Podcast: Episode 62

After back-to-back, jam-packed podcasts we have to admit that this one is a little lighter. Maybe it's March Madness or the lack of real football or a couple months. Oh well. Here's what we have this week.

When you consider the NCAA is looking to ruin the basketball tournament and expand to 96 teams because of greed, how much do you think it will screw up a football tournament if we let them have it? That's right, plenty. Money always wins.

We also take an early look at the coaches on the hot seat and who has the best chance of saving their job and who should be sending out resumes. Coaches aren't the only ones on the hot seat. How would you like to be replacing Tim Tebow, Colt McCoy or Sam Bradford? Think there's a little pressure on John Brantley, Garrett Gilbert and Landry Jones? We also try to explain what Oregon's Mike Bellotti is doing by going to ESPN. Enjoy another show.

McCoy handles disappointment with class

Colt McCoy deserved much better than this. Anyone questioning his toughness after he left the BCS Championship game last night with an arm injury doesn't understand football. Not to say the Longhorns would have won last night if McCoy had remained at QB. But the game would have been much more interesting.

But McCoy didn't pout or make excuses. He was first class when interviewed after the disappointing end to an amazing career.



McCoy wanted nothing more than to give Texas another championship and cement his name and reputation right along Vince Young. Despite finishing second on the biggest stage, McCoy has nothing to be ashamed of. In fact, his performance last night may have been his best ever.

Podcast: Episode 56

Less than 24 hours after watching Colt McCoy go down early and Alabama claim its 13th, seventh, fifth—I don't know who to believe—national championship, Phil and Tom are breaking down what was the perfect ending to a boring college football season.

We also take a closer look at the other BCS bowl games and discuss whether any conference can lay claim to superiority following the postseason (we like what the Big Ten accomplished on the big stage, and can't overlook the Tide and Florida).

We also look into the future a bit and discuss Terrelle Pryor, Boise State, South Florida without Jim Leavitt and the SEC. Enjoy as we are taking a week off from podcasting and probably won't return until Jan. 20.

Bowl Preview: BCS Super Duper National Championship Game for all the Marbles in the Whole Wide World

BCS National Championship
Rose Bowl, Pasadena, Ca.
Alabama vs. Texas
Date: Jan. 7
Time: 8 p.m.
TV: ABC
Line: Alabama -4

About Alabama (13-0): The Tide got here the old-fashioned Tide way - defense, boring offense and deal with Satan. RB Mark Ingram won the Heisman by being the dreaded most important player on the best team. This does not bode well for winning national titles. The big news of the week was that starting LB Rolando McClain ate a "bad taco" which in college football parlance usually means he spent a night getting shitfaced with his friends and hasn't recovered.

Intangibles:
First Heisman trophy winner: -2
Mike Shula (or was it David?): -2
Major Ogilvie: +2

About Texas (13-0): Colt McCoy. Jordan Shipley. Other guys. Texas is generally regarded as the team that lucked into getting to the title game thanks to their weak conference, downfall of a dreaded rival (Oklahoma) and some league officials determined to have the 'Horns play for another title. Good passing game. Running game? Eh. Defense? Eh.

Intangibles:
History of great college football players who suck in the pros: -1
This is college football who gives a crap: +4
Austin: +2
Rest of Texas: -4

Impact player: McCoy. Colt, that is. Great name. Better have a great game.

Bowl slogan: "We're not really a bowl. We're not really a playoff championship. We're just here and you can't do a damn thing about it."

Little Known fact: The aforementioned Satan, lord of darkness, watches Nick Saban and says "That guy is kind of an ass."

Watchability (1-5): 5

The Pick: Texas 23, Alabama 22

Observations from Saturday's games (Sept. 19)

This isn't easy to do right now. I'm trying to watch my Mountaineers at Auburn, so my observations may be random and incoherent.

So let's get to the 'Eer's observations for today.

1. Bad day for Utah. Looks like two BCS Busters are going down today. Oregon failed to beat Boise State, but give the Ducks credit for taking down Utah and the nation's longest winning streak. Florida State and BYU are still playing, but the Seminoles have gone to Provo, Utah, and appear to be doing what Oklahoma couldn't the first week of the season. Can you believe the 'Noles almost lost to Jacksonville State?

2. USC upset. Did anyont really think the Trojans wouldn't find a way to lose a Pac-10 game on the road this season? Pete Carroll may be a great recruiter and coach, but he's too flaky. The Pac-10 isn't good enough to do this year in and year out.

3. Hot seat. Virginia's Al Groh jumped ahead of Colorado's Dan Hawkins as the most likely to get fired before the end of the season. The Cavaliers 37-34 loss to Southern Miss may have sealed his fate. Not too far behind is Maryland's Ralph Friedgen, whose Terrapins lost to Middle Tennessee State, 32-31, at home.

4. Holy Pitt. Let's not crown the Panthers the Big East champ just yet, but Pitt has avoided the normal early season slip up that we've come to know under Dave Wannstedt. Beating Navy 27-14 is bigger than it may appear. The Midshipmen are always a tough foe, and even Bill Stull is playing OK.

5. No moral victories. How did Tennessee hang with Florida today? Easy. Monte Kiffin's defense. He outcoached Urban Meyer (just don't tell UF fans because they'll want to argue with you for an hour). If the Vols had any offense, they'd be creating the ol' man with the win.

6. Statement game. Maybe I'm alone in thinking this, but Iowa's 27-17 victory over Arizona was important for the Big Ten. The Wildcats may be a middle of the pack, lower-tier bowl team from the Pac-10, but Iowa hasn't been that impressive this year. Should be an interesting game next week when the Hawks travel to Penn State.

7. Weakens the cause. As much as Iowa's win helps the Big Ten, Purdue's loss to Northern Illinois gives ammonition to those who trash the conference.

8. Best option. Tim Tebow and Colt McCoy remain the favorites to win the Heisman Trophy, but Cal's Jahvid Best should top the list. His five-TD performance in a road win at Minnesota was impressive.

9. Not sure. Butch Davis has a great defense at North Carolina, and the Tar Heels may be 3-0. But can anyone tell me if they are really an ACC contender?

10. Alabama shower. After about an hour delay because of inclement weather, one of ESPN's talking heads said about the Auburn fans who waited in the stands during the downpour: "they just took off their shirts and took a free shower." Timing was good, it was their day to shower.

Picks of the Week: No. 3

If Stanford hadn't buckled in the second half, and if Texas didn't sleep walk through the first half 'Eer would have been 4-1. Instead the week wasn't as good as I had hoped. So this week I have to prove my mettle. Here we go.

Ohio State (-20.5) over Toledo
Jim Tressel is not known as a guy who runs up a score. But after last week's near-win against USC and the heat he's taken all week from the fans, Coach Tressel will try to show he can still call an effective game. This should be like a home game for the Buckeyes as most of the crowd in Cleveland Browns Stadium will be rooting for No. 11 OSU. Just Toledo will get the huge gate receipts.
Pick: Ohio State 42, Toledo 13

Texas (-17.5) over Texas Tech
How bad does No. 2 Texas want to avenge its only loss of 2008? Watch this game and you'll see. Colt McCoy and Mack Brown want payback and to keep the Longhorns on track for a BCS Championship showdown. Beside, Mike Leach and the Red Raiders don't fare well in Austin. Another interesting fact is since 2000, the Red Raiders have lost all four games played against ranked teams in August and September.
Pick: Texas 45, Texas Tech 21

Tulsa (+17.5) over Oklahoma
The 12th-ranked Sooners will win this game, but it's going to be much closer than 17.5 points. The Golden Hurricane are 2-0 and one of the top teams in Conference USA. This is Tulsa's best chance to win this in-state battle. Don't overlook the fact that Tulsa is road-tested this season with wins over Tulane (37-13) and New Mexico (44-10).
Pick: Oklahoma 38, Tulsa 28

North Carolina (-7.5) over East Carolina
The Pirates were everyone's early season darling in 2008. This year Skip Holtz' defense is a bit more porous as is evident in ECU's opening games against the Mountaineers (35-20 loss to West Virginia and 29-24 win over Appalachian State). Butch Davis' boys struggled at UConn last week, but returning to Chapel Hill and a focused week of practice is all the 24th-ranked Tar Heels need to win this week.
Pick: North Carolina 32, East Carolina 14

Upset of the Week
Georgia (-1.0) over Arkansas
Something doesn't seem right about this one. UGA is the underdog at Arkansas? OK. I'll bite. The Bulldogs got the offense going against South Carolina last week (wish I could say the Dawgs' defense looked better). QB Ryan Mallett is a nice player and could light up Georgia, but I'm going with the more talented team ... that's Georgia.
Pick: Georgia 32, Arkansas 24

Last Week: 2-3
Season Record: 5-5

Picks of the Week: No. 2

I'll take a 3-2 week, but wow was I off on the Notre Dame-Nevada game. Probably avoid the Irish until I get a better feel for Charlie Weis' team. Let's see if I can do a little better this week.

Texas (-33.5) over Wyoming
Clearly Texas is going to win this game, but by 33.5 points? Without a doubt. The Longhorns are the most talented team in the nation and Mack Brown has been known to run up a score to earn computer points. Colt McCoy will pick apart the Cowboys and Texas will roll big.
Pick: Texas 63, Wyoming 7

Vanderbilt (+14.5) over LSU
The Tigers were shaky in their win at Washington last week. The once-vaunted defense of LSU gave up 478 total yards of offense to the Huskies, who finished 0-12 last year. Les Miles says the defense will perform better this week. Maybe, but not enough to cover the spread. LSU will win though. The Tigers never seem to lose night home games.
Pick: LSU 27, Vanderbilt 21

USC (-7.0) over Ohio State
'Eye will probably be upset to see this pick, but if wants Ohio State in an upset then he should make these picks. This goes against everything I believe in, especially picking true freshmen QBs (Matt Barkley) to win in hostile environments at night. But the Buckeyes have lost five consecutive games against Top 5 teams. The Buckeyes will keep this much closer than a year ago, but USC will control the line of scrimmage and win back-to-back against OSU.
Pick: USC 31, Ohio State 17

Virginia Tech (-19.0) over Marshall
One thing Frank Beamer coached teams usually do well is putting tough losses behind them and focusing on the next game. The Thundering Herd are better this season, but not Hokies' good. VT will score at least one special teams TD and roll in the home opener and erase some of the bad memories of last week's nationally televised loss to Alabama.
Pick: Virginia Tech 36, Marshall 9

Upset of the Week
Stanford (+3.0) over Wake Forest
I'm not feeling a real upset this week. Maybe I'm gun-shy after last week's horrible pick. This would be a minor upset, but if Stanford could go across the country and win at Wake that would be a very nice win. I don't usually pick against Jim Grobe because he's the best coach in the nation (seriously, this guy wins with less talent). But Jim Harbaugh also does a fine job with the Cardinal and following Wake's loss to Baylor last week the Demon Deacons may be losing confidence.
Pick: Stanford 28, Wake Forest 24


Last Week: 3-2
Season Record: 3-2

Podcast: Episode 38

You can tell by our voices in today's podcast that were more than ready for Thursday night's kickoff to College Football. However, how could we do a show without starting it off by talking about Practice Gate and the problems with Rich Rodriguez in Ann Arbor. No sympathy here.

After we spend way too much time talking about the team up north, we get on with other important topics such as Pete Carroll's love affair with Matt Barkley and if the Cincinnati-Rutgers game on Monday could provide the Big East with some relief. 'Eye and 'Eer also make their Heisman picks, as well as give you a game this weekend that you should care about.

Herbstreit is one lucky dude

It's not enough that Kirk Herbstreit has a hot wife, adorable children and a great gig with ESPN. Now the Worldwide Leader is letting him go around the nation during the offseason and interview some of the best in college football.

Above is a good interview with Texas QB Colt McCoy. I thought McCoy was the best college quarterback last season and after watching this interview I love this guy's confidence and think he feels he has something to prove in 2009. Should be an interesting season.

Bowl Preview: Fiesta Bowl

Tostitos Fiesta Bowl
University of Phoenix Stadium, Glendale, Ariz.
Ohio State vs. Texas
Date: Jan. 5
Time: 8 p.m.
TV: FOX
Line: Texas -8.5

About Ohio State: If this were 1992, the Buckeyes would be renowned for their innovative offensive and defensive schemes. As it is, they look like they should be playing with leather helmets and drop kicks. Coach Jim Tressel is still convinced the punt and not turning the ball over are the two most important things in football. Scoring points is somewhere in the teens.

Intangibles:
Kirk Herbstreit: -4
Woody Hayes: +2
Average age of coaching staff; 84: -2
Last two national title games: -5

About Texas: The Longhorns were one dropped interception from playing in the national title game (assuming a Big 12 championship win over Missouri. A fair assumption.) As it is, tough crap. Next time don't drop the interception. Colt McCoy and 10 other guys play on offense. Brian Orakpo and 10 other guys play on defense. Mack Brown is still the coach, although he's slowly morphing into the Bobby Bowden "I sit on a golf cart and say funny things" role.

Intangibles:
Bevo: +3
Austin: +2
Rest of Texas: -4
Matthew McConaghey: -2

Impact Player: OSU guard Steve Rehring loves Christmas break. Steve loves eating. Steve doesn't like working out so much. Steve is big. Steve is slow. Steve is slower after Christmas break.

Bowl slogan: "The Fiesta Bowl proudly welcomes...what?! Ohio State AGAIN? Criminy. Why not just buy a timeshare."

Little known fact: Hey Texas players, how about wearing some freaking underwear with those white pants? I'm tired of having to check out your junk every time you make a tackle.

Watchability (1-5): 4

The Pick: Texas 30, Ohio State 24

Need help selecting the Heisman?

ESPN blogger Chris Low provided some very interesting information on Oklahoma's Sam Bradford, Texas' Colt McCoy and Florida's Tim Tebow yesterday evening. He compared the defenses that each Heisman finalist faced in 2008 and the results are not shocking. Tebow has face six defenses in the Top 25, while Bradford has face one and McCoy none.

Here is the list that Low provided:

Sam Bradford
No. 2 TCU
No. 26 Cincinnati
No. 50 Texas
No. 66 Nebraska
No. 72 Texas Tech
No. 86 Oklahoma State
No. 87 Baylor
No. 94 Kansas
No. 99 Missouri
No. 110 Washington
No. 113 Texas A&M
No. 117 Kansas State

Colt McCoy
No. 65 Oklahoma
No. 72 Texas Tech
No. 73 Arkansas
No. 79 Colorado
No. 86 Oklahoma State
No. 91 Missouri
No. 93 Florida Atlantic
No. 94 Kansas
No. 99 Missouri
No. 113 Texas A&M
No. 114 Rice
No. 115 UTEP

Tebow
No. 3 Alabama
No. 4 Tennessee
No. 11 South Carolina
No. 13 Florida State
No. 15 Ole Miss
No. 25 Miami
No. 28 Georgia
No. 29 Vanderbilt
No. 36 LSU
No. 37 Kentucky
No. 59 Hawaii
No. 73 Arkansas

I'm not saying Low's analysis proves Tebow should win, but the argument of comparing statistics should take this evidence into account. However, Tebow may lose the Heisman this year for the same flawed reason he claimed it last year.

Grumblings from the Retired One

Special Report

Retired Coach Rick
ACC Correspondent

Charlie "Shrek" Weis did a great job against USC. This offensive genius scored three points. I hope the Irish have enough pride to refuse a bowl game.

As much as I hate to say it, don't be shocked when Alabama destroys Florida. The Crimson Tide will create confusion for Tim Tebow and Urban Meyer. This will lead to at least three turnovers. Tebow will not have a good day. I see the final at Alabama 31, Florida 24. Both teams will block a kick.

The ACC has the chance to send 10 teams to bowl games this year. Every conference should have 12 teams and a conference championship at the end (something 'Eye and 'Eer totally disagree with). Play eight conference games and the rest outside the conference.

My Heisman selection is Texas' Colt McCoy. The best player during the 2008 season.

I hope Mountaineer Field is standing room only when Pat White plays his final home game Saturday against South Florida. He has provided the state of West Virginia with more thrills, excitement and pride than any athlete since Jerry West. They need to thank him by being there for his final curtain call.

The eventual Pac-10 champion USC vs the Fat 10 champion Penn State will be another blowout in favor of the Trojans.

Cincinnati in the Orange Bowl should be interesting. I hope Florida is the Bearcats opponent. UF will kill them.

Conference Championship Weekend is coming up and the bad thing is, another college season is coming to an end. I'll do my end of the year clean-up next week.

Random thoughts from the retired one

Special Report

Retired Coach Rick
ACC Correspondent

I wish everyone would stop trying to sell the University of Florida's greatness. They lost a home game to a middle of the pack SEC team. The other one loss teams lost an away game or on a neutral field.

I am going to sound like Lee Corso, please forgive me Joe Brodsky, but here it goes. I think Florida will beat Alabama in the SEC championship game but it is going to be closer than the experts think. I personally think if UF gets into a close, low scoring game, Alabama will win. All the conferences need to play a conference championship game. This would cut out a lot of the play-off talk.

How many people think Michigan has a chance against Ohio State? I do. Slim but a chance.

My nominees for the Heisman Trophy are #1 QB Colt McCoy, Texas; #2 QB Sam Bradford, Oklahoma; #3 WR Michael Crabtree, Texas Tech; #4 QB Graham Harrell, Texas Tech. Of course if Florida makes it to the BCS Championship game then Tim Tebow will win it. He will win it in the closest vote of all time.

A few friends of mine have told me the bowl committees are trying to find schools that have some history with each other. A lot of them are looking at the distance the fans will have to travel. With the economy the way it is the sponsors are trying to make it as easy for the fans as they can.

Who is going to be the All-American QB this year?

The games I want to see this week are: Texas Tech/Oklahoma, Michigan State/Penn State, Ohio State/Michigan, BYU/Utah, Ball State/Central Michigan, Florida State/Maryland and Miami/Georgia Tech.

My picks are Oklahoma in a blowout. Michigan State in a close one. Ohio State in a closer one. Utah in a walk. Central Michigan in a wild but close one. FSU in an easy one. UM in another nailbiter.

Picks of the Week

It's time to try something new. Pick teams that are outrageous favorites and hope they cover. Let's see how it works.

Southern Cal (-20) over California
USC has covered huge spreads the past two weeks, so this seems like an easy pick. Pete Carroll spent the week bitching about the BCS system and how his Trojans are getting screwed. Sorry Pete, you'll just have to keep running up the score and hope you impress the computers.
Pick: Southern Cal 35, California 10

Texas (-27.5) over Baylor
This is the Longhorns easiest Big 12 game of the season. Colt McCoy and his teammates still have a shot at playing for the conference championship and even a national title, so Texas should put a real beating on the Bears.
Pick: Texas 42, Baylor 12

Tennessee (-26.5) over Wyoming
First things first ... Wyoming is weak, like Mountain West Conference weak. Tennessee is bad also, but they are SEC bad, which means the Volunteers would probably be in first or second in the MWC. Plus the Vols would like to give Phil Fulmer a nice close to his career. UT could still finish 6-6, and avoiding a losing season would be a great present with the way this season has gone.
Pick: Tennessee 35, Wyoming 6

Brigham Young (-36.5) over San Diego State
Yeah, another Mountain West game. But San Diego State is up 36.5 to 0 right now. When this one ends in Provo, BYU will have tuned up the Aztecs and continued the misery of the Chuck Long Employment Line campaign.
Pick: Brigham Young 55, San Diego State 14

Upset of the Week
Marshall (+8) over East Carolina
The winner takes over the lead in the East Division of Conference USA. East Carolina is 3-3 since opening with impressive victories over Virginia Tech and West Virginia. Last week the Pirates struggled with Central Florida, but won 13-10 in OT. The Herd ended a three-game skid last week with a 37-23 win over Houston. Mark Snyder's job is on the line and a victory in Greenville, N.C., will go a long way for his job security.
Pick: Marshall 21, East Carolina 20

Last Week: 3-2
Season: 17-18

Wow

Now that was a great game.

I'm referring to Texas-Texas Tech.
In case you missed it the Red Raiders pulled off the biggest win in program history when Graham Harrell hit Michael Crabtree on a touchdown pass with :01 left to upset the top-ranked Longhorns.

But this came just after Colt McCoy led Texas on a tremendous 11-play drive to finish the game.

After two unsportsmanlike penalties on the TT crowd, they kicked off from the 7 1/2 yard line with :01 left.

Great finish. I have a feeling this is just the start of the annual November BCS madness.

Observations from Saturday's Games (Oct. 25)

The Big East and ACC were shaken up Saturday, while Michigan's "Little Brother" whipped up on it. Didn't get to see as many games as I would have liked (thank you ESPN 360) because of my own work requirements. But I'm watching Penn State-Ohio State right now and wanted to let everyone know what I observed this Saturday (besides a nice 30-22 victory by Marietta College over Muskingum College).

1. Nate the Great. I have been raving about Ball State's Nate Davis all season. I think everyone else is finally catching up. Davis did about everything in the No. 20 Cardinals 38-16 victory against Eastern Michigan. Not only did he throw for 241 yards and two scores, he also caught a TD pass. I'd like to say this BSU (not Boise State) could be a BCS buster at 8-0, but the Mid-American Conference is so disrespected I don't see them cracking the Top 12 of the BCS rankings.

2. LSU defense. Really! I'm supposed to take this team serious after giving up 50-plus points in two of the past three weeks? Well I'm not and I don't think too many other people are either. I should have listened to 'Eye when he kept saying that their early wins were against inferior teams. The only two tough opponents (Florida and Georgia) just attacked the vaunted Tiger defense and uncovered many weaknesses.

3. Give me Mo. It's not like anything Georgia's Knowshon Moreno does should surprise me. But his effort against LSU was more like a season highlight reel. He finished with 163 yards, but it was his 68-yard TD run in the third quarter that totally silenced the LSU crowd. It should be noted that LSU's Charles Scott was equally impressive as he gained 144 yards and scored two touchdowns.

4. Big 12 classic. No. 1 Texas did enough to remain on top of the rankings, especially after back-to-back tough weeks and possibly looking ahead to No. 8 Texas Tech. But give No. 6 Oklahoma State a lot of credit for giving the Longhorns more than most expected in Austin. Looks like T. Boone Pickens is getting his $168 million worth (or whatever the value of his gift is now after the stock market crash). Texas QB Colt McCoy looked almost human as he threw a critical interception, but the future Heisman Trophy winner still threw for almost 400 yards. Now can Texas get up again this week?

5. Leave it to Wannstache. Just when it looks like Pitt is finally turned a corner under Dave Wannstache, the Panthers blow a game (see Rutgers 54, Pittsburgh 34). I know QB Bill Stull had to be carried off the field after hitting his helmet with a teammate, but Pitt was already struggling with Rutgers. This was bad for the Big East. Pitt, despite a loss to Bowling Green, had established itself as a legitimate team for the conference. That seems to have fallen back to WVU after Thursday's impressive win over Auburn. Throw in South Florida's loss at Louisville and the Big East is having a bad year.

5. ACC shakeup. Think the Big East is confusing, well fans of the ACC are just as confused. Following another weird week the favorites to win the conference are Florida State, Maryland and Virginia. FSU isn't so crazy, but Maryland and Virginia were written off after the first or second week. Give Ralph Friedgen and Al Groh some props for the job they have done keeping their teams focused. Many credible sources have always told me what an excellent coach Friedgen is. However, I've never heard many positives about Groh. He's got my respect now.

6. More ACC wackiness. I keep telling folks to stay away from the ACC if your picking games. I tried it again this week since it was an SEC team (Vanderbilt) playing the ACC (Duke). This seemed like an easy one, but I should have know that David Cutcliffe would have the Dookies ready for the Commodores.

7. Taking notice now. I'm not on the bandwagon, but I'm not as anti-Texas Tech as I was just 24 hours ago. The Red Raiders 63-21 whipping of Kansas was a legitimate win. Kansas is a mid-level team in most conferences, but this is the kind of win Tech needed. The hype heading into this week's game with No. 1 Texas is going to be something the folks in Lubbock have never witnessed before.

8. What's bad about the Big 12. Missouri will still likely make the conference championship game because the North Division is so crappy. Great Missouri getting the crap kicked out of them. The most exciting part of this game will be at halftime when some 5-foot-8 white guy tries to win $1 million throwing footballs at moving Dr. Pepper bottles.

9. Bama fans. Alabama's game with Tennessee isn't even over yet, but I know they are having a good week. The Tide will finish off the Vols and the win could finish Phil Fulmer at Tennessee. That's a very good week for the folks in Tuscaloosa. But I also know they enjoyed Auburn's loss at West Virginia an awful lot also. My sister lives there and when she wore her WVU jacket the next day, a number of Bama fans responded very positively.

10. Herbstreit kids. Kirk Herbstreit has cute kids. But he needs to stop bringing them onto the Game Day set every time they are in Columbus. There always seems to be one of his genetically superior sons who breaks down like a little girl lost at the mall. Enough. Leave them at home with mom.

Observations from Saturday's Games (Oct. 18)

Sorry for the late post. No internet service last night. Suddenlink sucks.

I have to agree with 'Eye that the early selections on Saturday were weak and not too interesting, but the late afternoon and evening games were a different story. Here are some interesting observations I made on Saturday (and finally reporting on Sunday):

1. I wanna be like Vince (and a little more). If Texas QB Colt McCoy keeps it up he will do Vince Young one better this year. While McCoy is leading the very talented (and now not so underrated) Longhorns to an impressive string of victories, all I can think about is this team could win the national championship (something Young accomplished). McCoy is also the clear favorite right now to win the Heisman Trophy (USC's Reggie Bush beat Young out for the honor). History isn't on the Longhorns side. They are on top of the first BCS poll of the 2008 season. Only two of 12 teams have ever went on to win it all from this position (Florida State in 1999 and USC in 2004).

2. Stop overreacting. Why does Mark May or Kirk Herbstreit become such drama queens when they see Alabama struggle with Ole Miss or Penn State with Michigan (if for just a half)? Haven't they watched the first eight weeks of the season? Eeking out a victory is nothing to be ashamed of, especially when it is a conference game. Georgia didn't look overly impressive against Vanderbilt on Saturday. But the Dawgs won and they are still in the hunt for an SEC championship and potential national title. My high school coach always said he didn't care if he won every game by one point. I agree. There are ugly wins, but they sure are better than pretty loses.

3. New Beast of the East. It's Pitt. The Stache has his boys playing well. A lot of college football beat writers were picking Navy to upset the Panthers yesterday. Pitt responded by rolling to a 42-21 win behind an impressive day from Lesean McCoy (156 yards and three TDs on 18 carries). The Panthers still have some tough contests, but they don't be shocked when they are 11-1 (with a very bad loss to Bowling Green). Up this week Rutgers, followed by an interesting road game with Notre Dame.

4. Don't bet on the ACC. Every time I try to pick a game in this conference I get stumped. How does North Carolina lose to Virginia and Maryland just dominate Wake Forest. I'm done. Not again. I won't pick another ACC game in 2008. Maybe ever.

5. Positive ACC note. Clemson lost in Dabo Swinney first game as interim coach, but the Tigers played with more passion than I've seen out them in two years. I was pulling for them to get the win over Georgia Tech. Dabo was a little to "Rah, Rah" for me on the sidelines, but I understand what he was doing. However, if I was him they would have fired me after the game. When I saw the AD talking to him during the game I would have told him where he should be watching the game (and it ain't the sidelines).

6. Rankings madness. I'm as guilty as anyone else. It was my idea to have a poll on our blog. But I'm officially against any poll before Oct. 15 from now on. Why was Missouri, West Virginia and Wisconsin ranked so high to start the season? From now on we should make teams earn the ranking on the field. I know teams will still fall out of the rankings, but at least the really good teams will flesh out by this time and it will be more accurate.

7. Here comes Southern Cal. So you thought losing at Oregon State would keep Pete Carrol and his USC Trojans out of the national title picture. Well, it may, but following a 69-0 victory against a woefully overmanned Washington State has everyone taking notice again. USC has wicked-mad talent, but stop it. If everyone wants to talk about how Big East teams don't play a strong enough schedule then the same holds true for USC. I think they'll just miss out, but if enough teams slip USC will be in Miami in January. What's funny now is that USC must root for Ohio State to keep winning because that's the only real team on the Trojans' schedule. They get a little boost from Virginia's resurgence.

8. OSU-Penn State game. This is for the Big 10 championship. I don't get excited for Big 10 games very often, but this one should be very interesting. The Nittany Lions struggled for a half with the program that used to be known as Michigan, but like any good team regrouped at halftime and romped in the second half. The Buckeyes didn't screw around at all as they got right in the face of Michigan State and kept the Beanie Wells-Terrelle Pryor show out front.

9. Mike Stoops saved his job. With Arizona's 42-27 win over No. 25 California the Wildcats coach should get his team into a bowl game this year, therefore guaranteeing him a job with Tucson next fall. I applaud the job Stoops and his staff did in pulling out this win. But what is it with the Pac-10 and not being able to win on the road? According to Ted Miller at ESPN.com, the Pac-10 is 8-22 on the road, including a 6-14 record within the conference. Now, would someone tell Colin Cowherd to stop his weekly love fest with this conference.

10. Welcome Tulsa. What took pollsters so long to vote the Golden Hurricane into the Top 25. Tulsa is 7-0 following a 77-35 win over UTEP. The only close game they have had was a 37-31 win against SMU. I admit it, I don't know too much about the Golden Hurricane but this team deserved a ranking before now (unless you wait until now to start the rankings).