It's that time of the year: College Football!!!

[plvarona]

I'm definitely with everyone else regarding all those upsets this weekend.  Crazy enough for you?

At least both of my teams were able to avoid the upset bug, although not without some tense moments.  First, Georgia Tech was able to hold off Dook, although the Blue Devils just wouldn't go away.  Then Florida decided to not show up for the first quarter before finally taking care of business against Furman.  That game was a lot scarier than it should have been.  Both of my teams now face major in-state rivalries, and both will likely be huge underdogs (as they should be.)  We'll see if either one can pull it out, but I think the most likely scenario is that both of my teams lose next weekend.

BTW, I had a good laugh when I saw Virginia beat Florida State.

[Vlad!]

Now, let's get back to reality where we have to prepare for a shockingly difficult game against the 'Hoos, followed (let's hope) by a rematch versus the Orange Tigers.

Har har, my career as a prognosticator is still going nowhere. We completely facestomped the Wahoos, so on to the Clemson rematch...

'Tis a sad day indeed, as Auburn failed to win the day and looked lame, sick, and dying against the Crimson Tide. No real surprises otherwise (except the epic NC State comeback, what in the world?), though SCAR making Clemson look stupid can't be good for the Hokies.

What's annoying this year--and I don't remember this being quite so annoying in previous years--is that of the top 5, two of those teams will not be playing for their conference championship (Alabama and Stanford). That Stanford get to sit pretty at number 4 while #10 Oregon (who beat them) have to go on to play the 6-6 UCLA Bruins just seems wrong. And that 'Bama get to chillax at #2 while LSU play the Bullpuppies for the SEC title is ludicrous. I realize that not being in charge of your own destiny is a dicey proposition for a team, but unless OSU manage to impressively trounce the Sooners then the NCG will likely be a rematch.

So what happens if we impressively trounce Clemson, LSU somehow lose to Georgia, and OSU lose to OU? That would make for an interesting BCS bowl of porridge.

[RedcoatJones]

I hate it for plvarona, but I really enjoyed watching UGA pass all over the Jackets. Georgia's D actually did a respectable job getting the Jacket O out of rhythm, and being behind 21 is never good for a team built on the run and ball control.

Congrats to your Hokies, Vlad. We were spending Thanksgiving with some VT grads and watched their game when the Dawgs-Jackets game wrapped up. Very impressive face-stomping.

And I would suggest no one ever watch the FSU-UF game again. Egads! That game made the Bama-LSU game look like an offensive shootout.

[Vlad!]

Someone forgot to tell the Bulldogs not to eat the complimentary popcorn provided by LSU. It was loaded up with extra butter.

[Vlad!]

I am just amazed and dumbfounded at how completely outmatched the Hokies were. Clemson just came out bigger, stronger, and faster...nothing we tried worked.

David Wilson was obviously not 100%, and the Tigers had their Eye on him the entire game. He was just plain shut down, and without him we really have no offense. Logan Thomas had about three seconds to get a pass off before the pass rush brought him down, so we couldn't even shift to an air game.

Most startling, though, were our defensive failures. The pass coverage was just plain nonexistent, and it seemed like Clemson could pick up 10 yards on the rush at will.

What frustrates me is that I think the Hokies are a better team than that. I don't know what happened--maybe they were just physically outmatched, or maybe Clemson just noticed that we only really have two plays that get us anything on offense--but in any case, the team I saw play last night were not a team that deserved to play in the Orange Bowl.

[RedcoatJones]

in any case, the team I saw play last night were not a team that deserved to play in the Orange Bowl.

Instead they get the Sugar Bowl!

I was thrilled with the first half of the SEC Championship and resigned the entire second half. I never expected to beat LSU, but after the first half, the second half was that much more demoralizing.

However, improving from 6-7 last year to 10-3 this year and match-up with a good Michigan State team in the Outback Bowl has been fun. I've really enjoyed watching this team grow. And nearly everyone is back next year, so I'm hoping this is just the beginning.

[Vlad!]

Instead they get the Sugar Bowl!

I'm not sure what's up with that. I was expecting something more like the Chick-fil-a bowl

Kind of makes the BCS look a bit ridiculous. Well, guess I shouldn't complain. My alma mater will get a lot of money from it, and it's good for us to get in the news for something other than psychopaths occasionally.

[Vlad!]

I wasn't going to post anything, mostly out of bitterness, but I do have to comment that it must be pretty lucrative to be a ref. The ones officiating the Sugar Bowl clearly were on the take from Michigan.

[Aaron]

I wasn't going to post anything, mostly out of bitterness, but I do have to comment that it must be pretty lucrative to be a ref. The ones officiating the Sugar Bowl clearly were on the take from Michigan.

or perhaps VaTech forgets to realize that people know they'll try some goofy trick plays on special teams and Michigan was ready for them...or that the running back should just fall down for a 2 yard gain instead of going backwards for a 20 yard loss....or VT shouldn't let Denard Robinson get his usual garbage TD passes.  VT could have won that game but they screwed themselves in the first quarter by only getting field goals. It was a horrid game on both sides.

[RedcoatJones]

Could have been worse. You could have been Clemson.

Or Georgia, who blew a 16 point lead in the second half and actually knelt the ball in OT, making our flaky kicker have to kick a LONGER kick (which of course he missed).

[plvarona]

Georgia Tech didn't do too much better.  They managed to blow a 14-point lead in the 4th quarter.  It would have been one thing if they lost due to an epic comedy of errors, but instead their offense just didn't do anything in the 4th quarter and they let that mighty Utah offense waltz through their defense.  Even despite the collapse, the Jackets still could have won in regulation, but missed the game-winning field goal.  Then they turned around and lost in overtime.  Painful indeed.

At least the Gators salvaged this bowl season by winning the "Urban Meyer" bowl.  Granted, we needed the special teams to bail us out, but it's still a win.  As painful as the season was, at least it ended well for the Gators.