Bucs Need More Than FG To Beat Giants

The Buccaneers have exceeded expectations this year and will host a playoff game, but if they expect to get out of the first round they will need to get more than field goals out of their drives. The Bucs have won games with great defensive efforts and getting points from the kicking game if they could not get in the end zone, but in the playoffs you need to score touchdowns with your drives and not just field goals. The Bucs have struggled to score touchdowns in the red zone, and if they are not able to reverse the trend they will not make it past the wild card round.

The Buccaneers need only to look at Saturdays game against the Patriots to see an example of why you need touchdowns. The Giants almost ended the Patriots dreams of a perfect season because they were able to score touchdowns while the Pats were kicking field goals. At one point in the game the Giants had a 28 to 16 lead because they were able to score touchdowns on 4 drives, while New England was forced to kick field goals.

Yes, the Giants lost last week even though they scored touchdowns, but the Bucs are not the Patriots. You knew watching that game that the Patriots would score the touchdowns they needed to win, but the same cannot be said of the Bucs. Many fans have overlooked the Giants and worried about who the Bucs would play in he second round. Hopefully the fans watched Saturdays game and understand that the Giants team is for real and if we continue on our field goal offense we will lose.

The Bucs were able to score in the red zone a couple times today, but still struggled. Yes, they played their second team, and yes it did not matter, but they need to make sure they score touchdowns when they have the ball, because if they don't, it will be a short playoff run for the Bucs.

Bruins Hire Rick Neuheisel

UCLA just named Rick Neuheisel as their head coach. Neuheisel played quarterback for UCLA in the early 80's before going on to be a successful coach in college. He has a 66-30 career record in college and took Washington to a Pac-10 Title and Rose Bowl win in 2000.

Neuheisel got in trouble in 2002 when he was involved in a NCAA March Madness pool. Washington fired him for violating the NCAA rules, which he sued Washington and the NCAA over. He got over a 4 million settlement and has been coaching in the NFL since. Last year he was the quarterbacks coach for the Baltimore Ravens and this season he was promoted to offensive coordinator.

Neuheisel is a guy who knows how to win and has done so already in the Pac-10. He does have a history of indiscretions not only at Washington, but at Colorado also. His problem is that the NCAA will be watching him closely, especially after he sued them and won. I think he will be fine and this was a great hire for UCLA. Neuheisel is a great offensive mind and is a great recruiter. It may take him some time, but he will get the players he needs and UCLA will once again be a force in the Pac 10.

Welcome New Contributors

Many of you may have seen that I have been posting a bit less. I recently started a new job and have been working more hours and found it difficult to keep up with the writing. Well I have done two things, 1) decided I will find more time for writing because I like doing it, and 2) I have recruited some more people to help contribute.

Please welcome Sandrock and b_stokes to the blog. Sandrock is from Oregon and went to Oregon State University. He will bring us a divergent view as he is from the opposite coast I am. Stokes, better known to me as statsman88 at the football cafe, is from Big 10 football country. He does like his SEC football teams, which immediately makes him a great guy in my book. He already has posted one article with the BCS. These guys know what they are talking about and are going to be some great help to me.

College Football Playoff Final 4

What started with eight is now down to two. With the BCS leaving something to be desired as usual we created a playoff. The top 6 seeds were the BCS conference leaders, with the last two at large bids going to the next two highest rated teams. Our top 8 again:

(1) LSU
(2) Oklahoma
(3) Ohio State
(4) USC
(5) Virginia Tech
(6) WVU
(7) Georgia
(8) Missouri

We used the BCS bowl games and the top bowl games played on January 1. The four teams to advance were (Votes in Paranthesis):

LSU (13) over Missouri (6)

Oklahoma (14) over Georgia (7)

Ohio State (10) over WVU (9)

USC (16) over Virginia Tech (2)

Personally I voted for all of the winners except for OSU. I felt that WVU would have spread them out and won, but it was not what happened in our playoff. With the top four moving on, our next match ups were as follows:

LSU v. USC in the Sugar Bowl

Oklahoma v. Ohio State in the Fiesta Bowl

Very good match up between LSU and USC in my opinion. I voted for LSU thinking they could take USC, but the votes ended up 10-10. With the votes tied after a full week of open voting, it came down to a coin flip and USC moved on. The Oklahoma game would not be close in my opinion and the voting reflected that. Oklahoma rolled the Buckeyes with a vote of 14-2.

Our National Championship Game:

#2 Oklahoma v. #4 USC in the Sugar Bowl.

College Bowl Game Predictions

Its almost that time of year again! I'm sure we have all done our yearly "I hate the BCS" complaints to neighbors and friends and probably mentioned that a playoff system would be better to our co-workers. But the time to watch college football once again is fast approaching so lets take a look at whats coming up:

BCS Bowl Games:

National Championship-LSU vs. OSU
Once both Mizzou and WV lost their season finales, Ohio St. was declared a lock to be in the championship game. But does anyone think they will win? I don't. It almost seems to be a repeat of last year- OSU is a lock for the championship and a controversial SEC team gets in to face them. In last years championship, Florida blew OSU off the field. While I'm not sure it will be as bad as last years game, I do expect LSU to win handily. LSU has a defense that is recovering from some nagging injuries, and when healthy is most likely the best D in the nation. I do not think they will have trouble stopping a mediocre Buckeye offense. The other factor that plays a big role is LSU's quaterbacks. LSU has a two-man system with Matt Flynn and Ryan Perrilloux. Flynn is more of a pocket passer while Perrilloux is more of the athletic-running type. OSU's only loss of the season came against Illinois and their athletic QB Juice Williams who exploited the OSU defense. Perrilloux has a very similar style to Williams and I would expect LSU to study what Illinois did and use Perrilloux a lot in the game.

Final Prediction-LSU 38 OSU 17

Fiesta Bowl-West Virginia vs Oklahoma
This matchup sparks alot of interest between two of the bigger names in college football and pre-season favorites. For me, I think this will be a great test not only for WV, but for the Big East as a conference. The Big East has been widely regarded as a weak conference, but a win for WV against powerhouse Oklahoma would undoubtedly give some respect to the Big East. WV has been bi-polar this season. At times they can put up 40-50 points and totally dominate, or turn the ball over alot and look very sloppy. Oklahoma has beaten Missouri twice and also beat Texas, but inexplicably lost to two very mediocre teams in Texas Tech and Colorado. Oklahoma looked very good though in the Big 12 championship against West Virginia. My opinion is that the Big East is a weak conference, WV has played weak competition, and they will not be able to keep up with Oklahoma.

Final Prediction-OK 34 WV 24

Rose Bowl-Illinois vs. USC

Now I like Illinois and what they've done to bring their football program back from the dead, but I don't like this matchup. Sure they beat OSU, but I don't see them hanging with USC in this one. John David Booty is now healthy and had the Trojans rolling at the end of the season. I don't see Illinois' defense being able to even touch the USC offense.

Final Prediction-USC 48 Illini-21

Orange Bowl- Kansas vs. Virginia Tech

I can't recall there ever being a more un-interesting BCS bowl game. Kansas played a very weak schedule that avoided them playing Texas and Oklahoma. We all saw that Kansas just wasn't as good as Missouri when they played in the season finale. Now Kansas is a decent team, but they should not have gotten a BCS bid over Missouri. Virginia Tech started out their season getting wiped off the field against LSU 49-7, but then lost only once more the rest of the season. The question is, did they really get that much better, or was their ACC schedule just that inferior to that of a SEC schedule? IMO, these are two teams that are overrated and I really could care less what happens. Hopefully it is an even matchup however and is a good game

Final Crapshoot- Kansas 28 Virginia Tech 27

Sugar Bowl- Georgia vs. Hawaii

This one should be interesting, everyone wants to see how legit Colt Brennan and Hawaii is after going undefeated but playing the weakest schedule possible. I give Hawaii credit, they wanted to play a big-time out of conference schedule, but no one wanted to play them. After last year's incredible Boise St. upset of Oklahoma, could Hawaii do the same to Georgia? Not likely in my opinion. Hawaii has had some close calls against some pretty weak teams (Louisiana Tech game comes to mind) and struggled against the only power conference team they played-Washington. Georgia, led by their Freshman phenom running back Knowshon Moreno, was the hottest team in the country the last half of the season, when they won 6 straight that included wins over Florida, Auburn, Kentucky, and mid-major power Troy. I think Georgia will be Hawaii's first and only loss this season, but it will be a big one. I see Georgia running through the holes of that Hawaii Swiss Cheese Defense and putting a hurt on Colt Brennan and the Rainbows.

Final Prediction- Georgia 55 Hawaii 21

Hate the BCS? We Created a Playoff!!

Most College Football fans hate the BCS and how they try to determine the top two teams in the country. The BCS sometimes lucks out and gets the top 2 teams right, but that is mainly because the season was full of dominating teams or there just happens to be 2 undefeated teams. Fans have been screaming for a playoff, but it is most likely never going to happen. With that in mind, some rabid college football fans and I decided to make that playoff a reality. We created an eight team playoff with the 6 BCS conferences getting automatic bids, with the remaining 2 at-large bids going to the next two highest ranked teams. We used the team ranks that we had come up with after the final week and had the games played in the major bowls that happen on January 1st and in the BCS. The higher seeded team got to play in a bowl that was closer to home. Here is how the seeding ended up:

(1) LSU v. (8) Missouri --- Capital One Bowl

(4) USC v. (5 ) Virgina Tech -- Rose Bowl

(3) OSU v. (6) West Virginia -- Gator Bowl

(2) Oklahoma v. (7) Georgia -- Cotton Bowl

The voting is going on here. So far LSU, USC, and Oklahoma have commanding leads. OSU and WVU are tied at the moment. The voting ends this Wednesday at 11:59 PM and we will move into the final four. If you want your vote counted then go to the cafe and vote!! All results will be posted here with a write up.

My Votes:

LSU
USC
WVU
Oklahoma

UPDATE and FORMAT CHANGE!!!!!

This is my first post in a week due to the fact that I just got a new job working in the legal field and my time has become a bit more limited. I will be posting more as I figure out how to manage my time a bit more efficiently, which will be very soon. As far as the format change. As I said in a previous post I am now a part of the crew at The Stat Pack. With being a part of that and still keeping up here I have decided to post all my baseball content over at The Stat Pack as well as some of the Football articles that I write here. This Blog is now going to focus solely on Football, but it will expand the content in that area. I have some help coming aboard that will increase the posts and knowledge of the blog. We are going to delve into all College and Pro Football, no matter the team or conference. I will obviously still be posting more about USF, Florida,FSU, and the Bucs than any other team, but we will not focus solely on them. I hope you enjoy the format change and to keep up with my baseball takes, just head over to The Stat Pack.

Congratulations To Tim Tebow

The Heisman voters finally read what the award is supposed to measure.Tebow became the first Sophomore to be named the Heisman Trophy winner and only the third quarterback to win it when his team had three 3 losses or more. The award is supposed to measure the best player in college football and not the best senior on the best football team. Tebow deserved the award and the voters got it right this year.

The race for Heisman came down to two players this season: Tebow and Darren McFadden. While McFadden had a good season and a great game against LSU, he did not show up in a couple games this season when his team needed him the most. Meanwhile, the Gators lost 3 games this season, but none of that was due to bad play by Tebow. Tebow showed up every game he played and put up great numbers, they just were not good enough to overcome a bad defense in certain games. McFadden is a great talent and should be the first overall draft pick, but was not the best college player this season.

Critics have come out and said that voters only voted for Tebow because he is the only member of the 20-20 club in the history of college football. They also said that his numbers were a direct result of not having a viable running back in the offense. Further, they have said that Tebow calls his own number in the twenty so he can score and jack up his numbers. These people all have valid points and while some of it may be true, it doesn't diminish what Tebow did this past season.

Voters may have been persuaded by the fact that Tebow is the only member of the 20-20 club. The fact is that they should be. No one in the history of football have ever thrown and run for over 20 TD in the same season. While he had 20-20, it is not like he barely made it. Tebow threw 29 touchdowns and ran for 22. Also, of those 22 rushing touchdowns 7 were from 6 yards or further out, while 6 of McFadden's 15 rushing TD's came from 6 yards or farther. Tebow's numbers are not inflated b/c of Qb sneaks from the 1 yard line and he should not be punished because he is able to run over, around, and through people.

The Gators may not have had a viable running back per se, but Meyer rotated players into the position that put up yards that any program would love to have. In one game Percy Harvin had over 100 rushing and receiving as a wide receiver. The Gators did not have a running back designated, but they had talent that Meyer put into the backfield that could take it all the way at any time. Tebow may have gotten less touchdowns if they had a full time bruising running back, but we will never know that. Finally, if everyone knew he was the only running threat, why didn't they stop him?

Fact is that Tebow not only ran all over people because he could, but he had the second highest pass efficiency rating in the country as a passer. He averaged almost 10 yards a pass and completed almost 70% of his passes. He was criticized before the year with not being able to throw the ball and when he showed everyone he could they criticized him for not doing it more over running. People are going to hate him because he is talented and has had success from the moment he stepped on the field. They will make things up because as you saw in the ceremony he does not have much to be critical of. He is a guy who is not only great at football, but is a great role model for everyone. He deserved the award and gator fans are lucky to have him.

Tebow Wins Maxwell and O'Brien Awards

Tim Tebow had a good night at the College Football awards in Orlando. He was up for 3 awards (Maxwell, Camp, and O'Brien) and ended up taking home 2 of them, with Darren McFadden of Arkansas taking home the other.

Tebow won both the Maxwell and O'Brien awards. The Maxwell award is given to the nations most outstanding player, while the O'Brien award is given out to the best quarterback in the nation. Last season's winners of the awards were Brady Quinn (Maxwell) and Troy Smith (O'Brien).

Darren McFadden walked away with the Walter Camp award, which is given to the player of the year. Interestingly enough and maybe a bad sign for Tebow, the last 3 years the Heisman winner was also the Camp award winner, while the Maxwell award winner has been the runner up to the Heisman. Hopefully Tebow will break that streak this year because he is the best player in the country and should be the Heisman award winner. It will be intersting to see how the Heisman plays out on Saturday because although Tebow should win it, the voters have something against giving it to an underclassman and a wave of Tebow haters have made their way to the air waves in the past week.

For the third year in a row a Penn State linebacker won the Bednarik award, which is given to the best defensive player in the nation. Freshman Michael Crabtree won the Biletnikoff award for the best wide receiver in the nation and Matt Ryan beat out Colt Brennan for best senior QB in the country. Most of the award winners were exactly as I had them a few weeks ago. Here is the list of all the award winners : ESPN.

Kiffin To Oakland At Season's End?

Monte Kiffin's contract runs out at the end of the season and rumors are popping up that he may not want a new contact, but instead go to Oakland. This rumor has been around since his son, Lane Kiffin, took over as head coach of the Raiders this season. Normally I would not give much credence to a rumor about Monte leaving the Bucs, but this one actually makes sense.

Kiffin has been the mainstay on the Bucs for years now. They have had coaching changes every where on the team except for the defensive coordinator. His name has always come up for different jobs around college and the NFL, but he has always turned them down to stay with the Buccaneers and the defense he has created. Monte does not have the desire to be a head coach anymore and is happy with the Bucs as the defensive coordinator, but if there ever was a job opportunity that may be too good to pass up it may be to go to Oakland at the seasons end. The job is not open at the moment, but the Oakland defense has been bad all year long, especially against the run and many people believe that the coordinator will be gone and the spot will be open.

If he were to make the move there really would be nothing the Bucs could do to keep him in my mind. He would not be leaving because of money, power, or a desire to be somewhere else, but because it would offer him the chance to be with his son. How many coaches in the NFL actually would have the chance to coach side by side with their son? How many people in everyday life would love that opportunity, let alone in a job like the Kiffin's have. This would be the opportunity of a lifetime for a guy who is all about his family. As much as it would be terrible to lose him, you would have to understand his desire and respect him for it.

While not desirable at all to lose Kiffin, they would have a replacement they could go to in house. The Bucs have a history of assistants that have gone on to be great defensive coordinators and head coaches. They have never had the need for those guys to stay and be defensive coordinator for the Bucs because Monte is here, but if he left the spot could easily and should go to Raheem Morris. Morris is in the secondary coach right now and every Buc fan knows the reason that the secondary has been so much better this year is because Raheem came back. The Bucs made it no secret that they wanted him back and knew they needed him, as is obvious by how much they gave him in a contract. Morris is a young and fiery guy, who in my mind would be able to step right in like Mike Tomlin was able to and be the coordinator. Maybe the Bucs know Monte is planning on leaving after his contract is over and that is why they made such an effort to get Raheem back. If Monte goes he will be sorely missed, but I think the Bucs will be in good hands.

June Jones Needs to Shut His Mouth Because He Sounds Like a Moron

With national spotlight finally on June Jones team because they made it to a BCS game, Jones decided to use it to sound like a moron. Jones told the media that his quarterback, Colt Brennan, was not a system quarterback, but Florida QB Tim Tebow is. You can see where he has a point, I mean no quarterback has ever been accused of putting up great numbers just because they were in the Run and Shoot offense *Cough* Timmy Chang *Cough*.

Jones commented that his QB is the best passer in College history and that Tebow's numbers come off of Fades and Dives that he would not be doing in the pros. First, The Heisman is not about which player will be the best pro player, it is the award given to the best college player in the nation for that year. Second, his quarterback is the best passer based on what, his numbers? His numbers are a direct reflection of not only the system he runs that allows him to throw the ball 472 times this season and over 500 each of the last two seasons. Finally, I guess the Gator games are on too early for Jones to watch because if he did see them he would know that his statement about where Tebow's numbers are coming from is completely wrong. If his 20 rushing TD's came off of 100 or 200 yards in a season, than maybe he has a case, but Tebow has run for over 900 yards. Hey June, go watch the film and you will see him run up and down the field and not just dive forward. In that film Jones will also see the arm strength and accuracy that Tebow has not only on fades, but on slants and his deep ball.

Jones wants you to believe that Brennan is the better passer and not just player, which is what the award is for. Fine I will play your game Jones, lets look at there stats from the past season.

Brennan : 166.3 QB Rating 71.4 % Passing 4,174 Yards 8.8 Yards Per Attempt 38 TD 14 INT

Tebow : 177.9 QB Rating 68.5% Passing 3,132 Yards 9.9 Yards Per Attempt 29 TD 6 INT

Who is the best passer? Well if you go by an all around body of work it would be....Tebow. If you give the amount of attempts to Tebow that Brennan had he would have 43 TD and only 9 INT. He would also have 4,673 yards. Tebow was ripped before the season for not being a passer and running to much, but he has the highest pass efficiency rating in the country and if he were in Jones system he would have decimated Brennan's numbers.

One last thing there June; your schedule. Brennan put up these numbers and looked like a great quarterback against the 119 strength of schedule in the NCAA. That is 119th out of 119. On second thought, man Brennan did do a great job, I mean how could he do that much against those vaunted defenses of Nevada, Louisiana Tech, Idaho, and San Jose St. Meanwhile, Tebow put up his numbers against such bad defenses like LSU, South Carolina, Auburn, and Georgia. If you can't tell, that is sarcasm June, I only tell you because you are obviously blind. Brennan is a good quarterback and I am not taking anything away from him, but for you to say that Tebow is a system guy and Brennan us the best passer in the history of football makes you sound like a moron.

Final College Football Rankings

The BCS uses all sorts of formulas with computers and people rankings as well. Many people think the BCS is wrong and also believe that the voters do not get it right. With this in mind I have got together knowledgeable football fans from across the country with representation of each conference in the polls. The fans come from members of the Fantasy Football Cafe College Sports Forum. These fans watch more football than most of the voters and are extremely knowledgeable. They are allowed to vote however they want, just like if they were a Harris or AP voter. Some vote based on based performance, some on future, some on a combination of those, while others vote based on which team would win on a neutral field. They send me their top 35 and I calculate it to come up with the top 25 and we compare it to the BCS. I have included the averages for the top teams to show just how close they are packed together. Here is the final BCS standings and than our final standings:

BCS

1. Ohio State 11-1
2. LSU 11-2
3. Virginia Tech 11-2
4. Oklahoma 11-2
5. Georgia 10-2
6. Missouri 11-2
7. USC 10-2
8. Kansas 11-1
9. West Virginia 10-2
10. Hawaii 12-0
11. Arizona State 10-2
12. Florida 9-3
13. Illinois 9-3
14. Boston College 10-3
15. Clemson 9-3
16. Tennessee 9-4
17. BYU 10-2
18. Wisconsin 9-3
19. Texas 9-3
20. Virginia 9-3
21. South Florida 9-3
22. Cincinnati 9-3
23. Auburn 8-4
24. Boise State 10-2
25. UConn 9-3

Rankings

1. LSU 1.7 (6)
2. Oklahoma 3.1
3. Ohio State 3.5 (2)
4. Georgia 3.6 (1)
5. USC 5 (1)
6. Missouri
7. Virginia Tech
8. Kansas
9. Florida
10. West Virginia
11. Arizona State
12. Illinois
13.Clemson
14.Boston College
15. Tennessee
16. Auburn
17. Hawaii
18. Texas
19. Wisconsin
20. Cincinnati
21. Virginia
22. USF
23. Texas Tech
24. BYU
25. Arkansas

Obviously the major difference in the rankings is the top 2 teams. Both rankings include LSU, but the fans think it should be Oklahoma playing against LSU and not Ohio State. Just to remind everyone, these fans are representative of every conference across the country so there is no SEC or other conference bias. OSU has played a soft schedule and the only team they played with a decent offense, Illinois, beat them. Oklahoma beat the number 1 team last week for the second time this year and there second loss came when their starting quarterback was out. I think Oklahoma v. LSU would be a better game and would be the right matchup.

The other major difference that would have an effect is Hawaii. They did not make the top 16 in the fan poll, which means they do not get the at large bid to a BCS bowl game. That would allow one of the other conferences that does have 2 teams in it already to get another team in, which in this case most likely would have been Missouri, who got shafted in the real BCS bowl games.

Bucs Find Something With McCown

Last week the Bucs lost Jeff Garcia on the first series and with him went the offense. The Bucs were not able to move the ball with Bruce Gradkowski at the helm and managed just 16 yards of total offense in the second half. With Garcia sidelined for the game against the Saints, Gruden decided to turn to Luke McCown instead of Gradkowski, and the result could not have been any better.

Last week the Redskins stacked the box with eight guys and dared Gradkowski to throw the ball, knowing full well that he does not have the arm or the accuracy to stretch the field. With no threat of the deep ball the 'Skins ate the Bucs up on offense and almost took the game. The Saints learned very quickly that McCown is not Gradkowski and he will take your are and make you pay. McCown threw one of the nicest deep balls to Galloway I have seen all year as he started the game going 15-15. He did make some bad decisions at times that almost cost the Bucs the game, but he shook those off and redeemed himself with the game winning touchdown pass on a greatly engineered drive.

The Bucs have never had a good young quarterback on the roster that seemed like he could run Gruden's offense and Gruden has been criticized for that. It was only one game, but McCown showed he has the physical talent and the head to be a quarterback in the NFL. He made some bad rookie mistakes, but those will go away with game experience. What McCown did show though was a knack for finding the open receiver in the pattern, keeping the play alive when it seemed to break down, and he can throw a great deep ball. McCown has been in this offense for a couple years now and seems like the type of QB that Gruden likes. He is mobile, strong arm, and makes good decisions with the football. Garcia is the QB now, but he is getting older and Buc fans know they will need a guy to replace him when he goes. McCown looks like he could be that guy to replace him and gives the Bucs some hope for the future after Garcia leaves the team.

Gators Have A Date With Michigan In The Capital One Bowl

The Gators officially accepted their bid to the Capital One Bowl game in Orlando today. Many thought that their opponent would be Illinois and Ron Zook would get a crack at his former team, but with Ohio State headed to the National Championship game, Illinois is headed to the Rose Bowl and Florida has a date with Michigan.

This will be only the second time the two programs have ever played each other. The first time these two teams met was in 2003 at the Outback bowl with Michigan coming away with a 38-30 win. Michigan comes into the game with an 8-4 record, while the Gators are 9-3. This has been a disappointing year for both programs, but a win in the Bowl game would be a nice consolation.

This will be the third straight season that the Gators will play a Big 10 school in their Bowl game. In the past the Gators did not play well in Bowl games and have an overall record of 16-18, but that has all changed with the arrival of Urban Meyer. Meyer is one of the best coaches when given time to game plan for a team. He has a record of 22-2 when he has an extra week or more to prepare for a team, including a perfect 4-0 record as a head coach in Bowl Games. The Bowl games are a part of the teams schedule for Meyer and not just a consolation for winning during your season. Michigan has struggled this year against the spread offense, and no one runs it as well as the Gators. Meyer will have them ready to go and send Lloyd Carr out on a loss.

National Championship Game Should Include LSU

The BCS was once again thrown into turmoil yesterday when the number one and two teams in the country, West Virginia and Missouri, both managed to lose there games. Missouri I expected to lose, but West Virgina's loss to Pittsburgh shocked me and proved that they should not have been in the discussion for top team in the country. With that said, now the BCS will have it's final poll come out soon and Ohio State is sure to be the number 1 team in that poll because they only have one loss and were 3rd in the last poll. The question then becomes who should be number 2 and play them in the national championship game. There are a couple of two loss teams that will try to make a case, and I will go through them, but LSU is the team that should be there.

Georgia 10-2 Previous BCS Rank #4

Georgia will say that they were number 4 so they should move up just like OSU did and be in the national championship game. They were number 4 before this week, two people lost, so they should be two. Georgia has put a string of games together and has been dominant in a tough SEC schedule ever since the Florida game. They have beaten 4 teams that were ranked in the top 25 when they played them, but only two of them remain in the top 25 now. Georgia lost early and that always helps when you are talking about these polls. Georgia is a good team, but the problem I have is that not only did they not win their conference, they didn't even win their half of the conference and get into the title game. Georgia was beaten at home by an average South Carolina team, who then went on to be beaten soundly by LSU, and they were trounced by Tennessee, who just lost to LSU in the conference title game. If you can't win your conference you should be in line for a national championship.

Kansas 11-1 Previous BCS Rank #5

Kansas only has one loss so they should jump these two loss teams right? Wrong. Kansas beat up on terrible teams all year long and everyone bought into the hype, but when the time came to play a decent team, they folded like a lawn chair. Missouri out matched Kansas in every phase of the game and showed what a fraud Kansas really was. They are a decent football team, but they are not good and again just like Georgia they did not even win their half of the Big 12 conference. Kansas fans will yell that they have only one loss, but when you don't play anyone that is an easy way to only have one loss, and if you don't win your conference, you don't deserve a NC bid.

Virginia Tech 11-2 Previous BCS Rank #6

Virginia Tech is the next highest ranked team and they won their conference so they should go right? Wrong again. Virginia Tech did win their conference and has some quality wins over 4 top 25 teams on the year, with 3 of those being in the ACC. Tech has improved over the course of the season and they have a great defense, but the ACC is not a strong conference and when they stepped out of conference to play LSU they were thrashed and were never even in that game. VT deserves to play in a BCS game because they won their conference, but that conference was down this year and when they stepped out they were exposed as being the best team in a weakened conference.

USC 10-2 Previous BCS Rank #8

USC is one of the best teams in the country right now and they actually make a very string case. USC won their conference, which was very tough. Many people on the East coast do not watch the Pac 10 much and don't think it is very good outside of USC. I can tell you that this was true in years past, but this year the conference was very tough in the top of it. USC had two losses on the season, with one being a devastating loss to one of the worst teams in the country, Stanford. USC was banged up in the Stanford game and in the Oregon loss as well. John David Booty was injured the whole Stanford game and was not able to play against Oregon. Now that the Trojans are all healthy they have steamrolled ASU and UCLA on their way to a Pac-10 championship. While I think they make a great case, I still would put LSU over them.

Oklahoma 11-2 Previous BCS Rank #9

Oklahoma is another team that looks to be deserving in this crazy year. Oklahoma beat Missouri twice this year, including in the Big 12 Title game. They have two losses, but in the Texas Tech loss they had to play without quarterback Sam Bradford, who has had a great season and has been there leader. They have shown that when Bradford is in the game they are able to beat pretty much anyone and beat them soundly. There other loss to Colorado was a big loss because they had a huge lead going into the second half and basically became anemic on offense and gave up big plays on defense to an average Colorado game. The Big 12 was not great this year so there strength of schedule makes it hard for me to place them above USC or LSU.

LSU 11-2 Previous BCS Rank #7

LSU has the most talent in the country on their team. They do have two losses, but both losses were in long overt time games, one at Kentucky and the other at home. LSU has played the toughest schedule by far of the teams that are vying for a birth in the BCS National Championship game. They played 7 teams that were in the Top 25 when they played and two of those are still in the Top 10 now, Florida and Virginia Tech. LSU's struggles came in a stretch where they played some of the toughest teams in the SEC without a break. LSU played Tennessee for the SEC championship without there starting quarterback and still managed to beat them, something that USC was unable to do without there starter as was Oklahoma. LSU played a tougher schedule, had closer losses, and is the better team than the teams that are vying for the number 2 spot. The only thing LSU did bad, was lose late. LSU is the better team and they should be in the National Championship game against OSU.