teke184

If they finish in the top 8, they're guaranteed an automatic bid no matter what. If they win, they get an automatic. If they lose, it's questionable if they're an automatic or if they'd have to be chosen.

Yeah that was a pretty anticlimatic finish to an exciting game. LSU is positioned to maybe play in a BCS game depending on who wins and loses, while Arkansas needs to win the SEC championship game if they want to be there. BCS update- League bids- 1. Ohio State is the Big Ten winner and gets an automatic bid 2. USC is the Pac Ten winner and gets an automatic bid 3. The winner of Florida-Arkansas will be the SEC winner and get an automatic bid 4. The winner of Nebraska and either Oklahoma or Texas will be the Big 12 winner and get an automatic bid 5. The Big East winner will be either West Virginia, Louisville, or Rutgers. Rutgers controls its destiny. West Virginia would need a win and a Louisville loss. 6. The ACC winner is still up in the air. It's up to Georgia Tech (already clinched a title game spot), Boston College, Maryland, and Wake Forest. Automatic bids- 7. Michigan, finishing likely in the Top 4, gets an automatic bid 8. Boise State, finishing likely in the Top 12 as a non-BCS conference champ, as well as finishing in the Top 16 and better than the ACC champ, gets an automatic bid *** 9. Notre Dame LIKELY gets a bid for finishing wherever they do. This COULD get overruled depending on the application of BCS rules, as I believe there are limits to the number of automatic bids. Placement- The Orange Bowl definitely gets the ACC champion because they're out of BCS title contention. The #2 team will be either the Big East champ or an At Large. The Fiesta Bowl definitely gets the Big 12 champion because they're out of BCS title contention. The #2 team will be Boise State, if they qualify, because the Fiesta gets the last shot at all At Large teams. The Sugar Bowl gets the SEC champion. Florida can still go to the title game, while Arkansas would not go anywhere else. The Rose Bowl gets at least 1 At Large team because Ohio State is going to the BCS Title Game. They have a chance at another one if USC goes to the BCS Title Game as well. The BCS Title Game gets Ohio State and one other team, to be determined from Michigan (At Large), Florida (if SEC champ), USC (Pac Ten champ), and Notre Dame (At Large). Michigan and USC have the inside track because Florida's game with Arkansas is now less desirable and Notre Dame would have a hard time passing a Michigan team that beat them soundly this season. Likely matchups, assuming USC and Florida win out and USC goes to the title game- BCS Title game - Ohio State vs. USC Rose Bowl - Michigan vs. LSU Orange Bowl - Georgia Tech vs. Louisville Fiesta Bowl - Oklahoma vs. Boise State Sugar Bowl - Florida vs. Notre Dame If Florida goes to the title game- BCS - Ohio State vs. Florida Rose - Michigan vs. USC Orange - Georgia Tech vs. Louisville Fiesta - Oklahoma vs. Boise State Sugar - LSU vs. Notre Dame If Michigan goes to the title game- BCS - Ohio State vs. Michigan Rose - USC vs. LSU Orange - Georgia Tech vs. Louisville Fiesta - Oklahoma vs. Boise State Sugar - Florida vs. Notre Dame The rationalization behind the At Large bids is as following: Notre Dame won't go to the Rose Bowl after playing USC to end the season and Michigan earlier in the year. Boise State goes to the Fiesta because they get last pick The Sugar will take Notre Dame if available, and LSU if they lose Florida to the BCS title game as they need the tourists from Baton Rouge to help keep them in the black. The Orange will take LSU, Notre Dame, or the Big East champ to counter-balance a disappointing ACC champ, but they pick late in the process and are likely to be left with the Big East champ rather than heavy-drawing Notre Dame or a hot LSU team.

LSU's receivers are abusing Arkansas right now, both with the ball and as blockers. Dwayne Bowe gashed them for a 40-yard gain earlier then, on the next play. gave two key blocks that allowed RB Keiland Williams to go 30 yards for the TD. Then, just now, Craig "Buster" Davis" just psyched out several Arkansas DBs to get a 47-yard TD reception that was about 30 in the air and another 17 on the ground thanks to good blocks.

USC was the luckiest in 2003, IMHO... By playing Michigan in the Rose Bowl instead of Oklahoma or LSU, they were guaranteed a share of the title by just winning their game and had the sympathy vote going into 2004.

I find that a non-story story... 1. It's probably the only way that Bobby would agree to firing his son 2. It seems to do the world of college football a public favor by keeping Skip out of the coaching game until 2011 or so.

If this was before the BCS was changed, Rutgers would be in fine shape right now, and would certainly be in the Title game if they won out. But, the computers are only worth 1/3 of the BCS rankings now. The polls still mean a ton more, and the computer rankings alone almost certainly can't raise a team over more than 1 other. That's true...however, Rutgers will probably be at #5 or 6 if they beat West Virginia and Cincinnati. Either Ohio State or Michigan is guaranteed to lose, and either USC or Notre Dame is guaranteed to lose (plus USC could still lose to Cal and beat Notre Dame). Also, it looks like Arkansas and Florida are meeting in the SEC championship game, which will saddle one of them with a loss. I don't know if that would be enough to get them past Florida (assuming Florida runs the table), but I have to believe it would be pretty close. There's a chance that Arkansas and Florida BOTH lose... Arkansas has to meet LSU the day after Thanksgiving, even if they sew up the SEC West title by beating Mississippi State this week. LSU always plays up for the Arkansas game, such as when a 2-8 Tiger team that just canned Gerry DiNardo whipped a 7-3 Hogs team 35-10 in 1999. Arkansas went on to kick the shit out of Texas in the Cotton Bowl 27-6. Arkansas, win or lose, would still go on to meet Florida, who has been looking very vulnerable as of late.

Last drive comes up short, as WR Terrence Copper fumbles the ball at the Steelers 20. Steelers win.

Anyone ELSE just see that play by the Saints? The center hiked the ball, apparently bouncing it off of Drew Brees' left leg. It bounced back about 8 yards straight to Deuce McAllister, who ran it in for a TD. The announcers have yet to determine if the play is being scored as a fumble recovery or a rush for a TD.

Tennessee, Houston, and Miami (Miami is in week 17, BTW)

Saints jump back into the game with 10 points as Colston and Terrence Copper made a lot of good catches.

The Ravens BARELY hold on for the win against the Titans.

Ouch... 4 minutes in and the Saints have already given up a TD and a fumble to the Steelers. Let's hope that Brees can get something going next series.

The AFC race is shaping up pretty well right now... The Colts, at 9-0, have a commanding lead on both their division (the Jags are 5-4 after a loss to the Texans) and the home-field advantage. They have wins over 2-loss Denver and 3-loss New England. The Ravens are in a dog-fight with the Titans right now late in the 4th. The wild-cards are looking to be the AFC West runner-up (Denver or San Diego) and whichever of the 5-4 teams gets their act together. (The Jags and Chiefs lost today, the Jets won, and the Bengals are close on San Diego right now) In the NFC, the Bears have a commanding lead in the North because the Vikings and Pack are middling and the Lions suck. The Saints are pulling away in the South because the Falcons and Panthers keep losing games they should win. (The Falcons have now lost to the lowly Browns today, while the Panthers will take on the Bucs on MNF) The Giants are up in the East, but the Eagles are turning things around now that Donte Stallworth is healthy. They'll have trouble catching up though since their schedule includes the Colts and other .500 or better teams. The West will pretty much be decided if the Seahawks beat the Rams today. The Rams are middling, the 49ers are still pretty far back, and the Cardinals just plain suck. The wild-card teams are looking to be the NFC South runner-up (either Atlanta or Carolina) and the Eagles. Comments?

I just took another look at the final scores for this week. Wake 30, Florida State 0. If Bobby doesn't fire his kid at the end of the season and hire a REAL offensive coordinator, we'll be hearing a LOT of "put him out to pasture" talk around Tallahassee.

Quick breakdown: Likely automatic bids- ACC: Wake Forest? Boston College? Big East: Rutgers or Louisville (if a three-way tie at 11-1) Big Ten: Ohio State / Michigan winner Big 12: Texas? Pac 10: USC SEC: Arkansas / Florida winner (Arkansas clinches an SEC Title Game bid if they beat Mississippi State or LSU) There are now 4 At Large bids. A team finishing in the Top 4 is guaranteed one of these bids. Notre Dame, if their record is at least 9-3, qualifies for one of these bids. A Mid-Major team (Boise State) qualifies if they finish in the Top 12 or they finish better than the worst Automatic Bid recipient (currently projected as the ACC winner at roughly #18). No conference can have more than one team gain an At Large bid. (I call this the Texas rule, as Texas went to the Holiday Bowl in 2003 when K State got the automatic bid and Oklahoma State went to the Sugar Bowl for the title game) Potential At-Large bids: Big Ten: Ohio State / Michigan loser, Wisconsin? Independent: Notre Dame WAC: Boise State Big East: Louisville, West Virginia, Rutgers? SEC: LSU (Arkansas can clinch the SEC West with a win over Mississippi State, so even a loss to LSU won't hurt them.) The ACC and Big 12 currently have no teams that would qualify for an At Large bid. The politics in this would become interesting depending on who goes where. The Fiesta is contractually obligated to take the Big 12 champion. Also, as last choice, they'll assuredly be stuck with Boise State. The Rose Bowl is contractually obligated to take the Pac 10 champ and will likely take the Ohio State / Michigan loser to have their traditional Big Ten / Pac Ten game. Notre Dame is another possibility, should they pass on the Big Ten runner-up. The Sugar Bowl is contractually obligated to take the SEC champion. If Florida goes to the title game, LSU gets this bid instead. (That assumes a 10-2 LSU with a victory over Arkansas) If Arkansas goes to the title game, Florida could possibly get this bid as an At Large. The second team will be most likely the Big East champion or Notre Dame. The Orange Bowl is contractually obligated to take the ACC champion. Their other team could be the Big East champion, Notre Dame, or LSU. (If they take a Big East team as an At Large, it would likely be West Virginia because they travel better than Louisville or Rutgers.) Anyone have any comments?

Defenses figured him out. Blitz-blitz-blitz-blitz-blitz-pick. So go Screen-screen-screen-screen-screen-TD. Lovie knows better. Hows come New Orleans gets the Colts game? Manning interest? Yep... Same reason that a tiny slice of south Mississippi, somewhere around Kiln, gets the Packers game this week.

Bush may as well wear a red-and-white striped uniform and helmet, as in "Where's Bush?", when it comes to the offensive production. Drew Brees, Marques Colson, Joe Horn, and Devery Henderson have been running the show for about the past month, while Deuce and Bush have done little on the ground.

The Jazz lost to the Nets tonight, leaving the 4-0 Hornets as the only undefeated team left in the NBA.

Thoughts on the Saints- 1. I'm not sure who made the call on their draft picks this year, but they deserve a raise. 1st round - RB Reggie Bush (Starter) 2nd round - S Roman Harper (Starter, on IR) 4th round - G Jahri Evans (Starter) 5th round - DE Rob Ninkovich (IR) 6th round - WR Mike Haas (cut), CB Josh Lay (cut) 7th round - T Zach Strief (Key reserve), WR Marques Colson (Starter, most TD receptions in NFL) With their 8 picks, they picked up 4 starters, 1 key reserve (Strief replaced Jammal Brown and shut down Simeon Rice last week), and 1 potential star, and only 2 players cut. (Mike Haas was likely cut because of the Saints depth at WR, which included at the time Joe Horn, Devery Henderson, Marques Colson, Donte Stallworth, and about 3-4 others.) Considering that they picked up steals in Colson and Streif in the 7th round, their talent scouts have got to be doing something right. 2. Devery Henderson is finally proving me right. I'd been a big cheerleader for him ever since he came out of LSU, but he never saw the field during the regular season of his rookie year and did almost nothing during his sophmore year, which I attribute to a shitty QB in Aaron Brooks. Now that he's got a competent QB to work with, he's able to go in and make only 2-3 catches a game, but has an average of about 20 yards per catch and a long of 52 yards, showing that he's got an ability to make plays if he gets the ball (and holds on to it). If Joe Horn moves on in the next few years, either to another team or to retirement, the combo of Henderson and Colson could be a nice 1-2 punch in the vein of Steve Smith and Keshawn Johnson or Reggie Wayne and Marvin Harrison. (These guys aren't at the level of Smith, Wayne, or Harrison yet, but they have the potential over time to do it with a lesser QB than a Manning)

Thank God that LSU-Alabama didn't get picked up by JP Sports or whatever the group is that does the 11 AM SEC games... I can actually enjoy my day BEFORE Alabama gets the shit kicked out of them.

Add another 3-0 week for the Hornets... The JailBlazers and the Warriors are the JV teams of the Western Conference.

Question- Who'll represent the NFC in the Super Bowl? The contenders appear to be Chicago, New Orleans, New York, Seattle, Atlanta, Carolina, Dallas, and St. Louis. Minnesota takes themselves out of competition, IMHO, by getting shut down against the pitiful 49ers D. Each has their own set of hurdles to overcome. Chicago- Get more consistency out of the offense. New Orleans- Fix the running game. They've got Deuce, Bush, and Aaron Stecker, but they've got some of the worst run numbers in the league. New York- Put together four quarters. They almost lost against Philly and DID lose against the Seahawks because they didn't show up until the 4th Quarter. Seattle- Survive. Until Hasselbeck and Shaun Alexander come back from their injuries, they're in danger of their playoff position going into the toilet. Atlanta- Get more consistency out of the passing game. Vick put up two good games in the air, but they're still #30 in passing yards and #1 on the ground. Carolina- Make the ground game work. Steve Smith can put up a ton of yards but their lack of a running game means that the DBs will key off of him. Dallas- Fix the Scoring Defense (They're middling at giving up points) and, for God's sake, win a freakin' game against the Giants or Eagles. St. Louis- Fix the defense and run Steven Jackson more.

4-3-1... I wonder if that tie is going to help me or hurt me. Probably help me, as there are a lot of 4-loss teams out there in the AFC and this gives me a half-game leg-up on them.

Ouch... Ugly debut for my boy Tyrus Thomas. 16 minutes before he got his nose broken, although he did pick up 6 boards, 2 assists, a steal, and 4 points in that time. (While not wonderful, it is the kind of stuff they should expect from Wallace's understudy.) Hopefully they'll get him one of those clear face-protectors so that he can get right back into the swing of things.

Wow... Looks like Chris Duhon is actually becoming a competent starter in this league. (20 points, 3 dimes, 3 rebounds so far)