Week 8: New Ground for the BCS?

It's another Cougar...let down! BYU had everything going for them in this game...College Gameday on-site, home field, capacity crowd, national attention, all the Boise fans pulling for them, huge ranking boost potential...and they could not even keep it close. Hall seemed spooked, questionable play calling (run on 3rd and 30?), timid passing attack (under 200 yards), soft defense, ______ (fill in the blank with your own). The best thing for BYU this week was that FSU finally won.

I'm a true BYU fan, but lets face it...BYU does not currently have the athleticism to keep up with the big boys in the high-profile games. BYU is not the up-and-down team some of us thought they were...they simply aren't that good this year. For me, with this loss BYU sealed their place as a run-of-the-mill, middle-of-the-pack MWC team. And there they will remain until serious changes are made.

Time for Two Non-BCS in the BCS Bowls? There we have it - two teams from non-BCS conferences in the top seven. Is this new and scary territory for their precious cash system? I believe the days of the BCS are numbered anyway and two in BCS bowls puts us that much closer to a better system. Lets all pull for BSU and TCU...and maybe pull for a loss or two for those above them. Florida and Alabama are on a collision course to the SEC Champ game, Iowa has to go The Horseshoe, and Texas still has OK State and Kansas on the schedule. It could happen...

EndZone

What is "defensive delay of game" and what is it with Lane Kiffins dorko hat and 80's pop hair-do?

Week 7: Let the BCS Chatter Begin

Today the first 2009 BCS poll was released (later than previous years which reduces the amount of time the BCS hears us whining). The BCS (aka: Big Cash System or Bowl Championship Scam) is hoping it all works out in their favor this 12th time around since it has only worked out favorably once or twice before.

The top 10 in the BCS standings look about right for now. BSU will be unable to control getting to a #1 or #2 spot - they will have to rely on everyone above them losing 1-2 games. TCU could easily leap-frog (no pun intended) BSU since the BCS system will favor a tougher schedule. Intersting to note that their are two 2-loss teams in the BCS top 20 (Ohio State and Va Tech).

SIDELINES

The early season, super-soft schedule Florida had is showing as they struggled in SEC play last week and this week...USC just barely pulled it off at Notre Dame who is now looking down even though they only have two down-to-the-wire losses...BYU was almost caught looking ahead and we'll see what they are really made of this week against TCU...Few can seem to stop the Ga Tech triple option and they continue to roll...Cal saved the school $100,000 by taking the 8-hour bus ride to UCLA instead of flying...Miami did the same...their wins were well deserved.

END ZONE

The voters just can't see it in their hearts to leave Oklahoma out of the rankings...with three losses they still show up at #25.

Week 6: Predictbale

With the exception of some SEC surprises (Tenn spanking UGA, 5-0 Auburn getting handled by Arkansas, and Ole Miss not living up to expectations) , this weekend turned out about like we all would have expected. But next weekend we'll see some shake up in the polls...

...USC at ND (who just moved back into the T25...wrong), OU at Texas (will they become a 3-loss T25 team?) and Cinci at South Florida (does the Big Least really belong this year?).

BYU: Well done, well executed but it was an inferior opponent so it's tough to determine if BYU is better or the opponents just too easy. We'll know when TCU come sot town on the 24th.

UGA: Aaarrggh...again. When teams come off a tough, emotional loss like UGA did last week to LSU then they either bounce or bomb the following week...Georgia bombed, and big time. But calling for a coaching change? C'mon dawg fans, we've seen lots worse.

Florida Rolls: Looks like UF will have little competition in the SEC East and they just beat the toughest team on their schedule. Will the SEC West produce a worthy opponent for the SEC Championship?

Week 5: Set for October

IMHO, teams begin to come into focus in October. September is a lot of figuring out if the pre-season hype (or lack of) was valid. This month we'll begin forming the bowl picture...and begin watching the BCS rankings we all love to hate. October: USC - Notre Dame, LSU - Florida, Texas - Oklahoma, BYU - TCU, Oregon - USC, Bama - Ole Miss, and Georgia - Florida. Yea...the rankings might still be a titch fuzzy, but much clearer, by the time we finish off the Halloween candy.

BYU: Still work to do before TCU arrives...the offense just isn't tight. Three turnovers won't bode well with a more worthy opponent. The defense looked more like what we saw the first two games and seems to be making headway. FSU and OK losing did nothing to help BYU look any better on the national scene.

UGA: OK...the better team won. UGA has had some close calls in their three wins and it was gonna catch up with them. UGA was the better team the second half but you gotta play the whole game to win. Would they have won without the celebration penalty? Maybe, but they would not have deserved it given their poor first-half performance.

HOWEVER - Can we PLEASE get rid of the excessive celebration penalty already? What were the zebras thinking? Three 'Ex Cel" penalties (two on UGA) all of which were some of the most laid back "celebrations" I've seen. Oh, the insanity of it all. Why not just connect all the players on-line with X-box NCAAF2009 and let them sit in their jammies, not get hurt, hoot and holler all they want and not have to travel to unfavorable weather or fans? Check out an article and video of one "penalty" here.

No Respect: Missouri, South Florida and Auburn have to be 4-0 or 5-0 to even enter the top 25. They have probably proven more than some that have been in all season.

The Irish: They're not back...a sloppy, OT win against the SS Huskies (which I think are on their way back).

BCS Busters: Is Houston out? Probably, leaving BSU and TCU.

Rankings Rant: Oklahoma is the first and only 2-loss team in the top 25. And they stayed above some pretty good teams.

BCS Bash #1 for 2009

Voters that don't watch the games, suits protecting their power, rigged and re-rigged computer formulas that validate the human error in the BCS voting - it's all right here in a well-written Rivals-Yahoo! article. The first of many this season I'm sure. And Sports Illustrated has started an un-official 16-team playoff bracket that they will update each week whether the BCS big wigs like it or not. Unfortunately, SI just doesn't have the leverage to make it happen.