An Iowa student with a Michigan bias -- and Wazzu ties, too -- breaks down the Big Ten conference with attempted objectivity, week by week
It's a two-horse race. I said so at the beginning of the year, and I'm saying so now -- with numbers on my side this time.
Wait 'til next week.
Yeah, just do what they're doing ---->
The thing is, Week 11 might mean everything's all but decided, but that final decision can't be made until the illustrious Week 12 comes to the forefront.
This week's all about getting by, and for Michigan, it means going on the road to Madison to try to increase its win streak to nine games. For Ohio State, it means playing host to Illinois and hoping nothing flukey happens with Juice and Co.
Pencil, no, PEN in Ohio State as unbeaten heading into next week's title game in Ann Arbor. As for Michigan, write it in with pencil...lightly.
Michigan has a lot to play for against Wisconsin. Pride, mostly. But at this point of the season, what exactly do the Wolverines have left to lose? If Ohio State trips this week, it's bye-bye to the national title game for the Buckeyes. But Michigan could lose this week, and still make the Rose Bowl with a win over OSU next week. But that's probably the last thing on their minds right now.
What Else, What Else...
The College Football Bandwagon: ...I can't take it, I'm adding Oregon!
COLLEGE FOOTBALL BANDWAGON 2007
Hawaii - Staying on, despite my obligatory "Hawaii has no chance" speech
Kansas - It's impossible to understate how fat KU head coach Mark Mangino is. Could you imagine trying to describe him to a blind person? There's no precedent for the fatness, either. I always thought Charlie Weis was the gold standard, but Mangino's rolling into platinum territory.
Oregon - I know LSU probably has the inside track of the one-loss teams. And I know the rest of Oregon's schedule is weak. But that shouldn't matter. Oregon has played great teams, and there's no reason it shouldn't be in the title game (except for that soulcrushing loss to Cal). Dennis Dixon is an amazing QB and if your team is out of it, you have no reason not to be quacking along with him, J-Stew, and the rest of the Ducks.
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#10 Georgia at #18 Auburn: This one should interest me, but it doesn't. Most of the intrigue in the SEC comes from 'Bama, Florida, and LSU these days. In defense of this game, it's the only one featuring two Top-25 teams.
The 'All That Could Have Been' Bowl -- #17 USC at Cal: Man, oh man. This was supposed to be USC and Cal squaring off in an undefeated Pac-10 match-up where the Golden Bears looked to shed the little brother role en route to supplanting USC as the class of the conference. Instead, both teams are looking up in the standings at Oregon and Arizona State and wondering what the hell happened.
Baylor at #5 Oklahoma: The Sooners are favored by 37.5, which begs the question, how is Baylor a Big 12 team?! The Bears are 0-16 against OU all-time, and history, individual match-ups, and common sense make there no reason for it not to be 0-17 after this weekend.
#15 Florida at South Carolina: Florida vs. Steve Spurrier. Former team. Blah, blah, blah. This one should be a pretty fun one. Weren't the Cocks in the Top 10 just a few weeks ago?
Louisiana Tech at #2 LSU: Let's remember this cupcake game when SEC freedom fighters are making it seem like Oregon, Oklahoma, West Virginia, and/or Kansas have no right to even think about having a chance to play in the title game a few weeks from now. People complain about Kansas' out of conference schedule, but does LSU's slate of Middle Tennessee State, Tulane, and La. Tech sound any better? Oregon went on the road and slaughtered Michigan. Ohio State went on the road and handled Washington. Say what you want about conference quality in the Big Ten and Pac Ten, but at least some of the top BCS teams are scheduling out of conference road games against other BCS teams.
Michigan-Michigan State, Revisited: I just thought it was a little weird that last week I decided to randomly focus on the Michigan-MSU game from 2004. Writing about it, I presented this Braylon picture:
I ask: Does this look -- I don't know -- familiar?
Guess some things never change.
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Matchup of the Week: #12 Michigan at Wisconsin - Michigan fans say: Don't screw up, don't screw up, don't screw up.
Other of Interest: Illinois at #1 Ohio State - Ohio State fans say: Man, Michigan better not screw this up.
The Trail of Tiers...
Elite
#1 Ohio State (10-0, 6-0)
#12 Michigan (8-2, 6-0)
Bowl Eligible
Illinois (7-3, 4-2)
Wisconsin (7-3, 3-3)
Purdue (7-3, 3-3)
Indiana (6-4, 2-4)
Penn State (7-3, 4-3)
Probably Will Be Soon
Iowa (4-5, 2-4) - Host Minnesota and Western Michigan to end the season.
Not So Sure
Northwestern (5-5, 2-4) - Home vs. Indiana, at Illinois to finish
Michigan State (5-5, 1-5) - At Purdue, Home vs. Penn State to finish
At least we have KG, Randy Moss, and Torii Hunt-- Oh Wait...
Minnesota (1-9, 0-6)
Next Week: The Game, reflections, fun super party.
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A few left over (non-college football items)...
- Chicago Bulls - Get their first win of the season Thursday night against Detroit. They're 1-4 now. How about the development of Ty Thomas? He's resetting his career highs just about every game this year.
- Pats - I'm singin' the Bye Week blues
- Chicago Bears - Try to get back on track against Oakland. This one's a must-win, though I feel like I'll be saying that before every game until they get back to .500. And I'll probably still be saying it even after that.
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Comments
No regrets. They're still playing for the Big Ten Title/Rose Bowl...but it's obviously a lot less meaningful now. I'll just take it as karma payback for the Michigan State victory rub-in via WR pictures.
Oh, and Rex sucks. Especially today. I can honestly say I'm looking forward to a good Mariotti rip job on Around The Horn.
Good thing my pen's erasable... just kidding, i'm the guy who predicted the Bears to win the Super Bowl. Something for Rex lik 30 TD and 7 INT? Man I'm an idiot.