Week Fourteen

NOBODY ASKED ME, BUT … let’s just say I hate conferences that are divided into divisions so they can have a championship game … take the Pac-12, for example, which has only three capable football teams playing the game this fall: Stanford, Oregon and USC … and one of those, USC, is ineligible for any kind of a post-season, including the Pac-12 championship game, due to NCAA penalties … Stanford and Oregon are both in the North Division, and since the Ducks chopped down the Tree in their meeting earlier this month, Oregon will host the championship game this Friday night in Eugene … the South Division, meanwhile, is a mess … going into last weekend’s final regular-season games, three teams – Utah, Arizona State and UCLA – had division title hopes dancing in their silly heads, even if none of them are any good … but, Arizona State lost to Cal on Friday night, Utah lost to woeful Colorado early Saturday afternoon, and by the time Saturday night arrived, only UCLA was left standing … which means the Bruins claimed the South Division crown without even picking up a first down … that, of course, didn’t stop the Bruins from playing their scheduled game in the LA Coliseum against archrival USC … so how did the Bruins celebrate their South Division title and upcoming trip to Eugene? … if you guessed by dropping a 50-0 decision to the hated Trojans, move to the head of the class … the Bruins are now 6-6, and with an expected loss to the Ducks Friday night, will need a special dispensation from the Pope to become bowl eligible … and I ask you, is this any way to crown a league champion? … heck, if you want a real championship game matching teams that actually know how to play the game, how about a Stanford-Oregon rematch? … oh yeah, I forgot, they’re in the same division …

This week’s picks for the final week of the regular season are as follows:

OREGON over UCLA … the first-ever Pac-12 championship game is a bust. Conference officials need to go back to the drawing board to prevent such an embarrassing mismatch from ever happening again. The Ducks are loaded. The Bruins aren’t. This one gives new meaning to the expression “backing into” the championship game. Oregon by 99.

LSU over GEORGIA … at least the SEC championship game has a pair of worthy opponents. The last hurdle for LSU before chasing the national championship come Jan. 9 in New Orleans. Bengals by 20.

WISCONSIN over MICHIGAN STATE … but for a couple of last-second Hail Marys, the Badgers might be playing in New Orleans next month. Badgers by 14.

HOUSTON over SOUTHERN MISS … there are only two unbeatens in the entire country and Houston is one of them, but the Cougars simply can’t earn any respect no matter how many points they score. I will say this, though, if Case Keenum were quarterbacking a “name” team, he’d win the Heisman. He’s that good. Cougars by 4.

VIRGINIA TECH over CLEMSON … the Hokies still think they deserve a spot in the national championship game. They don’t. Hokies by 3.

OKLAHOMA STATE over OKLAHOMA … both of these teams had national championship visions dancing in their heads, but both will fall short. In this one, the Cowboys simply have too much offense. Cowboys by 8.

BAYLOR over TEXAS … the Bears are a team on the rise. Bears by 12.

BRIGHAM YOUNG over HAWAII … speaking of teams on the rise, watch out for the Cougars next year. BYU by 24.

BOISE STATE over NEW MEXIC O … the biggest mismatch of the season. Another close-but-no-cigar season for the Broncos. Boise by 65.

OTHER GAMES: Cincinnati over Connecticut, Kansas State over Iowa State, Wyoming over Colorado State, TCU over UNLV, Utah State over New Mexico State, Nevada over Idaho, and San Diego State over Fresno State.

Last week: 33-4, season: 417-112, percentage: .788.