COLLEGE FOOTBALL
A few conference championships have already been decided. The Big East had a defacto championship game Thursday between Louisville and Rutgers, a game the Cardinals -- who are moving to the ACC in 2014 to replace Big Ten-departing Maryland -- won over the Scarlet Knights, 20-17. Louisville will face the winner of the ACC title game in the Orange Bowl. Friday night, the MAC had its title game and Northern Illinois defeated Kent State, 44-37, in double overtime. Also, in the Pac-12 championship bout, Stanford beat UCLA, 27-24, for its second win in as many weeks over the Bruins. The Cardinal will play the winner of the Nebraska-Wisconsin Big Ten championship game in the Rose Bowl.
I went 9-1 in picks last week and am now 72-34 on the year in college picks.
Conference USA Championship
Central Florida at Tulsa, Noon ESPN2
Both teams have one loss in the conference and are 9-3 overall so this is a couple of pretty strong teams. The Knights lost Nov. 17 at Tulsa 23-21 for their only league loss and the Golden Hurricane lost last week to SMU 35-27. I know next to nothing about these two teams but a look at the non-conference schedules will help me analyze them. Tulsa lost at Iowa State to open the season and its other loss came at Arkansas by four points. A weak Arkansas team, but a close loss to an SEC squad nevertheless. Central Florida fell to Missouri and Ohio State by comparison. That didn't hep a ton. I think this game is kind of a toss up. Both teams just met a couple weeks ago and it was a tight game and I'm expecting the same here. I'll give the slight edge to the Golden Hurricane for being at home.
Tulsa 30, Central Florida 28
No. 23 Oklahoma State at Baylor, Noon FX
Baylor has come on strong in recent weeks to get to 6-5 and become bowl eligible. The Bears crushed No. 1 Kansas State two weeks ago and then, last week, beat Texas Tech in overtime. I say they ride the wave of momentum and top the Cowboys
Baylor 54, Oklahoma State 50
No. 11 Oklahoma at TCU, Noon ESPN
TCU isn't playing for much here -- it is bowl eligible already with seven wins -- but the Sooners must win for a chance to win the Big 12 and go to a BCS bowl. If they win, then Kansas State must win later in the evening against Texas to win the conference. If the Horned Frogs beat the Sooners, however, then Kansas State wins the Big 12 even if it loses to the Longhorns. I think the motivation will be enough for Oklahoma to pull this one out.
Oklahoma 34, TCU 21
Middle Tennessee at Arkansas State, 3 p.m. ESPN3.com
Am I picking the winner for the Sun Belt title game? Yes, I am. Why not? Looks like this "championship game" was a happy accident or good scheduling by the conference, much like the Louisville-Rutgers game Thursday. This isn't an official conference title game, but it ends up being so with both teams at 8-3 and one loss in the conference. I'll give the Red Wolves the edge at home over the Blue Raiders. A clash of colors. Viewers will be seeing purple by the end of it.
Arkansas State 34, Middle Tennessee 24
SEC Championship
No. 2 Alabama vs. No. 3 Georgia in Atlanta, 4 p.m. CBS
This is, of course, the big game Saturday. A national semifinal if you will. The winner will take on Notre Dame in the BCS national championship. If I asked you which of these teams was in the SEC title game last year, I bet some of you would be fooled and answer, "Alabama!" But you'd be wrong. The Crimson Tide lost last year to LSU and it was LSU that had the berth from the SEC West. It was Georgia that was actually the SEC East's representative in Atlanta last year. However, it was a but a footnote in LSU's trip to the national championship, as the Tigers stomped UGA 42-10. The Bulldogs are hoping to not just be a footnote on the Crimson Tide's way to the national championship this year. They should have a lot better chance than in last year's game. Lots of analysts are giving them a good shot in this contest. Except for a couple consecutive games in the middle of the season (35-7 loss to South Carolina and 29-24 win over Kentucky) Georgia hasn't played poorly at all this season. In fact, the Dawgs have dominated most of their opponents. In their last four games against FBS opponents, they've allowed 9, 10, 0, and 10 points. Not bad at all. Alabama has been on point all season, save for one slip up at home against Texas A&M. Both teams are led by great quarterbacks. For the Bulldogs, that is junior Aaron Murray. He's completed 66.6 percent of his passes for 3,201 yards, 30 TDs, and 7 INTs. On the Tide's sideline, junior A.J. McCarron has completed 67.2 percent of his passes for 2,507 yards, 25 TDs, and just two INTs. Even though Murray is the more impressive signal caller, I trust McCarron more to get it done in big games, and he's done so this year against LSU and in last year's national championship. Also, Alabama has a better running game than Georgia does (24th in yards compared to 39th in yards). And both defenses are nasty, but Alabama's a bit more so (1st in points per game allowed at 9.3 vs. 16th in points per game allowed at 17.7). I also give the coaching edge to Nick Saban over Mark Richt. Does anyone have a coaching edge over Saban these days?
Alabama 28, Georgia 24
ACC Championship
No. 13 Florida State vs. Georgia Tech in Charlotte, 8 p.m. ESPN
In what is sure to be a scantily attended game, the Seminoles will try to match up with the Yellow Jackets' triple-option attack. Why would FSU fans head north to colder temperatures and watch a game their team should win easily when they can just go to the Orange Bowl in a month in their home state? And Georgia Tech is just 6-6, not actually that good (though it was on a roll until last week when it fell to UGA 42-10), and Jacket fans don't travel well. So it will be interesting to see if this one gets out of the 20,000-30,000 range. It is not Orange Bowl or bust for the Yellow Jackets. They will still be bowl eligible if they lose this game and are 6-7. The same thing happened to UCLA last year when it lost to Oregon in the Pac-12 title contest and the Bruins fell to 6-7. Both the Bruins and Jackets are in these games because of the transgressions of other schools in their conferences, so why punish them? I'm fine with that. But on the football field, yeah, I think Georgia Tech should fall to 6-7. I can't see FSU squandering its opportunity to go to a BCS bowl for the first time since 2006 when it lost to Penn State in the Orange Bowl. The Seminoles defense is too good and too quick to get run over by the triple-option.
Florida State 36, Georgia Tech 20
No. 18 Texas at No. 6 Kansas State, 8 p.m. ABC
I don't think the result of the Oklahoma-TCU game will matter because I think the Wildcats will run wild over the Longhorns in Manhattan, the "Little Apple," and win the Big 12 and head to a BCS game. Kansas State cannot be happy about its loss to Baylor two weeks ago which knocked it from the national championship hunt and it has had two weeks to sit on it and simmer. Texas cannot stop the run (101st in the country) and that is KSU QB Colin Klein and his team's specialty.
Kansas State 49, Texas 32
Big Ten Championship
No. 13 Nebraska vs. Wisconsin in Indianapolis, 8:17 p.m. FOX
Instead of Ohio State or Penn State in this game -- two teams which finished ahead of the Badgers in the Big Ten Leaders Division -- Wisconsin will take on the Cornhuskers. Nebraska beat Wisconsin, 30-27, at home in late September. Since losing 63-38 to Ohio State, Nebraska has won six games in a row. Meanwhile, Wisconsin is 7-5 and has lost two games in a row, to Ohio State and Penn State, both in overtime. The Badgers better not hope this game goes into OT. In addition to those two "Ls," Wisconsin is 0-3 in overtime games this year because it also lost to Michigan State in overtime Oct. 27.
Nebraska 27, Wisconsin 20
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VIRGINIA BASKETBALL
It has been an emotional week for coach Tony Bennett. He's seen his young team come together and quickly improve and on Wednesday, the Cavs won at Wisconsin in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. Bennett coached under both his dad, Dick, and Wisconsin's current coach, Bo Ryan, at Wisconsin so the win meant a lot to Bennett.
For a great read on just what it meant, check out Daily Progress columnist Jerry Ratcliffe's latest offering: http://www.dailyprogress.com/cavalierinsider/m_basketball/article_4059fafa-3b4c-11e2-ae51-0019bb30f31a.html
A portion of the article:
"For Bennett, the emotions continued to flow afterward when ESPN analyst Doris Bruke conducted a post-game interview and touched upon Tony's dad and what it meant to have him around. Tony's voice cracked and he cut things off as quickly as he could.
"'I was a softie, I’m telling ya,'” Bennett said of the moment. “'My family was there and right before the interview, I saw Megan Soderberg [Brad’s sister], who was a manager on the Final Four team. She was waving her hands, and I kind of paused for a second, looked at the Final Four banner and was kind of overcome with gratefulness.
“'I didn’t mean to come off like a blubbering whatever, but it happened and hopefully it wasn’t too much,'” Bennett chuckled.
It was actually a nice moment, a touching moment for the Bennett family and for Wahoo Nation.
When it was all over, Tony called his dad from the team bus to share the victory with the most important man in his life.
Dick Bennett put a punctuation mark on the evening with his message to his son.
“'Tell those young fellas on the bus they made an old man very happy,'” Dick Bennett said.
Nothing else needed to be said.
Now, today at 4 p.m. at John Paul Jones Arena, Bennett will take on his alma mater, Green Bay, where he ended his career as the NCAA's all-time career 3-point percentage leader and still is. As if playing the school his dad helped revive and where he was an assistant wasn't enough, now he has to play the school where he spent his college life. The trip through the past continues for Bennett today, and the emotion, too, probably. Virginia defeated Green Bay 68-42 last year. UVa is 5-2 on the season and trying to win its fifth straight contest.
A few conference championships have already been decided. The Big East had a defacto championship game Thursday between Louisville and Rutgers, a game the Cardinals -- who are moving to the ACC in 2014 to replace Big Ten-departing Maryland -- won over the Scarlet Knights, 20-17. Louisville will face the winner of the ACC title game in the Orange Bowl. Friday night, the MAC had its title game and Northern Illinois defeated Kent State, 44-37, in double overtime. Also, in the Pac-12 championship bout, Stanford beat UCLA, 27-24, for its second win in as many weeks over the Bruins. The Cardinal will play the winner of the Nebraska-Wisconsin Big Ten championship game in the Rose Bowl.
I went 9-1 in picks last week and am now 72-34 on the year in college picks.
Conference USA Championship
Central Florida at Tulsa, Noon ESPN2
Both teams have one loss in the conference and are 9-3 overall so this is a couple of pretty strong teams. The Knights lost Nov. 17 at Tulsa 23-21 for their only league loss and the Golden Hurricane lost last week to SMU 35-27. I know next to nothing about these two teams but a look at the non-conference schedules will help me analyze them. Tulsa lost at Iowa State to open the season and its other loss came at Arkansas by four points. A weak Arkansas team, but a close loss to an SEC squad nevertheless. Central Florida fell to Missouri and Ohio State by comparison. That didn't hep a ton. I think this game is kind of a toss up. Both teams just met a couple weeks ago and it was a tight game and I'm expecting the same here. I'll give the slight edge to the Golden Hurricane for being at home.
Tulsa 30, Central Florida 28
No. 23 Oklahoma State at Baylor, Noon FX
Baylor has come on strong in recent weeks to get to 6-5 and become bowl eligible. The Bears crushed No. 1 Kansas State two weeks ago and then, last week, beat Texas Tech in overtime. I say they ride the wave of momentum and top the Cowboys
Baylor 54, Oklahoma State 50
No. 11 Oklahoma at TCU, Noon ESPN
TCU isn't playing for much here -- it is bowl eligible already with seven wins -- but the Sooners must win for a chance to win the Big 12 and go to a BCS bowl. If they win, then Kansas State must win later in the evening against Texas to win the conference. If the Horned Frogs beat the Sooners, however, then Kansas State wins the Big 12 even if it loses to the Longhorns. I think the motivation will be enough for Oklahoma to pull this one out.
Oklahoma 34, TCU 21
Middle Tennessee at Arkansas State, 3 p.m. ESPN3.com
Am I picking the winner for the Sun Belt title game? Yes, I am. Why not? Looks like this "championship game" was a happy accident or good scheduling by the conference, much like the Louisville-Rutgers game Thursday. This isn't an official conference title game, but it ends up being so with both teams at 8-3 and one loss in the conference. I'll give the Red Wolves the edge at home over the Blue Raiders. A clash of colors. Viewers will be seeing purple by the end of it.
Arkansas State 34, Middle Tennessee 24
SEC Championship
No. 2 Alabama vs. No. 3 Georgia in Atlanta, 4 p.m. CBS
This is, of course, the big game Saturday. A national semifinal if you will. The winner will take on Notre Dame in the BCS national championship. If I asked you which of these teams was in the SEC title game last year, I bet some of you would be fooled and answer, "Alabama!" But you'd be wrong. The Crimson Tide lost last year to LSU and it was LSU that had the berth from the SEC West. It was Georgia that was actually the SEC East's representative in Atlanta last year. However, it was a but a footnote in LSU's trip to the national championship, as the Tigers stomped UGA 42-10. The Bulldogs are hoping to not just be a footnote on the Crimson Tide's way to the national championship this year. They should have a lot better chance than in last year's game. Lots of analysts are giving them a good shot in this contest. Except for a couple consecutive games in the middle of the season (35-7 loss to South Carolina and 29-24 win over Kentucky) Georgia hasn't played poorly at all this season. In fact, the Dawgs have dominated most of their opponents. In their last four games against FBS opponents, they've allowed 9, 10, 0, and 10 points. Not bad at all. Alabama has been on point all season, save for one slip up at home against Texas A&M. Both teams are led by great quarterbacks. For the Bulldogs, that is junior Aaron Murray. He's completed 66.6 percent of his passes for 3,201 yards, 30 TDs, and 7 INTs. On the Tide's sideline, junior A.J. McCarron has completed 67.2 percent of his passes for 2,507 yards, 25 TDs, and just two INTs. Even though Murray is the more impressive signal caller, I trust McCarron more to get it done in big games, and he's done so this year against LSU and in last year's national championship. Also, Alabama has a better running game than Georgia does (24th in yards compared to 39th in yards). And both defenses are nasty, but Alabama's a bit more so (1st in points per game allowed at 9.3 vs. 16th in points per game allowed at 17.7). I also give the coaching edge to Nick Saban over Mark Richt. Does anyone have a coaching edge over Saban these days?
Alabama 28, Georgia 24
ACC Championship
No. 13 Florida State vs. Georgia Tech in Charlotte, 8 p.m. ESPN
In what is sure to be a scantily attended game, the Seminoles will try to match up with the Yellow Jackets' triple-option attack. Why would FSU fans head north to colder temperatures and watch a game their team should win easily when they can just go to the Orange Bowl in a month in their home state? And Georgia Tech is just 6-6, not actually that good (though it was on a roll until last week when it fell to UGA 42-10), and Jacket fans don't travel well. So it will be interesting to see if this one gets out of the 20,000-30,000 range. It is not Orange Bowl or bust for the Yellow Jackets. They will still be bowl eligible if they lose this game and are 6-7. The same thing happened to UCLA last year when it lost to Oregon in the Pac-12 title contest and the Bruins fell to 6-7. Both the Bruins and Jackets are in these games because of the transgressions of other schools in their conferences, so why punish them? I'm fine with that. But on the football field, yeah, I think Georgia Tech should fall to 6-7. I can't see FSU squandering its opportunity to go to a BCS bowl for the first time since 2006 when it lost to Penn State in the Orange Bowl. The Seminoles defense is too good and too quick to get run over by the triple-option.
Florida State 36, Georgia Tech 20
No. 18 Texas at No. 6 Kansas State, 8 p.m. ABC
I don't think the result of the Oklahoma-TCU game will matter because I think the Wildcats will run wild over the Longhorns in Manhattan, the "Little Apple," and win the Big 12 and head to a BCS game. Kansas State cannot be happy about its loss to Baylor two weeks ago which knocked it from the national championship hunt and it has had two weeks to sit on it and simmer. Texas cannot stop the run (101st in the country) and that is KSU QB Colin Klein and his team's specialty.
Kansas State 49, Texas 32
Big Ten Championship
No. 13 Nebraska vs. Wisconsin in Indianapolis, 8:17 p.m. FOX
Instead of Ohio State or Penn State in this game -- two teams which finished ahead of the Badgers in the Big Ten Leaders Division -- Wisconsin will take on the Cornhuskers. Nebraska beat Wisconsin, 30-27, at home in late September. Since losing 63-38 to Ohio State, Nebraska has won six games in a row. Meanwhile, Wisconsin is 7-5 and has lost two games in a row, to Ohio State and Penn State, both in overtime. The Badgers better not hope this game goes into OT. In addition to those two "Ls," Wisconsin is 0-3 in overtime games this year because it also lost to Michigan State in overtime Oct. 27.
Nebraska 27, Wisconsin 20
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VIRGINIA BASKETBALL
It has been an emotional week for coach Tony Bennett. He's seen his young team come together and quickly improve and on Wednesday, the Cavs won at Wisconsin in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. Bennett coached under both his dad, Dick, and Wisconsin's current coach, Bo Ryan, at Wisconsin so the win meant a lot to Bennett.
For a great read on just what it meant, check out Daily Progress columnist Jerry Ratcliffe's latest offering: http://www.dailyprogress.com/cavalierinsider/m_basketball/article_4059fafa-3b4c-11e2-ae51-0019bb30f31a.html
A portion of the article:
"For Bennett, the emotions continued to flow afterward when ESPN analyst Doris Bruke conducted a post-game interview and touched upon Tony's dad and what it meant to have him around. Tony's voice cracked and he cut things off as quickly as he could.
 |
| UVa coach Tony Bennett |
“'I didn’t mean to come off like a blubbering whatever, but it happened and hopefully it wasn’t too much,'” Bennett chuckled.
It was actually a nice moment, a touching moment for the Bennett family and for Wahoo Nation.
When it was all over, Tony called his dad from the team bus to share the victory with the most important man in his life.
Dick Bennett put a punctuation mark on the evening with his message to his son.
“'Tell those young fellas on the bus they made an old man very happy,'” Dick Bennett said.
Nothing else needed to be said.
Now, today at 4 p.m. at John Paul Jones Arena, Bennett will take on his alma mater, Green Bay, where he ended his career as the NCAA's all-time career 3-point percentage leader and still is. As if playing the school his dad helped revive and where he was an assistant wasn't enough, now he has to play the school where he spent his college life. The trip through the past continues for Bennett today, and the emotion, too, probably. Virginia defeated Green Bay 68-42 last year. UVa is 5-2 on the season and trying to win its fifth straight contest.
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