College Football Top 25 Heading into Bowl Season

A little bit of a shakeup in the Top 25 this week after a great weekend of College Football. These will be the last rankings until after the National Championship game in January.

1.     Alabama (13-0) (3): The Tide went out and earned this number 1 ranking. Just beating Florida in every aspect of the game. Extra points for making Tim Tebow cry.

2.     TCU (12-0)(4): TCU is a great team and I’m not sure what more they have to do to prove to everyone that they are for real. Unfortunately the BCS won’t allow them to go out and beat one of the traditional big powers but beating Boise State will have to be a consolation.

3.     Texas (13-0)(2): Texas didn’t do anything that warrants them playing Alabama in January. Though they were completely unimpressive, they better be more prepared for Alabama than they were for the Huskers, or the National Title game will be a snoozer.

4.     Cincinnati (13-0)(5)

5.     Boise State (13-0)(6)

6.     Florida (12-1)(1)

7.     Oregon (10-2)(9)

8.     Ohio State (10-2)(7)

9.     Iowa (10-2)(8)

10.  Georgia Tech (11-2)(11)

11.  Penn State (10-2)(10)

12.  Virginia Tech (9-3)(13)

13.  BYU (10-2)(15)

14.  LSU (9-3)(16)

15.  Miami (9-3)(18)

16.  Pittsburgh (9-3)(12)

17.   West Virginia (9-3)(NR)

18.  Oregon State (9-3)(14)

19.  Stanford (8-4)(23)

20.  Oklahoma State (9-3)(21)

21.  East Carolina (9-4)(25)

22.  Northwestern (8-4) (24)

23.  Nebraska (9-4)(22)

24.  Wisconsin (9-3)(NR)

25.  Central Michigan (11-2) (NR): The Chippewas won the MAC Championship this weekend and are led by Dan LeFevour. LeFevour will certainly become a notable draft prospect, as the draft experts will call him the likely sleeper of the draft.

Dropping Out: USC (17), Houston (19), California (20)

A Comprehensive Weekly Look at the Top Teams in European Football

Another week of European Soccer Rankings! We had a round of Europa League fixtures mid-week, including a 1-0 win for Fenerbahce at Twente, a 1-0 victory for Everton at AEK Athens, and a huge 1-0 for Fulham at home against CSKA Sofia. Here is a link to the Europa League group standings at this point. In the big game in the Premiership, Manchester City defeated Chelsea 2-1 as Shay Given saved a Frank Lampard penalty in the 83rd minute that would have tied it up for Chelsea. Emmanuel Adebayor scored a goal in each net in the first half. Manchester United got a great 4-0 win at West Ham, Arsenal defeated Stoke City 2-0, Aston Villa defeated Hull City 3-0, and a Tim Howard save of a Jermain Defoe penalty in the final minute of play preserved a 2-2 draw for Everton against Tottenham. Real Madrid and Barcelona both got wins, 4-2 over Almeria and 3-1 at Deportivo La Coruna, respectively. AC Milan shellacked Sampdoria 3-0 at home, while Juventus scored a huge 2-1 win against Inter, narrowing their lead at the top of the table to 4 over AC Milan. Juventus sits 5 back in third place. In Germany, Bayer Leverkusen remained undefeated with a boring 0-0 draw at Hanover 96. Both Schalke 04 and Bayern won while Werder Bremen drew, so Bremen and Schalke are 3 points back of Leverkusen while Bayern Munich is lurking in 4th, 4 points back. The French League is just too weird to talk about anymore.

Biggest Riser: Manchester City, rising from 19th to 13th after a fantastic 2-1 win at home against leaders Chelsea.

Biggest Faller: Lyon (for the second straight week!!!), who fell from 17th to 23rd after a 4-3 loss at struggling Lille.

Rank Team (Nationality) Points
1. Barcelona (Esp) 50
T2. Chelsea (Eng) 47
T2. Manchester United (Eng) 47
4. Real Madrid (Esp) 43
Tom: Despite the loss in El Clasico to Barcelona last week, Real Madrid seem to have shaken off the hiccup in form they suffered throughout October. Cristiano Ronaldo is back healthy and there are no national team distractions for a long time. This week they had an exciting 4-2 win over Almeria, in which Madrid had a 1-0 lead at the half only to see Almeria take a 2-1 lead with goals in the 58th and 62nd minutes. However, goals from Gonzalo Higuain, Karim Benzema, and Cristiano Ronaldo finished it, with an 88th minute Ronaldo red card to top it all off. They are currently second in the league behind Barcelona and are on top of their Champions League group, two points over AC Milan. They have had a fluid lineup this season, as no outfield players have played each of the 13 La Liga matches, and only 2 players (Marcelo and Xabi Alonso) have played more than 10. Still they have enough talent that no matter who they play, it is a better squad than their opponents almost every time. Once Madrid gets through some injuries, gets a more consistent first eleven, and begins to become a cohesive unit, they will be giving Barcelona a run for their money in what will be a thrilling title race.
5. AC Milan (Ita) 42
6. Inter Milan (Ita) 41
7. Juventus (Ita) 36
8. Arsenal (Eng) 35
T9. Bayer Leverkusen (Ger) 31
Tom: Bayer Leverkusen are still atop the Bundesliga by three points over Werder Bremen after a 0-0 draw at Hanover 96 over the weekend. Leverkusen has had a record start to the season, going undefeated in their first 15 games with 8 wins and 7 draws. Leverkusen have scored an average of 2 goals per game and only allowed 9 goals all season. They are led by 25 year old forward Stefan Kießling, who has scored 12 goals while starting all 15 games. In defense, they are led by former Liverpool man and Finnish international Sami Hyypia. Still, their lead has been dwindling away recently, as they have drawn 5 of their last 7 matches in the league.
T9. Tottenham Hotspur (Eng) 31
11. Sevilla (Esp) 30
12. Bordeaux (Fra) 28
13. Manchester City (Eng) 24
14. Werder Bremen (Ger) 23
15. Twente Enschede (Ned) 22
16.Valencia (Esp) 21
Tom: In the summer, Valencia faced massive debt and rumors that they would have to sell their top players in order to balance the books. However they were able to keep the core of the team together due to renewed investment, and seem to be on the track to continued success. Valencia is currently third in La Liga, three points behind second-place Real Madrid. They are coming off of an impressive week in which they beat Lille 3-1 in the Europa league and defeated Athletic Bilbao 2-1 on the road in La Liga. They are currently atop a very good Europa League group consisting of Lille, Genoa, and Slavia Prague. They will clinch the group victory in the final match-day as long as they do not lose at Genoa. Valencia is considered the third-most popular team in Spain, and has 50,000 season ticket holders with 20,000 still on the waiting list. The last two seasons have been something of a disappointment, with 10th and 6th place finishes. Thus far they have a win over Sevilla, a draw against Barcelona, and they will be taking on Real Madrid with a chance to move up to second in La Liga next weekend. They are led by star striker David Villa, who has scored 10 goals in his 11 games with 26 shots on goal, more than double the second highest shots on goal total on the team.
17. FK Rubin Kazan (Rus) 19
T18. Ajax Amsterdam (Ned) 15
T18. Fiorentina (Ita) 15
T20. PSV Eindhoven (Ned) 12
T20. Schalke 04 (Ger) 12
22. CSKA Moscow (Rus) 6
T23. Genoa (Ita) 5
T23. Lyon (Fra) 5
25. Dynamo Kiev (Ukr) 4

Also Receiving Votes: Braga (Por) 3, Benfica (Por) 2, Aston Villa (Eng) 1

Here is how the voters voted:

Rank	Tom	Blaine
1	Barcelona	Barcelona
2	Chelsea	Manchester United
3	Manchester United	Chelsea
4	Real Madrid	AC Milan
5	Inter Milan	Real Madrid
6	AC Milan	Inter Milan
7	Arsenal	Tottenham Hotspur
8	Juventus	Juventus
9	Bordeaux	Sevilla
10	Bayer Leverkusen	Arsenal
11	Werder Bremen	Bayer Leverkusen
12	Valencia	Manchester City
13	Sevilla	Twente Enschede
14	Tottenham Hotspur	FK Rubin Kazan
15	Schalke 04	Bordeaux
16	Manchester City	Ajax Amsterdam
17	Twente Enschede	Fiorentina
18	PSV Eindhoven	Werder Bremen
19	FK Rubin Kazan	Valencia
20	Fiorentina	CSKA Moscow
21	Ajax Amsterdam	Genoa
22	Dynamo Kiev	PSV Eindhoven
23	Lyon	Braga
24	Benfica	Lyon
25	Aston Villa	Schalke 04

Next 5 in for Tom, in order of most to least goals per game in their domestic league: FC Porto (Por, 2.08), Hamburg SV (Ger, 1.87), Marseille (Fra, 1.85), Braga (Por, 1.5), AJ Auxerre (Fra, 1.05)

Next 5 in for Blaine, in the order that I like them: Aston Villa (Eng), Marseille (Fra), Parma (Ita), Napoli (Ita), Galatasaray (Tur)

Champions League Matches
Top two teams from each group qualify and third place goes to the Europa League knockout stages. Tables can be found here.

Tuesday, 14:45 ET
Group A
(7) Juventus v Bayern Munich
Huge match, Juventus advances with a win or draw, Bayern with a win.
Maccabi Haifa v (12) Bordeaux

Group B
Besiktas v (22) CSKA Moscow
CSKA Moscow needs a win and Wolfsburg non-win, or a draw and Wolfsburg loss to move on to the knockout stages. Besiktas can still move on to the Europa League with a 1-0 win or a win by 2 or more along with a Manchester United non-win.
VfL Wolfsburg v (T2) Manchester United
United will guarantee finishing at the top of the group with a point, but with 8 defenders out, they expect to start both Michael Carrick and Darren Fletcher in the back line. No joke. Even Ryan Giggs joined the defensive party before last game was over. Wolfsburg will move on with a win or CSKA Moscow loss or a draw with United and CSKA non-win.

Group C
FC Zurich v (5) AC Milan
Milan will qualify with a win, and would win the group with a win and Madrid draw or loss.
Marseille v (4) Real Madrid
Marseille can qualify (in miracle fashion) if they beat Mardid 3-0 or by four or more goals. Also, a Marseille win and Milan draw/loss would see Marseille qualify. The big loss and Milan win would see Real Madrid suffer a shock drop to the Europa League.

Group D
Atletico Madrid v FC Porto
(T2) Chelsea v APOEL Nicosia
Chelsea and Porto are already moving on, and Atletico Madrid needs a win or APOEL non-win to move on to the Europa League.

Wednesday, 14:45 ET
Group E
Liverpool v (T18) Fiorentina
(T23) Lyon v Debrecen
This group is already decided, with Fiorentina and Lyon moving on to the knockout stages and Liverpool relegated to the Europa League.

Group F
(25) Dynamo Kiev v (1) Barcelona
(6) Inter Milan v (17) FK Rubin Kazan
In the Group of Death, nothing is yet certain. Barcelona will qualify if they avoid losing to Dynamo Kiev 2-0 or by more than 3 goals, or if Inter and Rubin Kazan draw. Inter will qualify if they beat Rubin Kazan or if they draw 0-0 or 1-1 and Dynamo Kiev does not win. Rubin Kazan will qualify if they beat Inter Milan or if they draw by 2-2 or more and Dynamo Kiev does not win. Dynamo Kiev must win by 2-0 or by three or more goals to qualify, or simply a victory and draw between Inter Milan and Rubin Kazan.
In short, these are two MASSIVE matches.

Group G
(11) Sevilla v Rangers
VfB Stuttgart v Unirea Urziceni
Unirea Urziceni will qualify with a win or draw, and Stuttgart needs a win to qualify.

Group H
Olympiakos v (8) Arsenal
Olympiakos will move on with a win or draw, or an AZ win or draw.
Standard Liege v AZ Alkmaar
Standard Liege will move on with an Olympiakos loss and win over AZ. AZ will qualify for the Europa League with a win.

Heisman Contenders and BCS Bowl Previews

Well the Heisman finalists will be announced tomorrow so I’m here to tell you who I would vote for to win the Heisman trophy. I only think my top 3 will be invited to New York so they’re the ones with commentary, but let’s start with #5:

5 – Ndamukong Suh, DT, Nebraska

4 – Tim Tebow, QB, Florida
3 – Colt McCoy, QB, Texas: It was his award to lose going into last night’s game and he did just that. McCoy struggled against Nebraska and will probably have nightmares of Ndamukong Suh for a long time.

2 – Toby Gerhart, RB, Stanford: Gerhart should win this award but voters will not let that happen since his team lost 4 games this year.

1 – Mark Ingram, RB, Alabama: Went up against the #1 defense in the nation and played extremely well. He deserves this award more than anyone else this year.

Breaking Down the BCS Bowl Matchup:

Fiesta Bowl: As Tom wrote about earlier, the BCS got it wrong matching up Boise State and TCU (Link). I’m a big fan of TCU and think they deserve a shot at winning the National Championship and Boise State is always a good story. TCU is going to be a tough test for the Broncos as TCU is the only team in a BCS bowl in the top 6 in both scoring offense and defense.

Rose Bowl: The Granddaddy of them all pairs Oregon against Ohio State in what should be a highly entertaining game. Oregon’s spread offense with great skill players going up against Ohio State’s defense with a lot of speed. A lot of people won’t give Ohio State a shot since they play in the Big Ten, but they’ll be ready and give Oregon a great test.

Orange Bowl: In what is already being called the game with the least interest out of all the BCS games, Iowa will face off with Georgia Tech. As an Iowa student and fan I’m going to do my best to sell you on why you should watch this game. It’s a lot like the Rose Bowl, putting strength against strength in Georgia Tech’s prolific triple option against Iowa’s stout defense. Iowa has not lost any game in the past year by more than 7  points so you know you’re going to be in for a close game. If Georgia Tech can control the clock with that running attack they’ll win, if Iowa can keep Georgia Tech’s offense on the sidelines then Iowa will be victorious.

Sugar Bowl: Florida against Cincinnati should be an interesting game for many reasons. One reason the media will likely shove down our throats is the potential for both head coaches going to Notre Dame. Cincinnati’s high-octane offense against Florida’s physical defense will provide great entertainment and Florida will be looking to avenge their loss to Alabama in the SEC title game.

National Championship Game: Texas and Alabama is the pairing of two powerhouse programs with great history and great teams this season. Alabama will be put on a pedestal from now until the game for their performance against Florida and Texas’ lack of performance against Nebraska. But Nick Saban and his coaches will certainly have his team ready for Texas because they know how good Texas can be and will be come January.

In Which I Finally Write About American Sports

Cubs Trade
On December 3rd, the Cubs traded Aaron Miles, Jake Fox and cash to Oakland for reliever Jeff Gray and prospects OF Matt Spencer and P Ronny Morla. As a Cubs fan, I have to say I am very pleased with this transaction. Any time you can get rid of Aaron Miles, you have done well as a GM, and while I liked Jake Fox, he simply did not have a future with the Cubs. It will do him well to get a fresh start in the AL where he can be used as solid insurance for breaking-down third baseman Eric Chavez, as well as possibly getting some starts at DH.
As for the additions to the Cubs, they got two solid players in the deal. Jeff Gray is a right-handed reliever who can hit 97 on the gun, and he had an extended stay with the A’s starting in early August last season, which was very impressive. He turned in a 1.71 ERA on the season until his last 6 outings, where he gave up 7 runs in 5.1 IP. He finished with a 3.76 ERA and solid 1.29 WHIP to go with 6.5 K/9. In AAA, he had a 1.54 ERA in 41 IP, with a miniscule 0.88 WHIP while giving up only 2 HR on the year. He will be given the chance to make the club out of spring training and will surely add valuable bullpen depth with his power arm throughout the season.
Matt Spencer is an intriguing 23-year old outfielder who split time in high-A and AA last season. Most of his time was spent in AA, where he hit .294/.347/.461 with 9 HR and 29 2B, and was rated as the #16 A’s prospect as of mid-season 2009. He has been compared to a young Jake Fox or Micah Hoffpauir. Ronny Morla is a 21-year old pitcher from the Dominican Republic and as spent the past two seasons at short-season A in Vancouver. Last season he put together a 1-7 record with a 4.86 ERA in 12 starts and 5 relief appearances. He did strike out 73 in 63 IP for a 10.4 K/9 ratio, and could be a project for the future.
All in all, the fact that we got more than a bag of peanuts in a trade for Aaron Miles (and we don’t have to even pay half his salary) is a positive, and we were able to turn Jake Fox into a couple promising prospects. Hopefully this eases the criticism of Jim Hendry just a bit.

BCS Bowl Thoughts
Well it is time for the yearly BCS controversy. My biggest beef this time around is the match-up of Boise State vs. TCU in the Fiesta Bowl. Both teams proved their worth against a BCS conference team earlier in the season (Boise State beating Oregon and TCU winning at Clemson, with solid wins against BYU and Utah). There are whimsical rumors swirling around that the BCS paid the Fiesta Bowl to take both to avoid non-BCS teams beating BCS teams, but I think that’s just hogwash. Still, the system is flawed enough and the BCS so stupid that who knows? It might just be true. My main issue is that for yet another year, we will end up with a non-BCS conference team that is undefeated and that never had a chance at winning the national championship. This has happened 3 times in the last six years, with Utah finishing 11-0 in 04-05, Boise State going 12-0 in 06-07 and Utah going 12-0 in 08-09. Not only that, but we will end the season with at least two, possibly three undefeated teams. At least this season there is not too much argument that the two best teams are in the national championship, but it is impossible to accurately determine who the “best two teams” are among 119 division I teams based on a 12-game regular season in where the schedule is as unbalanced as it could possibly be. The only feasible way to determine a good national championship game in this format is for the best teams to all play each other in the non-conference season, which will never happen. This is a broken record, but how will we ever know the true best team in the nation without a playoff? The NCAA needs to wake up and realize that change is needed.

Weekend Soccer Preview/World Cup Draw

In honor of finals week approaching and me having quite the busy week, this will be slightly shorter than normal, but I do have the World Cup groups with some (far too early) predictions!!!

Game(s) of the Week (Rankings from Poll)
14:45 ET Saturday
(11) Juventus v (4) Inter Milan
Inter Milan leads Serie A by 7 points over AC Milan, and Juventus is one back of AC. Inter is coming off of a win at home against Fiorentina, where they played in mediocre fashion. Juventus is coming off of two straight 2-0 losses, a bad one at Cagliari and a loss against a very good Bordeaux squad over a week ago. Both teams have vital Champions League games in the week after this, when Inter hosts FK Rubin Kazan and Juventus hosts Bayern Munich, both teams needing points to ensure they move on. Hopefully the teams won’t be looking ahead too much.

Other Matches Between Ranked Teams
12:30 ET Saturday
(19) Manchester City v (T1) Chelsea
Manchester City will be hard-pressed to end their 7 game draw streak with a win here. In fact, they should be happy to continue the streak and get a point against a red-hot Drogba and company squad.

Top of the Table Clashes
None by the looks of it.

English Premier League
7:45 ET Saturday
Portsmouth v Burnley
10:00 ET Saturday
(T7) Arsenal v Stoke City
Aston Villa v Hull City
Blackburn Rovers v Liverpool
West Ham United v (3) Manchester United
Wigan v Birmingham City
WolverhamptonWanderers v Bolton Wanderers
12:30 ET Saturday
(19) Manchester City v (T1) Chelsea
10:00 ET Saturday
Fulham v Sunderland
11:00 ET Sunday
Everton v (10) Tottenham Hotspur

Scottish Premier League
7:30 ET Saturday
Falkirk v Rangers
10:00 ET Saturday
Celtic v Aberdeen

Spain’s La Liga
12:00 ET Saturday
(9) Sevilla FC v Valladolid
Xerez v Atletico Madrid
14:00 ET Saturday
(T5) Real Madrid v Almeria
16:00 ET Saturday
Deportivo La Coruna v (T1) Barcelona
15:00 ET Sunday
Athletic Bilbao v (18) Valencia

Italy’s Serie A
12:00 ET Saturday
(T5) AC Milan v Sampdoria
14:45 ET Saturday
(11) Juventus v (4) Inter Milan
9:00 ET Sunday
Genoa v Parma
(20) Fiorentina v Atalanta
Napoli v Bari
14:45 ET Sunday
AS Roma v Lazio

German Bundesliga
14:30 ET Friday
Bayern Munich v Borussia Monchengladbach
9:30 ET Saturday
Hamburg SV v TSG Hoffenheim
Hannover 96 v (T7) Bayer Leverkusen
VfL Wolfsburg v SC Freiburg
9:30 ET Sunday
FC Cologne v (T14) Werder Bremen
11:30 ET Sunday
(T21) Schalke 04 v Hertha Berlin

French Ligue 1
13:00 ET Saturday
Nice v Marseille
Valenciennes v AS Monaco
15:00 ET Saturday
(12) Bordeaux v Paris Saint-Germain
11:00 ET Sunday
AJ Auxerre v AS Nancy Lorraine
15:00 ET Sunday
Lille v (17) Lyon

Dutch Eredivisie
14:45 ET Friday
AZ Alkmaar v Vitesse Arnhem
6:30 ET Sunday
FC Utrecht v (16) Ajax Amsterdam
8:30 ET Sunday
RKC Wallwijk v (T21) PSV Eindhoven
10:30 ET Sunday
NEC Nijmegen v (T14) Twente Enschede
SC Heracles Almelo v Heerenveen

Portuguese Liga
15:15 ET Friday
Guimaraes v FC Porto
16:15 ET Saturday
Leixoes v (25) Braga
15:15 ET Sunday
Benfica v Academica de Coimbra

Turkish Super League
13:00 ET Friday
Besiktas v Diyarbakirspor
13:00 ET Saturday
Eskisehirspor K v Fenerbahce
13:00 ET Sunday
Galatasaray v Istanbul BB

Belgian Juliper League
14:00 ET Saturday
Standard Liege v Germinal Beerschot
14:30 ET Sunday
Cercle Brugge KSV v Anderlecht

Austrian Bundesliga
9:30 ET Sunday
SK Sturm Graz v SV Salzburg
12:00 ET Sunday
SV Josko Ried v Austria Vienna

Greek Super League
12:00 ET Saturday
FC Xanthi v Olympiakos
9:45 ET Sunday
Panathinaikos v Atromitos

Group A
South Africa, Mexico, Uruguay, France
The hosts have moved onto the knockout stages in every World Cup in history, but then again the hosts are generally good at soccer. Still, South Africa played impressively in the Confederations Cup on home soil and has a chance to give their group-mates a run for their money.
France and Mexico to advance. No handballs this time.

Group B
Argentina, South Korea, Nigeria, Greece
A decent draw for Argentina, as was the draw for nearly every seeded team in this Cup. Greece squeaked into the Finals in the playoff against Ukraine, as did Nigeria, who qualified on the final match-day. Nigeria starts off with a match against Argentina, but if they can keep their heads up in case of defeat, they can come back and move on in their home continent.
Argentina and Nigeria to advance.

Group C
England, USA!!!!, Algeria, Slovenia
I have to be honest, after USA did not draw South Africa, I was hoping we would have a chance to take on England. Obviously any non-SA seeded team is going to be difficult but England is not a terrible match-up, and we were drawn with two other beatable teams. I cannot wait for June 12, 2010 at 1:30 CT, when USA plays England in the first match-up in this group.
England and USA to move on, no matter the result of the first match I think Algeria and Slovenia are beatable for both squads.

Group D
Germany, Australia, Ghana, Serbia
This is a very strong group. Australia had a lot of fun in Germany for the last World Cup, and Germany and Serbia are very good European sides that both won their qualification groups. As with all African teams, Ghana will probably play a bit better as they are on their home continent.
Germany and Ghana to advance.

Group E
Netherlands, Japan, Cameroon, Denmark
I enjoy this group a lot. I love watching Dutch football and I am a quarter Danish so I will be pulling for both European teams here. Cameroon will be an interesting team to watch as well, as they missed out on the last World Cup and will want to make up for lost time. Samuel Eto’o is a dangerous striker and the other sides will have to watch out for him.
Netherlands and Denmark to advance.

Group F
Italy, New Zealand, Paraguay, Slovakia
New Zealand will just be enjoying the ride, while I think Paraguay and Slovakia will fight it out for the right to join Italy in the knockout stages. The defending champions are aging, but they are still the team to beat in the group.
Italy and Paraguay to advance

Group G
Brazil, North Korea, Ivory Coast, Portugal
This is without question the only group worthy of the “Group of Death” tag. Portugal is ranked 5th in the world, which is an inflated ranking due to the fact that they had the opportunity to play extra qualification matches (a reason why FIFA did not use the most recent rankings). Still, they are obviously an immensely exciting team to watch with one of the best players in the world, Christiano Ronaldo. He will look to be healthy and be on form for Portugal for once. Before the draw, Ivory Coast was the trendy sleeper pick for the Finals, and they will be devastated with the draw that has been handed to them. Still, I think that if Drogba continues his incredible run of form this year, they will prevail in the group.
Brazil and Ivory Coast to advance.

Group H
Spain, Honduras, Chile, Switzerland
Spain is handed a good draw, a fact that their coach acknowledged after the draw. Chile will be happy to even be participating following a near-ban when a Chilean club team threatened to sue the Chilean Football Association. Switzerland made it to the World Cup by way of a fairly easy qualification group of them, Greece, Latvia, Israel, Luxembourg, Moldova.
Spain and Honduras to advance.

Championship Week Picks

Tonight starts the weekend of games with BCS Bowl implications and I’m going to pick only 5 games that happen to work out as conference championship games even if they are not official.

#10 Georgia Tech – Clemson: Clemson is coming off a loss to South Carolina but they do have the ever-dangerous C.J. Spiller to keep them in this game. I think that Georgia Tech is just too tough and will be representing the ACC in the BCS Orange Bowl.

#5 Cincinnati - #15 Pittsburgh: This is a really interesting game due to the speculation that Cincinnati coach, Brian Kelly has been linked to the Notre Dame job and he has not done that great of a job to dispel his interest (I know he said he’s staying at Cincy, but it wasn’t convincing). It’ll be interesting to see how his players handle the distraction and show up to play because if they don’t, Pitt will be there to claim the victory. I like Tony Pike and the Bearcats in this one.

#3 Texas - #22 Nebraska: Everyone keeps saying that Nebraska has a shot at pulling the upset and while I agree that their defense will keep them in the ballgame, they just don’t have the offense to win the game. Colt McCoy runs and passes his way to solidifying the Heisman trophy and Texas is moving on to the National Championship Game.

#1 Florida - #2 Alabama: Earlier in the week I was ready to pick Florida pretty easily but Carlos Dunlap’s suspension made this decision a little more difficult to pick. The key for Florida is to stop Mark Ingram first and force Alabama to pass the ball to win. Alabama needs to get some sort or air attack going to keep the Gators defense on its toes and allow space for Ingram to carry the Tide to the National Title. I like Florida in this one close.

#7 Oregon - #16 Oregon State: Tonight’s game between the Beavers and Ducks should be a good one, the Civil War usually is. The game is being played in Autzen Stadium, one of the few stadiums in my opinion that really does have a home field advantage. The Ducks go into the stadium with a certain type of swagger and rely heavily on the crowd to get them going and to make it difficult for the opposing team.  Jeremiah Masoli and the Ducks get the win and head to the Rose Bowl.

Florida gets Another Shot at Getting it Right

Carlos Dunlap of the #1 Florida Gators was arrested early Tuesday just days before the Gators are to play the Alabama Crimson Tide in the SEC Championship game. Dunlap was found asleep at his car and performed poorly in a field sobriety test and was taken in when he refused to take a Breathalyzer test. This is a fascinating story beyond just the usual will he or won’t he play on Saturday, this provides an interesting story on how Urban Meyer will handle this situation. If you remember, Meyer suspended linebacker Brandon Spikes for only the first half in a game against Vanderbilt due to the eye-gouging incident in the Georgia game. This incident gives Florida the opportunity to save face and suspend Dunlap for the SEC Title game. Failure to do this further shows that winning football games is more important to Meyer and the Gators than teaching these student-athletes lessons.

Look at the Iowa Hawkeyes, just two years ago Kirk Ferentz was suspending players left and right due to players breaking the law. Ferentz realized that teaching these students that if you break the law you have to face the consequences that everyone else faces is more important than winning games. Just because you happen to be a football player at a major university doesn’t put you above the law. Now obviously the Hawkeyes’ record paid the price with all the suspensions but with a school like Florida where they probably have high school all-Americans as backups it won’t be as big of a problem. Meyer really needs to wake up and do what is right and that may involve losing the SEC title game.