Monday Musings - the BCS matchups, the Heisman, UofA in the Holiday Bowl, the Cardinals dominant win, and more!

What a great football weekend...Saturday and Sunday...there were so many outstanding games all around...let me dive in:

-Texas: worst clock management I've ever seen in a late game situation...I don't think anyone could believe what they were watching. Hunter Lawrence's clutch field goal bailed out Coach Mack Brown and QB Colt McCoy from a disastrous choke job.

-Alabama: dominant win over Florida. I've seen bigger upsets in championship games...but would be very surprised if they lost to Texas in the BCS National Championship Game.

-Cincinnati/Pittsburgh - Game of the Year. Back and forth...more than enough excitement to go around...it was a shame Pitt had to lose on a bad extra point snap though.

-My top 5 (if I had a vote): 1. Alabama, 2. TCU, 3. Texas, 4. Florida, 5. Cincinnati - I just think TCU would have a better chance to handle Alabama than Texas does, considering how poorly the Longhorns played in their last few games. The reason I rank Cinci so low is they truly were outplayed and should've lost to Pittsburgh on Saturday.

-Initial picks for the BCS matchups...(I reserve the right to change these in three weeks):

• BCS Championship - Alabama 27, Texas 17
• Fiesta - TCU 31, Boise St. 20
• Rose - Oregon 27, Ohio St. 20
• Sugar - Florida 38, Cincinnati 23
• Orange - Iowa 24, Georgia Tech 20

-Back to the playoff bracket I suggested weeks ago (5 automatic BCS Conference Champions, the highest ranked non-BCS conference champion, and two at-large berths)...let's see how it would shake out based on the final BCS standings:

• (1) Alabama-SEC vs. (8) Georgia Tech-ACC
• (4) TCU-at large vs. (5) Florida-at large
• (3) Cincinnati-non BCS vs. (6) Oregon-Pac 10
• (2) Texas-Big 12 vs. (7) Ohio St.-Big 10

In this scenario, Boise St. would be left out by virtue of TCU and Florida finishing higher in the final poll. Maybe my idea of an 8 team playoff wasn't the best suggestion after all...

-My (mock) Heisman Trophy ballot: 1. Toby Gerhart - Stanford, 2. Ndumakong Suh - Nebraska, 3. CJ Spiller - Clemson, 4. Mark Ingram - Alabama, 5. Colt McCoy - Texas

• Gerhart simply dominated all competition this season...1,700+ rushing yards and 26 TDs on a team that was clearly better because of him alone. Suh is a close second...he's the best defensive player we've seen in college football this decade...his 4.5 sack performance against Texas was amazing. Spiller is the most dynamic player in the game...and would be a close 3rd. Ingram was very good, especially against Florida, but he's not the game changer compared to the previous three. McCoy was horrendous on Saturday night, therefore plummeting from 1st to 5th in my rankings.

-I'm so proud of my Arizona Wildcats for beating USC in Los Angeles and earning and invitation to a very good bowl game, the Holiday Bowl in San Diego. What a great win for the program...and I can't wait to see it in person later this month.

-Surprisingly I'm not regretting the near Rose Bowl miss as I should be now...even if we had beaten Oregon, I still believe UofA would've found a way to lose at least one of the final two games at ASU and at USC. Hindsight is 20/20 folks.

-Transitioning to the pros, the Cardinals are a very dangerous team when Kurt Warner is healthy. They dominated a very, VERY good Vikings team who I thought was the best in the NFC before yesterday.

-With a win at San Francisco next Monday night, the Cards will seemingly have clinched the NFC West and will have the inside track at the #3 seed in the NFC. Bad news folks...they won't be able to win at New Orleans or at Minnesota in the playoffs...I just don't see it.

-Can the Saints get any luckier? Not much...

-Can the Steelers get any more down in the dumps? Yes...if they lose to the Browns this Thursday!

Back Wednesday with NFL picks...