A Time to Reflect…..

This project has been by far the most enjoyable school related work in which I have ever partaken. College football is a major part of my life and has been an interest of mine since I was very young. This project allowed me to incorporate one of my major interests into an academic setting, and I feel that the end result was passionate and informed writing. When an author has a sincere interest in a topic, the overall quality of the writing will be much improved. However, I also learned that the interest of the author must be counterbalanced with the knowledge of the audience. When I first started my blog, I wrote as if I were speaking to those who had an equal level of interest and knowledge. However, I soon realized that I needed to provide background information in order to provide some members of my audience with the framework necessary to understand my blog. I would say that this has been the one major thing that I will be able to take away from this project. In the future, I will pay special attention to first establishing background information, whether it be for a paper, a speech, or a blog.

The intended audience for my blog was twofold. First, I wanted to target college football fans. My commentary on current events within the world of college football was meant to both educate and persuade this demographic. The second half of my intended audience was comprised of non-college football fans. I wanted to show those who do not take a vested interest in college football that the game has elements that can make it intriguing for everyone. For example, the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) system creates a level of controversy that yields debates that go far beyond the often perceived brutish nature of the game itself. Issues such as the economy and politics are pertinent in the discussion of the BCS, and I wanted to show non-college football fans that there is at least a small niche that everyone can find to enjoy within the world of college football.

Beyond the goal of attempting to bring new fans to the game, my blog had the overarching purpose of denouncing the BCS. I attempted to make clear in each and every post that the BCS is a system that is ineffective. In addition to my critique of the system, I also offered an alternative playoff format. My goal was to sway my audience to adopt the view that my system would be better for college football. In order to achieve this purpose, I relied heavily on enthymemes, appeals to reason, and my ability to establish my own credibility on the subject. The most important of the three for me was establishing my credibility. Within the realm of sports, there are an innumerable amount of bloggers, posters, and paid analysts. However, only those who come across as knowledgeable have the power to sway their audience. I attempted to put as much factual information (both historical and present) as possible about college football in my blog. I intended to show that I have a very deep understanding of the game and that I am a knowledgeable fan whom other fans can trust. In terms of enthymemes, they were applied in a fairly straight forward manner that generally used examples as minor premises. One example would be using Texas not playing in the championship game as a minor premise to support the major premise that the BCS is an ineffective system. The appeals to reason that I employed aligned closely with my enthymemes. For example, one appeal to reason that I used numerous times was that Texas beat Oklahoma yet Oklahoma is playing in the championship game. This example is an attempt to show my audience the unreasonable nature of the current BCS system.

My blog was organized like a traditional blog. I created my project in this manner because of the kairos of my work. College football has a rich tradition, but for my intended audience, the most pertinent and interesting topic was clearly the current proceedings of the game. I created the blog during the final two weeks of the college football season, and I therefore was able to make my blog a running commentary on the events of the each passing week. The current controversies surrounding the BCS provided me with the information that I needed to structure my argument against the system. In addition, other occurrences within college football that did not pertain to the BCS (such as the Heisman) allowed me to demonstrate my diverse wealth of knowledge on the subject and thus increase my credibility.

In comparison to other blogs and websites that pertain to college football, I feel that my blog had some unique elements that set it apart. First, my blog did not adopt an overly serious and didactic tone. Rather, I attempted to keep an appropriate amount of humor in every post. Many college football blogs and websites are very serious in nature, and sometimes this seriousness can be off-putting because it seems that the author is attempting to force his viewpoint. I kept levity in my blog in order to demonstrate to the reader that I was not attempting to force my opinion on him but rather to open his eyes to the new possibility that I was presenting. Another difference between my blog and other college football websites was that my blog focused much more on the system as a whole and less on individual players and schemes. While I did address match ups, I usually did so in a manner that pertained to the BCS and its flaws. Unlike my blog, very few college football website maintain a negative stance toward the BCS throughout the entirely of their writing.

In the course of creating my video, I utilized copyrighted material. However, I firmly believe that my uses of this material fall within the realm of fair use. First, all of the commentary videos that I used were uploaded to Youtube by their original authors (in the case of two of the videos that author was CBS). By placing these videos on Youtube, the authors were sharing their works with the Youtube community. The authors were not seeking to directly profit by posting the videos to Youtube and therefore using them does not constitute any infringement on their earnings. The video highlights that appear in the middle of my video were drawn from a myriad of sources, some of which were not the original creators of the material. However, since my video does not attempt to profit from the video content, I feel that I am within my bounds of fair use of the selected video clips.

The video that I created for this project is excellent as it pertains to the current controversy surrounding the BCS, but if given more time, I would create an additional video that chronicled past failures of the BCS such as the 2001 and 2003 championship games. This video would demonstrate that the current problems surrounding the BCS are not isolated. In addition to another video, the only other thing that I would do if granted additional time would be to continue to post on a regular basis in order to further articulate my ideas about the BCS while providing commentary on the current landscape of college football. I enjoyed writing each blog post, and I feel that with additional time I could develop the blog into a year round analysis of both the game in general and the faults of the Bowl Championship Series.

Sam Bradford Wins the Heisman

As I predicted, Sam Bradford was awarded the Heisman Memorial Trophy on Saturday night. Bradford beat out Texas quarterback Colt McCoy and Florida quarterback Tim Tebow. I was honestly thinking that Tebow would probably win, but since the New York Athletic Club decided to award the trophy to the rightful winner, I do not need to deliver the rant that I had planned for this post. All I will say is that unlike the BCS the Heisman committee got it right. Congratulations to Bradford.

The Top 5 Problems With the BCS

5. The automatic tie ins for the Big 10, Big 12, Big East, ACC, SEC, and Pac 10 often allow teams that are not deserving of a BCS birth to play in a one of the five big name bowls. For example, Virginia Tech is in a BCS bowl this year despite a mediocre season.

4. The rule that only allows two teams from each conference to participate in BCS bowls keeps deserving teams out of the BCS games. For example, Texas Tech has played a tougher schedule than Ohio State, has a better record, and is ranked higher in the BCS standings, but they cannot play in a BCS bowl since Texas and Oklahoma are both from the Big 12 and are ranked higher.

3. The BCS is more concerned with money than with creating a quality system for determining a champion. TV deals, bowl sponsorships, and other sources of income are what the BCS is all about. Creating a playoff might threaten the BCS’s income, and this is why so many BCS officials oppose the playoff system.

2. The BCS does not allow the championship to be settled on the field. Two examples illustrate this point. First, in 2003 USC and LSU both had claims to the national title. A playoff would have allowed the two teams to play and settle who was better. Second, this year Texas beat Oklahoma, but Oklahoma was selected to play in the title game instead of Texas. The controversy was settled on the field, but the BCS ignored the result of the game and took Oklahoma anyway.

1. The BCS is not a playoff.

The Heisman

There are three finalists for this years Heisman Trophy. They are Tim Tebow (Florida), Colt McCoy (Texas), and Sam Bradford (Oklahoma). All three are quarterbacks, and all three led their teams to 11-1 records. In my opinion, Bradford is the deserving winner and here is why I think so. First, despite all the controversy, Bradford led his team to the championship game, a significant accomplishment for any quarterback. Second, Bradford has thrown for almost 1000 more yards than McCoy and almost 2000 yards more than Tebow. He also has 48 passing touchdowns, which is 16 more than McCoy and 20 more than Tebow. Tebow and McCoy have more rushing touchdowns (10 for McCoy and 12 for Tebow v. 5 for Bradford), but Bradford still has a much higher number of total touchdowns. Statistically, Bradford has a much better season. Normally, the Heisman can be determined by the success of a candidate’s team or by national recognition, but all three of these men are virtually equal in regards to these categories. Therefore, I think the voting has to come down to raw statistics, and Bradford is tops in this category.

And so I present to you the deserving winner of the 2008 Heisman Memorial Trophy – Sam Bradford.

My Proposal to Fix the BCS

I think that by this point I have made clear that I do not like the BCS one bit. However, I have not yet articulated my opinion on what should replace the current BCS system. Well, the time has come for me to lay out my new plan for how college football should determine its national champion. Here is what I propose:

The ideal system is a playoff. There can be no argument about that. A playoff would allow any disputes to truly be settled on the field. A playoff is not, however, a plus one system. The idea of a plus one system has been floating around the last several years. This reform method suggests that the top four teams should play (1 v. 4 and 2 v. 3), and the winners of these games would then meet in a championship game (the “plus one game.”) This system would not work. Generally, there are the top two or three teams that all have similar records (most years zero or one losses). However, the next four or five teams usually have the same record (usually one or two losses). This would mean that there would still be a huge amount of controversy surrounding the teams that fill the third and fourth spots. This controversy would not be quite as great as the one that currently surrounds the selection process for the title game, but it would still be significant.

The controversy of the current system or a plus one system could be avoided with an eight team playoff. By taking the top eight teams, there would be much less controversy about the teams chosen. Yes, there would probably be some heat regarding the eighth spot, but here is why I think it would be less significant. In an eight team playoff, a team is three wins away from a title. In the plus one system, a team is two wins away from a championship. There is a lower percentage chance that a team will win the title in the playoff system (12.5%) than in a plus one system (25%). Also, the team that is getting left out in the playoff system is ranked ninth, not fifth, and would probably have at least two, possibly three losses. In my opinion, the team that is left out in the playoff system would be a team that would not have a very good chance of winning the championship anyway.

The eight team playoff that I propose would work by seeding the teams and then allowing them to decide the title on the field. The seedings would be based off of the BCS rankings. Yes, I am willing to keep the BCS rankings around as long as they are being used to seed the teams for the playoff. Also, the rules prohibiting three teams from a conference from playing in the BCS would be thrown out. So would conference affiliations. The top eight teams would be taken, even if they were all from the same conference. Teams such as Virginia Tech and Cincinnati, who are in BCS bowls this season despite being ranked 19th and 12th respectively, would no longer take the spots of more deserving teams. This would put the best eight teams in the bracket.

The first round of the bracket would be comprised of the three of the current BCS bowls. The Fiesta, Orange, and Sugar Bowls would host a quarterfinal game. In addition, the Capital One Bowl would be promoted to BCS status and would host the other game. The Cotton Bowl would be promoted and would host a semifinal game along with the Rose Bowl. The Cotton and Rose are the two bowl games with the most tradition and prestige, and therefore they would be placed ahead of the other four bowls and given the opportunity to host the semifinal games. The championship game would still be named the BCS Championship Game and would be hosted at the same stadium that was hosting the Super Bowl. Holding the college championship game and the NFL championship game in the same venue would great some unity between the two major branches of American football.

I feel that this eight team playoff would be extremely popular with college football fans, who would be rewarded with more high quality games. Also, fans would finally be able to feel a sense of closure at the end of each season since no lingering questions would remain about whether the title game truly settled the dispute of who is number one. However, I realize that some might not like the idea of disrupting the conference tie ins for bowl games (especially the Rose Bowl). However, I contend that this tradition has already been spoiled by the BCS, and the world has not stopped spinning. The Rose Bowl in particular has seen the Big 10 or Pac 10 champion go elsewhere the last four years. However, this tradition rich bowl has continued to prosper and has been fortunate enough to receive several quality match ups during the time period (for example: Texas v. Michigan in 2005).

Finally, I have created a short video that illustrates the conflict that exists this year with the BCS. This conflict is used to illustrate the fact that college football desperately needs a playoff. I hope that you will share this video with everyone you know in an effort to grow support for a college football playoff.

Some Links

There have been a lot of articles published recently concerning the BCS and a playoff. Here is a smattering for your reading pleasure.
ESPN has created a bracket that you can fill in based on four different rankings systems.

Joe Barton, a Republican from Texas, has proposed that a bill concerning a playoff be introduced into Congress.

Barack Obama has stated that he would support a playoff system and that he might potentially use his power as President to influence the NCAA to adopt a playoff system.

Sports Illustrated has created a twelve team playoff. Visitors to the site can vote on each match up in order to select a champion.

Bob Stoops, whose team is in the championship game this year, has stated that he favors a playoff.

Readers of ESPN.com were given the chance to propose their own alternatives to the BCS. Some of their responses are listed here.

the bcs bowls

So yesterday I said that the non-BCS games are not exactly the best spread of bowl games ever. Well, the BCS games have the potential to make up for that. However, there is also the potential for many of these BCS games to become laughers. The BCS had better hope that these games are competitive and entertained. Otherwise, the pressure to remove the tyrant system will become even greater. With that said, lets start looking at the match ups.

Fiesta Bowl – Ohio State v. Texas – This is a game that has the potential to be a barn burner or a stinker. Texas is good, and Colt McCoy leads an offense that is scary good. On defense, Orakpo and company are stout and will make it very tough for Beanie Wells and Ohio State to move the ball on the ground. The Ohio State secondary compared favorably with Texas’ receiving corps, especially with Malcolm Jenkins continuing to play like a top 5 draft pick. The question is whether Ohio State will be able to put pressure on McCoy. The Buckeye’s pass rush has looked suspect all year, and Lawrence Wilson, a started the first half of the year, has been lost for the season. The Buckeyes need to bring pressure from all angles via the linebackers and secondary and attempt to keep McCoy uncomfortable in the pocket all night. If they fail to get there, it does not matter how well the secondary plays because no one can cover a receiver for six seconds every play. I think that the Buckeyes will try to disrupt McCoy, but their pass rush has been awful all year and there is no reason to think that it will improve now. Pryor will play very well after a month of bowl practices, but I do not think that the month will help the offensive line enough. Pryor will be under pressure all night, and the line will struggle to get a push and give Beanie running lanes. In the end, I think Texas’ offense will be too much. The game will be tight into the fourth when Texas will finally pull away. The Longhorns are the pick here.

Sugar Bowl – Utah v. Alabama – This game will not be pretty in my opinion. Utah comes in ranked in the top 10 and has the potential to be this years BCS buster. However, lets not forget what happened in the Sugar Bowl last year to Hawaii and their dreams of crashing the BCS party. Alabama is balanced on offense. It all starts up front with perhaps the best offensive line in college football. This powerful group creates plenty of running lanes for Coffee, and they give John Parker Wilson enough time to find standout true freshman Julio Jones. I just do not see how Utah will be able to slow down this powerful attack. Utah has beaten Oregon State, BYU, and TCU, and all of these are quality wins. However, Alabama has battled through the SEC and has blasted quality teams such as Georgia. Cody will lead an Alabama defense that will be fired up to make up for its poor performance against Florida. Alabama will come out hungry and angry and overwhelm Utah early on. Look for a repeat of Georgia v. Hawaii from last year.

Rose Bowl – Penn State v. USC – The Big 10 needs Penn State to be competitive in this game, but I think that USC will prove to be too much for the Lions. Here is the problem, USC has a stable of running backs, a reliable line, and a quarterback who is excellent at distributing the ball to all of the talent around him. USC’s offense lacks the flash of the Reggie Bush era but that does not mean that they are not scary dangerous. The Trojans will run their pro-style offense, and they will methodically move the ball all day against a Penn State defense that has seen nothing close to the offensive talent that USC has. On offense, Clark and Royster are very dangerous at QB and RB respectively, and Butler and Williams represent a quality 1-2 punch at WR. Penn State will move the ball in this game, but I do not see them putting up a lot of points. Why? USC is loaded on defense. Rey Maualuga and Brian Cushing patrol the middle at LB, and Taylor Mays is a freak at safety. Penn State will be able to have some success, especially if Clark is able to scramble and break down the USC defense. However, USC will put up 28+, and I cannot honestly see Penn State scoring more than 14. Therefore, the Trojans are the pick.

Sugar Bowl – Cincinnati v. Virginia Tech – This game could potentially be a quality football game. However, there is no star power present to attract a big national audience. Cincinnati has had a dream season by beating out the likes of West Virginia and Pitt. Most of their wins were close, and they did get blasted by UCONN. I just do not see this team being battle tested enough. The offense is pass heavy, and this is also troubling for me. When an underdog attempts to pull an upset, it needs a quality ground game to maintain possession and keep the other teams offense off the field. If Cincinnati takes too long to find its rhythm through the air, Virginia Tech will build a double digit lead. As for the Hokies, they have lost to almost every quality team that they played except for their finale against Boston College. However, while the ACC is down, it is still a better conference than the Big East this year. Virginia Tech is much more battled tested than Cincinnati, and they will break down the Cincinnati defense behind emerging star Tyrod Taylor. Virginia Tech is the pick here.

National Championship Game – Oklahoma v. Florida – Putting aside the controversy of whether Oklahoma should be here, this game has the potential to be a barn burner. Both teams are explosive on offense, and the final score could very well be absurd. Oklahoma is led by Sam Bradford, who could very well be coming into this game as the Heisman Trophy winner. Their offense is much more spread out than in years past, but the Sooners have still managed to get two rushers over the 1000 yard mark. This is a sign that the Sooners are not one dimensional. They will spread the field, but Florida will still have to respect the rush just as much as Bradford’s pinpoint accuracy. On defense, Florida has arguably the best linebacker in the land in Spikes, and Major Wright and the secondary have played solid the entire season. Florida will get some pressure on Bradford, and the Gators will do the best of any team this season in regards to containing the Sooners. However, when I say contain I mean keep under 35 points. Thankfully for the Gators, they have an offense that might be even more explosive than the Sooners. Tim Tebow and Percy Harvin are an explosive combo, and the emergence of Jeffery Demps at running back has added another scary component to this offense. The Gators have not really be stopped all year, and Oklahomas defense has not really had a stellar performance all season sans the Texas Tech game. Florida will put up big numbers, and in the end, I think that they will prove to be more explosive than the Sooners. The Gators will win their second title in three years, and the talking heads on ESPN will begin to anoint them a dynasty.

bowl preview blowout

It’s the most wonderful time of the year. Bowl season is upon us and that means that it is time for me to break down the bowl games. I am reviewing these games based only on what I know about the teams and the match ups. I am a huge college football fan, so I figure that if I have no idea about a team that most others will not as well. With that said, lets get started….

Eaglebank Bowl – Navy v. Wake Forest – First of all, the Eaglebank Bowl? Is that really the best name that could be chosen? As for the match up, Navy has had an alright year, but the games that I saw them play against Notre Dame and Pitt clearly showed that they cannot hang with the boys from the bigger conferences. Wake Forest is the pick here.

New Mexico Bowl – Colorado State v. Fresno State – I know nothing about Colorado State, and Fresno State got embarrassed by Boise State. This game promises to provide some quality bad football, and I have decided to select Fresno State, who won the coin flip that I just conducted.

Magicjack St. Petersburg Bowl – South Florida v. Memphis – Another poorly named bowl and another poor match up. South Florida had the best season they will ever have last year, and they are well down from that plateau. However, the boys from the Big East will take care of Memphis, who has fed on the week competition of Conference USA all season.

Pioneer Las Vegas Bowl – BYU v. Arizona – This game will not be a quality match up like some think. Arizona struggled in the Pac 10, which was extremely weak this year. BYU has been ranked virtually the whole year and has several quality wins. I think BYU wins comfortably by at least 14.

R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl – Troy v. Southern Miss – Lets be honest here: no one wants to see this game. If I must make a prediction, I will go with Troy solely because of the quality performance that they had against Ohio State.

San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl – Boise State v. TCU – It is a shame that this match up has to occur in such a low rate bowl. Both these teams are in the top 15 and both have several quality wins on the season. However, TCU has played a tougher schedule and only lost to a BCS bound Utah by 3. The tougher competition will have better prepared TCU, who will win a close contest via a late score.

Sheraton Hawaii Bowl – Notre Dame v. Hawaii – Hawaii has struggled under a new coach, and they are well below their BCS high point from last season. Notre Dame has a lot of young talent, and I think that the bowl practices will allow the team to grow significantly. Notre Dame will take out its frustrations in this game and win big.

Motor City Bowl – Florida Atlantic v. Central Michigan – I know very little about either team, and I really cannot offer an opinion. By utilizing my coin again, I am going with Central Michigan.

Meineke Car Care Bowl – West Virginia v. North Carolina – UNC has had a breakout season while West Virginia has underperformed. However, West Virginia still has White and Divine, who are as explosive as anyone in the nation. North Carolina’s offense has struggled late in the year, and I just do not see them putting up the points to match West Virginia’s dynamic duo. West Virginia gets the nod here.

Champs Sports Bowl – Florida State v. Wisconsin – Wisconsin has fallen apart the second half of this season, and Florida State has shown signs of a resurgence. The ACC is weak this year, but Wisconsin has played putrid football since it collapsed against Michigan. The Seminoles get the nod here.

Emerald Bowl – Miami v. Cal – A Pac-10 v. ACC match up. Both conferences were down this year, and neither team has played great competition all year. Cal has a great ground game, but Miami has a defense that is much improved from the past years. However, I think that Cal will be able to control the ball and grind out a close win.

Independence Bowl – Louisiana Tech v. Northern Illinois – Yawn. Who really thinks that we want to see this game? Northern Illinois had one good year. Louisiana Tech is… well, they are Louisiana Tech. I will give Northern Illinois the win here just because I have actually heard of them before.

Papajohns.com Bowl – Rutgers v. North Carolina State – NC State had a big win over UNC, but Rutgers comes in scalding hot after dismantling Louisville. I think that Rutgers will bring the new found offense, especially passing attack, to the bowl, and therefore I think Rutgers will win this one.

Valero Alamo Bowl – Missouri v. Northwestern – Missouri has a potent offense between Daniels and Maclin, and Northwestern has an inflated record. In each game they played against a quality opponent this year, Northwestern was not very competitive. Missouri will score early and often, and this game will be over by halftime.

Roady’s Humanitarian Bowl – Nevada v. Maryland – Nevada has a gimmicky offense, but Maryland has the talent. The advantage in both skill and experience will buoy Maryland to a comfortable victory here.

Texas Bowl – Rice v. Western Michigan – Another game that I know nothing about. Rice is the pick because Chinese food sounds good right now.

Pacific Life Holiday Bowl – Oklahoma State v. Oregon – Oregon put up a ton of points in their Civil War battle with Oregon State, and Oklahoma State has a high powered offense of their own. This game will be a shoot out, and Oklahoma State will pull away late thanks to their big play ability through the air.

Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl – Air Force v. Houston – I know very little about either of these teams, and I could not even venture a guess at their records. I will pick Air Force because I am a good American who supports his armed forces.

Sun Bowl – Pitt v. Oregon State – Pitt has shown flashes this season, but they have lacked the consistency needed to turn the corner. Oregon State blew the chance to play in the Rose Bowl, and I think that they will still be deflated and flat come game time. Pitt’s young talent will benefit from bowl practices, and Pitt will further demoralize an Oregon State team that was oh so close to having a dream season.

Insight Bowl – Kansas v. Minnesota – Minnesota started off the year good but has since tanked. Kansas and their stellar quarterback Todd Reesing are down from last season, when they won the Orange Bowl. However, they are battle tested from the Big 12, and they will win this game easily.

Chick-Fil-A Bowl – Georgia Tech v. LSU – I think that LSU has resorted to allowing random students to play quarterback at this point. Georgia Tech looked very strong in their finale against Georgia. Tech will control the ball most of the game with their triple option rushing attack, and LSU will struggle to move the ball. Tech is the pick here.

Outback Bowl – Iowa v. South Carolina – The Outback Bowl usually provides a reason to be up by 11 on New Years, but this game is kind of a let down. The SEC and Big 10 were not very deep this year, and this lackluster match up clearly illustrates that fact. South Carolina and Iowa will both probably play sloppy on offense and make the other teams defense look incredible. South Carolina has a little more firepower, and I think they have a better chance to at least put up a few field goals and eek out a close win.

Capital One Bowl – Georgia v. Michigan State – Ringer and Michigan State have a strong rushing attack statistically, but against Ohio State and Penn State they struggled to move the ball. Georgia’s defense is much more similar to the two Big 10 heavyweights than the other scrubs that Michigan State has beat up on. Michigan State will struggle to move the ball, and Georgia’s Moreno will put up a big final performance before bolting for the NFL. Georgia is the pick here.

Cotton Bowl – Texas Tech v. Ole Miss – Tech deserves to be in a BCS game, but they had better not sulk for too long. Ole Miss beat Florida in the Swamp, and their losses have all been by close margins. Ole Miss is under ranked in my opinion, and Tech looked horrible without Crabtree against Baylor. I am going with Ole Miss to pull the upset here.

Autozone Liberty Bowl – East Carolina v. Kentucky – East Carolina was the Cinderella of the first quarter of the season. Kentucky contended for a BCS spot last year, but graduation and injuries have left this years squad depleted. I think that the mid major gets the win here (for those of you not up on your lingo, that means that I am picking East Carolina).

International Bowl – Connecticut v. Buffalo – Buffalo ruined Ball State’s perfect season, and they have come on very strong the second half of the season. Connecticut comes from a weak Big East, and I think that the Bulls will carry over the momentum of their MAC title game victory and beat the Huskies.

GMAC Bowl – Ball State v. Tulsa – Ball State almost pulled off a perfect regular season, but they also played no none. When they finally came up against a quality opponent, Buffalo humbled them. Tulsa has an extremely powerful offense and has played a tougher schedule. I am going with the Golden Hurricanes here.

Overall, these bowls are lukewarm. There are only a few match ups that I would call must see tv. Honestly, if you miss most of these games do not question your fanhood. The excessive number of bowl games has watered down the match ups and cheapened the bowl season.

the bcs match ups

The bowl match ups came out just the way I thought they would. There are some good match ups there, and I think that we are in for a rather exciting bowl season. I am extremely busy right now, and I promise that more regular updates will start back up tomorrow. Here is what you can look forward to the rest of the week:

Tuesday: My bowl predictions for all bowl games except the BCS match ups.

Wednesday: The BCS match ups broken down in detail with my predictions.

Thursday: My proposal for a new system.

Friday: My prediction for the Heisman.

Saturday: A list of the top 5 problems with the BCS.

Sunday: A reflection on the Heisman balloting and a final wrap up of my opinions on the BCS.

I am off for the moment to attempt to get through this mountain of work that I have, but I promise that each of the future posts that I outlined above will be worth the wait.

and so here we are….

Everything played out the way I thought it would yesterday. Florida beat Alabama, but it took them a little longer to pull away than I expected. The fact that they were able to win that game without arguably their best player (Harvin) shows just how deep and talented the Gators are. As for Oklahoma, the game was a snoozer. The halftime score was ugly, and the outcome of the game was never really in doubt. USC also took care of business, and Virginia Tech won to punch their ticket to play in what should be the least attended Orange Bowl ever.

Where does all of this leave us? Well, the ten BCS teams are now locked. They will be

Florida

Alabama

Oklahoma

Texas

Penn State

Ohio State

Virginia Tech

Cincinatti

Utah

USC

The real question is what will happen with the national championship game. Oklahoma stayed ahead of Texas last week, and they once again won convincingly last night. If the polls were going to push Texas ahead of Oklahoma based on Texas’ victory over Oklahoma it would have happened last week. It would be a shock if Texas gets the nod to play for the title. And so that means that we are looking at a Florida v. Oklahoma shoot out in the title game.

The way that this has all played out shows why we need a playoff or at least a new system. The conflict lies mainly between Oklahoma and Texas (although USC is not receiving the credit they deserve, a topic that I will explore more in a post later this week). The conflict should be easy to settle since the two teams met on the field and decided who the better team is. However, the wacky system that is the BCS seems to be blind to this head to head meeting, and it is absurd that Oklahoma is going to get to play for the title when they lost to Texas.

Here are my bowl predictions, with my confidence as a percentage. 100% = the game is a lock due to conference tie ins.

Rose – Penn State v. USC (100%)

Orange – Cincinatti v. Virginia Tech (100%)

Sugar – Alabama v. Utah (70%)

Fiesta – Ohio State v. Texas (70%)

Championship – Oklahoma v. Florida (95%)

The Fiesta and Sugar bowl match ups could only vary between Utah and Ohio State. However, I really think that the Fiesta will take Ohio State over Utah, thus leaving the Sugar with Utah.

The final BCS standings come out tonight. I will check back after they are released to reflect.