Feldman: 10 teams that can win the BCS

ESPN’s Bruce Feldman breaks down ten team that have the best shot to win the BCS in 2009. There’s some familiar favorites on the list (Florida, USC, Oklahoma… yawn), but a couple of fresh faces on the list that are sure to raise some eyebrows.

Ole Miss: This may look crazy, but keep reading. The Rebels are fearless. They won at both Florida and LSU last season. They have a budding star at quarterback in Jevan Snead, some terrific receivers, and potentially the best D-line in the country. They also have the luxury of playing the softest nonconference schedule in the country, with two games against FCS teams, UAB and a Memphis team they beat every year. Better still, they get Alabama and LSU at home. Can the Rebs handle success and expectations now? We’ll see. A Thursday night trip to South Carolina appears to be the toughest road game.

OK. I’m not Nutts about the pick (ba-da-dum-ching!), but this is just crazy:

Oklahoma State: I love the Cowboys’ offense, and I think bringing in Bill Young to run the defense was a great move, but OSU has to go to Norman late and gets a visit from Georgia early. Also, playing Houston in Week 2 right after a big, physical Bulldogs team might be more treacherous than people think.

In my opinion, Feldman tends to fall in love with the personality of a team and that clouds his perception, but… he makes a strong case for several “dark horses”, including Virginia Tech and ((gulp)) Notre Dame.

Check out the whole thing over at Bruce’s blog.

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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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Final Grades: A look back at the preseason AP poll

It’s time to pay the piper. Here’s a look back at the 2008 pre-season AP poll contrasted against the final 2008-2009 AP poll.

2008 AP College Football Poll Comparison – Preseason vs Final Poll

TEAM	FINAL RANKING	PRESEASON
Florida	1	5
Utah	2	NR
USC	3	3
Texas	4	11
Oklahoma	6	4
Alabama	6	NR
TCU	NR	NR
Penn State	8	22
Ohio State	9	2
Oregon	10	21
Boise State	11	NR
Texas Tech	12	12
Georgia	13	1
Ole Miss	14	NR
Virginia Tech	15	17
Oklahoma State	16	NR
Cincinnati	17	NR
Oregon State	18	22
Missouri	19	6
Iowa	20	NR
Florida State	21	NR
Georgia Tech	22	NR
West Virginia	23	8
Michigan State	24	NR
BYU	25	16

The big standout poll flops are Georgia (P-1 F-13), Ohio State (P-2 F-10), Missouri (P-6 F-19) and West Virgina (P-8 F-23). And — of course — the teams that never even made it to the final poll, including LSU, Clemson, Auburn and Wisconsin.

The Cinderella stories of Utah, TCU, Boise State, and Alabama surprised pollsters and fans alike. (Outside of Alabama, of course, who always expects the Tide to be #1… and they’re not afraid to tell you about it, as well. Still, I suspect there were more than a couple of surprised Bama fans out there this season when the Crimson Tide rose to the top of the polls.)

The biggest surprise for me was how many of the teams were actually ranked consistently from pre-season to final poll. That shocked me, actually. I have long advocated not doing any polls at all until the fourth week of the season, but there’s enough balance between the good & bad of the pre-season poll to suggest that *some* of the pollsters might actually put some thought into this whole thing.

What stands out to you and where do you stand on pre-season polls — sacrosanct or sacrelidge?

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Early schedule snapshot: Wisconsin

Posted by ESPN.com's Adam Rittenberg

The schedule snapshots finish up with Wisconsin, which will end the regular season later than any other Big Ten team. 

NONCONFERENCE SCHEDULE

Sept. 5 Northern Illinois

Sept. 12 Fresno State

Sept. 19 Wofford

Dec. 5 at Hawaii

My take: Wisconsin's decision to move back its series with Virginia Tech took something away from a nonconference slate that still features a few challenges. The Badgers' win at Fresno State last year lost some luster after the Bulldogs struggled down the stretch, but Pat Hill's squad is usually solid and a Wisconsin victory this fall should mean more. Northern Illinois is on the rise under head coach Jerry Kill and will provide Wisconsin's new starting quarterback with a decent opening test. Hawaii is always tough at home, as Big East champ Cincinnati found out last year, and Wisconsin will need to put up points to beat the Warriors in Honolulu. 

BIG TEN SCHEDULE

Sept. 26 Michigan State

Oct. 3 at Minnesota

Oct. 10 at Ohio State

Oct. 17 Iowa

Oct. 24 Open

Oct. 31 Purdue

Nov. 7 at Indiana

Nov. 14 Michigan

Nov. 21 at Northwestern

Byes: Penn State, Illinois

My take: The Badgers are the only team with a bye in the middle of the Big Ten schedule — Illinois likely will have one before league play opens — and it comes at a good time. The opening stretch is brutal with trips to rival Minnesota and Ohio State bookended by tough home contests against Michigan State and Iowa. Wisconsin can do some damage during the second half of the conference slate, but it needs to avoid another slow start after dropping its first four league games in 2008. Road games at Northwestern and Hawaii could go a long way toward determining Wisconsin's postseason fate or bowl destination.   

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Four Big Ten teams make Schlabach’s Top 25

Posted by ESPN.com's Adam Rittenberg

No sport lends itself to premature predictions quite like college football, which provides a lengthy offseason for fearless forecasting. ESPN.com's Mark Schlabach did just that today with his revised Top 25 for 2009, which includes four Big Ten teams.

Ohio State leads off the Big Ten representatives at No. 7, one spot behind Sept. 12 opponent USC and two spots ahead of Penn State. This seems about right for the Buckeyes, who will be a lot younger in 2009 but arguably more talented at the skill positions. Though it was somewhat surprising to see Virginia Tech (No. 5) ahead of Ohio State, the Buckeyes certainly enter the fall with some question marks, many of which can be answered with a win against USC.

Penn State's placement also seems about right. Like Ohio State, the Lions lose a sizable senior class as well as two defensive ends (Aaron Maybin and Maurice Evans) leaving early for the NFL draft. The Big Ten's best offensive backfield (quarterback Daryll Clark and running back Evan Royster) and the league's best linebacking corps gives Penn State a chance to surpass Ohio State this fall.

Iowa moves up to No. 16 in Schlabach's rundown, thanks to a defense that returns nine starters and several experienced reserves. As Schlabach notes, quarterback Ricky Stanzi's development is paramount for an offense that loses Doak Walker Award winner Shonn Greene but should be stronger at wide receiver and possibly just as strong along the offensive line.

Michigan State rounds out the Big Ten contingent at No. 24. I was a bit surprised to see the Spartans in the rankings, though I would put them no worse than 30th in my preseason rundown. I'm always a bit hesitant to trumpet a team that must replace multi-year starters at both running back and quarterback, though Kirk Cousins or Keith Nichol could be an upgrade to Brian Hoyer under center. The Spartans should be even stronger on defense this fall, and if the passing game can be upgraded a bit, they'll crack my Top 25 as well.

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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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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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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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