This Week in College Football 10/18 - 10/22

[iggymcfly 0]

God damn it, that was ugly. It all started with Reggie Ball (easily the worst performance I've seen from him all year; possibly the worst of his career), but the whole team just gave up in the 4th quarter there. Absolutely embarrassing effort from the Yellow Jackets. If they play anywhere near that bad against Miami next week, any hopes of an ACC title will go up in smoke.

[Conspiracy_Victim 0]

Texas A&M survives again, beats Okie State in overtime 34-33. OSU blows the game tying XP to seal it for the Aggies. I don't know how A&M managed to do it, but they're pulling out the close ones this year.

[Guest]

The Pac 10 is going to have so many bowl eligible teams this year.

 

In comparison to past seasons, of course.

[USC Wuz Robbed! 0]

The Pac 10 is going to have so many bowl eligible teams this year.

 

In comparison to past seasons, of course.

 

And if USC beats them all, there is no reason why they shouldn't be #2 or even #1.

[Spicy McHaggis 0]

Good to see some pro Pac-10 posts after today's games.

[iggymcfly 0]

Got a new Top 25:

 

(Previous week's ranking in parenthesis)

1. Ohio State 8-0 (1)

2. Michigan 8-0 (2)

3. USC 6-0 (3)

4. Florida 6-1 (4)

5. Auburn 7-1 (5)

6. Tennessee 6-1 (6)

7. Texas 7-1 (7)

8. West Virginia 7-0 (9)

9. Louisville 7-0 (8)

10. Clemson 7-1 (15)

11. California 7-1 (10)

12. Notre Dame 6-1 (11)

13. LSU 6-2 (12)

14. Rutgers 7-0 (19)

15. Boise State 8-0 (13)

16. Arkansas 6-1 (17)

17. Boston College 6-1 (22)

18. Wisconsin 7-1 (23)

19. Nebraska 6-2 (16)

20. Missouri 7-1 (20)

21. Oklahoma 5-2 (21)

22. Texas A&M 7-1 (25)

23. Wake Forest 6-1 (NR)

24. Alabama 5-3 (NR)

25. Georgia Tech 5-2 (14)

 

Close: Tulsa, Washington State, BYU, Maryland, South Carolina

[Guest]

Anyone that thinks Rutgers and Boise State are better than Arkansas are in for a rude awakening when the Hogs win the SEC.

[HarleyQuinn 0]

I-AA football's universe internally imploded today with the freaking number of upsets.

 

(UR) South Dakota State b. #4 Cal Poly

(UR) Western Kentucky b. #13 Southern Illinois

#14 Northern Iowa b. #5 Youngstown State

(UR) Ark-Pine Bluff b. #20 Alabama State

(UR) Northeastern b. #7 New Hampshire

(UR) South Carolina State b. #11 Hampton

#22 Princeton b. #15 Harvard

(UR) Central Arkansas b. #25 Sam Houston State

(UR) Delaware b. #10 Richmond

[snuffbox 0]

Wisconsin really handled Purdue today. PJ Hill had his 7th hundred-yard game and scored his 14th touchdown so far.

[iggymcfly 0]

I've been really impressed with Rutgers the last two games. With a 34-0 shutout over Navy and then a dominating 20-10 win at Pittsburgh, they looked nothing like the team from the first few weeks of the season. I honestly think we might end up with a three-way split in the Big East with Louisville, WVU, and Rutgers finishing the year with one loss a piece.

 

Arkansas's going to need more than one good win before I move them above the undefeateds or LSU. Remember, that game where Alabama's placekicking collapsed down the stretch was at Arkansas. Not that I believe it's true, but you could make a really good argument that Alabama's a better team than Arkansas right now.

 

The good thing about my rankings is that they're not static. I'll change them to adjust to changing information as the teams play. A win at South Carolina would probably be enough to move Arkansas ahead of Boise State and a win over Tennessee would lift them well into the Top Ten, maybe in the #7 or #8 range. At this point though, I think the Hogs will finish with at least one more conference loss and likely with two.

[USC Wuz Robbed! 0]

Admit it, Iggy. You just rank teams based on which teams lined your pockets with cash.

[Guest]

I've been really impressed with Rutgers the last two games. With a 34-0 shutout over Navy and then a dominating 20-10 win at Pittsburgh, they looked nothing like the team from the first few weeks of the season. I honestly think we might end up with a three-way split in the Big East with Louisville, WVU, and Rutgers finishing the year with one loss a piece.

 

Arkansas's going to need more than one good win before I move them above the undefeateds or LSU. Remember, that game where Alabama's placekicking collapsed down the stretch was at Arkansas. Not that I believe it's true, but you could make a really good argument that Alabama's a better team than Arkansas right now.

 

The good thing about my rankings is that they're not static. I'll change them to adjust to changing information as the teams play. A win at South Carolina would probably be enough to move Arkansas ahead of Boise State and a win over Tennessee would lift them well into the Top Ten, maybe in the #7 or #8 range. At this point though, I think the Hogs will finish with at least one more conference loss and likely with two.

I don't think that Rutgers is going to wind up with more than 2 losses, but let's be realistic. Arkansas is a better team with Rutgers. Who cares what their records are, the better team is the better team and it should be shown as such. We can also remember that the Alabama game was against a monstorous defense, and that Mustain was still being eased into the lineup. I don't care whether or not Auburn is ranked ahead of Arkansas, that's irrelevant.

 

I think Arkansas should fit right behind Cal. If Arkansas gets beaten by Tennessee and LSU, then the polls correct themselves, but right now, they are a Top 10 team or pretty close to it.

[iggymcfly 0]

09/02 #6 USC L 50-14

09/09 Utah St W 20-0

09/16 at Vanderbilt W 21-19

09/23 Alabama W 24-23

10/07 at #2 Auburn W 27-10

10/14 SE Mo St W 63-7

10/21 Ole Miss W 38-3

 

Do you really think this looks like the resume of a Top 12 team? A 36 point loss to USC? What if Alabama and Vanderbilt could kick and we had:

 

09/16 at Vanderbilt L 22-21

09/23 Alabama L 20-17

 

Arkansas had one really good game against Auburn. That's it. I think it was mostly a fluke due to lack of preparedness, and if Auburn played them tomorrow, the Tigers would probably win by double digits. If Arkansas had even two wins over Top 100 teams that didn't rely on a last-second missed FG, I might have them at #15, but for now, they are what they are.

 

And if Rutgers played Arkansas at a neutral site tomorrow, yes I think Rutgers would win. Probably something like 20-17, but I do legitimately think they're the better team. Boise's a little harder to judge as they haven't played anyone at all recently and have been getting very lackadaisical, but I think their close wins were no worse than Arkansas's. And they also have some very good performances when playing at their peak (See the Oregon State and Utah games.) I'll tell you one thing. If they played USC, they wouldn't lose by any 36 points.

 

(Summary: I can see an argument that Arkansas's better than Boise; I have them in a virtual dead heat at the moment. You could even say that Boise has a better overall resume, but Arkansas's playing a little better at the moment. I do believe that Rutgers is legitimately better than Arkansas though and would defeat them if they played next Saturday.)

[Guest]

There's a difference between the Arkansas that got blown out by USC and played the close games with Vanderbilt and Alabama, and the team that beat Auburn. Darren McFadden is healthy, and Mitch Mustain is a ready and able QB.

 

Rutgers has beaten Navy and Pitt. Wow. They're going to get their teeth kicked in by West Virginia, because they won't be able to hang.

[iggymcfly 0]

McFadden's been healthy since Week 2. He had 19 carries for 71 yards against Vandy and 25 carries for 112 yards against Alabama.

 

And the only thing that's "improved" about Mitch Mustain is that they've cut his number of pass attempts way down, basically running the ball 75% of the time. This cuts down on his big mistakes and allows their defense to win ball games. The last three weeks, he's completing his passes at a 50% rate and averaging less than 100 YPG passing.

 

I'm not saying Arkansas's not improved, they are. But it's not a radical improvement. I'd actually say that Rutgers has improved more from the beginning of the season to now than Arkansas has.

[Guest Princess Leena]

I might as well do a Top 25 as well, since I've watched a zillion games.

 

1. Ohio State

2. Michigan

3. West Virginia

4. USC

5. Clemson

6. Texas

7. Louisville

8. Tennessee

9. Boston College

10. California

11. Rutgers

12. Florida

13. Arkansas

14. Oklahoma

15. LSU

16. Auburn

17. Boise State

18. Nebraska

19. Notre Dame

20. BYU

21. Wisconsin

22. Texas A&M

23. Missouri

24. Tulsa

25. Wake Forest.

 

26-30. Washington State, Alabama, Hawaii, Georgia Tech, Pittsburgh.

[Guest Princess Leena]

Also, I figured I may as well start bitching early, FOX's coverage of the BCS is going to be painful. I'm already dreading it.

[Fökai 0]

For me, all three are interchangable. Rutgers' win today over Pittsburgh is no big feat at all, more just a road victory over a team with a powderpuff schedule (Virginia, Cincy, loss to Michigan State, Citadel, Toledo, 'Cuse and Central Florida). Boise's strongest victory is Hawai'i, which won't do much for them even with Hawai'i finishing in the top 25. And finally, Arkansas' win over Auburn would've been impressive if Auburn showed up that day. They beat themselves and Arkansas happened to be on the other side of the field. That was a joke of a game.

[iggymcfly 0]

Florida all the way down at #12? With road wins over Tennessee and Alabama and the big win at home over LSU? Sounds a little harsh to me. Boston College's loss for instance (to NC State) was much worse than Florida's, and their only good win came in 2OT at home on a missed extra point. Don't get me wrong, I'm high on BC, but I don't think you can put them ahead of the thoroughly tested SEC teams.

 

As far as FOX goes, I figure they couldn't be any worse than ABC last year. Keith Jackson damn near ruined the title game by nodding off during all the big plays. Also, I love FOX's baseball coverage, even if it's just for the theme song they play between innings. That's the most catchy theme that just screams 'big event' since the NBA on NBC theme back in the day.

[Art Sandusky 0]

I remember when someone laughed at me saying Clemson could play for the national title if everyone else decided to collapse.

[Urban Warfare 0]

New Coache's Poll

[dh86 0]

I remember when someone laughed at me saying Clemson could play for the national title if everyone else decided to collapse.

and im still laughing

[USC Wuz Robbed! 0]

Why? Your sig features a team that's going to lose a game or two down the stretch.

 

Surely you don't actually believe they got a shot?

[Slayer 0]

I love Michigan, but I'm scratching my head about the "be very shook"

 

And I believe they have a very good shot.

[snuffbox 0]

Finally, the Badgers are being noticed.

 

How many NFL running backs has this program produced in the past decade?

[Art Sandusky 0]

It looks like the coaches pretty much said "Hmm... Tennessee lost to Florida, but they lost to Auburn. Let's rank 'em like that."

[USC Wuz Robbed! 0]

If they beat OSU, they're in, but therein lies the problem, they have to beat OSU.

[iggymcfly 0]

Why? Your sig features a team that's going to lose a game or two down the stretch.

 

Surely you don't actually believe they got a shot?

 

I would bet my right testicle that Michigan doesn't lose two games down the stretch. (Unless you're including their BCS game in which case you could say that about anyone.)

[Art Sandusky 0]

If they beat OSU, they're in, but therein lies the problem, they have to beat OSU.

And the other teams they face before the game in Columbus. Especially in BCS conferences, coaches aren't bullshittin' when they say that they have to stay focused every single week.

[CanadianChris 0]

Not that I'm expecting them to change any, but when do the new BCS standings come out? I figured they'd have been released by now.