I want to say thank you to everyone who answered the questions and for those who didn’t I hope your turkey is a little dryer this Thanksgiving. Warning this post is longer than Charlie Weis’ grocery list. The entire thing is after the jump.

1. By now everyone has heard that if there is a three way tie in the Big 12 South the highest ranked team in the BCS will play in the Big 12 Championship Game. That means the humans (66% of the BCS Poll) will determine the Big 12 South representative. Let’s assume Oklahoma sinks the pirate ship at home next week. Try to sway the pollsters by arguing which team you think should face off against the Big 12 North.

Our panel of bloggers are split on this one.  However, like me, they feel Texas Tech will be out of it and it will come down to  either Oklahoma or Texas.

The best argument for Texas comes from Addicted to Quack

Texas is the only team that will have won a game against the other top 2 not at home. They beat Texas at home on a neutral site. They barely lost to Texas Tech, on the road. 

My argument for Oklahoma is they played the toughest out of conference schedule and hammered Cincinnati a team that is positioned to win the Big East and TCU a team that can tie for the Mountain West.

The The Joe Cribs Car Wash agrees that Oklahoma has the most impressive out of conference schedule

Non-conference schedule: Oklahoma, also in a walk. TCU and Cincy are both miles better than anyone the ‘Horns scheduled and I hear Tech’s noncon slate killed at the Comedy Club last week.

Subway Domer suggests abandoning the current tie breaker all together and pimping off the Big Ten.

Maybe the rule should change though. Maybe the final tiebreaker should go to the school that has not played in the game the longest

If you don’t like that idea then Roll ‘Bama Roll suggests other, more fair solutions

A coin flip or round robin tournament of paper football among the head coaches would be more fair than that.

For the betterment of all Hey Jenny Slater just hopes the craziness continues

If OU does knock off Texas Tech, they’ll at least go and lose to Oklahoma State and save us all a lot of trouble.

2. ESPN is aggressively bidding on the rights to the BCS when Fox’s contract expires after the 2009 season.  My half baked theory is if they do win the rights they will push for a +1 system. Lucrative television deals have landed ESPN in bed with each of the BCS conferences. The revenue a playoff would generate could be a huge motivator for the four letter to be the common denominator and unifier among the conferences that finally helps them all to see the light of why a playoff would be good for college football.  Help expand upon or debunk this theory.

Addicted to Quack and Subway Domer straight up agree with me. The boys from Oregon put it ever so eloquently and even managed to get it some Fox bashing. Fuck yeah!

ESPN will not want to stop the bowl system, but it will certainly want to extend the current system, and be able to broadcast more important (and moneymaking) football games. Thus, ESPN will be in a great position to push for a plus one (or even the top 8 teams going to their own playoff), and will do everything in its power to make this happen. It simply adds to their revenues, and in even greater degrees. ESPN the corporation is in this to make money, and a plus one system helps them out.

And this makes a playoff more likely. Let’s face it, Fox sucks. They know jack crap about marketing college football. ESPN has been in the sporting business for a long time, and have done wonders with Monday Night Football. If they make the BCS even more profitable, and want a plus one because it’s more profitable, the NCAA, corrupt and worthless as it is, will come around eventually. I don’t think the bowl system will ever go away. I think that above average teams should have some type of reward, and the midlevel bowl games can provide just that. And the top level games can be expanded a little, making everyone money, and making us fans happy. Score one for capitalism.

Roll ‘Bama Roll disagrees and he brings up a point that I overlooked

ESPN has a lot of influence, but I don’t think they have THAT much influence just yet. The Rose Bowl still has a separate TV deal and these conferences all have enough disdain for each other that it’d be insanely difficult to make something they could all agree on that would be so radically different. from the system already in place.

and The Joe Cribs Car Wash agrees

I don’t think even the might of the House of Mouse will strongarm the mules in the Pac-10 and Big-10 into a plus-one until the new contract expires, unless possibly an undefeated USC or perfect Penn St. wind up playing third fiddle to undefeated SEC and Big 12 teams.

FYI Rose Bowl your shit does in fact stink. Hey Jenny Slater just thinks ESPN will be quite happy making money hand over fist the good ole way.

Ehh, as much as I’d like to see some kind of plus-one implemented, I don’t see it coming that much closer to fruition just because ESPN has muscled the BCS rights back from Fox. There’s still going to be the same old inertia there due to the old “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” philosophy — which, in this case, might be more accurately depicted as an “If it ain’t broke and it’s making us an un-f%$#ing-believable amount of money, don’t fix it” philosophy. As long as millions of college football fans are still watching — and they will be — there’s less incentiveve for ESPN to push for any major changes, particularly as long as the Jim Delaney/Rose Bowl Axis of Douche is determined to stand in the way. And the one thing that might’ve prompted Delaney to get off his stubbornly traditionalist high horse this year — Penn State going 12-0 but getting left out of the national title game — isn’t going to happen.

From Old Virginia is anti-playoff, bwah I thought that thinking went out the door with the Independent Party.

I worry about something else entirely. Congress, having already fixed the economy, solved world hunger, beaten the terrorists, and secured the borders, is now sticking their stupid meddlesome noses into college football. And we all know that the world’s most powerful football fan favors a playoff and would probably stick his stupid meddlesome nose into college football, just because he can. My greatest fear in this department is that nothing will matter because Hurricane Congress will blow through and leave us with a half-assed playoff.

Mountainlair requires at least 16 teams and a hefty amount of ESPN investment to make it all happen, but it would all be worth it in the end.

But if you are going to go playoff, go at least 16 teams, do home games for the higher seeds and get ESPN to pay all travel expenses or the NCAA. I mean, think about the payout for a BCS game, then think about the contract being for $125 million per year. A sixteen team playoff would be gold, Jerry. Schools shouldn’t just be breaking even when they go to a big bowl. Make it work for the schools. A playoff system where schools meet at a neutral site sucks for the fans. Sure there’s plenty of people that can afford that and are batshit crazy for college football. But the scene at a big home game is awesome and should be worked.

ScalpEm completely disregarded the question, but included a video of electric football FTW.

3. Rivalry week is around the corner. How do you think your team will fare? Feel free to talk a little or a lot of trash.

Addicted to Quack is having nightmares over defending Jacquizz and James Rodgers. ScalpEm thinks 

The Gators should be scared, because the Noles aren’t going to have anything to play for other than destroying UF’s national title game hopes.

Mountainlair expects a big win for WVU and throws some wood couches on the fire with this classic Pat White video.

Subway Domer is not too thrilled with Notre Dame’s chances against USC

Notre Dame probably loses this game 38-13 or something similar.

Roll ‘Bama Roll is going to be in a straight jacket if ‘Bama cannot stop the 0-6 streak against Auburn. The Joe Cribs Car Wash is still holding onto the streak while they can.

Hey Jenny Slater is just depressed that Georgia Tech has a real chance to upset Georgia.

God, what a miserable answer. I can’t believe I’m at the point where I’m sweating Tech. That’s like staying in your room with the door locked because you’re afraid your 10-year-old little brother is going to come in and beat you up.

From Old Virginia just takes VT to church

Nobody in Charlottesville would have guessed that the worst offense in the Commonwealth would actually be in Blacksburg, but Bryan Stinespring is apparently dumber than Mike Groh – who knew? (Oh wait – it’s Tech. Of course Tech is dumber.) Lame Stadium is a tough place to win though, and we haven’t had any success there since I showed up on Grounds as a bright-eyed, bushy-tailed first year. We all know: we suck on the road. Still: VT has the most putrid offense (matches their uniforms) of any VT team in a long time. So there’s hope.

and I respond with

4. And now for a little fun… Assemble your dream announcing team.  Pick a play-by-play announcer, color commentator, sideline reporter and for the hell of it celebrity guest that drops on by.

Play-By-Play Announcer:  The Joe Cribs Car Wash put it best the only actual choice here is Ron Franklin. No one else comes close. But in a pinch we’de take Uncle Verne Lundquist.

Color Commentator:  While normally I would answer ‘No’ to Subway Domer’s hypothetical question, ”Is there a color commentator that I don’t want to throw out of a speeding train?” I am not going to hold the fact he is a Buckeye against him and agree that Kirk Herbstreit has been doing a pretty damn good job on Saturday nights for ESPN.

Sideline Reporter: The Hey Jenny Slater \ Subway Domer and ScalpEm combination of Stacey Dales and Erin Andrews sounds pretty damn good to me.

Celebrity Guest Living: Charles Barkley

Celebrity Guests Deceased: Bo Schembechler and Chris Farley, because how cool would that be.