Bowl season starts this weekend, and although the games that matter don't start for a couple more weeks, I'm still going to predict the outcome of each of the 35 games. I am also suggesting a couple of potential playoff scenarios that would be far superior to the current system.
Upset picks are in italics.
Dec 15
New Mexico - Nevada vs. Arizona - Wildcats 40-31
Idaho Potato - Toledo vs. (22) Utah State - Aggies 34-20
Dec 20
Poinsettia - BYU at San Diego State - Cougars 25-24
Dec 21
Beef O'Brady's - UCF vs. Ball State - Knights 35-24
Dec 22
New Orleans - East Carolina vs. Louisiana-Lafayette - Ragin Cajuns 40-22
MAACO - Washington vs. (19) Boise State - Broncos 26-21
Dec 24
Hawaii - Fresno State vs. SMU - Bulldogs 42-20
Dec 26
Little Caesars - Western Kentucky vs. Central Michigan - Hilltoppers 31-24
Dec 27
Military - Bowling Green vs. (24) San Jose State - Spartans 33-18
Belk - Duke vs. Cincinnati - Bearcats 33-21
Holiday - Baylor vs. (17) UCLA - Bruins 35-34
Dec 28
Independence - Louisiana-Monroe vs. Ohio - Warhawks 41-20
Russell Athletic - Rutgers vs. Virginia Tech - Scarlet Knights 21-19
Meineke Car Care - Minnesota vs. Texas Tech - Red Raiders 38-24
Dec 29
Armed Forces - Rice vs. Air Force - Owls 31-30
Pinstripe - Syracuse vs. West Virginia - Mountaineers 37-34
Fight Hunger - Navy vs. Arizona State - Sun Devils 38-18
Alamo - (23) Texas vs. (13) Oregon State - Beavers 31-26
Buffalo Wild Wings - TCU vs. Michigan State - Horned Frogs 27-20
Dec 31
Music City - North Carolina State at Vanderbilt - Commodores 34-15
Sun - USC vs. Georgia Tech - Trojans 37-23
Liberty - Iowa State vs. Tulsa - Cyclones 28-22
Chick-fil-A - (8) LSU vs. (14) Clemson - LSU Tigers 30-24
Jan 1
Gator - (20) Northwestern vs. Mississippi State - Bulldogs 27-26
Heart of Dallas - Purdue vs. Oklahoma State - Cowboys 45-24
Outback - (18) Michigan vs. (10) South Carolina - Gamecocks 28-21
Capital One - (16) Nebraska vs. (7) Georgia - Bulldogs 37-20
Rose - Wisconsin vs. (6) Stanford - Cardinal 27-20
Orange - (15) Northern Illinois vs. (12) Florida State - Seminoles 32-24
Jan 2
Sugar - (21) Louisville vs. (3) Florida - Gators 33-13
Jan 3
Fiesta - (4) Oregon vs. (5) Kansas State - Ducks 41-30
Jan 4
Cotton - (9) Texas A&M vs. (11) Oklahoma - Aggies 38-28
Jan 5
BBVA Compass - Pittsburgh vs. Ole Miss - Panthers 26-25
Jan 6
GoDaddy.com - (25) Kent State vs. Arkansas State - Red Wolves 35-26
Jan 7
BCS - (1) Notre Dame vs. (2) Alabama - Crimson Tide 29-17
16-Team Playoff Model
In a 16-team playoff, I would include all 11 conference champions, then add in 5 wild card teams. I would limit each conference to a maximum of 2 teams, although 3 could be considered. The games would take place over 4 weekends starting right after finals week ends, thus making sure the "student-athletes" wouldn't miss any class time. The higher seed would have home field advantage up through the championship game, which would be played at a neutral site, just like the Super Bowl. Using the final BCS standings as a guide, these are the 16 teams and their seeding:
(1) Notre Dame (Wild 1)
(16) Tulsa (CUSA)
(8) Florida State (ACC)
(9) Clemson (Wild 5)
(4) Oregon (Wild 3)
(13) Utah State (WAC)
(5) Kansas State (Big 12)
(12) Louisville (Big East)
(6) Stanford (Pac 12)
(11) Boise State (MWC)
(3) Florida (Wild 2)
(14) Wisconsin (Big 10)
(7) Oklahoma (Wild 4)
(10) Northern Illinois (MAC)
(2) Alabama (SEC)
(15) Arkansas State (Sun Belt)
The first-round games aren't dream matchups, but look at what we could see in the second round. Notre Dame and Florida State renewing an old rivalry, Stanford and Florida grinding it out with defense, the Alabama-Oklahoma Red Bowl, and Oregon playing Kansas State with 1000 total yards a real possibility. In this season's BCS games, there are only 2 intriguing matchups, one being that Oregon-Kansas State showdown, and the other in the championship game. This scenario would give you 4 great games in the second round, plus 3 more great games on the way to the title.
The argument about the current system making the regular season more important is also rendered moot in this system, because there are just a few wild card slots to go around, so winning your conference is still extremely important. Even for teams who appear to have clinched their spot in the playoffs with games still to play, there will be no temptation to take a week off, because seeding makes a huge difference, and one loss can drop a team several spots in the rankings. Just look at the difference between #2 and #6, one of which is playing Arkansas State, and the other Boise State. A drop from #2 to #6 is quite common with a late-season loss.
If a third team from one conference were to be allowed, I would put Georgia in at #7, pushing Oklahoma to #8, Florida State to #9, and leaving Clemson at home. That scenario would give us the chance at seeing a possible rematch of the SEC Championship Game in the second round, which was one of the best games of the year.
8-Team Playoff Model
In an 8-team model, I would stipulate that only conference champions ranked among the top 16 would qualify automatically, and that if more than 8 conference winners were in the top 16, the top 8 would get in (it's never happened, and it's quite unlikely that it ever will.) Any remaining spots would be filled by the top wild card teams, which would give us the following setup, which isn't much different from what we would see in the second round of the 8-team model:
(1) Notre Dame (Wild 1)
(8) Northern Illinois (MAC)
(4) Oregon (Wild 3)
(5) Kansas State (Big 12)
(6) Stanford (Pac 12)
(3) Florida (Wild 2)
(7) Florida State (ACC)
(2) Alabama (SEC)
NBA
Brooklyn at Toronto - Nets by 5
Atlanta at Orlando - Hawks by 2
Cleveland at Indiana - Pacers by 9
Chicago at Philadelphia - Bulls by 3
LA Clippers at Charlotte - Clippers by 14
Golden State at Miami - Heat by 5
Dallas at Boston - Celtics by 4
Sacramento at Milwaukee - Bucks by 7
Washington at Houston - Rockets by 8
New Orleans at Oklahoma City - Thunder by 17
Denver at Minnesota - Timberwolves by 2
Memphis at Phoenix - Grizzlies by 8
San Antonio at Utah - Spurs by 4
College Basketball
Green Bay at Wisconsin - Badgers by 24
Bethune-Cookman at UCF - Knights by 25
Savannah State at (7) Ohio State - Buckeyes by 24
Prediction Results
NBA: 3-2 (.600) 207-101 overall (.672)
College Basketball: 3-0 (1.000) 255-54 overall (.825)
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