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BlogPoll: Week Two

It's the beginning of the week, and that means only one thing: BlogPoll.

Well, that and wanting to tar and feather Perry Patterson for finding a way to butcher Bill Walsh's "perfect" offensive philosophy.

15 of 32 for only 83 yards? Is this really possible?

Anyways, I'll get to the nitty gritty of Syracuse's dismal effort once Syracuse Athletics official logs the statistical horror story that was Sunday's game. Until then, BlogPoll duties are taking centerstage.

As a new aspect to BlogPoll submissions, all pollsters are required to disclose, in addition to the specifics of their individual ballot, which games they saw that particular weekend. Here's the list of games I watched:

  • UCF v. South Carolina
  • Oregon v. Houston
  • Tulsa v. Minnesota
  • Utah v. Arizona
  • Ohio State v. Miami (Ohio)
  • TCU v. Oklahoma
  • Bowling Green v. Wisconsin
  • Rutgers v. Illinois
  • Ball State v. Iowa
  • Boston College v. BYU
  • Colorado State v. Colorado
  • Boise State v. Georgia
  • USC v. Hawai'i
  • Notre Dame v. Pittsburgh
  • Georgia Tech v. Auburn
  • UCLA v. San Diego State
  • West Virginia v. Syracuse
  • Louisville v. Kentucky
  • Virginia Tech v. N.C. State
  • UNLV v. New Mexico
  • Miami v. Florida State

There's no chance in hell I watch this many games a week as the season progresses. This past weekend just happened to be a perfect storm of sitting on my ass and giving the hammer a serious introduction to my right thumb.

BlogPoll: Week Two
RankTeamRecordPreviousValue
1.Southern California1-01
2.Texas1-02
3.Iowa1-05
4.Virginia Tech1-03
5.Tennessee1-04
6.Michigan1-07
7.Ohio State1-012
8.Louisville1-08
9.Louisiana State0-09
10.Georgia1-014
11.Florida1-010
12.Arizona State1-018
13.Texas A&M0-113
14.Purdue0-023
15.Florida State1-021
16.Miami0-111
17.Fresno State0-016
18.Texas Tech0-020
19.Boston College1-025
20.Colorado1-024
21.Virginia1-022
22.Notre Dame1-0NR
23.Alabama1-0NR
24.Auburn0-117
25.Oklahoma0-16

[Commentary]
1. Southern California
Looked very sharp on the road.

Is there any player in the country more underappreciated than Steve Smith? Leinart and Bush get all the publicity, but Smith really makes USC games an aboslute joy to watch.

2. Texas
Louisiana-Lafayette may stink, but they still give out 85 scholarships. And Texas seemed like they whooped every last one of 'em.

Huge test Saturday night in Columbus. Vince Young's legacy may be determined by how well he plays against a talented Buckeye defense.

3. Iowa
Attention College Football Nation,

Iowa now knows who will be running the ball. And they will run like crazy men. And you will be impressed. That is all.

Sincerely,

Kirk Ferentz

4. Virginia Tech
Marcus Vick is talented, but I'm still not sold on him being the quarterback his brother was. Nice arm, nice pocket presence. The whole package, however, seems to be off kilter a shade.

Despite this, Mike Imoh runs the rock as well as anyone around, and the Hokie defense will keep them in every game they play this season.

5. Tennessee
Things seemed to take a turn for the better when Phil Fulmer came to his senses and stuck Clausen behind center for a struggling Erik Ainge.

Gerald Riggs is a stud. He could very well run for 1,500 and 12 touchdowns this season if allowed to do so.

6. Michigan
It was what it was. No reason to drop them, no reason to raise them.

We'll see what Lloyd Carr unleashes on ND Saturday.

7. Ohio State
Well, Justin Zwick can actually throw the football. Who 'da thunk it?

I was very impressed with Santonio Holmes and Ted Ginn this past weekend. Both guys have tremendous separation ability and silky smooth hands.

8. Louisville
Let's recap their game against Kentucky:

  • Awesome. Totally unstoppable.
  • Floundering.
  • Holy crap, they could actually lose to Kentucky?!!?
  • Louisville pulls head out of collective asses.

So, what are we left with? I don't know.

Might as well leave them at eight.

9. Louisiana State
Stupid hurricane.

10. Georgia
The defense was swarming, Shockley donned the Superman "S", and Richt didn't implode on national TV.

If this was actually a sign of things to come, Georgia very well could be in my Top 5 before LSU plays a home game.

11. Florida
Chris Leak threw for like a million yards and it still didn't lead to an historic blow-out of Wyoming. You can really tell that this entire offense is still adjusting to the Meyer mentality.

12. Arizona State
Yes, Temple stinks something fierce. But Sam Keller has a gun, and when a team drops a 60 spot, that demands your attention, no matter the opponent.

13. Texas A&M
A&M loses and I don't drop the Aggies?

Damn right.

Reggie McNeal & Co. are still a top 15 club, despite Coach Franchione's dopey decision making. Walking into Death Valley was a no-win situation for A&M, and considering how well they played for 55 some-odd minutes, I don't think there's a ranked lower than the Aggies that would beat them. Including Clemson in a rematch.

14. Purdue
Purdue skyrockets up my ballot despite not playing this past weekend.

The reason? All the fine folks in blogging about the Boilermakers.

I am quickly regretting having Purdue so low in my preseason poll.

15. Florida State
Write it down now - FSU's quarterbacks will cost the Seminoles at least three games this year.

However, none of those three games include their tilt against Syracuse, which may showcase to the world just how bad quarterback play can be.

16. Miami
I like Kyle Wright.

I like Greg Olsen.

I like the 'Canes defense.

I don't like Devin Hester.

And I especially don't like the disaster that is the 'Canes kicking unit.

17. Fresno State
We're all waiting for the Bulldogs debut, Coach Hill.

18. Texas Tech
Same to you, Coach Leach.

19. Boston College
BC could've made my life more enjoyable by losing to BYU out in Provo. Unfortunately, I was forced to watch the Eagle's snooze-fest offense bore me to death for three hours as they tried to salt the game away from what seemed like the opening kickoff.

20. Colorado
CU/CSU should always be played at Mile High, cause nothing beats two drunken student sections ready to lynch their counterparts.

21. Virginia
The question has been officially posed: Does Virginia become Syracuse's first non-Buffalo win on the season?

If the Cavs play anything like they did this weekend, it's a possibility. Of course, Syracuse has to figure out the finer points of the forward pass before inking a "2" in the win column.

22. Notre Dame
Charlie Weis is fat.

Just like the Irish's margin of victory over Pittsburgh.

23. Alabama
The Tide probably should have been in my preseason top 25, but I'm an idiot. If Brodie Croyle can stay healthy this season, I don't see any reason why Alabama will fall from the echelon of the ranked.

24. Auburn
I struggled mightily with whether to rank Auburn or Georgia Tech here. I probably should've deferred to the Yellow Jackets, considering they walked into Auburn and pulled out the victory, but I think the Tigers were merely working through some first game jitters. Georgia Tech may very well be for real, but I'm not prepared to say that GT would beat Auburn more times than not if they had to go at it again.

I really like Anthony Mix and think that the defense will get enough done this weekend against Mississippi State to erase some of the memories of this past weekend.

25. Oklahoma
The Sooners are on Double Secret Probation.

And if they keep this up, there'll be no more fun of any kind in Norman, Oklahoma.

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