Jim
09-23-2007, 11:55 AM
Games for 20-22 September 2007
The top spots are too close for any true separation. I feel that nobody can argue that USC and LSU are the best teams in the country at this time. Oklahoma and Florida are close behind followed by California and West Virginia. Any one of these six top teams could win the national championship. Florida and LSU will settle one question when they meet in the regular season and then probably in the SEC title game. Looks like West Virginia is atop the Big East with four teams that they have yet to meet who are all legitimate contenders for the conference crown. California and USC will meet in a few weeks to settle the Pac Ten issues but Oregon and/or Arizona State might upset that apple cart? The Big Ten leadership seems to be between Ohio State, Wisconsin and Purdue. But the Wolverines started out conference play with a critical win. Michigan State and Illinois are destined to spoil somebody’s party this year. And I didn’t even mention Penn State or Iowa. Boston College and Clemson will meet to settle the Atlantic division of the ACC with Miami meeting Virginia Tech to probably settle the Coastal division.
I feel Notre Dame will be 0-8 before they can reasonably expect to pull off a win (over Navy). If Duke can get an offense cranked up (they put up 43 on Navy but unfortunately allowed the Middies to score 46) they might be competitive against the Fighting Irish which I am certain is why UND scheduled this perpetual loser to begin with. I’m thinking 2-10 or 3-9 at best for Notre Dame. A major portion of the woes UND is currently experiencing can be attributed to the Irish having only 7 members from Tyrone Willingham’s 2004 recruiting class remaining on campus and in the football program. Transfers out of South Bend have been rampant.
I’m sure all of us have noticed how well the mid-majors (and even lesser regarded teams have done this year). Take a look at the games I’ve listed below. It all began with Appalachian State proving that those big schools who scheduled you to pad their win-column were disrespectful and needed to be shown that the “fodder” teams also have athletes who can move with anybody. A.K.A: “be careful what you wish/plan for as you may not like the results”. I’ve also included a couple of BCS vs. BCS level games to extend my point that “bad teams” aren’t necessarily coming into a game this year thinking they’ve already lost.
Notice how the Big XII seems to be paying the price for this new found faith in non-BCS competition? That is why the Big XII blows this year as they are playing way too many teams they supposedly have more talent than way too close and losing far too often.
For the record, I went 42-11 in this week’s (20-22 Sept) straight up predictions giving me a 182-44 total for the year.
* Appalachian State over Michigan (the miracle that helped opened up the eyes in the world of the “lesser” teams. “Have faith”!)
* Kent State over Iowa State
* Northern Iowa over Iowa State
* Toledo over Iowa State (get the picture? Iowa State has been a punching bag for the MAC and Gateway this year)
*Bowling Green over Minnesota
*Florida Atlantic over Minnesota (MAC and Sun Belt notch wins over a Big Ten school in their house no less)
*Troy over Oklahoma State (Troy put up 57 on Arkansas and Florida. No surprise they were ready to play the over-hyped Cowboys)
*Ball State losing to Nebraska (the Huskers didn’t BEAT them. In fact, BSU gained 610 yards on the Huskers “Black Skirts”)
*Middle Tennessee out gained by Louisville (MTSU exposed the Cardinals defense. Others took note and exploited them)
*Arkansas State vs. Texas (ASU might be having a good year as they played Tennessee tough for a while. Game vs. Troy a big one)
*UCF vs. Texas (again a Big XII team shows little respect for those “scheduled cupcakes” and almost paid the price both times)
*Duke over Northwestern (might not raise too many eyebrows as NW might be a 2-10 team this year but Duke did win on the road)
*Syracuse over Louisville (arguably the worst BCS Div-IA program runs all over the highly regarded Cardinals at Papa Johns)
*Mississippi State over Auburn (MSU might not be that bad at season’s end but they weren’t given a chance vs. the Tigers)
*Wyoming over Virginia (the Cavaliers beat Miami last year and were an improved team. Cowboys beat them by 20)
*UCF over N. C. State (don’t know how bad NCSU is but ACC usually dominates their early OOC schedule)
Top 25 => SEC: 5, Big Ten: 5, Pac Ten: 4, Big East: 4, ACC: 3, Big XII: 3, WAC: 1
Top 26-50 => SEC: 5, Big XII: 5, ACC: 4, Big Ten: 3, CUSA: 2, MWC: 2, Big East: 1, Pac Ten: 1, WAC: 1; Sun Belt: 1
Average ranking by conference in my Top 25 followed by the TOTAL NUMBER of members (and percentage) in my Top 50.
Pac Ten: 9th (4/10 @ 1, 5, 7, 24); 5 teams for 50%,
SEC: 11th (5/12 @ 1, 3, 13, 16, 23) 10 teams for 83%,
Big XII: 13th (3/12 @ 3, 14, 22) 8 teams for 67%,
Big East: 14th (4/8 @ 5, 10, 19, 21) 5 teams for 63%,
Big Ten: 14th (5/12 @ 9, 11, 15, 17, 20) 8 teams for 73%,
ACC: 15th (3/12 @ 8, 12, 25) 7 teams 58%.
Even though the Pac Ten has the fewest members (by percentage) in the Top 50, the members they do have ranked in the Top 25 are higher ranked (collectively) than any other conference in my rankings as of Sunday, 23 September 2007. So take it for what its worth (totally unqualified). But, arguably, having 10 of 12 members (83%) from the SEC being ranked, one could give them the “thumbs up” as the best overall conference in BCS Div-IA. Won’t get an argument from me on that.
1.) Southern California – Trojans perform as expected and pound Cougars, 47-14. A machine in full motion.
Louisiana State – Had to struggle vs. Gamecocks and use some trickery. Tigers win a rare “day game”, 28-16.
3.) Oklahoma – Sooners rout Tulsa with multiple persons in triple digits. Need to tighten up the secondary.
Florida – Gators were proven to be humans after all. Hung on to nip inspired Rebels in Oxford, 30-24.
5.) West Virginia – Impressive in pounding a decent East Carolina. Owned the Pirates all afternoon.
California – Bears shred Mike Stoops’ Wildcat defense, 45-27. A major match in Eugene next week.
7.) Oregon – Stanford gave them a game in the 1st half. Ducks got it together and put on the rout in the 2nd half.
8.) Clemson – Tigers dine on the Wolfpack 42-20. Looks like a collision when they host Boston College in November.
9.) Ohio State – Yes, Northwestern lost to Duke but the Buckeyes weren’t supposed to have an offense. Romp, 58-7.
10.) Rutgers – Took the week off. So others in the tight knot going into this weekend nudged past them.
11.) Wisconsin – Scored the only 2 offensive TDs allowed by Iowa this year in a narrow 17-13 in Madison.
12.) Boston College – Lighting it up in the ACC. Army not a strong opponent but now all enter ACC competition.
13.) Kentucky – Second straight week the Wildcats win as an underdog. UK impressive in defeating Arkansas.
14.) Texas – Finally the Longhorns do what was expected and rout Rice, 58-14. Remain unbeaten. Host KSU next.
15.) Purdue – Boilers along with Buckeyes and Badgers are atop the Big Ten race. Play the Irish next.
16.) Georgia – Won a hard fought game for only the 2nd time in Georgia history in Tuscaloosa, 26-23 in OT.
17.) Penn State – Fail to score a TD as Michigan extends its record to nine straight over the Lions.
18.) Hawaii - played Charleston South in a match that should have never been allowed. Worse than a scrimmage vs. a frat.
19.) South Florida – In their short history they’ve risen extremely fast. Beat Auburn and now UNC convincingly.
20.) Michigan – Looks like the mojo is back in the Big House as Michigan returns into its expected form with the expected results.
21.) Cincinnati – Dismantled Marshall as expected. Dropped by one spot due to other’s impressive wins.
22.) Missouri – Offense is humming but defense still allows too many yards. For the moment they’re Top 25.
23.) South Carolina – Played LSU very tough in Baton Rouge. Drop just a few spots with the loss.
24.) Arizona State – Offensive guns put away Oregon State and Sun Devils remain unbeaten.
25.) Miami (Fla.) – Other than the loss to Oklahoma the Hurricanes look pretty good. Will impress in the ACC.
Rounding out the next 25 teams to complete the Top 50.
Virginia Tech, Georgia Tech, Michigan State, Alabama, Louisville, Illinois, Houston, Iowa, Kansas, Florida State,
Texas Tech, Tennessee, Auburn, Arkansas, Nebraska, UCLA, Boise State, Mississippi State, Texas A&M, Virginia,
Wyoming, Troy, Kansas State, Southern Miss, Air Force.
The top spots are too close for any true separation. I feel that nobody can argue that USC and LSU are the best teams in the country at this time. Oklahoma and Florida are close behind followed by California and West Virginia. Any one of these six top teams could win the national championship. Florida and LSU will settle one question when they meet in the regular season and then probably in the SEC title game. Looks like West Virginia is atop the Big East with four teams that they have yet to meet who are all legitimate contenders for the conference crown. California and USC will meet in a few weeks to settle the Pac Ten issues but Oregon and/or Arizona State might upset that apple cart? The Big Ten leadership seems to be between Ohio State, Wisconsin and Purdue. But the Wolverines started out conference play with a critical win. Michigan State and Illinois are destined to spoil somebody’s party this year. And I didn’t even mention Penn State or Iowa. Boston College and Clemson will meet to settle the Atlantic division of the ACC with Miami meeting Virginia Tech to probably settle the Coastal division.
I feel Notre Dame will be 0-8 before they can reasonably expect to pull off a win (over Navy). If Duke can get an offense cranked up (they put up 43 on Navy but unfortunately allowed the Middies to score 46) they might be competitive against the Fighting Irish which I am certain is why UND scheduled this perpetual loser to begin with. I’m thinking 2-10 or 3-9 at best for Notre Dame. A major portion of the woes UND is currently experiencing can be attributed to the Irish having only 7 members from Tyrone Willingham’s 2004 recruiting class remaining on campus and in the football program. Transfers out of South Bend have been rampant.
I’m sure all of us have noticed how well the mid-majors (and even lesser regarded teams have done this year). Take a look at the games I’ve listed below. It all began with Appalachian State proving that those big schools who scheduled you to pad their win-column were disrespectful and needed to be shown that the “fodder” teams also have athletes who can move with anybody. A.K.A: “be careful what you wish/plan for as you may not like the results”. I’ve also included a couple of BCS vs. BCS level games to extend my point that “bad teams” aren’t necessarily coming into a game this year thinking they’ve already lost.
Notice how the Big XII seems to be paying the price for this new found faith in non-BCS competition? That is why the Big XII blows this year as they are playing way too many teams they supposedly have more talent than way too close and losing far too often.
For the record, I went 42-11 in this week’s (20-22 Sept) straight up predictions giving me a 182-44 total for the year.
* Appalachian State over Michigan (the miracle that helped opened up the eyes in the world of the “lesser” teams. “Have faith”!)
* Kent State over Iowa State
* Northern Iowa over Iowa State
* Toledo over Iowa State (get the picture? Iowa State has been a punching bag for the MAC and Gateway this year)
*Bowling Green over Minnesota
*Florida Atlantic over Minnesota (MAC and Sun Belt notch wins over a Big Ten school in their house no less)
*Troy over Oklahoma State (Troy put up 57 on Arkansas and Florida. No surprise they were ready to play the over-hyped Cowboys)
*Ball State losing to Nebraska (the Huskers didn’t BEAT them. In fact, BSU gained 610 yards on the Huskers “Black Skirts”)
*Middle Tennessee out gained by Louisville (MTSU exposed the Cardinals defense. Others took note and exploited them)
*Arkansas State vs. Texas (ASU might be having a good year as they played Tennessee tough for a while. Game vs. Troy a big one)
*UCF vs. Texas (again a Big XII team shows little respect for those “scheduled cupcakes” and almost paid the price both times)
*Duke over Northwestern (might not raise too many eyebrows as NW might be a 2-10 team this year but Duke did win on the road)
*Syracuse over Louisville (arguably the worst BCS Div-IA program runs all over the highly regarded Cardinals at Papa Johns)
*Mississippi State over Auburn (MSU might not be that bad at season’s end but they weren’t given a chance vs. the Tigers)
*Wyoming over Virginia (the Cavaliers beat Miami last year and were an improved team. Cowboys beat them by 20)
*UCF over N. C. State (don’t know how bad NCSU is but ACC usually dominates their early OOC schedule)
Top 25 => SEC: 5, Big Ten: 5, Pac Ten: 4, Big East: 4, ACC: 3, Big XII: 3, WAC: 1
Top 26-50 => SEC: 5, Big XII: 5, ACC: 4, Big Ten: 3, CUSA: 2, MWC: 2, Big East: 1, Pac Ten: 1, WAC: 1; Sun Belt: 1
Average ranking by conference in my Top 25 followed by the TOTAL NUMBER of members (and percentage) in my Top 50.
Pac Ten: 9th (4/10 @ 1, 5, 7, 24); 5 teams for 50%,
SEC: 11th (5/12 @ 1, 3, 13, 16, 23) 10 teams for 83%,
Big XII: 13th (3/12 @ 3, 14, 22) 8 teams for 67%,
Big East: 14th (4/8 @ 5, 10, 19, 21) 5 teams for 63%,
Big Ten: 14th (5/12 @ 9, 11, 15, 17, 20) 8 teams for 73%,
ACC: 15th (3/12 @ 8, 12, 25) 7 teams 58%.
Even though the Pac Ten has the fewest members (by percentage) in the Top 50, the members they do have ranked in the Top 25 are higher ranked (collectively) than any other conference in my rankings as of Sunday, 23 September 2007. So take it for what its worth (totally unqualified). But, arguably, having 10 of 12 members (83%) from the SEC being ranked, one could give them the “thumbs up” as the best overall conference in BCS Div-IA. Won’t get an argument from me on that.
1.) Southern California – Trojans perform as expected and pound Cougars, 47-14. A machine in full motion.
Louisiana State – Had to struggle vs. Gamecocks and use some trickery. Tigers win a rare “day game”, 28-16.
3.) Oklahoma – Sooners rout Tulsa with multiple persons in triple digits. Need to tighten up the secondary.
Florida – Gators were proven to be humans after all. Hung on to nip inspired Rebels in Oxford, 30-24.
5.) West Virginia – Impressive in pounding a decent East Carolina. Owned the Pirates all afternoon.
California – Bears shred Mike Stoops’ Wildcat defense, 45-27. A major match in Eugene next week.
7.) Oregon – Stanford gave them a game in the 1st half. Ducks got it together and put on the rout in the 2nd half.
8.) Clemson – Tigers dine on the Wolfpack 42-20. Looks like a collision when they host Boston College in November.
9.) Ohio State – Yes, Northwestern lost to Duke but the Buckeyes weren’t supposed to have an offense. Romp, 58-7.
10.) Rutgers – Took the week off. So others in the tight knot going into this weekend nudged past them.
11.) Wisconsin – Scored the only 2 offensive TDs allowed by Iowa this year in a narrow 17-13 in Madison.
12.) Boston College – Lighting it up in the ACC. Army not a strong opponent but now all enter ACC competition.
13.) Kentucky – Second straight week the Wildcats win as an underdog. UK impressive in defeating Arkansas.
14.) Texas – Finally the Longhorns do what was expected and rout Rice, 58-14. Remain unbeaten. Host KSU next.
15.) Purdue – Boilers along with Buckeyes and Badgers are atop the Big Ten race. Play the Irish next.
16.) Georgia – Won a hard fought game for only the 2nd time in Georgia history in Tuscaloosa, 26-23 in OT.
17.) Penn State – Fail to score a TD as Michigan extends its record to nine straight over the Lions.
18.) Hawaii - played Charleston South in a match that should have never been allowed. Worse than a scrimmage vs. a frat.
19.) South Florida – In their short history they’ve risen extremely fast. Beat Auburn and now UNC convincingly.
20.) Michigan – Looks like the mojo is back in the Big House as Michigan returns into its expected form with the expected results.
21.) Cincinnati – Dismantled Marshall as expected. Dropped by one spot due to other’s impressive wins.
22.) Missouri – Offense is humming but defense still allows too many yards. For the moment they’re Top 25.
23.) South Carolina – Played LSU very tough in Baton Rouge. Drop just a few spots with the loss.
24.) Arizona State – Offensive guns put away Oregon State and Sun Devils remain unbeaten.
25.) Miami (Fla.) – Other than the loss to Oklahoma the Hurricanes look pretty good. Will impress in the ACC.
Rounding out the next 25 teams to complete the Top 50.
Virginia Tech, Georgia Tech, Michigan State, Alabama, Louisville, Illinois, Houston, Iowa, Kansas, Florida State,
Texas Tech, Tennessee, Auburn, Arkansas, Nebraska, UCLA, Boise State, Mississippi State, Texas A&M, Virginia,
Wyoming, Troy, Kansas State, Southern Miss, Air Force.