Friday Night Lights

Colorado 17, Utah 14: This is one of those toilet bowl games, those cringe-inducing, bile rising games in which you find yourself shouting at the television, "Doesn't anyone want to bleeping win this game??" This one had it all: Turnovers. Penalties. Turnovers getting negated by penalties. Utah's kicker going 0 for 3 on field goals, including hitting the right upright with what would have been the tying score on Utah's last play of the game. But what makes it all worse is that this now guarantees that UCLA - 6-5 UCLA - will represent the South Division in the inaugural Pac-12 Championship game. UCLA, who lost to Texas 49-20, now gets a winner-take-all for the Rose Bowl.

LSU 41, Arkansas 17: @aaroninauburn had by far the best take on the Tigers today on Twitter: "LSU's ability to eat the other team's soul is unparalleled in my memory." That is exactly what they did against the Razorbacks, falling behind 14-0 before buckling down, Badgering up, and putting the clamps on the Arkansas offense. After the Razorbacks drove 73 yards and kicked a field goal in their first drive of the third quarter, they gained a grand total of 27 yards (with two turnovers) for the rest of the game. Also, add this to the highlight reel:



Now, let's talk implications.

The SEC Championship is set: AP #1 LSU against #13 Georgia. Even if the Bulldogs pull off the upset, I think that LSU's spot in the NC game has been secured. With their resume, a one-loss LSU team would still be heads and shoulders above the rest of the crowd. Our attentions now turn to tomorrow's Iron Bowl. Should #2 Alabama beat Auburn, then (barring a mass mutiny among the voters) the NC game would be set between Alabama and LSU. But if - and it's a BIG if - Auburn should pull off the upset, then that re-opens the door for Oklahoma State, who would surely jump ahead of the rest of the crowd with a win over Oklahoma. Behind the Cowboys would stand Virginia Tech and Stanford, but both of those teams would have a tough argument, given their paper-thin schedules.

And, sadly, thanks to sanctions, scheduling, tie-breaker rules, and an absolute dearth of talent, the UCLA Bruins will play for the Pac-12 Championship. As I've said before, the Ducks will be their opponents should Oregon beat Oregon State tomorrow. Otherwise the Bruins will play Stanford. And even though they will be a bajillion-point underdogs against either of those teams, remember, it's just one game. And anything can happen.