Week 14 recap:Bowl selection Sunday

Well, for all intents and purposes, the regular season is over.  We'll still have a game or two this week.  I know the Army/Navy match up is yet to be played, and I wouldn't be surprised if there wasn't some WAC or Conference USA type game that was hoping to achieve some sort of relevance by being a stand alone game, but it's pretty much over.  I'm going to miss it of course, but it's been an exciting and unpredictable year in college football and I expect nothing less from the post season.  The bowl bids come out this afternoon and I'll be talking about them later this week.  As it stands right now, it appears that Missouri will be heading off to San Diego on December 30th to face a 7-5 Arizona Wildcat team that finished the season with 4 straight losses.
I finished up the regular season pretty much the same way I started, going 3-1 straight up, but only 2-2 against the spread.  For the year, I'm 73-21 but only 41-44 playing against Vegas.  As I've said before, good thing I'm not a gambler.    

In Dallas, well Arlington to be exact, former Big 8 rivals Oklahoma and Nebraska faced off in the final, at least for now Big XII playoff game.  Corn nation and Colorado leave next year, the Buffs heading for the great waves as tasty buds of the Pac 10, soon to be Pac 12, while the hicks point the combines north as they drive off to the Big Ten, forever to be known as the Big Ten regardless of the number of teams.  The Sooners opened as a 4 1/2 point favorite in this game, and I expected them to cover, but the huskers jumped out to a 17-0 lead before OU shut down the offense to escape with a 23-20 victory.  I readily confess that I just detest both of these teams, but I suppose if someone was going to win the final championship game, it was better that it be someone that will still be in the conference next year.  OU will now set their sites on winning their BCS game, which will likely be against an over matched UCONN team in the Fiesta Bowl.  Possibilities for Nebraska would be Insight or Holiday against a future conference opponent.  To Oklahoma I say, congratulations and thanks for keeping the title in conference and sending the corn out as losers in their final conference game.  To Nebraska, well, don't let the door hit you in the ass on the way out.

In Charlotte, Virginia Tech won their 11th straight game after opening the season with 2 losses, one a real head scratcher to FCS team James Madison.  Va Tech quarterback Tyrod Taylor threw for 263 yards, 3 touchdown passes and rushed for another as the Hokies blasted Florida State 44-33 in the ACC title game.  Virginia Tech had opened as just a 4 point favorite in this game and I expect them to cover easily and win big.  Frankly the game was closer than I thought it would be, but the result was still a win.  Va Tech now heads to an Orange Bowl which has given us such memorable games as Va Tech/Cincinnati parts 1 & 2 and Va Tech/ku the last few years.  For Florida State, I can honestly say I pretty much lost interest after Jenn Sterger and the Cowgirls graduated.  

The SEC title game provided exactly what I expected.  I took a look at Auburn coming in as merely a 5 point favorite and thought it looked like easy money for the gamblers.  And for once I was right.  Cam Newton, the best college football player that money can buy threw for 4 touchdown passes and ran for 2 more as the Tigers blasted the 'Ol ball coach and South Carolina 56-17.  Auburn now has a date with Oregon in the national championship game, which I do love, mostly because it gives me plenty of opportunities to hunt up photos of the Oregon cheerleaders, the best in the business in my opinion.  I expect Newton to win the Heisman and probably the NC game, only to have both taken away within the next few years when it's finally determined that he did indeed select Auburn due to a suitcase full of cash being delivered to his father.  Of course, that sort of thing isn't unusual, especially where the SEC is concerned.

In the final contest, in this week of uninteresting games, UCONN clinched the Big East automatic qualifier despite an 8-4 record.   No two ways about it, the Big East shouldn't be granted a BCS game this year, shouldn't have last year and probably won't until TCU joins the league in 2012.  The Huskies probably wouldn't have been better than Texas Tech this season, let alone teams like Missouri, A&M and Michigan State which will be playing in bowl games carrying much less prestige.   But, that is the system that currently exists, and will continue as long as it's lining the pockets of corrupt NCAA and BCS organizations.
This afternoon we'll hear the bowl announcements and shortly after we'll begin the annual whinefest of Missouri fans bitching about where our Tigers are being sent.  Naturally, a lot of fans will boycott, perpetuating our yearly snubs.  Oh well, that's a topic for another day.  Next time we'll take a look at all 35 match ups.  Have a great Sunday and keep warm. 
 

Week 14: A list of disappointments.

I'm struggling this week to get excited about the upcoming games.  Since, if you've read my blog, you know I'm a shameless Missouri homer, you might think it was because my Tigers aren't in action.  Well, you'd be wrong.  Three championship games are being played, and frankly, they just don't appear to be compelling match ups.  Oh, there are some good story lines, I suppose.  OU and Nebraska playing in the final Big XII championship game is fitting, but by this time, I don't know if the corn have enough left offensively to hang.  Of course I could be wrong, and it turns out to be a fabulous game.  But I'm expecting to see some sort of 6-3 slug fest with a shitload of punts.  Va Tech and Florida State meeting in the ACC title game does absolutely nothing for me, and does anyone really expect South Carolina to stay with Auburn?

But worse for me than the week's schedule has been watching my team's fan base go into full blown whine and bitch mode.  I've been skimming Tiger message boards this week and am just aghast at what I've seen.  We're already complaining about the bowl game we're going to and I can understand to an extent.  Texas A&M has already been selected to go to the Cotton Bowl and the Tigers beat them by three touchdowns at College Station.  But the thing to remember is that other than the national championship game, and to an extent the 4 BCS games, it's pretty much a wash.  The conference shares bowl revenue so it really doesn't matter financially, and for the players sake, and that's what this should be about, a trip to San Diego would be a better reward than traveling to Dallas or San Antonio for the holidays.  One of my favorite sites is PowerMizzou, a pay site that I love for the work we get from Gabe and Pete, but the message board, which supposedly is full of rabid Missouri fans has become completely unreadable.   Tigerboard has always been a bit over the edge and continues, but at least it's a free site where fans from all schools are welcome.  Missouri Tiger fans have always been their own worst enemies, but that's a topic for another day and I'll quit my own whinefest now.

Moving on to the weekends contests, I currently sit at 70-20 straight up for the season, but 39-42 against the point spread.  If I'm going to catch up, I need a good week, followed by some good work on the bowl match ups.  With that in mind, I've devoted almost 10 minutes of research to this weeks games.  We'll start out in Dallas where corn nation meets up with the land thieves in the final Big XII title game, at least for now.  I suppose it's always possible that the league could expand back to 12 teams, but I can't imagine any school with common sense wanting to align themselves to a conference who's shelf life appears to be 5 years.  The Sooners open as a 4 1/2 point favorite in this game, which could also be listed as the over/under.  The hicks have been devastated with injuries on the offensive side of the ball and will have to rely on a stout defense to keep this game close.  I have my doubts they'll be able to do it.  OU has been beatable this year, but Stoops is good when he makes it to the title game and they have a pretty decent defense of their own.  I think Landry Jones takes enough control of this to allow the Sooners to put it away.  I'm picking OU to win and cover, 20-10.

You'd have never guessed it after consecutive losses to Boise State and FBS James Madison to open the season, but Virginia Tech sits at 10-2 and meets up with Florida State in the ACC title game.  Florida State has been fairly pedestrian, although beating in state rivals Miami and Florida was somewhat impressive.  The Hokies open as 4 point favorites, and I don't see them having any problems covering.  I'm taking Va Tech in a rout, 38-13.

In the SEC, Auburn and Cam Newton meet up with the 'Ol ball coach, Steve Spurrier and the South Carolina Gamecocks.  While it's entirely possible that Auburn may have all wins vacated at some point due to, well let's say irregularities with the recruitment of Heisman favorite Newton, it's SEC football and they aren't about to forego an opportunity to have a participant in the national championship game for the umpteenth year in a row.  Auburn rolls in this one, 45-21.
There are some other games that would normally be worth picking, but this year they were damn hard to find.  Arizona/Arizona State, USC/UCLA are pedestrian matchups at best.  I had to look to the Big East, which should NEVER be mentioned in a football blog to find 2 teams with winning records playing.  Yes, mighty UCONN travels to South Florida in a match up of 7-4 teams.  Due to being at home, the Bulls are a 1 point favorite.  I admit, I probably won't watch one second of this game, but I think they'll do just a touch better than that.  I'm taking USF to win and cover, 31-27.
That's all I've got for now.  Hope your holiday was great and you enjoy the weekends match ups.  I can't say that I especially will, but I've got next week off at work, and that always puts a spring in my step.  See you next weekend.