Big Ten recruiting roundup

Posted by ESPN.com's Adam Rittenberg

Ohio State will learn Tuesday whether it will earn the services of standout prep quarterback Tajh Boyd. Defensive end Craig Drummond has, in fact, picked Mississippi after originally committing to Illinois. Iowa had a big weekend recruiting haul, while other Big Ten schools are racking up commits. 

Here's the latest from ESPN Scouts Inc.'s national recruiting director Tom Luginbill. 

ESPNU 150 Craig Drummond picks Rebels over Illini

Craig Drummond, DE

Chicago, IL

Morgan Park H.S.

Scouts Grade: 81

ESPN150 Rank: 99

Position Rank: 7

Defensive end Craig Drummond of Morgan Park (Chicago, Ill.), rated No. 7 nationally among defensive ends and No. 99 prospect overall in the Class of 2009, has chosen Mississippi.

The 6-foot-5, 260-pound Drummond had originally picked Illinois over Wisconsin, but was wavering on his choice.

Among others, Drummond was also offered by Miami-Florida, Tennessee, Ohio State, Southern California, Florida, Michigan State and Minnesota.

Drummond, who was an all-state and all-area selection as a junior after recording 22 sacks, did not play his senior season because of a foot injury.

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ESPNU 150 Tajh Boyd to choose on Tuesday

Tajh Boyd, QB

Hampton, VA

Phoebus H.S.

Scouts Grade: 82

ESPN150 Rank: 59

Position Rank: 5

Tajh Boyd of Phoebus (Hampton, Va.), rated No. 5 among quarterbacks and No. 59 prospect overall in Class 2009, plans to make a final decision among Clemson, Oregon and Ohio State on Tuesday afternoon (Jan. 27).

Among many others, Boyd was also being recruited by Florida State, Boston College, Virginia and Penn State.

Boyd had first committed to West Virginia, but had second thoughts following the Mountaineers' offensive struggles early in the season. He then chose Tennessee, but decommitted following a conversation with newly hired coach Lane Kiffin who warned him that he might not be happy with the Vols' pro-style system.

As a junior, Boyd passed for 2,059 yards and 25 touchdowns, and also rushed for 500 yards and seven scores. He tore his ACL in the third game of his senior season and is set to have surgery next month.

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Minnesota lands Fisch as offensive coordinator

Posted by ESPN.com's Adam Rittenberg

Minnesota's extensive search for an offensive coordinator ended today as head coach Tim Brewster hired Jedd Fisch. 

Fisch spent the last eight seasons in the NFL, most recently as wide receivers coach with the Denver Broncos. He interviewed Monday for the Detroit Lions' offensive coordiantor vacancy and likely would have been on other teams' radar if he didn't accept Brewster's offer to join the Golden Gophers. 

"Jedd possesses a vast understanding of offensive football and has worked alongside three outstanding football coaches in the National Football League, as well as working with Steve Spurrier at the University of Florida," Brewster said in a statement. "In addition to his background, Jedd has tremendous people skills and will be an excellent recruiter. He is a young, rising star in the profession who is committed to helping us build a winner here at Minnesota. I could not be more excited that he has agreed to join our staff." 

Fisch, who replaces Mike Dunbar as Gophers' offensive coordinator, said in a statement that he has known Brewster, a former NFL assistant, for seven years and expects to help Minnesota win its first Big Ten title since 1967. The 32-year-old Fisch last coached in college as a graduate assistant at Florida from 1999-2000.  

The Gophers started 7-1 this season before dropping their final five games. They finished last in the Big Ten in rushing offense (103.8 ypg), prompting Brewster to hire offensive line coach/run game coordinator Tim Davis to restore Minnesota's reputation as a power run team. 

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Minnesota targeting Fisch for coordinator spot

Posted by ESPN.com's Adam Rittenberg

Minnesota's extensive search for an offensive coordinator has centered on Denver Broncos wide receivers coach Jedd Fisch.

ESPN.com's AFC West blogger Bill Williamson is reporting that Fisch likely will accept an offer to take over the Golden Gophers offense.

After East Carolina's Todd Fitch and Oklahoma State's Gunter Brewer pulled out of the running during the weekend, Golden Gophers head coach Tim Brewster targeted Fisch, a 32-year-old with eight years of NFL experience. Fisch interviewed for the Detroit Lions' offensive coordinator vacancy on Monday. 

Brewster had hoped to announce his choice for offensive coordinator on Monday. He told me via text message on Friday that the candidate pool was down to two candidates, one of which was Fitch. 

Mike Dunbar resigned as Minnesota's offensive coordinator on Jan. 6 after the Gophers dropped their final five games this season. 

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Fitch, Brewer no longer in mix at Minnesota

Posted by ESPN.com's Adam Rittenberg

Minnesota head coach Tim Brewster hasn't announced his choice for offensive coordinator, but several candidates have withdrawn from consideration. 

East Carolina offensive coordinator Todd Fitch, who interviewed Saturday with Brewster, said he's staying with the Pirates. 

"I will return to East Carolina University in 2009 and plan to be a part of the Pirates' football program for many years to come," Fitch said in a statement. "My family and I are committed to coach [Skip] Holtz, the university, and the city of Greenville and are excited about the future."

Oklahoma State co-offensive coordinator Gunter Brewer also pulled out of the running, telling Scout.com, "I am honored that coach [Tim] Brewster thought enough of met to interview for such a position and appreciate that opportunity."

St. Louis Rams assistant Jeff Horton remains in the running. Brewster expected to name his offensive coordinator today. 

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Minnesota to interview East Carolina’s Fitch

Posted by ESPN.com's Adam Rittenberg

East Carolina offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Todd Fitch will interview Saturday for the same position at Minnesota, a source close to Fitch told ESPN.com. 

Fitch has spent the last two years guiding East Carolina's offense, which set a single-season school scoring record in 2007 (403 points) before falling off a bit this season. He previously coached quarterbacks at both Iowa State and South Carolina, and served as Connecticut's offensive coordinator from 1996-98.

Minnesota head coach Tim Brewster has interviewed quite a few candidates for the offensive coordinator vacancy, which came open Jan. 6 after Mike Dunbar resigned. Brewster reportedly met with Oklahoma State co-offensive coordinator Gunter Brewer and St. Louis Rams assistant Jeff Horton this week.

Brewster has said he hopes to make his selection by Monday.  

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Big Ten Friday mailbag: Roses have thorns

Posted by ESPN.com’s Adam Rittenberg

Your questions, my answers …

Brad from Chicago writes: Great job on the blog this year. I think I have read it 2 to 3 times a day since you started it. My big gripe today is all this talk about how The Big Ten is not relevant in the Rose Bowl anymore. Since 1993 there has been one loss by a Big Ten team to a PAC 10 team not named Southern Cal, that loss being Washington over Purdue in 01. I am just fed up with the talk about how the Big Ten no longer can play with the elite from other conferences. The truth is USC can beat anybody, it is just every year they lose focus, get beat and then clean the clock of some Big Ten school, most recently my beloved Nittany Lions. The Big Ten hasn’t won a Rose Bowl since 2000, but only one other PAC 10 school besides Southern Cal has won it since then and 3 years in there, there was no Big ten team in the game. I guess I am just a frustrated fan who can’t figure out why most people in the media can’t comprehend that sports are cyclical, they always have been. Eventually USC will stumble, they will go on a downward slide and the Big Ten will go on a streak of winning quite a few again and all this talk of revamping the Rose Bowl will be rendered pointless. Thanks again for a fantastic job this year.

Adam Rittenberg: You bring up a good point about USC, and my advice for every Big Ten team is root like heck for the Trojans to reach the national championship in 2009. It might sound defeatist to some, but the Big Ten needs a manageable bowl lineup next year. The league would have gotten one this year if Oregon State had beaten Oregon on Nov. 29, but it didn’t happen and Penn State was stuck with USC. The Big Ten can’t compete with USC, but as you point one, no one really can right now. But the Big Ten’s problem goes beyond the Rose Bowl. The league simply has to find better players. Though I agree things are cyclical and the Big Ten will eventually rebound, things look very bleak right now. 

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Kenny from Columbia writes: Adam, regardless of bowl records. I still believe the big 10 is far better than the ACC or Big East. If the ACC or Big East sent there conference champ out to Pasadena every year they would be destroyed too. Cincinnati lost by 26 to Oklahoma. Virginia Tech lost to east carolina. So it’s kind of unfair that the big 10 is looked at as the worst BCS conference. All the big 10 needs is an OSU win over Texas, or a win over USC when they visit the Shoe next season to get total respect back. Also, one thing no one is talking about is the fact that PSU had over 400 yards of offense against “the greatest defense ever” so they say.

Adam Rittenberg: Despite the recent downturn, the Big Ten is not the worst BCS conference. I can write that with a fair degree of certainty. But the Big Ten has definitely fallen to fourth, at best, behind the SEC, Big 12 and Pac-10. Some would argue the Mountain West is also better. The Big Ten wouldn’t go 1-5 with the ACC’s or the Big East’s bowl lineup, and both of those leagues would struggle in the Rose Bowl, especially against USC. It’ll take more than a Fiesta Bowl win or Ohio State beating USC next fall for the Big Ten to regain national respect, though those things would be nice for the league. The Big Ten needs to start winning Rose Bowls again, plain and simple.

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A Little Refresher: Top Five Bowl Games of Last Year

5. Gaylord Music City Bowl—Kentucky 35, Florida State 28

This game stayed very close the whole way through as both teams swapped touchdowns throughout the first half ending the half tied at 14. Kentucky quarterback, Andre Woodson had a huge game passing for over 350 yards and four touchdowns.

Florida State scored a touchdown with just over two minutes left in the game to put the Seminoles within a touchdown, but after getting the ball back with around a minute to go, they couldn’t tie the game up with another touchdown.

 

4. Konica Minolta Gator Bowl—Texas Tech 31, Virginia 28

After the first half it seemed like Virginia would cruise on back home with the Gator Bowl after a 21-7 lead, but a Texas Tech comeback ended those hopes.

Graham Harrell had a big game as usual, passing for over 400 yards, and so did his favorite receiver in Micheal Crabtree who had over 100 receiving yards. The Red Raiders scored their last 17 points within the last four minutes which included a game-winning field goal with two seconds left.

 

3. Chick-fil-A Bowl—Auburn 23, Clemson 20 (OT)

A back-and-forth game the whole time, Auburn ended up getting the last touchdown in this overtime battle. Auburn’s new spread offense helped them gain all of 423 yards, and gave them a big win over Clemson.

For Clemson, CJ Spiller and James Davis both had big games, but Clemson could only manage to get a field goal in overtime which wasn’t enough for the win.

 

2. Sheraton Hawaii Bowl—East Carolina 41, Boise State 38

East Carolina kicker, Ben Hartmen, made a 37-yard field goal as time expired to stun the Boise State Broncos.

Boise State looked like they would pull off another miracle, after they scored a defensive touchdown off of a fumble recovery as with under two minutes to play.

East Carolina’s running back, Chris Johnson who’s now playing for the Tennessee Titans was the obvious player of the game as he accounted for 408 total yards.

 

1. Capital One Bowl—Michigan 41, Florida 35

Nobody gave Michigan any chance in this game, but the Wolverines came out fired up and ready to play in this intense game. Although Florida’s offense proved almost unstoppable, the Gators couldn’t shut down Chad Henne or Mike Hart.

Michigan got a field goal and a touchdown within the last five minutes which was enough to be named the Capitol One Bowl champions.

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10 Top 10s For College Football: The Week Before the Bowls

Top 10 Teams

1) Utah-Still haven’t lost, does the Tide hand them one?

2) Boise- No BCS but personally I think their opponent, TCU, would beat Ohio State as well.

3) Texas-Third in the BCS, second in the Heisman voting, first in the Fiesta?

4) Oklahoma-Congrats Sam Bradford.

5) Penn State-Getting no respect.

6) USC-Based purely on their loss.

7) Texas Tech-Snubbed in the BCS and the Heisman race, will have something to prove on the second.

Florida-The only one loss team to lose at home.

9) Alabama-It may get ugly against the Utes.

10) Cincinnati-Underrated as they played the bulk of the season with their fourth string QB.

Top 10 Players of 2008

1) Tim Tebow-Got the most first place votes for the Heisman and gets mine as well.

2) Terrance Cody-The difference maker in Tuscaloosa.

3) Colt McCoy-There were times I thought he would never have another incomplete pass.

4) Rey Malalgua-Unbelievable talent.

5) Sam Bradford-The Heisman winner.

6) Janoris Jenkins-If you saw the Gators play this year you heard his name more than Tebow.

7) Shonn Greene- Single handily resurrected a program and saved a coaches job.

Ian Johnson-A lifetime achievement award.

9) Aaron Curry-One of the best in the country.

10) Knowshawn Moreno-Is there anything he doesn’t do well?

Top 10 Big Games of 2008

1) USC 35, Ohio State 3-Most people thought the title game was going to happen in September this year.

2) Alabama 41, Georgia 30-It was over by the end of the first quarter.

3) Texas 45, Oklahoma 35-Not sure what this really meant.

4) Oklahoma State 28, Missouri 23-Missouri was ranked No. 3 at the time.

5) TCU 32, BYU 7- It wasn’t as close as the score.

6) Penn State 13, Ohio State 6-How the Big Ten was won.

7) Texas Tech 39, Texas 33-Also one of the most exciting games of the year.

Oklahoma 65, Texas Tech 21- The style points put the Sooners in the title game.

9) Oregon 65, Oregon State 38-103 points later the Trojans were in the Rose Bowl.

10) Florida 31, Alabama 20-Last but not least.

10 Upsets That Shaped The 2008 Season

1) Alabama 34, Clemson 10-Clemson was a five point favorite, what a joke.

2) Oregon State 27, USC 21-The Trojans were 23 point favorites.

3) Alabama 41, Georgia 30- The Tide were getting seven in this one.

4) Mississippi 31, Florida 30-Ole Miss was 2-4 against teams with a winning record this year, this was one of the two; they were 25 point dogs in The Swamp as well.

5) Texas 45, Oklahoma 35-Sooners were favored by seven.

6) Texas Tech 39, Texas 33-Knocked the Horns from the title game.

7) Iowa 24, Penn State 23-One point separates the Lions from the title game; they were favored by eight.

Georgia Tech 45, Georgia 42-Made even the most die hard SEC fan think twice about the strength of the conference.

9) Buffalo 42, Ball State 21-We didn’t have to worry about Ball State and the BCS as the 15 point favorites went down hard.

10) East Carolina 27, Virginia Tech 22- How soon we forget.

Top 10 Things I Hope We Don’t See In 2009

1) Stoppage after every play-Every fumble, reception, Interception, etc is a tive minute stoppage, and people wonder why the game takes too long?

2) OJ Simpson-This guy’s act is so stale, let’s just leave him in his jail cell for a while.

3) The BCS- Wishful thinking.

4) Brent Musburger-Talk about stale acts.

5) Bad Rule Changes-The clock rules were a joke, see No. 1.

6) 6-6 teams going to bowl games-This is a huge part of the problem and why there is no playoff.

7) 1-AA teams on the schedule-These games shouldn’t count as one of the 12 games; we’re going to see a lot more of these as less teams from major conferences qualify for bowls.

Bad Officiating-Maybe it’s time to hold these guys accountable for changing outcomes through horrible calls.

9) Inconsistency-Watch five games at once, a penalty in one game is a no call in others, especially regarding celebrations and sideline infractions.

10) Media Spin-Take away these guys vote and poll while we’re at it too, they are clueless and obviously only support whomever their employer has an interest in.

Top 10 Things That Defined The 2008 Season

1) The Spread Offense-Will be the answer to a trivia question someday.

2) The Horse Collar- Making it illegal made it a mainstream word.

3) The Big 12- Had the game of the year almost every week.

4) Tim Tebow’s Speech-Was good to his word after the loss to Ole Miss.

5) BCS Controversy-Part of every season it seems.

6) Tommy Bowden-The fraud finally held accountable, no wonder they started winning once he was gone.

7) Weeknight Games-Not just one here and there, multiple games almost every night.

Impact Freshman-They are playing right away everywhere, leaving even faster.

9) Weather Postponed Games-Seems to be happening more and more.

10) ESPN-I don’t watch their pregame or postgame stuff but from what I’ve learned what they say seems to be more important than what happens on the field.

Top 10 Impact Freshmen of 2008

1) Julio Jones-All he was billed to be and then some.

2) Sean Spence-Hits like a Mack Truck.

3) AJ Green-Even made Matt Stafford look good from time to time.

4) Janoris Jenkins-May have been what was missing for the Gators.

5) Robert Griffin-Mr. Excitement.

6) Terrelle Pryor-Will he bring the Buckeyes a title?

7) Jacquizz Rodgers-Would anyone complain if I put him No. 1?

Kellen Moore-Didn’t look like a freshman.

9) DeAndre Brown-If he’s at a bigger school more people know who he is.

10) Marcus Forston-Going to be a force.

Top 10 Ways I Plan On Fighting College Football Withdrawal

1) Working on my book-I don’t think this will make me rich but that isn’t the point of it.

2) Expanding my site into a network of Sports Sites-Exciting stuff already in the works; NFL, MLB, CBB, NBA, NHL, etc., going to have it all.

3) Interviewing Writers-Going to need a lot of fresh content, can’t do it myself.

4) Working with my Tech Guy-I don’t know anything about this stuff but I’ve seen the mock ups for the new sites and get ready for some jaw dropping stuff.

5) Integrating more with my Blogging community-Things have happened so fast I’ve put off a lot of requests.

6) Take a vacation-I’ve been going full speed for months on end.

7) Get back in good shape-I’ve spent a lot of time sitting and eating the past few months, time to work it off.

Learn how to text message-Been on my list for years, not really that interested.

9) Clear off the TIVO-No idea how long that stuff will stay but I haven’t watched most of it.

10) Relax-Something I probably don’t do enough.

10 Things I Learned When I Converted My Newsletter To A Blog

1) Spammers are everywhere-I get a spam comment every six minutes on average; very thankful for spam blocking software.

2) College Football fans are everywhere-I read every email and comment, sometimes over 500 a week; thanks for all of them (at least  most of them).

3) Having a community is a great thing- I enjoy having hundreds of thousands of people to talk college football with.

4) There are some mean people out there-Some ignorant and spineless ones as well.

5) There are websites built on stolen content-And they don’t credit the author or the source either.

6) There are a lot of people who know a lot about college football-Pretty amazing how regional coverage really works.

7) Traffic is the most important thing-You can be a great writer or picker or whatever but if no one reads it what’s the point.

Most people prefer facts and analysis-While my 10 top 10’s is my most popular Bleacher Report series, it is far and away the least popular series as far as traffic at The College Football Place.

9) If you build it and provide quality, they will come-I went from a standing start to over 350,000 monthly visitors in five months, I thank everyone for being part of it all.

10) Short is sweet-I know my videos are too long, at least my paragraphs aren’t what they used to be; the Internet reader is a different breed.

10 Odd Things In College Football

1) Firing Tommy Tubberville-It’s been a week and I still don’t get it.

2) Hiring Gene Chizik-Not sure if he’s Head Coach material, his Iowa State team didn’t look to be going in the right direction.

3) Contract extensions for Head Coaches-It seems these guys get one right before a horrible season.

4) People who pick games without point spreads-There’s a reason there are so many college football games that have double digit point spreads, this isn’t the NFL where anyone can really beat anyone.

5) The vote of confidence-Is it really the kiss of death?

6) What is a reviewable play-The worst calls aren’t reviewable because no one could have dreamed up they would have happened.

7) No Coach accountability for players who get in trouble-Don’t they promise parents to take care of their kids?

A win against a 1-AA team counts as much as beating a ranked team-When did this happen? Teams were always penalized for these games.

9) Some conferences have championships and others don’t-Is this record padding?

10) There is less talk of a playoff than ever-Everyone seems to be afraid of upsetting someone.

Visit Mitch anytime at The College Football Place

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College Postseason: The Miseducation Of Lisa Horne

Lisa Horne wrote an article expressing that the dominant conferences were weaker than the Big XII Conference. Then people wanted to know what she was basing this off of. Was it because they didn’t have enough BCS NC possible teams in the show? Was it in regards to the Heisman? Or is it because there wasn’t as much controversy in those conferences as there is in the Big XII Conference?

After watching her try to defend her defense of the Big XII Conference, I wanted to let the B/R Nation decide. But I did some quick research on this season’s bowl games and found something interesting.

ACC: 10 Postseason Representatives

• Wake Forest (Eagle Bank Bowl vs. Navy)
• North Carolina (Meineke Car Care Bowl vs. West Virginia)
• Florida State (Champs Sports Bowl vs. Wisconsin)
• Miami (Emerald Bowl vs. Cal)
• NC State (PapaJohns.com Bowl vs. Rutgers)
• Maryland (Roady’s Humanitarian Bowl vs. Nevada)
• Boston College (Gaylord Hotels Music City Bowl vs. Vanderbilt)
• Georgia Tech (Chick-Fil-A Bowl vs. LSU)
• Clemson (Konica Minolta Gator Bowl vs. Nebraska)
• Virginia Tech (Orange Bowl vs. Cincinnati)

SEC: 8 Postseason Representatives

• Vanderbilt (Gaylord Hotels Music City Bowl vs. Boston College)
• LSU (Chick-Fil-A Bowl vs. Georgia Tech)
• South Carolina (Outback Bowl vs. Iowa)
• Georgia (Capital One Bowl vs. Michigan State)
• Ole Miss (AT&T Cotton Bowl vs. Texas Tech)
• Kentucky (AutoZone Liberty Bowl vs. East Carolina)
• Alabama (Sugar Bowl vs. Utah)
• Florida (BCS National Championship vs. Oklahoma)

Big XII: 7 Postseason Representatives

• Missouri (Valero Alamo vs. Northwestern)
• Oklahoma State (Pacific Life Holiday Bowl vs. Oregon)
• Kansas (Insight Bowl vs. Minnesota)
• Nebraska (Konica Minolta Gator Bowl vs. Clemson)
• Texas Tech (AT&T Cotton Bowl vs. Ole Miss)
• Texas (Fiesta Bowl vs. Ohio State)
• Oklahoma (BCS National Championship vs. Florida)

Big Ten: 7 Postseason Representatives

• Wisconsin (Champs Sports Bowl vs. Florida State)
• Northwestern (Valero Alamo Bowl vs. Missouri)
• Minnesota (Insight Bowl vs. Kansas)
• Iowa (Outback Bowl vs. South Carolina)
• Michigan State (Capitol One Bowl vs. Georgia)
• Penn State (Rose Bowl vs. USC)
• Ohio State (Fiesta Bowl vs. Texas)

Big East: 6 Postseason Representatives

• South Florida (St. Petersburg Bowl vs. Memphis)
• West Virginia (Meineke Car Care Bowl vs. North Carolina)
• Rutgers (PapaJohns.com Bowl vs. N.C. State)
• Pitt (Brut Sun Bowl vs. Oregon State)
• UConn (International Bowl vs. Buffalo)
• Cincinnati (Orange Bowl vs. Virginia Tech)

Pac 10: 5 Postseason Representatives

• Arizona (Pioneer Las Vegas Bowl vs. BYU)
• Cal (Emerald Bowl vs. Miami (FL))
• Oregon (Pacific Life Holiday Bowl vs. Oklahoma State)
• Oregon State (Brut Sun Bowl vs. Pitt)
• USC (Rose Bowl vs. Penn State)

And this is just the main conferences. How do you think the smaller conferences did this seaason?

Mountain West: 5 Postseason Representatives

• Colorado State (New Mexico Bowl vs. Fresno State)
• BYU (Pioneer Las Vegas Bowl vs. Arizona)
• TCU (SDCCU Poinsettia Bowl vs. Boise State)
• Air Force (Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl vs. Houston) 
• Utah (Sugar Bowl vs. Alabama)

WAC: 5 Postseason Representatives 

• Fresno State (New Mexico Bowl vs. Colorado State) 
• Hawaii (Sheraton Hawaii Bowl vs. Notre Dame)
• Louisiana Tech (Independence Bowl vs. Northern Illinois)
• Nevada (Roady’s Humanitarian Bowl vs. Maryland)
• Boise State (SDCCU Poinsettia Bowl vs. TCU)

So when you do the simple mathematics of who is in the bowl games, the Big XII is not as dominating as Lisa wants them to be. She gave so much credit to Colt McCoy, Sam Bradford and Graham Harrell (who royally got the shaft in the Heisman) but none to Mack Brown, Mike Leach or Bob Stoops. It’s always good to be the quarterback, but you can’t be a great QB without a great coach to teach you the fundamental basics.

But it was a team effort that got a majority of these teams into their respective bowl games. But to just single out one player or position as the reason of their success is downright dumb. In regards to the SEC being dominant, I’m surprised no one threw former Tennessee Quarterback Peyton Manning’s name in the mix if you’re going to do name dropping.

Regardless, the Big XII is in as much trouble this bowl season as everyone else. And even though no one has flat out said that Oklahoma will slaughter Florida or vice versa, you have to know that someone wants to start the fireworks.

It’s good that you know stats and everything, Lisa, but the facts do not support your main argument. You called the SEC weak this season, but really didn’t give a reason to their weakness. You just went on about how great the quarterbacks of the Big XII look in their uniforms. But the numbers aren’t the only thing that people look at. They look at who has proven themselves to be a leader.

In all honesty, all four quarterbacks involved in the Heisman Chase have proven themselves to be leaders. But after tonight, only one will hold up the Heisman…and Tebow would much rather have a National Championship. And we all know about the Heisman Curse.

So here’s a better poll question: Who has been the stronger conference and who has been the weaker conference this year?

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Do You Have What It Takes To Be The Champion? B/R Bowl Games Pick’em Contest

Think you have what it takes to pick ALL the winners from all 34 bowl games this season?

Here’s your chance to compete with anyone and everyone on Bleacher Report!

 

The rules are as follows:

1. One set of picks per person

2. ALL bowl games must be picked and submitted (posted in the comments section below) no later than 10:59AM, December 20th prior to kickoff of the EagleBank Bowl

3a. In the event of a tie in the standings, I will use your predictions on total combined points in the 5 BCS Bowls.

3b. When you submit your picks, you will want to post the total points you think will be scored per game…for example, if you think USC is going to beat Penn State 45-10, you would put Rose Bowl – 55 points

(If you have questions, post a note on my page.)

4. The games are broken down into five levels with each level worth from one to five points.

 

Here are the games and point values per game.

1-point games:

Independence Bowl, Louisiana Tech (7-5) vs. Northern Illinois (6-6), Dec. 28

Motor City Bowl, Central Michigan (8-4) vs. Florida Atlantic (6-6), Dec. 26

New Mexico Bowl, Colorado State (6-6) vs. Fresno State (7-5), Dec. 20

St. Petersburg Bowl, Memphis (6-6) vs. USF (7-5), Dec. 20

New Orleans Bowl, Southern Miss (6-6) vs. Troy (7-5), Dec. 21

Liberty Bowl, East Carolina (9-4) vs. Kentucky (6-6), Jan. 2

Music City, Boston College (9-4) vs. Vanderbilt (6-6), Dec. 31

Hawaii Bowl, Notre Dame (6-6) at Hawaii (7-6), Dec. 24

Papajohns.com Bowl, N.C. State (6-6) vs. Rutgers (7-5), Dec. 29

2-point games:

EagleBank Bowl, Navy (8-4) vs. Wake Forest (7-5), Dec. 20

Emerald Bowl, California (8-4) vs. Miami (7-5), Dec. 27

Armed Forces Bowl, Air Force (8-4) vs. Houston (7-5), Dec. 31

International Bowl, Buffalo (8-5) vs. Connecticut (7-5), Jan. 3

Humanitarian Bowl, Maryland (7-5) vs. Nevada (7-5), Dec. 30

Insight Bowl, Kansas (7-5) vs. Minnesota (7-5), Dec. 31

Gator Bowl, Clemson (7-5) vs. Nebraska (8-4), Jan. 1

3-point games:

Champs Sports Bowl, Florida State (8-4) vs. Wisconsin (7-5), Dec. 27

Alamo Bowl, Missouri (9-4) vs. Northwestern (9-3), Dec. 29

Outback Bowl, Iowa (8-4) vs. South Carolina (7-5), Jan. 1

Texas Bowl, Rice (9-3) vs. Western Michigan (9-3), Dec. 30

Chick-fil-A Bowl, Georgia Tech (9-3) vs. LSU (7-5), Dec. 31

Las Vegas Bowl, Arizona (7-5) vs. BYU (10-2), Dec. 20

Meineke Car Care Bowl, North Carolina (8-4) vs. West Virginia (8-4), Dec. 27

GMAC Bowl, Ball State (12-1) vs. Tulsa (10-3), Jan. 6

Cotton Bowl, Ole Miss (8-4) vs. Texas Tech (11-1), Jan. 2

Sun Bowl, Oregon State (8-4) vs. Pittsburgh (9-3), Dec. 28

Capital One Bowl, Georgia (9-3) vs. Michigan State (9-3), Jan. 1

Holiday Bowl, Oklahoma State (9-3) vs. Oregon (9-3), Dec. 30

Poinsettia Bowl, Boise State (12-0) vs. TCU (10-2), Dec. 23

4-point BCS games

Sugar Bowl, Alabama (12-1) vs. Utah (12-0), Jan. 1

Orange Bowl, Cincinnati (11-2) vs. Virginia Tech (9-4), Jan. 1

Rose Bowl, Penn State (11-1) vs. USC (11-1), Jan. 1

Fiesta Bowl, Ohio State (10-2) vs. Texas (11-1), Jan. 5

5-point BCS NC game:

BCS National Championship Game, Florida (12-1) vs. Oklahoma (12-1), Jan. 8

 

 

As the games are played, I’ll add the standings to the article as often as I can.

GOOD LUCK! 

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