(2) Ohio State 24-30 (3) Michigan
Tough game, back and forth action, Michigan was better but not wildly so. Both teams had moments of moving the ball but both had a lot more moments of rugged defense that locked everything in place for long stretches of time. As evenly matched as I've probably ever seen these two teams, would've gone with the Buckeyes at home but the Wolverines were the better team on this day.
Kentucky 38-31 (10) Louisville
Kentucky kept making the big plays and even when they gave up a hideous interception (ohhhhhhhhhh, bad interception) right after taking the lead in the 4th quarter, they came back and won anyway! I can't tell you how many times in my life I've watched UK give away a game, but I can count on one hand the number of times they've come back to win in spite of themselves! UK was okay this season, got destroyed by Georgia and Alabama (yeah, that happens), stung by a better-than-usual Missouri squad (shoot, really thought UK was ready to win that one), came up short to Tennessee (pretty normal) and a bad L to South Carolina (yeah, that one sucked); but beating Florida and Louisville is always nice, there's a bowl awaiting and our coach got some buzz at bigger schools, so pretty good season actually. As for Louisville, well, this knocks them out of the playoff but they weren't going anyway, so....just a wakeup call before the ACC title game, really.
Top 25
Handed their business
(3) Michigan, (5) Florida State, (6) Oregon, (7) Texas, (9) Missouri, (11) Penn State, (12) Mississippi, (13) Oklahoma, (14) Louisiana State, (15) Arizona, (16) Notre Dame, (20) Oklahoma State, (21) Tennessee, (22) North Carolina State, (23) Tulane, (24) Clemson, (25) Liberty
Won but did not impress
(1) Georgia
Dang, man, GA Tech is pretty sorry this year. Half effort is not the way to play at this time of year, Bulldogs.
(4) Washington
You, too, Huskies. I get that your in-state rival is so lame you can't even get up for the game, but those are the most dangerous ones!
(8) Alabama
Crappiest Auburn team you've seen in decades....is no reason to let off the gas going into Championship week! Just because everyone got away with it is not confirmation that hard work isn't necessary.
(17) Iowa
I kept trying to make the case that Iowa is actually pretty good this year (got stomped by Penn State, no shame in that and got ripped off by the refs against Minnesota--otherwise a pretty clean season), but then came this putrid performance against a Nebraska team that is no good at all. Sweet Ginger! This offense is awful! If the Hawkeyes beat Michigan, it will be one of the biggest upsets of my lifetime.
Bad beat
(2) Ohio State
Hey, man, nobody wins at Michigan these days.
(16) Oregon State
Hey, man, Oregon is rolling right now. Nobody wants to play them.
Not so good
(10) Louisville
Gotta beat the Wildcats to stay in the playoff chase (jk, you guys weren't in the playoff chase).
(19) Kansas State
Smoked in the 2nd half by Iowa State? At home? What happened to the Wildcats?
My top 12
(1) Georgia (the best all season long)
(2) Washington (their big win was earlier than Michigan's and I think the Pac-12 was generally better than the Big 10)
(3) Oregon (playing their best right now--UW better watch out!)
(4) Michigan (two good w's (Penn State, Ohio State) and nothing else, why do they need to be higher than #3? (which will happen after Washington-Oregon play each other))
(5) Ohio State (tough L, still a shot at getting into the top 4)
(6) Alabama (their QB play has gotten better each week, still in the hunt)
(7) Florida State (never particularly impressive but they won all their games)
(8) Texas (nice team but outside of a good W in Tuscaloosa, what did they do?)
(9) Missouri (good team, not good enough)
(10) Penn State (good team, not good enough)
(11) Mississippi (good team, not good enough)
(12) Arizona (took a while but playing as well as anyone right now)
Championship week matches
(CUSA) (56.5)
New Mexico St. @ (25) Liberty (-11)
I don't know either of these teams but I'm intrigued that New Mexico State won 31-10 at Auburn; yes, Auburn sucked this year but that's still a great W for a CUSA squad. Is that good enough to keep them close to Liberty? I have no idea, but I will say Yes, anyway. I'll take Liberty 34-28 (New Mexico State and the over)
(Pac 12) (65.5)
(6) Oregon (-9.5) @ (4) Washington
Game of the year (til the next day). Washington already beat Oregon this year but that is old news and Oregon is playing as well as anyone in the country right now. But UW ain't bad and I don't see why they'd be a virtual double digit dog on a neutral field (and I would consider Las Vegas "neutral"). I think this is gonna be a great game, I like Oregon to win but I don't see a blowout coming. The Huskies will have to bring their offense to keep up but I think they'll make for a spicy 4th quarter. I'll say Oregon 38-31 (Washington and the over).
(Big 12) (54.5)
(20) Oklahoma State @ (7) Texas (-15.5)
Oklahoma State has a coupla puzzling losses (stomped at Central Florida and stomped at home by South Alabama) and Texas has arguably the best W of the season (a convincing victory @ Alabama), but otherwise their resumes are virtually identical. Yeah, Texas at Tuscaloosa--not trying to take that away from them--but Alabama's QB is light years better than that now, so if you're trying to tell me that Texas is some all-world championship squad because of that, well, I'm a little dubious. So outside of the fact that the Cowboys are clearly capable of mailing it in, what's the real difference between Texas and Oklahoma State? Texas is better and has been more consistent but I don't see them as 16 points better than OSU, who should at least keep the game close. I'll say Texas 30-24 (Oklahoma State and the over).
(SEC) (54.5)
(1) Georgia (-6) @ (8) Alabama
Game of the year (hot on the heels of the UW-Oregon game of the year from the night before). UGA has been destroying everyone for a coupla years now, clearly we've all forgotten that shortly before this dominance it was Alabama that destroyed everyone for years at a time. Alabama's shameful #5 finish last year was a real wake-up call to all right-thinking Americans and their early season QB play was shocking! But our long national nightmare is over, Bama has righted its offensive ship and looks pretty damn good on the other side of the ball, too. Can they hang with Georgia? I believe they can. As opposed to the Pac-12 championship, which should be an offensive buffet, this looks like a defensive grudge match, I don't see either team moving the ball effectively and I don't see a lot of points coming. I'll take Georgia 17-14 (Alabama and the under).
(AAC) (47.5)
Southern Methodist @ (23) Tulane (-3.5)
Don't know either team, kinda forgot that SMU even played football any more. Tulane has bugged me most of the season but I think they know who they are and they should be way better than SMU, so I think they mush SMU. I'll say Tulane 31-10 (Tulane and the under).
(Big 10) (34.5)
(3) Michigan (-22) @ (17) Iowa
I'm puzzled by the line on this game: Michigan can score 35 by themselves and do you really think 3 TD's will be hard for them to win by? Iowa has a really good defense and they will play hard in this game, but their offense is abysmal and its only a matter of time before the Wolverines break through: either Michigan runs up the score right away and mails in the 2nd half or its a grudge match field position game til the Iowa defense eventually gives out, either way the Wolverines are going to score and win this game easily. If Michigan loses this, it'll be the biggest shock of my college football watching life. I'll say Michigan 35-6 (Michigan and the over--OMG, bet the OVER!).
(ACC) (47.5)
(10) Louisville @ (5) Florida State (-2.5)
This line, too, has me mystified. I like Louisville as much as the next guy and they will be bringing a for-real offense to this match; but Florida State is better at everything, has played a tougher schedule--and done better!--and this is the game they've been waiting for all season. And you're telling me FSU is only a FG better than UL? Why are you saying that? I think they're way better than Louisville and while I expect Louisville to score (though probably less than they've scored all year), I don't see them topping Florida State or even keeping particularly close. I'll say Florida State 31-21 (Florida State and the over).
That should leave us with: (1) Georgia, (2) Michigan, (3) Oregon, (4) Florida State, (5) Texas, (6) Washington, (7) Ohio State, (8) Alabama, right? Undefeated Big 12 champ left out for a 1-loss Pac-12 Champ....yeah, that looks right to me.
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