Yesterday was ”Upset Saturday” in college football. It happens every year and it causes suicide and general mortality rates among gamblers to shoot through the roof. It is a vile and evil day in which there is no predicting what may or may not happen. Handicappers have been known to throw themselves in front of trains, rather than face the angry mobs that have taken their betting advice and now seek them with pitchforks and torches. Alas, I'm glad that my computer has been AFU, (all effed up), all week and I wasn't able to spew any opinions as to what I thought that Saturday might have in store.
The BCS and the pollsters love “Upset Saturday”. It gives them a chance to point their collective finger and sneer at any upstart that has dared to enter the lofty heights of the top ten without a prior, (preseason), invitation. It also gives them the fodder that they need to bounce any undesirables back to the second tier, where they belong and to let the boys, who’s right it is by birth back into the mix. If you don’t believe me, watch how quickly USC and Ohio State get back into the top ten after this weekend.
Iowa lost to Northwestern after their starting quarterback, Ricky Stanzi, went down in the second quarter with an ankle injury. The Iowa B teamer, James Vandenberg didn’t have the fourth quarter magic that has become the 2009 Hawkeyes trademark. Iowa will be summarily bounced in favor of a more desirable element.
Oregon, suffered the classic let down game after their big win over USC last week. They fell to Stanford 51-42. The passing of freshman quarterback Andrew Luck, (who is being spoken of in the same reverential tones that are reserved for Stanford legends Jim Plunkett and John Elway), and the power running of Toby Gerhart completely undid the Ducks. Jeremiah Masoli and the high flying Duck offense were unable to compete with the Cardinal attack. Stanford scored almost every time that their offense had possession.
Penn State rolled over like a government witness for Ohio State. And like Forrest Gump, that’s all I have to say about that.
Cal was slapped around by Oregon State after Maxwell Award finalist Jahvid Best was carted off the field on the immobilization board. Best went airborne for a score in the second quarter. While he was in the air an Oregon State defender took his legs out from under him and caused him to land on his upper back and neck. Later, word came from the hospital that Best had movement in all of his extremities.
The Beavers were already dominating Cal, but after the loss of Best, they were able to put their foot on the Bears neck and not let up.
Navy handed Notre Dame its third loss of the season. Now with any luck, we can completely forget about the Irish ruining any BCS game. While I am on the subject of Notre dame, if the BCS does nothing else, please strike “The Notre Dame Rule”. They really are not that good and haven’t been for quite some time. Giving them preferential treatment is like rewarding a spoiled child for abhorrent behavior.
Oklahoma was handed its fourth loss of the year by Nebraska. Is there any way in the world that we can find another team to replace them in the top twenty five??? Seriously, how many losses does OU have to accumulate this year before the BCS and the pollsters can actually let go of their preconceived notion that OU is one of the best teams in the nation.??? Enough is enough.
A few top twenty five teams had close calls yesterday that will probably affect their designated position in the chase for the two pole positions that lead to the National Championship game.
Tulsa almost pulled the upset on Houston. The Cougars overcame a ten point fourth quarter deficit and ended up winning on a last second field goal.
Indiana gave Wisconsin all that they could handle, but came out on the short end of the stick.
Arizona State almost handed USC their second straight loss, but remember, USC is a favored child, so this will not impact them in the least.
Georgia Tech was taken to overtime by Wake Forest in a thriller. Wake may be the unluckiest team in the NCAA this year. They have lost five games by an aggregate of thirteen points.
And Cincinnati managed to hold just tightly enough onto a twenty point half time lead. They squeaked by UConn 47-45. That’s not going to go well for them in the eyes of the pollsters.
Look for plenty of movement in the polls this week. The top three should stay in tact, but look for TCU to jump into the fourth spot. Cincinnati should stay at five. Boise will jump to six. Georgia Tech should be at seventh; however, we all know how the pollsters love USC, so don’t be surprised to see them in that slot. Pittsburgh should be eighth, Utah should be ninth and Houston should be ten. But remember, Ohio State did beat Penn State, so don’t be alarmed when you see the Buckeyes in one of those slots. Iowa will probably be eleven or twelve.
If the BCS were to hold true to the way that things should be. There will be six mid-majors in the top ten. If that isn’t testament to the need for a playoff, then I don’t know what is.
In a related issue:
I have to ask, what could in God’s name could Urban Meyer have to complain about??? The guy was fined 30K by the SEC because he criticized the SEC’s officiating. That’s right, folks, Urban Meyer sounded off about a no-call for a late hit against Tim Tebow in Florida’s game against Georgia.
The unmitigated gall of this man!!!! Does his ingratitude know no bounds???? Or is this just a charade by the SEC to defer any impression of favoritism when it comes to the Gators???? Think about it, we are talking about a coach that has been the beneficiary of several really, really bad calls during the course of this season. He was handed the Arkansas game in a gift wrapped box that had a tag reading; To: The Gators, We Love You. From: The Refs.
The next week, he was given a touchdown, that shouldn’t have counted in the Mississippi State game.
What would possess a man to squall about the guys that have kept him at number one all year???
The only thing that I can think of is that Meyer was trying to deflect the spot light from his lax treatment of Brandon Spikes, who did everything that he could to gauge out the eyes of a Georgia runner during the same game. The man doesn’t have a Master’s degree in psychology for no reason.
In another related issue:
Florida State is still terrible. It hurts me to watch the 'Noles this season. I have already started looking forward to next year. Watching Clemson take over the fourth quarter and beat the dog snot out of my team last night had me curled into the fetal position.
The Picks
Baltimore -3 over Cincy
Indy -8.5 over Houston
GB -10 over TB
Atlanta -9.5 over Washington
NE -10.5 over Miami
NO -13.5 over Carolina
SD +5 over NYG
As usual, thanks for stopping by and reading this tripe.
Peace
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