As the final weekend of the regular season of college football approached, key games were played across the country that would help decide the participants for numerous conference championship games and spots in the 12-team College Football Playoff. It was also the first weekend of the FCS playoffs and the second weekend of the Division II & III playoffs. As I mentioned last week, I took a rare week off from traveling to a game and enjoyed the comforts of my own home, surrounded by my adoring harem, being fed grapes and libations, and fanned with peacock feathers while lying on the couch with the remote control in hand.
Around the Country:
Big Ten – In what is simply known as The Game, Ohio State got the proverbial monkey off their back and defeated Michigan in Ann Arbor, handily securing their spot as the top team in college football at this point in the season. Michigan had won the last four meetings in one of the top rivalry games in all of college football. Ohio State will face Indiana next Saturday in the Big Ten Championship Game. In a game with little national consequence, Minnesota defeated Wisconsin to take home the Paul Bunyan Axe trophy. The most notable part of that game was the absolute blizzard it was played in.
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| The Europeans enjoying the Tailgate Connect Rutgers Tailgate |
SEC – On Friday, the country witnessed the University of Texas knocking off previously undefeated Texas A&M by a score of 27–17. Texas, with three losses, still believes it has an outside chance of making the College Football Playoff. On Saturday, in perhaps one of the ugliest offensive games I have witnessed, Oklahoma defeated a feisty LSU squad 17–13 in Norman, Oklahoma. By all accounts, Oklahoma has secured a berth in the College Football Playoff, as they had arguably the toughest schedule of all Division I teams. In another classic rivalry, Alabama had all it could handle from an inspired Auburn team, narrowly escaping with a 27–20 victory. Alabama will face Georgia next Saturday in the SEC Championship. Vanderbilt, behind their brash quarterback Diego Pavia, who backs up his smack talk with results, took down the mighty Volunteers of Tennessee in Knoxville to claim state supremacy. Vanderbilt, with two losses, also stakes a claim for a Playoff berth, but is clearly on the outside looking in.
ACC – Miami took care of business by annihilating Pitt 38–7 at Pitt’s home field. Miami is in position to secure a College Football Playoff berth as well. Elsewhere in the ACC, in the Commonwealth Cup, the University of Virginia knocked off rival Virginia Tech to secure a spot in the ACC Championship Game. This is Virginia’s best season in many years. Perhaps the biggest upset of the weekend came when SMU was knocked off by Cal a week after Cal had fired its coach, knocking SMU out of ACC Championship contention.
Big 12 – In the Territorial Cup, the University of Arizona traveled to Tempe and knocked off the slightly favored Arizona State Sun Devils 23–7. Texas Tech traveled to Morgantown, West Virginia, and put the biggest home beatdown on the Mountaineers since 1891, winning 49–0. Texas Tech will face BYU in the Big 12 Championship next weekend.
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| The view from my couch |
Group of Five (GoF) – In the American Conference, the University of North Texas and Tulane both easily defeated their opponents and will face off in the Conference Championship next week, with perhaps the winner earning a bid to the College Football Playoff. Their biggest competition is James Madison, who continued to steamroll their opponents in the Sun Belt Conference by demolishing Coastal Carolina 59–10.
FCS – Yale, in the playoffs for the first time ever (due to Ivy League restrictions), found themselves down 42–14 to Youngstown State with 3 minutes left in the third quarter. Most people would have assumed the game was over, but Yale mounted perhaps one of the greatest comebacks ever, coming all the way back to defeat the Penguins 43–42. They now advance to the second round of the FCS playoffs.
Division II – My beloved alma mater, Frostburg State, traveled to Cal State Pennsylvania and walked away with the victory, advancing to the third round of the Division II playoffs. They will face Kutztown State next Saturday.
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| The Heineman clan celebrating the Frostburg win |
Conference Championship Games
Bieber Award
This week’s winner is Lane Kiffin, and all the drama he created around this hallowed weekend of college football with his decision on whether to stay at Ole Miss, which is in the College Football Playoff, or leave for more money to SEC rival LSU. Despite all the great games on TV throughout the weekend, the college football world was dominated by the news of his decision. This is reminiscent of LeBron James’ “The Decision” when he took his talents to South Beach to chase a championship with a bought team in Miami. There is no doubt Lane is a very good coach who has done a great job at Ole Miss, but he is a man prone to leave excellent programs for what he believes are greener pastures. Let me remind you of what he did to the University of Tennessee after only one year, jumping ship to USC. Karma bit him in the ass a year and a half later when he was fired on the tarmac after losing a road game under then-athletic director Pat Haden. As of this writing, Kiffin made his final decision to leave, after having made all kinds of crazy demands to Ole Miss before he officially departed. He was given a proper Mississippi send off by angered fans when he and the four coaches he stole from Ole Miss boarded a private jet for LSU. Mr. Kiffin, just make sure when the movers come to your house in Oxford, Mississippi, that they also have room to take your giant, life-size statue of the Bieber trophy. Just remember: LSU expects a national championship every year, whereas Ole Miss was content with 10 wins each season and a bowl game.
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| Might rename the award as The Kiffin |
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