B(C)S

Here is my breakdown of the BCS. It sucks. 

Aren't you glad you visited this website for such a novel opinion?

But seriously, lets count the number of legitimate national champions since the BCS had its inaugural season.


1998 Tennessee 

JNG: The Vols were a worthy and deserving champion defeating a one loss Florida State team that was actually favored to win the game in the title game. Tee Martin led the team to a 13-0 season which included beating eight bowl teams, including six January bowl teams, four top ten teams and three BCS bowl-bound teams.

MLC: You can't argue with those stats.  The Vols were clearly the best team in the nation that year.  But if you're giving the BCS a pass for the '98 season, you're sorely mistaken.  Let's travel back 9 years and 10 months to December 1998.  Tennessee was the clear number one heading into conference title game week.  Because Hurricane Georges had destroyed Miami in September, UCLA had to travel cross country to play a makeup game late in the season instead of early.  Cade McNown was a Heisman candidate, and the Bruins had only to beat the unranked Hurricanes and they were into the national title game.  But Edgerrin James ran all over the powder blue in Little Havana.  So down goes the number two team in the nation.

No problem, right?  Let's just plug number three in there and go to war in Tempe.  Except that number three was Kansas State.  Quarterback Michael Bishop led a triple option attack that had Bill Snyder's crew undefeated going into the Big XII Championship game in San Antonio.  They had only to be lowly Texas A&M (remember when the Big XII North was good and the South was bad?), and they'd be joining the day-glow orange volunteers on Mill Street in Tempe.  So when Sir Parker (Yes, his name was Sir) beat the Wildcats in overtime, and Dat Nguyn's team won the Big XII, the BCS was thrown into chaos in it's innaugural season.

That left Florida State.  FSU had one loss to NC State on the road, and that was Chris Weinke threw six interceptions in his first ever college start.  Weinke turned out to be a good quarterback, but Virginia's Patrick Kearney broke his neck later in the season.  Weinke was out, and backup Marcus Outzen was in.  How this kid got a scholarship to FSU during the dominant '90s, no body knows.

You can't really back into a title game more than FSU did.  I was at the UVA game when Weinke got hurt, and I was at the title game in Tempe on January 3, 1999.  The score was 23-14.  Rocky Top is the most obnoxious song ever.  It was not a good title game, and so the BCS may have got it right, but it didn't acheive its goal of bringing us a good title game between the two best teams in the country.


1999 Florida State

JNG: Undefeated FSU beats Michael Vick and the undefeated Hokies. Thank God FSU won this game. The thought of having to live in a world where Va. Tech and "National Champion"...well, I can't even imagine. I believe it's in The Bible under Revelations.

MLC: My only argument here would be that the Hokies beat the likes of JMU (1-AA), UConn
(1-AA at the time), and UAB among other lightweights to end up with an undefeated record.  But still, the two best teams, an exciting title game, this was a great year for the BCS.

2005 Texas

JNG: No arguments here. USC and Texas were #1 and #2 nearly all year before colliding in an epic title game at the Rose Bowl. Who can forget Vince Young both throwing and rushing for over 200 yards? Speaking of which, has any truly great college quarterback fallen off the map with such a thud as VY? What's he doing now? Wait, what? He's still playing football?

MLC: No arguments here either.

2007 LSU

JNG: Ah, the media proclaimed "Year of the Upset". An unranked or lower-ranked opponent defeated a higher ranked team 59 times over the course of the season. A record setting 13 unranked teams defeated top 5 teams during the regular season. Michigan lost to I-AA Appalachian State in the Big House to set the tone. Of note, USC went on to lose to a Stanford team ranked 80 spots below them while all West Virginia had to do was beat a 4-7 Pittsburgh team to get to the national championship game...and of course lost. WVU became the last of seven #2 ranked teams to lose during the year. Incredibly, a 2 loss LSU team thrashed a one loss, and SEC favorite, Ohio State for the crystal ball and no one could really be left to argue.

MLC: Can we just bar the Big 10 from being involved in national title games until they prove they deserve it?  Maybe by not getting blown out in the Rose Bowl every year?


JNG: So count em': 1,2,3.4.


The BCS has only had four non-arguable National Champions in 11 seasons of existence. That's .363%, which would be great... if we were talking batting percentages.


So why those four?  It is difficult to crown anyone "the best of the best" if, quite simply, they aren't playing the next best team. Those four instances are the only national championship games where the two teams playing were quite clearly the best teams in the country. 

Now, I have no doubt in my mind that 2001 Miami and 2004 USC would have obliterated whomever the BCS sacrificially chose for them (just as they obliterated Nebraska and Oklahoma). The problem is that the system chose the wrong opponents, which is not only a disservice to the teams and their respective legacies but also to the fans who are left to wonder 'what if''.


Well, what if...


2000 Oklahoma

JNG: The dawn of the new millennium marked both a milestone in my athletic career and the exact year I began to see just how wonderful the world of the BCS could be. 

My whole life up until this point I had been a stocky, little tight end or defensive end on my pee wee teams.Then 7th grade hit, I grew eight inches and became seemingly fast overnight. Years and years of throwing a mini foam football to myself in my living room somehow paid off into being able to throw an actual football to other people. I was one of a handful of 7th graders to make the varsity team and I needed someone to look up to, someone to aspire to. Naturally, I came to find the ever-so-white and unathletic Miami QB Ken Dorsey. I followed the Hurricanes religiously that year, and all of Dorsey's years for that matter. Thus, it still pains and frustrates me that a one-loss Canes team could be passed over for the national championship game whilst a team they had beaten head-to-head got play in it. Making matters even more complicated, the team that beat Miami, eventual Pac-10 Champion Washington, also finished the season with one loss. Both the Canes and the Huskies dominated their respective BCS bowls.


Luckily, the Sooners put to rest any doubt to who the best team in the land was by winning in a 13-2 thriller...

MLC: Holy shit dude, spare me the comparisons between you and Ken Dorsey.  The NCAA suspended FSU's top wide out Marvin "Snoop" Minnis because he "had no idea he was failing two classes."  Yeah.  OK, he was a total moron, not unlike Peter Warrick the year before who took a 96% discount on clothes and other items from a Tallahassee Dillard's and got hosed on the Heisman. We've had this argument before.  The 'Canes deserved to be in the title game over the' Noles.  UDub should've been there too.  Whatever can we just have a playoff?


2001 Miami

JNG: The Canes destroyed Nebraska in the title game 37-14. Unfortunately their opponent in the title game was unworthy of such a beating considering  Nebraska hadn't even MADE it to the Big XII title game after losing to Colorado by 36 points in the season finale. A one loss Oregon team was a more deserving foe as they were ranked second in both human polls. 


Let there be no doubt that a Miami team with Ken Dorsey, Clinton Portis, Frank Gore, Willis McGahee, Jeremy Shockey, Kellen Winslow Jr., Ed Reed, Jonathon Vilma, Vince Wilfork, Andre Johnson, Bryant McKinnie, Najah Davenport, D.J. Williams, Mike Rumph, and Phillip Buchanon, would have destroyed Oregon too. 

Hell, I'd put my money on 2001 Miami if they played. the 2009 Washington Redskins. 

MLC: We all know how Joey Harrington plays against NFL defenses.  No one in history touches this 'Canes team.  But that is an argument for another column (which is coming, by the way).


2002 Ohio State

JNG: I refuse to acknowledge the 14-0 Buckeyes for one simple reason....................

Oh, still waiting?.....


Just replaying it in my head.....


That horribly delayed and horribly bad pass interference call.

MLC: What an awful call.  Just absolutely horrendous.  It's like that stupid Buffalo Wild Wings commercial where the ref goes under the tent to review the play, then asks the restaurant full of people what they want to happen.  I think that side judge just wanted to hang out for a little while.  On the flip side, a second title might have stopped Miami from firing that Uncle Fester look-alike Larry Coker (nicest man in the world, good coordinator, awful head coach).  So for the current state of Miami football, it might have actually helped not to win that sixth title.  Paradoxical, I know.

2003 LSU

JNG: No team in college football finished the year undefeated in 2003. However, 3 BCS conference teams did finish with only one loss: LSU, Oklahoma and USC. 

Logically, USC, the number #1 ranked team in both human polls, was passed over for the BCS title game.Instead, learning nothing from previous mistakes, the computers selected an Oklahoma team who had just been soundly beaten in the Big XII title game.


The AP awarded the National Championship to USC, while the coaches were obligated to vote for LSU.


The BCS, where split national champions can still happen!

MLC: Yeah, wasn't that the point of the BCS?  Nebraska and Michigan split the title in 1997 and the BCS was instituted the following year to end that bullshit.  Everything about this season bothers me.  Jason White wins the Heisman.  Oklahoma plays in the national championship (and becomes the original perennial BCS disappointment before Ohio State claimed the crown).  LSU basically plays a home game in the Sugar Bowl.  We're deprived of an LSU-USC title game.


By the way, do you remember the talk that surrounded this Oklahoma team?  Analysts were calling them one of the best teams in college football history.  They were the juggernaut.  They were unbeatable.  Then they got absolutely housed by the Kansas State Wildcats.  Then they got killed by LSU.  Anyone can beat anyone.  Playoff please.


2004 USC

 JNG: Like 2001 Miami, I have no doubt in my mind USC, with Heisman winner Matt Leinart and eventual winner Reggie Bush, would have drubbed whomever was placed in front of them. Yet Auburn, an undefeated SEC Champion, never got in the discussion to even play for the title, never being able to rise past #3.


I am fairly certain the South would secede from the Union for a second time if this were to ever happen again.

MLC: Jason Campbell.  Ronnie Brown.  Cadillac Williams.  Reggie Bush.  Matt Leinart.  I want to see this game.  And the BCS stole it from me.  I want justice.  I want a playoff.


2006 Florida

 JNG: Going into the final poll, undefeated Boise State and four one-loss teams (Michigan, Wisconsin, Louisville and Florida) were up for a sport against undefeated top-ranked Ohio State in the championship game in Glendale, Arizona. Of the one loss teams, Florida was probably the best, especially when you consider how badly the Buckeyes, Wolverines and the rest of the Big 10 were humiliated in their bowl games after being so ballyhooed all season. The conference still hasn't been able to restore its image.


I would have liked to have seen undefeated Boise State play though as they proved they could hang with the big boys by defeating Adrian Peterson and Oklahoma in that all-time classic Fiesta Bowl. Just imagine the significance of that hook-and-ladder or that Statue of Liberty hand-off if it were for the BCS crown. Imagine the mythology that would have followed Ian Johnson's proposal to his girlfriend and BSU cheerleader if he had just won the crystal ball...Imagine.

MLC: I'm going to be a hypocrite hear, so keep that in mind.  But I stop short of putting Boise State in a class with Florida in this one.  I know they beat Oklahoma.  But starting in '03 with the Jason White flop team that we've already discussed, Oklahoma was basically Ohio State when it came to BCS games.  Starting in 2003, the Sooners are 1-5 in Bowl games.  That one win was the 2005 Holiday Bowl win over Oregon that capped off an 8-4 season.  All five of those losses were in BCS bowls.  0-5 in the last six years in the BCS.  Destroyed by LSU (2003).  AnnihIilated 55-19 by USC (2004).  Shocked by Boise State (2006).  Dominated by West Virginia (2007).  Outclassed by Football Jesus and Florida (2008).  Much like Ohio State, show me you can win a bowl game before I consider you a big win for someone else.  

So my point in all that is, I know Ohio State was not the best team to play Florida, and the Big 10 has since been exposed as a total fraud.  But was Boise State the best team to play Florida?  Did they deserve a shot?  Not because they beat Oklahoma, no.  Should it have at least been a possibility?  Hell yes.  Playoff please.

2008 Florida

JNG: How could you ever say the Gators were the best team in the land this year?

To recap, Texas loses on a last second play at #6 Texas Tech. It was the Horns fourth straight game against a team ranked in the top ten. Florida loses at home to an Ole' Miss team that had already lost to Wake Forest and Vanderbilt (the Rebels would go on to lose the two subsequent weeks following this game). USC loses early in the season at Oregon State before running the table. Penn State loses by one on a last second field goal at Iowa. Oklahoma loses by 10 on a neutral field to Texas. Oh, and Utah went undefeated.

And I am supposed to anoint the Tebows because they beat Oklahoma on a neutral (if you could call that Miami atmosphere neutral) field by the same margin a one-loss Texas team did earlier in the season? Complicating things is that Utah beat SEC powerhouse and 12-1 Alabama in the Sugar Bowl to finish its undefeated season. 

After all the bowl games, four teams (Florida, Texas, USC, and Utah) could legitimately say they were the best in the land and you could run in circles all day touting reasons for each team without ever reaching a verdict.

MLC: I couldn't tell you who should have been in this title game.  I would struggle to pick the right teams in most of these years.  But that's not our point here.  Our point is that no one can pick the right two teams when they never play each other.  Without a better system, it's guess work.  We writers (and I used the term loosely) sit around and say, "Team A beat Team B.  And Team B beat Team C.  But Team B also lost to Teams D and F.  But Team D beat Team A.  So the two teams should be Team B and F.  Wait what?  Well the computers do the exact same things by comparing strength of schedule, margin of victory, strength of opponents schedule, 8 different rankings, etc.  It's really no different.  It's only more complicated.


I remember the old system though.  Writers and coaches with historical biases deciding the national champ after traditional bowl games.  If not for the BCS, we would never have exposed the Big 10 or Oklahoma for the frauds that they are because writers would continue saying, "But it's Ohio State.  But it's the Sooners.  Surely they're really good because they always have been and their record is good, right?" I remember the arguments for the BCS: "what if we have a scientific formula that would guarantee the best two teams play each other in the title game?  What a great idea!"  Well it was a novel idea.  But Dr. Frankenstein created his monster, and now it has come back to haunt him.  The system is a failure, and it actually makes me wish we just had people vote on the games after watching all of the teams all season long.  In retrospect that makes a lot of sense.


Speaking of making sense.  Ummmm, playoff please?

JNG: The BCS wasn't instituted to give us champions that can be second guessed. Just because they won a game titled "Championship" doesn't mean crap if other teams are just as deserving, or more deserving, than the opponents who made the game.

I am not a horribly strong advocate of the playoff system. I don't think playoffs necessarily judge the BEST team over an entire season. Upsets can happen, and while they are fun and enjoyable in there unpredictability, I think a champion should be a team that has proved it to be worthy all season. Not a team with two losses that suddenly got hot. 

Any right minded human could have told you, as I am now, who should have played for the championship each and every year of the BCS (MLC: not me). Why are we relying totally on a computer rankings system? Aren't we smart enough to take those rankings, couple them with our own, and decide who REALLY deserves to play? I mean we have something the BCS doesn't...common sense.

Alas with 7 undefeated teams left, let's see how the BCS screws it up this year.

Red River Rivalry and more College Football Fun

We are hitting the mid-point of the college football season and the only thing that is certain is that in a few months time people and the media will be bitching about some team getting slighted by the oh-so-adored BCS. Last year that team was Texas.

Like the Florida Gators would eventually do in the National Championship game, the Fightin' Bevos beat the Oklahoma Sooners by 10 points on a neutral field. Unlike Florida, who got a crystal football and some gaudy rings for their win, Texas went on to be surpassed in the BCS standings (and thus an invitation to the Big XII title game) by a team they had beaten. Yes, Texas lost control of their own destiny with a last second loss to Texas Tech, but come on, anybody with a shred of common sense gives Texas the nod for the title game last year. Tomorrow, no matter what ole' Mack Brown says, Texas will finally get a chance to take out a little bit of that built up bitterness. Time to pick em'.

#3 Texas vs. #20 Oklahoma (Noon ET)                        

JNG: Yes, Texas has struggled at times this season as evidenced by a porous Colorado team hanging around for nearly three quarters. Yes, 2008 Heisman Trophy winner Sam Bradford is back and seemingly in form after passing for over 300 yards last week. Yes, at 3-2 (never mind those losses came by a combined 2 points and without Bradford) a win against their heated rival would make the Sooners season and all but end Texas title dreams. All signs point to Bob Stoops boys leaving the Texas State Fair with a season redeemed.

I don't see it. I see something on the lines of Vince Young's 2006 Longhorns steamrolling a reeling Sooner team. I attribute Texas close games to a lack of feeling threatened or challenged. When this team has had to turn it on, it has turned it on. Their defense is going to manhandle OU's offensive line like Joey Chestnut manhandles hot dogs. Trust me, Sam Bradfords going to be feeling the heat.

But honestly though, how can I pick against man crushes Colt McCoy and Jordan Shipley. Besides having the most badass name in the history of Texas football, McCoy is a gamer. I expect him to be at the top of his game tomorrow. And Shipley would be on many people's Heisman list if the season were to end today. These two buddies won't lose their final game to the Sooners.

And how could I not root for the same team Colt McCoy's smoking hot girlfriend (Baylor track star Rachel Glandorf) root for? I couldn't. Texas 41, Oklahoma 23.

MLC: I must agree. Rachel Glandorf is hot. Like nuclear. It doesn't even bother me that her last name makes her sound like a character out of the Lord of the Rings trilogy (Glandorf the White Wizard?)

The bad news for the 'Horns is that Colt McCoy's smoking hot girlfriend is about the only thing about this team that is as good as last year. This is a Texas team that struggled against Wyoming for a half. This is a Texas team that had trouble with Colorado for three quarters. This is a Texas team with banged up running backs.

Now, this is an Oklahoma team that will be missing its best player. Yes, I know that the Sooners' pube-haired quarterback Sam Bradford will be playing quarterback while doing his best to look like a Japanimation, Dragon Ball Z character. But I'm talking about Jermain Gresham, the monster tight end that should be dominating the nation this year. Gresham hurt his knee in the preseason and reaggravated it while kicking himself for not going pro (ok, that may not have happened).

OU also has holes in it's O-Line. Do you think there was a Coach Kilmer-Billy Bob moment after the BYU game? I feel like Bob Stoops went all West Texas on the offensive line: "You got one job and that's to protect (Lance Harbor) Sam Bradford! And you can't even do that. Get out of my sight (Billy Bob) o-line. Get out of my sight!"

On another note, how disappointing does this Heisman race have to be for us to get a do-over?  Remember the beginning of the year? "This could be the only season in college football history where three Heisman Trophy winners have played at one time!" Um, no. Football Jesus got hurt. So did Dragon Ball Sam. Colt McCoy is banging his hot girlfriend (and really, who wouldn't?). And we're left with Jimmy Clausen. Jimmy...Clausen. More on him later.

To get back to the Red River Shootout, last year was two great teams. It was a great game, but a 10 point win for Texas. This year Vegas has set the line at 3. This means that they don't think Texas is as good as last year. And I agree. But neither is Oklahoma. I like Oklahoma by a touchdown because I don't think Texas will run the ball and I think Colt McCoy will be running for his life all game.

OU 28- UT 24



  #4 Virginia Tech at #19 Georgia Tech (6 P.M.)

JNG: To me, autumn in Virginia is just as well defined by Va. Tech fans delusional bragging about their over-ranked team as it is about pumpkin pie and changing leaves.

It's clockwork.  Somehow every October-November, every one I can remember, Tech gets up into the top 10 or top 5 in the national rankings. And every year they are exposed for they fraud they usually are. Oh, you beat Duke by 8 points? Oh, you got some lucky last-minute plays to beat Nebraska by 1 at vaunted Lane Stadium? Ok, yeah, you "destroyed" Miami in a nor'easter (that game reminded me of all those obligatory "let down" games you see in football movies where the team was either a strip club the night before or the star QB found out his girlfriend was pregnant). As much as I think Ryan Williams will be a stud in the ACC for the next couple of years, I am not going to jump on the Tyrod Taylor bandwagon just because he has had a few games where he could complete a pass.

I don't buy the Hokies. I never will. Look for Josh Nesbitt and the triple-option to rule the day. Ga. Tech 28, Va. Tech 21.

MLC: Tyrod Taylor gets exposed this game. It has to happen at some point, right? Please? Taylor beat Miami in a monsoon and 95 yards passing, 60 of which were on one play. He did make a hell of a play against Nebraska, but that's all you saw from that game, not the Tarvaris Jackson-style grounders he was tossing his receivers that kept Nebraska in the game. He is a TERRIBLE quarterback. Top 5 teams should not have this problem. One of these games, he's going to get exposed, and I pick it to happen here.

As far as Georgia Tech goes, they big, strong, athletic, fast, and completely one dimensional. Josh Nesbitt really looks awful throwing the ball, but he's still better than Tidewater Taylor. VT is undersized on the d-line, it's tough to play Tech in Atlanta (especially when they roll out that stupid fucking car after a touchdown. If you've been there you know what I mean). I think the triple option rules the day here.

For what Newman wrote about VTech people in Virginia. It's all true.

GT: 17 VT: 6


#6 USC at #25 Notre Dame (3:30 ET)

JNG: I don't get the whole "this is Charlie Weiss's judgement day" news story. Call me crazy, but I don't care if Weiss has the biggest male FUPA this side of Ralph Friedgen, the Fighting Irish are 4-1 and on their way to a respectable, possibly BCS, bowl.

It's not just that, but who exactly is going to do a better job in South Bend? This isn't the days of "Rudy", there are more schools out there with just as much money, just as much passion, and enough tradition to lure the nation's top talent away from the Irish. Yet, Weiss has gotten some future NFLers to play under the gaze of Touchdown Jesus. Jimmy Clausen leads the nation in passing efficiency, Golden Tate will be playing on Sundays and freshman linebacker Manti Te'o is a stud.

I don't think this should be Charlie Weiss last stand per say, but I don't think it matters. I see his team getting some vindication by taking advantage of Pete Carroll's worst offensive team in years and utilizing their own offensive prowess. Notre Dame 24, USC 21.

MLC: If the Irish are thinking high grass will slow down USC and give them a better shot to beat the Trojans, they should just keeping growing that grass higher and higher. I'm thinking if they have it cut about waist high, it 'll cover they're backsides and maybe they can avoid this impending ass-wupping they're about to get. Maybe If they play in a cornfield, they won't get cornholed on Saturday.

Nope. They will still get killed. Notre Dame is essentially a Big 10 team. This is not a good thing (Big 10 fans, keep reading for more of me shitting on your conference!). They haven't done anything particularly impressive at any point this year. They needed late drives against the likes of Purdue and Washington to seal a victory. I am not impressed. I know USC actually lost to the Huskies but they're stil crap and the Trojans are still the Trojans. They do this every year. They lose to a Pac 10 bottom feeder and they beat the crap out of Notre Dame. It's like the change of the seasons, you can count on it.

Don't even get me started on Jimmy Clausen. If I hear him mentioned as a Heisman CANDIDATE one more time (let alone a favorite), I will lose faith in college football fans. He is the best thing going on a mediocre team with a huge fan base and a TV contract. Sound like he should get the Heisman? No.

And Charlie Weiss? All I'll say is it must be tough to coach when you know you could die of any number of health problems. Between Weiss, Mangino at Kansas and Friedgen at Maryland, we might have a coach die on the sideline in the next 5 years. They all make me nervous. Someone please help these men. Save the whales!

But USC will be manning the harpoons.

USC: 38 Notre Dame: 17


#22 South Carolina vs. #2 Alabama (7:45 P.M. ET)

JNG: I don't drink the SEC kool-aid.

Going to college in South Carolina, all I ever heard about was how amazing the SEC was; how deep and grueling it was. Blah blah blah. I got news for you, the SEC is a two team conference this year. There isn't anything special about a single other team including USC. Losing to a 3-3 Georgia team and scoring 7 points against ACC doormat NC State leads to one big can of ass-whoopin' in Tuscaloosa.

Alabama has been the most impressive, and maybe best, team in football so far this season. 'Bama 33, Carolina 10.

MLC: It's been a while for the visor in Columbia and he still hasn't made it happen. I guess it's a little different recruiting for South Carolina than it is for Florida. When the two abbreviations you use for your school are used by other, better programs, that's just lame. South Carolina goes by USC (which anyone outside of the state will tell you stands for the Trojans) and Carolina (which anyone outside of the state will tell you is the Tarheels). What does this have to do with football? Absolutely nothing. I just think that it encapsulates the lameness of the school, and maybe explains why Spurrier has yet to recruit the type of eye-bulging talent that he did at Florida. That's definitely the case here.

Enter an Alabama juggernaut that is every bit as good as last years Sugar Bowl embarrassments. Living in West Texas, I see the double talk of devout christiantity crossed with footbal idolotry. Yes Jesus is the Lord, but if he could throw an 80 yard bomb to Julio Jones, Tide fans would be even better Christians. There's no way to describe the fawning over the Bama program that happens every season from every Bama fan. Those kids rule that town. They rule that state. When John Parker Wilson was a redshirt, he reportedly asked a cop who had pulled him over on suspiscion of drunk driving, "Do you know who I am?" kid hadn't stepped on the field yet and he's already big timing the local police. But that's the way it is in Tide Town. Those kids are Gods there. Who's turning that down on a recruting trip?

Add all of that to the fact that Saban can outcoach Spurrier in his sleep and you know we've got a blowout coming.

Bama: 42 USC, I mean Carolina, I mean SOUTH Carolina...the Gamecocks: 14


Arkansas at #1 Florida (3:30 ET) 

JNG: This seems eerily familiar to last years lone Gator loss when a .500 Ole' Miss team left the The Swamp with a victory. Coming off an emotional win in a built up game, Florida would seem to be vulnerable against Ryan Mallett and an impressive Razorback offense.

That is, until you look at the Razorbacks defense. Look for Urban Meyer to open up his offensive playbook and try to get his illegitimate son...I mean quarterback some Heisman worthy stats. Florida 41, Arkansas 21.

MLC: Follow me here. Arkansas beats an undefeated Auburn team that may or may not be good, and people pick them to beat a Florida team that is just coming off a total assertion of superirority over the former number four team in the country?

No.

Arkansas ran all over Auburn because they were much faster. I started watching that game at the gym and thought at first that it was an ESPN Classic game or something because it looked like Felix Jones was back for the Razorbacks. That said, what does Florida have plenty of? Speed.

It doesn't matter that the inappropriate relationship between Tebow and Urban Meyer is causing Tebow to walk with a limp and play like a stiff (he was NOT good against LSU). The Gators have a defense that ia dominant and a player in Brandon Spikes who right now deserves to be considered for the Heisman. He'd be the best defensive player in the country if Donkey Kong Suh (yes, I know his name is actually Ndamukang) was not such a one man wrecking crew. Florida wins this game because Auburn is a fluke, Arkansas gets too much credit for beating a fluke, and Tim Tebows ass- I mean his head- is stil sore but the Gators are better with an ailing Tebow than most teams are healthy.

Gay-tors: 55 Arkansas: 10


#11 Iowa at Wisconsin (Noon ET)

JNG: I won't pretend to watch Big Ten football. It's about as boring to me as listening to the dialogue on "The Hills" (not that I watch that either or anything).

Anyways, I dig the Badger mascot with his cute pin-striped sweater and scowling face. Wisconsin 17, Iowa 13.

MLC: Iowa is not good. They had to block two field goals to beat a directional FCS team from within their state (Northern Iowa) at home. They play well against Big 10 teams, but the Big 10 is bad too.

That said, I watched the Wisconsin-Ohio State game last week, and Wisky was in it the whole time. By Big 10 standards, OSU is good. So give me Wisconsin in this one against Iowa, because no one in the Big 10 is good enough to go undefeated.

And as far as Bucky the Badger goes, Memo to all colleges: just because you give your lame mascot a mean mug and a puffed up chest does not make it cool. Bucky looks like a skunk that had an accident with a candy cane.

The Big 10: where Bucky the Badger sucks and our marquee game of the day is played at noon eastern. They're a baby step above the MAC. Booo. Just booooooooo.

'Sconsin: 20 Iowa: 14


On that note, can we get one more look at Rachel Glandorf? Yes, yes we can.

JNG Intro: Craving More

So here we are at the beginning of this little adventure... Alright, well technically, no, that's not true...

Mitch and I have known each other since the early days of the Clinton administration, bumping into each other on the basketball courts during recess while all the other boys ran around rabidly arguing who would be the Red Ranger (yes, I am dating myself with a Power Rangers reference). We had more important things on our minds: sports. And sitting here now, looking back at the past 17 years, it feels like not a week has gone by without either of us getting in touch with the other to argue, debate, and converse about all things sports (we do occasionally touch on the other obligatory "man" topics as well).

How do you satiate a passion for sports? Mitch and I have been wondering that for years. The simple answer is, as I assume you are aware, is that there isn't any real way to do this. When you're a sports fan, you're a sports fan. That's that. As Bill Paxton so eloquently put it in "Alens", once you start your relationship with sports it's "Game over man, game over."

Yet, this isn't some sort of burden. Unlike everything else in life where selfishly wanting more can lead to a bulging waistline or an STD, the craving for sports only leads to more sports, and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that.

This website isn't made in some false hope that we can satisfy you or our own love for sports. It isn't created because we found ourselves all too bored with our first "real world" jobs (although we are). We don't have some lofty expectation that people are going to be hitting refresh on ESPN's website, anxiously awaiting for Bill Simmons to post a new article, and upon disappointment of another podcast (Bill Simmons is an idol of ours, but come on dude, your a writer) skip on over to The Sporting Dudes.

No, we just realize that new media and advanced technology allows for a connection to all things sports 24/7. More than anything we want some form of communication where we can put our many, many interesting and personal thoughts, opinions, and arguments down in concrete form, and just to put it out there... for entertainment, for mockery, for discussion, for who knows? We don't have the slightest idea how this could end up. Best case scenario, the world sees us for the genuine, clever, witty sports fanatics we are. At worst, we will have just be keeping on doing what we've done for the last 17 years: arguing over who is right and who is the more genuine, more clever, wittier, better looking sports fan between ourselves (hint: I am).

As for myself, anyone who has met me (especially Mitch)  knows how opinionated I can be, especially with regards to the sports kingdom. I will argue for arguing s sake, even if I don't agree with my own argument. You say the SEC is the end-all, be-all of college football? I say its more overrated than Justin Bieber. You say LeBron James is the best player in basketball? I say he would crab dribble his way into oblivion if he weren't a physical freak. You say golf's a sport? I say if you can do it, and do it well, smoking a cigarette, drinking a beer, and wearing hideous plaid pants, than no sir, it is not a sport. You say Colt McCoy is the most badass name in the history of college football? Well, some things I can't argue.

I'll give you opinions and stories, facts and biases, lists and predictions, pop culture references and recommendations. I'll give you it all. You might agree. You might be pissed off.

Now, as a man much wiser than me said, "Let's start the insanity..."

JNG

My bio information can be found at our feeder website: www.wix.com/jng2412/thesportingdudes

Intro: Mitch Carr: It's About Time We Did This

"Let me just start by saying one thing: I like poking broads."

Now for those of you who don't know, that's a line from one of the greatest Saturday Night Live skits of all time, so I thought it would be a good way to introduce myself.  For those of you who do recognize it, NAVY SEALS!!!

It's not everyday a writer begins with a digression, but that's just kind of the way I am.  I meander in and out of my article, taking breaks to say the random little things that cross my mind while I'm writing.  When you read the whole thing, you get the whole picture.

So why would I want to write a sports column that possibly no one will read for free in my spare time? Well, quite simply, sports is life to me.  I made a decision a long time ago that if I could never become a professional athlete, I'd have to do whatever I could to stay as close to sports as possible.  Considering I'm 6'2" and never clocked a 40 lower than 5-flat, the professional athlete thing was out.  It didn't help that Newman ran me over with his car when we were sophomores in high school.  I have the scar to prove it.  So with pro sports out, I chose journalism.  I'm a news reporter for KLBK, a television station in Lubbock, Texas.  Maybe one day I'll be the local sports guy somewhere, but for now, I need an outlet for my sports-based opinions.  That's why I talk to Newman all the time about whatever is going on in the sports world.  And that's why we started this website.

My views on sports issues are neither complex nor guarded.  I am a blunt, black or white guy when it comes to my opinions, and I'm not shy about letting them out.  Ask the women in my life how good I am at politely addressing issues.  Like John Daly, I grip it and I rip it, and if you read me for any amount of time you'll see I don't really waffle.

I have a lot of opinions that you've heard: college football needs a playoff, baseball either needs a DH in both leagues or not at all, the Yankees and Red Sox can both lick my balls.  I also have a lot of opinions that you may not have heard before: former Georgetown coach Craig Esherick looks like the illegitimate love child of Adolf Hitler and Vincente Fox (google that shit), Tim Tebow and Urban Meyer are definitely banging each other, and soccer players are the biggest bunch of girls I've ever seen (really, I think Cristiano Ronaldo needs a tampon).

I love all sports.  Except for figure skating.  That shit sucks.  I also love to write.  My biggest hope is, you'll love to read.

Welcome to the Beginning

Sports.  As straight, American men, we more than any other incarnation of humanity are predisposed to spend hours and hours of our days watching sports.  But it’s not just watching.  As men, we talk about sports.  We talk about what happened in the past, what’s happening now, and what’s going to happen in the future.  We see ourselves, each and every one, as the Nostradamus of the world we inhabit.  We watch, we talk, and we feel a part of the everyday events that entertain and captivate us.  And we all think we know what we’re talking about.

The Sporting Dudes are no different.  We have known each other since we were seven.  In the first grade, we met on the playground and soon found out we were the only kids religiously watching SportsCenter while most kids our age were watching cartoons in the morning.  We’ve also known each other forever as two of the most competitive people on this planet.  We spent our days in elementary school, middle school, high school, and college constantly trying to one-up each other in everything from girls to grades.  We both played quarterback. We both played basketball. We had classes together.  One of us ran over the other's foot with his car.  That’s a true story for a future blog post, but my point is that we’ve been competing against each other since day one of knowing one another.  And one of the things that we are most competitive and passionate about is discussing sports.

Back in the mean streets of Richmond, VA, we would talk about sports on every level as if someone was listening.  We were always trying to win the debate in front of that imaginary judge that always turned out to be nothing but our own inflated senses of self.  When we got bored in elementary school, we’d make up basketball teams, play against each other one on one, and decide who’s team was better as if we were comparing Duke and Kentucky from the early 1990s.  We would play each other one on one in football for crap’s sake.  Do you know how hard that is?  Through the years, no matter what was going on or where we were, we always contacted each other with the latest sports argument, breaking it down like Tucker Max breaks down a woman’s self-esteem.

Our mission here is to talk sports in an open forum like we’ve been doing for years.  What you’ll get from us is a passionate argument from some die-hard sports fans.  There’s a chemistry here that has been built through nearly two decades of squabbling.  That’s something you don’t get from your everyday sports reporters.  You can come to the Sporting Dudes for a unique spin on a topic that may be current, past, or future.  You can post your own arguments, too.  Whether or not you come back to this site, just know this argument will continue for better or worse until one of us meets his untimely death doing something undoubtedly stupid…probably trying to gain a competitive edge on the other one.