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Rich Rodriguez was fired from his post as the Michigan Wolverines head coach.  Athletic Director, Dave Brandon gave the official announcement on Wednesday, after he meet with the head coach on the two previous days. He publicly stated that the he believes that the decision to remove Rodriguez is the best call for Michigan Football.

Rodriguez had had some success over at West Virginia before he moved to Ann Arbor, Michigan. His performance with the Wolverines was far from what the fans would have expected from what they like to call a “Michigan Man”. Rodriguez finished his tenure 15-22 overall during the last three years. He was 6-18 in conference games and 11-11 at home.

The school has decided to take its chances and assume the responsibility over Rodriguez pending contract. The school will pay an estimated $2.5 to Rodriguez in order to buy the rest of his contract. Director Dave Brandon didn’t miss a beat and began its nationwide search for the new Head Coach.

Among his preferred picks, Brandon said the he would like to bring in Jim Harbough from Stanford to be the Wolverines new coach. Harbough himself was a starting quarterback with Michigan and it would be a great fit, according to them, giving the fact that he is a “Michigan Man”. Another prospect is former assistant coach Brady Hoke, who has made quite an impressive job ahead of San Diego State.

Truth is, there is very little chances that Harbough would end up in Michigan. Rumor has it that Harbough could be leaving Stanford and there has been some speculation implying that he might even take a job with the pros.

Rodriguez on the other hand left Michigan on a sour note. The Wolverines won seven games and a chance to play at the Gator Bowl. Still, that was of very little relief as his squad took the hardest pounding in the program’s bowl history. The Wolverines 38 point loss to Mississippi State was nothing short of just simply embarrassing.

The BCS National Championship Game has been mostly reserved for college football blue bloods and football programs that have at least one National Championship on their pedigree. And yet, slowly but surely, both Auburn and Oregon have managed to finish a flawless season and at 13-0 and 12-0 respectively, are now going to play for the National Championship on January 10 at the Tositos BCS National Championship Game in Glendale, Arizona.

Get ready because this game is going to get as offensive as one can wish. Two of the finest offensive squads we have seen in the recent years are going to put all they’ve got on the line. The two top ranked teams in the country, are going to make it into the game and the stakes are high. Auburn has won every game of the season, including the Southeaster Conference Championship Game against South Carolina, 56-17. That is right after taking an intense 28-27 win over the defending Champions, the Alabama Crimson Tide.

On the other hand, Oregon has been outstanding in the PAC-10, making everybody know that after its second consecutive win in its conference, the Oregon Ducks are the new team to defeat in the Pacific 10 Conference. Forget USC, the Trojans were not even close, after the Ducks took them down 53-32 on October 30, and then kept on with their run to win each and every game of the season, including the Ducks 37-20 win over Oregon State, to secure their PAC-10 championship.

This is Oregon’s first chance to win the National Title. Auburn has one National Title on its pedigree, but it came back in 1957, way before the BCS was born in 1998. So it is quite a thrill to have a contender in the National Title Game who could be in its way to win the program’s first National Title ever. So, extra Kudos for Oregon for making it into the Tositos National Championship Bowl. As a matter of fact, only one other program, Virginia Tech back in 1999, has played in the BCS Championship Game without holding a National Title on their history.

This is also the second time ever, after Nebraska and Miami that two teams make it to the BCS Championship Game for the first time ever. This is also the first time that two teams that where not ranked inside the AP Poll’s top 10, at the beginning of the season manage to make it into the National Championship Game. At the beginning of the year, the Oregon Ducks were ranked 11th while the Auburn Tigers where second in their own state, behind coaching legend Nick Saban and the defending champions Alabama. The Tigers were ranked the 23rd team in the Nation at the beginning of the season.

Here is one extra little detail to bring into this equation. It seems very plausible that by the time the Tositos National Championship Bowl is played, Auburn will have the privilage to start Cam Newton, not only as one of the finest quarterbacks the sport has seen in recent years, but also as the Heisman Trophy winner. That could bring on a special little ingredient into the mix. Last season the trophy went to Mark Ingram from Alabama, and he was key in the Crimson Tide’s sweet performance in the Championship game. Perhaps this year, if the Heisman goes to Newton, there will be a good chance that he could guide the Tigers to their second National Championship.

Holding on the No. 1 spot has been a very difficult task among the few teams that have managed to make it atop the BCS ranking. This week, the turn belongs to the Auburn Tigers to hold on to the top spot. They will be playing Mississippi this weekend, and may they be able to find a way to make it pass Ole Miss, the Tigers would probably stay atop of the rankings. Particularly because there is still some space in the coaches poll to keep on climbing and because they still have to play a fairly rigorous schedule which includes a couple of home games against Chattanooga and Georgia. To close the season they will go on to face none other then the rival Alabama. That’s one heck of a game you wouldn’t want to miss.

Last week Oklahoma was the No.1 team. Let’s take a look at this for a second. The Sooners had managed to defeat their long-time rivals the Texas Longhorns by a 28-20 margin before taking on the guys from Iowa State. Again the Sooners went on to defeat Iowa State by 52-0. That week, the Sooners came up on top of the BCS rankings and then, after a perfect 6-0 record, and they had to go on and face the No. 11 ranked Missouri. And then Missouri stomped over the Sooners and defeated them 36-27. Landry Jones, the Sooners quarterback, threw three touchdowns in that game but was intercepted twice, and that was a fatal move for the Sooners.

The week before that, it was the Ohio State Buckeyes who were leading the AP top 25 Poll and the Coaches Poll, as the BCS rankings had yet to be formerly announced. But that was not too much of a great spot for the Buckeyes either. At 6-0, the Buckeyes had already defeated Miami Florida, Illinois and Indiana before they made it to the top of the Polls. And then came Wisconsin. And boy oh boy to the Buckeyes remember John Clay who came with Wisconsin for 104 rushing yards and a two great touchdowns on their come-from behind 31-18 win over Ohio State. The No. 18 Wisconsin had finally defeated a No.1 team for the first time since 1981.

And it was No. 1 and done, for the Ohio State Buckeyes. Now, the week before that, it was Alabama, yes, the Crimson Tide, the defending Champion who was ranked as the No. 1 team. This was the first Numero Uno team to go down. And boy was that some bad timing for the Tide. Up to that point Alabama was 5-0, having defeated both Arkansa and their long-time rival the Florida Gators by a 31-6, showing off that they had one of the finest offensive lines in the country. And then came South Carolina. At 35-21, USC win over the Crimson Tide was one of the finest upsets in the later history. Stephen Garcia was a brilliant player against the Crimson Tide, with a career best 17 of 20 for 201 yards and 3 touchdown passes. Yes, there was an interception, but if we look at the play, it was evident that his receiver just couldn’t hold on to the ball.

The big question now is: can Auburn survive. Can the tigers make it to the No.1 spot and stay there? Don’t miss on the NCAA football action and keep an eye out on the best college football betting lines available out there.

Last week we made an important effort to summarize and guide you through the process by which the BCS chooses its No. 1 team each week. We even went far enough as to make some pointers on how the AP poll works. Although it is not taken into consideration for the BCS Rankings, the AP Poll is still the most prestigious, human based poll in the nation, so we went on to briefly explain how that poll works. Now, what does that mean for the NCAA Football betting fan, well that’s when it can get tricky.

For starters, so far this season, the No.1 rank hasn’t really been so much a sign of a team’s great overall performance, but some sort of indelible omen that forces it to lose its winning streak has come. So Auburn now has to do what Alabama, Ohio State and Oklahoma couldn’t: make it to No. 1 and stay there.

The No.1 ranked team has fall in the last three consecutive weeks. Not only would Auburn have to deal with this No. 1 curse, but, hit the road and visit none other then Ole Miss. And then there is the strength of the schedule to put into the mix bag. The Auburn Tigers have had a very demanding couple of weeks that have boosted up its performance and stamina, but have also played very physically demanding matches that could be now their worst enemy. The motivation is there: but is the fuel still plenty?

Auburn has already played two nationally ranked teams this month. First they took down No. 6 LSU and then finished off No. 12 Arkansas proving that the Tigers are a solid contestant when playing at home. And yet they now have to hit the road and play at Ole Miss. Here is the thing. I have a feeling that the Tigers are in serious need of some rest, and it is certainly not happening this week. The Auburn Tigers is one of the four teams in the Southeastern Conference (SEC) that’s scheduled to play its 9th consecutive game this weekend. That is 9 weeks without a BYE week and coming from two consecutive games against nationally ranked teams.

As of press time, Auburn is expected to hold on to the No.1 spot of the BCS rankings. If not in the best odds considering what happened to Oklahoma, Alabama and Ohio State, the Auburn Tigers are a -7 point favorite on the spread against Mississippi. Now, the chains are expected to be moving quite a bit as the line movers at NCAA Football betting industry leaders Betias.com have set the total at over/under 61 flat.

Key for the Auburn Tigers success rest mostly in what quarterback Cam Newton can put together on the offensive end. Should the Tigers be able to keep on with their winning streak against Mississippi, things will only go uphill from there. The Tigers will go on to face Georgia at home on November 13 and then get its well-deserved BYE week. But sure enough, the Tigers can put their guard down as the following week they will have to face no other then the Alabama Crimson Tide.