Conference Championship Week is Here

It's conference title week, and four RUTS teams are left standing with a chance to win their conference championship and earn a spot in the season 2 BCS National Championship Game.

The SEC Championship Game is played tonight in Atlanta's Georgia Dome as the #1 Florida State Seminoles face the #2 Alabama Crimson Tide. This game is being dubbed "The Game of the Century Part II," as #1 and #2 will clash on the gridiron for the second time this season (#1 FSU defeated #2 LSU 27-21 earlier this season).

The Seminoles were pegged for this game for a while. The defending national champions started the season #2 but quickly rose to #1 and have stayed there all season. Dating back to the beginning of RUTS4,  Coach UTVOL54 and the Seminoles are 26-0. The 26-game winning streak is the longest in RUTS history.

To reach 27 wins in a row, the Noles will have to face off against a fierce Crimson Tide team and a surging Coach zeejaydee, who has had a career season. After losing 28-16 to Miami in Week 4, the 11-1 Tide have reeled off 9 straight wins and leaped to #2 in all polls. Alabama has used workhorse RB Trent Richardson to pound opponents with 1,978 rushing yards.  Then, in week 12, the Tide upset LSU to earn the right to play in the SEC Championship, Coach zeejaydee's first trip to a conference title game.

The game tonight in the GA Dome will be huge, with the winner advancing to the BCS National title game in Miami. And, although the Seminoles enter the game as a 9 point favorite, many experts are predicting this game will be very close throughout.

"Alabama has everything to play for, but nothing to lose," said Kirk Herbstreit. "No one's expecting them to win, but they have, on paper, quite possibly more talent on that field than Florida State. If they can keep their heads early, get some momentum, and hold on to the football, this game could be a classic."

The Seminole fans will be loud and ready, but expect Alabama to have a slight home field advantage tonight in the Dome. That said, the Sunshine Schooner, Lee Corso is picking.........
CLICK HERE TO SEE CORSO'S PICK!

The Pac 12 Championship Game is being played once again in sunny, warm Hawaii. After both of these teams failed to finish 1st in their division in season 1, these legendary coaches were able to return to prominence this season, despite suffering setbacks earlier this season. The victor in this game will be in the BCS title game with a shot to bring home the crystal ball once again!

The Trojans beat Oregon 35-17 in week 7, as the Ducks were unable to contain USC's balanced attack on offense. USC RB Dillon Baxter rushed for 152 yards, and QB Matt Barkley passed for nearly 250 yards, 3 TDs and 0 INTs.

The Ducks will need to force some turnovers in this game for the outcome to be different.

Oregon has a speedy RB in Kenjon Barner, and one area we look for the Ducks to exploit is the Trojan secondary. In the first meeting, Ducks WR had 181 receiving yards, including a 100 yard TD reception late in the game. 


Coach Stu, who was on the hot seat in Eugene earlier this season, has rallied the troops and provided a spark in his team with his new "Ducks Fly Together" slogan. The team's resilience has won over even the most negative and grumpy Duck fans, including Emilio Estevez.The Ducks are also finding success despite an injury to QB Darren Thomas. Backup QB Bryan "With a Y" Bennett has been playing well.

These coaches were dominant in RUTS3, and the winner of this game takes the next step in reclaiming the crown of "best coach of RUTS."

Look for USC to continue to maintain balance on offense, but the question will be can the Ducks new Flying V-for-Viagra Offense mystify the Trojans as it did against #5 Michigan a few weeks ago. The winner will be excited to fly back across Pacific and head all the way down to South Beach for the next big game, while the loser will suffer a long flight home.

The nerdy, hippy Oregon Duck fans will be flying to Hawaii in droves, so look for a lot of green and gold in Aloha Stadium.

ESPN's Kirk Herbstriet says: "This game is very intriguing. USC dominated Oregon in week 7 frankly, and at that point, the Ducks program was going through a lot of turmoil. The Ducks administration flew a rival coach to Eugene while the team was away in LA playing USC to visit the campus! That is crazy! But, even after that loss and speculation, Coach Stu has quietly rallied his team and they've climbed back up in the polls and somehow find themselves in the mix to play for a national championship. That said, the Ducks are going to have to do a lot of different things to beat USC. The Trojans have struggled at times this year, but are a 4 point favorite in this game. I think this game will be a high scoring affair.

But....not so fast my friend!........

CLICK HERE TO SEE LEE CORSO'S PICK!