CHRIS DUFRESNE / ON COLLEGE FOOTBALL

USC and Notre Dame prove that football rankings can be wacky business

Texas A&M lifted the season-long media embargo on redshirt freshman Johnny Manziel, just in time for the quarterback to probably win the Heisman Trophy on a network (ESPN) heavily invested in seeing Manziel's lips move.

Here's what we learned this week about Johnny Football: He's bright, smart, funny, articulate and set to turn 20 on Dec. 6.

Chris Dufresne
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Still, college's control-freak coaching establishment chose not to let Manziel talk until Nov. 26.

"It's nice to be able to talk to y'all," Manziel said to reporters on a conference call after his release from Audio Attica.

Manziel has let his numbers do all the screaming: He has 4,600 total yards in 12 games, and in a league, the SEC, that was expected to dismember first-year member Texas A&M.

Manziel, who is a modest 6 feet 1 and 200 pounds, said he always made himself bigger when creating his profile for NCAA video games.

"Typically, I would have made him look like someone like Cam Newton," he said of the 2010 Heisman winner.

Manziel called his season, "incredibly, incredibly surreal. It's beyond my wildest imagination."

MAC attack

The Pac-12 Conference title game can't catch a Friday night break: Last year's inaugural game was marred by the fact that South "champion" UCLA didn't deserve to be in it. The Bruins proved it by losing to Oregon and finishing 6-8 after their bowl loss.

This year's UCLA-Stanford matchup is substantially better, aesthetically, but is being challenged by a Mid-American Conference title game featuring Kent State (11-1) and Northern Illinois (11-1). Because of the Big East's implosion, Kent State can suddenly earn an automatic BCS bid if it finishes in the top 16 in the final BCS standings.

The Golden Flashes are No. 17, one spot behind UCLA. Kent State needs to win the MAC, and its followers are also cheering for Stanford to win the Pac-12. Kent State is seeking to become the first MAC team to earn a BCS bid in a season in which it lost to Kentucky by 33 points.

chris.dufresne@latimes.com

Comments (22)

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Ashley MacAlister at 11:26 AM November 29, 2012

As a Liberal White Irish Catholic woman Pornography executive, what these rankings mean is the bottom line. For many fans of College Footbll, my former home city of Las Vegas Nevada is the main line for Sports Betting for many major sports in the United States. When it comes to College Football, this is big business. USC fell because there was no focus to their program which is a 6 hour drive from Las Vegas. The reason that Notre Dame went up was because of the huge support of the Irish & Italian Catholic communities in the United States where Notre Dame football is considered the ephiny of College Sports. For many years for about 24-years, Notre Dame football did not make the National Championship game whereby USC won it in 2004 & 2005 with the removal of the National Championship trophy for the 2005 team for recruiting irregularities to the former USC running back Reggie Bush case. Basically for a lot of gamblers, they would love to see a Notre Dame team make it to the National Championship game. But in a preview of the National Championship team from the SEC, Georgia would be the favorite team because of the high-skill level of the Alabama Crimson Tide. But for someone like myself who grew up in Nevada which is a legalized Gambling state, the Southern States will bring a fianacial windfall playing with a Notre Dame game.

Duck Speed at 11:21 AM November 29, 2012

Georgia shouldn't even be in the top 10. Which is part of my problem with the BCS. They talk strength of schedule one year, then are mum the next. Natty below points out that Georgia played Florida to. Well let's take a look at the rest of their schedule.

Buffalo

Missouri

Florida Atlantic

Vandy

Tennessee

South Carolina

Kentucky

Florida

Ol Miss

Auburn

Georgia Southern

Georgia Tech

Playing two tough teams and going one and one shouldn't make you a top 10 team and darn sure not a top 5! The SEC is fixed and they've been that way since they got over on USC when they should have been playing LSU and not Ohio State.

As for USC, I'm sure many Bruin fans and others have reason to kick them while they had a bad season. But I don't. Although the Pac12 is super competitive now, when USC does well, so does the conference, for a variety of reasons. USC sells out the majority of their games, far more than UCLA, Stanford (even in a remodeled stadium), Cal, Arizona State and Arizona. The only time those last two have a packed house is when USC comes to town, when we do, or they're playing each other.

I would imagine they'll work out their issues and be back stronger than before.

As for UCLA, hope you keep your coach. Auburn is rumored to be interested and they'd be far more willing and able to pay top dollar for him. Mora doesn't have ties to UCLA so don't expect a lot of loyalty.

NattyShaferLaw at 10:29 AM November 29, 2012

"Georgia lost its only game against a ranked opponent by 28 points at South Carolina." As much as I like making fun of the SEC, this is obviously not true. Georgia beat Florida 17-9. Florida was ranked #2 in the BCS the week they played, and are currently ranked #4 in the BCS.

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