A plea to President-Elect Obama, Texas' coaching plan and more (cont.)

Mailbag Crush Kaitlin Olson doesn't look too shabby in colonial garb. Ray Mickshaw/FX Stewart Mandel's Mailbag Submit a question or an opinion to Stewart. Name: Email: Hometown: Question: SEND Follow Stewart Mandel on Twitter

Stewart: With so much talk about the BCS, the country is missing out on a much more interesting story: That the Heidi Klum Guitar Hero commercial is the hottest thing on TV right now.
-- Ryan, Austin, Texas

It's hard to argue there. That commercial is absurdly hot. But then again -- it's beyond gratuitous. Heidi Klum is a Victoria's Secret model, and she's in her underwear? I'm sure it didn't take the most creative guy at the ad agency to come up with that one.

Loyal Mailbag readers know we're big proponents around here of under-the-radar beauty, which is why I would argue instead that the hottest thing on TV in recent weeks was Kaitlin Olson appearing in circa-1776 colonial attire for a very special episode of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. The season finale, incidentally, in which the cast performs a musical (including an encore performance of the cult classic Day Man), is Thursday night.

Also, I think we can all agree that the least hot character on TV recently is Jenny Humphrey, whose eye makeup and hair bleach gets heavier with each new state of destitute.

If the Big Ten is overrated, the Pac-10 overrated and now the SEC overrated, does that mean that the only good conference in the country is the Big 12, or have we reached a point where all of college football is simply overrated?
-- Pete Tice, Washington, D.C.

I've been wondering the same thing myself. If the Big Ten and Pac-10 are "down" (and they sure as heck are), the Big East an afterthought and the SEC not nearly as strong top-to-bottom as it was the past couple of years, then who the heck is "up?" Obviously, the Big 12 jumps immediately to mind, as you won't find another league with five legitimate top 15 teams, but the bottom half of that conference isn't exactly special either. And while the Mountain West certainly deserves of praise, the only BCS conferences it may have surpassed this year are the Big East and Pac-10 (and the latter is debatable because there's no USC in the Mountain West.)

For one thing, the ACC is not getting nearly enough credit. Coming into the year, I, like most people, made no bones about the mediocrity of that league the past few seasons, and when Virginia Tech lost to East Carolina on opening weekend, it immediately reinforced that notion. But the league bounced back with some solid nonconference showings. While it lacks an elite, national-title contender, the league has been incredibly competitive week-to-week, with as many as eight teams still harboring title hopes this late in the game. If nothing else, it's the deepest conference.

But the main reason everyone and everything seems "overrated" is because the ACC is about the only major conference this season with any sort of parity. Most of the leagues seem to have two or three really good teams that tower over the others. Take the Big Ten, where co-leader Ohio State hasn't been remotely touched by anyone besides Penn State, including the league's current third- and fourth-place teams (Michigan State and Northwestern). Or the Big 12, where Texas, Texas Tech and Oklahoma have creamed all but each other. Or the SEC, where division winners Florida and Alabama both crushed the next-best team, Georgia, and the generally accepted fourth-best team, LSU, barely survived Troy last week.

It makes me wonder what will happen come bowl season (though, as I've said many times, teams in non-BCS bowls often take on a completely different resemblance from the 12 games beforehand). Will a couple of these leagues wind up showing more depth than expected? Or will everybody go 4-4?

Stewart, I recall reading an article of yours in the offseason about the ever-increasing number of bowl games, and the possibility of not having enough eligible teams. Is there any hope that could happen this year?
-- James Doker, Gainesville, Fla.

It's not going to happen -- but it could come pretty close. There are 68 bowl berths and currently 60 bowl-eligible teams. When I did my latest projections Monday and played out the schedules of the remaining hopefuls, I wound up with 70 (two to spare). Realistically, that number could go a little higher (maybe to 73 or 74) but probably not any lower.

Just to show how far into the pool we're sinking, though, consider that among the current eligible teams are USF, which is 1-4 in the Big East; Kansas, whose sole win over a fellow bowl-eligible team came against Louisiana Tech; and Akron, which has yet to beat a team with more than three wins (and finishes against 2-8 Ohio and 3-7 Temple). This is not why bowl games were created.

Hey Stewart, I see the SEC is investigating Mark Cuban. Why do they dislike him so much? Is he pointing out that the SEC has lost to Duke, Wyoming, Louisiana Tech, West Virginia and UCLA this year? Maybe he tried to present the Sun Belt championship trophy to LSU? Can you enlighten me?
-- Dave D., Columbus, Ohio

Take it easy. Though I do believe the SEC as a whole has not lived up to its preseason hype, there's still a pretty decent chance the league will wind up producing a third-straight national champ. Also, I would just like to stay on the good side of anyone who might be prompted to investigate my stock sales.

Just for giggles, can you please give us your take on the big game this weekend: Washington (0-10) at Washington State (1-10)?
-- Forest Worgum, Montesano, Wash.

Just for giggles? C'mon now -- this game is huge. It's being televised nationally by Fox Sports Net -- which means it will be available to a wider audience than the BYU-Utah, among others -- and may well be the biggest game in the entire 101-year history of the Apple Cup.

Think about the stakes here. If you're a Washington or Washington State player, you're already doomed to a legacy of having played for the worst team in school history. Beating your archrival would be the one saving grace to keep the season from being a total nightmare. In the same vein, you do not want to go down as having played for the worst team in school history and losing to your rival.

The same goes for the fans. I don't know how many Huskies and Cougs fans will be brave enough to show up at Martin Stadium on Saturday, but I would argue that your team needs your support for this one even more so than usual. Whichever school you root for, you're already suffering the indignity of being a national punch-line. The only source of relief has been that your archrival's fans were suffering the same plight. I would imagine this, more than any other year, would be incredibly important to hold bragging rights (and, in turn, any remaining shreds of dignity).

I'm going with the Huskies in this one. Washington may be one of the worst teams in Division I-A, but the Cougs could well be one of the worst teams in Division I-AA as well. (The one team Wazzu beat, Portland State, is 3-7.) Either way, if by chance you're one of the lucky souls attending this game, I would love to get a first-hand report for next week's Mailbag.

Stewart Mandel's book Bowls, Polls and Tattered Souls: Tackling the Chaos and Controversy That Reign Over College Football, is now available in paperback.