College Football Preview: Championship Weekend

Well, the BCS managed to screw it up again (with an assist to the Big 12's division tiebreaker), a week earlier than usual! I will mention I have no allegiance to Texas or Oklahoma, aside from the fact I picked OU to win the national championship this year, but the Longhorns were screwed.

The fact that OU leaped over them by beating a good OK State team by 20, while Texas beat a terrible A&M squad by 40, is wrong. Style points mean everything. How is that truly determining who is the best team when all is said and done in January?

The cases for and against Oklahoma and Texas are similar, down to one fact: OU beat Texas Tech at home 65-21, while Texas lost in Lubbock on a last second touchdown 39-33. I guess it doesn't matter that Texas beat Oklahoma on a neutral field? It only matters when you play the other top teams in your respective conference, and when you lose. Lose late in the year, and you are screwed. Texas had a gauntlet run in October before an easier November, while Oklahoma's last two games were against top 15 squads. Obviously, all of this trouble could have been avoided if the Big 12 had a more sufficient three-way tiebreaker for division races. Or as most people have been contending for years, major college football needs a playoff.

Continuing with the bowl system is about one thing and one thing only: money. Just because FBS forms an eight or 16 team playoff tournament would not have to mean the end of those tradition-rich games.

The Rose Bowl, or Orange Bowl, or Sugar Bowl could still be the home of the national championship game at the conclusion of the playoff. Athletic directors and the NCAA claim that the additional three or four games would be strenuous on the student athlete, but in big-time college football, when was the last time student and athlete were used simultaneously?

Sadly, a majority of these players wouldn't be in college without football, and just because they are there now doesn't mean they will do something worthwhile for their post-football lives while there.

These kids are exploited if you ask me. They deserve a playoff to determine a true national champion. Let it be decided on the field, not on the hard drive. And if the big wigs are TRULY concerned about the additional games being a burden to the players who actually care about their education (i.e. Myron Rolle), they would work to eliminate a couple games from the schedule. What's the point of these BCS schools playing three cupcake non-conference games and one half-decent opponent besides money?

Is Oklahoma truly improving as a football team facing off against Tennessee-Chattanooga? Or Florida against the Citadel? Of course, college ADs and presidents would never go for such a move, because that would mean less dough in their athletic program and university's pockets.

Just like the current financial crisis in this country, the greed of the powerful few has ruined the fun for everyone else. The powers of college football need to forget about the bottom line for once and do what is best for the game. And there are several professional leagues that could use that same advice.

I'm sure holding a 16-team playoff, where the best teams in the country play No. 2, 3, or 4 times in December/January, would generate more revenue than the bowls anyways.

Moving on, it's championship Saturday, meaning this is the final college football preview of the season. Barring the onset of extreme laziness as Christmas approaches, I will probably do a preview of the BCS games and other major bowls in mid-December.

THURSDAY 12/4:
Louisville at Rutgers, 7:30 (ESPN)

FRIDAY 12/5:
MAC Championship: Ball State vs. Buffalo in Detroit, 8 (ESPN 2)

SATURDAY 12/6:
Pittsburgh at Connecticut, 12 (ESPN)
Conference USA Championship: East Carolina at Tulsa, 12 (ESPN 2)
Army vs. Navy in Philadelphia, 12 (CBS)
ACC Championship: Boston College vs. Virginia Tech in Tampa, 1 (ABC)
Washington at California, 3 (FSN)
SEC Championship: Alabama vs. Florida in Atlanta, 4 (CBS)
USC at UCLA, 4:30 (ABC)
Big 12 Championship: Missouri vs. Oklahoma in Kansas City, 8 (ABC)
Arizona State at Arizona, 8 (ESPN)
South Florida at West Virginia, 8 (ESPN 2)
Cincinnati at Hawaii, 11:30 (ESPN 2)

GAMES OF THE WEEK

Alabama vs. Florida
Florida seems to be a popular pick in this game. After all, they have the rare combination of a prolific offense and punishing defense, and are not afraid to flaunt it on the way to out-of-this-world blowout wins against competitive programs. But people seem to forget that Alabama ran the table in the SEC (while not as strong this year) out of nowhere.

Nick Saban's teams have a knack for being very physical, and he even went as far as to call this a "blue collar team" a few weeks back. That may be worthy of a Lee Corso "uh-oh" for a Florida offense which is built heavily on finesse. Granted, I hate Florida more than any team in college football (even more than Notre Dame), and Urban Meyer more than any coach (even more than Charlie Weis).

But I'd rather have Nick Saban leading my team in a do-or-die game, and I expect him to assert the upper hand over Urban Meyer from the sidelines on Saturday. The Gators are a great team, no doubt, but I think Saban's coaching, combined with the Bama run game and Bama defense, lead the Tide to a close victory and Miami for the national championship.

Final score: Alabama 30 Florida 27.

Missouri vs. Oklahoma

In their somewhat brief existence, these Big 12 title games have often produced upset winners. Past Kansas State, Oklahoma, and Missouri teams can all attest that a win over a lesser opponent to get to the national championship game is easier said than done. Will Oklahoma fall prey against Missouri on Saturday night? I don't think so.

Granted, Mizzou has Chase Daniel and can score with the Sooners' machine, but I am sure OU's defense will manage a stop or two on defense. Matching that will be asking a lot for a Missouri unit which has struggled all year against the Big 12's high-octane offenses.

While I'm sure the Tigers would love to get revenge on a team that squashed their national title aspirations in 2007, more important here is bowl positioning. Due to the Big 12 South's strength, a Tiger loss likely sends them to the league's fourth bowl tie-in instead of the BCS (should they pull the upset).

Granted, the Holiday or Alamo Bowl is nothing to sneeze at, but for a Missouri team that had high hopes three months ago, that would be a major letdown.

Boston College vs. Virginia Tech

After all that trouble, we have a rematch of last season's ACC title game, although there will be no Matty Ice this time around. The big reason these teams are going to Tampa is simple: coaching. Jeff Jagodzinski lost Ryan, his star quarterback, and pretty much the rest of the offense. But his defense has been one of the best in the conference all season, helping the team to a 9-3 record.

Frank Beamer has done a magnificent job in his two decades at Tech, but this might have been his best season yet. Sure, they are 8-4, but the Hokies have overcome injuries, inexperience, and poor quarterback play (at times), to hold on to their title as the class of the ACC Coastal.

Like the rest of the ACC season to this point, I really don't know what to expect. Either of these teams could walk away the winner, but using the old adage that it is difficult to beat the same team twice in a season, look for the Hokies to remain ACC Champions for another year.

USC at UCLA

I see where USC will resume the old tradition of the road team wearing their home jersey in this crosstown rivalry, making it one of the few times all year you'll see no white jerseys on the field. The NCAA isn't happy about it, but those guys always have their panties in a bunch over something.

USC wins the Pac 10 and probably goes to the Rose Bowl for an enticing matchup with Penn State if they can defeat their rivals. But two years ago in Westwood, the Bruins upset the Trojans and ended their hopes of a national title.

Rick Neuheisel's inaugural season may have been a struggle, but with this essentially being UCLA's bowl game, they will put everything on the line.

UCLA's offense has been downright horrible at times, and against a strong SC defense, they better hope their defense actually shows up to keep this game interesting. They had no trouble stopping the Washington teams, but when it came to the talented squads in the league, the Bruins were often giving up 30 points a game.

OTHER GAMES TO WATCH

Ball State vs. Buffalo

Ball State may not be headed for the BCS, but a MAC Championship and opportunity to finish 14-0 are incentive enough to keep playing hard. There are even talks of a Boise State-Ball State bowl matchup, to truly determine who is the best of the non-BCS teams who were not invited to the BCS.

Even though the MAC's three bowl bids will likely go to Ball State, Western Michigan, and Central Michigan, the 7-5 Bulls figure to make their first ever bowl appearance. BCS athletic directors, are you paying attention? Turner Gill can coach.

I'm sure many of you read the story about how the 1958 team was invited to the Tangerine Bowl in Orlando, but due to segregation and the fact that Buffalo had two black players, the team voted to turn down the invitation. There wouldn't be a better way to honor that team a half century later than upsetting the Cardinals and winning the MAC.

Army vs. Navy

The US Military and Naval Academies may not be known for football so much anymore, but this is still a great rivalry that touches more Americans than any other. I'm sure most of us who have not served this country at least know or knew someone who did. And their sacrifices are greatly appreciated.

I don't care how bad Army's team is or the fact that Navy gets to a bowl thanks mainly to an easy schedule, this game deserves to be watched. Where else will you find guys who will be teammates 364 days out of the year, yet hate each other with a passion on the 365th?

East Carolina at Tulsa

It seems like eons ago that both ECU and Tulsa had BCS aspirations. With the Pirates at 8-4 and the Golden Hurricane 10-2, the winner will have to settle for a trip to Memphis and the Liberty Bowl. The teams did not meet during the regular season, so it is difficult to predict what we should see.

But I do know that Tulsa likes to win games by putting up a massive number of points, while East Carolina relies on a strong defense. Houston's high-powered offense was able to put 41 on the Pirates, but I think Tulsa will be hard pressed to do the same. If they can put that many points up, ECU is in trouble.

Arkansas State at Troy

This will be the unofficial Sun Belt championship game. If Troy wins, they go to New Orleans as outright conference champions. If Arkansas State wins, it at least forces a two-way tie (Louisiana-Lafayette could make it a three-way tie with a win over Middle Tennessee), and the Red Wolves probably head for the New Orleans Bowl.

In years past, losing the Sun Belt would be a death sentence for a team, but with the SEC and Big 12 short bowl-eligible teams, the league could end up looking at two or three bowl bids (it is interesting to note that for the first time, the league has an agreement with the Independence, Papa John's, and St. Petersburg Bowls to step in should another league not have enough eligible teams).

Cincinnati at Hawaii

Even though they will be the Big East's representative in the BCS, many people have not gotten to see the Bearcats in 2008. If you are in that boat, stay up late after the Big 12 title game and watch this one from sunny, warm Honolulu (be jealous).

I'm sure the Bearcats will treat this as their fun-in-the-sun bowl game, because they will want to show everyone they are no fluke when New Year's Day rolls around. It will be all business.

The Warriors haven't fallen as badly as I thought they would when June Jones left for SMU and Colt Brennan graduated, as they finished in a three-way tie for second in the WAC (for what that's worth) at 7-5.