A Good One In Memphis

UCF has won thier first bowl game ever over the Bulldogs of Georgia. A pretty good game. One can't help but wonder if Richt will be able to hold onto his job much longer. A 6-7 season is not likely to be tolerated more than once in Athens. O'Leary has a chance to build a pretty powerful program down in Orlando. He has been paying his penance with grace after allegedly fudging his resume a bit a few years back. Cost him the job at Notre Dame. Probably just as well.

Happy New Year

Happy New Year College Football Fans!!! A bit early but what the hey.

Nebraska Pusses Out

Apparently the Cornhuskers decided not to show up and play against a team that is vastly inferior. The Huskies are just not a good team but they sure put the wood to Nebraska last evening. Don't really know what the cause for the puss out was. Do you?

Was KSU Robbed by a Ref's Bad Call?

I very rarely criticize the officiating in college ball. With replay bad calls are easily overturned. Bad calls that are not merely judgment calls that is. In today's game the "Pinstripe Bowl" KSU was robbed, in my humble opinion, of the opportunity for a two point conversion by a ridiculous call from one of the officials. He called an "excessive celebration" penalty after a KSU touchdown when there was clearly no such celebration. Borderline at best. When an overzealous referee perhaps decides the the outcome of a game it diminishes the contest for players, coaches, and fans. That being said the Big XII is not looking very good in bowl games thus far. They better step up. Nebraska should help matters this evening in the Holiday Bowl. The outcome is almost a foregone conclusion.

Some Thoughts on Wednesday

Maryland as expected took down a ECU squad that really should not have been playing in a bowl game anywhere. As I have said before 6-6 does not qualify a team for the post season . At any rate, ECU was there and now finishes the season 6-7. I think that ECU is well coached and will be a power in CUSA in the years to come; just not this year. Maryland has lost a very good coach in Friedgen and I have already said my peace on that. It is a shame, but that is the game of college football as it stands now. Everyone has to win at least a conference championship it seems or the coach is in danger.
Baylor apparently did not show up to play. Good thing that OK. State came out in the Alamo Bowl or the "Big XII" (do we still call it that?) would be 0-3. I have never seen a more penalized team than the Bears and Briles needs to get a handle on that if he expects to make much noise in conference next year. Illinois should not have been there at 6-6 but alas, they did win and come away with a 7-6 record for the season. Zook may or may not be safe. We will see.
Oklahoma State came out and rampaged in their scrimmage in San Antonio against a below par Arizona team. Just was not a contest. The score was actually closer than the action on the field. Arizona is just not a good team. It would be nice if the Cowboys could have played a little bit better opponent than this. Hell, the Troy Trojans, the Sun Belt co-champs would have been a better opponent than the Wildcats. Oh well there are some fair games on tap today. I am sort of looking forward to the SMU/Army match up. That may be good. The "Pinstripe" Bowl in Yankee stadium should be an interesting novelty and actually perhaps a good game. Syracuse and KSU are improved teams. We will see what happens.
Good day and enjoy the games.

The Last of The "Big Fats" is Done

Big Fat Ralph Friedgen has won his final game at Maryland with a "bowl" victory over ECU. Good for him. Now he can go into unemployment as a winner. You see, I like Big Fat Ralph. Always have. He has done a far better than average job coaching a program that has at least two strikes against it to begin with. It is unlikely that Maryland will ever compete on a national level like their in conference rivals Va. Tech, FSU and Miami. Just the way it is. Similar to the Kentucky football program in the SEC. Just won't happen often. Maryland just can't get the type of recruits that would likely be able to start at say a Texas, Nebraska, Florida, or even a Virginia Tech. Part of the problem is that there are too many programs on the East Coast competing for the same players. This is ACC and Big East country along with the cream of the IAA programs in the country. Is there that much difference between a James Madison, Richmond, Delaware and a Maryland, North Carolina or Virginia. Not really. Indeed of all the above mentioned, the best team would be the Blue Hens. They may well be crowned IAA National Champs here in a few days. Now with that being said, Maryland is doing Big Fat Ralph Friedgen a disservice. There appears to be no real reason to let the man go. Big Fat Ralph is the last of the "Big Fats" to HC in the college game. Big Fat Tom Amstutz "retired" from coaching the Rockets of Toledo, and Big Fat Mark Mangino was unceremoniously dumped last year at Kansas. Apparently Mark yelled at a few players or something and hurt their feelings. Now the Jayhawk football program will settle where it historically does; at or near the bottom. Who else has turned Kansas football into a minor power? No one. Who will again? Probably no one. Now I like Turner Gil but I sure think he made an error in judgement taking over from Mangino. It is unlikely he will have the same success. I'll tell you what I think. In at least two of the three cases, the "Big Fats" have been discriminated against for being men of a certain girth. That's right! Everybody else is a victim of some sort, so why should they not use the "fat" card? Of course I jest, but I sure will miss the three "Big Fats." They are good coaches all and have done very well at schools where it can be a bit hard to win. Maryland, Kansas, and even Toledo will likely not have as much success without them. Good Luck to them in the future.

Independence Bowl

The game was as advertised. Boring as heck. Georgia Tech should not have even been there. About as fun as watching grass grown this game.

FIU Wins Their First Bowl Game Ever

FIU, a relatively new Sun Belt team, has taken down the Rockets of Toledo with a FG as time expired. This was a pretty good football game after all. Mario Cristobal will either have the choice to build the Panthers into a minor power much like Temple, CMU, Toledo, Troy State, Tulsa, etc. are or have been in recent years; or of course he can probably stay another year and then move on to "bigger and better things." The choice will be his sure.  I would like to see him stick around awhile but that is just me. It is a fine line coaches walk. Some choose to stay at a smaller school for ever it seems. Take a look at Coach Larry at Troy. Others want to build a rep and move on up. Classless Coach Kelley at ND for instance.  If a coach has those aspirations then it is best to strike while the iron is hot. Look at Schiano at Rutgers. A couple years ago he was a "hot property" and chose to stay in NJ. Now he may be stuck there. Actually he needs to start winning again or the Rutgers admin may soon look elsewhere. As for me, I like it when a coach sticks around a bit to try to build a powerful program. It shows class. Good win FIU. Oh, by the way, the Sunbelt is 2-0 in post season play. Not shabby at all.

Hawaii Did Not Show Up

A poor performance out of Hawaii sealed their fate last night in the "Sheraton" Hawaii Bowl. I did not see that coming. While Tulsa is a pretty good CUSA team, Hawaii has shown during the season that they can play some ball. Not last night. They looked pathetic. Bet they wish they had not let June Jones get away.

A Christmas Day Game I Miss

There was at one time a game played on Christmas Day known as the Blue/Gray Game. It was one of those all star type games where players from small schools, those from teams that did not go to bowl games, etc. got to showcase their talents for the pro scouts. I am not a real fan of the "all star" type games but for some reason I enjoyed this one. Guess it was just not profitable. Shame.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas college football fans. A day early but what the hey.

Bowl Predictions

In week 15 I was 3-2 in college football predictions which puts me for the year thus far at 163-114. Not so bad I suppose. Last week I did not have the time to work on my "expert" analysis and therefore did not put out any predictions. Last night I watched most of the "Beef O'Bradys" Bowl (the what?) and was surprised that USM allowed Louisville to come back on them. CUSA is starting off 0-2 in the post season. Anyway, the game reminded me to get the predictions up before the season was over. I find myself ready now to "run the table" for the rest of the year. Here you go....


1. Eastern Washington vs Delaware: The IAA Championship is at hand. The true winner in this division will be decided on the field. That is refreshing when compared to the fiasco in "big time" college ball. Delaware has been here before but I don't believe that EWU has. A couple of years ago the Blue Hens were a power with Flaco under center and they don't appear to have fallen much off the pace. I will go with Delaware in this contest. I do admit that I don't know much about EWU although they do have an outstanding won/loss record this year. I would suspect that both of these teams are better than some of the teams in D1 that are playing a post season game.

2. MAACO Bowl: This one starts in a few hours and pits an excellent Boise State team against a pretty good Utah squad. The Broncos must be very disappointed that they are not BCS busters this year but when one plays in the WAC, CUSA or Mtn West; one loss destroys any hope of a BCS game. With that being said; Boise State is hands down the better team here. I will go with the Broncos to roll.

3. Poinsettia Bowl: This should be a very good game between two pretty evenly matched opponents. When was the last time SDSU went to a bowl game? It has been a while. Brady Hoke came over from the MAC and has done wonders in San Diego. I hope that it is a destination job for him and not just another springboard. I think the game to be a toss up but I will go with SDSU to win in a close one. They are playing at home although it can be considered a semi home game I suppose for the Midshipmen. San Diego is a huge Navy town.

4. Hawaii Bowl: Hawaii takes on Tulsa here and I would imagine that CUSA will be 0-3 in bowl games after this one. Hawaii is a good team and Tulsa is just a good CUSA team. Go with Hawaii to win.

5. Little Caesars Bowl: This one should not even be played. While Toledo is 8-4 and perhaps deserves some sort of post season honors, Florida International is 6-6 in a weak conference. Now FIU has played some major teams tough this year but still 6-6 does not deserve a bowl game.  While I like Mario Cristobal and believe he will be coaching in the "big time" at some point, I don't think the Panthers should be in post season. That being said, the game could be actually pretty good. I will go with the Rockets to win in a close one.

6. Independence Bowl: This Bowl has been around for quite a few years and should have been able to get better teams than these. Air Force is fair at best and Georgia Tech is 6-6. 6-6? Yes. A bowl should not reward mediocrity. I will go with Air Force to win here in a close and probably uninteresting game.

7. Champs Sports Bowl: NC State and WVU is a pretty decent match up. Neither conference is very good but WVU probably is the best team in the Big East. Yes I know that UConn won the Big East but still I think WVU is the better of the two. The Mountaineers should be able to beat the Wolfpack but it might be close. Go with WVU.

8. Insight Bowl: Missouri should have gotten a bit of a better game than this one but those are the breaks. Mizzou does not have a huge national following like say the Huskers or the Longhorns. That probably has a good bit to do with it. That being said, they should have no problem with a fair at best Iowa team. I would go with the Tigers hands down in this contest.

9. Military Bowl: ECU vs Maryland may be a pretty good game although ECU at 6-6 should not be there. Will Big Ralph coach the Terps in this game? He apparently has been forced out as the coach at Maryland. Shame. I think that Maryland has the talent to win here but will have a fight on their hands. Go with Maryland.

10. Texas Bowl: This one is played in Houston and features Baylor vs Illinois. Baylor has been a pleasant surprise this year and is a well coached team led by an outstanding QB. Illinois is being rewarded for mediocrity. I wonder how much longer Zook will be able to hold on to his job. I think Baylor will win here. It is almost a home game for them.

11. Alamo Bowl: Oklahoma State is probably deserving of something better than this. They face off with Arizona in this contest and will prevail with little problem. Go with the Cowboys.

12. Armed Forces Bowl: SMU is a good team for CUSA and will be a good team period in a year or two. Army is Army. They at least made it to 6-6 this year but will be 6-7 after facing the Mustangs. Go with SMU hands down.

13. Pinstripe Bowl: The what? Anyway this one is a contest between KSU and Syracuse. Syracuse actually had a pretty decent season. Be interesting to see how much better they will be next year. KSU is improving under Snyder and one can't help but wonder if he will eventually build them into a national power again. We will see. With all that being said, I will go with KSU to pull this on out of the hat.

14. Music City Bowl: This is an uninteresting contest between a 6-6 Tennessee squad and North Carolina. This one should not be played, but since it will be, I will go with the Vols to win. Someone has to.

15. Holiday Bowl: Could not Nebraska do better than this one? This will not be a contest. Go with the Huskers hands down. Washington should not even be here.

16. Meineke Bowl: Clemson vs USF is just not a match up that anyone should really be interested in Clemson should not be in the game and USF is a fair team at best. Someone has to win here and I will go with USF.

17. Sun Bowl: Notre Dame vs Miami may be a good game. ND is improved over recent years and Miami just can't seem to get over the hump. I think Coach Shannon should have been given a bit more time with Hurricanes but that is the way the game goes. I think that Miami will have the talent to win here. Go with the Hurricanes.

18. Liberty Bowl: UCF is the winner of CUSA and should be rewarded with a better opponent than Georgia. I will go with UCF here. They are a better team than many people know.

19. Chick Fil A Bowl: Here is a real bowl game. South Carolina is a good football team, although they are a bit inconsistent. Such is the case with the Noles. It will be a good game between two pretty evenly matched teams and I will go with Spurrier to have his kids ready for the win. Go with South Carolina.

20. Ticket City Bowl: Texas Tech vs Northwestern may be a good game. Texas Tech is not the same team they have been in the past and Northwestern may be better than their record. I will go out on a limb here and pick the Wildcats.

21. Outback Bowl: Florida vs Penn State: This may be a good game. Both of these teams are probably somewhat better than their records indicate. I think that State has the most talent this year and will win. Go with the Lions.

22. Capital One Bowl: Alabama will be able to beat Michigan State with relative ease. Bama has had a disappointing year but actually are a better team than their record. MSU, while a good team, is not quite as good as many think. I have watched them a number of times and they are easily beatable by a good team. Go with the Tide. I hate to say that. I really do.

23. Gator Bowl: Mississippi State vs Michigan could be good. The Bulldogs had had a surprisingly good season and Michigan is Michigan. This will be a close one and I will go out on a limb and pick MSU for the win.

24. Rose Bowl: Wisconsin vs TCU probably won't be as close as some would think. While I am always a fan of a BCS buster, I think that Wisconsin may well be the second best team in the country. They may have a bit of trouble adjusting to the fast pace of the Frogs' but once they do adjust they should be able to contain them. I will go with the Badgers here hands down.

25. Fiesta Bowl: UConn vs Oklahoma may or may not be a good game. Depends on which Sooners team shows up. It is debatable whether UConn should even be here but since they are, the game has to be played. I will go with the Sooners here to win with relative ease.

26. Orange Bowl: I refuse to call this the "Discover" Orange Bowl. There is just too much of that type of thing. Remember the classic games such as the Peach Bowl, and Citrus Bowl. Where are they now? They are called the Joe's Garage Bowl or some such shit. Now with that being said, I must say that this should be a very good game. Stanford is under appreciated nationally and Virginia Tech has certainly rebounded after a disastrous start to the season. Stanford is the only quality team in the Pac 10 other than Oregon and Virginia Tech is certainly the class of the ACC. This translates into some good football teams. I like Stanford's QB and like the way they play the game. It may still linger in the back of  the Hokie players minds their embarrassing loss to JMU. I think that Stanford will prevail in a very good, hard fought, and tough game.

27. Sugar Bowl is this year between Ohio State and Arkansas. Ohio State may be a marginally better team but the game still has to be played. I like the Hogs and will try not to be biased here. Mallett can be a brilliant QB and can also stink up the place. A lot like Garcia at South Carolina. While the SEC is top to bottom better than the Big X, Ohio State is probably the better team here and I will go with them to win. I hope not. At any rate it will be a big party in the French Quarter.

28. Go Daddy Dot Com Bowl: The what? Middle Tennessee should not be here. They were a disappointment this year. They have the best QB in the Sun Belt in Dasher but things just did not work out as planned. Miami of Ohio had a pretty decent year in MAC ball and are a good MAC team. They should win here. Don't you wish Danica Patrick would show up at halftime wearing nothing but some pumps? That is the only thing that would make this game worth watching.

29. Cotton Bowl: Now here is a game to watch. TAMU is much improved over the past and LSU is a BCS Bowl caliber team. While the Cotton is not a BCS Bowl, it perhaps should be. This game is pretty evenly matched and a lot depends on which team shows up on both sides. I think that LSU has more talent and will go with them here. Go with the Tigers.

30. BBVA Compass Bowl: Huh? Should this game even be played? Pitt had a disappointing year and Coach Dave is out. Kentucky football is Kentucky football. This will be close and I will go with the Panthers to pull this one out of the hat.

31. Fight Hunger Bowl: Nevada should be able to win this game over Boston College. There are so many bowls that the talent is diluted to the point that many games are just nonsense. Nevada, with one loss, deserves a chance to prove that they are a quality team. I will go with the Wolfpack here in a rout.

32. BCS "Championship" Game has Oregon taking on Auburn. This should be a no brainer but the game still has to be played. If Auburn shows up to play then the game is a foregone conclusion. If they don't then it may be a close one. I think the Tigers will show up and embarrass the Ducks. Go with Auburn.

Don't think I missed any bowl games (other than those already decided) but who knows for sure? There are way to many of them.

Bowls Begin and Championships are Decided

Due to time various matters taking precedence I did not get to put any predictions up for the start of the "Bowl Season" but will put the remainder up shortly. Yesterday there were three "bowl" games on tap and none were really worth watching. They were routs all. The most ridiculous; The New Mexico Bowl was between BYU and UTEP and resulted in a BYU rout. Thankfully I watched very little of the game. Both teams were 6-6 in regular season play and just being in a bowl was a bit of a stretch. A bowl game is not supposed to reward mediocrity. Oh well, so it goes. I do like Mike Price and believe he has done a commendable job in El Paso. It is arguably one of the hardest places to win in the country. Now the Humanitarian Bowl at least has some history behind it. The "Blue Field" Bowl has been around quite a while now. Unfortunately Fresno State decided not to show up. Perhaps there are just too many bad memories there for them to be successful against anyone on that turf. Of course NIU was led by an interim coach as Jerry Kill, like most successful MAC coaches, has moved on to "greener pasture." It will be interesting to see if the Minnesota job works out for him. He may have wished he had stayed in Illinois before all is said and done. The New Orleans Bowl at least is rewards a championship season for the Sun Belt. Troy shared the championship this year and was chosen to play in this contest. It was apparent that Ohio did not bother to show up and were easily handled by the Trojans. Solich is a good coach, but his bowl record with Ohio is dismal. I was a bit surprised at this outcome frankly. The Trojans have struggled a bit this year and I thought that Ohio would be able to take them. Not the case though.
In lower division ball the IAA title game is set between Eastern Washington and Delaware. Might be an interesting game. I watched Delaware some yesterday and they look like they can play  ball. Not real familiar with EWU.
UMD capitalized on a late turnover and beat Delta State by a field goal as time expired. Watched a bit of this one here an there. The undisputed D2 Champion was decided on the field of play. How novel is that?
Over in D3, UWW did it again. It seems like every year either they or their opponent, the Purple Raiders, are vying for the D3 Championship. I did not see this one which is a shame, I usually try to catch the D3 Championship game.

I will try to get the Bowl Predictions up as soon as possible. Have a good week

Big Stuff

It has been reported that Hawaii is the next evacuee from the WAC. Apparently they will be playing their football in the Mtn. West after next season. As of now four of the best programs have left or are leaving the WAC. Don't know who the WAC will replace these schools with. Perhaps try to convince some of the Big Sky conference teams to move up. Montana, Montana St. Idaho State and perhaps Eastern Washington might work. I don't know how long Louisiana Tech will stay in the WAC. It certainly is not a good geographic fit. They are probably looking for a home. I would imagine they will attempt to rebuff the Sun Belt if they came calling. Just conjecture mind you. Don't know if there has been any discussion on that issue. CUSA may be a good fit if and when the Unviersity of Houston moves to the Big "Twelve." Memphis may consider moving to the Big East if invited. There have been rumors of such a move due to the Tigers basketball program. The football program would just have to be tolerated in the Big East I suppose. On second thought, the Big East really is not of much account in football lately. Memphis sure would not hurt the conference. That of course would create an opening for La. Tech in CUSA.

In other news Al Golden has accepted the position of head coach at the University of Miami (FL). Probably a good move on Miami's part as Golden has proven to be one heck of a coach. It is a shame though. I would like to see Golden stay and build a power at Temple. Of course, if he stayed too long the bloom may come off his rose. Remember how Schiano was courted to leave Rutgers? He stayed in NJ and now the Scarlett Knights are playing about average Rutgers ball. Have not heard anyone mentioning Schiano for a major coaching position of late. Have you?

It looks as if Bo will be leaving Texas for the HC position at the University of Florida. Probably a good move on his part but not sure if he will be a good fit for the Gators in the long run. He was heir apparent at UT but I don't think Mack is going anywhere for a while. We will see how he does in Gainesville.

Oh and Newton has won the big trophy. Wonder how long it will be before he will be asked to give it back. I don't think that little story has run its course yet. We will see.

Next week I am looking forward to more IAA playoff games and D2 Championship contest. Delta State is a pretty good team but I do not know if they will be able to hang with UMD. Those guys looked pretty good in some horrific weather Saturday. Of course the game will be held in Alabama so weather may not be a factor.
The quarter finals in IAA will be played and as of now I am picking Villanova to go all the way again. Won't count out Georgia Southern or Delaware though. Could be interesting.

There are also a couple of bowl games in D1 on tap that might be pretty interesting although one game has two 6-6 teams involved. That is ridiculous. Might watch it though; I do like Mike Price and UTEP. If Mike did not have a taste for "titty dancers" he would would have gotten the Alabama job a few years back. He probably would have by now been fired by now by the Crimson Tide administration so really it is not a total wash out for him. As an recovering titty dancer aficionado myself, I wish him all the luck in the future.

I will be putting up some predictions for the coming week in the next day or two. Have a good week and enjoy the games.

More Bowl Games Than Necessary

I will be doing a bit of analysis on the upcoming "post season" in the D1 college ranks soon. That being said there are a whole lot of bowl games upcoming with some very good match ups and some that would kind of leave one scratching their head. For instance, I know that UConn is the winner of the Big East, but it does seem a bit odd to have an unranked team in a BCS Bowl. Kind of defeats the purpose it seems to me. Also there are a lot of teams going to bowl games with 6-6 records. That is sad and a bit ridiculous. There are too many bowl games to be sure. I understand a community wanting to host a bowl game, any bowl game, but it still dampens the "integrity" of the game. Lets take a look at the bowl game in New Mexico for instance. UTEP has lost 5 of the last 6 games and still gets an invite to this bowl. Their opponent, BYU, has not fared any better. While the game might be entertaining, perhaps even good, and somewhat of a boon to the local economy; it still is not a game that should be played. There should be no reward for mediocrity and that of course is what we have in this instance. Army will be 6-6 after their probable loss to Navy this Saturday; the last regular season game on the college schedule. They are going bowling regardless.  Do they deserve a Bowl Game? Not unless they beat Navy and go 7-5. Heck even 7-5 is a bit marginal for deserving a post season trip. A whole lot of these games are meaningless. Some are really a joke. I could be wrong but I'm not. On the bright side, there are IAA, D2 and D3 (don't forget NAIA) playoff games to hold interest until the "bowl season" begins for D1. Some of the IAA schools and perhaps even at least one D2 team are better than some of the teams going to bowl games in the upper division. That is sad.

Oregon and Auburn in the "Big Game"

Auburn has won the SEC Championship quite handily while the Ducks were, as predicted, winners against their cross state rival. The stage is now set for the "Big Game." Auburn is deserving and Oregon, while a very good team and tough rival, may not be. You see this is a product of the BCS system run amok. Now in the Bartender Cabbie System I would have to question the quality wins that Oregon has. The only team of any consequence other than the Ducks in the PAC 10 is Stanford. That is below par and unacceptable. Only one quality win for Oregon the entire year and they go to the BCS Championship Game. Again not that the Ducks are not a quality team and perhaps the right pick to play Auburn but one can sure question their schedule. Is the PAC 10 any better than the WAC which has three ranked teams? Probably not. Boise State has after all beaten 2 ranked teams and lost to one. Oregon has beaten one ranked team (as of end of reg season standings). HMMM. Does Oregon deserve any more of a shot than Boise State or Nevada? Perhaps and perhaps not. What about TCU. It could be argued that TCU has had as good of a season as Oregon. Does Oregon deserve a shot ahead of a one loss Big Ten team or a two loss SEC or Big XII team? Probably not this year. This is the system that we have that is ruining the game. The only thing that will cure this is some sort of legitimate play off system. I prefer the "old Bowl" system to this BCS non sense. As I have said before it is ruining the game.

Another "I have been informed"

There is some great football on today that I really want to watch and of course I have been informed that I will be helping with some Birthday festivities. No real problem there but it mainly involves being a chauffeur and having to sit through a kids movie. At least the local movie theatre has some good hot dogs. I usually don't like hot dogs but this place does them right. The dogs are tasty and the bread is steamy fresh. If one tries hard enough a silver lining can be found in just about anything. The day is not a total wash. I should be back for at least halftime of the SEC Championship game and will also watch some of the late games. I may just tape the SEC game and play catch up. Yes. That is what I will do.

Week 14 Predictions

Well the regular season is winding down and I think for now I will leave the nonsense that is the BCS alone and concentrate on the upcoming games. Last week I was 12-8 for a total thus far of 157-101. There are some great games on tap this week with some conference championship games along with customary rivalry games. Let us not forget also that the lower divisions are having their playoffs at this time. Something that can easily be done at the D1 level once the ruinous BCS system is out of the way. Wait. I said I would not talk about that crap. On to the predictions for week 14.

1. Arizona vs Arizona State: For those that care, this rivalry game of no consequence is on tap tonight. Wish there was something better to watch but there you have it. Arizona is a better team marginally and may be able to win this one. Go with the Wildcats.

2. Northern Illinois vs Miami of Ohio: The MAC Championship game will be on for your viewing pleasure Friday night. This may be a very good game but the Huskies may be a legitimate top 15 team. I would put my money on them to win. Go with Northern Illinois.

3. Illinois vs Fresno State: This one could easily be the nail in Zook's coffin or save him for a bit. Illinois needs this game. Fresno is a tough team to play anywhere and the Valley Dogs are at home. I will go with Illinois to win this one in a close one. They probably just have a bit more talent.

4. UCF vs SMU: UCF is a good team and SMU is a good team for a CUSA squad. I will go out on a limb here and pick SMU to edge the Golden Knights. Go with SMU.

5. Rutgers vs West Virginia: WVU needs this one to stay in contention for a BCS Bowl and should be able to get the win. Go with WVU.

6. Nevada vs Louisiana Tech: Nevada is a darn good football team and Louisiana Tech is just not. The game is in Louisiana which may help the Dogs some but probably not enough. Go with Nevada.

7. Utah State vs Boise State: There is disappointment on the blue field and the Broncs are probably let down. Even with a lackluster performance they will be able to take these Aggies down at home. Go with Boise State.

8. Florida State vs Virginia Tech: The ACC Championship game could be fairly interesting. Va. Tech has rebounded but they have not recovered totally in stature from their 0-2 start and loss to a IAA squad. FSU is better than expected this year and should be able to win here. It may be close but I will go with the Native Americans.

9. Auburn vs South Carolina: Guess who will finally lose one? Yep it will be the Tigers. Of course that depends a lot on which Gamecock team shows up. I think an upset is in the works here and I will go with Spurrier and Co. to pull this one out.

10. Nebraska vs Oklahoma: It will be a shame to see the Huskers leave the Big Twelve with a conference championship under their belt, but that is likely what we will have here. Big Ten take notice. The Huskers will likely dominate this usually below par league. Of course this year is an anomaly with at three teams being top 15 caliber squads. Usually this is not the case. At any rate the Huskers will take the Big Twelve Championship this year and the Big Ten next. Go with Nebraska in their contest with Oklahoma.

11. UConn vs USF: UConn needs this game but it will be hard to get sure. Of course there may be somewhat of a letdown at USF after last week's win over Miami. That can happen. I will still go with the Bulls here in this one. Both teams have top notch coaching and only fair talent.

12. UNLV vs Hawaii: Hawaii may perhaps be a legitimate top 25 squad this year. They will have no problem here. Go with the Warriors.

13. Oregon vs Oregon State: The "Civil War" can be a good game. Oregon State fell apart this year and unlikely will be able to hang with the Ducks, but that sure would make things interesting nationally if the Quackers do falter. We will see. I will go with Oregon to stay undefeated and play in the BCS "National Title" game.

14. Idaho vs San Jose State: Akey's club fell off pace a bit this year and will not go bowling but they are a hands down better team than the Spartans. Go with the Vandals.

15. Middle Tn vs FIU: FIU has only one loss in conference this year and should not lose this one. The Blue Raiders have been a disappointment this year. Dasher's NFL hopes may have been "dashed." At any rate FIU has done well in conference and given some "big boys" all they wanted. I will go with the Panthers.

16. USC vs UCLA: Does anyone really care? Some do I suppose and I will go ahead and pick UCLA to pull off a minor upset here.

17. Troy vs Florida Atlantic: Troy did not win the conference this year as I predicted but still can be a very dangerous team. FAU is better than their record and I will go with them to win in an upset. Go with the Owls.

18. Washington vs Washington State: Another game that no one cares about. Washington appears to be the better squad although I have not paid any attention to either. There just is not any reason to after all. I will go with the Huskies here. Their record is better in this weak conference.

19. SFA vs Villanova: This IAA play off game should be interesting. SFA is pretty good as is Nova. Now Southland Conference teams have not done well in IAA play offs of late and that comes to mind, but I think that the Jacks will pull this one out of the hat.

20. Appalachian State vs Western Illinois: Another IAA play off game on tap. It is hard to go against the Mountaineers and I won't do so here. Go with APSU.

Enjoy the games.