NCAA Football

Bowl Projections: How'd I Do?

2008-12-07T21:45:00.000-08:00

Keeping in mind this was the first time I've ever attempted these, I didn't expect to do overly well...but let's see if I at least got half of them right! Correct predictions will be in Bold.

National Championship: Florida vs Oklahoma
Fiesta: Texas vs Ohio State
Sugar: Alabama vs Utah
Orange: Boston College vs Cincinnati Actual: VIRGINIA TECH vs Cincinnati
Rose: Penn State vs USC

9/10 on the BCS bowl games is nice, although let's not kid ourselves, that wasn't too hard. As for the rest...oh boy.

GMAC: Tulsa vs Western Michigan Actual: Tulsa vs BALL STATE
International: Central Michigan vs Rutgers Actual: BUFFALO vs CONNECTICUT
Liberty: East Carolina vs Vanderbilt Actual: East Carolina vs KENTUCKY
Cotton: Texas Tech vs Mississippi
Gator: Georgia Tech vs Pittsburgh Actual: CLEMSON vs NEBRASKA
Capital One: Georgia vs Michigan State
Outback: Northwestern vs South Carolina Actual: IOWA vs South Carolina
Chick-fil-A: Virginia Tech vs LSU Actual: GEORGIA TECH vs lsu
Insight: Minnesota vs Nebraska Actual: Minnesota vs KANSAS (I definitely had Kansas here at first, ugh)
Music City: Maryland vs Kentucky Actual: BOSTON COLLEGE vs VANDERBILT
Sun: Oregon State vs Notre Dame Actual: Oregon State vs PITTSBURGH
Armed Forces: Air Force vs Rice Actual: Air Force vs HOUSTON
Holiday: Oregon vs Oklahoma State
Texas: Kansas vs Houston Actual: RICE vs WESTERN MICHIGAN
Humanitarian: Boise State vs Wake Forest Actual: MARYLAND vs NEVADA
Alamo: Missouri vs Iowa Actual: Missouri vs NORTHWESTERN
PapaJohns.com: Connecticut vs Troy Actual: NC STATE vs RUTGERS
Independence: Florida Atlantic vs Louisiana Tech Actual: NORTHERN ILLINOIS vs Louisiana Tech
Emerald: California vs Miami (FL)
Champs Sports: Florida State vs Wisconsin
Meineke Car Care: North Carolina vs West Virginia
Motor City: Ball State vs Louisiana-Lafayette Actual: FLORIDA ATLANTIC vs CENTRAL MICHIGAN
Hawaii: Hawaii vs Buffalo Actual: Hawaii vs NOTRE DAME (the proud program heads to the Hawaii Bowl, woohoo!)
Poinsettia: Brigham Young vs Nevada Actual: BOISE STATE vs TCU (really excited for this game!)
New Orleans: Louisiana-Lafayette vs Memphis Actual: SOUTHERN MISSISSIPPI vs TROY
Eagle Bank: Navy vs North Carolina State Actual: Navy vs WAKE FOREST
Las Vegas: Tcu vs Arizona Actual: BYU vs Arizona
St. Petersburg: South Florida vs Southern Mississippi Actual: South Florida vs MEMPHIS
New Mexico: Colorado State vs Fresno State

Well, upon further review I actually didn't do that poorly...27/58 teams, and 7 bowls correct...I certainly could do a lot better, but again keep in mind this was a first shot thing. Overall 36/68 and 11/34 bowls...let's compare.

Kevin: 36/68 teams, 11/34 bowls
Mark Schlabach (ESPN): 36/68 teams, 10/34 bowls
Bruce Feldman (ESPN): 41/68 teams, 13/34 bowls

EAT IT SCHLABACH! I guess I'm not as far off as I thought I was, although his BCS bowls were messed up. I'm fairly impressed for my first go-round though.

Browntown's Top 25 - Week 15

2008-12-07T21:44:00.001-08:00

1. (Last Week: 1) Florida (12-1) - Best team in the country since that Ole Miss game for sure. 2 interceptions on the year for Tebow. Two.
2. (3) Oklahoma (12-1) - Can anyone stop their offense? 60 points AGAIN...I'm so excited for this national championship.
3. (4) Texas (11-1) - You can whine about them beating Oklahoma, but overall Oklahoma was the better team this year. Plain and simple. Don't lose to Texas Tech on the last play and this isn't an argument.
4. (2) Alabama (12-1) - Played pretty well against Florida but you need your A+ game against the Gators. Sugar Bowl should be a nice consolation prize though.
5. (5) USC (11-1) - I don't wanna hear anyone tell me they should be in the national championship, but once again it's a damn good Trojans team that's headed for a Rose Bowl berth.
6. (6) Texas Tech (11-1) - It's a shame that Ohio State's headed to a BCS bowl, and they're not. That 2 teams per conference rule should be abolished.
7. (7) Penn State (11-1) - *crosses fingers for a competitive Rose Bowl unlike last year's debacle*
8. (8) Utah (12-0) - Undefeated Hawaii was a BCS pushover last year...but I don't see Utah laying down against Alabama. This is a very good team.
9. (9) Boise State (12-0) - Another team that I would rather see in a BCS bowl than Ohio State...bottom line, Utah's computer rankings take them over.
10. (10) Ohio State (10-2) - Terrelle Pryor will be starting from Day 1 next season, right?
11. (11) TCU (10-2) - Hey, they held Oklahoma to 35 points! By the way, this is the #11 team in the country...and 3rd best in its state. Yikes.
12. (13) Oklahoma State (9-3) - Probably would have won the Big East or ACC, but finish 4th place in their division of their conference.
13. (14) Cincinnati (11-2) - Second straight year with 10 wins, and third year in their history with 10 wins. Brian Kelly...he's not a bad coach, is he?
14. (15) Oregon (9-3) - Take on Oklahoma State in the Holiday Bowl which should be one of the better non-BCS games...wonder if any defense will show up.
15. (16) Georgia Tech (9-3) - Funny how the best team in the ACC didn't make the conference title game...oh well.
16. (17) Georgia (9-3) - This year has to be a big time disappointment for the preseason #1.
17. (19) Mississippi (8-4) - Best 4 loss team in the nation by far, if that means anything...should give Tech a good battle in the Cotton Bowl, despite the record disparity.
18. (20) Brigham Young (10-2) - Good year for the Mountain West if this is your third place team.
19. (21) Michigan State (9-3) - One of the biggest beneficiaries of Ohio State in the BCS, they'll move up to the Capital Bowl.
20. (NR) Virginia Tech (9-4) - Hey look, they won the ACC again!...I'm going to guess VT vs Cincy won't quite be the highest rated BCS game ever.
21. (22) Iowa (8-4) - 4 losses by a combined total of 12 points...ouch.
22. (23) Northwestern (9-3) - 10 wins for the Wildcats! Let's get it done!
23. (12) Ball State (12-1) - Well, that was a letdown.
24. (24) Oregon State (8-4) - Try not to give up 693 yards of offense again.
25. (NR) Pittsburgh (9-3) - 24 vs 25 battle in the Sun Bowl! LET'S DO IT

Dropped Out: Missouri (18), Boston College (25)

Browntown's Top 25 - Week 14

2008-12-06T15:44:00.001-08:00

Forgot to post these last week...this is mainly for reference for when I change the rankings this week, which will obviously happen after some of today's results.

1. (1) Florida

2. (2) Alabama

3. (3) Oklahoma

4. (4) Texas

5. (5) USC

6. (6) Texas Tech

7. (7) Penn State

8. (8) Utah

9. (9) Boise State

10. (10) Ohio State

11. (14) TCU

12. (15) Ball State

13. (12) Oklahoma State

14. (17) Cincinnati

15. (18) Oregon

16. (25) Georgia Tech

17. (11) Georgia

18. (13) Missouri

19. (24) Mississippi

20. (19) Brigham Young

21. (20) Michigan State

22. (21) Iowa

23. (22) Northwestern

24. (16) Oregon State

25. (NR) Boston College

Dropped Out: West Virginia (23)

Bowl Projections

2008-11-29T20:08:00.000-08:00

With the regular season almost over, here's how I expect the bowl games to shake out.

National Championship: Florida vs Oklahoma
Fiesta: Texas vs Ohio State
Sugar: Alabama vs Utah
Orange: Boston College vs Cincinnati
Rose: Penn State vs USC

GMAC: Tulsa vs Western Michigan
International: Central Michigan vs Rutgers
Liberty: East Carolina vs Vanderbilt
Cotton: Texas Tech vs Mississippi
Gator: Georgia Tech vs Pittsburgh
Capital One: Georgia vs Michigan State
Outback: Northwestern vs South Carolina
Chick-fil-A: Virginia Tech vs LSU
Insight: Minnesota vs Nebraska
Music City: Maryland vs Kentucky
Sun: Oregon State vs Notre Dame
Armed Forces: Air Force vs Rice
Holiday: Oregon vs Oklahoma State
Texas: Kansas vs Houston
Humanitarian: Boise State vs Wake Forest
Alamo: Missouri vs Iowa
PapaJohns.com: Connecticut vs Troy
Independence: Florida Atlantic vs Louisiana Tech
Emerald: California vs Miami (FL)
Champs Sports: Florida State vs Wisconsin
Meineke Car Care: North Carolina vs West Virginia
Motor City: Ball State vs Louisiana-Lafayette
Hawaii: Hawaii vs Buffalo
Poinsettia: Brigham Young vs Nevada
New Orleans: Louisiana-Lafayette vs Memphis
Eagle Bank: Navy vs North Carolina State
Las Vegas: TCU vs Arizona
St. Petersburg: South Florida vs Southern Mississippi
New Mexico: Colorado State vs Fresno State

BCS Bowl Predictions

2008-11-23T22:08:00.000-08:00

I made this at 11 in the morning while in my girlfriend's room...so I didn't put altogether too much research into this but here goes -

BCS Championship Game: Florida vs Texas
Fiesta Bowl: USC vs Oklahoma
Sugar Bowl: Alabama vs Utah
Rose Bowl: Penn State vs Oregon State
Orange Bowl: Cincinnati vs Boston College

If I look into it some more I will make some more projections.

Kevin's Top 25 - Week 13

2008-11-23T18:55:00.000-08:00

Last Week in ()

1. (3) Florida (10-1) - Yeah, I know, Alabama's undefeated in the same conference...these guys are the best team in college football. I know the Citadel sucks, but they've been wrecking everyone for weeks now.
2. (2) Alabama (11-0) - I know Auburn sucks, but they better not overlook one of college football's best rivalries...and they won't.
3. (5) Oklahoma (10-1) - I'm tempted to put them ahead of Alabama. I think now it's fairly safe to say this is the best offense in the country.
4. (4) Texas (10-1) - For anyone *****ing about Oklahoma being ranked ahead of them...first of all, by that logic Texas Tech should be ranked ahead of Texas. Second of all, if Oklahoma had Ryan Reynolds they would probably have beaten Texas. And third of all...THEY JUST BEAT TECH BY 44 POINTS. Thank you.
5. (6) USC (9-1) - They get to play a Notre Dame team that just lost to Syracuse next week...think they're licking their chops a bit?
6. (1) Texas Tech (10-1) - That was a complete beatdown and puts a big time dent in Tech's BCS hopes...Mike Leach is probably not a fan of the "2 teams per conference in BCS games" rule right now.
7. (7) Penn State (11-1) - Congrats to PSU for their 800th all time win. They did it in DOMINATING fashion.
8. (9) Utah (12-0) - Congrats to the Utes for beating a high-quality opponent and clinching a BCS berth. I'm no longer in question of their ability.
9. (8) Boise State (11-0) - I'll be annoyed if Ohio State makes a BCS bowl game over the Broncos...but it would probably happen.
10. (10) Ohio State (10-2) - 5 straight wins against Michigan for the first time ever...now let's see if the ridiculously long rest hurts them again ocome bowl season.
11. (11) Georgia (9-2) - Off this week...they'll be getting ready for a Georgia Tech team that ran all over Miami this week.
12. (12) Oklahoma State (9-2) - They've scored 458 points on the season...only 121 less than their opponent next week. But they'll get a chance to spoil the Sooners' BCS hopes.
13. (13) Missouri (9-2) - Their game with Kansas won't have...quite the magnitude of last season's.
14. (14) TCU (10-2) - Absolutely destroyed Air Force. This is a much better team than people realize.
15. (16) Ball State (11-0) - Beat the second best team in the conference (Western Michigan) - and the Cardinals are the unlikeliest undefeated team of the year.
16. (19) Oregon State (8-3) - The unthinkable - the Beavers in the Rose Bowl - is just one win away.
17. (21) Cincinnati (9-2) - Your mission, should you choose to accept it - beat Syracuse and win the Big East.
18. (22) Oregon (8-3) - One of the biggest Civil War games in recent memory next week.
19. (17) Brigham Young (10-2) - Their only losses were to 2 very good teams...the MWC was as good as ever this season.
20. (15) Michigan State (9-3) - Didn't leave a very good impression in a destruction by Penn State...they've lost by a combined 69 points against the two best teams in the Big Ten.
21. (24) Iowa (8-4) - A 55-0 win at Minnesota...I'd say that's a nice way to close out the season.
22. (NR) Northwestern (9-3) - The Wildcats could win 10 games. No, seriously.
23. (NR) West Virginia (7-3) - The biggest Syracuse fans this weekend outside of Central NY...they can only win the Big East with a win and a Cincy loss.
24. (NR) Mississippi (7-4) - Had their way with LSU in Tiger Stadium.
25. (NR) Georgia Tech (8-3) - This week's representative ranked team of the most ****ed up conference in America.

Dropped Out: LSU (18), Pittsburgh (20), Central Michigan (23), Maryland (25)

Kevin's Top 25 - Week 12

2008-11-17T09:10:00.000-08:00

1. Texas Tech (10-0) - Had the week off to get ready for the showdown in Norman. (Last Week: 1)
2. Alabama (11-0) - Finally beat Mississippi State...they better not overlook the Iron Bowl though. (Last Week: 2)
3. Florida (9-1) - Playing better than anybody in the country right now, without question. (Last Week: 4)
4. Texas (10-1) - They played fine this week...Florida's just played better. (Last Week: 3)
5. Oklahoma (9-1) - Scored 40 points in their bye week. (Last Week: 5)
6. USC (9-1) - Wasn't always pretty, but they got their revenge on Stanford. (Last Week: 6)
7. Penn State (10-1) - Another dominant defensive showing against Indiana...beat MSU and they'll be smelling roses. (Last Week: 7)
8. Boise State (10-0) - Unfortunately for them, their BCS chances are contingent on Utah losing last week. It's hard to see two mid-majors getting in to a BCS bowl. (Last Week: 8)
9. Utah (11-0) - Their mission is simple...beat BYU at home and go to a BCS bowl. (Last Week: 9)
10. Ohio State (9-2) - Anyone wanna guess the spread against Michigan? 30 points? (Last Week: 10)
11. Georgia (9-2) - Survived by the skin of their teeth for a second straight week. (Last Week: 11)
12. Oklahoma State (9-2) - Kicked field goals of 18, 25, and 21 yards...need to convert better inside the red zone. (Last Week: 12)
13. Missouri (9-2) - Clinched the Big 12 North, so they'll get their chance to spoil someone's national title hopes. (Last Week: 13)
14. TCU (9-2) - Had a bye, and I have nothing else to say here. (Last Week: 14)
15. Michigan State (9-2) - The only way they can make the Rose Bowl is if they beat Penn State (possible) and Michigan beats Ohio State (physically impossible). Good run though. (Last Week: 15)
16. Ball State (10-0) - A 31-16 win at Miami (Ohio) doesn't really impress me. They'll get a chance to do that at Central Michigan next week in a huge matchup. (Last Week: 17)
17. Brigham Young (10-1) - Nice win at a tough Air Force team...now it's on to Utah to decide the Mountain West title. (Last Week: 19)
18. LSU (7-3) - I don't know what's more amazing, the fact that they were trailing 31-3 at home to Troy in the 3rd, or the fact that they won. (Last Week: 18)
19. Oregon State (7-3) - Very nice win against Cal...they're two wins away from the Rose Bowl. Seriously. (Last Week: 22)
20. Pittsburgh (7-2) - Not sure if they're better than Cincinnati, but... (Last Week: 23)
21. Cincinnati (8-2) - ...we'll find out when Pitt visits Cincy next week. (Last Week: 24)
22. Oregon (8-3) - Lit up the scoreboard against Arizona last week. Now they can rest for the Civil War in two weeks. (Last Week: NR)
23. Central Michigan (8-2) - They don't win by much, but I have to put them ahead of Western Michigan because of the head-to-head win. They can prove they should stay here if they beat Ball State this week. (Last Week: NR)
24. Iowa (7-4) - I'm grasping for straws at this point. (Last Week: NR)
25. Maryland/Florida State/Wake Forest/Boston College/Miami/Georgia Tech/North Carolina/Virginia Tech - I give up. (if I have to pick one...Maryland, who was NR last week)

Dropped Out: (16) North Carolina, (20) Florida State, (21) Arizona, (25) Tulsa