When did college football referees decide to hate the world and ruin everyone’s fun?

Down 12-7 with just over a minute remaining in their game against LSU on Saturday, Georgia quarterback Joe Cox found receiver A.J. Green for a 16-yard touchdown pass to give the Bulldogs a 13-12 lead.

Following the play, Green foolishly decided to act joyful about the touchdown pass and celebrate with his teammates, who mobbed him in the end zone. The refs flagged Green for excessive celebration (because you know, nobody should be allowed to show emotion about a touchdown), which is a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, added on to the ensuing kickoff.

After Georgia failed to convert the 2-point conversation, LSU set itself up at the Bulldog 38-yard line with much help from the penalty. Two players later, Charles Scott broke free for a 33-yard touchdown to put the Tigers up 18-13. A 2-point conversation later and LSU hung on for a 20-13 victory.

The celebration penalty was a freaking joke. It’s not like Green and his teammates choreographed a dance in the end zone that went on for five minutes, nor did Green mimic calling somebody on a cell phone he hid in the goal post. It was a crap call and at the very least, aided in LSU’s victory. (Scott was also called for excessive celebration after his TD run, which was just as bad as the call on Green.)

That said, Georgia played like crap in the first half, benefited from two costly LSU turnovers that probably would have generated points and allowed Scott to run basically untouched to the end zone on the game-winning touchdown. The Dawgs didn’t do enough offensively to earn the win and while the penalty certainly helped the Tigers, LSU outplayed UGA for most of the game.

As for the Tigers, they owe their 5-0 record and No. 4 ranking to the defense, because the LSU offense has been incredibly inconsistent so far this season. They moved the ball well in the first half and in the fourth quarter against Georgia, but once the Dawgs made adjustments at halftime, the Tigers didn’t have an answer.

Still, getting a win in Athens is tough and LSU deserves credit for the win, especially considering many pundits deemed the Tigers overrated coming into this game.

No. 4 LSU at No. 18 Georgia, 3:30PM ET
Last year, Georgia rolled into Tiger Stadium and laid a 52-38 beat down on LSU as they forced three turnovers and running back Knowshon Moreno (now a Denver Bronco) racked up 163 yards on 21 carries. After an ugly 24-10 loss to Oklahoma State in the opening week of the season, the Bulldogs have rattled off three straight wins and will now face a Tiger team that struggled a bit offensively last week in a narrow 30-26 win over Mississippi State. LSU was outgained 374-263 and only rushed for 30 yards in the victory. The Tigers usually feast on pro-style offenses, so UGA quarterback Joe Cox can’t force throws in attempt to make something happen down field. That said, the Tigers haven’t been tested yet and needed a goal line stand to pull off the win last week. Georgia, on the other hand, has already faced a ranked OK State team and beaten competitive SEC foes South Carolina and Arkansas. The Bulldogs are more battle tested and will overcome a stiff Tiger defense.
Odds: Georgia –3.
Prediction: Georgia 24, LSU 20.

No. 7 USC at No. 24 California, 8:00PM ET
Don’t everyone break your legs jumping off the Cal bandwagon after Oregon smacked the Golden Bears 42-3 last week. Heisman candidate Jahvid Best rushed for only 55 yards in the loss and will face another tough challenge this week against a USC defense that held him to only 30 yards last season. The Trojans have the sixth best defense in the nation and the fifth best scoring defense. They have limited opponents to only 59.5 rushing yards per game and only 95 YPC threw the air. That said, Cal has played USC close over the years and the Trojans have kept things rather conservative offensively with freshman Matt Barkley under center. I see this game being close, although I don’t know if Kevin Riley can beat USC through the air if the Trojans’ front seven takes away Best.
Odds: USC –4.5.
Prediction: USC 20, Cal 17.

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If one were to only watch this game’s first quarter, their views on both teams would be drastically shaken. No. 7 LSU went into this game 3-0 and had won nine straight against their opponents from Mississippi State. At the end of the first quarter, the Bulldogs somehow held a 14-13 lead. It seemed as though fans could sense an upset as they suddenly piled into the stadium well after the opening whistle. Quickly, however, that ornate offense helmed by Mississippi State quarterback Tyson Lee gradually dismantled. By the end of the first half, Lee had thrown three interceptions and his team had committed a total of four turnovers. Luckily for them, LSU didn’t look any sharper — on either end of the field. Their skimpy defense was obvious to anyone watching. We knew that could be a problem coming in, but what was up with their rushing? With a total of seven yards rushing at the half, LSU coach Les Miles was left dumbfounded. Both teams had multiple opportunities to score, but sloppy play prevented either from increasing a lead. At the end of the half, No. 7 LSU was on top 16-14.

In their first possession of the third quarter, LSU quarterback Jordan Jefferson connected with Brandon LaFell for a 58-yard touchdown pass. Despite their embarrassing first half performance, LSU suddenly looked like a real team. Still, Mississippi State would respond with a touchdown of their own. But Chad Johnson’s beautiful 93-yard punt return for a touchdown again rejuvenated the Tigers. Come the fourth quarter, Mississippi State completely depended on star running back Anthony Dixon to carry their team. This proved to be a wise decision, as he would finish the game with two touchdowns on 106 yards.

With 1:20 left in the game, Mississippi State came within four inches of scoring, thanks again to Anthony Dixon. However, they couldn’t convert their momentum into a touchdown as LSU’s defense finally made an impact when it mattered most. In what was a surprisingly close game, LSU defeated Mississippi State 30-26.

Lastly, hats off to Mississippi State’s new coach, Dan Mullen, who kept his team in the game against one of the strongest programs in college football.

Check out our other 2009 college football previews.

Preseason Ranking: No. 11 in AP Top 25; No. 9 in USA Today Poll.

Key Returning Players: Charles Scott (RB); Keiland Williams (RB); Jarrett Lee (QB); Brandon LaFell (WR); Richard Dickson (WR); Ciron Black (OT); Harry Coleman (S); Chad Jones (S); Danny McCray (S); Rahim Alem (DE); Charles Alexander (DT); Kelvin Sheppard (LB); Perry Riley (LB); Chris Hawkins (CB); Jai Eugene (CB).

Key Losses: Tyson Jackson (DE); Ricky Jean-Francois (DT); Darry Beckwith (LB); Demetrius Byrd (WR); Colt David (K); Marlon Favorite (DT); Brett Helms (C); Herman Johnson (G); Curtis Taylor (S); Tremaine Johnson (DE); Quinn Johnson (FB); Kirston Pittman (DE).

Player to Watch: Charles Scott, RB.
After racking up 1,174 yards on 217 carries and 18 touchdowns last season, Scott proved to be a star in the making. The thundering back will once again be the backbone of the Tigers’ offense and is coming off a solid showing in the Tigers’ spring game in April. Head coach Les Miles also says that this year’s version of the offensive line will be the best blocking unit since he’s been at LSU, which is another reason to love Scott’s potential in ’09.

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Every couple of weeks during the 2009 season, I’ll rank the top 10 Heisman Trophy candidates based on their chances of winning college football’s most prestigious award. Players will either rise or fall in the rankings based on their performances throughout the year.

Below is Version 1.0. Obviously with no games being played yet, I’m mostly projecting with this top 10. These types of rankings always stir up a lot of debate, so I encourage readers to tell me which players should be rated higher or lower. I’ll update the list after the first week or two of the season.

Without further ado…

1. Tim Tebow, QB, Florida
After Sam Bradford edged Tebow out in last season’s Heisman race, some will argue that the Oklahoma QB deserves to be at the top of this ranking. But I’m giving the slight edge to Tebow right now after he absolutely destroyed the competition in the second half of last year. Florida will incorporate the no-huddle into their offense this season, which should only benefit Tebow’s style of play and give him even more scoring opportunities than he already had. Outside of Florida having to replace tackles Phil Trautwein and Jason Watkins, there’s little reason to believe that Tebow will take a step back in 2009 and considering the Gators are once again national title contenders, he should be the front-runner to win this year’s Heisman.

2. Sam Bradford, QB, Oklahoma
After throwing for 4,720 yards and 50 touchdowns last season, I don’t doubt that the reigning Heisman winner could be even better in 2009. But the Sooners’ offensive line is a major question mark entering this season with the losses of Phil Loadholt, Duke Robinson, Jon Cooper and Brandon Walker. That’s a lot of change in one offseason and while OU should light up the scoreboard once again, I could see Bradford taking a backseat to Tebow when the final Heisman results are tallied.

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Strap ‘em up, kids. Championship Week is upon us!

Gonzaga and Saint Mary’s square off tonight in the final of the WCC tourney (9 PM ET, and why isn’t this game on national television?), and with the Gaels’ #45 RPI, they could really use a win to guarantee a NCAA tourney berth. The good news is that their leading scorer, Patrick Mills, is back, scoring 12 points in 35 minutes in yesterday’s win over Portland. If Saint Mary’s loses to the ‘Zags, it would put the Gaels squarely on the bubble. ESPN bracketologist Joe Lunardi has Saint Mary’s as a #10 seed, but I think that assumes that the committee will take Mills’ injury into account. After all, he was out of the lineup for three of the team’s five losses. Lunardi says that the Gaels are safe, but they don’t have a marquee win and are just 2-2 against the RPI top 50, so anything can happen.

But let’s move on to the “major� conference tournaments that will take place this week. I’m going to tackle these one-by-one in the order of Jeff Sagarin’s conference rankings.

ACC

Lunardi projects six ACC teams – UNC, Wake Forest, Duke, Clemson, Florida State and Boston College – to make the Dance, and of those teams only BC really has anything to worry about. The Eagles (#57 RPI) are probably safe, but a first round loss on Thursday against Virginia might make BC squirm a bit on Selection Sunday.

Miami, Maryland and Virginia Tech are three teams that could play themselves into an NCAA berth with a nice ACC tourney run. What do I mean by “a nice run�? Well, Virginia Tech and Miami square off on Thursday, so if whomever wins gives North Carolina a great game on Friday, that might be enough. The Hurricanes are a bit closer than the Hokies, so VT would probably have to pull the upset against the Tar Heels to earn a bid. Miami could potentially get in with an 18-12 record and a #53 RPI (against the 26th-toughest schedule) if they were to lose to North Carolina.

Meanwhile, Maryland has to beat N.C. State on Thursday and then (at least) pull the upset against the seemingly vulnerable Demon Deacons on Friday.

As far as #1 seeds go, North Carolina pretty much sewed one up with their second win against Duke on Sunday. Neither the Blue Devils nor Demon Deacons would seem to have a shot at one of the other three #1 seeds. It’s conceivable that Duke would be able to make a case if they win the ACC Tournament (beating Wake and UNC in the process) and a few of the teams ranked ahead of them have poor conference showings. Despite the brutal schedule (#3) and stellar RPI (3), Duke is realistically shooting for a #2 or #3 seed.

ACC Tournament bracket

Entering the Virginia Tech-Cincinnati Orange Bowl matchup Thursday night, the ACC hadn’t earned a BCS victory since 1999 and some media outlets were even suggesting that the conference champion should lose its automatic BCS bid. Making matters worse, the conference was just 3-6 in non-BCS bowl games this year, further adding to the embarrassment.

But Frank Beamer’s Hokies put an end to the ACC’s drought with their convincing 20-7 win over the Big East Champion Bearcats. Tech held Brian Kelly’s dynamic offense to just 239 passing yards and picked off Cincy quarterback Tony Pike four times.

Offensively, Hokie frosh running back Darren Evans did most of the damage, rushing for 153 yards and a touchdown, while sophomore quarterback Tyrod Taylor added 47 rushing yards and a score. As a team, Tech rushed for 259 yards, which was their third 250-yard rushing game of the year.

Maybe this win will breathe some life into the ACC, which certainly has some talented programs, but inconsistency seems to be the conference’s major drawback.

VA Tech always has one of the more talented defenses, but poor quarterback play doomed them for most of the year. Georgia Tech’s triple option was impossible to stop at times, but LSU’s 38-3 rout in the Chick-fil-A Bowl proved that the Jackets still have a long way to go to compete for a national title. Boston College, NC State and Maryland have some great young talent, but once again, inconsistency doomed those three programs throughout the year.

With players like Evans, Taylor, Da’Rel Scott and Russell Wilson, the ACC will feature some of the best young talent in college football heading into 2009. So hopefully the ACC can turn their BCS misfortunes around and produce a legit title contender next year, instead of being the conference that’s best known for its underachieving.

Check out Rams’ running back Kenneth Darby get leveled by an official during St. Louis’s loss to the 49ers on Sunday:

Of course, that officials’ hit had nothing on this guy:

The 2009 BCS Bowl Season is quickly approaching – not that anyone should care.

I’m not trying to sound bitter, but if the BCS doesn’t care about any of its five bowl games outside of the national championship game, then why should we? All the BCS essentially cares about is figuring out who the top team teams are in college football – and they can’t even do that right.

But I digress. I’m not going to burn another 1,200 words on why college football needs a playoff because it’ll just fall upon deaf ears. Instead, I’ll get into the bowl season spirit and break down the five BCS bowls, as well as hand out predictions for each game.

Predictions are essentially meaningless, but they’re fun so make sure you throw out your picks in the comment section below.

Rose Bowl: Penn State vs. USC
The Rose Bowl, Pasadena, California, January 1, 4:30PM ET ABC
Some college football pundits believe that this one will be over with by halftime, but if Penn State uses Oregon State’s victory over USC as a blueprint for success, the Nittany Lions could make this a tighter game than most expect. PSU tailback Evan Royster has been a playmaker this year and if the Lions can employ him the same way the Beavers’ used Jacquizz Rodgers to beat the Trojans earlier this season, then maybe they can exploit USC’s quick defense. Then again, the Trojans’ D is one of the fastest and most talented units in the country and it won’t be easy for PSU to spread the field on them like they did against Big Ten opponents this season. USC has the most talented linebacker corps in the country and their secondary features two safeties in Taylor Mays and Kevin Ellison that blanket the field in both coverage and run support. In order for the Lions to claim victory, quarterback Daryll Clark will have to play mistake free and not try to force action in the passing game. Offensively for USC, quarterback Mark Sanchez has been outstanding, but he will make mistakes. He threw at least one interception in seven games this year and if PSU’s defense can generate some pressure, they could force Sanchez into some turnovers and capitalize on some prime field position. But outside of getting pressure on Sanchez, Penn State needs to tackle well and limit the yards-after-catch opportunities that USC’s receivers thrive upon. Sounds basic enough, but the Trojans have one of the fastest offenses in the league and Sanchez has excelled at taking what defenses give him and in getting the ball into the hands of his playmakers. The Lions would be wise to get 11 defenders around the ball at all times, especially when USC tailback Stafon Johnson gets the opportunity to make plays.
Rose Bowl Prediction: USC 30, Penn State 17.

- Raise your hand if you thought Stanford would upset USC again when the score was tied 17-17 at halftime. (Hand raised.)

- Not that a ton of people care about Conference USA, but what a statement by Houston. I don’t know what was more impressive, the fact that the Cougars scored 70 points or that they held Tulsa to only 30 points.

- Iowa’s Shonn Grenne (30 carries, 211 yards in a 22-17 win over Purdue) is a legit Heisman candidate for 2009.

- What happened to Kansas? I realize they didn’t play any of the top teams in the Big 12 last year, but they’re better than 6-5 aren’t they?

- They might have won 34-7, but Penn State’s win over Indiana was the least impressive 34-7 victory in some time.

- One of the more underrated rivalries in college football is Georgia-Auburn. And the Tigers easily have one of the more underrated defenses in the nation.

- Early upset watch for Week 13: Nevada over Boise State. The Wolf Pack’s offense is good enough to keep pace with the Broncos’ explosive attack and Boise hasn’t faced a tough opponent all year. (Unless you consider when they faced Oregon and their fourth string quarterback a tough opponent.)

- Worst…Michigan…season…ever.

- Underrated game of the week: No. 14 Ball State at Central Michigan next Wednesday.

- College football fans were cheated by not getting to see Beanie Wells run for a full season. He was amazing against Illinois.

- How about Troy hanging with LSU in Baton Rouge? Had they not turned the ball over three times, the Trojans could have pulled off one of the best upsets in college football this season.