Posts Tagged ‘Oklahoma Sooners’

Well, I am—quite obviously—running behind.  I have yet to get my thoughts together on the BCS Championship Game—which President-elect Obama still thinks needs to be sacked in favor of a playoff—and the conclusion of the 2008-09 football season.

I’m going to blame it on the uncontrollable projectile vomiting that accompanied the realization that the Florida Gators had been crowned national champions…

I know, I know, I am supposed to pull for the SEC, and as a general rule I always do.  Had the Alabama Crimson Tide, Georgia Bulldogs, or any other member of the SEC won, then I would be overflowing with my congratulations to the team in representing the conference on the most visible stage in the country.  There’s only one problem with this general rule of mine, it has one exception:

I have never and will never pull for the Florida Gators in any sporting event.  No way, no how, no sir.

Without re-hashing what I have already said, I hate to lose to many of the SEC schools (most notably Alabama) but I don’t “hate” those schools.  With Florida it is different.  I realize this will label me as a sour-grapes sort of poor sport who blames Tennessee’s poor performance this year on every one but the Vols.  It is petty, it is juvenile, it is silly.

Frankly, I don’t care…

Furthermore, had the thousands of classless thugs folks that I had to deal with during my three trips to Gainesville for games shown a little more class, then this wouldn’t be the case.  Of course I doubt the Gators care what I think either.  Thus, I’ll congratulate the LSU Tigers for a nice win against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, the Georgia Bulldogs for their besting of the Michigan State Spartans, the Ole Miss Rebels for up-ending the Texas Tech Red Raiders, The Vanderbilt Commodores and Kentucky Wildcats for managing to win their bowl game when few gave them much of a chance.  To all of you, congratulations.  As for Alabama, well, thank you for representing the conference in the BCS, despite losing to a tough Utah Utes squad.  The Utes are a solid team and there is no shame in the loss.

Florida, however, can suck it…

Alrighty, I suppose that’s enough venom for the moment.  Then again, maybe not.

"You'd have to be out of your friggin' mind not to want to play for the Gators," • Urban Meyer commenting after the Gators victory over the Oklahoma Sooners

• Via Go Vols Xtra: Meyer sees no end to Florida’s reign

Nice to see that Meyer isn’t smug about it all.

Fortunately, Lane Kiffin doesn’t seem to be the type of guy who really cares about impressions and opinions.  He spent his week giving the current members of Vols football squad the proverbial “Come to Jesus” experience as he has made it clear that he expects a lot from his players not just on the field, but in the classroom as well.  He drove this point home by showing up unannounced in a few classrooms around the Hill and by dismissing Darius Meyers and giving Brent Vinson one chance to straighten-up.  Other sources indicate that, in addition to these “visible” actions by the Blackjack General, there have been other disciplinary actions taken to shore-up various shortcomings by players.  Both Ramone Johnson and Demetrius Morely have also been mentioned as having been “encouraged” to find more focus.  I have a feeling that there will be more heard on this subject in the coming months leading up to the Orange and White game this spring.

All of this is fine by me.  Sometimes you have to do a little housekeeping when you are trying to make changes.

Speaking of changes, Mike Griffith posted a particularly interesting piece on the perceptions of various members of the national sports media on Kiffin’s selection as the new head coach at Tennessee.  The general consensus is that no one really knows how things will turn out.

"I don't know what to think. I know he's hiring a great NFL staff - his dad from Tampa and Orgeron from the Saints. He's going into one of the most impatient places there is. The whole thing is a chemistry experiment to me. It will be fascinating to see how it plays out. It's one of the few hires where most people don't have a feel for how it will work out. It's one of the greatest calculated gambles I've seen in a while. If it works, Mike Hamilton looks like a genius. If it doesn't, they fired a pretty good coach.''

• Via Go Vols Xtra: National Media sounds off on Kiffin hire

Personally, I find the reactions in Griffith’s piece refreshing for two reasons.  First, it is nice for once to hear the media talking-heads admit that they don’t know everything about everything—I guess they all forgot to pay the bill on their crystal balls due to the economic downturn.  Second, and most importantly, I like the fact that Kiffin represents a paradigm shift for Tennessee.  When given a choice between a hamburger or pizza, Smiling Mike appears to have chosen the Billy Barou (Nachos) with extra queso and hot sauce.

Thus far, when it comes to staff selections, Kiffin has been keeping up his end of the bargain.

As a result, the Vols are seeing a serious up-swing in their recruiting fortunes as National Signing Day approaches.  According to Scout.com’s Jeffrey Stewart*, it appears he has the right people out in the field knocking on doors—giving Tennessee a chance at a fabulous finish which seemed unlikely not long ago.  At present the Vols have 17 commitments, but the No. 4 wide receiver, No. 4 running back, No. 4 tight end and No. 2 offensive tackle in the nation are all making visits in the coming days.  At worst, it’s now looking like a top 20 class.  Basilio has a nice breakdown (courtesy of “X”) for those interested.

Oh, and despite the fact that Mike Hamilton’s little chemistry experiment is not a cheap one, UT announced that ticket prices will not be going up in Neyland Stadium this fall.

Note to self “Butts in the seats = Good”

Meanwhile, rumors are flying all over the place about the possibility of the Great Punkin being considered for the head coaching job at Boston College, after coach Jeff Jagodzinski was fired on Wednesday for interviewing with the New York Jets.  Fulmer has been a good friend of Boston College AD Gene DeFilippo from their time together as grad assistants on the Tennessee staff in the early 1970’s.  DeFilippo was instrumental in Fulmer’s decision to hire Dave Clawson prior to the 2008 season:

Ultimately, Fulmer settled on Clawson, who had interviewed the year before for the Boston College head coaching job. BC athletic director Gene DeFilippo was a graduate assistant at Tennessee in the early 1970s when Fulmer was getting his coaching start, and the two have continued to talk over the years.

DeFilippo's endorsement of Clawson carried a lot of weight with Fulmer, who was even more intrigued after he met and talked football with Clawson. A dandy playcaller himself when he performed those duties under John Majors from 1989-92, Fulmer liked the idea of bringing some new blood into the program. And that's not a knock against Cutcliffe, either.

• Via ESPN.com: Clawson, Volunteers planning to beef up running game

Many fans and media observers feel that Fulmer would be near the top of possible candidates outside of the existing Eagles staff members, especially considering the importance of loyalty in the mind of DeFilippo who has no problem following his instincts.  There has been no official word at present, but the possibility has begun to gain some traction in the press and the Blogosphere.  Whether anything comes of these rumors remains to be seen.

Oh, and the BasketVols lost to Gonzaga in overtime, snapping the Vols’ 37-game winning streak.  That pretty much sucked.

Up next, the Georgia Bulldogs, Saturday at noon—likely without Tyler Smith (sigh…).  As is my usual practice (and time permitting), I plan on jumping in the game open thread over at Rocky Top Talk—if you haven’t participated in one in the past, they are fun and you should give it a try.  Tell Joel I sent you.

I should post more on Bruce and the Barbarians (as well as the fact that Pat Summitt is only five games away from her 1,000th win), but—as I said from the outset—I’m still in catch-up mode.  We should be in full basketball mode here at the Gate by sometime next week.

Until then…

Go Vols, Beat the Bulldogs!

-- Go Figure …

Image Courtesy of: UTSports.com

*Scout.com membership required to access article

...About the BasketVols' Struggles

First off, this is my first post of 2009, so I would like to wish everyone a very late Happy New Year. Secondly, I will take just a little time to explain the three reasons for my slacking in terms of posting...

Reason #1: School began Wednesday. That is pretty self-explanatory. I'll just leave stop now because none of you actually care, and if you do, click my fresh, new logo on the right of your screen and shoot me some mail (thanks to lawvol for making that happen).

Reason #2: I have been mentally and psychologically recovering from witnessing Tennessee lose a home basketball game for the first time ever. Never before have I had to walk through the parking lot wondering what went/is going wrong with the team. So if Tennessee builds up another long home streak - say, never losing again til I graduate - I will forever hate Gonzaga. And I mean hate as in the same breath as C****** W******, Jabar Gaffney/that ref, Matt Mauck, and Steven Hill.

Not that I didn't already hate the Bulldogs anyways. After the first meeting between them and the Vols, I dubbed them the "gayest team in America" label that Butler so gracefully championed since the Preseason NIT win they had over Tennessee two years ago, ending when the Vols avenged that in the Tournament last year. You may be asking why this is...

You look at Gonzaga's team, and you think there is absolutely no way in hell they are any good. Josh Heytvelt is a 'shroom-smoking, low-class punk (those of you in attendance know why) who has no business making anything from the outside. Austin Daye is skinnier than the biggest pansie in the sports world (that's Pau Gasol of the Lakers/Grizzlies) and looks goofy in his oversized t-shirt. Matt Bouldin's pretty boy hair annoys me, and he will NEVER score 26 points against a good team again this year (for the record, 26 is his career high, which he's done a grand total of once). Micah Downs, a former McDonald's All-American, does get a pass for transferring from Kansas after just a semester to be closer to home. Jeremy Pargo is the only legit player on that team and will make it in the NBA.

So while their band of goofballs (sans Pargo) are a solid team, their streakiness is the kicker. For example, they start off shooting poorly in the first half. At 45-33, I thought Tennessee would run away with it. That is, until Gonzaga's garbage kicked into high gear and they couldn't miss. Yes, Tennessee's defense was awful (more on that later). But they hadn't shot that well earlier in the game. There was also a short stretch late in the second half where they couldn't hit anything. And of course, they made every shot in the OT. And I'm not even going to start on the incompetency of their conference's officials...

Reason #3: I was physically sick yesterday from vomiting all Thursday night/Friday morning from Florida's winning another national title. Which brings me to another mini-rant (please bear with me)...

How any true Vol fan could have wanted Florida to win a national championship is beyond me. They are Tennessee's biggest divisional rival. How does their winning a second title in three years benefit Tennessee in any way at all? Please explain this to me, I'm willing to listen.

The SEC power argument doesn't make a difference. In today's football world a one-loss SEC champion will get a shot to play for a national title. Florida's two titles and LSU's last year will have no bearing on whether or not Tennessee gets left out of a potential title game in the (hopefully very near) future. Let me say it this way: if Tennessee takes care of their business of winning the SEC - which is the #1 primary above-all goal EVERY YEAR - the rest will resolve itself. And if it doesn't and we were to hypothetically get "Auburned," Florida winning national titles wouldn't make a lick of difference.

We all enjoyed watching Utah smack Bammer around didn't we? Why would watching OU do that to Florida be any less enjoyable? Hence why I wanted Utah to win and OU to win Thursday night by 1,000. I thought both Alabama and Florida would win, but hey, beggars can't be choosers, right?

OK, now to the main topic of this post, today's little trip to Athens to open up the defense of last year's SEC hoops title. I'm still not in full panic mode yet, because I had justified losing at Temple and Kansas as the whole young team/hostile environment deal and the first Gonzaga loss as to them being hot. That said, I expected Tennessee to win Wednesday night.

The biggest reason to worry right now is Tyler Smith's health. Smith is doubtful to play today due to the knee injury he suffered in the OT Wednesday night. The hush that fell on TBA during those moments was similar to the one that fell when Chris Lofton sprained his ankle his junior season. The general thought of course was "Oh no, there goes the season." However, when Tyler popped up and walked off, and eventually reentered the game, relief ran rampant (there's some alliteration for ya!).

The second biggest issue is team defense. The lack of defensive communication on ball screens is absolutely some of the worst I have ever seen from a college team. I see better team communication in intramural games and pickup games in TRECS, and I'm not even kidding. I really don't even know if it's individual players struggling, but the team as a whole has been horrific and frustrating. You obviously can't win if you let the other team score every trip down the floor.

Now I'm not as worried as most about Tennessee offensively. Yes, the shot selection is bad, but hasn't it always under Bruce? That said, Tennessee missed so many makable shots in the lane Wednesday night I lost count. Admittedly the Vols struggle with hitting a big shot in a crucial time (other than Tyler of course) and consistently making an open three-pointer.

Fortunately, the SEC just isn't very good. Kentucky, Florida, Arkansas and LSU are all teams that can make the Tournament, but I still think Tennessee's the team to beat, at least from a talent standpoint. Only Arkansas has near the quality wins (Oklahoma and Texas) as does Tennessee (Georgetown, Marquette). The rest of the league hasn't played - and more importantly beaten - anybody.

That said, a loss today to the worst team in the league would really start the meltdown/frantic/panicking/worrying. Georgia's losses this year: Loyola of Chicago, Western Kentucky, Illinois (by 34 points), Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, Missouri, and Georgia Tech. Throw in an OT win over Wofford on a prayer three-pointer at the buzzer and you come to realize: this is a bad team we're playing today. Georgia hasn't beaten Tennessee in four years, so even Buzz beat Georgia.

Hopefully the Vols can get this win to start the SEC season off on the right foot before the evil blue team from up north comes visiting Tuesday night...GO VOLS!

-- ... to me.

Images Courtesy of: Gonzaga Official Site • Amy Smotherman-Burgess / Knoxville News-Sentinel • John Curry / AP (Daylife)

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 …

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…

Comments, Explanations, and Excuses

Here are the high-points of the week's changes:

Florida (2) & Oklahoma (3):

I am not completely comfortable with having the Florida Gators ranked above the Oklahoma Sooners, but I would be equally unhappy with the reverse.  The reality is that I would like to have Florida and Oklahoma both tied for the No. 2 spot.  Since that is not an option, I decided to simply maintain their positions relative to one another.

I realize that the Sooners absolutely demolished the, then, No. 2 Texas Tech Red Raiders (11), but given how poorly Texas Tech played, I am not sure that Florida would not have done the same.  Both have upcoming rivalry games and conference championship games in the near future—that should settle things for good.

Oh, and for the record—with no disrespect to the Alabama Crimson Tide (1)—I predict that Florida and Oklahoma will play for the BCS title in January.

Utah (7) & Boise State (8):

The Utah Utes’ win over the BYU Cougars (23)—leaving the Utes undefeated—convinced me that they deserve to be solidly in the Top 10.  I am much less comfortable, however, with the Boise State Broncos being there.  I mean no disrespect, but I still am not sure that their schedule justifies a No. 8 ranking, let alone higher.  Allowing Nevada (NR) to score 34 points this last weekend didn’t exactly help make their case either.

Texas Tech (11):

Damn!

I think that pretty much sums it up…

Returners & First Timers:

The Boston College Eagles (20) return for the third time to my ballot on the heels of their victory over the Wake Forest Demon Deacons (NR).  They are joined, yet again, by fellow ACC member the Florida State Seminoles (24) who bested the Maryland Terrapins (NR) in convincing style thumbing the Terps right back out of my ballot.

The only newcomer for the week is the 7-4 Ole Miss Rebels (25) who booted the LSU Tigers (NR).  I think it is fair to say that first-year coach the Very Reverend Houston Nutt has earned himself a raise.

"Now Departing at Gate 21...":

As I mentioned above, both LSU and Maryland got their walking papers courtesy of inter-conference backhands. The only other face missing this week is that of the North Carolina Tarheels (NR) who got blasted by the NC State Wolfpack (NR).  I realize that the Wolfpack is an in-state rival (especially considering the two schools are only about 30 miles apart), but the Tarheads had no business losing this game.  Still, nice win by the Pack.

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.

-- Go Figure …

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…

Comments, Explanations, and Excuses

Here are the high-points of the week's changes:

Florida (3) & Oklahoma (4):

As much as I hate to admit it, the Florida Gators may be the team to beat at the moment.  They absolutely annihilated a really solid South Carolina Gamecocks (NR) squad that I had ranked at # 21 last week.  Florida looks much better now than they did early in the season, and I believe their loss to the Ole Miss Rebels (NR) probably did them more good than harm by forcing the Gators to focus in on what they needed to do to win games.  Since that loss, they have absolutely killed every team they have played.

The Oklahoma Sooners, however, didn’t play this week.  I typically try not to penalize a team for not playing, but I really feel Florida is a better team.  Thus—in theory—I would have had Florida jumped them even if they had played.

Georgia (14) & LSU (20):

Both the Georgia Bulldogs and the LSU Tigers stayed put this week, despite winning their games while teams around them moved up.  The reason for this is simple—style points do count.  Both of these teams eked-out close wins versus the Auburn Tigers (NR) and the Troy Trojans (NR) respectively.  These games should have been blow-outs in favor of the Dawgs and the Tigers.

In fairness to Georgia, their game was less troublesome for me than LSU’s come-from-behind victory over the Trojans—especially considering the Georgia / Auburn game is to some extent a rivalry game.  Thus, I contemplated dropping LSU a position despite the win.  I realize the Tigers were deflated after losing to the Alabama Crimson Tide (1) in overtime the week before, but their effort and performance in the first 45 minutes of the game against Troy was pitiful.  I decided against dropping them due only to the fact that I have to give them some respect for scoring 30 unanswered points to steal the victory away from a tough Troy team.

Returners & First Timers:

On the heels (no pun intended) of their victory over the North Carolina Tarheels (18), the Maryland Terrapins (23) return to my ballot.  They are joined by the Northwestern Wildcats (25) who bested the pathetic Michigan Wolverines (NR), and two teams from Oregon.  The Oregon State Beavers (22) make their first appearance of the season thanks to their victory over the California Golden Bears (NR)—the Beavers have slowly cobbled together a nice season after their unlikely upset of the Southern Cal Trojans (6).  The Oregon Ducks (24) have more or less been in my poll ballot every other week throughout the season (or at least it seems that way).  The last time they left, I predicted that they would not return.  Shows what I know…

"Now Departing at Gate 21...":

As I discussed above, Florida’s manhandling of the South Carolina Gamecocks (NR) earned the ThunderChickens a departure from my poll one week after they arrived.  The Florida State Seminoles’ (NR) loss to the Boston College Eagles (NR), and the Virginia Tech Hokies (NR) loss to the Miami Hurricanes (NR) led to the same quick departure for those two members of the ACC.  The real loser of the week, however was the Tulsa Golden Hurricane (NR) who were obliterated by Houston in a 70-30 rout.  Ouch!

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.

-- Go Figure …

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…

Comments, Explanations, and Excuses

Here are the high-points of the week's changes:

Texas Tech (2) & Southern Cal (6):

I bumped the Texas Tech Red Raiders four spots, past the idle Penn State Nittany Lions (3) and the Oklahoma Sooners (4) who hammered the Nebraska Cornhuskers (NR), into the No. 2 spot for one simple reason—they earned it and impressed the hell out of me in their victory over the Texas Longhorns (7).  In fact, I almost moved the Red Raiders into first place above the Alabama Crimson Tide (1).  Texas Tech is for real, is aggressive, and solid across the board.

I know, however, that some folks from the left coast will be upset that I dropped the Southern Cal Trojans one spot—elevating the Florida Gators (5) right past them—despite the Trojans decimating the Washington Huskies (NR).  The reason for this is two fold:

1. First, the Gators—admittedly to my dismay—completely manhandled the Georgia Bulldogs (18), beating them at every position and setting the stage fro a showdown against Alabama in the SEC Championship Game.  Florida may well be the best team in the SEC at present.
2. Second, it has become abundantly clear to me that the Pac-10 is anything but strong as a conference this year.  In reality, there is on very good team (Southern Cal) and two above average teams—the California Golden Bears (20) and Arizona Wildcats (NR); the rest are bad to awful.  Thus—in my humble opinion—beating a hapless Washington Huskies (NR) team which is both winless and coachless by 1,000 points simply isn’t as deserving of accolades as downing the Dawgs 49-10.

Utah (9) & Boise State (12):

Both of these teams played schools from New Mexico.  There is a reason few people fear playing schools from the “Land of Enchantment”—it’s because they are not very good.  It’s a big deal to me—you play nobody, you go nowhere.

I personally think both of these teams are highly overrated due to their weak schedules, but am trying not to be such a haughty and arrogant “Ess-Eee-See!!” fan. Thus, I am giving them the benefit of the doubt at present, but that only goes so far.

Sorry…

Returners & First Timers:

This week sees the return of four previously ranked schools to my ballot: the Cal Golden Bears (20), the Michigan State Spartans (22), the Northwestern Wildcats (23) and the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (21) who returns on the heels of its 31-28 besting of Florida State (NR) who was No. 21 in my ballot last week.

"Now Departing at Gate 21...":

There was a four-team exodus from my ballot this week as the Oregon Ducks, Florida State Seminoles, Tulsa Golden Hurricane, and South Florida Bulls all cleared out of town and headed for the hills—this is the third departure for Oregon this year.

On the Bubble for Next Week:

Looking ahead to next week, if they keep up their winning ways the South Carolina Gamecocks (NR), Air Force Falcons (NR), Kansas Jayhawks (NR), West Virginia Mountaineers (NR), and Kentucky Wildcats (NR) all look set to jump into my Top 25 at any time.

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.

-- Go Figure …

Big Games in SEC and Big XII

So amidst the stir I more or less caused with last week's Alabama hate post and the Big Orange Roundtable collaboration and farks, I never got around to previewing the weekend's slate of games. For that I apologize now. I also apologize for more or less going M.I.A. since then.

I actually got to go to the Colts-Titans matchup this past Monday night, quite an atmosphere it was. However, having class the next morning made getting back at 3 a.m. have some unfortunate lasting effects.

It's beginning to look like the BCS is going to have quite the mess on its hands at the end of this year. Texas is undefeated and running through their current gauntlet in the Big XII. If they get by Texas Tech Saturday night, the only real challenge might be the trip to Kansas. Penn State goes undefeated, barring a loss in a tricky trip to Iowa in a couple of weeks. USC is still in the mix.

Alabama's still unbeaten, and looks to have the SEC West all but wrapped up. Also, their "tough" games - at LSU and Auburn at home - don't look so tough anymore. Florida and Georgia both look to be rolling into their showdown in J'ville this weekend.

Utah and Boise State are still lurking, and let's not forget about Tulsa sneaking up into the Top 20.

As we enter the month's last season, all I'll say is that it's going to be real fun watching all this unfold. There's going to be some great games, and there's bound to be some upsets and some things no one will have seen coming. So it begins...

SEC Games

Auburn at Ole Miss (12:30, RayCom): Auburn fans, we feel your pain. We know how you feel. While Tennessee's closing schedule is manageable, it's just now getting difficult for Auburn. The Tigers close after this road trip with Tennessee-Martin, Georgia, and a trip to Alabama. Not getting to 6-6 for a bowl game is a very likely possibility.

Ole Miss bounced back from the Bama loss by surviving Arkansas. Now they have a chance to all but wrap up a bowl game, and second place in the SEC West - a big step from 0-8 - is within reach, believe it or not. With Auburn reeling, it makes pretty good sense to think Ole Miss will win.

Tulsa at Arkansas (2:00, ESPN GamePlan): Speaking of the Golden Hurricane, this is the toughest game of their season. A win here and they might as well book an undefeated season. The Hogs struggled with Western Illinois and UL Monroe, and their defense has been bad at times. Tulsa's quirky offense is going to give them trouble, despite Arkansas having the advantage in athletes.The other storyline here is Tulsa offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn's return to Arkansas, in a game definitely worth keeping your eye on.

Kentucky at Mississippi State (2:30, ESPN GamePlan): Ouch. Kentucky, like Vanderbilt, has somewhat returned to their awful ways. After stealing a W from Arkansas, the Cats were smashed by Florida. How will they respond with a bowl bid potentially on the line in Starkville?

Despite winning last week over MTSU, this is State's last chance to even think about a bowl bid. They can more or less guarantee getting out the cellar with a win here - remember they already knocked off Vandy, and host Arkansas in a couple weeks. Both these offenses are horrific, so it might be the first to 14 wins. I'll take Mississippi State at home.

Arkansas State at Alabama (3:00, ESPN GamePlan): Another November Sun Belt opponent at home for Alabama. Arkansas State already won at Texas A&M to open the season. Just throwin' that out there...

Georgia vs. Florida in Jacksonville (3:30, CBS): So many storylines here. Florida scored 63 points last week and look to be rolling. Georgia hung 52 in Baton Rouge last week. There's the whole endzone celebration that everybody's downplaying. Athletes everywhere. The SEC East on the line. Staying in the national title chase on the line. SEC football at its best.

I hate to see either of these teams - and Bammer too - play for championships while Tennessee wallows in its awfulness. But I would be a total moron to not watch this game. TOTAL. MORON. The safe pick is Florida. Why? Well, for one they have Tebow of Nazareth. Two, they own Georgia. Three, they remember last year. I thought Florida would win the East at the beginning of the year, and I don't see how the Dawgs can keep that from happening.

Tennessee at South Carolina (7:00, ESPN2): Six points against Florida. 14 at Georgia. Nine against Alabama. Tennessee's offense is really bad. OK, enough with stating the obvious. It's actually South Carolina that has the top defense statistically in the SEC. I have no idea how Tennessee will move the ball and how the Vols will score. Not a clue.

I'm seeing the same ol' same ol' from Tennessee. The defense forces some mistakes from Stephen Garcia, keeps the score close for a while, but then just gets worn down. The frustration continues. I would say last weekend was THE bottom (here's why I think so), but now - down to basically one healthy DT - the team's gotta go play a road game. I was gonna go, but not anymore. I'll watch, and be prepared for more frustration.

Tulane at LSU (8:00, ESPN GamePlan): Speaking of reeling, what's up with LSU? Florida scored 51. Georgia scored 52 - at LSU. The defensive losses eventually became too much to overcome, and now LSU looks like they won't repeat anything. Tulane hung with Alabama earlier this year in Tuscaloosa, and who knows how LSU comes out after two beatdowns. Just sayin'...

THERE'S MORE

The Weekly Duke Update:Go Duke! The Devils have a winning record in November. In football. After beating Vanderbilt in Nashville last week, David Cutcliffe's Blue Devils sit at 4-3 entering the toughest part of the schedule. Duke plays at Wake Forest Saturday. The host NC State and North Carolina and play at Clemson and Virginia Tech down the stretch. I don't know if there's two wins, but even four wins at Duke is quite the accomplishment.

I know we Vol fans learned how important Coach Cut was to Tennessee, but I for one don't want to see him come back if/when Fulmer's done. First, I want a younger up-and-comer. Two, Cut is building something here people.

Elsewhere in the wide-open, who-knows-who's-actually-good-enough-to-win-the-thing ACC, Florida State plays surprising Georgia Tech in Atlanta. After sucking in September, Al Groh has Virginia of all teams at 3-1 in the ACC after beating Tech last week in Atlanta. UVA hosts Miami Saturday.

The JV League/Big East is garbage and no one cares who wins it. The Big Ten is pretty much Penn State's, but somehow, someway, Minnesota is 7-1 hosting Northwestern Saturday. The Gophers - ranked in the top 20 now - have beaten exactly zero good teams, and avoid Penn State, Ohio State and Michigan State . Honestly, they could go 11-1 and, if Penn State ends up playing for it all, could sneak into the Rose Bowl a la Illinois last year, where they would likely get trounced by somebody. Feel-good story? Nope, something else that needs to be fixed.

Much like the Big Ten, the Pac 10 is all USC, who hosts winless Washington Saturday. That said, Oregon State still actually leads the league, tied with the USC team they smacked at 3-1. More technically, Oregon leads the league at 4-1. However, they play at 3-1 Cal Saturday afternoon, so an elimination game there that zero of us over here in the South (a) care about and (b) will get on ABC at 3:30.

That leaves the New Pac 10, aka the Big XII. Last week's Okie State-Texas game was 28-24, which is like a game in the 50s in hoops (which has now started, yes!!). Oklahoma scored 51 points - in the first half - at Kansas State. Forgotten Missouri beat Colorado 58-0. Texas Tech hung 63 on Kansas in Lawrence. Are the defenses this bad? Are the offenses this good? Guess we'll find out when one of these teams is playing in the title game...

Speaking of that title game, Texas has a trip to Lubbock Saturday night basically between them and a Missouri rematch/unbeaten season (no, I don't think Kansas gets them). How does my new coach choice Will Muschamp plan to stop Mike Leach and Graham Harrell. Michael Crabtree would be an NFL receiver - now. This should be a great game to watch, with obviously tons of offense. Still, it's Texas Tech. When have they won these types of games? I like Texas in this game.

ENJOY!

Images Courtesy of: Memphis Commercial Appeal • Mark Humphrey / AP (Daylife) • Matt Slocum / AP (Daylife)