NCAA Bowl review and Final Top 25

The bowls are over, and we have the two teams playing for the National Championship.  I'll conclude this column by picking a winner in that contest, but let's start by looking at the overall results of the bowls.  With ESPN's "Bowl Challenge Cup", many people may already know these results, but I did notice a decrease in promoting the results once it was clear that the Big Ten would win (further evidence that ESPN, the corporate entity, has a mandate to downplay and tarnish the accomplishments of the Big Ten Conference).  For those who missed it, the final results are:

1. Big Ten 7-1
2. Sun Belt 4-1
3. Big XII 5-3
4. American Athletic 4-3
5. Mountain West 3-3
6. SEC 4-5
7. Conference USA 4-5
8. ACC 4-6
9. MAC 1-4
10. Pac-12 1-8

Michigan proved to be the spoiler for the Big Ten.  Going into New Years Day, they had an unbeaten 7-0 record and were attempting to something NO conference who has sent more than 3 teams to the bowls had ever done -- finish the bowl season unbeaten.  Michigan led by 16 points midway through the game, but then became unraveled and lost the game.  It was still a great accomplishment for the conference, especially since they were the underdog in three of the games they won.

This was already a record-setting bowl result for one conference.  With their 1-8 record, the Pacific Area Conference had their worst bowl performance in conference history, no matter what number appears after their PAC abbreviation.

Another interesting result were the games that pitted a Power 5 conference team against a Group of 5 team.  There were eight such match-ups, and the Group of 5 team won five of those.  In NONE of those were the Group of 5 team favored (as most national analysts think very little of the Group of 5 conferences), despite two of them matching a ranked Group of 5 team against an unranked Power 5 team.  While I could hope that this result would elevate the opinion of Group of 5 conferences among national analysts, I know it will take many more results than one year to do so.

As a result of the bowl games, here is the final Top 25 ranking:

1. Alabama Crimson Tide (12-1)
2. Georgia Bulldogs (13-1)
3. Ohio State Buckeyes (12-2)
4. Oklahoma Sooners (12-2)
5. Penn State Nittany Lions (11-2)
6. UCF Golden Knights (13-0)
7. Wisconsin Badgers (13-1)
8. Clemson Tigers (12-2)
9. Oklahoma State Cowboys (10-3)
10. Washington Huskies (10-3)
11. Auburn Tigers (10-4)
12. TCU Horned Frogs (11-3)
13. South Florida Bulls (10-2)
14. Notre Dame Fighting Irish (10-3)
15. USC Trojans (11-3)
16. Troy Trojans (11-2)
17. Florida Atlantic Owls (11-3)
18. Virginia Tech Hokies (9-4)
19. Boise State Broncos (11-3)
20. Stanford Cardinal (9-5)
21. Northwestern Wildcats (10-3)
22. Miami Hurricanes (10-3)
23. Memphis Tigers (10-3)
24. Michigan State Spartans (10-3)
25. Ohio Bobcats (9-4)

  Now, let's talk about the National Championship.  Alabama plays in their sixth Championship game in ten years, while Georgia has never played in a championship game, and has only one championship in their history.  Much has been made about Nick Saban's record against former assistants, but that's not what I'm using to make my decision.  I care about how they played.  Alabama scored 24 points against the reputed best defense in the bowl games.  Georgia's vaulted defense was not overly effective at holding back Oklahoma.  Granted, the Sooners had one of the best offenses in the bowls, much better than Alabama's, but it shows that the Bulldogs defense isn't as strong as reputed.  Defenses are crucial to winning championships, and the Tide definitely has the better one.  ALABAMA

NFL 2017 Wildcard round picks

It's that time of year again.  We have reached the NFL playoffs.  We often get some surprising results, as teams push themselves in the "one and done" situation.  This year, though, I think all of the favorites should advance.

Sat Jan 6
#5 Tennessee Titans at #4 Kansas City Chiefs:  Both AFC wildcard teams have a negative point differential, meaning their opponents have scored more than they have.  Tennessee made the playoffs due to a terrific 5-1 divisional record.  However, a 4-6 non-divisional record makes them a poor pick.  Kansas City has apparently overcome their midseason losing streak, as they won four of their last five games.  They haven't demonstrated the same intensity as they did at the beginning of the season, but their team is talented enough to beat the less-than-sterling Titans.  CHIEFS

#6 Atlanta Falcons at #3 Los Angeles Rams:  The defending NFC champion wants to return to the Super Bowl, but they have a couple of major obstacles in their way.  The first one is the Rams.  Already equipped with a strong defense, the development of Jared Goff has made the offense a force to fear as well.  These Rams may not be used to the postseason, but the Falcons are not exactly a postseason powerhouse, as they had gone 3-6 in the 2000's before last season.  Matt Ryan's accuracy has been a bit off this season, and their running game has not been effective.  The staunch Rams defense will take advantage of these deficiencies, and make it easy for young Goff to propel the team to victory.  RAMS

Sun Jan 7
#6 Buffalo Bills at #3 Jacksonville Jaguars:  The Jags are a great playoff team.  They have one of the toughest defenses in the conference.  Their offense has consistently been productive, despite weaknesses exposed during preseason.  The Jags have limited postseason exposure.  After reaching the playoffs in four of their first five seasons, they have played in a total of three playoff games since 1999.  The Bills, though, have played in ZERO playoff games since 1999, and have won only one playoff game since their last Super Bowl appearance, their fourth consecutive loss in 1994.  So playoff experience is not a consideration.  The bigger one -- the strength of the Jaguars defense.  JAGUARS

#5 Carolina Panthers at #4 New Orleans Saints:  It has been a long stated ideal in the NFL that it is extremely difficult to beat the same time three times in the same season.  That is the task facing the Saints, who swept Carolina in their regular season bouts.  However, I feel confident that the Saints can accomplish that task.  The primary reasons are the Saints offense, and the tendencies of Panthers QB Cam Newton.  The Saints offense is the second best in the league, trailing on the Los Angeles Rams.  The Panthers defense is good, but not good enough to stop the Saints.  By the second half, the Panthers will trail the Saints.  And that's where disaster will set in.  Cam Newton has a tendency to force plays when they are trying to come from behind.  Normally that might not be an issue, but the Saints have a decent defense this season, and they will make the Panthers pay for the careless play.  SAINTS