Oh man, here we go again

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Just For You

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

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

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

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

Geogpraphy, Go Eat a Dick

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

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

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

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

Deep Tissue Massage and/or Analysis

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

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

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

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

Belly Expansions

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

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

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

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

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

California Nightmarin’

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

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

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

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

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!

It’s time to see how I did on my 2019 college football predictions…hold your applause

The college football season has ended.  Grab the Kleenex, dab your eyes and blow your nose.  We are seven long months away from college football starting again.  I might actually watch a few spring games this time around only if there’s nothing else to watch.  The mock drafts will commence soon although I will not cover the Kreepy Kombine.  I don’t care what a player prefers on his pizza or what he would do if he wasn’t a college football player or whether his parents are swingers.  I would be very uncomfortable as a scout to ask this shit.  The CFL starts in late May again this year with their pre-season (May 24th to be exact).  I still don’t understand why the pre-season games aren’t all in neutral locations.  Grow the damn league for god’s sake.  Oh and the XFL starts soon.  We shall see how version 2.0 goes.  I think with the TV contracts they will be able to do what the AAF couldn’t…finish their first season.  Beyond that who knows.  If they can go two full seasons I would consider it at least a slight success.

Let’s get to the main event: my predictions and how I did.  I am assuming I did crappy but you never know until you reflect.  And if the reflection is bad, break the mirror.  Anyway, let’s go.

College Football Playoff and New Year’s Six

• My College Football Playoff Final Four was very close!
  • Clemson – Picked them #1 and they ended up #3 and undefeated.  God I’m good.  OK yes most people picked them in the CFP but still.
  • Oklahoma – I had them #2.  They were #4 so technically I am 2-for-2.  Again, this was another easy pick considering I thought no one would be close in the Big XII.
  • Alabama – I figured this was a no-brainer.  That’s what two losses will do to you as they didn’t even get into the New Year’s Six (although they weren’t too far out).
  • Michigan – Same deal as Bama had although it was less of a shoo-in with the Wolverines.  They ended up facing the Tide in the Citrus Bowl so not too bad but a little off with this pick.
• How about my New Year’s Six picks? Not as good.  Didn’t get a single bowl game fully correct.  Utah?  Should have been there but no.  Texas?  Nope.  Washington?  Nada.  Notre Dame?  Close but no cigar.  Syracuse?  Jesus Christ what was I thinking?
• I did have the Group of Five pick correct though as I had Memphis going to the Cotton Bowl.
• I had LSU, Oregon and Nebraska being just on the outside of the NY6 looking in but playing in good bowls. LSU was awesome, Oregon looks like they’re back being a Pac-12 power and I drank the Nebraska Kool-Aid.  Two out of three isn’t bad.

Heisman Trophy

• I had Trevor Lawrence and Tua Tagovailoa as my #1 and #2.  If Tua hadn’t got injured he would have finished higher.  Lawrence just didn’t have the greatest start to his season but ended strong.
• I didn’t have Joe Burrow on my list.  The only LSU player I had up there was Grant Delpit.  Major fail on my part.
• My picks were mostly bad.  I mean Sam Ehlinger at #4?  Jake Fromm at #6?  Adrian Martinez at #10?  Sweet Jesus.  I had Hurts at #5 and Fields at #8 so at least they were in my Top 10.  But no Chase Young.  Yikes.

Let’s Look at Some Bad Team Predictions

• Look, Army was supposed to be better and most thought they would be.  I will include it here but almost everyone made that goof.
• Western Kentucky was a bit of a revelation this season.  I figured they would fall to the basement again but Tyson Helton did a great job with the Hilltoppers, getting back to their high-octane offensive ways.
• Indiana was really good which is not what I said at the start of the year.  I have to apologize to the Hoosiers.  Maybe they are not just a basketball school anymore.
• I also need to apologize to P.J. Fleck.  He got the Golden Gophers to Row The Boat like he wanted them to.  I thought they would struggle just to get bowl-eligible.  Not even close there.
• North Texas was quite a bit worse than I thought they would be (I figured they would challenge for the division title).  Not good.  And they were home for the holidays.  An overall sad season for the Mean Green.
• Shawn Elliott is doing some great things at Georgia State.  Along with WKU they have to be considered the surprises of the season so I don’t feel too bad with my prediction here.
• What Billy Napier did at Louisiana this season was amazing.  He has brought the Ragin’ Cajuns back to prominence and solidified his spot as a good head coach.  I figured they would win the Sun Belt West but not by as much as they did.
• Nebraska.  Sweet Jesus they just can’t seem to get it together.  So Scott Frost isn’t quite the mastermind many thought he would be.
• Northwestern was tough to watch.  Like seriously tough to watch.  Last year they clinched the Big Ten West with like four weeks to go.  This year?  Brutal.
• I’m trying to remember why I had Troy so high up in the Sun Belt standings.  I have a feeling I didn’t think there would be a huge drop-off even though Neal Brown left for West Virginia.  I was wrong.
• Nice to see Oregon State have a decent year for the first time in what felt like forever.  One prediction I don’t feel too bad about since most had the Beavers at the bottom of the Pac-12 North.
• The Bay Area schools had way different years than I predicted.  Cal ended up being much better than my prediction and the Big Trees out at Stanford were much worse.  This is getting out of hand.  I wonder if the actual experts are this bad.
• Chris Klieman proved his mettle as a head coach as he had the Wildcats playing much better than many experts predicted.  Eight wins is no joke in the Little Apple.  At least that’s what I’m telling myself.
• Obviously that one terrible season last year was an aberration for Navy.  The Middies turned it around and quickly back into the double-digit win club.  I had them just bowl-eligible.
• SMU parlayed a hot start, and a win in the Iron Skillet game, to a primetime game on ABC and the best season in the Metroplex since the death penalty in the mid-80s.  I had them also just bowl-eligible.
• Jim Bob McElwain did wonders in Central Michigan with the Chippewas, getting them to the MAC Championship after a horrific year last season.  I didn’t think he’d turn it around that quick.
• I really have to just take my Air Force predictions every year and give them an extra win or two since I am always off with them.
• Well the Jeff Tedford shine wore off in the valley with Fresno State.  I thought he would almost bring them to another conference championship game.
• It is nice to see Hawaii do well.  Will be interesting to see how well they do with Nick Rolovich off to Wazzu.
• Don’t get me started with Syracuse and Florida State and Miami.

Let’s Look at Some Good Team Predictions

• I’ve already discussed Oklahoma and Clemson.  I also did well with my Memphis, Ohio State and Georgia predictions, even though I thought the Tigers would run the table.
• I figured Tennessee would be back in bowl season this year and I was right on the mark.
• Boise State, despite being an easy pick, was a good prediction on my part.  I will ignore the fact that almost everyone had them winning the Mountain West.
• Did not take the bait about NC State being awesome this year.  They were quite good but I still figured them third in the ACC Atlantic.
• Oregon and Utah pretty much dominating the Pac-12 this season.  Who called it?  This guy…OK you might not be able to see it but I was pointing at myself.
• Kansas only winning three games.  I use this example every year.
• I nailed the AAC East pretty much dead-on.  Only real difference was UCF and Cincinnati being switched in the top two spots.
• And of course Appalachian State being pretty close to the Group of Five spot in the New Year’s Six.  Then again, EVERYONE thought that.

Coaching Hot Seat Fun-Time Extravaganza

• How the fuck does UConn justify keeping Randy Edsall?  My guess is along with the ridiculous bonuses he gets for getting three first downs in a quarter or leading after one quarter or not shitting his pants, he has a clause that says he is paid a bajillion dollars if he is fired before his contract is up.
• From the rest of the top five, only one remains and I understand why.  Other than one awesome season like a decade ago, Ball State has been brutal in football.  I didn’t figure Mike Neu would be able to turn this around but he has.  They were almost bowl-eligible and were battling for the MAC West title up until the final two weeks.  The rest of the coaches…yeah, no surprise they are all gone.
• Bob Davie gone in New Mexico.  No surprise there since I think everyone there was getting sick of his shit, especially the players.  That only works when you win.  When you lose, being a hard-ass never works.  And Charlie Strong is also gone.  He was fired at USF for basically getting worse every season since he started there.  We will see him again in the next couple years I’m sure.
• Philip Montgomery somehow got a stay of execution at Tulsa.  I think part of this is the fact that who wants to go to coach at Tulsa?
• My Doubtful Shitcanning list, yet again, had a few guys who had pretty good to great years.  Mike Bloomgren did what I didn’t think he could do…win a game at Rice this season (they actually won three).  Gus Malzahn’s Auburn Tigers beat Alabama and almost got to the New Year’s Six.  And Lovie Smith did unreal things at a woebegone program at Illinois and put them in a bowl game this season so yes, I was very wrong with him since he defied logic and has this program headed in the right direction.
• As for the rest of that section, I am a bit surprised Matt Luke was fired since I didn’t think Ole Miss did that bad this season.  Also Brent Brennan is probably off the hot seat list after his work at San Jose State.

So again I decided to compare myself to the Stassen method of pre-season predictions.  Every single year…I don’t know why I subject myself to this but I am always curious as to how I stand compared to real experts who truly study the game and don’t do this on the side…meaning it’s their actual job.  So…using specialized computer software (it’s an app called Calculator), my score was calculated as (drum roll)…

134.

A little bit better than this year.  So where did I land among the experts?  I tied The Sporting News!  Nice!  Problem is they were 14th out of 19.  But at least I wasn’t at the bottom.  So suck it all you lesser predictors!

I am going to consider this season a quasi-success for me.  Mostly because I have low expectations for my predictions.  But since I am talking about my predictions and how good they were, you know what this means…college football is so far away now.  218 days away.  Good god.  How am I going to shirk all Saturday responsibilities now?

Super Bowl is this Sunday.  No I did not watch the Pro Bowl at all.  I don’t even know who won.  I was more immersed in the tragic Kobe Bryant story than anything else yesterday.  Anyway, I have not heard anything about changes to the broadcast info so all I can say is it is on FOX or CTV.  That’s it.

Alright what do we have to look forward to: Mock drafts.  I might do an XFL schedule.  I have the college basketball conference tournament schedule as well which is always a crapshoot when it comes to the specialty packs (although Bell and Rogers are much better now than they were a few years back with assuring games that were scheduled actually appear).  Alright have a great rest of the week folks!

The American Conference does it again – Week 10 College Football Recap

The Memphis Tigers outlasted SMU this past weekend in a 54-48 thriller.  This game was a ton of fun to watch and it shows again that the American Conference might be the most exciting conference in college football.  The SEC might be the best.  The Big XII has the best offenses/worst defenses and the ACC is completely chaotic (at least in one division).  But the AAC always brings it, even if it’s just their signature games.  The War on I-4 two years ago was the gold standard and there have been plenty of other examples.  Now with SMU and Appalachian State falling from the realms of the undefeated (more on that below), the Group of Five is getting close to full chaos mode.  Quite a few teams still with legitimate shots at the New Year’s Six spot open to the G-5 schools.  At this point, however, you might have to say that Memphis is the favourite and if they win out they are definitely in.  But there’s still a month of football yet to play so don’t want them to count their chickens before they hatch or some other cliche that some other media member might come up with.

Other recap points!

• Speaking of beatdowns, how about the one that Michigan laid on Maryland?  I mean it’s just Maryland but still, the Wolverines have looked dominant since starting their (failed) comeback against Penn State.  Look don’t forget about this team.  They could cause some serious damage in the College Football Playoff race.  Until they beat Ohio State, though, Jim Harbaugh will still on be on an (undeserved) hot seat in Ann Arbor.  Oh and remember when Maryland was ranked?  Yeah, good times.
• It ended up being a really good World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party.  As an aside, I get they don’t want to promote drinking for college students but let’s be honest here: half the people there were probably drunk so what does it really matter at this point?  Just be honest with the fans.  Anyway, the Gators couldn’t seem to stop the Bulldogs when it counted which has to lay at the feet of Todd Grantham.  But the lasting image I will have will be Dan Mullen, not yelling at Grantham, but losing his shit on most of the offensive coaching staff for burning a timeout early in the fourth quarter.  It wasn’t quite Muschamp-ian but still, it made for good TV.
• The Pac-12 ain’t dead yet!  Washington did what Washington does and blew an early lead to Utah.  The Utes looked dominant after the Huskies took the early lead.  Then they had to wait for the Oregon-USC game to see if they held their destiny in their hands or if the Trojans, of all teams, would sit in the catbird seat of the Pac-12 South.  Well it didn’t take too long to see that the Ducks were easily the better team.  They blew USC out of the water and probably ended the Clay Helton era in one fell swoop.  We are going headlong into a Pac-12 Championship with 11-1 Oregon and 11-1 Utah and the winner could make things very difficult for the College Football Playoff Committee.
• Notre Dame kept rolling along…ok rolling is the wrong word.  They are doing terrible somersaults forward.  They struggled all day with Bud Foster’s Virginia Tech defense.  Not saying they looked like they did last week against Michigan but the Irish sure didn’t look like a Top 25 team, let alone a contender for the New Year’s Six.  This won’t be Notre Dame’s last tough game as they have Duke, Navy, Boston College and Stanford to finish their season.  Win every game, even if they’re close, and they deserve a NY6 spot.
• Let’s go to the Big Ten and one of the big stories there…the Illinois Fighting Illini.  Yes, seriously.  OK they only beat Rutgers.  Not a big deal per se.  But Illinois is now one win away from being bowl-eligible.  No one thought this would be the case.  Maybe it was smart to give Lovie Smith that extension.  This may be one of the most perplexingly good teams of the year.  I always enjoy down on their luck teams turning it around to have one relatively special season, even if they head back to the basement shortly afterwards.
• Oh Florida State?  We thought two years ago was the bottom.  Then it was last year that was the bottom and things were going to improve.  Now, after their loss to Miami where they looked terrible, they have finally hit a new bottom (at least that’s what Noles fans hope).  And to top it off, Willie Taggart was just fired today.  This program needs someone to save it.  Is there someone willing to take this on knowing the expectations on the program?  It is an absolute mess in Tallahassee.
• OK I will admit it: I drank the Nebraska hype Kool-aid.  I truly thought Scott Frost had things going in Lincoln after the finish to their 2018 season.  They also had Adrian Martinez who looked like a bona fide Heisman candidate.  Well that’s all gone to shit now.  The Huskers loss to Purdue (who is also way worse than many thought they would be) means they have to win two of their final three to go bowling.  They have Wisconsin, Maryland and Iowa coming up.  Good luck, Frosty.
• Pitt beat Georgia Tech.  Not really a big deal to beat the Yellow Jackets.  But this means that Pitt might win the ACC Coastal again.  Can we stomach that?
• Let’s give some hype to a guy who should have some more Heisman chatter: Chuba Hubbard of Oklahoma State.  First of all, he’s Canadian!  It would be awesome to have a Canadian win the Heisman.  But he is carrying the Pokes on his shoulders this season.  And he is arguably the best running back not named Jonathan Taylor and Hubbard had been in the Big Ten, he would be on many Heisman lists.  OSU is going to be going bowling and maybe in the Top 25, mostly due to this guy which is shocking considering that the Cowboys are known for their high-flying passing game.
• I normally don’t talk about FCS games in this post but did you see the end of the Dartmouth-Harvard game?  A crazy Hail Mary winner by the Big Green to beat the Crimson 9-6.  This also keeps Dartmouth undefeated and sets up the unusual next week.  Dartmouth plays Princeton, in Yankee Stadium, and this game will be on at 3:30 on ESPNU.  Yes, an Ivy League game in November is getting a national broadcast spot.  That’s pretty awesome.
• Air Force has been quite the team this season.  There is a good chance they will win at least ten games and still won’t be in the Mountain West Championship or in the NY6 chatter.  They held on to beat Army in a Commander’s-In-Chief Trophy game.  What followed was hilarious.  Army football’s Twitter account actually blocked Air Force’s football account.  See, even the service academies get into this petty rivalry stuff and I love it.
• UCF beat Houston (also known from here on in as Redshirt U) and it honestly looked pretty easy.  What I find odd is that people still believe the Knights could make the New Year’s Six.  For that to happen, the amount of chaos that would have to occur would be monumental.  I mean I would love watching it but still, the chances are VERY slim.
• Don’t forget about San Diego State in the Group of Five race.  They were idle this past week but with only one loss they are right in the thick of things.  They have almost certainly clinched the Mountain West West Division and if they can beat Boise State for the conference championship, they have the resume to be selected.
• Baylor played like a team who was barely an average Big XII game for most of Saturday.  Yes they beat West Virginia and yes it means they stay undefeated but three point victories over the Mountaineers don’t exactly scream College Football Playoff contender.  They get a possible speed bump game in Fort Worth against TCU this Saturday.  Win that and they have one of the biggest games of the year against Oklahoma (and I wonder if Gameday would travel to Waco for this one).
• Hey guess who holds their own destiny in the Pac-12 North?  You guessed it, the Oregon State Beavers.  I know, right?  They put a pink bill (50-burger) up on Arizona this past weekend and now sit at 3-2 in the conference.  If they win out, they go to the Pac-12 Championship.  How ridiculous would that be?  I mean they would have to beat Oregon in the Civil War so chances of it happening are almost none but it would be fun to even see them in that position to do so.
• Kansas State won pretty easily over Kansas.  Chris Klieman has done a masterful job in the Little Apple and they are just on the outside of the Big XII title game race.  Don’t be surprised if they can somehow sneak in.  But let’s give Les Miles some kudos here for what he has done in Lawrence.  The Jayhawks have hope now going forward.  They may not be the doormat of the Big XII for much longer and Miles has a lot to do with that.
• Going back to the service academies, it looks like Navy is having the season Army was supposed to have and vice versa.  Ken Niumatalolo doing a great job with the Midshipmen in a bounce back year after last season’s horrible results.  They have to be the favourite in the Army-Navy game now and might win it for the first time in a few years.

That was a fun weekend of college football.  Now for the Bossman Top 25!

#1	LSU
#2	Ohio State
#3	Alabama
#4	Georgia
#5	Utah
#6	Oregon
#7	Clemson
#8	Penn State
#9	Baylor
#10	Auburn
#11	Michigan
#12	Oklahoma
#13	Florida
#14	Minnesota
#15	Notre Dame
#16	Iowa
#17	Cincinnati
#18	Wisconsin
#19	Memphis
#20	Wake Forest
#21	Boise State
#22	Kansas State
#23	SMU
#24	Texas
#25	Indiana

Yes I have Alabama at #3 behind LSU and Ohio State.  If the Tide win this Saturday then they are going to be #1 come this time next week, no ifs, ands or buts.  Clemson I have dropped to #7.  Don’t worry Tigers fans: win out and there’s no way you’re out of the CFP.  Penn State is at #8 and still could end up left out of the Big Ten Championship.  Florida and SMU didn’t fall far considering who they lost to.  Also, watch out for Indiana.  They are severely underrated and could sneak it’s way up the chain and be looking at a New Year’s Six spot.  Sounds crazy but it is still technically possible.

OK it’s that time of year folks!  MACtion Tuesdays.  And MACtion Wednesdays!  Tomorrow night will see Kent State face Toledo and the top of the MAC West, Ball State, travelling to Western Michigan to take on the Broncos.  KSU-Toledo is on CBSSN and BSU-WMU goes to the specialty pack.  Wednesday night’s game is also on the specialty pack and is the 150th Anniversary of college football so expect a lot of history and nostalgia to be discussed during the game.  Miami-OH plays Ohio if you want to know the combatants.

Also the first CFP Rankings of the season will be revealed tomorrow night between the two NCAA basketball games on TSN1.  It might be delayed depending on how long the first college basketball game goes.  Oh yeah college basketball starts up again as well.  So there’s that.  Tomorrow I will have a crazy bowl projections post.  Do not take it seriously.  Have a great week everyone!

The Awful Coast Conference – Week 3 College Football Recap

You know, everyone shits on the Pac-12.  As well we should since it’s a conference that has accomplished very little since USC had their historic run last decade.  But now they have company in the ACC.  We all knew that Clemson would be the top dog.  That was not in dispute.  But many figured that at least a couple of teams would step up and be sniffing at the New Year’s Six based on merit and not because an ACC team will have to go to the Orange Bowl.  So how about we see what happened in the ACC this past weekend shall we?  OK.

• Wake Forest beat North Carolina in a non-conference game.  That’s right.  A non-conference game.  Don’t ask.  Anyway, the darlings of the first two weeks crashed and burned and now Wake Forest is 3-0.  Yeah.  And that’s the good part.
• Boston College was destroyed by Kansas.  Yes, Kansas.  I can’t see Steve Addazio lasting to 2020 the way things are going out in Massachusetts.
• Clemson started slow (as did Trevor Lawrence) but slowly pulled away and ended up winning by 35.  Again, we know what we are getting with the Tigers but man does Syracuse not look good so far this season.
• Penn State played awful in terrible weather in State College but it was still enough to beat a woeful Pitt team who had some, let’s just say, “questionable” coaching decisions.
• Virginia beat Florida State because Florida State Florida Stated all over the place.  I will admit that the Seminoles should have got a few more seconds near the end of the game when the game clock didn’t stop on a first down but still, the Noles blew a lead yet again.  Poor Willie Taggart’s hot seat is basically the temperature of the surface of the sun right now.
• NC State couldn’t handle West Virginia.  And West Virginia won’t be that good this year.
• Virginia Tech struggled to put away Furman.  Yeah I get that Furman is one of the better SoCon teams but it’s still Furman.  Justin Fuente is also hot seating it right now.
• Georgia Tech lost in overtime to The Citadel.  I see the transition from the triple option is going well in Atlanta.

Yes Louisville, Miami and Duke won but they were supposed to and no one gives a shit.  A complete and utter disaster for the conference this past weekend.  Maybe it’s time to move Clemson to the SEC and drop the ACC to the Group of Five.

But hey there was more action this past weekend and some of it was also crazy.  Let’s get to it.

Fun-Time Crazy Recap!

• Poor Feleipe Franks.  He is now out for the year after a gruesome ankle injury.  Kyle Trask stepped in and led the Gators comeback to beat Kentucky but the rest of the season is looking less rosy in Gainesville.  Should we just give Georgia the tickets to Atlanta now?
• If you missed the Arizona State-Michigan State game, don’t worry.  It was arguably one of the worst games this decade.  So of course, what happened?  The last few minutes were insane.  It all ended when the Spartans hit a field goal to tie the game but was called for too many men on the field.  The next attempt wasn’t even close and Sparty lost 10-7 to the Fighting Herm Edwards.  Remember, you play…to win…the game.  You don’t play to just play.
• USC…is not back.  And Clay Helton most definitely won’t be back next season.  I think everyone jumped on the Kedon Slovis bandwagon a teensy bit too quickly.  BYU was ready for them and played well enough to pull off the win in overtime in front of a raucous crowd in Provo.  I won’t call it an upset despite the fact the Trojans were ranked since I didn’t think they should have been.  Oh and I called that too.  Have to give myself pats on the back when I can ya know?
• College Gameday went to Ames on Saturday for the first time ever.   The reward?  Almost three hours worth of weather delays.  At one point, some of the students did not heed the hail warning and stormed the field when security went for cover.  It’s too bad that most of Canada (unless you get Flo Sports) could watch this one since it was also nuts and had one of the craziest endings ever.  Iowa punts the ball with about 90 seconds left and as the Iowa State player is waiting to catch the punt he gets absolutely leveled by his own player which causes a fumble which Iowa recovers.  I am sure Kirk Ferentz had something in his contract that gave him a bonus for that exact play.  He also probably gets another few year extension on his contract and will basically coach until he dies on the sideline at the age of 112.
• A very classy gesture in Athens as the Dawgs fans wore pink in remembrance of Arkansas State head coach Blake Anderson’s wife who passed away from breast cancer recently.  It’s the kind of thing I love to see about college football and it has nothing to do with making money off of it (you hear that, NFL?).  Anyway, ASU was boatraced by UGA 55-0.
• Tua played in the fourth quarter.  I’m not kidding!  The Tide looked really good against South Carolina and this one was never in doubt.
• Yeah the final score was 45-27 but really it was not that close.  UCF ran roughshod over Stanford like a forest fire runs over all those trees.  I have to wonder now if my pick of Memphis getting the Group of Five spot was more boredom in picking UCF or reality since the Knights look seriously good.
• I would say the Dana Holgorsen Experiment in Houston isn’t working.  However you have to admit that Houston didn’t exactly make themselves an easy non-conference schedule.  And they have kept in their games with Oklahoma and Washington State this past Friday night longer than many thought they would.  It’s too bad since they may have had a legitimate Heisman Trophy candidate in D’Eriq King if they had had a great season.  Isn’t meant to be I guess.
• Oh Chip Kelly.  UCLA just looks awful so far this season.  The old Chip Kelly isn’t resurfacing in Westwood with the Bruins.  Problem is probably that he doesn’t have the personnel to run his kind of offense but still.  They still have the possibility of going 0-12 hanging over their head.  If this doesn’t improve, Kelly will not get a third season to get his recruits going.
• Why does Rice play Texas?  This is what JFK asked in a speech decades ago.  The answer is still, who the hell knows.
• You want to know how lean this week was?  Portland State was on ESPN2 facing Boise State.  Yeah.
• Kansas State might be the real deal, folks.  Chris Klieman is a very successful coach and is continuing going with things in the Little Apple.  Is it surprising me?  Absolutely.  So I guess I can’t be surprised if they insert themselves in the Big XII Championship conversation even if it is to cause trouble for the current front-runners, Oklahoma and Texas.
• Eastern Michigan beat Illinois.  Doesn’t feel like an upset.  Chris Creighton has done a great job in Ypsilanti making this look like an actual FBS football program.  I wonder if Lovie Smith will get an extension after this loss since everything that has happened in Champaign has been the opposite of success for years.
• Minnesota successfully ran the gauntlet of teams you might not want to schedule because they could be dangerous.  Wins over South Dakota State, Fresno State and, this past weekend, Georgia Southern may not seem like much considering every game was close.  But the Gophers may have done something more important by preparing themselves for a tough Big Ten schedule by having a pretty good non-conference schedule.  Maybe P.J. Fleck knows what he’s doing there.

So it was a fun day of watching college football.  A few upsets and a bit of movement in the polls.  Including mine which actually isn’t a poll since I am the only being asked.  Oh well.  Time for the Bossman Top 25:

#1	Clemson
#2	Alabama
#3	LSU
#4	Ohio State
#5	Georgia
#6	Oklahoma
#7	Florida
#8	Michigan
#9	Auburn
#10	Notre Dame
#11	Penn State
#12	Utah
#13	UCF
#14	Wisconsin
#15	Texas
#16	Iowa
#17	Texas A&M
#18	Oregon
#19	Washington State
#20	Washington
#21	Boise State
#22	Virginia
#23	TCU
#24	California
#25	Oklahoma State

Yes there are some differences from the AP Poll.  That’s fine.  I have agreed with them in one aspect though.  I have put Bama back at #2.  What can I say, teams move up and down during the season.  No I don’t have Arizona State in the poll (I have them #27 so just outside).  Same with Kansas State (#28).  They continue to play like they’re playing, they will be in next week for sure.  I also wonder about where Iowa is.  I had toyed with putting them at 14 or 15 but settled at 16 but many have them lower.  Is Iowa State not a good victory?  Makes no sense.

Back to Willie Taggart, it looks like some kid is selling lemonade to try and raise enough money to buy out ol’ William.  Only $17 million less about $500 to go, pal!

Same schedule for later in the week.  College football schedule Thursday.  NFL schedule Friday.  Have a good week everyone.

Most Important Games of the 2019 College Football Season – Part Tres

No pic.  Just straight Nostradamus-like scheduling action.  You know, if Nostradamus was right like 4% of the time.  Let’s just get on with this blog post shall we?  It’s the nitty-gritty part of conference play right here.  I would say the meat of the college football season sandwich but that is incorrect.  Let’s just say really good toppings like onions or jalapenos.  Here we go!

Week 8

Game of the Week: Michigan at Penn State (7:30, ABC) – Is it crazy to think we could have another instance of the Big Ten East coming into the season with four teams in the Top 15?  I say no.  Penn State and Michigan State are a step below Michigan which is a step below Ohio State but I can still foresee this being the case.  I mean one of these teams will surely drop like a stone (somewhat), right?

Other Really Important Games: LSU at Mississippi State (3:30, CBS) – Joe Moorhead has kept the Bulldogs going after the departure of Dan Mullen.  No easy task for sure.  I also like the fact he has lost a lot of weight doing intermittent fasting, something I have started doing myself.  Definitely gives me hope since it’s not easy.  As Moorhead put it when asked how he gets to the time when he can eat, “Water and hope.”  Don’t be surprised if Florida-South Carolina ends up here instead although a lot will have to do with how LSU and Florida are doing and not really the other two teams.

Ohio State at Northwestern (Friday, 8:30, FOX Sports One) – At one point, the rumour was that ABC would have air this one on a Friday night.  It would be ABC’s first Friday night college football telecast that wasn’t after American Thanksgiving in God knows how long.  And honestly it would have been warranted.  Instead, to the chagrin of college football fans in Canada, it will air on FOX Sports One.  Talk about a kick in the junk.

Oregon at Washington (7:30, FOX Sports One) – Fuck, two in a row?  OK let’s not get too pissed off here: this is just a guess remember.  So this game could end up on FOX for all we know.  Or it could end up on TSN.  We just don’t know.  Hell, I am still a bit worried about the ACC Network’s entry into the fray this season.

Florida at South Carolina (7:00, specialty pack) – This should be a competitive match.  Operative word being should be.  Florida is supposed to be seriously good so we will know by now whether the Gators are a Top 10 team with national championship aspirations or barely a Top 25 team who was overhyped and overrated.  At this point I have no TSN games this week.  It’s happened often before.  Not as much lately though so this may end up there.

Tennessee at Alabama (Noon, specialty pack) – OK this game…

West Virginia at Oklahoma (3:30, FOX) – …and this game…

Kentucky at Georgia (7:30, specialty pack) – …and this game are here for one reason.  The road teams are all pretty good teams; one coming off a seriously good season (especially for their program), one who should still be good but lost key parts (like their quarterback and head coach) and one who is on the precipice of getting back to some semblance of the glory days.  Problem is they are playing three of the best teams in college football.  The reason these games are here is because an upset, while not crazy, would seriously upset the college football apple cart.

Sneaky-Good Underrated Game: UCLA at Stanford (Thursday, 9:00, specialty pack) – Alright hear me out.  Stanford has been at least good for about, what, a decade now?  And they aren’t about to stop.  It will only take a matter of time for Chip Kelly to get the players he wants playing the system he wants and it may end up being a version of his Oregon teams all over again.  Or, and hear me out again, this could all blow up in my face and I look like a complete idiot.  Either or.

Best Group of Five Game: Boise State at BYU (10:30, specialty pack) – Nice to see BYU back in this spot and yes, I do consider BYU a Group of Five team despite their national championship in ’84 and the fact that most years they are a very competitive team, even with Power Five schools.  But in 2019, you really can’t make the argument that they should be considered a Power Five team.  Maybe in their own spot between the two groups but not a full-fledged member.

Worst Power Five Game: Oregon State at California (11:00, Pac-12 Network) – Wow that’s…..that’s pretty bad.

Week 9

Game of the Week: Notre Dame at Michigan (Noon, ABC/TSN1) – I have this game on ABC as of right now (and TSN1).  But I do wonder if FOX will try their best to get this game.  Considering their best game will usually be at Noon this season and this is one of the three Games of the Week it does make a lot of sense.  And no I am not being a Big Ten homer or Notre Dame homer by saying this.  These two programs bring in a lot of viewers and a lot of the time, that is the name of the game.

Other Really Important Games: Auburn at LSU (3:30, CBS) – Unless CBS wants to save one of these two teams for later in the season because of the cap on number of appearances (5 during the regular season) then there’s no way this isn’t the SEC Game of the Week on CBS…or the SECGOTWOCBS for those who love ridiculous acronyms.  And Auburn will be happy with all this since it means they avoid the dreaded Death Valley at night when things usually don’t go LSU’s opponent’s way.

Wisconsin at Ohio State (3:30, FOX) – This has already been earmarked for FOX.  I have it in the 3:30 timeslot but considering the importance this game may have, I can see it going on at Noon.  By this point we will know of Ryan Day is more of a Lincoln Riley who steps right in and doesn’t lose a step or if he is a tOSU version of Luke Fickell who just can’t get it right and struggles mightily.

Penn State at Michigan State (Noon, TSN3) – The Big Ten has a LOADED schedule this week.  Three of the top four games from one conference.  Unprecedented…I think.  Anyway, this is also a game that could end up on FOX although for now I see it being an ESPN game shown on TSN3 up here in the GWN (Great White North).  This could be an interesting 12-day hold for FOX and ABC/ESPN if the five aforementioned Big Ten teams are all really good at this point of the season.

Washington State at Oregon (3:30, specialty pack) – Reverse mirror fun!  I have this game pairing with UCF/Temple.  I give the AAC game the ABC spot since that is the one we would get in Ontario.  Go far enough west and that may change.  This should be quite the pew-pew kind of game.  And having Mike Leach coaching is always a fun time, no?  Just don’t ask Craig and Adam James.

Mississippi State at Texas A&M (7:00, specialty pack) – This will take a big back seat to the Auburn-LSU game but don’t be fooled:  this should be a damn good game.  I don’t know if you can say either of these teams are underrated or overlooked anymore though.  Neither of these programs can sneak up on anyone anymore.  And I have gotten used to the cowbells now.  Doesn’t faze me at all.  Now if a team starts a vuvuzela tradition then I won’t be too pleased.

Texas at TCU (7:30, ABC/TSN2) – Another time where ABC’s primetime game isn’t near the top of the list.  This happens sometimes because ABC has contracts with the Big Ten, ACC, Big XII and Pac-12 and all of them have to have at least 2 games (if I am not mistaken) on in primetime.  Normally the Big Ten gets the rest of the primetime affairs unless a really juicy matchup from another conference falls in their lap.  I am wondering if I should have some brisket in honour of this matchup.

Sneaky-Good Underrated Game: Syracuse at Florida State (7:30, specialty pack) – Alright this is great and….of course it goes to the ACC Network.  At least we get this right?  I am crossing my fingers that Rogers and Bell don’t fuck this up.

Best Group of Five Game: UCF at Temple (3:30, ABC) – The other half of one of the better reverse mirrors in recent memory.  I assume that if this comes to fruition that this is the game we would get in the eastern part of the country.  Temple has to break in a new coach this season.  It was supposed to be Manny Diaz and then 17 days later he bolted back to Miami for what he considered his dream job.  So coaches can leave on a whim yet players have to sit out a year unless they are graduate students.  Yeah makes perfect sense, right?  Anyway, they ended up poaching Rod Carey from Northern Illinois so they weren’t fully left out in the dust.  Carey had been one of the better MAC coaches in his time there.

Worst Power Five Game: Texas Tech at Kansas (3:00, FOX Sports One) – This was the exact same matchup last year in this spot (although last year it was Week 8, not Week 9).  I can’t see either team being any good so this is an easy choice.  I feel good for them though since they were upgraded from FS2 to FS1.  Progress!

Week 10

Game of the Week: Florida vs. Georgia (in Jacksonville) (3:30, CBS) – It’s Cocktail Party time!  For the first time, really, in quite a while, this could be a matchup between two Top 10 teams with national championship aspirations.  Which is good since otherwise the results are all over the place and completely wacky and having nothing to do with the rankings of the teams coming in.  So get whatever booze you like ready and have a couple while watching this one.  Should be fun!

Other Really Important Games: Virginia Tech at Notre Dame (2:30, NBC) – NBC going with the weird 2:30 start times again.  Just have to hope that both teams are as good as many experts feel they will be.  Otherwise this should fall way down the list.  So Brian Kelly and Justin Fuente: don’t make me regret putting you this high up on the list!

Utah at Washington (3:45, specialty pack) – This is the time they used last year for the late afternoon start on ESPN.  I am just assuming it will be the same this year.  Another matchup between the two best coaches in the Pac-12 not named David Shaw.  One team might partially derail the other team’s season…this is what I would say if the Pac-12 wasn’t a God damn minefield to begin with.  I wouldn’t be shocked to see no one come out of the regular season in this conference unscathed yet again.

Oregon at USC (7:30, FOX) – Again, I don’t have the answer to who gets first selection on which weeks between FOX and ABC.  This goes up against the final game on this list so it’s not like one game is much better than the other (at this point).  This might just come down to numbers: as in the number of times each conference gets games on ABC and FOX.  So get out your slide rule (that was even before my time) or abacus (also before my time) and you can too can figure out all the weird intricacies of the college football broadcasting schedules.

TCU at Oklahoma State (3:30, ABC) – The Gary vs. The Mullet.  Should be good.  We hope.  This should be a great Big XII matchup between two often overlooked teams because the Big XII has OKLAHOMA AND TEXAS and eight other teams (according to many people).  Two great head coaches and maybe a pew-pew-pew offensive outburst?  I’m game for some normal Big XII action!

Miami at Florida State (7:30, ABC) – How many times will Wide Right be mentioned?  Over/under set at 4.5.  I get it.  It was a huge deal.  But it was three decades ago.  And these teams play each other every year.  So move on to something else.  Anything.  I am sure Chris Fowler and Kirk Herbstreit can think of something.

Sneaky-Good Underrated Game: West Virginia at Baylor (Thursday, 8:00, specialty pack) – Now this….this should be a game where the over/under is at about 90 and you still think of taking the over.  I hope they shoot the lights out since that’s what the Big XII is for right?

Best Group of Five Game: Houston at UCF (7:00, specialty pack) – I was tempted to include this in the Other Important Games of the Week section.  This game could be that good and it wouldn’t surprise me if it somehow ended up on ABC considering this is one of the worst weeks of the college football season.  This game might stand out as well if both teams come in undefeated.

Worst Power Five Game: Kansas State at Kansas (Noon, specialty pack) – If this was a really good slate of games, this game would be on FS1 or ESPNU at best.  Instead I have this as the ESPN game at Noon.  The Sunflower Showdown has also been relegated to one of the least important rivalries in Power Five football.  Kansas hasn’t been good for a decade and who knows what the Wildcats will be like without Bill Snyder.  Chris Klieman was a genius at North Dakota State so maybe he can pull something off and get a buzz going in the Little Apple once again.  Until then, this is the spot you get.

So this section had a couple of amazing weeks and a not-so-good week.  But it’s still college football dammit so I will watch.  And when I finally move to IPTV it will get seriously out of hand.  If I somehow have access to ESPN3 or ESPN+ it’s over for me.  I might as well shut down my phone and tell my kids to head to their mom’s for the day at that point.

I gotta get on buying those preview mags!  They have to be in stores already, no?  If so, I will buy one and that will start me on my college football reading for the next three months.  At least the Phil Steele one is ordered.  Hopefully I get it before July.  Otherwise it will be too late to find out who the complete liability is on the UTEP offensive line.  College football can’t come quick enough but these magazines surely keep me occupied for much of the summer.

The CFL starts next week.  I will definitely watch some of it until late August when it’s COLLEJ FOOTBAW time.  I should really get to another game to be honest with you.  Especially now with tailgating being “legal” it might be more fun.  Either that or there will be more drunk people around the stadiums before games.  I am fine with this as long as I remind myself to look down and dodge the random piles of puke every 50 metres.  Enjoy the rest of the week everyone and I will get the final post in this series up as soon as I can.

Biggest games of the 2016 College Football season – Part One!

Now we are getting serious.  The real college football posts are starting.  We are under 75 days until the start of the college football season.  FINALLY!  It feels like the 2015 season ended eons ago (it was a little more than five months but still).  I am starting to get excited for the upcoming season.

And as tradition states (all three years of it), the first big set of posts for this season is the annual biggest (and most important) games of the year posts.  As per usual, this will be split out among four separate posts.  Otherwise it would be such a long post that I would even get bored with it.

Before we get started with the actual games, I will do something I did last year and that’s rank the college football weeks.  As we all know, all weeks aren’t created equal in college football land.  Some are much better (American Thanksgiving weekend) than others (the week before American Thanksgiving weekend).  So without further adieu, here are the rankings (I have put the date as the Saturday of that week to ease confusion…I hope):

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

Yes, I am serious.  The American Thanksgiving college football week is not the best one this season.  I have Week 5 pegged as the best and you will see why when I list the games.  In terms of biggest games, nothing trumps it.  No surprise with the bottom week.  Again it’s week 2 which is usually a horseshit week for college football.  I mean I’ll still watch it like the depraved, addicted college football fan I am, but I am always amazed at how brutally bad the schedule is almost every year in this one week.  The other interesting part is all the hullabaloo about opening week.  Sure it’s arguably the best opening weekend in college football this century.  But when you stack it up against conference play (which is almost always more important), it doesn’t hold up as well.  Saying that, it will be a great intro to the season.

I have not included Conference Championship week because of course it would be the most important week of the regular season.  Army-Navy is its own beast (or at least has been for the past decade).  So neither of those weeks get ranked.  So let’s get down to it!

Week 1

Houston vs. Oklahoma (in NRG Stadium in Houston) – This may ruffle a few feathers.  Especially Bama, Wisky, Nole, Reb, Trojan, Irish, and Horns fans.  With all the hype for opening week, this is the one game that hasn’t got nearly enough of it and should have got most of it.  This could very well be the true coming out party for Houston (yes the Peach Bowl victory over Florida State was huge but this is different).  If they can somehow win this game over the Sooners, they may set themselves up for an improbable run to the College Football Playoff (and eventual invite to the Big XII). (Noon, ABC)

Alabama vs. USC (in Arlington) – Now this is the game that everyone believes is the game of the week.  I can fully understand that.  The team of the century (so far) against a possibly resurgent Trojan program.  I still do wonder if USC is all the way back and if they made the right choice with Clay Helton as head coach.  I have a feeling we will find out a lot the night of this game. (8:00, ABC)

Florida State vs. Ole Miss (in Orlando) – The traditional opening week Monday nighter (before actual Monday Night Football starts).  This will be a good one and if it wasn’t in Orlando (let’s be honest, this is about as neutral site as Wisconsin playing LSU in Lambeau) I would almost pick the Rebels as the favourites.  Chad Kelly starts his Heisman campaign here and by then we should know if Ole Miss will be serving penalties from all the Laremy Tunsil fallout.  (Monday, 8:00, specialty pack)

LSU vs. Wisconsin (in Green Bay) – And speaking of home field advantage, despite the organizers making sure some LSU fans got tickets to this one, this will be a partisan crowd in favour of the Badgers no doubt.  Too bad LSU doesn’t give a shit about that.  The Hat plans on taking The Tigers into The Lambeau to beat The Wisky.  (3:30, ABC/TSN3)

Georgia vs. North Carolina (in Atlanta) – OK it is officially getting way out of hand with these neutral site games.  There are nine in week one.  Too many.  It takes the lustre off of the idea.  So are the Heels ready to take the next step?  Will Kirby Smart improve on what Mark Richt did in Athens for years?  Will Larry Fedora wear a fedora on the sidelines?  How many S-E-C chants will we hear?  You can find out all this and more…if you have the specialty pack.  Sorry.  (5:30, specialty pack)

Kansas State at Stanford – The only non-neutral-site game on the list.  This is a bit of a sneaky one as there are others that could have filled this #6 spot (as you will see in the honourable mention section).  Christian McCaffrey begins his second attempt at the Heisman while Papa Bill Snyder continues to try and do some more Bill Snydering in the Little Apple as the Wildcats try to rebound from one of their worst seasons in thirty years (Ron Prince era not included).  (Friday, 9:00, FOX Sports One….dammit)

Honourable mention: Bowling Green at Ohio State (Noon, BTN), Clemson at Auburn (9:00, specialty pack), Notre Dame at Texas (Sunday, 7:30, ABC), Arizona vs. BYU (in Glendale) (10:30, FOX Sports One dammit), UCLA at Texas A&M (3:30, CBS)

Week 2

Arkansas at TCU – And this is why Week 2 is the worst of all the weeks.  This is the game of the week?  Yup!  Not taking anything away from the Hogs or Frogs but unless they were facing a top 5 team they probably shouldn’t be at the top of any best games list.  Anyway, here we look at two teams that are juuuuuuust on the outside looking up at the major powers.  The loser here coughs up any chance at the College Football Playoff.  (7:00, specialty pack)

BYU at Utah – Regular season Holy War!!!  After last year’s Las Vegas Bowl where BYU almost made out with the comeback to end all comebacks, I don’t know how these two teams could come up with an encore.  They will have to.  Being one of the biggest games of the week means the hype meter on this may go off the charts.  And for the love of Joseph Smith, Big XII, just invite the Cougars already.  (7:30, FOX)

Western Kentucky at Alabama – No I don’t think the Hilltoppers can beat the Tide.  However, I do believe WKU will put a big scare into Bama in this one.  I don’t know if the Fighting Evil Sabans will look past this game but they shouldn’t.  This has upset potential all over it (even though, again, I don’t think that will happen).  This may be the true coming out party for Western Kentucky as they have almost nothing to lose and everything to gain.  (3:30, specialty pack)

Washington State at Boise State – It’s always fun when a Mike Leach-coached team is good.  Throwing the ball like 90 times a game.  All offense all the time!  YEE-HAW!  They will get a massive test though going to the blue turf as they will surely be an underdog.  Many are conflicted on who to pick as their Group of Five champion this season, the Broncos or Houston.  Boise may prove in this one why they should be everyone’s pick.  (10:15, specialty pack)

Tennessee vs. Virginia Tech (in Bristol) – Ah, the Battle of Bristol.  Bristol Motor Speedway will host a college football game.  The first time a racetrack has ever hosted a football game.  Because…well, to be honest I don’t know if it makes a whole lot of sense to host a football game on a racetrack.  Hopefully I am proven wrong and just the look of it is awesome.  Both teams are on the precipice of bigger things.  New coach in Blacksburg in Justin Fuente and Butch Jones hoping to finally reach his goal of an SEC East title.  Should be a good one.  And no TURNIN LEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEFT!  (8:00, ABC)

Penn State at Pittsburgh – Yes, this is not what you would call a star-studded week of college football.  Middle-of-the-road Big Ten team against middle-of-the-road ACC team doesn’t exactly move the needle.  Will be interesting to see if Christian Hackenberg’s replacement will be sacked less than 80 times this season.  (Noon, specialty pack)

Honourable mention: California at San Diego State (10:30, CBS Sports Network), Central Michigan at Oklahoma State (Noon, FOX Sports who cares we aren’t getting it), Nevada at Notre Dame (3:30, NBC), North Carolina at Illinois (7:30, BTN), Tulsa at Ohio State (3:30, ABC)

Week 3

Ohio State at Oklahoma – What a stark contrast between the previous week and this one.  Now this is a game of the week.  Hell, this could be considered the regular season game of the year (and after further look, yes, I can say it is by a hair).  Two CFP candidates going toe-to-toe in Norman.  I would say this is an elimination game but we know how early season games tend to not affect the rankings as much as late-season conference play.  This should be a dandy (say that in your head in a Keith Jackson voice).  (7:30, FOX)

Alabama at Ole Miss – Most weeks this would be the game of the week.  Not so here.  Then again, it should be a MASSIVE early season SEC West matchup.  Unless another team comes out of the woodwork to seriously contend (perhaps an LSU or Auburn or even Mississippi State), this may be for the SEC West title.  And the thing is, Ole Miss may end up being a slight favourite here especially since they have a true Heisman candidate in Chad Kelly.  Must-watch for sure.  (3:30, CBS)

Michigan State at Notre Dame – Another potential CFP quasi-elimination game that may not necessarily eliminate the loser.  But a loss here would make it very difficult for either team to get back into the final four at the end of the season.  With Connor Cook not around anymore, you have to wonder how good the Spartans will be.  The Irish have the opposite problem: two good quarterbacks and only one spot available.  Cue the QB controversy if the Irish have a not-so-good game here in South Bend.  (7:30, NBC)

USC at Stanford – It’s the Christian McCaffrey Show!  With special guests David Shaw…Clay Helton…new USC quarterback Max Browne…the guy handing the ball off to Christian McCaffrey…the return of Clancy Pendergast…and the Stanford tree!!!  This is where McCaffrey has to start his Heisman campaign.  Last year he didn’t get much in terms of recognition until a bit past the halfway point, which was too far back to catch up with the other contenders.  He goes off on the Trojans in this one, he may have one foot already at the Heisman Trophy presentation in the Big Apple.  (8:00, ABC)

Mississippi State at LSU – This is the consolation game in the SEC West…kind of.  This matchup may be forgotten with the Bama-Ole Miss hype.  The loser here is almost definitely out of the SEC West.  Harsh to say this so early but there’s no way you could lose this then somehow run the rest of the SEC schedule.  Not.  Gonna.  Happen.  And despite the fact LSU is as close to cash money as it gets when playing at night in Death Valley, remember what the Bulldogs did to them last time they were in that exact same scenario.  (7:00, specialty pack)

Florida State at Louisville – These days, you almost have to say that Louisville has the shittiest divisional setup.  Having to play Florida State and Clemson every year makes it near impossible to even get to the ACC Championship.  At some point, they may have the team to do it.  I can’t see them winning against both those teams but having the Noles come to Papa John’s and the rabid Cardinal fans there could be enough to propel Louisville up the rankings early on before their visit later on to Clemson.  (Noon, ABC/TSN5)

Honourable mention: Pittsburgh at Oklahoma State (3:30, specialty pack), Houston at Cincinnati (7:30, TSN3/TSN5), UCLA at BYU (10:30, specialty pack), Temple at Penn State (Noon, BTN), Miami at Appalachian State (Noon, specialty pack)