Category Archives: On TV This Weekend

On TV This Weekend: Playoffs?!?

I meant to include this in my bowl post but I completely forgot! Probably because I won’t be able to watch these games, but alas I will do my duty and bring them to you here.

Right now, of course, there’s Eastern Washington and defending champs Villanvoa on ESPN2 in a semifinal match.

As usual, all times Eastern and all predictions wrong.

11:00: Delta State vs. Minnesota-Duluth (Division II Championship @ Florence, AL; ESPN2): All the marbls here once again in Florence. Both these teams are prior champions (Delta St. in 2000, Duluth in 2008) so they’ve got the credentials.

Noon: Georgia Southern @ Delaware (ESPNU): This is the other DI-AA semifinal. Supposedly due to the confluence of Christmas and New Year’s Day on consecutive Saturdays this year the title game won’t be held until January 7th. Whatever you say, NCAA. Anyway, this will be Southern’s 4th game to Delaware’s 3rd, a consequence of the 20 team bracket this year (in which Delaware was also the third seed).

3:30: Wisconsin-Whitewater vs. Mount Union (Division III Championship @ Salem, VA; ESPNU): Business as usual in the Division III final. These two have met every year since 2005, and both have been dominant in their runs to the title game once again.

I also wanted to comment on UMass saying they’re trying to join the MAC for 2013. That’s a long ways off, but the MAC goes to 14 teams that could resolve some of their infamous scheduling issues with 13 teams. To create balanced divisions, I suspect one of the Ohio teams would be asked to move to the west. But, still, the NCAA has to lift its moratorium for schools trying to make the jump to I-A (which is also an issue for the schools the WAC wants to invite).

This Weekend in College Football: Week 15

With one DI-A game this weekend various sorts of playoffs, I figured I would go ahead and write up a post for this weekend. I’m just going to do a cursory overview of most of these games, because above all I really just want you to watch them. People say this weekend is dead-football wise and I couldn’t agree less. I think one of my favorite games last year was the Appalachian State-Montana playoff game, and that’s what’s great here: a real, honest-to-goodness playoff.

As usual, all times Eastern and all predictions wrong.

Friday 
8:00: New Hampshire @ Delaware (ESPN2): We’ll start with a pair of DI-AA quarterfinals (the other two won’t be televised). This particular match features a pair of CAA rivals that did not play this past season. The quick overview here is that UNH has 3 DI-AA losses on the year, which Delware only has two, and those two were narrow losses to fellow conference foes (and tournament teams) Villanova and conference champ William & Mary.

Saturday
Noon: Villanova @ Appalachian State (ESPN): Speaking of the Wildcats, here’s probably the DI-AA team most people have heard of: Appy State. I was hoping there’d be some snow for this game, but maybe better luck next round as the high in Boone, NC will projected to be a balmy 43 degrees Saturday. Anyway, while the Mountaineers are the #1 seed in the tournament both teams are coming off blowouts of their competition from the previous round. I would expected a pretty decent game here.

2:00:

  • Alabama State vs. Texas Southern (SWAC Championship @ Birmingham, AL; ESPN Classic): Again, I’m not sure why the SWAC plays a championship game. Okay, I actually do know why (it’s tradition) but in the process they forfeit their bid to the playoffs, making them and the Ivy League the only conferences to do so.
  • Delta State @ Shepard (CBSCS): Yes, that’s right, it’d Division II semifinal action, only on CBS College Sports! Catch the fever!

2:30: Navy vs. Army (@Philadelphia, PA; CBS): Army has to come into this year’s edition more optimistic than ever. This is the first year since 1996 they’ve qualified for a bowl, and it’s the first time in forever that Navy isn’t playing to clinch the Commander-in-Chief’s trophy (as Air Force already has). Oh, another fun fact: this is also the first time ever all three academies have qualified for a bowl in the same year. (Note that the Air Force Academy has only existed, in football terms, since 1957.) At any rate, I still have to favor Navy here, statistically and subjectively they still appear to be the better team.

6:00: Minnesota-Duluth @ Northwest Missouri State (CBSCS): More DII action! Hey, it’s still college football, and in the end, that’s all that really matters, right?

Also, recommended viewing Saturday night is ESPN’s last “30 for 30” feature, Pony Excess, detailing the pay-for-play scandal that lasted the better part of the 80’s at SMU. I haven’t seen it, of course, but I suspect that there will be even more people wondering how Craig James is still employed at ESPN afterward.

This Weekend in College Football: Week 14

As promised, this weekend’s guide. I’ll do another normal one for next weekend (for Army-Navy and the NCAA playoff games), and then we’ll get into our bowl coverage.

As usual, all times Eastern and predictions wrong.

Noon:

  • Rutgers @ West Virginia (ABC): Well, here’s one part of your Big East conference champion scenario. West Virginia should win, though, which eliminates Pitt from contention.
  • Pittsburgh @ Cincinnati (ESPN): As much as I make fun of the Big East (again, this is generally in the same way we made fun of Mississippi back in Alabama), they did provide us the thrilling Pitt-Cincy game last year for the conference crown. This year’s edition, though, will likely prove less exciting as Cincy was 4-7 on the year an a meager 2-4 in Big East play. That said, as mentioned above WVU victory eliminates Pitt from the Big East running, so that may dampen the Panthers’ spirits a bit. They should still win, though.
  • Southern Methodist @ Central Florida (Conference USA Championship; ESPN2): SMU has been inconsistent, but they did come out on top of the C-USA’s west division somehow. UCF had no such issues, though, with only a minor bump in the road against USM while they for the most part pounded their C-USA comrades. Of course, this logic didn’t do me any good for the MAC title game, but UCF does have home field advantage and should be able to take advantage of it.

2:00: Troy @ Florida Atlantic (ESPNU): Troy will actually not win the Sun Belt this year, due to their loss to eventual champion FIU. FAU has been less fortunate this year, though, as Schnelly’s lost 7 games and only boasts a now-inexplicable win over FIU. At any rate, I’m just going to keep trucking with Troy.

3:30: Oregon @ Oregon State (ABC): This game could potentially blow everything up, though really it probably won’t. The Ducks may struggle in the first half due to the crowd, but should be able to get the offense in gear in the second half and be able to put the Beavers away.

4:00: South Carolina vs. Auburn (SEC Championship @ Atlanta, GA; CBS): This game could really blow everything up. I tend to agree with the expert-types that say an Auburn loss would probably keep them in the BCS title game anyway, which I think would do more to rile folks up than Oregon losing (leading to a fairly direct TCU-Auburn matchup). That said, I don’t really see it happening.

7:00: Washington @ Washington State (Versus): It’s the Apple Cup. The Pac-10 has to be desperately be hoping Washington wins, which would give the Pac-10 a 4th bowl eligible team (assuming Oregon State doesn’t win). Fortunately for the conference, Wazzou is just dreadful enough that the desired result should be able to happen without any shenanigans. (Besides, I think the Cougars already used up their shenanigans quota when somehow beat Oregon State 3 weeks ago. Somehow, that’s also the last time they played. Perhaps their year would’ve gone a little more smoothly if they’d spread out their bye weeks a bit?)

7:45: Virginia Tech vs. Florida State (ACC Championship @ Charlotte, NC; ESPN): The ACCCG is finally where it should have been all along. While I thought last year’s game was reasonably well attended, this year’s edition will actually sell out! What a concept, having a title game somewhere most of the member schools can drive to in probably the only state that actually really cares about the ACC! Anyway, VPI has been an unstoppable juggernaut in ACC play, reeling off 10 straight wins (8 in conference) since the JMU debacle. Florida State’s had a fine year, but they really backed into this game. Sure, they did just score a big win over their in-state rival, but they still needed Maryland to upset NC State last weekend to even get in. I really like VPI here.

8:00:

  • Nebraska vs. Oklahoma (Big 12 Championship @ Arlington, TX; ABC): I can’t help but think that when the Big 12 divisions were first drawn up that the folks in both sides of this rivalry thought that this was how it was going to be every year, to make up for the loss of their classic Big 8 rivalry that was played every year from 1929 to 1997. Alas, these two sides have met in the Big 12 title game only once, in 2006 when OU won 21-7. (That said, boy am I pissed off if I’m a Texas A&M fan, since TAMU beat both of these teams this year.) Anyway, Nebraska’s had a few dicey encounters this season, with occasional offensive outages and a defense that doesn’t measure up to the standard set by last year’s. Oklahoma’s been more consistent on both sides of the ball and I think they’ve gotten their mojo back, so to speak. I think the Sooners will win the last Big 12 Championship Game.
  • Connecticut @ South Florida (ESPN2): For simplicity’s sake, UConn should win this game. A loss, along with losses by WVU and Pitt, could set up a potential 5-way tie atop the Big East. I think they’ll win as well, but if you really want chaos on this day and are disappointed by the results in Corvallis and Atlanta, this is your last shot.

10:30: Southern California @ California-Los Angeles (FSN): Well, the football monopoly in LA hasn’t exactly been busted, but both the established monopoly and the pesky upstart have both had bad years this year. That said, UCLA’s offense has been AWOL since the 42-28 win back in October over Wazzou. I’ve got USC winning here.

Well, pay attention to the twitter feed and this site throughout the evening tomorrow night as I line up the final bowl predictions before the BCS and ESPN reveal all Sunday night. Until then, enjoy the last real weekend of the regular college football season!

This Weekend in College Football: Week 13

Well, it’s the last full-fledged column of the year. Are you ready?

As usual, all times Eastern and all predictions wrong.

Noon:

  • Michigan @ Ohio State (ABC): And the Big Ten’s biggest rivalry is renewed once again, this year a week later, however. Nonetheless, Ohio State should maintain the recent tradition of beating Michigan.
  • Boston College @ Syracuse (ESPN): Boston College has put together a nice little run for themselves over the last month of the season, whereas the ‘Cuse is scuffling a bit at the end. I think this’ll continue and that BC should win.
  • Michigan State @ Pennsylvania State (ESPN2): Well, I think JoePa should retire, but then again, who’s going to tell him that he should? Yeah, that’s what I thought. Meanwhile, Sparty’s looked awfully shaky over the last month or so, but how can you pick against them? Well, I can’t anyway.
  • South Florida @ Miami (ESPNU): It’s a quarterback controversy in Coral Gables! Either way, Miami should win.
  • Tulane @ Marshall (CBSCS): If you like watching 4-7 teams play each other, well have I got the matchup for you! Anyway, Marshall’s defense is something I would generously call “suspect” so I’ll take Tulane here.
  • Indiana @ Purdue (BTN): It’s the battle for the Old Oaken Bucket! While Purdue has been “scrappy” and “competitive” despite a boatload of injuries this season, Indiana has just been awful in conference play (two wins versus none, respectively). I’ll take the Boilermakers.
  • Kentucky @ Tennessee (SEC): Well, both these teams are sort of crawling toward the finish. Tennessee needs a win to get bowl eligible. I don’t think they’ll get it.
  • Virginia @ Virginia Tech (ACC): Well, it’s UVA and VPI again. I was going to ask aloud how this game ended up on Raycom but then I realied I don’t really care about it either. VPI has won every contest since 2003 and that shouldn’t change here.

12:30: Kansas vs. Missouri (@Kansas City, MO; FSN): Speaking of playing out the string, Mizzou should take care of Kansas in this neutral-site rivalry.

3:30:

  • Louisiana State @ Arkansas (@Little Rock, AR; CBS): It’s the War Memorial Stadium special of the year for Arkansas, which certainly would make this an attractive upset pick. I can’t really pull the trigger on that though.
  • Northwestern @ Wisconsin (ABC/ESPN): Well, the ride that was this year for Northwestern came to a screeching halt last week at Wrigley with that somewhat inexplicable loss to Illinois. Wisconsin should seal up a Rose Bowl bid here.
  • Florida @ Florida State (ABC/ESPN): This is tough. I’ve been pessimistic on FSU for a few weeks now and am actually picking Florida to win in my bowl predictions, so I’ll still with that. I think it will be close though.
  • North Carolina State @ Maryland (ESPN2): If NC State wins, they wrap up the ACC Atlantic and will appear in next week’s (almost sold out!) ACC Championship Game. Otherwise, FSU will get in. I think NCSU should be able to take care of UMD and get into the title game, though.
  • North Carolina @ Duke (ESPNU): Not quite as exciting as the basketball version, that’s for sure. UNC should win easily.
  • Iowa @ Minnesota (BTN): Speaking of winning easily, Iowa.

4:00: Texas Christian @ New Mexico (Versus): TCU should wrap up a perfect season here. Will it be enough to get an invite to a BCS bowl? We’ll see.

7:00:

  • South Carolina @ Clemson (ESPN2): Our second SEC-ACC matchup of the day, the Gamecocks travel to their upstate counterparts, and should come away with the win as long as they’re not getting to eager to face Auburn next week.
  • Mississippi State @ Mississippi (ESPNU): Egg Bowl! For the first time in awhile, Mississippi State is the obvious favorite here, as Ole Miss has simply had a trainwreck that not even the Right Reverend Houston Nutt can fix.

7:30: Oregon State @ Stanford (Versus): What in the hell happened to the Beavers? They’ve lost to UCLA and both Washington teams but somehow beat Arizona and USC. At 5-5 and Stanford and Oregon remaining on the schedule, this is one of the big reasons why the Pac-10 won’t have more than 4 teams go bowling.

7:45: Georgia Tech @ Georgia (ESPN): To Hell with Georgia.

8:00:

  • Notre Dame @ Southern California (ABC): Well, Notre Dame has woken up the echoes the past couple of weeks but I still like USC here.
  • Oklahoma @ Oklahoma State (ABC): It’s Bedlam! I used to have a soft spot for this game, but it’s sort of gotten away from the Cowboys, who haven’t won since 2002 and have gotten blown out in the last two contests. Nonetheless, I still like them here to clinch the Big 12 South and face Nebraska next week.

This Weekend in College Football: Week 12

As usual, all times Eastern and all predictions wrong.

Noon:

  • Wisconsin @ Michigan (ESPN): It’s been a comfortable couple of weeks for the Wolverines, with their overtime “thriller” against Illinois and a victory over Purdue getting them back to the 7-win mark, and perhaps a reason to look forward to next year. (It’s winter in the midwest, they need all the reasons they can get when the sky is gray everyday for the next 5 months, don’tcha know?) At any rate, that should all come crashing down against Wisconsin. While I doubt they’ll score 83 again, it will probably be a moral victory for the beleaguered Michigan defense if they hold them under, say, 50.
  • Pittsburgh @ South Florida (ESPN2): Who’ll win the Big East? Who knows. I tried flipping a coin to pick this one but I lost control of it and now I can’t find it. I’m pretty sure that says something about the Big East. Anyway, I predicted Pitt to prevail in my bowl predictions, so I guess I’ll go with them here.
  • Oklahoma State @ Kansas (FSN): Kansas: still bad! Cowboys roll.
  • Virginia @ Boston College (ESPNU): Boston College still isn’t scoring any points, but hey they’ve one 3 in a row and they actually play defense. I’ll take them here.
  • Purdue @ Michigan State (BTN): Purdue may be one of the most battered teams in the country. Sparty rolls.
  • Troy @ South Carolina (SEC): I guess it’s popular in the SEC to either take this week off or effectively take this week off. While I think Troy can still recover in the Sun Belt, they don’t really stand a chance here.
  • North Carolina State @ North Carolina (ACC): I like this matchup a lot, actually. That said, I also still like the Wolfpack a lot here as well.

1:30: Duke @ Georgia Tech (espn3.com): What is there to say at this point? We’re 5-5 and we’re still making the same mistakes that at the beginning of the year caused us to lose to Kansas, and we’re out our starting QB. I think Tevin Washington actually performed well last weekend, but the continuing lapses on defense and lack of execution on offense are extremely worrying at this point in the season.

3:30:

  • Mississippi @ Louisiana State (CBS): Well, since LSU is involved, it’s tough to tell how this one is going to go. Sure, Ole Miss just got blown out by the (2nd) worst team from the other side of the SEC, but this one could go down to the wire. Or LSU wins comfortably. Either way, The Hat should prevail in the fashion that he chooses.
  • Ohio State @ Iowa (ABC): As Doc Saturday put it, last weekend was Northwestern’s “annual upset over Iowa” that I keep forgetting about. That pretty much removes Iowa from the Rose Bowl race but doesn’t really make the Big Ten any less confusing. Provided Ohio State wins here, and I think they will, they will end up in the BCS, but it’s just a question of whether it’ll be Pasadena or New Orleans.
  • Virginia Tech @ Miami (ESPN): This is your ACC Coastal division, right here. Honestly, I don’t think it matters who starts at QB for Miami at this point, but I think the VPI defense is still quality enough to control them. With this year’s edition of Tyrod Taylor, the Hokies should also still be able to generate enough offense to outpace the Miami attack, which is a pretty conventional offense with some great talent. These are the type of offenses VPI has been feasting on for years.
  • Stanford @ California (FSN): It’s The Big Game, folks. Does Cal stand a chance? While this is a huge rivalry, I think Cal spent their bullets against Oregon last weekend. Also, that Andrew Luck kid is pretty good at this quarterback thing. While I think Stanford will win, this is very reminiscent of last year’s Big Game that the Cardinal were also heavily favored to win but ended up losing. So, hey, ya never know.
  • Illinois vs. Northwestern (@Chicago, IL; ESPNU): Ponder this: Northwestern is a small, private school that is typically not really good at football. Illinois is the big, huge state school that should be great at football. Now, then, you’re probably aware of this, as I was, but I still just looked it up and I am shocked that Northwestern is 6-1 against Illinois since 2003. If Illinois isn’t careful, the Wildcats will pass them soon, as the all time series is a pretty close 52-46-5 in favor of Illinois. And I think that trend will continue this year. Not because Northwestern is great or anything, but I mean seriously, Illinois just lost to Minnesota. Minnesota! In addition watching Ron Zook lose, this game also provides the novelty of football in a baseball stadium. The baseball stadium thing being the novel part, not the Ron Zook losing part. [Ed: We’ve learned at the last minute that both teams will work towards one end zone on offense. This is like when we were kids, except that presumably there are also no gardens or trees in the field of play.]
  • Arkansas State @ Navy (CBSCS): Navy.

7:00:

  • Army vs. Notre Dame (@New York, NY; NBC): So Notre Dame just demolished Utah, getting out of their funk for now. While I don’t think they’ll quite do the same damage here, they should still win pretty comfortably.
  • Arkansas @ Mississippi State (ESPN): Arkansas might be putting together the quietest 2-loss season in SEC history. While Miss State is pretty decent this year, it’s hard not to like Arkansas this point, provided they don’t overlook the Bulldogs.
  • Missouri @ Iowa State (FSN): Iowa State is gunning for their first consecutive bowl streak since 2004 and 2005. They’ll get close, but just not close enough. Mizzou keeps their slim Big 12 North hopes alive.
  • Connecticut @ Syracuse (ESPNU): Who wants to win the Big East? These two teams certainly still can, but technically anyone still can, so that’s not really saying much. I flipped a coin, and this time I didn’t lose it. It came up UConn.

8:00:

  • Southern California @ Oregon State (ABC): That win over Cal looks really confusing now doesn’t it? (Not to mention that 2 point victory over Arizona.) In the last 4 games, the Beavers have lost to Washington, UCLA, and Wazzou, three of the worst teams in the conference. I think USC will continue the trend, though they’re actually good so who knows?
  • Nebraska @ Texas Agricultural and Mechanical (ABC): I didn’t realize until just now that TAMU is ranked. Huh. That said, while TAMU prevailed over then #8 Oklahoma two weeks ago I don’t think they’ll have the same luck against current #8 Nebraska. This is definitely the game of the evening, though, so give it a look if you can.
  • Florida State @ Maryland (ABC): Well, it’s been fun Maryland, but I’ll be really surprised if you can beat Florida State this weekend. Still, a pretty surprising year for the Terps.
  • Oklahoma @ Baylor (ESPN2): The ride was fun for Baylor as well, but then they ran into Oklahoma State and TAMU and, well, it hasn’t been pretty. This will probably continue against the Sooners.
  • Houston @ Southern Mississippi (CBSCS): Considering all that happened in Hattiesburg last weekend after USM’s upset over UCF, I will be both surprised and delighted if Southern Miss can beat the Cougars here.

I’m flying back to the eye of the crazy storm (i.e., Alabama) on Sunday, so bowl predictions maybe late. Of course, since I just uploaded them today during a normal week, I guess that won’t really be all that different.