November Madness?

The BCS is a disaster - and that's an understatement. Oklahoma State lost.  Oklahoma lost again.  Oregon lost again.  Stanford easily could have lost.  Virginia Tech could very well lost to Clemson....it's a disaster. But the BCS has one thing right at the moment - the top 3 teams are in the SEC.

I just want to remind all Gator fans that no matter what happens this weekend, one thing will always be true:

This is the back of the shirt I'll wear Saturday

I have never respected FSU, and I won't start now.  The Gator football team may be pathetic (seriously, who trails FURMAN 22-7 in the first quarter in the Swamp? No excuse for that.), but I always stand behind my team.  And let us all rejoice: IT IS BRANTLEY'S LAST GAME IN THE SWAMP!

Beyond that, I would love to see Penn State beat Wisconsin 36-33 - just like the awful basketball game last season in the Big Ten Tournament.

I have recently had a lot of questions about how the BCS system works.  Beyond that, I've had macho guys screaming at me that I'm not allowed to talk about the BCS because I haven't endured the "pain and sacrifice" of playing football.  Clearly that's a moronic statement.  This should help those of you who are confused.

Basically, I told someone that if Houston wins out, the Cougars will go to a BCS bowl game.  And I'm right.  He told me they can't.  At the time, Houston was ranked 11 and Boise State was ranked 10.  He told me Boise State would get in, Houston would not.  His rationale, of course, was that there are 10 teams invited to the BCS, and Houston was not one of the "top 10" teams.  My response, of course, was that he has no idea what he's talking about.  I asked him where UConn was ranked last year when the Huskies were invited to a BCS bowl game.  (Hint: UConn was not ranked in the top 25)

The fact is, if Houston wins two more games, Case Keenum & Co. will get an automatic berth in a BCS bowl game.  Boise State will not.  With TCU's win last week, Boise State now cannot win the MWC.  Don't get me wrong, Boise State has had a great season.  Only one loss, and by just one point.  But until they play in a BCS conference, this doesn't mean much to the BCS selection committee.

Also, fans need to remember...as good as the SEC is, they'll probably only have 2 teams playing in BCS bowl games (most likely LSU in the championship and Alabama in the Sugar Bowl).  I believe there is a BCS provision in which a 3rd team could be invited to play in a BCS bowl (most likely the Sugar Bowl) if the BCS Championship features 2 SEC teams.  But honestly, I don't want to see a rematch of Alabama-LSU, and I'm not sure why so many people do.

With that said, please refer to the handbook I linked to before you come at me with dumb/sexist comments.  For the most part, I know what I'm talking about.

A side note: Many rumors have been swirling about Urban Meyer returning to coaching - and going to the school I love to hate: Ohio State.  WHY?! Seriously, Urban, what are you thinking? You leave Florida to go to a team of liars and cheaters? That's brilliant.  But I guess if you're gonna lie to Gator Nation about not being able to coach anymore, you'll fit right in.  Urban, if all of this is true, you are dead to me.  I'll await further reports before I lose all respect for Meyer, but I don't like what I've heard so far.

On to basketball....

6 games I'm looking forward to:

Duke vs. Kansas tonight at 10pm
Jacksonville at Florida (Friday at 7pm)
South Carolina vs North Carolina (Friday at 10pm)
Xavier at Vanderbilt (Monday at 7pm)
Stetson vs. Florida (Monday at 7pm)
Duke vs Ohio State (Tuesday at 9:30pm)


...I know I usually do 5, but I threw in South Carolina/North Carolina because I want to see how our SEC East competition matches up against a quality opponent.

Nebraska better beat Iowa Friday night and Rutgers better beat UConn Saturday to - yes, this is possible - keep hope alive for a BCS bid.  Rah Rah!

GO GATORS!!!!!! BEAT THE SEMINOLES!!!! (Can't wait to do my "UF Rejects!" cheer!!)

The NBA Lockout Is No Problem For Me

Finally, it's college basketball season.  I'm watching UNC beat Michigan State right now, and I'm loving every minute of it.  Florida (not surprisingly) destroyed Jackson State.  Florida has a ton of scoring options this year, and I'm so excited about it.  Tuesday will be a big road test.  Usually the Gators aren't warmed up enough by the second season of the game.  But PLEASE guys.  I'm begging.  PLEASE beat Ohio State in Columbus.  It would make me a very, very happy person.

5 games I'm looking forward to in the next week:

FLORIDA @ Ohio State
Kentucky vs Kansas
Duke vs Michigan State
San Diego State @ Baylor
St. John's vs. Arizona

...and of course I'm excited for North Florida @ Florida.  Beal and Rosario are great additions for Florida.  Can't wait to see what the Gators can do against ranked opponents!

Ah, the glory days...

Speaking of the past, Florida Football faces Spurrier tomorrow in South Carolina.  Muschamp - don't disappoint us.  A win tomorrow = bowl eligibility!  Nebraska plays Penn State tomorrow.  Sadly, no one in Happy Valley is focused on football right now.  I keep saying the Gators should recruit Paterno as a coach.  I still like him.  I just (obviously) have no respect for Sandusky.  Sidenote: I still can't believe Nebraska lost to Northwestern.  Rutgers plays Army tomorrow in New York.  Rah Rah!

TCU and Boise State meet in Boise tomorrow.  This is a big game.  And not just for the Broncos and Horned Frogs.  The Houston Cougars are pulling for TCU tomorrow.  Last night, Keenum & company beat Tulane 73-17 to remain undefeated.  A TCU win tomorrow would put Houston into the BCS bowl discussion.

Oregon @ Stanford is another big one.  Oregon could knock Stanford out of the championship discussion.  This should be a good one.  Stanford has home advantage, but I'm gonna pick Oregon over Stanford as my upset of the week - Even if Stanford has Luck on its side.  Unrelated note: Let's go Iowa! Beat Michigan State so Nebraska can be back on track for Indianapolis!

GO GATORS!!!!! Beat the Gamecocks!!!!

The Good, The Bad & The Ugly

The Good: It's almost basketball season.

The Bad: The Florida football team still looks awful.

The Ugly: Mark Richt.  Seriously, dude.  THREE RBs fail a drug test BEFORE the Florida-Georgia game, and you suspend them for New Mexico State? That is not okay.

Anyway, Florida DESTROYED Catholic in its opening exhibition basketball game.  And Billy D got to see his son, so that was nice.  More to come on basketball in the coming weeks!

So today we have the "GAME OF THE CENTURY."  I hear strong arguments for both sides.  But I'm picking LSU over Alabama.  Partly because I hate Alabama more.  Partly because I think the honey badger is better than Richardson.  And well, mostly because Les Miles is the luckiest man in college football, and LSU always seems to shine in years when the National Championship game is in Louisiana.  So as a Gator, it pains me to say this, but "Geaux Tigers." ::sigh::

More importantly in the world of Gators, it's homecoming! I wish that mean Brantley was going home.  He was supposed to be a psychological help last week.  That didn't work out.  He made me want to throw things at the tv and pull my hair out.  Throwing the ball out of bounds immediately when no one is rushing you is NOT a game strategy.  And I can't even blame Weis for that.  That was just Brantley doing his best impression of Dan Werner.  Brantley, you've had your chance.  It's time for one of the freshman to take over and prepare for next season.  Come on Gators, win for homecoming!!!

A few picks today:

Rutgers over USF (Rah! Rah!)
Nebraska over Northwestern (Go Big Red!)
Oklahoma State over Kansas State
Random upset pick: South Carolina over Arkansas
and of course, LSU over Alabama

Not too many high-profile games this week.  LSU-Alabama is in a league of its own (other than the obvious that they're both in the SEC West, they're obviously the best 2 teams in the country - this is the actual national championship game.)

The Florida game is at 12:21pm on the SEC Network - so I'm off to a Gator bar early to celebrate Gator homecoming.

GO GATORS!