Cap clash preview: UConn at Louisville

The season-long FP struggle all boils down to three games this weekend as Coach Bando and Coach Woody each seek to avoid the dreaded hat. Leading up to the action on the field this weekend, Coach Rob will take a look at all three of these critical matchups in the order that they will take place.

Coach Bando (43-16) currently has a half-game lead on Coach Woody (42-16) in the FP standings because he has played one more game. Bando holds both tiebreakers (best record and ranking among #1 teams in Ohio State and best record and ranking among bonus teams in Purdue), so Woody must finish with a better overall record to escape the hated headgear.

Magic numbers: Bando (1) needs either to win his last game or have Woody lose one of his final two games. Woody (3) needs to win his final two games and have Bando lose his last game.

The first matchup to kick off Saturday will be Woody's Louisville Cardinals (10-1) hosting the Connecticut Huskies (4-7) at 11 a.m. on ESPN. UConn is coming off a heartbreaking loss to Cincinnati and has only one once in its last five games, a 46-45 win over Woody's bonus Pitt Panthers that came in double OT.

The Huskies are a rush-heavy team that has been on the losing end of a few blowouts this season. The Cardinals are thinking BCS bowl (if they get a little help from West Virginia, help that Woody hopes they don't receive) and they are currently a 27-point favorite. It's safe to say that we won't learn much about next year's hat bearer from this one as Louisville is likely to coast and help Woody land dead even with Bando at 43-16.

Stay tuned for previews tomorrow and Friday as the drama continues to build.

Rut-roh!

Coach Woody is reeling, and his ulcer is increasing in size following Rutgers' shocking 28-25 victory tonight. The Scarlet Knights held Louisville scoreless in the second half and rattled off 21 consecutive points to clinch the upset. Wow.

Woody Wins!

Coach Woody's Louisville Cardinals did what no one outside the state of Kentucky--except Coach Bando--thought they could tonight: defeat Coach Bando's West Virginia Mountaineers. Pundits will debate for days (weeks?) about what this means for Louisville's title hopes, but it definitely means that things are getting tighter in the FP. Bando's defeat drops him within one game in the loss column of Coach Woody with what promises to be a wild weekend ahead. Coach Rob is not far behind, and even Coach GQ can't afford a four or five loss weekend.

The hat AND the crown?

Does USC's loss mean that one of the Big East powerhouses will get a shot at the national title? Maybe, and especially if it's West Virginia who wins this Thursday as Coach Bando and Coach Woody do battle at Papa John's Cardinal Stadium. (I say that because the Mountaineers are already #3 prior to the game, but Louisville can certainly climb if they win, too.)

While Coach Rob is still in the thick of the race, too, could Thursday's game be a battle for (or against) the dreaded hat? We'll see.