Today's Picks

I could cry about how I lost three straight games with dogs who had double digit leads--but I won't. Or how I lost one game by a half point--but I won't. I have dropped six straight either way.
Today: Northwestern, Cincy, UCLA and Utah are four dogs that I like; Auburn is the sole favorite. Good luck.c

Today's Bowl Picks

There is way too much crying on Notre Dame blogs today. The program needed to be rebuilt and the signs are there that the future looks bright. And the comparisons to the era of Lou Holtz continue as the 1987 squad, in Holtz's second year, also looked lost in their 35-10 bowl loss to Texas A&M, said goodbye to star wide receiver Tim Brown and did not properly groom young QB Tony Rice. Like this squad they were facing a tough schedule the following year with loaded Michigan, Miami and USC squads. Not promising an undefeated title-winning team for 2012 but there is hope--especially if one of the young QBs fully steps up and grabs the starting job.
As for today's picks, I like Tulsa, Iowa State, Miss State and Iowa. I am still reeling from losing both ND and Washington yesterday in my friend's pool. College sports can be frustrating. Then again, the Fordham basketball team (a huge source of frustration for me over the years) stunned Georgia Tech yesterday to make everything seem okay in the end. Go Rams.

Today's Bowl Picks

I hit two more yesterday (I am picking against the spread btw) and was entertained by the DC game like anyone else. I almost went to that game and expected the shootout that did erupt between Air Force and Toledo.
Today I like Notre Dame mainly because I have my doubts about the FSU coaching staff and Washington because that spread is too big. Baylor went from lovable loser to big favorite in too sort a time. Betting against Heisman winners is normally profitable too.

View From Bennett Ave

Penn State will have to surrender something to fill the opening at head coach. No experienced top guy will touch the job so either an experienced guy with baggage or a inexperienced but hopefully talented coach will take the job. Tom Clements may be the front runner with Munchak saying no and while he will certainly help the QB position, the current Green Bay QB coach is rather boring. I had the pleasure of interviewing him in the spring and while I view him as an underrated offensive mind he does not strike me as the kind of guy that will repair the program's image nor be a great recruiter. still he succeeds on every level and is ready for the opportunity. As a fan of his since I was 9, I hope he does well.

Today's Bowl Picks

Before I get into bowl selections I wanted to honor two Louisiana Tech players for their noble gesture made prior to their appearance in the Poinsettia Bowl. All WAC WR Quinton Patton and all WAC LB Adrien Cole each donated some of their bowl swag to the San Diego Make-a-Wish Foundation at an event leading up to the game. Both players donated their $300 Best Buy gift cards while Cole also added his $97 Tourneau Poinsettia Bowl watch. "They're just material things," said Cole. "They need it more than I do." With all of the negative crap circulating the sport, it is nice to present some good news.
Meanwhile, star Auburn back Michael Dyer has announced that he will will transfer. Dyer will not be able to donate any bowl swag this year as he is suspended for Auburn's bowl game. This is a tremendous blow to the Tigers.
As for picks I went with Air force and Texas today but I am not too excited about either pick.

Bowl Picks

I am having a great start to the bowl season, which, of course, means I am going to tank any day now.
That said, I like Western Michigan to beat Purdue today and North Carolina State over a young Louisville squad. In the first game I am riding the team that wants this game more and in the second I have firm belief in Tom O'Brien as a bowl coach.

Merry Christmas

I hope everyone has a great Christmas and New Years.
As for bowl picks, I like Missouri today by 10 points. Off to the Muppets movie, finally, with me 6-year-old.

View From Bennett Avenue

Just in case you have not noticed, the bowls games have been not only up and running but quite compelling. It is a shame that the pre-Christmas action is normally ignored, but there has not only been some good action, with numerous games going down the wire, but also some of the top players in the country.
Which brings me to my point. The problem with the current bowl system, to me, is not so much the lack of a playoff format--because I do not feel that one can be pulled off adequately--but the lack of fairness with bowl allotments. This week, in games totally off the radar, we have two of the best programs in the country playing in TCU, who edged Louisiana Tech last night, and Boise State, who plays Arizona State tonight. Both of those teams deserve better placement than Ohio State and Florida, who meet up in the Gator Bowl, or Texas and Cal who square off in the Holiday Bowl. But the bowl system now is set up to favor the big conferences as they are expected to bring more fans and tv ratings. That is normally true but Boise, especially, has proven that they travel well and have enough intrigue around their possible bowl performance that they would also bring ratings. They have one of the top players in the country in QB Kellen Moore. Who wouldn't want to see them play in January?
My solution is to appoint a committee to fill the available bowl slots, doing away with the conference tie-ins. Programs with huge alumni bases will be respected as such, while up-and-comers who are attracting attention will also get so honored. More intriguing match-ups will be created and attendance on air and in person will be boosted. Teams that have great seasons will be rewarded, while teams whose play was bad enough to cost their coach his job (Michigan last year for example) will not earn spots in key games. The good of the sport will be served by presenting the best roll of games possible.

Today's Bowl Picks

The Beef O'Brady's Bowl kicks off the 2011-12 postseason slate with a less-than-thrilling match-up of Florida International and Marshall. FIU played the weakest schedule in FBS and went 8-4. Marshall won only six of 12 games but did upset Southern Miss and Louisville (also a victim of FIU). They suffered some stunning routs however but should do well here today. Pick: Marshall (but who will watch this one?)
The Humanitarian Bowl is no more as the blue turf at Boise State now hosts the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl. While that is an oddly appropriate name, the game itself should be compelling. Utah State made an early impression this year by beating up on defending national champion Auburn before losing late, 42-38, on two TDs in the game's final minutes. The Aggies, who run the ball very well, had an inconsistent first half of the season with a stunning loss at home to Colorado State followed by a narrow loss to BYU and then a rout of Wyoming. From that high they fell hard, losing by 10 to Fresno--both CSU and Fresno will have new coaches next year so perhaps Utah State plays to the level of its competition. Once November hit, however, they ran off five straight victories to finish with a 7-5 mark. In his third season head coach Gary Andersen has done a great job building a program that now enjoys its first winning season in more than 10 years. Frank Solich at Ohio has had continued success in Athens, as his 8-4 record in 2011 marked his third season in five with at least eight wins. The Bobcats held off Temple for the MAC East crown before narrowly losing to Northern Illinois in the title game. Ohio also ran off four straight wins in November, including the huge 35-31 victory over Temple, and while they are still coached by the normally-conservative Solich, will throw the ball more that Utah State. Soph QB Tyler Tettleton broke 12 school records this season and finished with 26 TD passes. Pick: Utah State in OT.
What a surprise: New Orleans hosts a bowl game tonight featuring a local favorite. That sounds familiar. This time the beneficiary of home cooking is the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns, who surprisingly won eight games this year under new coach Mark Hudspeth. Louisiana stunned squads like FIU and Troy behind an offense that topped 30 points nine times. San Diego State is one year ahead of Louisiana in turning around its program, having beaten Navy in a bowl last season. The Aztecs feature the exciting Ronnie Hillman at tailback. Pick: Louisiana in an upset.

View From Bennett Avenue

Boy, do Todd Graham and Arizona State deserve each other? ASU hires June Jones as head coach to replace Dennis Erickson but before he can sign the agreement the school gets a beating from alumni and fans against the hire (basically they did not want an older offensive guy to replace an older offensive guy). So they drop the offer and leave Jones hanging.
Graham meanwhile, a serial job changer who is now at his fourth school in six years, recently ripped those assistants from his staff (Calvin Magee, Tony Dixon, and Tony Dews) who departed to take jobs with Rich Rodriguez at Arizona. But clearly that was not a good sign. So too the inability for Pitt to win more than six games against a mediocre schedule. And now players and fans are left wondering what happened, while the imminent move to the ACC is not enough to elevate a Pitt job to an elite level--even with the potential gains in Pennsylvania recruiting in the wake of the Penn State scandal.
As for the Sun Devils they did get an experienced head coach who is in his 40s. But was it worth it? And the program needs to clean up the administration of athletics before ever hoping to produce a top ten team. Look for more mediocrity from both Pitt and ASU.

RIP Joe Restic

Long-time Harvard coach Joe Restic passed away recently after a long illness. Restic (coach without cap in photo) won 117 games over a 23-year run at Harvard, where he won or shared five Ivy League titles. An offensive innovator, Restic shook up the Ivy with his multi-faceted offense, first perfected in the CFL, when he became head coach in Cambridge in 1971. Restic almost became a household name in 1981 when he was up for the Notre Dame head coaching job and one wonders what might have happened if he had beaten out Gerry Faust for the job.

View From Bennett Avenue

A Baylor QB won the Heisman? Unbelievable. But congrats to Robert Griffin, who seems like a likable guy. And he is certainly deserving, even if way too many QBs from his wide-open league win the trophy. But for beating TCU and OU and Texas, etc, he deserves some sort of honor. For making Baylor relevant he deserves the highest honor. I am tired of highlight plays carrying way too much weight, but again he deserves it so I am okay with Griffin winning.

Big East Update

Okay, okay so the name could not be more removed from reality. But perhaps the Big East is just trying to be innovative, that in today's society it makes perfect sense to have a conference with those ancient of rivals: Connecticut and San Diego State.
But really, the conference is stronger in football for the move. Boise, on the field, is at worst a wash with West Virginia. And as traditional the names Pittsburgh and Syracuse, there product on the field of late is no better than the other Big East newcomers. As for hoops, the depth is still there but no the league is not as good. But this is a college football site.
As to those folks snickering about the miles between schools, the reality is that you will only play a school on the other side of the country every other season. So that means one road game in four years. Not a problem in the least, in fact you would want to go to other recruiting zones every fourth year. Now the volleyball teams should not do that, but they are not and bringing your secondary sports on a road trip to Texas is a plus for recruiting in the Northeast.
And the conference is not losing its automatic BCS qualifying spot. Remember Cincinnati finished third overall in the BCS just two years ago. Yes the conference as been weak for two years now but the numbers are based on a larger period of time.

View From Bennett Avenue

How crazy is the situation with Arizona State? I will have to check with my writing partner Bob, as he lives out there, but for now the story is that while ASU was trying to hammer out a deal with SMU coach June Jones to take over for fired Dennis Erickson--a deal that was dragging on apparently--the school got cold feet due to negative reaction by fans via twitter and the like and ex players via...I am not sure--angry phone calls? God I hope that is not true. You go through the hiring process and choose a successful head coach only to yank the offer due to fan reaction? Vinny from Tempe has a beef with Jones because he lost money on some Hawaii game six years ago? And this is not a school with a rich tradition, so what former players have such power? Randall McDaniel is voicing his opinion? The problem is clear--no true leadership as AD Lisa Love is being overshadowed by Steve Patterson, who was hired this year to oversee facilities. And there is also the problem of a fan base thinking that the sun Devils are more important than they really are. So you may want Jim Tressel, but does Tressel want you?

View From Bennett Avenue

My thoughts and prayers go to the Virginia Tech community.

National Football Foundation Press Conference

I had the pleasure of attending the NFF morning press conference yesterday in which the 2011 College Football Hall of Fame class was re-introduced and the 2011 National Scholar-Athlete class was presented. As usual the event was pulled off with class and a true respect for the game and its players. Everyone got a chance to speak with Russell Maryland again earning class clown honors and Marty Lyons tearing up--again. The scholar-athletes were an impressive bunch and should do fine even if they do not make the NFL. The one-on-one interview process was a bit rushed but media are meant to have a crack at the players later that day at the dinner.
What was nice about the group of athletes voted into the Hall was that they represent different eras and different positions. While Deion Sanders and Eddie George were the big names, it was good to see four interior defensive linemen voted in and players like big Oregon State back Bill Enyart or former Florida wide receiver Carlos Alvarez get in as their careers are being overshadowed by today's games. I'll have more to report later.

What We Learned Yesterday

Why do conference championship games almost always disappoint? The Big Ten delivered in their first attempt but the others were clunkers. Oh well, hopefully the bowl season will come through with some drama.
Oklahoma State deserves the spot opposite LSU in the BCS Title game. They have a better resume than Alabama and why would anyone want to see a rematch of Alabama-LSU? The problem is that there is an assumption that SEC teams are better than everyone else so that even though Alabama has not beaten anyone in a down year for the SEC, they are perceived to be superior than the Cowboys. Bama's best win is Arkansas, but they got the Razorbacks early in the year wen that team was ravaged by injury. And this notion that Okie State does not deserve to go because they lost to a mediocre Iowa State squad is ludicrous. When top SEC teams lose to .500 teams from their program it is evidence of the depth of the conference. When it happens elsewhere we are supposed to downgrade those clubs.

Today's Picks

Boy do I hope we have some compelling college football to watch today. Unfortunately we have a couple of re-matchs and I hate those. Still, there is a lot riding today on conference title games and a de facto Big 12 championship tilt between OU and Oklahoma State.
As for picks, not much excites me. I only have Michigan State getting 10 versus Wisconsin. I liked Cincy too, -8, but that game has already gotten underway.

View From Bennett Avenue

The recent spate of coaching firings have been met with the annual yawn. After all, focus is on the winners and typically a coach being tossed aside has not won enough. The current group consists of guys who were unable to raise expectations, like Turner Gill at Kansas, or once they did--think Ray Sherman at Texas A&M or Houston Nutt at Mississippi--failed to meet them. The Pac 12 South became a study in the new volatility in coaching tenures. Southern Cal was the only program of the six in the south to play well. That UCLA "won" the crown with USC ineligible and despite getting blown out by the Trojans did not save coach Rick Neuheisel's job. That a bad Bruins club won the division then cost two other coaches their jobs with Mike Stoops out of Arizona in mid-season (okay before UCLA won but the writing was on the wall that the Cats were not going to win it) and Dennis Erickson done in Tempe at year's end. That same thinking was on display last year in the Big East when a mediocre Connecticut team's capture of that league's BCS bid forced change at West Virginia and Pitt because those programs were supposed to win.
So, sometimes the "best" openings are mirages in that the expectations are too high. Texas A&M has always thought they were better than they really are so that job--especially with the SEC beckoning--is not for the feint of heart. Arizona State may be the current plum with Penn State a bit tarnished but it is sometimes better to stay under the radar. I love the marriage of Washington State and Mike Leach for example. Leach will not be facing Big 12 defenses that had been forced to adjust to the wide open passing attacks so prevalent in that conference and should be able to pull some Texas talent up north. I pity the Pac 12 defensive coordinator who has to face the speedy spread rushing attack of Oregon and then the polished pro attack of USC before facing the passing attack of Leach. Good luck.

Big East Update

Big East bashing is now so rampant it is hard to get proper analysis from anyone. Yes it is difficult to get to excited about the teams battling for the conference crown but these are legitimate programs and the conference has had a solid record in bowl games (although it has been boosted by some easy match-ups). West Virginia is the program that everyone wants to win the conference--everyone, of course, except for Louisville and Cincinnati fans plus conference administrators. Being a BE fan I will root against the soon-to-be-gone West Virginia, but I do not want a complete bowl embarrassment so I'll pick Cincy over Louisville. Either way the conference definitely needs the winner to show up in January.