The Top-10 Games of 2014

  By Andy Dougherty (@AndyDougherty10)

Ed. Note- We continue our look back at 2014 with correspondent Andy Dougherty's Top-10 games of the past year. If you must know, Andy had all this stuff ready in late December, we were just too busy opening gifts and drinking eggnog to post it. Our bad Andy.

-Joe

10. United States Men’s National Soccer Team defeats Ghana 2-1, World Cup Group Stage

Ghana had defeated the United States 2-1 in each of the previous two World Cups. The last loss, in extra time of the 2010 Round of 16, still stung. This time around, the Americans would turn the tables. Clint Dempsey started things off quickly, scoring within the first 30 seconds of the game, good for the fifth-fastest opening goal in World Cup history.

Pre-Bowl Season Winners and Losers

If you earn bowl eligibility in the MAC, you can either head to Detroit... Or here.

By Joe Parello (@HerewegoJoe)

We are about to achieve maximum football this weekend, as college bowl season kicks off to complement the final two weeks of the NFL season, as well as playoffs at both the pro and college levels.

The only days we won't have a bowl game between Saturday and January 4th will be December 21st, December 25th and December 28th, simply because college football can't mess with the NFL of Jesus.

But before bowl season even starts, we can pick out some clear winners and losers based on where teams are headed (ie, TCU and Baylor; losers. Ohio State; winner), so here are your Pre-Bowl Season Winners and Losers.

College Football's Final Four: Did the Committee Get it Right?

Ohio State grabbed the fourth and final spot in the College Football Playoff over Big 12 co-champions Baylor and TCU. Were the Buckeyes the right choice?

By Joe Parello (@HerewegoJoe)

The newly formed College Football Playoff committee announced the first four semifinalists in Division I FBS college football history Sunday, and the predictable outrage followed.

Nobody was praising the new system for allowing us to avoid an Alabama beat down of Florida State. Oh, don't kid yourselves, if this were a two-team gig, FSU would be No. 1 or 2. It's always an undefeated major conference champ against a 1-loss SEC champ. SEC teams get to lose a game when nobody else does because… SEC! SEC! SEC!

Anyways, instead of celebrating the fact that we're getting No.1 Alabama vs No. 4 Ohio State, featuring a match up of arguably the two best coaches of this generation in Nick Saban and Urban Meyer, people were arguing whether the Buckeyes belonged in the playoff at all.

Instead of getting giddy about a quarterback duel between last year's Heisman winner, FSU's Jameis Winston, and this year's eventual winner, Oregon's Marcus Mariota, the masses were mourning bloody Sunday for the Big 12.

Seriously, does nobody understand that under a system in place as recently as last year, Oregon would be playing Ohio State in the Rose Bowl, Baylor would be in Arizona while TCU would likely be headed to either Miami or New Orleans for some pointless exhibition?


Does nobody understand that there was NO wrong answer for picking the fourth playoff team, because all three teams were deserving, and at least the new system gives one of them a shot to win it all, unlike previous years?

Championship Weekend Wrap: The Big 12 Gets Snubbed

Coach Art Briles' Baylor Bears shared the Big 12 title with TCU, and beat the Horned Frogs head-to-head. Still, like TCU, Baylor was left out in the cold by the College Football Playoff Committee.

 By Andy Dougherty (@AndyDougherty10)

The nation’s top six teams all had a lot to prove on championship weekend. Unfortunately for the CFP committee, they all proved themselves admirably.

When the dust settled, a pool of six deserving teams remained, from which the committee needed to choose four. Alabama, Oregon, Florida State and Ohio State qualified, while Baylor and TCU, the Big 12 co-champions, did not.

TCU’s Surprising Fall

The most baffling aspect of the committee’s decision was how it handled TCU. The Horned Frogs, ranked 3rd heading into the weekend, demolished Iowa State 55-3. They couldn’t have played a more complete game, yet they fell from 3rd to 6th in the final CFP rankings.

Week 15 College Football Primer (With Picks): Conference Championships

Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota has the chance to avenge an earlier loss to Arizona, send the Ducks to the College Football Playoff and take another step toward winning the Heisman Trophy this weekend in the Pac 12 Championship Game.

By Andy Dougherty (@AndyDougherty10) with a cameo by Joe Parello (@HerewegoJoe)

Championship weekend has arrived, and seven teams still have a realistic chance to qualify for the College Football Playoff. They will all be in action this weekend, and six of them will face off against top-16 teams. Certainly, they will all need to work hard to stay in playoff position.

The Curious Case of the Big 12

The Big 12 is the only power conference in college football not to hold a conference championship game. Unlike the other power conferences, all 10 of the Big 12's teams play each other every year. The conference has “One True Champion” as its slogan, but Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby has backed off from promoting that slogan in recent weeks.

Generally, the Big 12 uses head-to-head as a tiebreaker between conference co-champions to determine who will represent the conference in a bowl game.

But this year, the CFP committee has consistently favored TCU in its rankings, despite a head-to-head loss against Baylor. Conveniently, Bowlsby has stated that, in the event of a tie this year, the conference will simply name co-champions and leave the rest up to the committee.

Now on to picks!

NCAA Football Weekend Wrap: No Team is Safe

Auburn's playoff hopes are on life support after an upset loss to unranked Texas A&M.

By Andy Dougherty (@AndyDougherty10)

Week 11 of the college football season came with a lot of hype, and it lived up to the billing. Six Top-20 matchups stole the headlines leading into Saturday, but other teams made noise as well. In all, 8 ranked teams lost, including four Top-10 teams.

Upsets

Unranked Texas A&M shook things up when rookie quarterback Kyle Allen led the Aggies to a 41-38 road win over No. 3 Auburn. In just his second career start, the true freshman threw for 277 yards and four touchdowns, paving the way for one of 2014’s biggest upsets. After being in the driver’s seat, Auburn will now need to win out and get some help to stay in the playoff race.

Another upset took place when the Ohio State Buckeyes traveled to Michigan State and won convincingly against the No. 8 Spartans. The win showed that the Buckeyes are the team to beat in the Big 10. They are back on the shortlist of playoff contenders, while Michigan State seems to have fallen off that list for good.

NCAA Football Week 11 Primer (With Picks)

LSU's Les Miles has his young team playing excellent football right now, but Nick Saban and Alabama come to Baton Rouge this week for what could be a College Football Playoff elimination game.

By Andy Dougherty (@AndyDougherty10) with a cameo by Joe Parello (@HerewegoJoe)

Ed. Note- This week we are adding a "picks against the spread" feature to our college football preview. New correspondent Andy Dougherty will still handle the previews, but will now pick games against editor Joe Parello. We'll see how they do.

The slate of games in Week 11 of the college football season offers a number of savory matchups. Six games contested between top-20 teams will carry significant playoff implications. But before previewing those matchups, here is a snapshot of last week’s most notable events.

Week 10 Recap

Week 10 of the college football season had no shortage of excitement. No. 11 Georgia, No. 12 Arizona, and No. 23 East Carolina all suffered upset losses.

No. 20 West Virginia almost pulled off an upset over No. 7 TCU, but the Mountaineers fell by a point in the end. No. 25 Louisville had No. 2 Florida State on the ropes before the Seminoles stormed back from 21 points down to claim an 11-point victory. No. 17 Utah suffered a heartbreak overtime loss to No. 14 Arizona State.

But the biggest story of the week unfolded in Oxford, Mississippi. Late in the fourth quarter, Ole Miss receiver Laquon Treadwell burst through a hole in the Auburn defense and appeared to score the go-ahead touchdown. Unfortunately, an awkward tackle at the goal line left Treadwell with a broken leg and dislocated ankle, ending his season. Adding insult to injury, officials determined upon review that Treadwell let go of the ball prior to crossing the plane, and Auburn recovered the ball in the end zone for a touchback.

Long and Suite Preview: The Big 12

Kansas State coach Bill Snyder will look to shock the nation again with an offense rebuilt around returning quarterback Jake Waters (15) and three-time All-Big 12 center B.J. Finney (66).

By Joe Parello (@HerewegoJoe) with a cameo from Jeremy Conlin (@jeremy_conlin)

While the Pac 12 challenged the SEC for total conference dominance last season, and Florida State delivered a national title to the ACC, the Big 12  quietly ended the year on a bit of a tear.

Baylor's fun n' gun offense helped it win the conference (though the Bears fell to UCF in the Fiesta Bowl), while Oklahoma earned a spot in the Sugar Bowl, where it blasted Alabama. Texas Tech and new coach Kliff Kingsbury knocked off Pac 12 South champion Arizona State in the Holiday Bowl, and Bill Snyder's Kansas State team rebounded from a rocky start to win six of its final seven, including a whooping of Michigan in the Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl.

NCAA Tournament: Day 2 Preview

This lousy bum fell on the floor a bunch and cost me a billion dollars.

By Joe Parello (@HerewegoJoe)

So, my dreams of a billion dollar bracket were dashed yesterday, when all those reject Ohio basketball recruits beat the kids that were better than them in high school.

I'm talking, of course, about stupid Dayton beating Ohio State, and busting 83 percent of the brackets in the Quicken Loans Bracket Challenge. I know we're supposed to root for underdogs and all, but dang it Dayton, did you have to end my dreams of what I'd do with a billion dollars so quickly?

Oh well, as the kids say today, onto the next one.

Here is your day two preview.

Hangovers and Football: Your New Year's Day Bowl Watching Guide

UCF comes in as a decided underdog, but star QB Blake Bortles will try to give the program its first BCS bowl win.

By Joe Parello  @HerewegoJoe

New Year's Day and I have an odd relationship.

In my younger days, I would spend the morning fighting the urge to sleep until the following year, and eventually end up gorging on a greasy breakfast at Denny's.

I don't think anyone can argue that was the best way to spend New Year's morning, but football and a comfy couch are most certainly the best way to spend the rest of your day.

Well, if you like Big Ten football that is, because these days that's what you're getting New Year's Day. Thanks to some fancy negotiating by Big Ten commissioner Jim Delaney, the conference has gone from three long-time bowl tie-ins (The Rose, Capital One and Outback) to five the last two years, adding the Gator Bowl and relatively new Heart of Dallas Bowl.

Last year, we had to watch Purdue lose by a bajillion in the Dallas Bowl, so thankfully the Big Ten didn't have enough bowl eligible teams to fill that slot (Since it sent two teams to the BCS). Un-thankfully (Not a word), their spot and the Big 12's spot in that game went to somewhat crappy mid-majors.

Oh hell, who cares, it's New Year's Day. Here's what to watch during the games.

NCAA Weekend Primer: Can a Simple Secretary of State Grasp Football?

After holding the menial position of Secretary of State, can Condoleezza Rice handle the complexities of watching football?

 By Joe Parello  @HerewegoJoe

In case you hadn't heard, ESPN college football analyst and former Georgia Bulldog David Pollack began a statement on College Gamdeday Saturday with "now I'm gonna stick my foot in my mouth, probably."

Yeah, when you start a sentence like that, the next thing out of your mouth should probably be, "you know what, never mind."

Pollack was beginning to voice his displeasure with former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice being appointed to the College Football Playoff Committee, and getting a vote to determine which four teams will play for a national championship each year.

He continued to say that he wanted members of the committee to have played football, be able to break down game tape and know more about the teams than just what's on paper. Host Chris Fowler, sensing what Pollack was trying to say, asked him bluntly, "so, no woman belongs on the committee?"

Pollack's response: "You said that."

Long and Suite Preview: The Big 12

TCU's Devonte Fields made life miserable for Big 12 quarterbacks in 2012.

By Joe Parello  @HerewegoJoe

Offense is king in America's heartland, and the Big 12 features some of college football's most explosive attacks.

Seven of the conference's 10 teams (Baylor, Kansas State, Oklahoma State, Oklahoma, Texas, Texas Tech and West Virginia) ranked in the top-25 nationally for scoring offense, but does anybody play enough defense to win a national championship?

That will certainly be the big question for conference contenders this season, and with quarterback questions at Oklahoma, WVU and Kansas State, several offenses could take steps back as well. The conference may not have a bona-fide national favorite, but only Kansas looks like a lost cause, with nine teams all chasing a bowl game.