Pigskin Potpourri, Week 13

We called it here. And here. Tech crumbled like finely aged feta cheese in Norman. Mike Leach's gunslingin', no-defense squad has officially become this year's version of the 2007 Mizzou Tigers. A Cotton Bowl date with an SEC underachiever (hear that, LSU?) surely awaits.

But all is not well in Stoops land. Oregon State stayed alive in the Rose Bowl hunt with a last-second win over the perennially gutless Arizona Wildcats, now coached by Bob's brother Mike Stoops. If the Beavs can overcome the perennially overrated Oregon Ducks in the Civil War, ASU's Operation Poinsettia may morph into Operation Vegas. Here's the scenario:

* Oregon State wins in Eugene and snags a Rose Bowl bid by virtue of the Beavs' win over USC.
* USC, bumped from the Rose but clearly still a BCS-quality team, lands in the Fiesta. All bowl-eligible Pac-10 teams step up a notch.
* The #3 and #4 Pac-10 bowl slots go to Oregon (Holiday) and Cal (Sun).
* ASU suddenly becomes the #5 Pac-10 team with season-ending wins against UCLA and the demoralized Wildcats. Vegas, baby!

Meanwhile, it was good news/bad news for Ted Kim's BC Eagles, who took care of business against Wake Forest but lost QB Chris Crane to a broken collarbone. Those Boston QBs just can't stay healthy this year.

Football: Hit by the downturn?

So is the stumbling economy leading to a slowdown in bowl-game growth? We can only hope. Hope for a thinning of the bowl system herd, for making postseason play meaningful again.

When more than half of the teams playing get to play a bowl, it's just a lot less magical. Like, for instance, the new EagleBank Bowl. Army/Navy against the ACC No. 9? Really?

The Crystal Ball, Nov. 22.

Elimination weekend is here. We find out which teams stand to get goodie baskets and which teams don't. Many watchable games are on, so let's get to it...

ACC Quick Hits:

Just about every game this week means something in the standings, so we'll go through them lightning-round style:

(Thursday) Miami (Fl) at Georgia Tech. If QB Josh Nesbitt and RB Jonathan Dwyer play, I like Tech's chances at home. If they don't play, or only play sparingly, I choose the 'Canes.

Clemson at Virginia. Virginia wins in a nail-biter.

NC State at North Carolina. The Wolfpack puts up a fight, but the Tar Heels are too talented to lose.

Boston College at Wake Forest. The Deacons win at home in a game dictated by turnovers.

Duke at Virginia Tech. Tech wins easily.

Florida State at Maryland. The Seminoles are reeling after their upset loss to Boston College, while Maryland plays well at home. I like the Terps to win a close one under the lights in College Park.

Other games:

Syracuse at Notre Dame. The Irish win, but the Orange fight hard.

West Virginia at Louisville. The Cardinals have had trouble defending the run all season. They will again versus West Virginia. Mountaineers win.

Michigan at Ohio State. All signs point to a Buckeye mega blowout, but I think Michigan will keep things competitive in the first half.

Big Games:

Oregon State at Arizona. The Beavers are gunning for the Rose Bowl. This game is perhaps the biggest obstacle. I think Oregon State has just enough horses to win, but Arizona won't go down easily.

Pittsburgh at Cincinnati. The Panthers scrape together a road win with defense and by converting on third down when it counts.

Bigger Games:

Brigham Young at Utah. The Utes are playing well and are now at home against their arch rival. Utah takes this one comfortably.

Michigan State at Penn State. The Nittany Lions sew up a Rose Bowl birth and the Big Ten title.

Biggest Game:

Texas Tech at Oklahoma. The Red Raiders have cheated death in 10 straight games, but payment has come at last.

I believe in Tech and all they've accomplished. QB Graham Harrell and WR Michael Crabtree are studs and the team's No. 2 ranking is well deserved. But on the road against Oklahoma, watch for Tech's secrets to be laid bare.

The Sooners always show up in force for these conference showdown-type games and, now, they have had two weeks to prepare. I've picked against Tech the last few weeks, but my Spidey Sense tells me the team's karma is about to change. Football giveth and football taketh away. You read it here first: Oklahoma wins in a blowout.

A word about the "Nation..."

For those who think the passion of Red Sox fans is little more than a mirage, read this email from a friend of mine angry that Sox 2B Dustin Pedroia was left off one writer's American League most valuable player ballot... Mind you, Pedroia handily won the award.

Joined in progress: "... He does not really consider all the stats. He actually said he does not consider strikeouts in any way and pointed to Ryan Howard. Are you kidding me? He is trying to sell it by pointing to Pedroia's rank in OPS, BA/RISP, OPS/RISP, and RBIs. He is using Pedroia's rank with all MLB (not just AL), and is not comparing it to the other hitters he selected. It is meaningless. The worst thing is that on September 20, he wrote a column with Pedroia ranked 4th. The only changes he made to that ballot a week or two later was to switch Morneau and K-Rod (2 + 3), kick off Pedroia, and add Pena as 10. So what did Pedroia do in the end of September? Only hit .391. He needs to just take the heat without trying to justify his choice and let it fade away after a few days..."

Don't understand Red Sox Nation? Emails like this tell the story...

On the tube: Weekday

Thursday nights can be oh-so-unkind to the favored team. Up this week is Miami at Georgia Tech (6:30 p.m., ESPN). Does this mean the Hurricanes should be shivering in their cleats? Yes, but not because of the midweek curse.

Georgia Tech is gunning for a chance to play in Tampa against who knows who. So is Miami. This is going to be a big test for Paul Johnson's triple option, and probably an exciting one considering the Miami defense's speed.

More importantly, the game will also mark the debut of High Def college football action in the McCann home. As long as all works out well with the cable guy tomorrow morning.

Oh...tonight's all MACtastic with undefeated Ball State visiting Central Michigan (6 p.m., ESPN2). A Chippewa win would probably mean the Cardinals drop from the Top 25.

And on Friday, previously overrated Fresno State drops in on San Jose State (8:30 p.m., ESPN2). Ugh.

The Agony Meter, Quick Hits style...

There's always some agony each week, but this week we've got less agony than we normally have (Southern Methodist aside.)

Lots o' agony: Southern Methodist
The Mustangs get waxed by UTEP in a game that, in my opinion, was a step backward. Will the Ponies go winless in the conference? They have one more chance for a win at home against Southern Mississippi on Saturday.

Not much agony: Arizona State
It's hard to argue with a 31-0 shutout. Still, the team that the Sun Devils beat, Washington State, has lost by much larger margins to other foes.

Little if any agony: Boston College
The Eagles upset Florida State in a nationally-televised game anchored by Brent Musburger and Kirk Herbstreit. Little agony there, tho' B.C. could give it all away this Saturday with a loss to Wake Forest.

Congratulations to: Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia, for winning the American League's most valuable player award.

More thoughts soon, constant readers...

BCS outlook: Beyond a mess

There's no way to call the BCS at this point.

The ACC has some pretty tough competition, including as ESPN notes two four-way tie scenarios in the Coastal division. My guess? A Miami-Boston College championship game. Awe. Some. If it happens, I'll be cheering for Ted's Eagles.

The Big East. Talk about train wreck. The only way this conference can redeem itself is by moving aside and letting West Virginia be its champion. Cincinnati or Pitt in a BCS bowl are just too dreadful a scenario to imagine, but it very well could happen.

The Pac 10? Fascinating. USC's loss to Oregon State is beyond huge, and probably too big a stumble to overcome.

And the Big 12 has one (or two) key games left: Texas Tech at Oklahoma and, if the Sooners win, the Oklahoma at Oklahoma State rivalry game. Then, of course, Tech/Oklahoma/Texas/Oklahoma State has to beat Missouri.

Making all kinds of assumptions, I envision this scenario:
BCS Championship: Florida-Oklahoma
Fiesta Bowl: Texas-USC
Sugar Bowl: Alabama-Utah
Orange Bowl: Miami-West Virginia...all bets are off if the Hokies don't get in. Ted and I agree that the Orange Bowl wouldn't want to swallow a Miami-Pitt/Cincy matchup.
Rose Bowl: Oregon State-Penn State

What we learned on television...

...We learned a number of things. That sometimes ABC has its head up its butt on how it splits its network football coverage. That NBA TV has some of the most crystal clear high def I've seen on satellite. That the money the Yankees are shelling out for players is just criminal. That Florida is playing the best football in the nation. That USC's defense is vulnerable to the run. That Texas is running on fumes. That the Cowboys are, indeed, a much more confident team with QB Tony Romo calling the signals. That Boston College always seems to win big games when Ted Kim isn't watching...

Confessions of a Dallas resident: I must admit. I'm starting to become a Dallas Mavericks fan. As a Massachusetts native, I'm a Celtics fan at heart. Yet I find my eyes drifting to the Mavs' box scores every morning. It's typical for me to latch onto a team just as they start to enter a period of prolonged suckiness.

If I were a Wall Street man, I'd short sell: Utah. I worry that they are not as good as their record or point totals indicate.

I couldn't see this coming two years ago: Struggling Syracuse fires coach Greg Robinson.

Overrated: Utah, Boise State, Georgia

Underrated: East Coast football, Brigham Young, Alabama, N.Y. Jets

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