A lot of people are predicting tomorrow to be a day full of upsets and I tend to agree, though I don't really consider some of them upsets... teams lose so other teams that haven't done as much yet move up in the rankings and then it's their time to lose too. It's how it works. So let's play a little buy or sell with the big upset picks...
#2 Auburn loses at Ole Miss - SELL
Look, I get the trap road game concept and no SEC opponent is easy, but Newton is too good to not get past Ole Piss.
#1 Oregon falls at #16 USC - BUY
If you've been paying attention, I've been waiting on this for a few weeks. I really feel like this is USC's bowl game, plus they're coming off an extra week to prepare for the speed of this Oregon offense. The Ducks are better, but the Trojans take down #1.
#8 Mich St gets first loss at #17 Iowa - BUY
But it's not an upset. If I was Vegas and had to make a line for this one, I'd put Iowa as a favorite, probably by at least a TD.
#6 Mizzou gets dumped by #12 Nebraska - BUY
Again, I don't feel like this is an upset. And I like Missouri a lot too. But I like Nebraska too, and this awesome pass defense led by Prince Nakawasakamara or whatever his name is not going to let Mizzou come to town and take the Big 12 North in their last season. If I was setting a line for Vegas, I'd put Nebraska at -9.5 and I'd take the points.
So those are the big games people are talking about. Should any of these other teams be on upset watch?
#5 Utah @ Air Force - YES
Air Force is a legit team and Utah faces a mega trap game on the road that could really derail hype for next week's TCU-Utah showdown. Utah has put up killer numbers so far but has only played one even moderately good team, and they barely beat Pitt. I think AF takes them down in a close one.
#14 Stanford @ Washington - NO
Yeah, yeah, Jake Locker and all, but Washington is two points away from 1-6 and Stanford is one quarter away from a top five ranking. I love the Cardinal.
#15 Arizona @ UCLA - YES
Arizona is also a field goal away from a top five ranking, but it's been a lot more smoke and mirrors and they haven't really gone on a tough road trip yet. UCLA could win or lose this game by 21 though. I'll take the win this week.
#19 Oklahoma St @ Kansas St - YES
All world Justin Blackmon is suspended this week, and I'm worried Weeden won't be able to do much. Should be a fun game to watch great running backs, with Kendall Hunter and Daniel Thomas running up and down the field. I like the home team.
#24 Baylor @ Texas - I THINK SO
Texas is absolutely embarassing. It's the names of these two schools alone that make me pick the Longhorns to win. They've fallen pretty low, but losing at home to Baylor? Too much pride to do that.
And last but not least, the World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party pitting Georgia and Florida, two teams still vying for the SEC East title and a shot to get destroyed in the SEC title game. This is always a good game and should be again. I like the Gators to win this one and right the ship after a month of losing, still on track to get their shot at Bama (or Auburn?).
Big day of games! I'm excited.
Friday, October 29, 2010
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Top 25 rankings - Oct 24th
I did these on Saturday night, just didnt have time to post yet. Off we go...
1. Oregon 7-0 (1) - How's 60 points in that first game as #1? Better enjoy it while it lasts. USC awaits in their own personal bowl game.
2. Auburn 8-0 (4) - I gave you this Tigers team weeks before the rest of the nation noticed. I wasnt right about a lot last week, but Cam Newton makes me look better and better every time he suits up. What a ridiculously talented player.
3. Boise St 6-0 (2) - I actually did some extra research, intending to write a scathing "come ON people, stop letting other teams pass Boise" note. But here's the deal. They beat Va Tech and Oregon St, good but not great wins. They beat Toledo, a likely low bowl team. But the other three teams they beat are a combined 4-19... and the 4 wins are against Toledo, the worst team in NCAA at 0-8, and two wins against the same division I-AA team. I'm not even sure if those count. So Boise has NO shot at looking good in the computers. They're relying solely on the eyeball test and enough other people losing. At this point, even the TCU-Utah victor is going to end up well ahead of Boise in the computers and threaten to knock the Broncos out of a title game, yes, the same TCU team that Boise *just beat last year*. Can we PLEASE get a playoff?!?
4. TCU 8-0 (6) - They finally allowed their first TD in a month but still thoroughly dominated a very solid Air Force team. Honestly, might be a more impressive win than anything Boise has done. Air Force is good enough to hang with VT and Oregon St, not necessarily better, but they lost 38-7. Trust me, Air Force is good, good enough to mess things up this weekend by getting a big home win over...
5. Utah 7-0 (7) - So how good does that whole putting up 68 at Iowa State a few weeks ago thing look about now? That's the same team that just dominated Texas on the road. Of course, UCLA did that too. Texas in a BCS bowl? Woops. Maybe not. Utah better be careful this week. Air Force will be ready and angry after last week's embarassment, and it is the perfect trap game with TCU looming next week.
6. Missouri 7-0 (12) - All but one win by these Tigers has been by two scores this season, including a surprisingly dominant performance against Oklahoma this weekend. Can they avoid the letdown on the road this week in a final battle against Nebraska? It certainly won't be easy. Looks like another undefeated Tigers team may fall from the unbeaten ranks soon, but if not then Mizzou could coast to 12-0 and an Oklahoma rematch in the Big XII title game.
7. Alabama 7-1 (8) - Outside of the disaster against SC, the Tide have allowed under 9 ppg, a ridiculous figure. I still feel this is the best team in the nation, and they still control their destiny. They can prove it with a statement win against LSU this week.
8. Michigan State 8-0 (10) - Still just not quite convinced. Win in Iowa this weekend and I'll finally believe. But they won't. :)
9. Wisconsin 7-1 (13) - Ok, so this team went from out of my top 25 two weeks ago to in my top ten now. Impressive back to back wins against Ohio St and Iowa will do that. Still, they've won two times this season from a missed extra point. Lucky, or just good enough?
10. Ohio State 7-1 (13) - They've been completely dominant in every game this season, as much as any team other than Oregon, except for the one game vs Wisconsin. That may haunt them, or it could cause a crazy 7-1 tie atop the Big Ten for one final crazy finish before they add a 12th team.
11. LSU 7-1 (5) - Hard to believe this defense really gave up 450 rushing yards, even to Auburn. Alabama has to be drooling this weekend. It's put up or shut up time for Les and the boys.
12. Nebraska 6-1 (15) - That loss at home to Texas is looking very ugly at this point, but Nebraska could end up being the saving grace in the Big 12. They could well beat Mizzou this weekend to knock them out, and then Oklahoma in the title game as well, and there's no way a team with a loss like that to Texas is touching a title game. This Huskers team is GOOD.
13. Oklahoma 6-1 (3) - Dominated FSU but had four one-score wins against average teams. Dominated Mizzou in yardage while the offense looked unstoppable at times, but mistakes and turnovers cost them any shot at victory. Still can't believe Bob Stoops kicked a FG down 12 with only six minutes left, and then punted from the 10 with only a few minutes left. YOU ARE THE #1 TEAM IN THE NATION AND THIS IS YOUR ONLY SHOT AT A TITLE!!! Sadly, Stoops was worried about how ugly a 12 or 20 point loss might look instead of giving his team a shot to win. I lost any respect I had left.
14. Stanford 6-1 (11)
15. Arizona 6-1 (17) - Both teams continuing to win but both could be due for a letdown soon.
16. USC 5-2 (19) - The Trojans are two last minute field goals away from 7-0 and what would've been billed as the matchup of the season with Oregon coming to town. They could've been the #1 BCS team after this week with no shot at at even a bowl game. You think they're a little upset about that? I'm telling you, Oregon. You better watch yourselves.
17. Iowa 5-2 (9)
18. South Carolina 5-2 (21)
19. Oklahoma State 6-1 (16)
20. Florida State 6-1 (18)
21. Arkansas 5-2 (23)
22. Mississippi State 6-2 (22)
23. Virginia Tech 6-2 (NR)
24. Baylor 6-2 (NR) - Congratulations on going bowling, Baylor Bears!!! Robert Griffin III, I can't wait to watch you there. I heart Baylor sports teams finally being good this year.
25. Appalachian State 7-0 (NR) - Because I think they might really be better than the other teams I didnt feel like ranking here. And because Appalachian State is hot-hot-HOT!!!
1. Oregon 7-0 (1) - How's 60 points in that first game as #1? Better enjoy it while it lasts. USC awaits in their own personal bowl game.
2. Auburn 8-0 (4) - I gave you this Tigers team weeks before the rest of the nation noticed. I wasnt right about a lot last week, but Cam Newton makes me look better and better every time he suits up. What a ridiculously talented player.
3. Boise St 6-0 (2) - I actually did some extra research, intending to write a scathing "come ON people, stop letting other teams pass Boise" note. But here's the deal. They beat Va Tech and Oregon St, good but not great wins. They beat Toledo, a likely low bowl team. But the other three teams they beat are a combined 4-19... and the 4 wins are against Toledo, the worst team in NCAA at 0-8, and two wins against the same division I-AA team. I'm not even sure if those count. So Boise has NO shot at looking good in the computers. They're relying solely on the eyeball test and enough other people losing. At this point, even the TCU-Utah victor is going to end up well ahead of Boise in the computers and threaten to knock the Broncos out of a title game, yes, the same TCU team that Boise *just beat last year*. Can we PLEASE get a playoff?!?
4. TCU 8-0 (6) - They finally allowed their first TD in a month but still thoroughly dominated a very solid Air Force team. Honestly, might be a more impressive win than anything Boise has done. Air Force is good enough to hang with VT and Oregon St, not necessarily better, but they lost 38-7. Trust me, Air Force is good, good enough to mess things up this weekend by getting a big home win over...
5. Utah 7-0 (7) - So how good does that whole putting up 68 at Iowa State a few weeks ago thing look about now? That's the same team that just dominated Texas on the road. Of course, UCLA did that too. Texas in a BCS bowl? Woops. Maybe not. Utah better be careful this week. Air Force will be ready and angry after last week's embarassment, and it is the perfect trap game with TCU looming next week.
6. Missouri 7-0 (12) - All but one win by these Tigers has been by two scores this season, including a surprisingly dominant performance against Oklahoma this weekend. Can they avoid the letdown on the road this week in a final battle against Nebraska? It certainly won't be easy. Looks like another undefeated Tigers team may fall from the unbeaten ranks soon, but if not then Mizzou could coast to 12-0 and an Oklahoma rematch in the Big XII title game.
7. Alabama 7-1 (8) - Outside of the disaster against SC, the Tide have allowed under 9 ppg, a ridiculous figure. I still feel this is the best team in the nation, and they still control their destiny. They can prove it with a statement win against LSU this week.
8. Michigan State 8-0 (10) - Still just not quite convinced. Win in Iowa this weekend and I'll finally believe. But they won't. :)
9. Wisconsin 7-1 (13) - Ok, so this team went from out of my top 25 two weeks ago to in my top ten now. Impressive back to back wins against Ohio St and Iowa will do that. Still, they've won two times this season from a missed extra point. Lucky, or just good enough?
10. Ohio State 7-1 (13) - They've been completely dominant in every game this season, as much as any team other than Oregon, except for the one game vs Wisconsin. That may haunt them, or it could cause a crazy 7-1 tie atop the Big Ten for one final crazy finish before they add a 12th team.
11. LSU 7-1 (5) - Hard to believe this defense really gave up 450 rushing yards, even to Auburn. Alabama has to be drooling this weekend. It's put up or shut up time for Les and the boys.
12. Nebraska 6-1 (15) - That loss at home to Texas is looking very ugly at this point, but Nebraska could end up being the saving grace in the Big 12. They could well beat Mizzou this weekend to knock them out, and then Oklahoma in the title game as well, and there's no way a team with a loss like that to Texas is touching a title game. This Huskers team is GOOD.
13. Oklahoma 6-1 (3) - Dominated FSU but had four one-score wins against average teams. Dominated Mizzou in yardage while the offense looked unstoppable at times, but mistakes and turnovers cost them any shot at victory. Still can't believe Bob Stoops kicked a FG down 12 with only six minutes left, and then punted from the 10 with only a few minutes left. YOU ARE THE #1 TEAM IN THE NATION AND THIS IS YOUR ONLY SHOT AT A TITLE!!! Sadly, Stoops was worried about how ugly a 12 or 20 point loss might look instead of giving his team a shot to win. I lost any respect I had left.
14. Stanford 6-1 (11)
15. Arizona 6-1 (17) - Both teams continuing to win but both could be due for a letdown soon.
16. USC 5-2 (19) - The Trojans are two last minute field goals away from 7-0 and what would've been billed as the matchup of the season with Oregon coming to town. They could've been the #1 BCS team after this week with no shot at at even a bowl game. You think they're a little upset about that? I'm telling you, Oregon. You better watch yourselves.
17. Iowa 5-2 (9)
18. South Carolina 5-2 (21)
19. Oklahoma State 6-1 (16)
20. Florida State 6-1 (18)
21. Arkansas 5-2 (23)
22. Mississippi State 6-2 (22)
23. Virginia Tech 6-2 (NR)
24. Baylor 6-2 (NR) - Congratulations on going bowling, Baylor Bears!!! Robert Griffin III, I can't wait to watch you there. I heart Baylor sports teams finally being good this year.
25. Appalachian State 7-0 (NR) - Because I think they might really be better than the other teams I didnt feel like ranking here. And because Appalachian State is hot-hot-HOT!!!
Saturday, October 23, 2010
Oct 23rd predictions
Three sets of picks today. First some unranked team matchups that are interesting, then my ranked upset picks, and on to the 5 games of the day...
Could it be the changing of the guard in the C-USA today, and will anyone actually noticed? I say yes and no. June Jones has SMU ballin and they take down Houston as the new top dog. The ACC actually has some interesting games on the slate today between 4 contenders to the current FSU/VT throne, but two of them will be pretenders after today. I think we'll have a pair of field goal games. I like Miami to outlast UNC at home in what looks like it will definitely be the last Butch Bowl. I think the triple option escapes on the road as GT takes down Clemson. That offense is just so tough to crack.
I don't have Kansas State ranked (they shouldn't be even close right now), and Baylor has a shot to get their 6th win today and qualify for a bowl game for the first time in forever. I like Robert Griffin III and the Bears to get it done. I think Spurrier's boys continue to slide and drop an ugly game in Vanderbilt who will actually control their SEC destiny if they win this. I've got Michigan State at #10 with an undefeated record but still think they're pretty overrated, and even though it's become a popular upset pick, I really like Dan Persa and Northwestern to defend their turf at home and get the win. And then there's the late game between Washington and #17 Arizona that should be a great one, with both teams having several crazy late finishes. I don't have a good reason but I like JJ's Huskies to get the road upset.
#25 Notre Dame and #25 Navy (remember, I ranked the "independents" at 25 together haha) meet today in the new Giants stadium and I'm sad I have to miss this one. But I have the Irish getting a new win streak going, assuming Michael Floyd plays and is able to have a big game.
#9 Iowa takes care of business with relative ease at home against #13 Wisconsin. The real polls have that as an upset, but the Badgers are due for a big letdown after last week's big home stand against the overrated #1 Buckeyes.
I've really gone back and forth on both of the huge Big 12 games today. Between Nebraska, Ok St, Mizzou, and Oklahoma, these four teams play a big role in our national title picture moving forward. Oklahoma may well have to beat all three of those teams to make the title game, and as high as they're all ranked right now, there looks to be no way they wouldn't stay easily ahead of Boise if they survived.
I really do think #16 Oklahoma State can keep the dream alive with a home victory over #15 Nebraska. Nebraska is the better team, but they're reeling after getting embarassed by Texas and I think Bo Pelini really messed with Taylor Martinez's head by pulling him last week. Ok State has a terrible pass defense, but the run defense is stout enough to keep them close, and even Nebraska can't shut down Justin Blackmon. I like the Pokes to stay undefeated.
I'm just going with my heart on the other game and I'm picking #12 Mizzou at home against the visiting #3 (#1 in the BCS) Sooners. I really do think Oklahoma is overrated, not playing complete games yet, but they did play their one best game against their best opponent. Still Mizzou's defense has played really well and I like everything they're doing except the lack of a run game. I think the home GameDay crowd is amped and they get off to a quick start. We'll see if that is enough to outlast the Sooners.
The real game of the day has to be the Tiger Bowl at Jordan Hare though. LSU and Auburn is always a wild ride, and it seems like it almost always has some title implications. This year both teams have used smoke and mirrors to get to my top 5, and the winner today will make a strong case for my #2 spot (please, you're not passing Oregon after that Thursday night UCLA beatdown). What happens when the amazing offense meets the amazing defense? Defense usually wins. But unless LSU's defense plans on scoring a TD or two, I just don't see how LSU's pitiful offense can do enough. Les may find a way, and I have a bad feeling about this, but I'm sticking with Auburn at home for the win that propels them toward and 11-0 Iron Bowl finale against Alabama.
Happy game day!
Could it be the changing of the guard in the C-USA today, and will anyone actually noticed? I say yes and no. June Jones has SMU ballin and they take down Houston as the new top dog. The ACC actually has some interesting games on the slate today between 4 contenders to the current FSU/VT throne, but two of them will be pretenders after today. I think we'll have a pair of field goal games. I like Miami to outlast UNC at home in what looks like it will definitely be the last Butch Bowl. I think the triple option escapes on the road as GT takes down Clemson. That offense is just so tough to crack.
I don't have Kansas State ranked (they shouldn't be even close right now), and Baylor has a shot to get their 6th win today and qualify for a bowl game for the first time in forever. I like Robert Griffin III and the Bears to get it done. I think Spurrier's boys continue to slide and drop an ugly game in Vanderbilt who will actually control their SEC destiny if they win this. I've got Michigan State at #10 with an undefeated record but still think they're pretty overrated, and even though it's become a popular upset pick, I really like Dan Persa and Northwestern to defend their turf at home and get the win. And then there's the late game between Washington and #17 Arizona that should be a great one, with both teams having several crazy late finishes. I don't have a good reason but I like JJ's Huskies to get the road upset.
#25 Notre Dame and #25 Navy (remember, I ranked the "independents" at 25 together haha) meet today in the new Giants stadium and I'm sad I have to miss this one. But I have the Irish getting a new win streak going, assuming Michael Floyd plays and is able to have a big game.
#9 Iowa takes care of business with relative ease at home against #13 Wisconsin. The real polls have that as an upset, but the Badgers are due for a big letdown after last week's big home stand against the overrated #1 Buckeyes.
I've really gone back and forth on both of the huge Big 12 games today. Between Nebraska, Ok St, Mizzou, and Oklahoma, these four teams play a big role in our national title picture moving forward. Oklahoma may well have to beat all three of those teams to make the title game, and as high as they're all ranked right now, there looks to be no way they wouldn't stay easily ahead of Boise if they survived.
I really do think #16 Oklahoma State can keep the dream alive with a home victory over #15 Nebraska. Nebraska is the better team, but they're reeling after getting embarassed by Texas and I think Bo Pelini really messed with Taylor Martinez's head by pulling him last week. Ok State has a terrible pass defense, but the run defense is stout enough to keep them close, and even Nebraska can't shut down Justin Blackmon. I like the Pokes to stay undefeated.
I'm just going with my heart on the other game and I'm picking #12 Mizzou at home against the visiting #3 (#1 in the BCS) Sooners. I really do think Oklahoma is overrated, not playing complete games yet, but they did play their one best game against their best opponent. Still Mizzou's defense has played really well and I like everything they're doing except the lack of a run game. I think the home GameDay crowd is amped and they get off to a quick start. We'll see if that is enough to outlast the Sooners.
The real game of the day has to be the Tiger Bowl at Jordan Hare though. LSU and Auburn is always a wild ride, and it seems like it almost always has some title implications. This year both teams have used smoke and mirrors to get to my top 5, and the winner today will make a strong case for my #2 spot (please, you're not passing Oregon after that Thursday night UCLA beatdown). What happens when the amazing offense meets the amazing defense? Defense usually wins. But unless LSU's defense plans on scoring a TD or two, I just don't see how LSU's pitiful offense can do enough. Les may find a way, and I have a bad feeling about this, but I'm sticking with Auburn at home for the win that propels them toward and 11-0 Iron Bowl finale against Alabama.
Happy game day!
Monday, October 18, 2010
Bowl projections - Oct 18
Rose Bowl - Stanford vs Iowa
I have Oregon losing to USC in a week and then again in the Civil War game to end the season. I do think Stanford could lose again and if so then this is Oregon's spot, but I like Luck and the Cardinal to end up here. Iowa is clearly the strongest Big 10 team to me and has the best schedule by far. Easy choice.
Sugar Bowl - Auburn vs Utah
I like Auburn to win the game against LSU this weekend and head into the last weekend of the season 11-0 before losing to Alabama. Good enough to get them a surefire BCS berth though. I have them in the Sugar Bowl meeting the winner of Utah-TCU, and I give the edge right now to Utah not necessarily the better team but the home team in that game.
Fiesta Bowl - West Virginia vs Oklahoma
West Va clearly looks like the class of the Big East and I have nothing more to say about them. I tried to talk myself into someone other than Oklahoma here but I don't see them losing more than once (at either Missouri or Ok State hopefully), then beating Nebraska in the Big 12 title game finale. Tried to talk myself into Nebraska, Texas, or OK State here. Couldn't do it.
Orange Bowl - Virginia Tech vs Texas
I think the Hokies end up winning the ACC, the strongest team and on a pretty impressive win streak by then, still a definite marquee win for Boise State. And the other spot was a total question mark for me. I don't see any other one-loss teams (other than TCU) so it was choosing between two-loss teams like Texas, Ohio St, Mich St, and Oregon. Texas's losses were first so.. there ya go.
National Championship - Boise St vs Alabama
I like Boise State and Utah to finish the year undefeated but I just don't see any way they play each other for a national title. Not happening. I see people putting one-loss Alabama in the national title game after winning the SEC including a victory over top 5 undefeated Auburn to end the season, plus an SEC title as well. Boise State wins and wins the national title.... but only in theory because Utah also wins and remains undefeated, and we never actually know who the real champion was this year because Boise and Utah never got to play. :-(
THE END
I have Oregon losing to USC in a week and then again in the Civil War game to end the season. I do think Stanford could lose again and if so then this is Oregon's spot, but I like Luck and the Cardinal to end up here. Iowa is clearly the strongest Big 10 team to me and has the best schedule by far. Easy choice.
Sugar Bowl - Auburn vs Utah
I like Auburn to win the game against LSU this weekend and head into the last weekend of the season 11-0 before losing to Alabama. Good enough to get them a surefire BCS berth though. I have them in the Sugar Bowl meeting the winner of Utah-TCU, and I give the edge right now to Utah not necessarily the better team but the home team in that game.
Fiesta Bowl - West Virginia vs Oklahoma
West Va clearly looks like the class of the Big East and I have nothing more to say about them. I tried to talk myself into someone other than Oklahoma here but I don't see them losing more than once (at either Missouri or Ok State hopefully), then beating Nebraska in the Big 12 title game finale. Tried to talk myself into Nebraska, Texas, or OK State here. Couldn't do it.
Orange Bowl - Virginia Tech vs Texas
I think the Hokies end up winning the ACC, the strongest team and on a pretty impressive win streak by then, still a definite marquee win for Boise State. And the other spot was a total question mark for me. I don't see any other one-loss teams (other than TCU) so it was choosing between two-loss teams like Texas, Ohio St, Mich St, and Oregon. Texas's losses were first so.. there ya go.
National Championship - Boise St vs Alabama
I like Boise State and Utah to finish the year undefeated but I just don't see any way they play each other for a national title. Not happening. I see people putting one-loss Alabama in the national title game after winning the SEC including a victory over top 5 undefeated Auburn to end the season, plus an SEC title as well. Boise State wins and wins the national title.... but only in theory because Utah also wins and remains undefeated, and we never actually know who the real champion was this year because Boise and Utah never got to play. :-(
THE END
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Top 25 rankings - Oct 17th
1. Oregon 6-0 (1) - My clear #1 at this point with all double digit wins and a video game offense, but road trips to USC and then the Civil War against Oregon State still stand in the way. Is it time to start thinking about a LaGarrette Blount helmet punch rematch for the national title?
2. Boise St 6-0 (2) - That early win over Va Tech creeps that much closer to being a big deal.
3. Oklahoma 6-0 (7) - Don't feel like this is the third best team in the nation but here by default. Better win (crushed FSU) than the other undefeated teams, but now they travel to Mizzou for a hyped GameDay crowd. Next top ranked team to fall?
4. Auburn 7-0 (6) - The Tigers continue to escape, and Cam Newton surely leads the Heisman race at this point. Will both of those trends continue with LSU coming to town? And in related news, how in the world is *that* game *not* the GameDay site next week?
5. LSU 7-0 (5) - The other Tigers couldn't even get their offense going against McNeese State. The defense is stellar but they're not going to shut Auburn totally down, so how will they score enough to stay undefeated? One of these teams cant escape the other's escape attack.
6. TCU 6-0 (9) - The Toads finally gave up three points after two shutouts and they have the #1 defense in the nation. That plus the wins over Oregon St, Baylor, and @SMU give them the edge over...
7. Utah 6-0 (8) - Only two teams in the nation are in the top 10 in both offense and defense: TCU and Oregon. They should certainly have the nation's attention on Nov 6 as the season's last matchup of unbeaten squads.
8. Alabama 6-1 (10) - The wins over Penn St, Arkansas, and Florida were all downgraded this week, and so was the loss at SC, but the Tide still control their fate. I still think if the chips were down, I'd pick Bama going to the title game to face Boise there.
9. Iowa 5-1 (12) - Not great in two road games so far but awful road opponents left. Instead it's Wisconsin and Mich St coming to visit the next two weeks, then Ohio St in a month. The road to the Rose Bowl clearly comes through the corn fields.
10. Michigan St 7-0 (14) - Can't believe Sparty is in the top 10, but the wins over Wisconsin, Notre Dame, and @Michigan are at least solid. The last hurdle to 12-0 could be @Iowa in two weeks. Would it be enough? I say no.
11. Stanford 5-1 (11) - Off week and they get jumped by a few teams. Starting to feel like that crazy last second win over USC could have big implications down the stretch.
12. Missouri 6-0 (18) - Didnt quite realize how good of defense this team has been playing, second in the nation in points allowed, but things get real when OU comes to visit this week and then it's a road trip to Nebraska after that.
13. Wisconsin 6-1 (22) - We saw it last week with SC and now with Wisconsin - beat a top ranked team and you move up a lot. But it's time for a letdown this week in Iowa, just like SC as well.
14. Ohio St 6-1 (4) - Really missed an opportunity with the loss this week. Thank God. Only other legit game left is at Iowa in a month. Time to stop paying attention.
15. Nebraska 5-1 (3) - Another team who really missed an opportunity. Shut down completely at home against Texas and now they hit the road for a tough game against...
16. Oklahoma St 6-0 (19) - Second in the nation in points, but still havent really played anyone. If they take care of Nebraska this week, I'll put their 7-0 butts in my top ten.
17. Arizona 5-1 (16) - Ready for a fall with QB Nick Foles out 2-3 weeks with injury.
18. Florida St 6-1 (17) - Looking like the class of the ACC. For whatever that's worth.
19. USC 5-2 (NR) - They're two last second field goals away from a 7-0 start that could only be disastrous in USC where they can't make a bowl this year. Now it's a week off before hosting #1 Oregon - expect this to be the Trojans' bowl game for this year. *gulp*
20. West Virginia 5-1 (21) - Class of the Big East!
21. South Carolina 5-2 (13) - Now that's the Spurrier we know and love. Still, at .500 they lead their half of the SEC right now with everyone else struggling.
22. Mississippi St 5-2 (NR) - The two losses to Auburn and LSU aren't so terrible, and how many teams actually win at Florida? Not bad, Dan Mullen. Not bad.
23. Arkansas 4-2 (15) - No great wins yet, but both losses excusable. Got screwed this week by both the refs and the Mallett injury.
24. Texas 4-2 (NR) - Impressive road domination at Nebraska, but equally unimpressive home loss against UCLA balances that out. Still, the schedule opens up and the Longhorns may not lose again this year, could even back door their way into a BCS spot.
25. Independents 12-8 (NR) - This has to be the latest in the season in a long time that Notre Dame AND Navy AND Army were all over .500. Good for our military guys.
Dropped from rankings - Michigan (20), NC State (23), Air Force (24), Nevada (25)
2. Boise St 6-0 (2) - That early win over Va Tech creeps that much closer to being a big deal.
3. Oklahoma 6-0 (7) - Don't feel like this is the third best team in the nation but here by default. Better win (crushed FSU) than the other undefeated teams, but now they travel to Mizzou for a hyped GameDay crowd. Next top ranked team to fall?
4. Auburn 7-0 (6) - The Tigers continue to escape, and Cam Newton surely leads the Heisman race at this point. Will both of those trends continue with LSU coming to town? And in related news, how in the world is *that* game *not* the GameDay site next week?
5. LSU 7-0 (5) - The other Tigers couldn't even get their offense going against McNeese State. The defense is stellar but they're not going to shut Auburn totally down, so how will they score enough to stay undefeated? One of these teams cant escape the other's escape attack.
6. TCU 6-0 (9) - The Toads finally gave up three points after two shutouts and they have the #1 defense in the nation. That plus the wins over Oregon St, Baylor, and @SMU give them the edge over...
7. Utah 6-0 (8) - Only two teams in the nation are in the top 10 in both offense and defense: TCU and Oregon. They should certainly have the nation's attention on Nov 6 as the season's last matchup of unbeaten squads.
8. Alabama 6-1 (10) - The wins over Penn St, Arkansas, and Florida were all downgraded this week, and so was the loss at SC, but the Tide still control their fate. I still think if the chips were down, I'd pick Bama going to the title game to face Boise there.
9. Iowa 5-1 (12) - Not great in two road games so far but awful road opponents left. Instead it's Wisconsin and Mich St coming to visit the next two weeks, then Ohio St in a month. The road to the Rose Bowl clearly comes through the corn fields.
10. Michigan St 7-0 (14) - Can't believe Sparty is in the top 10, but the wins over Wisconsin, Notre Dame, and @Michigan are at least solid. The last hurdle to 12-0 could be @Iowa in two weeks. Would it be enough? I say no.
11. Stanford 5-1 (11) - Off week and they get jumped by a few teams. Starting to feel like that crazy last second win over USC could have big implications down the stretch.
12. Missouri 6-0 (18) - Didnt quite realize how good of defense this team has been playing, second in the nation in points allowed, but things get real when OU comes to visit this week and then it's a road trip to Nebraska after that.
13. Wisconsin 6-1 (22) - We saw it last week with SC and now with Wisconsin - beat a top ranked team and you move up a lot. But it's time for a letdown this week in Iowa, just like SC as well.
14. Ohio St 6-1 (4) - Really missed an opportunity with the loss this week. Thank God. Only other legit game left is at Iowa in a month. Time to stop paying attention.
15. Nebraska 5-1 (3) - Another team who really missed an opportunity. Shut down completely at home against Texas and now they hit the road for a tough game against...
16. Oklahoma St 6-0 (19) - Second in the nation in points, but still havent really played anyone. If they take care of Nebraska this week, I'll put their 7-0 butts in my top ten.
17. Arizona 5-1 (16) - Ready for a fall with QB Nick Foles out 2-3 weeks with injury.
18. Florida St 6-1 (17) - Looking like the class of the ACC. For whatever that's worth.
19. USC 5-2 (NR) - They're two last second field goals away from a 7-0 start that could only be disastrous in USC where they can't make a bowl this year. Now it's a week off before hosting #1 Oregon - expect this to be the Trojans' bowl game for this year. *gulp*
20. West Virginia 5-1 (21) - Class of the Big East!
21. South Carolina 5-2 (13) - Now that's the Spurrier we know and love. Still, at .500 they lead their half of the SEC right now with everyone else struggling.
22. Mississippi St 5-2 (NR) - The two losses to Auburn and LSU aren't so terrible, and how many teams actually win at Florida? Not bad, Dan Mullen. Not bad.
23. Arkansas 4-2 (15) - No great wins yet, but both losses excusable. Got screwed this week by both the refs and the Mallett injury.
24. Texas 4-2 (NR) - Impressive road domination at Nebraska, but equally unimpressive home loss against UCLA balances that out. Still, the schedule opens up and the Longhorns may not lose again this year, could even back door their way into a BCS spot.
25. Independents 12-8 (NR) - This has to be the latest in the season in a long time that Notre Dame AND Navy AND Army were all over .500. Good for our military guys.
Dropped from rankings - Michigan (20), NC State (23), Air Force (24), Nevada (25)
NFL Week 6
While none of the NFL games really stand out other than Baltimore @ New England, this week has some games that could have some HUGE implications playoffs wise...
Baltimore @ New England - Baltimore has been GREAT on the road, and beat the Pats here last year in the playoffs. New England lost their best offensive playmaker. A recipe for an easy Ravens win? Not so fast, the Pats had the week off to prepare, and the football version of the Killer B's is not to be underestimated. I still like the Ravens in a higher scoring game than anticipated - 27-24
Dallas @ Minnesota - This game between 1 win teams feature arguably two of the more talented teams in the NFL. Which teams are we going to see? The Dallas team that rolled Houston or the one that lost to Tennessee? Are we going to see the Vikings team that was really good vs. the Jets in the second half, or the team that went to the NFC Championship game last year? Lose this game, and you're pretty much dead in the water as far as playoff hopes go. I like the Vikings in this game for the simple reason that they're the home team. 30-27
Miami @ Green Bay - Not really sure what to make of Miami. They have potential, but I don't trust them. Banged up Green Bay took a HUGE blow with the lost of Finley for the season. I think the Pack wins at home with Rodgers starting, but they need Clay Matthews back ASAP and have to find a red zone target to replace the Finley. 30-17
Atlanta @ Philly - My #3 ranked team travels to the City of Brotherly Love in a chance to prove themselves as the NFC team to beat. Philly can put themselves as the class of the NFC East with a win. I think the Falcons have the edge at QB, which is what makes the difference in this game. 20-17
New Orleans @ Tampa Bay - Who would've thought this game would be so important? The Bucs are 2nd in the NFC South, and the Saints REALLY need a win. I think Tampa is good, but not a playoff team...yet. But I still want to pick the Bucs, even though I could see Brees and the Saints coming in and blowing them out and outing them as a pretender. Takin' the Saints 24-16
Kansas City @ Houston - Never saw this game being of importance. More so for Houston than KC, but important for both teams nonetheless. KC played well in the road loss to Indy, and Houston is reeling after a huge loss to the Giants. I kind of like the Chiefs to pull out the road win and send Houston to 3-3. 17-14
Indy @ Washington - Time to see what these two teams are made of. The Colts are banged up, and Washington barely escaped with a win at home against the hurt Packers. A win for either team is huge, but I'm taking Peyton until he proves he's not good anymore. 34-24
Tennessee @ Jacksonville - The battle for the AFC South will be a good one. Two good RBs, and that's about it. I don't want to watch this game, but it has some big implications in the South. Win this game and you're in first place, and have momentum. I like the Titans because I don't trust Garrard in a big game at all. 30-17
The other, less important games...
Seattle @ Chicago - Bears win easily 24-13
San Diego @ St. Louis - Chargers win 30-20
Detroit @ NY Giants - over fast, Giants 30-10
Cleveland @ Pittsburgh - Colt McCoy is DEAD - 30-6 Steelers
NY Jets @ Denver - close, but no cigar Broncs - 20-16
Oakland @ SanFran - no one cares, 49ers get their first win 20-10
Baltimore @ New England - Baltimore has been GREAT on the road, and beat the Pats here last year in the playoffs. New England lost their best offensive playmaker. A recipe for an easy Ravens win? Not so fast, the Pats had the week off to prepare, and the football version of the Killer B's is not to be underestimated. I still like the Ravens in a higher scoring game than anticipated - 27-24
Dallas @ Minnesota - This game between 1 win teams feature arguably two of the more talented teams in the NFL. Which teams are we going to see? The Dallas team that rolled Houston or the one that lost to Tennessee? Are we going to see the Vikings team that was really good vs. the Jets in the second half, or the team that went to the NFC Championship game last year? Lose this game, and you're pretty much dead in the water as far as playoff hopes go. I like the Vikings in this game for the simple reason that they're the home team. 30-27
Miami @ Green Bay - Not really sure what to make of Miami. They have potential, but I don't trust them. Banged up Green Bay took a HUGE blow with the lost of Finley for the season. I think the Pack wins at home with Rodgers starting, but they need Clay Matthews back ASAP and have to find a red zone target to replace the Finley. 30-17
Atlanta @ Philly - My #3 ranked team travels to the City of Brotherly Love in a chance to prove themselves as the NFC team to beat. Philly can put themselves as the class of the NFC East with a win. I think the Falcons have the edge at QB, which is what makes the difference in this game. 20-17
New Orleans @ Tampa Bay - Who would've thought this game would be so important? The Bucs are 2nd in the NFC South, and the Saints REALLY need a win. I think Tampa is good, but not a playoff team...yet. But I still want to pick the Bucs, even though I could see Brees and the Saints coming in and blowing them out and outing them as a pretender. Takin' the Saints 24-16
Kansas City @ Houston - Never saw this game being of importance. More so for Houston than KC, but important for both teams nonetheless. KC played well in the road loss to Indy, and Houston is reeling after a huge loss to the Giants. I kind of like the Chiefs to pull out the road win and send Houston to 3-3. 17-14
Indy @ Washington - Time to see what these two teams are made of. The Colts are banged up, and Washington barely escaped with a win at home against the hurt Packers. A win for either team is huge, but I'm taking Peyton until he proves he's not good anymore. 34-24
Tennessee @ Jacksonville - The battle for the AFC South will be a good one. Two good RBs, and that's about it. I don't want to watch this game, but it has some big implications in the South. Win this game and you're in first place, and have momentum. I like the Titans because I don't trust Garrard in a big game at all. 30-17
The other, less important games...
Seattle @ Chicago - Bears win easily 24-13
San Diego @ St. Louis - Chargers win 30-20
Detroit @ NY Giants - over fast, Giants 30-10
Cleveland @ Pittsburgh - Colt McCoy is DEAD - 30-6 Steelers
NY Jets @ Denver - close, but no cigar Broncs - 20-16
Oakland @ SanFran - no one cares, 49ers get their first win 20-10
Saturday, October 16, 2010
Oct 16th predictions
Before I get to the predictions, kudos to ESPN for posting this, but man what a weekend of *awesome* sports match-ups across the board. I honestly didn't know which one to vote for between three different sports:
Roy Halladay vs Tim Lincecum
Cam Newton vs Ryan Mallett
Brett Favre vs Tony Romo
Yes please.
On to the picks, it's time for some teams that are ranked too high to take a dive on the road this week. Like.. a lot of them. I have my #23 ranked NC State going down in East Carolina and unbeatens #18 Mizzou and #19 Oklahoma State both fall on the road in A&M and Texas Tech. Tough week for my non-BCS ranked teams as #24 Air Forces loses in a close one at San Diego State, and undefeated #25 Nevada falls on the road at Hawaii in a game that will get over after all the coaches already voted and kept them ranked. Morons. I also smell a hangover game from #13 South Carolina and see them hitting the skids in Kentucky.
For all of those road upsets, the one road team I would love to see go down is #4 Ohio State at #22 Wisconsin... but I just can't talk myself into it. I'll hope for Wisky to win, but I won't watch it for a minute. What a gross game. Ohio State wins like 17-16 on some ridiculous late "Terrelle for Heisman" drive. Ugh.
I do like a couple of road underdogs to come out on top. #12 Iowa travels to #14 Michigan and further exposes Denard Robinson, opening the Heisman race wiiiide open. And the game I'm most excited for today, #16 Arkansas travels to #6 Auburn and faces their old offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn. I think the defense is ready and I like the WOO PIGs to get the road upset, leaving LSU as the sole SEC unbeaten at day's end.
I'm also excited to watch the Texas @ #3 Nebraska game and see what happens with Taylor Martinez against a pissed off and rested Longhorns defense. I just don't see the Horns letting Nebraska leave the Big 12 without a nice big parting gift in the shape of a giant "L".
I have Denard, Martinez, and Newton all losing today and being exposed a little bit. Gross, does that make Terrelle Pryor the Heisman leader after today? Sick.
Roy Halladay vs Tim Lincecum
Cam Newton vs Ryan Mallett
Brett Favre vs Tony Romo
Yes please.
On to the picks, it's time for some teams that are ranked too high to take a dive on the road this week. Like.. a lot of them. I have my #23 ranked NC State going down in East Carolina and unbeatens #18 Mizzou and #19 Oklahoma State both fall on the road in A&M and Texas Tech. Tough week for my non-BCS ranked teams as #24 Air Forces loses in a close one at San Diego State, and undefeated #25 Nevada falls on the road at Hawaii in a game that will get over after all the coaches already voted and kept them ranked. Morons. I also smell a hangover game from #13 South Carolina and see them hitting the skids in Kentucky.
For all of those road upsets, the one road team I would love to see go down is #4 Ohio State at #22 Wisconsin... but I just can't talk myself into it. I'll hope for Wisky to win, but I won't watch it for a minute. What a gross game. Ohio State wins like 17-16 on some ridiculous late "Terrelle for Heisman" drive. Ugh.
I do like a couple of road underdogs to come out on top. #12 Iowa travels to #14 Michigan and further exposes Denard Robinson, opening the Heisman race wiiiide open. And the game I'm most excited for today, #16 Arkansas travels to #6 Auburn and faces their old offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn. I think the defense is ready and I like the WOO PIGs to get the road upset, leaving LSU as the sole SEC unbeaten at day's end.
I'm also excited to watch the Texas @ #3 Nebraska game and see what happens with Taylor Martinez against a pissed off and rested Longhorns defense. I just don't see the Horns letting Nebraska leave the Big 12 without a nice big parting gift in the shape of a giant "L".
I have Denard, Martinez, and Newton all losing today and being exposed a little bit. Gross, does that make Terrelle Pryor the Heisman leader after today? Sick.
Sunday, October 10, 2010
Top 25 rankings - Oct 10th
1. Oregon 6-0 (2) - The Ducks strugled to put Wazzu away but I don't mind that after two rough games plus an injury to both Darron Thomas and Kenjon Barner. The timing for a bye week couldn't be much better.
2. Boise St 5-0 (3) - The Broncos were dominant against Toledo who might end up winning the MAC, and the wins against Va Tech and Oregon St should continue to look better each week. Bama's loss may have opened the door, but far enough? They'll still fall below an undefeated Pac 10, Big 10, or Big 12 team and I'm not sure Bama's loss does much. I think 1-loss SEC champ Bama still leaps Boise, and another 1-loss SEC champ would beat a top 5 Bama in the SEC championship and still make the leap. Boise still needs a lot of help.
3. Nebraska 5-0 (5) - The Huskers absolutely leveled K St in a trap game, and now they get the long awaited Horns visit 10 months after the Big 12 championship fiasco. Win this and the path is clear.
4. Ohio St 6-0 (4) - They've been completely in control so far but with Pryor banged up and a #1 national ranking, will the pressure and a road trip to Camp Randall this weekend end the fun?
5. LSU 6-0 (10) - At what point does escaping ridiculous situations every single week turn into finding a way to win against all the odds? This team could be 2-4 right now and Miles on the hot seat instead of looking like a genius. Now they get an off week (aka McNeese St) before things hit the fan with @Auburn and a visit from Alabama.
6. Auburn 6-0 (6) - The Tigers have four escape wins of their own without much of a marquee win other than a home victory over SC. Now Arkansas and LSU come to visit and we'll see if Cam Newton keeps things up.
7. Oklahoma 5-0 (12) - Those early season wins over Florida State and Air Force are starting to look pretty good right about now.
8. Utah 5-0 (8) - The overtime win against Pitt is no longer impressive, but putting up 68 on Iowa St sure is.
9. TCU 6-0 (9) - After questioning the Horned Frogs' defense two weeks ago, they've responded with a combined 72-0 victory the last couple games. Ok then.
10. Alabama 5-1 (1) - The Tide stay in my top ten and are still absolutely in the national title hunt. Yes they were dominated by SC on the road and probably should've lost at Arkansas as well, but they still have that win plus dominant wins against Florida and Penn St and will be playing angry now.
11. Stanford 5-1 (13) - I still can barely blame them for the loss against Oregon, but now they struggled to put away an overrated USC team at home and the defense is not looking as strong as it once was.
12. Iowa 4-1 (14) - The big win last week against Penn St lost some of its luster, and the loss at Arizona isn't as good anymore either. Still, win in Michigan this week and the road to the Big 10 title comes through Iowa as Wisconsin, Mich St, and Ohio St all still visit.
13. South Carolina 4-1 (NR) - Ok fine, no team should go from unranked to #13 halfway through the season, but I had apparently underrated the Cocks. The only loss was a close one in Auburn, and Lattimore and Jeffery showed they are huge young stars as SC rolled Alabama's defense this week.
14. Michigan St 6-0 (21) - Sparty should've probably lost to Notre Dame, but they took care of business against Wisky and dominated Denard's boys. With no Buckeyes on the schedule, it's time to start wondering about a longshot Cinderella run. But with no Buckeyes on the schedule, would it be enough?
15. Arkansas 4-1 (15) - Those wins over average UGa and A&M teams are looking a little tight. Are they ready for a trip to Jordan Hare?
16. Arizona 4-1 (7) - Time for a correction after two Houdini escapes against Iowa and Cal finally caught up to the Cats with a home loss to Oregon State.
17. Florida St 5-1 (24) - The Noles are the new class of the ACC. For now.
18. Missouri 5-0 (18)
19. Oklahoma St 5-0 (17)
20. Michigan 5-1 (11)
21. West Va 4-1 (NR)
22. Wisconsin 5-1 (NR)
23. North Carolina St 5-1 (NR)
24. Air Force 5-1 (23)
25. Nevada 6-0 (19) - I ran out of things to care enough about saying.
Dropped from rankings - Miami (15), Florida (20), Baylor (22), Northwestern (25)
2. Boise St 5-0 (3) - The Broncos were dominant against Toledo who might end up winning the MAC, and the wins against Va Tech and Oregon St should continue to look better each week. Bama's loss may have opened the door, but far enough? They'll still fall below an undefeated Pac 10, Big 10, or Big 12 team and I'm not sure Bama's loss does much. I think 1-loss SEC champ Bama still leaps Boise, and another 1-loss SEC champ would beat a top 5 Bama in the SEC championship and still make the leap. Boise still needs a lot of help.
3. Nebraska 5-0 (5) - The Huskers absolutely leveled K St in a trap game, and now they get the long awaited Horns visit 10 months after the Big 12 championship fiasco. Win this and the path is clear.
4. Ohio St 6-0 (4) - They've been completely in control so far but with Pryor banged up and a #1 national ranking, will the pressure and a road trip to Camp Randall this weekend end the fun?
5. LSU 6-0 (10) - At what point does escaping ridiculous situations every single week turn into finding a way to win against all the odds? This team could be 2-4 right now and Miles on the hot seat instead of looking like a genius. Now they get an off week (aka McNeese St) before things hit the fan with @Auburn and a visit from Alabama.
6. Auburn 6-0 (6) - The Tigers have four escape wins of their own without much of a marquee win other than a home victory over SC. Now Arkansas and LSU come to visit and we'll see if Cam Newton keeps things up.
7. Oklahoma 5-0 (12) - Those early season wins over Florida State and Air Force are starting to look pretty good right about now.
8. Utah 5-0 (8) - The overtime win against Pitt is no longer impressive, but putting up 68 on Iowa St sure is.
9. TCU 6-0 (9) - After questioning the Horned Frogs' defense two weeks ago, they've responded with a combined 72-0 victory the last couple games. Ok then.
10. Alabama 5-1 (1) - The Tide stay in my top ten and are still absolutely in the national title hunt. Yes they were dominated by SC on the road and probably should've lost at Arkansas as well, but they still have that win plus dominant wins against Florida and Penn St and will be playing angry now.
11. Stanford 5-1 (13) - I still can barely blame them for the loss against Oregon, but now they struggled to put away an overrated USC team at home and the defense is not looking as strong as it once was.
12. Iowa 4-1 (14) - The big win last week against Penn St lost some of its luster, and the loss at Arizona isn't as good anymore either. Still, win in Michigan this week and the road to the Big 10 title comes through Iowa as Wisconsin, Mich St, and Ohio St all still visit.
13. South Carolina 4-1 (NR) - Ok fine, no team should go from unranked to #13 halfway through the season, but I had apparently underrated the Cocks. The only loss was a close one in Auburn, and Lattimore and Jeffery showed they are huge young stars as SC rolled Alabama's defense this week.
14. Michigan St 6-0 (21) - Sparty should've probably lost to Notre Dame, but they took care of business against Wisky and dominated Denard's boys. With no Buckeyes on the schedule, it's time to start wondering about a longshot Cinderella run. But with no Buckeyes on the schedule, would it be enough?
15. Arkansas 4-1 (15) - Those wins over average UGa and A&M teams are looking a little tight. Are they ready for a trip to Jordan Hare?
16. Arizona 4-1 (7) - Time for a correction after two Houdini escapes against Iowa and Cal finally caught up to the Cats with a home loss to Oregon State.
17. Florida St 5-1 (24) - The Noles are the new class of the ACC. For now.
18. Missouri 5-0 (18)
19. Oklahoma St 5-0 (17)
20. Michigan 5-1 (11)
21. West Va 4-1 (NR)
22. Wisconsin 5-1 (NR)
23. North Carolina St 5-1 (NR)
24. Air Force 5-1 (23)
25. Nevada 6-0 (19) - I ran out of things to care enough about saying.
Dropped from rankings - Miami (15), Florida (20), Baylor (22), Northwestern (25)
NFL Week 5
What a crappy slate of NFL games this week. The KC-Indy game is one of the only games that intrigues me. Peyton taking on the undefeated Cheifs (wow, I said that?). It's time to see what the Cheifs (and Colts for that matter) are made of. I think if they win, on the road, they deserve a top 5 spot. I definitely didn't see it coming, the Cheifs being the only undefeated team in week 5. Now, I see them losing this game, losing next week, and it being just a team that's a fraud. I just don't see how they can do it. The run game will do well against Indy, but they will need Matt Cassel to make some plays on the road, and I'm not sure he can do it.
It will be fun to see Moss against the Jets again, and I wonder how he will hold up going 17 games this year. Him and Favre will open up some room for AP, but I still think the Jets D is too good. The matchup to watch in that game is LT vs. the D Line of Minny. The reason Sanchez has been so good is cuz LT has been so good. I see this as a low scoring game, the home team winning, and Minny reeling at 1-3. Where are the good ole days from last year when they couldn't lose?
But seriously, when you have Jax-Buffalo, Chicago-Carolina, St Louis-Detroit...who REALLY wants to watch ANY of those games? Thank GOD I'm not back in Illinois right now, or else I'd have to watch Tod Collins vs. Jimmy Clausen. Who else just threw up in their mouth? I did...couple that with my coffee taste in my mouth and no breakfast yet...pretty gross...
My picks for the week:
Jax over Buffalo
Cinci over Tampa
Atlanta over Cleveland
St Louis over Detroit
Indy over KC
Green Bay over Washington
Carolina over Chicago
Baltimore over Denver
Houston over NY Giants
New Orleans over Arizona (how fast will this game be over?)
Dallas over Tennessee
San Diego over Oakland (though I could see the Raiders keeping it close...maybe winning)
SanFran over Philly
NY Jets over Minny
It will be fun to see Moss against the Jets again, and I wonder how he will hold up going 17 games this year. Him and Favre will open up some room for AP, but I still think the Jets D is too good. The matchup to watch in that game is LT vs. the D Line of Minny. The reason Sanchez has been so good is cuz LT has been so good. I see this as a low scoring game, the home team winning, and Minny reeling at 1-3. Where are the good ole days from last year when they couldn't lose?
But seriously, when you have Jax-Buffalo, Chicago-Carolina, St Louis-Detroit...who REALLY wants to watch ANY of those games? Thank GOD I'm not back in Illinois right now, or else I'd have to watch Tod Collins vs. Jimmy Clausen. Who else just threw up in their mouth? I did...couple that with my coffee taste in my mouth and no breakfast yet...pretty gross...
My picks for the week:
Jax over Buffalo
Cinci over Tampa
Atlanta over Cleveland
St Louis over Detroit
Indy over KC
Green Bay over Washington
Carolina over Chicago
Baltimore over Denver
Houston over NY Giants
New Orleans over Arizona (how fast will this game be over?)
Dallas over Tennessee
San Diego over Oakland (though I could see the Raiders keeping it close...maybe winning)
SanFran over Philly
NY Jets over Minny
Saturday, October 9, 2010
Oct 9th predictions
Not our best slate of games this weekend, but a lot of times when we think we see that coming, we get a bunch of unexpected upsets. Will that be the case this time around?
GameDay chose to head to South Carolina to see the undeservedly ranked Gamecocks host #1 Alabama. The Tide are probably tired of marquee games and may start out slow in this one, but they'll roll and make sure GameDay doesnt come back to SC for a good while.
GameDay was probably counting on heading to the other Carolina for a tasty matchups of top 15 ACC squads, but the Clemson-UNC matchup has gone all wrong so far with both teams dropping two already and starting 0-1 in the conference. Loser is out of the ACC race, and I think that has to be UNC at this point. The real matchup in the ACC is one we've seen before, Florida State at Miami. These games are always good, and this one shouldn't fail us. Unfortunately Miami is coming off two draining road wins and I'm just not sure they have the energy to keep it up at home this week, so I have the Noles winning. Never an upset in this rivalry.
I don't think Stanford needs to be worried too much about being upset by visiting USC this week, and yes you just read that right. I wonder when the Cardinal were last the favorite in this one? Either way, it comes down to coaching and I will take Harbaugh over Lane Kiffin 7 days a week and twice on Saturdays.
So where are all of today's upsets? Well I think the Denard Robinson show may come to something of a screeching halt today. Both Michigan and MSU are (shockingly) overrated, and both should have lost to a now underrated Notre Dame team. The difference between the two is that the Spartans actually have a defense. I think they bottle up Denard, enough, and force him to beat them in the air, and I don't believe he can. Sparty gets the road victory. I also think #7 Arizona needs to be on upset watch this week. Even after a brutal stretch of schedule, I think the Rodgers brothers and Oregon State have what it takes to walk in and get the victory to stay in the Pac 10 race.
I like Florida at home against LSU in a battle of who-gets-to-double-digits-first. This one ain't gonna be pretty. It's possibly the top two defenses in the nation, but neither of them has called home much about their scoring offenses just yet. But at least Florida isn't making the mistakes that LSU so often does, and I'm not going to pick Les Miles to beat Urban Meyer unless I'm very compelled to. I'm not.
I'm compelled by the Pitt-Notre Dame game. The Irish are 2-3 but their losses are to both undefeated Michigan teams (and they should've won both), and a deserving loss to a far better Stanford team. Pitt's run game is sick but their style suits the Irish, and I think they can win it. It's a bigger game than you think. If the Irish can pull to 3-3, they'll have a superb chance of being 6-3 when top ten Utah comes to visit in November fresh off games against rivals Air Force and TCU and ripe for the upset. Before we know it, the Irish could be 8-3 heading to USC as favorites to win a game that *could* send them to the BCS. Just sayin.
And in the toilet bowl rivalry of the season, we get winless New Mexico facing off against winless New Mexico State. The two teams lost combined 131-0 against Oregon and Boise State if that tells you anything. It has to be the most empty worthless rivalry of them all. Neither team has much of a defense, but neither team scores a lot either. I miss the days when guys like Chase Holbrook were putting up ridiculous numbers for the Aggies. They're long gone. I'll take the Lobos on the road for possibly their only win of the season. :)
GameDay chose to head to South Carolina to see the undeservedly ranked Gamecocks host #1 Alabama. The Tide are probably tired of marquee games and may start out slow in this one, but they'll roll and make sure GameDay doesnt come back to SC for a good while.
GameDay was probably counting on heading to the other Carolina for a tasty matchups of top 15 ACC squads, but the Clemson-UNC matchup has gone all wrong so far with both teams dropping two already and starting 0-1 in the conference. Loser is out of the ACC race, and I think that has to be UNC at this point. The real matchup in the ACC is one we've seen before, Florida State at Miami. These games are always good, and this one shouldn't fail us. Unfortunately Miami is coming off two draining road wins and I'm just not sure they have the energy to keep it up at home this week, so I have the Noles winning. Never an upset in this rivalry.
I don't think Stanford needs to be worried too much about being upset by visiting USC this week, and yes you just read that right. I wonder when the Cardinal were last the favorite in this one? Either way, it comes down to coaching and I will take Harbaugh over Lane Kiffin 7 days a week and twice on Saturdays.
So where are all of today's upsets? Well I think the Denard Robinson show may come to something of a screeching halt today. Both Michigan and MSU are (shockingly) overrated, and both should have lost to a now underrated Notre Dame team. The difference between the two is that the Spartans actually have a defense. I think they bottle up Denard, enough, and force him to beat them in the air, and I don't believe he can. Sparty gets the road victory. I also think #7 Arizona needs to be on upset watch this week. Even after a brutal stretch of schedule, I think the Rodgers brothers and Oregon State have what it takes to walk in and get the victory to stay in the Pac 10 race.
I like Florida at home against LSU in a battle of who-gets-to-double-digits-first. This one ain't gonna be pretty. It's possibly the top two defenses in the nation, but neither of them has called home much about their scoring offenses just yet. But at least Florida isn't making the mistakes that LSU so often does, and I'm not going to pick Les Miles to beat Urban Meyer unless I'm very compelled to. I'm not.
I'm compelled by the Pitt-Notre Dame game. The Irish are 2-3 but their losses are to both undefeated Michigan teams (and they should've won both), and a deserving loss to a far better Stanford team. Pitt's run game is sick but their style suits the Irish, and I think they can win it. It's a bigger game than you think. If the Irish can pull to 3-3, they'll have a superb chance of being 6-3 when top ten Utah comes to visit in November fresh off games against rivals Air Force and TCU and ripe for the upset. Before we know it, the Irish could be 8-3 heading to USC as favorites to win a game that *could* send them to the BCS. Just sayin.
And in the toilet bowl rivalry of the season, we get winless New Mexico facing off against winless New Mexico State. The two teams lost combined 131-0 against Oregon and Boise State if that tells you anything. It has to be the most empty worthless rivalry of them all. Neither team has much of a defense, but neither team scores a lot either. I miss the days when guys like Chase Holbrook were putting up ridiculous numbers for the Aggies. They're long gone. I'll take the Lobos on the road for possibly their only win of the season. :)
Friday, October 8, 2010
NFL Power Rankings
So, a panel of 3 voted...
Here's how we rank the NFL teams going into week 5:
1. Pittsburgh - Brandon's Super Bowl pick from the beginning, and we all agree getting Big Ben back is scary good for this team...
2. Baltimore - We all like their 2 road wins and think Flacco is a stud. Interesting battle atop the AFC North
3. NY Jets - With Santonio joining the fold, the defense looking good and Sanchez and LT moving the offense, this team is what we thought they might be going into the season (by the way: Ryan and I hate this because we hate the Jets)
4. Atlanta - With their only loss to the Steelers in OT, you HAVE to love the Falcons. The top NFC team in our rankings is Brandon's NFC Super Bowl rep...
5. Indianapolis - We all agree Peyton keeps them towards the top, some of us just have them higher than others. Interesting to see the undefeated Cheifs in town...
5. New Orleans - The schedule is easy the next few weeks, and I couldn't drop them too far because they are still the defending Super Bowl champs.
7. Kansas City - Undefeated? SERIOUSLY? The schedule gets tough, but there's something you like about this team maybe?
7. New England - We all think with no Moss, this team will suffer. But with BB and Brady how far can they truly fall?
9. Houston - Is this the year? With the injuries (AJ and Mario) I felt I couldn't put them too high, but the other 2 believe in Schaub and Foster...
10. Green Bay - Varied voting on the Pack. With Ryan Grant they're definitely a top 5 team. But I had a hard time putting them too high after giving up 26 to the Lions at home...
11. Dallas - Love the talent, but at 1-2 can we really rank them in the top 10? Someone does...
12. San Diego - The Chargers are hard to read, but when are they easy to read? Philip Rivers is a stud, making them a legit threat in the AFC West...
13. Minnesota - The offense has it's WR playmaker, and I think we're all believers. The D is good as always, now can Favre put his new scandal behind him and play like last year?
14. Washington - A QB makes a difference. Still not a believer as I feel this team is too old. Brandon differs, saying they're an NFC contender...
15. Chicago - The voting was all over the board on this one. I don't have more to say than that...
16. Miami - None of us find this team to be THAT good, but not that bad either...putting them in the middle of the pack
17. Philadelphia - The leadership of this team is what scares me, with Andy Reid not choosing a QB ever! None of counted on Vick being as good, but his injury makes this team mediocre at best.
17. NY Giants - Consistency is what we are looking for. They can be good (Chicago) or bad (Indy)
19. Tennessee - We all had them at 19. No real comment other than that.
20. Jacksonville - We are into the teams where they're interchangable (for me at least). Love the win over the Colts.
21. Cincinatti - I thought this team would be better this year. No D, rush offense not there, recipe for disaster.
22. Denver - Ryan likes what Orton's doing. Too bad the rest of the team didn't get the memo?
23. Cleveland - Brandon has them at 16. Neither Ryan nor I had them above 23. What the...?
24. Tampa Bay - Josh Freeman is a good QB. We all like where they're headed, just not sure they're top 20 worthy...yet...reel off a few impressive wins and they will move up.
25. St. Louis - Bradford is legit. They are the top team in the NFC West in our rankings...at 25...ouch
26. Seattle - Ryan and I voted them 25. At home they are a top 15 team, on the road they are TERRIBLE. Clearly this team is still in transition and rebuilding.
27. Detroit - Like the Bucs, moving in the right direction. Staying in games, the young talent is improving, gotta like them a little right? But they're still the Lions...
28. San Francisco - They are in disarray. We're all disappointed by this team (though not sad since they're in the NFC West with the Hawks), and safe to say that they need a QB...is Singletary on the hot seat?
29. Oakland - Not as good as I thought they would be, but not too bad either. After a bad Week 1, they aren't playing too bad. I think this team believes in Gradkowski...
30. Arizona - Does their collapse make a case for Kurt Warner to the HOF? A QB switch to an undrafted rookie is not good at all
31. Carolina - Where's the big-time running game? Seriously, DeAngelo and Stewart NEED more touches.
32. Buffalo - The Unanimous #32. Were you expecting a different team? A legit 0-16 shot here.
Here's how we rank the NFL teams going into week 5:
1. Pittsburgh - Brandon's Super Bowl pick from the beginning, and we all agree getting Big Ben back is scary good for this team...
2. Baltimore - We all like their 2 road wins and think Flacco is a stud. Interesting battle atop the AFC North
3. NY Jets - With Santonio joining the fold, the defense looking good and Sanchez and LT moving the offense, this team is what we thought they might be going into the season (by the way: Ryan and I hate this because we hate the Jets)
4. Atlanta - With their only loss to the Steelers in OT, you HAVE to love the Falcons. The top NFC team in our rankings is Brandon's NFC Super Bowl rep...
5. Indianapolis - We all agree Peyton keeps them towards the top, some of us just have them higher than others. Interesting to see the undefeated Cheifs in town...
5. New Orleans - The schedule is easy the next few weeks, and I couldn't drop them too far because they are still the defending Super Bowl champs.
7. Kansas City - Undefeated? SERIOUSLY? The schedule gets tough, but there's something you like about this team maybe?
7. New England - We all think with no Moss, this team will suffer. But with BB and Brady how far can they truly fall?
9. Houston - Is this the year? With the injuries (AJ and Mario) I felt I couldn't put them too high, but the other 2 believe in Schaub and Foster...
10. Green Bay - Varied voting on the Pack. With Ryan Grant they're definitely a top 5 team. But I had a hard time putting them too high after giving up 26 to the Lions at home...
11. Dallas - Love the talent, but at 1-2 can we really rank them in the top 10? Someone does...
12. San Diego - The Chargers are hard to read, but when are they easy to read? Philip Rivers is a stud, making them a legit threat in the AFC West...
13. Minnesota - The offense has it's WR playmaker, and I think we're all believers. The D is good as always, now can Favre put his new scandal behind him and play like last year?
14. Washington - A QB makes a difference. Still not a believer as I feel this team is too old. Brandon differs, saying they're an NFC contender...
15. Chicago - The voting was all over the board on this one. I don't have more to say than that...
16. Miami - None of us find this team to be THAT good, but not that bad either...putting them in the middle of the pack
17. Philadelphia - The leadership of this team is what scares me, with Andy Reid not choosing a QB ever! None of counted on Vick being as good, but his injury makes this team mediocre at best.
17. NY Giants - Consistency is what we are looking for. They can be good (Chicago) or bad (Indy)
19. Tennessee - We all had them at 19. No real comment other than that.
20. Jacksonville - We are into the teams where they're interchangable (for me at least). Love the win over the Colts.
21. Cincinatti - I thought this team would be better this year. No D, rush offense not there, recipe for disaster.
22. Denver - Ryan likes what Orton's doing. Too bad the rest of the team didn't get the memo?
23. Cleveland - Brandon has them at 16. Neither Ryan nor I had them above 23. What the...?
24. Tampa Bay - Josh Freeman is a good QB. We all like where they're headed, just not sure they're top 20 worthy...yet...reel off a few impressive wins and they will move up.
25. St. Louis - Bradford is legit. They are the top team in the NFC West in our rankings...at 25...ouch
26. Seattle - Ryan and I voted them 25. At home they are a top 15 team, on the road they are TERRIBLE. Clearly this team is still in transition and rebuilding.
27. Detroit - Like the Bucs, moving in the right direction. Staying in games, the young talent is improving, gotta like them a little right? But they're still the Lions...
28. San Francisco - They are in disarray. We're all disappointed by this team (though not sad since they're in the NFC West with the Hawks), and safe to say that they need a QB...is Singletary on the hot seat?
29. Oakland - Not as good as I thought they would be, but not too bad either. After a bad Week 1, they aren't playing too bad. I think this team believes in Gradkowski...
30. Arizona - Does their collapse make a case for Kurt Warner to the HOF? A QB switch to an undrafted rookie is not good at all
31. Carolina - Where's the big-time running game? Seriously, DeAngelo and Stewart NEED more touches.
32. Buffalo - The Unanimous #32. Were you expecting a different team? A legit 0-16 shot here.
Saturday, October 2, 2010
Top 25 rankings - Oct 3rd
Well it was a weekend of big time matchups, but the home teams ran up the score in almost all of the big ones. My top two teams look stronger than ever, and the gap from there down is growing rapidly.
1. Alabama 5-0 (1) - This Florida team was overrated sure, but let's not underestimate the whooping of a 31-6 win against a team that has not lost a regular season game in over two years, not since Tim Tebow gave his epic speech. Roll Tide roll.
2. Oregon 5-0 (2) - And as dominant of a Bama win as that was, I'm so impressed with Oregon thus far that they pull even closer to #1 and away from the pack. Still averaging 56+ points a game, this team is video game fast.
3. Boise St 4-0 (3) - The Broncos won't even be sort of challenged again for another seven weeks. Will we forget about them by then?
4. Ohio St 5-0 (5) - That win against Miami is looking better and better by the week.
5. Nebraska 4-0 (4)
6. Auburn 5-0 (9)
7. Arizona 4-0 (8)
8. Utah 4-0 (10)
9. TCU 6-0 (11)
10. LSU 5-0 (7) - Last week I said there was no shame just surviving against West Va, implying that a win is a win. Well I'm not so sure. Struggling against a very mediocre Tennessee team is one thing, but giving the game away about five different ways in one of the most bizarre finishes I've seen is something else all together. Second and goal on the three, no timeouts left, but like 30-35 seconds, and LSU runs into the line and amidst many substitutions DOESNT SNAP THE BALL TIL 3 SECONDS LEFT and then it's a fumble to the QB. Time runs out, LSU loses at home, pandemonium... only Tennessee screwed up worse with 13 (yes 13) men on the field, LSU gets one more chance, and gets the win with 0:00 left. This offense is absolutely pitiful and the upcoming schedule gets brutal quickly.
11. Michigan 5-0 (16) - Ok so the defense sucks. Can you imagine putting Denard in an LSU uniform? Holy smokes. But yeah, I watched Denard play today and I'm a believer. Heisman rankings are all for 2nd place right now if he stays healthy.
12. Oklahoma 5-0 (19) - I don't really believe that the Sooners are one of the twelve best teams in the country, and they struggled to put away an overrated Texas team today. Landry Jones may have saved the season with his heady play to bat the ominous fumble out of bounds. But overrated or not, there's a pretty solid chance we are looking at OU and/or Nebraska facing one another in the final Big XII title game knowing that one or even either of them winning will knock Boise or Utah or TCU out of a title game. I'm not ok with that right now.
13. Stanford 4-1 (6) - I think the Cardinal are possibly one of the top five teams in the country, and what they did on the road in Oregon tonight was very impressive, but the whole thing unravelled on one fluke play where the receiver got knocked out and fumbled away a TD in a tie game, a punch to the gut and close to a 14 point swing. I can't discredit them too much for that. Andrew Luck is the real deal, and I hope they thrash USC next week. These #13-16 teams are all very close right now.
14. Iowa 4-1 (14) - The Hawkeyes allowed 27 points in one half on the road in Arizona when everything went wrong. This sick defense has allowed just 24 combined in their other nine halves, now including a Penn St beatdown just as dominant as the one Bama put on them.
15. Miami 3-1 (15) - Very impressive road wins in Pittsburgh and Clemson in back to back weeks. Neither of those places is easy to win at all, and the Canes won both with relative ease.
16. Arkansas 3-1 (13) - No game for a week and they drop three spots. Bummer.
17. Oklahoma St 4-0 (12) - I didn't see a lot but I was unimpressed with the overtime win against Texas A&M. I don't see any real reason they should be ranked higher than...
18. Missouri 4-0 (23) - ... Mizzou, who moved up five spots by doing nothing. That's what happens when numbers 17, 18, 22, 24, and 25 all go down. It's not always bad to have an off week.
19. Nevada 5-0 (21) - Top 20, really? For lack of other options... yes.
20. Florida 4-1 (20) - Unlike the real polls, I had the Gators about appropriately ranked going into this week. And a young top 20 team playing on the road at the #1 squad is going to lose. Florida's defense is still far too talented to drop out of the rankings, and next week when LSU visits, the first team to cross the goal line may well win.
21. Michigan State 5-0 (NR) - Hey look, it's the Spartans' annual foray into the lower part of the top 25 for a week or two before struggling to make a bowl game!
22. Baylor 4-1 (NR) - Yeah you better believe I'm ranking a one-loss Baylor team. So they lost by 35 at TCU, you would too. They also just destroyed Kansas 55-7 in an eye opener, and the defense looks as real as the offense with only 29 combined allowed in the four non-TCU games. The Bears could go as high as 7-1 before reality sets in.
23. Air Force 4-1 (NR) - Not a beauty pageant here in my rankings. The Falcons are looking good and average close to 400 rushing yards a game. The MWC is starting to look pretty strong to me, with Air Force and San Diego St looking like worth #3 and #4 teams. Both of them get the Utes at home after a road trip to TCU, and these are teams to pay attention to since those games will have a significant bearing on the title in 2010. The only loss was by 3 on the road to Oklahoma. Maybe not a fluke after all.
24. Florida St 4-1 (NR) - I guess #24 is where I put teams that I can't stand but can't keep out of the rankings any longer. Like USC this week, hopefully the Noles go down in Wide Right XVIII against the Canes next week.
25. Northwestern 5-0 (NR) - And they'll be 6-0 after Purdue next week! They don't have to play Ohio St either, and they get Iowa at home. Is there a story here??! .... Nahhhhh.
Dropped from rankings - Penn St (17), Wisconsin (20), NC State (22), USC (24), Texas (25)
Next week's biggest matchups...
#5 Nebraska @ Kansas State (Thursday)
#10 LSU @ #20 Florida
#24 Florida St @ #15 Miami
#21 Michigan St @ #11 Michigan (College GameDay destination?)
USC @ #13 Stanford
#1 Alabama @ South Carolina
1. Alabama 5-0 (1) - This Florida team was overrated sure, but let's not underestimate the whooping of a 31-6 win against a team that has not lost a regular season game in over two years, not since Tim Tebow gave his epic speech. Roll Tide roll.
2. Oregon 5-0 (2) - And as dominant of a Bama win as that was, I'm so impressed with Oregon thus far that they pull even closer to #1 and away from the pack. Still averaging 56+ points a game, this team is video game fast.
3. Boise St 4-0 (3) - The Broncos won't even be sort of challenged again for another seven weeks. Will we forget about them by then?
4. Ohio St 5-0 (5) - That win against Miami is looking better and better by the week.
5. Nebraska 4-0 (4)
6. Auburn 5-0 (9)
7. Arizona 4-0 (8)
8. Utah 4-0 (10)
9. TCU 6-0 (11)
10. LSU 5-0 (7) - Last week I said there was no shame just surviving against West Va, implying that a win is a win. Well I'm not so sure. Struggling against a very mediocre Tennessee team is one thing, but giving the game away about five different ways in one of the most bizarre finishes I've seen is something else all together. Second and goal on the three, no timeouts left, but like 30-35 seconds, and LSU runs into the line and amidst many substitutions DOESNT SNAP THE BALL TIL 3 SECONDS LEFT and then it's a fumble to the QB. Time runs out, LSU loses at home, pandemonium... only Tennessee screwed up worse with 13 (yes 13) men on the field, LSU gets one more chance, and gets the win with 0:00 left. This offense is absolutely pitiful and the upcoming schedule gets brutal quickly.
11. Michigan 5-0 (16) - Ok so the defense sucks. Can you imagine putting Denard in an LSU uniform? Holy smokes. But yeah, I watched Denard play today and I'm a believer. Heisman rankings are all for 2nd place right now if he stays healthy.
12. Oklahoma 5-0 (19) - I don't really believe that the Sooners are one of the twelve best teams in the country, and they struggled to put away an overrated Texas team today. Landry Jones may have saved the season with his heady play to bat the ominous fumble out of bounds. But overrated or not, there's a pretty solid chance we are looking at OU and/or Nebraska facing one another in the final Big XII title game knowing that one or even either of them winning will knock Boise or Utah or TCU out of a title game. I'm not ok with that right now.
13. Stanford 4-1 (6) - I think the Cardinal are possibly one of the top five teams in the country, and what they did on the road in Oregon tonight was very impressive, but the whole thing unravelled on one fluke play where the receiver got knocked out and fumbled away a TD in a tie game, a punch to the gut and close to a 14 point swing. I can't discredit them too much for that. Andrew Luck is the real deal, and I hope they thrash USC next week. These #13-16 teams are all very close right now.
14. Iowa 4-1 (14) - The Hawkeyes allowed 27 points in one half on the road in Arizona when everything went wrong. This sick defense has allowed just 24 combined in their other nine halves, now including a Penn St beatdown just as dominant as the one Bama put on them.
15. Miami 3-1 (15) - Very impressive road wins in Pittsburgh and Clemson in back to back weeks. Neither of those places is easy to win at all, and the Canes won both with relative ease.
16. Arkansas 3-1 (13) - No game for a week and they drop three spots. Bummer.
17. Oklahoma St 4-0 (12) - I didn't see a lot but I was unimpressed with the overtime win against Texas A&M. I don't see any real reason they should be ranked higher than...
18. Missouri 4-0 (23) - ... Mizzou, who moved up five spots by doing nothing. That's what happens when numbers 17, 18, 22, 24, and 25 all go down. It's not always bad to have an off week.
19. Nevada 5-0 (21) - Top 20, really? For lack of other options... yes.
20. Florida 4-1 (20) - Unlike the real polls, I had the Gators about appropriately ranked going into this week. And a young top 20 team playing on the road at the #1 squad is going to lose. Florida's defense is still far too talented to drop out of the rankings, and next week when LSU visits, the first team to cross the goal line may well win.
21. Michigan State 5-0 (NR) - Hey look, it's the Spartans' annual foray into the lower part of the top 25 for a week or two before struggling to make a bowl game!
22. Baylor 4-1 (NR) - Yeah you better believe I'm ranking a one-loss Baylor team. So they lost by 35 at TCU, you would too. They also just destroyed Kansas 55-7 in an eye opener, and the defense looks as real as the offense with only 29 combined allowed in the four non-TCU games. The Bears could go as high as 7-1 before reality sets in.
23. Air Force 4-1 (NR) - Not a beauty pageant here in my rankings. The Falcons are looking good and average close to 400 rushing yards a game. The MWC is starting to look pretty strong to me, with Air Force and San Diego St looking like worth #3 and #4 teams. Both of them get the Utes at home after a road trip to TCU, and these are teams to pay attention to since those games will have a significant bearing on the title in 2010. The only loss was by 3 on the road to Oklahoma. Maybe not a fluke after all.
24. Florida St 4-1 (NR) - I guess #24 is where I put teams that I can't stand but can't keep out of the rankings any longer. Like USC this week, hopefully the Noles go down in Wide Right XVIII against the Canes next week.
25. Northwestern 5-0 (NR) - And they'll be 6-0 after Purdue next week! They don't have to play Ohio St either, and they get Iowa at home. Is there a story here??! .... Nahhhhh.
Dropped from rankings - Penn St (17), Wisconsin (20), NC State (22), USC (24), Texas (25)
Next week's biggest matchups...
#5 Nebraska @ Kansas State (Thursday)
#10 LSU @ #20 Florida
#24 Florida St @ #15 Miami
#21 Michigan St @ #11 Michigan (College GameDay destination?)
USC @ #13 Stanford
#1 Alabama @ South Carolina
Friday, October 1, 2010
Oct 2nd predictions
Hard to imagine a better Saturday of football than this one. Homecoming? No thanks. I think I'll stay indoors and watch some real football on tv.
Even the ACC gets into the action this week. Notre Dame travels to BC in what looks like it might be a real slopfest, but these two teams always play to a slopfest anyway. I think ECU at UNC will be a real dogfight as well with the cross state rivalry and I like the Pirates to get the upset victory on the road. NC State cracked my rankings for the first time this week at #22 and now they get an angry 2-2 Va Tech team that I think can take them on the road. The marquee ACC game looks like #15 Miami at Clemson, the two ACC teams that have the talent at times to hang with other real teams across the country. This conference tends to cannibalize itself, and I like the Tigers to take out Miami in a close ugly one.
The Big 10 is where a lot of the other action is at, but it's with some overinflated "undefeated" teams due to a bunch of creampuff schedules. Undefeated Michigan travels to Indiana, and undefeated Wisconsin travels to Michigan St. The Hoosier defense is miserable and won't be able to contain Denard, but I like Sparty to get the home win and keep both Michigan squads undefeated. The biggest Big 10 game of the day matches a pair of 1-loss teams who are actual Rose Bowl contenders with #17 Penn St at #14 Iowa. I still think Iowa is underrated with a strong run game and great defense, and they should take care of the freshman QB on the road.
And now to the three games of the day that will get all the hype...
25 Texas vs 19 Oklahoma
I was less excited for this one anyway with both of these teams looking overrated, and now I am having a hard time getting hyped, but the reality is that this one still plays a huge role in the national title picture -- if Oklahoma gets the win. Texas is done after that embarassing UCLA loss. Wouldn't it be ironic if a 13-0 OU team ended up stealing a national title spot away from Boise State on the back door? I sure hope not. Thankfully even though Texas' offense seems overmatched and they *still* cant find a run game, the biggest matchup that matters here is coaching: Mack Brown vs Bob Stoops. I could never have believed I'd say this 5-7 years ago, but that is a big mismatch in Mack's favor. It's enough to make this a coin flip game, but I like Texas' experience and grittyness to pull through.
18 Florida at 1 Alabama
It's a little crazy that we're overlooking this game some, not sending over the Game Day crew and making it the big game of the day. After all these are our last two national champions and this game plays a bigger role in the national title picture than any other today, or maybe this season. The problem is that I think it's a sizable mismatch. Bama's defense is not what it was last year, but Florida's offense is pretty terrible right now, Trey Burton or not. And even though Florida has easily the sickest defense in the country, the Bama run offense is good enough to put up points. I expect something similar to what we saw when Penn St visited a few weeks ago, something like a 24-10 boring Bama win.
6 Stanford at 2 Oregon
This is the game getting all the hype all week, and I am loving it because I'm pretty excited. Stanford's smashmouth in your face style vs Oregon's high speed video game offense, as I've heard on SportsCenter all week. I was at least a little underwhelmed by Oregon last week, more of a one trick pony with that spread option, though it's a heck of a trick. The defense did not impress me and got totally bailed out time and again, and the Ducks should be coming off a loss in this one. I think Stanford is big enough, strong enough, and smart enough to contain this offense, and I think Andrew Luck gets the scouts drooling with a big time road performance. Stanford gets the road victory, the upset, and vaults into my top 5 - maybe even higher.
Even the ACC gets into the action this week. Notre Dame travels to BC in what looks like it might be a real slopfest, but these two teams always play to a slopfest anyway. I think ECU at UNC will be a real dogfight as well with the cross state rivalry and I like the Pirates to get the upset victory on the road. NC State cracked my rankings for the first time this week at #22 and now they get an angry 2-2 Va Tech team that I think can take them on the road. The marquee ACC game looks like #15 Miami at Clemson, the two ACC teams that have the talent at times to hang with other real teams across the country. This conference tends to cannibalize itself, and I like the Tigers to take out Miami in a close ugly one.
The Big 10 is where a lot of the other action is at, but it's with some overinflated "undefeated" teams due to a bunch of creampuff schedules. Undefeated Michigan travels to Indiana, and undefeated Wisconsin travels to Michigan St. The Hoosier defense is miserable and won't be able to contain Denard, but I like Sparty to get the home win and keep both Michigan squads undefeated. The biggest Big 10 game of the day matches a pair of 1-loss teams who are actual Rose Bowl contenders with #17 Penn St at #14 Iowa. I still think Iowa is underrated with a strong run game and great defense, and they should take care of the freshman QB on the road.
And now to the three games of the day that will get all the hype...
25 Texas vs 19 Oklahoma
I was less excited for this one anyway with both of these teams looking overrated, and now I am having a hard time getting hyped, but the reality is that this one still plays a huge role in the national title picture -- if Oklahoma gets the win. Texas is done after that embarassing UCLA loss. Wouldn't it be ironic if a 13-0 OU team ended up stealing a national title spot away from Boise State on the back door? I sure hope not. Thankfully even though Texas' offense seems overmatched and they *still* cant find a run game, the biggest matchup that matters here is coaching: Mack Brown vs Bob Stoops. I could never have believed I'd say this 5-7 years ago, but that is a big mismatch in Mack's favor. It's enough to make this a coin flip game, but I like Texas' experience and grittyness to pull through.
18 Florida at 1 Alabama
It's a little crazy that we're overlooking this game some, not sending over the Game Day crew and making it the big game of the day. After all these are our last two national champions and this game plays a bigger role in the national title picture than any other today, or maybe this season. The problem is that I think it's a sizable mismatch. Bama's defense is not what it was last year, but Florida's offense is pretty terrible right now, Trey Burton or not. And even though Florida has easily the sickest defense in the country, the Bama run offense is good enough to put up points. I expect something similar to what we saw when Penn St visited a few weeks ago, something like a 24-10 boring Bama win.
6 Stanford at 2 Oregon
This is the game getting all the hype all week, and I am loving it because I'm pretty excited. Stanford's smashmouth in your face style vs Oregon's high speed video game offense, as I've heard on SportsCenter all week. I was at least a little underwhelmed by Oregon last week, more of a one trick pony with that spread option, though it's a heck of a trick. The defense did not impress me and got totally bailed out time and again, and the Ducks should be coming off a loss in this one. I think Stanford is big enough, strong enough, and smart enough to contain this offense, and I think Andrew Luck gets the scouts drooling with a big time road performance. Stanford gets the road victory, the upset, and vaults into my top 5 - maybe even higher.
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