Category: College Football (Page 68 of 296)

      2010 College Football Week 13 Odds

      November 24, 2010 /
      BATON ROUGE, LA - NOVEMBER 20: Quarterback Jordan Jefferson of the Louisiana State University Tigers reacts after scoring a touchdown against the Ole Miss Rebels at Tiger Stadium on November 20, 2010 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

      No. 21 Arizona @ No. 1 Oregon, 7:00PM ET, Friday
      The Ducks have come a long way but they still have two daunting tasks left in order to reach the BCS title game. The first test comes this Friday against Arizona, which leads the Pac-10 at 300.6 yards per game offensively. Nick Foles is completing a conference-high 71.0 percent of his passes and has thrown for over 600 yards with four touchdowns and just one interception in his last two games. That said, the Wildcats gave up a whopping 426 rushing yards in consecutive losses the last two weeks and are now in danger of slipping out of the top 25. Can they pull off an upset this week or is Oregon set to wrap up a second-straight Pac-10 title?
      CURRENT ODDS: OREGON –19.5

      No. 5 LSU @ No. 12 Arkansas, 3:30PM ET, Saturday
      The Tigers are looking to claim their sixth 11-win season in school history this week, but they face a daunting task in Arkansas this Saturday. The previous five meetings between these two teams have been decided by a total of 13 points and two of the previous three outings went into overtime. LSU has limited opponents to 286.9 yards per game, which is best in the SEC. But it was their offense that earned them a wild win over Ole Miss last weekend, as quarterback Jordan Jefferson threw for a career-high 254 yards and a touchdown both through the air and on the ground. The Hogs needed overtime to beat a pesky Mississippi State team and will need a better effort out of Ryan Mallett this year against the Tigers than in 2009. He threw for just 227 yards and an interception in a 33-30 overtime loss in Baton Rouge last year.
      CURRENT ODDS: ARKANSAS –3.5

      No. 13 Oklahoma vs. No. 9 Oklahoma State
      Usually when these two teams meet at this time of year, it’s Oklahoma playing for an opportunity to head to the Big 12 championship. But this season, it’s the Cowboys turn to play in a conference title game for the first time in school history. The Sooners have absolutely dominated the Bedlam series over the years, winning 80 of the 104 games between these two programs. But the Cowboys have a one-game lead in the Big 12 South standings and they won’t go down easy at home. This is only the fourth time in series history that OK State has been the higher ranked team. Can Brandon Weeden and company get one more win in order to play for a conference championship next weekend?
      CURRENT ODDS: OKLAHOMA STATE -3

      Michigan vs. No. 8 Ohio State, 12:00PM ET, Saturday
      This is a nasty matchup for the Wolverines, who were absolutely hammered by a Wisconsin team last Saturday that has a lot of similarities to Ohio State. Both teams like to line up and play smash-mouth football, while Michigan prefers to win games with speed. Denard Robinson could have a hard time moving the ball against a stout Buckeye front seven. With a win, Ohio State would likely earn a BCS bowl berth (either a return trip to the Rose Bowl, should Wisconsin lose to Northwestern at home, or an at-large bid to the Sugar or Orange bowls). But they know the Wolverines won’t lay down without a fight and Michigan would love nothing more than to ruin the Buckeyes season when they have nothing to play for outside of pride.
      CURRENT ODDS: OHIO STATE -17

      College Football Top 25 Odds & Over/Under Totals:

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      College Football, External Sports

      If we had a playoff system . . .

      November 21, 2010 /
      IOWA CITY, IA - NOVEMBER 20: Quarterback Terrelle Pryor of the Ohio State Buckeyes celebrates with fans after beating the University of Iowa Hawkeyes at Kinnick Stadium on November 20, 2010 in Iowa City, Iowa. Ohio State won 20-17 over Iowa. (Photo by David Purdy/Getty Images).

      If we had a playoff system, today would have been a very dramatic day in college football. Instead, games that would have had huge national championship implications with an eight-team playoff system were just big games that affected the bowl picture. What a waste.

      One of the dumber arguments repeated by defenders of the current BCS system involves the excitement surrounding games as teams battle for the top two spots. Sure, many games are exciting throughout the year with this system, but so many more games would be exciting to fans across the country if teams were battling for eight spots instead of two.

      Let’s assume we had a system that had the top eight BCS teams square off in a playoff format for the national championship. Heading into this weekend, the top 25 teams in the BCS were as follows:

      1 Oregon
      2 Auburn
      3 TCU
      4 Boise State
      5 LSU
      6 Stanford
      7 Wisconsin
      8 Nebraska
      9 Ohio State
      10 Oklahoma State
      11 Alabama
      12 Michigan State
      13 Arkansas
      14 Oklahoma
      15 Missouri
      16 Virginia Tech
      17 South Carolina
      18 Nevada
      19 Texas A&M
      20 Iowa
      21 Mississippi State
      22 Arizona
      23 Utah
      24 Miami (FL)
      25 Florida State

      With several weekends left, many teams still had a shot at the final eight, so all of the games involving the top 15 teams would have serious implications for the national title hunt. This week produced a number of wild games that went down to the wire, and college football fans would have been glued to their big screens watching the final minutes as #5 LSU survived against Ole Miss in a dizzying fourth quarter. Meanwhile, #8 Nebraska was clinging to the last playoff spot, until they suffered a 9-6 upset at the hands of #19 Texas A&M. This was great news for Ohio State fans, as the #9 Buckeyes survived their own nail-biter against #20 Iowa with a huge fourth down run from Terrelle Pryor on the game-winning drive to put them in a position to move into that last playoff spot. That must have killed Oklahoma State fans, as they probably needed the Buckeyes to lose in order to claim that last spot. Next week they would have been gathering in bars and the homes of family and friends to watch the Ohio State-Michigan game, hoping that RichRod’s hapless defense could rise to the occasion and help to pull a miracle upset against the Buckeyes.

      Fans of all the teams ranked within striking distance of the top eight would have been in a frenzy watching all of these games, and all college football fans would have enjoyed all of the games that much more with playoff spots at stake. Also, many rivalry games would take on that much more importance. Next week, Michigan fans would have something huge to play for in addition to their classic rivalry with Ohio State. Instead of hoping to deny the Buckeyes a chance at a playoff berth for the national championship, they would just be playing to deny them a share of the Big Ten title. Big deal. Apart from a general interest in that game from college football fans, a playoff system would make that game and many other games must-see TV for practically all college football fans.

      Instead, we’re just waiting to see if Oregon and Auburn get beat so that we can watch TCU and Boise State play for the most meaningless national championship in the history of college football.

      Bullz-Eye Sports Channel, College Football

      Maybe the SEC just isn’t that good this year

      November 20, 2010 /
      AUBURN, AL - OCTOBER 23: Quarterback Jordan Jefferson of the LSU Tigers breaks a tackle by Neiko Thorpe of the Auburn Tigers at Jordan-Hare Stadium on October 23, 2010 in Auburn, Alabama. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

      I know it’s blasphemy in college football to even think it, but what if the conference that has ruled the sport for most of the last decade just isn’t that good this year?

      Yes, there are still great athletes all over the field in these games. Yes, some of the best coaches in the country are leading these teams. But what exactly has the SEC done this year to prove that it’s worthy of being called the best conference in the country?

      What are the conference’s big nonconference wins? LSU has two wins over other BCS conference teams, but those are against a scandal-ridden North Carolina team (a game the Tigers very nearly lost) and a mostly erratic West Virginia team. Alabama has a win over Penn State, but so what. Not only are the Nittany Lions down this year, but they were playing with a true freshman in his first road start.

      The nation’s No. 2 team, Auburn, is even without a signature nonconference win. The Tigers struggled to put away a Clemson team that came into tonight 4-4 in the ACC.

      I understand the difficulty of going through conference games, and that the physical play of the SEC is tough to go through week after week. But what, other than past performance, do we have to go on when judging the SEC this year?

      If Auburn beats Alabama next week, it will go to the national title game, and that’s fine. I have no problem with that. But all the talk of a one-loss SEC team somehow finding its way into the title game seems based completely on what we’re used to, not what we’re seeing on the field.

      If you want to bring past performance into it, how do you overlook Boise State, which hasn’t lost a game since the Poinsettia Bowl in 2008 against TCU? Or how about a TCU team that’s only loss over the last two years is that same Boise team in last year’s Fiesta Bowl?

      I think everyone who’s voting should learn a lesson from the 2006 season, when many thought Michigan and Ohio State deserved a rematch in the title game because they had been so dominant all season. The problem was, the perceived tough games they played were all either in conference, or against teams with more tradition than punch (Notre Dame and Texas). Luckily, the voters voted against that and the Big Ten was exposed, oddly enough, by the SEC.

      College Football, External Sports

      Ohio State squeaks by Iowa, makes final week of Big Ten season very interesting

      November 20, 2010 /
      COLUMBUS, OH - NOVEMBER 13: Cameron Heyward of the Ohio State Buckeyes chases after quarterback Matt McGloin of the Penn State Nittany Lions at Ohio Stadium on November 13, 2010 in Columbus, Ohio. (Photo by Jamie Sabau/Getty Images)

      Ohio State has yet to be overly impressive in any of its wins this season. But the Buckeyes are simply getting things done when they need to. Their 20-17 win today over Iowa keeps it a three-team jumble atop the Big Ten standings, as they’re tied with Michigan State and Wisconsin.

      The Buckeyes play host to rival Michigan in a game they should win. Michigan State goes on the road against Penn State in a game that all of the sudden looks very dangerous for the Spartans. Wisconsin, meanwhile, plays at home against a Northwestern team that has proven to be dangerous at times.

      Against Iowa, it was the Ohio State defense that stepped up when it needed to, especially on the last drive of the game. The Buckeyes may have committed a pass interference penalty on the first play of the drive — OK, they did and it was missed — but the next three plays they were able to get good pressure on Ricky Stanzi from their defensive line, and maintain great coverage downfield. The big play was Cameron Heyward’s sack of Stanzi on third down, which forced a fourth-and-21, which Iowa came two yards short on.

      Some praise needs to be heaped on the Buckeyes quarterback, as well. Terrelle Pryor may still throw an interception at a bad time. He may still miss an open receiver. But right now, he’s making the plays Ohio State needs him to to win football games.

      Pryor had a huge fourth-down scramble late in the fourth quarter to keep Ohio State’s go-ahead drive alive today against Iowa. Perhaps more impressive, he did it one play after Devier Posey dropped a sure touchdown pass — he also evaded the officials when he took his helmet off on the field after the play, which should have made it fourth and 25 instead of fourth and 10, but I digress.

      The bottom line is that three teams still have a shot at the Big Ten’s Rose Bowl berth, meaning three games will be very important next week.

      College Football, External Sports

      Michigan State survives scare, remains in contention for Big Ten title

      November 20, 2010 /
      EVANSTON, IL - OCTOBER 23: Mark Dell of the Michigan State Spartans scores a touchdown in front of Justan Vaughn of the Northwestern Wildcats at Ryan Field on October 23, 2010 in Evanston, Illinois. Michigan State defeated Northwestern 35-27. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)

      It took a fat-guy fumble recovery in the endzone to do it (yes, technically the touchdown was given to Kirk Cousins, but my way is more fun), but Michigan State survived a surprising scare from Purdue today to remain alongside Wisconsin and (for the moment) Ohio State as the only one-loss teams in the Big Ten.

      The Spartans fell behind 28-13 and 31-20 in this one before making a fourth-quarter comeback. It was aided by an ugly Rob Henry interception and a blocked punt, but it still counts.

      Michigan State now goes into next week’s game at Penn State looking to lock up a share of the Big Ten title for the first time since 1988. If Ohio State loses today or at Michigan, the Spartans would have the tie-breaker in the conference over Wisconsin (head-to-head) and get the Big Ten’s automatic bid to a BCS game. If all three teams win out, the team with the highest ranking in the BCS will get the bid. It’s dumb, but that’s how the conference’s rule works.

      What makes it even more dumb is that unlike in 2008, when Texas, Oklahoma and Texas Tech were had all beaten each other and needed the BCS to sort out the Big 12 South, this year, Michigan State doesn’t have a loss to one of the other two.

      The Spartans beat Wisconsin by 10 early in the season, and their one loss is to Iowa, who is not involved in this mess. Ohio State, meanwhile, lost to Wisconsin. So technically, head-to-head should go Michigan State’s way, right? Considering they don’t have a head-to-head loss like the other two.

      I’m not saying the Spartans are the most deserving, necessarily, as I think it’s pretty clear that Wisconsin is playing the best football in the Big Ten right now. But those two did meet on the field, and Michigan State did win that game.

      Should it shake out with all three teams winning out, it should make for a fun debate on Dec. 5 when all of this is decided.

      College Football, External Sports

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