BCS Bowls Breakdown 2010

Good to be back writing a bit.

Despite all the arguments we are stuck with the BCS for the foreseeable future. They are the top five bowl games in the country in terms of money so lets take a look at each one and what fun they will give us this season.

Tostitos BCS National Championship Game – January 10, 2011
Auburn vs. Oregon

The BCS got it right at least in terms of the top two teams in the country at least for this season. Yeah TCU may have a gripe but if you look at the body of work, the Ducks and Tigers are the best in 2010 and should be playing for all the marbles.
Everyone sees a high scoring affair as both teams score in bunches and do not do the best job in stopping people. This game could look more like and arena football game as the scoring goes but it should be fun to watch if you like points.

It is a contest that many have been looking forward to as it’s the SEC vs. the Pac-10 which has not been one of the contests during the current SEC streak of National Championships. Most people had been hoping it would be USC against an SEC team since the Trojans had been a factor in the past decade against the best conference in the country. Did not work out that way but it will be a great matchup.

The deciding factor will be who can stop who first. If you have watched Auburn over the course of the season, you have seen a team that has fallen behind but was always able to rally back and win including falling behind 24-0 at Alabama only to have Cam Newton get on track and pull out a one point win. Once Newton gets rolling there has been no stopping War Eagle. For Oregon to win they need to jump on top first and somehow keep the Tigers down.

The Rose Bowl – January 1, 2011
Wisconsin vs. TCU

The most traditional of all the BCS games got a wrench thrown in as the Horned Frogs of TCU crashed the party to play Big Ten stalwart Wisconsin. For those who want a David vs. Goliath match this is it. TCU fell shot of the title game but they still get to take on one of the big boys and prove that they belong.

TCU has a very strong offense led by QB Andy Dalton and has scored bunches of points and also shutdown their opponents all season including then No. 5 Utah at their place. However, the Badgers have been scoring in bunches as well and it has not all been on the ground as many think with Wisconsin. Quarterback Scott Tolzien is one of the most accurate passers in the country and the Badgers have a tough defense that shut down Terrelle Pryor and Ohio State earlier in the season.

It’s not the usual matchup in Pasadena but the “Granddaddy of them all” should still be a fun one to watch on New Years Day.

Tostitos Fiesta Bowl – January 1, 2011
Connecticut vs. Oklahoma

Like it or not the Huskies of UConn are in the BCS so we all have to live with it. I will say this about the Huskies, their head coach Randy Edsall has done wonders with this program and should either get a nice pay raise or as I believe, be the new coach at a major power.

No one would even think the Huskies had a chance against Oklahoma except for the fact that the Sooners have been down this road twice, against Boise State in 2007 and West Virginia in 2008. Both times Bob Stoops and the Sooners came in to the Fiesta Bowl expecting to win only to have Boise State trick their way to an upset and Pat White and Steve Slaton run wild against them.
I don’t see it happening a third time though. UConn is a solid team but they don’t have the gusto of Boise or the playmakers West Virginia had. The Huskies do have a great running back in Jordan Todman who rushed for over 1,500 yards but if the Sooners shut him down its all over. The Sooners have QB Landry Jones, RB DeMarco Murray, and WR Ryan Broyles on offense and I don’t think the Huskies can stop them.

Discover Orange Bowl – January 3, 2011
Stanford vs. Virginia Tech

This is the game you have to wave the caution flag to most of the “experts” who think Andrew Luck will throw all over the Hokies. Most people stopped watching Virginia Tech after they lost on Labor Day to Boise State and were hungover in a loss the next week to FCS foe James Madison.

However, the Hokies have righted the ship and won eleven in a row to win the ACC and secure another BCS Bowl for Frank Beamer. QB Tyrod Taylor has been wonderful all season passing for 2,500 yard and rushing for 637 yards. He is the focal point of their offense but look out for David Wilson who is dangerous out of the backfield and in the return game. Also be aware that the Hokies just know how to win bowl games.

We have all seen Stanford’s Andrew Luck and what he has done all season pitching the ball all over the field and also rushing for 438 yards. However it is not your usual wide open Pac-10 offense as the Cardinal line up and pound the ball when they want to. Should be a fun game down in Miami.

Allstate Sugar Bowl – January 4, 2011
Ohio State vs. Arkansas

Besides the Title game and the Tennessee game, this is the matchup I am most excited to watch. We all know the Ohio State vs. the SEC streak as the Buckeyes have never beaten an SEC school (including Peyton Manning and Tennessee in the Citrus Bowl in 1996). They have also gotten smashed by Florida and LSU in the BCS Title game in consecutive years.

This is a different matchup however as the Buckeyes may have the better defense this time. They also have Terrelle Pryor and a high powered offense who only had one bad game at Wisconsin this season.

While Ryan Mallett and those wide receivers get all the attention for the Razorbacks, they can also run the ball quite well. Knile Davis has 1,100 yards and 13 TDs this season so if the Buckeyes try and stop the pass all game, look out for Davis.

So there you have it. A quick look at the BCS games this season. Enjoy the games, save the debates about the BCS for the rest of the season.

2010 College Football Pick'em Week 6

Well everyone got the win picking LSU but of course we would have all been glad to take the loss instead after what happened. Bottom line, if the Vols had picked up that 4th and 1 or stopped LSU on 4th and 14 this would have never happened. The faux pax is squarely on the coaches and players. I give them credit for fighting the whole way and the biggest sign of valor is if the Vols can pick themselves up and take out Georgia.

Let's look at the standings:

Last week

Alex 11-1/Joseph 10-2/Chuck 9-3/Trey 9-3/Tiffany 9-3/Dina 8-4/Shibley 7-5/Will 7-5/Victor 6-6/Eva 5-7

Overall

Chuck 48-12/Shibley 46-14/Trey 41-19/Alex 36-12/Dina 25-11/Tiffany 24-12/Victor 23-13/Joseph 19-5/Will 17-7/Josh 8-4/Andrew 8-4/Eva 5-7

Starting next week I will start including winning percentage so make it count this week!

Thursday

No. 7 Nebraska at Kansas State

Saturday

Paul Bunyan's Axe - Minnesota at No. 20 Wisconsin

No. 1 Alabama at No. 19 South Carolina

No. 11 Arkansas vs. Texas A&M (at Cowboys Stadium)

Paul Bunyan Trophy - No. 17 Michigan State at No. 18 Michigan

Clemson at North Carolina

Pittsburgh at Notre Dame

No. 12 LSU at No. 14 Florida

No. 23 Florida State at No. 13 Miami (FL)

USC at No. 16 Stanford

Pillow Fight of the Week - New Mexico at New Mexico State

Tennessee at Georgia

Good Luck!!!

2010 College Football Pick'em Week 5

Another big week of college football as we have five battles between ranked teams and the Vols head to Tiger Stadium to take on LSU.

Here is how we all did last week:

Chuck 10-2/Will 10-2/Shibley 9-3/Joseph 9-3/Victor 9-3/Tiffany 8-4/Dina 8-4/Trey 6-6

Overall

Chuck 39-9/Shibley 39-9/Trey 32-16/Alex 25-11/Dina 17-7/Victor 17-7/Tiffany 15-9/Will 10-2/Joseph 9-3/Josh 8-4/Andrew 8-4

Now let's see if we can get all 11 people to play this week!

Thursday

Texas A&M at Oklahoma State

Saturday

No. 16 Miami (FL) at Clemson

Red River Rivalry - No. 21 Texas vs. No. 8 Oklahoma (from Dallas)

No. 11 Wisconsin at No. 24 Michigan State

Virginia Tech at No. 23 North Carolina State

No. 7 Florida at No. 1 Alabama

No. 9 Stanford at No. 4 Oregon

Notre Dame at Boston College

No. 22 Penn State at No. 17 Iowa

Washington at No. 18 USC

Commander-in-Chief's Trophy - Navy at Air Force

Tennessee at No. 12 LSU

Good Luck Friends!

2010 college Football Pick'em Week 4

Awesome! Seven of you decided to join me in picking games last week! How did we all do?

Shibley 10-2/Alex 9-3/Dina 9-3/Chuck 9-3/Trey 8-4/Victor 8-4/Andrew 8-4/Tiffany 7-5

Overall

Shibley 30-6/Chuck 29-7/Trey 26-10/Alex 25-11/Dina 9-3/Josh 8-4/Victor 8-4/Andrew 8-4/Tiffany 7-5

For those of you who have on ly played one week, once you start to play a few I'll put the percentages up in overall.

On to week 4!!!

Thursday

No. 19 Miami (FL) at Pittsburgh

Saturday

Virginia Tech at Boston College

No. 1 Alabama at No. 10 Arkansas

No. 16 Stanford at Notre Dame

Kentucky at No. 9 Florida

Georgia at Mississippi State

Fresno State at Mississippi

No. 12 South Carolina at No. 17 Auburn

No. 24 Oregon State at No. 3 Boise State

No. 22 West Virginia at No. 15 LSU

California at No. 14 Arizona

UAB at Tennessee

Good Luck!

2010 college Football Pick'em Week 3

Let's take a look and see how everyone did on "Monster Saturday."

Shibley 11-1/Chuck 10-2/Alex 9-3/Trey 8-4

After two weeks

Chuck 20-4/Shibley 20-4/Trey 18-6/Alex 16-8/Josh 8-4

So the first 11-1 week goes to me! Let's see if someone can have a perfect week!

Here are this week's games:

Thursday

Cincinnati at North Carolina State

Saturday

No. 12 Arkansas at Georgia

Georgia Tech at North Carolina

East Carolina at Virginia Tech

Air Force at No. 7 Oklahoma

No. 8 Nebraska at Washington

Mississippi State at No. 15 LSU

Clemson at No. 16 Auburn

No. 6 Texas at Texas Tech

Notre Dame at Michigan State

No. 9 Iowa at No. 24 Arizona

No. 10 Florida at Tennessee

Good Luck!

2010 College Football Pick'em Week 2

Sorry this is a day late, I have been a little busy moving in to my new apartment in Knoxville. Here is what happened week 1:

Chuck 10-2/Trey 10-2/Shibley 9-3/Josh 8-4/Alex 7-5

A winning start for everyone but now things get much more difficult with big games this Saturday!

Thursday Game

No. 21 Auburn at Mississippi State

Friday Game

UTEP at Houston

Saturday Games

No. 22 Georgia at No. 24 South Carolina

South Florida at No. 8 Florida

Colorado at California

No. 17 Florida State at No. 10 Oklahoma

Michigan at Notre Dame

Brigham Young at Air Force

No. 12 Miami (FL) at No. 2 Ohio State

No. 18 Penn State at No. 1 Alabama

No. 25 Stanford at UCLA

No. 7 Oregon at Tennessee

Good Luck Everyone!!!

2010 College Football Pick'em Week 1

IT'S BACK! The start of the season is a day away which means it is time once again for my yearly college football Pick'em Game! Chuck won last season but it was tight all season long. Let's see who can be the best at picking winner this season!

The rules are simple. I'll post 12 games every week on my blog and I will link it to facebook. All you have to do is reply to either my blog or facebook with the winner of each game. I will keep a running total and we will see who gets the win. If you miss a week that's ok will have a percentage too (of course you have to play most weeks)

Here we go!

Thursday

Southern Miss at South Carolina

No. 15 Pittsburgh at Utah

Saturday

Illinois vs. Missouri (in St. Louis)

Purdue at Notre Dame

Kentucky at Louisville

Northwestern at Vanderbilt

Connecticut at Michigan

Washington at Brigham Young

No. 24 Oregon State vs. No. 6 TCU (at Cowboys Stadium)

No. 21 LSU vs. No. 18 North Carolina (in Atlanta)

Tennessee-Martin at Tennessee

Monday

No. 3 Boise State vs. No. 10 Virginia Tech

Good luck everyone!