Another topsy-turvy week on the college gridiron. No MAJOR upsets, several small ones like BC over V-Tech on a Thursday night in Blacksburg or Kentucky going down to Mississippi State. On to my rankings:
1. Ohio State
2. LSU
3. Oregon
4. BC
5. Oklahoma
6. Arizona State
7. West Virginia
8. Kansas
9. Auburn
10. Georgia
11. Texas
12. Michigan
13. Missouri
14. Connecticut
15. Southern Cal
16. Florida
17. Alabama
18. Clemson
19. Hawaii
20. Virginia Tech
21. South Florida
22. Purdue
23. South Carolina
24. Boise State
25. BYU
Honorable Mentions: Oklahoma State, Wake Forest, Wisconsin
Conference Rankings:
1. SEC – LSU had a bye week, but probably remains America’s best team. Nobody told Georgia that Florida wasn’t supposed to lose again.
2. Pac-10 - The conference is as strong as we all thought it would be, but the two top teams aren’t USC and Cal, they are Oregon and ASU.
3. Big 12 – The Big 12 is improving. Oklahoma had a bye and Texas will most likely win out, and Kansas and Mizzou appear headed for a showdown to decide the North.
4. Big East – The Big East continues to have a revolving throne as Connecticut and WVU now appear to be the top dogs.
5. ACC – The ACC actually stepped up this week. America’s most inconsistent team, Clemson, won big at Maryland and BC won a big game after looking God-awful for 3 1/2 quarters in Blacksburg. UVA went down to a bad NC State team and it will be interesting to see how they and V-Tech bounce back.
6. Big 10 – Ohio State looked impressive at PSU, but I’m still not convinced they can beat an SEC or PAC-10 power in the BCS. The rest of the conference continues to look medicore at best.
Heisman Watch:
Matt Ryan, BC
Tim Tebow, Florida
Dennis Dixon, Oregon
Jonathan Stewart, Oregon
Steve Slaton, West Virginia
October 28th, 2007
By definition the #2 team beating the #8 team is not an “upset”. As the New York Times described it, the Eales “avoided becoming the fourth consecutive No. 2-ranked team to be upset.”
You were probably basing this on the betting line which was VaTech by a field goal. That was clearly because the ONLY team to beat VaTech on Thursday nights is BC. This week was the third time. Las Vegas notwithstanding, it was not an upset.
October 28th, 2007
Mike, you need to switch your allegiance to a school you actually attended. Your law Alma Mater, is having a better year than your adopted midwestern team — which has broken it’s string of nine bowl losses this year by losing enough games so they are unable to be bowl-eligbile. Personally, I am waiting for the Gator Bowl Committee and the Big East to appeal to the NCAA for a waiver, but I digress.
The UConn Huskies are ranked this week for the first time in school history; a result of their upset of #11 South Florida. (I am pretty sure I am using the term “upset” correctly there). So congratulations to the Huskies!
October 28th, 2007
Bob, Vegas had Virginia Tech as 3 1/2 point favorites going into Thursday night, so Mike correctly used the term “upset” as well.
October 29th, 2007
Vegas is not the Associated Press, the Coaches or the Harris Poll. Go argue with the New York Times and every other serious news outlet that pointed out that the Eagles AVOIDED the upset. If you prefer to side with bettors against serious journalism (if sports journalism can be so called) go ahead, but it is not an “upset” when a higher ranked team beats a lower ranked team.
October 29th, 2007
Okay Bob, let’s do this.
First, an upset is defined, “to defeat or overthrow an opponent that is considered more formidable, as in war, politics, or sports.” Virginia Tech at home, at night, was considered more formidable than BC.
Your pathological desire for the long-absent respect for BC football notwithstanding, it was an upset. UConn is ranked ahead of Florida, but if they played this week in Storrs, UF would be a 10-point favorite and a UConn win would be a monumental upset.
How you can rely on ANYTHING the New York Times says, especially about college football, is beyond me, but I chose to not follow the musings of talking heads. I prefer those people whose livelihoods, and lives, depend on being RIGHT, not selling newspapers. You see, Troy Smith won the Heisman, but he was barely drafted into the NFL. Why? Because he wasn’t that good, despite what ESPN and ABC wanted you to think. Vegas put Tech as a favorite and therefore they were. Period.
Second, how about you don’t tell me who to root for, okay? Unlike the losers who go to your alma mater, I don’t switch allegiences based on my current situation. BC is full of losers in blue blazers and khakis from New Jersey who suddenly become Red Sox fans once they get to the hill. Have some pride in your own team, for God’s sake.
I was a Notre Dame football fan long before I ever got to Providence or UConn even had a team and that is not going to change. I’m sorry that you don’t understand that, but I’m tired of wasting my energy on explaining it to you.
As for your constant harping about ND, let’s just call this what it is.
My team is the greatest in the history of the sport and they are having a pathetic season. By contrast, your team is one of the most pathetic in the history of the sport having a great season.
And yet, even in the midst of such a great season, you simply can’t help but take shots at Notre Dame. What does that say about your fandom and perhaps the fandom of all the Superfrauds?
Focus on your team; you are having a great year. You might actually win something not called the Continental Tire Bowl this year. Enjoy it. I doubt it will happen again any time soon.
October 31st, 2007
I will take my pathology, and the opinion of the New York Times, and Associated Press over your disdain and obsession and the views of Vegas bookmakers.
As for my shots at Notre Dame, it’s kind of like Harvard and Yale. I have never met a Notre Dame or Boston College alum who takes it very seriously, it’s a good natured joke. Only the “subway” fans get spun up like a bunch of drunks in the Brox yelling obscenities about the Red Sox.
But for the record, South Bend truly sucks as a city, and Notre Dame is overrated both academically and athletically. Yes, it has a great “history” and it is just that “history”. Now let’s move to the present. Are those copies of “The New Gold Standard: Charlie Weis and Notre Dame’s Return to Glory” still flying off the shelf? (I suppose “No Excuses” by Coach Weis has found all new meaning.)
And “your team(s)” no matter how much you protest are called the Friars and the Huskies, everyone was a fan of something as a kid, then you grow up. FYI, I was a fan of Ernie D as a kid, my dad took me to Providence College games before the Civic Center got renamed after that awful New England donut and watery coffee company. But then, as a 16 year old high school kid I visited Providence College, and it wasn’t for me. When I went to college my allegiance shifted to my own school. That seems normal to me, not hanging for life to fandom for the place whose banners adorned your adolescent walls.
I intend to have fun at Notre Dame’s expense for as long as we play them, sorry if it bugs you, and if you enjoy psychoanalyzing me over it, have fun. Your responses entertain me.
Calling BC football “pathetic” is as factually inaccurate as your earlier analysis of it’s defense, and most all of your uninformed opinions about the school.
October 31st, 2007
And that, in a nutshell, is why you are not, and will never be, a serious sports fan.
Go ahead, don your blue blazer and quote your graduation rates.
It’s what makes BC and the Superfrauds so amusingly pathetic.