Hey, Let’s Rank the Bowl Games!

Posted on January 12, 2023 by guelphbossman

It’s been a bit since I’ve done this and since I’m currently unemployed and watching my bank account get redder than a super-ripe tomato I figured I have some time to do this.

College football is now over for another season and I am sad. But I have to say it was a pretty good bowl season, despite some in the college football media saying it was bad. Really? I’ve been through some not-so-good bowl seasons and this was not one of them. Then again, some just have to be the counterpoint so that they feel special and/or their life sucks. Oh well, let’s get to the rankings!

Peach Bowl (Georgia 42 Ohio State 41) – This was, without exaggeration, the greatest College Football Playoff game of all-time. It had a bit of everything from two teams throwing haymakers at each other. And when it looked like tOSU had it in the bag, UGA stormed back and took the lead late. And as the clock struck midnight on 2022, the Buckeyes’ season struck midnight as the game-winning field goal attempt went wide left. Just an amazing football game and what college football is all about.
Cotton Bowl (Tulane 46 USC 45) – For most of this game, it felt like a validation of Caleb Williams’ Heisman campaign. Then the Green Wave hit. Down 15 with four minutes to go, Tulane came back to score two touchdowns, the final one with just seconds left, to complete a great comeback and announce their arrival as the newest Group of Five power program.
Fiesta Bowl (TCU 51 Michigan 45) – This is the second of the two semi-final games that makes the best set of semi-finals ever in the College Football Playoff era and it’s not even close. Funny enough, the lead never changed in this game. TCU never trailed which is odd for such a high-scoring, close game. Still an incredible affair and a bit of a surprising result for some.
Liberty Bowl (Arkansas 55 Kansas 53 3OT) – I’ll be honest: once Arkansas went up 38-13 I went to put some laundry on and make something to eat. What an idiot I am. Kansas came all the way back to tie it up. Kansas quarterback Jalon Daniels threw for an insane 544 yards and still ended up losing. Arkansas did everything they could early on to win and everything late to lose and still ended up winning in the end. One of the wildest bowl games of the last decade and I ended up missing a decent chunk of it. Stupid.
Sun Bowl (Pittsburgh 37 UCLA 35) – This was a wild game that came down to a late Pitt field goal to win it. Honestly it was kind of ho-hum until a bit into the fourth quarter when it went completely off the rails. The Sun Bowl is weird to me: it seems like the game is always either really good or barely mediocre and nothing in between. I still think they should have a Big XII tie-in but that’s a conversation I’ve had here many times before.
Arizona Bowl (Ohio 30 Wyoming 27 OT) – If this game is on a network, a lot more people watch it. Going in, it felt like a bowl that you could forget. Wyoming with a lot of players out and Ohio’s defense somewhat decimated. Instead, it was an exciting close affair. And, to be honest, the commentary, while less informative, was hilarious, especially down the stretch with the two colour commentators being very open as to which team they were hoping to win (and had bet on).
Cheez-It Bowl (Florida State 35 Oklahoma 32) – I mean we were only told that this was a REMATCH OF THE 2001 BCS CHAMPIONSHIP a few times, right? This ended up being, unlike that 2001 affair, a great see-saw battle with the Noles kicking the game-winning field goal late to get the victory and all the Cheez-Its. In a somewhat related note, I like Cheez-Its. A lot. It’s very easy to eat a whole box of those fuckers.
Holiday Bowl (Oregon 28 North Carolina 27) – FOX ends up getting a dandy of a game for their only bowl broadcast of the season. Oregon came back in the final quarter to defeat the Heels on an extra point that doinked off the upright and in. Even then, the Tar Heels had one final shot as they somehow got the ball into Oregon territory with no time left but the Hail Mary didn’t work. Again, another fantastic game.
Gator Bowl (Notre Dame 45 South Carolina 38) – It was seriously loud in Jacksonville for this one. It felt like a huge regular season game. The fans were rowdy and it felt like both teams were desperate to win. And credit to Shane Beamer: he left nothing on the table. He threw every trick play he could at the Irish, including a fake kick/pass for a touchdown. In the end, though, Notre Dame was too much for the Gamecocks. Super fun to watch.
Hawaii Bowl (Middle Tennessee 25 San Diego State 23) – A really good game out in Honolulu on Christmas Eve (as it should be). It felt like the Aztecs were going to run away with this, going up 14 with five minutes left in the first quarter. After that, it was mostly Middle. Another game that ended with a late game-winning field goal. A nice trend to have for bowl season for sure.
Camellia Bowl (Buffalo 23 Georgia Southern 21) – This game was awful close as neither team could pull away until midway through the final stanza. I will be honest: this game would have been much lower had the Eagles not scored a late touchdown and made it interesting near the end.
New Mexico Bowl (BYU 24 SMU 23) – The 1980 Holiday Bowl this was not; however, it was still a fun game to watch…for the final quarter. Up until that point, this looked like a relatively poorly played game where one team will win because the other made too many mistakes. Instead, it was an amazing finish where SMU went for the win on a two-point conversion and came up short. I love to see teams just go for it since this is your final game of the season. Why not leave it all out on the field?
Frisco Bowl (Boise State 35 North Texas 32) – Did you know Austin Aune is 29 years old? Christ, we only heard it a million times. At least it didn’t take away from the actual game which was a really good one. A 36-point third quarter will do that after a rather blah first half.
Bahamas Bowl (UAB 24 Miami-OH 20) – How about this to start the bowl season? A very entertaining game with a wild ending, reminiscent of the Titans loss to the Rams in Super Bowl XXXIV.
Boca Raton Bowl (Toledo 21 Liberty 19) – This had the advantage of being played in FOOTBAW WEATHER. A lot of rain and muck. I keep forgetting though that, as hilarious and fun as it is to see this type of weather for a football game, it really makes the actual football tough to watch. Luckily, this came down to another great ending (there’s that phrase again) with a failed Liberty two-point conversion being the difference.
Duke’s Mayo Bowl (Maryland 16 NC State 12) – The game wasn’t the greatest, let’s be honest here. It did have a close finish and Mike Locksley got a bunch of mayo dumped on him. Those were the redeeming qualities of this bowl game.
Cure Bowl (Troy 18 UTSA 12) – On paper this was a great Group of Five matchup. Two conference champions. Troy’s defense definitely showed up for this one so if you liked defensive contests, this one was for you.
ReliaQuest Bowl (Mississippi State 19 Illinois 10) – A very emotional game as it was the Bulldogs’ first outing after the death of Mike Leach. The game wasn’t very good but again, it was close. The ending on the other hand? Insane. MSU scored on a fumble return touchdown on the last play for one of the worst bad beats of the season. Some gamblers must have been crying afterwards.
Quick Lane Bowl (New Mexico State 24 Bowling Green 19) – This was a game between two teams who had not been to a bowl game in a few years. And it showed. Both teams put it all out there and the Aggies ended up with a win in their final season as an Independent.
LendingTree Bowl (Southern Miss 38 Rice 24) – Frank Gore Jr. went off in this one, to the tune of 329 rushing yards and a new FBS bowl record. And he told his auntie to chill after the game on national TV. The best night of that young man’s life so far.
Independence Bowl (Houston 23 Louisiana 16) – Another game that languished for about three quarters and had a great finish. I still feel like an idiot for picking the Cougs as my Group of Five Cotton Bowl pick.
Gasparilla Bowl (Wake Forest 27 Missouri 17) – It was a nice send-off for Sam Hartman who will transfer next season to Notre Dame. It will be interesting to see how the Deacs fare next season with some important players leaving.
Alamo Bowl (Washington 27 Texas 20) – There were high hopes for this one and it kind of fell flat. Don’t let the close score fool you since it wasn’t really close at all.
Pinstripe Bowl (Minnesota 28 Syracuse 20) – The Gophers won pretty easily. The highlight for me was people on Twitter telling me that P.J. Fleck was an awful coach. OK then.
Guaranteed Rate Bowl (Wisconsin 24 Oklahoma State 17) – The Badgers should be better next season with Luke Fickell at the helm. They’ve already brought in a bunch of new players. None of that mattered here as they were able to outlast a Cowboys team that struggled with a capital ‘S’ down the stretch.
Rose Bowl (Penn State 35 Utah 21) – Everything was looking like a classic until Cam Rising went down with an injury. Then things all went to shit for the Utes and Penn State cruised to an easy victory.
Idaho Potato Bowl (Eastern Michigan 41 San Jose State 27) – This was a tale of two sections. The first had the Spartans dominate early, looking like they were going to blow the Eagles out of the water. The second and last section saw EMU score 33 straight points to put this one out of reach. Entertaining for a bit but not enough to warrant a better spot on this list.
Myrtle Beach Bowl (Marshall 28 UConn 14) – I was honestly hyped for this one. I thought it was going to be interesting to see how the Huskies fared in what is basically brand new territory for them. Instead, the game was rather bland and Marshall controlled for most of it.
Orange Bowl (Tennessee 31 Clemson 14) – Clemson ran over 100 plays in this one and only scored 14 points. That feels like it would be impossible to do but there you go. The offense wasn’t better with Cade Klubnik under centre rather than D.J. Uiagalelei so there may need to be significant changes in the offseason for the Tigers. This game might have ranked even lower if it wasn’t for Joe Milton tossing piss rockets all over the place like his arm was an actual cannon.
Birmingham Bowl (East Carolina 53 Coastal Carolina 29) – This looked like it would have been far up the list after the first quarter. Then Grayson McCall went down and it was kind of easy to figure out which team was going to put up the points the rest of the way (hint: not the Chants).
Texas Bowl (Texas Tech 42 Ole Miss 25) – Ole Miss looked completely flat in this one. Like they didn’t want to be there. Texas Tech, on the other hand, looked great and played hard for first-year coach Joey McGuire who has instilled a new confidence in Lubbock. The Red Raiders also did a nice tribute to Mike Leach on their first play, lining up in the Air Raid offense.
Armed Forces Bowl (Air Force 30 Baylor 15) – The classic bowl conundrum: can a team defend against a good option team. In this case it was no. The Falcons wore the Bears down and ran for almost 300 yards in a ho-hum affair.
Sugar Bowl (Alabama 45 Kansas State 20) – Hey, for a while it looked like this was going to be a fun start to college football on New Year’s Eve. Then Bama realized they are Bama and woke up and put an absolute beatdown on the Wildcats.
Military Bowl (Duke 30 UCF 13) – I thought this would be a better game. The Blue Devils ran away with this and it wasn’t even really close. A great turnaround for Duke, I must say.
Fenway Bowl (Louisville 24 Cincinnati 7) – Other than the Scott Satterfield drama, this game was pretty boring. The unique setup of this being at Fenway Park and the potential for FOOTBAW WEATHER didn’t help enough to move this up the rankings.
New Orleans Bowl (WKU 44 South Alabama 23) – South Alabama was the fairly big favorites here and the Hilltoppers ended up mopping the floor with them. This game was good for about 17 or 18 minutes and then that was all she wrote.
LA Bowl (Fresno State 29 Washington State 6) – Man, looking back, that first Saturday of bowl games was not good. Three of the worst bowl games of the season were this day. This was one of them. Wazzu just didn’t really show up for this one.
First Responder Bowl (Memphis 38 Utah State 10) – I’ll be honest: I did not watch more than one minute of the second half of this game. It was over long before that.
College Football Playoff National Championship (Georgia 65 TCU 7) – A beatdown of monumental proportions. I don’t know if I consider it a bowl game but if you do, it’s the biggest bowl game margin of victory ever. I was wondering if the Dawgs would score 80. A rough end to a damn good season.
Las Vegas Bowl (Oregon State 30 Florida 3) – The Gators resorted to kicking a field goal in the final minute of this game. Why? To preserve their record non-shutout streak. Other than that, they were run off the field by the Beavers.
Citrus Bowl (LSU 63 Purdue 7) – “See what those Tigers did? You content with only winning by 56? Let’s beat that!” – Kirby Smart, probably
Music City Bowl (Iowa 21 Kentucky 0) – I think everyone thought it would be bad. It may have been worse than what we thought. Memories of the infamous 2018 Cheez-It Bowl come to mind as this is one of the ugliest, most unwatchable bowl game of all-time.

Hey that wasn’t so bad was it? Then again, I tend to be short and sweet with a lot of these. Maybe it’s because I run out of steam near the end. Who knows. Anyway, enjoy the NFL playoffs coming up and if you still have a hankering for some college football, there are a few all-star games coming up. The Hula Bowl is this Saturday at Noon on CBS Sports Network if that tickles your fancy. Hey, at least it’s something.

Hey let’s do some Bowl Game Rankings!!!!

Posted on December 12, 2022 by guelphbossman

I’ve done some different scales for this post. In some cases I have done just a straight ranking, other times I have done the Network Scale and of course there is the Uncle Verne scale.

This year I will go slightly different. I am introducing the Play-by-Play Announcer Scale! That’s right, I am going to rank the bowl games going from best play-by-play announcers down to, well, not as good ones let’s say. I mean if you aren’t Mike Goldberg you are at least competent at calling football, right?

So let’s get started. 41 bowl games. 8 tiers. 1 blog post. This sounds like Survivor.

The Jackson/Musburger Tier

Must-see games. No matter what. Even if you are a casual college football fan, you will want to watch these.

Peach Bowl – Georgia vs. Ohio State (Dec. 31, 8:00, TSN2) – There is a reason this game was chosen for primetime and not the other College Football Playoff semi-final. On paper, this is the bowl game of the season and nothing else is really close. Yes, the Buckeyes backed in to the CFP which will make a few fans upset but don’t worry: in two years that won’t make a difference. Georgia does look primed to repeat as national champs but this one will not be easy and it might not end before 2022 ends. My pick: Georgia 40 Ohio State 34.

Fiesta Bowl – Michigan vs. TCU (Dec. 31, 4:00, TSN3) – Normally I would rail against the College Football Playoff semi-final games being on New Year’s Eve but to be honest, I don’t care this year. Not going out for New Year’s so it’s football watching time. I can see many people up here, who are watching TV at least, being split between this and Canada’s World Juniors game against Sweden. How close this is will probably dictate what kind of viewing audience the hockey game gets. Anyway, fingers crossed this is a good one as many think TCU can’t hang with the Wolverines. To be honest, as much as I would love to see the Horned Frogs pull this out, I can’t see it happening. My pick: Michigan 39 TCU 21.

Rose Bowl – Penn State vs. Utah (Jan. 2, 5:00, TSN2) – I always wish the Rose Bowl would go back to ABC. It just feels like it belongs there. The Nittany Lions come in here exactly where pretty much everyone thought they would be. Losses to Michigan and Ohio State and relatively mundane victories over everyone else. Utah is probably the hotter team coming in, coming off their Pac-12 Championship win over USC. My pick: Utah 35 Penn State 30.

Orange Bowl – Clemson vs. Tennessee (Dec. 30, 7:30, TSN2) – This bowl is orange. ORANGE bowl. ORANGE tigers. ORANGE volunteers. ORANGE everything! Let’s just hope both teams don’t figure they should be wearing orange uniforms. This might end up being the most competitive of the New Year’s Six bowl games. This might have been the top New Year’s Six game if not the top bowl game period (seriously) but without Hendon Hooker, it won’t be the case. My pick: Clemson 27 Tennessee 24.

Alamo Bowl – Texas vs. Washington (Dec. 29, 9:00, specialty pack) – It felt like these two teams had good chances to be involved in conference championship weekend. Alas, they both came up short in odd circumstances (especially in hindsight) so they land here in San Antonio. The Alamo Bowl is usually one of the top non-CFP, non-NY6 bowl games and this one is no exception. There should be a LOT of points with Quinn Ewers and Michael Penix Jr. chucking the ball over the field indoors. Take the over. My pick: Washington 48 Texas 40.

The Lundquist/Nessler Tier

These are still big although these guys were hampered by some, uh, questionable analysts *COUGH*Gary Danielson*COUGH*

Cotton Bowl – USC vs. Tulane (Jan. 2, 1:00, TSN2) – Some may call this the worst of the New Year’s Six games. I disagree. It could end up being a fun one especially if USC tackles like they did in the Pac-12 Championship. A lot will ride on if Caleb Williams is 100% or not because if he isn’t, the Green Wave could pull off the biggest victory in the long history of that program. My pick: USC 44 Tulane 31.

Holiday Bowl – North Carolina vs. Oregon (Dec. 28, 8:00, FOX) – If you watch this game for one thing, it should be the quarterbacks. Oregon’s Bo Nix is confirmed to be ready to go and Drake Maye will be there as well and hopefully not playing like he did in the ACC Championship (which was easily his worst game of the season). My pick: Oregon 38 North Carolina 25.

Sugar Bowl – Alabama vs. Kansas State (Dec. 31, Noon, TSN3) – This is gonna feel REAL odd to see the Sugar Bowl on at Noon on New Year’s Eve. Let’s consider this the lesser of the New Year’s Six games. Still good but it’s a wonder whether one of the teams will show up. The Wildcats certainly will be ready to go but will Bama be ready for this one? I could see several Bama players opting out or entering the transfer portal or just not caring. Also, Nick Saban is either going to seriously pissed off and motivating his players like crazy or barely wanting to be there himself. My pick: Kansas State 31 Alabama 28.

Cure Bowl – UTSA vs. Troy (Dec. 16, 3:00, TSN1) – EASILY the best pre-Christmas bowl game. And it is played on a Friday afternoon. Ugh. Surprisingly, this is the only bowl game that features two conference champions. And it’s a bit of a classic offense vs. defense matchup as the Roadrunners, who definitely live up to their name, take their high-octane offense to Orlando to face the all-time leader in tackles in FBS in Carlton Martial. Should be a good one. My pick: UTSA 33 Troy 26.

Gator Bowl – South Carolina vs. Notre Dame (Dec. 30, 3:30, TSN2) – The Gamecocks had, arguably, the two biggest season-changing wins this season, destroying Tennessee and eeking out a victory against Clemson. These two games changed the College Football Playoff and New Year’s Six for sure. As for the Irish, things looked bleak but Marcus Freeman has turned things around and are trying to finish his first season with a big bowl win. My pick: Notre Dame 28 South Carolina 17.

The Fowler/McDonough Tier

You know, at the very least, that a game called by either of these two will be a great one…on paper. No guarantees otherwise.

ReliaQuest Bowl – Mississippi State vs. Illinois (Jan. 2, Noon, specialty pack) – The Outback Bowl is history. Honestly I went once and it was pretty overrated (except for the Bloomin’ Onion which was fantastic). Now it’s sponsored by ReliaQuest which is supposedly a cybersecurity company. Fun. My pick: Illinois 27 Mississippi State 19.

Citrus Bowl – LSU vs. Purdue (Jan. 2, 1:00, ABC/TSN3) – The first game on ABC on this list. How sad. I guess this a nice consolation for getting boatraced in a conference championship game as both of these teams were. Let’s see which team is hungrier and wants to create some momentum going into the offseason. My pick: Purdue 39 LSU 36 (OT)

Texas Bowl – Ole Miss vs. Texas Tech (Dec. 28, 9:00, TSN3) – Do not, and I repeat, do not go grab a snack or a drink unless you are sure it’s a commercial break. These two teams will light up the scoreboard. I can see this game not ending until after 1 in the morning. My pick: Ole Miss 51 Texas Tech 42.

LA Bowl – Washington State vs. Fresno State (Dec. 17, 3:30, ABC/TSN3) – This could be another game where you should probably take the over. At the very least, Jake Haener should light the Wazzu defense up. Whether the Cougs can do what the Cougs usually do (throw the ball about 2,000 times a game) is up for debate. My pick: Fresno State 49 Washington State 28.

Sun Bowl – Pittsburgh vs. UCLA (Dec. 30, Noon, CBS) – If it wasn’t for Pitt actually turning things around late in the season, I would have had the Bruins winning this one in a cakewalk. My pick: UCLA 35 Pittsburgh 29.

The Franklin/Enberg Tier

Two old-school announcers who might actually be underrated. It was always good to hear their voice though.

Cheez-It Bowl – Oklahoma vs. Florida State (Dec. 29, 5:30, specialty pack) – This game is at the top of the list if it’s 1987. Now? Not so much. I mean at least the Noles are holding up their end of the bargain. The Sooners? That’s a different story. My pick: Florida State 40 Oklahoma 30.

Las Vegas Bowl – Florida vs. Oregon State (Dec. 17, 2:15, TSN2) – Thanks to the Raiders being terrible, this game was moved back from their ABC primetime slot to a mid-afternoon slot on ESPN. Ugh. I think the Beavers deserved better. This could be a 10-win season for a team that almost never hits that plateau. And with Anthony Richardson opting out of this one, it won’t be pretty. My pick: Oregon State 36 Florida 10.

Military Bowl – Duke vs. UCF (Dec. 28, 2:00, TSN3) – This game may be overlooked by many and it shouldn’t be. I mean the timeslot doesn’t help but I could see this being a good game. A really good Group of Five team up against a much-improved Power Five team. It’s kind of what bowl season is partially about. My pick: Duke 31 UCF 27.

Duke’s Mayo Bowl – Maryland vs. NC State (Dec. 30, Noon, TSN2) – It’s always fun when you know the winning coach gets a big vat of mayo dumped on them at the end. This also being a matchup of former ACC foes gives this at least a bit of intrigue. My pick: Maryland 41 NC State 38 (OT).

Fenway Bowl – Louisville vs. Cincinnati (Dec. 17, 11:00 AM, TSN2) – This would have been well down the list if it weren’t for the fact that Scott Satterfield just left Louisville to become the new head coach at Cincinnati. He should try and coach both teams. I would definitely love to see that. My pick: Louisville 29 Cincinnati 21.

The GUS/TESSITORE Tier

MY GOD! DID YOU JUST…..SEE………THAT THREE-YARD RUN! FANNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNTASTIC. Lots of enthusiasm for this tier from two guys who get enthusiastic for a touchback.

Armed Forces Bowl – Baylor vs. Air Force (Dec. 22, 7:30, TSN2) – Other than the Bears nearly beating TCU they did nothing of note this season. A big downgrade from the previous season. The academy is actually winning games because of their defense. So a great defense against a coach who is known for great defenses. Choose the under. My pick: Air Force 24 Baylor 20.

Liberty Bowl – Arkansas vs. Kansas (Dec. 28, 5:30, TSN3) – The Jayhawks were the feel-good story through the end of October this season. Unfortunately they are not playing very good football lately. Arkansas on the other hand…well, they’ve been no more than mediocre all season but they have the talent to put up points especially if they get the running game going. My pick: Arkansas 26 Kansas 21.

Music City Bowl – Kentucky vs Iowa (Dec. 31, Noon, ABC/TSN2) – Thankfully for all of us there is another bowl game on at the same time. This could end up being a yawner. You would have to be a moron to pick the over here. My pick: Kentucky 14 Iowa 10.

Pinstripe Bowl – Minnesota vs. Syracuse (Dec. 29, 2:00, TSN1) – The Cuse is back in the Bronx and I remember the last time they were here. A fabulous FOOTBAW WEATHER game against Kansas State. I hope the weather is shit for this one. Sorry to all the players and coaches and fans. My pick: Minnesota 29 Syracuse 17.

Gasparilla Bowl – Missouri vs. Wake Forest (Dec. 23, 6:30, specialty pack) – Still wish this was sponsored by Bad Boy Mowers. That was fun. This should be the swansong for Sam Hartman so expect the Deacs to throw the ball over the field. I can’t see Mizzou stopping them, plus they have already lost a few players to the transfer portal. My pick: Wake Forest 36 Missouri 14.

The Jones/Criqui Tier

Ah remember when these two would call a game on NBC? It was either a great bowl game or perhaps even a Notre Dame game when they started on NBC. Those were the days. They don’t quite measure up to the ones above them but are still great play-by-play guys.

New Mexico Bowl – BYU vs. SMU (Dec. 17, 7:30, ABC/TSN3) – And we start this section with a rematch of the 1980 Holiday Bowl that had an absolutely insane ending (look it up if you haven’t seen it before). I could see another shootout here, especially from SMU since they did put up 77 on a pretty good Houston team. My pick: SMU 39 BYU 34.

New Orleans Bowl – South Alabama vs. WKU (Dec. 21, 9:00, specialty pack) – This used to be the game where the Sun Belt and Conference USA champs went. Not anymore. At least we have two programs on the rise, especially South Alabama who is looking for their first 11-win season. My pick: South Alabama 38 WKU 16.

Birmingham Bowl – Coastal Carolina vs. East Carolina (Dec. 27, 6:45, TSN2) – Let’s call it the Battle for Lesser Carolina since the five ACC Carolina schools (as well as South Carolina) would have a fit if I called it the Battle for the Carolinas. If Grayson McCall plays this could be one of the best bowls of the season. We know Holton Ahlers will throw the ball about 50 times so there will be no shortage of offense. I’m going out on a limb and saying McCall will be ready. My pick: Coastal Carolina 49 East Carolina 47.

Guaranteed Rate Bowl – Wisconsin vs. Oklahoma State (Dec. 27, 10:15, TSN2) – Wisky comes in with no head coach as Luke Fickell won’t start with the team until after the bowl game. The Pokes definitely have a head coach and Captain Mullet watched his quarterback and the Badgers’ QB head to the transfer portal. It should be close but might not have as many points as the previous game on this list. And by might not, I mean definitely won’t. My pick: Wisconsin 28 Oklahoma State 23.

Arizona Bowl – Wyoming vs. Ohio (Dec. 30, 4:30, Barstool Sports) – The only bowl game you can’t get here. Hell, there may not even be an illegal stream for this one. Ohio has to be disappointed that they came pretty close to winning their first conference title in over five decades. I can see them coming in here wanting to prove a point. My pick: Ohio 32 Wyoming 21.

The Patrick/Hammond Tier

Here’s some 90s guys for you. They weren’t the greatest but they were pretty good and you knew their voices. They just tended to fuck up every so often…Patrick more than Hammond because Hammond only had to cover Notre Dame and whatever team Notre Dame was playing that weekend.

Boca Raton Bowl – Toledo vs. Liberty (Dec. 20, 7:30, TSN2) – Hey, the Rockets won the MAC and the Flames started 8-1 so it’s not like we have two teams who crawled into bowl season. Neither team scores much and both have had their embarrassing losses so maybe it’s time for some players to impress their coach, right? My pick: Toledo 34 Liberty 33.

Myrtle Beach Bowl – UConn vs. Marshall (Dec. 19, 2:30, TSN1) – Sorry for Marshall fans but no one gives a fuck that your team is in this bowl. It’s all about UConn. An unreal turnaround by Jim Mora Jr. and the Huskies as this team improbably going bowling on the teal turf on the South Carolina coast. Now watch the Herd destroy the fun. My pick: Marshall 35 UConn 17.

Independence Bowl – Houston vs. Louisiana (Dec. 23, 3:00, TSN2) – This feels like the death spot in the bowl schedule. Pre-Christmas, Christmas Eve Eve if you will. In the afternoon. Ugh. Also you have two up-and-down teams that really don’t have a calling card. I’ll watch it but if it gets to be out of hand in the second half, there’s no guarantees I will keep it on. My pick: Houston 32 Louisiana 14.

Idaho Potato Bowl – San Jose State vs. Eastern Michigan (Dec. 20, 3:30, TSN2) – Many fans will pull for the Spartans considering the tragedy that happened late in the season. Don’t forget there’s another team in Boise for this game, though. The Eagles have quietly gone to five bowl games since Chris Creighton took over in a stunning turnaround for a once terrible program. I still wish this game was played at night so it could be icy cold and the field may or may not turn into an ice rink. My pick: San Jose State 24 Eastern Michigan 20.

Frisco Bowl – North Texas vs. Boise State (Dec. 17, 9:15, TSN2) – Almost a home game for North Texas here. And no this isn’t the legendary Frisco Football Classic that had a one-and-done deal last year. Another classic offense vs. defense matchup as the Mean Green can move the ball but Boise has had their best defense in a long time. I wonder how UNT will be considering they just fired Seth Littrell in a bit of shocking move. My pick: Boise State 27 North Texas 10.

The Ward/Bestwick Tier

OK I lied. Not that there are bowl games that you shouldn’t watch. But that there are announcers that are fucking terrible. These two are arguably the worst ever. I would never turn off a game but I definitely did mute it at times with these two on the call. Brutal.

Hawaii Bowl – Middle Tennessee vs. San Diego State (Dec. 24, 8:00, TSN2) – I love this game. Why? Because it’s the perfect time to get all the stocking stuffers wrapped and in their stockings. This is the first time since 2019 we will see this game and it is at the converted high school in Honolulu that the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors play at. Fun times. My pick: San Diego State 26 Middle Tennessee 21.

First Responder Bowl – Memphis vs. Utah State (Dec. 27, 3:15, TSN2) – Utah State was surprisingly good this season. Memphis did about as expected. Both teams like to move FAST on offense. This one might be over by 5:30. My pick: Memphis 37 Utah State 31.

Bahamas Bowl – UAB vs. Miami-OH (Dec. 16, 11:30 AM, TSN1) – Two teams, playing in front of about 5,000 fans in usually breezy weather near the ocean. Yeah these two programs lucked out wouldn’t you say? I sure would. Better than Shreveport or Boise, at least in terms of the weather. My pick: UAB 34 Miami-OH 13.

Quick Lane Bowl – New Mexico State vs. Bowling Green (Dec. 26, 2:30, TSN3) – The Aggies are back in a bowl game! The drought was only six years this time so it’s not nearly as exciting. The bowl drought was actually longer for the Falcons, at seven years. This is NMSU’s final game as an Independent as they join Conference USA next season. I might be out, playing Free Uber for my kids as they spend their gift cards that day so we shall see how much of this I get to watch. My pick: Bowling Green 21 New Mexico State 20.

Camellia Bowl – Georgia Southern vs. Buffalo (Dec. 27, Noon, TSN2) – Both teams BARELY made it to bowl eligibility. The Eagles beat Appalachian State in double overtime and the Bulls squeaked by Akron in a rescheduled game. The only oddity here is that Georgia Southern is not a running team anymore: they pass the ball almost as much as any team in the land. Feels weird to day. My pick: Georgia Southern 37 Buffalo 28.

LendingTree Bowl – Southern Miss vs. Rice (Dec. 17, 5:45, TSN2) – Alright the worst bowl game of the bunch. A Southern Miss team that doesn’t feel like a bowl eligible team and a Rice team that lead the APR list to get here at 5-7. Ugh. There are other bowls at the same time so unless this is close, I hate to say it, you can probably avoid it. My pick: Southern Miss 35 Rice 10.

Done! All the bowl games ranked and my predictions locked in place. I am going to make another prediction: that my predictions won’t be that great. Enjoy the bowl games everybody!

Hey let’s look ahead (and also give you the Week 8 College Football TV schedule)

Posted on October 19, 2022 by guelphbossman

I tend to do most of my psychic work in the offseason…or when looking at bowl projections. Neither of which I do very well. So yeah sounds like a great idea to do it again in the middle of the season right? I never learn.

Will the SEC send a team not from Alabama or Georgia to the College Football Playoff? Tennessee and Ole Miss are both looking the real deal this season. The Vols already pulled off a big upset with their win over the Tide. The Rebels get their shot next month. Tennessee still has to get by Georgia to win the division. So maybe we could be looking at a Vols-Rebels SEC Championship? Honestly, I don’t think so but you never know.

Does the Big Ten still come down to The Big Game? Yes. I think Illinois is doing great and Purdue might end up being the new power in the Big Ten West but it still all comes down to the The Big Game between Michigan and Ohio State. Winner probably wins the conference and heads to the CFP. Loser to the New Year’s Six and the Rose Bowl. I don’t see another scenario unless one of the teams is upset before then.

What’s going to happen with the Pac-12? If Oregon loses this Saturday to UCLA then it will be either the Bruins or Trojans with the only shot for the College Football Playoff. How sad is that for this conference? USC and UCLA leave in 2024 and there are a lot of rumours that Oregon and Washington will follow, possibly for that same season. It’s been bad for the conference for a while but they somehow are coming up with new lows. I assume they poach the Mountain West for at least two teams to stay at the Pac-10 going forward but it won’t be the conference that it’s been in the past, much to Bill Walton’s chagrin.

Is TCU the Big XII’s only hope? No, nor are they a good choice either. I can’t see the Horned Frogs running the table. There is a much better chance of Oklahoma State or even Texas having a shot. A lot would have to happen for the Longhorns to be in contention but it could happen. Me? I’m hoping for chaos and a two-loss team in the CFP. Wouldn’t that be wild?

Who’s the next coach to be fired? It feels like it will be Bryan Harsin and that it will happen any day now. I think he will be after the next coach to be fired. I believe the next coach fired will be Neal Brown instead. It hasn’t been an abject disaster in Morgantown but Brown has shown no signs of improving this program. With Texas Tech and Kansas possibly passing them in the Big XII pecking order, they maybe sitting in the basement by the end of 2022.

Who will win the Heisman? I think if Tennessee goes undefeated through the regular season, it’s Hendon Hooker’s Heisman (Triple H) to lose. One loss or a really bad game from Hooker and it opens the door to like half-a-dozen others, including C.J. Stroud, Dorian Thompson-Robinsion, Bryce Young and Caleb Williams.

Alright that’s enough predictions for now. You didn’t come for that (I don’t think). You came for schedules, right? So let’s get right to them!

Wednesday

		US	Canada
Georgia State at Appalachian State	7:30 PM

Before the season this felt like it could be huge in deciding the Sun Belt East. Not so much anymore.

Thursday

		US	Canada
Virginia at Georgia Tech	7:30 PM
Troy at South Alabama	7:30 PM

The highlight here, honestly, is what could be the Sun Belt West title game. South Alabama is WAY better than advertised and Troy has improved from last year as well. Also, Georgia Tech might actually be favoured in a conference game as the Hoos come to Atlanta. Wouldn’t have been that way with Geoff Collins still in charge, I can guarantee that.

Friday

		US	Canada
Princeton at Harvard	7:00 PM
Tulsa at Temple	7:30 PM
UAB at WKU	8:00 PM

Nothing of serious importance although it could be interesting to see what happens in Bowling Green (not the university, the town). Winner there stays in the hunt to get to the Conference USA Championship game.

Saturday Early

I would say this is a good appetizer for the games later on but there’s a main course mixed in there. Syracuse travels to Death Valley East with legitimate upset aspirations. They win here and they turn the ACC (and college football in general) kind of upside down. What many would have picked as the game of the afternoon at the start of the season could look like an absolute blowout. Could Iowa lose by 50? Quite possibly.

Kansas still getting no love. ESPN2 for a big game against Baylor? Come on man. What really is perplexing, though, is UT-Martin getting on to TSN. UT-Martin? I get that Tennessee is good but there are a few other games that could have gone there…like the KU-BU game I just mentioned!

Saturday Afternoon

If UCLA and USC don’t get to the Victory Bell game in November both undefeated then the Bruins’ game against Oregon here might be the Pac-12 Game of the Year (and their best chance to put a team into the College Football Playoff).

You may notice that the UNLV-Notre Dame game isn’t on this list. That’s because this is the one game this season that NBC moves to Peacock. I hope the Rebels somehow win. The Longhorns and Pokes might be in a quasi-elimination game, especially if TCU keeps winning. Ole Miss and Purdue have landmine games where an upset or two wouldn’t be a total surprise.

Saturday Primetime

		US	Canada
Boise State at Air Force	7:00 PM
#24 Mississippi State at #6 Alabama	7:00 PM
Minnesota at #16 Penn State	7:30 PM
UCF at East Carolina	7:30 PM
Texas A&M at South Carolina	7:30 PM
Pittsburgh at Louisville	8:00 PM
#17 Kansas State at #8 TCU	8:00 PM
Colorado at Oregon State	8:00 PM

Two underrated teams no more as Kansas State travels to Fort Worth to face an undefeated Horned Frogs team. This is absolutely massive for both teams and would have been on FOX if FOX didn’t have baseball that night.

The rest of the primetime schedule could be considered a bit weak unless the Bulldogs can put a scare into Bama. The ABC primetime matchup is very weak considering some of the games that are on this Saturday. I don’t get it sometimes with these picks but at least the network won’t lean on the Big Ten all the time like they’ve been doing in recent years. FOX has taken up that mantle.

Also, we have what might as well be the de facto Mountain West Mountain championship between Boise and AFA. And we have another Pat McAfee night on ESPN2. Great…..

Saturday Late Night

		US	Canada
San Diego State at Nevada	10:30 PM
Washington at California	10:30 PM
Montana at Sacramento State	11:00 PM

OK so the primetime schedule might be weak in spots but this is brutal. Meaning either Cal is beating the Huskies or Nevada ends the Brady Hoke era at SDSU. Otherwise this is a fucking joke. Oh, plus we are stuck with the Sacramento Test this week. And no, that’s not a test of Sacramento Kings’ fans’ patience.

Big Games O’ The Week

UCLA at Oregon (3:30, FOX) – There are a few games that could occupy this top spot but I picked the one which I believe has the most at stake. If the Bruins win, it sets them up perfectly for the Battle for Los Angeles against their crosstown rivals, USC. A loss and, quite frankly, the Pac-12 could be sitting out the CFP yet again. As I said, huge stakes.

Syracuse at Clemson (Noon, ABC/TSN4) – The Orange Dream Season Express rolls on here as The Fighting Babers look to pull off the upset of all upsets. And we’ve seen that D.J. Uiagalelei has had poor games in the past. A Cuse win here would throw everyone’s ACC predictions into a dumpster (and then that dumpster to be set on fire).

Kansas State at TCU (8:00, FOX Sports One) – This still will not get as much attention as the Texas-Oklahoma State game earlier in the day and I think that suits these two teams just fine. A TCU win keeps their CFP hopes very much alive whereas a Kansas State win puts a bunch of teams back in the mix for the Big XII title game at JerryWorld.

Mississippi State at Alabama (7:00, specialty pack) – Some are actually wondering why Mississippi State is in the Top 25. I think if the Bulldogs had any semblance of a running game they’d be clearly in the Top 20 and contending for an SEC West title. Instead, they have Will Rogers throw the ball a million times and hope for the best. Classic Mike Leach. I kind of hope this is close but don’t be surprised if it’s over by 8:00.

Texas at Oklahoma State (3:30, ABC) – ABC’s ongoing love affair with the Big Ten, despite the fact they will be leaving the network soon, pushes a game like this to the afternoon timeslot. I don’t think many thought Texas would be in a game that, if they win, could put them in the driver’s seat to get to the Big XII Championship. Kansas State, TCU and even Kansas will watch this game with quite a bit of interest.

Ole Miss at LSU (3:30, CBS) – Ole Miss can’t have this be a speed bump game. LSU is better than they were last year and may be shaking of the early season shitshow and are playing good ball under Brian Kelly. The Lane Train needs to mow teams like this down knowing that Bama is coming down the line.

Minnesota at Penn State (7:30, ABC) – Is it one of the big time games you’d want to see in the ABC Primetime window? No. This could end up being a good game though. And James Franklin certainly wants his Nittany Lions to play well after the disaster that was their game in Ann Arbor last weekend.

Psycho Game of the Week

Arizona State at Stanford (4:00, Pac-12 Network) – Two terrible Pac-12 teams here. This is the second straight week the Pac-12 has appeared in this section. And it won’t be the last. I honestly do wonder if David Shaw will get to 2023 considering how poor Stanford has been this year (and the past couple of years).

Hubba Bubba Blowout of the Week

Iowa at Ohio State (Noon, FOX) – Yep, I am officially calling it. This could get VERY ugly. Iowa’s offense is anemic and shouldn’t fare too well against the Buckeye defense. They might cover the 29 point spread by 1:00.

Fun-Time Stats of the Week

Kansas’ last win over Baylor was fifteen years ago. They have also ten in a row to the Bears against the spread.
Notre Dame is 30-6 vs. the Mountain West.
Appalachian State has never lost to Georgia State in eight meetings. They’ve also won seven of those games by double digits.

The Degenerate Portion of Our Show

I don’t consider myself a gambler. Mostly because I’m not very good at it. I’m sure I am not too far away from some of the experts though in terms of success. Remember that guy on the late night commercials? What was his name? I want to say Cash Palmer. Anyway, him, along with a bunch of other guys who I wouldn’t hire to mow my townhouse lawn, would hock their picks at like 3 in the morning to degenerates who figured they couldn’t do this themselves. I assume all those guys are dead or in an old folks’ home. Anyway, enough of that. Call me Boss Bucks, or something equally stupid, and let’s get the show on the road.

Georgia State (+9.5) over Appalachian State (the Mountaineers win a nailbiter)
Troy (+3) over South Alabama with the outright win
Tulsa (-13) over Temple
UT-Martin (+37.5) over Tennessee with the Vols still winning by four touchdowns
Baylor (-8) over Kansas
Army (-7) over ULM
Liberty (+6.5) over BYU (the Cougs will win this game though in a close one)
Maryland (-13.5) over Northwestern
Boston College (+20.5) over Wake Forest (the Deacs cruise to a relatively easy victory)
Vanderbilt (+14) over Missouri (Mizzou will win the game)
Mississippi State (+21) over Alabama (Tide win after Bulldogs keep it close for three quarters)
UCF (-5) over East Carolina for the road victory
Nevada (+7) over San Diego State (with the Aztecs winning)

The Bossman Top 25!

It’s back! I figured it was about time to whip out a set of rankings for everyone. It’s early so there isn’t a reason to debate but I’m sure some of the spots will make you do a double take. Here we go:

#1	Georgia
#2	Tennessee
#3	Ohio State
#4	Michigan
#5	Clemson
#6	TCU
#7	Ole Miss
#8	Alabama
#9	Oregon
#10	Oklahoma State
#11	Syracuse
#12	UCLA
#13	Utah
#14	Wake Forest
#15	USC
#16	Kansas State
#17	Kentucky
#18	Penn State
#19	Cincinnati
#20	NC State
#21	Illinois
#22	North Carolina
#23	Texas
#24	Purdue
#25	Mississippi State

I’m sure some will look and say why is Tennessee in the #2 spot. Or why is TCU ahead of Alabama. Or why UCLA is not in the Top 10. Look, as I say every year, these things will work themselves out. It’s still early remember. We are only at the halfway point. Come mid-November, then some true debates can be had but until then, it’s just preference. Unless someone puts Alabama at #20 because they don’t like Bama. In that case, that’s fucking stupid.

It’s a little late to get the blog posted and I apologize for that. Just been feeling under the weather and I’m sure how crappy it’s been outside hasn’t helped matters. Looking forward to another great week of college football. Enjoy the games everyone!

Power Five….Power Four? Power THREE?

Posted on August 15, 2022 by guelphbossman

Really, who knows what we are looking at in the next few years. For sure, the two conferences on the left are the major players. I would be very shocked if neither conference went to 18 teams by 2025. As for the other three conferences, it’s a big game of conference chicken right now. I would say the Big XII has the slight upper hand at this point but that could change in an instant. So if you love realignment, ho boy, you must have a raging hard-on right now (and will for the next few years).

OK enough of that disgusting talk. Let’s get to the meat of this post. The Power Five conference predictions. All of them. Don’t lie, you liked all the Group of Five conference (and Independent) predictions in the last post, DIDN’T YOU? So one more time, I will cram as much information down your gullet I possibly can without choking you to death with college football information. Let’s begin.

Let’s start with the….well I can’t call them the undisputed king of conferences anymore because the Big Ten is making a big charge at them. Saying that, I can still call them #1…for now. Here are the predicted SEC standings followed by some grits and chitlins and other weird Southern “delicacies.”

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

Chitlins…GROSS!

Who the fuck figured out to eat the large intestine of a hog?
Yep, two undefeated teams coming from the SEC. Bama and UGA don’t play each other during the regular season. UGA has a relatively easy schedule (in an SEC sense). Yes they have Oregon in a neutral-site game to start the season but they avoid the Tide, Aggies and Ole Miss out of the West. Lucky Dawgs!
As for the Fighting Nick Sabans, damn near everyone has them running the table, at least during the regular season, and I am going right along with that prediction. Other than their matchup against TAMU (at home) and Ole Miss in Oxford, I can’t foresee any close games all season.
As for the Aggies and their weird traditions (just watch a Midnight Yell practice…it’s fucking bizarre), I see them ending up one game short of getting to the SEC Championship. Also one game short of the College Football Playoff. Critics of Jimbo Fisher will find a way to make this sound like a failure of a season if they do comfortably make it to the New Year’s Six.
As per usual, the SEC West is an absolute minefield. The worst team is Mississippi State and they wouldn’t be last in any other conference…not by a long shot. Unfortunately, Bama’s continued dominance and TAMU and Ole Miss not falling at all will mean the rest of the teams are playing for fourth.
The Tennessee Volunteers are my Drinking The Kool-Aid pick of the year. I’m buying that they will be improved enough to be on the precipice of a double-digit win season. I can see them beating Pitt and South Carolina on the road and being perfect at home. Now watch them go 5-7 and make me look like a dummy.
Conference Championship prediction: Alabama 38 Georgia 30. Closer than last year’s win by the Tide but still not enough for UGA.

When are they going to change the name of this conference? Just call it the BIG Conference now or something like that. Big Ten. For a conference with sixteen schools. Schools. Educational institutions. And they can’t count. Glorious. Anyway, here are the predictions followed by some BTN After Dark comments:

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

BTN After Dark Comments

I am so looking forward to Rutgers travelling clear across the country to face UCLA on Big Ten Network starting at 10:30 at night.
Can The Fighting Ann Arbor Khaki Warriors repeat as Big Ten champs? To be honest, I don’t think they will even repeat as Big Ten East champs. It will come down to their big matchup with tOSU two days after American Thanksgiving. This one is in Columbus so I am giving the nod to the Buckeyes here which will be huge when it comes to what The Committee has to look at.
You know, considering how good the Terps’ recruiting has been lately, do you think they kind of wish, money aside, that they were back in the ACC? Not saying they could beat Clemson but man, they would look like a really good team there.
The Big Ten West is going to be ridiculous. I just have this feeling. Five teams within one game of each other. Yes, even Nebraska is in there. In the end, Wisconsin will win some sort of game of Spin The Bottle, except using an ear of corn, and end up getting to the Big Ten Championship where they can scare the Buckeyes for a quarter-and-a-half.
Conference Championship prediction: Ohio State 32 Wisconsin 10. As I said in the previous point, this will be close well into the second quarter and then the Buckeyes will decide enough’s enough and do away with Wisky on their way to the CFP.

I think that right there tells you all you need to know about what’s going on with the rest of the Power Five. The ACC, at this point, might as well chill since their contract with ESPN lasts for more than another decade and any change would require a hell of a lot more money to leave than what USC and UCLA will have to deal with.

Now, there are rumblings that ESPN is stepping in and trying to broker an ACC/Pac-12 merger of sorts but I can’t see that happening to be perfectly honest with you. As long as the Big Ten or SEC doesn’t decide to poach any of their members (which is still a possibility), they should be fine for the time being. Alright, let’s get to the predictions, followed by a bong hit or five:

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

Hey Dude

I’ve honestly thought of going to one of those cannabis shops to see what’s there. It’s basically punishable by death here (in this condo area) to have anything weed-related so I’d have to be super sneaky about it.
Hey, is Clemson back on top? Sure looks like it although NC State is going to give them a serious run for their money. Both teams look like they are a tier above the rest (sorry Miami and Pitt) and their game on October 1st will probably be for the division title. High stakes for sure.
Coastal Chaos is…not back. Speaking of the Canes and Panthers, they are also a step above all the other teams in that division. They will battle it out in another important ACC game on American Thanksgiving weekend which might just decide who gets their shit pushed in by the Tigers or Wolfpack.
I don’t consider this a Kool-Aid pick. Florida State will be better. No stupid upset losses to FCS schools. Just the slow ascent back to, potentially, the top of the ACC. Same goes for Louisville (without the FCS issue).
I did have Wake also in the ACC title hunt but the news that Sam Hartman will be out for at least a bit is a massive worry in Winston-Salem. He steers the ship and without him, sorry Deacs fans, the offense just doesn’t go like it normally does.
Remember last year when I had North Carolina bullying their way into the College Football Playoff? Yeah, not falling for that this time, Mack.
Conference Championship prediction: Clemson 47 Miami 14. Yeah this won’t be close.

OK now we get to the first of the quasi-feuding brothers (sisters? cousins?). The Big XII is adding four teams next season and is pushing hard to get the rest of the Pac-12 teams to join them. It’s almost a certainty Oregon and Washington would rather drop football than join this conference but the rest of the schools remaining could very well be up for grabs, especially the two Arizona schools and the Mountain region schools. Until the next shoe drops, though, it’s another year of the Big XII with X schools. Here are my predictions followed by musings from a pissed off Count Von Count:

	Conference		Overall
	W	L	W	L
Baylor	8	1	10	2
Oklahoma	8	1	10	2
Texas	7	2	9	3
Oklahoma State	7	2	9	3
TCU	4	5	6	6
Iowa State	4	5	6	6
Kansas State	3	6	6	6
West Virginia	2	7	4	8
Texas Tech	2	7	3	9
Kansas	0	9	2	10

ZERO! ZERO FUCKS GIVEN! AH AH AH!

Funny that if things stay as they are, the Big XII will actually get back to twelve teams so at least one conference understands preschool math.
The bottom of the Big XII looks to be the same. Kansas at the bottom. Texas Tech not far from them. And it always feels like one of West Virginia, Kansas State or TCU ending up in eighth. Will this change with the newcomers? I’m gonna say no.
Not quite their swan song in the conference but I see the Sooners, despite all the defections, getting back to the Big XII Championship. They are just too deep a team to not contend for, at the very least, a NY6 spot. I expect Baylor to continue to do well under Dave Aranda and join OU at JerryWorld.
Conference Championship prediction: Baylor 25 Oklahoma 23. Yeah I am predicting the Bears to finish the Big XII Championship State of Oklahoma sweep by beating the Sooners in a very close game.

I remember doing a post eight years ago on my Pac-12 predictions. Here is what I said in that post:

The Pac-12 has become the de facto second best conference in the land and it’s by a long shot as well.

Wow. I mean eight years is a long time but the fall off the cliff of the Pac-12 started not long after this post. It has been a near-disastrous eight years for the Conference of Champions in football and with USC and UCLA leaving for the Big Ten things are looking even worse for the soon-to-be Pac-10.

Look, let’s just get to the predictions before I make Bill Walton cry:

	Conference		Overall
North	W	L	W	L
Oregon	9	0	11	1
Oregon State	4	5	7	5
Washington	4	5	6	6
California	3	6	5	7
Washington State	3	6	5	7
Stanford	3	6	4	8
South
Utah	8	1	10	2
UCLA	7	2	10	2
USC	6	3	9	3
Arizona State	4	5	6	6
Arizona	2	7	3	9
Colorado	1	8	1	11

Bill Walton’s Tears

Hey remember I had U of A being terrible last year and I was right? Well, this year I am doubling down with the Colorado Buffaloes. I have a feeling Karl Dorrell is going to be taking a lot of ibuprofen this season. And may start drinking if he doesn’t already do so.
I see a lot of experts saying USC is going to win the Pac-12 South. They will be better, there’s no doubt about it. But win the division after going 4-8 last year? Let’s pump the brakes a bit. I think Lincoln Riley is still a season away from really pushing USC to the heights they were at during the Pete Carroll era.
So who will win the South Division? I think Utah repeats as South Division champions but it will be UCLA that will give them the toughest time. The Bruins should be really good…like New Year’s Six good. Now watch them go 4-8 and Chip Kelly get fired.
As for the North Division, Oregon should clinch by Thanksgiving…our Thanksgiving. There is no one close to them.
Conference Championship prediction: Utah 32 Oregon 20. Closer than last year but this time the Utes will destroy the Ducks’ dreams of the CFP.

There you go! All conference standings predictions complete! Next up I will put it all together and tell you who I think will win the whole thing. Have a great week everyone!

Most Important Games of the 2022 College Football Season: Prepare for Change

Posted on June 28, 2022 by guelphbossman

Alright let’s be honest here. It has been a slooooooow return for ol’ Bossman. This is partially done on purpose, though, not because I have forgotten about all of you. I am going with the less is more approach…kind of. At least in the off-season. I think an explanation is warranted here. The plan, on my part, is to post less but to put a lot more in each post. Like not going to Wendy’s as often but when you do…it’s Dave’s Triple Cheeseburger time! I think this might just work. Or it won’t. I mean you never know with these things, right? Anyway, where was I?

Ah yes: change. Change is sometimes tough but is also sometimes needed. So as it pertains to the usual four-post Most Important College Games series, it is going to go through an overhaul. This post will be just about the most important games but I won’t be going week-by-week. It will be a relatively well-thought out selection of the best 30 games of this coming year (at least at this very early point). Don’t worry, I will still rate the weeks. Can’t change everything. Then I will post again later on with some other lists of games. You know, the worst Power Five games, best Group of Five games, etc. You ready? I am. Let’s go.

Remember the rules (my rules). Most of the games after Week 3 are not set in terms of time or network. Any game that is confirmed, I will let you know that it is. This time I won’t include Canadian info because, especially with TSN, it’s a complete crapshoot. Just assume that ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ACC Network and SEC Network games will appear on TSN or on the specialty packs.

It’s…time! IT’S….TIME! IT’S……RANKING TIME! (cue Vader theme) Alright the first piece of college football to discuss is the ranking of the weeks. We know how this usually goes and it is almost never a surprise when it comes out that way. So let’s get right to it and then I can tell you how I did this (if you didn’t know before) and all that jazz:

Week 13 (November 26 – American Thanksgiving)
Week 6 (October 8)
Week 10 (November 5)
Week 5 (October 1)
Week 9 (October 29)
Week 12 (November 19)
Week 7 (October 15)
Week 11 (November 12)
Week 4 (September 24)
Week 8 (October 22)
Week 3 (September 17)
Week 1 (September 3)
Week 2 (September 10)

Same as always, there are thirteen weeks of the regular season. Week Zero is starting to get more games as more waivers are being granted but until they have I’d say at least 30 games on the schedule that Saturday then it can’t be counted as its own week. I mean I could but it would be last place every year without a doubt. I’ve said this before but I wish they would always have fourteen weeks in a season. This way, every team gets two bye weeks and it’s perfect for the health and safety of the players (something that is sometimes put on the backburner). I’m sure the NCAA will go along with my idea by the year 2058. As for the rankings this season, not too many surprises. The final week of the regular season is back on its perch as the best weekend of college football this season. Week 1 has dropped off a cliff and doesn’t look that great but the hype around it will be off the charts, I can guarantee you that. October has a massive week as Week 6 truly starts the conference season in a big way (and you’ll see later on why I say that). Just like last year, November is great, even SEC Sleepwalk Saturday which is a middle-of-the-road week rather than the awful week of games it used to be. And of course, September is, well, September in college football. A few really good games surrounded by a lot of meh but you know what will happen. That’s right, ~~Frank Stallone~~ quite a few upsets since that’s how college football works.

Normally this would be the time I start the weekly breakdowns but those are no more (at least for this year). This is a long list but I think it will be a good list. It’s the top 30 most important games of the college football season (until some team like Northwestern comes out of nowhere and is battling for a conference title).

Texas A&M at Alabama (Week 6, 8:00, CBS) – Yes, Bama is again the favourite to win it all this season. But the Aggies might be as ready as they have ever been during the Jimbo Fisher era. Almost a guarantee this will end up as the lone CBS primetime game of the year.
Michigan at Ohio State (Week 13, Noon, FOX, confirmed) – Captain Khaki brings his Wolverines to Columbus to see if he can get his team to relive the magic of last season once again. They haven’t won at the Horseshoe in 22 years. Winner of this one most likely heads to the Big Ten Championship so huge stakes, as it usually is with this rivalry.
Notre Dame at Ohio State (Week 1, 7:30, ABC, confirmed) – As is normally the case, the Irish have a bunch of landmine games this season. No game is a bigger landmine than this one. If Notre Dame can pull this off, then the season is already turned on its head and Marcus Freeman immediately becomes a legend in his second game as head coach.
Clemson at Notre Dame (Week 10, 7:30, NBC, confirmed) – Clemson will be looking for a tiny bit of a rebound this year and retake control of the ACC. Yes, this isn’t an ACC conference game but winning this game would put every other team in the conference on notice. I am wondering, with all this realignment happening, if we may get to the point where the Irish are the only Independent team remaining. This is something I wouldn’t have said even two years ago.
Georgia vs. Oregon (in Atlanta) (Week 1, 3:30, ABC, confirmed) – Is this an early-season College Football Playoff elimination game? Could very well be. Georgia is still loaded for bear again and the Ducks are ready to make that final climb back into the CFP. This game (plus the ND-tOSU game later in the night) are the easy highlights of a relatively bland Week 1 schedule.
Notre Dame at USC (Week 13, 7:30, ABC) – It would be either a) horrible for Notre Dame fans if the Irish came in undefeated and blew a tire here against a probably good USC team or b) great for Notre Dame haters who don’t want them anywhere near the College Football Playoff (or the New Year’s Six for that matter). This could end up being a massively important game in the grand scheme of things.
Utah at Oregon (Week 12, 7:30, ABC) – This might just be a preview of the Pac-12 title game and a statement game for both teams…as long as both teams are ranked at this point. With the Pac-12 finally on the rise again (I think), this could bring in a lot of eyeballs during a week that is usually not the greatest on paper.
NC State at Clemson (Week 5, 3:30, ABC) – This is probably the game for the Atlantic Division title…the final Atlantic Division title if I get my way and divisions are abolished going forward. With all due respect to Wake Forest, unless they pull off at least one upset, they aren’t getting close to these two teams. This being in Death Valley may give the Tigers the slight edge but the Wolfpack have had some seriously huge wins on the road in their past.
USC at Utah (Week 7, 3:30, ESPN) – As I said above, I am only including American broadcast info at this point. That will change when I get to network-specific posts later in the summer. The Utes should worry about this USC team. They are finally poised to get back into Top 10 territory and an upset of Utah isn’t a crazy idea at this point. If Lincoln Riley can get the Trojans to pull this off, it may be off to the races and a return to glory in Los Angeles.
Michigan State at Michigan (Week 9, Noon, FOX) – Big brother and little brother are both good. This always make this rivalry game extra spicy. This game could honestly derail Michigan’s season before they get to the Game. This should end up on FOX which means no THERE’S A TROUBLE WITH THE SNAP! AND THE BALL IS FREE AND IT’S PICKED UP BY MICHIGAN STATE’S JALEN WATTS-JACKSON AND HE SCORES ON THE LAST PLAY OF THE GAME! All in Sean McDonough Cracked-Voice perfection.
Clemson at Wake Forest (Week 4, 3:30, ESPN2) – This might be the first game I get seriously wrong. Saying that, the ACC tends to get neglected in favour of the other Power Five conferences when it comes to game placement…especially when Wake Forest is involved. And some would still consider this a surprising pick in the #11 spot but I stand by it. Remember what I said above about the Deacs? Well this would be their chance, at home, to shock the world and announce their true arrival as contenders for at least the New Year’s Six.
Ohio State at Michigan State (Week 6, 7:30, ABC) – Another THE Ohio State University roadblock game here. Nothing would please Spartans fans (and Wolverine fans) for Sparty to knock off the mighty Buckeyes here.
Baylor at Oklahoma (Week 10, Noon, FOX) – Dave Aranda might be the most popular coach in college football and he wouldn’t give two shits about that nor would his facial expression change. He’s in Waco to coach college football, dammit, and that’s all. I’m sure his family has seen him smile before but those rumours are unconfirmed. Lincoln Riley-less Oklahoma could be an interesting team to watch this year since no one knows how they will fare. As much of a wild card as any team expected to be in the Top 25 to start the season.
Tennessee at Georgia (Week 10, Noon, ESPN) – This could very well be an SEC East title match although you never know what team will kind of come out of nowhere to cause havoc at the top. Kentucky may still be good and the rest of the teams, sans Vanderbilt, could make a run if they get an upset or three. Until further notice, though, the Dawgs are the defending champs so someone has to knock them off their perch. Who better than the Vols? I’m sure there would be many people who could give me quite a few examples.
Miami at Clemson (Week 12, 3:30, ESPN2) – If this was the 80s or early 90s or early 2000s, this wouldn’t be here because Miami would be like a 30-point favourite. I’m sure there’d be a lot more cocaine and steroids involved as well, but I digress. Instead, it’s the Tigers who could be a double-digit favourite coming into this potentially huge conference matchup for both teams.
Alabama at Tennessee (Week 7, 3:30, CBS) – Man, it took long enough to get to our first afternoon CBS game. I guess that’s what happens when Alabama is on the network all the time. So speaking of heavy favourites, the Tide will be those here. The Vols, however, are better than they have been in over a decade and with the game at Neyland, who knows. If this game is close going into the fourth quarter, watch out.
Miami at Texas A&M (Week 3, 9:00, ESPN, confirmed) – Oh god the weird three-hour windows rear their ugly head this week. Game at 6:00 followed by a game at 9:00. Can ESPN just fuck off with this horseshit? What’s the big deal putting this at 9:30? Half an hour won’t make a difference. Anyway, this should be a pretty good game I think but those FUCKING THREE-HOUR WINDOWS…OK I’m gonna stop now.
Wisconsin at Ohio State (Week 4, 7:30, ABC) – If the Big Ten abolished divisions, this would become a much bigger game. I mean it’s still huge but…OK fine I just hate divisions. I’m sure Wisky’s gameplan here is to run the ball 60 times and hope tOSU’s run defense is snoozing for most of the game.
Wake Forest at NC State (Week 10, 7:30, ACC Network) – Look, this might change between now and then but as I’ve said before, this is how little respect the Demon Deacons get. If both teams only have one loss (or less) at this point, then it definitely gets moved to ESPN or ABC. Otherwise, there’s a good chance this is where this game will end up, sadly. The winner here is probably the one and only contender to screw up Clemson’s ACC run this season.
Oklahoma State at Baylor (Week 5, Noon, FOX) – First appearance for the Fighting Mullets from Stillwater on this list. The Pokes are almost always in contention even when it feels like they aren’t. Eleventh-year starter Spencer Sanders hopes to finally find some consistency at quarterback and beat a Baylor team that could be even more special than last year’s squad.
Georgia at Kentucky (Week 12, 3:30, CBS) – Fine, I will put this game here but it’s iffy whether it belongs. It isn’t like the SEC West where even the worst team usually isn’t that bad. Saying that, UK could be good again. It wouldn’t fully shock me. The only thing on their side is this is in Lexington which is underrated for how rowdy the fans can get.
Arkansas vs. Texas A&M (in Arlington) (Week 4, 3:30, CBS) – Considering the SEC slate of games this week, it is almost a guarantee that this game will be on CBS. Last year, the Razorbacks won this game rather easily and a good thing they did since they lost three straight right afterwards. If both teams are as good as they are predicted to be, maybe JerryWorld will be at least three-quarters full this time around. I still don’t get this always being a neutral-site game but whatever.
Ohio State at Penn State (Week 9, 7:30, ABC) – Now we are getting into the games that might not look close on paper but have a history of being inexplicably close. I’ve seen the Nittany Lions make things difficult for tOSU so it wouldn’t be out of the realm of possibility for them to pull off an upset on a night that will most certainly be a White-Out.
Alabama at Arkansas (Week 5, 3:30, CBS) – See what I mean? Saying that, it’s not like this game will be relegated to the SEC Network as Sam Pittman has the Hogs looking good. Not Bama-good, but definitely a far cry from the Bret Bielema/Chad Morris years.
Oklahoma State at Oklahoma (Week 12, Noon, FOX) – BEDLAM! Normally near the top of these kinds of lists, this could be a sneaky-good game this season for once. The Sooners feel like they are in rebuild mode when they really aren’t and the Pokes always feel like they are a step behind one team every season in the Big XII. By this point, we will know if either of these teams have a hope for the Big XII Championship and a trip to good ol’ JerryWorld or not.
Penn State at Michigan (Week 7, 3:30, ABC) – Not exactly a CFP elimination matchup but it will be very important in terms of the Big Ten East Division race. Look, PSU now has Sean Clifford hopefully back for a full, healthy year. That alone makes the Nittany Lions a bit more dangerous than they were last year. Michigan is loaded for bear so this will not be easy between the two teams with the biggest stadiums in the land.
LSU at Texas A&M (Week 13, Noon, ESPN) – This could end up being a forgotten matchup by this point of the season. LSU is certainly not the Joe Burrow LSU Tigers. And Texas A&M has been hanging on the periphery of greatness for a while now. At some point, you think something has to give. My guess is there is a good possibility a NY6 spot could be on the line here.
Wisconsin at Michigan State (Week 7, 7:30, ESPN2) – At this point I would call this an underrated game as many would probably put it in the same spot I’m putting it now. The Badgers are probably the odds-on favourite to win the Big Ten West which is never on par with winning the much more difficult Big Ten East. The Spartans need to win games like this to have any chance of doing what they did last year (or even more).
BYU vs. Notre Dame (in Las Vegas) (Week 6, 7:30, NBC, confirmed) – BYU’s final year as an Independent and as usual they have loaded up. Call it a Western version of the typical Notre Dame schedule. These teams don’t play nearly enough against each other if you ask me so it’s fun when they do. And boy, will they have a TV audience, there is no denying that. The Irish love these games because it’s a recruiting bonanza. I guess the same for the Cougs. Independent supremacy is on the line in this one.
Florida vs. Georgia (in Jacksonville) (Week 9, 3:30, CBS, confirmed) – The World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party. How can this not be on this list of games? I guess if both teams were bad which hasn’t happened in….well, it’s been a while. This is my seventh straight year, I believe, imploring CBS to give the broadcast crew an open bar for this one. Hey, either Gary Danielson becomes seriously fun to listen to or…he’s still Gary Danielson.

There you go. Top 30 games of the season. That wasn’t so bad, eh? There is only 60 days left until the season begins. That is much closer than I am used to when doing this post. I may have to up my game over the next two months.

I’m not going to lie, this felt like a lot of work but it also felt good to do. The craziness hasn’t stopped in my life and so this is my chance to start getting a break from “reality” by doing this blog again. I think I’ve needed it (although I had to be sure I was ready to go again). Have a great week everyone!

OK this is slightly different – Week 12 College Football TV Schedule

Posted on November 17, 2021 by guelphbossman

I talk about the coaching carousel a lot. Maybe a bit too much. So I have seen a lot of different stories of coaches getting fired and the methods and back stories of how it came to be. I may not have seen anything like this, though.

Butch Davis has decided he is done at Florida International. He was 23-21 coming into this season with FIU but the bottom fell out for the team and they have gone 1-9 so far in 2021. No one knows yet if he will finish out the season with the team. None of this is all that odd. What is a bit different is Davis’ assertion that the school’s administration is sabotaging the football program and that is why he wants out. Not saying other coaches haven’t thought this but for a coach to actually verbalize it says a lot about what is going on down there. Here are a few of the things that have happened:

FIU posted the head coaching position online with the American Football Coaches Association…last month. Good god, not a good start.
The school is using old uniforms and old equipment and won’t put any money in to purchase anything new. Cheap bastards.
The school has refused to offer multi-year contracts to any of Davis’ assistants. I can kind of understand this considering how poorly the team has performed.
The school also did not allow any of the coaches to go out and recruit the past two years. Part of this is due to COVID-19 concerns but the bigger issue is financial reasons.

It sounds like Davis is probably correct here. And if the school can’t afford to play football at the FBS level, drop to FCS. There are a few schools at the top level that lose money almost every year and justify doing it as a recruiting tool not just to get athletes to come to the school, but students, in general. That may work at a school like Alabama but less so at a school like FIU. This and the fact that the Panthers are in Conference USA which now has set themselves up as easily the worst FBS conference all point to potential disaster in the years to come. Something to keep an eye on.

Anyway, let’s get to more pertinent matters, that being the upcoming schedule!

Wednesday

		US	Canada
Northern Illinois at Buffalo	7:00 PM
Central Michigan at Ball State	7:00 PM

MACtion! Hey it’s weekday football. And one of the games is on TSN! This is good. Hopefully at least one of these games is a nailbiter.

Thursday

		US	Canada
Louisville at Duke	7:30 PM

So technically this is a college football game. The only other football on this night is a pretty good New England Patriots team facing a woeful Atlanta Falcons team. So your options are limited.

Friday

		US	Canada
Southern Miss at Louisiana Tech	8:00 PM
Memphis at #24 Houston	9:00 PM
#19 San Diego State at UNLV	11:30 PM

Nothing huge here although SDSU and Houston need wins here. We have a different kind of test game tonight: the weeknight Vegas Test. A lot like Hawaii Test games, this game won’t end until well into the morning. I will test my resolve and try to watch this thing but I have this funny feeling it will be over at some point in the third quarter, allowing me (and other viewers) at least some chance at sleep.

Saturday Early

		US	Canada
#7 Michigan State at #4 Ohio State	Noon
Florida State at Boston College	Noon
Rutgers at Penn State	Noon
Purdue vs. Northwestern (in Chicago)	Noon
UMass at Army	Noon
#10 Wake Forest at Clemson	Noon
Texas at West Virginia	Noon
Harvard at Yale	Noon
Iowa State at #13 Oklahoma	Noon
Wofford at North Carolina	Noon
New Mexico State at Kentucky	Noon

I’m honestly perplexed as to why MSU-tOSU did not get the primetime treatment. I guess it’s so we get to possibly see Kirk Herbstreit sprint to the booth after finishing College Gameday. We also get Oklahoma trying to avoid an upset at the hands of a team they’ve struggled with in the recent past, Iowa State. There are a lot of other games in the early timeslot but not a ton of must-watch material. Also, New Mexico State does not get to be on TSN again.

Saturday Afternoon

		US	Canada
Georgia Tech at #8 Notre Dame	2:30 PM
Nebraska at #15 Wisconsin	3:30 PM
#6 Michigan at Maryland	3:30 PM
Minnesota at Indiana	3:30 PM
#21 Arkansas at #2 Alabama	3:30 PM
East Carolina at Navy	3:30 PM
SMU at #5 Cincinnati	3:30 PM
Virginia at #18 Pittsburgh	3:30 PM
Syracuse at #20 NC State	4:00 PM
Louisiana at Liberty	4:00 PM
UCLA at USC	4:00 PM
Florida at Missouri	4:00 PM

Nothing massive here although Cincinnati may have their toughest conference test before they face Houston in the AAC Championship. The de facto ACC Coastal Championship occurs today as well as Michigan trying to avoid the speed bump as they travel to College Park. I don’t get why the Big Ten Network puts two games on simultaneously and then doesn’t have anything in the primetime slot. Not a huge deal up here but I am sure it’s a big deal in the States where some fans will miss their team’s game because BTN can’t get their act together.

Saturday Primetime

		US	Canada
Auburn at South Carolina	7:00 PM
#3 Oregon at #23 Utah	7:30 PM
Virginia Tech at Miami	7:30 PM
South Alabama at Tennessee	7:30 PM
Vanderbilt at #12 Ole Miss	7:30 PM
Wyoming at Utah State	8:00 PM
#9 Oklahoma State at Texas Tech	8:00 PM

A big Pac-12 matchup highlights the primetime timeslot. Utah could cause yet another disruption of the Top 4 in what will probably end up being a preview of the Pac-12 Championship. CBS Sports Network is going with an odd 8:00 start time for the Mountain West game and there’s no real reason for it. My only guess on this is that because they do not have a late night game that they put a highlights show on at 7:00 to hopefully keep people watching through that time until this game begins. This feels more like a lack of organization because I am sure they could have put this game on late night and stuck a MAC or Conference USA game in here and just didn’t for….I don’t know.

Saturday Late Night

		US	Canada
ULM at LSU	9:00 PM
Arizona State at Oregon State	10:30 PM

Another weird choice here for start time but at least this has a reason. ESPN2 has the ULM-LSU game starting at 9:00 because there are preliminary fights before a boxing pay-per-view card starting at 7:00. The only game on here in a true late night spot is a very important one for teams needing a win and some help to win their division.

Games to set your eyeballs on

Michigan State at Ohio State (Noon, ABC/TSN3) – This is the Game of the Week and none of the other games are really that close. I would consider it a possible Game of the Year candidate because of the high stakes. Michigan State could do what no one thought they could do and that is unseat Ohio State at the top of the Big Ten East ladder. A Sparty win puts them in the driver’s seat with wins over both tOSU and Michigan. The loser of this is probably still a lock for the New Year’s Six though. As I said above, I am still confused as to why this didn’t get the ABC primetime slot but I have a feeling it has to do with contracted games and the Pac-12 may not have quite got to where they should be. For this reason ESPN/ABC took the next game on this list instead of this one knowing that the final week of the season would have a better selection to choose from and they wouldn’t be forced to go with one conference over another.

Oregon at Utah (7:30, ABC) – As much as the Pac-12 tends to be ignored on the East Coast, I can see a lot of eyeballs descending on this one. As mentioned above, it is probably a preview of the Pac-12 title match. The stakes are high, especially for the Ducks after their inexplicable loss to Stanford earlier this season. The Utes could cause a lot of issues for the Pac-12 and put themselves in the Top 15 going into the final week of the regular season with a win. Realistically, the conference championship game is much more important than this one but the path there for both teams will dictate where they stand in terms of what bowl destination they will have. Either way, at least we know the winner here clinches their spot in Santa Clara and at least will play for the Rose Bowl spot.

SMU at Cincinnati (3:30, specialty pack) – So what happens if the Bearcats lose here? A win here leaves them at probably no lower than #5 in the CFP rankings. But a loss…well then we have to see how far they fall. The next best Group of Five team is San Diego State and they sit at #19 and won’t surpass Cincy even if they win and the Bearcats lose. Yes, Luke Fickell has his sights set much higher than the NY6. This game will show whether they can do what they need to do to capture the attention of The Committee: by blowing the doors off the Mustangs.

Wake Forest at Clemson (Noon, specialty pack) – Here’s a huge test for Wake. Win this game and they clinch the ACC Atlantic and end the reign of Clemson at the top. Would it be the beginning of the end of Dave Clawson in Winston-Salem? He has done another masterful job of coaching and many teams will be looking his way with all the openings needing to be filled in the off-season. Also, how much higher do the Deacs rise in the poll with a win here? I can’t see them climbing higher than #8 but there still would be one more regular season week remaining, plus conference championships and this season has taught me that you can’t really predict anything week-to-week.

Virginia at Pittsburgh (3:30, specialty pack) – As for the other side of the ACC ledger, this is pretty much the game for the ACC Coastal division title. I’m sure Wake Forest hopes Pitt wins because the better the Panthers are, the better their schedule looks. Virginia doesn’t automatically clinch the division with a win but they put themselves in the catbird seat if they are triumphant here going into the Commonwealth Cup game with the now Justin Fuente-less Virginia Tech Hokies.

Honourable mention: Arkansas at Alabama (3:30, CBS); UAB at UTSA (3:30, ESPN+); Oklahoma State at Texas Tech (8:00, FOX)

Wanna bet?

My picks were not good last week. I don’t even want to talk about it. So now I have to hope that these picks are better for…some reason. I don’t know why. Note: do not use these picks for actual gambling purposes:

Alabama over Arkansas

Clemson over Wake Forest (minor upset)

Pittsburgh over Virginia

UTSA over UAB

Cincinnati over SMU

Oklahoma State over Texas Tech

Ohio State over Michigan State

Utah over Oregon (upset!)

Ball State over Central Michigan

Tennessee over South Alabama

San Diego State over UNLV

I’m gearing myself up. Tonight. Tomorrow night. Friday night. Saturday all day. Then NFL Sunday all day. Then NFL Monday night. My god. I love it.

NFL schedule tomorrow as per usual. Enjoy the games everyone!

Oh, it’s that time…CRAZY BOWL PROJECTIONS!!!

Posted on November 15, 2021 by guelphbossman

This is the fourth edition of this ridiculous post. And this could be the year where these might happen because the 2021 college football season has been a shitshow. So you never know…these somewhat illogical choices that I will show you might become somewhat logical after the next week’s games are done. And if all these came to fruition I would take the first flight to Vegas.

As per usual, I will not do all the bowl games. Past the New Year’s Six, it becomes a lot less crazy to be honest. But these predictions (and I use that term very loosely) are insane. So maybe crazy isn’t quite the word for it. Look, let’s just get right down to it so you can determine how drunk I was when figuring this all out.

Orange Bowl	CFP Poll #1 vs. CFP Poll #4	Cincinnati vs. Ole Miss
Cotton Bowl	CFP Poll #2 vs. CFP Poll #3	Wake Forest vs. Baylor

What in the blue fucking hell is going on here? Alright, let’s get to the, ahem, logic of all this ridiculousness:

Alabama loses to both Arkansas and Auburn. I don’t know, maybe they have like 10 injuries in the first quarter of the game against the Hogs. Ole Miss wins out and actually passes Bama to shockingly win the SEC West. So what happens to the SEC East champs? Georgia stumbles against Georgia Tech which drops them out of the #1 spot in the CFP rankings. The Rebels shock the college football world again and beat the Dawgs and get in as the #4 seed with their SEC title win.
Wake wins their final two games and wins the ACC Atlantic rather easily. In the Coastal, chaos reigns, as per usual. Pitt loses to the Virginia, allowing the Hoos to win the ACC Coastal division. In the ACC title game, the Deacs mop the floor with UVA, moving them into the #2 spot in the rankings as the only 1-loss team in the Power Five conferences. OK this might not be so crazy.
Ohio State loses to both the Michigans. But Michigan also loses to Maryland so that leaves Sparty as the one team left standing (somehow). Wisconsin gets stunned by Minnesota which allows Iowa, who wins their final two, to win the Big Ten West and go to Indianapolis, where they best the Spartans in a close one. This knocks Michigan State out of the Top 4.
Could the Pac-12 become more of a mess than it is now? Absolutely! Oregon State (yes, OREGON STATE!) will win their final two which will include a Civil War victory over their rivals, Oregon, which gives the Beavers the Pac-12 North title and a trip to somewhere near San Francisco. They get Utah who, despite a close loss to Colorado, win the South Division. Oregon State beats Utah in a tight Pac-12 Championship but really does not have the resume to be in the semi-finals.
Oklahoma continues their run of suck by losing their next two games against Iowa State and Oklahoma State. This puts the Cowboys in the Big XII Championship against…Baylor who wins their final two and sneaks in the back door. The Bears then promptly upset the Pokes to replace them in the Top 4.
Cincinnati runs the table and is one of two undefeated teams left. They destroy the rest of their opponents and have to be the only choice for #1. The Committee, after choosing the Bearcats at #1, get blind drunk trying to forget what they went through this season.

The Top 4, in this case, would be pretty set with fairly little argument. Iowa and Oregon State wouldn’t be nearly good enough to get into the Top 4 and the rest are conference champions. Cincinnati being #1 would make a few in college football media upset so I could see them dropping to #2 and Wake Forest or Baylor replacing them at #1 but I’m sticking with what I have because it’s CRAZY bowl projections, not SOMEWHAT CRAZY BUT STEEPED IN REALITY bowl projections. This would definitely push the conferences to move quickly on expanding the playoff because this would be exactly what the P5 conferences do not want. Whether they do go to twelve teams, which seems to be getting the most steam, is unknown. Alright, let’s see how stupid the New Year’s Six is in this scenario.

Sugar Bowl	SEC Champ vs. Big XII Champ	Georgia vs. Oklahoma State
Rose Bowl	Big Ten Champ vs. Pac-12 Champ	Iowa vs. Oregon State
Fiesta Bowl	CFP At-large vs. CFP At-large/G5 #1	Michigan vs. Notre Dame
Peach Bowl	CFP At-large vs. CFP At-large/G5 #1	Texas A&M vs. Michigan State

Ooooooook then. Some of this was explained above, some of it needs a longer explanation. Here goes nothing:

Michigan, by beating Ohio State AND being out of the conference championship, stays near the Top 4 with no way of getting in. It’s an easy choice for The Committee to put them in the Fiesta Bowl.
Georgia’s fall from #1 is quick after losing to Georgia Tech and then Ole Miss in the SEC Championship. They slot in to the SEC spot at the Sugar Bowl.
Texas A&M is the beneficiary of the Tide’s collapse. They win their final two games and watch chaos happen around them and get in rather easily to take the an at-large spot in the Peach Bowl.
Oklahoma State’s loss to Baylor knocks them out of the Top 4 and they are relegated to the Sugar Bowl.
I have Michigan State falling fairly far after their loss to Iowa; enough to easily fall out of the Top 4. The loss is their second of the season and because they aren’t the Big Ten champion they cannot go to the Rose Bowl. With Michigan already going to the Fiesta Bowl, it leaves the Peach Bowl as the only option for the Spartans.
As I mentioned above, Michigan State’s fall is completed by Iowa, who ends up as Big Ten champions. With how far down they were in the rankings going into the final two weeks there is no way they get to the Top 4 so they end up in the Rose Bowl.
Oregon State shocks a lot of people by winning the Pac-12 title over Utah to gain the conference’s Rose Bowl spot. Honestly, I don’t think Utah winning would do any different.
Now to the final spot in the NY6. This might end up being a bit controversial considering their loss to Georgia Tech but I have Notre Dame getting the final spot. Their other loss being to Cincinnati definitely helps here. My assumption is that The Committee would pick the Irish over Oregon and Alabama because of those two teams ending the season on two-game losing streaks. I also can’t see a three-loss team getting into the New Year’s Six unless they are a conference champion. I don’t think it’s happened before and I can’t see it happening under the current format.

Alright I have completed that exercise. That was tougher than I thought it would be. Now, will all these thing happen? No, not even half. But some of them occurring? Considering the season we’ve seen so far, I can almost guarantee it.

Alright, we are down to three undefeated teams with two weeks still to go. Amazing. Here’s my latest Top 25.

#1	Georgia
#2	Ohio State
#3	Cincinnati
#4	Alabama
#5	Oregon
#6	Michigan
#7	Ole Miss
#8	Notre Dame
#9	Michigan State
#10	Oklahoma State
#11	Wake Forest
#12	Baylor
#13	UTSA
#14	BYU
#15	Oklahoma
#16	Iowa
#17	Texas A&M
#18	Houston
#19	Wisconsin
#20	Pittsburgh
#21	Arkansas
#22	Louisiana
#23	Utah
#24	Auburn
#25	NC State

Not a whole lot happening near the top other than Baylor’s win over Oklahoma. It’s still probably set up for Georgia and Bama to get their shot to both get into the CFP which I am not a fan of. As long as the Dawgs win their final two regular season games, they are pretty much a shoo-in for the Top 4, regardless of the outcome of the SEC Championship. Oregon wins out and they are pretty much in as well. Ohio State has a rough road ahead of them and if they can get out unscathed, they deserve to be in the CFP. Cincinnati will make things tough if they can win the rest of their games handily. None of this winning by like 14 points over a team that’s at the bottom half of the American Conference. Continue to do stuff like that and it will be easy for The Committee to rank them #5 and be done with it. The wild card in all of this may end up being Oklahoma State. They face Texas Tech, then Oklahoma and then possibly Oklahoma again for the Big XII Championship. Win all three and that becomes a conundrum. Two huge victories and another quality win to finish off the season at 12-1. How do you keep a team like that out of the conversation? They are the kind of team that many would want to see in but college football, being as it is, might look at the Pokes as a non-traditional power and that’s always a bad thing to be labelled when it comes to playoff conversations.

Hey there’s MACtion tomorrow night! Western Michigan will spar with Eastern Michigan in a Battle for Directional Michigan starting at 7:30 and then Bowling Green heads to Oxford to face Miami-OH at 8. Both games are on the specialty pack. Enjoy the rest of your week everyone!

The Student Finally Defeats the Master – Week 6 College Football Recap

Posted on October 11, 2021 by guelphbossman

Up until early Saturday evening, Nick Saban had been 24-0 against his former assistants. 24-0. That’s like an Undertaker-like streak. Completely insane. Then came the game.

The Aggies came out strong and it looked like the Crimson Tide defense was struggling. Yes we had seen this earlier in the year but it’s not like things had gone off the rails for them. But Bama’s offense could only do so much and couldn’t pull away. And even though TAMU was keeping pace, it felt to me (and I assume a lot of others) that eventually the Tide would win. Until Seth Small hit the field goal with no time left to clinch the Aggie victory, I still thought the Tide would pull it off, somehow. That’s just what they do. This time it did not happen. The field goal was good (barely) and the fans stormed the field. The mighty Alabama Crimson Tide had been defeated, 41-38 in a thriller.

For people saying this is starting to feel like 2007, you might want to tuck that away. This is shaping up as being way more volatile than 2007 could ever think to be. I’ve said something every week about this and major things continue to happen. We aren’t even halfway through the season. And this past week could have been considered one of the best Saturdays of college football in a long time. A lot of good games, a lot of close games and just a lot of shit happening that is turning the college football world upside down. If it’s chaos you want, this season is bringing it. Now let’s see what pitfall Georgia will fall victim to because we kind of know that’s coming, right?

Let’s get right to the recap as it was a fun (for the most part) 14+ hours of football.

And now for the rest of the recap

A great game down in Iowa City this past weekend. Iowa grinded out a victory over Penn State in a Top 5 matchup. Sean Clifford was knocked out of the game in the second quarter with the Nittany Lions leading 17-3 and the offense fell apart. Iowa’s defense saved the day and now the Hawkeyes have legit College Football Playoff aspirations. I think everyone agrees except for one Penn State fan who was pretty upset that I had mentioned Iowa and the CFP. He basically said I was dumb and that Iowa should be ranked 6th in the new poll, so three spots down…after a win. Riiiiiiiiiiight. I mentioned Iowa should be #3 and I will admit I was wrong. They are actually #2 now. My mistake.
An absolutely insane game went down at the Cotton Bowl for the Red River Shootout and it’s no surprise since this game is almost always nuts. Texas looked like they had Oklahoma on the ropes early. Then Spencer Rattler was benched so I assume most thought it was over. But Caleb Williams came in and did a good job in bringing the Sooners all the way back from a 21-point deficit to win the game. Let’s be honest here though: the combination of Kennedy Brooks going crazy (including what was essentially a walk-off touchdown to win the game) and the Longhorn defense self-destructing was what gave Boomer Sooner the big win. Oklahoma had looked like the worst undefeated Top 10 team in quite some time but this victory could be a turning point for a team who may not meet an equal until Bedlam in late November.
How about that game down in Lincoln? As the game went along, I really started to believe that finally the Huskers, under Scott Frost, would get that huge victory to start turning the program around. Man, was I wrong. In typical heartbreaking fashion, Nebraska blew the game late and allowed Michigan a late game-winning field goal. The Wolverines honestly looked pretty pedestrian for a good portion of the game. They really can’t be like that going forward considering how brutally difficult the Big Ten East looks. As for Nebraska, oof. Another loss, another black mark on Scott Frost’s record and unless things turn around I could see the program moving on since nothing is really improving at the end of the day.
Speaking of hot seats, there was another great game on the night, this one in Blacksburg. It felt like the Hokies would hand Notre Dame their second straight loss and almost destroy their New Year’s Six chances. Instead, Jack Coan, who played like shit early on, came on, drove the Irish down the field for the touchdown and game-tying two-point conversion and then drove them again for the winning field goal with only 17 seconds remaining. Great performance but Virginia Tech had their chances to stop the Irish as their defense had been pretty good in the second half. Unfortunately they came up short and Justin Fuente’s seat gets juuuuuuust a bit hotter.
To start Saturday there was the Arkansas-Ole Miss game which was basically drugs. So damn ridiculous and completely defense-optional. Both offenses went crazy and both teams got 50-burgers on the day. It came down to the end where Sam Pittman decided he has balls the size of coconuts and would go for 2 and the lead instead of the extra point to send it to overtime. The pass fell incomplete and the Rebels won a game that raised the blood pressure of both team’s fanbases. Now the Rebel fans can truly enjoy that popcorn.
Let history show that the Auburn Tigers were, at one point, tied with the Georgia Bulldogs 3-3. I’m sure most fans on The Plains who watched the game would love to just remember up to that point and forget the rest. Georgia proved they are the undisputed number one team in the land (for now) as they destroyed Auburn by 24. And this is with Stetson “The Mailman” Bennett at quarterback. What happens when J.T. Daniels comes back? Or do they platoon? This team has looked better than Bama all season and now they will have the #1 ranking to back that up. Their next two games against Kentucky and Florida will either prove that’s where they belong or bring them back down to Earth a bit.
I didn’t think Florida State could keep close with North Carolina. So what did they do? Just beat them fairly easily and look as good as they were back in the Jameis Winston days (OK maybe not THAT good but still pretty good). I am ruing the day I decided to be a smart guy and pick North Carolina as my chic pick to get to the College Football Playoff. I feel like an idiot. So they can now go 3-9 for all I care since it doesn’t really matter anymore (to me, anyway).
Another game that was bonkers that no one saw was the game between South Alabama and Texas State. I believe this is the longest game since they changed the overtime rules yet again. I am not a fan of the new rules. If you don’t know, starting in the second overtime, you must go for two after a touchdown and then starting with the third overtime, it becomes a two-point conversion contest. The college football equivalent of hockey’s shootout. Ugh. Anyway, this game went to four overtimes and there were so many reviews it got ridiculous. Like the replay booth was being paid per review. Texas State won after stopping USA’s two-point conversion attempt.
If I told you in, say, August of 2020 that Ed Orgeron would be on one of the hottest seats in the nation by October of 2021 you would have thought I was smoking crack. But LSU’s loss to Kentucky this past Saturday will put Coach Eaux in that seat. Look, Kentucky is a damn good team and losing to them is not a bad thing. Not looking competitive when you are a team that should be in the Top 25 range is a different story altogether. The team looks like there is a lack of effort and it shows. The next few weeks will probably help determine Eddie O’s future.
Ugh what a fall from grace for BYU. The Cougars were stunned by Boise State and are now not undefeated. Unless a lot of truly wacky things occur (and I’m not saying they won’t), BYU’s chances of the New Year’s Six are essentially gone. What does this mean? It means when they do become bowl-eligible they will be locked in to the Independence Bowl in Shreveport. Yuck. Imagine dropping from a potential Fiesta Bowl berth to that. Brutal.
Put up your hand if you thought Wake Forest…ok I am going to stop there since no one really thought much of Wake Forest this season. OK that’s not totally true. I had them going 9-3 this season and many had them in the 6-8 win range. But to think this team is the only ACC hope left for the College Football Playoff in mid-October? Yeah, no one thought that. Wake had to survive a surprisingly tough Syracuse team, in overtime, to stay undefeated. Now, with their next three games against Army, Duke and North Carolina, it looks like the Deacs could be 9-0 and firmly in the Top 10 when they host NC State in mid-November. They have Clemson and Boston College after that so they have a rough end of the season to look forward to but get through all those unscathed? They could make some history in December.
Welp, Oregon State’s time in the sun went quick. The Beavers were looking like they could make some hay in the Pac-12 with all the turmoil in the conference. Instead, they shit the bed and lost to a Washington State team who’s biggest news has been coach Nick Rolovich and his absolute refusal to get the COVID vaccine. That conference is an absolute mess.
Another great game was shockingly at the Naval Academy. No I’m not kidding. The Midshipmen played undefeated SMU very tough. The Ponies needed a fourth quarter touchdown and a couple of big defensive stops to escape Annapolis with the W. I think Navy, despite being 1-4, is probably quite a bit better than their record indicates. SMU? They are very lucky considering some of the games they’ve been in this season. If they can win their next four, a massive, probably primetime, game with Cincinnati looms large.
Louisville…ugh. They had the game won against Virginia. But instead of going for it on 4th and about 3 fairly deep in Hoos territory, they kicked the field goal. Then their defense allowed Virginia to drive the length of the field in two minutes for the touchdown and the win. Cowardly coaching from Scott Satterfield and it might cost him his job. And did anyone think this Cavaliers team would be 4-2 at this point? I highly doubt it. The ACC is another conference that’s just a dog’s breakfast (other than Wake Forest).
Finally, UTSA was able to outlast Western Kentucky’s potent offense. Quietly, the Roadrunners are 6-0, undefeated, and no one is noticing. So what happens if this team finishes undefeated? My guess is they will get no respect in the polls but they really should, despite the conference they are in.

Alright that was seriously fun. And the late night schedule was light so it made it easier to pay a bit of attention rather than have my full attention which can get tiring into the wee hours of the morning. Alright, let’s now look at the Bossman Top 25:

#1	Georgia
#2	Iowa
#3	Cincinnati
#4	Oklahoma
#5	Ohio State
#6	Oregon
#7	Alabama
#8	Michigan
#9	Penn State
#10	Ole Miss
#11	Notre Dame
#12	Michigan State
#13	Coastal Carolina
#14	Kentucky
#15	Oklahoma State
#16	Wake Forest
#17	Florida
#18	Texas A&M
#19	Arkansas
#20	BYU
#21	Arizona State
#22	NC State
#23	Auburn
#24	Clemson
#25	SMU

Yes there are a few somewhat glaring differences between my poll and the AP Poll and that happens of course. I have Alabama at #7 and they only dropped to #5 in the AP Poll. AP dropped Oregon whereas I moved them up to #6 since they didn’t play so why should they drop? You can put the #8 through #12 teams in a hat and mix them up and any combination would probably be fine. A lot is going to happen for these teams the next three weeks so no point in getting all bent out of shape about it now. And I did mention undefeated UTSA earlier. I also don’t have them in my Top 25 but they are just outside of it meaning a win next week should put them in. Finally, I got Coastal at #13 and they are #15 in the AP Poll and Coaches Poll. I have a feeling they may get to #12 or even #11 but that would be their ceiling unless a lot of crazy shit happens to the teams currently above them. Which, considering the way this season has gone, wouldn’t surprise me one bit.

WEEKDAY FUN BELT ACTION! Yes, it’s that time of year that we start getting more weekday football. And this one, between Appalachian State and Louisiana, is a pretty big game. And it’s tomorrow night! Hell yeah! God, I love Tuesday and Wednesday night college football. Kind of feels like now we can say that Autumn has truly commenced. Have a good week everyone!

Normally this would have been OVERREACTION time. Instead it’s just the Week 2 College Football TV Schedule.

Posted on September 10, 2020 by guelphbossman

Yep it’s an annual tradition. College football media (and many fans) completely overreacting to what happened in the first week of the college football season. But with what Week 1 ended up being, we can’t really do that can we? It’s too bad since we miss possible classic overreactions like these:

UCLA or USC are terrible and won’t go bowling. Fire Chip Kelly or Clay Helton.
I think the SEC could get two teams in the College Football Playoff…no wait….THREE!
Boise State has clinched the New Year’s Six spot for the Group of Five. Book it.
The Pac-12 is not going to the College Football Playoff again. Man what a horrible conference.
Same old ACC: Clemson and 13 other teams.
Michigan is definitely going to beat Ohio State this year and win the Big Ten.
How could Tennessee let that (insert Sun Belt team here) team take them to overtime?

Another tradition is to shit on the Week 2 schedule since it is always a downgrade from the Week 1 schedule. Don’t have to fear that this year though because…

*checks Week 2 schedule*

….damn. Sorry, guys. But it is better than Week 1. Just still not that great. Damn pandemic. Damndemic. Ahahahaha. Man I need some sleep.

Thursday

		US	Canada
UAB at Miami	8:00 PM

This could end up being quite the huge game. UAB is no lightweight and the Canes have had that one game (at least) every year where they play down to their opponents and lose when they are favoured (sometimes heavily). Plus, I believe it’s the first time ever that an ACC Network game will appear on a TSN station. So plenty to rejoice about right?

Saturday Early

		US	Canada
Syracuse at #18 North Carolina	Noon
Louisiana at #23 Iowa State	Noon
Charlotte at Appalahician State	Noon
Arkansas State at Kansas State	Noon
ULM at Army	1:30 PM

Not our usual boatload of games we see early on Saturday but it’s an improvement on last week. And yes, TSN is showing yet another ACC Network game. You can expect that, along with SEC Network games appearing on TSN, a decent amount this year. Because those two networks want to fill as many timeslots as possible, there will be more good games there and more games from weaker conferences on the main ESPN networks. This is good for non-specialty pack people since you will get a good variety of games every week rather than just simsubs from ABC. Anyway, nothing really of note although ASU-KSU could be a sneaky good game in the Big Noon Saturday slot. And yes, that is not a typo: ULM-Army is at 1:30. Another change in this pandemic world thanks to the Mountain West opting out of Fall football. It means CBS Sports Network has altered their timeslots and will show, usually, two games a week rather than the usual four.

Saturday Afternoon

		US	Canada
Duke at #10 Notre Dame	2:30 PM
Georgia Tech at Florida State	3:30 PM
UTSA at Texas State	3:30 PM
Campbell at Georgia Southern	3:30 PM
Austin Peay at Pittsburgh	4:00 PM

Nothing huge here but again, an improvement on last week’s afternoon schedule which was one game. The Blue Devils could make a massive early statement and upset the ACC apple cart with a win over the Irish (who are playing in their first conference season ever). And yes, the game starts at 2:30. Wait until the week where the Notre Dame game ends up on USA Network. And yes I am not joking. Also it should be only about 1,000 degrees on the field when Georgia Tech heads to Tallahassee to play the Seminoles. And finally, UTSA makes their first appearance on a TSN station when they play Texas State who had their first last Saturday. So many TSN cherries being popped this season.

Saturday Primetime

		US	Canada
The Citadel at USF	7:00 PM
#1 Clemson at Wake Forest	7:30 PM
Tulane at South Alabama	7:30 PM
Western Kentucky at Louisville	8:00 PM

Not stacked at all but does give us the #1 team in the land heading to Winston-Salem to face the Deacs. I hate belabouring the point but if Wake can pull off the upset, this will seriously throw everyone’s CFP predictions into a woodchipper. We get more South Alabama after their upset of Southern Miss. They will try to make it two for two as they take on Tulane on TSN2. Other than that, there’s WKU-Louisville which might be OK and The Citadel-USF which probably won’t be.

Games to set your eyeballs on

Clemson at Wake Forest (7:30, ABC) – Probably the only game that could even warrant Game of the Week status to be honest with you. And really, it could end up being a massive blowout. The hope is always on weeks like this that something crazy happens and this is the one game that I could see most people wanting an upset in just to change things a bit. I don’t expect much of that though. What I do expect is Trevor Lawrence and Travis Etienne leading a powerful Tiger offense that the Demon Deacons will try to keep below a 50-burger.

UAB at Miami (Thursday, 8:00, TSN2) – If Miami wants any shot at being even in the New Year’s Six conversation, they can’t lose games like this. UAB is going to be a tough out as they are one of the Group of Five favourites this season now that Boise State is not playing. As I said above, first time the ACC Network will appear on TSN. Good stuff.

Duke at Notre Dame (2:30, NBC) – Man, does this ever drop off after the first two. Or even the first one. OK let’s be honest this isn’t a full week so no true games of the week. Still, this is Notre Dame’s first ever conference game in football history. That alone makes it interesting. I am also interested to see how Chase Brice does as the new Duke quarterback. Remember Chase Brice? He’s the guy who saved Clemson’s national championship season two years ago against Syracuse. Now he finally gets his chance as a full-time starter, albeit at Duke, so let’s see how he does against a really good Notre Dame defense.

Honourable mention: I don’t know…how about Tulane at South Alabama (7:30, TSN2).

Some gambling fun and games

Really? You want to gamble on these? Alright then.

Clemson over Wake Forest

Florida State over Georgia Tech

Miami over UAB

North Carolina over Syracuse

Tulane over South Alabama

Kansas State over Arkansas State

Notre Dame over Duke

As of now I see nothing on the guide for the specialty pack. Nothing. Not that there’s many games but still. Frustrating. Also, I see nothing on FloSports that says they are showing college football. It is why I did not list any FOX Sports One games since those would be the ones to appear on there. Hopefully that is not the case since that was a great thing for Canadians last season. To have it snatched away like that would really suck.

Also, the NFL STARTS TONIGHT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Kind of weird to see college football and the NFL going head-to-head with tomorrow night completely open but whatever, it’s more football! The opening game for this season pits the Texans against the defending champion Chiefs. Now we will get to see the Half-Billion Dollar Man, Patrick Mahomes, try to live up to that insane contract he signed. Also we may see if the loss of DeAndre Hopkins will hurt the Texans’ offense (spoiler alert: it will). The game is on NBC, CTV and all the TSNs except TSN2 because that’s where the UAB-Miami game is and TSN3 probably because there’s a HOT new episode of Motoring 2020.

I will be on the Twitter machine again this weekend. It felt kind of weird to be done watching football around midnight, not gonna lie. It actually gave me a chance at an earlier bedtime. Did I take that opportunity? Fuck no because I’m a stubborn idiot sometimes. Enjoy the games everyone!

Most Important Games of the 2020 College Football Season – The Final Portion

Posted on June 17, 2020 by guelphbossman

If you don’t know who these guys are well….I guess that just means you never watched wrestling (same thing I have now said two years running for the final post of this series). No, Degeneration X isn’t the greatest stable of all-time and no, their “invasion” of WCW was not important at all (despite what WWE might want you to think with their revisionist history bullshit). I am going to do a rating system for the final weeks of the system using DX members. I have to be careful since you may not agree with my ratings and I have to use members that may have been forgotten (look them up if you like). If you have no idea what I am talking about then don’t worry…it probably means you’re normal.

We’re at the end of this exercise for this season. Final three weeks of the regular season. Two great weeks and one not-so-good week. And get this: that not-so-good week is NOT SEC Sleepwalk Saturday. I think I have to finally retire that name. It’s a sad day in the history of the blog. The retirement ceremony to raise the banner to the rafters will happen sometime in the future. For now, let’s get to the final post of this series.

Week 11

This week is easily the worst of the bunch. I mean still somewhat important in the grand scheme of the season but not nearly as important as the two weeks after it. I want to say Week 11 is Tori but that would be mean as it’s not nearly that bad. So I will say Week 11 is X-Pac or the New Age Outlaws or even Chyna. So still pretty damn important because it will shape part of this season.

Game of the Week: Kansas State at Oklahoma (8:00, FOX) – OK so here is all you need to know about this week in college football. I mean there are some good games but when this is the GOTW, you know it’s not one of the better weeks of the season. As of right now, I have this in the primetime FOX slot although I can see that moving to Noon. Now this goes way up the list if both of these teams are contenders for the Big XII title and possibly the College Football Playoff.

Other Really Important Games: Tennessee at Georgia (3:30, CBS) – Tennessee is an interesting team coming into this season. Jarrett Guarantano is back which is a huge plus to the Vols. They have a good enough offense to be considered a possible contender in the SEC East. Saying that, if they beat the Dawgs here, it would be considered a colossal upset and the defining game (up to this point) of the Jeremy Pruitt era.

Memphis at Navy (3:30, CBS Sports Network) – CBS Sports Network almost never shows up on this part of the list. And this is the huge game of the AAC West this season (apologies to Tulane and SMU). Two favourites for the Group of Five New Year’s Six spot. And a place that, honestly, very few visiting teams win at. This is seriously must-see football and could upend the two games previous on this list as the Game of the Week if both of these teams are in the Top 25 coming into this one.

Arizona State at Oregon (Thursday, 10:00, FloSports) – Oregon feels like the easy, no-questions-asked favourite of the Pac-12. Saying that, Herm Edwards can get his Sun Devils up for big games so they will be ready here. Plus if ASU pulls off the upset, it continues the Pac-12’s new tradition of being a complete minefield of a conference with no one team that has to be considered a surefire CFP team.

Baylor at Iowa State (Noon, specialty pack) – Honestly it still feels weird to put Baylor in this spot. But thanks to Matt Rhule they have to be put here until they fall from grace. This is Dave Aranda’s first shot at being a head coach after years being one of the best defensive coordinators in the game. He gets a better chance than most first-time head coaches, starting at a Power Five school. Most people don’t get that opportunity. Which means it really is a huge risk-reward season for him since anything worse than bowl-eligibility would put him on a lava-hot seat in football-mad Texas.

Sneaky-Good Underrated Game: Wake Forest at Louisville (3:30, specialty pack) – Underrated? For sure. But don’t be surprised if one, or both, of these teams are in the Top 25 at this point. Then of course it would be in the most important games section but I digress. This is your typical regional sports network game that would never see the light of day in Canada before now. It’s the kind of game both teams will feel they have to win. Especially since a loss probably eliminates them from winning the ACC Clemson Division.

Best Group of Five Game: Memphis at Navy (3:30, CBS Sports Network) – See above. Seriously good game.

Worst Power Five Game: Kansas at Texas Tech (7:30, FloSports) – Isn’t it nice to have access to FOX Sports One games so you can see this barnburner? Now watch it be one of the more exciting games of the week.

Week 12

Fourth best week of the college football season. The former SEC Sleepwalk Saturday (R.I.P.) is now one of the more important weeks in college football. This means that Week 12 is the Heartbreak Kid, Shawn Michaels.

Game of the Week: LSU at Auburn (8:00, CBS) – Yes I have selected this game as the SEC on CBS primetime selection for the season. The Tigahs of Louisiana State are the defending national champions and the Tigahs from the Plains could have one of the best quarterbacks in the land in Bo Nix. It was not difficult at all to pick the GOTW for this week. And doesn’t it make sense that the death of SEC Sleepwalk Saturday is headlined by a massive SEC game? It’s just perfect.

Other Really Important Games: Texas A&M at Alabama (3:30, CBS) – Jesus Christ the SEC has put Sleepwalk Week to sleep. Tiger Bowl will be lead into with this game which could be huge again for the first time, truly, since Johnny Manziel was scrambling like a maniac in the Aggie backfield and A.J. McCarron had a girlfriend that Brent Musburger was slobbering all over. This may be the best one-two game combination on CBS ever which is saying something since the SEC on CBS has had many huge doubleheaders (OK it’s not really a doubleheader but work with me here). If CBS is smart, this doesn’t make it to ESPN meaning CBS will win the college football ratings war for the week.

Oregon at Washington (7:30, ABC/TSN5) – Chris Petersen, at home in his La-Z-Boy, will be so happy that this game is a 4:30 local start for his former Huskies team. I’m glad that whole thing is over with. It was whining to the nth degree at the time. You’re still getting on ESPN and FOX quite often so stop bitching. And honestly, many people in the Eastern time zone, myself included, would honestly love to have college football start at 9 in the morning and end at 11:30 at night. How fucking glorious would that be?

Georgia at Kentucky (Noon, TSN3) – Glad to see Kentucky isn’t automatically earmarked for the SEC Network regardless of who they play. This is the third SEC game on this list. It feels like someone is seriously P.O.’ed at me for coining the phrase SEC Sleepwalk Week. Seriously, though, who the fuck did the Bulldogs anger at the SEC main offices? Their schedule, starting October 10th, goes like this: Auburn, at Missouri, Cocktail Party, at South Carolina, Tennessee, at Kentucky. Good fucking God. For an SEC East team that is a gauntlet. They somehow win all those, they should get a CFP spot, regardless of how they do in the other games.

Clemson at Wake Forest (Friday, 7:00, specialty pack) – Another game, another ACC team trying to dethrone Clemson. I mean Wake is too the point where I expect them to win between six and eight games a season and be a thorn in the side of at least one team. I could see this moving to the ABC primetime slot if the Deacs are in the Top 25 which would make it the first time ever they have put that game in Winston-Salem to a full national audience (Wake’s game against Notre Dame in 2011 was a reverse mirror).

Oklahoma State at Kansas State (3:30, FloSports) – This could end up as the premier game on FOX…meaning at Noon Eastern. I am sure that some Big XII fans absolutely loathe 11:00 am start times. Let’s be honest: you either can’t tailgate too much or have to start at like 6 in the morning. As of right now, I have this as the “premier” game on FS1 but considering the state of all the non-SEC games this week, I don’t feel that great about putting them here. But that’s the prediction for now.

Indiana at Michigan (Noon, FOX) – See it’s either the above game or this one. I know the networks love Michigan (and why not with their fanbase) so as of this point, this is the favourite for the Big Noon Saturday spot. How many times has Indiana ended up on these lists this year? God, they better not end up 5-7.

Louisville at Notre Dame (2:30, NBC) – The weird 2:30 NBC time rears its ugly head again. I hate to say that these games end up being partially forgotten but for their sake, this game better be close to gain serious eyeballs. This may move to a 3:30 timeslot depending on what is on NBC in primetime.

Sneaky-Good Underrated Game: Iowa State at Texas (Noon, ABC/TSN5) – This will not be the Game of the Week and probably wouldn’t make the important games list. But one of these teams will be in serious contention for the Big XII Championship game and that’s almost a guarantee. ABC still might end up with a great schedule if this one turns out good, along with the other two games they have (the aforementioned UO-Washington game and the Battle for L.A. which I have at 3:30).

Best Group of Five Game: Cincinnati at UCF (7:00, specialty pack) – UCF isn’t the UCF of old. The Bearcats have probably surpassed the Knights in the AAC East hierarchy. There are so many possible teams that could come out of the American as true contenders that many of these games feel less important. I think there are honestly six teams, at least, that seem to have an honest shot at the New Year’s Six spot. Most of the conferences are not like this and with UConn gone from the conference, this conference actually becomes stronger funnily enough.

Worst Power Five Game: Miami at Georgia Tech (3:30, specialty pack) – This tells you how fall the Canes have fallen from being The U. Don’t get me wrong: at some point in early October, they will probably be in the Top 25. And then the bottom will fall out and Manny Diaz will be scrambling for his coaching life in south Florida. Geoff Collins is in his second year of leaving the option offense so the Ramblin’ Wreck might actually be a formidable foe here for Miami.

Week 13

The crowning moment of the regular season for college football fans. The week most college football fans look forward to. It’s American Thanksgiving Week(end). And God damn it am I ever going to watch a shitload of football. But, amazingly enough, this is only the third best week of the season! I know right? But it’s still the biggest week of this post. Since this is the pinnacle (again, of this post), there is only one person that belongs in this spot: Triple H. Meaning some teams’ hopes will be buried this week.

Game of the Week: Auburn at Alabama (3:30, CBS) – The Iron Bowl is once again the premier game of this final regular season week but not by much to a few other contenders. I remember last year when they thought of moving this game to Friday and I said it was not a bad idea. I take that back now. It’s probably a terrible idea especially if you were working that day. So I can’t see it ever moving to Black Friday considering how big football has become. Thanksgiving night? That’s a different story.

Other Really Important Games: Michigan at Ohio State (Noon, FOX) – One of the other potential Games of the Week. I’d love to say that Michigan has a great chance to finally beat tOSU. But let’s be honest: I will believe it when I see it (which is the same thing almost everyone, even Michigan fans, will say). I know GUS JOHNSON will be hoping that this game is actually exciting since you can tell these days when he is calling a blowout. It’s like all the life is sucked out of him.

LSU at Texas A&M (7:30, specialty pack) – Right now I have this on the SEC Network. For real. I know, I know but this week has a lot of non-SEC games on network TV so I have this feeling that this game may end up on the SEC Network. There, at least I have reasoning behind it. Saying that, it wouldn’t surprise me if this ends up on ESPN.

Wisconsin at Iowa (7:30, ABC) – For the first time, I believe, since Nebraska joined the Big Ten, Iowa does not play them on Black Friday. And considering this might be the de facto Big Ten West Division championship, I can see it ending up here or in the afternoon timeslot on ABC. Both of these teams will be hoping to jump over this hurdle (and the hurdle the following week) to get to the College Football Playoff, something both programs have barely missed.

Kansas State at Baylor (3:30, ABC/TSN2) – OK now that I remember I put this in the afternoon timeslot, there is no way Wisconsin-Iowa would be put here instead of this, unless one of these two teams is in the Top 10. Chris Klieman has done a good job in the Little Apple and he seems to be a bit underappreciated. Then again, that’s the norm for the Wildcats who are almost always underrated.

Texas at Oklahoma State (Friday, Noon, FOX) – The Big XII moving some of their games to Black Friday is an excellent idea as the Power Five mostly ignores that day. With the recent news out of Stillwater, I have this funny felling that Mike Gundy will not be around to see this game. Call it a hunch.

Sneaky-Good Underrated Game: Virginia at Virginia Tech (Friday, Noon, ABC) – After last year’s Commonwealth Cup game, this could be considered the marquee Black Friday game (even though right now I have the UT-OSU game there at this point). I also have a feeling this won’t be as underrated as I think it will be. So why is it here? Well the other options were Kentucky-Louisville, Boston College-Wake Forest and Duke-Miami and I can’t see any of those actually being good games which is kind of part of the criteria here.

Best Group of Five Game: Troy at Appalachian State (Noon, specialty pack) – Troy should be back. I can feel it. And App State is App State. A possible Group of Five elimination game here. This will almost certainly end up on the specialty pack this time around. Other games that could be in this spot include Memphis-Tulane, Air Force-Utah State and Hawaii-San Diego State but I think this Sun Belt game carries the most importance.

Worst Power Five Game: Arkansas at Missouri (Friday, 2:30, CBS) – I was actually tempted to put Illinois-Northwestern here since I don’t know if the Illini will be as good but the Wildcats were atrocious last year. But Arkansas may end up being the worst Power Five team of the season so I kind of had to put them here. Oh well, it’s still college football and if I’m off that day, I know I will watch at least some of it.

Weeks 14 and 15

I don’t rate these weeks, ever (or at least I don’t now). Week 15 is Army-Navy which is always fun. I still wish for a day when we have an 11-0 Navy or an 11-0 Army coming in with a New Year’s Six spot on the line. Talk about ratings! As for all the conference championship games, the Pac-12 is the only one that still ends up on Friday which is fucking dumb but whatever. Any conference based in the Eastern or Central time zones would work much better on the Friday night but hey I’m just a blogger with smart reasoning powers.

All done! The most important games blog posts are in the books and it officially means I am gearing up for college football. Got my first preview magazine: Athlon. I have to call the Phil Steele offices to see when they will be beginning to ship magazines and then hope that Indigo opens up soon so I can buy Lindy’s and Street & Smith magazines. And then I will have all my summertime reading material, whether I am reading in bed, on the couch, on the can while taking a huge shit or in the bathtub (yes I sometimes take baths and read up on college football).

Next up is the network specific posts. I always hope to get it as accurate as possible but as they say, “Card Subject to Change.” This means we are getting closer to the summer (technically it’s four days away) and the final countdown towards college football season. 73 days away from Week Zero and counting down.

Everyone have a happy Hump Day and enjoy the rest of your week!

Most Important Games of the 2020 College Football Season – The Second Part

Posted on June 2, 2020 by guelphbossman

Hey remember when I mentioned that we were getting closer to the NCAA Football video game series returning? It now looks like that may not be the case. Even with the NCAA allowing players to receive money for their name and likeness, without school licensing, the players would not be able to be represented in the video game. The next step would have to be some sort of group licensing that involves school logos, names, stadiums, etc. So the sadness remains with all those people who would buy a PS4 or PS5 or whatever the most recent X-Box is just for this game. Which includes me. I say that even though I just sold the game since I just don’t play anymore…the PlayStation going up to my son’s room accelerated that. Am I officially a miserable adult now?

So normally, I do the first post of this series and a day or two later more schedule updates appear changing my original guesses already. It would make me feel a bit dumb. This year? Of course that didn’t happen. COVID-19 has changed so much and this is yet another thing that has changed. Instead of some games being confirmed, this year we have the question of which schools would even participate in a college football season in 2020. Here is what I know so far:

The SEC seems all in. This is not a surprise. Hell even Mizzou is showing their SEC-ness. Did you see the picture of the Lake of the Ozarks the other day? Marty Byrde would be all over that action.
The Big Ten seems iffy. Michigan has already stated that unless students are on campus and everything is back to some sense of normalcy, there may not be a season for the Wolverines. I have heard rumblings of other schools feeing the same way.
John Swofford of the ACC had a more measured approach. He said with his conference being in ten different states there may be a possibility that some schools are playing this season and others may not. It’s a wait-and-see approach there.
The rest of the conferences, for the most part, have said nothing.

This could lead to a massive amount of schedule changes. If some schools don’t play, the schools that have scheduled them would have to replace them on the sked. It means we could see some huge matchups throughout the season. It also may mean that conference play doesn’t matter. A lot could happen.

Saying all that, I feel better about my predictions for the schedule this season because in the end, it may not matter. So let’s go with the second part of this series.

Week 4

Game of the Week: Wisconsin at Michigan (Noon, FOX) – FOX gets a few marquee games to put at Noon during the season. This is definitely one of them. You can say what you want about the Wolverines but they bring ratings, love em or hate em. It does help that there aren’t many other games this week so FOX could easily have the biggest game of the week and win the ratings war. I would love to say this could be a Big Ten Championship preview but I would be lying.

Other Really Important Games: Virginia at Clemson (3:30, ABC) – I could see this moving to primetime but again, it all hinges on every conference getting their contracted amount of primetime games on ABC in. On a week with not a lot of great options, this could get a lot of eyeballs. It is yet another opportunity for an ACC team to topple the mighty Fighting Dabo Swinneys. Until it happens, we have to continue to believe that the Tigers are a favourite to get to the College Football Playoff. If the Hoos can somehow pull off the upset, that entire conference could be in a heap of trouble to get a team to the dance.

Florida at Tennessee (3:30, CBS) – “Is Tennessee Back” is the new “Texas is Back.” There were hints last year that maybe, just maybe, the Volunteers are back to the Phil Fulmer days of being in the top tier of the SEC every year. I will be honest: it is almost sad to see a fanbase of a team that used to be good go through five-plus years of no better than mediocrity. Almost…those same fans tend to be complete assholes at times which means the hate is still there for every other fanbase. On the other side of the fence is one of the best coaches in the land and a team that is nipping at Georgia’s heels in the SEC East. These are the kinds of games they have to win if they want to get back to the SEC Championship for the first time since 2016.

Louisiana Tech at Baylor (Noon, FloSports) – Will Baylor be as good as last season? That is the question since Dr. Matt Rhule, D.D.S. left for the greener pastures of the NFL and the Carolina Panthers. The Bears have a history of having a season every so often that makes them seem like a real contender followed by a few seasons of being a pretender. As for the Bulldogs, this is their first time in the important games section. Congratulations to them. This is the kind of game they must win if they want to be the first Conference USA team to make it to the New Year’s Six.

Notre Dame at Wake Forest (3:30, specialty pack) – Can we just finally say that the Deacs are an upper tier ACC team? I’m serious. This may say more about the conference as a whole, beyond Clemson, than anything but I think you can’t help but agree. I wouldn’t say this is a massive game for both teams but it’s one that both programs have on their radar right now. This is part of the Notre Dame-ACC agreement that runs for a long time, like until the year 2245 or something. It still feels weird to this day and probably always will. Anyway, this should be fun so watch it. Or don’t. I mean I’m not going to force you to or anything.

Sneaky-Good Underrated Game: Arizona State at USC (7:00, specialty pack) – This may essentially end up being an early season Pac-12 South elimination game. This may also end up being one of the Pac-12 South round robin games where the division winner has three conference losses. This should be a pretty even match and these two teams have had some great games in the past. Now watch it be a blowout. I am glad this game was this week since my next pick would have been Western Kentucky-Louisville. My god.

Best Group of Five Game: Temple at Navy (3:30, CBS Sports Network) – You know, after one bad Navy season many people, including myself, figured the Midshipmen would get back to .500 and maybe end up with a winning season. So what did Ken Niumatalolo do? Put them in the Top 25 for a while. This year should be no different for this team. And I have noticed in the past few years that playing at Navy is not an easy thing for teams to do. I don’t know what it is but it feels like an intimidating place to play, something the other two military academies can’t boast.

Worst Power Five Game: Stanford at UCLA (6:30, DAZN) – It is a bit odd to see Stanford in this spot but they were not good last year and I can’t see them being a ton better this year. And I wonder when the Chip Kelly Experience will actually pay dividends for the Bruins since nothing has really worked so far.

Week 5

Game of the Week: Baylor at Oklahoma (3:30, ABC) – The best week of the year has one of the potential games of the year right here. But this is only if Baylor doesn’t struggle with Matt Rhule not around. That is the caveat. We know the Sooners will be good since they are always good, like it or not. Now watch this game end up being a blowout. And in the Big XII, blowouts can get crazy.

Other Really Important Games: Wisconsin at Notre Dame (in Green Bay) (7:30, NBC) – Despite the fact that the Irish have five ACC games every season, they always find a way to schedule their rivals (like USC, Michigan and Navy). They also add a juicy game or two every season. I remember the last time there was a game at Lambeau Field: the Badgers upset LSU and destroyed my national championship pick early on in the season. Thanks a bunch guys. This ends up being a primetime NBC game so we should be expecting something special here.

Penn State at Michigan (Noon, ABC/TSN1/TSN4) – This does not feel like a Noon Big Ten Game. At all. This is the kind of game that is usually on ABC in primetime. We should hear the familiar refrain of the Woes of James Harbaugh throughout this one. The continued talk about James Franklin resurrecting the program at Happy Valley. And somewhere in there will be an actual college football game. Let’s call it a Big Ten East elimination game since it probably is one.

Washington at Oregon (10:30, specialty pack) – Well at least Chris Petersen isn’t around to freak the fuck out about this game being on in the late night timeslot. Now this could end up on ABC in primetime since my current choice, Florida State-NC State, really does not look like a good game on paper. I guess it’s the problem with these conferences having these kinds of minimums in their television contracts. Although can you imagine if that wasn’t the case? I am sure we would almost never see the Pac-12 or the ACC ever again. Anyway, as of right now, this is Pac-12 After Dark which is sometimes good for some late night insanity. I will most certainly be watching, losing some sleep in the process.

USC at Utah (10:30, FloSports) – This could be one of the best late night schedules ever and you will see why below. We have the game above and now this one that we can now see! I am sure Clay Helton will be sweating all throughout this one as he continues his rocky tenure as the head coach in LA. I do wonder if Utah can recreate the magic of last season and make another run at the College Football Playoff. Now that LSU broke through and won the whole thing, we need another new team to get into the mix so why not the Utes?

Kentucky at Auburn (7:30, specialty pack) – I have this game on the SEC Network. Seriously. If the Wildcats are any good this season, we could be watching a barnburner on an American specialty sports network that is shown on a specialty pack here in Canada. It’s also kind of interesting that this is the best week of the season and this is the first appearance of the SEC on this list.

Texas at Kansas State (Noon, FloSports) – Normally one of the games we wouldn’t be able to see. Before this season, it’s the Big XII that we Canadians would miss most of. The one conference without a conference network (and no, the Longhorn Network does not count) has struggled overall compared to the other Power Five conferences to get their games on in the best timeslots. If it wasn’t for the Sooners and at least one other Big XII team, no one would notice this conference. Both these programs are trying to be that “one other team” this season. Would be fun to see Kansas State back being a true contender. Especially since what the hell else is there to do in the Little Apple?

Sneaky-Good Underrated Game: North Carolina at Virginia (7:00, specialty pack) – The Tar Heels are fun again under Mack Brown for the first time since, well, Mack Brown was coaching. Bronco Mendenhall is doing the same types of things he did at BYU in Charlottesville. These are the two teams I would consider as the best bets to dethrone Clemson (or at least give them a conference loss). No this is not a de facto division title game since this is the ACC Coastal division and this division is utterly insane. I wait for the season that everyone ends up 4-4 and there’s a seven-way tie for the division crown. God that would be glorious.

Best Group of Five Game: Navy at Air Force (10:30, specialty pack) – This is the third game in the late night triple threat this week. There were a few choices I could have put here. Memphis-SMU and Utah State-BYU fit the bill as well and on any other week would have been here. But this game should be great and considering the way the two offenses are, should be over before Saturday Night Live’s episode that week is done. I think this is the first time a Navy-AFA game could be this big. It could also be the first time, as far as I know, that both teams come into this one ranked. Now that would be something.

Worst Power Five Game: Nebraska at Northwestern (Noon, TSN5) – Now this…this feels like a Big Ten game at Noon. It means that either Beth Mowins or Steve Levy has to call it, right?

Week 6

Game of the Week: LSU at Florida (3:30, CBS) – God damn this could be a MASSIVE game this season. Two SEC contenders. Potentially, two CFP contenders. This is still a possibility to be moved to a primetime SEC on CBS game as it is that big. Or for some reason CBS allows ESPN to pick it up and even put it at that odd 6:00 start time. You never really know. Anyway, this could be a CFP elimination game. By this point we should know if the Tigahs are ready to defend their national championship or not.

Other Really Important Games: Auburn at Georgia (7:00, specialty pack) – Many would say this should be the game of the week. It’s a good game but I don’t think it hits the heights of the previous game. Also this could be a good week for CBS to exercise that doubleheader they get to do once a year. Both teams look good heading into the season and there’s always talk about Gus Malzahn being shitcanned so that is fun for people who like that kind of thing. Some also hate Kirby Smart as well because he hasn’t won an SEC title yet. Life can’t be easy for an SEC head coach (although I am sure the crap-ton of money they get eases the pain a bit).

Iowa at Ohio State (Noon, FOX) – FOX not taking a back seat to Disney this week for game selections. Then again this could end up as the ABC primetime game. You just never know with the schedules. Man, the Pac-12 still has to be livid that FOX said that their best games will be on at Noon. When do they finally say Fuck it and say “Fine, put a game on at 9 local time. I’m sure no one will care and besides, we want the main event!” If Chris Petersen was still around I am sure this would have been pushed.

Minnesota at Wisconsin (Noon, TSN4) – Man the Noon timeslot is fantastic this week. Many would consider this further down the list to be honest. I still have faith that the Golden Gophers can Row The Boat and stay atop the Big Ten West. Wisky will be Wisky and try and run the ball for like 500 yards on what looks like seriously uncomfortable turf in Madison. I can’t imagine what’s that like to get tackled on in late November.

Oklahoma vs. Texas (in Dallas) (Noon, ABC/TSN2) – It’s something when this is the fifth-best game of the week. The Red River Shootout (SHOOTOUT!) is always a crazy game so I always enjoy watching it. Now we have to continue hoping that the decrepit Cotton Bowl doesn’t collapse during one of these games. This could end up being a FOX selection just for the teams involved but there are a lot of options this week so both networks will have to pick carefully.

Utah at Washington (8:00, FOX) – This could be a preview of the Pac-12 title game and it is this far down the list. That tells you more about the Pac-12 than the state of college football. Call it East Coast bias if you want but the teams out west just don’t seem to have the cache these days that many teams east of them do. Knowing that, I could see them moving this to 10:30 or 11:00 at night.

Clemson at Florida State (3:30, specialty pack) – Hey remember when both of these teams were legitimate contenders and this could be counted on as a potential game of the year? The Tigers have been carrying the conference so their shoulders must be tired at this point. The Noles have been average, at best, and are looking to re-establish their identity in the ACC. A win here would be a fans-storm-the-field kind of instance for Florida State.

Sneaky-Good Underrated Game: Virginia Tech at North Carolina (8:00, specialty pack) – One team has to emerge from the ACC Coastal Division, technically. The Hokies and the Heels are as good a bet as any to make it to the ACC Championship. I’d like to say the loser here is eliminated from the race but not in this wacky division.

Best Group of Five Game: Louisiana at Appalachian State (Wednesday, 7:00, specialty pack) – This could end up being one of the games that decides the Group of Five New Year’s Six spot. Don’t laugh. The Sun Belt has been steadily improving over the past few years. Everyone knows what App State can do but the Ragin’ Cajuns have been underrated recently. This could be a breakout game. It also could be a preview of the Sun Belt Championship game.

Worst Power Five Game: Rutgers at Purdue (Noon, BTN) – Ah Rutgers back in the Rutgers spot. Remember what I said about the huge Noon slate? Well it’s still true so I wonder how many people would actually watch this game. Not many I think.

Week 7

Game of the Week: Iowa at Penn State (Noon, ABC/TSN1) – The Big Ten has a huge week this week. And this is the biggest game of a huge bunch. Kirk Ferentz will try and do some Kirk Ferentz things to lead his Hawkeyes to a victory. Penn State has been close to the big dance and needs a win here to try and break through to the next level for the first time in a long time.

Other Really Important Games: Texas A&M at Auburn (3:30, CBS) – This is one of three games that could be considered the game of the week. It really isn’t a huge week for top-of-the-line game quality but there are a lot of good games this week. It used to be that everyone was trying to catch Alabama. Now it’s everyone in the SEC West trying to catch LSU. The Gus Bus and whatever vehicle you want to associate with Jimbo Fisher will be hard up to win the division if they lose here.

Michigan at Minnesota (7:30, FloSports) – See now that Canadians can access these FOX Sports One games, I don’t care that they move some big games there. I understand the reasoning behind doing that because it makes it so FS1 would eventually be in more homes in the U.S.. Saying this, this game could be moved anywhere on the FOX schedule this week, especially if both teams have had hot starts to the season.

Oklahoma at Iowa State (Noon, FOX) – It’s nice to see a program like Iowa State have a sustained string of successful seasons. Matt Campbell has done a phenomenal job in Ames. And they have pulled a massive upset on the Sooners in recent years. Nothing says it can’t happen again. I know the rest of the Big XII will be rooting for the Cyclones even if they don’t admit it. Anything to knock the Sooners off their perch would be a good thing for the rest of the conference.

Ohio State at Michigan State (7:30, ABC) – A lot of good games this week as I mentioned above. Now there’s a caveat with this one: the Spartans have to be better than they were this year to make this a reality. In most years this would be in consideration for Game of the Week. With the Mark Dantonio era over, things start anew in East Lansing with Mel Tucker. They always have a gauntlet with the Big Ten East, having to face Ohio State, Penn State, Michigan and, these days, Indiana every year. Don’t be surprised if FOX picks this one up for their primetime game if ABC passes on it.

Oregon at California (Friday, 10:00, FloSports) – The Golden Bears are good again! A young enthusiastic head coach and a program that is on the right recruiting trails helps. The Pac-12 not being the Pac-12 of old is also a factor here but make no mistake about it, Cal could make some noise in the Pac-12 North with a win here. The Mario Cristobal Show rolls on in Eugene as he tries to take the final step to get the Ducks into the College Football Playoff. It would be good since we need some new blood in there (I know, Oregon has been once before but it feels like that was DECADES ago).

Sneaky-Good Underrated Game: Wake Forest at Florida State (Noon, specialty pack) – OK I had to dig a bit deeper to find a good underrated game. I would say that this is the only one that truly qualifies and it’s more because of Wake than FSU. With the way the Noon schedule is, if this does appear in that timeslot it will be drowned out by the other bigger games so it better be close to be relevant.

Best Group of Five Game: UCF at Memphis (Friday, 8:00, specialty pack) – As of right now, this game will sort of split the national spotlight with the UO-Cal game I mentioned above. The American conference loves their Friday night games and they usually get some good ones in on those nights (unlike the ACC that drops whatever shit there and doesn’t think of the matchup). This should be a barnburner as per usual between these two teams. This could possibly move to TSN. This game is one of the G-5 games of the year and will shape the New Year’s Six, guaranteed.

Worst Power Five Game: Maryland at Northwestern (3:30, BTN) – Man the Big Ten has some bad games this season. The bottom tier of the conference can compete with any of the other Power Five conferences to stay they are the bottom of the barrel. I guess the silver lining here is that it isn’t Rutgers this time? I wonder if the Big Ten is still happy with getting the Scarlet Knights and the Terrapins into the conference a few years back. I mean I know the money is a big part of it but man, on the football field they have been atrocious.

We are more than halfway through the season now (with these posts). With only thirteen weeks this season I had to have one longer post because of it. Sorry about that. The next two posts will be the most difficult as almost none of it is set out beforehand and with 6 and 12-day holds on scheduling games, many of the choices are done later in the season. This means many of these could be wrong because of that. And in those cases I will blame the networks. Not me.

I have not picked up a college football preview magazine yet. Why? Because none of them are out yet. I can’t even order the Phil Steele magazine because of everything that is going on with the pandemic. I am hoping to get it sometime in early August but no guarantees. With bookstores closed I will have to keep an eye out for the others and order them when I get a chance. Anyway, we are 88 days from the scheduled opening of the college football season. A lot is up in the air at this point but as of right now I am assuming they will start, with empty stadiums, on time. Hope everyone has a great week and enjoy the weather!

Bossman's Blog

A lot of college football (and perhaps a bit of miscellaneous crap that I think warrants a post)

Tag Archives: Deacs

Hey let’s look ahead (and also give you the Week 8 College Football TV schedule)

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

Saturday Early

Saturday Afternoon

Saturday Primetime

Saturday Late Night

Oh, it’s that time…CRAZY BOWL PROJECTIONS!!!

The Student Finally Defeats the Master – Week 6 College Football Recap

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

Saturday Early

Saturday Afternoon

Saturday Primetime

Saturday Late Night

Wednesday​​

Thursday

Friday​

Saturday Early​​

Saturday Afternoon​

Saturday Primetime​

Saturday Late Night​

Thursday

Saturday Early

Saturday Afternoon

Saturday Primetime

Wednesday

Friday

Saturday Early

Saturday Afternoon

Saturday Primetime

Saturday Late Night