Hey, the machine heads have come out with their first rankings, so let's take a gander at the BCS rankings...
How Florida garnered the #1 ranking is something that bugs me. Alabama has played much better than the Gators have thus far. I'm no prouder to say that than anyone else, but it's the truth.
So, in the BCS computers' connected Skynet-style evermind, Oregon should be ranked below LSU and Southern Cal. They're all 1-loss teams, so why do I choose to harp on this? Well, simply put: Oregon's lone loss (to the #4 team in the nation) is better than Southern Cal's (Unranked Washington). Oregon's wins against ranked schools (then-#6 Cal and #18 Utah) are better than USC's (then-#8 Ohio State, then-#24 Cal and then-#25 Notre Dame) and LSU's (then-#18 Georgia).
LSU hasn't beaten a currently ranked team, and their non-conference schedule is an atrocity (in fairness, they did beat Washington, which is more than Southern Cal can say). I'm all for the Ducks of Eugene being ranked higher.
Oh, and Pittsburgh is ranked #21. Someone please explain that one to me. They've played no one with a current ranking, and their loss came to the dang NC State Wolfpack! NC State lost to Duke! Didn't just lose: Got thrashed by Duke! Yet a team that the Wolpack defeated is declared one of the Top 25, and is undefeated in conference play! What does that say about the Big East?
So that's it...see you later!
Showing posts with label Rankings Rant. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Rankings Rant. Show all posts
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Rankings Rant
Another day, another rant. Let's see what's wrong with the Top 25 this week...
Riddle me this, selection committee: Why did Boise State move down and Virginia Tech move up? Look, I love my Hokies, but to say that they deserve to move up after beating Duke by 8 is quite silly. Sure, Duke is a 1-A opponent and Boise beat up UC Davis, a 1-AA foe, but that's hardly worthy of pushing them downward. Heck, the #1 team in the country has yet to play a ranked team! Also, the 1-A/1-AA argument is further invalidated by the fact that Duke lost to a 1-AA team earlier this season! Boise is, in my mind, still #5. I, however, do not get a vote, so that is really meaningless...
Further down, Cincinnati is #8 for reasons that I really can't determine. Yes, they're undefeated, but I'm not sure if their best win is Fresno State or Oregon State. Neither one is exactly a "signature" win.
Ohio State has played 1 good team, 4 bad ones, and has a 4-1 record. Miami has played 3 good teams, 1 bad one, and has a 3-1 record. Why is Ohio State ranked 2 spots higher?!
Honestly there's not too much wrong with the rest of the Top 25. Sure, there's some objections to teams with weak schedules taking up space, but with conference play really beginning in earnest this week, the best teams in their respective conferences will begin to rise to the top.
Riddle me this, selection committee: Why did Boise State move down and Virginia Tech move up? Look, I love my Hokies, but to say that they deserve to move up after beating Duke by 8 is quite silly. Sure, Duke is a 1-A opponent and Boise beat up UC Davis, a 1-AA foe, but that's hardly worthy of pushing them downward. Heck, the #1 team in the country has yet to play a ranked team! Also, the 1-A/1-AA argument is further invalidated by the fact that Duke lost to a 1-AA team earlier this season! Boise is, in my mind, still #5. I, however, do not get a vote, so that is really meaningless...
Further down, Cincinnati is #8 for reasons that I really can't determine. Yes, they're undefeated, but I'm not sure if their best win is Fresno State or Oregon State. Neither one is exactly a "signature" win.
Ohio State has played 1 good team, 4 bad ones, and has a 4-1 record. Miami has played 3 good teams, 1 bad one, and has a 3-1 record. Why is Ohio State ranked 2 spots higher?!
Honestly there's not too much wrong with the rest of the Top 25. Sure, there's some objections to teams with weak schedules taking up space, but with conference play really beginning in earnest this week, the best teams in their respective conferences will begin to rise to the top.
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Rankings Rant
Let's take a look at the Top 25, and everything that's wrong with it...
First off, you won't hear any complaints from this blogger about the Top 5. However, if I had one, it's that Boise State and Bama are ranked too low. Yeah, you read that right. Guess I should explain...
The Top 5 teams in college football have currently played a grand total of 2 ranked teams. Not just currently ranked teams, ranked teams period. (If you really want to stretch it, LSU played Washington who managed to get ranked, then promptly flamed out) #17 Miami has played 3 ranked teams, and beat two of them! Miami has one loss (to current #6 Virginia Tech) and yet they're in the bottom half of the poll. Florida has played nobody, yet they sit atop the poll because they are the defending national champions. I agree that they should be ranked, and ranked highly, but they have not proven themselves to be the best team in the country, especially with that pedestrian performance against Tennessee.
If rankings are supposed to prove who can beat whom, then Boise and Bama need to be higher.
Moving down the poll, I'm not entirely sure how Southern Cal vaulted back up into the #7 slot. They got beaten by Washington, fell to 12, then jumped up 4 spots for Penn State, Cal, Ole Miss, and Miami's losses. My question is simple: Why did they leapfrog Oklahoma to move up 5 spots? OU's loss came earlier (traditionally meaning they should be ranked higher until they lose again) against a team that was ranked, unlike USC's loss. Plus, BYU is still ranked, unlike Washington. It doesn't make any sense to me to see the Trojans above the Sooners, but I guess that's why I'm not a voter.
Cincinnati is in the Top 10 for the first time in school history. This is fairly meaningless, but I guess it's good for the Big East to have a Top 10 team. They certainly don't deserve it, since they've played no one, and I doubt they could beat the 110 teams ranked below them, but since they have an incredibly weak schedule, there's a real chance they could wind up with a BCS bid before it's all said and done.
Houston is ranked too low for my tastes. They beat the then-#5 team in the country, are undefeated, and are still ranked below Oklahoma, who was beaten by the then-#20 team in the country. How's that work?
Iowa should probably be ranked higher as well. They, Kansas, and Michigan are the lowest-ranked undefeated teams. The reason Iowa should be ranked higher? Because they beat #5, unlike Kansas and Michigan who have played a gaggle of nobodies.
Question: Why did Miami fall so hard? They got badly beaten, yes, but they also beat 2 ranked schools. Their hard fall teaches schools the wrong lesson: They shouldn't schedule hard teams because losing leads to low rankings. Even if they go undefeated from here on out, I doubt that Miami will make the National Championship game because of 1 Saturday in September.
Nothing else too egregious in the Top 25 this week, we'll wait for next week...
First off, you won't hear any complaints from this blogger about the Top 5. However, if I had one, it's that Boise State and Bama are ranked too low. Yeah, you read that right. Guess I should explain...
The Top 5 teams in college football have currently played a grand total of 2 ranked teams. Not just currently ranked teams, ranked teams period. (If you really want to stretch it, LSU played Washington who managed to get ranked, then promptly flamed out) #17 Miami has played 3 ranked teams, and beat two of them! Miami has one loss (to current #6 Virginia Tech) and yet they're in the bottom half of the poll. Florida has played nobody, yet they sit atop the poll because they are the defending national champions. I agree that they should be ranked, and ranked highly, but they have not proven themselves to be the best team in the country, especially with that pedestrian performance against Tennessee.
If rankings are supposed to prove who can beat whom, then Boise and Bama need to be higher.
Moving down the poll, I'm not entirely sure how Southern Cal vaulted back up into the #7 slot. They got beaten by Washington, fell to 12, then jumped up 4 spots for Penn State, Cal, Ole Miss, and Miami's losses. My question is simple: Why did they leapfrog Oklahoma to move up 5 spots? OU's loss came earlier (traditionally meaning they should be ranked higher until they lose again) against a team that was ranked, unlike USC's loss. Plus, BYU is still ranked, unlike Washington. It doesn't make any sense to me to see the Trojans above the Sooners, but I guess that's why I'm not a voter.
Cincinnati is in the Top 10 for the first time in school history. This is fairly meaningless, but I guess it's good for the Big East to have a Top 10 team. They certainly don't deserve it, since they've played no one, and I doubt they could beat the 110 teams ranked below them, but since they have an incredibly weak schedule, there's a real chance they could wind up with a BCS bid before it's all said and done.
Houston is ranked too low for my tastes. They beat the then-#5 team in the country, are undefeated, and are still ranked below Oklahoma, who was beaten by the then-#20 team in the country. How's that work?
Iowa should probably be ranked higher as well. They, Kansas, and Michigan are the lowest-ranked undefeated teams. The reason Iowa should be ranked higher? Because they beat #5, unlike Kansas and Michigan who have played a gaggle of nobodies.
Question: Why did Miami fall so hard? They got badly beaten, yes, but they also beat 2 ranked schools. Their hard fall teaches schools the wrong lesson: They shouldn't schedule hard teams because losing leads to low rankings. Even if they go undefeated from here on out, I doubt that Miami will make the National Championship game because of 1 Saturday in September.
Nothing else too egregious in the Top 25 this week, we'll wait for next week...
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Final Rankings Rant (of the '08 season)
Not sure why I didn't post this earlier...let's look at what's egregious in college football's final rankings!
So someone in the AP honestly thought Southern Cal deserved to be ranked over Utah and Florida? Really? Utah who, you know, BEAT Oregon State (yeah, Penn State did, too, and USC killed them. USC also played a home game for its bowl, so shut up).
Texas didn't get any #1 votes at all which surprises me, given that we've had to hear their griping for quite some time. I guess Ohio State sticking with them was a mark of shame or something? It really doesn't make that much sense. Also, was it just me or did the Big 12 look hideous in all of its big bowl games?
Sliding down...Alabama is 6th?! How is that possible? How can you lose 2 straight and still be in the top 10. If Alabama was in the Big East (or Big 10, or PAC-10, or ACC, or any non-BCS conference...) we'd have to tolerate all of the "Overrated! Easy non-conference schedule!" articles. Instead, they sit pretty at #6. I guess it's because their losses are to the #1 and #2 teams in the country. Still...2 straight losses generally doesn't equal a top 10 finish.
It's good to see TCU in the top 10. They deserve it, and its pretty awesome to see a small conference team in the final top 10 again. Wait, positivity?! What the heck am I doing?!
How is Ohio State still in the Top 10? A well played game against Texas, a spanking at the hands of USC, and a loss to Penn State gave them a 10-3 record, which is respectable if one doesn't look at where their wins came from (a sample: Youngstown State, Ohio, Troy, Minnesota, Purdue, Illinois, Michigan, and like 3 legitimately good teams). Once you look at that...this really isn't a top 10 team. Top 25, possibly, but not Top 10.
Texas Tech slides to 12, and frankly they should have slid further. I do have a question, though, how is TT still ranked higher than the team that JUST BEAT THEM?! Mississippi might not be the 14th best school in the country, but they proved, head to head, on the field that they were better than Texas Tech.
Nothing else is too terrible in the bottom half of the poll, though I must ask voters how BYU got enough votes to be 25th, while the team that beat them (Arizona) only got 4 points in the poll! The PAC-10 had a horrible regular season, including a winless team, a terrible out of conference schedule, and a friggin' 1-6 record against the MWC. Then they win every game in the bowl season, and look pretty dang good doing it. (I hate admitting that.) So BYU should NOT be ranked above California.
Aaaaand that's all I got.
So someone in the AP honestly thought Southern Cal deserved to be ranked over Utah and Florida? Really? Utah who, you know, BEAT Oregon State (yeah, Penn State did, too, and USC killed them. USC also played a home game for its bowl, so shut up).
Texas didn't get any #1 votes at all which surprises me, given that we've had to hear their griping for quite some time. I guess Ohio State sticking with them was a mark of shame or something? It really doesn't make that much sense. Also, was it just me or did the Big 12 look hideous in all of its big bowl games?
Sliding down...Alabama is 6th?! How is that possible? How can you lose 2 straight and still be in the top 10. If Alabama was in the Big East (or Big 10, or PAC-10, or ACC, or any non-BCS conference...) we'd have to tolerate all of the "Overrated! Easy non-conference schedule!" articles. Instead, they sit pretty at #6. I guess it's because their losses are to the #1 and #2 teams in the country. Still...2 straight losses generally doesn't equal a top 10 finish.
It's good to see TCU in the top 10. They deserve it, and its pretty awesome to see a small conference team in the final top 10 again. Wait, positivity?! What the heck am I doing?!
How is Ohio State still in the Top 10? A well played game against Texas, a spanking at the hands of USC, and a loss to Penn State gave them a 10-3 record, which is respectable if one doesn't look at where their wins came from (a sample: Youngstown State, Ohio, Troy, Minnesota, Purdue, Illinois, Michigan, and like 3 legitimately good teams). Once you look at that...this really isn't a top 10 team. Top 25, possibly, but not Top 10.
Texas Tech slides to 12, and frankly they should have slid further. I do have a question, though, how is TT still ranked higher than the team that JUST BEAT THEM?! Mississippi might not be the 14th best school in the country, but they proved, head to head, on the field that they were better than Texas Tech.
Nothing else is too terrible in the bottom half of the poll, though I must ask voters how BYU got enough votes to be 25th, while the team that beat them (Arizona) only got 4 points in the poll! The PAC-10 had a horrible regular season, including a winless team, a terrible out of conference schedule, and a friggin' 1-6 record against the MWC. Then they win every game in the bowl season, and look pretty dang good doing it. (I hate admitting that.) So BYU should NOT be ranked above California.
Aaaaand that's all I got.
Sunday, November 2, 2008
Rankings Rant 11/2/08
Wow! No updates in, like, a week? More than a week! Who runs this thing?! *looks in mirror* Oh.
Might/might not do a Saturday in Review. Who knows? Not I! The Rankings are much more fun to look at this week. We're using BCS rankings here. To prove computers screw up too.
Nick Saban and Alabama got rewarded with the #1 slot in the nation be beating...Arkansas State?! How the heck did that happen?! Now I am certainly not knocking the Crimson Tide. In my humble opinion (and what do I know?) they should have been #1 that week Oklahoma lost to Texas. But apparently it's a college football sin to move to #1 during a bye week. So here we are, eh? 'Bama's the team to beat it would seem, and I look forward to seeing what happens to them from here on out. For now, however, I have no complaints with the Tide as the #1 team in the land.
I stand corrected on Texas Tech. This, friends, is a good football team. They're fairly predictable (53 pass attempts compared to 28 run attempts) but danged if it doesn't work. I guess this is less of a rant than analysis. Meh...
Penn State's still at #3. I sincerely hope they get a shot at the title. It's hard to argue against Texas Tech and Bama (Ooooo, that'd be a good one.) But still. JoePa's a legend (even if he's not a great disciplinarian) and it'd be good to give him a shot. Frankly, weak Big 10 or no, I have a problem if a 1-loss school gets in ahead of an undefeated Penn State team.
I also have a problem with Utah at #8. Not that they're not the 8th best team in the country (they're not, but let's ignore that for now). No, it's more of the fact that they're ahead of Oklahoma State, but behind USC. This is not right. Oklahoma State lost to the #1 team in the country, beat then-number 3 Missouri (who I was totally wrong about...), and plays in one of the 2 best conferences in the country! USC (who, admittedly, I hate with a passion. Keep that in mind if you like being objective) lost to Oregon State and plays in the third-worst BCS conference.
Conclusion: If Utah is "better" than Oklahoma state, then they're "better" than USC too. Utah could beat Washington State by 69, too.
An old "friend" is still hovering in the top 15. #11 Ohio State. I need someone to rationalize this for me. They drop a few spots after losing to Penn State, then move up during a bye week. I'm not OK with this. Who has Ohio State beaten?! They're not in a good conference, and the 2 good teams they've played have defeated them. USC crushed them, and Penn State beat OSU in the Horseshoe! Weird...
Georgia's gone from preseason #1 to a middle of the road SEC team. Still good, but after what Florida did to them on Saturday...the Dawgs have some work yet to do before they hoist that ugly crystal football again.
At #14 sits Missouri. I am of the opinion that any time you beat Baylor by 3, you deserve to stay where you are in the rankings. So I'm glad they didn't move up. As a side note: Chase Daniel, I am sorry for jinxing you...
Ball State sits at #17. I hope they do well. I also enjoyed how, when Tulsa lost the ESPN commentator said "Another fly in the ointment gone." Wow. Do people really think that lowly of non-BCS schools. I mean, Boise State-Oklahoma was a thriller. Utah crushed Pitt in the first BCS game featuring an outsider. Sure, Hawaii stank in the Sugar Bowl last year, but what's with the phrase "fly in the ointment." That kinda screams "elitist conspiracy" to me. Frankly I was hoping for a Tulsa/Utah title game...
Stat o' the day: UNC's record against schools from Virginia: 0-2
UNC's record against schools from the other 49 states: 6-0.
Best hope their 1-AA opponent next year isn't the Richmond Spiders...
As a side note 4 ACC teams are ranked this week. That's impressive. What's sad is that the highest ranked one is UNC. They're the #19 team in the land.
I am curious as to how Maryland is #23 and Cal is #21. Is this anti-East Coast Bias bias? I mean, same record, Maryland's beaten more ranked teams (side note: 1 was Clemson. So...). The kicker, clearly is that these 2 teams played each other. And in that head-to-head matchup, the winner was...Maryland? No, wait, I must've read that wrong. No, no, it was Maryland. I watched that game. Maryland dominated in that game for 3 quarters. How in the heck are the Golden Bears "better" than the Terps?! Isn't that what the rankings are supposed to indicate?! Maryland plays in a mediocre but balanced conference, and has defeated the team ranked 2 slots above them! Cal plays in a conference with one good team, 6 OK to fairly bad teams, and 3 awful teams. AND they lost to Maryland. I am sorry, but that's just wrong.
Oh, and congrats to West Virginia. The only Big (L)east team in the BCS rankings. I'm not going to rant on this...I'm just saying that without Pat White we'd be talking about UConn here.
Might/might not do a Saturday in Review. Who knows? Not I! The Rankings are much more fun to look at this week. We're using BCS rankings here. To prove computers screw up too.
Nick Saban and Alabama got rewarded with the #1 slot in the nation be beating...Arkansas State?! How the heck did that happen?! Now I am certainly not knocking the Crimson Tide. In my humble opinion (and what do I know?) they should have been #1 that week Oklahoma lost to Texas. But apparently it's a college football sin to move to #1 during a bye week. So here we are, eh? 'Bama's the team to beat it would seem, and I look forward to seeing what happens to them from here on out. For now, however, I have no complaints with the Tide as the #1 team in the land.
I stand corrected on Texas Tech. This, friends, is a good football team. They're fairly predictable (53 pass attempts compared to 28 run attempts) but danged if it doesn't work. I guess this is less of a rant than analysis. Meh...
Penn State's still at #3. I sincerely hope they get a shot at the title. It's hard to argue against Texas Tech and Bama (Ooooo, that'd be a good one.) But still. JoePa's a legend (even if he's not a great disciplinarian) and it'd be good to give him a shot. Frankly, weak Big 10 or no, I have a problem if a 1-loss school gets in ahead of an undefeated Penn State team.
I also have a problem with Utah at #8. Not that they're not the 8th best team in the country (they're not, but let's ignore that for now). No, it's more of the fact that they're ahead of Oklahoma State, but behind USC. This is not right. Oklahoma State lost to the #1 team in the country, beat then-number 3 Missouri (who I was totally wrong about...), and plays in one of the 2 best conferences in the country! USC (who, admittedly, I hate with a passion. Keep that in mind if you like being objective) lost to Oregon State and plays in the third-worst BCS conference.
Conclusion: If Utah is "better" than Oklahoma state, then they're "better" than USC too. Utah could beat Washington State by 69, too.
An old "friend" is still hovering in the top 15. #11 Ohio State. I need someone to rationalize this for me. They drop a few spots after losing to Penn State, then move up during a bye week. I'm not OK with this. Who has Ohio State beaten?! They're not in a good conference, and the 2 good teams they've played have defeated them. USC crushed them, and Penn State beat OSU in the Horseshoe! Weird...
Georgia's gone from preseason #1 to a middle of the road SEC team. Still good, but after what Florida did to them on Saturday...the Dawgs have some work yet to do before they hoist that ugly crystal football again.
At #14 sits Missouri. I am of the opinion that any time you beat Baylor by 3, you deserve to stay where you are in the rankings. So I'm glad they didn't move up. As a side note: Chase Daniel, I am sorry for jinxing you...
Ball State sits at #17. I hope they do well. I also enjoyed how, when Tulsa lost the ESPN commentator said "Another fly in the ointment gone." Wow. Do people really think that lowly of non-BCS schools. I mean, Boise State-Oklahoma was a thriller. Utah crushed Pitt in the first BCS game featuring an outsider. Sure, Hawaii stank in the Sugar Bowl last year, but what's with the phrase "fly in the ointment." That kinda screams "elitist conspiracy" to me. Frankly I was hoping for a Tulsa/Utah title game...
Stat o' the day: UNC's record against schools from Virginia: 0-2
UNC's record against schools from the other 49 states: 6-0.
Best hope their 1-AA opponent next year isn't the Richmond Spiders...
As a side note 4 ACC teams are ranked this week. That's impressive. What's sad is that the highest ranked one is UNC. They're the #19 team in the land.
I am curious as to how Maryland is #23 and Cal is #21. Is this anti-East Coast Bias bias? I mean, same record, Maryland's beaten more ranked teams (side note: 1 was Clemson. So...). The kicker, clearly is that these 2 teams played each other. And in that head-to-head matchup, the winner was...Maryland? No, wait, I must've read that wrong. No, no, it was Maryland. I watched that game. Maryland dominated in that game for 3 quarters. How in the heck are the Golden Bears "better" than the Terps?! Isn't that what the rankings are supposed to indicate?! Maryland plays in a mediocre but balanced conference, and has defeated the team ranked 2 slots above them! Cal plays in a conference with one good team, 6 OK to fairly bad teams, and 3 awful teams. AND they lost to Maryland. I am sorry, but that's just wrong.
Oh, and congrats to West Virginia. The only Big (L)east team in the BCS rankings. I'm not going to rant on this...I'm just saying that without Pat White we'd be talking about UConn here.
Friday, October 24, 2008
Multiple birds, singular stone.
As a Virginia Tech fan, let me give you the Saturday in Review for last week: Worst Saturday ever! Tech lost, UVa won, and USC scored 69 points. What was worse was having to see Matt Ryan every 2 seconds on my TV. The man was the main attraction in a game that he WASN'T EVEN PLAYING IN!
The thing is, it isn't his fault. Matt Ryan isn't the one who did this to himself. He's not responsible for the media worship of him. I'm sure he's probably a nice guy! (Mind you, I thought that about the last Falcons QB to come from the ACC, too...) But this is absurd. I don't need to see him beat Tech again. I sure as heck didn't WANT to see it.
Carrying on, in this brief and somewhat boring Saturday in Review, Chase Daniel isn't who I thought he was. I had him winning the Heisman, etc, etc. He's looked fatally flawed this year, and I'll admit that I was wrong. I'm sure Nolen enjoys that. Colt McCoy's looked simply amazing (and now I've probably cursed him, too.)
As for the rankings: I sincerely hope that the dang USC Trojans aren't in the national title game. Barring a major upset, though, they're going to be undefeated for the rest of the year because they play in the PA(theti)C-10. So...I'm now a Texas, Alabama, Penn State, Oklahoma State, and Texas Tech fan. Just so you know.
Finally, the battle of the underachievers:
Auburn-17, West Virginia-34
This is insane. Auburn has gone from "new look" to "just plain bad" in a matter of weeks. They're in a tailspin, and I'm not sure how they're gonna get pulled out. As I said last week, Tommy Tuberville is going to be fired. He has no chance of NOT being fired. Thus, he should start having fun. Run the option on 3rd and 27. Bring in an O-lineman to play wideout. Threaten to kill a puppy for every 3 and out. Actually, scratch that last one. One dead puppy is bad. Auburn would kill, like, 30 a game.
As a note to West Virginia fans: Your team may get back into the Top 25 this week. Don't read anything into it, please. You haven't beaten anyone. The ONLY 2 ranked teams on the schedule are South Florida and Pitt, neither of whom have beaten a good school (sorry, Kansas). So please don't get cocky WVU fans. Or I'll call the ECU Pirates on you again.
See y'all on Saturday!
The thing is, it isn't his fault. Matt Ryan isn't the one who did this to himself. He's not responsible for the media worship of him. I'm sure he's probably a nice guy! (Mind you, I thought that about the last Falcons QB to come from the ACC, too...) But this is absurd. I don't need to see him beat Tech again. I sure as heck didn't WANT to see it.
Carrying on, in this brief and somewhat boring Saturday in Review, Chase Daniel isn't who I thought he was. I had him winning the Heisman, etc, etc. He's looked fatally flawed this year, and I'll admit that I was wrong. I'm sure Nolen enjoys that. Colt McCoy's looked simply amazing (and now I've probably cursed him, too.)
As for the rankings: I sincerely hope that the dang USC Trojans aren't in the national title game. Barring a major upset, though, they're going to be undefeated for the rest of the year because they play in the PA(theti)C-10. So...I'm now a Texas, Alabama, Penn State, Oklahoma State, and Texas Tech fan. Just so you know.
Finally, the battle of the underachievers:
Auburn-17, West Virginia-34
This is insane. Auburn has gone from "new look" to "just plain bad" in a matter of weeks. They're in a tailspin, and I'm not sure how they're gonna get pulled out. As I said last week, Tommy Tuberville is going to be fired. He has no chance of NOT being fired. Thus, he should start having fun. Run the option on 3rd and 27. Bring in an O-lineman to play wideout. Threaten to kill a puppy for every 3 and out. Actually, scratch that last one. One dead puppy is bad. Auburn would kill, like, 30 a game.
As a note to West Virginia fans: Your team may get back into the Top 25 this week. Don't read anything into it, please. You haven't beaten anyone. The ONLY 2 ranked teams on the schedule are South Florida and Pitt, neither of whom have beaten a good school (sorry, Kansas). So please don't get cocky WVU fans. Or I'll call the ECU Pirates on you again.
See y'all on Saturday!
Monday, October 6, 2008
Rankings Rant, 10/5/08
Time to look at the polls this week! (Unless otherwise noted, the AP Poll is what we use here.)
First off, a hat tip to Ball State and UNC. Ball State's ranked for the first time in school history, and they're undefeated. UNC, meanwhile, is ranked for the first time since 2001. Great job to both schools and their respective coaches. Now, let's get to the anger...
Going back to Ball State...Why are they 25th? Why aren't they higher? Why is a team that lost to Bowling Green ahead of an undefeated squad? You can't really make the "conference" case for me, because of the fact that South Florida, frankly, isn't that good. They beat Kansas who (see a few posts below) hasn't beaten anyone worthy of note!
3 ACC teams are ranked...none of them above 18th. Which I suppose is better than the Big East, which only has 2 ranked teams, the highest is 19th. To answer an earlier question (see the post on the USF game), no, I don't see any Big East teams that should be ranked. There's nothing that impressive about any team in the conference. The ACC teams shouldn't climb above 15th, either, because there's at least 15 teams in the country that can beat whoever might happen to be the ACC's "best" (an oxymoronic statement).
Meanwhile, Auburn falls to 20th, which isn't overly good for a school of Auburn's caliber. They'll be better next year, but that will clearly take more time than many Tiger fans will be willing to spend.
USC, meanwile is 8th in the country. Please explain this to me. They crushed Ohio State University, and beat Oregon, but still. Oregon State? Vandy's 5-0 and has beaten 2 ranked teams as well. Mind you, they weren't as highly ranked (#24 and #13 compared to #5 and #23 for the Trojans), but still. Vandy's in the SEC (6 ranked teams) compared to the PAC-10 (1 ranked team). USC had a loss, Vandy doesn't, and this is a classic case of a team being in the Top 10 because they looked better in August than what reality says in October.
Some folks will complain Brigham Young's in the Top 10. But, hey, their schedule's been no more challenging than Texas'. Take that for what it's worth.
Aaaaand that's all that's egregious in this week's rankings. Check back again for some new content. Tomorrow! (Or whenever the heck else we make up our minds to write something.)
First off, a hat tip to Ball State and UNC. Ball State's ranked for the first time in school history, and they're undefeated. UNC, meanwhile, is ranked for the first time since 2001. Great job to both schools and their respective coaches. Now, let's get to the anger...
Going back to Ball State...Why are they 25th? Why aren't they higher? Why is a team that lost to Bowling Green ahead of an undefeated squad? You can't really make the "conference" case for me, because of the fact that South Florida, frankly, isn't that good. They beat Kansas who (see a few posts below) hasn't beaten anyone worthy of note!
3 ACC teams are ranked...none of them above 18th. Which I suppose is better than the Big East, which only has 2 ranked teams, the highest is 19th. To answer an earlier question (see the post on the USF game), no, I don't see any Big East teams that should be ranked. There's nothing that impressive about any team in the conference. The ACC teams shouldn't climb above 15th, either, because there's at least 15 teams in the country that can beat whoever might happen to be the ACC's "best" (an oxymoronic statement).
Meanwhile, Auburn falls to 20th, which isn't overly good for a school of Auburn's caliber. They'll be better next year, but that will clearly take more time than many Tiger fans will be willing to spend.
USC, meanwile is 8th in the country. Please explain this to me. They crushed Ohio State University, and beat Oregon, but still. Oregon State? Vandy's 5-0 and has beaten 2 ranked teams as well. Mind you, they weren't as highly ranked (#24 and #13 compared to #5 and #23 for the Trojans), but still. Vandy's in the SEC (6 ranked teams) compared to the PAC-10 (1 ranked team). USC had a loss, Vandy doesn't, and this is a classic case of a team being in the Top 10 because they looked better in August than what reality says in October.
Some folks will complain Brigham Young's in the Top 10. But, hey, their schedule's been no more challenging than Texas'. Take that for what it's worth.
Aaaaand that's all that's egregious in this week's rankings. Check back again for some new content. Tomorrow! (Or whenever the heck else we make up our minds to write something.)
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