College Football 2009 (Nov. 30 - Dec. 6): The Last Dance

[JohnBM01]

The regular season will end for almost every team now. This is the last dance. One last time... run what'cha brung and make sure you brung enough.

The latest BCS standings have Oklahoma as #2. The Sooners can advance to the National Championship game if they beat #20 Missouri in the Big XII Championship game. Texas was pretty damned upset they didn't get to #2, but this was out of their control.


FBS Schedule: WED-SAT





NFL Focus
My Texans will play Monday Night. But let's see how the other teams fared. All the NFL scouts will be looking to see how these college ball players handle their business on Saturdays so when they do Sundays, they can deliver with all the pros. Here's your weekly NFL check:

St. Louis, Missouri - Rams Want to Have a Dolphin Lunch
* Miami Dolphins at St. Louis Rams (16-12; Miami Dolphins)

Tampa Bay, Florida - Buccaneers Tussle With Some Saints
* New Orleans Saints at Tampa Bay Buccaneers (23-20; TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS)

San Diego, California - The Lightning Bolts Ready to Strike on Some Falcons
* Atlanta Falcons at San Diego Chargers (22-16; Atlanta Falcons)

Buffalo, New York - Lovely Cities Collide in Western New York State
* San Francisco 49ers at Buffalo Bills (10-3; San Francisco 49ers)

Cleveland, Ohio - Losing to the Texans Last Week, Playing Indy Isn't Exactly Helping Browns Deal
* Indianapolis Colts at Cleveland Browns (10-6; Indianapolis Colts)

Lawrenceburg, Maryland - They Aren't Called the Giants for Nothing...
* New York Giants at Washington Redskins (23-7; New York Giants)

East Rutherford, New Jersey - Favre Defends Home Ground from a Stampede of Broncos
* Denver Broncos at New York Jets (34-17; Denver Broncos)

Green Bay, Wisconsin - Lambeau Field Ready to Cover The Powder Blue Wrecking Crew in Green and Gold
* Carolina Panthers at Green Bay Packers (35-31; Carolina Panthers)

Foxboro, Massachusetts - Boston's Boys Ready to Lower the Boom on Steel City's Finest
* Pittsburgh Steelers at New England Patriots (33-10; Pittsburgh Steelers)





That be all. Care to kick this week off proper?

 

[JohnBM01]

My GAME OF THE WEEK will be Alabama vs. Florida for the SEC Championship on Saturday.

An interesting predicament in Pasadena- USCal wants to wear their cardinal and gold in their match at UCLA, though visiting teams are required to wear their white colors. Remember earlier in the year how Rick N. made a flyer saying "the Los Angeles monopoly ends here" or something like that? Well, with this violation, USCal's probably trying to prove they can beat UCLA even with two timeouts.

We'll see what happens this Saturday.

 

[JohnBM01]

Tonight's match is the Sun Belt finale as it will be the Blue Raiders of Middle Tennssee State University going up against the Ragin' Cajuns of the University of Louisiana-Lafayette. Come back later tonight to find out who got it done after tonight's match.

 

[Pupik]

As a Gator, I'm just hoping a win against Alabama propels them to a BCS Championship game. And I detest Nick Saban after what he did to the Miami Dolphins, not so much for leaving, but for being a gutless, angry liar to the local media. So a UF win will be doubly sweet for me.

I'm kind of getting the feeling Texas was left out, as they beat a then-#1 Oklahoma at a neutral site. Oklahoma also allowed 41 points against OSU last week (of course, they put up 61 in a road win), in what looked like an Arena Football match.

How much to people want to see a rematch between UT and OU? It wouldn't be a bad rematch, if UF merely squeaks by Alabama (because, obviously...the Tide is going to the title game with a win), and pollsters just get tired of Tebow-mania. To be honest, there's a lot of support for UF from the non-Floridian press, except for maybe Oxford, Mississippi.

When it's all said and done, it's ridiculous that Utah, Boise State, and Ball State are totally left out in the cold; the last two have already had undefeated seasons in the recent past. Playoffs: Best 8, with the eighth team to be supplanted by any undefeated team that isn't ranked as such. Remove one conference game and one cupcake game from all teams so the season is over before mid-January.

 

[JohnBM01]

Here's how I understand this Big XII South love triangle:

#5 Texas beats #1 Oklahoma... #? Texas Tech beats #1 Texas... #2 Texas Tech gets creamated by #? Oklahoma...

...and Oklahoma will advance to the Big XII Championship game. What would send that race into further disarray is if #20 Missouri knocks off #2 Oklahoma, but I'm not even sure that's going to happen. Oh, and think about it like this- who would be the new #2 if Oklahoma loses? The latest rankings have Texas at #3 and Florida at #4. If anything... can you imagine #1 Alabama vs. Texas for the National Championship? Or... you could have a SEC Championship rematch involving Alabama and Florida. I don't really have an SEC favorite, but I am a fan of Urban Meyer. He made Utah relevant before moving on to Florida. And doesn't Meyer have something called... a BCS National Championship trophy with Florida? Meyer may dang well get another trophy.




Now let me put in a quick score...

The 2008 Sun Belt Championship
Middle Tennessee State {Blue Raiders} vs. Louisiana-Lafayette {Ragin' Cajuns}​

Blue is my favorite color, but never mess with the Ragin' Cajuns, or you'll be an MTSU Blue Raider singing the blues back to Murfreesboro, Tennessee. (42-28; Louisiana-Lafayette)





This Friday will be my fifth anniversary on GTPlanet. It may be early Friday morning I get you results of Louisville at Rutgers. I can't believe this, but Louisville is 5-6 while Rutgers is 6-5. A win for Louisville makes them Bowl Eligible. All you can do for an accomplishment is get six wins on a season. For big time schools (not to say Louisville isn't one), you'll need at least eight or nine wins. Again, Louisville with a chance to get to six wins, but they'll have to get it in the shadow of New York City as the State University of New Jersey will go to work and tee off on Louisville Thursday night.

Thanks for reading, everyone. Take care!

 

[JohnBM01]

As of now, Louisville and Rutgers is a beatdown. FoolKiller would smile whenever Louisville gets smacked 56-7 like they are now at Rutgers. It's about... 9:32 left in the third quarter. Louisville has the ball trailing 56-7. Louisville may miss out on the postseason unless they can get these unanswered points back to make it a game again.

 

[JohnBM01]

This Friday will be my fifth year on GTPlanet. So I tried to get this in to all of you before I rung in my fifth year on GTP.





Division 1 Scores
We're in the shadow of New York City. Only that this is Piscataway, New Jersey we're talking about.

Piscataway, New Jersey - Rutgers Has Nothing to Lose With a 6-5 Record... Louisville, Meanwhile...
* Louisville {Cardinals} at Rutgers {Scarlet Knights}
Remember when Rutgers had their magical seasons last year and two years ago? That magic isn't there with this year's team, though they will return bowling. The Scarlet Knights are going to the postseason with their 6-5 record. The other red team is Louisville. The Cardinals are fighting for their postseason lives, and going to Rutgers isn't going to do them many favors. Earn your money if you want to make the postseason! Only thing the University of Louisville earned was the chance to transistion from being a football fan to a basketball fan because Rutgers smashed the Cardinals. (63-14; RUTGERS)





Tomorrow night is a game I know studentdriver will be watching with great interest because the Buffalo Bulls will be taking on the Cardinals of Ball State. It's the red boys of Ball State (and their ugly Cardinal logo) going up against the boys in blue with the nice bull logo. Find out who gets the job done in MoTown tomorrow night. The Big Three automakers may be in some financial trouble, but someone's going to be money in MoTown when Ford Field sees two of the best MAC teams square off. And if you're lucky, maybe a few Detroit Lions fans will be in the stands watching this college game. Because Detroit clinched their division recently, right? Probably clinched #1 draft pick at best.

Now when I do Saturday scores, the first scores will be conference championships. Then we move on to other action on the year. I think FCS will be in action as the SWAC Conference Championship will be decided. Thanks for reading, everyone!

 

[JohnBM01]

Tonight's game involves Buffalo vs. Ball State. The action will take place at Ford Field. Be back here for my report as to who won.

And if you're reading this and want to offer some kind words on my 5th anniversary on GTPlanet (today), please visit: < https://www.gtplanet.net/forum/showthread.php?p=3235198 >. Have an amazing day, everyone!

 

[JohnBM01]

QUICK OBSERVATION...

An observation right now is that Ball State's unbeaten run may come to an end. it's 35-17 in favor of Buffalo with 4:23 left in the game. Studentdriver may be smiling wide if they get this. Okay... now the Ball State Cardinals convert on fourth down to make it a touchdown. So now it's 35-24 in favor of Buffalo. I'm assuming its somewhere north of 4:00 left in the game now.

Full report to come.

 

[Studentdriver]

You may be right. Congrats to UB on their spectacular season. Looks like I wasn't so crazy for hyping them up at the beginning of the season, huh?

 

[JohnBM01]

Yeah, perhaps not.


Current Observations...
Here are some TV notes as to who's playing. I'm here in Houston, so the games I'm watching may be different from yours. So here goes:

* CBS: Navy vs. Army (currently 10-0 at the end of the 1st Quarter)
* ABC: (at Noon) Boston College vs. Virginia Tech <<< ACC title game
* ESPN: Pittsburgh at Connecticut
* ESPN Classic: (Division 2) Minnesota-Duluth at California University of Pennsylvania
* ESPN2: Tulsa at East Carolina <<< Conference USA title game

Up next on CBS is my GAME OF THE WEEK: Florida vs. Alabama. Now here's a scenario for you all... what if Florida beats Alabama, and Missouri beats Oklahoma? The National Championship picture is going to be VERY messed up. By the way... if you're watching the Army-Navy game, what do you make of Navy's special uniform and Army's special uniforms with camouflage on their helmets, numbers, and pants? I'll have a full report when I get it all complete perhaps early Sunday morning.

 

[JohnBM01]

I forgot to post... maybe I made my report, then lost it all. One thing I hate is typing something up... and forgetting to post it. So here's a score:

Buffalo beat #12 Ball State to the tune of a 42-24 victory.

Keep enjoying today's games as well as tonight's games.

 

[JohnBM01]

First Ball State... now you may want to add Alabama to the "unbeatens finally beaten" list. Florida leads 31-20 with 1:39 left in the game after 'Bama got picked off by the Gators. So part of the BCS mess is complete. Now it means that Oklahoma MUST win against Missouri to head to the BCS National Championship game.

Full report when I get a chance to work on it and complete it. Expect a CRAZY change to the BCS rankings come tomorrow or Monday!

 

[JohnBM01]

It's the first Saturday of December and the final week of FBS football. Next week is all about the Heisman as well as what teams will be going to what bowl games. I was mostly watching college football as well as fooling around on YouTube and stuff. Time to see who beat who because that's all I do.

I will begin with conference championships, then move on to the non-championship games including Army/Navy.





Division 1: FBS Scores
My Game of the Week is in Atlanta. Let's begin here!

*+x The SEC Championship Game x+*
Georgia Dome
Atlanta, Georgia, USA

#1 Alabama {Crimson Tide}
vs.
#2 Florida {Gators}
--- GAME OF THE WEEK ---​

Tim Tebow's arm as well as contributing offensive plays by Florida helped the Gators rocket themselves over Alabama. The Crimson Tide tastes defeat for the first time this season.

FINAL SCORE:
#1 Alabama - 20
#2 Florida - 31


The BCS will be screwed for sure. How did everyone else do? Let's find out!

*+x The Big XII Championship Game x+*
Arrowhead Pond
Kansas City, Missouri

#20 Missouri {Tigers}
vs.
#4 Oklahoma {Sooners}​

The skies were clear while the air was cold. It's an in-state team meeting some boys from another state. Some championship game... the Sooners basically fought their way to the BCS National Championship game unless the BCS has their say as to who's better than the Sooners. The Tigers went kaput. The Sooners tripled up on the Tigers. Bye-bye!

FINAL SCORE:
#20 Missouri - 21
#4 Oklahoma - 62

*+x The ACC Championship Game x+*
Raymond James Stadium
Tampa Bay, Florida

#18 Boston College {Eagles}
vs.
#25 Virginia Tech {Hokies}​

The Hokies picked up more than a win. They sought revenge as they took good care of the Boston College Eagles, who have a "can't win the big one" feel at the ACC Championship game.

FINAL SCORE:
#18 Boston College - 12
#25 Virginia Tech - 30


Now on to some non-BCS championships. And I must apologize about one game being for the championship in one conference. Let me redeem myself right now.

The 2008 Sun Belt Championship

Arkansas State {Red Wolves}
at
Troy {Trojans}​

The Trojans enjoyed whipping up on some Red Wolves from Arkansas State.

FINAL SCORE:
Arkansas State - 9
TROY - 35

The Conference USA Championship

East Carolina {Pirates}
at
Tulsa {Golden Hurricane}​

They may be the Golden Hurricane, but it was the Pirates of East Carolina University who made Tulsa submit and tap out.

FINAL SCORE:
East Carolina - 27
Tulsa - 24





Now let's chat about some non-championship action.

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania - A Rivalry Game Where Everyone is a Winner Regardless of the Final Score
* Army {Black Knights/Cadets} vs. Navy {Midshipmen}
In a rivalry that dates back to 1890, these two schools will play for pride in one of the most unique rivalries. America is the winner regardless of who wins this game. The Midshipmen shown why they are the best service academy in college football as they took good care of the Army Black Knights. (34-0; Navy)

Los Angeles, California - Two Teams in Home Colors Battling for L.A. Pride
* #5 USCal (Trojans) at UCLA {Bruins}
The Trojans will meet Penn State in the Rose Bowl if they win. For the first time ever, I saw a flag for illegal equipment or whatever it was, and so a timeout was charged to both teams in the First Half. UCLA's Bruins put one touchdown against USCal, but the Trojans blanketed their cardinal and gold all over UCLA. USCal probably would have won even if they had only one timeout per half in this game. (28-7; #5 Southern California)

Berkley, California - Washington has One Last Chance to Prevent Going Winless
* Washington {Huskies} at California {Golden Bears}
Let's visit the beautiful Bay Area. While rather far from San Francisco, the Golden Bears will put their Bay Area pride on the line against some doggies from Seattle. Hush, puppies! California silenced these Huskies as they finished winless. Great shame for one of the usual best college football teams in America. (48-7; CALIFORNIA)

Tuscon, Arizona - The Territorial Cup is On the Line
* Arizona State {Sun Devils} at Arizona {Wildcats}
Arizona's pulled a beatdown win over Arizona State. The Sun Devils needed to win to be Bowl Eligible, and didn't do it on the road. (31-10; ARIZONA)

SIDE NOTE
This is about the last time I can remember Arizona State not advancing to a Bowl Game. They finish 5-7 while Arizona finished 7-5.


Morgantown, West Virginia - The Bulls Face an Uphill Battle Against Those Used to Mountains
* South Florida {Bulls} at West Virginia {Mountaineers}
The Mountaineers of WVU and Bulls of USoFl have gold, but blue and gold were better than green and gold in this match. (13-7; WEST VIRGINIA)

Miami, Florida - WKU's Adjustment Phase Continues Against One of the Sorriest Sun Belt Teams
* Western Kentucky {Hilltoppers} at Florida International {Golden Panthers}
Adjustment or not, it hurts to lose to Florida International's Golden Panthers, especially if on the road. The Hilltoppers simply got toppled in the MIA. (27-3; FLORIDA INTERNATONAL)

Hartford, Connecticut - Steel City Kitties Ready to Pounce on Some Dogs
* #23 Pittsburgh {Panthers} at Connecticut {Huskies}
This game was close in the state capital of Connecticut. It was 3-3 at the half. But thanks to putting up 24 points in the third, it was all Pittsburgh needed to blast past the UConn Huskies. (34-10; #23 Pittsburgh)

OFF-TOPIC - I think UConn has the best Husky logo of any school known as the Huskies. Cute little doggie!


Honolulu, Hawaii - Bearcats in Paradise... But is it Paradise Lost for Hawaii?
* #13 Cincinnati {Bearcats} at Hawaii {Warriors}
The Bearcats haven't been National Champions since the 1910s or 1930s, but they felt like they were a perennial power as they edged out a game Hawaii Warriors squad. (29-24; #13 Cincinnati)





That's all the games I'll feature. A few FCS games played, but I'm still not caught up on FCS, Division 2, and Division 3. Coming up some time later are my Winners and Losers.

 

[JohnBM01]

John's Winners and Losers
It's the final Winners and Losers of the regular season. I want to say it's been great doing these. All I know is that some of you are going to love me, and some others will hate me for my picks. I know I'm going to make at least one person happy and at least one other pissed the hell off. So let's see who made my list this week.





BIGGEST WIN(S) OF THE WEEK - No One Could Figure Out Ball State... Except Buffalo
Ball State were trying to crash the party, and Buffalo came through to win. I admit I was crazy in thinking that Buffalo were going to be the usual lame ducks. Well, they made me look absolutely stupid by taking down Buffalo. Think of it this way... I usually think Kansas is used to falling on their faces in games, which is why I was surprised when Kansas had that dream season last season. Man... if the MAC didn't have a conference championship, Ball State would have had to pack their bags and head to a BCS Bowl game. But thanks to Buffalo, the Bulls moved the clock towards Midnight. As a result- it was a Cardinal sin to mess with the Buffalo Bulls. It was all about Ball State until they were trounced by the blue and white. And as a result, Buffalo won't have to travel very far to play in the International Bowl next year in Toronto.


MOST DISAPPOINTING LOSS(ES) OF THE WEEK - Unfulfilled Promise... Boston College Just Can't Win the Big One
Virginia Tech pulled a nice win as Boston College seemed to show no heart in trying to fight back. BC is a great team, but VT knocked BC back to the Stone Age.


UPSET(S) OF THE WEEK (if any) - #1 Alabama Tastes Defeat for the First Time as Florida May Have Saved Their National Championship Hopes
Bama beat by Meyer and his Gators. Pupik must be smiling while doing the Gator Chomp all night long. The Crimson Tide were washed away by the Gators. Georgia hates Gators, but the Gators rocked the A.T.L. in this win.


OWNAGE(S) OF THE WEEK - Louisville Not Only Will Fail to Make the Postseason, They Lost Some Feathers and Teeth at Rutgers
The Louisville Cardinals couldn't have been any glad to fly back to Louisville, especially after taking a 63-14 beating. Sing-a-long, GTPlanet!

Louisville - OWNED 63-14 at Rutgers!





That's the end of another week of college football. I'll be dropping a little rock for you to close out. This was my favorite song in "NASCAR 07," and maybe you like this too...


Breaking Benjamin - "The Diary of Jane"

No real football regular season action next week. All eyes will just be on New York City as we learn who the 2008 Heisman Trophy winner will be. Thank you for your reading. Take care and God bless! Also, thanks to all of you who have posted some comments for me in my thread where I look back on my 5th Anniversary on GTPlanet. Five years strong on GTPlanet, and I have you guys to thank for such kindness and respect.

Take care!

 

[Pupik]

UPSET(S) OF THE WEEK (if any) - #1 Alabama Tastes Defeat for the First Time as Florida May Have Saved Their National Championship Hopes
Bama beat by Meyer and his Gators. Pupik must be smiling while doing the Gator Chomp all night long.

Oh, yes I did! I have nothing really against the Tide, since they're not a traditional foe, but...Take that and cry about it, Saban! I just had a DVR hooked up 2 days before the game, and I watched it twice (football games go down in about 90 minutes with TiVo/DVR...it's like watching video game of the game), just to hope Florida got a #2 BCS ranking.

It was actually weird to be worried about the outcome before the half; Ole Miss really put them in their place back in late September. Good game, but some weird/bad calls, but sometimes that's how it works out.

Those Sooners are going to be tough, though. Two great quarterbacks, both can run and throw. Now we wait four weeks...