This weeks Top 25

This weeks top 25 rankings are out and clearly show that the winner of the Florida Alabama SEC championship game will be the team favored to win the national championship. The BCS rankings will be out later and will help solidify which non BCS team or teams will play.

AP Top 25
1. Alabama (62) 12-0 1,620
2. Florida (3) 11-1 1,516
3. Texas 11-1 1,488
4. Oklahoma 11-1 1,480
5. USC 10-1 1,355
6. Penn State 11-1 1,257
7. Utah 12-0 1,216
8. Texas Tech 11-1 1,197
9. Boise State 12-0 1,103
10. Ohio State 10-2 1,069
11. TCU 10-2 885
12. Ball State 12-0 834
13. Cincinnati 10-2 824
14. Oklahoma State 9-3 798
15. Georgia Tech 8-3 708
16. Oregon 9-3 630
17. Georgia 9-3 495
18. Boston College 9-3 482
19. Missouri 9-3 479
20. Brigham Young 10-2 385
21. Michigan State 9-3 312
22. Mississippi 8-4 280
23. Pittsburgh 8-3 241
24. Northwestern 9-3 190
25. Oregon State 8-4 122
Others Receiving Votes
Iowa 66, Virginia Tech 47, Tulsa 13, Florida State 12, California 7, West Virginia 4, Rice 3, Connecticut 3, Nebraska 3, North Carolina 1.
Dropped From Rankings
Florida State 23.
USA Today Poll
1. Alabama (58) 12-0 1,521
2. Oklahoma (2) 11-1 1,397
3. Texas 11-1 1,396
4. Florida (1) 11-1 1,385
5. USC 10-1 1,298
6. Penn State 11-1 1,176
7. Utah 12-0 1,153
8. Texas Tech 11-1 1,116
9. Boise State 12-0 1,044
10. Ohio State 10-2 999
11. TCU 10-2 836
12. Cincinnati 10-2 770
13. Ball State 12-0 765
14. Oregon 9-3 658
15. Oklahoma State 9-3 613
16. Georgia Tech 8-3 590
17. Missouri 9-3 470
18. Brigham Young 10-2 461
19. Georgia 9-3 440
20. Boston College 9-3 435
21. Michigan State 9-3 414
22. Northwestern 9-3 333
23. Pittsburgh 8-3 154
24. Oregon State 8-4 127
25. Mississippi 8-4 126
Others Receiving Votes
Virginia Tech 41, Iowa 31, Tulsa 21, Florida State 15, Nebraska 11, Kansas 10, Connecticut 5, North Carolina 5, Rice 5, California 4.
Dropped From Rankings
Florida State 24, West Virginia 25.

UT 28- UK 10

So there you have it. Another year, another UT victory. It is the streak that will not go away. The game this year wasn’t about UK or UT anyway, anyone that watched could see it was the goodbye Phil Fulmer show. It was the story book ending for him and UK was more than happy to play the victory cigar pansy.

I have to say that I have been hard on Fulmer. I probably will continue to be. After all, he has more wins against UK than any single coach. But today I’ll take a moment and commend Fulmer for mostly being about what I think college sports should be about and that is loyalty. Yes he is the biggest tattle tale in all the world while being one of the dirtiest there is. But he is UT. He played there, he assistant coached there and he head coached there. He would still be there if they would have him. I feel strongly that UT is the only high profile place that would have him and he knows it, but that is mildly beside the point today. So I congratulate him on his stay at UT and all those wins over UK. Now don’t let the door hit you in the hum d hum on the way out.

As for UK; That was the most uninspired effort I have seen in a long time all the way around, but especially on offense. It got to a point that everyone in the world knew UK was going to run another draw. Draws are great when the other team isn’t expecting them. I guess the same can be said for any play. All year long the talk has been of the QB position. All year long I have said that is the last position that should have had any talk. The lack of execution at ever position other than QB is the very reason UK had to ditch its pro style offense for.. well… that. While I HATE the triple option, and I despise the full time multi threat QB, there is one thing I HATE and DESPISE more. And that is a team that loses its path and veers in another direction simply because the players fail to execute. Mike Hartline came in and gave UK a boost. When that was Cobb, the “Cobbies” were very quick to say, “see”. So it would be very easy for “Harlinies” to do the same, right? No it would not. Just because he came in and gave UK a spark by providing something UT wasn’t prepared for doesn’t mean it’s time to go back to Hartline. Not for that reason anyway. I think UK should go back to him simply because that is what UK’s offense is supposed to be about. The players, coaches, trainers and water boys ALL need to rededicate themselves to what UK is about. I love Cobb to death but he simply is not a pocket passer. And its been proven over and over and over that one guy can not win a game by himself. The QB needs help and lots of it no matter who it is and the next four weeks would be the perfect time for all to go about doing just that.

As for UT, We’ll get em next year.

Ball St?

My daughter returned home for her first college Thanksgiving break. It just so happens that her school played on national TV last night. So of course, I watched and cheered. I have become a sudo Cardinal fan which is something that has always seemed much less likely then needing a heater in hell. Luckily, these Cardinals are of the Ball St. kind. I really do not have a choice in the matter. You see, not only is my daughter a current student; my wife is an alum. So I gladly take to the Cardinals for their sake and have cheered them on many times this season. Now comes the tricky part… Ball State is now 12-0 and is ranked 15 in the BCS standings.

Why is this tricky, you ask? Well, I remember leaving Commonwealth, wife in tow, on a crisp night just after UK had dispatched Western KY. We had already watched a few Ball St games, and the wife had already started to ask the question, “Wonder what would happen if UK played Ball State?” This question came up again as we were finding our way to the car. I had to politely tell her that UK would probably beat Ball St in a similar fashion to Western as UK played in the SEC while Ball St played in the MAC. “What does that matter?” I was asked. I told her the elite leagues were considered elite for a reason, and even though UK wasn’t a top tier team, there was still a considerable difference between them and your standard MAC team.

I was quite proud of my answers. Then last night happened. 12-0 Cardinals, with a few mild wins. The wife wanted to bring on any and all comers. She stopped asking and started stating that she would love a piece of UK. I must say, I am not used to cockiness from my life companion, and I secretly found it quite sexy, which kind of disturbed me.

So this begs the question: There are several non BCS undefeated teams out there. Utah, Boise St, Ball St come to mind. How do those teams really stack up this year? How would UK fare? What would it prove if Boise St ended up in a bowl with Ball St?

I’m scratching my head….

Where Were You in 1984?

I was on a college campus nestled in a small college town somewhere in the far mid west. I was far removed from that which is known as UK football at the time. To be honest, I can not recall knowing UK football existed. The years have past. I returned home a man and went on to pursue my hopes and dreams. I did discover UK football along the way. There has been some consistency through the years. My family, a handful of friends, many icons in the town I love, Teddy Kennedy, and.. That which is known as UT over UK in football.

It isn’t that UT has dominated UK. That would somehow make it seem OK. Or at least that is the justification that is a UK football fan. No, UK has found so many ways to lose close games it is too numerous to count. All one has to do is look at last year’s overtime game for a very clear visual. Every year we (or maybe I should say I?) look past the other monster games on the schedule and move directly to the regular season finale. I look at how UT is projected. I look at where UK is projected. I make an attempt at some sort of logic that suggests, “this is the year”. Every year I see my attempts at logic were nothing more than blue blinded hope.

So what about this year? Yes, I scanned to the end of the regular season. Yes, I looked at the UT/UK status. And yes UT has given me several reasons to assume this will be the year. UT has stunk as bad as any team I have ever seen in orange. Calling them average would be a complement. The UT fans will stay home in large numbers. The UK fans are more than happy to replace them and they will. But the evil that is UT football also has added some reasons to doubt. The large orange that has rolled along the UT sideline pretending to be the head coach is in his last game. There will be pomp. There will be celebration in his honor. There will be lots of, “win one more for the big Orange”.

In the end, it comes down to 1984. Disco was dead, concert rockers were on their way out to old age pastures, and pop was on the rise. Gas was under a buck and that was the last time UK beat UT in football. The numbers simply suggest that the law of averages MUST be in UK’s favor. I’ll wait until after the game to start my, “we’ll get em next year” chants.

BCS Busters Survive

Both BYU and Utah won on Saturday. Utah completed their season 12-0 by dumping BYU 48-24. Boise St remained unbeaten in a game that went down to the last play against Nevada 41-34. Boist St finishes their season next Saturday against Fresno St. who was considered one of the BCS busters most likely to play in a BCS bowl. If they win they will bring up considerable debate about the rules used to qualify for a BCS game.

Automatic Qualification

1. The top two teams in the final BCS Standings shall play in the National Championship Game.

2. The champions of the Atlantic Coast, Big East, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-10 and Southeastern conferences will have automatic berths in one of the participating bowls after the 2008 through 2013 regular seasons.

3. The champion of Conference USA, the Mid-American Conference, the Mountain West Conference, the Sun Belt Conference or the Western Athletic Conference will earn an automatic berth in a BCS bowl game if either:

A. Such team is ranked in the top 12 of the final BCS Standings, or,
B. Such team is ranked in the top 16 of the final BCS Standings and its ranking in the final BCS Standings is higher than that of a champion of a conference that has an annual automatic berth in one of the BCS bowls.

No more than one such team from Conference USA, the Mid-American Conference, the Mountain West Conference, the Sun Belt Conference, and the Western Athletic Conference shall earn an automatic berth in any year. (Note: a second team may be eligible for at-large eligibility as noted below.) If two or more teams from those conferences satisfy the provisions for an automatic berth, then the team with the highest finish in the final BCS Standings will receive the automatic berth, and the remaining team or teams will be considered for at-large selection if it meets the criteria.

4. Notre Dame will have an automatic berth if it is in the top eight of the final BCS Standings.

5. If any of the 10 slots remain open after application of provisions 1 through 4, and an at-large team from a conference with an annual automatic berth for its champion is ranked No. 3 in the final BCS Standings, that team will become an automatic qualifier, provided that no at-large team from the same conference qualifies for the national championship game.

6. If any of the 10 slots remain open after application of provisions 1 through 5, and if no team qualifies under paragraph No. 5 and an at-large team from a conference with an annual automatic berth for its champion is ranked No. 4 in the final BCS Standings, that team will become an automatic qualifier provided that no at-large team from the same conference qualifies for the national championship game.

Rankings Week 3

This week the Cats received 6 voter and are ranked 37th in the AP In the USA poll they got 40 votes and are ranked 30th.

AP Top 25
1. USC (61) 2-0 1,596
2. Oklahoma 3-0 1,485
3. Georgia (2) 3-0 1,437
4. Florida (1) 2-0 1,414
5. Missouri 3-0 1,389
6. LSU 2-0 1,274
7. Texas 2-0 1,140
8. Wisconsin 3-0 1,076
9. Alabama 3-0 982
10. Auburn 3-0 958
11. Texas Tech 3-0 904
12. South Florida 3-0 801
13. Ohio State 2-1 800
14. Brigham Young 3-0 788
15. East Carolina 3-0 781
16. Penn State 3-0 779
17. Oregon 3-0 679
18. Wake Forest 2-0 482
19. Kansas 2-1 445
20. Utah 3-0 428
21. West Virginia 1-1 179
22. Illinois 2-1 163
23. Clemson 2-1 160
24. Florida State 2-0 146
25. Fresno State 1-1 121
Others Receiving Votes
Vanderbilt 63, Oklahoma State 62, TCU 45, Boise State 38, Arizona State 36, North Carolina 31, Virginia Tech 28, Nebraska 21, Tennessee 15, Connecticut 13, Iowa 12, Kentucky 6, Tulsa 6, Northwestern 4, Notre Dame 4, Minnesota 4, Arizona 2, UCF 1, Ball State 1, South Carolina 1.

USA Today’ Poll
1. USC (57) 2-0 1,518
2. Oklahoma (1) 3-0 1,423
3. Georgia (2) 3-0 1,393
4. Florida (1) 2-0 1,335
5. Missouri 3-0 1,294
6. LSU 2-0 1,233
7. Texas 2-0 1,128
8. Wisconsin 3-0 1,027
9. Auburn 3-0 955
10. Texas Tech 3-0 887
11. Brigham Young 3-0 846
12. Oregon 3-0 783
13. Alabama 3-0 771
14. Ohio State 2-1 736
15. Penn State 3-0 724
16. South Florida 3-0 685
17. East Carolina 3-0 508
18. Wake Forest 2-0 498
19. Kansas 2-1 416
20. Utah 3-0 400
21. Clemson 2-1 233
22. West Virginia 1-1 159
23. Illinois 2-1 127
24. Arizona State 2-1 113
25. Florida State 2-0 110
Others Receiving Votes
Fresno State 93, TCU 76, Nebraska 49, Boise State 43, Kentucky 40, Oklahoma State 39, Tennessee 34, Virginia Tech 31, Connecticut 27, Vanderbilt 20, North Carolina 19, Iowa 14, Northwestern 10, California 7, Notre Dame 5, Michigan State 5, Colorado 3, Boston College 2, Ball State 2, Georgia Tech 2, Tulsa 2.

BCS Busters Week 3

Fresno St is officially out as a BCS buster after a 13-10 loss at home to Wisconsin. PJ Hill ran for 112 yds and the Badgers defense mand several key stops in the second half to emerge a winner in Fresno.

Matt Asiata scored three touchdowns rushing and Brian Johnson threw for two more scores and No. 22 Utah defeated Utah State 58-10 on Saturday night. Last weeks win over UNLV looks more impressive after the UNLV win over Arizona ST on saturday.

Patrick Pinkney threw a 24-yard touchdown pass to Jamar Bryant with 1:41 left in the fourth quarter for East Carolina and the No. 14 Pirates rallied for a 28-24 victory against Tulane on Saturday.

In BYU’s most lopsided victory since shutting out New Mexico 65-0 in 1988 BYU stunned UCLA 59-0. The Cougars outgained UCLA 521-239 and came up with a dominate victory one week after edging Washington 28-27 on a blocked extra point attempt. Max Hall tied a school record with seven td passes in the game. After such a dominating game BYU should be considered the leader in the race to play in a BCS game.

Rankings week 2

This weeks top 25 shows the Cats gathering more votes. Kentucky got 6 votes and is ranked 35 in the AP. In the USA poll they recieved 28 votes which ranks them 29. Ohio St dropped to 5 in both polls and ECU made the biggest jump after clobbering West Varginia. Climbing to 14 in the AP and 20 in the USA.

AP Top 25
1. USC (33) 1-0 1,577
2. Georgia (23) 2-0 1,525
3. Oklahoma (2) 2-0 1,458
4. Florida (4) 2-0 1,438
5. Ohio State (1) 2-0 1,347
6. Missouri (1) 2-0 1,336
7. LSU (1) 1-0 1,231
8. Texas 2-0 1,100
9. Auburn 2-0 1,067
10. Wisconsin 2-0 910
11. Alabama 2-0 865
12. Texas Tech 2-0 845
13. Kansas 2-0 825
14. East Carolina 2-0 762
15. Arizona State 2-0 744
16. Oregon 2-0 616
17. Penn State 2-0 607
18. Brigham Young 2-0 537
19. South Florida 2-0 493
20. Wake Forest 2-0 404
21. Fresno State 1-0 290
22. Utah 2-0 258
23. California 2-0 195
24. Illinois 1-1 164
25. West Virginia 1-1 163
Others Receiving Votes
UCLA 150, Clemson 73, Florida State 50, Boise State 22, Tennessee 15, Georgia Tech 14, Oklahoma State 11, Vanderbilt 7, TCU 6, Kentucky 6, Virginia Tech 4, Tulsa 3, South Carolina 2, Arizona 2, Connecticut 1, North Carolina 1, Rice 1.

USA Today’ Poll
1. USC (34) 1-0 1,481
2. Georgia (18) 2-0 1,454
3. Oklahoma (3) 2-0 1,370
4. Florida (3) 2-0 1,306
5. Ohio State (1) 2-0 1,289
6. Missouri 2-0 1,212
7. LSU (2) 1-0 1,198
8. Texas 2-0 1,069
9. Auburn 2-0 1,017
10. Wisconsin 2-0 946
11. Kansas 2-0 854
12. Texas Tech 2-0 755
13. Arizona State 2-0 737
14. Oregon 2-0 665
15. Brigham Young 2-0 628
16. Alabama 2-0 611
17. Penn State 2-0 547
18. South Florida 2-0 475
19. Wake Forest 2-0 419
20. East Carolina 2-0 375
21. Fresno State 1-0 300
22. Utah 2-0 235
23. Clemson 1-1 175
24. West Virginia 1-1 145
25. California 2-0 128
Others Receiving Votes
Illinois 124, UCLA 86, Florida State 50, Kentucky 28, Boise State 22, Tennessee 21, TCU 18, Nebraska 16, Georgia Tech 15, Arizona 11, Virginia Tech 11, Vanderbilt 8, Oklahoma State 7, Iowa 4, Colorado 3, Notre Dame 3, Tulsa 2, Connecticut 2, Bowling Green 1, South Carolina 1, Northwestern 1.

Top 25 out

The top 25 rankings are out now. South Carolina became the 6th SEC team in the top 25 this year after replacing Tennessee who lost to UCLA Monday. The AP voters game Kentucky 5 votes ranking them 38th and the USA voters gave the Cats 20 votes ranking them 34th. USC replaced Georgia who dropped to 2nd. Illinois is the only ranked team with a loss

AP top 25
1. USC (21) 1-0 1,539
2. Georgia (20) 1-0 1,506
3. Ohio State (15) 1-0 1,497
4. Oklahoma (2) 1-0 1,432
5. Florida (5) 1-0 1,415
6. Missouri (1) 1-0 1,301
7. LSU (1) 1-0 1,207
8. West Virginia 1-0 1,108
9. Auburn 1-0 1,033
10. Texas 1-0 1,028
11. Wisconsin 1-0 849
12. Texas Tech 1-0 842
13. Alabama 1-0 834
14. Kansas 1-0 748
15. Arizona State 1-0 672
15. Brigham Young 1-0 672
17. South Florida 1-0 588
18. Oregon 1-0 508
19. Penn State 1-0 467
20. Wake Forest 1-0 414
21. Fresno State 1-0 242
22. Utah 1-0 214
23. UCLA 1-0 151
24. Illinois 0-1 147
24. South Carolina 1-0 147
Others Receiving Votes
Clemson 143, East Carolina 108, California 91, Boston College 36, Florida State 36, Cincinnati 35, Tennessee 30, Boise State 19, Bowling Green 17, Virginia Tech 14, Connecticut 9, Rutgers 6, Kentucky 5, Nebraska 4, Oklahoma State 3, Arizona 2, TCU 2, Tulsa 1, North Carolina 1, Notre Dame 1, Miami (FL) 1.
Dropped From Rankings
Clemson 9, Virginia Tech 17, Tennessee 18, Pittsburgh 25.

USA Today’ Poll
1. USC (23) 1-0 1,462
2. Georgia (20) 1-0 1,442
3. Ohio State (10) 1-0 1,385
4. Oklahoma (2) 1-0 1,344
5. Florida (3) 1-0 1,295
6. LSU (3) 1-0 1,202
7. Missouri 1-0 1,197
8. West Virginia 1-0 1,035
9. Texas 1-0 1,030
10. Auburn 1-0 962
11. Wisconsin 1-0 853
12. Kansas 1-0 820
13. Texas Tech 1-0 732
14. Arizona State 1-0 679
15. Brigham Young 1-0 629
16. Oregon 1-0 566
17. Alabama 1-0 538
18. South Florida 1-0 480
19. Penn State 1-0 450
20. Wake Forest 1-0 388
21. Fresno State 1-0 269
22. Clemson 0-1 186
23. Utah 1-0 158
24. South Carolina 1-0 134
25. Illinois 0-1 92
Others Receiving Votes
UCLA 91, California 79, East Carolina 56, Tennessee 56, Boston College 36, Florida State 29, Virginia Tech 25, Boise State 24, Kentucky 20, TCU 15, Connecticut 13, Cincinnati 13, Nebraska 12, Arizona 8, Oklahoma State 5, Notre Dame 4, Colorado 3, Georgia Tech 2, Bowling Green 2, Miami (FL) 1, Stanford 1, Tulsa 1, UCF 1.
Dropped From Rankings
Virginia Tech 15, Tennessee 18, Michigan 24.

BCS Busters

Utah survived 25-23 over Michigan to remain in contention as a BCS Buster. They put up 313 yards in the first half and held on to beat Michigan. Utah dual purpose kicker Louie Sakoda had field goals of 28, 43, 41 and 53 and punted six times for 283 yds.

East Carolina defeated Virginia Tech 27-22 when T.J. Lee returned his own blocked punt 27 yards for a touchdown with 1:52 left.

Boise St had no problem in beating Idaho St 49-7. Boise St had 352 yds passing and 230 yds rushing in their blow out. They could have scored in the last few seconds but did the right thing.

BYU beat Northern Iowa 41-17. Max Hall threw for 486 yards and two touchdowns and Dennis Pitta had a career-best 213 receiving yards for the Cougars as they extended the longest winning streak in the nation to 11.

TCU had no problem in beating New Mexico 26-3. Quarterback Andy Dalton ran for two touchdowns as TCU took advantage of New Mexico’s first-half mistakes and went on to a 26-3 win Saturday in the season-opener for both teams.

After a slow first half Fresno St dominated the second half with 166 yds rushing by Ryan Mathews. The final score was Fresno St 24 Rutgers 7. Next up Fresno St has on Wisconson on saturday at Fresno.

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