Here we are heading into the final weekend of the college football season and it appears only West Virginia has lived up its lofty pre-season expectations. However, before we get ahead of ourselves the Mountaineers have one game left to play, that being against their most heated rival, the Pitt Panthers in a game called the “Backyard Brawl.”
Ohio State and Georgia are two schools wishing West Virginia would just go away, but that is unlikely. The Mountaineers are favored by a lofty 28 ½ point chalk, according to oddsmakers at Sportsbook.com.
No. 3 Ohio State should probably hinge its hopes on No. 1 Missouri losing to No. 9 Oklahoma in the BIG XII Championship Game Saturday night (8 p.m. ET, ABC). The Tigers go into the game as +3 point underdogs. The only blemish on the Tigers schedule came at the hands of OU in a 31-41 loss back on October 13 in Norman. Mizzou needs the win before it can play in the BCS Championship Game while the Sooners need the win to have any chance of getting a bid to a BCS bowl. The loser will most likely have to face Darren McFadden and No. 25 (USA-Today/Coaches) Arkansas in the Cotton Bowl if projections prove correct.
It will be interesting to see how No 7 LSU will respond after its disappointing loss to Arkansas last week when it faces No. 19 Tennessee. An LSU win will give the Tigers an outright SEC Championship and a berth in the Sugar Bowl against Hawaii. If LSU loses, it would play in the Cotton Bowl by virtue of its place in the SEC West Standings over Arkansas. Oddsmakers like LSU to win having them installed a 7 ½ point favorite. The Volunteers should not be a push-over entering the game on a 5-game winning streak. It is in Tennessee’s favor that LSU might have hang-over from the Arkansas loss and its focus diverted to its coach, Les Miles, flirting with Michigan over its job vacancy.
The No. 4 Georgia Bulldogs have the best chance of getting to the championship game of the 2-loss teams. In order for that to happen, both Missouri and West Virginia must lose. This scenario would allow Georgia to play Ohio State for a national championship.
Two-loss teams,Virginia Tech, LSU, USC and Oklahoma are simply too far down in the rankings to have any reasonable chance of playing in the championship game providing both Missouri and West Virginia lose their games.
No. 6 Virginia Tech gets its re-match with No. 11 Boston College in the ACC Championship game to be played in Jacksonville, Fla., at 1:00 p.m. ET Saturday. The Hokies are 4 ½ point favorites to win that game. The winner gets the automatic bid as ACC champ to the Orange Bowl to play Georgia; providing all the previously discussed scenarios don’t come into play.
Will No. 12 Hawaii from the WAC qualify for a BCS bowl? The answer to that question is yes. While a win over the visiting Washington Huskies isn’t guaranteed its probably going to happen. Washington started the season on fire winning its first two games against Syracuse and then defeating Boise State but since that time is a program that has fallen flat on its face. The Warriors are 14 ½ point favorites to beat Washington at Aloha Stadium.
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