Mythical Playoff Projections Week 10

(Never gets old!  Well...not for me)



The playoffs are mythical, but the projections are as real as it gets, dog.  If you have read my work on here, or better yet if you have ever talked college football with me (Seriously, who talks anymore??  That's sooooo 1997!) you know my disdain for the BCS and the lack of a playoff.  I gave you the initial playoff setup and projections and promised updates throughout the year.  Well here you is, my latest projections.  Remember, top 4 seeds get first round byes and homefield in the second round, before the national finals and finals are played in current big bowl games (Fiesta, Rose, Orange, Sugar, Poulan Weed Eater, and maybe the Cotton).  Ok, nnnooowww here you is:

1).  LSU (SEC Champ)-  I think they have proven they're the top team in the country.  Sure the final score of the Alabama game was "only" 9-6, but they defense is insane.  As I've said, the offense does just enough.
2).  Oklahoma State (Big 12...ish Champ)-  Can an insanely high powered offense win a championship, while dragging a dead leg of a defense behind them?  Well Mike Gundy, you remember him, and his boys are trying to find out.  A potential semifinal matchup vs the Crimson Tide, would help answer that argument.
3).  Alabama (SEC #2)-  Look, I'm a Gamecock, I make no bones about that, but even if we win the SEC East, we are not the second best team in the conference.  Even if Georgia wins the East (please please please Auburn beat them), THEY are not the second best team in the conference.  Everyone wants a rematch between the Tide and Tigers for the National Title, but this is the only way that could happen.  This team could easily be the #2 seed.
4).  Stanford (Pac-12 Champ)-  This is the closest call I had to make.  Stanford or Boise for that 4th seed?  And this is why people who say the regular season would be rendered meaningless are idiots.  You don't think if that first round bye is on the line teams won't be playing their ass off?  Thought so.  Basically the tiebreaker for this spot was that Stanford has Andrew Luck, he's the best player in college football.  I know that shouldn't matter, especially when Boise has a damn good QB in Kellen Moore, but I had to decide somehow.
5).  Boise State (Mountain West Champs/Non-BCS #1)-  Remember, in my model, two of the 12 playoff spots are reserved for non-BCS league champions.  Frankly Boise would make it in even without that stipulation.  They are one fo the five best teams in America, and could easily be the #4 seed, especially if Stanford slips up the rest of the way.
6).  Oklahoma (Big 12...ish #2)-  It will be interesting to see how the Sooners respond to losing All-American Wideout Ryan Broyles for the season.  Knowing how that offense works, they will recover and continue to put up huge points.  Now perhaps they are a little high considering they lost to Texas Tech...at home, which suddenly seems like an atrocious loss.  But I still think they are one of the 10 best teams in America, and could easily climb higher if they win out and beat Oklahoma State.
7).  The Other School in South Carolina (ACC Champ)-  Ecchhhh.  Really grossed out by this.  But they are good.  The conference is not.  That's not a good recipe for those of us who want to see this team fail.  I'm going to take a bath now.
8).  Penn State (Big Ten...ish Champ)-  I did not see this one coming.  I would have guessed Michigan State, Wisconsin, or hell, even Ohio State before this team.  But hey, here we are.  This is probably the most fluid of all the teams on here due to everything that's going on in State College this week. 
9).  Oregon (Pac-12 #2)-  Maybe it's just me, but I feel like this team just absolutely fell off the map after losing to LSU.  Stanford needs to be careful this week, cause the Ducks are still a good team.  This spot was between Oregon and Va Tech, but I couldn't with a  good conscience, put a second ACC team in the playoffs.
10).  Michigan State (Big Ten...ish #2)-  I think this is a pretty good team.  A loss to Notre Dame kinda sticks out (thank God that the Irish won't be going to the BCS or the "playoffs" this year) as does the pitiful effort in Lincoln, NE.  With allll that said, I think they are better than Ohio State, Wisconsin, Georgia Tech, Virginia Tech, and Southern Miss.  So they get the #10 seed.
11).  Houston (C-USA Champ/Non-BCS #2)-  This team has the same principle as the Oklahoma State Cowboys.  Unbelievable offense and just horrible defense.  Defense is even worse than Oklahoma State's, but anytime a quarterback can throw 9 touchdowns in a game, the offense must be doin somthin right huh?  The Cougars could easily be the 12 seed, but I don't want the two non-BCS conference schools playing each other in the first round.  So I elevated them...that plus I have no respect for the Big East.
12). Cincinnati (Big East)- I don't think this team should be allowed in. No one from this conference should be allowed it. It's embarassing how unbelievably below average this conference is. But until and unless the "powers that be" realize that they are not worthy of an automatic bid to a major bowl game, I guess I will play along with the charade.

-Major Munnerlyn

Week 10 SEC Picks!!! (But no service academy or Sun Belt...womp womp)

(See what I did there??)

Uncle Ned @ Florida:  I can't believe I am actually going to write this, but the 'Dores might could maybe win this one.  My apologies to former #63 of the Day, Trip Thurman, but the Gators aren't playin well right now.  Combine that with Uncle Ned's boys playin really well actually, and you have the makings for a potential historic upset (or really bad loss, depending on the fan base of which you are a member).  Jordan Rodgers has improved each game he has been a starter, as a result so has the offense.  If Vandy can grab this one, you can basically mark it down for a bowl game for them.  UPSET SPECIAL!!!!!!!  OUR PICK:  Uncle Ned pulls it off!!

New Mexico State @ Georgia:  I can't really make fun of this game because the Gamecocks play a lesser opponent (The Citadel) at an even later date (November 19^th) but I still hate this game.  Georgia will have no trouble with this one, at all.  Even though their top four rushers will be out,  One because of an injury, and three because they failed a drug test...last week...before the Florida game.  Yeah, that Mark Richt is a disciplinarian huh?  OUR PICK:  Georgia

Aunt Kathy @ Herp Derp Nation:  I don't think anyone will be at this game.  Seriously, I'm gonna predict Commonwealth Stadium (that's the home field of Herp Derp Nation for those who didn't know...which was all of you) will not even be as full as last week, when it looked like this:

OUR PICK:  No one.  No one wins if this game is played.

Middle Tennessee St @ Tennessee:  The most heated rivalry in allll of Middle and Eastern Tennessee!  The Blue Raiders will march into Neyland Stadium and try and steal one.  The two headed monster of Matt Simms and Justin Worley (once again awesome move by Derek Dooley burning a redshirt to use a guy for 3.5 quarters...building a program everybody!!) should be enough to beat Rick Stockstill's boys.  After all this is not the strongest MTSU team in history.  Which brings me to this question: Name the greatest team in Blue Raider history.  Any team will be accepted...  OUR PICK:  Tennessee

South Carolina @ Arkansas:  (Insert sweaty armpits for Gamecock fans).  This one scares the s word out of me.  We don't ever play well against Arkansas,  we don't ever play well in Arkansas, and we don't ever play well when we are ranked highly.  So yeah everything lines up for us.  It should actually be a good game though, a very good Carolina defense vs a very good Razorback offense.  It will be exciting at least.  Not sure if people are going to pay attention when the other sides of the ball are playing.  Of course it's all a moot point, cause 45 minutes after kickoff, the LSU/Alabama game comes on.  Well, here's to hoping this games sticks with old school football thoughts; a good defense will beat a good offense.  OUR PICK:  South Carolina

TN-Martin @ Mississippi State:  Same thing applies to this game as applied to the Georgia/New Mexico State game.  Why is this game being played now?  Honestly, this is why we expanded the season to 12 games??  For late season games like this??  Ohhhhh yeah Davis-Wade Stadium is gonna be rockin with this one.  I mean it’s a great environment to begin with, as noted by Mr and Mrs Gamblin’ Boss, and then you add a great opponent like the Skyhawks (alma mater of former Gamecock great Cade Thompson) and man you just have the makings of a Fox Sports-Starkville classic.  Feel good about yourselves on the way to the Poulan Weed Eater Bowl Dan Mullen!  OUR PICK:  Mississippi State

LSU @ Alabama:  Well this is supposed to be the latest and greatest version of the Game of the Century, so the rest of this game summary will be written in caps lock, due to the magnitude of this matchup (insert throat clearing):  OH MY GOD OH MY GOD!!  THIS IS THE GREATEST GAME OF THE CENTURY…FOREVER!  WELL AT LEAST UNTIL THE NEXT GAME OF THE CENTURY!!!  THESE COULD BE TWO OF THE HISTORICALLY GREATEST DEFENSES OF ALL TIME, COUPLED WITH TWO OF THE MOST MIDDLE OF THE ROAD MEDIOCRE OFFENSES.  I’M PRETTY SURE THIS GAME IS GONNA END 10-6, SOME PEOPLE (COLIN COWHERD) THINK BECAUSE THE DEFENSES ARE SO HIGHLY REGARDED THAT THE GAME WILL ACTUALLY BE AN OFFENSIVE SHOOTOUT.  I DISAGREE, THIS ONE WILL FOLLOW THE SCRIPT!!  OUR PICK:  Alabama

And last but not least, I give you David Bennett:

You're damn right we need more dogs, David Bennett. That's why you also need to watch this video:

And folks, if you don't like this video, I don't like you.  Have a great weekend!

-Major Munnerlyn

Week 9 Rewind! (I missed the preview...)

I knkow y'all were heart broken, but sadly I missed a preview of games this weekend.  I have no excuse folks,  I just flat out didn't write one.  I thought I would write one Thursday night, but I chose to rip Frank McCourt instead.  I thought it was appropriate due to his claim that a victim beaten within an inch of his life at his stadium, was at fault.  I figured I'd write one Friday night instead...yeah I jsut got lazy and didn't write one.  With that in mind, I will write a rewind of the SEC weekend!  Here we go...



(This is a real movie, I promise you.  See what I did here?)

Arkansas @ Uncle Ned:  God this was gut wrenching.  Uncle Ned came out (of a silly inflatable tube tunnel thingy) and played inspired.  Aaron's little brother Jordan played very well, running and passing the Commodores to a 28-20 second half lead.  Then...disaster struck.  Running Back Zac Stacy (two first names??) fumbled, untouched at the Arkansas 4 yard line.  Naturally it bounced right to a Razorback linebacker, who ran 96 yards (escorted by two teammates for good measure) for a touchdown.  THEN, Vandy drives 80 somethin yards for a game tying 27 yard field goal with :08 left.  Aaaaaaand the kicker missed it.  (Insert facepalm).  Here's to hopin Vandy can grab two more wins and go to a bowl game.

Georgia @ Florida:  Wow thanks Gators, really could've helped us out by winning this one.  I mean really could've helped us.  But that's fine, ya know what that's fine.  Also while we're at it, can we stop with the charade that this game isn't called the World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party.  Attention administrators of both schools; jsut because you don't call it the World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party, doesn't mean people aren't going to drink.  It's the same thing as not calling the Oklahoma/Texas game the "Red River Shootout" anymore.  Yeah cause everyone knows if you call it that, people will jsut start randomly shooting each other.  Anyway back to the Cocktail Party, John Brantley's first game back improved the offense, but it still wasn't enough.  Hey, anyone hear people calling for Richt to be fired?  Haven't heard from those folks in awhile.

Aunt Kathy @ Auburn:  The Rebels hung tough for a half.  And then they remembered, "Oh yeah, we're not that good."  I gotta root for Auburn next week now.  Please, please, please, beat Georgia in "The South's Oldest Rivalry."  I get the distinct feeling, the Gamecocks are gonna need that extra loss to win the division.  (More on that in this week's preview).  Just remember Rebel fans, four more weeks and your season is over.  Well, unless you win out and then can go to a bowl ga...haha nevermind I couldn't finish that sentence.

Mississippi State @ Herp Derp Nation:  I'm gonna be honest, I didn't even know this game was being played.  No idea what to say about it.  The Bulldogs won (against another generic mascot) so I guess that's good for Dan Mullen...not so good for Joker Phillips.  If you know anything about this game, please contact your local ESPN affiliate, otherwise this game will dissapear from the history books for all time.

South Carolina @ Tennessee:  Whew, thank god that one's over.  It's a little concerning that our offense has been pretty bad the last two weeks but hey at least we won.  As expected, Brandon Wilds had a good game, which was encouraging.  Also, I know I couldn't have been the only person to scream some variation of "What the hell are we doin?!?!?!" when we went for it on 4th and 1 down by 3 instead of kicking the field goal...only to then immediately jump up and say "Good Call!!" when Rory Anderson hauled in the go ahead touchdown.  For Tennessee, good call burning the redshirt of your "Quarterback of the Future"  only to pull him from the game the next week.  Seriously, good call Derek Dooley.  You pulled him for Matt Simms, who you clearly think is terrible or you wouldn't have inserted Worley last week.  But I guess we shouldn't expect anything less from a guy who dresses like this:



(Three month waiting list for these pants folks...three months)

I'll be back with a preview this week!  So everyone can rest easy this week (I know everyone's been worried) your favorite SEC/Sun Belt/Service Academy preview will return for week 10!!

-Major Munnerlyn



New Feature: Top 5 List!!

So I've been waiting to do this for awhile here on The Bagmen.  I've had several ideas for these lists, but tonight I saw something on ESPN that was the final impetus for actually doing it.  This will be the first in a series of (semi) weekly Top 5 Lists.  I saw a disturbing item about Dodgers "Owner" Frank McCourt.  I won't tell ya here (mainly cause I want you to scroll down to the bottom of the list) but read all five reasons and you'll know what I'm talkin about.  Without further ado, I present to you (hey that rhymed):

(Come onnnnn, you can trust me!!)

Top 5 Reasons Frank McCourt Is Terrible

5).  Not Having Enough Money:  Look, I'm no financial wizard.  I will freely admit that most of what goes on in the world of finances is above my head.  But it seems that one basic thing must be present in all transactions in a capitalist country; THE PURCHASER MUST HAVE ENOUGH FREAKIN MONEY TO EXECUTE THE TRANSACTION!!!  Baseball, led by the great Commish himself, Bud Selig, decided that this little issue could be overlooked when it came to the sale of the Dodgers.  See, ole Franky and his wife didn't actually have enough capital to back up their purchase.  So they just borrowed more money than they should have and that subsequently led them down the road to where the franchsie is today: an embarassment.

4).  Marriage Infidelity:  Call me old school, but I always thought when one gets married, that's kind of it.  You marry the person for a reason.  Well, Frank and his wife, evidently don't really by into that.  Frank subscried to the "I make more money than you so rules don't apply to me" school of thought.  Frank fired his wife for having an affair with a Dodgers employee.  Gosh the horror, your wife cheats on you with one of your employees!!!  How dare she, she deserved to be fired.  What's that?  Frank cheated on her with a Dodgers employee too??  Oh, well...that's different.  Just trust me, it is.  Totally different...

3).  Leveraging The Team:  Remember reason number 5?  Really, you don't?  Jesus what was that like 8 seconds ago you read that?  Basically the McCourts didn't have enough money.  How does someone get around a lack of money and still live a lavish lifestyle?  EASY!  Just borrow an enormous amount of money from your baseball team duh!!!!  Approximately $180 million was stolen borrowed from the Los Angeles Dodgers.  This was to support like 6 houses, ridiculous vacations, and salaries in the $400,000 range for his two sons.  And that's just to name a few of the over the top personal expenses.

2).  Lack of Pride:  Seriously, you are the owner of the Dodgers for goodness' sakes!  One of the most historic franchises in sports history, not just baseball.  They are the reason for western expansion in Major League Baseball.  And this guy has allwoed them to become an embarassment.  The farm system has been depleted, they are no longer competitive, they gave a boatload of money to an overrated Manny Ramirez, had to borrow money multiple times to make payroll, and have operated the team as if he doesn't care about results.  Which, quite honestly, I don't think he does.

1).  Suing An Assault Victim:  Yep, you read that correctly.  I can kinda forgive all the other nonsense that has gone on under Frank McCourt in seven years of ownership.  Well, at least compared to this one.  This is what I saw on ESPN today.  Frank McCourt has filed a countersuit in response to the suit filed by the family of Bryan Stow.  If you don't know who that is, Bryan Stow is the San Francisco Giants fan who as brutally asaulted following opening day this year.  Stow was beaten so badly, that he has STILL not recovered from his injuries and been released from the hospital.  Folks the assault happened in March...March.  He was literally beaten to within an inch of his life, due to lack of crowd control, police presence and safety/lighting in the parking lot.  To sum it up, the Dodgers did not do enough to prevent situations like this happening.  NOW, McCourt counter sued Bryan Stow alleging that he was partially to blame...for his own beating.  Just let that marinate for a few minutes...

And to think, Bud Selig didn't want Mark Cuban to buy the Dodgers (or the Cubs for that matter) because he thought Cuban would embarass MLB because he is outspoken.  Yeah that seems to have worked out well for everyone huh?

-Major Munnerlyn



 

Week 8 SEC Picks!! (Aaaand Air Force and Louisiana-Delhomme)

(General Pickett.  See what I did there?  Ok it was a stretch I know)

You wanna know why week 8 sucks?  Cause its freakin week 8...grunt!  With that in mind, here we go with the picks:

Jacksonville St @ Herp Derp Nation:  Absolutely no one is paying attention to this game.  I'm pretty sure Mrs. Boss won't even be watching this one...and she's the biggest Herp Derp fan there is.  Ok, she might watch it.  Other than that, I have no interest in writing about this game.  Other than to say, as terrible as the Herp Derps are, surely they can't lose this game.  OUR PICK:  Herp Derp
Also a friendly reminder:

Arkansas @ Aunt Kathy:  Folks, the only good thing about Aunt Kathy's season is that with each week, the season is almost over.  Houston Nutt is that much closer to being fired and they can re-hire David Cutcliffe.  Ok I was kidding about that last part.  Cutcliffe made too much sense there, that's obviously why they got rid of him.  Now ordinarly I don't root for coaches to be fired.  I've seen in person how much it affects the assistanat coaches, supoort staff, and more importantly how it affects their families.  With all that said, he is probably not what they're lookin for.  Arkansas is a far superior team.  OUR PICK:  Arkansas

Auburn @ LSU:  More Tiger on Tiger crime, that's all dis is.  If Auburn wins this game I will stop hatin on them.  Seriously, I will buy into whatever witch doctor, voodoo, soul selling that Gene Chizik and company have undertaken.  I don't see them doin it though.  LSU's defense is better than Auburn's offense, especially an offense under the direction of a first time starting QB...on the road.  I know LSU's best defender is suspended (along with their starting RB and their starting CB) but I think they can overcome that.  The deepest part (that's what she...said...??) of the nation's deepest defense is their secondary.  They should be able to handle the personnel losses.  Now for college football fans everywhere; let's hope LSU gets out of this game scot free so this year's "Game of the Century" vs Alabama.  No one wants either of those teams to be at less than full strength in two weeks.  OUR PICK:  LSU

Army @ Uncle Ned:  This is a tough game for me to pick.  Everyone knows my affinity for the service academies.  But at the same time, who doesn't love the Uncle Ned Commodores going to a bowl game storyline??  This would represent victory number 4 for the 'Dores (hey that rhymed) on their quest to six.  Army doesn't even have the advantage of being the intellectually superior team.  Usually this leads to undisciplined defensive players being shredded by the Black Knight's wishbone offense.  I think Uncle Ned is going to pull this one out, but I wouldn't be surprised if Army wins it.  OUR PICK:  Uncle Ned

Tennessee @ Alabama:  Another of the south's great rivalries.  The annual "Third Saturday in October" game.  There will be plenty more of these to come as long as greedy college presidents and Missouri don't ruin it for everyone.  But that's in the future (just ask Nick Saban, well, on second thought don't ask him.  He got pissed at the press conference this week).  Just like last week, UT would've struggled even with all their offensive personnel on hand.  Aaaaand also just like last week, they will definitely struggle without their two best offensive players.  Alabama is just too good folks.  And just like the LSU/Auburn game; let's all hope that the Tide make it out of this game completely healthy.  OUR PICK:  Alabama

Sun Belt Conference Game of the Week, Presented by the South Florida High School Sports Show:  Louisiana-Delhomme @ Western Kentucky:  Louisiana-Delhomme is the surprise team in the country.  Folks, this was a fairly invisible program until this year.  They hire the Mississippi State Wide Recievers coach as their head guy and BAM, the Cajuns are bowl eligible!  That's how they roll, dog!  They have separated themselves, along with Arkansas St, as the leaders in the Sun Belt.  And they are in the driver's seat for that prestigious New Orleans Bowl bid that everyone is clamoring for.  Can you imagine the Mercedes-Benz Superdome (get used to it, that's the new name...seriously) if the local Ragin' Cajuns are in the game?  Gotta be at least 24,000 people at that game!  Western Kentucky, what can I say?  I mean thanks for giving berth to Herp Derp Nation I guess, right??  OUR PICK:  Louisiana-Delhomme

Service Academy Game of the Week, Presented by Capt. Richard Harr; Air Force @ Boise State:  This is gonna be a pretty good game I think.  Air Force can play some defense when they want to, forget the Notre Dame game, and Boise State can play offense even when they don't want to.  The only thing that makes this game better??  Thinking about it in its proper context; a potential future Big East matchup...seriously.  That was gross just to type that.  Do what's right, stay in the Mountain West!  OUR PICK:  Boise State

-Major Munnerlyn