As Winter Break and exams make their way across the University of South Carolina system, “Section 26 Sports” will kind of be on a moving target as to when it will be airing on WUSC.

Our next scheduled show is this upcoming Sunday (December 6th) from 3-6 pm on WUSC. That is 90.5 FM in the Columbia area and worldwide on wusc.sc.edu.

On this week’s show, we will look at how the BCS picture shapes out, where South Carolina will go, the USC Men’s Basketball program as they face Clemson on Sunday afternoon, and keeping you up-to-date on NFL action.

We will continue to post updates as to when upcoming airings will be as the month of December goes along.

For the most up-to-date information, become a fan of “Section 26 Sports” on Facebook.

Tomorrow is the big day, the big game. Screw the BCS National Championship in January, tomorrow is THE game: #1 Florida vs. #2 Alabama for the SEC Championship in a rematch from a year ago. A lot has been said about both teams and their similarities and differences. Both have fantastic, high profile coaches. Both have a wonderful defense. Both have a Heisman hopeful on offense. Both are undefeated, a tough feat in the nations toughest conference.

Tomorrow at 3:00pm CST on CBS, from the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, the nations top teams will battle it out in what should be an epic rematch. The winner goes on to play for the BCS Championship. Urban Myer, Tim Tebow and the Florida Gators vs. Nick Sabin, Mark Ingram and the Alabama Crimson Tide… Who will capture the SEC Championship and be the favorite to win the BCS Championship?

Welcome to December.  Christmas is only three short weeks away kids.  Have you done your shopping?

Me either.

I’m too busy compiling our weekly fantastical trip around the internet as compiled by your friendly neighborhood GonzoGeeks.

As always, before we hit the links, its time for some cheesecake.  Ironically, it was a hit from the links that brought us this slice.  Say hello to Elin Nordegren aka Mrs. Tiger Woods.  Yes, she was at one point a model.  Then she married Tiger and became a wife and mother.  This week she became the center of a media blizzard when she allegedly worked Tiger over with one of his own clubs.

I think I speak for us all when I say…”Tiger, you sir, are an idiot.”

On to the links.

1. We start this week with a literal interpretation of  Total Eclipse fo the Heart.
2. METAL tournament bracket.
3. KISS Alive!  The homecoming.
4. Music biz accounting.
5. Japan re-enacts Tiger’s night.
6. A columnist takes BYU QB Max Hall to tasks.  Kudos to Hall for proving that Mormons can be douchey too.
7. John’s shameless self-promotion.  Updated almost once every month.  Whee!
8. Best.  Gimmick.  EVER.
9. Somehow, I think Freddie Mercury would approve.
10. Silly rabbit, the tweeting is supposed to take place AFTER the wedding on the honeymoon.  Tweeting means engaging in gratuitous sex, right?
11. Fun stuff!
12. More fun stuff!!
13. Another best of the decade list.  This time?  Comedians.
14. Apparently I’m not the only one digging the new take on Iron Fist over at Marvel.
15. And check out this homemade Iron Fist movie.
16. David’s Iraq deployment blog.
17. 11 great “edited for television” lines you making faker.
18. Comcast just bought NBC.  I’d be worried if I were Jay Leno.
19. Kevin Smith weighs in on Twilight.  This ought to be good.
20. 6 creepy urban legends that are actually true.
21. It might just seem like it guys.
22. 5 famous last status updates.
23. Since Scarlett Johannsen is playing the Black Widow in Iron Man 2, let’s take a look at some comic book commies.
24. Just in time for the holiday, nerd nativity scenes.
25. Sarah Palin has gone ‘birther.’  Just now?  Really?
26. 25 hilarious WiFi Network names.
27. Maybe Ronnie should lay off the MMA broadcasts for a while.
28. And finally, tomorrow night Chris and I induct Junior into the Army.  In his honor, its God of Thunder.  \m/

Read Sports Geek’s argument and Loyal Homer’s argument about which will be the best game of THIS weekend.

That is, of course, unless you face a dilemma similar to Bleacher Fan’s this weekend. You see, the Bleacher Fan Clan (without soliciting any actual input from Bleacher Fan) felt that Saturday, December 5th, would be the PERFECT time to embark on an annual holiday tradition. That means that while the rest of America is settling down to enjoy some of the best college football games of the year, Bleacher Fan will be heading out into the country in the old front-wheel drive sleigh to embrace the frosty majesty of the winter landscape and select that most important of Christmas symbols. I, therefore, must choose between the three games and select the one that I most want to watch, sacrificing the other two all because the most enduring traditions of the season are best enjoyed in the warm embrace of kith and kin. Thith THTINKTH!

Fortunately, the decision is not a difficult one. Although the Big XII and Big East Championships should make for outstanding games, neither will be able to match the excitement (or impact) of the National SEC Championship Game.

Any time the top two teams in the nation play it is a game worth watching. This one, however, comes loaded with implications exceeding even those of your “normal” number one versus number two matchup. First, it is a championship game. The winner of the Florida–Alabama game will not only be named the top team in the country but also the 2009 SEC champions (a pretty good title to have when you consider that the last three SEC Champions have also gone on to become national champions).

Second, both teams are virtually GUARANTEED an invitation to the BCS, with the winner being offered the opportunity to play in the national championship game. For people who want to see a college playoff setup, this is about the closest that we can get. Two BCS-caliber teams will take the field with the winner moving along to the national championship game – I don’t know about you, but that sounds like a playoff setting to me!

There is even more at stake, specifically for the Florida Gators who are teetering on the brink of “Dynasty” status. Having already won national championships in 2006 and 2008, the Gators are very close to winning a third title in four years. Depending on the outcome of the other conference championship games, Alabama may be the last REAL opportunity for a school to prevent that from happening. When you consider that the Crimson Tide are conference rivals of the Gators, it is safe to assume that ‘Bama would love nothing more than to be the team that stopped Florida in its tracks.

Neither coach is a stranger to the BCS (Urban Meyer won national championships in 2006 and 2008, and Nick Saban earned one title while head coach of LSU in 2003), and both schools would be worthy representatives from the SEC at the title game in January. All we have to do is sit back and enjoy as these two titans battle it out on the field at the Georgia Dome this Saturday at 4pm. It’s a winner-take-all matchup between the best two teams in the country for the SEC crown and a shot at the national championship – it doesn’t get any better than this!

The executive director of the Bowl Championship Series told the Idaho Statesman newspaper yesterday that pressure by Congress will have no effect on whether the Boise State University football team gets invited to a BCS bowl game. BSU is currently undefeated and ranked sixth in the nation in the BCS’s own poll. Still, despite the fact that there were congressional hearings earlier this year on how to make the BCS more inclusive, Bill Hancock openly scoffed at the thought that his organization had to include Boise State in this year’s Bowl Championship Series. Hancock says that “Congress has better things to do.”

The Broncos, even at 13-0, may get shut out of the big money Bowl Championship Series games. That’s mainly because Boise State doesn’t belong to one of the six conferences with official BCS series ties that mandate a major bowl appearance. According to the Statesman, 91.3% of the BCS bowl invitations in the last five years went to teams from those six conferences. This despite the fact that those six teams represent only 55% of the schools in college football.

For the first time ever, Boise State University president Bob Kustra actually appeared to threaten the BCS. Kustra said,

“If I was in their shoes and I was watching the mounting pressure for change. I would for this year want to think about what I could do to demonstrate that we’re more interested in access and fairness than it may have appeared in the past.”

Should another smaller school appear to get screwed by the BCS yet again, Congress may indeed act and try to order a playoff system for college football. Congress has the hammer of being able to strip the NCAA and the BCS of their non-profit status. At that point, the NCAA could literally have to pay billions of dollars in taxes from their tv money. Utah Senator Orrin Hatch has also threatened the BCS with a Justice Department probe. Last season, the University of Utah was denied a chance to play for a national championship despite going undefeated. President Obama is also on record as favoring a college football playoff system.

Did you know there are football games tomorrow? I know, with the lack of media coverage, it would be easy to miss that Florida and Alabama play tomorrow. I hope that wasn’t a shock to you.

However, we know that one of those teams will play for the BCS national championship. So, why watch? There’s no drama there.

The REAL game is between Texas and Nebraska! If the Cornhuskers pull a major upset, they will earn a BCS bid and quite possibly open the door for TCU to play for a national title. Now THAT’S worth watching!!!

On to the links for this week:

1. I often speak about the way the modern media treats parents. Stan Mitchell picks up on that theme in a great way in “What Do We Communicate?”

2. God doesn’t ask us to be mindless robots. He commands us to be thinking people. Jeremiah Tatum reminds us of the importance of using our minds in “Thinking Caps.”

3. I love the Bible School program, and anything practical to help that program work well is welcome. Matt Dabbs published a great reminder called “The Benefits of Taking a Break from Bible School Teaching.” If you have any “say” in a Bible school program, please read this one!

4. Justin Gerhardt posted a powerful video this week. It is about 5 minutes in length, but it is well worth your time. Trust me, this one will make you think a lot. Enjoy “A Letter from Future You.”

5. With gift-buying being a priority this time of year, I love articles like this one. Christian Personal Finance posted “5 Ways to Show Love to Your Kids Without Spending a Dollar.” (I did one of these last night with the kids, and it was awesome!)

We hope you have a wonderful weekend and that you take time to serve God in some way this weekend. Make sure you don’t forget Him on His day!

The games started tonight and I enjoyed watching the Ducks chalk up another win. I’m looking forward to seeing Cincy beat up on Pitt. I hate their basketball team, but I’m really fond of the Bearcat football team. Gators will cover the -4.5 or -5 but this is going to be a great, GREAT game. I’m not sure about how anyone else feels but I WOULD watch TCU if they make it to the national title game. I will be glued to the tv for the GT/Clemson game, it’s the ACC title game and a big rivalry. My Tigers lost in a heartbreaker really early in the season and I see us playing up to our competition and WINNING. And on Sunday, I see my Washington Redskins pulling the upset of the year. Yes, maybe I’m being a bit of a homer here, but I’ve also called 3 of our losses this year, including the one against the Lions. The Terps also play on Sunday. They’ll be taking on a solid team in ‘Nova. If MD plays smart and keeps things simple I see them putting up a fight and taking down the Wildcats with ease. If they try and do too much and play out of their element ‘Nova’ll be raining 3s and slicing through whatever defense MD tries to throw at them, especially if it’s the lifeless zone I’ve seen from them at times.

Some great games & match-ups this weekend, as conference champions are decided and BCS standings get finalized. And then, the idiotic month off while a playoff system could be in place before we get to the big bowl games.

After going down the drain last week, here’s hoping this week’s picks are more accurate. Granted, I’m matching up season performances and a little of the histories involved in some of these matches, but the rest is all guesswork.

In The College Games:

I like Ohio U. plus the 13 points against Central Michigan, in a game I think gets decided by a touchdown or less. I think Connecticut can beat South Florida and cover the 7 1/2 points. I also think Rutgers can beat West Virginia by a touchdown or so, so I’ll take them to cover 1 1/2. I think USC will try to recover some of the pride they’ve lost in a weak season by beating up on Arizona, so I think they can cover the 7 1/2 here. I think Hawaii can keep things close with Wisconsin, so I’ll take them plus 12 points.

Florida International should cover their 2 points over Florida Atlantic. I also think that despite their surprising loss to Georgia, Georgia Tech can bounce back and cover 1 point over Clemson. I like Nebraska plus the 14 points against Texas… the numbers say this should be closer, and Texas doesn’t really need to roll points up once they’ve won this one since they are guaranteed to be Number 2 once it’s over with. In what nearly amounts to the national championship, the present number 1 and number 2 teams face off in the Florida/Alabama game. My gut feeling was to go with Alabama, and after looking at the comparative stats, I think my gut feeling was right – I think they can beat Florida by a field goal or so, and I will take Alabama plus the 5 points in this one. I guess that means I’m predicting a Texas/Alabama national championship game.

In The NFL:

The Broncos should cover 4 1/2 over the Chiefs, and despite some injuries, I like the Falcons plus 5 1/2 against the Eagles. I’ll go with the Bengals to cover 13 over the Lions in the all-cat battle (meow!), and the Forty Niners plus a point against the Seahawks in a game I think the niners can win. Finally, I think the Vikings can keep on rolling, covering 4 over the Cardinals, and I’m pretty confident that a shaky Giants team plus a point can beat a shakier Cowboys team.

The Patriots, reeling from the truckload of Drew Brees whoop-ass they got Monday night, will hopefully take it all out on the Dolphins, but Miami always gives my team trouble. Oy.

The Bets:

$10 on Ohio, USC, Hawaii, Florida Intl, Alabama, Nebraska, the Falcons, the Bengals, and the Forty Niners. $15 on all the others, as well as all 30 4-team combos from the six of them at $5 a pop. Total money out = $330

Got a lot on my plate this weekend along with football… it might be time to crank up the DVR on some of these….

This is it, essentially the last week of the college football regular season. With it, there are conference championship games and “de facto” championship games, all coming to a television screen near you. This week is for all the marbles as college football fans will see the national title picture and the rest of the BCS mess cleared up.

Nothing is on regional coverage this week, so to hell with the coverage maps! All rankings are the current BCS standings. Grab some cold ones and crash your couch like you’re a Salahi at the White House with Eyes Of TX’s week 14 viewing guide as your ticket to this week’s college football match-ups. No Secret Service approval necessary.

Thursday
9:00 PM ET
#16 Oregon State at #7 Oregon, ESPN
The winner of the Civil War will take the Pac-10 title and with it, a trip to meet Ohio State in the Rose Bowl. You’ve got to love an in-state rivalry game with so much riding on it. Neither team has been to the Rose Bowl in at least 15 years (or, 45 years for the Beavers). USC head coach Pete Carroll is rolling over in his L.A. grave, er, mansion. OSU bonus: Sara Jean Underwood!

Friday
8:00 PM ET
Central Michigan v. Ohio, ESPN2
The MAC Championship. Central Michigan carries an unbeaten conference record that includes victories over Eastern Michigan, Western Michigan, and Michigan State. Who knew Michigan was so big? They also dominated Northern Illinois (hey, they’ve got to start somewhere), so they are the favorite in any game featuring a region, thus giving Ohio a fighting chance, right? Oh, we lost you at MAC?

Saturday
12:00 PM ET
#5 Cincinnati at #15 Pittsburgh, ABC
Another conference championship is on the line, this time featuring an undefeated team without a prayer of playing for the national title. Football fans would sooner see a rematch of the SEC title game than the Bearcats sneaking into the BCS’ top two. Given the shine of the Irish gold, could this be Brian Kelly’s last game for Cincinnati? Bonus: Pittsburgh head coach Dave Wannstedt’s uneven mustache!

3:30 PM ET
Arizona at #18 USC, ABC
To fill in the gap before the SEC Championship check in on this one. Plenty is riding on this game for USC with regard to bowl placement. The Trojans could finish second in the conference with a win (if Oregon State loses), or as low as sixth if Arizona pulls off the victory. Is Arizona football suddenly better than Arizona basketball? In December, it sure seems to be the case – go Desert Swarm!

On a Big 12 note, the #2-ranked ‘Horns take on USC on the hard court in the Erwin Center in Austin on Thursday night (9:00p ET on ESPN2).

4:00 PM ET
#1 Florida v. #2 Alabama, CBS
Blah, blah, blah, Tebow, blah, blah, Saban, blah, blah, blah, scripture, blah, eye poking, blah, blah, Ingram, blah, defense, blah, blah, DUI, blah, blah, blah, rematch, blah, Heisman, blah, blah, blah. This game will be great, too bad it’s sullied by all of the hyperbole and exhausted storylines. Plus, if you choose to watch this game and not the Big 12 Championship, you probably shouldn’t be reading this blog.

#22 Nebraska v. #3 Texas, ABC
The Big 12 title game is finally here. One final test for the Longhorns and after a neck-and-neck game last week at A&M, there’s plenty of speculation that this will be a greater test than anyone anticipated midway through the season. As expected, a victory on Saturday all but guarantees Texas a slot in the BCS title game in Pasadena. Expect loads of negative energy to be focused on the ‘Horns as most of the country would love nothing more than for the Cornhuskers to pull off the upset and throw the BCS world into a tizzy with TCU waiting in the wings to move into one of the top two national rankings. Bonus: Truth! Hook ‘Em!

Now, a viewing guide bonus!

Sunday, December 12th
2:30 PM ET
Army v. Navy, CBS
This game is always a treat despite the fact that neither team has been really competitive on a national level for about a hundred years. In the wake of the President’s recent announcement that the U.S. will be committing 30,000 more troops to the war effort in Afghanistan, it is nice to pause and watch kids being kids because after all, this violent game is what these guys do for fun, and when they go to work, their jobs are far worse. It’s also a source of morale for our men and women already serving overseas, and as fans and patriots of a great country, we can’t send them enough. So good luck and thank you to both sides for all that you do to protect our freedoms.

Thanks to LilPete for what has been an awesome series of viewing guides this season, keeping college football fans around the world on track. Perhaps a bowl season viewing guide is next?

✩

Social Media for one?

December and January are not only the time for holiday shopping whether its Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving of Blue Monday for online gift shoppers. It marks the end of NCAA Division I men’s College football season. The BCS, which stands for Bowl Championship Series, was founded in 1998 to answer the outcry of fans to dub or nominate a true first place/number one team for that football season. Over the years, however there has been no harmony among its creators and the fans. Fans see major faults within the system and desire a tournament style setting for teams to participate in to nominate one team to the number one spot.

Many leagues, the NFL, NCAA men’s and women’s college basketball – just to name a few – do just that with significantly higher ratings and fan approval. March wouldn’t be nearly as ‘Mad’ a month without the countdown to whose school will finish the tops in men’s college basketball. The Super Bowl has seen astronomical viewing from its premiere game at the end of January. Lower divisions of men’s college football, II and III, ironically have had this competition for years. People tend to be more engaged whether their home team of former alma mater are participating using this method yet the NCAA men’s college football has decided not to jump on board. So in the midst of all this discontent, the BCS thought joining the Web 2.0 world might be a solution to their problem. They decided to create a social media Twitter feed, (@insidetheBCS) and a Facebook fan page.

On paper, it sounds like a great idea. Find out what your fan base’s feelings are and converse with them to get feedback. College fans are some of the most passionate people around and football is no exception, so this would be a great opportunity for the BCS to interact with them. There’s only one problem: The BCS wasn’t interacting as much as it was preaching – Big Mistake! According to Ad Age, the BCS’s first tweets were only “a stream of pro-BCS talking points.”

Social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook are designed with interaction in mind. So when the BCS hired a Public Relations expert, who used their Twitter platform to merely how great the BCS bowl system was and did nothing to respond to fan rage or questions over why things could not be altered, they were merely broadcasting on a two way medium. Also according to Ad Age, the BCS spent nearly a week only spewing out party lines information much to the disappointment of viewers and fans. Fan anger at the BCS increased at a rapid pace. It almost comes across as if the BCS or any business doesn’t care to listen to its customer base, a huge mistake in today’s networking world. It doesn’t take much for fans to continuously feel that the BCS – and in turn the NCAA -under appreciate them and don’t care about them as customers or patrons. In today’s business world, it takes much more time to gain new customer’s trust than to develop and cultivate existing relationships. I am not taking sides – although it would be interesting to see a football tournament – but a basic rule in using engagement web based materials is consumers are coming to you to not only learn, but ask additional questions and provide their impressions of your implemented content.

The BCS should be using channels like Twitter and Facebook as opportunities rather than blowing this chance with its fans. It has been reported, that the BCS have finally begun responding directly to their fans tweets. Hopefully, it is not a case of too little too late. It should be noted, that huge amounts of money are at stake for the BCS, the NCAA and more specifically the schools themselves to keep the status quo. The BCS and ESPN sports cable network recently signed a 5-year $500 MILLION dollar deal to broadcast these 5 games; not the kind of money anyone walks away from. Schools participating in the 5 BCS games can earn up to $18 million each. This is a very good payday, win or lose. Of the other 29 lesser-known bowl games, between $500 thousand and $4.25 million can be earned, which even if you do not participate in the BCS ‘big-5’, can be a great consolation prize.

So, for the moment things will remain in limbo with such well know people as the current President of the United States chiming in wishing there were a more concrete way of determining a coherent college finale`. With all that said, the underlying question in today’s e-communication world is ‘Can firms afford not to listen to what consumers want?’ It is important to know they want your attention as much if not even more than your product.

When the Bowl Championship Series hired former Bush Press Secretary Ari Fleischer to be it’s Public Relations representative, it seemed like a perfect marriage.  Two weeks later, we see the fruit of the master of spinning bullshit begin to grow, and that fruit is the BCS Twitter feed (@InsidetheBCS) which launched a week ago.  So far, it has not failed to give us glorious bits of incomprehensible bullshit.  Some examples:

“All 11 conferences are part of the BCS.”

Bullshit.  How many Sun Belt teams have sniffed the BCS?

“The strong and understandable push for a playoff beyond 1 v 2 is proof positive of the gravitational pull of bracket creep.”

Now, if there’s ever a statement that reeks of bullshit, it’s that.

“It’s more difficult and contentious because more teams would argue they should be part of an 8 or 16 playoff.”

Uh, March Madness has that problem, and it’s 65 teams.  So you’re saying that the NCAA shouldn’t have basketball playoffs, either.  What about everything below Division 1-A?

“More than any other sport, the regular season is the most critical in college football. Each week matters. That’s a great strength.”

Yeah, tell that to Utah, the only team who finished undefeated last year.

“Rece Davis makes some interesting observations here”

Rece Davis is a dumbass.  This is likely due to the fact he has to deal with Lou Holtz and Mark May on a weekly basis.  That has to have an effect on even the smartest individual.

“Haven’t yet seen a way to create a playoff without some sort of poll or ranking system. Hoops can invite 64 – tough for FBS.”

Here’s one, dumbass.  16 teams:  11 conference winners, 5 at-large berth decided by a committee, like what the basketball selection committee does.  No polls, no rankings.  That idea took 6 seconds to come up with.

“‘(The BCS) has been great for college football. It’s not perfect, but it has been great for college football.’-FL coach Urban Meyer 10/7/08

You know what would be better (and more fair) for college football?  A fucking playoff.

Now, onto the games that decide who gets to go to these piece of shit bowl games.

Oregon State (+8) over Oregon

Revenge is mine, thus sayeth the Beaver.  Remember, Oregon screwed Oregon State out of a Rose Bowl birth last year.

Pitt (+1) over Cincinnati

For the first time (I think) all year, I am actually picking the Wannstache to win a game.  Here the deal:  Cincinnati does not play a lick of defense.  Fortunately for them, no one else on their schedule does, either.  This is probably the first opponent they’ve had all year that can actually stop someone.

Florida (-5) over Alabama

Here’s the difference between Florida and Alabama:  Florida has Tim Tebow, and Alabama does not.  That’s all you need to know.

Georgia Tech (-1) over Clemson

Here’s why I am picking Tech:  it’s not because they’re better, because they’re not.  It’s because they have Paul Johnson, who is fast becoming one of my favorite coaches in college football.  He told a radio station after the Georgia game that Georgia isn’t the defining moment of their season because “What have they done since 1980?” (Answer:  an SEC title or two, plus the Jim Donnan era)  Also, he said that if a Tech fan is getting crap from a Georgia fan, he should punch him in the face.  Bravo, sir.

Nebraska (+15.5) over Texas

Okay, how the heck is Texas getting 15 against Nebraska?  Did we not just see them get scorched by Texas A&M, the same bunch who looked small and slow against Arkansas. I think the Longhorns will win, but they ain’t covering.

There are some other games of semi-importance.  Semi because while they are conference championship games, they have no shot at the BCS.

Houston (-1) over East Carolina

Central Michigan (-13) over Ohio

By the way, I think I would rather see Houston or Central Michigan in a major bowl than Ohio State.  Oh, and because crap like this is always funny, BYE (+13.5) over Ohio State.  As we all know, Jim Tressel would score 10, and punt the rest of the game.

The time has finally come for Oregon State and Oregon to do battle on the field for a trip to the BCS and the Rose Bowl.

After 112 years of doing battle, this is, by far, the most important game of the series.

So my question is this….who are you pulling for???

I’ve thought it over. I have both my Ducks and Beavers hats in front of me and after careful consideration…I’m going with the home team: The Oregon Ducks 37-34.

Thoughts?

From Bleacher Report:

Over 150 years ago, the Union and Confederacy clashed for freedom in the American Civil War. The Civil War only lasted six years, but there is still a Civil War going on in the United States of America, and it’s at it’s peak at this very moment.

When Oregon State goes into Autzen Stadium to do battle with the Ducks of Oregon on Thursday night, it will be an epic showdown for the ages. It might not punch either team a ticket to the National Title game, but it will punch a ticket to the second biggest bowl there is—the Rose Bowl.

Brian Kelly should be the next football coach at Notre Dame. He is exactly what the Fighting Irish need right now.

(Give me a moment to recover from that opening statement. I can’t believe I just wrote those words.)

Two years ago, I never would have endorsed the Cincinnati football coach for anything – especially not a major promotion to South Bend and the land of Touchdown Jesus. Two years ago, I basically thought Brian Kelly was . . . a jerk.

Kelly and I first met in July 2007 at Big East Conference media day in Newport, R.I. You might say we got off on the wrong foot. It was Kelly’s fault, he embarrassed me, and I didn’t appreciate it. Hate is a strong word, so I’d never say I felt hatred toward Kelly. But I certainly didn’t like him much until I figured out his actions had nothing to do with me. I was just one piece in a complicated chess game and Kelly had planned one of his biggest moves before that interview session in Newport.

It’s funny how things work out. Kelly’s behavior that day ticked me off, but now it’s the foundation of my argument that he could turn things around at Notre Dame.

The Cincinnati Enquirer hired me as a stringer to report the news from that media day. It was a cost-cutting measure, but Kelly wasn’t interested in the economic woes of the newspaper industry. The only thing important to him was that not a single Cincinnati media outlet – print, TV, radio or online – had sent a staff member to cover the event.

The Bearcats were conference loners in that distinction. Kelly, making his debut as Cincinnati coach, decided he needed to send a message.

And it wasn’t going to be a postcard of Newport harbor.

When the question-and-answer period began, I was the first one to the Cincinnati table. I introduced myself to Kelly, told him I was representing the Enquirer, and he promptly told me he wouldn’t answer my questions. He said something about my credibility and I have to admit I was stunned and confused. I just wanted to do my job and I had never experienced anything like this.

I pressed on, not sure if he had been joking or what. I tried to ask about his offensive philosophy. That’s when it became clear he was serious. By this time others were listening. Some of my peers at the Connecticut table had turned their attention to the confrontation. Other reporters had gathered around the Cincinnati table and instead of awkward silence, they went on with their questions.

“We’re going to make it clear that if you want to review the movie, you’ve got to go see it,” Kelly said. “If you’re going to be a credible source of information, you need to be around those that are in the know. Don’t tell me you don’t have the budget. Don’t tell me that you’re on vacation. You’re either in or you’re out as a credible source.”

The little stunt worked to perfection. He didn’t need to talk about his starting lineup, the philosophy he was bringing with him from Central Michigan, or the need for improved practice facilities. His priority that day was getting everyone’s attention and he did.

Soon, attention was definitely paid.

In Newport, Kelly did tell me not to take it personally, but of course I did. It’s never good when a writer becomes the story but I guess I was. Well, actually, Brian Kelly was the story and soon I heard about the columns that were written back in Cincinnati. And I heard about the discussions on talk radio. Kelly had made the Bearcats relevant in the local media again and it was only July.

Prepare to hear Brian Kelly’s name a lot this week. He is at the center of a very exciting weekend in college football. Every update on Notre Dame’s coaching search will include a mention of Kelly until he says he is not a candidate – and you will notice he has not done that yet. On Saturday, the Bearcats put their 11-0 record on the line against Pittsburgh. Kelly says his team is focused on Pitt and trying to win a second consecutive Big East title. If the Bearcats win they will likely play in the Sugar Bowl, one year after a trip to the Orange Bowl. If they win and Nebraska somehow knocks off Texas in the Big 12 championship game, the Bearcats could rise up in the BCS standings and find themselves playing Florida or Alabama in the national championship game in Pasadena, Jan. 7.

In that case, would Kelly be coaching the Bearcats or would he be with Notre Dame at the GMAC Bowl? That’s a tough decision.

Kelly is an Irish Catholic and from Boston. (Not part of the job description, but it has to help.) He’s the son of an alderman and has dabbled in politics. The death of Sen. Ted Kennedy earlier this year hit him hard. He worked that Big East media day in Newport like he was running for election. He has revitalized a dormant fan base in his short time at Cincinnati. His spread offense turned the Bearcats into the best college team in Ohio. The development of quarterbacks Tony Pike and Zach Collaros has to rank as one of the top coaching jobs this season. The man can coach and handle all the PR responsibilities too.

At Big East media day at Newport this past summer, I went straight to the Cincinnati table again. I shook Kelly’s hand, told him I was working for SI.com, and asked if he would talk to me.

“I can talk to you all day,” Kelly said, sounding like a true politician. Then he stood up and summoned his director of sports communications to take a picture of him flanked by Enquirer reporter Bill Koch and me. That brought a round of laughter from everyone who remembered what happened in 2007.

Something tells me Kelly won’t be in Newport next year. Cincinnati will miss him, but Notre Dame needs him. And I guarantee you the Irish won’t find a better fit.

Synopsis:

First, this lab builds on an article I saw on MSDN which discussed how to create an External List using Business Data. I noticed that they showed methods for the code but showed no foundation or a Use Case, nor did it discuss the LOB System and how the class entity relationship is defined.

In this Lab/Demo we will show a SQL LOB system which holds Personnel data. Imagine if you will, a system such as SAP, PeopleSoft, Dynamics, etc.  Imagine also that this LOB system is the Source of Record for your organization for things such as Human Resource related data which may be consumed by Active Directory, Sales, Marketing, Finance(Payroll) etc.  How can we surface that data in a Read, Create, Update and Delete fashion maintaining fidelity and ease of use?  here is how…

First

• Check out your Database and pay special to the Columns which will be your fields in your Class Definition, also document your data types.
• Create a Visual Studio Project using the Business Data Connectivity Model Template
• Connect to your Database
• Model the Entity
• Use LINQ to create the methods to LOB Systems
• Create the External List
• Test and Verify

Above: First we need to have our database ready. Above we can infer that we will be going against a server called “Tico”, a Database called “FabianPlayPen” and a Table called “Employee” please take time to notice the current data records currently in there. Once you are done, crack open your Visual Studio 2010 Beta 2.

Note: To work with the Beta 2 bits of SharePoint 2010 you MUST use Visual Studio 2010 Beta 2 for the Templates to work.

Above:  Create a new Project of type “Business Data Connectivity Model” the guy you need for BCS.  I have my VS 2010 set for C# only but you can do this with VB.NET also. I have named my Project “SPSDCEmployees”; this is important because I will be using this name in conjunction with the Entity Class to be created later on in this demo/lab.

Above:  Once you have selected and named your Project you are prompted to choose the site for debugging. I have already created a site called “http://tico/sites/BCSAlpha” for this venture and i have so identified it in my dialog box.

Above:  Once the Project is created, the first order of business is to create a connection to our database.  We are doing this as the means to:

1. Create a connection to our LOB System
2. Use it through LINQ to SQL as our model to abstract our Class/Entity

Above:  Once you click on Add Connection you will be presented with the dialog box above, please indicate your Server Name and the Database you are interested in.  In my example my Server is my doggie’s name “Tico” and the Database is called “FabianPlayPen” very apropos wouldn’t you say? 

Above:  After connecting your Database we need to include another  Template to our project. This time we are including a “LINQ to SQL” Template as a means to create our Entity

Above:  By default and design, when you create a BCS Project an Entity called “Entity1” will be created, shortly we will remove that entity because as part of that process two classes are also created which we will subsequently delete. Reason being, there is a lot of code already inplace that we will need tie into, by deleting the Entity Object and the related Classes and subsequently recreating our own, we have  better control over our build process. In our example we named our New Item “FabianPlayPen” and a file called FabianPlayPen.dbml is crated in our solution.

Above:  The blank design window is what you are initially presented with and is the framework where we will model our Entity Class. 

Above:  I followed the steps below:

• On the View menu, click Server Explorer.
• In Server Explorer, expand the node that represents the Employee database, and then expand the Tables node.
• Drag the Employee table onto the O/R Designer.

Above:  The newly created entity is now present in the OR designer nomenclature is the name of the table in the LOB System.  An entity class is created and appears on the design surface. The entity class has properties that map to the columns in the Employee table.  Now that that process is complete, we need to do some clean-up to aid our design process.

Above:  In Solution Explorer we dobule click on BdcModel1.bdcm and we get the desing pane above.

• In Solution Explorer, expand the BdcModel1 node, and then double-click the BdcModel1.bdcm file.
• The Business Data Connectivity model file opens in the BDC designer.
• In the designer, right-click Entity1, and then click Delete.
• In Solution Explorer, right-click Entity1.cs, and then click Delete.
• Right-click Entity1Service.cs, and then click Delete.

as you see below…

Above and Below: The process to delete the associated .cs files.

—————————————————————————————–

Above: We will now create our new entity which will abstract our Employee LOB System table from our FabianPlayPen database.

• On the View menu, click Toolbox.
• From the BusinessDataConnectivity tab of the Toolbox, drag an Entity onto the BDC designer.
• The new entity appears on the designer. Visual Studio adds a file to the project named EntityService.cs
• On the View menu, click Properties Window.
• In the Properties window, set Name to Employee
• On the designer, right-click the entity, click Add, and then click Identifier.
• A new identifier appears on the entity.
• In the Properties window, change the name of the identifier to EmployeeID

See Below

Below is a representation of our work so far, it includes the newly created Entity and our Identifier. Next we will create our Methods to Create, Read, Update and Delete.

Above:  We will begin the process to create a Finder Method. This method is used to basically surface a List of “ALL” items in the database

1. On the BDC designer, select the Employee entity.
2. On the View menu, click Other Windows, and then click BDC Method Details.
3. In the BDC Method Details window, from the Add a Method drop-down list, select Create Finder Method.

1. Visual Studio adds a method, a return parameter, and a type descriptor.
2. In the BDC Method Details window, click the drop-down list that appears for the EmployeeList type descriptor, and then click Edit as seen below

1. The BDC Explorer opens. The BDC Explorer provides a hierarchical view of the model.
2. In the Properties window, set the Type Name property to System.Collections.Generic.IEnumerable`1[SPSDCEmployees.Employee, BdcModel1] as seen below

Screen Shot 1

Screen Shot 2

Screen Shot 3

Now we need to create the remainder of the Type Descriptors for the Employee Entity; here is where we go back to our LOB System or our Entity Class created earlier and get the Names and Data Type of the columns to create our TypeDescriptors. Once we have done that it is time to add the code for our  ReadList Method

Above:  Double-Click on the ReadList in the Employee Entity to enter the code view as seen below.  By default a method is created and we need to remove the entry in the method and replace with our own.

Above:  Our code is inserted in the ReadList Method

• A connection string is created to attach to our LOB System
• An Instance of the Employee List is created and populated with all the data from the LOB System

That it. Easy isnt it! Next we need to create a Specific Finder Method which is responsible for returning a single item as requested in the SharePoint UX. As before we go back to the BCS Designer to add the Method and add our code… see below next three screen shots.

1. In the BDC designer, select the Employee entity.
2. In the BDC Method Details window, collapse the ReadList node.
3. From the Add a Method drop-down list that appears below the ReadList method, select Create Specific Finder Method.
4. Visual Studio adds the following elements to the model. These elements appear in the BDC Method Details window.
1. A method named ReadItem.
2. An input parameter for the method.
3. A return parameter for the method.
4. A type descriptor for each parameter.
5. A method instance for the method.
5. In the BDC designer, on the Employee entity, double-click the Readitem method and add the code you see in the second (2nd) screen shot.

We will create two additional method Create and Update.. lets go with Create first then the Update Method.  As before we begin from the Entity and select new method from the BDC Method Details Pane. Click the Method and add the code as reflected the screen shot.

Next we create the Update Method

TEST AND VERIFY

Finally we get to deploy our solution and see it in action. Click build then Deploy Solution to get our code up to our Farm.

Above:  Click Build then Deploy Solution…

Above:  To verify that the solution is uploaded we go to Central Admin under Application Management, Click on Business Data Connectivity to see if the Build was uploaded to the server Farm, see below…

Above:  Evidenced that our External Content Type is on the Server Farm, we now move to creating our External List to surface the information abstracted by the External Content Type.

Above:  Under Site Actions, click Create More, then choose External List. 

Above:  Select the External Content Type we created as above…

Above:  Create a name and ensure that we have the correct Data Source Configuration

Above:  So… Viola! we have our external content type representative of the SQL Database Table called Employee, neat huh! 

Above:  as part of our verification process we have confirmation that our columns are consistent to the Entity and LOB System. Now lets kick the tires on the newly created methods..

Above:  Lets click “Add New Item” this will instantiate and fire off the Create Method of our External Content Type. The next four screen shots represent the new form, the entered values, the post and final resultant Read List with the created item. 

Above: The blank auto-generate form when you click Add New Item

Above:  Filling in the form with what will be the new data

Above:  Awesomness! we have our newly created item in our List… later we will do a SQL query to validate the record. Next, let us investigate the Update Method…

Above:  In this example we click on the custom action by the Picker field and we elect the “Edit Item” Once we click it we see the below…

Above:  The item in question is noted in the Update Form… I am picking  on my buddy Todd Baginski here, he does and awesome work on BCS and other SharePoint 2010 elements. Visit him here

Above:  Well because his name is synonymous to  good ol Frodo I relocated Todd to the Shire…

Above:  Confirm the changes above… 

Above:  Finally we check the LOB system and we can see our Create, and Our Update, come to the SPS DC for the Delete… LOL

On the BCS Series
Sure the BCS Championship committee is licking their chops for Texas vs. Alabama/Florida. Think they will lose sleep if Nebraska beats Texas this weekend? Would they be stuck selecting a team they really don’t want to pick? Would a Nebraska win bump a worthy non-BCS conference school? What if Cincinnati loses to Pitt? What UC be out of the big BCS bowls? Whoa! What if both Nebraska and Pitt win? Bottom line – It’s more about the dollars instead of determining a champion.

On the Notre Dame Job
Coaching the Fighting Irish is one of the most prestigious jobs in the game. Here are a few interesting facts to keep in mind:

• ND has one of the highest graduation rates in the country; thus academically marginal play elsewhere.
• ND seldom redshirts players.
• The last three ND coaches fired had an overall winning record.
• Coaching ND is pressure packed, but lucrative.

On Brian Kelly
The national media has made it seem that UC football wasn’t on the map until he arrived. Wow – what a misconception! Sure he has taken the Bearcats to the next level, but the program was already moving forward.

Last season the defense had 10 seniors – many of in the NFL. By the way, Brian Kelly didn’t recruit any of them – nor did he recruit any of this year’s seniors. As a matter of fact, his first recruiting class would be juniors without a redshirt – thus most likely sophomores. And how many of his recruits are currently impact players?

There’s no question he can win with Mark Dantonio’s recruits – but the unanswered question is can he win with his own recruits? Time will only tell if he stays at UC – thus why I think he’s bound for South Bend.

On the Bama Bonehead
There’s no doubt in my mind that Alabama is one of the better teams in the country. But the fact they played a nonD1 so late in the season is an insult to the game – simply down-right pathetic!

For those of you who have heard anything about sports in the past two days (by which I mean sports, not unfounded Tiger Woods rumors), you’ve probably been informed that Charlie Weis is out at the coach of Notre Dame football. Following a 6-6 season capped off by a 4-game losing streak, this hardly comes as a surprise. Yet we’re still scratching our heads at why now.

The school clearly has issues running deeper than Weis. They haven’t been a national title contender at the end of a season since Lou Holtz left. 4 coaches later, they still haven’t found a decent replacement. Unless they can pull in a big name coach (Florida’s Urban Meyer, Bill Cowher?), it’s hard to imagine that any other college coach can right the ship any time soon without a complete rebuilding phase. The Irish now have to pay Weis $15 million to walk, and will likely have to dole out big bucks to the next guy they bring in.

Some luck.

If you’re like me, you can’t wait for that Sunday in March, ‘Selection Sunday,’ where the NCAA Tournament brackets are revealed.

We now have a new selection Sunday, this coming one, where the Bowl Championship Series will make it’s selections for the four games, plus the given national title game (unless Texas somehow screws up the Big 12 title game)…

The looming issue for the BCS, what to do with a second Big Ten team. Many are lobbying for Iowa to be that team because afterall they played in the de facto conference title game against Ohio State and they beat PSU head-to-head.

Iowa deserves the nod, there’s no question. If the BCS wants to have any shred of credibility, they won’t stoop to the level of picking the marketable PSU over Iowa.

But they don’t and they won’t.

So Penn State, I feel, is headed to a BCS bowl, the Fiesta, where they will get Boise State or TCU in what should be three things. First, the highest rated of the non-title games, second, wildly entertaining and third, a huge cash cow for the BCS.

Every year we can point out problems with the bowl system. In fact all this talk that FSU might play West Virginia in a Bowden-farewell bowl is disgusting.

The BCS is nothing more than a business and Penn State is good for bowl business. All this nonsense about economy and people not traveling is just that, nonsense. People who say they have sources that tell them this or that about bowls, don’t.

Don’t buy it.

Do buy that when push comes to shove, Penn State is good for business, they draw, they always will, they have Joe Paterno, they have stars in Daryll Clark and Navorro Bowman, and if the Big Ten wants to shed it’s terrible image with the big games, PSU is the safest of the two picks.

Whether or not they deserve it, you can keep debating that until you’re blue in the face. But they’re going to be there.

No doubt about it, college football is a great game. Yet, whether scheduling of out-of-conference games (OOC), bias in the polls, or no legitimate national champion, the game has its share of issues. Let us keep in mind that dollars are at the center of many debates. With this post, I’m taking an honest stand that will be unpopular with many fans – then again, that’s what I expect.

Let’s start is the ACC, Big 12, and SEC. These are the 12-team BCS conferences whose fans will be excited this weekend with their conference championship game. Wait a minute – why is there a conference championship game? Sure some fans will say because they have 2 divisions. I say what a bunch of crap! This extra game is all about revenue: revenue for the conference, revenue for the host city, revenue for the network, and possibly revenue for the participating schools. Why not play everyone and only 1 OOC game? Why have a conference if all teams don’t play each other? Oh, that’s right – revenue!

So how about the Big Can’t Count, most commonly known as the Big 10? Here’s a group of power elitists who not only forego a conference championship game by passing on a 12th team, each team doesn’t play 2 conference teams. Why not? Oh, that’s right. Playing more conference games would mean less home games – yep, less revenue.

Let us not forget about the BCS ugly stepsister, also known as the Big East. Given a 12-game schedule and an 8-team league, at least these schools play everyone in a season, but 5 OOC games is too many. Sure it is easy to say “expand by 2 teams” (and I wish they would), but pickings are slim (Temple, Army, and Navy) unless there was a major conference reshuffling – but that won’t happen because a conference would lose it’s title game.

So that leaves the PAC-10 – a 10-team conference without a conference title game, but where all teams face each other while playing 3 OOC games. (Interestingly, as a conference, they play the best OOC schedule). In my opinion, at least they serve as a model of what should be.

After next weekend’s games, the committees will announce pairings for all the bowls – and I can guarantee these things:

• Elitist fans will demean the existence of the nonBCS schools, and the Big East representative.
• Many fans will complain about the BCS format and call for a playoff.
• Fans will forget that the conference title game is one of the extra games working against a playoff.

I can also guarantee that money is the root of the entire situation – including the money made by the conference title game. Bowl committees pick (or don’t pick) teams based on a business decision. The BCS lock-in system exists as a business decision. Meanwhile, as the upper division of college football continues to be the only major sport enterprise without a true champion, my hope of a playoff format continues to be nowhere in sight.

This Saturday one of the most anticipated games of  the year in college football will occur . Yes , that is right Florida vs. Alabama in the SEC championship game . They both  are 12-0 and are ranked number 1 and 2 in the polls . The winner of this game will go to the National Championship game . What will happen to the other ? They get to play in a BCS game . Woo Hoo .  ( PLAYOFF ! ) The SEC championship is no tthe only game being played this week though . Oh no there are three more championships to be played . Including Texas and Nebraska , Georgia Tech and Clemson , and Houston and East Carolina . So with out further ado we present our predictions for the big games . ( P.S. make sure to check us out next week when we reveal our bowl predictions and our own NCAA playoff brackett ) . The projected winning team is in red and the real losing team is crossed out .

Florida vs. Alabama

Texas vs. Nebraska

Georgia Tech vs. Clemson

Houston vs. East Carolinda

Now it is your turn to cast your vote . Who do you think will win ?

As we are finishing up the College football season, it is time for some guesses on who will be going to the bowl games and also to the championship game.   As it looks now, the Championship game will be between Florida and Texas.    There is still a chance that for an upset to chance this outcome, but it is unlikely.

For the Sugar Bowl, my guess would be Alabama against Texas Christan.  This is funny because this is would be the second year in a row that the Crimson Tide will go up against the Mountain West Conference’s undefeated team.   Last year, the Utah Utes showed Alabama and the rest of the BCS that smaller conferences should have a chance to play with the Big Boys, I believe this year will be no different.   Though Alabama will be prepared this year for a battle, I believe that the Horned Frogs of T.C.U will win this battle.

The Rose Bowl will probably end up being Oregon vs either Cincinnati or Ohio State.  Either way, I believe that Oregon will end up taking the prize.

Fiesta Bowl looks like it will be Penn State versus Iowa, there is a chance that it will be given to Boise State for their perfect record as well, but I have a hard time believe that the BCS will allow two Non-BCS teams into their precious bowl games but stranger things have happened.

And finally the Orange Bowl, my bet is on Georgia Tech vs the other Ohio team that doesn’t go to the  Rose bowl.   I am not really excited for this game but I am sure this will be the most exciting game of the bowls since I am planning not to watch it.  What can you do…

Finally, here it is, the week of the 2009 SEC Championship game. Once again it’s the Florida Gators Vs the Alabama Crimson Tide. Since its creation in 1992, Florida has made 9 appearances and Alabama has made 6. Every time that Alabama has made it to the SEC championship they have been met by Florida. Florida leads the series 4-2 including Florida’s 31-20 win over Alabama just last year. Anyone who follows the SEC, or just either one of these teams, knows that when it comes to a game with this much at stake (just in case you’ve been living off where no sports media can reach you,  this is pretty much the semi-finals for the National Championship). Florida is looking for their quarterback Tim Tebow (2,166 passing yards and 796 rushing yards) and receiver Riley Cooper (703 reception yards) to lead Florida to a 2^nd Straight National Championship. Alabama has some expectations from their leading players too. Alabama’s quarterback Greg McElroy (2,211 passing yards), Mark Ingram (1,429 yards rushing) and Julio Jones (545 receiving yards) are expected to lead the team to their first National Championship title since 1992. Alabama stands with the better offense, but statistically, Florida has the better Defense. Florida has only allowed 233.1 yards per game on defense, holding their opponent to only 9.8 yards per game. Alabama isn’t far behind with only 234.1 yards of defense allowed per game and only 10.8 points allowed per game. The game will take place on Saturday December 5^th 2009 at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta at 3:00 P.M. CST.

USC and UCLA Football. The two teams seemed to have started a little tradition within the past few years; namely, calling each other out for a little, um, friendly battle.[The first clip above is from this year's USC victory in the crosstown showdown.] By no means do I want the two teams to escalate the situation into a full out brawl, but the trash talk does add to the game’s competitiveness as a whole. As long as the two teams don’t hate each other’s guts to the point of wanting set up a South Central style shootout…

The same type of taunting between the two teams happened last year as well [as shown in this second clip]. No one got hurt fortunately and that’s the way it should stay.

The USC-UCLA football rivalry. While there’s nothing but city pride at stake when they play, it has to be one of the most treasured rivalries in all of college football. Their games don’t lack any excitement whatsoever. After all, it’s a battle for Los Angeles.

If I had to pick between college football and professional football, the former is absolutely more exciting. Every college game is like a do-or-die playoff game. You never know what to expect because some no-name team can come out of nowhere and take down the top team in the country.

This past weekend cleared up a lot about the BCS situation, at least in terms of who is likely to get in. We saw Pitt (L vs. WVU 19-16), Oklahoma State (L vs. OU 27-0), and Clemson (L vs. SCAR 34-17) choke, which makes Chris Petersen a happy man out in Boise. Barring an unthinkable travesty, the Broncos are all but guaranteed a spot in a BCS game and the requisite payday.

Going into championship week, we have a pretty good idea of who will get a BCS bid, but the matter of which game they will play in has a lot of shaking out to do. The Florida/Alabama game is going to be epic – I think it will be one for the ages – but the Big 12 Championship featuring Texas and Nebraska has the most potential to wreck the BCS scenario. Should Nebraska pull off the upset (which I think will absolutely NOT happen, but this is just for argument’s sake) would TCU or Cincinnati be next in line? Does Boise State deserve a shot? Would the loser of the SEC Championship hang on to the number 2 spot? Never mind that all of these scenarios would be solved by a playoff system, but that would be too logical for the NCAA to ever consider. In my opinion (I know the rankings say otherwise) I think Cincinnati deserves a shot at a national title if Texas is to falter.

TCU has been impressive and is probably the best non-major team in the BCS era, but I’ve stuck by Cincy all season. I love their passing game, and having both Tony Pike and Zach Collaros gives them a measure of flexibility at quarterback. On a smaller scale, since Collaros is more of a dual-threat, it allows them to expand the playbook and gives them some degree of mystery when being game-planned against. We all saw how Boise State used trickery and special plays to keep Oklahoma off balance, and Auburn used the same sort of unconventional tactics to shock Alabama in the early going of last week’s game – I call it guerilla football. Cincinnati’s defense is not its strength, so the offense would have to be able to run the ball effectively and be efficient overall.

Here are a couple different scenarios for how this week and the resulting BCS pairings could shake out if there is an upset somewhere this weekend.

Scenario 1
-Nebraska def. Texas; Cincinnati def. Pitt; Florida def. Alabama
BCS: Florida vs. Cincinnati
Rose: Ohio State vs. Oregon
Sugar: Alabama vs. TCU
Fiesta: Nebraska vs. Iowa
Orange: Boise State vs. Georgia Tech
This scenario would be my preference if Texas was to get beat by Nebraska. I think Cincinnati has the offensive firepower to put points on the board against Florida’s defense. The game would basically come down to who has the stronger weakness – Florida’s offense or Cincy’s defense. In terms of the other games, Alabama vs. TCU would be interesting, with each team’s strength lying in its defense. I also think the Orange Bowl matchup would be a good one – though pulling viewers might be an issue. Texas could still sneak into the Orange Bowl as well.

Scenario 1A
-Nebraska def. Texas; Cincinnati def. Pitt; Florida def. Alabama
BCS: Florida vs. TCU
Rose: Ohio State vs. Oregon
Sugar: Alabama vs. Cincinnati
Fiesta: Nebraska vs. Iowa
Orange: Boise State vs. Georgia Tech
This scenario is how it would most likely play out if Nebraska pulls the upset. I think there would be riots if Alabama got a rematch with Florida so that leaves TCU as the next in line to take a shot at the Gators. Again, it’s a matchup of strength vs. strength for TCU and Florida and would be a huge draw, as it could be billed either as Tim Tebow’s last hurrah or the underdog TCU’s shot at glory. The ‘Bama/Cincy matchup would be electric too.

The Best Scenario
1 Florida vs. 8 Ohio State
2 Alabama vs. 7 Oregon
3 Texas vs. 6 Boise State
4 TCU vs. 5 Cincinnati 
If someone can tell me why this wouldn’t work, I’d like to hear it. The TCU/Cincy debate would be settled right away, Oregon would be the dark horse in this setup, Florida and Ohio State play right off the bat; it’s basically perfect. Oh and there would be one national champion, which is always a plus. (Quick tangent. I wonder if the BCS designers ever said, at any point, “What if there’s a tie for the national championship?” or “What if we have a bunch of undefeated teams?” or “Why are we having machines compute a formula to pick the best teams in the country that some mathematicians can’t even understand, much less your typical college football fan?” or “Hey, that March Madness thing seems to work well” or “Ya know, we’ll have an angry mob calling for our heads if there is a tie for a national championship”. My guess is that their thought process was clouded by dollar signs.)

Heisman Watch-Top 5
1. Colt McCoy, QB, Texas: His performance was utterly dominating and he carried his Longhorns in the clutch like a Heisman winner should. His start to the season was admittedly a little shaky, but his finish has been spectacular and his play – not his name – has made him deserving of the award.
2. Toby Gerhart, RB, Stanford: The man can run. the. football. It’s been awhile since we’ve seen a back so dominating, so powerful, so gritty as Toby Gerhart. His 26 rushing touchdowns speak for themselves and his unique blend of size, speed, and heart make him the best big back since Ron Dayne.
3. Tim Tebow, QB, Florida: Tebow put on a show on Senior Day, accounting for five Florida scores and leaving Gainsville in a blaze of glory. It is probably too little too late though in terms of the Heisman race, though there is something to be said for his warrior’s will.
4. Mark Ingram, RB, Alabama: The injury really set him back in a week where other stars had dominating performances, but the truth is that he has not been as impressive over the past few weeks as the three guys ahead of him.
5. Kellen Moore, QB, Boise State: Another game, another impressive box score and win for Boise State. Talk to me in 2010, Kellen