Full-blown, super conferences

Just when we thought we were being edgy with our suggestions for a new Super 8 conferences realignment, Sports Illustrated's Andy Staples took it a step further.

Staples' suggestion that the top 64 money-making college football programs leave the NCAA and create four CASH Conferences is appealing. Especially when I see the conference makeups ... who doesn't love seeing WVU in the SEC with Louisville, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State. All four conferences have 16 teams and somehow the ACC still blows.

TCU is the only mid-major to make the top 64 teams (sorry Boise State and Utah). This will never happen, but I'm glad to see others thinking of ways to improve the current system that doesn't always include a playoff. Good job, Mr. Staples.

Bowl Preview: San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl

San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl
Qualcomm Stadium, San Diego
Utah vs. California
Date: Dec. 23
Time: 8 p.m.
TV: ESPN (of course)
Line: Cal -3

About Cal (8-4): This was the Bears' year to challenge for the Pac 10 title. Just like last year and the year before that, and the year before that, etc. Can you be a darkhorse if your're the darkhorse every single year? For some reason people think coach Jeff Tedford is some kind of QB guru. He's actually a running game guru. His QBs, however, stink.

Intangibles:
Chuck Muncie's rec specs: +3
Breeding ground for hippie, pinko Commie liberals: -2
Breeding ground of hippie, pinko Commie liberals who helped polarize this country with this whole "Any means to MY end" BS that runs our political system from both the right and the left. jerks.: -6

About Utah: The Utes didn't really beat any one of note outside of Air Force. Seriously. Air Force is their best win. I guess the positive is they didn't lose to anyone they shouldn't have. Or the positive could be that their schedule was a piece of shit. Either way really...

Intangibles:
Whole state of Utah: +4
Except for giant, dead, stinky lake: -3
Stockton and Malone: +2 (and one!)

Impact Player: Cal running back Jahvid Best won't be playing. Seeing as he was the best running back in the country, that's certainly impactful.

Bowl slogan: "Save .25 percent on your ticket by watching this game online!"

Little known fact: For the past three years, the winner of the Poinsettia Bowl has gone on the next season to be the really whiny non-BCS team that goes undefeated and throws a hissy fit about not being in the national title game. So watch out for Utah in '10.

Watchability (1-5): 2

The pick: Cal 31, Utah 24

Tiny Dancer

OK, so he's not so tiny. But this dude shows off some nifty dancing moves to the Star-Spangled Banner before Saturday's Wyoming-Utah game at Rice-Eccles Stadium.

(Hat Tip: The Wiz of Odds)

Gotta give it to these chimps

Appears the chimps at the BCS headquarters are back at it again. With politicians threatening them with sanctions and those clueless fans from Utah raising a ruckus, apparently this powerful group is working through the BCS muck as we speak.

Here's a bit of advice: Don't buy the fraud that is Boise State. Even at 13-0 this team has no business in the BCS Title Game.

Game Day - Afternoon of chaos

- of COURSE USC lost. A week too late. Criminy.

Crazy loud home crowd? Check.
Great defensive effort? Check.
Solid QB play and gameplan. oh....

anyway, down go the Trojans in their typical PAC 10 style.

- Kirk Cousins, Michigan State quarterback, COME ON. In case you missed it, Cousins drove MSU down inside the Notre Dame 15 where a field goal would send the game into OT. Instead Cousins makes a horrendous decision to scramble then panic as he was thrown to the ground, just flinging the ball right to an Irish defender. MSU's ownership of Notre Dame Stadium came to an end.

- Virginia Tech - lucky as hell.

- Utah. Welcome to the world of the BCS has-beens.

- BYU will be joining you shortly.

Podcast: Episode 36

It's time to give the Big Ten and Big East a little more credit than each has been getting lately. Seriously, does anyone who knows anything about college football really think Utah, Boise State, BYU or TCU would be any better than the third best team in any BCS conference? I didn't think so. Stop the complaining and let's get the season started.

We also give you who we think is the best player on a bad team (can you say Jake Locker?). We also give our picks for who will be this year's Clemson and fall quickly from the rankings into oblivion. Enjoy another podcast from Phil and Tom.

Big East is MIA

Bloggers and columnists are signaling the end of the Big East since no conference team is in the USA Today Preseason Top 25 Coaches poll. All that really tells me is preseason polls are meaningless.

Boise State (16), TCU (17), Utah (18) and BYU (24) are all ranked. Seriously, does anyone think all four of these teams will be in the Top 25 at the end? Does anyone remember Clemson last year? The Tigers were ranked in the top 10 and considered the ACC's premiere team. How did that work out for Tommy Bowden?

Cincinnati is the highest ranked Big East team at No. 29, followed by Pitt (30), West Virginia (31) and Rutgers (32).

My guess ... Pitt, WVU and Rutgers are all in the final Top 25. But really, what does that mean today?

Utah ... enough complaining

Utah is so cute.

Your team went 13-0 and defeated SEC power Alabama in the Sugar Bowl. Now you had a fancy parade to celebrate the season. They even called Parade of "Champions."

Sort of has a youth football feel to it. Everyone is a winner. Everyone gets a trophy at the end of the season. Congratulations on a great season. You should be proud. But stop complaining about the system. If we had a playoff, the Utes would have lost in the first round.

No parade.

I also understand Coach Kyle Whittingham, proclaiming at the end of the rally: "Utes-Gators. Neutral site. Winner take all."

Really. Is that what you want?

A thorough butt-whipping by the Gators wouldn't give you anything to bitch about all offseason.

It was a great season. Leave it at that.

Our Top 25 (Jan. 9)

School (LR) Record
1. Florida (1) 13-1
2. USC (3) 12-1
3. Texas (2) 12-1
4. Utah (6) 13-0
5. Oklahoma (4) 12-2
6. Alabama (5) 12-2
7. Texas Christian (13) 11-2
8. Penn State (8) 11-2
9. Oregon (18) 10-3
10. Ohio State (10) 10-3
11. Mississippi (20) 9-4
12. Virginia Tech (19) 10-4
13. Boise State (7) 12-1
14. Georgia (15) 10-3
15. Missouri (NR) 10-4
16. Texas Tech (9) 11-2
17. Oklahoma State (14) 9-4
18. Cincinnati (11) 11-3
19. Oregon State (NR) 9-4
20. Florida State (24) 9-4
21. Iowa (22) 9-4
22. California (NR) 9-4
23. West Virginia (NR) 9-4
24. Georgia Tech (12) 9-4
25. Nebraska (NR) 9-4

Other receiving votes: LSU, Michigan State

Party crashers

I'm not here to figure out all of the what-ifs and possible scenarios that could lead to voters to give Utah a split of the national championship. But what a show the Utes put on in last night's Sugar Bowl.

Experts will give us thousands of reasons why mighty Nick Saban and his Crimson Tide were whipped by Utah in New Orleans. Really, it's simple. Utah showed up to play and was never intimidated by its much more respected opponent.

In Ian Rappaport's blog at the Birmingham News, Utah cornerback Sean Smith, made an observation about the Utes' opponent. "Maybe they were upset that they weren't in the national championship game," Smith said. "But you just don't go out and play like you don't want to be in the Sugar Bowl. I don't think they expected us to come out firing on all cylinders like we did."

Well put Mr. Smith.

I don't believe Utah is the best team in the nation. But last night the Utes played like it.

(Photo courtesy of Tuscaloosa News)

Bowl Preview: Sugar Bowl

Nokia Sugar Bowl
SuperDome, New Orleans
Utah vs. Alabama
Date: Jan. 2
Time: 8 p.m.
TV: FOX
Line: Alabama -9.5

About Utah: A lovely state. I was there this past summer. Really cool. The football team? I dunno. They're undefeated, although it's unclear how and are the BCS Buster yearly sacrificial lamb. Remember Hawaii, last year? Yeah. They were undefeated too.

Intangibles:
Salt Lake City: +3
Mormons: -1
Park City: +2
Utes: +1

About Alabama: The evil genius of Nick Saban nearly prevailed this year as the Tide were a game away from playing in the national championship. Instead, they end up in the Sugar Bowl, which is fine with 'Bama fans - for now anyway, Nick. Saban runs the Tide like an NFL team. That scholarship is purely temporary if you're not performing.

Intangibles:
Bear Bryant: +3
Gene Stallings: +1
Mike Price: -2
Ray Perkins: -1
Bill Curry: -3
Mike DuBose: -5

Impact Player: Alabama OT Andre Smith. Oops. He got suspended. Well, that's an impact, I guess.

Bowl Slogan: "Have a Hurricane! Have three! Your mugger will be awaiting you at Exit 6. Come back soon!"

Little Known Fact: Bama is required by state law to have at least one player named "Travis" or "Cooper" on its roster.

Watchability (1-5): 3

The Pick: 'Bama 28, Utah 10

Thursday night

Currently, I'm splitting time between TCU-Utah and the Browns-Broncos (neither of which is in HD. Sob!)

- TCU-Utah has been a solid defensive game with the Horned Frogs holding a 10-6 lead at half. TCU should probably be up more but penalties have slowed them. Utah finally got a little offense going towards the end of the half.

UPDATE: Good win for Utah, which was helped immensely by TCU missing two easy field goals in the fourth quarter. The Utes put together one good drive late in the game and then picked off a TCU pass to end it.

- The evil Maryland has shown up tonight on the WorldWide Leader, where Va. Tech is pounding the Terps 20-3 in the third quarter. Haven't seen much, but Maryland does not appear to be threatening to make a game of it.

UPDATE: The Terps made a game of it, but just didn't have enough offense.

OFF-TOPIC UPDATE: Everyone associated with the Cleveland Browns should be fired. The players, the coaches, the GM and the owner. Can you fire an owner? I hope so.

Our Top 25 (Oct. 27)

Team (LW) Record
1. Texas (1) 8-0
2. Alabama (2) 7-0
3. Penn State (3) 9-0
4. Southern Cal (4) 6-1
5. Oklahoma (5) 7-1
6. Texas Tech (7) 8-0
7. Florida (8) 6-1
8. Georgia (9) 7-1
9. Utah (10) 8-0
10. Oklahoma State (6) 7-1
11. Boise State (11) 7-0
12. Texas Christian (19) 8-1
13. Ball State (16) 8-0
14. Ohio State (12) 7-2
15. Tulsa (18) 7-0
16. Minnesota (24) 7-1
17. Missouri (20) 6-2
18. Florida State (22) 6-1
19. North Carolina (NR) 6-2
20. Michigan State (NR) 7-2
21. Brigham Young (NR) 7-1
22. LSU (13) 5-2
23. Maryland (NR) 6-2
24. West Virginia (NR) 5-2
25. South Florida (17) 6-2

Others receiving votes: Oregon, Connecticut

Our Top 25 (Oct. 20)

Team (LW) Record
1. Texas (1) 7-0
2. Alabama (2) 6-0
3. Penn State (4) 8-0
4. Southern Cal (6) 5-1
5. Oklahoma (9) 6-1
6. Oklahoma State (3) 7-0
7. Texas Tech (5) 7-0
8. Florida (7) 5-1
9. Georgia (13) 6-1
10. Utah (10) 8-0
11. Boise State (11) 6-0
12. Ohio State (12) 7-1
13. LSU (19) 5-1
14. Pittsburgh (21) 5-1
15. Georgia Tech (NR) 6-1
16. Ball State (22) 7-0
17. South Florida (23) 6-1
18. Tulsa (NR) 7-1
19. Texas Christian (NR) 7-1
20. Missouri (14) 5-2
21. Boston College (NR) 5-1
22. Florida State (NR) 5-1
23. Northwestern (NR) 6-1
24. Minnesota (NR) 6-1
25. Kansas (17) 5-2

Picks of the Week

Call me Mr. Inconsistency. One week my picks are locks. The next week it looks like I've never watched a game in my life. After going 1-4 last week (OK, Penn State I'm a believer now) my overall mark for the season is .500. Now it's time to prove test my mettle. Here are this week's picks.

Penn State (-24) over Michigan
Joe Paterno and the Nittany Lions are riding a nine-game losing skid to the Wolverines. That will end Saturday and in a big way. As Phil mentioned during this week's podcast, when JoePa has an opportunity to run it up he does (despite popular belief). According to Bernard Fernandez of the Philadelphia Daily News, "JoePa has had it in for Michigan since former Wolverines coach Bo Schembechler tried to exert his influence to keep Penn State out of the Big Ten Conference in the early 1990s." I also think the coaches in the Big 10 can't stand Rich Rodriguez. So Penn State will score early and often in a blow out in State College. That stupid Nittany Lion growl will be blared over the speakers a lot on Saturday.
Pick: Penn State 48, Michigan 9

Utah (-22) over Colorado State
There's a lot on the line for the undefeated and 13th-ranked Utes (7-0). They'll be in position to win the Mountain West Conference (don't forget TCU after its big win over BYU on Thursday) and become the new BCS buster. Utah's win over Michigan to start the season doesn't look so impressive now, but don't underestimate the Utes' talent. They have a balanced rushing attack led by Matt Asiata (410 yards and seven TDs) and Darrell Mack (378 yards and two TDs). Colorado State enters Saturday's game off a respectable 13-7 loss to TCU.
Pick: Utah 45, Colorado State 21

North Carolina (-5) over Virginia
Give Al Groh credit for keeping the Cavaliers focused after a horrendous start to 2008. But UVA's schedule stiffens again as it hosts No. 18 North Carolina. History may be on Virginia's side. UNC hasn't won at Scott Stadium in its last 13 trips to Charlottesville. Butch Davis' team must also find a way to replace explosive receiver/kick returner Brandon Tate, who is out for the season. The Tar Heels have been impressive this fall. Wins over Miami and Notre Dame last week stand out and proved this team can win tough battles.
Pick: North Carolina 27, Virginia 14

Stanford (-2) over UCLA
Yes, I'm picking the upset here. I'm surprised UCLA is favored so I wasn't expecting to be picking an upset here. Stanford is controlling the ball with a physical running attack led by Toby Gerhart and a strong, physical offensive line. What should make this game interesting is that UCLA has one of the Pac-10's best defensive lines. The difference in this game, though, is the ineffective and inconsistent Bruins offense. The Cardinal will no doubt put eight players in the box and force QB Kevin Craft to beat them. He did it against Tennesse, but he won't against Stanford.
Pick: Stanford 24, UCLA 21

Upset of the Week
Mississippi State (+8) over Tennessee
It has been said that the Tennessee players are unified behind embattled Coach Phil Fulmer. The Volunteers have played great defense this year and you'd think that would be enough against Mississippi State. I'm bucking the trend and taking the Bulldogs after a good win over Vanderbilt last week. I know this game is in Knoxville, but Tennessee's offense may be worse than the Mississippi State's. How bad of an offensive game will this probably be? Just look at the facts. The Bulldogs are ranked 103rd nationally in total offense and the Vols 104th. In scoring offense, UT is tied for 108th and MSU is tied for 113th. UT Athletic Director Mike Hamilton, who this week told a reporter that a change at the top could be what Tennessee needs to get back on track. A loss here could mean the end of Fulmer, whose Vols are 0-3 in the SEC.
Pick: Mississippi State 9, Tennessee 7

Last Week: 1-4
Season: 10-10