Big 12 South: The road to KC

The final week of the regular season in the Big 12 didn’t bring many surprises, besides the victory of Kansas over Mizzou. In the South, all three contenders for the championship and the right to play next week in Kansas City for the Big 12 title won their games. Texas had a pretty easy and solid game against Texas A&M. Beating the Aggies 49-9 showed that Texas hasn’t slowed down and is the front-runner in the eyes of many. Especially since the Longhorns have beaten the Sooners on a neutral field.

Oklahoma makes a strong case as well. Beating the ranked 12 Oklahoma State Cowboys by 20 points and scoring over 60 points in the last four games, the Sooners are the team that is most impressive at the end of the regular season. Especially since one of those over-60 games was against Texas Tech, then ranked number 2 in the BCS. The loss against the Longhorns makes this a very tough decision.

Texas Tech barely won the game at home against Baylor, a loss would have handed the Big 12 South to Texas. In my opinion, the performance against Oklahoma takes Texas Tech out of the race for the Big 12 title game. Getting a beating like that shows you’re not good enough to compete in the final weeks of the season. And with the performance against Baylor not impressive as well, it’s basically between the Longhorns and Sooners.

Which team should represent the Big 12 South in Kansas City? In my view that would be the Sooners. Their performance in recent weeks has been impressive and makes the loss against Texas less relevant. Also, they should be rewarded for playing against stronger opponents outside their own conference.

But this doesn’t mean that Texas is completely out of the picture. In fact, if the Sooners go to KC and lose to Mizzou, Texas will play either Alabama or Florida for the National Championship. Missouri made sure they won’t be considered for that game, even if they beat a much stronger opponent from the Big 12 South. Losing to Kansas ended their season at 9-3, they would have had a chance and a good argument if they would have finished 11-2 after the title game. But either Texas or Oklahoma will finish with one loss, so even if Mizzou wins the Big 12 Championship next week, one of those teams will be ranked higher. And the representative of the Big 12 South better makes sure they win the game next week, otherwise their biggest will play in Miami.

Update: The USA Today poll for this week has Oklahoma 1 point ahead of Texas. The waiting is for the Harris poll (which had Oklahoma ahead last week) and the computer rankings. Based on the tougher opponent this week for Oklahoma, I think the Sooners will be going to Kansas City and face Missouri.

Update 2: As expected, Oklahoma jumped ahead of Texas due to the strength of their schedule in the computer rankings. They will now face the Missouri Tigers and every Longhorn fan is praying for an upset by Mizzou next week.

Final 2007 rankings

I’ve had a busy week, so I didn’t have time to post my opinion on the final AP rankings. And of course, a chance to compare them with my own rankings. My rankings are presented between the brackets.

1. LSU (1): National champ and the logical pick for the number 1 spot. Lots of talent leaving, so I don’t expect LSU to compete for the title next year. But right now, that doesn’t matter much for the fans.
2. Georgia (3): Like I mentioned, close call between Georgia and USC. It’s just a matter of taste, not very much between them. But with the talent on the team, I expect to see Georgia in the National Championship game next year.
3. USC (2): I preferred USC, but I’m not allowed to vote. Together with Georgia a true contender next year, if they can keep the squad healthy and don’t lose too many players to the draft.
4. Missouri (7): Ranked too high in my opinion, even when they played great against Arkansas. Missouri has a favorable schedule next year (like Kansas this year) and has a good shot at the Big 12 Championship.
5. Ohio State (5): Dropped a bit after disappointing in the BCS game. But still a strong team and looking good for next year. Although I expect Michigan to be a better competitor than this year.
6. West Virginia (4): I valued their win higher, giving them a better spot in my rankings. Good ending to the season, but it looks a bit grim for next year.
7. Kansas (6): Too little respect for the rise of the Jayhawks. Sure, they had a pretty weak schedule. But they were in the race until the last regular game against Missouri. And they surprised everyone with the win in the Orange Bowl. Next year will be tough, with Oklahoma, Texas and Texas Tech returning on their schedule.
8. Oklahoma (NR): I only ranked 8 teams, I preferred Michigan above Oklahoma. Oklahoma disappointed me in their bowl game, but they are on their way back to the top. Next season looks good, but that’s the case for a number of teams.

The full AP Rankings can be found here. This will most likely complete my posting on college football for a while. But with the draft coming up and the rumors for the new season already starting, that while might turn in a very short while.

My rankings after the BCS Bowl games

Time to touch a controversial and highly personal topic: the ranking of the teams. Always open for debate, deciding which team did best is a hard job. Especially when you’re living in Europe and have to rely on little information.

My rankings:

1. LSU Tigers: I have to go with the champs as my number one team. They did a great job this season, battling through tough games.
2. USC Trojans: This one is tricky and I have Georgia as a close third. But for me, the Trojans were more impressive in their win over Illinois.
3. Georgia Bulldogs: Great game against Hawaii. No doubt they should’ve played against the Trojans in the Rose Bowl (or even the National Championship game).
4. West Virginia Mountaineers: They wrecked Oklahoma, the team I thought was one of the best at the end of the season. I was wrong and award the Mountaineers as my number 4 pick.
5. Ohio State Buckeyes: Losing twice in a row when competing for the title is tough. But they are still a solid team.
6. Kansas Jayhawks: I pick Kansas over Missouri. The victory in the Orange Bowl was as unexpected as well-deserved, which impressed me more than Missouri’s game.
7. Missouri Tigers: Very close to Kansas (and I don’t mean geographically) and impressive against Arkansas. They should’ve played in a BCS game, but didn’t. So their status got a little bit bumped.
8. Michigan Wolverines: I know, I rank Michigan probably too high. But they’ve shown they really can play really good football. The game against the Gators was great and showed that Ohio State will have it’s hands full next year.

So, those are my picks. Now we just have to wait for the final AP rankings.

Kansas beats Virginia Tech in Orange Bowl

I must admit, I was also one of the people who thought Missouri should have represented the Big 12 along Oklahoma. But I was wrong, Kansas played their best game of the season and showed they had every right to be in the Orange Bowl.

Before the game, Virginia Tech looked better in every aspect of the game. During the game, the Kansas defense really took off and proved everybody wrong by forcing 3 turnovers and sacking the QB 5 times. Even on special teams, normally a speciality of the Hokies, the Jayhawks played big with a blocked field goal attempt and a fake punt.

In short, I didn’t expect the Jayhawks to win. I picked them in my prediction for reasons that had nothing to do with skills on the football field. I’m glad they did beat the Hokies. Not only do I go 3-1 with my picks for the BCS Bowls, but I know a lot of people in Kansas will be happy. Including some of the people I care about.

Update on my picks:
Rose Bowl: USC beats Illinois, correct pick
Sugar Bowl: Georgia beats Hawaii, correct pick
Fiesta Bowl: WVU beats OU, wrong pick
Orange Bowl: Kansas beats VT, correct pick