Coaching Carousel Time! And the Week 12 College Football TV Schedule

Yeah it’s that time of the year. The coaching carousel has begun! And what I am going to do this time around is actually compare it to my start-of-the-year predictions. I mean what could go wrong, right?

Let’s look at who has already been shown the door. Jimbo Fisher, Andy Avalos, Zach Arnett and now soon-to-be-retired Brady Hoke…none of who were on my list. Great start, Bossman. Mel Tucker was on my list in the Doubtful Shitcanning section although even I couldn’t think that the way he went out would be the way he went out. What a fucking perv. As for who is currently on the hot seat and was on my list?

• Neal Brown. Now Neal probably just has to win one of his final two games to secure his job for next season. Lose both those games and end up 6-6? That would be an interesting conversation.
• Dana Holgorsen. You can give them a bit of slack as they stepped up their competition by joining the Big XII. But Drunk Uncle Dana has been a hot seat regular for a while now and at some point he’s either got to prove he’s still the guy or find a coordinator position somewhere.
• Danny Gonzales. One of the toughest places to be an FBS head coach, Gonzales probably would have been safe for another year. But with New Mexico State doing so well, some in the New Mexico athletic department might wonder if they should try someone else at the helm.
• Tom Allen. It’s pretty damn obvious now that the 2020 season was an anomaly and that the Hoosiers are barely treading water with Allen. I doubt he makes it to 2024.

I really don’t want to talk much about certain coaches appearing my list. Guys like Jeff Hafley or Scot Loeffler or Shawn Elliott or Greg Schiano or Brent Pry or Mike Bloomgren and definitely not Eliah Drinkwitz. Nope. Got nothing. So let’s just move on and stop talking about my hot seat list, ALRIGHT ALREADY?

Ok calm down Bossman. Time to give the people what they want: hot, nasty college football TV schedules for Canadians who enjoy watching college football on their television sets.

Tuesday

		US	Canada
Akron at Eastern Michigan	7:00
Toledo at Bowling Green	7:00
Western Michigan at Northern Illinois	7:00

Toledo has already clinched a spot in the MAC Championship. Now we are looking at bowl eligibility battles. Eastern Michigan has to beat the Zips to stay alive for a bowl game. And the WMU-NIU game is a Loser Won’t Go Bowling matchup. Big stakes on MACtion Tuesday.

Wednesday

		US	Canada
Buffalo at Miami-OH	7:00
Central Michigan at Ohio	7:00

The Redhawks clinch the MAC East with a victory here and will get their rematch with Toledo in Detroit in December. And the Chippewas become bowl-eligible if they can somehow beat Ohio. Another important MACtion evening.

Thursday

		US	Canada
Boston College at Pittsburgh	7:00

Yeah this is about as unimportant a weeknight slate as you can get. One game. No stakes. Meh.

Friday

		US	Canada
USF at UTSA	9:00

This, on the other hand, is a much more important night. Both teams with a lot to play for and USF is definitely not the USF of recent years (as we could see from their near-upset of Alabama earlier in the season).

Saturday Early

		US	Canada
#10 Louisville at Miami	Noon
Michigan State at Indiana	Noon
Purdue at Northwestern	Noon
Coastal Carolina at Army	Noon
#14 Oklahoma at BYU	Noon
Chattanooga at #8 Alabama	Noon
East Carolina at Navy	Noon
SMU at Memphis	Noon
Harvard at Yale	Noon
#3 Michigan at Maryland	Noon
ULM at #13 Ole Miss	Noon

A pretty heavy early slate with two ESPN+ games appearing on TSN+. I can see that being a feature all next season. As for the important games in this window I count one big one. The Mustangs and Tigers face off in a matchup that essentially eliminates the loser but doesn’t automatically guarantee the winner a spot in the American Championship. Everything else is kind of meh, although the Sooners could keep up their hopes of one final Big XII Championship appearance in JerryWorld. Finally, the annual Harvard-Yale game appears in this timeslot as per usual.

Saturday Afternoon

		US	Canada
#22 Utah at #17 Arizona	2:30
Duke at Virginia	3:00
UCLA at USC	3:30
NC State at Virginia Tech	3:30
#1 Georgia at #18 Tennessee	3:30
UNLV at Air Force	3:30
#20 North Carolina at Clemson	3:30
Bethune-Cookman vs. Florida A&M (in Orlando)	3:30
Wake Forest at #19 Notre Dame	3:30
Louisiana at Troy	3:30
Minnesota at #2 Ohio State	4:00
#23 Oklahoma State at Houston	4:00
#6 Oregon at Arizona State	4:00
New Mexico State at Auburn	4:00

UGA-UT is the big one, obviously, here. A lot of other choice with a lot of other teams looking to stay near the top of the rankings. Oregon, tOSU, and Utah are in must-win mode if they want to keep any CFP or even NY6 possibilities alive. Also, the Rebels of Nevada-Las Vegas play in what could be considered the biggest football game in school history. A win here and they all but clinch a spot in the conference title game. And this is something I never thought of. If UNLV is the #1 team, will they play at home? That game would be about 16 hours after the end of the Pac-12 Championship which is already being played at Allegiant Stadium (which I think is a dumb idea but that’s for another post). So the turnaround would be crazy for the stadium crew.

Saturday Primetime

		US	Canada
North Alabama at #4 Florida State	6:30
California at Stanford	6:30
Boise State at Utah State	7:00
#5 Washington at #11 Oregon State	7:30
Florida at #9 Missouri	7:30
FIU at Arkansas	7:30
Nebraska at Wisconsin	7:30
Kentucky at South Carolina	7:30
Syracuse at Georgia Tech	8:00
Georgia State at #15 LSU	8:00
#7 Texas at Iowa State	8:00

Speaking of big games, U-Dub has to try and win in one of the toughest small stadiums to win in, Reser Stadium in Corvallis. Lose and the Pac-12 is all but done in the College Football Playoff race and it opens up a bevy of possibilities to replace the Huskies at the top. The Longhorns are trying to do what the Sooners are also trying to do: give the Big XII one last Fuck You before leaving for the SEC by playing for their conference championship. And finally, you are not seeing things. It is true. A god damn CW DOUBLEHEADER! I hate to admit that the CW has delivered but it has. It has had some great games which has made up for some sub-par production values.

Saturday Late Night

		US	Canada
San Diego State at San Jose State	10:30

Yeah. You could probably go to bed early if you wanted.

Hey, Watch This

Washington at Oregon State (7:30, ABC/TSN2) – I think it’s been a long time since the Beavers have been in the Game of the Week. And I would honestly call this Game 1A since you could easily switch it with the next game on this list and no one would bat an eye. I just think this game has the possibility of being much closer than the other one. The Huskies put themselves in the Pac-12 Championship with a win in Corvallis but Oregon State could put the entire college football world on its head if they pull off the upset.

Georgia at Tennessee (3:30, CBS) – One of the final SEC on CBS games ever and it’s a huge one. If this game was Between the Hedges it wouldn’t be this high. But this game is on the shores of the Tennessee River and it will be one of the loudest Neyland Stadium crowds in recent memory. Another game where an upset is not crazy talk and it would also cause absolute chaos at the top of the college football food chain.

Utah at Arizona (2:30, Pac-12 Network) – Jesus Christ who made the call to get this game on the fucking Pac-12 Network? Well at least us Canadians have an easy time of getting it. Hop on YouTube and search for the Pac-12 Network channel and you’re good to go. Americans…well, they have a much tougher time if it’s not a part of their cable package. What a dumb network. Anyway, both teams have outside chances of getting to the Pac-12 Championship but they would need a lot to happen. A win here isn’t enough. Also, you have to be impressed with the job Jedd Fisch has done in Tucson. This team could be a force in the expanded Big XII next season.

Kansas State at Kansas (7:00, FOX Sports One) – Man, you know it’s kind of a fucked week when two of the top four games are on the Pac-12 Network and FS1. So yeah, can’t see this one if you are a Canadian unless you have other means. I have IPTV. There are also many streams out there to watch. Go find one. Shouldn’t be too hard. Plus, this should be the best Sunflower Showdown maybe ever. Has there been one where both teams were ranked? I don’t think so. Plus, the Wildcats have extra incentive here as they have an outside shot at spoiling a potential Texas-Oklahoma conference championship if they can win here.

Sickos Game of the Week

Michigan State at Indiana (Noon, Big Ten Network) – There are quite a few options for this spot but I will give it to a Big Ten game for once. Here are two terrible teams who will probably have a terrible game that will somehow be close near the end. Think 13-10 which means you almost have to watch because the finish could be spectacular. I almost feel dirty watching games like that.

Hubba Bubba Blowout of the Week

Chattanooga at Alabama (Noon, TSN+) – Once I saw TSN+ was showing this game I knew which game would go in this section. This will be over by halftime. The question is how long does Nick Saban leave Jalen Milroe in.

Wanna Bet?

How about we look back at my picks from last week………..alright, maybe not. I mean I got my first upset pick right with Southern Miss and then it went downhill from there. Stupid Penn State. Anyway, let’s get going with this week’s pickaroos…that sounded dumb.

Miami-OH 31 Buffalo 28

Michigan 42 Maryland 10

Ole Miss 48 ULM 20

Utah 40 Arizona 19

Duke 38 Virginia 24

Tennessee 31 Georgia 27 (yes, I am calling this massive upset)

USC 36 UCLA 26

Ohio State 51 Minnesota 16

Oregon 59 Arizona State 24

South Carolina 42 Kentucky 37

Oregon State 46 Washington 35 (yep, going out on a limb again)

Missouri 41 Florida 20

San Jose State 34 San Diego State 28

Look, normally I am up into the wee hours of the morning watching college football. And I rarely miss games. Well, rarely miss full ones. But I am looking at the Saturday late night sked and asking myself “Bossman, do you really need to watch this game?” The answer is obviously no but I have to convince my brain that that is the correct answer. We shall see how it goes this Saturday. Enjoy the games everyone!

SUPER MEGA HYPER OMNI POST! Version 6.0.0

I have sent out the warning before so if you know about it you can skip to the next section. But if you are new to this, here it is: this post is insanely long. Don’t read this on the toilet since I am sure you could get hemorrhoids for being on the can that long. Hell, don’t even take it into the bath with you. I don’t think your skin can wrinkle that much. You have been forewarned. So get your favourite drink, sit down and enjoy this absolute avalanche of information.

This is the sixth version of this stupidly long post; however, it’s only the second with the same format as last year’s. Longer and uncut. No recaps since I don’t do those anymore but my Top 25, bowl projections, conference championship scenarios and some other crazy crap that you may or may not have even wanted to look at. Let’s get the ball rolling with the Bossman Top 25.

#1	Georgia
#2	Ohio State
#3	TCU
#4	USC
#5	Michigan
#6	LSU
#7	Oregon
#8	Clemson
#9	Alabama
#10	Penn State
#11	Tennessee
#12	Washington
#13	Utah
#14	Kansas State
#15	Notre Dame
#16	Florida State
#17	Tulane
#18	UCLA
#19	North Carolina
#20	Oregon State
#21	Cincinnati
#22	Ole Miss
#23	Texas
#24	Coastal Carolina
#25	UCF

So nothing really happened near the top although I have adjusted my rankings a bit. I have USC in now and Michigan out. I still think Michigan’s schedule has been mostly shit this season. That will all change if they beat tOSU so really, this doesn’t matter. I think USC has put themselves in the driver’s seat to get one of the Top 4 spots. Beat Notre Dame and win the Pac-12 Championship and they are golden…I think. The Group of Five will go through the American Conference although UCF’s loss to Navy has opened the door for a trio of Sun Belt teams (Coastal Carolina, Troy and South Alabama) to still have a sliver of hope although a lot has to happen for them to even have a legitimate shot. Finally, I think the Big XII will have the lowest ranked team in the New Year’s Six because I can’t see Kansas State beating TCU for the Big XII title.

Alright so far so good. I think. I hope. Let’s get on with the second part of this massive post, the conference championship game scenarios.

Toledo has clinched the MAC West already. In the MAC East, Ohio can clinch tomorrow night with a win over Bowling Green. Now, with Buffalo’s game against Akron getting postponed and probably cancelled outright, I don’t know what happens if Ohio loses and then the Bulls beat Kent State. The Bulls would have played one less conference game and would win the division if they had been allowed to play Akron and then won. An odd scenario that may become moot if the Bobcats win.

UTSA has clinched a spot in the conference title game and will host (I had wondered if the game would be moved permanently to the Alamodome but that won’t happen now that UTSA heads to the AAC next season).

North Texas is in the driver’s seat for the other spot (remember there are no divisions in Conference USA this season thank fucking God). If the Mean Green beat Rice they are off to San Antonio. Lose then that opens the door for WKU. If they can beat FAU they will play the Roadrunners.

Coastal Carolina is already in the championship game. It’s going to be close but I have a feeling the Chants will host the game as well. The host is the highest ranked team in the CFP Poll.

Troy beat South Alabama earlier this season so if they beat Arkansas State they will win the Sun Belt West. A loss and a USA win and it’s the Jaguars who will win. Both teams are looking for their first division title.

Boise State and Fresno State punched their tickets to the conference championship game with wins this weekend.

UCF had a chance to claim one of the conference title game spots but lost against Navy. They are still in with a win in the War on I-4 against USF. If they lose then the loser of the Tulane-Cincinnati game will play…the winner of the Tulane-Cincinnati game in the championship.

This was looking like a complete shitshow going into the previous week. Things have really been clarified after the results on Saturday.

USC is already in thanks to their amazing win over UCLA in one of the best Pac-12 games in recent memory (that actually meant something). Oregon eliminated Utah by beating them two nights ago. They are in the driver’s seat for the other spot. Washington still has a chance. They must win the Apple Cup and hope Oregon loses the Civil War to go to Santa Clara.

It feels like TCU clinched about a month ago. Kansas State sits in second and just has to beat Kansas in the Sunflower Showdown to make it to JerryWorld. Most years that would be a foregone conclusion but not so this season. If the Wildcats lose, Texas can get there if they beat Baylor on the final weekend.

Clemson vs. North Carolina has been booked for a couple weeks now.

We know what it comes down to. The Game. Ohio State-Michigan. Winner is in, loser has to await their fate for the College Football Playoff. In the West, Iowa, with their horrible offense, is somehow in the lead and has the easiest path to the Big Ten Championship. Beat Nebraska on Black Friday and none of the other games matter in the Big Ten West. If they lose, it opens up a few possibilities. Purdue can win it by then beating Indiana for the Old Oaken Bucket. If they also lose, well then God help us all. Illinois should handle Northwestern. Wisconsin and Minnesota play each other. It would give us a four-way tie between Purdue, Iowa, Illinois and the Minny/Wisky winner. Here’s how all this would look in terms of the head-to-head tiebreaker:

• Iowa lost to Illinois but beat Purdue, Wisconsin and Minnesota.
• Purdue beat Minnesota and Illinois and lost to Wisconsin and Iowa.
• Illinois beat Iowa, Minnesota and Wisconsin but lost to Purdue.
• Minnesota lost to Purdue, Illinois and Iowa and still have to face Wisconsin.
• Wisconsin still has to play Minnesota. They lost to Illinois and Iowa, but beat Purdue.

So, after all that, if there was a four-way tie and Minnesota beat Wisconsin, then Iowa, Purdue and Illinois would all be 2-1 in the head-to-head standings. Then comes divisional records where Iowa and Illinois would be tied at 4-1. The next tiebreaker is record against progressively worse teams in the division. Iowa and Illinois both beat Wisconsin and Nebraska and Northwestern. So now we go to common conference opponents. Meaning the divisional record plus any games they both played against the same teams in the East. The only team both faced was Michigan and both teams lost. This is getting insane. Next up is the cumulative conference record of their non-conference opponents and here is where it’s not really that close. Illinois’ East Division opponents have gone 13-11 in the conference going into the final week. Iowa’s opponents from the East have gone 17-7. So Iowa would get in.

If Wisconsin beats Minnesota, Iowa and Illinois would be tied at 2-1 with Purdue and Wisconsin at 1-2 in head-to-head matchups. I am not going through all the tiebreakers again but Iowa beats Illinois.

So if we get the four-way tie, no matter what, Iowa will go to face the East Division winner. Man, I hope I have that all right.

Well this will be a lot easier than the Big Ten scenarios. Georgia and LSU have already clinched their divisions and will face off in Atlanta. See? Much easier.

I’m already tired. But I will soldier on. Time for the updated bowl projections.

Fiesta Bowl	CFP #2 vs. CFP #3	Ohio State vs. TCU
Peach Bowl	CFP #1 vs. CFP #4	Georgia vs. Michigan

From my previous bowl projections two weeks ago, the Fiesta Bowl has not changed one bit. As for the Peach Bowl, Georgia is still #1. Now I have Michigan in instead of UCLA. UCLA not being in is an easy choice after they lost to USC. I see Michigan losing a close one to Ohio State. That is the first step. I also see LSU and USC losing their conference championship games. Finally, even though I think Clemson beats North Carolina in a relatively close ACC Championship, they don’t have the strength of schedule anymore to leapfrog Michigan for the #4 spot. Many will bitch and complain, much like they have when two SEC teams got in but I think this has a really good shot at happening.

Now on to the New Year’s Six which has got quite interesting over the past couple weeks.

Rose Bowl	Big Ten #1 vs. Pac-12 #1	Penn State vs. Oregon
Cotton Bowl	CFP At-large vs. G-5 #1	USC vs. UCF
Sugar Bowl	SEC #1 vs. Big XII #1	Alabama vs. Kansas State
Orange Bowl	ACC #1 vs. Big Ten/Notre Dame/SEC	Clemson vs. LSU

OK so a lot more changed here than in the CFP projections. Here we go:

• Normally the Big Ten champ would go to the Rose Bowl. With Ohio State and Michigan both in the CFP, the next best team out of the Big Ten would get this spot and that would be Penn State since it’s a long drop to whoever would be next.
• I believe Oregon beats USC in the Pac-12 Championship. This boots the Pac-12 out of the CFP and puts the Ducks in the Rose against the Nittany Lions.
• USC’s loss won’t drop them far and they should nab the only true at-large spot to go to the Cotton Bowl.
• The Trojans opponent will be UCF as I think they win their final regular season game and then the AAC Championship.
• Clemson’s victory over North Carolina gives them the ACC’s Orange Bowl spot.
• It’s a big drop from TCU to the next team and that won’t change from my last set of bowl projections until bowl selection day. I have Kansas State there and I think they will be juuuuuuust in the Top 20, making them the lowest ranked team in the NY6.
• Alabama will get the Sugar Bowl spot because Georgia is in the CFP. It could go to LSU, which would put Bama in the Orange. Honestly, they are fairly interchangeable.

Quite a bit of change there that would leave Tennessee, Washington, Utah and Florida State outside looking in. Very few would argue for those teams to get in so at least it would be, well, less controversy than normal since there’s always an argument (and if there isn’t, ESPN will find one). Alright now on to the rest of the bowl projections.

Citrus Bowl	SEC vs. Big Ten	Ole Miss vs. Purdue
ReliaQuest Bowl	SEC vs. Big Ten	South Carolina vs. Iowa
Music City Bowl	SEC vs. Big Ten	Tennessee vs. Illinois
Gator Bowl	SEC vs. ACC	Arkansas vs. North Carolina
Arizona Bowl	MWC vs. MAC	San Jose State vs. Toledo
Sun Bowl	ACC vs. Pac-12	NC State vs. Oregon State
Duke’s Mayo Bowl	SEC vs. Big Ten	Florida vs. Wisconsin
Alamo Bowl	Big XII vs. Pac-12	Texas vs. Washington
Cheez-It Bowl	Big XII vs. ACC	Oklahoma State vs. Florida State
Pinstripe Bowl	Big Ten vs. ACC	Maryland vs. Notre Dame
Texas Bowl	SEC vs. Big XII	Mississippi State vs. Baylor
Holiday Bowl	ACC vs. Pac-12	Louisville vs. UCLA
Liberty Bowl	SEC vs. Big XII	Miami* vs. Oklahoma
Military Bowl	ACC vs. AAC	Wake Forest vs. Cincinnati
Guaranteed Rate Bowl	Big Ten vs. Big XII	Minnesota vs. Kansas
Birmingham Bowl	SEC vs. AAC/ACC/C-USA	Liberty* vs. Duke
First Responder Bowl	2 of AAC, Big XII, C-USA, Sun Belt, MWC	Texas Tech vs. Memphis
Camellia Bowl	Sun Belt vs. MAC/C-USA	South Alabama vs. UTSA
Quick Lane Bowl	Big Ten vs. MAC	UConn* vs. Eastern Michigan
Hawaii Bowl	BYU/AAC/C-USA vs. MWC	BYU vs. Wyoming
Independence Bowl	AAC vs. Army	Tulane vs. Army
Gasparilla Bowl	2 of AAC, ACC, SEC, Pac-12	Pittsburgh vs. East Carolina
Armed Forces Bowl	2 of Big XII, C-USA, AAC	SMU vs. Middle Tennessee
New Orleans Bowl	Sun Belt vs. C-USA	Troy vs. WKU
Boca Raton Bowl	2 of AAC, Sun Belt, C-USA, MAC	Marshall vs. Bowling Green
Idaho Potato Bowl	MWC vs. MAC	San Diego State vs. Ohio
Myrtle Beach Bowl	2 of AAC, Sun Belt, C-USA, MAC	Appalachian State vs. Miami-OH
Frisco Bowl	2 of AAC, MWC, Sun Belt, C-USA, MAC	Fresno State vs. Southern Miss
Las Vegas Bowl	SEC vs. Pac-12	Kentucky vs. Washington State
LendingTree Bowl	Sun Belt vs. MAC/C-USA	Coastal Carolina vs. UTEP
LA Bowl	Pac-12 vs. MWC	Utah vs. Boise State
New Mexico Bowl	MWC vs. AAC/C-USA/MAC	Utah State vs. UAB
Fenway Bowl	ACC vs. AAC	Syracuse vs. Houston
Cure Bowl	2 of AAC, MWC, Sun Belt, C-USA, MAC	Air Force vs. Louisiana
Bahamas Bowl	C-USA vs. MAC	Florida Atlantic vs. Buffalo

There are just enough bowl-eligible teams to fill all the bowl spots; however, the SEC and Big Ten will fall short of fulfilling all their tie-ins. This has to do with more teams in the CFP and NY6 than other conferences. Miami, Liberty and UConn will fill in there (as noted by an asterisk). The ACC actually has more bowl-eligible teams than tie-ins so Miami gets slotted into the Liberty Bowl to face Oklahoma in a game straight out of the 80s. Liberty and UConn technically have to wait until all other bowl-eligible teams get their spots before they can find out where they go. With exactly two bowl games not having two teams, they go there (Liberty to the Birmingham and UConn to the Quick Lane). Finally, despite the fact North Texas won six games, in my scenario they lose the Conference USA Championship and fall to 6-7. If there weren’t enough teams available they would get a waiver to compete. Unfortunately for them there are no spots available to them so they will be home for the holidays.

Hey let’s continue! Time to look at various postseason scenarios. I will not use the AP Poll for some of these. I will use where I think teams will end up going into bowl season (my end-of-season rankings) for the first two.

12-Team College Football Playoff

This is the playoff format that’s coming soon. And if that pesky Rose Bowl can fall in line, it could be as early as 2024. Crazy to think but this is the case. So, if we had that this year, this is what it would look like:

Remember, only conference champions can get a first-round bye in this soon-to-be new format. That’s why Oregon replaces Michigan at #4. Where these teams would play I would leave out other than the first round games which are at the home field of the higher seed. Is it too much? Probably, but it’s college football so I will watch it and hope it works out properly (which no postseason format has been able to do every time but I digress).

6-Team College Football Playoff

This is what I started advocating for even though I had also pushed for just one new playoff team for a while. That dream is gone but here is what it would look like at the end of this season:

Pretty self-explanatory. They would still use bowl games for this. For this year, I think it would be the Cotton Bowl and the Orange Bowl for the first round since the Rose and Sugar, being on January 1st, would not give enough time for the playoffs to be done before the middle of the month. The semis would remain the Fiesta and Peach Bowls.

Poll-and-Bowl

Let’s go back to a simpler time. When the talk of a playoff or a plus-one was just that: talk. The only committees we knew were the bowl committees that went to all sorts of games in November to figure out which teams to select. Now let’s see what that might look like with the better teams in the polls. As I did last year when I did this exercise I have to take some liberty with bowl tie-ins. Also for this I will use current AP Poll listings for variety’s sake:

• Rose Bowl (Big Ten Champ vs. Pac-12 Champ): #2 Ohio State vs. #5 USC
• Sugar Bowl (SEC Champ vs. Big XII Champ): #1 Georgia vs. #4 TCU
• Cotton Bowl (Big XII #2 vs. Pac-12 #2): #15 Kansas State vs. #10 Oregon
• Orange Bowl (ACC Champ vs. SEC #2): #7 Clemson vs. #6 LSU
• Peach Bowl (ACC #2 vs. at-large): #16 Florida State vs. #3 Michigan
• Citrus Bowl (SEC #3 vs. Big Ten #2): #8 Alabama vs. #11 Penn State
• Fiesta Bowl (Big XII #3 vs. at-large): #24 Texas vs. #9 Tennessee

I’ll stop there as I have the top ten teams. Maybe there would be more at-large teams involved (say in the Cotton or Orange Bowls) but realistically this is what you would see in and around New Year’s Day. Sure there are some lopsided bowl matchups (see the Fiesta Bowl) but I think it’s that way to an extent anyway. Really this would come down to three games: the Sugar, Rose and Peach Bowls. Georgia wins they are the champ. Only way that doesn’t happen is if UGA barely beats TCU and Ohio State drops the hammer on USC. If the Dawgs lose and tOSU win, they are the champs. If both those teams lose, then Michigan could win it all in the Peach Bowl. If the top three teams lose, it will come down to TCU and USC and might end up being who looked better in the bowl game (or won by a larger margin). It would make things interesting that is for sure. Better? Debatable.

24-Team College Football Playoff

Oh god, why am I doing this to myself. Maybe I’m trying to prove some point. Well, to be fair, I have hammered this point home before. The longer the tournament, the more it becomes a war of attrition. The winning team, in the end, becomes the healthiest one, not necessarily the best one. It’s been seen often in FCS football, even with some of those North Dakota State teams that won it all. So….*deep breath*, let’s look at how at 24-team playoff would work (I’ll just use AP rankings again):

OK that’s a lot. To me this feels like WAY too much. Overkill. When the 24th-ranked team, Texas, has a chance to win the national championship, college football, at least at the FBS level, has lost a lot of what makes it special. Some want to go even farther and I say to that, put down the crackpipe.

Done. No more. I can’t do it. It’s so much information. But there it is. Read it, do with it what you will. Then in about a week’s time we can forget all of it since it will change…in some cases a lot.

Tomorrow, it’s time for the super American Thanksgiving schedule so prepare for a lot more reading but at least this you can use the rest of the week through late Saturday night. Have a great 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.