ROUND 2
SOUTH REGION
Alabama vs Georgia Tech, played in Atlanta, GA, Georgia Dome
Saturday Dec 26th 3:30pm
Weather at kickoff- game played indoors.
In a match-up of two teams that love to run the ball, Georgia Tech and Alabama clashed in the trenches of the Georgia Dome in Atlanta. Alabama ranks 12th in the nation running the ball and 2nd in run defense and total defense. The Tide lead the nation in scoring defense, allowing just 11 ppg. Georgia Tech on the other hand, is 2nd in the nation running the ball at over 300 yards per game, but 67th at stopping the run. Something would have to give in Atlanta.
Mark Ingram started the scoring on a 3-yard plunge on the Tides first drive that went 74 yards on 9 plays. Ingram had 6 carries for 51 yards on the drive. Not to be out down though Jonathan Dwyer got the ball on Tech’s first two plays and broke runs of 11 and 14 before a holding penalty stalled the drive forcing a GT punt. Bama scored again on their next possession and the one after that as they jumped out to a 21-3 lead at the end of the 1st quarter. The run-first offense from Georgia Tech is not made to play from behind and struggled mightily to stay in the game as Alabama continued to move the ball at will on the Yellow Jackets defense, taking a 31-10 lead into the locker room at halftime. Alabama put it into cruise control in the 2nd half and will host one of the two national semifinals next week.
ALABAMA 41, GEORGIA TECH 13
MIDWEST REGION
Texas vs Oregon, played in Dallas, TX, Cowboys Stadium
Saturday Dec 26th 7:00pm
Weather at kickoff- 37 degrees, partly cloudy
Two high-powered offenses met in the new Cowboys Stadium and lit up the $40M Jumbotron. This got started with both teams scoring on their first drives and having the feel that the team that has the ball last will win. Sure enough, that is exactly how it played out.
Colt McCoy led the Longhorns downfield and hit WR Dan Buckner on a 12-yard strike to get the scoring parade underway. Just three plays later, the Ducks tied the game on a 47-yard run by freshman sensation LaMichael James. This high-paced game continued through the first half as Oregon went into halftime holding a 24-21 lead. The second half was much of the same. Jeremiah Masoli scored on the QB keeper on the Ducks first possession of the second half to extend the lead to 10 points before Colt McCoy rallied his troops. McCoy and the Longhorns scored 21 straight points in the 3rd quarter to take a 42-31 lead going into the final quarter. After another James TD run for the Ducks to cut the lead to 42-38, the Oregon defense stepped up and did a little scoring of their own when Talmadge Jackson scooped up a Vondrell McGee fumble and raced 37 yards into the end zone.
With the score 45-42 Oregon, Colt McCoy once again worked his magic and put the Longhorns in field goal range with under a minute to play. Hunter Lawrence, who had already made 95 kicks this season, tied the game with a 38 yard field goal with :49 left on the clock. But 49 seconds was enough time for Jeremiah Masoli and the Ducks offense to get once last crack. Masoli completed 3 straight passes including a 29 yarder to Tight End Ed Dickson that moved the ball to the Texas 11 yard line with six seconds to play. Morgan Flint kicked home a 29 yard field goal as time expired to lift the Ducks to an upset victory over the second-seeded Texas Longhorns.
OREGON 48, TEXAS 45
WEST REGION
TCU vs Boise State, played in Phoenix, AZ, University of Phoenix Stadium
Saturday Dec 26th, 10:30pm
Weather at kickoff- game played indoors
Phoenix hosted a match-up of two non-BCS conference teams fighting to join the elite in the Final Four of the college football season. However, this game did not look like two non-BCS teams. One team looked far superior.
TCU dominated every aspect of this game from the start. The Horned Frogs defense forced a normally sure handed Boise State squad into five turnovers while the offense ran up and down the field on the Broncos. TCU was led by QB Andy Dalton who accounted for over 350 yards of total offense and 4 scores. Jerry Hughes and Tank Carder who were in the Boise State backfield all night led the defense.
After the embarrassing loss, Boise State head coach Chris Petersen has been linked to the newly available coaching job at Texas Tech.
TCU 51, BOISE STATE 21
EAST REGION
Cincinnati vs Florida, played in Boston, MA, Gillette Stadium
Saturday Dec 26th, NOON
Weather at kickoff- 38 degrees with a light fall of freezing rain
The Brian Kelly-less Cincinnati Bearcats wanted to prove to the nation that it was not the coach that got this team to 13-0, it was the players. What better stage to prove that than to beat the defending national champions and Tim Tebow?
Tim Tebow and the Florida Gator offense came out red-hot in the 1st quarter and took at 17-7 lead with the help of two 1-yard runs by Tebow. Tebow was sporting eye-black stickers with the word “URB” written on them, as opposed to his normal bible scriptures, in support of his head coach Urban Meyer who told his Gator team before the game that he would be stepping down after the game due to health issues.
Tony Pike and the Bearcats offense got rolling in their first possession of the second quarter as they drove 89 yards on 9 plays for a score. Pike was 8-8 on the drive and accounted for 84 yards. The drive was capped off by the only running play of the drive, a 5-yard draw to Isaiah Pead. After both defenses held up Florida ended the half with a 37-yard field goal by Caleb Sturgis as time expired.
The size and speed of Florida started to wear down the Cincinnati team as the game grew on and it showed. The Gators established a running game between Tebow and speed back Jeffrey Demps and the Gators pass-rush pressured Pike and the Bearcat offense into uncommon mistakes.
After the game Urban Meyer said that he would be back next week despite what he told his players before the game saying, “I thought it would motivate them a little bit and the would want to go out and win one for me. I would never leave Florida; I am living the dream right now!”
FLORIDA 34, CINCINNATI 20
NATIONAL SEMI-FINALS
Oregon @ Alabama, Saturday Jan 2nd, 8:00 start
AND
Florida @ TCU, Saturday Jan 2nd, 3:30 start
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Monday, December 21, 2009
THE REITMEYER RANT COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYOFF
ROUND 1
SOUTH REGION
Pitt @ Alabama
Saturday Dec 19th 3:30pm
Weather at kickoff- 42 degrees, light winds.
The Panthers took the opening kick-off and put points on the board. Pitt drove 52 yards in 9 plays and Dan Hutchins finished the drive by making a 41-yard FG. After that, it was all down hill for the Panthers though. This game was played in the trenches and that is where Alabama excels. The Tide defense held freshman RB Dion Lewis to just 91 yards on 32 carries, it was only the 4th time Lewis did not surpass 100 this season. Meanwhile, Alabama tailback Mark Ingram showed off his Heisman Trophy winning skills while running for 132 and 3 scores against the Panthers.
ALABAMA 27, PITT 10
Georgia Tech @ Ohio State
Saturday Dec 19th 3:30pm
Weather at kickoff- 33 degrees, light winter mix of rain and snow
Josh Nesbitt took the title most versatile quarterback in his showdown with Ohio State star Terrelle Pryor. Nesbitt did a little bit of everything for the Yellow Jackets. Nesbitt started the day by breaking a 61-yard run on the first play from scrimmage and never looked back. Tech back Jonathan Dwyer finished that first drive with a 2-yard dive into the endzone to put GT up 7-0. Pryor did what he could to help the Buckeyes throwing for 217 and 2 TD’s and running for 1 more, but Ohio State had no answer for the duo from Georgia Tech. Dwyer finished the game with 171 and 2 TD’s and Nesbitt ran for 142 and a score while throwing 1 more score.
GEORGIA TECH 38, OHIO STATE 24
NEXT GAME:
Alabama vs Georgia Tech, 3:30pm Saturday Dec 26th, Georgia Dome
MIDWEST REGION
BYU @ Texas
Saturday Dec 19th 8:00pm
Weather at kickoff- 47 degrees, partly cloudy
Max Hall, senior QB at BYU, said earlier in the week that his team would have to play a nearly perfect game to upset the Longhorns, but he didn’t help matter himself. Hall threw for over 3,000 yards and 30 TD’s this season, but he also threw 14 INT’s and it was the INT’s that came back to hurt him in this match-up. The Longhorns picked off Hall three times, returning one for a touchdown as the Texas defense dominated from start to finish. Heisman finalist Colt McCoy didn’t put up great numbers but the offense did enough to win the game. McCoy threw for one interception of his own, but he also threw for 251 and 2 scores. Short yardage bruiser Cody Johnson scored twice also for Texas. Johnson finished the game with 4 carries for 5 yards and 2 TD’s.
TEXAS 41, BYU 10
Penn State @ Oregon
Saturday Dec 19th 8:00pm
Weather at kickoff- 57 degrees and cloudy
The Nittany Lions traveled to Oregon for the first time under Joe Paterno, but it was not a memorable trip. Oregon showed why speed kills in sports and scored on 5 of their 6 first half possessions. Penn State made adjustments at halftime and limited the Ducks to just 7 second half points but it was too little too late. Jeremiah Masoli started the scoring off for the Ducks with an 8 yard toss to TE Ed Dickson to take a 7-0 lead. Masoli scored on a QB keeper on the next possession to make it 14-0. After a Derek Moye 18 yard TD catch for Penn State and a stop on defense the Lions looked to be right back in the game. However, on the first play of the possession for Penn State Daryll Clark threw an interception that was returned to the 6-yard line by Oregon. 2 plays later LaMichael James run in from 5 yards and the Ducks never looked back.
OREGON 38, PENN STATE 20
NEXT GAME:
Texas vs Oregon, 7:00pm Saturday Dec 26th, Cowboys Stadium
WEST REGION
Miami @ TCU
Friday Dec 18th 7:00pm
Weather at kickoff- 41 degrees and clear
TCU jumped on Miami early and showed why they are #1 in total defense in the nation. The Hurricanes were held to just 178 yards of offense and their lone score came on a Graig Cooper 97-yard kickoff return. The Horned Frogs meanwhile had no trouble moving the ball. Five different TCU players found the endzone and Andy Dalton threw for 4 scores.
TCU 45, MIAMI 7
Iowa @ Boise State
Friday Dec 18th, 10:30pm
Weather at kickoff- 39 degrees
Iowa controlled the tempo of this game from the beginning and seemed to have Boise State making a lot uncharacteristic mistakes for the first 45 minutes of the game. Going into the 4th quarter Ricky Stanzi led the Hawkeyes to 17-7 lead, but the Broncos finally woke up and made the game interesting. Boise State, who was a +19 in turnovers coming into the game, had 5 TO’s in the first three quarters, but sophomore QB Kellen Moore threw at TD pass to Titus Young on the second play of the 4th quarter to cut the Hawkeye lead to 3. After a 3-and-out by Iowa, Moore wasted no time at all and found Young again after a flee-flicker for a 58-yard score. Boise State would add two more scores in the fourth quarter to finish off the Big Ten runner-up.
BOISE STATE 35, IOWA 24
NEXT GAME:
TCU vs Boise State, 10:30pm Saturday Dec 26th, University of Phoenix Stadium
EAST REGION
LSU @ Cincinnati
Saturday Dec 19th, NOON
Weather at kickoff- 34 degrees and light snowfall
In their first game without new Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly running the show there were lots of questions about the Cincinnati offense, Tony Pike and Co. answered those questions quickly. Tony Pike connected with Mardy Gilyard for a 33-yard TD reception and hooked up with D.J. Woods on the teams second possession and the Bearcats jumped out to a 14-0 lead after the 1st quarter. LSU, who is not known for their offense, had a tough time playing catch-up. Charles Scott got LSU on the board early in the 2nd quarter with a 16 yard run. Josh Jasper added a 49-yard FG for the Tigers to cut the lead to 14-10, but Pike struck again. This time Pike connected with Armon Binns from 12 yards out to put the Bearcats up 21-10 at the half. LSU established a power running game with Scott in the second half, but could never overcome that early 1st quarter deficit.
CINCINNATI 37, LSU 21
Virginia Tech @ Florida
Saturday Dec 19th, NOON
Weather at kickoff- 58 degrees with strong winds
The Florida Gators are known most recently for their all-everything QB Tim Tebow, but this game was dominated by their all-everything defensive line. Yes, Tebow played well totaling over 300 yards of offense and score 4 TD’s (2 run, 2 pass), but the story of the day was the play of the Gators front 4. Virginia Tech freshman running back Ryan Williams had averaged 128 ypg this season, he had 14 yards on Saturday. Carlos Dunlap and Jermaine Cunningham each had three sacks and the Gators totaled eight on the afternoon. The Hokies did not cross midfield until the 12:08 mark of the third quarter.
FLORIDA 31, VIRGINIA TECH 3
NEXT GAME
Cincinnati vs Florida, NOON Saturday Dec 26th, Gillette Stadium
SOUTH REGION
Pitt @ Alabama
Saturday Dec 19th 3:30pm
Weather at kickoff- 42 degrees, light winds.
The Panthers took the opening kick-off and put points on the board. Pitt drove 52 yards in 9 plays and Dan Hutchins finished the drive by making a 41-yard FG. After that, it was all down hill for the Panthers though. This game was played in the trenches and that is where Alabama excels. The Tide defense held freshman RB Dion Lewis to just 91 yards on 32 carries, it was only the 4th time Lewis did not surpass 100 this season. Meanwhile, Alabama tailback Mark Ingram showed off his Heisman Trophy winning skills while running for 132 and 3 scores against the Panthers.
ALABAMA 27, PITT 10
Georgia Tech @ Ohio State
Saturday Dec 19th 3:30pm
Weather at kickoff- 33 degrees, light winter mix of rain and snow
Josh Nesbitt took the title most versatile quarterback in his showdown with Ohio State star Terrelle Pryor. Nesbitt did a little bit of everything for the Yellow Jackets. Nesbitt started the day by breaking a 61-yard run on the first play from scrimmage and never looked back. Tech back Jonathan Dwyer finished that first drive with a 2-yard dive into the endzone to put GT up 7-0. Pryor did what he could to help the Buckeyes throwing for 217 and 2 TD’s and running for 1 more, but Ohio State had no answer for the duo from Georgia Tech. Dwyer finished the game with 171 and 2 TD’s and Nesbitt ran for 142 and a score while throwing 1 more score.
GEORGIA TECH 38, OHIO STATE 24
NEXT GAME:
Alabama vs Georgia Tech, 3:30pm Saturday Dec 26th, Georgia Dome
MIDWEST REGION
BYU @ Texas
Saturday Dec 19th 8:00pm
Weather at kickoff- 47 degrees, partly cloudy
Max Hall, senior QB at BYU, said earlier in the week that his team would have to play a nearly perfect game to upset the Longhorns, but he didn’t help matter himself. Hall threw for over 3,000 yards and 30 TD’s this season, but he also threw 14 INT’s and it was the INT’s that came back to hurt him in this match-up. The Longhorns picked off Hall three times, returning one for a touchdown as the Texas defense dominated from start to finish. Heisman finalist Colt McCoy didn’t put up great numbers but the offense did enough to win the game. McCoy threw for one interception of his own, but he also threw for 251 and 2 scores. Short yardage bruiser Cody Johnson scored twice also for Texas. Johnson finished the game with 4 carries for 5 yards and 2 TD’s.
TEXAS 41, BYU 10
Penn State @ Oregon
Saturday Dec 19th 8:00pm
Weather at kickoff- 57 degrees and cloudy
The Nittany Lions traveled to Oregon for the first time under Joe Paterno, but it was not a memorable trip. Oregon showed why speed kills in sports and scored on 5 of their 6 first half possessions. Penn State made adjustments at halftime and limited the Ducks to just 7 second half points but it was too little too late. Jeremiah Masoli started the scoring off for the Ducks with an 8 yard toss to TE Ed Dickson to take a 7-0 lead. Masoli scored on a QB keeper on the next possession to make it 14-0. After a Derek Moye 18 yard TD catch for Penn State and a stop on defense the Lions looked to be right back in the game. However, on the first play of the possession for Penn State Daryll Clark threw an interception that was returned to the 6-yard line by Oregon. 2 plays later LaMichael James run in from 5 yards and the Ducks never looked back.
OREGON 38, PENN STATE 20
NEXT GAME:
Texas vs Oregon, 7:00pm Saturday Dec 26th, Cowboys Stadium
WEST REGION
Miami @ TCU
Friday Dec 18th 7:00pm
Weather at kickoff- 41 degrees and clear
TCU jumped on Miami early and showed why they are #1 in total defense in the nation. The Hurricanes were held to just 178 yards of offense and their lone score came on a Graig Cooper 97-yard kickoff return. The Horned Frogs meanwhile had no trouble moving the ball. Five different TCU players found the endzone and Andy Dalton threw for 4 scores.
TCU 45, MIAMI 7
Iowa @ Boise State
Friday Dec 18th, 10:30pm
Weather at kickoff- 39 degrees
Iowa controlled the tempo of this game from the beginning and seemed to have Boise State making a lot uncharacteristic mistakes for the first 45 minutes of the game. Going into the 4th quarter Ricky Stanzi led the Hawkeyes to 17-7 lead, but the Broncos finally woke up and made the game interesting. Boise State, who was a +19 in turnovers coming into the game, had 5 TO’s in the first three quarters, but sophomore QB Kellen Moore threw at TD pass to Titus Young on the second play of the 4th quarter to cut the Hawkeye lead to 3. After a 3-and-out by Iowa, Moore wasted no time at all and found Young again after a flee-flicker for a 58-yard score. Boise State would add two more scores in the fourth quarter to finish off the Big Ten runner-up.
BOISE STATE 35, IOWA 24
NEXT GAME:
TCU vs Boise State, 10:30pm Saturday Dec 26th, University of Phoenix Stadium
EAST REGION
LSU @ Cincinnati
Saturday Dec 19th, NOON
Weather at kickoff- 34 degrees and light snowfall
In their first game without new Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly running the show there were lots of questions about the Cincinnati offense, Tony Pike and Co. answered those questions quickly. Tony Pike connected with Mardy Gilyard for a 33-yard TD reception and hooked up with D.J. Woods on the teams second possession and the Bearcats jumped out to a 14-0 lead after the 1st quarter. LSU, who is not known for their offense, had a tough time playing catch-up. Charles Scott got LSU on the board early in the 2nd quarter with a 16 yard run. Josh Jasper added a 49-yard FG for the Tigers to cut the lead to 14-10, but Pike struck again. This time Pike connected with Armon Binns from 12 yards out to put the Bearcats up 21-10 at the half. LSU established a power running game with Scott in the second half, but could never overcome that early 1st quarter deficit.
CINCINNATI 37, LSU 21
Virginia Tech @ Florida
Saturday Dec 19th, NOON
Weather at kickoff- 58 degrees with strong winds
The Florida Gators are known most recently for their all-everything QB Tim Tebow, but this game was dominated by their all-everything defensive line. Yes, Tebow played well totaling over 300 yards of offense and score 4 TD’s (2 run, 2 pass), but the story of the day was the play of the Gators front 4. Virginia Tech freshman running back Ryan Williams had averaged 128 ypg this season, he had 14 yards on Saturday. Carlos Dunlap and Jermaine Cunningham each had three sacks and the Gators totaled eight on the afternoon. The Hokies did not cross midfield until the 12:08 mark of the third quarter.
FLORIDA 31, VIRGINIA TECH 3
NEXT GAME
Cincinnati vs Florida, NOON Saturday Dec 26th, Gillette Stadium
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
The Rant's 1st Annual Football Playoff
The Reitmeyer Rant College Football Playoff
Every year around this time people are discussing the possibility of having a playoff for college football, so instead of just discussing the matter, I decided create a system and forecast the games. Here we go.
This would be a 16-team playoff, played in four geographical regions, similar to the NCAA Tournament. Teams would be seeded 1-16, with the top 4 seeds determining their geographical regions. Here are some guidelines that I created for the selection and seeding process.
*There would be 8 automatic bids given to the winners of each of these conferences: ACC, Big Ten, Big XII, Big East, Mountain West, PAC-10, SEC and WAC. That would fill out half of you field. The other 8 spots would be at large spots.
*Any school that finishes the season in the Top 10 and wins their conference and their conference is not one of the eight automatic qualifying conferences gets an automatic at-large spot.
*The at-large spots, as well as seeding go based on your average result in the human polls (AP and coaches). If there is a tie, the team with the best win (win versus the highest ranked team) is selected. If neither team have a win versus a ranked opponent, or they share a same opponent then the team with the most overall wins is selected.
*No more than 3 schools per conference is allowed to make the tournament.
*If a school is a Top 4 seed, then they cannot play another conference foe until the semi-finals.
As for where these games would be played, that is a little tricky, but I think I came up with a pretty good solution.
*All 1st round games would be played at the home venue of the top seeds. These games would be played on the 3rd Saturday in December.
*All 2nd round games would be played at a predetermined location depending on your geographical region. The 4 regions would be EAST, WEST, SOUTH, MIDWEST. These games would be played on the 4th Saturday in December.
*I have come up with 38 different venues in these regions that you could host these games.
EAST REGION: Gillette Stadium in Boston, Fed-Ex Field in Washington, The New Meadowlands in NJ, Lincoln Financial in Philadelphia, M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore, Heinz Field in Pittsburgh, Ralph Wilson Stadium in Buffalo, Cleveland Browns Stadium in Cleveland, Carrier Dome in Syracuse.
WEST REGION: Rose Bowl in Pasadena, LA Coliseum in Los Angeles, The Sun Bowl in El Paso, Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, University of Phoenix Stadium in Phoenix, Qwest Field in Seattle, Candlestick in San Francisco, Invesco Filed in Denver, Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego.
SOUTH REGION: Back of America Stadium in Charlotte, Georgia Dome in Atlanta, Municipal Stadium in Jacksonville, Landshark Stadium in Miami, Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Doak Campbell Stadium in Tallahassee, LP Field in Nashville, Superdome in New Orleans, The Alamo Dome in San Antonio, Reliant Stadium in Houston
MIDWEST REGION: Soldier Field in Chicago, Ford Field in Detroit, Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis, Cowboy Stadium in Dallas, Texas Stadium in Austin, Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, HHH Dome in Minnesota, Paul Brown Stadium in Cincinnati, Ohio Stadium in Columbus.
In the selections I tried to use stadiums that are big enough to hold such an event and in cities that are also able to host that many visitors. As you can see, most of these are in NFL stadiums, but some bigger college venues were also selected. There would be no rule against playing in your home city or even home stadium. Tickets sales would be sold 50-50, so even with a home field advantage, the fan bases should even out.
*3rd round/semi-final games would go back to the home site of the top remaining seeds. These games would be played on the 5th Saturday of December or the 1st Saturday of January.
*4th round/championship game would be played in a previously determined warm weather site.
This is what the seeding would look like this season.
1. Alabama (SEC Champion)
2. Texas (Big XII Champion)
3. TCU (Mountain West Champion)
4. Cincinnati (Big East Champion)
5. Florida (at-large)
6. Boise State (WAC Champion)
7. Oregon (PAC-10 Champion)
8. Ohio State (Big Ten Champion)
9. Georgia Tech (ACC Champion)
10. Penn State (at-large)
11. Iowa (at-large)
12. Virginia Tech (at-large)
13. LSU (at-large)
14. Miami (at-large)
15. BYU (at-large)
16. Pitt (at-large)
This would be the schedule and match-ups for the playoff under this format this season.
SOUTH REGION, Regional Final played in Atlanta, GA
Games played on Saturday Dec 19th
16. Pitt @ 1. Alabama
9. Georgia Tech @ 8. Ohio State
MIDWEST REGION, Regional Final played in Dallas, TX
Games played on Saturday Dec 19th
15. BYU @ 2. Texas
10. Penn State @ 7. Oregon
WEST REGION, Regional Final played in Phoenix, AZ
Games played on Saturday Dec 19th
14. Miami @ 3. TCU
11. Iowa @ 6. Boise State
EAST REGION, Regional Final played Boston, MA
Games played on Saturday Dec 19th
13. LSU @ 4. Cincinnati
12. Virginia Tech @ 5. Florida
Regional final games would be played on Saturday December 26th at a neutral site.
National Semi-final games would be played on Saturday January 2nd at the home field on the top two remaining seeds. There would be re-seeding for the national semi-finals.
The National Championship would be played on the Monday after the first week of the NFL playoffs, in this case it would be Monday January 11th.
Three reasons that the universities claim not to want a playoff at the D1 level are:
1. LENGTH OF SEASON. Well this format does extend the season by 4 whole days. With the recent addition of the extra BCS National Championship game the season already runs through the entire first week on January, what is an extra 3-4 days?
2. TRAVEL. Well fans already travel for bowl games and the universities count on them to do so, but this format gives you 2 games on a home field and 1 game on a geographically regional site. So you could technically go to all 4 games without much more travel then you would for say a conference championship game and a bowl game.
3. TOO MANY GAMES. This is the biggest joke of them all. 90% of these games would be played while the kids are on winter break first of all, and secondly if it is okay to do it at every other level why wouldn’t it work at the top level? The student athletes in the other levels are all doing it and those kids are true student athletes. Those players will most likely need their degree for job opportunities after graduation. There are more D1 players that will make it to the NFL than all the other levels combined, yet these kids need to be in class more? Their education is more important than the kid who will need his degree for a job after college?
Stay tuned for the results of the 1st round of The Reitmeyer Rant Playoff.
Every year around this time people are discussing the possibility of having a playoff for college football, so instead of just discussing the matter, I decided create a system and forecast the games. Here we go.
This would be a 16-team playoff, played in four geographical regions, similar to the NCAA Tournament. Teams would be seeded 1-16, with the top 4 seeds determining their geographical regions. Here are some guidelines that I created for the selection and seeding process.
*There would be 8 automatic bids given to the winners of each of these conferences: ACC, Big Ten, Big XII, Big East, Mountain West, PAC-10, SEC and WAC. That would fill out half of you field. The other 8 spots would be at large spots.
*Any school that finishes the season in the Top 10 and wins their conference and their conference is not one of the eight automatic qualifying conferences gets an automatic at-large spot.
*The at-large spots, as well as seeding go based on your average result in the human polls (AP and coaches). If there is a tie, the team with the best win (win versus the highest ranked team) is selected. If neither team have a win versus a ranked opponent, or they share a same opponent then the team with the most overall wins is selected.
*No more than 3 schools per conference is allowed to make the tournament.
*If a school is a Top 4 seed, then they cannot play another conference foe until the semi-finals.
As for where these games would be played, that is a little tricky, but I think I came up with a pretty good solution.
*All 1st round games would be played at the home venue of the top seeds. These games would be played on the 3rd Saturday in December.
*All 2nd round games would be played at a predetermined location depending on your geographical region. The 4 regions would be EAST, WEST, SOUTH, MIDWEST. These games would be played on the 4th Saturday in December.
*I have come up with 38 different venues in these regions that you could host these games.
EAST REGION: Gillette Stadium in Boston, Fed-Ex Field in Washington, The New Meadowlands in NJ, Lincoln Financial in Philadelphia, M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore, Heinz Field in Pittsburgh, Ralph Wilson Stadium in Buffalo, Cleveland Browns Stadium in Cleveland, Carrier Dome in Syracuse.
WEST REGION: Rose Bowl in Pasadena, LA Coliseum in Los Angeles, The Sun Bowl in El Paso, Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, University of Phoenix Stadium in Phoenix, Qwest Field in Seattle, Candlestick in San Francisco, Invesco Filed in Denver, Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego.
SOUTH REGION: Back of America Stadium in Charlotte, Georgia Dome in Atlanta, Municipal Stadium in Jacksonville, Landshark Stadium in Miami, Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Doak Campbell Stadium in Tallahassee, LP Field in Nashville, Superdome in New Orleans, The Alamo Dome in San Antonio, Reliant Stadium in Houston
MIDWEST REGION: Soldier Field in Chicago, Ford Field in Detroit, Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis, Cowboy Stadium in Dallas, Texas Stadium in Austin, Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, HHH Dome in Minnesota, Paul Brown Stadium in Cincinnati, Ohio Stadium in Columbus.
In the selections I tried to use stadiums that are big enough to hold such an event and in cities that are also able to host that many visitors. As you can see, most of these are in NFL stadiums, but some bigger college venues were also selected. There would be no rule against playing in your home city or even home stadium. Tickets sales would be sold 50-50, so even with a home field advantage, the fan bases should even out.
*3rd round/semi-final games would go back to the home site of the top remaining seeds. These games would be played on the 5th Saturday of December or the 1st Saturday of January.
*4th round/championship game would be played in a previously determined warm weather site.
This is what the seeding would look like this season.
1. Alabama (SEC Champion)
2. Texas (Big XII Champion)
3. TCU (Mountain West Champion)
4. Cincinnati (Big East Champion)
5. Florida (at-large)
6. Boise State (WAC Champion)
7. Oregon (PAC-10 Champion)
8. Ohio State (Big Ten Champion)
9. Georgia Tech (ACC Champion)
10. Penn State (at-large)
11. Iowa (at-large)
12. Virginia Tech (at-large)
13. LSU (at-large)
14. Miami (at-large)
15. BYU (at-large)
16. Pitt (at-large)
This would be the schedule and match-ups for the playoff under this format this season.
SOUTH REGION, Regional Final played in Atlanta, GA
Games played on Saturday Dec 19th
16. Pitt @ 1. Alabama
9. Georgia Tech @ 8. Ohio State
MIDWEST REGION, Regional Final played in Dallas, TX
Games played on Saturday Dec 19th
15. BYU @ 2. Texas
10. Penn State @ 7. Oregon
WEST REGION, Regional Final played in Phoenix, AZ
Games played on Saturday Dec 19th
14. Miami @ 3. TCU
11. Iowa @ 6. Boise State
EAST REGION, Regional Final played Boston, MA
Games played on Saturday Dec 19th
13. LSU @ 4. Cincinnati
12. Virginia Tech @ 5. Florida
Regional final games would be played on Saturday December 26th at a neutral site.
National Semi-final games would be played on Saturday January 2nd at the home field on the top two remaining seeds. There would be re-seeding for the national semi-finals.
The National Championship would be played on the Monday after the first week of the NFL playoffs, in this case it would be Monday January 11th.
Three reasons that the universities claim not to want a playoff at the D1 level are:
1. LENGTH OF SEASON. Well this format does extend the season by 4 whole days. With the recent addition of the extra BCS National Championship game the season already runs through the entire first week on January, what is an extra 3-4 days?
2. TRAVEL. Well fans already travel for bowl games and the universities count on them to do so, but this format gives you 2 games on a home field and 1 game on a geographically regional site. So you could technically go to all 4 games without much more travel then you would for say a conference championship game and a bowl game.
3. TOO MANY GAMES. This is the biggest joke of them all. 90% of these games would be played while the kids are on winter break first of all, and secondly if it is okay to do it at every other level why wouldn’t it work at the top level? The student athletes in the other levels are all doing it and those kids are true student athletes. Those players will most likely need their degree for job opportunities after graduation. There are more D1 players that will make it to the NFL than all the other levels combined, yet these kids need to be in class more? Their education is more important than the kid who will need his degree for a job after college?
Stay tuned for the results of the 1st round of The Reitmeyer Rant Playoff.
Thursday, December 3, 2009
CHAMPIONSHIP WEEK 2009
The BCS was been built with the six “power conferences” in mind, the ACC, Big XII, Big East, Big Ten, PAC-10 and the SEC. All of these conferences have developed their own style over the years as well. The ACC is the conference that wants to be a football conference but is and always will be a basketball first conference. The Big XII plays their games as if they are shoot-outs in the old mid-west, which is very fitting considering their geographical location. The Big East is the redheaded stepchild of the group, always underappreciated and can never do enough to get the attention it feels it deserves (as it shows in the picture, that is what comes up when I search "Big East Football Coaches" on Google). The Big Ten is about history, about playing the old-school style of football, 3 yards and a cloud of dust. The PAC-10 is like the Hollywood of college football. All the pretty boys and beautiful co-eds are in the PAC-10. And the SEC is all about speed, and everyone knows speed kills (or in this case, speed wins championships).
The great thing about each one of these conferences is that none of them try to be something they are not. They keep to their roots and may make subtle changes every once and a while, but nothing to drastic (unless you look at the ACC trying to become a football conference and raiding the Big East as drastic, I just think of it as stupid.) However, there is one conference that this does not work for, the Big Ten.
The Big Ten no doubt has some great football tradition to it. They have great programs that play in front of some of the largest crowds in the nation each and every Saturday, in some of the largest and historic venues in the country. Every game they play seems to be a rivalry game (except for those in which that Penn State plays in). Heck they have 12 different “trophy games” in which the winning team gets a trophy and keeps it for the year until it is once again up for grabs the following season. And that doesn’t even include the Michigan-Ohio State game since there is no trophy in that game. There is no problems with embracing a schools, a programs or a teams history, but it becomes a problem when you let that history hold you back. That is what is taking place in the Big Ten.
This week is the final week of the college football season and 5 BCS conference a conference championship game is being played. Two of those (the Big East and the PAC-10) happened do to a luck in the scheduling, while the other three (ACC, Big XII, and SEC) is an annual scheduled event. The lone conference not partaking? The Big Ten. They haven’t been playing football for the past two weeks. So while every other conference gets to show off their best teams on national television, the Big Ten teams sit at home studying for finals. While the other five conferences keep playing games into December each season, the Big Ten will have its conference champion not play a game for 40 days before their bowl. See it is “tradition” that the Big Ten does not play any conference games after Thanksgiving. It has also become tradition that the Big Ten fails miserably in bowl games after these long lay-offs (8-11 all-time in BCS bowls and 32-39 in all bowl games vs BCS opponents since the BCS began in 1998).
Here is a schedule of all the conference championship games that will be played this weekend, beginning tonight.
THURSDAY DEC 3-
PAC-10
Oregon State @ Oregon
FRIDAY DECEMBER 4-
MAC (yes even the MAC and C-USA are ahead of the Big Ten in this regard!)
Ohio vs Central Michigan
SATURDAY DECMEBR 5-
BIG EAST
Cincinnati @ Pitt
CONFERENCE USA
Houston @ East Carolina
SEC
Florida vs Alabama
BIG XII
Nebraska vs Texas
ACC
Clemson vs Georgia Tech
While all these championship games are being played Big Ten fans will take part in another time honored tradition in the Midwest, hunting!
The great thing about each one of these conferences is that none of them try to be something they are not. They keep to their roots and may make subtle changes every once and a while, but nothing to drastic (unless you look at the ACC trying to become a football conference and raiding the Big East as drastic, I just think of it as stupid.) However, there is one conference that this does not work for, the Big Ten.
The Big Ten no doubt has some great football tradition to it. They have great programs that play in front of some of the largest crowds in the nation each and every Saturday, in some of the largest and historic venues in the country. Every game they play seems to be a rivalry game (except for those in which that Penn State plays in). Heck they have 12 different “trophy games” in which the winning team gets a trophy and keeps it for the year until it is once again up for grabs the following season. And that doesn’t even include the Michigan-Ohio State game since there is no trophy in that game. There is no problems with embracing a schools, a programs or a teams history, but it becomes a problem when you let that history hold you back. That is what is taking place in the Big Ten.
This week is the final week of the college football season and 5 BCS conference a conference championship game is being played. Two of those (the Big East and the PAC-10) happened do to a luck in the scheduling, while the other three (ACC, Big XII, and SEC) is an annual scheduled event. The lone conference not partaking? The Big Ten. They haven’t been playing football for the past two weeks. So while every other conference gets to show off their best teams on national television, the Big Ten teams sit at home studying for finals. While the other five conferences keep playing games into December each season, the Big Ten will have its conference champion not play a game for 40 days before their bowl. See it is “tradition” that the Big Ten does not play any conference games after Thanksgiving. It has also become tradition that the Big Ten fails miserably in bowl games after these long lay-offs (8-11 all-time in BCS bowls and 32-39 in all bowl games vs BCS opponents since the BCS began in 1998).
Here is a schedule of all the conference championship games that will be played this weekend, beginning tonight.
THURSDAY DEC 3-
PAC-10
Oregon State @ Oregon
FRIDAY DECEMBER 4-
MAC (yes even the MAC and C-USA are ahead of the Big Ten in this regard!)
Ohio vs Central Michigan
SATURDAY DECMEBR 5-
BIG EAST
Cincinnati @ Pitt
CONFERENCE USA
Houston @ East Carolina
SEC
Florida vs Alabama
BIG XII
Nebraska vs Texas
ACC
Clemson vs Georgia Tech
While all these championship games are being played Big Ten fans will take part in another time honored tradition in the Midwest, hunting!
Thursday, November 26, 2009
T3R WEEK 5
Sorry for the delay this week, I have been regretting recruiting my son to play quarterback for my team.
#1 TEXAS LONGHORNS (11-0, 7-0)
LAST WEEK: 51-0 win vs Kansas
NEXT GAME: Thursday @ Texas A&M
The Longhorns looked very solid against Kansas and now focus on a heated instate rival, the A&M Aggies. This is always a tough game, and the Aggies have actually won 2 of the past 3. Texas doesn’t need this weeks game to win the Big XII, but they do need to win it if they want to play in the National Title game.
#2 FLORIDA GATORS (11-0, 8-0)
LAST WEEK: 62-3 vs Florida International
NEXT GAME: Sat @ Florida State
When I was growing up this was the best rivalry in football. It was Bowden vs Spurrier and almost always had national title implications for both teams. That has not happened in a long time. Florida has won 5 straight in this rivalry and like Texas needs this win to stay in the National Title hunt.
#3 ALABAMA CRIMSON TIDE (10-0, 7-0)
LAST WEEK: 45-0 vs Tennessee-Chattanooga
NEXT GAME: Sat @ Auburn
The Iron Bowl is a huge game in the state of Alabama. Auburn has a very good offense and could create some problems for the Tide if they can control the tempo of the game. There is nothing Tiger fans would like more than to be able to knock Bama from the National Title game. Of all the top teams playing rivalry games this week, I think this is the best possibility of an upset.
#4 CINCINNATI BEARCATS (10-0, 6-0)
LAST WEEK: OFF
NEXT GAME: Fri vs Illinois
This is a tune-up for the Bearcats before the Big East Championship game in Pittsburgh on December 5th. Although, losing to Illinois would completely dash any outside chances the Bearcats have at playing in the National Title game.
#5 TCU HORNED FROGS (11-0, 7-0)
LAST WEEK: 45-10 win @ Wyoming
NEXT GAME: Sat vs New Mexico
TCU is completely destroying their opponents. The good news is that the Horned Frogs should be able to continue that and get style points by maybe putting up 100 on New Mexico (I’m dead serious that they could do that!). The bad news is that New Mexico is one of, if not THE worst team in D-1 football and even a huge win will hurt the Frogs in the computer rankings.
#6 GEORGIA TECH YELLOW JACKETS (10-1, 7-1)
LAST WEEK: OFF
NEXT GAME: Sat vs Georgia
You have got to love the name of this rivalry game, by far the best and my favorite, Clean Old Fashioned Hate! What better way to describe a rivalry? Every rivalry game wants to say that, but this one actually does.
#7 PITT PANTHERS (9-1, 5-0)
LAST WEEK: OFF
NEXT GAME: Fri @ WVU
The last time Pitt traveled to Morgantown for the Backyard Brawl (also a good rivalry name, although I may be a bit biased) the Panthers pulled of a stunning 13-9 upset that knocked WVU from the national title game (which they probably would have own against Ohio State) and started the downfall of their program (RichRod leaving). This year the Mountaineers get a chance to play spoiler to the Panthers great season.
#8 OREGON DUCKS (9-2, 7-1)
LAST WEEK: 44-41 2OT win @ Arizona
NEXT GAME: Thursday Dec 3rd vs #11 Oregon State
The Ducks won, but really struggled at times against the Wildcats. Regardless, a win is all they needed and after pulling off a great 4th quarter comeback they got the “W” in OT. Now they will play Oregon State in the Civil War for a spot in the Rose Bowl.
#9 the OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY BUCKEYES (10-2, 7-1)
LAST WEEK: 21-10 win @ Michigan
NEXT GAME: Rose Bowl
Michigan outplayed the Buckeyes in almost every phase of the game, but shot themselves in the foot repeatedly at terrible times in the game and even worse spots on the field. Ohio State forced and recovered a fumble in the end zone for a defensive TD and picked of Michigan at least two other times as the Wolverines were marching down field and in the Red Zone. A win is a win, but The Vest and crew will have to play better than that if they want to snap their BCS losing streak.
#10 BOISE STATE BRONCOS (11-0, 6-0)
LAST WEEK: 52-21 win @ Utah State
NEXT GAME: Fri vs Nevada
UPSET ALERT!!!!!! Nevada is good! The bad thing about this game is that it is being played on the Smurf Turf in Boise. Expect lots of scoring and lots of offense. Nevada leads the nation in rushing with an NCAA record before 3 players rushing for over 1000 in a season. They also have a terrible pass defense, and Boise has one of the top passing attacks in the country. The last time these two teams played in Boise it was a 69-67 final in 4 OT’s.
#11 OREGON STATE (8-3, 6-2)
LAST WEEK: 42-10 win @ Washington State
NEXT GAME: Thursday Dec 3rd @ #8 Oregon
The Beavers are peaking at the right time. With wins against Stanford and Cal under their belts already and winners of 4 straight and 6 of 7 (only loss was a 6 point loss @ USC) they are the hottest team in the Pac-10. It all comes down to one game on December 3rd against the rival Ducks for bragging rights and a trip to Pasadena for the Rose Bowl.
#12 OKLAHOMA STATE COWBOYS (9-2, 6-1)
LAST WEEK: 31-28 win vs Colorado
NEXT GAME: Sat @ Oklahoma
This is first time in a long time that the Bedlam game has meant more to the Cowboys than the Sooners, but a win this weekend and the Cowboys could find themselves in the Fiesta Bowl as an at-large team.
#13 CALIFORNIA GOLDEN BEARS (8-3, 5-3)
LAST WEEK: 34-28 win @ Stanford
NEXT GAME: Sat Dec 5th @ Washington
It was the first time in years since the Big Game actually meant something and both teams entered the game with 7+ wins. Cal dominated play in this one for the last three quarters of the game and have got to be kicking themselves for the way they played in that two week span earlier in the season when they lost to USC and Oregon by a combined 72-6. If that had not happened, Cal would be headed to the Rose Bowl.
#14 CLEMSON TIGERS (8-3, 6-2)
LAST WEEK: 34-21 win vs Virginia
NEXT GAME: Sat @ South Carolina
This has once again become a heated rivalry, which got even hotter last year when both team started swinging fists. Clemson just needs to avoid injuries in any extra curricular activities because they have an ACC title game to play for a spot in the Orange Bowl the following week.
#15 PENN STATE NITTANY LIONS (10-2, 6-2)
LAST WEEK: 42-14 win @ Michigan State
NEXT GAME: BOWL GAME
Penn State once again beat all the bad to average teams on their schedule and will once again go to a very nice bowl. Penn State is holding out hope for an at-large BCS bowl, which is about 50-50 at this point. Unfortunately for the Lions they won’t being playing one of those bad to average teams in a BCS bowl if they make it.
#16 MISSISSIPPI REBELS (8-3, 4-3)
LAST WEEK: 25-23 win vs LSU
NEXT GAME: Sat @ Mississippi State
This is the place the Rebels expected to be all season, but some early season struggles slowed them down. Now that Ole Miss has their offense playing at a high level and would certainly not be a team I would want to face in a bowl game.
#17 NORTH CAROLINA TAR HEELS (8-3, 4-3)
LAST WEEK: 31-13 win @ Boston College
NEXT GAME: Sat @ NC State
The tale of two seasons continues. The Tar Heels have losses to Virginia and Florida State, but wins over Miami, and Virginia Tech and Boston College on the road.
#18 NEBRASKA CORNHUSKERS (8-3, 5-2)
LAST WEEK: 17-3 win vs Kansas State
NEXT GAME: Fri @ Colorado
The Nebraska black shirt defense is back and playing some dominant football. They have the style of physical defense that could give Texas a tough time in the Big XII Title game next week, but first they will have to deal with rival Colorado to close out the regular season.
#19 VIRGINIA TECH HOKIES (8-3, 5-2)
LAST WEEK: 38-10 win vs NC STATE
NEXT GAME: Sat @ Virginia
The Hokies were a big disappointment this season and still find themselves ranked in the top 20 as the regular season comes to a close. The defense, which was supposed to be a strong point didn’t show up in big games and the offense, which was suspected to struggle, did. Both of the Hokie conference losses were very winnable games and would have turned their season around if they would have won them.
#20 ARKANSAS RAZORBACKS (7-4, 3-4)
LAST WEEK: 42-21 win vs Mississippi State
NEXT GAME: Sat @ LSU
Quick who is the best QB in the SEC? Nope, it is not Tim Tebow! It is Ryan Mallet, the former Michigan Wolverine. After a very shaky start Mallet and the Arkansas offense looks very good and will be a force in bowl season.
#1 TEXAS LONGHORNS (11-0, 7-0)
LAST WEEK: 51-0 win vs Kansas
NEXT GAME: Thursday @ Texas A&M
The Longhorns looked very solid against Kansas and now focus on a heated instate rival, the A&M Aggies. This is always a tough game, and the Aggies have actually won 2 of the past 3. Texas doesn’t need this weeks game to win the Big XII, but they do need to win it if they want to play in the National Title game.
#2 FLORIDA GATORS (11-0, 8-0)
LAST WEEK: 62-3 vs Florida International
NEXT GAME: Sat @ Florida State
When I was growing up this was the best rivalry in football. It was Bowden vs Spurrier and almost always had national title implications for both teams. That has not happened in a long time. Florida has won 5 straight in this rivalry and like Texas needs this win to stay in the National Title hunt.
#3 ALABAMA CRIMSON TIDE (10-0, 7-0)
LAST WEEK: 45-0 vs Tennessee-Chattanooga
NEXT GAME: Sat @ Auburn
The Iron Bowl is a huge game in the state of Alabama. Auburn has a very good offense and could create some problems for the Tide if they can control the tempo of the game. There is nothing Tiger fans would like more than to be able to knock Bama from the National Title game. Of all the top teams playing rivalry games this week, I think this is the best possibility of an upset.
#4 CINCINNATI BEARCATS (10-0, 6-0)
LAST WEEK: OFF
NEXT GAME: Fri vs Illinois
This is a tune-up for the Bearcats before the Big East Championship game in Pittsburgh on December 5th. Although, losing to Illinois would completely dash any outside chances the Bearcats have at playing in the National Title game.
#5 TCU HORNED FROGS (11-0, 7-0)
LAST WEEK: 45-10 win @ Wyoming
NEXT GAME: Sat vs New Mexico
TCU is completely destroying their opponents. The good news is that the Horned Frogs should be able to continue that and get style points by maybe putting up 100 on New Mexico (I’m dead serious that they could do that!). The bad news is that New Mexico is one of, if not THE worst team in D-1 football and even a huge win will hurt the Frogs in the computer rankings.
#6 GEORGIA TECH YELLOW JACKETS (10-1, 7-1)
LAST WEEK: OFF
NEXT GAME: Sat vs Georgia
You have got to love the name of this rivalry game, by far the best and my favorite, Clean Old Fashioned Hate! What better way to describe a rivalry? Every rivalry game wants to say that, but this one actually does.
#7 PITT PANTHERS (9-1, 5-0)
LAST WEEK: OFF
NEXT GAME: Fri @ WVU
The last time Pitt traveled to Morgantown for the Backyard Brawl (also a good rivalry name, although I may be a bit biased) the Panthers pulled of a stunning 13-9 upset that knocked WVU from the national title game (which they probably would have own against Ohio State) and started the downfall of their program (RichRod leaving). This year the Mountaineers get a chance to play spoiler to the Panthers great season.
#8 OREGON DUCKS (9-2, 7-1)
LAST WEEK: 44-41 2OT win @ Arizona
NEXT GAME: Thursday Dec 3rd vs #11 Oregon State
The Ducks won, but really struggled at times against the Wildcats. Regardless, a win is all they needed and after pulling off a great 4th quarter comeback they got the “W” in OT. Now they will play Oregon State in the Civil War for a spot in the Rose Bowl.
#9 the OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY BUCKEYES (10-2, 7-1)
LAST WEEK: 21-10 win @ Michigan
NEXT GAME: Rose Bowl
Michigan outplayed the Buckeyes in almost every phase of the game, but shot themselves in the foot repeatedly at terrible times in the game and even worse spots on the field. Ohio State forced and recovered a fumble in the end zone for a defensive TD and picked of Michigan at least two other times as the Wolverines were marching down field and in the Red Zone. A win is a win, but The Vest and crew will have to play better than that if they want to snap their BCS losing streak.
#10 BOISE STATE BRONCOS (11-0, 6-0)
LAST WEEK: 52-21 win @ Utah State
NEXT GAME: Fri vs Nevada
UPSET ALERT!!!!!! Nevada is good! The bad thing about this game is that it is being played on the Smurf Turf in Boise. Expect lots of scoring and lots of offense. Nevada leads the nation in rushing with an NCAA record before 3 players rushing for over 1000 in a season. They also have a terrible pass defense, and Boise has one of the top passing attacks in the country. The last time these two teams played in Boise it was a 69-67 final in 4 OT’s.
#11 OREGON STATE (8-3, 6-2)
LAST WEEK: 42-10 win @ Washington State
NEXT GAME: Thursday Dec 3rd @ #8 Oregon
The Beavers are peaking at the right time. With wins against Stanford and Cal under their belts already and winners of 4 straight and 6 of 7 (only loss was a 6 point loss @ USC) they are the hottest team in the Pac-10. It all comes down to one game on December 3rd against the rival Ducks for bragging rights and a trip to Pasadena for the Rose Bowl.
#12 OKLAHOMA STATE COWBOYS (9-2, 6-1)
LAST WEEK: 31-28 win vs Colorado
NEXT GAME: Sat @ Oklahoma
This is first time in a long time that the Bedlam game has meant more to the Cowboys than the Sooners, but a win this weekend and the Cowboys could find themselves in the Fiesta Bowl as an at-large team.
#13 CALIFORNIA GOLDEN BEARS (8-3, 5-3)
LAST WEEK: 34-28 win @ Stanford
NEXT GAME: Sat Dec 5th @ Washington
It was the first time in years since the Big Game actually meant something and both teams entered the game with 7+ wins. Cal dominated play in this one for the last three quarters of the game and have got to be kicking themselves for the way they played in that two week span earlier in the season when they lost to USC and Oregon by a combined 72-6. If that had not happened, Cal would be headed to the Rose Bowl.
#14 CLEMSON TIGERS (8-3, 6-2)
LAST WEEK: 34-21 win vs Virginia
NEXT GAME: Sat @ South Carolina
This has once again become a heated rivalry, which got even hotter last year when both team started swinging fists. Clemson just needs to avoid injuries in any extra curricular activities because they have an ACC title game to play for a spot in the Orange Bowl the following week.
#15 PENN STATE NITTANY LIONS (10-2, 6-2)
LAST WEEK: 42-14 win @ Michigan State
NEXT GAME: BOWL GAME
Penn State once again beat all the bad to average teams on their schedule and will once again go to a very nice bowl. Penn State is holding out hope for an at-large BCS bowl, which is about 50-50 at this point. Unfortunately for the Lions they won’t being playing one of those bad to average teams in a BCS bowl if they make it.
#16 MISSISSIPPI REBELS (8-3, 4-3)
LAST WEEK: 25-23 win vs LSU
NEXT GAME: Sat @ Mississippi State
This is the place the Rebels expected to be all season, but some early season struggles slowed them down. Now that Ole Miss has their offense playing at a high level and would certainly not be a team I would want to face in a bowl game.
#17 NORTH CAROLINA TAR HEELS (8-3, 4-3)
LAST WEEK: 31-13 win @ Boston College
NEXT GAME: Sat @ NC State
The tale of two seasons continues. The Tar Heels have losses to Virginia and Florida State, but wins over Miami, and Virginia Tech and Boston College on the road.
#18 NEBRASKA CORNHUSKERS (8-3, 5-2)
LAST WEEK: 17-3 win vs Kansas State
NEXT GAME: Fri @ Colorado
The Nebraska black shirt defense is back and playing some dominant football. They have the style of physical defense that could give Texas a tough time in the Big XII Title game next week, but first they will have to deal with rival Colorado to close out the regular season.
#19 VIRGINIA TECH HOKIES (8-3, 5-2)
LAST WEEK: 38-10 win vs NC STATE
NEXT GAME: Sat @ Virginia
The Hokies were a big disappointment this season and still find themselves ranked in the top 20 as the regular season comes to a close. The defense, which was supposed to be a strong point didn’t show up in big games and the offense, which was suspected to struggle, did. Both of the Hokie conference losses were very winnable games and would have turned their season around if they would have won them.
#20 ARKANSAS RAZORBACKS (7-4, 3-4)
LAST WEEK: 42-21 win vs Mississippi State
NEXT GAME: Sat @ LSU
Quick who is the best QB in the SEC? Nope, it is not Tim Tebow! It is Ryan Mallet, the former Michigan Wolverine. After a very shaky start Mallet and the Arkansas offense looks very good and will be a force in bowl season.
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
RANDOM RANTING
NOTRE DAME TO JOIN A CONFERENCE FOR FOOTBALL?
Much has been made over the years about Notre Dame’s affiliation with the Big East conference. In 1995, the conference allowed Notre Dame to join in all sports but football leaving them as an independent. Since that time rumors have swirled that the Big Ten would like to get Notre Dame to be its 12th team (they would probably still go by the Big Ten even with 12 teams considering all they did when Penn State joined was change the design of the logo). There has also been a strong push from Big East fans and schools to force them to join the conference in football, or to get rid of them altogether. Big East fans need to worry no more. After last Saturdays home loss to UCONN, Notre Dame officials have been told by the Big East that they are not welcome into their conference for football in fear it would hurt the conferences national perception. If you recall Temple was kicked out of the Big East in football because they could not compete at a high enough level, which seems to be the case with the Irish as well. Over the past two seasons, Notre Dame is 0-4 versus Big East teams with three of those losses coming in South Bend. Big East teams have been scheduling games recently with the Irish to try to get easy wins to help their win total in efforts to become bowl eligible. Here is a look at Big East teams with Notre Dame on
their schedule trying to get easy wins:
Pitt – home and home series every year through 2015
South Florida – plays at Notre Dame in 2011
UCONN – plays 6 times in seven years between 2011 and 2017
Syracuse – plays 4 straight years in a home and home series between 2014 and 2017
Rutgers has also been trying to schedule a game in the 2011 season to be played at Yankee Stadium with the Irish.
All told, this would be 18 wins for the Big East against Notre Dame in the coming years.
Not all is bad for Irish fans though, Temple is currently 7-0 in conference play and in first place in the MAC East, I’m sure if you ask nicely the MAC would find room for you somewhere in the MAC West division.
4th AND 2
I didn’t get to put my two cents worth last week about the bonehead call made by Bill Belichick, so I will do it now, and it is really simple. HE IS NOT A GREAT COACH!
I know this will shock everyone that someone would even have the gull to utter such a phrase, but lets look at things a little closer before we put him on the Mount Rushmore of NFL Coaches. Belichick was blessed with the luck of having Tom Brady fall into his hands as a compensatory pick in the 6th round (drafted #199 overall) in 2000. Tom Brady is without a doubt a fantastic QB. He is top 3 in the NFL now and that might not be high enough. But let’s see what Billy did before this Joe Montana of this generation showed up on his doorstep.
Bill Belichick is currently in his 15th season as an NFL head coach. His
career record in regular season play is 145-89. His record in the playoffs is 15-4. His record without Tom Brady as his starting QB is 51-62. Err..what?! Yes, EXACTLY! He has had two winning seasons as a head coach without Tom Brady leading the show. In his 7 years as a head coach with Tom Brady under center he has had winning seasons in all seven, in the 7 without him he has 2. He had an overall record as the Cleveland head coach (how many people forgot he coached in Cleveland?) of 36-44 in five seasons with one winning season before being fired after the 1995 season. It is also not like he had this great insight to make Brady his starting QB, he started him by default after Drew Bledsoe was bleeding internally after a hit in the 2001 season. Brady took a team that was 0-2 and they finished 11-5.
Now, let us look at the Bill Belichick coaching tree. Normally you can tell how good of a coach someone was by the success of his or her understudies. Nine coaches learned under Belichick and went on to become head coaches elsewhere. Here are their coaching numbers:
NFL COACHES:
Romeo Crennel, Cleveland Browns, 2005-08, 24-40
Al Groh, NY Jets, 2000, 9-7
Josh McDaniels, 2009, 6-4
Eric Mangini, NY Jets and Cleveland Browns, 2006-2009, 24-34
Nick Saban, Miami Dolphins, 2005-06, 15-17
Jim Schwartz, Detroit Lions, 2009, 2-8
NCAA COACHES:
Kirk Ferentz, Iowa, 1999-2009, 80-53
Al Groh, Virginia, 2001-2009, 59-52
Pat Hill, Fresno State, 1997-2009, 92-61
Charlie Weis, Notre Dame, 2005-2009, 35-26
Nick Saban, Michigan State, LSU, Alabama, 112-48-1
Of the NFL coaches not one had a winning record that coached more than a season and only two fo the six are still with their original job and those guys are both new this season. In college, he has done much better. All of these coaches have winning records and are still currently employed (both Al Groh and Charlie Weis are rumored to be fired after this season.)
So, maybe that bonehead 4th and 2 call wasn’t that much of a surprise. Tom Brady executed it, and put the throw on the money, but it just was not enough. Maybe is was just a bad play call by a bad head coach.
KINGS OF KENTUCKY
Can we please stop the National Title talk for the Kentucky Men’s Basketball team?! First of all, what is all this talk based on anyway? The fact that they where .500 in conference play last year and did not make the NCAA tournament? Or maybe it is the way the team played in their tough loss to Notre Dame in the third round of the NIT last year. Or it could be that they return their leading scored, Jodie Meeks who averaged 23.7 ppg, oh wait, he is not on this team!
So what is it that makes this team so improved? Is it the coach? Yes, John Calipari is a fantastic coach and a great recruiter, but he has never won ANYTHING in his coaching career. Is it the fact that they brought in a ton of young talent, yeah that probably does not hurt much either, but let’s be honest, this team needed a buzzer beater to beat Miami OH in the second game of the season. They are 4-0 against bad competition and struggled in three of the four games to put the teams away. That same Miami team lost to Towson by 11, Louisiana Tech by 8 and New Mexico by 25.
I’m sure given a couple of shady recruiting classes, Calipari will have Kentucky playing in Final Fours, but can we all settle down on already saving a spot for them this year in Indianapolis this year?
IF YOU AIN’T RUBBING YOU AIN’T RACING
Okay, I do not watch NASCAR. I am sorry, watching a bunch of men making left turns for 3+ hours just does not do it for me. However, I am aware of what goes on i
n the sporting world and all week all anyone was talking about was Jimmie Johnson winning his unprecedented 4th straight Cup Championship. All he had to do was finish 25th or better to hold off 50-year old Mark Martin. So here is my question, why did not someone on Mark Martin’s team put Johnson into the wall on the first lap of the race? Is it an unwritten rule in NASCAR that you do not wreck each other? I see guys fighting with each other for that exact reason every Sunday on SportsCenter. Maybe I am a dirty sport. Maybe I do not appreciate the sportsmanship of racing. But maybe these guys just are not as competitive as I would hope they would be. You are talking a championship for your sport being on the line, you don’t think other sports have guys doing whatever it takes to win titles? Come on guys a title is on the line, you should being laying it all on the line too!
Much has been made over the years about Notre Dame’s affiliation with the Big East conference. In 1995, the conference allowed Notre Dame to join in all sports but football leaving them as an independent. Since that time rumors have swirled that the Big Ten would like to get Notre Dame to be its 12th team (they would probably still go by the Big Ten even with 12 teams considering all they did when Penn State joined was change the design of the logo). There has also been a strong push from Big East fans and schools to force them to join the conference in football, or to get rid of them altogether. Big East fans need to worry no more. After last Saturdays home loss to UCONN, Notre Dame officials have been told by the Big East that they are not welcome into their conference for football in fear it would hurt the conferences national perception. If you recall Temple was kicked out of the Big East in football because they could not compete at a high enough level, which seems to be the case with the Irish as well. Over the past two seasons, Notre Dame is 0-4 versus Big East teams with three of those losses coming in South Bend. Big East teams have been scheduling games recently with the Irish to try to get easy wins to help their win total in efforts to become bowl eligible. Here is a look at Big East teams with Notre Dame on
their schedule trying to get easy wins:Pitt – home and home series every year through 2015
South Florida – plays at Notre Dame in 2011
UCONN – plays 6 times in seven years between 2011 and 2017
Syracuse – plays 4 straight years in a home and home series between 2014 and 2017
Rutgers has also been trying to schedule a game in the 2011 season to be played at Yankee Stadium with the Irish.
All told, this would be 18 wins for the Big East against Notre Dame in the coming years.
Not all is bad for Irish fans though, Temple is currently 7-0 in conference play and in first place in the MAC East, I’m sure if you ask nicely the MAC would find room for you somewhere in the MAC West division.4th AND 2
I didn’t get to put my two cents worth last week about the bonehead call made by Bill Belichick, so I will do it now, and it is really simple. HE IS NOT A GREAT COACH!
I know this will shock everyone that someone would even have the gull to utter such a phrase, but lets look at things a little closer before we put him on the Mount Rushmore of NFL Coaches. Belichick was blessed with the luck of having Tom Brady fall into his hands as a compensatory pick in the 6th round (drafted #199 overall) in 2000. Tom Brady is without a doubt a fantastic QB. He is top 3 in the NFL now and that might not be high enough. But let’s see what Billy did before this Joe Montana of this generation showed up on his doorstep.Bill Belichick is currently in his 15th season as an NFL head coach. His
career record in regular season play is 145-89. His record in the playoffs is 15-4. His record without Tom Brady as his starting QB is 51-62. Err..what?! Yes, EXACTLY! He has had two winning seasons as a head coach without Tom Brady leading the show. In his 7 years as a head coach with Tom Brady under center he has had winning seasons in all seven, in the 7 without him he has 2. He had an overall record as the Cleveland head coach (how many people forgot he coached in Cleveland?) of 36-44 in five seasons with one winning season before being fired after the 1995 season. It is also not like he had this great insight to make Brady his starting QB, he started him by default after Drew Bledsoe was bleeding internally after a hit in the 2001 season. Brady took a team that was 0-2 and they finished 11-5.Now, let us look at the Bill Belichick coaching tree. Normally you can tell how good of a coach someone was by the success of his or her understudies. Nine coaches learned under Belichick and went on to become head coaches elsewhere. Here are their coaching numbers:
NFL COACHES:
Romeo Crennel, Cleveland Browns, 2005-08, 24-40
Al Groh, NY Jets, 2000, 9-7
Josh McDaniels, 2009, 6-4
Eric Mangini, NY Jets and Cleveland Browns, 2006-2009, 24-34
Nick Saban, Miami Dolphins, 2005-06, 15-17
Jim Schwartz, Detroit Lions, 2009, 2-8
NCAA COACHES:
Kirk Ferentz, Iowa, 1999-2009, 80-53
Al Groh, Virginia, 2001-2009, 59-52
Pat Hill, Fresno State, 1997-2009, 92-61
Charlie Weis, Notre Dame, 2005-2009, 35-26
Nick Saban, Michigan State, LSU, Alabama, 112-48-1
Of the NFL coaches not one had a winning record that coached more than a season and only two fo the six are still with their original job and those guys are both new this season. In college, he has done much better. All of these coaches have winning records and are still currently employed (both Al Groh and Charlie Weis are rumored to be fired after this season.)
So, maybe that bonehead 4th and 2 call wasn’t that much of a surprise. Tom Brady executed it, and put the throw on the money, but it just was not enough. Maybe is was just a bad play call by a bad head coach.
KINGS OF KENTUCKY
Can we please stop the National Title talk for the Kentucky Men’s Basketball team?! First of all, what is all this talk based on anyway? The fact that they where .500 in conference play last year and did not make the NCAA tournament? Or maybe it is the way the team played in their tough loss to Notre Dame in the third round of the NIT last year. Or it could be that they return their leading scored, Jodie Meeks who averaged 23.7 ppg, oh wait, he is not on this team!
So what is it that makes this team so improved? Is it the coach? Yes, John Calipari is a fantastic coach and a great recruiter, but he has never won ANYTHING in his coaching career. Is it the fact that they brought in a ton of young talent, yeah that probably does not hurt much either, but let’s be honest, this team needed a buzzer beater to beat Miami OH in the second game of the season. They are 4-0 against bad competition and struggled in three of the four games to put the teams away. That same Miami team lost to Towson by 11, Louisiana Tech by 8 and New Mexico by 25.I’m sure given a couple of shady recruiting classes, Calipari will have Kentucky playing in Final Fours, but can we all settle down on already saving a spot for them this year in Indianapolis this year?
IF YOU AIN’T RUBBING YOU AIN’T RACING
Okay, I do not watch NASCAR. I am sorry, watching a bunch of men making left turns for 3+ hours just does not do it for me. However, I am aware of what goes on i
n the sporting world and all week all anyone was talking about was Jimmie Johnson winning his unprecedented 4th straight Cup Championship. All he had to do was finish 25th or better to hold off 50-year old Mark Martin. So here is my question, why did not someone on Mark Martin’s team put Johnson into the wall on the first lap of the race? Is it an unwritten rule in NASCAR that you do not wreck each other? I see guys fighting with each other for that exact reason every Sunday on SportsCenter. Maybe I am a dirty sport. Maybe I do not appreciate the sportsmanship of racing. But maybe these guys just are not as competitive as I would hope they would be. You are talking a championship for your sport being on the line, you don’t think other sports have guys doing whatever it takes to win titles? Come on guys a title is on the line, you should being laying it all on the line too!
Thursday, November 19, 2009
T3R WEEK 4
Sorry for the delay this week, I have been enjoying the Florida sun way too much!
#1 TEXAS LONGHORNS (10-0, 6-0)
LAST WEEK: 47-14 win @ Baylor
NEXT GAME: Sat vs Kansas
To steal a line from the great movie, Finding Nemo, the Longhorns have to, “just keep swimming.” With their final two opponents being Kansas and Texas A&M before beating up on some terrible team from the Big XII North as long as the Longhorns just keep their head above water they will be in the national title game versus the Bama-Florida winner in the SEC championship game.
#2 FLORIDA GATORS (10-0, 8-0)
LAST WEEK: 24-14 win @ South Carolina
NEXT GAME: Sat vs Florida International
Count me as one that thought the South Carolina game could have been a stumbling block for the Gators. They didn’t win impressively but they got the job done. Hey when you play in the SEC and have won 20 in a row, that is all that matters, just get the “W” and the Gators keep doing that.
#3 ALABAMA CRIMSON TIDE (10-0, 7-0)
LAST WEEK: 31-3 win @ Mississippi State
NEXT GAME: Sat vs Tenn-Chattanooga
Add Tennessee Chattanooga to the list of cupcakes on the Alabama non-conference schedule. The Tide hits the bakery before finishing the season with rival Auburn, then Florida in the SEC title game, followed by a BCS game. The Bama fans are hoping that BCS game is in California for a national title, not the Sugar Bowl.
#4 CINCINNATI BEARCATS (10-0, 6-0)
LAST WEEK: 24-21 win vs WVU
NEXT GAME: Fri Nov 27th vs Illinois
This is two straight weeks in which the Bearcats were unable to put their opponent away in the 4th quarter, and this from a team that had been winning their games at the mid-point in the season by an average of four touchdowns. A week off, then a game Cincy should have no problem with against Illinois, they the showdown with Pitt for the River City Rivalry Trophy, oh yeah, and a BCS bid.
#5 TCU HORNED FROGS (10-0, 6-0)
LAST WEEK: 55-28 win vs Utah
NEXT GAME: Sat @ Wyoming
11 weeks down and TCU is still undefeated, and they have now beat their toughest competition. The much hyped game against Utah turned out to be a old fashioned butt-whooping by the Horned Frogs. TCU has done everything asked of them so far and they have done it with authority. A sign at GameDay last week read, “TCU, Texas State champs!” I wish we wouldn’t have to wait until their BCS bowl to really see how good this team is. How about TCU plays Texas instead of some schmo from the Big XII North on Dec 5th?!
#6 GEORGIA TECH YELLOW JACKETS (10-1, 7-1)
LAST WEEK: 49-10 win @ Duke
NEXT GAME: Sat Nov 28th vs Georgia
The Yellow Jackets have clinched the Coastal division of the ACC and await either Clemson (whom they have already beat this season) or Boston College in Tampa for the ACC Championship and a trip to the Orange Bowl.
#7 PITT PANTHERS (9-1, 5-0)
LAST WEEK: 27-22 win vs Notre Dame
NEXT GAME: Fri Nov. 27th @ WVU
Pitt really outplayed Notre Dame in pretty much every aspect of the game and beat the Irish worse than the score indicated, but that could be a problem. Pitt needs to put teams away. With games against WVU and Cincinnati ahead the Panthers must get a killer instinct that they haven’t shown yet this season.
#8 OREGON DUCKS (8-2, 6-1)
LAST WEEK: 44-21 win vs Arizona State
NEXT GAME: Sat @ #20 Arizona
The Ducks are currently the leader in the Pac-10, but they still have to play Arizona this week, and Oregon State in the “Civil War” to close the season. Either of those two teams or Stanford, who already beat the Ducks, could still win the conference and go to the Rose Bowl if the Ducks slip up.
#9 LSU TIGERS (8-2, 4-2)
LAST WEEK: 24-16 win vs La Tech
NEXT GAME: Sat @ Mississippi
I want to believe that this team is a top ten team, but their offense is showing me nothing. This week will be a big test to see how good this team really is when they travel to Oxford for a tough test.
#10 STANFORD CARDINAL (7-3, 6-2)
LAST WEEK: 55-21 win @ Southern Cal
NEXT GAME: Sat vs #19 Cal
You might wonder how a three loss team makes my top ten, the answer is simple, go for 2 against USC with 7 minutes to go in the 4th quarter when you hold a 27-point lead! Jim Harbaugh gets major props for that! Let’s not forget that the Trees are playing as well as any team in the nation right now and have put up 50 points in back to back weeks, both against Top 10 teams.
#11 the OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY BUCKEYES (9-2, 6-1)
LAST WEEK: 27-24 OT win vs Iowa
NEXT GAME: Sat @ Michigan
Beating a beat-up and overrated Iowa team by only 3 points in overtime on your home field is not the best way to make a good impression, but the win clinched the Buckeyes first trip to the Rose Bowl since 1996.
#12 BOISE STATE BRONCOS (10-0, 5-0)
LAST WEEK: 63-25 win vs Iadho
NEXT GAME: Fri @ Utah State
Yawn! Boise State ran up the score on another joke of an opponent. Guess what, they will do it again this week too.
#13 WISCONSIN BADGERS (8-2, 5-2)
LAST WEEK: 45-24 win vs Michigan
NEXT GAME: Sat @ Northwestern
The Badgers were just the next in a recent long line of opponents to embarrass the Wolverines in Big Ten play the past two seasons. Wisconsin has quietly set itself up for a nice New Years Day bowl as possibly the top non-BCS draw out of the conference.
#14 OKLAHOMA STATE COWBOYS (8-2, 5-1)
LAST WEEK: 24-17 win vs Texas Tech
NEXT GAME: Thurs vs Colorado
The Cowboys have proven themselves as the second best team in the Big XII this season, unfortunately for them that doesn’t get you very much this season. Most seasons you would get a BCS bowl birth, but with the conference having a down year, it looks like the Cowboys could be headed for the Cotton Bowl this season.
#15 CLEMSON TIGERS (7-3, 5-2)
LAST WEEK: 43-23 win @ NC State
NEXT GAME: Sat vs Virginia
Last season the Tigers started 3-4 before getting hot down the stretch and this season they started 2-3 before winning 5 straight. One more win this week will place Clemson in Tampa to face Georgia Tech in the ACC championship game.
#16 OREGON STATE (7-3, 5-2)
LAST WEEK: 48-21 win vs Washington
NEXT GAME: Sat @ Washington State
The Beavers owe a thank you to the Pac-10 schedule makers. They essentially get a bye week in playing Washington State before taking on Oregon in a game that could be for the Pac-10 title.
#17 PENN STATE NITTANY LIONS (9-2, 5-2)
LAST WEEK: 31-20 win vs Indiana
NEXT GAME: Sat @ Michigan State
The way the Nits played in the first half you would have thought that their season went down the drain after losing to Ohio State. They must have forgot that the all-important Land Grant Trophy Game versus Michigan State was still remaining on the schedule.
#18 NORTH CAROLINA TAR HEELS (7-3, 3-3)
LAST WEEK: 33-24 win vs Miami
NEXT GAME: Sat @ Boston College
Two bad home losses turned this season for the Tar Heels. Losses at home to Virginia and Florida State took this team from a contender in the ACC to a middle of the road bowl game somewhere in the last week of December.
#19 CALIFORNIA GOLDEN BEARS (7-3, 4-3)
LAST WEEK: 24-16 win vs Arizona
NEXT GAME: Sat @ # 10 Stanford
Cal has looked really good in their wins and really bad in their losses, last week they looked really good and sneak into the top 20. The Bears will need to look really good again this week versus Stanford or it will be a short stay.
#20 ARIZONA WILDCATS (6-3, 4-2)
LAST WEEK: 24-16 loss @ Cal
NEXT GAME: Sat vs #8 Oregon
Five teams from the Pac-10 make it into the Rant Rankings this week. Half of the conference finds itself in the top 20 in the nation. Are they the best conference or the conference with the most parity?
#1 TEXAS LONGHORNS (10-0, 6-0)
LAST WEEK: 47-14 win @ Baylor
NEXT GAME: Sat vs Kansas
To steal a line from the great movie, Finding Nemo, the Longhorns have to, “just keep swimming.” With their final two opponents being Kansas and Texas A&M before beating up on some terrible team from the Big XII North as long as the Longhorns just keep their head above water they will be in the national title game versus the Bama-Florida winner in the SEC championship game.
#2 FLORIDA GATORS (10-0, 8-0)
LAST WEEK: 24-14 win @ South Carolina
NEXT GAME: Sat vs Florida International
Count me as one that thought the South Carolina game could have been a stumbling block for the Gators. They didn’t win impressively but they got the job done. Hey when you play in the SEC and have won 20 in a row, that is all that matters, just get the “W” and the Gators keep doing that.
#3 ALABAMA CRIMSON TIDE (10-0, 7-0)
LAST WEEK: 31-3 win @ Mississippi State
NEXT GAME: Sat vs Tenn-Chattanooga
Add Tennessee Chattanooga to the list of cupcakes on the Alabama non-conference schedule. The Tide hits the bakery before finishing the season with rival Auburn, then Florida in the SEC title game, followed by a BCS game. The Bama fans are hoping that BCS game is in California for a national title, not the Sugar Bowl.
#4 CINCINNATI BEARCATS (10-0, 6-0)
LAST WEEK: 24-21 win vs WVU
NEXT GAME: Fri Nov 27th vs Illinois
This is two straight weeks in which the Bearcats were unable to put their opponent away in the 4th quarter, and this from a team that had been winning their games at the mid-point in the season by an average of four touchdowns. A week off, then a game Cincy should have no problem with against Illinois, they the showdown with Pitt for the River City Rivalry Trophy, oh yeah, and a BCS bid.
#5 TCU HORNED FROGS (10-0, 6-0)
LAST WEEK: 55-28 win vs Utah
NEXT GAME: Sat @ Wyoming
11 weeks down and TCU is still undefeated, and they have now beat their toughest competition. The much hyped game against Utah turned out to be a old fashioned butt-whooping by the Horned Frogs. TCU has done everything asked of them so far and they have done it with authority. A sign at GameDay last week read, “TCU, Texas State champs!” I wish we wouldn’t have to wait until their BCS bowl to really see how good this team is. How about TCU plays Texas instead of some schmo from the Big XII North on Dec 5th?!
#6 GEORGIA TECH YELLOW JACKETS (10-1, 7-1)
LAST WEEK: 49-10 win @ Duke
NEXT GAME: Sat Nov 28th vs Georgia
The Yellow Jackets have clinched the Coastal division of the ACC and await either Clemson (whom they have already beat this season) or Boston College in Tampa for the ACC Championship and a trip to the Orange Bowl.
#7 PITT PANTHERS (9-1, 5-0)
LAST WEEK: 27-22 win vs Notre Dame
NEXT GAME: Fri Nov. 27th @ WVU
Pitt really outplayed Notre Dame in pretty much every aspect of the game and beat the Irish worse than the score indicated, but that could be a problem. Pitt needs to put teams away. With games against WVU and Cincinnati ahead the Panthers must get a killer instinct that they haven’t shown yet this season.
#8 OREGON DUCKS (8-2, 6-1)
LAST WEEK: 44-21 win vs Arizona State
NEXT GAME: Sat @ #20 Arizona
The Ducks are currently the leader in the Pac-10, but they still have to play Arizona this week, and Oregon State in the “Civil War” to close the season. Either of those two teams or Stanford, who already beat the Ducks, could still win the conference and go to the Rose Bowl if the Ducks slip up.
#9 LSU TIGERS (8-2, 4-2)
LAST WEEK: 24-16 win vs La Tech
NEXT GAME: Sat @ Mississippi
I want to believe that this team is a top ten team, but their offense is showing me nothing. This week will be a big test to see how good this team really is when they travel to Oxford for a tough test.
#10 STANFORD CARDINAL (7-3, 6-2)
LAST WEEK: 55-21 win @ Southern Cal
NEXT GAME: Sat vs #19 Cal
You might wonder how a three loss team makes my top ten, the answer is simple, go for 2 against USC with 7 minutes to go in the 4th quarter when you hold a 27-point lead! Jim Harbaugh gets major props for that! Let’s not forget that the Trees are playing as well as any team in the nation right now and have put up 50 points in back to back weeks, both against Top 10 teams.
#11 the OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY BUCKEYES (9-2, 6-1)
LAST WEEK: 27-24 OT win vs Iowa
NEXT GAME: Sat @ Michigan
Beating a beat-up and overrated Iowa team by only 3 points in overtime on your home field is not the best way to make a good impression, but the win clinched the Buckeyes first trip to the Rose Bowl since 1996.
#12 BOISE STATE BRONCOS (10-0, 5-0)
LAST WEEK: 63-25 win vs Iadho
NEXT GAME: Fri @ Utah State
Yawn! Boise State ran up the score on another joke of an opponent. Guess what, they will do it again this week too.
#13 WISCONSIN BADGERS (8-2, 5-2)
LAST WEEK: 45-24 win vs Michigan
NEXT GAME: Sat @ Northwestern
The Badgers were just the next in a recent long line of opponents to embarrass the Wolverines in Big Ten play the past two seasons. Wisconsin has quietly set itself up for a nice New Years Day bowl as possibly the top non-BCS draw out of the conference.
#14 OKLAHOMA STATE COWBOYS (8-2, 5-1)
LAST WEEK: 24-17 win vs Texas Tech
NEXT GAME: Thurs vs Colorado
The Cowboys have proven themselves as the second best team in the Big XII this season, unfortunately for them that doesn’t get you very much this season. Most seasons you would get a BCS bowl birth, but with the conference having a down year, it looks like the Cowboys could be headed for the Cotton Bowl this season.
#15 CLEMSON TIGERS (7-3, 5-2)
LAST WEEK: 43-23 win @ NC State
NEXT GAME: Sat vs Virginia
Last season the Tigers started 3-4 before getting hot down the stretch and this season they started 2-3 before winning 5 straight. One more win this week will place Clemson in Tampa to face Georgia Tech in the ACC championship game.
#16 OREGON STATE (7-3, 5-2)
LAST WEEK: 48-21 win vs Washington
NEXT GAME: Sat @ Washington State
The Beavers owe a thank you to the Pac-10 schedule makers. They essentially get a bye week in playing Washington State before taking on Oregon in a game that could be for the Pac-10 title.
#17 PENN STATE NITTANY LIONS (9-2, 5-2)
LAST WEEK: 31-20 win vs Indiana
NEXT GAME: Sat @ Michigan State
The way the Nits played in the first half you would have thought that their season went down the drain after losing to Ohio State. They must have forgot that the all-important Land Grant Trophy Game versus Michigan State was still remaining on the schedule.
#18 NORTH CAROLINA TAR HEELS (7-3, 3-3)
LAST WEEK: 33-24 win vs Miami
NEXT GAME: Sat @ Boston College
Two bad home losses turned this season for the Tar Heels. Losses at home to Virginia and Florida State took this team from a contender in the ACC to a middle of the road bowl game somewhere in the last week of December.
#19 CALIFORNIA GOLDEN BEARS (7-3, 4-3)
LAST WEEK: 24-16 win vs Arizona
NEXT GAME: Sat @ # 10 Stanford
Cal has looked really good in their wins and really bad in their losses, last week they looked really good and sneak into the top 20. The Bears will need to look really good again this week versus Stanford or it will be a short stay.
#20 ARIZONA WILDCATS (6-3, 4-2)
LAST WEEK: 24-16 loss @ Cal
NEXT GAME: Sat vs #8 Oregon
Five teams from the Pac-10 make it into the Rant Rankings this week. Half of the conference finds itself in the top 20 in the nation. Are they the best conference or the conference with the most parity?
Friday, November 13, 2009
RANDOM RANTING
VOLUNTEERED ROBBERY
As many people have heard, three Tennessee football players were arrested and charged in part with an armed robbery that occurred around 2:00 early Thursday morning at an off-campus gas station. That is not the story. That is no big deal. It is the SEC, Lane Kiffin will probably suspend them for the National Anthem.
The story is about one of the victims, Corey Zickefoose. This man had a gun stuck in his face during the robbery, but thinks the robbers should get off easy. Here is what he has to say, "I think they should still be able to play football, regardless. Tennessee is my place. It's my football team." When asked if he believed this despite having a gun pointed in his face by one of the robbers he added, "Yeah, it's Tennessee. That's the way it is sometimes,"
You have got to check this guy out!
Lane Kiffin and Vols need to hook this kids up with some season tickets!
THE NUMBERS DON’T LIE
While watching the Sunday Sports Showdown last Sunday on KDKA-TV and I heard a very interesting stat about Penn State football given by Paul Zeise. The stat was that Penn State is just 5-20 against Iowa, Ohio State and Michigan in the past 10 years. This stunned me, and it was followed up with the fact that they are just 5-10 in non-conference games vs BCS records that finished with a winning record in that same span. So, Penn State is just 10-30 against good competition over the last 10 years. That got me thinking, and researching, to find other surprising numbers that people may not be aware of regarding some of the top profile teams in the country.
I tried to choose 1 or 2 schools from each of the 6 BCS conferences, here is what I found out.
FLORIDA:
A lot is always made about teams and how they schedule their non-conference portion of their schedule. Somehow, it seems to be overlooked each year that Florida does play road non-conference games, and the ones they do play, they don’t have to travel very far to get to. The Gators have not played a non-conference game outside the state of Florida in 18 seasons. The last time Florida went on the road to play a non-conference game was September 21, 1991 and they lost in the Carrier Dome to Syracuse 38-21.
ALABAMA:
To be the best you have to beat the best, sometimes at least. Alabama, since 2000 is just 4-21 against teams that finished the season with double digit wins including losing the final two games of the season last year to Utah and Florida, both of whom finished with 13 wins on the season.
LSU:
Not as bad as Alabama against winning teams but LSU isn’t beating many powerhouses either, in conference play at least. Over the past 20 years the Tigers are just 7-31 against fellow SEC teams that went on to win 10+ games that season.
GEORGIA:
What’s the old saying, “It’s not a rivalry unless both teams win.” Well apparently Georgia is running short on rivals. If you would ask a Bulldog fan to name their two biggest rivals, they would probably say Florida and Tennessee. In the past 20 years Georgia has won only 10 of the 40 games played against those schools.
OHIO STATE:
Going from the SEC to the Big Ten this seems like the best transition to make, Ohio State has not beaten a team from the SEC since September of 1988. That is right, it has been 21 seasons since the Buckeyes have beaten a school from the SEC. The win occurred September 24, 1988 in a 36-33 win over LSU. That is also the Buckeyes only win versus a SEC team.
MICHIGAN:
The Wolverines haven’t fared much better against their rivals than Georgia. Michigan is 2-8 the past 10 games against Notre Dame and Ohio State and in the past 23 seasons, they have swept their rivals just four times.
NOTRE DAME:
As we all know Notre Dame is pretty much just like any other school in college football, the mystique is gone, although they would never want you to know that. Look at some of these numbers regarding whom Notre Dame plays (and beats). In the past 10 years, Notre Dame has won 69 games; only 26 of those wins came against teams with winning records. The average record of those 69 opponents was 5-6. The Irish have lost 8 straight games to teams with 10+ wins and are just 5-21 in the past 10 seasons against 10-win teams. In the past three seasons, they are 0-6 vs ranked teams and 3-16 against teams with winning records.
CINCINNATI:
Cincinnati is new to this winning thing, so these number may not surprised you, but for a team that is in the Top 5 they are pretty interesting. In the past 10 years Cincinnati is 3-12 against non-conference BCS opponents. Two of those three wins have come against Oregon State over the past three seasons.
PITT:
Being a Pitt fan is difficult; they seem to always lose at least one game every year to an inferior opponent. Well maybe it seems that way because it is 100% true. Pitt has lost at least one game for the past 9 seasons to a team that finished with a losing record. That streak looks like it will stay in tact as the Panthers only loss this season was against 4-5 NC State.
WEST VIRGINIA:
What is the toughest place to play in the Big East? West Virginia. WRONG! A crazy misconception is that playing in Morgantown tough. A hostile environment, yes, but a tough place to win, you may want to reconsider. WVU has lost at least 1 home game every year since 1994. In that span they have lost 13 home games in the last half of the season, when the wins are the most important. So far this season the Mountaineers are 6-0 at home with just one game remaining. WVU hosts Pitt Nov 27th, the last time they hosted the Panthers, Pitt knocked them out of the National Championship game upsetting the #2 Mountaineers in the final game of the regular season.
VIRGINIA TECH:
This one might be a stretch and maybe a little misleading because VT has been so good recently. Of the Hokies last 12 losses, 10 of them came from teams that had a worse record then them.
TEXAS:
The Longhorns and Oklahoma have pretty much been the class of the Big XII since the conference started in 1996. Since that time, Texas has a losing record to only two Big XII foes. One is Oklahoma, who is 6-5 versus the Longhorns. The other is Kansas State. That’s right the Kansas State Wildcats are the 2nd most successful team against Texas since the inception of the Big XII conference. K-State is 4-2 against the Longhorns.
OKLAHOMA:
Sooner fans get on Bob Stoops for not winning the big bowl games, but let’s not stop with just bowl games. Stoops has struggled against every team that is not in the Big XII. Since 2003, the Bob Stoops led Sooners have lost just 19 games. 9 of those games have come against Big XII opponents in 58 games. However, in just 32 nonconference games the Sooners have lost 10 times.
Enjoy your great weekend of college football!
As many people have heard, three Tennessee football players were arrested and charged in part with an armed robbery that occurred around 2:00 early Thursday morning at an off-campus gas station. That is not the story. That is no big deal. It is the SEC, Lane Kiffin will probably suspend them for the National Anthem.
The story is about one of the victims, Corey Zickefoose. This man had a gun stuck in his face during the robbery, but thinks the robbers should get off easy. Here is what he has to say, "I think they should still be able to play football, regardless. Tennessee is my place. It's my football team." When asked if he believed this despite having a gun pointed in his face by one of the robbers he added, "Yeah, it's Tennessee. That's the way it is sometimes,"
You have got to check this guy out!
Lane Kiffin and Vols need to hook this kids up with some season tickets!
THE NUMBERS DON’T LIE
While watching the Sunday Sports Showdown last Sunday on KDKA-TV and I heard a very interesting stat about Penn State football given by Paul Zeise. The stat was that Penn State is just 5-20 against Iowa, Ohio State and Michigan in the past 10 years. This stunned me, and it was followed up with the fact that they are just 5-10 in non-conference games vs BCS records that finished with a winning record in that same span. So, Penn State is just 10-30 against good competition over the last 10 years. That got me thinking, and researching, to find other surprising numbers that people may not be aware of regarding some of the top profile teams in the country.
I tried to choose 1 or 2 schools from each of the 6 BCS conferences, here is what I found out.
FLORIDA:
A lot is always made about teams and how they schedule their non-conference portion of their schedule. Somehow, it seems to be overlooked each year that Florida does play road non-conference games, and the ones they do play, they don’t have to travel very far to get to. The Gators have not played a non-conference game outside the state of Florida in 18 seasons. The last time Florida went on the road to play a non-conference game was September 21, 1991 and they lost in the Carrier Dome to Syracuse 38-21.
ALABAMA:
To be the best you have to beat the best, sometimes at least. Alabama, since 2000 is just 4-21 against teams that finished the season with double digit wins including losing the final two games of the season last year to Utah and Florida, both of whom finished with 13 wins on the season.
LSU:
Not as bad as Alabama against winning teams but LSU isn’t beating many powerhouses either, in conference play at least. Over the past 20 years the Tigers are just 7-31 against fellow SEC teams that went on to win 10+ games that season.
GEORGIA:
What’s the old saying, “It’s not a rivalry unless both teams win.” Well apparently Georgia is running short on rivals. If you would ask a Bulldog fan to name their two biggest rivals, they would probably say Florida and Tennessee. In the past 20 years Georgia has won only 10 of the 40 games played against those schools.
OHIO STATE:
Going from the SEC to the Big Ten this seems like the best transition to make, Ohio State has not beaten a team from the SEC since September of 1988. That is right, it has been 21 seasons since the Buckeyes have beaten a school from the SEC. The win occurred September 24, 1988 in a 36-33 win over LSU. That is also the Buckeyes only win versus a SEC team.
MICHIGAN:
The Wolverines haven’t fared much better against their rivals than Georgia. Michigan is 2-8 the past 10 games against Notre Dame and Ohio State and in the past 23 seasons, they have swept their rivals just four times.
NOTRE DAME:
As we all know Notre Dame is pretty much just like any other school in college football, the mystique is gone, although they would never want you to know that. Look at some of these numbers regarding whom Notre Dame plays (and beats). In the past 10 years, Notre Dame has won 69 games; only 26 of those wins came against teams with winning records. The average record of those 69 opponents was 5-6. The Irish have lost 8 straight games to teams with 10+ wins and are just 5-21 in the past 10 seasons against 10-win teams. In the past three seasons, they are 0-6 vs ranked teams and 3-16 against teams with winning records.
CINCINNATI:
Cincinnati is new to this winning thing, so these number may not surprised you, but for a team that is in the Top 5 they are pretty interesting. In the past 10 years Cincinnati is 3-12 against non-conference BCS opponents. Two of those three wins have come against Oregon State over the past three seasons.
PITT:
Being a Pitt fan is difficult; they seem to always lose at least one game every year to an inferior opponent. Well maybe it seems that way because it is 100% true. Pitt has lost at least one game for the past 9 seasons to a team that finished with a losing record. That streak looks like it will stay in tact as the Panthers only loss this season was against 4-5 NC State.
WEST VIRGINIA:
What is the toughest place to play in the Big East? West Virginia. WRONG! A crazy misconception is that playing in Morgantown tough. A hostile environment, yes, but a tough place to win, you may want to reconsider. WVU has lost at least 1 home game every year since 1994. In that span they have lost 13 home games in the last half of the season, when the wins are the most important. So far this season the Mountaineers are 6-0 at home with just one game remaining. WVU hosts Pitt Nov 27th, the last time they hosted the Panthers, Pitt knocked them out of the National Championship game upsetting the #2 Mountaineers in the final game of the regular season.
VIRGINIA TECH:
This one might be a stretch and maybe a little misleading because VT has been so good recently. Of the Hokies last 12 losses, 10 of them came from teams that had a worse record then them.
TEXAS:
The Longhorns and Oklahoma have pretty much been the class of the Big XII since the conference started in 1996. Since that time, Texas has a losing record to only two Big XII foes. One is Oklahoma, who is 6-5 versus the Longhorns. The other is Kansas State. That’s right the Kansas State Wildcats are the 2nd most successful team against Texas since the inception of the Big XII conference. K-State is 4-2 against the Longhorns.
OKLAHOMA:
Sooner fans get on Bob Stoops for not winning the big bowl games, but let’s not stop with just bowl games. Stoops has struggled against every team that is not in the Big XII. Since 2003, the Bob Stoops led Sooners have lost just 19 games. 9 of those games have come against Big XII opponents in 58 games. However, in just 32 nonconference games the Sooners have lost 10 times.
Enjoy your great weekend of college football!
T3R WEEK 3
Sorry for the delay this week, I spent most of the week trying to track down a Nutcracker shirt from the white-out to give to Terrelle Pryor.
#1 TEXAS LONGHORNS (9-0, 5-0)
LAST WEEK: 35-3 win vs UCF
NEXT GAME: Sat @ Baylor
Texas can pretty much sleep walk their way to the national title game at this point. The remaining schedule consists of Baylor, Kansas and Texas A&M. Those three teams are a combined 4-11 in conference play so far this year and they would have to lose 2 of those 3 to not make it to the BIG XII Title game. Then they will go up against one of the jokes from the Big XII South (maybe the worst division of any conference in the history of college football). So I’m saying it now, Texas has already stamped their ticket to Pasadena and will be playing for the national title.
#2 FLORIDA GATORS (9-0, 7-0)
LAST WEEK: 27-3 win vs Vanderbilt
NEXT GAME: Sat @ South Carolina
I am starting to wonder if Florida has just being toying with the college football world this season. Everyone doubted them and they started to lose points in the rankings and then they came out and smashed Georgia in a rivalry game. This week could be interesting though. If the offense really is struggling, SC is not the team you want to have to face. The Gamecocks have a very stingy defense and could be a tough road environment if it is close in the fourth quarter.
#3 ALABAMA CRIMSON TIDE (9-0, 6-0)
LAST WEEK: 25-14 win vs #7 LSU
NEXT GAME: Sat @ Mississippi State
By beating LSU last week, Alabama has clinched a re-match with Florida (who also clinched last week) in the SEC Title game. Alabama should be able to stay unbeaten until that game with only contests against Mississippi State, Chattanooga and Auburn remaining on their regular season slate.
#4 CINCINNATI BEARCATS (9-0, 5-0)
LAST WEEK: 47-45 win vs UCONN
NEXT GAME: Fri vs WVU
The Bearcats survived a scare against a pesky UCONN team. Cincinnati now has two more conference games remaining against the other top teams in the Big East. If the Bearcats win Friday, it makes the Dec 5th match-up with Pitt the unofficial title game for the Big East conference, regardless how either teams fares in their games until then.
#5 TCU HORNED FROGS (9-0, 5-0)
LAST WEEK: 55-12 win @ San Diego State
NEXT GAME: Sat vs Utah
Ten weeks down and TCU is still undefeated! If you are a fan of the BCS-buster then you love this. If you are not, you should be pulling big-time for the Utes this week in Fort Worth. Utah is the only team remaining on TCU’s cake schedule that stands a chance at beating them and knocking them out of BCS consideration.
#6 GEORGIA TECH YELLOW JACKETS (9-1, 6-1)
LAST WEEK: 30-27 OT win vs Wake Forest
NEXT GAME: Sat @ Duke
The Yellow Jackets escaped last week with a win against a poor Wake Forest team. GT needs to be on its game this week against a much-improved Duke team that is fighting to get bowl eligible for the first time since 1994. If Georgia Tech wins, they clinch the ACC Coastal division. A loss puts the ball in Miami’s court and the Yellow Jackets would have to hope for a Canes loss in the final weeks of the season.
#7 LSU TIGERS (7-2, 4-2)
LAST WEEK: 24-15 loss @ #3 Alabama
NEXT GAME: Sat vs La Tech
How does a team move up after losing? They play well. The LSU defense played well enough to win that game last week, and minus one terrible call and review by the SEC officiating, they could have won that game. LSU has lost twice this season. Once to Florida and once to Alabama, that is not too bad!
#8 PITT PANTHERS (8-1, 5-0)
LAST WEEK: win 37-10 vs Syracuse
NEXT GAME: Sat vs Notre Dame
Pitt has survived the easy part of their schedule and now has a tough 3-game stretch to close it out. The Pitt secondary should face a stern challenge against Jimmy Clausen and the Irish, but the next two games are what really matter as they push towards their first outright Big East title.
#9 OREGON DUCKS (7-2, 5-1)
LAST WEEK: 51-42 loss @ #16 Stanford
NEXT GAME: Sat vs Arizona State
How do you take the air out of a program after a huge win? Go out and lay an egg the next game out. The Ducks did that exact thing. After coming off arguably the biggest win in school history Oregon got down early and never recovered against Stanford.
#10 SOUTHERN CAL TROJANS (7-2, 4-2)
LAST WEEK: 14-9 win @ Arizona State
NEXT GAME: Sat vs Stanford
The Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde of the college football world have to be the USC offense. They were held under 20 two games earlier this year, then ran 5 straight games scoring 27+, and in the past 2 weeks they have scored a total of three touchdowns.
#11 the OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY BUCKEYES (8-2, 5-1)
LAST WEEK: 24-7 win @ #18 Penn State
NEXT GAME: Sat vs Iowa
Well I was hoping for a 40 point win and a career day for Pryor last week, I guess I will settle for a 17-point win and seeing an empty Beaver Stadium as the time ticked off the clock in the 4th quarter. If last week was the Big Ten semi-final for the Buckeyes, that would make this week the Championship game. Looks like the Ohio State University will be going back to the Rose Bowl for the first time since 1996.
#12 ARIZONA WILDCATS (6-2, 4-1)
LAST WEEK: 48-7 win vs Washington State
NEXT GAME: Sat @ California
Mike Stoops FINALLY has his team in place to reach expectations that were set when he took over in Tucson, but he still has a tough road ahead of him. The Wildcats still have this week vs Cal, then they host 1st place Oregon before going on the road to rival Arizona State and finishing at USC. Can it be done? Yes, but it certainly won’t be easy.
#13 BOISE STATE BRONCOS (9-0, 4-0)
LAST WEEK: 45-35 win @ La Tech
NEXT GAME: Sat vs Idaho
59-2 on the Smurf Turf this decade is all you need to know about this match-up. Idaho is not a bad team and if this were a road game for Boise State, it would pose a challenge, that being said the Broncos will roll to a very unimpressive 10-0.
#14 WISCONSIN BADGERS (7-2, 4-2)
LAST WEEK: 31-28 win @ Indiana
NEXT GAME: Sat vs Michigan
John Clay and his power running game for the Badgers versus a hit-or-miss Michigan team who has had trouble stopping anyone on the defensive side of the ball. Wisconsin has quietly played itself into a battle for 2nd place in the Big Ten.
#15 OKLAHOMA STATE COWBOYS (7-2, 4-1)
LAST WEEK: 34-8 win @ Iowa State
NEXT GAME: Sat vs Texas Tech
Oklahoma State has two bad losses, but I really do feel that they could play with anyone in the country outside of the top 3 teams. The loss to Houston is still a bad loss despite what the Cougars have done since. And the Texas game was a bad loss simply due to the margin of defeat, you can’t be ashamed losing to the Longhorns, it was just how it happened, at home none the less.
#16 STANFORD CARDINAL (6-3, 5-2)
LAST WEEK: 51-42 win vs #9 Oregon
NEXT GAME: Sat @ Southern Cal
The Trees had a big win last week on the road to get into the rankings this week, now they need to do it again on the road to stay in the rankings. If they do upset the Trojans, not only will they stay in the rankings but also they will vault right into the Pac-10 race for the Rose Bowl.
#17 MIAMI HURRICANES (7-2, 4-2)
LAST WEEK: 52-17 win vs Virginia
NEXT GAME: Sat @ North Carolina
The Canes are an OT loss against Clemson from being in first place in the Coastal Division of the ACC. They are not out of it however, with two games to play in conference and the head-to-head tiebreaker over 1st place GT, the Canes still have a lot to play for. This week won’t be easy though, they have never won in Chapel Hill.
#18 PENN STATE NITTANY LIONS (8-2, 4-2)
LAST WEEK: 24-7 loss vs #11 Ohio State
NEXT GAME: Sat vs Indiana
What happened to the home field advantage that Penn State used to have with 110K crazy loud fans? Last week was the second time they lost at Beaver Stadium this season, and most of the fans left before the game was even over. Indiana won’t be as easy as many Nits think this week. The Hoosiers have lost their last three games and are just 1-5 in conference but they just haven’t finished well. In those five conference losses, they have held leads late in the 4th quarter or lost by one possession in four of them.
#19 HOUSTON COUGARS (8-1, 4-1)
LAST WEEK: 46-45 win @ Tulsa
NEXT GAME: Sat @ UCF
Tulsa had a lot of hype coming into the season for their high-powered offense, but they haven’t really produced much. They were 4-5 coming into this game and got smacked by Oklahoma 45-0. This game should not have been close. The Cougars escaped thanks to a 51-yard FG by a freshman as time expired capping a 9-point rally in the final 21 seconds of play. You can’t struggle to win two straight weeks against bad competition and expect to climb in the rankings.
#20 CLEMSON TIGERS (6-3, 4-2)
LAST WEEK: 40-24 win vs Florida State
NEXT GAME: Sat @ NC State
Clemson started the season 2-3, including a terrible lost at Maryland, but since has won four straight and currently lead the ACC Atlantic division.
#1 TEXAS LONGHORNS (9-0, 5-0)
LAST WEEK: 35-3 win vs UCF
NEXT GAME: Sat @ Baylor
Texas can pretty much sleep walk their way to the national title game at this point. The remaining schedule consists of Baylor, Kansas and Texas A&M. Those three teams are a combined 4-11 in conference play so far this year and they would have to lose 2 of those 3 to not make it to the BIG XII Title game. Then they will go up against one of the jokes from the Big XII South (maybe the worst division of any conference in the history of college football). So I’m saying it now, Texas has already stamped their ticket to Pasadena and will be playing for the national title.
#2 FLORIDA GATORS (9-0, 7-0)
LAST WEEK: 27-3 win vs Vanderbilt
NEXT GAME: Sat @ South Carolina
I am starting to wonder if Florida has just being toying with the college football world this season. Everyone doubted them and they started to lose points in the rankings and then they came out and smashed Georgia in a rivalry game. This week could be interesting though. If the offense really is struggling, SC is not the team you want to have to face. The Gamecocks have a very stingy defense and could be a tough road environment if it is close in the fourth quarter.
#3 ALABAMA CRIMSON TIDE (9-0, 6-0)
LAST WEEK: 25-14 win vs #7 LSU
NEXT GAME: Sat @ Mississippi State
By beating LSU last week, Alabama has clinched a re-match with Florida (who also clinched last week) in the SEC Title game. Alabama should be able to stay unbeaten until that game with only contests against Mississippi State, Chattanooga and Auburn remaining on their regular season slate.
#4 CINCINNATI BEARCATS (9-0, 5-0)
LAST WEEK: 47-45 win vs UCONN
NEXT GAME: Fri vs WVU
The Bearcats survived a scare against a pesky UCONN team. Cincinnati now has two more conference games remaining against the other top teams in the Big East. If the Bearcats win Friday, it makes the Dec 5th match-up with Pitt the unofficial title game for the Big East conference, regardless how either teams fares in their games until then.
#5 TCU HORNED FROGS (9-0, 5-0)
LAST WEEK: 55-12 win @ San Diego State
NEXT GAME: Sat vs Utah
Ten weeks down and TCU is still undefeated! If you are a fan of the BCS-buster then you love this. If you are not, you should be pulling big-time for the Utes this week in Fort Worth. Utah is the only team remaining on TCU’s cake schedule that stands a chance at beating them and knocking them out of BCS consideration.
#6 GEORGIA TECH YELLOW JACKETS (9-1, 6-1)
LAST WEEK: 30-27 OT win vs Wake Forest
NEXT GAME: Sat @ Duke
The Yellow Jackets escaped last week with a win against a poor Wake Forest team. GT needs to be on its game this week against a much-improved Duke team that is fighting to get bowl eligible for the first time since 1994. If Georgia Tech wins, they clinch the ACC Coastal division. A loss puts the ball in Miami’s court and the Yellow Jackets would have to hope for a Canes loss in the final weeks of the season.
#7 LSU TIGERS (7-2, 4-2)
LAST WEEK: 24-15 loss @ #3 Alabama
NEXT GAME: Sat vs La Tech
How does a team move up after losing? They play well. The LSU defense played well enough to win that game last week, and minus one terrible call and review by the SEC officiating, they could have won that game. LSU has lost twice this season. Once to Florida and once to Alabama, that is not too bad!
#8 PITT PANTHERS (8-1, 5-0)
LAST WEEK: win 37-10 vs Syracuse
NEXT GAME: Sat vs Notre Dame
Pitt has survived the easy part of their schedule and now has a tough 3-game stretch to close it out. The Pitt secondary should face a stern challenge against Jimmy Clausen and the Irish, but the next two games are what really matter as they push towards their first outright Big East title.
#9 OREGON DUCKS (7-2, 5-1)
LAST WEEK: 51-42 loss @ #16 Stanford
NEXT GAME: Sat vs Arizona State
How do you take the air out of a program after a huge win? Go out and lay an egg the next game out. The Ducks did that exact thing. After coming off arguably the biggest win in school history Oregon got down early and never recovered against Stanford.
#10 SOUTHERN CAL TROJANS (7-2, 4-2)
LAST WEEK: 14-9 win @ Arizona State
NEXT GAME: Sat vs Stanford
The Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde of the college football world have to be the USC offense. They were held under 20 two games earlier this year, then ran 5 straight games scoring 27+, and in the past 2 weeks they have scored a total of three touchdowns.
#11 the OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY BUCKEYES (8-2, 5-1)
LAST WEEK: 24-7 win @ #18 Penn State
NEXT GAME: Sat vs Iowa
Well I was hoping for a 40 point win and a career day for Pryor last week, I guess I will settle for a 17-point win and seeing an empty Beaver Stadium as the time ticked off the clock in the 4th quarter. If last week was the Big Ten semi-final for the Buckeyes, that would make this week the Championship game. Looks like the Ohio State University will be going back to the Rose Bowl for the first time since 1996.
#12 ARIZONA WILDCATS (6-2, 4-1)
LAST WEEK: 48-7 win vs Washington State
NEXT GAME: Sat @ California
Mike Stoops FINALLY has his team in place to reach expectations that were set when he took over in Tucson, but he still has a tough road ahead of him. The Wildcats still have this week vs Cal, then they host 1st place Oregon before going on the road to rival Arizona State and finishing at USC. Can it be done? Yes, but it certainly won’t be easy.
#13 BOISE STATE BRONCOS (9-0, 4-0)
LAST WEEK: 45-35 win @ La Tech
NEXT GAME: Sat vs Idaho
59-2 on the Smurf Turf this decade is all you need to know about this match-up. Idaho is not a bad team and if this were a road game for Boise State, it would pose a challenge, that being said the Broncos will roll to a very unimpressive 10-0.
#14 WISCONSIN BADGERS (7-2, 4-2)
LAST WEEK: 31-28 win @ Indiana
NEXT GAME: Sat vs Michigan
John Clay and his power running game for the Badgers versus a hit-or-miss Michigan team who has had trouble stopping anyone on the defensive side of the ball. Wisconsin has quietly played itself into a battle for 2nd place in the Big Ten.
#15 OKLAHOMA STATE COWBOYS (7-2, 4-1)
LAST WEEK: 34-8 win @ Iowa State
NEXT GAME: Sat vs Texas Tech
Oklahoma State has two bad losses, but I really do feel that they could play with anyone in the country outside of the top 3 teams. The loss to Houston is still a bad loss despite what the Cougars have done since. And the Texas game was a bad loss simply due to the margin of defeat, you can’t be ashamed losing to the Longhorns, it was just how it happened, at home none the less.
#16 STANFORD CARDINAL (6-3, 5-2)
LAST WEEK: 51-42 win vs #9 Oregon
NEXT GAME: Sat @ Southern Cal
The Trees had a big win last week on the road to get into the rankings this week, now they need to do it again on the road to stay in the rankings. If they do upset the Trojans, not only will they stay in the rankings but also they will vault right into the Pac-10 race for the Rose Bowl.
#17 MIAMI HURRICANES (7-2, 4-2)
LAST WEEK: 52-17 win vs Virginia
NEXT GAME: Sat @ North Carolina
The Canes are an OT loss against Clemson from being in first place in the Coastal Division of the ACC. They are not out of it however, with two games to play in conference and the head-to-head tiebreaker over 1st place GT, the Canes still have a lot to play for. This week won’t be easy though, they have never won in Chapel Hill.
#18 PENN STATE NITTANY LIONS (8-2, 4-2)
LAST WEEK: 24-7 loss vs #11 Ohio State
NEXT GAME: Sat vs Indiana
What happened to the home field advantage that Penn State used to have with 110K crazy loud fans? Last week was the second time they lost at Beaver Stadium this season, and most of the fans left before the game was even over. Indiana won’t be as easy as many Nits think this week. The Hoosiers have lost their last three games and are just 1-5 in conference but they just haven’t finished well. In those five conference losses, they have held leads late in the 4th quarter or lost by one possession in four of them.
#19 HOUSTON COUGARS (8-1, 4-1)
LAST WEEK: 46-45 win @ Tulsa
NEXT GAME: Sat @ UCF
Tulsa had a lot of hype coming into the season for their high-powered offense, but they haven’t really produced much. They were 4-5 coming into this game and got smacked by Oklahoma 45-0. This game should not have been close. The Cougars escaped thanks to a 51-yard FG by a freshman as time expired capping a 9-point rally in the final 21 seconds of play. You can’t struggle to win two straight weeks against bad competition and expect to climb in the rankings.
#20 CLEMSON TIGERS (6-3, 4-2)
LAST WEEK: 40-24 win vs Florida State
NEXT GAME: Sat @ NC State
Clemson started the season 2-3, including a terrible lost at Maryland, but since has won four straight and currently lead the ACC Atlantic division.
Friday, November 6, 2009
RANDOM RANTING
REASONS I HATE THE YANKEES
As much as I respect the Yankees and their organization I cannot stand them. I love that they give their fans value for what they pay for, unlike the baseball owners in Pittsburgh. I love the fact that they want to win, again unlike the baseball owners in Pittsburgh. Basically I love the fact that they are a complete 180 from everything the Pirates do from an operations stand point. Despite all of that, I still can’t stand their huge egos. I can’t stand how they throw around money. I can’t stand pretty much every player on the team. I didn’t mind George Steinbrenner, but I can’t stand his idiot son Hank. And I can’t stand their fans.
As I mentioned, I like the fact that the Yankees spend money and put a competitive team on the field, but I don’t like how they spend so much money that it is not competitive for the rest of the teams. The Yankees spent over $201M this season, which is $66M more than any other team in baseball. There were seven teams to not spend $65M this season, and that is the difference in spending between the Yankees and the second highest paid team. I don’t mind them being the highest paid team every year, but how about making it competitive and stay in the same ballpark as the other teams.
On to the people that represent the team, the faces of the organization. You have loud mouth son of the owner, Hank Steinbrenner. The most overrated SS of all time in Derek Jeter. Two guys that as recently as this off-season where under the microscope due to past drug problems with A-Roid, Andy Pettitte (wonder if he juiced between WS starts. Last time he pitched on 3 days rest was 6 years ago, he may have been looking for his body to recover quicker.) Finally you have the only two guys on the team that seem to be good guys, Jorge Posada and Mariano Rivera.
Among all of the annoying things about the Yankees, which include their obnoxious fans, this is by far the worst, the Jeter Fist Pump!
What is that stupid little fist pump he does? It is like nothing I’ve seen before. It isn’t even a real fist pump; never does he actually pump his fist. Instead he holds his hand in a fist up by his ear then snaps it downward like he is try to get something off his hand, then he pulls it back up to his head and holds that pose for the cameras.
STAY CLASSY STATE COLLEGE
In this portion I my Rant I will bash Penn State. There are a few things that have happened this week that kind of have me irked and I wanted to air it out a little. First of all, as many of you have read before, in my opinion there is not a better atmosphere to take in a college football game than at night at Beaver Stadium during a white-out. That being said, I am growing tired of the white-out. It should be done maybe once a year for big games only. It shouldn’t be EVERY GAME like the student section at Penn State likes to make it.
While we are on the subject of the White-Out’s at Penn State, let’s talk about the shirt that was to be sold and used for this week’s game, which of course is another white-out. I understand that in any sporting event, especially college ones, fans will harass the opposing teams star player, but how about when the university does the harassing? That is what Penn State was about to do this week, before they wised up and changed their minds. Here is the shirt that was designed and okayed by the university and was set to go on sale at the university bookstores today, before the university pulled them off the racks.
The shirt was created by the Penn State Marketing Association. What tops it off is the apology that the PSMA’s chief executive director released regarding the shirt. He said, “We did not intend for this shirt to offend Terrelle Pryor, The Ohio State University, or Penn State Athletics, and we apologize for any offense it caused.” REALLY? You didn’t intend to offend anyone by using that design on a t-shirt? You mean to tell me that you were not specifically trying to offend Terrelle Pryor, a kid that the university tried as hard as anyone to recruit to no avail? Yeah, sure!
As much as I respect the Yankees and their organization I cannot stand them. I love that they give their fans value for what they pay for, unlike the baseball owners in Pittsburgh. I love the fact that they want to win, again unlike the baseball owners in Pittsburgh. Basically I love the fact that they are a complete 180 from everything the Pirates do from an operations stand point. Despite all of that, I still can’t stand their huge egos. I can’t stand how they throw around money. I can’t stand pretty much every player on the team. I didn’t mind George Steinbrenner, but I can’t stand his idiot son Hank. And I can’t stand their fans.
As I mentioned, I like the fact that the Yankees spend money and put a competitive team on the field, but I don’t like how they spend so much money that it is not competitive for the rest of the teams. The Yankees spent over $201M this season, which is $66M more than any other team in baseball. There were seven teams to not spend $65M this season, and that is the difference in spending between the Yankees and the second highest paid team. I don’t mind them being the highest paid team every year, but how about making it competitive and stay in the same ballpark as the other teams.
On to the people that represent the team, the faces of the organization. You have loud mouth son of the owner, Hank Steinbrenner. The most overrated SS of all time in Derek Jeter. Two guys that as recently as this off-season where under the microscope due to past drug problems with A-Roid, Andy Pettitte (wonder if he juiced between WS starts. Last time he pitched on 3 days rest was 6 years ago, he may have been looking for his body to recover quicker.) Finally you have the only two guys on the team that seem to be good guys, Jorge Posada and Mariano Rivera.
Among all of the annoying things about the Yankees, which include their obnoxious fans, this is by far the worst, the Jeter Fist Pump!
What is that stupid little fist pump he does? It is like nothing I’ve seen before. It isn’t even a real fist pump; never does he actually pump his fist. Instead he holds his hand in a fist up by his ear then snaps it downward like he is try to get something off his hand, then he pulls it back up to his head and holds that pose for the cameras.
STAY CLASSY STATE COLLEGE
In this portion I my Rant I will bash Penn State. There are a few things that have happened this week that kind of have me irked and I wanted to air it out a little. First of all, as many of you have read before, in my opinion there is not a better atmosphere to take in a college football game than at night at Beaver Stadium during a white-out. That being said, I am growing tired of the white-out. It should be done maybe once a year for big games only. It shouldn’t be EVERY GAME like the student section at Penn State likes to make it.
While we are on the subject of the White-Out’s at Penn State, let’s talk about the shirt that was to be sold and used for this week’s game, which of course is another white-out. I understand that in any sporting event, especially college ones, fans will harass the opposing teams star player, but how about when the university does the harassing? That is what Penn State was about to do this week, before they wised up and changed their minds. Here is the shirt that was designed and okayed by the university and was set to go on sale at the university bookstores today, before the university pulled them off the racks.
The shirt was created by the Penn State Marketing Association. What tops it off is the apology that the PSMA’s chief executive director released regarding the shirt. He said, “We did not intend for this shirt to offend Terrelle Pryor, The Ohio State University, or Penn State Athletics, and we apologize for any offense it caused.” REALLY? You didn’t intend to offend anyone by using that design on a t-shirt? You mean to tell me that you were not specifically trying to offend Terrelle Pryor, a kid that the university tried as hard as anyone to recruit to no avail? Yeah, sure!
I hope that he has a career day and the Ohio State beats the Nits by 40. I realize that will probably not happen, but one can dream!
T3R WEEK 2
Sorry for the delay on the rankings this week, I’m still trying to add up all the rushing yards for Oregon last week against the mighty USC defense.
#1 TEXAS LONGHORNS (8-0, 5-0)
LAST WEEK: 41-14 win @ Oklahoma State
NEXT GAME: Sat vs UCF
Last weeks performance did nothing but reassure myself that I made the right choice by putting Texas at #1 over Florida and Alabama in the initial rankings this season. Oklahoma State is not a bad team, and UT absolutely dominated that game in every way. With Central Florida, Baylor, Kansas and A&M on their schedule before a cupcake Big XII North foe in the conference championship game the Longhorns look like they will maintain the top spot and get to Pasadena for the National Championship game.
#2 FLORIDA GATORS (8-0, 6-0)
LAST WEEK: 41-17 win vs Georgia
NEXT GAME: Sat vs Vanderbilt
That was the performance most people around the nation where waiting for all season out of the Gators, right up until the eye-gauging incident. Wow was that thing blown out of proportion? Yes Urban Meyer looked like an idiot for only suspending Brandon Spikes for 1 half of Saturday’s games against 2-7 Vanderbilt, but didn’t we all know this about him already? Let’s get on to the bigger issue, Tim Tebow breaking Herschel Walker’s SEC TD record. Okay, first of all Walker played three seasons. In those seasons they played 11 games. There were no SEC title games. There were no 12th games on the schedules. Bowl games didn’t count in stats. Did I mention he did this in 3 seasons, 33 games? Tim Tebow after 33 games had 33 touchdowns!
#3 OREGON DUCKS (7-1, 5-0)
LAST WEEK: 47-20 win vs Southern Cal
NEXT GAME: Sat @ Stanford
How is 391 yards rushing against a USC defense that came into the game 5th in the nation allowing just over 78 ypg on the ground? That is impressive. How about 613 yards of offense on a Pete Carroll led defense? That is the most all-time against Pete Carroll. The Ducks may actually be playing better football than anyone in the nation right now.
#4 ALABAMA CRIMSON TIDE (8-0, 5-0)
LAST WEEK: OFF WEEK
NEXT GAME: Sat vs #9 LSU
See what happens this year in college football, you have a bye week and you drop 2 spots in this world of WHAT HAVE YOU DONE FOR ME LATELY?! Bama has a big game at home against a tough LSU team that seems to be starting move in the right direction. Alabama’s win in this series last season snapped a five game win streak for LSU. Bama hasn’t won at home in this series since 1999.
#5 CINCINNATI BEARCATS (8-0, 4-0)
LAST WEEK: 28-7 win @ Syracuse
NEXT GAME: Sat vs UCONN
Things are certainly setting up nice for the Bearcats. Cincinnati played in Syracuse last week and won’t have to leave home again until the season finale in Pittsburgh December 5th. They play 3 straight in the comforts of Nippert Stadium. The toughest of the three is WVU which is sandwiched between two possible trap games if the Bearcats are not careful. UCONN this week and a non-conference match-up with Illinois Nov 27th.
#6 TCU HORNED FROGS (8-0, 4-0)
LAST WEEK: 41-0 win vs UNLV
NEXT GAME: Sat @ San Diego State
Life is tough for the small conference guys in the T3R just like the BCS. Win a game 41-0 and drop two spots from the week before. Not that TCU wasn’t very impressive in their win, but they just have to do so much to make up for their lack of opponents that it will be difficult to with the remaining schedule for the Horned Frogs. Hosting Utah in 2 next weekend will help, but they need to really impress in that game as well.
#7 GEORGIA TECH YELLOW JACKETS (8-1, 5-1)
LAST WEEK: 56-31 win @ Vanderbilt
NEXT GAME: Sat vs Wake Forest
The Yellow Jackets have the ACC Coastal division all but wrapped up and we still have a month to go in conference play. The GT offense is really starting to roll in its second year under Paul Johnson running the Triple Option. Johnson had success running the ball at Navy with undersized players, now he is running the same system with bigger and stronger athletes. This offenses full potential is scary.
#8 IOWA HAWKEYES (9-0, 5-0)
LAST WEEK: 42-24 win @ Indiana
BOWL GAME: Sat vs Northwestern
I’m going to go out on a limb and predict that Iowa will not win the Big Ten this season. The Hawkeyes could not possibly keep up this lucky streak they have had all season. First of all, the refs owe Indiana an apology for some of the calls made in that game last week. Indiana completely outplayed Iowa, but once again Iowa snuck away with a victory. I just don’t see them being able to continue to the magical run. It wouldn’t surprise me at all if Northwestern beats the Hawkeyes this week, and I fully expect Ohio State to beat them in Columbus the following week.
#9 LSU TIGERS (7-1, 4-1)
LAST WEEK: 42-0 win vs Tulane
NEXT GAME: Sat @ #4 Alabama
I said it last week and I will say it again this week, who is this LSU team? Sure they have some nice wins (on the road versus Washington, and Georgia and a dominant win at home versus Auburn) but I still know nothing about them. They have won the games they were expected to, and lost the one game they were expected to lose (Florida). The stretch run will be very interesting for Les Miles and company. They have 3 SEC games remaining and I could see them losing all 3 or winning all three. Most likely it will be somewhere in the middle though. First things first though, beating Alabama this week.
#10 PITT PANTHERS (7-1, 4-0)
LAST WEEK: OFF WEEK
NEXT GAME: Sat vs Syracuse
Everything is setting up perfectly for Pitt this season. They have four games remaining, three of which are at Heinz Field. 3 of the 4 are Big East games and if they win those 3 they will find themselves playing in a BCS bowl. Oddly enough, the Notre Dame game next week is perceived to be a huge game for the Panthers, but in reality it means absolutely nothing in the big picture of things. Beating Notre Dame would be great for the image of the school, but losing to them doesn’t hurt the teams long term goal of winning the Big East at all.
#11 SOUTHERN CAL TROJANS (6-2, 3-2)
LAST WEEK: 47-20 loss @ Oregon
NEXT GAME: Sat @ Arizona State
To put in perspective how bad of a loss last Saturday was to Oregon how about these numbers, in the last 8 losses for USC (which dates back to Sept. 27, 2003) the Trojans lost by a TOTAL of 29 points. On Saturday Oregon beat USC by 27. Boy do I feel bad for Arizona State this week!
#12 PENN STATE NITTANY LIONS (8-1, 4-1)
LAST WEEK: 34-13 win @ Northwestern
NEXT GAME: Sat vs #15 Ohio State
I really had a tough time saying that USC was better than Penn State this week, but all I could picture was Matt Sanchez throwing another TD against the Lions defense in the Rose Bowl last year. This Penn State team has been a real disappointment to me so far. They have the talent to be very good, but they haven’t put a full game together (minus maybe the Michigan game) all season. They did it again last week as they went into the 4th quarter tied with a very average Northwestern team. Please make this a statement game on Saturday. Either win by 20 (like you probably should do) or don’t win at all, that would make it much easier for everyone that is trying to follow you.
#13 BOISE STATE BRONCOS (8-0, 3-0)
LAST WEEK: 45-7 win vs San Jose State
NEXT GAME: Fri @ Louisiana Tech
Boise State should get credit for beating the same Oregon team that just handed it to USC, but that is the same Oregon team in name only. If those two teams played again this week Oregon would win by 20, easily. Boise State will roll again this week against yet another patsy from the WAC. The Broncos have only 2 games remaining against teams with a winning record, Idaho and Nevada and both of those games are on the Smurf Turf in Boise.
#14 ARIZONA WILDCATS (5-2, 3-1)
LAST WEEK: OFF WEEK
NEXT GAME: Sat vs Washington State
Quick after USC lost to Oregon last week, tell me who is in second place in the PAC-10? Yep you guessed it, the Wildcats of Arizona! Arizona has never won an out-right Pac-10 title and have never played in the Rose Bowl. All of that is possible this season. Oregon goes to the desert for their match-up and the Wildcats finish the season in LA to face USC. If they win both of those games they could be making a return trip to LA for the Rose Bowl in early January.
#15 the OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY BUCKEYES (7-2, 4-1)
LAST WEEK: 45-0 win vs New Mexico State
NEXT GAME: Sat @ #12 Penn State
When Terrell Pryor runs for 50+ yards this season the Buckeyes are 5-0, when he doesn’t they are 2-2. Let the kid run! It amazes me how misused Pryor is in the Ohio State offense. I expect a big game for him in his first trip back to his home state of Pennsylvania, and a win.
#16 CALIFORNIA GOLDEN BEARS (6-2, 3-2)
LAST WEEK: 23-21 win @ Arizona State
NEXT GAME: Sat vs Oregon State
To say Cal hit a bump in the road earlier this season may be they understatement of the year, they lost to Oregon and USC in back-to-back weeks by a total score of 72-6, but they have got back on the right road and been impressive doing it. Cal has its toughest part of the schedule behind it and could win out if they can beat Arizona at home in two weeks.
#17 WISCONSIN BADGERS (6-2, 3-2)
LAST WEEK: 37-0 win vs Purdue
NEXT GAME: Sat @ Indiana
Wisconsin lost back-to-back games against Iowa and Ohio State in October, but those are the only blemishes on their schedule. The Badgers are quietly lurking in the Big Ten race. Unfortunately for them even if the teams ahead of them lose, they probably won’t pass them in the standings due to the head to head results.
#18 OKLAHOMA SOONERS (5-3, 3-1)
LAST WEEK: 42-30 @ Kansas State
NEXT GAME: Sat @ Nebraska
Oklahoma has 3 losses this season. Those losses are by 1 to BYU, 1 @ Miami and 3 to #1 Texas, and all of them came with the back-up QB playing due to Sam Bradford’s re-occurring shoulder injury.
#19 OKLAHOMA STATE COWBOYS (6-2, 3-1)
LAST WEEK: 41-14 loss vs Texas
NEXT GAME: Sat @ Iowa State
What better way for a team to get back into play after a beating like the Cowboys took last week then to play a team from the Big XII North? The Cowboys hopefully answered some questions about themselves this week and will get back to playing the same quality style of football that we have come to expect from them down the stretch. The remaining schedule has Iowa State and Colorado from the North (easy wins) and Texas Tech and Oklahoma.
#20 HOUSTON COUGARS (7-1, 3-1)
LAST WEEK: 50-43 win vs Southern Miss
NEXT GAME: Sat @ Tulsa
As exciting as that game was last week, it didn’t help Houston at all nationally. You have to get style points if you are a non-BCS conference playing a bunch of cupcakes. Yes throwing for 559 yards is impressive; scoring 50 points is impressive, giving up a 14 point fourth quarter lead with under six minutes to play, not so much. Giving up 43 points and over 600 yards of offense, not so impressive.
By the way, it was 391 yards that Oregon rushed for against USC last week!
#1 TEXAS LONGHORNS (8-0, 5-0)
LAST WEEK: 41-14 win @ Oklahoma State
NEXT GAME: Sat vs UCF
Last weeks performance did nothing but reassure myself that I made the right choice by putting Texas at #1 over Florida and Alabama in the initial rankings this season. Oklahoma State is not a bad team, and UT absolutely dominated that game in every way. With Central Florida, Baylor, Kansas and A&M on their schedule before a cupcake Big XII North foe in the conference championship game the Longhorns look like they will maintain the top spot and get to Pasadena for the National Championship game.
#2 FLORIDA GATORS (8-0, 6-0)
LAST WEEK: 41-17 win vs Georgia
NEXT GAME: Sat vs Vanderbilt
That was the performance most people around the nation where waiting for all season out of the Gators, right up until the eye-gauging incident. Wow was that thing blown out of proportion? Yes Urban Meyer looked like an idiot for only suspending Brandon Spikes for 1 half of Saturday’s games against 2-7 Vanderbilt, but didn’t we all know this about him already? Let’s get on to the bigger issue, Tim Tebow breaking Herschel Walker’s SEC TD record. Okay, first of all Walker played three seasons. In those seasons they played 11 games. There were no SEC title games. There were no 12th games on the schedules. Bowl games didn’t count in stats. Did I mention he did this in 3 seasons, 33 games? Tim Tebow after 33 games had 33 touchdowns!
#3 OREGON DUCKS (7-1, 5-0)
LAST WEEK: 47-20 win vs Southern Cal
NEXT GAME: Sat @ Stanford
How is 391 yards rushing against a USC defense that came into the game 5th in the nation allowing just over 78 ypg on the ground? That is impressive. How about 613 yards of offense on a Pete Carroll led defense? That is the most all-time against Pete Carroll. The Ducks may actually be playing better football than anyone in the nation right now.
#4 ALABAMA CRIMSON TIDE (8-0, 5-0)
LAST WEEK: OFF WEEK
NEXT GAME: Sat vs #9 LSU
See what happens this year in college football, you have a bye week and you drop 2 spots in this world of WHAT HAVE YOU DONE FOR ME LATELY?! Bama has a big game at home against a tough LSU team that seems to be starting move in the right direction. Alabama’s win in this series last season snapped a five game win streak for LSU. Bama hasn’t won at home in this series since 1999.
#5 CINCINNATI BEARCATS (8-0, 4-0)
LAST WEEK: 28-7 win @ Syracuse
NEXT GAME: Sat vs UCONN
Things are certainly setting up nice for the Bearcats. Cincinnati played in Syracuse last week and won’t have to leave home again until the season finale in Pittsburgh December 5th. They play 3 straight in the comforts of Nippert Stadium. The toughest of the three is WVU which is sandwiched between two possible trap games if the Bearcats are not careful. UCONN this week and a non-conference match-up with Illinois Nov 27th.
#6 TCU HORNED FROGS (8-0, 4-0)
LAST WEEK: 41-0 win vs UNLV
NEXT GAME: Sat @ San Diego State
Life is tough for the small conference guys in the T3R just like the BCS. Win a game 41-0 and drop two spots from the week before. Not that TCU wasn’t very impressive in their win, but they just have to do so much to make up for their lack of opponents that it will be difficult to with the remaining schedule for the Horned Frogs. Hosting Utah in 2 next weekend will help, but they need to really impress in that game as well.
#7 GEORGIA TECH YELLOW JACKETS (8-1, 5-1)
LAST WEEK: 56-31 win @ Vanderbilt
NEXT GAME: Sat vs Wake Forest
The Yellow Jackets have the ACC Coastal division all but wrapped up and we still have a month to go in conference play. The GT offense is really starting to roll in its second year under Paul Johnson running the Triple Option. Johnson had success running the ball at Navy with undersized players, now he is running the same system with bigger and stronger athletes. This offenses full potential is scary.
#8 IOWA HAWKEYES (9-0, 5-0)
LAST WEEK: 42-24 win @ Indiana
BOWL GAME: Sat vs Northwestern
I’m going to go out on a limb and predict that Iowa will not win the Big Ten this season. The Hawkeyes could not possibly keep up this lucky streak they have had all season. First of all, the refs owe Indiana an apology for some of the calls made in that game last week. Indiana completely outplayed Iowa, but once again Iowa snuck away with a victory. I just don’t see them being able to continue to the magical run. It wouldn’t surprise me at all if Northwestern beats the Hawkeyes this week, and I fully expect Ohio State to beat them in Columbus the following week.
#9 LSU TIGERS (7-1, 4-1)
LAST WEEK: 42-0 win vs Tulane
NEXT GAME: Sat @ #4 Alabama
I said it last week and I will say it again this week, who is this LSU team? Sure they have some nice wins (on the road versus Washington, and Georgia and a dominant win at home versus Auburn) but I still know nothing about them. They have won the games they were expected to, and lost the one game they were expected to lose (Florida). The stretch run will be very interesting for Les Miles and company. They have 3 SEC games remaining and I could see them losing all 3 or winning all three. Most likely it will be somewhere in the middle though. First things first though, beating Alabama this week.
#10 PITT PANTHERS (7-1, 4-0)
LAST WEEK: OFF WEEK
NEXT GAME: Sat vs Syracuse
Everything is setting up perfectly for Pitt this season. They have four games remaining, three of which are at Heinz Field. 3 of the 4 are Big East games and if they win those 3 they will find themselves playing in a BCS bowl. Oddly enough, the Notre Dame game next week is perceived to be a huge game for the Panthers, but in reality it means absolutely nothing in the big picture of things. Beating Notre Dame would be great for the image of the school, but losing to them doesn’t hurt the teams long term goal of winning the Big East at all.
#11 SOUTHERN CAL TROJANS (6-2, 3-2)
LAST WEEK: 47-20 loss @ Oregon
NEXT GAME: Sat @ Arizona State
To put in perspective how bad of a loss last Saturday was to Oregon how about these numbers, in the last 8 losses for USC (which dates back to Sept. 27, 2003) the Trojans lost by a TOTAL of 29 points. On Saturday Oregon beat USC by 27. Boy do I feel bad for Arizona State this week!
#12 PENN STATE NITTANY LIONS (8-1, 4-1)
LAST WEEK: 34-13 win @ Northwestern
NEXT GAME: Sat vs #15 Ohio State
I really had a tough time saying that USC was better than Penn State this week, but all I could picture was Matt Sanchez throwing another TD against the Lions defense in the Rose Bowl last year. This Penn State team has been a real disappointment to me so far. They have the talent to be very good, but they haven’t put a full game together (minus maybe the Michigan game) all season. They did it again last week as they went into the 4th quarter tied with a very average Northwestern team. Please make this a statement game on Saturday. Either win by 20 (like you probably should do) or don’t win at all, that would make it much easier for everyone that is trying to follow you.
#13 BOISE STATE BRONCOS (8-0, 3-0)
LAST WEEK: 45-7 win vs San Jose State
NEXT GAME: Fri @ Louisiana Tech
Boise State should get credit for beating the same Oregon team that just handed it to USC, but that is the same Oregon team in name only. If those two teams played again this week Oregon would win by 20, easily. Boise State will roll again this week against yet another patsy from the WAC. The Broncos have only 2 games remaining against teams with a winning record, Idaho and Nevada and both of those games are on the Smurf Turf in Boise.
#14 ARIZONA WILDCATS (5-2, 3-1)
LAST WEEK: OFF WEEK
NEXT GAME: Sat vs Washington State
Quick after USC lost to Oregon last week, tell me who is in second place in the PAC-10? Yep you guessed it, the Wildcats of Arizona! Arizona has never won an out-right Pac-10 title and have never played in the Rose Bowl. All of that is possible this season. Oregon goes to the desert for their match-up and the Wildcats finish the season in LA to face USC. If they win both of those games they could be making a return trip to LA for the Rose Bowl in early January.
#15 the OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY BUCKEYES (7-2, 4-1)
LAST WEEK: 45-0 win vs New Mexico State
NEXT GAME: Sat @ #12 Penn State
When Terrell Pryor runs for 50+ yards this season the Buckeyes are 5-0, when he doesn’t they are 2-2. Let the kid run! It amazes me how misused Pryor is in the Ohio State offense. I expect a big game for him in his first trip back to his home state of Pennsylvania, and a win.
#16 CALIFORNIA GOLDEN BEARS (6-2, 3-2)
LAST WEEK: 23-21 win @ Arizona State
NEXT GAME: Sat vs Oregon State
To say Cal hit a bump in the road earlier this season may be they understatement of the year, they lost to Oregon and USC in back-to-back weeks by a total score of 72-6, but they have got back on the right road and been impressive doing it. Cal has its toughest part of the schedule behind it and could win out if they can beat Arizona at home in two weeks.
#17 WISCONSIN BADGERS (6-2, 3-2)
LAST WEEK: 37-0 win vs Purdue
NEXT GAME: Sat @ Indiana
Wisconsin lost back-to-back games against Iowa and Ohio State in October, but those are the only blemishes on their schedule. The Badgers are quietly lurking in the Big Ten race. Unfortunately for them even if the teams ahead of them lose, they probably won’t pass them in the standings due to the head to head results.
#18 OKLAHOMA SOONERS (5-3, 3-1)
LAST WEEK: 42-30 @ Kansas State
NEXT GAME: Sat @ Nebraska
Oklahoma has 3 losses this season. Those losses are by 1 to BYU, 1 @ Miami and 3 to #1 Texas, and all of them came with the back-up QB playing due to Sam Bradford’s re-occurring shoulder injury.
#19 OKLAHOMA STATE COWBOYS (6-2, 3-1)
LAST WEEK: 41-14 loss vs Texas
NEXT GAME: Sat @ Iowa State
What better way for a team to get back into play after a beating like the Cowboys took last week then to play a team from the Big XII North? The Cowboys hopefully answered some questions about themselves this week and will get back to playing the same quality style of football that we have come to expect from them down the stretch. The remaining schedule has Iowa State and Colorado from the North (easy wins) and Texas Tech and Oklahoma.
#20 HOUSTON COUGARS (7-1, 3-1)
LAST WEEK: 50-43 win vs Southern Miss
NEXT GAME: Sat @ Tulsa
As exciting as that game was last week, it didn’t help Houston at all nationally. You have to get style points if you are a non-BCS conference playing a bunch of cupcakes. Yes throwing for 559 yards is impressive; scoring 50 points is impressive, giving up a 14 point fourth quarter lead with under six minutes to play, not so much. Giving up 43 points and over 600 yards of offense, not so impressive.
By the way, it was 391 yards that Oregon rushed for against USC last week!
Friday, October 30, 2009
RANDOM RANTING
BASEBALL, AMERICA’S PAST PASTIME
I love baseball. As many of you know, it is my favorite professional sport. However, once again I am amazed at how poorly the sport is being run. Bud Selig is killing Major League Baseball. Not only is it the only professional sport in America in which money is the biggest factor to fielding a winning team (Yankees 2009 payroll is $201,449,189, Phillies is $113,004,046. Both in the top quarter of the league), but now Selig is apparently in support of not always getting the right call on the field.
Today Bud came out and said that he is not a fan of expanding replay, “I do like the human element and I think the human element for the last 130 years has worked pretty well.” Well that is great, let’s never move forward for the betterment of the sport. The playoffs this season have been scattered with blown calls and this is how the commissioner of the league reacts to it, unreal! What is more shocking is that the owners just extended his contract and he will continue to be in charge for another 3 season, minimum.
Hey Bud, if you are looking for things to not change about baseball due to the way it worked over the last 130 years, here is a list I have put together for you:
*Do away with the DH. It is a joke of a position and is not how the game was meant to be played.
*Don’t play until November. Who wants to sit outdoors in NY, Philly, Boston, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Minnesota, Denver or Chicago to watch a game that will drag on early into the night? Sorry, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Minnesota, and Cubs fans, I know you will never play in November due to the financial set-up of the game (and for simply never winning for the Cubs fans) but those were the cold weather cities with outdoor stadiums that I could think of.
*Cool it with all the off days during the playoffs. These guys play for weeks at a time during the regular season they don’t need a day off every time they get to a new city. The Yankees will have more off days in the month of October then they will have played games by tomorrow night. Not only do they have off days every time the travel, but twice they had off days to stay in the same city.
*Speed up the game. I know that MLB will do just about anything for the TV networks, but can’t you put a limit on the length of time between innings. You know it is bad when the game ended last night, I thought to myself, “wow, that was a fast game,” and it took 3:25!
PARITY IN THE NFL IS GONE, IT WENT BACK TO COLLEGE
In the past 10 years or so the NFL has been about as even a playing field as you can get. In that
time every team has had at least a little success, I mean even the Browns have made the playoffs in that time frame. In the last 10 Super Bowls 14 different teams have been represented. Not this year. This season parity has only grabbed hold of about 10 teams that are incredibly average. This season, there are more bad teams then I can ever recall at one time. We are approaching the eighth week of the season and there are still six teams that have not won more then once so far. And if it weren’t for the Washington Redskins (2-5) there may be more. Last week was the first game of the season that the Redskins opponent had a win coming into the game.
While this is happening in the NFL the college game has gone the opposite direction. What happened to the 66-3 wins that Texas and USC used to put up on teams? What happened to
Urban Meyer being up by 40 on his conference rivals? What happened to Ohio State dominating every game until their BCS game? This stuff just isn’t happening anymore and I can’t decide if it is good or not for the sport. It is always fun to be able to watch a team play and be in awe of how easy they make the game look. You also can’t match the excitement and tension as you watch a team about to pull off an unthinkable upset versus someone in the top 10. Unfortunately we haven’t seen much of either this season. The dominate teams, just aren’t that dominant and the upsets aren’t happening because ranked teams seem to do just enough to squeak out a win despite playing terribly all game. Here is a brief overview of my thoughts of the BCS conferences this year and how disappointing they have been.
ACC- Minus Georgia Tech they have nothing. It is a bunch of teams that beat each other up, but nobody that could win against anybody near the elite level from another BCS conference.
Big XII- This conference was supposed to have all the fireworks and be the one to challenge the SEC, guess what, they haven’t! Texas is good, but no one really knows how good, because everyone else in the conference has just been BLAH so far. If OK State can hang with UT tomorrow we can add them into the group, but right now it is completely just a one team conference.
Big East- Cincinnati, West Virginia and Pitt are carrying the torch this year for the Big East, but after those three there is nobody. USF did its annual rise to the rankings before getting pasted by Cincy and Pitt (WVU tonight). Rutgers was a huge disappointment as well.
Big Ten- Iowa? Really you are going to give me Iowa? With all the hype behind Terrelle Pryor and Ohio State or Rich Rod at Michigan or Penn State when the season starter how is it that Iowa is the face of the Big Ten this year? And after Iowa (which looks as vulnerable as any top 5 team in history) you have a very good Penn State defense (not sure about that Spread HD this year, looks like low definition so far), a very inconsistent Ohio State offense and a RichRod led Michigan team that doesn’t know what they want their identity to be.
PAC-10- I’m going to actually utter the words, The Pac-10 is the second best conference in college football this season. Ugh, I can’t believe I said that, and that it is actually true. You can’t argue the depth though. USC, Oregon, Arizona, Stanford, Washington, Cal and Oregon State can all play with just about anyone on any given day.
SEC- Yes, we all know the SEC is the best conference in college football. I’m glad to see that the folks at Sports Illustrated are finally catching on too. But to be honest, the powers in the SEC aren’t looking so powerful. Florida is 5-0 in conference play, but four of those games have been decided by 10 points or less, compare that to the fact that their closest win in conference play last year was a 30-6 win at Tennessee. Alabama is solid too, but their offense is full of question marks. They have not scored a passing TD in their last 3 games and have struggled to beat average Tennessee and South Carolina teams. After those two, I think LSU, Georgia, Arkansas and Mississippi can be good, they just haven’t been consistent enough or showed me enough to prove it.
IT’S BACK
Every year around Labor Day I get duped into believing that my favorite sport is college football. I enjoy college football as much as just about anything, except college basketball. I attended the Pitt Blue-Gold scrimmage on Tuesday and now I can’t wait for the rest of the games to get here. Sunday is their first exhibition game vs Slippery Rock. What a great way to spend a non-Steeler Sunday. Heck, in my opinion that would be a great way to spend a Steeler Sunday too. I can’t wait for all of the preseason tournaments to kickoff and all the big-time non-conference match-ups. Heck, I won’t even mind hearing Dickie V yell some incomprehensible non-sense about how AWESOME everything is for the first few times. Because for once he is right, college hoops is AWESOME BABY with a capital “A”!
I love baseball. As many of you know, it is my favorite professional sport. However, once again I am amazed at how poorly the sport is being run. Bud Selig is killing Major League Baseball. Not only is it the only professional sport in America in which money is the biggest factor to fielding a winning team (Yankees 2009 payroll is $201,449,189, Phillies is $113,004,046. Both in the top quarter of the league), but now Selig is apparently in support of not always getting the right call on the field.
Today Bud came out and said that he is not a fan of expanding replay, “I do like the human element and I think the human element for the last 130 years has worked pretty well.” Well that is great, let’s never move forward for the betterment of the sport. The playoffs this season have been scattered with blown calls and this is how the commissioner of the league reacts to it, unreal! What is more shocking is that the owners just extended his contract and he will continue to be in charge for another 3 season, minimum.Hey Bud, if you are looking for things to not change about baseball due to the way it worked over the last 130 years, here is a list I have put together for you:
*Do away with the DH. It is a joke of a position and is not how the game was meant to be played.
*Don’t play until November. Who wants to sit outdoors in NY, Philly, Boston, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Minnesota, Denver or Chicago to watch a game that will drag on early into the night? Sorry, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Minnesota, and Cubs fans, I know you will never play in November due to the financial set-up of the game (and for simply never winning for the Cubs fans) but those were the cold weather cities with outdoor stadiums that I could think of.
*Cool it with all the off days during the playoffs. These guys play for weeks at a time during the regular season they don’t need a day off every time they get to a new city. The Yankees will have more off days in the month of October then they will have played games by tomorrow night. Not only do they have off days every time the travel, but twice they had off days to stay in the same city.
*Speed up the game. I know that MLB will do just about anything for the TV networks, but can’t you put a limit on the length of time between innings. You know it is bad when the game ended last night, I thought to myself, “wow, that was a fast game,” and it took 3:25!
PARITY IN THE NFL IS GONE, IT WENT BACK TO COLLEGE
In the past 10 years or so the NFL has been about as even a playing field as you can get. In that
time every team has had at least a little success, I mean even the Browns have made the playoffs in that time frame. In the last 10 Super Bowls 14 different teams have been represented. Not this year. This season parity has only grabbed hold of about 10 teams that are incredibly average. This season, there are more bad teams then I can ever recall at one time. We are approaching the eighth week of the season and there are still six teams that have not won more then once so far. And if it weren’t for the Washington Redskins (2-5) there may be more. Last week was the first game of the season that the Redskins opponent had a win coming into the game.While this is happening in the NFL the college game has gone the opposite direction. What happened to the 66-3 wins that Texas and USC used to put up on teams? What happened to
Urban Meyer being up by 40 on his conference rivals? What happened to Ohio State dominating every game until their BCS game? This stuff just isn’t happening anymore and I can’t decide if it is good or not for the sport. It is always fun to be able to watch a team play and be in awe of how easy they make the game look. You also can’t match the excitement and tension as you watch a team about to pull off an unthinkable upset versus someone in the top 10. Unfortunately we haven’t seen much of either this season. The dominate teams, just aren’t that dominant and the upsets aren’t happening because ranked teams seem to do just enough to squeak out a win despite playing terribly all game. Here is a brief overview of my thoughts of the BCS conferences this year and how disappointing they have been.ACC- Minus Georgia Tech they have nothing. It is a bunch of teams that beat each other up, but nobody that could win against anybody near the elite level from another BCS conference.
Big XII- This conference was supposed to have all the fireworks and be the one to challenge the SEC, guess what, they haven’t! Texas is good, but no one really knows how good, because everyone else in the conference has just been BLAH so far. If OK State can hang with UT tomorrow we can add them into the group, but right now it is completely just a one team conference.
Big East- Cincinnati, West Virginia and Pitt are carrying the torch this year for the Big East, but after those three there is nobody. USF did its annual rise to the rankings before getting pasted by Cincy and Pitt (WVU tonight). Rutgers was a huge disappointment as well.
Big Ten- Iowa? Really you are going to give me Iowa? With all the hype behind Terrelle Pryor and Ohio State or Rich Rod at Michigan or Penn State when the season starter how is it that Iowa is the face of the Big Ten this year? And after Iowa (which looks as vulnerable as any top 5 team in history) you have a very good Penn State defense (not sure about that Spread HD this year, looks like low definition so far), a very inconsistent Ohio State offense and a RichRod led Michigan team that doesn’t know what they want their identity to be.
PAC-10- I’m going to actually utter the words, The Pac-10 is the second best conference in college football this season. Ugh, I can’t believe I said that, and that it is actually true. You can’t argue the depth though. USC, Oregon, Arizona, Stanford, Washington, Cal and Oregon State can all play with just about anyone on any given day.
SEC- Yes, we all know the SEC is the best conference in college football. I’m glad to see that the folks at Sports Illustrated are finally catching on too. But to be honest, the powers in the SEC aren’t looking so powerful. Florida is 5-0 in conference play, but four of those games have been decided by 10 points or less, compare that to the fact that their closest win in conference play last year was a 30-6 win at Tennessee. Alabama is solid too, but their offense is full of question marks. They have not scored a passing TD in their last 3 games and have struggled to beat average Tennessee and South Carolina teams. After those two, I think LSU, Georgia, Arkansas and Mississippi can be good, they just haven’t been consistent enough or showed me enough to prove it.
IT’S BACK
Every year around Labor Day I get duped into believing that my favorite sport is college football. I enjoy college football as much as just about anything, except college basketball. I attended the Pitt Blue-Gold scrimmage on Tuesday and now I can’t wait for the rest of the games to get here. Sunday is their first exhibition game vs Slippery Rock. What a great way to spend a non-Steeler Sunday. Heck, in my opinion that would be a great way to spend a Steeler Sunday too. I can’t wait for all of the preseason tournaments to kickoff and all the big-time non-conference match-ups. Heck, I won’t even mind hearing Dickie V yell some incomprehensible non-sense about how AWESOME everything is for the first few times. Because for once he is right, college hoops is AWESOME BABY with a capital “A”!
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