Ok this week my record is 9 wins to 7 losses in predictions. Not good but better than last week where I had a losing record. The grand total stands at 102 to 60. There were some quite good games to watch this last week with a couple of minor surprises of note. I have noted that there is a lot of parity in the college game and that is holding true throughout the season.
The Sun Belt is still Troy's to lose. UlM and Middle Tn. the only two that may yet challenge Troy, were both victorious in conference action. The Trojans kept rolling with a victory over W. Kentucky. Next up on their slate is the University of Arkansas. That probably will be a loss, but will not figure into conference standings.
The Big Ten is now really intriguing. Iowa's loss to Northwestern and the Buckeye victory over Penn State throw this one up for grabs. Who will be the eventual conference champion? Iowa can not be considered for the BCS Championship Game, but still has a good shot at the conference championship. I did think Iowa would trip up before it was all said and done, but did not think the Wildcats would be the team to do it. It is easy to forget that Wisconsin is still technically in the mix also.
Over in the MAC it is still between CMU and Temple. Temple had some difficulty last week but did come out of it in the win column.
The SEC now is down to Florida and Alabama. They both clinched and will meet in the conference championship game. The season is not yet finished and one or both still may be tripped up, but they still will meet for conference honors regardless. The Hogs pulled off a minor upset against SC. LSU may still yet land in a BCS Bowl. At worst, they will play in an upper level non BCS contest. Most of the rest of the league played IAA opponents this week and there were no upsets. Furman did keep pace with the Bulldogs of Ga. somewhat. Memphis of CUSA did not fare well against TN. but that was to be expected.
Over in CUSA Houston pulled one out of the hat with a last second field goal that put them on top of Tulsa. I thought this would be a tough game and was right. U of H looked a little flat and Tulsa came to play ball. What is interesting is that some announcers have all but accused Todd Graham of having players fake injuries as time was running down. This is in effect a time out that Todd (allegedly) would use to give his offense time to score if U or H tied the game. If true, it bit him in the ass as the Coogs missed the two point conversion to tie. This apparently effectively ended the contest, but an onside kick recovery by Houston and subsequent long field goal put the Cougars in the win column. I put Todd Graham in the same column as "He who shall remain nameless" over at Alabama and that jerk over at Ole Miss. Graham screwed Rice University. That reminds me of something funny of note. When Graham bolted for supposed greener pastures after 1 year with Rice it was considered a slap in the face. When Tulsa and the Owls met at Rice Stadium the following year the MOB (Marching Owl Band) lampooned him viciously. Are you familiar with the MOB? They pull no punches. Often halftime at Rice Stadium is more interesting than the game. At any rate Graham demanded an apology. I do not remember if one was forthcoming, but I am not familiar with a case of the Marching Owl Band ever issuing one. Screw Graham.
Enough pontificating? I think so. Rice came pretty close to winning the game with SMU. This is the first time this season they have not been utterly blown out. Is that progress? The Coogs should be the winner of CUSA West but it is unclear who they will meet in the championship game. I think it will be ECU but it is still not settled. ECU did lose a contest with VA. Tech Thursday night but that was non conference and should not affect the conference standings.
Cincy took down UConn over in the major Big East contest and most likely will land a BCS Bowl. They are a good team. I would love to see Cincinnati and Ohio State square off. WV still has a shot perhaps and were victorious in their contest. Same with the Pitt Panthers. This is a pretty interesting conference that does not seem to really get proper respect nationally. Frankly I would give Cincy and even chance against any other undefeated team in the land.
The Pac 10 just got more interesting with Oregon faltering against Stanford. Will Arizona be the top dog in this conference before it is all said and done? Why was Cal in the top 25? Tedford does a good job with the Golden Bears, but this has not been a good year for him. The rest of the conference (maybe even USC) is forgettable.
The WAC is still Boise's to lose. They did have some trouble against a pesky La. Tech team Friday night in Ruston. They came out victorious as usual however. Fresno State took down a vastly improved Idaho team last night in a pretty good game. It had all the earmarks of a complete blow out but Idaho kept is fairly close. Pat Hill's squad is under rated. They are a legitimate top 25 team. Tonight Nevada, which is still undefeated in conference play, meets SJSU and should have little problem with the Spartans. Nevada still has a shot but probably will not be able to get past Boise. The game next week against Fresno State will be a good game though. If Nevada wins, which would be a minor upset, they still have a shot. Their game with Boise State is their last of the season. This is an interesting conference and the top dogs should get a little more respect nationally.
The ACC is the ACC. Georgia Tech looks like they will represent the Coastal Division in the championship game. Miami took down Virginia and Clemson took out Florida State. The only other game of note was the NC victory over Duke. Not sure if any of the teams in this conference can be counted among the game's elite. Perhaps Ga. Tech. Look for Miami to be a power to contend with in the coming years.
Almost forgot about the Mountain West. TCU meets Utah next week and that should be the deciding factor in whether TCU (or for that matter Utah) is BCS qualified. This may well be the game of the week.
The Big Twelve should have Texas as the representative from the south. It is hard to see who in conference can beat the Horns at this point. The Big Twelve North is another matter. KSU is in the drivers seat and may well be the eventual winner here.
I will try to get week 11 predictions out at some point. Have a good and safe week.
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