By Steve Giles, on October 18th, 2011
Wisconsin needs help in BCS standings
The Badgers are off to a 6-0 start this season and have absolutely dominated their opponents in the process. But the BCS computer polls aren’t showing them as much love as they would like. Their average rating in six computer polls was 11th, and they were even ranked as low as No. 17 in Kenneth Massey’s ratings. The reasoning for such a low ranking is simple, though. The Badgers’ non-conference schedule hasn’t been as tough as the teams ahead of them. They have only played one ranked team thus far, which resulted in a 48-17 home win against then-No. 8 Nebraska. But their three nonconference FBS opponents, UNLV, Oregon State and Northern Illinois, have a combined record of 6-13. The Badgers can’t help that their schedule hasn’t been very tough. So their only hope at this point is to win out convincingly and hope a couple of the teams ahead of them lose. READ MORE >>>
By Weston Bruner, on October 14th, 2011 
You will have to forgive me for a Michigan-centric post, but go with me here.
This week I got the opportunity of the year, though at the time it didn’t quite feel that way. Today I am heading up to East Lansing for a regional conference, which I am pretty sure is a trap of some sort. Inviting a host of University of Michigan professionals into a large conference room on the Michigan State campus the day before the game? With most of the other attendees from other Michigan universities (and not much love for the flagship school), this sounds like the premise of a bad action movie. Regardless, I decided I would stay in East Lansing for at least that evening to hang out with some friends in town and lo and behold, another friend from Ann Arbor called me telling me that he had secured us a pair of tickets to the #11 Michigan vs. #23 Michigan State game on Saturday. And yet at first I felt apprehension more than anything else. READ MORE >>>
By Steve Giles, on October 11th, 2011
SB Nation BlogPoll College Football Top 25 Rankings »
No Florida schools in AP top 25
For the first time since Dec. 6, 1982, there are no Florida schools ranked in the AP top 25. The 472 straight appearances by Sunshine State universities was snapped this week after all of the so-called big three (Florida Gators, Florida State Seminoles and Miami Hurricanes) weren’t able to break the top 25. Florida State and Florida appeared in the poll last week, but after the Gators were waxed by LSU and the Seminoles were upset by Wake Forest, both were ousted from the rankings. Miami and first-year head coach Al Golden have been struggling all season and are currently 2-3, including a 38-35 loss at Virginia Tech this past Saturday. It was only the second time since Oct. 14, 1978 that Florida, Florida State and Miami lost on the same day. READ MORE >>>
By Steve Giles, on September 18th, 2011
By Steve Giles, on September 13th, 2011
I LOVE that Brian Kelly and Notre Dame are 0-2
Call me cynical. Call me a horrible person. Call me what you will. But I thoroughly enjoyed the look I saw on Brian Kelly’s face last Saturday night after he watched Denard Robinson and Michigan drive 80 yards in 28 seconds and beat his Irish 35-31 with two seconds left. The game was pretty ugly, to say the least, but featured one of the best finishes I’ve seen in a long time. The Irish looked to have had the game in the bag after Tommy Rees threw a touchdown pass to Theo Riddick with 30 seconds left to put his team up three. Then, Robinson did what he did last season against the Irish, putting his team on his back and driving down the field to beat them in the final seconds.
I was happy for Robinson because he seems like a great kid and was so deserving of a win like that. But I was also elated that Kelly didn’t get the pleasure of celebrating the win simply because I don’t like him. I don’t like how he left Cincinnati before the Sugar Bowl last year when they were 12-0. I don’t like how he hung them out to dry. The young guys on that team, especially Zach Collaros, admired Kelly. Then, all of a sudden he decided to up and leave before the biggest game of their careers, a game in which they were blown out by Florida, 51-24.
I also don’t like his mannerisms on the sidelines. He always seems like he’s whining about something and he gets far too upset with his players when they make mistakes. I understand football is a big boy’s game and all, but come on man. There are better ways of getting through to your players than yelling and screaming at them all the time. Needless to say, I think it’s fitting that he’s struggling at Notre Dame. And an 0-3 start isn’t out of the question, either, as Michigan State heads to South Bend Saturday afternoon.
Auburn keeps finding ways to win without Cam Newton
I’m still not sure just how good Auburn is, even after their thrilling win against Mississippi State last Saturday. But I do know one thing – they sure as hell know how to deliver exciting football games. Backup safety Ryan Smith stopped Mississippi State running back Chris Relf at the goal line as time expired as the Tigers held on for a 41-34 victory over the visiting Bulldogs. It was the second straight poor defensive effort by the Tigers, as they have allowed 72 points in their first two games. Their offense, however, made up for their defensive woes and continues to get the job done, tallying up 82 points so far this season.
But despite their shaky play on defense and their unconventional way of doing things, Auburn still continue to win. They currently have the nation’s longest winning streak at 17 and know what it takes to win games in dramatic fashion. They are doing it with different players, but nonetheless, they are doing it. They moved up four spots in my poll this week, and hope to move up even further after they face a tough road test at Clemson this Saturday.
National title implications highlight the Oklahoma/Florida State game
I know this post is supposed to be a reflection on what happened last week in college football, but I can’t help but talk about the biggest game of the season thus far. There is no way of overstating the importance of this game, especially for Florida State. This is by far the biggest game of head coach Jimbo Fisher’s career, as he has the chance to take down the top-ranked team in the land and make his mark at a university that has had it’s fair share of success. Former FSU head coach Bobby Bowden had one of the most improbable runs in college football from 1987 to 2000, as his teams won at least 10 games and were ranked in the top five of the AP poll every season.
It seems impossible for Fisher to achieve that level of success, but he sure could help his cause with a win Saturday night. Oklahoma will be more than ready, though, as they have a legitimate Heisman Trophy contender in quarterback Landry Jones and an All-America receiver in Ryan Broyles, who led the nation with 131 receptions last season. Not to mention, Oklahoma boasts one of the most stifling defenses in the nation. The atmosphere in Tallahassee is going to be electric Saturday night and this one should shape up to be one of the best games in recent memory.
Submitted by Steve Giles
By Weston Bruner, on October 26th, 2010 There is an essential dilemma that faces those of us who choose not to discount Boise State, TCU, and Utah simply because they don’t come from a power conference. We argue that just because a team doesn’t play the strongest schedule doesn’t mean that the team itself is a worse team than any other team in the country. Moreover, the national championship is supposed to go to the best team, not the team with the strongest schedule, or half the teams in the country should quit before the season even begins. What makes life difficult is trying to determine whether these teams are better or worse than undefeated teams in the major conferences- to automatically say they are is as narrow-minded as rejecting them automatically. So in a year with some unlikely undefeated teams, who is really #1 among them? READ MORE >>>
By Jeff Wolfson, on April 4th, 2010 Cinderella decided to stick around for one more game this season.
The Butler Bulldogs, in the midst of doing the almost impossible as it is, defeated the Michigan State Spartans 52-50 in what was a very tight, defensive game. Butler took advantage of 18 Spartan turnovers, foul trouble for Draymond Green and the absence of Kalin Lucas, who was injured in the Maryland game. The Bulldogs also had to cope with the loss of Shelvin Mack in the second half.
Butler’s biggest challenge, however, is yet to come, as they try to win the NCAA Championship on Monday night, against the Duke Blue Devils.
Duke was hardly challenged as they led West Virginia from the start of the game. The Mountaineers seemed to have trouble getting their offense going Saturday night. Da’Sean Butler scored 10 points before leaving the game with a gruesome knee injury. Kyle Singler had a lot to do with limiting Butler, while also scoring 21 points in Duke’s 78-57 win.
This sets up a very intriguing matchup on Monday night, when Butler will try to become a very improbable champion, while Duke will try to get its first title since 2001. Butler will try to use defense. Duke will play defense and shoot the three. Who do you think will win?
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