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.
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