Nevada vs. New Mexico

A pretty unspectacular match-up between two set of Wolfpacks that most of America has never seen. I’ll take the Nevada in this one. To stop Nevada, New Mexico will have to find a way to stop 1st-team All-WAC tailback Luke Lippincott, who helped lead the way in the conference’s top-ranked rush offense. New Mexico’s defense will have to do better than their 147-yard average on the ground if they intend to stop Lippincott and this prolific Nevada ground game. I don’t think they can do it so I’ll take Nevada.

Saturday, Dec. 22 - Pioneer Las Vegas Bowl

BYU vs. UCLA

This is the Cougars’ third consecutive trip to the Las Vegas and the Mountain West champions come into the game riding high. The same cannot be sad for UCLA who, after dropping their last regular season game to USC, have seen their head coach Karl Dorrell shown the door. Dorrell has not announced whether or not he intends to coach in the Bruins’ bowl game. Frankly, I don’t think it will matter. BYU is a far superior team and with zero off-the-field tumult or coaching changes, the Cougars will come into the game confident and well-prepared. Look for BYU freshman tailback Harvey Unga and sophomore quarterback Max Hall to have big games against a UCLA defense that finished in the middle of the pack in the Pac-10 in both rushing and pass defenses. Hall will have to keep a look out for UCLA defensive back Trey Brown, who finished tied for second in the Pac-10 with 5 picks. Whoever is coaching the Bruins would do well to keep sophomore Jan Jorgensen away from the quarterback at all times. Jorgensen lead the Mountain West in sacks and tackles for loss. I’ll take the Cougars big in this one, regardless of who’s on the other sideline.

Sunday, Dec. 23 - Sheraton Hawai’i Bowl

Boise State vs. East Carolina

From the beginning of the season, I was impressed with Skip Holtz’s Pirates. They went into an impossibly emotionally atmosphere in Blacksburg and narrowly lost to Virginia Tech, who would go on to win the ACC Championship and a trip to the Orange Bowl. That being said, they are still playing a darn good Boise State team. My only question with Boise State will be the level to which rumors that coach Chris Petersen is headed to UCLA will distract this team. That being said, I’d expect this Boise team, that has a lot of senior leadership, won’t be distracted by anything. Boise State is a pretty well-rounded team with a scoring offense that finished second in the WAC only to Hawaii and has the top-ranked scoring defense. Holtz and ECU must figure out a way to put up points on a Bronco defense that finished first against the run and the pass in the WAC. Look for Boise tailback Ian Johnson to have at least 100 yards on the ground and it could be a very big day for Bronco signal-caller Taylor Tharp who goes against an ECU defense that is giving up nearly 300 yards a game through the air.

In more exciting news, my hometown,Terre Haute, Ind., totally got a shout-out during Tony Dungy’s appearance on Letterman last night to plug his new book.

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No, seriously…

A 16-year-old drove his truck to an island in the middle of a shallow Pennsylvania river and couldn’t get back.

Inmates split on Woody Allen.

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Eagles corner Sheldon Brown says leveling Reggie Bush in the playoffs last year was like running through a cardboard box.

New Steelers coach Mike Tomlin is already putting the team through the ringer.

What is Brady Quinn thinking? I think on draft day, everybody was kind of pulling for the guy to get drafted because of the embarrassment he caused himself by showing up to the draft without knowing where he would go or how far he’d fall. And now he has grossly overestimated his value and is pissing off an entire city that wants to embrace him. Cleveland wants to love Brady Quinn. He needs to quit acting like a petulant child and get to camp. What a dope.

You can still chew snuff at Tennessee football games but Neyland Stadium will now be smoke-free .

Bobby Petrino trying to keep the Falcons focused on the game on the field. Good luck.

LSU senior tailback Alley Broussard is leaving the team.

Matt Leinart’s legal battle with his ex-girlfriend Brynn Cameron could get very public and very messy.

Cotton Bowl executives are lobbying to make the Dallas-based bowl a BCS bowl.

SI’s Stewart Mandel on how the Michael Vick scandal has effected Virginia Tech.

Eagles draftee Kevin Kolb signs with the team. I was so hoping for a holdout.

Boise State running back (and publicity hound) Ian Johnson has hired extra security for his weekend wedding following racist threats.

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Well-rounded news…

USAToday profiles fanboys.

Naomi Watt, Stuart Townsend and Joseph Fiennes have all been cast for roles in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. Not so fast.

Blockbuster may be losing money but it’s beating Netflix, says BusinessWeek.

Facebook founder finds himself in court; being sued by former colleagues.

Though relatively small companies, XM and Sirius merger is huge for the future of satellite radio, says Washington Post.

Has the mystery behind J.J. Abrams’ “mystery” project been solved?

How a movie poster got me totally excited for a Western.

The cover of Bottom Line fav. Kanye West’s new album, Graduation.

Blender’s top 25 most influential people in online music.

The Huffington Post’s Eric Williams thinks a Seth Rogan-led Green Hornet movie, or any Green Hornet movie, is a bad idea.

With all due respect to Go West.. the Western Athletic Conference is truly the king of wishful thinking.

Above is the cover of the WAC’s 2007 football preview where it suggests that Hawaii QB Colt Brennan and Boise State running back Ian Johnson could be going back to Boise or Honolulu with the hardware in ‘07, an outcome that is as likely as a Paris Hilton-led Outward Bound trip into the Yukon.

I think Johnson’s candidacy is a complete farce. I mean, let’s face it, the guy is much better known for popping the question to his BSU-cheerleader girlfriend after that Fiesta Bowl classic against Oklahoma than for anything he’s done on the field. And then there’s the Broncos schedule: Boise will once again be a BCS contender because they simply don’t play anyone worth noting. Their first five games: Weber State, Washington, Wyoming, Southern Miss, New Mexico State. Doesn’t exactly sound like playing Auburn, LSU and Tennessee, does it? Boise State was a nice story last year but to take Johnson’s Heisman candidacy for real is completely ridiculous.

Colt Brennan is different. He set the NCAA single-season touchdown record last season with 58 and the record for most touchdown passes in two consecutive seasons with 93 in ‘05-06. But you really have to wonder if Brennan isn’t a victim of the system that has brought him so much success. In his four-years at Hawaii, Timmy Chang threw more than 2,400 passes and currently holds the NCAA records for most passes attempted in a career. Chang also holds the NCAA record for most career passing yards. Hawaii’s system is designed to make quarterbacks look good and if you don’t think Chang’s records and gaudy numbers will be fresh in the mind of Heisman voters when considering whether or not Brennan should strike the pose, then you’re crazy. And then there’s that schedule . Hawaii’s first five games? Northern Colorado, Louisiana Tech, UNLV, Charleston Southern and Idaho. I can’t help but wonder if Brennan would be as highly regarded as he was if he played in a major conference. Sure his numbers are, on their surface, impressive but Brennan isn’t playing NFL-ready competition week-in and week-out. Consider this: if Chang and Brennan both put up equally gaudy passing statistics at Hawaii and Chang recently signed with the Hamilton Tiger Cats of the CFL, how likely is it that Brennan will be able to make the transition from Hawaii to the NFL?

It’s never too early to talk college pigskin.

In reading Fox Sports’ Rich Cirminello’s Top 20 Heisman contenders this morning, it got me thinking about college football again and about who will be handed the Heisman in 2007.

While I think it’d be difficult to argue, though some may try, that the Heisman front-runner going into this season is anyone besides Arkansas running back Darren McFadden, where everyone else falls on that list of the nation’s elite is certainly up for debate.

Knowing that spring practice hasn’t even started for most teams and injuries and suspensions (SEE: Rhett Bomar) are sure to occur, there are a couple of Cirminello’s rankings that I took exception with.

1. Tim Tebow - #16 - I think this ranking is absolutely crazy. The media loves this kid and his story and playing in one of the nation’s most visible programs, the true sophomore from St. Augustine won’t be hurting for exposure anytime soon. Luckily for Tebow, he’s got one thing other quarterbacks don’t: Percy Harvin, one of the nation’s most electrifying play-makers. It’s put up or shut up time for Tebow. He’s going to have to start making plays with his arm and this season could be his breakout season and if it is, expect to see him as a finalist in New York City.
2. P.J. Hill - #13 - The running back from Wisconsin had a breakout year last year and proved he could be a difference maker. But I can’t help but wonder how effective Hill will be without John Stocco, which sounds  crazy. The Ron Dayne run-a-like is not going to sneak up on anybody and without a proven signal caller, teams will be able to load the box and bring the safeties up to stop the run. Hill shouldn’t be ranked higher than Oregon’s Johnathan Stewart, VA Tech’s Brandon Ore or Georgia Tech’s Tashard Choice, all of whom had nice years last year as well.
3. Ian Johnson - #10 - I know everyone loved the Boise State story from last year but to suggest that Ian Johnson is the 10th best player in the country is nuts. And consider this: Weber State, Washington, Wyoming, Southern Miss, Bowling Green. Those are the Broncos non-conference opponents this year. Johnson will have to be a statistical monster to even get a look from Heisman voters. And playing in the weak WAC doesn’t help his case either.

Barring injury or getting paid for not working at a car dealership, the Heisman finalists will be Darren McFadden, John David Booty, Brian Brohm and either Colt McCoy or Brennan.