I know the answer to that question is Jan. 8, which is this coming Thursday, which is a full week after New Year’s Day, which is when all the big college football games have always been played.

Which is why I’m really losing interest.

OK, I must confess I’m not a huge college football fan. I mean, I watch it from time to time, and I remember the great moments, but I can’t tell you more than a few names of players in the championship game. I think I watched a total of less than an hour of college football bowls this season, until I saw most of the wild ending of the Texas-Ohio State Fiesta Bowl last night (while waiting for Channel 5 to clear the game and its newscast and get to the Seinfeld reruns).

But now my interest really wanes because of this BCS. Because they drag it out like Super Bowl week, like the NBA playoffs. I mean, when is the last time either team actually played a football game?

And I won’t even get started on how screwed up it is that in 2009 we still can’t determine a college football champion on the field.

10:45 a.m., Sam says:

Well, since we’re supposed to deal with questions here, I’ll pose a specific one: What would you do differently?

If, as we’ve been told countless times, the bowl system is a money pit and that’s almost surely never going to change (at least not as long as big companies and universities like making big dough), then what’s the best alternative to figuring out a national champion? A playoff seems unlikely. The so-called “plus-one” might help a little, but the truth is that adding an extra bowl (and making the “national championship game” it’s own thing) has actually watered down the college football bowl season considerably. SI.com’s Stewart Mandel lays out why in a great piece here. And I agree.

The more I think about it, the more I think we should just go back to the old way and let polls decide. Crazy as that was, the college football landscape is so chaotic that it probably deserves to have a (somewhat) chaotic ending. No one plays the same schedules, the conferences are so different from year to year (remember when the Big 10 was good top to bottom?) and getting any kind of bracket tournament set up seems virtually unworkable. So why not embrace the madness?

I say let’s go back to voting. It’s unpredictable. It’s insane. It’s built-in controversy. In other words, it’s the best fit for college football there is.

CARP SAYS:

That is an insane idea, Sam, and maybe insane is better. People clammored for this BCS thing because they didn’t want voters deciding national champions the day after the games. But you’re right, it provided a lot more drama. In this case, for example, maybe Utah would be home thinking it still has a shot at the championship once all the games are played and the votes tabulated.

All I know is it sure isn’t working the way it is, and except for those who make big money off the current system, it is universally despised.

I would have to take two weeks of vacation to try to figure out a playoff system that would work for all, but we know that we’re not going to see a playoff that divides more of the money to more schools. Not a chance.

5:15 p.m., Sam says:

Seems we’re not the only ones discussing this today. Now comes word that the Utah Attorney General is launching an investigation into the BCS, to see whether it violates anti-trust laws. Obviously the AG, and most everyone in Utah, is upset that the Utes finished undefeated (beating Alabama in the Sugar Bowl) and were left out of the championship game for the second time in five years.

Let me just say up front that I know nothing about anti-trust laws. I do know, however, that the BCS violates the laws of rational thought.

We all knew it was going to work out this way, didn’t we? As soon as the pieces started to fall into place for the Eagles on the last Sunday of the regular season, we all knew that they were going to end up back at Giants Stadium. We just knew it. And now it’s come true.

This will be the third time the teams have played this year and the millionth time they’ve played in history. About a month ago, the Eagles gave the Giants only their second loss of the regular-season in an ugly game at the Meadowlands.

Here’s the question: What needs to happen this time for the Giants to beat the Eagles?

The way I see it, there’s three main things:

1. Tackle better: The Giants tackling in that game against Philly was so bad it looked like the Jets’ defense. The Giants literally could not bring down Brian Westbrook and he ran wild (131 yards rushing). It can’t happen again.

2. Contain McNabb: A month and a half ago, there was talk about Donovan McNabb’s career was over in Philly after he got benched. Now it seems like he’s never played better. Giants fans know that he’s the kind of guy, more than any other QB that’s still left in the playoffs, who can take a game over and win it on his own. There are two ways the Eagles can win this game – the first is through Westbrook, the second is through McNabb. The Giants can’t let that happen.

3. Don’t have any players shoot themselves in the leg this week: The Giants refused to make it an excuse, but they played woefully against the Eagles a week after the Plaxico Burress disaster developed. Even if they said it wasn’t, it still had to be a distraction. By now, the Giants are used to Burress’ absence both on the field and off it. If they avoid any nonsense issues this week, there’s no doubting that they are the better team on the field come Sunday. If their minds are in the right place, they should win.

CARP SAYS:

Taking your last point first, about shooting one’s self in the leg, perhaps that incident is the reason we’re even thinking that Philly has a shot in this game. Not only is Harris Smith, er, Plaxico Burress missing and thus making things much more simple for a pretty good Philadelphia defense, but hasn’t anybody noticed that Antonio Pierce has been somewhat pathetic since he allegedly drove the getaway car? That Brian Westbrook ran away from him with such ease the last time the teams played, and that Pierce was equally dreadful in the Carolina game (the Panthers did slap 28 points and 158 rushing yards on the Giants in the Meadowlands).

You’re not going to be able to both contain McNabb and Westbrook without your linebackers playing very well. The D-line needs to be able to get after McNabb, but then Westbrook will run draws and catch screens, and it will be up to the LBs to chase him down. If the LBs can’t help stack the run, then the DL can’t go full-bore after the quarterback. That simple. That DL, which was banged up down the stretch, should be a little healthier after that “bye” game in Minnesota and then an off-week.

That all said, the Giants’ offense with Jacobs somewhat rested, should be able to put up some points on the Eagles. Their OL will need to play as it did in the second half vs. the Panthers, and as it did most of the season until that little two-game losing streak.

Weather won’t be a factor at all, not playing another Northeast team, and the Eagles won’t be bothered by the home crowd. So there’s little advantage there.

It will—as most games do—come down to execution or lack thereof. I like the Giants’ chances in that case, with their confidence and experience from last year, and the way they carried themselves as champions most of this season, and in the big game against Carolina.

12:30 p.m., Sam says:

Execution is always the key – in life, in sports, in just about anything. If you don’t actually do something, it usually doesn’t get done.

Beyond that, I also think Manning’s performance will be interesting to monitor if only because the Giants were barely in the last game against the Eagles and are, again (and still) without their best receiver in Burress. Look at Eli’s numbers in the two games vs. Philly this year:

Nov. 9 @ PHI: 17-of-31 passing, 191 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT and he was sacked 4 times.
Dec. 8 vs. PHI: 13-of-27 passing, 123 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT and he was sacked 0 times.

By the way, it’s worth noting that Manning threw that one touchdown pass in the second game right at the end of the fourth quarter when the Giants had basically already lost. In other words, he was a non-factor in that game.

You’d figure that can’t be the case this time if the Giants hope to win. The Eagles are playing well, riding high and will have confidence that they can do again what they’ve already done in beating the Giants on the road. Whether or not Manning can deliver a decent passing game to offset what the Giants hope will be a strong running attack from Jacobs/Ward/Bradshaw will be critical.

 

 

 

CARP SAYS:

As George Costanza once said, “It’s the chicken or the egg.”

If you can’t run the ball, you will have a tough time passing it. And vice versa. Against a stout Eagles defense, if Eli can’t pass, Philly will stack against the run. And if Jacobs and Ward don’t run effectively, they will put Eli on his back repeatedly. Sounds scary for the Giants … but the exact same holds true for the Eagles, or any team playing against a good defense.

You take what you’re given. If they put eight in the box, you have to go to the air. If they blitz, you have to run screens and draws. If they load up on DBs, then you have to be able to run the football. And if you can’t do both, you’re going to have a really tough time winning against a good defense.

That’s why it drives me nuts when people—mostly radio hosts and callers—say, “They were running the ball so well in the first half; they should have kept on running it” … or “Why did Coach Smith get conservative and stop throwing in the second half?” Defenses adjust, and try to take away one poison or the other. If they take away the pass, again, you have to be able to run. Chicken or egg.

Well, Sam, if you believe in momentum heading into the playoffs—and I don’t—then you should be in good shape as you prepare to make your NFL wild-card weekend picks.

I brought up the name Tony Romo (A-Rom) in wishing you’d choke away your one-game regular-season lead last week, and you performed like Tom Brady. Nice going.

I thought I was in really good shape as my 10-5-1 Week 17 unfolded. Then I tallied up Sam’s final-week picks. Very impressive. A 13-2-1 finishing kick gave you a four-game victory (and home field advantage??).

So we reset to 0-0 and begin the season that counts: The postseason. I’m going with four road warriors this weekend, one if which is playing for the right to get squished by the Giants next week.

FINAL STANDINGS

Sam 130-117-7 —
Carp 126-121-7 4GB

SATURDAY:

Falcons (+2) over CARDINALS
Colts (even) over CHARGERS

SUNDAY:

Ravens (+3 1/2) over DOLPHINS
Eagles (+3) over VIKINGS

10:45 a.m., Sam says:

To the victor goes the spoils, though truthfully I don’t really know what spoils are (and thus, am not that excited about getting them). It was a great battle over these 17 weeks and Carp deserves credit for pulling himself out of a hole to make it pretty close in the end. Well done and well-played. Should we do it for every game of the baseball season, too?

Today is a strange day. It’s sort of a work day but sort of a holiday, which probably just means that there a lot of people at work who are half-asleep. If you’re one of them, and you’re reading this (Hi Sunny!), let me wish you a Happy New Year and offer condolences that you’re already back on the job. If your vacation is continuing today, let me wish you a Happy New Year and offer congratulations on sneaking another day off out of the whole thing.

My holiday “vacation” wasn’t much of one. I spent most of the days I had off helping my mother-in-law pack up her house and move into a new one, which resulted in a number of scrapes and cuts on my hands from boxes, tape and the occasional unseen nail. I also chronicled the the Yankees spending, the Jets collapse, the firing of Eric Mangini, the (mostly tongue-in-cheek) New Year’s resolutions of sports figures and the challenges that face a local girl who hopes to one day skate in the Olympics.

Carp’s been pretty busy, too: He did a great piece on Lloyd Wallace, another on the turnaround of a Gorton basketball player, a column on a great game at the Slam Dunk tournament and a strong take on the budget cutbacks that led to the County Center limiting Section 1 Championship Week. He also had his New Year’s Day tribute to the local stars of 2008.

What’s my point? Just that we’re doing our best to give you guys interesting stuff to read and want to thank you for being with us this past year. Here’s hoping that 2009 is filled with even more compelling topics, questions and answers for us to talk about. Happy New Year.

SATURDAY:

CARDINALS (-2) over Falcons
Colts (even) over CHARGERS

SUNDAY:

Ravens (+3 1/2) over DOLPHINS
Eagles (+3) over VIKINGS