A few pre-Thanksgiving thoughts

1. Congrats to Ball State

The Cardinals won't be in the BCS, but finishing the regular season undefeated is pretty impressive, regardless of what conference you come from. The MAC has always had a decent reputation, so this should get recognition.

2. About another Indiana school

I understand that Notre Dame fans are frustrated with Charlie Weis and the Fighting Irish, but throwing snowballs at the team after its loss to Syracuse (I admit, that's a terrible loss) is inexcusable. Seriously. It's not like those guys wanted to lose to Syracuse. If anything, give the Orange credit for going into South Bend with a lame duck coach and finding a way to win. I'm going to leave the Weis topic alone until after the USC game (have a good idea what I'll say though since I think we all know what's going to probably happen at the Coliseum).

3. Bradford now the front-runner

With the beatdown OU laid on Tech, the Sooners are in a good position. First, in the case of Sam Bradford, if OU beats Okie State on Saturday and wins the Big XII title game, I think the Heisman's going to him over Colt McCoy, Graham Harrell, and yes, Shonn Greene. As for the team, if the Sooners win in Stillwater, you can't convince me that they're not going to jump Texas, regardless of whether the Longhorns beat A&M or not. Factor in that outside the conference, Oklahoma has beaten a TCU squad that manhandled BYU and nearly upset Utah, and a Cincy team that could win the Big East and secure a BCS spot this weekend, edge goes to Bob Stoops here.

4. This weekend's games that matter:

Yes, Texas-Texas A&M and Oklahoma-Oklahoma State matter for obvious reasons, so does Baylor-Texas Tech, Florida-Florida State, West Virginia-Pittsburgh, Colorado-Nebraska, Fresno State-Boise State, Georgia Tech-Georgia, South Carolina-Clemson, Notre Dame-USC, and I could go on.

But the biggest games this weekend are actually the following:

ACC: Virginia at Virginia Tech and Maryland at Boston College

Here's why: ACC title picture - If the Hokies and Eagles both take care of business at home, they'll meet each other for the second year in a row in the ACC Championship Game, which is in Tampa next week. If the Cavaliers go into Blacksburg and upset Va. Tech, Georgia Tech would then win the ACC's Coastal Division and play in Tampa thanks to a head-to-head win last week over Miami. Likewise, if Maryland upsets BC, Florida State would win the Atlantic Division because of its win over the Terps last Saturday in College Park.

So to be clear, you'll have either BC-GT, FSU-GT, BC-VT, or FSU-VT next week. One of these four will play in the Orange Bowl, which is where the ACC champion is slotted to play.

BIG EAST: Syracuse at Cincinnati

Real simple - A Bearcat win or a West Virginia loss to Pitt on Friday sends Cincy to a BCS game, most likely the Orange or Sugar Bowls, thanks to a Nov. 8 win in overtime over the Mountaineers (on the road, I might add). However, if the 'Cuse were to pull a second straight shocker on Saturday, West Virginia would need to win the Backyard Brawl at Heinz Field on Friday and then win next week at home against South Florida, a team who has won two straight over the Mountaineers. Cincinnati's game at Hawaii is absolutely meaningless, regardless of what transpires.

PAC-10: Oregon at Oregon State

As far as fans of these two schools and the entire Big Ten conference (well, the seven teams going to bowl games, anyway), this is the ONLY game that matters. If the Beavers win the Civil War, they'll be smelling roses and will have a rematch with Penn State on New Year's Day in Pasadena. Because Oregon State beat USC head-to-head, that tiebreaker gives the Beavers the conference, and would send USC to either the Fiesta or Sugar Bowls (assuming it wins out against Notre Dame and UCLA). However, a Ducks win in Corvallis on Saturday will put USC in control of the Pac-10, and a win at UCLA next week would send the Trojans to their fourth straight Rose Bowl (and fifth in six years) to play JoePa's Nittany Lions. If this happens, expect Ohio State to move into the BCS with its 10-2 record and well-recognized fan base to either Tempe or New Orleans this coming January, and then every other Big Ten team will head to a better bowl game (sorry, Motor City).

As far as Iowa's bowl possibilities go, here's what I believe:

Oregon win = Outback Bowl in Tampa against most likely South Carolina

Oregon State win = Alamo Bowl in San Antonio against either Missouri, Nebraska, or Oklahoma State

I'll let you all be the judge here.