Grounding the Flashes and the Big Finish

Brian: On Saturday, the Kent State Golden Flashes come to Alumni Stadium led by running back/return man Eugene Jarvis. Last week, Jarvis ran the ball for 141 yards on 27 carries in an 18-0 win over Coastal Carolina. He also caught 3 passes for 30 yards and scored a touchdown. Oh yeah, and he only added another 94 yards in kick returns for a total of 265 all-purpose yards in Kent State's week 1 victory. Will this young Eagles team be able to neutralize the big play threat of Jarvis tomorrow?

Jeff: Absolutely. No offense to Jarvis, but he is the one threat the Eagles have to worry about and I'm sure they'll be playing the run first all day leaving our experienced secondary in single coverage. If Jarvis does get a big play, it will likely be on special teams.

Brian: I agree the Eagles will likely build their defensive playbook around stopping Eugene Jarvis first and foremost. Kent State is also breaking in a new quarterback under center and his numbers were underwhelming in week one. Last week, Giorgio Morgan threw for 21 of 35 passing, 201 yards and 2 interceptions. Will it help the Eagles' young defense to scheme for stopping Eugene Jarvis, as we will have to key in on stopping another electric running back/return man next week in C.J. Spiller?

Jeff: I don't think there are enough similarities between Kent State and Clemson for this game against Kent State tomorrow to help us really prepare for a legit ACC offense and one of the top RBs in the country in CJ Spiller. On Thursday night the Tigers lost to Georgia Tech, but remember that Parker looked pretty solid and put up real impressive numbers in the second half.

Brian: Steve Conroy of the Herald reports that while the Eagles did beat Northeastern 54-0, the offensive line still has a long way to go:

"We’ve still got a long way to go," said center and tri-captain Matt Tennant. "Everyone is not really meshing the way I or (offensive line coach Sean) Devine wants. We’re not working together on our double teams, we’re not fitting the exact way we want, and I think that’s just a time thing. As the season progresses, our fits will get better, our pass blocking will get better and then everything will come together."

Will we see improvement in the offensive line this week, especially with the return of Rich Lapham?

Jeff: I wouldn't be surprised if we saw improvement out of nearly every unit of this team every week for the entire season. This team probably has the talent and skills to be very successful in the ACC, but just lacks experience in some key areas. I am confident that this team will work hard and show lots of improvement barring any major injuries.

Brian: The weather forecast for tomorrow calls for cloudy skies with occasional rain showers. High around 65 degrees. Will the rain help slow down Eugene Jarvis and the Golden Flash offense? Or will the weather conditions encourage even more of a ground attack from both the Flashes and the Eagles? Who has the advantage here?

Jeff: C'mon. It's Kent State. BC is favored by 21. We could play them in a dome or in a blizzard and BC would come out on top regardless.


Big Finish

Jeff: Great news for the Eagles. BC linebacker Mike McLaughlin rejoined the team and was practicing Wednesday for the first time since March. When do you expect McLaughlin to return?

Brian: I don't want him to rush his return to the field, but I'm cautiously optimistic he'll be back in the lineup for the Florida State game.


Brian: Boston College has 20 pros in the NFL this year, good for 8th best in the ACC. What, if anything, stands out to you from that list?

Jeff: Maybe that Maryland has more than us but it's only 4 more. No surprise Miami tops the list.


Jeff: BC still has two quarterbacks this weekend and will rotate in David Shinskie and Justin Tuggle. Will a starter emerge this week in time for the Clemson game?

Brian: I hope so. I will feel much less confident about our trip to Death Valley if a starter doesn't emerge this week and Spaz continues to play both guys.


Brian: The Emerald Bowl renewed their affiliation with the Pac-10 through the 2013 season but the conference will not be playing an ACC team. Instead, the Pac-10 will face a WAC team, Navy or Army. Your thoughts?

Jeff: Interesting how Army is going in 2011 if eligible and Navy in 2012. Not disappointed the ACC is out though because I like to drive to bowl games.


Jeff: I heard this on the radio yesterday. Kent State has the second worst all-time winning percentage in Division I-A behind Florida International. Guess who's third on that list? (Hint: It's an ACC team).

Brian: Everyone's gut reaction is to say Duke but they were really good back in the day. So I'll guess Wake Forest. Second guess would be NC State.

Jeff: Wake Forest is correct.


Brian: Get this. Albert Louis-Jean of Brockton is 15 years old and already has an offer from Boston College. Too soon?

Jeff: He's only 15 but he is a junior in High School so it's all good.


Jeff: Clemson and Georgia Tech looked a little sloppy last night. Clemson had two deadly mistakes on special teams, while Georgia Tech QB Josh Nesbitt completed only 36% of his passes and threw 2 picks. Still not in favor of preseason scrimmages?

Brian: Absolutely not. Both teams looked sloppy last week too - Georgia Tech had 5 fumbled and Clemson backup QB Willy Korn had two turnovers. How many preseason scrimmages would be needed to work out the kinks? If I'm told we can't have an NFL-style postseason, then college football shouldn't have an NFL-style preseason either.


Brian: Last one, final score prediction time. HD predicts the Eagles win 31-10. ATL has the Eagles as 28-10 winners. You gonna be a man and take the Eagles to cover the -20.5 point spread?

Jeff: Absolutely. I think we'll score more than either predict.


Pick 5

Brian: For the second straight year, I start the season 5-0. **Pats self on back**. And who says that picking lines preseason is difficult? You can follow our Pick 5 standings throughout the year on the left sidebar.

For my week 1 victory, I have honors and get to choose first.

• Kent State at Boston College (-20.5)
• Syracuse (+29) at Penn State
• UCLA at Tennessee (-10)
• North Carolina (-4) at Connecticut
• Notre Dame (-3) at Michigan

Jeff:

• USC (-7) at Ohio State
• Central Michigan at Michigan State (-14.5)
• Troy at Florida (-36.5)
• Houston at Oklahoma State (-15)
• Louisiana Tech at Navy (-7.5)

Enjoy all the college football this weekend. Go Eagles!

Fortune Teller: ACC Champions and Bowl Predictions

Part of BCI's season preview week.

First we gave you the Atlantic Division picture, then the Coastal. Last up, who will win the ACC Championship Game and where will teams go bowling this season? Our ACC Championship Game and bowl picks (and right in time before the season kicks off!) below for your approval.


Brian's ACC Championship Game and Bowl Predictions

ACC Championship - Miami Fla. > Clemson, for their first ever ACC Championship

Orange - Miami (Fla.)
Peach - Clemson
Gator - Florida State
Champs - Virginia Tech
Music City - Georgia Tech
Meineke Car Care - North Carolina
Emerald - Boston College
EagleBank - NC State
GMAC - Wake Forest

Miami (Fla.) faces Ohio State - a BCS at-large - in the Orange Bowl.

Even though the Peach Bowl has passed on the ACC Championship Game runner-up every year since the conference started playing championship games, that rule won’t to Clemson. Atlanta is more than happy to take the Tigers in a year where the SEC will send two teams to BCS games and the Peach will have to settle for a middle of the pack program like Tennessee or Ole Miss. Also, the fact that the 2007 game between Clemson and Auburn pulled in the highest rating in the bowl’s history won’t be lost on the Atlanta Sports Council.

The Gator scoops up Florida State and the Hokies are sent to Orlando. Georgia Tech dusts off the Wrambling Wreck and makes the short four hour drive up to Nashville, and the Meineke Car Care Bowl is happy to take the local team in UNC for the second consecutive season.

Boston College is sent west to face a big draw Pac-10 team (a UCLA or Oregon State,) while Tom O’Brien and the Wolfpack set out to prove that they are the best team in the state of North Carolina (woo!) for the second straight season* as they face East Carolina in the EagleBank Bowl.

Finally, Wake Forest heads to the Mobile to face a directional Michigan team in the GMAC Bowl.


* NC State will have knocked off Gardner-Webb, Duke, Wake Forest and North Carolina, but will lose to ECU in Washington.


Jeff’s Coastal Division predictions

ACC Championship - Virginia Tech > Clemson

Orange - Virginia Tech (again)
Peach - Clemson
Gator - Florida State
Champs - Georgia Tech
Music City - Miami (Fla.)
Meineke Car Care - Boston College
Emerald - North Carolina
EagleBank - NC State
GMAC - Wake Forest

Virginia Tech will play Oklahoma State in the Orange Bowl which will be a true "Orange Bowl" when the Oklahoma State Cowboys wear their orange uniforms and Virginia Tech fans wear their orange.

This rest shapes out fairly simply because Clemson will have been 10-2 entering the ACC Championship Game and travels well such that the Peach Bowl will take them. After that, it's basically a matter of the next best teams going to each bowl after that since the two best traveling fan bases - Virginia Tech and Clemson - will have already been gobbled up.

Boston College should have a good game against Rutgers or West Virginia in Charlotte. Not a matchup that will produce a sellout but should get a good number of BC fans traveling to Charlotte.


Your thoughts/predictions?

All Eyes on QB and the Big Finish

Brian: Pictures say a thousand words, eh? Well, scrimmage #2 is in the books and all eyes are on the Eagles' anemic offense but most importantly, the quarterback competition. During Wednesday's scrimmage, Shinskie and Marscovetra winded up taking a majority of the snaps. Was there improvement? Well, I guess slight improvement? Here are the respective lines of our freshman quarterback candidates:

• David Shinskie (Fr.) - 9 for 16, 127 yards, 1 INT
• Michael Marscovetra (Fr.) - 6 for 11, 43 yards, 1 INT

The Eagles offense didn't find the end zone until the last play of the scrimmage, when Marscovetra handed off to Jeff Smith for a three yard TD run. For those keeping track at home, here are the combined QB stats from scrimmages 1 and 2.

• David Shinskie (Fr.) - 12 for 24, 149 yards, 2 INT
• Michael Marscovetra (Fr.) - 11 for 17, 58 yards, 2 INT
• Codi Boek (Jr.) - 4 for 6, 15 yards
• Justin Tuggle (RS Fr.) - 2 for 6, 9 yards, 1 INT

Yikes! So two questions Jeff. Who do you think will emerge from the QB competition between Shinskie and Marscovetra? And what should Spaziani and the Eagles do with Justin Tuggle, who has been relegated to 3rd in Spaz's QB pecking order.

Jeff: First, Tuggle is a redshirt freshman who, if he is the number 3 man, should hold a clipboard and like it. The only question of "what do you do with this guy?" relates to Marscovetra who is the only person being considered to redshirt. The potential redshirting of Marscovetra might also be reason why he saw so many snaps in the scrimmage. In a way, right now, Spaz and the staff need to learn more about Marscovetra than any other quarterback on the team.

Brian: Are you getting concerned that without a quantum leap forward, what we've heard from the two summer scrimmages is what we are going to get come September 5?

Jeff: You have to be concerned since Spaz's quotes and sound bytes make it sound like he is disappointed with the QB play so far. He had expectations when he offered these two freshman scholarships and he's been around the Heights long enough that his expectations should be realistic. Spaz being disappointed is not a good sign for the Eagles. However, Shinskie is averaging 12.4 yards per completion over the first two scrimmages, and that seems decent to me purely from a statistical standpoint. You have to consider that the first-team defense he was up against is much stronger than the second-team defense. So at this point, I feel that Shinskie is clearly the heavy favorite to emerge as starter.


Big Finish

Brian: Here is a pretty fair assessment of Boston College's offense from the FSU blog Tomahawk Nation. Montel Harris - product of BC's great offensive line or damn fine running back?

Jeff: BC has not had any damn fine running backs since I've been following them. They've all somewhat been products of good lines.


Jeff: Blaudschun reports that Coach Spaz is in favor of scrimmaging other local teams as part of the summer workouts. Agree?

Brian: It's a good thought but the injury bug has already hit ACC teams fairly hard this summer. I'd imagine injuries would be even more prevalent if you scrimmaged a Harvard, New Hampshire, UMass or Rhode Island, no?


Brian: Steve Conroy of the Herald talks about the opportunity that this year's true freshmen have to step up. Name one freshman you expect to make a name for themselves this season.

Jeff: Dave Shinskie will continue to be the BC freshman getting more ESPN air time than any other freshman.


Jeff: Maine goaltender prospect Brian Billet commits to BC. Good news?

Brian: As the only goalie signed for the class of 2014 and reportedly one of the best goalie prospects in the country, yes. Definitely. Especially since he lives in Maine and plays for the EJHL's New Hampshire Monarchs.


Brian: SI's Stewart Mandel thinks this is the season (or next season!) that the ACC finally lands two teams in those coveted BCS bowl slots. Agree?

Jeff: Yes. Unlike previous years, there are a couple of teams that have just enough preseason hype that a 10-2 type record could get them in without winning the ACC Championship Game. Florida State, Georgia Tech, Virginia Tech, Miami Fla. ...


Jeff: Greg Paulus was named the starting QB at Syracuse. Good thing or bad thing for when BC plays Syracuse starting next season?

Brian: Good thing. You want Syracuse to turn in a respectable performance this season so BC isn't criticized for weak scheduling next season, and apparently Paulus is the Orange's best option this season. Also good that Paulus won't be around next season and Syracuse will turn to yet another green QB.


Brian: The Sun Bowl unanimously chose to take the 5th best ACC team for the years 2010-13 over the Big East offer (the conference's 3rd best team or Notre Dame). Is this a blow to the Big East?

Jeff: Well, in all reality, Notre Dame would not fall to the Sun Bowl often so it was a great business decision by them to take an NC State or Clemson type team with a good fan base. The Sun Bowl will also get the occasional FSU or Virginia Tech appearance over having Rutgers or Pitt play annually with hopes of Notre Dame falling into their slot. But, this is yet another indication that it's laughable how some think BC should have stayed in the Big East.


Jeff: Last one, BCMike's new blog BCDraft drafted the best tailgating drinks and the #1 overall draft pick went to Bloody Mary's. WTH?

Brian: Sorry, BCMike, but true Eagles only drink Bud Light whilst tailgating. Or Busch Light, if you are strapped for cash.


Brian is on an international recruiting school trip next week so aside from a few season preview posts written this week, you will be in Jeff's hands. Who will play LeBatard ("BAM!") to Brian's MW next week?

Football season is almost here ... Go Eagles!

Headlines: Possible Bowl Shakeup Rearranges ACC Opponents

Brian: On Friday, it was reported that the Champs Sports Bowl is in discussions with the Big East to bring the No. 2 team from the conference to Orlando. As part of this deal, a provision would also be put in place where Notre Dame could be taken one time in a four year period. The Champs Sports Bowl currently pairs the No. 4 or No. 5 Big Ten team against the No. 4 ACC program. If this goes through, the Champs Sports Bowl would be sort of a mini-Orange Bowl, pairing the second pick of the Big East (or Notre Dame) with the ACC's no. 4 pick in Florida.

With this arrangement, it sounds like the Gator Bowl will be ditching their hybrid affiliation with the Big XII, Notre Dame, and the Big East, and would instead pick up the Big Ten's number 4 or 5 pick.

Not following? Here are the changes with respect to the ACC's potential bowl opponents:

Pick	Bowl	Location	Old	New
2	Peach	Atlanta	SEC #3/4/5	SEC #3/4/5
3	Gator	Jacksonville	Big East #2 OR Big XII #3 OR ND	Big Ten #4/5
4	Champs	Orlando	Big Ten #4/5	Big East #2 OR ND
5	Music City	Nashville	SEC #6/7/8	SEC #6/7/8
6	Meineke	Charlotte	Big East #4	Big East #4
7	Emerald	S.F.	Pac-10 #4/5	Pac-10 #4/5
8	EagleBank	D.C.	Army/Navy	Army/Navy
9	GMAC	Mobile	MAC	MAC

This opens up the possibility of the Irish and Eagles meeting in a bowl game, with would certainly be welcomed by Eagles fans considering that the Irish are not renewing their contract with BC past 2010 at this time. The possibility of an Irish vs. Eagles bowl game previously existed but only if the planets aligned and both BC and Notre Dame found themselves in the Gator Bowl in Jacksonville. Given the Eagles history with the city of Jacksonville, I would say this was VERY unlikely.

Jeff, you like this move by the Champs Sports Bowl?

Jeff: Love it, love it, love it!!! Well, let me qualify that first. I will love it assuming that the Gator Bowl reaches an agreement with the Big Ten to be slightly higher on the bowl pecking order than the Champs Bowl was. The Champs Sports Bowl is getting better by now having either a 10 win Big East team or Notre Dame play the ACC representative annually. This is a huge step up from an unranked Big Ten team that was never going to be Penn State, Michigan or Ohio State.

Meanwhile, the Gator Bowl will presumably put itself in a position to have a good shot at getting Michigan, Penn State or Ohio State each year and if they don't, should at least get a Big Ten team that either is in the top 25 or has been for a good chunk of the season. Over the past few years where BC has been considered for the Gator Bowl and in contention for the Orange Bowl berth at the same time, my best case scenario was to land in Atlanta playing an SEC opponent rather than heading to Miami or Jacksonville to play a "you're supposed to beat them" Big East team. Now two of the ACC's top three bowls won't be against a Big East opponent which is a great, great thing for the ACC and its fans.

Brian: I'm not so high on this bowl shakeup as you are. I do agree that the Gator Bowl arrangement is much better for the ACC as this clears up any ambiguity that Jacksonville previously had with the selection of the ACC team's opponent. It was never clear whether the Gator Bowl would take a Big XII team, a Big East team or Notre Dame, and pairing itself with the Big Ten helps alleviate any confusion. Also as you alluded to Jeff, there is a much better possibility that the Big Ten will send one of their top 3 teams, especially if the Big Ten keeps placing a second program in one of the BCS at-large berths (as they've done for each of the last four years).

In addition, with the Champs Sports Bowl adding the second best team from the Big East, this could give Boston College more of a fighter's chance at landing one of these top bowl slots. The Eagles getting passed over by the top ACC bowls is well chronicled, but a matchup between BC and one of its former Big East rivals - say West Virginia, Pittsburgh or Rutgers, or even Notre Dame - becomes much more appealing to Orlando as the city's second bowl matchup.

One thing that does bother me though is that the ACC now has three bowl tie-ins directly with the Big East. Aside from the Big East champion, I'm not sold that in any given year there will be two other quality Big East opponents that I'd want to see in the Champs Sports and Meineke Car Care bowls. Quality programs in the Big East bottom out quick, and after the historical cream of the crop - Pittsburgh, West Virginia, (once) Syracuse - there seems to be a lot of 'meh' opponents out there, including Connecticut, Rutgers, Cincinnati, South Florida and Louisville.

That's 3 bowl tie-ins with the Big East, 2 with the SEC, 1 with the Big Ten, 1 with the Pac-10, and 2 throw-away matchups. Although the hybrid arrangement that the Gator Bowl had was confusing as anything, it did pose the possibility of the ACC playing a historically significant Big XII team. The last two years the ACC faced Texas Tech and Nebraska. With this new arrangement, the ACC and Big XII won't meet unless the stars align and it's in one of the BCS bowls. That is a shame.

The big winner in this whole shakeup is the Big Ten, who would now have the possibility of playing in four of the five bowl games on New Year's Day. Playing in a January bowl clearly doesn't carry the same weight as it used to, but the Big Ten would be gaining one more post-December bowl date at the expense of the Big East.


Love the new bowl lineup for BC and the ACC? Hate it? Thoughts?

Headlines: A Bowl Team With No Home?

Brian:  ATL gives us this link from the Mobile Press-Register about how the GMAC Bowl - the newest edition to the ACC bowl lineup - would prefer a southern team like Florida State, Georgia Tech or Miami over Boston College.  That didn't take long, now did it?

"So it would stand to reason that if a Florida State, Georgia Tech or Miami were in the mix for one of the ACC's later slots, those teams might be more likely to visit Mobile. It makes sense that more fans would make the trip to Mobile from Tallahassee as opposed to supporters from Boston College. Particularly in these tough economic times, that kind of consideration is going to become increasingly important."

Cue Stewie: 

Say what? I guess beggers can be choosers. Tell the GMAC Bowl to get in line as the bias of ACC bowl games not selecting BC is certainly well documented:

• Chick-Fil-A nee Peach Bowl - Passed over Matt Ryan and the ACCCG runner-up Eagles in 2007 (10-3, 6-2 ACC) for a Clemson team (9-3, 5-3) that BC beat in Death Valley
  
• Gator Bowl - Jacksonville will never select BC after getting burned with the 2007 ACC Championship game attendance
  
• Gaylord Hotels Music City Bowl - Last year's bowl between BC and Vanderbilt generated only $9.97 million for the local economy, down nearly $20 mil year over year.  Even though the bowl went with the local team, this shortfall can obviously be attributed to the fact that BC doesn't travel
  

If I remember correctly, the H-Bowl didn't like us very much either.  Add to this the natural geographic biases of the Champs Sports Bowl (a Florida ACC team), the Meineke Car Care Bowl (a North Carolina team) and the EagleBank Bowl (Maryland / Virginia), and BC is certainly not feeling the love.  

Jeff, short of Robert Kraft and the Gillette Company getting together and creating the Gillette Shaving Cream Bowl at Foxboro, will BC ever be embraced by any of these ACC bowls?  Or is this simply a losing battle?

Jeff:  Worrying about this is pointless because it is a losing battle.  Unless a bowl game is played in Foxboro or the Meadowlands, BC is going to be the furthest ACC team from the site and still have one of the smallest student bodies / alumni base.  Bowls don't get excited about Wake Forest either but at least the Deacons are more centrally located and more students could pile into a van to catch a bowl game in places like Jacksonville, Atlanta or Orlando.

This is not a problem specific to the ACC.  In the SEC, a bowl could be thinking it might get Georgia or Tennessee and end up being forced to select Vanderbilt.  In the Big Ten you can have a shot at Penn State, Ohio State or Michigan and end up with Northwestern.

I was happy with the turnout in Orlando two years ago but that was partially because of people like you and me who went to that game but did not go to Charlotte the year before or to Nashville last year.  If the right matchup presents itself BC will travel well but never as well as a school located within a few hundred miles of the site or as well as Clemson or Virginia Tech.

Brian:  You couldn't miss the Champs Sports Bowl in 2007 because BC fans simply didn't want that season to end.  Quite frankly, I don't blame BC fans for not wanting to travel to Nashville last season for the bowl against a 6-6 Vanderbilt team.  Unfortunately for BC, it's a perpetual downward spiral when it comes to bowl selection ...

1. Get pitted against a crappy opponent in an inconvenient location between Christmas and New Year's.  
   
2. BC fans don't show up because they feel the team got slighted.  
   
3. This perpetuates the "BC doesn't travel well myth" and the cycle continues.
   

The good news is that the ACC contract with the GMAC Bowl is only for one year.  Maybe the ACC can strike a deal with a bowl game in ACC territory going forward.  Humble suggestions: the new Orlando Bowl for the Cure, Outback Bowl, Capital One Bowl.  Even the Pizza (Papa John's) Bowl in Birmingham is relatively closer to the rest of the ACC than Mobile, Alabama.

Also, I realize that Florida State and Miami aren't the programs that they were in the late 1990s, but the GMAC Bowl is dreaming if they think teams like Florida State and Miami will still be available this season after the Gator Bowl, the Champs Sports Bowl and the Chick-Fil-A Bowl pick their teams. The only way those teams will fall to this bowl is if the eight bowls above them in the ACC pecking order are forced to pick a program like BC, Wake Forest or Virginia.

What if College Hoops Used the BCS?

Brian: This is, of course, right up my alley. The Big Lead asks the question, what if college hoops used the BCS to select who plays in college basketball's postseason. Using a BCS-like formula, the results:

• Orange Bowl: North Carolina vs. Louisville (ACC champ vs. Big East champ)
• Fiesta Bowl: Missouri vs. Michigan State (Big 12 postseason champ vs. Big 10 regular season champ)
• Rose Bowl: USC vs. Purdue (Pac 10 vs. Big 10)
• Sugar Bowl: Oklahoma vs. Mississippi State (Big 12 vs. SEC)
• BCS National Championship: Duke vs. Pittsburgh (ACC vs. Big East)

Of course, there are a couple of things missing from this projection. Namely:

• The carve out for an 18-14 Notre Dame team to somehow get an at-large BCS berth
• The anti-trust lawsuits from, among others, the state of Utah (Utah and Utah State), Memphis, Xavier and Butler
• An irate Tar Heel fan base who would cry foul, noting that UNC beat Duke twice in the regular season yet failed to win the conference tournament and wouldn't be playing for the title.

Jeff, you know I think the current college football bowl + BCS system is dumb. When applied to college hoops, this only further sheds light on the fact that this is no way to pick a national champion. Your counter point?

Jeff: I am not fueling your fire by agreeing with you here. The Big Lead is completely wrong in who would've played for the national championship first of all because it would've been North Carolina vs. Louisville since Louisville was the #1 seed in the tournament after winning the Big East regular season and conference tournaments. Then UNC would've gotten in just as Oklahoma did in 2005 despite not winning the BCS Championship game.

Brian: This scenario assumes that they would have gone with a computer ranking just like the BCS and not the conference champions (most likely, Yahoo's RPI rankings). It's certainly possible that Duke and Pittsburgh would have came out on top since the computers loved them. Then, of course, the year after this happened, the basketball BCS formula would be tweaked yet again to overemphasize conference tournament champions. Holding the system together with band-aids and bubblegum.

Jeff: Well, if North Carolina and Louisville did play in a national title game this year there is no way you could argue that the BCS got it wrong. As for the other games, you could argue all you want but conference champions are conference champions so I don't know what else you can do. The BCS is not a finely tuned machine but given all the constraints of student-athletes, schools, conferences, and the sport of football simply not being able to support a 64 team playoff, it gets the job done.

Brian: All those constraints for the sport of football seem to magically disappear when you move from Division I-A to Division I-AA. Crazy! And you don't need 64 teams. 64 is a little over 19% of the total number of Division I-A men's college basketball programs. 16 teams will do just fine.

How To Deal With Success and the Big Finish

Jeff: BC offers students a great education that seems to be getting better and better year after year. Most classes teach you how to be successful in one way or another, but I don't remember many professors or classes talking about how to handle your success should you ever achieve it. From the actions in the Athletic Department in the last few weeks, it's clear that the football and basketball program would be a perfect case study on how NOT to handle success. First, new Head Coach Jeff Jagodzinski leads BC to back-to-back ACC Championship Games, he gets a big head, takes an interview with the NY Jets to be their head coach after having only been a college HC for just two years. As a result, he gets fired, and Frank Spaziani, runner up for the HC job two years ago, gets promoted. Next, the BC men's basketball team coached by Al Skinner pulls off one of the greatest upset in BC basketball history by going to Chapel Hill and defeated the unanimously #1 ranked Tar Heels. After that they lose three straight games, all at home, and two of the three BC never had a chance to win. Brian, have we learned any life lessons from the BC Athletic department in the last two weeks or should we just learn to accept the good with the bad?

Brian: Yes, we can learn a thing or two from the Athletic department. First, with the Gene coaching thing. Perhaps Jags was a problem and wanted out. Even if that was the case, and as I've stated before, I feel this whole coaching search was very mismanaged. We have built a successful program over the past 10 years. A very successful football program. And yet, with Gene's actions, we may have scared off any good external coaching candidates for the foreseeable future. Who is going to want to work for an employer who wants to prohibit any upward mobility? I hope GDF knows what he is doing, because it seems like BC will have to develop internal coaching candidates for the next 5-10 years.

With the basketball team, we seem to need an attitude adjustment. I am not seeing the leadership from Tyrese Rice or Al Skinner this year. Defeating North Carolina might have been both a blessing and a curse. This team rarely puts together a complete 40 minute game. If they ever do again, they can run with anyone in the ACC. They have the skill to be competitive, just not the right attitude. I would say this Saturday's game against Virginia Tech is somewhat of a must-win situation. If they drop to the Hokies, I see this season's ACC schedule quickly sliding away, much like how the Eagles finished last season. Would you agree?

Jeff: I disagree that the Eagles are headed towards a 8+ game streak of playing poorly as they did last year. The Eagles have played 3 ACC games against 3 teams that will most likely make the tournament, not to mention that Wake and North Carolina will (likely) be top 3 seeds in the Big Dance. If you had said we'd be 1-2 after our first 3 games, no one would've been dissapointed. The Eagles will bounce back with the schedule softening starting with these next two games against Virginia Tech and Georgia Tech.

Brian: I agree. The Eagles have a VERY winnable stretch of 6 games (RPI in parenthesis) ...

at Virginia Tech (55)
at Georgia Tech (166)
N.C. State (134)
at Maryland (79)
Virginia Tech (55)
at Virginia (85)

... before the schedule gets fairly brutal ...

at Wake Forest (14)
Clemson (3)
Duke (1)
at Miami Fla. (34)
Florida State (25)

If the Eagles are going to turn the corner, the time is now.


Big Finish

Brian: Boston College senior fullback Paul Gerstenberger was selected in the second round of the 2008 MLS SuperDraft by the Columbus Crew. Jeff, quick. Who won the championship this year in MLS?

Jeff: I had to look it up, but it was the previously mentioned Columbus Crew. Hence the trivia question.


Jeff: Two big Hockey East games this weekend. UMass-Lowell comes to campus tonight and Saturday night the Eagles pay the $1.25 or whatever it costs now to take the B line to Boston University. Who ya got?

Brian: The Eagles are in desperate need of a 4 point weekend as they continue to middle about the Hockey East standings. Hopefully they can turn the corner and pick up a W against struggling Lowell, and then get (at least) 1 point against the Terriers.


Brian: The Big Lead leaked that ESPN considers its college football blog network a "complete disaster." Brendan from From Old Virginia also chimes in on the issue. I know we've had our disagreements with HD in the past, but is that fair?

Jeff: This is totally fair. ESPN has a history of excellence and they need to step up the quality of their bloggers if they are going to attach their brand to them. Heather Dinich was not good this year covering the ACC. She was possibly even very bad.


Jeff: Orlando wants to host a THIRD bowl game. The Bowl for the Cure would be played at UCF's new stadium (Bright House Networks Stadium) and would likely match a Conference USA team with a Sun Belt team. Having been to Orlando for a bowl game, good idea?

Brian: No! There are TOO many bowl games to begin with. Move the lesser of the two bowls - the Champs Sports Bowl - to Bright House Networks Stadium if UCF really wants to host a bowl, but a third bowl game in the same city would be absurd.


Brian: Brian St. Pierre. Super Bowl clipboard holder? True or false?

Jeff: True! I like the Cardinals' chances of winning this weekend. I certainly understand the Eagles being favored but I'll take Arizona.


Jeff: Last one, HD takes a look at Boston College football's recruiting needs. Not much we didn't know, but what is your top priority for recruiting in the week or two that BC has left?

Brian: Well, here are two early looks at the BC depth ($) chart. I would say the most pressing need is to sure up the defensive line, and hope none of these guys walk.

ATS Recap

Jeff: I'm assuming there are people out there that actually read this site regularly. I could be wrong, but I am hoping there are a few. We do not have or deserve the crazy following of Eagle in Atlanta but we do try here at BC Interruption and this fall we even tried to help you football fans win your office pools or make some money while in Las Vegas.

I'm sure no one did this, but had you bet $100 on every football game I told you to bet in the regular season, you would've made $570!!!!!! If you had followed Brian's blind advice, you wouldn't have lost your house or anything but you would've lost $60. Then if you hadn't learned your lesson and still followed Brian's gambling advice through the bowls, you would made $250!! I would've netted you the same $250 in bowl season for a college football season total of $820!!

We're happy to be in the black numbers here but we'll try to do better next year.

Headlines: On Junk Bowls, Playoff Systems and the Winter Classic

Brian: Jeff, Jennifer Floyd Engel of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports that because of this season's string of junk bowl games, now is the time for a playoff. On the other side of this argument is current BCS Commissioner and ACC Commissioner John Swofford. Swofford argues that college football will never see a playoff because the sport must protect the great bowls.

Great bowls? Like "The Granddaddy of Them All"? Where a dominant USC team smacked around a Big Ten team for the third consecutive season? Where the Big Ten has failed to smell Roses in each of its last 6 tries?

Or maybe Swofford was talking about his conference's own Orange Bowl? An Orange Bowl where the Hokies had to barely blink to beat the Big East's (ex-Conference USA) Cincinnati? A bowl that pulled in a 6.1 television rating, the lowest of any BCS bowl game. Ever. It was also hard not to cringe when watching the Orange Bowl and noting all the empty seats in Miami's Dolphins Stadium. Not to mention this year's version of the NHL Winter Classic - a game between the Detroit Red Wings and the Chicago Blackhawks - netted a TV audience of a 2.9 rating (11.8 rating in Chicago and a 10.5 in Detroit) during the day on January 1. That game, aside from being a pretty cool concept (outdoor hockey in January with two of the original six NHL teams), was the NHL's best overnight regular-season TV rating in nearly 13 years. Think about that for a second. On the same day, college football saw the lowest television rating for a BCS bowl game in its history, while the NHL garnered the highest television rating since before we were freshmen in high school.

Washington Post sports columnist and blog favorite Michael Wilbon, for one, is over New Year's Day bowl games.

"[The] people who run college football had succeeded, finally, in killing New Year's Day."

And Wilbon is not alone. Throughout the media other sports writers are crying uncle, saying that the days of great college football on New Year's Day are over.

I can't say I disagree with him. On New Year's Day, I watched the first two periods of the NHL winter classic, about a quarter of the Rose Bowl until I got sick of Musburger and Herbstreit singing USC and Pete Carroll praises, the fourth quarter of the Gator Bowl (and your Clemson Tigers throwing away victory), and about half of the Orange Bowl until I acquiesced and decided you were correct in predicting a Hokies win (Cincinnati looked terrible).

How can the sport reign back in college football fans on New Year's Day? And will this get any better when ESPN gets the broadcast rights to the BCS games in 2011, or worse?

Jeff: That Jennifer Floyd Engel article is garbage. Nothing new. Texas Tech probably would've gotten beaten by Ole Miss on most days and now can say that they were disappointed in not being in the BCS and lost for that reason. As a BC blogger, I have no patience for that because BC was a win away from a BCS game also and fell to Nashville to play 6-6 Vanderbilt, not the Cotton Bowl to play the #3 SEC team. Big difference, so cry me a river Texas Tech. You're also two plays away from having lost to both Texas and Nebraska and not even being ranked right now.

Onto the point of the Big Ten. The Big Ten only played in one game where the fourth quarter meant anything. Northwestern lost in OT, Iowa stomped South Carolina and then every other Big Ten team got stomped. Yes, Michigan State had a halftime lead but Georgia quickly took the lead and put the game away in the third quarter, the only thing in doubt was if they would win by more than a TD to cover the spread, which they did. I believe bowl contracts are typically four years in length and the bowls with Big Ten tie ins need to seriously reconsider so that they can get some better games. It is not the Big Ten's fault that the BCS Bowls have selected one of their teams for an at large bid several years in a row now but it is their fault that the conference has no depth.

Hockey is not making up ground on college football because they had one game with a good TV rating.

Finally, New Years Day bowls do have no meaning now. It is BCS or bust now. The Outback Bowl began at 11:00am and then the Orange Bowl went well past midnight this year and not many people are going to sit in front of the TV for 14 hours watching college football. Also, arguably, the four biggest non-BCS bowl games are the Cotton Bowl, the Capital One Bowl, the Chick-fil-A Bowl and the Holiday Bowl. Only the Capital One Bowl is played on New Year's Day, so if you don't make the BCS, you are probably not hoping to play on New Year's Day. Football coaches probably used to set goals like compete for the conference championship and make a New Year's Day bowl. Now, their goals are compete for the conference championship and make a BCS Bowl. So yes, New Years Day Bowl has no meaning now and that point was hammered home with 8 win Iowa playing 7 win South Carolina this year.

That being said, not all non-BCS bowls are irrelevant. Attendance and ratings for a lot of bowls this year were fantastic. A playoff in college football just isn't happening because no one is signing those papers without every conference Champ being represented which means a minimum of a 16 team playoff and possibly a 32 team playoff. Getting fans, let alone student athletes, to neutral sites for 4 or 5 weeks in a row just is not happening and the ACC Championship game the last three years is exhibit 1A as to why I am right. But why not play them at the higher seeds home stadium? Because too many cities are making too much money off of the gazzilion bowl games there are right now. Its just the way college football is and the way its staying. Deal with it. If you want to play in a BCS game go to a school in a BCS conference and win that conference's regular season championship. If you're not at a BCS conference school you knew what you were getting yourself into so stop your bitching.

Brian: I will disagree with you here in saying that the NHL Winter Classic TV ratings are insignificant. The ratings are significant. I think the significance is that the NHL can now compete with college football on New Year's Day, the one day of the year where college football used to have a monopoly on the sports worlds collective television eyeballs. Way back when, New Year's Day was THE day in college football where more bowls than simply the BCS title game had meaning. When the big bowl games were played on New Year's Day - I'll call them the commodity bowls - Rose, Orange, Citrus, Sugar, Cotton - a national championship was usually on the line and fans and viewers had multiple options when it came to watching games during New Years Day. Choice is what keeps viewers glued to their TV sets. Honestly, with the bowls scheduled as far apart as they are, if BC isn't playing in the game and I can tell its going to be a blowout early on, I tune out. The games mean nothing aside for some marginal entertainment value. Back when you had multiple bowl games on the same day with more than one bowl with National Championship implications, viewers would remain more interested in the bowl games throughout the day. With the BCS bowl games moving to ESPN in a few years, however, I'm sure the bowls will be even more spread out, and New Years Day on college football will be irrelevant.

And yes, playing a bowl game in January is no longer the goal. Playing in the National Championship game is. While the other BCS bowls are nice, how much satisfaction can really be gleaned for a program when they win their first BCS bowl game against a Cincinnati or a Hawaii?

I'd also add that I'm sick of hearing a knock on BC football being that we haven't played in a January bowl game since 1994. Since ESPN in its infinite wisdom moved incredibly insignificant bowls like the GMAC Bowl, Liberty Bowl and the International Bowl past December 31, that phrase means absolutely nothing for a program.

Finally, you know my stance on having a playoff so I'm going to disagree here. While these cities and bowl committees are making money hand over fist, there will come a time where the money to be made from a college football playoff will far outweigh the money to be made from 33 insignificant bowls and the BCS title game.

Jeff: I refuse to agree that the hockey ratings are significant for hockey or for college football. College football is biggest in the south and hockey is biggest in really really cold places. All hockey fans probably watched that game and many of those would not have instead been watching the Gator Bowl. As you said, the Orange Bowl had the worst rating ever for a BCS Bowl and it still drew 3x the number of viewers that the once in a lifetime type hockey game did.

Brian: Once in a lifetime? Try once a year.

Jeff: Whatever. Enough with hockey, back to football. Cincinnati winning the Big East was bad for the BCS and the Orange Bowl. West Virginia or Pitt or even Rutgers would've been better for attendance and ratings. After a few more years of success and after winning some second tier bowl games, Cincinnati is more than welcome in the BCS as Big East champion, but this year it was bad for business. If the BCS wants it can change its rules so that in the future we would get a bowl lineup that would feature a Alabama/Texas matchup or perhaps even taking Southern Cal away from the Rose Bowl for some better matchups but for now their only concern is the national championship and I'm fine with that too.

As for the playoff, in order to satisfy current bowl cities, first round games would be in cities like Nashville, San Francisco, Detroit and Charlotte. Later rounds would move the the larger bowl venues of San Antonio, San Diego, Atlanta and Dallas and semifinal and final games would be in Miami, Pasedena, Phoenix, and New Orleans. Good luck with that.

Brian: There are versions of a college football playoff system that can benefit both the sport and the stakeholders in the current bowl system. You are simply citing one proposal that, in fairness to the pro-playoff argument, seems a little extreme, far-fetched and of the Mike Leach 64-team playoff variety. Marcus over at ACC Football Report has one such proposal that stays true to Swofford's "great bowls."

Cities like Nashville, San Francisco, Detroit and Charlotte have no bowl history. Bowls named for an obscure, four property hotel chain, a nut company and a muffler company are not great bowls. Yet, a playoff system doesn't preclude these cities from having a year-end, postseason exhibition game while honoring their current conference tie-ins. Besides, the non-BCS bowls are nothing more than that: a postseason, exhibition money grab.

The eight teams that played in those four bowls - Boston College, Vanderbilt, Cal, Miami (FL), Florida Atlantic, Central Michigan, North Carolina and West Virginia - would not have been involved in any form of a National championship playoff this season, and those bowls and the cities that host them would have still enjoyed the relative success they had hosting these exhibition games at the end of the season. Those bowls also benefited from inviting a local team in each case (Nashville - Vanderbilt, Emerald - Cal, Motor City - Central Michigan and Car Care - UNC), which in some ways is a win-win for the bowl, the program and the host city.

There are versions of a college football playoff that are beneficial to both the current non-BCS bowl games and the BCS bowl games themselves. If nothing else, a Plus One system, choosing the #1 and #2 ranked teams out of the 5 BCS bowl game winners, has no substantive impact to business for the current bowl/BCS system and only further enhances business for the sport.

Would there be the same amount of controversy? Absolutely. Taking this season as an example, there's no denying that it would be a knock-down, drag out fight to determine who should play in a Plus One. Your choices would include a 13-0 Utah, the winner of Florida/Oklahoma at 13-1, 12-1 Southern Cal, and a snubbed 12-1 Texas team (assuming they take care of the Buckeyes). But would the Plus One both move the sport closer to a more fair playoff system and be better for business? Again, the answer is a resounding "absolutely."

Jeff: I would have no problem with Marcus' proposal becoming a reality. However, don't call that a playoff because it isn't and don't tell me there won't still be big, big controversy because in the end humans and computers still come up with a #1 and a #2 to determine who plays for the national championship. The system is really just tweaking the current BCS and the BCS has already made several adjustments in its 10 year history so we might see something very similar to this in the near future. Time will tell. Reality is though that hammering out a playoff system (meaning 8 or 16 or 32 team single elimination) for college football is very difficult and is not going to happen in the near future.

If a true playoff system does eventually come to pass, there are going to be some big losers such as the current bowl host cities like Nashville and Charlotte or football programs like Rutgers, Connecticut, Central Michigan, Kentucky, etc. Teams that have gone on to win bowl games the last several years but would not have made a playoff field in any of the last 25 years. I'm sure their fans thoroughly enjoyed attending their team's bowl game this year but would probably not even bother if these bowls became some type of NIT consolation prize or got completely eliminated, in my opinion.

Brian: I fail to see how this would be any different with the current system, Jeff. Try telling an Eagles fan that a trip to the 5th best ACC bowl game in Nashville when the program was (possibly) a broken collarbone away from playing in the big money BCS bowl game in Miami isn't a consolation prize. The reality is that the BCS isn't for every college football team - as you said to mid-majors, quit your bitching (Central Michigan) - and even within the BCS conferences, if you don't win your conference, the message to historically insignificant college football programs is "we don't want you" (Rutgers, Connecticut and Kentucky).

Jeff: Of course the Eagles fell to a meaningless bowl this year that they didn't want to be at, but that same bowl was historic for Vanderbilt and their fans. Vanderbilt is another team along with the Central Michigan, Rutgers, Connecticut, and Kentuckys that I mentioned which would not have made a playoff in football had their been one at any point in the last 25 years yet have made it to and won bowl games. That is important for their programs and their fans so I don't want to see a system come in that eliminates the bowls that those teams strive for. As it turned out for Boston College, this year the Eagles and their fans acted like they would have been just as happy staying home rather than going to Nashville. That's because, two years in a row now, they were a factor in the BCS picture until the last game of the season. What would Rutgers or NC State have had to play for after their starts to this season after starting the way they did in a system where we have a 16 team playoff? I think bowls like the Music City Bowl would cease to exist if we went to a playoff system and while the Floridas, Texases and Ohio States of the world wouldn't care, I don't think that's a good thing for all of college football.

Brian: There is certainly a "middle of the road" solution that preserves both the non-BCS bowl games for programs like your UConn Huskies and levels the playing field more with some form of a playoff. However, to unequivocally state that a playoff will never happen because the sport has to preserve the "great bowls" (cough: John Swofford) represents the type of laziness and simple-mindedness that plagues this sport. College football remains a sport with both the greatest regular season and the worst postseason. I agree with Wilbon: the little charm that college football managed to create over its history - the New Year's Day mega bowl day - is gone. College football needs to remain relevant on New Year's Day. At a minimum, tweak the system to make January 1 the day for the sport.

Headlines: Music City Ticket Sales and '09 Media Darlings

Brian: Jeff, The Tennessean reports that Music City ticket sales will be down at least 25 percent from the last two years. Vanderbilt has sold about 12,342 tickets while the Eagles have sold about 2,000. But interestingly, The Tennessean isn't blaming the hometown favorite Vanderbilt Commodores. So who really is to blame?

Jeff: The real answer is probably nobody because they still sold over 50,000 tickets to the game. Ticket sales are down for this game relative to last year but in the past two years the SEC team has been Kentucky which has brought a ton of fans. Kentucky has a much larger fan base than Vanderbilt and is still located in fairly close proximity. When the bowl directors selected Vanderbilt and BC for this game they knew that it was 100% dependent on Vanderbilt fans to sell out this game. BC die hards just made a trip to Tampa and really don't have much motivation to travel to either the city of Nashville on December 31 or to travel to watch BC play a Vanderbilt team that got beat by both Wake Forest and Duke this year. Had the matchup been better, the Eagle fans certainly would've traveled at least a little better to this game. I think last night's Alamo Bowl is going to be a good representation of how BC fans would travel if BC got invited to either the Gator or Chick-fil-A Bowl (the only two ACC non-BCS bowls that BC fans might get excited about). Northwestern is a team ranked similarly to Boston College this year which probably has a similar fan base. The game is not expected to be close to a sellout and once Northwestern releases how many tickets they were able to sell to the game this year I think we'll know about how many tickets BC might sell to a bowl game that features a Top 25 opponent when BC is ranked themselves and is not the Orange Bowl.

Brian: You are correct in saying that the Music City has been spoiled the past few years, but the reason is not because of the back-to-back appearances by Kentucky. The Music City Bowl has been spoiled by its ACC representatives the last two years. This bowl has benefitted greatly from the struggles of programs like Florida State and Clemson - teams with much larger traveling fan bases - who have both landed here the last two years. Back in 2005, the Music City matchup between Minnesota and Virginia only drew a little over 40,000 (40,519). Virginia was replacing a SEC team that year. And when the Eagles last played in the Music City Bowl, the attendance was listed at 46,125. Not bad at all.

I'd also add that this bowl's relationship with the ACC and the SEC is still very young. This is only the third year that the ACC and the SEC have conference tie-ins to this bowl. The ACC replaced the Big Ten in 2006 and the Big Ten was preceeded by the Big East from 1998-2002. I would say 50,000+ for a bowl that has very little history in a struggling economy is pretty good. Perhaps as you suggest the SEC could have fielded a better team than a 6-6 Vanderbilt and ticket sales would be a bit better, but if The Tennessean wants to point fingers, I fail to see why the Commodores shouldn't shoulder at least some of the blame.


Jeff: After Florida State beat up on Wisconsin in the Champs Sports Bowl on Saturday, there is no doubt in my mind that FSU will be the preseason favorite in the Atlantic Division next year. I also think that with a win in the Chick-fil-A Bowl that Georgia Tech will be the preseason favorite in the Coastal. Florida State beat a completely unimpressive Wisconsin team and Georgia Tech would have beaten a struggling LSU team, but FSU is FSU and they will certainly get more press than BC next preseason. Meanwhile, Paul Johnson and his new offense will be the sexy coastal pick rather than picking VT again. Am I overestimating the press's love for Florida State and for Paul Johnson or am I right on the money?

Brian: Well, as you mentioned Jeff, Florida State's win was none too impressive. Wisconsin played terrible football in the second half of the season. And as Dr. Saturday observed, the Seminoles win will probably propel FSU into the 2009 ACC Championship picture early on. But as Florida State's most famous college football TV personality likes to say, "Not so fast my friend!" While a 9-4 season is a slight improvement on the 8-5 season of 2007, the schedule for FSU seems to toughen up in 09 compared to 2008. Florida State gets Georgia Tech, Maryland, Miami and NC State at home, but has four tough ACC games on the road in Boston College, Clemson, North Carolina and Wake Forest. Add to this a dicey proposition of going to Provo, Utah in September to play what will likely be a ranked BYU team, and have to go to the Swamp to receive their annual Gator beatdown. Not to mention they will most likely lose some serious talent on the defensive side of the ball (especially in the secondary where they will lose two safeties and a corner) to either graduation or the NFL draft. Finally, it will be interesting to see how the on-going soap opera that is Bobby Bowden's coaching contract plays out and what effect that will have on this year's recruiting class.

Now, of course, these are way too rational explanations to point to why Florida State might not be considered the preseason favorite, probably too rational for the media and the press. And a cursory glance around the division doesn't show many other national title / conference champ calibre teams out there. Wake will likely take a step back, Swinney will have to build back up Clemson, BC is a wild card, NC State should improve if they stay healthy, and you never know what you'll get with Maryland.

On the Coastal side, with a bowl win Georgia Tech will garner some 1st place votes next season, but isn't it always about Virginia Tech? Paul Johnson has the Yellow Jackets offense rolling, but he will have to replace all his big playmakers up front and a couple other defensive starters. If the Jackets are to win the Coastal, they will have to do a tremendous job reloading the defensive front. The schedule seems manageable in 2009, with the toughest ACC teams coming to Atlanta, but Georgia Tech will have to navigate a road trip to Tallahassee as well as 3 games against SEC opponents - Mississippi State, Vanderbilt, and Georgia - two of those three on the road. But like I said, since 2004, this conference always seems to come back to Virginia Tech. The Hokies don't lose much and will likely be the preseason favorite in the Coastal. I don't think you are far off though, and could be persuaded that the media takes up the Georgia Tech cause in the preseason if the Wramblin' Wreck blow out LSU (which, much like FSU, would get more credit than they deserve for their bowl win) and Virginia Tech again lays an egg in the Orange Bowl. If that happens, then I think you have both the Atlantic and Coastal preseason media picks for 2009.

Jeff: Virginia Tech should be the conference favorite every year until they lose but we know that mainstream media likes sexy, shiny things, and after a victory over LSU in one of the highest profile non-BCS bowl games, there will be a lot of talk about the Yellow Jackets next year before a down is played. Also, as you mentioned, Virginia Tech travels to Atlanta next year.

Brian: The ACC's worst nightmare is a repeat of Clemson's performance against Alabama in the Chick-fil-A College Kickoff Classic. If Virginia Tech is the ACC preseason media pick and they get embarrassed by the Tide, it will be another long year for ACC football.

Headlines: Music City Bowl Preview

Brian: Jeff, BC has been quietly preparing for our bowl game and our matchup with the Vanderbilt Commodores. What do you expect to see from the Eagles on Wednesday?

Jeff: I expect to see a performance similar to the Champs Sports Bowl last year. Coming off the ACCCG loss and playing a far inferior team leaves room for a potential upset but I fully expect the Eagles to pull off a victory. BC is probably three touchdowns better than Vanderbilt but I do not expect that type of blowout.

Brian: I expect BC to play smart football and win this game, but do expect this to be a low scoring affair. I believe BC-Vanderbilt has the lowest over/under of any of this year's college football bowl games. However, I don't necessarily think that Vanderbilt will be as tough an opponent as Michigan State was in last year's bowl. Vanderbilt's season has certainly been a head scratcher:

... A road win against Mississippi back in September (the Rebels went on to beat Florida the following week)
... Losses to Mississippi State on the road and Tennessee at home - two of the worst SEC teams this year
... Losses to ACC schools Duke at home (3 point margin) and Wake Forest on the road (13 points)
... A win against a ranked South Carolina team back in September and another bowl bound team - Rice

And the rest of their games this year - with the exception of Florida - have at least been competitive. I'm not sure what team will show up. Regardless, Vanderbilt went into a tailspin to finish the season after starting 5-0, and having used three different quarterbacks this year, the Commodore offense has sputtered in the second half of the season. BC is averaging 25.5 points for per game, and I don't expect this game to be any different, even with Davis under center. I'll say BC wins comfortably in front of the home Vanderbilt crowd, 24-6.


Jeff: As this will be somewhat of an audition for Dominique Davis at quarterback, how do you think he will perform? Do you expect to see the game-manager who limits his mistakes (the Maryland game), or the young kid who showed up under center in the ACC Championship Game?

Brian: While I don't expect Davis to win next year's starting job with jaw-dropping numbers, he will be much better than his 17-of-43, 1 touchdown, 2 INTs, fumble for a Hokie 6 performance in the ACC Championship Game. Davis has had plenty of time to prepare for this game. Even though he looked like a deer in the headlights against Wake Forest and Virginia Tech, statistically, the Vanderbilt defense isn't nearly as good as those units. Still, the Commodore defense is much better than that of Maryland's, so I expect to see a performance somewhere in between the Maryland and Virginia Tech games. Unfortunately for Eagles fans though, after this game nothing will be settled for the starting QB position for 2009.


Brian: Our bowl pick'em records have been atrocious, by the way. To date, you have gone 5-7 - picking up a win in last night's Independence Bowl - while I have only managed to have a slightly better record at 6-6. Picks aside, with four ACC teams already having played their bowl game, and NC State slated to face Rutgers this afternoon, what have we learned about the ACC so far?

Jeff: I would like to see the ACC sitting at 3-1 through four games but if you have watched the games or even just looked at the scores, you would know that they have nearly achieved that. North Carolina and Miami both lost because of fourth quarter turnovers resulting in game winning touchdowns for the opponent. Meanwhile, FSU and Wake both won by more than a touchdown. We'll see what happens from here on but right now the ACC could still finish 8-2 or 5-5.

Interestingly enough, every bowl game the ACC has been a part of so far has been a home game for one of the teams. Wake and Miami both played "on the road" while Florida State and UNC played "at home." We all know BC is playing a road game and Georgia Tech has a home game in Atlanta but hopefully we won't see anymore so ridiculously lopsided crowds like we did with Miami going to San Francisco to play California.


Quickly... Vanderbilt is learning about all the perks of being a bowl team ... nice writeup on Eagle in the NHL Chuck Kobasew in the Globe ... the Patriots finish the season 11-5 but fail to make the playoffs: as 11 wins is 2 up on the Eagles with the Eagles only having 1 game to play, I believe I had that one right ... not the type of press Gosder Cherilus was looking for ... performance of the week? Corey Raji's of course ... BC = still not on Mr. Bracketologist's radar ... will UNC football be better in Butch Davis' year three? Short answer is no ...

Fortune Teller: 2008 Bowl Predictions Part II

Let's keep things rolling ...


Bell Helicopter Armed Forces - Houston (-2.5) vs. Air Force - ESPN - 12/31 - website

Jeff: We were wrong earlier because this game is another rematch of a regular season game. Houston lost to Air Force by 3 back in September and even though it is tough to be a team twice, I am going to take Air Force here since they are getting a couple of points.

Brian: Putting aside its regular season finale loss to Rice, Houston has played better ball in November, dropping 42, 70, 42 and 42 on Tulane, a ranked Tulsa, UTEP and coming up short against Rice. The flipside is that Air Force has gone 2-2 in November, including losing its last two games to ranked BYU at home and ranked TCU on the road. Not to mention the fact that Air Force's record is terribly misleading. At 8-4, Air Force has lost to all the good teams they have played (Utah, Navy, BYU and TCU) and their best win has come against this Houston team. I watched this team struggle to beat Army at the beginning of the month and was none too impressed. Since AFA-Houston I was back in September, Houston has put together a much better season with quality wins at ECU and at home against 10-3 Tulsa. Long story short, I like Houston getting 2.5 ... playing in the state of Texas, that whole rematch thing, etc. etc.


Brut Sun - Oregon State (-3) vs. Pittsburgh - CBS - 12/31 - website

Brian: This is a rematch of the 2002 Insight Bowl, a game Pittsburgh won 38-13. Since then, however, the Beavers have rattled off 4 straight bowl wins, including wins over Maryland, Notre Dame, Missouri and New Mexico. Oregon State is coming off a devastating loss to UO in the Civil War, while Pittsburgh is riding a two game winning streak (the Backyard Brawl and a 34-10 UConn beat down). This game will be competitive, but I think Oregon State pulls it out and covers.

Jeff: This game is tough to call but I actually like what Pitt is doing and think they are headed in the right direction and will be a key piece to getting the Big East a little more respect in the coming years. I'll take Pitt +3 since I think they have about a 50% chance of winning.


Gaylord Hotels Music City - Boston College vs. Vanderbilt (+4) - ESPN - 12/31 - website

Jeff: Is there any way to build up suspense for my pick here? ....No. BC -4 is a no brainer, but remember last year's game before you bet the farm on BC. Last year BC dominated Michigan State but gave up a TD and a two point conversion late to not cover. Regardless, BC -4 against 6-6 Vandy.

Brian: Agreed, the least suspenseful of our bowl picks.


Insight - Kansas (-10.5) vs. Minnesota - NFL Network - 12/31 - website

Brian: That's a lot of points. Still, while Minnesota has shown progress under second year coach Tim Brewster, Minnesota has gone from 7-1 and ranked in the Top 25 to 7-5, losing their last four games, including Iowa giving the Gophers a 55-0 Metrodome farewell. Minnesota has been outscored 143-55 in the month of November. Rock Chalk Jayhawk covers easily.

Jeff: Another NFL Network game? Big 10 sucks. Big 12 North isn't much better but it is good enough that Kansas can cover here.


Chick-fil-A - LSU vs. Georgia Tech (-4) - ESPN - 12/31 - website

Jeff: My brain tells me Georgia Tech after they beat Georgia to finish off the regular season but I have a little soft spot for LSU and they are the defending national champs. Also, with a month to prepare, Paul Johnson's offense becomes a little easier to defend. Take LSU +4.

Brian: Stop. We've been slurping the Yellow Jackets all year. This is a no-brainer. Georgia Tech going away.


Outback - Iowa vs. South Carolina (+3.5) - ESPN - 1/1 - website

Brian: Upon first glance, this looks like two teams going in opposite directions. South Carolina got manhandled by Florida by a gazillion points and followed that up with a 31-14 loss to in-state rival Clemson. In the other corner is an Iowa team that has put together three straight wins over 11-1 Penn State, Purdue (meh) and a 55-0 Gopher annihilation in the last Minnesota game to be played in the Metrodome. Not too confident with this pick, but I'll go with the hotter team. Take Iowa to cover the 3.5.

Jeff: Wow, 55-0 over Minnesota is pretty strong there. Minnesota is not any good but South Carolina is far from a great team and lost their star on defense, Emanuel Cook, due to his inability to pass 6 credit hours of classes this semester. That means he only passed one or no classes. Take Iowa -3.5.


Konica Minolta Gator - Clemson vs. Nebraska (+2.5) - CBS - 1/1 - website

Jeff: Clemson -2.5. If you believe in the parity of the ACC Clemson is approximately just as good as Virginia Tech. Virginia Tech beat Nebraska by 5 in Lincoln so on a neutral site that has a lot more orange in the stands than red, I like Clemson's chances of winning by more than 5.

Brian: All ACC teams aren't created equal Jeff. While Virginia Tech did beat Nebraska back in September, both the Hokies and Cornhuskers are very different teams now. Both are playing better football in the second half of the season. These two coaches are looking for their first bowl wins as head coach (Pelini won the Alamo Bowl back in 2003 as an "interim" coach). I'll give Clemson the home field advantage and begrudgingly go with Clemson, although I wouldn't be surprised if Nebraska pulls this one out as the Tigers have no business playing in the No. 3 ACC bowl game.


Capital One - Michigan State vs. Georgia (-7.5) - ABC - 1/1 - website

Brian: Both teams are coming off disappointing losses. The Spartans were soundly beat by Penn State 49-18 for the Land Grant trophy, while Georgia was stung by Paul Johnson's Yellow Jackets 45-42. Georgia's record is deceiving. Once a chic National title preseason pick, I can't find one impressive win on the Bulldogs schedule this season. (At South Carolina back in September ... maybe). As much as we rag on the Big 10, Michigan State has been here before - remember, the Capital One Bowl and the Champs Sports Bowl are played in the same stadium - and I definitely see them covering the 7.5 points. Michigan State.

Jeff: Michigan State only played two good teams this year and got throttled by both (Penn State and Ohio State). Georgia is likely to score 40+ just as those teams did and even though they might give up a few more points, they will win by plenty enough to cover the spread. Take Georgia -7.5.


Rose - Southern Cal (-9.5) vs. Penn State - ABC - 1/1 - website

Jeff: USC players and fans have been rumored to have hoped that Oregon State was going to win the Pac-10 just so that USC could go to a different BCS bowl and not beat up on a Big Ten team once again. But this is not Ohio State or Illinois. This is finally a half decent Big Ten team. Take Penn State +9.5.

Brian: What's the difference between Ohio State and Penn State this year? A late fourth quarter turnover that Penn State turned into 7 and won in Columbus. I just don't see how the Rose Bowl is going to be much different from Ohio State's trip to Los Angeles in September. The Trojans will be looking to prove they should have played in the BCS National Title game while JoePa already won the coaching wins record with Bowden given his three year extension that allows him to coach to age 112. Where's the motivation? USC big.


Orange - Virginia Tech vs. Cincinnati (-1) - Fox - 1/1 - website

Brian: Fine, blame the BC Eagles if you must, but I don't see the ACC 1-9 BCS bowl record improving this year. I just don't. I like to key in on who's the hotter team come bowl season, and Cincinnati's 6 straight wins definitely trumps the three-game winning streak the Hokies are on (14-3 against Duke, who kept it close, 17-14 over UVA, and 30-12 over the Eagles led by Dominique Davis). For such a strong program, Virginia Tech has a pedestrian 7-14 record overall, and 6-9 under Beamer. The big accomplishment for Beamer and the gang was getting to this game and winning the ACC. I think that's where the magic stops this season. I like Cincinnati to win the Orange Bowl.

Jeff: Cincinnati barely beat Hawaii in their last game this year. This might have been because they already had an Orange Bowl berth locked up but I think that was not the only reason. I really do not think anyone from the Big East is any good this year and I think EVERY ACC bowl bound team could beat the Bearcats. Take Virginia Tech even if the line moves to VT -10!


AT&T Cotton - Texas Tech (-5.5) vs. Mississippi - Fox - 1/2 - website

Jeff: I think Texas Tech's run is completely over. Ole Miss +5.5 is easy money here. Ole Miss is thrilled to be there while Texas Tech still probably thinks they should've gone to a BCS game and/or the Big XII Championship game.

Brian: Ahh, the Cotton Bowl: the fake BCS game. This is also the last Cotton Bowl at, well, the Cotton Bowl. The 2010 version moves to Jerry World. Just like Jeff, I like Mississippi to cover as well. This should be one of the better games to watch. I wouldn't go so far as to say that the Red Raiders run is completely over though, Jeff. If Leach and Crabtree stay (the latter being much more questionable), this team can continue to compete with Texas and Oklahoma in the Big XII South. Remember, BC also had to replace a Golden Arm Award winner last season and everyone wrote off the Eagles as well this year. Seemed to work out OK for Boston College.


AutoZone Liberty - East Carolina vs. Kentucky (+2) - ESPN - 1/2 - website

Brian: Exhibit 45A that there are too many bowl games is Kentucky (6-6, 2-6 SEC) playing in a bowl game. A team so crappy that they sent lame duck coach Phil Fulmer out on a winning note. This team got to 6 wins by beating Louisville (awful), Norfolk State (not the prison), Middle Tennessee State (something Maryland couldn't do), Western Kentucky (toothless 2-10 I-A independent), Arkansas and Mississippi State. The Wildcats best win? 21-20 at home against Petrino and the Razorbacks. On the other hand, East Carolina has some quality wins this season, was a September "BCS buster" and beat Tulsa for the C-USA title. Arrgh! Pirates BIG.

Jeff: Middle Tennessee State and Louisville both sound like better wins than any team Boston College beat out-of-conference this season. Take Kentucky here for the simple reason that Brian is probably wrong.


Sugar - Utah vs. Alabama (-11) - Fox - 1/2 - website

Jeff: If you had $100.00 to bet on only one game this bowl season, here is the pick for you. Put your money on Alabama. The Sugar Bowl will soon be far less relevant than the Orange Bowl appears to be this year after another year of an SEC team absolutely man handling a non-BCS conference team. Alabama!

Brian: Yes, Hawaii was an undefeated, non-BCS pushover last year in the Sugar Bowl, but Utah is a MUCH better team than the 2007 version of Hawaii. Utah has a strong defense and a pretty good quarterback, and has been tested with some fairly decent competition (Oregon State, TCU, BYU). While I think the Tide wins, they won't roll. I'm going with Utah +11 simply because I think Jeff is letting his SEC man crush cloud his better judgment on this one ... and I think 'Bama wins by 10, not 11+.


International - Connecticut (-4.5) vs. Buffalo - ESPN2 - 1/3 - website

Brian: I don't know what to make of this game. It's a virtual home game for Turner Gill and the MAC Champion Bulls (Toronto). Both teams have a shared opponent this season in Temple, and, of course, both struggled to put away the Owls. UConn beat Temple in a monsoon in overtime, while Buffalo won on a hail mary as the clock expired. Connecticut has had a terrible December (1-3) but Buffalo was the benefactor of playing in the MAC East this year. If they played in the MAC West, they don't even make it to the conference championship, having lost to two of the three directional Michigan schools. I guess I like Connecticut in this one to steamroll the Bulls behind the rushing game of Donald Brown.

Jeff: It is virtually a home game for Buffalo and Buffalo won the MAC which had several decent teams in is this year. But Buffalo won by winning the weaker division of the MAC and upsetting Ball State in the Championship game. Go with Connecticut here since Turner Gill is probably busy interviewing for new jobs anyway.


Fiesta - Ohio State vs. Texas (-9.5) - Fox - 1/5 - website

Jeff: Ohio State will continue to get beat up in BCS games. Texas -9.5.

Brian: The only reason I tune this game on to watch is in fear of missing the 2006 version of this game. I don't think that will happen, though ... no undefeated mid major team, and neither team is really playing for anything. Texas should beat the Buckeyes by at least 10 pretty easily.


GMAC - Tulsa (+3) vs. Ball State - ESPN - 1/6 - website

Brian: The best teams that Ball State has played this year are Navy, Central Michigan, Western Michigan and Buffalo. A 12-1 MAC team is roughly equivalent to a 10-3 Conference USA team, but because Ball State head coach Brady Hoke has already parlayed his success in Muncie for a head coaching job at San Diego State (really?! couldn't you hold out for a slightly better job?), the magic runs out for Ball State. Tulsa to cover, and probably win straight up.

Jeff: I'm with you Brian and I am in fact shocked that Tulsa is not favored here. Take Tulsa +3.


BCS Title Game - Florida vs. Oklahoma (+3.5) - Fox - 1/8 - website

Jeff: The game is played on the field and not on paper so anything can happen. Florida is clearly a better team than Oklahoma though. In fact, I would take four other teams playing in BCS games over Oklahoma on a neutral field. Take Florida here without hesitation but like I said, anything can happen.

Brian: I think this game will be closer than people are giving Oklahoma credit for. This should be a good game where I could see the winning team scoring very late in the fourth quarter. Of course, that score will be a touchdown, as these two teams rank 1 (Oklahoma 54.0) and 3 (Florida 45.2) in points per game. More interesting stats - Oklahoma and Florida rank 1-2 nationally in turnover margin. This game could go either way but I think defense will be the difference in this one. Florida ranks 9th nationally in total defense while Oklahoma ranks in the bottom half of Division I-A (#65). Advantage Gators. Coaching edge? Big game Bob roams the sidelines for the Crimson and Cream, and has lost his last 4 BCS bowl games. Advantage Gators. Take the Gators to cover, but as Jeff said, I wouldn't be shocked if OU takes the gift the Big XII gave them and turns it into a National championship.

Fortune Teller: 2008 Bowl Predictions Part I

Boston College news is - obviously - light this week, so let's talk bowls.

While Jeff might have beat me good in this year's Pick 5 challenge, way back when as part of our humble beginnings, I took him out to the woodshed picking last year's bowl games, racking up a 20-14 victory. This year, however, we are mixing it up. No more straight up bowl picks ... we are going ATS.

Here are our picks for the first 17 bowl games this December. Check back tomorrow for games 18-34.


EagleBank - Wake Forest (-3) vs. Navy - ESPN - 12/20 - website

Brian: As Jeff pointed out earlier, our back of the envelope math tells us there will only be two rematches this season in college football - Boston College-Virginia Tech and Wake Forest-Navy. It's very difficult to beat a team twice in one season (we are painfully aware of this fact), and there's no way Riley Skinner repeats his 4 INT regular season performance in his final game as a Deacon. Wake Forest

Jeff: I like the Deamon Deacons to win here but Navy can hang with them and possibly win as they did earlier this season and it's nearly a home game for Navy. Additionally, I'll be watching the game with a Naval Academy grad Saturday so I'll jump on his bandwagon and hope that if the Midshipmen do lose, they lose by less than 3. Navy +3.


New Mexico - Colorado State (+3) vs. Fresno State - ESPN - 12/20 - website

Jeff: Colorado State played in the more difficult conference this year and whenever I caught a little of some Fresno State games they were rather unimpressive. I'll take the 3 points here and the Rams.

Brian: Colorado State hasn't had a winning season since the Eagles played them in the bowl game back in 2003. That was subsequently the last year that the Rams went bowling, and really, were any good. They haven't won a bowl since 2001. Since then, Fresno State has registered bowl wins against Georgia Tech, UCLA and a ranked Virginia team on the smurf turf. Take Fresno State to cover.


magicJack St. Petersburg - Memphis vs. South Florida (-13) - ESPN2 - 12/20 - website

Brian: I know next to nothing about the Memphis football program. It would appear Memphis is a mediocre-to-bad Conference USA team (6-6, 4-4), while South Florida is THE disappointment in the Big East this season (2-5). This game is in the Bulls backyard, but 13 is a lot of points. I'll take Memphis to cover.

Jeff: A 6-6 team that does not play in a BCS conference is tough to pick. South Florida did play a difficult out of conference schedule this year and is playing a home game. I'll go with the home favorites in South Florida.


Pioneer Las Vegas - BYU vs. Arizona (-3) - ESPN - 12/20 - website

Jeff: Early in the year when BYU shut out UCLA it gave us reason to wonder if BYU was perhaps the best team in the country. After all, UCLA had already beaten Tennessee so that win looked real, real good. But eventually the season played out and now we know BYU is definitely not one of the elite teams this year. Fortunately for them though it doesn't take one of the nation's elite to beat the Wildcats. I'll take BYU +3.

Brian: Remember way back when back in September when the Mountain West went 4-0 against the Pac 10 and everyone was talking about how much of a powerhouse conference the MWC was? Yea, well here is an opportunity for the Pac 10 to redeem itself. I realize Arizona was part of that 0-4 Pac 10 performance back in September, dropping a game against New Mexico, but since then, Arizona has stayed with USC, Oregon State and Oregon and upset a ranked Cal team. I like the Wildcats to pull off the upset (?) and cover. Besides, as EDSBS points out, coach Bronco Mendelhall and the Ys don't look that comfortable in Vegas.


R+L Carriers New Orleans - Southern Miss (+4.5) vs. Troy - ESPN - 12/21 - website

Brian: Southern Miss has won four straight, but they did only squeak by Sun Belt conference member Arkansas State by 3 back in September. Meanwhile, the men of Troy have manhandled Arkansas State 35-9 to capture the Sun Belt conference championship. Troy by at least a touchdown.

Jeff: Troy is best known for leading LSU by 28 points well into the 2nd half this season but losing in the end in Baton Rouge. I know the Tigers are not the same Tigers that won it all last year but it is impressive nonetheless so I'll go with you here and take Troy as well.


San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia - Boise State (+2.5) vs. TCU - ESPN - 12/23 - website

Jeff: Ball State blew it by declining an invitation to play Boise State in a bowl game which looked like it would've matched the two undefeated teams in the nation that got left out of the BCS, but then, Ball State blew it in their conference championship game and we are left with the two best non-BCS conference schools who didn't make the BCS playing each other in San Diego. TCU is favored for a reason. Boise State went relatively untested this year and will get its first loss of the year right before Christmas. TCU -2.5

Brian: TCU has won its last 3 bowl games, but much like the Eagles, haven't really played the most marquee teams in December, tallying wins against Houston, Northern Illinois and Iowa State. This is actually a rematch of the 2003 Fort Worth Bowl, a game Boise State took 34-31 in TCU's backyard. I think Boise State will be very eager to prove that they were indeed a BCS team this year. This should be one of the best games of bowl season which I think will go down to the wire. Take Boise State +2.5 to cover.


Sheraton Hawaii - Hawaii (-1.5) vs. Notre Dame - ESPN - 12/24 - website

Brian: This seems like a soft landing spot for 6-6 Notre Dame to fall, as they could win their first bowl game since I was 11. Not so fast my friend! The fake Irish have lost 4 of their last 5 while Hawaii gave Big East champion Cincinnati a scare in their final regular season game. Take Hawaii. What better way to spend Christmas Eve by watching Notre Dame lose its 8th straight bowl game.

Jeff: No way I'm picking Notre Dame. Hawaii -1.5!!

Brian: Of course, this pick wasn't biased at all ...


Motor City - Florida Atlantic vs. Central Michigan (-7) - ESPN - 12/26 - website

Jeff: Central Michigan is one of the best non-BCS programs that no one seems to talk about. Maybe they don't talk about them because they went to Athens earlier this year and got handled by the Bulldogs. But wait, any non-BCS team would've been handled by Georgia this year. Non-BCS schools are overrated these days but Central Michigan is one of the better ones and I'll give the 7 points and take 'em over FAU.

Brian: While Florida Atlantic is an up and coming program, this is a team that is coming off a 57-50 overtime win against Florida International. I don't know much about FIU, other than they seem to show up a lot in ESPN's Bottom 10. While it's commendable for a team to go from 1-5 to start the season to 6-6 and bowl eligible, I think that's where the story ends. Central Michigan BIG.


Meineke Car Care - West Virginia vs. North Carolina (0) - ESPN - 12/27 - website

Brian: This is a pick 'em. Two evenly matched teams. After starting off the season strong (6-2), the Heels got ready for hoops season a little early and had a forgettable November, going 2-2 down the stretch, including getting smoked by in-state rival NC State. Pat White's last game for the Mountaineers lifts WVU over North Carolina in front of the home crowd.

Jeff: All BC fans remember the sea of blue created in the sold out Car Care bowl several years ago when BC beat the Tar Heels in 2004. Since then BC has been unable to beat the Tar Heels in their true home so maybe Brian is on to something that the Charlotte home crowd is not as big of an advantage as the true home field in Chapel Hill. BUT, Brian overestimates Pat White's ability to carry the Mountaineers this year. I'll take UNC to win.


Champs Sports - Wisconsin vs. Florida State (-5) - ESPN - 12/27 - website

Jeff: Wisconsin is not good. Their best win was @Fresno State where they won by 3. You can load up on this game. Take Florida State, playing in Florida -5.

Brian: Agreed. I just can't see the Badgers covering. Take Florida State.


Emerald - Miami (Fla.) vs. California (-7) - ESPN - 12/27 - website

Brian: San Francisco ... that's fun to say. Miami (Fla.) beat Virginia who blanked Maryland who jumped out ahead of California early and held on for a 35-27 victory. I'm thinking that given the home field advantage, Cal wins this game, but it should be a competitive game. Miami.

Jeff: Everyone (and by everyone, I mean ESPN analysts) loved Miami when they creeped into the Top 25 a few weeks ago. Now, everyone seems to be completely off the Miami bandwagon and does not like their chances as they travel all the way to the West Coast. I may have some east coast and ACC bias here but the strength of the ACC and the fact that Miami's lone out of conference loss came against the Gators, I definitely like Miami to cover and probably to win this game.


Independence - Northern Illinois vs. Louisiana Tech (+2) - ESPN - 12/28 - website

Jeff: Don't know much if anything about either one of these teams this year. I'll go with the team that played in the better conference this year. Louisiana Tech +2.

Brian: A complete guess. I'm going with Northern Illinois.


Papajohns.com - NC State vs. Rutgers (-7) - ESPN - 12/29 - website

Brian: Two of the country's hottest teams in the pizza bowl. Fitting. Rutgers has won 6 straight while the Wolfpack has won 4 straight. This game should be a good one to watch. I wouldn't be surprised if Rutgers wins, however, NC State will keep it close. NC State is something ridiculous like 11-1 against the spread this year, so I'll ride that all the way to the finish line. NC State.

Jeff: How is NC State getting so many points against Rutgers? NC State will not keep it close. They will win outright easily. NC State +7 without question.


Valero Alamo - Missouri (-13.5) vs. Northwestern - ESPN - 12/29 - website

Jeff: Missouri played in the Big 12 this year but don't let their record deceive you. They played in the lowly Big 12 North so giving 13.5 points is simply too much to give here. Take Northwestern because even though they may not win, they can keep it close.

Brian: This spread is too high. I've watched Northwestern play a bunch of times this season, and nothing I've seen leads me to believe that Missouri is going to blow them out. These teams are very similar. Both beat the teams they were supposed to beat and lost to the only good teams they played. Northwestern has a very curious loss at Indiana and Missouri lost a strange one to 7-5 Kansas. Take Northwestern.


Roady's Humanitarian - Maryland (+1.5) vs. Nevada - ESPN - 12/30 - website

Brian: The last year the ACC sends a team to go play on the Smurf Turf. Luckily for the Terrapins, Boise State didn't land here. However, Nevada isn't a pushover WAC replacement. They are averaging 37.8 points per game and Eagles fans are pretty familiar with the mediocre Maryland defense. Maryland will also be without their defensive coordinator for this game. The ACC is 4-2 in the H-Bowl; make it 4-3 as the WAC's Nevada Wolfpack tell the ACC not to let the door hit the Terps on the way out ... in front of 116 fans.

Jeff: 4-2 and they often have to play Boise on their home field. Make it 5-2 after "good Maryland" shows up. Maryland is very good against the spread as an underdog this year. I believe 6-0-1. Look for that trend to continue, I'll take the Terps.


Texas - Western Michigan vs. Rice (-3) - NFL Network - 12/30 - website

Jeff: I want to boycott picking this game because its on the NFL network, but I will do it for the blog. Rice had a surprisingly nice season but since I picked a conference USA team over a MAC team earlier I'm going to go with the MAC team here. Western Michigan is every bit as good as Ball State this year. Take Western Michigan +3.

Brian: Rice is one of the hottest teams in the country, having won 6 straight, scoring over 44 points per game over that 6 game stretch. Rice's only losses this year are to Texas, Vanderbilt and Tulsa - all bowl teams. Western Michigan came up short when they played the two toughest teams in the MAC West - Ball State and Central Michigan. I like Rice to cover in a game no one watches.


Pacific Life Holiday - Oklahoma State (-3.5) vs. Oregon - ESPN - 12/30 - website

Brian: There will probably be a lot of points in this one. I like Zach Robinson and the Cowboy offense to be the difference in this one, though. Plus here's a little history lesson: Oklahoma State bowl record: 12-6. Oregon bowl record: 8-13. Oklahoma State covers and the Cowboys finish with their best record since 1988.

Jeff: This game has a lot of implications as to how good the Big XII South was this year and how not good the Pac 10 was this year after USC. If Oregon can come up with a victory it would say a lot for its conference. However, I do not expect that to happen and think Oklahoma State will win by 2+ touchdowns.