I don't really even know why anyone discusses College Football with an eye towards prognostication. At SGM we're probably 5 for 20 in terms of predicting what has actually come close to happening. My first National Championship game predicition was Ohio State vs. the Big XII champion, whoever that turns out to be. Then the Buckeyes were demolished on Live National Tee-vee by USC and it became clear that USC was the team to beat. And then Oregon State decided that they were just the team to do that.
Watching USC fall apart against inferior conference opposition for the third straight year warms my heart. Granted, I was among the many who felt USC was a top-tier team in the aftermath of the Ohio State beatdown, but my preseason view on USC was that they were "poised for a very entertaining downswing" so I think that's breakeven for me. It's pretty easy to see that USC is more-or-less out of the National Title picture with that loss; their remaining schedule is a whole lot of nothing and Notre Dame may or may not be a top 25 team when they meet. My prediction here is that USC runs the rest of the table and weasels their way back into the National Title picture, angering me to no end.
On top of that, Florida shit the bed against Ole Miss. Their defense failed pretty spectacularly, which was my preseason concern for Florida, but the return of Percy Harvin has bolstered their running game, which was the developing concern. If Florida's defense can tighten up and allow the Gators to finish the season without any further blemishes, they'll find themselves fighting either Alabama or LSU for the SEC title and a possible National Title shot.
Oklahoma trucked right through TCU, a solid non-conference opponent that was ranked in the top 25. So far, Oklahoma isn't having any of the problems I thought they might with a true-sophomore QB. TCU loaded the box and dared the Sooners to throw and Oklahoma obliged to the tune of 411 yards and 35 points. The Sooners' path to the National Title runs through Texas, Kansas, and probably Missouri in the Big XII Championship Game. Not an easy road.
So there were the three teams I felt were the best in the nation and only one is still able to make that claim. I expected Oklahoma to take the #1 spot in today's polls, followed by Texas, Missouri, Alabama, Penn State, and LSU in that order.
Apparently I had not noticed that the SEC Blowjob had progressed from ball-sucking to shaft-working, as Alabama leap-frogged Texas, Missouri, and LSU in the AP to take #2 while only jumping LSU in the Coaches' Poll to take the #4 spot. Never mind that Georgia was clearly overrated (and remains overrated as 11th and 10th in the AP and Coaches', respectively) and expected those Black Jerseys to work much like the Venom-suit and win the ballgame for them. Never mind that Clemson clearly doesn't have the talent on the field to overcome the idiocy on the sidelines (Fire. Tommy. Bowden. It's that simple). Never mind that Alabama struggled to beat Tulane earlier this season (you don't hear much about that). And how does LSU hold position after giving up 24 points to a godawful Mississippi State team?
Granted, all of that is largely irrelevant because the paths of five of those teams intersect either in the regular season and/or probably in conference championship games, but the infinite reverence for the SEC often borders on the absurd. This Alabama team is largely the same team that started strong last year before melting down spectacularly in the last six weeks of the season. At the same time, these Texas and Missouri teams are largely the same teams that started and finished strong last year.
But throughout the rest of the season close shaves by Alabama and LSU will be poo-pooed as coming against "tough in-conference competition" regardless of the SEC having a lot of one-dimensional teams this year. Take Auburn for example; they have a great defense but an atrocious offense. At the same time, Penn State, which is having a spectacular year, is going to be criticized if they don't drop the hammer on Wisconsin and Ohio State and an undefeated Penn State is likely to be the odd-team out if the Big XII and SEC both contribute undefeated teams.
Highlights of the weekend: USC goes down in flames; North Carolina's comeback against Miami (TARHEELS, BABY!); the finish of the Michigan-Wisconsin game.
Lowlights: Clemson falling to Maryland and Wake Forest losing to Navy, for fuck's sake the ACC is just pathetic; the UT-Auburn game was horrible and Jonathan Crompton is a terrible quarterback.
Top Ten:
1. Oklahoma
2. Texas
3. Missouri
4. Alabama
5. Penn State
6. BYU
7. Texas Tech
8. LSU
9. South Florida
10. Florida
Sunday, September 28, 2008
College Foo-baw's Upset Weekend
3 comments:
Ah yes, every year it happens and we act surprised. The media and the fans anoint a couple of super teams to set sail for the national championship on the distant horizon and then act shocked when the ship sinks 50 yards from shore. I had the chance to watch the entire USC and Oregon State game and I must say the Beavs put on an offensive line and running game clinic. I guess USC must have been watching SportsCenter before the game and heard everyone saying that after beating Ohio State so convincingly, the Pac-10 schedule was just a formality.
I don't know what to say about the Gators. I guess the SEC is just sooo great and powerful that it literally radiates some sort of Greatness Gamma Ray and the Gators own greatness seeped into Ole Miss and the Rebels used it against them. That's the only explanation I can come up with. Too bad some of it couldn't have deflected onto Arkansas too. They could have used some of that against Texas.
Here's my New Top 10
1. Oklahoma- They barely broke a sweat against a tough and ranked TCU squad albeit in Norman. I hear Jim Ross is a mainstay at Sooner practices these days.
2. Alabama- You gotta love watching Georgia get dismantled. They were down 31-0 at halftime. 'Nuff said. Bama deserves this. I still say they're gonna have a tough time surviving the schedule
3. LSU- Why not? They're still unbeaten and they've got a title to defend.
4. Texas- Nice statement against Arkansas. Nobody is really talking about them though.
5. Missouri- Still don't buy them.
6. Penn State- Circle October 24th at Ohio State
7. Texas Tech- Points.
8. BYU- 19 wives and 1 national title.
9. USC- Expect the average margin of victory from here on out to be 50-6
10. Florida- Good shot at an SEC title.
I took a line out of the post that I should have left in for purposes of full disclosure: I could only enjoy Georgia's dismantling to a small degree because fuck Alabama head coach Nick "Osama bin" Saban. If he could coach grownups maybe my beloved Dolphins wouldn't be at least two years further behind in rebuilding a once-great franchise. I still say jumping Bama to #2 only reinforces the "SEC as Valhalla" nonsense and it must be stopped.
Giving up 24 points to Mississippi State is why not LSU. Florida's loss to Ole Miss is reasonable because Houston Nutt is a good coach and they've got a great QB in Jevan Snead, but letting Mississippi State score 24 points and only beating them by 10 is something a top 5 team doesn't do.
Here's to hoping that Ohio State and Penn State meet without losing any games in the meantime and the winner runs the rest of the table. If Penn State goes undefeated and JoePa gets screwed out of a National Title shot, maybe we can get a serious discussion on a playoff. And if Ohio State finishes with just one loss and a win over a top five PSU, they can worm their way to a third straight title game and we'll definitely get a serious playoff discussion.
I put BYU ahead of Texas Tech because BYU has beaten more BCS-conference schools than Tech has. Some crazy person on the TV mentioned BYU as an outside National Title contender this weekend. That's probably a sign of the apocalypse.
I looked at one point specifically and as a Clemson fan I do agree fire Tommy Bowden! We want Charlie Strong!
Post a Comment