The Happiest Time of the Year (Part 2)

Well, the regular season has ended and now the second "Happiest Time of the Year" has begun with the College Football Bowl Season underway (for those not sure of the first "Happiest Time of the Year", it's when the college season begins).

The first three bowl games gave very little for college football fans to cheer about (unless you are a fan of BYU, Troy or Northern Illinois) as all three were blowouts and never competitive.  Fortunately, the Beef 'O' Brady Bowl between Southern Miss and Louisville provided a much closer game and some hope that the rest of the bowl season is going to give us compelling games and exciting finishes all leading up to the climactic showdown between Auburn and Oregon in what will hopefully be a legendary game.

And speaking of legendary...the Big Ten's announcement of their new divisions, Legends and Leaders was met with the derision it properly deserved.  Who did the research on this and who was the committee that thought this was a good idea?  Legends and Leaders?  Why not just call them Douchebags and Tools, since that what the rest of the NCAA conferences think of those names.  North and South couldn't work?  East and Midwest?  How about Lakes and Plains?  No, the forward thinking Big Ten had to come up with something no one could have seen coming and then are surprised that they got slammed for how stupid the names are and are already considering changing them after the inaugural season.

But with the discussion about how stupid the division names are, people are missing the other inexplicable reveal from the announcement.  The new conference logo.  Okay, Big Ten.  When Penn State joined the conference, you kept the name and reworked the logo to have an 11 hidden in the words Big Ten.  But now that Nebraska has joined, and you have twelve teams, you can't keep calling yourselves the Big Ten.  Is counting not a requirement for entrance?  Does the word "ten" have some other meaning that only you're aware of?  And while I see the "1" being used as an "I" in the logo, where is the "2" for the twelfth team?  Is the "G" supposed to be a "0"?  I'm confused by what you're trying to do.  Rename those divisions as soon as possible, burn all the merchandise you made up with those names, fire the people responsible for them and get your conference name changed to something with a 12 in it or do it like the SEC, where the number of teams can change but your name stays the same.  If you need help with this, send me an e-mail...I'm happy to help.

The Top 10

A shake up in the Top 10 with the losses by Boise State and LSU.

1. Oregon - Still unbeaten, took Arizona behind the woodshed and the information coming out about Cal faking injuries to slow down the Ducks offense makes that close score in my eyes more of an aberration than a real solution to the Oregon offense.  The Civil War against Oregon State is always tricky, but the Ducks look like they're going to get their shot.
2. Auburn - Incredible comeback against Alabama (and 'Bama should have been up by almost 40) but the questions still linger about Cam Newton.  The NCAA's decision regarding his eligibility is going to open a Pandora's Box in the future.  Many others have written about what this means and the double standard that the NCAA has with SEC schools already.  I think USC has a legitimate beef to go after the NCAA with the sanctions they imposed on them for Reggie Bush's parents taking money if Auburn gets to still keep going when Cam's dad is whoring his son out to the highest bidder.  In a just world, South Carolina will destroy Auburn this weekend by 17 or more.
3. TCU - They're unbeaten, they're smoking people and they have an outside shot at the title.  Their move to the Big East is interesting and while it gets them into an automatic qualifier conference for football, how's that travel going to work out for swimming, track and field, baseball, volleyball, etc.?  If the Mountain West could have hung on to BYU and Utah as well as TCU, the MWC would be looking at taking the Big East's automatic berth away with Boise State, Nevada and Fresno State coming in next year.
4. Wisconsin - You put up 70+ points three times in a year, you're going to get noticed.  The Badgers are destroying everybody and hopefully with get the opportunity to play...
5. Stanford - The Cardinal are a hard-nosed team on offense and defense and a Rose Bowl against Wisconsin would make the Big Ten and Pac-10 extremely happy.  If Stanford gets hosed out of a BCS berth because they "dont' travel well", it will just further prove how corrupt the system is.  Don't we want to see the best teams play on the field?
6. Boise State - So close.  Less than probably three feet away from having the field goal that gives them the win after the spectacular Kellen Moore to Titus Young pass-reception.  And for those of us that despise the BCS system, they were our best hope.  Nevada played a hell of a game in the second half and the Broncos dropped passes that should have been caught that ended drives and their kicker is probably beating himself up daily.  The real tragedy is with the terrible bowl tie-ins, Boise is going to end up in some pre-New Year's Eve bowl and everyone will think they're not that good because they couldn't get to a New Year's Day bowl.  Yeah, that fourth place ACC vs fifth place SEC team will certainly have better teams than Boise State.
7. Michigan State - They beat Wisconsin and didn't get a shot at Ohio State.  Unfortunately, they had that absolute Justin Beiber suck job against Iowa.  On a neutral field, right now, the Badgers beat Sparty.
8. Arkansas - Big win against LSU, they play in the SEC and they're on a roll. 
9. Virginia Tech - Ten wins in a row and they have a shot for a 12-win season after dropping the first two games of the season.
10. Nebraska - You're here for this week, Cornhuskers, but it's tenuous and Oklahoma can take your place with a win in the Big-12 title game.