An Open Letter to Pete Carroll

Dear Pete,

First, I’m shocked you took the time to read this, what with your new NFL career in full swing. I just thought I’d take the time to address that little mess you left behind at Southern California. We all know that you’re aware of the sanctions imposed on the rather legendary program by the NCAA, because you made us aware with this super-heartfelt video, in which you admit to no wrongdoing whatsoever. Sure, the wrongdoing was committed by your most high profile player, a guy you recruited yourself, but for some reason no one really called you out on this whole thing until it was far too late for all parties involved.

I’m writing now because the player in question, Reggie Bush, has taken some serious heat for his involvement in a bit of underhanded dealing with an agent, which some consider unbecoming of a college athlete. To attempt to compensate, Reggie Bush recently returned his Heisman. You are apparently aware of this, too, since you released the following statement:

“It is my hope that this situation serves as a teachable moment to all involved, especially for the young athletes and university and high school administrators of tomorrow.”

I hope you’ll forgive the cynicism that is about to be displayed by me and most of the rest of the sportswriting community, but that sounds like a load of hogwash. Pete, we are talking about one of the most dynamic running backs in the last decade of college football. You really expect us to believe that you knew nothing about the whole business, and were merely a bystander as the highest profile player on your team received underhanded deals? Coach, that’s just about totally unbelievable, and your behavior doesn’t match up overly well with the details of the case. When you were riding high on national championships and major bowl wins you were totally uninterested in the concept of leaving LA. Yet after one of the worst seasons in your tenure at Southern Cal, you choose to leave? And shortly afterward the NCAA sweeps in with debilitating sanctions that very realistically could cripple Southern California for the forseeable future.

Anger against you is growing, Coach Carroll, and not without reason. The school is being buried under an avalanche of sanctions that should begin to have their effect in the coming months and years once Southern California begins its conference schedule. The school has also purged itself of any reference to Reggie Bush, taking down banners, posters and jerseys and returning Bush’s Heisman. Bush was forced to return the most important individual accolade a college player can earn, and if he’s really sorry he’ll soon admit wrongdoing. And you? Nothing. You’re getting paid, you’re coaching at the professional level, and you’re not being stripped of anything. There is a massive target on your back, Coach, and it’s only going to get bigger as the other actors in this little tragedy are made to pay their penance.

The heck of it is, Pete, you seem to be a halfway decent guy! There was the whole business with the young boy losing his sight and asking to see a Southern Cal game as the final thing he’d see (link!). Your Camp Pete website is cartoonish and it hurts my eyes, but it’s for a dang good cause! On top of all that, you helped create an anti-gang violence charity in Los Angeles! Pete, is admitting you did wrong such a bad thing? Coaches and coordinators are the only ones getting paid to be there. Supposedly. There are practically no programs in college football that haven’t committed a violation of ethics, recruiting, or both in recent years. So admit that you knew something. Admit that you were wrong, at least a little. American sports fans are a notoriously forgiving lot, and the players at your current level are getting paid anyway.

Pete, allow me to say this in closing: I despised your teams when you were coaching. Every single Saturday I cheered against you and the Trojans. With that said, you were good for the game. People wanted to watch a Southern Cal game during the Carroll Era, either to cheer you on or to boo you mercilessly. You’re an excellent coach, paid players or no. You revived a program back into a proud dynasty, and because the actions taken by people under your command during your tenure could well bring it back down, you should admit wrongdoing, if only to preserve your personal integrity and whatever’s left of the integrity of USC football.

Sincerely,

Bones

(PS to the readers: If anyone knows Coach Carroll, pass this along. Without this part, obviously.)

Back once more, with the seething anger you want!

Hello, dear reader(s). Just a quick heads up on some things:

ONE: Sorry for the lack of bowl rundown. Between my work computer going into the shop, my home computer breaking, abject laziness, and the fact that I'm not paid by anyone to do this, there was really no way it was getting done. Which is a pity because I finished 17-17 in my bowl picks. Yeah! In your face! Flipping a coin would have given you roughly the same results as my crappy bowl predictions!

TWO: Gotta do a rundown of the destruction of conferences, specifically the Big 12's dissolution and the parts of that conference heading to conferences that make no sense for them to join. Texas in the Pac-10? Nebraska in the Big 10, which now has 12 teams AT LEAST?! What the heck is this?! (I'm getting ahead of myself, football blogging season has just started.)

THREE: I'll try to do something involving the coaching carousel around the country. Plenty of fun to be had there, especially at Notre Dame, Cincinnati, UVa, Tennessee and Southern Cal.

FOUR: Speaking of Southern Cal...

It seems vaguely appropriate that the team that I despise with all of the enthusiasm I can muster has finally been punished for their misdeeds. Vindictive of me? Sure, but let's all be honest with ourselves: Almost every program in major college sports that has a legitimate shot of winning a championship cheats. Virginia Tech probably does. Florida almost certainly does. Iowa State probably does not, but Iowa State has a horrible football team. The issues I have with the University of Southern California are not relative to what they've done with recruiting, because in modern college football recruiting violations are so prevalent as to be utterly unremarkable.

No, what I hate about Southern Cal is their attitude. The idea that somehow they have "earned" their place among college football's elite simply by virtue of location. The concept that 100% of their players go on to have illustrious professional careers simply because they spent 4 years snuffing out inferior conference competition, mediocre non-conference competition, and one good team per year in their bowl game. The idea that Pete Carroll is some sort of brilliant coach because he took an historically good program in a rich recruiting ground and kept winning with it. The way people describe their program as having "swagger." The way the media panders to them, and the rare occasions that the media does acknowledge that Southern Cal isn't the greatest football team in the country they are immediately accused of "East Coast Bias." The "Bush Push," which was illegal, this call against Virginia Tech's Josh Hyman, which is still the single worst offensive pass interference call in football history. Pete Carroll's hair. Lane Kiffin leaving Tennessee in a horrible state after one mediocre year to coach the Mustard and Ketchup. That, among a host of other reasons, is why I hate Southern California.

Now that you have a decent comprehension of where I stand, here's some analysis: The NCAA sanctions were not harsh enough. In this case, the school had been thumbing its nose at the NCAA for years and lying to its recruits, telling them to come to the school, telling them that they were in the clear from NCAA sanctions. These recruits should have the right to transfer to another school, perhaps one that will give them the opportunity to play in a bowl game during one of their first two years at school. Plus, consider the seniors and juniors who, having missed their chance to jump to the NFL like their coach (more to come on that) are stuck spending the last years of their college career with no chance of going to a bowl or of hoisting a national championship trophy. Even if Southern Cal runs the table the next two years (they won't, but work with me here) they will still not be able to play for a national title. Aside from making the school money, the next two seasons will have little to no meaning. The athletes should have the opportunity to leave. If college football is "about the kids" as the NCAA is always so quick to claim, then the kids should be given a chance to give meaning to the 2010 and 2011 seasons. (NOTE: In the time since I typed this, it's come out that Juniors and Seniors will be allowed to transfer without the required one year of "sit out" time. Mind you, these are the Juniors and Seniors who led Southern Cal to their worst season since 2001, so...) (Plus, the Freshmen and Sophomores are still getting screwed...)

The school needs to be stripped of 5 seasons of post-season participation. That way no athlete who was in any way tainted by this scandal can play for the tainted school that tainted them. Tainted. Fun word to type.

Seriously, though, the hiring of Lane Kiffin was a horrible choice for a variety of reasons. One of the ringleaders of the circus that led to this whole affair is now back in charge of said circus. Kiffin's paying his atonement in the form of sanctions during his first two years, yet the school's punishment needs to be elevated, the better to teach boosters and crazy fans who write blogs about football an adequate lesson.

I know that sounds like the harshest of mentalities to take, but think about it: Most college athletes, even from big-name schools, don't go on to have illustrious careers. Most of them don't go on to have careers at all! For all the hype that its players get, USC football's pro track record is no better than many other schools around the nation. If you don't believe me, go to the local Wal-Mart and talk to John David Booty. If he's not working today, try finding Todd Marinovich.

The most egregious bit is that the man who built this monster is escaping basically scot free. I am, of course, referring to the Silver Fox: Mr. Peter Clay Carroll. Pete has gotten away with the murder of Southern Cal football, and he's not even sorry about it! Here's a video from his YouTube channel. (Which, by the way, PETE CARROLL has a YouTube Channel?! I could write a whole post just about that!) Watch that video and come back. I'll wait here...



...OK, so raise your hand if you believed that. If you raised your hand, then I am shocked. Because I did not know that you read this blog, Mr. Carroll. If you did not raise your hand, then you have a brain stem. "The University didn't know, we didn't know." Look, man, I'll buy that you don't know a tailback has a history of robbing stores. I'll buy that you can't keep tabs on 100 athletes at the same time. But the player at the crux of this debate is REGGIE FRIGGIN' BUSH! One of the best running backs in college football history, certainly one of the best to come through Southern Cal. If you're not keeping tabs on the recruitment of your highest profile player then you are a horrible, horrible coach. This denial is amazing. If Pete flames out at the NFL coaching level, he could easily have a career in politics. Never once during the 2 minutes of drivel you have just watched did Pete actually apologize or take responsibility for his actions. We do get an "I feel terrible" around the 1:50 mark, but that doesn't count.

In conclusion (though this topic may get revisited between now and August) this just shows the dark side of college football. Drugs have withdrawal symptoms, addiction, and life-ruining powers. College football has recruiting. Here's hoping that the season arrives soon...

Saturday in Review 9/19/09

Wow. What a day to make the first full Saturday in Review of the year. May as well get crackin'. We'll do the usual (Top 25 rundown with news on the Bottom 95 underneath) Let's start at the top:

Tennessee-13, #1 Florida-23

Well, I'll admit that this one surprised me more than a little. I figured we'd be talking about who would replace Lane Kiffin since he got eviscerated in Gainesville. Instead we saw a Florida team that looked a bit vulnerable, a decent Tennessee defense, and a surprisingly close game. Most disturbing for the Gators was how Tim Tebow was contained by a team that no one really considers a threat in the SEC. Sure, he ran for 76 yards and threw for 115, but it was Tennessee. I'm intrigued to see the Gators in Death Valley against LSU when October arrives.

As for the Vols, they ran a hyperconservative offense and kept it close. I'm not sure if they can win with "exciting" (read: spread offense) football this year. I'm also not sure they have to. I'll be the first to admit that Virginia Tech has built their reputation on conservative football. (NOTE: This week proved that Tech can be exciting, see below) I wish Tennessee luck, and I think we might see their hideous, Construction Zone Orange colored font on our countdown this year.

Final note from this game: Tennessee's QB Jonathan Crompton is the most hated man in Knoxville. Tim Tebow is Superman in Gainesville. Tebow had 115 yards, 1 INT, and 1 lost fumble. Crompton had 93 yards and 2 INTs. Seriously, kids. The only difference (at least in this game) was marketing. Just a thought...

Texas Tech-24, #2 Texas-34

This one wasn't surprising. A good team beat a not-as-good team by a reasonable margin. Heck, you don't even need me to review it. I will now use this space for personal expostulation...

If I saw that ad with the GameDay Crew and Mack Brown singing again...I would put an axe through my TV. It was funny at first. One time. After that, it got irritating, and now it's outright infuriating. I get it. You don't freestyle. Please cut it out. Aaaand let's move on to the upset of the day...

#3 USC-13, Washington-16

This game isn't too surprising, even though it's an unranked team beating a highly ranked one. Sure, Washington was winless last year, but having your opponent's former offensive coordinator and defensive coordinator on the sideline has to help...

As for Southern Cal, this sort of defeat happens on a regular basis. It's almost expected of them. The one (read that one, not 2) year they won the national title this millennium was the one year they went undefeated in conference. I really can't wait for the articles claiming that they would have won with Matt Barkley and how this game means nothing and how they should be national champs. Can't wait.

North Texas-7, #4 Alabama-53

I refuse to review this. It's a cupcake game that a team of Bama's caliber has no business playing.

Temple-6, #5 Penn State

I wonder, do teams feel obligated to play one another because they're in the same state? Because this is another one of those matchups that shouldn't happen. After all the crap the Big 10 + 1 have taken for their ability (or lack thereof) to win nonconference games, one of the 3 best teams in conference chooses to face the powerhouse that is Temple?!

Also, the night this game happened, a friend of mine and I text messaged one another regarding the possibility of a Penn State National Title. Here's what we got (all errors are [sic] in advance):

Wes: i'm hoping penn state runs the tables lol
Me: Haha. JoePa!
Wes: where am i?? wheres my pizza
Me: Sir, we just won the national title.
Wes: i need my ensure! get outa my way.....stupid confetti
Me: Sir, we need a shot of you and the trophy.
Wes: my hip!
Me: Sigh... I'll get the stretcher...
Wes: hahahahah we just role played them winning the natl championship....if it happens itll happen just as we said

I agree completely. Also, for continuity purposes: Utah is a boring state.

SE Louisiana-6, #5 Ole Miss-52

(See Bama review, replace "Bama" with "Ole Miss." Move on.)

Florida State-54, #7 BYU-28

Seriously, BYU. You get a shot at running the table and getting into the BCS, and instead you decide not to play defense at home against a team that nearly lost to Jacksonville State last week at home! This really hurts those of us who were hoping for a BYU-Boise State-TCU-Utah-Houston showdown in the BCS this year. It also hurts the argument for a playoff.

However, it DOES help that this makes the ACC look good. No articles about how awful the conference is this week. Just articles on how much better BC would be with Matt Ryan. I'll accept that.

#8 Cal-35, Minnesota-21

Hmmm. This one's problematic. Cal won, and went on the road to do so. Still, I think it's fair to say that the Golden Bears aren't a dominant team. From what I saw, USC will give them trouble, but the good news is that the Bears play them at home. The bad news is, aside from Jahvid Best, Cal looked quite underwhelming against a Minnesota team that stuck with them up until the final moments of the 4th quarter

UL Lafayette-3, #9 LSU-31

This in-state "rivalry" is another excuse for an easy win without being an official "cupcake" game. LSU is a National Championship contender just about every year, while UL Lafayette is normally at the bottom of the worst conference in Division 1-A football. LSU shouldn't play them, and they shouldn't annually get to smack Tulane around in the ultra-one-sided Battle for the Tiger Rag. Try scheduling some real teams for a change. If you lose the games, but are still a good team, then you can make the case for a playoff.

#10 Boise State-51, Fresno State-34

Wow...defense optional football. 987 total yards of offense. (Comparison Stat: Tennessee and Florida combined for 533 yards.) Boise looks like the last, best hope for an undefeated team to crash the BCS this year. Boise's schedule is pretty easy (only real threats: at Tulsa and at Hawaii in consecutive weeks during October) and almost all of the other BCS busters were cut out of the picture during this early upside down week of football.

Fresno, meanwhile, has one of the toughest schedules in football, and they should be applauded for it. Even if they lose every single one of their 7 road games, they at least have the backbone to play these foes, many of whom are outside of their own conference. By comparison other teams' crappy schedules (click those words for some truly amusing scheduling) should be torn up and redrawn, not rewarded with bowl games.

#11 (Really?) Ohio State-38, Toledo-0

Look, I know I pick on the Buckeyes. Some might say too much. These people are from Ohio, though, and they don't count.

Seriously, though, Ohio State is a great example of what's wrong with the BCS: It rewards teams that are the top dog in a seriously weak conference. Ohio State is sitting pretty at #11 (and moving up!) because they play no one! They played USC close, which is admirable, but a loss is a loss. Ohio State's other nonconference games: Navy (barely won), this thrashing of Toledo, and New Mexico State. If they win their conference, they go to the Rose Bowl. Heck, if the chips fall right, they can still easily go to the national title game! So...yeah, you might say this bothers me.

Tulsa-0, #12 Oklahoma-35

While I pity the loss of Sam Bradford, it really happened at the best possible time for Oklahoma. Their games after the QB went down were against Idaho State and Tulsa. The big question is: Who will start for OU when they roll into Miami on October 3? Really, it doesn't matter: Big 12 teams don't respond well to teams with actual defenses, which is why Nebraska will soon be back atop that conference. As you can tell, this game interested me about as much as last year's Oklahoma v. Tulsa grain growing competition. Riveting TV...

#19 Nebraska-15, #13 Virginia Tech-16

A great finish in a game that, frankly, should not have been that close. Tyrod Taylor made an amazing final throw, but he was allowed to do so because the Nebraska D-line committed the unforgivable sin of standing there while he scrambled. Had the lineman taking Taylor down as he threw the ball simply run forward when he was clear (about 2 seconds before he actually did run at the QB), then Tech's got 4th and goal instead of a relatively easy touchdown.

Nebraska's offense was killed by some decent defense and some bad officiating. Before the real Midwestern griping begins, allow me to state that the officials were from the Big 12, not the ACC or another conference. So Nebraska has no one to blame but themselves. Shoulda paid higher.

#14 Georgia Tech-17, #20 Miami-33

Miami's defense looked nothing short of amazing in quashing the option attack of Georgia Tech. While far too much attention is lavished on Miami's (good, but not great) quarterback, their defense forced Georgia Tech into doing the only thing that they are incapable of doing: Throwing the football.

When a specialist team like the Yellow Jackets is forced to become "normal" the results are usually not pretty. It would be like forcing Texas Tech to run the football: Unpleasant for the offense, and easy for the defense.

As for Miami, they scored easily on a team that's middle-of-the-road on defense, which does bode well. Still, I won't buy into the hype that "The U" is back until they win a tough road game at Virginia Tech this coming week. If that happens, however, then I'll be aboard the Miami train right until it inexplicably crashes against Central Florida or Duke. Remember, kids, they are an ACC team...

Texas State-21 (I don't even know their colors...), #15 TCU-56

TCU, in trying to prove they can hang with the big boys, has decided to schedule like the big boys. That is to say, they schedule an opponent they can crush early in the season so that they only have to win 5 real games to make a bowl. Know what? So long as the system that rewards such scheduling is in place, you'll see this repeated every year. I have a suggestion to fix it: It starts with "p" and ends in "layoff."

Rice-24, #16 Oklahoma State-41

Oklahoma State bounced back nicely from their practically inexplicable loss to Houston last week. In fairness, when your whole nonconference schedule is played at home and 3 of the 4 opposing teams aren't in BCS conferences, it would be nice not to have to look at this as a bounce-back game. Still, good to see that 50% of the time a Big 12 team can beat a Conference USA foe. Let's see how they do against 1-AA Grambling State in this coming week's cupcake bakeoff in Stillwater.

#17 Cincinnati-28, Oregon State-18

Now, I didn't watch this one, but judging from the score, I do have an observation:

Cincinnati should be ranked higher than Southern Cal. Why? Because they can win at Oregon State, something the Trojans seem to be incapable of doing...

#18 Utah-24, Oregon-31

It was a bad day for the BCS-buster demographic. Scratch that, it was a horrible day for the BCS-buster demographic, a fact that makes me a bit sad, if unsurprised.

The Utes needed to win this game to: A) Make the case they were as good as Boise and thus deserving of a BCS bid and B) prove they can beat BCS teams in their own home stadiums, something that teams from automatic qualifying conferences are expected to do week in and week out. It's an unpleasant fact, but many times these giant killer teams only play the big boys once a year (admittedly the big schools' cowardly fault) at a major stadium, and then again at a neutral site. Having been to a bowl game I will say this with 100% confidence: it is much easier to beat a big school in a bowl than it is to beat them at their place.

Let's use a big school on the mend as an example: Tennessee. The Vols have not been a real threat in college football for a few years, yet I still venture that many teams pause before thinking they can face 102,000 fans in Neyland Stadium with ease. UCLA came in last week and won at Neyland because they face teams with large fan bases and are used to the environment. If Boise, TCU, Utah, Houston, and BYU rolled into Neyland to play Tennessee, I think maybe 1 of them comes away with a win (Boise). Move the game to a neutral site, and I think the number jumps to 3 of the smaller schools getting the win. Move the games to the smaller schools and force UT to play there, and I think 4 of the smaller schools win (Houston, I'm pretty sure is a fluke) (NOTE: I've been wrong before...) And the sad fact is, that's using a crummy school as an example. Go into a decent school and you might be seeing a buster beat-down

In conclusion, if you want to make the BCS, you have to prove you'd make it in a BCS conference. It's that simple, and Utah failed the test. Alabama lost 1 conference game last year and got shut out of the championship, as did Southern Cal. If you want to hang out with them, you must be willing to suffer the same fate for losing.

Oh, and Utah is a boring state.

Duke-16, #22 Kansas-44

Kansas fans, don't get too excited. Congrats on your 4th victory all-time against the ACC (<-Not sarcasm, as the last ACC win came against Virginia Tech), but to be fair you beat friggin' Duke. Not that major of an accomplishment. #23 Georgia-52, Arkansas-41

Just one question: When did the "defense first" SEC turn into the Big 12? I'm just kidding.

This is one game between 2 teams square in the middle of the conference: Neither as bad as Vandy or Mississippi State, neither anywhere near as good as Florida or Alabama. This score is what statisticians call an outlier: it's an exception rather than a rule.

East Carolina-17, #24 North Carolina-31

I saw a stat on how few points Carolina had allowed early on during this game. It said they had allowed 9 points per game thus far in the season, as well as having one of the top ranked defenses in the nation.

My problems with this statement:
They have played 2 teams.
These 2 teams are the Citadel (1-AA Southern Conference) and UConn (Big (L)East)
They barely (as in, shouldn't have) won one of these 2 games
Using 2 games as an "assessment tool" for how well your season will go is totally idiotic. By this logic, the NFL's Drew Brees will throw, like, 700 TD passes this year and half the NFL and college football teams will not win a game.

As a totally unrelated note: I'm sure ECU's quarterback Pinkney has been playing college football for, like, 9 years. Just an observation.

East Michigan-17, #25 Michigan-45

Dear Michigan,

I appreciate that you're a storied program with loads of talent, pro alumni, and recruiting violations, but until you beat someone other than overrated Notre Dame I refuse to believe that you are "back" on the football landscape. Also, please quit insulting my intelligence by playing 8 home games. That's just ridiculous. Heck, even Ohio State had enough backbone to schedule USC.

Sincerely,
Bones

Tales from the Bottom 95 (or, random thoughts and opinions about everyone else.)

First off, UVa finally has a chance to win a game, and they successfully blew a 4th quarter lead. I look forward to seeing Al Groh get out of this one...Boston College's decision to get rid of Jeff Jagodzinski has worked out really well. The team looks flaccid, got killed in its first real game, and Jags doesn't have a job anymore. The rest of the ACC, I'm sure, appreciates it...Speaking of ACC, Maryland has really looked awful this year. Barely beating a 1-AA school last week, then losing to Middle Tennessee State this week...Note that I didn't drink the "Notre Dame is back" Kool-Aid, and they're proving why again. Barely beating MSU at home, not a good sign...Everyone paid attention to Cal sort of nudging itself past Minnesota, but the other Pac-10/Big 10 + 1 matchup actually went the way of the Midwestern team. Good job and a good win for the Iowa Hawkeyes...Syracuse beat Northwestern in the "Who cares?" Bowl this week...Vandy lost to Mississippi State in the battle for the SEC cellar...Vandy's lone win? My alma mater: Western Carolina (0-3)...Auburn seems to have found something they lost last year: an offense...West Virginia, meanwhile, is reeling without Rich Rodriguez and Pat White. They're probably the second or third best team in their conference, which would be good news if they were in any BCS conference but the Big East...

That's all for this week! See you soon with a Rankings Rant!

Unfortunate timing...

As you well know, posts on this blog are generally glacially paced to begin with. Unfortunately, yours truly had to have hernia surgery last week, so I missed the first 2 weeks of the blog season, though I did watch the game. Here's a recap of some reactions I had (many while on painkillers):

First off, good job by BYU and Houston. I don't think (see previous post) that there were BCS-employed snipers in the stands, trying to off the players. Seriously, an excellent job by the little schools that could, and a rather pathetic showing by the Big 12 during this first 2 week period (this includes the first half of that Texas-Wyoming game).

Secondly, Ohio State did pretty well in the "Collision in Columbus" game vs. USC. Problem was...USC had a running game. Not a quarterback who proved to be the greatest thing since sliced bread. If I were USC's running back, I would be seriously ticked off at the media and my own coach. "Great job by Matt Barkley," say the sports pundits. Yeah, great job of handing the football to his teammate. Woo.

The Virginia Tech-Alabama game didn't go so hot for the Hokies. Sure, the score was close, but the yardage sure wasn't. Tech bounced back and thrashed Marshall, so this week's game against Nebraska should be informative of Tech as a football team.

Speaking of the ACC...the conference looked dang bad on opening week. 2 losses to 1-AA teams, a loss for the best team in the conference, and a thrashing of Maryland at the hands of California. UVa has looked nothing short of horrific during it's first 2 games. As a Hokie fan, I'm not too bothered by it...

Aaaand that's it. Might try a review of the Thursday night Miami-GT

The Doldrums and the Schedules

A while back (meaning "February") I posted on how the 2 weeks leading up to the Super Bowl are the most boring in all of football. I stand corrected.

Look, I love college football. Love it. But, seriously, why do we care about any of this? I'm glad to see Tony Franklin got a job, but do we really need to know where he stands on religion? I care on a personal level, but not on an entertainment level. And entertainment is why I would read a college football blog in the first place...

Meanwhile, schedules have been out for a bit. Nothing's terribly different from the last few years: A few good nonconference games coupled with atrocious 1-AA cupcakes. Let's take a look at some of the intriguing matchups while we're here, shall we?

Ohio State, perpetually overrated as they are, looks to open with a win against Navy. They'd best pray for bad weather when USC shows up in Columbus, or we'll see a repeat of last year's demolition in LA.

Since we're on the subject of a team I hate with a passion, it was pretty refreshing to see the USC Trojans not being hailed as an invincible juggernaut in this article from Yahoo/Rivals news. Still, I have a problem with their schedule being treated as though it's a challenge. The teams USC is playing that might be "threats" aren't exactly high-class football squads: Notre Dame beat Hawaii and people treat them as though they're back to being a perrenial power in college football. Trust me, they're not. Ohio State is in a conference that's not that good, and they probably don't stand a chance against the Trojans. Oregon might be a tough road game, but I'm not gonna say they can beat the Trojans. In fact, I would be totally unsurprised to see the USC Trojans go undefeated and play in the title game. Their biggest pitfall? Honestly, probably the road game at California.

NC State (a bowl team last year only because there are 753 bowls) has 8, count 'em, 8 home games on its 12 game schedule. All 4 of the road games are going to be tough, so I guess the 'Pack feels the need to pad its schedule with the home crowd at their back. Since 3 of their home games are pretty much guaranteed wins (Murray State, Gardner-Webb, and Duke) the 3rd most popular school in North Carolina only has to beat 3 other teams to be bowl eligible. Sad, isn't it?

Speaking of 8 home games, anyone else notice that two of last years awesomely underachieving teams (Auburn and Michigan) are on the cowards list of travel-wary teams? Now I know that schedules are made years in advance, but it's nice and convenient that these two schools on the rebound are going to have friendlier schedules than most other teams.

Hats off to Georgia, who has to play a tough non-conference schedule in addition to their murderous conference. (Yes, they have Tennessee Tech one week. They also have the defending national champs the week before.)

Negative points to Nebraska (who starts off a season in which they could grab headlines playing tough teams and proving that they're back) by playing one non-Sun Belt conference member in their first 4 games. Yes the non-member is a tough game at Virginia Tech, but it's a little sad to see a team with a shot at a powerful opening statement opt instead to play 3 mediocre schools and one good one.

Crazy schedule of the year award goes to Georgia Tech who plays 3 games in 12 days. Admittedly, 1 is against Jacksonville State (no colored letters for 1-AA teams yet), but the other 2 are against conference foes who are definitely worthy of attention. If the Jackets win all 3 games, you can bet that'll be a confidence boost that will help their season. I wouldn't be surprised to see Georgia Tech win the ACC this season

Aaaaand that's all for this (the first post with content in quite some time). We'll see you later, hopefully someone will write something stupid soon!

Texas/Ohio State mashup/matchup/thing

Oh, it's 2009. Oops. See, real sportswriters have an advantage over bloggers in that bloggers have jobs that don't entail writing and aren't paid. That said, I will not be attempting to review the previous bowls, though I would like to say that going to Miami for the Orange Bowl was pretty awesome.

But now, for the review of the Fiesta Bowl....

Tostitos Fiesta Bowl: Texas-24, Ohio State-21

The Buckeyes have nothing to be ashamed of here, as this is the best bowl that they've played in recent memory. Plus, were it not for an absolutely, shamefully bad "roughing" of Colt McCoy on the first of Texas's 3rd quarter scoring drives, we might have seen a different final score.

If there's a rule in college football that must be amended, it's the 15 yard roughing the kicker penalty. 99 times out of 100 that flag is thrown because the kicker treats a defender's accidental tap as if it were a gunshot wound. If there's a second rule that should be amended, it's the 15 yard roughing the passer penalty.

Quarterbacks need to be protected. To deny that would be, well, stupid. But QBs ARE football players. Getting hit is a part of the friggin' game, just as much as it is for any other player at any other position! When you release a football and are hit 3 seconds later, of course it's roughing! The defender had time to stop. When you're hit half a second later, it's not roughing, because the defender couldn't stop. And, back to the Texas/OSU game, when you're NOT hit in the head, it's NOT illegal contact!

Meanwhile, the Big 12's performance in Bowl games has been shoddy at best. Thus far, the conference's only bowl wins have come against the Big 10 (2 close ones and Kansas's crushing of Minnesota) and the ACC (Nebraska's comeback against Clemson). Since football pundits (including me) spent all season talking about who was better, Big 12 or SEC, I think we've gotten our answer...

As a side note, PTI was talking about the Texas/OSU matchup and felt the need to rip the Orange Bowl. Allow me a moment for rebuttal:
The Orange Bowl featured the champion of a muddled, highly competitive conference who everyone wrote off as crappy (Virginia Tech of the ACC) and an upstart squad who had the best season in school history (Cincinnati of the Big East). Now, we had to put up with fawning and "oooh"s and "ahhh"s over the Fiesta bowl, which featured a 2 loss Ohio State team against a just-shafted out of the title game Texas. Cincinnati had two losses! AND the Big East had a winning bowl record, compared to the 1-6 Big 10! Texas Tech finished in a 3-way tie (with Texas!) for first in the conference, and lost its bowl to an SEC team that was 4th in its conference! Virginia Tech finished in a 4-way tie for first in its conference and beat a Big East team that was first in its conference!

So let's play a little reversal. Let's put Ohio State and Texas Tech against one another. Seems fair. There would be so much hype surrounding these two teams, and if Texas Tech won? Well, then we'd have to put up with news that the Big 12 was superior and that the ACC and Big East certainly didn't deserve to be in such a prestigious bowl.

Am I saying that Cincy or Virginia Tech deserved a BCS berth? No. But if you're going to market the wonder of an Ohio State/Texas matchup, you'd best not bash a Virginia Tech/Cincinnati matchup. Especially since, inevitably, we are going to have to tolerate a spate of "USC is the REAL national champion!" articles in the coming future.

I, for one, look forward to mocking them...

Varia 12/1/08

Well, we're back! Just a side note, the actual site called collegefootballreview.com is actually a defunct website which hasn't been updated since 2006. For spite, and no other purpose, I would now like to point out the last article on there. It reads as follows:

No doubt about it, The Ohio State University is the #1 team in the country. The are the real deal and have it going not only on offense but defense also!

I wonder if we could get that domain name...on the grounds that we'd type more intelligent gibberish. Let's move along...

Considering how few good games there were recently, it's unsurprising that there's not been much action on here. I mean, I could write you an in-depth review of the Virginia Tech/UVa game, but does anyone really want to read that? I mean, UVa sucks. No offense.

Which I guess brings me to a point. College football needs a playoff. There is no reason that the winner of the ACC Championship (even if it's my beloved Hokies) should go to a BCS bowl, while Texas, Texas Tech, or Oklahoma will get left in the cold. It's simply inconceivable! The ACC was a middle-of-the-road conference this year, the PAC-10 has only one half-decent team, and the Big East was horrible. Of those three conferences, only one team really should go to a major bowl (and that one team, USC, would get killed by Oklahoma, Texas, or Texas Tech)

Seriously, does anyone want to see the Cincinnati/Boston College game? No. Get more Big-12/SEC teams in there this year. Next year the ACC will be a competitive and good and fun conference. This year the conference isn't that good, and that's OK! Neither is the PA(theti)C-10! Honestly (I can't believe I'm about to type this) I say that, if the system must stay the same, we should send Utah and Boise State to the BCS bowls. Seriously.

As for the Big 12...wow. Texas got screwed, Oklahoma got lucky, and Texas Tech has the misfortune of being the new kid on the block.

I could keep going, but time is short, and our predominant reading audience has ADD. So...yeah, we'll see you later.

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.

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!

Saturday in Review, 10/11/08

Well, what a way to start the day. Time to type up everyone's favorite feature (everyone is a theoretical term here): The Saturday in Review! Let's get started...

#1 Oklahoma-35, #5 Texas-45
Well, the Red River Shootout was everything we'd hoped it'd be. High scoring, good quarterbacking, etc., etc. I'll tell you what, though, neither one of these teams exactly revolutionized the defensive world. It was an excellent game for Colt McCoy and Sam Bradford, and for their respective receivers.

On another, unrelated, note (hey, it's what I do): Does anyone know how much pressure Colt McCoy's name puts on himself? He's got the ultimate football name, and he's in Texas! One cannot be named "Colt" and be from Texas, and be a baseball or basketball or (heaven forbid!) hockey player! If he turned out to be bad at football, he'd have to leave the country because of all the irate Longhorn fans!

In a third, final, and also unrelated note, in the 1950's, a lady named Olivette met a young man named Wayne on the campus of the University of Texas at Austin. They fell in love and married, their first child was a girl named Debra who, in 1979, met a young man named Greg. They married and had their first kid: who is the weirdly sentimental individual typing this. So, since I owe my existence in part to UT, good job, 'Horns. Good job.

#17 Oklahoma State-28, #3 Missouri-23
OK, for starters: Apologies to Oklahoma State, who I thought would be a pushover for Mizzou on their way to a big showdown next week against Texas. This game showed that a great QB (pronounced "Chase Daniel") can have a hideous game if he's faced with a good defense. OSU befuddled and confused Missouri's main offensive weapon for 4 quarters, and they looked great doing it. Heck, I'm starting to believe OSU's claim that they can make it to the Big 12 championship game. Look for their games against Texas and OU to be the deciding factor in what has become a 4-way race in the Big 12 South.
As for Mizzou, there's not much I can say. They've got their work cut out for them next week against a Longhorns squad that's riding high. Now that we've hit the meat of the Big 12 season, it's time to see if the Big 12 will become like the SEC, beat up on itself, and leave USC and Penn State to fight it out for the title game. (<-That last sentence is actually a nightmare I have on occasion)
#4 LSU-21, #11 Florida-51
So, where to start here? The Bayou Bengals looked horrific against the Gators, who usually don't lose 2 straight in the Swamp. Still, pummeling the Tigers that badly is a real feather in the cap for the Gators who, should they go undefeated the rest of the way, might play themselves back into the title picture.
As for LSU, I wouldn't look for them to get back into the SEC picture, much less the National Championship, unless they convincingly crush everyone else on their schedule AND get some help from their SEC brethren AND get some help from the opponents of Top 10 teams (among whom the Tigers WILL NOT be listed tomorrow)

#6 Penn State-48, Wisconsin-7
Joe Pa's team is looking great. Good quarterbacking, good defense, good receiving. Good everything, dang it. This game was boring (unless you're a PSU fan, in which case why the heck are you here?) so let's move along...

Nebraska-31, #7 Texas Tech-37
The Huskers came close to getting a victory over a good Texas Tech team, but fall short in overtime. This is evidence of two things. One can be summarized in a single word about Texas Tech's ranking: O-ver-ra-ted! *clap clap clapclapclap* This is the second conference team they've played, and both of them are worse than the average Big 12 school. Texas Tech has a stretch of 4 games, starting on October 25, against ranked Big 12 teams. I wouldn't be surprised if they lost all 4, and I wouldn't look for them to win more than 1 of those games (Kansas is the likeliest win, but I'm keeping my mouth shut when it comes to Big 12 upsets...).
Nebraska, as stated previously, isn't yet back to the days of salad and glory. Give them two years, though, and they'll be back atop the Big 12 North.

Arizona State-0, #8 USC-28
A massacre in LA, as the Sun Devils continue to disappoint. USC will, sadly, climb in the polls this week in all likelihood. I say "sadly" because college football is the only sport in the universe where one can lose a game in the first 2 weeks of the season and it's better than losing a game in, say, the last week of the season.

I'm not a big fan of pro football (aaaaand readership plummets back to 0) but at least a loss in the NFL is the same in week 1 or week 16. The same thing should be true in college football. I'm just sayin' kids. Southern Cal has looked very good in the games that they've won, however, and it is hard to argue with their offensive output.

New Mexico-3, #9 BYU-21
Utah is a boring state.

Tennessee-14, #10 Georgia-26
Phil Fulmer is going to get fired. With a season like this at a University like Tennessee, it's inevitable. If I were him, I'd just start having fun. Kick field goals on 2nd down. Run up the middle on 4th and 22. Take a shot every time the fans boo you. Wait, scratch that last one, I don't want to kill the guy, and alcohol poisoning can do that.
Georgia wasn't overly impressive in beating a team that isn't as good as them, but they did perform well after getting slapped by Alabama. So, good job Dawgs. I guess.

Purdue-3, #12 Ohio State-16
It's funny how Ohio State is still hanging around near the Top 10, isn't it? How, if they beat Penn State and Michigan State, they don't have too much of an issue with getting through and winning the Big 10 again. How they might just sneak into the national title picture. I'm aware it's all theory, but 2 weeks from now this could become a vomit-inducing reality. So, just a heads up, watch for the Buckeyes.
Oh, and Purdue sucks. Sorry.

#13 Vanderbilt-14, Mississippi State-17
Me [in epic movie moment, slow-mo camera shot]: Vandy! Noooooooo!
OK, seriously. Feel good story of the SEC gets cut short not by the villainous usual SEC suspects, but by the dadgum Mississippi State Bulldogs?! That's just dang silly. Mark May on ESPN summed it up well: Vandy had a trap game. And the trap just sprang (sprung? Heck, I don't know. Nor do I care.) on the 'Dores.
Congrats to MSU, but a sad shake of the head at what could have been for the now fallen Vanderbilt Commodores.

#14 Utah-40, Wyoming-7
Bonus coverage of a Utah game! See below!
Utah is a boring state. So is Wyoming.

#15 Boise State-24, Southern Miss-7
Not a compellingly interesting game, nor a surprising result. The only thing that stands out here to me is that all of the scoring took place during the 2nd quarter. This runs counter to logic, which would say that something else should have happened in the other 45 minutes of football. At least if you had some weird emergency and could only watch the 2nd quarter of this game, then you didn't miss anything. Or if you're like me (and most football fans) then you didn't get this game, and don't really care about the outcome. Note to Boise State: We love what you did in the '07 Fiesta Bowl! But you're still in Idaho, and your field is still ugly.

Colorado-14, #16 Kansas-30
I maintain that Kansas is an overrated school, and I will not back down from this declaration until they beat a team with a winning record. Next week on the road against an angry Oklahoma squad in Norman will be a good opportunity. Colorado is already looking forward to next season. Too bad it won't be any better than this one.

Arkansas-25, #20 Auburn-22
Tommy Tuberville is going to get fired. (Sorry if this sounds like the UT/UGA review) It's gonna happen, and there's nothing Auburn can do about it. If he's not fired, the Auburn fans will seize him and kill him. I'm sure there's already been an effigy or two made, and ol' Tommy's gonna be gone next season. If anything this is just desserts for firing their offensive coordinator on Wednesday. A great job by the Razorbacks to take advantage of the confusion at Auburn and seize victory.
Oh, and a great job by the blogger who sarcastically called this one in his post about Franklin's firing... (nudge, nudge, see below)

Clemson-7, #21 Wake Forest-12
I'm not sure who the feel good story of the year is. I can tell you who the worst story of the year is: The Clemson Tigers. I'm not sure that there's ever been a school that started the year in the Top 10 and had slipped to a 3 loss team by the second week of October. Even the awful Michigan squad from last year didn't lost its 3rd game until November...
As for Wake, it was an ugly win against a team that they outclassed pretty heavily, but it's hard to argue with results.

Notre Dame-24, #22 North Carolina-29
I'm honestly surprised my computer didn't ask me why I put a number in front of UNC. Carolina fans are hailing this as a great victory. Had this come against a national title caliber Notre Dame team, I'd agree. But this win came against an Irish squad that's coming off a 3 win season. Still, it was a good win, and UNC pulled it off despite having some awful officiating decisions go against them. The referee crew was from the Big East, however, and that explains it. Their officials are as bad as their teams. Heh heh heh...

#23 Michigan State-37, Northwestern-20
I'm kinda sad that Northwestern lost. Not in the "dang it that stinks" sense. More in the "had they gone undefeated how would the BCS explain them being in the San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl" (Its actual name, I swear.)

#25 Ball State-24, Western Kentucky-7
Some folks might say beating a team that just moved up to 1-A by 17 isn't a major statement for Ball State in its first game in the Top 25. Well guess what? I am one of those people. Let's move on!

Everyone else: The big "upset" out of the Top 25 was Michigan getting beaten at home by Toledo. Where's the Rich Rodriguez fan club now? Oh, there they are. The guys with the bags over their heads...In unnecessary ACC news, UVa has won 2 straight games. They host the now Top 20 Tar Heels this coming week, so if you're a Cavs fan, I wouldn't look for this to continue...From that same game, it looks like ECU went from the little engine that could to the BCS Buster that couldn't. Opening the season with back to back big wins is great, but losing 3 straight to NC State, Houston, and UVa is a quick way to get yourself forgotten...The Big East is bad. This just seemed like an appropriate place to put that...A quick hat tip to the two winless teams in D-IA: Washington and North Texas...Miami barely beat UCF. O! How the mighty have fallen!...Florida International has 3 straight wins now. Ain't that cool?

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.)