Well now is the ACC’s chance to prove they are worth the hype.

Throughout the season everyon [and I mean everyone] dogged the ACC for its inconsistent and offense-less play. Funny how nobody mentioned that the Big 12 may have had some of the most high scoring offenses, but couldn’t stop a high school team from scoring on them. Kind of makes you wonder ‘why’ their offense score so many points doesn’t it?? But that’s a whole other blog to get into…

Back to the ACC. The ACC has put 10 [yes count ‘em] teams in the bowl season, from the Inaugural Eagle Bank Bowl in Washington D.C., ending with the Orange Bowl Dec. 1.

Here is a look at each bowl:

Eagle Bank Bowl [Dec. 20, 11 a.m. — Washington D.C.] Wake Forest (7-5) vs. Navy (8-4) — The Demon Deacons suffered a loss at home Sept. 27 by a final of 24-17 to the Midshipmen. It was a tough loss for Wake fans who expected an easier victory against a 1st year head coach. The Deacs’ are hoping they can travel a good set of fans to Washington D.C. and Navy should have no problem filling their allotment. Wake will probably come out the victor in this game, it’s hard to beat a team twice in the same season — see Boston College and Virginia Tech the past 2 years. Anyway, official prediction will come later, but I expect this to be a fairly decent game between 2 teams ready to play.

Meinecke Car Care Bowl [Dec. 27, 1 p.m. — Charlotte, N.C.] UNC (8-4) vs. WVU (8-4) —  North Carolina is seeking their 3rd huge win over a Big East team. This game is Pat White’s last game, however and he will be ready to play. The Mountaineers are probably feeling a bit down, having to play before New Years Day after playing 5 straight bowl games on or after, including 2 BCS wins. The Mountaineers come up big in bowl games — see the Fiesta last year against Oklahoma when nobody gave them a chance. On the other hand, UNC [who will be playing as if its a home game] hasn’t went bowling since 2004 and wants to show WVU that they belong in the Big East — not the ACC.

Champs Sports Bowl [Dec. 27, 4:30 p.m. — Tampa Fl.] Florida State (8-4) vs. Wisconsin (7-5) — FSU fans probably feel slighted by the fact that they aren’t playing in the Gator Bowl. Instead a team who barely went bowling and lost to FSU is making the trip to Jacksonville. All that aside, FSU needs to get themselves focuses for what looks to be a grind-out-the-clock type of game. Both teams have won when their running games could get going, but have struggled when its stopped. This is an interesting match-up between a Wisconsin team that at one point was a top-10 team before losing 4 straight. The Badgers feel like they need to prove their season wasn’t a total bust, while FSU needs to show the ACC is one of hte premiere conferences. Should be a close game, down to the wire.

Emerald Bowl [Dec. 27, 8 p.m. — San Francisco, Calif.] Miami (7-5) vs. California (8-4) — This is another game the ACC should fare very well in. Miami has come a long way since Randy Shannon took over 2 seasons ago. They at one point had the ACC Coastal locked up [who didn’t this season right?] but faltered with 2 straight losses to GT and NC State. Miami will be looking to redeem itself against a very powerful California. Cal has relied on sophomore running back Jahvid Best who has racked up nearly 1,400 yards and 13 touchdowns. Miami will, however, feel like the road team at this game as Cal should bring a large number of fans and Mia will probably bring minimal — they couldn’t fill their own stadium at home, so I don’t see swarms of fans traveling cross-country. I think it’s a bit odd that the ACC has a bowl tie-in with a game so far away, but they are happy to get Miami who may not be large crowds, but will hopefully bring high television ratings.

PapaJohns.com Bowl [Dec. 29, 3 p.m. — Birgmingham, Alabama] N.C. State (6-6) vs. Rutgers (7-5) —  N.C. State was the hottest team in the ACC at the conclusion of the regular season, winning 4-straight games to become bowl eligible. Rutgers was 1-5 after 6 games, before ripping off 6-straight wins to make a bowl game. NC State was selected for this game after the Pac 10 failed to have enough bowl eligible teams to meet their commitments. This game features the 86th overall offense in NC State and 38th in Rutgers and appears to be a fairly matched game. The Wolfpack’s Russell Wilson has looked like a professional the last few weeks, earning him Rookie of the year in the ACC and a spot on the All-ACC conference team. This game should be a solid game with a decent turn out by both fan bases. NC State may have the edge, being a lot closer to Alabama.

Humanitarian Bowl [Dec. 30, 4:30 p.m. — Boise, Idaho] Maryland (7-5) vs. Nevada (7-5) — Ahh the battle on the Smurf Turf in Boise, Idaho… A very interesting game here for the Terps. Believe it or not, Nevada comes into this game with the 5th ranked offense in the land, Maryland is a mediocre 74th [of course which ACC teams isn’t that far back right?]. Nevada also owns the 2nd best rushing attack in the FBS. Maryland is going to have their hands full in this game, and the Terps haven’t fared so well on the road. Nevada is also the #5 rushing defense in the country. No surprise here if an ACC team falls to a very well coached WAC team with WAC Player of the Year Colin Kaepernick.

Music City Bowl [Dec. 31, 3:30 — Nashville, Tenn.] Boston College (9-4) vs. Vanderbilt (6-6) — Boston College fans think they deserve to be in a higher game after losing their 2nd consecutive ACC Championship Game to Virginia Tech. The problem being, fans don’t attend the games, thus the conselation prize for losing the ACCCG. BC needs to be fortunate that the ACC has a rule that the loser of that game can’t fall below this bowl game — and trust me, that rule was made for BC specifically. Anyway, BC is going against a very hungry Vandy team that hasn’t played past the regular season in 26 years. Both offenses here are less than steller with BC ranking 99th overall and Vandy 118th [yes out of 119 teams]. People though the ACCCG was going to be boring with two poorly ranked offenses — wait until they see this ’slug-fest.’ BC was one of only 2 ACC teams to take  home bowl victories last year and can do the same if their defense shows up more than it did against the Hokies.

Chick-fil-A Bowl [Dec. 31, 7:30 p.m. — Atlanta, Ga.] Georgia Tech (9-3) vs. LSU (7-5) —  Georgia Tech finished the season as what most determined to be the ‘hottest’ team in the ACC. Granted, they went into Athens and beat a very tough Georgia team, but their defense has got to step up and quit letting so many points on the board — remember that team named Louisville who put 50+ points up every week last season, but gave up 55+ points every week. LSU is the defending national champions, far from what they were a year ago, but still a very tough opponent for GT. Overall offenses rank 52nd [GT] and 53rd [LSU], but GT with their Triple-Option is #3 in rushing offense. This game should see a lot of points on the board and it’ll be interesting to see if GT can back up all their “we deserved to be in the ACCCG” talk they’ve done in recent weeks.

Gator Bowl [Jan. 1, 1 p.m. — Jacksonville, Fl.] Clemson (7-5) vs. Nebraska (8-4) —  Clemson players and coaches need to thank their fans mightily for getting them to a New Year’s Day Bowl. This is the same Clemson team who started the season #9 and fell the hardest of all teams in the country. Granted, after getting rid of Tommy Bowden and putting Dabo Swiney in they recovered well and pulled out the critical wins to become bowl eligible, but Gator Bowl… really? FSU fans were horrified to learn that the glorious in-state bowl game passed over them and have since sworn off watching the game… Funniest comment on an ESPN message board I saw from an FSU fan — “the Gator Bowl is dead to me” — a little harsh considering the economic times and the fact that the Gator simply wanted fans in the seats, and knew Clemson would fill the stadium. Anyway, this game is going to be an exciting one. Virginia Tech traveled to Lincoln, Neb. and came out a winner against the Corn Huskers, and Clem should be able to as well [doesn’t count as official prediction does it?]. Nebraska ranks #11 in total offense and #18 in points scored, Clemson on the other hand ranks 77th and 71st… I know that doesn’t sound like a competitive game, but Clemson’s defense is better than a lot of the Big 12 teams Nebraska faces and will keep the score down. Should be a game to remember.

Orange Bowl [Jan. 1, 8 p.m. — Miami, Fl.] Virginia Tech (9-4) vs. Cincinatti (11-2) —  Most ACC fans would agree that if there is one team they are hoping can pull off a bowl victory this season it’s the Hokies. The ACC desperately needs a BCS win, having gone 0-8 since FSU’s National Championship over — none other than VT. It’s time for Frank Beamer to get his boys ready and ignore the media comments about how boring of a game this will be. Cincy looked sluggish in the season finale vs. Hawaii and had to rely on some late scores to over come what could have been a devastating crush of confidence to end the season. The key to this game will be which teams offense can get it going first and get a lead. The Hokie’s offense has been like a Jeckyl and Hyde all season. Meanwhile, Cincy coaches, players and fans will be having nightmares about Bud Foster’s defense attacking them, if Cincy can catch the Hokies off guard and get some quick slants and/or screens off, they can put up some huge plays against Virginia Tech. This game has already gotten the tag of ‘most likely not to watch’ of the BCS games, but could really be interesting. There are two teams fighting very  hard for respect in this game. Cincy has never appeared in a BCS game and VT has lost both times they’ve shown up, including a loss to undefeated Auburn in the 2005 Sugar Bowl, and a crushing 24-21 loss to Kansas last year.

That’s a look at the ACC Bowl games… I think the ACC is out to prove some people wrong and have the opportunity to win some games in some favorable match-ups. The ACC needs to represent the league well and prove that having 10 teams in the bowls is more than just having 10 teams who beat up on each other and became bowl eligible. They need to show that each team got there because they beat the teams outside of the conference.

The ACC is an up and coming conference and if one of league’s teams aren’t contending for a national championship by the 2010 season — I’ll be surprised.

That’s all for now.

B-Blog

The conference needs to go with a North and South Division to help at least one team have a closer game every season…

Here is my solution:

North: Boston College, Maryland, UVA, VT, UNC and Wake Forest…

South: Duke, NC State, Georgia Tech, Clemson, Florida State and Miami…

Then officials could rotate the championship between Charlotte/DC one year and Tampa/Jacksonville the next year…

Thus giving at least one division champion a closer game and hopefully bring more fans to the game… I have a feeling tomorrow’s ACC Championship game is going to look a lot like the MAC Championship looks tonight — EMPTY.

ACC officials have got to do something, they need to get over the idea that FSU and MIA will be playing in the championship game every year and make it so other fans can logistically and economically attend the game…

That’s just my optimal solution… any others??

B-Blog

[Not sure why my text editor isn’t working, so sorry if things look strange??]

1. Better division record —  OK, this should be the end-all to the discussion right? Should be, but it’s not. Bottom line here is that Virginia Tech won the games that mattered. The Hokies went 4-1 against teams in the division, with the lone loss coming to Miami by 2 points. VT took care of GT 20-17 in Blacksburg, UNC 20-17 in Chapel Hill, Duke 14-3 and UVA 17-14. GT on the other hand lost 3 conference games as well, but lost all 3 in their own division. VT beat them, UVA won 24-17 and UNC had no problem against them winning 28-7. So how can a team [and fans for that matter] argue that their team deserves the trip to Tampa when they couldn’t even beat 3 other teams in their division?

2. The whole season counts… not last couple games —  Another common reason GT fans give for their ‘deserving’ spot in the ACC Championship Game is that they are playing better than anyone in the league right now. While this may be true, it’s the whole season that counts, not just the last couple of games. Obviously the Big 12 doesn’t think so in that their tie-breaker system sent Oklahoma to the championship game this weekend while Texas — a team that beat them by 10 points on a neutral field — is sitting at home. GT may be the ‘best’ team in the ACC right now, but they didn’t win the games that mattered and the Hokies did.

3. Offense doesn’t win championships… defense does —  GT fans are blasting the VT offense [which is a dismal 109th overall out of 119 FBS teams] and saying they will get owned by Boston College and if they happen to win, by Cincinatti in the Orange Bowl. Virginia Tech’s offense may be awful this season, but their defense is playing lights out right now and has won their way into the championship game Saturday. Bud Foster lost 7 starters from last seasons top-10 defense and has put together another top-10 D [actually sitting at #6 currently]. Virginia Tech doesn’t have to put up big numbers on the scoreboard, because their defense keeps points at a minimum on the opposite sideline and usually gets a few points of their own. VT has an average difference of scoring of 7.2. The largest margin of victory was a 17 point win against Furmanj, but yet they have won the big games and will be playing Saturday.

4. VT Coaches got it done —  Frank Beamer entered the season saying this would be his toughest season to date. Losing his entire wide receiver corp to the NFL, his previously All-ACC running back, and other starters to injuries, Beamer knew his coaches were in for a challenge. But he and his staff didn’t back down from that challenge and continued to win games, including a win on the road against Nebraska.

5. Virginia Tech beat Georgia Tech — That’s all I have to say — they won the game that mattered most during the season.

B-Blog

Between 1992 and 1998 Fulmer won nearly 86 percent of his games [67-11] and brought home 2 SEC championships and one national championship in 1998.

After that championship season [1999-2008] Fulmer has only won 68 % of his games, with a record of 83-40. The big goose egg in that span is in the SEC championships. Although his Volunteers reached the championship game 3 times they went 0-for-none.

Just recently, it was announced that Auburn’s Tommy Tuberville would not return for his 11th season.

This was more of a shocker — though it has been rumored since early last season.

Tuberville spent 10 seasons leading the Tigers and although he won 0 national championships, deserved to at least play for it in 2004 when his Tigers went 13-0, capping with a16-13 win in the Sugar Bowl against Virginia Tech.

Unfortunately, the short-leash Tuberville was on at Auburn tightened even more after a dismal 5-7 season this year including a beatdown against BAMA in the season finale. Tuberville is adament that the call was, “completely his decision,” according to an ESPN report.

The report goes on to say that Tuberville will receive $5.1 million as part of his buy-out, even though he voluntarily stepped down.

The bad news for Auburn supporters is that since Tuberville announced his departure, at least 5 of 26 recruits have withdrawn their verbal commitments, ESPN reports.

Commitments don’t want to come into a new coaching mess. Look at what Rich Rodriguez has been able to do at Michigan this season — nothing… Having the school’s worst record at 3-9 and ending a 33-season bowl streak.

Granted, Rodriguez runs an option-style offense and didn’t have the players he needed to make it work this season and should have the offense rolling as his newest recruiting class begins to enroll.

If you want to see a coach who is probably hanging on a thread — mainly because of the recruits, look at Charlie Weis at Notre Dame. Weis has barely managed to make the Fighting Irish bowl eligible this season with continuous top-10 recruiting classes.

Weis finished his 4th season and MUST make something happen next year if he hopes to return for a 6th.

One thing keeping Weis on the sidelines is probably his buyout. A number has never been formally announced, but is rumored to be up near $10 million.

Notre Dame by all means has the money available to buy-out Weis, but may be waiting to see if they can have another coach lined up and committed before they pay the big bucks to get rid of him… Rumors are that Notre Dame is pushing hard to get Florida’s Head Coach Urban Meyer.

Meyer was an assistant at Notre Dame previously and has a clause in his contract that says Florida is not required to pay him any money if he leaves for Notre Dame — according to ESPN.

Meyer has done an amazing job at Florida after leading his Utah Utes to a BCS win, he has already won a national championship at Florida and could be headed towards a second in 3 years if his Gators can topple the Tide on Saturday.

A third big coach leave the SEC in 2 years? Don’t think it won’t happen. With the money Notre Dame can throw at Meyer, not to mention the exclusive TV deal and national recruiting base the school has, anything is possible…

B-Blog

1. ACC Championship Game — #25 Virginia Tech 17, #17 Boston College 14. Earlier in the season, the Hokies lost a tough one in Boston. Last year, the Hokies lost the regular season game to BC and fought back hard in the ACCCG to win their 2nd ACC Championship in 4 years. VT will be hungry for a win and hoping to prove all the doubters out there that they can move the ball. This game will come down to defense, and VT has the edge with the #6 defense in the country. Not to take away anything from BC who has the #8 defense in the country, but is also playing with a backup QB who Bud Foster will attack. Hokies win a close one.

2. SEC Championship Game —  #4 Florida 31, #1 Alabama 24. I don’t care that BAMA is undefeated and dominated Auburn last week, the Florida Gators will Tebow their way to their 2nd SEC championship in three years and play for the national championship game again — which they will win, but that prediction will come later. BAMA may look like the obvious choice, having gone undefeated, but since Florida lost to Mississippi, they have rattled off 8 HUGE wins, beating their opponents by an average score of  52-12 and have only scored less than 40 points 3 times and those were 26, 30, 31 and 38 points, so this team can score and they can score fast. Florida ROLLS Tide to the national championship.

3. BIG 12 Championship Game —  #2 Oklahoma 52, #20 Missouri 28. No doubt in my  mind that Oklahoma wins this game and wins it big. As much as I like to think that Texas should be representing the Big 12 South in this game, it didn’t happen and there is no point in arguing over it. Oklahoma has put up some huge numbers lately including a thrasing of Texas Tech in Lubboch by the score of 65-21. This has been one of the few Big 12 teams that appears to have somewhat of a defense. No question they have the offense to put points on the board. They average 53 points a game and have scored fewer than 45 points once — a 45-35 loss to Texas. Oklahoma has been known in years past for blowing the ‘big games’ and it looked like they had done the same against Texas, but redeemed themselves with huge wins and will play in the national championship this year.

4. MAC Championship Game —  #12 Ball State 31, Buffalo 14. Definitely not one of the most highly anticipated games of the weekend, but Ball State will be trying to continue their stride towards and unblemished record and look to do so against a stoute Buffalo team. Buffalo might hang around for the first half, but in the end Ball State will get it done and seperate themselves, winning a MAC Championship. Unfortunately for Ball State they are the 3rd non-BCS team in the pecking order and have virtually no hope of playing in a BCS game. The Cardinals will finish the season undefeated and at least have the bragging rights in the MAC, possibly setting them up for a decent pre-season ranking next year. If they can run the table again, they may see the BCS game they deserve.

5. Conference USA Championship —  East Carolina 37, Tulsa 31. East Carolina looked to be an early BCS buster after opening victories against ranked Virginia Tech and West Virginia. A three-game losing streak in middle of the season turned the table for the Pirates and their 15-minutes of fame were quickly up. Coach Skip Holtz got the team refocused and won the games that mattered, putting then in the conference championship. Tulsa on the other hand blasted their way through the season losing only 2 games, with 1 being in conference. I still think ECU will finish the season strong and win this game close.

Those are the 5 championship games being held this weekend. It appears most will be good games — with the exception of the Big 12 Championship. I know a lot of people have thoughts that the ACC game will be a snoozer, but I think two top-8 defenses in the country will be exciting to watch.

Check back tomorrow for predictions on the upcoming NFL weekend.

B-Blog

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Champion Jimmie Johnson (fifth from left), driver of the No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet, and NASCAR President Mike Helton (fourth from right) attend the opening bell with (left to right) Miss Sprint Cup Anne-Marie Rhodes, team owner Rick Hendrick, Chairman and CEO of Lowe’s Robert Niblock, Sprint’s Chief Financial Officer Bob Brust, crew chief Chad Knaus and Miss Sprint Cup Monica Palumbo at the New York Stock Exchange on December 3, 2008 in New York City. (Photo Credit: New York Stock Exchange)

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Dec. 3, 2008) – Day Three of Champions Week was a busy one indeed for three-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Champion Jimmie Johnson.

Johnson got an early start in the morning, by ringing the New York Stock Exchange’s Opening Bell, in what has become an annual tradition for the series champion. Following an appearance at the Tissot Countdown Clock event at the Marquee of the Hard Rock Café, Johnson attended the March of Dimes Luncheon at the Waldorf=Astoria Hotel, where he was the recipient of the organization’s Sportsman of the Year Award.
Johnson, crew chief Chad Knaus and team owner Rick Hendrick later attended a media luncheon at Foley’s Pub and Restaurant, where more than 40 New York City and Northeast region media visited with and interviewed the three key components of this year’s No. 48 championship team. A host of NASCAR fans from the area were also in attendance, as Johnson posed for photographs and signed autographs for the faithful. 2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Raysbestos Rookie of the Year Regan Smith was also recognized at the luncheon.

“It (winning three straight championships) is starting to sink in some,” said Johnson, who joins Cale Yarborough as the only NASCAR drivers to ever win three consecutive titles. “I probably won’t realize just how special this run’s been until I retire one day. I can tell you that we’re already looking ahead to next season, and doing all we can to win another championship. I can remember I was up in our transporter at Texas late in the season and Chad (Knaus) was already studying some computer data regarding next year’s Daytona 500 car.”

Hendrick, who won his eighth team championship this season, says the accomplishments of the No. 48 team have been extraordinary.

“The work and dedication from this race team have been second to none,” said Hendrick. “To win three straight championships in a sport as competitive as NASCAR is really extra special.”

Knaus applauded the leadership Hendrick provides to the entire organization.

“To win three in a row is a real tribute to the leadership “Mr. H” provides our team,” said Knaus, who becomes the first crew chief in NASCAR history to win three straight championships. “He’s such a special person in my life.”

Smith, a native of Upstate New York, said winning the Raybestos Rookie of the Year Award was a “tremendous honor.”

“Being able to celebrate this award in my home state is really a big deal,” said Smith. “This is actually my first trip to New York City and I know it’s going to be an awesome experience.”

Thursday – Johnson’s major event this day is the annual NASCAR NMPA Myers Brothers Media Luncheon at Cipriani. He’ll be joined by the rest of the top 12 drivers in the 2008 Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, plus Raybestos Rookie of the Year Regan Smith and other annual award winners. Following the awards luncheon, Johnson will participate in the traditional Times Square photo shoot outside the Hard Rock Café, then attend the annual Stewie Awards, orchestrated by fellow NASCAR Sprint Cup champion Tony Stewart, at Sirius/XM Satellite Radio studios.

Friday – The Big Day. Johnson, his family and his Hendrick Motorsports team will participate in traditional photos during the afternoon, before attending the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Awards Ceremony that evening in the Waldorf=Astoria’s Grand Ballroom.

2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Driver Champion: Jimmie Johnson
2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Owner Champion: Rick Hendrick and Jeff Gordon of Hendrick Motorsports
Final NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Top 12: 1. Jimmie Johnson, 6,684; 2. Carl Edwards, 6,615; 3. Greg Biffle, 6,467; 4. Kevin Harvick, 6,408; 5. Clint Bowyer, 6,381; 6. Jeff Burton, 6,335; 7. Jeff Gordon, 6,316; 8. Denny Hamlin, 6,214; 9. Tony Stewart, 6,202; 10. Kyle Busch, 6,186; 11. Matt Kenseth, 6,184 and Dale Earnhardt Jr., 6,127.
Raybestos Rookie of the Year: Regan Smith

The season ended with a more exciting race between who would finish inside the top-35 then who would win the championship [for those who missed it, Jimmy ‘Three Peat’ Johnson won it for the 3rd time in row].

Dale Earnhard Incorporated’s merge with Ganassi Racing provides two extra teams in that golden range. With the closure of the #15 team — Paul Menard bolted with his daddy’s sponsorship to Yates — and the #01 team, the newly formed Earnhardt-Ganassi teams will have a valuable commodity to sell off…

It just so happens there are several teams out there looking to ‘purchase’ those points…

The two most notably could be Richard Childress who is fielding a 4th team — the #33 with Clint Bowyer — and Tony Stewart has ventured into ownership with his new Stewart-Haas Racing and needs points for one of his cars.

Stewart, however, is not in dire need of the extra points because he would be the most recent past-champion without a gauranteed spot in the first five races and should be set making the field.

Childress on the other hand brought in General Mills as the sponsor of the #33 and wants to guarantee their big bucks will be displayed each Sunday. Though Bowyer is a heck of a qualifier and should have no problem, Daytona qualifying can be tricky — unless you sit on the front row, you are forced to ‘race’ your way in.

Childress’ best bet — spend the money and buy points from somewhere…

Other teams on the outside looking for points include:

#47 [was #00] — Marcos Ambrose — Waltrip Racing

#10 — Reed Sorenson — Gillett Racing

#77 — Hornish — Penske Racing

#96 —Unknown Driver for 09 — Hall of Fame Racing

#21 — Unknown Driver for 09 — Wood Brothers Racing

#45 — Probably Chad McCumbee — Petty Racing

None of these teams appear to have the financial ability to purchase the points, which I’m sure will come at a hefty price, nor do they have the sponsorship to participate full-time as of right now.

Look for someone… somewhere to jump at the chance of purchasing the spot in the top-35 — if NASCAR allows it.

B-Blog

The first being Georgia Tech — who rightfully deserves to be playing in the Chick-fil-A Bowl, but the second, Clemson is expected to be invited to the Gator Bowl… Yes, this is the same Clemson team who barely squeezed their way into bowl eligibility by finishing the season with wins over Duke, UVA and South Carolina… The same Clemson team that began the season #9 in the country and plummented to the bottom of the ACC… The same Clemson who fired its head coach mid-way through the season…

Yet now they will be representing the ACC in one of the Premiere Bowls… If I were an FSU Fan [which I’m DEFINITELY NOT] I would be outraged. Clemson has no place being in one of the league’s top-3 bowls. FSU is definitely more deserving, as would the loser of the ACC Championship Game on Saturday…

The bottom line for the loser of that game is a trip to sunny Florida after New Year’s — becomes a trip to the Music Capital of America — a ’slightly’ less enticing bowl appearance.

The problem with the bowl selection committees is that it has overlooked the more deserving teams, to be sure they fill their stadium to capacity and have visitors spending money on hotels and restaurants in the city.Bowls have become about the money — not the competition.

FSU fans better hope that VT wins the championship game… if not, the Champs Sport Bowl could select the Hokies who would likely bring 35-40k fans on gameday and FSU will be heading to Nashville.

 B-Blog

1. SEC will seek it’s third straight national championship. Love ‘em or hate ‘em the SEC boys can play some football. The Florida Gators enter Saturday’s SEC championship game looking for their second appearance in the championship game in the past three seasons — BAMA looks to return to the glorious days in which the school won 12 national champions. The bottom line or both teams — win Saturday!

 2. The ACC is full of tough [and equal] teams. The ACC was dogged as the bottom of the BCS conferences all season and people ranted that the automatic BCS bid should be taken away. Yet the league finished with 10 [a first for any conference] bowl eligible teams. The league has 9 tie-ins and will be searching for an extra at-large bid from a bowl whose contracted conferences did not meet the requirements — see Pac 10 and Big 10. The conference provided several exciting games with the division winners coming down to the final weekends and two familiar faces — Virginia Tech and Boston College — rising to the top. The Hokies may not have gotten to the game preety [103 overall offense and last in ACC] but they won the games that mattered — going 4-1 in their division.

3. The Big 12 has some awesome quarterbacks. The top-3 leading Heisman candidates all reside in the league with Colt McCoy being the early favority. McCoy lead the way in rushing with 576 yards and 10 TDs to go with his 3,445 yards pasing and 32 TDs. Oklahoma’s Sam Bradford appears to be a close second with 4,080 yards and 23 TDs. Texas Tech’s Graham Harrel rounds out the top-3, but fell behind after Oklahoma put the beat down on TT on the road.

4. A mini-playoff was formed. OK, so it’s not the playoff system fans have been screaming for, but with the Big 12 and SEC holding down the top-4 spots in the BCS for the latter part of the season, a mini-playoff was formed as the teams all played each other to sort out who would finish atop. Bama and Florida will meet Saturday for a spot in the championship, while Texas [who beat Oklahoma head-to-head] must hope for an upset by Missouri and votes from the coaches to keep them ahead of eventual Pac-10 champ USC. Texas not playing in the Big 12 championship could be a blessing — because they can’t lose another game, but it could also be hard to convince voters they deserve to be in the championship game without winning their conference [though they were snubbed by the computers and deserved to be there.]

5. A play-off system is still needed. It’s a topic that has been beat to death and will most likely never see fruition, but college football needs a play-off and this year is AGAIN proof enough. Utah, Boise State and Ball State all could argue they deserve a shot at the national championship game. All have finished the regular season unblemished while Boise and Ball play conference championships to cap the perfect season. One [Utah] will play in a BCS while the other two will play well before New Year’s Day, the same as if they had lost one or two games throughout the season. These teams may not be able to hang with the ‘Big Boys’ but who will ever know — and if I’m not mistaken, Boise did upset Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl two years ago… Bottom line — give the guys a chance to show what they are made of. Nobody ever picks a 16 seeded basketball team to win the NCAA tournament — but at least they have their shot…

 That’s all for now, check back later in the week for some bowl predictions and conference championship previews and predictions.

 B-Blog