2011 Predictions

Here are ten sports related predictions for 2011.  Some are bold, some are not.

1.  The Oregon Ducks will defeat the Auburn Tigers in the BCS National Championship game by a score of 52-49 in the highest scoring BCS title game yet.  On a side note, TCU will finish 2nd in the AP poll and receive at least two #1 votes. (Bold scale: 3)

2.  The New England Patriots will defeat the Chicago Bears in the 2011 Super Bowl by a score of 27-17.  Wes Welker is named the Super Bowl MVP for his 12 reception performance. (Bold scale: 5 due to the Bears prediction)

3.  The Iowa State MBB team will finish the regular season 19-12 and win their first game in the Big XII tournament.  With a home win over a ranked Kansas State team as their lone "signature" win, they fail to crack the NCAA bubble and are invited to play in the postseason NIT tournament, their first postseason appearance since 2005. (Bold scale: 4)

4.  The Philadelphia Phillies win over 100 games in the regular season along with the necessary 11 wins needed to win the World Series.  The Red Sox win 98 regular season games, but fail to make it to the World Series due to a late injury to Carl Crawford. (Bold scale: 3)

5.  The Chicago Cubs will make the playoffs and get beat in the first round by the Phillies.  Carlos Zambrano has a resurgence and gets to 17 wins.  Carlos Marmol and Kerry Wood combine for 50 saves and combine with Sean Marshall for one of the toughest bullpens in the NL. (Bold Scale: 7)

6.  The 2011 ISU football team goes 6-6 and is invited to play in the New Era Pinstripe Bowl.  Paul Rhoads picks up his first victory over Iowa Redeyes, I mean Hawkeyes but will fall to UCONN on the road.  Jerome Tiller is the starting quarterback against UNI, but Steele Jantz sees significant playing time and becomes the starting quarterback by season's end.  (Bold Scale: 8)

7.  Oklahoma wins the first Big XII championship with round-robin scheduling and plays TCU in the Fiesta Bowl.  The Texas Longhorns have another mediocre season finishing 8-4 and are invited to play in the Holiday Bowl. (Bold Scale: 3)

8.  The Big Ten renames their divisions the Violators and Coke heads.  Nebraska loses to Ohio State in the inaugural Big Ten Championship game.  This will be the last time anyone other than Michigan plays in the championship game for the rest of the decade as Jim Harbaugh returns home in 2012 to turn the Big Ten into Michigan vs Ohio State as all others return to mediocrity and continue the tradition of losing to the SEC on New Year's day. (Bold Scale: 9)

9. Jim Harbaugh and Andrew Luck both return to Stanford to go undefeated and win the first season of the Pac-12 conference.  They are invited to play in the 2012 National Championship game, but because this is a 2011 prediction post, I cannot predict the outcome of this game.  Before the championship game occurs Rich Rodriguez is fired shortly after his team loses to Oklahoma State in the Insight Bowl.  Jim Harbaugh accepts an offer to come back to Michigan but still coaches in the NC game. (Bold Scale: 8)

10. Mark Cuban successfully implements and funds a plan for an 8 team playoff.  The playoff system is announced to begin in 2013.  Conference champions will NOT receive an automatic bid to the playoff.  ESPN will buy the television rights to all games and Bud Light will be the main sponsor.  The MCS (Mark Cuban System) Playoff winners will receive a $5,000 stipend and an iPad.  The Big Ten decides to boycott the playoff system because the Big Ten Network was not awarded the rights to the games and "its not fair they have a championship game and the winner doesn't receive an automatic bid", which makes them look into contraction. (Bold Scale: 10)