College Football Week 3 Recap

    The College Football season rolls on, and week 3 just wrapped up last weekend.

    We saw #1 USC fall to #21 Stanford, in the second huge upset this season (UL Monroe beating Arkansas was the first). USC will fall in the rankings, but they still can take the PAC 12 crown. The loss was early in the season, and their title hopes are still strong.

Stanford after their upset of #1 USC

    #2 Alabama shut out Arkansas by a score of 52-0. Arkansas QB Tyler Wilson did miss the game, but that is not an excuse to loose by 52 at home. If Arkansas was truly worthy of a #9 preseason ranking, they should be able to compete with Alabama, even with Wilson out. A top 10 team doesn't loose like that at home when only the starting QB is out. Right now, it looks like Arkansas is far from taking down Alabama and LSU in the SEC West.


    #3 Florida State made a statement with a 52-0 beat down over Wake Forest, Utah was able to rebound and beat BYU, and Florida proved they are more powerful than Tennessee in the SEC East. It remains to be seen if they are as good as #8 Georgia and #7 South Carolina, and can reclaim the top of the SEC East.

    #20 Notre Dame visited #9 Michigan State, and embarrassed Sparty in East Lansing. Michigan State was shut down on offense, and there has been a big drop off at QB from Kirk Cousins to Andrew Maxwell. When Le'Veon Bell is unable to run the ball like he was vs Notre Dame, Maxwell is not a reliable option to take the reigns and lead the offense. Having poor WR play doesn't help much either though.

    A very surprising upset was Pittsburgh beating #10 Virginia Tech. Pitt was 0-2, with a bad loss to FCS Youngstown State during week 1, 31-17. During week 2, they lost to Cincinnati 34-10 on Thursday night. Most people had given up on Pitt, but with this upset over VT, the Panthers appear to be back.


Top 25:

1. Alabama 3-0
2. Florida State 3-0
3. LSU 3-0
4. Oklahoma 2-0
5. Oregon 3-0
6. South Carolina 3-0
7. Georgia 3-0
8. Texas 2-0
9. Clemson 3-0
10. West Virginia 2-0
11. USC 2-1
12. Stanford 3-0
13. Notre Dame 3-0
14. Ohio State 3-0
15. TCU 2-0
16. Michigan 2-1
17. Louisville 3-0
18. Michigan State 2-1
19. Kansas State 3-0
20. N.C. State 2-1
21. Northwestern 3-0
22. Florida 3-0
23. Mississippi State 3-0
24. UCLA 3-0
25. Boise State 1-1

Next 5 In: Virginia Tech 2-1, Nebraska 2-1, Utah 2-1, Arizona 3-0, Cincinnati 2-0



What To Watch:

BYU (2-1) @ #25 Boise State (1-1)
9:00pm ET, ESPN 

This will be Boise State's chance to redeem itself after the loss to Michigan State. If they cannot win this game, the Broncos will only prove they are not the same power they were in the past.

Prediction: BYU 28 Boise 16

Missouri (2-1) @ #6 South Carolina (3-0)
3:30pm ET, CBS

Missouri has another chance to show it can hang with the SEC heavy weights. South Carolina can show they deserve a top 10 ranking with a win.

Prediction: South Car 37 Mizz 20

Oregon State (1-0) @ #24 UCLA (3-0)
3:30pm ET, ABC/ESPN2

Both are two teams from the PAC 12 that emerged with multiple week 2 upsets. Oregon State has only played one game, and UCLA has played three. The Beavers may have gotten lucky vs a Wisconsin team that is nowhere near as good as we thought, but Oregon State is still not a very good team. UCLA should roll.

Prediction: UCLA 37 OSU 17

#16 Michigan (2-1) @ #13 Notre Dame (3-0)
7:30pm ET, NBC

This could be the last chance for Michigan to prove they are a BCS-contender. If they loose, they will be written off for the season and be counted as another very disappointing team from the Big Ten this year. Notre Dame has a chance to prove they are back as one of the top teams in the country.

Prediction: ND 28 Mich 20

#19 Kansas State (3-0) @ #3 Oklahoma (2-0)
7:50pm ET, FOX

Both teams have a lot to prove in this game. The Sooners had a shaky game week 1 vs UTEP. They rolled over Florida A& M in week 2, so we have yet to see this team tested. Kansas State can prove they are a BCS contender and not stuck behind Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, and Texas for the Big 12 crown. I could see the upset here, but Oklahoma should get the win.

Prediction: OU 36 KSU 30

#9 Clemson (3-0) @ #2 Florida State (3-0)
8:00pm ET, ABC

The first test for FSU. They will have to show they are a title contender with a win over Clemson. Clemson is out to show they are the kings of the ACC. If Florida State can win this, the Seminoles are back to national prominence. This should be close and already has the feels of a classic.

Prediction: FSU 28 Clem 25

   

ACC Preview

    
Big East   Big 10   Big 12   Pac 12   SEC   Other Conferences   Bowls and Top 50

    
   
    The ACC should be much improved this year. Florida State and Virginia Tech are dangerous teams that can contend for a national title. Clemson and N.C. State are darkhorse BCS teams, and Georgia Tech is a bowl game lock as well.

    

    As for the rest of the league, all the other teams have a shot at a bowl, but easily could fall just short. Boston College, Virginia, Maryland, and Duke could easily go bowling. North Carolina would be a lock if not for a bowl ban. 

    Only Miami (FL) and Wake Forest should have a loosing record this year. Miami is rebuilding but NCAA sanctions hanging over their head will only hurt this team. Wake Forest is the weakest team in the conference. 

Brandon Jenkins (#49), Florida State

Projected Standings:

Atlantic:

1. Florida State 11-1 (7-1)

T2. N.C. State 10-2 (6-2)

T2 Clemson 8-4 (6-2)

4. Maryland 5-7 (3-5)

5. Boston College 6-6 (2-6)

6. Wake Forest 3-9 (1-7)

Coastal:

1. Virginia Tech 11-1 (7-1)

2. Georgia Tech 8-4 (5-3)

T3. North Carolina 5-7 (3-5)

T3. Virginia 5-7 (3-5)

T3. Miami, FL 4-8 (3-5)

6. Duke 5-7 (2-6)

ACC Championship: Florida State over Virginia Tech

Pre-Season Top 50, BCS Bowl Projections

ACC   Big East   Big 10   Big 12   Pac 12   SEC   Other Conferences

     
    My preseason rankings are based on team talent, and my projections for the team. I do have some teams ranked that I do not think will be ranked at the end of the season, but because they still have talent I could very well be wrong about them.

1. USC
2. Alabama
3. Oklahoma
4. Florida State
5. LSU
6. Oregon
7. South Carolina
8. Wisconsin
9. Arkansas
10. Georgia
11. Michigan
12. Michigan State
13. Virginia Tech
14. Texas
15. West Virginia
16. Clemson
17. Nebraska
18. N.C. State
19. Ohio State
20. Oklahoma State
21. TCU
22. Auburn
23. Louisville
24. Utah
25. Boise State
26. Southern Mississippi
27. Kansas State
28. Houston
29. Washington
30. Iowa
31. Georgia Tech
32. Northwestern
33. Stanford
34. North Carolina
35. Notre Dame
36. Cincinnati
37. Missouri
38. BYU
39. South Florida
40. Ohio
41. Texas A & M
42. Florida
43. Tennessee
44. UCLA
45. Illinois
46. Mississippi State
47. Central Florida
48. Texas Tech
49. Florida International
50. Tulsa

BCS Championship: USC over Alabama

Rose: Wisconsin over Oregon

Fiesta: Oklahoma over Virginia Tech

Sugar:  South Carolina over Michigan

Orange: Florida State over Louisville

College Football Week 13 Recap

   We now are entering the last week of college football and it is conference championship week. A time for teams to show why they are worthy of a BCS bid. Each conference championship has a lot riding on it.

LSU QB Jarrett Lee

    In the SEC, #1 LSU will take on #14 Georgia. LSU has been the best team all season. There is no question about it. The SEC East is weak this year, especially if Georgia will be representing them in the title game. Don't let Georgia's record (10-2) fool you, the three teams from the SEC West they did not end up playing are the three best in #1 LSU, #2 Alabama, and #5 Arkansas. The only other teams they played that even are even ranked are #6 Boise State and #13 South Carolina, both losses. LSU wins by a huge margin on their way to the title game.

    In the Big 10, it is a rematch between #10 Michigan State and #16 Wisconsin. Last time, MSU won on a 54-yard Hail Mary as time expired to win 37-31. The winner this time will go to the Rose bowl, and the loser possibly could get into the Fiesta Bowl to play the loser of Oklahoma-Oklahoma State, or the winner of that game, if Alabama gets into the title game. Either way, it will be a great game and hopefully be down to the wire once again.

    In the Pac 12, the North featured arguably the best four teams in the Pac-12 (minus bowl-banned USC), and will send Oregon to take on 6-6 UCLA in the title game. UCLA, the team people said may be the worst team in the Pac 12 in the pre-season, managed to go 6-6, but by no means can compete with Oregon. The Ducks will tromp the Bruins.

    The ACC has #9 Virginia Tech which has been on a tear lately, playing #23 Clemson who started undefeated but has dropped two straight games and has fallen mightily - winner will go to Orange Bowl.

    The Conference USA will feature undefeated #6 Houston and #22 Southern Miss. Houston is a team all about offense, and has one of the best in the history of the NCAA. But they have played a very easy schedule, and out of all non-BCS teams to go undefeated in the past few years, they may be the least talented one to date. Two teams come to mind if you think of "all offense" teams in BCS conferences this year. Both in the Pac 12, and they are Arizona and Washington State. Both went 4-8 playing average schedules. This would most likely be Houston's fate if they played in a BCS conference, and they will most likely not put up a fight for any team in a BCS bowl. But for this game, Houston will win and cap off a 13-0 season heading into a bowl game.


Top 25

1. LSU 12-0
2. Alabama 11-1
3. Oklahoma State 10-1
4. Stanford 11-1
5. Arkansas 10-2
6. Boise State 10-1
7. Oregon 10-2
8. Houston 12-0
9. Virginia Tech 11-1
10. Michigan State 10-2
11. Oklahoma 9-2
12. USC 10-2
13. South Carolina 10-2
14. Georgia 10-2
15. Kansas State 9-2
16. Wisconsin 10-2
17. Michigan 10-2
18. Baylor 8-3
19. TCU 9-2
20. West Virginia 8-3
21. Nebraska 9-3
22. Southern Miss 10-2
23. Clemson 9-3
24. Ohio 9-3
25. Texas 7-4

Next 5 In: Penn State 9-3, Florida State 8-4, Cincinnati 8-3, Arkansas 9-2, Virginia 8-4

What To Watch:


Conference Championships (* Neutral Site)

*#24 Ohio @ Northern Illinois, Fri, 7:00pm ET, ESPN2, Prediction: OHIO 66 NIU 59

UCLA @ #7 Oregon, Fri, 8:00pm ET, FOX, Prediction: ORE 45 UCLA 7

#22 Southern Miss @ #6 Houston, Sat, 12:00pm ET, ABC, Prediction: HOU 55 USM 40

*#14 Georgia @ #1 LSU, Sat, 4:00pm ET, CBS, Prediction: LSU 37 UGA 14

*#9 Virginia Tech @ #23 Clemson, 8:00pm ET, ESPN, Prediction: VT 38 CLEM 30

*#16 Wisconsin @ #10 Michigan State, 8:00pm ET, FOX, Prediction: WIS 35 MSU 34

OSU QB Brandon Weeden

Regular Games:

UConn @ Cincinnati, 12:00pm ET, ESPN,
Prediction: CIN 27 UCONN 21

Iowa State @ #15 Kansas State, 12:30pm ET,
Prediction: KSU 20 ISU 10

#25 Texas @ #18 Baylor, 3:30pm ET, ABC,
Prediction: BAY 31 TEX 20



Game Of Week:

#11 Oklahoma @ #3 Oklahoma State, 8:00pm ET, ABC, Prediction: OKL 45 OSU 42

College Football Week 12 Recap

    It has been along time since my last post, and so much has happened since then. Upsets, a showdown between #1 and #2, and of course Penn State. Week 11 just went by, and it turned the whole College Football world upside-down with four of the top 10 teams loosing.

USC celebrates a win over Oregon

    Oklahoma State played on Friday night, vs an Iowa State team that was looking for its sixth win to become bowl eligible. Many thought it would not come this weekend, and the #2 ranked Oklahoma State Cowboys would continue its winning streak heading into a showdown with Oklahoma. But that was not the case as Oklahoma State QB Zach Weeden's pass was tipped and fell into Iowa State hands. The Cyclones won in double OT.

    The Oregon Ducks could clinch a Pac 12 Championship berth before they were upset by USC when the kicker missed a field goal, and Baylor upset Oklahoma at the end of the game. Clemson was demolished by NC State.

Top 25:


1. LSU 11-0
2. Alabama 10-1
3. Arkansas 10-1
4. Stanford 10-1
5. Oklahoma State 10-1
6. Boise State 9-1
7. Oregon 9-2
8. Houston 11-0
9. Virginia Tech 10-1
10. Michigan State 9-2
11. USC 9-2
12. Oklahoma 8-2
13. South Carolina 9-2
14. Georgia 9-2
15. Kansas State 9-2
16. Wisconsin 9-2
17. Michigan 9-2
18. Baylor 7-3
19. TCU 9-2
20. Clemson 9-2
21. Penn State 9-2
22. Virginia 8-3
23. Georgia Tech 8-3
24. Iowa State 6-4
25. Nebraska 8-3

Next 5 in: Rutgers 8-3, Notre Dame 8-3, West Virginia 7-3, Ohio 9-3, Arkansas State 9-2

What To Watch:


Iowa @ #25 Nebraska, Fri 12:00 PM ET, ABC, Prediction: NEB 37 IOWA 34

#8 Houston @ Tulsa, Fri 12:00 PM ET, Prediction: HOU 65 TULSA 56

#3 Arkansas @ #1 LSU, Fri, 2:30 PM ET, Prediction: LSU 35 ARK 25

#24 Iowa State @ #12 Oklahoma, 12:00 PM ET, FX,  Prediction: OK 41 ISU 17

#14 Georgia @ #23 Georgia Tech, 12:00 PM ET, ESPN, Prediction: UGA 23 GT 16

Ohio State @ #17 Michigan, 12:00 PM ET, ABC, Prediction: OSU 31 MICH 24

#2 Alabama @ Auburn, 3:30 PM ET, CBS, Prediction: ALA 30 AUB 6

#9 Virginia Tech @ #22 Virginia, 3:30 PM ET, ABC/ESPN2, Prediction: VT 27 VIR 20

#21 Penn State @ #16 Wisconsin, 3:30 PM ET, ESPN, Prediction: WIS 31 PSU 21

#20 Clemson @ #13 South Carolina, 7:45 PM ET, ESPN, Prediction: SC 17 CLEM 13

Notre Dame @ #4 Stanford, 8:00 PM ET, ABC, Prediction: STAN 26 ND 14

2010 College Bowl Game Predictions

    Well at the last minute, here are my bowl predictions! I do not have time to write an analysis on all games unfortunately. So here are just the predictions. At the end of it all, we will look back on how I did in my predictions.

New Mexico Bowl: BYU over UTEP

Humanitarian Bowl: Northern Illinois over Fresno State

New Orleans Bowl: Troy over Ohio

St. Petersburg Bowl: Southern Miss over Louisville

Las Vegas Bowl: Boise State over Utah

Poinsettia Bowl: Navy over San Diego State

Hawaii Bowl: Tulsa over Hawaii

Little Caesars Pizza Bowl: Florida Internatinal over Toledo

Independence Bowl: Air Force over Georgia Tech

Champs Sports Bowl: West Virginia over N.C. State

Insight Bowl: Missouri over Iowa

Military Bowl: Maryland over East Carolina

Texas Bowl: Baylor over Illinois

Alamo Bowl: Oklahoma State over Arizona

Armed Forces Bowl: SMU over Army

Pinstripe Bowl: Kansas State over Syracuse

Music City Bowl: North Carolina over Tennessee

Holiday Bowl: Nebraska over Washington

Meineke Car Care Bowl: South Florida over Clemson

Sun Bowl: Miami (FL) over Notre Dame

Liberty Bowl: Georgia over Central Florida

Chick-Fil-A Bowl: South Carolina over Florida State

TickitCity Bowl: Texas Tech over Northwestern

Outback Bowl: Florida over Penn State

Capital One Bowl: Alabama over Michigan State

Gator Bowl: Michigan over Mississippi State

Rose Bowl: Wisconsin over TCU

Fiesta Bowl: Oklahoma over Connecticut

Orange Bowl: Stanford over Virginia Tech

Sugar Bowl: Ohio State over Arkansas

GoDaddy.com Bowl: Miami (OH) over Middle Tennessee State

Cotton Bowl: LSU over Texas A &M

BBVA Compass Bowl: Pittsburgh over Kentucky

Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl: Boston College over Nevada

BCS Championship: Oregon over Auburn