BLOGPOLL: YOU DARE DEFILE THE VERNEDOME
BLIND GUESSES FOLLOW AFTER 12 OR SO. We’ll just have to wait until the blind lottery of the bowl season kinda sorta shows us in one game who REALLY IS MOST MACHO!!! (Or who sort of stayed in football shape for the game, or who isn’t disappointed to be there, or…whatevs.)
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| Rank | Team | Delta |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alabama | — |
| 2 | Oklahoma |  3 |
| 3 | Texas | 1 |
| 4 | Florida |  1 |
| 5 | Penn State | 2 |
| 6 | Southern Cal | — |
| 7 | Ohio State | 2 |
| 8 | Utah | — |
| 9 | Cincinnati | 3 |
| 10 | Boise State | — |
| 11 | Oregon State | 2 |
| 12 | Texas Tech | 10 |
| 13 | TCU | 8 |
| 14 | Oklahoma State | 3 |
| 15 | Georgia Tech | 11 |
| 16 | Georgia | 1 |
| 17 | Florida State | 9 |
| 18 | West Virginia | 5 |
| 19 | Pittsburgh | 3 |
| 20 | Missouri | 6 |
| 21 | Mississippi | 5 |
| 22 | Oregon | 4 |
| 23 | Boston College | 3 |
| 24 | Ball State | 1 |
| 25 | Michigan State | 8 |
Play the Citadel, get docked glory points. We know, scheduling, blah blah…but even though they’re our team, you can’t get us to act like they didn’t have a bye this week.
Three ACC teams? Yes, but they could be three completely different ACC teams next week, so don’t get cockbent over it.
Dropped: You’re damn tootin’ right we dropped LSU. They lost every game they played on CBS. You defile the Vernedome with such limp performance, you take the mail chute down 25 floors out of the rankings.
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1
gc says:
Texas BEAT Oklahoma on a neutral field by double digits!! You can not really tell me that is moot because OU beat TT in their first real road test, can you?
1. Bama
2. Texas
3. Florida
4. Oklahoma
November 23rd, 2008 at 11:12 am
2
lhb98 says:
Orson – if you’re going to drop Tech to 12, then you really have to give UT the head-to-head nod for the 2 spot.
November 23rd, 2008 at 11:20 am
3
Mich-Placed Gator says:
1. Alabama
2. Texas
3. Florida
4. Oklahoma
5. USC
that will the BCS rankings this week
November 23rd, 2008 at 11:29 am
4
Brian says:
Such high praise for GT makes me nervous.
November 23rd, 2008 at 11:54 am
5
Neutral-in-TX says:
Sorry Horns. Your head-to-head argument kicks as hard as it shoots and would put you behind Tech. Any objective observer would agree that OU (assuming a win over Okie State) should emerge as the victor from the circular firing squad that is the Big 12 south.
November 23rd, 2008 at 12:00 pm
6
skinnyphatman says:
GT as the highest ranked ACC team? Not this week. Damn you Swindle, DAMNNNN YOUUUUU!
November 23rd, 2008 at 12:00 pm
7
Roman Berry says:
1. Alabama**
2. Florida
3. Oklahoma
4. Texas
5. Penn State
6. USC
As far as the “you have to rank Texas ahead of Oklahoma” comments, I have to disagree. Polls should be based on what teams are doing right now as a “snapshot in time” of where teams stand as well as taking into account the overall picture.
Yes, Texas beat Oklahoma but Oklahoma led at the half and was up 35-31 with eight minutes to play. Texas played Texas Tech down to the wire and lost. Oklahoma simply destroyed Texas Tech. I think that if Oklahoma and Texas lined it up and played five times, Oklahoma wins three of the five, especially with the way they are playing now.
If you have to lose, lose early. Oklahoma’s loss to Texas was way back on October 11th.
**Look for ‘Bama to be exposed by the Gators in the SECCG. Bama’s best opponents so far have been UGA, Clemson and LSU and none of those teams are the machines that were expected. It’s possible (don’t laugh!) that lowly Auburn takes Bama down to the wire this week,
November 23rd, 2008 at 12:23 pm
8
PW says:
3
I beg to differ. There’s no way Oklahoma won’t be ahead of UF and Texas in the BCS this week. Those 3 teams were in a virtual dead heat entering this past weekend and I gotta think a blowout win over the #2 team in the nation has gotta do wonders for you in the computer rankings, especially when the other two teams had bye weeks, either actually (UT) or virtually (UF).
November 23rd, 2008 at 12:26 pm
9
westbrooke says:
“Texas BEAT Oklahoma on a neutral field by double digits!! You can not really tell me that is moot because OU beat TT in their first real road test, can you?”
No, it’s not moot. And neither is UT’s loss to Tech. We don’t get to forget that happened just because someone else dismembered Tech.
“if you’re going to drop Tech to 12, then you really have to give UT the head-to-head nod for the 2 spot.”
I’m a bit mystified by this position. It seems that your argument is that OU was so impressive in beating Tech that it proved they were so good they went off the spectrum and came back on the other side and actually aren’t that good after all. I know it can’t be the opposite argument (that Tech really isn’t that good) because then your head-to-head criteria would mean that a 1-loss Tech team should be ahead of a 1-loss UT team. So, somehow, the more convincing OU was in beating Tech, the less esteem they deserve. BS.
The notion that head-to-head is the only factor here is ridiculous because head-to-head is exactly why there’s a three-way tie to begin with. The transitive property of wins and losses either means these three Big 12 teams spiral up to impossibly good or down to dismissably bad. You lose all credibility by choosing either path. If you want to make an argument based on the body of work one of these teams has assembled, go for it, but any argument that starts and stops with one game, in a season where no less than three have knotted the rankings, is woefully lacking.
November 23rd, 2008 at 12:53 pm
10
JT says:
Why must the ACC have a rotating stable of teams in the rankings? None deserve to be ranked.
By the way, isn’t it fitting that the Fighting Irish have been done in by the Orangemen? Gerry Adams and Sinn Fein must be besides themselves this morning.
November 23rd, 2008 at 1:15 pm
11
Tractorr says:
Orson, I know you don’t like this sort of fluff to be taken into consideration, but the nation does not seem to realize that the reason Florida played the Citadel was because of Mr. Two Bits retirement. The first game at which Mr. Edmondson did the cheer was against Citadel in 1949. I am going to be really pissed if we get left out of the national championship because of celebration of our tradition when the pac 10, big 10, and Rose Bowl get to ruin all of college football for theirs.
November 23rd, 2008 at 1:36 pm
12
Dave H. says:
I was just going to leave you an ANGry comment about Oregon State and you leaving them out of your rankings. Then I realized I was high, went back and discovered you had them at 11, way higher (ha!) than I had thought. Which is unusual, because I’m very high. I’d figured you’d have them hanging around the low (high?) teens, or the #20 spot.
But then I saw you had Ohio State (what’s round on the end, high in the middle?) ranked one spot behighnd USC, who had pummeled them earlier in the year, and only has one lost — to said Oregon State team — as opposed to two, as Ohigho State does. Makes no sense to me.
You know what your rankings don’t have that most polls do? “Also Receiving Votes.” Maybe you should higher somebody to also chime in. You can completely reject that person’s influence on your Top 25, but instead just give them “Also Receiving Votes” consideration.
(Would you like to know who finished 27th in the recent presidential election? I sure would.)
November 23rd, 2008 at 1:47 pm
13
Orson Swindle says:
Keep in mind, we’re a bit of a power poller, and week to week fluctuations affect our understanding of the rankings a bit more than the average pollster.
That said, we’ll just beat everyone else to the punch and say HOW DARE YOU, US!!!
(This will all shake out in the next two weeks, we swear. It usually does, much as we don’t want it to because BCS BOOO.)
November 23rd, 2008 at 1:51 pm
14
Mich-Placed Gator says:
AP Poll:
1. Alabama (63) 11-0 1,622
2. Florida (2) 10-1 1,512
3. Oklahoma 10-1 1,486
4. Texas 10-1 1,482
5. USC 9-1 1,352
6. Penn State 11-1 1,238
7. Texas Tech 10-1 1,212
8. Utah 12-0 1,206
9. Boise State 11-0 1,064
10. Ohio State 10-2 1,043
Coaches Poll:
1. Alabama (56) 1,518
2. Oklahoma (4) 1,412
3. Florida (1) 1,401
4. Texas 1,370
5. Southern California 1,288
6. Penn State 1,157
7. Utah 1,153
8. Texas Tech 1,073
9. Boise State 1,033
10. Ohio State 994
…and I’m still glad we played The Citadel; Mr. Two Bits alma mater, despite the ignorance of “The Sports Reporters” and apparently some online bloggers.
He’s only been leading this cheer since 1949, it’s the least UF could have done.
November 23rd, 2008 at 1:57 pm
15
Lurking Trojan says:
Everyone ranking Penn State ahead of USC will be willing to put cash behind their convictions should USC end up in the Rose Bowl Right?
Drop the Petes envy, its embarrassing.
Go Seminoles…for one week.
November 23rd, 2008 at 2:23 pm
16
oc phil says:
Westbrooke @ 9: We saw the same “logic” after the USC vs tOSU game, since USC blew out tOSU, then obviously tOSU isn’t very good so USC’s win does not mean anything.
I think tOSU is in the right place in the polls now, since they have Prior and Wells playing they are a better team now than when they played USC.
I think you break the tie in the Big 12 south by looking at OOC schedule, and Oklahoma has the best of the three. But none of them are that impressive.
If USC dropped two spots in the BCS the week they blew out Washington then Florida deserves the same for playing the Citadel.
November 23rd, 2008 at 2:35 pm
17
PW says:
Who gives a crap about the Citadel? Sure, we’ll lose some points among pollsters and computers for playing them, but we’re otherwise in the catbird seat as it relates to controlling our own destiny. If we’re 4th now, we’ll be in the top 2 if we beat the number 1 team and either team #2 or #3 suffers the indignity of not playing in its conference championship game.
Like Orson said, it’ll all shake out in a couple of weeks.
November 23rd, 2008 at 2:43 pm
18
SpartanDan says:
Texas does NOT have to be ahead of Oklahoma simply because they won that game. Football is not purely transitive – for proof, all you need is Texas > Oklahoma >> Texas Tech > Texas. One of those three has to be ranked above a team they lost to, unless you vote them as 2a, 2b, and 2c (or 3a, 3b, 3c depending on whether you put Florida ahead or not).
I think Oklahoma gets the nod – just barely – because their win in that slightly-north-of-Mexican standoff was a fucking demolition, and they have far better non-conference wins to at least offset not having played OkSt (yet) and Mizzou. If they beat OkSt, this should be even clearer. And Texas Tech ends up further down because they were on the wrong side of said fucking demolition and their non-conference schedule is a joke.
I’d switch Utah and Ohio State, but otherwise I’d have the same top 8 as Orson. Beyond that, beats the hell out of me.
November 23rd, 2008 at 2:57 pm
19
dash says:
Roman Berry, I believe Ole Miss should be included in the list of the “best” teams that Bama beat. It’s funny how all the Gator nation seems to forget they ever lost to the Rebs.
November 23rd, 2008 at 2:58 pm
20
Tractorr says:
Oh we are not forgetting the Ole Miss game. I was there(hangs head in shame), but Ole Miss is proving they are a much better team than we thought they were when they beat Florida. They have only lost 4 games all to teams that have winning records and were ranked at some point during the year. None of those losses were by more than 7 points.
November 23rd, 2008 at 4:39 pm
21
TheMightyErik says:
Dash-
Totally agree with you as Ole Miss looks like one of the better squads in a down year for that conference. Two of Bama’s opponents (Clem and GA) got them a lot of love early in the year and moved em waaaaay up the ladder to where they are now. Should they lose points if Auburn plays em tough this week? I am not saying they absolutely don’t deserve to be there but those early rankings didn’t hurt em, either.
Now a team like USC dropping two spots after crushing a Pac 10 opponent and other non ESS EEE SEE or Big 12 south conference teams having to hold on for dear life to their spot or inch their way up each week gets tired. If UF drops BCS spots after this week vs 1AA Citadel then turnabout is fair play and USC should feel slightly better about itself. That is, of course, until championship week when the Pac and Big 10 have that extra week worth of shit sandwiches to eat in the polls (gotta fix that, fellas)
Oh, and all of the ‘we play Citadel because…’ talk can be filed right next to ND’s ‘we play Navy because…’ arguments. Every school has some weird affiliation with another school but the BCS may make you pay for it and you should probably think about moving that game to August or early September, if possible. Not saying it’s right… just saying the computers don’t have sentimental streaks. (yet… who knows where the gawdaful BCS is heading)
November 23rd, 2008 at 5:03 pm
22
Josh says:
@Lurking Trojan 15–
I assume the people ranking PSU ahead of USC are the ones who saw Oregon State rip the middle of your D-line open like John Hurt’s stomach in Alien.
November 23rd, 2008 at 5:36 pm
23
DHC says:
The Citadel matchup was eerily familiar to the Western Carolina beatdown in 2006 when we had the (OMG!!!!) number one ranked schedule in the nation.
This year’s slate will likely be ranked somewhere around 8 or so.
So, if you’re one of those with a top 10 schedule, please ridicule appropriately.
November 23rd, 2008 at 5:39 pm
24
beerbaron says:
CBS and their stupid fucking day games.
November 23rd, 2008 at 5:42 pm
25
beerbaron says:
(kicks dog)
November 23rd, 2008 at 5:49 pm
26
Phocion says:
All you Horns defenders…if anything, OU’s beat down of Tech makes Texas’ loss to Tech look worse. Yeah, yeah, yeah…last minute loss on the road. Well, that would work if OU won the same way…or even by 14 or less points. But they absolutely mauled a them. This week, the week that the polls came out, UT is not demonstrably better than OU.
#1 Florida
#2 Alabama
#3 Oklahoma
#4 Texas
#5 Penn State
And, yes, I would be happy to put my money on Penn State over U$C anyhere except for the Rose Bowl…which turns out to be just another home game for U$C. Would the $C contingent be willing to take them over PSU at a game in Pittsburgh?
November 23rd, 2008 at 5:50 pm
27
CrimsonBarrister says:
1- Bama
2- Texas
3- Oklahoma
4 – Florida
BCS Standings for this week.////
November 23rd, 2008 at 6:06 pm
28
31southst says:
FSU that much higher than BC is curious seeing as BC beat them on the road last week.
November 23rd, 2008 at 6:24 pm
29
Macon Dawg says:
So, is Georgia Tech at #15 an homage to your graduate school alma mater, or are you scared that Paul Johnson will yell at you otherwise? Bonus question: didn’t you watch them against North Carolina? I mean, ACC rotating craptacularity aside, #15 is tre sketchy.
November 23rd, 2008 at 6:30 pm
30
Roman Berry says:
Dash, I’ll grant that Ole Miss is much improved but LSU, UGa and Clemson were all ranked opponents when Bama played ‘em. Houston Nutt is a pretty good coach and he’s doing a good job in his first year at Mississippi with some of the talent that Ed Ogeron recruited but couldn’t get over the hump.
By the way, I’m not a G8R (though I do like Florida.) I’m actually a fan/follower of the Auburn Tigers. (The pain! The pain!)
November 23rd, 2008 at 6:44 pm
31
allaha says:
Should Alabama be No. 1, given their best win is over No. 16 ranked Georgia – the only currently ranked team they have played?
Almost anyone would take teams No. 2-6 over Alabama at a neutral site.
Give OU props for a great win, but UT has to get the nod over OU — double digit win in Dallas — and Tech is penalized too much given its reume.
November 23rd, 2008 at 8:40 pm
32
tempebamafan says:
Ol miss is also currently ranked in the AP poll. refresh my memory, how did florida do against ol miss?
November 23rd, 2008 at 9:57 pm
33
tempebamafan says:
@ 31, plenty of people, people like you i presume, were willing to take clemson and georgia over BAMA as well. those were perfect games for me to take the moneyline on, thank you. moron.
November 23rd, 2008 at 10:00 pm
34
tempebamafan says:
@ 31, one more point. who has florida beatin that BAMA has not? georgia? lsu? kentucky? ol miss?
November 23rd, 2008 at 10:02 pm
35
West Tex says:
In re: OU v. Texas:
As a Tech fan, I was at both the Tech v. Texas and Tech v. Oklahoma games and can report that Oklahoma would beat Texas almost any day of the week and twice on Sunday. Unfortunately for OU, they lose at least one game a year that they should absolutely win – usually this is saved for the Fiesta Bowl but Stoops cashed it in early this year with his inexplicable collapse in the second half of the Red River Rivalry.
On another note, Mack Brown’s media whoring is all that is wrong with the BCS. If his glad handing changes even one vote then it proves that the system is a farce. If I had a vote I would move UT down a slot everytime I saw his face on espn (I might also punish Florida for scheduling Citadel in November and elimate the Big 10 from the top 10 due to Wisconsin’s performance – the entire conference should be punished for such display).
November 23rd, 2008 at 10:30 pm
36
SpartanDan says:
#34: Vandy and USCe, compared to Croom and Ole Miss.There’s also the fact that Alabama has, with the exception of the Clemson game and the first half against Georgia, looked anything but dominant and Florida, with the exception of the game against Ole Miss, has been fucking destroying everything in their path.
FWIW, Sagarin’s Predictor ratings would have Florida favored by 11 at a neutral site; the composite rating favors Florida by 1.
November 23rd, 2008 at 11:59 pm
37
SpartanDan says:
#30: “Dash, I’ll grant that Ole Miss is much improved but LSU, UGa and Clemson were all ranked opponents when Bama played ‘em.”
That’s the stupidity of the preseason polls, not any sort of vindication of Bama’s schedule. Neither Clemson nor LSU is a top-25 team, nor is Georgia a top-10 team, no matter what the pollsters thought before a game was played.
November 24th, 2008 at 12:02 am
38
Phocion says:
SpartanDan @35
Sagarin has Texas Tech rated #2 in the new computer ranking…do they really look like the #2 team in the nation this Monday morning? So take your Sagarin Rankings and Predictions with a Salt Shaker or two.
November 24th, 2008 at 2:05 am
39
Ted says:
The only reason USC is getting no love is because Alabama, Florida, Oklahoma, and Texas are SKURRED.
USC should be no less than #3.
1. Bama
2. Florida
3. USC
4. Big 12 you’re F’ed because nobody can figure out the impossible riddle and you don’t play defense.
That’s the only correct way to settle this thing. SEC vs. USC. Lets see the SEC talk trash now.
November 24th, 2008 at 10:22 am
40
PSUfanNYC says:
Ted @ 39 –
USC is getting no love because they aren’t that good. Narrow win against lowly Arizona, loss to Oregon State, come from behind win against Stanford (tied at halftime), close win against a mediocre Cal team. They have an inconsistent offense that is exposed by any team with a good front 7, and a good overall defense that is weak against the inside run. They are tough in LA, but I guarantee none of the other Top 10 teams are particularly scared of the Trojans.
As a Penn State fan I would LOVE to see the Nits take on the Trojans in the Rose Bowl (Go Oregon!). It will be tough in LA, but PSU matches up very well with USC. And unlike OSU and Michigan, PSU plays well in bowls and big games….
November 24th, 2008 at 11:36 am
41
Ted says:
Likely neutral field lines
USC -7
PSU
USC -4
Big 12 opp OK or TX
USC PK
FLA
USC -10
ALA
SKURRRED
November 24th, 2008 at 12:05 pm
42
SpartanDan says:
Phocion: That’s the version that doesn’t consider MOV at all (which exists primarily because of BCS stupidity). His Predictor ratings have TTU sixth (and favored over Alabama by one point). Such is life when you’re unbeaten against a Utah-esque schedule (59th SOS out of 65 BCS-conference teams).
November 24th, 2008 at 12:34 pm
43
Steve says:
@PSU fan
They aren’t that good? Really? Lots of teams “aren’t that good”, but USC isnt one of them. They are easily a top 10 team, and probably a top 5, and headed for a BCS bid in one for or another.
Every argument you make against USC applies to PSU. Last minute gift win against OSU. Close road loss to a team with the same record as Oregon State. Struggles against a mediocre Purdue. But I would never say PSU “isnt that good” because thats stupid. They’re damn good, and the only reason they aren’t in the national title confersation is because of the BCS baggage from OSU which taints the Big Ten.
November 24th, 2008 at 1:35 pm
44
PSUfanNYC says:
Steve @43 –
USC is good, but not Top 5, national title level good. Ted was complaining that the Trojans weren’t getting any love for the MNC (and somehow attributing that to other teams being scared), and my point is that they don’t deserve it. Ok, they beat an OSU team without their starting RB at home. That’s really their only accomplishment on the season. They will likely finish 2nd in the 5th or 6th best conference this season. Hardly worthy of national title discussion…
November 24th, 2008 at 1:58 pm
45
TrojanRick says:
PSUfanNYC@ 44-
If the Trojans win the last two games against ND & UCLA, and Oregon State wins its Civil War game against Oregon, then USC is co-conference champion, not 2nd.
However, if OSU beats Oregon, USC most likely will not even be in the BCS picture, as PSU, Utah, Oregon State, an ACC and Big East winner already have 5 of the 8 spots, leaving the other 3 between Florida, Alabama, Texas or Oklahoma – your choice.
However, if some upsets occur in the next 2 weeks, the deck would definilely get shuffled.
and ps – USC travels very well, and even playing in Pittsburgh might not be the advantage you might think. Talk to Virginia, Auburn, Alabama, Arkansas, among others in recent years, and of course Oklahoma in Miami not too many years ago!
November 24th, 2008 at 2:44 pm
46
Lurking Trojan says:
Rick- the BCS takes ten teams these days. USC, if they close out, will be among them.
Also, you must pray for OSU so that we aren’t forced to spend the second half of the New Years day game wondering what happened to all the Big-10 people. I’d love to see a Bama game or even a Baja Oklahoma rematch, assuming the newest Rhodes Scholar can’t help us sneak in to the title game.
November 25th, 2008 at 2:04 am