Raphielle Johnson's Blog

2008-09 St. Francis (NY) Basketball Preview

Terriers hoping for better team chemistry

2008-09 Monmouth Basketball Preview

Hawks look to regroup with four returning starters

2008-09 Stony Brook Preview

Seawolves look to move up in America East

2008-09 Army Basketball Preview

Life after Jarell Brown for the Black Knights

2008-09 NJIT Basketball Preview

New coach hopes to bring new attitude to program

Well Billy and I are back with three more big games to preview on "Rivalry Week", and the three games in this piece all have conference title implications. One of those game will have a direct impact on the national title hunt, while another is a rivalry marked by its hatred spiced up by a possible BCS berth on the line. The third game features the nation's largest rivalry trophy that can be carried (the Fremont Cannon between UNLV and Nevada has them beat) along with the stakes of a Rose Bowl berth.

Four games are on the schedule before Saturday, with the big one being an ACC Coastal showdown between #23 Miami (7-3, 4-2) and Georgia Tech (7-3, 4-3). The Hurricanes, currently in the driver's seat in the division, need a win to keep that status since North Carolina lurks just one game behind in the standings. And with the Heels due to take on NC State and Duke to end the season, a loss here could essentially hand the division to a Carolina team that has already defeated Miami and Georgia Tech.

Before getting into a preview of the games on tap for Tuesday and Wednesday, there may be an important development in the BCS. Not who plays in it but which network televises the games. ESPN, according to may sources, is on the verge of acquiring the rights to the BCS from 2011-2014 with Fox unlikely to match their offer. If you're like me, you scratched your head the past few years and wondered why a network that devotes little time to college football during the regular season gets to show the season's biggest games.

"Revenge Saturday" came and passed without any major surprises, although we were almost treated to one in Baton Rouge. LSU fell behind Troy 31-3 early in the third quarter, but luckily for them and the fans that remained in Tiger Stadium they woke up and pulled out the 40-31 victory. The strange thing about the Tigers' offensive struggles in the first half was that they were a result of poor play period, not the crippling Jarrett Lee interceptions that have killed them in big games.

A light week on the college football slate in regards to big games, but that's rather appropriate for this site since it also coincides with the first weekend of college basketball. So, is there a VMI amongst the schools playing Saturday, maybe a San Diego State or Indiana hoping to shoot down a conference foe's hopes of a conference title? Doubtful, but there are a few games Saturday that you should pay attention to, be it for the actual play or some other issues on or off the field. Here's the schedule for Saturday.