How about I rank the bowl games now that they are complete?

Wait, WAIT! Look you’ve read some of my longer posts on here so don’t leave now. Honestly, this won’t be as long as some of the crazy-ass long posts I’ve done in the past. Plus, we can re-live some of Bowl Season’s greater moments together. Because let’s be honest: this wasn’t exactly the best Bowl Season ever. Not the worst mind you; but yeah, definitely not the best. So how about we just dive in and get started, OK?

1. Rose Bowl (Michigan 27 Alabama 20 (OT)) – This was one of the greatest College Football Playoff games of all-time. And funny enough, it still wasn’t exactly the cleanest game. Sloppy play by both teams made it so neither team could pull away. And in the end, the issue that caused Bama fits all game, poor snaps from center, came back to haunt them one final time. The low snap on 4th and Goal caused Jalen Milroe to panic and run up the middle to try and score. The play that was drawn up would have had a good chance of working if the snap had been perfect. Michigan finally erases so much CFP pain and will now have their chance at a national championship.
2. New Orleans Bowl (Jacksonville State 34 Louisiana 31 (OT)) – This feels like the validation of Jax State’s ascent to the FBS level. For some reason, some schools make it work and others (see UMass) can’t figure it out. The thing about this game is that it felt like the Gamecocks were throwing it away, literally. Three defensive touchdowns by the Cajuns kept them in the game. All it did though, is delay a backup kicker, who rarely played, kicking the game winning field goal for the Cocks. This is the perfect argument for why bowls do, and should in the future, exist.
3. Sugar Bowl (Washington 37 Texas 31) – The second of the two semi-final games was easily the worst…if you just watched the first 58 minutes or so of the game. Then the Huskies decided that maybe, juuuuuuuuuuuust maybe, they didn’t feel like going to the national championship after all. U-Dub was able to hold on when Texas almost seized that final chance and will now play for all the glory. Also, some people were actually introduced, truly, to Michael Penix Jr. for the first time. And I include people who report on college football as they were astounded by what he did despite the fact he did that in half the games this season.
4. Gator Bowl (Clemson 38 Kentucky 35) – Put your hand up if you thought Kentucky would be in one of the best bowl games of the year. Now put your hands down, you filthy liars. No one, not even Kentucky fans, thought that would be the case. That insane fourth quarter alone, with 42 points scored between the two teams, was enough to put this game in the upper echelon of this year’s Bowl Season.
5. Famous Toastery Bowl (WKU 38 Old Dominion 35 (OT)) – And the award for the most stupidly awesome bowl game of the year goes to this one. The Hilltoppers were down 21-0 just seven minutes in. I actually stopped watching for the next hour. I come back to see what’s going on and see the first touchdown of what would be the fourth-greatest comeback in bowl game history. How did it end? A blocked field goal in the fourth quarter, followed by another blocked field goal in overtime, leading to a walk-off field goal and then toast angels on the field. How can you not love college football?
6. Arizona Bowl (Wyoming 16 Toledo 15) – If you had said this bowl game would have been the one out of the two on at the same time to be the better bowl game I would have…well maybe not laughed but been intrigued by your logic. This game went up against the blowout that was the Orange Bowl so it was easy to tune into this game. This is the second straight year the Arizona Bowl has been a great game and Wyoming, this time, is on the better end of the score. A perfect end to Craig Bohl’s coaching career.
7. ReliaQuest Bowl (LSU 35 Wisconsin 31) – This ended up being a great battle, something that many thought wouldn’t be the case. The Badgers certainly showed up for this one after a lacklustre season. The Tigers didn’t even have the lead until their final touchdown with a little over three minutes to go. A good college football start to 2024.
8. Camellia Bowl (Northern Illinois 21 Arkansas State 19) – This falls under “It’s So Bad, It’s Good” territory. Not exactly the best of the best but the final portion of the game makes up for it with its sheer insanity. ASU went the entire length of the field to get within two, missed the two-point conversion, then recovered the onside kick! But it was flagged for offside in one of the biggest botched calls of the entire season which made Butch Jones go as red as a ripe tomato. Entertainment…that’s what we want from our bowl games, right?
9. Quick Lane Bowl (Minnesota 30 Bowling Green 24) – Minnesota threw for 26 yards and won this game. Hilarious. It helps that they could hand the ball off to Darius Taylor who went off for over 200 yards. Fun fact: the Gophers have now won seven consecutive bowl games. That has to be tops, no?
10. Pinstripe Bowl (Rutgers 31 Miami 24) – A good game at Yankee Stadium. Now I’m not huge on regular season games at baseball stadiums (as in they should be banned) but I am totally fine with them during bowl season. There was more scoring than many thought there would be but there was no stupidity from Mario Cristobal, which was also expected (by me).
11. Cure Bowl (Appalachian State 13 Miami-OH 9) – This game was played in atrocious weather. I fucking loved it. It was just a bunch of silly backyard-style football fun, if your backward was a swimming pool. At one point it felt like they were going for the bowl game fumbles record. Combined, the two teams ended up with 12. How either team got a kick off, I will never know.
12. Peach Bowl (Ole Miss 38 Penn State 25) – Most thought it would be a great matchup between the seriously up tempo Rebel offense against the Nittany Lions’ stout defense. It was not to be. The Fighting Kiffins shredded PSU and pulled away in the second half. So Lane is safe in the fans’ minds in Oxford. James Franklin…well I am sure there are many unhappy people in…(Un)Happy Valley.
13. Pop Tarts Bowl (Kansas State 28 NC State 19) – Let’s be honest here: all we wanted to see was what would happen at the end with the mascot. And it was fucking glorious. Whoever thought of this should get a MASSIVE bonus. Also, the game was pretty good with it being close nearly the entire way.
14. Alamo Bowl (Arizona 38 Oklahoma 24) – Man, the Wildcats are going to be a load in the Big XII next year. They went blow-for-blow with the Sooners and ended up leaving them in their dust thanks to causing six turnovers. Gotta hand it to Jedd Fisch: not many thought he would get the program to this point this fast. So is he the best coach out of the Bill Belichick coaching tree? Oh wait, Nick Saban did a few years under Belichick. So yeah Jedd you will always be second in this case.
15. Guaranteed Rate Bowl (Kansas 49 UNLV 36) – Speaking of teams who could be really good next year in the Big XII, the Jayhawks overcame being called for over 200 yards worth of penalties to almost put up a 50-burger. Jason Bean has been a god-send considering Jalon Daniels was injured most of the season. And he showed it in his final game throwing for six touchdowns. This was KU’s first bowl win in 15 years. Incredible. And don’t shortchange the Rebels who also had a pretty good game and great season.
16. LA Bowl (UCLA 35 Boise State 22) – Look, I think most were interested to see if Chip Kelly’s team would show up for what was basically a home game for them. And they sure did. The Bruins were able to stick with Boise until the second half and then pulled away for a relatively easy victory and a tiny bit of momentum going into the Big Ten next season.
17. Texas Bowl (Oklahoma State 31 Texas A&M 23) – Somehow, the Aggies, with all sorts of players not playing (for various reasons), came back from an 18-point halftime deficit to make things very interesting late. Also, Mike Gundy has won 10 games in a season EIGHT TIMES? Really? Wow. This guy should get more credit for what he’s done in Stillwater.
18. Armed Forces Bowl (Air Force 31 James Madison 21) – Some called it bad and I think it’s because the Dukes lost. Air Force showed why they were the Group of Five favourite heading into November. JMU tried to make a game of it but the Falcons’ run game was way too much for them. A perfectly good bowl.
19. Holiday Bowl (USC 42 Louisville 28) – Miller Moss took advantage of Caleb Williams opting out of this game by throwing for a Holiday Bowl record six touchdowns. I will be honest by saying that the amount of people online saying we have an early Heisman frontrunner irked me. This isn’t preseason hype: this is the end of the previous season hype. Ridiculous. Not saying he won’t be good but I wish some in college football media would pump the brakes sometimes since they sound like idiots every so often.
20. Gasparilla Bowl (Georgia Tech 30 UCF 17) – The slightly weird start time didn’t detract from a pretty good bowl game. Despite the loss and the 6-7 finish, you have to think the Knights thought this season was a success. Their first as a Power Five team and they showed they could compete. As for the Ramblin’ Wreck, well, I am sure they sent a postcard to Mario Cristobal for gifting them that win that essentially put them in this bowl game.
21. Birmingham Bowl (Duke 17 Troy 10) – I tend to rank closer games higher than offensive shootouts that end with one team winning by like 21. That’s just me. Very little is more exciting in college football than a chance for a team to tie or win a game late. Both teams had interim coaching staffs so we can use that as an excuse for this one although it feels like it’s happening more and more these days. Not a good trend.
22. Las Vegas Bowl (Northwestern 14 Utah 7) – A great ending for the Wildcats who wildly exceeded expectations this season. Utah just didn’t have the players to contend in this one. If you liked defense…well, you still might not have liked this one since it was more the offenses struggling than anything.
23. Liberty Bowl (Memphis 36 Iowa State 26) – There were some high hopes for this one. Iowa State was a better-than-advertised Big XII school and Memphis was at home. And it wasn’t a bad game but it felt like the Tigers were in control for most of it which kind of sucks the life out of a bowl game in the latter stages.
24. Hawaii Bowl (Coastal Carolina 24 San Jose State 14) – Pretty good game but drops a few notches because it wasn’t on Christmas Eve WHERE IT BELONGS.
25. Fenway Bowl (Boston College 23 SMU 14) – It was cold. It was wet. It was fun…for me to watch. Not for the players, coaches and fans, I’m sure. Well, at the time it was probably not too bad. I’ve played in games like that and it was fine until after the game. Then you feel like shit. You might feel less shitty if you win…but you still feel like crap. Anyway, this is a conference game next season! A-C-C! A-C-C! A-C-C! A-C-C!
26. Independence Bowl (Texas Tech 34 California 14) – After a full opening day of bowl games I was hoping this one would be good. Or fun. Or weird. It was none of the three. It was fine until about halfway through the second quarter and the Red Raiders rode away with it. Lack of drama drops this way down.
27. Military Bowl (Virginia Tech 41 Tulane 20) – This was a nasty weather game so you’d think I would rank it higher. There were a lot of fumbles and chaos so you’d think I would rank it higher. I don’t know what it was but this felt like not a very fun game to watch. I kind of stopped paying attention in the second half. I really didn’t think the Green Wave was in it nor did they care much to be there. And that can happen sometimes when your coach leaves for another school. Maybe that was the case here, I don’t know. Either way, it was meh.
28. Cotton Bowl (Missouri 14 Ohio State 3) – I was kind of hyped for this one, not gonna lie. I was thinking this would be quite the prove-it game for Mizzou and we would see if no Kyle McCord would be an issue for tOSU. I was right, for the most part, on both fronts, yet this game sucked. Luckily for the Buckeyes, their awesome defense kept them in it going into the fourth quarter but their offense was painful to watch. They should have found a student in the crowd to play quarterback since it would have been just as good.
29. Frisco Bowl (UTSA 35 Marshall 17) – Would this have been better if 14th-year senior Frank Harris had been able to play? It would have been a blowout rather than a relatively easy victory for the Roadrunners, that’s about it. Biggest take from this game? The starting quarterbacks were Cole Pennington for Marshall (Chad’s son) and Owen McCown for the Roadrunners (Josh’s son). I feel seriously fucking old.
30. First Responder Bowl (Texas State 45 Rice 21) – Not the greatest game to be honest as the Bobcats were in control for most of it. It was definitely helped, though, by the fans (especially the Texas State ones) who were jacked for this one. So jacked that they ran out of beer at the game. Five minutes into the third quarter. Yeah.
31. Idaho Potato Bowl (Georgia State 45 Utah State 22) – The Aggies looked pretty damn flat in this one. The Panthers, on the other hand, overcame their late-season collapse and get back to that early season form. Almost 650 yards of offense for GSU and they were way too much for USU. Even with the french fry bath, this was a bottom tier bowl game this season.
32. Myrtle Beach Bowl (Ohio 41 Georgia Southern 21) – A bit of a ho-hum affair kicked off Bowl Season this time around thanks to the Bahamas Bowl having to move to Charlotte. Ohio went up big and kept the lead the entire game. Nothing super interesting with this one.
33. Music City Bowl (Maryland 31 Auburn 13) – This game was over early and was done without Taulia Tagovailoa. So it was impressive. Just not interesting to watch after the first quarter.
34. New Mexico Bowl (Fresno State 37 New Mexico State 10) – I thought this would be a good game. I had high hopes for NMSU in this one. It was not to be. Fresno State cranked it up late and ran away with this one but even earlier on it didn’t really feel close as the Bulldogs showed the form that had them the favourite for about seven days to be the Group of Five representative in the New Year’s Six. Oh well.
35. Duke’s Mayo Bowl (West Virginia 30 North Carolina 10) – Props to West Virginia for completing a good season, much better than most thought would happen. Neal Brown got mayo dumped on him. And that’s about it. The game was forgettable.
36. Sun Bowl (Notre Dame 40 Oregon State 8) – Boy, for a game that was sold out quicker than I think any other Sun Bowl ever, this game was an absolute dud. Notre Dame’s backups beat the ever-loving shit out of Oregon State’s backups. Ugh.
37. Fiesta Bowl (Oregon 45 Liberty 6) – I think we’ve found our new BYU. No, I don’t mean weird religious institution (even though they are). I mean a team that’s probably too good (most of the time) for their conference but not really good enough to be in the Power Five (or maybe even a better conference). Didn’t help that Oregon came in looking pissed off and after the Flames took a 6-0 lead it was all Ducks. 45 unanswered points and Bo Nix left as a record-setting quarterback. This was a trainwreck, really.
38. Citrus Bowl (Tennessee 35 Iowa 0) – Geez, where do I begin with this one? This was one of the most Iowa games of the season which is saying something. The offense was awful. The Brian Ferentz Experience has come to an end and I am positive most in Iowa City are thankful for that. What made it worse was two other games on at the same time. So I watched almost none of the second half. And I don’t feel bad about that at all.
39. 68 Ventures Bowl (South Alabama 59 Eastern Michigan 10) – I am starting to wonder why this bowl even exists. Even by ESPN Events standards, this is shit. I love more football but good God. The Jags just ran the Eagles off the field in another boring 68 Ventures Bowl which was called…like seven other things before this. This is perfect fodder for the Too Many Bowl Games crowd.
40. Boca Raton Bowl (USF 45 Syracuse 0) – This was one of the biggest beatdowns in bowl game history. Well at least I thought that until…I’ll get to that in a second. Anyway, I figured the Orange would show up. They did…technically. They were the opposition…technically. Other than that, USF, a middle-of-the-road American Conference team who played out of its mind for new coach Alex Golesh, beat the brakes off of Cuse. It was a pathetic performance, regardless of who was missing from the lineup. And speaking of players missing from the lineup…
41. Orange Bowl (Georgia 63 Florida State 3) – This picture encapsulates this game perfectly:

Mike Norvell looks like he wants to be anywhere other than where he was at that moment. This game is THE biggest win in bowl game history. So Georgia one-upped themselves. This game, and everything leading up to it, was a completely fucking mess of a shitshow and is a big part of what’s wrong with college football today. Florida State (and to a lesser extent, Georgia) being left out of the College Football Playoff, some even saying that FSU should boycott the game, some politician trying to force the CFP to put the Noles in (somehow), then all sorts of players opting out or transferring out (from both sides mind you). It all led to this travesty of a game. Even Kirby Smart, during the post-game press conference, told everyone “if this doesn’t show that there needs to be some change, then I don’t know what does.” I’m paraphrasing but he’s right on the money. When players can transfer, when coaches can leave a school to get hired somewhere else, what happens to a player’s NIL when they opt out of a bowl game…all this stuff needs to be dealt with. If it doesn’t, these bowl games will get less and less important. And this is after the playoff has already eroded the bowl system (a bit).

See? Not my longest post ever. So no complaining.

Well we’ve hit the end my friends. One last game. The national championship is tonight and, other than the weird all-star games with their weird rules, it’s the final college football game of the season. Cherish it. Even if it’s a blowout. Remember: the wait for the next season can be long and arduous. Enjoy the game everyone!

The G-5. It’s like that big vat of McDonald’s orange drink…

Many of the better teams have gone on to greener pastures. They have been replaced (kind of) by weaker teams from FCS. So yeah, they keep watering down the Group of Five. How far can they water it down? Groundskeeper Willie thinks we need to stop. I sort of agree with the angry Scot.

As you already know, Houston, UCF and Cincinnati left the American Conference for the Big(ger) XII. BYU joined them from the Independent ranks but the Cougs were always a weird hybrid since leaving the Mountain West. Not quite Power Five but better than Group of Five. Either way, they moved up as well.

Coming up from FCS is Sam Houston (not the wrestler) and Jacksonville State (two Gamecocks? What is this, the CFL?). Kennesaw State joins next season. All three teams will be in Conference USA. Yeah, the teams coming in don’t exactly measure up to the teams leaving.

What this does, though, is open the door for other teams to ascend to a level where they are almost always competing for the Group of Five crown. Boise State is the only program left who constantly contends for the one G-5 spot in the New Year’s Six. Tulane went last season and looks like a team that should continue that kind of success this season. UTSA, SMU, San Diego State and a few Sun Belt squads also have their eye on that singular prize. Let’s get to the conference standings and see where I believe thing will head this season.

Man, imagine the Big East was back? That conference would be…well, it would be pretty good. Not amazing. But a step above the Group of Five. Anyway…

The cream of the crop among Group of Five conferences is the AAC until further notice. The Mountain West has tried their best but it feels like that competition is over, even if Boise State does win the G-5 title. The Sun Belt is gaining but I can never see them catching the American under the current format. So let’s look at the predictions for the Kings of the G-5 followed by some marinations:

		Conference		Overall
		W	L	W	L
	Tulane	8	0	11	1
	UTSA	7	1	10	2
	Memphis	6	2	8	4
	SMU	6	2	8	4
	FAU	4	4	6	6
	East Carolina	4	4	7	5
	Navy	4	4	5	7
	North Texas	4	4	7	5
	UAB	3	5	4	8
	Tulsa	3	5	4	8
	USF	3	5	3	9
	Rice	2	6	4	8
	Temple	2	6	4	8
	Charlotte	0	8	1	11

Marinating in American Sauce

• Honestly, that sounds disgusting. I am surprised no one has created it…whatever it might end up being.
• Look, Tulane is not coming down from their perch. The schedule is, once again, in their favour and other than a huge matchup against South Alabama to start their season and their season-ending matchup with UTSA, the rest of the schedule is more than manageable. Expect the American Championship to go through New Orleans for the second straight year.
• No surprise with the Roadrunners of UTSA (I just said that in Greg Gumbel voice) being the team that will end up facing the Green Wave for the conference title. This program is seriously on the rise and could soon enough be called the premiere Group of Five team (until they are poached by the Big XII).
• Memphis and SMU will be good once again. But as has been the case, both teams will probably drop at least one game they should win and that is what will ultimately cost them the chance to upset Tulane for the league title.
• Some people are very high on Florida Atlantic with their new head coach Tom Herman. I am taking more of a wait and see approach. The same goes for North Texas as they break in a new head coach as well.
• I believe Navy will go into the Army-Navy Game needing a win for bowl eligibility. Well, you can tell by their record what I think will happen. I wonder how bowl committees will deal with this. Maybe some bowl gives them the first ever conditional bowl bid? That would actually be kind of exciting. Win and you’re in. Lose and your bid goes to James Madison.
• As for the AAC Championship, I see Tulane winning their second game against UTSA in as many weeks to be crowned the AAC champion. I don’t see the Green Wave having an easy time in either game though but they will feel lucky not to be in the Alamodome for either of these games.
• Seven projected bowl bids for a conference with fourteen teams. Not exactly great but I think it will take some time for teams like Charlotte and Rice to get acclimated to their new surroundings. Especially since they weren’t that great in the conference they came from.

I am a bit worried that I won’t be ready to do the long Saturday nights that the Mountain West (and Pac-12) give us. Don’t even mention the Hawaii Tests. And this is at a time when I am desperately trying to restrict my caffeine intake. Ugh, this could be very interesting. Maybe I’ll just drink the entire time.

This is the second year of the Mountain West deal with FOX so we won’t see nearly as many MWC games. Yes there will be at least one every week on CBS Sports Network and we get some early-season CBS affairs but with no conference games on any of the ESPN networks, it really hinders our ability as Canadians to watch this conference. Hell, we can probably watch more Conference USA this season.

OK let’s get to this season’s predictions followed by sleep deprived lunacy:

		Conference		Overall
		W	L	W	L
	Boise State	8	0	10	2
	San Diego State	6	2	8	4
	Fresno State	6	2	8	4
	Air Force	5	3	9	3
	Wyoming	5	3	7	5
	San Jose State	4	4	6	6
	UNLV	4	4	5	7
	Utah State	3	5	4	8
	Nevada	3	5	3	9
	Colorado State	2	6	3	9
	New Mexico	1	7	2	10
	Hawaii	1	7	3	10

Juuuuust a tiny bit of Sleep-Deprived Lunacy

• You will notice something different with these standings compared to all the others I have predicted in the past. No divisions! About damn time. Divisions are just useless in this day and age. And soon enough, no FBS conference will have divisions. I am certain of that.
• Reader John might not be too pleased with this but I think Boise State runs through the conference schedule with relative ease. Not saying teams like SDSU, FSU or Air Force aren’t good. It’s just that the Broncos’ schedule is so favourable you’d have to be crazy to think they don’t have a great shot not just to win the conference, but that one New Year’s Six spot. Really, their September will shape their season. Be at least 3-2 at the end of the month and they will be on their way. Less than that and the conference might just be up for grabs.
• In terms of teams just below that top tier, Wyoming should ho-hum their way into another bowl game. I can’t believe Craig Bohl has been in Laramie for almost half of the life of the Mountain West conference it self. SJSU and UNLV will be in a dogfight for a bowl spot and I could honestly see it going either way. But no, I don’t agree with that one voter who thinks the Rebels will win the conference crown. I think that person was obviously coming off a gambling-coke-and-booze fueled bender when they made that choice.
• I’ve got the Aztecs winning the tiebreaker with Fresno to get the other MWC Championship spot opposite Boise on the frigid smurf turf. I think the weather is what gives the Broncos the edge in this one as I have them winning the conference championship and then awaiting to see what happens in the rest of the Group of Five.

Annnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnd we’re back down to four teams. Liberty and New Mexico State fucked off to Conference USA and BYU headed to the Big XII, leaving Notre Dame less little brothers to have to hang around with. The thing is, if you took UMass out of the equation…well, you’ll see. Let’s get right to the short set of predictions followed by some actual team-by-team analysis (which is much easier with just four teams):

		Overall
		W	L
	Notre Dame	10	2
	Army	6	6
	UConn	6	6
	UMass	1	11

Actual Team-by-Team Analysis (I wasn’t lying!)

• Of course we have to start with the team that doesn’t belong in this entire post, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. It was tough going through their schedule because I don’t know how much they will improve from last year. But they have Sam Hartman. A bonafide Heisman contender at quarterback for the first time in I don’t know how many years. So my ten win prediction for them doesn’t seem too far off the mark and it wouldn’t surprise me if they were able to get to eleven either and get in the College Football Playoff converstaion.
• Hey, remember what I said about Navy earlier? That they would be playing for their bowl-eligibility lives in the Army-Navy game? Well, guess who else I think will be in the same boat. Oh yes. I think this will be, easily, the most important Army-Navy Game in a long time. I now wonder if the provisional bowl selection will be a winner-take-all type of deal. Which would be so damn awesome to see.
• Will UConn get back to a bowl game? That seems to be a huge question. And to be honest, I think bowl eligibility is almost the floor for this program. Amazing what can happen when you get the right coach in the right spot. Is Jim Mora Jr. an amazing coach? Not really. But he’s good and he landed in the perfect spot for him and the Huskies. Now they have to avoid what happened in the past even when they were somewhat decent: lose games to teams they should beat. Do that and they should be in the postseason once again.
• And finally we get to the Minutemen and yes, they will be awful. Quite possibly the worst FBS team once again. I predict them to win one game. That’s it. And it won’t be against Merrimack. I think they squeak by New Mexico and that’s all. And even then, I could see this team go winless. I’m not as huge an advocate of moving teams back down to FCS as I used to be but I do wonder if UMass just needs to drop down. There’s nothing keeping them up in FBS. No conference affiliation and no possibilities in the near future. It might be time to pull the trigger on this program’s demotion.

The Sun Belt (and MAC) are being joined by Conference USA when it comes to mid-week action this season. I will have to check but we may have football every day for over a month.

Other than that, there are less similarties than ever between the Sun Belt and the MAC or Conference USA. The Fun Belt has set themselves up pretty well as the third best Group of Five conference. They are actually closer in quality to the Mountain West than the MAC which is something that never would have been said even five years ago. Also, they seem to be pretty safe from any realignment unless some doomsday scenario comes about and college football conferences as we know it change forever. And I’m not going to say that won’t happen.

Anyway, for now, let’s get to my predictions for the eighth-best FBS conference followed by some upbeat comments:

		Conference		Overall
	East	W	L	W	L
	Appalachian State	7	1	8	4
	James Madison	6	2	8	4
	Coastal Carolina	6	2	9	3
	Marshall	5	3	7	5
	Georgia State	2	6	4	8
	Georgia Southern	2	6	5	7
	Old Dominion	0	8	1	11
	West
	South Alabama	7	1	9	3
	Troy	7	1	10	2
	Southern Miss	5	3	6	6
	Louisiana	4	4	7	5
	Arkansas State	2	6	4	8
	Texas State	2	6	3	9
	ULM	1	7	2	10

Upbeat Comments

• Well…upbeat for some teams.
• The top of each of the divisions continue to be exciting. It’s the one conference that defies my No Divisions preference. In the East, you have four legitimate contenders and you can possibly say the same for the West. Parity rules the day in the Sun Belt once again.
• App State, after an odd year that saw some pretty extreme highs and lows, should be back on top of the mountion in the East, barely beating out JMU and Coastal.
• South Alabama will finally get their shot at the Sun Belt Championship with what I believe will be a late-season win over Troy.
• As for bowl games, officially only seven of the contenders I’ve mentioned would be able to go to a bowl. But, I have a bit of a surprise for Dukes fans once I put out my bowl predictions post.
• I still say the Sun Belt champ should get a shot at an SEC team in New Orleans. Imagine how many fans they would get for that?

As I said above, the Sun Belt and Conference USA have a lot of weekday night games now. But it still isn’t MACtion. The originators to us sickos that love more and more and more football. I don’t even care about the attendance issues that these games cause. The MAC is getting their ESPN money and I am getting my football fix. Everyone wins!

Alright, predictions time followed by some points in a Midwestern accent:

		Conference		Overall
	East	W	L	W	L
	Ohio	7	1	8	4
	Miami-OH	5	3	7	5
	Buffalo	4	4	5	7
	Bowling Green	3	5	4	8
	Akron	3	5	4	8
	Kent State	0	8	1	11
	West
	Toledo	7	1	9	3
	Eastern Michigan	6	2	9	3
	Central Michigan	4	4	4	8
	Northern Illinois	3	5	5	7
	Western Michigan	3	5	3	9
	Ball State	3	5	4	8

Points with Pork Chops and Aeeeplesauce

• I mean I’m not gonna lie: I like pork chops and applesauce. I just think it’s way more of a staple in a place like Minnesota than here.
• Looks like two teams who are used to being near the top should head back to the MAC title game. Not that Toledo and Ohio won’t have their speed bump games in the MAC but I feel they have the best talent to win their respective divisions.
• Only two teams that will be with new head coaches this season and both of them are going to struggle. Lance Taylor takes over for Tim Lester at Western Michigan where Lester just couldn’t do what P.J. Fleck did there. Tall order but most were hoping he would be close and he wasn’t. As for Kent State, they lose Sean Lewis to Coach Prime and Colorado. Bring in Kenni Burns. Yes Kenni with an i. And ho boy is it going to be a long season in Kent for Mr. Burns.
• I only see four bowl-eligible teams from the MAC. I have done this before and I was wrong. I just can’t see most of these teams doing enough in their non-conference schedule to get them to a bowl game in December.
• Ford Field should see another dandy for the MAC Championship. I’ve got Ohio winning a close one over Toledo with the prize being to go back to Ford Field a few weeks later. At least the tie-in there states that they should face a Big Ten team. That’s the way it should be.

Hey remember what I used to say about Conference USA? Well, it has pretty much come to fruition. You would have to be some kind of dumb or not watch college football to know that this is now the bottom of the barrel when it comes to FBS conferences. I warned them. I’m sure others did too. And now they are stuck. Could they end up being not last place? Sure, maybe. But other than WKU and Liberty, what other teams are really pushing things here? That’s what I thought. Luckily they were able to snag a contract with ESPN to show games on weeknights in October. And when I say weeknights I mean all weeknight games. No Saturday conference games that month. I will be happy though because it means there will be college football on like four consecutive Tuesdays. Not a bad thing at all.

Now it’s time for predictions for the new-ish Conference USA followed by some weeknight non-sitcom commentary:

		Conference		Overall
		W	L	W	L
	WKU	7	1	9	3
	Middle Tennessee	6	2	8	4
	Liberty	6	2	9	3
	UTEP	4	4	6	6
	New Mexico State	4	4	7	6
	Louisiana Tech	2	6	4	8
	Sam Houston	2	6	3	9
	Jacksonville State	2	6	3	9
	FIU	1	7	2	10

Weeknight Non-Sitcom Commentary

• Look, with Austin Reed back at QB, he may throw over 5,000 yards. They should win the regular season title pretty easily and it wouldn’t surprise me if they ended up running the table as well.
• There are some newcomers! Liberty is that one newcomer, though, that most are saying will win the conference title in their first year in C-USA. I say not so fast my friend. I don’t even see them getting to the conference title game. The Flames will most likely lose a game they should win and it will cost them that spot.
• Yes, I have NMSU making a bowl game again! Jerry Kill has really turned things around in Las Cruces and with this new conference I see them already in the middle if not near the top.
• On the other hand, Jacksonville State and Sam Houston make their FBS debut this season and it won’t be a kind one. They will struggle and need some time to find their way. Down the road, though, at least one of these programs will turn into one of the conference’s best, if not both of them. But at least they won’t be as bad as…
• FIU. Yeesh. Mike MacIntyre will be pulling his hair out by the time this season is over.
• So yeah, it’s Middle Tennessee against WKU and I don’t see it being that close but you never know. The Hilltoppers should win going away. Do you think these two teams are regretting not heading to the MAC?

We have completed the journey! Well…half of it. Next up is the Power Five conferences. Then, finally, a nice little bow to tie this whole thing together. Have a great week everyone!

It’s my second bowl recap of the season…wait, don’t leave!

Alright I will level with you.  Has bowl season been fantastic?  No.  There have been a few good games but a few duds as well.  Can’t win em all right?  The hope is always that the bowl games are relatively close because when they aren’t (or if some sort of record isn’t being set) it can be tough viewing.  I will admit there have been some games I haven’t watched all of.  Hell, there are some games I have watched maybe a quarter of.  Christmas is a busy time and unless it captures my attention I can’t give a ton of time to it.  And this is coming from a college football fan whose fandom approaches what some might say is sheer insanity.  But enough about my issues (since that is a post that would be way too long).  Let’s get to the recap alright?

Bahamas Bowl – Ohio 41 UAB 6 (My pick: UAB 35-31)

UAB had a great season.  We have all heard a lot about it.  Bill Clark should have got some Coach of the Year consideration.  Then the Bahamas Bowl began (on the Friday before Christmas at 12:30 in the afternoon) and all that was forgotten.  Ohio won in front of a few thousand fans and it wasn’t even close.  Worst part is there were probably still about a million people in the States watching this game live.  There’s your reason why bowl season won’t be altered in the near future.

Idaho Potato Bowl – Wyoming 37 Central Michigan 14 (My pick: Wyoming 39-28)

This was one of the worst bowl games of the season according to my very accurate ranking system.  And it sure delivered in that regard.  Again, a game that starts at 4 in the afternoon on a weekday before Christmas better be a good game.  This wasn’t.  Craig Bohl sure has done some good things in a short time in Laramie though.  They will miss Josh Allen, or as the announcers wanted to make us think, “sure-fire Top 10 pick Josh Allen.”  Not saying it won’t happen but man that was pretty much the entire narrative during this one.

Birmingham Bowl – USF 38 Texas Tech 34 (My pick: USF 55-21)

This game was a lot closer than I thought it would be.  Good thing because Legion Field only beats Tropicana Field when looking at the worst fields hosting bowl games.  Also, close bowl games are fun no?  Anyway, Kute Kliff Kingsbury’s trip to the hot seat area starts now.

Armed Forces Bowl – Army 42 San Diego State 35 (My pick: San Diego State 38-21)

Two great bowl games in a row.  This is awesome!  And I will say, I do love watching option football.  Probably because normally with college football we see the Air Raid or RPO or something along those lines.  It’s a lot of passing to set up the run.  So the scarcity of option football makes it fun to watch.  Army played in two straight fun games and it’s nice to see them be successful after so many years of being, well, not.

Dollar General Bowl – Appalachian State 34 Toledo 0 (My pick: Appalachian State 43-40)

Well all good things come to an end.  My hope for a three-for-three for great bowl games for the day went down the shitter quickly.  App State sure does look good though and will be an early favourite to win the inaugural Sun Belt Championship next season.

Hawaii Bowl – Fresno State 33 Houston 27 (My pick: Fresno State 27-21)

Normally the Hawaii Bowl is good background noise when I finish wrapping presents.  This year I had the presents pretty much all wrapped before the game started so I could actually pay attention to it.  Good thing too since it was a great game won by one of the most improved teams in college football history.  Let’s hope this would continue after a break on Christmas Day.

Heart of Dallas Bowl – Utah 30 West Virginia 14 (My pick: West Virginia 39-33)

Nope it didn’t.  Boxing Day started with a lacklustre bowl game played in some FOOTBAW weather in front of not very many fans in the cavernous Cotton Bowl.  Just looking at the stadium during the aerial views or shots from the pressbox makes me believe one day the stadium could come crumbling down at any point.

Quick Lane Bowl – Duke 36 Northern Illinois 14 (My pick: Duke 26-20 and attendance <15,000)

I figured this would be closer.  It wasn’t.  Two-for-two in the crap column so far.  The reported attendance was 20,211.  Bull and shit.

Cactus Bowl – Kansas State 35 UCLA 17 (My pick: Kansas State 33-28)

Well this wasn’t bad for like two-and-a-half quarters.  Still though.  A poor set of Boxing Day bowl games.  Luckily Canada played their first game of the World Juniors that day as well.

Independence Bowl – Florida State 42 Southern Miss 13 (My pick: Florida State 39-13)

Now that is a close prediction.  Other than the first few minutes of the game, where the Noles looked like the shitty middle-of-the-road ACC team they had been all season, Florida State dominated.  This was not close.  This is how most figured FSU would be this season.  Noles fans are hoping with Willie Taggart coming in that things turn around and fast.

Pinstripe Bowl – Iowa 27 Boston College 20 (My pick: Boston College 29-28)

I knew this game would be close.  I figured somehow these two teams, who I wouldn’t normally want to watch on their own, would get together and have an exciting game.  And they did.  Also, Yankee Stadium was a skating rink for this one with horrible footing for the players.  Sounds like this has been an issue every year this bowl game has existed.  But who gives a shit right?  It’s Yankee Stadium!  What a cool backdrop.  To be honest, the novelty of this game has worn off.  But watching football in FOOTBAW weather is usually fun (Heart of Dallas Bowl notwithstanding).

Foster Farms Bowl – Purdue 38 Arizona 35 (My pick: Purdue 44-38)

This, so far, had been a good day for predictions for me.  And this game was a ton of fun to watch.  Now I am glad FOX picked this game for the main network and the Holiday Bowl to go to FS1.  I don’t remember as dominating a performance in a loss as Khalil Tate had.  Five touchdowns and the Wildcats still lost.  That’s college football for ya!

Texas Bowl – Texas 33 Missouri 16 (My pick: Texas 36-35)

Mizzou’s offense never really woke up and this game turned into a bit of a bore.  Going up against one of the best bowl games of the season so far didn’t help.  The biggest issue from this game was Tom Herman mocking Drew Lock’s touchdown celebration late in the game.  Man people get all upset about nothing in 2017.  Who cares about this?  Oh that’s right, everyone has to put in their two cents (or more like a nickel in Canada).  Gets tiring at times.

Military Bowl – Navy 49 Virginia 7 (My pick: Virginia 27-17)

Wow was I ever wrong about this one.  Navy looked like a team that has been to bowl games pretty much every season of the last decade and Virginia looked like a team that hasn’t been to a bowl game in years.  It was equal parts Navy being overwhelming to Virginia’s defense and Virginia looking out of place.

Camping World Bowl – Oklahoma State 30 Virginia Tech 21 (My pick: Virginia Tech 41-35)

Well at least I figured this would be a close game and it was…kind of.  It was supposed to be the Irresistible Force vs. the Immovable Object.  OSU’s highly powerful offense up against Bud Foster’s Lunch Pail Defense.  In the end, it was the Fighting Gundys that prevailed.  Mason Rudolph also showed why maybe some NFL teams shouldn’t overlook him as, at the very least, a good backup in the draft coming up this spring.

Alamo Bowl – TCU 39 Stanford 37 (My pick: Stanford 26-23)

Well I’m an idiot.  Why would I pick against TCU at the Alamo Bowl?  Remember two years ago they tied the largest bowl comeback in history.  They were down 31-0 to Oregon and ended up winning in triple overtime.  This time around they were down 21-3 and came back to win this one by two.  The Horned Frogs should just move their home games to San Antonio with this kind of luck.

Holiday Bowl – Michigan State 42 Washington State 17 (My pick: Michigan State 29-23)

You know how happy I am that this game ended up being a blowout?  Very.  Couldn’t see it do didn’t want it to be good.  And it wasn’t.  The end.

Alright my second recap is complete.  I will have one more bowl recap before the national championship game.

Since this is my last post of 2017, I want to wish everyone a Happy (and safe…and hopefully relatively warm) New Year.  Enjoy the college and NFL games everyone and see you all in 2018.

The 2017 College Football Coaching Hot List – Sponsored by the Lane Kiffin Redemption Story

 

Yep. This guy again.

He’s on the road back to redemption and he had one of the greatest firings of all-time, being shitcanned on an airport tarmac while at USC. Nice!  I love stories like that.

It’s HOT SEAT TIME!  Last year, two of my four top selections and three of my top six were sent packing.  Unfortunately some coaches (like Craig Bohl) made me look like a fool by being really successful.  Thanks a lot Craig.  Like the haircut though.

Alright, here we go with the list.  I have ordered this (like last year) from most likely to be in the unemployment line to least likely:

Almost Guaranteed Shitcanning

1. Paul Haynes (Kent State) – He was #4 on my list last season.  How he kept his job is beyond me.  He just was put into a bad situation when he had to replace Darrell Hazell (who went on to do sweet fuck all at Purdue himself).  Needed to keep his job – A god damn miracle.  Prediction – Mid-season shitcanning and perhaps a year off of coaching altogether.
2. Lance Leipold (Buffalo) – Let’s stay in the MAC shall we?  Leipold came into much fanfare (well as much as you can get in the MAC).  He had guided Wisconsin-Whitewater to what seemed like a bajillion D-III titles.  His first year in Buffalo showed promise.  This past season not so much.  I can’t see this ending well for Sir Lance-a-not-so-much.  Needed to keep his job – vying for bowl eligibility in the final weekend.  Prediction – Scraping the bottom of the MAC barrel and heading back to FCS at the highest (if not back to D-III).
3. Todd Graham (Arizona State) – I remember when this guy liked to hop from job to job because he could. He was a good head coach and many programs wanted to have him.  Now he will be hopping to his next job but not of his own volition.  Needed to keep his job – Bowl eligibility and a victory over Arizona.  Prediction – 3 wins and who really cares at that point if the Sun Devils beat the Wildcats or not (see below for the reason why).
4. Kliff Kingsbury (Texas Tech) – Looks matter.  How do I know?  Well, many things in my life that I won’t get into now.  Also, Kute Kliff Kingsbury.  Here’s a guy who hit his high point halfway through his first season in Lubbock and is still around.  Why?  If it’s not his looks he must have damning photos of the athletic director in a compromising position.  Needed to keep his job – Some semblance of defense from his squad.  Prediction – Thousands of female college football fans crying and taking his offensive acumen to the FCS.

Probable Shitcanning

5. Sean Kugler (UTEP) – He was good for a soundbite or three when UTEP was good that one season.  Well, good enough in a Conference USA kind of way.  Since then, El Paso has once again become a college football outpost that no one wants to be in. Needed to keep his job – bowl eligibility.  Prediction – I can’t see them winning more than one game so this may happen during the season rather than wait for the misery to be over.
6. Kevin Sumlin (Texas A&M) – He seems to be on this list a lot.  But he is never in the almost-guaranteed-to-be-fired part.  He just hasn’t seemed to recreate the magic when Johnny Manziel was around.  And yes, a big part was Gianni Party’s play but Sumlin had done wonders in Houston and appeared to be doing them in College Station.  That may not be the case anymore.  Needed to keep his job – 9 wins and be at least on the cusp of contending in the SEC West.  Prediction – 7 wins and the top Group of Five opening next season for Mr. Sumlin.
7. Mark Whipple (UMass) – When is UMass heading back to FCS?  Whenever it is, I can’t foresee Coach Whipple being there when it happens.  Needed to keep his job – at least 4 wins and to stay competitive in more games.  Prediction – 2 wins and a quiet exit.
8. Rich Rodriguez (Arizona) – Remember what I said above about Todd Graham?  I think RichRod is also in a hot seat but not nearly as hot as T-Graham’s.  No improvement in the desert may seal his fate though.  Needed to keep his job – being better than Arizona State.  Prediction – will not be better than Arizona State…and will be fired for it (along with many other reasons).
9. Brian Kelly (Notre Dame) – Kelly suffers from two things: 1) the Irish got to the national championship not too long ago and 2) the expectations in South Bend are ALWAYS at least 10 wins.  If he wasn’t such an insufferable prick at times I would feel sorry for him.  Needed to keep his job – 10 wins.  Did you not just read what I typed?  Prediction – 8 wins and I am sure he will yell at at least one player in plain view of a camera in front of a national audience.
10. David Beaty (Kansas) – Poor Dave Beaty.  Does he really have a chance in Lawrence to do anything except maybe (MAYBE) win four games at most?  I fail to see how he can win more with the state the program is.  God, I wish there was promotion/relegation.  Needed to keep his job – 4 wins.  Prediction – Half of that.  Or 2 wins for the less mathematically inclined.  Again, Poor Dave.

Possible Shitcanning

11. Lovie Smith (Illinois) – This isn’t the NFL, Lovie.  I think he understands that now.  An unenviable task in Champaign to turn around a program that has had little success in the past two decades (save the crazy 2007 season).  Needed to keep his job – 4 wins but be competitive and look like they could be a bowl team next year.  Prediction – 3 wins and the AD is going to have to take a long, hard look as to whether to retain Lovie or not.
12. Bret Bielema (Arkansas) – The SEC is still a gauntlet.  Saying that, the SEC is not known for a ton of coaching turnover.  One or two each season usually.  Bielema has a tough task ahead as the SEC West especially is difficult to say the least.  Needed to keep his job – Stay in the middle of the pack in the SEC West and at least scare one of Bama, Auburn, or LSU.  Prediction – 7 wins and at least some fans calling for his firing.

Doubtful Shitcanning

13. Steve Addazio (Boston College) – This is the exact same spot Steve-O was in last year.  And he came through with a 7-win season that led BC fans to still call for his head.  Guy can’t catch a break!  Needed to keep his job – Get to bowl eligibility again and hope the fans calm down a bit.  Prediction – 4 wins and it will be tough not to move way up this list next year.
14. David Bailiff (Rice) – I remember when he was consistently getting the Owls to bowl games.  I also remember when the Owls were in the Southwest Conference.  Times change.  Sometimes coaches have to as well.  But maybe not quite yet with Mr. Bailiff.  Needed to keep his job – some sense of improvement from last year’s down season.  Prediction – they will improve even if it doesn’t show up in their record.
15. Tyson Summers (Georgia Southern) – One year in and the athletic department had to send out a press release saying Summers would be retained for this season.  Confidence, gone.  Needed to keep his job – 5 wins and at least look like a potential bowl team.  Prediction – 5 wins and they will look like a bowl team for the most part.
16. Jim Mora (UCLA) – Jim needs the Rosen One to play like he has a shot at winning the Heisman this season.  And I think it will happen.  Not saying he will win the Heisman but he will be much improved and so will the Bruins.  Needed to keep his job –  7 wins.  Prediction – 9 wins and making USC sweat for the Victory Bell.
17. Chris Ash (Rutgers) – Coaching at Rutgers must be tough now that the team is firmly in the Big Ten basement.  Let’s be honest: very few people want that job.  Ash is a hero!  Needed to keep his job – he’s safe since no one else wants it for now.  Prediction – 3 wins and keeping Michigan under 60 points.
18. Butch Jones (Tennessee) – The Champions of Life.  Butch really needs to learn to just shut his mouth and coach sometimes.  Needed to keep his job – 9 wins and being a contender in the SEC East.  Prediction – 10 wins and STILL….CHAMPIONS OF LIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIFE…THE TENNESSEE VOLUNTEERS!!!!

Done.  That took too long.  I don’t want to say I hope all these coaches get fired but I do like being accurate.

Next up will be my Heisman ballot.  No one should give me a Heisman ballot.  I will demonstrate why in the next post.  After that will have to be…yes, it’s the FIRST SCHEDULE POST OF THE SEASON!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Woohoo!  Finally made it.  We are four days out.  Problem is, I still don’t know where all the U.S. College Sports Package channels have gone to now that they have been replaced by regional CTV channels which, in essence, replaced the need for Sunday Ticket since DAZN now has it.  I will say this often I believe but if DAZN somehow gets a good college football package then I might be changing my tune about it.

Ranking the Bowl Games from First to Worst

Before we begin, let me just put this here:

That franchise is a complete mess.  This is coming from someone who lives, technically, in the Buffalo Bills area and knows how shitty a franchise can get.  So let me get this straight…the Chargers are moving to the fucking StubHub Center to play the 2017 season?  It only has about 30,000 seats!  I would laugh (out loud even) if they had a game where they didn’t sell out.  Why don’t they move to a city that actually wants a team and MAY be able to support it with their current infrastructure?  There has to be some city that at least has something in place to do that.  Instead they go to Los Angeles, a city that wants the Raiders back and gets the lowly Rams instead and it showed with their pathetic attendance totals.  What a gongshow.    I am starting to wonder if the NFL has reached its peak and will now come back to Earth a bit and not be the mega-league that can do whatever the hell they feel like and get away with it.

OK back to college football.  The bowl games are now over.  They have come and gone.  And me, being a bit of an idiot, watched at least a part of every game except the Arizona Bowl.  I don’t get MyTV anymore (downgraded my package so to speak) and wasn’t around to watch it live online.  I feel like I didn’t miss much there.  For other games, I was glad I watched all or nearly all of the game since we had a few epic bowl games that will be remembered for a long time (at least by college football fans).  Let’s get to the rankings shall we?

1. National Championship (Clemson 35 Alabama 31) – What a game. You can argue whether this game or the 2006 Rose Bowl was the better national championship game and you wouldn’t be wrong on either side of the fence.  An absolute instant classic.  Deshaun Watson cemented his legacy in this one.  A great way to end a somewhat average year in college football.
2. Rose Bowl (USC 52 Penn State 49) – Another awesome game. I, along with many others, figured this would be the best game of the bowl season and the national championship would be a letdown.  Expect both of these teams to be College Football Playoff contenders next season.
3. Orange Bowl (Florida State 33 Michigan 32) – Yet another amazing game. The New Year’s Six this year was light years better than last year’s despite the fact the CFP semi-finals were pretty bad.  This had almost everything, including the Wolverines getting within one late with a returned extra point.  Almost anything Jim Harbaugh is involved in is worth watching and this was no exception.
4. Birmingham Bowl (USF 46 South Carolina 39 (OT)) – I am amazed how good this game was. And at one point it looked like the Bulls had this one in the bag.  A furious Gamecock comeback sent it to overtime where USF ended up winning it.  For such a crappy bowl in a crappy stadium it was a fun watch.
5. Armed Forces Bowl (Louisiana Tech 48 Navy 45) – This game came down to a walk-off field goal for the Bulldogs. I like option football to be honest (I know it’s not everyone’s cup of tea) and Navy showed why they are the best in the biz at it (even over Georgia Tech).  But their defense was horrid which kept this game close much to the glee of, well, me (and a lot of other viewers).
6. Idaho Potato Bowl (Idaho 61 Colorado State 50) – This game was scoreless through the first quarter. So they put 111 points on the board between them in the last three quarters.  That has to be a record.  Add in that it was one of the coldest games on record and that the blue turf was basically a skating rink made it that much more exciting.  Cherry on top of the bowl game sundae?  Idaho wins in their second-last season in FBS before moving DOWN to FCS.  All the insanity of college football in one game.  WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!
7. Sun Bowl (Stanford 25 North Carolina 23) – No McCaffrey? No problem.  CBS gets a gift with this amazing bowl game despite the fact it was missing a superstar and it was played in El Paso, a place no one seems to want to play.  This is all without an SEC team (for CBS’s sake) or a Big XII team (for El Paso’s local fans’ sake).  I still think the Browns are going to try their best to get their homegrown college star, Mitch Trubisky, to be the next QB for that god-awful franchise.
8. Foster Farms Bowl (Utah 26 Indiana 24) – It’s nice to see CBS and FOX getting good games considering the crap they have to put up with at bowl time. Then again, most people seem to just expect every bowl game is on ESPN so I wonder how many people watched this one.  Indiana did their Hoosier thing and played the annoying pest to Utah’s person trying to swat the mosquito away.  Great game and it was close and it had GUS JOHNSON!
9. Camellia Bowl (Appalachian State 31 Toledo 28) – A great game that was close from the opening gun. Also, two of the better Group of Five teams from the two conferences that tend to get left behind in the G-5 shuffle (Sun Belt and MAC).  This is the argument for keeping bowl games.
10. Poinsettia Bowl (BYU 24 Wyoming 21) – A good game in San Diego. You can insert your own joke here about how rare that is.  This was played in FOOTBAW WEATHER as all the rain that the San Diego area gets in a year fell during this one game (or at least it felt that way).  Also, BYU is usually a fun (albeit sometimes too rough) team to watch and Wyoming’s resurgence under Craig Bohl (Game) was a nice heartwarming story.
11. Cotton Bowl (Wisconsin 24 Western Michigan 16) – I think the lead-up to this game helped it a lot. It felt like we were just waiting for the Broncos to Row That Damn Boat and start their comeback.  When they finally did we felt the Broncos would then tie it up.  Alas, that didn’t happen but it showed that WMU was deserving of this spot and that Wisky will still be a tough out next season in the Big Ten.
12. Dollar General Bowl (Troy 28 Ohio 23) – How is it that a dollar store can sponsor a bowl game? If, let’s say, Value Village decided to sponsor any game of this magnitude, I would assume it would be played on a not-so-well-manicured high school field with wooden bleachers.  Anyway, this was a good game.  Not great, but worth watching.
13. Texas Bowl (Kansas State 33 Texas A&M 28) – To be honest, I really want to put this lower but I hear that it was a good game. Thanks to the colossal shitshow that occurred with TSN, Rogers, and Bell, none of us got to see this game.    Worst part is I still don’t know where to lay the majority of the blame but I am going with TSN at this point (which is surprising since, normally, TSN is really good with this).
14. Heart of Dallas Bowl (Army 38 North Texas 31 (OT)) – Option football. And this was a rematch.  It was setup for (most) fans to look away.  Instead it was a pretty good game with a lot of intrigue.  And now I honestly wouldn’t mind Army joining the AAC.  I mean why not?
15. Bahamas Bowl (Old Dominion 24 Eastern Michigan 20) – A team going to their first bowl game ever against a team going to their first bowl in 30 years. Great storylines for the media which turned into a fun game to watch.  Bobby Wilder alone pushes this game into the top 15.  He’s like the eastern seaboard P.J. Fleck.  Just like Fleck going to Minnesota will be good for college football, Wilder moving up the line will be good for college football as well (once it happens).
16. Belk Bowl (Virginia Tech 35 Arkansas 24) – The absolute meltdown of the Razorbacks in this one was hilarious and sad to watch all at once. No one should lose a 24-0 lead in a bowl game ever.  It’s happened twice now in the last two seasons (let’s remember Oregon last season).  Bret Bielema is now on a VERY hot seat in Fayetteville and wishing he never left the Badgers (and all the cheese he could eat) in the Big Ten.
17. Military Bowl (Wake Forest 34 Temple 26) – WAKEYLEAKS! It felt like it was brought up about a dozen separate times.  Honestly it was a pretty good game to watch with a near-Temple comeback.  It solidified that the Demon Deacons’ season wasn’t a fluke (and actually could have been better considering what occurred).
18. Quick Lane Bowl (Boston College 36 Maryland 30) – If Maryland had taken the lead late, this game would have moved way up the list considering the Terrapins’ comeback in this one. Oh well, there’s probably not much more we can expect in a game between Boston College and Maryland in Detroit during the afternoon between Christmas and New Year’s.
19. Pinstripe Bowl (Northwestern 31 Pittsburgh 24) – I remember a few years ago when they announced they would be playing a bowl game at Yankee Stadium. I thought it was a stupid idea at the time.  It has turned out to be one of the most consistently better bowl games in the past few years.  This year was no exception.
20. St. Petersburg Bowl (Mississippi State 17 Miami-OH 16) – I hate putting this game this high on the list. I really do.  It is such a shitty bowl.  But it was a close game the entire time and the game was decided on a blocked field goal, giving the Bulldogs the W.  I still think that bowl game and the field itself should cease to exist.
21. Liberty Bowl (Georgia 31 TCU 23) – It was close but never felt like that great a game. It was good because it was college football but not fantastic by any means.
22. Holiday Bowl (Minnesota 17 Washington State 12) – P.J. Fleck is the right man to right the ship (pun VERY intended) in Minneapolis. It was a shitshow and I am almost angry they won after what the players (and Tracy Claeys) did earlier that week.  Plus what the hell happened to the vaunted Mike Leach offense we saw all season?
23. New Mexico Bowl (New Mexico 23 UTSA 20) – The first bowl of the season (other than the wacky Celebration Bowl) was pretty good. I am surprised that they didn’t fill the stands for this one though.  Doesn’t make sense since the home team and a team from Texas were there.  It felt like there should have been more fans there.  A strike against the bowl system.
24. Sugar Bowl (Oklahoma 35 Auburn 19) – After the Rose Bowl I was almost worn out. Auburn scoring a touchdown on the final play was very Gus Malzahn-y. If Jim Harbaugh had been the other coach, it would have been a brawl afterwards.
25. Music City Bowl (Tennessee 38 Nebraska 24) – I sure hope this doesn’t spur the same reactions almost everyone had last year after Tennessee won their bowl game handily. Look, they will be good but don’t get a Sharpie and write them in as SEC East champs just yet.
26. Peach Bowl (Alabama 24 Washington 7) – The first semi-final felt close for a while. Bama didn’t play that great and neither did the Huskies and you thought that maybe Washington has a chance.  Then the pick-six happened and you knew it was pretty much over so let’s get to the next game quickly.
27. Boca Raton Bowl (Western Kentucky 51 Memphis 31) – I figured there would be more fight from the Tigers but the sheer amount of offense in this one makes up for it being a relatively boring game.
28. New Orleans Bowl (Southern Miss 28 UL-Lafayette 21) – It was close but it came after a few not-so-great bowl games so interest (at least on my end) was relatively low. The Ragin’ Cajuns have to be sick of this bowl by now despite the fact it still gets decent fan attendance.
29. Cactus Bowl (Baylor 31 Boise State 12) – Admittedly I didn’t watch much of this game once Baylor went up by a good margin. It felt weird to see the Bears win considering how the second half of their season went and how their program has been viewed in general.  It will take a few years for people to focus on the football aspect of things in Waco.
30. Hawaii Bowl (Hawaii 52 Middle Tennessee 35) – This defense-optional matchup was fine if you like arena football-like scores but other than that?   Also, the stands were basically empty.  Can we scrap this game please?  If the home team can’t even bring in fans I don’t know what will.
31. Citrus Bowl (LSU 29 Louisville 9) – Man that was rough to watch. Lamar Jackson looked terrible and the Tigers didn’t even blink an eye even with Leonard Fournette skipping this one.  So many fumbles by the Cardinals this season; it is actually surprising that they led the FBS in that category.  It truly shows how good Lamar Jackson was for most of the season to have to overcome that.
32. Russell Athletic Bowl (Miami 31 West Virginia 14) – Is The U back? It sure looks like it.  You have to feel good for Mark Richt.  He has already done a great job in Miami and it’s only his first season.  I expect them to contend for the division title next year and, perhaps, finally closing it out and making their first trip to the ACC Championship.  Also, watching Drunk Uncle Dana go apeshit on the sideline is kind of fun to watch.
33. TaxSlayer Bowl (Georgia Tech 33 Kentucky 18) – Kentucky has to consider this a successful season. Same with Georgia Tech.  Other than that, it was a game that was on while other bowl games were on as well.  Didn’t bode well for this one.
34. Las Vegas Bowl (San Diego State 34 Houston 10) – I think the media would put this higher considering the Tom Herman saga and Donnel Pumphrey breaking (kind of) the NCAA all-time rushing yards record. But really?  The game sucked.
35. Independence Bowl (NC State 41 Vanderbilt 17) – I am kind of a Vandy fan in a way. I always like to see them do well.  But they were awful here.  Not even Dancin’ Derek Mason could help the team out here.  And is NC State good?  Who knows.  Ask Wolfpack fans and you would get varying responses, all ending with “Fire Doeren.”
36. Fiesta Bowl (Clemson 31 Ohio State 0) – This may be worse than Alabama’s drubbing of Michigan State last season. It was brutal and I stopped watching early in the fourth quarter since the game was already in hand.
37. Arizona Bowl (Air Force 45 South Alabama 21) – I didn’t watch this game. Don’t get MyTV.  Wasn’t able to watch it live so watching it online wasn’t an option either.  However, saying all that, there were four games worse than one I didn’t even watch.  Yeah they were that bad and it’s an argument against more bowl games (or an argument for less bowl games than we have now).
38. Alamo Bowl (Oklahoma State 38 Colorado 8) – The only reason a lot of people (including myself) continued to watch was to see if the Buffs could break the goose egg. And they did.  And then I turned it off because it was awful.
39. Outback Bowl (Florida 30 Iowa 3) – I had rated this game lower than many online experts had. It gives me a small amount of satisfaction to say I was right.  This game sucked.  No surprise here.
40. Miami Beach Bowl (Tulsa 55 Central Michigan 10) – I think the thing people were waiting for was to see if Tulsa would put up a 60-burger. They did not.  I wish they would just scrap this game.  It’s on in the afternoon on a weekday before Christmas.  Who the fuck thinks this is a good idea?
41. Cure Bowl (Arkansas State 31 UCF 13) – All this game cured was people’s insomnia.

There you go.  We’re done.  And I am a bit sad.  But we still have some football.  Usually the best weekend of playoff football is upon us in the NFL with the Divisional Playoffs.  Enjoy the games everyone!

Your Special Boxing Day Bowl Recap #2

I hope all of you had a very Merry Christmas.  I hope you didn’t get too drunk.  I could understand if you did but sometimes moderation really is the way to go.  Anyway, where was I…

Oh that’s right.  Bowl games!  Yes they are still going on and will be through January 2^nd.  As I have said before, savour these games, even if they suck because soon enough we will be sans college football for months.  The horror!

Alright let’s get to the recap and maybe you can then work off all the eggnog you drank.

Miami Beach Bowl – Tulsa 55 Central Michigan 10

This was about as dominating performance I have ever seen in a bowl game.  This wasn’t even close from the get-go.  I am honestly surprised Philip Montgomery hasn’t got any feelers for Power Five coaching jobs.  He is an offensive guru and deserves a lot of credit for what he has done for the Golden Hurricane.  He has been overshadowed by coaches like Tom Herman and Matt Rhule in the AAC this season.  With them gone, expect Montgomery to get a lot of attention next season.

Boca Raton Bowl – Western Kentucky 51 Memphis 31

Boring bowl number two.  These games that get out of hand relatively early are, a lot of times, tough to watch.  This one was no exception.  I think many expected the Hilltoppers to pour on the points but I, for one, figured that Memphis would keep it close.  Not the case.  Alright so let’s move on to the next bowl and see if things get better…

Poinsettia Bowl – BYU 24 Wyoming 21

Now this is what I’m talking about.  I will say that the quality of play wasn’t exactly the best.  Thanks to San Diego getting one of their four days of rain for the year on that exact night, the Murph/Qualcomm/Former Chargers Stadium ended up being a bit of a quagmire.  But it was a close game.  Wyoming is looking good under Craig Bohl and should continue that next season.  The Cougs are almost always good so it will be interesting how much attention the next time realignment comes up.

Idaho Potato Bowl – Idaho 61 Colorado State 50

Hey another great bowl game.  Again with some extreme weather conditions.  It was one of the coldest bowl games on record in Boise and it showed.  The blue turf (which is getting old btw), turned into a huge skating rink.  It made defense basically impossible.  For once I don’t fully blame the two teams for that.  But it was fun to watch.  Points and points and points and points and points, etc.  I find it a bit ironic that a team that is moving down to FCS just put 61 up on the scoreboard in a bowl game.

Bahamas Bowl – Old Dominion 24 Eastern Michigan 20

This bowl is the bane of my existence (well, one of several banes).  A bowl game before Christmas on at 1 in the afternoon.  Who thinks up this shit?  I get that they want to show the beauty of the Bahamas during the day time and so we also get to see Mack Brown in terrible island tourist wear.  It’s too bad since the game was great and it really was two teams who very much wanted to be there and played their hearts out.  I would watch out for the Monarchs next season in Conference USA as they look to be pretty damn good under Bobby Wilder.  I sure hope EMU can put together two decent seasons in a row but the jury is out on them.

Armed Forces Bowl – Louisiana Tech 48 Navy 45

Of all the good bowl games thus far, this could have been the best.  An absolute classic.  Navy is always fun football to watch but the Bulldogs are a bit of a revelation if you don’t watch much Conference USA (which we here in Canada really don’t).  And speaking of Conference USA, why the hell do they look so bad as a conference during the regular season and then so good in bowl season?  I don’t get it.  Anyway, great game, still not happy with the start time of 4:30 but this is the argument to keep as many bowl games as possible on the schedule.

Dollar General Bowl – Troy 28 Ohio 23

One of the greatest turnaround seasons of the decade ended with the Trojans beating the Fighting Soliches of Ohio in yet another close bowl game.  Neal Brown is already being touted as a coach who may move up to a better program.

Hawaii Bowl – Hawaii 52 Middle Tennessee 35

This is one of the arguments against more bowl games.  It was a pretty good game with a lot of points but there weren’t that many people there to enjoy it.  You know, with the HOME TEAM playing in its own stadium.  They said there were over 20,000 people there.  I don’t buy that.  If there were more than 12,000 I would have been shocked.  It’s a bit of a sad state that a home team can’t at least half fill their own stadium for a bowl game.  No wonder teams move down to FCS.  I can see more of that happening.

There you go!  Again, I hope you had a great Christmas.  Boxing Day’s bowl schedule looks like, possibly, the worst day of multiple bowl games ever.  I sure as hell hope that some of the games are good today.  Also, there is the Monday nighter in the NFL.  Easily the best one of the year as the Lions face the Cowboys.  So there’s always that.  Enjoy the games everyone!

Bowl Game Rankings starring Uncle Verne

OK so the TSN schedule is finally out for all the bowl games.  I am a bit shocked it took this long since the first bowl game is tomorrow.  Oh well, it’s up and that’s good…I guess.  Except the fact that more games are on the specialty pack than are on TSN.

Before we begin with the bowl game rankings, let’s discuss the Army-Navy game.  Wasn’t that fun?  I tend to forget why it has its own Saturday.  I get the pageantry and the importance of it all but the logical side of me considers it a tiny bit of an annoyance to come after the College Football Playoff rankings come out.  Very small bit but it’s still there.  But then I remember how often the game is good.  Like really exciting.  This past Saturday’s affair was no different.  Army breaks a fourteen game losing streak to the Midshipmen with their win, sparking a massive celebration.  Is Army finally a decent team for good?  We shall see.  Navy and Air Force have been good for years now so there’s no reason why the Black Knights, with that frustrating-to-defend-against option offense, shouldn’t be good.  Also, U.S. president-elect Donald Trump was there to shit on the quality of football played on the field.  He should know a thing or two about a shitty football organization: he was a part of the USFL.

And this time around it was special for another reason: the last college football game ever called by one Verne Lundquist.  No matter if you thought he was good or not is beside the point.  He’s a legend in the college football broadcasting business, plain and simple.  If you did a college football broadcasting Mount Rushmore, you would have him, Brent Musburger, and Keith Jackson as shoo-ins.  The fourth?  Who knows?  Pick one.  Brad Nessler perhaps (who incidentally is Verne’s replacement)?  I don’t really know.  That would be a tough call.

And speaking of Verne….I am bringing back the UNCLE VERNE SCALE for the bowl rankings this year.  It is only fitting.  Let’s not waste any time!  I am also going to put times and dates and networks.  I will do this in order of amount of Vernes, five being the most, one being the least.

FIVE VERNE TERRITORY! (Yes, SIR!)

This set of games are your must-see ones.  So basically the College Football Playoff, New Year’s Six, and one other bowl game.

Fiesta Bowl – #2 Clemson vs. #3 Ohio State (Dec. 31, 7:00, TSN2) – Yes, the New Year’s Eve CFP games are annoying.  I get it.  I don’t know what I am doing for this New Year’s but I do know it will probably involve my kids.  Hey why is it so difficult to find babysitters these days?  When I used to babysit as a teenager there were a ton of people my age doing it.  Now not so much.  This game is probably the cream of the crop and is the one CFP game that seems to be in doubt.  My pick: Ohio State 34-28.

Peach Bowl – #1 Alabama vs. #4 Washington (Dec. 31, 3:00, TSN2) – Remember, the World Juniors is on between Boxing Day and the first week of January.  Every.  Single.  Game.  And it takes up a whole bunch of channels.  Also the Spengler Cup is still a thing.  So the two most important games of the year go to one TSN channel.  Not impressed.  My pick: Alabama 44-23.

Rose Bowl – #5 Penn State vs. #9 USC (Jan. 2, 5:00, TSN2) – USC is the hottest team in college football not from the Dirty South.  Even though the Nittany Lions are ranked higher, I can see them being in real tough here.  I kind of wish the Rose Bowl (and the Sugar) went back to being on ABC.  It won’t but it makes it easier for a lot of fans to not play TSN Channel Roulette to determine where the Granddaddy of Them All is on.  My pick: USC 38-20.

Orange Bowl – #6 Michigan vs. #11 Florida State (Dec. 30, 8:00, TSN2) – The World Junior schedule gets mighty crowded at this time of the year.  So again, only one TSN channel because god forbid we miss that hot Czech Republic-Switzerland matchup (or whatever the fuck is on this day).  Also, we were denied a Harbaugh-Fleck mega-matchup but this will be quite good too.  My pick: Michigan 32-24.

Cotton Bowl – #8 Wisconsin vs. #15 Western Michigan (Jan. 2, 1:00, TSN2) – I really want to pick Western Michigan.  I really want the Broncos to row that damn boat all over the field.  I do because I believe PJ Fleck, waiting until after bowl season is done to entertain job offers, is going to miss out on all of those job offers.  And let’s be honest: this is a once-in-a-lifetime team at WMU.  Will never happen again.  So I am going to pick them.  That makes me feel happy.  My pick: Western Michigan 40-27.

Alamo Bowl – #10 Colorado vs. #12 Oklahoma State (Dec. 29, 9:00, specialty pack) – Nice to see the Buffs back in the top tier again.  It feels like the 90s again!  Actually, going back to the Big Eight would be a good idea I think.  Bringing back the Southwest Conference would be a little less exciting considering how the last decade went for them.  Ouch.  My pick: Colorado 38-35.

Sugar Bowl – #7 Oklahoma vs. #14 Auburn (Jan. 2, 8:30, TSN2) – I do find it kind of funny that the worst team in the New Year’s Six is probably Auburn.  From the SEC.  Yeah.  Let’s be honest: the SEC this season was Bama and a bunch of mediocre teams.  Kind of a sad send-off to Verne dontcha think?  My pick: Oklahoma 36-10.

FOUR VERNES!  QUATRO VERNE-OS! (In your life have you seen anything like that???)

Just a cut below the must-see games, most of these will still be good to watch and most college football fans will try to catch most of these games (usually with a beer or four and a couple bags of nachos).

Las Vegas Bowl – Houston vs. San Diego State (Dec. 17, 3:30, ABC) – One of the very few games (nine in all) that aren’t on ESPN.  The best pre-Christmas bowl, without a shadow of a doubt, is this one.  Houston has already had a lot of national attention but this will be the country’s best look at Donnell Pumphrey, the best running back nobody knows.  An NFL team would be smart to pick this guy up in the draft.  My pick: Houston 24-20.

Citrus Bowl – #13 Louisville vs. #20 LSU (Dec. 31, 11:00, ABC/TSN2) – Morning FOOTBAW!!!!!  It should be like this every week to be honest with you.  Who really cares if the game starts at 11:30 or even 11?  OK maybe the players and the coaching staffs but when has the NCAA cared about them in the past?  Final look at one Leonard Fournette before he enters the draft.  Watch him decide to sit out to avoid injury.  My pick: Lamar Jackson’s Team 27-26.  UPDATE: Fournette is done and will turn pro.

Sun Bowl – #18 Stanford vs. North Carolina (Dec. 30, 2:00, CBS) – Hey the Sun Bowl gets a great matchup.  One of the best non-CFP/non-NY6 bowls this season.  I still think it is ridiculous that the SEC does not get to be in the Sun Bowl, a game broadcast on CBS, the home of the SEC (kind of).  Then again, when has the bowl tie-ins ever really made sense?  My pick: North Carolina 37-28.

Russell Athletic Bowl – #16 West Virginia vs Miami (Dec. 28, 5:30, specialty pack) – It’s BIG EAST WARFARE!  You know, I used to like the Big East.  Then again, when you get a game almost every week in your area (whether you like it or not), you start to appreciate the nuances of the conference.  Except Rutgers.  I don’t think anyone really appreciates Rutgers these days.  My pick: West Virginia 27 Miami 17 Drunk Uncle Dana 6 (Red Bulls)

Music City Bowl – #21 Tennessee vs. Nebraska (Dec. 30, 3:30, specialty pack) – So this would be probably the best game on the specialty pack.  Means you get the best games without ordering it.  That’s a good thing (for them).  I would be very interested to see what happens if the Vols get blown out in this one.  Do they take ol’ Butch out behind the barn or do they give him another chance?  Either way can you hurry up?  Les Miles is waiting.  My pick: Tennessee 29-28.

Boca Raton Bowl – Memphis vs. Western Kentucky (Dec. 20, 7:00, TSN1/TSN4) – This game will have a lot of points.  This is almost suited to arena football.  My advice?  Take the over.  My pick: Western Kentucky 53-48.

Texas Bowl – Kansas State vs. Texas A&M (Dec. 28, 9:00, TSN2) – Too bad Texas hadn’t blown a gasket in at least one of their seven losses.  A Texas-TAMU matchup would be huge for ratings, despite the fact the Aggies were mediocre this season and the Longhorns were below-average.  Instead we get Bill Snyder, the best 108-year-old coach I know.  I don’t know how he is still alive to be honest.  My pick: Texas A&M 21-14.

THREE VERNES! (An answered prayer!)

These are the games where if you are a college football fan you will watch these.  Many others will not though.  Especially up here in Canada.  And ESPECIALLY when the World Juniors are on.  I mean what would you rather watch: a hot Latvia-Slovakia barnburner or the Belk Bowl?  If you’re reading this I have a pretty good idea what you would pick……………….it’s the Belk Bowl right?

Camellia Bowl – Appalachian State vs. Toledo (Dec. 17, 5:30, TSN2) – Two teams that probably would have been fun to watch against a mid-card Power Five team.  Either way, one of the best G-5-on-G-5 matchups during bowl season.  Oh and is Appalachian State going to evolve into the next Boise State?  The way they have played their last two seasons it kinda feels that way.  My pick: Appalachian State 30-13.

Belk Bowl – #22 Virginia Tech vs. Arkansas (Dec. 29, 5:30, specialty pack) – I am hoping for at least one shot of Bret Bielema’s hot wife during the telecast.  It will make up for the fact that we have no clue which Arkansas will be showing up.  Let’s hope for the “good” Arkansas.  Oh, and got to give Justin Fuente credit for what he did in Blacksburg.  Let’s see how he follows this up.  My pick: Virginia Tech 42-23.

TaxSlayer Bowl – Georgia Tech vs. Kentucky (Dec. 31, 11:00, specialty pack) – I feel this game is not getting its due.  Probably because of the fact it’s New Year’s Eve and the other two games are WAAAAAAAAAAAAAY more important than this one.  But the Wildcats are competing once again in the SEC and the Fighting Option Offense of Georgia Tech is back after an awful season last year.  I still don’t think it will be amazing but it should entertaining leading into the College Football Playoff.  My pick: Kentucky 39-34.

Outback Bowl – #17 Florida vs. Iowa (Jan. 2, 1:00, ABC) – If you take the over in this game you are a fucking fool!  I was about to knock this down a star but I was reminded that despite the fact this game will be a nightmare to people who love scoring, the game could very well be close and it’s still two Power Five teams.  A close game between 2 P-5 teams should always be watched.  My pick: Florida 12-9.

Holiday Bowl – Minnesota vs. Washington State (Dec. 27, 7:00, specialty pack) – Member when the Holiday Bowl always had good teams playing?  I member.  Not saying neither of these teams are good but the cache isn’t there this time around.  Wazzu is fun to watch on offense but their defense makes people cry.  Minnesota is just…well….Minnesota.  And they may not even play.  If they truly boycott the game and Northern Illinois has to take the red eye in to San Diego to play this will go to 5 Verne territory just for the media shitstorm.  My pick: Washington State 41-22.

Armed Forces Bowl – #25 Navy vs. Louisiana Tech (Dec. 23, 4:30, TSN1) – Before the Army-Navy game I would have favoured Navy by a ton.  Not so much anymore.  They’ll still win but it will be close for at least a quarter-and-a-half.  Still surprised Ken Niumatalolo didn’t get any play for the head coaching vacancies.  My pick: Navy 39-23.

Dollar General Bowl – Ohio vs. Troy (Dec. 23, 8:00, specialty pack) – Is Dollar General like the Dollarama up here?  If so, how the hell do they afford sponsoring a bowl game?  I think we are going backwards with this.  Soon enough very few bowl games will have sponsors in the name.  Maybe it will lead to less bowl games.  Not a bad trade-off if they can space them out properly.  My pick: Troy 29-28.

Military Bowl – #24 Temple vs. Wake Forest (Dec. 27, 3:30, TSN2) – Can you believe this Wakeyleaks stuff?  Ridiculous.  And totally glossed over because it’s Wake Forest.  If this was at Florida State, the entire program would be shuttered because it would be a COLLEGE FOOTBALL TRAGEDY or some shit like that.  That radio guy is a dick though.  My pick: Wake Forest 38-35 (even without the Owls getting any “help”).

Poinsettia Bowl – BYU vs Wyoming (Dec. 21, 9:00, specialty pack) – I feel like half the bowl games are in San Diego or Orlando.  It’s actually six but that’s still nuts.  Especially since Qualcomm (or the Murph as it is somewhat affectionately called) is a bit of a shithole.  Anyway, Craig Bohl has done great things with Wyoming this season.  Winning a bowl game won’t be one of them.  My pick: BYU 35-15.

Two Vernes (Nope.  No Awesome Verne call here.)

Now we are getting into the games that you would have to be a real college football fan to watch.  I will watch most of these but may not like myself after doing so.

Liberty Bowl – Georgia vs. TCU (Dec. 30, Noon, specialty pack) – A year ago if you had said Georgia-TCU many ears would have perked up.  Not so much this season.  Not that either team is bad.  They are just both a shell of their former selves.  I’m not worried about the Horned Frogs since Gary Patterson is that the helm there.   The jury is still out on Kirby Smart (and Alabama assistants moving into head coaching positions in general…I think).  My pick: TCU 24-16.

Pinstripe Bowl – #23 Pittsburgh vs. Northwestern (Dec. 28, 2:00, specialty pack) – James Conner has been the inspiration for the Pitt Panthers this season.  I sincerely hope he does well at the next level.  Also, by the way this team plays offense (see their game against Syracuse for example), this could be over quickly.  My pick: Pitt 43-7.

Independence Bowl – NC State vs. Vanderbilt (Dec. 26, 5:00, specialty pack) – To the chagrin of all Wolfpack fans, NC State has decided to retain Dave Doeren as head coach for next season.  It’s not like he’s bad; he just hasn’t helped the team progress really at all.  Vandy on the other hand is fun to watch and I wouldn’t be surprised to see them give Derek Mason an extension.  Also, bonus points if he starts dancing on the sidelines.  My pick: Vandy 28-17.

Cactus Bowl – Baylor vs. Boise State (Dec. 27, 10:15, specialty pack) – Baylor has gone through a rough season.  Starting 6-0 and giving everyone hope and then they go 0-6 to finish the season.  Brutal.  Plus with all the issues with some of the players and Art Briles and Art throwing the assistants under the bus.  Such a mess.  Good luck to Matt Rhule as he has to try to make chicken salad out of rotten chicken shit.  This shouldn’t be close.  My pick: Boise State 44-16.

Foster Farms Bowl – #19 Utah vs. Indiana (Dec. 28, 8:30, FOX) – How FOX got this game of all games is beyond me.  Well, not beyond me.  I understand it’s a Pac-12 vs. Big Ten showdown.  But the calibre of this game…ugh.  The Utes should mop the floor with them.  Should.  Who knows now that the Hoosiers have a new head coach.  No, the Utes should blow them out of the water.  My pick: Utah 42-17.

Idaho Potato Bowl – Colorado State vs. Idaho (Dec. 22, 7:00, specialty pack) – I can see the Vandals (that’s Idaho’s team name if you didn’t know since we never see Idaho on TV here) playing some inspired ball in a bowl game in their much, much more talented state brethren’s stadium.  I think the Fighting Petrinos of the Middle of Nowhere end their penultimate FBS season with a win.  Kind of looks good on the NCAA as a whole that this program is moving down to FCS but could win a bowl game in their second last season.  My pick: Idaho 39 (potatoes) – Colorado State 28.

Bahamas Bowl – Eastern Michigan vs. Old Dominion (Dec. 23, 1:00, specialty pack) – 1:00 on the specialty pack before Christmas.  How in the hell can anyone watch this game?  It will go to my PVR but I can’t promise I will watch most of it.  I am interested in seeing a game between a first-time bowl team and a team that hasn’t bowled in thirty years.  I can see it being a very jittery first quarter.  My pick: Old Dominion 42-31.

New Mexico Bowl – New Mexico vs. UTSA (Dec. 17, 2:00, TSN1/TSN3) – The first bowl game of the season has been the New Mexico Bowl in the past few years.  And usually we have a pretty exciting game.  I can see this one being pretty good.  New Mexico’s underrated option offense against first-time bowlers UTSA.  Going to be close, but I see the Roadrunners pulling this one out.  Meep Meep!  My pick: UTSA 31-23.

Birmingham Bowl – South Carolina vs. USF (Dec. 29, 2:00, specialty pack) – This is my fourth season (I believe) imploring the Birmingham Bowl to just cease to exist.  They play in a shitty field that either needs major renovations or to be set on fire and usually it’s between two teams that no one really wants to see.  I am very interested to see how USF does with Willie Taggart now gone to Oregon but I can’t foresee South Carolina winning this (although next year will be VERY interesting in the SEC East).  My pick: USF 45-24.

Quick Lane Bowl – Boston College vs. Maryland (Dec. 26, 2:30, TSN2) – OK.  First off, it is going to sound like everything is echoing inside Ford Field.  There is no chance that the stadium will be even half full with these two teams playing.  Secondly, of all the games TSN could pick up (and it was only 16 this year), they choose this one?  This is what the World Juniors does to us.  Makes TSN pick up bowl games that probably even they don’t want.  Ugh.  My pick: Does it matter?  OK fine it’s Maryland 31-13.

One measly Verne

This would be like if they decided to replace Uncle Verne with Pam Ward or had Teddy Atlas do “analysis” on college football games on CBS from now on.  It would be a big disaster and CBS would lose their SEC contract to ESPN and then everyone would hate both networks a lot more.

I don’t know how much of these games I will watch but I can safely say that unless I have NOTHING else going on (which probably won’t happen), I won’t watch the whole thing.  I will just keep checking the ticker on my phone and if it’s close in the second half I’ll turn it on (or at least leave it on PVR until I can watch it).

Cure Bowl – Arkansas State vs. UCF (Dec. 17, 5:30, CBS Sports Network) – I actually ended up getting CBSSN again recently as part of a package.  I wasn’t paying no $7 a month for this channel.  But $2 a month I can handle…I think.  So I get to see this bowl now.  I am not that excited.  UCF is essentially playing at home and has to feel lucky that Scott Frost wasn’t lured back to Oregon.  I don’t think the home advantage will help but I can see this being a close game which is the only thing that keeps it from being named Worst Bowl Game of the Year.  My pick: Arkansas State 39-35.

Miami Beach Bowl – Central Michigan vs. Tulsa (Dec. 19, 2:30, specialty pack) – Oklahoma State fans are STILL stewing over that loss to Central Michigan.  And I STILL think it’s hilarious that they even allowed that play to happen, never mind that the game should have been over before then.  But don’t worry Pokes fans, CMU will lose and probably lose big to the juggernaut Tulsa offense.  My pick: Tulsa 52-20.

Hawaii Bowl – Hawaii vs. Middle Tennessee (Dec. 24, 8:00, specialty pack) – My Christmas Eve tradition has become having this game on in the background while I do the finishing touches on wrapping presents.  So yeah I don’t pay a ton of attention, at least through the first half.  And why should I?  It’s a sparsely attended bowl game that is usually shit.  I hope with the Fighting Rainbow Warrior Roloviches playing that they get a good crowd.  If not, scuttle this bowl.  Even if it is a destination that the players will love.  My pick: Hawaii 47-37.

New Orleans Bowl – Southern Miss vs. UL-Lafayette (Dec. 17, 9:00, TSN2) – Isn’t UL-Lafayette sick of going to this bowl?  Don’t get me wrong, I know going to a bowl game is a big deal to the players but when you go to the same one almost every time it has to get old.  I can’t see the magic of that first time the Ragin Cajuns went there.  And it was an awesome game with a game-winning field goal with no time left from 50 yards out.  That’s the college football I love.  This, not so much.  My pick: UL-Lafayette 31-14.

Arizona Bowl – Air Force vs. South Alabama (Dec. 30, 5:30, MyTV) – This bowl game finally gets its own timeslot (kind of).  I know Air Force is there to give this newer bowl game some street cred but South Alabama being there is not moving the needle at all.  This should be over relatively early.  My pick: Air Force 37-7.

Heart of Dallas Bowl – Army vs. North Texas (Dec. 27, Noon, specialty pack) – I had this at the very bottom of my list for a while but after the Black Knights’ performance in the Army-Navy game I moved them up a spot.  But only one spot.  This still will be a tough game to watch from start to finish.  And to be honest, I don’t know if I will.  If I have my kids then it goes to the PVR to an uncertain viewing future.  My pick: Army 33-20.

St. Petersburg Bowl – Miami-OH vs. Mississippi State (Dec. 26, 11:00, specialty pack) – This is the dirt worst.  The field sucks.  The Trop is a shithole.  They never have decent teams.  I like morning football but not this.  I mean Miami-OH is a nice story.  Started 0-6 and won six straight to go bowling.  Good for them.  And Mississippi State was in the SEC which made the mediocre this year because every team not named Alabama was average.  This shouldn’t be even close though.  This is the bowl game that should tell the college football world that they’ve gone too far with the postseason.  My pick: Mississippi State 54-14.

Done.  The bowl schedule is set.  We have a lot of college football to watch between tomorrow and the day after New Year’s Day.  Savour it.  Drink it in because come January 10^th there will be no football for seven-and-a-half months.  I am starting to get queasy just thinking about it.  Either that or I am getting the flu.  Anyway, enjoy the games everyone!

Forget the games, how about the debates? – Conference Championship Week Recap

We all knew this was coming.  Once the games were over, the debates would really begin.  To be honest, they started well before halftime of the primetime games and did not let up until Selection Sunday was complete.  I think there are still some people debating but let’s get to the recap first before we discuss that.

• Thank God Western Michigan took care of business in the MAC Championship game although it wasn’t easy. They didn’t exactly blow Ohio out of the water and the Fighting Soliches kept it close all game.  But with the WMU win, it pretty much guaranteed they would be rowing their boat to Dallas for the Cotton Bowl.
• Wow did this one ever get out of hand fast. Washington put the boots to Colorado and to say it wasn’t even close was an understatement.  The Huskies won in every facet of the game making it almost impossible for them to be left out of the College Football Playoff.
• Temple beat Navy to win the AAC Championship. That was the final nail in Navy’s New Year’s Six chances and saved a lot of us from potential bowl selection chaos.  We later found out that the chaos would have been mitigated by holding the Armed Forces Bowl for Western Michigan (bowl tie-ins be damned) if Navy had a shot to finish higher up the rankings than the Broncos.  That didn’t happen and we are all kind of grateful for it, no offense to the Naval Academy.  Also, Matt Rhule has put himself in the coaching carousel conversation with what he has done at Temple.  Don’t be surprised if he moves up the chain to a bigger Power Five school.
• Western Kentucky and Louisiana Tech played some fun defense-optional football in the Conference USA Championship. In the end, the Hilltoppers would win 58-44 to claim the conference title.  It was the first conference title game in FBS history to hit triple digits in points.  If it hadn’t been for WKU’s loss to Vandy earlier in the season, the Hilltoppers would have at least been in the conversation for the New Year’s Six spot going into this weekend.  Also, it looks like their coach is now a hot commodity and he is almost certainly gone from Bowling Green (not the school) soon.
• Bedlam! It always stirs up some emotion for sure and is usually for something important in the Big XII.  This was for the Big XII championship so it was big.  The winner would go to the Sugar Bowl.  That team ended up being Oklahoma who won fairly easily over Mullets McQueen and his merry band of Cowboys.
• Georgia Southern cost Troy a share of the Sun Belt crown (which, incidentally, means sweet fuck all anyways). Then afterwards, the GaSo brass told everyone that Tyson Summers would, in fact, be back for next season.  It’s his first year and they have to tell everyone explicitly that he will be back?  Welcome to the hot seat Tyson.
• The Bama Beatdown Bowl went exactly as we expected with Alabama laying the smackdown on Florida. It was never in doubt and to be honest, got kind of boring.  By around 5:00, people were clamoring for the primetime games to begin.
• The Mountain West Championship was played in Laramie and was obviously cold. But San Diego State weathered the weather and won the conference title.  Doesn’t take away from the year Craig Bohl had at Wyoming.  Stellar season for a team that no one expected to do much.
• Plucky Virginia Tech just wouldn’t go away. Every time Clemson took a two-score lead, the Hokies would storm back and make it close again.  Many were almost hoping for Clemson to do some form of Clemsoning and blow the game and cause MASS CHAOS to the College Football Playoff.  Alas, the Tigers won the game, the conference, and their spot in the CFP.
• It took almost ten-and-a-half hours, but we FINALLY got a really good game. The Big Ten Championship came down to the wire and, frankly, saved the day since it was looking as bad as the New Year’s Six set of bowls last season.  God awful.  Penn State held on to beat Wisconsin for their first Big Ten Championship since they shared with Ohio State in 2008 and only their second outright Big Ten title.

And now the debates began.  My god it got heated.  We all knew Bama was in at #1.  After that it was a shitshow.  Clemson was a lock (in my mind) yet there were many out there that said they didn’t have the resume.  Same with Washington.  Like seriously?  A one-loss Power Five conference champion is being debated that much?  But the biggest debate was probably about putting either Ohio State or Penn State in.  If The Committee selected tOSU, then it would set a new precedent, saying that conference championships aren’t the be all and end all to get in.  If Penn State was selected, then it said that conference championships meant more than the 12 games previous to it, which would have put a bad taste in a lot of people’s mouths.

In the end, I believe The Committee made the right choices with Bama, Clemson, Washington, and Ohio State.  The Buckeyes had the better schedule and their only loss was to the Big Ten Champion.  Meanwhile, PSU got blown out by Michigan and, even more egregiously, lost to Pitt.  If the Nittany Lions had avoided just one of those losses, they would be in no questions asked.  I do find this all amusing though. Now that conference championships aren’t the deciding factor anymore, what must the Big XII be thinking now that they are finally instituting one for next season?  Hilarious if you ask me.

Alright, yes this was a short recap but that’s what happens when there are only eleven FBS games TOTAL on the tube over a 24-hour stretch.  Tomorrow I will have my NFL recap and either Wednesday or Thursday I will be sending out the bowl schedule and the expected TV schedule for the bowl games.  TSN doesn’t have their schedule yet and that will be the major holdup determining the spot for a lot of bowl games.  Expect the specialty pack to get between 6 and 10 games this season.

Welp, this is it…possibly – Week 14 College Football TV Schedule

I say possibly because it sounds like there is a possibility a few of the bowl selections would be pushed back if Navy ends up as the top ranked Group of Five team.  If Western Michigan wins, they get the spot. I can’t see how they wouldn’t.  However, if WMU loses and Navy wins they would get the spot…but they still play Army the next weekend.  Wouldn’t that be something if that happened and then Army erased a looooooooong losing streak to the Naval Academy by costing them a trip to the Cotton Bowl?  It would be the most exciting Army-Navy game in recent memory.

Alright let’s get to the schedule.  Back to the old way of doing it…and by old way I mean two weeks ago.

Friday

		US	Canada
MAC Championship Game (Western Michigan vs. Ohio) (in Detroit)	7:00 PM	ESPN2	SP
Pac-12 Championship Game (Washington vs. Colorado) (in Santa Clara)	9:00 PM	FOX	FOX

The G-5 picture and Cotton Bowl spot could be solidified by around 10:00 if the Broncos beat Ohio.  If not, we can commence chaos proceedings.

Washington and Colorado should be a good game but I wonder about the 9:00 timeslot and the site.  I do recall last year’s game not being very well attended.  You can partially blame a 6:00 local start time but other than putting the game on Saturday night in primetime against all those other conference championships, we are basically stuck.  I am honestly shocked the ACC or Big Ten haven’t decided to move theirs to Noon on Conference championship Saturday.

Saturday Early

		US	Canada
AAC Championship Game (Temple at Navy)	12:00 PM	ABC	ABC
Conference USA Championship Game (Louisiana Tech at Western Kentucky)	12:00 PM	ESPN	TSN2
Troy at Georgia Southern	12:00 PM	ESPN2	SP
Oklahoma State at Oklahoma	12:30 PM	FOX	FOX

They’re pretty much all big games at this point: even the Troy-Georgia Southern game.  Troy needs a win and some help later on in the day to win the Sun Belt.

Bedlam is the Big XII Championship Game this season.  I can’t foresee a way either team would get into the College Football Playoff though so they are fighting for a Sugar Bowl spot.

Navy can turn the G-5 world on its head if they win here after a Western Michigan loss.  That would be fun to see.

Right now, the Conference USA Championship is on TSN2.  There is also a slot open in the specialty pack for a second game.  I don’t know how that is going to work or if another game will be moved on to the specialty pack that is currently on ESPN3.  For right now, we have to assume that it will stay on TSN2.

Saturday Afternoon

		US	Canada
SEC Championship (Alabama vs. Florida) (in Atlanta)	4:00 PM	CBS	CBS
SWAC Championship Game (Grambling vs. Alcorn State) (in Houston)	4:00 PM	ESPNU	SP

No one goes up against the SEC Championship.  I understand that.  Too bad because this would have been the year to do it.  Unless Florida keeps it close, I can see a lot of people tuning out and waiting for the primetime games.

The SWAC Championship also falls in this timeslot.  Winner goes to the Celebration Bowl which is kind of the first bowl of the season even though it’s FCS.

Saturday Primetime

		US	Canada
Arkansas State at Texas State	7:30 PM	ESPN2	SP
Mountain West Championship (San Diego State at Wyoming)	7:45 PM	ESPN	SP
ACC Championship Game (Clemson vs. Virginia Tech) (in Orlando)	8:00 PM	ABC	ABC
Big Ten Championship Game (Wisconsin vs. Penn State) (in Indianapolis)	8:00 PM	FOX	FOX

Here’s where it gets packed.  I will reiterate what I said above: Either the ACC or B1G should move their conference championship to Noon.  They would dominate the timeslot and not have to compete with the other conference.  Alas, I can’t see it happening.

I honestly think the Big Ten Championship won’t mean anything unless Washington and/or Clemson lose their respective games.  Should be a good game but there will be some scoreboard watching for sure in Indianapolis.

Win and they’re in.  That’s all Clemson has to do.  Watch them blow it now.

Wyoming and San Diego State were all primed to have a Mountain West Championship game that could be considered extremely important.  That all went to shit last Saturday when both teams laid an egg in embarrassing losses.  Now, chances are, this is for a trip to Las Vegas…to play football and nothing else.

Arkansas State can clinch the Sun Belt title and, supposedly, go to the New Orleans Bowl.  I say supposedly because bowl tie-ins work quite oddly these days and it has nothing to do with being champ; it has everything to do with being the first selection.  And the rumour is that if UL-Lafayette wins this Saturday, the New Orleans Bowl will select them instead of Arkansas State.  I have the Red Wolves going to the Cure Bowl for that reason.  Isn’t bowl selection fun?  No?  OK fine then.

Conference Championship Week picks for gambling purposes

Alright time to get some picks in.  Here we go!

Western Michigan over Ohio.  As much as I love chaos in college football, I can’t see the Broncos losing this one.

Washington over Colorado.  I think the Huskies make a statement going into the CFP.

Navy over Temple.  It will be too little too late for this.  The Committee won’t push Navy over WMU if both teams win.  Right?

Western Kentucky over Louisiana Tech.  If WKU hadn’t lost a heartbreaker to Vanderbilt earlier in the season, this might have put the Hilltoppers in the G-5 New Year’s Six conversation.  Alas, I can see them thumping the Bulldogs here in a somewhat meaningless game.

Troy over Georgia Southern.  This sets up the nightcap game putting pressure on ASU.

Oklahoma over Oklahoma State.  Then Stoops and Co. start beating their chests to show that they believe they are CFP material.

Alabama over Florida.  I’d love to say this will be close.  But this won’t be close.

Grambling over Alcorn State.  Other than that one really, REALLY bad year, Grambling has been competitive if not one of the better HBCUs out there.  They should win this one going away.

Arkansas State over Texas State.  I can honestly see this one being close, especially if Troy wins earlier in the day.  The pressure may get to ASU a bit.

San Diego State over Wyoming.  I’d love to see Craig Bohl’s Cowboys win this one but I just don’t think they will.  The best running back very few have heard of, Donnel Pumphrey, could go off in this game.

Clemson over Virginia Tech.  I feel like I am taking mostly favourites this weekend.  And for good reason.  This one shouldn’t be close either.

Wisconsin over Penn State.  Should be a good game (as I said above) but other dominoes have to fall for this to become a CFP qualification game.

Tonight there is NO COLLEGE FOOTBALL.  However, there is a Thursday night NFL game between Dallas and Minnesota…holy shit that could actually be a good game for once.  I didn’t think that was allowed on Thursday nights.  I just wish they would scrap this Thursday Night Football thing (other than opening night and American Thanksgiving) and bring back the Saturday games later on in the season.

Anyway, tomorrow I will have the NFL schedule out.  Enjoy the game tonight.

Well it was a good run Big XII – Week 9 College Football Recap

OK actually it wasn’t.  It was pretty pathetic.  There is basically no way the Big XII will put a team in the College Football Playoff.  Not saying it is impossible, but it’s highly improbable.  The best overall records still belong to Baylor and West Virginia and no one will put them in a four-team playoff unless they absolutely have to.  Meaning it has to be 1990 or 2007 again for that kind of insanity to occur.

It was a really fun day full of quite a few upsets.  It’s the kind of weekend that you always look forward to as a college football fan.  Let’s recap it shall we?

Jabrill Peppers, Heisman Trophy Winner?  Don’t be surprised if this conversation picks up steam.  He had an absolute MONSTER game against Michigan State.  He’s basically Myles Jack on crack.  Arguably the best pure athlete in college football today.  Unless he falls off drastically, he should at least get an invite to New York in December.

So now it’s the ACC officials turn.  Clemson-Florida State was a great game.  Unfortunately it was a bit marred by terrible officiating.  Like Big XII awful.  It’s too bad this was the case because there were a lot of moments where it looked like the Noles would pull off the upset…a phrase that no one would think they would be saying in 2016.  Deshaun Watson proved his mettle putting the Tigers on his shoulders and carrying them to the win, keeping their College Football Playoff hopes intact.

A Big Ten West battle worth watching.  The best game of the night, in my opinion, was Nebraska-Wisconsin.  A great game that went to overtime with the Badgers coming out on top and Nebraska losing their first game of the season.  The kind of game Big Ten officials have been clamoring for since the Huskers joined the conference.

And now for the game we couldn’t see… Of course Washington-Utah ended up being a great game.  It was like another slap in the face.  It’s one thing to not be able to see a big college football game, something I thought was behind us now in 2016.  It’s completely another that the game was a great one with a punt return touchdown being the deciding score.  Let’s hope this changes next season (I won’t hold my breath that we would get access to FOX Sports One games).

Hey, the Iron Bowl looks like a good one again!  It was assumed that Alabama would get to the Iron Bowl with one loss at most.  They are such a dominant team that I can’t even foresee them falling out of the top four even with a loss.  But now that Auburn is moving up the rankings, this could become a HUGE Iron Bowl.  If Auburn wins out, then beats Bama in the Iron Bowl, it would be Auburn going to the SEC Championship which would bring back memories of the Tide losing to LSU and getting back to the BCS Championship (and eventually winning it).

That’s not the Houston we thought we’d see.  Yes, the Cougars won the game in a great comeback.  But still, they looked awful shaky and not like the dominant team of last season (and the dominant team we saw earlier this season).  Tom Herman’s stock has fallen slightly but he is still almost a lock for a Power Five head coaching job next season now that Houston isn’t going to the Big XII and isn’t going to the CFP or New Year’s Six.

Lamar Jackson is still in front in the Heisman race.  True statement.  Another true statement?  Louisville almost botched their New Year’s Six (or even CFP) plans by narrowly escaping Charlottesville with a win over Virginia.  I can see the Wahoos being a contender starting next year if they can get a good quarterback.

Don’t count Virginia Tech out in the ACC Coastal.  I’m finally getting those ridiculous division names right.  Anyway, everyone seems to have North Carolina as holding their own destiny in the ACC Coastal division.  Not so fast!  The Hokies have finally woken up under Justin Fuente and if they win out, they would go to the ACC Championship game against what looks like Clemson.

And then there was one.  Undefeated Group of Five team that is.  Wyoming (kind of) shocked the college football world with their upset of Boise State on Saturday.  It is not quite an Appalachian State over Michigan in 2007 type upset though.  Wyoming is a good team with a really good offense.  Craig Bohl is a great coach as was seen by taking North Dakota State to the FCS mountaintop.  And Boise wasn’t exactly destroying teams as of late.  So now we are left with Western Michigan as the Group of Five hope.  Win out and they are assured of a trip to the Cotton Bowl.  Lose once and all hell breaks loose.

Back to the Big XII for a second.  Baylor loses to Texas.  West Virginia loses to Oklahoma State.  As I mentioned above, the Big XII’s chances at the CFP are almost over and it’s Halloween today.  Pathetic.  I don’t care what anyone says, the Big XII’s days are numbered.  And if they do stay together it is solely for Oklahoma and Texas to have an easier conference to play football in, period.  I can’t see ESPN or FOX throwing a lot of money their way.  Would you?  Not for football I wouldn’t.  And now with the Big Ten moving first tier games over to FOX/FS1 next season, the writing is on the wall.  Unless it’s a huge game, don’t expect to see the Big XII on FOX much at all next season.

Rocky Stop.  How do Butch Jones and the Vols keep doing this?  They, for the most part, look like the true team to beat in the SEC East.  Not really a threat to Bama for the SEC as a whole but a solid team that would put the division in the Top 20 at least once.  Now, they lose to a much improved but still mediocre South Carolina team and looked horrible doing it.  Now it’s Florida who controls their own destiny but see who is looming right behind them?  That’s right, Kentucky.  Strange times we live in folks.

Alright, enough recapping for today.  A look at my Bossman’s Top 25:

#1	Alabama
#2	Clemson
#3	Michigan
#4	Washington
#5	Wisconsin
#6	Louisville
#7	Ohio State
#8	Texas A&M
#9	Florida
#10	Auburn
#11	Oklahoma
#12	Nebraska
#13	Baylor
#14	LSU
#15	Western Michigan
#16	Florida State
#17	West Virginia
#18	Penn State
#19	Utah
#20	North Carolina
#21	Oklahoma State
#22	Colorado
#23	Washington State
#24	Virginia Tech
#25	Boise State

I have Western Michigan up at #15 and I think they will sloooooooowly move up the chain and should end up in the Top 10 by the time the final rankings come out (as long as they keep winning).  I would say the top 8 in my list are probably the only teams that could have a legitimate shot at the CFP.  Then again, who knows.  This is college football and it has already been a pretty crazy season.

Alright there you have it, another week in the books.  Tomorrow is the NFL recap/rant, then updated bowl projections Wednesday, college football schedule Thursday, NFL schedule Friday.  The usual.  Or the yoozh (ush?  Oozh?).

UPDATE: Damn, already an update.  And it’s all about me forgetting about EVERYDAY FOOTBALL for the next three-plus weeks.  Anyway, tomorrow night, we have MACtion on the specialty pack.  Western Michigan-Ball State and Bowling Green-Northern Illinois both starting at 8.  Also, Wednesday night there’s more MACtion with Toledo-Akron starting at 7:30.

You get ALL THE POINTS – Week 8 College Football Recap

If you were able to bear witness to the defensive atrocity that was Oklahoma-Texas Tech it was equal parts horrific and incredible to watch.  The sheer amount of offense was absurd.  People who love defensive football would cry at what happened.  Let’s go over what happened in this game:

• Oklahoma somehow outlasted Texas Tech 66-59 in Lubbock
• The Sooners and Red Raiders combined for 1,708 yards of offense
• Crazier is that they both tied at exactly 854 yards apiece
• Patrick Mahomes tied Connor Halliday’s FBS record for passing yards in a game with 734
• Mahomes threw 88 passes, one short of Halliday’s FBS record of 89
• Mahomes did set the new FBS record for total yards with 819
• The Sooners became the first team ever to have a 500-yard passer, 200-yard receiver, and 200-yard rusher in the same game
• Baker Mayfield set a new Oklahoma record with 7 passing touchdowns
• Joe Mixon became the first Sooner ever with 200 yards rushing and 100 yards receiving in a single game

It felt like arena football but outdoors.  And despite it being fun, I can understand why the Big XII doesn’t get the respect of the other four Power Five conferences.  Come College Football Playoff time I can’t see this kind of thing winning championships.

Alright it was a wacky full day of college football on Saturday (along with some Thursday and Friday night action).  In there was also the Chicago Cubs beating the Los Angeles Dodgers to advance to the first World Series in way too long.  Now let’s hope Cubs fans don’t become like Red Sox fans.

Let’s go over some of the fun stuff, sound good?  And there was a lot of, well, let’s call it pretty good stuff.

Thursday

• Boise State held on against BYU. And I mean HELD ON.  That game was closer than it should have be; however, many forget that all of BYU’s losses have been close.  They could have very well been undefeated coming into this one as well.  Either way, it was a wild finish.  BYU had a field goal blocked with 8 seconds left but recovered it behind the line of scrimmage.  Since they tried the field goal on 3^rd down they had another chance but were now too far away to try another.  So the Hail Mary attempt was batted down in the end zone and Boise stayed undefeated.  Good way to start the week.
• Troy became bowl-eligible which is pretty good considering it had been a few years since they had even been a decent team.
• Miami continues their free fall after their amazing start. They have played themselves out of the ACC Coastal race unless something else crazy happens.

Friday

• Speaking of falls from grace, I think Mark Helfrich has run out of time in Eugene. It is almost a surety now that the Civil War between Oregon and Oregon State will be to stay out of last place in the Pac-12 North.  Also, I am very happy I set the PVR to record 5 hours.  The game ended at about the 4 hour, 50 minute mark.  I get that there was two overtimes but I know that there are recorders in the States that will record a full game regardless of how long it goes.  Why can’t we have these good things in Canada?
• So the American Conference has now played itself out of a New Year’s Six spot…probably. USF’s loss to Temple gives Temple the inside track to go back to the AAC Championship game.

Saturday Early

• College Gameday is a show I usually don’t watch much of. I mean I am going to watch about 14 hours of live action, I can’t add three more at the start of the day.  Those hours are spent actually getting shit done around the house.  Saying that, I do try to watch the picks part.  And it was one of the best ever with Verne Lundquist helping the panel pick the games.  To be honest, I am just glad it wasn’t another country singer.
• Syracuse and Boston College continued the college football tradition of at least one game being played in a downpour. The weather was bad and Boston College’s offense was worse.  I think the Stone Cold Steve Addazio experiment is about done in Chestnut Hill.
• Why is Texas delaying the inevitable? Another poor showing by the Longhorns against Kansas State just showed, again, why Charlie Strong just isn’t a fit for Austin.  I don’t know what the issue is but there is an issue.  I think a Group of Five team is going to have Strong fall in their lap in the off-season which may be the best thing for him at this juncture.
• BREAKING NEWS: Rutgers almost won a conference game. Minnesota should be fined for even allowing it to be that close.
• Speaking of allowing a game to be too close, how did South Carolina not bury UMass? Don’t get me wrong: Will Muschamp is starting to right the ship in Columbia but he still obviously has a ways to go.
• Well there goes my idea that Louisville had to watch out for NC State. From the opening whistle, it was patently obvious that the Wolfpack were no match for the Cardinals.  And now, considering what all happened this weekend, The Fighting Petrinos will have to dominate the rest of the way to clinch a New Year’s Six bowl game.
• Houston, there is no problem…for now. Bart Houston replaced Alex Hornibrook (Do I Make you Hornibrook baby?) early on against Iowa.  Not exactly the greatest of wins but the Badgers will take it going into their showdown with Nebraska next week.
• Northwestern with another big win. They lost to Illinois State earlier in the year.  College football, ladies and gentlemen.
• UCF left the Diaco Cup after their Civil ConFLiCT victory? Say it ain’t so!  Bob Diaco is an idiot.

Saturday Afternoon

• Alabama flexed their arms against Texas A&M. It was close for three quarters and then the Tide kind of ran away with it.  Speaking of running, Bryant-Denny Stadium had a bit of a plumbing problem.  They announced to fans not to use the bathrooms due to a water pressure area.  That was probably the most uncomfortable Tide fans have felt all season.
• So Jeff George, Jr. started for Illinois. God I feel old.
• Colorado is now bowl-eligible after their fantastic 10-5 victory over Stanford. Sorry…”fantastic.”
• So on ABC, at least in my area, I got Purdue-Nebraska. So what was on the specialty pack?  Purdue-Nebraska.  Not TCU-West Virginia which is what should have been on there.  Sometimes I think I should just find a way to get the games illegally and be done with it.  It would cause much less frustration at this point.
• I have to admit that Eastern Michigan has become a decent team in the MAC. I can’t believe I am saying this.  You know what that means though?  Chris Creighton is as good as gone if he gets the opportunity.
• Want to know how mediocre the SEC East has become? Missouri lost to Middle Tennessee in a close game that should have been not very close at all.
• An absolutely crazy one at the Rose Bowl ends with Utah winning over UCLA. This means that the Utah-Colorado game will be the biggest game of the year in the Pac-12 South.  Let that marinate for a bit.
• I’m still trying to find someone who actually likes Dr Pepper.

Saturday Primetime

• Penn State had their annual White-Out game and then proceeded to potentially put some whiteout on Ohio State’s College Football Playoff chances. tOSU still holds their fate in their own hands.  If they win out, they go to the CFP no question.  But it has put some intrigue into the Big Ten East race.
• I think I watched about five minutes of the Arkansas-Auburn game. Man the Iron Bowl, if things keep going this way, is going to be REALLY good.
• The schedule wasn’t all good. Somehow ESPNU got stuck with Tennessee State-Vanderbilt.  An FCS team on ESPNU on a Saturday in October.  There is way too much variance between weeks nowadays when it comes to game quality.
• Houston destroyed their chance at even a New Year’s Six as SMU destroyed them. That probably signals the end for Tom Herman in H-Town.  With no NY6 chance and no Big XII chance there’s nothing keeping him there other than that huge contract.  Then again he could probably make more elsewhere.  So yeah, who wants him?  There’s a few openings.
• Also, buried way below the headlines: Kentucky, after their win over Mississippi State, is now sole second place in the SEC East. Mark Stoops may have finally saved his job.
• Michigan State lost again, this time to Maryland. My pick of them going to the College Football Playoff is about as good as when I picked South Carolina to go to the inaugural CFP.  Yeah my predictions are garbage.

Saturday Late Night

• Oh yeah, Leonard Fournette set a new school record for rushing yards in a game. Somehow this was overshadowed by everything else happening today.  LSU now becomes a dangerous out the rest of the way.  The night game against Alabama should be a dandy.
• Raise your hand if you thought that Boise State-Wyoming would be the biggest game of the regular season in the Mountain West Conference. That’s what I thought.  Craig Bohl is finally weaving some of his magic in Laramie.  We all knew this would happen right?
• Finally, the best part of the night may have been Todd Graham telling Mike Leach that his comments about sign-stealing were chicken shit. Gotta love when the cameras pick up on this type of stuff.

So there you go.  A long, fun day of college football.  And we have another one right around the corner.  And I get to watch it all.  No wonder my Sundays feel so much worse than my Saturdays.

Bossman Top 25

#1	Alabama
#2	Clemson
#3	Michigan
#4	Washington
#5	Louisville
#6	Nebraska
#7	Baylor
#8	Ohio State
#9	Texas A&M
#10	Wisconsin
#11	Florida
#12	Florida State
#13	West Virginia
#14	Oklahoma
#15	Auburn
#16	Boise State
#17	Tennessee
#18	LSU
#19	Utah
#20	Western Michigan
#21	North Carolina
#22	Ole Miss
#23	Penn State
#24	Navy
#25	Houston

Not a whole lot of change.  I punished (for lack of a better word) Ohio State by moving them down to #8 whereas the AP Poll has them at #6.  This feels a lot like when Bama lost to Ole Miss but only dropped to #4 or #5 if I remember correctly.  Gave them a really good shot to make the short climb back into the top four (which they did).  I still have Houston in the Top 25 since Oklahoma keeps moving up the chain.  At some point they may drop off but if Navy wins out, they beat Louisville (and Louisville destroys everyone else), and the Sooners also somehow win their remaining games, Houston starts to look pretty good.  Not New Year’s Six good but still pretty good.

Tomorrow the NFL recap/rant and then back to the grind.  At some point I should put out some way-too-early bowl projections although even at this point.  All I know right now is that I have three teams I feel pretty good about putting into the CFP: Alabama, Washington, and Clemson.  The fourth is the interesting one.  Now that Ohio State has lost a game, I can see the Big Ten having a slight chance of being left out of the dance.  And if there is anything that will cause a move to an 8-team playoff sooner than later, It’s the B1G or SEC being left out.  If the Big Ten champ doesn’t get in, I expect Baylor to sneak into that spot.  They still haven’t been challenged and we will see how they do against Oklahoma but I could see them running the table.  Honest!