Rutgers

Amazing game on ESPN tonight. I thought the Tennessee/LSU game was the best I would see all season after it ended Saturday. Louisville/Rutgers topped it.

Amazing how the Big East has turned out this season. Just seven days and, ohhhhh ... 4 hours ago, West Virginia was the best team in the conference. Louisville topped them, and now Louisville has been topped.

If Rutgers runs the table, why SHOULDN'T they play for the National Championship? They physically dominated the Cardinals in the trenches on both sides of the ball -- a Cardinals team widely touted to be "just as talented" as any of the big boys or any of the SEC teams. And Rutgers looked BETTER than them?

Rutgers & Ohio State share a common opponent: Illinois. The Buckeyes scrapped their way by the Fighting Illini by a single touchdown. The Scarlet Knights, however, won by a whopping 33.

If this were March, and we were talking basketball, we would LOVE and EMBRACE a team like this. This would be Cinderella! They would be Gonzaga or George Mason. We would be rooting for them all the way. But because it's college football, and elitist, we dismiss Rutgers because their NAME isn't as impressive as Florida, or Texas, or USC.

Rutgers still has some wood left to chop. But they have already beaten Pitt, a pretty decent team in their conference. They beat Louisville tonight. But their last game of the season is against West Virgnia. I can't WAIT to watch a team this good in the trenches face off against a spread rushing attack as good as the Mountaineers'.

Hey -- Big East football is exciting! Besides the SEC, tell me what conference is more impressive. The Big 11? Please! They look exactly the same -- a few elite teams at the top, and all the rest stink. The ACC? That conference is a mess. The Pac 10? Talk about a conference that doesn't play defense. The Big East belongs, people. And if Rutgers goes all the way, it would be outrageous to deny them a shot to be called the best team in college football.

Rutgers probably won't vault all the way to #3 in my own Power 12 early next week. But if they beat West Virgnia in their final game to finish undefeated, they will no doubt be #2. If Rutgers fails, then my next pick to face the winner of the National Championship Game (a.k.a. Ohio State vs. Michigan) in the BCS Championship Game (for whatever that is worth) is Texas. If the Buckeyes prevail, then why should Michigan get another shot? Why not let Texas get the 2nd chance against them? They had to face them early in the year with a first-year starting freshman quarterback. He won't be a freshman anymore. And Texas is one of the few schools this season who you can't point to and see improvement week-by-week. What an exciting showdown, right?

My next pick would be the winner of the SEC Championship (whether it's Auburn, Florida, or Arkansas). Next pick after that (if all the above have 2 losses by that time) is the winner of USC/Notre Dame (again, assuming one loss).

But go Rutgers. I'd love to see Cinderella make it to the ball.