Incredible Deadspin Reporting on Manti Te’o

College football fans, or even more particular, Notre Dame Fighting Irish fans, like myself, are probably familiar with the Manti Te’o story. In a matter of days he lost his Grandmother and girlfriend in September. Then he put the team on his back and beat Michigan State and Michigan. Only problem, the girlfriend never existed. The Deadspin story on this is simply incredible. Despite its length, it is worth reading every word.

Deadspin becoming more and more respected for its investigative reporting. The Sarah Phillips (fraud sports better) story last year was interesting enough. This takes it, as well as Notre Dame legend and lore, to a whole new level. Te’o is a household name in the US. He’s gained many fans because of what he has (or hasn’t) been through. He’s projected to go in the first round of the NFL Draft in June. Some analysts put him as high as the top ten. I’m very interested to see where this story goes. Honestly I prefer reading Deadspin over traditional long form sports writing, like Sports Illustrated or ESPN Magazine, now.

2012-13 NCAA Football Bowl Canadian TV Guide

The 2012-13 NCAA football bowl season begins this Saturday with a doubleheader. The schedule kicks into high gear the week of New Year’s Day with the six biggest games outside of the BCS Championship Game taking the primetime spotlight between December 31 and January 4. Three of the other biggest games will take place on New Year’s Day in the afternoon. There are 35 bowl games, all except two will air on Canadian television.  Here is the complete bowl broadcast schedule, including AP poll rankings and commentators for each game.

New Mexico Bowl (University Stadium in Albuquerque, NM)
Saturday December 15, 1:00pm ET
Nevada (7-5) vs. Arizona (7-5)
TV: TSN2 (Bob Wischusen & Danny Kanell)

Famous Idaho Potato Bowl (Bronco Stadium in Boise, ID)
Saturday December 15, 4:30pm ET
Toledo (9-3) vs. 18 Utah State (10-2)
TV: TSN2 (Tom Hart & Mike Bellotti)

Poinsettia Bowl (Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, CA)
Thursday December 20, 8:00pm ET
Brigham Young (7-5) vs. San Diego State (9-3)
TV: theScore (Carter Blackburn & Rod Gilmore)

St. Petersburg Bowl (Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, FL)
Friday December 21, 7:30pm ET
Ball State (9-3) vs. Central Florida (9-4)
TV: TSN2 (Dave Neal, Andre Ware & Desmond Howard)

New Orleans Bowl (Superdome in New Orleans, LA)
Saturday December 22, 12:00pm ET
East Carolina (8-4) vs. UL-Lafayette (8-4)
TV: TSN2 (Beth Mowins & Joey Galloway)

Las Vegas Bowl (Sam Boyd Stadium in Las Vegas, NV)
Saturday December 22, 3:30pm ET
20 Boise State (10-2) vs. Washington (7-5)
TV: TSN2 (Brent Musberger & Kirk Herbstreit)

Hawaii Bowl (Aloha Stadium in Honolulu, HI)
Monday December 24, 8:00pm ET
Fresno State (9-3) vs. Southern Methodist (6-6)
TV: TSN2 (Carter Blackburn & Kelly Stouffer)

Little Caesar’s Pizza Bowl (Ford Field in Detroit, MI)
Wednesday December 26, 7:30pm ET
Western Kentucky (7-5) vs. Central Michigan (6-6)
TV: theScore (Mark Neely & Ray Bentley)

Military Bowl (RFK Stadium in Washington, DC)
Thursday December 27, 3:00pm ET
24 San Jose State (10-2) vs. Bowling Green (8-4)
TV: TSN2 (Bob Wischusen & Danny Kanell)

Belk Bowl (Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, NC)
Thursday December 27, 6:30pm ET
Cincinnati (9-3) vs. Duke (6-6)
TV: theScore (Mike Patrick & Ed Cunningham)

Holiday Bowl (Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, CA)
Thursday December 27, 9:45pm ET
17 UCLA (9-4) vs. Baylor (7-5)
TV: theScore (Dave Pasch & Brian Griese)

Independence Bowl (Independence Stadium in Shreveport, LA)
Friday December 28, 2:00pm ET
Ohio (8-4) vs. UL-Monroe (8-4)
TV: theScore (Dave Lamont & Kelly Stouffer)

Russell Athletic Bowl (Citrus Bowl in Orlando, FL)
Friday December 28, 5:30pm ET
Rutgers (9-3) vs. Virginia Tech (6-6)
TV: theScore (Joe Tessitore & Matt Millen)

Texas Bowl (Reliant Stadium in Houston, TX)
Friday December 28, 9:00pm ET
Texas Tech (7-5) vs. Minnesota (6-6)
TV: theScore (Mark Jones & Brock Huard)

Armed Forces Bowl (Amon G. Carter Stadium in Fort Worth, TX)
Saturday December 29, 11:45am ET
Air Force (6-6) vs. Rice (6-6)
TV: theScore (Beth Mowins & Joey Galloway)

Pinstripe Bowl (Yankee Stadium in Bronx, NY)
Saturday December 29, 3:15pm ET
Syracuse (7-5) vs. West Virginia (7-5)
TV: theScore (Chris Fowler & Jesse Palmer)

Alamo Bowl (Alamodome in San Antonio, TX)
Saturday December 29, 6:45pm ET
15 Oregon State (9-3) vs. Texas (8-4)
TV: TSN2 (Sean McDonough & Chris Spielman)

Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl (Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, AZ)
Saturday December 29, 10:15pm ET
Texas Christian (7-5) vs. Michigan State (6-6)
TV: TSN2 (Brad Nessler & Todd Blackledge)

Music City Bowl (LP Field in Nashville, TN)
Monday December 31, 12:00pm ET
Vanderbilt (8-4) vs. North Carolina State (7-5)
TV: TSN2 (Carter Blackburn & Rod Gilmore)

Sun Bowl (Sun Bowl Stadium in El Paso, TX)
Monday December 31, 2:00pm ET
Southern California (7-5) vs. Georgia Tech (6-7)
TV: CBS (Verne Lundquist & Gary Danielson)

Liberty Bowl (Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium in Memphis, TN)
Monday December 31, 3:30pm ET
Tulsa (10-3) vs. Iowa State (6-6)
TV: TSN2 (Mark Jones & Brock Huard)

Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl (Georgia Dome in Atlanta, GA)
Monday December 31, 7:30pm ET
9 Louisiana State (10-2) vs. 14 Clemson (10-2)
TV: TSN2 (Mike Patrick & Ed Cunningham)

Gator Bowl (Everbank Field in Jacksonville, FL)
Tuesday January 1, 12:00pm ET
21 Northwestern (9-3) vs. Mississippi State (8-4)
TV: theScore (Bob Wischusen & Danny Kanell)

Capital One Citrus Bowl (Citrus Bowl in Orlando, FL)
Tuesday January 1, 1:00pm ET
6 Georgia (11-2) vs. 23 Nebraska (10-3)
TV: ABC (Rece Davis, Jesse Palmer & David Pollack)

Outback Bowl (Raymond James Stadium in Orlando, FL)
Tuesday January 1, 1:00pm ET
11 South Carolina (10-2) vs. 19 Michigan (8-4)
TV: TSN (Mike Tirico & Jon Gruden)

Rose Bowl (Rose Bowl in Pasadena, CA)
Tuesday January 1, 5:00pm ET
8 Stanford (11-2) vs. Wisconsin (8-5)
TV: TSN (Brent Musberger & Kirk Herbstreit)

Orange Bowl (Sun Life Stadium in Miami, FL)
Tuesday January 1, 8:30pm ET
13 Florida State (11-2) vs. 16 Northern Illinois (12-1)
TV: TSN (Joe Tessitore & Matt Millen)

Sugar Bowl (Superdome in New Orleans, LA)
Wednesday January 2, 8:30pm ET
4 Florida (11-1) vs. 22 Louisville (10-2)
TV: TSN2 (Sean McDonough & Chris Spielman)

Fiesta Bowl (University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, AZ)
Thursday January 3, 8:30pm ET
5 Oregon (11-1) vs. 7 Kansas State (11-1)
TV: TSN2 (Brad Nessler & Todd Blackledge)

Cotton Bowl (Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, TX)
Friday January 4, 8:00pm ET
10 Texas A&M (10-2) vs. 12 Oklahoma (10-2)
TV: FOX (Gus Johnson & Charles Davis)

BBVA Compass Bowl (Legion Field in Birmingham, AL)
Saturday January 5, 1:00pm ET
Mississippi (6-6) vs. Pittsburgh (6-6)
TV: TSN2 (Eamon MaCananey & David Diaz-Infante)

GoDaddy.com Bowl (Ladd Peebles Stadium in Mobile, AL)
Sunday January 6, 9:00pm ET
25 Kent State (11-2) vs. Arkansas State (9-3)
TV: theScore (Mark Jones & Brock Huard)

BCS National Championship (Sun Life Stadium in Miami, FL)
Monday January 7, 8:30pm ET
1 Notre Dame (12-0) vs. 2 Alabama (12-1)
TV: TSN (Brent Musberger & Kirk Herbstreit)

NCAA Football Conference Championship Weekend

With a win over USC on Saturday night Notre Dame clinched a spot in the BCS Championship Game as the top ranked team in the country. #2 Alabama and #3 Georgia will play each other in the SEC Championship on Saturday for the right to play them. However, there are lots of other BCS bids up for grabs this weekend with games on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. The only BCS conference not on Canadian TV this weekend is the ACC, where Florida State are two touchdown favourites over Georgia Tech in the ACC Championship Game.

Here is the complete broadcast schedule. I’ll go on with the importance of each game following the schedule.

Thursday November 29
7:30pm, Louisville (9-2) @ Rutgers (9-2) – theScore

Friday November 30
8:00pm, 16 UCLA (9-3) @ 8 Stanford (10-2) – FOX

Saturday December 1
12:00pm, 11 Oklahoma (9-2) @ Texas Christian (7-4) – TSN2
12:00pm, 23 Oklahoma State (7-4) @ Baylor (6-5) – SN1
3:30pm, 20 Boise State (9-2) @ Nevada (7-4) – ABC
4:00pm, 2 Alabama (11-1) vs. 3 Georgia (11-1) – CBS
8:00pm, 18 Texas (8-3) @ 6 Kansas State (10-1) – ABC
8:15pm, 12 Nebraska (10-2) vs. Wisconsin (7-5) – FOX

The Big East title (and an automatic BCS at-large birth) will be decided Thursday night. With a win Rutgers will claim the outright Big East championship for the first time ever. A Louisville win would result in a three or even four way tie between Rutgers, Louisville, Syracuse and possibly Cincinnati. However, in this situation Louisville would hold the tiebreaker. So, the winner of Thursday’s game will get a BCS birth.

UCLA and Stanford meet for the second time in six days on Friday night. Stanford handled UCLA at the Rose Bowl on the weekend. Now they get to play at home. The winner will play in the Rose Bowl on New Year’s Day.

The Pac-12′s opponent for the Rose Bowl will be decided on Saturday night. The Big Ten title game is also a rematch; Nebraska beat Wisconsin earlier this season. And if UCLA and Nebraska both win this weekend, it will set up another rematch. The two already played each other at the Rose Bowl back in September. UCLA won.

The Big 12 features three games on Canadian TV on Saturday. All three feature two teams headed to bowl games. TCU, Oklahoma State, Baylor and Texas are all playing for positioning in the bowl pecking order. The Cotton Bowl and Alamo Bowl are top prizes. Texas and Oklahoma are both headed to the BCS with wins. If Kansas State wins, they will go to the Fiesta Bowl as Big 12 champion. If they don’t, and Oklahoma wins, then Oklahoma will. If both lose, Kansas State controls the tiebreaker.

Boise State can clinch a share of the Mountain West title with a win over Nevada in a rare appearance on ABC. If UCLA, Florida State, Kent State and Texas all lose, then they could back their way into a BCS birth as well, unlikely as it is. Mountain West co-champs San Diego State have already accepted a bid to play Brigham Young in the Poinsettia Bowl, while Air Force are headed for the Armed Forces Bowl and Nevada to the New Mexico Bowl. That leaves the Las Vegas Bowl and Hawaii Bowl as the two landing spots for Boise State. If they win Saturday, chances are they are Vegas bound to play a Pac-12 team.

Nothing much needs to be said about Alabama vs. Georgia other than the winner will play for the BCS Championship. The loser will drop all the way out of the BCS as Florida will likely claim the SEC’s 2nd spot automatically just by not playing, and moving past Alabama or Georgia to #3. The Cotton Bowl or Citrus Bowl aren’t bad places to land; however, neither is Miami for the BCS Championship.

2012 Notre Dame Football TV Schedule

Once again in 2012 most Notre Dame football games will air on Canadian TV, usually through US over-the-air networks such as NBC, CBS and ABC. The preliminary schedule has 7 games for NBC, 1 for ABC and 1 for CBS. The games @ Oklahoma and @ USC will also likely air on ABC in primetime. In addition to those two, three other Irish games are confirmed for primetime. Here is the complete broadcast schedule.

All rankings are preseason rankings from the AP Poll. Notre Dame start just outside the Top 25, ranked 26th.

Saturday 9/1, 9:00am – vs. Navy (from Dublin) – CBS
Saturday 9/8, 3:30pm – vs. Purdue – NBC
Saturday 9/15, 8:00pm – @ 13 Michigan State – ABC
Saturday 9/22, 7:30pm – vs. 8 Michigan – NBC
Saturday 10/6, 7:30pm – vs. Miami (from Chicago) – NBC
Saturday 10/13, 3:30pm – vs. 21 Stanford – NBC
Saturday 10/20, 3:30pm – vs. BYU – NBC
Saturday 10/27, TBC – @ 4 Oklahoma
Saturday 11/3, 3:30pm – vs. Pittsburgh – NBC
Saturday 11/10, TBC – @ Boston College
Saturday 11/17, 3:30pm – vs. Wake Forest – NBC
Saturday 11/24, 8:00pm – @ 1 USC

2012 CFB TV Schedule: Week 1

Once again in 2012 I will post a weekly college football TV schedule for Canada. theScore and TSN are the main carriers of college football in Canada. Games are also available on American networks like CBS, ABC, FOX and NBC. Due to time constraints, I will not include US specialty channels (Big Ten Network and CBS Sports Network) or syndicated games (Peachtree TV and TV38). For more information on these broadcasts, visit Matt Sarz Sports.

Thursday August 31
7:00pm, 9 South Carolina @ Vanderbilt – theScore

Saturday September 1
9:00am, Notre Dame v. Navy (in Dublin) – CBS
12:00pm, Ohio @ Penn State – theScore
3:30pm, Miami (FL) @ Boston College – ABC
3:30pm, Southern Miss @ 17 Nebraska – ABC
4:00pm, Colorado State v. Colorado (in Denver) – theScore
7:30pm, 1 Southern  California @ Hawaii – FOX
8:00pm, 2 Alabama v. 8 Michigan (in Arlington) – ABC

Final 2011 College Football Rankings

At the end of the regular season I said I would put LSU as my #1 team at the end of the season regardless of the result of the BCS Championship Game. Alabama played well enough on Monday night to change my mind. They dominated LSU in every way, and outscored LSU 27-9 in the two games combined. Here are my complete final rankings.

1. Alabama (SEC) – 12-1
2. Louisiana State (SEC) – 13-1
3. Oklahoma State (Big 12) – 12-1
4. Oregon (Pac-12) – 12-2
5. Arkansas (SEC) – 11-2
6. Stanford (Pac-12) – 11-2
7. South Carolina (SEC) – 11-2
8. Boise State (MWC) – 11-1
9. Michigan (Big Ten) – 11-2
10. Wisconsin (Big Ten) – 11-3
11. Baylor (Big 12) – 10-3
12. Michigan State (Big Ten) – 11-3
13. West Virginia (Big East) – 10-3
14. Oklahoma (Big 12) – 10-3
15. Kansas State (Big 12) – 10-3
16. Texas Christian (MWC) – 11-2
17. Houston (C-USA) – 13-1
18. Southern Miss (C-USA) – 12-2
19. Georgia (SEC) – 10-4
20. Virginia Tech (ACC) – 11-3
21. Cincinnati (Big East) – 10-3
22. Florida State (ACC) – 9-4
23. Nebraska (Big Ten) – 9-4
24. Clemson (ACC) – 10-4
25. Brigham Young – 10-3

theScore Signs New NCAA Deal with Fox Sports

theScore has signed a new US college sports rights agreement with Fox Sports International to show FOX’s (including FSN, FX and FOX itself) broadcasts of college football, college basketball and college hockey beginning this winter. This package is similar to the package of college football and basketball games that Sportsnet showed last year. Here is the press release from theScore.

Score Media Inc. today announces that it has entered into a long-term programming agreement with FOX International Sports Channels that includes at least 250 hours per year of live collegiate content and other FOX Sports and FUEL TV programming. Featuring top college football, basketball and hockey games, the deal includes some of America’s top college conferences including the Big 12 Conference, Pac-12 Conference and Conference USA.

“We are thrilled to have concluded this deal with FOX,” says Benjie Levy, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, Score Media Inc. “Score viewers are huge fans of college sports, and as part of this deal, they can now look forward to more coverage than ever before, including games featuring powerhouse schools like Oklahoma State, Texas, Oklahoma, Oregon, USC, Stanford and Memphis.”

Given the Canadian sports fans’ love for quality ice hockey, the deal features live coverage of top-flight programs including the University of Minnesota, University of Wisconsin, University of Denver and the University of North Dakota. These schools have produced NHL stars including Jonathan Toews, Phil Kessel, Zach Parise and Thomas Vanek, and feature numerous Canadian players on their current rosters.

“FOX Sports Media Group is home to some of the best collegiate sports action in the U.S., and we’re excited to make much of it available to Canadian fans through this agreement with Score Media,” said Sean Riley, Senior Vice President, Distribution, Fox Networks. “Whether its hockey, football or basketball, this package includes great matchups nearly every week of the academic year.”

More information to come…

2011-12 College Football Bowl Canadian TV Guide

The 2011-12 college football bowl season begins this Saturday with a tripleheader. In all, there are 35 bowl games this year. 31 of those are available on Canadian TV. Here is the complete bowl broadcast schedule, including AP poll rankings and commentators for each game.

New Mexico Bowl (University Stadium in Albuquerque, NM)
Saturday December 17, 2:00pm ET
Tempe (8-4) vs. Wyoming (8-4)
TV: TSN2 (Clay Matvick & Brian Griese)

Idaho Bowl (Bronco Stadium in Boise, ID)
Saturday December 17, 5:30pm ET
Ohio (9-4) vs. Utah State (7-5)
TV: TSN2 (Dave Flemming & Mike Bellotti)

New Orleans Bowl (Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, LA)
Saturday December 17, 9:00pm ET
San Diego State (8-4) vs. UL-Lafayette (8-4)
TV: TSN2 (Carter Blackburn & Brock Huard)

St. Petersburg Bowl (Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, FL)
Tuesday December 20, 8:00pm ET
Florida International (8-4) vs. Marshall (6-6)
TV: theScore (Mike Patrick & Craig James)

Poinsettia Bowl (Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, CA)
Wednesday December 21, 8:00pm ET
16 Texas Christian (10-2) vs. Louisiana Tech (8-4)
TV: theScore (Joe Tessitore, Lou Holtz & Mark May)

Las Vegas Bowl (Sam Boyd Stadium in Las Vegas, NV)
Thursday December 22, 8:00pm ET
8 Boise State (11-1) vs. Arizona State (6-6)
TV: theScore (Chris Fowler & Kirk Herbstreit)

Hawaii Bowl (Aloha Stadium in Honolulu, HI)
Saturday December 24, 8:00pm ET
22 Southern Mississippi (11-2) vs. Nevada (7-5)
TV: TSN2 (Mark Jones & Ed Cunningham)

Confirmed NCAA Bowl Matchups 2011

Here are a list of confirmed NCAA bowl matchups for 2011. This page will be updated with new accepted bids throughout the evening, so check back often (or refresh). You can also follow me on Twitter for the latest updates.

BCS Championship: Louisiana State vs. Alabama
Orange Bowl: Clemson vs. West Virginia
Sugar Bowl: Michigan vs. Virginia Tech
Fiesta Bowl: Stanford vs. Oklahoma Sate
Rose Bowl: Oregon vs. Wisconsin

New Mexico Bowl: Temple vs. Wyoming
Idaho Bowl: Ohio vs. Utah State
New Orleans Bowl: UL-Lafayette vs. San Diego State
St. Petersburg Bowl: Florida International vs. Marshall
Poinsettia Bowl: Louisiana Tech vs. Texas Christian
Las Vegas Bowl: Boise State vs. Arizona State
Hawaii Bowl: Southern Miss vs. Nevada
Independence Bowl: Missouri vs. North Carolina
Little Caesar’s Bowl: Western Michigan vs. Purdue
Belk Bowl: NC State vs. Louisville
Military Bowl: Air Force vs. Toledo
Holiday Bowl: California vs. Texas
Champs Sports Bowl: Notre Dame vs. Florida State
Alamo Bowl: Baylor vs. Washington
Armed Forces Bowl: Brigham Young vs. Tulsa
Pinstripe Bowl: Rutgers vs. Iowa State
Music City Bowl: Mississippi State vs. Wake Forest
Insight Bowl: Oklahoma vs. Iowa
Texas Bowl: Texas A&M vs. Northwestern
Sun Bowl: Georgia Tech vs. Utah
Liberty Bowl: Vanderbilt vs. Cincinnati
Kraft Bowl: Illinois vs. UCLA
Peach Bowl: Auburn vs. Virginia
TicketCity Bowl: Houston vs. Penn State
Citrus Bowl: South Carolina vs. Nebraska
Outback Bowl: Michigan State vs. Georgia
Gator Bowl: Ohio State vs. Florida
Cotton Bowl: Arkansas vs. Kansas State
BBVA Bowl: Southern Methodist vs. Pittsburgh
Go Daddy Bowl: Arkansas State vs. Northern Illinois

Final College Football Bowl Projections

Note: See confirmations as they come in at this link.

Here are my final college football bowl projections. I will be updating a post with confirmed bids beginning at 8:15pm ET tonight. There is no TV coverage in Canada, so I invite everyone to visit the main page of the Canadian Sports Media Blog and refresh often.

BCS Championship: Louisiana State vs. Oklahoma State
Orange Bowl: Clemson vs. West Virginia
Sugar Bowl: Alabama vs. Michigan
Fiesta Bowl: Stanford vs. Boise State
Rose Bowl: Oregon vs. Wisconsin

Continue after the break for my projections for other bowl games.

College Football Rankings: December 4

Here are my final college football rankings for the season. Over the next 20 hours or so any and all news on college football bowl game selections will be posted on my blog, so check back often. It was quite a final day of the college football regular season.

1. Louisiana State (SEC) – 13-0
2. Oklahoma State (Big 12) – 11-1
3. Alabama (SEC) – 11-1
4. Stanford (Pac-12) – 11-1
5. Arkansas (SEC) – 10-2
6. Oregon (Pac-12) – 11-2
7. Wisconsin (Big Ten) – 11-2
8. Boise State (MWC) – 10-1
9. Virginia Tech (ACC) – 11-2
10. South Carolina (SEC) – 10-2
11. Kansas State (Big 12) – 10-2
12. Michigan (Big Ten) – 10-2
13. Clemson (ACC) – 10-3
14. Georgia (SEC) – 10-3
15. Michigan State (Big Ten) – 10-3
16. Houston (C-USA) – 12-1
17. Baylor (Big 12) – 9-3
18. Texas Christian (MWC) – 10-2
19. Southern Miss (C-USA) – 10-2
20. Oklahoma (Big 12) – 9-3
21. Nebraska (Big Ten) – 9-3
22. West Virginia (Big East) – 9-3
23. Penn State (Big Ten) – 9-3
24. Notre Dame – 8-4
25. Brigham Young – 9-3

College Football Canadian TV Guide: Week 14

Here is the College Football Canadian TV Guide for the final weekend of the regular season, including Conference Championship games and the Army vs. Navy game next Saturday. I’ll post the bowl TV guide next week.

Thursday December 1
8:00pm, 22 West Virginia @ South Florida – theScore

Friday December 2
8:00pm, Pac-12 Championship: UCLA @ 8 Oregon – Fox, SN1

Saturday December 3
12:00pm, C-USA Championship: 24 Southern Miss @ 7 Houston – ABC
3:30pm, Texas @ 19 Baylor – ABC
4:00pm, SEC Championship: 1 LSU vs. 12 Georgia – CBS
8:00pm, Big Ten Championship: 15 Wisconsin vs. 11 Michigan St. – Fox, SN1
8:00pm, 13 Oklahoma @ 3 Oklahoma St. – ABC

Saturday December 10
2:30pm, Army vs. Navy – CBS

College Football Bowl Projections: November 28

Note: See confirmations as they come in at this link.

The college football bowl games are just around the corner. Each game will make its selections next Sunday. Here are my predictions with just one week left in the season. Remember, many of these are great affected by TV. I will explain my choices for the BCS games. All rankings are BCS rankings. Italics represent a bid that is already accepted.

BCS Championship (on TSN): 1 Louisiana State vs. 2 Alabama
I think LSU gets this spot regardless of what happens this week. At 12-1, many would argue they are still the best team in the country. I don’t think any voters would put them behind an Oklahoma State team that lost to Iowa State. If Oklahoma State blow out Alabama, I suppose they could climb to #2, but I don’t see it happen.

Orange Bowl (on TSN2): 5 Virginia Tech vs. 23 West Virginia
The winner of Virginia Tech vs. Clemson gets an Orange Bowl bid. The Orange also probably picks West Virginia, to set up an old Big East rivalry, with the last BCS at-large pick. That is, assuming West Virginia and Cincinnati both win this weekend. Otherwise, Cincinnati or Louisville could get this spot.

Sugar Bowl (on TSN2): 6 Houston vs. 16 Michigan
This one is a bit harder to explain. The SEC can only send 2 teams to the BCS, unless Georgia beats LSU and LSU and Alabama remain #1 and #2. If that happens, the Bulldogs go to the Sugar Bowl. Most likely, the Sugar Bowl will get the first at-large selection and take Michigan. In order for that to happen, Michigan needs 2 teams ranked just ahead of them to lose, which is likely, but far from a guarantee. A team must be ranked inside the BCS top 14 to get an at-large bid. The Sugar will then pick the 3rd at-large team, after the Fiesta Bowl. They will probably have a choice of Big East champs or Houston. They could take a bigger profile West Virginia, but I think they will go with an undefeated Houston.

Fiesta Bowl (on TSN2): 3 Oklahoma State vs. 4 Stanford
This would easily be the best bowl game, aside from the BCS Championship. Both teams have 1-loss, and assuming they win their final games this weekend, it is likely they will play each other in the Fiesta Bowl.

Rose Bowl (on TSN2): 9 Oregon vs. 13 Michigan State
This is the easiest BCS game to explain. The winners of Oregon vs. UCLA and Michigan State vs. Wisconsin get the bids. I think Oregon and Michigan State will win.

Okay, now continue after the break for the rest.

College Football Rankings: November 27

Here are my penultimate college football rankings for the 2011 season. This weekend Alabama all but cemented their spot in the BCS Championship Game. Later this week, I’ll post my college football bowl predictions as well.

1. Louisiana State (SEC) – 12-0
2. Alabama (SEC) – 11-1
3. Stanford (Pac-12) – 11-1
4. Virginia Tech (ACC) – 11-1
5. Oklahoma State (Big 12) – 10-1
6. Houston (C-USA) – 12-0
7. Arkansas (SEC) – 10-2
8. Georgia (SEC) – 10-2
9. Boise State (MWC) – 10-1
10. Oregon (Pac-12) – 10-2
11. South Carolina (SEC) – 10-2
12. Michigan State (Big Ten) – 10-2
13. Oklahoma (Big 12) – 9-2
14. Kansas State (Big 12) – 9-2
15. Wisconsin (Big Ten) – 10-2
16. Michigan (Big Ten) – 10-2
17. Baylor (Big 12) – 8-3
18. Texas Christian (MWC) – 10-2
19. Clemson (ACC) – 9-3
20. Nebraska (Big Ten) – 9-3
21. Penn State (Big Ten) – 9-3
22. Texas (Big 12) – 7-4
23. West Virginia (Big East) – 8-3
24. Southern Miss (C-USA) – 10-2
25. Notre Dame – 8-4

College Football Canadian TV Guide: Week 13

Here is the College Football Canadian TV Guide for what is known as rivalry week in college football. A number of important games are on TV this weekend.

Thursday November 24
8:00pm, Texas @ Texas A&M – theScore

Friday November 25
12:00pm, Iowa @ 22 Nebraska – ABC
2:30pm, 3 Arkansas @ 1 LSU – CBS
3:30pm, Boston College @ Miami – ABC
7:00pm, UTEP @ Central Florida – CBS SN

Saturday November 26
12:00pm, Ohio St. @ 17 Michigan – ABC, TSN2
12:00pm, Iowa St. @ 12 Oklahoma – SN One
12:00pm, 11 Michigan St. @ Northwestern – BTN
12:00pm, Tennessee @ Kentucky – Peachtree TV
12:30pm, Maryland @ NC State – TV38
2:00pm, Southern vs. Grambling – NBC
3:30pm, 2 Alabama @ Auburn – CBS
3:30pm, 6 Virginia Tech @ 24 Virginia – ABC [coverage map]
3:30pm, Oregon St. @ 9 Oregon – ABC [coverage map]
3:30pm, Missouri @ Kansas – SN One
3:30pm, Illinois @ Minnesota – BTN
3:30pm, East Carolina @ Marshall – CBS SN
8:00pm, 22 Notre Dame @ 4 Stanford – ABC