NCAA College Basketball Recap #1

College Basketball has begun and we are already seeing some great basketball. The Maui Invitation, Battle 4 Atlantis, and other Thanksgiving tournaments are over. We now are currently into the conference challenges as the ACC played against the Big Ten and the SEC is now battling it out with the Big East. There has been impressive play by teams such as Indiana, Duke, Florida, Michigan, and Gonzaga. Other teams are starting off a little slower than expected, such as NC State, North Carolina, and UCLA. Here are my current rankings and analysis of what I have seen so far this season.

1. Indiana   7-0 

- The Indiana Hoosiers appeared to be struggling two weeks ago when they played Georgia and against Georgetown. The Hoosiers struggled against Georgia well into the fourth quarter until they pulled away and won 66-53. The Georgetown game really tested the Hoosiers as they needed overtime to pull off the 82-72 win. Since that game though, Indiana has looked solid. The blowout win over #14 North Carolina on Tuesday said a lot about this team. The Tar Heels are not the same team from last season, but the play from star sophomore Cody Zeller, junior Will Sheehey, and Victor Oladipo could not have been much better. Talk about shooting lights out. The lights literally went out in Assembly Hall for a brief moment. This game showcased how talented this team could be this season and Christian Watford only had two points on the night.

  2. Duke      7-0

- Out of any team in the country, the Duke Blue Devils have best resumé of wins right now. The Blue Devils defeated #3 Kentucky in Atlanta 75-68, #2 Louisville 76-71 in the Battle 4 Atlantis Championship, and #4 Ohio State 73-68 at home. The Blue Devils also had difficult games in the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament against Minnesota and VCU. This Blue Devil team looked tired early against Ohio State and could only make shots from the line in the first half. In the second half though, the Blue Devils battled back and played great basketball against a tough Buckeye squad. Mason Plumlee's inside game and rebounding has been key to the success the Blue Devils have had. The Blue Devils have also seen the rise of freshman guard Rasheed Sulaimon, who is averaging 12.7 points per game. Look for Sulaimon to continue to be a huge part of the Duke offense along with senior guard Seth Curry, senior forward Ryan Kelly, and sophomore Quinn Cook. This team already looks better than they did last season. 

3. Michigan   6-0

- This may possibly be the best Michigan team we have seen in years. The Wolverines have defeated Pittsburgh, Kansas State, and NC State so far this season. The Wolverines, led by junior guard Tim Hardaway Jr. and sophomore guard Trey Burke, are currently scoring 80.8 points per game and are fifth in the nation with a field goal percentage of .529. I am impressed with the defensive of play from these Wolverines. Freshman forward Glenn Robinson III has had 19 rebounds in his last two games and has been a playmaker on offense averaging 12.2 points per game. Watch out for the Wolverines as the season continues, they are a lot stronger than last year's team that was upset in the second round of the NCAA Tournament by Ohio. 

 4. Florida       6-0

- After a blowout 82-49 victory over Marquette last night, I am ready to put the Gators in the number four spot. Florida did have to cancel its first game of the season against Georgetown on the USS Bataan due to moisture on the court, but the Gators were able to blow out #22 Wisconsin 74-56 just days after the cancellation. The Gators are led by senior guard Kenny Boynton, who is currently averaging 14.5 points per game and has been almost solid from the free throw line going 22 for 25. The Gators also consist of senior forward/center Erik Murphy, who is averaging 4.2 rebounds per game and senior guard Mike Rosario, who has averaged 11.0 points per game. Freshman guard Michael Frazier III will also be a valuable asset to this team as he dropped 17 points on Marquette last night. Lastly, the Gators will play tough opponents in their next three of four games. The Gators must travel to in-state rival Florida State, #9 Arizona, and Kansas State in Kansas City. If the Gators get through these three games look for them to be undefeated until at least late January. 

5. Ohio State    4-1

- The Buckeyes lost in a close one at Duke on Wednesday 73-68, but these Buckeyes are a very talented bunch. The inside game is strong and the Buckeyes defensively shutdown Duke the entire first half. The Buckeyes are led by junior forward Deshaun Thomas who has been impressive this season by averaging 22.4 points per game and 6.2 rebounds per game. Junior guard Aaron Craft continues to be the key roll player in the Buckeye offense and junior guard Lenzelle Smith, Jr. currently has a three-point field goal percentage of .474. The Buckeyes will breeze through their non-conference schedule until December 22nd when they host Kansas.

6. Syracuse   4-0

7. Louisville  5-1

8. Gonzaga   7-0

9. Arizona    4-0

10. Kansas    5-1


Teams to watch: 

1. Oklahoma State (5-0)
- The Cowboys had a blowout win over #6 NC State 76-56 and have a tough guard game consisting of true freshman Marcus Smart.

2. Illinois (8-0)
- John Groce's squad has looked unstoppable so far this season. They won the Maui Invitation by defeating Butler 78-61. The play from senior guard Brandon Paul has been crucial as he has averaged 18.3 points per game.

3. Oregon (6-1)
- The Pac-12 is going to be up for grabs and the Ducks could be in the mix again. The Ducks knocked off #18 UNLV in the semifinals of the Global Sports Classic in Las Vegas. The Ducks then almost upset #22 Cincinnati in the Finals. The play from the Duck's freshman and Rice transfer Arsalan Kazemi has been a large part of why this team has been successful.

4. Georgetown (4-1)
- The Hoyas defeated #11 UCLA, then gave #1 Indiana all they could handle in overtime and almost pulled off the upset. Pay attention to the play of junior guard Markel Starks. This kid has looked solid so far this season.

Potential Pretenders:

1. NC State (4-2)
- A lot of talent on this Wolf Pack squad that was ranked number six in the preseason ranking. Unfortunately, they were blown out by an unranked Oklahoma State team 76-56 and also lost at #3 Michigan 79-72. The play from freshman T.J. Warren and junior C.J. Leslie will hopefully get this Wolf Pack team back on track and in a position to compete for the ACC title.

2. UCLA (5-2)
- Here we go again with the drama surrounding the UCLA program. UCLA had to defeat UC-Irvine in overtime, lost to Georgetown, and then was upset by Cal Poly at home. Junior center Joshua Smith and junior guard Tyler Lamb have already left the program. It will be up to freshman Shabazz Muhammad to lead this Bruin squad the rest of the season.

3. North Carolina 
- The Tar Heels are obviously not as strong this season with the loss of their four star players from last season, but it doesn't mean they are a bad team. The Tar Heels look all out of sorts this season. The Tar Heels were almost blown out in Maui by Butler, then were manhandled at #1 Indiana 83-59.

College Football: Week 14 matchups to watch

We finally have reached the last weekend for teams to make their way into BCS Bowl games. The game this weekend with National Championship implications is the SEC Championship between #2 Alabama and #3 Georgia. The winner of this game will play #1 Notre Dame in Miami for the crystal ball. The craziness of the Big Ten will finally be decided in Indianapolis Saturday night as #12 Nebraska (10-2) will take on Wisconsin (7-5) in the Big Ten Championship for a ticket to the Rose Bowl. Wisconsin came close to defeating the Huskers earlier this season in Lincoln and have earned a spot in this game because of Ohio State and Penn State being ineligible. At the beginning of the season it was all about a rematch between Oregon and USC in the Pac-12 Championship. Here we are at the end of the season and we have #16 UCLA playing #8 Stanford for the second time in less than a week for a trip to the Rose Bowl. The ACC's wheel of destiny landed on Georgia Tech this season. Georgia Tech (7-5) will play #13 Florida State (10-2) for the ACC Championship after Miami (FL)
self-imposed a postseason ban on themselves making the Hurricanes ineligible for the ACC Championship. Lastly, there is a crucial game tonight for a potential BCS at-large bid for #17 Kent State or #21 Northern Illinois. The Kent State Golden Flashes only need to move up one more spot in the BCS standings to make it to a BCS Bowl game. The Northern Illinois Huskies need a lot more help with losses from Boise State, Texas, and UCLA. Even that may not be enough for the Huskies to be eligible for an at-large BCS bid.

ESPN College GameDay will be live from Atlanta, GA (10:00 AM ET)

Matchup: #2 Alabama vs #3 Georgia

Thursday, November 29th

1. Louisville @ Rutgers  7:30 PM ET ESPN

- Finally, the mighty Big East will be settled tonight in Piscataway. Louisville and Rutgers were both upset this past Saturday and dropped out of the BCS Standings. The winner of this game will play in either the Sugar Bowl or Orange Bowl. The Rutgers Scarlet Knights are looking for their first BCS bowl bid in the school's history. Louisville went to a BCS Bowl game in 2007, where they defeated Wake Forest 24-13 in the Orange Bowl. The matchup in this game is going to be the Cardinals passing attack against the tough Scarlet Knight defense. Louisville will rely on the passing game of sophomore quarterback Teddy Bridgewater. Bridgewater has averaged 350.2 passing yards and 2.8 touchdowns in his past five games. The Cardinal offense has averaged 296.5 passing yards per game this season. The Scarlet Knights have not been strong on offense this season and have needed to win games by relying on its defense. The Scarlett Knight defense is holding opponents to only 114.4 rushing yards per game and just 15.1 points per game. What could be a key aspect in this game is if the Scarlet Knights rushing attack led by Jawan Jamison can show some sort of life and wear down a Cardinal defense that has not faired well against the run this season. Could we see "pandemonium in Piscataway" part II against Louisville?

Prediction: Rutgers 28, Louisville 24

Result: Louisville 20, Rutgers 17


Friday, November 30th

2. #21 Northern Illinois vs #17 Kent State  MAC Championship (Detroit, MI)  7:00 PM ET ESPN2

- The Golden Flashes of Kent State are very likely to be BCS bound if they can win this game. On the other hand, the Northern Illinois Huskies are looking to repeat as the MAC Champions and are hoping for a miracle that they hit the 16th spot in the BCS Standings. The Golden Flashes are on a 10-game winning streak after being blown out early in the season at Kentucky 47-14. The success of Kent State has been in part to its rushing attack. Running back Dri Archer, who should be able to go tonight, has rushed for 125 or more yards in three of his last four games. Archer also has 18 total touchdowns on the season. The Golden Flashes are 11th in the country in rushing yards per game this season with 241.5. The Huskies are led by explosive junior quarterback Jordan Lynch who has led an offense that is currently 9th in the country in rushing yards per game with 245 yards. Lynch's dual threat ability has caused him to be a nightmare for defenses this season. Lynch has averaged 229.1 passing yards per game, 134.2 rushing yards per game, and has accounted for 39 of the Huskies touchdowns this season. Not only are the Huskies sound on offense, but their defense continues to be tough year after year. The Husky defense is holding opponents to 17.5 points per game this season. The MAC Championship is more than just a game this year. It could potentially be for the conferences first BCS bid.

Prediction: Northern Illinois 32, Kent State 26
Result: Northern Illinois 44, Kent State 37 (2OT)

3. #16 UCLA @ #8 Stanford  Pac-12 Championship  8:00 PM ET FOX

- In less than a week, UCLA and Stanford will have played two games against each other. In round one this past Saturday, The Stanford Cardinal completely outplayed the UCLA Bruins and won by a score of 35-17 in the Rose Bowl. The Bruins must now travel to the "The Farm" to get revenge against a very tough and physical Cardinal team. Last week, I picked the Bruins to pull the upset. Boy how was I ever wrong. Stanford running back Stepfan Taylor went off for 142 rushing yards and two touchdowns. The Stanford defense also shut down the UCLA offense by holding them to just 73 total rushing yards. Standout UCLA running back Johnathan Franklin rushed for only 65 yards and one touchdown leaving the offense up to the arm of quarterback Brett Hundley. If UCLA wants any chance of winning this time against Stanford, the offense must establish a running game. The UCLA defense must also prevent Stepfan Taylor from breaking free and running for big gains. We'll see if the Bruins have what it takes to win round two.

Prediction: Stanford 42, UCLA 21
Result: Stanford 27, UCLA 24

Saturday, December 1st 

4. #11 Oklahoma @ TCU  12:00 PM ET ESPN

- It's the Sooners last chance to win the Big 12 Championship. The Sooners need to defeat the Horned Frogs and then have Kansas State lose to Texas to be the winner of the Big 12. With a Big 12 Conference Championship, the Sooners would be guaranteed a spot in the Fiesta Bowl. The Sooners won in overtime in a shootout with in-state rival Oklahoma State this past weekend and TCU is coming off an upset victory at Texas. Sooner quarterback Landry Jones threw for an impressive 500 yards and three touchdowns this past weekend. Jones has thrown for 500 or more yards in his past two games and his main target has been junior wide receiver Jalen Saunders. Saunders has put up 285 receiving yards and two touchdowns in his past two games. A lot of pressure will be put on the Horned Frog defense to stop an offense that is averaging 41.7 points per game. The Horned Frog defense held the Texas Longhorns to just 13 points and 86 rushing yards last Thursday. They will need another gutsy performance from the defense, because the offense led by Trevone Boykin will not be able to put up enough points on the Sooner defense to win. Oklahoma should win this ball game and appear in the Fiesta or Sugar Bowl. If the Sooners do not win the Big 12 they will need to hope Kent State loses in the MAC Championship. Kent State could steal an at-large bid away from Oklahoma if they defeat Northern Illinois in the MAC Conference Championship game.

Prediction: Oklahoma 42, TCU 23

5. #23 Oklahoma State @ Baylor  12:00 PM ET FX

- Both of these teams put up over 40 points this past weekend and went into overtime. Look for this to be another Big 12 game where there is only offense and no defense. There could potentially be over 1,000 yards of offense in this game. The Oklahoma State offense has averaged 332.6 passing yards per game and has scored an average of 45.6 points per game. Quarterback Clint Chelf has looked solid since taking over the Cowboy offense four games ago. Chelf has averaged 251.7 passing yards per game and has thrown nine touchdowns. Baylor has been just as explosive on offense. Baylor has averaged 358.5 passing yards per game and is putting up 44.4 points per game. Quarterback Nick Florence has been amazing this entire season after having to replace Heisman Trophy winner Robert Griffin III. Florence has passed for 3,825 yards this season and 30 touchdowns. We can't forget about the running games of both teams either as Baylor and Oklahoma State have top 20 rushing attacks. This is going to be a very high scoring affair and it will be up to one of the defenses to make a stop late in the fourth quarter.

Prediction: Oklahoma State 54, Baylor 49

6. #20 Boise State @ Nevada  3:30 PM ET ABC

- The Boise State Broncos are not completely out of the BCS picture yet. With a win, the Broncos would need one of the two scenarios to happen. The first scenario is the Broncos would need UCLA, Kent State, Texas, and Florida State to lose. The second scenario would consist of UCLA, Kent State, and Texas losing, then the Broncos jumping Michigan in the BCS Standings. Boise State needs to get past Nevada though. We all remember what happened two years ago when the Wolf Pack pulled the upset at home against the Broncos. Two years has passed though and both teams are not what they were in 2010. Boise State's offense has not been as explosive with quarterback Joe Southwick, but the Bronco defense has been one of the best in the country. The Bronco defense is only giving up an average of 14.4 points per game and 133.5 rushing yards per game. This could be trouble for a Wolf Pack offense that relies heavily on their rushing attack led by 1,000 yard rusher Stefphon Jefferson and quarterback Cody Fajardo. If Nevada cannot get their running game going it could result in a blow out win for Boise State.

Prediction: Boise State 42, Nevada 24

7. #2 Alabama vs #3 Georgia  SEC Championship (Atlanta, GA) 4:00 PM ET CBS

- This one is for all the marbles. The winner of this game goes to the BCS National Championship and the loser will likely be heading to the Cotton or Chick-fil-A Bowl. This is going to be a heavy weight fight with teams that had aspirations of making the National Championship before the season even began. These teams expected to be in Atlanta playing in a game of this magnitude. The Alabama Crimson Tide have a good offense with an even better defense. Crimson Tide quarterback AJ McCarron has 25 touchdown and only two interceptions on the season. The offense also consists of a solid backfield with Eddie Lacy and T.J. Yeldon, as well as a rising star in freshman wide receiver Amari Cooper. The Crimson Tide defense led by line backer C.J. Mosley and nose guard Jesse Williams have allowed just 9.3 points per game this season. The Crimson Tide defense is currently the best overall defense in the country and have not given up more than 24 points in any game this season.

The Georgia Bulldogs appeared to be out of the race with a blowout loss at South Carolina. Then the season changed in those two weeks after the South Carolina game. Georgia barely escaped Kentucky 29-24 and Bulldog safety Shawn Williams called his own defense "soft." Georgia went on to upset Florida 17-9 and took control of the SEC East Division for good. The Bulldog offense led by quarterback Aaron Murray continues to look better with 14 touchdown passes in his last five games. The Bulldog offense has also become more explosive with the help of freshman running back Todd Gurley, who has rushed for 1,138 yards and 14 touchdowns this season. The Bulldog defense has given up just 11.1 points per game since they lost to South Carolina in Week 6. Linebacker Jarvis Jones  has been a nightmare for offenses this season and looks to be one of the key players in stopping the Crimson Tide offense. This game will be all about defense and field position. Both offenses will be geared towards game management and not making mental mistakes that could put the opposing team's offense in scoring position. A lot of pressure will also be placed on Alabama kicker Jeremy Shelley and Georgia kicker Marshall Morgan to make key field goals. This is going to be a very close game between two very talented teams.

Prediction: Alabama 23, Georgia 17

8. #18 Texas @ #6 Kansas State 8:00 PM ET ABC

- It's as simple as this. If Kansas State wins this game, they win their first Big 12 Championship since 2003 and guarantee themselves a spot in the Fiesta Bowl. Wildcat Quarterback Collin Klein will get his final chance to impress Heisman voters against an improved Texas Longhorn defense. The Wildcat offense needs the rushing attack led by Collin Klein and John Hubert. The Wildcats had just 76 rushing yards against the Baylor defense two weeks ago. The Longhorns have struggled against the run this season by giving up an average of 201.5 yards per game, meaning this could be something the Wildcat offense takes advantage of. The Longhorn offense struggled against TCU last week and have replaced quarterback David Ash with Case McCoy. McCoy has come in late in the fourth quarter twice this season to try and revive the Longhorn offense after Ash had struggled. If the Wildcat defense can shutdown the Longhorn rushing attack and put pressure on Case McCoy, the Wildcats have a good chance of winning this game. The Wildcat defense must put the Baylor game behind them after they gave up 52 points and 580 yards. Kansas State has defeated Texas in their last four meetings. We will see if Texas has anything left in the tank after last week's loss.

Prediction: Kansas State 34, Texas 24

9. #13 Florida State vs Georgia Tech  ACC Championship (Charlotte, NC)  8:00 PM ET ESPN

- Florida State and Georgia Tech are both coming off of embarrassing losses to their in-state rivals. The Florida State Seminoles expected to be here at the beginning season. If the Seminoles do not win this game, the Seminoles season has gone right down the drain again. Quarterback EJ Manuel was banged up last week against the Gator Defense, but has been cleared and will be ready to play Saturday night. The Seminole offense has been good this season averaging 41.5 points per game, but it has been the defense that has been the backbone of this team. The Seminole defense has given up just 15.1 points per game and 280.9 total yards per game this season. The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets made it to this game by default. Both teams ahead of the Georgia Tech in the ACC Coastal Division were ineligible to play. North Carolina had a one year bowl ban heading into the season and Miami (FL) recently self-imposed a bowl ban on themselves. The Ramblin' Wreck from Georgia Tech have one of the best rushing games in the country statistically with their triple option attack.  Last week though, Georgia shutdown the Yellow Jacket offense and held them to just ten points. The Yellow Jacket offense may be in even more trouble as they face the 4th best best defense in the country. The Seminoles should be headed to their first BCS Bowl game since 2005.

Prediction: Florida State 42, Georgia Tech 16

10. #12 Nebraska vs Wisconsin  Big Ten Championship (Indianapolis, IN)  8:17 PM ET FOX

- Earlier this season, Wisconsin blew a 17 point lead in Lincoln and lost to Nebraska 30-27. Since that game, the Huskers have squeaked out victories against Northwestern, Michigan State, Penn State, and Iowa. Wisconsin improved after losing that night in Lincoln, but have lost in overtime these past weeks against Ohio State and Penn State. In all honesty, these teams should be sending thank you notes to Ohio State for being ineligible to play in this football game. The Husker offense was shutdown last week at Iowa and were fortunate to come out of Iowa City with a 13-7 victory. The Huskers will rely again on the running game of Rex Burkhead, who rushed for 69 yards and one touchdown last week after being out since late October with a knee injury. The Badgers must rely on their running back Montee Ball as well. Ball set the record for most touchdowns in FBS history last week at Penn State. If the Badgers can pound it out on the ground that will open up wide receiver Jared Abbrederis to make plays down the field like he did against the Husker defense earlier this season. The key in this game is going to be the Wisconsin defense. The Badger defense has a talented linebacking core headed by Chris Borland and it will be up to them to contain Husker quarterback Taylor Martinez. Most people are looking for the Huskers to run away with this game and punch their ticket to the Rose Bowl. Just because the Badgers are 7-5 does not mean they don't have a chance to win this game. Expect round two between these teams to be just as close.

Prediction: Nebraska 26, Wisconsin 24

College Football Week 14: Big East Title

Thursday, November 29th

1. Louisville @ Rutgers  7:30 PM ET ESPN

- Finally, the mighty Big East will be settled tonight in Piscataway. Louisville and Rutgers were both upset this past Saturday and dropped out of the BCS Standings. The winner of this game will play in either the Sugar Bowl or Orange Bowl. The Rutgers Scarlet Knights are looking for their first BCS bowl bid in the school's history. Louisville went to a BCS Bowl game in 2007, where they defeated Wake Forest 24-13 in the Orange Bowl. The matchup in this game is going to be the Cardinals passing attack against the tough Scarlet Knight defense. Louisville will rely on the passing game of sophomore quarterback Teddy Bridgewater. Bridgewater has averaged 350.2 passing yards and 2.8 touchdowns in his past five games. The Cardinal offense has averaged 296.5 passing yards per game this season. The Scarlet Knights have not been strong on offense this season and have needed to win games by relying on its defense. The Scarlett Knight defense is holding opponents to only 114.4 rushing yards per game and just 15.1 points per game. What could be a key aspect in this game is if the Scarlet Knights rushing attack led by Jawan Jamison can show some sort of life and wear down a Cardinal defense that has not faired well against the run this season. Could we see "pandemonium in Piscataway" part II against Louisville?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SIwce8NxnnY

Prediction: Rutgers 28, Louisville 24

College Football Week 13 Recap

My Overall Record: 92-38
My Record in Week 13: 6-4

Best game from Week 13: #13 Oklahoma 51, #21 Oklahoma State 48 (OT)

"Civil War" between Oregon and Oregon State 

Most of the chaos was settled this past weekend. Notre Dame pulled their undefeated regular season off at USC 22-13. The Irish defense came up with a huge goal line stand again with minutes remaining to ice the game. The Irish are now Miami bound and playing for their first National Championship since 1988. The second spot in the National Championship game will go to the winner of the SEC Championship game between #2 Alabama and #3 Georgia. The other BCS bowl games are beginning to look a lot   less complicated now. Stanford clinched the Pac-12 North this past weekend at UCLA      35-17, meaning the Oregon Ducks will have to settle for an at-large bid to a BCS Bowl game. Nebraska was able to sneak out a close one at Iowa 13-7 on Friday to win the Big Ten Legends Division. The Ohio State Buckeyes hung on at home to beat Michigan 26-21 to go undefeated on the season. It's just to bad that the Buckeye's season is finished and they will not be going to the BCS National Championship due to their one year probation. The Florida Gators pretty much guaranteed themselves a spot in a BCS bowl game with an impressive 37-26 win at in-state rival Florida State. The craziest game on Saturday was the shootout in Bedlam between the Oklahoma Sooners and the Oklahoma State Cowboys. The Sooners needed a four yard touchdown run from Blake Bell with four seconds remaining to take the game into overtime. In overtime, The Cowboys kicked a field goal on their first possession, but the Sooners took advantage of the situation and won the game 51-48 on a Brennan Clay 18 yard rushing touchdown. Oklahoma must defeat TCU this upcoming weekend and needs Kansas State to lose at home against Texas to win the Big 12 Championship.

BCS Bowl Game Scenarios

BCS National Championship (Miami, FL)

#1 Notre Dame vs #2 Alabama or #3 Georgia 

Fiesta Bowl (Glendale, AZ)

#5 Oregon (at-large bid) vs #6 Kansas State or #11 Oklahoma (Big 12 Champion)

Rose Bowl (Pasadena, CA)

#12 Nebraska or Wisconsin (Big Ten Champion) vs #8 Stanford or #16 UCLA (Pac-12 Champion)

Sugar Bowl (New Orleans, LA)

#4 Florida (SEC at-large) vs #6 Kansas State or #11 Oklahoma or Rutgers or Louisville (at-large)

Orange Bowl (Miami, FL)

#13 Florida State or Georgia Tech (ACC Champion) vs Rutgers or Louisville or #17 Kent State

Note: If mid-major #17 Kent State defeats #21 Northern Illinois in the MAC Championship they can earn a BCS at-large bid. Kent State needs to be ranked at least 16th in the BCS and in front of a BCS automatic qualifier. Currently a Big East school is not ranked in the Top 25. 

College Football: Week 13 matchups to watch

There are many crucial games this week that could make or break teams. The big game is #1 Notre Dame traveling to Los Angeles to take on rival USC. USC will be without senior quarterback Matt Barkley, who suffered a separated shoulder against UCLA this past weekend, and it will be redshirt freshman Matt Wittek that will lead the Trojans offense. The Pac-12 has two other games that are crucial for conference and BCS implications. The #4 Oregon Ducks will play at #15 Oregon State in their annual Civil War rivalry game, where Oregon could clinch an at-large BCS bid or North Division title. The other big Pac-12 game is #8 Stanford at #17 UCLA. The Cardinal are coming off a huge win at Oregon and are looking to win the Pac-12 North Division, as well as host UCLA in the Pac-12 Championship game next Friday. The Big 12's big games of the week are TCU at #16 Texas on Thanksgiving and Bedlam between #21 Oklahoma State and #13 Oklahoma. Both Texas and Oklahoma are looking to stay in the race for a Big 12 Championship.

The Big Ten Legends Division will be decided this weekend as #14 Nebraska plays at Iowa and #19 Michigan plays at undefeated Ohio State. A Nebraska win would guarantee them a birth in the Big Ten Championship game. An Iowa upset over Nebraska and a Michigan upset over Ohio State would result in Michigan playing Wisconsin in the Big Ten Championship game. Lastly, two in-state non-conference rival games have BCS at-large bids written all over them. #4 Florida will travel to #10 Florida State and #12 South Carolina will go into hostile Death Valley to battle it out for the Palmetto State with #11 Clemson.

This weekend, I will be at the Civil War game in Corvallis between #5 Oregon and #15 Oregon State. The Ducks are coming off of a heartbreaking loss against Stanford and Oregon State is coming off a blow out win against Cal that basically ended the coaching career of 11 year Cal head coach Jeff Tedford. The Ducks need to establish a running game against one of the best rushing defenses in the country. The Beaver defense may not have as many talented players on the defensive side as Stanford, but the Beavers have proven they can stop some of the best running backs in the country. It will be interesting to see if Oregon running back Kenjon Barner can get back on track this Saturday. The Oregon defense played tough this past weekend against a tough Stanford defense. We will see if the Oregon defensive backs can handle the speed of Beaver wide receivers Markus Wheaton and Brandin Cooks.

#5 Oregon @ #15 Oregon State  3:00 PM ET Pac-12 Network

ESPN College GameDay will be live from Los Angeles, CA (Live at 10:00 AM ET)

Matchup: #1 Notre Dame @ USC

Thursday, November 22nd

1. TCU @ #16 Texas  7:30 PM ET ESPN

- The Thanksgiving game is no longer Texas A&M and Texas, but in fact TCU and Texas. With Kansas State losing this past weekend to Baylor, the Longhorns are suddenly back in the Big 12 title race. Since the Longhorns struggled and had to win in a shootout 56-50 over Baylor, the Longhorn defense has given up an average of only 15.3 points in their past three games. The Longhorn offense led by quarterback David Ash and running back Johnathan Gray have continued to improve since struggling against Oklahoma and Kansas. The Longhorn offense has averaged 39.6 points per game this season. The TCU Horned Frogs have lost three of their last four games in Big 12 play. TCU redshirt freshman quarterback Trevone Boykin was banged up against Kansas State two weeks ago and is looking to make big plays against the Texas defense. The Horned Frogs offense had averaged 35.6 points in their five games prior to playing Kansas State and were only able put up ten points against the Wildcat defense. We will see if TCU has what it takes to hang in with an improving Texas team in Austin.

Prediction: Texas 35, TCU 21
Result: TCU 20, Texas 13


Friday, November 23rd

2. #14 Nebraska @ Iowa  12:00 PM ET ABC

- The Nebraska Cornhuskers are looking to lock up the Big Ten Legends Division. The Iowa Hawkeyes have continued to struggle and will not be bowling this season. What better way for the Hawkeyes to finish the season than to upset the Huskers in their last game of the season. Last year, Nebraska won in a very defensive ball game over Iowa in Lincoln 20-7. We may see a game very similar to last season. The Huskers are led by quarterback Taylor Martinez, who has been clutch for his team this whole season. The Husker offense should be able to move the ball with the running ability of Taylor Martinez and through the passing game with wide receiver Kenny Bell. The Hawkeye defense is giving up 24.6 points per game and 165.1 rushing yards per game. The real question coming into this game will be if the Iowa ground game led by Mark Weisman can put up points on the Husker defense. The Hawkeyes have nothing to lose in this game and we will see if they can pull the upset.

Prediction: Nebraska 27, Iowa 12
Result: Nebraska 13, Iowa 7

Saturday, November 24th

3. #19 Michigan @ Ohio State  12:00 PM ET ABC

- The Ohio State Buckeyes are one game away from going undefeated this season. A great accomplishment that basically means nothing because they are ineligible to play in a bowl game this season. Buckeye nation has Jim Tressel and Terrell Pryor to thank for that. The Michigan Wolverines come into "The Horseshoe" with hopes of winning in Columbus for the first time since 2000. The Wolverines will use quarterback Devin Gardner who has won all three games a starter this season. Denard Robinson will likely come into play running back and also take snaps in the wildcat formation. The Buckeyes offense led by quarterback Braxton Miller has been lethal this season and looks to take advantage of a Michigan defense that is ranked 47th in the country in defending the rush. It will be interesting to see if the Wolverines can keep up in this one and be able to contain Braxton Miller the entire game. The Wolverines are the 11th best defense in the country, but playing at Ohio State and against an offense that is averaging 245.5 rushing yards per game could be rather challenging.

Prediction: Ohio State 34, Michigan 20

4. Georgia Tech @ #3 Georgia  12:00 PM ET ESPN

- The Georgia Bulldogs need to beat in-state rival Georgia Tech to stay in the race for the BCS National Championship game. The Bulldogs have already clinched a spot in the SEC Championship next win in Atlanta, but cannot afford to be upset. The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets may be 6-5, but they have also clinched a spot in their championship game in the ACC. The Yellow Jackets have not defeated Georgia since 2008, but in their last three meetings the Yellow Jackets have only lost by an average of 9.3 points. The main matchup in this game will be between the Georgia Tech rushing attack, which averages 324.9 yards per game, and a tough Georgia defense that is only giving up 18.8 points per game and 135.9 rushing yards per game. Georgia Tech will have to be successful on the ground, otherwise this game will be over very quickly. Georgia Tech currently has the fifth worst passing game in the country. Without putting points on the board, the Georgia offense led by Aaron Murray will put the game out of reach on a Georgia Tech defense that has given up an average of almost 30 points per game. We'll see how long the Yellow Jackets can hang with the Dawgs in this one.

Prediction: Georgia 37, Georgia Tech 28


5. #5 Oregon @ #15 Oregon State  3:00 PM ET Pac-12 Network

- The Civil War means a lot more now than it did a week ago. The Ducks need to win this game to at least guarantee themselves an at-large BCS bowl game spot. The Beavers are out of the race with two conference losses, but still have a chance of winning ten games for the first time since 2006 as they try to knock the Ducks out of the BCS picture. The Beavers have not beaten the Ducks since 2007. Watch for the Ducks to come out focused. After last weekends tough loss to Stanford, I think Chip Kelly will have Mariota and company ready to go. What needs to improve is the Oregon run game. The Oregon offense cannot afford to get knocked around by the Oregon State defensive line the whole game, even though Oregon State is only giving up 108.7 rushing yards per game. If the Ducks cannot get the rushing attack going again it will be up to quarterback Marcus Mariota to open up the passing game. One key matchup to pay attention to is the Oregon secondary as they try to defend the quick and lethal wide receivers of Markus Wheaton and Brandin Cooks. Let's see if the Ducks can bounce back after a tough loss.

Prediction: Oregon 35, Oregon State 26

6. #4 Florida @ #10 Florida State  3:30 PM ET ABC

- The Florida Gators are back in the BCS mix after Kansas State and Oregon both went down last weekend. The Gators need to beat a tough Seminole team on the road and hope Notre Dame goes down at USC. The Florida State Seminoles have been a team that has been disrespected this season, due to the poor competition of the ACC Conference. Both Florida and Florida State have top five defenses. The Gators are giving up just 284.9 yards per game and the Seminoles are giving up 268.3 yards per game. The difference in this game will be if the Gators can put points on the board with the return of quarterback Jeff Driskel. The Gators struggled these past four weeks on offense as they only averaged 18.2 points per game against Georgia, Missouri, LA-Lafayette, and Jacksonville State. The Seminoles should be fine on offense with senior quarterback EJ Manuel at the helm. The Seminoles are currently averaging 42.9 points per game on offense. This is going to be a tough game for the Florida Gators to win and I'm not sure if they will make it out of Tallahassee alive.

Prediction: Florida State 28, Florida 13

7. #21 Oklahoma State @ #13 Oklahoma  3:30 PM ET ESPN

- The Bedlam game always means something. This year, the Oklahoma Sooners are aiming for a Big 12 Championship and/or a BCS at-large bid. The Oklahoma State Cowboys are hoping they can pull off the upset in Norman and have the opportunity to be co-champions of the Big 12 Conference. The Cowboys have not won in Norman since 2001. Both teams have been putting up big numbers this season and have explosive passing attacks. Sooner quarterback Landry Jones, who will play his last home game Saturday, has been the leader of an offense that has averaged 40.8 points per game and 334.0 passing yards per game. The Cowboys have been just as explosive on offense this season, but have had to rotate between three different quarterbacks. The Cowboys have decided to start junior quarterback Clint Chelf again for this game. The Cowboys score 45.4 points per game and have averaged 337.0 passing yards per game. The rushing attack for the Cowboys has been solid as well with Joseph Randle. I will be surprised if this game does not turn into a shootout like it did two years ago. There will be a lot of offense and it will be whichever defense can make a stop when the game is on the line in the fourth quarter.

Prediction: Oklahoma 45, Oklahoma State 37

8. #8 Stanford @ #17 UCLA  6:30 PM ET FOX

- This is a crucial game for the Stanford Cardinal. If the Cardinal win they will be the champions of the Pac-12 North Division and host UCLA next Friday for the Pac-12 Championship. Stanford and UCLA are both coming off of huge victories from last weekend. Earlier this season, Stanford upset #2 USC, then moved up to number eight in the polls and was upset in their next game on the road at Washington. Stanford pulled the upset against #2 Oregon, and will now travel on the road to #17 UCLA. Will history repeat itself? What I will point out is that Stanford is a much tougher team with Kevin Hogan at quarterback and this provides defenses nightmares between trying to contain him and stopping running back Stepfan Taylor. The Stanford defense also continues to be the second best defense against the rush. The UCLA Bruins have almost an identical situation on offense. Freshman quarterback Brett Hundley has proven to be a nightmare for defenses along with one of the best backs in the country Johnathan Franklin. What differentiates these teams is Stanford wins by playing tough defense and UCLA wins by putting points up on the scoreboard. We should have a real close game between these two teams in the Rose Bowl.

Prediction: UCLA 31, Stanford 27

9. #12 South Carolina @ #11 Clemson  7:00 PM ET ESPN

-  It's the battle for the Palmetto State between the South Carolina Gamecocks and the Clemson Tigers. The Gamecocks have won the last three meetings by an average of 20 points over the Tigers. This game should be a lot closer, such as the games from 2005 to 2007. Clemson is in a good position to receive a BCS at-large bid for a potential Sugar Bowl bid. The Gamecocks unfortunately will have to settle for a potential Gator Bowl bid because of how many teams are in front of them in the SEC. The most interesting matchup in this game will be the explosive Clemson offense against the tough and physical South Carolina defense. The Tiger offense is led by quarterback Tajh Boyd, running back Andre Ellington, and wide receivers Sammy Watkins and DeAndre Hopkins. The South Carolina defense led by defensive end Jadeveon Clowney will have their hand's full with a Tiger offense that consists of multiple weapons. Let's see if the Gamecocks can come into Death Valley and stop a Clemson team that is averaging 44.6 points per game.

Prediction: South Carolina 31, Clemson 28

10. #1 Notre Dame @ USC  8:00 PM ET ABC

- This is the big one on Saturday. If Notre Dame can get the win, they will play for their first national championship since the 1988-1989 season. The USC Trojans though are looking to do the unthinkable and pull off the upset with redshirt freshman quarterback Max Wittek. A lot of people are counting the Trojans out of this game simply because of the absence of quarterback Matt Barkley. If you think about it though, the Irish have only played one really impressive game this season against a quality opponent and it was at Oklahoma. The Irish have played down to teams like Purdue, BYU, and Pittsburgh. These three games all happened to be in South Bend too. The Trojans have had a disappointing season and they have nothing to lose in this game against the Irish. The Trojans have speed that the Irish have not witnessed this season. The impact players in this game for the Trojans are going to be potential Heisman Trophy candidate wide receiver Marqise Lee and running back Silas Redd. The Trojans have to establish a running game with Redd, so that the passing game can open up for inexperienced quarterback Max Wittek. The Trojans will need to mix it up against an Irish defense that has given up no more than 26 points in one game this season. The Trojan line has to be able to contain a tough Irish defense led by Heisman candidate linebacker Monti Te'o. On the other hand, it will be interesting to see how the Irish offense does against a Trojan defense that has struggled this entire season. We will see how Irish quarterback Everett Golson handles the pressure of playing in his biggest game as a starting quarterback. Will number one go down again and cause complete chaos within the BCS? We'll find out on Saturday night at the Coliseum.

Prediction: USC 28, Notre Dame 24

Friday Special: #14 Nebraska @ Iowa

2. #14 Nebraska @ Iowa  12:00 PM ET ABC

- The Nebraska Cornhuskers are looking to lock up the Big Ten Legends Division. The Iowa Hawkeyes have continued to struggle and will not be bowling this season. What better way for the Hawkeyes to finish the season than to upset the Huskers in their last game of the season. Last year, Nebraska won in a very defensive ball game over Iowa in Lincoln 20-7. We may see a game very similar to last season. The Huskers are led by quarterback Taylor Martinez, who has been clutch for his team this whole season. The Husker offense should be able to move the ball with the running ability of Taylor Martinez and through the passing game with wide receiver Kenny Bell. The Hawkeye defense is giving up 24.6 points per game and 165.1 rushing yards per game. The real question coming into this game will be if the Iowa ground game led by Mark Weisman can put up points on the Husker defense. The Hawkeyes have nothing to lose in this game and we will see if they can pull the upset. 

Prediction: Nebraska 27, Iowa 12

Thanksgiving game: TCU at #16 Texas

Thursday, November 22nd

1. TCU @ #16 Texas  7:30 PM ET ESPN

- The Thanksgiving game is no longer Texas A&M and Texas, but in fact TCU and Texas. With Kansas State losing this past weekend to Baylor, the Longhorns are suddenly back in the Big 12 title race. Since the Longhorns struggled and had to win in a shootout 56-50 over Baylor, the Longhorn defense has given up an average of only 15.3 points in their past three games. The Longhorn offense led by quarterback David Ash and running back Johnathan Gray have continued to improve since struggling against Oklahoma and Kansas. The Longhorn offense has averaged 39.6 points per game this season. The TCU Horned Frogs have lost three of their last four games in Big 12 play. TCU redshirt freshman quarterback Trevone Boykin was banged up against Kansas State two weeks ago and is looking to make big plays against the Texas defense. The Horned Frogs offense had averaged 35.6 points in their five games prior to playing Kansas State and were only able put up ten points against the Wildcat defense. We will see if TCU has what it takes to hang in with an improving Texas team in Austin.

Prediction: Texas 35, TCU 21

College Football Week 12 Recap

My overall Record: 86-34
My Record in Week 12: 7-3

Best game from Week 12: #13 Stanford 17, #2 Oregon 14 (OT)

ESPN College GameDay- Oregon vs Stanford

Just when everything looked to be falling into place, number one and number two both go down in huge upsets. Number one and number two have not gone down in the same week since Missouri and West Virginia both fell in the final weekend of the 2007 regular season. The Kansas State Wildcats were completely dominated by a Baylor Bear team that had been offensively sound this season, but terrible   defensively. The Wildcat defense had played great defensively this season, but the Bears picked them apart and put up an impressive 52 points and 580 total yards. The most yards Kansas State had given up this year was 504 in a 44-30 victory at home against Oklahoma State on November 3rd. Collin Klein and the offense were only able to rack up 362 total yards on a defense that prior to this game gave up an average of 533.4 yards per game. Klein had three total touchdowns, but managed to throw three interceptions. Klein's Heisman chances are now in jeopardy after this weekend's loss. Klein must look impressive in two weeks at home against a surging Texas Longhorn team. The Kansas State Wildcats must beat #16 Texas to win the Big 12 crown. The Wildcats can afford to lose against Texas only if Oklahoma State beats Oklahoma and TCU beats Texas this week.

Pre-game- Oregon vs Stanford 

The Oregon Ducks were the second victim to fall this past Saturday. The 13th-ranked Stanford Cardinal came into a hostile Autzen Stadium and upset the Ducks in overtime 17-14. The Cardinal defense shutdown the Oregon rushing attack the whole game and held them to an impressive 198 yards. It was the second straight week the Ducks did not rush for over 200 yards and that Heisman contender Kenjon Barner did not rush for at least 70 yards or  score a touchdown. This is also the lowest amount of points the Ducks have scored since Chip Kelly's head coaching debut against Boise State when they lost 19-8. The Cardinal offense had three turnovers, but the Ducks were not able to capitalize. The Duck offense looked almost out of sync and made a few key mistakes. A key mistake was in the first quarter when quarterback Marcus Mariota appeared to be running for a 92 yard touchdown, but De'Anthony Thomas ran past a block he could have made and Mariota was knocked out at the 15-yard line. The Ducks eventually failed to convert on a fourth down and were not able to get any points out of the drive. There were many missed opportunities to score, but the more notable problem was the kicking game. This is not just a one time thing for Oregon. The Ducks currently are ranked 122nd in the nation in field goal percentage. Yes, the Ducks mainly score touchdowns, but the kicking game has to improve. Junior kicker Alejandro Maldonado has not been able to convert when the game has been on the line. Maldonado missed a game tying field goal to go into overtime against USC last season. He did in fact make a key 30-yard field goal against Wisconsin in the Rose Bowl last season to put the Ducks up seven with minutes remaining, but the nightmare from last November happened again Saturday night. He missed two key field goals that could have kept the Ducks in the game or won them the game. If there was one thing you couldn't blame the loss on it was the Oregon defense. A defense that had been completely wiped out a week before by injuries put on a gutsy performance and kept the Ducks in the game. Stanford was able to get Oregon to play their game. New starting quarterback Kevin Hogan played solid along with senior star running back Stepfan Taylor, who rushed for 161 yards. Stanford now plays at UCLA this Saturday to clinch the Pac-12 North Division. If Stanford were to win this game they would host the Pac-12 Championship game and play UCLA for the second time in six days.

Other notable games included from this past weekend were UCLA defeating USC 38-28 to win the Pac-12 South Division. The Trojans lost senior quarterback Matt Barkley with just minutes remaining to a separated shoulder, after he was hit by UCLA linebacker Anthony Barr. Barkley is now out for the final regular season game against rival #1 Notre Dame. The Oklahoma Sooners had to win on a last minute five-yard touchdown pass from Landry Jones to Kenny Stills on the road against West Virginia. Lastly, the undefeated Ohio State Buckeyes had trouble on the road at Wisconsin. The Badgers scored a game-tying touchdown with eight seconds remaining in the fourth quarter to knot things up at 14. The Buckeyes scored a touchdown on their first possession in overtime and the Buckeye defense was able to hold the Badgers out of the end zone to escape with a 21-14 victory.


Conference Scenarios: 

ACC:  Conference Championship game: Florida State vs Georgia Tech

- Miami (FL) self-imposed a postseason bowl ban on themselves, meaning they cannot play for a conference championship.  

Big East:  Rutgers or Louisville

- If Louisville loses at home against UConn this weekend, Rutgers will be the Big East Champion.

- If Louisville wins at home against UConn this weekend, Louisville will travel to Rutgers next weekend to decide the Big East. 

Big 12:  Kansas State, Oklahoma, Texas, and Oklahoma State 

- If Kansas State defeats Texas at home in two weeks, the Wildcats will win the Big 12 Conference and at least clinch a spot in the Fiesta Bowl. 

- If Oklahoma defeats Oklahoma State at home this weekend, and Kansas State loses to Texas next weekend, the Sooners would win the Big 12 Conference and clinch a spot in the Fiesta Bowl. 

- If Texas wins at home against TCU on Thursday, and at Kansas State the following weekend, they could have a chance to win depending on if they are ranked ahead of Kansas State and Oklahoma in the BCS standings. Kansas State and Oklahoma would, of course, need to lose their final games of the season. 

- If Oklahoma State wins at Oklahoma this weekend they have a chance to tie for the Big 12 title. They would need Texas to win at Kansas State in two weeks. The chances of Oklahoma State receiving a BCS bid are still very slim even with this whole scenario.

*note: In 2008, Oklahoma, Texas, and Texas Tech all finished in a three-way tie with Oklahoma advancing to the Big 12 Championship because they were ranked the highest in the BCS Standings. 

Big Ten:  Big Ten Championship game: Wisconsin vs (Nebraska or Michigan)

- If Nebraska wins at Iowa Friday, they would win the Big Ten Legends Division. The Huskers win in a tiebreaker over Michigan, because they defeated the Wolverines at home on October 27th 23-9. 

- If Michigan wins at Ohio State and Nebraska loses at Iowa, the Wolverines would be the champions of the Big Ten Legends Division. 

Pac-12:  Pac-12 Championship: UCLA @ (Stanford or Oregon)

- If Stanford wins at UCLA this upcoming weekend, Stanford will host UCLA the following Friday for the Pac-12 Championship and a potential trip to the Rose Bowl. 

- If Oregon wins at Oregon State and Stanford loses at UCLA, the Ducks will host the Bruins the following Friday for the Pac-12 Championship and a potential trip to the Rose Bowl. 

SEC:  SEC Championship game: Georgia vs (Alabama, LSU, or Texas A&M)

- If Alabama were to lose at Auburn this weekend, the LSU Tigers would most likely get the nod to play in the SEC Championship game. LSU would need to win at Arkansas this weekend. The Tigers would get the nod over Texas A&M, because of their 24-19 victory at Texas A&M on October 20th. If Alabama and LSU both lose, Texas A&M would find themselves in the SEC Championship game with a win over Missouri this upcoming weekend. 

BCS Scenarios: Who can end up in the BCS National Championship Game? 

Current BCS Standings

1. Notre Dame  .9973

2. Alabama       .9333

3. Georgia         .8763

4. Florida           .8434

5. Oregon          .8318

6. Kansas State  .7692

7. LSU               .7308

1. Notre Dame 

- If Notre Dame wins at USC this Saturday, the Fighting Irish will clinch a spot in the BCS National Championship game. 

- If Notre Dame loses they will receive an at-large bid to a BCS Bowl game. 

2. Alabama 

- If Alabama wins at Auburn this weekend and against Georgia in the SEC Championship game, the Crimson Tide would play in their second consecutive BCS National title game. 

- If Alabama wins at Auburn this weekend and loses against Georgia in the SEC Championship game, the Crimson Tide would be looking to get a BCS at-large bid. They would most likely find themselves in the Sugar Bowl. 

-If Alabama loses to Auburn they would lose their chance of playing in the SEC Championship game and most likely miss out on a BCS at-large game. 

3. Georgia 

- If Georgia wins at home against Georgia Tech and wins the SEC Championship game, the Bulldogs would play for the BCS National title game.

- If Georgia wins at home against Georgia Tech and loses in the SEC Championship game, the Bulldogs would have to hope that Florida, LSU, and Texas A&M would all lose to receive a BCS at-large bid. 

- If Georgia loses at home against Georgia Tech and then win the SEC Championship game, the Bulldogs would clinch a spot in the Sugar Bowl.  

4. Florida 

- Florida Gators need to win at in-state rival Florida State this weekend to stay in the race. The Gators desperately need Notre Dame to lose at USC on Saturday night. If Notre Dame loses, the Gators would play for the BCS Championship game against the winner of the SEC Championship game. Hmmm...sounds a lot like last year's scenario. 

- Florida could also have Georgia lose to Georgia Tech and Alabama lose to Auburn to make the BCS National Championship game. This is obviously very unlikely to happen. 

5. Oregon 

- The Oregon Ducks need a lot to happen to get back into the BCS Championship picture. First, the Ducks have to win at Oregon State this Saturday. Then they need Notre Dame to fall at USC and Florida to lose at Florida State this Saturday. The computers have not liked Oregon this season. If the Ducks do not get a chance to play for the Pac-12 title, it could cause them to be leaped at the number two spot. The Ducks need Stanford to lose at UCLA, so they can host the Bruins next Friday for the Pac-12 Championship. 

6. Kansas State 

- The Kansas State Wildcats are in even more trouble after falling to a 4-5 Baylor team. The Wildcats need all the same things as Oregon does, except they need the Ducks to lose at Oregon State this Saturday. The Wildcats do play Texas on the final weekend, and desperately need to win to guarantee themselves a spot in the Fiesta Bowl.

7. LSU

- LSU needs almost a miracle to happen for them to have a chance at making the BCS Championship. I'm just going to make this as simple as possible. The Tigers need Alabama to lose to Auburn this Saturday, so they can have a chance to play in the SEC Championship game. The Tigers would have to then beat Georgia and hope Florida, Oregon, and Kansas State would all go down. 

Current BCS Bowl Projections:

BCS National Title (Miami,FL)

#1 Notre Dame vs #2 Alabama 

Fiesta Bowl (Glendale, AZ)

#5 Oregon vs #6 Kansas State 

Rose Bowl (Pasadena, CA)

#8 Stanford vs #14 Nebraska 

Sugar Bowl (New Orleans, LA)

#4 Florida vs #13 Oklahoma 

Orange Bowl (Miami, FL)

#10 Florida State vs #18 Rutgers 

College Football: Week 12 matchups to watch

Both important games this weekend come from the Pac-12 Conference. The big one this weekend is #13 Stanford at #2 Oregon. The Cardinal knocked off Oregon State last week to eliminate them from the North Division title and the Ducks suffered from injuries on both sides of the ball, but were still able to beat Cal by 42 points. This game could get really interesting with Oregon's defensive line being banged up and Stanford being able to run up the gut with one of the best backs in the country Stepfan Taylor. The other Pac-12 matchup pits cross town rivals #18 USC and #17 UCLA. The winner of this game will be the winner of the Pac-12 South Division and most likely play in Eugene for the Pac-12 Championship against Oregon. This game is life or death for Matt Barkley and the Trojans. #1 Kansas State will travel to Baylor in their second to last game of the season and #12 Oklahoma will go on the road to play a West Virginia team that has lost their last four games.

This is going to be a crazy weekend of College Football for me. I will be arriving at ESPN College GameDay about six hours prior to when it begins. This will be my 13th College GameDay and fourth one I have attended in Eugene. It will be a long night on the University of Oregon campus. Oregon and Stanford will square off in Primetime on ABC in a game that will have huge implications for both teams. If the Ducks win, they will capture the Pac-12 North Division and clinch home field advantage for the Pac-12 Championship game. If the Cardinal were to pull the upset, the Cardinal would need to win next weekend at UCLA to clinch the North Division.

ESPN College GameDay will be live from Eugene, OR (Live at 10:00 AM ET)

#13 Stanford @ #2 Oregon  8:00 PM ET ABC

Wednesday, November 14th

1. Toledo @ Northern Illinois  ESPN2 9:00 PM ET

- This happens to be a huge matchup this week in College Football. Both teams are trying to clinch the West Division and have the chance to win the MAC Championship. If Northern Illinois had not let their first game of the season slip away against Iowa, they would be in the mix for a BCS at-large bid. The Huskies are led by a dynamic quarterback by the name of Jordan Lynch. Lynch is known for his ability to run the ball and has rushed for 1,342 yards and 16 touchdowns this season. The Huskies are currently averaging 250.9 rushing yards and 40.6 points per game. The defense has been solid this season as well, as they have held opponents to just 17.9 points per game. Toledo lost their opener on the road against Arizona in overtime, then were upset by MAC opponent Ball State at home last week 34-27. The Rockets defense must be able to contain Jordan Lynch, otherwise their chance of a MAC Championship will be over. The Rockets will also need to rely heavily on their rushing attack led by David Fluellen, who currently has 1,381 yards and 12 touchdowns on the season.

Prediction: Northern Illinois 37, Toledo 28

Result: Northern Illinois 31, Toledo 24

Saturday, November 17th

2. Iowa @ #21 Michigan  12:00 PM ET ESPN

- This is going to be a big game in "The Big House" for both teams. Michigan is still hoping that Nebraska loses one of their last two season games this season, so they can have the opportunity to play in the Big Ten Championship. Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz needs this win for himself, as well as his team, who is one loss away from being eliminated from bowl eligibility. For the third straight week, everyone is wondering if Denard Robinson will be back at the quarterback position for the Wolverines. Devin Gardner is obviously more than capable of running the offense though. Gardner has led the Wolverines to two straight wins over Minnesota and Northwestern. The key to this game is going to be the Hawkeye defense being able to contain Robinson or Gardner. If the Wolverine offense starts putting points up, it is going to be hard for the Hawkeyes to keep up. The Hawkeye offense, who is currently ranked 113th in total offense, will be facing a Wolverine defense that is the 11th best in the country. The Wolverines should win this Saturday and snap their three game losing streak to the Hawkeyes. 

Prediction: Michigan 31, Iowa 13

3. #22 Rutgers @ Cincinnati  12:00 PM ET Big East Network

- This is a big conference game for both of these Big East teams. The Rutgers Scarlet Knights are currently undefeated in conference play. If the Scarlet Knights can win this game they would play Louisville for the right to play in a BCS Bowl game next week. The Cincinnati Bearcats have one conference loss to Louisville and are looking to turn this Big East title race into a 3-way tie. The Scarlett Knight defense is holding opponents to 329.5 yards per game and giving up just 15.1 points per game. The Bearcats are averaging 224.6 yards on ground this year and scoring 33.7 points per game. The Scarlett Knight defense, led by senior linebacker Khaseem Greene, is one of the best in the country and the Bearcats will need to win by putting the ball in the hands of running back George Winn, who has 980 yards and nine touchdowns on the season. This is going to be a very close game between two very evenly matched teams. 

Prediction: Rutgers 34, Cincinnati 27

4. #18 USC @ #17 UCLA  3:05 PM ET FOX

- We are going to have a real dandy in the Rose Bowl on Saturday. The USC Trojans and UCLA Bruins will battle it out for the Pac-12 South Division title. Both teams have been very dominant on offense this season. The Trojan offense, which is led by senior quarterback Matt Barkley and sophomore wide receiver Marqise Lee,  is averaging 36.9 points per game. Barkley has averaged almost 400 passing yards and 3.6 touchdowns in his last three games. Lee is putting up Heisman type numbers as he has averaged 221 reception yards and 1.6 touchdown receptions in his past three games. The Bruins offense is led by explosive running back and Doak Walker semifinalist Johnathan Franklin. Franklin has rushed for 1,270 yards this season with eight touchdowns. He has also turned into a threat in the passing game as well. The big question in this game will be if the defenses can stop one another's  offense. The Trojan and Bruin defenses are similar giving up between 23 to 25 points per game and 144 to 149 total rushing yards per game. There will be no lack of scoring between these two very bitter rivals. I am going to pick the upset and go with the Bruins to beat the Trojans for the first time since 2006.

Prediction: UCLA 38, USC 34

5. #23 Texas Tech @ #24 Oklahoma State  3:30 PM ET 

- The Red Raiders have been in the news this week with the whole Tommy Tuberville slapping the head phones and hat off of graduate assistant coach Kevin Oliver. The Red Raiders have bigger issues this week as they take on a tough Oklahoma State Cowboy team. The Red Raiders struggled last weekend at Kansas and had to win in overtime. The Cowboys have won four of their last five games and have been averaging 43.9 points per game this season. Both teams rely heavily on the passing game. The Red Raiders are first in the country in passing with 370.0 yards per game and the Cowboys are fourth with 348.8. This game appears to be a battle between Red Raider quarterback Seth Doege and whoever the Cowboys decide to start. The Cowboys have three different quarterbacks they could start between Wes Blunt, Clint Chelf, or J.W. Walsh. There should be a decent amount of points put up in this game, but don't assume it will turn into a shootout.

Prediction: Oklahoma State 35, Texas Tech 28

6. Ohio State @ Wisconsin  3:30 PM ET ABC/ESPN2

- This Big Ten matchup needed to be included after last year's game. Ohio State is two games away from going undefeated this season and not being able to play in a BCS Bowl game. The Badgers need a confidence booster before they travel to Penn State and then face most likely Nebraska in the Big Ten Championship. The Badgers are led by running back Montee Ball, who has had a fantastic second half of the season. Senior quarterback Curt Phillips will get the start this week and play in his first home game as a true starter. The Buckeyes come in with potential Heisman finalist sophomore quarterback Braxton Miller. The Buckeye offense has been dangerous on the ground this season and it will be up to the Badger linebacking core consisting of Chris Borland, Mike Taylor, and Ethan Armstrong to shut it down. It should be another close game between these two teams from the Big Ten Leaders Division.

Prediction: Ohio State 27, Wisconsin 20

7. #12 Oklahoma @ West Virginia  7:00 PM ET FOX

- The Oklahoma Sooners are in the hunt for an at-large BCS Bowl bid and the West Virginia Mountaineers are trying to snap a four game losing streak. The Sooners come in averaging 462.4 yards per game and putting up 36.1 points per game. The Mountaineers have averaged 36 points in their past two games, but have failed to win either game because of their defense. The Mountaineer defense  gives up an average of 41.4 points per game. The Mountaineers offense, which relies heavily on the passing game of Geno Smith, has to put up 40 or more points to win this game. The Sooner's offense looks good on paper with quarterback Landry Jones, running back Damien Williams, and wide receiver Kenny Stills, but sometime you just aren't sure what Sooner offense is going to show up. The main matchup in this game will be the Mountaineer offense and the Sooner defense. If the Sooner defense shuts down the passing game the Mountaineers will lose big. I feel with the Sooners being on the road that this game doesn't get to out of hand for the Mountaineers.  

Prediction: Oklahoma 41, West Virginia 27

8. Tennessee @ Vanderbilt  7:00 PM ET ESPN2

- Vanderbilt won in dramatic fashion last weekend at Ole Miss to become bowl eligible for the second straight season. Tennessee lost in four overtimes to Missouri at home this past weekend, and now could be in jeopardy of not making a bowl game this season. This game is so important for Tennessee head coach Derek Dooley. Dooley may already lose his job after this season, but he needs his Volunteers to win this game for him to have a chance of keeping his job. All the Vanderbilt Commodores have to do in this game is play solid defense and put a lot of pressure on quarterback Tyler Bray. Bray has thrown for 1,302 yards, 13 touchdowns, and just one interception in his past three games. It may be tough to stop him the entire game, but the Commodore offense led by quarterback Jordan Rodgers will have success as they will face a Volunteer defense that is ranked 118th in the country and giving up 504.4 yards per game.

Prediction: Tennessee 34, Vanderbilt 31 

9. #13 Stanford @ #2 Oregon  8:00 PM ET ABC

- This is the game that will most likely decide who wins the Pac-12 North and hosts the conference championship. The Ducks defense is the major concern going into Saturday. The defense is so beat up that explosive wide receiver De'Anthony Thomas and backup quarterback Bryan Bennett were taking reps at the cornerback position this week at practice. The Duck offense has proven the past two years that their speed and quickness has been to much for the physical Cardinal defense to defend. Marcus Mariota will provide new problems for the Cardinal defense that Darron Thomas did not. Mariota has tremendous speed and proved last weekend that he can be an elite passer as well. The Cardinal defense has to be able to defend the Duck running game led by potential Heisman running back Kenjon Barner like Cal did last weekend. Then focus on trying to stop the passing attack as well. If the Stanford can't do both it could be in for a long night in Eugene. The Cardinal offense is focused mostly on it's rushing attack led by running back Stepfan Taylor, who has 1,061 yards on the season. Taylor will try to run up the middle on a beat up Oregon defensive line to keep Stanford in the game. New Stanford starting quarterback Kevin Hogan will need to stay composed and not make mistakes in his first road game as a true starter. Look for the Ducks to once again pull away in the second half and win the Pac-12 North Division.

Prediction: Oregon 52, Stanford 28

10. #1 Kansas State @ Baylor  8:00 PM ET ESPN

- The top ranked Kansas State Wildcats have just two more games to win until they clinch a spot in the BCS title game in Miami. Collin Klein and company will continue their journey to the title game by playing on the road at Baylor this weekend. The Wildcats have played consistent every game this season on both sides of the ball and should be able to have success against a Baylor team that is primarily focused on offense. The Baylor Bears are ranked second in the country in passing yards per game with 367.7 and seventh in the country in scoring with 42.7 points per game. The Bears defense though has been the main problem this season. The Bears continue to be the worst defense in the country as they give up an astonishing 533.4 yards per game. Collin Klein should have a solid day running the football and passing to his main targets Chris Harper, Tyler Lockett, and Tramaine Thompson. We'll see how many turnovers the Wildcat defense can convert against a pass heavy Bear offense led by quarterback Nick Florence and wide receiver Terrance Williams. The Bears should be able to put up points, but not enough to upset Kansas State and ruin their undefeated season.

Prediction: Kansas State 45, Baylor 31

Week 12: Wednesday MAC Matchup

1. Toledo @ Northern Illinois  ESPN2 9:00 PM ET

- This happens to be a huge matchup this week in College Football. Both teams are trying to clinch the West Division and have the chance to win the MAC Championship. If Northern Illinois had not let their first game of the season slip away against Iowa, they would be in the mix for a BCS at-large bid. The Huskies are led by a dynamic quarterback by the name of Jordan Lynch. Lynch is known for his ability to run the ball and has rushed for 1,342 yards and 16 touchdowns this season. The Huskies are currently averaging 250.9 rushing yards and 40.6 points per game. The defense has been solid this season as well, as they have held opponents to just 17.9 points per game. Toledo lost their opener on the road against Arizona in overtime, then were upset by MAC opponent Ball State at home last week 34-27. The Rockets defense must be able to contain Jordan Lynch, otherwise their chance of a MAC Championship will be over. The Rockets will also need to rely heavily on their rushing attack led by David Fluellen, who currently has 1,381 yards and 12 touchdowns on the season.

Prediction: Northern Illinois 37, Toledo 28

College Football Week 11 Recap

My overall Record: 79-31
My Record in Week 11: 9-1

Best game from Week 11: #15 Texas A&M 29, #1 Alabama 24

After wondering if the mighty SEC would ever fall, it finally happened this weekend. SEC newcomer Texas A&M and star freshman quarterback Johnny "Football" Manziel took down the #1 Alabama Crimson Tide on the road in a game where many thought they could not win. The Crimson Tide are now number four in the BCS standings and absolutely need to win the SEC Championship against #5 Georgia to have chance at making the title game. They need to have two of the three undefeated teams lose to make it back to the big game. Kansas State avoided a trap game at TCU where quarterback Collin Klein put on another solid performance. The Wildcats defense also shutdown the Horned Frogs offense all night. The Ducks went into Cal, where they have been known to struggle and were able to pull away in the second half. All of the starters for the Duck's defensive line were out and safety Avery Patterson injured his knee during the game. On the offensive side of the ball, running back Kenjon Barner hurt his right hand and quarterback Marcus Mariota fell awkwardly on his left arm. Both were able to return and Mariota ended up having his best passing performance of the season with 377 yards and six touchdowns. There was not much to say about the Fighting Irish. They got the job done at Boston College winning 21-6 by relying on their defense as usual.


Looking Ahead: 

If you look at the Top 10 of the BCS Standings you will see that six of those teams are from the SEC Conference. This is the first time in BCS history that this has ever happened. The SEC takes up four through nine in the rankings and the teams are Alabama, Georgia, Florida, LSU, Texas A&M, and South Carolina. What is crazy about this whole scenario is that only two of these SEC teams can be invited to BCS Bowl games. Here are my projections of who I think will play in each BCS Bowl Game right now.

BCS National Title (Miami, FL)

#1 Kansas State vs #2 Oregon 

- History is not on Kansas State's side, but I feel that Bill Snyder's Wildcats take care of business. Baylor is not that good this season and they will get Texas at home to end the season. Kansas State has given Texas a hard time this past decade and has won the last four meetings against the Longhorns. The Ducks should be able to defeat Stanford and Oregon State. The real question lies on injuries and if they have to play USC at home in the Pac-12 Championship game. 

Fiesta Bowl (Glendale, AZ)

#3 Notre Dame vs #8 Texas A&M 

- I keep hearing and seeing analysts putting Oklahoma in this game. I am not sure how you can pass up an undefeated Notre Dame team, just because they are not in the Big 12 Conference. Texas A&M lost to LSU and will most likely be behind them when this selection process occurs, but I think with Johnny "Football" Manziel the Aggies are a more attractive team. This happened to be my projection for last year's Fiesta Bowl at the beginning of the season. Notre Dame will need to beat USC on the road and Texas A&M should have no problem winning their last two games against Sam Houston State and Missouri.  

Rose Bowl (Pasadena, CA)

#12 Oklahoma vs #14 Nebraska 

- What a matchup this would be for both fan bases. What better way to ring in the new year then with a  historic rivalry in "The Granddaddy of Them All."  Oklahoma still has to travel to West Virginia, host in-state rival Oklahoma State, and travel to TCU. Oklahoma still has a long road ahead of them. If the Sooners are upset, look for a team like Stanford to get an invite. Nebraska should be in Pasadena on January 1st. The Huskers have the Legends Division locked up now with a win over Penn State, because they will easily beat Minnesota and Iowa. It's that conference championship game against Wisconsin that will be interesting. The Huskers struggled with a Wisconsin team that had no identity earlier in the season. Wisconsin is playing much better and have you seen the Huskers record in conference championship games? Nebraska is 0-3 this decade and has not won a conference championship game since 1999. 

Sugar Bowl (New Orleans, LA)

#4 Alabama vs #11 Clemson

- The Crimson Tide should land here with an SEC Championship victory and if two of the undefeated teams do not lose. The Sugar Bowl is an SEC tie-in game. For the second straight season, the ACC could have two teams playing in BCS games. The Tigers have only lost one game this season and it was against division leader Florida State. The Tigers have been one of those teams that have been flying under the radar this entire season. For the Tigers to guarantee themselves a spot in this bowl game, they must defeat in-state rival South Carolina in their season finale. 

Orange Bowl (Miami, FL)

#10 Florida State vs #19 Louisville 

- I will be shocked if we don't find the Seminoles in the Orange Bowl this year. They will really have to choke the season away against Maryland or a team to be determined from the ACC Coastal Division in the conference championship game. Louisville will land in the Orange Bowl, because they are not as attractive. The Orange Bowl also has the last pick in the pecking order this year. Louisville was blown out at Syracuse this past weekend and will need to win a crucial game at Rutgers in two weeks to win the Big East.  

Coaches that could be out of a job:  

I feel it has gotten to the point of the season where we can start seeing some of these coaches being released from their duties. 

1. Derek Dooley, Tennessee 

- The Volunteers came into this season with expectations of being a contender for the SEC East Division title. The Volunteers are 0-6 in conference play. The Volunteers played a few very close games with good SEC teams this season, but couldn't come through when it mattered. This past weekends loss to Missouri might have been the icing on the cake. You have to feel bad for a guy who was put in a bad situation after Lane Kiffin bolted for USC, but this is unacceptable for the Volunteer nation. 

2. Kirk Ferentz, Iowa

- As much as I respect Kirk Ferentz, I think his time is coming to an end at Iowa. The Hawkeyes have looked awful this season and back-to-back losses against Indiana and Purdue are simply embarrassing for the program. The Hawkeyes travel to Michigan this upcoming weekend and then host Nebraska the following week. They don't win either game and finish the season with a disappointing 4-8 record. Ferentz may have been the second winningest coach in Iowa history, but his time in Iowa City is close to being over.

3. Gene Chizik, Auburn

- I would like to say that he would get one more year with the big recruits he has coming in and that he has a National Championship under his belt, but the Tigers have looked awful this season. Auburn has won two games this season, both coming at home against mid-major schools UL-Monroe and New Mexico State. Auburn will get to three wins as they host FCS-Alabama A&M this upcoming weekend. Unfortunately, they have to travel to Alabama that following week, where they will more than likely get manhandled. Tommy Tuberville was let go by Auburn after one bad season when he went 5-7 in 2008. What makes you think Auburn would keep Gene Chizik for another season? 

4. Jon Embree, Colorado

- We all thought Auburn looked awful this season. Colorado is probably one of the worst teams I have ever seen play FBS College Football. Embree is 4-19 in his first two years and it appears he will lose his last two games of this season. The Buffaloes have been outscored 472-176 in ten games this season. Colorado alumni are embarrassed and the program has turned into the laughing stock of the Pac-12. They beat just one team this season and it happened to be the Washington State Cougars. 

5. Mike Leach, Washington State 

- Speaking of Washington State, things are not looking good for first year head coach Mike Leach. Here we go again with Leach supposedly verbally abusing his players and belittling them as human beings. Cougar star wide receiver Marquis Wilson left the team and made negative statements about the coaching staff. After the whole issue with Texas Tech, I think this will be Leach's last head coaching position. There is a zero tolerance for these types of actions and I will be surprised if he is there for another season. His offense, which was supposed to be good this year, has looked terrible.