What games are on tap for Week 12?

Of the sixty FBS games this week, the Las Vegas/Reno casino bookies, the folks who make their living by predicting the (perceived!) outcome of the games agreed with the predictions we made based on the tiered rankings we posted on Sunday.

For the record, we predict the outcome of games as follows: Count the number of tiers that the two teams differ by. So, for example, if one team is Tier B and the other is Tier G, there is a five tier difference (C, D, E, F, G) between them. Then, multiply that by 1 1/2 points for the neutral field advantage the higher team would have. Finally, give the home team an extra three points (if they're favored already, add three to the spread; if they're the underdog, subtract three). There's your prediction. (We've been known to adjust for unusual circumstances: when BYU lost their all-star QB, for example, the tiers had not adjusted for that at the time. Similarly, there might be motivating factors - rivalries, etc. - that urge us to change the spread - but we rarely do! More often than not, what you see is what you get...WYSIWYG!

Here are the games that have a significant difference between our forecasts and theirs:

UMass @ Akron Tuesday ... we say Akron by 3, they say by 7 1/2. They win. Akron 30, UMass 6. 
Kansas St @ West Virginia Thursday...we say K-St by 1, they say WV by 2 1/2! Our point! K-St 26, WVU 20.
UTEP @ Rice Friday...we say Rice wins by 2, they say Rice by 9. They lead 2-1. Rice wins big, 31-13.
Fordham @ Army Saturday...no forecast from Vegas because Fordham's an FCS school, but we believe they should be favored over Army by a point! Army 42-31.
Eastern Michigan @ Ball St... there are a bunch of routs forecasted where the point difference between a 25 and a 35 point blowout is pointless to quibble over, but in this case, we're going to point out that we see a six-point win for Ball St, and Vegas sees seventeen! They were closer - it was 15. So they lead us 4-1 now...
Maryland @ Michigan... We have the Terps by five, Vegas has Michigan by 4.5! We cheered Maryland's late TD for the win, 23-16!
Florida International @ North Texas...we think it'll be FIU by two; they see UNT by 2! They were on again! UNT 17, FIU 14!
"The Big Game"! Stanford @ California...the home of the greatest, most controversial play in college football history in 1982. We have Cal by 3 1/2, they have Stanford by 6. We were doubly afraid of this one, with all our Berkeley relations...but it was Leland Sanford Junior University with the 38-17 win. Vegas up 6-2 now.
Florida Atlantic @ Middle Tennessee...We see it as even; they have MTSU by 6 1/2! We're counting this one on our side - one is closer to "even" than it is to six! 35-34, Blue Raiders.
Oklahoma St @ Baylor...Another potential blowout, but our spreads differ significantly - we see Baylor by 11; they think the Bears will win by 27!  They'd have been spot on if Baylor wanted to run it up...49-28 in bad weather. 7-2, casinos.
Missouri @ Tennessee is the last game we'll compare - we have Mizzou by 1; they think the Volunteers win at home by 3 1/2. Missouri wins, 29-21, so we go into Sunday down four with four to go. Dormie at 7-3 down...

On the pro side, there are only four games to compare:
Cleveland @ Atlanta... We think Cleveland by 1; they see Atlanta by 3 1/2. And thanks to some terrible clock management, we were vindicated by the Browns' last-second field goal.
Cincinnati @ Houston...We think the Bengals win by 1; Vegas says Houston by 1 1/2. And the Bengals won comfortably. Two for two today - we still have a chance!
Arizona @ Seattle...We differ on the effect of the home field: Arizona by 2 on our board, Seattle by six on theirs!
Baltimore @ New Orleans  on Monday night...We call it even; they see the Saints with a 3 1/2 point advantage at home. Looks like it may wait until Monday night to determine whether we win or lose!

Michigan's AD resigns. You know what's coming next, right?

With the sudden but not totally unexpected resignation of the University of Michigan athletic director, Dave Brandon, the heat rises another three notches (if that's possible) on football coach Brady Hoke.

Is that possible?

Watching a coach dangle in the wind is such a painful sight, especially for those of us who've lived the life. Unlike most professional jobs requiring a college education, coaches are hired and fired on a whim - no real reason required. 

It might be, as it often is in sports jobs, simply a matter of losing more than you win, or at least losing more than the "general expectation". Nine wins a year wasn't enough for Frank Solich at Nebraska (following national championships from his mentor Tom Osbourne), but it's plenty at Ohio University, where he's had good but not spectacular teams for almost a decade now. 

Brady Hoke won big at Ball State and at San Diego State, but for some reason it hasn't translated to what Michigan fans expect from Big Blue. Did he forget how to coach? Unlikely. Is it possible that what works for him in smaller-level schools doesn't work (for whatever reason) at the school with more football wins than any university in history? Yes. 

Sometimes, you change coaches because their goals are not the same as your goals. Gordon (writing) can testify that sometimes, what administrations and fans see from the outside doesn't always match the reality at ground level. He had a job that had experienced some success through what turned out to be smoke and mirrors, a program that was a hollow shell about to collapse, but the outside world had only the shell to guide by. 

Michigan is no longer a destination school for modern athletes. Neither are most of the Rust Belt schools. That doesn't mean a coach can't succeed in the upper midwest (re: Meyer, Urban); it does mean that not every coach can succeed there. Having the name "Michigan" on your polo shirt doesn't get you into every 5-star recruit's home any more. Alabama, yes. USC, yes. Michigan? Nebraska? Not necessarily. Michigan, find the best AD you can find. Then find the best football coach who's willing to come to Ann Arbor.

You're going to need it.