OPINION

By Matt Hayes

updated 2:15 p.m. ET Nov. 21, 2008

Matt Hayes

The finish line is in front of us, and after Saturday we'll have a better understanding of how the BCS might shape up.

Here are 10 things to watch:

1. The Product principle
To understand the ridiculous catch-phrase is to understand where it came from: the NFL.

It was NFL scouts and personnel people who first used the catch-all phrase "product of the system" when analyzing college players they didn't think would fit in their boring, antiseptic league. It started with the Florida quarterbacks in the 1990s under Steve Spurrier and moved to Mike Leach's quarterbacks this decade at Texas Tech. And now it encompasses any quarterback in the spread system.

To this I say: So what?

If you're fortunate enough to play in a system that can make you successful, you should feel blessed — not ridiculed. If you have the physical attributes, the NFL will find you no matter where you play or what system you're in. Most of the "product of the system" guys wouldn't have made it in the NFL, anyway. The lack of physical skills ended most of those dreams.

Yet here's the problem: The "product of the system" asterisk has now become a way to minimize the impact of a player at the college level. Like it or not, if Texas Tech can't beat Oklahoma, Red Raiders quarterback Graham Harrell's magnificent season will come with that asterisk because "the system" can't function in big games on the road. But it's not about the system, it's about the player running the system.

Everyone is in a system. Is running back Jonathan Dwyer not having a big season because of Georgia Tech's funky Flex-bone offense? How about Oklahoma quarterback Sam Bradford? He takes a majority of his snaps in the shotgun. Should his unreal season be ridiculed because of it?

If Texas Tech beats OU it will be because Harrell had another accurate, efficient game, and made the right decisions on where to throw the ball. No more, no less.

It's enough already with this insulting "product of the system" talk. Let the guys who play those ultra-exciting, 17-10 games on Sunday worry about that.

2. Big Blue bust
If things aren't depressing enough for Michigan, consider this sobering statistic: This UM team already has lost more games (eight) than the Ohio State senior class.

The Buckeyes are 42-7 since 2005, and another victory ensures their fourth straight 10-win season and sixth in the last seven years. Another Ohio State win also guarantees that Rich Rodriguez becomes the first Michigan coach to not win his first game in the rivalry in 79 years.

The final dose of humility: Had Rod landed Ohio State quarterback Terrelle Pryor, this Michigan team would be 8-3 instead of 3-8. It's all about the quarterback, people.

3. Big Orange plans
It's becoming more obvious with each passing day: Brian Kelly is the coach Tennessee wants. But the Bearcats are in the middle of a championship run, and nothing — not even one of the top 10 jobs in the country — will deter Kelly from his goal of winning the Big East.

In Cincinnati, they call it the BK Way. He's demanding, he's driven, he's focused; and he wins everywhere he coaches. When you're banging heads with Nick Saban and Urban Meyer and Mark Richt and Les Miles, you better have someone who can handle the pressure of it all.

Here's what has to happen for this Tennessee search to end quickly: the Bearcats beat Pitt in Cincinnati, UConn loses at USF and West Virginia loses at Louisville. If that happens, Cincy clinches the Big East and a BCS bowl, and then Tennessee will close in on Kelly.

The hardest part of that scenario: Cincy beating Pitt, which is playing better than anyone in the league right now.

4. Take your pick
Quick show of hands: Which school made the worst panic hire? Louisville or West Virginia?

Steve Kragthorpe inherited an Orange Bowl champion team that lost one game and had 19 starters returning, and has 11 wins and 11 losses since. That team he inherited included the best passing quarterback in the nation in Brian Brohm.

Bill Stewart inherited a Fiesta Bowl champion team that lost two games, had a ton of team speed and the most dynamic player in the nation in quarterback Pat White — and is 6-3 going into this weekend's game at Louisville.

For all the grief Bobby Petrino and Rich Rodriguez endured for changing jobs, these two teams would look nothing like they do now had those two stayed. Or if there were a little more due diligence in finding the right replacement.

5. Rotten to the core
It's true, everyone. They're going to play the Apple Cup this weekend.

Video   Drive to the BCS: Tech to stop Sooners Nov. 19: Tiffany Simons and John Walters discuss Saturday's big Texas Tech-Oklahoma game. NBC Sports

Washington and Washington State could've easily gotten together and agreed to call it a tie and mercifully move one step closer to the end of these train wreck seasons. These teams are a combined 1-20, and the winless team (Washington) is favored by a touchdown. The only positive for Wazzu: It is a year ahead of UW in the race to respectability.

A plea to Washington president Mark Emmert: Please, please, please hire a coach who knows how to develop quarterbacks. It would be a shame to see uber-talented Jake Locker not reach his potential.

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