Conference Championship Day

'11 Football ACC & Other College Football Future Opponents NCS Football52

Today is conference championship day. There are a good slate of games to watch. Of course, to hear most media pundits, today’s games don’t matter because the BCS title game is going to be LSU-Alabama (personally I think that is a little premature…I will explain later). Last night, it got started with Oregon getting past a scrappy UCLA team play for fired head coach Rick Neuheisel 49-31 in Eugene for the first ever Pac-12 title. Here are the rest of the important games, from a title perspective as well as a Wolfpack perspective.

Conference USA title game: Houston vs. Southern Mississippi
Houston goes for a 13-0 record against a heavy underdog Golden Eagle team that is feeling disrepcted. It will be interesting to see how Houston plays with all the pressure on them. A loss will create BCS chaos for the perceived Houston spot.

Cincinnati vs. Connecticut
A Cincinnati win would all but guarantee a West Virginia trip to the BCS, due to the tiebreaker rules in the Big East between Louisville, Cincinnati, and West Virginia. It also would mean more than likely a Belk Bowl of Louisville vs. NC State.

SEC Championship: LSU vs. Georgia
A lot of media pundits are saying that if LSU loses, they still will be in the top 2 and should be in the BCS title game. I don’t disagree with this sentiment as LSU has been the best team week in, week out this year. They have played 3 games against top 4 teams in the BCS and won all 3. Georgia has been a great story, starting 0-2 and winning 10 in a row to definitely save Mark Richt’s job. However, they haven’t played anyone like LSU in the last 10 games. This game, even being in Georgia, will be a LSU victory.

Oklahoma vs. Oklahoma State
Bedlam takes place tonight in Stillwater as the 3rd ranked Cowboys try to state their case for the BCS title game. Now the Sooners have a 8 game winning streak over the Cowboys but come into the game without their best RB and their best WR (Broyles is one of the two best WR in the country). If the Cowboys win, you can stake the claim that they have a better resume than Alabama…and it isn’t even close.

ACC Championship: Virginia Tech vs. Clemson
A rematch of an early October matchup in Blacksburg in which the Tigers played their most complete game of probably the last 5 years in dominating Virginia Tech 23-3. Since that game, the trends of the two teams have switched completely. The Hokies have been improving, especially Logan Thomas, and are a solid touchdown favorite over Clemson, who has lost badly in 3 of their last 4 games. No impartial person would think Clemson would be favored, but it will be interesting to see which Clemson team comes out. It also depends on how their offensive line plays, which has been a downfall of the Tigers in the past month.

Big 10 Championship: Wisconsin vs. Michigan State
A rematch of what could be the best college football game this year takes place in Indianapolis. Michigan State won the first game 37-31 when they caught a Hail Mary on the last play of the game that had to be reviewed and overturned. The Spartans played a penalty-free football game and had a 2 touchdown lead with about 8 minutes to before the Fighting Russell Wilsons came back to tie the game. Wilson and Montee Ball headline a great offensive machine. The Spartans played about as well as they could in the first meeting, which was also a home game, and still needed a miracle to win. I don’t see that one happening again.

So what happens now with the title game? Assuming Oklahoma State wins, are you looking at a LSU-Alabama rematch or a LSU-Oklahoma State title game? Question to think about. If Oklahoma State was named Oklahoma or Texas, would everyone think Alabama would be a shoo-in to get to the title game. My personal feeling is that although I think Alabama has the most talent in the country, they lost to LSU at home. LSU deserves a spot, even with a loss today. If Oklahoma State wins, and especially if they win convincingly, I think a lot of voters will put Oklahoma State closer in the polls so that with the computer help, the BCS title game is LSU-Oklahoma State. On the other hand, Alabama is one of my three least favorite teams in college football (along with UNC and Florida), so maybe I am biased.

About ruffles31

1996 NC State graduate who is still waiting on his first ACC conference championship in any of the four main revenue sports (football, men's basketball, women's basketball, and baseball) since enrolling. All I want is a ACC Champions t-shirt.

'11 Football ACC & Other College Football Future Opponents NCS Football

52 Responses to Conference Championship Day

  1. TheCOWDOG 12/03/2011 at 11:12 PM #

    RW with a 40 yrd. TD. Boy has been harassed with Sparty DL playin’ with hair on fire.

  2. Wufpacker 12/03/2011 at 11:17 PM #

    Dayum….that was a HIT!! Knocked the man clean out of his helmet!!

  3. Wufpacker 12/03/2011 at 11:18 PM #

    I think the phrase “concussion-like symptoms” will be in his future.

  4. choppack1 12/03/2011 at 11:31 PM #

    Michigan state has great receivers. And one of these days the badgers will figure out how to defend that bubble screen

  5. TheCOWDOG 12/03/2011 at 11:37 PM #

    I am absolutely positive that Mike Archer transferred to Wisconsin with Wilson.

  6. ruffles31 12/04/2011 at 12:02 AM #

    I really think Oklahoma State deserves a title shot after completely demolishing #10 ranked Oklahoma 44-10.

  7. Wufpacker 12/04/2011 at 12:11 AM #

    I’d like to see Okie State get the jump over Bama as well.

  8. choppack1 12/04/2011 at 12:18 AM #

    Why bama is better team

  9. choppack1 12/04/2011 at 12:19 AM #

    Looks like Russell will get his championship

  10. choppack1 12/04/2011 at 12:22 AM #

    I think whiskey goes play action here

  11. choppack1 12/04/2011 at 12:24 AM #

    Good gracious. That was awful

  12. choppack1 12/04/2011 at 12:26 AM #

    These teams suck. How can rough the kicker in that situation. Geez

  13. wufpup76 12/04/2011 at 12:27 AM #

    Was definitely going for RW and Wiscy but hate to see the game end like that.

    Would also like to see Ok State get the jump as well but it will never happen. Bama may be the better team, but that’s just opinion.

  14. rky 12/04/2011 at 12:28 AM #

    add me to the list of those wanting to see LSU vs. OkSt. Go Pokes!

  15. PeeDub 12/04/2011 at 12:30 AM #

    Between Russell and destroying the ACC champs, I feel like we just won a conference championship

  16. Wulfpack 12/04/2011 at 12:30 AM #

    Not happening. Bama is the clear #2. I never said the system wasn’t broken.

    Hats off to RW. Great year. Rose Bowl bound.

  17. TheCOWDOG 12/04/2011 at 12:34 AM #

    I was wrong. It wasn’t Archer. The whole damned staff transferred.

    Wilson just pulled another one out of his ass for ’em too.

  18. wufpup76 12/04/2011 at 12:39 AM #

    “Between Russell and destroying the ACC champs, I feel like we just won a conference championship”

    An NC State-esque accomplishment if there ever was one lolll.

  19. Wufpacker 12/04/2011 at 12:50 AM #

    lol

  20. choppack1 12/04/2011 at 9:29 AM #

    I don’t understand the line of thinking that RW’s exploits at Wisconsin are a good thing for NC State. To even a semi-serious football fan, the thought that he was at NC State is now pretty much an after-thought.

    I don’t blame him for doing what he did. I’m glad he’s doing well, but I’ll reserve elation or any other emotion until I see him on Monday Night Football declare where he went to school. That will be the moment that tells the world whether he considers himself a Wolfpacker or a Badger. He’s smart – so I can see him saying both – and that wouldn’t bother me one bit (like that’s really important.)

  21. Dogbreath 12/04/2011 at 9:46 AM #

    Gus Johnson is awful. It’s totally unnecessary to fall out of your chair whenever a tailback breaks loose on a six year sweep.

  22. TheCOWDOG 12/04/2011 at 11:33 AM #

    Chops, I’m assuming that the references you are referring to are soaked in pure sarcasm.

    Gus Johnson is over-the-top cool. I’d like to hear him call a chess match.

  23. NCSU84 12/04/2011 at 11:49 AM #

    “I don’t understand the line of thinking that RW’s exploits at Wisconsin are a good thing for NC State.”

    choppack1, we (or at least I don’t) don’t pull for RW because it is a good thing for NC State. We pull for RW because he was a great player and gave us some really exciting moments – who can forget the UNC game last year. RW has earned his place in NCSU FB history and he is, and always will be, a member of the NCSU family. When a family member plays a sport, you pull for them – it is just that simple. So, if RW is playing Monday night and declares Wisconsin as his school – so be it. I will not change my sentiments towards him and I will always be appreciative of the memories he gave us during the time we had him.

  24. 61Packer 12/04/2011 at 11:54 AM #

    I would like to point out to Wulfpack that Alabama’s 2011 wins came over, among others, Kent State, North Texas, Georgia Southern, Tennessee, Vanderbilt, Mississippi, and Mississippi State. That’s hardly the resume of a team that appears a lock for the BCS title game, especially when you consider that the Tide didn’t have to face the SEC East’s two top teams, Georgia and South Carolina. And in their own division, they didn’t have to play Arkansas or LSU on the road.

    In a game that meant everything on November 5, on their home field, the Tide couldn’t even score a TD against LSU. So why does the BCS seem determined for us to have another rematch, yet in 2005 they were determined that #2 Michigan, who scored 39 points in Columbus and lost by 3, would not get a rematch against #1 Ohio State?

    The Big 12 has been the best conference overall this season; most experts have stated such. Oklahoma State had to face all 9 Big 12 league opponents and lost only once, on the road to a much underrated Iowa State team, in two overtimes. Both the Tide and Cowboys finished 11-1. I saw both teams play several times, and there is no doubt in my mind that Oklahoma State is the better football team.

    The role of the BCS is to match the two best football teams against each other in the BCS title game. What has happened instead is that the BCS has allowed ESPN and the SEC to program their “computer” to spit out the game they want most. They usually get the #1 team right, but they usually don’t get the #2 team right. And if Oklahoma State becomes this season’s Auburn, which appears likely, then the BCS has again failed college football.

    The NCAA should abolish the BCS and start over.

  25. Wulfpack 12/04/2011 at 3:26 PM #

    Yes, I am in complete agreement with you that the BCS is a sham. I still maintain that Alabama is the better #2, and now today’s polls reflect that as the Tide remains #2 in both polls. They have wins over #23 Penn State, #14 Arkansas, #12 Florida and #24 Auburn. Those were all blowout wins –nobody else was even close to challenging them. Nobody but LSU was even close to challenging them all year. They have 1 loss by a field goal in overtime to the undisputed #1 and best team in the land. It matters not that they happen to play in the same division of the same conference.

    OKie State, by contrast has a 1 point win over #8 Texas A&M. They also beat #22 Texas by 12 and #14 K State just by a touchdown. And of course a LOSS to 6-6, 3-6 Big 12 Iowa State. A horrible loss. There is NO SUCH WTF LOSS ON BAMA’s RESUME.

    Ideally a playoff would sort all of this BS out. But the BCS is full of it – but it’s what we got right now. My vote would go to Bama over Okie State, and it apears I am not alone there. I expect Bama to be #2 in the BCS standings released later this evening.

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