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!

The World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party

So, I didn't see that Oklahoma loss coming - but they better be careful this weekend, or it could be 2 in a row.  Kansas State has looked pretty good! I still think Oklahoma State is winning the Big 12, though.  Can't say I was surprised about Wisconsin losing.  After all, that was the one upset I mentioned in my last post.  Houston is still undefeated and still getting no respect - but then again, the Cougars might be the only team in the BCS top 25 with an easier schedule than Wisconsin's.  They're gonna need TCU to beat Boise State to even make a case for deserving a BCS bid.  And even then, it would be a tough sell.

Typical Georgia fans....no description needed.

So the Gators had a week off.  Hopefully they did something productive with the bye week.  Our new coach will square off against his alma mater for the first time as Florida's head coach.  Muschamp, don't disappoint us.  Georgia has lost 18 of the last 21 meetings, just remember that.  Let's make that 19 of 22, okay? Thanks.

This game is widely known as "The World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party."  What always amazes me are the crisp lines splitting the crowd.  One half - red and black.  The better half - orange and blue.  Now, anyone who knows me well knows I'm not a big fan of the state of Georgia in general.  And so, each year during Florida-Georgia week, I repeatedly sing a catchy tune.  In fact, it is currently my ringtone.  Have a listen:

Versions of this song exist for South Carolina and Georgia Tech as well.  No one likes Georgia.  And those who do...well...they secretly like the Gators better anyway, and when given the opportunity, they'll switch over to support the Gators.  Right, Will Muschamp?

Florida-Georgia 2009

The Gators MUST win this weekend.  Seriously.  They must.  Fourth ranked opponent in a row.  I know the SEC West is tough, but I'd like to keep hope that Florida can at least beat all the teams in the SEC East.  And they will have a psychological advantage this week: Brantley is expected to return! Hopefully he'll give the Gators the boost they need to win this game.  I'm hearing Demps is at full speed, too.  Muschamp, if you want to establish hope for the program under your reign as coach, you MUST beat Tennessee, Georgia and Florida State.  You took care of Tennessee on the road.  Beat your alma mater in neutral territory.  Worry about the Seminoles next month.

In other news, Rutgers-West Virginia is on ABC at 3:30pm (at least where I'll be watching).  It's nice when Rutgers gets attention from ABC - even if the regionalization of games is very lopsided.  Nova, I know you're a freshman - but no late game interceptions this week.  Harrison, if Nova throws you a pass that even I would catch 99 out of 100 times, you need to catch that ball!! And Te, you're better than this.  No more missed field goals that we all know you could make in your sleep.  Got it??? Thanks.  Talking about Rutgers has put me in the mood for a fat sandwich from the Grease Trucks.... I expect Nebraska won't let me down in its 12 noon game against the Spartans on ESPN.

My trouble this weekend? I might miss the end of the Nebraska game to catch the Florida kickoff (3:30pm on CBS!), and I can only watch Rutgers during commercials, in picture-in-picture or on split screen.  Oh, the troubles of a football fan....

GO GATORS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (To hell with Georgia!!)

Right after Florida beat Georgia in 2009.  Notice the sky is orange and blue!

The Gators Need a Break!

You Got Gator'd!

This bye week couldn't come at a better time for the Gators.  Nothing about this team makes sense anymore.  The offense looks confused.  The defense looks lazy.  The coaching staff has no clue who to put in or what plays to run.  It just doesn't look good.  The good news is the Gators can't lose this weekend! I'll continue to support the Gators no matter what, though. "In all kinds of weather..."


I'm watching Rutgers play Louisville right now, and I really hope the Scarlet Knights can pull out a win on the road.  Can Syracuse beat West Virginia to help give Rutgers a cushion?  Nebraska should have no trouble with Minnesota tomorrow.  LSU's suspensions could give Auburn an advantage, but I still think the winning Tigers will be from LSU.  I don't see too many big upsets happening this weekend, but I think the best chance would be Michigan State shocking Wisconsin.  Anyone else remember last year?

Anyway, let's talk about what Gator fans REALLY care about this weekend (other than hoping Maryland beats FSU!).

Sunday the Dolphins are hosting "Gator Day" to honor the Florida Gators 2008 National Championship football team when Miami takes on Denver.  Could there be a better time for Tim Tebow to take over as the starting QB for the Broncos? Probably not. 

What will Merril Hoge say after the game? Tebow has a great chance to lead the Broncos to victory, but unfortunately, they play arguably the worst team in the NFL.  The Dolphins haven't won a game this season.  The Broncos have only won a single game, but they almost won a second when Tebow stepped in for Orton.  I am sure that Hoge will downplay whatever Tebow does simply because it will be against the Dolphins.  Tebow could score 100 points by himself this game and Hoge would still say he "can't play."  Hoge sound jealous to anyone else? Tebow stays out of trouble, helps people in need and works harder than anyone else, but he'll always have haters.

But Tebow - don't worry about the haters.  Focus on the Gators - we'll always appreciate you.

UF is still the best team in Florida...even if none are ranked

So the Gators had another disappointing week - but come on.  They've lost to the top 2 teams in the country.  That's better than losing to Oklahoma, Clemson and Wake Forest.  Yes, FSU, that's a shot at you.  Nebraska didn't show up until the 2nd half against Ohio State.  I keep hyping Martinez, and everyone says I'm out of my mind.  But FINALLY.  Second half against Ohio State.  Martinez and Burkhead showed me what Nebraska is all about.  And how about my other team in Red? Big win over Pitt! Way to go RU!!

I was not at all surprised with Arkansas's performance over Auburn.  Kansas State continues to build confidence.  Purdue and Minnesota continue to be awful.  Against all odds, Ron Zook is undefeated.  As expected, Alabama crushed Vanderbilt and Oklahoma destroyed overrated Texas.  Question: Why is Texas A&M ranked? Seriously though, I know it will sound biased coming from me, but: how are losses to Oklahoma State and Arkansas better than losses to the TOP TWO teams in the country?  The media bias never ceases to amaze me....

Week 7 picks:

Wisconsin will beat Indiana.  Real tough schedule, Badgers.  Part of me wants to see Wisconsin stay undefeated and get destroyed by an SEC team in the national championship.  This is simply because my brother is a Badger, and he does not understand that the SEC is far superior to the Big Ten, and that being the "best" in the Big Ten means absolutely nothing.  Can't wait for Zook to beat Ohio State.  0-3 start for the Buckeyes in conference! I really don't care who wins the Michigan-Michigan State game, but I'll pick the Spartans because there is absolutely no reason for the Wolverines to be ranked No. 11.  Penn State and Paterno pound Purdue.  (How's that for alliteration?)

In the Big 12: Oklahoma State will handle Texas with ease.  Baylor at Texas A&M should be a good one, and even if the Aggies have home advantage, I'm picking the Bears.  I like Baylor's QB, and I think the Bears are angry after last week's letdown.  I think Kansas State will ride its confidence high to a win at Texas Tech, and Oklahoma will have no trouble beating Kansas.

Credit my brother for the picture of ducks

Pac 12: Arizona State will keep things interesting at Oregon, but I have to pick the Ducks at home.  Do I even have to pick the Stanford game? Blowout city.  Washington State isn't good.  Washington beats Colorado.

ACC: UNC beats Miami.  FSU should end the losing streak at Duke.  But let me say this...if Duke pulls the upset, every person who votes for the AP Poll and USA Today Poll will get a personal letter from me about redefining the word "overrated" for the Seminoles.  Georgia Tech should beat Virginia.  Virginia Tech is better than FSU, so I'll pick the Hokies over Wake Forest.  Clemson will continue to be overrated with a win at Maryland.  Hint: Winning at Maryland does not mean you're good.

It's really hard for me to pick Big East games right now because the conference games are not easy to watch.  Does anyone really care about UConn-USF? I know I don't.  Rutgers is out of conference this week.  Guaranteed win over Navy.  West Virginia looks like the Scarlet Knights' competition for the Big East title.  Come on boys, this is "R" year.

The last time I went to a Florida-Auburn game (2007)

In the beSt confErenCe: LSU should blow out Tennessee.  Spurrier beats Dan Mullen.  Gotta pick former Gator head coach over former Gator offensive coordinator.  Alabama beats Ole Miss.  Surprise, surprise, I'm picking FLORIDA over Auburn.  This is the one team in the SEC Urban Meyer never beat.  But you know what? Meyer is gone.  Muschamp can make us all proud this weekend with a long overdue win over Auburn.  The only question is: who will start at quarterback? I keep saying since this game doesn't matter, let's let Tebow and Newton come back and settle the debate on who was a better college quarterback...

GO GATORS!!!!!!! (And Go Scarlet Knights! Nebraska is off this week...so they can't lose!)

College Football Week 5 Review, Week 6 Picks

Last weekend was not a good weekend for me.  Yes, Ohio State lost and I smiled - ok, maybe I pointed and laughed.  Yes, Rutgers came through over Syracuse, but that was an early game - and it was all downhill from there.  Florida and Nebraska both started strong and forgot to finish.  And to make matters worse, the Jets didn't show up Sunday!

Kansas State pulled off a late-game drive to upset Baylor.  Arkansas came back and beat Texas A&M.  That's 2 weeks in a row Texas A&M blew a significant lead.  Clemson continues its lucky run.  South Carolina couldn't beat Auburn even with home advantage - so I have hope for the Gators when they face Spurrier on November 12.

So John Brantley actually had a decent start against Alabama, but once he threw a pick, he lost all confidence and choked.  Then he got hurt.  And then the game was just...awful.  Also, I now have major doubts about Charlie Weis's ability to coach against an SEC defense.  Seriously, Weis, you can't run Demps or Rainey up the middle into the brick wall that is Alabama's defense.  The way to win that game would have been throwing down the field.  I hope Weis doesn't try the same thing against LSU.  LSU is so far the best college football team in the country this season.  The only thing working in the Gators' favor is that LSU - much like all Gator fans - has no idea what to expect.  I can't say much about the Nebraska game because I didn't see much of it.  The Huskers and Gators played at the same time, and well, the Gators come first in my world.

On to Week 6 picks...

Cal loses at Oregon.  Boise State won't lose at Fresno State Friday - but the Broncos may be caught off guard with a tougher game than they expect.  Georgia Tech rolls over Maryland.  West Virginia beats UConn.  UNC beats Louisville.  Purdue will beat Minnesota in a battle to see who is the worst team in the Big Ten.

Go Gators!

Oklahoma wins the Red River Rivalry.  Kentucky loses again (*shock*) at South Carolina.  Kansas isn't pulling an upset - Oklahoma State wins.  Missouri has a chance at Kansas State, but I think Kansas State built a lot of confidence last week, and they'll likely win again.  Miami loses at Virginia Tech.  Arizona State wins at Utah.

Florida better put up a fight at LSU, to say the least.  I will pick the Gators to win because I always do, but let it be known that I think LSU will win the SEC, and that LSU has the best chance of going undefeated in the SEC.  The Tigers are talented, and Les Miles is the luckiest man alive.  In another 3:30pm game, I will pick Rutgers over Pitt.

Later in the day....Arkansas over Auburn.  Nebraska beats Ohio State.  Let me say this, if the Huskers somehow forget the basics of football and lose to an awful Ohio State team, I will not pick Nebraska in any games for the rest of the season.  Now, considering Martinez is about 1000 times better than Miller/Bauserman, I'm forced to say GO BIG RED.  Huskers win this one in Lincoln.  And big, I hope.

GO GATORS!!!!!!!!! Go Scarlet Knights!  Go Huskers!