Hola, America.
Not only did I unwittingly overlook the MAC championship (Northern Illinois 23, Ohio 20), but should have paid ho-mage to the Baylor-Texas game (da Bears annihilated the Longhorns, 48-24). So out of the box, here's my first prediction of the weekend: Robert Griffin III will win the Heisman Trophy tonight. (By the way, Matt Barkley wasn't even invited to New York? Really????)
Most of my picks last weekend turned out to be right--LSU, Oklahoma State (which should be playing in the BCS championship game), Oregon, Wisconsin, Boise State, and BYU all winning as predicted. Truly surprised seeing Houston get thoroughly blown out (watched most of the game, Cougars were wannabees and Southern Miss was soooo stoked). And how about those Clemson Tigers...defying the odds, beating VA-Tech for the second time this season...even worse than the first.
Once again, Division III provides the anti-playoff argument, as Mount Union and Wisconsin-Whitewater...ho-hum...will win their semi-final games and face each other next week for the seventh year in a row for the Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl.)
And now, without further delay, here's what my service academy family has been waiting for since Air Force nailed down the Commander In Chief's Trophy (again)...the ONLY game being played in Division I FBS this week.
Army (3-8) vs. Navy (4-7). Game will be played at FedEx Field in Landover, MD, seemingly providing a home field advantage to the USNA. Most of the pundits are leaning in the direction of the Middies. Yet they've been disappointing, which was especially the case during the middle of the season. They did rebound nicely to beat SMU, and their offense churns out 406 yards of total offense per game. In the early part of the season, Army showed more guts. After dropping its first two games, the Cadets rebounded with an impressive victory over Northwestern. But they've been manhandled by some pretty mediocre teams since then. Both teams defenses will be hard-pressed to stop the others' running game, and recently Navy has been more successful as it's held its last two opponents under 140 yards. Everyone knows this game is won as much on emotion as anything else, which is why Army has a real chance to pull the upset. But Navy QB Kriss Proctor has never lost to Army, and in my estimation that adds up to the better motivation. Sorry, family. PICK: Navy.
Saturday, December 10, 2011
Saturday, December 3, 2011
Titles On The Line--Both Home and Away
Don't want to be caught looking past this weekend to Army-Navy. Time to find the remote control and tune in for Conference Championship Week. Already 1-0 with last night's laugher in Eugene, so here's the way the rest of the weekend shapes up.
#7 Boise State (10-1) vs. New Mexico (1-10). Not gonna spend a lot of time on this. 10-1 vs. 1-10. Blue turf. Kellen Moore's final appearance at home. Angling for a top bowl game. PICK: Boise State.
BYU (8-3) vs. Hawaii (6-6). Nambi-pambi schedule mercifully comes to an end with Cougars' vacation trip to Honna-loolah. Hawaii's decent, probably good enough to beat BYU. Both teams have utilized two quarterbacks during their seasons; BYU because of injuries, Hawaii by choice. Both systems have been productive. Both defenses are good. I'm going with the upset, in part because I don't respect BYU for what it did in jumping out of a tough conference and into independent status where it picked on cupcakes all year. PICK: Hawaii.
Here's the championship run-down (I skipped the MAC on purpose):
CONFRENCE USA: #6 Houston (12-0) vs. #24 Southern Mississippi (10-2). Game began before I could update, but the following was written yesterday. Believe me or not, it doesn't matter...cuz I'll be right anyway. another home game for a conference championship, meaning even more pressure on Houston than on Southern, which has a very good team. Both play a modest conference schedule, the Golden Eagles having lost in an upset to UAB a couple of weeks ago and early in the season to Marshall. Houston annihilated both teams on its way to a perfect record. The Cougars had better not take Southern lightly, because it can play defense and score points as well. Nevertheless, the smart money is on the Cougars to make it to the school's first-ever BCS bowls game. PICK: Houston.
SOUTHEASTERN CONFERENCE: #1 LSU (12-0) vs. #12 Georgia (10-2)--Atlanta. Georgia has a nice little team. LSU is a freaking monster. I cannot imagine any scenario in which the Bulldogs upset the Bayou Bengals, especially after witnessing LSU come back against Arkansas last week. PICK: LSU.
ACC: #5 Virginia Tech (11-1) vs. #20 Clemson (9-3)--Charlotte. Even my good friend and Clemson '87 grad Chris Keuilian is predicting a slaughter...VA Tech over his beloved Tigers. I agree. Though Clemson beat up on the Hokies two months ago, Virginia Tech has rebounded from adversity much better than Clemson. Hokie offense has jelled while the Tiger defense has sputtered. Clemson is particularly vulnerable against the run, which is what the Hokies do best. PICK: Virginia Tech.
BIG 12: #10 Oklahoma (9-2) at #3 Oklahoma State (10-1). Not a true conference championship game, simply the latest installment of what the rest of the football world sees as the state championship of Oklahoma. Down there they refer to it as the "Bedlam Series". Whatever. Experts point to Oklahoma's manhandling of Iowa State, the only team to beat Oke State this year. But there were young emotions involved in that Cowboy loss, and this time--playing at home--OSU is salivating at the possibility that it still might get a show at the BCS national championship game (or at the very least a #2 ranking at the end of this season). For the Sooners to win, their defense will have to slow down OSU, and for the Cowboys to win, they'll have to score early and often and force OU to take to the air against its wishes. PICK: Oklahoma. State.
BIG 10: #15 Wisconsin vs. #13 Michigan State (Indianapolis). Wow, what's this world coming to...a championship game in the Big 10/11/12/16. Teams met earlier this year, with Spartans winning with a walk-off TD. Can you say "locker room material"?? Wisconsin has a beautifully balanced attack on offense that scores almost 45 points a game. Their defense allows just under 16 points. And they have a very exciting player in QB Russell Wilson and TB Montee Ball. For their part, Michigan has a defense that is just as impressive as Wisconsin's, but leaves a little to be desired on the offensive side of the ball, even though QB Kirk Cousins holds most MSU passing records. Special teams and the dreaded turnover may decide this one. Love Michigan State, but the Badgers will not lose to them twice in the same season. PICK: Wisconsin.
#7 Boise State (10-1) vs. New Mexico (1-10). Not gonna spend a lot of time on this. 10-1 vs. 1-10. Blue turf. Kellen Moore's final appearance at home. Angling for a top bowl game. PICK: Boise State.
BYU (8-3) vs. Hawaii (6-6). Nambi-pambi schedule mercifully comes to an end with Cougars' vacation trip to Honna-loolah. Hawaii's decent, probably good enough to beat BYU. Both teams have utilized two quarterbacks during their seasons; BYU because of injuries, Hawaii by choice. Both systems have been productive. Both defenses are good. I'm going with the upset, in part because I don't respect BYU for what it did in jumping out of a tough conference and into independent status where it picked on cupcakes all year. PICK: Hawaii.
Here's the championship run-down (I skipped the MAC on purpose):
CONFRENCE USA: #6 Houston (12-0) vs. #24 Southern Mississippi (10-2). Game began before I could update, but the following was written yesterday. Believe me or not, it doesn't matter...cuz I'll be right anyway. another home game for a conference championship, meaning even more pressure on Houston than on Southern, which has a very good team. Both play a modest conference schedule, the Golden Eagles having lost in an upset to UAB a couple of weeks ago and early in the season to Marshall. Houston annihilated both teams on its way to a perfect record. The Cougars had better not take Southern lightly, because it can play defense and score points as well. Nevertheless, the smart money is on the Cougars to make it to the school's first-ever BCS bowls game. PICK: Houston.
SOUTHEASTERN CONFERENCE: #1 LSU (12-0) vs. #12 Georgia (10-2)--Atlanta. Georgia has a nice little team. LSU is a freaking monster. I cannot imagine any scenario in which the Bulldogs upset the Bayou Bengals, especially after witnessing LSU come back against Arkansas last week. PICK: LSU.
ACC: #5 Virginia Tech (11-1) vs. #20 Clemson (9-3)--Charlotte. Even my good friend and Clemson '87 grad Chris Keuilian is predicting a slaughter...VA Tech over his beloved Tigers. I agree. Though Clemson beat up on the Hokies two months ago, Virginia Tech has rebounded from adversity much better than Clemson. Hokie offense has jelled while the Tiger defense has sputtered. Clemson is particularly vulnerable against the run, which is what the Hokies do best. PICK: Virginia Tech.
BIG 12: #10 Oklahoma (9-2) at #3 Oklahoma State (10-1). Not a true conference championship game, simply the latest installment of what the rest of the football world sees as the state championship of Oklahoma. Down there they refer to it as the "Bedlam Series". Whatever. Experts point to Oklahoma's manhandling of Iowa State, the only team to beat Oke State this year. But there were young emotions involved in that Cowboy loss, and this time--playing at home--OSU is salivating at the possibility that it still might get a show at the BCS national championship game (or at the very least a #2 ranking at the end of this season). For the Sooners to win, their defense will have to slow down OSU, and for the Cowboys to win, they'll have to score early and often and force OU to take to the air against its wishes. PICK: Oklahoma. State.
BIG 10: #15 Wisconsin vs. #13 Michigan State (Indianapolis). Wow, what's this world coming to...a championship game in the Big 10/11/12/16. Teams met earlier this year, with Spartans winning with a walk-off TD. Can you say "locker room material"?? Wisconsin has a beautifully balanced attack on offense that scores almost 45 points a game. Their defense allows just under 16 points. And they have a very exciting player in QB Russell Wilson and TB Montee Ball. For their part, Michigan has a defense that is just as impressive as Wisconsin's, but leaves a little to be desired on the offensive side of the ball, even though QB Kirk Cousins holds most MSU passing records. Special teams and the dreaded turnover may decide this one. Love Michigan State, but the Badgers will not lose to them twice in the same season. PICK: Wisconsin.
Friday, December 2, 2011
Fool Me Once, Shame On You
Gotta post this prior to kickoff.
PAC 12 Championship: #9 Oregon (10-2) vs. UCLA (6-6). What's this...an inaugural conference championship being played at the higher-ranked team's home field? Are you kidding? Actually, it shouldn't matter. I don't care how much the Bruins may like outgoing head coach Rick Neuheisel. Their emotions will carry them to the first 3-and-out and then Oregon's no-huddle will eat them alive. They don't "condition" in L. A., they "tone". Talk about apples and oranges, how about Ducks and lame ducks? PICK: Oregon.
The rest of the slate later...
PAC 12 Championship: #9 Oregon (10-2) vs. UCLA (6-6). What's this...an inaugural conference championship being played at the higher-ranked team's home field? Are you kidding? Actually, it shouldn't matter. I don't care how much the Bruins may like outgoing head coach Rick Neuheisel. Their emotions will carry them to the first 3-and-out and then Oregon's no-huddle will eat them alive. They don't "condition" in L. A., they "tone". Talk about apples and oranges, how about Ducks and lame ducks? PICK: Oregon.
The rest of the slate later...
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