Stadium Rankings

So I had a couple people ask me to do this so I am copying the stellar Alex Solsma and doing my own rankings of stadiums I have been to.  My criteria are a little different since I like to get to locations before game day and experience the town a bit so places with better locations to hang out before and after the game were rated higher. For the record, I am fine tailgating outside or in a bar and I enjoy eating/drinking at non-chain establishments during my game experience.  Also, while I accounted for the other stuff in my rankings, stadium atmosphere was the biggest factor in how I ranked these.  Here is my list:

1. Tie: Michigan and Wisconsin
When push came to shove I really couldn't separate the two out.  Ann Arbor is a gorgeous town with plenty to do before game day.  The campus is very nice and it is well worth an early morning walk to check out some of the buildings.  Tailgating was plentiful and accessible and the Michigan fans were very hospitable.  The stadium itself is very old and the scoreboards were tiny (though I heard they have upgraded since).  It was big and loud at times but the fans spent most of the game muttering obscenities about their own team.  The stadium really picked up when Michigan started to come back but it otherwise it was pretty mediocre for most of the game. Still, there was plenty to do and see plus, for all the lulls in the game atmosphere, the volume could get really cranked up and there were a few times when the stadium really started to rock.

Wisconsin is very similar to Michigan.  Madison is a fantastic college town with plenty to do and see.  Check out the student union which is one of the few in the country that serves beer.  Tailgating exists in Madison but it wasn't quite as close or accessible as it was in Ann Arbor.  Rather, most people hung out in the nearby bars which is more expensive but less work than setting up your own tailgate.  Camp Randall was not terribly loud but the fans were fun and they were engaged and exciting the whole way through.  This included the student section singing old classics like Build Me Up Buttercup and Cecilia as well as the slow to fast wave (even though I hate the wave, the organization of Wisconsin's version is worth checking out).  The fifth quarter was quite a bit of fun as well and was definitely worth staying for even as an away fan.  Wisconsin fans have a pretty negative image but my experience was not like the stereotype.  Their fans talked smack but, if you didn't have a thin skin and could trash talk back, were very easy to get along with.  I was practically adopted by the older couple sitting next to me during the game.  If you don't like swearing and a  little trash talking then don't go, but if you don't mind it then you will enjoy Madison.  Overall it never got as loud as Michigan or some of the other big stadiums but the carnival atmosphere of Madison and Camp Randall made it a truly enjoyable experience. 

3. Ohio State
Columbus is a very large city and it seems to detract from the college atmosphere of Ohio State.  The campus is very nice and I would recommend checking it out, but the area around the college is pretty dead with the only non-chain bars and restaurants serving crappy beer and food.  The whole thing felt more NFL than NCAA which was a little discouraging.  Tailgating was plentiful though and, even though the bars sucked, the Buckeye tailgates were plentiful and approachable.  Ohio State's fans were pretty typical with a couple jerks but mostly good people.  Ohio Stadium is one of the more aesthetically pleasing stadiums I have been in and it is worth getting there early just to walk around and look at the building.  The stadium is a little bit of a pain to walk around in but the atmosphere inside was unbelievable.  Easily the loudest stadium I have been in and the fans were with the game the whole way.  Buckeye fans were relentless and the intensity level was off the charts. 

4. Iowa
Iowa City has plenty to do the night before a game and I recommend hitting the Pedestrian Mall downtown and watching the band stumble through while playing the fight song.  The campus isn't as nice as other Big Ten schools and isn't really worth exploring unless you would rather not spend time downtown.  However, there are lots of local bars and restaurants to check out right next to campus and walking distance from the stadium so there is plenty to do.  Tailgating is spread all over town and through the streets which makes tailgate hoping easy and fun but the only drawback is that, unless you have a friend with a lot of money, you are going to be hiking a little bit more to get to the stadium.  The stadium itself is pretty nice and the sight lines are fantastic.  The atmosphere in Kinnick varies but generally the fans fill the stadium by the first quarter (unlike Wisconsin, Michigan, and Penn State where there were massive holes in the student section into the second quarter) and are generally pretty loud.  The fans are loud but not as ear blasting as some of the larger stadiums and there are definite highs and lows in terms of crowd involvement.  It is close to Ohio State in my rankings but I am putting Iowa lower because the intensity just isn't quite as high throughout an entire game and it all comes down to game atmosphere.

5. Penn State
The first problem with State College is that it is in the middle of nowhere.  Getting there is a royal pain but the scenery is nice and the campus is gorgeous and I recommend checking it out.  The creamery is a must stop by (though the line is enormous on game day) and the Nittany Lion in and Old Main are both worth seeing.  The town itself has some options but wasn't quite as full of local options as Madison or Iowa City.  There is plenty of tailgating and Penn State has by far the most hospitable fans I have ever met so finding somewhere to stop by is easy enough.  Penn State fans are almost a creepy level of nice but I have to say they were the best I encountered.  Getting to the stadium was a chore and traffic was a major problem on the way out.  Beaver Stadium is a royal pain to navigate and the whole thing is one of the ugliest stadiums I have ever been in.  The crowd was loud and intense but the student section was surprisingly late showing up with massive areas of the bleachers empty in the second quarter.  I had a good time and would go again but it isn't somewhere I would want to go every other year.

6. Nebraska
Lincoln is a nice town with plenty of local options before a game.   There are a few bars and restaurants near campus which were worth checking out the night before and leading up to the game.  Campus is flat and boring so there really isn't much else to do besides bar hop the night before a game.  The tailgating was there but it was done mostly in blotches around and under a freeway overpass which meant running across the streets to find tailgates located in different parking lots.  While Memorial Stadium is pretty nice looking from a distance, but once I got inside I found it difficult to navigate and thought the sight lines were not that great.  Getting to and from the bathroom and concessions from our seats required climbing all the way down to the bottom level which was a pain.  The atmosphere was disappointing since the crowd was only really loud after touchdowns and on third downs.  There were moments when it was so quiet that the drunken yells of one Iowa fan below me seemed to echo across the stadium.  On the whole it was nice to visit but Nebraska was easily the lowest of the bigger name stadiums in several ways.

7. Illinois
Champaign-Urbana has plenty to do and the campus is interesting enough to take a look at.  Memorial Stadium is in a massive parking lot across from Assembly Hall which means there is plenty of tailgating but not much in terms of bar hopping for pregame festivities.  The stadium is old and looks crumby even with the new renovations.  The boxy setup means bad sight lines as well.  On the plus side, the atmosphere is actually pretty cool with traditions such as William Tell and the Three in One really creating a fun, engaging football atmosphere.  The crowd wasn't terribly loud but they were enjoyable and the energy level was pretty high throughout the game.  My only other complaint would be that the traffic around Memorial Stadium is horrible and I have yet to have a good experience (read: one that doesn't involve at least a few hours of bumper to bumper traffic and muttering obscenities at the idiots who are clearly incapable of directing traffic) driving out of Champagne after a sporting event. 

8. Iowa State
First off, Ames sucks.  There are a couple good places to go there but the campus is unspectacular and your options are limited.  This is second only to Evanston in terms of bad bar availability.  The tailgating around Jack Trice is pretty good and, while Cyclones can be particularly hostile to Hawkeyes, their fans tend to be nice enough that you would never feel too threatened.  The stadium itself is a piece of crap, aesthetically my least favorite of all the ones I have been to.  Yet, this is more about atmosphere than anything else and I have to tip my hat to Cyclone fans who generate a very loud, very energized stadium atmosphere.  There are a lot of crappy stadiums at the bottom of this list but ISU passes them for having an extremely higher level of passion both inside and outside the stadium on game day. I wouldn't recommend it, but if you are looking to visit a lot of stadiums you can turn a trip to Jack Trice into a very nice weekend if you try.

9. Indiana
Bloomington isn't a bad city and the campus is gorgeous so checking it out is certainly worth it.  There aren't any pubs too close to the stadium but there are plenty of tailgaters who are pretty friendly.  The Rock is one of the most aesthetically pleasing in the conference so that was a plus.  The game is not terribly full of atmosphere but the student cheers and noise level are still decent.  The only problem is that the fans tend to leave early and by the third quarter a sort of malaise has set in.  You can see kids playing in the end zone area (side note: why put a play area right there?) and older fans start to get bored.  Indiana also has several fans who come to Bloomington just to tailgate and you can see them outside the stadium grilling throughout the game.  Overall, if the first quarter atmosphere were the standard throughout the game, this would have been higher.  Still, it can be a pretty enjoyable visit.

10. MinnesotaHaving Minneapolis nearby means there is no shortage of things to do the night before a game, and Dinkytown is a decent place to stop before a game if you want to do bars instead of tailgating.  The tailgating is there but it isn't that great and I have had a lot of bad luck in my trips up to Minneapolis when it comes to fan interaction (lots of assholes) so, while I am sure there are some nice Gopher fans out there, my recommendation is to just avoid them.  Atmosphere is generally lacking outside the stadium as it is well documented that most people in the city often don't realize that the Gophers are there, meaning it is pretty dead unless you are right next to the stadium.  Even Dinkytown was quiet except for the gaggles of Hawkeyes who made the trip.  TCF Bank is a nice stadium aesthetically but there are a lot of things about it I just don't like.  The stadium seating in the middle is incredibly uncomfortable and I would have sat on just a plain old bleacher.  The scoreboard was ridiculously commercialized and the announcer was so ear splittingly loud and annoying that by the third quarter I was willing to risk imprisonment just to run up to the press box and beat the crap out him.  The atmosphere has been terribly at every Minnesota game I have gone to.  Fans have to be told when to make noise and even then it rarely got louder than a high school football game.  Minnesota is the anti-Iowa State.  Good facility, nice city, but a crappy atmosphere around game day. 

11. PurdueWhen traveling to West Lafayette make sure to plan on visiting the string of shops and bars south of campus before game day.  There are a ton of options.  If you go the day of the game you will probably run into the breakfast club, the Purdue student section which dresses up in costume and hits the bars early in the morning to get a pregame buzz going.  Neither the campus nor the stadium are great aesthetically but Mackey Arena is usually open on game days so that can be worth checking out.  There is some tailgating around Ross Ade but it is very limited and we encountered far more visiting fan tailgates than home team ones on our trip.  Full disclosure, we were put in an isolated section in the endzone under the scoreboard which was basically a big set of metal bleachers like you would see at a high school game and it was crappy.  You couldn't get into the main part of the stadium and there was one bathroom and one concession stand for the entire endzone.  It all seemed much more like some strange social experiment than an actual football game.  The people we were surrounded by (Hawkeye fans) were loud and fun but the stadium as a whole was pretty quiet.  We could hear the student section doing chants but it was hard to make out and seemed silent to us from so far away.  Overall the town was nice but the stadium atmosphere and stadium itself was pretty bad.

12. NorthwesternStay in Chicago until the last possible moment to get to the game.  Evanston sucks.  The campus is very nice but the stadium is only worth noting because of its Autzen-esque shape.  There is no tailgating and no bars.  Inside the only bathrooms we could find were porto-johns and the whole setup had some terrible sight lines.  The crowd made a little noise but there was no student section and Iowa fans were about 50% of the crowd at the game.  You are seriously better off driving to Chicago and watching the game at a sports bar since there you will actually have a real toilet if you have to go to the bathroom.  At least Chi-town is only a short train ride away, if it wasn't I would have nothing positive to say about Northwestern's football experience.

Bowl Projections (Championship Week)

Every week I will be putting up an updated bowl prediction out there. It will include all the BCS and Big Ten bowls. Every few weeks I will include all of the bowls. The selection order for the BCS is:

1) National Championship

2) National Championship

3) Bowl that lost a representative to the first NC pick

4) Bowl that lost a representative to the second NC pick

5) Fiesta Bowl

6) Sugar Bowl
7) Orange Bowl

BCS National Championship Game: LSU v. Alabama

LSU is here pretty much no matter what.  Even a loss to Georgia in the SEC title game would be tough to take the Tigers out of it at this point.  Alabama won Saturday and has by far the best resume of any one loss team left on the schedule so the Tide will likely get their rematch  with the Bayou Bengals.  There are still some other possibilities though.  Oklahoma State is still alive if they beat Oklahoma (though losing to Iowa State likely killed their hopes no matter what), Virginia Tech could make a push with a convincing win over Clemson in the ACC title game, and Houston remains a possibility so long as they stay unbeaten.

Rose Bowl: Wisconsin v. Oregon

This is by far the easiest BCS game to pick.  The winner of the Big Ten title game versus the winner of the Pac 12 title game.  Oregon should easily beat UCLA at Autzen and Michigan State will be hard pressed to beat the Badgers a second time in a season so this is easily the most likely scenario.

Sugar Bowl: Michigan v. Stanford

The Maize and Blue is out of the Big Ten Title game but beating Ohio State today all but makes them a lock for New Orleans.  The Sugar Bowl will get first pick of at-large teams since they will have to replace the SEC Champion Tigers.  With Alabama unavailable, Michigan, with their national reputation and large fan base, is the obvious replacement pick.  Stanford, Clemson, the Big East champion, and Virginia Tech could all theoretically end up here but with VT and the Big East champ off the board (more on that later)  the choice comes down to Clemson and Stanford.  I think it will be Stanford because of the Andrew Luck hype and the Big Ten - Pac 12 storyline.  Consider Michigan more or less locked in but the other spot is still pretty open.

Fiesta Bowl: Oklahoma State v. West Virginia

The winner of the Bedlam game Saturday goes here so that part should be easy enough.  The rest is very messy.  With Michigan off the board there aren't a lot of appealing options for the Fiesta Bowl's at large spot.  Enter Big East champ West Virginia.  The Mountaineers have to win Thursday against USF, hope Cincy beats UConn, and has to be higher rated in the BCS polls to get the bid.  I think the two games will go their way and, since they are the only Big East team currently ranked in the USA Today Coaches Poll, I think they get the bid.  With the Mountaineers available, the Fiesta Bowl can nab a solid traveling fan base and get some interesting story lines with former OkState OC Dana Holgorsen going against the Cowboys.  Stanford is also a possibility here and if they get picked up the Mountaineers will likely end up facing Michigan in the Sugar Bowl. 

Orange Bowl: Houston v. Virginia Tech

The winner of the ACC title game goes here and it will either be the Hokies or Tigers.  Right now Tech is on a roll but Clemson won the previous meeting this season so this is not set in stone.  I have Houston going undefeated so that will put them here but a loss to Southern Miss on Saturday could actually put Boise State here with one loss.  The BCS would be required to take the Broncos and if that happens the Fiesta Bowl will likely jump on that grenade.  That would mean the Sugar Bowl would be free to match up the loser of the Bedlam game (in this case Oklahoma), Big East champion, or ACC runner up against Michigan and the Orange Bowl would be the ACC champion versus either the Big East champion or an at large team.

Capital One Bowl: Nebraska v. Georgia

TheCornhuskers travel as well or better than anyone else and they will be an easy pick for the Big Ten side of this game.  The SEC slot could go to either Arkansas or Georgia but the Bulldogs  won their division, are very close, and have not been in a major bowl in a long time.  Arkansas would travel decently also but after an embarrassing loss to LSU the Hogs are down right now.  If Georgia can keep the SEC title game competitive, they will get this slot easily, if not it is probably a coin flip between these two teams.

Outback Bowl: Michigan State v. South Carolina

The Spartans will surely complain about falling here but a loss in the Big Ten championship game and the fact that they aren't as big a ticket and TV draw as Nebraska means they will likely fall here.  Penn State could be here but they played at this bowl last season and if you combine that with the Sandusky scandal it makes a pretty convincing argument to take Sparty instead.  The Outback Bowl will be able to take either Carolina or Auburn from the SEC and the Gamecocks are the obvious choice since it creates a match up of two 10 win teams.

Insight Bowl: Penn State v. Kansas State

The Insight Bowl is in a unique position to take Penn State.  Their only other options are Iowa (who played there last year) and a slew of 6-6 Big Ten teams.  Also, the Big XII options are slim (KSU, Baylor, ISU, Texas A&M) so grabbing the 10 win Wildcats and the Nittany Lions means a match up of top ten teams.  The Sandusky scandal is not good but it adds TV interest to the game which KSU doesn't really bring by itself. 

Gator Bowl: Ohio State v. Auburn

I really struggled with this one but I am goign to go with this one for now.  Auburn falls here after getting jumped by Florida for the Chick-Fil-A Bowl, and Ohio State jumps Iowa by virtue of being Ohio State.  I think the Gator Bowl will jump at the chance to get the defending National Champs if they fall this far and will gladly take the Buckeyes since it is unlikely they will be available to them very often.  Be aware though that if Auburn is the SEC team there is a very good chance Iowa and Ohio State could swap bowl positioning.

Texas Bowl: Iowa v. Texas A&M

The Texas Bowl gladly snaps up the Aggies since their fan  base is only a stone's throw away from the bowl site in Houston.  Iowa fans will likely travel well to a Texas bowl and are easily the best traveling and TV friendly team left of the Big Ten bowl possibilities.  If A&M is picked higher expect Baylor to make a repeat appearance here and if Iowa is selected higher this will belong to the Buckeyes.

Ticket City Bowl: Purdue v. Iowa State
This is contingent on who is left over from the Big XII.  If it is Iowa State, then Purdue is the easy choice since both fan bases haven't been to a bowl game in a couple years and would make a  very interesting television match up.  If Missouri is the team, expect Illinois to get a look here since it would be the renewal of a major rivalry that could get at least Tiger fans excited enough to show up in solid numbers.  I think it will be the Iowa State - Purdue series but a lot of this depends on what the Pinstripe Bowl does.

Little Caeser's Pizza Pizza Bowl: Illinois v. Northern Illinois

There is a chance Ohio could be the team here but I think Northern Illinois gets the nod as long as they win this weekend.  Illinois' 0-6 fall has angered fans but you still have to wonder how well Northwestern would travel to a game in Detroit.  If Illinois officials want to send their team to a bowl game they will lobby hard to get this spot since there is nowhere else for them to fall except the Military Bowl against a Sun Belt team.  Illinois or Northwestern may also try to work out an something with Pittsburgh to get them to come to Detroit as the opponent and Illinois may even decline a  bowl bid all together.  Consider this wide open as it is  still very tough to tell who will take this bowl bid.

AT&T Cotton Bowl: Arkansas v. Oklahoma

Arkansas falls here with Georgia going to the Capital One Bowl and they will face off against the losers of the Bedlam game on Saturday (provided that team doesn't somehow end  up in the BCS in which case this will be Texas).  I think Oklahoma ends up here but this is far from settled.  If Arkansas is selected to the Capital One expect this slot to go to either Auburn or South Carolina.

Chick Fil-A Bowl: Florida v. Clemson

Clemson ends up here as the ACC runner up (if they win it will be Virginia Tech unless one of them is selected as a BCS at large in which case this will go to either Virginia or Florida State).  Auburn is the de facto SEC team in this scenario but a rematch with Clemson wouldn't be good for TV ratings.  There is a chance that the bowl bites the bullet and takes the rematch but I think they tab the Gators to face the Tigers.

Valero Alamo Bowl: Texas v. Utah

The Alamo Bowl will gladly take the Longhorns and their local fan base over the Kansas State Wildcats.  With Stanford in the BCS the one major problem will be determining who will represent the Pac 12 against Texas.  Arizona State, Utah, Washington, and Cal are all available but I think it will be the Utes who have a fan base that will travel fairly well and are one ofthe few teams with seven wins.

Champs Sports Bowl: Notre Dame v. Florida State

This bowl pick is still the same and I think it is close to a lock.  It is  unlikely that a Big East team will pass Notre Dame here so the only issue seems to be what happens to Florida State.  Even if the Seminoles get a call from the Chick-fil-A bowl I think they try to hit the match up with the Irish in order to generate some excitement from their fans and to get a massive pay day from the bowl which should easily sell out in Orlando.

Hyundai Sun Bowl: Arizona State v. Virginia

This is sort of a "next man in pick". The Sun Bowl grabs the Sun Devils because of the proximity of their fan base and then tabs Virginia over Wake Forest since the Cavaliers have the larger fan base and have not been bowling in a while.  Both of these picks are subject to change based on what happens above them but at this point so is everything else.

Holiday Bowl: California v. Baylor

With the Bears winning against Texas Tech they will finish the season with at least a two game lead on the Aggies.  It doesn't guarantee that they won't get passed, but I think all the hype the bears are getting will put them here.  Cal gets the nod as the Pac 12 representative more because of proximity than anything else.  

Belk Bowl: North Carolina State v. Cincinnati

The Bearcats are the second team taken out of the Big East but this could also be Louisville whose fans might travel better.  North Carolina State is the local team and  they can be expected to pack the stadium so expect them to get tabbed over Georgia Tech whose fan base is very small and does not travel.  North Carolina could be an option here but they have come to this bowl quite often and they are not as high in the conference standings.  If UNC gets picked up here expect the Wolf pack to be taken in the Music City Bowl.

Music City Bowl: Vanderbilt v. Georgia Tech

The Commodores get this pick from the SEC since their fan base is in town which should help build some local interest and aid the Vandy AD in selling their ticket allotment.  North Carolina was here last year but the only other options are a Vandy-Wake Forest rematch or bringing in Georgia Tech and risking an empty stadium.  I want to say they go with North Carolina again but I have a feeling they will go with Georgia Tech on a hunch that the Tar Heel fans will not show up well to this bowl if they are invited a second time.  Right now I feel it is a coin flip between Tech and Carolina so stay tuned because this one is still very open.

New Era Pinstripe Bowl: Missouri v. Rutgers

Missouri and Iowa State are both left on the board and I would normally pick the Cyclones to jump the Tigers like they did in 09.  However, with Rutgers as a mortal lock to represent the Big East here, the bowl won't have to worry quite as much about selling tickets since the folks from New Jersey will likely gobble them up.  That leaves them with creating the best match up and I think that is Missouri.  If anyone other than Rutgers gets here from the Big East expect Iowa State to get a look but even then the Tigers will be hard to pass up here.

AutoZone Liberty Bowl: Mississippi State v. Southern Mississippi

The final SEC bowl selection will be Mississippi State and their fans will face the Conference USA runner up Golden Eagles.  Tulsa is also a popular option here but I think the fact that USM hasn't been here since 2003 and the intra-state rivalry factor will boost attendance and the match up could be more interesting on television than MSU and Tulsa.

Advocare V100 Independence Bowl: North Carolina v. Air Force

A lot depends on what happens above this bowl but right now these are the two most attractive teams left from each conference.  North Carolina's fan base may be a little less likely to travel this year than they normally are with the scandal that has surrounded the program so there is a chance Wake Forest could be looked at here as well.  The Mountain West team is likely to be San Diego State, Air Force, or Wyoming but none of those teams travel particularly well.  I think the bowl goes with the ratings and picks Air Force but really any of those three are possible.

Maaco Bowl Las Vegas: Washington v. TCU

This bowl has the first choice of either TCU or Boise State if Houston gets into the BCS.  I think they grab TCU, who they won't have another shot to get in the near future, since they are the Mountain West Champions and the Broncos were here last year.  Washington is the last available Pac 12 team in this projection and gets tabbed here.

Military Bowl: Northwestern v. Wake Forest
This is the last bowl game to be filled by the ACC which pretty much locks in Wake Forest.  With no Conference USA team to fill this slot and Navy unavailable, the Military Bowl can grab an at large team and Northwestern makes a lot of sense.  The Wildcats will fall somewhere more likely than not and this is a good landing spot for them against another BCS conference school.  Illinois could also fall and if the Illini or any other Big Ten team choose to skip out on the bowl games this will likely be a MAC team.

Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl: Western Kentucky v. Western Michigan

The Sun Belt and MAC are the only two conferences with teams left so the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl isn't left with many choices.  Western Kentucky is the only team they can pick to avoid a MAC rematch and the fact that it will be the Hilltoppers first bowl appearance makes this a relatively easy choice.  Western Michigan is the best traveling MAC team left but don't count out Temple as a possibility for this slot either.

Poinsettia Bowl: Nevada v. Boise State

The Poinsettia Bowl gets Boise State and, rather than bring in conference champion Louisiana Tech, they set up a rematch of the game that kept the Broncos out of the BCS last season.  If The Las Vegas Bowl goes with Boise then TCU will end up here but I think Nevada is still the WAC pick since  Louisiana Tech would have a long way to travel and would not bring much in terms of fan appeal. 

 New Mexico Bowl: Wyoming v. Ball State

The Cowboys get the last bowl slot of the Mountain West but they will have to find an at large team to fill this slot.  At this point I only have two teams left and both are from the MAC.  Ball State takes this bid as the very last bowl eligible team to be taken.  One interesting note, I took the route of zero upsets (unintentionally) for the coming week which means that there are exactly 70 bowl eligible teams.  Unless something big happens in the Big East or UCLA or Hawaii notch upsets this week we will see every bowl eligible team playing in a  bowl game.

Armed Forces Bowl: Brigham Young v. Tulsa

BYU has already accepted this bowl bid so we know they will be here.  I think they would be glad to pick up Tulsa after the Golden Hurricanes missed being selected in the Hawaii bowl.  SMU, Marshall, and even Southern Miss are all still possibilities here.

Sheraton Hawaii Bowl: Louisiana Tech v.SMU

The Bulldogs fall to this spot as the last available WAC team.  If Hawaii beats BYU this weekend the Warriors will be taken here and Louisiana Tech will likely be picked up by either the Poinsettia or Potato bowls since the WAC will want to guarantee that its' champion receives a bowl berth.  Tulsa and SMU are both available and both have been to this bowl in the past two years.  Tulsa was here last year so I think the Hawaii Bowl goes with SMU who drew some decent ratings last time around. 

BBVA Compass Bowl: Louisville v. Florida International

The BBVA Cimpass Bowl would love to have Louisville and I think they take the Cardinals and their fan base without hesitation if they fall this far.  The only problem is that, with no SEC team available, the bowl is required to take a Sun Belt team.  If Western Kentucky is not taken with the first two bowl selections from that conference, and I don't think they will be, the bowl will likely take whoever else is still on the board to avoid a rematch.  That will be Florida International.

Beef O'Brady's Bowl: Pittsburgh v. Marshall
Marshall and Pittsburgh are the last teams on the board from their respective conferences (barring some major upsets in the Big East) so they both fall nicely into this slot.  There could be some restructuring here so Pitt can face an at large team from a BCS conference but for right now I am  going to stick with this.

R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl: Louisiana v. Temple
No the Ragin Cajuns didn't win the Sun Belt but their proximity to the bowl and the fact that this is their first bowl  appearance make them a lock here.  The New Orleans and New Mexico Bowls will have to fight over Ball State and Temple but I think the Owls decide to come here since New Orleans is a much nicer travel destination than Albuquerque.

Go Daddy.com Bowl: Arkansas State v. Ohio

The Sun Belt champs fall here and I think the Mobile bowl scoops them up and places them opposite MAC title contender Ohio.  Two conference championship contending teams makes this a solid match up and should be an easy choice since both schools have relatively decent fan bases that should make the attendance at this game more respectable.

Famous Idaho Potato Bowl: Toledo v. Utah State
The Aggies are close by so they are picked over conference champion Louisiana Tech in the hopes that the bowl will sell more tickets.  Toledo has a high flying offense and should make for an interesting opponent for Utah State.  There likely won't be many Rockets fans making the trip but the ratings could be decent since both teams took BCS squads down to the wire during the regular season.

Week 9 Picks

Each week I will be posting my predictions for every Big Ten game game as well as a few of the out of conference. As always these will be accompanied by related (not really) YouTube videos.



Record this season: 49-13 Big Ten, 59-14 Overall

Northwestern v Indiana

The meek of the Big Ten would probably be ok with a win this week.  Unfortunatly, only one is going to get it.  Northwestern has looked far more competitive than Indiana this season so I think it will be the Wildcats.
Pick: Northwestern

Week 8 Bowl Projections (Expanded)

Every week I will be putting up an updated bowl prediction out there. It will include all the BCS and Big Ten bowls. Every few weeks I will include all of the bowls. The selection order for the BCS is:

1) National Championship

2) National Championship

3) Bowl that lost a representative to the first NC pick

4) Bowl that lost a representative to the second NC pick

5) Fiesta Bowl

6) Sugar Bowl
7) Orange Bowl

BCS National Championship Game: LSU v. Stanford

The LSU pick remains the same.  Even without Tyrann Mathieu they clobbered Auburn and just using the eyeball test, this LSU team is the best team in college football. The winner of the massive showdown between the Tigers and Tide in Tuscaloosa next weekend will be the definitive answer to who seals this spot.  Stanford is an extremely talented and well rounded team and I think they are the most likely team (outside of the two SEC West squads) to finish with their undefeated record intact.  They still have tough matchups at USC and against Oregon, but the Cardinal are my pick right now.

Week Eight Picks

Each week I will be posting my predictions for every Big Ten game game as well as a few of the out of conference. As always these will be accompanied by related (not really) YouTube videos.



Record this season: 49-13 Big Ten, 59-14 Overall

In honor of Homecoming Week here at Iowa, here are your picks with some collegiate flavor.

Iowa v. Indiana

Iowa fans should expect to have enough rope that this game isn't too much of a threat.  Beware however, as there is a slim chance the Hawks could accidentily drop this one into a man hole and cause their fanbase unspeakable pain.Pick: Iowa

Week 7 Bowl Projections

Every week I will be putting up an updated bowl prediction out there. It will include all the BCS and Big Ten bowls. Every few weeks I will include all of the bowls. The selection order for the BCS is:

1) National Championship
2) National Championship
3) Bowl that lost a representative to the first NC pick
4) Bowl that lost a representative to the second NC pick
5) Fiesta Bowl
6) Sugar Bowl
7) Orange Bowl

BCS National Championship Game: LSU v. Oklahoma

LSU and Oklahoma continue to chug along and I still don't see either team losing.  Alabama will be a stiff test and Oklahoma State will provide an interesting rivalry matchup, but the Sooners and Tigers have looked every bit as good as I thought they would when I picked them to end up here during the summer radio show.  Until we see something different, these two are going to stand pat.

Week 6 Bowl Projections

Every week I will be putting up an updated bowl prediction out there. It will include all the BCS and Big Ten bowls. Every few weeks I will include all of the bowls. The selection order for the BCS is:
1) National Championship
2) National Championship
3) Bowl that lost a representative to the first NC pick
4) Bowl that lost a representative to the second NC pick
5) Fiesta Bowl
6) Sugar Bowl
7) Orange Bowl

BCS National Championship Game: LSU v. Oklahoma

How could I change this after theweek these two schools had?  LSU and Oklahoma cominated their respective rivals and both looked worthy of the national title hype they are getting.  Alabama will have something to say about this in the end and Wisconsin lurks if OU should falter, but right now it appears these two squads are on a collision course for the National Championship.

Week Six Predictions

Each week I will be posting my predictions for every Big Ten game game as well as a few of the out of conference. As always these will be accompanied by related (not really) YouTube videos.

Record this season: 41-11 Big Ten, 52-11 Overall




 Indiana v. Illinois 

This season for both schools has been like this muppets sketch, cleverly strange.  The question is will these teams start passing the eye test.  Well I guess we are talking about Indiana and Illinois, so I suppose the question is, who cares?
Pick: Illinois

Week 5 Bowl Projections

Every week I will be putting up an updated bowl prediction out there. It will include all the BCS and Big Ten bowls. Every few weeks I will include all of the bowls. The selection order for the BCS is:



1) National Championship
2) National Championship
3) Bowl that lost a representative to the first NC pick
4) Bowl that lost a representative to the second NC pick
5) Fiesta Bowl
6) Sugar Bowl
7) Orange Bowl

BCS National Championship Game: LSU v. Oklahoma

I finally got the new logo in place.  LSU and Oklahoma both rolled over inferior opponents (Kentucky and Ball State respectively) so there isn't much reason to change things.  The schedule kicks up for both teams next week as Oklahoma squares off against undefeated Texas in the Red River Shootout and the Tigers take on the Florida Gators in Death Valley.  These teams are locked here until they show some weakness so next week might see a new National Title matchup.

Week Five Predictions (Music Video Week)

Each week I will be posting my predictions for every Big Ten game game as well as a few of the out of conference. As always these will be accompanied by related (not really) YouTube videos.

Record this season: 36-10 Big Ten, 45-10 Overall 


Penn State at Indiana

This video more relates to me.  See, Pen nState was catchy this off season and, just like this song, were popular early on.  Then we got a closer look at this team and saw the disturbing lyrics.  Yeah it is messed up.  However, they face an Indiana team they have never lost to this week so, for now, let's just enjoy the catchy melody and worry about the lyrics next week.Pick: Penn State

Week Four Bowl Projections

Every week I will be putting up an updated bowl prediction out there. It will include all the BCS and Big Ten bowls. Every few weeks I will include all of the bowls. The selection order for the BCS is:



1) National Championship
2) National Championship
3) Bowl that lost a representative to the first NC pick
4) Bowl that lost a representative to the second NC pick
5) Fiesta Bowl
6) Sugar Bowl
7) Orange Bowl

Week Four Predictions

Each week I will be posting my predictions for every Big Ten game game as well as a few of the out of conference. As always these will be accompanied by related (not really) YouTube videos.

Record this season: 28-8 Big Ten, 30-8 Overall 

 

Woah, have you seen the Big Ten slate this weekend?  A lot of cupcakes on that list.  Rather than go through the list and pick each game individually, I am just going to call for the sweep.  That's right, even with Indiana traveling to North Texas and Ohio State hosting Colorado (really, those are the two biggest games) I still don't see a loss for the conference this week.
Pick: All Big Ten Teams

Week Three Bowl Projections

Every week I will be putting up an updated bowl prediction out there. It will include all the BCS and Big Ten bowls. Every few weeks I will include all of the bowls. The selection order for the BCS is:


1) National Championship
2) National Championship
3) Bowl that lost a representative to the first NC pick
4) Bowl that lost a representative to the second NC pick
5) Fiesta Bowl
6) Sugar Bowl
7) Orange Bowl

Week Three Predictions

Each week I will be posting my predictions for every Big Ten game game as well as a few of the out of conference. As always these will be accompanied by related (not really) YouTube videos.

Record this season: 18-6 Big Ten, 22-6 Overall 


Indiana v. South Carolina State

The Hoosiers best chance of winning so far is this weekend and I think that is what they will do.  This clip has nothing whatsoever to do with the game, I just like Sideways.Pick: Indiana

Illinois v. Arizona State

In a way, Salieri is representative of Ron Zook and Dennis Erickson can be portrayed by Mozart.  Salieri was competent and solid but not very naturally gifted.  Mozart was a prodigy, and changed music much the way Erickson changed football while coaching at Miami and elsewhere.  If you have seen the movie, you know who pulls the upset.
Pick: Illinois 

Week Two Bowl Projections

Every week I will be putting up an updated bowl prediction out there. It will include all the BCS and Big Ten bowls. Every few weeks I will include all of the bowls. The selection order for the BCS is:


1) National Championship
2) National Championship
3) Bowl that lost a representative to the first NC pick
4) Bowl that lost a representative to the second NC pick
5) Fiesta Bowl
6) Sugar Bowl
7) Orange Bowl

Week Two Predictions

Each week I will be posting my predictions for every Big Ten game game as well as a few of the out of conference. As always these will be accompanied by related (not really) YouTube videos.

Record this season: 9-3 Big Ten, 11-3 Overall 

Illinois v. South Dakota State
South Dakota State played Nebraska tough in Lincoln last year but I think the Illini will be prepared for this game after a slow start last week.
Pick: Illinois

Indiana
After losing to Ball State last week I really question whether Indiana will win a football game at all this season.
Pick: Virginia 




Ohio State

The girl getting thrown around by her pigtails is a pretty good analogy to what will happen to Toledo this weekend. 
Pick: Ohio State

Penn State v. Alabama

I think the road crowd in happy Valley will rattle AJ McCarron who was shaky in Alabama's win last week.  Rob Bolden makes a great start and emerges as the next great PSU QB.
Pick: Penn State


Wisconsin v. Oregon State

Oregon State was a mess last week in their loss to Sacramento State.  I doubt they survive the trip to Madison to face a tough Badger squad which impressed against UNLV.
 Pick: Wisconsin

Iowa at Iowa State

A trip to Ames used to be a bigger cause for concern but the last trip went so well that it is hard to be nervous.  Even without the Arnaud to Sash combo this one shouldn't be too tough for the Hawkeyes.Pick: Iowa

Michigan v. Notre Dame
Huge game under the lights in Ann Arbor.  In all honesty, this one is a tough call since both teams are talented yet flawed.  I am going to say the Michigan Wolverines but this is a toss up.
Pick: Michigan

Michigan State v. Florida Atlantic

Completely unrelated video, but frankly, what is there to say about this game?  Just another tune up for the Spartans.
Pick: Michigan State

Minnesota v. New Mexico State
A short ode to Jerry Kill, who came so close to beating the Trojans in Los Angeles last weekend with his backup QB.  He should get his first win with the Gophers this week.
Pick: Minnesota

Nebraska v. Fresno State
Normally this would be an interesting game but Fresno State is in a full rebuilding mode this year and the game is in Lincoln.  Not likely going to be a very interesting game.
Pick: Nebraska

Northwestern v. Eastern Illinois

Maybe BTN can use this tutorial and make Dyche Stadium look full.  Boring game in an empty stadium.
Pick: Northwestern

Other Games
South Carolina at Georgia

Ok so this is a cop out video but they have a point.  Georgia faces a let down against a very strong South Carolina squad.
Pick: South Carolina

Utah at USC
The Utes first conference game as a member of the Pac 12 and they head out to the Colliseum.  USC looked vulnerable last week but Utah didn't exactly set the world on fire against Montana State either.  I am going with the Trojans at home.
Pick: USC

Week One Bowl Predictions

Every week I will be putting up an updated bowl prediction out there. It will include all the BCS and Big Ten bowls. Every few weeks I will include all of the bowls. The selection order for the BCS is:


1) National Championship
2) National Championship
3) Bowl that lost a representative to the first NC pick
4) Bowl that lost a representative to the second NC pick
5) Fiesta Bowl
6) Sugar Bowl
7) Orange Bowl

It's Finally Here (Week 1 Predictions)

Each week I will be posting my predictions for every Big Ten game game as well asa few of the out of conference. As always these will be accompanied by related (not really) YouTube videos.

Illinois v. Arkansas State

This is an interesting game as Arkansas State is going to be one of the better Sun Belt squads this season.  They have the potential for an upset of the lower rung BCS teams this year but I think Illinois is a bowl team and the Illini should win this one.
Winner: Illinois

Indiana v. Ball State
How many more months till basketball season?  Coach Wilson seems to be developing a strong mindset for his team but there is still a talent deficiancy in Bloomington that needs to be addressed before this is a bowl team.  Still, Ball State isn't exactly killing it either.
Winner: Indiana

Preseason Bowl Projections (The Whole Shebang)

Every week I will be putting up an updated bowl prediction out there. It will include all the BCS and Big Ten bowls. Every few weeks I will include all of the bowls. The selection order for the BCS is:



1) National Championship
2) National Championship
3) Bowl that lost a representative to the first NC pick
4) Bowl that lost a representative to the second NC pick
5) Fiesta Bowl
6) Sugar Bowl
7) Orange Bowl

Brief Q&A: Oversigning and Reasonable Solutions

First off, what is oversigning?

Oversigning is when a coach signs more prospects than they have available scholarships for.  The NCAA has a hard cap on the number of scholarship players teams can sign every year (25) and the number of overall scholarship players a team can have on at any given time (85).  Coaches who oversign sign players in recruiting periods which circumvent the 25 signee rule and give scholarships to more than 85 players.  To reach NCAA standards, the schools either sign players who they don't think will be academically eligible and send them off to JUCO where they can be picked up later, or take away scholarships from players on the team through medical hardship waivers or other avenues. 

Why is oversigning bad?

Oversigning is the equivalent of cutting players from the team to make room for better players.  While this may not seem so unreasonable on face value, the ramifications for the students are horrible.  Imagine being on scholarship to go to college for physics and your professor telling you that you are losing your scholarship to some new transfer student.  You can no longer afford to stay in school and are forced to drop out with nothing but a few credit hours to show for your time.  For kids who play football, this can be devastating to their futures.

A while back I talked about the reasons why athletes should not be paid.  In that article, I mentioned that student-athletes are given special protections which keeps them stable, and that paying athletes like professionals would tip the scale against the colleges who are forced to protect the rights of all athletes and simultaneously pay them without being guaranteed their rights as an employer to fire unsuccessful employees and to maximize the value of their dollar.  This is the opposite of that.  In oversigning, schools are allowed to treat athletes like employees without paying them, effectively making them indentured servants who can be used and discarded at the whim of their masters.  It is ineffective to say that the students still get an education as compensation in this scenario since they can be released before they ever receive their degree and never be compensated for their time.

This is particularly difficult on student athletes and especially less wealthy kids who may not have the educational background to succeed without the help of the athletic tutors.  Taking that away denies their chance at an education.  While one maycertainly an argument to be made that many college students who receive academic scholarships don't necessarily have their scholarships renewed from year to year, it is a non sequitor.  Universities are centers for learning, those who lose their academic scholarships normally due so because of a failure to live up to their academic commitments or fall into legal trouble.  From the standpoint of the college president, there should be a major difference between failing to make grades and failing to make a tackle.  It is a murky issue but the bottom line is this: institutions of higher learning should not allow football to determine how they go about their mission of educating.  By allowing oversigning, institutions are openly admitting that athletic performance is more important than education.

What should be done?

Originally there were no athletic scholarships for players.  This is only an issue because college football became such big business that schools decided they needed to give their players something for bringing in all that money to the University (that should sound very familiar).  It is unreasonable to go back to that model now, but there are some things we can look back to.  The four year scholarship, which guaranteed a player four years of college upon signing his letter of intent, should be one thing that is looked at for the future.  Players should be guaranteed four years at an institution in order to guarantee that they receive the value of their education.  Scholarships should then be renewable for a fifth year if necessary. 

Second, the 85 rule has to be enforced year round.  Student athletes should be made aware of their rights with a scholarship including their right not to transfer if they so choose.  No more bullying kids to leave in order to open up space on the roster.  This should coincide with better policing of the medical hardship waiver which has been also been abused to stretch the scholarship limit.  There needs to be a hard and fast rule on this issue and it schools should be required to document the movements of their players and their scholarship status publicly.

Third, there needs to be an elimination of the 25 signing per year limit.  It is counterproductive because it means that, for programs that follow the rules, they will be operating with a short roster on years when more than 25 players graduate.  Schools should be allowed to sign as many players as they need without without surpassing the limit.  Also, there should be  a discussion on the 85 scholarship limit and perhaps expanding it to 90 or 95 players.  This will be difficult because of the Title IX implications but it needs to at least be discussed as a possibility since the current roster limit makes signing players trickier for coaches.

Exploring the Big Ten through Youtube

Note: This excersize is geared towards an examination of each of the Big Ten teams in honor of Nebraska joining the Big Ten. These videos represent traditions of the conference and are meant to provide a window into each of the different schools.
INDIANA
The Old Oaken Bucket is played yearly between Indiana and Purdue.  Each year, the chain attached to that bucket adds a link, a P for the Boilers or an I for the Hoosiers depending on the victor of the game. 


It is called "The Greatest TV Timeout In All Of Sports".  At the under 8minute timeout in the second half, the Indiana band plays the William Tell Overture as the cheerleaders run the court with all manner of flags, making pyramids and generally rousing the crowd.  This is followed by the fight song "Indiana Our Indiana" which is sung at full throat by the entire crowd at Assembly Hall.

Predictions: Big East

The College Football Preview Show picks are back again this week with the Big East. This week we will be going team by team and explaining our selections, which is the format we will use henceforth since we aren’t selecting multiple conferences at a time.


1. Neal: South Florida Lars: West Virginia

For the second year in a row I have the Bulls as surprise picks to win the Big East. Skip Holtz is a phenomenal coach and I think this team will be light years ahead of where they were last season. BJ Daniels showed marked improvement as a passer in the new offensive scheme by the end of last year and I think the South Florida offense breaks out this year on the way to their first Big East Championship. Lars believes West Virginia will be the victor based on the success of Dana Holgorsen’s spread offense and the high level of talent in Morgantown. The Mountaineers were statistically the best squad in the conference last season and will be a tough matchup for everyone on their schedule.

Predictions: Non-AQ and Independents

Here are mine and Lars’ predictions for the non-AQ conferences and independents from the College Football Preview. My predictions are in blue while Lars’ predictions are in red.

MAC West

Western Michigan Northern Illinois*

Toledo Toledo

Northern Illinois Western Michigan

Central Michigan Central Michigan

Eastern Michigan Ball State

Ball State Eastern Michigan

MAC East

Miami (OH)* Ohio

Ohio Temple

Temple Miami (OH)

Bowling Green Kent State

Kent State Buffalo

Buffalo Bowling Green

Akron Akron

The MAC is top heavy in both of its’ divisions this year. Lars is more confident that NIU can recover after losing a star RB and head coach in the same year but I am more hesitant. Western Michigan has an established coach and a bevy of returning starters and I like them to win their division. I take Lars’ tact with my choice of Miami (OH) despite the fact they also lost a head coach. The Red Hawks though have a ton of starters returning and I think they will make a second run to the conference title under former Michigan State OC Don Treadwell.

Sun Belt

Florida International* Troy*

Troy Florida International

Arkansas State Louisiana Monroe

Louisiana Monroe Middle Tennessee State

North Texas Arkansas State

Western Kentucky North Texas

Middle Tennessee State Florida Atlantic

Florida Atlantic Western Kentucky

Louisiana Louisiana

Lars and I disagree again here on who will come out as the conference champion. Lars makes the safer pick here with Troy who has won a share of the last five conference titles but I think FIU will make a repeat run this year under Mario Cristobal. The really bold prediction here is Western Kentucky jumping up to the middle of the conference despite only winning their first game against FBS competition last season. I think the Hilltoppers have momentum and could pass MTSU, FAU, and Louisiana while they are rebuilding this year.

WAC

Hawaii* Hawaii*

Nevada Nevada

Louisiana Tech Fresno State

Fresno State Louisiana Tech

Utah State Idaho

San Jose State San Jose State

Idaho Utah State

New Mexico State New Mexico State

If you listen on the podcast or live last Monday, you heard me announce my frustration that Lars stole my upset pick here. Great minds do think alike I suppose. Hawaii is flying a little under the radar this year but Lars and I both believe this will be another great year for the Warriors. We flip flopped Idaho and Utah State, but the WAC will have quite bit of parity this season with many veteran teams returning and normal powers like Fresno State in rebuilding mode. Predicting anything past Nevada is very difficult so don’t be surprised if this gets jumbled quite a bit during the year.

Conference USA West

Houston Houston*

Tulsa Tulsa

Rice Southern Methodist

Southern Methodist Rice

Tulane Tulane

UTEP UTEP

East

Southern Miss* East Carolina

Central Florida Southern Miss

East Carolina Central Florida

Marshall Alabama Birmingham

Alabama Birmingham Marshall

Memphis Memphis

The return of Case Keenum to Houston has Lars thinking that the Cougars will win the Conference USA Title this season and we both agree that they are easily the class of the Western division. However, I think Southern Miss will grab the East and come out victorious with superior defense, though it could just as easily be Central Florida, who won the conference and beat Georgia in their bowl game last season and also return a slew of talented players.

Mountain West Conference

Boise State* Boise State*

Texas Christian Air Force

Air Force Texas Christian

Colorado State Colorado State

Wyoming San Diego State

San Diego State Wyoming

UNLV New Mexico

New Mexico UNLV

Both of us think Chris Peterson and Kellen Moore are headed for another conference title and the most likely choice for a BCS buster. We talked up Air Force on the show and Lars even picked the Falcons to jump TCU in the standings. However, I am a firm believer in Gary Patterson’s defense, and even with a little rebuilding year I think the Frogs will still be an incredibly difficult team to beat. The one other note is Lars’ (and Phil Steele’s) bold prediction that Mike Locksley’s New Mexico squad will escape the basement of the WAC. Despite all of the high profile transfers the program has had, I still am not convinced the Lobos will find success under the former Illinois Offensive Coordinator.

Independents

Notre Dame Notre Dame

Navy BYU

Army Navy

BYU Army

As former KRUI host Mike Rabon would say, “Bold strategy Cotton”. I don’t necessarily think Army will field a better team this year than BYU, but the schedules are not even comparable in difficulty. BYU will have to travel to five Ole Miss, Texas, Oregon State, and TCU (played in Arlington) as well as host UCF and Utah. With so many tough teams right out of the gate I have a hard time seeing the Cougars get bowl eligible while the Black Knights have a decent shot with their cushy slate of opponents. We both agree that Notre Dame is the class of the independents but you will have to listen to the podcast to see if we think the Irish are headed back to the BCS.