It’s been fun, but here’s the last regular season TV schedule. Next week comes the championship games followed by the bowls. Lots of games this week matter to one team, but few matter to both. Florida/FSU and UGA/Ga Tech are for pride. LSU and VPI need to hold on to make championship games. Texas needs a win for the Rose and ND needs a win for a BCS birth. All four are heavy favorites. The Big East games hold a lot of importance where a WVU loss and USF win would set the two up for a de facto championship game next week.
Herbsteit Hits the Crack Pipe Too Hard
On GameDay Saturday, Kirk said that he thinks Pete Carroll should be coach of the year this year ahead of Joe Paterno, Karl Dorrell, Charlie Weis, and Steve Spurrier, who were also mentioned on the show. While Pete Carroll is a phenomenal coach, what exactly has he done this year? Known as a defensive expert, Carroll has put a very mediocre defense on the field, and on offense, no coach outside of Knoxville could screw up with the firepower the Trojan’s have. Not to mention they face some of the worst defenses in the country in the Pac 10. Carroll is an extraordinary coach, but let’s give the credit to those who’ve done a great job THIS year.
Just for Fun
Young, Leinart, and Bush seem to be everyone’s top picks for Heisman. In an effort to normalize their efforts, think about how you would rank the following teams.
USC with Vince Young as QB
Texas with Reggie Bush as RB
Texas with Matt Leinart as QB
The thought of Reggie Bush and Vince Young in the same backfield is staggering whether they’re wearing orange or maroon and gold.
More on Bush
If Bush doesn’t win the Heisman this year, it will be a bigger travesty than when Manning was overlooked in 1997. Against Fresno St., Bush accounted for 95% of USC’s rushing yards and 34% of its receiving yards for a total of 71% of the offense. Including special teams, Bush accounted for 78% of USC’s yards. Two hundred ninety-four yards on 23 carries rushing – WOW. That’s impressive even against a WAC team.
BCS projection:
The BCS Bowls are firming up. In addition to the conference champs, ND is practically a lock at this point. That will leave one at large bid, which will likely be filled by Ohio State, Oregon, or an at large SEC team.
The rules are cryptic to say the least, with a ton of if’s, then’s, but’s, and other exceptions. However, it’s worth explaining the selection process as many of the bowl predictions that you hear about are just not feasible.
After the Rose and the conference tie-ins placing the SEC champ in the Sugar and ACC Champ in the Orange, the Fiesta Bowl will get first pick since it’s giving up a Big 12 team (Texas) to the Rose. The Fiesta can choose whichever eligible team that they want though they likely take Notre Dame. The three remaining slots will be chosen in the order of Orange, Fiesta, and then Sugar.
The Orange probably selects Penn State here, but an Ohio State team fresh off a Michigan win is also a good bet. The choice then goes back to the Fiesta. If the Orange goes Ohio State, the Fiesta takes Penn State. If Penn State’s off the table, the Fiesta will have a choice of the Big East Champ or an at large team. Most likely, they go at large Oregon or Ohio State although it’s worth noting that Ohio State has spent lots of winters in Tempe lately. In any event, unless some miracle happens, the Sugar Bowl gets stuck with the Big East Champ. Hopefully, it’s a one loss WVU team.
