I wrote a beautiful blog this week on the state of college FB. It included midseason analysis, facts, my picks for best players, surprise teams and disappointments. I cried when I read it, it was breathtaking. I cried again minutes later when I posted it and this site locked up my computer and deleted my post.
I swore off FoxSports Blogs on the spot (for the umpteenth time). When you have such little time to blog, it can be overwhelming to lose your work. But I finally decided I owed it to the faithful voters to post their poll one more time. I'm not sure if i can keep doing this. I'm gonna contact someone for some help, we'll see how it shakes out.
Anyways, another fine job by our panel. Just like the big boys, we have LSU a unanimous #1. Because we only have a few voters, I made a rule early on that a team must be listed on multiple ballots to be ranked, so that no one vote could jump a team too high in the poll. Some of the teams receiving votes had higher point totals, but were only listed on one ballot.
THE POLL
LSU (13) 260
Cal 243
OSU 220
USF 207
BC 181
So Carolina 169
Oregon 166
Oklahoma 165
Missouri 160
USC 126
WVU 112
Cincinnatti 96
ASU 93
Florida 87
Va Tech 86
Illinois 83
Hawaii 82
Kansas 56
Kentucky 49
Wisconsin 48
Texas 8
Tennessee 7
FSU 6
PSU 4
Connecticut 2
Also receiving votes: Nebraska, Washington State, Auburn, KSU, Virginia
Sorry to be so late with this. Have you ever had an abscessed tooth? Ouch.
What a weekend coming up. Last week's slew of upsets reshuffled everyone's ranking, and I look for it to happen again this week.
One thing I've grown to appreciate from doing this is how much work goes into a poll, and how easy it is to do something stupid. I vote before I look at anyone else's picks, trying to stay with my own thoughts. Then when I look at everyone elses vote, I wonder how I could have left some teams off.
I also see us bloggers doing the same thing we get upset at the real polls about. How many times have I read comments and blogs questioning how a team that beat another could end up ranked behind the team they beat. An example is South Carolina and Georgia. Over half of our voters put Georgia ahead of SC, even though the Gamecocks beat Georgia on the road. It tells me that we're as guilty as anyone of voting for the helmet. Other examples are keeping florida in the top 10 after they lose to the first good team they play, at home. Auburn is good, but certainly not a great team. At least we got a few things right. Oregon is ahead of Oklahoma in our poll. If any team deserved to stay in the top 10 after losing, it's the Ducks. What a great game!! And while they did fall from the top 10, they're close.
Thanks to all the bloggers who voted this week. It looks like you did a great job as usual. Once again, our voters seem more willing than the national press to award teams for playing well, and to penalize those who don't. A little flux is a good thing.
USC has a stranglehold on #1 at this point, just seven votes shy of a perfect ballot. This is also the first time we've seen widespread disagreement over who should receive the other first place votes. All five of the top teams were listed #1 on at least one ballot (and no, Rev didn't vote for Florida.)
There are a handful of teams that seem to generate wide disagreement among the voters. BC is ranked as high as #5, as low as #18. Wisconsin's support ranges from #6 to #20. Our pollsters are tired of waiting for the Badgers to wake up this season, and have dropped Wisky out of the top 10.
The big movers were Kentucky, up to #14 with their win over my Hogs (a moment of silence please....................), and naturally Penn State and South Carolina fell after losses. Some new teams have showed up on the radar. Missouri, Arizona State and Cincinnatti received some well earned recognition and Purdue and Kansas are knocking on the door.
As usual, there are some great blogs out there on CFB. Check out NorCal's top 25, he does an incredible job. Nostradamus, Lisa, jgrace, Nooch, ksp. I can't list them all, you CFB fans know who they are. Read their stuff and drop 'em a comment. Our encouragement will keep them posting.
Wow. You guys are a fickle bunch. Once again, the top of the poll has changed. USC has regained the top spot, with LSU hot on the Trojans' heels. The top 4 teams have seperated themselves from the pack, and the field has narrowed, with only 32 teams receiving votes.
First place votes in parenthesis
USC (8) 274
LSU (5) 269
Oklahoma 243
Florida (1) 241
WVU 209
California 183
Penn State 174
Texas 171
Wisconsin 170
Ohio State 162
Rutgers 141
Boston College 115
South Carolina 106
Oregon 102
Alabama 66
Clemson 53
Hawaii 48
Virginia Tech 44
Texas A&M 38
Kentucky 23
USF 21
Louisville 18
Georgia 17
Missouri 10
Nebraska, Arizona State 9
Others receiving votes: Arkansas, Washington State, Georgia Tech, Texas Tech, Air Force, Auburn, Michigan State.
The tie for the last spot means we had 26 teams ranked this week.
Ranked teams by conference:
Pac 10 -Two in the top 10, four overall.
SEC - Two in the top 10, six overall
Big 12 - Two in the top 10, five overall
Big East - One in the top 10, four overall
Big 10 - Three in the top 10, three overall
ACC - None in the top 10, three overall
WAC - none in the top 10, one overall.
I decided to rank the conferences a different way this week. I totaled all the votes for all the teams from each conference.
SEC - 732
Pac 10 - 575
Big 10 - 507
Big 12 - 474
Big East - 389
ACC - 214
Thanks to everyone for you ballots. I'm sorry for the abbreviated post, I've had a busy week.
If you get a chance, check out NorCal's blog, GCoach's blog and JGrace's blog. All three have great posts up for you college football junkies, and they're all listed below my handsome picture, among my favorite blogs.
Week Two has produced a new #1 team in the Bloggers Poll. LSU's demolition of Virginia Tech has vaulted the Bengal Tigers ahead of idle USC. I'm excited to see it. Anyone who's been paying any attention has to realize LSU has been the most impressive team in the land so far this fall. It's early yet, but you guys know a great team when you see one.
Contrast the rapid reshuffling of our poll that reflects actual game results vs the major polls that won't drop a team 'til it loses. I think it's a great thing. I won't argue with those who still think USC is #1, there's plenty of reasons to think so. I just like the open minded nature of our pollers in freely admitting that things can change from week to week.
Some thoughts:
SEC -
I said before the season started that I didn't think the SEC would be as strong as everyone else was predicting in 2007. And other than LSU, I haven't seen much to make me change my mind.
Georgia looked good against Oklahoma State, average against South Carolina. Auburn struggled with Kansas State before their offensive woes proved fatal against USF. The rest of the league hasn't played anyone with a pulse, so who knows? This week, Kentucky hosts Louisville, Arkansas and 'Bama square off in Tuscaloosa and Tennessee travels to the Swamp. We'll know more after Saturday.
Big 10-
Michigan was run over by a herd of Ducks, I guess the Wolverines weren't all they were quacked up to be. Funny how Ron English has gone from a defensive genius to a goat in four games. My observation is that the genius coaches are the ones with great players, the dummies have bad talent.
OSU is still struggling to find consistency on offense, but looks very strong on defense. PSU ran over ND, hohum. The Nittany Lions need to find some offense before they can be considered a legitimate threat outside their conference. Wisconsin struggled on the road with UNLV, but still looks to be the class of the Big 10. Keep an eye on Purdue.
PAC 10 -
The West Coast boys have arguably been the most impressive conference so far. We all know about USC, and Cal exorcised some demons against Tennessee in week one. This week, Oregon looked phenomenal in lighting up Michigan, Washington ended Boise State's 14 game win streak, and Dennis Erickson shows signs of awakening all that talent at ASU.
USC has a big game in Lincoln Saturday, I can't wait to see that one.
Big East -
It's time to stop the jokes, this is another conference that has been impressive so far. Not so much the top teams WVU and Louisville, which have had some weaknesses on defense exposed, but the next level of teams. Rutgers, USF and Cincinnatti were all impressive Saturday, and the Big East is now 6-0 vs the SEC this century. The BEast rules the SouthLeast Conference.
Pat White is proving what most WVU fans have said all along, he's the best player on that team, not RB Steve Slaton. Ray Rice is a bowling ball, how do you tackle someone with no legs?
ACC -
The ACC has proved they have several quality teams, but do they have any great ones? Wake scared Nebraska, almost spoiling their matchup with USC. Georgia Tech looks like top 10, and Clemson is off to a strong start. BC has maybe the best QB in college ball, this may be the year they finally get recognized for their on field success.
My feeling is that all these teams will beat each other up, with no team coming out with less than two losses. If one team does dominate the league, you can bet they're a great team.
Big 12 -
Oklahoma has been probably the second most impressive team so far behind LSU. Texas struggled with TCU before finally waking up in the 4th quarter to win by a score that doesn't reflect how close the game actually was. Missouri almost blew a big lead for the second week in a row, A&M needed triple overtime to escape Fresno State, Iowa State is terrible and TexasTech looked bad in beating UTEP.
Oklahoma may benefit from being a great team in a weak conference. That's a proven recipe for making it to the NC game.
My conference rankings after week 2:
PAC 10
Big East
SEC
ACC
Big 10
Big 12
Okay, enough about me. Here's this weeks poll: (Updated to reflect late ballots.)
SEC again leads with 6 teams, PAC 10 has 4, Big 12 has 4, ACC has 4, Big East has 3, Big 10 has 3, and the WAC has 1
LSU (11) 295
USC (3) 285
Oklahoma 261
WVU 238
Florida (1) 232
Texas 209
Wisconsin 194
California 170
Penn State 164
Louisville 153
Ohio State 140
UCLA 118
Rutgers 97
Ga Tech 94
Nebraska 91
Arkansas 88
S Carolina 57
Oregon 48
BC 43
Va Tech 28
Hawaii 25
Tennessee 22
Texas A&M 19
Clemson 16
Georgia 18
Also receiving votes: USF, Oregon State, Washington State, Auburn, Alabama, Arizona State
BLOGGER OF THE WEEK
Nostradamus sent in his vote about the same time i was posting this. He included some great thoughts, and he is this week's featured blogger. Great job by our resident expert on CFB.
Nostradamus' Ballot
Nos Top 25:
LSU: Most impressive team thus far. Only 2 shutouts away from a meaningless touchdown by Tyrod Taylor (Va Tech stud recruit) from a perfect defensive shutout season. This looks like the team to beat. THUS FAR.
USC: We will see how good they are this weekend. A 10 point favorite at Nebraska, and the entire football world watching. Here is hoping my Huskers don’t get emabarrassed. I’m not holding my breath.
Oklahoma: The 2nd most impressive team thus far. Sam Bradford is the best QB of the Stoops era. And Allen Patrick and DeMarco Murray are SOLID RB’s as well. Not too mention Malcom Kelly and Iglesias are likely the most underrated top notch receiving corps as well. Talent abounds in Norman. And I haven’t even mentioned their STOUT defense.
West Virginia: You need to have defense. You need to show us you have one. Slaton and White are awesome, but the Big East is too good if you don’t shore that up to roll undefeated.
Florida: Tim Tebow is for real. Can they play defense? We’ll see this weekend against Tennessee. This is another scary team from Urban Meyer.
Texas: You answered a lot of questions from week one. Now can we get an answer from Colt that this will not be a Sophomore slump. Too much talent on with his receiving corps to be throwing INT’s much less ones that get returned for TD’s.
South Carolina: Re-enter my top 10. I had them 9 in my preseason, and it took a win against Georgia on the road to re-enter. Spurrier has a tough road to #### in front of him, but this is a good SC ball club.
Penn State: Less than impressive outing by the Lions on Saturday against an overmatched Irish squad. However, they play too good of defense to move out of the top 10.
California: By default you get here. Bad performance last week against Colorado State, but I’ll give you a mulligan this time.
Louisville: You are on SERIOUS warning that you probably don’t belong up here. Heck, you probably don’t belong in the top 20, but nobody else is that impressive, thus you remain. Play defense to stay up here or you drop quickly.
UCLA: Should have you in front of Louisville, but I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt. 2 solid wins thus far, and if you keep it up, you will rise.
Oregon: Nice showing against what is likely a less than stellar Michigan squad. Nonetheless a 39-7 win on the road gets your promotion here when it could have easily been 53 points.
Georgia Tech: You jump the most this week. Your defense is just that good, and as we all know, defense wins championships.
Alabama: Your game against Arkansas this week proves your mettle. Show you belong.
Boston College: From unrated to 15th. I’m that impressed.
Ohio State: You need to shore up some QB problems if you want to move up, until then you continue your slide down.
Georgia: Your loss to South Carolina should not be looked at as being that bad. You are still a quality ball club who can beat nearly everyone in front of you.
Arizona State: Show me you are for real. I’m impressed big time thus far. Ryan Torain is a stud. If Dennis Erickson can keep this team playing defense, look out. He also must keep Carpenter from making stupid mistakes as well.
Tennessee: You’ll move up IF you beat Florida. Another embarrassing defeat, and you likely won’t be back for a while.
Clemson: You are here by default due to VERY poor showings by other ball clubs. I still don’t think you are that good.
Wisconsin: Once again you still stay in my rankings. Show me something or this is your last week in.
Rutgers: I should have ranked you earlier. My apologies Mr. Schiano.
Nebraska: You are lucky to stay in here. But nobody has proved that they deserve to be in here either.
Texas Tech: One of the scariest teams in the country to play. You still have a tough slate ahead of you. You keep winning, and you will move up.
Arkansas: On a BYE week you enter my rankings. Prove you belong when you travel to Alabama, and you get immediate entrance into the top 15.
Week one is behind us, and it was a pretty good opening round of CFB. The big story, of course, was Appy State's take-down of Michigan in the Big House, totally eliminating the Wolverines from our poll. Zero votes, lol. Texas needed a succesful on-sides kick to be overturned by the ref's to preserve their shaky 21 -13 win. The poll is out a little late this wee, due to the Monday night game and the fact that i have to earn a living.
Several of the big boys made quick work of the directional schools they had lined up for fodder. There were some teams that looked good against legitimate competition, including Georgia's whooping of Oklahoma State, the" Greatest Offense in Stillwater", and Georgia Tech's dismantling of Notre Dame. Wisconsin also looked sharp against WSU, and Cal made an SEC team look slow. (Can you say that?) For the most part, everyone else did as expected.
We had 13 voters this week, about half the number we started with. I'll continue to do this as long as there's interest, but fewer voters means the results can be skewered more easily by a single ballot. So I had to make a slight change in the rules. To keep a team from appearing because a single voter rated them very high, one that no one else even acknowledged, teams must appear on at least two ballots to be included in the top 25.
Here's links to voters who blogged their picks. If you blog your selections, be sure to let me know and I'll link it.
Demonicume's ballot was markedly different from everyone elses, and the main reason I had to change the rules. Demon is using a formula based on the RPI used by college basketball. It rewards teams for wins, strength of schedule, and opponents SOS. As would be expected, early season this will look somewhat disheveled. I'll be interested to see how this shakes out as the season goes along. So here's a big Hog Call to Demonicume, our voter of the week.
DEMONICUME'S BALLOT
i know this will look kinda odd. But remember 3 things as you read these rankings:
1)this is based off the NCAA's basketball RPI.
Its winning percentage (as a decimal) times .25
Its opponents' winning percentage times .50
Its opponents' opponents' winning percentage times .25.
so i'm not grading people according to how well i think they may be, I'm grading them according to how well they've performed within their schedule. I don't care if ou have 55 blue chippers - until you beat someone, it don't matter. We've had plenty of examples of teams getting blasted despite how highly we regarded them (OSU last year against Florida, Michigan against App State.)
2) this ranking system is much more dynamic than the current one. this system allows unranked teams to compete for the national championship. as teams start winning and losing, they'll rise and fall by a dozen spaces of more. this means that if a Big East team goes into November with 3 ranked teams - even though they prolly only played 1 ranked opponent in that 9 weeks - they wont be in the top ten. or the top 20. They may even sit below teams with 2 and 3 losses. in my book, losses to LSU, Auburn and Florida mean more than blowout wins against rice, Maryland and Purdue. No one will sit in my top 25 simply because they have a big name.
3) I don't think we should be doing a poll until Week 4, anyways. All the so-called POWERHOUSES front-load their schedules with weaklings... *cough* Michigan.
this system rewards tams for winning big games and punishes teams for losing games they should win. Many people saw Michigan lose to App State and still felt they belonged in the top 25. That's ridiculous. Had S. Carolina lost to App State, no one would be touting our 'bad day'. Why is that? It's because we've decided in our minds that Michigan is a powerhouse and even when they lose, we give them a pardon. We should be pissed they even scheduled App State, SC fans would have paid $500k to see Michigan. And we would have won. They could have put out the collection plate in the stadium. The truth is that Vanderbilt had Michigan down the same way last season until their QB melted down. Michigan is not good and their schedule is designed to protect them. We've decided that the Trojans are good, even when they sucked against 4 straight opponents last season. We grade our favorate teams on a popularity curve and we stay in denial for years. in 3 years, Bobby Bowden will be gone and we'll all be quietly shocked that FSU is no longer any good. Everyone will wonder how it happened. i'll tell you how it happened: FSU has been in decline for nearly 5 years; but we always float them credit. like Notre Dame. FSU is the new Notre Dame... they'll be on TV even when they go 5-8. This ranking system puts these losers in their places. thanks to John Wobus for doing all the math...
At the risk of being accused again of being a hater, I'll ring in on the Reggie Bush matter. We all know the particulars. Bush's parents were put up in a $750,000 house for two years while their son was winning national titles and a Heisman Trophy. The NCAA is moving on this, but they're having a hard time getting cooperation from Bush, his family and the shady characters who put Reggie's family up in that house. NCAA officials say it's the worst case of stonewalling they've ever had.
Hoping that nothing happened is a false hope. The evidence that Bush's family was put up in the house is undeniable. So, the question becomes who knew and when. And it's really a moot point. The NCAA will punish USC, same as they did Oklahoma. The degree is yet to be seen, but if they vacate wins as they did with OU, it'll be interesting to see if USC still claims that disputed NC, or if the AP takes it away.
I'll post the applicable NCAA rules that were broken. What everyone needs to remember is that it's the NCAA. They justify their existence by finding violators and punishing them. Due process isn't much of a concern either. Due process would allow the parties to sue if they thought the NCAA was being heavy-handed. But the NCAA is a voluntary organization, and as such members have very limited recourse. Short of withdrawing from the organization, they have voluntarily agreed to abide by the rules and decisions of the NCAA.
Here's the NCAA rule:
A "representative of the institution's athletic interests" is an individual.......who is known(or who should have been known) to:
(d) Be assisting or to have assisted in providing benefits to enrolled student-athletes or their families;
(from NCAA rules and regs as posted at their website )
The shady characters who tried to ride Reggie's coattails are by NCAA definition and by-law "representatives of the institution's athletic interest." If USC says they didn't know, the NCAA's response will be that they "should have known".
The NCAA,in their own mystical way, will put a dollar value on the violations, and that will to a large degree determine the severity of the punishment. USC's response to this has been "We wish we could help, but we don't have any sway with these people to force them to cooperate." Yet Carroll can get Reggie on the phone when McKnight is in his office. Ooops, I forgot, that never happened, lol.
Compare USC's response to Oklahoma's open and complete cooperation ( most schools do cooperate), I don't think it bodes well for USC.
We continue our look at the top 25 teams as determined by the bloggers here at FoxSports.
20. Arkansas Razorbacks
2006 Record 10-4
Best Returning Player: RB Darren McFadden 1647 yds 14 TD's
McFadden had a sensational soph season. At 6'2 and 215 lbs, he posseses a great stiff-arm, unbelievable accelleration, and the ability to change the scoreboard every time he touches it. D-Mac was the first soph to ever win the Daok Walker award as the nation's outstanding RB and finished second last year in voting for the Heisman.
Strength: Running Game
Arkansas' backfield is loaded. Felix Jones would be the feature back for most teams, and FB Peyton Hillis is a punishing lead blocker and a receiving threat out of the backfield, with velvet hands. The O-line is somewhat of a rebuild, but Arkansas has led the SEC in rushing 4 of the last 5 years, and should do so again in '07.
Biggest Question Mark: QB Casey D;ck
D;ck is the key to Arkansas' season. If he can make some plays from the QB posision, the Hogs will contend for another SEC West title. He was terrrrible at the end of '06, and without a threat of a passing game defenses won't hesitate to load up to stop McFadden and Jones.
Biggest Game: LSU
LSU and Arkansas have represented the SEC West in Atlanta four of the last five years. The game is in Baton Rouge the day after Thanksgiving. The whole nation will be watching this one.
19. Rutgers Scarlet Knights
2006 Record - 11-2
Best Returning Player: RB Ray Rice 1794 yds 20 TD'd
Rice is another Heisman candidate, part of a crop of outstanding runners in college FB for 2007. He's a workhorse who does much of his damage in the second half. A powerful slasher, Rice won't break many long runs, but he has a knack for popping up the middle for 25 or 30 yards at key moments in games.
Strength: Defense
The Scarlet Knights had one of the top defenses in the country last season, and several key players return. Last year, Rutgers had 41 sacks and forced 31 turn-overs. The high pressure tactics will continue in '07. Rutgers must replace five starters, but the replacements are talented and fast. Look for another big year on the defensive side of the ball.
Biggest Question Mark: QB Mike Teele
Teele had his moments last year, just not enough of them. He finished with more INT's than TD's, and if Rutgers wants to seriously contend for conference and national honors, he'll have to step up and show he can complete passes when everyone knows the Knights are going to throw it.
Biggest Game: West Virginia
The Big East improved dramitcally in 2006, but there's only so much room at the top. The winner of this one can continue to dream big dreams. The loser will have to count on help from someone else.
18. Penn State Nittany Lions
2006 Record - 9-4
Best Returning Player: LB Dan Connor
Connor had a very good season in 2006, with 113 tackles. The preseason All-American will contend for the Butkus Award, and every other post-season award out there for defensive players. He's a great run-stopper who covers the field from sideline to sideline.
Strength: Linebackers
It's no shock that the strength of PSU will be the LB core. They've earned the nickname Linebacker U for a reason. The Lions were very good on defense last season, and this group will make sure opponents earn every yard again in '07.
Biggest Question Mark: Offensive Consistency
If PSU wants to contend for the Big 10 title, they'll have to do better against the top teams. Last year the offense scored a total of 32 points in their four games against ranked opponents. The schedule is favorable, with most of the tough games at home. PSU has the weapons to be effective, but they won't be good without some big plays, something they sorely missed in '06.
Biggest Game: Wisconsin
The winner moves on to meaningful show-downs with traditional powers Michigan and OSU. The loser more than likely starts looking towards 2008. If you like hard-hitting smash-mouth football, you won't want to miss this one. I know I'll be watching.
17. Tennessee Volunteers
2006 Record - 9-4
Best Player: QB Erik Ainge 2989 yds 19 TD's 9 INT's
Ainge rebounded from a poor sophomore campaign to have a strong junior season. Any hopes the Vol's have for 2007 begin and end at QB. With all new receivers, and the recent suspension of RB LaMarcus Coker, Ainge will have to have a great season if the Vols hope to live up to the high expectaions in Knoxville. He's certainly capable, but needs to stay injury free.
Strength: Talent
Tennessee had a top 10 recruiting class in 2007. That shouldn't come as any surprise. Every year, the Vols bring in great players. The new receivers are big and fast, and physically, Tennessee matches up with anyone. In fact, the only thing that seems to have slowed down the Vols the last couple of years is...
Biggest Question Mark: Team Chemistry
Coker's problems are nothing new at Tennessee, and the 2005 season disintegrated amid bickering and off-field turmoil. Last year was better. To return to the elite in the SEC, Tennessee needs to get their MoJo back.
Biggest Game: Florida
With the Gators rebuilding and the game in September, the Vols have a chance to go into the Swamp and give Urban Meyer his first home loss. Tennesee's offense will be the first real test for the young Gator defense. The winner has the inside track for the SEC East title.
16. Georgia Bulldogs
2006 - 9-4
Best Returning Player QB Matt Stafford 1749 yds 7 TD's 13 INT's
Stafford is an incredible talent. He struggled as a true freshman in the SEC, but by years end he looked like a real SEC QB. He led the team to late season wins over Auburn, Georgia Tech and Virginia Tech. Most Georgia fans now have a unique form of Turrett's, it seems every other word out of their mouths is Stafford.
Strength: Coach Mark Richt
Richt may be the most underappreciated coach in college FB. With over 60 wins in 6 seasons. he's done everything but win a national championship. Unfortunately, in the SEC that puts him behind several other coaches. After losses to Kentucky and Vanderbilt in 2006, Richt found a way to rally the team and finish with nine wins and a bowl victory. He'll need to do a great job again this year.
Biggest Question Mark: How are they gonna do it?
Georgia is loaded with questions. Eight starters are gone from the defense, the O-line features four new starters, and there is a serious shortage of playmakers at RB and WR. Georgia's preseason ranking is more an acknowledgement of past success and coaching excellence. If the 'Dogs win the SEC East this year, it will be Richt's best coaching job yet.
Biggest Game: South Carolina
Georgia has owned South Carolina, and Spurrier makes no bones about wanting to change that. The game is at Georgia, and the 'Dogs need to win this game against another contender to build some momentum. Lose here, and the 2007 season could unravel in a hurry.
Everyone loves to argue college FB. Just look at Lisa's latest rundown of the USA Today Coaches top 25. We all want to step up and defend our team, our conference, our coach and our players. Wouldn't it be great though, to have some ammunition when these flare-ups happen. Instead of just trading back and forth with "My team can whip your team," you could actually name a player or two, and sound like you're an expert. Let's face it. In college FB, like life, name-dropping is the secret to prestige, success, girls and fame.
Okay, maybe i got a little carried away there.. But just think about it. You're at the water cooler, and that smarmy little kid from IS (who can't even fix your inter-office e-mail that's been spammed so much you missed the one from your boss about that big meeting Friday afternoon so you slipped out early and went golfing and now your in deep doodoo,) is spouting off about how "his" Boise State Bronco's are gonna wipe the field this fall. Never mind that he graduated from East Central Kentucky Technical Training Institute, and the only Boise State game he's ever seen was last years incredible Fiesta Bowl.
Imagine, instead of shaking your head and spitting in disgust, or complaining about the weakness of the WAC, you throw the kid for a complete loop. "Ian Johnson's a great back, but without Zabransky at QB, Boise's gonna have to prove they can do more than run the ball. Tharp hasn't even proven he can beat out Hamden, and neither one has taken a meaningful snap in a game."
Immediately, the kid realizes he's in over his head. "Oh yeah!!" he says, with a glimmer in his eye of fear mixed with awe, then returns to his cubicle. You smile to yourself, smug in the knowledge that, even though now he'll be deleting your e-mails from the boss, you have proven that you are the reigning office college FB guru.
So where do you get such inside info? How do you get to know some key names to drop, without spending way too much time on the internet researching all this stuff?
Never fear, HogFan is here.
I've been spending too much time on the internet for years, and I've mastered the art of name-dropping. For the next few weeks leading up to the 2007 season, I'll be giving you a rundown of the top 25 as determined by our Bloggers Poll . Nothing overwhelming, just pieces of info that'll hopefully make the coming season more enjoyable, and put those water cooler flare-ups in your win column. Hope you enjoy it.
25. Boise State Broncos
2006 Record - 13-0
Best Returning Player: RB Ian Johnson 1714 yds 25 TD's
Johnson was sensational in 2006, and captured the hearts of CFB fans with his on-field marriage proposal at the Fiesta bowl. Now he's tied the knot, and looks poised for a great Junior season.
Strength: Running Game
Johnson will be greatly helped by a veteran offensive line that should be one of the best units in the land. Look for the Broncos to run often and with great success.
Biggest Question Mark: QB
With Jared Zabransky graduated, the battle in the Spring for the next Bronco signal caller came down to Senior Taylor Tharp and Junior Bush Hamden. Hamden had a slight lead at the end of Spring ball, but nothing is likely to be settled until one or the other steps up in game conditions.
Biggest Game: At Hawaii.
This game could well feature two undefeated teams and two Hesiman Trophy candidates with a BCS Bowl bid at stake. It sounds like the WAC has arrived.
24. South Carolina Gamec()cks
2006 record - 8-5
Best Returning Player: LB Jasper Brinkley
Brinkley anchors a unit with eight returning starters, and is a powerful run stopper with a nose for the ball. If you've never seen him play, this head-hunter may be the best linebacker in the SEC.
Strength: Experience
South Carolina returns 17 starters, and the Ol' Ball Coach has had 'em in his system for a couple of years now. The offensive line was improving at year's end, as was much maligned QB Blake Mitchell. Leading receiver Sydney Rice is gone to the NFL, but Spurrier has always had great wide-outs.
Biggest Question Mark: QB Blake Mitchell
Mitchell has been in and out fo Spurriers dog house for two years. He can be very good, as in his MVP performance in SC's bowl game, or he can be very bad, as when he was benched in the early part of last season. He finished the year strong, and if he picks up where he left off, the real biggest question could be.....the schedule. SC plays at Georgia, at LSU, at Tennesee and at Arkansas. Throw in home games against Florida and Clemson, and that's a rough road for any team with designs on a great season.
Biggest Game: Florida
Almost every year, the biggest game in the state of South Carolina is the showdown with Clemson. It's one of the most heated rivalries in all of sports. But this year, SC will be focused on the Gators. Spurrier's old team travels to Columbia, and after last year's miraculous escape, Meyer's troups will have their hands full in this one.
23. Texas A&M Aggies
2006 record - 9-4
Best Returning Player: QB Stephen McGee 2295 passing 12 TD's 666 rushing 4 TD's
McGee is a really good QB in a conference loaded with QB's. A true run-pass threat who seldom makes mistakes, the Junior signal caller will be key to Aggie success in '07.
Strength: Running game
Texas A&M is loaded in the backfield, with talent equal to anyone in college FB. Throw in an offensive line that many rate as the best in the land, and it means a long game for anyone who can't man up and slow down the ground attack. With McGee also a threat to run, play-action should set up enough big plays to make the Aggies very good offensively.
Biggest Question Mark: The Schedule
No doubt the Aggies are good. But it's also true that they have one brutal schedule. Games at Miami, at Texas Tech, at Nebraska, at Oklahoma, and at Missouri. Wow. Throw in the season closer at home against Texas, that's not a schedule for the faint at heart.
Biggest Game: Texas
This year, last year, every year. Beat the Longhorns, and A&M's season is a success. With Dennis Franchione on the hot seat last year, the big win in Austin bought him some relief. This year, if the Ag's play up to their abilities, a trip to the Big 12 CG could be on the line.
22. Florida State Seminoles
2006 Record - 7-6
Best Returning Player DB Myron Rolle
Rolle was arguably the best player on the team last year as a true freshman, and one of only a handful of defensive players who can personally swing the outcome o####ame. How good is he? He could have played in the NFL last year.
Strength: Defense
Florid State is loaded with returning talent on defense. Seven returning starters will anchor what should be one of the top units in college FB. They need to be really good because....
Biggest Weakness: Offense
Bobby Bowden has finally put an end to the nepotism that has plagued the Seminoles' offense the last few seasons. Son Jeff has been replaced by veteran Jimbo Fisher. Fisher is one of the top OC's in all of football, and luring him away from LSU was a great move by Bowden. I've seen teams with great defenses and subpar offenses tear themselves apart with internal strife. How quickly the offense can improve will determine the success for FSU this season.
Biggest Game: Miami
It's hard to pick one big game for the 'Noles. Almost every game is key, and the schedule is tough. Usually you would say Florida, because of the national implications. But FSU has fallen so far that they first have to worry about climbing that ladder in their own state. With Miami trying to get up off the mat also, the winner of this one can at least see hope that they're headed in the right direction.
Brennan is everyone's pick for a Heisman darkhorse. The perfect player for the system, or maybe the perfect system for the player. Either way, Brennan is a handful. His stat's are staggering, but I'm not sure the dink passing game gives Brennan enough chances at the kind of shake your head did-you-see-what-he-just-did plays to make a serious run at that famous trophy.
Strength: The Schedule
While others in the top 25 have to figure out how to navigate through tough games just to stay competitive in their conference, all Hawaii has to do is keep from being their own worst enemy. The schedule sets up for a serious run at national recognition. There are probably dozens of schools that could navigate through the Warriors' schedule until that last game against Boise State.
Biggest Question Mark: Running game
Brennan is a great passer. Unfortunately, he's also the leading returning rusher. Even a dynamic offense like Hawaii's need to find some backs who can hammer out that tough yard when it's needed. Right now, it's unclear who that back is.
Biggest Game: Boise State
This one should be for all the marbles in the WAC. With the game at home, the Warriors should have no excuses in their quest for a perfect season.
The Old Ball Coach is at it again. It seems South Carolina coach Steve spurrier is upset that a couple of his top recruits were denied admission to school because they didn't meet the academic standards of the institution. Spurrier is upset because the players met all NCAA requirements and qualify under NCAA guidelines.
South Carolina, however, like most schools, has their own entrance requirements designed to ensure that incoming students can do the classwork. College admission standards typically exceed what is required by the NCAA. A special review committee can grant waivers to marginal students, but declined to do so in this case. Spurrier says if something doesn't change, he'll take his visor and go home.
His strong-arm tactics of intimidation and threatening to quit set a poor example for his school and for himself. If Spurrier had complained about bias in standardized testing or voiced an opinion that these kids were capable of getting a degree, his complaints might mean a little more. But plainly, his concerns were the loss to his team and his fear of how this will affect future recruiting. Certainly, other schools will use this against South Carolina. Recruits will be told, "Sign with USCe, you could make your grades and still not get into school."
This is a valid concern for the football coach, but shouldn't be for the institution. The nerve of the USCe administration, putting school before football. And in South Carolina, the heart of SEC country no less. The sad part about this is that Darth Visor's comments feed into the stereotype of SEC schools as first and foremost football factories. The conference has been slammed before, and will be again, for its perceived substandard academic requirements. (See Jim Donnan.)
Spurrier's rant is typical for him. He's always expressed himself freely. Sometimes he should stop and think first. The first word in student-athlete is student. Encourage the kids to be better students, don't slam your bosses for doing their job. And hey, if you can't do the job you were hired to do by following the rules of the school that hired you, don't let that caboose hit you in the rear on the way out the door. It will be interesting to see if the South Carolina administration stand up for academics, or bows down to the god that is SEC football.
The votes are in for the preseason edition of the Bloggers Poll. After some gentle prodding, kind encouragement and out-and-out detective work, we have the votes from our panel of 26. A few voters blogged their picks, and several more incuded enough great comments to make me think they should have. Has10, our 11 year-old voter form the West Coast, even made his selections in the schools team colors. Here are some links to voters who blogged their picks, including Lisa, Gcoach, JGrace, Nostradomus and EdClinch.
Meanwhile, ShooterB, our resident expert on the non-BCS conferences gave us his summary of the mid-majors:
" Even after a miraculous display last year, Boise State isn’t getting much love in many of the pre-season polls. In the WAC, it’s likely that there will be 2 two undefeated teams going into the final game of the season(Hawaii & BSU). While the trendy pick is to go with the aerial attack of Hawaii , my money is on BSU’s overall balance. Don’t forget running back Ian Johnson…who is ready for another Heisman campaign with 4 returning starters on the offensive line.
The TCU defense is ready to dominate the Mountain West Conference once again. New faces on offense will adapt well with 3 experienced offensive linemen and a style that favors the running game. BYU is no slouch in this conference, but TCU looks like the early favorite to run away with a title."
Nooch, one of our great PAC 10 reps, gave this West Coast insight into areas to watch as the Cal Bears head into the '07 season:
" A lot of people like Cal higher than #18, but I think losing #### is going to hurt (Forsette is a great back but he did most of his damage as a change-up to ####. Now that teams will be gunning for him, things may be different.), and I'm not sold on Longshore at QB. Losing Bishop and Hughes on the other side of the ball takes the heart right out of the Bears' D."
With great stuff like this, it's obvious this Bloggers Poll was a great idea.
As would be expected, the votes reflect the widespread views of the panel, with 37 teams receiving votes. Seven teams received first place votes, and the top 5 teams were all from different conferences. In all, six different conferences are represented in the top 10.
FoxSports bloggers seem as infatuated with the SEC as everyone else. Seven SEC teams are included in the top 25, leading all conferences. The Big 12 and Big 10 follow with four teams each, the PAC 10 and Big East have three each, and the ACC and WAC have two.
BLOGGERS PRESEASON POLL (1st place votes in parentheses)
USC (15) 505
LSU (1) 458
Texas (1) 381
Michigan 376
West Virginia (2) 370
Florida (5) 350
Wisconsin 336
Oklahoma 304
Louisville (1) 253
Virginia Tech (1) 252
Ohio State 214
Auburn 162
California 150
Nebraska 147
UCLA 141
Georgia 117
Tennessee 98
Penn State 94
Rutgers 89
Arkansas 87
Hawaii 53
Florida State 42
Texas A&M 41
South Carolina 40
Boise State 31
Also receiving votes: Miami (30), Notre Dame (28), Oregon State (26), Boston College (23), TCU (23), Oregon (17), BYU (9), Georgia Tech (9), Missouri (9), Wake Forest (9), Pittsburgh (4), Alabama (3)
Finally, I'll leave you by featuring the great comments and picks by Hoit. Hoit, buddy, I appreciate the hard work, and congratulations. You're our Preseason Star Voter. Honorable mention goes to Demonicume, who appears to have gamed his, and JGrace, who sent in a composite poll.
Hoit's Picks
Alright man, here we go. I gave this a lot of thought and you'll see my picks aren't all USC and LSU. We both know most of the time the preseason teams always flame out anyway. Shoot, the BCS title game could be Arkansas-Michigan. McFadden against Hart. You against your cousin Flying Pig! It's beautiful.
Here is my top 20 based on how I see it.
#1 Virginia Tech- Defense is nasty as usual. Senior leaders all over and the inspiration of a community behind them, the game against LSU September 8 will open everyone's eyes to this team.
#2 West Virginia- No defense wants to face Slaton and White. The Big East will challenge them, but in the end Slaton and White draw comparisons to Frazier and Phillips.
#3 Texas- Consensus is they are now a step ahead of Oklahoma. Colt McCoy will only get better.
#4 USC- I'm holding off all the sucking up to this team until they at least they go thru their conference unbeaten. Didn't happen last year and that schedule is a beast.
#5 LSU- Hopefully the players aren't as obsessed with Nick Saban as the media. If they are, they will lose their focus, and ultimately any chance at a huge season. September 8 hosting Virginia Tech is a huge game.
#6 Florida- Lose a lot of talent, but return a lot also. Won the recruiting battle and will still battle for the SEC title.
Due process would allow the parties to sue if they thought the NCAA was being heavy-handed. But the NCAA is a voluntary organization, and as such members have very limited recourse. Short of withdrawing from the organization, they have voluntarily agreed to abide by the rules and decisions of the NCAA.