Film history is littered with bad sequels to fantastic movies – Godfather, Caddyshack and The Matrix come to mind as examples of producers who didn’t know when to stop.

You have no doubt seen this analogy heading in to the 2012 BCS Title Game between the LSU Tigers and the Alabama Crimson Tide but it has two flaws – 1) the original game was not entertaining nor played at a high level, and 2) there is always the chance we will get a “Wrath of Khan” or a “Dark Knight” followup.

Defense. Honey Badger. Trent Richardson. The verbal stylings of Les Miles. Here is the SportsCentral Preview:

My take on the matchup after the jump.

Read the rest of this entry →

Remember that all the college football bowl games are de facto exhibition games – that should not dampen your enthusiasm, in fact it is not every year that you get a matchup like the 2012 Fiesta Bowl.

Elite WR Justin Blackmon leads the high-scoring Oklahoma State attack (Icon SMI)

Glendale AZ hosts the Oklahoma State Cowboys and the Stanford Cardinal on Monday January 2 at 8pm ET, and in any other year this would be a fantastic BCSMNC (BCS Mythical National Championship).

Heck, one could well argue that the Cowboys deserved to be in the title game but that nasty loss at Iowa State “left it to the judges”.

Nonetheless, a great consolation prize and a true 3-4 matchup for bragging rights. Two respected coaches leading their alma mater to heights previously not known for the programs. Two of the best quarterbacks in the sport. And fans can enjoy the football for football sake.

Breakdown and predictions after the yump.

Read the rest of this entry →

Bowl confidence polls are rolling out all over the place, so I consulted with the “smart guys in the desert” for the marketplace’s most confident in winning. Twenty of the 35 games have enough confidence baked in, but the other 15 seem like pick’ems to me.

Two-thirds human. One-third computer model. Three-thirds controversy. 100% needed in a season with out two lone undefeated teams from major conferences.

The Bowl Championship Series (BCS) exists to ensure the two best teams meet in the National Title Game. That title game cycles through four sites and bowl committees, as such has some relevance as to selection for those games each year – Rose, Fiesta, Sugar and Orange.

The BCS was designed to balance out the human voter biases by introducing computer rankings, which of course just led to different arguments after settling the original ones. In other words, there is no perfect system so the BCS is about as well constructed as it can be. The only hole in the deus ex machina is the USA Today’s Coaches Poll, widely derided since no coach has the time to watch enough games to make an informed decision – they have their own team and next opponent to worry about!

So how does this system affect this year’s top six teams and their fans so deeply committed to them? Brought to you in partnership with research director Matt Ryan, pros and cons below:

Read the rest of this entry →

With such an illustrious career and statistical obscene season, why isn’t Case Keenum receiving serious attention for the 2011 Heisman Trophy?

Houston QB Case Keenum has extended his arms skyward like this 37 times in 2011 (Icon SMI)

Keenum leads the nation for fifth place ballots – so writers around the nation include him because they feel obligated?

College football fans can witness the game’s all-time leading passer on an undefeated team this weekend as ESPN takes its mobile Gameday set to Houston – can ESPN reset the Heisman discussion by providing Keenum a national platform that he does not normally get from the CBS College Sports Network?

The fantasy sports fans among us operate on a very populist level of meritocracy – great example is from 2007 Paul Smith’s yards at Tulsa equaled Tim Tebow’s yards at Florida so we view the sport through a production-centric lens. So, the fantasy college football community will no doubt support Keenum.

Most of the rest of the pundits and fans apply another lens that factors in strength of schedule, or NFL prospect, or their own home team bias. These other viewpoints have their place, but do they really matter when trying to define “the outstanding college football player whose performance best exhibits the pursuit of excellence with integrity”?
Read the rest of this entry →