There’s only one more game left college football fans, the annual heated rivalry between Army and Navy. You should tune in at some point this weekend…if you don’t you’re probably not a patriotic American.
I finished week fourteen with a successful 8-5 record, which now leaves me hoping that Notre Dame will be sporting that record come late afternoon New Year’s Eve.
Before we move on to some business with bowl season, let’s take a look back at the last full week of games.
Losses
*West Virginia put a hurting on Rutgers, and let it be known that they are probably the best team in the Big East despite not getting the conferences’ automatic bid into a BCS bowl. I watched a little bit of this game and I can’t stress how mediocre Rutgers is right now…do you hear me Savon Huggins!!
*I thought Cincinnati was going to have an advantage against Pitt on their home turf, but that was until a snowstorm came though the Queen City. That basically turned it into a contest of who could run the ball better and the Panthers naturally won that battle, along with the game.
I think Pitt is right up there as one of the better teams at 7-5, or not ranked, or whatever you want to call them. They lost to Utah in overtime, to Miami, to Notre Dame, Connecticut and West Virginia. Five losses are never great, but you could do a lot worse.
Meanwhile, Cincinnati finishes 4-8 (2-5 in conference play) in season one of the post-Brian Kelly era. Should Notre Dame fans feel guilty?
*Boise State naturally crushed Utah State, but just didn’t do enough to cover. I may or may not have thrown a remote through the window when I saw how close this came to a victory for my overall record.
*Oklahoma kept Nebraska at bay and took home Bob Stoops’ seventh Big 12 championship, but the Sooners also didn’t cover. This one hurt too…Oklahoma should have put some more points on the board.
*I underestimated Connecticut, as almost everyone in the Big East did late in the season. The Huskies didn’t impress, but did enough to get by USF on the road. Remember when all those college football fans foamed at the mouth when two-loss Notre Dame teams went to BCS bowls? How do they feel about 8-4 UCONN?
Wins
*Fresno State played well against a scrappy Illinois team and pulled an upset, although I thought the Bulldogs should have been favored. But what do I know?
*Nevada dispatched Louisiana Tech in a game that had far too small of a spread as far as I’m concerned. The Wolf Pack just beat Boise State and they’re not even going to be favored by double digits against Louisiana Tech? C’mon!
*The Civil War was entertaining for a while, but then the Oregon Ducks sealed their ticket to the BCS title game. Oregon State had a pretty rough year, but did pick up some quality victories and played perhaps the nation’s toughest schedule.
*Auburn had control of the game against South Carolina right from the finish, but a Hail Mary to end the first half killed the Gamecocks and the Auburn Cam Newtons cruised to victory and an upcoming appearance in the title game.
*In the intense Apple Cup rivalry, Jake Locker and the Washington Huskies defeated their in-state rival Wazzu and punched a ticket for a rematch with Nebraska in a bowl game. That should be fun!
*Florida State wouldn’t roll over and die, but Virginia Tech had its way with the Seminoles, completing an undefeated sweep of the ACC after losing to James Madison earlier in the season. You have to love that ACC football.
*Hawaii went on another offensive rampage and covered that enormous spread against UNLV. I was hesitant to pick the Warriors here, but they did me right.
*And finally, USC piled up the rushing yards and beat city rival UCLA by a couple touchdowns, ending year one of the Lane Kiffin/Probation era for the Trojans. If you’re anything like me, you probably can’t wait for the second chapter of that book to start.
Last Week: 8-5
Overall: 88-90
So close to .500 that I can taste it.
That means I’m going to have to gear up for the bowl season and dominate like I was paid to go to Auburn a Heisman trophy finalist.
Have no fear, I will get there before the end of the season.
Next week, I’ll have picks for the first week of bowl games. Until then, enjoy the weekend off from this great sport, unless you plan on watching the Army-Navy game as a proud and patriotic American.