College Presidents,

With all but a few games between this season and the bowls, it is time to preview the morsels available for the college football fan to satisfy his/her hunger before the New Year’s Day Games. The best team in the land according to all polls will continue their hibernation another 32 days before reappearing next year to show the world they deserve the ranking. Give them a bye week for sure, maybe two for good measure, but 6 weeks off. Don’t we want teams playing at their best? Don’t we want to see the best teams play?

Let’s have an eight team playoff using the bowls for the final, semi-finals and those losing out in the first round. The games will make money. And if you are really worried about student athletes not getting to class, get rid of the mid week games. Oh, you can do that for basketball and baseball, too.  I forget, their tournaments don’t get in the way of any real school work.

Back to the playoff system. Wouldn’t it be great if every week, we could look forward to a couple of top 10 teams squaring off to determine who gets to the title game. All are guaranteed a first round game and a bowl game. The last two standing play in a third game to take home the crystal. Why is this so hard?

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That leaves the lowly Big-12 and Big Ten looking at a possible pairing in the title game should the Tigers of LSU fall in one of the next three games.  An unlikely scenario, but this is an unlikely year.  I picked LSU and Oklahoma earlier this season and that seems to be as good a guess as any right now.  Oklahoma would be aided by beating and undefeated team in the conference final and does not want a rematch with Missouri, so they will be pulling for the Jayhawks to win two more before coming down from the clouds.  If that occurs and Texas and Missouri end with 10 wins, the computers will favor the Sooners and I suspect the human element will also.

In any event, all five need to watch their backs.  Is an upset awaiting LSU in Oxford??

Clemson welcomed Florida State into Death Valley for Bowden Bowl 9 and stunned Dad and company through the beginning of the third period.  By the time the Seminoles realized this was a real game, the time remaining was too little to complete the comeback.  They join Michigan outside this week’s top 25.

Tennessee, the other top 25 to begin 0-1, put up 31 on California yet gave up 45 points including a punt return for a TD in the loss. Auburn survives a scare from Kansas State scoring with 2:01 left in the 4th quarter to take the lead. The remainder of the Top 25 took care of business mostly with lopsided scores. Here are some notables or should we say embarassments for both the losers and those setting the schedules:

Penn State 59 – Florida International 0
Oklahoma 79 – North Texas 10
Nebraska 52 – Nevada 10
Hawaii 63 – Northern Colorado 6

The SEC took 7 of the top 10 spots in this year’s ranking. The ranking from rivals.com:

1. Florida
2. USC
3. Tennessee
4. LSU
5. Texas
6. South Carolina
7. Auburn
8. Notre Dame
9. Georgia
10. Alabama

Let’s go way out on a limb and put together a fourteen team playoff in order to use the games played during the bowl season.  Let’s line ‘em up and see what may have been a December to Remember!

NCAA First Round Games December 10, 2006 – Hosted by higher seeded team.  Ohio State and Florida get byes

Home              Away

Michigan         USC
Oklahoma        Boise State
Louisville        Wake Forest
LSU                Notre Dame
Wisconsin        Arkansas
Auburn            Nebraska

Second Round – December 17, 2006

Ohio State       Boise State
Florida             Wisconsin
LSU                Louisville
USC                Auburn

Semi-finals New Years Day Bowl Games (Consolation games get placed in other bowls)

LSU                USC
Ohio State       Florida

Other bowls

Boise State      Wisconsin
Louisville        Auburn

Final  held January 8^th, 2006

Ohio State       LSU

Winner – you pick it.

Just look at the match-ups we would have seen.

Have we mentioned lately that earning it on the field seems to be desired by most people? How about the one where a teams waits 50 plus days to see a team play for all the marbles is a knucklhead idea?

Not likely with the current BCS system. The Michigan Wolverines will likely get the nod and leave the Gators to head to the Sugar Bowl and play Notre Dame.

Michigan is more than a good team and deserves a spot in the debate. They also had their shot at Ohio State and did not get it done. Ohio State took care of them and don’t need to do it again. Give the Gator’s their shot.

Worst case scenario, Michigan and Ohio State after a 53 day layoff meet aganin and the Wolverines squeaks out a win. What happens then, a split championship? College Presidents, please get a clue. Let the teams play it out and earn this final shot via a playoff.

Sounds as good as any reason outside of “EARN IT ON THE FIELD”, which I guess winning your conference championship suggests.

That fits with having the best two teams as of Jan. 7, 2007 play each other. Could a lackluster down to the wire win by USC drop them below the Wolverines are a Gator team that dismantles the Razorbacks?  That is not likely unless the win by USC is seen to have outside support, along the lines of the Oregan win over Oklahoma earlier this year.

In other top ranked action, LSU heads into Arkasas playing the spoiler role.  Arkansas is playing as well as any SEC team and for a shot at the title game.  LSU after a very near miss at Ole Miss last week, continues to think about what might have been with a few more points at Auburn or Florida.  Arkansas loads up the backfield and goes into Atlanta vs. Florida to play for a right to compete for the national championship game.  Arkansas 24 – 17.

At Sports Crossfire, our Top 25 and Computer Polls are split with the Computers picking Michigan, while our human pollsters put Ohio State on top. Florida, USC and Notre Dame round out the top 5 in both polls. With USC and Notre Dame playing, we could have 3 strong one loss teams (including the loser this weekend in Columbus) with legitimate arguments to play on Jan. 7th.

We pick it Ohio State 24 Michigan 17.

Here are the stories we are following:

ESPN’s video game simulation picks Ohio State

The big game debate had Ohio State with a slight edge

SI picks Ohio State Cheerleader of the week

And, of course the Horse Shoe, Lego style

Here are our picks for the BCS?

• Ohio State
• Auburn
• West Virginia
• USC
• Texas
• Georgia Tech
• Notre Dame
• Michigan
• Florida
• Boise State

Lee Fowler writes in his love letter to the SEC, that regional balance weighed heavily in the decision along with ABC wanting to promote the games they carry. What does this disclose about ABC’s view of the PAC-10 being able to give USC a game. Will we hear more about USC alum-paid homes and apartments than the 2006 players?

Note to the higher ups at ABC: You only get a few days where the best in the stronger conferences meet each other and when they do, you need to be THERE. You may get another crack at the SEC East battle, but the war for the West will be all but decided tomorrow. You missed it on this one.

A close second to this weeks top game is the perrenial showdown between Florida State and Miami. Both teams are coming off sub-par years and will look to start the season by beating a top 20 team and getting halfway to securing the bragging rights for Florida.

Another good match-up has the USC Trojans visiting the Razorbacks or Arkansas. With 19 starters returning at Arkansas, the Trojans better bring a revamped offense and leave the misques in LA. Look for a tight one which just may go to the Hawgs.

Hold on to your boots, the 2006 season is here.

1. Reggie Bush, USC
2. Mario Williams, N.C. State
3. D’Brickashaw Ferguson, Virginia
4. Matt Leinart, USC
5. Vincent Young, Texas
6. AJ Hawk, Ohio State
7. Vernon Davis, Maryland
8. Michael Huff, Texas
9. Haloti Ngata, Oregon
10. Brodrick Bunkley, Florida State
11. Kamerion Wimbley, Florida State
12. Jay Cutler, Vanderbilt
13. Ernie Sims, Florida State
14. Winston Justice, USC
15. Joseph Addai, LSU