Final Four Predictions

Heading into last weekend's games, I had three of my Final Four teams alive. Unfortunately, when the weekend came to a close, I had zero remaining. Kansas State was upset by Butler, Kentucky was upset by West Virginia (according to the seeds anyway) and Baylor was unable to pull off the upset against Duke.

So take this with a grain of salt, but here are my Final Four predictions.

Saturday's Games:

Butler - 62
Michigan State - 56

Duke 71
West Virginia 68

Monday (National Championship)

Butler 63
Duke 60

Not Much has Changed

With 1/4 of the college football season in the books, I decided to take a look back at my pre-season predictions, evaluate and determine what changes I should make. Needless to say, so far, my picks have come out smelling like a rose.

BCS Championship Game

Texas (13-0) vs. Penn State (12-0)

This still seems like the logical match-up. Key games:

Oct. 17 - Texas vs. Oklahoma
Nov. 7 - Penn Sate. vs. Ohio State

Fiesta Bowl

Oklahoma (10-2) vs. Boise State (12-0)

Despite the loss to BYU, I still like Oklahoma to run the table, outside of the Texas game and should still find their way into this game. A close loss to Texas won't drop them too far and the dream match up against Boise State will be too much to pass up.

Boise State will roll into this game undefeated.

Rose Bowl

California (11-1) vs. Ohio State (10-2)

I still like California to win the Pac-10. I predicted it would be a down year for USC this year and California should have what it takes to come out on top. Cal has a legitimate shot at going undefeated but I think they will trip up at least once this season and it could be next week at Oregon. If not, I've got their last game of the season circled; at Washington. Cal is my back up pick for the BCS Title game behind Penn State.

Ohio State should only have to worry about their game at Penn State on Nov. 7. A win could get them back into the BCS Championship Game mix but I don't see them going into Happy Valley and winning there.

Orange Bowl

Miami (11-2) vs. Notre Dame (10-2)

I think Miami will come back down to earth a little in their next two games, at Virginia Tech and vs. Oklahoma. However, I think they have enough to the win a very down, ACC.

As I mentioned in the pre-season, Notre Dame should not have any trouble winning 9 games with this schedule. In fact, they should be a favorite in all of their remaining games, including USC. However, I don't see them winning them all and will probably even lose one that they shouldn't. Regardless, 9 wins gets them to a BCS bowl game.

Sugar Bowl

Florida (12-1) vs. Pittsburgh (10-2)

Florida will not go undefeated this year. They may be the best team in the country but will probably not have a chance to prove it at the end of the season.

If I had a pre-season pick to change, it may be the Big East champ. Before the season started, I don't believe there was a clear, cut choice. However, I believe so far, Cincinnatti has stepped up to be that team. They have become the trendy pick. In fact, College Football News is predicting them to play Florida in the BCS Championship game. I think that is a little over the top but they may indeed be the Big East champ. I'll stick with Pittsburgh for now.

2009-10 College Football Picks

Okay, here we go. I went all out. I even looked up the order of bowl selection and the BCS rules, ha! Enjoy.

East
1) Florida (11-1, 7-1)
2) Tennessee (9-3, 5-3)
3) Georgia (6-6, 4-4)
4) South Carolina (6-6, 4-4)
5) Vanderbilt (5-7, 2-6)
6) Kentucky (5-7, 1-7)

West
1) LSU (12-0, 8-0)
2) Ole Miss (10-2, 6-2)
3) Alabama (10-2, 6-2)
4) Arkansas (7-5, 3-5)
5) Auburn (6-6, 2-6)
6) Miss. State (2-10, 0-8)

SEC Championship
Florida revenges their earlier loss to LSU in the SEC Championship Game and makes their case for playing in back-to-back BCS Title Games hoping to become the first 3-time BCS champion.

BCS Championship Game
Texas (13-0) vs. Penn State (12-0) - Let the debate begin. Who is more deserving ... Tim Tebow and the 1 loss Gators or an undefeated Penn State? The Obama led main-stream media cries out to the SEC to “share the wealth” and let a different conference have a chance at winning this year. Penn State’s late-season home win over Ohio State (who had previously knocked off the almighty USC Trojans) is enough to get them in (according to Herbstreit anyway).

Fiesta Bowl
Oklahoma (At Large) vs. Boise State (WAC Champ, Top 12 finish) - After Boise State runs the table and finishes in the top 12 of the BCS, the Fiesta Bowl and Fox drool over this potential rematch of the greatest bowl game ever played!

Rose Bowl
California (Pac 10 Champ) vs. Ohio State (At Large) - Ehhhh … the “granddaddy of them all.”

Orange Bowl
Miami (ACC Champ) vs. Notre Dame (At Large - Ugh ... don't get me started. However, the Irish only need 9 wins and to finish ranked in the top 14 and the Orange Bowl snags them up with the first pick. They should … should be able to do that with this year's schedule)

Sugar Bowl
Florida (SEC Champ) vs. Pittsburgh (Big East Champ) - Unfortunately, the Sugar Bowl picks last this year and gets stuck with the Big East Champ.

And the rest of em…

Capital One Bowl – LSU (Capital One has to take SEC runner up unless a team is within one game of said, runner-up. LSU has 2 game lead over the Bummers. Disney bound.)
Cotton Bowl – Alabama (Cotton Bowl takes next highest West team.)
Outback Bowl – Tennessee (Outback Bowl takes next highest East team.)
Chick Fil-A Bowl – Ole Miss (I don't know if Ole Miss has ever played in this game. Heck, have they ever played in a bowl game period?)
Music City Bowl - Georgia (It's not every season that Georgia slips down to the Music City Bowl in the pecking order.)
Liberty Bowl – Auburn (See above. Auburn in the Liberty Bowl = rare.)
Independence Bowl – Arkansas (Arkansas makes more sense than South Carolina from a regional standpoint.)
Papa Johns.com Bowl – South Carolina (The last SEC slated spot.)