.260 Hitters

Last weekend might have not been the most exciting college football weekend ever, but the results of some games certainly will have a dramatic effect on the BCS bowl landscape. It’s always too soon to start predicting who will go where, since one little field goal can change everything, but some teams are certainly in great shape to play in January.

Let’s start with the Texas / TCU discussion. Both are undefeated. Both have beaten ranked teams. Texas is No. 3 in the BCS standings, TCU is No. 4. To date, Texas has played two ranked teams: a No. 20 Oklahoma (now unranked) 16 – 13 and a No. 14 Oklahoma State 41 – 14. TCU beat No. 16 BYU (now No. 22) 38 – 7 and a No. 16 Utah 55 – 28. While Texas fans get excited about their chances in January, there’s little doubt that some question marks exist, as many wonder which Texas team will show up on any given Saturday. With that, if you have $10,000 to bet on Texas v. TCU at a neutral site, where would your money go? The question isn’t as easy to answer as you think.

Jim Harbaugh, Michigan man turned Spartan slayer, took his Cardinal (it’s so weird not calling them “the Cardinals”) into the Coliseum and whipped some Trojan … er … butt. Funny how a 55 – 21 throttling on the road only gets you ranked one place higher than the team you vanquished, even with identical overall records. Oh the snobbery and resistance shown by voters in believing anyone is better than USC, including the three teams that have beaten them this year. “Nerds v. spoiled children” was how the game was described to me … and the nerds won.

Mr. Harbaugh, however, likely will have some decisions to make while his name is floating around the top of the proverbial list and sources have revealed that Rich Rod will be soon out of work. Shocking, I know, but as an 8 – 4 season morphed into a 5 – 7 finish, the “powers that be” seem to have had enough of his smug “It’s my way or the highway” ‘tude – especially when his way is 5 – 7. I heard WVU is looking for a new coach.

Speaking of looking for a new coach, that same birdie said Charlie my man Weis is on the same chopping block. After back-to-back losses to Navy and Pitt, and 2009 powerhouse Stanford remaining on the schedule, assistant coaches everywhere are dusting off the ole resume and converting to Catholicism, hoping to land a similar deal to the $18 million payout Charlie will get when he’s canned. Say what you will about his coaching, the man can negotiate a contract!

Back to football … it took Ohio State an overtime period at home to finally knock-off Iowa’s fourth-string team. With as many injuries as the Hawkeyes have suffered this year, it was amazing they even had enough players to field 11 on each side of the ball, but field they did, and stuck it too the Buckeyes for four quarters despite somewhere in the neighborhood of 15 dropped passes and three turnovers. But with the win comes another Buckeye Big Eleven title (assuming a win over Michigan, which we all know about assumptions, so let’s just call it a probable event), and a trip to the Rose Bowl to play … Oregon?

Oregon, oh Oregon, one day you are pathetic, then you’re hot. Next you’re horrific, then you’re unstoppable. What is your magic potion that you forget to take half of the time? Home Field Advantage, that’s what. The Duck’s Autzen stadium is a madhouse. Being cooped up inside for 11 months a year or deciding to chain yourselves together to save a tree that provides your father’s livelihood (and the clothes on your back) must result in a lot of pent-up aggression (no pun intended, Blount) that Duck fans unleash once they are lined up in a row (pun totally intended) and the game begins. Every big win the Ducks have had (three ranked teams) have been at home, while both losses, also against ranked teams, happened on the road. Good for the fans, bad for the bowl season.

Want to see a team that could win out and play in a BCS bowl game? God help me for saying this… Okie Lite. Good lord, what would a BCS stadium do with all that camouflage? The Cowboys are riding a 8 – 2 record (sorry, I can’t help the play on words today, it’s more a curse than a gift), with Colorado and Oklahoma left on the schedule. Win out and a 10 – 2 record could very well land them in the Fiesta Bowl. Granted there’s a lot of football still to play, and they aren’t a lock by any stretch, but this is probably the closest they’ve even been to January football.

TCU should win out and will play in the Sugar bowl (sad). Boise State may very well get an at large bid as well, though it doesn’t deserve it. Cincinnati has been entirely overlooked in all of this (it IS undefeated you know) and the Big East is rated higher than the Big 12 this year (deservingly so). Let’s not forget Pitt. That’s “9 – 1 Pitt” to you.

In games that have actually been played, Southern Carolina made a game of it against Florida, but to no avail. Alabama did its thing against Mississippi State. Texas took care of business in the first half against Baylor, and TCU made an example of Utah (wow, that was a beat down). Georgia Tech crushed Duke, Boise ran all over potato brethren Idaho, USC got spanked by Stanford (already discussed), and now I have to talk about Ohio State again after Iowa failed to keep them at bay.

Now for the fun part (at least for me). Below is my BCS bowl selection show. Yeah it’s early, and will likely change, but this is mostly who I would like to see play based on today’s standings if there was no change once the season ends.

BCS Title Game
Florida v. Texas

Rose Bowl
Oregon v. Ohio State

Orange Bowl
Cincinnati v. Oklahoma State

Sugar Bowl
Bama v. TCU

Fiesta Bowl
Georgia Tech v. Boise State

Pitt doesn’t get a BCS bowl since they’ll rack up their second loss at the end of the year against Cincinnati — and teams that lose their last game don’t get at-large BCS picks. I’d give anything for Boise to lay a goose egg and not get a good bowl; they haven’t done anything to deserve it except for beat up San Jose State.

And boldest prediction of this year’s BCS bowl season … I can guarantee you that Oklahoma won’t lose a BCS bowl this year. (You heard it here first, folks!)