Oct 31 2008

Downgrading the Buckeyes and Ranking the Conferences

admin| Category: Penn State Football | 2 Comments

“Penn State’s No. 3 ranking is completely bogus. They have played no one, and the Big Ten is one of the weakest conferences in college football.” - October 31, 2008

Here were my predictions for key arguments from the Fan Line following Penn State’s win over Ohio State.

“The Big Ten is still super-weak this year.  Penn State got lucky that Pryor fumbled.  How can Penn State be ranked #3 when they haven’t played anybody respectable other than Ohio State?  Ohio State is just another cupcake.  Paterno is a manager, not a coach.”

This call covers two of my predictions.  I had a hunch that Ohio State would qualify as another “nobody.”

As far as strength of conferences, don’t let ESPN brainwash you too much.  The Big 10 is actually one of the strongest conferences in college football.  I calculate it as 3rd strongest.

Big 12 - 5 teams in the Top 25.  4 of them ranked in the Top 10.
SEC - 4 teams in the Top 25.  3 of them ranked in the Top 10.
Big 10 - 4 teams in the Top 25.  1 ranked in the Top 10.
ACC - 3 - teams ranked in the Top 25.  Florida State leads the charge at #16.
Mountain West - 3 teams ranked in the Top 25 (Utah, TCU, and BYU)
Pac 10 - 2 teams ranked in the Top 25.  USC is ranked #7.  Otherwise, this is an empty conference this year.
Big East - South Florida is the only ranked team (#24), and they’ll be exiting the polls next week.  The UConn/West Virginia winner should enter the Top 25, and Cincinnati may have a shot, and Pitt could have a shot with a win over Notre Dame.
WAC - Boise State is coasting through the WAC.  Only their game against Fresno State will stop them from running the table.
Mid American - Ball State is coasting through the MAC.  Only their game against Central Michigan will stop them from running the table.
CUSA - Tulsa is still undefeated in Conference USA.  Can they survive Arkansas this weekend?

Oct 10 2008

Playing for RichRod

admin| Category: College Football (Non PSU/Pitt) | 0 Comments

“Now I know why Lloyd Carr retired. He left Rich Rodriguez absolutely nothing to work with.” - October 9, 2008

This isn’t true at all.  First, Lloyd Carr was faced with the decision of retiring or being fired.  The quality of players returning for the 2008 season had absolutely nothing to do with his decision.

Second, once Rich Rodriguez was named as Carr’s successor, several key Michigan players transferred because they didn’t see themselves fitting into his style of offense.  This includes QB Ryan Mallett who started three games for the Wolverines last season when Chad Henne was injured, as well as several returning members of the offensive line.  Ryan Mallett will likely be the starting QB next season for the Arkansas Razorbacks.

Lloyd Carr

Lloyd Carr

Ryan Mallett

Ryan Mallett
Sep 29 2008

One Confused Sports Fan

admin| Category: College Football (Non PSU/Pitt), Penn State Football | 0 Comments

“The best game of the night wasn’t Penn State beating Ohio State. It was Alabama beating a second straight top 10 team in No. 3 Georgia.” - September 29, 2008

Seriously, what kind of sports packages do you get from Comcast?  Were you stuck on ESPN Classic all night?  Check your cable box again, because neither of your two games happened quite like you say they did on Saturday night.

You’re going to have to be patient to see the Buckeyes and Nittany Lions square off.  That game is a few weeks away.

Alabama did beat a Top 10 team in Georgia, but last week the Tide poured it on against unranked Arkansas.

Good luck with the television.

© 2008 Fix the Fan Line