Down goes #1 for the second time this year...but this time for losing (not for winning). Conference play does change things. And OUR new #1? It's still Jon Fox, thanks to the Harris poll coming into play this week. (Sorry, Scott, it was you until the Harris poll came out).
It's odd...this love-hate relationship we all have with college football...some days we love the unpredictability of it all and some days we hate it. A reminder that this is why we play the game and don't rely on the polls to tell us who is the best. A reminder that hunger for a win can outplay talent and experience anytime.
It was the day of the underdog: Oregon State over USC, Ole Miss over Florida, Michigan over Wisconsin, Maryland over Clemson. All in all, three top 10 fell to the unranked, one other top 10 lost and the Big 12 now has 4 in the top 10 (last week it was the SEC). BUT...the six teams of the Big 12 that are in the top 25 have yet to start conference play...we saw last Saturday how that re-arranged the SEC.
Oklahoma played the nations #1 defense and came out on top. UGA just couldn't get it together in the first half. Florida and Wisconsin made critical mistakes down the stretch (but note Tebow's promises for the rest of the season). The PAC-10 and ACC no longer have an undefeated team. And ECU's BCS-buster run is all but forgotten.
USC, the darling of the sports writers, was simply caught sleeping...the chink in the Trojan armor: complacency, predictability and a humongous ego (tough not to what with the media calling you #1 and Pete Carroll's best ever team). NOTE: If the Beavers hold on through the PAC-10 and so does USC, the Beavers have the tie breaker.
(I wondered if Pete Carrol walked across to congratulate the OSU coach or not...there were too many orange-clad fans on the field to tell).
My question (as well as my 14-year old's) to the voters: USC and UGA both fell eight spots...but why did UGA's loss to the undefeated and 8th ranked Tide carry the same penalty as USC getting beat by the 1-2 unranked Beavers?
And for those of us still holding out hope for a BYU national championship, we're not alone:
This week from Matt Hayes of Sporting News: "In this day and age of the unthinkable and the improbable and the predictable..., we give you this not-so-crazy reality: a team from the Mountain West playing for the national championship. Why not BYU or Utah?...If we’re so quick to anoint USC as the team to beat, why not look at an unbeaten MWC champ—if for no other reason, the MWC is as good or better than the Pac-10 this season."
And to see last weeks AP article on ESPN-U touting the same question click here.
And for any who don't believe they belong: click here.
