Alma Mater Conference Fantasia Week 3: Big XII Bummin'

We enter the third week of our grand fantasy football experiment and again our power teams flex the muscles. Unfortunately, it does not appear that the Big XII is one of them. It is becoming clear that some conferences have the upper hand in their alumni, which is a big part of what we are doing. Let’s take a look at the winners and losers from last week’s match-ups.

SEC 190
Big XII 91.5

The SEC representatives had a strong performance in all phases of the game to achieve the high score of the week as a conference . Only two players had Jason Campbell(Auburn) led the way at QB for conference dubbed the best in college football. Ronnie Brown(Auburn) the former teammate of Campbell had the high score for the week in the league with 39 due to his 5 TDs against the Patriots. Rudi Johnson(Auburn) had 18, LeRon McClain() also 18, and Joseph Addai(LSU) 20. Another LSU Tiger, Corey Webster had 13 to lead the defense.

The Big XII continued its struggles as it remains the only BCS conference without a win in our league. They say that teams can’t win in the NFL without good QB play and that may hold true for our league as the Big XII is without a QB with Vince Young on the shelf. Correll Buckhalter(Nebraska) was the leading scorer for the conference when he subbed in for Brian Westbrook. The only other offensive player in double figures was Ricky Williams(Texas) with 11. The Big XII is 0-3 and although it is a offensive power in college football, in our league it is falling short.

ACC 165
FCS 120

Phillip Rivers(NC St) has manned the QB position for the ACC every week now and again he had a big performance with 21 points. Santana Moss(Miami) and fellow Hurricanes Roscoe Parrish, Frank Gore, Clinton Portis, and Willis McGahee all scored in double figures. Sebastian Janikowski(FSU) had a big day in Buffalo with 12 points, but the star of the team was the defensive effort of Antonio Cromartie(FSU) with 19 points.

It seems a broken record with the FCS division but it was another great performance against a BCS conference but to no avail. J.T. O’Sullivan() earned the QB spot for the FCS with 18 points and we will ignore the fact that they played the Lions. The FCS also utilized the two tight end formation with Kevin Boss() earning 11 points and Delanie Walker 10. Out of nowhere Miles Austin() had 17 points for the Cowboys Sunday night. Rasheen Mathis() had 17 points for the defense, but the Brian Westbrook(Villanova) injury and some low totals by the other wide receivers sunk the FCS.

Big Ten 169
Pac Ten 182

In a repeat of the epic match-up of the USC-Ohio State, the Pac Ten took bragging rights. The score was much closer this time but the west coast prevailed again. Aaron Rodgers(Cal) got his first defeat as a starter Sunday, but he led the way with 18 points at QB. T.J. Housmenzadeh(Oregon St) tallied 20 points at Wide receiver and Reggie Bush(USC) added 24 to lead the way. Not to be outdone, Marshawn Lynch(Cal) and Maurice Jones-Drew(UCLA) had 23 and 21 respectively.

The Big Ten had a good performance but it was not enough. T.J. Duckett(Mich St) came on the board for the first time with 19 against the hapless Rams. Brian Griese(Michigan) threw enough times to earn 21 points. Marion Barber(Minnesota) had another solid 20 point performance while the defense was lead by Antione Winfield() with 15 thanks to his sack, forced fumble, recovery and TD on Jake Delhomme right before the half.

MAC 84
Big East 111

The Big East battled hard and found a way to win against the MAC who had its problems. The old Syracuse stalwarts Donavan McNabb and Marvin Harrison contributed 10 points. Steve Slaton(West Virginia) was the high man with 17 points and a pair of Pitt receivers Larry Fitzgerald and Antonio Bryant earned 16 and 14 points respectively. Anthony Henry(South Florida) beat out his Cowboy teammate Pac-man Jones(West Virginia) by gaining 11 points at defensive back. The Big East may be out-manned but when the big guns perform they can get it done.

The MAC had as rough a week as Ben Roethlisberger(Miami OH). Byron Leftwich(Marshall) actually beat out Big Ben in points with a measly 2. Michael Turner(N. Illinois) was the lone bright spot with 28 points. The only other player in double digits was Greg Jennings(W. Michigan) with 11.

Conf USA 116
MWACBELTIND 140

The mish-mash conference team produced a win with some solid efforts including the new Gus Frerrote(Toldeo) experiment in Minnesota which produced 11 points. The running back tandem of LT(TCU) and Julius Jones(Notre Dame) scored 20 points each. Joey Porter() for once backed up his mouth and gained 16 points on the defense.

Conference USA had big numbers from Favre(Southern Miss) who had 20, Matt Forte(Tulane) also had 20, and Brandon Marshall() had another big week with 21. Roddy White() had 17 and a back flip, but with Tom Brady out it is hurting Randy Moss(Marshall) who figured to be a big play for the conference.

Here’s a look at the standings:

1. ACC 3-0
2. Pac Ten 3-0
3. SEC 2-1
4. Big Ten 2-1
5. MWACBELTIND 2-1
6. Big East 1-2
7. Conf USA 1-2
8. Big XII 0-3
9. FCS 0-3
10. MAC 0-3

Week 3 Match-ups:
SEC vs. Big Ten
ACC vs. Big XII
Div. I-AA vs. MWACBELTIND
MAC vs. Pac 10
Conference USA vs. Big East

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Alma Mater Conference Fantasia Week 2: Big Time Players Make Big Time ...somethin' somethin'

We are two weeks into our fantasy football experiment and so far no wins for the smaller conference against the big boys. We had a close call but close calls only count in cornhole and Kan-Jam. Results and standings inside.

Pac Ten 134
Big XII 123

The Big XII is really hurting for lack of a QB. Vince Young's injury and subsequent chicken wing bender has left the conference team without a signal caller. Aaron Rodgers(Cal) led the Pac Ten with 25 points agaisnt the Lions. Although I'm sure he cost someone out there their fantasy game this week, DeSean Jackson's(Cal) blunder did not cost the Pac Ten the win, he still contributed 11 points. The Panthers unleashed J-Stew(Oregon) in the second half as he scored twice and ended with 19 points. Reggie Bush(USC) again had a productive day with 14 points. Ryan Longwell(Cal) profited from Minnesota's inablity to cross the goaline. Cal again ws the MVP of the team as Marshawn Lynch also contributed. Darren Sprolles(Kansas St) and Adrian Peterson(Oklahoma) provided the punch for the Big XII with 24 and 18 points respectively. Justin Gage(Missouri), Quentin Jammer(Texas), and Mason Crosby(Colorado) were the only other members of the Big XII in double figures.

Big East 85
Big Ten 164

The Big Ten can take solace in the fact that their team is 2-0 after getting slammed in the big match-up of Ohio State and USC. The Big East just has too few players producing. Maybe I should have combined the Big East and MAC to create the Beasty MAC, but the Big East is an auto-bid league for the BCS so it will have to stand and take it. Donavan McNabb(Syracuse) had a good game Monday night, but only threw for one TD (DeSean ripple effect) and his former 'Cuse teammate Marvin Harrison only had 2 points. The only other big conributors were Larry Fitzgerald(Pitt) with 15, Michael Bush(Louisville) with 14, and kicker David Akers(Louisville) with 13. The Big Ten were in double digits at almost every position. Marion Barber(Minnesota) was their high scorer with 23 and other big scorers were Chris Chambers(Wisconsin), Chris Perry(Michigan), Anthony Gonzalez(Ohio St), Brandon Lloyd(Illinois), and Charles Woodson(Michigan).

Conference USA 115
MAC 74

The MAC is waiting anxiously for news about Big Ben's(Miami OH) shoulder. A rather weak performance from the MAC this week as Greg Jennings(Western Mich)with 16, it seems playing the Lions is good for the opposing team's fantasy numbers. Michael Turner(N Illinois) played Detroit last week and ran wild, this week he managed 4 points against the Bucs defense. The MAC's leading scorer was kicker Shaun Suisham(Bowling Green) with 12. Conference USA's roster is small but it packs a punch. Brandon Marshall(Central Florida) had a big day with 22 points of his 18 catch performance. Ahmad Bradshaw(Marshall), Isaac Bruce(Memphis) and Stephen Gostkowski(Memphis) were the high scorers for America's conference.

SEC 162
FCS Division 159
Oh so very close the FCS was in Week 2. The SEC had to squeak by just to be sure they did not fall to 0-2. Jay Cutler(Vandy) despite his fumble/blown dead ball/lucky bastard play scored 31 points thanks in part to the extra TD and conversion. Earnest Graham(Florida) provided the pop at running back with 18, while Darren McFadden(Arkansas) woke up with 21. Linebacker Patrick Willis(Ole Miss) came in with a big 17 points, scoring a TD from the defensive side. Kurt Warner(Northern Iowa) provided 26 big points for the FCS, and T.O.(Chattanooga) and Brian Westbrook(Villanova) had big scores from the Monday Night Football shoot-out. Westbrook also benefited from the DeSean play ripple, scoring from the 1 after the dead ball fumble. Great effort by the FCS, I definitely feel a few big wins coming for them against the big conferences this year.

MWACINDBELT 85
ACC 172

The ACC again lit up the scoreboard fantasy-wise this week. All but four positions were in double figures. Phillip Rivers(NC St) again lead the way at QB with 28. The U was well represented with 24 from Santanna Moss, 21 from Clinton Portis, 13 from Frank Gore, and 5 from Kellen Winslow. Anquan Boldin(Florida St) was the high scorer of the week with 32 points. Our MWACINDBELT melting pot team did not have a strong effort from its players, only Justin Tuck(Notre Dame) gained double figures. Jake Delhomme(LA-Lafayette) won against the Bears but only had 4 points in our league.

The standings last week were off, they have been corrected. Here where the conferences are at after 2 weeks:

1. ACC 2-0
2. Big Ten 2-0
3. Pac 10 2-0
4. MAC 1-1
5. Big East 1-1
6. SEC 1-1
7. Conference USA 1-1
8. MWACBELTIND 0-2
9. Big XII 0-2
10. FCS (Div. I-AA) 0-2

Week 2 Match-ups:
SEC vs. Big XII
ACC vs. FCS
Big Ten vs. Pac Ten
MAC vs. Big East
Conference USA vs. MWACINDBELT

Interesting to see how things shape up so far, we'll see if the ACC can continue dominating and if the Big XII can get a win next week.

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