COLLEGE GAMEDAY COLUMN: YES, IRELAND GOT SCREWED ... PLUS, SOME FOOTBALL PICKS

Executive Sports Editor Brad Carroll takes a look at the top games of the day
Last Week: 3-4 (spread); 6-1 (overall); 0-0 (upset picks)
Craig's Last Week: 4-3 (spread)
This Season: 39-37-1 (spread); 60-17 (overall); 6-4 (upset picks)
Craig's Season: 35-41-1 (spread)

Kansas at No. 3 Texas 8 p.m. ABC
The Skinny: While Texas continues to roll all the way to the Big 12 title game, Kansas is dealing with controversy — and it has little to do with its five game losing streak. Former Jayhawks players have claimed that coach Mark Mangino mainly mentally abused them and other players while at Kansas, using their backgrounds against them when things would go wrong. With or without the in-fighting, Texas rolls to a blowout victory. The Pick: Texas (-27.5) wins it 55-14.

No. 9 Ohio State at Michigan 12 p.m. ABC
The Skinny: There is little on the line in this matchup, other than the bragging rights that come with beating each’s main rival. But with how Michigan is playing, losing four in a row and seven of its last eight, it would be hard for the Buckeyes to even get up for sticking it to the hapless Wolverines. Ohio State has already clinched its spot in the Rose Bowl, but would like to win an outright Big 10 championship, which should be enough to rally for an easy win. The Pick: Ohio State (-12) wins it 28-12.

No. 10 LSU at Mississippi 3:30 p.m. CBS
The Skinny: It’s been a long while since I’ve picked an upset, so this seems like the perfect time to do it. LSU has beaten Ole Miss four straight times on the road and while it has no shot at a national title or even SEC championship, the Tigers are still hoping for a strong finish. The major question here is if LSU quarterback Jordan Jefferson can play, but it looks like he will. The Pick: LSU (+4.5) wins it 23-21.

No. 13 Penn State at Michigan St 3:30 p.m. ABC
The Skinny: Switching gears, I know a lot of readers out there have no care about the controversy surrounding the Ireland-France World Cup qualifier, but for this Irishman, the depression that followed after the game and the anger that has grown later was greater than anything I’ve felt in a long time. There is no “wait till next year” refrain in national soccer. There is no next year. The Pick: Penn State (-3) wins it 31-24.

Minnesota at No. 15 Iowa 12 p.m. ESPN
The Skinny: Ireland and its fans will have to wait four years to even get the opportunity to play in a game of this magnitude again. And to lose in the fashion that Ireland did only makes things worse. Which brings me to Thierry Henry, the cheat from France. Henry has tried his best to save face from his disgraceful performance in the game, where he committed two handballs. The Pick: Iowa (-10.5) wins it 28-10.

Virginia at No. 18 Clemson 3:30 p.m. ABC
The Skinny: Henry said that he told the ref that he cheated — after the game. Yesterday he said that the game should be replayed — after FIFA ruled that their would be no rematch between Ireland and France. He still claims that his handballs were instinctive and not on purpose. I hope everyone sees right through this fraud and treats him like the cheat he is. The Pick: Clemson (-21) wins it 41-14.

Connecticut at Notre Dame 2:30 p.m. NBC
The Skinny: And, yes, the entire French side should be ashamed of making it to the World Cup. The Pick: Notre Dame (-6) wins it 35-24. Here are Craig Carroll’s picks for the week: Kansas, Ohio State, LSU, Penn State, Minnesota, Clemson, UConn. Check out College GameDay Rewind at bradcarrollgameday.blogspot.com.

(AP photo)

FIFA REJECTS IRELAND'S APPEAL FOR REMATCH ... BUT HENRY NOW SAYS REPLAY THE GAME

FIFA today rejected Ireland's request for a replay of its World Cup qualifying game with France, saying that it cannot reverse a decision because of a judgment call by the referee. "The result of the match cannot be changed and the match cannot be replayed," FIFA said in a statement. "As is clearly mentioned in the Laws of the Game, during matches, decisions are taken by the referee and these decisions are final."

French cheat Thierry Henry, however, says now that he believes the game should be replayed. "Of course the fairest solution would be to replay the game, but it is not in my control," he said in a statement. "Naturally, I fell embarrassed at the way that we won and feel extremely sorry for the Irish, who definitely deserve to be in South Africa. There is little more I can do apart from admit that the ball had contact with my hand leading up to our equalizing goal and I feel very sorry for the Irish."

That statement keeps the door slightly ajar as the French could now request the game be replayed, although FIFA most likely still would not act on it. Irish captain Robbie Keane still hopes that it will. "To make such a statement took courage and honor, and all of us recognize that," Keane said of Henry. "I would also be happy for a replay to happen in the interest of fair play so that whichever team qualifies, can do so with their heads held high."

Many in France have called for a replay of the match, but FIFA apparently doesn't want to hear it as they have what they want - France in the World Cup.

IRELAND APPEALS TO FIFA AND THE FRENCH TO REPLAY LAST NIGHT'S WORLD CUP QUALIFIER

If the French thought the controversy surrounding France advancing to the World Cup by cheating would go away the day after, well, they would be wrong. The Irish soccer association has filed an official complaint with FIFA and wants the game against France to be replayed. While there is probably less than one percent chance that would happen, the outrage over the result just might sway FIFA and even the French side to consider replaying the game. Again, though, that could be a pipe dream at best for the Irish.

"If that result remains, it reinforces the view that if you cheat you will win," Irish Justice Minister Dermot Ahern said. "Millions of people worldwide saw it was a blatant double handball, not to mention a double offside. We should put the powers that be in the cozy world of FIFA on the spot and demand a replay."

With two French players offsides on the play as well, the officials missed a total of four fouls by France in a matter of seconds.

Irish coach Giovanni Trapattoni says that the possibility the game would be replayed is impossible, but there is precedent. In 2005, FIFA declared the result of a World Cup qualification match between Uzbekistan and Bahrain invalid after a referee's critical error. Also, Irish lawmaker Joe McHugh said France should follow the 1999 precedent set by Arsenal's French manager, Arsene Wenger, who volunteered to replay a match in England's FA Cup after Arsenal won on an unfair goal.

"If the game's going to survive, it's got to be an equal playing field," Ireland assistant manager Liam Brady said. "If we're going to have integrity and dignity in the world game, the game should be replayed. And we'll go to Paris to play it."

The heat is on FIFA, which was already under fire by fans for the notion that it wanted France and Portugal to advance to the World Cup at all costs. Last night's game does nothing to dispute that fact. "They probably won't grant it as we are minnows in world football," Ahern said, "but let's put them on the spot anyway."

Irish left back Kevin Kilbane said replays showed conclusively that Thierry Henry "handballed it once and it's still going out of play, so he's handled it again to make sure it doesn't go out of play. ... I asked him on the pitch, 'Did you handball it?' And he said, 'Yes - but I didn't mean it.'"

Kilbane, who also said he did not believe Henry, said he also asked Swedish referee Martin Hansson after the final whistle if he had seen it. "He said: 'I can 100 percent say it wasn't handball.' When he said that to me, I knew full well that he was just lying to me because he hadn't even seen it."

The only way the game will be replayed is if the French feel so much embarassment over cheating that they must replay the game in order to save face and make it the World Cup in a fair manner. Will that happen? Probably not. But at least the soccer world - outside of FIFA and France - are putting the pressure on in, at the least, exposing a grave injustice. Remember, the Irish will have to wait another four years to play in a game of this magnitude again. There isn't the typical "wait till next year" resolve.

IRELAND FEELS ROBBED OVER MISSED HANDBALLS IN CONTROVERSIAL LOSS TO FRANCE

Quotes from the aftermath of France's controversial draw/aggregate victory over Ireland Wednesday night.

''It was a handball, but I'm not the ref,'' Thierry Henry admitted on BBC Radio Five Live. ''The ball hit my arm, fell in front of me and I played it. The ref allowed it. That's a question you should ask him.''

France coach Raymond Domenech: "I did not see a hand. It's you people who are speaking about this. Sometimes we feel unlucky like we were against Serbia, sometimes we feel lucky. I just want to congratulate the Irish team. I am disappointed for the public and the fans. In a way, I regret that they did not qualify. I very happy for the players and the staff and the people here. The only word we need to say tonight is that we are very happy at the qualification."

Ireland coach Giovanni Trapattoni: "I am not only disappointed, I am also sad. It is a bitter evening. It's a bitter situation. I would prefer to have gone out on penalties. I am sad because the referee had time to ask the linesman. I am sure he should have, and he could have confirmed it was handball. I am upset. We speak many times about fair play. I go to schools and speak about fair play. I speak with the young kids about sport. Its important in life. Everybody saw the game. You know what happened."

Ireland defender Sean St Ledger told Sky Sports News: "We got robbed, you can tell by the boys' reaction it hit his hand blatantly. We feel cheated - we were the better team over the two legs, every football fan in the stadium will say we were the better team tonight. It's cost a lot of us our dreams - as a boy I used to dream of playing in the World Cup, and now I'm not.

"I don't understand why we haven't got replays in this day and age. You can get replays within 10, 30 seconds and it would have helped today.''

St. Ledger on Henry's part in the handball: "He's said it hit his hand accidentally but if you look at it you can clearly see it hits his hand twice. I'm not sure (his reputation) has been tarnished - it doesn't look great but he's got his team to the World Cup finals. If it had been one of our team we'd have probably done the same. The blame doesn't necessarily fall on him but he's handled it, everyone can see it around the world."

(AP photo)

DEPRESSION, ANGER SETS IN AS IRISH ARE ELIMINATED BY CONTROVERSIAL GOAL

Ireland started quick, scoring in the 33rd minute to gain a 1-0 advantage and completely take control of the game. But missed chance after missed chance allowed the French to stay in the game and go to extra time with an aggregate score at 1-1 after two full games. But France struck in the first overtime in controversial fashion, as not one, but two handball fouls were committed in the box and both were ignored or missed by the officials. So, France tied the game, but took the lead 2-1 on combined goals scored. Ireland, needing just one goal to advance to the World Cup, as the tiebreak is judged by away goals, just ran out of gas and couldn't get a solid chance. Even though the Irish outplayed the French for most of the game, France advances, while Ireland will have to wait another four years for the chance to qualify again. Robbie Keane scored the Irish goal but also had a couple of chance go awry. This was not the ending Irish fans were hoping for, especially after scoring an early goal to shock the French and put the game in their hands. Unfortunately, it wasn't meant to be as agony now takes hold of the once exuberant feeling that was felt after Keane struck first blood for the Irish. My face still burns with anger and depression as another World Cup will go on without the Irish.

(AP photos)

THE IRISH NEED SOME LUCK ... AND A PAIR OF GOALS ... TODAY AGAINST FRANCE

Today is just about as big as it gets if you happen to be Irish, as Ireland takes on France on the road needing a miracle goal or two to advance to the World Cup. After losing to France in the first leg of the playoff round 1-0 at home, Ireland needs to at least beat France today 1-0 to force extra time, or win and score two goals to automatically advance to the World Cup. It's not going to be easy but the great striker Robbie Keane and his club are ready. "As a team, we know exactly what we have to do - we have to go out and perform and make sure we have got no regrets. Overall, in the campaign itself, we haven't lost away from home and that has given us a lot of confidence. The manager has instilled that into us because the performances away from home have certainly been good and that's something we can take into [the game] also. It has been a decent campaign for us - but it will mean nothing if we don't produce. We are in this campaign to be at the World Cup and tonight will decide it."
So, needing to score tonight, here are some of the past great goals by the Irish side. Let's Go Ireland!

COLLEGE GAMEDAY REWIND: BELICHICK SAVES THE JETS SEASON AND JETER IS A BUM?!?!?!?!?!

Patriots coach Bill Belichick hasn’t done a whole lot to ever help the Jets over his career. But his decision to go for the first down instead of punting on fourth-and-two against the Colts Sunday night has completely changed the Jets season and the complexion of the AFC East. If Belicheat, I mean Belichick, punts the ball away and his defense stops Peyton Manning and the Colts from scoring a touchdown, not only are the Patriots in the driver’s seat for home field advantage, but New England all but clinches the division. Now, with the loss, home field advantage is gone and, best yet for Jets fans, the division race is once again up in the air. Of course, it could all be over a week from now, but due to Belichick’s decision, that is one week more than the Jets had earlier that afternoon. After losing to the Jaguars, the Jets’ season was simply over. But if the Jets can somehow beat the Patriots on Sunday – which is entirely possible – they will be just one game back and, on top of that, would own the tiebreaker. With the Patriots playing at the Saints and Dolphins the following two weeks and the Jets playing the Panthers and Bills, the Jets could actually find themselves all alone in first place. Shocking, I know. This all depends on the Jets actually winning some games, which has proven to be almost impossible since starting 3-0. And, as most Jets fans realize, if they do beat the Patriots this week, a devastating loss to the Panthers and/or Bills could easily follow and ruin everything once again. But, thanks to Belichick, that is a chance any Jets fan would take.

The picture above is of Yankees captain Derek Jeter, who is playing a bum in the new movie “The Other Guys.” Apparently, according to the New York Post, Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg play cops who are taken off the streets after Wahlberg’s character wrongly shoots Jeter in the leg after seeing him walk around with a bat. Jeter’s career obviously spins out of control afterward. Sounds like it could have some potential.

Vote now on all of the Thanksgiving week football matchups on the right side of the blog. Post your comments here as well to let us know who you think will win and why.

For the college picks, I didn’t have the bounce-back performance that I hoped for – thanks Miami and Notre Dame – but I’ll take the two-game improvement from last week. Craig finally bounced back from two straight 2-5 weeks to post a winning mark. The lead in the season race for yours truly is four games.

Now, on to College GameDay Rewind:

My Weekend: 3-4 (spread); 6-1 (overall); 0-0 (upset picks)
My Season: 39-37-1 (spread); 60-17 (overall); 6-4 (upset picks)
My Money: DOWN $170 (season)
Craig's Weekend: 4-3 (spread)
Craig's Season: 35-41-1 (spread)
Craig's Money: DOWN $1,010 (season)

No. 7 Georgia Tech -12.5 at Duke
My Pick: Georgia Tech 38, Duke 20
Actual Score: Georgia Tech 49, Duke 10
Sometimes there are those so-called lucky moments when a game like this comes around and you could almost bet the farm on the game and be completely confident you’d have somewhere to live afterward. That was the case here as I thought Georgia Tech was the easiest pick of the week and, perhaps, the entire season. Why the Yellowjackets were giving so little is still a question, but hey, I’ll take it. After Duke took an early 10-7 lead, Georgia Tech rolled off 42 straight points to make it a great start to the day. Both Craig and I start off 1-0.

No. 15 Iowa -16.5 at No. 10 Ohio State
My Pick: Ohio State 41, Iowa 17
Actual Score: Ohio State 27, Iowa 24
Well, I thought Ohio State would use the momentum of its upset victory over Penn State to roll to an easy win over an Iowa team led by a backup quarterback. Of course, I was wrong. Looking back, 17 points is a lot to ask for from a Big 10 team, so I probably should have gone in the opposite direction. With that said, however, the Buckeyes still led by 14 with 11 minutes to go. But the Hawkeyes answered an OSU score with a kickoff return for a touchdown that sunk my hopes rather quickly. Ohio State won the game in overtime. So, I even my record at 1-1, while Craig improves to 2-0.

No. 1 Florida -17.5 at South Carolina
My Pick: Florida 28, South Carolina 20
Actual Score: Florida 24, South Carolina 14
As everyone knows, I’m rooting hard for Florida to get upset before the SEC Championship game against Alabama, and this one came really close. South Carolina played great on defense, but just didn’t have the offense to complete the deal. The game changed completely when the Gamecocks had the ball at the Gators’ 22-yard-line down by just a field goal in the fourth quarter. But a tipped-pass interception by Florida ruined the South Carolina momentum and the game was quickly lost when the Gators went downfield and scored the put-away touchdown. Still, even though there was no upset, I improve my record to 2-1. Craig is bouncing back in a big way from two straight 2-5 weeks, moving to 3-0 on the day.

No. 12 Miami -3 at North Carolina
My Pick: Miami 23, North Carolina 14
Actual Score: North Carolina 33, Miami 24
Not much to say about this game, as North Carolina was never really in trouble. Miami is quickly becoming one of the teams on my “hate list,” the ones that always seem to give me a loss no matter the circumstances. At least I got to bask in the glory of watching Craig’s Hurricanes lose again. My record evens at 2-2 while Craig drops his first game of the day, 3-1.

No. 3 Alabama -12.5 at Mississippi State
My Pick: Alabama 27, Mississippi State 10
Actual Score: Alabama 31, Mississippi State 3
Just like the Georgia Tech game, I thought this matchup was very close to a so-called lock pick. Luckily, Alabama came through in a big way, rolling to an easy win over Mississippi State. While it’s unfortunate that Florida and Alabama will make it to the SEC title game undefeated – as I really want TCU to make it to the BCS championship – at least I won’t have to see Florida in the title game, as the overrated Gators should get stomped by the Tide. The real Top 25 rankings should have Alabama at No. 1, Texas at No. 2, TCU at No. 3, Florida at No. 4 and Cincinnati at No. 5. Craig and I both get the win with Alabama, so I improve to 3-2 and Craig moves to 4-1.

No. 16 Utah +20 at No. 7 TCU
My Pick: TCU 35, Utah 28
Actual Score: TCU 55, Utah 28
Even though I want TCU to slip into the national championship game, I just didn’t think the Horned Frogs would be able to roll over a very good Utah team at home. But they did. Utah still had plenty of chances to keep the score within 20 points, but TCU just never stopped coming and ended up beating the spread by a touchdown. The Frogs proved in this game how good they are and, as I said earlier, should be ranked ahead of Florida. Craig and I both take another loss and he drops to 4-2 and I fall o 3-3.

Notre Dame +6.5 at No. 8 Pittsburgh
My Pick: Pittsburgh 30, Notre Dame 23
Actual Score: Pittsburgh 27, Notre Dame 22
I thought this game was going to be the closest of the day – and the tightest pick against the spread – so I was thrilled when Pittsburgh controlled play for more than three quarters and led 27-9 with less than 10 minutes to go. I marked this one down as a victory and didn’t even check in on the score until after it went final. So, imagine my surprise when the final score read Pittsburgh 27, Notre Dame 22. What happened? Apparently the Irish made a huge comeback and actually had the ball in their hands with a chance to win the game outright, but Jimmy Clausen through an interception to end it. Not good for Notre Dame, Charlie Weis or my Panthers pick. What should have been a great win to close out the day for both Craig and I actually ends with a loss. Craig finishes with a 4-3 mark, while I finish 3-4 for the day.

GAMEDAY LIVE: NEW BRITAIN AT MANCHESTER

Manchester 19, New Britain 6
FINAL

SCORING SUMMARY
First Quarter
M-Seth DeValve 29 run (kick failed), 6:46.
M-DeValve 1 run (Matt Cassidy kick), 10:11.
Second Quarter
None
Third Quarter
None
Fourth Quarter
M-Josiah Phelphs 2 run (kick failed), 3:58.
NB-Kyree Largent fumble recovery (pass failed), 0:49.

GAMEDAY LIVE: CONARD AT SOUTHINGTON

Conard 40, Southington 20
FINAL

SCORING SUMMARY
First Quarter
C-Jonathan Esposito 33 run (kick failed), 6:26.
Second Quarter
S-Tyler Dube 17 pass from Connor Butkiewicz (pass failed), 8:54.
C-Esposito 15 run (run failed), 4:05.
C-Brady Collins 28 interception return (kick failed), 3:48.
Third Quarter
C-Esposito 69 run (kick good), 11:00.
S-Dube 19 pass from Butkiewicz (run failed), 3:55.
Fourth Quarter
C-Jerry Rivera 60 interception return (run good), 11:42.
C-Esposito 33 run (kick good), 8:27.
S-Dube 15 pass from Butkiewicz (conversion good), 7:24.

GAMEDAY LIVE: ST. PAUL AT TORRINGTON

St. Paul 26, Torrington 20
FINAL

SCORING SUMMARY
First Quarter
S-Chris Bachand 17 run (kick failed), 8:36.
T-Chris DeBerry 53 run (Brendon Lytten kick), 8:14.
Second Quarter
T-Jarred Williams 76 run (Lytten kick), 9:22.
Third Quarter
None
Fourth Quarter
S-Chris Bachand 16 run (Devin Zeller reception), 8:44.
S-Chris Bachand 16 run (kick failed), 4:45.
T-DeBerry 11 run (kick failed), 0:38.
S-Travis Thomas 5 pass from Tanner Bachand (kick failed), 0:03.