With 3:55 left in the game, Coach Woody's new favorite team, Rutgers, has pulled ahead of West Virginia 23-20. The hat doesn't know what to think with plenty of time left for Coach Bando and West Virginia to rally, but it does know this: Rutgers left a sure touchdown on the field after a dropped pass in the end zone and settled for three points. Will it cost them the game and cost Woody the headgear? We shall see shortly.
Not yet. It may not matter much right now, but Coach GQ's other wife, Hawaii QB Colt Brennan (above), is warming up way out West as the taco title tilt continues. With Arkansas' loss today, Coach GQ's Warriors could possibly sneak past Coach Rob's Hogs with a big win tonight (tomorrow morning, really) and the right results for both teams (a win and a loss, respectively) in their upcoming bowl games. It matters little with so much on the line right now, but GQ is already sitting on the couch with his Hawaii teddy bear in his arms. Q, the game doesn't start until midnight!
... aren't sweating half as much as Coach Bando and Coach Woody. Midway through the fourth quarter, West Virginia and Rutgers are tied 20-20. The hat is split right down the middle, and there won't be a Solomon solution this time: One coach will wear the dreaded hat, but we don't know any more about which one it will be than we did three hours ago.
Chris Leak (right) and Coach Rob's Florida Gators survived a rocky third quarter to take out the Arkansas Razorbacks 38-28 tonight in Atlanta. Was it enough, after squandering a 17-0 lead, for the Gators to eke out a championship game berth over Coach GQ's Michigan Wolverines? We'll know tomorrow night.
The most important fourth quarter of the season has arrived. Coach Bando and West Virginia lead Coach Woody's adopted Rutgers Scarlet Knights 20-17 heading into the final regulation frame. The Mountaineers have the lead, and they got the better end of a controversial non-fumble call that may have prevented a Rutgers touchdown. We'll see if it matters as the game nears its conclusion.
At halftime, Coach Woody's adopted Rutgers Scarlet Knights lead Coach Bando's West Virginia Mountaineers 10-6. As Bando would say, though, "There's time!" Plenty of it.
... that Coach Rob will receive money from his USC Trojans after the Bruins pulled a shocking 13-9 upset today, throwing the FP and the BCS into chaos. Ouch, but will it be GQ's Michigan Wolverines or Rob's Florida Gators who get the shot at Ohio State come January?
It all comes down to one last FP battle tonight. With Louisville crushing UConn today and TCU doing the same to Air Force in the fourth quarter, the dreaded hat has indeed come down to the Rutgers-West Virginia game tonight.
Don't be fooled by the photo above: Friendships are officially on hold until tomorrow, and anything can happen. ABC's Craig James and Doug Flutie are picking the Scarlet Knights (and Woody) to take down the Mountaineers, but the point spread suggests West Virginia (and Bando) will win out. We'll know the final score--and the hat bearer--shortly. Stay tuned!
Most likely, three months worth of matchups are all going to come down to a single 60-minute game on Saturday. Coach Woody is expected to win his final two games during the day, leaving Coach Bando with one last game to escape the dreaded hat. West Virginia (9-2) hosts Rutgers (10-1) in a game that is tough to call, especially in a pretty WAC-ky Big East.
West Virginia has seen a season of high expectations fade in the wake of losses to a stout Louisville squad and an upstart South Florida team this month. Saturday's game isn't likely to alter the Mountaineers' bowl destination unless Louisville stumbles against UConn, and the 'Neers will know that result well before kickoff. Will they mail it in if they have no hope of landing in the BCS?
Rutgers, the Vandy of the Big East before there ever was a Big East, has had a miracle season and has its hopes on a BCS berth with a win against West Virginia. An upset loss to Cincinnati has diminished the enthusiasm in New Jersey of late, but no one's doubting that the Knights are a talented team. Ray Rice is a force at tailback, and he will have to carry the load on offense for a team with a big question mark at QB. On the offensive and defensive lines, Rutgers is a smash mouth physical team, one that should give the Mountaineers plenty to worry about.
This battle will likely come down to whether West Virginia's powerful run defense can stop Rice and company. It won't help Woody's cause that Morgantown is a tough place to play.
West Virginia is an eight-point favorite heading into the game. On paper, the 'Neers should win this one, but it's hard to bet against the Knights after the year they've had. Here's hoping for six OTs and plenty of thrills as the FP basement brouhaha goes down to and past the wire.
Good luck coaches! May the best man (or Bando) win! :-)
