College Football - Week 9 Predictions

Well, I'm a little behind this week - traveling down to Hinesville, Georgia for work seriously hampered my time updating the Total System Failure blog, so I'm doing a mad dash to get my predictions in before the first game here on Saturday morning. There have already been so great games this week - Virginia Tech dominating #10 Clemson and Tulsa rallying from 14 points down to knock off UTEP. Will we see any other upsets similar to the one the Hokies pulled off on Thursday night? We'll know over the next few hours...so, here are this week's predictions:

Minnesota at #1 Ohio State - there is really not much to say about this one. Minnesota struggled to defeat another "State" school, and unfortunately, for the Gophers, it was NORTH DAKOTA STATE! A 10-9 victory over a Division 1-AA program doesn't generate a lot of momentum going into Columbus, Ohio to play the Buckeyes. Maybe the Gophers were looking head - yeah, I don't think so....Ohio State 56 Minnesota 10

Northwestern at #2 Michigan - Yet another strong Big 10 matchup! Have I recently mentioned how much of a joke Big 10 football is? The powerful Wolverines welcome a Northwestern team to the Big House that blew a 35 point lead to Michigan State last week. The "Mildcats" have lost 5 in a row and 4 of those 5 losses were blowout. Oh, did I mention that New Hampshire beat Northwestern? This game is going to be yet another blowout for Northwestern...Michigan 48 Northwestern 6

#3 USC at Oregon State - There was a time not too long ago when Oregon State might have been capable of knocking off the Trojans. However, Dennis Erickson is no longer on the sidelines in Corvallis, and Steven Jackson and TJ Houshmanzadeh are now in the NFL. The Trojans have had a week off to regroup, refocus, and work out some of their kinks on offense. To further compound matters for the Beavers, RB Yvenson Bernard has a sprained ankle, and moreover, there won't be an inclimate weather to slow down the Trojans...USC 38 Oregon State 14

#5 Texas at Texas Tech - Texas Tech has 5 wins this season, and those five wins have come against the likes of SE Louisiana, SMU, UTEP, Iowa State, and Texas A&M (on a last second touchdown pass). The real indictment against the Red Raiders is a 30-6 loss to Colorado! Can you really expect a team that lost to Colorado to knock off the #5 team in the country? Colt McCoy proved last week that he is ready to take the Longhorns on the road in the Big 12 and win tough games. Fortunately, for Mack Brown, this one won't be a tough road game....Texas 56 Texas Tech 10

#7 Auburn at Ole Miss - This could be an interesting game, and as an Auburn fan, it frightens me. I remember watching the undefeated 2004 Auburn team struggle to win in Oxford, Mississippi, but that was a night game at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium, and today, kickoff is set for 12:30pm EST. Ole Miss is coming off a whipping at the hands of Arkansas last week, while on the other hand, Ole Miss gave Alabama and Georgia all they wanted. So what will happen today? Auburn has struggled against teams with elusive quarterbacks and strong running backs, and Ole Miss has QB Brent Schaeffer and RB BenJarvis Green-Ellis. Both Schaeffer and Green-Ellis are the types of players that Auburn has trouble containing. Ole Miss has had some distractions this week with several players being dismissed from the team. If this game were at night, I'd pick an upset, but with the early kickoff, Auburn will squeak out a win with a strong running game behind Kenny Irons, Brad Lester, and Ben Tate....Auburn 16 Ole Miss 10

#8 Tennessee at South Carolina - I suppose if there was a 'game of the week' this week it would be this game, especially since the annoying GameDay road show has traveled to Columbia to hype the game. Of course, all the talk is about how Steve Spurrier is battling his old whipping boy Phil Fulmer, but the real story should be about how South Carolina is a new team with Syvelle Newton at quarterback. The Gamecocks should have defeated Auburn a few weeks ago, and they have looked impressive in back-to-back road wins against Kentucky and Vanderbilt. Tennessee looked ordinary against Alabama last week, and without RB LaMarcus Coker, more of the offensive workload will fall on QB Erik Ainge. This is a trendy upset pick, but I just see the Vols defense frustrating the Gamecocks and Ainge will do just enough to win a tough road game...Tennessee 20 South Carolina 10

Georgia vs. #9 Florida - No matter what the universities want to call this game, it will ALWAYS be the World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party. I drove too and from Hinesville, Georgia over the past two days, and let me tell you - the Dawg nation is traveling in force down I-75 to this game! The Dawgs may be struggling, but the fans are still behind them. Georgia could seriously shake up the SEC East race with a win, and the Gators could just about wrap up a trip to Atlanta with a win. Since defeating UAB 34-0 in Week 3, Georgia has struggled mightily, and it appears that Richt has finally made the decision to with Matthew Stafford at quarterback (which, in my opinion, is the right move for the future). Losing RB Thomas Brown really hurts Georgia's offense, even though Lumpkin and Ware are capable backs. The Gators have had a week off to think about the lose to Auburn, and some reports have even said that Chris Leak was in Athens last Saturday to scout the Bulldogs. The real key to this game will be Georgia's ability to slow down the Florida passing attack. Georgia should be able to stiffle the Florida running game, but after giving over 240 passing yards to Mississippi State last week, I don't think the Dawgs have enough in their secondary to slow down Florida WRs Dallas Baker and Andre Caldwell. Mark Richt's misery in Jacksonville will continue....Florida 31 Georgia 14

And now predictions for other games this week...

#11 Notre Dame 38 Navy 7
#13 Arkansas 49 LA-Monroe 7
#17 Wisconsin 42 Illinois 13
#18 Boston College 45 Buffalo 14
#19 Oklahoma 17 #23 Missouri 14
#20 Nebraska 28 Oklahoma State 17
#21 Georgia Tech 20 Miami(FL) 14
#22 Texas A&M 31 Baylor 21
#24 Wake Forest 28 North Carolina 10
#25 Oregon 49 Portland State 0
Vanderbilt 21 Duke 10
Florida State 17 Maryland 6
Mississippi State 20 Kentucky 17
Alabama 63 Florida International 0
Washington State 28 UCLA 24
Arizona State 38 Washigton 17
Houston 21 Central Florida 7
Texas Christian 24 Wyoming 14
Brigham Young 31 Air Force 17
Cincinnati 14 Syracuse 13
Hawaii 42 Idaho 24

Note: Through one week of making predictions, season record is: 22-5.

Green Acres Yard Football League Midseason Report

Fantasy football is one of my favorite pasttimes...and in past years, it has always been something that I seemed to have had a penchant for. Unfortunately, for my fantasy football franchise, the Motor City Madmen of the Green Acres Yard Football League (better known as the GAY-FL), success isn't being found quite as easily as it has in the past. Blame it on poor player evaluation for the draft...blame it on being too busy to make the right roster moves...or chalk it up to everyone else in the league stepping up their level of expertise and play...whatever it is, I'm having a rough season, and I'm trying to hold onto any sort of playoff hope.

For those of you just discovering my blog, let me give you a little background on the GAY-FL. The GAY-FL is in its seventh season as a fantasy football league, and the league was originally named to honor the mean streets of the Green Acres subdivision of Montgomery, AL where many of the league members learned about manhood in one form or another, such as throwing bicycles in swimming pools, concocting foul smelling potions to pour on people's front porches, and even parking with the girl of your choice on Llyde Lane.

It should be noted that it was in the inaugural Green Acres Yard Football League season that an astute league member realized that the league's acronym was GAY-FL....and henceforth, that is what it has been called. This particular league member is world renowned for naming the Montgomery Biscuits minor league baseball franchise.

The majority of the current league members are original founding members that have grown into fantasy football veterans under my watchful eye as commissioner, and currently, every member of the GAY-FL has been a member of the league for more than 2 seasons. This veteran cast of league members has lead to one of the most competitive GAY-FL seasons in recent history.

There are 15 regular season weeks in the GAY-FL, and after 7 weeks of fierce competition the standings are:

1. Drink One for Haner 6-1 (total points - 914)
2. Monchichis 6-1 (total points - 910)
3. White Castle Knights 5-2 (total points - 882)
4. Donde Esta Su El Haner 4-3 (total points - 926)
5. Biscuit Eaters 3-4 (total points - 842)
6. Motor City Madmen 3-4 (total points - 830)
7. PJ's Bad Boyz 3-4 (total points - 828)
8. Spring Valley Snipers 2-5 (total points - 697)
9. Tater Salad 2-5 (total points - 682)
10. Towelheads 1-6 (total points - 581)

So before the final 8 weeks of the season and the final push towards the playoffs, let's take a moment to look back at the highs and lows of the first half of the GAY-FL season...

Best Coaching Move - In Week 2, with starting WR TJ Houshmandzadeh out with an injury, Drink One for Haner needed a WR to fill in. Rather than stick with either Eric Parker or Keenan McCardell into the starting lineup, Drink One for Haner hit the waiver wire and picked up Jerricho Cotchery and Antonio Bryant. It could have been tempting to stick with McCardell or Parker with the Chargers playing the Titans, but Drink One for Haner inserted Cotchery into the starting lineup, and he responded with an 18 point performance that gave the team an 18 point win (170 to 152) over PJ's Bad Boyz. Sure, even if Drink One for Haner had left McCardell or Parker into the starting lineup, the team would have still defeated PJ's Bad Boyz, but Cotchery scored 11 more points than McCardell that week, and without that 11 point differential, Drink One for Haner would not be sitting in the top spot at the halfway point in the GAY-FL.

Worst Coaching Move - While it would be rather easy to pick any coaching move by the owner of the Towelheads as the worst move of the year so far (mainly because the owner in question has not even accessed the league website since September 9th!), this dubious distinction goes to PJ's Bad Boyz for the Week 6 decision to start Rex Grossman over Philip Rivers. Grossman earned a total of -16 points, while Rivers posted a stellar 44 points...making this coaching decision of 60 point swing and to make matters worse, PJ's Bad Boyz last in Week 6 by a score of 151 to 107. Ouch...those are the types of coaching moves that you look back on when you miss the playoffs.

Best Draft Pick - Of all the midseason awards, this one was the most obvious. Even though he failed to attend the draft yet again, the owner of the Monchichis selected Donovan McNabb in the 8th round of the GAY-FL draft this year. That's right...the EIGHTH round. Just look at the quarterbacks selected before McNabb - Peyton Manning (1st round), Tom Brady (2nd round), Matt Hasselbeck (4th round), Jake Delhomme (6th round), Eli Manning (6th round), Carson Palmer (7th round), and Marc Bulger (7th round). While many of those quarterbacks are posting solid numbers, McNabb has earned 44 more points than the next closest quarterback (Peyton Manning). After Peyton Manning, his little brother Eli is the next closest in points amongst the quarterbacks chosen before McNabb, and Lil Manning is 72 points behind McNabb! Like I said, this was the easiest award to give.

Worst Draft Pick - Had you taken a poll of all the GAY-FL owners on draft night and asked them what was the worst pick of the draft, I believe the unanimous selection would have been the Towelheads selecting Thomas Jones with the last pick of the first round. While certainly not a great pick, Thomas Jones has earned respectable numbers as he ranks in the Top 25 for RBs in terms of points scored this season. So, since the Towelheads did not earn this honor, who did? The winner of the Worst Draft Pick in the 2006 GAY-FL draft is....the defending league champion, Donde Su El Haner! Now, winning this honor should not come as too much of a surprise considering that the owner of this franchise showed up to the draft without even one magazine from which to draft...but as the aforementioned records indicate, Donde Su El Haner had an overall strong draft. However, with his second round draft pick (the 17th overall pick), Donde Su El Haner selected Domanick Davis, and that lingering knee injury cost Davis his season...and thus, since Davis is the only people selected in the first 8 rounds of the draft to not even earn one fantasy point this year, Davis is the worst draft pick in the GAY-FL this season.

Team Most Likely for a Strong Second Half Performance - Since losing their first two games of the year, including a loss to the lowly Towelheads, the White Castle Knights have rolled off point totals of 136, 154, 130, 127, and 139, which clearly indicates that this team is on a roll. Of the top 11 scoring quarterbacks this season, the White Castle Knights have 3...of the top 21 scoring running backs, the White Castle Knights have 5 (2 of which are in the top 4). While there are some questions at the WR slot for the White Castle Knights, the depth at quarterback and running back provides a lot of options and also some trade bait to bolster the suspect WR corps. This is definitely a team to watch in the second half.

Team Most Likely to Fade in the Second Half - Last year, the Tater Salad franchise shocked the GAY-FL upon their return to the league after a short hiatus by charging into the playoffs. After what appeared to be a strong draft, it looked like Tater Salad was ready to make another run at the playoffs...but as the second half of the season gets ready to starts, it seems more likely that Tater Salad could be battling the Towelheads for the basement of the GAY-FL. With starting quarterback Matt Hasselback out at least 3 weeks...with star running back LaMont Jordan nursing numerous injuries...with wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald still out with a hamstring injury...and with wide receivers Terry Glenn and Deion Branch now dealing with quarterback issues on their respective teams...it could be a long second half of the year for Tater Salad, especially when you consider that Tater Salad has upcoming games against the Monchichis, Donde Su El Haner, Drink One for Haner, and the White Castle Knights.

Best Free Agent Signing - There have been several key signings this year - WR Wes Welker by the White Castle Knights, WR Reggie Williams by the Motor City Madmen, QBs Rex Grossman and Philip Rivers and WR Bernard Berrian by PJ's Bad Boyz - but the best free agent signing of the first half of the GAY-FL season is WR/TE Marcus Colston by PJ's Bad Boyz. With the luxury of being able to fill the WR or TE slot, Colston has given PJ's Bad Boyz plenty of flexibility, and Colston currently finds himself as the highest scoring TE in the GAY-FL and the 18th highest scoring WR. Not too bad for a guy that barely was even drafted in the NFL draft much less the GAY-FL draft!

And finally...predictions for the GAY-FL playoffs:

1st Round:

Monchichis over PJ's Bad Boyz
White Castle Knights over Drink One for Haner

Consolation Game:

Drink One for Haner over PJ's Bad Boyz

Championship Game:

Monchichis over White Castle Knights

Dilemma in Big D

When you marry a Texas girl from Dallas, the Cowboys become of utmost importance, and even if you've never been a fan of this proud NFL franchise, you better be prepared to watch all of their games and know a lot about their team. Otherwise, Thanksgiving will be very quiet. So, last night was no different - it's the Dallas Cowboys in a NFC showdown against the New York Giants on Monday night football. You know that you'll be watching from start to finish - just as I did last night.

Unfortunately, for all Cowboys fans, last night was a complete and total clusterfuck. I believe that Bill Parcells summed it up best when he said in his postgame press conference, "I'm ashamed to put a team out there that played like that. I apologize to the people who came out to watch that." After last night's debacle at Texas Stadium, the Cowboys find themselves at 3-3 and worse than that, at 1-2 in the NFC East. With upcoming games at Carolina, vs. Indianapolis, at the Giants, vs. New Orleans, at Atlanta, and vs. Philadelphia, it is not out of the realm of possibility that the Cowboys could drop at least 5 more games this season.

So, the question remains - What is wrong with the Cowboys? Ask any Cowboy fan, and you're likely to get a different answer. Is Terrell Owens is a locker room cancer and just too much a distraction for this football team? Is Greg Ellis playing out of position at linebacker? Should Tony Romo be the starting quarterback over Drew Bledsoe? Or has Bill Parcells just mentally checked out? NFL guru Len Pasquarelli says that Parcells looks like he is done.

As for my opinion - I don't buy into the idea that Parcells is done. The problem with the Cowboys is the quarterback position, and the bad news is that neither Romo or the much maligned Drew Bledsoe are the answer. For all of his ability as a head coach, Parcells has royally screwed up the talent evaluation process at the quarterback position since he arrived in Dallas. He wasted too much time waiting for former Michigan quarterback (and New York Yankees prospect) Drew Henson to return to football form. Then, he brought in a washed up Drew Bledsoe to try and hold down the position until the aforementioned Henson or Romo were ready to take over. While he showed some flashes of brilliance last night, I just do not believe that Tony Romo is the long term answer at quarterback for the Cowboys this season or next season. Where Parcells (and of course, GM Jerry Jones) screwed up this past season was drafting LB Bobby Carpenter in the first round of the 2006 NFL draft and then TE Anthony Fasano in the second round when a quarterback of the future could have been drafted. Kellen Clemens, Tarvaris Jackson, and even Brodie Croyle have more potential to be the quarterback of the future than Tony Romo. Or even going back to the 2005 NFL draft, perhaps the Cowboys could have drafted Aaron Rodgers or Charlie Frye rather than using their first three picks on defensive players. Bottomline - Parcells and Jones have put the Cowboys in this situation with their poor evaluation of the quarterback position, and it will have to be a free agent acquistion or trading up in the draft to grab Notre Dame Brady Quinn before the Cowboys have their quaterback situation solved.

Updated Bowl Projections - through Week 8

While the third weekend in October might not have provided much shake-up in terms of the Top 25 and the national picture, there was some definite posturing for bowl bids...and so, last week's projections must be augmented to account for the various wins and losses across the country. Here this week's bowl projections...and remember, these are projections, not predictions, meaning that the won/loss record for each team has been forecasted over the remainder of the season...so these proejctions are based on how things should stand at the end of the regular season.

Note: Teams labeled with a '*' indicate teams being selected for a bowl game due to a conference not having enough bowl eligible teams.

Poinsetta Bowl (MWC #2/3 vs. At-Large): Utah vs. Cincinnati
Las Vegas Bowl (Pac-10 #4 vs. MWC #1): Washington State vs. Brigham Young
New Orleans Bowl (Sun Belt #1 vs. C-USA): Arkansas State vs. Bowling Green*
New Mexico Bowl (MWC #4 vs. MAC): Colorado State vs. Ohio
Birmingham Bowl (MAC/Big East vs. C-USA): Northern Illinois vs. UTEP
Armed Forces Bowl (MWC #2/3 vs. C-USA #4): Texas Christian vs. Houston
Hawaii Bowl (Pac-10 #6 vs WAC): Wyoming* vs. Hawaii
Motor City Bowl (MAC vs. Big 10 #7): Central Michigan vs. South Florida*
Emerald Bowl (ACC #4/5 vs. Pac-10 #4/5): Miami(FL) vs. UCLA
Independence Bowl (Big 12 #7/8 vs. SEC #8): Oklahoma State vs. Alabama
Texas Bowl (Big 12 vs. Big East/C-USA): Texas Tech vs. Rutgers
Holiday Bowl (Pac-10 #2 vs. Big 12 #3): Oregon vs. Texas A&M
Champs Sports Bowl (Big 10 #4/5 vs. ACC #4): Penn State vs. Virginia Tech
Music City Bowl (SEC #6 vs. ACC #5/6): Florida State vs. South Carolina
Sun Bowl (Big 12/Big East vs. Pac-10 #3): Louisville vs. Arizona State
Insight Bowl (Big 12 #4/5 vs. Big 10 #6): Kansas State vs. Kentucky*
Alamo Bowl (Big 12 #4/5 vs. Big 10 #4/5): Missouri vs. Iowa
Liberty Bowl (C-USA #1 vs. SEC): Tulsa vs. LSU
Meineke Car Care Bowl (Big East/Navy vs. ACC #5/6): Navy vs. Wake Forest
Chik-Fil-A Bowl (ACC #2 vs. SEC #5): Boston College vs. Georgia
MPC Computers Bowl (WAC vs. ACC #8): Nevada vs. North Carolina State
Gator Bowl (ACC #3 vs. Big 12/Big East): Georgia Tech vs. Oklahoma
Cotton Bowl (SEC vs. Big 12 #2): Arkansas vs. Nebraska
Outback Bowl (SEC vs. Big 10 #3): Auburn vs. Purdue
Capital One Bowl (SEC vs. Big 10 #2): Tennessee vs. Wisconsin
International Bowl (MAC #3 vs. Big East #4/5): Western Michigan vs. Pittsburgh
GMAC Bowl (C-USA #2 vs. MAC): Southern Miss vs. Kent State

Rose Bowl: California vs. Michigan
Fiesta Bowl: Texas vs. Boise State
Orange Bowl: Clemson vs. West Virginia
Sugar Bowl: Notre Dame vs. Florida
BCS Title Game: Southern California vs. Ohio State

College Football - Week 8 Review

Random Musings on Week 8

Editors Note: Special thanks to the hottest band in the land, KISS, for providing the titles for each of this week's musings...and on a related note, if you get a chance to see the Paul Stanley solo tour this fall, be prepared to have your face rocked off for 2 hours

1. Hard Times - Just last week, University of Miami, Florida football was the talk of the college football world after their brawl with Florida International. The once-mighty Hurricanes came very, very close to being the fodder for sports radio shows across the country, but this time, an interception on the goal line saved Larry Coker's program from a loss at the hands of Duke. Sure, Miami(FL) was without 13 players against the Blue Devils, but this is Hurricane football where depth should not be an issue when playing one of the worst football programs in Division I football. A 20-15 victory on the road over Duke is an embarassment to the once proud Hurricane football program, and should the Blue Devils have punched in that final touchdown to win the game, Larry Coker's tenure in Coral Gables would have immediately ended. I don't even think Butch Davis can save this program right now. Something just seems to be missing from the "U" - and the obvious answer is a running game. Against a less than formidable Blue Devil defense, the Hurricanes managed only 37 yards on 25 carries - that's less than 2 yards per carry! Nevertheless, Miami(FL) is 5-2 overall and could take the lead in the ACC's Coastal Division with a win over Georgia Tech in Atlanta this coming weekend. How sad is it?

2. Easy As It Seems - There are not many freshmen quarterbacks in the history of college football that can step under center for a powerhouse program and have the kind of success that Colt McCoy is having for the University of Texas this season. Not only is McCoy taking over for one of the most exciting players in the last decade of college football, but he is guiding a Top 10 ranked team to what could be back-to-back national champioships...and he is making it look easy. Through eight games this year, McCoy has 20 touchdown passes and only 3 interceptions. This past weekend, he took his Longhorn team on the road against a Top 25 ranked Nebraska team and played almost flawlessly in less than savory conditions (snow falling, 20 plus mph wind blowing in his face). Of course, what impressed me the most was that he engineered the game-winning scoring drive with less than 2 minutes to go, on the road...and oh yeah, with Vince Young watching him from the sidelines...and what he was one cool customer in taking the Longhorns down to the 5 yard line before Ryan Bailey nailed the game winning field goal. I'd say the quarterback position in Austin is going to be in good hands for the next 4 years.

3. Two Sides of the Coin - Michigan State may be the most hard to figure out team in college football. The Spartans play an almost flawless three quarters of football before blowing a 17 point lead to Notre Dame in East Lansing. Then, the next week, Michigan State loses to Illinois at home to give the Fighting Illini their first conference win since 2004. So, I'm sure that Michigan State fans were ready to give up any chance of a bowl game this year when they watched a 2-5 Northwestern team go up 38-3 over the Spartans with under 10 minutes to go in the third quarter. But what transpired over the final quarter and half was truly magical...the Spartans reeled up 38 straight point to stage a dramatic 41-38 victory in Evanston, Illinois. This is the type of win that inspire a team to finish the year on a roll and perhaps even save a coach's job. I know that this is what Coach John L. Smith is hoping for from his Spartans. At 4-4 and with upcoming games against Purdue, Indiana, Minnesota, and Penn State, there is a good chance that the Spartans could roll off 4 straight wins to end the year and get to a respectable bowl game. Of course, Michigan State fans have to wonder what might have been for this season if the Spartans had been able to knock off Notre Dame and Illinois...and John L. Smith has to wonder just what it will take for him to keep his job with Steve Mariucci waiting in the wings.

4. Got to Choose - Will the real Erik Ainge please stand up? Tennessee Volunteer fans never know what to expect from the junior quarterback, even though most of the chatter this season regarding Ainge is that new offensive coordinator David Cutcliffe is finally getting Ainge to perfom up to his ability. If that's the case and Ainge is performing up to his ability, I think everyone has misjudged just how good Ainge is. Sure, Ainge can pile up great stats against the Marshalls, the Air Forces, and even the Californias of the college football world, but when it comes to playing in tough rivalry games in the SEC, Ainge just doesn't seem up to the task. The latest chapter for the Vols and its inegimatic quarterback took place in Knoxville against the Alabama Crimson Tide. Yes, the Volunteers did come away with a gutty win after trailing for over 56 minutes of the game, but Ainge threw 3 interceptions and missed terribly on several first half passes while still throwing for over 300 yards on 28 of 46 passing. With not much of a running game to support Ainge, - just 57 yards of 21 carries against the Tide - this is Ainge's team. He will have to carry the Vols on his shoulders if Tennessee is going to remain in the hunt for the SEC East title. So, for Ainge, it is time to choose what type of quarterback he will be down the stretch..and just how far the Vols will go.

5. Tears are Falling - Poor UCLA....I truly feel sorry for the Bruins, and I'm sure after Saturday's gut wrenching loss in South Bend, Indiana to Notre Dame, plenty of tears were falling back in Los Angeles. To have the Fighting Irish down by 4 points with 62 seconds left in the game and starting 80 yards away from the end zone and still lose is the type of loss that often will ruin a team's season. It will be interesting to see just how the Bruins respond to this loss. I still am just baffled at how a solid defensive team like UCLA could let Brady Quinn move his team 80 yards in just three plays! I loathe the prevent defense, but isn't the prevent supposed to prevent big plays when the offense is in need of a miracle. Everyone in America knows that Quinn is going to look for WR Jeff Samardzija when the game is on the line. But nevertheless, this was a game everyone expected Notre Dame to win...so in regards to the bigger picture, this dramatic win keeps Notre Dame in the hunt for not only a BCS bowl game, but possibly a trip to the BCS title game in Glendale, Arizona. And if by some chance Notre Dame does manage to work its way into the national title game, there will be more tears falling than those that fell in the wake of UCLA's loss on Saturday. Notre Dame has proven itself to not be among the nation's elite teams with close calls against Georgia Tech, Michigan State, and now UCLA. Add in the thorough dismantling of the Irish by Michigan, and it is quite obvious that Notre Dame is living on borrowed time. Unfortunately, for those of us pulling against the Fighting Irish, upcoming games against Navy, Air Force, North Carolina, and Army are going to keep Charlie Weis and his team in the national championship hunt. I would consider it a personal favor if Notre Dame would 'man up' (to borrow a phrase from ESPN Radio's Mike and Mike show) and join a freaking conference!

6. Rise to It - The center of the college football world was in Clemson, South Carolina this past Saturday. It has been a long time since a Clemson football game mattered on the national stage...well, other than the overhyped Bowden Bowls we have all had to sit through the past seven years....but on Saturday, the Tigers of Clemson had College GameDay on their campus for the first team ever to taunt the battle for ACC supremacy between Clemson and Georgia Tech. With the national spotlight on Tommy Bowden and his Tigers, Clemson certainly rose to the occassion...and even went beyond what anyone could imagine. Aside for the dynamic running tandem of James Davis and CJ Spiller gaining a combined 332 yards on the ground and blowing the Jackets out by a score of 31-7, the most astonishing stat of the game was that Georgia Tech star receiver Calvin Johnson was held without a catch. Yes, for the first time in his career, Johnson did not catch a pass. I'm sure prior to Saturday night's blowout, the Clemson coaching staff and fans had to reliving the 2004 game against Georgia Tech when Johnson stole a win away from the Tigers in Death Valley. The Clemson defense was the story on Saturday night, and Coach Bowden even gave the game ball to defensive coordinator Vic Koenning in honor of his squad's performance. In his tenure at Clemson, Tommy Bowden has never had a strong defense, but this could finally be the year his team is able to produce on both sides of the ball. Clemson is now clearly in the driver's seat for the ACC Atlantic Division title and a berth in the ACC Championship Game in Jacksonville....but Clemson fans may want to start keeping their eyes on the national picture as well. If Clemson can survive this weekend's visit to Blacksburg to battle Virginia Tech, then a 11-1 regular season could be very likely as the Tigers close the year with Maryland, NC State, and South Carolina at home. How big does that missed extra point against Boston College look now for the Tigers??

7. Great Expectations - Okay, it's time for everyone to realize that Rutgers is a legit Big East team and that the expectations in the sixth year of the Greg Schiano era are now at an all-time high. With a 20-10 victory over Pittsburgh on Saturday night, the Scarlet Knights are now 7-0 on the season and look like a team ready to challenge West Virginia and Louisville for a trip to a BCS bowl game. Rutgers went undefeated 30 years ago, and this year's team appears to have the kind of savvy and determination to run the table in the Big East. Most of the so-called 'experts' (Corso, Herbstreit, and myself included) predicted Pittsburgh to end the Rutgers' winning streak after Pittsburgh had won its previous four games. What is truly amazing about this Rutgers team is that the Scarlet Knights have the 113th ranked passing offense in the country, and opposing defenses STILL cannot stop the running back combo of Ray Rice and Brian Leonard. With games against #6 Louisville and #4 West Virginia still on the schedule, Rutgers will get a chance to prove just how good they really are. Should Rutgers knock off Louisville in New Brunswick on the national stage - Thursday night, ESPN primetime - then, the Scarlet Knights will truly know great expectations.

8. I've Had Enough - I imagine that Chuck Long didn't think that it would take this long into his inaugrual season as the head coach of San Diego State to get his first win, but for Coach Long, the wait is finally over. With a 19-12 victory over 3-3 Air Force, the Aztecs are winless no more. Chuck Long will always hold a special place in my heart after he finished a close second to Bo Jackson in the 1985 Heisman race...how anyone could think that Chuck Long is even close to as good a football as Bo Jackson is unfathomable to me, but I digress...back to the Aztecs. San Diego State, the school that produced Marshall Faulk and the team that I used in 1996 to win the Auburn University Sega College Football championship (because George Jones was unstoppable!), is not supposed to lumped into the winless category with schools like Temple, Florida International, and Duke. It appeared that the Aztecs were spinning out of control after tough losses to UTEP and Wisconsin to start the season but a hard fought win over a solid Air Force team should give Coach Long a good foundation on which to build, especially since the Aztecs take on Cal Poly next week...so a two game win streak is very likely. Still, a bowl game this year doesn't seem like a tangible goal for San Diego State, but getting back to respectability should be the goal for this once proud program.



And now, one man's attempt to rank the Top 25 teams in the country....

1. Ohio State
2. Michigan
3. USC
4. West Virginia
5. Auburn
6. Texas
7. Louisville
8. Florida
9. Clemson
10. Tennessee
11. Notre Dame
12. California
13. Rutgers
14. LSU
15. Arkansas
16. Boise State
17. Boston College
18. Oklahoma
19. Georgia Tech
20. Texas A&M
21. Nebraska
22. Wake Forest
23. Missouri
24. Wisconsin
25. Oregon