Pigskin Potpourri, Week 11

As a Sun Devil alum who suffered through his share of rainy defeats at Husky Stadium, it was heartening to see ASU snap out of a six-game losing streak with a healthy 39-19 drubbing of UW. With Wazzu and UCLA up next, the Devils might sneak their way into the postseason with a win over much-improved Arizona later this month. Let's call it Operation: Poinsettia Bowl.

Ted's gotta be flying high after BC shut out the Golden Domers in Beantown. For Ian, it was heartbreak again when the Mustangs couldn't hang on against Memphis. All in all, though, it was a snoozer of a week for college football, so I didn't pay much attention. Penn State is thankfully out of the mix, and I remain convinced that Tech won't survive Norman. If 'Bama can't take care of business in the SEC title game, we're looking at Oklahoma, USC and Florida vying for the two spots in Miami.

Crystal Ball Express...

Alas. Not much time today, so here's an abbreviated version of the Crystal Ball...

UPSET ALERT: Georgia Tech over North Carolina.

Ohio State over Northwestern.

Florida State over Clemson.

Oklahoma over Texas A&M, but it's closer than the experts think.

Penn State over Iowa, big.

Wake Forest over Virginia.

Florida over Vanderbilt, big.

USC over California.

Biggest Games:

Alabama over LSU, but it's closer than the experts think.

UPSET ALERT: Oklahoma State over Texas Tech. That's right. Cowboys WR Dez Bryant is the difference.

Crystal Ball Quick Hits...

There are a couple of key Thursday games that deserve our attention, so here goes...

Crystal Ball Quick hits:

TCU at Utah. Ted says: The game is in Salt Lake City. Advantage Utah. TCU's defense is nationally ranked. Advantage TCU. So, what's more important: Home crowd or defense? I say defense. TCU wins. Ian says: TCU often has poor luck in high-stakes games. However, Ian believes that TCU will beat Utah by a "respectable margin." "Not a blowout, not a close one."

Maryland at Virginia Tech. Ted says: Maryland has had poor luck in Blacksburg, which seems to transform into a House of Pain for opponents when Tech plays on Thursday nights. I say the trend continues. Tech wins. Ian says: "I'm going to go out on a sturdy limb and say Virginia Tech will win."

The full on Crystal Ball comes tomorrow... Thanks for reading....

Cubs, Shmubs... Chicago has our next president...

Congratulations to Barack Obama, our new president elect. Here's to all of the underdogs -- both in sports and in life.

The Agony Meter (Election Day Edition)...

Here's hoping for a historic election night... As for our alma mater's there's plenty of agony to spread around this week...

(Tie) Loads o' agony: Boston College

Top billing in this week's edition of The Agony Meter is a tossup. Let's start with B.C., which lost ugly at home to mediocre Clemson. It's a tough loss from a conference standings standpoint. The game itself was a tough one to swallow. B.C. was down 17-0, only to rally to take the lead late 21-17. But special teams and defensive breakdowns, which are becoming routine, sealed the Eagles' fate.

(Tie) Loads o' agony: Arizona State

A late Sun Devils rally is stymied when QB Rudy Carpenter's 2-point conversion is intercepted. Arizona State played better in this game than they have as of late. The loss, however, pushes them to the brink of bowl elimination.

Dash o' agony: Southern Methodist

As Ian points out, not having to play means that the Mustangs are not at risk of losing. Still, SMU finds itself coming out of the bye week winless in conference. Bye or not, that's not a pleasant feeling.

If I were a Wall Street man, I'd short sell: Texas Tech. They're a good team and deserve all the praise coming their way. But their luck is likely to end soon against one of the two state schools from Oklahoma.

Stock way undervalued: Dallas Cowboys. We put this team on the short sell list a few weeks ago. The thinking was they were overhyped and ready for a fall... Now, the opposite is true. Once QB Tony Romo comes back, the 'Boys will get much better.

The Crystal Ball (Election Preview...)

The Crystal Ball takes a whack at Election Night... The results are closer than expected, but Obama pulls out wins in Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Virginia, Florida and Pennsylvania. McCain will win Georgia, Ohio, North Carolina and Missouri. (Like no one else is making the same predictions...)

BCS outlook: Changing by the week

Well, we've got a month or so left. And no shortage of turmoil in the home stretch. Tech over Texas? Damn. Maryland? WTF. The Big East? Holy shamoley, what a mess.

The picks...

Top 2: Alabama, Texas Tech

Conference champs/leaders:
Big 12: [Texas Tech]
Big 10: Penn State
SEC: [Alabama]
ACC: Ummm...Georgia Tech?
Big East: West Virginia
Pac 10: USC

Non-automatic conference in Top 12: Utah

No. 3, 4: Texas

At-large is, as always, a mess. Florida, Boise State, Ohio State and TCU are in the mix for the final two spots. I give them to Florida and Ohio State -- a bowl is probably going to pick a major conference over a non-automatic one.

If they were played today:
(Automatic placements are not labeled; guessed placements are marked as such.)
BCS Championship: Alabama-Texas Tech. I trust Tech's offense over Alabama's defense.
Orange Bowl: Georgia Tech-West Virginia (guess). Lameness continues.
West Virginia wins.
Sugar Bowl: Florida (guess)-Ohio State (guess). Gators dominate.
Fiesta Bowl: Texas (guess)-Utah (guess). Longhorns, despite disappointment over not being in the title game, crush the Utes.
Rose Bowl: USC-Penn State. This matchup won't change, barring Oregon State or Cal taking over the Pac 10 or a Texas Tech/Alabama loss. Hand it to the Big 10 -- Paterno's kids win.

What we learned on television (Express Edition)...

Another good football weekend comes to a close (tho' not with the results that this blogger would have wanted -- B.C., the Pats and the Celts all lose.)

Some quick hits:

Like everyone, I was impressed with how Texas Tech played in their showdown with Texas. Perhaps surprisingly, they controlled both offensive and defensive lines. (Not to take away from Tech's victory, but I also think Texas was worn out having played a string of tough ones.)

Speaking of tough ones, I'm wondering whether Tech's magic wears off this week against Oklahoma State. Tech coach Mike Leach probably schemed and prepared for the Longhorns for weeks... The Cowboys? Prolly not. We'll save the prediction for the Crystal Ball, but I think Tech should fear Okie State and their stud WR Dez Bryant.

Florida and QB Tim Tebow are on a mission to win the SEC. Woe to any team in Florida's way. They are playing confident football.

Just how crazy is the ACC? Put it this way: B.C. is 2-3 in conference, but still has a chance to win it all.

Watching USC play Washington at the Coliseum on Saturday night was like watching the Indianapolis Colts play Utah State. Talent. Recruiting. Play calling. Cheerleaders, even. USC is on a different level.

I'm afraid New England's sports ride is over. B.C., the Pats and the Celts all lost this weekend. And the Red Sox didn't make the World Series. Here's hoping the losing doesn't become contagious.

The Tennessee Titans won't go undefeated, but I do think they are a very good team. Defense. Running game. Special teams. They have it all. The key to beating them? Getting an early lead and forcing journeyman QB Kerry Collins to pass. But good luck getting that early lead.

Coming soon to 3 Fans: Ramped up coverage of men's college basketball... Yeah, baby...

Nintendo Stat of the Weekend: Number of first downs in the Atlanta Falcons' 24-0 victory over the Oakland Raiders. Falcons, 30; Raiders, 3. (That's not a typo.)

Overrated: Utah, Boise State, TCU, Dallas Mavericks

Underrated: Kansas, Northwestern, Tennessee Titans

Fine Nine: Alabama, Florida, USC, Texas Tech, Texas, Oklahoma, Penn State, Oklahoma State, Ohio State

Pigskin Potpourri, Week 10

Whoa. What a night for college football.

Sure, it was a miserable evening for the Batsell alma maters. (Or is it almas mater?) ASU lost its sixth straight game for the first time since 1929, yet another sign that Armageddon is nigh.

And then there was the Lubbock barn-burner during which alma mater No. 2 saw its title hopes dissolve when Michael Crabtree exerted his will against the beleaguered Curtis Brown on the game's final offensive play. (Hey, did somebody say that Crabtree would be the decisive factor in that game?)

Tech gunslinger and instant Heisman front-runner Graham Harrell said it best in the post-game ABC interview: You can't put single coverage on Crabtree with the game on the line and expect to win. Nobody on Earth, including the fellas who play on Sundays, can cover Crabtree one-on-one right now. I say this even as a Burnt Orange degree holder: If you put one hapless chump across from Crabtree on the game-deciding play, you deserve to lose. Game over.

That said, I'm not convinced Tech is headed to the Orange Bowl. Getting fired up at home against the in-state rival is one thing, but beating OU in Norman ain't gonna happen when Tech visits Oklahoma later this month.

Of course, that means BCS chaos is in store. Penn State would seem to have the easiest road to Miami, since JoePa's crew has a relatively soft schedule going forward and doesn't play a conference title game. The other BCS opponent is anyone's guess. With the SEC and Big 12 contenders knocking each other off during the regular season and conference title games, who knows -- this may be the year that a mid-major gets a crack at the title, like Utah or Boise State. Probably not, though. USC and Florida are looking awfully good.