I am the only Texas fan I know who wasn’t outraged at the release of the initial BCS standings, which placed oklahoma at #1. It is a gut reaction, of course, you never want to see your rival succeed and be ahead of you. The reason I wasn’t surprised was because I’ve seen this movie before, in fact, the sooners have been ranked #1 in the BCS more weeks than any other school, yet they have only won one National Championship in four tries. The story goes like this: ou beats Texas in the Red River Shootout, Texas then goes on to finish the season in stellar fashion, boosting the sooners’ rankings, so weirdly enough ou being ranked #1 is a compliment to Texas.
The other reason I’m not upset about oklahoma being ranked #1 is this: Have you seen the Oregon Ducks lately? Oregon simply looks better than any team in College Football, period. The Ducks are not just doing it on offense, they are also playing very good defense, and while Stanford is their only ‘major win,’ they still have to face very good teams in Arizona and USC, as well as Oregon State, who pollsters insist is a top team. Even an undefeated oklahoma will have trouble holding rank over an undefeated Oregon.
Boise State is quickly becoming a victim of their weak schedule, at least in the poll that matters. The press is going to have a heck of a time justifying ranking a 1-loss Nevada team just so the Broncos have another ranked victory, but they will nonetheless try.
Why is Boise State ranked ahead of TCU? Right, because they beat them last year, but this is a new season and TCU has played better teams in the Mountain West. That will change if they beat Utah, who isn’t getting any press love because they sold out and are moving on to the Pac 12. It’s no surprise TCU is considering a move to the Big East, which makes about as much geographic sense as them being in the Mountain West. My guess is, if the Big 12 survives, they’ll join the Big 12, but my guess is also that the Big 12 has about 3 more years of life.
I still very much believe Michigan is on the right track and will upset Ohio State this year. Even in their losses their offense has been amazing, people calling for Rich Rod’s job clearly aren’t remembering what his West Virginia teams were about. The Big Ten is surprisingly deep this year, but the way Iowa is playing, they will run the table.
Auburn is the biggest surprise in the SEC, well maybe second biggest after what’s happened to the Gators. Cam Newton is a tremendously talented player, unfortunately, it often seems like he’s the Tigers’ only offensive weapon, his Heisman stock hinges on him being able to keep Auburn undefeated. Alabama is still the best team in that conference, it will come down to the Iron Bowl to determine the champion. Thankfully the computers will vault a 1-loss Bama team over Boise, TCU, or Utah.
The ACC and Big East remain nationally irrelevant, which isn’t very surprising. Florida State looks good one week and lousy the next, but they’re still on track to reclaim the ACC, and boost ou’s ranking while at it.
College Football Predictions – Week 8
- #7 Michigan State -6 at Northwestern – Spartans could be caught looking ahead to Iowa next week, but I doubt it.
- #4 Auburn -6 over #6 LSU – Auburn has proven a tough place to play, and LSU is a team that should have 2 losses.
- #15 Iowa -6 over #13 Wisconsin – The Badgers played great against the Ohio State, but I expect them to be hung over and lose big to Iowa.
- Texas Tech -3 at Colorado – I expect the Red Raiders to give a nice farewell gift to Colorado and win big.
- #11 Missouri +3 over #1 oklahoma – ou’s defense, despite their shutout of Iowa State, isn’t great, I expect Mizzou’s balanced offense to give them trouble.
- #16 Nebraska -6 at #14 Oklahoma State – Nebraska’s defense will contain the Cowboys, and Martinez will bounce back and have a big game.
- Miami -6.5 over North Carolina – UNC’s off field issues will finally catch up to them and the ‘Canes will win big.
- Georgia -4 over Kentucky – The Wildcats beat South Carolina, but Georgia is much improved with AJ Green back, they should cruise on this one.
- Notre Dame -7 at Navy – The Irish are not losing again this season, Navy is not as good as it has been the past couple of years.
- Penn State -9.5 at Minnesota – Minnesota just fired their coach, that usually leads to a big loss.
Pro Football Predictions – Week 7
- Steelers -3 over Dolphins – Pittsburgh is just too good.
- 49ers -3 over Panthers – San Francisco finally got their win, and Carolina will have to wait for theirs.
- Seahawks -6 over Cardinals – Seattle looks better than expected and plays much better at home.
- Bears -3 over Redskins – Cutler will be back in form and Chicago will begin winning again.
- Cowboys -3.5 over Giants – Desperate times call for desperate measures.
UFC 121 Prediction
- Brock Lesnar over Cain Velasquez – He may have survived Carwin, but he will dominate Velasquez.
NBA Predictions – Week 1 (lines not available)
- 10/26 Miami over Boston – No way the Heat start with a loss.
- 10/26 Portland over Phoenix – Trailblazers will be in rare, full health mode, and the Suns begin life after Stoudemire.
- 10/27 Dallas over Charlotte – Homer pick
- 10/27 Denver over Utah – I’m not expecting much out of the Jazz without Boozer.
- 10/28 Orlando over Washington – The Magic will keep up with the Heat until their first matchup… the next day.
- 10/29 Dallas over Memphis – Dirk’s first 40 point game of the season, bank on it!
-Kanan
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