College Football 2007 - Week 13: Top of the Mountain

[JohnBM01]

Time to kick off a new week of college football. No theme for this one.





Last Week...

#1 and #2 Go Down
I called last week "Feasting Frenzy" because some teams were hungry for big wins. Credit Arkansas for beating LSU and #4 Missouri for beating #2 Kansas. This is about the sixth #2 to fall this season and the second time LSU lost as a #1 seed this season. And coincidentally- both SEC opponents (at Kentucky for their first loss, then at home against Arkansas)

Missouri Gets #1 Love
All hail the new #1- the University of Missouri. That's right. Mizzou are tops in the latest BCS rankings. I'll show you the rest of the Top 25 later in this report.

Hawaii is Only Remaining Unbeaten
I'll tell you what. I love Boise State, but the effort Hawaii put up against Boise State was incredible. Most of the nation wished Kansas would remain unbeaten while Hawaii falls. Hawaii will remain unbeaten this season. That is, if they get past Washington later this week. Washington isn't going to a Bowl Game, but they sure as hell are playing for pride.

Kentucky Fails to Stun Tennessee
A Quadra-Overtime thriller in Lexington took place as Kentucky led a comeback. But in the end, Tennessee was just better. The win by Tennessee meant that they are your SEC East champions. A hard-fought victory for Tennessee, but harder luck for Kentucky's Wildcats.

Tim Tebow Greatly Favored in Heisman Voting
Quarterback Tim Tebow has himself a National Championship victory, and also the respect of many people across America for the Heisman. The SEC IS college football. Unfortunately for the Gators, they will be without his services for about two weeks because of a broken right hand. He's expected to return for the bowl game Florida's expected to play in.

Playoffs Continue Elsewhere
I'll need to give you playoff information for FCS through Division 3. I will update these as best as I can.





BCS Top 25

01 - Missouri
02 - West Virginia
03 - Ohio State
04 - Georgia
05 - Kansas
06 - Virginia Tech
07 - Louisiana State
08 - Southern California
09 - Oklahoma
10 - Flordia
11 - Boston College
12 - Hawaii!/Hawai'i!
13 - Arizona State
14 - Tennessee
15 - Illinois
16 - Clem
17 - Oregon
18 - Wisconsin
19 - Brigham Young
20 - Texas
21 - South Florida
22 - Cincinnati
23 - Virginia
24 - Auburn
25 - Boise State

! = unbeaten





(no FBS games reported)

EXTRA: Who Will be the Next Doormat-to-Dominant Story Next Season?
What do Duke, Temple, Stanford, Mississippi State, Buffalo, Florida International, Utah State, New Mexico State, Nevada-Las Vegas, Eastern Michigan, and others have in common? Well, they are all cupcakes. We've seen Wake Forest have that magical run last season and Kansas this season. So I'm curious as to who could be the next team to go from conference doormat to dominating? I'm talking about teams that have been pathetic for a number of seasons and years. Think about if Duke beats Boston College, Maryland, Florida State, and a few tough non-conference opponents. Think about Stanford becoming relevant again. Imagine Florida International actually being better than Florida Atlantic for once. Think about Buffalo beating Miami University and Central Michigan in their conference. Imagine Mississippi State beating Michigan and Boston College in non-conference play. What team do you think will the next to go from conference doormat to dominant?

Existing examples of brutal to beautiful would include teams like Kentucky, Wake Forest, and a school called... Kansas. I'd even put up Washington State. A team needs a great bunch of guys on both sides of the ball as well as an amazing coaching staff helping glue the team together. Kentucky did the unthinkable earlier this season- knock off LSU when LSU was #1 heading into Lexington. They'd lose to Florida. Since then, Kentucky hasn't really been the same. They are still a much-improved team guided by the arm of Andre' Woodson and with Dicky Lyons Jr. being the workhorse for the Wildcats' offense.





NFL Focus
I'm actually going to start in Kansas City after the Missouri/Kansas game from last night.

K.C. Loves Whipping Up on the Raiders
* Oakland Raiders at Kansas City Chiefs (20-17; Oakland Raiders)

Cincinnati Does Houston a Favor...
* Tennessee Titans at Cincinnati Bengals (35-6; CINCINNATI BENGALS)

...But Can Houston Capitalize?
* Houston Texans at Cleveland Browns
Hell no, player. Houston will be heading to Nashville to meet the Titans, so I can already see my boys going 5-7 once they get to Tennessee. I know I'm pessimistic saying this, but Tennessee is much more talented than Houston. (27-17; CLEVELAND BROWNS)

St. Louis Lost a Hundred Games Straight, Now Trying to Continue Their Winning Ways
* Seattle Seahawks at St. Louis Rams
Looks like the Seattle Seahawks can peacefully return to the Pacific Northwest after ending the winning ways of St. Louis. The Rams are now 2-9 after winning two straight the past two games. Mark Bulger left the game with a concussion. (24-19; Seattle Seahawks)

A Metropolitan New York City Team Meets a Team from Minnesota's Capital
* Minneota Vikings at New York Giants
It's time to go to East Rutherford, NJ for this match. The city is home to Giants and Jets football until that proposed new stadium in Manhattan is completed. Only thing complete in this match was a beating of Eli Manning and his boys. I love Adrian Peterson about as much as I like LaDanian Tomlinson. [UPDATE] I forgot that Adrian Peterson didn't play. I still think he's quality talent out of the Oklahoma Sooners' operation. (41-17; Minnesota Vikings)

The Bay Area Meets the Desert
* San Francisco 49ers at Arizona Cardinals
Have I ever said that the Arizona Cardinals play at a beautiful stadium? Talk about a jewel in the desert... this is a jewel football fans would lovingly enjoy. Arizona played lights out, but it was the 49ers who had the edge by sacking the QB, making him fumble, and dive on it for the winning score. (36-30, OT; San Francisco 49ers)

The New England Patriots clinched the AFC East - I don't know my AFC and NFC teams all that well. I always thought New England was an NFC team. Congratulations to the New England Patriots, whether you like them or not. They will host the Philadelphia Eagles for Sunday Night Football.

SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL: New England are Winning Machines... Until Philly Comes to Town
* Philadelphia Eagles at New England Patriots (31-28; NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS)

The Monday Night match will be against a team making history for all the WRONG reasons (Miami Dolphins) going up against the Pittsburgh Steelers.





So that's the introduction to this week. So why not kick off this week of college football with rivalries such as the Army/Navy game later this week? Time to start a new week of college football. It's 1st and 10. How are YOU going to move down THIS field? Conference championship matches will be in effect. So get ready for a wild week of action!

 

[JohnBM01]

Sean Taylor is no longer with us after he was shot at his home in Miami. Follow this thread to post your comments: < https://www.gtplanet.net/forum/showthread.php?t=100257 >.

There won't be any college football action until this Thursday. So I want you all to talk about your favorite teams and evaluate how they are doing. Like me. I'm going to evaluate my hometown Houston Cougars.

My Evaluation of the Houston Cougars
This season was going to be a tough one for Houston without the services of Kevin Kolb. The 10-win season Houston had last season really brought back Cougars' football. And brought it back to where it needs to be. Granted we play in a mid-major conference, we really found our stride back in the days of the Southwest Conference. It's where we matched up regularly against teams like Texas A&M and Texas. This season was a good one for Houston. Could it have been better? Maybe. Thing is, I wasn't sure of what kinds of standout talent we have. We do have Anthony "Quick 6" Aldridge. But no real good quarterback supplying extra firepower for our cause. Overall, an 8-4 record is not bad.

Now you may evaluate some of your favorite teams.


I may provide a preview of Oklahoma/Missouri. That will be my GAME OF THE WEEK because Missouri can miss out on a National Championship opportunity if they lose to the only team that's beaten them. I may even do the SEC Championship game as a preview. So feel free to talk about whatever here.

 

[JohnBM01]

LSU lost to Arkansas this past Friday. Or according to the words of Mr. Les Miles, "we have never lost in regulation." So you mean to tell me that losing at Kentucky and to Arkansas didn't mean anything? If you want to read the story, then check out this link provided by Yahoo! Sports and the Associated Press: < http://sports.yahoo.com/ncaaf/news?slug=ap-lsusfall&prov=ap&type=lgns >. Allow me to take a closer look at this. It's an investigation only John can come up with. A "John-vestigation," if you will.



Week 7 Box Score (LSU at Kentucky): http://sports.yahoo.com/ncaaf/boxscore?gid=200710130069
LSU bumped up their tally to 24 points as Kentucky trailed 27-14. From there, it was all Kentucky making a sensational comeback. It began with Andre' Woodson cashing in a 9-yard TD by Jacob Tamme. Tack on the PAT. Two successive field goals were made to force Overtime. Then we all know what happened in Triple Overtime here.

Week 13 Box Score (Arkansas at LSU): http://sports.yahoo.com/ncaaf/boxscore?gid=200711230076
They were tied 21-21. Razorbacks drew first blood in the Fourth Quarter until LSU tied things up. Baton Rouge was in shock after this win by Arkansas.



So while it's true they haven't been beaten in regulation, a win is a win no matter how you get it. I respect LSU football, but there are no more ties in football. You should be undefeated? Well, you'd be undefeated if you beat Kentucky's asses in Lexington and Arkansas' at home. There's not really any excuse to say you should be undefeated since both losses required Overtime. Ties are settled in Overtime. The better team wins. Sometimes the better team is the one that may not be as favored, but still puts up quite a fight. The ones that put up the fight for longer were Kentucky and Arkansas. Didn't Kentucky win? Didn't Arkansas win? So what the hell would constitute anyone saying that a team should be undefeated before they are the leaders at the end of regulation? Champions are able to put up the fight for extended periods of time. Even if a game began at 3PM and ended at Midnight, you still have to win the fight. Overtime is a challenge. Overtime means that nobody lost, yet nobody won either. To settle the score, you need Overtime. You don't prepare for 60 minutes. You just have to prepare for 60 minutes as well as having that extra edge for if the game should go into Overtime. Anyone remember the Michigan/Michigan State game a few years ago that went into Triple Overtime? What about the 2002 BCS (I believe the Orange Bowl) National Championship battle between Ohio State and Miami? Remember when my Houston Astros lost to the Chicago White Sox in the 2005 World Series in a game that lasted from about 7PM local time to 2AM? You lost in Overtime... and you STILL say you should be undefeated? There's a solution- BEAT THE OTHER TEAM'S F:censored:IN' ASSES! Beat them before the end of 60 minutes of game time. Otherwise, you're a hellishly talented 10-2 team that just got bested by two other teams in extras. You're not undefeated. You didn't get screwed. You just lost to two teams in Overtime. So what if you lose your Bowl Game without Overtime? Are you still unbeaten in regular season play, or did you lose your "first" game of the season in games that didn't require overtime? Think about it.



Kentucky and Arkansas were the only ones to edge out LSU this season. So I HAVE to know what Kentucky's FoolKiller thinks about Les Miles' words from the loss this past Monday. So if you're out there, feel free to comment on what Les Miles said about still being unbeaten in regulation.

 

[FoolKiller]

Kentucky and Arkansas were the only ones to edge out LSU this season. So I HAVE to know what Kentucky's FoolKiller thinks about Les Miles' words from the loss this past Monday. So if you're out there, feel free to comment on what Les Miles said about still being unbeaten in regulation.

I'm out here, I just didn't check GTP over the entire holiday (five days since I took Monday off too) and it is taking me some time to catch up with both work (518 emails when I came back yesterday) and GTP.

I think Les Miles can't believe who he got beat buy. It is hard to admit being beat by two teams that you shouldn't have. If it had been someone like say Florida he could accept it, but not Kentucky. Plus, both times he got beat he wasn't supposed to be beat by anyone.

Now, if we take his reasoning then Kentucky would be practically bowl eligible every season because we always have a couple of overtime losses. By his rationale Kentucky is a decent contender in the SEC. Maybe he forgets the seven OT Kentucky vs. Arkansas game of a few years ago.

The fact is, based on current rules, he lost. End of story. It woudl be like saying that according to original football rules no touchdowns counted because the forward pass wasn't an original part of the game. You play by the rules as they currently stand and current rules say that there is no tie.

Could you imagine him whining with the NFL's sudden death rules? "We matched them point for point and only because we weren't allowed to try again did they win."


Basically, Les Miles doesn't want to admit that his team either slacks off or chokes, because both are a coaching issue, making both losses his fault. It is easy for a college coach to blame unpaid players to protect their own paycheck.

 

[JohnBM01]

Put college football coaches in a blender because a lot of changes in coaching have taken place. LSU will allow Les Miles to have talks with Michigan. Houston coach, Art Briles, will join Baylor and try to turn around this pathetic team. There are countless other firings to name at this point. Some for money, some for challenges, and countless other reasons. Most of these coaches won't be in Bowl Game action when their former teams play in those bowl games.

I'm back to work for college football as this will be the final(?) week of regular season action in FBS. Up next will be Heisman talk as well as Bowl selections. I'll make an end-of-regular-season thread in regards to the Heisman winner, bowl selections, the 2007 All-Americans, and more. So stay tuned for that.

Come back here Thursday as I have a match for you. Take care, everyone!

 

[JohnBM01]

Good Thursday to all of you. Here is my preview of tonight's big match:

PREVIEW: Rutgers Wants to Prove Last Year's Upset Was NO Fluke
* Rutgers {Scarlet Knights} at Louisville {Cardinals}
Two race horses are ready to duel in Louisville. It will be a Kentucky Derby of college football when New Jersey's Rutgers hits the 'Ville to take on the Louisville Cardinals. Louisville hasn't been their point-racking selves recently. They've suffered some losses. In fact (and I just learned this today), the Cards are 5-6. So they MUST beat Rutgers if they want to go to a Bowl Game. Meanwhile, the Scarlet Knights are 7-4. They are having a winning season. A win over Louisville will make Rutgers all warm and fuzzy inside. Last year, Louisville was highly ranked as they hit up New Jersey, and Rutgers stunned the Cardinals on a money field goal. Rutgers will have to now play in Kentucky at Louisville. Papa John's knows pizza, and Papa John's Cardinal Stadium knows football. Can the Louisville faithful give their beloved Cardinals some tender loving care to hopefully finish 6-6 this season? Find out tonight on ESPN!


And also find out when I give you my report later today or early Friday morning. You WILL get the report sometime before the Friday night match!

 

[JohnBM01]

This is the final weekday session of November as we move into December. The NFL fans got the Packers/Cowboys game. Meanwhile, we have a pretty interesting match in a state that doesn't have any sort of NFL team- Kentucky. I called this week "Top of the Mountain" for a reason. All the championship action will take form including some key rivalries. But for now, let's talk football.





--- Division 1: Bowl Subdivision Scores ---
Only one match tonight as we go to the Bluegrass State.

Louisville Still Wants to Keep Their Bowl Season Record Intact
* Rutgers {Scarlet Knights} at Louisville {Cardinals}
A kick sealed a dark destiny for Louisville last year. They were the #3 school on National TV on ESPN. Chris Fowler and Kirk Herbstreit had the call as Rutgers stunned Louisville. Now, both teams aren't all that good this season. The Scarlet Knights of Rutgers have a good Ray Rice, but their 7-4 record means they've been somewhat disappointing. Louisville's stumbled several times this season. All Louisville can hope for is to see the Cardinals return to postseason action. I didn't see all of this game. I saw Rutgers get on the board, then never seen the rest of the game. Rutgers embarassed Louisville early, but Cardinals' fans can celebrate their beloved team going to a Bowl Game. (41-38; LOUISVILLE) *** big win ***





No extras this time. More action to come Friday as this is the final regular week of college football. Take care, everyone!

 

[JohnBM01]

November is coming to an end, and Saturday's games will trigger a December of wicked action to end the year. So let's check out the final game of this month.





--- Division 1: Bowl Subdivision Scores ---

Postcard from Las Cruces, New Mexico
* Fresno State {Bulldogs} at New Mexico State {Aggies}
Southern New Mexico meets Fresno State. It's a WAC showdown. It's a usual suspect in the WAC vs. a usual cupcake. Both teams haven't been very interesting this season. The home team is up first. New Mexico State University can be found a few miles north or northwest of El Paso, Texas. This university is comrprised of Aggies that know how to get the job done... or at least they try to. It won't be very fun for NMSU if Fresno State has their way. I'm curious as to if Fresno State is the flagship university of the California State University system. It's full name is California State University of Fresno. They are best known as Fresno State University. The Bulldogs are also best known as being a bunch of mangy Bulldogs that can bite into all their opposition. So let's see if there was enough bite in these dogs' barks. New Mexico State tried to make a comeback, but Fresno State was better in the late stages. The rain was pouring at New Mexico State... both from the clouds, and from the eyes of NMSU fans who wanted to see the Aggies pull a big win. (30-23; Fresno State)

DID YOU KNOW...
...that this was the first game played at New Mexico State in the rain since 1993?



EXTRA: A Weird Scenario
Here's something I thought about. Imagine if there was a team in FBS that had great history... but is so bad in recent times and decades... that they were dropped down to a lower division. This would be a "bottom of the barrel" deal. You have to basically go back to downsizing on players and talent just to hopefully return to playing in a better division. I can think of only one sanctioning body in which poor-performing teams are relegated to a lower conference- the J-League. J-League football (as in soccer) has some J2 teams that do so well that they are promoted to J1. Likewise, there are some poor-perfoming J1 teams that get DEmoted to J2. I know the NCAA or athletics departments would never completely downsize themselves just because of bad seasons and poor performance. But if this did happen, how do you think a team would go from great to terrible to good and back to great? Just a little something to envision.





--- John's Student Lounge ---

Fooling Around with Trackmania Nations
I wanted to get a TrackMania game if I saw one at the mall or someplace. I guess as a "sampler," I downloaded a file of about 480 to 490 MB called TrackMania Nations. Here's how I can best describe this specific game... think A1GP meets WipeOut. It's basically intended for multiplay, but you can get a kick out of racing a bunch of equally-prepared race cars. What I've liked about TrackMania was building my own track. I always say that it's almost impossible to have a game where you can build your own race track to be something completely unique with one game. It's why I reject any mention of track building for the Gran Turismo series... only except for Autocross tracks. I do wish you could race against some AI drivers, but again... this is strictly a multiplayer deal. The big complaints I've had about this game are that you have to have an nVidia graphics card to really enjoy the graphical quality of this game. But more imporantly, the TrackMania games (as I've read) have been notorious for being buggy. Some features of TrackMania Nations seemed so buggy that they restarted my computer so I had no chance to access certain features. This would be expected from my crappy eMachines computer, but not for my much better HP computer. If you always wondered what TrackMania could be like, download TrackMania Nations. It's free.

I forgot to mention this was also initially intended as part of the Electronic Sports World Cup.



Evel Knievel (1938 - 2007) Dead at 69
My recollection of Evel Knievel isn't very clear. I can't honestly tell you about seeing him in action. I do know that he was one of the most original daredevils. He defied death and pulled off amazing stunts, sacrificing his body and health to wow millions of fans. You can read more about Evel Knievel courtesy of E! here: < http://www.eonline.com/news/article...6-51b7-4705-8b4d-9d5994a39bcc&sid=fd-hot3-txt >. My thoughts and prayers go out to him and his friends and family. You defied death on your amazing motorcycle stunts to wow millions of fans the world over. You were a true hero. We will deeply miss you.



Finally Found Out What This New York Thing is About
I'm talking about the VH1 show, "I Love New York." I usually don't watch VH1. Sometimes using Myspace on public computers, I see these God-forsaken annoying spam ads asking questions about "What's New York's real name?" or something like that. I found out that this "New York" lady is Tiffany Pollard. The guys that want to go out with New York are usually given these nicknames based on their personality. I even see some of these stupid spam ads talking about "Should Chance get his own show?" But I finally have seen what this New York deal is about. And always remember, kids... NEVER CLICK ON OR PARTICIPATE WITH ANY SUSPICIOUS-LOOKING ADS ONLINE! Moral of the story is that I now know what this New York thing is about.





My GAME OF THE WEEK will be the Big XII Championship game. I'll start off with the championship games. I will then go on to the Backyard Brawl game between West Virginia and Pittsburgh. All eyes will be on Missouri and West Virginia. A loss by either or both teams puts Ohio State in the BCS National Championship game along with a good two-loss team. So many scenarios. So many, "that's why we need a playoff" comments. I'll cover as much ground as I can for all of you. So please come back here to this thread once I have my Saturday report complete. As I always say, I will try to get the scores done soon enough, meaning that you may likely see my Saturday reports before sunrise on Sunday morning. So please take care!

 

[JohnBM01]

This is the final week of regular season college football. Divisions FCS through 3 are in Playoff mode. We have two crucial matches involing the Top 2.





SATURDAY SYNOPSIS: Week 13
Conference championship action was taking place as one team simply has to win to be into the National Championship game. Meanwhile, the other opponent was trying to keep hope alive to make the postseason... but carries the dreaded #2 ranking. Any other action basically involved rivalry games.





--- Division 1: Bowl Subdivision Scores ---
I will begin with conference championships. I will sample some of the newer controls for posts. So check this out.

*** The Dr. Pepper Big XII Championship Game *** (GAME OF THE WEEK)
The Alamodome
San Antonio, Texas

#9 Oklahoma {Sooners} vs. #1 Missouri {Tigers}​

This is for Big XII supremacy. It's "win and you're in" for Missouri, but Oklahoma has other ideas. The Tigers of Missouri came off of ending Kansas' unbeaten run. The Sooners have long been the real power this season. It's an upset by rankings, but for Oklahomans, this was a bad call by voters to say that Missouri's the best in the nation, especially after what Oklahoma pulled off.

FINAL SCORE:
#9 Oklahoma - 38 (#1 Upset! and Most Disappointing Loss)
#1 Missouri - 17

*** The SEC Championship Championship Game ***
Georgia Dome
Atlanta, Georgia

#14 Tennessee {Volunteers} vs. #5 Louisiana State {Tigers}​

So one pack of Tigers got their asses handed to. Let's see how the other Tigers did. Louisiana State's Tigers claim not to be beaten in regulation. Maybe Tennessee has some answers for them. To win, they will need to Volunteer their services to beat up LSU and shut them up. Something got shut alright, and that's Tennessee getting shut up and down to the Bayou Bengals.


FINAL SCORE:
#14 Tennessee - 21
#5 Louisiana State - 14


SIDE NOTE
Michigan fans will NOT get the services of Les Miles because he's staying put with LSU.

*** The ACC Championship Game ***
Jacksonville Municipal Stadium
Jacksonville, Florida

#6 Virginia Tech {Hokies} vs. #5 Boston College {Eagles}​

"We ARE Virginia Tech." From tragedy to triumph. Thrity-two people were killed back in April in a terrible shooting massacre. The spirit of Virginia Tech remains as pure as snow. The Hokies look to take down some fowl. That fowl would happen to be Boston College. The Eagles have had a great season. Both teams probably not heading to anybody's National Championship game, but this is all about who's the better ACC fowl. Virginia Tech triumphed in this game, but have long triumphed in real life.

FINAL SCORE:
#6 Virginia Tech - 30 (big win)
#12 Boston College - 16

*** The Conference USA Championship Game ***
Citrus Bowl
Orlando, Florida

Tulsa {Golden Hurricane} at Central Florida {Golden Knights}​

Conference USA's conference championship game makes it so thatthe game will take place at the school with the better record. A golden team will win this game. The Golden Knights of UCF survived the Golden Hurricane

FINAL SCORE:

Tulsa - 25
Central Florida - 44

I'll highlight one more for you all.

*** The Marathon Oil MAC Championship Game ***
Ford Field
Detroit, Michigan

Miami University {Redhawks} at Central Michigan {Chippewas}​

No college football team calls Detroit home. The University of Detroit-Mercy College doesn't have football anymore. Central Michigan is in familiar territory- winning. That's what Chippewas do when Redhawks from Miami University think they deserve to be champions. Maybe Ben Roethlisberger should have been cloned and used over and over again to help Miami University win for the Redhawks.

FINAL SCORE:

Miami University - 10
Central Michigan - 35



Now on to other action. I'll highlight a few games, then go into Rapid Fire to show you other games that took place.

Backyard Shenanigans Set to Take Place in West Virginia
* Pittsburgh {Panthers} at #2 West Virginia {Mountaineers}
The team ranked #2 has lost SEVERAL games this season. Almost as if nobody wants to be #2. The Mountaineers felt this pain severely as they were edged out by a dead-and-out Pittsburgh Panther unit. (13-9; Pittsburgh) *** upset! ***

History Class All Over Again- the Civil War!
* Oregon State {Beavers} at #18 Oregon {Ducks}
Oregon got beat 16-0 to UCLA last time we checked. Now the Ducks are ready to return home to put up a better fight than they showed last week. Oregon put up a good fight, but the Oregon State Beavers are showing that Oregon is fading fast and seems to be completely out of gas. (38-31, OT; Oregon State) *** upset! ***

Hawaii's Unbeaten Streak is on the Line
* Washington {Huskies} at Hawaii {Warriors}
"Hawaii's a bunch of overrated sissies." "I'm not going to stay up until midnight just to see a mid-major play games in a cupcake conference." Hawaii hasn't gotten too much love from some voters simply because they are very far away and very late for an Eastern audience. The Warriors trailed in this game until they just edged out the Huskies late. Overrated NOW? (35-28; #11 HAWAII) *** big win ***

Army vs. Navy... Once Again
* Army vs. Navy --- RIVALRY GAME: Battle for the Commander-in-Chief Trophy --- --- M&T Bank Stadium; Baltimore, MD ---
Can we call this a home game for Navy? The Navy crew are based in Annapolis, Maryland. The Midshipmen are in full force even though this seems more like a glorified home game. The Army Black Knights haven't beaten Navy since 2001. No matter who wins, they are both winners in protecting our nation from any danger that dare threatens us. In typical Army fashion, the Black Knights got knocked ice cold by Navy. This is the first time either team has beaten the other six successive times. (38-3; Navy)



RAPID FIRE

* Louisiana Tech at Nevada (49-10; NEVADA)
* Brigham Young at San Diego State (48-27; Brigham Young) <<< game postponed by wildfires earlier this year
* California at Stanford --- RIVALRY GAME: ??? --- (20-17; STANFORD) *** most disappointing loss ***
* North Texas at Florida International (38-19; FLORIDA INTERNATONAL) *** big win ***
* Arizona at #13 Arizona State --- RIVALRY GAME: The Big Game --- (20-17; #13 ARIZONA STATE)





--- John's Winners and Losers ---
Win. Lose. Upset. Own. You do those, you're in. So let's see who makes the cut this time around. The regular season ends for all divisions this week, so be ready to see a Regular Season-in-Review thread in the near future.



BIGGEST WIN(S) OF THE WEEK
(tie) Virginia Tech and Hawaii Both Survive Their Respective Games - (VT) Everyone is a Hokie. VT went through the tragedy of the Virginia Tech Massacre in April to have a strong football campaign. Sports can be an agent to help ease tensions and get people to feel better and safer. For what they've been through and the recovery thereof, I MUST give Virginia Tech these honors. Hokie Nation is loud and proud and for good reason. Amazing effort by this school. (Hawaii) It seemed like Hawaii was going to be ousted by Washington. But the Warriors pulled together and picked up a big win against Washington. Don't take anything away from Washington. They weren't impressive this season, but they did play with purpose in trying to stun Hawaii out of their boots. This was a truly amazing effort by Hawaii all season long.

MOST DISAPPOINTING LOSS(ES) OF THE WEEK
California's Fall from Grace Sends the Blue and Gold Straight to Hell - ...and I'm not talking about Hell, Michigan. I'm talking about California stumbling madly to Stanford. California was bound to be a major player in National Championship contention. But all they've done up to this point was fall on their faces and play uninspired. This was certainly an exclamation as to how far California has stumbled.

UPSET(S) OF THE WEEK (if any)
#1 and #2 Go Down; BCS Messed Up... AGAIN - Missouri got their asses handed to by Oklahoma, and Pittsburgh shown America how they are NOT a sorry team. People in Columbus had to be celebrating at how Ohio State can pull right in for the National Championship game in New Orleans. And yet again, #2 falls. It was a great effort by Pittsburgh. It may just be a 2-loss team going at it. My pick for a National Championship game? Ohio State vs. LSU. Think it will happen? We'll see on the Bowl Selection Show this Sunday.

OWNAGE(S) OF THE WEEK
Louisiana Tech Became Lunch for Some Hungry Wolves - The final regular season ownage will be decided shortly. So here is my pick: Nevada's beatdown of Louisiana Tech. Bulldogs are mangy animals... only as long as they don't come from Rustic, LA playing against a middle-of-the-road Nevada squad.

Louisiana Tech = OWNED 49-10 by Nevada!





--- John's Student Lounge ---

I have nothing special to report or talk about except that I thank all of you for taking part in my college football threads. I try to bring together the general GTPlanet community to talk college football. It's why I do this. I try to grow an audience, make things interesting, and allow you to chat about whatever as long as it was about college football. Coming up next will be my regular season in review thread. I'll alternate between college football discussion and college basketball discussion. I will announce the Heisman winner, your 2007 All-Americans, and more in the next thread. Please take care and have an awesome night.

 

[Max Powers]

WOW! The Backyard Brawl was great last night, Pitt actually showed up for once this season and showed the nation that they still are a talented team.

I can't say enough about them, their defense played out of their minds, holding Steve Slaton to under 20 total yards, and blowing up both WVU Quarterbacks.

On the other side of the ball, Pat Bostick still scares me, but Lesean McCoy, their true freshman RB is looking like he's going to be a superstar in a few years, phenominal game by him, as he basically carried Pitt's offense on his back, gaining the vast majority of the team's total yards.

Anyway it's still lose-lose for me, since now I have to sit through another national championship with Ohio State playing.

By the way, my choice for the national championship would be Hawaii vs. Oklahoma, but that's just a pipe dream. I believe that any undefeated team in division IA football should at least have a shot at the title over teams with losses on their schedule.

Realistically though, the championship will probably be Ohio State vs. either Georgia or Oklahoma.