Which team tops two-loss heap?
By Brad Edwards
Special to ESPN.com
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During this season of uncertainty, the media seems more content to figure out which of the teams that have lost 2 games should be in the BCS Championship game if the top 2 teams lose. Of course, it is a remote possibility. But there is little talk of Missouri or West Virginia. Imagine that.

The media would rather speculate about replacement teams should either of these teams from small media markets fall. The media is upset that they can't instantly command huge advertising dollars from New York, Chicago, LA, or some other huge media market. And West Virginia and Missouri don't command markets anywhere near the top 10.

West Virginia would never be in a big game if the media had anything to do with it. And, unfortunately, they do have a say. It may work against WVU if both Missouri and WVU win out. But I don't think so, not after the egg OSU laid in the BCS Championship last year. However, I don't think Missouri winning out will be a problem. Oklahoma will win the Big 12 Championship and solve everybody's problems ( except Ohio State's ).

bitcruncher Wrote:Which team tops two-loss heap?
By Brad Edwards
Special to ESPN.com
Insider Free Preview

http://insider.espn.go.com/ncf/insider/n...e%3dbcs077

During this season of uncertainty, the media seems more content to figure out which of the teams that have lost 2 games should be in the BCS Championship game if the top 2 teams lose. Of course, it is a remote possibility. But there is little talk of Missouri or West Virginia. Imagine that.

The media would rather speculate about replacement teams should either of these teams from small media markets fall. The media is upset that they can't instantly command huge advertising dollars from New York, Chicago, LA, or some other huge media market. And West Virginia and Missouri don't command markets anywhere near the top 10.

West Virginia would never be in a big game if the media had anything to do with it. And, unfortunately, they do have a say. It may work against WVU if both Missouri and WVU win out. But I don't think so, not after the egg OSU laid in the BCS Championship last year. However, I don't think Missouri winning out will be a problem. Oklahoma will win the Big 12 Championship and solve everybody's problems ( except Ohio State's ).

I would love to see a WVU-tOSU matchup. IF the SUCKEYES had problems with Juice Williams wait until they get a look at Pat White, Steve Slaton and Noel Devine.



Plus tOSU is a classic power team and IMO the WVU defense is better suited to defend that then what Missouri brings to the table.

^^ I agree, I think WVU is favored over either Ohio State or Missouri, but I'd feel more confident against Ohio State.

I heard these two talking heads on TV chat about how MIssouri and WVU were fromthe "two worse BCS conferences." (Their words not mine.) They went on to talk about how Georgia was surging in the SEC and could play for the conference title and should have a shot at the national title over WVU or Missouri. I wish I could have smacked them through the TV set. Last time Georgia Won the SEC title they matched up with WVU and that game was supposed to be in St. Louis but was moved to Georgia. Well, you guys on these boards already know how that story ends.

I can't believe people still don't know jack about the BEast. Oh, well, I guess we'll just have to show them all- all over again and again and again. Eventually it will sink in. Good luck to every BE team in the post season.

frogman Wrote:I heard these two talking heads on TV chat about how MIssouri and WVU were fromthe "two worse BCS conferences." (Their words not mine.) They went on to talk about how Georgia was surging in the SEC and could play for the conference title and should have a shot at the national title over WVU or Missouri. I wish I could have smacked them through the TV set. Last time Georgia Won the SEC title they matched up with WVU and that game was supposed to be in St. Louis but was moved to Georgia. Well, you guys on these boards already know how that story ends.

I can't believe people still don't know jack about the BEast. Oh, well, I guess we'll just have to show them all- all over again and again and again. Eventually it will sink in. Good luck to every BE team in the post season.

The SEC is a good league but it is not the end all be all that some in the media-(ie CBS) makes it out to be. What BIG OOC win does the SEC have this season.

BTW, the two worse BCS leagues are the BIG TEN and the ACC.

The only team that can beat the Mountaineers is West Virginia. If they play Mountaineer football, and don't commit a bunch of dumb penalties or turnovers, they'll win it all easily.

There is no way I can even imagine Pitt beating WVU. Therefore, there is no way WVU can be denied a shot at the National Championship. There really is no way. If somehow other teams jumped them, I think there would be overwhelming fallout. The system would be exposed as even more unfair than it already is. I agree that, when WVU plays in the NC game, as long as they don't turn the ball over, they should win. What a great day that will be for the BEast. I'm sure some talking heads will still say that the BEast didn't deserve it and WVU isn't the top team, but they won't be able to take away the fact that we rule the football world!!!!

Go Eers! Go Bulls! Go Cats! Go Huskies! Go Knights! Let's go 5-0 again!

army56mike Wrote:There is no way I can even imagine Pitt beating WVU. Therefore, there is no way WVU can be denied a shot at the National Championship. There really is no way. If somehow other teams jumped them, I think there would be overwhelming fallout. The system would be exposed as even more unfair than it already is. I agree that, when WVU plays in the NC game, as long as they don't turn the ball over, they should win. What a great day that will be for the BEast. I'm sure some talking heads will still say that the BEast didn't deserve it and WVU isn't the top team, but they won't be able to take away the fact that we rule the football world!!!!

Go Eers! Go Bulls! Go Cats! Go Huskies! Go Knights! Let's go 5-0 again!

I'm just the opposite. I expect Pitt to play a big game but WVU has to be better. Maybe its has something to do with being #2 int he BCS but this year is upset city. I'm more worried about Pitt than I am about OSU or Missouri in the title game. I believe WVU will show up for the title game but first they have to show up for the Pitt game. Syr had no chance of beating BC when they were one step from their first BCS game. SYR had no chance against UofL this year. I bet Cincy thought Pitt would be easy. I think players tend to think its an easy win and don't prepare. I think the rest of the BE could be cheering after the Pitt game or we could be really, really sad. WVU can't look past PItt. Pitt is capable of an upset if WVU fools around.
I'm sure a lot of Pitt fans want to see WVU in the title game but nobody on the field for Pitt will care about WVU's future. They're not supposed to. They want to end their season knocking off #2 and they got nothing to lose. Pitt will be prepared for the game. Will WVU be prepared?

I think they will be prepared. It will be a cold, hard field though so hanging on to the ball and not getting hurt will be critical. Many players will probably be wearing gloves too and that always makes hanging on to the ball more interesting.

WVU will need to not hurt themselves with the turnovers.

WVU as a 28 point favorite sounds like a bit much. McCoy will probably get yards. The weather could slow down WVU a bit. If WVU and Pitt both play well I could see a 14-17 point win for WVU.

I have complete faith in Wannstedt's ability to extract the maximum amount of mediocrity from his players in the big game. His teams have never won a big game. If they had, he'd still be in the NFL.

Fitting finale
By Terry Bowden, Yahoo! Sports
November 27, 2007

The latest BCS standings came out and as expected Missouri and West Virginia are ranked one and two. If this holds up, although there is nothing that has happened this year to suggest that it will, it will be the perfect conclusion to a perfectly delirious season.

The Year of the Upset that started with the Michigan loss to Appalachian State and ended – so far – with the LSU loss to Arkansas needs to have the appropriate finale. Missouri and West Virginia would be just that.

We need to have a "Hoosiers" type of ending to the season. There's a reason it's in the top three of almost everybody's favorite sports movies. We need to see the upset … we need to see the little guy win it all once in a while. A Tiger/Mountaineer matchup would guarantee that.

Now, in a year when nothing is automatic, Missouri still has to beat Oklahoma in the Big 12 championship and WVU has to knock off Pittsburgh in the Backyard Brawl. That is not a guarantee even in the typical season, but let's hope that it happens.

We don't need to see the same old same old in the championship game this year. I have no desire to see Ohio State get back in the game. We saw them play in it last year and we'll probably see them play in it next year. They have the best players, the best facilities and the best tradition. But they lost to Illinois in the next-to-last game of the season and didn't really earn the right. Georgia could slide in with a 9-2 record. They are playing great football right now and coach Mark Richt has probably done his finest job. But they lost to South Carolina and Tennessee and although they are one of the traditional powers, they just don't get the blood boiling when it comes to a championship game.

Almost everybody's preseason picks were LSU and Southern California. I covered both of these teams this year and I still say they walk onto the field with the best talent in the country. But neither team played like a champion this year and the game needs to be about something more than a couple of talent-laden teams that underachieved.

West Virginia and Missouri would be the perfect choice for the championship. Not only have they consistently played at the highest level of the game for the greatest part of the season, but they have done it with so much less to work with. Neither team has a great recruiting base to attract the best football players. There are not enough blue chippers in their respective states to win the conference, much less a national championship. Take a look at the NFL rosters and you won't see a great number of players from these two schools. They don't have the history, the tradition or the money to compete with the typical powers of college football, but they did. They have made the underdog no longer look like an underdog. They have proven to be the best on the field and they deserve to play for a championship.

I would like every player, every coach, and every fan to truly believe that if they go out and play the game like it's supposed to be played, they have a chance to win it all. They need to believe that if they dream the dream and if they do things that they are supposed to do, then they have a shot to win it all.

A Missouri-West Virginia matchup would guarantee that.

This article appeared on the Yahoo Sports website on Tuesday, November 27, 2007.