Florida

Since losing to Ole Miss two months ago the Gators have been unstoppable. They must be wearing their Citizen Eco-Drive watches. Just look at these margins of victory: 38-7, 51-21, 63-5, 49-10, 42-14, 56-6, 70-19. And the loss to the Rebels isn’t looking nearly a bad as it did in September. They can be 8-4 with a victory in the Egg Bowl this Friday. I think Florida is a consensus number one in the minds of coaches, writes and bloggers. However, most voters are restricting themselves from voting the Gators number one because of the unwritten rule that undefeated teams from power conferences must be ranked higher than those with as loss. I am not and make no bones about it Florida is the best team right now.

Oklahoma, Texas and Texas Tech

First off we need to remember we are trying to order three teams who have gone 1-1 versus each other. So let’s throw the “but x beat y” argument out, because we can always make the “y beat z” counter point. Everyone can agree Texas Tech is the odd man out here. I am ranking Oklahoma higher than Texas because Oklahoma played and dominated the most impressive out of conference schedule.

Alabama

Alabama is like the $40 pair of white Reeboks your dad would wear. They flat out get the job done, but with no style. Continue Reading “BlogPoll Justifications Week 13″ »

I am far too hungover to explain my rankings this week. If you have a real problem with anything leave your reasoning in the comments and I will tell you why you’re wrong.

Rank	Team	Delta
1	Florida	–
2	Oklahoma	3
3	Alabama	–
4	Texas	–
5	Penn State	2
6	Southern Cal	–
7	Texas Tech	5
8	Ohio State	1
9	Utah	1
10	Oklahoma State	–
11	Missouri	–
12	Cincinnati	7
13	Georgia	1
14	Georgia Tech	12
15	Florida State	11
16	Oregon State	2
17	Boston College	5
18	Michigan State	6
19	TCU	4
20	Boise State	–
21	Mississippi	5
22	Pittsburgh	5
23	Iowa	3
24	Oregon	3
25	Ball State	–

I encourage you to leave any ranking beefs in the comments and they will be taken into consideration when I submit my final ballot.

I want to say thank you to everyone who answered the questions and for those who didn’t I hope your turkey is a little dryer this Thanksgiving. Warning this post is longer than Charlie Weis’ grocery list. The entire thing is after the jump.

1. By now everyone has heard that if there is a three way tie in the Big 12 South the highest ranked team in the BCS will play in the Big 12 Championship Game. That means the humans (66% of the BCS Poll) will determine the Big 12 South representative. Let’s assume Oklahoma sinks the pirate ship at home next week. Try to sway the pollsters by arguing which team you think should face off against the Big 12 North.

Our panel of bloggers are split on this one.  However, like me, they feel Texas Tech will be out of it and it will come down to  either Oklahoma or Texas.

The best argument for Texas comes from Addicted to Quack

Texas is the only team that will have won a game against the other top 2 not at home. They beat Texas at home on a neutral site. They barely lost to Texas Tech, on the road. 

My argument for Oklahoma is they played the toughest out of conference schedule and hammered Cincinnati a team that is positioned to win the Big East and TCU a team that can tie for the Mountain West.

The The Joe Cribs Car Wash agrees that Oklahoma has the most impressive out of conference schedule

Non-conference schedule: Oklahoma, also in a walk. TCU and Cincy are both miles better than anyone the ‘Horns scheduled and I hear Tech’s noncon slate killed at the Comedy Club last week.

Subway Domer suggests abandoning the current tie breaker all together and pimping off the Big Ten.

Maybe the rule should change though. Maybe the final tiebreaker should go to the school that has not played in the game the longest

If you don’t like that idea then Roll ‘Bama Roll suggests other, more fair solutions

A coin flip or round robin tournament of paper football among the head coaches would be more fair than that.

For the betterment of all Hey Jenny Slater just hopes the craziness continues

If OU does knock off Texas Tech, they’ll at least go and lose to Oklahoma State and save us all a lot of trouble. Continue Reading “BlogPoll Roundtable: Potpourri Edition Roundup” »

Brian is letting me host this week’s edition of the BlogPoll Rountable.  I tried to focus the questions on four totally different topics and I hope everyone enjoys answering them.

1. By now everyone has heard that if there is a three way tie in the Big 12 South the highest ranked team in the BCS will play in the Big 12 Championship Game. That means the humans (66% of the BCS Poll) will determine the Big 12 South representative. Let’s assume Oklahoma sinks the pirate ship at home next week. Try to sway the pollsters by arguing which team you think should face off against the Big 12 North.
2. ESPN is aggressively bidding on the rights to the BCS when Fox’s contract expires after the 2009 season.  My half baked theory is if they do win the rights they will push for a +1 system. Lucrative television deals have landed ESPN in bed with each of the BCS conferences. The revenue a playoff would generate could be a huge motivator for the four letter to be the common denominator and unifier among the conferences that finally helps them all to see the light of why a playoff would be good for college football.  Help expand upon or debunk this theory.
3. Rivalry week is around the corner. How do you think your team will fare? Feel free to talk a little or a lot of trash.
4. And now for a little fun… Assemble your dream announcing team.  Pick a play-by-play announcer, color commentator, sideline reporter and for the hell of it celebrity guest that drops on by.

This week’s BlogPoll is a disaster. Please be gentle in the comments.

Florida

Florida is playing the best football right now.

Mizzou

Don’t over look Missouri in the Big 12 Championship Game.

Oregon St

They are two wins away from the Rose Bowl and potential rematch with Penn State. Continue Reading “Week 12 BlogPoll” »

Texas Tech

They proved to me they are capable of winning more than just one big game at the last second.  Eight touchdowns on nine drives is one hell of an efficient offense.  Their defense might not be SEC good, but they are scrappy, make big plays (cliche I know) and all they need to do is hold a team to around 28.

Alabama

My number one team last week wins on the road at LSU and drops two spots.  How could this happen? 1) LSU is not the LSU of yesteryear 2) Florida is winning dominating more impressively than any other team in the country.

Ohio State

Tyrell Pryor is a freak.  Ohio State will be legit next year.

North Carolina

UNC may be the best team in the ACC and may not end up in Tampa for the ACC Championship Game.

Pitt

I’ll be a believer when the Wanstache wins out.  I’ve been fooled too many times by bi-polar Pitt too many times this year.

Georgia & LSU

Neither have a marquee win this year, but what team could you argue would beat them on a neutral field? Seriously, I am interested to know…

Rank	Team	Delta
1	Texas Tech	3
2	Florida	–
3	Alabama	2
4	Texas	1
5	Oklahoma	1
6	Southern Cal	1
7	Penn State	4
8	Utah	1
9	Ohio State	5
10	Oklahoma State	2
11	North Carolina	5
12	Missouri	1
13	Michigan State	4
14	Florida State	8
15	Georgia	4
16	LSU	4
17	Boise State	1
18	TCU	8
19	Pittsburgh	2
20	Miami (Florida)	3
21	South Carolina	5
22	Virginia Tech	4
23	Cincinnati	3
24	Brigham Young	2
25	Ball State	–

Dropped Out: Georgia Tech (#15), Northwestern (#19), West Virginia (#20), Maryland (#24).

I encourage you to leave any ranking beefs in the comments and they will be taken into consideration when I submit my final ballot.

Texas Tech

They went toe to toe with #1 and won. But do I think for a minute this is the best team in the country? No I don’t. They needed a last second drive to pull off the upset and it should have been cut short by a Texas interception.

Georgia

Should The Dawgs be ranked lower? They’ve been blown out of their two biggest games of the year. Continue Reading “Week 10 BlogPoll” »

Road Wins

Alabama, Penn State and Georgia all went on the road and won big time games. PSU and and Alabama are jumping back above the Sooners because beating tOSU and Tennessee is much more impressive than beating K State. Also if I was an Oklahoma fan I’de be a little worried about my defense giving up 30+ the last 3 weeks.

Oklahoma State

They went toe to toe with Texas and aren’t dropping a lick in this poll.

Florida State

The ‘Noles came back from a 0-10 deficit to beat the banged up Hokies by 10.  They are 6-1 and this ranking may be too high since VT played their backup QBs, but this game was a real confidence booster.  I think this is the game where they turn the corner and say, “we can contend for the ACC again.” Continue Reading “Week 9 BlogPoll” »

Corn Nation is hosting the latest edition of the BlogPoll Roundtable.  Please enjoy this humble offering of answers to such thought provoking questions.

1. We’re about half way through the season. Has your team met your expectations, wildly exceeded them, or are you about to light the torches and storm your athletic department demanding blood?

I don’t think any Hokie would have expected us to be 5-2 in the spring time.  However, the mob has been rounded up and are storming the castle for offensive coordinator Byran Stinespring’s head.  We are are legitimate offense away from being undefeated and ranked in the top 10.  And that ain’t no shit.

2. In an election year, all sorts of promises will be made, few will be kept. What is one promise or item you thought you could count on that hasn’t come to pass yet this season? Is there still a chance?

One thing I thought I could bank on was that our young offense would improve throughout the year.  There isn’t a chance in hell of it happening now.

3. Georgia #1… No, USC #1.… No, Oklahoma #1.… No, Texas #1!  Who’s the real #1 team, and who do you think will make it to the big BCS National Title game?

Obviously its hard to argue against Texas, especially since I am still a believer in Oklahoma, so right now they are my #1.  However, I don’t think any team is going to go undefeated and Florida will end up playing USC for the crystal ball.

4. In only a few weeks, college football fans get to be treated with the obligatory and annual “We Need a Playoff” screaming. Well, you don’t get a playoff, but I’ll let you make one change to the BCS (and no, you can’t cop out and have the BCS commit suicide) to make the world a better place. What is your change?

I suggested five changes last year.  If I had to pick one of those give changes it would be that the Top 10 teams regardless of conference play in the five BCS games.  Furthermore #1 would play #2, #3 would play #4, etc..  Essentially I would drop all the automatic tie-ins.

5. Using this year ONLY - no historical references - respond to the statement “The Big 12 is a better conference than the SEC”. There’s nothing sillier than conference wars, but then again, there’s nothing sillier than how SEC fans respond to any challenge to their supremacy. Aim, Fire!

False, the SEC is a better conference than the Big 12 this year.  The SEC has a better out of conference record versus the BCS than the Big 12.  The Big 12 is hanging their collective hats on their great offenses and there is no denying some of them.  I think Oklahoma and Texas are the real deal.  However I believe Texas Tech and Oklahoma State have benefited from an easy early schedule.  For me the bottom line is great defense and a power running game will always trump a flashy offense-minded team that needs to put up 40 to win.