Trent's Touchdown: Six Games to Watch in Week 15

There are a few things you can always count on. You can count on weird, twisting mythology in any Stargate show. You can count on overt misogyny in Robert Ludlum books. And you can count on the BCS screwing up at least one thing per season.

At least this year they didn’t wait until the announcement of the bowl games to do it. But more on this later.

We have championship weekend ahead of us. Can you believe we are at the end of the season already? Neither can I. Anyway, on to the touchdown:

1. SEC Championship Game—No. 1 Alabama vs. No. 4 Florida—4:00 on CBS in Atlanta

I think we can safely assume that the winner of this goes to the national championship game. People want to see the Alabama defense against the Florida offense, and I have to agree. It all starts with trying to contain Florida. If you can do that, then you have a chance.

One great way to contain them is to keep the Florida offense off the field. Alabama needs to methodically move the ball down the field, using their great running game to eat up yards and the clock.

No one can afford to get into a shoot-out with Florida; they are just too good, as witnessed by the stream-rolling they have done to opponents since the one-point loss to Ole Miss. I just don’t think Alabama can do it, but people have been underestimating them all year. What’s one more game?


2. Big 12 Championship Game—No. 2 Oklahoma vs. No. 20 Missouri—8:00 on ABC in Kansas City

Why does this look familiar? Oh yeah, it’s a rematch of last year’s Big 12 Championship Game. So, Oklahoma jumped ahead of a team they lost to earlier in the season to get here, while Missouri limped in after losing to Kansas.

Like Florida, Oklahoma has just been a buzz-saw recently, easily beating down all that stand in their way. Missouri needs to play above their limit and Chase Daniel has to come out strong. However, these are two situations I don’t see happening. I think it’s a moral victory if Missouri only loses by three touchdowns.


3. ACC Championship Game—No. 17 Boston College vs. No. 25 Virginia Tech—1:00 on ABC in Tampa

Like the Big 12 Championship Game, this is a repeat of last year's matchup. Unlike last year, though, I’ll be watching this one for the comedy factor.

You have two excellent defenses and two shaky quarterbacks, so it should be fun. I really don’t see either team winning this one based on offensive ability, but on how the defense reacts.

Virginia Tech has a more experienced quarterback and a knack for making big plays in key situations, so I think VT will win, but it will be close.


4. No. 5 USC at UCLA—4:30 on ABC

USC has been pretty dominant since their early season loss to Oregon State. The hallmark of the team has really been their defense. They seem to get better with every game. They take the pressure off of Mark Sanchez.

UCLA, on the other hand, is offensively challenged (and that’s putting it mildly), considering their offense gave up 28 points to Arizona State last week (four defensive touchdowns!). UCLA has a solid defense, so they might be able to hang with USC for a little bit, but USC should run away with it.


5. No. 13 Cincinnati at Hawaii—11:30 on ESPN

First you win the Big East, and then get a trip to Hawaii. It’s party time. Actually, this is a tune-up for Cincy before they face the ACC champion in the Orange Bowl (most likely). Cincy needs to watch themselves, since Hawaii is playing for nothing but pride. BC or VT fans should tune in to see their probable BCS foe.


6. Navy vs. Army—12:00 on CBS

You know, during the presidential election, I was wondering if McCain became president, would he still be able to root for Navy? It's just one of those questions we’ll never have a straight answer to.


Extra Point

Before I start, I want to assure Oklahoma fans that if Texas came out on top, this rant would have been directed at them…maybe. Anyway, Texas got screwed. Plain and simple.

I still don’t understand how the BCS jumped Oklahoma ahead of Texas. Let’s break this down. Texas loses to Texas Tech on the road, beats Oklahoma on a neutral field, and Oklahoma beats Texas Tech at home. Just by looking at that, who is the better team between Texas and Oklahoma? Alright, now we’re getting somewhere.

Before all you Sooner fans fall back on point differential, just remember that this has nothing to do with the discussion, since it’s not a factor in determining the champion. These need to be fixed one of two ways.

One, have the BCS give us the top two, then take the head to head winner (in this case, Texas). Two, go to point differential against common opponents before BCS standings (in this case, Oklahoma).

Both have issues. The BCS option can freeze out the No. 3 team and still leaves the decision in the hands of coaches and computers. The point differential option promotes running up the score. Something needs to be done and this week proves that the current system is flawed.

One more point before I go, Oklahoma fans. If your team defeated Texas on the neutral field and lost to Texas Tech on the road while Texas had run up the score on Tech at home, would you be saying “Gee, Texas deserves it?" I didn’t think so.