New Year's Eve Bowl Schedule

New Year's Day falls on a Sunday this year, so the NFL is taking over and traditional New Year's bowl games will be played on January 2nd. That is fine, but a lot of people have to work on January 2nd. Since New Year's Eve is on a Saturday, why not have the big day today?

I know today is a big bowl game day with five games, and all the participating teams are from BCS conferences, but the games still aren't the cream of the crop. A couple of those games like the Meineke Car Care Bowl and the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl could be moved up a couple days in favor of the Gator and Outback Bowl.

Then more people could watch the games they actually care to see, and January 2nd could be more spread out. Instead of three Big Ten vs. SEC matchups occurring at one time, you could just have the Capitol One Bowl at 1:00, then play the Rose at 4:00, and the Fiesta at 8:00.


JB

Music City Bowl

Music City Bowl Preview

Mississippi State will make back-to-back years with a bowl game appearance in this year's Music City Bowl vs. Wake Forest.

Tyler Russell sprained his MCL in practice on December 13th, and Dylan Favre announced his intentions to transfer to Pearl River Community College just three days prior to that. Although Russell will be available to play, Chris Relf should take nearly all the snaps at quarterback in his final game at MSU.

Here are the matchups:

Wake Forest offense vs. Mississippi State defense

Rushing, 118.9 (96th) vs. 161 (65th)
Passing, 255.6 (36th) vs. 194.9 (25th)
Total, 374.5 (76th) vs. 355.9 (42nd)
Scoring, 26.8 (62nd) vs. 19.9 (20th)

Mississippi State offense vs. Wake Forest defense

Rushing, 168.8 (45th) vs. 162.9 (70th)
Passing, 186.2 (94th) vs. 236.2 (72nd)
Total, 355.1 (87th) vs. 399.1 (75th)
Scoring, 25.5 (72nd) vs. 27.8 (70th)

One thing you can definitely conclude from those statistics is that Wake's D is 70-75th best in the nation for sure. MSU's defense is undoubtedly better, and should be the best the Demon Deacons have faced all year with the slight possibility of Florida State.

Look for both teams to come out firing. State has fared well early in games against weaker competition (except UAB), and Wake has gotten off to some pretty quick starts. Wake Forest has also blown some pretty sizable leads, but hopefully it won't come to that. MSU is the better team here, and should have the vast majority of the fans attending the game.

MSU 31 Wake 17


JB

Winners and Losers in 2012 SEC Schedule

What I mean by this isn't the difficulty in each team's SEC schedule. I am talking about how the 2012 schedule will be vs. how it was supposed to be prior to Texas A&M and Missouri joining the conference.

Losers

1. LSU - They trade a game at Kentucky for one at Texas A&M.

2. Texas A&M - They only get to play three SEC home games (vs. ARK in Dallas). Although, they were planning to play one more road game than home game in the Big 12 next year. Their toughest road test was going to be Oklahoma State, now it will be Alabama. They also have to travel to Auburn and Starkville instead of Baylor, Texas, and Kansas. They are trading home games with Oklahoma and Kansas State for LSU and Florida.

3. Missouri - The Tigers were going to play five Big 12 games in 2012, they get four in the SEC. They trade home games with Oklahoma and Kansas State for Alabama and Georgia. Instead of hosting A&M, they go back to College Station again. The road schedule is a wash swapping Iowa State, Okie State, Texas, and Texas Tech for A&M, South Carolina, Florida, and Tennessee.

4. Florida - Instead of going on the road to Ole Miss, they go to Texas A&M. Instead of hosting Auburn, they host Missouri. They do get 4 SEC home games + the world's largest cocktail party.


Neutral

Ole Miss - The Bears trade a home game with Florida for a home game with A&M.

South Carolina - The Gamecocks trade a home game with Mississippi State for one with Missouri.


Winners

1. Vanderbilt - They travel to Missouri in lieu of hosting Alabama, and they get to host Auburn instead of playing on the Plains.

2. Georgia - They trade a game at Alabama for one at Missouri. Not even only 3 SEC home games could mess with that good fortune.

3. Kentucky - Instead of playing a home game with LSU they travel to Missouri. And they get to play MSU at home again.

4. Tennessee - The Vols swap Arkansas at home for Missouri at home.

5. Mississippi State - MSU drops a road trip to Columbia to pick up a home game with Texas A&M. The trade off is going back to Kentucky.

6. Auburn - They were planned to play Vanderbilt at home, but they will play in Nashville. That is a small price to pay when you can drop a road game to Gainesville and pick up A&M at home.

7. Arkansas - The Hogs trade a game at Tennessee for a neutral site game against Texas A&M. This gives them 4 SEC home games + the game in Dallas.

8. Alabama - Trading a game at Vandy for one at Missouri isn't a good deal, but losing UGA at home in favor of A&M is. They get to play four home games vs. the West (everyone else plays 3).


JB

Christmas Songs

My Top 10 favorite Christmas Songs:

10. "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year"

9. "Carol of the Bells"

8. "Mary, Did You Know?" by Michael W. Smith

7. "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas"

6. "Silent Night"









5. "Breath of Heaven (Mary's Song)" by Amy Grant








4. "Joy to the World"

3. "The Christmas Song" by Nat King Cole

2. "The Night Before Christmas" by Amy Grant

1. "Oh Holy Night"


JB

Christmas Trees

If you really think about it, isn't it kind of weird for millions of civilized, well educated people to go buy an evergreen coniferous tree for $50-100, place it in their homes for a month and throw it away? The tree sheds all over the place, you have to water it, and in the hours immediately following installation you are rubbing sap off your hands.

But none of that is to say I am against Christmas trees. I'm not. Although in smaller living rooms they may cause your furniture to be out of order for a month. I like Christmas trees, even though I'm not sure they have anything to do with the Christian holiday.



Growing up we always had a real tree, so I figured that was the best way to go. Then, as I grew up I realized that paying for a tree is somewhat of a waste of money (see 1st paragraph). So artificial is my preference. No mess, and no annual expenses.

As far as decorations, I have never and would never like to see tinsel on my tree. That is ridiculous. Any ornament is fine, and I prefer the white lights instead of the colored ones. I could go either way on the angel or star at the top, but sometimes the angel could be creepy so a star is a safe bet.

There's my two cents on the Christmas tree. I hope everyone has a Merry Christmas!


JB

Tebow, 2012 Election, SNL, and Christian Bashing

Last Saturday night, SNL performed a skit where Jesus came into the Bronco's post game locker room and told them about how HE was the one behind their six straight victories. Then he told Tim Tebow to 'bring it down a notch' in reference to his unabashed public professions of faith to Jesus Christ. Then at the end of the skit, Jesus said, "and those Mormans, it's all true".

I know this skit is meant to make people laugh. Does SNL really believe God is willing the Broncos to victory? I doubt it. And although I find it highly unlikely God has anything to do with their run to 1st place in the AFC West, I don't really care if people believe God is behind it or not. But this was beyond making people laugh, this skit was laced with liberal propaganda.

Everyone knows that if Tebow were a Muslim there is no way anyone would dare mention his faith. But since Christianity is the majority in America, we have freedom of expression, and it poses such a threat to the progressive causes most media espouse, Tebow's faith is a direct target. So this skit is an easy way to 'lightheartedly' rib Tebow for always mentioning Jesus' name....suggesting that Jesus is getting tired of the praise.

I could go on and on about how liberals make fun of Christians in situations such as these in a effort to develop a mindset against conservative beliefs but I'll save it. Instead, I'll focus on what that 'and those Mormans, it's all true' remark really meant.

Pretty easy to me. It wasn't meant for Christians to be more tolerant of Mormans. No. The left would like for Romney to win the Republican nomination. Mainly because of Gingrich's debating skills and intellect, but also because of Romney's apparent 'flip-flopping' and the likelihood conservatives will simply stay home rather than hold their nose and vote like they did in '08. Mitt Romney is a Morman. That is an obvious nod to prop up the Morman faith as 'normal' and an attempt to get Republican voters to view Romney in a more favorable light.

So how can liberals turn a comedy skit into a subliminal message relating to the 2012 presidential campaign? You just saw it. And they are smart too because that video was posted all over the internet on Sunday. Watch out for their crap, don't fall victim.


JB

LSU Should Already Have at Least a Share of the National Title

I don't have a problem with the LSU/Alabama rematch, but really, should LSU have to beat Alabama again to be crowned national champions?

First off, LSU is the ONLY undefeated team in Division 1-A (FBS). And they did it in the toughest conference. Not even Boise State or Houston could accomplish that in lesser conferences.

Secondly, they beat Alabama, who the majority of people believe is the second best team, on the road in the regular season. I don't necessarily believe they are a better team than Alabama...you could argue Bama outplayed LSU in that game, but in the end the Tigers did win....and so we know they are at least as good as the only other team that is close to them.

Third, they beat Oregon in the first game of the season. The Ducks were ranked in the Top 5 for that game, and they ended the regular season ranked in the top 5 with a PAC 12 Championship to boot.

Fourth, they beat West Virginia, who is representing the Big East in the Orange Bowl, on the road.

The count so far: beat the only other team close to them on the road, beat PAC 12 champ at a neutral site (without their starting quarterback, WR, and a couple others), and beat the Big East champ on the road.

Fifth, they went on the road to Starkville and beat a ranked Mississippi State team at night who ended the season about 5 yards short of a 8-4 record.

Sixth, they beat Kentucky, Florida, Tennessee, Auburn and Ole Miss (all SEC teams) by an average margin of 35 points.

Seventh, they beat the #3 team at the time, and current #6 team, Arkansas 41-17 the day after Thanksgiving.

Eighth, they spanked a Georgia team 42-10 in the SEC Championship that had won 10 straight games.

Ninth, 8 of the 13 teams they played were ranked at the date of the game. 5 of those teams are currently ranked including three in the Top 10.

Tenth, they lost their top offensive lineman before the season started, their starting quarterback was suspended for the first half of the season, their leading receiver from 2010 was suspended the first 3 games, their Heisman Trophy Finalist and two others were suspended for the Auburn game. They still whipped everybody.

Unless Alabama comes out and beats LSU by 3-4 touchdowns, LSU should be guaranteed at least half of the national title. If there was a playoff, that is one thing. But for LSU to have to play only one team who they have already beaten (and on the road no less) to win it is dumb. There really doesn't need to be a national championship game because LSU is the deserving champ. If the regular season is really ultra-important, than they are the champs. Otherwise lets have some fun with a playoff.


JB

Bruce Springsteen

My Top 10 Bruce Springsteen songs:

10. "The Promised Land", 1978

9. "Dancing in the Dark", 1984

8. "Thunder Road", 1975

7. "Something in the Night", 1978

6. "Downbound Train", 1984

5. "Jungleland", 1975

4. "The River", 1980

3. "Prove it All Night", 1978

2. "Backstreets", 1975











1. "Born to Run", 1975


JB

Broncos vs. Patriots

This week's Broncos/Patriots game is huge. It has playoff implications, and with all the Tim Tebow talk everyone will have their eyes on this game. The Patriots will be the best team Denver has played since Tebow took over as starting quarterback.

In Vegas, New England is a 6.5 point favorite. The game is getting five times the action that a typical NFL game gets! 80% of that action is on the Pats.

Tom Brady should be able to throw the ball well against a Broncos secondary that will likely start three rookies. He will also be highly motivated with the Pats in a 4-way tie in the AFC at 10-3. He also has a 1-5 career record vs. the Broncos. The question is, can Tebow and the Broncos offense play keep away from Brady and stay in the game until 'Tebow Time'. We'll see how 'the genius' Bill Belichick game plans for stopping Tebow. After all he is a defensive coach.

Everyone has gone crazy with Tebowmania. Whether it be praise or criticism, everyone is talking about it...at least in the sports world. In the last two days there has been $50,000 worth of sales for his Fathead. One thing about him, he's a leader and his teammates respect him. Despite all the hype, he remains level-headed, and you know his teammates appreciate that and are playing harder because of it. They say the game is 90% mental, and Tebow wins that part of the game every week. It will be interesting to see what happens this week.


JB

The Left

This past weekend, when asked about the 2012 Election, President Obama said, "people will have to choose which direction they think is best. If they think cutting taxes further including for the wealthy and corporations, and having less regulation would be better than I will lose".

When I look at that statement, I have to wonder, who is against those things?

When Herman Cain was still in the race, the left was baffled by the prospect of him being the nominee. What could they do, a conservative black man? They have been telling black people that the right is full of racist rich white folks who are just trying to bring you down. So they came up with character assassinations to bring Cain down. It worked, although I thought him having affairs didn't have much to do with him being president as it didn't with Clinton, or Bush's alcohol, or Obama's cocaine.

But now it's down to Romney and Gingrich for who will face Obama next fall. The left has already started their campaign strategy. It was in Obama's quote above. And that is: pick a strategy for fixing the economy, liberal or conservative. They don't want to make it about Obama, about how he has handled being president for four years. He wants to run as if he's a brand new candidate. So pick based on philosophy, don't regard the decisions he's made while in office.

In the end, I hope he is brought down. "Evil corporations" have billions of dollars sitting on the sidelines, waiting for a president who doesn't hate them. Once Obama is out of office they will open up their pocketbook and we can all get back to work, and people who have a job can make more money. I am hoping for Newt, but whoever it is I will gladly cast might vote against Obama and the left.


JB

6-team College Football Playoff

There is always talk about a college football playoff, especially in December. A 'plus one', or 4-team playoff is gaining a ton of steam and may actually be a possibility in the near future.

The logical argument would be for the 4-team playoff to take place on New Years Day using the current BCS Bowls and then have the National Championship Game played between the winners a week later. This is much better than we have now, but there are some questions. Would the four teams be selected from a committee or would they be determined by a formula similar to the current BCS?

If you take the top 4 teams this year there are still two teams that didn't win their conference (Alabama and Stanford). There's no doubt Alabama deserves to be there, but does Stanford deserve to be over Oregon...a team they lost to by 23 points at home? The Ducks are only behind Stanford because of their loss to USC (Top 5 in the AP) and LSU (#1, and a team Stanford didn't have to play). Oregon is also the PAC 12 Champ. But then again, Stanford is 11-1 and we'd like to see them in the playoff.

Once the SEC Championship Game got out of hand, Gary Danielson filled time by presenting his playoff scenario. It was to have a 6-team playoff. The top two teams would get a bye, but in order to qualify for the bye you had to win your conference. And teams 3-6 would be selected regardless of if you won your conference or not.

I think this is a good idea. Winning your conference is still very important. Yet, strength of schedule and getting into the top six is still important. In this scenario LSU and Oklahoma State would get a bye. The other four teams would be Alabama, Arkansas, Stanford, and Oregon.

The first round could be played two weeks after Championship Saturday, which would be this coming Saturday. To keep from having in-conference teams playing in the playoff, the selection committee would have Stanford at Alabama (4:00) and Arkansas at Oregon (8:00). Games would be played on campus. This scenario is probably the most 'fair' way to do it, and would still keep the regular season really important. And the losers of these two games could go on to play in traditional bowl games a couple of weeks later. The winners of these games would go on to play LSU and OSU in the semifinal on New Year's Day. Then a week later, or maybe even the week before the Superbowl the National Championship is played.

Another scenario that would be even more fun for the fans would be an 8-team playoff. Take the top 4 rated conference champions and let them host the next four best teams. This Saturday would look like this: Alabama at Wisconsin (12:30), Stanford at Oklahoma State (3:30), Boise State at LSU (6:30), Arkansas at Oregon (9:30). That would be pretty cool.


JB

Dave Matthews Band

My Top 10 Dave Matthews Band songs:

10. "Say Goodbye", 1996

9. "Don't Drink the Water", 1998

8. "Dancing Nancies", 1994

7. "Drive In Drive Out", 1996

6. "Jimi Thing", 1994

5. "Too Much", 1996

4. "Crush", 1998

3. "The Best of What's Around", 1994

2. "Cry Freedom", 1996






1. "Lie in Our Graves", 1996


JB

Heisman Race

There's always a lot of debate around who should win the Heisman Trophy. This year they talk about it a lot. It's not for the most valuable player, it's for the most outstanding. The definition of outstanding is prominent; conspicuous; striking. Here's my list:

1. Robert Griffin III - He is really fast and throws for a ton of yards. And he doesn't dink and dunk for those yards, he airs it out...probably throwing the best deep ball in the country. To me, he is the definition of an 'outstanding player'.

2. Trent Richardson - He is a beast, no doubt. If the award was for consistency he would get it.

3. Tyrann Matheiu - Pound for pound he is the best college football player in the country. He is the most outstanding player on the best team.

4. Andrew Luck - If this award was for the most valuable player, I would give it to him, close second would be RGIII.

5. Sammy Watkins - He is the most electric player in college football. He really took Clemson to the next level this year.

6. LaMichael James - He is a product of Oregon's system but he is also really good. Four 200+ yard games this season.

7. Matt Barkley - He is a really good quarterback, but no one has paid much attention since USC is on probation.

8. Kellen Moore - He is solid, and has had a great career. Boise State doesn't play many big games but he plays very well when they do.

9. Montee Ball - He is a really good running back, but no one has paid much attention because Wisconsin is boring.

10. Courtney Upshaw - To me, he's the best player on the best defense in the country.

Honorable Mentions:
- Case Keenum
- Russell Wilson
- Brandon Weeden - But I don't think he should be considered for the Heisman because of his age. I know that 18-22 years olds are capable of stopping a 28 year old and physically they are the same. But mentally they aren't. No, he didn't play football for the 5 years he was away from the game, but he was able to mature while playing baseball, settle down and he's brought that to playing quarterback in college. There's nothing wrong with that, but I don't think he should be considered for a postseason award.


JB

The Polls - End of Regular Season

1. LSU, 13-0 (1): W vs. #3 Oregon, W vs. Northwestern State, W at #16 Mississippi State, W at #19 West Virginia, W vs. Kentucky, W vs. #22 Florida, W at Tennessee, W vs. #15 Auburn, W at #2 Alabama, W vs. Western Kentucky, W at Ole Miss, W vs. #3 Arkansas, W vs. #14 Georgia

2. Alabama, 11-1 (2): W vs. Kent State, W at Penn State, W vs. North Texas, W vs. #8 Arkansas, W at #17 Florida, W vs. Vanderbilt, W at Ole Miss, W vs. Tennessee, L vs. #1 LSU, W at Mississippi State, W vs. Georgia Southern, W at Auburn

3. Oklahoma State, 11-1 (3): W vs. LA-Lafayette, W vs. Arizona, W vs. Tulsa, W at #11 Texas A&M, W vs. Kansas, W at #22 Texas, W at Missouri, W vs. #24 Baylor, W vs. #16 Kansas State, W at Texas Tech, L at Iowa State, W vs. #12 Oklahoma

4. Oregon, 11-2 (6): L vs. #4 LSU, W vs. #9 Nevada, W vs. Missouri State, W at Arizona, W vs. Cal, W vs. #19 Arizona State, W at Colorado, W vs. Washington State, W at Washington, W at #3 Stanford, L vs. #16 Southern Cal, W vs. Oregon State, W vs. UCLA

5. Arkansas, 10-2 (7): W vs. Missouri State, W vs. New Mexico, W vs. Troy, L at #6 Alabama, W vs. #13 Texas A&M, W vs. #9 Auburn, W at Ole Miss, W at Vanderbilt, W vs. #11 South Carolina, W vs. Tennessee, W vs. Mississippi State, L at #1 LSU

6. Stanford, 11-1 (4): W vs. San Jose St., W at Duke, W at Arizona, W vs. UCLA, W vs. Colorado, W at Washington State, W vs. #25 Washington, W at #21 Southern California, W at Oregon State, L vs. #5 Oregon, W vs. Cal, W vs. #24 Notre Dame

7. Southern California, 10-2 (5): W vs. Minnesota, W vs. Utah, W vs. Syracuse, L at Arizona State, W at Arizona, W at Cal, W at Notre Dame, L at #3 Stanford, W at Colorado, W vs. Washington, W at #4 Oregon, W vs. UCLA

8. South Carolina, 10-2 (14): W vs. East Carolina, W at Georgia, W vs. Navy, W vs. Vanderbilt, L vs. #14 Auburn, W vs. Kentucky, W at Mississippi State, W at Tennessee, L at Arkansas, W vs. Florida, W vs. The Citadel, W vs. #13 Clemson

9. Boise State, 11-1 (8): W at Georgia, W at Toledo, W vs. Tulsa, W vs. Nevada, W at Fresno State, W at Colorado State, W vs. Air Force, W at UNLV, L vs. TCU, W at San Diego State, W vs. Wyoming, W vs. New Mexico

10. Wisconsin, 11-2 (9): W vs. UNLV, W vs. Oregon State, W at Northern Illinois, W vs. South Dakota, W vs. #10 Nebraska, W vs. Indiana, L at #16 Michigan State, L at Ohio State, W vs. Purdue, W at Minnesota, W at Illinois, W vs. #21 Penn State, W vs. #11 Michigan State

11. Kansas State, 10-2 (11): W vs. Eastern Kentucky, W vs. Kent State, W at Miami (Fl), W vs. #12 Baylor, W vs. Missouri, W at Texas Tech, W at Kansas, L vs. #11 Oklahoma, L at #4 Oklahoma State, W vs. Texas A&M, W at Texas, W vs. Iowa State

12. Georgia, 10-3 (12): L vs. #9 Boise State, L vs. #22 South Carolina, W vs. Coastal Carolina, W at Ole Miss, W vs. Mississippi State, W at Tennessee, W at Vanderbilt, W vs. Florida, W vs. New Mexico State, W vs. Auburn, W vs. Kentucky, W at #23 Georgia Tech, L vs. #1 LSU

13. Clemson, 10-3 (14): W vs. Troy, W vs. Wofford, W vs. #1 Auburn, W vs. #14 Florida State, W at #9 Virginia Tech, W vs. Boston College, W at Maryland, W vs. North Carolina, L at Georgia Tech, W vs. Wake Forest, L at N.C. State, L at #12 South Carolina, W vs. #8 Virginia Tech

14. Baylor, 9-3 (15): W vs. #2 TCU, W vs. Stephen F. Austin, W vs. Rice, L at Kansas State, W vs. Iowa State, L at #23 Texas A&M, L at #6 Oklahoma State, W vs. Missouri, W at Kansas, W vs. #7 Oklahoma, W vs. Texas Tech, W vs. Texas

15. Michigan State, 10-3 (12): W vs. Youngstown State, W vs. Florida Atlantic, L at Notre Dame, W at Central Michigan, W at Ohio State, W vs. #11 Michigan, W vs. #4 Wisconsin, L at #13 Nebraska, W vs. Minnesota, W at Iowa, W vs. Indiana, W at Northwestern, L vs. #16 Wisconsin

16. Michigan, 10-2 (13): W vs. Western Michigan, W vs. Notre Dame, W vs. Eastern Michigan, W vs. San Diego State, W vs. Minnesota, W at Northwestern, L at #24 Michigan State, W vs. Purdue, L at Iowa, W at Illinois, W vs. #19 Nebraska, W vs. Ohio State

17. Virginia Tech, 11-2 (17): W vs. App. State, W at East Carolina, W vs. Arkansas State, W at Marshall, L vs. #11 Clemson, W vs. Miami (FL), W at Wake Forest, W vs. Boston College, W at Duke, W at #17 Georgia Tech, W vs. North Carolina, W at #22 Virginia, L vs. #20 Clemson

18. TCU, 10-2 (16): L at Baylor, W at Air Force, W vs. La-Monroe, W vs. Portland State, L vs. SMU, W at San Diego State, W vs. New Mexico, W vs. BYU, W at Wyoming, W at #6 Boise State, W vs. Colorado State, W vs. UNLV

19. Southern Miss, 11-2 (24): W vs. Louisiana Tech, L at Marshall, W at SE Louisiana, W at Virginia, W vs. Rice, W at Navy, W vs. SMU, W at UTEP, W at East Carolina, W vs. Central Florida, L at UAB, W vs. Memphis, W at #7 Houston

20. Houston, 12-1 (20): W vs. UCLA, W at North Texas, W at LA Tech, W vs. Georgia State, W at UTEP, W vs. East Carolina, W vs. Marshall, W vs. Rice, W at UAB, W at Tulane, W vs. SMU, W at Tulsa, L vs. #24 Southern Miss

21. Oklahoma, 9-2 (19): W vs. #24 Tusla, W at #14 Florida State, W vs. Missouri, W vs. Ball State, W vs. #12 Texas, W at Kansas, L vs. Texas Tech, W at #9 Kansas State, W vs. Texas A&M, L at #24 Baylor, W vs. Iowa State, L at #3 Oklahoma State

22. Nebraska, 9-3 (21): W vs. Chattanooga, W vs. Fresno State, W vs. Washington, W at Wyoming, L at #5 Wisconsin, W vs. Ohio State, W at Minnesota, W vs. #10 Michigan State, L vs. Northwestern, W at #20 Penn State, L at #20 Michigan, W vs. Iowa

23. West Virginia, 9-3 (23): W vs. Marshall, W vs. Norfolk State, W at #21 Maryland, L vs. #1 LSU, W vs. Bowling Green, W vs. UConn, L at Syracuse, W at Rutgers, L vs. Louisville, W at Cincinnati, W vs. Pittsburgh, W at South Florida

24. Penn State, 9-3 (24): W at Indiana State, L vs. #8 Alabama, W at Temple, W vs. Eastern Michigan, W at Indiana, W vs. Iowa, W vs. Purdue, W at Northwestern, W vs. Illinois, W at Ohio State, L at #20 Wisconsin

25. Arkansas State, 9-2 (NR): L at Illinois, W vs. Memphis, L at #13 Virginia Tech, W vs. Central Arkansas, W at Western Kentucky, W at LA-Monroe, W vs. FIU, W vs. North Texas, W vs. Florida Atlantic, W at MTSU


Florida State is ranked 25th in the AP.



JB

End of the Season Grades

Best Defenses

1. Alabama, (A+) - They are incredible. Their linebackers and safeties are the best in the country, Upshaw and Barron probably being the best at their position in the country. D Line is good, corners are excellent. I think their coaching is a little better than LSU.

2. LSU, (A+) - They are incredible. The defensive line is stacked. They are stacked at linebacker. The secondary is second to none. Tyrann Mathieu and Morris Claiborne make up the best cornerback duo in the country. They have speed everywhere, and I think they have a little more of it than Bama.

3. Georgia, (A) - They have a lot of playmakers on defense, and they are evenly scattered throughout, with an underrated D Line. They've come a long way from '09 and even last year. Todd Gratham should be assistant coach of the year.

4. South Carolina, (A-) - The Gamecocks have the best defensive line in the SEC. That's lead to a great passing defense certainly helped by Antonio Allen and Stephon Gilmore. They've been the backbone of USC's 10-win season.

5. Mississippi State (B+) - Outside of the second week, and second to last week of the season the defense played great all year. They held everyone else including LSU and Alabama to under 25 points. Losing Manny Diaz figured to be a big blow, but Chris Wilson held the D up to the same level statistically.

6. Florida, (B) - The Gators had a solid defense. They held it together which Charlie's Weis offense looked for itself, and never found it either.

7. Vanderbilt (B-) - They have played well all year, keeping Vandy in all their games but one, and in that one they held Bama close until the 2nd half.

8. Arkansas (C) - The Hog's D was touted as Bobby Petrino's best defense since he's been at Arkansas. Whether it was or not is up for debate. In the end, it was just good enough.

9. Tennessee (C-) - The Vol's have some talent here but they are young like the rest of the team and have struggled at times. They play hard, but don't have much depth right now.

10. Kentucky (D+) - Danny Travathan and Winston Guy willed this unit to a strong finish, that gets them a '+'.

11. Auburn (D) - They got whipped a number of times. But they'll be better next year.

12. Ole Miss (F) - It's not even close, they were horrible. Tyrone Nix gets the award for the worst assistant in the SEC.



Best Offenses

1. Arkansas (A) - Everything is good about the Hogs offense, until they play Alabama and LSU. This is a good example of what would happen to Oklahoma State or any other high-powered offensive team when they play a super defensive team.

2. Georgia (B+) - Aaron Murray came on late and will lead a quality group of SEC QBs in 2012. UGA has plenty of talent, although they can't keep anyone healthy in the backfield.

3. Alabama (B) - Trent Richardson, a great offensive line, and decent quarterback and receivers. That's all they need with their defense.

4. LSU (B) - The Tigers philosophy is run the ball and punt if their in their own territory. If not, air it out. But in either scenario play really physical and once the 2nd half comes around there will be plenty of yards for everyone to gain.

5. South Carolina (B-) - Conner Shaw played pretty well down the stretch. Despite losing Marcus Lattimore, they were able to beat Florida and Clemson for a 10-2 record. Nice job by Steve Spurrier.

6. Vanderbilt (C+) - Once Jordan Rodgers took over this unit played really well. Zac Stacy had a great season and was probably the 2nd best tailback after Lattimore got hurt.

7. Auburn (C) - Michael Dyer is a stud. McCalleb is fast. Emory Blake is good. But Gus Malzahn is having major problems with his quarterbacks. Frazier isn't ready, but Trotter and Mosley can't do the job.

8. Mississippi State (C) - The O line was injury-proned in the first half of the season, Chris Relf lost his confidence, but Tyler Russell came in and the Dawgs finished pretty strong. Vick Ballard was the constant throughout. Chad Bumphis had a disappointing year, only coming up big in non-conference games.

9. Florida (D+) - Charlie Weis is beyond over-rated.

10. Tennessee (D) - Injuries hurt really bad, but things were not good in Knoxville.

11. Kentucky (D) - They were pretty awful all year, they had to use a WR at QB vs. Tennessee. Morgan Newton getting hurt probably saved this grade from being an 'F'.

12. Ole Miss (F) - It was probably just a 'D' for most of the year but they tanked once Nutt was fired. A pretty big waste of talent this team was.


Best Coaching Jobs

1. Les Miles, LSU - In year's past it seemed like LSU was winning in spite of Miles. But this year it seems like he has elevated their play. LSU has had a ton of distractions but they only seem to make the Tigers better. Miles hasn't done many tricks or gadgets at all...he knows what to do for this team to win.

2. James Franklin, VU - Vandy is a hard place to coach, but Franklin got the most out of this team. They could've easily been 9-3...or at least better than 6-6. Vandy played with a different swagger this year, and they are going to a bowl again.

3. Mark Richt, UGA - Georgia could have easily folded after being 0-2 and everyone calling for Richt's head. But they won 10 in a row behind a stout defense and a solid offense.

4. Steve Spurrier, USC - The last 5 games could've fallen apart for USC with the loss of Garcia and Lattimore but Spurrier held them together and now they can reach 11 wins for the first time in their history.

5. Gene Chizik, AUB - He may have won the national championship last year, but he lost an unprecedented amount of players off that team. Still, he managed to win some close games and get back to a bowl.

6. Nick Saban, UA - Saban is the best coach in the SEC, be it recruiting, X's & O's, or motivation.

7. Bobby Petrino, ARK - No one likes Petrino, but everyone agrees he can coach. The question is, can he get over the hump with his 'offense first' approach in the SEC?

8. Dan Mullen, MSU - Things didn't work out the way everyone in Starkville had hoped
this year. But the team never quit, won the Egg Bowl for the 3rd straight year and a bowl for the 2nd. Four of MSU's six loses were against top 10 BCS teams, the other two were against # 16 UGA and #25 Auburn.

9. Joker Philips, UK - Kentucky got off to a horrible start this year. They looked awful in two non-conference wins and were not competitive for the first half of the season. After their bye week (Week 7) they came out and beat Jacksonville State, played better vs. MSU, then pulled out a solid victory vs. Ole Miss. After getting smashed by Vanderbilt they fought hard and barely lost at UGA, and then Philips was able to lead the Cats to their first win over Tennessee in 27 years. For that alone he should keep his job.

10. Derek Dooley, UT - The mess he inherited at Tennessee was a tough job. He's got good players but no depth, then the injuries to key players really put a damper on the season. Still, the Vols should have lost to Vanderbilt and they did lose to Kentucky....just a sniff away from a winless SEC season. He should get another year in Knoxville, but if he doesn't win at least 7 games he's out.

11. Will Muschamp, UF - 2010 was one of the worst season's for recent Florida football, and Muschamp has brought them down from that. Charlie Weis has been a disaster at O.C., everyone's just afraid to say so. How can they not win with all the talent they have on the roster? This was a really bad coaching job.

12. Houston Nutt, UM - Ole Miss was absolutely awful this year. Nutt deserved to be fired. He has completely burnt their program to the ground and threw in the worst season in Ole Miss history to boot.


Top 25 SEC Players:

1. Trent Richardson, UA
2. Courtney Upshaw, UA
3. Tyrann Mathieu, LSU
4. Donta' Hightower, UA
5. Barkevious Mingo, LSU
6. Danny Trevathan, UK
7. Jarvis Jones, UGA
8. Ben Jones, UGA
9. Melvin Ingram, USC
10. Morris Claiborne, LSU
11. Aaron Murray, UGA
12. Alshon Jeffrey, USC
13. Sam Montgomery, LSU
14. Brandon Boykin, UGA
15. Fletcher Cox, MSU
16. Mark Barron, UA
17. Barrett Jones, UA
18. Bacarri Rambo, UGA
19. Zac Stacy, VU
20. Tyler Wilson, ARK
21. Jadaveon Clowney, USC
22. Dre' Kirkpatrick, UA
23. Jerry Franklin, ARK
24. Johnthan Banks, MSU
25. Da'Rick Rogers, UT



JB

Predictions vs. Actual Top 25

Here is the Top 25 I predicted, and in parenthesis is where the team actually finished (in the AP).


1. South Carolina (10)
2. Florida State (25)
3. Oklahoma (19)
4. Boise State (8)
5. Wisconsin (9)
6. Virginia Tech (17)
7. Oregon (6)
8. Mississippi State (NR)
9. Alabama (2)
10. Oklahoma State (3)
11. LSU (1)
12. Stanford (5)
13. Arkansas (7)
14. Texas A&M (NR)
15. Nebraska (21)
16. Texas (NR)
17. Missouri (NR)
18. Southern Cal (5)
19. Southern Miss (22)
20. Penn State (24)
21. TCU (16)
22. West Virginia (23)
23. Clemson (14)
24. BYU (NR)
25. Florida (NR)

I didn't predict the following to be ranked, but they were: Kansas State (11), Michigan State (12), Michigan (13), Baylor (15), Georgia (18), and Houston (20).


JB

Alan Jackson

My Top 10 Alan Jackson songs:

10. "Don't Rock the Jukebox", 1991

9. "Country Boy", 2008

8. "Chattahoochee", 1993

7. "Remember When", 2003

6. "Where Were You (When the World Stopped Turning)", 2001






5. "Here in the Real World", 1990

4. "Midnight in Montgomery", 1992

3. "Livin' on Love", 1994

2. "She's Got the Rhythm (And I Got the Blues)", 1992

1. "Like Red on a Rose", 2006


JB

Week 14 Preview

I was watching the BCS Countdown show on ESPN last Sunday night. They were saying how unfair it was that LSU had to play in the SEC Championship and Alabama didn't. I guarantee Alabama doesn't feel that way. Maybe in the Big 12 or PAC 12 the championship game doesn't matter, winning the conference doesn't matter as much...the number one goal is the national championship. I don't see it that way, and I don't think most SEC fans do either. The SEC Championship is what it's all about. When I dream about Mississippi State having an amazing year, I dream about winning the SEC, not the BCS. LSU has plenty of motivation to beat Georgia tomorrow. They want to win an SEC Championship.

LSU vs. Georgia - This is the 3rd time these two teams have met in the SEC Championship Game (2003, 2005). They both have won one and lost one. This will be the 3rd time this year Georgia has played in Atlanta in 2011 and the second time in the Dome. LSU is better, plain and simple. On paper, though, it looks like a good game. Georgia is near the top of the SEC in every category in offense and defense. But they still haven't really played anyone. Their 10 wins this year have come against 9 FBS teams with a combined record of 49-59 and one FCS team. Out of those nine teams, one has eight wins (GT), one has seven (Auburn) and the rest have six or fewer. So we don't really know just how good UGA is, although we know they are pretty good to real off 10 straight wins. If Georgia can play a close, defensive game they could win. Tyler Wilson couldn't do much last week, but I think Aaron Murrey is a better cornerback. If Isiah Crowell can keep run enough to draw LSU's safeties in Georgia could score some points....and by that I mean more than 14. Otherwise the Tigers beat them in every phase of the game and so I have to pick LSU to win here, 27-17.

Oregon over UCLA for the PAC 12 Championship.

Houston over Southern Miss for the CUSA Championship.

Baylor over Texas, RGIII dominates.

Oklahoma State over Oklahoma by 17 points.

Wisconsin over Michigan State for the Big Ten Championship.

Clemson over Virginia Tech for the ACC Championship.


JB