To hell with an overview of the week at the top of the BCS standings- Who's ready for a Poll Bowl??
Poll Bowls are the name affectionately given by Dan Jenkins to any regular season battle between #1 & #2. There is nothing like a regular season Poll Bowl. Nothing. You want yet another argument as to why I remain steadfast in my opposition to a playoff system? Alabama vs. LSU 2011. This is a national title elimination game in the regular season. The winner will win the SEC West, go on to trounce the East champ in the SEC Title Game and advance to the BCS Title Game where they'll likely pimp slap whoever is the the best of the rest.
This isn't the NFL where they can hype the shit out of, say Pittsburgh vs. Green Bay in October, then have the loser say "See you in the Super Bowl". It's not NCAA basketball where you can finish 9th in your conference and be a national champ - congrats again, UConn. It's not 162 games of baseball, 82 games of the NBA (well not this year), or DI-AA, DII or DIII.
This is the Division 1 NCAA football regular season and every so often, we get a gem like this that no other sport gets. (Sorry, Yankee fans - all Bucky Effing Dent did was get you to the AL Playoffs in '78, not the World Series). Sure, this game is being hyped like crazy, but it's both completely deserved and totally unnecessary. For Tide and Tiger fans, it's not life or death - it's far more important than those mundane things.
If you're the type of person that thinks it's.. so... like... totally unfair that the loser of this game won't get a chance to redeem themselves in a national playoff, then you are far too big a pussy for college football. Buy an Aaron Rodgers Starter jersey and begin researching your NCAA Hoops pool. You will be healthier in the land of meaningless regular seasons and have fewer triple bypasses. On to the week in the BCS:
THE GOLD STANDARD
#1 LSU
#2 Alabama
The boys rested up last weekend for the this one. Honey Badger and friends got some clean piss and Trent Richardson healed up a bit. Biggest game of the year. Next.
IMPOSTER #1
#3 Oklahoma St.
I'm not sure what it indicates about the Cowboy "defense" that they forced a 1 TD, 2 INT game out of RGIII while giving up 425 yards passing. Yay, only 425 yards? Yes, they had a 49-3 lead after three quarters, but is there a universe where a national title contender ever gives up 622 yards in a game? They were outgained 622-601!!!!
Well, apparently computers think so, because they remain ranked #1 on 6 of the 7 laptops. In a related story, 5 of the 7 computers have Wisconsin unranked after two losses. Simple Jack with a spinner could do a better job. And no, I still don't think OSU runs the table.
MOVING UP
#4 Stanford
Survived USC and made Lane Kiffin cry. They make the leap over Boise and Clemson. Only one more weekend until a possible Elimination Game for the other spot in the national title game. Question. Is Andrew Luck really as good as they're making him out to be? Even Simmons says Sam Bradfords come along annually and Luck is a once every 10 years type of player. Overhyped or not?
IMPOSTER #2
#5 Boise St.
Spent the off week healing up after a putrid performance against Air Force. They'll be at full strength for an epic battle with the extremely underrated UNLV. UNLV could beat LSU in their street clothes given the right conditions. This will be a HUGE win for the Broncos.
THE FIRST ONE LOSS CONTENDERS
#6 Oklahoma
As expected by many, the Sooners put a harsh end to the Kansas St. run, but did some BCS jumping due to their previous top 10 position. Sooner fans should not get too comfortable here for the time being, but should pay close attention to the aforementioned Stanford/Oregon matchup. If Oregon wins, they likely leap over Oklahoma, but the Sooners have a chance to do likewise against the Cowboys in the last week. If these two win out, what wins out?:
a) The Sooners slightly stronger schedule? (Keep in mind that K State win will lose steam when they drop 2 or 3 more games)
b) The Ducks much better quality loss?
c) If Oklahoma and Oregon finish out with wins over the #3 and #4 teams respectively on top of their other wins against ranked teams, they jump right over Boise, correct?
STILL TAKING UP SPACE
#7 Arkansas
Arky-saw Cooters and roadside jelly sale barons continue to have hope until a season-ending whipping at the hands of LSU. Or maybe they get caught by the Gamecocks this weekend. In any case, their 15 minutes are running out fast.
THE OTHER ONE LOSS CONTENDER
#8 Oregon
A much less than impressive performance against Wazzu, but just about everyone has that one turd they have to scrape off their shoe. Getting leapfrogged by Oklahoma and Arkansas shouldn't panic anyone. If they can pull it out against Stanford, it's in the hands of the voters and the machines. I think most Duck fans would have been OK with that after the opening loss to LSU.
WTF? - AKA - HEY, IT'S A ONE LOSS SEC TEAM, SO WHY NOT?
#9 South Carolina
What's that? You haven't beaten a team that was ranked when you played them, you kicked your starting QB off the team and find yourself unable to score over 14 points against Miss. St. or Tennessee? Wait a minute - you're in the SEC??? Welcome to the Top Ten, my friends.
#10 Nebraska
That's right, bitches. Weee're baaaack. Enjoy it while you can Hukser fans - a finishing stretch of Northwestern, Penn State, Michigan and Iowa awaits. Each game individually has a decent chance of favoring the Huskers, yes even in Ann Arbor & Happy Valley possibly, but the odds of running the table are not good. This gonna be a long 4 weeks.
See you next week.