Pyle of List

“The light at the end of the tunnel is just the light of an oncoming train.”

-Robert Lowell

Mr. Lowell, a former Poet Laureate, was one of the founders of the “confessional poetry” movement, which basically meant that poets became more open about injecting things from their personal lives (illness, sexuality, despondence) into their works.  From that line, I think it’s pretty clear to see which one Robert suffers from.

But as terribly tragic as it sounds, it could serve as a sense of inspiration for the six undefeated teams, all of which play this holiday weekend.  One way of looking at it is that they only have two or three more games left (counting bowl games) to finish the year completely undefeated.  But the other way to look at it is that they have two to three more chances to lose.  You can bet that’s how the coaches of the teams they face are spinning it, filling their players heads with visions of the accolades they’ll receive for taking down an undefeated team.

So let’s take a look at my rankings and predictions for the undefeated teams. (Current record: 62-16)

#6 Boise State: Put on an extra pair of socks and keep your slippers handy Friday night because hell is going to freeze over.  The Broncos are going to lose at home.

As evidenced by the popularity of this shirt and Alan’s monologue from The Hangover, it’s the year of the Wolf Pack.  Yes, Nevada did lose their first three games, including starting the season by getting shut-out by Notre Dame.  But since then they’ve won 8 in a row and have the best rushing attack in the country.  They just need to get that going, and then it’s anyone’s games.

The last two years, they’ve lost to Boise State by a combined 9 points.  This year they get over the hump, by running over it at full speed.

Winner: Boise State

#5 Cincinnati: The new BCS fall guy, Bill Hancock was recently interviewed.  Turns out he’s friends with Bearcats coach Brian Kelly (though maybe not for very long).  His initial argument against playoffs was to give none whatsoever, saying that he’d tell an undefeated Cincinnati team that was left out of the title game “good job and great season and other total crap.”  After some prodding by the interviewer, Hancock compared Cincinnati not having a chance to win the national championship to teams getting left out of the NCAA Tournament.

There’s a number of reasons this is incredibly absurd, but the BCS people like to say “someone’s always going to be left out.”  Yes, obviously, but with a playoff the teams left out would have at least one loss, likely two.  If you go undefeated THERE IS LITERALLY NOTHING ELSE YOU COULD HAVE DONE TO HELP YOUR CASE.  (And the, “well play better teams” argument only goes so far because non-traditional schools have trouble getting powerhouses to play them, plus you don’t know how good a team’s going to be when you schedule them.)

Basically, Hancock compared Cincinnati to Morehead State from last year’s NCAA Tournament.  They were a 16 seed with a 20-15 record.  That is five games away from not having a winning season.  And yet, this team still got a chance (technically) to win the championship.

The BCS needs to die.  But since it doesn’t play on the field, the Bearcats will have to settle with beating up on Illinois instead.

Winner: Cincinnati

#4 TCU: They started off a little slow against Wyoming but finished strong to defeat them 45-10.  I knew they were good, but I had no idea just how great they were until I read Dr. Saturday’s take on them.

They rank in the top ten of nearly every category imaginable, destroy nearly every team they face, and still aren’t going to get a shot at the national championship?  What a cruel, cruel shame.  I hope they take their frustration out on New Mexico.  They need to burn them to the ground, so there’s no doubt that the Horned Frogs got robbed.

Winner: TCU

#3 Florida: It’s Tebow’s final home game.  That alone will give him (and, by default, the Gators) the win, whether it’s through divine intervention (referees), miracles (the offense working), or prayer (Hail Marys to Riley Cooper).

But don’t forget about the story on the other sideline.  It’s all but set in stone that this will be Bobby Bowden’s last game against the Gators, so his team will not want him to get embarrassed.  But what if, somehow, the Seminoles pulls out a victory?  Can you really prevent Bowden from staying in the roost another season after that?  I don’t think that question will need to be asked, but it would be awesome.

Winner: Florida

#2 Alabama: Even though the Tide was playing against juniors from high school last week, it was still mighty impressive the way Mark Ingram offered them piggy-back rides on his way into the endzone.  The SEC should start petitioning for him to be able to enter the draft a year early so they don’t have to deal with him next year.

The Iron Bowl is the biggest college rivalry game, so anything can happen.  But this year, “anything” means Alabama wins.  It shouldn’t be as bad as last year because Auburn can actually score points (sometimes), but the Tide’s offense is picking up at just the right time.

The only chance the Tigers have is if Bama gets caught looking ahead.  As in literally not watching the field.

#1 Texas: Still going strong and playing hard.  Congratulations to Colt McCoy, who’s now the winningest college quarterback.  He’s averaging just under two losses a season.  Keep the average there, huge success.  Bump it up to an even two losses a season, and he’ll be considered a “failure.”  Not really, of course, but that’s the price you pay when any of the three possible losses lying ahead of you carry so much weight.

Speaking of weight, the only chance Texas A&M has of winning tomorrow is if the Longhorns gorge themselves on Thanksgiving dinner before and during the game.  So don’t let them be turkeys, Mack Brown.

Winner: Texas