The Sax Man passed this along It’s championship week. And for those arguing for an expanded playoff series – you got it. This is about as close to an eight team format as you can get without going to an eight team format. Miami (FL) vs Clemson - play in game, Auburn vs Georgia – play in game, Ohio State vs Wisconsin - play in game maybe. Wisconsin wins – they’re in. If the BuckNuts win they will need help to pass Bama. Oklahoma has to win to get in but if they lose to TCU, TCU is not in, but likely Bama goes.
But first – WTF is going on in Tennessee? Their hire then non-hire of Greg Schiano was as botched a coaching hire you will ever see. AD John Currie whiffed on landing an acceptable HC so he went with an old buddy. The big donors and fan base got wind of it and absolutely took Schiano’s name through the mud. Tying his name to the Penn State, uncalled for. The evidence cited was third hand hearsay from a person who wasn’t there when Schiano was coaching in Happy Valley.
Behind it all, former HC Phil Fulmer. He leveraged the entire situation to get Currie fired and get himself named AD. Guy is a total A$$hole. Any HC with a brain knows to stay away from Knoxville until Fulmer is out, the donors back off and the fan base ratchets expectations down. Don’t hold your breath. Tennessee has vaulted its way into my top five least favorite teams.
But first – WTF is going on in Tennessee? Their hire then non-hire of Greg Schiano was as botched a coaching hire you will ever see. AD John Currie whiffed on landing an acceptable HC so he went with an old buddy. The big donors and fan base got wind of it and absolutely took Schiano’s name through the mud. Tying his name to the Penn State, uncalled for. The evidence cited was third hand hearsay from a person who wasn’t there when Schiano was coaching in Happy Valley.
Behind it all, former HC Phil Fulmer. He leveraged the entire situation to get Currie fired and get himself named AD. Guy is a total A$$hole. Any HC with a brain knows to stay away from Knoxville until Fulmer is out, the donors back off and the fan base ratchets expectations down. Don’t hold your breath. Tennessee has vaulted its way into my top five least favorite teams.
Even the kickoff return teams are top 10 OK back to serious football
UCF -7.0 vs Memphis – Man oh man, if this game is anywhere near as good as last weeks War on I4, it will be a dandy. And by all rights, it should be. It has the best winning percentages of all the championship games. UCF is one of only two undefeated teams while Memphis has only one loss – to UCF.
The game also features the #1 (UCF) and #2 (Memphis) scoring offenses. The #1 in turnover margin (UCF) and #6 (Memphis) and the #3 team in kickoff returns (Memphis) and #4 (UCF). It was a spectacular KO return with a minute to go last week for UCF that beat USF.
It should certainly be a better game than the first time these two met, an ugly 40-17 UCF win. Memphis was terrible. They had as many turnovers (4) as first downs.
Since then, Memphis has tightened things up throwing only three picks over the last 11 games. And UCF may be a bit distracted as HC Scott Frost is expected to announce he is leaving for Nebraska after the game. Or maybe to FSU which just has an opening come up.
But I’ll take UCF. They have won ten straight over the Tigers and are playing at home. Make it a quatloo and I’ll be a contrarian and put a quatloo on the under 82.0
UCF -7.0 vs Memphis – Man oh man, if this game is anywhere near as good as last weeks War on I4, it will be a dandy. And by all rights, it should be. It has the best winning percentages of all the championship games. UCF is one of only two undefeated teams while Memphis has only one loss – to UCF.
The game also features the #1 (UCF) and #2 (Memphis) scoring offenses. The #1 in turnover margin (UCF) and #6 (Memphis) and the #3 team in kickoff returns (Memphis) and #4 (UCF). It was a spectacular KO return with a minute to go last week for UCF that beat USF.
It should certainly be a better game than the first time these two met, an ugly 40-17 UCF win. Memphis was terrible. They had as many turnovers (4) as first downs.
Since then, Memphis has tightened things up throwing only three picks over the last 11 games. And UCF may be a bit distracted as HC Scott Frost is expected to announce he is leaving for Nebraska after the game. Or maybe to FSU which just has an opening come up.
But I’ll take UCF. They have won ten straight over the Tigers and are playing at home. Make it a quatloo and I’ll be a contrarian and put a quatloo on the under 82.0
Logan Woodside's 10 yards per pass is 3rd in the nation Akron +21.0 @ Toledo (Ford Field Detroit) – It’s Rematch number 3 for the weekend. Toledo jumped to an early 21-0 lead over Akron back in week 8 on the way to a 48-21 win.
Akron started the season at 1-3 before catching fore going 6-2 since with upsets over Western and Ohio to clinch the MAC East.
This game is a huge mismatch on offense. Toledo in ninth overall while Akron is 120th. Toledo QB Logan Woodside is electric averaging 10 yards per pass with 24 TDs against 3 picks.
Akron is OK against the pass relying on a ball hawking secondary that picked it off 17 times (7th overall)
I’ll go with Akron keeping this one a little closer than last time and take the 21. No quatloos though.
Akron started the season at 1-3 before catching fore going 6-2 since with upsets over Western and Ohio to clinch the MAC East.
This game is a huge mismatch on offense. Toledo in ninth overall while Akron is 120th. Toledo QB Logan Woodside is electric averaging 10 yards per pass with 24 TDs against 3 picks.
Akron is OK against the pass relying on a ball hawking secondary that picked it off 17 times (7th overall)
I’ll go with Akron keeping this one a little closer than last time and take the 21. No quatloos though.
Hey Kansas, won't shake hands? Well shake this! Oklahoma -7.0 vs TCU (Jerry’s Palace, Arlington TX) – The last time the Big 12 had a championship game Oklahoma was beating a team no longer in the conference, Nebraska. Now they face off against a team that was not in the conference back in 2010.
It’s rematch #4 on the weekend as the Sooners beat TCU 38-20 on the GO JUMBO weekend. TCU, the Big 12’s best at time of possession and third down conversions, were hammered in clock control – having the ball for under 36 minutes and converted only 4 of 13 third downs.
OU QB Baker Mayfield will likely win the Heisman but RB Rodney Anderson is what is driving the Okie offense. Against TCU he accounted for nearly 300 yards of offense (151 rushing and 139 receiving). He is why the Sooners lead the Big 12 in rushing.
TCU QB Kenny Hill was a fringe Heisman candidate until he bombed against Iowa State and Oklahoma, completing less than half his passes in losses. He should have some success this time against Oklahoma, the Sooners are 82nd in sacks per game and 109th in picks.
These teams have been feisty lately. When they last met TCU senior DL Mat Boesen was tossed for kicking an OU player. Last week a brawl erupted during the TCU Baylor game resulting in TCU safety Nick Orr getting suspended for the first half of this game. Okie OL Dru Samia was ejected last week against West Virginia for punching a Neer defender. And who can forget Baker Mayfield adjusting his red zone package towards Kansas.
This game should be closer than the last one but Oklahoma is too balanced. And they will be focused on getting into the playoffs. I’ll lay the TD and take Oklahoma for a quatloo.
It’s rematch #4 on the weekend as the Sooners beat TCU 38-20 on the GO JUMBO weekend. TCU, the Big 12’s best at time of possession and third down conversions, were hammered in clock control – having the ball for under 36 minutes and converted only 4 of 13 third downs.
OU QB Baker Mayfield will likely win the Heisman but RB Rodney Anderson is what is driving the Okie offense. Against TCU he accounted for nearly 300 yards of offense (151 rushing and 139 receiving). He is why the Sooners lead the Big 12 in rushing.
TCU QB Kenny Hill was a fringe Heisman candidate until he bombed against Iowa State and Oklahoma, completing less than half his passes in losses. He should have some success this time against Oklahoma, the Sooners are 82nd in sacks per game and 109th in picks.
These teams have been feisty lately. When they last met TCU senior DL Mat Boesen was tossed for kicking an OU player. Last week a brawl erupted during the TCU Baylor game resulting in TCU safety Nick Orr getting suspended for the first half of this game. Okie OL Dru Samia was ejected last week against West Virginia for punching a Neer defender. And who can forget Baker Mayfield adjusting his red zone package towards Kansas.
This game should be closer than the last one but Oklahoma is too balanced. And they will be focused on getting into the playoffs. I’ll lay the TD and take Oklahoma for a quatloo.
If Kerryon Johnson is not fully healthy Auburn could be in trouble Georgia +1.0 vs Auburn (Mercedes Dome, Atlanta GA) – Rematch #5 should be the best game of the weekend. These teams are that evenly matched.
The Bulldogs have the fifth best scoring defense but are just a tenacious when getting into the red zone. They have 33 TDs and 11 FGs in 45 trips, an absurd 98% success rate.
But Auburn keeps opponents out of the red zone allowing just 26 trips all year. It’s one of the reasons that they are 9th in scoring defense.
Both offenses revolve around the rushing game. Georiga’s dynamic duo of Nick Chubb and Sony Michael powered the SEC’s leading ground game with led the SEC in rushing with 266 yards per game. Auburn’s RB Kerryon Johnson led the league in rushing with 128 yards per game and was 6th in rushing scores with 17.
But Johnson is fighting a nasty shoulder injury he incurred in the Iron Bowl. And his backups are nothing to write home about. That will put the pressure on QB Jarrett Stidham. Stidham has been superb this year. He was fourth in the nation in completion (69.5%) while throwing for nearly 2,700 yards and 16TDs. Can he do it all alone if Johnson struggles?
Auburns two biggest wins were at Jordan-Hare (Bama and Georgia) whole their two losses were on the road (LSU and Clemson). They will be facing Georiga in a semi road game. The Mercedes Dome should be 60-70% Dawg fans. Part of the 30% will be the Big Guys who will be in attendance.
He’ll come away disappointed. Georgia gets their revenge. I’ll put a quatloo on it.
The Bulldogs have the fifth best scoring defense but are just a tenacious when getting into the red zone. They have 33 TDs and 11 FGs in 45 trips, an absurd 98% success rate.
But Auburn keeps opponents out of the red zone allowing just 26 trips all year. It’s one of the reasons that they are 9th in scoring defense.
Both offenses revolve around the rushing game. Georiga’s dynamic duo of Nick Chubb and Sony Michael powered the SEC’s leading ground game with led the SEC in rushing with 266 yards per game. Auburn’s RB Kerryon Johnson led the league in rushing with 128 yards per game and was 6th in rushing scores with 17.
But Johnson is fighting a nasty shoulder injury he incurred in the Iron Bowl. And his backups are nothing to write home about. That will put the pressure on QB Jarrett Stidham. Stidham has been superb this year. He was fourth in the nation in completion (69.5%) while throwing for nearly 2,700 yards and 16TDs. Can he do it all alone if Johnson struggles?
Auburns two biggest wins were at Jordan-Hare (Bama and Georgia) whole their two losses were on the road (LSU and Clemson). They will be facing Georiga in a semi road game. The Mercedes Dome should be 60-70% Dawg fans. Part of the 30% will be the Big Guys who will be in attendance.
He’ll come away disappointed. Georgia gets their revenge. I’ll put a quatloo on it.
Marcus Maryion has sparked an amazing turnaround in Fresno Fresno State +9.5 @ Boise State – Didn’t we just play this game? Last week, Fresno State beat BSU 28-17 at home. Now they travel to the Biose to play the Broncos on the Smurf Turf. It’s just the second time ever that two teams plaed each other in the season finale and then the next week in the conference championship game (UCLA and Stanford in 2012 both won by Stanford).
It’s been quite the turnaround for Fresno State under Cal reject HC Jeff Tedford. The Bulldogs went from 1-11 a year ago to 9-3 and a chance at the MEC championship.
FSU QB and Oregon State transfer Marcus Maryion has been a large part of the turnaround. He’s thrown for over 2,200 yards with 14TDs against only 3 picks. Last week he lit up the Bronco defense for 332 yards and 2 TDs.
But it’s not all Maryion. The Bulldog defense has been solid. They led the league in third down stops and let up more than 21 points only once to a conference eopponent – 26 to UNLV their only MWC loss.
Boise State is phenomenal on the Blue Turf. They have lost only four times to conference opponents at home since they joined the MWC back in 2011. And they have owned Fresno State there beating 8 straight times in the Potato State.
Boise went vanilla last week. They had already clinched a spot in the championship game. Now they will open up the offense and cruise to another win at home. But not by 9.5/ I’ll take FSU for the cover. No quatloos though.
It’s been quite the turnaround for Fresno State under Cal reject HC Jeff Tedford. The Bulldogs went from 1-11 a year ago to 9-3 and a chance at the MEC championship.
FSU QB and Oregon State transfer Marcus Maryion has been a large part of the turnaround. He’s thrown for over 2,200 yards with 14TDs against only 3 picks. Last week he lit up the Bronco defense for 332 yards and 2 TDs.
But it’s not all Maryion. The Bulldog defense has been solid. They led the league in third down stops and let up more than 21 points only once to a conference eopponent – 26 to UNLV their only MWC loss.
Boise State is phenomenal on the Blue Turf. They have lost only four times to conference opponents at home since they joined the MWC back in 2011. And they have owned Fresno State there beating 8 straight times in the Potato State.
Boise went vanilla last week. They had already clinched a spot in the championship game. Now they will open up the offense and cruise to another win at home. But not by 9.5/ I’ll take FSU for the cover. No quatloos though.
