Yeah, we could stay in reality and watch TV religiously every weekend to find out who's going to going to play in this year's Super Bowl, but why wait? I've done you guys the favor of showing you who would win the Super Bowl in nature, before Football even existed.

Perhaps, if mother nature has a hand in it, this could be a preview of this year's Super Bowl..

Nah.

Division One

Most of the first round was weeding out the teams that, well, couldn't compete in nature, such as Jets, Patriots, Redskins, and a Bill (still don't know what that is). The second round got tougher, as a flying animal and a swimming animal faced off, as well as a Giant and a Cowboy. The Giants advanced to the Final Four, because, well because they're Giants, and they can pretty much beat anything up.

Division Two

As in Division One, the first round of this Division was weeding out the teams that just couldn't compete. Packers, Steelers, and Browns were all defeated in a blowout, and the Vikings lost to the Bengals because a Tiger would rip that helmet off their heads and puncture their necks with one bite. A bird lost once again, this time to a Bengal Tiger, because never could a bird defeat a tiger. In the biggest match up of this division, the Lions defeated the Bears. It was a tough battle, but Lions are just awesome animals. In another tough match up, the Lions prevailed over the Bengal Tigers.

Division Three

Division three was one of the strongest divisions in this playoff. While the Buccaneers, Saints, and Texans didn't stand too much chance, the rest of the bracket was anyone's game. The Colts gave the Panthers a run for their money, but man, Panthers are tough animals. In the second round, a bird was defeated yet again, and the Titans defeated the Jaguars. In the Division Championship, the amazingly tough Titans beat out the Panthers in overtime, and advanced to the Final Four.

Note: In these playoffs, I considered Titans as warriors, not Gods. If they were Gods, that just wouldn't be fair.

Division Three

In what some would call the weakest division of these playoffs, there were few surprises. The Seahawks beat the Chargers, because I'm not totally sure what a Charger is. The Raiders beat the 49ers, because while the 49ers have pickaxes, the Raiders have those crazy fans. The Rams beat the Chiefs, and yet another bird team was eliminated by the Broncos. The Rams beat the Broncos with their horns of steel, and the Raiders and their insane fans eliminated the last bird team of the season. The Raiders beat the Rams in a nail biter to clinch the last spot in the Final Four.

The Final Four

In the first match up of unbeatens, the Lions were manhandled by the Giants, who effortlessly (and literally) stomped on them. The Raiders & Co. finally met their match when the Titans defeated them in two overtimes.

In the big game, Natures Super Bowl, The Giants struggled early, but eventually the Titans were so exhausted that the Giants just took over, and defeated the small armies of men with relative ease.

So I give you your 2006-2007 Nature's Super Bowl Winners:

The New York Giants

What will happen next season? Probably the same thing, unless some serious evolution happens.

 

Until next time, guys.

-GoBlue1013

The short answer? They won the game.

If you think about it, the defense still looked alright, and the offense, save for a safety and a Chad Henne pick that was returned for a touchdown, looked great. Nine of Ball State's 26 points were given up by the offense. That leaves, a still unacceptable, 17 points given up by Michigan's 'best-in-the-nation' defense. The Maize and Blue's pass defense was a known fault, and Ball State exploited it, and two pass plays accounted for over half of their total yardage.

Michigan's rush defense continues to show why they are the best in the nation, holding Ball State to 43 yards on the ground. They allowed only one touchdown run, a two yard sweep in the middle of the fourth quarter.

Here's my breakdown of Michigan's.. breakdown.

The Good:

We were never actually in danger of losing. Yeah it got close at the end, on fourth and goal at the Michigan two yard line, but hey. The worst that could have happened there was for Ball State to tie it.

Our rush offense was as good, if not better, than our rush defense. Mike Hart finished the day with 154 yards and a touchdown, Brandon Miner finished with 107 yards and a touchdown, and Jerome Jackson finished with 68 yards and a touchdown. That's two backs over the century mark, and the three of them combined for 329 yards and three touchdowns. On defense we held them to 43 yards, a little over our average, and one rushing touchdown.

Steve Breaston. I don't know if he heard Kirk Herbstreit's comments about him being 'worthless', but he had something to prove today and boy did he pull through. He ran the ball once for eleven yards, led the team with receptions (7) and receiving yards (50), and dominated on kick returns. On only five returns, he racked up 133 yards, including a fantastic 45 yard return in the fourth to give a struggling Michigan team the boost that they needed.

The Bad:

We were never actually guaranteed a win. Yeah, we pulled away in the second quarter, but no way should we have given up more than ten points to this team. I don't care how many were because of the offense.

Our pass defense wasn't much better than our pass offense. Sure the 54 yard touchdown pass and the 62 yard bomb accounted for almost half of their total pass yardage, but we shouldn't be giving those up in the first place. We can't be satisfied with a close win over a weak Ball State game, when our incredible defense gives up 250 yards through the air. We did pick off a pass, but it was a desperation hail mary at the end of regulation. And our pass offense?

Chad Henne. This was his chance to shine against a weak team, where we were supposed to be resting our starters most of the game. The Ball State highlight of the first quarter was returning his pick 30 yards for a score. His final numbers were 17/25, 155yds, 1 TD, 1 INT. Unacceptable for a player of his caliber against this Ball State team.

The Ugly
It came down to the last few minutes. Never in my wildest dreams would I have thought that it would have been that close. Fourth and Goal, on the Michigan two yard-line, with Michigan only ahead by eight. If they hadn't been called for a false start, and our defense didn't make that great stand at the end, I could be blogging about something much worse right now.

All in all, I'm not worried. Yeah it shouldn't have been that close. Yeah, we showed that we are vulnerable through the air today, and I'm sure the Michigan coaching staff will work on that all week before the game in Bloomingdale. But we're still 10-0, and we still have a legitimate shot at the National Title.

We will have something to prove next weekend to few that still doubt our talent as a team, and I for one can't wait.
-GoBlue1013

Some of you may remember back to my topics about why Michigan should be #2, and quite a few WVU fans came in and accused me of drinking some 'Michigan cool-aid'. Well I guess I should have been drinking some West Virginia cool-aid, because it looks like it just expired, and it all went to waste.

Like I said before, up until Louisville, West Virginia had played no decent opponents, and the highest rated that had dared lace up against the Mountaineers was the Maryland Terps. What happens when West Virginia has to play a top ten team? They give up 41 points in the last three quarters, and 353 yards through the air on their way to a 44-34 loss.

Their rushing game looked sound, as Slaton and White combined for 289 yards on the ground, but they couldn't get the pass game going enough for a single score through the air. I should mention that WVU passed for over 200yds and didn't throw a pick, but you can't fumble six times, lose three of them, and expect to win with mediocre defense (gave up 471 yards and four touchdowns).

They never had a fantastic chance to make it to Glendale in my opinion, but they put up a good fight tonight against a worthy opponent, and I'm sorry that the winner of the epic matchup on the 18th won't be playing them in the national championship.

Well, not really. But it sounded nice.

-GoBlue1013

By the way.. If any WVU fans are offended by this, sorry. It's a pretty informal blog, and I was just having some fun. You've got a great team in West Virginia, but they didn't deserve the #3 spot.

G'night.

Kirk Herbstreit, former Ohio State quarterback, is one of the first to be running his mouth, weeks before the November 18th showdown in Columbus. His actions over the past few weeks have led me to ask the question: 'Does he care about anything else?'

He talks about his Buckeyes beating the Wolverines on the 18th:

"I personally don't think [Michigan's] defense, the way Ohio State will spread them out, can just dominate the game and shut Ohio State down."

"If those two teams were to play right now, just the way they're playing, I don't even think it would be close. Ohio State not only wins that game the way they're playing right now, maybe by a few scores."

Where does this confidence come from, Herbie? Sure you're a Buckeye at heart, but does this have anything to do with the fact that the only time you ever started against the Maize and Blue, it ended in a tie?

I'm sorry about that, Herbie. We all know that you wanted more in that game. That tie was like that time you made out with your sister. Remember? Suburban Columbus, 1981? Yeah, that defines your start against Michigan: You got some action, but it wasn't exactly what you wanted.

He takes shots at kids playing college ball:

"Breaston can go back to whatever he's doing these days, if they could ever find a way to actually apply him in the offense. He's worthless in my mind, outside of returning a few punts."

Woo! Way to go, Kirk! You tell that college kid trying to make a career for himself that he's worthless! Especially because you have room to talk, seeing as you played into your old age racking up Super Bowl Rings and MVP Awards in the NFL.

What's that, Herbie? You never played in the NFL? That's right. Go ahead and sit behind that desk telling a kid he's worthless, while you continue to do your fellow Buckeyes proud by running around the country and proclaiming how well your old team is doing.

***

Now don't get me wrong, I have no problem with some of the stuff that he said. Michigan's offense hasn't been great these last few weeks. Their defense might not be great against OSU's fantastic offense. He calls a blowout? Great!

Where Kirk Herbstreit crossed the line, was where he called Steve Breaston worthless. Steve Breaston is a College Athlete, and Herbstreit is supposed to be a journalist. Any journalist that calles an athlete worthless, especially a college athlete who isn't doing it for anything but the love of the game, shouldn't be a journalist.

I for one as not only a Michigan fan, but a sports fan, hope that he eats his words on the 18th, because no matter where he went to school, he is a journalist, and some of the things he said are uncalled for.

What's that, Herbie? You want my opinion? Well, Mr. Herbstreit, I think that as a journalist, you are worthless. And I can say that, because you get paid for it.

Have a good one everybody,

-GoBlue1013

The BCS isn’t all wrong. It got #1 right, and depending on who you ask, it might have gotten #2 right as well. The rest, however, is all up in the air. GoBlue breaks down the Top 10 in the BCS..

1. 9-0 Ohio State Buckeyes (.9864)

Harris Poll: #1

USA Today Poll: #1

Computer Poll: #2

Why they deserve it: Why don’t they deserve it? They’ve beaten every team that they have faced convincingly, and have been ranked #1 since before the season even started. No one deserves this spot but the Buckeyes.

Why they don’t deserve it: I honestly couldn’t think of a reason why they don’t deserve the #1 spot.

In My Poll? #1

2. 9-0 Michigan Wolverines (.9697)

Harris Poll: #2

USA Today Poll: #2

Computer Poll: #1

Why they deserve it: They haven’t really been at risk of losing any game this season, and beat then #2 Notre Dame easily. They’re rush defense is the best in the nation, and they have three potential Heisman candidates. And go ahead and try to make a case for anyone else to have this spot.

Why they don’t deserve it: Notre Dame was extremely overrated when Michigan destroyed them, so the five spot jump might have been a little much.

In My Poll? #2

3. 7-0 West Virginia Mountaineers (.7862)

Harris Poll: #3

USA Today Poll: #3

Computer Poll: #13

Why they deserve it: They are an undefeated team in a tough conference, and that always will boost your ranking. They’re #5 pre-season rank helps, too.

Why they don’t deserve it: Wait, who have they played? Their toughest opponent has been Maryland. Yep, the Terps have been WVU’s toughest competition this season. Which win should I be impressed with? 1-AA Eastern Washington? Mississippi State?

In My Poll? #4

4. 7-1 Florida Gators (.7791)

Harris Poll: #7

USA Today Poll: #7

Computer Poll: #4

Why they deserve it: They started the season at #6, and had impressive wins over Tennessee (now #11) and LSU (now #17). They stumbled last week against Auburn (now #6), but came back this week with a win over Georgia.

Why they don’t deserve it: This is a little high in my opinion for a team who was at #2 last week before they lost to Auburn. They aren’t the best one-loss team in the NCAA.

In My Poll? #5

5. 7-0 Louisville (.7621)

Harris Poll: #5

USA Today Poll: #5

Computer Poll: #9

Why they deserve it: For many of the same reasons that West Virginia deserves their ranking. They have remained undefeated in a tough conference, while beating an impressive team or two (Miami).

Why they don’t deserve it: For many of the same reasons that West Virginia doesn’t deserve their ranking. Besides Miami, they haven’t played a ranked team, and only beat Cincy by seven last weekend.

In My Poll? #7

6. 8-1 Auburn (.7589)

Harris Poll: #6

USA Today Poll: #8

Computer Poll: #7

Why they deserve it: Fantastic wins over LSU (now #17) and Florida (now #4) give Auburn the #7 spot in the BCS. Auburn has always been seen as a good team, but an uncharacteristic loss to Arkansas dropped them deep in the standings.

Why they don’t deserve it: As uncharacteristic as that loss was, it was a loss, and to an unranked Arkansas team? It’s going to drop you pretty far.

In My Poll? #6

7. 7-1 Texas Longhorns (.7562)

Harris Poll: 4

USA Today Poll: 4

Computer Poll: 12

Why they deserve it: A loss to Ohio State early stung, and less than stellar performances these past two weeks aren’t helping. Colt McCoy is coming into his own and the Longhorns are looking better with each week.

Why they don’t deserve it: They have lost once, to #1 Ohio State. How much can you punish a team for losing to the best team in the nation? That’s all I’ve got. What do the computers see that I don’t?

In My Poll? #3

8. 6-1 USC Trojans .7152

Harris Poll: #9

USA Today Poll: #9

Computer Poll: #6

Why they deserve it: They were #3, and considered by many to be #2. They lost. To the Oregon State Beavers. You can’t expect not to fall 6-7 places when you lose to Oregon State.

Why they don’t deserve it: Despite the heartbreaking loss to the Beavers, they have had a pretty unblemished season. It’ll be tough to finish the season with one loss, however. The season ends with Oregon, Cal, Notre Dame, and UCLA.

In My Poll? #8

9. 7-1 Notre Dame Fighting Irish (.7151)

Harris Poll: #10

USA Today Poll: #10

Computer Poll: #5

Why they deserve it: A blowout loss at home to Michigan pretty much ensures that ND will finish outside the top 5. A shame, because the Irish have had an otherwise undefeated, and fun to watch season.

Why they don’t deserve it: They haven’t exactly had an easy season. Georgia Tech, Michigan, Penn State, and USC highlight a tough Notre Dame schedule.

In My Poll? #9

10. 7-1 California Golden Bears (.7133)

Harris Poll: #11

USA Today Poll: #11

Computer Poll: #3

Why they deserve it: After starting the season off on the wrong foot with a loss to Tennessee, they posted impressive wins over Arizona State and Oregon. If they finish the season with one loss, I will be impressed.

Why they don’t deserve it: They lost to Tennessee, and Tennessee is just the better team. It isn’t an awful place for them to be, I’d just put them one or two ranks lower.

In My Poll? #11

__________________ 

So my top ten so far this season would be..

1. Ohio State

2. Michigan

3. Texas

4. West Virginia

5. Florida

6. Auburn

7. Louisville

8. USC

9. Notre Dame

10. Tennessee

 

Agree? Disagree? I’d like to hear from you, as always.

Until next time,

-GoBlue1013

Before I begin, let me say that yes, I am a Michigan fan. However this won’t be some mindless rant, filled with bias. It will be backed up with facts, and I welcome everyone's opinion. Also, I will cite many instances in layrissonm's blog (http://community.foxsports.com/blogs/layrissonm/
2006/10/21/Michigan_Should_Not_Be), because it is where I got the idea to write this one. So if you think this is a personal attack, layrissonm, it isn't.

With that out of the way.. Let's get down to the matter at hand. The following are a few reasons that I believe that Michigan deserves its spot in the top three..

1. Defense wins championships.

Michigan is first in the nation in rush defense (33.6ypg), and fifth in overall defense (240ypg). They're playing cupcake teams, you say? Against Penn State, they allowed -14yds, that’s negative fourteen, on the ground, and only allowed one rushing first down. They allowed four rushing yards against Notre Dame, and twelve against Wisconsin. They are an amazing defensive team, and it would be tough to make a case against that.

They also have one of the best defensive players in the nation. LaMarr Woodley is fourth in the nation in sacks, and tenth in the nation in tackles for a loss. He is on every offensive co-coordinators mind, and the quarterback needs to know where he is on every play.

2. Balanced Offense

Michigan has one of the most balanced offenses in the country. Between HB Mike Hart (7th in NCAA in Rushing YPG), QB Chad Henne (one interception in last four games), WR Mario Manningham (527yds receiving and 9TDs in six games), and WR Steve Breaston (430 return yards, 35rec, 350yds receiving, 60yds rushing), we can hurt any team on the ground or through the air.

It might take a while for them to get going (see: first half of Iowa) but when they do, they stack up points and let their defense take care of the rest (see: second half of Iowa). Henne started off the season looking mediocre, but has lit it up lately, and in the last four games, he has passed for 823yds, 7 TDs, and only one interception.

And what can I say about Mike Hart and Mario Manningham? Two Heisman candidates having career seasons, both will be returning next season. Manningham was the national leader in receiving touchdowns before missing the last two games because of knee problems, and Hart has already rushed for 1,032yds (195 against Minnesota), and eight touchdowns.

3. Strong Schedule

Let's break down Michigan's schedule..

Week One: Vanderbilt

Week Two: Central Michigan

Two decent games to start off the season, both relatively easy wins.

What we know now: Vanderbilt has had a mildly disappointing season, however they showed they could be a force to be reckoned with when they beat the (then #16) Georgia Bulldogs. CMU continues to be decent at 5-3.

Week Three: at Notre Dame

This is where it gets fun. Michigan goes to South Bend, everyone expecting them to go home embarrassed. The (then #2) Fighting Irish get spanked on their own turf, and Heisman hopeful Brady Quinn turns the ball over four times.

What we know now: Notre Dame was overrated. We know that. It can't be debated. They have, however, won the rest of their games (excluding UCLA) with relative ease. They may not have deserved to be #2, but they were, and we beat them, and it boosted our ranking.

Week Four: Wisconsin

Week Five: at Minnesota

Week Six: Michigan State

Three straight Big Ten games which weren't going to be easy games by any means, but weren't games that Michigan was going to lose. We won the three games by a combined 46 points, not allowing more than fourteen points in any of them. They got the Little Brown Jug back, and kept the Paul Bunyan Trophy.

What we know now: Michigan State can be on the giving and receiving end of heartbreaking games. They gave up a huge lead to Notre Dame, and performed the biggest comeback in Division 1A history. Wisconsin hasn't lost another game this season, and is a respectable 7-1. Minnesota? They just suck. This past week they beat North Dakota State 10-9. North Dakota State.

Week Seven: at Penn State

What a huge game. Although they were 4-2 and unranked at the time, their only two losses had come to (then #4) Notre Dame and #1 Ohio State, not necessarily easy wins. It was in Happy Valley, a place where any team can have trouble. Our defense was amazing, besides Penn States last score, where the defense was asleep. Did I mention we allowed negative fourteen rushing yards?

What we know now: Not too much more than we knew then, actually. We do know that Penn State can beat Illinois while at the same time giving up 207 rushing yards.. to Illinois.

Week Eight: Iowa

A gigantic test for Michigan. If they got past this game they were home free until the 17th, if they lost, their dream season was over. Both teams' offenses got off to a slow start, with the first half ending 3-0 in favor of Michigan, but in the second half Michigan took over and won pretty convincingly, 20-6, not allowing a touchdown.

Week Nine: Northwestern

Week Ten: Ball State

Week Eleven: at Indiana

Three 'cupcake' games, although 2-6 Northwestern looked great in the first two and a half quarters against MSU, 2-6 Ball State had a nice win over Buffalo, and as everyone knows, 4-4 Indiana had a stunning 31-28 win over (then #15) Iowa.

Week Twelve: at Ohio State

Ahh.. The big game. Possibly the game of the decade, most likely the biggest game in the history of this storied rivalry. Ohio State has the edge unless something drastic happens, as Heisman Candidates Troy Smith and Ted Ginn try to end the Wolverines' potentially perfect season. Definitely the toughest game on the Michigan schedule.

---

As you should be able to see, Michigan doesn't have an easy schedule at all. Five of their opponents were ranked at one point, two others were tough conference opponents that are never sure wins.

________________________________

So that's my opinion on why the Wolverines deserve to be in the top three in the nation. There are a few bloggers on here that think Michigan should be eighth, ninth, or even tenth. One of those bloggers, layrissonm, recently wrote a blog about it. I'm going to comment on his blog here. Don't think of it as a personal attack, think of it as a rebuttal :)

This week the two teams which propelled Michigan to #2 struggled. First team, Notre Dame struggled against UCLA. #10 Notre Dame (Ranked #1 in preseason) on a "hail Mary" Series of plays scored with less than one minute left. QB Quinn still fails to impress. Notre Dame has struggled in each game it has played this year. This team was over hyped in preseason. Notre Dame is somewhere between #15-20 in reality.

I agree with you about Notre Dame. They were overrated, but they are usually overrated because, well, they are Notre Dame. They weren't ranked #1 in the pre-season, however. In many that I saw they were #3-#4, still much too high for this season's Irish.

You say that they have struggled in every game that they have played this season. You are wrong. Besides UCLA, Michigan State and, obviously Michigan, Notre Dame has impressed me this season. They beat a good Georgia Tech team, and slaughtered (then #19) Penn State. I wouldn't say they deserved their pre-season rank, or even their current one, but they have not struggled in every game this season.

The second team, Michigan, struggled against unranked Iowa. When Michigan played Notre Dame, Michigan was ranked #11 and Notre Dame was Rank #1. When Michigan beat NotreDame, Michigan was immediately given the #4 position. WHAT SHOULD HAVE HAPPENED; Michigan should have been moved to #10 for the following weeks poll and Notre Dame dropped to #15.

You are saying that Michigan is the second team that propelled Michigan to #2? I guess that makes sense, but I thought you meant another team. Michigan didn't play their best football against Iowa, but I wouldn't say they struggled. We shut them out in three quarters, only allowed six total points, and allowed only 41 yards on the ground.

Notre Dame was not #1 when they played Michigan, Ohio State has been #1 since the season started. When Michigan beat #2 Notre Dame, they moved up to #6, not #4. Get your facts straight. You are saying that when a #11 team beats a #2 team, the #11 team should only move up one place? That might make a little bit of sense, but that same weekend #6 LSU lost, #7 Florida won by a single point, and #9 Florida State lost, guaranteeing Michigan moves up at least three spots to #8.

Michigan is highly over ranked based on beating a Notre Dame that was highly over ranked from preseason polls.

Disagree. Michigan beat a great Notre Dame team, although I agree with ND being a bit overrated. Keep in mind, however, that Notre Dame hasn't lost another game this season, before or after losing to Michigan.

Michigan needs to be #10.

You are wrong.
***

So what does everyone think? Do I make sense? Do I make some good points? I'd like to hear what everyone thinks on this matter, because damn this took me a long time to do.

Thanks for any comments or input on the matter,

-GoBlue1013

Buy or Sell: With Vince Young being already the starting field general for the Tennessee Titans, and leading them to a hard fought win over a better Redskins team, he will have the best rookie NFL performance of all of the 3 Heisman contenders of last college football season.

Phil:
I think your right on that one. Vince was impressive last year because he was running against college kids and many of them had not seen a player that was as fast as he is.

With NFL linebackers coming at him, however, he will have to get used to not being able to run wild on them like he did down in Austin.

Austin:
I'm going to sell that one. I usually don't go by stats, but as of right now his stats are abysmal in comparison to Matt Leinart and Reggie Bush.

Vince has three passing touchdowns to four interceptions, 512 passing yards, and hasn't utilized his rushing game, which is was he was known for at Texas.

Matt Leinart, on the other hand, has four very impressive touchdown passes, only two interceptions, on 539 passing yards and is steadily improving.

Reggie Bush is probably the most impressive of them all, and even though his rushing stats don't show it, you have to keep in mind that he is running behind Deuce McAllister. He's got almost 200 rush yards and almost 300 receiving yards, as well as a punt return for a touchdown, his first career touchdown in the NFL.

Vince Young will not be a huge disappointment this season, and will turn out to have a decent career, but he won't be up there with the duo from USC when all is said and done.

______________

Buy or Sell? Adrian Peterson will return to Oklahoma for his senior year.

Phil:
Buy. I think he has no other choice. He's been plagued by injury for 2 years in a row, and I think it is his ambition to win the Heisman trophy. That isn't going to happen this year because of the collar bone obviously, and he hasn't really produced stellar seasons because of his injury woes.

I think if he is smart he will stay for his senior season, get more experience, and go out with a lot of draft hype. I think there might very well be the Adrian Peterson bowl in the next NFL season just as there was the Bush Bowl in the last NFL season.

Austin:
Actually, I'm going to sell. He has been in the Heisman race all three years at Oklahoma, including a second place finish his freshman year, and he would be crazy to risk serious injury by returning in his senior year.

He ranks first in all active rushers for career attempts, as well as second in career yards and career touchdowns.

A Heisman would be great for AD, but he if he enters the draft after this season, he is a top ten pick. Take the money, AD. You've proven yourself already.

______________
Buy or Sell: The punishment that the Miami players received for their roles in the worst in game sports brawl that we have seen since The Malice at the Palace, were the correct decisions.

Phil:
I'm going to sell that one. The Miami players bought disgrace to not only themselves, but their University as well. They should be lucky to be still on the football team, but less still be even enrolled at the university. A few games suspension and community service is laughable to me.

Kyle Wright said that "You have to back up your guys, you can let them get beat up." That's something you say in a bar fight, not a college football game.


Austin:
I'm going to buy. I know that's kind of a weird answer because what the players at Miami (and FIU) participated in some of the most disgusting acts that I've ever seen in a College Football game, but this is nothing new to Miami.

They're players have never exactly been 'role models'. From stomping on Louisville's midfield logo, to rapping in an extremely explicit song about group sex, to this, one of the biggest fights in College Football History.

This is why I buy. No one expects too much in terms of class out of Miami, so why punish them harshly for the expected? Players from 'Da U' misbehaving is like the day you take finals. You know it's coming, you don't really know what to expect, you just know it's going to suck.

Suspensions were enough. No need to kick players off the team permanently or cancel the season or anything. Maybe let the players wear brass knuckles under their gloves next time, though. A few of them were getting their #### kicked..
______________

So what did we learn in ATP's first installment of Buy or Sell? Well, Phil and Austin don't agree on too many things sports.

Check back soon, there's plenty more to come.

***

The BCS Poll is disgusting. So here at ATP Sports Talk, Phil and Austin decided to make polls of their own. Agree with Austin? Agree with Phil? Think their both idiots? Let them know.

Phil’s Poll

1. Ohio State (7-0)
2. Michigan (7-0)
3. USC (6-0)
4. Texas (6-1)
5. Louisville (6-0)
6. Auburn (6-1)
7. Florida (6-1)
8. Tennessee (5-1)
9. Notre Dame (5-1)
10. West Virginia (6-0)
11. Clemson (6-1)
12. LSU (5-2)
13. California (6-1)
14. Arkansas (5-1)
15. Oregon (5-1)
16. Georgia Tech (5-1)
17. Nebraska (6-1)
18. Oklahoma (4-2)
19. Boise State (7-0)
20. Rutgers (6-0)
21. Wisconsin (6-1)
22. Boston College (5-1)
23. Texas A&M (6-1)
24. Missouri (6-1)
25. Wake Forest (6-1)

My poll starts off much like the AP poll with Ohio State at the top. Ohio State is clearly the top choice for the number one spot. They have proved a winning machine since the start of the season and have shown no signs of stopping, embarrassing the then number two Texas Longhorns in their own backyard, much to my chagrin.

The Michigan Wolverines are clearly the number two team in the nation, beating Notre Dame when they were number two in South Bend, and proving to the whole country that they will be a force to be reckoned with. November 18th should be an interesting match-up when the Buckeyes host the Wolverines, and it is highly possible both teams will be ranked 11-0.

Next come USC, Texas, Louisville and Auburn. USC are lucky to be even ranked this highly in my poll, but because of their unbeaten record and a non conference schedule that was filled with potential upsets, the Trojans fought on and earned the number three spot.

Texas at number four. Many of you will be thinking, this joker is the most biased person I’ve ever seen. However, Texas has one loss, to the undisputed number one team in the nation. I’m tired of the polls, especially the computer ones, disrespecting Texas when they are arguably the best one loss team in the country. They have impressive wins in all the games that they have won, and deserve the fourth spot.

Louisville deserve the fifth spot because they have played great football, and were tested and passed with flying colors, beating Miami 31-7. Even though Miami are now unranked and look more like a group of professional wrestlers than a football team, they are a tough team to beat on any day of the week.

Auburn are a tricky pick at number six. They have shown that they are a good team by winning impressively in all of their games, but their one slip up against Arkansas has really messed their season up. However they came right back the next week and beat Florida at the number two spot so to me they are still worthy of quite a high place in the polls.

Florida were beaten by an Auburn team that was still highly ranked in my books so that earns them the seventh spot in the poll. They have had good wins over Tennessee and LSU, and look strong apart from that one loss.

To finish out the top ten come Tennessee, Notre Dame, and West Virginia. Tennessee have looked good getting wins over California and Georgia, but losing by one point to Florida, which puts them behind the Gators.

Notre Dame have not looked as impressive as they were made out to be at the start of the season. Upset and blown out by the Wolverines, and having to make an impressive come back against Michigan State to avoid complete embarrassment. Winning games over Stanford and Purdue as you would expect the Fighting Irish to do, and only having one loss on the season gets them into the top ten, but just barely.

West Virginia caps off the top ten. This is the most radical difference from the actual polls to my poll. In my opinion West Virginia are completely overrated, not being tested once so far during the season. They have looked impressive, but anyone can look impressive when the schools you are playing consist of Eastern Washington, East Carolina, and Mississippi State. As for Foxsports having the Mountaineers in the title game, now that’s just laughable.

***

Austin's Poll

1. Ohio State (7-0)

2. USC (6-0)

3. Michigan (7-0)

4. Texas (6-1)

5. Louisville (6-0)

6. WVU (6-0)

7. Tennessee (5-1)

8. Florida (6-1)

9. Auburn (6-1)

10. Cal (6-1)

11. Clemson (6-1)

12. Notre Dame (5-1)

13. Georgia Tech (5-1)

14. Arkansas (5-1)

15. LSU (5-2)

16. Oregon (5-1)

17. Boise State (6-0)

18. Rutgers (6-0)

19. Nebraska (6-0)

20. Boston College (5-1)

21. Wisconsin (61)

22. Oklahoma (4-2)

23. Texas A&M (6-1)

24. Missouri (6-1)

25. Georgia (5-2)

Some of you may think that I have some explaining to do, so here goes. Let’s start from the top. USC is ahead of Michigan because, as hard as it is to resist, I can’t drop them until they lose. They have a bunch of tough games to finish the season, so I’m confident that they won’t finish in the top five.

Texas and Louisville are both ahead of WVU because, as many of you know, West Virginia is extremely overrated. They have one tough contest, with Louisville, which they will lose. Yeah, Texas lost to OSU but so would 110 other teams. Texas is a new team, a better team, and they deserve their spot at my #4.

I’ve got Florida ahead of Auburn because even though Florida lost to Auburn, it was only a few days before that that same Auburn team lost to then unranked Arkansas. There is no reason to have Auburn ahead of Florida, for now.

I pretty much agreed with the major polls on the rest of the Top 25.. No huge changes besides dropping ND to 12 for media bias reasons, dropping Oklahoma to 22 because they won’t be so hot without AD around, and bringing Georgia back into the Top 25 because, well they’re still a great team, and I see them winning out.

So here we are, October 2006. Days away from the World Series, in the midst of the NBA Pre-Season, the beginning of what looks to be a fantastic hockey season, and right smack dab in the middle of the College Football Season. Incase you missed it, here's what's been going on so far this year in sports...

Number Two's have been made a fool.

From Texas' embarrassing display against the Buckeyes in Austin, to Notre Dame's crushing loss to my boys in Blue, to Auburns embarrassing loss to Arkansas, to Florida's recent blunder against Auburn, College Football hasn't been kind to number two's so far this season.

What's in store for USC, the current BCS #2? Well, there's a good chance of them staying there for a few weeks, until November 11 rolls around and the Trojans have to face four strong teams in a row; Oregon, Cal, Notre Dame, and at UCLA. Call me crazy, but I see them losing two of those, one being Notre Dame. The #2 curse will live on.

Unless of course my boys are ranked #2 when they roll into Columbus on the 18th..

The Tigers are in the Wor- wait, what?!

That's right folks, behind fantastic pitching and timely hitting, the Detroit Tigers are headed to the World Series for the first time in over twenty years. A picture perfect Magglio Ordonez walk off, series-ending home run in game four of the ALCS against the A's, completed the sweep and sent the Tigers to the World Series.

Their opponent, either the Mets or the Cardinals, will have a tough time getting hits off of any of the Tiger's starters, namely Kenny Rogers. Kenny Rogers has been nothing short of a beast for the entire postseason, and I expect him to carry his team to a storybook ending World Series, no matter who they meet in the final round.

Raiders bottom list of NFL teams, Bears top it*

Yeah, that's an asterisk. So what if I don't think the Bears will be the ones wearing rings come February? I was on the same bandwagon as everyone else until Monday night, when I saw one of the least stellar performances out of any team's first three quarters this season. They were down by twenty. The Chicago Bears' defense was down twenty points, and their offense wasn't doing anything to help.

Rex Grossman? 4 interceptions. Four. That's twice as many picks than defensive touchdowns for the Bears, something that should never happen in Chicago.

..What? What do you want me to say about the Raiders? They make my Lions look good, so I'm not going to badmouth them.

_______________

Tune in for my midseason report for the NBA and NHL.. well whenever the midseason for those two sports are. I really struggle to get into those sports when one of them is in preseason and the other has played 5-8 games.

I've got to get ready for the Red Wings game tonight. I actually had the opportunity to meet the Sharks players in between periods, but I turned them down. I'm a Red Wings fan. Sharkie will be visiting us in the box, however. Any suggestions as to how to get him near the balcony?

I was thinking the other day.. How many Heisman winners actually turn out to be great? So I looked at the winners of the last ten Heisman Awards and gave them a ranking on the old Bust-O-Meter; one being a bust and ten being a hall-of-famer.

1996: Danny Wuerffel (QB, Florida)
Career NFL Stats:
184/350, 2,123yds, 12 TDs, 22 INTs, 56.4 QB Rating
Retired in 2002, after three seasons with the Saints, one with the Packers, one with the Bears, and one with the Redskins.
BUST-O-METER: 2/10
Anyone who throws almost twice as many picks as scores in their seven year career is a bust in my book.

1997: Charles Woodson (WR/DB, Michigan)
Career NFL Stats:
Defense: 398.0Tckls, 5.5 Sacks, 17 INTs, 2 TDs
Returns: 23PR, 172yds, 7.5ypr
Played eight seasons with the Raiders, currently plays with Packers.
BUST-O-METER: 7/10
As far as busts go, he isn't one of them. Granted, he isn't playing up to his Heisman standards, but by no means is he a bust.

1998: Ricky Williams (RB, Texas)
Career NFL Stats:
1,757att, 7,097yds, 47 TDs, 23 Lost Fumbles
Played three seasons with Saints, five with the Dolphins, currently plays in the Canadian Football League.
BUST-O-METER: 3/10
He did pretty well until he got busted for using pot and got sent to Canada to play football.

1999: Ron Dayne (RB, Wisconsin)
Career NFL Stats:
685att, 2,490yds, 17 TDs, 5 Lost Fumbles
Played five seasons with Giants, one with the Broncos, currently playing with the Texans.
BUST-O-METER: 5/10
Another player who hasn't lived up to his Heisman standards. He is doing better than most, however. At least he's still in the NFL.

2000: Chris Weinke (QB, Florida State)
Career NFL Stats:
317/591, 3,175yds, 12 TD, 22 INTs, 60.4 QB Rating
Currently in his sixth season with the Panthers.
BUST-O-METER: 6/10
Anyone who has stayed with the same team for six years after the draft has potential. But it seems like Heisman winners throw more interceptions in the NFL than touchdowns (See: Danny Wuerffel).


2001: Eric Couch (QB, Nebraska)
Career NFL Stats:
N/A. Has never played a down in the NFL.
Due to lack of height and athleticism, he was thrown around a few teams (Rams, Chiefs), and was tried out as a WR. He currently plays fourth string quarterback in the CFL.
BUST-O-METER: 1/10
This is the definition of a bust. Fourth string? In Canada? Sorry guys, but what a waste of a Heisman.

2002: Carson Palmer (QB, USC)
Career NFL Stats:
683/1,061, 7,650yds, 56 TDs, 34 INTs, 90.0 QB Rating
Has played all four seasons with the Bengals, became starting quarterback in 2004.
BUST-O-METER: 9/10
Hell, I'd draft this guy in my fantasy league. He is playing great, and has a decent INT to TD ratio unlike the rest of the Heisman QBs on this list.

2003: Jason White (QB, Oklahoma)
Career NFL Stats:
N/A. The Titans signed him in 2005 as an unrestricted free agent, but he quit professional football due to knee problems.
BUST-O-METER: 1/10
He won the Heisman, and didn't play a game in the NFL. I'm not saying he wouldn't have been great, I'm just saying he can't be considered not a bust if he never played a down. That's another Heisman Trophy that could have been put to better use. Maybe a key ring holder.. Or a weapon.

2004: Matt Leinart (QB, USC)
Career NFL Stats:
5/8, 49yds, 1 INT
Has played one game this season for the Cardinals.
BUST-O-METER: N/A
He's only played one game. Sure he only gave it to his own team five times. So what if he gave it to the opposing team twice? He still has potential.

2005: Reggie Bush (RB, USC)
Career NFL Stats:
45att, 147yds, 1 Fumble Lost
Has played in four games this season for the Saints, starting one.
BUST-O-METER: N/A
He's not doing too well, but he's playing behind Deuce! Once he gets used to the NFL, he'll be great. At least I hope so, he's on my fantasy team..

So.. In the past ten years (not including Leinart and Bush), the Heisman winners registered an average of 4.25/10 on my Bust-O-Meter. I don't know if it's a curse or anything, but man. Two of them never played a down in the NFL, and only two received more than a six. And the Bust-O-Meter doesn't lie.

Agree? Disagree? Let me know..

-Austin