More Football in Our Football

My work is seriously preventing me from watching many games, but I was off Saturday to watch Alabama absolutely dismantle Arkansas. I also watched (half-assed, I admit) Stanford ruin USC's undeserved high-ranking.

So what will that leave us with? Well, we've got Alabama and LSU in the the top two spots again. Barring any plane crashes... we are looking at the Number 1 and Number 2 teams facing off again in November.

There's this guy at work who is a Chicago Bears fan and he thinks I shouldn't jump to such conclusions. He sort of looked at me funny when I told him Bama could probably play the Bears and at least make it competitive for three quarters.

There's also this guy at work who thinks South Carolina is going to win it all. I wish I had such bliss.

At any rate, Oregon and Florida State seem to be sitting in the catbird seat now that USC fell.

Of course, USC could still come back. But it would require a miracle. And yes, Bama getting to the championship game last year was a miracle, but they lost to a team in the top two and not a team ranked twenty-something.

Now let's go the pros...

I'm almost not a Colts fan. Don't get me wrong. They are still my team, but as long as Manning is playing then my loyalties are seriously divided. I think Luck is good and I'm glad he won today, but I grew up with Peyton Manning playing. I remember the playoff losses to the Pats and the redemption in the '06 playoffs. I remember the brutal Super Bowl loss...

The Colts are my team, but any Colt will tell you that Manning built the Colts. And even though I wanted the Colts to draft Luck (or RGIII), I didn't want Manning to get cut. I knew he would get cut and I probably would have done the same if the decision had been mine...

But it was when Irsay so blatantly bullshitted us about whether or not he was ditching Manning that I said, "Fuck this guy" and started sticking needles in my Jim Irsay voodoo dolls.

So, yeah, I guess I'll have to buy my dad a Manning Broncos jersey now to go with his Manning Colts jersey. I hope Manning plays long enough to beat the shit out of the Colts. No offense to Andrew Luck. I do like him and I think he'll go far, but I sort understand how '9er fans felt when Montana went to the Chiefs now.

As for who I think will go to the Super Bowl...

The 49ers are going to be tough to beat. The Ravens, Steelers, and Pats are iffy. The Broncos are a serious contender, but they have a very tough schedule and Manning will have to once again prove he can carry the load. The Giants are... well, your guess is as good as mine.

So... who is going to the big game? You know where my loyalties are on this matter and Manning Bowl would be great, but I see the 49ers and the Texans as a very serious probability. Now the Broncos and the Packers are my dark horses.

Of course, I could be way off the mark. Honestly, it's tough to imagine someone beating '9ers in the NFC and I don't think lightning is going to strike twice and cause the '9ers to fall short of the Super Bowl again.

The AFC is more or less open to anyone who doesn't completely suck. But I say that Manning beating his old division rival the Texans in the AFC Championship would be pretty darn cool.