BLOGPOLL, WEEK SEVEN: FURTHER MADNESS

I’ll die before I recognize Missourah at number 7

USC’s answers will come when they play Cal, Oregon and ASU. Or maybe when they play Notre Dame, but that won’t be happy scenario.

It looks like Mark Sanchez is going to get the start against Arizona. That could be Mich Mustain’s nightmare scenario.

Even though they can be a damn good team at times – I agree you have to drop UGA out. If for nothing else than a punitive vote for a 6 game SEC East losing streak.
In a few weeks, USCe will be entering the stretch of schedule where they will need to earn their rank.

Oregon’s collapse is coming, and will be signalled by a 7-pick outing from Dennis Dixon (and an eerie darkening of sky as Phil Knight grows angry)….wait for it…wait for it….

The University of Nike at Eugene has some major karma coming. My wish? My heart’s desire? It would be nice to have things shake out to where Oklahoma plays Oregon in the BCS title game and wins the game via a botched special teams play in the final seconds. That’s karma.

To follow up my #5, if Dennis Dixon ends up winning the Heisman…I’m buying a bullet proof vest and booking my tickets to New Orleans. Winning the Heisman is in direct correlation to getting your ass kicked in the BCS title game. Ask Jason White, Chris Weinke, Troy Smith, Eric Crouch, or Reggie Bush.

Got to agree with Georgia’s departure but I think you were too harsh with the Gators. Hell of a game against the consensus #1 team.

that’s quite a conference the big 10 is putting together. they should have their own network in an effor to cover all the greatness up there.

I really want to say that there’s no way in hell, outside of a pretty record, that Them Ohio State belongs at #2…but it may just be more fun to see the pants ripped from their person in a bowl game by some SEC team. I think Oregon, Cal, Florida, South Carolina, and Oklahoma would all eat their soul. South Carolina would then complain that it tastes bland.

The OSU at #2? Really? They have only played two teams that currently have winning records, none of their wins are against teams that are currently ranked. Cal has wins against Tennessee and Oregon. Who’s Ohio State have left? Michigan? Wisconsin? Illinois? OSU has an excellent chance to have an undefeated season without really playing anyone. Then we’re gonna let them play LSU? Come on. After what happened in Glendale last year they should go undefeated and then be rewarded with Hawaii in The Motor City Bowl.

So Cal’s main fault, and the reason OSU is above, is that you predict they are more likely to lose in the coming weeks? And if they don’t? I’m hoping that wins over Arizona State and USC will show more than any of OSU’s upcoming challenges, were both schools to run the table.

Because I tell you this… neutral field, those two teams right now, my kid’s college tuition is on the Bears.

Cincinnati above Kentucky…how geographically apt.

If the annals of college football were the Bible, then this season is by far Revelations.

ACC- BC
BIG 11- Illinois
BIG 12- Missouri
BIG EAST- USF
PAC 10 – ASU
SEC- LSU (no suprise there, sorry)

National Championship BC-USF and a frozen solid Hell.

These results will undoubtedly spark the Armageddon that will lead to blessed paradise of a playoff.

Ohio St moves past Cal and Oregon loses 4 spots on a bye week. Let the annual ritual of cheating the Pac-10 begin.

Oklahoma up 6, Texas up 3. They should play each other every week.

+100 cocktails to your for the “Passion of the Tommy”

That may be the best description of the difference between the different strata of the top 25.

Certainly the only one that makes me comfortable with undefeated Cincinnati coming from behind, on the road, against a team that they knocked out of the top 10 last year, and who lost last week, yet still not moving up, while Florida and Texas have two losses each and stay above them.

Ok, maybe I’m not comfortable with it.

I am, sadly, comfortable with the Dogs falling out. Massaquoi (as the embodiment of excessively self assured, mental unpreparedness) be damned! (Love the Dogs, hate the sin)

“that’s quite a conference the big 10 is putting together. they should have their own network in an effor to cover all the greatness up there.” – Gerry Dorsey

“I really want to say that there’s no way in hell, outside of a pretty record, that Them Ohio State belongs at #2…but it may just be more fun to see the pants ripped from their person in a bowl game by some SEC team. I think Oregon, Cal, Florida, South Carolina, and Oklahoma would all eat their soul.” – them oklahoma

 “After what happened in Glendale last year they should go undefeated and then be rewarded with Hawaii in The Motor City Bowl.” – Troy in Columbus

“Because I tell you this… neutral field, those two teams right now, my kid’s college tuition is on the Bears.” – Dr. Kenneth Noisewater

Orson, you writing this stuff down? Sound familiar to you Gator fans? I thought I heard stuff like this before………..hmmmm when have I heard this before?

The fact that Cal may lose a game later in the year because of a tougher Pac-10 while Ohio State wont really play anyone isnt really justification to put Ohio State ahead of them. Ohio State should only jump Cal if they earn it on the field not because they might in the future. So far Cal deserves to be #2.

Number 13

That actually fits seeing as LSU is the anti-christ and all

anit-christ with a chainsaw for a penis

anit-christ with a chainsaw dick

#5

What about Matt Leinart? He was MVP of the Orange Bowl over OU after winning the Heisman. Or should we recognize should-have-been winner Adrian Peterson for the curse on that one?

Also notice that not one of the players you mentioned should have won the Heisman, with the possible exception of Weinke, who was, in fact, 28 years old at the time.

1992: Marshall Faulk over Torretta (just because)
2001: Rex Grossman over Crouch
2003: Larry Fitzgerald over White
2005: Vince Young over Bush (yes, I though this before the Rose Bowl)
2006: Calvin Johnson over Smith (no, I did not think this before the MNCG)

All of the winners won BECAUSE his team was playing for the championship. This is why it’s a crap award. You know a Heisman winner is solid if he’s good enough to win even when his team isn’t the best, but that never happens anymore. A trophy for being QB of the #1 team – again, that’s the case 5 of the last 8 years, not including Bush’s role on #1 USC in ’05 – is worthless.

It is written down you putz. Now twice that you quoted it. It’s just that the ink is electrons in our jim beam and fried turkey fueled server hidden somewhere in the smokey mountains.

We should just hit the ‘flood’ option and start this season over. That was the only way to restore a crummy area in Sim City.

Whatever It’s Worth Dept:

Cowerd of ESPN radio said that he would rank LSU first and the Gators second, even with two losses. Interesting thought and hard to argue against right now.

Regarding USCw, I am still scratchin’ the noggin trying to figure out whether they will come alive with former ubber recruit Sanchez at QB and a few key players back from injuries, or muddle their way the rest of the season like Brittney Spears off her meds….

I think Sanchez will at least be able to run for a few first downs and keep the chains moving if his passing is off or the receivers drop a few, unlike Booty, who was as mobile as a Tree, ooops…..bye, bye….

In Goldfinger: To remove the gold paint from all over her body, Shirley Eaton was scrubbed down by the wardrobe mistress and the make-up girl, and then had to sweat off the remaining gold in a number of Turkish baths…“Shocking…Positively SHOCKING.”

damn, sorry orson, didnt mean to re-post…it wasn’t showing up at first.

1. -

The difference last year is that OSU actually played real opponents. As of right now, NONE of your opponents so far are ranked, and with the exception of maybe Purdue, none of those six wins are in any way respectable. Of your next six opponents, maybe (MAYBE) three of them will be in the Top 25 at the end of the season.

Cal, on the other hand, has already beat two top 25 opponents and has at least two more on the schedule. Cal does not play any 1-AA teams. If Cal wins out, how can OSU argue strength of schedule? A better conference? Anything? How can anyone argue that OSU has a better defense when it simply hasn’t been tested by anyone better then Purdue? It’s a joke.

I find it funny that, now that the #2 spot is up for grabs, “experts” are skiddish to put Cal above OSU, when it has been so clear cut and fairly unanimous up to this point. I guess people would rather have the boring inadequacy they know than the surprise of the unknown.

Thank you, Orson, for taking me back to 2003. I was a young rapscallion, drinking my way through my “capstone,” (I didn’t know that Alabama had an actual “Capstone,” until recently) finance courses at Clemson, periodically showing up for classes at buildings none of you know, because apparently nobody who attended Clemson reads EDSBS, which says more about my alma mater than EDSBS, and not in a good way.

Big ups to the girl at Furman I used to “visit” during that fall semester. She was comforting after Wake raped us in Winston, and celebratory in Cola after raping we applied to South Carolina.

Sadly, this year’s version of the passion play will end like the original did. Tommy, Brad Scott, and Rob Spence will be up there hanging, and I, along with my IPTAY brethren, will be the ones driving the nails in.

And, perhaps I can start drinking at lunch now…

I hardly call Cal’s win over Tennessee impressive at this point. Tennessee if pretty weak this year. They played a great game at Oregon, but Oregon could have very easily won that game. OSU has really only played Purdue (who has only looked good against soft teams) and Washington (who isn’t half bad). Their statistics are largely built on beating inferior competition (but that’s not to say that their defense isn’t good). So is Cal better than OSU? Damned if I know. I think that’s a 50/50 game.

I know a lot of people will bitch about Cal getting jumped on a bye week, but what’s the alternative? Move them up on a bye week? Either way, you wouldn’t be moving them necessarily based on the merits of their play that week. Likewise, it’s a long ass season. Being ranked 2nd or 3rd this week won’t mean jack shit if either team loses, so it’s probably not worth getting uppity about.

I’m feeling another UF loss coming this season. We used up a lot of good karma tip-toeing through the minefield of last year’s schedule (Leak’s slide at UT, Moss’ blocks vs. USCe, narrowly escaping Tallahassee) and I fear the devil is coming to collect our soul.

I think we lose to either UGA or USCe, end our SEC hopes, and it’s “Hello, [Name Redacted]!” in Tampa at the Outback Bowl.

CU will beat mizzou even if it takes us 5 downs to do it

#27

All good arguments……….but whatever happened to actually watching a team perform and judging them on their merits. I’m guessing a handful of people who comments I quoted actually have watched the Buckeyes play this year.

I have no problem with Cal at #2 or Ohio State at #2, but by the end of the season if neither of them have lost, I guess we’ll let the computers decide. I just find it funny how easily the arguments from year to year are recycled and re-purchased.

1. -

According to your argument, should OSU be moved up on its record either?

Will UConn sneak in with a win on the road at Virginia??

Kudos to Kansas, who I made fun of last week. Them boys are good. #3 for them is a New Age Charles Woodson.

Oklahoma is junk. Why are they so high (not just here, everywhere). They beat a Miami team that lost to UNC and a Texas team that got crushed at home. I’ll USF over them right now in a heartbeat.

#33

I’m not sure what your question is. My point was simply that for many voters, it’s probably a wash between Cal and OSU at this point in the season (I’m an OSU fan, but I personally think Cal has the edge based on strength of schedule). The rationale of moving up OSU is that Cal didn’t play this week – it would be illogical to move them down despite not playing, and equally so to move them up. Given that OSU played a pretty good game this past week, it’s not indefensible to move OSU to #2.

However, as I said before, we’re barely halfway through the season. Rankings right now won’t mean dick if either team loses – and if they both go unbeaten, it’ll be up to the computers. I think if that’s the case, Cal will get the nod (much tougher schedule).

…..Turn off the disasters, and add Prisons (oh, sorry, Arcologies) to your Sim City of a blog poll, and what do you get? The Fulmer Cup, of course!

Grossman over Crouch!?

Blasphemy, pure and simple. What college defense stopped him? Even Miami didn’t completely shut him down, and NU lost to CU due to the fact the defense gave up sixty-two freaking points!

In the interest of being dispassionate, I suspect part of Crouch’s support was based on the fact that Tommie Frazier got completely freaking jobbed by Eddie George in 1995.

Eric Crouch was a smaller, quicker Darren McFadden. Is McFadden undeserving?

Hannibal:

Grossman over Crouch!?

Blasphemy, pure and simple. What college defense stopped him? Even Miami didn’t completely shut him down, and NU lost to CU due to the fact the defense gave up sixty-two freaking points!

In the interest of being dispassionate, I suspect part of Crouch’s support was based on the fact that Tommie Frazier got completely freaking jobbed by Eddie George in 1995.

Eric Crouch was a smaller, quicker Darren McFadden. Is McFadden undeserving?

The Heisman Trophy isn’t supposed to be a revisionist history argument about who’d be the best pro any more than it’s supposed to be given to the QB of the #1 team.

Saying that Oregon could’ve easily beat Cal is like saying that Florida could’ve easily have beaten LSU.

A win is a win, regardless if it was close or not. No woulda couda shoulda.

Why is Cal’s defense called mediocre after giving up 24 points to Oregon, while LSU’s defense is the best in the country after giving up 24 points to Florida.

SimCity 2000 references? Yes, yes, a thousand times yes!

#25, on what planet can you put a two-loss team, I reiterate A TWO LOSS FUCKING TEAM at number two when we’re only halfway through the season? Are you shitting me?

That’s what you get for not saving…

Questions:

Why is Cal looked down upon for Oregon almost tying the game (which didn’t happen because, believe it or not, Cal can play defense)?

Why isn’t LSU penalized for nearly losing to Florida?

Why is Cal looked down upon for having the guts to schedule an SEC team for opening day while others were eating cupcakes?

Why wasn’t USC punished for its bye week?

Why is Tennessee looked down upon after beating up on a ranked Georgia team?

Sure, everybody plays patsies, but why is Ohio State playing such no-names as Youngstown State, Akron and Kent State? Why not schedule Buffalo or Syracuse?

Is OSU incapable of leaving the state of Ohio to play cupcakes?

In this unpredictable season, why is EDSBS ranking teams based on what they are certain will happen in the future, rather than how they’ve performed on the field?

I realize that most people who follow college football are inherently stupid (based on complete homerism/hatred for other schools who have done better than your school in a random year), but sometimes GOOD teams play BAD teams. Guess what……they’re still GOOD.

Deal with it. Ohio State is GOOD…..playing Akron doesn’t change that fact.

1. - not entirely true. See Danny Wuerffel ’96 and the epic beatdown of the Criminoles in the Sugar Bowl.

#30
Washington “isn’t half bad”. At least wait until Washington wins a single game in the Pac-10 before you start talking them up. As of now, they are winless in conference play.

Furthermore, Tennessee has two losses. Both to top notch teams. They are a top 25 team. At this point Cal has clearly earned a #2 spot in the polls.

SKLM – Citing and supporting Cowherd? For shame!

Also, it concerns me that even after John David Grossman broke his finger in the first half of the Stanford nightmare, the coaches still decided against trotting Dirty Sanchez out to the huddle. He seems to have a particular taste for turnovers. For the sake of the Trojans and my developing ulcers (unsurprisingly nicknamed Booty and Turner) I hope he Favres it out there and can complete several finger-shattering touchdown passes to compensate for Anton Cason’s inevitable multi-interception game.

Hannibal #21:
The Heisman Trophy should no more be a projection of professional success than it should be the birthright of a QB/RB on the #1 team.

However, calling for Grossman over Crouch is plum idiocy.

Crouch in 2001 was 105 of 189 for 1510 yards passing, 7 TD, 10 Int.
Grossman was 259 of 395 for 3896, 34 TD, 12 Int.

Crouch, however, had 203 carries for 1115 yards rushing with 18 TDs. Oh, and a 63 yard touchdown catch against #2/#3 OU.

So let’s look at his combined numbers:

Crouch: ~2700 yards, 26 TD, 10 Int.

Another metric that was argued at the time was that Crouch should have gotten “passing yardage” credit for option pitches; I’m not sure I agree, but if a QB deserves 80 yards of credit on a 5 yard hitch, there’s some measure of “yardage accounted for” that’s option QB’s don’t necessarily get.

In the two games NU lost, in one the defense gave up 62 points (the offense still scored 36) and in the other, well, Miami beat the hell out of him. He still got 114 yards on 22 carries, which includes sack yardage.

Don’t hate Crouch because he was running the Wing T before McFadden made it popular again.

And maybe, just maybe, Crouch got some sympathy because Tommie Frazier got completely robbed by Eddie Freakin’ George.

Erick: No. 41: Do not get your panties in a bunch. So, far the two teams that have shown the most talent in the college football world thus far are LSU and Florida. Let’s see how the rest of the season plays out.

Nightmare scenario, Florida wins out and when the dust settles at the end of the season, there is a two loss Florida team with a one loss LSU team. The clamor for round three would be there big time, especially from people that read this blog.

Teams that play rinky-dink schedules in weak conferences need not apply for the Big Game.

#45: RE Cowherd….even a broken clock is right twice a day…goes the cliche….that voice is awful and whiny, though… can only listen for a little while…..

#32:

Take. That. Back.

Poll looks fine, who the hell knows….

I’m getting on board the “pick a random game/common opponent/overgeneralize team/conference” crap too, looks like fun…

Here’s mine, Notre Dame is 0-4 against the B10 this season, all of beatdown quality, including to a team that lost to North-freakin-western…

They are, however, 1-0 against the Pac-10, and on the road to boot, AND against a team that is 3-0 in the Pac-10!

Ergo, the B10 rules and the Pac-10 sucks, and thus, OSU is better than Cal, even though those two teams have nothing directly to do with the above…

Makes about as much sense as asuming the B10 is terrible because of last year’s bowl games….wait, they went 2-1 against the SEC in the bowls, forget the 2, go with the one loss…there we go…that’s the only important stat…

You are not alone, Coop. But when the Gamecocks are Top 10 and Clemson is in the midst of the annual swoon, it’s time lay low.

RE: #42
My quality time with ESPN was put in jeapordy last season because every time I turned it on they were telling me how great Ohio State was, and to make matters worse ten minutes of each Gameday was spent on WWF costumes and a certain above average linebacker. I guess I was just hoping that with the Buckeye’s performance in the national title game and their weak early schedule we could get through October without hearing how great they are. Oh well, maybe next year. The upside is if they win out Subcomandante Wayne will be back in the house.

Gah!!! You’ve gotten the Hokies (not in the previous poll) confused with the Hoos (in the previous poll and dropped out). I won’t argue that we’re a specious pick at our current national ranking but please don’t lump us in with UVA!

Whoops, meant RE: #46

Yes!!! SOMEONE fianally got it right (or close, or sort of, or not completely wrong). Swindle, you powerpolling (kinda) animal you!!! Its good to see that the alcohol from the weekend has worn of (or is it the alcohol that has generated the lucidity and wisdom).

Specifically, the relationshiop between USF and Florida is right about what it should be. (In a true powerpoll Florida would have to be at least 3 spots ahead of USF – but for now this is as plausible as you can get). Texas also desrved the boost after playing their best game of the season (the game with Rice cannot be taken seriously). Oklahoma deserves the boost as well.

A couple of quibbles.

1) The ever popular Cal/OSU debate. Particularly intersted in this as an Ohio native and Cal alumn (one who in the pre-Tetrofd era – and unlike most matriculants – held the insane dream tha Cal would become a national power – Jeff Tetford is God although the idiots at Berkley are doing their best to drive him away). You explanation is sound but it seems the balance should tip to Cal. Good argments on this point @19 and 29.

For the record, I do think Cal might be in serious danger from USC while OSU really should win out – one cannot exclude the possiblity that Michigan will get up for Lloyd Carr’s last game but I inclined to pick the Sweatevest in that one.

2) USC. Your confusion is shared. 11 seems a smidgen high but WTH knows.

SMQ makes a creditable and indeed compelling attempt at a resume based poll and going forward its likely that the schedule will rectify the currently anamolies – Florida and USF being the most striking of such to my eyes.

Nice work Swindle.

SKLM – Horribly, admirably, partisan. Can’t go with you on ranking a two loss Florida so high. Though I just found out who Stacy Kiebler is – nice alias.

O:

Thanks for the 20 ranking..what are you going to do when my boys beat both the Nutts and Taffy Boy on the road?

Coach T

60 -

You just found out who Stacy Keibler is? You poor, poor soul. Go to YouTube and the Internets pronto! And enjoy her.

Wow, now I know what it must have felt like to be a Notre Dame fan all those years.

Buckeye

Coop, all of my buddies and I read EDSBS, we just don’t post that often. We also don’t have a whole lot to talk about right now seeing as our coach somehow managed to make our special teams even worse this year after having spent more time on it this offseason than ever before.

really? UVA gets punished for beating a tough MTSU team on the road? where is the fairness?

[/sarcasm – I’m just glad they didn’t actually lose]

My season had a nuclear reactor go critical mass twice already. Right now I’m just praying for a Boston College/USF championship game.

Poll looks good but BC – not riding Ryan’s arm only.

They also have a stifling run D and a ball-hawking secondary. And are getting over 100 yds/game on the ground. They’re pretty well-rounded.

That said, they actually play some real teams after this week.

“A very lazy form of leafy mammal?”

…what, is USC a pokémon now?

#60, Ohio Dawg:

Actually, I am a USCw fan and that is one doomsday scenario out of many.

My preferable scenario would be USCe vs. USC w, assuming all sorts of blood is left on the floor in the SEC with USCe coming out on top at the end of the season. Imagine the Trojan vs. Cock banter….Booty vs. Smelley….The reemergence of the Ol’ Head Ball Coach back on the national stage vs. the Jacked-Up One (Pete Carroll)…. Imagine the outcry, the gnashing of teeth of USCw getting back in the picture after its key players are back from injuries…. blah, blah blah.

Or, USCw vs. theOSU would not be a bad option either, old Rose Bowl rivals in the mix again. Wishful thinking? Of course! But, the season is young and still full of all sorts of possibilities….

If ND beats BC, can we get the #25 spot for a week?

Who gives a rip who is the correct #2 this week?!

I’m Cal through-and-through, and I admit that I feared an OSU poll vault after proving Purdue overrated. I’m glad most everybody got it right and moved Cal accordingly. Don’t forget that all these same voters saw fit to jump Cal over OSU at the beginning of the season; they knew quality scheduling and most still do.

But really, what does it matter at this point? The fact is—and there is NO ONE who can fight this intelligently—if both Cal and OSU run it, Cal, by virtue of the computer component (which smartly take strength of schedule into account), holds a very strong advantage and will always win out.

Who cares if we’re two or three after just half a season?! It’s where we end up when the regular season is over that matters, and that’s where Cal has the edge.

Wooderson: Great idea! Whoever gets the upset of the day, even ND, should get the 25 spot. (Congrats on beating ucla.)

I’m sorry… Oklahoma has not earned their way back to #4. Nuf sed.

73- If Oklahoma hasn’t “earned” their way into the 4 spot, what exactly could they have done (apart from attaining a time machine, figuring out that thin air does in fact make one tire out quickly, that the cover 2 zone better damn well have a healthy linebacker that is more than quick, and finally that Colorado does not, in fact, suck…so don’t look past them)? Are you willing to tell anyone, or bet anything, that South Florida is better than Oklahoma? I’ve watched a healthy amount of football, actually it’s probably unhealthy. What is clear to me is that, barring the occasional hickup (LSU’s 1st half vs. Tulane, Fla. vs. Auburn, OU vs. CU), LSU, Fla., and OU are the three best by a longshot. You could argue for Cal or Oregon, but that’s about it. BC, USF, anything from the Big Telleven? NO, not so much. Maaaaaaaaaaybe Them Ohio State, but I’m not buying it.

So we don’t count hiccups anymore? USC will be relieved to hear that.

Oklahoma beats the crap out of four weak teams, then loses to Colorado and beats a Texas team that has not exactly proven itself this year — doesn’t sound like #4 to me. As opposed to USF, which has beaten two ranked teams, one of them on the road. Cal beat Tennessee and Oregon. Oh, I think USF is probably a little overrated, don’t get me wrong — they’re the media darlings this year. Just saying you’re calling out some teams that have done more with a tougher schedule.

“Cal’s schedule has been much stronger than OSU’s, and they’ve beaten much better teams than OSU at similar margins. Thus, they will lose, and OSU is a better team.”

Did you share the backseat of the short bus with Les Miles in school?! Or can the thought of Cal being a better team and more deserving of the #2 ranking not compute?

I guarantee when OSU’s off Dec 1 and Cal thrashes Stanford that very day, you will justify not moving Cal back up to #2 by saying that teams shouldn’t be passed just because they’re not playing.

Orson, voters with ideas like you are the hard, dry turds in the ass of college football.

I’m not buying Oklahoma at 4. They’ve feasted on the flesh of inferior teams to get that ranking. Maybe next year I’ll buy them as a contender, but they lack big game experience at too many crucial positions.

On the other hand, their offensive line is gi-goddamn-normous…

77-Oklahoma doesn’t really lack “big game experience” at any position. The only shoes that needed filling (aside from AD, though tailback doesn’t count as OU is as stacked as USC at that position and AD didn’t exactly play every down in every game over his career) were at QB. From what I looked at last Saturday, I have no concern at all. This is the first time Oklahoma’s had a QB that I can honestly say will win a game rather than manage a game since Josh Heupel (yes, Jason White was phenomenal, but I know that would be treated like chum to sharks over here…so no comparison or overt mention). Maybe he’ll choke/soph slump, but we’re still in freshman phenom mode. I’ll worry about it next year, when EVERYONE is back w/ the exception of Joe John Finley (that’s his name, don’t wear it out) at TE. That’s no huge concern, as the TE position is already a three man rotation. In any event, I think the top 25 should be treated as a list of who the best teams are at that moment. Hense, a 2 loss Florida team is ranked leagues higher than a USF or BC. That’s why I’ve got no issues at all with OU at 4. It’s about right, though I would argue for 3.

The PAC10 is fearsome.:

UCLA lost at home to Notre Shame.

USC lost at home to previously pitiful Stanford.

Last year, one 1st round draft pick comes from the entire conference (Ohio State had two alone).

In 2005, we had FIVE first round draft picks, then made the BCS Championship game the following year.

We reload.

Ohio State: 4-1 in BCS games, most first round draft picks, second most players in the NFL.

41-14

#80

What would Cal have been beaten by? Florida must feel great with all these other teams living vicariously through them.

Get a clue.

Yes, we lost 41-14 in our second MNC game of the decade. We won the first one.

As for Cal, congratulations! You’re no longer irrelevant!

I would agree with you that OU doesn’t lack big game experience, except that they are starting a freshman at the most critical position on the field and lost their best running back to the draft. It’s little things like “losing your best player and having no experience at vital positions” that can cost you games. Yes, Bradford has played well, but at some point he’s going to make the same mistakes all freshman make. It’s practically inevitable. Just consider yourself lucky that OU isn’t in a strong conference this year, like the SEC or PAC 10.

83- I don’t think OU suffers that much with a move to the Pac Ten or SEC. Miami (FL) is a quality, but not great, team. That’s your average upper tier, just short of LSU/Fla., team in the SEC. Texas, when it comes to play (see the OU texas game and the second half of TCU. other than that, it’s just all good times), is up there. If you’ve ever been to an OU texas game, you know that a quarterback has to have a certain amount of experience and presence to come out well. Simms never did, it took Vince Young an ass kicking to learn it, and Oklahoma has lost the game due to that kind of inexperience. Watching Bradford last week, and through the season, this guy doesn’t play nor act (the later being of more importance) like a freshman. As for tailback, that was the least of my concerns heading into the season. They’re just as productive and they’re five deep. Not better than Peterson, but just as productive. The only real concern is depth at linebacker and the mike-linebacker’s play over the middle/deep-middle zone against the pass. The TE’s are killing them on post routes and slot recievers on the slants. I’m not trying to sell OU as a national champion, but I do think (if you’ve watched OU in comparison to LSU, Fla., and so on) that they’re a lock for top five. Had they not fallen asleep at the wheel, just as Fla. and LSU have done (though LSU managed to wake up before bursting into flames), would you still be questioning them? I legit loss to a better team is one thing, a fluke is another. I’m pretty certain that the Colorado game was a fluke.

Putting up those silly numbers against the likes of North Texas, Tulsa, and Utah State doesn’t mean much. The Miami win is a quality win, but Miami is so schizophrenic that it’s unclear if they’re a good team that occasionally plays poorly or a bad team that occasionally plays well. I agree that the Texas game is a huge game, regardless of how good or bad Texas is this year, simply because it’s a rivalry game.

That being said, I was pretty high on Oklahoma after the first few weeks of the season. They looked like they could legitimately go unbeaten and challenge LSU. I’m not so sure now. I don’t necessarily buy the “thin air” argument, either. Yes, the defense was gassed by the fourth quarter (as they gave up 17 points), but the offense theoretically should have been pounding away all game. The offense didn’t live up to the billing it received after slaughtering some flimsy opponents. Either way, rankings this week won’t matter a whole lot if they don’t win out. They play a tough Missouri team this week, so we’ll know more in a couple days.

Why do you idiots gush love all over Ohio State?

simcity is cool

1. - Are you smoking crack? “Miami (FL) is a quality, but not great, team. That’s your average upper tier, just short of LSU/Fla., team in the SEC.”

A supposed second-tier SEC team is about to kick the shit out of a team this weekend that made Miami it’s prison bitch last weekend.

it’s = its

1. BAB—way too much foobaw to go to worry, though I know we all still hear the snivelin’ of Ass Clown Mack Brown whining his way into OUR 2004 R@$e B@wl

Sir Ginho, down boy…‘cause when the Zooker gets a little bit of speed in his program & all of a sudden he’s rolling the conference like he’s cranked on taffy—it’s an indictment of your conference’s strength

Watching the B11 network is like watching any other conference with your Tivo on 1/2 speed. And I’ll see your Gonzales & Ginn (on milk carton) & raise you our Marshawn