Bowl Preview: Brut Sun Bowl

Brut Sun Bowl
Sun Bowl, El Paso, Tx.
Stanford vs. Oklahoma
Date: Dec 31
Time: 2 p.m.
TV: CBS (NOT ESPN, HOLY CRAP)
Line: Oklahoma -9.5

About Stanford (8-4): The Cardinal haven't seen this kind of postseason glory since Ty Willingham was at the helm. But now, it's former (ugh.) Michigan quarterback Jim Harbaugh whose overbearing arrogance is a perfect fit for a school filled with students and faculty who are overbearingly arrogant. And they've got this Toby Gerhart kid who's like Tommy Vardell but with talent.

Intangibles:
Tiger Woods: -4
Michelle Wie: -1
The Buddy Tevens Era: -6

About Oklahoma (7-5): Taking the positive on this sucky season for the Sooners, at least Bob Stoops can't lose a big bowl game! Am I right, Sooners? So Sam Bradford got hurt and Oklahoma fell apart like a house of cards in front of Beano Cook. It was like Gary Gibbs was back in charge of the Sooners. Crap were they bad.

Intangibles:
Sooner schooner: +2
Anything else in Oklahoma: -3
The Boz: -2
Jamelle Holieway; +2

Impact player: Gerhart. This dude just ran over Pac 10 defenses like they weren't there - and for the most part, they weren't. OU has some serious studs up front.

Bowl Slogan: "Mmmm. You smell like Brut."

Little known fact: I like El Paso salsa. Bet you didn't know.

Watchability (1-5): 4.3

The pick: Stanford 31, Oklahoma 30

Stanford ratchets up Gerhart Heisman campaign

With Tiger Woods reputation on the rocks, Stanford's favorite son is now RB Toby Gerhart. After shredding a weak Notre Dame defense last week, Stanford decided to produce a Heisman marketing piece for a guy who reminds us of Touchdown Tommy Vardell.

Good luck Toby. You'll probably get the call to NYC, but the trophy is probably going to a quarterback.

Podcast: Episode 51

It may be championship weekend in many of the conferences, but nothing seems to be more important than who'll replace Charlie Weis as coach at Notre Dame (OK, maybe Tiger Woods is more important, but this is about college football). Bob Stoops and Urban Meyer have said no thanks. Brian Kelly is politicking hard for the spot, but hey he's trying to get out of Cincinnati. So what's wrong with Notre Dame? Is this job just not as highly coveted as the Fighting Irish faithful think it is?

We couldn't overlook the retirement of Bobby Bowden and what faces Jimbo Fisher now that he's in charge. Phil and Tom also break down the championship games, as well as look at Toby Gerhart's chances of winning the Heisman Trophy, and they also give you their picks for second-half surprises.

So if you have the time listen to this week's podcast.

Video: Stanford mocks USC fans

Something is totally amiss in the college football universe. Stanford players Drew Terrell and Ekom Udofia are actually taunting USC's fans with a sarcastic version of "Fight On."

We're the first to admit that USC is much worse than we expected this season, but don't think for long that USC will be down. This is a blip. The Trojans are starting a true freshman QB (even though we like Andrew Luck much better than Matt Barclay) and the defense has been much more porous than even Pete Carroll could have dreamed.

The Cardinal are supposed to be among the classiest teams and players in the Pac-10, so this seems out of character (except for maybe coach Jim Harbaugh). But Pete and the Trojans won't forget this. Just wait until next year.

Oh yea, heck of a game by RB Toby Gerhart. This guy is a stud.

Picks of the Week: No. 8

Stay away from the ACC. Remember stay away from the ACC. That’s what the ‘Eer is doing this week. He will not try to think he knows anything about the ACC (thanks Wake Forest). So here it goes, best picks of the week that don’t include the ACC.

Nebraska (-17.5) over Iowa State
The Cornhuskers still control their own destiny in the Big 12 North, and Bo Pelini will have his team out to erase the embarrassment of last week’s 31-10 loss to Texas Tech. Look for a steady dose of Roy Helu Jr., who should be healthy for Saturday. The Cyclones ended a two-game skid last week with a 24-10 win over Baylor.
Pick: Nebraska 36, Iowa State 14

Northern Illinois (-11.0) over Miami of Ohio
The RedHawks are battling Eastern Michigan and Ball State for worst of the worse in the Mid-American Conference this year. Does anyone remember when Miami was the class of the conference? The Huskies should bounce back in a big way after losing to 20-19 last week. Only concern for Northern Illinois is the possible loss of starting QB Chandler Harnish, who may miss Saturday’s game with a knee injury.
Pick: Northern Illinois 27, Miami of Ohio 9

Arizona (-7.5) over UCLA
The Wildcats seem to be the new darling of the Pac-10 after good wins over Stanford (43-38) and Oregon State (37-32), and you could argue they shouldn’t have lost to Washington (36-33). QB Nick Foles has solidified the offense. He’s thrown for 1,209 yards and nine TDS, while completing almost 74 percent of his passes. UCLA has not shown much improvement in Rick Neuheisel’s second year as coach. After opening the season 3-0, the Bruins have dropped three straight, including a 45-26 loss to Cal.
Pick: Arizona 30, UCLA 17

Arizona State (+6.5) over Stanford
I considered this as the upset pick of the week, and this game should be very close so the home team should win. However, the Sun Devils looked better in last week’s upset of Washington so I think the game will be decided by a late field goal. The difference in this game will be the balanced attack of Stanford with RB Toby Gerhart and QB Andrew Luck. Even in last week’s loss to Arizona, Luck completed 21 of 35 for 423 yards and three TDs.
Pick: Stanford 32, Arizona State 30

Upset of the Week
Colorado (+4.5) over Kansas State
I haven’t hit an upset all year, so don’t follow my advice here. However, I’m going with Colorado because Dan Hawkins finally pulled the plug on weak-armed son Cody at QB and turned the offense over to Tyler Hansen. The new signal caller was convincing in his debut going 14 of 25 for 175 yards with a TD and a rushing score. Kansas State is playing better than many expected and the Wildcats were impressive in last week’s 62-14 thumping of Texas A&M, but that was the Aggies.
Pick: Colorado 24, Kansas State 20

Last Week: 3-2
Season Record: 19-16

'Eer's Mid-season All-American Team

I'm the first to admit this means nothing, but it's fun to do. Most of these selections are based on what I've seen this fall, but some picks were made on team success combined with overall stats. I refuse to try to pick offensive linemen. Sorry, just can't do it.

Let me know what you think.

First Team
QB: Tony Pike, Cincinnati
RB: Toby Gerhart, Stanford
RB: Noel Devine, WVU
FB: Stanley Havili, USC
TE: Anthony McCoy, USC
WR: Jordan Shipley, Texas
WR: Mardy Gilyard, Cincinnati

DE: Jerry Hughes, TCU
DT: Gerald McCoy, Oklahoma
OLB: Eric Norwood, South Carolina
MLB: Brandon Spikes, Florida
DB: Kurt Coleman, Ohio State
SS: Eric Berry, Tennessee
FS: Taylor Mays, USC

Second Team
QB: Jimmy Clausen, Notre Dame
RB: Jacquizz Rodgers, Oregon State
RB: Ryan Williams, Virginia Tech
FB: Vince Murray, Navy
TE: Dennis Pitta, BYU
WR: Golden Tate, Notre Dame
WR: Eric Decker, Minnesota

DE: O'Brien Schofield, Wisconsin
DT: Cameron Hayward, Ohio State
OLB: Cody Grimm, Virginia Tech
MLB: Rolando McClain, Alabama
DB: Javier Arenas, Alabama
SS: Ahmad Black, Florida
FS: Chad Jones, LSU

Stanford's Gerhart tries hand at other sports

Stanford tailback Toby Gerhart is arguably the best two-sport athlete in college athletics. He leads the nation in rushing TDs and is a standout for the Cardinal baseball team.

Leave it to those brainiacs at Stanford to produce this entertaining video of Gerhart giving a few other sports a shot. I love the synchronized swimming bit. Nice job Stanford.

(Hat Tip: The Wiz of Odds)