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Summer 2009 Linkin' Log

My link log for Summer. Not too many. Summer was a busy time, and I didn't really pay as much attention to the funny news links.

• At last, Susan Atkins can go to hell.
• Christmas comes early for Michael and Farrah.
• Feds didn't clear brush in wildfire area because of environmental concerns about air quality. Choke on it.
• Swine flu: a great reason to completely suspend all civil rights?
• If you don't drive drunk, you'll need to prove it by producing your weiner for catheterization
• Manson follower Susan Atkins to die in prison, and not soon enough.
• Stranger accused of slapping crying child at store. Dude, we all THINK about doing it, but we never actually DO it.
• Transvestite dresses as bride and groom for wedding
• Old and busted: "One word - plastics." New hotness: One word - Neodymium
• Abdel Baset al-Megrahi is dying, but not soon enough.
• Men suspected of having sex on stranger's lawn. Rude bastards. You're supposed to have sex on your friends' lawns!

Tuesday Travel Photo (No. 250)

I was thinking about this place this morning. This is Hilo Bay, on the eastern, windward side of the Big Island of Hawaii. When we went to the Big Island this summer, there were only three things I really wanted to do and first on this list was to see Hilo and visit the Pacific Tsunami Museum. Today, when I heard about the tsunami hitting Samoa, I looked in on the Hilo Bay tsunami museum webcam and remembered the words of the volunteer who showed us around the museum last month. "On average, we have about one harmful tsunami every 12 years, but we've had none in the last 34 years," she said. "So we're overdue."

Luckily, today's early tsunami warning was reduced to the tsunami watch, and what finally hit the islands this afternoon was just an ebb and flow amounting to no more than about 3 feet of sea level. Nothing like the 15, 40 and 60 foot floodwaters that rose out of the sea during tsunamis that struck decades ago.

This was my first view of Hilo Bay. I can't even imagine what it must have looked like with a 39 foot wall of water racing toward the shore.

My 2009 Bottom 10 After Week 4

We still have ten winless teams, and two - Temple and Duke - with losses to FCS teams. There are a lot of teams that have a good argument that they are the worst in the country. Here are the ten* I think round out the bottom:

1. Ball St. [1] (0-4) Lost 6 since they were 12-0 last fall. Next loss: Toledo
2. Virginia [2] (0-3) Bye week was their best Saturday all season. Next loss: @ #24 UNC
3. W. Kentucky [3] (0-4) Bye week keeps them from losing 12th straight. Next loss: Florida Intl.
4. Miami (OH) [5] (0-4) Double digit loss to Kent State, Next loss: Cincinnati
5. Eastern Michigan [9] (0-3) Idle. Next loss: Temple.
6. New Mexico [NR] (0-4) Can't even beat team that lost to Idaho & UTEP. Next loss: @ Texas Tech
7. Rice [NR] (0-4) Can't even beat Vandy. Next loss: Tulsa
8. Temple [4] (1-2) Beat Buffalo, but still living with loss to Villanova. Next loss: @ E. Michigan
9. Duke [6] (2-2) Worst 2-2 team in the country. Next loss: Virginia Tech
10. * Florida ___. Another 0-3 week for State, International and Atlantic
    * Indiana St. (0-5) FCS, but losing streak of 31 games and zero points in last 3 games is epic

Not far behind ahead: Florida Intl (0-3), Florida Atlantic (0-3), Nevada (0-3), San Jose State (1-3), Buffalo (1-3), Louisiana Tech (1-2), Washington State (1-3), UTEP (1-3), UAB (1-3), North Texas (1-3), Arkansas State (1-2), San Diego State (1-3), Buffalo (0-3), New Mexico State (2-2)

Dropped out: Tulane [7] beat McNeese St., Utah State [8] beat Southern Utah

Crummy Game of the Week: Kent State 29 Miami (OH) 19

Next week's Crummy Games of the Week: Toledo @ Ball St., Temple @ Eastern Michigan

Blowout of the week: Cincinnati @ Miami (OH)

The Remaining Unbeatens After Week 4

We started the fourth week of play with 28 undefeated teams in the NCAA's FBS. We're now down to 17, 12 of which are ranked. Here is the breakdown of unbeaten teams by conference:

• ACC: 0
• Big East: 2 (Cincy, USF) 
• Big Ten: 5 (Michigan, Wisconsin, Iowa)
• Big 12: 4 (Kansas, Mizzou, Texas, Texas A&M)
• Conference USA: 1 (Houston)
• Mountain West: 1 (TCU)
• Pac-10: 1 (UCLA)
• SEC: 4 (Florida, Alabama, LSU, Auburn)
• WAC: 1 (Boise State) 

We are now rid of all unbeatens in the ACC, Sun Belt, Mid-American and Independents. Notably gone this week: Miami, UNC, Penn St., Cal and Ole Miss. We could theoretically still have 19 next week. Several teams have byes, and no two undefeated teams face one another. The unbeaten teams with the biggest challenges next weekend: LSU, Auburn, UCLA, Wisconsin, Michigan.

The top ten has four teams already that have losses. This is already starting to feel like 2007. Will a two-loss team play for the national title again?

My College Football Top 25, Week 5

If I had an AP vote, here is what my ballot after week four would look like:

1. Texas (1)
2. Florida (2)
3. Alabama (3)
4. Boise State (6)
5. LSU (8)
6. USC (10)
7. Virginia Tech (13)
8. Oklahoma (9)
9. Ohio State (11)
10. TCU (14)
11. Cincinnati (15)
12. Kansas (16)
13. Penn State (5) *
14. Georgia (18)
15. BYU (20)
16. Houston (NR)
17. Oklahoma State (17)
18. Oregon (NR)
19. Missouri (19)
20. Miami (12)
21. Cal (4)
22. Mississippi (7)
23. Nebraska (23)
24. Georgia Tech (24)
25. Michigan (25)

I dropped: Pitt (21), North Carolina (22)

I almost went with: South Florida, Iowa, Notre Dame

I'm starting to believe in: Houston, Oregon, TCU

I'm not yet buying: UCLA, Auburn, South Carolina

I think they're overrated: Boise State, LSU, Virginia Tech, Cincinnati, BYU, Miami, Michigan

I knew it! : Ole Miss, Washington, Florida State

I can't believe anyone gave votes to: Stanford, Arizona State or North Carolina.

* I know Penn State got beat by Iowa, but I've watched Iowa play, and I think Saturday was just another upset, and Iowa isn't going to have nearly as good a team or season as Penn State. The winner isn't always the team that is the best. It is sometimes just the team that played the best that day.

My College Football Results, 2009 Week 4

This week, I went 14-9, and on money games, I was 5-2. That's my best week of the year by far. Overall on the season, I am 37-38, and 14-12 in my favorite picks. Here's how I did:

W #4 Ole Miss @ South Carolina +4 (straight up!)
W * [#21] Missouri @ Nevada +7
W * South Florida @ #18 Florida State -14 (straight up!)
W * Fresno State @ #14 Cincinnati -16½
W #22 North Carolina @ Georgia Tech -2½
L Southern Miss @ #20 Kansas -14
W Indiana @ #23 Michigan -20½
L * #7 LSU @ Mississippi State +12½
W UTEP @ #2 Texas -26
L #9 Miami @ #11 Virginia Tech +2½
W * Illinois @ #13 Ohio State -14
W #6 Cal @ Oregon +5½ (straight up!)
W #15 TCU @ Clemson -2½
W Arkansas @ #3 Alabama -17½
L #1 Florida @ Kentucky +21½
L Colorado State @ #19 BYU +17
L * Arizona State @ #21 Georgia -11½
W LA Lafayette @ #25 Nebraska -28
W * #8 Boise State @ Bowling Green +16½
L Iowa @ #5 Penn State -9½
W #24 Washington @ Stanford -7½
L Texas Tech @ #17 Houston -1
L Washington State @ #12 USC -45

In unranked Pac-10 play, I picked the one game correctly:
W Arizona @ Oregon St. -2½

Several teams I thought to be overrated were finally exposed this week, most notably Ole Miss. I was shocked that people thought Washington was good, even after their upset.

USC Washington State Game Notes 9-26-09

As you watch USC beat up on Washington State tonight, you might see some of these interesting bits and points:

• USC is 2-1, ranked #12 in the AP and #10 Coaches' poll.
• Washington State is 1-2, unranked.
• Both teams are 0-1 in conference play
• USC is favored by 45½ points, up from 43
• Kickoff: 7:23 p.m. PDT at the L.A. Memorial Coliseum.
• Weather forecast: midday high of 103°, with an overnight low of 65°.
• Gametime temps are expected to start around 78° and drop to 72°
• A few thousand tickets are still available.
• Broadcast: regionally on FSN (Barry Tompkins, Petros Papadakis and Michael Eaves)
• USC leads the overall series 56-8-4.
• At the Coliseum, USC is 38-5-2 (WSU says it's 37-4-2)
• Last game: USC 69-0 in Pullman.
• That shutout snapped a 280 game scoring streak (dating to 1984) for the Cougars.
• That was the 2nd longest such active streak and 4th longest ever.
• USC had 3 TBs (Broderick Green, Stafon Johnson and C.J. Gable) run for 100+ yards.
• That hadn't happened since 1977
• Last game in L.A.: USC 47-14 in 2007
• USC has taken the last 6 against Washington State
• Last Washington State win: 30-27 in O.T. in 2002.
• Last Washington State win in L.A.: 33-27 in 2000.
• The Cougars have lost 27 of the last 30 in L.A, but have won 2 of the last 5.
• Washington State was the last team other than USC to play in the Rose Bowl.
• USC has a 162-39-8 all-time record in September.
• USC has won 70.7% (405-159-29) of its games against Pac-10 opponents.
• USC has a 404-123-27 (.754) all-time record in the Coliseum
• USC owns a 134-34-4 (.791) record at night (games after 5 p.m.), 83-18-4 in the Coliseum
• This is the 95th consecutive game the Trojans have been ranked in the AP Top 25
• Since 1995 WSU is 12-33 against ranked teams
• Pete Carroll is 90-16 at USC. That's the best among active coaches.
• Paul Wulff is 3-13 at Washington State
• USC has lost its Pac-10 road opener in 5 of head coach Pete Carroll’s 9 seasons
• Last week, USC snapped a 12 game winning streak.
• With Utah losing, USC would have had the nation's longest win streak at 13
• USC also lost an 8 game conference winning streak. But ...
• The Trojans have won their last 10 home games
• And their last 28 home night games
• USC has just 1 player from Washington — S Taylor Mays
• The Cougars have 41 players from California
• USC OL coach Pat Ruel was an assistant coach at Washington State from 1978 to 1981
• WSU's defense ranks no better than 92nd (among 120 teams) in any defensive category.
• On third down, USC is 8-for-35 (22.9 percent ), which is 112th in the nation
• Washington State is 10-for-42 (23.8 percent), 109th in the nation
• USC is ranked 17th nationally in rushing offense (236.7, third in Pac-10) in 2009.
• USC is averaging 6.0 yards per rush in 2009.
• USC’s top 7 rushers of 2009 all average at least 5.2 yards per carry.
• USC ranks third nationally in tackles for loss (10.0, first in Pac-10)
• USC ranks fifth in rushing defense (51.0, first in Pac-10)
• USC ranks 11th in sacks (3.3, second in Pac-10)
• USC ranks 12th in total defense (226.3, second in Pac-10)
• USC ranks 13th in scoring defense (11.3, second in Pac-10)
• USC ranks 25th in pass efficiency defense (99.1, third in Pac-10).
• USC is allowing just 1.6 yards per rush in 2009.
• USC is allowing just 3.7 yards per play in 2009.
• USC has allowed just 22 points in its past 7 home games.
• Since 2002, the Trojans are 18-5 (.783) in road games against unranked Pac-10 teams
• USC is 66-5 (.930) in all other games.
• UCLA is 3-0, USC is 2-1. Last time UCLA had a better record than USC: October 2002
• USC's Matt Leinart was named college football player of the decade by the Sporting News this week
• LeBron James visited USC this week
• USC offensive coordinator John Morton turned 40 this week
• He's a man. He's 40.
• USC injury update - probable: QB Matt Barkley (shoulder), S Taylor Mays (knee)
• USC injury update - questionable: TB Marc Tyler (toe), CB Brian Baucham (abrasions), OG Martin Coleman (foot), TE Bryson Lloyd (knee) 
• USC injury update - out:  WR Robbie Boyer (hand), WR Ronald Johnson (collarbone), DT Armond Armstead (foot), CB Shareece Wright (ineligible)
• The 2009 NCAA champion USC men’s tennis team will be recognized during the game
• More than 1,500 youths will attend as part of the USC Kid’s Corner program

USC's weekly football release.

Washington State's weekly football release.

Fight On!  Beat the Cougars!

College Football 2009: 10 Games I'm Looking Forward To In Week 4

It's a stretch to get to ten, but here are the ten games I'm most intrigued by this weekend in college football:

1. Washington State @ #12 USC: This should be ugly, but it's the only game I'll be in the stands for, so I'm listing it first. Obviously, I'll be rooting for the Trojans. It'd be easy for USC to get caught looking ahead to Cal this week, but after getting dropped by Washington, I don't think that will happen. Plus, Washington State has almost no talent. Go Trojans!
   .
2. #6 Cal @ Oregon: If Cal doesn't get caught looking ahead to USC, they can all but wrap up the Pac-10 title with a win in Eugene followed by a home victory over USC next week. I'll be rooting for Oregon and quietly observing to myself that Jahvid Best did score 5 touchdowns against Minnesota, but only ran for 18 yards in the second half. As a Trojan fan, I'll be more nervous about USC's road trip to whichever team loses this game. Go Ducks?
   .
3. #4 Mississippi @ South Carolina: Believe it or not, might be Ole Miss's toughest test of the season. They get Alabama and LSU later in the season, but they get them at home. If you're a top 5 team, you should win those games at home. It's the conference road games to middle of the pack teams you need to worry about. Having said that, I think Ole Miss has done about as much as I have to deserve a #4 ranking nationally. Furthermore, consider these SI Jinx facts: SI featured four teams on their regional covers for the college football preview issue. Three of those teams - Oregon, Oklahoma State and Ole Miss - were propped as being the outsiders who were poised to compete for the BCS title. Oregon lost its first game. Oklahoma State lost its second game. This will be Ole Miss's third game. Go Cocks!
   .
4. #9 Miami @ #11 Virginia Tech: This looks like the first of perhaps a couple of Games of the Year in the ACC Coastal. The winner of this game has the clearest path to the ACC title game. I think Miami is the better team. It wouldn't break my heart to see the Hokies send them into the world of one-loss teams, however. This is also a potential trap for the Hurricanes, who might be looking ahead to Oklahoma. Go Hokies?
   .
5. #22 North Carolina @ Georgia Tech: This is a clash of teams that I think are vastly overrated, but having spent some time on campus in Chapel Hill, I feel a little more fondness for UNC. Go Tar Heels!
   .
6. South Florida @ #18 Florida State: Florida State is a mystery wrapped up in an enigma. South Florida is trying to squeeze its way into the elite in-state club of three. A win here, especially without their injured QB, and they gain a lot of credibility with local recruits. With so many quality high school players coming out of Florida each year, more than any other game in the country, this game might have long-term implications for the national power rankings. Go Bulls!
   .
7. #1 Florida @ Kentucky: Florida looks to make it 23 in a row against the Wildcats, whom they defeated by 58 points last year. Go Wildcats!
   .
8. Notre Dame @ Purdue: A Purdue win here could depress ticket prices for the Trojans' game at South Bend, which I'm thinking about attending. On the other hand, a Notre Dame win would make the Trojan schedule look better to those BCS computers. Go Irish!
   .
9. #25 Washington @ Stanford: Washington is ranked for the first time in several years. Now they go on the road with a newfound sense of respect and confidence. Just perfect for a letdown loss, right? For USC to win the Pac-10, we need the Huskies to lose two. Go Indians!
   .
10. Cal Poly @ San Jose State: I have a cousin playing for the Mustangs, so I wouldn't mind seeing them upset the Spartans. On the other hand, that would make USC's season opener look like even more of a creampuff walk than it was. Bah. Go family. Go Mustangs!

I'll also check the scores of: N.C. Central @ Duke, LSU @ Mississippi State, UTEP @ Texas, Arkansas @ Alabama, Arizona State @ Georgia, Iowa @ Penn State.

My College Football Picks, 2009 Week 4

My picks last week were so-so. I'm 23-29 (9-10 in money) on the year. This week's games begin tomorrow night with Ole Miss traveling to South Carolina. Here are the spreads on the games involving ranked teams. My picks are in bold, with the seven games I plan to put real money on the ones marked by an asterisk.

Thursday, Sept. 24
#4 Ole Miss @ South Carolina +4

Friday, Sept. 25
* [#21] Missouri @ Nevada +7

Saturday, Sept. 26
* South Florida @ #18 Florida State -14
* Fresno State @ #14 Cincinnati -16½
#22 North Carolina @ Georgia Tech -2½
Southern Miss @ #20 Kansas -14
Indiana @ #23 Michigan -20½
* #7 LSU @ Mississippi State +12½
UTEP @ #2 Texas -26
#9 Miami @ #11 Virginia Tech +2½
* Illinois @ #13 Ohio State -14
#6 Cal @ Oregon +5½
#15 TCU @ Clemson -2½
Arkansas @ #3 Alabama -17½
#1 Florida @ Kentucky +21½
Colorado State @ #19 BYU +17
Grambling St. @ #16 Oklahoma State N/L
* Arizona State @ #21 Georgia -11½
LA Lafayette @ #25 Nebraska -28
* #8 Boise State @ Bowling Green +16½
Iowa @ #5 Penn State -9½
#24 Washington @ Stanford -7½
Texas Tech @ #17 Houston -1
Washington State @ #12 USC -45

In unranked Pac-10 play, we also have:
Arizona @ Oregon St. -2½

Teams not in the AP top 25, but in the ESPN top 25 have their rankings noted in parentheses. Only #10 Oklahoma has a bye, and only Oklahoma State has a virtual bye playing an FCS team.

http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/football/odds

Tuesday Travel Photo (No. 249)

This is the Lane Avenue Bridge, a cable-stayed bridge over the Olentangy River, near the Ohio State University, in Columbus, Ohio. The anchorage for the cables are the single largest pieces of steel ever to be galvanized - 47 tons each. It's a pleasant bridge to walk across on the way to or from Ohio Stadium.

The pedestrians weren't particularly happy during this particular crossing. Their Buckeyes had just lost a tight game to the USC Trojans.

My 2009 Bottom 10 After Week 3

We now have four winless teams whose losses include a lower-division opponent. How can you pick one over the other? #1 through #4 all clearly stink. Here are the ten* I think round out the bottom:

1. Ball St. [1] - Make that 5 straight - lost to lowly Army. Next loss: @ Auburn 
2. Virginia [2] - Duke might be only winnable game. Next loss: @ #24 UNC
3. Western Kentucky [6] Can't even beat Central Arkansas. Next loss: @ Navy
4. Temple [3] - Had no chance against Nittany Lions. Next loss: Buffalo
5. Miami (OH) [4] - At least they scored this week. Next loss: @ Kent State
6. Duke [5] - Could be first BCS conference team to lose to 2 FCS teams. Next loss: NC Central
7. Tulane [7] - Avoided the loss by scheduling a bye. Next loss: McNeese St.
8. Utah State [8] - Utah no longer looks like a "quality loss". Next loss: Southern Utah 
9. Eastern Michigan [NR] (0-3), lost to lowly Michigan. Next loss: Idle, then Temple.
10. *USC's second string. Next loss: Washington State
    *Florida ___. State, International, Atlantic, all underachieving to make up for UF's #1 ranking

Crummy Game of the Week: Army 24 Ball St. 17

Almost as bad: Western Michigan 48, Miami (OH) 26

Next week's Crummy Games of the Week: Miami (OH) @ Kent State

Not far behind ahead: Rice (0-3), New Mexico (0-3), San Jose State (0-3), Louisiana Tech (1-2), Syracuse (0-2, Kent State (1-2), Washington State (1-2), UTEP (1-2), Troy (1-2), UAB (1-2), Arkansas State (1-1), San Diego State (1-2), Louisiana-Monroe (1-2), New Mexico State (1-2), Army (2-1)

Dropped out: Western Michigan, which beat Bottom #5 Miami (OH)

Total number of winless teams is down to 14, by conference there are:

• ACC: 1
• Big East: 0
• Big Ten: 0
• Big 12: 0
• Conference USA: 2
• Mid-American: 4
• Mountain West: 1
• Pac-10: 0
• SEC: 0
• Sun Belt: 3
• WAC: 3
• Independents: 0

The Remaining Unbeatens After Week 3

We started the third week of play with 47 undefeated teams in the NCAA's FBS. We're already down to 28. Here is the breakdown of unbeaten teams by conference:

• ACC: 2 (Miami, UNC)
• Big East: 4 (Cincy, Pitt, USF) 
• Big Ten: 5 (Penn St. Michigan, Wisconsin, Iowa, Indiana)
• Big 12: 4 (Kansas, Mizzou, Texas, Texas A&M)
• Conference USA: 2 (Houston, S. Miss)
• Mountain West: 2 (TCU, Colorado St.)
• Pac-10: 3 (Cal, UCLA, ASU)
• SEC: 6 (Florida, Alabama, LSU, Ole Miss, Auburn, Kentucky)
• Sun Belt: 0
• WAC: 1 (Boise State) 

We are now rid of all unbeatens in the Sun Belt, Mid-American or Independents.

Notably gone this week: USC, Georgia Tech, Nebraska, Utah, BYU, Texas Tech.

College Football 2009: 10 Games I Was Looking Forward To In Week 3

These were the ten games I was most intrigued by this weekend in college football:

1. USC @ Washington:  More than a few Trojan fans were worried about this game, and not just because Stewart Mandel and a couple of the Register's writers picked the Huskies. It was a perfect storm of upset factors: USC coming in with a post-victory letdown after Ohio State; consecutive weeks of road games; an injured QB; the best defensive player injured; a coaching staff familiar with their former team's personnel and playbook; rain; and a pumped up conference home team that was humiliated in L.A. last season and had their running quarterback back in the lineup. Add a funky penalty here, a few fumbles there, and a few bad play calls and you have USC's annual inexplicable conference road upset.
2. Georgia Tech @ Miami: Since Georgia Tech looked so bad in their opening win, and they play 3 SEC teams in non-conference play, this was an interesting gauge game. It didn't disappoint me. Miami is solid and they are fast. They might be good enough to rip through the ACC without a loss.
3. Nebraska @ Virginia Tech: I was rooting for the Huskers here, and they came close to what would have been their best victory in a long time. Instead, the game left me eager to see Virginia Tech's game next week against the Hurricanes.
4. Utah @ Oregon: After Utah State and San Jose State, the Utes got their first test of the season, and Oregon got its first chance at redemption for their horrible season opener in Boise. In the end, a nice win for the Pac-10 and the end of Utah's bid for a second-straight BCS bowl.
5. Florida State @ BYU: The Seminoles blew it against Miami and almost blew it against Jacksonville State, and BYU needed to show that its win over Oklahoma wasn't just a fluke against a second-string QB. Instead, FSU smoked 'em and BYU's dreams of a BCS season are done.
6. Cal @ Minnesota: I didn't have a strong feel for how good the Golden Gophers were, but I knew Cal had to beat them to be taken seriously this year. Another decent win for the Pac-10.
7. Michigan State @ Notre Dame: Michigan State is the only team with a longer winning streak against the Irish. I want the Irish to have decent season to make USC's game in South Bend more meaningful. Though they won, the Irish didn't look great in winning it.
8. Tennessee @ Florida: This was interesting only because of the "Rocky Top" comment by Lane Kiffin. I thought Florida would smoke the Vols, especially since they couldn't beat UCLA at home last week, but Tennessee hung with them all game.
9. Cincinnati @ Oregon State: This was the other game in which the Pac-10 had a chance to look good, and the Beavers couldn't get it done. They are off to their annual slow start. I felt a bit of joy for Cincinnati fans, though, since they suffered the most horrific NFL loss last week when the Bengals choked against Denver.
10. Kansas State @ UCLA: This also had upset written all over it. UCLA had a big road win last week and lost their QB, but damn, K-State is bad.

I also planned to check the scores of: Arizona @ Iowa, Texas Tech @ Texas, Lafayette @ LSU, Georgia @ Arkansas and Duke @ Kansas, which would have been much more interesting in the gym than on the gridiron. Then Washington did what we were afraid they might do, and I no longer gave a damn about any of these games.

My College Football Top 25, Week 4

I don't necessarily think these are necessarily the best teams in the country in this order, but if I had an AP vote, here is what my ballot after week two would look like:

1. Texas (1)
2. Florida (2)
3. Alabama (4)
4. Cal (5)
5. Penn State (6)
6. Boise State (8)
7. Mississippi (7)
8. LSU (10)
9. Oklahoma (12)
10. USC (3)
11. Ohio State (11)
12. Miami (20)
13. Virginia Tech (17)
14. TCU (13)
15. Cincinnati (16)
16. Kansas (18)
17. Oklahoma State (22)
18. Georgia (23)
19. Missouri (21)
20. BYU (9)
21. Pitt (24)
22. North Carolina (25)
23. Nebraska (19)
24. Georgia Tech (14)
25. Michigan (NR)

I dropped: Utah (15)

I almost went with: Houston and Texas Tech.

I'm not yet buying: Washington, Houston, UCLA and Florida State.

I can't believe anyone gave votes to: Notre Dame, Iowa, Kentucky or South Florida.

My College Football Results, 2009 Week 3

This week, I was 8-10 overall and 4-3 in games I liked enough to actually wager on. Here's how I did (not counting the two games that finished before I posted my picks).

L Temple @ #5 Penn St. -30
W * #11 Ohio St. v. Toledo +21½
W East Carolina @ @ #24 North Carolina -7½
W East. Michigan @ #25 Michigan -24
W Duke @ #22 Kansas -23½
W * #8 California @ Minnesota +13½
W * North Texas @ #4 Alabama -38½
L * #3 USC @ Washington +19½ 
L #18 Utah @ Oregon -4½
W Tulsa @ #12 Oklahoma -17½
L #19 Nebraska @ #13 Virginia Tech -5½ 
L * Tennessee @ #1 Florida -30
L * #17 Cincinnati @ (#24) Oregon St. +1
W * Rice @ #16 Oklahoma St. -10
L LA Lafayette @ #9 LSU -27
L Florida St. @ #7 BYU -8  
L #23 Georgia @ Arkansas +2½
L Texas Tech @ #2 Texas -17½

In other Pac-10 games, I went 2-3:

L Arizona @ Iowa -4½
L SMU @ Washington St. +5½
L San Jose St. @ Stanford -18
W La. Monroe @ Arizona St. -21
W Kansas St. @ UCLA -11½

Add this to my prior record and I'm 23-29, and 9-10 on the year. Next week, I'm going with my old points system, where you get a point if you embarrassed yourself or had a disappointing loss last week, lose a point if you had a great win last week, and lose a point if you have an opponent to look ahead to. Using that formula, USC was -2 and the Huskies were a good bet. Then again, I don't bet against the Trojans.

Tailgaiting Savings

I considered taking the Amtrak to San Diego for the Chargers' home opener, but instead decided to save a few nickels and just broil some wings and watch the game on TV. I have some lemon pepper, some Buffalo wings and some paprika/salt/brown sugar rub. Add some Captain's Morgan spiced rum and Diet Coke and it's all good.

My College Football Picks, 2009 Week 3

My picks last week were so-so. I'm 15-19 on the season, and 5-7 in games I liked enough to actually wager on. This week's games began Thursday with Georgia Tech playing at Miami. As I mentioned last week, I thought the Yellowjackets were overrated, and it showed. I liked Fresno State, and was impressed by their tough outing at Wisconsin, until I learned that 40+ Badgers had the flu. Here are the spreads on the games involving ranked teams. My picks are in bold, with the seven games I plan to put real money on marked by an asterisk. Since I didn't get this post up on Thursday, I won't count Miami and Boise among my wins this week, not that anyone is holding me to this stuff.

Thursday, Sept. 17
#14 Georgia Tech @ #20 Miami (FL) -5

 

Friday, Sept. 18
#10 Boise St. @ Fresno St. +7½

 

Saturday, Sept. 19
Temple @ #5 Penn St. -30
* #11 Ohio St. v. Toledo +21½
East Carolina @ @ #24 North Carolina -7½
East. Michigan @ #25 Michigan -24
Duke @ #22 Kansas -23½
* #8 California @ Minnesota +13½
* North Texas @ #4 Alabama -38½
Furman @ (#25) Missouri N/L
* #3 USC @ Washington +19½ 
#18 Utah @ Oregon -4½
Tulsa @ #12 Oklahoma -17½
#19 Nebraska @ #13 Virginia Tech -5½ 
* Tennessee @ #1 Florida -30

* #17 Cincinnati @ (#24) Oregon St. +1
Texas St. @ #15 TCU N/L
* Rice @ #16 Oklahoma St. -10
LA Lafayette @ #9 LSU -27
Florida St. @ #7 BYU -8  
SE Louisiana @ #5 Ole Miss N/L
#23 Georgia @ Arkansas +2½
Texas Tech @ #2 Texas -17½

In unranked Pac-10 play, we have:

Arizona @ Iowa -4½
SMU @ Washington St. +5½
San Jose St. @ Stanford -18
La. Monroe @ Arizona St. -21
Kansas St. @ UCLA -11½

Teams not in the AP top 25, but in the ESPN top 25 have their rankings noted in parentheses. Only #21 Houston has a bye, although Ole Miss, TCU and Missouri have virtual byes, playing FCS teams.

http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/football/odds

USC Washington Game Notes 9-19-09

As you watch Washington hosting USC today, you might see some of these interesting bits and points:

• USC is 2-0, ranked #3 in the AP and Coaches' poll.
• Washington is 1-1, unranked.
• Both teams are opening conference play today, a half game behind 1-0 Stanford.
• USC is favored by 19½ points, down from 21
• Kickoff: 12:26 p.m. PDT (5:10 p.m. PDT) at Husky Stadium.
• Weather forecast: partly cloudy, 65°, with a chance of showers
• Over 13,000 tickets are still available.
• Broadcast: regionally on ABC (Terry Gannon, David Norrie)
• USC’s 18-15 victory over Ohio State was the most-viewed college football game ever on ESPN.
• It was the highest rated college game since 1994 Florida St. @ Miami)
• Washington is 345-164-21 at Husky Stadium
• USC leads 19-16-4 in games played at Husky Stadium.
• USC leads the overall series 49-26-4.
• Last game: USC 56-0 in L.A. last year.
• Last game in Seattle: USC 27-24. 
• USC has taken the last 7 against Washington
• Last Washington win: 27-24 in 2001.
• Since 1960, the Trojan-Husky winner has advanced to the Rose Bowl 28 times
• In conference openers, USC is 65-17-5
• In conference openers on the road, the Trojans are 27-10-2
• USC has a 162-38-8 (.798) all-time record in September.
• USC has a 21-21-2 record in games with substantial rain
• The Trojans are 1-3-1 in the rain at Washington
• Pete Carroll is 7-1 against the Huskies.
• Husky head coach Steve Sarkisian spent seven seasons with the Trojans.
• This is his first game against USC.
• Washington's last two coaches also faced their prior schools in their first seasons at UW.
• Tyrone Willingham lost to Notre Dame, 36-17, in 2005.
• Rick Neuheisel beat Colorado, 31-24, in 1999.
• USC and Washington are 2 of the 4 schools that have never played an FCS team since the Divisions were organized in 1978.
• The other two are UCLA and Notre Dame.
• Michigan State was part of that group until they played Montana State in 2009.
• This is the 94th consecutive game the Trojans have been ranked in the AP Top 25
• Pete Carroll is 90-15 at USC. That's the best among active coaches.
• Steve Sarkisian is 1-1.
• USC is 26-13-1 in its last 40 games on artificial turf.
• USC has won its last 12 games
• USC has won its last 8 conference games.
• Washington snapped a Pac-10 record-tying 15-game losing streak last Saturday
• The Husky offense is 20th nationally in passing
• Washington QB Jake Locker is the Pac-10's leading passer.
• Washington leads the Pac-10 in third-down efficiency with a 66.7 percent rate.
• USC has just 1 player from Washington — S Taylor Mays
• The Huskies have 38 players from California
• Pete Carroll’s 1972 senior season at Pacific began with a 13-6 loss at No. 9 Washington.
• Steve Sarkisian once led BYU to a one-loss season. The only loss: at Washington.
• USC is ranked 23rd nationally in rushing offense
• USC’s top 7 rushers of 2009 all average at least 4.5 yards per carry.
• USC's defense is ranked tied for fifth nationally in tackles for loss
• USC is 12th in total defense
• USC is 13th in rushing defense
• USC is 14th in scoring defense
• USC is 15th in pass efficiency defense
• Jake Locker was a California Angel draft pick this year.
• USC injury update - probable: S Drew McAllister (hip), OT Charles Brown (flu), TB Joe McKnight (flu)
• USC injury update - questionable: QB Matt Barkley (shoulder), S Taylor Mays (knee), TB Marc Tyler (foot), CB Brian Baucham (car accident)
• USC injury update - out: WR Robbie Boyer (hand), WR Ronald Johnson (collarbone), DT Armond Armstead (foot), CB Shareece Wright (ineligible), S Patrick Hall (knee)

USC's weekly football release.

Washingtong's weekly football release.

Fight On!  Beat the Huskies!

USC Ohio State Trip Report

We booked airfare to Cincinnati last month, planning to go to the USC/Ohio St. game on Saturday, followed by the Bengals/Broncos game on Sunday. But on Tuesday, our baby came down with a fever, and we took him to the doctor. "Swine flu", the doctor said. "But he has a mild case. He should be fine in 4 days." We asked him to do a test, so we could be sure. If he had the swine flu, not only would we worry more about his prognosis, but it would be irresponsible for us to pile into a plane and possibly sicken a bunch of people with a virus we just caught from our baby, even if we didn't yet have symptoms. The doctor said it was unnecessary to test him, however, because the treatment was the same whether it was H1N1 flu or any other kind of flu. So we got a second opinion, and by Friday morning, a nurse was phoning us with test results - negative. It wasn't swine flu. Even better, the fever was gone.

We were good to go.

So with about 12 hours notice, and without any game tickets in hand or awaiting us in Columbus, we hopped on a red-eye bound for Northern Kentucky, just outside of Cincinnati. We arrived just before dawn, rented an SUV and headed for our hotel in downtown Cincinnati for breakfast. By 11 a.m., we were in our room, where everyone took a nap. Around 1 o'clock, I left for Columbus with my wife's brother. We had no tickets and no prospects, but we had a plan. We knew tickets would be plentiful for a game at a 102,000 seat stadium, but we wanted to sit in the USC sections, which were only about 5,000 seats. To assure that we could score tickets in USC territory, we figured our best chance was at the USC Alumni tailgater.

Here we are, on campus five hours before the game. By 3 p.m., we had made it to the Ohio State campus and found a parking spot about a mile from Ohio Stadium, on the side where the USC Alumni tailgater was happening, and we started walking. They had stopped selling tickets to the tailgater online a few days earlier, but the weekender website said tickets could be purchased at the door. Worried that it would sell out quickly, we hustled over to get there early, well ahead of the 4 p.m. start time. When we arrived, we found out that "at the door" included "at the hotel where USC people were staying." They had sold out "at the door" the night before. However, they promised to let a few of us buy tickets if enough seats remained unclaimed by the time the band arrived around 6 p.m. It was only 4 o'clock, however, and that two hour wait was unappealing.

I let everyone who was standing around know that I was looking for a pair of tickets in the USC section, and I waited. After about 15 minutes, a Trojan with an extra pair showed up, and someone told him that I was looking for a pair. We struck a deal and I walked off with his seats near the top of section 8c. After another 10-15 minutes, someone showed up for the tailgater with more people than tickets to the event. He didn't want to waste his tailgater tickets, but didn't want to leave his buddies outside, either. So I offered to buy them, and we were in.

Here, the USC Song Girls and Spirit of Troy perform for us about two hours before the game. The tailgater was a blast. We met the guy who is responsible for all those "Leave No Doubt" stickers, and made a few new friends while drinking Bud Light and enjoying brats, hot dogs, barbecued chicken and beef and various side dishes and desserts. Some Buckeye hospitality reps rolled by with some free buttons and warm wishes. They told us what a Buckeye is. It's a poisonous nut. Or, as the guy at our table said, "a useless toxic nut." We grabbed some signage and pom-poms, enjoyed the performance of the band and the Song Girls, then headed for Ohio Stadium.

On our walk to Ohio Stadium, we saw that the Ohio State tailgating crowd was vast, and great food, drink and games were everyone. As shown in this photo, the Buckeye fans love to "cornhole" before the game. It's not as dirty as it sounds. There were a lot of street vendors selling strands of buckeye nuts. They were going for five bucks a necklace. With about 20 nuts on the string. We did the math, and concluded that if the guy from the tailgater was right, then a buckeye was a two bit useless toxic nut. But the real Buckeyes weren't that. Contrary to my expectations, I encountered only three instances of douchebaggery on my way to the stadium - some jackass tried to trip my brother-in-law, a guy yelled "Oregon State" in our faces, and one guy tried to hold us back with his arm, because "No Trojans are getting around me!" Most people, however, were warm and receptive, and more than happy to carry on a civilized conversation about football with a USC fan. We flashed the victory sign to a couple of ticket buyers who were holding up two fingers. They didn't get it. We didn't elaborate, either.

There it is. Ohio Stadium. One of the greatest cathedrals in all of the religion of sports. But it was a zoo trying to get in. I asked a Buckeye if it was like this every week, and she said it was not. I assume, therefore, that the reason it was nearly impossible to move was because 90% of the over-capacity crowd of 106,033 fans (the largest crowd in NCAA college football history was 112,118 on November 22, 2003 for a Michigan home game against Ohio State) in attendance stayed outside the gates until they could watch the finish of the Michigan 38 Notre Dame 34, UCLA 19 Tennessee 15, and Houston 45 Oklahoma State 35, then headed in as soon as the Wolverines and Bruins finished taking care of business. The good news is that the crowd made it a lot easier to sneak in my forbidden SLR camera with telephoto lens. The stadium lighting was strange, too. This was only the 5th or 6th night game there, ever, and the lights were not mounted in the stadium. They were on four huge portable posts, outside the stadium. So the four sections in front of them were bathed in light all night. The others were under varying degrees of brightness.

The "Best Damn Band in the Land" dotting the "i". This week, it was some tuba player. Last week, it was John Glenn. Before they did this, they played, among other things, "Fight On!" I loved it. Eventually, however, I got a bit tired of "Hang on, Sloopy", followed by the Y-M-C-A-ish "O! H! I! O!" Someone warned us that you need to get in 45 minutes before kickoff to see the dotting of the eye. That rumor was false. This photo was taken about 15 minutes before kickoff, and just 5 minutes before the supposed 8 p.m. start time. USC's band director, Art Bartner, led the Ohio State band for the Star-Spangled Banner.

USC began the game with a Chris Galippo interception return inside the Buckeye 10-yard line, setting up this 4th and goal play.

Touchdown, USC! Stafon Johnson on 4th down. USC 7-0. We were pretty excited by this time, hoping that the rout was on. It wasn't. For a brief moment, however, the crowd was silenced by this.

The scariest moment of the night. Taylor Mays goes down with a mild knee sprain.

This was a great play, and we thought it was going for the go-ahead touchdown to make it USC 13 (going on 14), Ohio State 10. Instead, we had to settle for a missed field goal bouncing off the crossbar. In the stands, from way across the field, it looked to close not to review, especially since there had already been several reviews. However, once I got home and watch this on TV, it was quite clear that this was not a catch.

This is the kick that bounced off the crossbar. The Buckeye fans were insanely loud after that ball landed in the end zone.

After a great defensive stop, USC got down inside to the Buckeye 3-yard line with 8 seconds left, but Matt Barkley missed David Ausberry in the left corner, setting up this field goal to tie the game at 10-10 going into the half.

Halftime entertainment by the Ohio State marching band, complete with pyrotechnics. Other entertainment: the playing of the White Stripes hit "Seven Nation Army", during which the Ohio State fans jump up and sown (especially in the south end zone seats) and chant "Oh, Oh, Oh, Oh, Oh, Oh-oooh!" They often then booed when the USC players would start jumping up and down on the sidelines during the song. At one point, the big screen showed Will Farrell chatting with someone along the USC sideline. They then had fun putting up a couple of photos showing Farrell wearing Ohio State shirts. Vince Vaughn was in the house, too. He was in Buckeye attire.

Some USC offensive action in the third quarter. Sadly, USC had almost no offense in the third, with just 20 net yards and two drives that ended without positive yardage. USC also gave up a safety and a field goal to go down 15-10.

In the 4th quarter, the Buckeyes still led 15-10 when they got a first down at the USC 35 with 9:27 to play. The fans were absolutely frenzied. When the Buckeyes ran for three yards on first down, with a 2nd-and-7 at the USC 32, I started losing faith that the Trojans would win. I've never taken a road trip and experienced a loss in another team's house. I've been to a couple of bowl games USC lost, and a few losses to UCLA at the Rose Bowl, but never on a real road trip. Notre Dame, Nebraska, Virginia, Cal, Arizona, Stanford, to name a few, all ended up with us quietly leaving the other school with the victory. I wondered what it would be like to walk out of Ohio Stadium wearing the losing team's colors.

Fortunately, Everson Griffin got a sack on 3rd-and-7, and Ohio State decided to punt. After a fair catch, USC got the ball back on their own 14 with about 7:15 to play. When Matt Barkley got sacked on first down at the 7:10 mark, it was so loud, there are no words to describe how loud it was.  The guy behind us yelled "the freshman is getting rattled!" We thought, "yeah, the dude's right." Then USC committed a delay penalty and it got even louder, with around 6:15 to play, and the Trojans getting ready to snap it on 2nd-and-19 from their own 5-yard line. We had to have a touchdown, and it was 95 yards away. What followed was the coolest possession since the last drive in South Bend in 2005.

Joe McKnight ran for 11 yards to the USC 16, leaving 3-and-9. Matt Barkley passed to Joe McKnight for 21 yards to the USC 37 for a 1st down. We started to hope again, down 5, and moving the ball. Then Matt Barkley threw to Anthony McCoy for 26 yards to the Ohio State 37 for a 1st down. Matt Barkley threw incomplete; Joe McKnight ran for a yard to the Buckeye 36 and Barkley passed to Damian Williams for 8 yards to the Ohio State 28. It was 4th-and-inches, with 3:38 to play. 106,033 people knew what was coming. The famous USC QB sneak. O'Dowd and Byers blew a hole that I could have run through, and the crowd went from insanely loud to moderately quiet, if only for a moment.

When he got up, it was clear that Barkley's arm was hurting. After a run of 4 yards and another of 9 yards, McKnight earned the Trojans another first down with 2:10 to go. The USC band was the loudest sound in the stadium. "Fight On!" After an incomplete pass and a Joe McKnight run, it was 3rd-and-1 for the Trojans just outside the Buckeye 6-yard line. Ohio State needed two stops for the win. USC needed 6 yards. The place was hopping again. Once again, the Trojans ran Barkley behind O'Dowd and Byers. Now it was first-and-goal with 1:11 to play.

After USC converted the 3-and-1, Buckeye fans sensed the defeat. They pretty much shut the hell up. They weren't just silent, either. They were motionless, too. You could hear people yelling down on the field from the top rows. Someone several sections away yelled "Go Trojans" and everyone could hear it. When Stafon Johnson broke to the outside on first down, the whole stadium took a deep breath. Then it became apparent that McCoy had the block, and Johnson was going to get into the end zone.

Here's my blurry shot of Stafon Johnson's touchdown on first-and-goal, behind a great outside block by Anthony McCoy. Everywhere except the north end zone was silent. The north end zone was going berzerk. Buckeye fans were dead silent. Their heads down. Barely moving. So silent that they surrendered the crowd noise to that north end zone. When McKnight converted the 2 point PAT, the Trojan fans cheering made it sound like USC was the home team.

There was still 1:05 on the clock, so it was a little early for USC fans to start congratulating each other, but they did. Meanwhile, a shockingly large number of Buckeye fans started heading for the gate. For the final possession, Buckeye fans were out of it. Ohio State had no timeouts, but they only needed 30 yards to get into game-tying field goal range. Despite this, the fans had seemingly resigned themselves to the loss. When Pryor threw the ball away on first down and got called for grounding, a steadier stream of scarlet and gray began to filter down the stairs. On 2nd-and-28, it sounded like the whole stadium was shouting "Defense! Defense!" For their final 4th down play, the Buckeyes had almost zero vocal fan support.

Final score, USC 18 Ohio State 15 (If you have a better shot of the scoreboard, send me an email). The USC fans lingered in the 'Shoe for a while, bouncing up and down and chanting "Oh, Oh, Oh, Oh, Oh, Oh-oooh!" I'd been warned that if USC won, it could get ugly for Trojan fans leaving the stadium. Texas fans got a strong dose of abuse after their 2005 win, but I saw none of that. Just some quiet grumbing - things like "It's like Groundhog Day" and gripes about Tressel this and Tressel that. Oh, and someone tossed their Game Day t-shirt in a puddle of mud.

The only real downer was the mess getting out of the parking lot. The game ended just after 11:30 p.m. We sat in the parking lot for more than an hour without moving an inch. It took fully two hours to walk to the car and wait for it to start moving. That frustration was tempered a bit when we discovered a nearby White Castle, where we celebrated the win with some tasty little White Castle burgers. You can't get those back home. As we drove the 105 miles back to Cincinnati at 2 a.m., we thought "It's a great day to be a Trojan."

Beat the Huskies!

My 2009 Bottom 10 After Week 2

Who are the worst teams in the FBS? There are a bunch of really bad teams that won last week, so I dropped them from my list - except Duke, which previously lost to FCS school Richmond - but they'll be back. I put a new team at #1: Ball State. Since starting out 12-0 and earning a #12 ranking going into the 2008 Mid-American Conference Championship Game, the Cardinals have lost 4 straight, including poundings in the conference title game and the GMAC Bowl, and losses to North Texas and New Hampshire to start 2009.

Here are the ten* I think round out the bottom:

1. Ball St. [NR] - Home loss to New Hampshire is a new low. Next loss: @ Army 
2. Virginia [2] - No bounceback against TCU. Next loss: @ Southern Miss 
3. Temple [3] - Idle. Next loss: @ Penn State
4. Miami (OH) [NR]. Outscored 90-0 in two games. Next loss: @ Western Michigan
5. Duke [1] - Beat Army, but loss to Richmond remains a black spot. Next loss: @ Kansas
6. Western Kentucky [4] - lost to South Florida. Next loss: Central Arkansas 
7. Tulane [7] - lost to BYU even without losing QB. Next loss: McNeese St.
8. Utah State [8] - idle. Next loss: @ Texas A&M
9. Western Michigan [10] - Lost at Indiana. Next loss: Miami (OH)
10. *Notre Dame - lost big to lowly Michigan. Next loss: Charlie Weis's alumni support
    *Florida St. - trailed Jacksonville St. at home in the 4th. Next loss: a QB @ BYU

Crummy Game of the Week: Ohio @ North Texas. Someone had to win, in overtime, of course.

Next week's Crummy Games of the Week: Miami (OH) @ Western Michigan or Ball St. @ Army.

Not far behind ahead: Maryland (1-1) needed OT to beat James Madison, Washington State (0-2), UTEP (0-2), Troy (0-2), Louisiana Tech (0-2), Syracuse (0-2, Eastern Michigan (0-2), Idaho (1-1), Arkansas State (1-1), San Diego State (1-1)

Dropped out: San Diego State (6), but win over Southern Utah means little, Louisiana-Monroe (9) but win over Texas Southern is unimpressive, New Mexico State (5), but narrow win over Prairie View is worthless

Total number of winless teams is down to 22, by conference there are:

• ACC: 1
• Big East: 1
• Big Ten: 0
• Big 12: 1
• Conference USA: 4
• Mid-American: 5
• Mountain West: 1
• Pac-10: 1
• SEC: 0
• Sun Belt: 4
• WAC: 4
• Independents: 0

UTEP better beat New Mexico State next week, or they'll be starting out 0-5.

Tuesday Travel Photo (No. 248)

This is Fountain Square, in the heart of downtown Cincinnati, Ohio, since 1871. A butcher's market formerly occupied this space. The center of the square features this bronze allegorical fountain from Ferdinand von Miller named The Genius of Water. The fountain can be seen in the opening credits on WKRP in Cincinnati .

This photograph was taken in front of the Fifth Third Bank building, which I am sure is even bigger and better than the Fourth Third Bank building.

My College Football Top 25, Week 3

If I had an AP vote, here is what my ballot after week two would look like:

1. Texas (1)
2. Florida (2)
3. USC (3)
4. Alabama (4)
5. Cal (6)
6. Penn State (8)
7. Mississippi (7)
8. Boise State (10)
9. BYU (12)
10. LSU (11)
11. Ohio State (9)
12. Oklahoma (13)
13. TCU (16)
14. Georgia Tech (17)
15. Utah (14)
16. Cincinnati (25)
17. Virginia Tech (15)
18. Kansas (20)
19. Nebraska (21)
20. Miami (NR)
21. Missouri (NR)
22. Oklahoma State (5)
23. Georgia (22)
24. Pitt (NR)
25. North Carolina (19)

I dropped: Oregon State (barely), Michigan State and Notre Dame.

I almost went with: Oregon State and Texas Tech.

I'm still not buying: Michigan, Houston and UCLA.

I can't believe anyone gave votes to: Notre Dame, Iowa, Oregon, Kentucky, Central Michigan, Colorado State or Baylor.

The Remaining Unbeatens After Week 2

We started the second week of play with 77 undefeated teams in the NCAA's FBS. We're already down to 47. Here is the breakdown of unbeaten teams by conference:

• ACC: 4
• Big East: 5
• Big Ten: 7
• Big 12: 7
• Conference USA: 4
• Mid-American: 0
• Mountain West: 4
• Pac-10: 6
• SEC: 7
• Sun Belt: 1
• WAC: 2
• Independents: 0

We already have no unbeaten MAC schools or Independents. Notably gone this week: Oklahoma State, Ohio State and Notre Dame.

My College Football Results, 2009 Week 2

This week, I was 9-10 against the spread, but 4-3 in games I liked enough to actually wager on. here's how I did.

L Clemson @ #15 Georgia Tech -5½

L * #19 North Carolina @ Connecticut +4½
L Syracuse @ #7 Penn State -28½
W * Troy @ #1 Florida -36½
W Marshall @ #14 Virginia Tech -19½
W * Arkansas State @ #22 Nebraska -23½
L #18 Notre Dame @ Michigan +3½
L Houston @ #5 Oklahoma State -15
W * #16 TCU @ Virginia +11
L #9 Brigham Young @ Tulane +17½
W #2 Texas @ Wyoming +33½
W * South Carolina @ #21 Georgia -7
W Vanderbilt @ #11 LSU -14½
L Bowling Green @ #25 Missouri -20
L Florida International @ #4 Alabama -34
W #24 Kansas @ UTEP +12
W Miami (OH) @ #12 Boise State -37
L * #3 USC @ #8 Ohio State +7
L * #17 Utah @ San Jose State +14

In unranked Pac-10 play, we had:

L Stanford @ Wake Forest -3
L Idaho @ Washington -20½
L UCLA @ Tennessee -10
L Hawaii @ Washington State +2
L Purdue @ Oregon -10
L #24 (Coaches) Oregon State @ UNLV +7

Ugh.

USC 18 Ohio St. 15

It's another great day to be a Trojan. USC put together an excellent 4th quarter touchdown drive to erase a 5 point deficit and beat the 7th ranked Buckeyes in their own silent house, 18-15. The Horseshoe was rocking most of the night, but in the end, the place was quiet everywhere except the south end zone. Columbus is quiet tonight.
.

Longer trip report with photos to follow.

USC Ohio State Game Notes 9-12-09

As you watch Ohio State hosting USC tomorrow night, you might see some of these interesting bits and points:

• Both teams are 1-0. Neither has opened conference play.
• USC is ranked #3 in the AP and Coaches' poll, up a spot from last week.
• Ohio State is ranked #8 in the AP Poll and #7 in the Coaches' poll, down from #6 last week.
• USC is favored by 7 points, up from an opening line of 3½ points
• Kickoff: 8:10 p.m. EDT (5:10 p.m. PDT) at Ohio Stadium.
• It's a 102,329-seat sellout.
• ESPN’s College GameDay pregame show will originate from Columbus on Saturday morning.
• This is the 24th time it's been to Columbus since 1996
• Broadcast: nationally on ESPN (Brent Musburger, Kirk Herbstreit, Lisa Salters)
• Also live on 3D TV at USC's Galen Center and in theaters in Columbus, Ohio, Hartford, Conn. and Hurst, Texas (Mark Jones, Bob Davie, Ed Cunningham)
• LA Radio: 710 AM KSPN
• Ohio Radio: WBNS (FM 97.1 The Fan)
• Weather forecast: partly cloudy, daytime high of 77F°, overnight low of 56F°. Winds light.
• USC leads the overall series 12-9-1.
• In 22 previous matches against OSU, USC's been the AP higher-ranked team six times.
• USC is 5-0-1 in those games.
• When Ohio State is ranked, USC's record against them 9-5-1.
• Ohio State's last win over USC was in the 1974 Rose Bowl.
• Ohio State's last win over USC in Columbus was a 17-0 shutout in 1964.
• USC has won the last 6, and 7 of the last 8.
• USC's last win: 2008 at the Coliseum, 35-3.
• It was the first time OSU failed to score a touchdown in a game since 1996 against Michigan.
• Last game at the Horseshoe: 1990. USC won 35-26 in a lightning-shortened game.
• In 120 seasons, Ohio State is 121-10-4 at home in September.
• USC has a 160-38-8 all-time record in the month of September.
• This is the 93rd consecutive game the Trojans have been ranked in the AP Top 25
• Ohio State is 24-1 at home against non-conference teams under Jim Tressel.
• The one loss was to Texas in 2005. The Longhorns went on to win the BCS championship.
• Ohio State has lost four consecutive games against ranked non-conference opponents.
• Jim Tressel is 84-19 at Ohio State. That's the 9th best percentage of any active coach.
• Pete Carroll is 89-15 at USC. That's the best among active coaches.
• Pete Carroll is 6-0 against the Big Ten.
• USC has won 9 straight against Big Ten teams.
• Last Big Ten win over the Trojans: Penn State (1996)
• In road openers, USC is 76-27-8 (.721).
• USC is 67-27-2 (.708) against the Big Ten
• Ohio State is 50-24-2 against the Pac-10
• USC owns a 133-34-4 (.789) record at night
• At night on the road, USC is 36-11
• USC is 26-13-1 in its last 40 games on artificial turf.
• USC has won 11 national championships, Ohio State 7.
• Ohio State is fifth in wins with 809, USC is 10th with 767
• Both schools have produced 7 Heisman Trophy winners.
• The Buckeyes claim 183 All-American first teamers, while the Trojans have 154.
• USC has won 38 league titles and Ohio State has 33.
• USC has 1 player from Ohio (P Billy O’Malley from St. Ignatius High in Novelty)
• Ohio State claims 1 California native (WR Grant Schwartz of Dana Hills High)
• USC head coach Pete Carroll was the secondary coach under Earle Bruce at Ohio State in 1979
• That team lost to No. 3 USC in the 1980 Rose Bowl, 17-16
• USC ranks first nationally in tackles for loss (16.0, first in Pac-10), second in rushing defense (9.0, second in Pac-10), fourth in sacks (5.0, second in Pac-10), sixth in total defense (121.0, second in Pac-10), tied for 10th in scoring defense (3.0, first in Pac-10), 19th in pass defense (112.0, third in Pac-10) and 23rd in pass efficiency defense (81.4, third in Pac-10).
• Ohio State has won 10+ games four years straight
• USC has won 11+ games seven years straight
• Last week, USC beat San Jose State 56-3.
• Last week Ohio State beat Navy 31-27.
• Each of the Ohio State captains (Kurt Coleman, Austin Spitler and Doug Worthington) play defense.
• The Buckeyes choose a 4th captain from the offense each week.
• The Buckeyes boast an all-time record of 386-106-20 (.773) in Ohio Stadium
• Ohio State is 32-15 in home night games all-time.
• Under Coach Jim Tressel, the Buckeyes are 14-9 in night games
• Tressel’s teams are 2-2 at home in night games.
• Ohio State is 127-103-12 all-time when facing a ranked opponent
• Looking ahead: Ohio State's next opponent is Toledo.
• USC's is Washington, whose head coach and defensive coordinators were USC's coordinators last year
• USC has won its last 12 non-conference games.
• USC has won its last 11 overall games
• 28 Trojans have started at least once before last week
• 29 Buckeyes have started at least once before last week
• USC QB Matt Barkley was the Trojans' first true freshman to start a season opener.
• The last true freshman to started a season opener for a Top-5 team: 1975 Rick Leach (No. 3 Michigan).
• He lose when Michigan's game at Ohio State that season
• The last true freshman start at QB for USC: Carson Palmer 1998 (3-2)
• USC OL Jeff Byers, QB Garrett Green and TE Steve Gatena have their bachelor’s degrees.
• USC has two players who graduated from high school to enroll a semester early: OG Martin Coleman and QB Matt Barkley.
• USC’s roster features 3 Gatorade National High School Football Players of the Year: OGC Jeff Byers (2003), QB Mitch Mustain (2005) and QB Matt Barkley (2007).
• USC injury update - probable: C Kristofer O’Dowd (knee), DT Averell Spicer (ankle), OT Nick Howell (ankle), CB Brian Baucham (flu), CB Josh Pinkard (foot), CB Kevin Thomas (illness)
• USC injury update - questionable: OL Butch Lewis (ankle), TB Curtis McNeal (shoulder), safety T.J. McDonald (ankle), OG Martin Coleman (foot), FB Simione Vehikite (knee), S Drew McAllister (hip)
• USC injury update - out: TB Marc Tyler (foot), WR Ronald Johnson (collarbone), DT Armond Armstead (foot), S Patrick Hall (knee), CB Shareece Wright (academics, knee), Frankie Telfort (medical), Thomas Herring (medical), Kit Barmeyer (quit), Eric Childs (quit)
• Trojans on 2009 Watch List: OG-C Jeff Byers Lombardi Award (top lineman) Outland Trophy (top interior lineman) Wuerffel Trophy (top athlete, student, service) QB Aaron Corp O’Brien Award (top quarterback) LB Chris Galippo Butkus Award (top linebacker) S Taylor Mays Walter Camp Award (top player) Bednarik Award (top defensive player) Nagurski Award (top defensive player) Thorpe Award (top defensive back) Lott Trophy (top defensive impact player) TE Anthony McCoy Mackey Award (top tight end) C Kristofer O’Dowd Rimington Trophy (top center) Lombardi Award (top lineman) Outland Trophy (top interior lineman) LB Malcolm Smith Butkus Award (top linebacker) WR Damian Williams Maxwell Award (top player) Biletnikoff Award (top wide receiver) College Performance Award (top wide receiver)
• Buckeyes on earning preseason honors include: Jake Ballard *John Mackey Award watch list Justin Boren *1st team all-Big Ten (Lindy’s, Phil Steele, CFN) *2nd team all-Big Ten (Athlon) Mike Brewster *Rimington Trophy watch list *1st team all-Big Ten (CFN) *3rd team all-Big Ten (Athlon, Phil Steele) Chimdi Chekwa *1st team all-Big Ten (Phil Steele) *2nd team all-Big Ten (Lindy’s, CFN) Kurt Coleman *Lott Trophy watch list *Thorpe Award watch list *Nagurski Award watch list *AFCA Good Works Team Award candidate *2nd team All-America (Lindy’s, Kickoff) *1st team all-Big Ten (Lindy’s, Phil Steele, Athlon, Sporting News, CFN) Thaddeus Gibson *2nd team all-Big Ten (Athlon, Phil Steele, CFN) Dan Herron *Doak Walker Award watch list Cameron Heyward *2nd team all-Big Ten (Lindy’s) Ross Homan *2nd team all-Big Ten (Phil Steele) *3rd team all-Big Ten (Athlon) Aaron Pettrey *Lou Groza Award watch list *3rd team all-Big Ten (Phil Steele) DeVier Posey *2nd team all-Big Ten (CFN) *3rd team all-Big Ten (Phil Steele) Terrelle Pryor *Big Ten preseason offensive player of year *Davey O’Brien Award watch list *Manning Award watch list *1st team all-Big Ten (Lindy’s, CFN) *2nd team all-Big Ten (Phil Steele) *3rd team all-Big Ten (Athlon) Anderson Russell *2nd team all-Big Ten (Phil Steele, Athlon) Brandon Saine *3rd team all-Big Ten (Phil Steele) Lamaar Thomas *4th team all-Big Ten (Phil Steele) Doug Worthington *3rd team all-Big Ten (Athlon)

USC's weekly football release.

Ohio State's weekly football release.

Fight On!  Beat the Buckeyes!

College Football 2009: 10 Games I'm Looking Forward To In Week 2

It's a stretch to get to ten, but here are the ten games I'm most intrigued by this weekend in college football:

1. USC @ Ohio State: Initially, this looks like the biggest game of the year for the Trojans. Taking a true freshman QB into the Horseshoe is a bold move by Pete Carroll, but USC has a very fast defense and the strongest offensive live in college football. I'm hoping that translates into a lot of yards on the ground and very few Buckeye points. I might even be able to sneak off and see this one in person. I feel overconfident because USC rolled last week and tOSU just snuck past Navy.
   .
2. Notre Dame @ Michigan: Winner to be declared overrated. Loser to be declared ruined again. Which coach needs the win more, Rich Rodriguez or Charlie Weis? I think Weis needs it more, and I wouldn't mind seeing the Irish take Michigan down. It makes the Trojans' trip to South Bend more relevant, and it'll keep the Buckeye fans from being too grumpy when the Trojans take the field later that evening. As for the game itself, I look forward to seeing ND's defense against the Michigan spread, and I eagerly await the test of ND's offensive line by a team better than Nevada.
   .
3. Clemson @ #15 Georgia Tech: I tend to think that Georgia Tech and their 5 fumbles against Jacksonville State stand a bit overrated at their lofty #15 spot, and this may or may not reveal whether or not that is true. I'm not a Clemson fan, but I'll root for the Tigers in this one.
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4. #9 BYU @ Tulane: This game has letdown and trap written all over it. Tulane stinks, but they are in Louisiana, the second remote road destination in a week for the Cougars, who are still high as kites after beating the Bradfordless Sooners. BYU should destroy this inferior team, and unlike most college teams, the BYU roster is full of more grown men than emerging adolescents who let emotions bring them up and down like yoyos during the season. I think BYU evades the trap.
   .
5. UCLA @ Tennessee: Lane Kiffin and Coach O go against the Bruins and the Traitor Norm Chow. Who should I root for here? I'm going to pull for the Bruins, only to show some Pac-10 strength, but I think Tennessee is the stronger team, and they'll be tough for the Gutty Little Bruins to beat on the road. Plus, UCLA ruined what the Vols thought was going to be a good season last year. They want revenge.
   .
6. Purdue @ Oregon: If the Ducks lose this one, it will signal that they are not going to have a good season in 2009, leaving Cal as the Trojans' only expected road challenge in conference play. If they destroy the Boilermakers, one might have to wonder whether Boise State is just that good. Oregon has to improve over their opening night performance, right?
   .
7. #17 Utah @ San Jose State: USC's 56-3 win over the Spartans probably signals that San Jose State stinks, but if they put up a strong showing against Utah, maybe not.
   .
8. Vanderbilt @ LSU: Knowing the Pac-10 as I do, I thought LSU's performance against Washington was dreadful. Washington is still the least talented team in the Pac-10. If the Tigers lost at home to Vandy, I would LOL.
   .
9. South Carolina @ #21 Georgia: Joe Cox versus the Gamecocks. If you watched the game, you weren't impressed last week with Georgia, but they remain in the polls. They'll swap spots if South Carolina wins with, say, a 14-10 snoozer, which wouldn't surprise me.
   .
10. TCU @ Virginia: The Wahoos lost at home last week to William & Mary. Can they bounce back and knock potential BCS-buster TCU off their #16 perch? I doubt. It would be interesting if they hung with the Horned Frogs for 3 quarters, though.

I'll also check the scores of: Hawaii @ Washington State, Texas @ Wyoming, Troy @ Florida, Florida Int'l @ Alabama, and Ole Miss v. The Flu.

My College Football Picks, 2009 Week 2

My picks last week were terrible. I'm 6-9 on the season, but 1-4 in games I liked enough to actually wager on. This week's games begin tonight with Georgia Tech hosting Clemson. Here are the spreads on the games involving ranked teams. My picks are in bold, with the seven games I plan to put real money on marked by an asterisk.

Thursday, Sept. 3
Clemson @ #15 Georgia Tech -5½

 

Saturday, Sept. 5
* #19 North Carolina @ Connecticut +4½
Syracuse @ #7 Penn State -28½
* Troy @ #1 Florida -36½
Marshall @ #14 Virginia Tech -19½
* Arkansas State @ #22 Nebraska -23½
#18 Notre Dame @ Michigan +3½
Houston @ #5 Oklahoma State -15
* #16 TCU @ Virginia +11
#9 Brigham Young @ Tulane +17½
#2 Texas @ Wyoming +33½
Eastern Washington @ #10 California
* South Carolina @ #21 Georgia -7
Vanderbilt @ #11 LSU -14½
Bowling Green @ #25 Missouri -20
Idaho State @ #13 Oklahoma
Florida International @ #4 Alabama -34
Southeast Missouri State @ #23 Cincinnati
#24 Kansas @ UTEP +12
Miami (OH) @ #12 Boise State -37
* #3 USC @ #8 Ohio State +7
* #17 Utah @ San Jose State +14

In unranked Pac-10 play, we have:

Stanford @ Wake Forest -3
Idaho @ Washington -20½
UCLA @ Tennessee -10
Hawaii @ Washington State +2
Purdue @ Oregon -10
Northern Arizona @ Arizona
#24 (Coaches) Oregon State @ UNLV +7

 

Only #6 Ole Miss (which is burdened by the flu this week) and #20 Miami (which played on Monday) have byes. Cal, Oklahoma and Cincinnati have virtual byes, playing FCS teams.

http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/football/odds

Tuesday Travel Photo (No. 247)

This is Mendenhall Glacier, as seen from beneath the visitor's center. When they first built the visitor's center, about a half century ago, the glacier was right up next to it. It has retreated a few hundred yards since then and there is now this pleasant little lake between the center and the terminus of the glacier.

Those little waves are smaller than they appear. They're about an inch high. The rocks are about as big, too.

My College Football Top 25, Week 2

If I had an AP vote, here is what my ballot after week one would look like:

1. Texas (1)
2. Florida (2)
3. USC (3)
4. Alabama (10)
5. Oklahoma State (7)
6. Cal (11)
7. Mississippi (8)
8. Penn State (9)
9. Ohio State (5)
10. Boise State (14)
11. LSU (12)
12. BYU (20)
13. Oklahoma (4)
14. Utah (17)
15. Virginia Tech (6)
16. TCU (15)
17. Georgia Tech (19)
18. Oregon State (21)
19. North Carolina(22)
20. Kansas (23)
21. Nebraska (24)
22. Georgia (16)
23. Notre Dame (NR)
24. Michigan State (NR)
25. Cincinnati (NR)

I dropped: Oregon (13), Iowa (18), Florida State (25)

I almost went with: Miami, Missouri, Pitt

My 2009 Bottom 10 After Week 1

Who are the worst of the 120 teams in the FBS? It's always hard to tell before teams start dropping home games to FCS opponents, but now we have a little bit of a better idea. Here are the ten I think round out the bottom:

1. Duke (NR) - lost to Richmond. Again.
2. Virginia (NR) - lost to William & Mary after 7 turnovers
3. Temple (NR) - lost to Villanova
4. Western Kentucky (1) - some FCS teams put up better fights against better SEC teams
5. New Mexico State (3) - lost to Idaho
6. San Diego State (7) - got whipped by UCLA
7. Tulane (10) - lost to Tulsa
8. Utah State (8) - beat the spread against the Utes, so there's that at least
9. Louisiana-Monroe (4) - scored 20 against Texas 
10. Western Michigan (NR) - lost big to lowly Michigan

Not far behind ahead: Iowa (needed a miraculous play to beat Northern Iowa, at home), Washington State (0-1), SMU (1-0), Troy (0-1), Ball State (0-1), Louisiana Tech (0-1), UTEP (0-1), Ohio (0-1), Toledo (0-1), Syracuse (0-1), Eastern Michigan (0-1), Idaho (1-0), Arkansas State (1-0), Hawaii (1-0), LSU's defense (1-0, but got marched on by Washington).

Dropped out: North Texas (beat Ball State, 20-10), Arkansas State (beat hapless Mississippi Valley St. 61-0), Idaho (beat New Mexico State 21-6), Alabama Birmingham (beat Rice 44-24), Army (beat E. Michigan 27-14)

The Remaining Unbeatens, Week 1

We started the first week's play with 120 undefeated teams in the NCAA's FBS. Because of a few byes and a bunch of games against FCS teams, we're still only down to 77. The Big Ten and SEC only had one team lose. Only the ACC, the WAC and the MAC posted overall losing records on Saturday. Here is the breakdown of unbeaten teams by conference:

• ACC: 5
• Big East: 6
• Big Ten: 10
• Big 12: 10
• Conference USA: 8
• Mid-American: 3
• Mountain West: 7
• Pac-10: 7
• SEC: 11
• Sun Belt: 4
• WAC: 4
• Independents: 2

Notably gone already: Oklahoma, Virginia Tech, Georgia, Florida State.

My College Football Results, 2009 Week 1

My picks this week were terrible. I lost 4/5 of my money bets. Damn. LSU, Oregon, Ohio State and Texas all let me down. I was 6-9 overall.

L *Utah St. @ #19 Utah -20
L *#16 Oregon @ #14 Boise St. -4

L Akron @ #9 Penn St. -28
L *Navy @ #6 Ohio St. -21½
W San Jose St. @ #4 USC -33½
W Nevada @ #23 Notre Dame -13½
L #13 Georgia @ #9 Oklahoma St. -5½
W *LA Monroe @ #2 Texas -41½
W #20 BYU @ #3 Oklahoma -21½
W Florida Atlantic @ #24 Nebraska -22
L #5 Alabama @ #7 Virginia Tech +6½
W Maryland @ #12 California -21

L *#11 LSU @ Washington +17½ (ha!)
L #8 Mississippi @ Memphis +17

L Miami (FL) @ #18 Florida St. -6

 

This year is off to an even worse start than last year. Maybe I can make it up next Saturday.

 

USC San Jose State Game Notes 9-5-09

As you watch USC host San Jose State this afternoon, you might see some of these interesting bits and points:

• This is both teams' opener
• USC was 12-1 last year, 1st place in the Pac-10.
• San Jose State was 6-6 last year, 5th place in the WAC.
• USC is ranked #4 in the AP and Coaches' poll. San Jose State is unranked.
• USC is favored by 34 points, down from an opening line of 37 points.
• Kickoff: 12:41 p.m. PST at the Los Angeles Coliseum
• The Coliseum trim is now painted cardinal & gold, not Olympic pastel.
• Broadcast: nationally on FSN. 
• Weather forecast: mostly sunny, high of 84F°. Winds light.
• There will be some smoke over the Coliseum from L.A.'s "Station Fire"
• About 8,000 of the 93,607 seats are unsold.
• USC leads the overall series 3-0 (1995, 2000, 2001, all at USC)
• San Jose State's last appearance in the Coliseum was in 2001.
• That was Pete Carroll's first game at USC. The Trojans won 21-10.
• USC has a 403-123-27 (.753) all-time record in the Coliseum.
• USC has a 159-38-8 (.795) all-time record in the month of September.
• USC’s record in all season openers is 85-23-8 (.767), with 36 shutouts.
• In season openers at home, the Trojans are 58-16-7 (.759).
• USC is 28-1 against current Western Athletic Conference teams.
• The only WAC team to defeat USC was Fresno State in the 1992 Freedom Bowl
• San Jose State is 44-134-2 against current Pac-10 teams.
• San Jose State’s last win over a Pac-10 team: 2006 (35-34 over Stanford)
• San Jose State’s last road win over a Pac-10 team: 2000 (40-27 over Stanford)
• USC has had 7 consecutive AP Top 4 finishes, BCS bowl trips, Pac-10 titles and 11-win seasons.
• USC has won its last 11 season openers.
• USC has won its last 13 straight non-conference home games, 12 overall non-conference games.
• USC has won its last 10 overall games and its last 9 at home.
• San Jose State is 2-2 in season-opening games under Dick Tomey
• San Jose State's last win on the road in a season opener: 1998 @ Stanford.
• The Spartans also won an opener against Arkansas State in 2002 on a neutral field in Little Rock.
• This is the 92nd consecutive game USC has been ranked in the AP Top 25.
• San Jose State has won 8 games against ranked opponents all-time.
• None were against Top 5 teams.
• The highest ranked team the Spartans have defeated: #9 TCU in 2000
• This is USC's only home non-conference game.
• The other two non-conference games for USC are at Ohio State and at Notre Dame.
• San Jose State's non-conference schedule includes Utah, @ Stanford, and Cal Poly.
• San Jose State is the only team facing two 2009 Bowl Championship Series bowl winners in back-to-back games this season.
• Their game against Sugar Bowl Champion Utah is next Saturday.
• San Jose State returns 15 starters.
• USC returns 12 starters (9 on offense, 3 on defense)
• USC had 8 defensive starters drafted in the 2009 NFL Draft, but it returns 8 defensive players with starting experience.
• 28 Trojans have started at least once in their career.
• In 2008, USC was 8-0 at home, and outscored its opponents 218-19.
• San Jose State hasn't named a starting QB. Kyle Reed or Jordan La Secla will start.
• USC QB Matt Barkley is the Trojans' first true freshman to start a season opener.
• Last USC redshirt freshman QB to start a season opener: Todd Marinovich.
• The last true freshman to started a season opener for a Top-5 team: 1975 Rick Leach (No. 3 Michigan).
• The last true freshman start at QB for USC: Carson Palmer 1998 (3-2)
• Before him: Rob Johnson 1991 (0-1)
• In the last quarter-century, USC has started 4 redshirt freshmen QBs: Mike Van Raaphorst, Todd Marinovich, Rodney Peete and Kevin McLean.
• San Jose St. head coach Dick Tomey and USC head coach Pete Carroll are both among the ten winningest Pac-10 coaches.
• Dick Tomey is 4th among active FBS coaches in wins, after Joe Paterno, Bobby Bowden, and Mack Brown.
• Pete Carroll is the winningest active FBS coach in winning percentage, just ahead of Urban Meyer.
• San Jose State head coach Dick Tomey is 5-8 all-time as a head coach against USC, but won his last 2 (for Arizona in 1999 and 2000).
• Pete Carroll is 1-0 against the Spartans.
• USC OL Jeff Byers, QB Garrett Green and TE Steve Gatena have their bachelor’s degrees.
• USC has two players who graduated from high school to enroll a semester early: OG Martin Coleman and QB Matt Barkley.
• USC’s roster features 3 Gatorade National High School Football Players of the Year: OGC Jeff Byers (2003), QB Mitch Mustain (2005) and QB Matt Barkley (2007).
• USC QB Garrett Green is a licensed Caifornia real estate broker.
• USC reserve center Abe Markowitz is a member of one of Samoa’s royal family.
• His cousin is the King of Tonga.
• Recent visitors to USC's practices included Will Ferrell, Magic Johnson and Bill Withers.
• USC injury update - probable: OT Nick Howell (ankle), CB Brian Baucham (flu)
• USC injury update - questionable: C Kristofer O’Dowd (knee), DT Averell Spicer (ankle), safety T.J. McDonald (ankle), OG Martin Coleman (foot), FB Simione Vehikite (knee)
• USC injury update - out: WR Ronald Johnson (collarbone), DT Armond Armstead (foot), S Patrick Hall (knee), CB Shareece Wright (academics, knee)
• USC freshman LB Frankie Telfort (Miami, Fla.) has retired without playing a down at USC due to a heart condition.
• Spartans on 2009 Preseason Watch Lists: FWAA All-America list (DE Carl Ihenacho, LB Justin Cole); Butkus Award (Justin Cole); Lombardi Award (Carl Ihenacho, Justin Cole); Jim Thorpe Award (S Duke Ihenacho); Rimington Trophy (C Ronnie Castillo); Allstate AFCA Good Works Team (LB Travis Jones)
• Trojans on 2009 Watch List: OG-C Jeff Byers Lombardi Award (top lineman) Outland Trophy (top interior lineman) Wuerffel Trophy (top athlete, student, service) QB Aaron Corp O’Brien Award (top quarterback) LB Chris Galippo Butkus Award (top linebacker) S Taylor Mays Walter Camp Award (top player) Bednarik Award (top defensive player) Nagurski Award (top defensive player) Thorpe Award (top defensive back) Lott Trophy (top defensive impact player) TE Anthony McCoy Mackey Award (top tight end) C Kristofer O’Dowd Rimington Trophy (top center) Lombardi Award (top lineman) Outland Trophy (top interior lineman) LB Malcolm Smith Butkus Award (top linebacker) WR Damian Williams Maxwell Award (top player) Biletnikoff Award (top wide receiver) College Performance Award (top wide receiver)
• USC's team captains for 2009 are OL Jeff Byers, S Taylor Mays, S Josh Pinkard and WR Damian Williams
• Police, fire and military personnel will be in attendance as part of Joint Forces Day.
• The life of late 16-year-old Trojan fan Ryan Davidson will be honored during a pre-game ceremony.
• Former USC head coach John Robinson will be saluted for his induction into the College Football Hall of Fame.

USC's weekly football release.

San Jose State's weekly football release.

Fight On!  Beat the Spartans!

He Puts The MBFU in DUCKS

The Sports Illustrated Jinx strikes again. As predicted on the western regional cover of SI's college football preview issue, the Oregon Ducks did, indeed, shake up the BCS, but only by elevating Boise State to a position of great opportunity. Chip Kelly is off to a crappy start as Oregon's head coach, and thanks to Oregon starting tailback LeGarrette Blount, that crappy start extends to off the field, too.

 

Blount, who ran for more than 1,000 yards last season, but apparently was still smarting over a home loss to Boise State, went on record before last night's rematch between the Broncos and the Ducks with bulletin board material that including the boast that "we owe that team an ass-whuppin'."

They didn't give Boise State what they owed them, playing a sloppy and offensively weak game en route to a 19-8 road loss. Blount finished the game with 8 carries for -5 yards. So after the game, he got a lipful of trash talk from Boist State's Byron Hout - probably something along the lines of "thanks for the ass whuppin'". Then, as Hout was turned away getting chewed out by a Boise State coach, Blount blindsided him with a punch to the chin. As they were yanking Blount from the field, some Boise fans in the stands yelled at him, and he tried to go after them, too. In the tunnel, he flailed at everyone around him, including teammates and some cops. It was a scene uglier than the Ducks' jerseys.

Afterward, Blount was sort of apologetic, but it didn't appear that he grasped the seriousness of his outburst. He found out today. He is done for the season. Oregon has suspended him for the rest of the year, including any bowl game. Oregon President Richard Lariviere:

"There is no place on the field of play for that kind of action, and his conduct was reprehensible. We do not and will not tolerate the actions that were taken by our player. Oregon's loyal fans expect and deserve better."

Instead of a possible NFL contract, Blount is undraftworthy junk. Way to go, badass. I hope you enjoyed it, because if it wasn't the greatest moment of your life, you didn't get your money's worth.

Hout should be suspended, too, albeit not for the entire season. The adage goes "You say nothing when you lose, and even less when you win." Hout broke that rule but good. Still, you can't punch another player, even if he's a jerk. If you do, you sure as hell can't go after another team's fans, the cops and your teammates. Blount is done. Oregon? Maybe done, too.

The College Football Championship Belt, 2009

A while back, I pondered what it would be like if college football crowned its champions the way boxing does. In January 2006, I joking announced that I had awarded Lex Icon National Championship Belt to the Texas Longhorns, who earned the right to be called champions by virtue of their victory over the previous undisputed national champions, the USC Trojans. In the style of various world boxing organizations, I said I would recognize as national champion only a team that defeats the existing national champion. In accordance with that method:

• On September 9, 2006, Ohio State gained the belt by defeating the Texas Longhorns 24-7.
• On January 8, 2007, Florida won the belt and the BCS by defeating the Buckeyes 41-14.
• On September 29, 2007, the Auburn Tigers took the belt with a 20-17 win at Florida.
• On October 20, 2007, LSU obtained the belt from Auburn with a 30-24 victory.
• On November 23, 2007, Arkansas won the title with a 50-48 victory.
• On January 1, 2008, Missouri took the belt away with a 38-7 win in the Cotton Bowl.
• On October 11, 2008, Missouri lost the title to Oklahoma State 28-25.
• On October 25, 2008, #1 Texas won back the belt by defeating Oklahoma State 28-24.
• On November 1, 2008, Texas Tech won the belt by defeating #1 Texas 39-33.
• On November 22, 2008, Oklahoma took the belt by defeating #2 Texas Tech 65-21.
• On January 8, 2009, Florida took the belt, and the BCS title, by beating the Sooners 24-14.

This season begins with a team from the FCS getting a crack at Florida's title. It's Charleston Southern v. Florida. If we get an Appalachian State type of upset (which we won't), it could tweak the belt lineage for years.

Curiously enough, there is now (and has been since July 2006), a website that also keeps track of this belt: http://www.collegefootballbelt.com/ Even more curiously, they retroactively began with a much earlier starting point -- Nebraska in 1972 -- but they have the same team as the current champion. In their list, however, UCLA has been the champion eight times since 1972. In the current system, the Bruins have been close a couple of times, but never champions, over the same period. Perhaps I like the BCS better than the belt.

If I had to guess where the belt might go this year: LSU next, then Alabama. If I get my wish, the Trojans will get a crack at Alabama's belt in January, but I'm not counting on it.

College Football 2009: Ten Games I'm Looking Forward To In Week 1

Here are the ten games I'm most intrigued by this weekend in college football:

1. #5 Alabama @ #7 Virginia Tech: This is the only matchup between top ten teams. Both teams have detractors who say they are vastly overrated. This is the SEC's boldest road trip out of conference. Both teams have stellar defenses, and questionable offenses. Alabama gets WR Julio Jones and RB Mark Ingram back, to the surprise of many. I like the Hokies, even without the points.
2. #13 Georgia @ #9 Oklahoma State: This game might get the country talking about QB Zac Robinson. Oklahoma State is expected to be a scoring machine, but Georgia has a solid offense and a solid defense. I picked Georgia, but I'd love to see the Cowboys beat them.
3. #16 Oregon @ #14 Boise State: The Smurfs haven't lost a regular season home game in nine years, but every one of those opponents was unranked. This is a huge game for BCS implications. If Boise State wins this, they have a relatively easy path to a BCS bowl berth. Oregon, which lost at home to the Broncos last time, breaks in a new head coach. If they look strong in this one, that USC @ Oregon game could be very important for the BCS race.
4. San Jose State @ #4 USC: True freshman QB Matt Barkley debuts. First true freshman to do that ever for the Trojans. Trojan fans will draw comparisons to the debut of heralded true freshman Carson Palmer in 1998 against Purdue, if only because it could be 100° on the field. Palmer, for what it's worth, didn't start that game, but he led the second half push to victory. USC starts almost a whole new defense, but their talent doesn't drop off, and the offensive line is the best in the country.
5. BYU @ #3 Oklahoma: Though Oklahoma probably wins, this is a good candidate for a shocking upset. Sam Bradford's O-line is almost all-new. If that line plays well, it's over. If not, expect a couple of losses for the Sooners this year.
6. Miami @ #18 Florida State: This game isn't what it used to be - the best rivalry in football and always relevant to the national championship race. It's not even sold out yet. But it's still worth watching, especially since it's the only game of note on Labor Day.
7. Western Michigan @ Michigan: God help Rich Rodriguez if the Wolverines lose their third straight opener. After last year's disastrous season, you don't need to worry about Michigan looking ahead to Notre Dame. This is the game of the year for Michigan. Then Notre Dame is the game of the year. And so on.
8. Nevada @ #23 Notre Dame: Nevada 2009 is way better than San Diego State 2008, and Notre Dame made that a dangerously close game. Nevada QB Colin Kaepernick could give the Irish trouble, but the Irish should still win handily at home against a WAC opponent, right? If they don't, start the Charlie Weis pink slip watch.
9. Maryland @ #12 Cal: An important early test for the Golden Bears and the first chance for the nation to meet Cal's Jahvid Best - the best running back in the nation. Last year, in Maryland, Cal gave up five TDs and lost. This year, at home, the outcome should be very different. The most interesting stat to watch: the number of carries by Best. If he carries 25 times or more, expect big yards, every week, all year.
10. Richmond @ Duke: Richmond shut the Blue Devils out last time 13-0. Last season, they won the FCS national championship. Why not expect them to beat Duke again this year? Only Villanova (@ Temple) is a more likely FCS upset this weekend.

I'll also check the scores of: Navy @ Ohio State, San Diego State @ UCLA, LSU @ Washington, Ole Miss @ Memphis, Charleston Southern @ Florida. 

My College Football Picks, 2009 Week 1

My picks last season were terrible. Let's hope I get off to a better start this year. Football season begins tonight with N.C. State hosting South Carolina. Here are the spreads on the games involving ranked teams. My picks are in bold, with the games I plan to put real money on marked by an asterisk.

Thursday, Sept. 3
*Utah St. @ #19 Utah -20
*#16 Oregon @ #14 Boise St. -4

 

Saturday, Sept. 5
Akron @ #9 Penn St. -28
*Navy @ #6 Ohio St. -21½
Northern Iowa @ #22 Iowa N/L
Jacksonville St. @ #15 Georgia Tech N/L
San Jose St. @ #4 USC -33½
Nevada @ #23 Notre Dame -13½
#13 Georgia @ #9 Oklahoma St. -5½
Citadel @ #21 North Carolina N/L
*LA Monroe @ #2 Texas -41½
#20 BYU @ #3 Oklahoma -21½
Florida Atlantic @ #24 Nebraska -22
Northern Colorado @ #25 Kansas N/L
Charleston S. @ #1 Florida N/L
#5 Alabama @ #7 Virginia Tech +6½
Maryland @ #12 California -21
*#11 LSU @ Washington +17½

 

Sunday, Sept. 6
#8 Mississippi @ Memphis +17

 

Monday, Sept. 7
Miami (FL) @ #18 Florida St. -6

 

Only #17 TCU has a bye. Iowa, Georgia Tech, North Carolina, Kansas and Florida have virtual byes. They play FCS teams. Oregon State, which is ranked in the Coaches Poll only, also has a virtual bye - the Beavers host Portland State.

http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/football/odds

The SEC and the Pac-10 Schedules, 2009

Major division college football gets underway tonight with #19 Utah hosting Utah State and #14 Boise State hosting #16 Oregon. I can't believe it's finally here.

Once again, the USC football boards are full of as many SEC and Ohio State trolls as USC fans, and it is pretty clear that there will again be a big SEC schedule vs. Pac 10 schedule element to the USC-hating this season, so for the third season in a row, let's take a look at the actual schedules. As I've mentioned in prior posts, the typical SEC format is 4-4-4: four games against other strong SEC opponents, four games against the dregs of the SEC, and four freebies against out-of-conference weak sisters. Some of the teams (Florida, Tennessee, Auburn) play all of those out-of-conference games at home. This season deviates from that formula very little.

Check out these out-of-conference schedules for the SEC East:

Florida: Charleston Southern, Troy, Florida International, #18 Florida State
Georgia: @ #9 Oklahoma State, Arizona State, Tennessee Tech, @ #15 Georgia Tech
Kentucky: @ Miami (Ohio), Louisville, Louisiana-Monroe, Eastern Kentucky
South Carolina: @ NC State, Florida Atlantic, South Carolina State, Clemson
Tennessee - Western Kentucky, UCLA, Ohio, Memphis
Vanderbilt - Western Carolina, @ Rice, @ Army, #15 Georgia Tech

And the SEC West:

Alabama: @ #7 Virginia Tech, Florida Int'l, North Texas, Chattanooga
Arkansas: Missouri State, @ Texas A&M, Eastern Michigan, Troy
Auburn: Louisiana Tech, West Virginia, Ball State, Furman
LSU: @ Washington, Louisiana-Lafayette, Tulane, Louisiana Tech
Mississippi State: Jackson State, #15 Georgia Tech, Houston, @ Middle Tennessee,
Ole Miss: @ Memphis, SE Louisiana, UAB, Northern Arizona

A total of 48 games: 38 at home, 10 on the road; 11 against lower division foes; 42 against unranked opponents and just 6 against ranked teams: Florida State, Oklahoma State, Georgia Tech (X3) and Virginia Tech. The average schedule seems to have: one road game, one home game against a lower division team, two home games against lousy BCS conference schools or lousy-to-mediocre non-BCS conference schools. This is actually weaker than last year's weak non-conference schedule. Kudos go only to Georgia, which goes to Oklahoma State and plays two other BCS conference teams (ASU and GT) to go along with its one cupcake (Tenn. Tech). Turds to Ole Miss, which plays four cupcakes, including two FCS teams in Southeastern Louisiana and Northern Arizona. And they dodge all of the other ranked SEC teams except Alabama and LSU, and they play both of those at home.

The SEC does have more ranked teams, and therefore, more quality opponents in conference. There are five ranked conference opponents (#1 Florida, #5 Alabama, #8 Ole Miss, #11 LSU, #13 Georgia), and each [ranked] team will have to play 2 (e.g., Alabama, Ole Miss), 3 or 4 of those. Among the 7 unranked SEC teams, Vandy, Mississippi State, and Arkansas were unlucky enough to draw all five ranked SEC opponents. Arkansas gets four of those on the road.

Here is the Pac-10 non-conference slate:

Arizona: Central Michigan, Northern Arizona, @ #22 Iowa
Arizona State: Idaho State, Louisiana-Monroe, @ #13 Georgia
California: Maryland, Eastern Washington, @ Minnesota
Oregon: @ #14 Boise State, Purdue, #19 Utah
Oregon State: Portland State, @ UNLV, Cincinnati
Stanford: @ Wake Forest, San Jose State, #23 Notre Dame
UCLA: San Diego State, @ Tennessee, Kansas State
USC: San Jose State, @ #6 Ohio State, @ #23 Notre Dame
Washington: #11 LSU, Idaho, @ #23 Notre Dame
Washington State: Hawaii, Southern Methodist, @ #23 Notre Dame

A total of 30 games: 19 at home, 11 on the road. Just four against lower division teams and 10 against ranked teams. That means the Pac-10's ration of ranked teams to FCS teams is 5:2 (2.500). The SEC's is 6:11 (0.545). There are three ranked teams (USC, Cal and Oregon), and everyone plays everyone.

The average Pac-10 team plays 2.7 conference games against ranked opponents, and 1.0 non-conference games against ranked opponents, for a total of 3.7. The average SEC team plays 3.3 conference games against ranked opponents and 0.5 non-conference games against ranked opponents, for a total of 3.8. That's not much of a difference.

Here are a few specific contenders and their prospective roads to the BCS:

Florida:
Sat, Sep 5 Charleston Southern
Sat, Sep 12 Troy
Sat, Sep 19 Tennessee
Sat, Sep 26 at Kentucky
Sat, Oct 10 at (11) LSU
Sat, Oct 17 Arkansas 
Sat, Oct 24 at Mississippi State 
Sat, Oct 31 (13) Georgia 
Sat, Nov 7 Vanderbilt 
Sat, Nov 14 at South Carolina 
Sat, Nov 21 Florida International 
Sat, Nov 28 (18) Florida State 

That's respectable, but by no means a gauntlet. Only one tough road challenge.

Ole Miss:
Sun, Sep 6 at Memphis 
Sat, Sep 19 Southeastern Louisiana 
Thu, Sep 24 at South Carolina 
Sat, Oct 3 at Vanderbilt 
Sat, Oct 10 (5) Alabama
Sat, Oct 17 UAB
Sat, Oct 24 Arkansas 
Sat, Oct 31 at Auburn
Sat, Nov 7 Northern Arizona 
Sat, Nov 14 Tennessee 
Sat, Nov 21 (11) LSU
Sat, Nov 28 at Mississippi State 

Overall, that is a schedule that would be the 11th toughest in the Pac-10. 

Alabama:
Sat, Sep 5 at (7) Virginia Tech 
Sat, Sep 12 Florida International 
Sat, Sep 19 North Texas 
Sat, Sep 26 Arkansas 
Sat, Oct 3 at Kentucky 
Sat, Oct 10 at (8) Mississippi 
Sat, Oct 17 South Carolina 
Sat, Oct 24 Tennessee 
Sat, Nov 7 (11) LSU 
Sat, Nov 14 at Mississippi State 
Sat, Nov 21 Chattanooga 
Fri, Nov 27 at Auburn 

That is a respectable schedule, particularly with the travel to Virginia Tech, but I harbor suspicions that all three of their ranked opponents may be overrated in the preseason polls.

LSU:
Sat, Sep 5 at Washington 
Sat, Sep 12 Vanderbilt 
Sat, Sep 19 Louisiana-Lafayette 
Sat, Sep 26 at Mississippi State 
Sat, Oct 3 at (13) Georgia 
Sat, Oct 10 (1) Florida 
Sat, Oct 24 Auburn 
Sat, Oct 31 Tulane
Sat, Nov 7 at (5) Alabama 
Sat, Nov 14 Louisiana Tech
Sat, Nov 21 at (8) Mississippi
Sat, Nov 28 Arkansas 

This is the exception that SEC fans will offer as the rule. A sissy non-conference schedule featuring, as its best game, a road trip to the Pac-10's worst team. But they have four tough conference foes, and three of those games are on the road.

USC:
Sat, Sep 5 San Jose State
Sat, Sep 12 at (6) Ohio State
Sat, Sep 19 at Washington
Sat, Sep 26 Washington State
Sat, Oct 3 at (12) California
Sat, Oct 17 at (23) Notre Dame
Sat, Oct 24 Oregon State
Sat, Oct 31 at (16) Oregon
Sat, Nov 7 at Arizona State
Sat, Nov 14 Stanford
Sat, Nov 28 UCLA
Sat, Dec 5 Arizona

Few teams have a tougher non-conference schedule than San Jose State plus Ohio State and Notre Dame on the road. And the fact that the Trojans play their toughest Pac-10 opponents on the road (that's 4 road games against ranked opponents) and USC has a tougher schedule than any SEC contender. That's true, Gator fans, even if you include the expected Florida / Ole Miss SEC championship game.

Since the start of the Pete Carroll era, the Trojans have played Kansas State (when they were still good), Auburn (when SI called them the preseason #1), Arkansas (which went on to win the SEC West), Notre Dame (twice in years where they were to a BCS bowl), Nebraska (which won the Big XII North), Virginia Tech, and Ohio State. Since 2002, they have lost only nine games: one to Kansas State, one to Texas in the Rose Bowl, and seven in the Pac 10.

Cal:
Sat, Sep 5 Maryland
Sat, Sep 12 Eastern Washington
Sat, Sep 19 at Minnesota
Sat, Sep 26 at (16) Oregon
Sat, Oct 3 (4) USC
Sat, Oct 17 at UCLA
Sat, Oct 24 Washington State
Sat, Oct 31 at Arizona State
Sat, Nov 7 Oregon State
Sat, Nov 14 Arizona
Sat, Nov 21 at Stanford
Sat, Dec 5 at Washington

Not quite as tough as Florida's, but much more challenging than Ole Miss. And finally,

Oregon:
Thu, Sep 3 at (14) Boise State
Sat, Sep 12 Purdue
Sat, Sep 19 (19) Utah
Sat, Sep 26 (12) California
Sat, Oct 3 Washington State
Sat, Oct 10 at UCLA 
Sat, Oct 24 at Washington
Sat, Oct 31 (4) USC
Sat, Nov 7 at Stanford
Sat, Nov 14 Arizona State
Sat, Nov 21 at Arizona
Thu, Dec 3 Oregon State

Tougher than any top SEC team except LSU, and perhaps tougher, if you think Ole Miss is as overrated as I do, and you can't answer the question: "Why is Utah suddenly so far below Alabama in the polls?" Alabama, which got pounded by the Utes in the Sugar Bowl, lost more talent than Utah did. So shouldn't Utah start the season above the Crimson Tide. If the answer is yes, then this is every bit the gauntlet that LSU faces.

Let the trash talk begin.

Major division college football gets underway tonight with #19 Utah hosting Utah State and #14 Boise State hosting #16 Oregon. I can't believe it's finally here.

Once again, the USC football boards are full of as many SEC and Ohio State trolls as USC fans, and it is pretty clear that there will again be a big SEC schedule vs. Pac 10 schedule element to the USC-hating this season, so for the third season in a row, let's take a look at the actual schedules. As I've mentioned in prior posts, the typical SEC format is 4-4-4: four games against other strong SEC opponents, four games against the dregs of the SEC, and four freebies against out-of-conference weak sisters. Some of the teams (Florida, Tennessee, Auburn) play all of those out-of-conference games at home. This season deviates from that formula very little.

Check out these out-of-conference schedules for the SEC East:

Florida: Charleston Southern, Troy, Florida International, #18 Florida State
Georgia: @ #9 Oklahoma State, Arizona State, Tennessee Tech, @ #15 Georgia Tech
Kentucky: @ Miami (Ohio), Louisville, Louisiana-Monroe, Eastern Kentucky
South Carolina: @ NC State, Florida Atlantic, South Carolina State, Clemson
Tennessee - Western Kentucky, UCLA, Ohio, Memphis
Vanderbilt - Western Carolina, @ Rice, @ Army, #15 Georgia Tech

And the SEC West:

Alabama: @ #7 Virginia Tech, Florida Int'l, North Texas, Chattanooga
Arkansas: Missouri State, @ Texas A&M, Eastern Michigan, Troy
Auburn: Louisiana Tech, West Virginia, Ball State, Furman
LSU: @ Washington, Louisiana-Lafayette, Tulane, Louisiana Tech
Mississippi State: Jackson State, #15 Georgia Tech, Houston, @ Middle Tennessee,
Ole Miss: @ Memphis, SE Louisiana, UAB, Northern Arizona

A total of 48 games: 38 at home, 10 on the road; 11 against lower division foes; 42 against unranked opponents and just 6 against ranked teams: Florida State, Oklahoma State, Georgia Tech (X3) and Virginia Tech. The average schedule seems to have: one road game, one home game against a lower division team, two home games against lousy BCS conference schools or lousy-to-mediocre non-BCS conference schools. This is actually weaker than last year's weak non-conference schedule. Kudos go only to Georgia, which goes to Oklahoma State and plays two other BCS conference teams (ASU and GT) to go along with its one cupcake (Tenn. Tech). Turds to Ole Miss, which plays four cupcakes, including two FCS teams in Southeastern Louisiana and Northern Arizona. And they dodge all of the other ranked SEC teams except Alabama and LSU, and they play both of those at home.

The SEC does have more ranked teams, and therefore, more quality opponents in conference. There are five ranked conference opponents (#1 Florida, #5 Alabama, #8 Ole Miss, #11 LSU, #13 Georgia), and each [ranked] team will have to play 2 (e.g., Alabama, Ole Miss), 3 or 4 of those. Among the 7 unranked SEC teams, Vandy, Mississippi State, and Arkansas were unlucky enough to draw all five ranked SEC opponents. Arkansas gets four of those on the road.

Here is the Pac-10 non-conference slate:

Arizona: Central Michigan, Northern Arizona, @ #22 Iowa
Arizona State: Idaho State, Louisiana-Monroe, @ #13 Georgia
California: Maryland, Eastern Washington, @ Minnesota
Oregon: @ #14 Boise State, Purdue, #19 Utah
Oregon State: Portland State, @ UNLV, Cincinnati
Stanford: @ Wake Forest, San Jose State, #23 Notre Dame
UCLA: San Diego State, @ Tennessee, Kansas State
USC: San Jose State, @ #6 Ohio State, @ #23 Notre Dame
Washington: #11 LSU, Idaho, @ #23 Notre Dame
Washington State: Hawaii, Southern Methodist, @ #23 Notre Dame

A total of 30 games: 19 at home, 11 on the road. Just four against lower division teams and 10 against ranked teams. That means the Pac-10's ration of ranked teams to FCS teams is 5:2 (2.500). The SEC's is 6:11 (0.545). There are three ranked teams (USC, Cal and Oregon), and everyone plays everyone.

The average Pac-10 team plays 2.7 conference games against ranked opponents, and 1.0 non-conference games against ranked opponents, for a total of 3.7. The average SEC team plays 3.3 conference games against ranked opponents and 0.5 non-conference games against ranked opponents, for a total of 3.8. That's not much of a difference.

Here are a few specific contenders and their prospective roads to the BCS:

Florida:
Sat, Sep 5 Charleston Southern
Sat, Sep 12 Troy
Sat, Sep 19 Tennessee
Sat, Sep 26 at Kentucky
Sat, Oct 10 at (11) LSU
Sat, Oct 17 Arkansas 
Sat, Oct 24 at Mississippi State 
Sat, Oct 31 (13) Georgia 
Sat, Nov 7 Vanderbilt 
Sat, Nov 14 at South Carolina 
Sat, Nov 21 Florida International 
Sat, Nov 28 (18) Florida State 

That's respectable, but by no means a gauntlet. Only one tough road challenge.

Ole Miss:
Sun, Sep 6 at Memphis 
Sat, Sep 19 Southeastern Louisiana 
Thu, Sep 24 at South Carolina 
Sat, Oct 3 at Vanderbilt 
Sat, Oct 10 (5) Alabama
Sat, Oct 17 UAB
Sat, Oct 24 Arkansas 
Sat, Oct 31 at Auburn
Sat, Nov 7 Northern Arizona 
Sat, Nov 14 Tennessee 
Sat, Nov 21 (11) LSU
Sat, Nov 28 at Mississippi State 

Overall, that is a schedule that would be the 11th toughest in the Pac-10. 

Alabama:
Sat, Sep 5 at (7) Virginia Tech 
Sat, Sep 12 Florida International 
Sat, Sep 19 North Texas 
Sat, Sep 26 Arkansas 
Sat, Oct 3 at Kentucky 
Sat, Oct 10 at (8) Mississippi 
Sat, Oct 17 South Carolina 
Sat, Oct 24 Tennessee 
Sat, Nov 7 (11) LSU 
Sat, Nov 14 at Mississippi State 
Sat, Nov 21 Chattanooga 
Fri, Nov 27 at Auburn 

That is a respectable schedule, particularly with the travel to Virginia Tech, but I harbor suspicions that all three of their ranked opponents may be overrated in the preseason polls.

LSU:
Sat, Sep 5 at Washington 
Sat, Sep 12 Vanderbilt 
Sat, Sep 19 Louisiana-Lafayette 
Sat, Sep 26 at Mississippi State 
Sat, Oct 3 at (13) Georgia 
Sat, Oct 10 (1) Florida 
Sat, Oct 24 Auburn 
Sat, Oct 31 Tulane
Sat, Nov 7 at (5) Alabama 
Sat, Nov 14 Louisiana Tech
Sat, Nov 21 at (8) Mississippi
Sat, Nov 28 Arkansas 

This is the exception that SEC fans will offer as the rule. A sissy non-conference schedule featuring, as its best game, a road trip to the Pac-10's worst team. But they have four tough conference foes, and three of those games are on the road.

USC:
Sat, Sep 5 San Jose State
Sat, Sep 12 at (6) Ohio State
Sat, Sep 19 at Washington
Sat, Sep 26 Washington State
Sat, Oct 3 at (12) California
Sat, Oct 17 at (23) Notre Dame
Sat, Oct 24 Oregon State
Sat, Oct 31 at (16) Oregon
Sat, Nov 7 at Arizona State
Sat, Nov 14 Stanford
Sat, Nov 28 UCLA
Sat, Dec 5 Arizona

Few teams have a tougher non-conference schedule than San Jose State plus Ohio State and Notre Dame on the road. And the fact that the Trojans play their toughest Pac-10 opponents on the road (that's 4 road games against ranked opponents) and USC has a tougher schedule than any SEC contender. That's true, Gator fans, even if you include the expected Florida / Ole Miss SEC championship game.

Since the start of the Pete Carroll era, the Trojans have played Kansas State (when they were still good), Auburn (when SI called them the preseason #1), Arkansas (which went on to win the SEC West), Notre Dame (twice in years where they were to a BCS bowl), Nebraska (which won the Big XII North), Virginia Tech, and Ohio State. Since 2002, they have lost only nine games: one to Kansas State, one to Texas in the Rose Bowl, and seven in the Pac 10.

Cal:
Sat, Sep 5 Maryland
Sat, Sep 12 Eastern Washington
Sat, Sep 19 at Minnesota
Sat, Sep 26 at (16) Oregon
Sat, Oct 3 (4) USC
Sat, Oct 17 at UCLA
Sat, Oct 24 Washington State
Sat, Oct 31 at Arizona State
Sat, Nov 7 Oregon State
Sat, Nov 14 Arizona
Sat, Nov 21 at Stanford
Sat, Dec 5 at Washington

Not quite as tough as Florida's, but much more challenging than Ole Miss. And finally,

Oregon:
Thu, Sep 3 at (14) Boise State
Sat, Sep 12 Purdue
Sat, Sep 19 (19) Utah
Sat, Sep 26 (12) California
Sat, Oct 3 Washington State
Sat, Oct 10 at UCLA 
Sat, Oct 24 at Washington
Sat, Oct 31 (4) USC
Sat, Nov 7 at Stanford
Sat, Nov 14 Arizona State
Sat, Nov 21 at Arizona
Thu, Dec 3 Oregon State

Tougher than any top SEC team except LSU, and perhaps tougher, if you think Ole Miss is as overrated as I do, and you can't answer the question: "Why is Utah suddenly so far below Alabama in the polls?" Alabama, which got pounded by the Utes in the Sugar Bowl, lost more talent than Utah did. So shouldn't Utah start the season above the Crimson Tide. If the answer is yes, then this is every bit the gauntlet that LSU faces.

Let the trash talk begin.

My Bottom 10, Preseason 2009

We have 120 teams in the FBS this year. Arkansas State joins the most recent addition - Western Kentucky, at the top/bottom of my list of the bottom ten teams in college football:

1. Western Kentucky - still playing like it belongs in the FCS
2. Arkansas State - opens with big challenge against Mississippi Valley St.
3. New Mexico State - Now New Mexico's little sister
4. Louisiana-Monroe - the SEC's best alternative to scheduling FCS cupcakes
5. North Texas - not much personnel improvement over last year's 1-10 squad
6. Idaho - bareely better than Idaho State 
7. San Diego State - new coach, same mediocre team
8. Utah State - Utah's litte sister
9. Alabama Birmingham - the SEC's second best alternative to scheduling FCS cupcakes
10. (T) Tulane - the SEC's third best alternative to scheduling FCS cupcakes
    (T) Army - better on actual battlefields, not so much on the gridiron

Not far behind ahead: Louisiana-Lafayette, Louisiana Tech, Kent State, UTEP, Ohio, Toledo, SMU, Syracuse, Notre Dame, Michigan, Western Michigan, Southern Michigan, Eastern Michigan (just for being in Michigan), and Michigan State (same reason).

My College Football Top 25, Week 1

If I had an AP vote (like my old schoolmate and staff writer has), here is what my preseason ballot would look like:

1. Texas
2. Florida
3. USC
4. Oklahoma
5. Ohio State
6. Virginia Tech*
7. Oklahoma State
8. Mississippi*
9. Penn State
10. Alabama*
11. Cal
12. LSU
13. Oregon
14. Boise State
15. TCU
16. Georgia*
17. Utah
18. Iowa
19. Georgia Tech
20. BYU*
21. Oregon State
22. North Carolina*
23. Kansas*
24. Nebraska*
25. Florida State*

The highest rated teams not in my 25:

Notre Dame*, Illinois, Pittsburgh, Michigan State, Rutgers, Texas Tech, West Virginia, Cincinnati, Clemson, Miami (FL), East Carolina, Tennessee, Arizona, North Carolina State, Boston College, Central Michigan, Auburn, UCLA, Northwestern, South Florida, Southern Miss, Vanderbilt, Missouri, South Carolina, Nevada, Arkansas, Houston, Troy, Tulsa. The teams I think might be overrated have asterisks.

Tuesday Travel Photo (No. 246)

This is a bridge over Gold Creek, in Juneau, Alaska. We were there on a cruise ship tour. While there were several real prospectors with equipment trying to take gold right out of the creek (including the sourdough crouched over on the right), we were all given pans with coarse sand and pre-seeded flakes of gold inside for us to pan out. Everyone scored.

I'd have rather been given a shovel, a softer, a pan and a spot to do some real panning, and if I got nothing, that would have been just fine.