And it's the week of rivalry. The week of the Turkey. The week we all celebrate the fact that we can eat. And that we can eat in excess.
But we digress...
To celebrate the holiday, we pay homage to the greatest Thanksgiving TV Show episode ever produced:
Classic.
So...last week was upset Saturday with two of the three undefeated teams taking it on the chin. And when the dust settled, suddenly we were back where we started.
Anyway. We'd like to say we would have been 14-0 or something last week, but honestly...we wouldn't have been. So instead of dwelling on where we were this season, we'll just turn Casey Kasem and say "On with the Countdown"....**Note**--We are not beholden to the BCS poll so what you are about to read may not be what . they think the rankings should be. It's what "I" think they should be...and it's my column...
THE DIRTY DOZEN:
1) Alabama 10-1. This will anger Texas A&M and Notre Dame fans, but you all know this is true. Yes, Johnny Football beat them, but if they play 10 times, 'Bama wins at least 8 of them. And to be totally honest, I'm not going to put any money on these guys beating Georgia next week. But I have been known to be wrong. Yes, I can admit that!. (This Week: vs. Auburn. Our Pick: Alabama 41, Auburn 10)
2) Oregon 10-1. Yes, we know they lost to Stanford, but we still believe they are this good. There obviously is a way to beat them and part of that is hope there are injuries. If they were to have made it to the BCS Championship game, they could very well win it because they'll be healthy. (This Week: at Oregon St. Our Pick: Oregon 38, Oregon St. 31)
3) Notre Dame 11-0. Sorry Irish fans, your team is good, but they aren't "That" good. They may survive USC (thanks Matt Barkley) but they aren't better than a 4th place SEC team to be honest. And that alone will get you to the BCS Championship game. (This Week: at USC. Our Pick: Notre Dame 24, USC 21)
4) Texas A&M 9-2. So...here is your hottest team in College Football. Are they the best team. No, not this year. But I wouldn't want to play them either. Johnny Football may have stolen the Heisman this year and the O-Line on this team is good. Really good. (This Week: vs. Missouri. Our Pick: A&M 41, Mizzou 24)
5) Georgia 10-1. On paper, this team should be #1 or #2, but they don't play on paper. Until they win a game like the SEC Championship game, there will always be questions about this team. They haven't won a "Big" game in a long time. The ranking isn't higher because of that and a soft schedule. (This Week: vs. Georgia Tech. Our Pick: Georgia 43, Ga.Tech 21)
6) Florida St. 10-1. One bad loss. Sometimes you never recover from that. And FSU hasn't. This is a good, deep football team that in theory would be tough to beat in a playoff. But we don't have a playoff this year. They are easily the best of the ACC. (This Week: vs. Florida. Our Pick: FSU 24, Florida 10)
7) Kansas St. 10-1. Kind of hard to explain the loss to Baylor. If they were as good as advertised, should that have ever happened? It also may have ruined Collin Klein's shot at the Heisman. Redemption would come this week, but it won't get them to the BCS title game. (This Week: vs. Texas. Our Pick: K-State 31, Texas 21)
8) LSU 9-2. They've actually gotten better as Zach Mettenberger is beginning to show signs of being an SEC level QB. He wasn't until the Alabama game. However the "D" giving up 35 to Ole Miss is sort of surprising. (This Week: at Arkansas. Our Pick: LSU 34, Arkansas 27)
9) Stanford 9-2. A good win over Oregon. A very good win. But the "D" played the game of their life and Kevin Hogan didn't lose the game. We aren't sure they can do it 2-weeks in a row and they'll need to . (This Week: at UCLA. Our Pick: UCLA 34, Stanford 23)
10) Ohio St. 11-0. This isn't your dad's Ohio State, they are much more rounded. But in any other year, they probably wouldn't be undefeated in the Big 10/14. They are very good team in a very not-so-good this year conference. (This Week: vs. Michigan. Our Pick: Ohio St. 31, Michigan 27)
411) Florida 10-1. Sorry Gator fans, you have the most overrated team on the board. You wouldn't beat any of these teams ahead of you. Your defense and special teams are very good, but your offense is monumentally bad. But take heart, no matter what we say, if you beat FSU and Notre Dame loses, you'll be in the BCS Championship game, whether you deserve it or not. (This Week: see #6)
12) UCLA 9-2. Okay. So. We owe our pal Jim Mora Jr. an apology. He's apparently found some sort of magic track to get a group of someone else's recruits who weren't playing very well to the point where they could win the Pac-12. They won't beat Oregon but they aren't far away. (This Week: See #9)
THE BOTTOM OF THE BARREL:
**UMASS WON! UMASS WON!**
5) Idaho 1-10. Fear the potato. What else can be said about a team that fired their coach and their starting QB during the season? You are pretty much doomed to suck at that point. We did see a stat that they've lost 10 or more games 3 of the last 5 years. So they technically could be a legacy choice here. (This Week: at Utah St. Our Pick: Utah St. 43, Idaho 17)
4) New Mexico St. 1-9. What would the worst of the worst be without a New Mexico team? Start off with a win...and then lose 9 straight. Not gonna make for a good holiday out there. (This Week: at BYU. Our Pick: BYU 38, NM State 17)
3) Akron 1-11. So...we can't pick the Zips final game vs. Toledo cause they've already played it. And lost. Well, at least they are already out of our misery. So there is that. Guess they won't be leaving the poll. See ya next year!
2) Colorado 1-11.This is like an EPICALLY bad football team. And yet they escape the basement only because they managed to somehow beat Washington St in week #4. The defense is the WORST in Division 1 football...bar none. And the offense isn't much better. (This Week: vs. Utah. Our Pick: Utah 46, Colorado 16)
1) Southern Miss. 0-11. Fear not Hattiesburg, it's almost over. Your first losing season in 87 years. Words cannot describe this team, so we'll keep this short. The Ellis Johnson experiment= FAIL. New Coach= BRETT FAVRE! Make that hire...you'll be on ESPN every week. (This Week: at Memphis. Our Pick: --amazingly--Memphis 17, Southern Miss 13)
And...in honor of the Holiday...we give you an "All-Time" family favorite----
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