iggymcfly

The game I was talking about was actually on ESPN. They'll give anybody a national TV slot if they just agree to play on Tuesday.

Big win for Troy tonight, as they end North Texas's 26-game conference winning streak and take the driver's seat in the Sun Belt. I would have lost money on it, but luckily I bet the halftime line as well, which North Texas just bately covered. For the record, Troy didn't really look that good at all. Their passing game was so poor that they completely abandoned it in the second half, and their running game wasn't that great either. They wouldn't have even gotten a TD if North Texas hadn't muffed a punt.

THURSDAY N.C. State at Georgia Tech FRIDAY Syracuse at Connecticut SATURDAY Illinois at Indiana Minnesota at Michigan Oklahoma vs. Texas Air Force at Navy Missouri at Oklahoma State TCU at Wyoming Georgia at Tennessee Texas Tech at Nebraska North Carolina at Louisville Iowa at Purdue Utah at Colorado State Texas A&M at Colorado California at UCLA Ohio State at Penn State Tiebreak #1: How many total points will be scored in the N.C. State/Georgia Tech game? 45 Tiebreak: #2: How many rushing yards will Syracuse's Damien Rhodes have against Connecticut? 73

No commentary yet. I don't think I'm sober enough right now, but if I feel up to it, I might get some commentary tomorrow. However, everything except switching UCLA and Georgia Tech was done before I was drunk, so I stand by these rankings 100%. They're more controversial than in recent weeks, so I will be glad to defend my selections if they're questioned. Anyway, without further ado: (Previous week's ranking in parenthesis) 1. USC 4-0 (1) 2. Virginia Tech 5-0 (2) 3. Texas 4-0 (3) 4. Alabama 5-0 (17) 5. Florida State 4-0 (5) 6. Ohio State 3-1 (8) 7. Georgia 4-0 (9) 8. Tennessee 3-1 (6) 9. Wisconsin 5-0 (10) 10. Miami 3-1 (11) 11. Michigan 3-2 (21) 12. Michigan State 4-1 (6) 13. Florida 4-1 (4) 14. Notre Dame 4-1 (13) 15. LSU 2-1 (12) 16. Arizona State 3-2 (15) 17. California 5-0 (16) 18. Penn State 5-0 (23) 19. Texas Tech 4-0 (19) 20. Boston College 4-1 (20) 21. Georgia Tech 3-1 (25) 22. UCLA 4-0 (24) 23. West Virginia 4-1 (NR) 24. Auburn 3-1 (NR) 25. Iowa State 3-1 (18)

Cal's going to rape UCLA. They're a two point underdog, and it's my second favorite line of the whole week. I'm going to make bank on that game. And for the record, I know SC's going to rape the Cougs again this year. It's just that living on the West Coast, I get to see the Trojans a lot, and I know that Bush is the one that makes that offense go and not Leinart. What's hard to understand about that?

Lloyd Carr would hang himself before he would lose to South Florida. Bobby Petrino can suck my cock.

Well, if Texas lost to Iowa, you might have a good case. Of course, I haven't even gotten into Lloyd Carr's coaching mistakes; I'm just saying that with the current players, the Wolverines are an extremely good football team. The point is that the three teams are 1-1 against each other, and in their current forms, Michigan is the best out of the three. The only reason people want to punish Michigan is that they also lost on the road to Wisconsin, but I think that ND and MSU would have done the same thing, given Michigan's schedule, and I also think that if Notre Dame was missing Darius Walker for three games, there's no way they'd be 4-1 right now.

Anybody would be better than Leinart. I know it sounds awful to most of America, but if Reggie Bush comes back next year, there's a really good chance that USC's going to go undefeated again and win three consecutive outright national championships, 4 if you count the split.

I figured putting Michigan that high would cause some attention, but look at it this way. If Mike Hart had never gotten injured, do you honestly think the Wolverines would have a loss right now? Their losses against Notre Dame and Wisconsin both came down to the very last possesssion, and I'm pretty sure that a presence of a 200 yards per game rusher could have been enough to make the difference. The healthy Wolverine team that's on the field right now is just better than Michigan State and Notre Dame, regardless of the fact that they played a tough road game that gave them an extra loss. As for Notre Dame, yes they did have a nice win, and I rewarded them a little by letting them jump LSU, but with what Michigan and Alabama did this week, I had to move them above the Irish. Also, it's not really fair to drop MSU below ND when the Spartans were one point away from beating Michigan with Mike Hart, and they already had a road win over the Irish. Finally, the Purdue win looks impressive, because Purdue was supposed to be good, but really what have they done? They played two cupcakes, lost to Minnesota, and then got blown out by Notre Dame. Meanwhile, Minnesota, the only real team Purdue played all year, just lost by 30 to Penn State. I think at the end of the year, when the Boilermakers are 4-7 or 5-6, we won't think this win by Notre Dame was all that impressive. Finally, Iowa State was the last interesting ranking that I did. The way I figure it, at this point of the season, a home win in overtime doesn't guarantee that you're better than the other team. It basically says "we won because we were at home, but if we played you on the road, we would have lost." Now combine that with the facts that Iowa State actually accomplished something earlier in the season by curbstomping Iowa, and that Nebraska got lucky just to beat Pittsburgh earlier, and I think the Cyclones are more worthy of being ranked than the Cornhuskers. As for Georgia Tech, ideally teams don't go up in my rankings without doing anything, but sometimes it just happens that way. Actually, I think I'm much better at not automatically moving teams that do nothing up than most people, as I managed to keep Florida State, Texas Tech, and Boston College in exactly the same spot, and only moved Wisconsin, Miami, Arizona State, and Cal a spot each. LSU moved down four spots due to the teams around them, the same way Georgia Tech moved up four spots, but sitting around and playing no one isn't the road to the Top 10 in Iggy's rankings. And on that note, the toughest opponent Cal's faced this year was Illinois at home. That's the reason the Golden Bears are only 17. As soon as they play an opponent with a pulse, I'd be glad to move them up.

Fuck yeah. Georgia Tech is unstoppable. I will be number one in the very near future.

Hey, I wasn't trying to "be an ass". I just noticed that Kansas State's a lot worse than people think. They damn near lost to Marshall who just ended the longest losing streak in the country. I'm not saying that Oklahoma couldn't win 6 or 7 games still, especially with the way the Big XII's been playing. I'm just saying that Kansas State's not really much of a test.

The Cougars are ri-goddamn-diculous. I don't think there's a worse team in the country to follow. They led 30-16 at halftime on the road, so what do they do? Pass the ball on damn near every down, get a false start on first and goal from the 1 and pass the ball three times to ensure they don't get a touchdown. Then throw four picks, and fumble the ball after a 60-yard catch. Oregon State did everything they could to give us the game, but we tried even harder to give it back, and we got the job done. This team just makes me sick to my fucking stomach.

Posted in the wrong thread. Uh, go pretend Georgia Tech.

I've got the Arizona State/USC game, but I can't enjoy it because I'm so pissed off that nobody's picked up the Cougar game. FSN's got volleyball, and none of the local stations bothered even though it's an absolutely pivotal game, where they'll probably get to 6-0 if they win, but will likely spiral right out of a bowl game if they lose. I've been listening on the radio while watching the USC game on TV, but it's just too distracting. I'm having way less fun than I would be if the Cougar game just wasn't going on at all right now.

OK, I guess Alabama wasn't such a shaky pick after all. 4-1 bitches!

That means that ESPN's pretty much assuming that if Boston and New York finish tied for the division, Cleveland will be at least tied for the wild card.

Actually, this is pretty random, but here's how I see the SEC going. Alabama beats Florida this Saturday, stays undefeated until the second to last weekend where they lose to LSU. After beating Auburn, they finish the regular season 10-1 (7-1). LSU loses to Florida, doesn't lose any more games; ends the season 9-2 (6-2). Tennessee takes the loss to Alabama and gets knocked off by Notre Dame, doesn't lose any more games; ends the season 8-3 (6-2). Florida goes undefeated through the rest of the regular season after losing to Alabama, then curbstomps Bama in a rematch in the SEC Championship, ending the season at 11-1 (7-1), and pushing Bama's official final record to 10-2 (7-1). Florida goes to the Sugar Bowl after getting overlooked for the Rose Bowl in favor of USC and Texas and finishes the regular season ranked #3, while LSU picks up a BCS at-large berth after winning their last five games and goes to the Orange Bowl.

Damn, I might be going to 3-2 this week. The game I was least confident about is the only one my opponent picked different. And if I hadn't picked that one, the tiebreaker would have been one point off, so that would have been pretty random too. Uh, go Crimson Tide.

I'd be lying if I said I wasn't at least a little excited when the Jets signed Testaverde. He was always one of my favorite players in the league. In my Madden franchise a couple years ago, I even traded away Pennington so he could start. When I think about it rationally, I know he won't really help the Jets much at all, but there's this little voice in the back of my mind that says he can lead them to a playoff run.

Play money is for gays.

Those statistics are a result of the receiving corps, pure and simple. The ASU corps doesn't compare, especially when you include Bush. I don't care what his completion percentage is; I counted at least seven occasions against Oregon where Leinart had an open receiver, and threw it ten feet out of bounds. Every time I watch USC, there's open receivers every play, tons and tons of yards after the catch, and a lot of mediocre throws by Leinart. The only game I've ever seen USC play where I was even remotely impressed with Leinart was the Orange Bowl last year.

I like the part where Warrior talks about how if he was brought back, his pop would dwarf Hogan's. Riiiiiiight. I bet half of the WWE audience doesn't even know or remember how the Ultimate Warrior is.

If you were ask me what position is the weak link in the USC offense, I'd say QB. They have the best receivers in the country, the best running backs in the country, (Bush is the most talented player in all of college football, and Lendale White has to be close to the best secondary back), and they've probably got the best offensive line other than Texas. Meanwhile, Leinart consistently misses open receivers, makes bad reads, and goes down for no reason. Take somebody like Sam Keller and plug him into that offense, and he'd average 600 yards a game passing. Leinart holds that offense back way more than he helps it, and people are talking about him as possibly the best college football player in history. Matt Leinart is definitely the most overrated player in all of sports right now, and may well be the most overrated player of all-time.

I'm bored, and I figured I'd do my rankings while the week's games are still fresh in my (and everyone else's) minds. Also, I'm feeling pretty good about college football right now, since I went 10-2 on my sports bets, winning all my large bets and only losing a couple minor ones. Since I know that simple rankings are a little dry, I also decided to add a little commentary. (Previous week's ranking is in parenthesis.) 1. USC 3-0 (1) Despite an early hiccup, the Trojans looked to be everything they were advertised to be against Oregon. USC pretty much made as many mistakes as they possibly could, and they still won by 32 points. If they're actually on their game, USC will be completely unstoppable. 2. Virginia Tech 4-0 (5) This is a close call between VT and Texas, but at this point, the Hokies just are too dominant to ignore. GT established themselves as major players against Auburn, and VT treated them like a I-AA team. The Hokies have only given up 7 points in their last 3 games, and the offense is getting better by the week. If anyone can beat USC, it's Virginia Tech. 3. Texas 3-0 (2) The Longhorns are still an extremely good team, and could easily end up in the Rose Bowl. The road win over Ohio State is far and away the most impressive victory by any team in the country this year if you merely look at the quality of the opponent, and ignore how well they played in the victory. However, Vince Young does make mistakes in the passing game, and Texas just doesn't seem to be at the clinical level of precision that VT is at this point. 4. Florida 4-0 (3) Florida's offense had their most impressive outing of the year against Kentucky rolling up 49 points in the first half. This team looks like they're coming together week by week, and getting even better as the year goes on. If they can get by Alabama in Tuscaloosa next week, they could finish the season at 12-0. 5. LSU 1-0 (4) The Tigers did have a great win against Arizona State who's looking better by the week. However, it's hard to completely evaluate them on the basis of one performance. Monday's game against Tennessee should go a long way toward showing just how legitimate the Tigers are. 6. Florida State 3-0 (6) The Seminoles are sort of flying under the radar as a Rose Bowl candidate, but they might have the most impressive two victories of any team in the country. Defeating Miami and Boston College on the road is enough to show that the Seminoles are back in a big way. 7. Michigan State 4-0 (7) Michigan State showed their win over Notre Dame wasn't a fluke, following it up with a 61-17 pasting of Ron Zook's Illinois squad. They appear to have the best offense in the Big Ten, and if their defense can keep pace, even reasonably well, they have a great shot to win the conference. 8. Ohio State 3-1 (12) The Buckeyes finally got a big win, absolutely destroying Iowa in the Horseshoe. Still, they do have a home loss, and that's going to be hard to get past if the Buckeyes want to be legitimate Rose Bowl contenders. 9. Georgia 4-0 (9) The Bulldogs opened the season with a bang, dissecting a highly ranked Boise State team 48-13. However, since then, the Boise State win has looked less and less impressive, and Georgia has been a little sluggish as well, barely getting by South Carolina, and then grinding their way past Mississippi State. The Dawgs defense has been consistently strong, which should be enough to keep them a contender in the SEC, but until they play a big name program, it's going to be difficult to tell just how good this Georgia team is. 10. Wisconsin 4-0 (17) Early in the season, the Badgers showed off their offense looking great against sub-par competition, and this Saturday, they followed it up with a huge quality win, defeating Michigan in Camp Randall. They get to skip Ohio St. and MSU this year, so if Wisconsin can win at Minnesota, they just might cruise towards a Big Ten title. 11. Miami 2-1 (11) If Miami had gotten one or two kicks to go their way against FSU, or played the Seminoles at home, they might be an undefeated Top 5 squad right now. As it is, they still have a great chance to win the ACC, and have to be considered one of the top programs in college football. 12. Tennessee 1-1 (13) This is another tricky case, as Tennessee's only games have been a too-close win against UAB and a two possession loss in the Swamp. If they want to get their season back on track, they need a win at LSU in a big way. 13. Notre Dame 3-1 (14) The Fighting Irish looked very unimpressive against UW, and one has to wonder if their win over Michigan was somewhat of a fluke. Still, a big-time road victory is a big-time road victory, and going 3-1 with their early schedule should be rewarded. Also, one has to expect the Irish to improve over the course of the season, as the players adapt to Charlie Weis's new system. 14. Minnesota 4-0 (22) The win over Purdue was absolutely huge for the Minnesota program, as it shows that the Gophers might finally be able to make "the leap" to being an elite Big Ten program. The Gophers showed great heart coming back from a late deficit to win in double OT. Still, one has to wonder if they could have made that comeback going into the teeth of a hostile crowd. They're going to have to prove themselves on the road before they can be considered a Top Ten program. 15. Arizona State 3-1 (19) The Sun Devils have looked great the last couple weeks, posting double digit victories against Northwestern and at Oregon State. Their home date against USC next week might be the toughest test the Trojans face all year. 16. California 4-0 (18) The Golden Bears have done well to maintain composure in the face of numerous injuries, but they still haven't really been tested. They do have a couple weeks to get healthy before they get into the heart of the Pac-Ten schedule, but their current level of play won't be enough against teams like USC. 17. Iowa State 3-0 (16) The Cyclones are still undefeated, but they played about as bad of a game as they could have against Army and really need to play better against Nebraska next week. It's starting to look like the big win over Iowa might have been more a result of the Hawkeyes' incompetence than a great deal of improvement from ISU. 18. Alabama 4-0 (20) Yes, Alabama looked rather weak against Arkansas, but the Crimson Tide just aren't the kind of team to blow out a mediocre opponent. Their big win at South Carolina was much more indicative of their actual talent level, and if they don't make too many mistakes, they're definitely good enough to beat Florida next week. 19. Texas Tech 3-0 (23) Sure, it would be nice if they played a real opponent, but it's hard to fault what Texas Tech's done thus far. Their offense is perenially one of the best in the country, and if they can get their defense to hold up, even a little bit, there's no reason the Red Raiders can't be a BCS squad. 20. Boston College 3-1 (NR) The Eagles followed up a tough loss aganst FSU with an incredibly gritty road win at Clemson. They may not be able to overtake the Seminoles for the division lead, but they're showing themselves to be a solid bowl team nevertheless. 21. Michigan 2-2 (22) It's tough to give a very good ranking to a two-loss team at this point of the year, especially when one of those losses was at home. Still though, the Wolverines played about as badly as they could against Notre Dame, and still nearly pulled off the late victory, and likely could have beaten Wisconsin had they played them at home. It's way too early to write off Michigan in their quest to repeat as Big Ten champion. 22. Purdue 2-1 (21) The Boilermakers certainly didn't want to lose their Big Ten opener to their perennial whipping boys from Minnesota. However, the loss isn't that bad. If they'd stopped the two-point conversion at the end of regulation, or the fourth and goal in the first overtime, they would still be undefeated. When they lose a road game by that close of a margin to a Top 15 team, it's hard to punish the Boilermakers too much. 23. Penn State 4-0 (NR) Penn State kept their winning streak going, getting an impressive road win against Northwestern. They're still a big win from being serious Big Ten title contenders, but they've done everything they need to do thus far. Also, the opening win against South Florida looks much better after the way the Bulls dismantled Louisville. 24. UCLA 3-0 (NR) I'm not giving Oklahoma credit for beating a real team, so there isn't really a big win for UCLA thus far. However, in every game they have played, the Bruins have won by at least 17 points, so they're certainly doing their part to establish themselves during their non-conference slate. 25. Georgia Tech 3-1 (10) Yes, the Yellow Jackets got absolutely massacred by Virginia Tech. Murdered, destroyed, whatever descriptive verb you want to use. Still though, this is the second best team in the country that did this to them, and it doesn't necessarily mean that GT isn't a good football team. Sometimes, certain teams are so great that they can take a good team and just absolutely terrorize them, just like the Hokies did today. If the Jackets don't let this game get to them emotionally, they could still finish the season somewhere around 8-3 and go to a good bowl game.