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.
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