Conference championships: MAC edition

Yikes, Ball State. You got beaten -- thumped, even -- by Buffalo. Why? Turnovers, especially those that got turned into six points.

What does this mean for people outside the upper Midwest? A wannabe BCS buster is out. Eighteen eligible teams are probably down to 17 -- I don't see Ball State staying anywhere near the Top 14.

On the tube: Big Game edition

It's conference championship week!

First, the non-championship games.
Tonight, a relatively meaningless Big East game in Louisville at Rutgers (6:30 p.m., ESPN)
Army and Navy clash Saturday morning (11 a.m., CBS)
USC at UCLA (3:30 p.m. Saturday, ABC), wherein the Trojans try to make it a Rose Bowl. Look for an odd start, as the Bruins will call an early timeout to make up for the one USC will be penalized for wearing home jerseys.
Arizona State at Arizona (8 p.m. Saturday, ESPN), for a bowl game

And the championships:
MAC (7 p.m. Friday, ESPN2): Ball State tries to stay undefeated
C-USA (11 a.m. Saturday, ESPN2): East Carolina flopped midseason but eked out a date with Tulsa
ACC (noon Saturday, ABC): Rematch of last year's Boston College-Virginia Tech game determines the Orange Bowl pick
SEC (3 p.m. Saturday, CBS): Bama and Florida in Part 1 of the de facto national title semifinal. If Florida wins, do the Gators become No. 1 headed into bowl season?
Big 12 (7 p.m. Saturday, ABC): Mizzou and Oklahoma in Part 2 of aforementioned semifinal. If Sooners lose, do they get jumped by Texas?

Year in Review 2008

College football's final week of the regular season is here. Alas. In recognition, we're going to break from the norm and review the biggest stories from yet another riveting season on the college gridiron. A joint Agony Meter-Crystal Ball will come later this week.

Here are the story lines of the year... (Feel free to add your own in the comments below...)

BCS Injustices. Texas beats Oklahoma, but the Sooners win the Big 12 South. USC, Penn State and Utah want a shot at the national title. An undefeated Boise State finds itself on the outside of the big bowl picture looking in. Folks, how many ways can we spell P-L-A-Y-O-F-F?

Big 12 South. Move over, SEC. This one conference division served as the epicenter for college football in 2008. So many big games, so many story lines, so much offensive talent. If only the Big 12 could replicate such excitement every year.

Big 12 Quarterbacks. They pretty much all have ungodly talent --- yes, even that little chubby munchkin who throws passes at Missouri.

Turmoil at Notre Dame. What began as a promising season has ended in train-wreck fashion for the Irish. Late-season losses to Pittsburgh, Boston College, Syracuse and USC and a near loss to Navy have thrown the program and its haters into a tizzy.

Quick Turnaround at Alabama. I dunno if any prognosticator thought that 'Bama coach Nick Saban was planning on the Two-Year Turnaround. But not long removed from Saban's hiring, here is the Tide, ranked No. 1, with a shot at the national and SEC titles.

Woeful State of Washington. Do they still play football in this state? Where has all the talent gone? Washington and Washington State went a combined 2-22 this season --- with one of those wins coming in the Apple Cup game when Washington State beat Washington. (To make matters even worse, the pro Seattle Seahawks are 2-10.)

When BCS Busters Attack. Utah, BYU, TCU, Boise State, Ball State, Tulsa. T'was a good year for non-BCS conferences. A number of teams had a real shot at running the table. Utah appears to be the best of the bunch.

ACC Musical Chairs. The division champions, Boston College and Virginia Tech, each have 5-3 records. It is fitting for a conference in which parity reigned.

Joe Pa's got Penn State back. Take that, critics. An 11-1 record and a Rose Bowl berth. Who's retiring now?

Michigan Stinks. The subhead pretty much says it all. Coach Rich Rodriguez learns a firsthand lesson in Program Rebuilding the hard way.

Other thoughts...

Biggest Surprises: Ball State, Alabama, Cincinnati, Georgia Tech, Northwestern, Ole Miss, Utah, Boston College.

Biggest Disappointments: Clemson, LSU, Auburn, Missouri, Notre Dame, Michigan, Georgia, West Virginia, Arizona State, Tennessee.

Games of the Year (as ranked by Ted Kim --- winners in bold):

1. Texas at Texas Tech: Longhorn comeback foiled by last-second, iconic Michael Crabtree catch.

2. Oklahoma versus Texas (Dallas): Two heavyweights duke it out in a neutral field classic.

3. USC at Oregon State: Upset of the Year, so far. An overmatched Beavers team takes it to the Trojans at home.

4. Pittsburgh at Notre Dame: A quadruple-overtime thriller that starts the Irish's late-season slide.

5. Alabama at LSU: The Tide misses a chip-shot field goal in regulation, only to win in overtime.

6. Penn State at Ohio State: A competitive defensive struggle unfolds with the Big Ten in the balance.

7. Oregon State at Utah: Before a bleacher-shaking crowd, Utah pulls a shocking come-from-behind victory to keep its perfect season alive.

8. BYU at Utah: The Utes clinch an undefeated season and a BCS bowl before a raucous home crowd.

9. Oklahoma at Oklahoma State: Offensive fireworks make for great television and actual bedlam.

10. Penn State at Iowa: Fantastic game ends in heartbreak for Penn State fans in Upset of the Year III (Behind only USC-Oregon State and Ole Miss-Florida).

11. Georgia Tech at Georgia: Tech runs and the Dawgs pass, making for lots of momentum swings and a 45-42 Jackets' upset.

12. Ole Miss at Florida: Upset of the Year II, behind only USC-Oregon State. The Rebels stop Gators QB Tim Tebow on a crucial 4th and 1.

13. Syracuse at Notre Dame: The Orange come back from 13 down in the fourth quarter to spring an improbable comeback.

14. Texas Tech at Oklahoma: It was a Sooner blowout, yes. But the sheer hype and spectacle of it all made it memorable.

15. TCU at Utah: Utah narrowly wins yet another Mountain West showdown.

Honorable mention: Ole Miss at Wake Forest, Alabama at Georgia, Kansas versus Missouri (Kansas City), Alabama versus Clemson (Atlanta), Missouri at Texas, Florida State at Georgia Tech, West Virginia at Pittsburgh, Ball State at Central Michigan, Kansas at South Florida, Notre Dame at North Carolina, Auburn at Vanderbilt, Oklahoma State at Missouri, Baylor at Texas Tech.

Stay tuned for individual awards...

BCS outlook

We're in the home stretch, with conference championships set. Some big games ahead Saturday, with plenty of upset potential. But I'm sticking with conventional wisdom and making my final predictions for bowl selection.

The biggest question for me: Will a 12-0 Boise State edge out a 10-2 Ohio State? The Buckeyes have had a history of failure in BCS bowls, but will people want to watch (or attend) a game featuring the boys of the blue turf? Or will the bowl selection committee shock us all and elevate Ball State (pretty much certain they'll destroy Buffalo in the MAC championship)?

Anyway...here are my picks.

BCS Championship: Florida-Oklahoma
Fiesta Bowl: Texas-Utah
Sugar Bowl: Alabama-Boise State
Orange Bowl: Virginia Tech-Cincinnati
Rose Bowl: USC-Penn State

Just a thought: Harris makes my head spin

Sifting through this weekend's polls, I'm left choking on one little detail.

No, not the Big 12 mess. I have a beef with the Harris Interactive Poll. More specifically, with one Harris Interactive voter. The one who, it seems, week in and week out has insisted that Utah is the No. 1 team in the country.

Utah better than Alabama. Than Oklahoma. Texas. Florida. Sure, the Utes are undefeated, but what kind of homer (there's obvious bias there, no?) could say that they are the top team in the country?

This is an outrage, people. I demand a recount, and I demand that Harris release the ballots so we can expose this voter for the fool he or she is. And I'm not the only one. Let's dump this joke of a poll.

Pigskin Potpourri, Week 14

Hey, Big 12 bigwigs: Flip a coin next time.

This year's premier conference in college football couldn't figure out a way to break a three-way tie and crown a champion from its south division. Instead, the Big 12 punted and left the decision in the hands of the BCS, a system so ridiculous and unpopular that even our president-elect wants to eliminate it.

For a moment, let's set aside the obvious injustice that OU is headed to Kansas City despite a neutral-field loss to Texas at Fair Park. The Big 12's inability to handle its own affairs is downright embarrassing. Next time, fellas, you might as well take a page from the high school playbook: Get the three coaches together at a greasy-spoon cafe, borrow a quarter from the tip jar and ask Fate to settle what you can't.