How’s this for alliteration: Lady Luck loves Les and lives in Louisiana.

Even LSU coach Les Miles isn’t sure how his “damn strong football team” ended up so damn lucky. Not only is coach Miles playing for the BCS title against Jim Tressel and his Ohio State pedigree, but he’s doing it roughly 80 miles from his own front door with the first ever college football team to end up in a BCS Championship after two losses.

But what’s done is done, and even though Georgia is still griping about how they aren’t in New Orleans right now, the lineup isn’t going to change.

LSU vs. Ohio State is going to be a damn fine football game. LSU is the early favorite, but there aren’t any prominent advantages on either side. Neither one of these teams are infallible. Illinois knows that about Ohio State; both Kentucky and Arkansas know it about LSU.

Tressel and Miles know it about each other, too. They’re the Ying and the Yang of football philosophy. In fact, I suspect the reason why LSU is favored has everything to do with geography and nothing to do with ability.

How else could the No. 1 ranked Buckeyes, who are making their second straight BCS Championship appearance and only have one loss to a surprisingly adept Illinois team, play second fiddle to a No. 2 ranked team with two losses? I thought the BCS system was numbers game. Those numbers don’t add up.

The only reason why a favorite has to be picked in this game is for the bookies. Otherwise, the very notion of calling Ohio State an underdog here is lunacy—and it doesn’t mean squat.

If it’s true that defense and experience wins championships, then Ohio State has an edge. The Buckeyes have allowed only 222.5 yards per game this season, limited seven teams to single digits in points, and held 11 teams at two touchdowns or less. Plus Ohio State’s defense against the run is scary good.

So it’s too bad for Tressel that LSU has such a deep receiving corps.

If anything can permeate an impermeable offense, it’s speed. And LSU is up to their eyeballs in that. The Tigers’ two-quarterback system of Matt Flynn and Ryan Perrilloux seems tailored to shred a defense like Ohio State’s.

Flynn racked up 2,233 yards and 17 touchdowns this year, but his sedentary style won’t cause as many problems for Ohio as Perrilloux will. Perrilloux’s numbers might not be as impressive, but his Kordell Stewart impersonation certainly is.

Perriloux’s run and gun style of play is something Ohio State usually has trouble with, and since LSU will be playing both of them, Tressel is going to have to prep his defense twice.

But there’s a pitfall in discussing LSU’s offense and Ohio State’s defense that forces people to forget about Buckeye QB Todd Boeckman’s 1,463 yards with 14 touchdowns, and WR Brian Robiskie with 885 receiving yards and 10 TDs, and even RB Chris Wells with 1,463 yards and 14 touchdowns.

That group will tax the Tiger defense, and comparatively, that’s LSU’s biggest problem. Don’t get me wrong. LSU has some talented defensive players that make up the 20th ranked defense in the nation, and Glenn Dorsey is an amazing defensive tackle, but you’re out of your bean if you think LSU has a better overall defense than Ohio State.

And you’re also out of your bean if you think either one of these teams is a clear-cut underdog.

If you have to bet money on this game, make sure it’s someone else’s.

–Joey Alfino, RED Editorial Staff

Of the 24 NCAA bowl games yet to be played, only a fraction of them are really worth watching. For example, if the best reason to watch Alabama and Colorado in the PetroSun Independence Bowl is to find out which team will end up with their first losing season in years, it’s not worth watching. That’s what sports tickers are for.

But there are a few burn burners on the docket. With the exception of the Orange Bowl and the impossibly argued BCS Championship, the best day for college football is New Year’s Day. So when you manage to pry open your bleary eyes on January 1st, here’s what you should and shouldn’t watch while you shake your hangover in time to force down a heaping plate of traditional black-eyed peas.

First up is Wisconsin vs. Tennessee in the Outback Bowl. Skip it. It’s the first game of the day, and everybody knows that showing up fashionably late to a party is cool. Just sleep in for another 30 minutes and catch the Cotton Bowl.

The Cotton Bowl is Missouri vs. Arkansas, and it should be a great way to start your morning. I’ve been harping on this for months now, but there are only two possible reasons why Missouri is even in this game. First, they lost the Big Twelve title. Second, the BCS system stinks. It’s a combination of both.

No matter what you believe, though, the Tigers will be going into this game with steam under their collars and chips on their shoulders after going from No. 1 to getting snubbed out of BCS bowl contention. Missouri QB and Heisman finalist Chase Daniel will be trying to vent that steam against Arkansas running back and Heisman finalist Darren McFadden, who finished with 15 TDs and 1,725 rushing yards.

Next up is the Konica Minolta Gator Bowl with Texas Tech vs. Virginia, and the Capital One Bowl with Michigan vs. Florida. Take your pick here. I would like to recommend finishing out the Cotton Bowl and then flipping over late to one of these two games, but I seriously doubt the Cotton Bowl will go to the wire.

Either way, you only need to pay half a mind to these two games while you drift in and out of naptime. Both of them do have appeal, though. Texas Tech boasts the nation’s No. 2 total offense so they’re fun to watch, and the Gators have Heisman winner Tim Teebow running their offense. Hopefully he can avoid the trophy jinx. A bit of trivia for you: Gators coach Urban Meyer is undefeated in bowl games.

No matter what, by 4:30 Eastern you had better be awake for the Rose Bowl. The Illinois vs. USC paring should make for an awesome game, but even if the caliber of teams were smaller, you’d still have watch it. The Rose Bowl is the Rose Bowl, and while life is full of choices, skipping the Rose Bowl isn’t one of them.

The Illini’s fate will rest in the hands of QB Juice Williams since USC’s defense will probably (and effectively) stack the line against RB Rashard Mendenhall. But in the end, USC’s experience could prove too much for Illinois to handle.

That brings us to the final and best game of the day, the Allstate Sugar Bowl with Hawaii vs. Georgia. The Georgia Bulldogs are one of the hottest teams in nation. Hands down. And while they might be a little peeved at getting snubbed out of the Rose Bowl, pitting them against undefeated Hawaii isn’t a letdown either.

Ever since Georgia handed a 42-30 loss to Florida, they’ve been en fuego. Over their last five games, the Bulldogs have averaged 37.2 points. They’ve scored more than 30 points on four occasions, and more than 40 on three. Freshman RB Knowshon Moreno has rushed for 1,000 yards, and the only other freshman RB to do that in Georgia’s history was Herschel Walker.

For as impressive as Georgia is, they’ll have a tough opponent in a Hawaii team that’s still looking to convince people they’re for real. Despite talk that Hawaii is a fraud, Colt Brennan and the Warriors’ offense is very, very good. It’s always on, but Brennan hasn’t encountered a defense as fast as Georgia’s this year. When it’s all over, I suspect Hawaii leaves the mainland with their first loss.

If that isn’t a fattening day of football, I don’t know what is. And now, there’s only one thing left to do. Eat the black-eyed peas. I know they taste awful, but it’s for good luck in ’08.

Someone should mention that to Notre Dame.

–Joey Alfino, RED Editorial Staff

During the initial scramble to make sense of this year’s BCS bowl teams, the notion of Illinois getting a Rose Bowl berth with a 9-3 record sent a spike of bewildered agitation across the board of NCAA analysts.

But that’s not entirely fair. Illinois created formidable success for themselves this year, and it’s an unprecedented turnaround from last season. I’ve got just as many problems with the BCS system as the next guy, but as far as Illinois is concerned, they deserve a shot at the Rose Bowl.

For whatever reason, Cinderella stories aren’t as prevalent in college football as they are the NFL, and the trip Illinois has taken to the Rose Bowl this season is a perfect example.

Last season, the Illinois went an abysmal 2-10. Now they’re headed to Pasadena for the first time since 1983. But instead of focusing on Illinois good fortune, lots of people can’t get by the Illini’s three losses.

ESPN’s Pat Forde was one of the more outspoken anti-Illinois pundits, saying “A three loss team from a bad Big 10 has no business in a BCS game.” No business? A bad Big 10? See, this is the problem with the BCS system–too many variables.

Forde might have a point about the Big 10 not being the strongest conference, but to imply the overall strength of conference should factor into a team’s bowl invitation is excessive. Ohio State is from the Big 10. They’re going for all the marbles.

And while the Illini might have three losses, they also have wins against Penn State, Wisconsin, and yes, Ohio State as well. The Illini handed the Buckeyes their only loss of the season, which would have kept OSU out of a bowl bid had the season not ended so poorly for West Virginia and Missouri. The Illini have obviously proved they have talent, and therefore have business in the Rose Bowl.

Then there’s Illini coach Ron Zook. This guy has done amazing things for Illinois football, including a 17-win improvement over last season. When you consider all the bad ju-ju that followed him around in Florida, his composure has been impeccable. Now he’s the Big 10 coach of the year, and frankly, I’d like to see how a Big 10 coach of the year does under the pressure of the Rose Bowl.

But in the opinion of many, the Illini still don’t belong in the Rose Bowl despite all of their achievements. Well, everyone’s opinions save for the Tournament of Roses Association, and they’re the only ones who matter. The Tournament of Roses Association decided to include Illinois because they wanted to uphold the traditional Big 10 vs. Pac 10 bowl game.

Tradition has very little to do with math, and even less to do with opinions.

They could have gone with Boston College, they could have gone with Hawaii, but they didn’t. It’s not a traditional choice. End of story.

And there you have it. For as many foibles as the BCS system has, in this case I think it’s given us a meaningful and honest football game between an Illini team making their fifth Rose Bowl appearance, and a USC squad that’s been there 32 times.

It’s not perfect, but it’s what we’ve got, and what we’ve got is good football game.

–Joey Alfino, RED Editorial Staff

The smoke has almost cleared from the annual BCS bomb, and the world of college football is running out of surprises . . . finally. For the first time in a long time, playing the “what if?” game to figure out the national championship race is a cakewalk. This weekend everything is going to fall into place, and the lynch pin gets pulled Saturday night in San Antonio with Oklahoma and Missouri.

Supposedly (not logically), this is the only game that matters with respect to the BCS bid announcements on Sunday. I’m not going to use the word “logic” too often when it comes to NCAA football and BCS bids. It seems as out of place as Notre Dame in a bowl game this year. Anyway, here are the options in a nutshell . . .

Let’s just look at the top three BCS teams for now: Missouri, West Virginia, and Ohio State. Two of those teams can supposedly be dismissed immediately. Calm down. I don’t mean that in a bad way.

You can dismiss them because they don’t really enter into the equation. Ohio State’s season has been over for the past 13 days. Those guys are just sitting at home listening to Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers sing “The Waiting (is the hardest part).”

As far as West Virginia is concerned, they’re pretty much in the BCS title game already. The odds of West Virginia dropping a game at home against a Pittsburgh are slim. Pitt roughly averages only half as many points per game as West Virginia, 23.7 to 41.6, and while Pitt’s wide receivers are impressive, it’s just not enough. Of course, I’ll stop short of saying West Virginia is the logical choice.

So the only variable left is Missouri.

The Missouri/Oklahoma game is, to use an adjective that hasn’t much to do with sports, poetic. I hope the MU English department is encouraging its undergrads to watch this game since it has plenty to do with the plot arcs of countless mediocre novels. Or at least Rocky III.

You know, character “A” is defeated by character “B” in the beginning of the story, so character “A” needs to overcome character “B” at the end to win the prize? It’s just like that.

Oklahoma handed the Tigers their only loss this year, but MU is obviously a much better team than they were on October 13th. Whether or not the Tigers are good enough, well, I’ve learned my lesson when it comes to predications. I’m not even bothering to call this one.

The only thing I’m sure of is this. Not too many people will be rooting for Oklahoma to win more than Ohio State, because the math is simple. If Missouri wins, they’ll play West Virginia for all the marbles. If Missouri loses, then Ohio State will most likely take the spot.

And that’s it. See? I told you it was simple. Now then, the only other thing left to do is sort out the field of “also-ran” teams that round out the rest of the BCS series, and then we can all get together and draft that letter to BCS coordinator Mike Slive asking him why Hawaii, the only undefeated team left, got shafted.

He’ll ignore us. But it’s still fun to bother him.

–Joey Alfino, RED Editorial Staff.

If there’s really such a thing as the butterfly effect, that butterfly just flapped its wings in Arizona. Or maybe it was an Oregon Duck. Either way, when Oregon’s Green Machine broke down last night against unranked Arizona, it caused a tornado in the BCS standings.

Not only can the Ducks bid their chances for the BCS title game adieu, but QB Denis Dixon may have the compounded disappointment of not only letting the Heisman go, but the rest of his season as well.

Plenty of columnists are focusing on how big of an upset this is, or how being ranked 2nd in the BCS standings is a curse this year (Oregon is the 5th team to drop a game in the two spot). But with only two weeks to go before the Bowl Blitz, the most important thing to consider is how significantly Oregon’s loss is going to shake up the standings.

The BCS selection show is 14 days away. Every year we see fans and critics kicking and screaming over which teams go to which bowl games, and I have a feeling this year might be a little more heated than most. Two days ago, there were only five teams with a palpable shot at the BCS title game.

Now it’s down to four.

Since Oregon is out of the equation, the “Final Four” of college football are LSU (1), Kansas (3), Oklahoma (4), and Missouri (5). Of course, those 3, 4, and 5 rankings are only good on paper. The new BCS standings aren’t released until Sunday night, but for all intensive purposes they might as well be 2, 3, and 4.

I realize this is an assumption. The BCS committee has a way of throwing curveballs when it comes to rankings and there’s plenty of football on Saturday, but as it stands right now, the most important game with respect to who plays in the National Championship is Missouri at Kansas State.

KSU started the season with a lot of promise despite their week one loss to Auburn. After they dropped a game to Kansas in October the wind got knocked out of their sails, but KSU still has a better-than-average shot of springing a trap game on the Tigers. If KSU hands MU their second loss on the season, the Tigers will end up in the same boat as Oregon.

You can’t get to a National Championship with two losses.

Not to mention that if MU loses, the KU/MU game at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City won’t carry as much weight when the BCS hands down their picks on November 30th.

Speaking of KU, they have a fairly manageable game against Iowa State this Saturday. Or at least it should be. I’m sure Oregon thought the same thing when they landed in Arizona yesterday.

So, where will this tornado of assumptions and variables leave us? Here’s how I see the debris landing: KSU squeaks by MU 34-31, and KU plays LSU in the National Championship.

All because a Duck flapped its wings in the desert.

–Joey Alfino, RED Editorial Staff

When Nick Saban was coaching LSU in 2004, he led the Tigers to their first national title in 45 years. Then he left town, ended up coaching Alabama, and some Tiger fans still haven’t managed to pick up the pieces of their broken hearts.

So this Saturday, it’s probably a good thing the Tigers are playing the Crimson Tide in Tucaloosa. If the game were in Baton Rouge the field would be soaked with tears. Louisiana is damp enough already.

The LSU college radio shows and local media are calling this game Saban Bowl I, which is too bad. The buzz surrounding this game all week has LSU fans obsessing over their painful break-up with coach Saban when the focus should be on the game.

All relationship hubbub aside, there’s a lot on the line here. Alabama and LSU are tied for first in the SEC west, but first place in that division is really all Alabama is fighting for. With a 6-2 overall record, the Crimson Tide are out of BCS championship options, so at this point they’re just a spoiler team. If they hand LSU a second loss, it’s all over for the Tigers.

This kind of scenario easily explains the emotional baggage LSU fans are carrying into the weekend, but frankly, it doesn’t make it any less annoying. They’ve got to let this go.

No one can blame those fans for feeling deserted four years ago, or even three. Divorce is never easy, and if you don’t believe me, just ask any KU fan what Lawrence was like the day Roy “Benedict” Williams left the Phog for Chapel Hill. It was messy, I tell you.

Messy.

And even though some KU fans still have seizures when they see 2005 footage of Roy cutting down the nets, they’re pretty much over it. College football, like time, never stops changing, and it certainly never stops moving forward—except for Notre Dame.

So, LSU fans, if the Tigers end up getting knocked out of BCS contention by your ex this weekend, which is unlikely, don’t reach for the tissues, and don’t drop to your knees in the middle of a bar while you shake your fists at the heavens and curse the soul of Nick Saban. He’s history in Baton Rouge. A memory. Treat him like one.

Your coach is Les Miles now, and he’s a damn good one. Don’t waste any time pointing out how coach Miles is playing with Saban’s recruits. Saban didn’t teach those guys how to play Tiger football. Miles did.

Now bury the hatchet and go play some football.

–Joey Alfino, RED Editorial Staff

If it’s true that rules were meant to be broken, then some NCAA football programs out there are second to none. As to which program is the dirtiest of all time, well, that’s open for debate. Some would say Auburn or Oklahoma; others would say Texas Tech or Kentucky. Personally, I think it’s USC, but that’s a topic for another column.

What I can tell you now is the shadiest coach of the month is without doubt Dennis Franchione with Texas A&M. And even if he’s not the shadiest, he’s certainly the most bone-headed.

There are plenty of people, mainly the A&M Athletic Department, that have managed to get all worked up over a private newsletter that Franchonie had indirectly been releasing—I say “indirectly” because technically Franchione didn’t write it, but more on that in a minute—to boosters who gave the most money to the A&M football program.

The newsletter was called VIP Connection. It had 23 subscribers, and each person paid $1,200 per subscription. That’s right, one thousand two hundred American dollars. For a newsletter. I’m not sure what to think about the type of person who would gladly pay over a grand for a newsletter, but if they have that kind of money to throw around I’m not going to bother questioning their logic.

The problem was, or is, the contents of the letter. VIP Connection contained valuable, privileged and down right off-limits information about upcoming games, strategies, recruitment prospects, and player injuries.

Releasing this kind of information constitutes such a brazen disregard for NCAA regulations that I can’t even fathom what was (or wasn’t) going through Franchione’s bean when he thought of, or approved of, this idea.

Excerpts from this newsletter, which has been around since 2005, are available from several online news sources. Take some time to read them, it’s fun. If you do, you’ll get the distinct impression that author Mike McKenzie, who has been fired for his involvment, knew exactly how wrong it was for him to be doing. Here’s an excerpt from the newsletter as seen on Sportingnews.com:

“TOTAL MUM ON THIS. A certain highly regarded prospect who has committed to Michigan showed up at practice Saturday wearing a USC cap, for which he took a lot of guff. ;)”

“STILL JUST AMONG US: He also told a story about another official whose daughter goes to A&M. He had made a few calls (or no-calls) that went against us, and not what Fran considered good judgments. He’s an official that Fran respects and thinks is very good. So he told him one time that he thought perhaps the official was subconsciously not trying to appear biased about A&M. He said the official didn’t like what he said, but the plan was counter-subconscious espionage; get the official to think subconsciously about what he might be thinking about subconsciously…well, you get the gist.”

Sheesh. Here’s a piece of advice for you folks: If you ever find yourself in a situation where you are being charged $1,200 to access information you’re not supposed to tell anyone, RUN AWAY! It smacks of illegality.

Earlier I mentioned how Franchione was “indirectly” involved in this whole debacle because officially he didn’t release any information, but that sounds to me like he’s just setting himself up for plausible deniability. Franchione’s name wasn’t directly tied to the newsletter, even though it was posted on his personal website, and he also personally made $32,806 off of the subscription money according to ESPN.

Right. If Fanchione or anyone else tries to claim ignorance, there are 32,806 different reasons why they’re full of it.

Don’t be surprised if A&M fans call for his head after the season. At the end of the day, Franchione’s release of this kind of info for the past two years is the very definition of a leak.

It needs to be plugged.

–Joey Alfino, Red Editorial Staff

The new AP poll came out four days ago, and for the first time since 1959 the LSU tigers are on top of it, which doesn’t make everyone happy. ESPN analyst Mike Gottfried thinks, “Somebody’s gotta be smokin’ something to move LSU ahead of USC.”

We’ll know for sure this weekend. On Saturday the Florida Gators play LSU at Tiger Stadium—which is arguably the toughest place in the nation to win a game. Not only is this a must-win game for Florida that could determine the rest of their season, but there’s an eerie vibe to this game as well.

Florida is going into Baton Rouge injured since Auburn handed them their first loss of the season, and this is where the eerie part comes in. The last game LSU lost was at Florida on October 7th, 2006. On October 14th, 2006, Florida lost their one and only game of the season against Auburn.

Now, technically not even a year later (364 days), history is threatening to repeat itself, even if it’s not in the same order.

Nobody is really picking Florida to win this game, and they shouldn’t. If this game were in Florida like last year, I might actually have the courage to start screaming about an upset, but they’re playing in “Death Valley”. At night.

Night games are next to impossible for opposing teams to win in Baton Rouge. Since 1960, the Tigers have won over 75 percent of the night games they’ve played at home. New Orleans is one heck of a party town, and when games don’t start until 8:00, the fans have had plenty of time to “grease the chain,” if you catch my drift.

All the distractions aside, I think the Gators are going to give LSU a run for it.

When LSU cornerback Chevis Jackson was asked what he thought when Auburn beat Florida, he said, “They’re gonna be mad.” Damn skippy they’re mad.

Florida QB Tim Tebow is more than capable of putting 30 plus points on the board, and the Gators will more than likely run with an open backfield and spend at least the first half in the air. That takes some guts to do, but if Florida wants any hope at all of staying in the hunt for the SEC title, they’re going to have to pull out all the stops.

There are plenty of awesome college football games this weekend, but this one is definitely where it’s at.

The drama should be thicker than a bowl of gumbo.

–Joey Alfino, RED Editorial Staff

I feel sorry for Notre Dame. I really do. Not only are they 0-3, but they’ve also been outscored this season 102-13. This Saturday the Irish play Michigan State, and I doubt things are going to get any better. Sure, some say the Irish are due for something positive, and I agree with them. I just don’t think it’s going to be this weekend, or even this year.

ESPN has Notre Dame ranked number one in their “Bottom 10” list. I’m not sure if that means they are the absolute worst, but at this point I’m not going to split hairs over a team whose players just aren’t very good. But (and here’s how far they have fallen) Notre Dame apparently is.

Last Wednesday evening a story hit the news wire about Notre Dame quarterback Demetrius Jones. He quit the team. This shouldn’t be a surprise since his career as a starting QB for the Irish began with three passing attempts, two fumbles, one four yard completion, and ended by halftime of the season opener against Georgia Tech.

Jones was replaced in the second half by Jimmy Clausen, and Notre Dame coach Charlie Wies had no intention of moving Jones to another position. It’s safe to say things just weren’t panning out.

Jones, who is from Chicago, decided to take his talents to another school. Say, Northern Illinois, for example. Seems simple enough. Jones didn’t like Notre Dame, and Notre Dame didn’t like Jones.

So can somebody please explain to me why Notre Dame won’t let Demetrius Jones out of his scholarship? What’s the point of that?

Not releasing Jones from his scholarship is even less productive than Notre Dame’s offense. Jones can still attend NIU if he wants, but he has to pay for it himself. So really, Jones is getting fined by Notre Dame’s athletic director. They are effectively saying, “you can leave, but It’s going to cost you,” even though Notre Dame doesn’t want him around anyway. What?

Classy move, fellas.

There’s an even better twist to this story, though. Yesterday evening Notre Dame announced they would let Johnson out of his scholarship after all—on the condition that he transfers to an “acceptable” school. NIU is not considered acceptable.

NIU isn’t an acceptable choice because they are on the Irish football schedule. My question is, where? The Irish haven’t played NIU since at least 2002, and near as I can tell the next time they might is in 2010 (four games are still TBD). Demetrius Jones, at best, would have three years of eligibility with NIU if he plays there starting in ’08. I can only think of one reason why Notre Dame is afraid of letting him go to Northern Illinois.

Demetrius Jones must be a spy.

–Joey Alfino, RED Editorial Staf

In the history of NCAA football there has only been one instance where a team ranked in the top five dropped completely off the radar, and it happened to Michigan last weekend. The Appalachian State Mountaineers have pulled off what some are calling the biggest upset in college football—ever.

Sorry. I don’t buy it.

It can’t be argued Appalachian State got a shocking win, but I don’t think the word “upset” should really come into play unless there is something more substantial to lose, and what did Michigan lose by underestimating the Mountaineers?

The Big Ten championship? Maybe. A national championship? Hardly.

They weren’t that good to begin with. Michigan’s offense hangs its hopes on three offensive players who aren’t backed with enough depth to make them a national powerhouse. Last year their Achilles heel was a defense that inexplicably self-destructed, and as everyone has noticed by now, it’s not fixed yet.

For Appalachian State, they just picked up their first win of the season against the only ranked team on their schedule, so they’re riding pretty high. They should be proud, and I’m pretty impressed by their game. If anyone has the right to blow this whole thing out of proportion it’s the Mountaineers, not the media.

Dexter Jackson, receiver for Appalachian State said, “It was David versus Goliath.” Well, sort of. I’m sure for him that’s a great analogy, but I like to think of it more along the lines of “David versus Goliath with a hangover.”

I just can’t force myself to be too impressed by this whole thing. It’s not like Appalachian State blew LSU out of the water.

This weekend Oregon is coming to Ann Arbor, but the biggest game the Wolverines are going to play is against themselves. If the Michigan players buy into the hype that they were part of the worst blowout in the college football history, their season is already over.

And if they can’t get over it, that’s what I’d call the biggest upset ever.

-Joey Alfino, RED Editorial Staf