BLOGPOLL, WEEK FIVE: BRING THE HATREDCOPTER

Head-to-head means nothing.

Cal has a defense this year, and bits of it are definitely better, but they beat Oregon last year because of two things: Zack Follett pounded Dennis Dixon like a fine steak tartare and DeSean Jackson was blinding fast. Follett missed last week’s game so I don’t know how he is looking for Saturday, and Dixon is to all accounts MUCH improved. The temptation to make this a track meet and hope to have the ball last will be strong.

Of course, Cal also features Jahvid Best now, a man so fast that he cannot urinate for fear of electrocuting himself.

Florida’s playing Tuberville this weekend? I thought they were playing Auburn. I think you’re confused Orson. It’s the other SEC team in the state that’s named after its coach.

A convincing win over Oregon St deserves inclusion for UCLA. What say you?

Of course, convincing wins have been hard to come by for UCLA this year.

West F’n Virginia passes the Gators and USF drops 4 spots for beating UNC 37-10. Trying to swindle some gambin’ dollas this Friday, huh lawya?

Will a loss to FSU boost us into the Top 10 ?

If Blackmon and Grooves win the game, on their own this weekend (LIKE last year)….They should get a souvenir…… Maybe like a piece of Tebow’s ear or something….

Orson, I think it’s your best effort to date.

Just one thing. Why are people (blog pollers, AP voters, and, SID’s) putting Georgia above South Carolina?

Virginia? Really? There is no reason why a team that lost 23-3 to Wyoming should be ranked at this point. None.

Kansas? Yeah, they’re 4-0, but Temple could go 4-0 against those teams.

Ohio State drops 4 after a 28-0 first quarter and 45-0 at halftime game? I know, it was Northwestern, but Wisconsin?? Boston College?? Tell me you’d honestly bet on those teams even up vs OSU on a neutral field….becuause I need money….

Unfortunately, after we kill Minnesota and Purdue it ain’t gonna prove anything either…

Because the perception before and even after that game was that Georgia was probably a better team overall than South Carolina.

If Auburn’s offense doesn’t score a touchdown (LIKE last year)…they should get a L….maybe a He15man shirt too.

It makes good sense that Georgia is ranked ahead of USC. After all, USC had the advantage of playing in Athens. So, obviously, UGA is the better team, they just had to play against that disadvantage…..

Yeah, it doesn’t make a bit of sense but some people can’t admit that they were wrong in the preseason and refuse to correct themselves. Sadly, the blog poll has now gone the way of the AP as useless.

Stick with the Oddsmakers’ Top 25. They have no passion other than wealth.

Texas will finally meet a real team and get theirs next weekend against OU. And Ohio State beating Northwestern is still better than Texas pasting Rice (this coming from a Houston boy).

And any touchy feely excitement for Iowa should have been lost immediately after their loss to Iowa State. Still not impressed with the Badgers. Their 2006 record should still have an * next to it since they didn’t play OSU or UM.

Ditto on the UVA comment. A win over GaTech isn’t what it used to be after the BC game and after ND’s continued dive into a 3-9 record.

I’m not going to argue with the #11 slot for the Buckeyes…we’re not a top 10 team yet…we haven’t beaten anyone to deserve a top 10 ranking.

Honestly, I think Michigan State and Purdue are undervalued. Dantonio has the Spartans playing very, very well. I know they haven’t beaten anyone and didn’t look exactly great against ND, but I think they are legit bowl team on the rise. I think Purdue is clicking on offense and could cause teams some problems. Both are 4-0 and that has to count for a little something.

I don’t think we will be able to evaluate Ohio State accurately until the end of October and November. Michigan State, @Penn State, Wisconsin, Illinois, and @Michigan to finish the season.

Not sure how Bama losses at home to a team ranked lower than them and moves up 6 places. Like Ohio State, Bama has yet to face an experienced, well balanced offensive attack or a solid, experienced defense.

#10: Maybe so, but they wouldn’t beat them by an average score of 57-5. How did UT do against Arkansas State? Nebraska against Ball State? Wisconsin against UNLV?

Cincy is a very legit team. The defense is fast and makes plays while the offense is gettng better and better week to week with multiple QB’s. I am calling for a repeat of the Rutgers game and possible Big East co-championship by the end of the year.

GO CATS!

But honeslty sell your possesions because the world is coming to an end. Why? UK and UC in the top 25…

#8,
Agreed.
Wiscy needed a 4th Q comeback to beat Iowa, who has transative AA Northern Iowa strain herpes, moved up 5. And Texas, who needed football god help twice to beat Bill Clinton St., and University of Crystelmeth Florida moved up over OSU in their victory over 1952 powerhouse Rice. Also, which BC victory over their 1-3 competition was that impressive? I know GT looked good with their wins over 1-AA competition ND and MD, NC State’s lone win vs. Wofford, and Army’s win vs. Rhode Island.

I know, I know, OMG OMG rank my favorite team higher shit blah blah

If the referees show excessive love to the home team (LIKE last year)… Maybe that would even things out. Or UF could just pipe in some extra (albeit illegal) crowd noise and music, much like the folks down at Jordan-Hare. Not that the Swamp needs it, of course.

orson: robble, robble, rankings, robble, robble, nothing to see here

everyone: robble, robble, you’re an idiot, robble, robble, how do you put this team at #_, robble, robble, dumbass.

What’s really criminal is that in The USA today poll and harris interactive, GT got more votes than UVA. Pollsters are dumb.

Wisconsin smells slightly fraudulent…they’ll be had this year. Maybe this week.

Noise,Refs,wha wha whaaaaa….excuses n stuff….

Trey B. said he wants to kiss you QB too!

Virginia is garbage. Oooh, they beat UNC & Duke. Wow. The Georgia Tech game was a study in apathy, both teams sucked but Tech sucked more. Kansas may not be garbage or they may be a steaming pile of it. I wouldn’t ranked them yet.

It’s minor, but how is Cincy ahead of South Florida? Cincy beat one real team with a pulse (Oregon State). USF beat Auburn on the road and embarrased UNC. Quick question…does Cincy beat Auburn at Jordan-Hare if they played right now?

Did ranking UConn even enter your head? Just curious. ‘Cuz that’d be wicked awesome.

forgive my ignorance, but what do the numbers and arrows on the right under “Delta” signify?
Is that Orson’s change since last week, or entire blogpoll average change?

Love the poll. Kudos to rating Oregon, BC, and Cincinnati as high as they could/should be.

My question is: does the winner of the Cal/Oregon game (even as a Cal homer, I won’t presume to predict who – this may be one of the best games in the nation this year) jump over Florida, especially given their lethargy last week? I fear you may be challenged there, Orson, but I respect it…

#11

What the hell does it matter? How about you tell us the ranking you’d like for the bucs. #3? #6? Sure. Take it.

Just realize that you’re only renting it until you eventually have it taken from you schoolyard bully style from a random Pac-10 or SEC team in a bowl game.

Or you could just be happy being in the Top 15…which is where you will finish.

biggus rickus,
Perception, smerception. Both teams have the same record and UGa’s loss, as you know is to the Cocks, in Athens. This early in the year, the reality is that USC East should be ranked ahead.

After a few more games and another loss or two by both teams, yeah Georgia can be ranked ahead of them, but not now.

BTW, South Florida takes down West Virginia ‘Eastern Promises’-style this week…they have Russians “concerns” in south Florida, right?

does anyone else get really excited when a top 10 team loses, just so they can see what the animated blogpoll does to them?

Edsall is God,
Auburn has a pulse?

Interesting inclusion of Kansas after wins over Central Michigan (who lost to NDSU by 30), SE La., Toledo and FIU. You guys should be honorary voters in the coaches poll.

CD,

I’m not arguing against your logic, just offering up the reason. It’s what makes the polls the lovable, flawed, subjective, water cooler fodder that they are.

Why, Why can’t we win in Charlottesville?

I think the last time was in 1990?

I know Biggus, that just really drives me crazy.

We would look at any and all odd delta-arrow rises to be corrections of last week’s multiple idiocies on our ballot.

UVA at 25? That’s more an indicator of how bad the ACC might be.

1. Wisconsin did play Michigan last year… that was their only loss…

#29

I realize it’s difficult to imagine, but Ohio State has played other games besides the NC game last year, which by the way took their record all the way down to 4-1 in BCS bowl games.

I understand the SEC smack given our unfortunate (somewhat) recent history, but a Pac-10 team?? Please….

(sigh)

If Penn State is ranked, then Michigan should be ranked higher. Michigan is clearly the better team. It was a fluke win. There was no dramatic, last-minute play to win the game. It was just a flat-out win by a better team.

Michigan should not be ranked. Neither should PSU.

Don’t be shocked, should the Flailing Irish of Notre Dame start 0-8 and finish 2-10, if Charlie Weis seeks a convenient escape hatch in January: the New York Giants.

How interesting that Tom Coughlin’s tenure with the Giants is ending as Weis, a New Jersey native and former Giants assistant under Bill Parcells, stumbles in his so-called dream job. Rewind to last month, when Weis said he expected to end his career at his alma mater:

Source: Chicago Sun-Times

Related: New York Giants
Ah ha……the plot thickens….a $40 million dollar buyout?

33 – Auburn does indeed have a pulse, mostly because of its defense obviously. I think that K-State win was pretty good. The Ole Miss loss was a classic hangover lost, if they had pulled it out against USF they wouldn’t have lost it.

It’s tough to gauge teams in the SEC because they could have a pulse and end up 4-8/5-7, see that Vandy team with Jay Cutler a few years back. It’s not like Auburn is Notre Dame bad. They’re going to beat someone this year they shouldn’t. I hope it’s LSU because that would make me laugh.

It’s too bad that I know you accidentally included UCLA last week. Now I have no reason to lambast you for dropping them after beating a (slightly) better team than the team that beat them.

there’s been enough bitching about people putting Georgia ahead of South Carolina even though they have the same record and SC won head to head in Athens….oh, wait no there hasn’t. So I’ll bitch again. I expect such things from AP media pollsters, but from you, Orson, I expected better.

#25
Perhaps Trey can blow TT a kiss as he whooses by for another 7-9 yds.

that would be “whoosh” of course.

I hope BC goes 12-0 and left out of the national championship game for an undefeated West Virginia because the Big East is stronger than the ACC this year. Ooohhh, the cruel hand of irony would smack BC so hard…and the city of Boston would be oblivious.

I loathe and despise BC with a passion. No good traitors.

I just don’t get that perceptin #12 references. I could understand if there had been a fluke play that decided the outcome (like Davey Pollack’s freak TD in 2002), Uga had moved the ball at will and the Gamecocks had feasted on TO’s, or even if USC had won a close game in Columbia.

However, South Carolina won on the road, never trailed in the game, and their defense controlled UGa’s offense throughout. If anything, the game was not as close the final score indicated.

Neither team did much to cause me to rethink the results this past Saturday. I would be surprised if South Carolina needed OT to beat Alabama, and, assuming the Tigers bring their A game, I’d be absolutely floored if UGa stayed within 20 of LSU in Baton Rouge.

Re 26- Probably. Cincinatti puts 11 men on the field, right?

Edsall,

If I had to spend 4 years in Storrs, I’d be pretty angry at the world too.

No dog in the fight, but 29 is right on about Ohio State. Your demotion of them is senseless, given this week’s events. And that 4-1 figure in BCS games is as legit as it gets, despite the short-term memory of SEC fans here that extends no further than last year’s title game. The Sweater Vest is legit, and rewarding Wisky for a portrait-in-ugly win over an emasculated group of Hawkeyes is weak.

there’s been enough bitching about people putting Georgia ahead of South Carolina even though they have the same record and SC won head to head in Athens….oh, wait no there hasn’t. So I’ll bitch again. I expect such things from AP media pollsters, but from you, Orson, I expected better.

South Carolina is reshuffling across the offensive front, have just lost their best defensive player, and have shown little indication of being able to score consistently.

Meanwhile, UGA just beat Alabama at home and has a relatively settled offensive squad going into their SEC East gauntlet. And the defense has been solid all along.

Being frozen by an early season game is not something we’ll do with a poll—see Cal/Tennessee ’06 for a perfect example as to why.

Actually, that would be 40 who is correct in responding to 29.

Plus: it’s two fucking spots! It’s not like we dropped SC from the rankings altogether, for fuck’s sake, or put them behind UVA.

On absolute value, we’re picking the team with a starting quarterback. No one knows more about what happens when Spurrier gets tetchy with his qbs than this website—except Jesse Palmer, Doug Johnson, Terry Dean, and Noah Brindise, of course.

It’s not gonna be pretty.

Fucking hell: one fuckinggoddamnmotherfuckingshitheaded spot. On a fucking blogpoll ballot.

Looks like my early sleeper pick doesn’t look so ridiculous after all.

Chg,

Actually, Georgia missed on numerous open plays throughout the game and South Carolina hit most of theirs that were available. I wouldn’t actually rank Georgia ahead of them until South Carolina loses again (which will happen soon I think), but I do think Georgia will show itself to be the better team as the season progresses.

USC – Jasper Brinkley + QB Mashup

Re: SC-UGA rankings…. anything can be said and could be argued with solid points either way. A few bounces & calls their way, a few less dropped passes, and the Dawgs would have got the win in Athens. Of course the same can be said in the Bayou last Saturday and LSU would have been out of the MNC picture. The point is, the Cocks won in Athens, LSU won in Baton Rouge-Spurrier is now 7-3 SEC on the road as Carolina’s coach. So if a game is meaningless, why play them? The Cocks have been reshuffling the front fat guys each week all season. Our leading tackler wasn’t available for the first game (not sure if he even played in Athens – Cook), UGA’s defensive has supposedly been “stable” all year, including ahead of the Cocks game. But yeah, +/- a few spots in the rankings is not statistically significant in the teens anyway.

If all y’all want to enjoy some quality blogpoll bitching, go find the guy whose ballot dropped UGA from #21 to unranked… and dropped UF from #3 to unranked. SEC road wins aren’t what they used to be, eh? (By the way, I believe he covers a Big10 school… hrm.)

Does Brian host the blogpoll compilation or is it at Rocky Top?

Husqvarna? It’s your vision, Orson, but I guess I had pictured the werewolf with a Poulan dicksaw.

After knocking out Jasper, I’m convinced it was close to this

http://www.agilitynut.com/07/2/biggus.jpg (SFW)

OOC – Who posted a pic of my chainsaw on the god damned internets?

It’s a damn good thing that your ballot doesn’t count, because I’m trying to figure out how a team can drop 4 spots AFTER winning a game by 51 points. If LSU beat Northwestern by 51, you’d be slobbering to wax their knob. OSU does it? They stink.

Certainly the Buckeyes aren’t an LSU or USC caliber team this year, but moving them down 4 fucking spots for winning a game is pretty weak.

Buggus – At first I thought it might have been you, but then I noticed it had all of it’s teeth and so it couldn’t be a Dawg fan.

OOC – Ah, the toothless joke never gets old.

I don’t care if Carolina isn’t ranked at all, but by damn they beat UGA head’s up. How the hell can UGA be ranked higher?

Brinkley: we will miss him, but it will be ok. Further, Smelley is better than Mitchell and his constant stoopid expression, facemask, etc.

To 50 xhack -

hahaha, no I just grew up in the state and now work here. I didn’t attend UConn. None of my friends who I go to the games with did either. We all went to college without D-1 college teams (GW, my school, has nothing) so we’ve become UConn fans. No one with a brain grows up in Connecticut and goes to UConn. Which is funny, because a lot of out-of-state smartypants are starting to go there. That boggles my mind.

#48

I’d be loving it if BC got fucked.

I’m just hoping they choke before that’s a possibility. That school’s students don’t need to become more obnoxious than they already are.

Beardguy—

Not if we ridiculously overranked them last week it isn’t.

So, my question is this: if Penn State really is a fraud (possible — they’ve played one team with a pulse and lost, the three wins are over three of the worst in 1-A), then where will you rank the NAME REDACTED Fightin’ Redacti next week? They have one loss, in a game where they lost their starting QB early, to a team that you have currently ranked.

Count me in with the Big 10 watchers who have absolutely no clue why you have Wisco ahead of OSU right now. Hell, I’ll admit OSU looks clearly better, and I’m a Michigan fan.

#43

AU-barn lost to Ole Miss? Huh? Have the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor again?

1. - Biggus – my apologies for a worn out, old, re-treaded Clemson/Bama/Tenn joke. It was a reach, but with the chainsaw having teeth in the picture, I made an attempt.

…baffled at how USF managed to fall four…

Did anyone notice that UGA is ranked higher than South Carolina in this here internets poll?

Edsall, Ole Miss is not Mississippi State, goddamnit!

I’m loving that sabanation moved up 6 after losing to richtenstein. maybe orson was drinking some of that bourbon off the UGA uniforms

Re: Wisconsin 2006, Iowa 2007,

Can anybody tell me how a major conference can develop a schedule without having everyone playing one of the top two teams? Methinks a fourth grader could double check that…I mean Holy Competitive Imbalance, Batman!

Bactine and aloe? More like a fire extinguisher and ice water.

I don’t get the whole ’Bama – South Carolina – Georgia thing. Must be southern speed.

BAMAS # 1 BITCHES

1. Raider Red: well it kinda has to be that way. If everybody has to play the top teams that would be 10 conference games for the Big 10 and 11 for the SEC, ACC, and Big XII.

For my .02 the Pac 10 does it right. Everybody plays everybody and conference championship games are a dumb scam for extra money.

#69:

I resemble that remark.

Now somebody point me to the basketball blog so I can discuss Emeka Okafor-related topics!

#29

First of all, I never said that Ohio State should be 3rd or 6th, in fact, I said they weren’t yet a top 10 team because they have yet to beat someone (I think Washington was ranked 20th and it was on the road, but that really doesn’t count, right).

My point is that I’m trying to figure out how winning 58-7 and allowing 0 yards rushing moves down 4 spots and losing a home game to a lower ranked opponent who was less experienced at key positions and who was coming into the game with key injuries moves up 6 spots. That’s all.

And as to you concern about where Ohio State finishes out the season – we finished 2nd last season – where did your team finish? And do I really need to go into the 4-1 BCS record or the fact that we have beaten 4 conference champions in the last 10 years, 2 of which were undefeated, and one of which was the defending national champion on a 34 game win streak. Oh and remember that K-State team that beat OU 35-7 in the Big12 CCG before OU lost to LSU, we beat that team as well. So don’t act like we haven’t beaten anyone just because we lost to Florida.

And just to make sure we are tested every year, Ohio State has scheduled home and home series with the following schools over the next 10 years:

Southern Cal, Miami(FL), VT, Cal, and OU.

What is your team doing OOC?

I know for the feeble-minded it is very easy to just assume that Ohio State sucks because Florida creamed us in the NCG – it’s a lot more work to look at it objectively and try and dissect it.

Orson, why do blogpolls? They seem like a pain in the ass to make, then you catch all kinds of grief because “Team X is too highly ranked” or “Team Y just beat Team Z last week, what gives?” I guess it generates traffic for the site, which is good, but so does putting up pictures of kittens, and kittens are more entertaining.

Orsen – Congrats on a successful blog poll – for all the people above (I’m lookin in your direction #86) who can’t figure out why there is a blog poll – take a look at the number of posts for all of the other articles combined on the front page of edsbs.

You’ve been, I say, You’ve been Horn-swaggled!

All for the sake of gathering ad revenue, page hits and beer money

Adding a blog poll is the head shop equivalent of having a strobe light in the window. You all hate it, but it beckons your nicotine addicted, serotonin laced mind.

Me, I’m just here for the second-hand smoke.

#85

Glad to see you’ve put last years game with UF behind you.

This is why I love talking college football: “Oh and remember that K-State team that beat OU 35-7 in the Big12 CCG before OU lost to LSU, we beat that team as well.”

yeah, but, #85…I mean….you guys really got your ass handed to you in the NCG. Like, epic proportion ass whipping. It was like a bad dream…except the exact opposite for those of us who hate smug northerners who move to the south, complain about the south, yet won’t move away.

#43,

Said already but bears repeating…

STATE beat Awbun! Not Ole Miss, you fucking nova-monkey! MISSISSIPPI GODDAMN STATE! JHC, is it THAT fucking unbelievable that the state has more than one Division 1-A school?!?! 1994, the NCAA Final Four hats say “Mississippi,” then August 30, 2007 ESPN runs an Ole Miss ad during the LSU game!

Next thing you know they’ll say Ole Miss is where you get “that damn good cheese!”