Damaramu Posted September 5, 2006 Report Posted September 5, 2006 I still think USC may have trouble when they get into one of those close games where the poise and talent of Leinart or Bush got them the win. You think they could face another incident like they did at Notre Dame last year without Leinart and Bush? That being said they'll still win 10-11 games and even possibly be undefeated. But why is everyone so high on the defense? I mean Arkansas isn't any great shakes on offense and the last time we saw the defense before that they were being flat out embarassed by just one guy. I'd like to see them against a Pac 10 offense first.
CanadianChris Posted September 5, 2006 Report Posted September 5, 2006 Doug Gottlieb just said on the radio that USC was the best team in the country until proven otherwise....I don't know about that one but they will move up to #2 after the Texas/OSU game. That's a total BS comment. It would be one thing to say that if they'd won the championship game last year (in which case you'd pretty much have to say it) but it's pretty clear there is no "best team in the country until proven otherwise" this season, although I suppose the winner of the OSU-Texas game could lay claim to that title. He did set up any future arguments very well, though, since there's no one on their schedule that's going to be able to prove USC isn't the best team in the country.
Guest Posted September 5, 2006 Report Posted September 5, 2006 They had a bunch of defensive players hurt last year. That's why. The game I'm most worried about this year is the Oregon one, their offense is a tough matchup. SC is a notch below the winner of the big game this weekend, for now at least.
Hogan Made Wrestling Posted September 5, 2006 Report Posted September 5, 2006 Doug Gottlieb just said on the radio that USC was the best team in the country until proven otherwise....I don't know about that one but they will move up to #2 after the Texas/OSU game. That's a total BS comment. It would be one thing to say that if they'd won the championship game last year (in which case you'd pretty much have to say it) but it's pretty clear there is no "best team in the country until proven otherwise" this season, although I suppose the winner of the OSU-Texas game could lay claim to that title. He did set up any future arguments very well, though, since there's no one on their schedule that's going to be able to prove USC isn't the best team in the country. Notre Dame?
CanadianChris Posted September 5, 2006 Report Posted September 5, 2006 Doug Gottlieb just said on the radio that USC was the best team in the country until proven otherwise....I don't know about that one but they will move up to #2 after the Texas/OSU game. That's a total BS comment. It would be one thing to say that if they'd won the championship game last year (in which case you'd pretty much have to say it) but it's pretty clear there is no "best team in the country until proven otherwise" this season, although I suppose the winner of the OSU-Texas game could lay claim to that title. He did set up any future arguments very well, though, since there's no one on their schedule that's going to be able to prove USC isn't the best team in the country. Notre Dame? Not if the Tech game is any indication. We'll see how their season shapes up.
Spicy McHaggis Posted September 5, 2006 Report Posted September 5, 2006 Doug Gottlieb just said on the radio that USC was the best team in the country until proven otherwise....I don't know about that one but they will move up to #2 after the Texas/OSU game. That's a total BS comment. It would be one thing to say that if they'd won the championship game last year (in which case you'd pretty much have to say it) but it's pretty clear there is no "best team in the country until proven otherwise" this season, although I suppose the winner of the OSU-Texas game could lay claim to that title. He did set up any future arguments very well, though, since there's no one on their schedule that's going to be able to prove USC isn't the best team in the country. Notre Dame? Not if the Tech game is any indication. We'll see how their season shapes up. Unbelievable. No, Notre Dame IS going to be USC's toughest opponent. I do agree with King that Oregon will be the toughest of the rest. The whole question about the Irish going into the season was their defense... they showed a significant improvement. Their offense will be clicking by the end of the year, no question. Do I think the Trojans can win? Absolutely. But it will still be their toughest game.
iggymcfly Posted September 5, 2006 Report Posted September 5, 2006 I agree that LSU's underrated. I'm not going to do a whole Top 25 this week, but if I did a Top 5, it would look something like this: 1. Ohio State 2. USC 3. LSU 4. Notre Dame 5. West Virginia Yeah, the Irish looked a little rough around the edges, but the fact remains that they went on the road against an upper-tier opponent the first week of the season and picked up a win. The only other team that can say that right now is Florida State. West Virginia at #5's close as Texas and Florida State are right there, but they do have a ton of starters back from the team that went 12-1 and won the Sugar Bowl last year. It's a shame that we won't get to see them tested more than the one game against Louisville, because they really do have a hell of an offense.
Guest Agent of Oblivion Posted September 5, 2006 Report Posted September 5, 2006 I saw a lot of those Tech problems in advance. That game's a really poor example of how the Irish are going to do this year. Tech plays over their heads, ND was on the road, first game of the season, and Tech's offense is conducive to being a pain in the ass for ND. Similar to their problems with Michigan state last season.
Damaramu Posted September 5, 2006 Report Posted September 5, 2006 Texas not in the top 5? Crazy. If they beat Ohio State then it's pretty much smooth sailing to the national title game for them. I do think the writers dropped ND so far just so they could write about a 1 vs. 2 match though.
iggymcfly Posted September 6, 2006 Report Posted September 6, 2006 Texas not in the top 5? Crazy. If they beat Ohio State then it's pretty much smooth sailing to the national title game for them. What's your point? If Oregon beats USC, they'll probably have smooth sailing to the national title too. Doesn't mean they'll do it, and doesn't mean they're a Top 5 team. Texas is a really good squad, and if I did rankings out, I'd probably have them at #7, but I don't see anything to make me think they should be any higher at this point.
Damaramu Posted September 6, 2006 Report Posted September 6, 2006 Yeah most people thought the same thing last year and they proved everyone wrong. Then again this year they don't have super man running the offense but still....you consistently underrate Big XII teams and I see nothing so far to not think Texas isn't a top 3 team. They had about the same performance as every other team in the top 5!
iggymcfly Posted September 6, 2006 Report Posted September 6, 2006 They were perfectly passable the first week. I just didn't think much of them going into the season. When I did my preseason Top 25, (before the Bomar controversy), OU was the only Big XII team in my Top Ten. I did rethink things enough to put Texas ahead of some teams I had them behind just through further research (Michigan and Florida to name a couple), but I still don't think they're Top 5 material.
Hogan Made Wrestling Posted September 6, 2006 Report Posted September 6, 2006 One thing I like about these big games early on is that it helps to greatly clear up many of these debates. Is Texas the real deal or is their first game a smoke screen? We don't have to wait until the Red River Shootout or the end of the season, we find out on Saturday.
Damaramu Posted September 6, 2006 Report Posted September 6, 2006 From what I've seen the ESPN guys aren't questioning if Texas is the real deal, they're questioning Ohio State.
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