The Dirty Dozen and Bottom of the Barrel: Championship Week

Or is it over?

That's the question a ton of teams are asking this week as College Football's regular season comes to a somewhat mediocre close.

Sure, our pals at the Four-Letter are hyping up the greatness of the College Football playoff, but really, it hasn't solved anything and there are no dominant teams.

None.

Look at the way it's played out. The only undefeated team in the land might not even make the playoff. And they're in one of the "Power" conferences. How does that happen? Everyone else has lost. And if they are "So dominant", how did they manage to lose?

Think about that for a second.

But alas, we are putting the wraps on yet another season of the Dozen and the Barrel. We don't always agree with the biased writers or coaches polls, we have our own opinions. And yeah, we pick games too. We're pretty good at it.

At least we'd like to think we are.

No, we don't get into the betting lines, there's not enough time in the day for us to do that much research, we pick with our sense of how things are going...and are for the most part, spot on.

Last week: 14-2. Yup, we picked Ole Miss and Arizona to win. That makes us 140-32 on the season--



Yeah, come back and see us next College Football season....

In the meantime, it's time for what you visit us for....or as the legendary Casey Kasem used to say, "On with the Countdown"

THE DIRTY DOZEN:

1) FSU 12-0. Yup. They are #1. We don't care that they barely beat up on mostly inferior ACC competition. They ran the table. In fact, they haven't lost in two seasons. Perception that they aren't as good doesn't matter.



It's what we think. Sure, the trendy pick is for Ga.Tech to beat them this week. And they might. We're almost tempted to make the pick. But not enough to do it. This Week: vs. Ga.Tech, Our Pick: FSU 37, Ga. Tech 33

2) Alabama 11-1. Okay, so the Iron Bowl ended up a shootout. Still, arguably this is the best team in all the land. But they have been beat. And pushed. We have to admit, Lane Kiffin has changed this team. But we always said as a head coach, Kiffy was a great offensive coordinator. This Week: vs. Missouri, Our Pick: Alabama 43, Mizzou 21

3) Oregon 11-1. We still don't love the Ducks, but we respect them. They've taken care of business. Marcus Mariota is awesome, but the o-line is dinged up. Interesting that they are playing the team that beat them early in the year (Arizona) for the Pac 12 title. This Week: vs. Arizona, Our Pick: Oregon 48, Arizona 37

4) TCU 11-1. Outside the brain fart with Baylor, the Horned Frogs have gotten better every game. But most are holding Baylor against them. We think TCU is tougher. And would fare better in the CFB Playoff. But that's our opinion. Trevonne Boykin is very, very good but no championship game for the Frogs to prove anything. This Week: vs. Iowa St., Our Pick: TCU 56, Iowa St. 21

5) Baylor 11-1. Sure, the Bears have been good. Really good this season. But their season hasn't ended yet. Bryce Petty is not a sure thing for Saturday's game. And the Bears play a tough Kansas State team. If they win, things get interesting. And they'd have a CFB playoff argument. But...This Week: vs. Kansas St. Our Pick: K-State 53, Baylor 45 UPSET !!!!!

6) Ohio St. 11-1. Poor Ohio St. Braxton Miller gets hurt and JT Barnett steps in and becomes awesome. Now Barnett gets hurt and Cardale Jones has to step in. And while Jones may be a good QB, he hasn't played yet. And that matters. A lot. This Week: vs. Wisconsin. Our Pick: Wisconsin 27, Ohio St. 23 UPSET!!!

7) Arizona 10-2. Rich Rodriguez has done wonders with this program. Who would have thought when he took the job a couple years ago, they'd be in this position. Yet they are. If...they can beat Oregon for the 2nd time, they have a playoff argument. But we don't think they'd leapfrog anyone ahead of them if they all win too. This Week: See #2

8) Kansas St. 9-2. They don't show well statistically, but it doesn't seem to matter. Bill Snyder is a magician...or sorcerer. Either way, the Wildcats just keep winning. They could easily have been undefeated this season. But losing to TCU is enough to keep them from playoff talk. This Week: See #5

9) Mississippi St. 10-2. They came back to earth quickly. But the wins this season speak for themselves. Yes, they lost the Egg Bowl, but way too many quality wins to drop them behind their arch rivals. No matter what happens, this season was a huge success in Starkeville. This Week: DONE--Bowl Game

10) Michigan St. 10-2. Always a quality team. Always good results. And always a couple of losses. They are consistently one of the best Big 10 teams, but that isn't always enough. Two quality losses means season over and bowl game left. This Week: DONE---Bowl Game

11) Ole Miss 10-2. Nice win over Miss State in the Egg Bowl. The Rebels struggled mightily down the stretch, but pulled it together to beat their arch rival and have one of the best seasons they've had in a long, long time. And they get to keep Hugh Freeze around for awhile. This team won't be going away soon. This Week: DONE---Bowl Game

12) Georgia Tech 10-2. Yes, Ga. Tech. Can you believe it? Uh, yeah, neither can we. They should have lost to our alma mater (Ga.Southern), but didn't. They just kept winning. And they beat an occasionally very good Georgia team last week. That counts. They'll make FSU nervous but....This Week: See #1

THE BOTTOM OF THE BARREL:



And so closes another season of crappy football. Our toilet bowl (Worst of the Worst) award already had been handed to SMU and the Mustangs did not disappoint. Sure, they got a new coach for next year, Chad Morris, which might be enough to get them off the island next year.

But that's next year.

In the meantime, we are going to award an honorary Toilet Ring to the Alabama Board of Trustees and UAB President Ray Watts Watts. You....deserve to stink things up for a long time for killing the football program without any real discussion on ways to save it.

Shame on all of you...

But enough of that....

5) Ray Watts 0-12. You sir have no spine. The president of a mid-major University who rather than speak out about the shady Board of Trustees trying to kill the football team, decided to just quietly do it without letting anyone know. Not standing up was bad. Plotting this course before saying you tried to save them is even worse. You suck dude...you really suck

4) Alabama Board of Trustees 0-12. We always knew University of Alabama fans were paranoid and somewhat delusional, but this takes the cake. Paul Bryant Jr decides he wants to cash in his vendetta against UAB from a long perceived slight. So you tell Ray Watts "Kill 'em". So he did. Of all places we thought a football program might be eliminated, Alabama was low on the list. Were you scared if UAB got decent they'd compete with you? Please....

3) Idaho 1-11. Hey, a not-UAB related listing. Poor Idaho. They weren't "not-competitive" this season, but they couldn't buy a win. But at least the season has come to an end. So there's that. And winter's coming. So there's that too. This Week: DONE

2) Georgia State 1-11. Two years, one win. Pity poor Georgia State. Totally unprepared to play in FBS, yet they jumped in anyway. And now they're paying for it. They are the cupcake everyone wants to play. So at least they are getting paid. Which is nice. And might spare them the UAB fate. Or not. This Week: DONE

1) SMU 0-12. Congratulations. You win! The Mustangs managed to not crack the top 100 in any major statistical category. Which is not easy to do these days. Sure, they have a game left. But we don't. So they get the Toilet Bowl title whether they like it or not. We wish new coach Chad Morris luck, sure he's him in Texas, but man, he's got a huge job in front of him. This Week: at UConn, Our Pick: UConn 37, SMU 10



Good Night Everybody.................

The Dirty Dozen and Bottom of the Barrel: Turkey's Aren't Rivals Edition

Because of course they can't fly. But rivalry games, they live on forever. And this week, after last weeks overwhelming spate of Cupcake games, we get rivalry week. Where there is actually a lot at stake.



Okay, cupcakes, donuts...we couldn't find a clip of Homer saying cupcakes...

Anyway, so many big games, so much Turkey, so little time.

About last week. Well, we had a pretty good week, but there weren't a lot of tough picks. We called the Arkansas game, but missed on Kansas State/West Virginia.

Eh, it happens. We still went 13-1 for the week, which is pretty good and put us at 126-30 for the season, which is damn good.

But enough about us...it's time as the legendary Casey Kasem says to get "On With the Countdown"...

THE DIRTY DOZEN:

1) Florida State 11-0. Ok, yeah, we know, they've barely won against inferior competition. But they won. And that is the point. Will they win it all--who knows...but there's something to be said for running the table.



And that's the bottom line. Will they beat UF this week. We're tempted to pick an upset this week, but we won't do it here. This Week: vs. Florida, Our Pick: FSU 31, UF 21

2) Alabama 10-1. Last week doesn't count. But it doesn't matter, the Tide have gotten better every week. Do not underestimate them. Ever. Amari Cooper's status may have an impact, just not this week. This Week: vs. Auburn, Our Pick: Bama 47, Auburn 34

3) Oregon 10-1. Okay, the Duckies are West Coast good. But does that translate? We don't think so. Still, aside from the Arizona hiccup, they've been good. But the defense isn't, and that's what will cause them to eventually lose. This Week: at Oregon St.. Our Pick: Oregon 45, Oregon St. 42

4) TCU 10-1. No, we don't know why they struggled with Kansas. But they did. Still, they've been impressive in most other ways. Not their fault there's no Big 12 title game. And yes, we know, they lost to Baylor. This Week: at Texas, Our Pick: TCU 27, Texas 21

5) Mississippi St. 10-1. Yes, they lost to Alabama. But are they REALLY a CFB Playoff team? That is the question. We think if you don't win your conference you should not be eligible. But apparently the committee does not. Oh well. This Week: at Ole Miss, Our Pick: Ole Miss 31, Miss St. 27 UPSET!!!

6) Ohio St. 10-1. The most improved team in CFB. Bar none. And they may jump into the Final 4. Would not surprise us a bit. They may be the most dangerous non-SEC team in it. This Week: vs. Michigan. Our Pick: tOSU 48, Michigan 17

7) Baylor 9-1. Sure, we're the only ones with the Bears ranked this low. So what? Yeah, we still see them as soft. And outside the TCU and Oklahoma games they haven't played anyone. Next week vs. K-State will be telling. But we're not there yet. This Week: at Texas Tech, Our Pick: Baylor 53, T-Tech 21

8) Georgia 9-2. When dialed in, one of the most dangerous teams in CFB. But, since team Brain Fart lived up to their name, they need help if they want to be a spoiler. Love Nick Chubb, because of him, they'll be good for at least 2 more years. This Week: vs. Ga. Tech, Our Pick: UGA 43, Tech 21

9) UCLA 9-2. Finally, they're playing like everyone expected them to at the beginning of the season. Big win last week vs. USC. If they somehow ended up in PAC-12 title game, they'd be a tough out for Oregon. This Week: vs. Stanford, Our Pick: UCLA 28, Stanford 23

10) Kansas St 9-2. Jake Waters picked a good week to have a career game vs. W.Va. 400 yards is a pretty good accomplishment on the road. And yes, the Wildcats still might have a voice in who makes the CFB 4. This Week: BYE

11) Arizona 9-2. Rich Rod has done wonders here. The Wildcats best season in a long, long time. Anu Soloman has been a revelation at QB, leading the team in rushing and passing. He's thrown 25 TD's already this season. This Week: vs. Arizona St. Our Pick: Arizona 37, Az State 31

12) Michigan St. 9-2. The Spartans look great on paper. And have only lost to Oregon and Ohio St. Of course they were the only two tough games they've played too. The Big 10...yeah, not so good. And that hurts these guys. This Week: at Penn St., Our Pick: Mich St. 31, PSU 21

THE BOTTOM OF THE BARREL:



It's been a challenging season for our Bottom 5. The list has changed slightly. We boosted defending champ Miami of Ohio out of the list after two wins, but you could still argue they belong here. If we did a Bottom 10, they definitely would be on that list.

But nobody could stop SMU. The Mustangs truly were unstoppable in their march to the Toilet Bowl. No wins and offensive output that...um, was truly offensive gave them an unbeatable edge.

We should give special mention to Georgia State, winners of 1 game the past two seasons. Guys, you better get your acts together. You may become permanent residents. And we are thinking about naming the trophy after you....

Yes, we know the season is not over, but it would be a shock if any of these teams actually win...

5) New Mexico St. 2-9. What's a bottom poll without a New Mexico team. The Aggies started out with 2 wins and followed that with 9 straight losses. But hey, the season is almost over--so there's that. This Week: at Arkansas St., Our Pick: Ark St. 47, New Mexico St. 21

4) Kent ST. 1-9. You know you are bad when your game gets snowed out, postponed and there's no interest in making it up. The Flashes are one of the worst offenses in the game. And the D isn't much better. Hopefully there's no snow in Ohio this week. This Week: vs. Akron, Our Pick: Akron 21, Kent St. 10

3) Idaho 1-9. Yes, they beat NM State. But they've not beaten anyone else. To their credit, they've been competitive. Sort of. It doesn't make up for the record. And they play in the Snowy Appalachian Mountains this week. This Week: at Appalachian St., Our Pick: Appy St. 35, Idaho 21

2) Georgia State 1-10. Sigh. Yes, they play here in OSG's hometown. But nobody knows it. For good reason. The poster children for how NOT to become a FCS level team. They'll be a punchline for a very long time. There was hope after an opening week win. But, then...yeah...reality. This Week: vs. Texas St., Our Pick: Texas St 37, Ga. St 17



1) SMU 0-10. Yes ladies and gentlemen, your champs. Sure, they have two games left, but do you really think the Mustangs will win either one? Nah, neither do we. Though they do play UConn to end the season so there's a chance...maybe. This Week: vs. Houston, Our Pick: Houston 47, SMU 10.

And so ends the week in College Football. Championship week is almost upon us...

But until then, we hope you all have a Happy Turkey and all the trimmings...we'll talk again next week.

Enjoy your new music cut of the week: