Top 5 Coaches in College Football Today

As Alabama head coach Nick Saban just took home his third BCS National Championship in four years, and fourth overall, it is a good time to look at who might be the top five coaches who are in college football today.

With Saban climbing up the ranks of the best coaches of all time, where does he rank among current college coaches.

#5 – Chip Kelly, Oregon

Kelly runs his offense and he runs it well.  His up-tempo, stretch the field offense just physically and mentally wears out the Ducks’ opponents.  Kelly continues to turn out phenomenal athletes in the college ranks; they don’t always work out in the NFL.

Kelly has been the most rumored to make the jump to the NFL, he recently announced he would remain at Oregon, at least for this year.  It would have to be an ideal situation, with the right athletes already in place, for Kelly’s system to work at the next level.

#4 – Les Miles, LSU

There is probably not a coach with more guts in college football right now than Miles.  He thrives on making calls that other coaches would never make.  His sustained success in the SEC at LSU is only overshadowed by one coach.

#3 – Chris Petersen, Boise State

Every year, college football fans wait for the year Boise State seriously stumbles.  Yet every year, Boise State is competing on the national stage, and often in the running to make a BCS game as an at-large bid (a.k.a. the same exact way Northern Illinois got in).

Boise State obviously is not going to draw in the big name recruits, but Petersen continues to coach the teams to top finishes every year.

#2 – Urban Meyer, Ohio State

It shows what type of coach Meyer is when he can lead and motivate the Buckeyes, a team banned from postseason play in 2012, to the only FBS team with an undefeated record.  His offenses at Florida, especially with Tim Tebow at quarterback, were magical, and Ohio State fans hope that success is duplicated with Braxton Miller.

While Meyer has had to deal with a number of off-the-field issues, there is no denying that he is one of the brilliant coaches in college football today.

This space indicates how far ahead the #1 coach on this list is ahead of the previous four and all of the other coaches in college football.

#1 – Nick Saban, Alabama

What Saban has been able to do at Alabama is just unbelievable.  The Crimson Tide were just better in all aspects of the game against Notre Dame.

There is not another coach in college football right now, that if there was one game to win, that I would want roaming the sidelines and preparing my team.

2012-13 Bowl Game Picks

In past years, I have compared my picks to that of a coin flip.  This year, the coin won’t continue, but the picks will.

Overall, it was a great season picking games, and hopefully the bowl picks keep up the great work.

Last Week:  1-0  (1.000) [Navy beat Army]

Overall:  302-77 (.797)

Nevada vs. Arizona  (First bowl game of the year, should actually be a close one.)

Toledo vs. Utah State

BYU vs. San Diego State  (Essentially a home game for San Diego State.)

Central Florida vs. Ball State  (Essentially a home game for Central Florida.)

Louisiana-Lafayette vs. East Carolina  (Essentially a home game for Louisiana-Lafayette.)

Boise State vs. Washington

Southern Methodist vs. Fresno State  (June Jones gets a win in Hawaii, his old stomping grounds.)

Central Michigan vs. Western Kentucky

Bowling Green vs. San Jose State

Duke vs. Cincinnati  (An upset special.)

UCLA vs. Baylor  (Essentially a home game for UCLA.)

Ohio vs. Louisiana-Monroe

Virginia Tech vs. Rutgers  (Virginia Tech tries to salvage an otherwise disappointing season.)

Texas Tech vs. Minnesota  (Essentially a home game for Texas Tech.)

Air Force vs. Rice

Syracuse vs. West Virginia  (Geno Smith has a great game in his final game.)

Navy vs. Arizona State

Oregon State vs. Texas  (Essentially a home game for Texas.)

TCU vs. Michigan State

North Carolina State vs. Vanderbilt  (North Carolina State has been disappointing after the Florida State win.)

Georgia Tech vs. Southern California

Tulsa vs. Iowa State

Clemson vs. LSU  (Defense should win this game.)

Northwestern vs. Mississippi State  (Northwestern will lead for 3 1/2 quarters, only to lose late.)

Purdue vs. Oklahoma State

Michigan vs. South Carolina

Georgia vs. Nebraska

Wisconsin vs. Stanford  (Defense wins this game.)

Florida State vs. Northern Illinois  (Congratulations to Northern Illinois for making it to a BCS game, that will be about when the celebration ends.)

Florida vs. Louisville

Oregon vs. Kansas State  (The only other good BCS game match-up.)

Texas A&M vs. Oklahoma

Pittsburgh vs. Mississippi

Kent State vs. Arkansas State

Notre Dame vs. Alabama  (Game has the potential to be one of the greatest in college football history.  Alabama just has a little more offense than the Fighting Irish.)

Keep track of all of the bowl game results here.

2012-13 College Football Bowl Schedule

Here is the complete listing of the match-ups for all of the bowl games this year, for your viewing pleasure.  There were several winners, and several losers.

Central Michigan gets to a bowl game, but Louisiana Tech stays home.  However, after the reports that emerged about the Bulldogs’ bowl selection process by the athletic’s department, they are probably right where they deserve.

Northern Illinois does end up climbing high enough in the BCS rankings to go to the Orange Bowl as a non-AQ team.  This appears to have created duds in several of the BCS bowls.

Nevertheless, the National Championship game stands to be one for the ages, and several of the ‘other’ bowls are potentially great games.  Picks for all of the games will be coming in a couple of weeks.

So here is the complete list, before ESPN announces it.

Gildan New Mexico Bowl – University Stadium, Albuquerque – December 15th, 1 p.m., ESPN

Nevada vs. Arizona

Famous Idaho Potato Bowl – Bronco Stadium, Boise – December 15th, 4:30 p.m., ESPN

Toledo vs. Utah State

San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl – Qualcomm Stadium, San Diego – December 20th, 8 p.m., ESPN

BYU vs. San Diego State

Beef ‘O’ Brady’s St. Petersburg Bowl – Tropicana Field, St. Petersburg – December 21st, 7:30 p.m., ESPN

Central Florida vs. Ball State

R&L Carriers New Orleans Bowl – Mercedes-Benz Superdome, New Orleans – December 22nd, 12 p.m., ESPN

Louisiana-Lafayette vs. East Carolina

MAACO Las Vegas Bowl – Sam Boyd Stadium, Las Vegas – December 22nd, 3:30 p.m., ESPN

Boise State vs. Washington

Sheraton Hawaii Bowl – Aloha Stadium, Honolulu – December 24th, 8 p.m., ESPN

Southern Methodist vs. Fresno State

Little Caesars Pizza Bowl – Ford Field, Detroit – December 26th, 7:30 p.m., ESPN

Central Michigan vs. Western Kentucky

Military Bowl Presented By Northrop Grumman – RFK Stadium, Washington, D.C. – December 27th, 3 p.m., ESPN

Bowling Green vs. San Jose State

Belk Bowl – Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte – December 27th, 6:30 p.m., ESPN

Duke vs. Cincinnati

Bridgepoint Education Holiday Bowl – Qualcomm Stadium, San Diego – December 27th, 9:45 p.m., ESPN

UCLA vs. Baylor

AdvoCare V100 Independence Bowl – Independence Stadium, Shreveport – December 28th, 2 p.m., ESPN

Ohio vs. Louisiana-Monroe

Russell Athletic Bowl – Florida Citrus Bowl, Orlando – December 28th, 5:30 p.m., ESPN

Virginia Tech vs. Rutgers

Meineke Car Care of Texas Bowl – Reliant Stadium, Houston – December 28th, 9 p.m., ESPN

Texas Tech vs. Minnesota

Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl – Gerald J. Ford Stadium, Dallas – December 29th, 11:45 a.m., ESPN

Air Force vs. Rice

New Era Pinstripe Bowl – Yankee Stadium, Bronx – December 29th, 3:15 p.m., ESPN or ESPN2

Syracuse vs. West Virginia

Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl – AT&T Park, San Francisco – December 29th, 3:15 p.m., ESPN or ESPN2

Navy vs. Arizona State

Valero Alamo Bowl – Alamodome, San Antonio – December 29th, 6:45 p.m., ESPN

Oregon State vs. Texas

Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl – Sun Devil Stadium, Tempe – December 29th, 10:15 p.m., ESPN

TCU vs. Michigan State

Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl – LP Field, Nashville – December 31st, 12 p.m., ESPN

North Carolina State vs. Vanderbilt

Hyundai Sun Bowl – Sun Bowl, El Paso – December 31st, 2 p.m., CBS

Georgia Tech vs. Southern California

AutoZone Liberty Bowl – Liberty Bowl, Memphis – December 31st, 3:30 p.m., ESPN

Tulsa vs. Iowa State

Chick-fil-A Bowl – Georgia Dome, Atlanta – December 31st, 7:30 p.m., ESPN

Clemson vs. LSU

TaxSlayer.com Gator Bowl – Everbank Field, Jacksonville – January 1st, 12 p.m., ESPN2

Northwestern vs. Mississippi State

Heart of Dallas Bowl – Cotton Bowl, Dallas – January 1st, 12 p.m., ESPNU

Purdue vs. Oklahoma State

Outback Bowl – Raymond James Stadium, Tampa – January 1st, 1 p.m., ESPN

Michigan vs. South Carolina

Capital One Bowl – Florida Citrus Bowl, Orlando – January 1st, 1 p.m., ABC

Georgia vs. Nebraska

Rose Bowl Game presented by Visio – Rose Bowl, Pasadena – January 1st, 5 p.m., ESPN

Wisconsin vs. Stanford

Discover Orange Bowl – Sun Life Stadium, Miami – January 1st, 8:30 p.m., ESPN

Florida State vs. Northern Illinois

Allstate Sugar Bowl – Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans – January 2nd, 8:30 p.m., ESPN

Florida vs. Louisville

Tostitos Fiesta Bowl – University of Phoenix Stadium, Glendale – January 3rd, 8:30 p.m., ESPN

Oregon vs. Kansas State

AT&T Cotton Bowl – Cowboys Stadium, Arlington – January 4th, 8 p.m., FOX

Texas A&M vs. Oklahoma

BBVA Compass Bowl – Legion Field, Birmingham – January 5th, 1 p.m., ESPN

Pittsburgh vs. Mississippi

GoDaddy.com Bowl – Ladd-Peebles Stadium, Mobile – January 6th, 9 p.m., ESPN

Kent State vs. Arkansas State

Discover BCS National Championship – Sun Life Stadium, Miami – January 7th, 8:30 p.m., ESPN

Notre Dame vs. Alabama

Week 14 College Football Picks

It is championship week for some conferences, while others are playing the final week of games.  This week’s picks will include all games in the FBS.

The big game to watch will be the MAC Championship.  If Kent State wins, they will more than likely go to a BCS game.  The second biggest game, the SEC Championship, since this is a national semifinal to face Notre Dame for the National Championship.

Last Week:  17-8 (.680)

Overall:  286-73 (.797)

Louisville vs. Rutgers

#21 Northern Illinois vs. #17 Kent State

#16 UCLA vs. #8 Stanford (Stanford’s defense does it two weeks in a row against UCLA.)

UCF vs. Tulsa

#23 Oklahoma State vs. Baylor (Just a warning:  Baylor has played the upset card real well this season.)

#11 Oklahoma vs. TCU (Just a warning:  TCU has played the upset card real well this season.)

Nicholls State vs. #15 Oregon State

Kansas vs. West Virginia

Middle Tennessee vs. Arkansas State

Louisiana-Lafayette vs. Florida Atlantic

Cincinnati vs. Connecticut

#20 Boise State vs. Nevada

#2 Alabama vs. #3 Georgia (QB A.J. Murray just does not show up to play in the big games.)

New Mexico State vs. Texas State

Pittsburgh vs. South Florida

#13 Florida State vs. Georgia Tech (Florida State does not deserve to go to any bowl if they lose this game.)

#18 Texas vs. #6 Kansas State

#12 Nebraska vs. Wisconsin (Nebraska does not deserve to go to any bowl if they lose this game.)

South Alabama vs. Hawaii (Slight home field advantage for Hawaii.)

Week 13 College Football Picks

It is rivalry week across college football, which makes it even tougher to pick in some of these games.  Some teams have everything to lose this week, while others are merely playing for pride and bragging rights.

Several teams also need wins to become bowl eligible, while others are just jockeying to get a little higher in their conference.

Last Week:  24-5 (.828)

Overall:  269-65 (.805)

TCU vs. #16 Texas

#7 LSU vs. Arkansas

#14 Nebraska vs. Iowa

Ohio vs. #23 Kent State

Arizona State vs. #24 Arizona

#25 Washington vs. Washington State

#1 Notre Dame vs. USC  (No Matt Barkley means no chance for the Trojans.)

Auburn vs. #2 Alabama (Not exactly the Iron Bowl of a couple years ago.)

Georgia Tech vs. #3 Georgia

#4 Florida vs. #10 Florida State

#5 Oregon vs. #15 Oregon State  (This probably would be closer if Oregon beat Stanford last week, but the Ducks likely want revenge.)

#8 Stanford vs. #17 UCLA  (This could be the first of back-to-back weeks of this match-up.)

Missouri vs. #9 Texas A&M

#12 South Carolina vs. #11 Clemson (Gamecocks’ defense won’t be able to hold Clemson the entire game.)

#21 Oklahoma State vs. #13 Oklahoma

#18 Rutgers vs. Pittsburgh

#19 Michigan vs. Ohio State (Ohio State finishes off the season undefeated by winning the best rivalry in football.)

Connecticut vs. #20 Louisville

Virginia vs. Virginia Tech

Miami (FL) vs. Duke

Boston College vs. North Carolina State

Maryland vs. North Carolina

Vanderbilt vs. Wake Forest

Kentucky vs. Tennessee

Mississippi State vs. Ole Miss

Week 9 College Football Picks

Keeping up the good work in college football, another great week.  Hopefully the wins keep coming.

After checking out the picks, be sure to stop by the 2012-13 College Football Bowl Projections.

Last Week:  22-4 (.846)

Overall:  189-38 (.833)

#18 Clemson vs. Wake Forest

Cincinnati vs. #16 Louisville

#11 Mississippi State vs. #1 Alabama (A win by the Bulldogs would really shake things up in the SEC West)

#2 Florida vs. #10 Georgia

#14 Texas Tech vs. #3 Kansas State

Colorado vs. #4 Oregon

#5 Notre Dame vs. #8 Oklahoma (When in doubt, got to go with the home crowd.  A win by Notre Dame and they really have only one hurdle to an undefeated season [Southern Cal])

#7 Oregon State vs. Washington (Closer game than people think)

#9 USC vs. Arizona (Closer game than people think)

Duke vs. #12 Florida State

Tennessee vs. #13 South Carolina

Kent State vs. #15 Rutgers

Washington State vs. #17 Stanford

#20 Texas A&M vs. Auburn

#21 Boise State vs. Wyoming

#22 Michigan vs. Nebraska

#23 Texas vs. Kansas

#24 Ohio vs. Miami (OH)

Michigan State vs. #25 Wisconsin

North Carolina State vs. North Carolina

Maryland vs. Boston College

BYU vs. Georgia Tech

Kentucky vs. Missouri

Ole Miss vs. Arkansas (Winner might be on the path to sneaking into a bowl game)

Massachusetts vs. Vanderbilt

Week 7 College Football Picks

Not the best week in picking college football games, as it was a rough go for a couple teams.

Congrats to North Carolina State on that upset of Florida State.  I’m not sure anyone saw that coming.  I think it’s time for me to get off the Auburn and Virginia Tech bandwagons, as those teams keep disappointing me.

Also, be sure to check out the 2012-13 Bowl Predictions.  Click here or on the tab at the top of the page.

Last Week:  16-9 (.640)

Overall:  147-31 (.826)

#1 Alabama vs. Missouri

#3 South Carolina vs. #9 LSU (If the Gamecocks win, they’re as good as anyone in the country.  But it will take a better performance than they put out against Georgia, to beat LSU, at night in Death Valley, against a team coming off a loss)

#4 Florida vs. Vanderbilt (No let down, but will be closer than people think, because Florida is highly over-rated.)

#5 West Virginia vs. Texas Tech (The correct second-best team in country might actually be No. 2 by end of the weekend)

#6 Kansas State vs. Iowa State

#17 Stanford vs. #7 Notre Dame (This could be the game that actually demonstrates that Notre Dame is legitimate)

#8 Ohio State vs. Indiana

#10 Oregon State vs. BYU

#11 USC vs. Washington (Washington always plays USC tough.)

Boston College vs. #12 Florida State

#15 Texas vs. #13 Oklahoma (Very close, but Texas is just a little better, and I’m not a believer of Oklahoma yet)

#18 Louisville vs. Pittsburgh

Tennessee vs. #19 Mississippi State

Syracuse vs. #20 Rutgers

Fordham vs. #21 Cincinnati

#22 Texas A&M vs. #23 Louisiana Tech (This may end up being the closest game of the week)

Fresno State vs. #24 Boise State

Illinois vs. #25 Michigan

Duke vs. Virginia Tech (I clearly still haven’t learned from my mistakes [See above])

North Carolina vs. Miami (FL)

Maryland vs. Virginia

Auburn vs. Ole Miss (As crazy as it sounds, Ole Miss is not a bad team)

Kentucky vs. Arkansas

Week 4 College Football Picks

Still not a bad week picking college football games, some of them were bad picks, others the teams didn’t exactly come through.  But hopefully, the good luck continues in week four.

Last Week:  27-6 (.818)

Overall:  87-13 (.870)

Week 4 Picks:

BYU vs. #24 Boise State

Florida Atlantic vs. #1 Alabama

#2 LSU vs. Auburn

#22 Arizona vs. #3 Oregon (Watch out though for Arizona, could be a Pac-12 shocker for the second week in a row)

#10 Clemson vs. #4 Florida State (Very evenly matched game to determine top team in ACC, home field advantage is difference)

Vanderbilt vs. #5 Georgia (Georgia should win, but Vanderbilt might give the Bulldogs a run)

#15 Kansas State vs. #6 Oklahoma (Upset special of the week)

Missouri vs. #7 South Carolina (Will be a closer game than people think)

Maryland vs. #8 West Virginia

#18 Michigan vs. #11 Notre Dame (Count me on the Notre Dame bandwagon.  Don’t know how far they’ll go, but it’s a decent team)

California vs. #13 USC

Kentucky vs. #14 Florida

UAB vs. #16 Ohio State

Virginia vs. #17 TCU

Oregon State vs. #19 UCLA

#20 Louisville vs. Florida International

Eastern Michigan vs. #21 Michigan State

South Alabama vs. #23 Mississippi State

Idaho State vs. #25 Nebraska

Bowling Green vs. Virginia Tech

Army vs. Wake Forest

Miami (FL) vs. Georgia Tech

East Carolina vs. North Carolina

Memphis vs. Duke

Citadel vs. North Carolina State

Ole Miss vs. Tulane

Rutgers vs. Arkansas

South Carolina State vs. Texas A&M

Akron vs. Tennessee

Rapid Fire Picks for November 5th

College Football:

Last Week: 16-8
Overall: 180-51

Top 25, based on BCS Standings:
#2 Alabama over #1 LSU
#3 Oklahoma State over #14 Kansas State
#4 Stanford over Oregon State
#5 Boise State over UNLV
#6 Oklahoma over Texas A&M
#9 South Carolina over #7 Arkansas…I’m sticking with the pick from the beginning of the year, SC 49-17
#8 Oregon over Washington…could be a trap game for the Ducks
#10 Nebraska over Northwestern
#13 Houston over UAB
#15 Michigan over Iowa
#17 Michigan State over Minnesota
#18 Georgia over New Mexico State
#19 Arizona State over UCLA
#20 Wisconsin over Purdue
#21 Texas over Texas Tech
#24 West Virginia over Louisville
#25 Southern Miss over East Carolina

SEC:
Florida over Vanderbilt…close
Ole Miss over Kentucky…first to score might win this game
Tennessee over Middle Tennessee State
Mississippi State over Tennessee-Martin

ACC:
Virginia over Maryland
North Carolina over North Carolina State
Miami (FL) over Duke
Notre Dame over Wake Forest

Other Games:
SMU over Tulane
Troy over Navy
Air Force over Army

NFL

Last Week: 8-5
Overall: 77-38

Bills over Jets
Cowboys over Seahawks
Falcons over Colts
Chiefs over Dolphins
Saints over Buccaneers
49ers over Redskins
Texans over Browns
Raiders over Broncos
Patriots over Giants
Rams over Cardinals
Packers over Chargers
Steelers over Ravens
Bears over Eagles

Rapid Fire Picks for October 29th

There was an issue with the site that these are normally posted on, so they will be here today.

NFL:

Last Week: 7-6
Overall: 69-33

Titans over Colts
Saints over Rams
Dolphins over Giants
Panthers over Vikings
Ravens over Cardinals
Texans over Jaguars
Bills over Redskins
Lions over Broncos
Patriots over Steelers
49ers over Browns
Seahawks over Bengals
Cowboys over Eagles
Chiefs over Chargers

College Football (Rankings based on BCS Standings):

Last Week: 18-7
Overall: 164-43

#3 Oklahoma State over Baylor
#5 Clemson over Georgia Tech
#6 Stanford over USC
#7 Oregon over Washington State
#9 Oklahoma over #8 Kansas State
#10 Arkansas over Vanderbilt
#14 Nebraska over #11 Michigan State
#12 Virginia Tech over Duke
#13 South Carolina over Tennessee…SC 23-16
#15 Wisconsin over Ohio State
#16 Texas A&M over Missouri
#18 Michigan over Purdue
#19 Penn State over Illinois
#20 Texas Tech over Iowa State
#21 Arizona State over Colorado
Florida over #22 Georgia
#23 Auburn over Ole Miss
#24 Texas over Kansas
#25 West Virginia over Rutgers

ACC:

Florida State over North Carolina State
Maryland over Boston College
Wake Forest over North Carolina

SEC:

Kentucky over Mississippi State

Other Games:

Notre Dame over Navy

Fundraiser:
Remember that WUSC’s fall fundraiser runs through November 3rd. To donate, click on “Support” at the top of the page or call the station at (803) 576-WUSC or online at wusc.sc.edu

Show Correction:
During the show, I kept saying that Texas hasn’t lost back-to-back games since August. That was the Texas Rangers, not the Texas Longhorns football team.

Have a Happy Halloween!!