**** OFFICIAL College Football Week 13 Game Thread ****

[DaKCMan AP]

All times EST.

Tuesday
7:00 Akron at Toledo - ESPN2

Thursday
7:30 TCU at #16 Texas - ESPN

Friday
11:00 Ohio at #23 Kent State - ESPNU
11:00 Syracuse at Temple - ESPN2
12:00 #14 Nebraska at Iowa - ABC
1:00 Ball State at Miami (OH)
1:00 Northern Illinois at Eastern Michigan - ESPN3
2:00 Marshall at East Carolina - CBSSN
2:00 Buffalo at Bowling Green
2:30 #7 LSU at Arkansas - CBS
3:00 Utah at Colorado - FX
3:00 Central Michigan at Massachusetts
3:30 #25 Washington at Washington State - FOX
3:30 West Virginia at Iowa State - ABC
7:00 South Florida at Cincinnati - ESPN
10:00 Arizona State at #24 Arizona - ESPN

Saturday
12:00 Georgia Tech at #3 Georgia - ESPN
12:00 #18 Rutgers at Pittsburgh - ESPN2
12:00 #19 Michigan at ohio state - ABC
12:00 Connecticut at #20 Louisville - BigEN
12:00 Illinois at Northwestern - Big10N
12:00 Virginia at Virginia Tech - ESPNU
12:00 UAB at UCF
12:00 Indiana at Purdue - Big10N
12:00 Tulsa at southern Methodist - FX
12:21 Kentucky at Tennessee - SECN
12:30 Miami at Duke - ACCN
2:30 Baylor vs. Texas Tech - FOX
3:00 #5 Oregon at #15 Oregon State - PAC12N
3:00 Boston College at NC State - ESPN3
3:00 Maryland at North Carolina
3:30 Idaho at Utah state - ESPN3
3:30 Auburn at #2 Alabama - CBS
3:30 #4 Florida at #10 Florida State - ABC
3:30 #21 Oklahoma State at #13 Oklahoma - ESPN
3:30 Michigan State at Minnesota - Big10N
3:30 Vanderbilt at Wake Forest - ESPNU
3:30 BYU at New Mexico State - ESPN3
3:30 Wisconsin at Penn State - ESPN2
3:30 Tulane at HOuston
3:30 Air Force at Fresno State - NBCSN
3:30 San Diego State at Wyoming
4:30 Southern Miss at Memphis
5:00 South Alabama at Louisiana-Lafayette - ESPN3
6:00 Louisiana-Monroe at Florida International
6:30 #8 Stanford at #17 UCLA - FOX
7:00 Missouri at #9 Texas A&M - ESPN2
7:00 #12 South Carolina at #11 Clemson - ESPN
7:00 New Mexico at Colorado State
7:00 Mississippi State at Ole Miss - ESPNU
7:00 Rice at UTEP
8:00 #1 Notre Dame at USC - ABC
10:30 Louisiana Tech at San Jose State - ESPN2
11:00 UNLV at Hawaii

Enjoy the games!

[DaKCMan AP]

Originally Posted by Saulbadguy

It could be, but I highly doubt they would do that. Has there ever been a non-MNC BCS game that included 2 conference foes?

I see K-State vs Oregon in the Fiesta and OU vs Florida in the Sugar.

I don't think there has been.

Since the Fiesta has the B12 champ as an AQ the Sugar Bowl then gets first pick - which will be Florida/Bama/Georgia. Then the Fiesta gets to pick again - probably Oregon. Then the Sugar will choose the final team - likely OU or K-State.

Regardless, there will be ~4 top-10 teams shut out of the BCS.

[Saul Good]

Originally Posted by DaKCMan AP

I don't think there has been.

Since the Fiesta has the B12 champ as an AQ the Sugar Bowl then gets first pick - which will be Florida/Bama/Georgia. Then the Fiesta gets to pick again - probably Oregon. Then the Sugar will choose the final team - likely OU or K-State.

Regardless, there will be ~4 top-10 teams shut out of the BCS.

SEC teams are going to run roughshod over their bowl opponents. Those teams left out of the BCS will get matched up against inferior teams.

[DaKCMan AP]

Originally Posted by Saul Good

SEC teams are going to run roughshod over their bowl opponents. Those teams left out of the BCS will get matched up against inferior teams.

And, as usual, it will probably be something like the #2 or #3 team from a conference vs. the SEC #4 or #5 team, and the SEC will still dominate.

[Joe_Camel]

Brad Edwards' Bowl Projections: Week 13

BCS Bowls

Discover BCS National Championship Game
Miami Gardens, Florida
January 7, 2013 | 8:30 p.m. ET l ESPN
Notre Dame vs. Alabama

Tostitos Fiesta Bowl
Glendale, Arizona
January 3, 2013 | 8:30 p.m. ET l ESPN
Kansas State vs. Oregon

Allstate Sugar Bowl
New Orleans, Louisiana
January 2, 2013 | 8:30 p.m. ET l ESPN
Florida vs. Oklahoma

Discover Orange Bowl
Miami Gardens, Florida
January 1, 2013 | 8:30 p.m. ET l ESPN
Florida State vs. Rutgers

Rose Bowl presented by Vizio
Pasadena, California
January 1, 2013 | 5 p.m. ET l ESPN
Stanford vs. Nebraska

[Saul Good]

That's awesome. Georgia can't be in a BCS bowl, but Rutgers gets an auto bid.

[Saul Good]

Just saw that UCLA lost to Cal Poly last night. Wow

[Saulbadguy]

I've booked my flight/hotel to Phoenix. The KSU football cats better win on Saturday.

[Reaper16]

Originally Posted by Saul Good

Just saw that UCLA lost to Cal Poly last night. Wow

Yes. In basketball.

[Titty Meat]

Originally Posted by Saul Good

Just saw that UCLA lost to Cal Poly last night. Wow

[The Franchise]

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/ncaaf--...3Rpb25z;_ylv=3

SEC rout of Notre Dame far from guaranteed
Sun, Nov 25, 2012 3:53 PM EST

Let's say this up front: The Southeastern Conference has earned its towering superiority complex.

The smugness is based on fact, the arrogance grounded in truth. The proof is in the hardware, and six consecutive crystal footballs don't lie. It is the best college football conference in the land.

Manti Te'o and the Irish will face either Alabama or Georgia in the Jan. 7 BCS title game. (AP)But occasionally arrogance leads to blindness, or at least severe myopia. And for all the SEC elitists guaranteeing a blowout by whoever wins its league against Notre Dame in the BCS championship game, I'm here to offer an eye test.

Look at the facts, get over the regional bias and acknowledge that someone outside of Dixie might actually be good at football.

My friend Clay Travis, who runs the excellent SEC blog, "Outkick the Coverage," was the voice of SEC arrogance Sunday morning on Twitter. Quoth Clay: "Notre Dame will be destroyed by either Alabama or Georgia. Seventh best team in SEC. At best."

Let me repeat that I'm a fan of Clay's and enjoy his work, but this is ridiculous. Notre Dame may indeed lose the national title game, but I don't foresee a blowout and an Irish victory would not be an outlandish outcome (especially if the opponent is Georgia).

And anyone who believes Notre Dame would be the seventh-best team in the SEC needs to get out more.

The gist of this argument is that the Irish could not have played anywhere near the schedule of an SEC team. Unfortunately, it's completely false. Here's the reality, stacking all 12 games on the Irish ledger alongside Alabama's and Georgia's and using the Sagarin Ratings as a measuring stick:

Best opponent played: Notre Dame hosted Stanford (eighth in Sagarin), Alabama hosted Texas A&M (seventh), Georgia played Florida (fourth) at a neutral site. The Irish and Bulldogs both won close games. The Crimson Tide lost at home. Most impressive of the three: Georgia.

Second-best opponent: Notre Dame visited Oklahoma (ninth). Alabama visited LSU (11th). Georgia visited South Carolina (10th). The Irish won by 17 points, the Tide won by four in the final minute, the Bulldogs lost by four touchdowns. Most impressive of the three: Notre Dame.

Third-best opponent: Notre Dame played USC (16th) on the road, never trailed and won by nine. Alabama played Michigan (20th) at a neutral site, never trailed and won by 27. Georgia hosted Vanderbilt (29th) and won by 45. Most impressive of the three: Alabama.

Fourth-best opponent: Notre Dame played Michigan (20th) at home and won by a touchdown. Alabama played Mississippi (33rd) on the road and won by 19. Georgia hosted Mississippi (33rd) and won by 27. All three won. Most impressive of the three: Notre Dame.

Fifth-best opponent: Notre Dame hosted BYU (37th) and won by three. Alabama hosted Mississippi State (36th) and won by 31. Georgia visited Missouri (43rd) and won by 21. All three won. Most impressive of the three: Alabama.

Sixth-best opponent: Notre Dame visited Michigan State (39th) and won by 17. Alabama visited Missouri (43rd) and won by 32. Georgia visited Tennessee (54th) and won by seven. Most impressive of the three: Notre Dame.

Seventh-best opponent: Notre Dame played Miami (52nd) on a neutral field and won by 38. Alabama visited Tennessee (54th) and won by 31. Georgia hosted Georgia Tech (63rd) and won by 32. Most impressive of the three: Notre Dame.

Eighth-best opponent: Notre Dame hosted Purdue (62nd) and won by three. Alabama visited Arkansas (65th) and won by 49. Georgia visited Auburn (84th) and won by 38. Most impressive of the three: Alabama.

Ninth-best opponent: Notre Dame hosted Pittsburgh (66th) and won by three in triple overtime. Alabama hosted Western Kentucky (82nd) and won by 35. Georgia visited Kentucky (92nd) and won by five. Most impressive of the three: Notre Dame.

Tenth-best opponent: Notre Dame played Navy (73rd) at a neutral site and won by 40. Alabama hosted Auburn (84th) and won by 49. Georgia hosted Georgia Southern (99th) and won by 31. Most impressive of the three: Notre Dame.

Eleventh-best opponent: Notre Dame hosted Wake Forest (113th) and won by 38. Alabama hosted Florida Atlantic (127th) and won by 33. Georgia hosted Florida Atlantic (127th) and won by 36. Most impressive of the three: Notre Dame.

Worst opponent: Notre Dame visited Boston College (121st) and won by 15. Alabama hosted Western Carolina (204th) and won by 49. Georgia hosted Buffalo (135th) and won by 22. Most impressive of the three: Notre Dame.

Eight times out of 12, the Irish have had the most impressive performance when assessing comparable opponents. Notre Dame is 2-0 against the Sagarin top 10, whereas Alabama is 0-1 and Georgia is 1-1. Notre Dame is 4-0 against the Sagarin top 20, whereas Alabama is 2-1 and Georgia is 1-1.

So don't say the Irish haven't been seasoned by a schedule every bit as difficult – no, more difficult – than the SEC top dogs. And they've had far fewer games where they just had to show up to win.

Five of Georgia's 11 victories are over objectively terrible opponents – teams ranked 80th or lower nationally by Sagarin. Alabama has four victories over teams ranked 80th or lower. Notre Dame only two.

A lot of people point to the Irish vulnerability against the likes of Purdue and Pittsburgh as evidence they are Not SEC Tough. But Georgia fans who white-knuckled through scary wins over Tennessee or Kentucky – two teams so disappointing they fired their coaches – know that a good team can struggle on a given Saturday. Alabama is the only one of the three to dispatch overmatched opponents without a peep of protest.

The myth perpetuated by SEC fans is that every week is such a bloodbath, nobody from outside the league could withstand the grind. Yet in the month of November, the average Sagarin rating of Georgia's opponents was 70th. After opening against Michigan, Alabama didn't play anyone in Sagarin's top 30 for the next seven games.

Notre Dame didn't go more than three straight games without playing a Sagarin top 20 team.

It's easy to say the Irish can't match up with the SEC, not as easy to prove. The ultimate proof will be on the field Jan. 7, but until then SEC fans would be wise to tone down the towering arrogance.

[Reaper16]

Notre Dame beating Oklahoma was not more impressive than Alabama beating LSU. LSU would beat Oklahoma 7 out of 10 times.

[The Franchise]

Originally Posted by Reaper16

Notre Dame beating Oklahoma was not more impressive than Alabama beating LSU. LSU would beat Oklahoma 7 out of 10 times.

He's going off of the rankings of the opponents at the time. Stupid to me....but I figured I'd post it anyways.

[ohiobronco2]

[DaKCMan AP]

Kent St. could throw a nasty wrench into things.

Currently, Kent St. is ranked #17 in the BCS. On Friday they play #21 N. Illinois for the MAC Championship.

If Kent St. wins and Stanford beats UCLA in the PAC-12 Championship, they would move up to at least #16.

What does that mean?

3. The champion of Conference USA, the Mid-American Conference, the Mountain West Conference, the Sun Belt Conference, or the Western Athletic Conference will earn an automatic berth in a BCS bowl game if either:

A. Such team is ranked in the top 12 of the final BCS Standings, or,
B. Such team is ranked in the top 16 of the final BCS Standings and its ranking in the final BCS Standings is higher than that of a champion of a conference that has an annual automatic berth in one of the BCS bowls.

At #16, Kent State would be ranked higher than the Big East Champion, and therefore would get an automatic BCS berth.

This would mean the Sugar Bowl would likely be Florida vs. Kent State instead of Florida vs. Oklahoma. Blech.

It's pathetic that a team who lost by 33 points to Kentucky would be in the BCS.

[The Franchise]

Florida vs. Kent State? Jesus Christ.