Projected BCS Championship:
1. OSU - Preseason, I had them 11-1 with a loss this week to Penn State. Clearly, OSU is better and Penn State is worse than early opinions. I am very biases, so obviously I see them running the table and playing in the big show.
2. Boston College - They haven't played anyone of real substance other than Georgia Tech, which is fine. But like OSU, they will be tested severely from here on out. BC has to get through #8 Va Tech on Thursday in Blacksburg, Florida State, at Maryland, at Clemson, and then home against Miami. I'm guessing they lose two of these games, against Va Tech and Clemson, both on the road, and drop into the teens.
3. LSU - LSU has survived again. Before it was against Florida on a gutsy call, and now against Auburn on a gutsier call. Les Miles has stones the size of Casaba melons, that's for sure. These guys have tough wins against Va Tech, South Carolina, Florida, and Auburn...all at home. Their only road ranked game, they lost to Kentucky in triple OT. LSU finds a way and really only has two very tough games left. They play on the road against Alabama and then play in a nuetral SEC Championship game, likely against Florida or Kentucky, both games they struggled with. They also play unranked Arkansas at home. I see them losing the SEC Championship game to a Florida team that dominated them for 58 minutes, before losing at the end of the game.
4. Arizona State - ASU has not played or beaten a single ranked team, and while that doesn't mean a whole lot because of how dominating they've looked in most of those games, they also have the meat of the schedule in front of them, starting this weekend against Cal at home. They still have to play Cal and USC at home, Oregon and UCLA on the road. I see these guys losing two of these, likely to Oregon on the road and against USC, and maybe a 3rd to Cal this week if they haven't cashed in their chips after a tough loss to UCLA last week. ASU finishes 9-3 or 10-2.
5. Oregon - Oregon has tough wins over Michigan (better than initially thought) and Washington, but lost to the only other currently ranked team they played, Cal. That was a tough game and they fell a yard or two short of tying it up in the late minutes or Oregon is #2 right now. As has been our theme, the meat is in front of them still with games at home against Arizona State and USC, both top 15 teams, and a road trip to UCLA in late November. I see Oregon losing one of these, likely to USC this week.
6. Oklahoma - After losing a heart breaker to Colorado, despite dominating them in the 1st half of the game 24-0, Oklahoma has taken apart Texas and Missouri, both ranked teams. These guys don't play a single ranked team to close out the season, with games left against Texas A&M, Baylor, Texas Tech, and Oklahoma State. None are pushovers, but Oklahoma should be sizeable favorites in each. Then they have to get through the Big 12 championship, which right now, looks like either Kansas or a Missouri team they already hung 41 on in their first matchup. I see Oklahoma running the table from here on out.
My National Championship Game prediction:
Ohio State vs. Oklahoma
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