As an Oklahoma fan I was naturally cheering for AU to win, but you definitely hate to see Oregon lose in that manner. Best wishes to Dixon for a quick and full recovery!!!

With the Rose Bowl berth up for grabs, it's going to be a wild ride till the end of the season. I'm predicting USC will take the Pac-10 at the end of the season!

What I wanna know is what happened to the Oregon defence? AU scoring 34??

Kevin, you are a stud. Not only do you say something nice on a blog, when so many people hide behind the anonymity in order to be nasty, but you're even a Sooner fan, talking about Oregon, and not saying a word about last year! Karma will reward you: I figure that about 2050 or so, when the spread offense is passe, you'll be reborn as a Sooner offensive lineman, anchoring the return of the wishbone and clearing the way to 60-point wins. More power to ya.

Call me crazy, but I stick by my pre-Illinois prediction of Oklahoma vs. Ohio State in the national championship.

Ohio State has one game left, and I expect it will prevail.

Oklahoma seems to have the easier path to the Big 12, and I expect it will prevail.

And honestly, I think LSU, which has gambled its way to the top, and West Virginia, which didn't look sharp last week, have another loss in them.

That would make it Oklahoma (12-1) and Ohio State (11-1) in New Orleans.

best wishes to dixon. be strong, like our beloved barbaro!

it's the U of A or UA... not AU!

BEAR DOWN CATS!

Shalinva,

The Oregon defense only gave up 20 points, and they only gave up 3 points during the last 35 minutes of game play. If Brady Leaf had given them anything, the ducks would have won that game.

Shalinva,
The oregon *defense* put on an average performance, allowing 20 points, with only 3 in the second half. Two touchdowns and two field goals is a decent effort against Arizona's passing attack (and they forced a fumble and a pick). Leaf was picked for a touchdown and a non-call-block-in-the-back on a punt return account for another 7. The d held the line, the ducks just unfortunately inherited the Leaf family curse (what the heck was ryan doing on the sidelines...he's a coug); they would have put up 50 on the wildcats if Dixon hadn't gone down.

CITATION FROM THE IDIOT POLICE

netizen,

You have been issued the following citation by the Idiot Police:
$25 fine for incomplete argument.

COMMENTS:
In your 1:48 a.m. post, you argued that Oklahoma and Ohio State would still likely face off in the National Championship because of your prediction of losses by LSU and West Virginia.
By stating that you feel Oklahoma will be in the National Championship, one can easily deduce that you are predicting that Oklahoma will make it to the Big XII championship game, and win, as that is clearly the only way they could make it to the National Championship. However, since Kansas and Missouri are both presently ranked higher than Ohio State, you need to at least make mention of how and why you believe that Ohio State will pass them both. It is quite possible that a one-loss Kansas could still finish higher in the rankings than Ohio State, especially if that loss is to Oklahoma in the conference championship (meaning that Kansas defeated Missouri). While there are certainly logical paths for Ohio State to make it back into the National Championship, to simply imply that losses by LSU and West Virginia (coupled with Oklahoma winning out) would be sufficient is reckless and irresponsible on your part.

As always, your fine can be waived in exchange for your not making any more blog posts.

Stay smart out there!
The Idiot Police

Disclaimer: The Idiot Police is a non-partisan organization, having no ties to any particular conference or team. The primary goal of the Idiot Police is to rid the world of the rampant stupidity that infects sports blogs everywhere.

Regarding the Heisman, if either Tebow or Daniels doesn't do anything spectacular the next couple of games I think Dixon still deserves to be in the middle of the discussion, even if he doesn't play the rest of the season.

You saw how important he obviously is to that team. He made it look easy in the first quarter. Just because he gets hurt with two games left of the season, shouldn't tarnish his chances. I realize exposure is key, leading up to the award, but like this entire college season, unconvention seems to be prevailing.

I can see the logic in the OU vs OSU national championship game.

1. LSU will win out, unless it meets Georgia in the SEC Championship.

2. Oregon, did itself in.

3. Kansas, loses to Mizzou or OU.

4. Oklahoma, nuff said.

5. Missouri, loses to Kansas or OU.

6. West Virgina, I think they might lose this weekend.

7. tOSU, nuff said.

Its a very strong possibility that this matchup might indeed happen.

Ohio State in the title game is possible. If you think it will happen, then you would have to believe the following:

1. Ohio State will win tomorrow.
2. Oregon's loss last night will drop them below Ohio State.
3. A loss by any of the remaining Big 12 teams will drop them below Ohio State.

None of those statements is by any means certain at this point. However, IF they hold true, then your top 4 contenders at this point are (based on current position):

1. LSU
2. Big 12 Champion
3. West Virginia
4. Ohio State

So, for Ohio State to move up to the top 2, in addition to the 3 statements above needing to hold true, there would need to be 2 losses of a combination of LSU, West Virginia, or the Big 12 Champion (possible, remotely, for example if Oklahoma loses before the conference championship game but still makes it to and wins the conference championship game). I'm not sure I believe all of that can happen, but I do see how it is at least possible.

I hope that's a good enough analysis for the idiot police...

I'm actually pretty certain netizen is right simply because if OSU wins this weekend, they will be assured of being at least no. 6 when the BCS comes out on Sunday. IF LSU and West Virginia drop another game, West Virginia will immediately fall behind OSU, and LSU would probably fall three or four spots, if they fall three they stay ahead of OSU, if not they're behind. The loser of KU-MU will be guaranteed to lose at least four spots due to the perceived weakness of the schedules. Then if the winner loses to OU, they will fall at least two spots, leaving them behind OSU.
Of course, I don't foresee Ohio State beating Michigan just because of the way the season has gone and the emotion that Michigan will bring to the game.

Idiot Police--

While I share your doubt that the Buckeyes will make it into the title game, the argument on which your citation was based is at least as imcomplete as netizen's was.

You cite netizen for incomplete argument because he/she did not explain how Ohio State could leapfrog Missouri or Kansas. Here's how:

If Oklahoma wins the Big 12, Missouri will have two losses (they will have lost either to Kansas or in the Big 12 Championship Game). A one-loss Ohio State would definitely leapfrog a two-loss Missouri. Kansas would have lost either to Missouri, in which case, pollsters would drop Kansas based on strength of schedule. Finally, if KU beats Missouri then loses to Oklahoma in the Big 12 Championship game, the pollsters (who still have more say in the BCS standings than the computers) absolutely, positively, will not allow a re-match in the BCS Championship Game. The people who vote in the polls made it abundantly clear last year that they will not allow the BCS Championship Game to be a rematch of a late-season game.

I really like the idea of the "Idiot Police" patrolling stupid sports blogs, and I thought Kevin's post was quite nice.

But being a tied-die-hard fan of WVU since a child of the late
50's, I still believe that the Mountaineers have a very valid chance to meet either LSU or the Big 12 winner in the BCS Bowl.

In order not to be cited by the idiot police, I present this scenario:

LSU loses in the SEC Championship game, maybe. Especially if it is against Florida or Georgia.

Oklahoma loses to Texas Tech and/or to Oklahoma State.

Kansas beats ISU, but loses to Missouri.

Missouri loses to either Oklahoma or Texas in the Big 12 Championship.

Oregon forgot to duck.

Ohio State wins a sloppy game at the Big House (it's just karma, Lloyd!). But that only gets OSU into the Rose Bowl.

And WVU reels off three victories, with at least two big style point wins, and finds more voters jumping on its bandwagon, as the Big 12 implodes, and the season progresses.

BCS Game: WVU vs. LSU, probably.

PS...Pat White and Dennis Dixon are virtually the same player, but playing for different teams with different coaching philosophies. If Rodriguez allowed, or needed, White to throw the ball as much as Oregon needed Dixon to throw, Pat White would be in serious Heisman contention.

Let's start showing a little more respect to the Mountaineers, and to the parity-ridden Big East as well!

Sooner fan here...

I also was rooting for good ol Mike Stoops in Arizona (we miss you as our Defensive Co.!), but I wish Dixon a speedy recovery. He is an awesome talent.

We could still easily meet up with Oregon if we throw a wrench to the end of our season somehow, but I hope he recovers soon.

Kevin, thanks for the kind words for Dixon. He is a scholar athlete (graduated in 3 1/2 years) who deserves respect and any true sports fan would hate to see someone like him go down (even if it enables your team to win).

Ducks recovered there composure and played excellent on defense in the second half. Props to you Ducks for making a game of it after such a huge emotional blow.

I'm a Michigan fan so I probably shouldn't even be in this discussion but why does everybody think OSU is going to whoop Big Blue tom. If the Wolverines win that will just prove how stupid everybody was thinking putting OSU back into the title chase with two losses. I don't even understand how you have them in there now when they have zero quality wins and lost to an unranked Illinois team. But keep on dreaming. It's never going to happen. Proof is tomorrow

sorry no excuse for losing your starting qb and being #2. ask cal. nobody is remembering that they haven't been the same since longshore got injured.

I thought you have previously chosen Oklahoma to be in the champ. game, but now you are predicting Texas tech will beat Oklahoma this weekend.??? Am I the only one who got confused?

I for one am rooting for Michigan (even if this isn't the place)and believe they can beat OSU.

Answers - Oregon as a team has never used excuses even though they had lost half of their offensive weapons before they played Cal. Cal psyched Dixon out and openly bragged about their ability to do that rather than their skill on the field.

Name all of the ranked teams who would perform as well as Oregon with all the weapons lost?

However unfortunate, injuries are a central part of the game. West Virginia may be undefeated if White didn't get injured, Cal may still be a title contender, and certainly Oregon would still be top 5. But they happen, and happen every year. Embrace it as part of the game, and how incredibly difficult it is to predict who will come out on top.

HA.HA ... Mandel said Erin Andrews keeping us "abreast".. you sly cat from Northwestern.

CITATION FROM THE IDIOT POLICE

scottangle,

You have been issued the following citation by the Idiot Police:
$50 fine for irrational questioning of a prior citation.

COMMENTS:
In your 3:40 p.m. post, you questioned the previous citation of Netizen, stating that the argument made by the Idiot Police was incomplete. You then go on to thoroughly (and effectively) make the very argument that Netizen failed to make. The very fact that you had to clarify Netizen’s argument validates the fine issued to Netizen for making the incomplete argument in the first place. The Idiot Police will never complete the argument for which another blogger is issued a citation; that is not the mission of the Idiot Police. The point is that Netizen was on the verge of actually making a coherent argument (whether one would agree with it or not), but completely fell flat because he failed to address the Kansas-only-losing-to-Oklahoma scenario. How he addressed it would not have mattered; by addressing it at all (as you did), he would have avoided the fine.

As always, your fine can be waived in exchange for your not making any more blog posts.

Stay smart out there!
The Idiot Police

Disclaimer: The Idiot Police is a non-partisan organization, having no ties to any particular conference or team. The primary goal of the Idiot Police is to rid the world of the rampant stupidity that infects sports blogs everywhere.

Stewart,

I know you're not a doctor, nor do you play one on TV, but what's with all the Duck knee injuries? Is it the gear (Nike?!)? The training? The Harding/Gilooly curse? What gives (besides ACLs)?

At the risk of being cited by the IdiotPolice, is this Brady Leaf a relative of the awesome WSU QB who went on to such a legendary NFL career?

Also, are the Pac-10 officials the worst in the NCAA? How do you miss such a blatant facemask penalty, especially since it was an open field tackle, there was no one to block the view of four officials on that play?

Clipping is one of the least called penalties at any level in football anymore. Refs are scared to throw the flag if there is any doubt about whether the block might have been 5° off center or not.

I think Mike Stoops would be the type of coach that Nebraska could go for to replace Callahan.

I have no clue who will play in the title game, but right now it looks like the Big 12 champion is almost guaranteed a spot (unless the big 12 champion has 2 losses).

If LSU keeps winning, then LSU will play in the championship for sure.

So if you are not a big 12 fan, you best chance of having "your team" play for the championship is to hope that LSU loses another game.

Lee Corso is probably smiling big now. He predicted a long time ago that Oklahoma would play LSU in the championship game.

I said this before... Texas will go and win the big 12 championship...

The Big Ten schedule has messed up OSU. WV will be playing for a while and it will be difficult for OSU to gain ground. It's a shame because I think OSU is better than any team now except LSU. OK has had a more rigorous schedule, but has not handled it well.

for shane.dog.smith - Many of us are not Big 12 fans, but most of us respect a strong team, even if begrudgingly. The problem with the Big 12 right now is it reminds me of the Big Ten last year. OK has beaten a solid Texas team as OSU did last year, and OK has beaten Missou as OSU beat Mich. Missou has beaten Illinois (perhaps not a quality win) just as Mich beat Wisc last year. Kans has beaten no one as was the case with Wisc last year.
What we have too much of now is resting claims of greatness on one game. Boise St beat OK, Stanford beat USC and Ariz defeated Oreg, but I don't see greatness. Kansas is bragging about a victory over Cent Mich and a sometimes hapless A&M team and Hawaii has beaten no team I remotely think of as solid.
We have lost something when teams are ranked without even coming close to beating a ranked team.

Porks how do you figure Texas will be Big 12 Champ?

Everything that you mentioned in your piece about Charlie Weis
applies to Greg Robinson (GROB) of Syracuse. GROB and his supporters
in the coaching community are saying that there was zero talent left by Paul Pasqualoni. However,
Pasqualoni's team went 6-6 (yes I know they were blown out in the bowl game) in his last year. GROB
had a veteran team including the
QB back in his first year and went
1-10. His OC Brian Parani was never an OC at any level and it showed. The offense looked totally confused all year. GROB thought he would be a savior with the West Coast offense and the genius tight end coach from the Bronco's. After 2 sasons at Syracuse GROB had only
1 of 5 offensive coaches remaing from his orininal staff. The situation has
grown so bad that I suspect AD Daryl Gross will pull the plug at the end of the year. I hope that he has learned his lesson and
hires a successful HC from a Mid-major or 1-AA.

Thanks to the Big 12 fans who have posted their best wishes for Dennis Dixon -- it's nice to occasionally see some actual intelligence and compassion on these blogs/message boards.

As a big Ducks fan, I am, of course, disappointed by last night's events, especially the long stretch where the Ducks seemed shell-shocked by Dixon's injury. But you know what? Injuries happen to all teams, and Oregon (and its fans) can't be using that as an excuse.

Bottom line: 8-2 and needing help to reach the Rose Bowl. Hell, at this point, I'd settle for the Holiday Bowl, which is annually a very fun Pac-10/Big 12 game. I was there in 2000 when the Ducks barely got by Texas.

I don't know, though ... Brady Leaf sure doesn't look like a former starter at QB. Two more losses and we could be staring right at the Sun Bowl. Again.

As a Sooner Fan, I'm happy to see Oregon and Dixon lose. That is Stoops Karma Baby! Go ahead and make reservations in El Paso for the Sun Bowl Duck fans. YOU DESERVE IT!

As an Oklahoma fan, I was rooting for Arizona to win last night, but certainly not like that. Mike Stoops made a number of bonehead coaching decisions, including not running out the clock at the end of the first half in his own territory, but they won in spite of same. I was sorry to see Dixon injured - he's a great player and probably should win the Heisman. Hope the injury is not terribly serious. I am curious that no one here has seen the likelihood of an Oklahoma/West Virginia title game. If WV continues to win, and Oklahoma can beat Tech and OSU, an then Kansas (they should be favored in all those games), then I don't see any other matchup. Wouldn't it be interesting to see West Virginia in the national championship game?

Bad to hear about the injury to Dixon, never a good thing, and I was pulling for the Ducks this year. But a national champion team does not hinge on the shoulders of one player, no matter how good he is. These things are going to happen (just like bad calls from the refs) and you have to be able to overcome them.

Take Nebraska's '94 Nat'l Champ team. They lost Tommy Frasier (starting QB) for most of the season, Brook Berringer (backup QB) for a couple of games, and Mike Minter (defensive leader). But they got the job done due to the extraordinary depth of talent.

Even being an NU and Big 12 fan, I really wanted to see an LSU-Oregon title game. The SEC simply deserves to be there, and Oregon is simply exciting to watch.

What the nation forgets to realize is that the University of Oregon went through this year losing their top two deep threat burners to SEASON ending injuries fairly early in the season. Their game breaking 1.5 string running was lost for the season halfway through. Jeremiah Johnson could start and torch for any other team in D1. They lost TWO starting linebackers (both were good, so they aren't just my excuse to name more injuries). At the end of the Arizona game, they did not have two starting receivers, their 2nd and 3rd/4th string tailback (andiel brown), their heisman front-running QB, their similair situationed star running back (ankle), and two big-play starting linebackers. NO OTHER TEAM IN THE NCAA THIS YEAR could have as much success and such a good run as Oregon with all those variables. Not Oklahoma, LSU, Ohio State, for god's sake not Kansas, etc. If Oregon had their full roster, they are the best team in the country this year.

anyone who calls Oregon overrated after losing last night has bad judgment in rating teams. If anything, with the stuff they went through, they should've surpassed the nations expectations.

Dear Oregon "Injury" Weepers-

I quit playing football at a certain age because it simply hurt my body too much. I admit it. I wasn't up to the task. In my short time as a player, I also realized that according to standard football culture, blaming injuries is the lamest of excuses for losing a game or not meeting expectations. The foundation of any good team is superb strength, conditioning, and durability. Injuries are unfortunate and often unfair to good players who have worked hard, but Oregon's rash of injuries suggest that as a team their strength and conditioning is sub-par. It also suggests a lack of depth and an inability on the part of the coaching staff to adjust. What Oregon lacks, all true championship teams possess in surplus.
I tell you what, next time you see Dick Butkus or Lawrence Taylor or Jack Lambert, look them in the eye and give them Oregon's injury excuse. I really don't think they'll care.
Best of luck to Dixon and all the other injured players out there in making a speedy recovery.

charles,

---I could not remember my login password, so I had to create this alternate login name. So here is my response to your response, along with some more thoughts I have.---

I can agree with some of what you said. I disagree with the assertion that we've lost something when we have a team ranked who hasn't 'come close to beating a ranked team'. Ohio State was ranked #1 last week and hadn't really beaten anybody of note. And I felt they deserved the ranking at the time as did many other people. They were subsequently exposed, but at the time, I felt they deserved to be where they were ranked.

If this were the 3rd or perhaps 4th week of the year, then I would agree with your assertion. Without a history of games to look back on, maybe it is premature to rank someone who hasn't beaten anybody of note. But we now have (for most teams) 10 games behind us. I think this is sufficient history to rank a team against all the other teams in the country.

Voters, Pollsters, Fans, etc. take into account the strength of a team's opponents. Just look at why Hawaii isn't ranked higher this year and why Boise State (only 1 loss) isn't ranked higher.

With several weeks left in the season, I say we let things play themselves out. We can all be theorists here, but the reality is unless LSU loses a game they will play for the national championship. That only leaves one more slot open. And with the next 3 spots filled with big 12 teams, two of which will drop because they play each other and someone has to lose, then it is very likely the big 12 team that emerges will maintain the number 2 ranking in the country at the end of the year.

One last thing to remember, teams like LSU, Oklahoma, Missouri, and Kansas have to play 13 games to make it to the national championship. On the other hand, the Ohio State, West Virginia, and Arizona State teams only have to play 12 games because they have no conference championship.

It would be interesting to see how Ohio State, West Virginia, and Arizona State (the only 3 teams that have a realistic chance to challenge the big 12 champion for a spot in the national title game) would fare if they had to schedule an extra game at the end of their schedule against a high quality opponent.

LSU won't play for the championship unless they beat Tennessee or Georgia. That's one more game they have to survive that the other teams (outside the big 12) don't have to worry about.

For the record, I know the ACC has a conference championship, but they are not in contention this year, so I am not mentioning them.

To Oregon fans:

Just wanted you to know that folks here in the Big 10 are sorry to see Dixon get hurt as well. He's a great talent and seems like a good person to boot (the most important thing in my book anyway), and you hate to see something like that happen and a team lose that way. Best wishes from Ohio to Dixon and the Ducks!

If KU wins out, Big Blue beats Ohio State, West Virginia loses to Cincy, and Georgia beats LSU in the SEC championship, wouldn't the Dawgs play KU for the title?

realist U are a work of art.
Oregon's plyrs are in great shape and conditioning. They were running over and through evrybody.
They just play harder and faster than anybody..which is why they were running over everybody.
They were deep until Johnson, Colvin, Paysinger, Tuitele, and Bacon went down. Dixon was just the final straw.
Whats different about their injurys than evrybody elses? Everybody else wasnt running over everyone. They are all premier plyrs that were juniors and SENIORS plying since they were true freshmen that went down with SEASON ENDING INJURYS. Its not a excuse. Tts a fact.
We now recognize we are a average team. Except for Stewart, our plyrs are now no different than anyone else plyrs.

I AM A DUCK. FIRST OFF THANKS FOR ALL THOSE WHO SENT GOOD WISHES TO DENNIS DIXON. THIS IS A GREAT YOUNG MAN.

HE BROUGHT A LOT GREAT FOOTBALL TO US IN OREGON AND THE NATION AS A WHOLE. SUCH JOY TO WATCH THIS YOUNG MAN PLAY AS WELL AS SEEING THE AFFECT HE HAD ON HIS TEAMATES.

UNFORUNATELY, HIS SEASON AND COLLEGE CAREER IS NOW OVER. HE TORE HIS ACL & WILL NEED SURGERY TO REPAIR IT.

WHILE I DON'T EXPECT IT, & KNOW OF NO PRECIDENT(SP?), I THINK HE STILL DESERVES THE HEISMAN. I CANNOT THINK OF A MORE GLARING EXAMPLE OF THE QUALITY OF HIS PLAY & WHAT HE BROUGHT TO HIS TEAM THAN SEEING IT WITHOUT HIM.

FOR WHAT IT IS WORTH I ALSO TOTALLY AGREE WITH THE COMMENTS ABOUT THE POOR QUALITY OF PAC 10 OFFICIATING. IT IS, BUT ANOTHER EXAMPLE, OF THE LACK OF LEADERSHIP FROM THE PAC 10 COMMISIONER & HIS ADMINISTRATION.

IT IS ONLY BECAUSE THE INDIVIDUAL SCHOOLS HAVE THE QUALITY OF PROGRAMS THAT THEY HAVE THAT WE ARE EVEN SEEN OUTSIDE OF THE WEST COAST.

UNFORUNATELY, OUR COMMISSIONER, THINKS THE CONFERENCE BEGINS & ENDS IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA.

ONE COULD GO ON & ON ABOUT THE MULTITUDE OF ISSUES INVOLVING POOR & NO LEADERSHIP FROM OUR CCONFERENCE'S COMMISSIONER & HIS OFFICE.

AGAIN, THANKS TO THOSE WWHO EXPRESSED CONCERN & WELL WISHES TO DENNIS AS WELL AS DENNIS HIMSELF FOR ALL THE JOY HE GAVE US IN WATCHING HIM PLAY AT OREGON.

To: IdiotPolice

I'll try to look passed the manner in which you expressed your opinion, and address your opinion directly.

It sucks. Who died and made you sheriff?

My argument wasn't incomplete simply because I left something implied. Even you proved capable of inferring what I implied so I reject your citation.

Based on Oregon's loss, Oklahoma is no worse than #3 and Ohio State is no worse than #6. Of the four other teams in the Top 6 each has 1 loss already except Kansas. My prediction was predicated on each of those four incurring a 2nd loss or, and in the case of Kansas a 1st loss. That's a prefectly plausible scenario.

The biggest factors in BCS rankings are the Harris Poll (media) and the Coaches Poll, which are 2/3 of the formula. This year the average drop by a Top 5 team after a loss has been 8.7 spots; the smallest drops have been 4 spots. Therefore, any remaining Top 5 team that loses can expect to make a similar drop, which would put them behind Ohio State.

Furthermore, Ohio State's season ends tomorrow, and a win locks in an 11-1 record. Everyone ranked ahead of them has games remaining... big games, and the losses I've predicted would give all but Kansas 2 losses to Ohio State's 1.

Granted, Oklahoma, Ohio State AND Kansas could all end the season with 1 loss, but I believe the media and coaches would deem Oklahoma and Ohio State the more deserving teams, and Kansas gets the Fiesta.

My post wasn't nearly as "stupid" as yours was arrogant.

P.S. Worse Case Scenario: Kansas vs. West Virginia. Zzzzzz

For those that gave good comments or feelings toward Dixion and Oregon...thank you. For those that did not...you sadden me.

I felt the pain when Dixion went down. His injury proves how fragile the human body is and how much a QB is the backbone to a team.

I am hoping for the best for the rest of the season but expect the worse. How high our hopes were and now how low are hearts our...chin up and prepare for next season.

Dixion...get well...you deserve it.

WVU's Most Probable Road to the BCS Championship Game

It seems to me that the most intriguing team currently in the BCS mix is WVU; they are intriguing because of their position in the polls, prompting the question, "do they have a reasonable shot at the BCS title game if they win out?"

Acknowledging that they may indeed lose any of their final three games, the following is my speculation on WVU's only practically possible road to the title game, supposing they do win out:

1. Big XII factor #1: Kansas vs. Missouri. At the risk of oversimplifying things, I believe that although Mizzou is the stronger team on a neutral field, the fact that the Jayhawks will be playing the final game of their season (for all the marbles) at home will be the determining factor here. Kansas will beat Missouri; write it down. At two losses, the Tigers would fall below WVU in the polls.

2. Big XII factor #2: Championship game, Oklahoma vs. KU (if anyone wants an argument defending my placement of OU over UT as the Big XII South's representative, I'll provide it on request). Surprisingly, I don't think it matters what happens in this matchup: the winner of the Big XII will be in the BCS title game. Here's my reasoning: if KU beats OU, obviously the two-loss Sooners would drop below WVU in the polls. However, should Kansas lose this game, even given the completely sound strength-of-schedule argument they could make, the fact that the loss is late in the season will decide their fate. As we know, perception is 9/10ths of the law in Div. I-A college football, and pollsters will penalize KU for sullying Cinderella's slipper. Thus, either way, WVU (again, supposing they do win out, which is by no means a guarantee) moves up over the loser here.

3. The SEC, upon which everyone's fate rests: Here's the key, and it's not a shocker - LSU must lose if WVU is to have a shot at the title game. This comes as a surprise to no one, but it's best that we put all our cards on the table now. I'm not here to comment on the merit of the alleged superiority of the SEC, and really, I don't need to: again, perception dictates, and the pollsters perceive the SEC to be superior to other conferences. All debate pertaining to the reality of this perception is pointless.

Summary: WVU's most probable road to the title is as follows - 1. Mizzou loses to Kansas, 2. The loser of the Big XII championship drops below #2, 3. LSU loses the SEC championship.

Two final notes: first, to Big Ten fans, I understand the meritorious argument that could be made for OSU's getting back in the hunt if they beat Big Blue, but again, the problem with their loss to Illinois has nothing to do with the strength of their opponent and everything to do with timing: a late loss dooms anyone in the BCS, because pollsters simply don't have time to work themselves into a lather about OSU's (possible) one-game winning streak. Second, to Pac-10 hopefuls: clearly ASU has the best shot of anyone in the conference, should they beat USC. However, not only are the Sun Devils' last two games hardly gimmies, but I believe their upcoming idle week will doom them to falling too far behind WVU in terms of poll points (isn't it sad that we have to decide a winner by committee rather than by actually playing games on the fields, as our forefathers intended? Ah well; such is life in the corrupt NCAA).

Thanks, and good luck to all!

June Jones states that Hawaii's thrilling 2-point victory over a traditional weakling is proof Hawaii has many more stars on its roster than just Brennan.
Hawaii says that since it tried to schedule Mich and failed we should count that as a positive strength of schedule argument for Hawaii as if they had beaten Mich.
And Hawaii says it is harder to travel east and play when their players are normally practicing than it is for their opponents to travel west and play when the opponents are normally sleeping.
As far as providing a good laugh over coffee no one is better than Hawaii. But the best single comment is the Kansas statement that since Toledo beat them last year this year's game became a challenge. To start this season OSU circled Mich, Fla circled LSU, Tex circled OK, and Kansas circled ... Toledo.

SunGun,

The problem with your arguement is that the KU/Mizzou game IS played on a neutral field this year. KU forfeited their home field to play it at Arrowhead which in hindsight seems idiotic. When they planned the game, KU was a mediocre team (at best) which had trouble filling their stadium.

To reiterate other good Sooner fans thoughts, I hated to see Oregon lose the game that way. No matter what anyone says about excuses, it sucks to lose your season that way (by the way, is there anyway Texas wins the NC without VY?) and here's hoping Dixon has success in future years. He is a special talent.

If everything plays out the way its supposed to, the Big 12 Championship serves as a semifinal to the NC to play LSU. With that said, anyone who assumes everything will play out the way is supposed to is crazy. If I were a WV or OSU fan, I would feel like I had a legitimate shot to get to the big game.

I am a duck fan. I bleed green and yellow. I stayed to the bitter end of the Oklahoma game when half the stadium cleared out. I am the loudest person you will ever have the misfortue to sit next to at a football game.

That being said, Oregon is not a top-25 team without Dennis Dixon. We managed to hold it together this season after losing Paysinger, Colvin, Johnson and others becuase of Dixon's talent and leadership. Now, behind Leaf, we will be decent (and still better than the Beavers), but we are no longer good enough to be ranked.

I feel lost, confused, and in mourning for our season. There is a hole where my heart once was. I was a great ride while it lasted, but college football is dead to me now (except the Civil War!). See you next season.