(11) USC at (6) Arizona State: USC is so good they have two number 1s beside their name now. Actually, the Trojans are having a down year while the rest of the PAC-10 is on the rise. C’mon, USC, you lost to Stanford, you can’t expect too great of a bowl. Meanwhile, the Sun Devils are quietly having one of the best years in school history. If this game was in LA the outcome might be different, but Tempe is no easy place to win now. Arizona State 25, USC 21.
Arkansas at (1) LSU: The Tigers need a solid win. They need to put down McFadden and the Razorbacks, and then knock off whoever goes from the SEC East, to lock up a spot in New Orleans on January 7. Arkansas needs a big win to bolster their standing in the eyes of the pollsters. Darren McFadden is making his case for Heisman, but it doesn’t look to be enough to top LSU. Tigers 31, Razorbacks 17.
(7) Georgia at Georgia Tech: Mark Richt’s Bulldogs hold a six game winning streak over the Jackets, meaning that Chan Gailey is 0-5 against the Dawgs since taking over at Tech. This game means nothing to the Dawgs SEC hopes, but to the fans, this is a must win every year; it’s nothing but pure, old-fashioned hate between these two. Georgia needs an impressive win to ensure, at the very least, a trip to New Orleans on January 1. The Sugar Bowl is already looking toward Athens as an at-large team. Some people are saying this will be a close game. The Right Wing doesn’t see it that way. Georgia wins 34-14.
(19) Boise State at (15) Hawai’i: The only reason a WAC game appears on the Future-see is because of its bowl implications. The Sugar Bowl would love to match up Hawai’i and Georgia. Boise State wants to get back to a BCS bowl. If Colt Brennan is healthy Hawai’i’s offense is as good as any in the country. But Brennan has been banged up lately. Boise State brings a good team to the table every year. Everything points to this game being an offensive shoot-out, which means the defenses will show up. Hawai’i takes a close one 28-24.
(8) Virginia Tech at (16) Virginia: Boston College awaits the winner of this game in the ACC Title game. VaTech has yet to be truly impressive this year. Frank beamer appears to have taken on the old Mark Richt approach of “do just enough to win.” Al Groh is poised to finally take Virginia to the next level. As ACC games go, this one should be fun to watch. Virginia in an upset 20-18.
(18) Tennessee at Kentucky: Georgia will be watching this game with great interest. Should the Wildcats knock off Tennessee the Dawgs would play LSU for the SEC Title. Neyland stadium is a tough place to play, perhaps the toughest in the SEC. But this game isn’t in Neyland. Also, the Vols have beaten Kentucky 23 or 24 straight times. But this isn’t the Kentucky of two years ago. Georgia had scored 40 points or more in three straight games until Kentucky held them to a mere 24. The Vols want to play for an SEC Title. Kentucky wants to position itself for a good bowl game. Close game, but look for another upset. Kentucky 26, Tennessee 24.
Other Score Predictions:
Auburn 17, Alabama 10
Texas 27, Texas A&M 21
Kansas 24, Missouri 21 (OT)
Clemson 40, South Carolina 28
Oklahoma 17, Oklahoma State 15
Florida 35, Florida State 14
Suggestions for improving college football (not that any of these will ever happen):
1. The Big Ten needs to add another team, preferably Notre Dame. The conference could then form two 6-team divisions and have a championship game. The desirable conference line-ups would be:
Hayes Division: Ohio State, Indiana, Illinois, Purdue, Michigan State, Northwestern
Schembechler Division: Michigan, Penn State, Wisconsin, Notre Dame, Minnesota, Iowa
The Championship game could be played in the RCA Dome in Indianapolis.
2. The PAC-10 should recruit Boise State and Hawai’i in the conference. The PAC-10 would then be the PAC-12, with two 6-team divisions, likely as follows:
PAC-12 North: Boise State, Washington, Washington State, Oregon, Oregon State, Cal
PAC-12 South: USC, Stanford, Arizona, Arizona State, Hawai’i, UCLA
The Championship Game could be played in Las Vegas every year.
3. College basketball has a thing every year called the ACC-Big Ten challenge, where teams from each conference face off against one another over a weekend. This would be amazing for college football, just imagine. The SEC-Big XII challenge. LSU vs. Oklahoma. Florida vs. Texas. Georgia vs. Kansas. Tennessee vs. Missouri. Alabama vs. Texas Tech. Auburn vs. Oklahoma State. South Carolina vs. Texas A&M. Kentucky vs. Colorado. Vanderbilt vs. Baylor. Ole Miss vs. Iowa State. Mississippi State vs. Kansas State. Arkansas vs. Nebraska. It would be amazing.
4. A Plus-One System. The top four BCS teams face each other in revolving bowl games each year. One plays four, two plays three. The winners meet in the National Championship game. It’s the closest DI will get to a playoff.
5. Could the SEC trade Vanderbilt to the ACC for Clemson and then trade Ole Miss to the Big XII for Oklahoma State. (This one was pitched to me by a friend, I’m not sure if it is viable at all.)
6. Bowl affiliations bother me. I don’t think it’s right that only certain conferences can go to certain bowls. You’re telling me that, if Ohio State went 8-4, but won the Big Ten, they deserve to be in the Rose Bowl more than a one-loss team from either the Big XII or the SEC. Wrong.
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