NCAA Week 4 Picks

San Diego St @ 22 Michigan - This is a no brainer trap game for a Michigan team that has won some pretty emotional games. Some people think the Brady Hoke leaving San Diego St to take over at Michigan is an advantage for Michigan since he knows the players so well, but college football is an emotional sport, and this game at the Big House is going to be San Diego St's Rose Bowl, and the most important football game most of these kids ever play in. Michigan should win because their roster is better, but it'll be close.

I'm taking Michigan at home.

14 Arkansas @ 3 Alabama - Arkansas are good, but Alabama are national championship contenders... and they're playing at home. I like Arkansas this year to be good but not good enough to beat the Crimson Tide at home.

I'm taking Alabama at home.

2 LSU @ 16 W Virginia - LSU were my preason prediction to win it all this year and they're starting to look pretty good. This week W. Virginia found out that the SEC wants nothing to do with them, so that could fuel the WVU players, but do the student athletes really care about that stuff? I suppose they may as a matter of pride, but not enough to fuel a victory over a team as good as LSU.

I'm taking LSU on the road.

7 Oklahoma St @ 8 Texas A&M - The Aggies are incredibly lucky that this year happens to be a home game against the Cowboys. A&M is historically one of the toughest places to play, and I expect their defense to benefit a great deal from the crowd noise.

I'm taking Texas A&M at home.

11 Florida St @ 21 Clemson - Clemson are coming off of an emotional win while the Seminoles are coming off of a painful loss. Florida St. are simply the better team in this game. Clemson always lose games like this.

I'm taking Florida State on the road.

Are There Too Many Bowl Games?

Last week I essentially defended the Bowl system by arguing that a playoff wouldn't do justice to the regular season.

Today I'm raising the question, are there too many Bowl games? And if so, how do we change to Bowl system to make every game (or at least 75% of them) more valuable.

This year there are 34 Bowl Games. Like every year, there are about 10 games you won't miss, another 5 you'll want to catch, and another 5 that will be worth watching. After that we're left with about 14 games that are awful, about half of which include teams that you want to see against awful opposition.

Bowl games are supposed to be a reward for teams that played good to great football in a particular season. The following teams played very mediocre football and have made it to bowl games in 2009; UCLA (6-6, 3-6 in Pac 10), Wyoming (6-6, 4-4 in Mountain West), Marshall (6-6, 4-4 in C-USA), Texas A&M (6-6, 3-5 Big 12), Minnesota (6-6, 3-5 Big 10), Iowa State (6-6, 3-5 Big 12).

That's 6 teams right off the bat that shouldn't be playing in post-season games. In my opinion, if a bowl loss would put you below .500 on a season, you shouldn't be eligible for a bowl game. That should be a rule. To make matters worse, Minnesota and Iowa State are playing each other in the Insight Bowl on New Years Eve. A game I know the entire nation is looking forward to.

On top of those six .500 teams, there are a few pretty desperately mediocre teams who shouldn't be playing in a post season game. Middle Tennessee State, 2nd place in the Sun Belt, are going to play (and likely lose to) C-USA #5 Southern Mississippi. I'm all for the Sun Belt sending a second team to a Bowl, it legitimizes the conference, but C-USA #5? The 7-5 Golden Eagles were about as mediocre as a team could be all season long.

With a 3-5 conference record, Kentucky are going to play a pretty good Clemson team in the Music City Bowl. And WAC #4 Idaho are going to play MAC #4 Bowling Green in the Humanitarian Bowl.

Finally there's UConn, USF, and Northern Illinois. Northern Illinois are the MAC #5, and though they were able to beat Purdue early in the regular season, it's hard to argue for five teams from the MAC being bowl eligible.

NIU's opponent, USF, are a similar story. At 7-5, 3-5 in the Big East, it's hard to make a case for this team being Bowl eligible, especially considering they've gotten blown out in four of their five losses. UConn on the other hand, had four losses to ranked teams at the moment, three of which remain ranked. The biggest issue lies in that none of their wins (outside of a win over the aforementioned USF) comes against a participating Bowl team.

UConn's opponent in the Papa John's.com bowl with be the South Carolina Gamecocks; a 7-5 team, with a 3-5 conference record, making them SEC #7. I know the SEC is the premiere conference of the FBS, but c'mon, seven teams? That's a little too hefty. Even for the SEC.

So far we've eliminated UConn, USF, NIU, South Carolina, UCLA, Wyoming, Southern Miss, Marshall, Texas A&M, Minnesota, Iowa State, Kentucky, Idaho, and Bowling Green from Bowl games.

I know I've omitted FSU from this elimination, and I suppose at 6-6 they shouldn't be eligible, but Bobby Bowden has earned a chance to go out on a positive note. Let's give him a rare break in this situation.

That's 14 teams, in other words 7 games. Enough to take our Bowl season from 34 games to 27.

27 games would be perfect, wouldn't it? With the leftover teams who were stuck against poor opponents we'd get games like Fresno State vs Temple and Clemson vs Georgia. Not wonderful games, but better than what we have.

Truth be told. as good a 27 game Bowl Series would be, it probably won't happen. The profitability of the Bowl system for the NCAA, the universities, and the cities which host the games, is too high for the NCAA to start cutting back on Bowl games. And with the Yankee Stadium Bowl coming next year, the better odds would be with that number growing to 40 by 2015.

Hopefully, for the competitive sake of the sport, it won't.

2009 BOWL SCHEDULE

The moment is finally here and the Bowl schedule has finally been released. I'll hit you with my reactions soon, but for now I'd like to just post this as an untampered document. EagleBank are the only slackers so far.

December 19, 2009

New Mexico Bowl
Fresno State vs Wyoming

St Petersburg Bowl
UCF vs Rutgers

December 20, 2009

New Orleans Bowl
Southern Miss vs Middle Tennessee

December 22, 2009

Las Vegas Bowl
Oregon State vs BYU

December 23, 2009

Poinsettia Bowl
Utah vs Cal

December 24, 2009

Hawaii Bowl
Nevada vs SMU

December 26, 2009

Little Caesars Bowl
Marshall vs Ohio

Car Care Bowl
Pitt vs North Carolina

Emerald Bowl
Boston College vs USC

December 27, 2009

Music City Bowl
Kentucky vs Clemson

December 28, 2009

Independence Bowl
Texas A&M vs Georgia

December 29, 2009

EagleBank Bowl
UCLA or Army vs Temple

Champs Sports Bowl
Miami vs Wisconsin

December 30, 2009

Humanitarian Bowl
Bowling Green vs Idaho

Holiday Bowl
Arizona vs Nebraska

December 31, 2009

Armed Forces Bowl
Houston vs Air Force

Sun Bowl
Oklahoma vs Stanford

Texas Bowl
Navy vs Missouri

Insight Bowl
Minnesota vs Iowa State

Chick-fil-A
Virginia Tech vs Tennessee

January 1, 2010

Outback Bowl
Northwestern vs Auburn

Capital One
Penn State vs LSU

Gator Bowl
West Virginia vs Florida State

Rose Bowl
Ohio State vs Oregon

Sugar Bowl
Florida vs Cincinnati

January 2, 2010

International Bowl
South Florida vs Northern Illinois

Papajohns.com Bowl
South Carolin vs UConn

Cotton Bowl
Oklahoma State vs Ole Miss

Liberty Bowl
Arkansas vs East Carolina

Alamo Bowl
Michigan State vs Texas Tech

January 4, 2010

Fiesta Bowl
Boise State vs TCU

January 5, 2010

Orange Bowl
Iowa vs Georgia Tech

January 6, 2010

GMAC Bowl
Central Michigan vs Troy

January 7, 2010

BCS National Championship
Texas vs Alabama

NCAA Division III Highlight: The Future is Now, The Future is Rouch

A quarterback controversy is brewing in Orange, California; Scratch that.

A quarterback controversy is boiling in Orange, California this week as the struggling Chapman Panthers (3-4) look to defend their home field against Redlands (6-1) in the Panthers home finale of a disappointing 2009 season.

The Panthers entered 2009 with arguably their best offensive roster to date, however, due to foul quarterback play the team has struggled against even the weakest of opponents. In 2008 the Panthers defeated Claremont 21-7 on the road; Last week the Panthers barely held on 13-9, and were a poor play calling decision by Claremont head coach Rick Candaele away from being upset at home. It took a miracle for the Panthers to defeat Pomona-Pitzer back in October, a team the Panthers dominated in 2008.

Throughout Chapman's campus, questions are being asked not only about head coach Bob Owens' ability to make the right decision during a game, but also during the preparation for each weeks game.

Enter the quarterback controversy.

Senior QB, Alex Rouch was recruited heavily by Division I schools during his senior season at Grandview Heights High School, where Rouch passed for over 4,000 yards en route to earning himself a spot on Ohio's All State team; one of the most prestigious All State rosters a recruit can land on. Instead of committing to a big time Division I-AA school, or a smaller FBS school, Rouch opted with the Division III Panthers because they offered the academics, and geographic locale Rouch sought necessary to pursue his dream of entering the entertainment industry.

While at Chapman, Rouch has starred in award-winning short films, wrote television pilots, performed on broadcast television, and interned for the director of the film Friday Night Lights, Peter Berg, who has been a mentor to Rouch.

Some on campus even point to Rouch's relationship with Berg as the indirect reason that Rouch was never given the chance to lead the Panthers. As a true sophomore, Rouch took the season off to focus on academic endeavours. In the Fall of 2007, Alex had possibly his most successful semester in the entertainment industry; he began studying under Berg, riveted audiences with his "tough guy persona" as Heath in the comedy Ridiculously Emo, and performed exceedingly well academically. His lack of participation with the Panthers however, was rumored to have earned Rouch a spot in coach Owens dog house, where unfortunately he still remains.

Rouch returned to the Panthers in 2008, where he sat behind QB Eric Marty, the Panthers starter since Rouch's freshman year; After the 2008 season, Marty gave Rouch his blessing, and all signs pointed to 2009 as being the season which Rouch would finally lead the Panthers. Furthering Marty's support of his ex-roomate Rouch, was that in a similar situation, Marty took a year off from the Panthers as a sophomore.

Things didn't quite work that way, though, Despite a reportedly tremendous showing at off season work outs and training camp, Rouch was buried deep on a Panthers roster that held at one point eight QB's.

Eight QB's wasn't enough to the get Panthers offense moving in 2009. Thus far through seven games the Panthers have picked up just over 1,000 yards passing. The collective completion percentage of the Panthers starting quarterbacks this season is barely 48%, and the touchdown to interception ratio for the season is 7 to 8, with one of those touchdown passes coming from kicker Jimmy Adranly.

Many fans, donors, and alum liken Rouch's benching to the reason that the Panthers 2009 season has been such a bust. Every home game over 1,000 disappointed fans; current students, family, and alumni alike, sit frustrated in Ernie Chapman stadium as the Panthers offense struggles to come close to putting up a respectable twenty points. It's nothing against current Panthers QB Blake Vanderweil; he's certainly athletic, but his performance the past two weeks have given the Chapman fan base little hope of defeating Redlands this week.

On the other hand, Rouch has given the entire Panther community hope. Hope of bringing the 2009 Panthers above .500, where they belong. Rouch is much bigger than Vanderweil, and thus has much better field vision; something Vanderweil struggled mightily with in Saturday's win over Claremont. It's also rumored that Rouch has better chemistry with the Panthers receiving core, which is easily their most athletic in Owens' tenure calling the plays for the Panthers.

So it's up to Bob Owens. He's undoubtedly heard the roars of "we want Rouch" chants from the crowds at Ernie Chapman stadium. He's seen how Rouch has impressed not only his team mates, but Owens' staff in practice. He's seen Rouch's numbers in High School with the Bobcats. The fans have spoken, the players have spoken.

Coach Owens,

The future is now, the future is Rouch.

What They Went to School For

Ever wonder if college football players go to class? Chances are they don't, but like most people enrolled in a University or College, they need to have a purpose to their studies.

Here is a list that I compiled of some of the more prominent active college superstars and their major.

Tim Tebow; University of Florida - Family, Youth, and Community Sciences

Brandon Spikes; University of Florida - Social & Behavioral Sciences

Jimmy Clausen; Notre Dame - Sociology

Colt McCoy; University of Texas - Sport Management

Sergio Kindle; University of Texas - Youth and Community Studies

Tyrod Taylor; Virginia Tech - University Studies

Jahvid Best; University of California Berkley - Undeclared

Jacory Harris; University of Miami - Undeclared

C.J Spiller; Clemson - Pre-Business

Tony Pike; Cincinnati - History

Sam Bradford; Oklahoma - Finance

Eric Berry; University of Tennessee - Pre-Dental

Taylor Mays; University of Southern California - Sociology

Matt Barkley; University of Southern California - Communication

Jevan Snead; Ole Miss - Liberal Arts

Dez Bryant; Oklahoma State - Education

Ndamukong Suh; Nebraska - Construction Management

Jerry Hughes; Texas Christian University - Communications

Jake Locker; University of Washington - History

First of all I don't know what half these majors even mean, but some of them are actually pretty impressive. Eric Berry, who some people rank as the best player in college is Pre-Dental? I guess that's the only impressive one. That and Bradford as a finance major.

Now it's time to make fun. For any sociology major out there whoever took themselves seriously, PLEASE, read that list. Your major is not real. It is what athletes and hot girls take so they don't have a lot of work in the way of practice and parties.

At least Jacory Harris and Jahvid Best are keeping it real at undeclared. Props on that.

I've been to a lot of schools, applied to a lot of schools, and I never knew the major Youth & Community Studies existed. But at least if things in my town every go wrong, Tim Tebow and Sergio Kindle can come help the youth get things on track.

Here are some current NFL players majors from college:

Peyton Manning; University of Tennessee - Speech Communication

Eli Manning; Ole Miss - Business

JaMarcus Russell; LSU - General Studies

Ben Roethlisberger; University of Miami Ohio - Physical Education

Reggie Bush; University of Southern California - Political Science

Matt Leinart; Universtiy of Southern California - Sociology

Tom Brady; University of Michigan - Organizational Studies

So if you ever need to get your life together and don't know the best way to organize it, give Tom Brady a call. He's got a degree.

Big Ben as a gym teacher. Classic.