Trent's Touchdown - Week 12

With births to conference championship games and outright claims to the top spots in other conferences on the line, Week 12 looks like a winner. So, let’s skip the preamble and get right to the games.

1) No. 10 Ohio State at Michigan – 12:00 on ABC

While this one looks like a cakewalk for Ohio State, this one gives me pause. As much as I hate it when people say that records don’t matter in rivalry games, this one transcends the records. Both have something to play for, just one is more important than the other.

Ohio State is playing for the outright championship of the Big Ten and, more importantly, respect. Yes, they are going to the Rose Bowl, but no one thinks they can beat any Pac-10 team. They are a team being carried by their defense. Every Buckeye fan out there, while not admitting it, just hopes that Terrelle Pryor doesn’t do anything stupid when he has his hands on the ball. I mean, look at the series they played in the OT win against Iowa, three straight dives into the heart of the line. Yes, Tressel really trusts Pryor.

Michigan is playing to get out of the cellar of the Big Ten and, most probably, for Rich Rodriguez’s job. After starting 4-0, they have gotten smacked around by all comers, wining only one of their last seven games. I like Tate Forcier and I like the enthusiasm of the team, but Michigan still makes dumb mistakes. I think Rodriguez really needs to take the training wheel’s off here and just let Forcier air it out. They have nothing to lose.

Michigan has played well at home all year, so they can keep it close. I just think the Ohio State defense is too good for Michigan. Ohio State wins this one, while I get deluged with “Ohio State is for real” stories before they douse their drawers against Oregon in the Rose Bowl.

2) No. 11 Oregon at Arizona – 8:00 on ABC

Speaking of Oregon, they get to take one more step to securing the Pac-10. Personally, I like Stanford, but the Duchess like Oregon. As any married man knows, the secret to a successful marriage is to always listen to your wife.

Anyhow, the Oregon offense is pretty simple to figure out. It’s run, run, run, and then beat you with the play action pass. It’s just a question of stopping it. I don’t know why they bothered to reinstate LeGarrette Blount, since LaMichael James is one of the better running backs in the nation. Look for the Ducks to keep doing what they do.

Arizona is in a very good spot. They win out and they go to the Rose Bowl. However, they need to stay consistent on offense, something they couldn’t do against Cal last week. The problem is there is a big question mark at running back, as Nic Grigsby has a bit of a shoulder problem.

While Arizona is undefeated at home, they really haven’t had any quality wins (minus Stanford). Oregon knows how to get up for the big games and they know just how important this one is. I think they go into Arizona and win it, but Arizona sticks around for most of the game.

3) No. 25 California at No. 17 Stanford – 7:30 on Versus

Talk about two teams on two different sides of the spectrum. Cal has absolutely no quality wins, while Stanford slapped around USC and Oregon in back to back weeks. God I love Stanford right now.

The blue-collar Stanford Cardinals are showing they are not a team to be taken lightly. They also know how to go for the kill when they have the shot, going for a two-point conversion up 27 in the fourth quarter against USC. Andrew Luck keeps plugging along, knowing the offense doesn’t rest on his shoulders. All he needs to do is get the ball to Toby Gerhart and he is all set. They have a competent defense that doesn’t get lit up, so they are all good.

Cal is one team I don’t understand. They can’t beat a good team, yet they keep getting into the top 25. Their best player is on the sideline after nearly killing himself trying to get into the end zone. We’ll be lucky if we Jahvid Best before the opening game next year. Shane Vereen is an admirable back up, but he isn’t Best. Pardon the pun, but Best is Cal’s best shot at winning.

Stanford wins this one, by doing what they always do. I don’t even think Cal keeps it close, but it’s worth watching just to see Stanford dismantle another team and keep their hopes of a Pac-10 Championship alive.

4) Virginia at No. 23 Clemson – 3:30 on ABC

I’ll admit it; this is pure and utter homerism (even if I’ve never been to South Carolina or know anyone who has been there). This is the game every Clemson fan has been waiting for since 1991. Well, technically, that would be in 2 weeks against Georgia Tech, but they need to beat Virginia first.

Let’s forget about the Virginia offense completely. They can’t move the ball against a high school team, and Clemson is one of the better defenses in the country, leading the nation in interceptions. This game hinges on the ability of C.J. Spiller making plays and giving Kyle Parker piece of mind that the game isn’t on his shoulders. Throw in a big play by Jacoby Ford and you pretty much have yourself a victory.

It’ll be fun to watch for about two and a half quarters, which is usually where Clemson decides they’ve had enough and decide to just win it and be done with it.

5) No. 8 LSU at Mississippi – 3:30 on CBS

Remember when everyone (including me) was saying how Jevan Sneed was for real? That was 14 interceptions ago. However, out of the limelight, Ole Miss has been able to put together a fairly good record.

If I was a LSU fan, I wouldn’t be sure if I was more scared of Jefferson or Lee starting at quarterback. Listen, I could go into some spiel about how LSU needs to work the run, but it’s all a lie. This game will come down to the LSU defense stopping Dexter McCluster. If they do that, they put the game in Sneed’s hands and as scary as that sounded at the beginning of the season, it would make me downright giddy now.

LSU wins this, but the game is ugly in the fact that it turns into a defensive struggle. LSU just needs to pray that if Lee does start, that he doesn’t make too many mistakes.

6) Harvard at Yale – 12:00 on Versus

Come on people, this is The Game. The Game! Basically, it’s an excuse for the alumni of two Ivy League schools to drink all weekend, but that’s a whole different story.

Extra Point:

7) Let me throw in my two cents about the Mark Mangino debacle at Kansas. I want to preface this by saying that we don’t know all the evidence and I don’t want to come off like an idiot like Obama and the whole Gates incident. Also, I’ve always liked Kansas because of their underdog status.

That being said, if this is true, this is the weirdest thing I’ve heard in a while, but not completely shocking. With the amount of control coaches have over players in college football, something like this was bound to happen. If this was one or two players, you can write it off as sour grapes, but this is a whole host of players with similar stories.

This doesn’t just affect Mangino though. This will affect his assistant coaches and coordinators, not to mention the legacy of Bill Snyder at Kansas State. There is a fine line between hard-nosed disciplinarian and out of control behavior. No matter the outcome, Mangino is toxic after this. No team is going to touch him. If he did cross the line, let’s hope he learned his lesson.