It’s Conference Championship Time!

I would have put more exclamation marks in the title but I can’t be as excited as I would have been thanks to Wide Right II – Pro Edition.

Let’s just get right to this Bills-less conference championship weekend schedule, shall we?

Sunday

Kansas City at Baltimore	3:00, CBS, CTV, TSN 1/3/5/+
Detroit at San Francisco	6:30, FOX, CTV, TSN 1/3*/5/+

Quick Notes!

• (The now) classic 3 and 6:30 start times for the games. Having the late game end between 9:30 and 10:00 is honestly pretty fucking awesome I have to say.
• TSN3 will be getting to the NFC Championship game late. After the AFC Championship, the Raptors face the Hawks. That game should end around 8:30 or so meaning TSN3 should join in progress around the start of the fourth quarter. Now I have no clue who only has one TSN (along with TSN2 which has always been the “alternate” TSN) in this country anymore but for the ones out there that only get TSN3, there you go.
• There’s a chance it will be a completely sloppy NFL Sunday. Baltimore will be hosting yet another super wet playoff game (do they think they are Seattle or something?) and there is a decent probability for rain in Santa Clara as well. I want to say rain and other non-sunny weather evens the playing field but I am not sure anymore (and chances are there are analytics that refute that notion).
• My prediction for the Super Bowl…Ravens-Lions.

Look, all we can hope for is at least one good game this weekend, right? If we get two? Very nice.

Since I won’t be doing a blog post between this one and the Super Bowl, might as well clue you in on the few college football all-star games there will be coming up. Thursday night will be the East-West Shrine Bowl, now taking place in Frisco at The Star which is where I believe they also do the Conference USA basketball tournament on two separate courts with games going on at the same time. Leave it to C-USA to do something wacky like that. Then next Saturday it is the Senior Bowl. The Shrine Bowl begins at 8:00 on Thursday and the Senior Bowl kicks off at 1:00. Both games have slightly altered rules but it is kind of fun to see some players who are getting draft-ready. Both games will be on the NFL Network.

Alright, have a great weekend and hopefully things dry up a bit. It’s one thing to just have snow on the ground; another to have slush and water. Ugh. Anyway, enjoy the games everyone!

If I Could Fix the Current Postseason Format Version 4.0

The bowl games have commenced. I did horrible with my first day picks. Haven’t done a whole lot better since then. But never mind that because it’s time for me the fix the postseason….well, the current version at least.

The current postseason setup is plagued with issues but the idea that players can hop into the transfer portal BEFORE the bowl games are over is absurd. Honestly, same with coaches. There are almost needs to be a moratorium on moves that starts the day after conference championship weekend ends and finishes the day after the national championship. Otherwise it becomes the quasi-shitshow we have now.

This is now the ninth time I have done this exercise. Nine. I am not linking the previous eight but they shouldn’t be too difficult to find. Like the fact that I am sure most of these posts were done sometime in December. Should make your search a bit easier.

We begin with the opening ceremonies, so to speak: the axing of bowl games. That’s right, some bowl games just cannot exist in my version of Bowl Season. ESPN Events can fuck off if they have a problem with this. So the following bowl games will cease to exist:

• Myrtle Beach Bowl
• Bahamas Bowl
• Cure Bowl
• 68 Ventures Bowl
• Frisco Bowl
• Boca Raton Bowl
• Gasparilla Bowl
• Camellia Bowl
• Arizona Bowl

I’m sure some will bristle at the Cure Bowl because it’s a charity endeavour. Want a solution? Make more bowls like this. Have a portion of ticket revenue go to a charity of their choice. See how easy that was? Do I have to come up with all the answers? It sure feels like it.

Also, with the restrictions I have on who qualifies for the bowl games in my scenario, these bowls had to go. I get it: less football usually sucks. But the idea is to give as many of these games a full national audience as much as possible. That’s the whole point. Some of these teams just don’t get these kinds of audiences and bowl season is their one shot to do so. So let’s give it to them!

Another thing: pre-Christmas daytime starts. Those are gone. They are stupid. So don’t do them. There’s no reason for them. I think the only game that had to be played during the day was the Bahamas Bowl and, well, go back and look at the list.

Let’s bring back more games on over-the-air networks. So I am planning, as per usual, to take games off of ESPN and disperse them to ABC, CBS, FOX and NBC. No I am not putting any on the CW although I was tempted to move the Hawaii Bowl to 11:59 PM and put it on Spectrum Sports and have a bowl season Hawaii Test.

The amount of bowl tie-ins drops for an obvious reason. I am looking forward with this so I figured I might as well not include the Pac-12 and put teams in the conferences they will be in next season. So there are plenty of at-large spots available. The other incentive I always use is back: each Group of Five champion gets to face a Power Five team in a bowl game. There is a bit of a change this year. With the Pac-12 no longer in this exercise, the Mountain West doesn’t have a partner in this, so to speak. So they aren’t slotted in for one of these games. Because of this, if the Mountain West champion is the top Group of Five team, they will just take their spot in the playoffs and that’s that. If they aren’t, then that team will replace the conference that did have the top Group of Five team in their bowl game. So, in essence, each G-5 champ still has their shot against a P-5 team, with a twist.

How do you qualify for the Bossman Bowl System? 7 wins. Those teams that qualify will be placed first and then, AND ONLY THEN, will any 6-win teams be put into bowl slots.

And finally let’s look at Selection Sunday: an abomination that I am sure ESPN is proud of but they shouldn’t be because it’s a fucking garbage show with their garbage takes. Complete crap. Let’s spice it up, shall we?

• Noon-12:05 – Introduction of hosts and panel
• 12:05-12:30 – CFP byes announced with analysis
• 12:25-1:15 – First round playoff matchups announced with analysis
• 1:15-2:00 – Tie-ins filled with short analysis
• 2:00-3:30 – It’s selection time! The bowl games are selected in random order (draw would have been determined in the morning if not late the night before). At-large selections are shown every few minutes. Analysis follows every pick and new bowl game matchup is shown if both bowl slots are filled.
• 3:30-4:00 – Final analysis and thoughts

Much better. Hell, even do the live look-ins like they do at March Madness. They did it this year and there was some interesting reaction shots. Florida State’s was heartbreaking, Liberty’s was nice to see and Michigan’s was hilarious. Drama. ESPN is starting to get it but the stuff they manufacture is mostly crap. If it wasn’t for Booger McFarland squaring off with Joey Galloway that entire show would have been unwatchable.

Next year, we get the 12-team playoff. It took years but everyone realized four wasn’t the answer. Probably should have gone right to six or stayed at two. Oh well, hindsight is 20-20. The top four will be the conference champions so I have taken some leeway by taking the top ranked team in what the conferences will look like next year. The Group of Five gets their top team in and that team will usually end up being the #12 seed although there have been times where they wouldn’t have been like when Cincinnati made the 4-team playoff a few years back. So here is what the Top 12 would look like, with the upcoming criteria and teams in their new conferences:

1. Michigan (Big Ten champ)
2. Texas (SEC champ)
3. Florida State (ACC champ)
4. Arizona (Big XII champ)
5. Washington (Big Ten)
6. Alabama (SEC)
7. Georgia (SEC)
8. Ohio State (Big Ten)
9. Oregon (Big Ten)
10. Missouri (SEC)
11. Penn State (Big Ten)
12. Liberty (Conference USA)

See how much things change? Florida State AND Arizona get byes. Arizona. A team that didn’t even make the New Year’s Six this time around. It also means Ole Miss gets booted from a possible national championship spot. I’m already not liking the new system. I’m sure with the new conference alignment, we won’t see this kind of disparity from the Big Ten/SEC and the ACC/Big XII. But for this time around, this is what we’ve got.

Scheduling! It’s what I show on here. So this has to work or otherwise what have I learned the past decade? I am using this year’s dates but the setup will work in other years as well. The main thing is to use Saturdays as your playoff days. Or if that fails, New Year’s Day for one. This is how this will work. Here is what I see with this:

First Round Games – Saturday December 23rd (all times EST)

• Missouri at Georgia (Noon, ESPN)
• Penn State at Alabama (3:30, CBS)
• Oregon at Ohio State (7:00, FOX)
• Liberty at Washington (10:30, ESPN)

I’m sure Chris Petersen might be a bit miffed at the start time for the final game but using the entire Saturday is the right play here. No other bowl games will be on this day either so these four games will have full national attention until the NFL puts their games on this day because they couldn’t give two shits about anything else on TV.

Quarter-Finals – Saturday December 30th

Since college football wants to change so much then let’s change it. The New Year’s Day traditional games? That’s no more. Hey, college football started it, I’m just continuing with it. The top four teams would be slotted in to these bowl games at the start of Selection Sunday and The Committee would try their best (after eating copious amounts of Chinese food and drinking 290 coolers between the 13 of them) to put the teams in spots that are advantageous to them, not only in their location, but the home cities of the teams they may face.

• Peach Bowl (Noon, FOX) – Michigan vs. Oregon/Ohio St. winner
• Cotton Bowl (3:30, ABC) – Texas vs. Mizzou/UGA winner
• Orange Bowl (7:00, NBC) – Florida State vs. Penn St./Bama winner
• Fiesta Bowl (10:30, ESPN) – Arizona vs. Liberty/Washington winner

Again, the former Pac-12 teams seem stuck in the late night spot and this is fine by me and better damn well be fine with the powers that be.

Semi-Finals – Saturday January 6th

Again, stick to Saturdays.

• Rose Bowl (5:00, ABC) – Peach Bowl winner vs. Fiesta Bowl winner
• Sugar Bowl (8:45, ABC) – Cotton Bowl winner vs. Orange Bowl winner

I get that it’s almost a guarantee a West Coast team would come out of the Fiesta Bowl but if Michigan or Ohio State gets in, their fans travel well and to go to the Rose Bowl? They will fill their side of the stands no problem.

CFP National Championship – Saturday January 13th

We move the national championship back six days. This may mess with the NFL playoffs but that’s something that can be figured out. Hell, move the game to the 20th for all I care. Just keep it on Saturday night. And it will be, starting at 8:00 on ESPN.

Now on to the next part of our show, the tie-in portion. There are now nine less bowls as you remember. Very little overlap. Things look good. Now the teams need to be filled in. This is what the rest of the bowls will look like after all the tie-ins are dealt with and they will be dealt with. Not having official tie-ins and never even bothering with them. That shit bugs me.

DATE	TIME	BOWL	TIE-IN #1	TIE-IN #2
January 1st	7:00	Gator	SEC	ACC
January 1st	3:30	Citrus	SEC	Big Ten
January 1st	Noon	ReliaQuest	SEC	Big Ten
December 29th	8:30	Alamo	Big XII	at-large
December 29th	5:00	Music City	SEC	Big Ten
December 29th	2:30	Sun	Big XII	at-large
December 29th	Noon	Pop Tarts	ACC	at-large
December 28th	8:45	Texas	Big XII	at-large
December 28th	5:30	Duke’s Mayo	ACC	at-large
December 28th	2:15	Pinstripe	Big Ten	ACC
December 28th	11:00 AM	Fenway	AAC	at-large
December 27th	8:00	Holiday	at-large	at-large
December 27th	4:30	First Responder	Big XII	C-USA
December 27th	1:00	Military	ACC	AAC
December 26th	9:00	Guaranteed Rate	at-large	at-large
December 26th	5:30	Liberty	SEC	Sun Belt
December 26th	2:00	Independence	Sun Belt	at-large
December 24th	10:30	Hawaii	MWC	at-large
December 22nd	8:30	Idaho Potato	MWC	MAC
December 20th	8:30	Armed Forces	AAC	at-large
December 19th	8:00	Birmingham	C-USA	at-large
December 16th	10:30	Las Vegas	at-large	at-large
December 16th	8:00	LA	at-large	at-large
December 16th	5:30	New Mexico	at-large	at-large
December 16th	2:15	New Orleans	Sun Belt	at-large
December 16th	11:00 AM	Quick Lane	Big Ten	MAC

Yeah that’s a lot of at-large bids. Good. This is what makes this way of doing things that much more interesting. OK, let’s fill in those tie-ins. Remember, all teams in their new conferences (I hope I am not so confused with this next year).

DATE	TIME	NETWORK	BOWL	TEAM #1	TEAM #2
January 1st	7:00	CBS	Gator	Ole Miss	Louisville
January 1st	3:30	ABC	Citrus	Oklahoma	Iowa
January 1st	Noon	ABC	ReliaQuest	LSU	USC
December 29th	8:30	FOX	Alamo	Oklahoma State	at-large
December 29th	5:00	ESPN	Music City	Tennessee	UCLA
December 29th	2:30	CBS	Sun	Kansas State	at-large
December 29th	Noon	ESPN	Pop Tarts	NC State	at-large
December 28th	8:45	ESPN	Texas	Utah	at-large
December 28th	5:30	ESPN	Duke’s Mayo	Clemson	at-large
December 28th	2:15	ESPN	Pinstripe	Maryland	North Carolina
December 28th	11:00 AM	ESPN	Fenway	Tulane	at-large
December 27th	8:00	FOX	Holiday	at-large	at-large
December 27th	4:30	ESPN	First Responder	Kansas	Boise State
December 27th	1:00	ESPN	Military	Miami	SMU
December 26th	9:00	ESPN	Guaranteed Rate	at-large	at-large
December 26th	5:30	ESPN	Liberty	Kentucky	Troy
December 26th	2:00	ESPN	Independence	James Madison	at-large
December 24th	10:30	ESPN	Hawaii	UNLV	at-large
December 22nd	8:30	ESPN	Idaho Potato	Air Force	Toledo
December 20th	8:30	ESPN	Armed Forces	Memphis	at-large
December 19th	8:00	ESPN	Birmingham	New Mexico State	at-large
December 16th	10:30	ESPN	Las Vegas	at-large	at-large
December 16th	8:00	ABC	LA	at-large	at-large
December 16th	5:30	ESPN	New Mexico	at-large	at-large
December 16th	2:15	ESPN	New Orleans	Appalachian State	at-large
December 16th	11:00 AM	NBC	Quick Lane	Wisconsin	Miami-OH

It’s a bit confusing with the new Big Ten and SEC teams but we have to get used to it soon anyway. Might as well do it now.

The G-5 conference champions get the opportunities they deserve:

• SMU (the AAC champ) goes to the Military Bowl to face Miami
• Troy (Sun Belt champ) plays Kentucky in the Liberty Bowl, a step-up from the champ usually going to the New Orleans or Camellia Bowls
• The Quick Lane Bowl gets MAC champ Miami-OH and they end up paired up with the Wisconsin Badgers.
• Finally, with Liberty in the playoff, Boise State, the Mountain West champ, replaces them in the First Responder Bowl.

I think setting the qualification at 7 wins works well. There are 17 at-large teams remaining. This number includes Notre Dame. I don’t care about their current setup with the ACC bowl tie-ins. It’s dumb. They are an Independent. They can act like one. Same with Oregon State now. Interestingly, we have 21 at-large spots. So four more teams will get in. Four teams who had six wins during the season. Under my regime, the bowls can pick ANY six win team once the seven-win teams are all slotted. Makes things way more interesting and keeps many teams with their eyes glued to the television to see if they get in or not. So let’s start the random draw. I did this and it was random and this is how it turned out:

• Duke’s Mayo – Notre Dame
• Holiday – Oregon State
• Pop Tarts – Coastal Carolina
• Independence – West Virginia
• Texas – Texas A&M
• New Mexico – UTSA
• Hawaii – Iowa State
• Sun – Texas State
• Las Vegas – Fresno State
• Fenway – Duke
• Alamo – Jacksonville State
• LA – San Jose State
• Armed Forces – Wyoming
• Las Vegas – Northwestern
• LA – Ohio
• New Orleans – WKU
• Holiday – Bowling Green

Man, the Guaranteed Rate Bowl got fucked here. Or did they? They get two selections from the six-win pool while the Birmingham and New Mexico Bowls get one each. Who will they choose?????

• Birmingham – Auburn
• Guaranteed Rate – Texas Tech
• New Mexico – California
• Guaranteed Rate – Virginia Tech

OK well at least the Guaranteed Rate Bowl gets two fanbases who will travel. So after the fun-time selection process, this is what the new bowl schedule will look like (other than the playoffs):

DATE	TIME	NETWORK	BOWL	TEAM #1	TEAM #2
January 1st	7:00	CBS	Gator	Ole Miss	Louisville
January 1st	3:30	ABC	Citrus	Oklahoma	Iowa
January 1st	Noon	ABC	ReliaQuest	LSU	USC
December 29th	8:30	FOX	Alamo	Oklahoma State	Jacksonville State
December 29th	5:00	ESPN	Music City	Tennessee	UCLA
December 29th	2:30	CBS	Sun	Kansas State	Texas State
December 29th	Noon	ESPN	Pop Tarts	NC State	Coastal Carolina
December 28th	8:45	ESPN	Texas	Utah	Texas A&M
December 28th	5:30	ESPN	Duke’s Mayo	Clemson	Notre Dame
December 28th	2:15	ESPN	Pinstripe	Maryland	North Carolina
December 28th	11:00 AM	ESPN	Fenway	Tulane	Duke
December 27th	8:00	FOX	Holiday	Oregon State	Bowling Green
December 27th	4:30	ESPN	First Responder	Kansas	Boise State
December 27th	1:00	ESPN	Military	Miami	SMU
December 26th	9:00	ESPN	Guaranteed Rate	Texas Tech	Virginia Tech
December 26th	5:30	ESPN	Liberty	Kentucky	Troy
December 26th	2:00	ESPN	Independence	James Madison	West Virginia
December 24th	10:30	ESPN	Hawaii	UNLV	Iowa State
December 22nd	8:30	ESPN	Idaho Potato	Air Force	Toledo
December 20th	8:30	ESPN	Armed Forces	Memphis	Wyoming
December 19th	8:00	ESPN	Birmingham	New Mexico State	Auburn
December 16th	10:30	ESPN	Las Vegas	Fresno State	Northwestern
December 16th	8:00	ABC	LA	San Jose State	Ohio
December 16th	5:30	ESPN	New Mexico	UTSA	California
December 16th	2:15	ESPN	New Orleans	Appalachian State	WKU
December 16th	11:00 AM	NBC	Quick Lane	Wisconsin	Miami-OH

A few notes here:

• Auburn has to wonder why the college football Gods hate them. Another game with New Mexico State?
• Taking Notre Dame out of the ACC group when it comes to tie-ins means they can now face an ACC team in a bowl game. ND-Clemson? Yes, please.
• A few more P5 vs. G5 matches materialize because of the way the bowls are selected. James Madison gets to play West Virginia while RichRod’s Jacksonville State Gamecocks face off against Captain Mullet himself, Mike Gundy and his Oklahoma State squad.

OK look are all the matchups better here? No. That’s not really the point though. The point is to create interesting matchups that people might want to watch and to reward teams for their seasons. The hope here is that maybe a few more players will choose to play these games rather than opt out and get ready for the draft. I don’t blame them but it would be nice to see full rosters face off against each other. I think the bigger picutre has to be that the transfer portal shouldn’t open until after the bowl games are over but that’s a different conversation.

Alright, that was….well, fun may be a stretch but it was interesting to do as usual. I hope you enjoyed reading it and have a great weekend and a Merry Christmas!

You asked for it (I think). So here it is. The 2023 Bowl Game TV Schedule in HIGH DEFINITION!!!

Does anyone say that anymore? That something is in high definition (or the now-even cringier term, High Def)? Feels very 2008-ish.

TSN seems to always deliver during bowl season. It’s funny how they absolutely don’t deliver at all during the rest of the season but with TSN+ they now have their very own built-in excuse to not have many games on the main five stations. Now, as I say every year, the TSN portion of the schedule could change so keep coming back for any updates.

Let’s not waste any more time. Bowl schedule. NOW!

Saturday December 16th

Myrtle Beach Bowl: Georgia Southern vs. Ohio

11:00 AM

Thanks to issues with the Bahamas Bowl (that will be explained below if you don’t already know) Bowl Season begins on the eastern coast of South Carolina. This game pits two teams who were kind of forgotten in their conferences this season but quietly put together good seasons. Should be a good start to the college football postseason on the teal turf in Conway.

Celebration Bowl: Florida A&M vs. Howard

Noon

It feels like many times this game features one team that could have caused some damage in the FCS playoffs and one team that scraped their way into this game. This year’s edition is no different. Florida A&M ran roughshod through most of its opponents whereas Howard barely won the MEAC. And as it usually happens, the not-so-good team gives the really good a team a run for their money and sometimes ends up winning. So don’t necessarily think this will be a blowout.

New Orleans Bowl: Louisiana vs. Jacksonville State

2:15

Opening bowl day brings the return of RichRod to postseason competition. With the Cajuns already being there, this should at least have a raucous crowd and really, that’s a big part of the bowl experience. It’s great to see a bowl game with a great crowd as it just continues to prove that most of these bowl games mean something.

Cure Bowl: Appalachian State vs. Miami-OH

3:30

What used to be the worst bowl game matchup almost every season is now being shown on ABC on opening bowl day. Great turnaround for the Cure Bowl for sure. I think we need to have more bowl games set up like this: where a good portion of the money goes to some sort of charity or towards some type of research. I think this way we can decrease the amount of people who think there are too many bowl games. I mean there will always be some that will hate it. I see their point but it’s more football. Would you prefer to take 35 minutes to find something worth watching on Netflix or Amazon Prime or would you rather watch LIVE FOOTBALL? It really shouldn’t be a choice to be honest (at least if you read this blog).

New Mexico Bowl: Fresno State vs. New Mexico State

5:45

Time to watch America’s Team in this one. No, the Dallas Cowboys aren’t playing (and no, they aren’t America’s team and haven’t been since a year that started with a 1). The New Mexico State Aggies, coached by, arguably, the best coach in the land Jerry Kill, is now America’s Team. That’s unfortunate for the Fresno State Bulldogs who won’t have their head coach, Jeff Tedford, on the sideline. They have to face the Aggies in almost a quasi-home game for them. I want to say this won’t be close but the Bulldogs are pretty good so at the very least you should see a good game here. America’s Team. Now you know. And knowing’s half the battle…………………………………………GI JOE!!!!!!

LA Bowl: UCLA vs. Boise State

7:30

For once, the Broncos had to grind to get to a bowl game. 5-5 with their head coach being shitcanned and they somehow win the Mountain West Championship. But now with no potential Chip Kelly drama, this game loses a lot of spots in the rankings.

Independence Bowl: Texas Tech vs. California

9:15

Shreveport seems like an odd spot for two Power Five teams in their bowl game but that used to be the norm. Maybe the Independence Bowl should have been used in the new 12-team playoff somehow. I mean who says no, other than ESPN who would prefer to put every game in the biggest neutral site stadium they can find for MAXIMUM MONEY.

Monday December 18th

Famous Toastery Bowl: Old Dominion vs. WKU

2:30

This will most likely be my favourite one-off bowl ever. Because of renovations at Thomas Robinson Stadium, the Bahamas Bowl could not be played on the island since there are no other stadiums able to hold the game there. Charlotte got the call and this game will be played at the 49ers’ home field and with a new sponsor, Famous Toastery. I don’t think it’s even famous at all in that area of the country but I like their confidence. I pray that the winning coach gets buried in a mountain of toast.

Tuesday December 19th

Frisco Bowl: UTSA vs. Marshall

9:00

Frisco gets two postseason games: this one and then the FCS Championship. The FCS title game is there through at least next season but beyond that, who knows. The Frisco Bowl, on the other hand, is here to stay. At least we have two good Group of Five teams here and with UTSA not being too far away it may approach a sellout.

Thursday December 21st

Boca Raton Bowl: Syracuse vs. USF

8:00

Back to grinding for bowl-eligibility, here are two teams that epitomized that. Syracuse, who has completely re-done their coaching staff and USF, whose close game with Bama earlier on in the season made the College Football Playoff debate that much worse. Look it’s either this or the Saints and the Rams on Amazon Prime. You know what to choose.

Friday December 22nd

Gasparilla Bowl: Georgia Tech vs. UCF

6:30

Interesting start time for this game. I get that it’s only half-an-hour before games normally would start locally but why do that? Bizarre. This is probably the highest-profile matchup this bowl game has ever had and it should bring a good amount of fans with one team not too far from Tampa. Hey, at least’s it not at the Trop.

Saturday December 23rd

Birmingham Bowl: Duke vs. Troy

Noon

This should be a good game and it’s the kind of game I always talk about. A Group of Five conference champion getting their shot at a Power Five team. That’s part of what bowl season should be all about and I have said that often in the past. Will college football listen to me? No. And it’s their loss.

Camellia Bowl: Arkansas State vs. Northern Illinois

Noon

Two teams that have got basically no coverage this season. I’m honestly surprised that no team looked at Butch Jones to be their new head coach. He’s brought ASU back from being horrible for both of Jones’ first two seasons (and Blake Anderson’s last in Jonesboro) to being respectable. I think the fact that the Sun Belt is so damn good now (in G-5 terms), this team gets overshadowed a lot.

Idaho Potato Bowl: Utah State vs. Georgia State

3:30

Again, two teams who were overshadowed by a bunch of better teams in their respective conferences. Plus it’s on the blue turf and that’s always a bit of fun, especially if it’s freezing cold (OK not so much for the players and fans but hilarious for us viewers at home).

Armed Forces Bowl: Air Force vs. James Madison

3:30

The Dukes in a bowl game! As it should be. And it shouldn’t have taken the lengths it did but luckily there weren’t enough 6-win teams to fill all the bowl slots. Air Force had a monumental collapse to end their season after being the Group of Five favourite to go to the New Year’s Six coming into November so momentum is not on their side.

68 Ventures Bowl: South Alabama vs. Eastern Michigan

7:00

Chris Creighton has done amazing things in Ypsilanti. He has made EMU relevant for really the first time ever. As for South Alabama, it looked like they would be the Sun Belt’s darling this year after an early win over Oklahoma State. The bottom fell out for this team and they barely made it to bowling. Massive contrast of seasons here.

Las Vegas Bowl: Northwestern vs. Utah

7:30

Northwestern and Utah aren’t exactly the fanbases I think of when I think of fans who could completely wreck hotel rooms and drink a bar dry…well, Utah maybe. Maybe that is by design. Have to give credit to a Northwestern team that should have been terrible and ended up doing quite well in the final Big Ten West season. And we will never know how good the Utes could have been with the injuries they had.

Hawaii Bowl: San Jose State vs. Coastal Carolina

10:30

It’s the annual Stocking Stuffer Bowl where many parents finally fill the stockings of their children so that when they wake up they will know Santa (or some other fat white dude) came down the chimney (or more like through a window because he’s fat) to give them presents because…we as parents didn’t give them enough? Is that how the story goes? Anyway, I will enjoy a nice scotch after all that stocking stuffer stuff is done and watch some great football during a bowl that should start at one minute before Midnight on Spectrum Sports so most of the college football world has to scramble to find it.

Tuesday December 26th

Quick Lane Bowl: Minnesota vs. Bowling Green

2:00

OK not exactly what I’ve always had in mind but still. It’s a G-5 team against a P-5 team. The P-5 team is in because they are smart. The G-5 team is in because the MAC, past the top three teams, was pretty bad this year. Advantage? The fans who get to watch college football on a weekday afternoon when you probably will be off work. Probably. For those who must work I hope you have a good PVR setup.

First Responder Bowl: Rice vs. Texas State

5:30

Hey remember when this bowl game was cancelled because of weather? What a shitshow that was. I’d be surprised if they ever let that happen again considering the fallout. When it comes to this year’s First Responder Bowl, you have to like what you see in Texas State. In a really good Sun Belt, they were able to go 7-5 and get to their first bowl game ever. Tulsa is going to rue the day they decided not to hire G.J. Kinne as their coach. Rice, I believe, lucked out due to a much-less powerful AAC. Not to say they didn’t play well but I believe the Sun Belt, top to bottom, is the best Group of Five conference.

Guaranteed Rate Bowl: Kansas vs. UNLV

9:00

This is why bowl games matter. UNLV is back in a bowl game for the first time in a decade thanks in large part to a guy who should have got more votes for Coach of the Year, Barry Odom. Speaking of guys who should have got Coach of the Year consideration, Lance Leipold has done wonders and the Jayhawks are doing everything they can to keep him in Lawrence. Big question for this game will be if Jalon Daniels will play after his somewhat mysterious back injury from earlier this year kept him out of action for most of the season.

Wednesday December 27th

Military Bowl: Virginia Tech vs. Tulane

2:00

Maybe we will see some snow for this one. Not gonna lie: VaTech was WAY the fuck better than I thought they would be. They did a masterful job in an ACC that, below FSU and Louisville, wasn’t that great. They will face a Tulane squad that just lost Willie Fritz to Houston. I know some teams struggle when their coach leaves before a bowl game and I could see that happening here.

Duke’s Mayo Bowl: North Carolina vs. West Virginia

5:30

North Carolina with a big home advantage at the Mayo Bowl. In the end, though, that advantage means little. The game itself only means so much. No, what really matters, is who is going to get a big tub of mayo dumped on them, Mack Brown or Neal Brown? Either way, Duke’s Mayo is going to be down on Brown in this one………wait, that doesn’t sound right.

Holiday Bowl: #15 Louisville vs. USC

8:00

Caleb Williams has opted out of this one. No surprise there. But they could be playing a team that, despite being ranked 15th in the nation, hasn’t exactly lit it up lately. Let’s see if Louisville can actually play a decent game for the first time in weeks after shitting the bed against Kentucky and looking mediocre against Florida State.

Texas Bowl: Texas A&M vs. #20 Oklahoma State

9:00

Some classic Big XII action here. Cue the Big XII on FOX Sports Net music and get Joel Meyers back to call this one. The Aggies should be doubly pissed since the Pokes had a chance to knock those damn Longhorns off their perch and they couldn’t get it done. So now they have to watch Texas play in the College Football Playoff while the Aggies are in a decent bowl but one quite a ways down the pecking order.

Thursday December 28th

Fenway Bowl: Boston College vs. #24 SMU

11:00 AM

Morning football at Fenway. See, morning football is fine if it bleeds into the afternoon. None of this 9:30 in the morning horseshit. I guess this could be considered the Ponies’ first ACC test as these two teams will be roommates next year.

Pinstripe Bowl: Rutgers vs. Miami

2:15

I honestly think this will end up being a good game. I mean what’s not to like? OK there are probably a few things not to like, such as Mario Cristobal’s continued contract as head coach of the Miami football Hurricanes but I digress. It’s Rutgers football. In NYC. An old Big East matchup (I really wish the Big East was back…in football). I look forward to it, especially if there is some serious football weather that day.

Pop Tarts Bowl: #18 NC State vs. #25 Kansas State

5:45

OK so get this. The mascot for the new Pop Tarts Bowl is, of course, a Pop Tart. So far, so uninteresting. Then everything goes off the rails when we are told that this will be the first edible mascot ever and that the winning team gets to eat it. What? I mean, hey, it’s got me interested just to see what absurdity will unfold after what should be one of the better non-CFP/non-NY6 bowl games.

Alamo Bowl: #12 Oklahoma vs. #14 Arizona

9:15

Usually the Alamo Bowl gives us one of, if not the, best non-CFP/non-NY6 bowl matchups. This year is no exception. Oklahoma’s final ride in the Big XII before they head to the prosperous SEC. Jedd Fisch’s resurgent Arizona Wildcats who are looking to head to the Big XII next year with a lot of momentum. This feels like it will be a slobberknocker to quote good ol’ JR.

Friday December 29th

Gator Bowl: Kentucky vs. #22 Clemson

Noon

If Kentucky hadn’t beat Louisville I would have said this could end up being complete domination by the Tigers. It probably still will be but at least there feels like the Cats could have a fighting chance here.

Sun Bowl: #19 Oregon State vs. #16 Notre Dame

2:00

This game sold out in about an hour or so. And all because of a random draw. All the bowls left with ACC tie-ins wanted Notre Dame so I guess they did the whole coin toss thing they did in Friday Night Lights or a no holds barred cage fight or whatever the fuck they do to figure these things out. The Sun Bowl won out. So for the last time that they get a Pac-12 team, one of the oldest bowl games around got the one with one of the most rabid fanbases and then got them paired with Notre Dame, the team whose fans travel, arguably, the best. OK I changed my mind…this is the best non-CFP/non-NY6 matchup. I’m starting to feel like Bobby Heenan changing my pick all the time.

Liberty Bowl: Iowa State vs. Memphis

3:30

So Memphis is playing at home so this bowl game should have a great turnout. They will have to wait to get eyeballs on their game since the Sun Bowl will overlap the Liberty Bowl’s first half.

Cotton Bowl: #9 Missouri vs. #7 Ohio State

8:00

Quite the prove-it game for a team that some still don’t feel truly belong in the SEC. This is the type of big time bowl game that people expect the Buckeyes to be in but the Tigers, not so much. This will be a definite contrast of styles. Missouri’s run game with one of the best running backs in the country, Cody Schrader going up against the Ohio State passing attack led by Marvin Harrison Jr. The absence of Kyle McCord, as average as he could be at times, could play a role here.

Saturday December 30th

Peach Bowl: #11 Ole Miss vs. #10 Penn State

Noon

Interesting matchup. Fans were making a myriad of arguments as to why one of these teams shouldn’t be in the New Year’s Six. And then both make it and get paired up down in Atlanta. No matter how some fans feel, a potential Top 10 season should cut down on the hate for both teams’ head coaches. It won’t but it should.

Music City Bowl: Auburn vs. Maryland

2:00

Divisions in the Big Ten are going away. “Hooray” – Maryland. Washington, Oregon, USC and UCLA are joining the conference. “FUCK!” – Maryland. Hey Terps fans, look, it could be worse. You could be in the ACC, a conference that seems to be ready to join the Pac-12 in completely imploding.

Orange Bowl: #6 Georgia vs. #5 Florida State

4:00

My brief thoughts on the whole Florida State/College Football Playoff situation is this: The Committee have no plans for anything. Everything is a knee-jerk reaction. Want proof? They knew what they were heading towards. They were going to have to make a decision between a Jordan Travis-less Noles team and two of Texas, Georgia or Alabama, depending on the outcomes on conference championship weekend. So what did they do in the final CFP rankings before that weekend? Have FSU at #4. They could have moved Oregon ahead of them instead into the #4 spot but didn’t. It set everything up for the chaos that occurred during Selection Sunday. Deep down I don’t really care who made it but if The Committee were more transparent and thought about things for more than two minutes then the anger would have been reduced immensely. But no, they fucked up and now FSU fans have a right to be furious. Anyway, I hope this game is at least close because otherwise SEC fans and talking head morons like Paul Finebaum will never let anyone hear the end of it.

One note about this game: it will start on TSN1 at about 6:30. My guess is that it will be because of a World Juniors game being aired at the same time as the start of the Orange Bowl but who knows since the tournament is in Sweden.

Arizona Bowl: Wyoming vs. Toledo

4:00

Could this be an interesting game? Perhaps. Unfortunately, it will be overshadowed by two things: that this game is the first bowl game ever to appear on The CW and that it is sponsored by Barstool Sports. The game is also being called by Barstool personalities and seeing what it was like last year, they go overboard on certain things, especially the gambling aspect of college football. Not saying others don’t talk about it because they do but they beat you over the head with it all game. Oh well, you don’t have to watch if you don’t want to since the Orange Bowl is on at the exact same time (someone didn’t think this one through).

Monday January 1st

ReliaQuest Bowl: #13 LSU vs. Wisconsin

Noon

I have a feeling this game might not be that close. Wisconsin feels like a shell of Badger teams in the past. Then again, there have been crazier bowl results.

UPDATE: Looks like this bowl game is on TSN2 which is a bit surprising. This means no TSN+ and no specialty pack.

Fiesta Bowl: #8 Oregon vs. #23 Liberty

1:00

This could be an big-time shootout if Liberty can keep up. Nice to see Conference USA finally get into the New Year’s Six for the first time. All it took was for a program that many people do not like to jump up from the FCS and immediately become the conference favourite. Easy stuff. Look, I’m sure many players don’t care about what the leaders at Liberty are all about. Same as at BYU or Notre Dame or Baylor or any other university with a religious affiliation. They just want to play football. I think people forget that (or want to forget that).

UPDATE #2: This game will also appear on TSN 1, 4 and 5. It will start on TSN5 right at 1:00 and join in progress on the other three stations at about 3:30.

Citrus Bowl: #21 Tennessee vs. #17 Iowa

1:00

Thankfully Tennessee is in this game. Otherwise, this could smash the record that is repeatedly set by this year’s Iowa team for lowest over/under ever. Kirk Ferentz is desperately hoping for a 7-6 with a good ol’ Iowa touchdown (a field goal and two safeties).

Rose Bowl: #1 Michigan vs. #4 Alabama

5:00

Did Nick Saban do one of his best coaching jobs ever with this group? Yes. Yes he did. Should Michigan be allowed in the College Football Playoff? I’m sure there are many (SEC fans) who think that Michigan should have their entire football program shut down because “Michigan cheated.” Not that I disagree that Michigan cheated because it sure felt like they did but I am under the assumption that at least half the Power Five schools cheat in some manner. It’s college football: it’s never been squeaky clean. Ever. To think it was…well, you’re just wrong.

UPDATE #3: This will appear on TSN1, 4 and 5 as well. There will be an update sometime in the next few days to determine which feed appears where.

UPDATE #6: The entire game will appear on TSN1, 4 and 5.

Sugar Bowl: #2 Washington vs. #3 Texas

8:45

Will I watch this entire game? Abso-fucking-lutely. Will I be a bit tired at work the next day? Maybe. I wonder if I should just book a vacation day. “Hey Bossman, doing anything fun on your vacation day?” “Well I’m definitely not recovering from watching the Sugar Bowl, that’s for sure.” Then they’d look at me like I have six heads.

UPDATE #4: Same update as the Rose Bowl.

UPDATE #7: The entire game will appear on TSN1, 4, and 5.

Monday January 9th

College Football Playoff National Championship

8:00

At this point, this game isn’t appearing on the TSN schedule. Neither are the New Year’s Day ones although that might come as early as tomorrow. If it’s the same as last year then those are three stations it will appear on. Also, I wouldn’t be surprised if one of the special feeds goes to TSN+. Final game of the year (other than the wacky all-star games that are fun but not as exciting as the rest of the games). I will probably be wearing a frown when this game ends.

UPDATE #5: This game will also appear on TSN4. Determination of feed will probably happen closer to New Year’s Day.

Breakdown time!

• TSN only (regular channels) – 22 games
• TSN+ & specialty pack – 10 games
• ABC & TSN – 6 games
• ABC & TSN+ – 2 games
• FOX – 1 game
• CBS – 1 game
• The CW – 1 game

TSN is showing EVERY bowl game. Every. Single. One. With a caveat. We are starting to see the TSN+ effect. TSN+ will have 12 of the bowl games, either paired with airing on ABC or paired with appearing on the specialty pack. This is the future. Get ready for it. And also get ready for a day when at least the college football portion of the specialty pack goes away since I think that day is coming as well.

Next up are the bowl game rankings and the NFL schedule post for the upcoming week. I am still going back and forth on whether I will do another post on how I would fix the postseason. It’s a bit tougher now that they have gone to a 12-team playoff but with less conferences. Expect at least (AT LEAST) seven Big Ten/SEC teams in every playoff going forward unless something wacky happens. That would leave, at most, the G-5 champ and two each from the ACC and Big XII. Sounds about right (unfortunately for many schools). Anyway, I will make the decision at some point over the next week or so. Enjoy the rest of your week everyone and get ready for the bowl games in THREE DAYS!

Bowl Projections after the end of the Pac-12 and Conference USA Championships

OK it’s update time. A lot of updates over the next 40-or-so hours. Things will start to clear up every so often as conference championship weekend goes on. We are now done two of the ten conference championships so let’s get going with the projections as of right now.

Sugar Bowl	CFP #1 vs. CFP #4	Georgia vs. Florida State
Rose Bowl	CFP #2 vs. CFP #3	Michigan vs. Washington

No changes. Washington has clinched their spot. If UGA and the Wolverines win their games, the Huskies are locked in the third seed and will probably play Michigan in Pasadena.

Fiesta Bowl	CFP at-large vs. CFP at-large/G-5 #1	Oregon vs. Tulane
Orange Bowl	ACC Champ vs. Big Ten/Notre Dame/SEC	Louisville vs. Ohio State
Peach Bowl	CFP at-large vs. CFP at-large/G-5 #1	Alabama vs. Penn State
Cotton Bowl	CFP at-large vs. CFP at-large/G-5 #1	Texas vs. Missouri

No changes here although we could see some changes after the early games tomorrow.

Citrus Bowl	SEC vs. Big Ten	Ole Miss vs. Iowa
ReliaQuest Bowl	SEC vs. Big Ten	Kentucky vs. Northwestern
Arizona Bowl	MWC vs. MAC	Boise State vs. Bowling Green
Music City Bowl	SEC vs. Big Ten	LSU vs. Wisconsin
Liberty Bowl	SEC vs. Big XII	Auburn vs. Kansas State
Sun Bowl	ACC vs. Pac-12	Miami vs. Oregon State
Gator Bowl	SEC vs. ACC	Tennessee vs. NC State
Alamo Bowl	Big XII vs. Pac-12	Oklahoma vs. Arizona
Pop Tarts Bowl	ACC vs. Big XII	Clemson vs. Oklahoma State
Pinstripe Bowl	Big Ten vs. ACC	Rutgers vs. Georgia Tech
Fenway Bowl	2 of ACC/AAC/C-USA	Virginia Tech vs. SMU
Texas Bowl	SEC vs. Big XII	Texas A&M vs. Iowa State
Holiday Bowl	ACC vs. Pac-12	Boston College vs. Utah
Duke’s Mayo Bowl	SEC vs. ACC	Minnesota vs. North Carolina
Military Bowl	ACC vs. AAC	Notre Dame vs. UTSA
Guaranteed Rate Bowl	2 of Big Ten/Big XII/MWC	UNLV vs. West Virginia
First Responder Bowl	2 of ACC/Big XII/AAC/Sun Belt/C-USA	UCF vs. Georgia Southern
Quick Lane Bowl	Big Ten vs. MAC	Duke vs. Toledo
Hawaii Bowl	AAC vs. MWC	Coastal Carolina vs. San Jose State
Las Vegas Bowl	Big Ten vs. Pac-12	Maryland vs. USC
68 Ventures Bowl	2 of Sun Belt/C-USA/MAC	Troy vs. Liberty
Idaho Potato Bowl	2 of MWC/MAC/Sun Belt	Wyoming vs. Arkansas State
Armed Forces Bowl	Big XII vs. C-USA	Kansas vs. WKU
Birmingham Bowl	2 of SEC/ACC/AAC/C-USA	James Madison vs. Memphis
Camellia Bowl	2 of Sun Belt/C-USA/MAC	Old Dominion vs. Eastern Michigan
Gasparilla Bowl	2 of SEC/ACC/AAC/C-USA	Syracuse vs. USF
Boca Raton Bowl	2 of AAC/Sun Belt/C-USA/MAC	Appalachian State vs. Ohio
Frisco Bowl	2 of AAC/Sun Belt/C-USA/MAC	Texas State vs. Utah State
Famous Toastery Bowl	MAC vs. C-USA	Georgia State vs. New Mexico State
Independence Bowl	Big XII vs. Pac-12	Texas Tech vs. California
LA Bowl	Pac-12 vs. MWC	UCLA vs. Fresno State
New Mexico Bowl	2 of Group of Five	Air Force vs. Marshall
Cure Bowl	2 of AAC/Sun Belt/C-USA/MAC	Rice vs. Northern Illinois
New Orleans Bowl	Sun Belt vs. C-USA	Louisiana vs. Jacksonville State
Myrtle Beach Bowl	2 of AAC/Sun Belt/C-USA/MAC	South Alabama vs. Miami-OH

A couple of bowl confirmations!

• The Hawaii Bowl filled their bowl slots first with Coastal Carolina and San Jose State. So already tie-ins can go fist themselves.
• Ticketmaster released information to buy tickets for Louisiana vs. Jacksonville State yesterday by accident. They deleted all the information on it but then it was confirmed not long after that. Jax State’s first ever bowl game and it might be its only one with RichRod at the helm.
• I am hearing that Miami-Oregon State is almost a lock for the Sun Bowl and that it might be confirmed as early as tomorrow morning.

Get fired up for tomorrow’s game action and keep updated right here as I post new bowl projections throughout the day and most of Sunday until the final bowl lineup is complete. Enjoy your Saturday everyone!

We have to have some chaos…right? – Conference Championship Weekend TV schedule

I have to say it was a fun final regular season weekend of college football. Especially the Iron Bowl. What a ridiculous finish. Now we get into the postseason part of the season. So there has to be some chaos, right? Some upset? Any upset? Sure there were a few during the season but really the big upset has taken a big nap this year. And that’s part of college football. Not having those has taken something away from this season. Let’s hope this coming weekend can bring some of that chaos back. Fingers crossed. Let’s get on with the schedule.

Friday

Conference USA Championship: New Mexico State (+10.5) at #24 Liberty

7:00

This network continues to be smart in the way they figure out WHEN to put a game. They get an entire national audience for almost an entire half and then, if the game is close, many people will stick with it to the end. Brilliant. Plus, with the added possibility of seeing a potential New Year’s Six berth clinched here, it means they should get more eyeballs on this game than ever before. Prediction: This game is the biggest one, not only in Liberty’s history, but in Conference USA’s history. This is their chance to put a team in the New Year’s Six for the first time. The first part gets done this night. Liberty 39 New Mexico State 34.

Pac-12 Championship: #5 Oregon (-9.5) vs. #3 Washington (in Paradise, NV)

8:00

The final Pac-12 Championship and, arguably, the most important conference championship is being held on a Friday night starting at 5:00 local time. Hell, ESPN/ABC is sending their best crew to this. This feels like the final slap in the face to the Pac-12. Anyway, this is massive. The winner is a lock for the College Football Playoff and the loser gets relegated to the New Year’s Six. It’s that simple. Prediction: This is going to be an offensive showcase between two of the Heisman contenders in Bo Nix and Michael Penix Jr. The guy who wins, I believe, won’t be the Heisman winner. Although I guess there’s always a possibility Jayden Daniels wins it instead of either of these two. Washington 49 Oregon 38.

Saturday Early

Big XII Championship: #18 Oklahoma State (+14.5) vs. #7 Texas (in Arlington)

Noon

Easily the only game that matters early on. Texas has to win and get quite a bit of help to get into the College Football Playoff. They will know the lay of the land after the Pac-12 Championship, especially if Oregon wins since that will mean a better shot to join the party. Prediction: The Longhorns do what they need to do but will have to wait to see if it is enough. Texas 52 Oklahoma State 27.

MAC Championship: Miami-OH (+7.5) vs. Toledo (in Detroit)

Noon

Well, from the College Football Playoff rankings we now know that Toledo has no chance at the NY6, despite having an 11-1 record. Nothing will allow them to leapfrog Tulane, Liberty or SMU. I would say this is for a trip back to Detroit for the Quick Lane Bowl but even that is in doubt thanks to tie-ins that don’t even tie a conference in to a bowl game. Prediction: Should be close like their regular season matchup. Toledo 24 Miami-OH 20.

Saturday Afternoon

Mountain West Championship: Boise State (-2) at UNLV

3:00

Now that the strange computer rankings saga to figure out who would actually be in the conference championship game is over, we can focus ont the game itself. Really, they are probably playing for a spot in the LA Bowl but who the hell knows. It will be interesting to see how many people are in Allegiant Stadium as it hosts its second conference championship in less than 24 hours. Prediction: This isn’t on the Smurf Turf so you have to give the advantage to the Rebels here. UNLV 41 Boise State 38.

Sun Belt Championship: Appalachian State (+6.5) at Troy

4:00

Where does the winner go? Who the fuck knows anymore. Prediction: I will be thinking about how this would have been a hundred times better if James Madison was hosting Troy. Troy 34 Appalachian State 16.

SEC Championship: #8 Alabama (+5.5) vs. #1 Georgia (in Atlanta)

4:00

Is Georgia in no matter what? Probably although you never know how things will shake out with The Committee. Bama is going to have win this by like 50 to even get a glance from them as they are probably too far out to get their shot. Prediction: This is going to be really close and really good. I just feel it. Georgia 49 Alabama 42.

American Championship: SMU (+4) at #22 Tulane

4:00

Tulane goes back to the NY6 with a win in this one. But what happens if SMU wins? That is where the fun begins (as long as Liberty wins their game on Friday). I still believe that SMU would have to hope Liberty loses since there is no way to pass them but I could be wrong. Prediction: Tulane is heading back to the promised land but it won’t be easy. Tulane 41 SMU 34.

SWAC Championship: Prairie View A&M at Florida A&M

4:00

Florida A&M has been money since joining the SWAC. Honestly, I think Deion Sanders may have been right. Have all the MEAC schools join the SWAC. One huge mega-HBCU-conference. ESPN might not like that though because they have the Celebration Bowl on the opening day of Bowl Season and you know how ESPN is about their bowls. Even with the 12-team playoff they will want to add bowls so that 4-8 Houston can face 4-8 Colorado. Prediction: The Rattlers are going to beat the brakes off of Prairie View and move on to the Celebration Bowl where they will be in an uncomfortably close game with a team that’s not even close to their level in Howard. Like most of the Celebration Bowls. Florida A&M 56 Prairie View A&M 14.

Saturday Primetime

ACC Championship: #14 Louisville (+2.5) vs. #4 Florida State (in Charlotte)

8:00

All the FSU talk is about the loss of Jordan Travis. I get it. With him, you look like a national championship contender. Without him, not so much. Saying that, they know what they have to do. Win. Doesn’t matter how. Just win. And I wondered if they were going to be able to do that against this Cardinals team but after Louisville’s performance against Kentucky, I started to wonder about that. Prediction: The Noles do enough to win. The defense keeps the Cardinals offense at bay. FSU off to the CFP. Florida State 37 Louisville 27.

Big Ten Championship: #16 Iowa (+23) vs. #2 Michigan (in Indianapolis)

8:00

The spread is almost as high as the over/under for Iowa’s game last week against Nebraska. How sad/hilarious is that? Michigan is in with a win and maybe even with a loss depending on what has happened before this point. Prediction: Iowa has survived a lot of games with their defense. They won’t here. This could get ugly. Michigan 44 Iowa 10.

FCS Second Round: Southern Illinois at Idaho

10:00 PM

Hey, an added bonus! Some FCS playoff action! From what I can tell this may be close but we shall see since my FCS knowledge isn’t that great. And despite the fact they are playing in the awesome Kibbie Dome, wouldn’t it have been ten times more hilarious if this were outdoors…in Moscow, Idaho…in December? Oh my. Prediction: Watch this prediction be WAY off. Idaho 38 Southern Illinois 33.

We are almost at the end. It’s college football’s Judgment Day and it’s coming quickly. And we are slowly heading towards bowl season and the end of the college football season. So enjoy the games everyone!

Thanksgiving. Footballgasm. Let’s Do This!

The 2023 version of Footballgasm has arrived! Get ready for an absolute fuck-ton of college football and NFL football from Thursday through to Monday night. Why does this happen? Americans need something to do while they let all that food settle in their stomachs. I mean our Thanksgiving comes first and is pretty good but we really missed the mark. Take out green bean casserole and there’s very little to dislike about American Thanksgiving.

Alright time to unleash the college football schedule for this week, the final week of the regular season. This is done in traditional Bossman’s Blog American Thanksgiving style. Every game is listed. Some are not important. Some are very important. But every game gets their own section. College football deserves it (for the most part).

Tuesday

Bowling Green (-1.5) at Western Michigan

7:00

Does this mean anything? No. But it’s the final night of MACtion so enjoy it. Predicted score: Western Michigan 27 Bowling Green 24.

Eastern Michigan (+6.5) at Buffalo

7:30

Now this game is more important…well, at least for one team. The Eagles can become bowl eligible with a win here. The Bulls are just here to try and play spoiler. Predicted score: Buffalo 31 Eastern Michigan 21.

Thursday

#12 Ole Miss (-11) at Mississippi State

7:30

The Rebels are juuuuuuuuuuuust on the outside looking in at the New Year’s Six. Could they leapfrog Missouri or Penn State without those two teams losing? It’s doubtful but they could strengthen their case by putting a beating on Mississippi State. Predicted score: Ole Miss 34 Mississippi State 30.

Friday

Miami (-9) at Boston College

Noon

Miami destroyed any chance of doing anything this season, mostly with piss-poor coaching (although Tyler Van Dyke seriously regressed this season). The Eagles on the other hand, they played much better than expected and Jeff Hafley has saved his job. Predicted score: Miami 38 Boston College 15.

#17 Iowa (+2) at Nebraska

Noon

Big game here for the Huskers. Win and they are bowl-eligible in Matt Rhule’s first season in Lincoln. Maybe, just maybe, the sun is finally shining on Huskerland for the first time in quite a few years. To do that, though, they will have to upset the Hawkeyes who have defied every odd and probably some theories of offensive football to become Big Ten West champs. Take the under (even though the over/under is a record-low 26.5). Predicted score: Iowa 14 Nebraska 7.

Ohio (-14) at Akron

Noon

Ohio can win their ninth game of the season which is pretty impressive. Unfortunately, it won’t be enough to win the division. Akron is hoping to stay out of double digits in the loss column. Predicted score: Ohio 30 Akron 10.

Memphis (-11.5) at Temple

Noon

Memphis lost their shot at a potential American Conference championship spot last weekend. So really, this means nothing. Predicted score: Memphis 31 Temple 7.

Toledo (-10.5) at Central Michigan

Noon

The Rockets will need a win and a lot of help to somehow sneak into the New Year’s Six. The Chips are trying to get to their sixth win. Actually, quite a bit at stake here. Predicted score: Toledo 34 Central Michigan 16.

TCU (+10) at #13 Oklahoma

Noon

Huge game here for the Sooners. An Oklahoma win and they still have a shot at going to JerryWorld one last time, much to the chagrin of the rest of the Big XII members. TCU isn’t going to lie down for them, though. They have to win to go bowling. Predicted score: TCU 38 Oklahoma 26.

UTSA (+3) at #23 Tulane

3:30

Tulane gets to eleven wins with a win here. More importantly, a win here puts them in the AAC Championship game and makes them the favourite to go back to the New Year’s Six. I am honestly shocked that no team has taken a flyer on Willie Fritz, despite his age. A Roadrunners win doesn’t eliminate the Green Wave either although they would need some help from Navy. A UTSA win would put them in the conference championship and would finish one of the best conference moves (outside the Sun Belt) in recent memory. Predicted score: Tulane 29 UTSA 24.

Utah State (-7.5) at New Mexico

3:30

The Aggies go bowling if they beat the Lobos. A UNM win would put them at five for the season which, honestly, would probably save Danny Gonzales’ job and constitute one of their better seasons in a long time. Predicted score: Utah State 49 New Mexico 31.

#9 Missouri (-7.5) at Arkansas

4:00

Mizzou locks themselves into the New Year’s Six if they can defeat the lowly Hogs. Sam Pittman has already been retained for next year so no surprise shitcanning in Fayetteville like Bret Bielema got a few years back. Predicted score: Missouri 33 Arkansas 14.

Texas Tech (+13) at #7 Texas

7:30

A massive game for the Longhorns. There is honestly so much on the line here. The most important being a spot in the final four-team College Football Playoff. It’s within their grasp but they have to stop allowing teams to stick around in games. The Red Raiders, on the other hand, are playing for one thing since they are already bowl eligible: spoiling the Horns’ entire season. Predicted score: Texas 31 Texas Tech 17.

#11 Penn State (-21) vs. Michigan State (in Detroit)

7:30

Do the Nittany Lions deserve to be in a New Year’s Six bowl? It’s debatable but at this point, a win probably clinches a spot unless Ole Miss goes nuts on Mississippi State the night before. The Spartans just want to end one of the most miserable seasons in their program’s history, on and off the field. Predicted score: Penn State 49 Michigan State 28.

#16 Oregon State (+13.5) at #6 Oregon

8:30

The Ducks want a rematch with Washington for the Pac-12 Championship. The Beavers just want to spoil Oregon’s season as all teams do in rivalry games. Predicted score: Oregon 44 Oregon State 29.

Saturday Early

Kentucky (+7) at #10 Louisville

Noon

Louisville needs a win to keep their slim CFP hopes alive. That alone will make this game interesting. Kentucky has no stakes other than maybe trying not to lose too badly so that Mark Stoops can be guaranteed for 2024. Predicted score: Louisville 31 Kentucky 10.

Pittsburgh (+6) at Duke

Noon

Duke is already going bowling and are middle of the ACC standings. Pitt is pretty awful (other than playing lights out against Louisville) and are looking forward to the offseason. A lot of better options in this window. Predicted score: Duke 20 Pittsburgh 7.

Indiana (+3) at Purdue

Noon

The Old Oaken Bucket. Even with this being a rivalry game, it’s really not worth watching. Predicted score: Purdue 32 Indiana 13.

Miami-OH (-6.5) at Ball State

Noon

Redhawks are in. Cardinals are out. Let’s see if Mike Neu finally gets the axe like I’ve predicted for a few seasons now. Predicted score: Miami-OH 30 Ball State 28.

Texas A&M (+10.5) at #14 LSU

Noon

For two good teams (OK one quite good team and one OK team), this game does not mean a whole lot. The Aggies are bowling and playing under an interim coach. LSU would need a damn miracle to get into the New Year’s Six so should start packing for a Florida bowl game. Predicted score: LSU 45 Texas A&M 31.

Navy (+20) at SMU

Noon

Now with TSN pushing a lot to TSN+, games like this will almost never make it to the regular TSN channels again which sucks for people who don’t subscribe. It feels like it has finally come to the point where you have to either get one off the specialty packs, get TSN+ or go the IPTV route to see as much college football as you want as a Canadian. Anyway, Navy has two shots to go bowling and would like to close that out here. The Mustangs are in the American Championship with a win in Big D. Predicted score: SMU 48 Navy 20.

Troy (-17) at Southern Miss

Noon

Troy has no shot at the New Year’s Six and is already hosting the Sun Belt Championship. Southern Miss is home for the holidays. Meh. Predicted score: Troy 23 Southern Miss 8.

#2 Ohio State (+3.5) at #3 Michigan

Noon

Another huge version of The Game. Not a total surprise. The winner is in the Big Ten Championship and all but guarantees a spot in the playoff. And just like last year, the loser isn’t out with a loss depending on what happens on conference championship weekend. If GUS JOHNSON would ever pass out from lack of oxygen, this would be the game he would do it in. Predicted score: Michigan 28 Ohio State 24.

Saturday Afternoon

Wake Forest (+3) at Syracuse

2:00

The two worst teams in the ACC but it’s still important for one team. The Orange need a win here to somehow become bowl eligible. Wake would be just outside at five wins if they win here and could nab a spot due to their great APR score if it comes down to that. Predicted score: Syracuse 35 Wake Forest 15.

Southern vs. Grambling (in New Orleans)

2:00

Prairie View A&M has already clinched the SWAC West so this means nothing for either team other than bragging rights: both for the football teams and the bands. Predicted score: Southern 23 Grambling 18.

Colorado (+22) at Utah

3:00

Utah has been very good considering the sheer amount of injuries that team sustained. The Buffaloes season finally ends after the most hype ever given to a one-win team before the season began (and well into the season as well). Predicted score: Utah 39 Colorado 17.

BYU (+17.5) at #20 Oklahoma State

3:30

BYU needs to win here to be in a bowl game. It would be a pretty big upset if they did, but hey, crazier things have happened. The Pokes are holding on to an outside shot at the Big XII Championship. They need to win and have a few other things go their way but again, it’s not impossible. Predicted score: BYU 49 Oklahoma State 31.

Virginia Tech (-3) at Virginia

3:30

Last year’s Commonwealth Cup was cancelled after the murders of three Virginia players. Just having this game will bring back quite a few emotions I’m sure for the Cavs. For the Hokies, they can do the improbable and become bowl eligible if they beat their rivals. Predicted score: Virginia 40 Virginia Tech 35.

Northwestern (+6) at Illinois

3:30

If you had told me at the start of the season that this game would have Northwestern already going bowling and the Illini fighting for their bowl lives, I would have thought you had just went to a cannabis shop for the first time in your life and ate a few too many edibles. But here we are. The Wildcats have been amazing considering their offseason. David Braun has done a masterful job in Evanston. Bret Bielema on the other hand is still at the helm of a struggling Illini team. He will make it to 2024 but a loss here will put him on a much shorter leash. Predicted score: Illinois 31 Northwestern 23.

Maryland (-1.5) at Rutgers

3:30

I have this game showing in most homes in this area. I have no idea what will happen. Hell, I have Big Ten Network and three alternate BTNs and even then, one game usually gets left out for everyone. Why do they do this when they honestly don’t have to? Anyway, both teams are going bowling so are looking for momentum heading into the postseason and nothing else. Predicted score: Maryland 20 Rutgers 17.

#8 Alabama (-14.5) at Auburn

3:30

How close can the Tigers keep this game? The spread honestly seems way too low. Don’t even bother talking about an upset. Kind of a dud for the final SEC on CBS regular season game if you ask me. Now watch it be close deep into the fourth quarter. Predicted score: Alabama 41 Auburn 21.

#25 Liberty (-17) at UTEP

3:30

In what is feeling like a broken record, here’s another game that means very little. Sure, the Flames can finish an undefeated season with a win over the terrible Miners. Problem is they need quite a bit of help to get that coveted NY6 spot. I just can’t see it happening. Predicted score: Liberty 38 UTEP 20.

#15 Arizona (-11.5) at Arizona State

3:30

ASU is already home for the Christmas holidays. The Wildcats have to win here and hope Oregon has already lost the Civil War. So we will know going in whether this game means anything or not. Predicted score: Arizona 23 Arizona State 13.

James Madison (-9) at Coastal Carolina

3:30

Big game in the Sun Belt and unfortunately only for one team. The Dukes are almost guaranteed a bowl slot after all the bowl eligible teams get their spots. For the Chants, because of JMU’s ineligibility for the Sun Belt title, they win this and they will face Troy for the Sun Belt Championship. Predicted score: James Madison 42 Coastal Carolina 24.

Georgia Southern (+8.5) at Appalachian State

3:30

The Mountaineers will be scoreboard-watching and trying to pay attention to the task at hand. Not easy for sure. If CCU can’t beat JMU then App State, with a win, will head to Troy and face the Trojans as the champions of the Sun Belt East. Predicted score: Appalachian State 26 Georgia Southern 10.

Vanderbilt (+27) at #21 Tennessee

3:30

This would have been at least a bit more humourous being played at Vanderbilt’s stadium with their ongoing construction issues. Predicted score: Tennessee 49 Vanderbilt 21.

Washington State (+16.5) at #4 Washington

4:00

The Apple Cup continues to produce high drama. The Huskies’ dream season could come crashing down if they get upset by the Cougs. Wazzu has to win to become bowl-eligible. This should nab a lot of viewers until it gets out of hand. Predicted score: Washington 52 Washington State 17.

Saturday Primetime

#5 Florida State (-6.5) at Florida

7:00

If this had been discussed a week ago the spread might have been over 20 points. Instead, we will find out if the Noles can continue their success without Jordan Travis. The Gators could do the improbable by going bowling with a win here. Predicted score: Florida State 36 Florida 27.

South Alabama (-6) at Texas State

7:00

Two teams that are already bowl-eligible here. Good for them but it means that the NFL Network’s final game of the year will not get a whole lot of viewers. Predicted score: South Alabama 20 Texas State 14.

#18 Notre Dame (-26) at Stanford

7:00

I’m sorry but this is fucking hilarious. The final Pac-12 Network football game ever and it will feature Notre Dame. NOTRE DAME. Irish fans are going to be so damn pissed off trying to find a way to watch this. That alone makes this fun. Not quite worth watching a lot of but still, you’ll be seeing history at the end as the worst conference network closes its football doors for good. Predicted score: Notre Dame 42 Stanford 32.

#1 Georgia (-24) at Georgia Tech

7:30

A little Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate. I love some of the names of these rivalries. There might be a bit of intrigue to see if UGA can cap off another undefeated regular season but other than that, you can avoid this one. Predicted score: Georgia 34 Georgia Tech 10.

Kansas (-6) at Cincinnati

7:30

Kansas is pretty good again this season. It’s nice to see. Cincinnati, on the other hand, may be regretting the Scott Satterfield hire although he deserves another season to see how they can truly compete in the Big XII. Predicted score: Kansas 28 Cincinnati 14.

Charlotte (+5.5) at USF

7:30

Speaking of teams playing much better than most thought they would, the Bulls are one win away from going bowling. They showed a lot in the near-upset of Alabama back in September and have scratched and clawed their way to this point. The only thing standing in their way? The bare arms of Biff Poggi and his Charlotte 49ers. Might not be as easy as USF thinks it should be. Predicted score: USF 31 Charlotte 30.

#24 Clemson (-7) at South Carolina

7:30

Gotta give Dabo Swinney from credit for turning around the team after that poor start. Either that or we give all the praise to Tyler from Spartanburg for lighting a fire under the Tigers. Either way, they come into this game as actually one of the hottest teams in the country. And they could actually make their season for a lot of fans by ruining South Carolina’s. The Gamecocks need the win to be bowl eligible. I don’t think this will be as feisty as their brawl-filled game many years ago but I could see it getting chippy. Predicted score: Clemson 41 South Carolina 24.

North Carolina (-3) at #22 NC State

8:00

North Carolina was supposed to be one of the teams to go to the ACC Championship this year. NC State was supposed to be fighting for a .500 record. Instead, they both come in at 8-3 with maybe something other than bragging rights on the line. Let’s be honest: teams would much rather go to a Florida destination than the Sun Bowl or Military Bowl. Predicted score: North Carolina 28 NC State 27.

Iowa State (+10) at #19 Kansas State

8:00

By this point, we will know if the Wildcats have any shot at the Big XII Championship. Other than that, neither team has anything to play for other than to win…FARMAGEDDON. Predicted score: Kansas State 50 Iowa State 34.

Saturday Late Night

Wyoming (-11) at Nevada

9:00

Yes, the odd CBS Sports Network Thanksgiving Saturday timeslot is back again. At least they do their best to cram in as much live sports as humanly possible into this day. Predicted score: Wyoming 35 Nevada 27.

California (+9.5) at UCLA

10:30

It’s really hit or miss with this final game of the regular season. Sometimes, it’s a massively important game that is must-watch and keeps everyone up well past Midnight. Other times we get games that have absolutely no importance. For once, it’s somewhere in the middle. Shockingly, the Bears are in line for a bowl spot if they can pull the upset on a Bruins team who might still be on a high after defeating USC for the Victory Bell this past weekend. Predicted score: UCLA 38 California 34.

That’s a lot of football. I am not complaining. At all. I would have thought TSN might have stepped up for the final regular season weekend but, alas, that is not the case. They are pushing TSN+ for college football so that is the future we have to live with. Oh well…progress, right? Ugh.

I will update the rankings when I see them. I figured I should get this post out in some form so my MACtion predictions don’t look too fishy. Enjoy the games everyone!

The Bossman Top 26. My first true Bowl Projections. And it’s firing season!

Yep, firing season in college football has commenced! In what was, honestly, a shocking shitcanning, Texas A&M followed up an absolute drubbing of Mississippi State by keeping the good times going and firing Jimbo Fisher. Yes, Jimbo has been let go and will get $76 god damn million dollars as a buyout. Holy shit. Stupid me trying to be a teacher, then an accountant when the real money was in being a failed college football head coach. How dumb can I be?

Following that, Boise State announced that they, too, followed an easy win by firing their head coach. Andy Avalos was never really accepted in that position and he never kept the Broncos at the level everyone expects them to be. I guess that’s what happens: a long string of good seasons means expectations go up for everyone.

Then Mississippi State decided that Zach Arnett isn’t the right guy going forward and he was dismissed from his head coaching position. That one game put huge dents in two coaching staffs. Impressive.

Back to the Aggies situation, they now will have to hire someone after the season is over. As fucking hilarious as it would be to promote Bobby Petrino, they will definitely go outside the school in their search. And remember: the Texas A&M job is still a big one. So most coaches would love to have it. Right now I would put Mike Norvell, Mike Elko and Dan Lanning as 1A, 1B and 1C to be hired. Don’t rule out a guy like Lance Leipold, though. He has done amazing things at Kansas and will get a lot of looks in the offseason.

OK let’s get to the Bossman Top 26 which will probably not resemble the College Football Playoff rankings whatsoever:

#1	Georgia (10-0)
#2	Michigan (10-0)
#3	Washington (10-0)
#4	Oregon (9-1)
#5	Alabama (9-1)
#6	Ohio State (10-0)
#7	Florida State (10-0)
#8	Texas (9-1)
#9	Louisville (9-1)
#10	Missouri (8-2)
#11	Oregon State (8-2)
#12	Ole Miss (8-2)
#13	LSU (7-3)
#14	Tulane (9-1)
#15	Penn State (8-2)
#16	Utah (7-3)
#17	Oklahoma (8-2)
#18	James Madison (10-0)
#19	Arizona (7-3)
#20	Notre Dame (7-3)
#21	Tennessee (7-3)
#22	Liberty (10-0)
#23	North Carolina (8-2)
#24	Oklahoma State (7-3)
#25	Iowa (8-2)
#26	Kansas State (7-3)

There are five undefeated Power Five teams at the top. There could end up being four going into conference championship weekend. Something’s gotta give but honestly, will it? Georgia, Washington, Florida State and the Michigan/Ohio State winner in two weeks have clear paths to the playoff. Run the table and you’re in, no ifs, ands, or buts about it. If one falters, that’s where the fun begins. Also, yes I have Tulane at #14 and I’m sure The Committee will have them at like #23 at best. I know it pained them to have Cincinnati so high a couple years back and they never wanted to replicate that again. And if they have their choice, they still won’t even with the expanded playoff starting next season.

Now we turn to bowl projections which actually have a bit of meat to them now that we are closing in on the end of the regular season. Unless we see chaos (which I always hope for), many of these projections can be backed up with relatively easy answers. Let’s go!

Sugar Bowl	CFP #1 vs. CFP #4	Michigan vs. Washington
Rose Bowl	CFP #2 vs. CFP #3	Florida State vs. Georgia

I believe Michigan ends up winning The Game and then the Big Ten Championship. Florida State and Washington I have running the table. Georgia, I think, will have a hiccup this week against Tennessee but still end up winning the SEC Championship to move back into the Top 4. Pretty easy, right? Let’s see if the New Year’s Six predictions make just as much sense.

Fiesta Bowl	CFP at-large vs. CFP at-large/G-5 #1	Oregon vs. Memphis
Orange Bowl	ACC Champ vs. Big Ten/Notre Dame/SEC	Louisville vs. Ohio State
Peach Bowl	CFP at-large vs. CFP at-large/G-5 #1	Alabama vs. Penn State
Cotton Bowl	CFP at-large vs. CFP at-large/G-5 #1	Texas vs. Ole Miss

I’m sure one thing really stands out here so let’s get to that first.

• Yes, I have Memphis winning the American and the Group of Five spot in the NY6. How does the current fourth-place team rise to the top? It starts with Memphis beating SMU this coming Saturday. Then Tulane defeats UTSA on the final weekend and, due to tiebreakers, the Tigers get the spot opposite Tulane. Then they pull the upset and beat the Green Wave to move up high enough to get the spot. That shouldn’t be too hard with James Madison ineligible, Liberty’s stupidly easy schedule and The Committee’s MAC disrespect which kills Toledo’s chances.
• As for the rest, they are pretty self-explanatory. Louisville ends up losing the ACC Championship but is the best representative from the conference and gets the Orange Bowl spot. The Orange Bowl selects Ohio State as the top team left from the Big Ten or SEC. Oregon, Alabama, Texas and Ole Miss are almost shoo-ins at this point. I do think Penn State sneaks back into the Top 10 and passes Missouri to garner the final spot. Whether they face a pissed off Alabama or a Bama that doesn’t care would remain to be seen.

So far, so good. Nothing crazy (other than Memphis). I’m sure there could be some debate but it would be minor (other than Memphis). Let’s look at the rest of the bowl picture:

Citrus Bowl	SEC vs. Big Ten	LSU vs. Iowa
ReliaQuest Bowl	SEC vs. Big Ten	Kentucky vs. Maryland
Arizona Bowl	MWC vs. MAC	Fresno State vs. Miami-OH
Music City Bowl	SEC vs. Big Ten	Texas A&M vs. Wisconsin
Liberty Bowl	SEC vs. Big XII	Missouri vs. Kansas State
Sun Bowl	ACC vs. Pac-12	Miami vs. Arizona
Gator Bowl	SEC vs. ACC	Auburn vs. North Carolina
Alamo Bowl	Big XII vs. Pac-12	Oklahoma vs. Utah
Pop Tarts Bowl	ACC vs. Big XII	Notre Dame vs. Kansas
Pinstripe Bowl	Big Ten vs. ACC	Rutgers vs. NC State
Fenway Bowl	2 of ACC/AAC/C-USA	Georgia Tech vs. Tulane
Texas Bowl	SEC vs. Big XII	Tennessee vs. Oklahoma State
Holiday Bowl	ACC vs. Pac-12	Boston College vs. Oregon State
Duke’s Mayo Bowl	SEC vs. ACC	UCF* vs. Clemson
Military Bowl	ACC vs. AAC	Duke vs. UTSA
Guaranteed Rate Bowl	2 of Big Ten/Big XII/MWC	Wyoming vs. Iowa State
First Responder Bowl	2 of ACC/Big XII/AAC/Sun Belt/C-USA	Syracuse vs. Texas Tech
Quick Lane Bowl	Big Ten vs. MAC	Illinois vs. Northern Illinois
Hawaii Bowl	AAC vs. MWC	Rice vs. Boise State
Las Vegas Bowl	Big Ten vs. Pac-12	Minnesota vs. USC
68 Ventures Bowl	2 of Sun Belt/C-USA/MAC	Georgia Southern vs. WKU
Idaho Potato Bowl	2 of MWC/MAC/Sun Belt	UNLV vs. Marshall
Armed Forces Bowl	Big XII vs. C-USA	BYU vs. Utah State*
Birmingham Bowl	2 of SEC/ACC/AAC/C-USA	Louisiana* vs. Jacksonville State**
Camellia Bowl	2 of Sun Belt/C-USA/MAC	South Alabama vs. Toledo
Gasparilla Bowl	2 of SEC/ACC/AAC/C-USA	James Madison** vs. Florida***
Boca Raton Bowl	2 of AAC/Sun Belt/C-USA/MAC	Appalachian State vs. Bowling Green
Frisco Bowl	2 of AAC/Sun Belt/C-USA/MAC	Arkansas State vs. North Texas***
Bahamas Bowl	MAC vs. C-USA	Ohio vs. New Mexico State
Independence Bowl	Big XII vs. AAC	West Virginia vs. SMU
LA Bowl	Pac-12 vs. MWC	UCLA vs. Air Force
New Mexico Bowl	2 of Group of Five	San Jose State vs. Texas State
Cure Bowl	2 of AAC/Sun Belt/C-USA/MAC	Coastal Carolina vs. Eastern Michigan
New Orleans Bowl	Sun Belt vs. C-USA	Troy vs. Liberty
Myrtle Beach Bowl	2 of AAC/Sun Belt/C-USA/MAC	Georgia State vs. Central Michigan

A few notes on this:

• One asterisk (*) means there weren’t enough bowl-eligible teams to fill that bowl slot. Two asterisks (**) means that all bowl-eligible teams have been slotted in a bowl game and there are still spots remaining. Three asterisks (***) means a team that gets in due to APR. That final one I have no idea how it will be filled since I don’t have a great idea as to the smarter schools compared to the not-so-smart schools.
• James Madison and Jacksonville State are almost guaranteed bowl games. JMU is pretty much a lock since I can’t see many scenarios where all the bowl games are filled with bowl-eligible teams.
• Remember, Notre Dame gets an ACC spot as long as they have one more win than a team they would be replacing….which is pretty much every team left in the ACC to slot into a bowl game.
• The other Independents are not going bowling so that doesn’t really matter.
• We are WAY too early to see bowl bids being accepted. And with the Bahamas Bowl having to be played in Charlotte there are no issues with issuing passports that would make it so bowl bids would have to be accepted in November. For this reason, I see no bowl bids going out until the first of December at the earliest.

Tomorrow night we have more MACtion. I will try my best to put out the college football TV schedule post tomorrow as well. Rankings will have to be edited in since the CFP rankings aren’t being released until 9:00 tomorrow night. Enjoy the rest of your week everyone!

Let’s bid farewell to a couple of legends – Week 11 College Football TV Schedule

I don’t think we have ever seen two football minds like this get let go within a week of each other. It is crazy to think this could happen, but it did. Two legends who didn’t get their proper sendoff on here. So here we go.

*deep breath*

Ladies and gentlemen, it is time to say farewell to two of, arguably……….the worst coordinators in recent Power Five football history. Brian Ferentz, son of Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz, had to be put on a points minimum to be able to keep his contract after this season was over. And Alex Grinch, one of Lincoln Riley’s loyal soldiers. Two men who undoubtdedly pushed football back 50 years with their horrendous playcalling and obvious lack of attention to detail.

Ferentz wasn’t even allowed to take a shot at the points amount (it had to be at least an average of 25 a game). He was told by interim Iowa athletic director Beth Goetz, who obviously knew his chances of hitting that mark were slim, that he would not be retained for the 2024 season. So technically he is still around although he’s in a lame duck position. Not so for Grinch who wasn’t allowed to continue putting out awful defense after awful defense, something that has almost killed USC’s chances of anything but going to a bowl game. Riley had no choice in the end but to axe him.

Realistically, these two guys should have been let go weeks ago. It was apparent to anyone with some knowledge of college football that these two weren’t cutting it. But nepotism and loyalty can go a long way in this sport and we have seen it time and again in the past. And it will continue to do so. Hopefully head coaches learn to take a step back and look at a situation from a bird’s-eye view so that they can honestly assess it. Otherwise you hurt the team and, potentially, yourself.

Alright, enough of fired coaches. Let’s get to the damn schedule!

Tuesday

		US	Canada
Ball State at Northern Illinois	7:00
Central Michigan at Western Michigan	7:00
Ohio at Buffalo	7:30

Iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit’s MACTION!!!!!!! Second week of MACtion and boy do I love it. Also, the College Football Playoff rankings come out a few minutes into the early games so I am sure the announcers will stick to calling the games and not mention anything about the rankings. I’m sure of it.

Wednesday

		US	Canada
Bowling Green at Kent State	7:00
Eastern Michigan at Toledo	7:00
Akron at Miami-OH	7:00

EMU-Toledo is easily the biggest game here. Depending on a few other results, the Rockets could clinch the MAC West with a win.

Thursday

		US	Canada
Virginia at #11 Louisville	7:30
Southern Miss at Louisiana	7:30

Louisville’s potential run to the New Year’s Six might have some potholes. This shouldn’t be one of them. Thing is, it’s either that, the Fun Belt game or one of the worst Thursday Night Football games ever. I’ll stick with the ACC matchup as long as I can (with some check-ins on the Southern Miss-Louisiana game of course).

Friday

		US	Canada
North Texas at SMU	9:00
Grambling at Arkansas-Pine Bluff	9:00

The Mustangs feel like a bit of a surprise team at the top of the American Conference and they shouldn’t be. Some had them at least getting to the conference championship. Take the over with this one.

Saturday Early

		US	Canada
Georgia Tech at Clemson	Noon
Virginia Tech at Boston College	Noon
Indiana at Illinois	Noon
Holy Cross at Army	Noon
#8 Alabama at Kentucky	Noon
Tulsa at #23 Tulane	Noon
Yale at Princeton	Noon
#3 Michigan at #10 Penn State	Noon
Vanderbilt at South Carolina	Noon

Absolutely colossal matchup in the early window. Yes, I am talking about Indiana-Illinois Michigan-Penn State. The second of the three-game Big Ten East round robin of Fun and Frolic lands in State College. Should this be under the lights with a Penn State Whiteout? Yeah, probably. But FOX is adamant that Noon is their big game. Big Noon Saturday. It’s not called Big Evening Saturday for a reason.

Saturday Afternoon

		US	Canada
NC State at Wake Forest	2:00
#21 Arizona at Colorado	2:00
Miami at #4 Florida State	3:30
Pittsburgh vs. Syracuse (in the Bronx)	3:30
Rutgers at #22 Iowa	3:30
#13 Tennessee at #14 Missouri	3:30
UAB at Navy	3:30
#15 Oklahoma State at UCF	3:30
NC Central at Howard	3:30
#18 Utah at #5 Washington	3:30
Minnesota at Purdue	3:30
Washington State at California	4:00
Auburn at Arkansas	4:00
Stanford at #12 Oregon State	5:30

Utah-Washington. Big game. Tennessee-Missouri. Big game (but not as big as the first one). Miami-FSU. Big game, mostly for one team. So there are some important games in this timeslot. It’s rare to see a November Saturday timeslot not to have an important game at all. Now, all games are not equal. Let’s be honest: very few will give a shit about Pitt-Cuse even if it is at Yankee Stadium.

And on that note, can we quit with putting football games on in baseball stadiums? Look at last week’s shitshow at Wrigley. I mean the game was hilariously bad as is considering the two teams playing. But the turf was in shambles. At one point they were trying to fix a patch that looked to be about two feet long and one foot wide. Like, seriously? Want to go to new places? Play in more NFL stadiums. Play in big high school stadiums. Hell, go to Barrow, Alaska and play on their field that borders the Arctic Ocean. Just stay away from the baseball stadiums or otherwise one day some guy is going to get seriously hurt.

Saturday Primetime

		US	Canada
San Diego State at Colorado State	7:00
#9 OIe Miss at #2 Georgia	7:00
West Virginia at #17 Oklahoma	7:00
Georgia Southern at Marshall	7:00
#7 Texas at TCU	7:30
Mississippi State at Texas A&M	7:30
Rice at UTSA	7:30
Michigan State at #1 Ohio State	7:30
Florida at #19 LSU	7:30
Duke at #25 North Carolina	8:00

You are going to notice that TSN (other than TSN+) is barely appearing this Saturday. Well, just like last week, the CFL has their playoff games on a Saturday. I guess it makes sense from a viewer perspective since I am sure they lose viewers to the NFL on Sunday and would lose less viewers going up against college football. I think it has become apparent that TSN is pushing college football (among a few other live sports properties) to TSN+ and putting much less on their actual television networks. Sad for fans who either don’t want to spend more money on an online platform or just would struggle figuring out the online platform to begin with. Sure, live sports on TV is still a huge thing and will be for a long time but slowly…SLOWLY…more and more things are moving online. Give it, let’s say, 20 years and I could see a big difference in what you see now.

Anyway, the actual schedule has Ole Miss-Georgia as the main game and a few other games that could have been huge if certain teams hadn’t shit the bed. Take Duke-UNC. UNC losing on the CW to Virginia and then to Georgia Tech made this game an afterthought. Same with WVU-Oklahoma. The Sooners’ upset losses to Kansas and then Oklahoma State in the final Bedlam have killed the hype for this matchup. It happens every season.

Saturday Late Night

		US	Canada
Arizona State at UCLA	9:00
Iowa State at BYU	10:15
Fresno State at San Jose State	10:30
USC at #6 Oregon	10:30

FOX quadrupleheader! Gotta love when they do this. I wish ABC would just do it once. I think they’d be surprised how many people would tune in to a late night game on ABC. USC could put a massive wrench in Oregon’s plans of at least getting to the New Year’s Six with a win here and Fresno State needs to keep winning to have any hope of having the same kind of plans.

Hey, Watch This

Michigan at Penn State (Noon, FOX) – This is easily the most hyped game of the weekend and rightly so. Penn State (and James Franklin) has a chance to do what many have been waiting for them to do: take that final step towards the CFP. This is their final chance this season. Lose this and perhaps even an NY6 spot is gone. Lose and The Game becomes so massive it may overshadow last year’s affair and maybe even 2006’s Game of the Century. Win and they move up the rankings and then pray for a Michigan victory over Ohio State. Then they would head way down the tiebreaker list to see who wins the division. Oh, and the last tiebreaker? A random draw. I am not joking. Wouldn’t that be insane television? ESPN and FOX would go nuts.

Ole Miss at Georgia (7:00, TSN+/specialty pack) – This should be almost as hyped as the UM-PSU game but for one thing: the Rebels need Bama to lose two conference games for them to win the division. So the Fighting Kiffins’ best shot is to win out, go 11-1, and hope for some chaos around them. Then they might sneak into the playoff. As for Georgia, this is yet another prove-it game. Last week was Missouri, this week Ole Miss, next week Tennessee. Survive those then they may not even have to win the conference championship to go to the playoff.

Utah at Washington (3:30, FOX) – Man, FOX has a crazy-good set of games for their quadrupleheader this Saturday. The Huskies have been sort of hanging on lately. Almost like TCU did last year winning games late and winning games that are close. That has to be their mantra right now though: Al Davis’s popular “Just Win Baby.” As for the Utes, could they almost kill the Pac-12’s playoff hopes with a win here? Not totally but they would do a lot of damage and something tells me they would be happy doing that.

USC at Oregon (10:30, FOX) – Two ranked teams facing each other warrants a spot (most of the time) on this list. Well, ranked in the AP Poll at least (sorry, USC). USC could be just like Utah in the previous game: be the spoiler. Oregon has recovered very nicely from their close loss to Washington. Win here, don’t stumble against Arizona State and then win the Civil War over the Beavers and they get their chance at revenge (probably) on Washington.

Tennessee at Missouri (3:30, CBS) – This is an interesting one. The Vols were expected to at least be in the New Year’s Six conversation. Mizzou? Not at all. They have played out of their minds most of the season and put a scare into UGA last week. They can’t win the SEC East so they have to push to win out and give The Committee something to think about. The Vols actually can win the East but it would take the craziest of scenarios to have that happen.

Sickos Game of the Week

Vanderbilt at South Carolina (Noon, TSN+/specialty pack) – The SEC never ends up here. Nor should they. But this game has awful written all over it. It was down to this one and Pitt-Cuse but I will give this game the nod. The Pitt-Cuse game is at Yankee Stadium which is kind of cool but I am sure the field conditions will not be. But the aura of it being in a baseball stadium is what I will use to grudgingly tip the scales towards Vandy and the Cocks getting this spot. Now, if this game had been played at Vandy’s Bob the Builder Stadium then it would have been a no doubter.

Hubba Bubba Blowout of the Week

Michigan State at Ohio State (7:30, NBC) – OK hear me out. At some point, the Buckeyes have to stop with their extremely slow starts. Enough of them being in a dogfight with Rutgers or Maryland. One game it will catch up to them. I think that Ryan Day might finally push them hard to come out of the gate strong. If they do, this game will essentially be over at the half and NBC will be less than pleased with the viewers flocking elsewhere (but, that’s what they signed up for).

Wanna Bet?

I was SO close on the score of my Tennessee-UConn bet. And honestly, I wasn’t too far off with USC-Washington even if I did have the Trojans winning in an upset. And I got Bama’s points dead on. Don’t look at my Virginia pick. Let’s get to this week’s picks, shall we?

Southern Miss 29 Louisiana 28 (upset!)

North Texas 31 SMU 27 (another upset!)

Alabama 34 Kentucky 21 (no upset)

Penn State 30 Michigan 23 (yet another upset!)

Tulane 41 Tulsa 10

Wake Forest 31 NC State 27 (minor upset)

Florida State 42 Miami 32

Washington 34 Utah 14

Tennessee 45 Missouri 35

Washington State 31 California 24 (very slight upset)

Georgia 38 Ole Miss 27

UTSA 37 Rice 21

Oregon 63 USC 33

OK I picked a ton of upsets here and look at Oregon. Yeah I think they are going to have a field day with the USC defense even with Alex Grinch not there to fuck things up.

I am preparing for another day of college football, starting Saturday at Noon and going into Sunday morning. Remember, we are in November, people. We don’t have much longer to go. Soon enough it will be conference championship weekend and the schedules like these go away. So savour it. Take your time to watch a lot of football before it’s gone and the only thing to watch (after the Super Bowl is over at least) is the Xtreme United States Football Association and/or League, also known as the XUSFAL. That acronym will probably end up being better than what they come up with. I’d put money on it. Like ten bucks. Enjoy the games everyone!

We’re looking ahead again (and giving you the Week 8 College Football TV Schedule)

Last year I decided to do some looking ahead in the middle of the season. Did it work out then? Eh. So why not try it again? What’s the worst that could happen? Why so many questions?

Will one of the surprise Group of Five teams keep things going into November? Air Force realistically has a clear path to 10-0 now. They end up with UNLV and Boise State and that’s where their mettle will be tested. If they don’t get there undefeated then they may not deserve that Group of Five New Year’s Six spot. James Madison, at this point, really has nothing to play for although that could be scary. They could run the table almost to spite the NCAA at this point. Finally, if things go awry for the AFA, JMU (and Liberty), watch out for Miami-Ohio. Quietly they are 6-1 and have the biggest game of the MAC season against the other 6-1 team in the conference, Toledo. Win that and they could conceivably go 11-1 and pout a lot of pressure on the top G-5 teams.

Is there anyone who will stop a Georgia-Alabama SEC Championship? Are there some small landmines left on UGA’s schedule? Sure. And now with Brock Bowers out for the season, any one of Tennessee, Missouri and, yes, Florida could upend the apple cart so to speak. Out in the SEC West, Bama has a much tougher road to hoe but if they can get through their next two games against the Vols and LSU, it might be clear sailing to Atlanta.

Can Penn State finally push through in the Big Ten East? Yes. This might be their best chance ever. They have to show that, though, this coming Saturday. Lose to Ohio State and forget about it. Win and they will make all Michigan fans nervous until their mega-matchup. This next month will define James Franklin’s tenure at State College.

Which conference will miss the College Football Playoff? Or will it be conferences…plural? If UGA and Bama make it to conference championship weekend undefeated then it will be two conferences being left out almost guaranteed. If not, then it will be a dogfight but I still worry about the Pac-12 and what feels like the inevitable cannibalization which has kind of already started. Washington is their best best but absolutely cannot lose more than one game the rest of the way.

The biggest upset the rest of the way will be…I am going to go with Oklahoma losing to either Oklahoma State in Bedlam or TCU on Black Friday. Something tells me they will not get through unscathed.

Now who will win the Heisman? Caleb Williams isn’t out of the race but man he looked awful in South Bend. Michael Penix Jr. is now the frontrunner but he will have to basically outlast Bo Nix, Jordan Travis, Drake Maye and J.J. McCarthy of all people who is slowly and efficiently powering Michigan through everyone on their schedule. This might be one of the tightest races in recent memory.

OK enough Nostradamusing….it’s sked time!

Tuesday

		US	Canada
Middle Tennessee at Liberty	7:00
Southern Miss at South Alabama	7:30
WKU at Jacksonville State	7:30

Time for some CU(SA) Next Tuesday action as the two conference favourites play…in two separate games. Some Fun Belt action alongside it as well. I am so loving football every day for damn near two months.

Wednesday

		US	Canada
FIU at Sam Houston	7:00
New Mexico State at UTEP	9:00

Maybe, just maybe, Sam Houston can finally get their first FBS win. Also, the Battle of I-10 (now a conference game!) is later on as the Aggies and Miners play for the Silver Spade. I also love these less-well-known trophy games. You can always tell it means a lot to these teams even if they don’t mean much in the grand scheme of things.

Thursday

		US	Canada
James Madison at Marshall	7:00
Rice at Tulsa	7:00
NC Central at Morgan State	7:30

Easily the highlight of the weeknight games is the Dukes travelling to Huntington to face off against the Thundering Herd. I hope that JMU can get a waiver to go bowling because if they keep going like this they deserve it. Also, the first of two HBCU games this weekend that you can see up here. Other than Week Zero that is something that almost never happens.

Friday

		US	Canada
SMU at Temple	7:00

Look, there’s nothing else on…maybe baseball. So hopefully this one gets weird.

Saturday Early

		US	Canada
UCF at #6 Oklahoma	Noon
Boston College at Georgia Tech	Noon
Rutgers at Indiana	Noon
#22 Air Force at Navy	Noon
Western Michigan at Ohio	Noon
Mississippi State at Arkansas	Noon
Memphis at UAB	Noon
Norfolk State at Howard	Noon
#7 Penn State at #3 Ohio State	Noon

The absolute main course of the week goes off at noon hour with PSU and tOSU facing off. Many hate the fact these big games are on at Noon but I saw a tweet that said this is a good way to get people to watch college football all day as since they introduced the ABC Saturday Night game, viewers shifted their viewing habits and were watching the games starting 3:30 and after way more than the Noon games. Not anymore.

We also have a big Group of Five matchup as Air Force looks to continue their undefeated run in a Commander’s-In-Chief Trophy game against Navy. Finally, Rutgers (RUTGERS!) could clinch bowl-eligibility with a win over the lowly Indiana Hoosiers.

Saturday Afternoon

		US	Canada
Washington State at #9 Oregon	3:30
Pittsburgh at Wake Forest	3:30
Northwestern at Nebraska	3:30
#17 Tennessee at #11 Alabama	3:30
USF at UConn	3:30
Oklahoma State at West Virginia	3:30
North Texas at #23 Tulane	3:30
Minnesota at #24 Iowa	3:30
South Carolina at #20 Missouri	3:30
Toledo at Miami-OH	4:00
#8 Texas at Houston	4:00

Could the Vols upset the Tide? It’s entirely possible considering how average Bama has sometimes been. Wazzu and Oregon face off in a Pac-12 elimination game of sorts. The two most surprising teams in the Big XII will try and keep their surprising runs going. Imagine one of Texas or Oklahoma loses out on a Big XII Championship spot in their final year in the conference because of Oklahoma State? Or even worse, West Virginia? Big XII fans would never let either school live it down.

Saturday Primetime

		US	Canada
Virginia at #10 North Carolina	6:30
Utah State at San Jose State	7:00
#13 Ole Miss at Auburn	7:00
TCU at Kansas State	7:00
Appalachian State at Old Dominion	7:00
#16 Duke at #4 Florida State	7:30
#2 Michigan at Michigan State	7:30
Army at #19 LSU	7:30
Clemson at Miami	8:00
Georgia State at Louisiana	8:00
#14 Utah at #18 USC	8:00

The biggest game of the night is…*checks notes*…Florida State hosting Duke? DUKE? Yep. This could be a massive upset if the Blue Devils can pull it off. Also, let’s not understate that if the Noles win it counts as a big win and gives them another big push towards the College Football Playoff.

The rest of the primetime schedule features another Pac-12 elimination game. Imagine saying that the Trojans and Caleb Williams are eliminated from the Pac-12 race over a week before Halloween? Say that at the start of the season and some would have thought you were crazy.

Also, we have a potential Fight Night II as Michigan heads to East Lansing to face Baby Brother, the Spartans. If there’s even a sniff of a potential brawl it will get a lot of attention. I’m sure Captain Khaki will tell his players to steer clear of any of that shit because they have national championship aspirations and any suspensions could cause serious problems.

Saturday Late Night

		US	Canada
#25 UCLA at Stanford	10:30
Montana State at Sacramento State	10:30

Wow this is….this is technically the late night schedule. Look, if the Montana State-Sac State game is anything like the Montana-Idaho game last Saturday night then this could be a fun one to watch.

Hey, Watch This!

Penn State at Ohio State (Noon, FOX) – There is no other game that could occupy this top spot. This is one of the three-team Big Ten East Round Robin Games of the Year (along with the games against Michigan) where one or even two teams will be eliminated from the CFP conversation for having the audacity to be in the same division as the other teams. A loss here doesn’t fully eliminate either team from contention as you will know from my preview posts back in August.

Duke at Florida State (7:30, ABC) – The Blue Devil Dream Season could hit a crescendo at around 11:00. Weeks after, arguably, their biggest win in program history over Clemson they could one-up that if they pull off the monumental upset here. On the other hand, Jordan Travis could re-introduce himself into the Heisman race if he can put on a big performance and lead FSU to victory.

Tennessee at Alabama (3:30, CBS) – Gee, I wonder who Gary Danielson will be pulling for in this one? Look, I am sure there are some people who are surprised that the Vols are only 6 spots behind the Tide in the rankings. You shouldn’t be. As I said above, Bama has looked entirely average at times this season (see their game against USF). Saying all that, this is still the Alabama Damn Crimson Tide and you know Nick Saban will have the players up for this game so UT can’t afford a slow start here.

Utah at USC (8:00, FOX) – If USC hadn’t played poorly last Saturday in South Bend and if the Utes hadn’t looked terrible against Oregon State a couple weeks back, this game could have been close to number one on the list. Instead, both squads will be fighting for their Pac-12 lives which is something no one figured for this game considering there is still more than a month left in the season.

Sickos Game of the Week

Northwestern at Nebraska (3:30, Big Ten Network) – This is why conference networks exist. To bury games like this far away from many eyes while still being able to say it’s being broadcast to a fairly wide audience. I can’t see there being much interest in this game anywhere, except for Wildcat and Cornhusker fans (and even then).

Hubba Bubba Blowout of the Week

Army at LSU (7:30, TSN+/SP) – There are speed bump games and then there is this. Unless LSU shits the bed, this is not going to end well for the Black Knights. So no, this is not a speed bump game or a lookahead game or anything else you want to call it. It will probably end up being a good old fashioned beatdown.

Wanna Bet?

Who called the Pitt upset? This fucking guy….I’m pointing at myself. Enough said. Let’s get on to this week’s picks!

UTEP 29 New Mexico State 23

Ohio State 34 Penn State 24

Air Force 39 Navy 38

Ohio 20 Western Michigan 16

Arkansas 21 Mississippi State 14

UAB 38 Memphis 35 (upset!)

Oklahoma State 27 West Virginia 23

Alabama 31 Tennessee 28

North Carolina 41 Virginia 33

Michigan 45 Michigan State 17

Florida State 30 Duke 13

USC 20 Utah 16

Louisiana 25 Georgia State 24

The Bossman Top 26!

It’s baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaack! Yeah, I figured it was about time to whip out the Bossman Top 25 so here it is in all its….well, glory might be too strong a word…wait hold on…oh no. Not the Top 25. I’m going one better. Top 26, motherfuckers! Let’s ride!

#1	Georgia
#2	Michigan
#3	Ohio State
#4	Washington
#5	Florida State
#6	Penn State
#7	Oklahoma
#8	Alabama
#9	Oregon State
#10	Texas
#11	North Carolina
#12	Oregon
#13	Ole Miss
#14	Notre Dame
#15	Utah
#16	Tennessee
#17	USC
#18	LSU
#19	Duke
#20	Missouri
#21	Louisville
#22	Tulane
#23	UCLA
#24	Iowa
#25	Air Force
#26	James Madison

“Bossman, why don’t you have Michigan at #1?” “Bossman, why do you have Bama up at #8?” “Bossman, why don’t you have James Madison in the Top 25?” Look, I try to base this on how good a team is, their record, and who they have played. You could exchange Air Force and JMU and it makes not a lick of difference. You could flip flop Georgia and Michigan. You could have Oregon State above Alabama. You could do all these things, sure. And it may end up working out that way. I find it much easier (now) to start the rankings in the middle of the season because I have a better idea of where most of the teams should be. Plus I know that all the big games coming up will actually alter how the season plays out, something that can’t be done with a preseason poll.

Football every day, folks. FOOTBALL….EVERY DAMN DAY! Until American Thanksgiving Eve. Embrace it. Everyone have a great rest of the week and enjoy the games!

Bowl Games? Yep. New Year’s Six? Sure. College Football Playoff? Uh-huh. Coaching Hot Seat List? Why not? My Heisman Ballot? I mean, if you have to…

Hey remember last year when I dumped all that stuff I mentioned above into one post? Guess what I’m doing again.

Look, you could say that it would take the same amount of time to put all this in separate posts. And you’d be wrong. These tags don’t just create themselves. Although if there is a way to do tags automatically I would feel like a big fucking moron. Oh well, I’m just going to keep on living thinking I have to type in all the pertinent tags to this post. Ignorance is bliss!

Let’s start with some postseason predictions. You read the two posts where I predicted the standings for all the conferences (and those four mangy Independents). At least I hope you did. If not, you might want to so it can prepare you for this because, ho boy, this could cause some people to think twice about my mental capacity. We begin with the top of the mountain, the College Football Playoff. Here is what I think the semi-finals will look like along with the rankings of the teams involved:

January 1st	Sugar Bowl	#1 Georgia	#4 Florida State
January 1st	Rose Bowl	#2 Michigan	#3 Alabama

Am I close to the experts’ picks? I don’t really know. I think Georgia is the easiest call here but the road to get there isn’t easy. Their regular season loss to Tennessee means they had to beat Alabama in the SEC Championship to be in the Top 4. I believe they do. I also believe Bama, being #1 going into conference championship weekend, wouldn’t fall four spots on a single loss to one of the best teams in the nation. So they stay in at #3 which I am sure will cause a ton of people to become irrational and use Twitter as a ridiculous sounding board and causing people to not want to talk about college football. Sorry…use X as a ridiculous sounding board and cause people to not want to talk about college football on social media. X. What a dumb fucking name. Anyway, Michigan should get in with a in in the Big Ten Championship, even if it is over a Minnesota team that would be near the bottom of the Top 25 going in. Finally, remember what I said about the Tide? Triple that hatred for this one. Florida State, I predict, will beat Clemson for the ACC title. The Tigers would come in to the game at #2 and FSU would be #5. I have the Noles moving up a spot and the Tigers being that one-loss team that loses out in this bunch. The amount of venom spewed by college football media and fans about this, rightly or wrongly, would be way over the top. I think it would be the first time (and would be the only time) that a team goes into conference championship weekend undefeated, loses, and tumbles out of the College Football Playoff when the smoke clears. And because of that, I hope this, or something like this happens because we need a ton of chaos for the final four-team CFP ever.

Now we go to the next tier down: the New Year’s Six. The final New Year’s Six. I would shed a tear but it feels like it’s hardly been around long enough:

January 1st	Fiesta Bowl	#9 USC	#11 Ohio State
December 30th	Orange Bowl	#5 Clemson	#7 Tennessee
December 30th	Peach Bowl	#8 Penn State	#10 Notre Dame
December 29th	Cotton Bowl	#6 Texas	#14 UTSA

Do the games look interesting? Absolutely. Could there be some debate as to who is here, who isn’t and where everyone should go (and how they get there)? Absolutely. Am I backing down from these predictions? Absolutely not. I mean if this was the 12-team playoff, I am sure people would debate that as well but you can’t tell me none of these teams would be worthy of being there. That’s crazy. “Durr, Texas doesn’t deserve to be there. They won’t even be bowl-eligible.” Yeah go fuck yourself if you think that. That’s just plain dumb.

Alright, enough anger, more analysis. Let’s start with Clemson since that’s the easiest one to explain. They were #2 and undefeated, lost to Florida State in the ACC Championship, so they get the Orange Bowl spot reserved for the top ACC team remaining. Simple. The Pac-12, in their final unglorious season, will again beat each other up making it impossible for one team to come out unscathed. So the ninth-ranked Trojans will head to the Fiesta Bowl after winning the Pac-12 title. Ohio State slots in as their opponent although it could easily be Penn State. The reasoning here is that tOSU already plays Notre Dame during the season and it makes more sense for USC to play in Phoenix than Penn State for bowl season. Those Longhorns I mentioned? They go off into the sunset, leaving the Big XII as conference champions. It puts them in the Cotton Bowl against the best Group of Five team. I think Tulane almost runs the table during the regular season and gets a pretty healthy lead in the rankings over the next best teams, UTSA and Boise State. The Roadrunners’ win in the AAC Championship would trump anything the Broncos do and, should be enough to leapfrog the Green Wave to sneak into the final NY6 spot. Let’s be honest here: Texas-UTSA at AT&T Stadium for the Cotton Bowl is an instant sellout, no doubt about it.

Now for the rest of the bowl extravaganza:

January 1st	Citrus Bowl	#12 LSU	Minnesota
January 1st	ReliaQuest Bowl	#20 South Carolina	Michigan State
December 30th	Arizona Bowl	San Diego State	Toledo
December 30th	Music City Bowl	Ole Miss	#17 Iowa
December 29th	Liberty Bowl	Texas A&M	#16 TCU
December 29th	Sun Bowl	Duke	#24 Utah
December 29th	Gator Bowl	Kentucky	#21 North Carolina
December 28th	Alamo Bowl	#19 Kansas State	#18 Oregon
December 28th	Pop Tarts Bowl	Pittsburgh	Oklahoma
December 28th	Pinstripe Bowl	Maryland	Louisville
December 28th	Fenway Bowl	Syracuse	FAU
December 27th	Texas Bowl	Arkansas	Baylor
December 27th	Holiday Bowl	Miami	#13 Oregon State
December 27th	Duke’s Mayo Bowl	Wake Forest	Auburn
December 27th	Military Bowl	NC State	#15 Tulane
December 26th	Guaranteed Rate Bowl	San Jose State	Oklahoma State
December 26th	First Responder Bowl	UCF	East Carolina
December 26th	Quick Lane Bowl	Illinois	Ohio
December 23rd	Hawaii Bowl	SMU	Fresno State
December 23rd	Las Vegas Bowl	#23 Wisconsin	Washington State
December 23rd	68 Ventures Bowl	South Alabama	Middle Tennessee
December 23rd	Idaho Potato Bowl	Air Force	Miami-OH
December 23rd	Armed Forces Bowl	Kansas	UTEP
December 23rd	Birmingham Bowl	Mississippi State	North Texas
December 23rd	Camellia Bowl	Appalachian State	New Mexico State
December 22nd	Gasparilla Bowl	UCLA	James Madison
December 21st	Boca Raton Bowl	Coastal Carolina	UConn
December 19th	Frisco Bowl	Marshall	Navy
December 18th	Myrtle Beach Bowl	Southern Miss	Buffalo
December 16th	Independence Bowl	Texas Tech	Memphis
December 16th	LA Bowl	#22 Washington	#25 Boise State
December 16th	New Mexico Bowl	Wyoming	Louisiana
December 16th	Cure Bowl	Army	Georgia Southern
December 16th	New Orleans Bowl	Troy	WKU
December 16th	Bahamas Bowl	Eastern Michigan	Liberty

That is a lot of bowl games. I am not complaining. I am fully embracing the Sickos mentality of all football is good football. Even arena football if you can believe it! And why am I not complaining? Because I am desperate for the season to start. Talk to me in mid-December and I may have a slightly different answer. Some notes on these bowl games:

• The teams that juuuuuuust missed out on the New Year’s Six train to nowhere include LSU, Oregon State, Tulane and TCU.
• Quite a few teams would be playing close to home, including Mississippi State travelling to relatively close by Birmingham, Air Force with a not-so-long drive north into Idaho, South Alabama playing exactly 0 kilometres from their home stadium in the renamed 68 Ventures Bowl, Ohio venturing into hostile territory to play in the Quick Lane Bowl and Wake Forest making their way to hopefully get their coach dumped with mayo in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl.
• Hey remember what I said two posts ago about James Madison and a surprise for their fans? I know that was a lot of reading ago. Look, there won’t be enough teams to satisfy all the bowl slots. I have a feeling that will be a trend going forward. And because of that, the Dukes will have the opportunity to go to a bowl if they are invited before the team with the best APR score. And I’m sure at least one bowl would do that since JMU should be good once again this season. Man, do I ever hate the transition rule. I get the first year coming up that you shouldn’t qualify for anything. Get your feet wet. Sure. Longer than that is just the NCAA being insufferable dicks and not updating policies that are over 50 years old.
• As for those 5-7 teams making bowls they would be Georgia Southern, Buffalo, and Navy (which would kill my scenario for the Army-Navy Game).

I guess I should mention who I think will win the whole thing. Well, I’ve got Georgia beating Florida State and Michigan beating Bama in the semis and then the Wolverines ending the three-peat talk by beating the Dawgs in Houston for the title. Then Khaki Jim can ride off into the sunset…that sunset being back to the NFL.

Well look who is back in the FBS. Rich God Damn Rodriguez! He is at the helm of one of FBS’s newest teams, the Jacksonville State Gamecocks. I’m sure it won’t be an amazing season for the team but man, who thought he would be back at the top level of college football? Probably a few although I wondered if he was basically done being a head coach at this level. Shows what I know.

Hey, hey it’s HOT SEAT TIME! Last year my top two were jettisoned and Herm got an all-timer of an on-field shitcanning. I am still surprised some made it to this season (I am looking at you Mike Bloomgren) but all in all this list is a list I am actually proud of since I actually do well at it, as morbid as that sounds.

Alright let’s get to the list. Going with the new categorizations as well this time around. Let’s go!

Almost Guaranteed Shitcanning

1. Neal Brown (West Virginia) – He was #3 on my list last season and I honestly don’t know how he is still employed in Morgantown. And it’s not like things are looking super rosy there. Needed to keep his job – Honestly? A fucking miracle. Prediction – A mid-to-late-season shitcanning and no job next year as he starts quite a few rungs down the ladder in 2025.
2. Danny Gonzales (New Mexico) – Now let’s head to the southwest and a place that is very difficult to win at. Other than Rocky Long I don’t think anyone has really done anything of note in Albuquerque. The problem becomes how long do you give a coach a chance to win at a place where victories are at a premium? Honestly, Gonzales would be lower down the list if it wasn’t for what Jerry Kill did down the road in Las Cruces last year. Needed to keep his job – Vying for a bowl spot in the final two weeks of the regular season. Prediction – Near the bottom of the Mountain West pecking order yet again and maybe even a late-season firing.
3. Dana Holgorsen (Houston) – Look, Drunk Uncle Dana is entertaining. But the shtick gets old. And if they are as mediocre as I believe they will be in their first year in the Big XII, it’ll be lights out for Holgorsen. Needed to keep his job – Bowl eligibility, period. Prediction – I don’t think they will even have a shot at a bowl game in the final week of the season meaning Dana’s fate will be pretty much sealed by that point.
4. Eliah Drinkwitz (Missouri) – I don’t like harping on a guy’s looks but this guy looks more like Milton from Office Space than a college football head coach. Which is perfectly fine…if you win. This guy has hovered around .500 since coming to CoMo and I think a year under .500 would be the final straw. Needed to keep his job – At least a .500 record if not an upset or two inside the SEC. Prediction – I see him falling one game short of his goal and the athletic department feeling like they have to make a move now rather than wait.
5. Mike Neu (Ball State) – Neu has had his moments at Ball State but really hasn’t rose above an also-ran in the MAC. The Cardinals seem to consistently sit near the bottom of the MAC West which gives plenty of reason for a coach to get jettisoned. Needed to keep his job – Bowl eligibility. That’s it, that’s all. Prediction – I can’t see them winning more than four games this season so expect him to be the most likely MAC head coach to be fired first.

Probable Shitcanning

6. Ricky Rahne (Old Dominion) – Rahne really has not been able to recreate some of the magic that his predecessor, Bobby Wilder, had.  I’m not saying the Monarchs were great under Wilder: but they were fun to watch and competed hard. Haven’t seen as much of that under Double R.  Needed to keep his job – Be competitive and play some meaningful November football.  Prediction – Quite possibly the worst Group of Five team and a tough decision to be made by the athletic director.
7. Tom Allen (Indiana) – Where are the 2020 Indiana Hoosiers?  We can finally say that that version of the team was a complete aberration which sucks for their fans.  Allen really is on borrowed time but there is the slight possibility he is kept on when the brand-new Big Ten starts next season without divisions.  A SLIGHT possibility.  Needed to keep his job – 4 or even 5 wins and looking more competitive against some better Big Ten teams.  Prediction – 3 wins and a quiet exit (for Tom).
8. Mike Bloomgren (Rice) – The bloom comes off the rose yadda, yadda, yadda.  One of these years I am going to be right about this guy.  Not that I want to be: I am just genuinely befuddled as to why this guy is still the head coach at Rice.  Needed to keep his job – Not looking like a punching bag moving up to the American Conference.  Prediction – Four wins which isn’t bad but some bad losses inside the conference and finally his removal from the sidelines.

Possible Shitcanning

9. Billy Napier (Florida) – Napier suffers from the fact that even if the previous few coaches have ended up as disasters they had their successes as well.  He hasn’t done anything and the Gators were barely bowl-eligible with a supposed franchise quarterback under centre.  Now it’s a step back.  It comes down to how far of a step back he will be allowed.  Needed to keep his job – Bowl eligibility should do the trick.  Prediction – I have them missing out on the postseason so there should be plenty of angry fans in Gainesville.
10. Brent Pry (Virginia Tech) – Poor Brent.  Last season wasn’t too bad when he took over the Hokies.  This season on the other hand…I don’t see good things in Blacksburg.  Maybe I’ll be wrong (and lord knows I have been wrong in the past) but if it’s as tough a season as I think it will be for VaTech, Pry might be fine with being done as head coach.  Needed to keep his job – Some improvement over last year.  Prediction – I have the Hokies winning only one game this season. One. That is not improvement. At all.
11. Greg Schiano (Rutgers) – I don’t know where Rutgers goes from here.  They’ve had a tough slog since joining the Big Ten.  They are the butt of pretty much every realignment joke and meme.  And I’m not sure firing Schiano, their best coach ever, will fix anything. But at some point, changes have to be made to at least try and improve.  Needed to keep his job – At least 4 wins but more to be competitive inside the Big Ten.  Prediction – 4 wins but the competitiveness part…yeah I don’t know about that.
12. Terry Bowden (ULM) – Same spot for Terry as last year.  I honestly don’t know the end game for all of this.  I can’t see him coaching the Warhawks into being a top notch Sun Belt team. Is he grooming the next head coach? It’s very confusing. That’s why I put him here and not higher up the list.  Needed to keep his job – Have a better record than last year and put a scare into a few of the better Sun Belt teams.  Prediction – Last year I predicted one win for them. This year it’s two. Something has to give at some point.
13. Shawn Elliott (Georgia State) – Look, it’s not like Georgia State is a destination coaching spot.  Saying that, the Sun Belt has become a lot tougher over the past half-a-decade.  So if you’re not moving forward, you’re falling further behind. And this is what it feels like with Georgia State. They aren’t getting worst but they aren’t improving and quite a few teams are leaving them in their dust.  Needed to keep his job – Competitive football in November and possibility for bowl eligibility during the final week.  Prediction – I have them at 4 wins this season so this could be an interesting off-season decision in Atlanta.
14. Scot Loeffler (Bowling Green) – This is Scott (with one T)’s fifth season at Bowling Green.  I don’t know why that surprises me but it does.  The Falcons really haven’t done anything other than sneak into one bowl game in his tenure.  It is, however, Bowling Green so the expeectations are a lot lower here. At some point, though, thre has to be some semblance of results and this guy just isn’t delivering.  Needed to keep his job – Bowl eligibility and looking like a contender in the MAC East.  Prediction – No bowl game and they won’t look like a contender. Saying that, he may still be around for 2024 but on a very short leash.
15. Jeff Hafley (Boston College) – It has been a struggle on the Hill for Hafley and with no divisions there’s nowhere really to hide now in the ACC. The lack of success over the past decade-plus could be what keeps Hafley on for 2024. Needed to keep his job – 5 wins and having a shot at a bowl on the final weekend. Prediction – 5 wins and they will have two shots to claim bowl eligibilty and will fail at both but it will be enough for another year with Hafley.

Doubtful Shitcanning (although it still could happen)

16. Justin Wilcox (California) – Wilcox might not have to worry if Cal just shuts down the entire program.  I’m only half-joking with that sentence.  I think the athletic department has much bigger things to worry about right now.  Meaning if Wilcox is fired it might be done by text.  Needed to keep his job – Possible bowl contention.  Prediction – They aren’t going to a bowl game and it looks like, for now, they have to be thinking about filling a schedule for 2024 more than dealing with their below-average head coach.
17. Mel Tucker (Michigan State) – Tucks signed for a lot of money to coach in East Lansing so last year better be an aberration.  Let’s be honest: even with being in arguably the toughest division in college football, the Spartans will be much improved this season. Shouldn’t be much of a worry here unless they come out of the gate VERY slowly.  Needed to keep his job – Probably 7 wins.  Prediction – He will get them to 7 and maybe, just maybe, they will put a scare into one of the top three teams in the division.
18. Dana Dimel (UTEP) – Dimel must have been thanking his lucky stars once he saw the exodus from Conference USA.  Having a few newcomers join makes things a bit easier for the Miners this year and gives Dimel one more year, almost certainly, on the job.  Next season? Who knows.  Needed to keep his job –  Fighting for bowl eligibility during the final weekend.  Prediction – They should be bowl eligible in early November so the pressure will be off…for now.
19. Thomas Hammock (Northern Illinois) – It feels like every other year at NIU things look good.  And then every other year things look bad. And so forth. So it should be good this year in Dekalb, no?.  Needed to keep his job – Look like a contender in the MAC West.  Prediction – I have them at five wins so maybe they will shock me?
20. Don Brown (UMass) – Probably the toughest job for a head coach in FBS is being the head man at UMass.  I have said for years now that the Minutemen should just drop to the FCS. I still think they should but I do understand the financial ramifications. Still, at some point don’t you think the fans yearn for something more than a couple of wins a season at most?  Needed to keep his job – Win a game. Any game.  Prediction – I think they win one game and I’m not guaranteeing it will be against their one FCS opponent. Brown should be fine going into 2024.

I think I say this ever year but I have to go back one day and really determine how good I am at this coaching hot seat list. I feel I do well and I hope the numbers would back me up. But I am used to disappointment so I am not holding my breath.

There’s a reason I don’t get a Heisman ballot. I am sure if even if I was the most prominent college football journalist in the land they would say “Sorry, Bossman, no can do.” Probably because my ballots have been mostly garbage in the past. Let’s see if I can somehow do better this year. Let’s just get to my ballot before I regret even posting this.

Bossman’s Heisman Ballot of Mediocrity

1. Jordan Travis, Florida State – I know everyone and their mother is picking Caleb Williams to win the Heisman. I can’t see that happening because voters almost seem to want to avoid giving any player not named Archie Griffin back-to-back Heismans and most of the time it goes to a player on a team that’s in the Top 4 (or close to it). Travis is predicted to at least go to New York for the ceremony so it’s not like I am way off here. Plus, I think his passing stats will explode as FSU hits the CFP for the first time in what feels like forever.
2. Caleb Williams, USC – Because I don’t have the Trojans winning the title this season or getting to the College Football Playoff is one of the main reasons I think Williams doesn’t win his second Heisman. He should be close to his passing stats from last season and at least he will make the voters think twice all year as he will never be far from the top of the Heisman hopefuls list.
3. Drake Maye, North Carolina – Maye is only a sophomore this season so he may be prepping for his true Heisman run in 2024. He will turn a lot of heads this season, though, with UNC battling FSU and Clemson at the top of the ACC.
4. Bo Nix, Oregon – Bo’s move from the SEC to the Pac-12 was huge and reinvigorated his fledgling career. Much of the Ducks’ hopes this year to win the Pac-12 in their swan song season rests on his shoulders and it is going to be a dogfight at the top. One huge game from Bo in a big conference game could put Oregon in the national title picture.
5. Marvin Harrison Jr., Ohio State – As long as the Buckeyes can figure out who is going to be flinging the ball over the field at quarterback, Harrison should have a monster season. There is an outside chance that he will be the #1 pick in the NFL Draft so I am sure he will be going all-out all season. As long as Ryan Day doesn’t decide to run the ball a lot more this season, Harrison is tOSU’s ticket to New York.
6. Michael Penix Jr., Washington – I believe that, as is the case lately, that the Pac-12 teams will beat each other up and no one will be high enough in the rankings to be in the CFP. For some players it’s not a huge issue (see: Williams, Caleb last year). For some, it’s the main reason they either don’t win the Heisman or don’t get invited to New York at all. I see Penix being one of those guys. Washington will be very good but not quite good enough and stuck in a group of six teams that are all pretty damn good this year. Playing out west doesn’t help either, despite what some may say.
7. J.J. McCarthy, Michigan – Here is the guy under center (centre?) who will finally push Michigan over the top this year. He won’t throw for a shit-ton of yards but it will be enough (along with this ground game) to put him in the Heisman conversation for a bit at least. A win over tOSU alone may give him the New York invite (if it was up to Michigan fans).
8. Quinn Ewers, Texas – Texas is probably a huge dark horse pick to win it all this year and Ewers has to be considered a bit of a dark horse Heisman cadidate. The only thing that could make this not the case is if he has a bad quarter or two and Sark gets an itchy trigger finger and puts Arch Manning in for longer than a few series.
9. Cade Klubnik, Clemson – The Fighting Dabos are going to be back on top…at least through the regular season. I don’t think many will be surprised with this. I’m not fully sold on Klubnik but he is an improvement on D.J. Uiagalelei and the Tigers defense will be able to pick up the slack when he struggles a bit. But those struggles will cost him a seat at the Heisman table I’m sure.
10. Jayden Daniels, LSU – Hey, have you ever remembred a time where the quality of the quarterbacks in the SEC has been this low? Not saying Daniels isn’t good because he is. But there are a few teams, Alabama and Georgia most notably, that have potential QB issues this season in the SEC and a few other teams that have returning quarterbacks that are honestly just above-average at best. Daniels may get some Heisman talk just because he may end up being that much better than any other QB in the conference.

Honourable Mention

• Blake Corum, Michigan
• Sam Hartman, Notre Dame
• Joe Milton III, Tennessee
• Braelon Allen, Wisconsin
• Kyle McCord, Ohio State
• Drew Allar, Penn State
• Harold Perkins, LSU
• Brock Bowers, Georgia
• J.T. Tuimoloau, Ohio State

There you go. If one of those nineteen aforementioned players wins the Heisman, I will feel…well, good is not quite correct. Satisfied? Sure, let’s go with that.

The college football predictions…..they are complete! In a little less than half a year from now, I will find out how poorly I did. Gee, I can’t wait.

At some point soon I will do my lovely NFL predictions which are sure to also be not fully correct. Then…….Week…..Fucking…….ZERO!!!!!! I will have the schedule up at least a few days before the games commence. And yes, if you are looking for games on the specialty pack, don’t. Week Zero has almost never shown Week Zero games. Almost. Kind of a crapshoot with these idiotic Canadian cable companies. Enjoy your week everyone!

Oh man, here we go again

It felt like things were calm. We were all lulled into this. It was just the eye of the storm. Sure the wind wasn’t moving but about 200 metres away, a cow just went flying headlong into a barn.

What am I talking about? Realignment, of course! Another shoe has dropped…OK let me use a different analogy. Sorry Deion. We have another big move as Colorado will be going back to the Big XII starting next season. And that probably won’t be all. The rumours have at least one of Arizona, Arizona State, Utah, Oregon or Washington following the Buffaloes. Or, if no other schools leave the Pac-12, the Big XII is more than willing to dip into the American Conference (hello SMU, Memphis, Tulane) or even way out east…yes, UConn! And maybe once the Pac-12 (or more like Pac-9) gets their act together, they can start bringing in teams from the Group of Five. The same teams from the American would be in play, especially SMU. Also, the Mountain West would be watching closely as San Diego State, Boise State and perhaps Colorado State and UNLV could be looked at. There will be a lot of meetings in the next month or so to determine where this all leads.

For now let’s focus on what this post was supposed to be (and still will be). It’s time for the Power Five conference predictions. This will give a better indication on how I think things will go during this season. So let’s dive right in!

Changes are coming soon for the Ess Ee Cee. Texas and Oklahoma join the conference next season. Also, no more SEC on CBS after this year. Everything moves to ABC and ESPN. And finally, no divisions. Halle-fucking-lujah.

As for this year, all the talk is about Georgia and doing something no team has done (fully) in the AP Poll era: win three national championships in a row. It’s not like they will fall apart, despite the fact they lost their starting quarterback and a bunch of other players in the NFL Draft. Then again, I’m sure Kirby Smart has looked them all dead in the eye and told them “Everyone thinks you are going to go 5-7 and lose to Vanderbilt. Prove them wrong!” And they will believe it because college football head coaches are just a notch-and-a-half below cult leaders in the pecking order of how much they can make their “followers” drink their Kool-Aid.

Remember, though, there are other teams in the conference as well. Like those lovable underdogs from Tuscaloosa, Alabama, and the team that just reeks of success (in the classroom and on the baseball diamond), Vanderbilt. And eleven other teams. Want to find out how I think they will do? OK. I will do that. Just for you.

		Conference		Overall
	East	W	L	W	L
	Georgia	7	1	11	1
	Tennessee	6	2	10	2
	South Carolina	5	3	8	4
	Kentucky	3	5	6	6
	Missouri	2	6	5	7
	Florida	2	6	5	7
	Vanderbilt	1	7	4	8
	West
	Alabama	8	0	12	0
	LSU	6	2	9	3
	Ole Miss	4	4	8	4
	Texas A&M	4	4	8	4
	Arkansas	3	5	7	5
	Auburn	3	5	7	5
	Mississippi State	2	6	6	6

Just For You

• You might think I am crazy for having UGA not run the table. I do think they will lose a regular season game and it will be to those upstart Tennessee Volunteers. It won’t keep them from winning the division though as you can see I have those same Vols losing two conference games during the regular season.
• As for the SEC West, though, Bama will once again rule the roost….as long as they figure out their quarterback situation. I am thinking they will and will go undefeated and be #1 in the nation going into conference championship weekend. If they don’t get their QB situation settled…well, maybe they lose two games? Three? It’s not like they will fall to 6-6.
• I could see South Carolina or last year’s SEC West champs, LSU, making a bit of a run this time around. They have the top two quarterbacks in the SEC and could each put up piles of points. Watch for the Cocks’ game against Georgia early on in the season and LSU’s post-Halloween trip to Bryant-Denny to face the Tide. Upsets in either of those games will seriously upset the apple cart.
• Look, the Gators were barely .500 with who I think may be one of the most overhyped quarterbacks in recent memory. I don’t think Anthony Richardson was that great. And now they don’t even have him. Unless every other part of the roster improved (it didn’t), how do people expect this team to bounce back and all of a sudden become an eight or nine win team? Spoiler alert: they won’t.
• I have Mississippi State at 6-6. They will do just enough to get a bowl game. I wonder how tough it will be after the loss of Mike Leach but I can see them straightening things out just in time late in the season.
• As for the SEC Championship, SURPRISE! I have the Dawgs beating the Tide and creating a massive clusterfuck in the final College Football Playoff rankings. Fun times!
• Eleven bowl teams from the SEC with two juuuuuust on the outside. That’s insane and I don’t think I will be that far off with this prediction. Next year could be even crazier with Texas and Oklahoma joining the conference that just means more.

Man have things really changed in terms of where you will see Big Ten games this season. Gone are ABC and ESPN. In is NBC and CBS. This is gonna feel weird the first time I see it. And maybe the next few times as well. I will get used to it at some point. Now if you want the opportunity to watch every Big Ten game, better find a way to get FOX Sports One and Peacock otherwise you will be shit out of luck to watch potential bangers like Northwestern-Purdue and Indiana-Rutgers (if they end up there and not the Big Ten Network).

Alright, let’s get into the final conference predictions before the B1G gives a big Fuck You to geography and brings in USC and UCLA.

		Conference		Overall
	East	W	L	W	L
	Michigan	8	1	11	1
	Penn State	8	1	11	1
	Ohio State	8	1	10	2
	Michigan State	5	4	7	5
	Maryland	5	4	8	4
	Indiana	1	8	3	9
	Rutgers	1	8	4	8
	West
	Minnesota	6	3	8	4
	Wisconsin	6	3	9	3
	Iowa	6	3	9	3
	Illinois	5	4	7	5
	Nebraska	2	7	5	7
	Purdue	2	7	5	7
	Northwestern	0	9	2	10

Geogpraphy, Go Eat a Dick

• Look, I know some might look at the Big Ten East standings and think I am a bit crazy. I am not. Although that is what a crazy person would tell you. Yep, a three-way tie at the top at 8-1 between Big Blue, tOSU and PSU. Because each team will be 1-1 against the other two, the CFP Rankings will decide the winner. I believe the Wolverines will somehow win that. And yes, I think Ohio State also loses to Notre Dame. O-H! I-No.
• If Sparty doesn’t make it to a bowl game, they may end up giving Mel Tucker the Herm Edwards treatment and fire him before he can leave the playing surface one game. I get they have a tough division but they should be able to do well enough against the rest of their schedule to get back in the postseason after last year’s debacle.
• No, I don’t have Wisconsin winning the West division. Meaning I am different than almost every expert out there. Also, there’s the fact I’m not an expert but I digress. Again I have a damn three-way tie but no need to look at the rankings for this one as I believe the Gophers will Row the Fucking Boat all the way to Indianapolis after beating both Wisky and the high-octane Iowa Hawkeyes. See what I did there? Yeah, I don’t care that the Hawkeyes have a new quarterback in town. Until Kirk tells his son to do better, Iowa will be pushing for some 7-6 victories. Sorry. 8-6. Two field goals and a late safety to win.
• Nebraska will be better but I think the Huskers are a season away from getting back to the top of the West…just in time for the West to just not exist anymore.
• As for Northwestern…man. What a shitshow. Look, I played a lot of sports earlier in my life and did so at the university level. Are there fun little pranks and stupid things the rookies have to do? Sometimes. But it’s usually harmless. Carrying bags, standing up during a team dinner to get embarrassed by singing some Mariah Carey song, dumb things like that. Not getting fucking dry humped in some cultish fashion by weirdos in robes. What the fuck is wrong with that school? And yes, it’s not just the football program. Sounds like at least half the teams there have serious issues. Ugh.
• Now let’s get crazy. Yeah! The Big Ten Championship will…OK who am I kidding. It won’t be close. I have Michigan plowing through Minny to clinch their spot, yet again, in the College Football Playoff.

Might as well call this the Stable Conference…for now. Just nothing happening here which is just fine for most of the teams in the ACC. Status quo isn’t a bad thing. There are some changes with where you will see games. The CW…yes, the C-Fucking-W, will have an ACC game during most of the weeks of the season. You can take the ACC out of Jefferson-Pilot (or Raycom) but you can’t take the Jefferson-Pilot (or Raycom) out of the ACC. Or something like that.

So before this conference possibly gets pillaged by the Big Ten and SEC, let’s get to the predictions followed by some deep tissue massage and/or analysis.

		Conference		Overall
		W	L	W	L
	Clemson	8	0	12	10
	Florida State	7	1	11	1
	North Carolina	6	2	9	3
	Pittsburgh	5	3	8	4
	Louisville	5	3	8	4
	Duke	4	4	8	4
	Wake Forest	4	4	7	5
	NC State	4	4	7	5
	Miami	4	4	7	5
	Syracuse	3	5	6	6
	Boston College	2	6	5	7
	Virginia	2	6	4	8
	Georgia Tech	2	6	4	8
	Virginia Tech	0	8	1	11

Deep Tissue Massage and/or Analysis

• I should book a massage. My back is in horrible shape.
• Some may scoff at me having Clemson going undefeated this season. They have the schedule to do it and if Cade Klubnik is as good as he can be this could relatively easily happen. If Klubnik struggles…well then this entire set of standings might need to be scrubbed from existence.
• Reader Gord will like where I have Florida State. This team could be scary good. And at the very least, they will be near the top of the ACC standings this season. Mike Norvell has done a great job getting this team back to what it was like during the Jimbo Fisher days. I had my doubts about him but I have to admit he has been the right guy to right the ship in Tallahassee.
• Hey did you notice? NO DIVISIONS! I love it.
• Don’t be surprised that if Clemson or FSU stumbles that there are no shortage of teams that could get one of the two ACC title game slots. A list of seven teams could pull off a couple of upsets and be at the top and it wouldn’t be a huge surprise. A slight surprise sure. Maybe a slightly bigger surprise if it was Miami or NC State. But not a massive surprise.
• Poor Virginia Tech. I think this will be their worst team since before Frank Beamer graced Blacksburg. It feels like it has been forever since the Hokies were contenders. It was only seven years ago when they were in the ACC Championship and almost upset the eventual national champions, Clemson. This team is pretty bad in almost every aspect of the game and the schedule will not be helpful to them. Other than Old Dominion I don’t see them winning any other game and the Monarchs have given VT all sorts of fits the past few years.
• Look for a tiny bit of a bounce back from Virginia. Just them taking the field after what happened last year is a win in my books.
• For that ACC title game, how about another game that will turn everything on its head. Yep, I think the Noles will get revenge for a regular season loss by inching out the Tigers. Chaos!

OK it’s about time the Big XII rebrands. They will have at least thirteen teams by the time the 2024 season starts and it may be as high as sixteen. So change the fucking name. They have the rights to the Big Fourteen and Big Sixteen so use one of those. It would be easy. Find a graphic design student at Kansas and have them do a new logo. Easy peasy. Why do I have to come up with everything?

Where was I? Oh that’s right, predictions. Let’s see if this conference will go all Pac-12 and cannibalize itself or if they can see a team get to the CFP once again. Also, Texas and Oklahoma will be trying their best to leave the conference on a high note much to the chagrin of the rest of the schools in the conference. So here are the Big XII standings predictions, followed by Belly Expansions.

		Conference		Overall
		W	L	W	L
	Texas	8	1	10	2
	Kansas State	7	2	10	2
	Baylor	6	3	8	4
	TCU	6	3	9	3
	Oklahoma	6	3	9	3
	Texas Tech	5	4	8	4
	Oklahoma State	5	4	8	4
	Kansas	4	5	7	5
	UCF	4	5	7	5
	BYU	3	6	5	7
	Cincinnati	3	6	5	7
	Houston	2	7	4	8
	Iowa State	2	7	4	8
	West Virginia	2	7	3	9

Belly Expansions

• No I don’t mean pregnancy. I mean eating a big meal and having to loosen the ol’ belt or just unbuckle the pants altogether. Funny enough, people in the restaurant don’t appreciate that.
• Let’s start at the bottom. There won’t be one truly bad team. There will be a bunch of below-average ones. West Virginia, Iowa State, Houston, Cincinnati and BYU could all finish last and I am sure no one would bat an eye.
• I see the Longhorns making their final Big XII season a special one. They have the team, the schedule and the head coach (I think) to be the top team in this conference this season. The only question will be can Quinn Ewers hold off Arch Manning. Will one of them transfer in the offseason? Remember, when you have two starting quarterbacks, you have none. I think.
• How about this lukewarm take: Kansas State will be good again. Yeah really going out on a limb there Bossman. This team has become so steady-as-she-goes it’s almost boring. The people in the Little Apple are fine with this.
• I do think one of the newcomers will make a bowl game and that team will be UCF. I think they are the most prepared of the newbies coming into this conference. But make no mistake about it: all four teams will be good at various points over the next few years.
• I can’t see Oklahoma taking enough of a leap to get to the Big XII Championship. Nor do I think the Horned Frogs of TCU have the, uh, toads? to make it back to the conference title game. Good seasons for both, yes, but not great.
• The Longhorns should win the conference title game in their final season in the Big XII. Will this get them into the CFP or will it “relegate” them to the New Year’s Six? I think you can tell from my predictions so far but you will know for sure in a different post.

So where are we going to be able to watch Pac-12 games in the future? Who the hell knows. My money is on PBS.

But seriously, the Pac-12 is quickly dropping from the Conference of Champions to almost a Group of Five conference. They are losing USC and UCLA next year to the Big Ten. They knew that already. The bombshell of Colorado leaving now has them at nine teams starting the 2024 season. And it may not end there. The only schools I haven’t heard potentially leaving are Oregon State and Washington State. That’s not to say all these rumours will be correct but I will be pretty surprised if no more teams leave for the Big XII before next season. It’s sad for a conference that really started their slide once Pete Carroll left USC for the NFL. Thanks a bunch, Peter.

Prediction time! No divisions which is one thing they are ahead of the game with, starting that last year. Let’s get to those divisionless predictions followed by some California Nightmarin’.

		Conference		Overall
		W	L	W	L
	USC	8	1	10	2
	Utah	7	2	9	3
	Oregon	7	2	9	3
	Oregon State	7	2	10	2
	Washington State	6	3	8	4
	Washington	6	3	9	3
	UCLA	5	4	8	4
	Colorado	3	6	4	8
	California	2	7	4	8
	Arizona	2	7	4	8
	Arizona State	1	8	3	9
	Stanford	0	9	2	10

California Nightmarin’

• No state will have it better this year in the Pac-12 than the state of Oregon. Both the Ducks and the Beavers look to be serious contenders and only need the ball to bounce their way one extra time to maybe get to the Pac-12 Championship. And considering the way that title game has gone, who knows what may happen after that.
• The strongest team, though, should be USC. They have Caleb Williams coming back to try and do what no one other than some guy named Archie has ever done, and that’s win two Heisman Trophies. The hope there is that the sting of the two season-ending losses will motivate them to push themselves that final step into the CFP.
• OK look, I know you see Washington in sixth place and you are wondering what the fuck is wrong with me. This is another case where the schedule is just flat-out against them. A slightly easier schedule and I might put this team at eleven or even, dare I say it, twelve wins. It will be that close at the top of the conference.
• On the other hand, I am sure no will think I’m crazy for putting Stanford in last place. It’s been a long time since the Cardinal have been this bad and it doesn’t look like they will be ready for bowl action for another year at least.
• I think I was fair putting Colorado at 4-8 for this season and playing fairly meaningful football going into November. There seems to be two schools of thought with this team. One section thinks Coach Prime has done wonders and with all the fresh faces in the lineup it will push the team over the line and into bowl-eligibility territory. The other section thinks the entire program is overhyped and they will win maybe two games. I am in the middle on this. This team won’t go bowling this year. That would be too much of a leap. But they should win more games than they did last year. If not, what the hell was all this hoopla for?
• As for the Pac-12 title game, USC gets the Pac-12 Championship they probably should have won last year. Problem is that by this point there will be a lot of teams in the mix for those four College Football Playoff spots and in typical Pac-12 fashion, the league will have cannabilized itself again and missed out on the CFP again.

There you go! You now have a complete set of Bossman conference predictions. Next up, is kind of the wrap-up post where I put everything in a nice, neat little ball and let you know who I believe will win the whole damn deal. Have a great week everyone!