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.

The scores of today’s games, minus the Georgia/Hawaii game, which will probably result in a UGA blowout. It’s just underway, but everything else is official. Tomorrow features VT and Kansas.

Wisconsin Badgers 17, Tennessee Vols 21: With it being the 11:00 a.m. game the day after New Year’s Eve, I was a little late to tune in, even being a UT fan. What I watched was a game where Tennessee tried at every possession to give the game away, only for Wisconsin to give it right back. Erik Ainge passed for 365 yards and two touchdowns, 229 of those yards coming in the first half. Tyler Donovan played courageously against the Vols, getting hit every time he seemed to drop back, but finished with only 150 yards passing and one touchdown. It was the Vols first 10-win season since 2004.

Missouri Tigers 38, Arkansas Razorbacks 7: This game was pretty much over before it started. Featuring Felix Jones and Darren McFadden, you’d think one of those guys would have the big day on the ground, but instead Mizzou’s Tony Temple ran all over Arkansas’ D for 281 yards, a Cotton Bowl record.

Michigan Wolverines 41, Florida Gators 35: There was trash talking back and forth, but in the end Mike Hart and Chad Henne made sure to send Lloyd Carr out a winner. Florida’s defense couldn’t do anything all game, and while Tebow and the offense were successful, they often looked out of sync. Percy Harvin finished up with 166 yards rushing to go with 77 yards receiving.

Texas Tech 31, Virginia 28: I watched very little of this game. It was taking place during the Tennessee/Wisconsin game and also during the Michigan/Florida game. Both games featured more high profile teams, but neither was probably as good as this one. Virginia had a ten point lead in the second half, but fell short in the fourth quarter when Texas Tech nailed a game-winning field goal with .02 left.

Illinois 17, USC 49: If you watched this game — or at least the first half, upon which you became as bored as I did — then you saw one team that was really good and one team that was really, really overmatched. Illinois probably shouldn’t have been there in the first place. Illinois will be an exciting team to watch next year, but they never stood a chance in this one.