If somebody came up to me last week and told me that the Duke Blue Devils would beat the Virginia Tech Hokies, I would have laughed and walked away. Duke hadn’t beaten a ranked team since 1993, when it upset No. 13 Virginia.
To put that in perspective, many of the freshmen at Gannon were born in 1994 or 1995. Virginia Tech’s season is now in flux, and with two losses, the Hokies all but need a miracle to make it to a Bowl Championship Series game in January.
Earlier this semester, I called the Minnesota Gophers “lackluster” and after Saturday, I had to eat my words.
The Gophers beat the No. 24 Nebraska Cornhuskers, 34-23. The Gophers are now 6-2, but with coming contests in Penn State, Wisconsin and Michigan State, look for the Gophers to drop at least two of those three, and limp into bowl season licking its wounds.
Meanwhile in the Big Ten, Ohio State is flying high after a huge win. When I say huge, I mean HUGE.
The Buckeyes dismantled the Penn State Nittany Lions 63-14. The 49-point margin is Penn State’s largest loss in its 114-year existence.
Ohio State is primed for its end-of-the-year showdown with rival Michigan, with a trip to the Rose Bowl at stake.
Back down South, the Miami Hurricanes are ranked No. 7 in the BCS Polls; however, they needed late-game heroics from sophomore running back Duke Johnson, scoring with 53 seconds left to beat the sputtering Vanderbilt Commodores.
This week, the Hurricanes face the No. 3 Florida State Seminoles. Miami may be undefeated and ranked No. 7, but the Seminoles look to be peaking at the right time.
Florida State will obliterate the Hurricanes and Jameis Winston will punch his ticket to the Heisman Trophy Presentation with an electric performance Saturday night.
Now is the time of year that every college football fan lives for – bowl predictions.
Here are my picks for the 2013 BCS Bowls: Rose Bowl Presented by VIZIO will have the Ohio State Buckeyes (Big Ten) vs. Oregon Ducks (Pac-12).
In the Tostito’s Fiesta Bowl, the Baylor Bears (Big 12) will take on the Central Florida Knights (AAC). The Discover Orange Bowl will have the Fresno State Bulldogs (Mountain West) vs. Clemson Tigers (ACC).
The All State Sugar Bowl will be played by the Auburn Tigers (SEC) vs. Wisconsin Badgers (Big Ten). Finally, the VIZIO BCS National Championship Game will be played by the Alabama Crimson Tide (SEC) vs. Florida State Seminoles (ACC).
ANDREW KALATA
