Archive for the ‘BlogPoll’ Category

Here’s my ballot for this week’s CBS Sports College Football BlogPoll hosted by — as you might imagine — CBS Sports.

Final Season Ballot

Through 09 January 2009

Well, it all came down to the Florida Gators and the Oklahoma Sooners.  As many prognosticators predicted, it was Florida all the way.  Now, with the 2008-09 BCS Championship game in the books, it is time for the final BlogPoll Ballots of the 2008-2009 season.  Thus, here is in my final BlogPoll ballot, without explanation.  I will be posting a little analysis later on today, but I wanted to go ahead and get my final ballot up as early as possible so people could go ahead and start flaming.  Either way, here it is:

My Final Ballot for the 2008-09 Football Season

Rank	Team	Delta
1	Florida	–
2	Utah	3
3	Southern Cal	1
4	Texas	1
5	Oklahoma	3
6	Oregon	6
7	Alabama	1
8	TCU	5
9	Georgia	10
10	Penn State	1
11	Mississippi	5
12	Ohio State	4
13	Boise State	6
14	Texas Tech	4
15	Missouri	5
16	Virginia Tech	9
17	Cincinnati	6
18	Oklahoma State	3
19	Rice	5
20	Oregon State	6
	Iowa	5
22	Northwestern	8
23	Michigan State	5
24	Florida State	2
25	LSU	1

Dropped Out: Pittsburgh (#17), Ball State (#21), Brigham Young (#22), Georgia Tech (#23).

Obviously, there is a lot to talk about in this ballot—including a few seemingly unorthodox choices (such as the Texas dropping one spot, Utah leap-frogging to the second spot, and Georgia rocketing upward).  I hope to get a a little analysis up later today.  For now, however, this is how I see things.

The Rest of the BlogPoll

Having taken the time to consider my feeble attempt at ranking the powers in college football, feel free to try and convince me that I am wrong — which is part of the way the BlogPoll is supposed to work.  I promise that I will consider all comments.

As for the rest of the BlogPoll, well, you can check out how other bloggers voted and how your team fared across the blogosphere over at MGOBlog, and view the final BlogPoll Top 25 later this week over at CBS Sports.

More later today…

– Go Figure …

Well, Shotgun over at The Blue Workhorse has decided that the world of sports bloggers should have a voice in the Heisman Trophy selection process. Given the fact that the Heisman committee apparently doesn’t agree, Blue Workhorse has asked members of the sports blogosphere to weigh in with their own ballots for the Heisman Trophy. Given the fact that I am all about using the great ideas of others to obscure the fact that I often lack the ability for intelligent thought, here’s my ballot on behalf of the Gate:

1) Eric Berry, Safety, Tennessee: 

I know this will be labeled a "homer" vote, but—as Will at SESB pointed out—I am not the only one who feels this way.  I really cannot possibly describe why my vote would be for Berry better than it was described in the above article which wrote:

The Vols’ athletic outlier plays the game like it’s on a sheet of ice and he’s the only one that brought skates. … Berry is the flower that’s sprouted in a compost heap of a year.

Berry has posted gaudy numbers this year with 7 interceptions for the season (12 all-time) and now holds the record for all-time SEC interception return yards.  Furthermore, he just won the SEC Defensive Player of the Year Award, as well as being a finalist for the Lott Trophy, despite the fact that the Tennessee Volunteers were far-from-impressive as a team.  Oh, and did I mention he’s only a sophomore?

His stats (I believe) through the end of the season are as follows:

Despite being a Tennessee fan at heart, I simply think that Eric Berry is the most deserving (and outstanding) player in the country this year.

2) Graham Harrell, QB, Texas Tech: 

Before the season, no one in the country expected the Texas Tech Red Raiders to give Texas a loss, garner a top-3 ranking, and to be in the mix for a Big 12 title.  Some people crossed Harrell off their list after the Oklahoma loss, but I have been thoroughly impressed with both his numbers on the season, and his ability to lead his team in tough situations.  What’s more, he did it at Texas Tech—I think that is significant.

3) Tim Tebow, QB, Florida: 

I have to hand it to Tebow, he has put together another great season and will lead the Florida Gators into the BCS Championship Game.  His stats are not as impressive as last year, but that doesn’t bother me all that much considering that the Gators were so one-dimensional last season.  There are two reasons why he is not at the top of my list.  First, he seemed to play a little too "laid back" prior to the Ole Miss loss.  To his credit, however, he picked it up thereafter.  Second, I think his passing accuracy simply isn’t as good from all locations on the field as demonstrated by Graham Harrell.

I am sure that I will be called a homer for this ballot, but the fact is that I do feel that Berry is most deserving.  Of course, I am a moron…

At any rate, the results of the Sports Blog Heisman Trophy balloting will be posted over at The Blue Workhorse Thursday-ish.  I’ll try to remember to post a link once everything is up.

– Go Figure …

Here’s my ballot for this week’s CBS Sports College Football BlogPoll hosted by—as you might imagine—CBS Sports.

Week 15

Through 6 December 2008

As I predicted, it looks to be Florida and Oklahoma in the BCS title game.  Alabama went down swinging, while Missouri just went down.  Either way, here is my final ballot for the 2008 regular season.  As you might imagine, there will be no further polls until after the bowl games.  For the moment—since I resume trial tomorrow—I am posting this ballot without comment, but will try to come back around and discuss a few of the high points later in the week.  Either way, here is my preliminary BlogPoll Top 25 for this week:

My Ballot for the Week

Rank	Team	Delta
1	Florida	1
2	Oklahoma	1
3	Texas	1
4	Southern Cal	1
5	Utah	1
6	Alabama	5
7	Boise State	–
8	Ohio State	–
9	Penn State	–
10	Texas Tech	–
11	Cincinnati	2
12	Oregon	2
13	TCU	2
14	Northwestern	2
15	Oklahoma State	2
16	Mississippi	3
17	Pittsburgh	3
18	Michigan State	3
19	Georgia	3
20	Missouri	8
	Ball State	10
22	Brigham Young	1
23	Georgia Tech	1
24	Rice	1
25	Virginia Tech	1

Dropped Out: Boston College (#18).

The Rest of the BlogPoll

Having taken the time to consider my feeble attempt at ranking the powers in college football, feel free to try and convince me that I am wrong — which is part of the way the BlogPoll is supposed to work.  I promise that I will consider all comments.

As for the rest of the BlogPoll, well, you can check out how other bloggers voted and how your team fared across the blogosphere over at MGOBlog, and view the BlogPoll Top 25 results each week over at CBS Sports.

Alas, football season 2008, we barely knew ye…

– Go Figure …

Here’s my ballot for this week’s CBS Sports College Football BlogPoll hosted by—as you might imagine—CBS Sports.

Week 14

Through 29 November 2008

Well, my while my Top 5 remained the same for the last week of the regular season, but there were a few shakeups in the back-end of my poll.  Due to the fact that I am currently in trial—again—and am already running behind, I’m posting this ballot without comment. Hopefully, I’ll be able to come back around and discuss a few of the high points later in the week.  Either way, here is my preliminary BlogPoll Top 25 for this week:

My Ballot for the Week

Rank	Team	Delta
1	Alabama	–
2	Florida	–
3	Oklahoma	–
4	Texas	–
5	Southern Cal	–
6	Utah	1
7	Boise State	1
8	Ohio State	1
9	Penn State	1
10	Texas Tech	1
11	Ball State	1
12	Missouri	6
13	Cincinnati	3
14	Oregon	5
15	TCU	–
16	Northwestern	2
17	Oklahoma State	4
18	Boston College	2
19	Mississippi	6
20	Pittsburgh	2
	Michigan State	–
22	Georgia	8
23	Brigham Young	–
24	Georgia Tech	2
25	Rice	1

Dropped Out: Oregon State (#17), Florida State (#24).

The Rest of the BlogPoll

Having taken the time to consider my feeble attempt at ranking the powers in college football, feel free to try and convince me that I am wrong — which is part of the way the BlogPoll is supposed to work.  I promise that I will consider all comments.

As for the rest of the BlogPoll, well, you can check out how other bloggers voted and how your team fared across the blogosphere over at MGOBlog, and view the BlogPoll Top 25 results each week over at CBS Sports.

I know, I know, just like a lawyer to blame everyone else…

– Go Figure …

Here’s my ballot for this week’s CBS Sports College Football BlogPoll hosted by—as you might imagine—CBS Sports.

Week 13

Through 22 November 2008

Well, while my Top 10 remained fairly stable (with the notable exception of the Texas Tech Red Raiders), nearly the entire field in the backend of my ballot from last week managed to lose over the weekend (6 teams from 15-25).  It looks like things are tightening up down the stretch, and we can now begin to see where the teams will land for the bowl season.  Most of my votes should be fairly obvious.  Either way, here is my preliminary BlogPoll Top 25 for this week:

My Ballot for the Week

Rank	Team	Delta
1	Alabama	–
2	Florida	1
3	Oklahoma	1
4	Texas	1
5	Southern Cal	1
6	Missouri	1
7	Utah	2
8	Boise State	–
9	Ohio State	1
10	Penn State	1
11	Texas Tech	9
12	Ball State	–
13	Oklahoma State	–
14	Georgia	–
15	TCU	4
16	Cincinnati	5
17	Oregon State	5
18	Northwestern	7
19	Oregon	5
20	Boston College	6
	Michigan State	4
22	Pittsburgh	6
23	Brigham Young	8
24	Florida State	2
25	Mississippi	1

Dropped Out: North Carolina (#18), LSU (#20), Maryland (#23).

Explanations after the jump…

Read the rest of this entry »

Here’s my ballot for this week’s CBS Sports College Football BlogPoll hosted by—as you might imagine—CBS Sports.

Week 12

Through 15 November 2008

Things are really tightening up as we head into the last few weeks of the 2008 College Football Season. This week is the first week in over a month where the Top-10 managed to keep it together. Thus, most of these should be fairly obvious.  Either way, here is my preliminary BlogPoll Top 25 for this week:

My Ballot for the Week

Rank	Team	Delta
1	Alabama	–
2	Texas Tech	–
3	Florida	1
4	Oklahoma	1
5	Texas	–
6	Southern Cal	–
7	Missouri	–
8	Boise State	–
9	Utah	–
10	Ohio State	–
11	Penn State	1
12	Ball State	1
13	Oklahoma State	3
14	Georgia	–
15	Brigham Young	–
16	Pittsburgh	1
17	Michigan State	1
18	North Carolina	7
19	TCU	–
20	LSU	–
	Cincinnati	2
22	Oregon State	4
23	Maryland	3
24	Oregon	2
25	Northwestern	1

Dropped Out: South Carolina (#21), Florida State (#22), Virginia Tech (#24), Tulsa (#25).

Explanations after the jump…

Read the rest of this entry »

Here’s my ballot for this week’s CBS Sports College Football BlogPoll hosted by—as you might imagine—CBS Sports.

Week 11

Through 08 November 2008

Things stay interesting this week, but Penn State and Iowa may have helped keep the BCS committee from facing a repeat of last year’s debacle. Thus, here is my preliminary BlogPoll Top 25 for this week.  Most of these should be fairly obvious.  Either way, here’s my ballot:

My Ballot for the Week

Rank	Team	Delta
1	Alabama	–
2	Texas Tech	–
3	Oklahoma	1
4	Florida	1
5	Texas	2
6	Southern Cal	–
7	Missouri	1
8	Boise State	4
9	Utah	–
10	Ohio State	3
11	North Carolina	6
12	Penn State	9
13	Ball State	2
14	Georgia	4
15	Brigham Young	1
16	Oklahoma State	6
17	Pittsburgh	2
18	Michigan State	4
19	TCU	8
20	LSU	6
	South Carolina	5
22	Florida State	4
23	Cincinnati	3
24	Virginia Tech	2
25	Tulsa	1

Dropped Out: California (#20), Georgia Tech (#21), Northwestern (#23), Minnesota (#24), Maryland (#25).

Explanations after the jump…

Read the rest of this entry »

Here’s my ballot for this week’s CBS Sports College Football BlogPoll hosted by—as you might imagine—CBS Sports.

Week 10

Through 01 November 2008

With the “power” teams making their claims with increasing volume, the BCS committee is already exploring the option of entering the witness protection program.  It’s looking like 2007 all over again.  Nonetheless, here is my preliminary BlogPoll Top 25 for this week.  Most of these should be fairly obvious.  Either way, here’s my ballot:

My Ballot for the Week

Rank	Team	Delta
1	Alabama	1
2	Texas Tech	4
3	Penn State	–
4	Oklahoma	–
5	Florida	3
6	Southern Cal	1
7	Texas	6
8	Missouri	2
9	Utah	–
10	Oklahoma State	3
11	TCU	1
12	Boise State	1
13	Ohio State	1
14	LSU	1
15	Ball State	1
16	Brigham Young	3
17	North Carolina	3
18	Georgia	11
19	Pittsburgh	5
20	California	6
	Georgia Tech	5
22	Michigan State	4
23	Northwestern	3
24	Minnesota	7
25	Maryland	–

Dropped Out: Oregon (#18), Florida State (#21), Tulsa (#22), South Florida (#23).

Explanations after the jump…

Read the rest of this entry »

Here’s my ballot for this week’s CBS Sports College Football BlogPoll hosted by — as you might imagine — CBS Sports.

Week 9

Through 27 October 2008

Another week in the record books, and we are beginning to see where teams will likely shake out at the end of the season.  Thus, here are the changes in my BlogPoll ballot for this week.  Most of these should be fairly obvious.  Either way, here’s my ballot:

My Ballot for the Week

Rank	Team	Delta
1	Texas	–
2	Alabama	–
3	Penn State	–
4	Oklahoma	–
5	Southern Cal	–
6	Texas Tech	–
7	Georgia	–
8	Florida	–
9	Utah	2
10	Missouri	5
11	Boise State	2
12	TCU	2
13	Oklahoma State	1
14	Ohio State	5
15	LSU	5
16	Ball State	1
17	Minnesota	3
18	Oregon	6
19	Brigham Young	4
20	North Carolina	6
	Florida State	5
22	Tulsa	4
23	South Florida	7
24	Pittsburgh	6
25	Maryland	1

Dropped Out: Boston College (#19), Georgia Tech (#21), Kansas (#22), Wake Forest (#25).

Explanations after the jump…

Read the rest of this entry »

Here’s my ballot for this week’s CBS Sports College Football BlogPoll hosted by—as you might imagine—CBS Sports.

Week 8

Through 18 October 2008

Well, apparently no one wants to be in the bottom half of my ballot, because almost all of the teams below No. 13 on my ballot from last week lost.  With one more weekend of the college football season behind us, there are a great many changes in my BlogPoll ballot for this week.  Most of these should be fairly obvious.  Either way, here’s my ballot:

My Ballot for the Week

Rank	Team	Delta
1	Texas	1
2	Alabama	1
3	Penn State	–
4	Oklahoma	–
5	Southern Cal	–
6	Texas Tech	–
7	Georgia	–
8	Florida	–
9	Ohio State	1
10	LSU	1
11	Utah	1
12	Oklahoma State	1
13	Boise State	3
14	TCU	12
15	Missouri	6
16	South Florida	10
17	Ball State	6
18	Pittsburgh	8
19	Boston College	7
20	Minnesota	4
	Georgia Tech	5
22	Kansas	8
23	Brigham Young	8
24	Oregon	1
25	Wake Forest	8

Dropped Out: North Carolina (#18), California (#19), Vanderbilt (#20), Michigan State (#21), Virginia Tech (#22).

Explanations after the jump…

Read the rest of this entry »