BG Bowl Pick Em

[Byrd]

Cincinnati's got a cakewalk fucking schedule next year, but they're losing 10 of 11 starters on defense and most of the offensive line. So I have to put all my trust in Brian Kelly.

If they are losing that much of their starting lineup, I think talking undefeated is a big stretch, regardless of their schedule. Their toughest game might be their first -- a road game at Oregon State is a rough start to the year. The Beavers have most of their offense coming back, a reasonable amount of their defense, and a warmup game against a patsy. Their biggest hits are on the D line, so that might be good news for Cincy's inexperienced O-line. Then again, OSU does tend to start the season slow, so maybe the Bearcats are arriving at the perfect time.

[Plow]

I didn't realize Cinci was losing that much. I knew it was an experienced team, but I thought it was more juniors than seniors heh.


There's other interesting possibilities for next year too. Virginia Tech, by the end of the year, could well be considered one of the hardest schedules in the country. If they come out with 1 loss, they may deserve consideration as well, depending on how it all looks by then.

Miami is another team that will be fun to watch. The early game against Oklahoma could have big implications in the end. Georgia Tech and Virginia Tech are likely their biggest challenges after that, and I think they're capable of winning out after the Oklahoma game. If they could somehow pull off the win... that could make things quite interesting.

Oregon plays Boise St. and Utah early next year. They were playing as well as anybody in the Pac-10 coming into the bowl game. Utah is probably losing too much to be a real factor, but that Boise State game could be huge for either school if Oregon shows well the rest of the year.

[Byrd]

Oregon plays Boise St. and Utah early next year. They were playing as well as anybody in the Pac-10 coming into the bowl game. Utah is probably losing too much to be a real factor, but that Boise State game could be huge for either school if Oregon shows well the rest of the year.

Oregon's conference schedule is really advantageous next year.

@ Boise State
vs. Purdue
vs. Utah
vs. Cal
vs. WSU
@ UCLA
@ Washington
vs. USC
@ Stanford
vs. Arizona State
@ Arizona
vs. Oregon State

If they can get past Boise State in their first game (no gimme), their toughest Pac-10 opponents (USC, Cal, OSU) are all at home. With USC losing Sanchez and a ton of coaches, the Ducks will be a popular pick to stop USC's Pac-10 championship streak next year. And it pains me to say it, but if they can play with any sort of consistency, they have the talent to do it.

[Plow]

Oregon's conference schedule is really advantageous next year.

@ Boise State
vs. Purdue
vs. Utah
vs. Cal
vs. WSU
@ UCLA
@ Washington
vs. USC
@ Stanford
vs. Arizona State
@ Arizona
vs. Oregon State

If they can get past Boise State in their first game (no gimme), their toughest Pac-10 opponents (USC, Cal, OSU) are all at home. With USC losing Sanchez and a ton of coaches, the Ducks will be a popular pick to stop USC's Pac-10 championship streak next year. And it pains me to say it, but if they can play with any sort of consistency, they have the talent to do it.

Boise St. won @ Oregon this year, I think the question is, if Boise beats Oregon, and Orgeon then runs the table, or at least only finishes with 1 more loss and wins the Pac-10, does Boise get nc consideration?

Unfortunately Boise is slow as fuck in setting up their schedule and only have like 3-4 games confirmed for this year lol.

[Byrd]

Unfortunately Boise is slow as fuck in setting up their schedule and only have like 3-4 games confirmed for this year lol.

I think that's a WAC thing, at least judging from this website.

Oregon
at Toledo
UC Davis
Miami (Ohio)
at Tulsa

WAC Home Games: San Jose State, New Mexico State, Idaho, Nevada

WAC Road Games: Louisiana Tech, Hawai’i, Utah State, Fresno State

I think the question is, if Boise beats Oregon, and Oregon then runs the table, or at least only finishes with 1 more loss and wins the Pac-10, does Boise get nc consideration?

Utah had a similar situation with Oregon State this year, benefitting from the Beavers' publicity-garnering (although failed) run for the Roses. But the Utes also had a significantly stronger conference than Boise State did, which I think is at least as important in getting into the Top 2. This year, BYU and TCU being in the top 20 was very important to Utah's national rankings (pre-Sugar Bowl). Boise State didn't have that same advantage this year; conference strength was, I think, a key reason that Utah finished ahead of BSU in the final BCS standings this year.

For Boise State to push seriously into national championship consideration, I think you would need some important WAC non-conference wins, and a couple of teams (Fresno State and ... Hawaii, maybe) would have to rise to the national rankings for Boise State to get any serious consideration, and have all the BCS conference champions have at least one loss.