Is New Year's Eve a holiday? IT IS TO ME!

The Holiday last night was awesome.  I now have a new favorite quarterback in college football.  It is 5-10 Jeremiah Masoli.  He is built like a fullback and was out there running people over.  I absolutely loved it.  Well there is a full slate of games and we should get right to them.

The day starts with Armed Forces Bowl.  This is a game between two very good "non-BCS conference" teams.   Houston led the nation in total offense.  The Cougars high-powered offense is led by sophomore quarterback Case Keenum.  Keenum threw for 4,768 yards and 43 touchdowns while only throwing ten interceptions.  In an earlier meeting this year between these two teams, Keenum threw for 362 yards and four touchdowns.  Air Force has a good run defense that could keep Bryce Beall, the second leading rusher among true freshmen, in check.  Also the Air Force pass rush will keep Keenum on his toes.  The Falcons do have a very porous secondary which will be exposed by this pass happy Houston offense.  Air force, on the other hand is a very run heavy team.  The Falcons can put up points and have a good defensive front.  Air Force beat Houston by three points early in the season.  I like Air Force but I like Case Keenum even more.  I watched him play at Wylie High School in Abilene and his dad was my college football head coach.  I am going with my sentimental favorite Houston.  Elysa sided with me and picked the Cougars.  John picked Air Force.

Next up is the Sun Bowl.  This bowl features Oregon State and Pitt.  It also has two great running backs.  Leshon "Shady' McCoy of Pitt is a hard nose gritty runner and Jacquizz "Quiz" Rodgers of Oregon State is a small shifty back.  The deciding factor in this one will be quarterback play.  The Beaver's Lyle Moevao is a great athlete but gets himself into trouble trying to make too many things happen.  Pitt's quarterback Brent Stull is a non-factor and is just asked not to lose the game.  This lets teams stack the line to try and stop McCoy.  Both teams found their groove in hte middle of the season after starting slow and finishing badly.  I think Oregon State has more to prove and will win this one.  John also picked the Beavers and Lys chose the Panthers of Pitt.  

The Music City bowl is the next game to pick.  This will be a defensive struggle between Boston College and Vanderbilt Commodores.  Boston College quarterback Dominique Davis has played well but is not a big threat to throw the ball.  This puts all the load on the Eagles' two freshman running backs Montel Harriss and Josh Harlen.  Both are hard runners but will have trouble finding holes if the Commodores stack the line with their two hard hitting safeties.   If  Chris Crane is ready to start for the Eagles today at quarterback after breaking his collar bone he will add a passing dynamic.  But it may be a moot point because Vandy has one of the best pass defenses in the nation.  Vandy has been shaky on offense and Boston College is great on defense too.  This should be a low scoring affair.  Look for Vandy's offensive speed to be a problem for the Boston College defense.  I am taking Vanderbilt.  John and Elysa prove their loyalties to teams above the Mason-Dixon line and choose Boston College.

The insight bowl should be a good one.  The Kansas Jayhawks and the Minnesota Gophers both have a lot to prove.  Both Teams started out quickly this season then stumbled coming down the stretch.  Kansas' offense, on paper, seems almost perfect.  Todd Reesing at quarterback is a gritty smart leader.  Running back Jake Sharp is a great pass receiver and  blitz stopper.  He is also a great runner but rarely gets a hole opened by the disappointing offensive line.    The Jayhawks have two great receivers in Dezmon Briscoe and Kerry Meir.  Minnesota after starting 7-1 lost its last 4 games.  The Gopher's young quarterback Adam Weber is a proven leader.  He has a got to target in Eric Decker who has caught almost half of Weber's touchdown passes.  Minnesota runs a strange low output version of the spread.  I am picking Kansas.  John also picked Kansas and Elysa sided with the Canadians and chose the Gophers.

Chick-fil-a bowl analysis by John:

LSU looked nothing like a defending national champion team this year with three big losses.  Georgia Tech looked great at the end of their season..  They played well against another SEC team, Georgia, and won.  Look for them to come out and  exploit the weak defense of LSU (It feels so weird to write that about an SEC team.) with their complex triple option.  Calling this one for Georgia Tech.  Elysa and I are both picking Georgia Tech as well.

Watch the games today and enjoy your New Year.  Remember that if it is bad or good for you right now that the best is yet to come.  Thanks for helping me do this all year.  Live like no one is watching and someone hire Mike Shanahan 

Damn these doubles!

I have just been informed that I have to work a double. I hate that I wont have the time to again provide the analysis that I have worked so hard to prepare. I apologize and promise there will be full analysis of tommorrows games. But here are the picks

Texas Bowl: John picked Rice and so did I. Elysa picked Western Michigan.
The Holiday Bowl: I picke OKlahoma State and so did John. And Elysa picked teh Ducks of Oregon

I recommend you watch all the bowl games today they will be great.

The Humanitarian Bowl

Good morning all.  We have a slate of great games today.   Every game on the schedule has the opportunity to be great.  I have been on a roll lately with my picks, but today is one of those days where each game could go either way.  So I am going to pick and pray.

The Humanitarian bowl is a good match-up of teams.  The Maryland Terrapins are schizophrenic.  They only show up in big games.  Quarterback Chris Turner is spectacular on the big stage and no so great in smaller venues.  The Terrapin defense is ultra suspect and hasn't played up to potential.  They will have their work cut out for them trying to stop the pistol offense of Nevada which boasts the second best rushing attack in the nation.  Nevada is great at stopping the run.  But that is about all their good at stopping.  Their defense gives up a ton of pass yards.  Which gives the most hope to Maryland.  The Terrapins will have a wide receiver David Heyward-Bey back as well as tight end Dan Grankowski.  With Turner delivering the ball the Terrapins can eat the secondary of Nevada up.  On the Wolfpack side quarterback Colin Kaepernick is scary.  He threw for 2,479 and rushed 1,115 he had 35 touchdowns.  I know what your thinking, that's like Tim Tebow last year, your right but he plays for Nevada so you have never heard of them.   Running Back Vai Taua ran from 1,420 and 14 touchdowns.  I think Nevada will play well and I like their offense a lot.  But I am picking the Terrapins because no WAC team has won on the blue turf in 100 years or something.   Elysa Picked the Terrapins and now for John's analysis.

Nevada has the second best running game in the Nation.  Maryland has multiple Personality Disorder.  If the Maryland that beat Cal and Wake Forest shows up it should be a good game to watch.  If the Maryland that lost to Middle Tennessee state shows my Terps might get stomped into the the mud.  Go TERPS!  I'm calling this one for the Terrapins.

That's it for this morning.  We have some good one's tonight as well.  So stay tuned tonight for more analysis.  Live like no one is watching and Alicia Keyes is hot!

The Alamo Bowl

I am totally sorry that I overslept this morning.  I had a well researched analysis that if now posted would seem like hindsight.  I did predict that Rutgers would win which they did.  Now let's get into tonight's game the Alamo Bowl that features Missouri and Northwestern.

Missouri started the season with hopes of playing for a national championship game, and with two Heisman hopefuls.  Chase Daniel, unfortunately, got lost in the great play of other Big 12 quarterbacks.  But he threw for 4,000 yards and 37 touchdowns.  The other Heisman hopeful was the elusive wide receiver Jeremy Maclin.  Maclin is a deep threat with big play ability and leads the nation in all purpose yards with 2,646.  The Tigers also have a weapon in tight end Chase Coffman.  Coffman and running back Derrick Washington are extraordinary compliments to Daniel and Maclin in this high powered offense.  The Mizzou also has a proud offensive line that has only allowed 15 sacks all season.  Northwestern is no slouch however.  The Wildcats played the best defense in the Big 10.  Defensive end Corey Wooten is a handful coming off the edge.  On offense the Wildcats will have Tyrell Sutton back at running back.  Sutton is a threat to score every time he touches the ball.  CJ Bacher will be starting at quarterback and is a proven leader and will be supplemented by the athletic back-up Mike Kafka.  Kafka is Northwestern's second leading rusher.  This will be a good match-up but I think that Mizzou is just too much, I am picking the Tigers.  Elysa is picking the Wildcats of Northwestern.  Now for John's analysis.

This will be Mizzou's chance to prove that they are worth the hype that they got at the beginning of the year.  Unfortunately they have to go through Northwestern to do it.  Northwestern is one of the best, if not the, best defenses in the Big 10.  (Kind of like saying your the smartest kid in the fourth grade when you have been held back for the third consecutive year, but still a compliment though right?)  Mizzou has something to prove and I think they are going to do it.  I'm calling this one for Mizzou.

Well that is tonight's game.  There will be more to come tomorrow and I will analyze them before I go to bed so there are no screw-ups like there were last night.  Live like no one is watching and pray for Israel.

I am an idiot

I slept late so there will be no analysis for the Papajohns.com bowl. but here are the picks john chose rutgers and so did I. Elysa picked NC state. I will be home before teh start of teh Alamo bowl so you will here John's and my analysis for that one.

Playoffs? We don't need no stinking playoffs!

This blog was written by John Brown.  It in no way represents the thoughts or beliefs of  "Belly Up to the Bar" or  The Nathan Brown Show".  Any views represented are those of John and John alone, except anything that is clever I will take all the credit for that.  Continue to live like no one is watching and Monday's bowl picks will be posted in the Morning.  Now without any further ado......

It is the end of the  college football season, which means that my interest in sports is waning.  I won't watch Sportscenter, or ESPN at all, for the next seven months unless women's volleyball or soccer is on.  I keep hearing fans and pundits and writers yelling "We need a playoff!"  Pshaw I say to that.

I watch college football all season for one reason:  it is exciting all season.  It is the only sport that remains exciting from beginning to end.  NFL football is crap.  College and professional basketball are boring.  (That is more a flaw of the game of basketball than it is any ranking system.)  Baseball is like a five hour barbed wire enema.  We don't need a playoff system taking away from the excitement of the game.  I like that a game in week one is just as important to your postseason hopes as your twelfth game of the season.  I like that when teams like Oregon State and Appalachian State beat you, it matters.  If anyone were to get beat by the Lions right now in the NFL it wouldn't make a big difference in the playoff picture (unless you are the Cowboys, Jets, Chargers, or Eagles).  I like that a game being played on the other side of the nation has an impact on your standing.  I like that in the past decade or so that the BCS has existed there have been more one versus two than in the eight decades before that.

I used to be a proponent of a playoff system.  Now, I'm not so sure.  All a playoff system does is prove that on any given Saturday (or Thursday, or Friday, or Wednesday even) you are better than the guy on the opposite sidelines, which is enough during the season, but doesn't sit right with me during the post season if an Oklahoma team gets beat by whoever won the Sunbelt this year.  I used to think that you should take the eleven champions of Div 1A (fuck you, I will not call it FBS) conferences and three wild cards and make a fourteen team playoff.  This would do away with the Independents, but fuck them.  If you want a shot at the title you need to join a conference.  Change the game to a ten game season and if you don't have a conference championship, you sure as fuck better play everyone everyone in your conference.  The main reason that I'm not a supporter of this idea is that you still can't solve, fairly, who the three wild cards would be.  Would it be the teams with the best records?  Would it be the top three in the national standings that were not conference champions (my personal favorite)?  I couldn't ever get fully behind the idea without thinking I was jumping on a "Fuck the BCS!" bandwagon.

So how do we get rid of the bullshit and still keep the game exciting?  Make bowls mean something again.  You can play in a bowl game with a .500 record! That's retarded.  If you can barely win half your games you have no business being in a bowl.  (I'm looking at you Vanderbilt, Florida Atlantic, Memphis, Hawaii, Northern Illinois, North Carolina State, and Kentucky.)  I'm a big fan of the idea that if  you have more than three losses you shouldn't be playing in a bowl game.  (But I am usually a big fan of my ideas.) Make a bowl placement prestigious.  If you didn't have every no name team with six or seven wins playing a post season game, there would be far less outcry about the fairness of the championship decision.

But that wouldn't stop the outcry would it.  Part of the call for a change comes because of the selection process for number one and two.  You have biased coaches and media polls and an unbiased computer ranking.  I have two theories on fixing this.  First, and my favorite: Do away with the media poll.  This gives even weight to the other two standings.  The coaches who know the game of football, and, generally, can judge a team's talent and a good win versus a bad win, would be given their due.  The computers who don't play football would be weighted equally because they rate things regardless of bias.  Second theory.  Do away with the human polls completely and base everything off the computer rankings.  This isn't practical, because, well very simply, computers don't play football.

All of the whining and such aren't going to change much though, not unless you can figure out a way to keep the BCS coordinators rolling around in stripper money.  The money is what it really comes down to, which is a shame.  All of my theories, like the playoff theories, change the fatness of the back wallet.  To all of those big endorsers of a playoff system: think what you would be giving up.  I don't want a boring game that only matters in December ( a la March Madness).  I want a sublime game where people knock the shit out of each other for higher education.

Diamond in the rough!

Yesterday we had the full array of bowl games.  We had a blow out, a great game, and a pretty impressive game by a freshman quarterback.  West Virginia's quarterback, Pat White, is a total class act.  He threw for a career high 334 yards yesterday and made some throws that answered a lot of questions about whether or not he could make "NFL" throws or not.  He also proved he and his coach are two class acts and we will not get to witness a player like that in college football everyday.  Florida State was way too fast for Wisconsin last night.  Teams like Northwestern and Minnesota in the Big 10 are proving that they can be successful with the spread.  Until the rest of the conference can catch on tit will continue to get dominated by mediocre teams from mediocre conferences.  Also, despite the loss, Miami's Jacory Harris played a helluva football game and kept the Hurricane's in it until the last second.  

Now for today's game.  Northern Illinois will be playing Louisiana Tech in the Independence Bowl.  This bowl usually stacks a middle of the road SEC team against a middle of the road Big 12 team.  They couldn't get a team from either of those conferences, so they chose the Huskies and the Bulldogs.  Despite the lack of big names and established programs, this will be a good one.  Both teams are balanced and pretty sound football teams.  Northern Illinois went from 2-10 last year to 6-6 this year.  The Huskies quarterback Chandler Harnish is athletic and makes good decisions with the football.  Louisiana Tech has a thousand yard rusher in Porter and sophomore Ross Jenkins, a great athlete, at quarterback.  I regrettably do not much about these two teams, but I love the balance of Louisiana Tech.  I chose Louisiana Tech.  John and Elysa both picked Northern Illinois.

The bow season so far has not been disappointing.  I am very impressed with the way teams have showed up and played.  Stay tuned tonight for a special treat from John and some more bowl picks.  Live like no one is watching and say hi to a stranger. 

Saturday is back!

Well it is a full day of bowl games this Saturday.  We all know I am pumped yet slightly saddened.  I have not been doing so hot on these whole bowl picks.  But that is ok because it means that the bowl games are not predictable this year.  FAU beat Central Michigan last night.  Owls quarterback Rusty Smith proved his arm is very capable and the defense held a very potent Central Michigan offense to only 21 points.   On to today's games.  I am going to do some quick run downs.  

North Carolina is playing West Virginia in the Meineke Car Care bowl.  This is only UNC's second bowl since 2001.  On the other hand West Virginia has played in 5 straight New Year's Day bowls including two BCS bowl wins in four years.  West Virginia quarterback Pat White is playing the last college game in his storied career.  He is almost impossible to contain with his speed and athleticism.  When paired with the slashing and often dangerous running of Noel Devine, West Virginia might be too much.  North Carolina's quarterback, TJ Yates will start despite missing eight games with a broken ankle.  If Yates struggles expect to see Cam Sexton who had a good season quietly in his eight starts.  This should be a good game I am going with WVU.  John picked WVU also but no expert analysis.  Elysa picked UNC.

Next is Wisconsin and Florida State play in the Champs Sports Bowl.  Florida State is a fast, talented team.  They lack discipline on defense which proves costly on a regular basis.  Florida State is fast, Wisconsin not so much.  The Badgers have a hard hitting defense.  Wisconsin's quarterback Dustin Sherer is a sound passer but most of the Badger's offense rest on the large shoulders of PJ Hill and John Clay.  This is old school smash mouth football against a fast spread offense.  I am so old school and I am picking Wisconsin.  It might be the only time I pick a Big 10 team to win a bowl.  Lys and John both picked FSU.

The Emerald Bowl pits Miami verse Cal.  Miami is a young talented football team.  Randy Shannon has done a helluva a job giving his talented young team a lot of confidence.  Robert Marve, The Hurricane's starting quarterback, is suspended so they will be starting true freshmen Jacory Harris.  The quarterback play on Cal's team is slightly more confusing.  Nate Longshore will be starting although Nate Riley played the whole season after Longshore was benched early in the year.  It doesn't really matter who plays QB as long as the Bears have Javid Best running the football.  He averages eight yards a carry.  Yeah eight.  Miami's defense is fast and Cal's offense line is beat up.  I am going with Cal.  John and Lys picked Miami.

Well those are the picks for today.  I am glad John picked some of the games.  Also stay tuned for his blog tomorrow night on college football playoffs.  Live like no one is watching and watch the games today assholes.  

Aloha Irish!

I was astounded at the final score of the Hawaii Bowl.  I was drunk so I thought I was reading it backward.  But no Notre dame dominated on both sides of the ball.  It seems like the team some of the experts thought Notre Dame would be this year showed up in the bowl game.  I have to take my hat off to the Irish, and i have a simple question; WHY COULDN'T"T YOU PLAY LIKE THAT ALL SEASON YOU ASSHOLES! But I digress.  It also helped that Hawaii's defense never even came out of the locker room. Anyway congratulations Irish!

Now for tonight's game.  It is the Central Michigan Chippewas and the Florida Atlantic Owls. This should be a great one.  There will be a lot of points put up.  Central Michigan is lead by quarterback Dan Lefevour.  Lefevour is similar to Tebow and Grothe in the way he plays the quarterback position.  He is a great runner and a better passer than both the afore mentioned guys.  The Chippewa offense is talented and can light the score board up.  FAU is a passing offense that scores a lot as well.  Rusty Smith has led the Sun Belt in passing for two straight years.  He is a pocket passer with great field vision and phenomenal leader.  He doesn't have a whole lot of weapons but he has enough.  Now for the tough part.  I think Central Michigan will win.  I like both teams so i don,t know who to root for. I live near FAU and I love Dan Lefevour.  What a dilemma.

Lys picked FAU because that is where she went to college and John wasn't aware that either of these teams where Division I schools.  I hope that everyone h ad a great holiday.  Live like no one is watching and return that sweater!

WOW!

The subject of today's entry is the same text I just sent my brother.  The game between Boise State and TCU was exactly what we expected it to be, an absolute barn burner.  TCU's hard nosed defense bottled up the high octane offense of the Broncos.  The Horned Frogs dominated the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball.  A couple of congratulations are in order.  First to the senior class of TCU they have won 41 games in their career, which is more than any other class in TCU history.  They are also undefeated in bowl games winning their last four.  Also to Ian Johnson, who set the WAC record for touchdowns in a season.  Ian is one of the classiest guys in college football and I hope he makes a splash in the NFL.  I will definitely be pulling for him and maybe he will land on the Denver Broncos.  

Now it is time for a preemptive "shut the hell up" to the sports writers.  I know over the next two days we are going to hear the questions about Boise State's validity.  These were two of the best teams in the nation beating the hell out of each other tonight.  Both probably deserved at least some consideration for a BCS bowl.  I am proud of both teams and the class in which they won and lost this season. 

Now for a more embarrassing moment.  That's right it is time to pick the Hawaii Bowl that just so happens to include the very horrible Fighting Irish.  In the last nine years Hawaii is 4 and 2 in bowl games.  Notre Dame in that time is o and 6.  In fact Notre Dame has not won a bowl game since the Cotton Bowl in 1993.  This year Notre Dame was horrible. They have one of the worst secondaries in the NCAA, which doesn't bode well for this team considering Hawaii throws the ball so much.  On offense The Irish has a pair of great receivers in Micheal Floyd and Golden Tate, but Jimmy Clausen can not get them the ball.  There is a bright side for Notre dame though.   The Warriors quarterback, Greg Alexander, makes bad decisions when pressured which is often considering Hawaii's offensive line can not run block or pass block.  Also Charlie Weiss is calling the plays for the Irish offense.  I am not sure if that is good or bad, but hey it is something.  Hawaii is a tough trip for any team to take, especially if you are a bad team.  Hawaii gave a very good Cincinnati team all they could handle and I think they might kick the crap out of Notre Dame.  I am pulling for you Irish but I am calling this one for the Hawaii Warriors.  

Elysa picked this game.  She also believes that the Warriors will win.  John did not pick this game because he is an elitist bastard! So sorry to be beneath you, JOHN.  I will  be writing tomorrow but probably not on Christmas day.  If you don't read before then, have a happy holiday. Live like no one is watching and lay off the egg nog!

John loves amphibians?

Well my bowl picks have just gone toward solidifying my position as a football guru.  HMM that might be a slight exaggeration.  I am actually 2 and 4 and so is Elysa.  If your saying their have only been five bowl games you are right, but if you remember correctly we also picked the DIV III national championship game.  I am not to upset though because bowl games can always go either way and I still 29 bowl games to improve on my record, or make it totally shameful, both of which are possibilities.  I have a special guest today.  John was kind enough to finally grace us with his analysis, or ramblings, you choose.  I guess he downloaded every Madonna song and is waiting for his Asian porn DVDs to finish burning.  So, let's get this party started!

Their is a big game tomorrow night, it is the Poinsettia Bowl.  It is Boise State against Texas Christian.  Here is what John had to say:

"Disappointing bowl placement for both teams has produced what will possibly be the best match-up out side of the national championship.  The lightning strike Broncos offense will be going against one of the stingiest defenses in the BCS.  This should be a good rematch after 2003's Ft Worth Bowl.  I am calling it for Boise State, but will be rooting for TCU.  I have a thing for amphibian/reptile mascots. Sue me."

I am impressed John thank you for your analysis. Lys also weighed in with her pick:

"I don't like frogs, especially if they have horns, I pick the Broncos."

Now for what you have all been waiting for.  I, like John, believe it is disappointing that these two teams did not get a better bowl bid.  TCU boast the second best defense in the nation.  However their hard-hitting linebacker Robert Henson will not suit up due to the fact that he is academically ineligible.  The Broncos thirteenth ranked offense will be at full strength and they will be mad.  Boise State is the only undefeated team not playing in a BCS bowl.  This will be a battle of pride between two teams from good "non-BCS" conferences.  I feel some have forgot that TCU held Oklahoma to their lowest offensive out-put of the season. The Horned Frogs only losses came to that Oklahoma team and a very good and deserving Utah team.  I think this will be the best bowl game of this bowl season.  I am picking Boise State, but I am not sure at all how this one will turn out.  Should be fun to watch.

I would like to thank John for his input.  I am sad he didn't pick all the games, but you know so much Madonna news, so little time.  I hope all ya'll are ready for the holidays.  Thanks for reading.   Continue to live like no one is watching and Happy Holidays.  

   

Bowls are like my high scool prom - I keep missing the winner!

Tonight is the New Orleans Bowl.  La ti freafing da.  No I am serious.  I have had such a dad week sports wise.  My cowboys and my broncos lost.  I am picking Troy tonight considering I don't know much about either team.  Lys picked troy too because their mascot is a condom brand.  

Bowls and presents that is the true meaning of the Holidays!

Good morning ya'll.  I apologize for the week of absence.  I have no excuse this time.  I was just tired and lazy.  I felt that my writing was starting to suffer because of it.  So I took a week off to study and find out where and why it had starting going wrong.  I am excited about this weekend and the kickoff of bowl season.  I also appreciate all the calls and emails with questions about coaching hires and things like that.  I have to give out a congratulations to the Richmond Spiders.  Last night they capped their incredible run with a victory over Montana to win the Division I Championship Series National Championship.  That is the DIV I AA national championship to all of us who abhor change.  Richmond beat four conference champions on the way to the big show, including defending national champions Appalachian State.  It proves that not only a playoff system, but also cooler helmets, will help to define a Div I national champion!  I need to also apologize to john.  I was unable to get his expert analysis (or whatever) before the first wave of bowl games.  I promise we will get some input from him over the next couple of weeks. OK now on to today's action.

Wake Forest and Navy are geared up for a rematch of a great game from early in this year.  In that game Riley Skinner threw four interceptions and fumbled the ball once.  Navy looks good and I think they will play will. Shun White is a great running back and I am sure he will make a fine officer.  I don't remember who I picked in my original analysis but today I am picking NAVY!  Now Elysa is forcing me to mention her picks.  And since I am whipped and want her to continue to feed my unborn child, I will.  For this game she has picked Wake Forest.  There is no analysis needed because she picked them because they are the Demon Deacons.

Now for the Division III national championship game.  Mt. Union is playing Wisconsin Whitewater for the fourth or fifth year in a row.  UW-WW, no shit that is the abbreviation for their school Division III football rocks, won last year but Mt Union dominates the series.  Mt. Union has a very potent offense and their quarterback Greg Micheli won the Gagliardi Award which is similar to the Heisman.  Except in Div. III there is no curse.  I think Mt. Union will win their 10th national title in 15 years.  Lys picked UW-WW because she hates me.

BYU and Arizona face off in the Las Vegas Bowl this afternoon.  This is going to be a strange one.  Las Vegas had snow this week for the first time in thirty years.  It is also going to get up to the mid forties there today.  This should be great for BYU and bad for Arizona.  Both of these offenses have the ability to put up a lot of points.  Arizona has a pretty decent defense but I think that BYU's defense is slightly underrated.  Both of these teams will be fun to watch but I think BYU will get it done.  Lys also picked BYU although I am not sure she knows why.  

Fresno State and Colorado state will square up in the New Mexico Bowl.  The New Mexico Bowl is special to me because the state is very dear to my heart.  This game is going to be mediocre at best.  Fresno State is battle tested playing some of the better teams in the nation.  Pat Hill and his play anyone philosophy proved too much this year for a team that underachieved.  But he knows what he is doing and has built a team that, despite their record, is very confident.  CSU is a talented team with a ton of athletes.  I think they are capable of winning but they might have run into a buzz saw with this Fresno team that seems to have something to prove.  Fresno wins.  Elysa picked Fresno State as well.

The St. Petersburg Bowl is one of those home town bowls.   The University of South Florida will be playing a very overlooked Memphis team.  Memphis is full of athletes and playmakers and will make this fun.  USF has my boy Matt Grothe.  Grothe is still one of my favorite quarterbacks in football but he just always seem to underachieve.  I hope he shows up and plays well today but you just never know with this South Florida Bulls team.  Like I have said before Memphis could sneak up on them.  I am picking South Florida.  Lys also picked South Florida because she is a Floridian by birth.

Well that is a quick overview of today's games with more to come tomorrow.  There is also a pretty intriguing pro football game tonight.  The Dallas Cowboys will be playing the Baltimore Ravens.  This should be a great defensive battle.  Baltimore needs to win to stay atop the wild card race in the AFC and Dallas needs it to stay in the playoff conversation in the NFC.  Go Dallas! Ya'll continue to live like no one is watching and; eat, drink and be drunk, but don't drive.  Happy Holidays!

Random Thoughts on College Football

The more I learn about college football the more baffled I am.  For example Tim Tebow got the most first place votes for the Heisman, yet finished third in the voting. HUH?  Oh that's just the beginning.  I wanna start my blog by saying congratulations to Minnesota Duluth for defeating Northwest Missouri State for the Division II national championship.  Montana Grizzlies will be playing the Richmond Spiders, a bottom seed in the Division 1aa championship playoffs, for the national championship.  Wow playoffs what a novel idea (that is thick with sarcasm).  Here are some more random things you might have missed this week.

On Thursday a legislation was presented to Congress that, if passed, would force college football to adopt a playoff system.  You know because Congress doesn't have anything else to worry about.  The Lou Groza award, handed out to the best place kicker each year, was given to Gano from Florida State. He won this over Sakoda from Utah despite the fact that Sakoda is considered the best PLAYER on the Utah team.  HMM.  Even more ridiculous is the fact that I am talking about the damn kicker award.  Again the Big 10 is over matched in their BCS bowl games.  Penn State is playing USC and Ohio State is playing Texas.  Now Ohio State was ranked below Boise State but got an at-large bid for the Fiesta Bowl.  Do we really need to see these teams get blown out.  I would've rather seen Boise State in one of these games because even if they got blown out we would at least get to see a flea flicker or two.  Syracuse and Auburn both passed on turner Gill.  Both of these schools picked relatively unknown unproven guys.  This is complete stupidity.  Turner Gill is the best young coach out there.  Both of these schools missed out on a great chance to turn their program in the right direction.  The last one random observation is that if Utah beats Alabama it will put us one step closer to a playoff system, especially after what Richmond has done in the Div 1AA playoffs.

I know your wondering what happened to the bowl analysis.  Well I read it and they were boring.  So I will just  put the bowl picks up some time next week.  Congratulations to Sam Bradford for winning the Heisman.  You could've made an argument for all three of those guys.  Live like no one is watching and remember that just because you get the first place votes doesn't mean your a winner!

Hypocrites in the media...really?

There was an absolute catastrophe this week in college football that can not be overlooked.  The policy of the Heisman Trust is to invite the top candidates.  They invite anywhere form three to six candidates.  Then why is it that Graham Harrell was not invited.  There have been some conjectures that I will look at and expose as complete hypocrisy.  

Some have guessed that Graham Harrell was the fourth most vote getter.  They say that the margin between third and fourth was so large that it might be slightly embarrassing to invite him.  OHHH is that sooo.  Then last year why was Colt Brennan invited.  He didn't get enough votes to be invited.  He was there because he was the media darling.  The Heisman Trophy like most things in college football has become about glamour and politics. 

Many experts are implying that it is a numbers game.  Sam Bradford put up the best number therefore he deserves the Heisman more.  Well if that is the case Time Tebow and Colt McMoy should have been left off the ballot.  They are not close to Graham Harrell and Sam Bradford in passing yards, passing yard per game, and only Colt McCoy has a better completion percentage than Graham Harrell.  In fact Harrell is leading Sam Bradford in almost all major statistical categories.  A lot of these so called experts are saying that Sam Bradford should be handed the Heisman because he has better stats than the other two finalist, yet a quarterback in his conference has the same win loss record and better overall numbers.  It is baffling.

The Florida supporters are playing a different tune.  They say that the Heisman should go to the best leader.  They say that leader is Tim Tebow.  It is hard to argue with him.  But the argument can be made that all these young men have impeccable leadership qualities.  But if you want to know what leadership on the field is watch the last drive of this year's Texas, Texas Tech game.  So I think Graham measures up there.

The biggest conspiracy is the "cast theory".  Last year it was a lock that Tim Tebow would be the Heisman Trophy winner.  When Tim arrived at the Heisman Ceremony he had a cast on his non-throwing hand.  This year a ton of experts are just handing the trophy to Sam Bradford, who has a cast on his non-throwing hand.  It is all a big conspiracy!!!!

So to answer the question, yes I think Graham Harrell deserved to be in New York this weekend.  But you could make the same argument for Shon Greene, Javon Ringer, and Knoshon Moreno.  You do have to draw the line somewhere or invite everyone.  The line was just drawn to high this time.  Thanks for reading and enjoy your night.  Live like no one is watching and I have just been awarded the Golden Chip Bag for greatest arm chair quarterback.  

Hell is a place where there is no college Football

It is Wednesday.  The worst day of the week after college football season has come to its end.  Usually there is a game on Tuesday to whet my appetite, and then Wednesday another, and if I am lucky Thursday and Friday.  But none this week or the next.  We are ten days away from the start of the bowl season.  And to add to my depression one of my favorite baseball personalities, C.C. Sabathia, has now joined the Yankee's evil empire.  Oh this tormented life I lead!  But there are the bowls to analyze and discuss.  I will start with the smaller bowls and work my way to the BCS bowls.

New Mexico Bowl-  Colorado State (6-6) v.  Fresno State (7-5)

The New Mexico Bowl generally places two teams from the WAC and the Mountain West.  The bowl usually tries to place New Mexico but they were not bowl eligible this year.  

Colorado State- CSU has a very balanced offensive attack.  The Rams quarterback, Billy Harris, is fourth in the Mountain West in quarterback rating, second in passing yards, and Colorado State was second in the conference in passing yards per game.  Receiver, Gartrell Johnson, was second in the conference in receiving yards.  Remember that Colorado State is in the same conference as Utah, BYU, Air Force, and TCU.  Colorado State played a relatively tough schedule beating who they were supposed to. They lost to BYU, TCU, Air Force, Colorado, Cal, and a real close game to Utah.  They beat a very good Houston team that finished 3rd in the western division of Conference USA.  

Fresno State- Fresno State lost some tough games this year.  Pat Hill's anytime, anywhere philosophy is inspiring as long as you win the games your supposed to win.  They beat Rutgers, before the Scarlet Knights got back on track, and lost to Wisconsin, before the Badgers fell apart.  They played everyone close except for the beat down they took from Boise State at the end of the year.  Two losses really hurt them in their quest for a big time bowl, Nevada and Louisiana Tech.  Fresno State finished in the middle of the improving WAC.  Quarterback, tom Brandstater, is fifth in the conference in passer rating and fourth in passing yards.  The team was third in points and rushing yards per game.  Fresno State's running back, Anthony Harding, ws fifth in the conference in rushing yards.  

Analysis- Fresno State has far better athletes and is a better coached team.  They are both balanced offenses and Colorado can get hot but has trouble finishing games.  Pat Hill and Fresno State needs this win to keep their program on the winning track. Colorado State will make it interesting but I think Fresno State pulls it out.  FRESNO STATE.

ST. Petersburg Bowl- Memphis (6-6) v. South Florida (7-5)

St Petersburg bowl is relatively new as bowls go.  It matches up a team from the Big East against a team from Conference USA.  Similar to the New Mexico Bowl, the bowls first choice is the home town team University of South Florida.

Memphis- Memphis is one of six bowl eligible teams from Conference USA this year.  They benefited, ever so slightly, from a weak schedule.  In their conference none of the skill players from their team were in the top 5 in any category except running back Curtis Steele who finished third in rushing in a conference high-lighted by high-powered passing attacks.  Memphis did average 206 yards per game rushing.  Memphis got hot late but then suffered a crushing loss to UCF.  Memphis quarterback Arkelon Hall is a great athlete and with Curtis Steele can be explosive.  

USF- South Florida finished 6th in the Big East. They spent the second season in a row grossly underachieving. The Bulls started fast winning their first five games, including a big win over Kansas. Then they ran into Louisville, Cincinnati, and Rutgers when those teams were starting to heat up.  Matt Grothe finished fourth in the conference in passer rating and second in passing yards.  South Florida was fourth in the conference in points and rushing yards per game.  They also finished third in the Big East in pass yards per game.  USF did beat UCONN and played well against WVU at the end of the year.   

Analysis- Matt Grothe needs to play well in this bowl game.  If USF can put it together this will not even be a game.  But the good news for Memphis is that USF is very inconsistent.  Memphis is full of athletes and could win this game.  Both teams can be explosive but USF has more on both sides of the ball. It is a home game for the Bulls.   USF

Las Vegas Bowl-  BYU (10-2) v. Arizona (7-5)

The Las Vegas bowl got a good one this year.  This bowl pits the MWC against the PAC-10 and it got lucky this year.  Both these teams were a couple of tough losses from a big name bowl.

BYU- BYU is a dominant offensive force with a pretty good defense to back it up.  There offense is ranked first in the MWC in both scoring and passing yards per game.  Max Hall had the highest passer rating and the most yards passing in the conference. Austin Collier, BYU's receiver, lead the conference in receiving yards.  Harvey Unga, BYU's running back, is fourth in the conference in yards.  BYU only lost to TCU, who put on their best defensive showing of the year, and Utah, who is legitimately a good team.  In fact in all their wins Colorado State is the only team that was within a touchdown of the Cougars.  In any other conference BYU's Max Hall would've been a Heisman candidate.  This is a good team.

Arizona- Arizona failed miserably in their preseason goal to challenge for the PAC-10 title.   They had the talent but inconsistent play at the quarterback position hurt them.  They played USC very close but a lose early to New Mexico hurt the teams psyche.  A mid-season loss to Stanford added more damage to a failing season.  They did have a very impressive win over Cal but it just wasn't enough.  Quarterback Willie Tuitama finished 2nd in the PAC-10 in passer rating and passing yards.  He would have been first but was just too inconsistent. The running back Nic Grigsby was 5th in the conference in rushing yards.  As a team, Arizona, was third in the conference in points per game and passing yards per game.  Despite a proficient offense it was more often than not the defense of Arizona that won them games.  The Wildcats are better than their record lets on.

Analysis- This will be a battle of two very good offenses.  BYU has tons of fire power but Arizona is tireless on defense.  It may come down to which defense plays better.  Both teams have a number of weapons, but BYU may have more.  BYU

Well that was long and I hope you got through it ok.  There is more to come tomorrow.  Live like no one is watching and don't sign with the Yankees.

How many bowls do you watch....?

A regular and I were talking today about the bowl games.  We looked over the schedule, discussed match-ups, and thought about what days we could get together and watch the games.  As we did this I began to think; How many people actually watch a majority of the bowl games.  Ideally I would love to see all of them, but i can not remember one year that I watched more than 10 to 15.  I don't know if it is the fact that I just get caught up in the holidays or if I just simply do not care to see Southern Mississippi verse Troy.  I would like to think it is the former but I am beginning to believe that is the latter.  

I have made a pre New Year's resolution to watch every bowl game this year.  I have been promoting college football, big and small, and I find that it would make slightly hypocritical if I chose to only pick out the match-ups I find intriguing.  If I am to give in-depth analysis I must be able to watch all the games.  

I want to know how many bowl games are you watching and if you are going to make time to watch certain games.  Are you just going to watch the one's you have the time to, or are you going to call in sick and drive to the farthest bar from your work? Please let me know.  Live like no one is watching and I will start tomorrow picking three games a day until the 20th when the bowl games begin!

Bowling for Cash

Well the bowls have been picked.  There are some great one's to size up which I will do over the next two weeks.  But for now there are a couple of major gripes that I have with the bowl selections.  There are more than will be mentioned here but these are the two that are most glaring to me.

The first major problem with the selections is that Notre Dame is going to Hawaii.  This first of all is not a very good game.  Hawaii is a far better team overall than my beloved fighting Irish.  Not to mention they are better coached and will be playing at home.  Notre Dame did not deserve this bowl game.  They limped through a relatively easy schedule and only survived with six wins and six losses.  IN those six wins they beat only one team, Navy, that finished with a winning record.  Throughout the stretch of the season they didn't even put together one full good game.  They lost 5 of their last seven and never once looked like a competitive team.  This is an atrocious pick for a very popular bowl.  Hawaii needed a team that would bring a lot of fans and the name recognition for people to tune in.  I don't know whether to pray for a Notre Dame victory or root for them to get smashed so that maybe they will wake up and put a football team together before next year.

The next glaring snub comes in a BCS bowl game.  Ohio State is picked to play Texas, who arguably should be playing for a national title.  I really honestly believe that Boise deserved this at large bid.  Ohio State lost two games this year and is ranked below Boise State.  In all of their wins Ohio State never looked really good.  I just was not convinced.  HMM.... seems like the same argument I made the last two years when the Buckeyes got the nod to play in the National Championship Game.  Do we really need to watch them get annihilated on national t.v. to prove to us once and for all that the Big 10 is weak.  I don't think a two loss Ohio State team is better than an undefeated Boise team.  I am not sure how much of a fight either team will put up against a Texas school that is determined to prove themselves.  I hope for college football's sake Ohio State gets trounced and there is a lifetime ban on Big 10 schools in BCS games.  Boise State will be playing in the Poinsettia Bowl against TCU which might very well be one of the best bowl games of the season.  This was just another financially based decision and is another reason this bowl system is atrocious.

As I mentioned in the opening paragraph over the next few weeks I will be breaking down the Bowl match-ups how I see them.  I will be adding some expert analysis from John and Elysa and we will have some fun with it.  Thanks for reading and live like no one is watching! 

Is Texas still in it?

Everything in college football went the way you thought it would for the most part.  Navy beat up Army.  Navy just had too many athletes.  Florida proved that it could win a slug match.  And Oklahoma reiterated the fact they deserved to be in the big 12 championship game.  The conference USA game was a little screwy because ECU proved it did have the athletes in the secondary to keep Tulsa under control.  There is a lingering question out there however; can Texas still play in the National Championship game.  Florida actually needs a lot of help from the Coaches and Harris polls because the computer margin between them and Texas is almost insurmountable.  I think that Florida deserves to be there and I believe they will get there.  but hold on Austinites there is a chance.  We will have to wait like everyone else for the tricky BCS standings and the Bowl Picks tomorrow night. But you don't have to wait on the Bus standings.  In the Family Feud, John and Elysa tied  with a record of 7-3 and I won with an 8-2 record.  That mean John wins the regular season picks with a 33-17 record, I got second with a 31-19 record, and Elysa has a really respectable record of mascot picks at 29-21.  But don't worry we will pick every bowl game so the Fun will continue my friends.  Now for the BUS standings.

BUS TOP 25 

1.) Florida

2.) Oklahoma

3.) Texas

4.) Utah

5.) Boise State

6.) Alabama

7.) Penn State

8.) Texas Tech

9.) USC

10.) Ohio State

11.) Cincinnati

12.) TCU

13.) Oregon

14.) Georgia

15.) Georgia Tech

16.) Cal

17.) BYU

18.) Ball State

19.) Ole Miss

20.) Oregon State

21.) Pitt

22.) Michigan State

23.) Kansas

24.Mizzou

25.) Virginia Tech

This week we bid farewell to a few great things.  Ball State's unbeaten season, Greg Maddux and Oscar De La Hoya's careers, and the college football season.  Live like no one is watching and do not let computers pick your National Champion.  

The Answer

Over the last few days ya'll have emailed and text me some great questions.  So I have decided to answer them but in my Podcast. So maybe just maybe some more of yall will listen to it.  Enjoy your football saturday and GO MIZZOU! Live like n one is watching and do not let OJ vote for the heisman it is a disgrace!

I am better at picking my nose

Tonight another one of my bandwagon teams failed me.  Ball State lost to Buffalo 42-24.  But let us not forget that my disappointment is not the only way to judge football teams.  Ball State had a helluva year.  Nate Davis fumbled the ball four times and Buffalo played the way they have all year, scrappy.  It was a fun game to watch and I am not ashamed to have been a bandwagoneer.  Now on to the picks and the Family Feud!

1.) Pitt v. UConn- I feel like this should be a basketball pick.  These two teams boast a couple of top ranked running backs.  Leshonne McCoy of Pitt is ranked eighth in the nation in rushing yards and Donald Brown of UConn is ranked first.  The conference has already been decided so this is a game of pride and position jockeying for bowl bids.  Uconn has won three of the last four meetings.  Although both teams are great at running the ball I think that Pitt is better at stopping it. PITT 

2.) Arizona State v. Arizona- Both of these teams are in the middle of the Pac-10, a very mediocre conference.  These two teams also had higher expectations for their seasons.  Arizona can put up points and play defense they just never seem to string them both together for one good game.  Rudy Carpenter of Arizona State is a good quarterback but seems to have a thinking problem.  Arizona is on a three-game winning streak and needs just one more to be bowl eligible.  I just don't think they will get it.  ARIZONA

3.) Cincinatti v. Hawaii- Cincinatti has already won the Big East and both teams have already accepted their bowl bids, so it is a very anti-climatic game.  Both teams have high powered offenses but Hawaii's is not as good as it has been.  Cincinatti has a lot of fire power but the trip to Hawaii is always tough on teams.  I think that if Cincinatti plays all their players they will win.  CINCINATTI

4.) USC v. UCLA- Is this game really necessary.  Can we not just hand USC the Pac-10 championship and their offensive coordinator the job in Washington.  Let's break it down anyway.  USC has the best defense in college football and a pretty good offense.  UCLA has....well they beat Tennessee.  UCLA was thought to be good then their two quarterbacks had season ending injuries before the season started.  Their young quarterback is resilient but really it is USC's defense.  Hopefully it will be close early due to the fact it is a rivalry game. USC

5.) Navy v. Army-  Believe it or not this is one of my favorite games of the year.  I fall in love with the passion and tradition.  It is a throwback to old school college football.  Navy is a legitimately good college football team.  With them and Georgia Tech running the triple option it feels like I am at back in my living room and dad is opening hot sauce and laughing at Lou Holtz.  I just love this game. Army has played well but I don't think they have a chance to beat Navy.  But it will be great to watch. NAVY

6.) South Florida v.  West Virginia- West Virginia has played surprisingly well since they lost Steve Slaton, who complimented Pat White extremely well, and Rich Rodriguez, who was great at the spread with his athletes.  Pat White is extremely amazing and has played through adversity and pain this year to cement his place at the top of the running qb pyramid.  South Florida has been slightly more of a disappointment.  Matt Grothe has not played as well as he did last year, which is what the Bulls needed because he carries this team.  USF's offense has struggled due to the lack of weapons around Grothe.  This is Pat White's last home game so the West Virginia offense will be playing inspired.   WVU

Now it's time for the championship games tomorrow

7.)  ACC/ Boston College v. Virginia Tech- This is a rematch of a pretty good game earlier this season.  Boston College has been playing well, even without their starting quarterback.  Last week, lead by red-shirt freshman Dominique Davis, Boston College beat a very good Maryland team.  Also BC's defense has played off the wall.  Virginia tech snuck into the ACC title game.  They only hold the tie-breaker over Georgia Tech because they beat them early when the Yellowjackets were still learning to run Paul Johnson's offense.  Lately the quarterbacks play of Tyrod taylor has improved but his mobility is hampered by an ankle injury.  I just don't see Virginia Tech competing with a hot BC team. BC

8.)  Conference USA/ ECU v. Tulsa- East Carolina started strong this year.  They had a dynamic offense and a scrappy defense.  Their coach, Skip holtz, is tough and energetic.  But their dynamic offense has struggled as of late.  That is not the case for Tulsa.  They have scored less than 30 points only once this year.  ECU just doesn't have the athletes on defense to keep up with the offense of Tulsa.  The bright spot for ECU is that Tulsa cannot stop anyone.  I could put together a team of non-athletic madonna loving porn-hounds, yes John you can be on the team, and we would still score 25 at least.  But it will not be enough for a win.  Tulsa has struggled in big games this year so do not expect them to run away with this one. TULSA

9.)  Big 12/ Oklahoma v. Missouri- Chase Daniel, Jeremy Macklin, and Trevor Coffman are the well oiled cogs that make Mizzou's high powered offense run.  They can score a ton of points on Oklahoma's weak defense.  The big problem is that Mizzou is not healthy.  All three weapons are beat up.  Macklin could rip apart the poor kick coverage team of Oklahoma.  There is another problem facing Missouri, Oklahoma's offense.  They have scored 60 points in four straight games.  Oklahoma is a machine and can not be stopped.  I will be rooting for Mizzou but it will all be in vain.  OKLAHOMA

10.) SEC/ Florida v. Alabama-  I guess this is the upset pick if you could call it that.  Alabama has an efficient team.  They have a strong running game, a proficient passing attack, and a good defense.  They also have a great coach.  The other side of that is so does Florida.  Also Florida has so much team speed on both sides of the ball I don't think any one could keep up.  Florida has been beating the tar out of everyone this year.  As is the case with most of these games it will come down to athletes on the field and I think that Florida has too many of them.  Watch out I really think Florida might blow this one wide open. FLORIDA

Ok now it is time for the Family Feud

ELYSA JOHN ME

PITT PITT PITT

AZ State AZ State Arizona

Hawaii Cinci Cinci

USC USC USC

Navy Navy Navy

USF WVU WVU

VT BC BC

ECU Tulsa Tulsa

OK OK OK

Florida Florida Florida

Well that is that.  The college football season is drawing to a close and I am sad.  But we have all the bowls.  Live like no one is watching and vote for me for the next coach of Auburn!

Little Big Game

A few regulars and I were at the bar today, discussing this evenings match up between the Cardinals of Ball State and the Bulls of Buffalo. An old man at the corner, yes you Jerry you Okie bastard, yelled through his Cutty Sark, "Who cares about those two bullshit teams."  I will tell you who really cares about those two teams.  Real college football fans that understand what a great game this is.  Neither of these teams as far as i know have ever won the MAC.  It has been almost a thousand years since Ball State has went undefeated.  

The Bulls of Buffalo University have brought football back to life in upstate New York.  They are well coached and full of spirit.  They don't play a fun to watch high powered offensive game.  Instead they grind you down and don't make mistakes.  It will be fun to watch how they hold up against Ball State.

Ball State is another well coached team.  They are one of the fewest penalized teams in the NCAA.  They however have an explosive offense.  Nate Davis might be one of  the top 10 qb's in college football.  Miquail Lewis is an awesome little running back that catches the ball well out of the backfield.  Ball State is also an inspired team playing without their best offensive weapon Dante Love, who broke his back early in the season.  I am going to love watching them compete for a big prize.

The confidence of the Ball State team in outstanding.  they turned down a chance to play Boise State in their stadium for the Humanitarian Bowl.  Not because they are scared the Boise team but because they think they can get a better bowl.  Good for them all or nothing.  This game means a lot to both of these programs, and a lot to big time college football fans.  Watch it if you have the time it should be a good one.

Live like no one is watching and Go BALL STATE!

 

Apology

I am so sorry for the missing two days of post.  My internet is down and I am using a friends computer to post this apology.  They internet company said that it would have it fixed by tommorrow and you will get your picks I promise! There is a lot going on in the college football world and i appreciate that some of you have been calling me for my opinions.  I will have the picks ready tommorrow and GO BALL STATE!

Don't blame the BCS!

Oh whiny Longhorn fans please calm down.  I know that you are all quick to blame the BCS for you absence from the Big 12 championship game.  But you have to understand, although it is a flawed system, it is not its fault that you are not in the conference championship game.  It is actually the Big 12's fault.  Oh believe me I will explain

The Big 12 is the only conference that chooses it's champion in this kind of tie in this manner.  If Texas were in the SEC or the ACC they would be in.  In those conferences the tie-breaker would be the highest ranked BCS team unless the two teams where within 5 spots of each other.  If they were within 5 spots of each other in the rankings then it would come down to head to head.  The Big 12 is the only conference with a championship game that decides their tie-breaker this way.  So liberal whiny Longhorn fans calm down and look inside your own conference.  Why would you let voters from California and New York decide your destiny?  

I definitely do not want the BCS to escape without a blemish however.  I think the BCS is a crap system.  How in the hell can you let a whole season go to waste.  If head to head wins do not matter why do we play the season.  The BCS has ultimately rendered the regular season useless.  These coached and contributors, along with the computers, have made a mockery of the college football season that I love.  How can coach mack Brown explain to his team that two teams they beat, and beat convincingly, are playing for his conferences championship.  

It has been a long college football season.  There is still alot of excitement left. Live like no one is watching and jump over others in your own BCS polls.