I could go on and on about Ohio State's huge win at the Big House yesterday giving the Buckeyes an outside shot at the BCS Championship game, but I won't. There are many more interesting games to dissect.
Clemson. Memo to Clemson fans...want to win? Fire Bowden. Bowden has zero championships and a 16-26 record against teams in the Top 25. The ACC is not that strong so I consider this record to be worse than advertised. How in world do you lose at home, at night, with a ACC Title on the line? Very few coaches get less out his players than Tommy Bowden. A regime change is necessary.
How much did Alabama pay Nick Saban to resurrect the program? I know it's unfair to judge based on one season, but losing to Louisiana, Monroe is a low point. A great coach helps his team navigate the season emotionally and physically. Too much emotion was put into the LSU game and the loss three weeks ago ruined a promising season. Next up, Auburn, at Jordan Hare for the Iron Bowl. Good luck. Another Independence Bowl berth is likely.
Oregon. Even without Dixon, there's too much talent on the roster to lose against Arizona. How do you lose to a mediocre PAC 10 team when a BCS Championship is on the line? This is the same team that lost to BYU, New Mexico and Stanford. Everyone thinks Bellotti is a good coach, well I have yet to see where he's earned this distinction. The team was unprepared and the Wildcats dominated both sides of the ball. This is an inexcusable loss.
Oklahoma. Sorry to be redundant, but even without Bradford, there's too much talent on the roster to lose against Texas Tech. The BCS Championship was on the line, and you failed. Sadly, it is the defense that lacks championship quality. Time to regroup for the Bedlam classic. A Big 12 title and another Fiesta Bowl bid are on the line.
Where have you gone California? A promising season will end ugly and possibly without a bowl game because you could not handle the emotional loss to Oregon State in early October. Again, this is coaching problem. While I think Tedford has done well at California, he has lacked the ability to coach his teams after a tough loss. That's essentially the difference between a good college coach and a great college coach.
I don't know if I should congratulate or criticize Tennessee. In the Volunteers three losses, they were outscored 145-68. Yet, Tennessee stands one victory away from the SEC Championship game. Wins are wins so I guess what Fulmer has done has to be considered pretty good. I have a suspicion that I will be writing a different story after the game against Kentucky this week.
Congrats are in order for Virginia, Illinois, Michigan State, Kansas, Missouri, Georgia, Harvard, West Virginia and UConn. All of these teams are having wonderful seasons (even with some losses) and will end up in big bowl games. WVU, Kansas and Missouri still have a shot at the BCS Title.
Other divisions, Mount Union rolled to easy 42-18 first round victory over Ithaca. Expect the Purple Raiders to march to the Alonzo Stagg Bowl Title in three weeks. In Division II, top seed Grand Valley State had a bye and will play North Dakota in the second round this week. Grand Valley should win their third straight title, perhaps even over NW Missouri State, their opponent in the last two championship games.
Big games of the week:
Alabama v Auburn (Iron Bowl)
LSU v Arkansas
Ole Miss v Mississippi State (Egg Bowl)
Boise v Hawaii
Texas v Texas A&M (by default based on the history)
Enjoy Thanksgiving.
Recent Comments