OT: Pac-10 Picks Plus: Boise gets its cage rattled, Rubbers shtup ND

I mean, I don’t follow the SEC (“Proudly Celebrating 50 Years As America’s Most Overrated Conference”), but these games may have some real influence on the goofy BCS ratings and thus on who plays in the Rose Bowl. Isn’t that a drag?

Anyway, be nice if the homers here homed up (though I’m glad my tuition isn’t at stake).

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/11/25/AR2010112502828.html?hpid=news-col-blog&sid=ST2010112504163

Hard to argue w/ Tracee, who played DT at Hamburger U. (or the picture gives that impression, anyway — maybe it’s a bad angle). OK, she’s right and wrong, predictably: right that as long as a bunch of very dim bulbs in, ahem, Indianapolis are in charge of Not Doing Much to police the sport, it will remain, well, unredempted at key schools. NCAAF “governance” is the equivalent of Pretend Commissioner Bud in a racoon coat.

But the BCS isn’t a solution for what ails it. Who thinks they’re going to force the bigtime violators to turn their progs into venues for nationally competitive, genuinely watchable contests among actual student-athletes — which you can have, as w/ Northwestern, Penn State, Stanford and various others, who do well enough to warrant emulation and interest, thank you, against the no-books, hired-thug and/or “Recreation” major-programs?

only they were wearing Washington State jerseys.

This is going to be closer than I thought.

Nothing like starting your wkend 3-0. ‘Course, there’s a plaque somewhere in Vegas with Famous Last Words: “Im on a roll, honey!” on it.

So I’m not saying anything provocative. No siree. Just watchin’ the games, doo-dee-doo-dah, not jinxing anything here…

Actually, the scarier thought is maybe they did get a bet down…Anyway,

Zona @ Orygun (-19) (Fri.): No doubt the over-under game o’ the day, since Foles is healthy, OR avgs 50+ and the last two mtgs have gone 55-45 and 44-41 (great game). But the spread bet is dicey. After pondering long ‘n’ late, I’m gonna go with the Gunners to beat here on the strength of (a) they need to make people forget Cal (including themselves); and (b) Zona has a habit of not playing big games well. They just don’t. So yeah, take OR and the 19…and hope Foles is just off or sth., ‘cause if he’s sharp this thing could see 1K TO, 100 pts and the 19 stuck in your ear.

OU, 48-29. Wow, even in the rain they put up 1060 TO (if not the 100 pts). Credit to Foles & Co. for a game try, but the Ducks did their wear-down thing after trailing in the 3rd. Hard to imagine OU getting beat by anybody…except maybe Da Beavs next week, heh-heh.

UCLA @ ASU (-12 ½) (Fri.) Well, Brehaut is gonna play, apparently, but it’s not likely he’s going to solve UCLA’s O problem in the desert, even if he stays un-groggy (they’re 117th in passing/ 114 YPG, and last in passing efficiency/ 86.96) – and especially vs. a Scum Debbil D that held A. Luck & Co. to 17. Technically, either team here could still bowlify itself w/ 2 desperation wins, but realistically only ASU has a chance to do that. Go w/ them to beat/win.

ASU, 55-34. Credit to Brehaut, who really did put some pts. up, throwing 34-58 for 3; but even more credit to scrubino Osweiler, who prolly played the game of his life (27-36/377/4) after Threet got his bell rung and the Scum Devils were down by 17. Well, all ASU has to do now is beat Zona at home and pray a lot (for a lack of other qualifiers) and ta-da, it’s Shlock Bowl time!

OSU @ Snodfart (-13 ½ ): Y’know what, forget Jacquizz. He’ll get his 125 or sth, and Katz may even play well again (I’m not a big fan), but LSJU still beats the spread here, sez I. Truth to tell, I actually think Da Beavs have a better shot at bowlification vs Dem Ducks next week in Corn Valley (watch that spread, btw). The Barons, meanwhile, are officially Hot Stuff after drubbing foul-mouthed Cal @ Berk (wasn’t that pre-game Neanderthal stuff funny?) and the Rose Bowl remains doable (if complicated).

LSJU 38-0. A. Luck goes modestly nuts again – 21-30/309/4 – as Stanford does its Complete Team show again for any poll voters who may have gone to the kitchen for a sandwich during the Cal drubbing last wk. Hard to imagine this is *not the best 1-loss team in the country…except that it’s in the wrong part of the country for knee-jerk voters. Anyway, the Beavs are actually a well-stocked team which can play well: and I still have this nagging feeling that they may show up vs OR, just to prove sth…*

U Dub @ Cal (-7): Who the hell knows? If Locker can actually run again and his unpredictable band of Jekylls turns into Hydes after drinking deeply of the We Can Still Bowlerize Ourselves Kool Aid – plus Cal decides to, y’know, run into the middle of the field before kickoff and jump up and down yelling OOGA-OOGA again to "let them know we’re here" (and we’re severely retarded), then yeah, U Dub beats ‘n’ wins this thing. Look, Mansion stinks. Just stinks. On the other hand, Cal is at least as Jekyll-Hyde-y, as Inside Slant rightly notes ("There is so much conflicting evidence that it’s impossible to know what to expect [from them]"). So OK, my magic coin-toss sez, Cal for the W, but Dub beats.

UW, 16-13. Gee, and the W too, which means all the Dubs have to do is beat Wazzu and it’s Here we come Rent-a-Car-Cheez-Dip Bowl. Cal closes the season as Strangest Team on the Planet, no doubt – look at the talent on this roster vs. the record – and somebody please shoot Mansion, who is literally painful to watch.

ND @ SC (-4): The Utah thing notwithstanding, I’m amazed that the Farting Irish have a winning record. And after whupping mighty Army last time out, they’ll go to the Obscurity Bowl now, regardless of what happens in the Coliseum. SC is bowl-qualified too – for something just about as prestigious (their recruiting may collapse), and in Dec. 2012 at that. Anyway, this one is not hard to call: Riley’s status (ankle sprain) means a lot, since Mustain sucked dead elephant last wk in Corn Valley, but even with Riley limited, SC’s at home and has better horses: take the Rubbers and the 4.

ND, 20-16. Somebody always puts a stick in the spokes of your Schwinn when you’re about to score a clean sweep, and this week it’s the frickin’ Rubbers, who decided maybe bowl ineligibility IS depressing after all, so let’s lie down and sulk. Their talent (top-layer) is still A-level at most positions, and ND’s isn’t; SC’s at home for their senior closer; it’s a "storied rivalry" game vs a traditional opponent on hard times – low-hanging fruit, in short. And nothin’, SC phones it in. Credit to the Irish for, well, showing up and trying, which is twice what the Rubbers did. I take this personally, Kiffin.