The Dirty Dozen and Bottom of the Barrel: Who are you?

Well. Anybody following college football who hasn't heard about "The" game on Saturday? You know it  is a big week if the 4-letter word (espn) is spending an "All-Day" look at the week leading up to it. I mean heck, Erin Andrews asking Les Miles about how much coffee he drinks during the day...Priceless. Oh...and my week is now complete knowing Nick Saban is a fan of Michael Jackson music.

Yes, it is Alabama vs. LSU. Game of the Century. The de facto National Title game. The be all/end all of this season in college football. The one where the SEC school wins.

It should settle the question over one of this years BCS teams. (We won't get started on that, we are currently reading "Death to the BCS" and it makes us angry). And strangely the farther we go, the number of undefeated teams seems to be dropping.

So with that in mind...we give our favorite Dozen clip...theat of General Incognito. (No, not Richie).



Last Week: 11-2. Not bad. Didn't see the Minnesota win coming though. Overall: 86-17. We are on a roll...and yes, I'm counting the Georgia win, because I called it.

With that in mind, let's have Casey warm us up:



The Dirty Dozen:


1) LSU 8-0. They've been here almost from the beginning. And we'll find out if they are worthy this week. Everyone is back, including the "Honey Badger" and they'll need him. They've been solid, they've been efficient, but can they win in Tuscaloosa? This Week: at Alabama. Our Pick: LSU 23, Alabama 21


2) Alabama 8-0. A typical Nick Saban/Alabama team. They will live and die with Trent Richardson. And that isn't a bad thing. We just aren't convinced A.J McCarron can win the game and we think that is what LSU is going to make him have to do. This Week: See Above.


3) Stanford 8-0. Yes, they struggled last week with USC, but that wasn't a surprise, the Trojans are pretty good and were at home. But just looking at Andrew Luck, you knew that Stanford would eventually win, he never seemed to sweat it. This Week: at Oregon St. Our Pick: Stanford 38, Oregon St. 14


4) Oklahoma St. 8-0. Apparently, I'm one of the few people not totally sold on this team. Oh well. That is your problem. Sure, the Fighting Gundy's can outscore almost anyone, but despite what some "Experts" say, they don't play good defense. This Week: vs. Kansas State. Our Pick: Okie St. 45, K-State 23


5) Boise St. 7-0. Keep playing the B-T-O song "Taking Care of Business" in the locker room. And hope that Georgia keeps winning. Before this ends, we think they will again make the BCS question the "One loss vs. Undefeated" question. Because they will be undefeated and the LSU/Bama winner will be too. And they'll be the only ones. This Week: at UNLV. Our Pick: Boise St. 43, UNLV 10.


6) Oklahoma 7-1. Still smarting from losing the Texas Tech game. They are, along with Okie State, the prototypical Big 12 team. Great offense...sometimes questionable defense. And that is why they won't win the national title. This Week: vs. Texas A&M. Our Pick: Oklahoma 43, Texas A&M 31


7) Clemson 8-1. We knew they'd lose a questionable game. It was just a matter of time. And quite honestly, they play like a Big 12 team, not an ACC team. And yes, we know they won't even make their conference championship game now. This Week: BYE


8) Oregon 7-1. They just have never seemed like a "Powerhouse" team, but the writers and pollsters love them. Sure, they are better than most of the Pac-12, but we think Stanford will handle them next week easily. This Week: at Washington. Our Pick: Oregon 45, Washington 35


9) Arkansas 7-1. They plain got lucky last week vs. Vandy. They should have lost. And it isn't the 1st time, they've gotten lucky. They are here by virtue of their record and that they are in the SEC. They'll do what they need to and probably won't lose again until the end of the season. This Week: vs. South Carolina. Our Pick: Arkansas 43, South Carolina 28. 


10) Nebraska 7-1. A typical Nebraska team. Great runners, crappy passers and stout on defense. Got to see them in person last week. Great stadium and atmosphere. They handled Mich. St, but we knew that would happen. This Week: vs. Northwestern. Our Pick: Nebraska 33, Northwestern 17.


11) Penn St. 8-1. Consider this a reward for the Joe Pa's for overachieving. They don't score much, but they don't give up much either. That will get them only so far. The finish this year will be tough, we don't think they'll stay here. This Week: BYE.


12) Houston 8-0. Could they soon be a Big East team. Yes, we think so. They certainly are dominating Conference USA, but the Big East isn't much better, they just have a BCS bid available. The Cougars are your #1 scoring and passing team in the country. This Week: at UAB. Our Pick: Houston 61, UAB 12.


The Bottom of the Barrel: 


**Special Note**--Congrats to Minnesota for beating Iowa. You are free from this list...this week.

5) Colorado 1-8. Sigh....A once proud football school that has fallen to the dregs of Division 1. There really just isn't anything good to say here. Okay, so they are a decent passing team. Which is probably because they've been blown out by everyone and are playing from behind. This Week: vs. USC. Our Pick: USC 43, Colorado 21.


4) Akron 1-7. Well, they almost won last week. Question: LeBron James is threatening to get his "Boys" from home to play Kevin Durant's team in Flag Football. If James takes players from Akron, Durant has nothing to worry about. Just sayin'. This Week: at. Miami (OH). Our Pick: Miami (OH) 37, Akron 21. 


3) Indiana 1-8. Thank god they don't play Minnesota this year. Sorry. Had to go there. They just dismissed their best receiver. They are 1-8. They haven't been competitive...except when they beat 1-AA, SC State and narrow losses to UVA and North Texas. Good thing College Hoops have started. This Week: at Ohio St. Our Pick: Ohio St. 37, Indiana 10. 


2) Florida Atlantic 0-7. On the good side, they didn't lose last week. But then again, they had a BYE. It's been a long, long year in Boca Raton...even with scraps in Florida, they should be better than this. But are they? This Week: vs. Arkansas State. Our Pick: Ark. St. 43, FAU 3. 


1) New Mexico 0-8. They've scored 0 points combined in their last 2 games. They haven't "Officially" given up, but it sure seems like it. Though we will add, they've sucked for the past 3 seasons, this isn't much different. Maybe they should drop to 1-AA. Oh wait, they lost to a mediocre 1-AA team too. This Week: at San Diego St. Our Pick: San Diego St. 38, New Mexico 0. 


And so it goes: