Ability Defeats Destiny in Battle for National Title

If this was last year’s system for determining a champion in college football, we would have seen Ohio State take on Oregon in the Rose Bowl.  Wrapping up this season, it’s for the National Championship.

Ohio State has been through so much adversity this season, and that is just describing the quarterback situation.  Braxton Miller injured his shoulder in an early season practice.  The Buckeyes turned to J.T. Barrett.  While there were some early season struggles, including a loss to Virginia Tech, the team turned it around and was flying high.

However, against Michigan, Barrett broke his ankle.  The next man up was Cardale Jones.  In the two games he has started, he has won the Big Ten Championship Game and clinched a spot in the National Championship with a win over Alabama in the Sugar Bowl.

Ohio State seems to be a team of destiny, but Oregon may just be too good.

The Ducks are led by Heisman Trophy winning QB Marcus Mariota.  They have a high-powered offense that is predicated on being fast.  I am a firm believer in winning the time of possession battle, but Oregon seems to have found a method that also works.

Compared to past years, Oregon seems to have a more complete team than in past years.  They were not considered a favorite entering the year, but managed to find its way into the first College Football Playoff.

In picking this game, I would be more likely to pick the team of destiny.  However, Oregon really was impressive in their win in the Rose Bowl over Florida State.  This just might be the Ducks year, because they are better.  The pick of Oregon does not or is not meant to take away anything from the job Urban Meyer and the Buckeyes have done to get into this position.  To be in a situation or being competitive on your third string quarterback is simply amazing.

The pick: Oregon 45, Ohio State 34

Side Notes

• Through all of the bowls and the semifinals, the overall picking record is 313-98 (.762).  The record in the bowls and semifinals was 23-15 (.605), and 1-1 in the two semifinal games.
• The first mock NFL Draft of the offseason will come after the deadline for underclassmen to declare passes and more of the draft order is completed (a.k.a. we get to Super Bowl week.)

College Football Week 14 Picks

It is the first of the last two weeks of the College Football season.  It means tons of rivalry games.  Next week will be a mix of regular season games and conference championship games.

If you haven’t had a chance, check out the most recent bowl projections, posted earlier this week here.  Teams that need to win to be bowl eligible will be denoted with an asterisk.

Last Week:  19-7 (.731)

Overall:  261-71 (.786)

#5 TCU vs. Texas

LSU vs. Texas A&M

Stanford vs. #8 UCLA

#13 Arizona State vs. #11 Arizona

Arkansas vs. #17 Missouri

Western Kentucky vs. #24 Marshall (It is sad that an undefeated team may not be in one of the big games.)

*Virginia vs. *Virginia Tech (Winner goes to a bowl game, loser, especially if its Virginia Tech, will be extremely disappointed.)

#15 Auburn vs. #1 Alabama

#2 Oregon vs. *Oregon State

Florida vs. #3 Florida State

#4 Mississippi State vs. #19 Ole Miss

*Michigan vs. #6 Ohio State

#7 Baylor vs. Texas Tech

#16 Georgia Tech vs. #9 Georgia (This game has the potential to be one of the best of the weekend.)

#10 Michigan State vs. Penn State

Kansas vs. #12 Kansas State

#18 Minnesota vs. #14 Wisconsin (Winner in this game goes to the Big Ten Championship game against Ohio State.)

South Carolina vs. #21 Clemson (Without Deshaun Watson or an injured Watson, I don’t think Clemson can win.)

*Kentucky vs. #22 Louisville

Utah State vs. #23 Boise State (Winner could go to the Mountain West Championship game.)

#25 Utah vs. Colorado

Syracuse vs. Boston College

NC State vs. North Carolina

Wake Forest vs. Duke

*Pittsburgh vs. Miami (FL)

*Tennessee vs. Vanderbilt

College Football Week 2 Picks

Week One was a good week in my college football picks.  Not as good as last year, when I went undefeated in the first week.

This week, there are really only two marquee match-ups, South Carolina at Georgia and Notre Dame at Michigan.  Overall though, there are not really any upset picks in this week’s batch.

Last Week:  31-6 (.838)

#2 Oregon vs. Virginia

San Diego State vs. #3 Ohio State

South Carolina State vs. #4 Clemson

San Jose State vs. #5 Stanford

#6 South Carolina vs. #11 Georgia (It is hard to go against my alma mater, but Georgia QB Aaron Murray finally gets it done against South Carolina this year.)

Sam Houston State vs. #7 Texas A&M

Eastern Kentucky vs. #8 Louisville

UAB vs. #9 LSU

#12 Florida vs. Miami (FL)

#13 Oklahoma State vs. UTSA

#14 Notre Dame vs. #17 Michigan

#15 Texas vs. BYU

West Virginia vs. #16 Oklahoma (This game will be closer than people think.)

Syracuse vs. #19 Northwestern

Tennessee Tech vs. #21 Wisconsin

Southern Miss vs. #22 Nebraska

Buffalo vs. #23 Baylor

SE Louisiana vs. #24 TCU

Washington State vs. #25 USC

Wake Forest vs. Boston College

Middle Tennessee vs. North Carolina

Western Carolina vs. Virginia Tech

Old Dominion vs. Maryland

Duke vs. Memphis

Richmond vs. North Carolina State (Remember, seven FCS schools beat FBS schools last week.)

Miami (OH) vs. Kentucky

Western Kentucky vs. Tennessee

Toledo vs. Missouri

Alcorn State vs. Mississippi State

Samford vs. Arkansas

SE Missouri State vs. Ole Miss

Arkansas State vs. Auburn (Tempting to call the upset, but Gus Malzahn gets it done against his old school.)

Austin Peay vs. Vanderbilt