You wanted playoffs? You have playoffs.
Look at these final three weeks of the season and you can easily install a bracket that leads to the Bowl Championship Series title game in Miami. Alabama and Florida, Nos. 1 and 4, respectively, in the BCS rankings, are essentially in the quarterfinals. On Nov. 29, Alabama (11-0) hosts Auburn (5-6) and Florida (9-1), which hosts Citadel on Saturday, visits Florida State (7-3).
If Alabama and Florida survive, their SEC championship game in Atlanta the following week will be a BCS semifinal, with the winner advancing to Miami.
On the other side of the imaginary bracket you have the Big 12. No. 2 Texas Tech (10-0) and No. 5 Oklahoma (9-1) are essentially in the round of 16. They meet in Norman on Saturday. Oklahoma then visits No. 12 Oklahoma State (9-2) the next week while Texas Tech hosts Baylor (4-7). No. 3 Texas (10-1) hosts Texas A&M (4-7) on Nov. 27. Those are essentially quarterfinal games.
Whatever team emerges as the South champion will meet No. 13 Missouri (9-2) in the Big 12 championship. On Dec. 6, you will probably have de facto national semifinal games in Atlanta and Kansas City, with the winners meeting for the national title Jan. 8.
Before we throw rose petals at the feet of college football’s brain trust, keep something in mind. The perfect storm occurs only if there are no upsets. And beating Alabama won’t advance Auburn anywhere except to more soul-searching.
The BCS is still a vastly flawed system. We’re stuck with it. Yet there’s a good chance we will have a title game void of major controversy for the fourth year in a row.
I’ll take Florida.
Can anyone produce an argument that shows Florida isn’t the best team in the country? What Urban Meyer has is a vastly superior team than the one that roasted Ohio State for the 2006 national title.
The Gators’ 56-6 win over then-No. 24 South Carolina produced 519 yards against the best defensive team in the best defensive conference in the nation. They became the first team in SEC history to win six straight league games by at least 28 points, and they’ve won them by an average score of 50-11. Three of those wins came against ranked teams.
Florida has outscored those six opponents 101-0 in the first quarter. Remember when Florida couldn’t run the ball? It’s leading the SEC with 213.4 yards a game.
“They better win the national championship,” South Carolina receiver Kenny McKinley said after the game. “I can’t really see a team that can handle those guys.”
ACC picture clearing.
If anyone cares, one of the murky Atlantic Coast Conference division races is settling. Maryland (7-3) wins the Atlantic if it beats Florida State on Saturday and wins at Boston College (7-3) the following week, or if the Terrapins beat FSU and BC loses at Wake Forest (6-4) on Saturday. Miami (7-3) controls its destiny in the Coastal, but visits Georgia Tech (7-3) and North Carolina State (4-6).
Speaking of not caring . . .
Only 19,342 fans rattled around cavernous Qualcomm Stadium to watch a very entertaining and seventh-ranked Utah team beat a San Diego State program further into submission, 63-14.
You think it can’t get worse for embattled third-year coach Chuck Long, but it does. The injury-plagued 1-10 Aztecs have lost 10 games for the first time in 86 years of football, have their first seven-game losing streak in 25 years and their 10th straight non-winning season.
Not that they’ve quit on Long, but the Aztecs have been outscored 139-22 in the fourth quarter. Deshawn Richard, who wasn’t even listed on Utah’s two-deep, returned two fourth-quarter interceptions for touchdowns.
“I’m pretty good about starting over each week,” said Long, 8-27 with two years left on his contract. “If I come in there with bad body language, then what are they going to do?”
Welcome back, Rick.
Washington fans finally had someone else to abuse at Husky Stadium besides lame-duck coach Tyrone Willingham. Ex-Husky coach Rick Neuheisel returned with his UCLA Bruins five years after he was fired, mainly for betting in an office NCAA basketball tournament pool.
Among the choice signs in the stands included “Neu-weasel!” and “Hey Slick, should I take UW and the points?”
By the end of UCLA’s 27-7 win, the fans were back to booing Willingham.
