The final big weekend of CFB for the big schools before the bowl season gets underway in a few short weeks (I'll do one big bowl preview thread once all the games are decided). Usually ESPN has a Bowl Challenge thing that we could do for the MGPers, which could be fun. Anyway on to the preview:

Big 12 Championship: #9 Oklahoma vs. #1 Missouri - A rematch of a 41-31 win for Oklahoma earlier this season. Missouri wins and they play for the National Title, a loss for the Tigers means the Buckeyes jump in. It might be tough for the Tigers coming off their huge rivalry win, but the stakes are high. Should be a good game nonetheless. (Oklahoma 38 - Missouri 34).

ACC Championship: #6 Virginia Tech vs. #11 Boston College - Yet another rematch and we all remember how this one went before. BC played horrible then Matt Ryan led them to 2 TD's late to pull out the win. Since that point both teams have gone in opposite directions. Va Tech has played well and BC has squeaked past some inferior opponents and lost to some as well. (Va Tech 27 - Boston College 14).

SEC Championship: #14 Tennessee vs. #7 LSU - It's ashame that A. LSU lost last week and B. UGA isn't in this game which would give this game a whole lot more exposure. Still should be a good matchup, despite LSU being out of the NC picture. Tennessee may spoil an at-large teams bid if they win. (LSU 31 - Tennessee 27).

Pittsburgh at #2 West Virginia - This is for the NC shot for WVU, Pitt sucks but it is a rivalry game. That being said... (WVU 45 - Pitt 17).

UCLA @ #8 USC - Another rivalry game that shouldn't be close, UCLA isn't very good. (USC 38 - UCLA 16).

Washington @ #12 Hawaii - Hawaii's last stumbling block before playing a BCS game, Washington defeated Boise earlier this season, but this one shouldn't be close either. (Hawaii 48 - Washington 21).


D1-AA playoffs also this weekend, go Richmond (my neighbor is the team's starting TE)

The B12 game might be the best one. It certainly has more depending on the outcome compared to the other conference championship games.

The ACC game is a snoozefest. I will be pulling for BC just because I want to see the ACC represented by another double digit ranked team. Based on the teams they've sent to the BCS Bowl games that last few years, the BCS should seriously consider giving them an automatic bid.

They haven't won a BCS game since they raided the Big East. They sent a four loss team to a BCS Bowl and lost to Penn State. This year, hopefully, if BC wins they will send a three loss team to a BCS game. I love watching ACC teams lose.

The SEC game has almost no meaning outside of the fans of those two schools. The highest rated and possibly the best team in the conference, isn't even playing in the championship game. I suppose LSU still has some shot at playing in the BCS championship game (their coach thinks they should) but really, this game is for SEC fans and who gets to represent them in the Sugar Bowl.

I will be lucky if I get to see the USC/UCLA game this year. Living in the DC Metro area, unless I go to a bar, I rarely get to see SC play. But that does speak to the fan interest in this game.

While the outcome of the PAC hasn't been decided, its really a regional game. I know of almost no one who will make an effort to watch the game.

I think USC will win big but UCLA has played well at times and did beat SC last season. UCLA has talent, not like USC but talent nonetheless, they just don't play consistently. I will go with USC 42-21.

Pitt has no chance to beat WVU. I expect that as long as WVU wins, they will be in the BCS game.

I think Oklahoma will beat the crap out of Missouri. Which will open the door for OSU to get into the BCS game. I would like that because I want to see WVU clean up on OSU.

My prediction: WVU beats Pitt and goes on to beat Ohio State in the BCS championship.

There are still roughly 20,000 tickets left for the ACC championship, per the Jacksonville papers.

That whole "getting enough teams to have a championship" thing hasn't worked out too well for Swofford.

As a Big East fan, there is nothing that is bad enough that can happen to the ACC. They took Tech, Miami and BC thinking it would elevate their other programs and somehow the shitty ACC has managed to drag them and the entire conference down. Not even FSU is any good (at least not on the national level) any longer. I love this.

why do you think so?

I would think all WVU fans are hoping Missouri does not win - OSU would appear to be a much easier foe than Mizzou

Missouri led into the 4th quarter at OU earlier this year, and then the wheels came off, but it was not like they had the crap beat out of them going on the road in that matchup. Mizzou slightly outgained them yardage wise 418 - 384, but turned the ball over 4 times including a fumble that was returned 12 yds for a OU TD. Seems like a pretty even matchup to me.

I want WVU to play the best team, if they get to the BCS game. IMO, OSU is the best team with a shot at the BCS game, after WVU. I know that Mizzou beat Illinois and OSU didn't but I still think OSU is better.

I think OU will beat Mizzou again. The fact that OU won the first time is enough reason for me to believe they will win a second time. While the yardage totals might have been the same, that was probably due to OU getting short fields because of turnovers.

Turnovers are part of the game. They are caused by good defense as much as good offense. The flukey turnovers are just that. I didn't see the game but if OU benefitted by 4 turnovers then they probably caused most if not all of them.

I really don't care who wins the B12 championship. I want WVU, if they beat Pitt, to play the best team who qualifies. But I really want to see WVU beat OSU because I loathe the Big Ten. A second straight humiliation on national TV would be beautiful.

I personally would prefer to play Ohio State for a number of reasons. I think Missouri is better, but Ohio State is perceived to be better, and I think Ohio State is a better matchup for WVU...they don't defend the spread well and I don't think Boeckmann can hurt them as much as Daniel.

Also, if it's WVU/Missouri you'll (1) have bitching about it from OSU fans, (2) a national skepticism due to two less prominent teams from a national perspective, and (3) ten years from now, it'll look less impressive than a win over OSU.

Oh, and I have a large number of close friends and clients who are OSU fans, so the leadup alone will be far more recreational.

ok

I was more wondering about the I think OU will "beat the crap out of" Missouri.
OU may well beat Missouri, but I don't think they will man handle them. Living in St Louis, I have been extremely impressed by Mizzou. I think they, nad many other teams, are much more difficult matchup for WVU than Ohio State.

I agree with good teams forcing turnovers - but when a QB hands the ball off to your WR on a reverse and the WR thought it was a fake, and the balls drops to the ground, and the OU player picks it up and rumbles 12 yds for a TD, well, not going to give the D all the credit for forcing that.

I think this is the most intriguing matchup of the day, and a WVU vs Missouri matchup is the best NC game possible at this point.

I think it's ridiculous the number of people who continue to blame Ohio State for 'backing into the BCS' on talk radio and other sporting formats. I think Ohio State is a pretty good football team. I know I'm biased in the fact that I watched that Penn State game closely, and I know a lot of you don't think PSU is any good, but what OSU did @PSU at night just doesn't happen in Happy Valley very often.

With that being said, I think you are right in regards to the match-up not being a great one for OSU. The good teams they have flexed their muscle the most against (Michigan, PSU) directly contrast the one that gave them fits (Illinois). They just don't see the spread offense much in the Big10, and when they did, they had a lot of problems stopping it.

Although, if I were a WVU fan, I'd still be a little worried about Jim Tressell having a month+ to prepare for a football game, even after what happened last year. For some reason, I still don't think I can make a similar comment about Gary Pinkel yet.

It is a concern...Tressel is one of the 2 or 3 best college coaches in the country. You're not going to have a layup against anyone in a NC game, and while I do think Tressel's ability to coach up OSU for the game would exceed Pinkel's, the players for Missouri are just generally better equipped to match WVU's game on both sides of the ball.

Where's the big ten game of the week???

hahahahahaha

-Urban Meyer

History gives no one cause for concern. Tressel didn't seem to do a lot with the month+ that he had to get ready for UF. If anything, the total dominance by UF indicates that Tressel squandered his prep time.

Yes, Tressel beat UM for the National Championship but a bad call at the end of the game probably had as much to do with the outcome as Tressel's prep time. He didn't seem to do much more against UM than Walt Harris, Bowden or Beamer did that year and they only had a week.

You won't hear any cries from me if the Buckeyes don't make the NC. Boeckman has regressed so badly the last two games that I am scared to death to see him in whatever bowl they play. Although GB will be intolerable if they wind up losing to USC, I would rather see them in the Rose this year than the NC.

WVU should beat Pitt first. I think they will handle Pitt, that said, it will be alot closer than the spread. Pitt will stay competitive for a few quarters. In the end, WVU pulls away, wins by 17.

It'll be interesting to see what happens. Its a rivalry game so anything can. But, last year they won 45-27, with the shortened clock rules last year. That said, I don't see the Eers scoring less than 50. As for what Pitt scores, well, WVU's defense was pretty soft last year, and Palko was pretty good. Given that WVU's defense is light years ahead of last year's version, and Palko >>>>>>>>>>> Bostick, I really wouldn't be surprised to see the Eers win 63-7. But then again, I wouldn't be surprised if its like 38-24 too, because of the rivalry factor. Its going to be a fun game to watch, because there's almost no possible way WVU can lose unless they play their worst game all year, so the only question is how much they win by, and will they embarrass Pitt. I'm really hoping for an embarrassment, and I'd love to see a 63-7 win, hah. I don't think there's been a bigger mismatch in this series since before WWII.

This board might be the most fun it's been in, well, ever, if Pitt should happen to win this game. I could care less who wins, but I might root for Pitt in the hopes we could have total insanity.

The question would then be: If Pitt should happen to win, how long would it be until Monarch showed his face around here after all of his guarantees of a blowout?

2 weeks.

I was going to say one day, but like all topics he's wrong on, he'd just completely ignore everyone when they call him on it. See: Morris, Matt.

Well see the real Monarch wouldn't show up for 2 weeks. But i'm sure SeanBurnett4Life would visit from time to time. He always did think fondly of Monarch.

Nothing to brag about if USC beats OSU. I expect it. The Pac is a better conference and SC is a better team. That said, I do hope SC does to the Bucks everything that UF did last year. I love seeing the B10 get pummeled.

On a bowl related note, I feel kinda bad for the Big East...looking at the teams who are heading to bowls other than WVU it appears:

Rutgers vs. Ohio
USF vs. UCLA (who lost to fucking Notre Dame)
UConn vs. Wake Forest
Cincinnati vs. So. Miss


I realize WVU will most likely be in the NC game, but these four games are ridiculous.

I needed to add that these are the most recent projections from CFN

For those interested PSU vs BC has been their prediction in the Champs Sports Bowl

I expect the Big East to get some better bowl tie-ins once the current contracts start to come up for renewal. Not saying all 4 will be great, but they should get upgrade significantly from where they are now. When the current contracts were signed, there was alot of doubt about the conference, but they have proven they can play with the other big boys.

Yeah, there was an article somewhere (maybe CBS?) that said Tranghese was working on upgrading the Big East's bowls, but that they signed a 4 year deal or something, so for this year and next they're stuck with all these lame bowls.

Kevin Smith for UCF is quite good

So, if you're a stud at football at Navy, can you even get drafted? Don't they have commitments to the Navy to serve at least so long? Cause Reggie Campbell is sick.

This way the Big East fans can pump up their record in bowls even though they are playing shit teams.

Napolean McCallum ended up getting released after a 2 year commitment if I recall correctly. David Robinson also got out early.

This is the second time I've seen UCF this year and Kevan Smith, their RB, is freaking awesome. He looks like he could be a rd. 1 or 2 pick coming up.

I bet $1000 on Pitt.

I have Tennessee +7 big.

Me too. My plays for today were:

Tennessee +7.5
UCF -7
USC -20
LA Tech +7
BC +4.5

And a huge lean to Oklahoma -3.

If the BC kicker wasn't horrible, your pick with them would look alot better right now.

That was a swell start for LSU on the kickoff

#13 for Tennessee is going to think twice about tackling Hester up high the rest of this game. He was absolutely fucking flattened.

Tennessee +7 and Missouri +3 for me

Why is Matt Flynn not playing? That +7 looks pretty good without him.

it's almost time evryone.

lock your doors and chain down your couches.

I did that since I just noticed one of my neighbors has a WVU flag out.

So how bad will Georgia beat VT in the Orange Bowl? 2 TDs? 3 TDs?

No. No.

The two uniforms on display in the Civil War are, in combination, the worst two ever put on a field at the same time.

The only thing I bet today was my first college bet in 5 years. Took over in WVU/Pitt game and also took Pitt.


Game I would have bet if I had any luck with college:


Virginia Tech -5
Oregon State PK
UCLA +20
Missouri -3

Just because VT got blown out early this season against LSU does not mean that they have not improved. I have watched them alot week to week, and they might be the most improved team from Week 1 to Week 13. I think Virginia Tech has a real good chance to upend Georgia. It would not surprise me in the least.

On a side note, is there a more overrated/overhyped team(their defense in particular) than LSU? I've been saying for awhile that they are not as impressive as ESPN would tell you they are.

That's interesting. Who gave you that line? LIC?

Might have been a typo, douchebag.

if you aren't typing 100 wpm then typo in not an acceptable excuse

Monarch, if WVU loses tonight, I think you should have to change your user name to: WVUDouchebag or WVURussbag.

Tennessee better cover 7 points.

And you really don't know shit if you think Matt Flynn is a difference maker.

Cal 58
Shepherd 38


Cal plays Valdosta State next week in the Semi-Finals.


That update is for Monarch.

I went down to the game today for a little bit and Cal has a pretty damn good offense especially considering they lost one of the best RBs in D-2 football earlier in the season. Do you know where the National Semi will be?

ERIC BERRY IS AT MY GF'S HOUSE!

Cal's SID told me there will be a conference call tonight where it will be announced. At first, they thought it was going to be down at Valdosta State, but by the time I left they were thinking it may be at Cal. So, we'll see. I'm hoping it's Cal.

Those two running backs for Cal today were the third and fourth stringers. Daine Williams - the kid who started today - rushed for 1,000 yards in four starts.

Today was the first time Cal allowed more than 13 points in a game. That's a great, great D-2 football team.

As a totally disinterested third party, i'm going to root for Pitt tonight for these reasons:

1. If West Virginia loses, the National Title Game picture goes from complete clusterfuck to....um....what's bigger than a clusterfuck?

2. If West Virginia loses, Monarch will cry like a little girl and this board will be absofuckinglutely hilarious.

3. I wore a Pitt sweatshirt to work on Friday, mainly because it was the only clean sweatshirt I had, and that bitch HR person - whose daughter goes to WVU - walked up to me in the hall, pointed at my shirt, and said, "BOOOOOOOOOO...EWWWWWWWWWW PITT."

Hey, I didn't say they were good reasons. But reasons they are.

ERIC BERRY IN YOUR MOMS PANTS!

I'm rooting for Pitt for the sole fact that if they win, it's the perfect capstone to this season. I'll laugh my ass off.

Who are we kidding, West Virginia is the West Virginia of college football.

So if Oregon wins this game, they go to the Rose Bowl right?

I don't think so, I think USC goes if ASU wins.

I believe USC goes unless they lose. And boy is USC gonna whoop on tO$U.

Erik Ainge = Awesome

I can't believe I'm going to push this fucking bet.

What a joke.

Zim, you? Pile On? Nooooooooooo!

Why. Is. This. Guy. Talking. Like. A. Robot.

He's French.

And Pitt should just give McCoy 50 carries and hope for the best. Bostick is horrid.

Bostick.

Pat Bostick throws like he's french.

The Mountaineers look like a bunch of fluorescent bananas.

Guess he really needed those 5 yards

Gonna need a lot more of that for Pitt to have a chance.

Pat Bostick has the slowest release in the entire world.

And DL Coach Greg Gattusso looks as fat as he did when he coached me in college. Lay off the college cafe coach.

Pitt's defense sure came to play tonight.

That kicker sure didn't, however.

Pitt is good.

The only way Pitt could play more conservative is if they started punting on 3rd downs.

Wanny's done that before.

WVU looks flat, complacent. They have better offensive talent than Pitt does defensive talent. Pitt just wants it more right now. RR better pull the collective heads from asses or his team could be looking at playing for nothing.

This Pitt punter has has had 3 chances to turn the field position around in the 1st quarter+ and has failed 3 times.

Cmon Wanny open it up. Fuck! For the love of God!!

Who needs a punter when your opposition hasn't even showed up yet. Make it hurt Pitt.

Ugh that punter is awful.

That was during the Walt Harris era, the 'quick kick'. Believe me, I remember.

He's WVUs MVP right now.

Man if only Pitt had an offense...

WVU may win by 30, but color me unimpressed. They have done nothing that a team that knows what they need to do against an inferior team should. I hope Shady finds a couple of holes and hands WVU a loss. That would simply be awesome.