Juiced Sports Blog*: Writing Enhanced by Flaxseed Oil » West Virginia Mountaineers

The BCS Picture: is there clarity in sight?

sjacobs — Sun, 25 Nov 2007 05:29:00 +0000

Scott Jacobs

With championship week approaching, BCS picture beginning to clear up; (We think*)

Okay, you hear that America. It’s clear. Almost crystal clear. West Virginia. Missouri. You guys control your own destiny. That’s it. That’s all. Win next week and a funky matchup in New Orleans is set. Lose, and well things could get crazy. Again!

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After LSU and Kansas the top two teams in the BCS lost this weekend, and West Virginia and Missouri both put on very impressive performances, the envelopes are in. This shouldn’t be too complicated. If the Mountaineers beat the fighting Wannstedt’s next week (Pitt) and Mizzou avanges an early season loss to the Sooners in the Big XII title game, our BCS Championship game is set.

Of course in this college football season, where being #2 is a curse not a blessing, and clarity is a mirage this seems too simple. Both teams won’t win next week. My money is on Missouri. Not because the Tigers aren’t good enough. Nah, they’re very good. Especially Chase Daniel. I don’t like both teams to sweep because that means predictability. Not this year. Not in 2007, where the Washington Huskies could feasibly knock off Hawaii and ruin the final undefeated record left this college football season.

So what the heck happens if WV stumbles, or the Tigers falter? Well, here’s my crack at it.

If West Virginia or Missouri loses, BCS #3 to be Ohio State (Yeah, the Buckeyes!) would be in the driver’s seat to go to New Orleans. How? Well, let’s just say they’ve run out of games to play.

If both lose though (which is a wildly unlikely scenario, albeit possible), then the BCS gets downright ridiculous. Ohio State would be #1, and from there a logjam of 2 loss teams would fight for #2. Teams like Georgia and USC are still in this thing folks. Even LSU, the Tigers, could make a case if they beat the Vols of Tennessee. A two loss team in the title game? Can that happen?

Well, no disrespect to Hawaii (actually, I take that back, you guys play a garbage schedule), I’d rather see a two loss team go then you. So yeah, by failing to make the SEC title game, the Bulldogs of Georgia may actually benefit. Because they’ve got no more games left.

And in this wild season, being in the clubhouse is the best position of all.

We think. (But uh, who can be sure?)

College Football At It’s Best

mhblatt — Wed, 03 Oct 2007 02:15:00 +0000

Guest Blog: The Sports Diva

Upset? I’m Not!
Counterpoint:Don’t Discount the Losers

“You play to win the game!”-Herm Edwards

This weekend in college football was fabulous. Just fabulous. Of course I can say this being that Ohio State won their game. We’ll get into that win later.

We had loses from No. 3, 4, 5, 7, 10, 13, and 21.

That’s mighty Oklahoma, Defending champs Florida (Hey Urban, I think that timeout call is just going to work in the NFL this year), Big East contender West Virginia, the other mighty Big 12 team Texas (who said the North was bad?), up and coming Big East Rutgers, upsetted ACC Clemson, and everyone’s (not mine) favorite in the Big Ten Penn State. Even LSU had their issues with Tulane leading at halftime 10-9. USC at Washington had to secure their win by recovering the onside kick after Washington scored to get within 3. USC won 27-24.

What’s the lesson here? EVERY GAME MATTERS! The teams that lost this weekend obviously didn’t learn a thing from Michigan’s loss to App State. When App State won, you had to know that this season in college football was going to be a wild one.

Now these one loss teams need help. Oh Buckeyes, please don’t help them. Two of these teams after next weekend could be out of the hunt for a national title. Either Oklahoma or Texas will be. They play each other in the Red River Shootout. And Florida is against LSU. That game will be their season.

This is why I love college football. Forget American Idol, THIS is the best reality series period!

My Commentary-Mitchell

Quick trivia question: Who was the only team to beat the 2006 BCS national champions? Answer: Auburn.

Same thing that happened last week. Auburn just seems to have their way with Florida. Doesn’t matter what team they lost to though, as long as they are an SEC team. If you don’t already consider the SEC the best conference in the nation, no amount of arguing will sway you, but the fact is, SEC teams play a tough game every week. Most teams play a few solid opponents then a few tough opponents. SEC teams have to beat Georgia (#12), Tennessee, Auburn, South Carolina (#11), and LSU (#1) just to get through the division schedule. Even Kentucky is on the rise, now ranked 8th in the nation.

Now, look at Ohio State, the team that benefitted most from Saturday’s events. Who do they play besides Northwestern (who lost to Duke)? Wisconsin? They’re so scary at #5! A solid team, all right, but their #5 ranking is in part because the media has to put some teams from each conference high, and Wisconsin happens to be one of the Big 10’s best. Penn State, another one of the Big 10’s best, dropped out of the top 25. Michigan… No need to finish that sentence.

I respect Ohio State and their title chances. I said as much in my preseason preview of Ohio State’s title chances. But, the point is, don’t tear down Florida just to raise Ohio State. Losing by 3 to Auburn doesn’t mean much.

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COLLEGE FOOTBALL ROUNDUP (CONSTANTLY UPDATED)

mhblatt — Sat, 08 Sep 2007 19:16:00 +0000

Juiced Sports Blog Wire Line

NCAA Scores, Stats, and Stories For Sat. Sept. 8

Nebraska holds off Wake Forest, Oklahoma asserts their dominance, West Virginia’s defense shows it’s weekness, and more!

Nebraska Holds On: Nebraska 20, Wake Forest-17
Wake Forest made the top 25 last year largely by winning the turnover battle. In today’s loss to Nebraska, turnovers helped them battle Nebaska early then lose their chances late. They intercepted Nebraska twice and recovered a third quarter fumble that allowed them to score for the lead. Nebraska retook the lead, then mistakes by sophomore QB Brett Hodges ended Wake Forest’s chances of winning. Hodges, stepping in for starter Riley Skinner, went 17-of-23 for 130 yards. He blew it when he threw an intereception in the end zone with four minutes left. He had another chance to drive down the field with 1:30 left, but Wake Forest didn’t gain any yards there. Wake Forest had stayed in the game by running the ball. Led by Kenneth Moore (115 yards on 9 carries), they totaled 235 yards on 53 carries. Interesting note: Nebraska, being in the lead at halftime, has extended Coach Callahan’s record leading at halftime to 22-1. He is 0-12 when losing at halftime.

Kenneth Moore, RB, Wake Forest

Okahoma Asserts Their Dominance:Oklahoma-51, Miami-13
295 yards passing, 182 rushing, and they held Miami to 190 total yards. Maybe this isn’t the year Oklahoma dominates the regular season then fails in the bowl game? Or maybe it is, because they seem to be dominating the regular season right now. That would be right on par with what they did every other year.

Run, Run, Run, The Ball: West Virginia-48, Marshall-23
Steve Slaton got a cloth out before the game to shine the Heisman Trophy, but his quarterback, Pat White, said, “Not so fast, I want it, too.” Slaton finished with 146 yards on 24 carries. White ran for 125 yards on 18 carries and threw for 149 yards on 13-of-18 passing. Overall, West Virginia gained 362 yards rushing on 52 carries. But, they were playing Marshall. And that’s the part that should scare them. It’s been known that West Virginia has a bad defense, but Marshall shouldn’t have been leading at halftime. Marshall shouldn’t have thrown for 256 yards. Marshall gained a total of 145 yards vs. Miami in game one. And Miami is the defense that allowed 51 points to Oklahoma.

Not Exactly the Best Test…Georgia Tech-45, Samford-0, Halftime
Notre Dame (whom lost 33-3 to Georgia Tech) can take solace in the fact that Samford is also struggling. UPDATE: GT won. What an upset!

Michigan Sucks! Oregon-39, Michigan-7
It got to the point that they put their freshman QB Ryan Mallett in in the second half. (Mallet preceded to go 4-10 for 23 yards and a pick.) They said Henne was injured–and he was–but his injury, which occured halfway through the second quarter, wasn’t bad enough to force him out before halftime. Lloyd Carr might want to start looking around. I hear Duke’s coach is on the hot seat. Ted Roof gone 5-34 ever since taking over in 2004.

Terrorism Hits! America’s Team Goes Down! LSU a lot, VA Tech not so much
In a shocking turn of events, America’s Team of 2005 has taken down America’s Team of 2007. V-Tech has gained a total of 40 yards in this thrashing. LSU has 193 on the ground. Matt Flynn is 13-of-23 passing for 178 yards and did run for a score. The interesting thing is that no one seems to care about how LSU has been rebuilding New Orleans ever since Katrina. (Is it because we don’t care about black people?) Sorry, about the sarcasm, New Orleans residents. I know LSU hasn’t really been doing their job. Bush may think they’re doing a heckuva job, but we know New Orleans is still in shambles because of LSU’s incompetence. I hope V-Tech does a better job of rehabbing V-Tech than LSU did for New Orleans.

Da Bulls are on the map- USF 26 Auburn 23 OT
In a wild, thrilling contest that saw Auburn turn the ball five times, without USF capitalizing, and the Bulls missing field goal after field goal– badly, the Bulls still managed to pull of a huge win, or as ESPN2 put it, “a program maker”. A win at Auburn? USF is a sure thing to be ranked in the top 25 next week. And all of a sudden, with Rutgers, West Virigina, Louisville, and now USF, the once pathetic Big East, is now becoming quite a conference.

Say Cheese, UNLV, you had your chance- Wisconsin 20 UNLV 13
The game went back and forth, and UNLV led 13-12, but it wasn’t meant to be, as the number 5 ranked Badgers did just enough to win a tough game in Vegas.

The times they are a changing
Miami was destroyed. FSU struggled to defeat a terrible UAB team, Notre Dame and Michigan both fell to 0-2, and it became strikingly clear: the times they are a changing. UM was in the game at halftime, but Oklahoma put a good ol’ fashion whooping on the Canes, who need to settle on a QB before anything starts to develop. FSU trailed as much as 17-3 to UAB, but came back, eeking out a win over a Blazers team that has lost 8 straight. While it’s not much, at least its a win. Notre Dame is in a rebuilding year anyways, and Michigan… well, it’s going to be a long, forgettable year in Ann Arbor.

Heisman Watch: Tim Tebow Ups His TD Total To 9: Florida-59, Troy State-31
Heisman-in-waiting Tim Tebow lead Florida to a victory over the relentless Troy State pass rush by a wide margin. In Doing so, he threw for 237 yards and 3 touchdowns and ran for 83 more and 2 touchdowns. I realize Troy State’s pass rush might not be as relentless as I make it out to be, but next week against Tennessee, I won’t have to overhype Florida’s performance.

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