Observations From Week 12

I am not thrilled with our performance on Thursday night. That much has been made clear I think. At this point though, I'm more worried about Cincinnati than anything else. We are prone to turnovers (not consistently, but when they come, they come in bunches with us). Cincy is all about creating turnovers. If the fumbling WVU shows up, we lose. It's as simple as that.

If we just keep winning, we should get to #4 at minimum. Two of the Big 12 teams in front of us are assured of losing. We will pass whichever two drop a game. That leaves 1 Big 12 team ahead of us no matter what. Whoever wins the Big 12 Championship game will remain above WVU, and there's nothing we can do about it but complain.

That leaves the other slot open for Oregon or LSU. It's unlikely that Oregon will lose, but they do have a rivalry game coming up against Oregon State, and play an improving Arizona team this Thursday. Pray for them to lose a game. We need it badly.

LSU has Arkansas and the SEC Championship game left as their only challenges. Ole Miss doesn't count. I can see LSU losing to Arkansas, it's not that far fetched considering their penchant for letting garbage teams hang around for 4 quarters. If Georgia makes it to the SEC title matchup, I go with the Bulldogs to win. They are really looking great right now. That being said, if UGA wins out, would they pass us? I'm not sure. Either way, we have to hope for an LSU loss somewhere.

So there's the scenario at this point. If Oregon and LSU win out, that's your BCS title game. If one loses, it's the other vs. a Big 12 team in the title game. If they both lose, it's likely our spot to lose against whoever the Big 12 team is. Unless, of course, we get jumped. Georgia could jump us, but no one else is in position to do so. OSU will not, VT will not, etc...

Bottom line? West Virginia has to win out, and pray for both Oregon and LSU to lose. An upset in the Big 12 would be nice too, and maybe give us some room to breathe a little bit.

But let's not get ahead of ourselves. We have a huge game coming up on Saturday that no one thought would be that big before this year started. I don't think their crowd will bother us any, as the stadium is too small. But make no mistake, UC is treating this as their game of the year. It seems like we're that game for everybody doesn't it? That makes me happy. Regardless, UC will come out fired up in this game, and we have to match that intensity. We cannot come out flat, we cannot turn the ball over, and we cannot have a crappy gameplan (fat chance). Our season, and all our hopes, can come down to this one.

Other than that, we just need some help elsewhere. So root for every crappy team against every good one, and let's just see what happens.

Also, root for Michigan. It can't hurt, and makes my life much more enjoyable.