There were a lot of skeptics out there when it was announced that Hawaii and Illinois would both play in a BCS game, especially given the teams they had to suit up against. I, for one, thought that Illinois had a chance. I hadn’t seen Illinois a whole lot, but I did see them beat Ohio State, and the spurts and clips I saw throughout the season always made them out to be a very fast, quick team.

I was wrong.

Though I wasn’t as wrong as those people that really believed Hawaii actually had a shot. I said when that game was first announced that they’d get killed, and watching last night’s debacle did nothing to disprove that. Colt Brennan, thought to be one of the best quarterbacks in the nation, looked like a scared high schooler running around with no clue of where to throw it.

Two BCS games, two blowouts by the first quarter (in Illinois’ defense, they began to come back in the second half, but I don’t think anyone wearing Trojan red was ever very concerned). Tonight features two teams that should be a bit more evenly matched. I’m a little concerned with how West Virginia will play after a.) somehow losing to a 28 point underdog when they were a game away from playing on January 7 and b.) losing their coach because of that pitiful performance, only to have no replacement to date and c.) because Steve Slaton and Pat White could probably sprain an ankle if a stiff breeze came by these days.

Don’t get me wrong: I like WVU. I picked them at the beginning of the year to win it all, and when healthy, they’re as good and as fast as any team in the nation. Oklahoma packs a serious D, and with the question marks surrounding Morgantown, I just don’t know if they can win it.

At any rate, it’ll be better than any of the two that were played last night. For all the BCS proponents who say January 1 is just “so exciting,” they apparently weren’t watching the same TV I was. I had the USC game turned off by the third quarter, the UGA game by the second.

My pick tonight: I’ll say Oklahoma by 3. WVU is more talented, but Oklahoma’s had a much more. . . well, normal month than the Mountaineers.