I’ve managed to go this entire college football season without posting about football.

Until now.

Tonight’s the championship game, and it’s Alabama vs Notre Dame. And Alabama will win.

I could go on and on about how great the SEC is, and how much I despise media-darling Notre Dame. But I won’t. You feel free, though.

I know, in the great scheme of things, it doesn’t matter. It’s just a football game. Big fellows running around on grass playing a game. But, things that do matter aren’t going so well right now, so college football it is.

Who do YOU think will win?

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It’s football season.

Not Arena Football. I worry those guys playing indoor like that might knock over a lamp, and boy will dad be pissed.

Not NFL football. If I want to watch a bunch of over-hyped egos acting like fools, I’ll watch pro wrestling or MSNBC.

Not Canadian football. But it is kinda cute how they think that’s football, eh?

No, I’m talking real football. College football.

You got your Division 1-A (the PC weenies call it FBS, but they’re weenies) where all the big schools play. But you also got your Division 1-AA (what PC weenies call FCS) where the slightly smaller, but still pretty big schools play. They actually have a playoff system, but they’ve expanded it too big and will screw it up like basketball did.

Then, there’s the other division: II and III. That’s where some really good talent plays, plus the players that get kicked off the Georgia squad for getting in fights, drinking, smoking weed, carrying guns, and generally thinking they’ve enrolled at Florida State University at Athens. But besides the screw-ups from Division 1-A, they’ve got some talent at those levels.

There’s also NAIA or something. This is where some good players that couldn’t get scholarships to other schools, or couldn’t afford to get too far from home, play. Still, there’s some real talent there.

Bottom line is: college football is back.

Now, I’m not going to be going on and on about how great the SEC teams are and how the other conferences just don’t measure up. I’ll let the last six national championships say that.

No, I’m offering the fans the chance to sound off about their team in the comments. Be nice. Well, mostly nice.

Oh, heck, it’s football. Just don’t draw any blood. Or not much, anyway.

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If you’re a football fan, get ready for my last college football post here at IMAO. If you’re not a college football fan, you can skip this post as you plan for your 17-day Hawaii vacation.
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The 2011 college football season is winding down, and it’s conference championship week, with seven of the six conference with championship games holding those games. That math may seem a little skewed, but that’s how this season has gone.

Two of the conferences have already held their championship games, with Northern Illinois winning the Mid-America championship game and a berth in the GoDaddy.com bowl, and Oregon winning the Pac-12 and a spot in the Rose Bowl.

If you’re not a football fan, don’t worry. We’ll find something shiny for you to play with.
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It’s finally here. The last week of the 2011 college football season. Unless you count games played next week. And the week after.

So, in a sport where teams at the highest level play 12 regular season games, we’re at week 13, with more ahead of us.

There are two kinds of people in this world: those that love college football, those that would rather go shopping, and those that understand why the Big Ten has 12 teams while the Big 12 has ten teams.

If you’re not one of those, you may want to skip ahead to something else. Frank will get up soon, see another post about football, then write something about a book he’s hawking, so you have that to look forward to.
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As the 2011 college football season winds to a close, teams are jockeying for position to wind up in the top two in the BCS. Emphasis on the B and the S.

Until the powers that be admit that a playoff system is the way to go, college football fans are stuck with the current nonsense.

Supporters of the BCS maintain that the best two teams always end up playing anyway, but that’s not true. Fully half of the teams that have played in the big game since the 1998 season would have been mighty lucky to have survived a playoff bracket, and part of being a champion is stepping up when it counts.

Twelve weeks into the season, it’s time for us to step up and let you know who’s gonna lose this week. No “gimme” games this week. Okay, maybe a couple. But we are altering the format slightly. Still picking games from my state (Georgia), Harvey’s state (Wisconsin), and Frank’s state (Iowa, Idaho, one of them states out there). Still picking matchups between Top 25 teams. And, instead of only-game-on matchups, we’ll look at the teams in the BCS hunt.

If you don’t care for college football, you got an alternative: the new Twilight movie is out and you and the rest of the girls and Nancy Boys can go watch it. The men and the really cool chicks will be watching college football.
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We’re nearing the end of the college football season, and the number of unbeatens is getting smaller each week. There are five unbeaten teams remaining, ranging from Number One LSU to Number 11 Houston. But some of the once-beatens are still in the mix, and one might get the championship game nod over an unbeaten.

Is that fair? Well, nothing’s fair, until we get a playoff. I got the playoff plan, but the folks running the show won’t listen to me.

Of course, some of you don’t want to listen to — or read — these picks. Which means that you must hate college football and are a communist. Or a Gloria Allred client.

Sit back and find out who’s gonna lose this week.
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Following another stellar week of picking who’s gonna lose in college football, I stand at a perfect 100% with my picks. If only the teams I picked were as good in carrying out my picks.

Some of you don’t care for college football or these picks. I’m thinking it might be because Herman Cain didn’t sexually harass you. I’ll put in a call and see what I can do to fix that. At a minimum, I’ll see if I can get Mark Block to blow smoke in your face.
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The 9th week of the 2011 college football season is upon us, and we’re getting closer and closer to the big showdown in January between the SEC champion and this year’s victim. Heading into the week, there are 8 unbeaten teams: two in the SEC and 6 trying to earn a spot in the game against one of them.

Except for LSU and Alabama, the top two teams, the other six don’t play each other, so there could be as many as 7 undefeated teams at the end of the season. Personally, I hope that happens. Anything that helps make the case for a playoff is a good thing. If they had a playoff, Houston, Boise State, Clemson, or any of the others that are likely to get left out would truly have a chance. But the NCAA won’t listen to me.

It’s time to check out the schedule and see what big games are scheduled. We’ll look at the matchups between ranked teams, games involving teams from my state, Frank J‘s state, and Harvey‘s state. And a few of the other games where the game is the only game on the boob tube.

If you don’t like college football, you must be a Ron Paul supporter. If you do, let’s see if we can figure out who’s gonna lose this week.
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As this year’s college football season creeps along, you’d think that none of the games matter until November, when Alabama and LSU square off, then in December when Oklahoma and Oklahoma State do their battle. That is, if all you did was listen to the hype.

Truth of the matter is that there is no such thing as a meaningless college football game. If you don’t believe me, go ask the players. Games that don’t lead up to the so-called national championship game in January do matter a great deal. And that so-called national championship game really isn’t, until they implement a playoff. I have the perfect solution to that. I’ve talked about it in past seasons, and might share my brilliance with you again this year. But not this week.

If you don’t like college football, then there’s little hope for you. If you are a fan, you might not agree with this week’s picks. But that’s part of the fun of being a fan.
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Throughout the first six weeks of the season, our perfect record remains intact. Some of the teams got the results wrong, of course, but our picks were, as always, on the mark.

As the season progresses, more interesting matchups will occur, as ranked teams face ranked teams, and traditional rivalries show up on the schedule. This is the time of the year that real Americans enjoy — especially college football fans.

Unless you’d rather join the football-hating un-American Occupy Wall Street crowd, you’re ready for another episode of us picking who’s gonna lose.
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After another perfect slate of predictions last week, I continue on a roll of getting all the picks correct. Some of the game outcomes were wrong, but the picks were dead on target.

And, unless you secretly want to work for the TSA or are a Troy Davis supporter, you’re ready for another round of picking who’s gonna lose this week in college football.
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Barack Obama and communists don’t like college football. Just sayin’.

So, if you are Barack Obama, a communist, or just don’t care about college football, there’s nothing to see here.

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The most important issue of the day? Jobs? Turmoil in the Mideast? Taxes?

No. Then what?

Who’s gonna win the game, of course. Which game? Doesn’t matter. Everybody’s got a game.

I can’t help tell you who’ll win the game, though. I may be able to tell you who’s gonna lose, though. You can figure out who wins from there.
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If you came here looking for something humorous, you’re out of luck. Frank J has teh funneh, but he’s out of town for a few days.

If you came here looking for keen political insight, you’re also out of luck. Because all you got is Obama speechifying and making the stock markets drop another 300+ points. So, nothing new there.

What else is there?

Well, if you checked that calendar you got as a gift last Christmas and thought, “Gosh, that’s a lame Christmas gift,” then you’ll see that it’s September … and that calendars are actually pretty cool. Because they tell you when it’s time for … college football!

That’s means it’s time for another installment of “Who’s Gonna Lose” … which is sort of like Leonard’s Losers, except Leonard’s dead and most of you don’t remember him. I’m certainly no Leonard Postosties, but I can pick a loser in college football. After all, I’m a fan of Georgia Bulldogs football and it’s the 2011 season. How can you argue with credentials like that?

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It’s not that I don’t know how to talk smack. It’s just that my college football team sucks.

Georgia came off a 7-loss season, and the pollsters saw fit to rank them. Of course, these are the same pollsters that ranked Notre Dame, so there you go.

If you expect me to say that Boise State’s a better team than Georgia, then you’d be right. Of course, last night didn’t show me that. Watching Georgia for the last few years showed me that.

Boise State wanted respect. Some will give it to them now, though grudgingly.

I’m sounding like a sore loser, aren’t I?

Okay. I don’t like losing. But, I shouldn’t rain on the parade of the winners of last night’s game. The Boise State team won and the Boise State fans should be happy. And, with a Mountain West Conference schedule, they should run the table. So, maybe they’ll get a chance to play in a really big game at the end of the year. If so, I wish them the best. Unless they play the SEC champ (which won’t be Georgia).

Last night, Boise State spanked Georgia. It’s like they were punishing them for wearing such ugly uniforms.

Of course, other than talent and execution, Georgia was the best team on the field. Or, one of the top two teams playing in that game, at least.

I still don’t understand Georgia’s strategy of drive downfield, sputter, miss field goal or punt. Sometimes I wonder if Mark Richt is a double agent. And if Mike Bobo isn’t his accomplice. And whoever the Bulldog’s fashion designer is. They ought to fire all three, starting with the person who let Nike design the uniforms. Must have been somebody from Oregon.

Georgia has a lot of problems, from the president of the university down. But, they are problems they created themselves, so they must find a way of dealing with them.

Getting spanked by Boise State isn’t the way to do it.

I have no faith that Georgia will turn it around. And, replacing Mark Richt and staff won’t do it either. Until the president of the university is run out of town on a rail, things won’t get better at Georgia.

Though Georgia likely won’t benefit from last night’s loss, perhaps Boise State will.

They earned it.

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Frank started it.

Really. Of course, on his blog, he can say whatever he wants. But really: “watch … as Boise State whups Georgia!”

Yeah, how’d that work last time? Not too good!

And this year, Georgia will win again, despite the fact Boise State is favored. Can you believe that? Just because Georgia is coming off a 7-loss season.

And lost 10 players to academics or the state penal system or something.

And Georgia having no backfield except a true freshman from a class AA (2nd smallest out of 5 classifications) school.

Why don’t these things matter? Because, unlike several of his high school teammates, that running back has yet to be arrested.

And, because Georgia will be wearing some Nike uniforms that are teh ghey. Plus, if they end up competing on Light Cycles, Georgia has the uniform for that.

Plus, there’s the pressure factor. If Georgia doesn’t win, there will be an uprising among the fans for the school to fire their Fashion Designer.

Hmmm. I’m thinking I’m not doing too good when it comes to talking smack.

Maybe if Georgia gave me some ammunition…

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Somebody mentioned something about “professional football” the other day. I simply thought they were talking about Auburn and Cam Newton. But, no. As it turns out, there is an organization that consists of grown men playing football on Sunday afternoons.

Who knew?

It’s almost like real football, like they play on college campuses on Saturdays. Or Fridays, if you have a small college, or high school.

But, this group of people are something called the “Eneffell.” I think that’s how it’s pronounced, anyway. Like the letters “N,” “F,” and “L” all rolled together.

I’m not sure. The thought of grown men getting together and playing a kids game? It seems to me it would attract all kinds of riff-raff. Like potheads, murderers, rapists, Chris Rock look-alikes, and other irreputable types.

I prefer the real football. College football.

The players still get paid. Or their dads do. Or their dad’s churches do.

But, they only hang around for four years, then move on to selling drugs or knocking over liquor stores. Or becoming potheads, murderers, rapists, or Chris Rock look-alikes.

The college game even has playoffs and a championship. For three levels. And could have one for a fourth, if someone would just come up with a good plan.

Anyway, this “Eneffell?” I don’t think it’ll last.

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Thinking about a solution to the BCS problem, I came up with a 16-team playoff system, using conference champions as the top 11 slots, with wild card teams filling out the field of 16.

But some don’t like that. Some complain that teams like Troy or Buffalo shouldn’t make the mix while better teams like Oklahoma State, Georgia Tech, Brigham Young, or Ball State are left out.

So, if its the best teams that should fill the field of 16, then there’s an easy solution:

1. Florida
2. Alabama
3. Georgia
4. Mississippi
5. Louisiana State
6. South Carolina
7. Vanderbilt
8. Kentucky
9. Arkansas
10. Tennessee
11. Auburn
12. Mississippi State
13. Oklahoma
14. Texas
15. Southern California
16. Utah

Problem solved.

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The mythical college football championship game is set. And lots of people are not happy.

Me? I don’t have a dog in the hunt. Or Dawg, to be specific.

Still, there are some unhappy campers. And I’m in that group. Despite my not having a team of interest in the mix … or close to the mix … I’m in the unhappy group because … well, let’s face it: I have strong opinions.

But I do more than just whine about something I don’t like; I have a solution.

Check that.

I have THE solution: A 16-team playoff that uses the BCS for seeding.

Automatic Bids

There are 11 conferences. The 11 conference champions get an automatic spot. The remaining 5 spots … call them “wild card” spots … would be taken up by the top teams in the BCS standings that don’t get an automatic berth.

Here are the 11 conference champions, listed alphabetically by conference:

Wild Card Teams

Here are the top five teams (according to the BCS) that did not win their conference.

There are two ways of doing the seeding.

One is using the BCS to rank them, plain and simple.

But that’s too plain and simple for me. I actually like the way the NFL does it. In the NFL, the division champs get the top seeds, and the wild cards get the leftover slots, regardless of record.

For instance, in 2007, Tampa Bay was the #4 seed in the NFC, winning the South with a 9-7 record, while the Giants were the #5 seed, despite having 10-6 record. Likewise, Pittsburgh took the AFC North with a 10-6 record, and were seeded 4th, while Jacksonville, sporting a better record (11-5), was 5th seed, since they didn’t win their division.

Seeding

Using that as a model, here’s the 2008 NCAA Division I-A (using the older name) playoff seeding:

Matchups

This will set up some interesting matchups:

• (16) Texas Christian at (1) Oklahoma
• (15) Ohio State at (2) Florida
• (14) Texas Tech at (3) Southern California
• (13) Alabama at (4) Utah
• (12) Texas at (5) Penn State
• (11) Buffalo at (6) Boise State
• (10) Troy at (7) Cincinnati
• (9) East Carolina at (8) Virginia Tech

The 8 winners would play the following week, with the top 4 remaining seeds hosting the bottom 4 remaining seeds. The 8 first-round losers and the 4 second-round losers would get bowl invitations. And pretty good bowl invitations, in all likelihood.

The final four would play as part of the January 1st bowl games. The final two would play a week later for the real … not mythical … championship.

Problem solved.

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