National Title Picture.....

[Deehntr56]

Can it happen for OSU???:confused: :D :D


This should clear it up.....:whistle: :cheeky-smiley-022: :biggrin:

Ohio State needs another upset of USC and fullback Stanley Havili, among many other things, to get back in the national title picture.
Ohio State left tackle Alex Boone is waiting for the Buckeyes to move up in the polls.

"That has surprised me," Boone said Tuesday. "Every week I'm kind of like, where are we? And people are like, 14th, and then 14th again and now 12th, and I'm kind of like, man, I thought everybody was losing in front of us? But at the same time anything can happen. Each year the BCS shakes out different and weird."

(If you're the type of person who hates early polls and projecting scenarios and wants to sit back for everything to take care of itself, since anything can happen and you're waiting for college football to go to a playoff anyway ... then you might want to stop reading here.)

(Wait, wait, wait. If you're the kind of person who likes what-ifs and talking about the future, dig in.)

(If you're waiting for more discussion about Steve Rehring missing two series Saturday to go to the bathroom, here's a Boone quote, "I'm sitting on the sidelines and all I know is someone's like, where's Steve going? And I look over and he's running. And I'm like, I don't know why he's running, maybe he forget his mouthguard or something. And he comes back and someone was like, he had to go to the bathroom. I was like, who leaves a football game to go to the bathroom? That's Joe Paterno style.")

To start, let's look at the 11 teams ranked ahead of Ohio State in the Harris Poll and the games they have remaining against other teams ranked ahead of the Buckeyes.


1. Oklahoma - Plays No. 5 Texas on Saturday, then also has No. 7 Texas Tech and possibly the Big 12 title game, maybe against No. 4 Missouri

2. LSU - Plays No. 11 Florida on Saturday, then No. 10 Georgia and No. 3 Alabama later, plus a possible SEC title game

3. Alabama - Plays No. 2 LSU on Nov. 8, and possibly the SEC title game against No. 10 Georgia, No. 11 Florida or No. 14 Vanderbilt

4. Missouri - Plays No. 5 Texas in two weeks, and then possibly No. 1 Oklahoma in the Big 12 title game

5. Texas - Plays No. 1 Oklahoma this week, then No. 3 Missouri next week, along with No. 7 Texas Tech down the road and a possible Big 12 title game

6. Penn State - Plays at Ohio State on Oct. 25

7. Texas Tech - Has No. 5 Texas and No. 1 Oklahoma left on the regular-season schedule

8. USC - Not a single ranked team left on the schedule. Will need to be upset again, and the best shot of that might be at Arizona on Oct. 25

9. BYU - Only ranked team on the schedule is the season-end showdown with No. 13 Utah on Nov. 22 when both could be undefeated

10. Georgia - Games left with No. 14 Vanderbilt, No. 2 LSU and No. 11 Florida, and a possible SEC title game

11. Florida - Plays No. 2 LSU on Saturday, with No. 10 Georgia and No. 14 Vanderbilt still left as well.

Now let's project those games. These aren't predictions, just a quick peek of what the final might look like after these games, so we can investigate further. Good teams are going to win and lose these games.

No. 1 Oklahoma beats Texas, beats Texas Tech, then beats Missouri in Big 12 title game (13-0)

No. 2 LSU loses to Florida, loses to Georgia, beats Alabama (10-2)

No. 3 Alabama loses to LSU, loses in SEC title game to Vanderbilt (11-2)

No. 4 Missouri loses to Texas, loses to Oklahoma in Big 12 title game (11-2)

No. 5 Texas loses to Oklahoma, beats Missouri, loses to Texas Tech (11-2)

No. 6 Penn State loses to Ohio State (11-1)

No. 7 Texas Tech beats Texas, loses to Oklahoma (11-1)

No. 8 USC runs the table against unranked teams (11-1)

No. 9 BYU runs the table, finishing with a win over Utah, and goes undefeated (12-0)

No. 10 Georgia beats LSU and Vanderbilt and loses to Florida (10-2)

No. 11 Florida beats LSU, beats Georgia and loses to Vanderbilt (10-2)

No. 12 Ohio State beats Penn State and runs the table (11-1)

No. 13 Utah loses to BYU (11-1)

No. 14 Vanderbilt beats Florida, loses to Georgia and beats Alabama in the SEC title game (12-1)

In that scenario, the rankings probably would look like this at the end of the season.

1. Oklahoma 13-0
2. USC 11-1
3. Vanderbilt 12-1
4. BYU 12-0
5/6 Ohio State 11-1
5/6 Texas Tech 11-1

The best case for Ohio State is to assume an undefeated champion of either the Big 12 or SEC that helps wipe out other competitors along the way.

We chose Oklahoma.

As you can see, even with all the games played between teams ranked above Ohio State (there are 10 of them, counting both the SEC and Big 12 title games) there's still a solid handful of upsets needed to push the Buckeyes ahead.

To be as Buckeye-friendly as possible, we tried to leave the most potentially vulnerable teams with one loss after the big-time games. So could Vanderbilt and Texas Tech lose to teams unranked or ranked below them? Absolutely.

Could USC lose to another unranked team, as it lost to Oregon State? Sure.

Could BYU absorb a loss? No doubt. And you could make an argument that a one-loss Ohio State team could jump an undefeated BYU in the polls anyway. But I think that is far from a given.

Of course, after the Buckeyes lost to Illinois last year, they dropped to No. 7 in the BCS standings after 10 weeks but made it back to the national title game. But they had two showdowns between teams above them in the BCS rankings that helped - Kansas losing to Missouri, then Missouri losing to Oklahoma in the Big 12 title game.

Then there were the upsets.

Oklahoma lost to Texas Tech; Oregon fell apart and lost three games after quarterback Dennis Dixon got hurt; LSU lost to Arkansas; and West Virginia lost to Pitt.

And the Buckeyes worked their way back to No. 1.

The Buckeyes are back in that predicament.

They have to win the rest of their games. But they still need a lot of help.

Eight of the teams ranked above Ohio State are undefeated, as are Utah and Vanderbilt, the teams right behind the Buckeyes.

Of the eight ahead of Ohio State, at least five of them (Oklahoma, LSU, Alabama, Missouri and Texas) would have to lose twice to fall behind the Buckeyes, in my opinion.

So while the Buckeyes finish 6-0, the 11 teams above them need to lose 14 times between them before the end of the year. That's too much to hope for.

By the way, the Big Ten Network sent out quotes on two sides of the debate today, Analyst Charles Davis believes the Buckeyes have a national title shot and Gerry DiNardo believing they don't
:biggrin: :biggrin:

[coonskinner]

i tole yuh rehrings a wuss...as for ohio state...if they git to the point at the end of the season that they are the team everybuddy xpected them to be an they doan lose any more games ...theyll prolly be there again...but then it seems the real problem begins...but theyre due:biggrin:

[jeffmo]

could they get there again?,anything's possible but i don't see it happening this year.alot more "what ifs" have to take place,more so than last year.
ohio state is a very talented team but they still aren't playing real solid football...........yet!
the offense will be okay and only get better but the defense just isn't playing very well.
a conference trophy and a trip to a bcs bowl would be great but i doubt they end up playing for all the marbles this year.

[TheCream]

Even if they win out they will not be back there this year. I think the polls since the USC game have proven that the media and coaches do not want OSU back for a three-peat of BCS title game appearances.

[deerhunt45]

could they get there again?,anything's possible but i don't see it happening this year.alot more "what ifs" have to take place,more so than last year.
ohio state is a very talented team but they still aren't playing real solid football...........yet!
the offense will be okay and only get better but the defense just isn't playing very well.
a conference trophy and a trip to a bcs bowl would be great but i doubt they end up playing for all the marbles this year.

I put most of the "fault" of the defense on the defensive line play. If they step up, the linebackers and secondary look a lot better...

That said, the odds are way too long for the Buckeyes to play for a national champoinship this year...imo

[CritterGitter]

I am one of the die-hard Buckeye fans that has the good common sense to recognize they have NO shot at a national title this year. The coaches on both sides of the ball are interested in conservatism. That's great, but it aint takin you to a national title after a loss to USC. If we beat PSU, the whole college football world will point to the Big Ten and say, "see that conference is having a down year and they are weak." Thus, I could easily see a 2 loss SEC team getting a shot at a 1 loss Big 12 team before the Buckeyes could get in there. So, even if USC had 2 losses I don't think we could make it into the game. I for one would like to see USC win out and play an undefeated Big 12 team and get creamed as I think they are over-rated. Then, we can go to the Rose bowl and crush the 2nd place team from the Slack Ten and get a little respect back for our program.

This team could not likely win a re-match with USC. This team could not likely win against Missouri, Oklahoma, Florida, or Alabama. Maybe couldn't beat Georgia, LSU or Texas Tech. Our defensive coordinator is not nearly as good as Dantonio was and I think he is a weak link on this team. I am not real impressed with Bolman either, but I give him the benefit of the doubt(not even sure why). However, our defense gets embarrassed repeatedly on the biggest stage and I believe it is scheme, game plan and lack of adjustments and not lack of talent or execution.

[buckstar25]

:yeahthat:......well said! Defense is horrible, especially against any type of running game. One more thing to add, I don't think the Big Ten is a weak conference it's just the Spread offense has made it's way here and so far the only teams that have shown they can run it effectively are Illinois and Penn State. Power football is a thing of the past I am afraid, the Big Ten is "a few" years behind everyone else. Jim Tressel doesn't know which offense to run, and the defensive coordinator has no idea how to defend it. It is a crying shame when you have as much talent OSU has too!

[TheCream]

The thing about Bolman that bother sme is the lack of imagination. I watch Penn St or Illinois or any other top team in other conferences, and I see creative offenses. I see imagination and unique ways to get playmakers the ball in space and let them make plays. I do not see that much out of OSU under Bolman. Granted you can argue the playmakers just aren't here, but the playcalling is so vanilla and predictable it makes it too easy on opposing defenses. A good buddy of mine, when Pryor was becoming the starter said "Heck, if Pryor has been here this long he should know the playbook...it only took USC 2 weeks to learn it." :nono:

I would love to think this team could win the Big Ten, but a big part of me thinks they will lose at least 1 Big Ten game. It might be to Penn St, it might be to Illinois, or even Michigan St...I just sense that the Big Ten is more wide open this year than it has been in the past.

[coonskinner]

i doan think the linebackers are as good as past yrs...an the secondary doan look that hot either...i doan no if i can say anythang good bout them an what happened to the deep threats we had in years past...holms,galloway...etc. etc...we had em every year for a long time...this team lacks the big play guys...:D

[Deehntr56]

:whistle: The picture is soooooooo clear......yep...real clear on what is going to happen this year!!!:whistle: :biggrin:

Absolutely.....I see OSU winning the Big Ten.....if they beat Penn State.....Penn is good as I indicated......State can upset, and even UM(Gag) can pull it off to...but OSU should win it.

More open...yes I agree..it will be tighter.

National Title.....it really is in Oklahoma's hand...they have it as far as I am concerned unless they get beat along the way...time will tell......it's so clear on who as I listed above:whistle: :biggrin:

[Deehntr56]

3 of the top 5 lose yesterday!

Each week gets more interesting.

LSU, Oklahoma and Mizzou take losses. Alabama was idle, and looks like Albama and Texas will also compete for #1 this week. Florida will move up.....

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm..........:biggrin:

I'm revising my Big Ten Estimate of who will win it....PSU is my favotite right now.......after watcing them against Wisconsin, I am more impressed with their team.

[jeffmo]

looks like several of the "WHAT IF'S" happened!!!

[coonskinner]

looks like several of the "WHAT IF'S" happened!!!

but they need to be more impressive than that over lowly purdue like teams...:D

[Deehntr56]

looks like several of the "WHAT IF'S" happened!!!

It's started...and more to come!:biggrin:

[jeffmo]

well, texas moved to #1 but osu remains at #13.
i think the only way they move up in the rankings is by simply continuing to win.
good year for football.

[coonskinner]

oh theyll move up but at this rate it woan be enough to get them in the championship game...they need to blow out these wimps...an if they git beat by say penn state or maybe mich...its curtains...:D

[Cal923]

might as well call it lights out... Penn State is blowing every1 out...all I need is a texas or Bama loss

[Deehntr56]

Here we go again.......


Favorites fall in the Big 12, Florida swamps LSU and the end of result of Showdown Saturday was this: college football seems headed toward another impossible predicament when it comes time for the BCS to pick national championship game participants.

And to think, there's still half a season left.:biggrin:

The Big Story

Take a look at the top of the polls. See No. 1 Texas, No. 2 Alabama and No. 3 Penn State. There's a good chance none of those teams will be playing for the national championship.

The 2008 season might not match 2007 for unprecedented unpredictability, but it's already become obvious that it'll take a minor miracle for the race to the BCS title game to have a tidy outcome.:whistle:

After the second weekend of the season in which three top-five teams lost, there are 10 undefeated teams left in major college football. At this point last season, there were 11 unbeaten teams, according to Stats LLC, and remember how that turned out.

Three (Texas, Texas Tech and Oklahoma State) play in the same division, and the best of those three - the Longhorns - have a murderous remaining schedule to navigate.

Congratulations on beating Oklahoma 45-35 and being No. 1, coach Mack Brown. Now go get your team ready for No. 11 Missouri, No. 8 Oklahoma State and No. 7 Texas Tech, the Longhorns' next three opponents.

Five of the unbeaten teams (BYU, Utah, Boise State, Ball State and Tulsa) are from conferences without an automatic Bowl Championship Series bid, which means they don't really even apply to the topic at hand ... or do they?

BYU and Utah meet to end the season, a game the Mountain West is praying will essentially be for a BCS bid. Keep an eye out for the ninth-ranked Cougars. They're already way ahead of the pace in the rankings of previous BCS busters. If '08 reverts back to '07, and the two-loss teams start piling up, talk about unbeaten BYU getting a shot at the national title will heat up.

That leaves Alabama and Penn State as the only perfect teams from BCS leagues without another undefeated team left on its schedule.

Out of the Southeastern Conference contenders, the Crimson Tide have the most favorable schedule - for whatever that's worth these days. Alabama is at LSU on Nov. 8. Its other road game is against unraveling Tennessee. Then there's that SEC title game.

Penn State plays at Ohio State in two weeks, by far it's toughest remaining test. And with no conference title game, the Nittany Lions are probably in the best shape to stay unbeaten and reach the national championship game in Miami.:yikes:

And if you listen closely, you can hear fans in the SEC and Big 12 groaning about the mere thought of having another Big Ten team playing for the national title.:whistle:

Bad timing for Tubby

Auburn couldn't have picked a worse season to have a bad season, one that took another ugly turn Saturday when Arkansas beat the Tigers 25-22 on the Plains.

That came after the firing of Auburn offensive coordinator Tony Franklin last week.

Alabama coach Nick Saban had already taken a huge step toward regaining control of the state from Tommy Tuberville and Auburn during last recruiting season, when the Tide cleaned up.

Now the Tigers seem on their way to a wasted season and Alabama is No. 2 in the country, pushing the pendulum further toward Tuscaloosa.

Sinking

Wisconsin (3-3, started season ranked No. 13) - The lack of a passing game, even by the Badgers' modest standards, has snarled the offense and led to three straight losses, including a 48-7 humiliation in Madison against Penn State.

Arizona State (2-4, started No. 15) - Even during last year's 10-3 run, there were hints the Sun Devils were fraudulent - i.e. USC and Texas beating them senseless. Those suspicions were confirmed again in a pathetic 28-0 loss to the Trojans.

Tennessee (2-4, started No. 18) - Another inept offensive performance by the Volunteers in a 26-14 loss to Georgia has the fire Phillip Fulmer segment of Vols nation foaming at the mouth.

Growing up teams....

No reason anybody outside Charlottesville, Va., would be paying attention, but Virginia has put together quite a turnaround in recent weeks.

The Cavaliers, who figured to be in rebuilding mode this season, lost their first three games against major college opposition by a combined 128-20, including a 31-3 loss to Duke which pretty much defines hitting rock bottom.

Then a funny thing happened, Virginia beat Maryland 31-0 last week and East Carolina 35-20 on Saturday.

"It's about growth," coach Al Groh said. "We're into the tunnel and we're seeing some real progress."

Quick hits

-Army has won two straight, virtually abandoning the pass. The Cadets did not complete a pass in a 17-13 victory against Eastern Michigan on Saturday.

-Vanderbilt could only hide it's terrible offense for so long.

-The best turnaround in the country? Minnesota is 6-1, after 1-11 in Year 1 under coach Tim Brewster. The Gophers have beaten four teams they lost to last season.

Heisman-worthy

Josh Freeman, Kansas State, went 21-for-26 for 234 yards and ran for 86 yards and four touchdowns in a 44-30 victory at Texas A&M.

Lookahead

Missouri's 28-23 upset loss at home to Oklahoma State takes some of the shine off the Tigers' visit to Texas, but it's still the game of the week.

Also, Penn State tries to snap a nine-game losing streak to Michigan, coming off a 13-10 loss to Toledo. Looks good for the Nittany Lions.


Let's all see what happens this week!!!!!:whistle: :biggrin:

[Deehntr56]

OK.......Texas is No. 1, OSU is No. 9, but USC is the big winner in BCS rankings



Colt McCoy and the Texas Longhorns are tops in the first BCS rankings of the college football season.


The second-most anticipated voting results of the month were revealed Sunday. Beyond the surprise of Texas Tech coming in one spot ahead of Joe Biden, here are five talking points for the first round of BCS standings:

1. Listen to the computers on USC, not the voters: Sometimes, I want to go to Bennigan's and split an appetizer with the BCS computers. While the human voters have been blindly over-ranking USC all season, virtually ignoring the Trojans' loss to middling Oregon State, the computers put the Trojans in their place.

The coaches and Harris Poll voters should be ashamed of voting USC fourth and fifth, well ahead of an Oklahoma State team (eighth) that has just as impressive a victory (USC over Ohio State, Oklahoma State over Missouri), similar wins in the rest of the schedule and -- oh by the way -- USC has a loss and Oklahoma State does not.

Computers don't rank on talent. Computers rank on results. So the six computers that combine to make up one-third of the BCS standings have USC 10th. Individually, the computers go fourth, seventh, ninth, 10th, 10th and 12th on USC.

Voters are blinded by talent. If you're ranking on talent, why not rank USC is the top five even if the Trojans go 8-4? Hey, great talent, just a couple of crazy losses. Is ranking a 5-1 USC team too high any different? Both rankings ignore results.

The AP poll is a little better, ranking USC sixth and Oklahoma State seventh.

2. Ohio State appreciates the computers more than the voters: The Buckeyes are 10th in all three human rankings, moving up from No. 13 in the Harris poll, No. 12 in the AP poll and No. 11 in the coaches poll. After some differences of opinions after the loss to USC, there's little disagreement on where OSU belongs now. In the AP poll, the only poll with public ballots, 57 of the 65 voters ranked the Buckeyes eighth through 11th.

But the computers are more enamored, combining to put Ohio State No. 5, ahead of Penn State, USC, Georgia and Texas Tech. Overall, Ohio State is ninth in the BCS standings.

What's that mean? If the Buckeyes can impress the voters with a Penn State win, they're on the far outside of the national title mix, with the major problem being USC's blockade of the Buckeyes thanks to the Trojans' head-to-head win. But if Ohio State beats Penn State this week, combined with reasonable results around the country, the Buckeyes could easily be sixth in the BCS standings next week.

3. The Big 12 champ, whoever it is, is going to the national title game: After beating current No. 4 Oklahoma and No. 15 Missouri, Texas is a near unanimous No. 1, picking up 104 of 114 first-place Harris votes, 58 of 61 coaches first-place votes and holding the top spot with all six computers.

Texas has Oklahoma State and Texas Tech the next two weeks, but even if the Longhorns slip up, they're going to retain a lot of respect. Whichever team beats them will be a new darling.

4. Utah is underrated: The 8-0 Utes always had a better resume than fellow Mountain West member BYU, which was eighth in both the coaches and Harris polls before getting eviscerated by TCU.

Yet Utah remains stuck at No. 12 in both polls while the computers put Utah No. 8. This is the same Utah program that went 12-0 four years ago coached by a future national champion coach (Urban Meyer) and quarterbacked by a future No. 1 NFL draft choice (Alex Smith). But the pollsters were stuck on memories of Robbie Bosco and Ty Detmer.

5. Penn State's season is Saturday night: Beat the Buckeyes, and Penn State becomes the No. 1 favorite to reach the national title game. Lose, and the Nittany Lions, already No. 7 with the computers, have no shot to get back in the national title mix.

[Deehntr56]

Coming this week...we have.......

THIS WEEK'S BEST BIG TEN GAMES :D

1. No. 3 Penn State at No. 9 Ohio State, Saturday, 8 p.m., WEWS Ch. 5: Joe Paterno is 1-8 in his trips to Ohio Stadium, the lone win 19-0 in 1978.

2. Michigan State at Michigan, Saturday, 3:30 p.m., WEWS Ch. 5: Spartans still have a good chance to finish third in the Big Ten and win nine games.

3. Illinois at Wisconsin, Saturday, noon, ESPN/ESPN2: Could former top 10 team Wisconsin finish 0-8 in Big Ten play? With trips to Michigan State and Indiana and a home game with Minnesota after the Illini, it's not impossible.

THIS WEEK'S BEST NATIONAL GAMES

1. No. 6 Oklahoma State at No. 1 Texas, Saturday, 3:30 p.m., WEWS Ch. 5: The Longhorns have to be wearing down a bit after consecutive wins over Oklahoma and Missouri -- could the undefeated Cowboys make a run at No. 1?

2. No. 7 Georgia at No. 13 LSU, Saturday, 3:30 p.m., WOIO Ch. 19: Loser will have a tough road to the SEC title game.

3. Notre Dame at Washington, Saturday, 8 p.m., ESPN2: Oh, Ty Willingham -- even nabbing a first win of the season against his old team may not save him.

BUCKEYE Notes.......

How's this for a turnover number? Ohio State leads the nation with 21 takeaways this year, tied with Texas Christian. The Buckeyes have given up the ball nine times, so their average edge of 1.5 turnovers per game is tied for fourth in the country behind Virginia Tech, Minnesota and Florida.

How's this for a red zone number? In their first seven games, the Buckeyes made 20 trips to the red zone and scored eight touchdowns and kicked 10 field goals. Against Michigan State, the Buckeyes made five trips to the red zone and scored four touchdowns and kicked one field goal.

So in one game Saturday, Ohio State scored half as many red zone touchdowns as it had in the previous seven games. That's a good sign for the offense.

Beanie Wells still doesn't appear on the official NCAA list of rushing leaders because he missed too many games, but if he did, his 619 rushing yards would rank 36th in the nation and sixth in the Big Ten.

As a team, Ohio State crept up to No. 92 in total offense, while ranking 10th in total defense.

WEEKLY WOLVERINE MATCHUP.......

The Michigan State game this week is the one the Wolverines need more than any other game remaining on the schedule. Lost a nine-game winning streak against Penn State on Saturday? They can live with that. Might not win in Columbus this year? They can live with that.

But Michigan has won 10 of 12 and six straight against its in-state rival, and the fires were stoked after last season's 28-24 victory, when Wolverines running back Mike Hart referred to Michigan State as Michigan's "little brother" in the postgame comments. MSU coach Mark Dantonio took exception later, basically calling Hart short, before adding, "It's not over. I'm going to be coach here for a long time. It's just starting."

Well, here's round two. And Michigan isn't looking like a big anything.

Neither team has any momentum after losing by a combined 91-24 against the conference's two best teams on Saturday. But Michigan State is 6-2 compared to Michigan's 2-5. Michigan Athletic Director Bill Martin gave coach Rich Rodriguez a vote of confidence last week, saying, "You can't look at instant gratification," but if the Spartans blow out Michigan, that gratification for the Spartans program would be both instant and long-lasting.

The Spartans haven't been on equal footing in their state for a long time; they haven't won more games than Michigan in a season since 1987 (though they both won 10 in 1999).

That is going to happen this year. If that happens with a head-to-head stomping thrown in by Michigan State as well, the football tide in the state might turn not only for an instant. Dantonio will be there for a while and so will Rodriguez.

[jeffmo]

hey,i'm back!
our computer at home took a nose dive and the geek squad is setting the new one up on friday.:bouncy: :bouncy: but right now i'm on the computer at work.
anyway,osu definately looked like they should against msu.if the same team shows up saturday night it ought to be one hell of a game.i think the difference may just be home field advantage,the defense and maybe the punting game.
it should be a good one to watch.

[coonskinner]

i uhh got a pic of the met life blimp over ohio stadium yesterday...:D

[Deehntr56]

Hey Jeffmo.........Did you get your Absentee vote in for Palin and McCain yet??? :biggrin:

CS..........Did you get your Met Life policy then?:confused: :biggrin:

[jeffmo]

Hey Jeffmo.........Did you get your Absentee vote in for Palin and McCain yet??? :biggrin:

CS..........Did you get your Met Life policy then?:confused: :biggrin:

dee,DAMN!!!,i forgot to do that!!!:D
i've been planning the food for the game saturday night.i've narrowed it down between some baby back ribs in the smoker over apple wood or a couple of smoked bbq yardbirds.

[coonskinner]

Hey Jeffmo.........Did you get your Absentee vote in for Palin and McCain yet??? :biggrin:

CS..........Did you get your Met Life policy then?:confused: :biggrin:

met life is the only way tuh go...:D

[Deehntr56]

dee,DAMN!!!,i forgot to do that!!!:D
i've been planning the food for the game saturday night.i've narrowed it down between some baby back ribs in the smoker over apple wood or a couple of smoked bbq yardbirds.

RIBS!!! What time should I be there????:confused: :biggrin: :biggrin: :biggrin:

CS....Met Life eh??? I have Grange now!!! :biggrin:

[jeffmo]

RIBS!!! What time should I be there????:confused: :biggrin: :biggrin: :biggrin:

CS....Met Life eh??? I have Grange now!!! :biggrin:
any time on saturday,i'll throw on an extra slab!

[BuckSlayer]

dee,DAMN!!!,i forgot to do that!!!:D
i've been planning the food for the game saturday night.i've narrowed it down between some baby back ribs in the smoker over apple wood or a couple of smoked bbq yardbirds.


No more talkin about the smoker for petes sake. :whistle: :biggrin:

[deerhunt45]

If the Buckeyes defeat Penn State Saturday night, in prime time...they are back in the National Title picture...:mischeif:

Go Bucks!!!

I think I'll kill a buck Saturday and then come home and watch the bucks kill the lions :D

[Deehntr56]

any time on saturday,i'll throw on an extra slab!

Oh man...that is tempting!!!!:biggrin: :biggrin:

Fire up the SMOKER!!!

GO BUCKS!!!

[coonskinner]

If the Buckeyes defeat Penn State Saturday night, in prime time...they are back in the National Title picture...:mischeif:

Go Bucks!!!

I think I'll kill a buck Saturday and then come home and watch the bucks kill the lions :D

i think they really got tuh slaughter em...by maybe 45 points...:biggrin:

[Deehntr56]

i think they really got tuh slaughter em...by maybe 45 points...:biggrin:

I'm Good with that!!!!!:yikes: :biggrin:

This weather may also help the Buckeyes........:biggrin:

[jeffmo]

okay,i know you guys won't beleive that it's me typing this but i just don't see osu as a national championship caliber team this year,UNLESS they play out the rest of the season like they did against michigan state.
don't get me wrong,i'd love to see them get there and win.hell,getting there and losing is only SO bad i guess.
winning the conference and going to a bcs bowl game would be a very good season,going to the nc game would be a great season.
after the purdue game the mailbox in the columbus dispatch sports section was filled with letters from alot of armchair coaches complaining about a boring win and it really pissed me off.there's alot of spoiled "so called" buckeyes fans out there who forget just what osu has done since tressel has taken over.

[Deehntr56]

okay,i know you guys won't beleive that it's me typing this but i just don't see osu as a national championship caliber team this year,UNLESS they play out the rest of the season like they did against michigan state.
don't get me wrong,i'd love to see them get there and win.hell,getting there and losing is only SO bad i guess.
winning the conference and going to a bcs bowl game would be a very good season,going to the nc game would be a great season.
after the purdue game the mailbox in the columbus dispatch sports section was filled with letters from alot of armchair coaches complaining about a boring win and it really pissed me off.there's alot of spoiled "so called" buckeyes fans out there who forget just what osu has done since tressel has taken over.

My expectation every year is that they are competitive. They are once again!!!! Like any season, you really don't know how it will play out early on.

However, and we have beat this dead horse with several rail road ties over the past few months, with 20 returning Seniors this team really should of played better.

Yes, we had some changes and injuries and they are in transition right now with pryor, but the coaching staff knew that with him, and the expectation is that he will be better prepared later this year and especially next year.

This will be an interesting game to watch, especially while eating a slab of ribs and washing it down with a Cold one!:biggrin: :biggrin:


GO BUCKS!!!

[Cal923]

man a cold one sounds good... think i'll watch it out tonight.. it's nice being the only Penn State fan ... should be a GREAT game... both teams are in for a battle ...

[Deehntr56]

Update..........let's talk PSU......Penn State's big win at Ohio State wasn't enough to enable the Nittany Lions to leapfrog Alabama into the coveted No. 2 spot in the BCS standings.

But it sure got them a whole lot closer.

After returning to head coach Joe Paterno's roots and winning a smashmouth, defensive-oriented battle with the Buckeyes, Penn State cut Alabama's lead by more than half, pulling within .024 points of the second-ranked Crimson Tide.

The 13-6 victory helped Penn State shore up its support in the one dimension of the BCS formula where it was sorely lacking — the computers.

In the first standings of the year, which were released last Sunday, Penn State was ranked no higher than fifth by any of the six computer polls used by the BCS and its average rank was seventh.

But in the latest version, Penn State was the No. 3 team in five of the six computer polls and No. 2 in the other one.

While Penn State was able to shave a significant chunk off Alabama's lead, there was little other movement among the top teams. In fact, the top five — Texas, Alabama, Penn State, Oklahoma and USC — remained unchanged from last week.

That's where things get interesting.

Georgia moved up one spot to No. 6, while Florida jumped two to No. 8. The two teams will meet next week and the winner will be well-positioned should 'Bama fall.

Also in decent shape? Texas Tech moved up one spot to No. 7, but should be poised to make an even larger leap should the Red Raiders pull the upset next week against in-state rival Texas.

The biggest move, though, came from Florida State. After debuting at No. 25, the Seminoles jumped 10 spots to No. 15 after beating an unranked Virginia Tech at home.

Several teams remain in the hunt for the role of BCS buster; Utah (No. 10), Boise State (No. 11), Texas Christian (No. 13), Ball State (No. 16) and Tulsa (No. 18) all moved up at least one spot in the standings.

There were also four newcomers to the top 25 in the standings — Michigan State (No. 21), North Carolina (No. 22), Oregon (No. 24) and Connecticut (No. 25).


Next post...a little outside observation!!!:biggrin: :biggrin:

[Deehntr56]

This weeks classic mathcup...Texas and Texas Tech!!!!

NEW YORK (AP) - Texas Tech has its highest ranking in the AP Top 25 in 32 years, and a chance to make another momentous leap coming up.

The Red Raiders moved up to No. 6 in the poll released Sunday as they get ready to host No. 1 Texas.

College football roundup


Week 8's Top 25 action
1 Texas 28, 7 Oklahoma State 24
2 Alabama 29, Tennessee 9
3 Penn State 13, 10 Ohio State 6
4 Oklahoma 58, Kansas St. 35
5 Florida 63, Kentucky 5
6 Southern Cal 17, Arizona 10
8 Texas Tech 63, 19 Kansas 21
9 Georgia 52, 11 LSU 38
13 Boise St. 33, San Jose St. 16
Louisville 24, 14 South Florida 20
15 TCU 54, Wyoming 7
16 Missouri 58, Colorado 0
Rutgers 54, 17 Pittsburgh 34
18 BYU 42, UNLV 35
20 Ball State 38, E. Michigan 16
Virginia 24, 21 Georgia Tech 17
22 Tulsa 49, UCF 19
North Carolina 45, 23 Boston College 24
24 Florida State 30, Virginia Tech 20
25 Minnesota 17, Purdue 6

A second consecutive weekend when highly ranked teams ruled produced little change at the top of the media rankings.

Texas is a unanimous No. 1 for the second week in a row, receiving all 65 first-place votes, and the rest of the top five remained the same: No. 2 Alabama, followed by Penn State, Oklahoma and Florida.

No. 7 Southern California slipped a spot after edging Arizona 17-10 on Saturday night. No. 8 Georgia moved up a spot heading into its huge Southeastern Conference game against East Division fival Florida.

No. 9 Oklahoma State dropped two spots after losing 28-24 in Austin to the Longhorns.

No. 10 Utah, No. 11 Boise State and No. 12 TCU all have hopes of breaking into the Bowl Championship Series from conferences without automatic bids.

The Red Raiders moved up two spots by overwhelming Kansas, 63-21 on Saturday. Texas Tech hasn't been ranked this high since Nov. 15, 1976, when coach Steve Sloan had the Red Raiders 8-0 heading into a big home game against No. 9 Houston. Texas Tech lost to Houston, 27-19, and finished that season 10-2 with a loss to Nebraska in the Bluebonnet Bowl.

For coach Mike Leach's Red Raiders, the Texas game will likely be the second of four straight against ranked teams.

Texas Tech's big win at then-No. 19 Kansas knocked the Jayhawks out of the rankings. After Texas comes to Lubbock on Saturday, the Red Raiders are home for Oklahoma State, then have a week off before playing at Oklahoma.

For the Longhorns, the Texas Tech game will be their fourth straight against a team ranked in the Top 11. The Longhorns has navigated safely through Oklahoma, Missouri and Oklahoma State in October, but those games were all at home or on a neutral field. The trip to Lubbock will be the Longhorns' toughest road test yet.

Ohio State dropped three spots to No. 13 after losing 13-6 to Penn State in a game for first-place in the Big Ten.

No. 14 is Missouri and LSU dropped four spots to No. 15 after a 52-38 loss to Georgia.

No. 16 Florida State, BYU, Ball State, Tulsa and Minnesota round out the first 20. The Golden Gophers, 7-1 after going 1-11 last season, have their highest ranking since the final poll of the 1999 season.

The final five include three teams that have yo-yoed in and out of the rankings this season.

No. 21 North Carolina and No. 22 Michigan State both dropped out last week but are back in this week.

No. 23 Oregon is back in the rankings for the third time this season and first time in a month.

No. 24 South Florida is the only Big East team left in the rankings. The Bulls dropped 10 spots after losing 24-20 at Louisville.

No. 25 Maryland is ranked for the first time since 2006.

Along with Kansas, falling out were Pittsburgh, Georgia Tech and Boston College

[V.P.]

...the polls(ters) HATE the big 11.:irked:

[TheCream]

PSU may be #3, but they are in the driver's seat if you ask me, just based on their schedule.

[Deehntr56]

Absolutely on the same page there Cream.:biggrin:

They have a shot, a real good shot at a title game.....Texas, if they survive the rest of their games deserves to be there.

GO BUCKS THIS WEEKEND!!!

Ruts kicking in....see you all on and off.....the next few weeks........

[Deehntr56]

Alabama, Texas Tech 1-2 in AP :yikes:

The Crimson Tide became the fifth team this season to sit atop the AP Top 25, moving up a spot Sunday after previously top-ranked Texas was toppled by Texas Tech.

College football roundup


Week 10's Top 25 action
6 Texas Tech 39, 1 Texas 33
2 Alabama 35, Arkansas St. 0
4 Oklahoma 62, Nebraska 28
5 Florida 49, 8 Georgia 10
7 Southern Cal 56, Washington 0
9 Oklahoma St. 59, Iowa St. 17
10 Utah 13, New Mexico 10
11 Boise St. 49, New Mexico St. 0
12 TCU 44, UNLV 14
14 Missouri 31, Baylor 28
15 LSU 35, Tulane 10
Georgia Tech 31, 16 Florida St. 28
17 BYU 45, Colorado St. 42
Arkansas 30, 19 Tulsa 23
N'western 24, 20 Minnesota 17
22 Michigan St. 25, Wisconsin 24
California 26, No. 23 Oregon 16
Cincinnati 24, No. 24 USF 10

The Red Raiders, who scored a touchdown with a second left at home to beat the Longhorns 39-33 Saturday night, jumped four spots and past No. 3 Penn State to No. 2. The unbeaten Nittany Lions were idle.

No. 4 Florida moved up one place after its 49-10 rout of Georgia and Texas dropped four spots to No. 5.

The Crimson Tide, which beat Arkansas State 35-0, received 46 of a possible 65 first-place votes from the media panel and 1,600 points. Texas Tech got 12 first-place votes and 1,528 points and Penn State had six and 1,525. The Gators received the other No. 1 vote.

The top spot in the poll hasn't been held by this many teams since 1990, when Miami, Notre Dame, Colorado, Michigan and Virginia all had a turn at No 1.

Georgia started this season No. 1 and was replaced by Southern California after the opening week.

USC lasted four weeks before being upset by Oregon State and Oklahoma took the top spot. The Sooners were No. 1 for two weeks, then lost to Texas, which held the top spot for three weeks.

Now it's Alabama's turn.

The Crimson Tide hasn't been No. 1 since finishing that way after the 1992 season, when coach Gene Stallings, quarterback Jay Barker and a ferocious defense won the last of the Tide's six AP national championships.

Alabama's first game as a No. 1 team since October, 27, 1980, will be Saturday at LSU, a date that was one of the most anticipated in the Southeastern Conference even before this season.

Tide coach Nick Saban will be coaching in Baton Rouge, La., for the first time since he left the Tigers for the NFL after the 2004 season. Saban led LSU to a BCS national title in 2003.

So the Tide, with its new lofty status, will face a stiff test immediately. Same goes for Texas Tech, which had never been ranked higher than No. 5. The Red Raiders host No. 8 Oklahoma State on Saturday, then have a week off before a road trip to No. 6 Oklahoma.

Penn State next plays at Iowa.

Seven ranked teams lost last weekend, most from the lower half of the rankings, so the back end of the Top 25 got a shake-up, too.

Southern California is No. 7, and the final two spots in the top 10 are held by potential BCS Busters - No. 9 Boise State of the Western Athletic Conference and No. 10 Utah, which hosts Mountain West Conference rival and No. 11 TCU in a Thursday night game that could decide the league title.

Ohio State is No. 12, followed by Missouri, Georgia and LSU.

No. 16 Ball State is the lowest ranked of the six remaining unbeaten major college teams in the country. The Cardinals of the Mid-American Conference play Wednesday night against Northern Illinois.

No. 17 BYU, Michigan State, North Carolina and West Virginia, back in the rankings after falling out in mid-September, complete the top 20.

No. 21 California, No. 22 Georgia Tech and No. 25 Pittsburgh re-entered the rankings.

Maryland is No. 23 and No. 24 Florida State dropped eight spots after losing at Georgia Tech.

Falling out of the Top 25 were Minnesota, Tulsa, Oregon and South Florida.

[Deehntr56]

I'm back for a day...so time to update.....:biggrin:

It's getting easier......just a tad finally after 11 weeks.....:whistle:

Seeing as how Alabama and Texas Tech are the only teams from a BCS conference without a loss on their record, it shouldn't come as a surprise that they're 1-2 in the latest BCS standings.

The fun, however, starts with No. 3.

At least for this week, Texas has been tabbed as the best of the one-loss teams, waiting for either the Tide or the Red Raiders to stumble.

But while Florida (No. 4) and Oklahoma (No. 5) are both looking up at the Longhorns in the standings, both may have a better shot to impress both the voters and the computers and play their way into the title game.

For example, if Florida were to hand Alabama its first loss of the season in the SEC championship game, it's not difficult to envision the Gators leapfrogging both the Crimson Tide and the Longhorns.

Likewise, if the Sooners are able to do what the Longhorns could not -- i.e., beat Texas Tech -- the stage would be set for a three-way tie atop the Big 12 South. In that case, the tie would be broken by the BCS standings themselves. Under that scenario, it's also very possible Oklahoma could use a win over Texas Tech to pass both their Big 12 rivals and earn a spot in the Big 12 championship game.

Then there's USC, lurking around at No. 6 but with a much easier path to a one-loss season than any of its would-be rivals.

While some uncertainty remains, one thing is absolutely clear: If Alabama and Texas Tech continue their unbeaten ways, they will face off for the national title.

Any doubt about that outcome was effectively erased when Iowa hit that last-second field goal, eliminating any chance Penn State had of sneaking into the top two.

And it showed in every component of the BCS equation. Alabama and Texas Tech are the top two teams in the Harris Poll, the USA Today poll and in the six computer polls utilized by the BCS.

So after 11 weeks, the path to the BCS title game is, at least for the time being, crystal clear. For the Tide and the Red Raiders, it's win and they're in.

[Deehntr56]

All the top teams took care of their business and the BCS standings were unchanged at the top Sunday, with Alabama and Texas Tech holding the top two spots and Florida, Texas and Oklahoma poised to move up.

The Crimson Tide ran away from Mississippi State in the second half of a 32-7 victory that kept Alabama on top of both the USA Today coaches' poll and the Harris poll. Alabama has a .9787 BCS average.
Texas Tech (.9698) remained second in the polls and first according to the computer ratings during a week off. The Red Raiders head into their fourth straight game against a ranked opponent, this time at Oklahoma, in control of their national title and Big 12 championship hopes.

The Sooners also had the week off, while Florida and Texas both had blowout victories.

[coonskinner]

wow shapin up for a real shootout at the ok corral...:biggrin:

[jeffmo]

florida is playing VERY GOOD FOOTBALL!

[Deehntr56]

They sure are....they actually may be peaking..and at this time of the year, it could put them over the top!!!

[Deehntr56]

Thanksgiving week!!!!


Hmmmmmmmm.....This week's best national games:

1. No. 23 Oregon at No. 17 Oregon State, Saturday, 7, Versus: The newest OSU to worry about for Ohio State fans. If Oregon State wins, the Beavers are headed to the Rose Bowl and Ohio State is probably out of the BCS bowl picture. So anyone wanting the Buckeyes in the Fiesta, Orange or Sugar bowls, root for Oregon.

2. No. 3 Oklahoma at No. 12 Oklahoma State, Saturday, 8, ABC: There are OSUs all over the place. Former Ohio State coach Tim Beckman, the defensive coordinator at Oklahoma State, will try to stall the hottest offense west of Florida.

3. No. 4 Florida at No. 20 Florida State, Saturday, 3:30, ABC: Bobby Bowden would love this. Joe Paterno's been getting a lot of publicity, but the Seminoles should at least give the rolling Gators a run.


Here is my initial thoughts....We'll see in a few weeks......Bowl projections: :D


BCS National Championship: Florida vs. Oklahoma

Rose Bowl: Penn State vs. Oregon State

Fiesta Bowl: Texas vs. USC

Sugar Bowl: Alabama vs. Utah

Orange Bowl: Boston College vs. Cincinnati

Capital One Bowl: Ohio State vs. Georgia

[coonskinner]

do you know how much money the capital one bowl will bring osu an the big 10...just wondering how much difference from being in a top bowl...:D

[Deehntr56]

Somewhere in the vicinity of 4.25 Million:biggrin:....I get 25% ....BCS Championship game is projected to be around 17.5 million!!!:biggrin:

and it's a he11 of a lot better that no bowl game!!!:biggrin:

Do ya know how much OSU has made over the last 7 years in Bowl Games????:biggrin: :bouncy: :biggrin:

GO BUCKS!!!

[coonskinner]

Somewhere in the vicinity of 4.25 Million:biggrin:....I get 25% ....BCS Championship game is projected to be around 17.5 million!!!:biggrin:

and it's a he11 of a lot better that no bowl game!!!:biggrin:

Do ya know how much OSU has made over the last 7 years in Bowl Games????:biggrin: :bouncy: :biggrin:

GO BUCKS!!!

how much...also how much did tressel make in that time countin bonuses...:D

[Deehntr56]

Way more than you or me...!!!:biggrin:

Typically his position does pay over 3 million annually!!:biggrin: :biggrin:

[sjastrz]

Do ya know how much OSU has made over the last 7 years in Bowl Games????:biggrin: :bouncy: :biggrin:

Doesn't every team in the Big 10 get an even share of the bowl revenue?

[Deehntr56]

Doesn't every team in the Big 10 get an even share of the bowl revenue?

Yes, the whole conference shares in the winnings.

Off to Deer camp...good luck to those that get out this week!

[TheCream]

Here's my amateur guess at the BCS games:

Sugar: Ohio State vs. Virginia Tech

Orange: Utah vs. Cincinnati

Rose: USC vs. PSU

Fiesta: Texas vs. Alabama

Title Game: Oklahoma vs. Florida

[CritterGitter]

Here's my amateur guess at the BCS games:

Sugar: Ohio State vs. Virginia Tech

Orange: Utah vs. Cincinnati

Rose: USC vs. PSU

Fiesta: Texas vs. Alabama

Title Game: Oklahoma vs. Florida

I like DH56 matchups better.

[TheCream]

I like DH56 matchups better.

But unfortunately they are not possible. Oregon St is no longer the favorite to represent the PAC 10, thanks to their loss to Oregon. If USC beats UCLA, they are in over Oregon St, who would likely drop all the way to the Sun Bowl. If they are out and the choice is between Boise St and Ohio St, I think OSU gets the nod, deserving or not, because they put butts in the seats.

[CritterGitter]

Oops. I didn't realize Oregon St lost. Doh.

[Deehntr56]

Hmmmmmmmmm, some new ideas...excellent.....

Alabama playing Florida......this could be a beauty...but Florida is playing real well right now...Alabama will need this win to get the respect of the voters....for some reason, thay have not done that to this point.???

Oklahoma playing #15 Mizzou next.....Mizzou is fizzling out..so we will see how the sooners play in this one!

[Deehntr56]

Bowl Schedule....soon we'll be able to fill in the team names......

The 2008-09 bowl schedule (all times Eastern):

2008-09 College Football Bowl Schedule
Bowl Game Date/Time Site Matchup Network

EagleBank Bowl Dec. 20
11 a.m. Washington, D.C. ACC vs. Navy ESPN

New Mexico Dec. 20
2:30 p.m. Albuquerque, NM Mountain West vs. Fresno State ESPN

St. Petersburg Dec. 20
4:30 p.m. St. Petersburg, FL Big East vs. C-USA ESPN2

Pioneer Las Vegas Dec. 20
8 p.m. Las Vegas, NV Mountain West vs. Pac-10 ESPN

R+L Carriers New Orleans Dec. 21
8:15 p.m. New Orleans, LA C-USA vs. Sun Belt ESPN

San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Dec. 23
8 p.m. San Diego, CA Mountain West vs. Pac-10 ESPN

Sheraton Hawaii Dec. 24
8 p.m. Honolulu, HI WAC vs. Pac-10 ESPN

Motor City Dec. 26
7:30 p.m. Detroit, MI MAC vs. Big Ten ESPN

Meineke Car Care Dec. 27
1 p.m. Charlotte, NC ACC vs. Big East ESPN

Champs Sports Dec. 27
4:30 p.m. Orlando, FL ACC vs. Big Ten ESPN

Emerald Dec. 27
8 p.m. San Francisco, CA Pac-10 vs. ACC ESPN

Independence Dec. 28
8:15 p.m. Shreveport, LA SEC vs. Big 12 ESPN

Papajohns.com Dec. 29
3 p.m. Birmingham, AL SEC vs. Big East ESPN

Valero Alamo Dec. 29
8 p.m. San Antonio, TX Big Ten vs. Big 12 ESPN

Roady's Humanitarian Dec. 30
4:30 p.m. Boise, ID WAC vs. ACC ESPN

Texas Dec. 30
8 p.m. Houston, TX Big 12 vs. C-USA NFL

Pacific Life Holiday Dec. 30
8 p.m. San Diego, CA Pac-10 vs. Big 12 ESPN

Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Dec. 31
12 p.m. Fort Worth, TX Mountain West vs. C-USA ESPN

Brut Sun Dec. 31
2 p.m. El Paso, TX Pac-10 vs. Big 12/Big East/Notre Dame CBS

Gaylord Hotels Music City Dec. 31
3:30 p.m. Nashville, TN SEC vs. ACC ESPN

Insight Dec. 31
5:30 p.m. Tempe, Ariz. Kansas vs. Big Ten NFL

Chick-fil-A Dec. 31
7:30 p.m. Atlanta, GA SEC vs. Georgia Tech ESPN

Outback Jan. 1
11 a.m. Tampa, FL Big Ten vs. SEC ESPN

Capital One Jan. 1
1 p.m. Orlando, FL SEC vs. Big Ten ABC

Konica Minolta Gator Jan. 1
1 p.m. Jacksonville, FL ACC vs. Big 12/Big East/Notre Dame CBS

Rose presented by Citi Jan. 1
4:30 p.m. Pasadena, CA BCS vs. BCS ABC

FedEx Orange Jan. 1
8:30 p.m. Miami, FL BCS vs. BCS FOX

AT&T Cotton Jan. 2
2 p.m. Dallas, TX Big 12 vs. SEC FOX

AutoZone Liberty Jan. 2
5 p.m. Memphis, TN C-USA vs. SEC ESPN

Allstate Sugar Jan. 2
8 p.m. New Orleans, LA BCS vs. BCS FOX

International Jan. 3
12 p.m. Toronto, Canada Big East vs. MAC ESPN2

Tostitos Fiesta Jan. 5
8 p.m. Glendale, AZ BCS vs. BCS FOX

GMAC Jan. 6
8 p.m. Mobile, AL C-USA vs. MAC ESPN

FedEx BCS National Championship Jan. 8
8 p.m. Miami, FL BCS No. 1 vs. BCS No. 2 FOX





* BOWL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES - When not having a conference champion participating in the BCS National Championship Game, the BCS will have the following conference champions serve as host teams: Rose Bowl - Big Ten and Pac- 10; FedEx Orange Bowl - ACC; Allstate Sugar Bowl - SEC; Tostitos Fiesta Bowl - Big 12.

[Deehntr56]

It'll be Florida-Oklahoma for national title.....



All season long, the Big 12 and SEC battled for the right to be called the top college football conference in the nation. Now they'll get the opportunity to settle it on the field.

As was widely expected, the champions of those conferences — Oklahoma and Florida — will meet in the BCS title game on Jan. 8 after finishing the regular season ranked 1-2 in the final version of the BCS standings.

The 12-1 Sooners moved up one spot to No. 1 after topping the 60-point plateau for the fifth straight time, beating Missouri 62-21 in the Big 12 title game. Meanwhile, Florida (12-1) moved up two spots after handing former No. 1 Alabama its first loss of the year, 31-20, in the SEC title game.

And so the national title game will feature not only the champions of inarguably the two strongest conferences, but arguably the two hottest teams in the nation.

Since losing to Texas, Oklahoma has won seven straight games, scoring no fewer than 45 points in each of them, while setting an NCAA record for points in a season. Florida, meanwhile, has won nine straight since being upset by Ole Miss — seven of them against bowl-bound competition — by the combined score of 445-79.

The game also will feature a pair of Heisman Trophy finalists at quarterback — reigning Heisman winner Tim Tebow of Florida and Oklahoma's Sam Bradford, possibly the only man who could keep Tebow from becoming just the second back-to-back Heisman winner in college football history.

At least on paper, it appears to be one of the stronger title games in the decade since the advent of the BCS, ranking perhaps behind only USC-Texas in 2006 in terms of anticipation.

That isn't to say the announcement isn't without controversy. This is, after all, the BCS we're talking about.

Undefeated Utah and several one-loss teams — Texas, Alabama, USC and Penn State — undoubtedly would have liked an opportunity to play for the title. The Utes, however, were a distant sixth in the standings, demonstrating just how difficult it's going to be for a non-BCS school to crack the top two. USC and Penn State were saddled with unimpressive losses and comparatively weak conferences. And Alabama, of course, could hardly argue for inclusion in the title game over the team that just beat them for the SEC title.

That leaves Texas.

The Longhorns were No. 3 in last week's BCS standings, but were leapfrogged by the Gators, as both the Harris and USA Today poll voters deemed Florida a more worthy title-game participant. Unlike the Crimson Tide, however, Texas boasts a head-to-head win over one of the two title-game participants — a 45-35 win over Oklahoma on Oct. 11. The 11-1 Longhorns finished the regular season in a three-way tie atop the Big 12 South with Oklahoma and Texas Tech, but the Sooners won the tiebreaker by virtue of being ranked ahead of both the Longhorns and the Red Raiders in last week's BCS standings.

As a result, Oklahoma was able to use its rout of Missouri as a springboard to its fourth appearance in the BCS title game, while Texas will not get the opportunity to add another title to the one it won in 2006.

The Longhorns' consolation prize? A date with Ohio State:biggrin: in the Fiesta Bowl and an outside shot at finishing at No. 1 in the final AP poll and claiming a share of the national championship.

The Fiesta Bowl selected the Buckeyes over Utah, which earned an automatic BCS berth by virtue of its sixth-place showing in the standings. But even though they were guaranteed a spot in one of the big five bowls, the Utes had been hoping to play closer to home. But instead of Utah fans getting an easy drive to Glendale, Ariz., they'll have to make their way to New Orleans, where their team will take on Alabama in the Sugar Bowl.

The Rose Bowl will get a traditional Pac-10/Big Ten matchup — and a pretty good one at that. USC will be making its fourth straight trip to the Grandaddy of Them All, while Penn State and Joe Paterno will be going to Pasadena for the first time since 1993.

That leaves Big East champion Cincinnati and ACC champ Virginia Tech to duke it out in the Orange Bowl.


GO BUCKS!!!