James Madison 38 vs Wofford 35
Villanova 55 vs Colgate 28

Montana 31 vs Texas State 13
Weber State 49 vs Cal Poly 35

Northern Iowa 40 vs Maine 15
New Hampshire 29 vs Southern Illinois 20

Richmond 38 vs Eastern Kentucky 10
Appalachian State 37 vs South Carolina State 21

Second Round Games
8. Villanova at 1. James Madison
12. Weber State at 4. Montana
11. New Hampshire at 3. Northern Iowa
7. Richmond at 2. Appalachian State

Mount Union 42 vs Hobart 7
Cortland State 42 vs Curry 0

Franklin 38 vs North Central 28
Wheaton 59 vs Wabash 28

UW-Whitewater 30 vs Willamette 27
Wartburg 30 vs Monmouth28

Washington & Jefferson 35 vs Millsaps 20
Mary Hardin-Baylor 46 vs Wesley 14

Quarterfinals
Cortland State at Mount Union
Wheaton at Franklin
Wartburg at UW-Whitewater
Washington & Jefferson at Mary Hardin-Baylor

Super Region 1
California Pa 27 vs Bloomsburg 24

Super Region 3
Minnesota-Duluth 19 vs Grand Valley State 13 OT

Super Region 2
North Alabama 55 vs Delta State 34

Super Region 4
Northwest Missouri 45 vs Abilene Christian 34

Semi-Finals
California Pa vs Minnesota-Duluth
North Alabama vs Northwest Missouri

Can we please stop using LSU as a quality win for the SEC? The Tigers have lost 3 of their last four games, and if not for a huge comeback against Troy, it would be 4 losses in a row for LSU. All in all, it is time to start looking at the SEC for what it is…an average conference.

Yes, you got that right, they are no where near the quality and depth of the past two seasons. Everyone is so high on Florida right now, but do we really know how good they are? Their only loss was at HOME to Mississippi. They are the only one loss team right now with a home loss, yet because they play in the SEC they get a free pass.

Alabama has yet to beat anyone of note. We thought Clemson was good…they aren’t, but they did get their 7th win today against one of the SEC’s “better” teams, South Carolina. The jury is really still out on Georgia because every time they play a decent team, they get blown out. The Dawgs just lost to an ACC team AT HOME, pretty bad in my opinon. Chew on that SEC fans, the conference that has been everyone’s doormat is beating one of your supposed best teams.

Over in the ACC, congrats to Virginia Tech in beating Virginia to head to the ACC title game. Not a pretty game, but really has any ACC game been pretty this season? Not at all, it is a conference that week to week anything can happen. They will play either Boston College or Florida State.

In the Big 12 South, everyone has their eyes on tonight’s game with Oklahoma State and Oklahoma. Let me just say this, if you vote Texas Tech in the title game you should be ashamed of yourself. There should be no way that a team who lost by 34 points should even sniff the national title game. Plus they have no out of conference wins of note. Of Oklahoma, Texas, and Texas Tech, only the Sooners have notable out of conference wins against TCU and Big East Champion Cincinnati. Sorry Longhorn fans, but if the Sooners win tonight, they should be Big 12 Championship bound if we are considering BCS Standings.

My last thought is this…if you don’t win your conference, you should not play for the national title. Pretty simple thought here…if you are not good enough to even win your conference how can you say you are the best in the country? So that means, if Oregon State wins tonight, sorry USC, you can’t play for the title. Same goes with the loser of the SEC title game, and who ever gets left out of the Big 12 title game.

Sorry for the delay.

Mount Union 56 vs Randolph-Mason 0
Hobart 33 vs Lycoming 15

Cortland 31 vs Plymouth State 14
Curry 26 vs Ithaca 21

North Central 44 vs Thomas More 23
Franklin 62 vs Otterbein 45

Wabash 20 vs Case Western Reserve 17
Wheaton 14 vs Trine 0

Willamette 48 48 vs Occidental 33
UW-Whitewater 37 vs St. John’s 7

Wartburg 26 vs UW-Stevens Point 21
Monmouth 42 vs Aurora 13

Millsaps 51 vs LaGrange 26
Washington & Jefferson 35 vs Christopher Newport 29

Wesley 20 vs Muhlenberg 0
Mary Hardin-Baylor 38 vs Hardin Simmons 35

Second Round
Hobart at Mount Union
Curry at Cortland State

Franklin at North Central
Wheaton at Wabash

UW-Whitewater at Willamette
Wartburg at Monmouth

Washington & Jefferson at Millsaps
Wesley at Mary Hardin-Baylor

Super Region 1
California Pa 48 vs Seton Hill 7
Bloomsburg 28 vs West Chester 21

California Pa will play at Bloomsburg next week.

Super Region 3
Minnesota Duluth 20 vs Chadron State 10
Grand Valley State 40 vs Ashland 7

Minnesota-Duluth will play at Grand Valley State next week.

Super Region 2
Northern Alabama 37 vs Valdosta State 10
Delta State 27 vs Tusculum 19

Northern Alabama will play at Delta State next week.

Super Region 4
Northwest Missouri 38 vs Pittsburg State 35
Abilene Christian 93 vs West Texas A&M 68

Northwest Missouri will play at Abilene Christian next week.

The FCS announced its brackets today. The first round games are all played at the higher seeds.

16. Wofford (9-2) at 1. James Madison (10-1)
9. Colgate (9-2) at 8. Villanova

13. Texas State (8-4) at 4. Montana (11-1)
12. Weber State (9-3) at 5. Cal Poly (8-2)

14. Maine (8-4) at 3. Northern Iowa (10-2)
11. New Hampshire (9-2) at 6. Southern Illinois (9-2)

10. Eastern Kentucky at 7. Richmond (9-3)
15. South Carolina State (10-2) at 2. Appalachian State (10-2)

I did a bit of digging into the In The Bleachers archives to find out how I did last year. My end of the year record in 2007 was 67-22, giving me a 75% winning percentage. Right now I am 61-22 in 2008, which means I have to go perfect this week to match my record of last season.

It’s Trophy Week in the Big Ten. Six of the eight games have a trophy at stake, the two that don’t are Wisconsin against Cal Poly…and The Game between Ohio State and Michigan which doesn’t need a trophy. The Big Ten title is still up for grabs and Penn State, Ohio State, and Michigan State all have a chance at it. So let’s get at the games…

Michigan at Ohio State - ABC 12pm - Where or where has The Game gone? The last two years it seemed as if this game was for the Big Ten title, now it is just another game. On paper, I don’t know how anyone can realistically pick Michigan, but these are rivalry games so you never know. Ohio State is stronger on both sides of the ball while the Wolverines are bruised, battered, and have no confidence. Only in a dream world will Michigan win this game. Ohio State will win this game easy, shutting down the Wolverines’ offense and they will sit back and watch the Penn State-Michigan State game, hoping for a Spartans victory. Ohio State 37-7

Cal Poly at Wisconsin - 3:30pm - The Badgers got their sixth win and some much needed confidence coming back from a double digit halftime deficit against Minnesota. Dustin Shearer had a great game last week, protecting the ball and making the needed throws. He took a lot of pressure off of the running game. Their opponents, Cal Poly, will be no push over. The Mustangs are 8-1, with their only loss coming to Montana. They have a balanced attack running and throwing the ball. Offensively, they’ve scored over 400 points this year, but all against FCS opponents. The Mustangs will get their eyes opened a bit this week, but still make the game competitive. Wisconsin 35-17

Indiana at Purdue - ESPN2 12pm - The Joe Tiller Farewell Tour makes its final stop, where it all began, Ross-Ade Stadium , West Lafayette, Indiana. The winner of this game will get the Old Oaken Bucket, but to the Purdue faithful, I am sure that is secondary to sending Tiller out a winner. Last season, Indiana won on a late field goal to make them bowl eligible for the first time since 1993. Both teams have identical records 3-9 overall and 1-6 in the conference, but I think Purdue is the better team overall. Indiana hung with Penn State for a half last week, but that was more of a matter of the Nittany Lions sputtering, than Indiana playing well. It’ll be an emotional day and I believe Purdue sends its coach out in style. Purdue 28-20

Illinois at Northwestern - 3:30pm - The winner of this game will get the Sweet Sioux Tomahawk. The Illini are a team that I can’t quite get a grasp on. They had early season losses to both Missouri and Penn State, but you could tell that this team was talented and could be in the upper half of the Big Ten. Now in their final game, this is a must win game or the Illini do not go bowling. Northwestern has won 4 of the last 5 in this series and has a chance to finish with a 9 win season. You have to hand it to Pat Fitzgerald and his staff for the job they have done this season. I went against the Wildcats last week against Michigan, because I thought the Wolverines were turning it around. Illinois lost their last game against Western Michigan. I am going with the Wildcats in this one. I haven’t given them much credit this season, and the Illini have burnt me more often than not. Northwestern 28-24

Iowa at Minnesota - Big Ten Network 7pm - This is game with two teams going in opposite directions. Iowa has been playing great ball as of late winning 4 of their last 5 games. The Gophers on the other hand come into the game losing 3 straight games. Last week they totally fell apart in the second half against Wisconsin and lost that game. Ricky Stanzi has really become a consistant person behind center for Iowa and that is helping to take the pressure off of Shonn Greene. Minnesota will get a lift getting Eric Decker back in the lineup but I don’t think that will be enough to ensure a victory. Iowa has won six of the past seven meetings in the battle for the Floyd of Rosedale, a pig statue, and they will walk away Saturday winning 7 of the last 8. The Hawkeyes defense will be too tough for the Gophers to handle. Iowa 21-12

Michigan State at Penn State - ABC 3:30pm - The Spartans should know their fate by kickoff. If Michigan can pull the improbable upset of Ohio State, the Spartans just need to beat the Nittany Lions to win the Big Ten Title. Penn State on the other hand just has to win this game and they will win their 3rd Big Ten title overall, their second since 2005. Penn State has had a knack for starting out slow the second half of the season and they cannot do that again this week against Michigan State. The Spartans have a solid rushing attack and a defense that is very underrated in the Big Ten. Penn State’s defense has picked it up in past weeks, but their offense has taken steps back from earlier this year. Remember last season, the Spartans came back from a 17 point 3rd quarter deficit to win the game. This is going to be a close game, I feel that Penn State has the talent edge, but my gut feeling is that they will start out slow again. The emotions of Senior Day and maybe some nerves will be the cause. The Spartans always give them a game, and I think they pull the upset this week, win the Land Grant Trophy, and ruin Penn State’s Rose Bowl hopes. But will it be enough for their own Rose Bowl chances? Michigan State 28-27

Last Week: 3-2 (.600)
Overall: 61-22 (.735)

With a few weeks left in the season, one would think that most of the conferences would be close to wrapping up…WRONG! In the first half of this week’s In The Bleachers’ podcast, Brian and Adam go through each BCS Conference and discuss which teams are still alive for the title, and what has to happen for them to win the title and go to a BCS Bowl game.

The games of the week are topped off big a big one in Norman, Oklahoma between Oklahoma and Texas Tech. In Happy Valley, the Big Ten title is on the line for Penn State when Michigan State comes knocking, and in Utah, the Holy War between BYU and Utah will be for the Mountain West title. The other games of the week are Air Force at TCU, Pittsburgh at Cincinnati, Boston College at Wake Forest, Connecticut at South Florida, Florida State at Maryland, Miami at Georgia Tech, Iowa at Minnesota, and Oregon State at Arizona.

To listen to the episode you can download it here, or subscribe as laid out below.

Remember, if you want the podcast you must subscribe to the Feedbuner but if you want to subscribe to the blog please use the RSS feed. This is for iTunes to be able to archive the shows. You can also search for “In The Bleachers” on iTunes and subscribe to the podcast that way.

Enjoy this week’s episode of In The Bleachers and if you have any questions or comments to the show please email them to inthebleachers AT gmail DOT com.

Yesterday I gave the scenarios in which teams could win the Big Ten, Pac Ten, and Big 12. Today I’ll finish up the BCS Conferences by looking at the ACC, SEC, and Big East. The ACC right now is a big mess, so I might have missed something.

SEC

This is the easiest of all the conferences. Both Florida and Alabama have clinched their respective halves of the SEC and will meet in the conference championship game.

Big East

Cincinnati - The Bearcats just need to win out against Pitt and Syracuse and they will be in a BCS Bowl game. If they lose to Pitt, they will need West Virginia and Connecticut to beat Pitt. And also, West Virginia would have to lose to South Florida.
Pitt - The Panthers need to win their last three games against Cincinnati, West Virginia, and Connecticut to win the Big East. If they lose to Cincinnati, they are out. If they lose to either Connecticut or West Virginia, they will need a lot of help because Rutgers (who beat Pitt) would still be in the mix.
West Virginia - The Mountaineers need to win against Pittsburgh, South Florida and Louisville, and have Cincinnati lose to either Pittsburgh or Syracuse.
Rutgers - Rutgers needs to beat Louisville and then have all of the following happen: West Virginia lose at least 2 of their last 3 games, Cincinnati lose to both Pitt and Syracuse, and Pitt lose to either Connecticut or West Virginia.
Connecticut - The Huskies need to win out and have the following happen: Rutgers lose to Louisville, West Virginia lose 2 of their last 3, and Cincinnati lose 1 of their last 2.

ACC Coastal
Miami - The Canes need to beat both Georgia Tech and NC State.
Georgia Tech - The Yellow Jackets must beat Miami, then have the following happen: UNC lose to either Duke or NC State, Virginia Tech lose to Duke, Virginia lose one of their last two to Clemson or Virginia Tech.
North Carolina - The Tar Heels must beat Duke and NC State then have the follow occur: Miami lose to either Georgia Tech or NC State, Virginia Tech lose to Duke, Virginia lose one of their last two to Clemson or Virginia Tech.
Virginia - The Cavs need to beat Virginia Tech and Clemson, and have Miami lost to both Georgia Tech and NC State.

ACC Atlantic
Maryland - The Terps just need to beat Florida State and Boston College.
Florida State - The Seminoles have to beat Maryland, have Wake Forest lose to Boston College, and have Maryland beat Boston College.
Wake Forest - The Demon Deacons have to beat Boston College and Maryland has to lose to both Florida State and Boston College.
Boston College - The Eagles control their own destiny. They win the Atlantic with wins over Wake Forest and Maryland.