Football on Tuesday nights? Yeah it’s time for some MAC-tion, bitches!

Part Four!  More than a third of the way there.  I can’t imagine doing this all in one day.

Fourth choice and we get to see a whole shitload of MAC-TION!  One of the most exciting conferences in college football is the MAC, and just like with the Sun Belt, thank the lord baby Jesus for the fact that Bell and Rogers have college football packages or otherwise watching some of this MAC-TION! would never happen.

MAC East

1.        Bowling Green Falcons (7-1 MAC, 10-2 overall).  The MAC East division always seems to play poor cousin to the stacked MAC West.  It seems as if things are evening out a slight bit.  Some pretty good teams litter this division, with the Falcons looking like they will come out of the rubble on top although it won’t be easy.  They should win the all-important division title game against Ohio late in the season to get to the MAC Championship.
2.        Ohio Bobcats (6-2 MAC, 9-3 overall).  The Bobcats have two of the best (and most underrated and unknown) offensive talents in QB Tyler Tettleton and RB Beau Blankenship.  I can’t see them beating Bowling Green on the road, however, and I have a feeling they will blow an easier game along the way, giving the Falcons the outright division title, despite their offensive prowess.
3.        Kent State Golden Flashes (4-4 MAC, 6-6 overall).  Kent State came oh-so-close to playing in the Orange Bowl against Florida State.  I think it would have been a better game to be quite honest.  Saying that, there is almost no way the Flashes are as good this year, especially without Darrell Hazell at the helm (he went to a sweet BCS gig…just kidding, he landed at Purdue).  Bowl eligibility still seems to be within their grasp though.
4.        Buffalo Bulls (3-5 MAC, 4-8 overall).  There seems to be a few people saying that the Bulls could be the next Kent State…a team that rises from nowhere to make a run at glory.  That won’t happen this year but they will be much improved and maybe there is an outside shot at bowl eligibility here.  They’re non-conference schedule will crush those hopes (@Ohio State followed by @Baylor…yikes…keep it under 100 points combined boys!).
5.        Miami-OH Redhawks (2-6 MAC, 2-10 overall).  And now to the dregs of the division.  It is a completely hollow consolation prize to be the best of the very worst but the Hawks should grab that position.  Lucky for them, Akron and UMass are in their division or otherwise you’d be looking at a bottom feeder for this season.
6.        Akron Zips (2-6 MAC, 3-9 overall).  A Bowden sighting!  OK it’s just Terry but it looks like he has this ship going in the right direction.  A Bowden at the helm can’t be all bad (fans of Auburn can stop laughing now).
7.        Massachusetts Minutemen (1-7 MAC, 2-10 overall).  It’s going to be another rough year for UMass.  Their transition to the FBS hasn’t gone as smoothly as they would have liked and I cannot foresee climbing out of the basement again.  The problem may come from the fact that it always seems like the teams ahead of them (in this case Akron, Miami-OH, and Buffalo) all seem to be improving, making it near-impossible for the Minutemen to get out of last.  Poor guys.  At least they can try and get some of that Tom Brady/Patriots-aura surrounding them while they play at Gillette Stadium this season.

MAC West

1.        Northern Illinois Huskies (7-1 MAC, 11-1 overall).  Back on top of their perch in the west.  The Huskies appear poised to run the MAC West gauntlet and come out as unscathed as they can.  They still have possible Heisman contender Jordan Lynch at QB which would be enough to put this team at the top on its own.  Very much a winning atmosphere (kind of like Boise State) seems to be permeating the campus in Dekalb.
2.        Western Michigan Broncos (6-2 MAC, 8-4 overall).  The model of consistency (for the most part).  The Broncos always seem to be in the mix of things.  Really it will all come down to the season-ending game at NIU, which I predict the Broncos to lose to give the Huskies the division title.  Close but no Cuban cigar.
3.        Ball State Cardinals (5-3 MAC, 8-4 overall).  Pete Lembo is doing an awesome job at Ball State.  Which means a BCS job is waiting for him, possibly as soon as next season.  He will definitely get the most out of his Cardinals this year but I can’t see them beating out either Northern Illinois or Western Michigan.  David Letterman will be crushed.
4.        Toledo Rockets (5-3 MAC, 7-5 overall).  Another model of consistency (kind of like the MAC as a whole).  They have an enthusiastic head coach, a hard-working team, and a good fanbase (by MAC standards).  Probably not the spot they will want to be in but the hope is that they can build for the next season.  Another bowl may be in the works for this team.
5.        Central Michigan Chippewas (3-5 MAC, 6-6 overall).  I guess it’s not bad that they aren’t the worst directional Michigan-based school this year.  All in all, they will be bowl-eligible but getting picked over possibly seven other teams out of the MAC probably won’t happen.
6.        Eastern Michigan Eagles (0-8 MAC, 1-11 overall).  Poor Ron English.  It looked like the Eagles were finally, FINALLY, going to be going bowling on a consistent basis.  Unfortunately, the rest of the division is tough and I can see them regressing to a very low point which would cost Poor Ron his job.

Northern Illinois is looking at a return trip to Ford Field while Bowling Green is back on top (of their division).  I cannot see the Falcons defeating the Huskies in this one as Northern Illinois is clearly the most dominant MAC team in a conference of fairly good teams.

If you love CBS Sports Network, you’ll love the Mountain West…

And if you don’t even have the CBS Sports Network, you might be shocked to know that UNLV still has a football team.

Part Three!  We’re getting there…slowly.  Man this is going to take a long time.

Third on our list is the Mountain West, the little brother of the Pac-12 (and just as much of a pain in the ass).  BCS buster from this conference?  The MWC is always good for a team to have a chance to do just that.  And now the Mountain West has enough teams to do divisions called…mountain and west.  Wow.  Just wow.  So if you want to talk about the western part of the conference you need to say Mountain West West.  Can I just say Mountain West²?

MWC Mountain

1.        Utah State Aggies (7-1 Mountain West, 9-3 overall).  The Aggies got real good, real fast under Gary Andersen.  Now they have a new coach and a new conference.  I think Chuckie Keeton and company will make life difficult for the new Mountain Division.  I see them pulling off a (somewhat) surprising division title to move on to the first Mountain West championship.
2.        Boise State Broncos (6-2 Mountain West, 8-4 overall).  It may shock a lot of people to see Boise State be somewhat ordinary this year.  I think with the additions of Utah St. and San Jose St. to the mix, this conference is arguably more difficult than the Big East, uh, I mean, American.  All this means is that Chris Petersen can’t throw the ball a thousand times, score a boatload of points, and just waltz to a conference championship.
3.        Air Force Falcons (4-4 Mountain West, 6-6 overall).  All of the service academies are fun to watch and painful to watch all at the same time.  If it was NFL clock rules, their games would be over in less than two hours.  Again, Air Force will have just enough to make it to a bowl game.
4.        Wyoming Cowboys (3-5 Mountain West, 6-6 overall).  What else is there to do in Laramie?  Honestly.  Yeah I thought so.  Just like Air Force, they will do just enough to go to a bowl this season.  The difference?  Wyoming will stumble in, losing 4 of their last 5.
5.        New Mexico Lobos (3-5 Mountain West, 6-6 overall).  Bob Davie was never exceptionally good in the booth.  However, I am glad to see he has received new coaching life down in New Mexico.  Finally, FINALLY, the Lobos will go to a bowl game this year.  And it may not even be their own bowl (for those of you wondering, that would be the New Mexico Bowl…go figure).
6.        Colorado State Rams (1-7 Mountain West, 3-10 overall).  Ever since Sonny Lubick left/was fired/got out of dodge, the Rams have been terrible.  That won’t change this year.  The worst part is they still will look better than their brothers in Boulder and should beat them to open the season.  Then it’s a big, bad set of downhill rapids from that point on.

MWC West

1.        Fresno State Bulldogs (8-0 Mountain West, 12-0 overall).  Pat Hill would be rolling in his grave (if he was dead).  Hill’s mantra was any time, any place.  He would take on the big boys all the time and the Bulldogs were always surprisingly competitive.  Since he left, they’ve had some down years, but this is the year they put it all together.  An awesome QB and a relatively cushy non-conference schedule (save a speed bump against Rutgers) helps for sure in this case.
2.        San Jose State Spartans (7-1 Mountain West, 9-3 overall).  New conference but the same results.  You would think there would be a bit of a down year moving from the WAC to here but David Fales is all sorts of awesome and the Spartans will continue to sneak up on opponents.  They will be an upset of Fresno State away from running the table in the conference.
3.        San Diego State Aztecs (4-4 Mountain West, 6-6 overall).  The university has to be thanking Boise State all the time for giving them opportunity to stay out of the Big (L)East and remain in the Mountain West.  A bit of a down year this year, but still bowl-eligible.  I just wish they would stop playing at Qualcomm.  That stadium is an absolute shithole.
4.        Nevada Wolf Pack (3-5 Mountain West, 4-8 overall).  Nevada has been used to being bowl-eligible every year.  However, no more Chris Ault and Colin Kaepernick feels like ages ago.  This team will struggle this year after collapsing in their bowl game last year.  But at least they will still beat…
5.       UNLV Rebels (1-7 Mountain West, 2-10 overall).  Life as a head football coach just can’t get worse for Bobby (don’t call me Mike) Hauck.  Going from arguably one of the best FCS programs ever (Montana), to Las Vegas (aka college football hell) is a bitter pill to swallow.  Expect the same this year.
6.        Hawaii Rainbow Warriors (1-7 Mountain West, 2-10 overall).  Since they busted the BCS, the Rainbow Warriors (I assume they have gone back to that name by now) have been a little better than terrible.  But not by much.  Their home advantage seems to be anything but.  Plus they have to host USC, Fresno St., and San Jose St. in the first five games of the season.  Ouch.  Good luck with that.

First ever Mountain West Championship!  This year, I predict it will be in Fresno as the Bulldogs will host the (somewhat) surprising Aggies.  Unfortunately for the conference, this game will probably not be close as Fresno State will be auditioning for a BCS bowl spot.  Fortunately for the conference, this game will probably be exiled to the CBS Sports Network (unless the ESPN takes pity on them).

Remember Paul from Cheers? Didn’t think you did. To many, the Sun Belt is the FBS’s version of Paul from Cheers. Poor Sun Belt.

Time for Part Deux of the, OK let’s see…well, there’s a lot of parts to these predictions, let’s just say that.  And the next conference picked out of the hat is the mighty Sun Belt conference!  Maybe I should have ditched the random order.  Oh well, too late now.  Upward and onward (or something along those lines).

Sun Belt

1.        UL-Lafayette Ragin Cajuns (6-1 Sun Belt, 9-3 overall).  The Sun Belt will be ultra-tight this season.  Yeah I read that back and it sounds pretty dirty.  Anyway, basically it becomes a war of attrition among as many as five teams as to who can limp out of the conference as the champions.  The Cajuns have been consistently good over the past few seasons and even though there’s a ton of hype about WKU this year, I will go with Louisiana to get back to the Superdome.
2.        Arkansas State Red Wolves (5-2 Sun Belt, 9-3 overall).  Another consistently good team but with a new coach and the loss of super-QB Ryan Aplin, I can see them dropping the all-important game against UL-Lafayette and dropping the title to the Cajuns.
3.        Troy Trojans (5-2 Sun Belt, 8-4 overall).  Right in the middle of things in the Sun Belt, they will be one of the teams contending all year.  What kills them is losses to the two teams above them in this post.
4.        ULM Warhawks (5-2 Sun Belt, 8-4 overall).  Kolton Browning will keep this team in the Sun Belt title conversation.  However, they will lose at just the wrong time to cost them the conference title and make it a little more difficult to secure a bowl berth.
5.        Western Kentucky Hilltoppers (4-3 Sun Belt, 7-5 overall).  Petrino is coming!  Petrino is coming!  Unfortunately for Chopper Bob, the Toppers will be in a dogfight at the top of the conference.  I do pick them to upset the Cajuns for Louisiana’s only loss.  However, they will lose to the other three top teams and finish well back.  This could cost them a bowl berth and cost Fun Bobby a really good BCS job (which he is sure to go to next season).
6.        Texas State Bobcats (2-5 Sun Belt, 3-9 overall).  Once the Cats start winning on a consistent basis, the Sun Belt will be in their rear-view mirror as they are destined for a better conference.  The key word being consistent.  Dennis Franchione is trying to work some magic down in San Marcos but it will be at least one more season before he sees good results.
7.        Georgia State Panthers (1-6 Sun Belt, 4-8 overall).  People have to remember that this program is only four years old.  So they are an FBS toddler.  They may be annoying and show more than you think they should but in the end you can push them around for the most part.  Trent Miles has to feel lucky to be playing three FCS schools this year as they will need the practice (although for them they might not be blowouts…quite the opposite).
8.        South Alabama Jaguars (0-7 Sun Belt, 1-11 overall).  This might be, arguably, the worst team in FBS this season.  They have a long way to go to even be relevant in their own state, let alone the college football world.  Better luck next year (or more like five years from now).

No conference championship game for the Sun Belt…yet.  Georgia Southern and Appalachian State join next year and it is assumed that Karl Benson will try to add more teams to get a Sun Belt championship game.  I would not at all be surprised if any of the top five teams win the Sun Belt and get that trip to the New Orleans bowl.  No BCS busters here (although it would be amazing for a SBC team to have a chance).  And thank god for the college sports package or otherwise I would see all of zero Sun Belt games on TV this year.

Pac-12 Predictions…and FYI Mike Leach will accomplish the following this season: a) finish last b) get pissed off c) yell at the media

OK it’s now time for…what does that card say?  Prediction time, oh brother.

Yes, it’s time for me to throw my hat in the ring and look at my predictions for the 2013 college football season.  Don’t expect some hugely important analysis or drawn-out comparisons here.  I’m not Phil Steele, nor am I some guy named Athlon (or Lindy).  But holy shit, if I am more accurate than any of the big college football preview magazines, then they will know it…oh how they will know it.  And if not, then we will never speak of these prediction articles again.  Promise?  Good.

There is no real way to do this so I will do a random draw to see which conference gets to go first.  And no David Stern crap here!  I won’t freeze the SEC envelope or bend the corner of the Big Ten envelope.  Need to be fair (like it matters).  And the first conference to look at?  The Pac-12!  How I have done these predictions is I “play out” every game on the schedule.  Basically, all that means is I pick a winner for each game (and also a loser I guess if you are one of those glass-half-empty type of people).  Then I put the info together and get, well, what I am about to present you.

Pac-12 North

1.       Stanford Cardinal (8-1 Pac-12, 11-1 overall).  The game against Oregon on November 7^th is easily the most important game of the year in this division.  It’s at home so give the Cardinal the edge.  I believe there will be a hiccup there, meaning they will lose most likely at USC.  Not enough to lose the division title though.
2.       Oregon Ducks (7-2 Pac-12, 10-2 overall).  The aforementioned game at Stanford Stadium probably won’t go the Ducks’ way.  I also predict a late-season loss at Arizona.  Not that it matters.  The Stanford loss will kill any division title hopes.
3.        Oregon State Beavers (5-4 Pac-12, 8-4 overall).  The Beavers still won’t climb into the penthouse portion of the division yet.  Good but not good enough.  Hey, at least they’re bowl-eligible again.
4.        Washington Huskies (4-5 Pac-12, 7-5 overall).  They’ll start the year off with a win over Boise State, look like world-beaters, and then go an absolutely pedestrian 6-5 the rest of the way.  Another seven-win season and the natives are going to get restless.
5.        California Golden Bears (2-7 Pac-12, 3-9 overall).  Sonny Dykes will have a looooooong first season in Berkeley.  Maybe next year, Bears fans, maybe next year.
6.        Washington State Cougars (0-9 Pac-12, 2-10 overall).  I think Mike Leach should try shutting his mouth when talking about the depth in any conference.  His team definitely does not help the Pac-12 as a whole in that conversation.

Pac-12 South

1.        USC Trojans (8-1 Pac-12, 11-2 overall).  We’re baaaaaaaack!  I am predicting the Fighting Kiffins to win the weaker division of the two here in the Pac-12.  Not many experts will be picking the Trojans to go to the Pac-12 Championship so call this an upset pick if you want.
2.        Arizona State Sun Devils (7-2 Pac-12, 9-3 overall).  Party Central University is becoming a factor again.  Channeling their inner Jake The Snake (Plummer and Roberts, in this case), a surprise run at the division crown is probably only a USC upset away (and a taking care of business against UCLA away).
3.        UCLA Bruins (6-3 Pac-12, 8-4 overall).  Last year’s run was amazing under Jim Mora, Jr.  Brett Hundley will be a special QB for sure but the loss of Johnathan Franklin among others tells me they will finish third in a tough South division.
4.        Arizona Wildcats (4-5 Pac-12, 7-5 overall).  You know, maybe they shouldn’t have an insanely easy out-of-conference schedule this season.  There is no way games against Northern Arizona, UNLV, and UTSA can prepare them for a Pac-12 schedule.  Oh well, RichRod will have to find out the hard way.  Hey, at least they’ll be bowl-eligible…barely.
5.        Utah Utes (2-7 Pac-12, 4-8 overall).  I think Utah (and to a lesser extent, Colorado) got raw deals being put in the South division.  I’m thinking more of the travel, not the teams they play.  There can’t be anything worse than an hours-long flight home after getting your ass handed to you by USC or ASU or UCLA.
6.        Colorado Buffaloes (1-8 Pac-12, 2-10 overall).  Poor Mike MacIntyre.  Resurrects San Jose State football and gets a BCS head gig!  Sweet!  Unfortunately it’s in Colorado, a school that would have a tough time in the Mountain West, let alone the Pac-12.  Good luck, Mike.  You will need it.  If I were you, my first stop after moving to Boulder would be to travel to the Coors factory.  Stock up for the season.

The Pac-12 Championship would pit Stanford against USC for a trip to Pasadena (the first game, not the second one…I’ll get to that in another post).  USC will make quite the comeback this year.  But putting them in the Rose Bowl as a prediction?  That would make me look quite foolish.  I see the Cardinal making yet another trip to the Rose Bowl representing the Pac-12.

Get ready ladies. You too can have that gross Musberger gawk at you in the stands (and make you an overnight sensation)

CBS was first.  Now comes ABC.  An early look at where you can find Brent Musberger, Kirk Herbstreit, not Erin Andrews, and all the other college football crews ABC employs (yes, even Matt Millen).  I wonder who Brent will ogle in the stands this year…

Now remember this is the Canadian view, and more specifically the southern Ontario view of the ABC schedule.  So all you Americans with your ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPNews, The Ocho, and Fox Sports 1 through 25 can rest assured you will get way more games than us on the television.

August 31 – Mississippi State vs. Oklahoma State (in Houston) or Penn State vs. Syracuse (in East Rutherford) (3:30); Georgia at Clemson (8:00)

September 7 – Oregon at Virginia (3:30)

September 14 – UCLA at Nebraska (Noon); Tennessee at Oregon (3:30); Notre Dame at Purdue (8:00)

September 21 – Purdue at Wisconsin (3:30)

September 28 – Iowa at Minnesota or Virginia at Pittsburgh (3:30); Wisconsin at Ohio State (8:00)

October 5 – Illinois at Nebraska (Noon); Minnesota at Michigan or Maryland at Florida State or Georgia Tech at Miami (3:30); Ohio State at Northwestern (8:00)

October 12 – Oregon at Washington or Boston College at Clemson (3:30)

October 19 – Purdue at Michigan State or Duke at Virginia (Noon); Iowa at Ohio State (3:30); Florida State at Clemson (8:00)

October 26 – Texas at TCU (3:30); Penn State at Ohio State (8:00)

November 2 – Oklahoma State at Texas Tech (Noon); Michigan at Michigan State or Wisconsin at Iowa or North Carolina at NC State (3:30); Miami at Florida State (8:00)

November 9 – Virginia Tech at Miami or Illinois at Indiana (Noon); Nebraska at Michigan (3:30); Notre Dame at Pittsburgh (8:00)

November 16 – Michigan at Northwestern (3:30); Michigan State at Nebraska (8:00)

November 23 – Nebraska at Penn State (3:30); California at Stanford (8:00)

November 29 – Iowa at Nebraska (Noon); South Florida at UCF (3:30)

November 30 – Ohio State at Michigan (Noon); Florida State at Florida or Penn State at Wisconsin (3:30); UCLA at USC (8:00)

December 7 – USF at Rutgers or Memphis at Connecticut or Conference USA Championship Game (Noon); Oklahoma at Oklahoma State (3:30); ACC Championship Game (8:00)

Notes:

• All the times for these games are EST.
• There’s a large Big Ten presence on the ABC network schedule this year.  Almost half the scheduled games (22 out of 48 at this point) look like they will be Big Ten games.
• For people in southern Ontario, they get one of two ABC feeds; either Detroit or Buffalo.  For the most part, they get the same ABC games, but every so often one will get a game that appears on, let’s say, ESPN2 in the other market.
• In the nine spots where there seems to be more than one option for which ABC game will be televised, it is pretty much assumed that in this area, the Big Ten game will be chosen.  The only exceptions would be October 12 (I expect BC-Clemson) and December 7.  For the December selection, if a Conference USA team is in, let’s say, the top 15 and in the conference championship, I assume ABC would take that game, as this team would have a shot at a BCS bowl (like with Houston two seasons ago).  If not, the C-USA game goes probably to ESPN2 and USF-Rutgers is shown in our area.

People outside of Ontario probably don’t know this but up until about ten years ago, the only games we would get would be the games on CBS, Notre Dame on NBC, 1-2 ABC games, and maybe a game on TSN (simsubbed from ESPN).  That’s it.  So five games, tops.  Would have made my work on the blog when it comes to the TV schedules VERY easy.  Slowly that has changed and now with the advent of the special sports packages, people in this region can enjoy from 20-40 games to select from a week.

Next up…predictions!  Finally!

It’s Verne! It’s Gary! It’s Tim in the studio! It’s the SEC on CBS! Now let us all rejoice or something like that.

Since it seems like 1 in every 4 college football fans has a raging hard-on for the SEC, I thought it might be a good idea to take an early look at the SEC schedule on CBS this upcoming season.  Most of the schedule I have is probably about 75-80% correct as a lot of things can change.  This schedule is probably mostly correct with maybe one or two changes if certain teams exceed expectations (or others shit the bed).  So here is what the schedule looks like for the SEC on CBS this season (and of course, it is always a damn good set of games…all games at 3:30 EST unless otherwise stated):

Sept. 14, 2013 – Alabama at Texas A&M

Sept. 21, 2013 – Auburn at LSU

Sept. 28, 2013 – LSU at Georgia (12:00pm); Ole Miss at Alabama

Oct. 5, 2013 – Georgia at Tennessee

Oct. 12, 2013 – Florida at LSU

Oct. 19, 2013 – South Carolina at Tennessee (12:00pm); Auburn at Texas A&M

Oct. 26, 2013 – Tennessee at Alabama

Nov. 2, 2013 – Georgia vs. Florida (in Jacksonville)

Nov. 9, 2013 – Vanderbilt at Florida; LSU at Alabama (8:00pm)

Nov. 16, 2013 – Florida at South Carolina

Nov. 23, 2013 – Texas A&M at LSU

Nov. 29, 2013 (Friday) – Arkansas at LSU (2:30pm)

Nov. 30, 2013 – Alabama at Auburn

Dec. 7, 2013 – SEC Championship

Now only the first three weeks are official, but chances are the rest of these games are set in stone for the rest of the season.

Notes

• According to my list, the amount of times a team would appear on CBS would be as follows (not including the SEC Championship): Alabama – 5, Arkansas – 1, Auburn – 3, Florida – 4, Georgia – 3, LSU – 6, Ole Miss – 1, South Carolina – 2, Tennessee – 3, Texas A&M – 3, Vanderbilt – 1.  Three teams would not appear at all: Kentucky, Mississippi State, and Missouri.
• One of these games will, in all likelihood, not be shown on CBS.  I believe CBS has the rights to 12-15 regular season SEC games.  Of course the one game removed will be one of the doubleheader games.  My money is on one of the games on October 19 to be taken out, with the other game being at the regular 3:30 kickoff time.  If I had to choose, I say Auburn/Texas A&M gets left out to be picked up by ESPN.
• Funny how Auburn and Tennessee, two schools that haven’t played well lately, get more than one CBS game.  Bottom line is it all has to do with the school they’re playing, not those schools themselves.
• I can’t remember the last time Mississippi State appeared on CBS.  After some research I see it was only two seasons ago!  Where was I when that happened?

So there you have it SECers (SECites? SECians?)  Most of the rest of the games will be on Peachtree TV or the ESPN networks which means if you get the NCAA football package from either Rogers or Bell you should get damn near every SEC game that your heart desires.

One last note…why is it that fans of schools in the SEC, tend to root for the SEC in general?  To me it seems just a bit odd.  For example, I am a Toronto Maple Leafs fan (I know…the jokes write themselves).  However, if they get eliminated from the playoffs or just don’t make them, I’m not going to spouting off on Facebook and Twitter saying “NORTHEAST DIVISION BABY!  Northeast takin it home!”  And other shit like that.  Maybe I’m overthinking it, but it seems silly to go nuts over Auburn in the Outback Bowl (for example) if you are a diehard Crimson Tide fan.

Biggest Games of the College Football Season (at this point) Part Quatre (FINALLY!)

Alright.  Almost done here.  I see the finish line.  Last few weeks of the biggest games of the college football season.  HERE WE GO!

Week 13

Texas A&M at LSU – This ends the SEC West on SEC West violence (at least in terms of the teams vying for division supremacy).  Unfortunately, both teams could be out of the running for a division title by this point.  If that’s the case, it would knock this game down a few notches for sure.

BYU at Notre Dame – Again, I keep harping on it, but the Irish could come into this game undefeated.  And BYU is no pushover.  Expect this to be more of a battle than might be normally expected, especially if Notre Dame is in line for a BCS birth and BYU could stand in its way.  By the way, shouldn’t this game be called the Holy War rather than the actual Holy War (BYU/Utah)?

Oklahoma at Kansas State – Another game where both teams could be essentially out of the conference title hunt.  Chances are at least one of these teams will be in the thick of it.

Arizona State at UCLA – The hype machine seems to have settled on both schools this season.  High expectations for both schools.  Having this game at home is a major advantage for the Bruins as there is no way they would like to go to the desert this late in the season.

Rutgers at UCF – Not many notable games in the American this year but this is definitely one.  Two of three teams (Cincinnati being the other) that have a truly legitimate shot to beat Louisville and get the American’s last ever automatic BCS berth.

Honourable mention: Washington at Oregon State, Nebraska at Penn State, Baylor at Oklahoma State

Week 14

Ohio State at Michigan – The Big Game.  This one could be extra special.  There’s a fair chance of the Buckeyes being undefeated going into this game.  Nothing would please Wolverines fans more than to knock THE Ohio State University off its football perch and win this last regular season game of the season for these two teams.

Clemson at South Carolina – If either of these two teams aren’t in a conference championship, a loss could kill any BCS hopes.  The Battle of the Palmetto State is always huge.  This could be the biggest one yet.

Florida State at Florida – For the first time in a while, it really does seem that the Seminoles have a much better chance of a great season and a BCS berth than do the Gators.  Saying that, most interstate games are heated and WILL MUSCHAMP! and Florida won’t let FSU walk all over them at the Swamp.

Notre Dame at Stanford – Both teams could be coming into this one either undefeated or very close to it.  Last year the Irish won when Stepfan Taylor couldn’t get over the goal line in OT (oh wait, he did…never mind).  But this time they will be out on the west coast so give the (slight) advantage to the Cardinal.

UCLA at USC – Victory Bell time!  This game could have the biggest implications if these two teams are close enough in the standings.  A Pac-12 South division crown and berth in the Pac-12 Title game will probably be at stake here.

Honourable mention: Ole Miss at Mississippi State (Egg Bowl), Texas Tech at Texas, Oregon State at Oregon (Civil War)

Week 15

This is a different week since there are six conference championship games on tap.  So of course all of those are important, especially the SEC and Big Ten games this year.  Other games that could be of importance include:

Louisville at Cincinnati – Ending off an amazing Thursday night schedule this year is this gem from the American.  Everything points to this game being the one that could potentially put the Cardinals in the BCS Championship.  Also, the Bearkats are damn good too.  This should be a fun one for the Keg of Nails.

Texas at Baylor – The way things look, if the Horns can knock off Baylor in Waco, they will be off to the Fiesta Bowl at the very least as Big XII champs.  But you can never sleep on the Baylor Bears these days.  You could go to the fridge to get a beer and come back and see they’ve put a 21-spot up on the board.

Honourable mention: Oklahoma at Oklahoma State (Bedlam)

There you go.  Finally done.  Next few posts will be some ones on TV scheduling and then maybe, just maybe, I will finally get to my predictions for this season.

Biggest games of the College Football Season (at this point) – Part III

For God’s sake, when will this end?  Trudging along the back stretch with the third part of this awesome miniseries on the biggest games of this upcoming NCAA season.  Enjoy!  Or don’t.  Whatever.  I need to get some breakfast.

Week 9

UCLA at Oregon – Does the Pac-12 scheduler hate the Bruins?  In back-to-back weeks they go to Stanford and then up to Oregon.  If somehow, UCLA wins even one of these games, then Jim Mora, Jr. is definitely one of the best coaches in the nation.

Vanderbilt at Texas A&M – Two of the best coaches in college football square off in this one.  Now, Vandy has to handle being a good team now.  Expectations are high so they will be expected to at least keep this one close.

Texas at TCU – Mack Brown cannot look past this game.  Being in Fort Worth, it will be a bit of a hostile environment for the Longhorns.  Chances are, this is to keep their undefeated season alive.  Gary Patterson would love nothing more than to put the first checkmark in the L column of the Horns.

Penn State at Ohio State – Another landmine game here.  This would be much worse if it wasn’t at the Horseshoe.  Ohio State has the team, the coach, and the schedule to run the table.  But these types of pitfall games always seem to trip up the good teams.  Get through this and they probably go into the Michigan game at 11-0.

Stanford at Oregon State – Stanford always worries about Oregon.  Should they be worried about the Beavers as well?  Hehe, I said Beaver.  Anyway, their chance at the Pac-12 North will hinge very heavily on this tilt.

Honourable mention: Notre Dame at Air Force, Tennessee at Alabama, Texas Tech at Oklahoma

Week 10

Georgia vs. Florida – World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party….er, I mean, the Florida-Georgia game.  I can honestly see WILL MUSCHAMP! working his team into a frenzy for this one.  Georgia should come in as a favourite in this one and the favourite to represent the SEC East in the SEC Championship.  And now, in honour of this game with no mention of alcohol, I will raise my glass (of beer) and toast this great alcohol-free game…..for once I would love to hear Verne Lundquist and Gary Danielson piss drunk in the broadcast booth.  Just once.  It would be a classic! (Verne: Hey (BURP) Gary, waddya think of that thing…you know…the thing…the PLAY!  That’s it, the play.  Gary: SHUT UP Verne, you baloney.)

Michigan at Michigan State – Many are saying this is the game that could derail the Wolverines’ season.  I hate to break it to you, but I’m sure that Michigan’s chances at a national championship or even a Big Ten Championship will be gone by now.  Still always a great game though.  Will be interesting to see if it is “downgraded” to the Big Ten Network.

Navy at Notre Dame – The Middies will be looking for revenge after last year’s shellacking over in GuinnessLand (known to most as Ireland) to start the 2012 season.  Again, Navy will be an above-average team but Notre Dame could be undefeated going into this game.  Could Navy play spoiler if that’s the case?

Miami at Florida State – WIDE RIGHT!  Just kidding.  Or am I?

North Carolina at NC State – A bit of a surprising pick here perhaps.  However, here are two well above-average teams on the rise.  The winner here could take the next step towards truly being a contender in the up-and-down ACC.

Honourable mention: USC at Oregon State, Mississippi State at South Carolina, Oklahoma State at Texas Tech

Week 11

LSU at Alabama – At this point, this game is by far the most important game of the week.  Nick Saban has had Les Miles’ number the last two meetings.  If LSU wants to stop Bama’s reign as SEC West champ, this is their chance.  As far as I know this is the only CBS primetime game this season.

Oklahoma at Baylor – Hey funny thing.  I just watched the highlights of RGIII beating the Sooners in the last minute a couple years back on YouTube.  And for some reason, I smiled.  A big smile.  If the Bears can put up the points in this one, they have a shot to outlast the (probably) favoured Sooners.

Oregon at Stanford – OK scratch what I said about LSU/Bama being the most important game of the week by far.  It’s only by a little.  This will most likely decide the Pac-12 North winner and Rose Bowl participant from the conference.  It’s in Stanford this time so there’s a bit of an edge there but not much.  These two teams are very evenly matched.

Virginia Tech at Miami – 145-year-old Frank Beamer may finish the reload from last year’s subpar performance if they can beat the Canes in south Florida.  A Hokies win puts them in the driver’s seat in the ACC Coastal, depending on what North Carolina does.

Nebraska at Michigan – Nebraska may have a chance to clinch the, um, well, their division (whatever it’s called) with a win here.  And I truly believe that Michigan will be out of contention and playing spoiler at this point.  If they put Bo Pelini’s face on Brady Hoke, that would be the scariest coach to look at in NCAA history.  Just sayin’.

Honourable mention: Kansas State at Texas Tech, Vanderbilt at Florida, Mississippi State at Texas A&M

Week 12

Oklahoma State at Texas – The battle for the Big XII title probably comes down to this tilt in Austin(unless you read what I said about the Red River Shootout…in that case….I have no excuse other than I was probably drunk when I posted this…which would be a whole other issue since it’s like 8 in the morning).  Could be a November match up of undefeateds as well which would make it an even bigger showdown.

Stanford at USC – Possible Pac-12 Championship preview.  The Fighting Kiffins are going to have high expectations this year and I see them coming close to matching them, if not exceeding them.  But Stanford has been one of the best big-game programs in recent memory.  And yes, this would qualify as a big game.

Michigan State at Nebraska – The Huskers have a brutal ending of the year (other than Harvest Fest against Iowa on Thanksgiving Friday).  If Michigan doesn’t try to kill their Big Ten championship aspirations, then the Spartans will certainly try to this week.  Don’t count out a team coached by Mark D’Antonio.

Washington at UCLA – Many think the Huskies will be just above-average again this year.  Husky fans are hoping for better showing this year and this is one of the games they have to win if they want to move into the upper echelon among Pac-12 teams.

Florida at South Carolina – The Ol’ Ball Coach’s current team against his previous team.  No matter how often this game occurs, that’s always a huge story.  Bigger story: the Cocks (yeah I went there) need wins over teams like the Gators (and the Bulldogs and now, evidently, the Commodores) to be the true beasts of the east on a regular basis.

Honourable mention: Michigan at Northwestern, TCU at Kansas State, Oregon State at Arizona State

Biggest games of the college football season (at this point) – Part II

Alright, on to part deux of the biggest games this season…at least at this point.

Week 5

Oklahoma at Notre Dame – Bob Stoops and the Sooners are looking for revenge for last year’s loss in Norman.  If the Irish can be undefeated through this game, then they have to be taken very seriously again (which would make all non-Irish fans hang their heads in shame).

USC at Arizona State – Put up or shut up for Arizona State.  If they want to compete in the Pac-12 South, this is the kind of game they must win.  The Fighting Kiffins will be ready for them.

Wisconsin at Ohio State – Games between these two teams are usually really good.  They have a primetime slot on ABC (at this point), so they will have the better part of a national audience watching.  First true test for the Buckeyes this season.

Arizona at Washington – The team that loses this game could conceivably miss a bowl game this year.  Both teams looking to get back into their division title conversations.  Possible first national look at renovated Husky Stadium.

LSU at Georgia – Now we are really starting into the SEC gauntlet.  LSU goes Between the Hedges to face a Bulldogs team that looks BCS-ready.  The “Mark Richt could be on the hot seat” discussions would die down (for at least 9 hours) if the Dawgs win this one.

Honourable mention: Ole Miss at Alabama, South Carolina at UCF, Virginia Tech at Georgia Tech

Week 6

Ohio State at Northwestern – Test number two for Urban Meyer.  The Wildcats look to be moving up the Big Ten food chain and this should be close, especially since it’s in Evanston.  Other than The Game, this could be the only derailment to a perfect regular season.

West Virginia at Baylor – Should we just put the over/under at 110 points right now?  Might as well.

North Carolina at Virginia Tech – Miami notwithstanding, this could be the game that decides the ACC Coastal (or is it Atlantic?  Why couldn’t they come up with better names for the divisions?  Like North and South.  Or Mason and Dixon.).

TCU at Oklahoma – One of these teams keeps their Big XII title hopes alive after this game and one is essentially eliminated.

Arizona State vs. Notre Dame – Catholic Football Recruit-A-Thon 2013 hits Jerry World.  Wouldn’t it just suck if the Irish come in here undefeated and blow a tire against a pretty good ASU team?  Brian Kelly’s head might just explode if that happens.

Honourable mention: Kansas State at Oklahoma State, BYU at Utah State (Holy War Lite), Washington at Stanford

Week 7

Oklahoma vs. Texas – The Red River Shootout!  Yes, Oklahoma State will be in the mix but this game could be the one that decides the Big XII this season.

Florida at LSU – LSU gets such a brutal cross-conference schedule in 2013.  Two weeks ago they play Georgia and this week they get WILL MUSCHAMP! and the Florida Gators.  Chances of the Tigers winning both games?  The answer is very slim.  As slim as a blade of grass in Les Miles’ teeth.

Northwestern at Wisconsin – Once the doormat of the big Ten (or the toilet paper…you can choose the analogy), the Wildcats are a top-tier team inside the conference.  Wisconsin will have their hands full with a team that is hoping to win the final Legends Division (or is it Leaders Division…gimme a fucking break, Delany, with your dumb-ass division names) title.

Michigan at Penn State – Bill O’Brien shocked everyone last year with the performance of the Nittany Lions.  They might regress a bit but will still be pretty good.  Michigan cannot sleep on this game as they have heavy competition in their division to get to the Big Ten Championship.

Texas A&M at Ole Miss – It’s the Hype Bowl!  JOHNNY FOOTBALL!  KEVIN SUMLIN!  HUGH FREEZE! THE PLACE WHERE THAT BLIND SIDE GUY WENT TO SCHOOL!  Any other division and this could be the game that determines who goes to a conference championship.  But not in the SEC West.  Loser is probably eliminated.

Honourable mention: Rutgers at Louisville, Arizona at USC, Oregon at Washington

Week 8

USC at Notre Dame – Would USC be the underdog going to South Bend?  All depends.  If the Irish are undefeated coming in here, I don’t think it matters if the Trojans are as well…the Irish would be prohibitive favourites.

Florida State at Clemson – This is the game for the Atlantic division title.  With all due respect to NC State and Syracuse, there is not a single team in this division within 10,000 country miles of the Noles and Tigers.  Clemson has to be the favourite with this game in Death Valley.

Washington at Arizona State – This is probably the statement game for both squads.  Both teams would need a win here to stay in the hunt for a berth in the conference championship.   A loss hurts them in this regard and changes bowl outlooks drastically.

Miami at North Carolina – ESPN has lucked out this year with some crazy-good Thursday night matchups (compared to last season’s lackluster schedule).  This is definitely one of them.  Al Golden and Al Golden’s tie lead the Canes into Chapel Hill to face Larry Fedora (who should wear a fedora…yeah that would be awesome and hilarious all at once) and the Tar Heels.  Winner stays in the race for the division crown.

UCLA at Stanford – A rematch of last year’s Pac-12 Championship.  This time, the Bruins need this game to stay relevant in their division race.  Saying that, Stanford can’t afford to take the day off here.  Lose here, even though it might not be considered a huge upset, and it may cost them the division.

Honourable mention: Georgia at Vanderbilt, LSU at Ole Miss, UCF at Louisville

Biggest games of the college football season (at this point) – Part I

I’ve seen a few websites taking a stab at picking the college football games of the year.  A little presumptuous but I understand since I am about to do the SAME DAMN THING!  48 days.  FORTY.  EIGHT.  DAYS.  Oh yes.  OK, here we go!  Best games of the college football season!  OK not the whole season.  I have to split this up, otherwise no one will read to the end.  Hell, I probably wouldn’t read to the end.

Week 1

Alabama vs. Virginia Tech – The defending champs start the defense of their title against Frank Beamer’s Hokies.  I would love to say this is going to be a close game.  I hope it is.  I really do.  But it won’t be.

Georgia at Clemson – Now this…this will be a close game.  Both teams look to be contenders in their respective conferences and dark horse contenders to be in the BCS championship.

TCU vs. LSU – Gary Patterson’s Horned Frogs are good.  Sneaky good.  Even in their first year in the Big XII, they showed why they could beat almost anyone.  However, this is a whole different beast.  LSU and Les Miles.  This will be a battle.  I think Les might eat the entire sideline’s worth of grass by the time it’s over.  Oh wait, it’s at Jerry World?  Ugh, that fieldturf is not going to feel good coming out the other end, Les.

North Carolina at South Carolina – Official start of the college football season right here!  Battle of the Carolinas!  Fedora vs. the ol’ ball coach.  Both of these teams are expected to be good and it would be heartbreaking to start out the year at 0-1 if you are either of these teams.

Boise State at Washington – Boise State might not be the class of the Mountain West this year (hint: Fresno State is) but they still have one of the best head coaches and offenses in all of college football.  Washington almost needs this win to prove they are better than an above-average team who can punch their ticket to the Fight Hunger or Las Vegas bowl every year.

Honourable mention: Northwestern at California, Florida State at Pittsburgh, Penn State vs. Syracuse (at the Meadowlands)

Week 2

Notre Dame at Michigan – Under the lights again at The Big House.  This time everyone knows that the Irish are not a team to take lightly.  Neither are the Wolverines for that matter.  Brady Hoke and Brian Kelly should seriously consider becoming a tag team.  New Natural Disasters?  Hoke would be Earthquake then.

San Jose State at Stanford – This game is so late at night, that even people on the west coast would say “Fuck this, I’m headed to bed.”  Problem is, this could be a gem of a game.  The Spartans have one of the best kept secrets in David Fales at quarterback and Stanford is, well, Stanford.  Possible upset alert in this one.

Florida at Miami – Al Golden and Al Golden’s tie have made The U a contender again.  They expect to be battling for an ACC championship this year.  Will Muschamp will be trying to yell and scream his way to an outside shot at a national championship.  This game could end up being an early BCS elimination game.

South Carolina at Georgia – Early start to the SEC sked for these two teams as they go Between the Hedges.  Sounds odd to say this in week two but this game could decide the SEC East.  Cue the “will Mark Richt be canned at the end of this season?” discussion.

West Virginia at Oklahoma – Which Mountaineer team will show up this time?  The team that started last season looking like a national championship contender?  Or the team that looked like a MAC bottom feeder during the last half of last season?  And do the Sooners kill West Virginia’s conference title hopes early on?

Honourable mention: Texas at BYU, Oregon at Virginia, Syracuse at Northwestern

Week 3

Alabama at Texas A&M – Was there any doubt this was the game of the week for Week 3?  Is there any doubt this could be the SEC game of the year?  But the big question will be can the Tide stop Johnny Football?  The worst thing is that even with the magnitude of this game, it won’t even be close to deciding the SEC West with LSU and Ole Miss looking to stir things up.

Ole Miss at Texas – Speaking of Ole Miss, this looks to be a bit of a statement game for Hugh Freeze and his Rebels.  With the recruiting class they had this past off-season, we could be looking at the next power to come out of the SEC West (like we need another one).  Then again, Texas are national title contenders so this should be a statement game for one of these two teams.  And this game can only be seen on the Longhorn Network (fuckers).

UCLA at Nebraska – Can lightning strike twice for the Bruins?  Jim Mora, Jr. has transformed UCLA into a big deal in the Pac-12.  The Huskers have to try and get temporary amnesia and forget last year’s Big Ten title game where they were absolutely annihilated by Wisconsin.  They shouldn’t worry though.  I’m sure Bo Pelini would personally beat the ever-loving shit out of half the team if they ever do something like that again.

Vanderbilt at South Carolina – The West division has their huge game this week.  Here’s the East version.  Not as notable as Tide/Aggies but huge upset alarms should be sounding with this game.  The Dores are this close (my fingers are only a tiny bit apart…just try and visualize it) to becoming a real deal in the SEC East and if they can upend South Carolina here they might have given themselves a shot to go to their first SEC Championship.  Sounds crazy but it could happen.

Ohio State at California – Sonny Dykes comes to Berkeley to try and weave the same magic he had down in Ruston with Louisiana Tech.  However, it may have to wait a week as Urban Meyer’s juggernaut Buckeyes come to town.  I can’t see this being close but it should be fun to watch.  Braxton Miller can officially start his Heisman campaign this week.

Honourable mention: Wisconsin at Arizona State, TCU at Texas Tech, Tennessee at Oregon

Week 4

Michigan State at Notre Dame – The Irish have a bunch of landmines this year (like almost every year).  This is no exception.  The Irish can’t be caught looking ahead to Oklahoma the next week.  Wouldn’t it be just awesome if D’Antonio calls a fake field goal AGAIN?

Arizona State at Stanford – Here’s another team with a lot of hype…the Arizona State Sun Devils.  Many believe that UCLA and USC will both lose enough games for the Sun Devils to somehow win the Pac-12 South.  It’s possible.  If they somehow beat the Cardinal on the road (a game where Stanford will be a heavy favourite) then they immediately vault into the division title discussion.

Tennessee at Florida – Time for the Third Saturday in September.  This is the Vols’ chance to prove they are back in the thick of things in the SEC.  Not an easy task with WILL MUSCHAMP! guiding the Gators to, hopefully, top spot in the SEC East.

Kansas State at Texas – No Collin Klein means trouble for Kansas State.  I can’t see how they can be competitive with the Longhorns in Austin, but never count out a Bill Snyder-coached team.

Utah State at USC – So Utah State goes from having their best season ever in the dear-departed WAC, to going to the Mountain West (the best non-AQ conference), to facing USC in a September matchup.  Thing is, Utah State is good.  This will be a good test to see if they can hang with the Trojans.  With USC’s Pac-12 schedule starting the next week, they don’t want to slip up against the Aggies.

Honourable mention: Clemson at NC State, Boise State at Fresno State, North Carolina at Georgia Tech

NFL Predictions Part Dos…Awww, the Denver Broncos.

And now to the playoffs portion of my NFL predictions. You know, for a predominantly college football blog, there has been a whole batch of sweet fuck all on college football. Ok where was I? Oh yeah…not many changes from the previous year in the NFL. In the NFC, the Skins and Vikings are replaced by the Giants and da Bears. In the AFC, not a single change. Not one. To be honest, other than the Miami Dolphins, is there another team in that conference capable of making it to the post-season? I mean, Andy Reid’s Chiefs will be improved but they were terrible last year. The Steelers are just getting older and have been bypassed by the Bengals. And don’t even get me started on the rest of the AFC teams. I think the Jets may have gone 0-16 if they were in the NFC West instead of the AFC East.

Anyway, let’s move on with the games, shall we?

AFC Wild Card
Cincinnati (3) def. Indianapolis (6) – I think the Colts will barely get in and most of that will be on sheer guts. This is a tough team. Too bad they would play one of the up-and-coming NFL teams in the Bengals. Since it’s in southern Ohio, the Bengals win easy.
Baltimore (5) def. New England (4) – The Pats must be very thankful to be in the AFC East since they will probably walk to a division title yet again (although Ryan Tannehill and the Fins may have something to say about division dominance starting next year). However, their passing game has gone from arguably the best in recent memory to mediocre in a flash. No Welker, no Hernandez, and no Gronk (for a while). The Pats will make it to the post-season but get bowled over by Ray Rice’s Ravens. Make that two not-very-close wild card games.

NFC Wild Card
NY Giants (3) def. Chicago (6) – The NFC is very intriguing this year as there are a lot of teams I chose not to make the playoffs that wouldn’t surprise me if they did (Redskins, Cowboys, Vikings, Saints, Rams). Many people thought the hiring of Marc Trestman was anywhere from odd to stupid. I think many will see Jay Cutler have a fantastic year under the QB guru, and take da Bears within a hair of the Packers for the NFC Norris crown. Unfortunately, losing out on that means they get the Giants. In the Meadowlands (or whatever the hell it’s called now). This will be the best of the wild-card games, go down to the wire. But hey, I believe in Eli! Giants in a squeaker.
Seattle (5) def. Green Bay (4) – No replacement refs this time. No ridiculous calls. Russell Wilson is more experienced. And the Seahawks are just that good. Not taking anything away from the Packers but I think the Seahawks will go into the post-season hot and continue their run in the wild-card round. Yes I realize this game would be on the “Frozen Tundra” but I see Seattle pulling away to move on.

AFC Divisional Playoffs
Houston (1) def. Baltimore (5) – The Texans win a game! The Texans win a game! A playoff game that is. Finally…FINALLY…Gary Kubiak won’t have to drown his sorrows after a divisional playoff game as his Texans will pull out a tough win over the battle-tested Ravens. The loss of Ray Lewis may show in this game as I foresee Schaub burning the Ravens’ D with short-to-medium routes and the running game getting into the secondary all game.
Denver (2) def. Cincinnati (3) – The final bit of the fourth quarter in the Broncos’ playoff loss last year was tough to watch. Like, really tough. I don’t see them allowing the Bengals to even be close in this one. Manning will come out firing and the Broncos’ D should shut down the Bengals offense fairly well in this one.

NFC Divisional Playoffs
Seattle (5) def. San Francisco (1) – A major upset? Not so fast. I see the Seahawks winning at least 11 games this year and being easily the best wild card team by a country mile. I think both games against the Niners will be close during the regular season so this won’t be as much of a shock as the standings may indicate. I just have this idea that the hype surrounding the Niners is all about the regular season and that this time doesn’t have the horses to make it back to the Super Bowl. Then again, it’s all going to come down to the Seahawks’ unbelievable offense against the 49ers’ brick wall of a defense. Low scoring, but I think the Hawks eke out the win to move on to the NFC Championship.
Atlanta (2) def. NY Giants (3) – Matt Ryan and the Falcons finally get revenge for that debacle a couple of seasons ago when the G-Men made Atlanta their bitch (well they made Atlanta’s football team their bitch). This time around, expect an aerial show of sorts with Ryan and Manning going apeshit in the air and at least one receiver catching ten balls (if not one from each team). Total opposite of the earlier divisional playoff game, this one will be high-scoring. Think along the lines of the Cards-Pack classic from a few years back.

AFC Championship
Denver (2) def. Houston (1) – Poor Houston. They make it this far and end up as the conference’s bridesmaid. As much as I think the Texans will win their first playoff game this season with relative ease, I see them reverting to the Texans of the past couple years, looking shockingly mediocre and not having the drive to win the big games. Plus, Peyton is jealous of brother Eli and wants the same amount of rings as he has. If he doesn’t get it, he will hold his breath until he gets one (while Archie looks on in disgust).

NFC Championship
Seattle (5) def. Atlanta (2) – Speaking of bridesmaids, Mike Smith can’t get his team over the hump…again. Then again, they will be playing arguably the hottest team in football at the time so at least they can take consolation in that. Or not…I’m guessing they will be pretty upset after losing again. At home. Yeah it’ll sting.

Super Bowl XLVIII
Denver def. Seattle – A post-season matchup with the former AFC West foes. I think the Hawks’ Cinderella-like season will come to an end here. Glass slipper and all that jazz. Peyton Manning will be too much for the Seahawks’ excellent secondary. He will finally get his second ring so he can finally stop Eli from saying “Two rings! Suck it Peyton”. Ok that looks way worse typed out. Archie would look on in disgust. And perhaps vomit.