Let’s get into it. What a weird, wonderful and heart-wrenching weekend! Five ranked SEC teams were upset, including three that had national title aspirations. There were a few other surprises, and a few survivals.
WHO’S STILL GOT A SHOT? In the SEC, Alabama and Missouri are the last two standing with any shot at the national championship. These two should meet for the SEC championship, and, if the winner is undefeated, they should be in the national championship game. Missouri still has three tests on its schedule with SC, Ole Miss and Texas A&M. Bama still has LSU.
In the Big 12, Texas Tech and Baylor are still undefeated, so they’re in the count for now. Outlook isn’t too good for either.
In the Big 10, Ohio State is hoping for upsets. Should Ohio State lose a game, a whole bunch of undefeated teams would suddenly be back in the mix.
Florida State is the last super strong team left. Miami is undefeated, and Virginia Tech has one loss, but both of these two would need to win out and get a ton of help. If Missouri wins the SEC, Florida State may be the team to play Oregon and end the SEC’s reign.
Oregon is the strongest looking team in the land, and we may get a chance to see whether they can deal with SEC defensive lines now.
I’ve been called out on last week’s statement that “Tennessee, Vanderbilt and Kentucky all combine to suck.” I’m standing by it, because, up until then, they had. I’ll give Tennessee some props. Maybe their players are starting to buy into Jones’ philosophies, or maybe South Carolina overlooked them. Either way, nice win! Vanderbilt beat a team that’s simply lost too many players to injury. I also need to give Auburn a shoutout because that’s one hell of a win over Texas A&M. Great start for Malzhan.
RANDOM THOUGHTS—North Carolina showed us a text book example of snatching defeat away from the jaws of victory. Talk about swallowing the olive. They had the lead 23-17 with 5 ½ minutes to go. They had the ball on their 49 with a 3rd & 1. Fifteen yards away from possibly going up by 9 without leaving Miami enough time to score twice, NC suddenly remembered they were NC. Two procedure penalties later, their QB gets sacked on the 3rd and 11 play. Miami gets the ball back with 5:04 left and scores in 3:55. NC actually had a chance at the end, but it was a huge longshot by then. Chokers.
Who mails it in and quits their team first, Clowney or Manziel?
How is it that Bill O’Brien is so much better as a head coach than he ever was as an assistant?
THE SEC WEST—It’s Bama and the rest of them. LSU could upset them and still watch them play in the Championship game. Now, some of you may ask why I’m saying this with Bama ranked 6th below. This is because I realize that Bama still hasn’t played the meat of its schedule. The downside? As long as they’re winning, Bama will get the benefit of the doubt from the voters. Here’s the average of the top 5 BCS teams’ opponents’ rankings:
avg opp. |
avg w/o |
|||
ranking |
1-AA opp |
|||
Alabama |
62.29 |
62.29 |
||
Florida St |
83.17 |
39.8 |
||
Oregon |
79.43 |
42.67 |
||
Ohio St |
91.57 |
56.83 |
||
Missouri |
91 |
51.17 |
Looks like I just disproved my own point until you consider that Alabama is the only team in this list that hasn’t already played its 1-AA opponent. Factor those rankings out and you get the right column. Even Ohio State’s 1-A opponents are better.
This is the third year in a row that Bama’s out of conference schedule has sucked. The least Bama can do is substitute a decent team for Georgia State occasionally. I’m not saying that Bama wasn’t the best team in the country the last two years, because they were. I’m also not saying that they’re not the best team this year, because they could be. I’d just like to see them play better competition. I’m glad I’m not one of their season ticket holders. The last three weeks, their opponents have an average ranking of 92.333. People are rejoicing at their strength looking at last week’s game, but Arkansas is making a case for being one of the worst teams playing big boy football.
LSU, call the proctologist to get that red and blue boot out of your butt. (I can say this. I’m a die-hard LSU fan.)
THE SEC EAST—Missouri now has a two game lead, and they get SC playing its own backup QB. He does have some game experience. I wasn’t shocked that they won, but that they dominated. Vandy over Georgia surprised me. I am shocked that Tennessee upset South Carolina.
Two games in the conference matter this week, unless there are more upsets. Tennessee vs Alabama is suddenly interesting while Missouri vs South Carolina should decide the East.
THE ACC—Nothing to see here, folks, unless Florida State pulls an LSU against NC State. Here’s a test—which non-SEC team swallowed the olive last week?
THE BIG 12—Looks like a bunch of entertaining games this weekend, but only Oklahoma vs Texas Tech has any national implications unless Kansas upsets Baylor or injures Bryce Petty.
THE PAC 12—Believe it or not, but four of Oregon’s remaining five opponents are either pretty good or have a major skin in their collection, and all but Arizona have at least a chance to beat them. UCLA is the next one up. Do I think the Bruins will do it? Nah, but it could be a close game for three quarters. Besides this, USC vs Utah and Stanford vs Oregon State could both be fun to watch.
THE BIG 10—Do you realize that Nebraska, Michigan and Michigan State have each only lost one game? Do you care? Let’s see if Penn State has any of that Michigan mojo left over for Ohio State.
THE RANKING—I’m glad a few of you threw a few comments my way. Nobody threw me a curve, and most of the questions were how Virginia Tech could have been ranked ahead of Alabama. I answered that a lot of that was due to how the open dates stacked up, and now those two teams have flopped spots. Now, the reason Virginia Tech is even ranked this close to Alabama is because after losing to Alabama in the opener, Virginia Tech has beaten two teams ranked ahead of them by an average of 20 spots each. This is a great way to rack up some points. On the flip side, you could lose 22 slots in the ranking by getting beat by a team ranked 55 slots below you, right LSU?
PTS FOR |
LAST |
||||||||
WEEK 8 | RANKING |
WINS |
LOSSES |
RANK |
|||||
1 |
OREGON |
25.06355 |
7 |
– |
0 |
1 |
|||
2 |
MISSOURI |
23.93829 |
7 |
– |
0 |
3 |
|||
3 |
FLORIDA ST |
22.92141 |
6 |
– |
0 |
15 |
|||
4 |
STANFORD |
21.16331 |
6 |
– |
1 |
13 |
|||
5 |
AUBURN |
21.15387 |
6 |
– |
1 |
20 |
|||
6 |
ALABAMA |
20.84765 |
7 |
– |
0 |
5 |
|||
7 |
VIRGINIA TECH |
20.72899 |
6 |
– |
1 |
4 |
|||
8 |
NOTRE DAME |
20.72593 |
5 |
– |
1 |
14 |
|||
9 |
MIAMI |
20.66215 |
6 |
– |
0 |
7 |
|||
10 |
BAYLOR |
19.12624 |
6 |
– |
0 |
9 |
|||
11 |
OHIO ST |
18.8574 |
7 |
– |
0 |
10 |
|||
12 |
ARIZONA ST |
18.61602 |
5 |
– |
2 |
22 |
|||
13 |
BYU |
17.79849 |
5 |
– |
2 |
19 |
|||
14 |
TEXAS TECH |
17.48781 |
7 |
– |
0 |
24 |
|||
15 |
UCLA |
16.21298 |
5 |
– |
1 |
8 |
|||
16 |
MISSISSIPPI |
15.62445 |
4 |
– |
3 |
57 |
|||
17 |
UCF |
15.39376 |
5 |
– |
1 |
31 |
|||
18 |
TEXAS |
14.18521 |
4 |
– |
2 |
18 |
|||
19 |
MICH ST |
13.98005 |
6 |
– |
1 |
21 |
|||
20 |
TENNESSEE |
13.46914 |
4 |
– |
3 |
59 |
|||
21 |
CLEMSON |
13.21084 |
6 |
– |
1 |
12 |
|||
22 |
VANDERBILT |
13.13313 |
4 |
– |
3 |
69 |
|||
23 |
WISCONSIN |
12.94837 |
5 |
– |
2 |
33 |
|||
24 |
LSU |
12.3986 |
6 |
– |
2 |
2 |
|||
25 |
FRESNO ST |
11.52467 |
6 |
– |
0 |
28 |
|||
26 |
OREGON ST |
11.26066 |
6 |
– |
1 |
27 |
|||
27 |
MICHIGAN |
11.25104 |
6 |
– |
1 |
37 |
|||
28 |
OKLAHOMA |
10.87401 |
6 |
– |
1 |
26 |
|||
29 |
TEXAS AM |
10.32391 |
5 |
– |
2 |
17 |
|||
30 |
NORTHERN ILL |
10.14848 |
7 |
– |
0 |
30 |
|||
31 |
ARIZONA |
9.911221 |
4 |
– |
2 |
63 |
|||
32 |
OKLAHOMA ST |
9.800879 |
5 |
– |
1 |
52 |
|||
33 |
GEORGIA |
9.743207 |
4 |
– |
3 |
6 |
|||
34 |
UTAH |
9.306257 |
4 |
– |
3 |
11 |
|||
35 |
PENN ST |
8.993104 |
4 |
– |
2 |
29 |
|||
36 |
NEBRASKA |
8.878029 |
5 |
– |
1 |
32 |
|||
37 |
WAKE FOREST |
8.411011 |
4 |
– |
3 |
48 |
|||
38 |
PITTSBURGH |
7.386629 |
4 |
– |
2 |
39 |
|||
39 |
SOUTH CAROLINA |
7.2542 |
5 |
– |
2 |
16 |
|||
40 |
GA TECH |
7.04475 |
4 |
– |
3 |
62 |
|||
41 |
BALL ST |
6.581693 |
7 |
– |
1 |
41 |
|||
42 |
USC |
6.414557 |
4 |
– |
3 |
34 |
|||
43 |
WASHINGTON |
6.126129 |
4 |
– |
3 |
25 |
|||
44 |
LOUISVILLE |
6.123829 |
6 |
– |
1 |
23 |
|||
45 |
TULANE |
6.07635 |
5 |
– |
2 |
42 |
|||
46 |
MINNESOTA |
5.599176 |
5 |
– |
2 |
64 |
|||
47 |
FLORIDA |
5.093986 |
4 |
– |
3 |
38 |
|||
48 |
WEST VIRGINIA |
4.819783 |
3 |
– |
4 |
36 |
|||
49 |
HOUSTON |
4.668364 |
5 |
– |
1 |
35 |
|||
50 |
RUTGERS |
4.612521 |
4 |
– |
2 |
43 |
|||
51 |
BOISE ST |
4.3563 |
5 |
– |
2 |
49 |
|||
52 |
UL-LAF |
4.278086 |
4 |
– |
2 |
61 |
|||
53 |
WASHINGTON ST |
3.446164 |
4 |
– |
4 |
47 |
|||
54 |
IOWA |
2.523879 |
4 |
– |
3 |
51 |
|||
55 |
MISSISSIPPI ST |
1.380293 |
3 |
– |
3 |
56 |
|||
56 |
INDIANA |
1.105919 |
3 |
– |
4 |
45 |
|||
57 |
ILLINOIS |
0.919156 |
3 |
– |
3 |
46 |
|||
58 |
MARYLAND |
0.854616 |
5 |
– |
2 |
40 |
|||
59 |
RICE |
0.564764 |
5 |
– |
2 |
58 |
|||
60 |
TCU |
0.506014 |
3 |
– |
4 |
50 |
|||
61 |
MARSHALL |
0.424279 |
4 |
– |
2 |
60 |
|||
62 |
SYRACUSE |
-0.84334 |
3 |
– |
4 |
44 |
|||
63 |
BUFFALO |
-0.95727 |
5 |
– |
2 |
65 |
|||
64 |
UNLV |
-1.25922 |
4 |
– |
3 |
53 |
|||
65 |
SAN JOSE ST |
-1.39217 |
3 |
– |
3 |
67 |
|||
66 |
VIRGINIA |
-2.49385 |
3 |
– |
4 |
93 |
|||
67 |
BOSTON COLLEGE |
-2.62342 |
3 |
– |
3 |
68 |
|||
68 |
EAST CAROLINA |
-2.88021 |
5 |
– |
2 |
70 |
|||
69 |
UTAH ST |
-3.16881 |
4 |
– |
4 |
73 |
|||
70 |
COLORADO |
-3.37535 |
3 |
– |
3 |
72 |
|||
71 |
NORTHWESTERN |
-3.5153 |
4 |
– |
3 |
54 |
|||
72 |
TOLEDO |
-3.88454 |
4 |
– |
3 |
86 |
|||
73 |
ARKANSAS |
-4.41661 |
3 |
– |
5 |
71 |
|||
74 |
NORTH TEXAS |
-5.17349 |
4 |
– |
3 |
80 |
|||
75 |
SMU |
-5.29225 |
2 |
– |
4 |
88 |
|||
76 |
OLD DOMINION |
-5.81536 |
4 |
– |
3 |
74 |
|||
77 |
DUKE |
-6.00911 |
4 |
– |
3 |
55 |
|||
78 |
KENTUCKY |
-6.27841 |
1 |
– |
5 |
76 |
|||
79 |
OHIO UNIV |
-6.52796 |
5 |
– |
2 |
83 |
|||
80 |
KANSAS |
-7.04506 |
2 |
– |
4 |
79 |
|||
81 |
COLORADO ST |
-7.2008 |
3 |
– |
4 |
99 |
|||
82 |
CENTRAL MICH |
-7.33766 |
3 |
– |
5 |
78 |
|||
83 |
CINCINNATI |
-7.71625 |
5 |
– |
2 |
94 |
|||
84 |
CALIFORNIA |
-8.0176 |
1 |
– |
6 |
81 |
|||
85 |
BOWLING GREEN |
-8.26886 |
5 |
– |
2 |
85 |
|||
86 |
WESTERN KENTUCKY |
-8.7474 |
4 |
– |
3 |
66 |
|||
87 |
NORTH CAROLINA |
-9.05716 |
1 |
– |
5 |
84 |
|||
88 |
PURDUE |
-9.20479 |
1 |
– |
6 |
87 |
|||
89 |
NC STATE |
-9.77729 |
3 |
– |
3 |
90 |
|||
90 |
TROY |
-9.83374 |
4 |
– |
3 |
91 |
|||
91 |
ARKANSAS ST |
-11.983 |
3 |
– |
3 |
96 |
|||
92 |
NEVADA |
-12.2247 |
3 |
– |
4 |
95 |
|||
93 |
FLORIDA ATLANTIC |
-13.0676 |
2 |
– |
5 |
97 |
|||
94 |
TULSA |
-13.32 |
2 |
– |
4 |
98 |
|||
95 |
MEMPHIS |
-13.9159 |
1 |
– |
5 |
77 |
|||
96 |
ULM |
-14.56 |
3 |
– |
4 |
102 |
|||
97 |
SOUTH ALABAMA |
-14.5705 |
3 |
– |
3 |
109 |
|||
98 |
TEXAS SAN ANTONIO |
-14.6062 |
2 |
– |
5 |
100 |
|||
99 |
MIDDLE TENN |
-14.9177 |
3 |
– |
4 |
103 |
|||
100 |
NAVY |
-16.1113 |
3 |
– |
3 |
92 |
|||
101 |
TEXAS ST |
-16.6028 |
4 |
– |
3 |
104 |
|||
102 |
UAB |
-16.7523 |
2 |
– |
4 |
105 |
|||
103 |
WYOMING |
-16.85 |
4 |
– |
3 |
75 |
|||
104 |
IDAHO |
-17.5338 |
1 |
– |
6 |
106 |
|||
105 |
KENT ST |
-17.7194 |
2 |
– |
6 |
82 |
|||
106 |
NEW MEXICO |
-18.7545 |
2 |
– |
5 |
101 |
|||
107 |
SAN DIEGO ST |
-18.9259 |
3 |
– |
3 |
107 |
|||
108 |
ARMY |
-20.5275 |
3 |
– |
5 |
89 |
|||
109 |
SOUTH FLORIDA |
-20.7218 |
2 |
– |
4 |
108 |
|||
110 |
HAWAII |
-22.0127 |
0 |
– |
6 |
110 |
|||
111 |
KANSAS ST |
-22.8962 |
2 |
– |
4 |
113 |
|||
112 |
IOWA ST |
-23.7016 |
1 |
– |
4 |
114 |
|||
113 |
SOUTHERN MISS |
-24.2131 |
0 |
– |
6 |
111 |
|||
114 |
AKRON |
-24.3319 |
2 |
– |
6 |
117 |
|||
115 |
LA TECH |
-25.9305 |
2 |
– |
5 |
112 |
|||
116 |
AIR FORCE |
-26.9683 |
1 |
– |
6 |
116 |
|||
117 |
EASTERN MICH |
-28.0978 |
1 |
– |
6 |
115 |
|||
118 |
NEW MEXICO ST |
-30.6347 |
0 |
– |
7 |
118 |
|||
119 |
UTEP |
-31.2377 |
1 |
– |
5 |
119 |
|||
120 |
MIAMI (OH) |
-40.1561 |
0 |
– |
7 |
120 |
|||
121 |
CONNECTICUT |
-40.751 |
0 |
– |
6 |
121 |
|||
122 |
TEMPLE |
-56.8033 |
1 |
– |
6 |
124 |
|||
123 |
UMASS |
-59.5748 |
1 |
– |
6 |
122 |
|||
124 |
WESTERN MICH |
-62.3261 |
0 |
– |
8 |
123 |
|||
125 |
FLORIDA INT |
-76.277 |
1 |
– |
5 |
125 |
|||
126 |
GEORGIA STATE |
-153.086 |
0 |
– |
7 |
126 |
Leave me some more comments, and I’ll hit them out of the park. Guys, I need some help to continue to keep on publishing. Please consider going to the donations page and giving a little bit. I’d really appreciate it.
Thanks for reading,
Bill