GatorsFirst
Gator Fan
There were no upsets in the title game scene, but the ACC is wide open now with North Carolina’s and Florida State’s losses last week. Some conference pictures are extremely clear, and others are still not. The title game, of course, could still swing wildly, as we saw last year. And just projecting the 10 BCS participants (regardless of who goes where) is no easy task. See below for how we feel this weekend’s action will impact the BCS...
These are not necessarily what we want to happen, but what we think will happen:
BCS Championship:
James: Florida v Texas. Florida is on a huge roll, and far be it from me to jinx it by writing about its demise on GatorsFirst.com - if predicting Florida as BCS champs is wrong, I don’t want to be right. I also am holding with Texas, as the BCS is still determined largely by human polls, and TEXAS BEAT F’ING OKLAHOMA! Far be it from me to penalize them for a last second loss in Lubbock.
Chris: Florida v. Oklahoma. I still have Oklahoma jumping both Texas and Florida in the BCS ranking. Big wins over the #2 Texas Tech team and Oklahoma State on the road probably close the gap of .052 points. If there is a 3-way tie in the Big-12 South, then the tiebreaker is final placing in the BCS ranking. Florida crushed South Carolina last weekend, but got hurt by a Florida State loss against Boston College, not to mention this week’s game against a D-II Citadel team. However, they will have a conference championship game against a possible #1 team, and Texas will not be in there championship game.
Rose Bowl:
James: USC v Penn State. I think the Ducks bring the Beaver Train to a halt, and unless FSU or (and?) Missouri rise up, USC is out of the title game. And after watching them against Stanford, they don’t deserve to be there anyways.
Chris: USC v. Penn State. Traditional Rose Bowl matchup. USC should take the Pac-10 title, as I don’t see Oregon State winning out their remaining three games. However, it’s still possible with two games left. I also don’t see Penn State losing in Happy Valley to Michigan State.
Fiesta Bowl:
James: Ohio State v Oklahoma. I wrote about this extensively last week. No reason to change. Thanks, Beanie Wells, for helping me win my fantasy college league, even after you couldn’t stay on the field the first month of the season.
Chris: Texas v. Ohio State. If Texas barely misses out of the championship picture, and Oklahoma is the team that will claim the #1 spot, then Texas would be the easy Big-12 replacement pick for the Fiesta Bowl. As the retainers of the first at-large selection, the Fiesta Bowl would be delighted to pick an Ohio State team that travels well. With Ohio State’s win this past weekend, they will definitely be here, unless there is a MAJOR upset against Michigan.
Sugar Bowl:
James: Alabama v Cincinnati. I just can’t pick the Wann-stache to pull the stunner again. If Pitt beats Cincy, West Virginia is here. There is absolutely no way the Sugar Bowl takes a non-BCS team over a BCS conference champion, it’s called television revenues. As small as a Cincy or West Virginia is, they are still more recognizable than Utah. The Cinderella thing never draws ratings. Also, as much as I’ve been cheering for Utah, they’d get slaughtered here. Cincinnati’s Brian Kelly could use this game as a launching point to the Tennessee, Clemson, and Washington type jobs that are coming open.
Chris: Alabama v Utah. Alabama will be the easy replacement choice after losing Florida to the BCS championship game. There is not one other eligible team that will have the credentials of a 12-1 Alabama program. The Sugar Bowl committee will then have a tough choice between an undefeated non-BCS team or a two-loss Big East champion. I think they would be better off with Utah than Cincinnati, so they’ll be my pick. This happens unless West Virginia finds a way to sneak away with the Big East crown, yet it will still be a tough decision.
Orange Bowl:
James: Miami (FL) v. Utah. Thanks, Randy Shannon, for the strength of schedule… and for whining. Actually, no thanks for that. I think Utah finishes off the BCS run, as they get BYU at home, and at least their program has the ‘been there, done that’ aspect, as Urban Meyer took them on a similar (though more dominating) run 4 years ago.
Chris: Miami (FL) v. Cincinnati. There was a major shake-up in the ACC this weekend. I believe the winner of the Miami/Georgia Tech game will defeat the winner of the Maryland/Florida St. game for the title. In my opinion, Miami will beat Florida State and make it down to their home at Dolphin Stadium. I think Cincinnati beats Pittsburgh this week at home, and they would hold any tiebreaker over West Virginia. They will not be a wanted commodity and thus will be the last at-large pick.
Any Thoughts???
These are not necessarily what we want to happen, but what we think will happen:
BCS Championship:
James: Florida v Texas. Florida is on a huge roll, and far be it from me to jinx it by writing about its demise on GatorsFirst.com - if predicting Florida as BCS champs is wrong, I don’t want to be right. I also am holding with Texas, as the BCS is still determined largely by human polls, and TEXAS BEAT F’ING OKLAHOMA! Far be it from me to penalize them for a last second loss in Lubbock.
Chris: Florida v. Oklahoma. I still have Oklahoma jumping both Texas and Florida in the BCS ranking. Big wins over the #2 Texas Tech team and Oklahoma State on the road probably close the gap of .052 points. If there is a 3-way tie in the Big-12 South, then the tiebreaker is final placing in the BCS ranking. Florida crushed South Carolina last weekend, but got hurt by a Florida State loss against Boston College, not to mention this week’s game against a D-II Citadel team. However, they will have a conference championship game against a possible #1 team, and Texas will not be in there championship game.
Rose Bowl:
James: USC v Penn State. I think the Ducks bring the Beaver Train to a halt, and unless FSU or (and?) Missouri rise up, USC is out of the title game. And after watching them against Stanford, they don’t deserve to be there anyways.
Chris: USC v. Penn State. Traditional Rose Bowl matchup. USC should take the Pac-10 title, as I don’t see Oregon State winning out their remaining three games. However, it’s still possible with two games left. I also don’t see Penn State losing in Happy Valley to Michigan State.
Fiesta Bowl:
James: Ohio State v Oklahoma. I wrote about this extensively last week. No reason to change. Thanks, Beanie Wells, for helping me win my fantasy college league, even after you couldn’t stay on the field the first month of the season.
Chris: Texas v. Ohio State. If Texas barely misses out of the championship picture, and Oklahoma is the team that will claim the #1 spot, then Texas would be the easy Big-12 replacement pick for the Fiesta Bowl. As the retainers of the first at-large selection, the Fiesta Bowl would be delighted to pick an Ohio State team that travels well. With Ohio State’s win this past weekend, they will definitely be here, unless there is a MAJOR upset against Michigan.
Sugar Bowl:
James: Alabama v Cincinnati. I just can’t pick the Wann-stache to pull the stunner again. If Pitt beats Cincy, West Virginia is here. There is absolutely no way the Sugar Bowl takes a non-BCS team over a BCS conference champion, it’s called television revenues. As small as a Cincy or West Virginia is, they are still more recognizable than Utah. The Cinderella thing never draws ratings. Also, as much as I’ve been cheering for Utah, they’d get slaughtered here. Cincinnati’s Brian Kelly could use this game as a launching point to the Tennessee, Clemson, and Washington type jobs that are coming open.
Chris: Alabama v Utah. Alabama will be the easy replacement choice after losing Florida to the BCS championship game. There is not one other eligible team that will have the credentials of a 12-1 Alabama program. The Sugar Bowl committee will then have a tough choice between an undefeated non-BCS team or a two-loss Big East champion. I think they would be better off with Utah than Cincinnati, so they’ll be my pick. This happens unless West Virginia finds a way to sneak away with the Big East crown, yet it will still be a tough decision.
Orange Bowl:
James: Miami (FL) v. Utah. Thanks, Randy Shannon, for the strength of schedule… and for whining. Actually, no thanks for that. I think Utah finishes off the BCS run, as they get BYU at home, and at least their program has the ‘been there, done that’ aspect, as Urban Meyer took them on a similar (though more dominating) run 4 years ago.
Chris: Miami (FL) v. Cincinnati. There was a major shake-up in the ACC this weekend. I believe the winner of the Miami/Georgia Tech game will defeat the winner of the Maryland/Florida St. game for the title. In my opinion, Miami will beat Florida State and make it down to their home at Dolphin Stadium. I think Cincinnati beats Pittsburgh this week at home, and they would hold any tiebreaker over West Virginia. They will not be a wanted commodity and thus will be the last at-large pick.
Any Thoughts???
