"Where, Oh Where, Will LeBron James Go?" Part II

As promised, here’s a run down on some of the King’s more probable options for 2010:

New York Knicks
This is the team that got the most votes in the ESPN poll and the one that has had the most talk. Knowing that LeBron James wants to win championships, I can't really see him going to New York unless they make some moves to get some better players. He's not going to leave Cleveland to go play in New York just because it's New York. He wants to win and you win with good players. Not only do they need to get players that will make LeBron feel like they could win a championship, but they also have to clear out enough CAP room to be able to pay him what he wants. The Knicks have two years to try and build a team that would fit this criteria, and as I see it, it doesn’t seem all that likely.

Euroleague Team
A Euroleague team wouldn't bring LeBron James an NBA Championship. It would, however, bring James other things such as a big fat paycheck and International fame; something I'm sure King James would enjoy, but he hasn't came right out and said it yet. During the 2008 Beijing Olympics, he did ponder, “You never know....I can't throw all my eggs in one basket. There's going to be a lot of opportunities for me in 2010 to decide if I want to stay with Cleveland or if I want to go elsewhere. Could I ever imagine [playing internationally]? No. Is it a possibility? Yes.” He was also quoted as saying, “I haven't talked to any of them at all....So it's kind of a rumor that was put out there...With the right opportunity, you never know. I love basketball. So I'll play basketball anywhere.”

One of his Olympic teammates, Carmelo Anthony, said, “If somebody throws $50 million on the table for me...We can talk.”

Another teammate, Chris Paul, said, “What would you do? Show me a person that's not going [to take the money]...Maybe Bill Gates.”

So you can see that a big pay check from a Euroleague team could easily sway a person to go overseas and play ball and though LeBron has made it clear that a championship is his main priority, a Euroleague team could still be a viable option.

Cleveland Cavaliers
Cleveland is the place where LeBron James's NBA legacy has started and the place where the Cavaliers would like it to see it end, I’m sure. Lebron James has expressed the need for better players around him and the team has made moves to try and bring players in that they think would work best for him. So far, however, they haven't found the right mix to win a championship. James isn't out of Cleveland yet and if the Cavs find the players the fit in with James, then I could definitely see him staying in Cleveland.

LeBron James has said, “I am focused on the team I am on right now and winning a championship.”
He has also has said about the Cavs, “I think we have made strides since I have been here. We have gotten better every year and I think this year is probably the best team we've had since I have been here. You got to see how the season plays out. Just because you have a different team, with different players, doesn't automatically guarantee you a championship. I have to be smart about things and be patient.”

So can the Cavaliers put together that championship team before 2010 to keep James in Cleveland? That is the multi-million dollar question.

2010 is still two years away and a lot can change from now to then, but one thing will stay the same: LeBron James wants to win championships. For teams that want to acquire King James, they will have to build a championship team for him to play on. The team that builds the best team in the next two years will have the best shot at grabbing James from free agency; it’s that simple. There will be a lot for James to think about in the near future and with plenty of scenarios, it’s still anyone’s guess as to where he might end up. The safe money is on Cleveland, with his roots, his home, his family, and a huge fan support already in place, but after looking at the options, there's no telling how many other teams may jump into the mix as 2010 grows closer. You never know, he might end up on a team that isn’t even listed in that ESPN poll…Who knows…Not James, not ESPN, and definitely not me!

This blog is courtesy of Bertman. A big thank you to him!

Check out Bertman’s fresh sports blog, “Sports Never End” for more great sports info, where sports truly never end.

Ksquared's Fearless College Football Predictions - Week 13

The semi-snoozer that was Week 12 has come and gone - Now on to Week 13, which is slated to be a hurricane of big games. The Michigan-Ohio State rivalry never ceases to please and the Texas Tech-Oklahoma game looks to be an incredible offensive shoot-out, not to mention all of the bowl game implications.

Without further ado...

#2 Texas Tech at #5 Oklahoma - 8:00 pm ET
My Prediction: Texas Tech 38 - Oklahoma 32

Citadel at #4 Florida - 1:30 pm ET
My Prediction: Florida 63 - Citadel 3

#14 Brigham Young at #7 Utah - 6:00 pm ET
My Prediction: Brigham Young 23 - Utah 21

#15 Michigan State at #8 Penn State - 3:30 pm ET
My Prediction: Michigan State 18 - Penn State 17

#9 Boise State at Nevada - 4:05 pm ET
My Prediction: Boise State 38 - Nevada 21

Michigan at #10 Ohio State - 12:00 pm ET
My Prediction: Ohio State 40 - Michigan 10

Air Force at #16 TCU - 3:30 pm ET
My Prediction: TCU 17 - Air Force 10

#17 Ball State at Central Michigan - Friday, 7:00 pm ET
My Prediction: Ball State 32 - Central Michigan 24

Mississippi at #18 LSU - 3:30 pm ET
My Prediction: LSU 32 - Mississippi 17

#20 Pittsburgh at #19 Cincinnati - 7:00 pm ET
My Prediction: Cincinnati 27 - Pittsburgh 20

#21 Oregon State at Arizona - 7:00 pm ET
My Prediction: Arizona 21 - Oregon State 17

North Carolina State at #22 North Carolina - 12:00 pm ET
My Prediction: North Carolina 31 - North Carolina State 10

#23 Miami (FL) at Georgia Tech - Thursday, 7:30 pm ET
My Prediction: Georgia Tech 17 - Miami (FL) 9

Florida State at #25 Maryland - 7:45 pm ET
My Prediction: Florida State 24 - Maryland 17

So here's how it shakes down:

• Texas Tech owns their destiny after a HUGE win in Norman
• BYU answers Boise State's (and the BCS Panel's) prayers
• Michigan State pulls out a squeaker in Happy Valley
• Ohio State clinches a Rose Bowl berth (with the PSU loss)
• Cincinnati takes care of business to put them in total control of the Big East
• Arizona gives USC their deserved Rose Bowl shot (a USC-OSU rematch)
• Georgia Tech eliminates Miami from the Top 25 (and puts themselves back in)
• and Maryland continues their schizophrenic persona.

There you have it. Enjoy this awesome action-packed Saturday and be safe! Cheers!

Ksquared's Revised College Football Bowl Predictions

New Mexico Bowl:Colorado State vs. Nevada

St. Petersburg Bowl: West Virginia vs. Marshall

Pioneer Las Vegas Bowl: TCU vs. Arizona

Eagle Bank Bowl: Miami (FL) vs. Navy

R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl: Troy vs. UTEP

San Diego Cty. Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl: Air Force vs. Hawaii

Sheraton Hawaii Bowl: Stanford vs. Fresno State

Motor City Bowl: Iowa vs. Central Michigan

Meineke Car Care Bowl: Boston College vs. Cincinnati

Champs Sports: Virginia vs. Northwestern

Emerald Bowl: Virginia Tech vs. Oregon State

Independence Bowl: Kansas State vs. Tennessee

PapaJohns.com Bowl: South Florida vs. Kentucky

Valero Alamo Bowl: Illinois vs. Missouri

Roady's Humanitarian Bowl: San Jose State vs. Wake Forest

Texas Bowl: Colorado vs. Rice

Pacific Life Holiday Bowl: Oklahoma State vs. Oregon

Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl: BYU vs. East Carolina

Brut Sun: Nebraska vs. California

Gaylord Hotels Music City Bowl: Maryland vs. Ole Miss

Insight Bowl: Minnesota vs. Kansas

Chick-fil-a Bowl: North Carolina vs. Auburn

Outback Bowl: Michigan State vs. South Carolina

Capital One Bowl: Ohio State vs. LSU

Konica Minolta Gator Bowl: Georgia Tech vs. Notre Dame

AT&T Cotton Bowl: Georgia vs. Oklahoma

AutoZone Liberty Bowl: Tulsa vs. Vanderbilt

International Bowl: Connecticut vs. Western Michigan

GMAC Bowl: Houston vs. Ball State

Rose Bowl presented by Citi: Penn State vs. USC

Fedex Orange Bowl: Florida State vs. Pittsburgh

Allstate Sugar Bowl: Alabama vs. Boise State

Tostitos Fiesta Bowl: Texas vs. Utah

Fedex BCS National Championship Game: Florida vs. Texas Tech

Notes: Two non-BCS teams in BCS games...Texas Tech, who was ranked 14th in the Preseason Coaches Poll, has a chance to win it all...The Orange Bowl would be a snoozer, so hopefully I'm wrong...Ohio State-LSU would actually be a fun Capital One Bowl and Georgia-Oklahoma would be a sweet Cotton Bowl.

Ksquared's Revised College Football Top 25

Time for a little shuffle, shuffle...

1. Texas Tech - Alabama is playing well, but NOBODY is playing better than the Red Raiders.
2. Florida - They are playing the most balanced football on both sides of the ball than anyone up to this point.
3. Alabama - Many people have them number one, but head-to-head, I don't see even Saban beating Florida or Tech right now.
4. Texas - I can't see them beating any of the top three teams. Funny that their fate rests in the hands of Oklahoma...And yet, if Oklahoma wins, could jump Texas in the BCS standings and take the Big 12 South anyway.
5. Oklahoma - The Sooners are NOT better than Texas, but if they beat Texas Tech, voters will have a hard time not leap-frogging them above Texas.
6. USC - Still playing solid ball, but their offense has not been impressive at all. Just go to the Rose Bowl already.
7. Penn State - This was bound to happen...Cold, rainy weather can kill a spread offense - even a spread HD - and guess what, it's November.
8. Boise State - Top-to-bottom, I truly believe Boise State is better than Utah...Too bad we'll never know.
9. Ohio State - Buckeye fans across the nation will be rooting for Michigan State to do what Ohio State couldn't - beat Penn State. PSU wins, PSU goes to the Rose Bowl, MSU wins, OSU goes to the Rose Bowl...Pretty simple.
10. Utah - Utah definitely has some good wins, but I'm still not convinced they are a top-eschelon team - Michigan and TCU does not a tough schedule make.
11. Oklahoma State - They showed signs of brilliance and I think everyone was rooting for them to make a run...Alas, it was not to be.
12. Georgia - If Georgia had some defense, they would be a heck of lot better...Unfortunately, they don't.
13. Missouri - Same as Georgia.
14. LSU - It is tough to see LSU this far down, but they've earned it. They've lost twice to ranked teams at home.
15. Ball State - After watching a full game of Davis throwing the ball, I have to drink a little of the Dave Letterman kool-aid...This team matches up with almost anybody.
16. Michigan State - Sure you're in the Top 25, but anyone below Ball State should be looking towards next year. Anyone except ACC teams, of course, who are still battling for an Orange Bowl bid.
17. Florida State - Bobby Bowden is back! Now, Florida State fans, it is finally time to start cheering. The Seminoles look like a renewed team right now with a very young offense.
18. Pittsburgh - Which team will show up this week - the team that beat South Florida or the team that lost to Rutgers?
19. North Carolina - Wouldn't a Florida State-North Carolina ACC Championship matchup be great?
20. Cincinnati - What a great story this is...With a win over Pitt, the Bearcats could be looking at a Big East title.
21. TCU - Just 3 points from giving Boise State a clear shot at a BCS bowl bid...And now TCU is on the outside looking in.
22. Brigham Young - BYU is still overrated in most polls, but they are definitely a scoring machine.
23. Virginia Tech - I have to give Mr. Beamer some respect...Virginia tech is playing some good football right now. It's not going to be enough, but they are better than I gave them credit for earlier this season, if it's any consolation.
24. Tulsa - Who else do I put here?
25. South Carolina - and here? There aren't enough teams that are worthy.

And there you have it. Again, note that I never made a pre-season poll and that I pick my Top 25 fresh from the current conference standings alone and who I think would win in head-to-head match-ups. If you disagree, tell me why I'm wrong...I'd love to hear from you.

Coming up next: Ksquared's Week 12 Predictions.

Cheers!

Going Over Ksquared's Week 11 College Football Predictions

Not my best week, by any means, but still solid. More importantly, one team solidified themselves as a true National Title contender (Texas Tech) and another dropped out of the race altogether (Penn State). Oh, and Nick Saban is still God.

#1 Alabama at #16 LSU - 3:30 pm ET
My Prediction: Alabama 32 - LSU 17
What Happened: Alabama 27 - LSU 21 (OT)
What it Means: Miles is losing his reputation as the overtime King and Saban is establishing himself as one of the most talented college coaches of our time. Alabama is now set up for an easy run to the SEC Championship and is he can pull out a victory there (probably against Florida), he will have taken 'Bama to the National Championship game in his SECOND season!

#9 Oklahoma State at #2 Texas Tech - 8:00 pm ET
My Prediction: Texas Tech 38 - Oklahoma State 30
What Happened: Texas Tech 56 - Oklahoma State 20
What it Means: Texas Tech is legit. I expected them to win, but Oklahoma State is a pretty darn good team and I didn't expect it to be a blowout. When my revised Top 25 comes out in a bit, I have to put them number one, even above God Saban. They just look too dominant on offense. Somebody tell me, who can possibly stop that passing attack?

#3 Penn State at Iowa - 3:30 pm ET
My Prediction: Penn State 30 - Iowa 14
What Happened: Iowa 24 - Penn State 23
What it Means: Everyone who is not a Penn State fan can breathe a collective sigh of relief - the chances of seeing a Big Ten team in the National Championship game after Penn State's loss is nearly nil. Barring a loss to Michigan State, Penn State looks like a lock for the Rose Bowl where they will probably get a shot against USC.

Baylor at #4 Texas - 12:00 pm ET
My Prediction: Texas 48 - Baylor 21
What Happened: Texas 45 - Baylor 21
What it Means: Nothing. Ho hum.

#5 Florida at Vanderbilt - 8:00 pm ET
My Prediction: Florida 28 - Vanderbilt 3
What Happened: Florida 42 - Vanderbilt 14
What it Means: Vanderbilt continues to prove how overrated they were at the beginning of the season and Florida continues to win in an impressive fashion. Florida is going to be looking forward to facing Alabama in the SEC Title game...They better not look too far ahead, though, as they've had trouble with Spurrier and South Carolina in the past.

#6 Oklahoma at Texas A&M - 3:30 pm ET
My Prediction: Oklahoma 45 - Texas A&M 21
What Happened: Oklahoma 66 - Texas A&M 28
What it Means: Bob Stoops has no mercy and Oklahoma wants style points. Style points, however, won't matter if they can't take care of business against Texas Tech next week. And, yet again, the game of the century is happening next week. How many "Games of the Century" can there be in two seasons?

#21 California at #7 USC - 8:00 pm ET
My Prediction: California 24 - USC 21
What Happened: USC 17 - California 3
What it Means: USC's offense is overrated (reference Arizona and California), but they're defense is for real. Cushing and Maualuga are by far the best DB tendem in the league and they will both be playing on Sunday. It's a good thing, too, because the USC offense has sputtered as of late.

#12 TCU at #8 Utah - Thursday, 8:00 pm ET
My Prediction: TCU 31 - Utah 17
What Happened: Utah 13 - TCU 10
What it Means: I underestimated the Utah defensive front. This team can definitely step it up when it needs to. The TCU defense did it's job, but because the offense couldn't produce, they can wave bye-bye to a BCS bid (and Boise State can wave with them).

Utah State at #10 Boise State - 2:00 pm ET
My Prediction: Boise State 35 - Utah State 10
What Happened: Boise State 49 - Utah State 14
What it Means: Nada. Boise State, who may be a better team than Utah, has less quality wins (wins like this one), and will miss out on a BCS bid, even going undefeated.

#11 Ohio State at #24 Northwestern - 12:00 pm ET
My Prediction: Ohio State 28 - Northwestern 3
What Happened: Ohio State 45 - Northwestern 10
What it Means: Pryor is not going away any time soon. His first real taste of failure (in football and in college) did nothing but make him stronger. Talk about domination...Ohio State wiped the floor with what looked like a pretty good Northwestern team.

#13 Georgia at Kentucky - 12:30 pm ET
My Prediction: Georgia 38 - Kentucky 13
What Happened: Georgia 42 - Kentucky 38
What it Means: Georgia continues to unimpress. They're defense is like swiss cheese, with holes all over the place. This is a Kentucky team that Florida beat 63-5. Sorry Georgia, maybe next year.

Kansas State at #14 Missouri - 7:00 pm ET
My Prediction: Missouri 50 - Kansas State 35
What Happened: Missouri 41 - Kansas State 24
What it Means: As much as Texas' victory over Baylor.

San Diego State at #15 BYU - 2:00 pm ET
My Prediction: BYU 32 - San Diego State 24
What Happened: BYU 41 - San Diego State 12
What it Means: Surprisingly little. BYU already punched it's ticket to obscurity.

Northern Illinois at #17 Ball State - Wednesday, 8:00 pm ET
My Prediction: Ball State 42 - Northern Illinois 21
What Happened: Ball State 45 - Northern Illinois 14
What it Means: In the one game critics truly thought Ball State could lose after beating Indiana, they didn't. They won huge. I think everyone's kind of wondering just how good this team is. We'll never know.

Purdue at #18 Michigan State - 12:00 pm ET
My Prediction: Michigan State 32 - Purdue 20
What Happened: Michigan State 21 - Purdue 7
What it Means: Michigan State has a bye and one more big game to prove they are deserving of a Top 25 spot and a big bowl bid. However, even if they beat Penn State, they need Ohio State to lose another game, which doesn't seem likely at this point.

#20 Georgia Tech at #19 North Carolina - 12:00 pm ET
My Prediction: Georgia Tech 17 - North Carolina 13
What Happened: North Carolina 28 - Georgia Tech 7
What it Means: Who knows what the heck anything means in the ACC?!? Georgia Tech looks good, then they look horrible. North Carolina looks horrible, then they look good. Maryland looks horrible, then good, then bad, then great, then amazing, then horrible again. Everyone in this league is schizphrenic. Go ahead, I dare you to predict who goes to the Orange Bowl in January.

Clemson at #22 Florida State - 3:30 pm ET
My Prediction: Florida State 26 - Clemson 17
What Happened: Florida State 41 - Clemson 27
What it Means: Florida State continues to impress, but as stated above, this conference is as unstable as Brittany Spears and FSU has two tough games upcoming which will determine who plays in the ACC Championship. I have to say, a Florida State-North Carolina Championship game would be a good one.

#23 Maryland at Virginia Tech - 7:30 pm ET
My Prediction: Maryland 34 - Virginia Tech 10
What Happened: Virginia Tech 23 - Maryland 13
What it Means: Anything can happen on any given day in the ACC. My worries with the Terps were put at ease at the start of the game when Scott ran onto the field. And then they got outmuscled for the rest of the game. I give up.

Cincinnati at #25 West Virginia - 7:00 pm ET
My Prediction: West Virginia 25 - Cincinnati 18
What Happened: Cincinnati 26 - West Virginia 23
What it Means: Cincinnati played a great game and put themselves in a pretty good position in the Big East. The fate of the Bearcats is in their hands and if they can beat Pittsburgh at home in a couple of weeks, they are looking at taking the conference. Kudos to Brian Kelly for making believers out of his squad.

My worst week yet, I went 13-6, bringing my season total to 87-26 (.770). Again, nothing to shake a stick at, but for me to hit my goal of .800, I am really going to have kick some butt next week...and I expect to.

Stay tuned for my revised Top 25 as well as my revised Bowl Projections. Cheers!

Some Quick Notes From Around the College Football World

• Though I have Maryland winning against Virginia Tech this weekend, I have become somewhat doubtful with reports that Da'Rell Scott will not be even close to 100% come Saturday. He is an integral part of keeping the Terps offense balanced and without him churning for tough yards, the Hokies stout defense will have a field day picking off passes in deep coverage. Nonetheless, I'm sticking with my pick, hoping the offensive line will step it up just a notch knowing that Scott will need some running roon to be successful.
• Another worrisome pick that comes to mind is my upset of California over the much-touted USC. With Riley out again this week (and it looks like that is the case), if the pick-happy Longshore comes to play, my pick won't jsut be wrong, it will look ridiculous. Longshore has zero turnovers and I maintain my pick (which I am doing), but even one turnover and I think USC takes this game.
• I expect Terelle Pryor and the Buckeyes to respond with resounding confidence against Northwestern this Saturday. Though bye weeks have not been good to them in the past, this week is different...The Buckeyes are pissed (and more unified than ever)...And I do not believe that the same uneasy Pryor we saw two weeks ago will be playing against the Wildcats.

Texas Tech has done it, Georgia Tech and Maryland in good position, Florida looks incredible

Some news and notes from the wild weekend of college football.

• And I quote a very well-written sports blog, "As it comes down the stretch into the fourth quarter, I expect Tech to be down by a touchdown or so, but their pass-first persona will serve it's purpose perfectly as they pass their way to a come-from-behind victory." And so it was, as Tech made it's National Championship hopes a much more realistic possibility.
• With Georgia Tech's win over Florida State, Georgia Tech and Maryland are in prime position to get into a nice little bowl game. In fact, as predicted in a very intelligent sports blog, Maryland is in great position to take the spot in the FedEx Orange Bowl. At the very least, Maryland is in control of it's own destiny now. Win out the season, and the Terps' struggles early-season are forgotten.
• Florida actually may be the best team in college football right now and if they continue to play well into December, Alabama will be in trouble in the SEC Championship. Florida should be watching the Big 12 situation closely, as a couple losses from one Big 12 team to another would clear the path for them to be back in the National Championship, as predicted in this famous sports blog.

A few shameless plugs and some great predictions...That's what this blog is all about!

Stay tuned for going over this past weekend's predictions and what it means to the BCS layout, as well as the predictions going forward. Cheers!

NCAA Football Bowl Predictions

Per a GREAT request, I offer my first Bowl Predictions of the season. For sure as a top 5 team will fall, I will be amending this list, but as it stands, here's my take.

Let's start with the snooze-fests and work our way to the National Championship:

New Mexico Bowl: Air Force vs. Nevada
St. Petersburg Bowl: Pittsburgh vs. Marshall
Pioneer Las Vegas Bowl: TCU vs. Arizona
Eagle Bank Bowl: Miami (FL) vs. Navy
R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl: Troy vs. UTEP
San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl: BYU vs. Hawaii
Sheraton Hawaii Bowl: Stanford vs. Fresno State
Motor City Bowl: Wisconsin vs. Central Michigan
Meineke Car Care Bowl: Boston College vs. Cincinnati
Champs Sports: Virginia vs. Northwestern
Emerald Bowl: Virginia Tech vs. Oregon State
Independence Bowl: Kansas State vs. Tennessee
PapaJohns.com Bowl: South Florida vs. Kentucky
Valero Alamo Bowl: Illinois vs. Missouri
Roady's Humanitarian Bowl: San Jose State vs. Wake Forest
Texas Bowl: Colorado vs. Rice
Pacific Life Holiday Bowl: Oklahoma State vs. Oregon
Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl: Utah vs. East Carolina
Brut Sun: Nebraska vs. California
Gaylord Hotels Music City Bowl: Florida State vs. Ole Miss
Insight Bowl: Iowa vs. Kansas
Chick-fil-a Bowl: North Carolina vs. Auburn
Outback Bowl: Michigan State vs. Vanderbilt
Capital One Bowl: Minnesota vs. LSU
Konica Minolta Gator Bowl: Georgia Tech vs. Notre Dame
AT&T Cotton Bowl: Georgia vs. Texas Tech
AutoZone Liberty Bowl: Tulsa vs. South Carolina
International Bowl: Connecticut vs. Western Michigan
GMAC Bowl: Houston vs. Ball State

Rose Bowl presented by Citi: Ohio State vs. USC
Fedex Orange Bowl: Maryland vs. West Virginia
Allstate Sugar Bowl: Alabama vs. Texas
Tostitos Fiesta Bowl: Oklahoma vs. Boise State
Fedex BCS National Championship Game: Florida vs. Penn State

Random Notes:
Texas Tech beats Texas, Texas Tech loses a game or two, Florida beats Georgia, Florida wins SEC Championship by beating Alabama...Done.

If what I predict happens, people will probably be calling the Sugar Bowl the true National Championship.

This could be the season of rematches with Boise State-Oklahoma and Ohio State-USC.

The ACC isn't very strong top-to-bottom against other conferences, but they are definitely the hardest conference to figure out to this point. The next two weeks should clear things up a bit.

Willingham's Replacement, Penn State Doesn't Deserve the NC, Florida-Georgia Game Huge, Other Notes of Interest

From around the country, here's the buzz:

Rivals.com, with many supporters, believes Penn State doesn't deserve the National Championship berth...No matter what. I can't say I can argue the point with any intelligent banter. And so the uproar begins, and only moments after a Penn State win over Ohio State that makes a Nittany Lions undefeated season likely. Enough uproar, and as I have predicted earlier, Penn State, even undefeated, will be nowhere near Miami come January.

It kind of goes without saying that the winner of Texas at Texas Tech this weekend will determine the favorite for the Big 12's donation to the National Championship game, but as Chris Low from ESPN writes, Alabama may not be the shoo-in that everyone thinks, making the Georgia-Florida game just that much more meaningful. If Alabama loses even one game, he believes, there will be no time to climb back up the polls. Florida and Georgia, on the other hand, already took their beating and have begun their climb back to the top, so whoever comes out of the game in Jacksonville unscathed may be the favorite to go to Miami.

If you haven't heard about Texas Tech's new PAT kicker, read this. The kid's story could be turned into a made-for-TV-movie for sure. The question is, how does the story end?

After Ty Willingham's announcement that he will voluntarily step down as Washington's head coach at the end of the season, Dennis Dodd is already conjecturing as to who the replacement will be.

Does anyone care about the ACC right now? No? Then don't read Heather Dinich's breakdown of the ACC finishing possibilities...but if you're a college football fan at all, it's actually pretty intriguing. Even if you don't care about the ACC, read this heartwarming story about a certin Duke Blue Devil's emotional victory after the Vanderbilt upset this weekend (thanks to Heather again for this link).