, Coaches Corner (0/2) , Howtos (0/10) , Inside Deventer Devils (0/28) , Jack6s RZA Guide (0/21) , News (0/631) , Rumours (0/0) , Stories (0/4) , Top25 Rankings (0/22) 2024-12-10 14:02
And we have new Conference Champions!
For details read the reviews. Hehe.
The BLOCK OF GRANITE TOP GAMES FOR WEEK 15
Sat. Dez 7
ACC CHAMPIONSHIP GAME
#17 Clemson vs #8 SMU
The 1st half was a disaster for SMU, starting with a fumble on the 1st drive, having later an INT thrown, and a field goal missed, while their defense was unable to keep Clemson from scoring.
The consequences were, Clemson did lead at the half, 24:7.
SMU came into the game during the 3rd quarter, scoring a TD, still allowed a TD by Clemson and then on a drive, which carried over into the 4th, SMU finally did wake up and scored again.
Down by 10 the team did feel they still have a chance.
They stopped Clemson, did still struggle on offense, but scored a field goal a bit later, mid of the 4th quarter.
Clemson now under pressure, forced to punt and SMU active, made a loooong drive over the field and with 16 ticks left, scored a game tying TD.
And then is all fell apart for the Mustangs with 3 plays!
The 1st was a great return on the kickoff. I don't know why they did not kick it different, but the deep kick was returned for 41 yards.
Then the 2nd play, a deep pass with a 17-yard gain.
And with 3 ticks left, the Tigers kicked on the 3rd play a 56 yarder (and it could have been even a 60-yarder) to win the game, the title and the ticket to the playoffs.
I'm not sure, whether Clemson had a great game, or SMU had one of the worst of the season.
As it looks like, SMU can only blame this on themselves.
#17 Clemson 34 vs #8 SMU 31 -> Jacks TOP GAMES Score: 34-13
BIG10 CHAMPIONSHIP GAME
#3 Penn State vs #1 Oregon
This game started with an offense firework you do not see very often.
The Ducks were unstoppable, and the Lions were at first unable to counter this big time, still managed to keep in touch.
At the half, the Ducks did lead 31:24.
Penn State came out of the locker and missed a field goal on their 1st drive, while the Ducks did score again and forces Penn State again in catch-up mode.
The speed on drives and scoring did slow down in that 3rd quarter and gained again some speed in the 4th, but the key adjustment for the Lions to turn this game towards their favor, did never happen.
Whenever Penn State did come closer, Oregon did cover it and scored or they were so far ahead, they were able to just wait for their next chance.
With 2 minutes left to play and Oregon forced to punt, Penn State had their last chance, down by just 8.
But 2 plays later the ball was intercepted, and the Ducks did ride their 1st BIG10 title home as #1 team in the country.
This game was closer, than I did expect it, but it did turn out mostly as I expected to happen with Penn State forced to play a game they are not equipped to play.
Most surprising for me was, that they were able to score that much and to stay in the game so long.
#3 Penn State 37 vs #1 Oregon 45 -> Jacks TOP GAMES Score: 35-13
BIG-12 CHAMPIONSHIP GAME
#16 Iowa State vs #15 Arizona State
That game I did actually watch in 1st half, and it was brutal to see, how bad Iowa States lines did play.
In the 1st quarter it was all good and the game was equally set, but in the 2nd quarter it became visible, that ASU was able to adjust small stuff and make a difference, while ISU was not, and their line became weaker and weaker.
That did result on offense in a bad running game and a bad QB protection, while on defense the line did not create enough pressure to limit the Sun Devils rushing attack and gave often also the QB too much time to pass.
Arizona State lead at the half, 24:10 and that did still look manageable for the Cyclones, but the 2nd half was so bad and error prone, that you had to ask yourself, why the team did make the game.
With 3 turnovers in that 2nd half, you cannot come back from 14 difference.
Main difference at the end was the ASU running game, which was unstoppable or better to say, the Cyclones were unable to tackle the RB, who gained 170 yards with an average of 10.6 per carry.
Arizona State wins the BIG-12 and a ticket to the playoffs in their 1st season inside the BIG-12.
#16 Iowa State 19 vs #15 Arizona State 45 -> Jacks TOP GAMES Score: 36-13
SEC CHAMPIONSHIP GAME
#5 Georgia vs #2 Texas
A real thriller, some will say, a modern classic.
A very defense driven game, not much did happen in the 1st half on the scoreboard, just on the field.
Texas started with an INT, but came away with no harm, did score a field goal a bit later and Georgia had to punt.
Texas did again score a field goal and this time Georgia did the same, allowed again some movement to the Longhorns, but this time the kick did miss the uprights.
They did again miss the uprights a bit later.
Then both teams did accomplish not much until the half, Texas leading 6:3.
Georgia came out of the locker room and scored a TD, creating pressure on Texas, but it stayed a defense driven game.
A bit later did Texas miss another FG, and Georgia did kick a field goal to lead 13:6.
A drive, which did lead into the 4th quarter, was capped by Texas with a TD to tie the game at 13.
And Georgia did answer a few drives later with a field goal to take the lead, slowly eating the clock away.
Texas went out and tried to respond but was intercepted.
Georgia now with a gifted field position did ... throw an INT on their own and Texas got the ball back!
This time they went over the field, did eat the clock away and scored a game tying field goal with 18 ticks left to play.
The game went to overtime and Texas got the ball 1st but was held to another field goal.
Now Georgia on the move, came close the endzone and at the end, run it in for a TD, the Championship and a playoff ticket.
Texas came up short in their 1st SEC season, while Georgia did luckily made it into the game and won it all.
#5 Georgia 22 vs #2 Texas 19 -> Jacks TOP GAMES Score: 36-14
And some other interesting games:
Fri. Dez 6
AAC CHAMPIONSHIP GAME
Tulane @ #24 Army
I did expect that Tulane would pick apart Army, but their offense was ineffective and error prone.
But worse, their defense was non-existing against that option offense of Army. Why?
I don't know.
Army did throw only for 17 yards and the rest was just rushing. Still did Tulane allow almost 340 yards on the ground.
Congratulation to Army, winning the AAC 35:14 on their 1st season.
They will have to play Navy next and then of course they will also play a quite high-profile bowl. Could be one of the best paid bowls the team ever played in.
Jacks interesting games Score: 33-19
CUSA CHAMPIONSHIP GAME
Western Kentucky @ Jacksonville State
Oh man, Jacksonville State wanted revenge and the title.
WKU did get hammered on that rematch, one week they did beat the Gamecocks.
At the end did Jacksonville State win 52:13 and carried home the CUSA title.
Jacks interesting games Score: 34-19
MWC CHAMPIONSHIP GAME
#20 UNLV @ #10 Boise State
In this game was much less offense fire power than I did expect.
Boise State won at home clearly the Mountain West and earned a playoff spot, but the score of 21:7 was a bit disappointing.
Jacks interesting games Score: 35-19
Sat. Dez 7
MAC CHAMPIONSHIP GAME
Ohio vs Miami (OH)
Here I have to say, congratulation to Ohio winning this game in such a way.
Miami was basically a non-factor on the field and Ohio did dominate the game after the first 2 drives.
Miami scored a field goal at the start then it was all Ohio until the final score of 38:3.
Ohio won the MAC, the first time since 1968!
Jacks interesting games Score: 35-20
SBC CHAMPIONSHIP GAME
Marshall @ Louisiana
And another surprising finish on a season.
Marshall, with all the troubles during the season did dominate Louisiana, who did more or less cruise to this game.
The Cajuns did not stand a single chance here, starting, similar to Miami (OH) in the MAC, with a field goal and then stopped playing until the game was over and Marshall won the SBC, 31:3.
Their 1st Sun Belt title, since they switched conference for 2022.
Jacks interesting games Score: 35-21
So, those are the results.
Because of the result inside the ACC and the BIG-12, the discussion was big, who would be in and who would be out. And who gets a 1st round bye. SMU was highly ranked PRIOR the loss to Clemson, which were not that high ranked, and several of the teams NOT playing were waiting, whether they might slip into the mix, or not.
The BIG-12 did see themselves on a bye week in 1st round, as did Boise State and of course Clemson as ACC champ had also a case.
The committee made their final round and came up with the following rankings:
The BIG10 kept the 1st place with Oregon winning the conference and Penn State was not punished too hard by losing against the #1 team in a close game. #1 Oregon, #4 Penn State, #6 Ohio State and #8 Indiana.
At #20 was now Illinois put in, but that is for the playoffs irrelevant.
The SEC was of course adjusted, thanks to Georgias title. #2 Georgia, #3 Texas, #7 Tennessee and #11 Alabama became the relevant teams, but for Alabama there was still a surprise waiting.
#14 Ole Miss, #15 South Carolina and #19 Missouri became irrelevant.
Notre Dame dropped without any game playing a spot to #5, but they get any way only an at-large-spot.
The ACC was the big question mark after the loss of SMU.
At the end did the committee drop SMU to #10 and lifted Clemson to #16. But Clemson had a spot guaranteed, so that means at least 1 team from the top 12 would be left out, maybe even 2. Now the BIG-12 rankings became important for Alabama and for Boise State and Clemson regarding the 1st round bye.
At #13 was Miami sorted in, out of the playoffs for sure and #21 Syracuse did also rise by 1.
The Mountain West was won by Boise State, and they got raised to #9, which means they will have a 1st round bye as 3rd best conference champ.
At #24 was UNLV put, now only relevant for some bowl seatings.
The BIG-12 did know, their champ would be in regardless the ranking, but of course they wanted a 1st round bye. At the end was Arizona State ranked at #12, which did give them a 1st-round bye as 4th best conference champ and did also seal the fate of Alabama at #11 to be out of the playoffs. I will explain it in detail a bit later.
The other BIg-12 teams in the rankings are #17 BYU. #18 Iowa State and #23 Colorado.
Army did win the American, but was only raised to #22 in the ranks, not going to the playoffs, and Memphis stayed at #25.
Oregon, Georgia, Boise State and Arizona State were ranked highest as conference champs and did get a 1st round bye. That means they will play their next match in some bowls against the winners of 4 non-bowl games defining the 1st round, played on the homefield of the highest ranked teams in that matchup.
Clemson as 5th conference champ did get a seat, even as #16.
The other 7 seats were given to the 7 highest ranked at-large-teams, Texas, Penn State, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Tennessee, Indiana and SMU. Alabama at #11 drops out, since there is no more space left.
Of course, there were big discussions on whether that set of teams is fair, right or wrong, the best or not. But there is no help. The easiest way to get in the playoffs was always to win. But there are more issues at stake here. Assuming they would have put Alabama (or any other not playing team) in the playoffs and pushed SMU out, it would mean, that SMU would have been better off NOT playing for the championship game and just stay put to stay at #8 to #10 and not getting punished losing in that game. Likely they did not want that to happen.
Remember, last season did Alabama get the shot in the 4-team-playoff-format over a perfect FSU team, which was then ranked #5 and fell apart.
Are the 12 best or strongest teams in the playoffs?
Likely not.
But it gives several teams a legit chance to win, including Boise State and SMU, while it leaves some likely stronger teams out, like Alabama and Ole Miss.
I personally like that teams from such conferences now have a better chance to at least compete, while in the past they never had a chance at all.
In the old world of the BCS (just a national championship game), we would see Oregon vs Georgia. I don't think we would have a lot of arguing this season over that matchup, but still a bit with Georgia having 2 losses and Notre Dame only having 1. Nobody would pay attention to Boise State, who did lose only against Oregon by a few points and did beat everybody else. No chance for them.
In the 4-team-playoffs, we would see Oregon vs Penn State and Georgia vs Texas again, even I think they would have tweaked the ranking to have a cross conference matchup. There would be ranting from Notre Dame over the 5th place and also here, nobody would think about giving Boise State a shot.
NOW they have a shot and a really good one, too.
Will they win their game (it will be against Penn State or SMU)? Maybe, or maybe not. But they will have a chance to prove they are legit. A chance they did not have since introduction of the BCS system.
And if the price for that is, that some teams, who lost a few more games on a tougher schedule, are left out, I think that is worth the price.
Bottom line for me is, if you want to win championships, win games. If BYU would have won all games to the championship game, they would have been in. If Alabama would have won all games, they would have played for the SEC championship and they would have been in the playoffs.
Same for Miami, if they wouldn’t have dropped 2 games in the last few weeks, they would have been in.
I will preview the games, when they come up. They will be played during bowl game period, even they are not really bowl games.
That in the box, we shift towards coached news.
Ball State did hire a new coach, Mike Uremovich. Uremovich did serve as HC of Butler the past 3 seasons, 23-11 overall and a high at 9-3 this season, but no playoff spot in the FCS. Prior to that he was the HC at a JUCO St. Francis for 7 seasons, after which he started getting better paid jobs as position and coordinator coach on FBS and FCS level. Ball State will be a rebuilding job, I hope he gets the time needed.
Joe Harasymiak was hired by UMass to coach the team for the next season. Harasymiak was the past 3 seasons the DC of Rutgers and prior to that of Minnesota. He is under 40, so quite young compared to the majority of the HCs. UMass will join the MAC (again) in 2025 and the new HC will have a lot of work to do, to make the team a winner.
Fresno State did hire the USC Assistant HC/LB coach Matt Entz to become their next HC. Entz was prior the USC job the HC of North Dakota State and won the National Championship with the team twice and has a HC on FCS level of 60-11. Fresno State did struggle this season and the new coach will have to restore the program fast.
At least for me surprising was the hiring by Charlotte, who got Tim Albin, no former HC of Ohio. For me that came out of nowhere, since Albin is only 4 seasons at Ohio, successful (33-19, conference championship this season), he got an extension last season and Charlotte does not look much like an upgrade to me. But Charlotte did move to the AAC and should now by able to spend more money on the HC than a MAC school. Likely a good hire, but he will have a lot of work to do at Charlotte.
Utah State did not wait long and hired Bronco Mendenhall away from New Mexico. Mendenhall has deep roots to the state of Utah, since he was the HC of BYU for a longer period. He just 1 season at New Mexico and had not moved much there. But when he was hired at Virginia a few seasons ago, the program became a competitor in a few seasons. So Utah State found likely a good fit here.
Southern Miss made a good hire by getting Charles Huff, the now former HC of Marshall. He was the HC of Marshall for 4 seasons and his contract was running out, which does not happen very often. Bad timing for the school, Huff had the best season of his career this season and won the conference. Likely the team wanted to prolong the contract NOW (last season the record was 6-7 and prolongation talks were stalled or not even initiated with having in mind to get rid of him cheaply), but Huff did get an (better) offer from Southern Miss and he will coach the competitor of Marshall from now onwards. Huff record at Marshall was 32-20 overall.
But, maybe the whole theory is rubbish and Marshall had their successor already in place, because when Huff went to Southern Miss, Marshall did present Tony Gibson, the former DC of NC State, as new HC. He takes over a championship team.
And another hire, now by Tulsa, hiring Tre Lamb, former HC of Gardner-Webb and East Tennessee State, both FCS. He won the conference with Gardner-Webb twice and just got the gig at ETS, so that can't be judged deeply.
Central Michigan was searching for their new HC, after their old decided to retire, and found Matt Drinkall, the so far OL-coach of Army. He was a HC in the past before, but only on JUCO Level, his record is there, 42-17. He takes over a Team, which went through several good and bad seasons under the past HC. The program did lack regular bowl participation and main focus on such a school is the compare to Eastern Michigan and Western Michigan and also of course a good result inside the MAC. The last 3 seasons was the Michigan-MAC-Trophy not won by CMU.
A surprising hire came from Central Florida, who decided to hire the current L.A. Rams Analyst and former Nebraska and UCF HC Scott Frost. Frost was 2 seasons with UCF and gave them a perfect Season in his 2nd season, which led to a claimed National Championship in that season (2017). His stint at Nebraska lasted 4+ seasons and was a disaster. He never was able to turn the performance of the team around and got fired early in his 5th season. It will be interesting to see, what he can do at UCF now, which had a very bad season inside the BIG-12.
Florida International found their guy in Willie Simmons, the former RB coach of Duke and also former HC of 2 FCS Teams, winning a conference championship in 2023. FIU is a rough place to coach, expectations are usually quite high, but the results of the past few coaches were bad, including proven coaches.
Appalachian State made quite a splash to get their new HC by hiring South Carolinas OC Dowell Loggains. The Name itself is not a big Splash, since this is his 1st HC stint ever, but South Carolina seems to be on the rise and Loggains is since 2 seasons the OC and a Major factor on that rise, so getting him away from the Gamecocks can only mean, the guy seeks a HC opportunity which brings him further up the ladder. The expectations at App State are high, the program is used to win, a lot.
Purdue found their guy by hiring Barry Odom away from UNLV. Odom was once the HC of Missouri but failed there. Later he was hired at UNLV for 2023 and guided the team twice to the championship game in 2023 and 2024 but lost to Boise in both seasons. Now he has to turn Purdue around, which will be a tough cookie.
And as last info, Oklahoma States HC Mike Gundy agreed to a contract restructuring, including a pay cut, after his 3-9 season with the Cowboys, his worst ever in 20 seasons with the team. According to the school the talks were planned anyway to make financial room for player payments to keep the program competitive inside the BIG-12. Gundy did already fire his coordinators and will have to make a big makeover on the team to not facing such a bad season again.
If I'm not wrong, schools searching for a new HC are New Mexico, North Carolina, West Virginia, Sam Houston State, Ohio and UNLV.
Which leaves us with the traditional lone game on this weekend, the ARMY-NAVY-GAME.
The BLOCK OF GRANITE TOP GAMES FOR WEEK 16
Sat. Dec 14
Navy @ #22 Army
Played this season in the stadium of the Washington Commanders as neutral site, both teams did enjoy a quite successful season.
Especially Army, which joined the American Athletic Conference this season, the conference of Navy, did at least for me surprisingly win the most games during the season inside the conference and went to the conference championship game.
Even more surprising they did win big inside the Championship game and will now face as AAC champ Navy, who did have a good, but not very good season inside the AAC.
Both teams did already qualify for a bowl game.
Army did win the Commander-In-Chief-Trophy last season and the winner of this game here will take home the price as real winner, not because of that 'shared' use case.
Navy and Army both did top Air Force, so the winner here will have 2 wins and gets the shiny trophy.
The series Army-Navy has so far 124 games and Navy leads, 62-55- - 7, including losing the past 2 years.
Based on the season results is Army of course favored to win, by 6.5 points.
With the type of game they did show in the championship game, they could even win against much stronger opponents, but they did also lose big against Notre Dame.
Lucky for them, Navy did lose even bigger against the Irish and by that logic, Army should be able have a close game and even win this game here.
The rest is up to the players and coaches, such a rivalry game can't be picked, it can only be guessed and afterwards you were right or wrong.
This season I pick Army to win it all.
Black Knights win.
Which brings me to the upcoming bowls, which start suddenly on the same day as Army-Navy? That’s not fair and good.
Not fair to me preparing all that stuff and not fair to Army-Navy, who wanted always an exclusive gameday.
Not good, since it (from my point of view) lowers the value of both games on the day. Army-Navy is NOT a bowl and you might think ‘oh, some unimportant game is also played’ and on the other hand you might think ‘Oh, that bowl must be shit, since it is played in parallel to the national wide Army-Navy game’.
This season is the 1st to have the 12-team-playoff format and we have again 41 bowl games on FBS level plus the 42nd one to be the National Championship game.
BUT ... this season, because of the new playoff format, more bowls are filled with winners of other bowls.
Last season, only the National Championship game was filled by winners of bowls (the semi-finales, which were Rose Bowl and Sugar Bowl), but this season we have 1st round games for the playoffs, which are NOT bowl games, then quarterfinals, which are Bowl games (Fiesta Bowl, Peach Bowl, Rose Bowl and Sugar Bowl) and the winners of those will advance to the semi-finales (Orange Bowl and Cotton Bowl) and of course the winners of those will advance to the National Championship game.
That means, 2 Bowls drop out of the pre-selection phase (when the spots are filled, usually after the conference championship game week) and that means, only 39 bowls will get selected teams, equals 78 teams (last season it was 82).
That did lead to less voodoo-magic to fill all the spots.
Last season we had teams which were not eligible to play, because of transition phase from FCS to FBS (Jacksonville State and James Madison) playing in a bowl, because spots were still open. And we had a team not eligible to play, because it had only 5 wins (Minnesota), because of a spot still open and having the best academic progress rate (APR).
This season we have actually 82 Teams eligible, but only 78 spots to be filled.
BUT ... one thing I did not had in mind is, that teams selected to play in the 1st round matches will NOT play in any other bowl, which opens up regular bowl spots for the other teams.
To make this more confusing, of those 8 teams then 4 teams WILL block regular bowl games spots, since the winner will play in the quarterfinals.
Hence, only 4 spots are more available than I thought, which means, ALL 82 eligible teams this season will play in a bowl and no one is not invited.
Damn, that gets complicated.
The FIRST SET OF BOWLs from next Saturday, 14th to Thursday, 19th of December.
Saturday, December 14
2024 IS4S Salute to Veterans Bowl
South Alabama vs Western Michigan
@Cramton Bowl, Montgomery, Alabama
A renamed bowl, until last season known as Camellia Bowl. It had several naming sponsors since it was started in 2014, but so far always the Camellia inside the name, but starting this season, the Camellia is gone.
It features usually Sun Belt vs MAC and so far only in 2020 did the Sun Belt not send a team to this bowl.
The bowl is owned by ESPN and is played on the field for the FCS Kickoff in Alabama.
The Sun Belt has a 5-4 record here, the MAC is 4-4, thanks to last seasons win, and CUSA is 1-2.
South Alabama had a up-and-down-season inside the Sun Belt.
They came close to a win against Arkansas State, did then beat so far unbeaten ULM, lost to Georgia Southern a week later and gave then a week later Championship-participant Louisiana their 1st loss of the season, while losing on season final against Texas State.
Overall did the Jaguars record a 6-6 Season, mainly, because they last 3 of 4 non-conference games.
Western Michigan did look like a hot Team inside the MAC, starting 4-0, but lost then 3 in a row afterwards and finished with a win against Eastern Michigan to become bowl eligible.
Their non-conference record is also 3-1, but to be fair, their opponents were a bit tougher overall than USAs ones.
Still, I lean towards the Jaguars here, who did show they can win against tough opponents, while Western Michigan did not beat any bigger contender inside their conference.
Vegas has South Alabama also ahead by 7.5 Points, which is quite some stuff.
In Bowls, everything can happen, but I expect USA to be prepared and ready, when they play an almost-home game, while the Michigan team has to come south.
Jaguars win.
Tuesday, December 17
Scooter's Coffee Frisco Bowl
West Virginia vs Memphis
@Toyota Stadium, Frisco, Texas
Founded in 2017 as American Athletic Conference Bowl against an at-large-team, the bowl did strip down in the past 2 seasons and did seek any matchup between Group of 5 teams.
Even it was planned to have an American Athletic Team each season, only on the 1st year, 2017, and last season, 2023, a team from the American did participate, beside that and most of the time a team from the Mountain West was in it. They have a record of 2-2. Conference USA is 2nd with a record of 1-2, thanks to last season’s loss.
But oh wonder, this season again a Team from the AAC was selected and on top a power-4 Team from the BIG-12.
The record of the AAC is 1-1, the BIG-12 did never play in this.
The stadium is a soccer stadium for a MLS team from Dallas.
My gut Feeling is, Memphis will eat West Virginia alive.
West Virginia did barely make the 6-6, finished with a loss at season end, won more or less only against bad teams lost to all stronger ones. The Team did also fire their HC and runs on Interims Management.
Memphis on the other hand is 10-2, and did only not play in the AAC Championship game, because they lost on the road against Navy and UTSA, with the last one being the worst loss. The team did compensate the loss against ranked Tulane (later AAC Championship participant) by Winning against them to give them their 1st loss and taking away the homefield advantage in the Championship game (which might have result in the loss of Tulane against Army for the AAC title).
Vegas? Has Memphis ahead by 4.5 Points. Not that much.
The Interims HC of the Mountaineers is the key factor.
If he, as new coach, different coach, can motivate the team and bring them together, West Virginia will likely outperform Memphis by a lot, since the power-4-talent should be good.
But if the Team performs as before (or worse), Memphis should win here.
I think Memphis has a good chance and I'm following my gut feeling.
Tigers win.
Wednesday, December 18
2024 Boca Raton Bowl
Western Kentucky vs James Madison
@FAU Stadium, Boca Raton, Florida
A bowl since 2014 it's a game between always new negotiated conference tie ins, usually for 2 seasons.
This season again we should have any Group of 5 team or Army in it, but usually the grab what they can get.
It's played on the home field of the Florida Atlantic Owls.
Since the tie-in did shift over the seasons, there were a lot of teams from different conferences in it.
The unbelievable streak of the CUSA with 6 wins in 6 appearances still stands.
Last year did the American finally get their 1st win in this bowl and are now 1-4.
Western Kentucky will have the pressure to Keep the CUSA streak alive, but the 8-5 Teams does face one of the toughest Teams from the Sun Belt, James Madison, which had actually a down season with a 8-4 record.
WKU did slip into the CUSA Conference Championship game with a win at home against the leading team from Jacksonville State but did then lose against the same team in the title game big time.
James Madison was one of the favorites to lead the Sun Belt, but they lost the crucial games against contenders to fall behind and finished below their own expectations.
Vegas thinks, the Dukes will win by 7.0 Points, I think, they will win by even more, IF they are motivated to play.
I assume they want to snack at least one title, so ...
Dukes win.
Art of Sport LA Bowl Hosted by Gronk
Cal vs UNLV
@SoFi Stadium, Inglewood, California
And quite new bowl here, since 2021 and with tie-ins to Mountain West and PAC-12 (which is funny, since the PAC-12 has right now only 2 members, but contracts are contracts, right?)
So far, the naming of the bowl for whatever reason to entertainment persons (Jimmy Kimmel and Rob Gronkowski).
Of course, the stadium is the home field of the LA Rams and the LA Chargers and right now one of the most advanced stadiums in the world.
The Mountain West got their 1st loss in this bowl last season, now 2-1, while the PAC-12 got their 1st win, now 1-2.
But of course, this season we have a funny situation with a FORMER-PAC-12-team, now ACC-team, Cal and a Mountain West team.
Cal had a rough season and their transition to the ACC was much tougher than from other teams making the move (but there were also worse examples, like Stanford).
They finished 6-6, mainly because the lost a lot of games inside the ACC of which likely the loss to FSU is the worst, since FSU did finish 2-10.
UNLV had a quite good season, recorded 10-2 in the regular season, went to the MWC Championship game and lost to the favorite Boise State.
They also lost shortly afterwards their HC to Purdue.
Now under interims Management, the key to the game is likely, whether UNLV does fall apart in that situation or not.
Cal is not a good team, but good enough to give UNLV a challenge and under the gone HC I would have picked them to win here, but under the current circumstances, I think Cal has a good chance to win here.
They had an extra week to prepare and do not have that off-field-disturbance.
I expect a close game, so does Vegas, which gives Cal the nod with 2.0 points.
Golden Bears win.
Thursday, December 19
R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl
Georgia Southern vs Sam Houston
@Caesars Superdome, New Orleans, Louisiana
This exists since 2001 and is a Sun Belt vs Conference USA game.
Played in the Superdome, home of the New Orleans Saints.
The Sun Belt has a record of 12-9 in this bowl, the CUSA 8-11, thanks to the win of the CUSA team last year, making it 2 CUSA wins in a row.
Georgia Southern did drive me mad this season, since they did sit on top of the Sun Belt East division for some time and then did lose crucial games, cane back to the top and lost again.
What did make me mad was, they did not lose to the later division and conference champ, no! They did win against Marshall. They lost to Old Dominion (5-7) and Troy (4-8).
So, they shot themselves in the foot, finished 8-4 and made it into this bowl.
Sam Houston on the other hand is a 2nd year FBS teams, which did almost make it to the CUSA Championship game, but lost against the 2 Championship game participants and finished 9-3.
On paper should Georgia Southern wipe the field with Sam Houston.
Vegas thinks, they will do that with 6.0 points, which is not really wiping.
I think, if the team comes to play, they will win, big time. The team had all the potential to win the Sun Belt and had 2 bad games.
Sure, they can have another one, but that can't be projected.
Sam Houston had problems with tough teams, and Georgia Southern is a tough one, of they want to be one.
Eagles win.
That's it for the 1st set of Bowl games.
'Til next time
Jack6 on BLOCK OF GRANITE
Tags: Block of Granite, News
2024-12-04 08:19
That was a fun rivalry week, at least for me.
It had the typical results, the blowouts, the close games but the favorite won and the upsets, not many did expect, but did happen.
The expectations and hopes of several teams were crushed this week, we saw tears of joy and tears of sadness.
I will start with the reviews this week, since the final standings will tell too much.
The BLOCK OF GRANITE TOP GAMES FOR WEEK 14
Fri. Nov 29
Mississippi State @ #14 Ole Miss
The 1st quarter was open and exciting, but then did Ole Miss took control of the game and pulled slowly away.
Mississippi State had their moments when you thought 'oh, when they get THIS done now, they might still stand a chance', but too many errors and a too inactive offense lead to another EGG BOWK loss by the Bulldogs.
For the Rebels, this win was a good season end, they can still dream of an outside chance to sneak into the relevant playoff rankings spots, but they need help, since they won't play the upcoming week in any of the Championship games.
Mississippi State 14 @ #14 Ole Miss 26 -> Jacks TOP GAMES Score: 32-11
Sat. Nov 30
#16 Arizona State @ Arizona
THIS was one of those rivalry games, which was no fun to watch, if you are not a fan of the Sun Devils.
The Wildcats were just awful and did ASU do whatever they liked.
The Sun Devils knew, they need to win to get into the BIG-12-Championship game and boy, did they deliver.
The DUEL IN THE DESERT ended with a 40+ margin in favor of ASU.
They DID get to the Championship game, and they HAVE a good chance to even make the playoffs, of they might lose that game.
But with that performance, they have also a good chance to win the BIG-12 in the 1st season of membership.
#16 Arizona State 49 @ Arizona 7 -> Jacks TOP GAMES Score: 33-11
Michigan @ #2 Ohio State
And here the other end of the expectation spectrum.
Ohio State had invested a ton of money to overcome their rival from Michigan and to win the BIG10.
THE GAME was a crucial one, but the path was clear.
Win and you are in. At home. End the losing streak.
Well ... an error prone Ohio State team did have their problems with Michigan. INT, sure, missed FG, why not?
At the half the game was tied at 10.
Not good, but also not bad.
Still at home, still the favorite did OSU come back on the field and sucked big time.
Michigan was unable to get something out of this, but at the end of the 4th quarter, after a lot of errors on both sides, did Michigan hit a field goal to take the lead.
Ohio State got the ball back, with 45 ticks left on the clock.
And the team was not even able to move the ball for a 1st down. At home!
All said afterwards that they know they have to win this game and they did let the fans and everyone down, but I doubt they really understand it.
You do NOT lose with that kind of team at home in that situation THE GAME.
Well, the Buckeyes will unfortune only drop a few spots in the playoff ranks and will likely still get a playoff spot they don't deserve.
For the BIG10 Championship will different teams play, and I hope that this will have an impact on the OSU ranks as well.
Michigan 13 @ #2 Ohio State 10 -> Jacks TOP GAMES Score: 33-12
#3 Texas @ #20 Texas A&M
All hyped up to be the return of the LONE STAR SHOWDOWN, but at the end it was not really interesting (at least for me).
Texas led 17:0 at the half.
Then did A&M score a defense TD to close the gap a bit and then did nothing more happen.
The A&M offense was not on the field; hence Texas had no problem to control the clock and the game.
Seriously, this was basically a semifinal for the SEC Championship game and A&M does deliver THIS?
Texas advances to the SEC Championship game well regarded, while A&M is likely not even on the playoff list anymore.
The only good thing for the A&M fans is, that was season 1 of the Elko era, so hopefully and likely, the team will become better next year.
A bowl ahead for A&M, Texas will play for the SEC and the National Championship
#3 Texas 17 @ #20 Texas A&M 7 -> Jacks TOP GAMES Score: 34-12
And some other interesting games:
Fri. Nov 29
Minnesota @ Wisconsin
This season PAUL BUNYAN'S AXE goes to Minnesota. Wisconsin needed 3 quarters to finally score something, and Minnesota was already 21:0 ahead at that point.
At the end did Minnesota win 24:7 and did by that deny the rival a bowl spot.
Jacks interesting games Score: 28-18
Georgia Tech @ #7 Georgia
The most exciting game of the gameday, at least it seems for me.
Georgia Tech came to Athens and wanted to end the 6-game-losing streak of CLEAN, OLD-FASHIONED HATE. They started strong, lead 17:0 at the half.
Georgia did wake up a bit in the 3rd quarter, 17:6.
GT scored a FG start of the 4th, Bulldogs a TD, 20:13.
When then the Yellow Jackets did strike again with a TD, several fans did start to leave the stadium, less than 6 minutes to play, 27:13 for GT at that point.
But Georgia did not give up, scored a TD, 27:20, gave GT the ball and the hero of the game, the GT QB, who did guide the team so far to THAT result, did fumble the ball and Georgia used the field position to score a game tying TD a bit later.
The game went into OT and if you are not familiar with OT rules on college football, it's not like the NFL. Each team gets the ball close to the endzone and then it counts, what the teams do score. After some iterations, only 1 try is given to score or to fail for just 2 points.
And that happened here.
The 1st OT ended with TD each, 2nd OT, TD each. Here already a kick is not allowed, and GT failed the 2-pointer, but Georgia also. Now down to forces 1-play tries the game went on to the 8th OT, at that point 42:42. GT had to play 1st and failed, and the Bulldogs went in the endzone and won 44:42.
The Bulldogs will play for the SEC next week and likely they will also play in the playoff regardless they win or lose that game.
GT will play in a bowl.
Jacks interesting games Score: 29-18
Sat. Nov 30
#5 Notre Dame @ USC
The Irish used a great 3rd quarter (21:7 in that quarter) to elevate the team away from the Trojans.
until that it was quite even, but after that quarter, USC had to play catch up and failed big time with 2 pick-six in a row in the 4th.
The Irish won 49:35 and the right to add a sticker on THE JEWELED SHILLELAGH and did make a strong case for their playoff participation.
USC will play in a bowl.
Jacks interesting games Score: 30-18
Florida @ Florida State
This was a joke.
FSU lost clearly, 11:31, but what I dislike is, that the immature kids of the Gators had to plant a flag on the logo (did happen also on other games), leading to brawls and fights.
The sport does not need such stuff.
Brag afterwards as much as you like, but don't start a fight between 100+ people for an immature joke.
The SUNSHINE SHOWDOWN did throw a bad light on Florida this week.
Jacks interesting games Score: 31-18
#15 South Carolina @ #12 Clemson
This game was fun, even the offense production was bad.
Very evenly matched did the PALMETTO BOWL get into gear in the 4th quarter, when South Carolina did score a field goal to get closer to Clemson, still trailing by 4 and then the Gamecocks were able to stop the Tigers and get the ball back, with 5 minutes to play.
South Carolina did march over the field and scored a TD with a minute left to play, taking the lead.
Clemson took the ball and marched over the field in that last minute and was already in the red zone, were in position to tie the game, but wanted to take a shot for a game winning TD and the pass was (in a great way) intercepted.
South Carolina did win, boosted their case to eventually sneak back into the relevant playoff spots and did kick Clemson deep down the playoff spots.
The only good for the Tigers on that weekend was, that because of the results of other teams inside the conference, they did sneak into the ACC Championship game and by that still have a chance for a playoff spot.
Jacks interesting games Score: 32-18
Auburn @ #13 Alabama
And the IRON BOWL, this season more the boring kind of game.
Alabama was in the lead most of the game and Auburn was unable to get something done to close the gap.
At the end did Alabama win 28:14 and will eventually sneak into the playoffs, while Auburns season is over, since they needed that win here to get to a bowl and are now 5-7.
Jacks interesting games Score: 33-18
And some more funny result of week 14:
- Akron did beat Toledo in OT, 21:14. That shows a 2-win increase to 4-8 for the Zips compared to last season, which means likely the HC in his 3rd season will get another try next year.
- Memphis finished strong and did beat AAC Championship team Tulane, 34:24. That is a big thing for Tulane, which will likely drop out of the playoff rankings now, 1 week after they did look like the might even be able to push the BIG-12 out of the playoffs in certain scenarios. Now I think it is quite certain any AAC Champ won't be higher ranked as any BIG-12 Champ (if even ranked at all) and therefore will not play in the playoffs.
- Miami (OH) did win against Bowling Green, 28:12. By that, they did seal a trip to the MAC Championship game.
- Sam Houston won against Liberty, 20:18. The game on Friday did spark likely a lot of love towards Jacksonville State from Sam Houston fans, since if the Gamecocks would have won against WKU, Sam Houston would have played for the CUSA crown, but you guess right, WKU won.
- Texas State won against South Alabama, 45:38. By that did Texas State already send Louisiana to the SEC Championship game.
- Syracuse did win against Miami, 42:38. With that upset did the Orange push Miami out of the ACC Championship game and maybe even out of the relevant playoff ranking spots. What a bad ending for Miami.
- Indiana did win the OLD OAKEN BUCKET against rival Purdue with an almost record setting 66:0 win. That did end the 3-game-winning streak of Purdue, did boost Indianas playoff case and did also seal the season for the Purdue HC, who was fired after 2 seasons.
- Boston College won against Pitt, 34:23. Both teams are already bowl eligible, but for BC it's a great result under their new HC in the 1st season.
- North Carolina State did beat rival UNC, 35:30. NC State has now won 4 in a row. After the game it was announced that the UNC HC will NOT coach in the bowl game.
- As already said, WKU did win against Jacksonville State, 19:17. And by that earned a trip to the CUSA Championship game to play again against Jacksonville State.
- Wyoming was able to beat Washington State, 15:14. Wazzu was until mid-season in the chatter to eventually getting into the playoffs as at-large-team, but 3 losses in a row will only open up a bowl spot somewhere. Wyomings season is over.
- Virginia Tech won against rival Virginia, 37:17. The Hokies can take the COMMONWEALTH CUP back home, now winning the game the 4th time in a row. Vt got a bowl spot by that win.
- Marshall did win against James Madison, 35:33 in 2OT. By that, Marshal did win the division and will play for the Sun Belt crown.
The final top teams in the conferences are:
American Athletic Conference
The Conference Championship will be played at Army, since Tulane lost their last game and are now 2nd in the standings. So, Tulane @ Army.
Atlantic Coast Conference
SMU kept winning, but Miami did stumble big time and by that did give Clemson the 2nd place in the standings.
So, SMU vs Clemson for the ACC title.
BIG-12 Conference
The leading teams did all win, so a 4-team-tie did happen.
Arizona State and Iowa State did get #1 and #2 in that tiebreaker scenario and will play for the BIG-12 title.
BYU and Colorado will only play for a bowl.
BIG10 Conference
That's to THE GAME did the BIG10 get a big shuffle.
Oregon was already set, but Ohio State did drop out and Penn State and Indiana did remain for the 2nd participant.
Here Penn State did win the tiebreaker with the cumulative opponent conference record, which means, they had a tougher schedule inside the conference that Indiana.
So, Oregon vs Penn State.
Conference USA
Jacksonville States loss to WKU in Kentucky did open up the rematch in the Championship game, WKU @ Jacksonville State.
Mid-American Conference
The MAC did finish with 2 clear 1-loss teams, so it is Miami (OH) vs Ohio for the title.
Mountain West Conference
Boise State kept winning, so did UNVL.
That results in a rematch between both teams, this time on the surf turf. UNLV @ Boise State.
Southeastern Conference
Texas did not take the chances away from them and sealed the ticket to play against the already set Georgia team.
Sun Belt Conference
Marshal won their game and the East division; Louisiana won their game and the West division.
The championship game will be played at Louisville.
That's it for the conferences.
Bowl eligible teams
5 more teams got their 6th win this weekend, which sums up now to 82 teams being bowl eligible.
Week 6: Miami, Indiana
Week 7: Army, Pittsburgh, BYU, Iowa State, Oregon, Penn State and Texas
Week 8: Clemson, Duke, SMU, Memphis, Navy, Illinois, Kansas State, UNLV, Washington State, Texas A&M, LSU, Georgia, Tennessee, Missouri, Louisiana and Notre Dame
Week 9: Tulane, Ohio State, Colorado, Sam Houston, Boise State, Alabama, Ole Miss and James Madison
Week 10: Louisville, Syracuse, Texas Tech, Arizona State, Iowa, Minnesota, Western Kentucky, UConn, Toledo, Colorado State, Vanderbilt and Georgia Southern
Week 11: Georgia Tech, TCU, Jacksonville State, Liberty, Ohio, San Jose State, South Carolina and Marshall
Week 12: East Carolina, North Carolina, Baylor, Washington, Rutgers, Miami (OH), Bowling Green, Buffalo, Northern Illinois, Texas State and Arkansas State
Week 13: South Florida, UTSA, Boston College, California, West Virginia, Michigan, USC, Nebraska, Fresno State, Arkansas, Florida, Oklahoma and South Alabama
Week 14: North Texas, NC State, Virginia Tech, Western Michigan and Coastal Carolina
Somehow did Western Michigan vanish from my list as potential teams, but they did win their 6th game this weekend.
78 bowl spots are available, and 82 teams are now here with 6 wins. That will mean, that 4 teams will be left out, usually that means some team from MAC, Sun Belt or CUSA will not get an invitation.
Based on the results of the season and because it is now end of the season for all teams with less than 6 wins, several coaches changes did happen already.
Gus Malzahn, the HC of Central Florida, did step down after 4 seasons (28-24, 4-8 this season), because he was hired by Florida State to become the OC. Likely he could have stayed at UCF, but it got hotter there for him, so this move does eventually help both parties.
Ryan Walters was fired by Purdue after 2 bad seasons (4-8 and 1-11). Prior to that he was the DC of Illinois, but it seems he was unable to do something with the Boilermakers. The heavy loss against Indiana at season finale did seal his fate.
Then there is Mike MacIntyre, who got fired at Florida International after 3 seasons, each had 4-8 as record. MacIntyre had some success at San Jose State and Colorado, but failed mid-term at Colorado and had to take that step backwards to FIU, only to get fired here after 3 seasons. FIU has some structure programs, as it seems, so they need a good coach to get the program back into winning something.
Next on the chop block is Neal Brown, the now former HC of West Virginia. He did lead West Virginia for 6 seasons, and it did look all good last year (9-4, including a bowl win), but the team did take a step back this season and barley got the 6 wins needed for a bowl trip. Overall is Brown 37-35 with the Mountaineers. At age of mid-40, he can still succeed elsewhere.
Appalachian State did fire their HC Shawn Clark after 5 seasons. He was promoted to HC for 2020 for this 1st gig and had up and down seasons. He won the division twice, but failed on the Championship game and guided the team to 3 bowls. Plus, he coached the team as interims coach in 2019 in a bowl.
Overall, his record was 40-24, which is not too bad, but I think App State had championship ambitions and Clark did not deliver. His predecessor won the Sun Belt 3 times in a row, so not winning 1 in 5 seasons was for sure not according to the plans and hopes. We will see whether the next guy will do better.
A positive news for Temple fans, not a positive one for Sam Houston fans is, that the new HC of Temple is former HC of Sam Houston K. C. Keeler. Keeler will take over immediately and the OC of Sam Houston will coach in the potential bowl game of the Bearkats. Keeler guided Sam Houston for 11 seasons, won conference championships as FCS team 4 times (with 2 different conferences) and 1 time even the National Championship. After the transition to FBS he did elevate the team back into a winning team, highlighted this season with a 9-3 record.
Overall, his record at Sam Houston is 97-39. It will be interesting to see, how he will do at Temple. At age of 65, this is likely his last spot to excel.
And Rice found their guy, hiring Scott Abell, the now former HC of Davidson (FCS). He is mid-50 and had 7 seasons with Davidson, winning the conference twice and a record of 47-28. Rice is a tough place, more known for losing football games but getting a good education.
And Kennesaw State found their guy already in Jerry Mack, until now he was the RB coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars and had several position and coordinator spots in the past, but also a HC gig with FCS team North Carolina Central (4 seasons, 3 times conferences champs).
Florida Atlantic did not wait long and hired Texas Tech OC Zach Kittley to become their next HC. He is 33 and by that now the youngest HC in FBS. Of course it's his 1st HC assignment, prior to that he did climb the ladder as OC from a FCS team to WKU to Texas Tech. 12 years ago he started coaching as student assistant at TTU. Not a bad career so far.
And the Committee did give us the last adjustment prior the Championship gameday.
That means, the ranks are not final yet, but several teams, not playing in the championship games, do have a hint, where they can land in the final rankings, and also it gives a feeling what could happen if that one team wins the conference, or that other.
The BIG10 was adjusted, thanks to the Buckeyes loss. #1 Oregon, #3 Penn State, now #6 Ohio State and #9 Indiana.
At #21 is Illinois lurking, but that is not important any longer for the playoffs, eventually for some other bowl invites.
The SEC got again a small shuffle, now #2 Texas, #5 Georgia, #7 Tennessee, #11 Alabama, #13 Ole Miss and #14 South Carolina. At #19 Missouri is very likely irrelevant.
With #4 is Notre Dame the only team left ranked out of the group of teams, which can only get an at-large-spot.
The ACC is now with the highest ranked team at #8 SMU, thanks to Miamis loss this weekend.
At #12 is Miami, which is discussed heavily, because Alabama is ahead of them, and at #17 is Clemson.
Syracuse got back in the rankings at #22, but that is irrelevant for the playoffs.
The Mountain West stayed on a bye-week slot with #10 Boise State and at #20 is #20 UNLV.
The BIG-12 has their finalists at #15 Arizona State and #16 Iowa State, while #18 BYU and #23 Colorado will likely be irrelevant.
Army did get back into the ranks for the American at #24 and Memphis did get into the mix the 1st time at #25.
What does this all mean?
The Championship game participants will face each other of each conference and the winner will rise in the ranks (if possible and likely only a bit) and the loser will sink in the rankings.
That will give other teams, not playing more games, eventually the chance to get back in the deciding places.
Inside the BIG10 I think regardless the result, all 4 teams will be in. Penn State or Oregon won't drop too deep, and Ohio State and Indiana will likely more rise than fall by playing no game.
The SEC championship game teams are also in, I think. None will drop to #11 or #12. The rest MIGHT more rise than fall when the weekend is over and that might open rooms for Alabama, Ole Miss and as long shot South Carolina.
Now we get to the fun parts. The ACC has SMU high up, and they play Clemson, right now deeper in the ranks. A SMU win will not change much, Clemson will just sink deeper, and Miami might get a spot, but that's a big MIGHT. A Clemson win would send SMU likely out of the top 11 to 12 spots and Clemson will rise and would also even get a spot, if not in the top 11 or 12 spots. THAT is the scenario teams like Ole Miss, Miami and South Carolina are waiting for.
Next is Boise State playing UNLV. If the Broncos win, they are in and have a bye. If the Rebels win, the Broncos will likely sink deeper than top 11 to 12 and would be out. UNLV would rise a bit and would likely play 1st round as 5th conference champ.
The BIG-12 will send only 1 team to the playoffs, the champ. The losing team of the championship game will send deeper, and the rest is likely too deep to rise to top 11 and 12. There is just not enough room for that. They will root for UNLV for the bye week spot, they would likely get, of UNLV wins the MWC.
And the AAC? Regardless of who wins, likely the champ will not rise THAT much, they would rise over the BIG-12 (very unlikely, since both teams from the BIG-12 are already higher ranked) nor will they rise over the MWC champ, if UNLV wins, since even UNLV is higher ranked now and would rise further.
I skip the seating stuff until the final rankings, since it makes no sense.
I will keep you updated.
And here it is, the Championship Games week with 9 games.
The BLOCK OF GRANITE TOP GAMES FOR WEEK 15
Sat. Dez 7
ACC CHAMPIONSHIP GAME
#17 Clemson vs #8 SMU
Played on neutral site in the stadium of the Carolina Panthers in Charlotte, North Carolina.
SMU is favored here by 2.5 points.
It's their 1st season inside the ACC and they did walk through this conference like an unstoppable force, losing only to non-conference-opponent BYU in September in a close game.
The only flaw on the SMU schedule is, they did not play any top team of the final standings.
Miami? No. Clemson? No. Syracuse? No.
Louisville is the strongest team they did play and that game was also close, but a win.
So, a quite soft schedule inside the conference with the knowledge of today.
Clemson on the other side did lose 3 times this season, against Georgia in week 1, against Louisville in October and against South Carolina last weekend.
The Cardinals game is likely the most embarrassing game, since they did finish 5-3 inside the conference and it was in Death Valley.
The same argument as for SMU does work for Clemson.
SMU? No. Miami? No. Syracuse? No. And then Louisville with a loss.
I think the teams will be quite equally matched.
The Tigers program brings in more experience with tough games than SMU, but on the other hand did SMU last season just win the AAC in their 2nd season with no mercy, so maybe that argument falls short.
I hope for a close game, but favor SMU to play more consistent.
Mustangs win.
BIG10 CHAMPIONSHIP GAME
#3 Penn State vs #1 Oregon
Played on neutral site in the stadium of the Indianapolis Colts in Indianapolis, Indiana.
The HC of Penn State did downplay the chance to play for the BIG10 Championship prior last gameday.
Understandable, since Ohio State had to face a quite weak Michigan team at home with a boosted-up roster and Penn State needed a Buckeyes loss to get here.
Well, they are here now and will face the Ducks.
The Ducks on the other hand did join the BIG10 and did not wait for adjusting, they just stormed the conference and did win every game.
They did not play Penn State so far but did play Ohio State and won by 1. They did play not Indiana, but Illinois and did win that one by a lot of points.
Beside the Ohio State game, I think the Ducks were close to lose against Wisconsin, a very defense driven game, but did win that one.
Penn State did lose only 1 game in the season, against Ohio State by a score, and did play also Illinois.
If the Lions want to win in this game here, their defense needs to be sharp.
If the Ducks can score, often, the Lions will lose.
Oregon is favored by 3.5 points, which is on one hand fair, since the teams seemed to be quite close, but on the other hand was Oregon so far almost perfect and Penn State not, so 3.5 points seemed to be a bit too few to show the respect the Ducks might deserve.
Played in a dome, this will be in favor of the Ducks, I think.
Penn State had trouble with big games in the past, so I do not trust the team to be as sharp as needed for this, hence ...
Ducks win.
BIG-12 CHAMPIONSHIP GAME
#16 Iowa State vs #15 Arizona State
Played on neutral site in the stadium of the Dallas Cowboys in Arlington, Texas.
A nice matchup, likely nobody did see coming starting the season.
Iowa State was so often so close to lose track.
They almost lost to UCF, then lost to Kansas and Texas Tech and it did look like, they would sink like a stone.
But they finished strong, won 3 in a row, and got the spot.
Strongest team of the final standings they did play is Baylor, 5th place. No BYU, no Colorado.
Arizona State looked like a mediocre team, losing to TTU and later to Cincinnati until mid-season, but finished with a great run of 5 wins, including a signature win against BYU.
Beside BYU, the teams they won against are quite low in the standings, so how to deal with all that?
Vegas gives Arizona State the favorite role, but by just 2.0 points.
I'm torn between a Sun Devils team, which looks strong and confident, and a Iowa State team, which I always see as stubborn and relentless.
I like the matchup and I like both teams to play for the Championship, unfortune only one can prevail.
I think the site is a bit in favor of the Sun Devils, but I might be wrong.
I go with my head and call ...
Sun Devils win.
SEC CHAMPIONSHIP GAME
#5 Georgia vs #2 Texas
Played on neutral site in the stadium of the Atlanta Falcons in Atlanta, Georgia.
Texas did play an almost perfect season and deserves a spot here, Georgia ... I'm not sure.
But to be fair, Texas lost only 1 game in the season and that was against Georgia.
Georgia on the other hand did lose against Alabama (against which Texas won) and Ole Miss, while almost losing to Kentucky, Florida and Georgia Tech.
But if you ask me, who would deserve the spot in this game ahead of Georgia, I cannot name a team, since all other teams behind Georgia did lose also some stupid games and did also lose almost to other weaker teams.
So, it is Georgia vs Texas.
No wonder, Texas is favored, but only by 2.5 points.
Texas has a good chance to win here, if they can make the live of the Georgia QB, who is turnover prone, miserable.
Georgia can win, if they keep their QB alive and enable him to be great.
It will come down to the Texas offense, to attack that strong defense and keep them guessing what comes next.
I believe Georgia is beatable and I think they will get beaten here.
Longhorns win.
And some other interesting games:
Fri. Dez 6
AAC CHAMPIONSHIP GAME
Tulane @ #24 Army
Played at the home turf of Army, this will help Army to eventually win against Tulane.
If Tulane wouldn't have dropped the game against Memphis last weekend, they would be highly favored to win here, but instead they are only favored by 6.0 points.
Let's face it, Army did not play strong teams this season and I think they did wiggle themselves into this spot.
Tulane did play a tougher schedule and lost several games, including that one crucial game against Memphis, but overall did from my point of view always looked stronger than Army.
No wonder, my pick is ...
Green Wave win.
CUSA CHAMPIONSHIP GAME
Western Kentucky @ Jacksonville State
Jacksonville State did secure the homefield by an almost flawless season. Only the loss last week on the road against WKU does leave a stain on the schedule.
But the rematch is at home, they are now favored by 4.5 points, and I think they will crush WKU.
If not, they deserve the setback, but I believe they will take the best of last game and will exploit at home whatever is possible to win big.
Gamecocks win.
MWC CHAMPIONSHIP GAME
#20 UNLV @ #10 Boise State
Boise State was a force so far this season and they are not done.
UNLV is surprisingly in this match, despite losing the starting QB to self-pity and losing to Boise State mid-season.
They can send some flowers to Fresno State, who did beat Colorado State late in the season, which did open the spot for UNLV.
Boise State is favored by just 4.0 points at home after an almost perfect season and with a Heisman hopeful close to beat Barry Sanders single season rushing record.
I don't get it.
Broncos win.
Sat. Dez 7
MAC CHAMPIONSHIP GAME
Ohio vs Miami (OH)
Played on neutral site in the stadium of the Detroit Lions in Detroit, Michigan.
Miami (OH) is favored by 2.5 points.
Ohio lost inside the conference only 1 game, against Miami (OH), while Miami did lose only 1 game quite early in the season on the road against Toledo.
It feels like a coin toss game.
I have a slightly better feeling with Miami, but that's just the gut feeling.
Redhawks win.
SBC CHAMPIONSHIP GAME
Marshall @ Louisiana
Played at the stadium of the team with the best playoff ranking or if none is available, the best score from several computer metrices. Louisiana did get the advantage here.
The East division, which Marshall won at the end, did look like, nobody wanted the title.
Marshall lost to Georgia Southern, who then lost crucial games afterwards, while James Madison had good and bad days.
At the end was Marshall likely more stubborn than the rest and won the division that way.
And Louisiana did look like a lock for almost the whole season, like the champ already set but not played out.
But then they lost late in the season to South Alabama, and it was at least in theory still possible that the Cajuns would not win the West.
Well, they did and are favored by 5.5 points to win this.
Not arguing their favorite status, since they DID look like the best team over the season.
But they ARE beatable and maybe that stubborn team out of West Virginia at the river Ohio can beat them.
I don't think so, but you never know.
Ragin' Cajuns win.
'Til next time
Jack6 on BLOCK OF GRANITE
Tags: Block of Granite, News
