Big Pigskin Weekend

I've got to write something about the college football games going on this weekend. Since I used to work in sports broadcasting, I'm a little interested in the subject obviously (I mean this blog might even be my way of getting back into media).

Army vs. Navy - a game with tons of history, and I've got to guess not a ton of viewers. I don't know about anyone else, but I've never sat down to watch this game. Neither of these programs is a national power, and I don't care about them. Why does CBS still broadcast it? Are people buying into the pageantry and the rivalry. I've got news for viewers, in order to be a rivalry, doesn't there have to be balance. Navy has won 8 of the last 10 between the two, and I'm going to guess will roll past Army this year. I know overall, the series is close, but it's two programs going in different directions. Additionally, it's just boring football. Who runs the triple option anymore? I know Georgia Tech does, and Air Force, too, but this is a day and age of spread offenses. I know that these programs may not get the athletes that other programs do because of their requirements during school and after graduation, so maybe they can't grow with the times. That's just one more reason that I can't watch this match-up.

ACC Championship - talk about a let down of a conference. With Florida State, Miami, and Boston College coming in a few years ago, this was supposed to ruin basketball in the conference, but push football to a new high. Think about it, the ACC has Virginia Tech, Florida State, Miami, Boston College, Virginia, Wake Forest (a disappointment the last two years after their Orange Bowl run) and some other schools on the rise like Maryland, North Carolina, Georgia Tech, Clemson, and NC State (my apologies for listing everyone but Duke, but they don't care, basketball season started already). They should be a dominant conference. Instead, they're starting to move closer to the Big Ten and Big East than the SEC or Big 12. It's sad, really. Hopefully, Butch Davis can bring UNC further along so that someone can challenge VA Tech in the Coastal division. Georgia Tech should keep coming along, too, but it's just like Army/Navy. I don't think that without a threat of a passing game, they'll be able to do too much in the long run, but we'll see. Let's just hope this game is competitive. Otherwise, we'll have our second straight blowout, and our third relatively boring ACC game in four years.

USC/UCLA - I find it interesting that Pete Carroll chose to give up timeouts to wear red. There's got to be two reasons for this. The one that Pete is saying publicly is that it's for tradition. I've got no problem with that. In fact, the color mix of red and blue on the field should look really cool. The second reason is the one that I think Pete is thinking but not saying. "We're going to kick UCLA's ass. We won't even need timeouts." He's probably right, there.

Big 12 Championship - pack your bags for Miami, Bob Stoops. You're going to play for the national championship. In 2007, Mizzou lost two games, both to Oklahoma. This year's Missouri team isn't as good. The Tigers don't stand a chance against the speed of OU's offense. Have you seen what they've done the past two weeks. It's amazing. How Texas beat them, I don't know. Oh yeah, Texas should be in this game, but the BCS has reared it's ugly head once again.

SEC Championship - this game is being played in the middle of the day's schedule, but it should be the highlighted game of the day. There is nothing better than a good 1 vs 2 match-up (not in the BCS standings, of course). Now that I've said that, though, I'm sure it will be a blow-out. I expect Florida to win, but without Harvin in the line-up, it won't be by a wide margin. Maybe Alabama will surprise me and win, but again, this comes down to speed, and I don't think the Tide have enough to keep up.

So, predictions:

Army vs. Navy - Navy, big
ACC Championship - Virginia Tech
USC/UCLA - USC, big
Big 12 - Oklahoma, big
SEC - Florida

BCS Championship - Florida vs. Oklahoma
Rose Bowl Game - Penn State vs. USC
Orange Bowl - Virginia Tech vs. Cincinnati
Sugar Bowl - Alabama vs. Texas
Fiesta Bowl - Utah vs. Ohio State
We'll see, I guess...I could be completely wrong.