This weekend was the first opportunity for me to rejoin my brethren in purple & gold, and enjoy the tailgating, so college football has officially begun. Notes from the week:
- 8:15 games are lame, made more so with long TV timeouts. I didn’t get home till 1:45 (granted, I waited out the traffic at a nearby apartment but still).
- The Big East in in trouble. No one in the Top 25, with all three marquee teams losing this weekend (WVU, Pitt, & Cincy).
- The ACC is a mystery to me. With GT losing and UNC’s troubles, hard to pick a favorite. Miami looks good, and NC State is undefeated, but the Hokies don’t have a conference loss yet and made a good statement against BC.
- As of right now, the SEC West has the teams ranked #1, #10, #12, and #15 in the AP poll. Your chaos of the season will ride on what happens there (as well as what happens when Florida plays some of those teams-starting this week when Bama is rewarded for its efforts v. the Hogs by meeting the stronger-looking Gators at home). You may begin an “S-E-C!” chant now.
- Do you think Brian Kelly & Notre Shame expected to be 1-3 right now?
- What happened to Georgia? They got creamed by Moo U. and sit firmly behind Vandy in the SEC East. Very sad.
- The Heisman race continues to intrigue. Ingram, despite missing a few games, looks solid. Robinson was out for much of the game but looks ok. Pryor handled business, and Peterson added another special teams TD. I will say that I acted very dignified when peterson scored his TD and did the Heisman pose. And by dignified, I mean jump up and down so much that I almost knocked my sister down. However, I did resist putting that picture as the lead this week (saving it for a future week, perhaps?)
- Right now, I think conference ranks are 1. SEC, 2. PAC-10, 3. Big-10, 4. Big 12, 5. MWC, 6. ACC, 7. Boise St. 8. Big East.
- This week, Idaho receives no votes in the TAC poll. In a unrelated story, the TAC poll gains nation-wide credibility (love ya, tito!)
Ok, rankings after the jump.
All 6 writers rejoined us this week. Comments from Myself, MJ, Dave, and Jay.
- Alabama (5)-Good news is that they escaped a fierce SEC West foe on the road. Bad news is that they have to do that again (LSU-and Death Valley’s a tad more hostile than Fayetteville), and get two more top ten teams at home, starting this week at Florida. However, they seem more than ready to take care of all contenders. (MD)Last Week: 1
- Ohio St.-Terrelle Pryor passes for 4 TDs, runs for a 53-yard TD scamper, and catches a pass for yet another TD, compiling a grand total of 6 in a rout of Eastern Michigan. Big Ten play starts next week against the Illinois Illini, who have historically given the Buckeyes fits.(J) Last Week:2
- Oregon (1)-when you’re averaging 58 points a game, you can afford to allow the other team to score some points(MJ) Last Week: 3
- Boise St (TIE w/ Oregon)-I am sure Boise won’t look past Nevada, but what about Toledo, who beat Purdue?(DH) Last Week:3
- TCU- The Frogs didn’t look nearly as impressive against the Mustangs of SMU as they did against the Bears of Baylor the previous weekend (J) Last Week: 5
- Nebraska (TIE w/ TCU)-What happened to the Cornhuskers’ offense in their 17-3 win over South Dakota State? (J) Last Week: 6
- Stanford-a big surprise, Notre Dame wasn’t really as bad as Stanford was good(DH) Last Week: 11
- Oklahoma-With the exception of Florida State, the Sooners can’t seem to manage to beat anyone by more than a field goal. That, coupled with Texas’ drubbing at the hands of UCLA has taken quite a bit of the lustre off of this week’s Red River Shootout. In fact, just about the ONLY thing this game has going for it is that they’re still playing it at the Cotton Bowl amidst the crowds at the State Fair of Texas and NOT at that damned boondoggle of a stadium known locally as “JerryWorld”.(J) Last Week: 7
- Florida-Not sure what it says that we’re impressed by Florida drubbing Kentucky, but with a trip to Bama, they seem to have it together at the right time w/ the defenses of Bama & LSU the next two weeks. (MD) Last Week: 10
- Utah-This team shouldn’t be underrated by anyone anymore this season (MJ) Last Week: 12
- Wisconsin-I’m not sure you can tell that much about a team from a 70-3 walloping of Austin Peay. Next up for the Badgers: the Milwaukee School for the Visually Impaired.(J) Last Week: 15
- LSU-Even w/ terrible QB play, the special teams and defense have been amazing. It’s enough to keep us in the games, but is it enough to get the wins against the big dogs of the SEC? If Lee gets the nod, the running game is stout enough to maybe do it. Last Week: 14
- Arizona-A close call in a 10-9 victory over Cal. But the Wildcats still have that victory over previous top-10 ranked Iowa, and that 41-2 victory over Toledo looks a LOT better after the Rockets’ defeat of Purdue on Saturday.(J) Last Week: 12
- Auburn-I misheard the announcer in Tiger Stadium and thought they had lost until this morning. Not sure they’re as good as the national rankings suggest, but they’re a worthy foe. Last Week: 17
- Michigan-The Wolverines looked impressive even after Denard Robinson went down with an injury. Tate Forcier showed that he’s perfectly capable of leading the Michigan offensive attack.(J) Last Week: 19
- Arkansas-Just like when he was at Michigan, Ryan Mallett folds like a cheap card table in the big game.(J). Last Week: 9
- USC (TIE w/ Arkansas)-Not sure if drubbing Washington St. shows that USC isn’t that bad or that the Cougars are really terrible. (MD) Last Week: 20
- Iowa-I still can’t believe the Hawkeyes let that Arizona game get away from them. Neither can the Hawkeyes. They took out their frustration on Ball State by beating them 45-0.(J) Last Week:18
- Miami (Fl)-They’re the best in the ACC. That counts for…something. (MD) Last Week: 21
- South Carolina-A loss to Auburn is tough, and that win against Georgia doesn’t look so great. They get a week to re-group before meeting Bama in a bout that’ll decide whether the Gamecocks were an illusion or contender. Last Week: 16
- Texas (TIE w/ SC)-I told you so. I kept ranking them in the top 10 based on reputation and ability to “reload” year in and year out, but was never sold on the Longhorns. And that 34-12 loss to the Bruins was just pathetic. The kind of pathetic that reminds people of the last time the Bruins went down to Austin in 1997 and beat the then-11th-ranked Longhorns 66-3. Look on the bright side, T-sippers: you’ve shown improvement against UCLA since your last drubbing at their hands.(J) Last Week: 8
- Nevada-Boise State could go down at the hand of Wolfpack in Reno, the day after Thanksgiving(DH) Last Week: 23
- Michigan St.-he men of Sparta are 4-0. Is it possible that they can pose a serious challenge to the upper-echelon teams of the Big Ten? I wouldn’t count them out.(J) Last Week: NR
- Penn St.-not sold on the Nittany Lions, Temple could have won on Saturday(DH) Last Week: NR
- Missouri-Quietly putting together a nice first half of the season(MJ) Last Week: NR
Others receiving votes: West Virginia, Kansas St., Texas A&M, Air Force, NC State, Houston, Oregon St., Clemson
Dropping Out: West Virginia, Fresno St., Texas A&M.
This week, Idaho receives no votes in the TAC poll. In a unrelated story, the TAC poll gains nation-wide credibility (love ya, tito!)
I don’t know…TAMU and Kansas State are somehow getting votes! 😉
And check out Dave and Denton with their blatant anti-USC bias!
Michael,
Please tell me you were not among the Boo Birds in Death Valley Saturday night.
Although I believe that Miles waited too long to put Lee in (at least for a couple of series), I can’t understand those fans who actively booed JJ.
Imagine that LSU is entertaining a top QB prospect (or any other position, for that matter). Is that what we want highly-touted recruits to see and hear? That our fans will jump all over them when they’re stuggling?
Crowton, IMHO, is the problem. He’s got to be replaced if the offense doesn’t get any better this year.
I did not boo when JJ came back in. I don’t boo players. However, I was trying to start a “Jar-ret Lee!” chant before then. Didn’t work.
Crowton needed to be replaced last year.
And check out Dave and Denton with their blatant anti-USC bias!
I did rank them. I think that’s better than previously.
Look on the bright side, T-sippers: you’ve shown improvement against UCLA since your last drubbing at their hands.
In between drubbings, I recall a certain inVINCEable outing for the Longhorns.
TAMU!
Gig ’em!
🙂
All USC has to do is beat a lathargic Washington Huskies squad and they should easily move up my poll, that is if the Men of Troy actually decide to field a defensive squad. There are bound to be upsets this week, so the Trojans should move up quite nicely. By the way what happened to Jake Locker? Is it him or is the Huskies offensive line a pale comparison of last year’s unit?
It’s nice of y’all to put Michigan at 15, but that’s overrating my team.
The offense is a beast, but the defense is a porous, talent-deficient nightmare. They scrap, but they’re so clearly overmatched it’s not funny. My original prediction for this year was 7-5. If the breaks fall their way, they could get to 8-4. The two-all-but-guaranteed losses are to OSU and Wisconsin, both road games. Almost as likely is a loss to Iowa, even though that’s a home game and they played the Hawkeyes really tough last year. They likely lose to either (but not both) MSU or PSU. Then toss in the annual rude surprise, and you’re back at my original pick. I want to believe, but I don’t.
In retrospect, I’m thinking my assessment of Ryan Mallett was a little overly harsh. I’m not sure he actually had much of an opportunity to fold like a cheap card table while he was at Michigan, and he actually performed fairly well in some of the games he started, such as in the 38-0 routing of the Fighting Irish.
But he certainly folded like a cheap card table in the 2nd half of that Alabama game.
No, you were right about Mallett, basically. Yes, he wasn’t on the field much, but the scuttlebutt about the guy’s attitude was strongly suggestive of a folder. Lloyd Carr was *not* delighted with him during his last year as coach, and IIRC, there were hints he would have transferred even if Carr had stayed on another year.
Oh, and I would have voted OSU number 1–and not as some kind of jinx, either. 🙂
‘Bama’s good, don’t get me wrong. But I think they’re good for at *least* one conference loss this year. National Championship hangover plus everyone in the SEC gunning for them every week.
TAMU!
Gig ‘em!
If the Aggies beat Oklahoma State this weekend, then I think they are worthy of a vote for the week 5 rankings. Up to now, they haven’t shown us anything.
It’s been a fun couple of years to be a Stanford fan (Handing USC its largest loss ever was too sweet). But once your coach gets the national spotlight… (Hands off, Dale Price.)
rather, this Thursday.
Sorry, jchris–the Harbaugh Watch has been on since the gun sounded at the end of the OSU game last year.
I see what RichRod’s trying to do, and when it works–wow. But his defenses have to get better, fast, or he’s going to be out, and Dave Brandon’s going to be knocking on your door.
Oh, and I would have voted OSU number 1–and not as some kind of jinx, either.
You could always write your own rankings that would be included…:)
Michigan at 15 makes sense just b/c of the makeup this year. 1-5 are solid contenders (though I have a feeling oregon will switch out with Stanford this week), 6-15 are teams that could be contenders but have problems (LSU and Florida fit this mold pretty well), and after that are a lot of teams that could have decent seasons. Michigan is on the cusp of being a contender, not to mention I don’t trust many of the other Big 10 teams (Wisconsin is begging to be beaten). so 15 is about right.
My prediction: if RichRod doesn’t beat Tressell in the next couple of years, I think Stanford fans can say “So long” to Harbaugh.
You sure Michigan doesn’t want Michigan man Les Miles? We’ll even throw in an offensive coordinator!
I am a homer for TAMU.
After their less than thrilling 3-0 run, I dropped them a few.
I’ll continue to drop them if they don’t have an impressive win soon and OSU should provide the Aggies for that.
Gig ’em!
(self-honorary Aggie fan)
I am not sure Harbaugh would come back to Michigan. Think about it Stanford’s a great job. If you don’t do well, people will say your academics are too tough. Ty Willingham looked like a genius at Stanford, but far from it at Notre Dame and Washington. There are certain jobs that just don’t have much pressure. Pitt is another one, few in Western Pennsylvania care about the Pitt Panthers. Their main focus is the Steelers and Penn State as an after thought, Dave Wannstedt with all of his underachievement looks like a genius compared to the Pirates front office.
I hope you’re right, Dave, but I’m skeptical. Maybe getting burned in basketball by Mike Montgomery’s traitorous jump to Cal has me jaded.
Michael Denton,
What’s the name of your banana colored kitten gravatar?
Mike the Tiger. He also goes by “Who needs Offense?” and “He who won a national title with Les Miles”
j. christian:
“ALL YOUR COACH ARE BELONG TO UM.”
🙂
Lolz, Dale. I mean, all those women’s tennis titles are fine, but can’t we have just a few more good years of football, please?
If you’d like a modicum of comfort: Harbaugh antagonized some folks with his comment about Michigan academics a couple years back. It rankles in some quarters.
A little more comfort: there are still influential Michigan Mafia types pining for Les Miles. “Sure, he’s wacky–BUT HE COACHED WITH BO SCHEMBECHLER (PBUH)!” Also, it sounds like plenty of LSU fans are happy to offer Miles at a steep discount, despite being 4-0.
The best thing that can happen for fans of the Cardinal is a good Michigan season. So far, so good.
I like Les, but any deal to get rid of Crowton is a deal LSU should take.
I for one hope that Les Miles does come to Michigan. We need another curmudgeonly type in Ann Arbor. It makes the Ohio State-Michigan rivalry so much more interesting. Rich Rod doesn’t exactly seem like the well heeled Michigan man that some of the more elite alum types would have. Les isn’t exactly well heeled but he does bare a little resemblance (in personality) to Bo. Now Woody and Bo and the 10 Year War, those were the days. It certainly left an indelible mark on my childhood!
What we need is for Tressell to start acting like Woody. Hell, I’d pay to see him punch a Clemson player.
(And, no, the fact that the woman to whom the Church says I was never married is a Clemson alumna has absolutely nothing to do with that. Really. It doesn’t.)
😉
So much for the Ags’ top 25 hopes. But a team that turns the ball over as much as the Aggies have all year doesn’t deserve to be highly ranked.
I couldn’t believe that last interception – he overthrew the receiver by fifteen yards.
It’s a shame really. TAMU has a great team. Without the turnovers, they’d have killed OSU and been in the top 25. But 5 turnovers, particularly the last mind-boggling 2, are really disappointing for a squad that could be better.
At least it was a great game.
Were we all watching the TAMU game? Lol, we may need to have an Aggie game thread next time.
They’ve had … what … 15 turnovers in the last 3 games, or something like that? The Ags have a lot of talent, but teams that aspire to be great can’t turn the ball over like that.
Total bummer dude. I just opened my Shiner after Texas scored the tying touchdown at 35. 🙁
Total bummer dude. I just opened my Shiner after Texas scored the tying touchdown at 35.
TEXAS?!?
lol, hook em horns, Tito.
However, Shiner is a good beer and is worthy of being opened & consumed win or lose. Probably the only good thing to ever come from Texas.
LOL @ MJ & MD,
I learned that the Aggies are referred to as the “Texas Aggies”.
Hence why you hear insecure Longhorns say that they are “The University” of Texas.
I could be wrong, but that’s what I see and hear here in my short six years in good ole Houston.
That may be true, but if you’re at an Aggie bar and openly start proclaiming your love of “Texas,” very bad things will happen.
10 turnovers the last two games. Mind boggling, really. This game was ripe for the picking for the Aggies, but Johnson turned the ball over WAY too many times. I don’t get it… he wasn’t prone to this sort of thing last year. Something seems to have gotten to him mentally. I hope he fixes it.