Bowl Projections

First off, this may all be wrong. I'm speculating on what may happen this Saturday. But it's still fun, so below are my predictions for the BCS bowls as well as some rambling.


College Football has been insane this year. I must say, I used to be one of the people that thought it was crazy that there was no playoff, and I was behind the idea of instituting one. But, that was when you have multiple (like more than 2) undefeateds, or Lots of 1 loss teams, and it's tough to decide who should play in the Championship. In a season like this, the season WAS the playoff. It just goes to show how important Every game is. If you lose, too bad, that could be the whole season. I'm not sure what the real answer is. I originally thought an 8 team playoff would be good. Now I think maybe a 4 team. This works best if you have say 1 undefeated team, and 3 1 loss teams. It's tough to choose which 1 loss team should play in the Championship, so have a 4 team playoff. But then what if the 5th ranked team also only has 1 loss? They lose out? Or what if there are 2 teams undefeated? That works out perfect, you just let them play. But if there was 4 team playoff, 2 one loss teams would be included with them, which doesn't seem fair.

Anyway, as for this season, I think LSU had the most talent, and probably was the "best" team, but they couldn't get it done when it counted. Les Miles is probably gonna go to Michigan, which is perfect because I already don't like him :) For all my Michigan hating, I actually think Lloyd Carr was a very good coach, and it's a shame to see him go.

Before their QB's got hurt, I thought Oregon, and Oklahoma were probably the next best teams in the country. So basically, you're going to end up with a title game of teams that I don't think really deserve to be there, but hey, they won their games. I think Missouri will lose to Oklahoma (who's QB is back) in the Big 12 title game. That leaves us with a National title game of West Virginia vs. Ohio State. What's funny, is Ohio State probably has a better chance of winning that game then it did the year before against Florida, when the Buckeyes were heavily favoured.

Florida's another crazy team. I don't like them, so I'm glad they lost 3 times, but I'm not really sure how they lost 3 times. Another team that's better than their record. If you put them up against Ohio State or West Virginia right now they would be right in it. Really, all the teams in the top 10 right now would probably give each other a serious run for their money.

Trying to figure out the bowl match ups is guesswork. We're trying to predict who the bowls will want to be playing there. Some picks are automatic as the bowl is aligned with a certain conference. They look like this:
Rose-Big Ten Champ, Pac-10 Champ
Sugar-SEC Champ
Fiesta-Big 12 Champ
Orange-ACC Champ

The only BCS conference that doesn't have a specific bowl/champ agreement is the Big East.

The biggest loser Saturday could be Missouri. Right now they are the number one team in the country. Lose to Oklahoma and they probably miss a BCS bowl entirely! Each conference can only have two teams in the BCS. The Big 12 would have Oklahoma and either Kansas/Missouri. That is gonna be one crazy choice. Missouri beat Kansas, but then lost to Oklahoma twice (assuming that happens). Are they really going to select that 2 loss Missouri team? I see things playing out like this.

Title Game-West Virginia vs. Ohio State

The Rose Bowl loses Ohio State, so they get to choose next. They can not select Conference Champions just at large teams. They may want to take a Big 10 team, but the most attractive is Illinois. I bet they skip the Big 10 and take the most attractive at-large team, Georgia. So we have

Rose Bowl-USC vs. Georgia (good game)

The Orange Bowl chooses next. Of the at-large teams out there Kansas is probably the most attractive.

Orange Bowl-Virginia Tech vs. Kansas

The Fiesta Bowl chooses next. They automatically get Oklahoma as Big 12 champ, and being in Arizona, 10-2 Arizona St. fits in perfectly

Fiesta Bowl-Oklahoma vs. Arizona St.

Finally the Sugar Bowl gets LSU as SEC champ, and Hawaii who will gain an automatic berth per the BCS rules.

Sugar Bowl-LSU vs. Hawaii

So, who were the losers? Missouri. They're really just the only worthy team that would be left out. Florida would also be a good choice but the SEC already has LSU and Georgia, so no argument there. All of this of course hinges on LSU beating Tennessee, WVU beating Pittsburgh, Oklahoma beating Missouri, Arizona St. beating Arizona, USC beating UCLA, Virginia Tech beating Boston College, and Hawaii beating Washington. Clearly, things could change. The only people that are sitting pretty are Ohio State (who at worst is going to the Rose Bowl), and Georgia (who will probably be the most coveted at-large team). I also think Kansas is in good shape. We'll see how this all turns out come Saturday after the games, and then Sunday when the actual selections are announced.

Football Rankings

For the second time this year, the number 1 and 2 ranked teams both lost in the same week. Should we have expected anything different? The Tigers are still atop the rankings, only they're new Tigers. Chase Daniel had an awesome game, and led Missouri to a 36-28 win over unbeaten Kansas. This year has been crazy. The only team that's safe right now is Ohio State. They've played all their games. And with 11 wins and 1 loss, are just waiting for one of the teams ahead of them to slip up next week, and all of a sudden, the Buckeyes could find themselves in the National title game. Next weeks re-match in the Big 12 title game between Oklahoma and Missouri should be fantastic. Missouri only lost once this year, and it was to the Sooners. If Oklahoma beats them again, they can kiss good by to a National title (and Ohio State will be celebrating).

25. Boise State (10-2)

24. Brigham Young (9-2)

23. Texas Tech (8-4)
22. Auburn (8-4)

21. South Florida (9-3)

20. Oregon (8-3)

19. Wisconsin (9-3)

18. Virginia (9-3)

17. Clemson (9-3)

16. Texas (9-3)

15. Tennessee (9-3)

14. Illinois (9-3)

13. Arizona State (9-2)

12. Hawaii (11-0)

11. Boston College (10-2)

10. Florida (9-3)

9. USC (9-2)

8. Virginia Tech (10-2)

7. Oklahoma (10-2)

6. Georgia (10-2)

5. Kansas (11-1)

4. LSU (10-2)

3. Ohio State (11-1)

2. West Virginia (10-1)

1. Missouri (11-1)

Football Rankings

Well, lets see who's fallen this week: Oregon played Thursday night, losing their QB early in the game, and lost to Arizona. They're done. Oklahoma gets their QB knocked out early in the game and lost to Texas Tech. They're done. Ohio State beat the hated Michigan Wolverines, making last weeks loss to Illinois even harder to swallow. The way things are going I wouldn't count the Buckeyes out of the title game just yet. It's still a long shot, but nothing would surprise me. Thursday night my prediction for the title game was LSU-Oregon. By Saturday that had changed to LSU-Oklahoma, and now, I'm calling LSU-West Virginia. In an interesting scenario, Tennessee managed to beat Vanderbilt by 1 point yesterday to stay atop the SEC East. I think this is great for LSU. If they have to play Tennessee in the SEC title game, I think LSU definitely wins. Had Tennessee lost yesterday, Georgia would have been back in control of the SEC East, and I think a Georgia-LSU title game would be much harder for the Tigers. So Vandy, LSU says thank you for losing.

25. Cincinnati (9-2)
24. Texas Tech (8-4)
23. South Florida (8-3)
22. Clemson (8-3)
21. Connecticut (9-2)
20. Wisconsin (9-3)
19. Tennessee (8-3)
18. Virginia (9-2)
17. Illinois (9-3)
16. Boston College (9-2)
15. Boise State (10-1)
14. Hawaii (10-0)
13. Oregon (8-2)
12. Florida (8-3)
11. USC (8-2)
10. Texas (9-2)
9. Virginia Tech (9-2)
8. Oklahoma (8-2)
7. Georgia (9-2)
6. Arizona State (9-1)
5. Ohio State (11-1)
4. Missouri (10-1)
3. West Virginia (9-1)
2. Kansas (11-0)
1. LSU (10-1)

2005 in Songs

First off, 2005 was not a great year for albums so I'm not doing a list. As for the songs, a lot of the best were from records that were actually released late in 2004, but got big in 2005.

2005 Song of the Year

17. Woman-Wolfmother

16. My Humps-Black Eyed Peas

15. Beverly Hills-Weezer

14. Hollaback Girl-Gwen Stefani

13. Don't Phunk With My Heart-Black Eyed Peas

12. You're Beautiful-James Blunt

11. Numb/Encore-Jay-Z and Linkin Park

10. Boulevard of Broken Dreams-Green Day

9. Pump It-Black Eyed Peas

8. Behind These Hazel Eyes-Kelly Clarkson

7. Sugar We're Going Down-Fall Out Boy

6. Jesus of Suburbia-Green Day

5. Gold Digger-Kanye West

4. Since You've Been Gone-Kelly Clarkson

3. Do You Want To?-Franz Ferdinand

2. Hide and Seek- Imogen Heap

1. All These Things That I've Done-The Killers

Best of 2004

Continuing the Song of the Year series we arrive at 2004. Where 2003 was dominated by Hip Hop, 2004 for me was more about the good ole Rock. I'm also gonna throw my best album list in here.

Best Album 2004

5. Scissor Sisters-Scissor Sisters

4. Franz Ferdinand-Franz Ferdinand

3. Hot Fuss-The Killers (for the record, this is my favourite band of the past 7 years or so)

2. The College Dropout-Kanye West

1. American Idiot-Green Day

Song of the Year 2004

15. Matinee-Franz Ferdinand

14. Family Business-Kanye West

13. Are You Gonna Be My Girl-Jet

12. My Happy Ending-Avril Lavigne

11. Somewhere Only We Know-Keane

10. Somebody Told Me-The Killers

9. Through the Wire-Kanye West

8. Take Your Mama-Scissor Sisters

7. White Houses-Vanessa Carlton

6. Take Me Out-Franz Ferdinand

5. American Idiot-Green Day

4. Us-Regina Spektor

3. Jesus Walks-Kanye West

2. Mr.Brightside-The Killers

1. Live Like You Were Dying-Tim McGraw

Lets hear your opinions in the comments section, and also what you think might be song of the year for 2007.

Music

As we're getting closer to the end of the year, I've begun thinking about what might win my annual Song of the Year award. I then realised that for the past 2 years I've had a blog I haven't bothered to put up my song of the year list. So Starting today we're going to go all the way back to 2002, work our way through the years, and finishing with the 2007 list which will be unveiled in December. There is one disclaimer, trying to figure out what year to use a song in can be annoying. Like, if the album came out in 2001, but the single got airplay in 2002, what year would it go in? (I say 2002). Tougher still is what to do with a song that gets released at the end of one year, but makes it big at the start of the following year. Again tough call. So basically, don't complain about the dates. Just enjoy the list.


2002 Song of the Year

8. The Middle-Jimmy Eat World

7. Complicated-Avril Lavigne

6. Somewhere Out There-Our Lady Peace

5. This Train Don't Stop There Anymore-Elton John

4. Beautiful Mess-Diamond Rio

3. Work It-Missy Elliot

2. By the Way-Red Hot Chili Peppers

1. Landslide-The Dixie Chicks



2003 Song of the Year

11. Swing, Swing-The All American Rejects

10. In Da Club-50 Cent

9. Bring Me To Life-Evanescence

8. Unwell-Matchbox 20

7. P.I.M.P-50 Cent

6. Gossip Folks-Missy Elliot

5. Ignition (Remix)-R.Kelly

4. Such Great Heights-The Postal Service

3. Crazy in Love-Beyonce, ft. Jay Z

2. Where is the Love?-Black Eyed Peas

1. Hey Ya-Outkast

Football Rankings

Oh my. Down goes Number 1...again. One week before their big showdown, both Ohio State, AND Michigan lose. Were they looking ahead? Possibly. But we can't look past the fact that they were playing decent teams. This year the Big Ten is the new SEC. Everybody beats everybody, and you have a whole bunch of 3/4 loss teams, and no undefeateds (in fact the top team could finish with 2 losses). Kansas looked darned good again, and I can't wait to see what happens in the Missouri game. The winner is most likely going to get a shot at Oklahoma, and that's going to be some game in and of itself. If Kansas prevails and finishes the season with wins over Missouri, and Oklahoma, it's going to be pretty tough to keep them out of the BCS championship game.

25. Cincinnati (8-2)

24. Penn State (8-3)

23. Michigan (8-3)

22. Wisconsin (8-3)

21. Kentucky (7-3)

20. Virginia (9-2)

19. Illinois (8-3)

18. Tennessee (7-3)

17. Boston College (8-2)

16. Clemson (8-2)

15. Boise State (9-1)

14. Hawaii (9-0)

13. Florida (7-3)

12. USC (8-2)

11. Texas (9-2)

10. Virginia Tech (8-2)

9. Georgia (8-2)

8. Arizona State (9-1)

7. Ohio State (10-1)

6. Missouri (9-1)

5. West Virginia (8-1)

4. Oklahoma (9-1)

3. Kansas (10-0)

2. Oregon (8-1)

1. LSU (9-1)

Football Rankings

Another week, another upset. Saw this one coming though, as BC should have lost to Virginia Tech, and I just thought there was no way they were going to finish unbeaten. A lot of SEC teams at the back of the pack. The same things happening that all the SEC fans talk about, their teams all beat up on each other, and it's tough to come out of that conference with even 2 losses (3 seems most likely, and some good teams will have 4). Ohio State is looking more and more like a true National Title contender. I think they will be able to hold Michigan to under 20 points, and themselves put up more than 20, so I see Ohio State winning that game. Michigan did show a lot of Heart by coming back and beating Michigan St. yesterday. If they do upset the Buckeyes what a turn around they will have made on their season, from 0-2 to Big 10 Champs. And the game I keep looking more and more forward to every week, the possible rematch between Oklahoma and Missouri in the Big 12 Championship. That would be good.

25. Arkansas (6-3)
24. Kentucky (6-3)
23. Tennessee (6-3)
22. Virginia (8-2)
21. Alabama (6-3)
20. Boise State (8-1)
19. Clemson (7-2)
18. Florida (6-3)
17. Auburn (7-3)
16. USC (7-2)
15. Connecticut (8-1)
14. Hawaii (8-0)
13. Texas (8-2)
12. Arizona State (8-1)
11. Virginia Tech (7-2)
10. Michigan (8-2)
9. Georgia (7-2)
8. Boston College (8-1)
7. Missouri (8-1)
6. West Virginia (7-1)
5. Kansas (9-0)
4. Oklahoma (8-1)
3. Oregon (8-1)
2. LSU (8-1)
1. Ohio State (10-0)