Ten Top 10s After Week 15 in College Football

Top Ten Teams

1) Utah: Undefeated, undisputed.

2) Boise: Proves it doesn’t matter what happens on the field—only matters how much your fanbase spends on road trips.

3) Texas: May be the best team in the country right now.

4) Oklahoma: When they win, they do it with style.

5) Penn State: Another fine job on and off the field by Joe Paterno.

6) USC: A defense that’s just fun to watch

7) Texas Tech: The odd man out.

Florida: A nice year, with one of the worst losses.

9) Alabama: Overachieved all year—just a great effort to get this far.

10) Cincinnati: It really came together for the Bearcats this year.

 

Worst Ten Teams

1) Washington: Pathetic.

2) Western Kentucky: Thanks for playing—we have some great parting gifts.

3) Notre Dame: How embarrassing does it really have to get?

4) North Texas: The Mean Green weren’t too mean.

5) Washington State: Horrible.

6) SMU: Wasn’t an instant turnaround for June Jones.

7) San Diego State: No, we didn’t forget the loss to Cal Poly.

Michigan: The worst season I can remember for this proud program.

9) Miami (OH): Preseason conference favorites finish dead last.

10) Tulane: Holy (Bob) Toledo, this team stinks.

 

Top Ten Most Improved This Season

1) Alabama: The pride is back in the Tide.

2) Cincinnati: Nice job all the way around.

3) Buffalo: Two words: Turner Gil.

4) Rice: Understated but overperformed.

5) Oklahoma State: If anyone wants to argue that they should be No. 1 on this list, I have no comeback.

6) Nebraska: Not over the hump, but at least to the hump—a big step forward.

7) Florida State: Respectable again.

NC State: Tom O’Brien’s finest job ever.

9) Miami: Showed signs of youth but a bright future as well.

10) Temple: 5-7 is a great season for these guys, and it could have been 7-5 or better with some luck.

 

Top Ten Underachievers

1) Notre Dame: “Soft” schedule just showed how soft they are.

2) Clemson: Talk about drinking the Kool-Aid.

3) Miami (OH): Not ready to let these guys off the hook.

4) Illinois: From Rose Bowl to no bowl.

5) West Virginia: They were thinking title game.

6) Michigan: The long bowl streak ends.

7) Wisconsin: Many had them winning the Big Ten.

Arizona State: Ouch.

9) Georgia: Not what they had in mind.

10) Auburn: Nothing short of a disaster.

 

Ten Who Are “In”

1) Manny Pacquiao: The pound for pound king is still the king.

2) Tim Tebow: Heisman hunt and National Title game—not a bad year.

3) Turner Gill: Who doesn’t want to be his agent?

4) Julio Jones: It’s official—Bama fans are the only ones not waiting for this guy to go pro. Awesome.

5) Oklahoma: Not sure how the math works, but either way they are in.

6) Brian Kelly: In style.

7) Virginia Tech: In another BCS Bowl game.

Utah: In the BCS against the big boys this time.

9) Gator Assistant Coaches: In the running for Head Coach jobs.

10) Skip Holtz: Syracuse?

 

Ten Who Are “Out”

1) O.J. Simpson: Out of favor but “in” prison.

2) Plaxico Burress: Out of the Giants and not in Mensa either.

3) Texas: Out of the title game.

4) Boise State: Out of the BCS.

5) Michigan: Out of a bowl game.

6) Charlie Weis: In a job but out of style.

7) Percy Harvin, DeMarco Murray, and Dominic Goodman: We’ll be hearing this names a lot in the next few weeks.

Tommy Tuberville: Say what?

9) Jimbo Fisher: Maybe not the next Head Coach of the Noles?

10) Chop Blocking: This needs to be even more out than it already is.

 

Top Ten Things I’ll Do Between Now and the Bowls

1) Holiday Parties: After a while they all blend together.

2) Work on improving my websites: Hopefully The College Football Place has some bothers and sisters shortly.

3) Home Improvement: My prized Orchids aren’t looking too good these days.

4) Work on my Book: You all will see this first as a series of articles.

5) Chat it up in the Forums:  How fun has this been?

6) Holiday Shopping: Anyone surprised I’m not done yet?

7) Improve my videos: Long overdue.

Start my NFL Draft preview: No rest for the weary.

9) Preview the games: Most on the site, others in the free newsletter.

10) Relax: Time to catch my breath—it’s been a fun but exhausting season.

 

Ten Things We All Can Do This Holiday Season

1) Give: Better than receiving.

2) Help someone: Same as giving.

3) Be thankful: Give thanks.

4) Get in touch with someone you haven’t talked to in a while: Tell them thanks for being part of your life.

5) Smile: It can be infectious.

6) Laugh: One of my personal favorites.

7) Don’t take life so seriously: See No. 6.

Pick a charity: There is always someone less fortunate than you.

9) Enjoy them: If the holidays stress you out, you aren’t doing them right.

10) Tell someone you care: They might have started to think you didn’t.

 

Ten Best Teams to Not Make a Bowl Game

1) Auburn: Better than some that are going.

2) Duke: Maybe next year?

3) Illinois: If someone can figure this team out, give Zook a call.

4) Virginia: Had their chances.

5) Stanford: I thought they had a chance.

6) Tennessee: Too much talent to not make it.

7) UCLA: My guess is we don’t see them on this list for a very long time.

Arizona State: This season was a bust—we’ll see if they recover.

9) Arkansas: Having Texas, Alabama, Florida, and others on the schedule isn’t always a great thing.

10) Baylor: Going to be fun to watch next year.

 

Top Ten Bowl Matchups

1) Oklahoma Vs. Florida: Not sure they got the teams right, but love the matchup.

2) Boise Vs. TCU: If you don’t think this is a great game, you didn’t watch enough College Football this year.

3) Alabama Vs. Utah: Going to be a better game than people think.

4) Penn State Vs. USC: Joe Paterno started the game plan two weeks ago.

5) Georgia Vs. Michigan State: Two teams you wouldn’t think of as playing one another.

6) Texas Tech Vs. Ole Miss: Both of these teams beat top three teams this year.

7) Georgia Tech Vs. LSU: The ACC has done a nice job against the SEC so far this season. Does it continue?

Western Michigan Vs. Rice: Under the radar choice as most exciting game.

9) Oregon Vs. Oklahoma State: The Holiday Bowl is usually a pretty good one.

10) West Virginia Vs. North Carolina: Toss a coin as to who will win.

Visit Mitch anytime at his site: The College Football Place

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College Basketball’s Good, Bad, and Ugly in 2008

The young college basketball season has already spoiled us with plenty of good action. We have seen upsets, blowouts, half court buzzer-beaters, sweet dunks, key injuries, and great early-season matchups.

So what do we make of all this excitement? The good, the bad, and the ugly!

 

10 Good Things

Plenty of success stories have graced our basketball minds so far this year. Here are some of them:

Michigan and Western Kentucky delivering the big upsets this year

Murray State is shooting a blazing 84.7% from the charity stripe.

Texas Tech scored 167 points…in a single game.

Blake Griffin is tearing up the NCAA single-handedly, averaging 25.7 PPG and 19.2 RPG.

Kurt Cunningham is shooting 85% from the floor (27 shots).

If your last name ends in “N,” you have a great chance of being in the top five for scoring average in the nation. (Holston, Toolson, Harden, Griffin.)

There are still 27 unbeaten Division I teams. (12 in the Big East and ACC combined)

Cal is shooting 53%…from beyond the arc!

Don Meyer is on his way to a full recovery.

At least Notre Dame is good at one sport.

 

10 Bad Things

There has also been some pretty bad stuff in college basketball this year. Here is some of it:

Texas Tech gave up 115 points in a game.

Northwestern and Penn State’s football teams may well win more games than their basketball teams.

Lute Olson leaving college basketball

Indiana basketball

Mississippi Valley State hasn’t won a game this year (0-9) after making the NCAA Tournament last year.

Jimmy Patsos’ game plan versus Davidson

Siena’s play after the players ran their mouths in an article on ESPN.com prior to the season

Southwestern Athletic Conference (6-53 as a conference)

Loyola Marymount is more concerned with scoring in the fifties than they are with winning games. Scoring in games this year: 51,55,55,54,51,59,57.

The appearance taken on by any team who faces North Carolina 

 

10 Ugly Things

Maybe my favorite.  I give you the ugly:

Samford scored 22 points in a game

Winston Salem hasn’t gotten out of the thirties in a third of its games.

Texas Tech gave up 115 points in a game

NJIT’s 39-game losing streak

Memphis’ jerseys with the white fronts and gray backs

Duke fans

St. Joseph’s mascot.  The Hawk doesn’t stop waving his wings for the whole duration of a game. (Maybe more annoying than ugly)

University of Maryland-East Shore’s shooting percentage (32%)

Thad Matta when he chews his gum

North Carolina’s 116-48 win over UNC Asheville

 

 

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BCS Got it Right: Oklahoma More Deserving than Texas or Texas Tech

I’m not a Texas fan or a Texas Tech fan and I don’t like Oklahoma.

I don’t like Oklahoma because they appear to get overrated in the polls each year and because I seem to remember Bob Stoops once saying, “The Big East and the Atlantic Coastal Conference should  play an elimination game for a BCS automatic bid.”

I’m hoping Oklahoma loses to Missouri this weekend and ends up playing Boise State in a bowl game.

However, I really do believe that the Sooners rightfully deserve the chance to play in the Big 12 Championship game over Texas or Texas Tech.

I know that Texas beat Oklahoma 45-35 on a neutral field and I know that Texas Tech beat Texas and Oklahoma beat Texas Tech.

You can go around in circles forever about which one deserves the higher BCS ranking on the basis of these three games. That’s up to you.

Oklahoma is still the right choice!

The Sooners aren’t more deserving because they totally annihilated Texas Tech as some people suggest, but rather because they went out and beat some tough non-conference teams while Texas and Texas Tech did not.

Oklahoma beat Cincinnati, the Big East champion, and TCU, currently ranked 11th in the BCS.

Texas played and beat Arkansas, Rice, UTEP, and Florida Atlantic. Meanwhile, Texas Tech had the easiest schedule of any Divison 1A team in the country—the Red Raiders beat Umass, Eastern Washington, Nevada, and SMU.

There is a lesson here—if you want to be highly-regarded, go out and schedule some tough non-conference teams!

Alabama, No. 1 in the BCS, didn’t make an effort to play a tough non-conference schedule. I don’t consider Clemson, Tulane, Western Kentucky, and Arkansas State a real test. They’re No. 1 because no one else from a BCS conference is undefeated.

Florida did play some tough games out of conference. They beat Miami (FL) and Florida State. This didn’t get them ranked higher than Alabama because they have a loss, but it did help the odds makers to decide they should be a 10-point favorite over Alabama in the SEC Championship Game this weekend.

USC is another team that made an effort to play a good non-conference schedule—Virginia, Notre Dame, and Ohio State. Nobody knew how bad Notre Dame was going to be, but I believe it’s the way they beat Ohio State and the great defense they play that makes USC the best team in the country.

Back to the topic: Oklahoma should be rewarded for aggressive scheduling and Texas and Texas Tech should be penalized for poor scheduling.

This makes more sense than arguing about which one of the three had better wins against each other.

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College Football Week 15: Early Lines and Point Spreads

It’s hard to believe we are 15 weeks into the college football season and nothing has been decided as far as most of the bowls and even the national title picture.

While we don’t have anything like a full schedule of games, we have some nice quality and some real meaningful ones that should keep everyone glued to their TV sets. I’ll be in Las Vegas during the latter part of the week for the Manny Pacquiao-Oscar De La Hoya fight but as has been the case in the past, things here should go pretty smoothly (fingers crossed).

Because of the limited schedule and because of the time or lack of that I’ll be able to spend on things this week I am at least planning on not having the picking contest this week and just having our big season ending contest for the bowls. While I may change my mind, that is where I stand right now though the free newsletter will go out as normal and if anything may go out a little early this week.

With the games being limited we can expect even more line movement than usual as people tend to play heavier on the limited action instead of being able to spread things out across many games, I think we have seen this all season long with the mid week games as 3- and 4-point moves have been common, sometimes making a one time underdog a favorite. In any event, I will probably list all of the opening lines for the bowls and that will be it for the season as far as these opening lines articles go.

While I never consider these my best work, they are usually some of my most read articles of the week. It just goes to show some of those all star “think out every word” type of writers that sometimes people just want actual information, even if it isn’t breaking news. I’m glad everyone has found this series useful and I plan on continuing it next season and moving it into other sports as well as the network we are working on starts to spread its branches.

In any event, let’s look at what Vegas says is going to happen this week:

 

On Tuesday, Middle Tennessee State is +4 at Louisiana Lafayette. This is the type of game that leaves people mystified as to how anyone can know anything about these teams. Those who visit my site regularly know that we have a very well educated group of fans and we all know these teams as well as anyone, this should be a decent game, better than some of that lower tier MAC stuff we have been seeing on Tuesdays.

On Thursday, Louisville is +11 at Rutgers. I am starting to wonder how long of a leash they are going to give Steve Kragthorpe at the ‘Ville, especially after they were getting used to winning. Greg Schiano has done a nice job getting Rutgers on track as the season was setting up to be a disaster early on.

On Friday, Buffalo is +14 1/2 against Ball State in the MAC Title game held in Detroit. Ball State looks to close out the deal on their perfect regular season while Buffalo continues to try and earn respect. These are two good teams and this should be a fun one to watch.

On Saturday, Army is +11 against Navy. While many of these players will never play football again,  the rivalry that is this series is as big as the game itself and it also might be the most competitive contest between these two in years.

Pittsburgh is +2 1/2 at Connecticut. Pittsburgh is coming off of a big win as an underdog against West Virginia while UConn is coming off of a tough loss on the road at South Florida. Both of these teams need this one to improve their bowl standings and the odds makers didn’t seem to underestimate the importance of it.

South Florida is +7 at West Virginia. Last week put an exclamation point as to how disappointing of a season this has been for them as they lost against to Pittsburgh in the Backyard Brawl in a game they led much of the way. It should be interesting to see which West Virginia Team shows up for Senior Day as Pat White celebrates his last game in Morgantown.

Washington is +33 1/2 at Cal. Washington has yet to name a successor to Ty Willingham as Ty coaches his last game for the Huskies. As we all saw last time out that a bad season got worse in Washington as they lost to Washington State in the Apple Cup.

USC is -30 at UCLA. When we look at the 1 loss teams the Trojans have been the odd man out all season long even though their 1 loss came early and came on the road. This game means a lot to both teams as it still is one of the defining games in college football.

Arizona State is +10 1/2 at Arizona. Neither of these teams are very good and while Arizona has had a better year they haven’t been able to step it up and get wins in games against tough opponents. While ASU isn’t considered a tough opponent, rivalry games are always tough games.

Cincinnati is -7 1/2 at Hawaii. I am thinking when Cincinnati scheduled this game they thought the trip would be the highlight of their season, little did they know they would be headed to a BCS bowl game, that’s how far the Bearcats have come.

Arkansas State is +11 at Troy. I was all aboard the Troy bandwagon earlier this year until the injuries took over, maybe it’s time I get back on.

Western Kentucky is +7 at Florida International. FIU has had a string season considering they have won more games than in their entire existence. WKU has still yet to beat a D-1 team this season and has only beaten 1 in their entire history.

See the rest of the Week 15 opening lines and point spreads.

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College Basketball Musings and Notes: November 30th

I hope you all had wonderful Thanksgiving weekend and enjoyed Feast Week to the fullest. I think I left a permanent indent on the couch thanks to all of the great basketball on display. After a lengthy drive through the thick blanket of snow that’s now covering the state of Michigan, it’s now time to bring you the latest installment of the Musings. Enjoy!

Random thoughts after last week’s games

*Jon Sciambi’s head looks like it’s on fire.

*Kansas/Syracuse was a classic matchup this week. I was very impressed with Johnny Flynn’s poise when he nailed the three that sent it to overtime. It was a rematch of the 2004 title game that lived up to its potential; two good teams playing each other tough the whole night, and late drama to extend the game to overtime.

*Speaking of Syracuse, if they don’t make the tournament this year, I’ll eat my hat. Back-to-back wins against Florida and Kansas are great to have on your resume.

*When ordinary humans have an awkward pause in conversation, they talk about the weather. When college basketball broadcasters have an awkward pause in conversation, they talk about the three-point line. Have you heard it’s been moved back for this season?

*The angrier Tom Izzo gets, the more he tends to smile. It’s terrifying, and it must really confuse his kids at home.

*There is no doubt in my mind that Blake Griffin could beat up Roy Hibbert. He’s a much better basketball player, too.

*Byron Eaton has a very unfortunate last name for his body type. He reminds me of that giant stone at the beginning of “Raiders of the Lost Ark.”

*It’s never good when you have as many points as personal fouls, Raymar.

*Is there an uglier sound in this world than the “clang” of missed shots? Don’t think so.

*Purdue-Oklahoma State lived up to its billing. Griffin is putting up Chamberlain-esque rebounding numbers this season and Purdue’s youngsters, especially E’Twaun Moore, look like they’re up for the challenge in the Big 10.

*Kansas’ Brady Morningstar is the early frontrunner for the “Coolest Name of the Year” award.

*Why does everybody always think Pitt will be good? Every season, they start with a high ranking. Every season, they disappoint. New rule: Pollsters aren’t allowed to vote for Pitt in the top 10 unless they’ve made it to the Final Four the previous season.

*Western Kentucky seems to be doing just fine without Courtney Lee. What a great result against a great Louisville squad.

A closer look at…Michigan State in the Old Spice Classic

To everybody who tuned in to the Michigan State-Maryland contest on Thursday night expecting a hard fought game between two fundamentally sound teams, I apologize.

The Spartans entered the Old Spice Classic as favorites to win the tournament. They have plenty of veterans playing key roles and one of the best coaches in the country. Raymar Morgan is a preseason Player of the Year candidate, and Kalin Lucas is one of the best point guards in the country.

Then Goran Suton got hurt. There goes the interior game. After Suton, there’s the inconsistent Marquise Gray, and two untested freshman, one of whom is recovering from micro-fracture surgery. Delvon Roe will be a great player, but he’s nowhere near full strength.

MSU made a lot of dumb mistakes in the early going. There were blown defensive assignments and turnovers all over the place. Tom Izzo won’t put up with that for long. Poor fundamentals are his biggest pet peeve. If a team is just flat out better than the Spartans, fine. But when they beat themselves, it drives Izzo mad.

There were a few positives in the early going, however. Travis Walton was shooting very well and being aggressive, something that he struggled with pretty much every game last year. Marquise Gray was also playing with a lot of energy and contributing on both ends of the floor. If Gray has a good game, it usually guarantees a Spartan victory.

But for every positive displayed by the Spartans, there were multiple negatives. If Morgan picks up an early foul or two, especially on a questionable call, he starts pouting and lets it affect every aspect of his game. He tends to disappear entirely if he gets upset. Morgan is the Spartans’ best player, they need him on the floor and contributing.

Morgan was in foul trouble all night against Maryland. He ended up with four points and four fouls. Not the effort that Spartan fans were hoping for.

Michigan State was lucky to only be down three points against Maryland going into halftime. The Terrapins were shooting well, but they were also having trouble holding on to the ball. Walton hit a big jump shot as the halftime buzzer sounded to send MSU into the locker room with some momentum.

They came out firing on all cylinders and quickly took the lead from an overwhelmed Maryland team. That was to be short-lived though, as they returned to playing poor defense and turning the ball over. Maryland waltzed to a well-deserved win.

The loss can’t be blamed entirely on the absence of Suton. There’s no excuse for shooting 12-for-27 from the free throw line like the Spartans did. It would have been a different game if they had hit at their usual 71 percent clip, but they weren’t even close. Maryland hit more free throws than the Spartans, but shot six fewer. Ugly.

This was honestly the worst I’ve ever seen an Izzo team play, and that includes the meltdown against Memphis in the tournament last season. At least they made their free throws then.

The last thing that the Spartans wanted to do was turn around and lose their second game in a row, to a decent Oklahoma State team. Of course, the last thing Oklahoma State wanted to do was face an angry, talented team who lost a game that they shouldn’t have the night before.

Michigan State didn’t come out flat two nights in a row. They looked like a top five team against the Cowboys. Morgan was scoring at will, Gray was having a big night, and Walton was scoring again (seriously, what’s gotten into him?).

Oklahoma State just didn’t have the depth to keep up. Lucas and Draymond Green played big roles too. The Cowboys are mostly just Byron Eaton and some role players. It’s hard to compete against a team that was running out bench players that could start for plenty of other schools in the country. Austin Thornton may be a walk-on, but he was also a three-star recruit coming out of high school.

It’s a tough non-conference road for the Spartans this season, as usual. They had the loaded field in the Old Spice Classic to contend with, and are now looking forward to their titanic showdown with North Carolina this coming Wednesday. Even though the Spartans haven’t gotten through this tough slate undefeated, these experiences will pay huge dividends come March.

One last note on the Spartans. Lots of people have been questioning whether or not they’ll be able to find a suitable replacement for Drew Neitzel. Chris Allen will be that replacement, at least in the shooting department. He’ll leave East Lansing as the best shooter Izzo has ever coached. He may even finish the season as that shooter. He’s got a beautiful shot and loads of confidence, exactly what great shooters need.

Spotlight on…Ohio State and the Big Ten, with Kristofer Green

This week’s guest is Ohio State fanatic and Big Ten football community leader Kristofer Green. Remember, if you’d like to participate in a future “Spotlight on…” segment, drop a note on my bulletin board.

Joe Guarr: First of all, we need some background on your history as a sports fan. You’re a big supporter of the Ohio State Buckeyes. Has that always been the case or did you grow up rooting for somebody else?

Kristofer Green: I was born and raised in Columbus and my parents are both huge Buckeye fans. For as long as I can remember Ohio State has been the only team that really mattered.
 
My first Buckeye basketball memory was walking into St. John Arena at age seven or eight and seeing the Clark Kellogg led Buckeyes. Then as a teenager, my father bought season tickets and I became the biggest Jim Jackson fan.
 
I have rooted for teams here and there because I liked their players, Carmelo Anthony’s Syracuse team comes to mind, but it was never more than a passing interest.
 
So it has always been the Buckeyes.

JG: OSU went through a lean year last year after losing Greg Oden and Mike Conley. How have they been rebuilding for this season?

KG: Thad Matta has brought in another monster recruiting class headlined by yet another 7’ phenom in BJ Mullins. The talented freshman class also includes highly ranked recruits William Buford and Anthony Crater.
 
The Buckeyes are very young, but have experience returning and Matta has done a great job in the offseason building up that talent. Dallas Lauderdale and John Diebler have broken out their freshman slumps and have shown a lot of growth in the first three games. Evan Turner has stepped up his game and is quickly becoming the leader of the squad.
 
Most importantly, Matta has addressed the loss of Jamar Butler by bringing in junior college transfer Jeremie Stevens, who has the ability to be as good as Butler at the point.

JG: What is it about Thad Matta’s program that attracts so many excellent players?

KG: It all starts with Thad Matta. He’s a young, passionate, energetic coach and he’s a winner. He’s never had a team in his eight years as a head coach that has won less than 20 games and success is the best selling point.
 
Matta’s passion trickles down to his assistants as well. Alan Majors, Archie Miller, and Dan Peters have been with Matta a long time and they all share those same qualities.
 
Ohio State has always and will probably always be known as a “football school,” but Thad Matta has built a very successful program in a short amount of time. It always helps to have outstanding facilities and Ohio State’s facilities are among the best in the country.

JG: What’s your fondest Buckeye basketball memory?

KG: I would have to say my fondest memory was following the 1999-2000 team through the NCAA Tourney to the Final Four.
 
It was special to me not only because of the Buckeyes improbable run, but because of the time I got to spend with my father.
We were at every game cheering on our Bucks and though we were hopeful, we never thought that Scoonie Penn and Michael Redd would take the team as far as they did.
 
They lost that Final Four game to eventual National Champion UConn, but that was one of the best months of my life and I will remember it forever.

JG: Time for some Big 10 picks. Give us an answer and a brief explanation. Who’s your Big Ten champ this season?

KG: Michigan State-Tom Izzo is itching for his first Big 10 title since 2001. The Spartans return a very talented group that finished strong last season. Raymar Morgan must fill the void in leadership (and scoring) that was left by Drew Neitzel and will need help from Kalin Lucas and Goran Suton. The Spartans have the talent and the coaching to win the Big Ten this season and make a deep run in the Tournament.

JG: Darkhorse?

KG: Ohio State-The Buckeyes are very young (there are no seniors on the roster), but very talented and Thad Matta has had great success in molding young teams into contenders. The Buckeyes tough non-conference schedule that includes games against Miami, Notre Dame, West Virginia, and Butler will prepare this young team for the Big 10 season.

JG: Disappointment?

KG: Wisconsin-I’m not saying the Badgers will completely tank it. They will have a fairly successful season and make their 11^th straight NCAA Tournament appearance. That being said, the Badgers won’t have the kind of season they had last year. They do return some talented players led by Marcus Landry, but I’m not feeling the Badgers this season and expect them to finish third or fourth in the conference.

JG: Player of the year?

KG: Raymar Morgan, Michigan State-Michigan State’s success this season lies in the hands of Morgan. When he’s on, the Spartans are tough to beat.

JG: Freshman of the year?

KG: BJ Mullens, Ohio State-As much as I hate to say it, Mullins will probably be the next one and done seven footer for Ohio State. Mullins has great offensive ability and is tremendous in the post, but can also score in transition or from anywhere on the floor.

He’s already projected as sure lottery pick and has been rated as high as top three, should he decide to come out after the season.

JG: All Big 10 team?

KG: Kalin Lucas, Michigan State; Manny Harris, Michigan; Robbie Hummel, Purdue; Raymar Morgan, Michigan State; BJ Mullens, Ohio State

JG: The Big 10 is a good basketball conference because…

KG: The Big Ten has a strong basketball tradition and this season marks the 105th year of Big Ten Basketball.
 
The first NCAA Tournament Championship game was played in a Big 10 venue and featured a Big 10 team (Ohio State). The next two championship games also featured Big 10 teams (Indiana and Wisconsin) and the first three tournament MVP’s came from the Big 10 (Jimmy Hull, Marv Huffman, and John Katz).
 
Since 2000, four different Big Ten teams have appeared in the Tournament Championship Game (Michigan State, Indiana, Illinois, and Ohio State.)
 
Since 1978, the Big Ten has led the country in attendance.

JG: We’ll close with some word association. I’ll give you a Big 10-related word, and you give us the first word/sentence that comes to mind. Tom Izzo?

KG: A winner and a class act.

JG: Bo Ryan?

KG: Hard nosed and grumpy.

JG: Michigan

KG: Sucks. (That was honestly the first word that came to mind.)

JG: Haha, right there with you on that one. Indiana

KG: Full of tradition.

JG: Purdue

KG: The first thing I thought of was that raised floor they play on. I don’t like it.

JG: Many thanks to Kristofer for his part in this. Remember, leave a note on my bulletin board if you’d like to have your team/conference spotlighted!

What I’ll be watching this week

You can’t go wrong with the Big 10/ACC Challenge. There are plenty of great non-conference matchups this week every year, and the current season won’t disappoint. Will this finally be the year that the Big 10 actually wins the Challenge?

Wisconsin and Virginia Tech start the party on Monday. Both should be tournament teams. Wisconsin is always well-coached, and Virginia Tech has had a penchant for pulling off upsets in the past few seasons. Will Wisconsin be able to pick up a quality non-conference win on the road? Will Virginia Tech get a big resume booster early in the season?

The marquee matchup Tuesday night pits Duke against Purdue on Keady Court. Purdue played a great Oklahoma team tough in the NIT Season Tip-Off during feast week while Duke is coming off a win in the 2K Sports Coaches vs. Cancer Classic.

Both teams are expected to contend for their conference title, and both have some excellent talent. Robbie Hummel and E’Twuan Moore for Purdue will try and out-duel Kyle Singler and Gerald Henderson for Duke. This will be a big win for whoever comes out on top.

Lastly, we’ve got the biggest matchup of them all. North Carolina travels to Ford Field to face Michigan State in a possible Final Four preview (venue included.)

The Tar Heels come in fresh off of dismantling Notre Dame down in Maui. Tyler Hansbrough will be taking the floor as well. The Spartans will be looking to make a statement after the letdown in Orlando and hope to welcome Goran Suton back to the lineup. The Spartans will have to utilize their considerable depth up front in order to shut down Hansbrough, but it might not be enough. If you watch one game this week, make it this one.

 

 

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Team-by-team turning points from the season

Posted by ESPN.com’s Adam Rittenberg

With all this extra time to reflect on the Big Ten regular season, it seems only natural to try and spot exactly where things went right or wrong for each team. These turning points resonate with players and coaches, either serving as moments of pride or incentive to get things corrected the following season.

For two teams, there are multiple turning points.

Here’s the rundown.

ILLINOIS

Final record: 5-7 (3-5 Big Ten)

Turning point: Oct. 11 vs. Minnesota (27-20 loss)

The skinny: The inconsistent Illini finally appeared to have found their footing behind junior quarterback Juice Williams, who set the single-game total offense record (431 yards) at Michigan Stadium the previous week. Williams set another stadium record against the Gophers (503 yards of offense), but critical turnovers (3) and special-teams miscues (two kickoffs out of bounds) that plagued Illinois down the stretch surfaced in a home loss.

INDIANA

Final record: 3-9 (1-7)

Turning point: Sept. 20 vs. Ball State (42-20 loss)

The skinny: The Hoosiers felt pretty good about themselves after beating up on two inferior opponents (Western Kentucky and Murray State). But they were ill-prepared for the surging Cardinals, who exposed a defense that wound up struggling all season. After an All-Big Ten season in 2007, quarterback Kellen Lewis threw two interceptions in the loss and never really got back on track the rest of the way.

IOWA

Final record: 8-4 (5-3)

Turning point: Nov. 8 vs. Penn State (24-23 win)

The skinny: Until that cold night in Iowa City, the Hawkeyes were a good team that couldn’t close out games, dropping four contests by a combined 12 points. They were coming off a mistake-ridden loss at Illinois and started slow on offense. But star running back Shonn Greene (117 rush yards, 2 TDs), a blossoming Ricky Stanzi and one of the Big Ten’s top defenses surged after halftime, and Iowa rallied for a milestone win against No. 3 Penn State.

MICHIGAN

Final record: 3-9 (2-6)

Turning point: Oct. 11 vs. Toledo (13-10 loss)

The skinny: The Wolverines hadn’t played well to this point, but they still had an excellent chance to improve to 3-3 and set up a potential postseason run down the stretch. But Rich Rodriguez’s offense stalled, as it did for much of the season, as Michigan committed three turnovers that turned into 10 Toledo points. In a season of historic lows, Michigan lost to a Mid-American Conference team for the first time in 25 tries.

MICHIGAN STATE

Final record: 9-3 (6-2)

Turning point: Oct. 25 at Michigan (35-21 win)

The skinny: Michigan State showed newfound mental toughness this fall and changed its reputation as a team prone to fast starts and incredible collapses. Coming off an embarrassing home loss to Ohio State, the Spartans faced a team that had owned them at the Big House. Despite a blown call that gave Michigan a touchdown, Michigan State didn’t flinch, rallying behind running back Javon Ringer (194 rush yards, 2 TDs) and quarterback Brian Hoyer (282 pass yards, 3 TDs). Michigan State ended a six-game losing streak to Michigan.

MINNESOTA

Final record: 7-5 (3-5)

Turning point I: Oct. 11 at Illinois (27-20 win)

The skinny: The Gophers’ formula of opportunistic defense and disciplined offense spurred them to a 7-1 start. They showcased those traits at Illinois, sacking Juice Williams five times and forcing a fumble that turned into the decisive touchdown late in the fourth quarter. Defensive end Willie VanDeSteeg was a beast, and quarterback Adam Weber showed incredible toughness by playing only six days after knee surgery.

Turning point II: Nov. 1 vs. Northwestern (24-17 loss)

The skinny: Minnesota followed its plan early, recording an interception for a touchdown to jump ahead of the Wildcats. But the problems that crippled the Gophers down the stretch — no run game, poor offensive line play, turnovers — surfaced in the second half, and a deflating loss in the final minute kicked off a four-game slide to close the regular season.

NORTHWESTERN

Final record: 9-3 (5-3)

Turning point: Nov. 1 at Minnesota (24-17 win)

The skinny: In the past, Northwestern didn’t have enough depth to survive a rash of injuries to key players. After losing quarterback C.J. Bacher, running back Tyrell Sutton and middle linebacker Malcolm Arrington, the Wildcats appeared doomed for another middling season. But a team that lacked superstars but possessed plenty of resiliency upset then-No. 17 Minnesota, riding backup quarterback Mike Kafka (Big Ten quarterback record 217 rush yards) and a stout defense to a crucial win. Northwesern won three of its final four games.

OHIO STATE

Final record: 10-2 (7-1)

Turning point: Oct. 18 at Michigan State (45-7 win)

The skinny: The Buckeyes embarrassed themselves at USC and continued to struggle on offense behind a young quarterback (Terrelle Pryor) and an underperforming line. Many pegged Ohio State for a loss in East Lansing, but the Buckeyes came up with arguably their best performance of the season. Pryor and Chris “Beanie” Wells sizzled, and a defense that played well following the USC debacle had two fumble returns for touchdowns in the fourth quarter. Ohio State re-established itself as a Big Ten bully.

PENN STATE

Final record: 11-1 (7-1)

Turning point: Oct. 11 at Wisconsin (48-7 win)

The skinny: Any doubts about Penn State as a legitimate national title contender were put to rest in Madison, as the Nittany Lions handed Wisconsin its worst home loss since 1989. Quarterback Daryll Clark and wideout/return man Derrick Williams led the Spread HD offense that highlighted Penn State’s league title run, while Aaron Maybin and the defense shut down the Badgers. Though Penn State later stumbled against Iowa, most of its games played out like this one.

PURDUE

Final record: 4-8 (2-6)

Turning point: Sept. 13 vs. Oregon (32-26 loss OT)

The skinny: Purdue should have won this game, and things could have been very different had the Boilers finished off the Ducks. A plucky Purdue defense gave up yards but limited points, as it did for much of the season, but quarterback Curtis Painter and the offense couldn’t execute consistently enough when it counted. Purdue’s inability to convert scoring chances into touchdowns became a theme for much of the fall.

WISCONSIN

Final record: 7-5 (3-5)

Turning point I: Sept. 27 at Michigan (27-25 loss)

The skinny: A BCS bowl was still very much in the picture for Wisconsin, which took a 3-0 record and a No. 9 national ranking into Michigan Stadium. The Badgers built a 19-0 halftime lead behind punishing defense and a balanced, disciplined offense. But they totally lost their edge on defense after the break, and quarterback mistakes that appeared throughout a four-game losing streak surfaced as Michigan mounted the greatest comeback in Big House history.

Turning point II: Oct. 25 vs. Illinois (27-17 win)

The skinny: The team seemed to gain confidence after making a quarterback switch from Allan Evridge to Dustin Sherer. After a rocky start at Iowa, Sherer led Wisconsin to wins in four of its final five games, beginning with this contest against the Illini. He accounted for three touchdowns (two pass, one rush) as Wisconsin ended its four-game slide. The Badgers easily could have finished with a five-game win streak if not for a late stumble in East Lansing.

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Ten Top Tens After Week Nine In College Football

Top Ten Teams

1) Texas-Longhorns schedule starting to wear on them?

2) Penn State-Great win in a great game

3) Alabama-Just not sold on the Tide.

4) Utah- Possible BCS buster that get the least mention?

5) Boise State-Possible BCS buster that gets the most mention.

6) Tulsa-Still to play this weekend

7) Texas Tech-Longhorns next.

Ball State-Continues to win easily.

9) Oklahoma State-Clearly the best of the 1 loss teams.

10) Georgia-From over rated to under rated in a month and a half.

 

Ten Best Games I Watched Yesterday

1) Penn State 13, Ohio State 6 – Even Brent Musburger couldn’t ruin this one.

2) Michigan State 35, Michigan 21- Was more exciting than the score indicates.

3) Texas 28, Oklahoma State 24- Mike Gundy’s team can play some football.

4) Florida Atlantic 29, Louisiana Monroe 28- Got to love Gameplan, TD with about 20 second left.

5) Northern Illinois 16, Bowling Green 13-Haven’t seen a good wind game in a while.

6) Miami 16, Wake Forest 10- Miami is going to be very very good in the very near future.

7) Virginia 24, Georgia 17- While many think the ACC is really bad it’s also really even.

Duke 10, Vandy 7 - That was a really big win for Duke on a lot of levels.

9) Boise State 33, San Jose State 16 – Garbage points dressed up the score.

10) Georgia 52, LSU 38 – That Knowshawn Moreno kid is pretty good.

 

Ten Things My Wife Got Sick of Hearing Yesterday

1) “They’re really trading some helmet paint in Columbus”-I think I said it 65 times during the game.

2) Crunching- What can I say?, I like snack food with my football.

3) “Go!”-Her response, “they can’t hear you through the TV”

4) “Are you going to get the Pizza?” – It’s getting chilly in Chicago.

5) “Miami Won”- In hindsight I think she figured that out the first time I told her.

6) “You _______” -I can’t even type those words.

7) “The fix is in”- I’m starting to see spots where it may actually be.

“Do we have Ice Cream?”-If we had it at noon chances are we still had it every hour after that since we hadn’t eaten any.

9) “Stupid Kicker”-Used either for a kicker on the other team that makes one as well as your kicker who misses one.

10)”Where’s the remote?”-My wife seems to think there’s a magical place where the remote is “supposed to go”.

 

Ten Big Winners

1) Kristofer Green- The winner of my week 9 picking contest. Congrats! (11-4 against the spread, no one else even close).

2) Penn State- The Lions couldn’t wait to be king.

3) Oklahoma State- Got more respect losing than they did all season losing.

4) Jordan Corso- 6-2 against the spread, this guy is good.

5) Georgia Bulldogs- Made a statement heading into their big game next week.

6) Texas Tech-That was a butt whooping from start to finish.

7) Louisville- Don’t look now but the Cardinals are 5-2.

Michigan State- Always fun to beat your rival on the road.

9) Duke-Snaps a 6 game losing streak to Vandy.

10) Maryland – The Terps are 6-2.

 

Ten Big Losers

1) Pittsburgh- No one loses important games like Wanny.

2) Phil Fulmer – A bad call goes against his team and they quit on him.

3) South Florida-Not going to be the season they had hoped for.

4) Auburn- Will they even make a bowl?

5) Colorado – That’s what you call a “spanking”.

6) Ty Willingham- Gets no revenge, just left with a bad football team.

7) Kansas- Weren’t even competitive.

Kentucky -They were losing 42-3 at Halftime.

9) Georgia Tech – Double digit favorite loses outright.

10) Tuesday Night Football – The Temple-Ohio game was just brutal to watch.

 

My Ten Best Picks in Week 9

1) TCU- My highest rated pick ever in the new rating system was a blowout winner.

2) Rutgers- I was feeling pretty lonely on this one.

3) Oregon-Ducks won easy, only disappointment was that I didn’t rate it higher.

4) Michigan State- So easy I was scared.

5) Notre Dame- Smelled like a mismatch.

6) Oklahoma- After further review, the KSU defense still stinks.

7) Troy- Not sure why not too many are on board with the Trojans.

Arizona- The public was big on USC; public big usually means go the other way.

9) Minnesota- I didn’t understand this line and I still don’t.

10) Rice- Got to love picking a dog that’s a blowout winner outright.

 

My Ten Worst Picks in Week 9

1) Northern Illinois-Really not a horrible pick but tough to handicap that there is going to 45 M.P.H. winds.

2) Tennessee- The Vols quit.

3) Cincinnati- Most of the losing score was in the final minutes but still never got it going.

4) Ball State- Just too many points, garbage field goal got me (”stupid kicker!”)

5) Auburn – Now they can’t tackle either.

6) Illinois- It’s been a pattern of good week, bad week; this fit the bad week and it was, we’ll be on them next week.

7) Northwestern- Just were turnover happy yesterday.

UCLA- Not good.

9) San Jose State- Just not enough depth.

10) New Mexico State- Like they should be laying 14 points to anyone?

 

Ten Most Popular Picks in The Free Weekly Picking Contest

1) Pittsburgh – 9 1/2 – This one hurt the most people.

2) Oklahoma-18 – I guess this one was pretty easy.

3) Oregon – 3 1/2 – And I thought I was so smart for picking this one, go figure.

4) Ball State- EMU really isn’t good.

5) Missouri- I didn’t touch this one.

6) Texas Tech-Most has this one pretty highly rated.

7) Minnesota- With that line it made a lot of sense.

Troy- If you read my site even once a week you know all about Troy.

9) Northern Illinois- I’m guilty as charged.

10) Texas- The Horns should have been easy money.

 

Ten Pre-Season Predictions I Made ( I can admit it)

1) Colt McCoy would continue to be inconsistent-I was close…not.

2) Clemson would lose at least 4 games- Bingo!

3) The officiating would continue to get worse- Let’s not forget about the Red River game and all of the others.

4) Duke would be decent- They are.

5) Tennessee would be good- Unless you count being good at stinking I wasn’t even close.

6) Oregon would beat USC- They only lost 44-10, that’s not that bad.

7) TCU would finish 5th in their division- I apologize to all TCU fans but I didn’t save your emails to email you it personally.

Penn State was going no where-Unless you count a trip to the National Championship game in Miami something I was spot on.

9) Juice Williams will win the Heisman- Yeah right, he’s pretty good though.

10) The BCS wouldn’t work again- The jury is still out.

 

Ten Games I’m Looking Forward to For Week Ten

1) Georgia-Florida- Everyone’s pre-season pick as game of the year.

2) Texas-Texas Tech- In hindsight, Texas is the one with the brutal schedule.

3) Tulsa-Arkansas- Let the prognosticating begin; there’s about 100 angles on this one.

4) Nebraska-Oklahoma- Just to see all of the old highlights, and there are some great ones.

5) Miami-Virginia- It’s a fun time to be a Canes fan again though they are a year or two away.

6) Pittsburgh-Notre Dame-Could be entertaining.

7) Oregon-Cal- Sounds like a track meet type of game.

Wisconsin-Michigan State- Maybe Wisky has the ship righted?

9) West Virginia-UConn- Big East battle.

10) Western Kentucky-North Texas- Someone has to win.

See all of Mitch’s Articles and Videos as well as Joining fellow Bleacher Kristofer Green as a WINNER of Mitch’s weekly picking contest at The College Football Place.

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Big Ten bowl picture: Week 9

Posted by ESPN.com’s Adam Rittenberg

The Big Ten season enters its final stretch, and every Saturday from here on out has bearing on the bowl picture. Here’s a look at where teams stand heading into Week 9.

We’ll try to make this a Friday or Saturday feature the rest of the season.

Bowl tie-ins: 7 (Rose/BCS, Capital One, Outback, Alamo, Champs Sports, Insight, Motor City)

BOWL ELIGIBLE

Penn State (8-0, 4-0 Big Ten) – The third-ranked Nittany Lions have national championship aspirations. A 4-0 finish gets them to the Rose Bowl, at the very least. A worst-case scenario would be the Capital One or Outback.

Ohio State (7-1, 4-0) – A win against Penn State puts the Buckeyes in position for an unprecedented third consecutive outright Big Ten title. A 4-0 finish gets Ohio State to the Rose Bowl, barring a wave of losses by other top 10 teams. Another loss or two puts the Buckeyes in the Capital One or Outback.

Michigan State (6-2, 3-1) – Despite last week’s clunker, the Spartans have all but locked up a second consecutive bowl spot. A 3-1 finish likely gets them to a Jan. 1 bowl game. An extended slide could push them back to the Alamo.

Minnesota (6-1, 2-1) – The Gophers are already bowl eligible a year after going 1-11, and they can solidify a postseason berth by beating Purdue on Saturday. With a manageable closing stretch (at Purdue, Northwestern, Michigan, at Wisconsin, Iowa), Minnesota could make a run for a Jan. 1 bowl but most likely will end up in the Alamo, Champs Sports or Insight.

Northwestern (6-1, 2-1) – After getting shut out of the bowl mix with six wins last year, the Wildcats can secure a spot by taking of business against Indiana. Things get a little tougher after Saturday (at Minnesota, Ohio State, at Michigan, Illinois), but Northwestern should have a solid record. Likely destinations are Alamo, Champs Sports and Insight.

ON THE CUSP

Iowa (5-3, 2-2) – It sure feels like the Hawkeyes are bowl eligible after the last two weeks. They have a tough stretch coming off a bye (at Illinois, Penn State), but they should finish with seven or maybe eight wins. Star running back Shonn Greene and a fan base that travels well should help Iowa’s bid for a bowl.

Illinois (4-3, 2-2) – Bowl representatives have to be drooling over Illinois’ big-play offense, but can the Illini get to seven wins? Saturday’s trip to Wisconsin is huge for a team stocked with talent but plagued by inconsistency. Illinois should beat Western Michigan, but its other games come against teams with winning records (Iowa, Ohio State, Northwestern).

SINK OR SWIM

Wisconsin (3-4, 0-4) – Around 4 p.m. ET on Sept. 27, Wisconsin was a top 10 team with a 19-0 halftime lead at Michigan. Now the Badgers are scrambling just to get bowl eligible. Unreal. The final stretch isn’t too daunting (at Indiana, Minnesota, Cal-Poly), but Wisconsin needs to win at least one of the next two (Illinois, at Michigan State).

FUHGEDDABOUDIT

Michigan (2-5, 1-2) – Seven wins equals bowl security, and the Wolverines would have to win out to get there. Only one of Michigan’s five remaining opponents has a losing record (Purdue), and it appears as though the Wolverines will miss a bowl for the first time since 1974.

Purdue (2-5, 0-3) – Joe Tiller has missed a bowl game only once in his 11 previous seasons at Purdue, but the retiring coach likely will stay home for the holidays this year. Purdue can win its remaining home games (Michigan, Minnesota, Indiana), but road trips to Michigan State and Iowa won’t be easy.

Indiana (2-5, 0-4) – The dreams of back-to-back bowl appearances have all but been extinguished in Bloomington. Injuries and repeated mistakes have led to a five-game losing streak. Indiana’s only wins have come against Western Kentucky and Murray State. That’s hardly bowl material, even in this day and age.

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Ten Top Tens After Week Eight in College Football

Top Ten Teams

1) Texas—Easy winner stays on top.

2) Penn State—Overcame more than just a deficit in a game yesterday.

3) Alabama—Looking for a place to fall down.

4) Oklahoma State—No one believes except them.

5) Boise State—If they could only play all of their games on the blue turf, they would never lose.

6) Utah—And Colorado State was playing pretty well coming in.

7) Texas Tech—I know their fans don’t like me, but after yesterday, do they blame me for what I’ve said?

Tulsa—I was going to make them seventh in honor of the 77 they put up yesterday.

9) Oklahoma—Blew a cover on a last minute TD—never trailed but looked hung over.

10) USC—That loss may still be too much to overcome—OSU rematch in the Rose Bowl?

How My Ten Highest Rated Picks of the Week Did (Based on my new confidence rating system I used this week)

1) Texas (-4)—My newsletter called for a Big 12 style blowout and I believe that’s what we saw. Win

2) Oregon State (-13 1/2)—My Part One leadoff game was money. Win

3) Troy (-7)—Did you guys know I’m a member of their team site? Win

4) FAU (+1/2)—I am perfect on the year in games involving Western Kentucky. Win

5) Arkansas (+9 1/2)—Almost too easy. Win

6) Georgia (-14 1/2)—Not the only kicker who cost me yesterday. Loss

7) Wake Forest (-1 1/2)—Does anyone know what we’ll see from Maryland week to week? Loss

Illinois (-15)—For those playing at home, Indiana hasn’t covered all season. Win

9) Air Force (-5)—I went from not touching to strong play—remind me to stick with my first impression. Loss

10) Northern Illinois (-9 1/2)—Holy Toledo, the Huskies kicked some butt. Win

Ten Things I Still Don’t Understand

1) Bleacher Report Writer Rankings—Not that I care too much, but I’m the lowest ranked, highest ranked writer according to this system, and it isn’t even close. Does anyone understand what that means?

2) Why refs can’t spot the ball correctly—I thought this was the basics.

3) Why a fumble can’t just be a fumble anymore—Maybe this is the part of the game that is too long.

4) Why Nick Saban isn’t crucified more—The guy had 10 offseason arrests (that’s a whole category in my weekly list if I wanted it to be) and a miserable graduation rate.

5) How Brent Musburger gets the featured game every week—Maybe they figure it’s usually a blowout anyway, so people are going to be tuning out.

6) This whole FBS and FCS thing—I just know the BCS is a bunch of BS.

7) Why Game Plan isn’t in HD—Charge a few extra bucks, I’m in. You had me at H.

How attendance records get broken every week—Do they set up a few folding chairs or something?

9) Offsetting Penalties—A guy flinching and a decapitation offset each other.

10) Celebration Rules—Talk about random: You can just flip the channels and see flag or no flag for the same thing.

Ten Guys Who Got it Done This Week

1) Sam Bradford—468 Yards, three TDs

2) David Johnson—434 Yards, five TDs

3) Colt McCoy—Three incompletions—we’ve been saying this almost every week.

4) Jevan Snead—Pure guts.

5) Juice Williams—A future NFL top five pick.

6) Tim Hiller—471 yards in the loss to their rival.

7) Knowshon Moreno—172 on the ground, all of them athletic plays.

Dennis Kennedy—277 yards rushing.

9) Austin Davis—461 yards and four TDs for the freshman.

10) Bernard Hopkins—Was a huge underdog against Kelly Pavlik.

Ten Things Announcers said Yesterday that Mitch will re-word in plain English

1) “Let them stay in it”—They got lazy, sloppy, and content.

2) “He’s a load”—That guy is too fat.

3) “McCoy is wielding a scalpel”—The Missouri defense is really bad.

4) “I don’t know the rules”—Gary Danielson should get a different job.

5) “Oh, I don’t know about that”—I can’t say what I want or I may lose this cushy gig.

6) “That’s not reviewable”—A call so bad no one could have ever thought the scenario would come into play.

7) “He had all the time in the world”—Actually, every time I heard this the QB did have and still probably has all the time in the world.

“It’s getting chippy out there”—Better call the cops—this may get ugly real soon.

9) “They came out ready to play”—We’re about to see highlights of a blowout by a team that trailed.

10) “The Referees are having a discussion”—Might as well change the channel because this is going to take a while.

Ten Games That Surprised Me

1) Maryland 26, Wake Forest 0—Maryland may be the most up and down team ever.

2) Ohio State 45, Michigan State 7—Not the outcome, more the score.

3) TCU 32, BYU 7—This was just plain ugly.

4) Wisconsin 16, Iowa 38—I didn’t think the Badgers were that bad, but they clearly are.

5) Tennessee 34, Mississippi State 3—I didn’t think the Vols could score over 30 in an SEC game.

6) Pittsburgh 42, Navy 21—Thought it would be closer—called it a coin toss when someone asked me.

7) Miami 49, Duke 31—I’ll take it.

Utah 49, Colorado State 16—I didn’t pick this one, but there is nothing consistent going on out there.

9) Rutgers 12, UConn 10—Three missed field goals really cost the Huskies.

10) Boston College 28, Virginia Tech 23—I don’t think BC wins three times in 10 games if they played that many.

Ten Things I’m Excited About

1) My new confidence rating system for my picks—10-3 against the spread in the games I rated the highest is a much better indicator than my overall record, though I’m not sure I can maintain that level.

2) My Free Game Picking Contest—I’m not sure how many people I’ll have the first week, but I think it’s going to be a lot of fun.

3) More Conference Games—Can you say “no more patsies”?

4) Halloween—Is there ever such a thing as “leftover” candy?

5) New Projects and Content for My Blog—I’ve been approached by several people for some really exciting joint ventures and some really good writers and game pickers as well. We’re not going to recognize the place by this time next year.

6) Blocking and Tackling—Are there two better words in the English language?

7) For the election to be over—Let’s get back to what the Fall is all about: College Football.

Bad Weather Games—Coming soon to a stadium near you.

9) National Signing Day—Less than four months away.

10) The one-year anniversary of me quitting smoking—I smoked for 28 years and quit cold turkey. Miracles happen.

Ten Topics I’m Done Discussing

1) Tommy Bowden—At least until he gets another gig.

2) The BR Writing Contest “Situation”—I had totally forgotten about the contest, but all of the people involved in the controversy are great writers who I vote for often.

3) The Election—Did I ever start?

4) Why I think Alabama is a filthy program—Maybe you guys should just Google “Alabama arrested players.”

5) Chase Daniel for Heisman—I think he ended this drivel himself.

6) A College Football Playoff—It isn’t going to happen anytime soon.

7) Why I hate the NFL—I’m thinking of giving them another shot. Can they just allow pass coverage for me?

Preseason Rankings—Is anyone going to write a comparison piece to the current rankings?

9) The Chicago Cubs—No longer lovable losers, now just losers.

10) People who send me hate mail—Thank you for reading my articles and watching my videos—I appreciate your comments.

Ten Strange Things I Saw On TV Yesterday

1) More Tipped Balls Caught—It’s been like this all year.

2) Houston Nutt’s Pincher Signal—Are we going to see a Rock Lobster video on YouTube from an SEC school?

3) Sarah Palin on SNL—How weird was that?

4) UGA Taking pictures with the Homecoming Queen—Uga was getting the better treatment.

5) Tay Cody on A Golf Cart—I think they should have used a Truck (Get well soon—like or hate the Tide, he’s been one of the best players in the country this year and an absolute difference maker).

6) Idaho-Louisiana Tech—Nothing in particular, just that the game was on TV at all.

7) Mark Mangino running out with his team—I never thought he ran.

Oklahoma linemen breathing heavily—The hurry-up is tiring their own players out.

9) No Tommy Bowden on the sideline during a Clemson loss—It felt kind of empty.

10) All of the missed field goals—It used to seem so automatic.

Ten Games I’m Looking Forward To This Week

1) Penn State-Ohio State—A changing of the guard?

2) Texas-Oklahoma State—If either of these two runs the table, they’ve earned it.

3) LSU-Georgia—No, I’m not kidding. This is the schedule so far.

4) Texas Tech-Kansas—A real test for the Red Raiders.

5) USC-Arizona—All of the sudden real interesting.

6) Boise State-San Jose State—Don’t kid yourself. This is one heck of a matchup.

7) Kentucky-Florida—Should be a good one.

Michigan-Michigan State—Throw out the records for this one.

9) Alabama-Tennessee—Would a win save Fulmer’s job?

10) Wake Forest-Miami—I may be the only one who cares.

Visit Mitch anytime at The College Football Place.

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