RF365 Sweet Sixteen - week of Dec 5 2009

By Todd Erickson  |   Saturday, December 05, 2009  |  Comments( 0 )

College Football
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The top five ranked teams remain unchanged from last weekend, but Georgia Tech, Pittsburgh, Oklahoma State and Utah all choked. It all comes down to this Saturday to see which two teams will be slugging it out for the national championship in Pasadena on January 7. We know it will be the winner of the SEC title game vs. Texas--unless the Longhorns pull a choke job of their own against Nebraska. If that happens, either TCU or Cincinnati could be elevated to instant national title contender status, and Cornhusker Nation will be in a state of euphoria.

1. FLORIDA GATORS/SEC (12-0). The Gators put the exclamation mark on the final regular season game of Bobby Bowden’s career, dominating the Seminoles, 37-10. Florida will play Alabama for the SEC title this weekend.
2. ALABAMA CRIMSON TIDE/SEC (12-0). The Tide struggled in a tough rivalry game against Auburn (26-21) after RB Mark Ingram was lost to an injury late in the first half. Up next: Florida in Atlanta.
3. TEXAS LONGHORNS/Big 12 (12-0). The Longhorns struggled but prevailed against Texas A&M on the road, 49-39, thanks to a standout performance by Heisman candidate QB Colt McCoy. The Cornhuskers are the only team standing in Texas’ way of playing in the national championship game.
4. TEXAS CHRISTIAN HORNED FROGS/MWC (12-0). The Frogs completed their domination of MWC opponents by crushing New Mexico 51-10. They will receive an automatic berth in one of the BCS bowl games.
5. CINCINNATI BEARCATS/Big East (11-0). Cincy looked disinterested in knocking off Illinois 49-36 last weekend. They play on the road against Pittsburgh for the Big East championship this Saturday.
6. BOISE STATE BRONCOS/WAC (12-0). Boise State struggled to put WAC foe Nevada away as the Wolf Pack rolled up 242 yards on the silly blue Smurf Turf playing surface in Boise. The Broncos ultimately prevailed, 44-33. New Mexico State (3-9) will be the final BSU victim of the regular season.
7. OHIO STATE BUCKEYES/Big Ten (10-2). The Buckeyes’ season is over and they will play Oregon in the Rose Bowl as Big Ten Conference champs.
8. OREGON DUCKS/Pac-10 (10-2). Oregon outlasted rival Oregon State, 37-33, in the only Civil War game ever played where the winner claimed an automatic Rose Bowl berth. The Ducks will take on Ohio State in Pasadena on New Year’s Day.
9. PENN STATE NITTANY LIONS/Big Ten (10-2). The Nittany Lions’ regular season is over and they’ll have to wait for the BCS bowl game announcements on Dec 6 to see where they are heading for the holidays.
10. LSU TIGERS/SEC (9-3). The Tigers squeaked by Arkansas, 33-30, and will wind up a disappointing year by LSU standards with a second tier New Year’s Day game somewhere in Florida.
11. IOWA HAWKEYES/Big Ten (10-2). The Hawkeyes completed their regular season before Thanksgiving and anxiously await their postseason bowl game invitation on Dec 6.
12. BRIGHAM YOUNG COUGARS/MWC (10-2). BYU rolled over Utah in the first three quarters of their rivalry, 20-6, then allowed the TUN (team up north) to tie the game at 20 in the final frame. Andrew George, one of the Cougars’ two solid senior tight ends hauled in the game winner in OT to take home the Beehive Boot, 26-23. Next up: Either the Las Vegas Bowl or Poinsettia Bowl against a Pac-10 foe.
13. GEORGIA TECH YELLOW JACKETS/ACC (10-2). The Yellow Jackets choked against rival Georgia, 30-24, but they still have a return engagement against Clemson in the ACC title game this weekend.
14. PITTSBURGH PANTHERS/Big East (9-2). The Panthers were tripped up by West Virginia in the Backyard Brawl but can redeem themselves with a win over Cincinnati and gain an automatic BCS bowl game invitation.
15. UTAH UTES/MWC (9-3). The Utes lost in overtime to instate MWC rival Brigham Young University, 26-23. They’ll play in whatever bowl game BYU doesn’t later this month.
16. VIRGINIA TECH HOKIES (9-3). The Hokies handled instate rival Virginia for the tenth time in the past 11 contests by a decisive score of 42-13. V-Tech will land a good second tier bowl game invitation this weekend and should be a national title contender next season.
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About Todd Erickson

Todd Erickson is a member of the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) and pens the RealFootball365 Top 25 college football power rankings and "Fourth and inches..." weekly columns from August thru January. He is currently working on the second edition of Road to the Rose Bowl...
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