A quick thought on Boise State's loss to Nevada that took them out of BCS contention. It is a fascinating juxtaposition to compare the game winning field goal (46 yards) that Texas kicker Hunter Lawrence made last year in the Big XII title game and the chip shot (26 yards) that Boise State kicker Kyle Brotzman missed at the end of regulation (which makes the kick he missed in OT irrelevant), both as time expired. One kicker literally made $18 million for his school via a BCS bowl bid, the other literally cost his school $18 million. It's harsh, but with kickers it's a pretty black and white thing. My heart goes out to the Boise kid but it's a pretty tough pill to swallow to have a Division 1A kicker, at a top 5 school, miss a short field goal with a dead center spot, especially after an EPIC throw and catch from Kellen Moore to Titus Young to get it in field goal range in the closing seconds. Ouch. On the negative side, all the BCS honks/non-AQ haters can pile on Boise and say, "See, we told you you didn't belong." I'm a Boise hater because they don't play enough tough non-conference games (you can't control your conference slate), but I think Boise State is a really good team that can play with anyone. But for once a WAC team showed some heart/pride/balls and stepped up to the plate and knocked off the Broncos (something like only their third conference loss in the last 5 years). Also, it's been noted, interestingly, that Nevada actually loses about a million dollars because they won't get Boise's would-have-been BCS bowl cut that the conference splits. Go figure.
Standings:
Hill: 211-52 (8-15 upsets) overall,15-6 (1-1 upsets) last week
Chesh: 197-66 (8-25 upsets) overall, 12-9 (1-4 upsets) last week
Helmet stickers: mine goes to the embattled Cam Newton, Auburn QB (13/20, 216, 3 td's, no picks passing; 22 rushes, 39, 1 td on the ground). The numbers weren't off the charts but the way he led Auburn back from a 24-0 deficit in Tuscaloosa was Heisman worthy. And with all the stuff swirling around with his dad and Mississippi State and pay for play, he showed amazing resiliency and heart to get the win, get the Tigers to the SEC title game, and keep them in position for the BCS title game. Chesh went with dual stickers, for Maryland's QB Dannny O' Brien (33-47, 417, 4 td's, no picks) and WR Torrey Smith (14, 224, 4 td's), who led the way in a big win versus then-23rd ranked N.C. State.
Picks for this week:
Arizona State 20
#23 Arizona 28
Chesh: ASU 27 AZ 25
#25 Northern Illinois 40
Miami (OH) 21
Chesh: NI 34 Miami 14
SEC Championship Game
#1 Auburn 36
#19 South Carolina 31
Chesh: Auburn 26 S. Car 24
#2 Oregon 45
Oregon State 23
Chesh: Oregon 58 Ore St 24
Game of the Week
Big XII Championship Game
#9 Oklahoma 24
#14 Nebraska 21
Chesh: OU 34 Nebraska 30
Utah State 17
#11 Boise State 47
Chesh: Boise 57 Utah St 10
ACC Championship Game
#21 Florida State 34*
#16 Virginia Tech 33
Chesh: Va Tech 23 FSU 13
#17 Nevada 47
Louisiana Tech 24
Chesh: Nevada 48 La Tech 17
Rutgers 20
#24 West VIrginia 32
Chesh: WVU 31 Rutgers 13
Non Top 25 Game
UConn 23
South Florida 27
Chesh: UConn 23 USF 16
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