Holiday Observations
Posted November 27, 2005, 9:25 AM ET

I just love those long holiday weekends. There's nothing better than going back for seconds and thirds on pumpkin pie and sports action on the tube!

The college football regular season is complete and it looks like the much-maligned BCS is going to supply us with a true national championship showdown between USC and Texas. The game should be great with stars on both teams that we'll be watching for years to come every Sunday.

But before we get to the over-bloated bowl season, we have the conference championship games approaching this week. The SEC title game in Atlanta should be very entertaining with LSU and Georgia hooking up again in the Georgia Dome. They met a few years ago, and the Tigers wore out the Dawgs and eventually won a share of the national title with Nick Saban. The game this weekend should be competitive, and the outcome could be fascinating, too. The winner of the title game will be heading back to a return visit to the Georgia Dome, where they will play in the Sugar Bowl. The "Sugar" is displaced this year due to the hurricane damage at the Super Dome. The loser of the SEC title game might also return to the Georgia Dome to play in the Peach Bowl...

The ACC title game looks to be a dud. The Hokies are coming to Jacksonville as the defending champs, but they don't look to have much of a challenge in the suddenly inept FSU Seminoles. The 'Noles are riding a disappointing three-game losing streak and hardly look like a championship-caliber team at the moment. If Bobby Bowden's guys lose their fourth straight as expected, what bowl wants this depressed program?....Maybe the Peach Bowl...shoot, it seems like everybody ends up in Atlanta anyhow.

The Big XII has Texas against....well, does it really matter?

The Pac-10 has the USC-UCLA showdown...which might be the best game of the weekend.

The ACC-Big Ten Challenge is back this week. The ACC has never lost to the Big Ten in this made-for-TV event. Well, that might change this year. In fact, if the Big Ten drops the series to the ACC this time, perhaps it is time for the ACC to find another "challenge".

Personally, I think the ACC is way down from a year ago. Even Duke, which everybody pegged as the team to beat nationally, looks like a good team, but not a great one. The Blue Devils survived Memphis and Drexel over the weekend in New York. Yawn.

I just don't see the ACC as a world-beater for the 2005-06 season. I know it is early, but unless something dramatic happens and soon...I think this might be the most disappointing ACC basketball season that we've seen in quite some time. A quick look at the league and you can already draw some opinions:

Just check out the top 25...there's Duke, Boston College, Wake and Maryland. Yawn. Duke has survived a trip to Madison Square Garden; BC was able to find a way to beat Drake by three; the Deacs are lost without Chris Paul; and the Terps were handled by a good Gonzaga team.

The one ACC team that might be flying under the radar is N.C. State. That's right, the Wolfpack. Herb Sendek never gets any credit, especially from his own fans. State fans are still infatuated with Chuck Amato's shoes, glasses and his very average 6-5 football team. But Herb has his guys playing well and nobody is talking about them. We'll get a better handle on the Pack this week as they play at Iowa in the "Challenge". The Hawkeyes have already beaten Kentucky, and if State wins on the road, then add the Pack as a serious threat in the ACC.

Also in basketball news, the Charlotte 49'ers lived up to their nickname by scoring "nine" points in the first half against Mississippi State over the Thanksgiving holidays. I don't know why Bobby Lutz' gang is having such a terrible time shooting. I hope it is a short-lived trend. If this keeps up, maybe the Niners can schedule a game with Georgia Tech....the Jackets were waxed by something named UIC....by 22....at home.

The Tar Heels have a new corporate sponsor, Wachovia. Everywhere you look in the Dean Dome, you see the banking giant's name and logo. I sure hope Dean Smith banks with them! If Dean is a Bank of America guy, how can the school justify the new "corporate" look? It seems unusual to see all the corporate signage at the Smith Center....I guess it was inevitable. Everybody has a price, even UNC basketball.

Anybody see the Boston Celtics' "alternative" home jersey when they played the Bobcats? Like the Smith Center, I guess nothing is sacred anymore. The Celtics green and white jerseys are classics.....the new green/black home combo is brutal. I hope the NBA merchandise sales are up, because they ruined the Celtics' look.

However, during the Thanksgiving holiday season, one item in sports stayed constant. In fact, you can take this one to the bank....and that would be Wachovia if you are a UNC fan...The Carolina Panthers' Dan Morgan is hurt, and he didn't play in the game with the Buffalo Bills. Imagine that, Big Dan on the sidelines as the NFL season heads into December.