This week's college football picks: Another big game for the Longhorns

"The label of No. 1 is hard to get and it's really harder to keep." -- Texas coach Mack Brown, ahead of his team's huge colossus of a clash with Texas Tech.

For the fourth consecutive week, the Longhorns are taking on a top-10 ranked team. First, Texas beat then-No. 1 Oklahoma. The next week, Texas worked No. 11 Missouri. Last week, the Longhorns edged No. 7 Oklahoma State. This week, the 'Horns face No. 6 Texas Tech in the land of Friday Night Lights in West Texas. Texas Tech folks are calling this showdown "the biggest game in school history." That seems to be a phrase thrown around quite a bit these days.

Last year, Texas beat Texas Tech 59-43 in a shootout. Expect much the same this time around, too, which should be great fun for TV viewers who just happen to be dialed into ABC at 5 p.m. Santa Monica standard time (SMST).

Let's pick some games that will be taking place on the collegiate gridirons this Saturday ...

No. 1 Texas over No. 6 Texas Tech
No. 8 Georgia over No. 5 Florida
No. 16 Florida State over Georgia Tech (really wanted to pick an upset here, FYI, FWIW)
No. 20 Minnesota over Northwestern (yes, the Golden Gophers are ranked)
Wisconsin over No. 22 Michigan State

Upset pick of the week: UNLV over No. 12 TCU ... Greatest Pro Bowls of all time, and other stuff would hate to see a potential BCS buster fall in an upset, but the very good possibility exists that TCU could be looking past the Runnin' Rebs to a showdown with No. 10-ranked Utah next week that will likely determine the Mountain West winner and send said winner to a BCS bowl game to be decided (but, most likely not the national title game).

And our totally random college football pick of the week: 7-0 Millsaps and 7-0 Trinity, No. 5 and No. 14 respectively, in D3football.com top 25, meet in a rematch of last year's miracle finish on a 15-lateral play that has been dubbed "the Lateralpalooza" and the "Mississippi Miracle". Millsaps will put its nine-game, conference road winning streak on the line against Trinity, and we reckon the Majors will be prepared for anything this time around and get some small amount of revenge for last year's debacle.

Last week's record: 2-5 (ouchy!)
Overall record: 42-22

Move World Series Game 5 to Miller Park!

Rain, rain, go away,
Come again some other day,
We want to go outside and play,
Come again some other day.

Game 5 of the World Series won't resume on Tuesday as planned, so be prepared to watch re-runs of the Simpsons, King of the Hill and Married with Children.

With rain still falling on peoples' heads in Philadelphia, and expected to do so for quite some time, here's a suggestion for Major League Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig ...

Move the game to Miller Park!

No threat of a rainout there.

Of course, there's always the threat that the Astros could protest even though they're not playing.

Saturday Afternoon Pregame Show: Chasing history, or infamy, you decide

"The Buccaneers resembled a fraternity football team well into their third keg of beer." -- NFL Films, on the 1976 expansion Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who finished 0-14.

Last season, the New England Patriots came within one loss in arguably the most exhilarating Super Bowl ever played from completing the greatest season in NFL history.

This season, there are two teams chasing NFL history.

The Cincinnati Bengals and Detroit Lions both promise to make a run at exceeding the '76 Buccaneers' 0-14 infamy.

And, before you all go, "but wait second here, Greatest Pro Bowls of all time, and other stuff, it's just Week 8 and these two teams each have 10 more games to play," consider this ...

The Lions must play the rest of their season with a backup quarterback running the offense. The Lions have already traded away their most dangerous offensive threat, dealing WR Roy Williams to the Cowboys for a collection of draft picks and a bag of new footballs (not so much the balls, really, but that might as well have been a part of the deal).

The Bengals are dysfunctional, but what may be worse is news that quarterback Carson Palmer may be out for the season.

Let's check out the remaining schedules ...

For the Lions: vs. Redskins, at Bears, vs. Jaguars, at Panthers, vs. Buccaneers, vs. Titans, vs. Vikings, at Colts, vs. Saints, at Packers. At least eight of those teams figure to be in the playoff hunt for much of the duration of the season. Even NFL Network's Adam Schefter is getting discouraged by the Lions' chances.

For the Bengals: at Texans, vs. Jaguars, vs. Eagles, at Steelers, vs. Ravens, at Colts, vs. Redskins, at Browns, vs. Chiefs. The most winable games in that slate are this weekend in Houston, and the finale against Kansas City.

Astute football observers will remember 2001. That year, the Lions came dangerously close to 0-16 infamy, going 0-12 before beating the Vikings in Week 14 en route to a 2-14 record. The Bengals recently went 2-14 too, back in 2002. The next April, the Bengals would draft Palmer No. 1 overall and begin a slow trek back to respectibility, which has now quickly crumbled back to pre-Palmer era dispicability.

While the Bengals and Lions are secure in their spots in the "Teams in danger of relegation if the NFL were like European soccer" drop zone, let's check out how the the Just-Totally-Made-Up NFL BCS^TM rankings fill out.

Important note!: The Just-Totally-Made-Up NFL BCS^TM rankings include three very basic components: overall win-loss record, how good teams did against other good teams, and my own profound opinion. Each component will count one-third (more or less or so) of a team's overall Just-Totally-Made-Up NFL BCS^TM score in the Just-Totally-Made-Up NFL BCS^TM standings.

Here are the latest Just-Totally-Made-Up NFL BCS^TM rankings of the season (just the top 12, or the number of teams that would make the playoffs if the playoff teams were based totally on the Just-Totally-Made-Up NFL BCS^TM formula, which isn't really a formula at all because we're not that good at math and don't trust a computer with a sketchy Firewall) ...

1. Tennessee Titans (Previously: 1) -- Have put Colts -- their opponent this week -- in an unfamiliar spot ... looking up at another team in the AFC South standings.

2. New York Giants (Previously: 2) -- Face a Just-Totally-Made-Up NFL BCS^TM-busting matchup with the Steelers in a possible Super Bowl XLIII preview.

3. Pittsburgh Steelers (Previously: 3) -- An unstoppable force collides with an immovable object when the Giants' top-ranked rushing offense meets the NFL's top-ranked defense. Can't wait to see how this game is going to unfold!

4. Buffalo Bills (Previously: 5) -- Off to best start since 1995, but finally face a team in their own division this week.
5. Arizona Cardinals (Previously: 4) -- Came back down to earth during bye week, enter Sunday's game against the Panthers as underdogs.

6. Washington Redskins (Previously: 6) -- Redskins have won 18 of the past 20 against the Lions, their Week 8 opponent.

7. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Previously: 9) -- Coach Jon Gruden took a break from preparing for the Cowboys by announcing the World Series Game 2 lineup for the Tampa Bay Rays.

8. Carolina Panthers (Previously: 10) -- Will try to prevent the Cardinals from getting off to their best start in 32 years.

9. New England Patriots (Previously: NR) -- Will Pats be the third consecutive upset victim of coach Jim Haslett's new-look, and suddenly competitive Rams?

10. Chicago Bears (Previously: NR) -- Probably didn't really need it, but Bears get an extra week to prepare for the Lions.

11. Atlanta Falcons (Previously: 11) -- Have been one of the NFL's most pleasant surprises in the early stages of this season, don't expect their Week 8 opponent -- the Eagles -- to have that warm and fuzzy feeling when they host the Falcons.

12. Green Bay Packers (Previously: NR) -- Just thoroughly dominated the team formerly known as the best in the AFC South.
Teams in danger of relegation if the NFL were like European soccer ...

30. Kansas City Chiefs -- So desperate for help at quarterback that they've placed a call to the retired Daunte Culpepper.

31. Detroit Lions -- Once went 34 years without winning a game against the Redskins, their Week 8 opponent.

32. Cincinnati Bengals -- Here's hope for Cincy: The Texans, the Bengals' Week 8 opponent, have never beaten the Bengals. Of course, the two teams have only played each other three times.

Week 8 picks

Ravens over Raiders
Bills over Dolphins
Panthers over Cardinals
Buccaneers over Cowboys
Chargers over Saints
Eagles over Falcons
Jets over Chiefs
Patriots over Rams
Redskins over Lions
Texans over Bengals
Jaguars over Browns
Steelers over Giants
49ers over Seahawks
Titans over Colts

Week 7 record: 10-4 (best week yet!)
Overall record: 64-38

This week's college football picks: Big Ten showdown in 'The Horseshoe'

"The minute you think you've got it made, disaster is just around the corner." -- Joe Paterno.

The 81-year-old living legend has the Nittany Lions playing at an extremely high level and facing Ohio State in the game of the day.

The winner is in the driver's seat toward the Big Ten title and an automatic place in a Bowl Championship Series game.

The loser likely loses out on a BCS bowl bid.

The stakes are high, and so is the hype. As our friends at CollegeFootballNews.com write, "the world revolves around Penn State and Ohio State, and for the BCS and the national title chase, this will be a key piece of the puzzle."

Ohio State has dominated this series of late -- winning five of the last six showdowns -- and with this game being played in the "old horseshoe," it's hard to imagine that trend changing, regardless of Penn State's start this season.

Let's get on with it and pick some college football winners ...

No. 1 Texas over No. 7 Oklahoma State
No. 2 Wisconsin-Whitewater over Wisconsin-Stevens Point
No. 9 Georgia over No. 11 LSU
No. 10 Ohio State over No. 3 Penn State
No. 19 Kansas over No. 8 Texas Tech

Upset pick of the week: Arizona over No. 6 USC. The Trojans opened at No. 5 in the first BCS standings, and could very easily be playing in the national title game as a one-loss team by default because the competition in the Pac-10 is so weak and teams from much stronger conferences -- Big 12, SEC -- face much tougher competition, thus opening those teams up more for defeat. Arizona poses as one of the most serious threats to that goal for Troy, and we're rooting for them to pull off that upset simply because a Pac-10 team doesn't deserve to be playing for the national title.

And our totally random college football pick of the week: When in doubt, go see who the Colorado School of Mines -- one of our favorite small-college teams -- has this weekend, and they have a doozy against Chadron State. We have the host -- Chadron State -- sitting at 6-0 in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference and the Orediggers sitting at 5-1 in the RMAC. Still, for sentimental reasons, we have to go with the Colorado School of Mines in a slight upset.

Last week's record: 5-2
Overall record: 40-17

This week's college football picks: Simply can't wait to watch this game!

Missouri hasn't won at the University of Texas since 1896.

That was before the advent of the forward pass ... and the huddle ... and Joe Paterno ... and Army-Navy games on black-and-white TV ... and quarterbacks with radios in their helmets ... and, well, you get it!

Missouri is 0-10 all-time against No. 1 teams.

Still, we just have a feeling about those Tigers coming off a painful loss to Oklahoma State.

With that in mind, let's pick some college football winners ...

No. 2 Wisconsin-Whitewater over Wisconsin-Oshkosh
No. 4 Oklahoma over No. 16 Kansas
No. 10 Georgia over No. 22 Vanderbilt
No. 20 Michigan State over No. 12 Ohio State
Arizona over No. 25 California

Upset pick of the week: We're picking a lot of upsets this week, but none will be more BCS-busting than No. 11 Missouri over No. 1 Texas. Simply cannot wait to watch this game.

And our totally random college football pick of the week: It's homecoming week for the Fighting Souix, so it's a no-brainer to pick North Dakota to beat the visitors from Western Washington.

Last week's record: 4-3

Overall record: 35-14

Tuesday Early Evening Cliboard-holding Quarterback: One crazy autumn Sunday

"I'm kind of, like, blank. I don't know if I want to cry or laugh." -- Rams linebacker Pisa Tinoisamoa, after the Rams got their first win of the season by beating the Redskins.

During a manic 15 minutes or so, four of eight 1 p.m. ET Week 6 games were decided in the final 10 seconds. NFL.com veteran Gil Brandt said that was the first time since the merger in 1970 that as many as four games have been decided in that fashion. Brandt's been in the game for a long time, so we'll take his word for it.

In all, there have been 27 fourth-quarter comebacks this season in 81 games, an impressive 33 percent of the matchups.

That's a good percentage of games that go down to the wire.

Let's recap the mayhem of Week 6 ...

The Falcons gave up what appeared to be the game-winning touchdown with 11 seconds remaining, only to kick a game-winning field goal as time expired.

In snapping an eight-game losing streak dating back to last season with a last-second field goal by Josh Brown, the Rams won despite being held to eight first downs and 200 total yards of offense.

Matt Schaub's game-winning touchdown with three seconds remaining gave the quarterback his second career fourth-quarter comeback victory. Both of those comeback wins have come against the Dolphins.

Sure, the Vikings won with a field goal with nine seconds remaining, but much of what transpired in the previous 59-plus minutes wasn't as appealing. Both teams combined for 11 sacks, 17 punts and just a 5-for-28 conversion rate on third downs.

Later, the Cardinals beat the Cowboys in an overtime thriller.

Those results profoundly affect this week's Just-Totally-Made-Up NFL BCS^TM rankings. Let's take a look ...

1. Tennessee Titans (Previously: 2) -- Manhandled bye week, overtook Giants for top spot.

2. New York Giants (Previously: 1) -- Sure didn't look like a defending Super Bowl champion while getting roughed up by the Browns.

3. Pittsburgh Steelers (Previously: 5) -- Bye week made Steelers look much better than they looked a week ago.

4. Arizona Cardinals (Previously: NR) -- Became first team ever to win in overtime on a touchdown scored on a blocked punt. More importantly, Cardinals did it against the Cowboys, which would explain this rapid rise up the Just-Totally-Made-Up NFL BCS^TM rankings.

5. Buffalo Bills (Previously: 8) -- Move up significantly without playing ... are you beginning to sense a trend?

6. Washington Redskins (Previously: 3) -- Tough to pick winner in Redskins' next game, at home versus the Browns, who are coming off an impressive win against the team that sent the 18-0 Patriots to the abyss of Super Bowl losers. The Redskins, on the other hand, lost to the previously winless Rams at home after beating three tough division opponents on the road.

7. Dallas Cowboys (Previously: 6) -- Pulled off something football fans don't see too often. No, we're not talking about that loss to the Cardinals, silly. Dallas pulled off the rarely seen blockbuster deal at the NFL's trading deadline by acquiring Roy Williams from the Lions.

8. Denver Broncos (Previously: 4) -- How much longer can the Broncos hold off the Chargers for that top spot in the AFC West?

9. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Previously: 11) -- Pushed around the Panthers, a team not known as being pushovers. They might not be really grumpy about that ... watch out Saints!

10. Carolina Panthers (Previously: 7) -- Could have made a real statement last week against the Buccaneers. Instead, the Panthers made the wrong kind of one, scoring their fewest amount of points since a 37-3 loss to the Steelers on Dec. 7, 2006.

11. Atlanta Falcons (Previously: 12) -- Yogi Berra used to say, "It ain't over till it's over," and the Falcons put that expression to good use Sunday in an alarming turnaround of epic proportions. You can watch highlights here of the absolute madness that took place in Atlanta.

12. Indianapolis Colts (Previously: NR) -- Were rude hosts of the Ravens on Sunday, racking up 334 total net yards against a supposedly great Ravens defense.

Teams in danger of relegation if the NFL were like European soccer ...

30. Kansas City Chiefs -- Didn't give up on season by trading Pro Bowl tight end Tony Gonzalez.

31. Detroit Lions -- Totally just gave up by dealing Pro Bowl receiver Roy Williams to the Cowboys. Thankfully for my fantasy team, that can only mean more balls being thrown in the general direction of Calvin Johnson.

32. Cincinnati Bengals -- Play Chiefs in Week 17 for what could be a showdown for the No. 1 overall pick.

Week 7 picks

Ravens over Dolphins
Chargers over Bills
Panthers over Saints
Steelers over Bengals
Bears over Vikings
Giants over 49ers
Cowboys over Rams
Titans over Chiefs
Texans over Lions
Jets over Raiders
Redskins over Browns
Colts over Packers
Buccaneers over Seahawks
Patriots over Broncos

Week 6 record: 7-7
Overall record: 54-34

Saturday Afternoon NFL Pregame Show: What's old is new again

"What would happen if someone came out with a single-wing offense? It would embarrass the hell out of us." -- Vince Lombardi.

The forward pass is so 2007.

The NFL’s latest craze is a twist on an offense used back when players wore helmets without facemasks.

With the Dolphins running a variation of the single-wing offense, teams will be forced to prepare for the ghosts of Jim Thorpe, Red Grange. Johnny "Blood" McNally and Bronko Nagurski. The Dolphins’ two-week “Wildcat” odyssey has pulled the sophisticated and calculated NFL back to its muddy roots.

Many have pinpointed that the Dolphins got the inspiration for the "Wildcat" offense from Arkansas, which used it successfully with running back Darren McFadden lining up at quarterback and throwing opposing defenses off guard.

Perhaps.

We here think new Dolphins GM/Grand Master Bill Parcells was watching some youth football games in his free time before returning to the NFL.

Many pee wee football teams run the single-wing offense, and perhaps a Saturday afternoon at the local park gave the Dolphins enough inspiraton. See for yourself ...



Or, perhaps the Dolphins watched this football instructional film ...



Whatever the case may be, it's great to see the modern game digging into its glorious past for inspiration.

Let's take this week's gander at how the NFL power rankings would look like if it were like the BCS (well, kinda ... it has much less computer-generated controversy).

Important note!: The Just-Totally-Made-Up NFL BCS^TM rankings include three very basic components: overall win-loss record, how good teams did against other good teams, and my own profound opinion. Each component will count one-third (more or less or so) of a team's overall Just-Totally-Made-Up NFL BCS^TM score in the Just-Totally-Made-Up NFL BCS^TM standings.

Here are the latest Just-Totally-Made-Up NFL BCS^TM rankings of the season (just the top 12, or the number of teams that would make the playoffs if the playoff teams were based totally on the Just-Totally-Made-Up NFL BCS^TM formula, which isn't really a formula at all because we're not that good at math and don't trust a computer with a sketchy Firewall) ...

1. New York Giants (Previously: 1) -- Have not lost to the Browns in Cleveland since 1973.

2. Tennessee Titans (Previously: 6) -- There are no style points in the NFL, and no team is making this point clearer than the Titans, who are off to their first 5-0 start in franchise history (which dates back to 1960, when the Houston Oilers debuted in the old American Football League).

3. Washington Redskins (Previously: 11) -- Jim Zorn's "hip, hip, hooray" cheer may be corny, but winning is totally cool.

4. Denver Broncos (Previously: 5) -- Already two games up on second-place San Diego, which is struggling to string together wins.

5. Pittsburgh Steelers (Previously: 7) -- Get a much-needed bye week after slugging out a win over the Jaguars.

6. Dallas Cowboys (Previously: 2) -- Barely beat the Bengals (see No. 32 below), and that's not going over very well in Big D.

7. Carolina Panthers (Previously: NR) -- Have a Just-Totally-Made-Up NFL BCS^TM-buster game against the Buccaneers this weekend.

8. Buffalo Bills (Previously: 4) -- Really need Trent Edwards to recover from his concussion suffered early in last week's 41-17 debacle at University of Phoenix Stadium.

9. New England Patriots (Previously: NR) -- Came off a bye week strong against San Francisco.

10. Chicago Bears (Previously: NR) -- Kyle Orton has Da Bears sitting atop the NFC North and looking more like the Bears team of 2006 that advanced to the Super Bowl than the 2007 team that finished a disappointing 7-9.

11. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Previously: 10) -- Facing a colossus of a showdown against the Panthers.

12. Atlanta Falcons (Previously: NR) -- Grew up in a hurry with a tough win on the road at legendary Lambeau Field.

Teams in danger of relegation if the NFL were like European soccer ...

30. Detroit Lions -- Things have gotten so bad that Detroit fans are longing for the days of Wayne Fontes.

31. St. Louis Rams -- Jim Haslett replaces Scott Linehan, but has a brutal stretch ahead ... at Washington, vs. Dallas, at New England.

32. Cincinnati Bengals -- There's something chicken-soup-for-the-soul heartwarming and refreshing about the Bengals being back among the NFL's doormats.

Week 6 picks

Bears over Falcons
Dolphins over Texans
Colts over Ravens
Vikings over Lions
Saints over Raiders
Jets over Bengals
Panthers over Buccaneers
Redskins over Rams
Broncos over Jaguars
Cowboys over Cardinals
Eagles over 49ers
Packers over Seahawks
Chargers over Patriots
Giants over Browns

Week 5 record: 8-6
Overall record: 47-27

This week's college football picks: Gotta watch this OU-Texas game!

We're one hour and 10 minutes from kickoff at the Cotton Bowl for the biggest game of the year so far ... the annual renewal of the "Red River Rivalry," Oklahoma vs. Texas.

Can't wait to watch this showdown.

So, going to make this quick so we can make a good, hearty breakfast before this game kicks off.

Let's pick some college football winners ...

No. 1 Oklahoma over No. 5 Texas
No. 2 Wisconsin-Whitewater over Wisconsin-River Falls
No. 3 Missouri over No. 17 Oklahoma State
No. 11 Florida over No. 4 LSU
No. 22 North Carolina over Notre Dame

Upset pick of the week: Wisconsin over No. 6 Penn State. The Nittany Lions' roaring "Spread HD" offense could have a hard time against the Badgers' stingy defense at Camp Randall Stadium.

And our totally random college football pick of the week: Bridgewater State over Framingham State ... just dig the schools with "State" in the title which you can't figure out which state the school actually resides in. In the eight-team Northeast Football Conference Bogan Division, five have "State" in the title ... Bridgewater State, Fitchburg State, Framingham State, Westfield State, Worcester State. Can you name which state(s) these schools call home? Well, all five of these schools reside in the state of Massachusetts. Fascinating! We'll likely revisit this topic in the future.

Last week's record: 6-1

Overall record: 31-11 (doing a far better job picking college football games this season than NFL games)

NFL Week 5 picks: Place recreational bets accordingly

Due to time constraints, the Just-Totally-Made-Up NFL BCS^TM rankings will not take place and will return next ... we promise.

It's a whole lotta fun to make some football picks, and here are this week's attempt at pigskin prognostication ...

Week 5 picks

Titans over Ravens
Panthers over Chiefs
Bears over Lions
Falcons over Packers
Colts over Texans
Chargers over Dolphins
Giants over Seahawks
Redskins over Eagles
Buccaneers over Broncos
Bills over Cardinals
Cowboys over Bengals
49ers over Patriots
Jaguars over Steelers
Saints over Vikings

Week 4 record: 7-6 (ouch! Losing credibility fast here)
Overall record: 39-21

This week's college football picks: First Annual Football Conference Rankings

Year in, and year out, sports fans like to debate.

This can happen at the local sports bar, or during dinner, or while around the ol' watercooler.

This debate will take place on an award-winning sports blog.

This one comes up every autumn, and can be debated weekly.

This week, as a public service to all, Greatest Pro Bowls of all time, and other stuff^TM sets the record straight.

Here are the First Annual Football Conference Rankings:

1. National Football Conference
2. American Football Conference
3. SEC
4. Big 12
5. Big Ten
6. Mountain West
7. Pac-10
6. Big East
7. ACC
8. WAC
9. Conference USA
10. MAC
11. Sun Belt

You may notice that the Mountain West is ranked pretty high. Respect.

Let's pick some college football winners ...

No. 2 Wisconsin-Whitewater over Wisconsin-La Crosse
No. 4 Missouri over Nebraska
No. 9 USC over No. 23 Oregon
No. 19 Vanderbilt over No. 13 Auburn
No. 14 Ohio State over No. 18 Wisconsin

Upset pick of the week: Well, Vandy over Auburn would count as an upset, but let's go with ... North Carolina over No. 24 Connecticut

And our totally random college football pick of the week: MIT over UMass-Dartmouth in a big one in the Northeast Football Conference Boyd Division. This would be an upset of sorts, since the Cosairs have won eight consecutive games in this series. Just a hunch here that the Engineers pull this one off. Just a hunch.

Last week's record: 5-2 (nailed both the upset and totally-random picks of the week! That's huge!)

Overall record: 25-10