The Confidential

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Archive for the category “Football”

10 Dec 2012
2 Comments

ACC Basketball Rankings: December 10, 2012

This is particularly complex with Pitt, Louisville, Notre Dame, and Syracuse not yet in the ACC, but it can still be done.  This is how the Confidential ranks the ACC basketball teams as of December 10, 2012:

1.  Duke (9-0)–The Blue Devils are hated by many.  But you cannot deny how successful this season has gone.  An impressive 9-0.

2. Syracuse (8-0)–The Orange have two good victories, but no truly great ones.  A decent OOC slate, but the real meat comes in the Big East regular season.

3. Louisville (8-1)–The ACC’s newest addition has only lost to Duke.  A win over Missouri is the big victory on the schedule.

4.Pittsburgh (9-1)--The Panthers are looking to rebound after last year’s disappointing season.  Only loss is to a very very good Michigan team.

5. Notre Dame (8-1)–The Irish lost to St. Joseph’s, which is not uber-embarrassing.  Still, that has them behind several teams.  The win over Kentucky was nice, but less impressive now.

6. Maryland (7-1)–The Terps have been good, losing only to Kentucky.  Still waiting on an impressive win though.

7. North Carolina State (6-2)–The Wolfpack have been somewhat disappointing at only 6-2.  But the losses are not awful and they do have a win over surprising UConn.

8.Virginia Tech (7-1)–Despite losing to WVU, the Hokies have decent wins, such as Iowa and Oklahoma State.  Not too bad.

9. North Carolina (7-2)–As good as 7-2 looks, the Tar Heels have not beaten anyone of note.  The best win might be Mississippi State, a lower tier SEC team.

10. Miami (5-1)–Miami’s win over Michigan State was very impressive.  Need to see the Hurricanes against major competition a few more times before having them elevate over the teams ahead of them.

11. Virginia (8-2)—The Wahoos struggled in the first few games, but are rounding into form.  With wins over Tennessee and Wisconsin, look for this team to rise to the top half.

12. Georgia Tech (6-2)–No shame in the two losses, but it’s hard to find even a decent win for the Yellow Jackets.  Time will tell.

13. Clemson (5-3)–The Tigers have tough losses–Gonzaga, Illinois, and Arizona.  This team may peak late in the season.

14. Florida State (5-4)–At 5-4, the Seminoles are easily the ACC’s disappointment so far.  The losses to Mercer and South Alabama stand out.

15. Wake Forest (4-5)–The Demon Deacons did beat Mercer, but few other teams.  The losses are not horrible, but just way too many to get to NIT-level play.

16. Boston College (4-5)-Losses to Charleston and Bryant land Boston College in its familiar, cellar position.  So it goes in Beantown.

Right/wrong?  Disagree?  If not, let us know.

Posted by acaffrey in ACC only, Football, Rankings and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
04 Dec 2012

Boston College Hires Steve Addazio

After a few miserable seasons, the Boston College Eagles need to go in a new direction.  With many options, the Eagles nabbed Steve Addazio from Temple.  Other rumored candidates for the job included Notre Dame defensive coordinator Bob Diaco, Ball State coach Pete Lembo and New Orleans Saints offensive line coach Aaron Kromer.  Notably, none of those candidates had head coaching experience. Addazio certainly had the edge there.  Addazio has done fine for Temple, leading them to a 13-11 record in two seasons.

A few interesting tidbits about the move.  First, Syracuse will be joining the ACC next year.  Addazio’s son, Louie, is a tight end for Syracuse.  Apparently, Addazio likes facing Syracuse and his son.  He also had this to say after the Syracuse-Temple game this year:

“Obviously, I’m rooting for them in a bowl game,” he said. “Syracuse has got a special place in my heart. Aside from Friday, I’m certainly cheering for them.”

Second, after dismissing Frank Spaziani, one would think that Boston College would find an Irish-American coach.  Instead, they hire a guy named Addazio?  Sin é an corr.

Still, this seems like a good hire.  A guy with Northeast recruiting ties and SEC coaching experience.  A good fit.

 

Posted by acaffrey in Football and tagged , ,
29 Nov 2012

ACC Football Predictions for December 1, 2012

The Confidential’s football predictions for this week’s games featuring ACC teams.  Anyway, last week the Confidential went 8-2, improvidently trusting Clemson and Florida State, improving the overall record to a respectable 86-32.  Pretty interesting game tonight, as the ACC’s Louisville battles the Big Ten’s Rutgers in a battle for the Big East Championship.  On to the week 14 predictions:

Pittsburgh (5-6) @ South Florida (3-9), 7:00 p.m.  The Panthers are desperate for a win to get bowl eligible.  The Bulls are over-matched, but playing on Senior Night for an embattled head coach.  This probably should go one of two ways, with the emotion for South Florida either being very high or very low.  So the Confidential with out-think itself by predicting the emotion to be merely medium.  If so, Pitt wins.  Prediction: Pittsburgh 31, South Florida 13.

ACC Championship Game

#13 Florida State (10-2) v Georgia Tech (6-6), 8:00 p.m.  The ACC having a 7-6 Georgia Tech in the BCS is only good to the extent that it means a bigger payout.  In all other respects, it would be an embarrassment.  Of course, if Georgia Tech loses, they would seek a waiver to play in a bowl game, despite being 6-7.  In the end, they could end up 6-8.  And that’s your ACC Championship Game entrant for the Coastal Division everyone!  Florida State, however, lost disappointingly to Florida.  A few coaches are either leaving or interviewing for head coach positions elsewhere.  Promotions are nice, but distracting.  Closer than expected here.  Prediction: Florida State 35, Georgia Tech 24.

The Confidential apologizes in advance for not picking your team.  A lot of close games here.  Feel free to share why we are wrong. 

Posted by acaffrey in ACC only, Football, Predictions and tagged , , , , , , ,
28 Nov 2012
2 Comments

Louisville to ACC, According to Sources

As an update to yesterday’s report, ESPN is now reporting that the ACC voted to add Louisville.  If true, this is a great move for many reasons, such as:

  • It likely makes Florida State happy and shows a break away from the North Carolina/Virginia monopoly on decisions (whether real or perceived).
  • Louisville has strong (pun intended) football and basketball programs.  Rick Pitino joins Coach K, Roy Williams, and Jim Boeheim in the ACC.  Heck, maybe Jim Boeheim will even say that he likes this move?
  • Louisville is improving academically.  Probably.  Hopefully.  Maybe.  Doubtfully.  Who cares?  This is not just about academics anymore.
  • It likely makes Florida State happy.
  • Importantly, Louisville was desired by the Big XII, whereas UConn was not.  There is more urgency to add a team needed by the Big XII.  UConn should be there if/when the ACC needs to expand again.
  • All the other reasons mentioned in the ESPN article.  Indeed, that article almost looks like the ACC wrote it, doesn’t it?  ESPN cares about its investment in the ACC.
  • It likely makes Florida State happy.

West Virginia fans will not be couch burning mad over this, but they certainly will not be couch burning happy.  Perhaps will see some ottomans lit on fire due to the hypocrisy of rejecting WVU because of academics, but then taking Louisville.

The Confidential feels sorry for Cincinnati, UConn, USF, and to a lesser extent Navy.  These schools submitted applications to the ACC, but were not accepted.  Yet.  Again, conference realignment is far from over.  So these schools should avoid despair.

Posted by acaffrey in ACC only, Basketball, Conference News, Conference Realignment, Football and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , ,
28 Nov 2012
3 Comments

Possible ACC Expansion Vote on Wednesday

David Glenn of the ACC Sports Journal is reporting that the ACC will hold an expansion vote tomorrow.  As most are aware, an expansion vote requires 75% approval.  According to the report, five schools have expressed an interest: Louisville, UConn, Cincinnati, Navy, and South Florida.  Of these, Louisville has the best chance of being accepted, according to Glenn.

This does not mean that Louisville will get voted in.  Mark Blaudschun has tweeted that Louisville is currently one vote short.  The speculation is that North Carolina, Virginia, Duke, and/or Wake Forest are opposed to the move.  This means, of course, that the schools that care about football–Virginia Tech, Florida State, Clemson, Georgia Tech, North Carolina State, and Miami–are in favor of the move.  One would think Boston College would be in favor of the move too, as it would prevent neighboring UConn from immediately joining.

While the Confidential understands that Virginia and North Carolina may be apprehensive about allowing a school of Louisville’s academic pedigree to join, the Confidential thinks that the better course of action is to invest in Louisville to make the adjustments to improve academically.  Associating with the ACC will improve Louisville’s reputation far more than any school’s reputation will be hurt.  And Louisville is an extremely competitive basketball program–picture Duke-Louisville and North Carolina-Louisville conference matchups.  With the ability to take football to the next level, this is really a home run for the ACC.

Some may say that this will cause Virginia to leave.  But if Virginia leaves over this, Virginia was looking for a reason to leave.  This move will stabilize the ACC (as much as that is possible in the current landscape), which should be in the interests of all ACC institutions.  Making Florida State happy is, you know, probably a good idea.

So if the ACC adds Louisville, then this will be a happy day for everyone south of Storrs.  As the musical chairs continues, there is no reason to think that this would be the last move.  UConn will end up somewhere eventually, especially if there are further defections from the ACC.

Posted by acaffrey in Basketball, Conference Realignment, Football, Opinion and tagged , , , , , , , , , ,
27 Nov 2012
7 Comments

Navy to the ACC?

There are some Internet rumors out there about Navy being in consideration for the ACC.  Interesting.

First, if adding Navy means that Notre Dame joins the ACC full-time, then it is game over and you have to do it. Adding Notre Dame would legitimize the ACC in a way that no other addition could.

Second, if not, Navy could be added with the same program as Notre Dame.  Perhaps both teams would play 5 games.  Perhaps both teams would be willing to play 6 games.  After all, the matchup between the two schools would now be a conference game.  For scheduling purposes, it would make some sense to have two teams doing so.

Of course, the problem would be figuring out how to coordinate divisions.  With Notre Dame and Navy both appealing to northern teams, it would be hard to divide geographically.  Ideally, you’d want to separate Notre Dame and Navy.  But then they would have to play extra games to face each other.  It gets challenging.

An interesting move would be to add Navy and Army for football only if ND is willing to go “all in.” Picture this:

USA Pod: Syracuse, Army, ND, Boston College

NE Pod: Pitt, Navy, Virginia, Virginia Tech

NC Pod: NC, NC State, Duke, Wake Forest

SE Pod: Miami, FSU, Clemson, Georgia Tech

The USA Pod and NE Pod always play each other, forming the NORTH division.  The NC and SE Pod always play each other, forming the SOUTH division.  The best teams in the North and South play in the CCG.  Each team in the North would also play one team from the NC and SE pods each.  Each team in the South would also play one team each from the USA and NE pods.  The goal would be to match teams by level as much as possible.

With 9 opponents set, this would only leave Notre Dame three OOC games, presumably USC, a Big 10 school, and another school.  But if ND were agreeable to that, so be it.

Obviously, there would be some issues.  ND, Virginia Tech, and FSU are good anchors.  North Carolina is a weak anchor for the NC pod.  Although they were 8-4 this year.  Meanwhile, having Clemson, Miami, and Georgia Tech in one pod is pretty strong.  But, again, the pods are not actual divisions–just for  scheduling purposes.  It remains a North/South split.  On balance, the North/South split is not that bad.

In fact, just allowing the geography to play itself out makes more sense than trying to manipulate balance.  This year, Florida State is playing 6-6 Georgia Tech.  It would be better to be playing an 10-2 team from the North–regardless of difficulty of schedule in getting there.  For strength of schedule purposes, it benefits a Florida State or Clemson to play the toughest schedule possible.  Of course, THIS year, Notre Dame would be the best team, with a 10-2 record overall.

In any event, that remains a bit of a pipe dream on many levels.  For now, the discussion is UConn, Louisville, and Navy.  Unfortunately, there is no real discussion about Cincinnati right now.

Time will tell as to which, if any, is chosen.

 

 

Posted by acaffrey in ACC only, Conference Realignment, Football and tagged , , , ,
27 Nov 2012
3 Comments

College Fooball Head Coach Firings: Really?

Stepping aside from the ACC for a moment, the Confidential cannot help but wonder what the heck is going on with college football head coach firings?  Then again, as the Big Ten becomes the Pied Piper to the rest of college football’s money-obsessed rats, there is no reason to be shocked by two of the most surprising coaching firings in recent history.

First, the most offensive of all firings is the dismissal of Jon Embree at Colorado.  Look, the Confidential routinely noted that the Buffaloes were the worst BCS-level program.  Nothing that happened on the field gives the fans any reason for optimism–the team was outclassed week after week.  But you just cannot fire a coach after two seasons.  Indeed, as ESPN’s Ted Miller noted, the school really could not articulate a basis for firing him.  Frankly, firing a football coach after two years should be a terminable offense for whomever hired the coach.  If the athletic director hired a guy that could not last more than two years, the athletic director is even more incompetent than the head coach.  Short of a scandal of some sort, it just does not make long-term sense.  Can anyone name another head coach fired based on record after only two seasons?

Even worse, Colorado did this to an African-American man and a former Colorado player.  In light of the latter, he should have had a little more latitude.  As it relates to race, this is just yet another example of an NCAA head coach being given a shorter time to turn a program around than comparable white coaches.  Sure, Jon Embree was 4-21.  But Greg Schiano was 3-20 after two seasons.  Iowa’s Kirk Ferentz was 4-19 after two seasons.  It is statistically more likely, Embree would have been a Greg Robinson, who was only 5-18 at Syracuse after two seasons and ended up winning only 5 more games.   But Colorado will never know whether Embree was a Ferentz or a Robinson.  Colorado and the NCAA should be ashamed.  The Confidential is loathe to suggest racism, but to not give a head coach at least three years is simply absurd.  Really, the Confidential does not see why any African-American family would allow their son to go to Colorado after its treatment of Embree.  And good luck to the next coach explaining to kids and their families that they can be sure that he will be the Buffaloes’ head coach for the full four or five years that the kid is in Colorado.

Second, Auburn fired head coach Gene Chizik a mere two years after winning a National Championship.  Granted, many Auburn fans never liked the hire.  After all, Chizik was only 5-19 at Iowa State.  Notably, unlike Colorado with Embree, Iowa State was going to give Chizik more time to turn around the program.  Instead, he turned Auburn around.  This culminated with winning it all in 2010.  To be sure, that 2010 team was special.  It had to have significant talent beyond merely Cam Newton–a QB alone can only carry a team so far.  Chizik and his staff were able to go 14-0 against an SEC schedule.  Regardless of how much talent you have, to go 14-0 suggests some significant ability to coach the game of football.  After all, how many programs have gone undefeated?

In fairness to Auburn, however, the recruitment of Newton and other issues were becoming a bit of a scandal for Auburn.  This is perhaps more important than mere record.  Even if Chizik was bowl-bound this year, a program has to avoid sanctions.  So the firing is justifiable from that standpoint–certainly more so than with Embree.  Again, however, the issue might hurt Auburn in recruiting unless it can land a home run with its new coach.

Finally, the Confidential would be remiss in failing to observe that North Carolina State and Purdue fired head coaches after winning games and being bowl-eligible.  For Purdue, Danny Hope got Purdue to two straight bowl games for the first time in several years, according to ESPN, but was not allowed to even coach the team in the bowl game.  He took over a team that had gone 4-8 the prior year, never finished with a worse record, and did better than that in three seasons.  Not good enough?  For North Carolina State, it is frustrating to beat a great team every year, but also lose head-scratchers.  Still, you have to be really careful before firing a head coach that has taken you to three straight bowl games, like Tom O’Brien had done.   Fans and programs need to be careful before dispatching a coach because of “mediocrity.”

Indeed, fans of programs disappointed in the average records often complain that the new guy “cannot do any worse,” as if mediocrity is bottoming-out.  Syracuse fans thought that the .500ish records of Paul Pasqualoni were too much to swallow.  And then they hired the aforementioned Robinson, who showed that things can get worse.  Much worse.  Perhaps the best example is Southern Mississippi, who forced head coach Jeff Bower to resign after 14 straight winning seasons and six straight bowl appearances.  Fans and boosters were unhappy with the mediocrity.  The end result?  Southern Mississippi continued to go to bowl games under head coach Larry Fedora, but then watched him abandon the program for North Carolina before the 2012 season.  Unlike Bower, Fedora was not interested in being a lifer at Southern Mississippi.  In 2012, the team went 0-12.  Enjoy THAT fans and boosters.  Mediocrity can get worse.

Posted by acaffrey in Football, Opinion and tagged , , , ,
26 Nov 2012

ACC Football Rankings: November 26, 2012

This is particularly complex with Pitt and Syracuse not yet in the ACC, but it can still be done.  This is how the Confidential ranks the ACC football teams as of November 26, 2012:

1.  Florida State (10-2)–The Seminoles can complain about the computers, the conference, and everything else… but they just do not get it done on the field.  Again and again.  Still, the win over Clemson makes them the class of the ACC.

2. Clemson (10-2)–The SEC is all about defense.  And South Carolina’s defense did to Clemson what no team did all year–keep them under 25 points.  So Clemson remains firmly in the #2 spot here.

3. North Carolina (8-4)–The Tar Heels won a shoot out against Maryland.  Not sure how impressive it is to give up 38 points to this Maryland team, but a win is a win.

4. Syracuse (7-5)–The Orange defeated Temple, behind yet another solid rushing/passing game.  Interestingly, still alive for a Big East co-championship if Louisville beats Rutgers.

5. Miami (7-5)–The Hurricanes are far from back, but 7-5 is a good start.  Indeed, this would have been their first appearance in a CCG, but for the looming sanctions.  Y

6. North Carolina State (7-5)–The Wolfpack won!  That’s the good news.  The bad news is that 7-5 was not good enough to keep Tom O’Brien on the payroll.  The worse news is that Debbie Yow is in charge of finding the replacement.

7. Georgia Tech (6-6)–At 6-6, the Yellow Jackets “earned” the right to play Florida State in the ACC Conference Championship Game.  This is why you need a North/South split.  Let the northern schools pillow fight themselves to a point where some team can win 8 games.

8. Duke (6-6)–No doubt about it… going to a bowl is great for Duke.  But there is also no dispute that Duke is backing in.  When is the last time they actually won?  Answer: two Saturdays before Halloween.  Wow.

9. Pittsburgh (5-6)–The Panthers rallied to defeat Rutgers in fine fashion, 27-6.  If Pitt can beat South Florida, they’ll be bowl eligible.

10. Virginia Tech (6-6)–The Hokies also make it a bowl, albeit riding wins over Boston College and Virginia to get there.  Better than missing out though.

11. Wake Forest (5-7)—The Demon Deacons, who the Confidential thought had the best chance of the ACC bottom feeders to make a bowl, missed out.  Garden-variety mediocrity here.  At best.

12. Virginia (4-8)–Virginia was a tough team to figure out and the end of the season was more of the same.  Good enough to beat almost anyone, bad enough to lose to almost anyone.  They did a lot of latter too.  Onto 2013.

13. Maryland (4-8)–At 4-8, Maryland deserves a lot of credit for improving and “overcoming” challenges.  Then again, they are going to be an appetizer for the Big 10 football dinner each week.

14. Boston College (2-10)–At least a new coach will give Boston College fans a reason to be a little optimistic.  Beyond that… not sure what else can be said.

Do you agree with these rankings?  If not, let us know.

Posted by acaffrey in ACC only, Football, Rankings and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
22 Nov 2012
2 Comments

ACC Football Predictions for Thanksgiving Weekend 2012

The Confidential’s football predictions for this week’s games featuring ACC teams.  Not sure whether there should be analysis of Louisville or UConn…. ha ha ha.  Anyway, last week the Confidential went 6-2, improving the overall record to a respectable 78-30.  On to the week 13 predictions:

Friday, November 23, 2012

Syracuse (6-5) @ Temple (4-6), 11:00 a.m.   You’ll have to stop your Black Friday shopping a bit early to catch this one.  Syracuse showed that its football is definitely on the upswing with a win on the road against Missouri, who was itself desperate for a win.  The Orange are banged up and this is Temple’s final game of the season.  An upset would not be shocking, but the Confidential will lean toward the ‘Cuse keeping the momentum going.  Prediction: Syracuse 33, Temple 21.

Saturday November 24, 2012

Georgia Tech (6-5) @ #3 Georgia (10-1), 12:00 p.m.  Maybe rivalry week allows teams to throw out the records.  But it is hard to really feel like Georgia Tech can win this game.  They have been playing a bit better lately.  Still, this one has a chance to get ugly.  Prediction: Georgia 30, Georgia Tech 17.

Virginia (4-7) @ Virginia Tech (5-6), 12:00 p.m.  As much as the Hokies have struggled all year, they are one win away from a bowl.  Virginia is an enigma still–no idea which version of the team will show up from week-to-week.  The Hokies have home field advantage, which has to be worth something.  Prediction: Virginia Tech 21, Virginia 17.

#21 Rutgers (9-1) @ Pittsburgh (4-6), 12:00 p.m.  This has been a great week for Rutgers and a 10th win would just be the icing on the cake.  Pitt must win to have a chance at a bowl.  No matter what happens, Rutgers gets to play Louisville for the BCS bowl berth next week, so perhaps the Scarlet Knights will come out flat.  Upset special here.  Prediction: Pittsburgh 24, Rutgers 20.

Miami (6-5) @ Duke (6-5), 12:30 p.m.  The Blue Devils have been coasting.  Miami has been another hard team to figure out.  With the Hurricanes pulling the plug on the post-season, it will be interesting to see whether they show up.  If Al Golden can get them motivated, Miami should win.  For Duke, this game presents the opportunity to regain some much needed momentum.  Prediction: Miami 31 , Duke 28.

Maryland (4-7) @ North Carolina (7-4), 3:00 p.m.  The only thing more surprising than Maryland leaving the ACC is the lack of anyone really caring.  Somewhat odd, really.  The Terps should have rivalries after all these years, but seemingly do not.  For Randy Edsall, a win here would be a great way to celebrate the offseason.  For the Tar Heels, bowl ineligibility means that this is their last chance to play football for several months.  Prediction: North Carolina 30, Maryland 10.

Boston College (2-9) @ North Carolina State (6-5), 3:00 p.m.  Well, another version of the Tom O’Brien Bowl.  Give credit to Boston College, they have played tough two weeks in a row.  A coaching change is inevitable, but the team has not quit at all.  An upset to send the coaching staff off would be a great way to finish the season.  The Wolfpack could really use another win though.  If they can’t beat BC…. well, do you really deserve a bowl?  Prediction: North Carolina State 24, Boston College 20.

Vanderbilt (7-4) @ Wake Forest (5-6), 3:30 p.m.  The Demon Deacons are desperate for a win to get bowl eligible.  Vanderbilt has its bowl game locked up.  Another reason for Vandy to be comfortable is that they are coming off the high of beating Tennessee.  Badly.  At the same time, Wake Forest has been as unimpressive as possible in getting to 5 wins.  It’s just hard to envision Wake pulling this one out.  Prediction: Vanderbilt 24, Wake Forest 17.

#6 Florida (10-1) @ #10 Florida State (10-1), 3:30 p.m.  The game of the week–two top 10 teams battling to see who gets to 10-1.  Florida has now been impressive in his recent cupcake wins.  Florida State has been only slightly better.  Neither team is peaking right now.  If the Seminoles want to be considered “back,” this is a game that they have to win.  In a pure homerism pick, the Confidential thinks it will happen.  Prediction: Florida State 28, Florida 21.

#13 South Carolina (9-2) @ #12 Clemson (10-1), 7:00 p.m.  The ACC regular season finale ends with a bang, as Clemson looks to avenge its disappointing loss to the Gamecocks last year.  This Clemson team has been scoring at will of late.  Unfortunately, last week the Tigers allowed North Carolina State to pretty much do the same thing.  South Carolina has to be licking its chops.  Homerism prevails again here.  Prediction: Clemson 35, South Carolina 24.

Idle: None

The Confidential apologizes in advance for not picking your team.  A lot of close games here.  Feel free to share why we are wrong. 

Posted by acaffrey in ACC only, Football, Predictions and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
21 Nov 2012

The Confidential’s College Football Top 25 & Bottom 4: Week 12

Each week, the Confidential will provide its ranking of the top 25 teams in College Football, as well as the Bottom 4 BCS-level teams.  Here is the Week 12 version, with analysis of the top 10 and bottom 4:

  1. Notre Dame (11-0): The Fighting Irish shutout Wake Forest to draw within one game of the national title.  Oh, and Matt Barkley is injured now.
  2. Ohio State (11-0).  The Buckeyes took care of Wisconsin, which is a pretty good football team for the Big 10.  Nicely done.
  3. Alabama (10-1): Alabama beat Western Carolina.  Or West Carolina.  Or something.  Good grief.  Up next?  The Iron Bowl.
  4. Florida State (10-1):  The Seminoles demolished Maryland, who promptly quit the ACC.  Perhaps Western Carolina is looking for a new home?
  5. Florida (10-1): Florida did better against Jacksonville State than it did against Louisiana-Lafayette.  Huge game against the Seminoles looms.
  6. Oregon (10-1): The Ducks are good at putting up 50 points on inferior defenses (and USC).  Stanford exposed them.
  7. Kansas State (10-1): The Wildcats were cruising, until Baylor stopped them.  Still a great season no matter what happens in two weeks against Texas.
  8. Clemson (10-1): The Tigers have quite an offense this year.  We’ll see how they fair against the South Carolina defense.
  9. Georgia (10-1): Georgia beat up on Georgia Southern.  Another exciting SEC game last week.  Georgia Tech should provide slightly more resistance.
  10. Oklahoma (8-2): The Sooners eked by West Virginia to claim the final spot in the top 10.  Up next is rival Oklahoma State.
  11. Texas A&M (9-2).
  12. LSU (9-2).
  13. South Carolina (9-2).
  14. Nebraska (9-2).
  15. Louisville (9-1).
  16. Oregon State (8-2).
  17. Stanford (9-2).
  18. Michigan (8-3).
  19. Texas (8-2).
  20. UCLA (9-2).
  21. Oklahoma State (7-3).
  22. Rutgers (9-1).
  23. Boise State (9-2).
  24. Northern Illinois (10-1).
  25. Utah State (9-2).

* * *

121.  Illinois (2-9).  The Illini lost the pillow fight with Purdue.  Even Northern Illinois is ranked!

122. Washington State (2-9).  The Cougars were blown out by Arizona State.  Tough debut year for head coach Mike Leach.

123. Kansas (1-10).  Kansas was demolished by Iowa State, losing some momentum.  Well, as much momentum as a team can get with close losses.

124. Colorado (1-10).  The Buffaloes lost by 35 to somebody.  Sadly, this is a defense that WOULD benefit from having Greg Robinson.  Wow.

So there it is.  If you do not like it… sorry.  But feel free to share your reasons why…

Posted by acaffrey in Football, Rankings and tagged , , , , , , , ,

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