Prelude to the BCS

The crazy college football season has one more weekend in which to one up itself. Of course, nobody will be shocked by the outcome, whatever that may be but you can bet that there is still some drama left. After this weekend the BCS picture will be set in stone and another regular season will be in the books. There are only a couple of games this weekend that will actually have an effect on the Championship game but, nonetheless, there are many great games to scope out. Unlike many years, the SEC championship has no bearing on the BCS Championship game but it could possibly be a showcase of both Michigan and Nebraska future head coaches. The two games that have the biggest BCS Championship ramifications are the Big 12 Championship game and the yearly "Backyard Brawl" between West Virginia and Pittsburgh. Needless to say, the folks in Baton Rouge, Columbus and possibly Athens will all be glued to the televisions hoping that the drama can continue for just one more week. Well, here are the picks.

Oklahoma 31 - Missouri 28

Oklahoma took care of business the first time and something tells me that Missouri is foaming at the mouth for a chance at redemption. Honestly, this game will come down to one thing: Oklahoma's defense. If the Sooners D can keep the Tigers from putting up half a century then they stand a good chance of a 2nd straight Big 12 Championship. That, however, is a very big if. What is lost on most people is that Oklahoma has an offense that isn't too shabby either. Look for Bradford and crew to exploit a soft Tiger defense and play their way to another BCS game. Missouri's title hopes come crashing down.

Boston College 10 - Virginia Tech 21

Virginia Tech dominated the last meeting for all but 5 minutes. Those 5 minutes, however, contained 14 BC points and led to a BC victory. Va Tech hasn't forgotten that. The, usually, mediocre Hoakie offense has actually looked decent in the last couple of weeks and like typical Va Tech football, the defense is stout. I think the revenge factor will be enough for the Hoakies to pull out the victory and an ACC title for Beamer. They will most likely get a another shot at their opponent from last years Chick-Fil-A bowl: UGA.

LSU 21 - Tennessee 28

This is a reach but I just have the feeling that all of the chaos swirling around Baton Rouge will have a negative effect on the Tigers. It is no secret that Les Miles and D-Coordinator Bo Pelini could be leaving. Tack on the fact that LSU has next to no shot at a National title and that leads to a half-assed attempt on the field. Just last weekend, the Tigers were sitting at number one holding one of the two slots in the championship game. One week later, they are out of the championship race and are, most likely, losing two of their coaches. I think that will be enough of a distraction for Ainge and the Vols to not take advantage of.

USC 31 - UCLA 20

Karl Dorrell is out the door and man, did he screw up a great job. Anyways, USC is finally looking like the team that everybody expected at the beginning of the year, while UCLA is looking like the complete opposite of what we thought at the beginning of the year. Ultimately, the Trojans are just better. Oh, don't forget that this UCLA team is responsible for ending USC's title hopes last year. I would be willing to bet that the Trojan's haven't forgotten that.

Washington 21 - 35 Hawaii


Hawaii needs one more win to be guaranteed a BCS victory and they should get it here. Let's be honest, Washington is not a very good football team. With that being said, Colt Brennan and the Warriors should not have a hard time putting points on the board. There really isn't much else to say about this game. Hawaii earns a BCS bid...Woohoo.


Arizona State 31 - Arizona 17

State rivalries. These are usually the nastiest of them all. Arizona State needs this win to give them any hope of a BCS berth. The Sun Devils have a potent offense and should be able to score points on the Cats at will. Coach Stoops and his boys are fairly out manned and barring serious injury (read: Oregon game) they will not have what it takes to make it out of this one.

Navy 35 - Army 14

Navy leads the NCAA in rushing yards per game. In fact, watching Navy reminds you a little bit of old school Nebraska football. You can bet the coach Johnson and the Midshipmen will be doing some serious running on Saturday. I don't think most people realize how incredible of a job that Paul Johnson has done at Navy. To win at one of the academies consistently, is damn near impossible. Hats off to coach Johnson and his staff. Army on the other hand, is not any good. Look for Army to give it hell for about a quarter and a half. After that, Navy will take control.

West Virginia 45 - Pittsburgh 17


This game should be an absolute ass beating. West Virginia has an offense that is damn near impossible to stop. Their only loss this year was without Pat White. This game will be like most rivalry games: One team will play there ass of for about one quarter before ultimately folding. Oh yeah, West Virginia has to win this game in order to play for a National Championship. Something tells me that should be enough incentive to get the Mountaineers a victory.