was a very exciting game. If it had ended the other way, our fan base would’ve gone to Joe’s and emotionally destroyed a thing of cheese fries and shared memories of Barry Sanders. I had more consistent, exciting sports memories from attending Cowgirl Soccer – those ladies are beastly good. So go support Cowgirl Soccer, Pokes.

Another favorite memory was the “I’m a Man, I’m 40” incident of 2007. Being a student during that time was a lot of fun. We had t-shirts everywhere with our Coach Gundy’s rant/famous slogan. As a student, I was so proud of our school and our coach who defended his program and his player. Sure, Bobby Reid ended up leaving OSU because he was embarrassed and really wasn’t that good, but hey – who doesn’t like a 40-year-old man ranting at the media whilst wearing a visor?

3) Pretty interesting year for OSU coming off a BCS win and reloading with a frosh at QB. What are you most excited about?

Ehem, our FIRST BCS game, paired with our FIRST BCS win. Let’s not forget that; we won that tacky, Bedazzled Fiesta Bowl trophy with pride. Todd Monken, our offensive coordinator, is a beast. He’s mouthy and brassy – probably two of my favorite attributes. We had such an explosive offense last year, which was so fun to watch. And when you win that much, it’s fun to watch, too. So I’m just looking forward to how Monken develops our new offense without Weeden or Blackmon. I’m just excited to see how we develop as a team in a noticeable rebuilding year. Plus, the CFB world is finally watching Oklahoma State as a contender. That’s pretty exciting stuff.

4) Rank these players in order of your favorite to least favorite and tell me why: Weeden, Dez, Zac, Blackmon, Barry Sanders, Joe Randle, and Justin Gilbert.  Feel free to add a “wild card” player if you would like.

Barry Sanders – I mean. Duh. Our only Heisman winner, so naturally he goes to the top of the list. He is talked about in hushed, reverent tones in Stillwater, OK.

Blackmon – Obviously, guy has some troubs with leaving the bottle alone, but two-time Biletnikoff winner? No explanation necessary.

Weeden – Say whatever you will about his age/baseball career, etc. But he’s a solid dude and what I consider our most consistent QB. For a while it seemed like he shattered a QB record at OSU a week. Beast.

Broderick Brown/Jamie Blatnick/Basically our whole defense – Naturally, I think our defense is underrated. Big 12 defense is pretty terrible usually overall. We have excellent offense so most team’s defense kind of hits the skids. But Broderick Brown and his pals with all those INT’s in 2011. Holy smokes. This is also discussed in hushed, reverent tones. This clip is from our 2010 Bedlam (That’s the name we give to when we play OU) game. We lost this one, but this should have been a warning that our defense would become a ‘No-Fly Zone.’ Pretty epic stuff:

(Editor Note: Check out the hit put on Broyles after the INT!)

Joe Randle – Okay, here’s where I let my girl show: He is totes presh. He has the cutest dimples and smile (Second only to you, dear one). Brass tacks: he scored 150 points during the 2011 season. WHAT. That’s nasty. It’s second only to Barry Sanders 234 points. This is a dude to watch. Plus, he is a running back. I don’t know why, but I just have an affinity for them.

Kendall Hunter – I loved watching ‘Spud’ in college. Short and brassy and on average rushed for over 30 yards a game. Beast. He was an outstanding player that got to shine even more after Dez left. He was incredible at OSU and definitely didn’t get enough of the recognition that he deserved. And, you guessed it, he’s a running back.

Justin Gilbert – Quick kiddo. I don’t really watch him that much or know enough about him to appreciate him or put him closer to the top, but he is FAST. Which I love. My team plays in the Big 12, so we love that quick-ness. Or at least I do.

Zac Robinson – He was the QB that instilled excitement in all of us sad fans. He did an okay job, but he’s not really a favorite for me. He was just there and was a pretty exciting/productive QB. But now, he pales next to Weeden. At the time, we thought he was the best. And then we got the best and it was all like “Zac, who?”

Dez – I loved him in college, and loved watching him do kickoff returns for a TD (I once saw a 89 yard TD from him. WHAT) and cried outrageous-ness at the NCAA when he was suspended. But now that I’m older, I think he’s a dweeb. He is talented, yes. And he’s annoying and pompous, too. That combo cheeses me off. So I think I don’t like him on moral grounding. Whoops.

That's all for now, later I will ask Mrs. dallas hokie for her thoughts on the rest of college football for the coming year!

Check out the College Football Preview Week Posts while you wait!


1) Conference Race Projections
2) BSC Bowl Projections
3) Power Rankings
4) Week 1 Picks

10 BCS Questions (Part 1)

We all know by this point what should happen in the BCS come Sunday night.  Here are a few sites that are all projecting the same matchups in the five BCS Bowl games. 

ESPN: http://espn.go.com/college-football/bowls

CBS: http://www.cbssports.com/collegefootball/bowls/predictions

YAHOO: http://collegefootball.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1297268&PT=4&PR=2

However, I've come up with 10 questions that may get you thinking otherwise.   

The first three are listed here with more to come!

1)     What if Oklahoma State Destroys Oklahoma?

This is the burning question among most of the “experts” out there.  Would Oklahoma State warrant jumping Alabama in the BCS Standings with an impressive win over Oklahoma?  With this win I would expect OSU to be the #2 ranked team in all the computers.   This would happen because Oklahoma is currently the 5^th ranked team in the computers and a victory over them would sure help the ranking. 

With being ranked #2 in the computers, OSU would just need for about 1/3 of the voters to select them ahead of Alabama on their ballots.   I am really convinced that this is a possibility.  Ten percent of the voters already don’t have Alabama as the number #2 team and I think a big win by the Cowboys and the desire for there to not be a rematch could increase to the needed number of around 33%. 

Still, it is important to note that Oklahoma State would also need to jump Stanford and Virginia Tech.   If they remain behind those two teams in some of the polls, I would say that they would need to be ranked #2 in upwards of 50% of the polls. 

2)     What if LSU loses a close one to Georgia?

While I think this is very unlikely, it could happen; and, remember that Georgia is probably the 3^rd best team in the SEC right now.  The biggest impact of this result would be in the computers.  The most likely scenario would be for OSU to jump both LSU and Alabama and get the #1 computer vote (assuming a win over Oklahoma).  LSU would most likely fall to #2 and Alabama would fall to #3.  This would make it much easier for OSU to jump Alabama and would just require a little love from the voters.

The bigger question here is how would the voters end up voting? Who would receive the #1 votes in the polls? Would Oklahoma State be worthy of any #1 votes? If I were a voter, I would have a hard time ranking Alabama ahead of LSU because of the fact that LSU was required to play an extra game just because they beat Alabama.  I would also have a hard time keeping LSU at #1.  I think a loss to Georgia would expose both LSU and Alabama and should make some of the voters think about that #1 spot.  In the end I don’t think the polls would chance much and would hope that the voters would not punish LSU with a close loss to a good team. 

I would expect LSU to remain #1 in the polls and be followed by Alabama.  Stanford, Virginia Tech and Oklahoma State would be very closely bunched at #s 3, 4 and 5.  Because of the way the BCS works, being ranked ahead of another team doesn’t really matter if you are close in votes.  

It would come down to the computers and like I said above Oklahoma State would be ranked #1 and would have a good chance of jumping into the National Title Game. I think this is the best case to avoid a rematch.

3)     What if Oklahoma State loses?

This would be an interesting scenario.  I don’t think that Stanford would warrant being voted ahead of Alabama because they would not have won their conference and I don’t think Virginia Tech could beat out Alabama in the computers.  In the end I think this means we are most certainly headed for a rematch. 

Even if LSU were to lose to Georgia, I don't think it would matter.  LSU and Alabama would maintain their ranking at #1 and #2 and Stanford and Virginia Tech will not have the computer ranking numbers to jump either of the SEC schools. 

Alternate BCS Scenarios

Just for fun, here are a few BCS Scenarios to take a look at. 

--> UPDATE: I am assuming Houston loses to SMU, Tulsa or Southern Miss.  However, even if they don't, they won't play for the national championship unless every other team (except 1) has 2 losses.

SCENARIO 1

What if Oklahoma Beats Oklahoma State?

Post Championship Game Weekend Rankings

1)      LSU (12-0) (Wins against Ole Miss, Ark, Georgia)

2)      Alabama (11-1) (Wins against Georgia So, Auburn)

3)      Oregon (12-1) (Wins against USC, Oregon St, ASU)

4)      Oklahoma (11-1) (Win against Baylor, Iowa St, Oklahoma St)

5)      Oklahoma State (11-1) (Wins against, Iowa St, Loss to OU)

6)      Virginia Tech (12-1) (Wins against UNC, UVA, Clemson)

7)      Stanford (11-1) (Wins against Cal, Notre Dame)

8)      Arkansas (10-2) (Win against Miss St; Loss to LSU)   

9)      Boise St (11-1) (Wins against San Diego St, Wyoming, New Mexico)

10)    Kansas State (10-2) (Wins against Texas, Iowa St)

11)    Wisconsin (11-2) (Wins against Illinois, Penn St, Michigan St)

12)    Clemson (11-2) (Wins against NC State, South Caroline; Loss to VT)

13)    Nebraska (10-2) (Wins against Michigan, Iowa)

14)    Georgia (10-3) (Wins against Kentucky, GT; Loss to LSU)

15)    Michigan State (10-3) (Wins against Iowa, Indiana; Loss to Wisconsin)

16)    South Carolina (10-2) (Wins against Citadel, Loss to Clemson)

BCS CHAMPIONSHIP GAME: #1 LSU vs. #2 Alabama

ROSE BOWL: #11 Wisconsin vs. #3 Oregon

SUGAR BOWL: #5 Oklahoma State vs. #12 Clemson

FIESTA BOWL: #4 Oklahoma vs. #7 Stanford

ORANGE BOWL: #6 Virginia Tech vs. #? WVU

SCENARIO 2

What if Arkansas Beats LSU?

Post Championship Game Weekend Rankings

1)      Oklahoma State (12-0) (Wins against, Iowa St, OU)

2)      Alabama (12-1) (Wins against Georgia So, Auburn, Georgia)

3)      Oregon (12-1) (Wins against USC, Oregon St, ASU)

4)      Arkansas (11-1) (Win against Miss St, LSU)   

5)      LSU (11-1) (Wins against Ole Miss; Loss to Georgia)

6)      Virginia Tech (12-1) (Wins against UNC, UVA, Clemson)

7)      Stanford (11-1) (Wins against Cal, Notre Dame)

8)      Boise St (11-1) (Wins against San Diego St, Wyoming, New Mexico)

9)      Oklahoma (10-2) (Win against Baylor, Iowa St; Loss to Oklahoma St)

10)    Kansas State (10-2) (Wins against Texas, Iowa St)

11)    Wisconsin (11-2) (Wins against Illinois, Penn St, Michigan St)

12)    Clemson (11-2) (Wins against NC State, South Caroline; Loss to VT)

13)    Nebraska (10-2) (Wins against Michigan, Iowa)

14)    Georgia (10-3) (Wins against Kentucky, GT; Loss to LSU)

15)    Michigan State (10-3) (Wins against Iowa, Indiana; Loss to Wisconsin)

16)    South Carolina (10-2) (Wins against Citadel, Loss to Clemson)

BCS CHAMPIONSHIP GAME: #1 Oklahoma State vs. #2 Alabama

ROSE BOWL: #11 Wisconsin vs. #3 Oregon

SUGAR BOWL: #4 Arkansas vs. #12 Clemson

FIESTA BOWL: #9 Oklahoma vs. #7 Stanford

ORANGE BOWL: #6 Virginia Tech vs. #? WVU

I love this scenario!  Still, the key will be in seeing if LSU falls below Arkansas.  I think they would, since Arkansas would have just beaten them and the pollsters heavily penalize recent losses, putting Alabama in the SEC championship game.  The interesting thing is that Arkansas would automatically qualify if they finish #4, meaning that LSU would be left out!

SCENARIO 3

Now for a fun and very unlikely scenario! Here is what needs to happen in order for VT to make the NCG!

The first step in this process is that either Oklahoma State or LSU have to lose twice.  Oklahoma State has no chance of losing to Iowa State and LSU has no chance of losing to Ole Miss.  So the only chance is for LSU to lose to Arkansas, still make the SEC championship game and then lose again to Georgia.  In order for LSU to still make the championship game, Arkansas needs to lose to Miss State (who has probably faced the toughest schedule in the SEC thus far and could easily pull this off).  This will also serve to eliminate Arkansas from the picture. 

Additionally, Oklahoma State needs to beat Oklahoma, Auburn needs to beat Alabama, and USC, Oregon State or Pac12 South Champion needs to beat Oregon.  Then VT needs to beat Clemson in the ACC Championship game.  In the end here is what the standings would most likely look like (I went through the changes in the standings week by week to figure them out; that is why Alabama is #5 even after losing to Auburn and Boise stayed back at #9)

1)      Oklahoma State (12-0) (Wins against, Iowa St, OU)

2)      Virginia Tech (12-1) (Wins against UNC, UVA, Clemson)

3)      Stanford (11-1) (Wins against Cal, Notre Dame)

4)      Oregon (11-2) (Wins against Oregon St, ASU; Loss to USC)

5)      Alabama (10-2) (Wins against Georgia So; Loss to Auburn)

6)      Oklahoma (10-2) (Win against Baylor, Iowa St, Loss to Oklahoma St)

7)      LSU (11-2) (Wins against Ole Miss; Losses to Arkansas, Georgia)

8)      Arkansas (10-2) (Win against LSU; Loss to Miss St.)

9)      Boise St (11-1) (Wins against San Diego St, Wyoming, New Mexico)

10)    Georgia (11-2) (Wins against Kentucky, GT, LSU)

11)    Kansas State (10-2) (Wins against Texas, Iowa St)

12)    Wisconsin (11-2) (Wins against Illinois, Penn St, Michigan St)

13)    Clemson (11-2) (Wins against NC State, South Caroline; Loss to VT)

14)    Nebraska (10-2) (Wins against Michigan, Iowa)

15)    Michigan State (10-3) (Wins against Iowa, Indiana; Loss to Wisconsin)

16)    South Carolina (10-2) (Wins against Citadel, Loss to Clemson)

BCS CHAMPIONSHIP GAME: #1 Oklahoma State vs. #2 Virginia Tech

ROSE BOWL: #12 Wisconsin vs. #4 Oregon

SUGAR BOWL: #10 Georgia vs. #3 Stanford  

FIESTA BOWL: #6 Oklahoma vs. #5 Alabama

ORANGE BOWL: #13 Clemson vs. #? WVU

The orange bowl could choose Alabama here and very well might, due to how low ranked Clemson would be.  If that did happen, I think that Clemson would be chosen by the Sugar bowl with Stanford in the Fiesta. 



BCS Projections

Everyone seems to be putting up BCS projections these days.  So here are mine with a detailed explaination of why the schools that I'm projecting are chosen.   

I’ll start off with the BCS Championship Game.  As much as I want chaos and for LSU to lose, I just don’t see that happening.  Also, Oklahoma State will finally beat Oklahoma and stay undefeated as well.

BCS CHAMPIONSHIP GAME: LSU vs. Oklahoma State

That means that LSU wins the SEC and Oklahoma State wins the Big 12.  I will also assume Oregon wins out to win the Pac 12.  Assuming Clemson and Virginia Tech win out, these projections won’t vary too much in regards to which team wins (see my final paragraph for notes on that).  But for argument’s sake, I think VT wins the ACC.  In the Big East, any champion will be in the same boat, no one is going to want them.  With Cincinnati losing their QB for the year, I think WVU wins out to win the Big East.  Now to the Big mess 10.  I think that Michigan State will win out along with Wisconsin for a rematch in the Championship game.  I’ll take Wisconsin this time around to win the Big 10.  A few other games to note, is that I think Houston will either lose at Tulsa or to Southern Miss in the C-USA championship game taking them out of the BCS picture. 

To recap, here are your conference champions:

SEC: LSU

Big 12: Oklahoma State

Pac 12: Oregon

ACC: Virginia Tech

Big East: WVU

Post Championship Game Weekend Rankings

1)     LSU (12-0) (Wins against Ole Miss, Ark, Georgia)

2)     Oklahoma State (12-0) (Wins against, Iowa St, OU)

3)     Alabama (11-1) (Wins against Georgia So, Auburn)

4)     Oregon (12-1) (Wins against USC, Oregon St, ASU)

5)     Virginia Tech (12-1) (Wins against UNC, UVA, Clemson)

6)     Stanford (11-1) (Wins against Cal, Notre Dame)

7)     Arkansas (10-2) (Win against Miss St; Loss to LSU)

8)     Oklahoma (10-2) (Win against Baylor, Iowa St; Loss to Oklahoma St)

9)     Boise St (11-1) (Wins against San Diego St, Wyoming, New Mexico)

10)   Kansas State (10-2) (Wins against Texas, Iowa St)

11)   Wisconsin (11-2) (Wins against Illinois, Penn St, Michigan St)

12)   Clemson (11-2) (Wins against NC State, South Caroline; Loss to VT)

13)   Nebraska (10-2) (Wins against Michigan, Iowa)

14)   Georgia (10-3) (Wins against Kentucky, GT; Loss to LSU)

15)   Michigan State (10-3) (Wins against Iowa, Indiana; Loss to Wisconsin)

16)   South Carolina (10-2) (Wins against Citadel, Loss to Clemson)

The last few spots on there are pretty much up for grabs.  Keep a lookout for TCU, Southern Miss or Houston to take one of those top 16 spots and automatically qualify for the BCS (because they are ahead of the Big East Champion)

With that in place, here are how the teams will be picked. 

1)      The conference champions are placed:

ROSE BOWL: Wisconsin vs. Oregon

SUGAR BOWL: None (LSU is in NCG)

FIESTA BOWL: None (OKState is in NCG)

ORANGE BOWL: Virginia Tech

2)      The bowls that lose their conference champion to the NCG get to pick:

SUGAR BOWL: Alabama

FIESTA BOW: Oklahoma

3)      At large schools are selected (Fiesta picks first, then Sugar, then Orange):

FIESTA BOWL: Stanford

SUGAR BOWL: Clemson (Chosen over Boise St, Nebraska, Michigan State – Kansas State and Arkansas are ineligible because of the rule only allowing 2 teams per conference; also, if a non-bcs conference champion ends up in the top 16, they will have to be chosen for this game or the Orange bowl)

ORANGE BOWL: WVU (Big East Champ)

Finally, here are your BCS Bowl games and I personally would love to see each one of them:

BCS CHAMPIONSHIP GAME: #1 LSU vs. #2 Oklahoma State

ROSE BOWL: #11 Wisconsin vs. #4 Oregon

SUGAR BOWL: #3 Alabama vs. #12 Clemson

FIESTA BOWL: #8 Oklahoma vs. #6 Stanford

ORANGE BOWL: #5 Virginia Tech vs. #? WVU

That last at large pick for the Sugar Bowl is definitely a huge toss-up.  I could easily see Boise State being selected for that game and would really enjoy seeing how they matched up with Alabama.  But, if that did happen I would hate to see either team win it!  Count Boise in for sure if Clemson stumbles against South Carolina.  Also, if Clemson wins the ACC championship game I would give a bigger nod to Boise being selected over VT, but it would still be close.

College Football Week 10 Analysis

Yesterday’s football slate ended up being quite sub par when I came to quality games.  And living in Dallas, I couldn’t catch the local coverage of the ACC games.  But, here are some notes and thoughts on what I saw in yesterday’s action.  Be sure to check out my post from earlier on the LSU vs Alabama game as well. 

The Crazy Big Ten:

In the past three weeks in the Big Ten, six ranked teams have been upset and chaos is ensuing atop the conference standings.  Right now eight teams are already bowl eligible with Northwestern and Purdue still close to making it as well.  Additionally, 7 teams have 2 or fewer losses in conference play; making these last few weeks extremely interesting.  I said last week that I thought Nebraska would meet Wisconsin the title game; but, with Nebraska’s loss, I will revise that to say that I think we will see Michigan State vs Wisconsin.  Be on the look out for next week’s version of the “Weekly Big Ten Championship Game Pick”!

Oklahoma State’s Big Play Defense:

We saw last night what happens when a team that takes risks on defense doesn’t get the big plays that they need.  In the first 8 games this season Oklahoma State was able to force 30 turnovers or 3.75 per game! That is a ridiculous amount.  They were able to do this by taking risks on defense.  They over purse the quarterback, try to strip the football and jump routes looking for interceptions.  Last night, this strategy didn’t work, and a patient Kansas State team was able to take advantage.  Thankfully, their offense is so solid that they were able to win without relying on their defense to provide them with a short field.  When matched up with other aggressive Big 12 teams, look for Oklahoma State to get back to their normal self in forcing turnovers.  However, if forced to face a power / running offense again like Kansas State, we will have to see if their offense can make up the difference again.

Week 10 Picks Review:

This week I went 6-2 overall missing two silly ACC games.  I’m not sure why I thought Duke would win, I probably was just (1) really hoping that Miami would embarrass themselves and (2) wanting Virginia Tech’s close win last week to look better.  My other miss was on Wake Forest who took a 7 pt lead into halftime, but just couldn’t score at all in the second half.  On the other hand, the NCState vs UNC game went like I thought it would.  NCState showed up at home and UNC didn’t on the road; just like they have all season. 

My Thoughts on College Football Tradition

There are very few times when I would consider speaking ill of my Alma Mater, but this might be one of them.  I have always wished that VT had taken the time to have more ways of showing crowd unity.  And no, the “Hokie Pokie” doesn’t count!  While I’m convinced that the entire stadium jumping to “Enter Sandman” is the greatest scene in sports (I get goosebumps every time!); that’s about where it ends as far as crown unity goes.  We clap together (but don’t know the words to our fight song) and we cheer loudly (but only use the words “let’s”, “go” and “Hokies”).  The problem with all this is that I just don’t see the entire crowd involved in the game in the same manner as I’ve seen at other schools.

The reason I bring this up is that this past weekend I had the pleasure of going to Stillwater, Oklahoma.  Home of the first ever Sonic, great BBQ, Kevin Durant’s favorite place to play flag football and of course Oklahoma State University.  I got the chance to experience a homecoming that was way more impressive than anything I have ever experienced of its kind (checkout this site about their "Walkaround" if you haven't heard of it) and an all-around brilliant football showing by the #3 team in the country.  Needless to say, I was thoroughly impressed by both the atmosphere and the team. 

One of the things that I thought was very cool to see was how involved every fan was at “waving the wheat” after a touchdown and singing the alma mater after the end of the game.  I just think it’s really cool to see any scene where over 60,000 people are united in one cause and one purpose.  Even I couldn’t help but to feel loyalty to a school I had never even considered liking until I started dating my current fiancée.  

I don’t in any way think that a Virginia Tech fan is any less loyal or the fan base is any less united.  I just think that the difference is that schools like OKState or even LSU, Clemson or UVA have a half century of football tradition.  They are like your stuck-in-his-ways grandpa, while VT is like a teenager looking for his identity.  I look forward to coming back to VT in 20, 40 and 60 years and seeing how our traditions grow grander and stronger.  It’s just that now, we are just kids with no idea what we want to be when we grow-up.  We have energy and vigor and hopefully that translate into a tradition of unity, loyalty and of course winning!