SEC Championship: LSU vs. Tennessee

Les Miles is going to Michigan. No, he's signing a new contract. But Michigan asked for permission to interview him. Bo Pelini's got the Nebraska job wrapped up. Steve Spurrier bought a house in Baton Rouge and spent Thanksgiving with Skip Bertman. Nick Saban is coming back and taking a $1 million pay cut with a $10 million buy out. Tommy Tubberville isn't renegotiating with Auburn or going to Arkansas until he sees what happens at LSU...these are all rumors that I've heard or read in the past 48 hours.

Baton Rouge is buzzing right now with coaching news and rumors, but wait, what's that? LSU is playing for the conference title this weekend. You don't say.

LSU will play Tennessee at 3 p.m. Saturday for the SEC title and right to represent the conference in the Sugar Bowl. But with all the coaching news and the way LSU ended their season, fans just don't seem too focused or interested in the game. Hopefully, the players aren't taking the same attitude. The winningest senior class in LSU history is looking to cap their career with their first SEC crown.

LSU is 2-1 in Atlanta in the championship with the only loss being Miles is first and only trip to the game. Surely if this is the end of his LSU tenure, he wants to go out with a conference title on his resume. There is still an outside shot that LSU gets into the BCS title game, so the intrigue and importance of this game is huge. Fans traveling to Atlanta and watching at home need to root for their Tigers and stay focused on this season. There will be plenty of time to worry about next year and who the coach will be, but the players need support right now. With all the distractions, let's cheer them on to a conference championship.

There will be plenty to watch for in the game. QB Ryan Perriloux will likely start or at least take the majority of the snaps. LSU's once dominant defense will be looking to show that the past few games have been a fluke and that they can equal their early season showing. It will also be interesting to see how Miles coaches in, potentially, his last game wearing purple and gold and his trademark white hat.

Prediction:
LSU 37
Tennessee 24

Predictions and Bowl Projections

It's the last weekend of the college football regular season and bowl line-ups are still being determined. There are a handful of games that will have major National Championship and BCS bowl game implications. Here's how I see this weekend unfolding and my predictions for the BCS and SEC bowls:

ACC Championship: Boston College vs. Virginia Tech
In a rematch of their regular season meeting, which BC pulled out at the end of the game, Virginia Tech will get their revenge by playing for a full 60 minutes this time.
Pick: Virginia Tech

SEC Championship: LSU vs. Tennessee
LSU suffered a heart-breaking triple OT loss to Arkansas last week and now must pumped themselves up to play for the consolation prize of an SEC Championship instead of the BCS Championship. With the rumors of Les Miles to Michigan and Bo Pelini to Nebraska, the players and fans will have plenty of distractions. However, there's still an outside chance for the Tigers to sneak into the BCS Championship, so there is a lot to play for.
Pick: LSU

Big 12 Championship: Oklahoma vs. Missouri
Oklahoma defeated BCS #1 Missouri earlier this season and the Sooners are actually favored again. Missouri is playing the disrespect card and will want to show the country that they are worthy of their #1 ranking. OU coach Bob Stoops will have his team ready, as they also have an outside shot of getting into the BCS Championship.
Pick: Oklahoma

"Backyard Brawl": Pittsburgh at West Virginia
LSU, Ohio State, USC and Oklahoma fans will be rooting for a West Virginia upset. If WV and Missouri both go down then Ohio State will move into the championship, but there opponent could be any number of teams, including the ones mentioned before and Georgia. It would take a lot from Pittsburgh to upset the Mountaineers, but stranger things have happened already this year.
Pick: West Virginia

UCLA at USC
Last year, UCLA pulled a major upset over their crosstown rivals and kept USC out of the National Championship. This year, USC is playing for a BCS berth in the Rose Bowl. USC has been playing up to their preseason #1 ranking for the past few weeks and shouldn't have any trouble with a UCLA team that lost to Notre Dame.
Pick: USC

Washington at Hawaii
Hawaii, the WAC Champs, are playing for their conference's second straight trip to a BCS game. Last year, Boise State upset Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl. Hawaii is playing for an undefeated season and a trip to the Sugar Bowl to face the SEC Champion. The Warriors are playing well, but the dream ends this weekend.
Pick: Washington

BCS Bowl Predicions

• BCS Championship: Ohio State vs. West Virginia
  
• Orange Bowl: Virginia Tech vs. Georgia
  
• Fiesta Bowl: Oklahoma vs. Arizona State
  
• Rose Bowl: USC vs. Illinois
  
• Sugar Bowl: LSU vs. Kansas

SEC Bowls

• Capital One Bowl: Florida vs. Michigan
  
• Cotton Bowl: Arkansas vs. Missouri
  
• Outback Bowl: Tennessee vs. Wisconsin
  
• Chick-fil-A Bowl: Auburn vs. Boston College
  
• Liberty Bowl: Kentucky vs. Central Florida
  
• Music City Bowl: Mississippi State vs. Florida State
  
• Independence Bowl: Alabama vs. Colorado
  

Week 13 Top 25

The BCS becomes more of a headache as LSU, Kansas and Arizona State lose this week. However, the title game picture is becoming clearer with West Virginia and Missouri in the driver's seat and Ohio State hoping for a loss by one of them to sneak into the picture. If both lose, this could be the wildest BCS mess we've ever had.

Here's my Top 25 rankings this week:

1. West Virginia (10-1)
   
2. Missouri (11-1)
3. Ohio State (11-1)
   
4. LSU (10-2)
5. Kansas (11-1)
   
6. Virgina Tech (10-2)
   
7. Georgia (10-2)
   
8. Oklahoma (10-2)
9. USC (9-2)
   
10. Florida (9-3)
    
11. Boston College (10-2)
    
12. Hawaii (11-0)
13. Illinois (9-3)
    
14. Arizona St. (9-2)
    
15. Tennessee (9-3)
    
16. Clemson (9-3)
17. BYU (9-2)
    
18. Texas (9-3)
19. Virginia (9-3)
20. Arkansas (8-4)
21. Oregon (8-3)
    
22. Texas Tech (8-4)
23. Wisconsin (9-3)
24. Boise State (10-2)
    
25. Auburn (8-4)
    

*Dropped from rankings: Connecticut (previously #21)

Don't let "catastrophe syndrome" set in

Shocked, disgusted, heartbroken, saddened, sick...these are just a few of the emotions and feelings LSU fans were going through while leaving Tiger Stadium after a triple overtime loss, 50-48, to Arkansas, basically ended the dream of a national title season.

LSU can still win the SEC Championship and play in a BCS bowl (most likely the Sugar Bowl), but when you smell the filet mignon all season, you don't want to eat hamburger steak. The Tigers had the crystal football in their reach. They controlled their own destiny, but it wasn't meant to be. The much-hyped LSU defense wasn't up to the task of stopping the Razorback rushing attack with Darren McFadden running his way toward the Heisman Trophy.

There were numerous chances for LSU to pull off another miracle victory. Fans have pointed to Arkansas 4th and 10 play in the first overtime as the best example of LSU breaking down and not stepping up when the opportunity was present. Should Bo Pelini have called for a blitz? Should a better coverman than Danny McCray been on the field? These are the "what-if" scenarios that can't be changed now. Others point to LSU's lack of offense in the first half. Matt Flynn had one of his worst halves of football and the Tigers failed to capitalize on great field position and Arkansas turnovers.

LSU lived on the edge for more than half the season. Close victories over Florida, Auburn and Alabama with an overtime loss to Kentucky thrown in, LSU was living on borrowed time. Fans knew that this style of play would catch up with the team, and against Arkansas, the Tigers couldn't pull it together.

Now it's the end of the world for LSU fans. Nick Saban coined it "catastrophe syndrome" when he was here, and it has been out in full-force since last Friday. Catastrophe syndrome is the feeling by LSU fans that when something starts to go wrong, everything will go wrong. Instead of us just losing to Arkansas, fans were worried that this is the beginning of the end for Tiger football...back to the Curley Hallman era. With Pelini interviewing with Nebraska and Les Miles being a top candidate for the Michigan job, LSU football should have a different look next season. They lose a great senior class, including Glen Dorsey, Jacob Hester, Matt Flynn, Early Doucet, Craig Steltz, etc. It could be a rebuilding year, but with the talent on the roster, fans don't want to rebuild, they want to reload.

But it's too early to think about next year. There's still games to be played this year and important games at that. The SEC Championship is up for grabs and Les Miles doesn't want his second trip to the championship game to end up like his last one, 34-14 loss to Georgia. A win in the Georgia Dome and a trip to the Sugar Bowl to play WAC champion Hawaii is likely in the future (unless the BCS games work out a deal to send LSU to the Rose, Orange or Fiesta). While winning the national championship is the ultimate goal, this can still be one of the most success seasons in LSU history. Let's cheer on the Tigers and send out this senior class on a winning note.

Arkansas vs. LSU

LSU will have its hands full on Friday when the Arkansas Razorbacks come to Baton Rouge for the season finale. LSU will be looking to maintain its #1 ranking heading into the SEC championship game, while also holding onto the heaviest trophy in college football -- the Golden Boot.

With the two headed running attack of Darren McFadden and Felix Jones, LSU's defense will have to be ready and focused on stopping the run. Arkansas is a run-first team with two 1,000 yard rushers and not much going on with their passing game. However, Casey Dick did show last week that if you focus too much on the run, he is more than capable of hurting a defense with the pass. This will be a good test for LSU's defense, which is still stastically near the top in every category but hasn't played up to its potential in a few weeks.

LSU controls its own destiny and can't take the Razorbacks lightly. A slip up this week or next in the SEC championship (against Tennessee or Georia) will cost the Tigers a shot at the BCS championship. With the way this season has gone, anything can and will happen. With all the major title contenders stumbling at some point this year, except for Kansas thus far, LSU is right back where it needs to be since the Kentucky loss. LSU needs to focus on limiting mistakes, such as turnovers and dumb penalties, and they should be able to take care of business the rest of the season.

Prediction:
Arkansas 24
LSU 38

Week 12 Top 25

Oregon and Oklahoma both lost their starting QBs and went on to lose to unranked foes. Alabama lost to ULM. What a year in college football.

Here's my rankings this week:

1. LSU (10-1)
2. Ohio State (11-1)
   
3. Kansas (11-0)
   
4. West Virginia (9-1)
   
5. Missouri (10-1)
6. Arizona St. (9-1)
   
7. Georgia (9-2)
   
8. Virgina Tech (9-2)
9. Oklahoma (9-2)
10. Texas (9-2)
11. Florida (8-3)
    
12. Oregon (8-2)
    
13. USC (8-2)
14. Virginia (9-2)
    
15. Illinois (9-3)
    
16. Hawaii (10-0)
17. Boston College (9-2)
18. Boise State (10-1)
    
19. Tennessee (8-3)
20. BYU (8-2)
21. Connecticut (9-2)
22. Texas Tech (8-4)
23. Clemson (8-3)
    
24. Wisconsin (9-3)
25. Arkansas (7-4)

*Dropped from rankings: Michigan (previously #20), Cincinnati (previously #22), Kentucky (previously #25)