*** Note: I had the Louisville game listed wrong. It’s Thursday night; not tonight.
Hard as it might be to believe, the Spartans are very much in the postseason picture.
For that, they can thank the NCAA, which increased the number of bowls to 34 and the number of bowl slots to 68. The Spartans are in the hunt for slots 66, 67 and 68.
At this point, I’d give SJSU a 60 percent chance of making a bowl game, and I’ll outline exactly how it could come to pass in a second.
Read the rest of this entry »
*** Note: I’ll be updating this post as info comes in from South Bend. The original was written quickly when the news broke.
Also, Kawakami weighed in on the situation last night (which I didn’t realize b/c my east coast bedtime, or I woulda linked to it as soon as this went up). Here’s his post.
Let’s be clear: I’m talking about the double-standard and hypocrisy of the Notre Dame administration, which covers the former and current athletic directors, the current president and the board of trustees.
How irresponsible (dumb, stupid, moronic, idiotic) does that 10-year contract extension look? Epically irresponsible.
Now, let’s get to the hypocrisy, the double standard and the stench billowing from the Irish administration.
The situation stinks so bad that I challenge any Notre Dame fan to jump on the Hotline comment board and make a logical defense of bringing Weis back for Year Five above and beyond the contract buyout.
In fact, I dare you, Irish Nation.
Read the rest of this entry »
Got back Tuesday afternoon from a working vacation on the east coast, where they think 10 bowl-eligible teams proves the ACC is a good conference, and I wanted to update Hotline readers about what’s coming this week and next.
The vacation was timed to coincide with the end of the Stanford and SJSU regular seasons and Cal’s two-week break.
Once the Bears finish up this weekend, I’ll have season reviews for each team with grades for the coaches.
(I decided to wait until all three were done, even though it meant holding off on the Cardinal and Spartans for two weeks.)
Read the rest of this entry »
At this point, things have fallen neatly into place for the Pac-10 bowl partners, and given how tight the standings were a week or two ago, that’s a bit surprising.
Then again, we could have a late change in the lineup, pending the outcomes of USC-UCLA and Arizona-Arizona State.
For instance: What if UCLA wins? Oregon State would then claim the Rose Bowl berth by virtue of winning the tiebreaker vs. Oregon and USC.
Read the rest of this entry »
Not too much movement this week. I kept Florida at No. 1 after the Gators beat their ninth bowl-eligible team. In my mind, they’ve strengthened their hold on the top spot in recent weeks.
I kept Texas in the No. 2 hole because the Longhorns’ resume still warrants being above Oklahoma’s despite the Sooners’ big wins down the stretch.
But I did move Oklahoma up to third, from fourth, and dropped Alabama to No. 4.
Read the rest of this entry »
So the postseason fate of two Bay Area teams and the lone Bay Area bowl depends to a large extent on what happens hundreds of miles away Saturday when Oregon and Oregon State collide in the blood feud known as the Civil War.
The outcome will go a long way toward determining how many teams the Pac-10 sends to the Bowl Championship Series, which in turn will help determine where Cal and San Jose State end up bowling and which teams are available for the Emerald Bowl.
For the Spartans, there is an “if” component to the postseason as well as a “where.” They could get left out altogether.
Or they could end up in the Emerald.
Or in a bowl far, far away.
Read the rest of this entry »
I’m in a late-season slump (1-7 the past two weeks) and partly blame Washington for my troubles. HOW CAN ANYONE LOSE TO WASHINGTON STATE? Especially when you have a 10-0 halftime lead!
My goodness, that’s awful. Tyrone Willingham has had a lot of bad losses in his career, a lot of losses by big numbers or to bad teams. But losing to the Cougars … that was the worst of the worst.
And speaking of bad losses: Arizona.
Read the rest of this entry »
I’m not picking the Thanksgiving Day game (Texas-Texas A&M: Zzzzzz), but I do like one of the Friday affairs and wanted to get this posted early.
My Pac-10 picks, which include USC-Notre Dame, will be coming a bit later in the day.
Last week: 3-2
Season: 34-36
Five-star special: 6-7
Read the rest of this entry »
Thought about doing a BCS projection post last week but figured there were so many possibilities I’d wait until the penultimate week.
So here we are, and a bevy of options remain. Basically, we’re counting down the days until somebody gets scre left out — either left out of the BCS title game or left out of the BCS.
Current leader in the chances-of-getting-squeezed-out department: Texas. There won’t be many tears in Berkeley if that happens.
Read the rest of this entry »
Noon update: I’ve tried to clarify a few points. There are so many teams, bowls and permutations that I’m sure we’re still missing something. Let me know if there are more questions regarding selection procedure, and thanks to everyone for the input/participation …
A follow-up post to what I wrote last week, which included game-by-game predictions for each team in the final weeks and eventual bowl destinations.
We’re one week closer to sorting this out; Oregon State’s one week closer to the Rose Bowl — that’s how bad the Pac-10 is: A team that got trounced by the Big Ten champ and lost to the MWC champ is on the brink of winning the conference — and I’m one step closer to looking foolish (not unexpectedly, I might add) on the Cal-Holiday Bowl matter.
If Oregon State wins the Civil war, it’ll all fall into place … or not.
Read the rest of this entry »
