Florida, Oklahoma odds on favorites for 2009

The Wiz spotted BodogLife’s updated odds for the college football season. Long story short… it looks like the Gators and Sooners are the early picks, followed by USC, Texas, and Ohio State.

Here’s the complete rundown:

Alabama 22/1
Arizona 100/1
Arizona State 150/1
Arkansas 150/1
Auburn 150/1
Boise State 100/1
Boston College 100/1
California 60/1
Cincinnati 90/1
Clemson 60/1
Colorado 100/1
Florida 7/4
Florida State 30/1
Georgia 50/1
Georgia Tech 50/1
Illinois 80/1
Iowa 75/1
Kansas 75/1
Kansas State 175/1
Kentucky 125/1
Louisville 150/1
LSU 20/1
Maryland 200/1
Miami 35/1
Michigan 120/1
Michigan State 100/1
Missouri 90/1
Nebraska 55/1
North Carolina 45/1
North Carolina State 100/1
Notre Dame 30/1
Ohio State 17/2
Oklahoma 5/1
Oklahoma State 50/1
Oregon 20/1
Oregon State 100/1
Penn State 35/1
Pittsburgh 60/1
Rutgers 125/1
South Carolina 100/1
South Florida 80/1
Tennessee 100/1
Texas 8/1
Texas A&M 150/1
Texas Tech 60/1
UCLA 150/1
Utah 125/1
USC 5/1
Virginia 100/1
Virginia Tech 20/1
Wake Forest 80/1
Washington 200/1
West Virginia 75/1
Wisconsin 100/1
Field (Any Other Team) 20/1

And remember… entertainment purposes only… of course.

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Who will be the 2009-2010 BCS National Champion?

While memories of Tebow hoisting the trophy may still be dancing through your head, the pundits can’t help but look ahead to the 2009-2010 BCS National Championship.

With more returning starters than USC or Oklahoma, the early favorites of the talking heads are the Florida Gators and Texas Longhorns.

Here’s a breakdown of the pundit pre-pre-preseason projections, with click-through links to their full lists.

Rivals.com
1. Florida
2. Texas
3. USC
4. Oklahoma
5. LSU
Highest Projected non-BCS: #9 – Boise State

Mark Schlabach (ESPN)
1. Florida
2. Texas
3. USC
4. Oklahoma
5. Alabama
Highest Projected non-BCS: #8 – Boise State

Dennis Dodd (CBS Sportsline)
1. Florida
2. Oklahoma
3. Texas
4. Alabama
5. Virginia Tech
Highest Projected non-BCS: #15 – Utah

Mr. College Football Tony Barnhart (Atlanta Constitution-Journal)
1. Florida
2. Texas
3. USC
4. Alabama
5. Oklahoma
Highest Projected non-BCS: #17 – TCU

Bruce Feldman (ESPN)
1. Florida
2. Texas
3. Oklahoma
4. Oregon
5. Virginia Tech
Highest Projected non-BCS: None in Top 10

Matt Hayes (Sporting News)
1. Florida
2. Texas
3. Oklahoma
4. Alabama
5. Ole Miss
Highest Projected non-BCS: #18 – BYU

So… if you believe the pundits… go ahead and book your reservations now, Gator & Longhorn fans. But… then again, that didn’t work out too well for Georgia fans last year, so… maybe just watch the games, first.

PS – On a side note, let me just say that I am glad to be back in the saddle. It’s nice to see the community has grown to the point where our contributors have taken over with amazing, self-generated content. Keep these great posts coming because… there is no off-season, boys.

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BCS Championship: Gators Get It Done Again

The Gators get it done again.
Story By College Sports for NBC4i.com

13-0 Utah + Barack Obama = playoffs???

Earlier this year, President-elect Barack Obama stepped into the college football controversy known as the BCS, when he publicly called for the college football championship system to include playoffs.  A mere 11 days after being elected as the most powerful man in the world, Obama made the call that millions of football fans are begging for.

“If you’ve got a bunch of teams who play throughout the season, and many of them have one loss or two losses, there’s no clear decisive winner. We should be creating a playoff system.”

I don’t know any serious fan of college football who has disagreed with me on this. So, I’m going to throw my weight around a little bit. I think it’s the right thing to do.

I think it’s about time we had playoffs in college football. I’m fed up with these computer rankings and this that and the other. Get eight teams — the top eight teams right at the end. You got a playoff. Decide on a national champion.”

Once sworn into office, Obama could sway the BCS to abandon the current system in favor of a more accurate determination of a champion.  If any one man can do it, it would have to be the President of the United States.

But add to that the fact that Utah has just completed its’ second unbeaten season in four years, and you have more reason to change the system.  Utah’s biggest detraction was a softer schedule and the fact that very few people outside of the Mormon state got to see them play football.  Personally, the only time I saw them play was when they nearly lost to Michigan in the final seconds…..and after the season UM had, I would never have wanted a national championship shot given to a team that barely beat the Wolverines.

But looking back, you can see a better strength of schedule for the Utes, including wins against Oregon State, #12 TCU, and a blowout of then-#14 BYU.  Now counter in the destruction of #4 Alabama, and you’ve got a worthy team.

Also, don’t forget that Utah beat Alabama by MORE than Florida did, and the Gators ARE playing for the national championship.

Did unbeaten Boise State deserve a shot?  Hell, no.  But we didn’t find that out until the bowls.  So give 8-12 teams a chance and let’s find out who deserves it and who doesn’t.

So let’s see some action on this Mr. President.  It’ll be for the good of the sport, and for the good of the country.

Plus, when you get that playoff system in place, think of the landslide re-election you’ll have when the solidly-Republican state of Utah gives you their vote for President in 2012.

Story By The Buckeye Battle Cry

It starts. Plus, the reality behind the Big Ten’s perceived weakness

…the Big Ten bashing, that is.

ESPN (who else?) leads off the bowl season with another anti-Big Ten article, this time by Michael Weinreb, who says the Big Ten is “a legacy of linebackers missing front teeth and running backs built like, well, Plymouth Valiants.”

And, once again, we’ve got another formulaic attack on the Big Ten. Weinreb clearly only has a rudimentary knowledge of college football, but is a clever-enough writer to mask his tenuous point behind a way-too-thick metaphor and a ton of superficial analysis. Presto! His entire point may be wrong, but who cares? He’s witty.

Worse yet, he’s stated his company line: The Big Ten had better do fantastic this bowl season, or it will confirm to the world that the conference is irrelevant.

That’s ridiculous. OF COURSE the Big Ten is going to fail miserably this bowl season. But it has nothing to do with the conference’s weakness — it’s a simple, reasonable outcome of the fact that all of the conference’s bowl representatives have unfavorable matchups. This occurred because Ohio State was selected for a BCS at-large slot. Once OSU was pulled away from the Big Ten affiliated bowls, the four other bowl-eligible teams “slid up” one slot to fill the vacancy.

Consider the following 2008/09 bowl matchups:

• Penn State vs. USC (#8 vs. #5)
• OSU vs. Texas (#10 vs. #3)
• Michigan State vs. Georgia (#18 vs. #15)
• Northwestern vs. Missouri (#23 vs. #21)
• Iowa vs. South Carolina (B10 5th vs. SEC 5th)
• Wisconsin vs. Florida State (B10 7th vs. ACC 4th)
• Minnesota vs. Kansas (B10 6th vs. Big 12N 3rd)

Of the above Big Ten teams, all are playing against higher ranked (or rated) opponents, with the exception of Iowa/SC, the lone relatively even matchup. In other words: seven teams, six underdogs and one even matchup. No favorites.

However… if Ohio State had not been selected to the Fiesta, the bowls would have likely looked this way:

• Penn State vs. USC (#8 vs. #5)
• OSU vs. Georgia (#10 vs. #15)
• Michigan State vs. Missouri (#18 vs. #21)
• Northwestern vs. South Carolina (#23 vs. SEC 5th)
• Iowa vs. Florida State (B10 5th vs. ACC 4th)
• Wisconsin vs. Kansas (B10 7th vs. Big 12N3rd)
• (Sorry, Minnesota.)

Now THAT is a more reasonable set of matchups. Big Ten fans are jealous, because this is the type of schedule that SEC, Pac 10, and Big 12 fans enjoy year after year. Meanwhile, Big 10 teams are just good enough and attractive enough to merit selections they probably don’t deserve.

For instance, because OSU got pulled into the BCS again – where it probably doesn’t belong this year – to play #3 Texas, Northwestern has to play Big 12 North champ Missouri.

The fact that the Big 10 is such a popular conference, and has so many good teams year to year, is probably why the conference gets such unfavorable matchups during each bowl season. Bowls are about money, not matchups, and therefore lesser-qualified Big 10 teams are consistently pulled into bowls against better opponents simply because they’re a higher $$ draw.

No other major conference has this issue. Mid-major teams like Utah and Boise St. are always underdogs, and deservedly so. But no other BCS conference has this perennial underdog matchup problem like the Big 10 does.

Put simply, the conference is too popular for its own good. It’s too good for its own good. Had OSU not finished in the top ten yet again, none of this would have happened.

So what’s left? Superficial articles like Weinreb’s that ignore matchups and instead base conference strength on bowl win-loss records.

Honestly, if the Big 10 even goes .500, that should be an indicator of the conference’s strength, not weakness.

So where did this false idea of Big 10 weakness come from, anyway?

Contrary to common opinion, the Big 10’s perceived weakness can be traced back to three events. Not a collection of data points, across years or decades, mind you – but three singular events that started this current fad of conference bashing. The talking heads took it from there.

1. OSU – Florida, BCS Championship, January 2007. One of the best Ohio State offenses in history shows up uninspired, poorly motivated, and gets spanked on national TV by a Florida team that felt disrespected by the media. Media overcompensates for their error by slobbering all over Urban Meyer.
2. OSU – Florida, NCAA Basketball Final, March 2007. Just 11 weeks after the BCS championship game, the Buckeyes play the Gators again, but this time on a basketball court. The Oden-led freshmen make a great effort, but are unable to topple the senior-filled Florida dynasty. At this point, it became fashionable for fans to chant “SEC! SEC!” while eating corn dogs and wearing jorts. Media REALLY likes the easy story angle the two championship games gave them, and moves from slobbering over Urban Meyer to slobbering over all things SEC.
3. Michigan – Appalachian State, Sept. 2007. Michigan craps its pants on national TV to Joe Bob’s University and Lube and Tire Clinic. Awesome for the schadenfreude, not awesome in that it literally caused the Mark Mays of the world to pee in their pants a little. Media moves from slobbering over SEC to full-blown writing it love letters, sending out radio dedications, and mild stalking.

Those three events in 2007 are the lens through which every Big 10 team’s failure of the past two seasons has been viewed. Yes, I know that the OSU losses to LSU and USC were bad for the Big 10, but in all reality, had either of those games happened “in the void,” that is to say, without the three events mentioned above, nobody would have read anything else into it other than the fact that LSU was a much better team last year than Ohio State was, or that it wasn’t surprising when a banged up OSU team without a running back didn’t beat a USC juggernaut.

It was only the events of the previous year that turned OSU’s losses into an example of the Big 10’s weakness by those who were looking for a superficial thing to analyze, rather than anything significant or substantial.

So, heading into another tough bowl season, nobody is likely to care that each Big 10 team is playing a higher-ranked or rated team, and that even being competitive on a consistent basis in that situation is admirable. Like I wrote above, if the Big 10 even wins half of these games, that would be a major feather in the conference’s cap.

And it’s an absolute shame that nobody else will see it that way.

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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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Urban Meyer: ND Still "My Dream Job"

A few weeks ago, I wrote an article for FOXSports.com about possible replacements for Charlie Weis if he resigned or was terminated from Notre Dame. Urban Meyer was at the top of my list- he had the best odds.

Gators fans ripped me and called me “clueless”- Urban would not leave Gainesville for South Bend. Florida is his dream job, and why would he ever leave sunshine for snow? Blah blah blah.

Flash forward to this week. On Wednesday, Meyer told a Florida radio show that Notre Dame is “still my dream job; that hasn’t changed.”

Uh huh. I thought so. Some things are so obvious, they will never change. Here comes the proverbial I-told-you-so. Gators fans are in complete denial about their coach.

When everything is said and done in fifty years, Meyer will not be remembered for what he has accomplished at Gainesville.

Like it or not, this is fact- Florida has only recently become a football force after a long hibernation from gridiron greatness. Quick, tell me who was a Notre Dame coach in the 70’s? Or Ohio State in the 60’s? Easy, huh? Now tell me Florida’s coach.

You cannot deny the obvious- some football programs have such a storied past, that their coaches are remembered fifty years later- they are immortalized. Notre Dame has that power. Michigan has that power. Oklahoma, USC, Nebraska and Alabama have that power. Florida, does not. Yet.

Eight conference championships and two National Championships- the first being in 1996, the second in 2006 – do not a dynasty in college football make. It’s trendy. The Gators are new to all of this. Ten years do not compare to ninety years. It’s not even close folks.

Notre Dame has won a National Championship in every decade, except for in the 50’s and 90’s- 1924, 1929, 1930, 1943, 1946, 1947, 1949, 1966, 1973, 1977 and 1988.

Winning a national championship at Notre Dame guarantees that coach eternal greatness and a probable throne behind the Pearly Gates. Notre Dame, whether you admit it or not, whether you’re in denial or not, is the most powerful football program in the country.

Urban knows that. NBC knows that. The bowls know that. God knows that.

So will he leave?

“Meyer is working on a second national title with a quarterback who is running a second Heisman Trophy campaign,” according to the Orlando Sentinel. “Meyer said he was already ‘in the 11th hour’ with Florida when Notre Dame called.”

Wait a minute- “when Notre Dame called”?

Did Notre Dame put out some “feelers” to Urban Meyer after the Fighting Irish’s loss to USC? (note- this author believes they did) It reads that way. And it makes sense. That one week period after the USC loss was quiet. Too quiet.

When Fighting Irish AD Jack Swarbrick finally confirmed that Weis would be the coach, everyone assumed it was over. “He, I and the others involved in leading our football program are committed to doing everything necessary to ensure a successful 2009 season,” Swarbrick said. “We are examining every aspect of the program and will make changes wherever we think they are needed.”

OK…that’s a little muddled. But here’s the thing- what if Meyer, after the January 8th BCS Championship Game, decides he is done? If he wins the title, and Tebow bails, Meyer is going to have to start from scratch.

Notre Dame, however, is a different story. A roster filled with juniors and seniors, and a perfect quarterback to run his beloved spread- Dayne Crist. Buh-bye Jimmy Clausen, hello Dayne Crist. Would this not be the perfect time for Meyer to take over the reins?

Wouldn’t the timing be perfect? Weis is running around recruiting while Meyer is getting ready for the Oklahoma Sooners. If no one says anything, then everything is status quo and no player goes mental with the prospect of losing their coach.

After the bowl games, Weis is let go, and Meyer takes over. It’s perfect.

Meyer will have accomplished everything he could have ever wished for at Florida, and Notre Dame, his dream job, would be there plump full of recruits who are just dying to be coached up.

Do you think Jack Swarbrick would say ‘no” to Meyer if he called up and said, “I’m yours”?

Do you think he’ll say “no” to a coach who is 2-0 in BCS Bowls (and has possibly two NCs by next month)?

Could it be that Meyer is dropping hints about where is deep love is? Drooping hints that this is it- after this BCS Bowl, don’t hate me if I bail because ND is my dream job?

Set-up? Laying down the foundation? Avoiding “a Saban” by letting folks know that he will eventually want to coach at Notre Dame, so get used to the idea, Gator fans?

Count on it.

 

*special thanks to Orlando Sentinel’s 12/12/08 article by Jeremy Fowler.

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College Football Bowls 2008/2009: Mitch’s First Early Leans

As I look around the Internet, I see a lot of people making their bowl picks and BCS Bowl picks. I was wondering if I could borrow their crystal ball.

Fortunately or unfortunately, I know my readers and viewers of my videos expect a lot more from me than looking at a lineup of games and just saying who I think will win or cover. They want me to sit down and do the homework and show them why I am leaning one way or another.

While I’m not right all the time, and some weeks not right much of the time, most weeks I’ve done pretty well in the picking department, and I hope my analysis has been spot-on all the time. Regardless, I know that at The College Football Place, over 350,000 people a month stop by, and a good bulk of them really know their college football.

While not everyone is brave enough to enter my free picking contest, those that do as a unit have a much higher winning percentage than just about any expert out there. That in itself is a testament to the community we have formed.

I am hoping that tonight or possibly today I’ll have a chance to send out the entries for the free bowl picking contest for those already signed up. For those not signed up yet, you have until the games kick off on Dec. 20. It’s easy, free, and we even have prizes.

So with no picks in place, it doesn’t mean I have come up with any opinions or leans as they are referred to, as I have several—some are stronger than others. While just because I’m leaning one way or another is no guarantee that is how my final pick ends up, it’s generally a good indication.

Please keep in mind though that a few weeks ago in the forum I was leaning Alabama, and then when I did my homework and wrote up the pick, I ended up taking Florida. While it’s rare, it happens, but when it does you are always given plenty of notice to move things around.

In any event, here are a few games I’m leaning one way or another and my reasoning. Please feel free to comment or hit the forum, as I’ve found when we do this together, the more we are all in agreement the better our record is. Our poll was well over 70 percent this season, probably North of 80 percent against the spread.

Here are a few games I’ve been looking at already and some early leans.

Texas Tech is a mere -5 1/2 against Ole Miss, dropping from the 7-7 1/2 range. I guess beating Florida at Florida several months ago means that much to Ole Miss, but it doesn’t get held against the Gators too much?

I have yet to figure this one out, but the big argument and what is helping us out having to lay less points is people are under the impression that Ole Miss is a good team. This just in: They aren’t. Ole Miss ranks 62nd in the country against the pass, and that’s 11th in the SEC for those keeping score of SEC stats.

Anyone still like the Rebels’ chances against Graham Harrell and company? Be my guest to step up to the betting window and knock the line down even further, because the rest of us are laughing at you.

Ole Miss beat a total of three bowl teams this year: the aforementioned Florida, LSU, and Memphis. Memphis was 6-6 with one of those coming against a I-AA opponent, and LSU was 7-5 with one win coming against a I-AA opponent. Texas Tech lost one game total in a brutal Big 12 this year. I think Houston Nutt’s boys may be in over their heads by a ton in this mismatch.

Boston College is -3 against Vandy. This line has moved from -4. For those who didn’t watch the second half of the season this year, Vandy lost six of their last seven games and barely made it to a bowl game. They even lost to Tennessee, which wasn’t an easy thing to do this year—just ask the Wyoming Cowboys and their 120th-ranked defense.

In any event, BC went 9-4 and had won four straight before losing to Virginia Tech in the ACC championship. Many feel that if BC didn’t suffer the late season injuries they had, they probably would have gone to a BCS Bowl game. Let me rephrase this so you understand it better: Their QB got knocked out and they played a guy with no experience and still managed some wins. BC with preparation in this one should easily dominate.

Also, for those looking at the conference matchup alone, the ACC got the best of the SEC this year, especially late in the season. Did I mention Vandy has the 104th-ranked offense and BC has the 18th-ranked defense? This may get ugly.

See the rest of Mitch’s First leans of the 2008/2009 college bowl season.

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Conference Allegiances: Why Are College Football Fans So Biased?

Every year, you hear the same conversations.  The SEC is great.  The Big XII is better.  The Pac-10 is only one team.  The ACC and Big East are garbage.  Every year, the conversations and debates go on and on like the Energizer bunny.

But why?

Why do college football fans care so much about conferences, and pledge our allegiance to the conference that is home to our favorite college sports team?

With the matchup of Oklahoma vs. Florida this year in the National Championship game people think that the debate will be settled by the outcome of this singular sports event, but why even care? 

Why would a fan of the University of Georgia root for the Florida Gators to win the national championship of college football?

That is like the New York Yankees making it to the World Series, and all of Red Sox nation is cheering them on including the Boston Red Sox themselves.  Why shouldn’t that happen?  They’re both not only in the American League, but also in the same division. 

I’m glad they don’t, though, because that kind of display would be more than enough to make me puke. 

Well, all of these “conference loyalists” are really starting to border on that kind of level of intolerability for me.

I’ve played around in some of these conversations before because it’s what people tend to talk about.  I might defend the Big XII if people condemn it in general, because it’s home to my beloved Longhorns. 

But I will NEVER root for OU or any other Big XII team to win a national title. 

It makes me sick any time somebody from the Big XII does anything better than Texas.  I almost cried when Kansas won the national title in basketball, because I knew Texas was just as good.

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