predictions college football

The 2007 regular season ended in about the same way it started. When Appalachian State upset then No. 5 Michigan in the Big House, many probably didn't have any idea what kind of foreshadowing that game showed back on the first weekend of the season. This season, thirteen top five teams were upset by unranked teams, seven second-ranked teams went down and four different teams occupied the top ranking, which is the most since 1997. The unreal possibility of No. 1 Missouri and No. 2 West Virginia losing last weekend wasn't that unreal considering just how much parity we have seen this season. You could kind of sense that if any year the BCS was going to be turned upside down on the last weekend of the season, it was going to be in 2007. No. 1 Missouri losing in the Big 12 Championship was not all that surprising since Oklahoma was talented and experienced in big games but No. 2 West Virginia losing to Pittsburgh was much harder the fathom. Considering, West Virginia, with a 10-1 record, led Pittsburgh, with a 4-7 record, in nearly every statistical category and was playing at home for a chance to lock up a chance to play in the National Championship, it seemed nearly impossible that this particular upset could happen.
But the curse of the No. 2's came alive again in Morgantown. It started with two short West Virginia field goals that went wide after the Mountaineers easily drove down the field during the first quarter. West Virginia started the second quarter with a fumble, and on the following possession, quarterback Pat White sustained a thumb injury and had to leave the game. Reserve quarterback Jarrett Brown led West Virginia down for the game's opening score when he rushed for a 6-yard touchdown but that would be the only offensive points of the game for a team that was averaging 39. With Pittsburgh sensing it could play with the second-ranked team in the country, running back LeSean McCoy put the Panthers on his back and carried them down for a clock draining touchdown drive to start the second half to give Pitt a 10-7 lead. McCoy helped keep the ball away from West Virginia more in the fourth quarter during a 7:35 minute drive that resulted in Pittsburgh keeping possession for all but two minutes in the third quarter. Down by only three after a missed Pitt field goal attempt, the fourth quarter left hope for West Virginia to come back and keep their BCS hopes alive. The Mountaineers forced Pittsburgh to punt but on their ensuing possession Brown was sacked and fumbled to give the ball back to Pittsburgh who then converted a field goal with the short field. Injured quarterback Pat White came back into the game to try and help salvage a victory on the final two Mountaineer possessions, however, it was too little too late. Pittsburgh's active defensive front stifled West Virginia's usually potent rushing attack and forced two turnovers on downs in the last two possessions to secure the 13-9 upset victory over their rival school. West Virginia still won the Big East and earned a trip to the Fiesta Bowl while Pittsburgh will build off the big win going into next season.
The upset might have been the last one in a season filled with them but it was certainly not a minor one. This upset was more significant than any we've seen this season. It sent chaos through the BCS polls because it meant their would be several two-loss teams vying for a spot to play one-loss Ohio State for the National Championship. The lobbying and justification campaigns were in full swing for six or seven teams across the country but when all was said and finally voted on in the next 24 hours, LSU's SEC Championship victory was enough to place the Tigers back up to the coveted No. 2 spot in the country. We might have arrived with two of the front runners to win the National Title but, from the first week to the last, arriving at those two teams was one of the most unpredictable and thrilling processes in college football history.
In other Top 25 action, No. 6 Virginia Tech won the ACC Championship with a 30-16 victory over No. 12 Boston College, No. 8 USC captured the Pac 10 title by beating rival UCLA, 24-7, and No. 11 Hawaii rallied to beat Washington, 35-28, to keep the nations only perfect season alive for the bowl season. No. 13 Arizona State held off rival Arizona, 20-17, No. 5 LSU defeated No. 14 Tennessee for the SEC title, 21-14, and No. 9 Oklahoma secured a Big 12 Championship with a 38-17 win over No. 1 Missouri.
In similar fashion to last season's Top 25 Weekly Challenge, the finish was a runaway. USC fan Bruce Hardin(104-36) scored a CFBP rating of 444.97 which was 40 points better than the nearest participant in the final standings of the contest. He racked up 599 points and had an impressive .743 winning percentage through all 140 of the toughest AP Top 25 games this season to win this year's Top 25 Weekly Challenge. He will receive $40 for winning the regular season contest. Michigan fan skid(97-43), Miami fan miami024(96-44), Texas A&M fan Aggie1025(96-44) and Colorado fan JohnnyBeGood06(94-46) finished out the top five of the final standings. The Upset: Pittsburgh defeated 2West Virginia, 13-9...2% picked PittsburghThe No-Brainer: 21BYU defeated San Diego State, 48-27...98% picked BYUThe Big One: 9Oklahoma defeated 1Missouri, 38-17...51% picked Oklahoma