The landscape of college football is changing fast as is my new top 5. While some may disagree with my choices, no one can deny that LSU is still undefeated and deserves the number one ranking.
5. USF: The were ranked number 6 going into tonight, and they won. They should move up and until they lose they deserve their ranking.
4. Hawaii: Still undefeated and scoring loads of points. I know I am the only one who thinks they should be ranked this high, but I would love to see them face USF in a big bowl game this year.
3. California: Unfortunately they will lose to USC as USC tries to make a case for why they should still remain in the BCS hunt. I expect USC to dominate from here on out, but its too late.
2. Ohio State: Still undefeated and heading towards a BCS bowl berth. Should they run the table in the Big 10, and it appears they will, the Buckeyes will end up in the national title game again vs an SEC power house. Too bad, because I expect the same results.
1. LSU: What a game tonight against Florida! It is going to be some showdown if Florida ends up as number one in the east in the SEC.
A week or so ago I listed my Top 5 in college football. At that time I was reviled for not putting OK or TX in the top 5, well looks like I was right. I stand by my top 5 until one of them loses.
1. LSU: Should they win the SEC Title and beat Florida twice, they are a lock for the BCS title game. Should they lose the first game and win the SEC title game they should go to the title game. Of course the same is true for FL.
2. Florida: It is going to be tough to win in Death Valley, but if they emerge victorious they deserve to be number 1. Besides they are the reigning champs. They may deserve number one status right now.
3. USC: Looking vulnerable today against Washington and they still have to play Cal and Oregon.
4. Ohio State: Easy walk to finish undefeated in the Big 10 which locks up a BCS birth if USC falters. Good coaching goes a long way in a not so tough conference.
5. Hawaii: High powered offense but not enough competition to get a legit BCS shot. Better than Rutgers, WV, and Louisville. Maybe they can play USF in a BCS bowl.
For those who don't think Hawaii should be in the top 5, just look what they did to the same Idaho that USC played. USC won 38-10, and the Hawaii Warriors have already put up 48 points on them and have 3 minutes left. Hawaii may not play the toughest competition, but I am telling you they will beat the Boise State team that shocked the country last year in its Fiesta Bowl upset of Oklahoma. Hawaii has weapons to score with anyone. Ohio State deserves to stay in the top 4 until someone beats them besides Florida. Just my humble opinion.
Based upon the first three weeks we can make a few assumptions, but they are just that. It is a long season and many things can happen. With that said, here is how I see the top five and the worst team in the NCAA.
5. Hawaii: With Colt at the helm this team can stay alive with anyone. Their defense hasn't really been tested yet, but if they win the coin toss they have a shot at winning every game.
4. Ohio State: Still reeling from last year's BCS title loss, they look to win the Big 10 which will have them ina BCS Bowl game, probably the Rose Bowl. In the right scenario they might even have another title shot. LSU and Florida will have to face each other once in the regular season and then possibly in the SEC Conference TItle game. Each could have a loss letting OSU back into the BCS Title game.
3. USC: They looked great against Nebraska, but remember that the Cornhuskers hired Bill Callahan. This guy is possibly the worst coach in the NCAA who was lucky enough to take over a team from Frank Solich with enough talent to win. Too bad his record is about the same as Frank because in Lincoln that can lead to a one way ticket out of town. All in all USC dominated on offense and defense. They are a lock for the BCS title game now that UCLA and Washington lost. Win out and they are in. Easier said than done, but they are on cruise control to the BCS Title game.
2. Florida: Tim Tebow is my Heisman Trophy leader at this point. Four touchdowns today and 176 points in three games is just unbelievable. He is putting up great numbers, but the Gators' defense looks a bit weak. They allowed Troy to score 31 points and a Tennessee team that can't run its way through the cheerleaders' paper banner, to score 20. If they don't improve on defense then LSU will win the SEC crown and they might even lose to Florida State by the end of the year.
1. LSU: As good as Florida and USC has looked, only LSU has dominated its competition three weeks in a row both offensively and defensively. In three games they have only allowed 7 points while scoring 137 points. They have only allowed one touchdown. Compare that to USC which has allowed five touchdowns to be scored on it in only two games. Until LSU loses, they are number one in my book.
Now the worst team in the NCAA has to be Notre Dame. How can a coach like Weis, who is supposedly an NFL offensive genius, not have his team score one touchdown in three games? How can they have negative running yards so far? This team is bad, really bad. I am not sure how the heads at Notre Dame are going to spin this one but if you ask me Charlie is just over rated.
Honorable Mentions: Oklahoma is right up there for number five along with Wisconsin, West Virginia and Rutgers.
I just finished reading Lisa's evaluation of LSU. It doesn't suprise me that a USC fan is belittling the SEC, because they are still reeling from the embarassment of losing the National Championship to an SEC team. All last year SEC fans had to endure the bragging that eminated from Southern California as well as from Ohio State. In the end, the Florida Gators proved that the SEC is still the best conference.
USC lost to UCLA, hardly a great team, and Michigan lost to OSU. Meanwhile, Florida just rolled along biding their time until they finally got the opportunity to show the Big 10 what SEC football is all about. Make fun of LSU, make fun of Georgia, root for Cal against TN, but at the end of the day if Georgia wins and TN wins, will you change your mind Lisa?
The margin of victory is not the only thing that matters. If it was, then USC should have won the national title last year. The blew out many opponents, only to lose the game that counts. Winning all your games is what matters. USC is a dominant team in a weak conference. LSU, Georgia, FL, TN, and Auburn, are all good teams in a dominant conference. Only one can survive to fight for a national title, while USC just has to win against mediocre competition all year to go to the BCS title game. Not to mention that the SEC has a play off set up which adds one more level of toughness to earn its BCS title shot. For that reason alone, USC should have the upper hand to make it. The deck is stacked in a Trojan way.
I look forward to seeing a post from Lisa/all other SEC haters when TN and Georgia win. If they lose, I will be posting about how great the PAC 10 is.
No matter who wins or loses, isn't it great that we can officially start the trash talking. Let the bragging begin.
SoCalSportsFan
*Does anyone have a college pick em league set up? If not, we could do one before noon today and get picks in on the SEC vs Big 10 vs. Pac 10.*
New NBA Basketball: It was a stupid decision to switch balls without consulting the players and I hope the league realizes this and just switches back. It is beyond me to think that the NFL or MLB would switch balls without getting input from its players, but yet David Stern and his minions decided to do this without input. It must be about money, but I am not sure how Spalding is making more money on this ball or its advertising. I know we all played with all kinds of balls in pick up games, but as long as I can remember we used a leather ball in every organized league and it was always a thrill to get to use a game ball to shoot around. Synthetic was fine for the pick up games on the play ground, but real leather was special.
BCS: To be honest, I would like a play off system, but the BCS has done a fair job of getting the right two teams each year. USC vs. Texas was the right match up last year and with the exception of by passing Auburn a few years back, I have had very few quarrels with the eventual champion. Sure a case could be made that one team should have a shot at the title, but even with a play off there will always be a team on the outside looking in that might deserve a spot. If you take four teams, it is the number five team out, and if you take eight teams, it is the ninth one that was considered that will have a beef. How many one loss teams deserve a shot at this title game? Boise State is undefeated and they will not even get a look at the title game or a BCS berth.
NBA: The Lakers are looking pretty good out in the west. Is it suddenly because Kobe is sharing the ball more or is it because of Phil Jackson? If it were up to me, I would say that both of those are contributing factors, but the biggest turn around is that Lamar Odom has become much more aggressive at looking for his shots. Odom is finding ways to score and he is not passing up on his shots. As long as Odom continues to be aggressive the Lakers have a shot at going deep into the play offs this year.
NFL: Look out for the Seahawks. With the return of Shaun Alexander, the Seahawks have a shot at the Super Bowl again. He was flawless last week against Green Bay and he looked to be in perfect form. If he continues to run for 100+ yards per game, the Seahawks will come out on top in the NFC. Hopefully everyone will not start saying the NFC is all that weak if they do win out because Dallas has played pretty well this year and so have the Bears and Saints.
MLB: The Red Sox are idiots for paying 51 million just to talk to a player. It’s that simple. The Cubs are making the best moves in MLB to become a real contender. Bonds will play somewhere next year and it looks more and more like it will be in Oakland every day. Big Mac deserves to be in the HOF on his first ballot. Being number 7 in home runs is enough in my book.
Florida vs. Michigan: Florida deserves the national title game and I believe the BCS will get it right. Michigan did not win its own conference. Michigan beat Wisconsin and Notre Dame while Florida beat LSU, Arkansas, TN, and Florida State in Tallahassee. Say whatever you want, but Florida has found a way to win. Last year no one gave Texas a shot at beating USC. USC was the best team in the history of NCAA football, that is if you listened to all of the sports analysts, and then Texas came out and beat them. Florida might do the same thing to OSU. In fact, I would pick Florida to win that game. By the way, Urban Meyer should get coach of the year.
There you have it. Just a few of my random thoughts on this Sunday morning.
