Forget the polls, what's your Top 10 look like now?

[Van]

Forget the W-L records and forget all the nonsense about teams not falling back in the rankings because they won, blah blah...

From what you've seen on the field so far, how's it look to you?

Kinda struggling with the order at the bottom but otherwise....

1-OSU
2-Michigan
3-Florida
4-USC
5-Texas
6-Tennessee
7-Cal
8-W. Virginia
9-ND
10-Georgia Tech

I really wanna include LSU, even despite their two losses. Their loss at Auburn was a coin toss loss decided by a few horrific calls by the refs and their other loss was in The Swamp to my #3 team in a game in which they simply shot themselves repeatedly in the foot.

I just can't bring myself to include Auburn. They should've lost at home to LSU, they easily could've lost to a blah S. Carolina team and they somehow managed to get rolled at Jordan-Hare by Arkansas, a team most SEC honks will barely even acknowledge as being worthy of inclusion in the SEC. Despite their ranking Auburn just hasn't looked that good at all.

With Michigan's rise to the top Notre Dame's loss is looking less and less horrible with each passing week and, in turn, Georgia Tech's close loss to ND is also looking less and less damaging.

Then there's Tennessee and Cal. Tennessee is one close loss to #3 from being in the BCS title game hunt. Cal's loss is looking less and less damaging and more and more like an early season anomaly. Tennessee and Cal are riding a bullet right now.

Florida will likely slip up somewhere along the way and if they do we're looking at two key games left to decide the title game participants:

-Michigan vs OSU
-USC vs ND

An undefeated Big 10 champion this season is going to get one of the slots. That's a no-brainer. USC is also a no-brainer, if they run the table. In terms of getting into the title game everybody else now needs help in the form of the teams ahead of them losing...even Florida.

What we really need to see here is for USC to lose, either to Cal or ND. Then we need to see Florida lose, so that nobody in the SEC is undefeated either. The ACC is out of the question, regardless.

Wouldn't it just be BCS Magic to see an undefeated and throroughly untested Big East winner vying with a one loss Texas, ND, Ohio State (or Michigan), USC, Tennessee and Florida for the one remaining title game spot??

All it'd take for this cluster fuck to come to fruition would be an ND victory over USC and an SEC loss by Florida, both of which are highly plausible.

Burn the fucking place down.

[TheJON]

Georgia Tech in the Top 10? You kidding me? They fucking suck. They beat a really lousy Va Tech team and the rest of the year they haven't done shit. They are a 1 man team.

1.Ohio State
2a.Florida
2b.Michigan
4.West Virginia
5.USC
6.Louisville
7.Tennessee
8.Texas
9.California
10.Notre Dame

[Van]

Georgia Tech's done more so far against better competition than either W. Virginia or Louisville...

[TheJON]

Louisville is without Bush and Brohm, so I'm giving them a pass. West Virginia would run the ball down Tech's throat. I think if Georgia Tech had a QB that was worth a damn, they'd be decent, but with Reggie Ball they're not a very good offense. Defensively, they're not that great either. I know they held ND to 14 points but that was the first game. I guarantee you they're going to lose a game or two to a team they're not supposed to lose to. I've seen them play a couple times and haven't been very impressed with what I've seen.

[Shoalzie]

My top 10 on September 17...
1. Ohio State
2. Auburn
3. USC
4. Florida
5. Michigan
6. West Virginia
7. Georgia
8. Louisville
9. Texas
10. LSU

My top 10 on October 8...
1. Ohio State - they're #1 until someone beats them, no question about it
2. USC - they've beaten Nebraska and they've thrashed the same Arkansas team that beat Auburn
3. Florida - they've got two quality wins in conference with two more tough games coming up and that FSU game at the end could still be tricky
4. Michigan - this is the best this team has looked since 1997
5. West Virginia - can't rank them above USC, Florida and Michigan because they have no quality wins
6. Lousville - hard to put them behind any one loss team but they're probably the shakiest of the major unbeatens left considering their injuries
7. Texas - best one-loss team in the country; especially since their one loss was to #1 Ohio State
8. Tennessee - they've emerged as the second best team in a very deep SEC; very impressive win over Georgia
9. Notre Dame - they've at least been able to shake off the beating to Michigan and pulled out the win at State; if they get by UCLA, they'll win out until the finale against USC
10. California - the USC game is more than a month away; look out for the Washington teams coming up since they both gave USC major scares

[MuchoBulls]

1 - Ohio State
2 - Florida
3 - USC
4 - West Virginia
5 - Michigan
6 - Louisville
7 - Tennessee
8 - Texas
9 - California
10 - Notre Dame

[Van]

Mucho, just wonderin'...

Confining it to what's transpired on the field so far this season, on what basis can you rank W. Virginia above Michigan?

[Cicero]

1 - tOSU
2 - USC
3 - Michigan
4 - Florida
5 - West Va
6 - Louisville
7 - Texas
8 - Auburn
9 - Tennessee
10 - Notre Dame

[MgoBlue-LightSpecial]

1 Ohio St
2 USC
3 Florida
4 Michigan
5 Texas
6 West Virginia
7 Louisville
8 Notre Dame
9 Tennessee
10 CAL

[Danimal]

1. OSU
2. Mich
3. Florida
4. USC
5. WV
6. Louisville
7. Texas
8. Tenn
9. Cal
10. ND

[Vito Corleone]

1. tOSU
2. USC
3. Florida
4. Texas
5. Michigan
6. West Virgina
7. Auburn
8. LSU
9. Kal
10. Tenn

[Vito Corleone]

Truth be known outside of tOSU no one deserves to be in the top 5. So far I have seen a lot of medicore football.

[Van]

Following up on my question to Mucho, I'm just wondering something here...

For all you people who are placing W. Virginia and Louisville above Texas, here's a question: Do you really think either of those two teams would beat Texas on a neutral field? You think they're better than Texas, to the point that you're willing to rank them higher than Texas?

It can't just be W-L records or else you'd also place Boise St above Texas.

So, nope, you guys must actually think Louisville and W. Virginia are better than Texas. I can't believe anybody truly believes such a thing, based on what we know of each team's talent base and what each of the three teams have shown on the field so far this season.

I suspect that if Texas lined up to play Lousiville on a neutral field Louisville would be an easy double digits dog. I also suspect that if the same people who are picking Louisville ahead of Texas were forced to pick that game straight up, no spread, they'd nearly unanimously pick Texas.

Right now Louisville and W. Virginia have shown no more on the field than Boise St. Besides an absolutely horrible Miami team neither W. Virginia nor Louisville have beaten a single team that even belongs in a current discussion of Division 1-A football. Texas looked okay against the #1 team in the nation, they rolled their three stupid cupcakes and they handled OU by 18 points.

I just don't get it. Bullshit conference politics aside does anybody truly believe Louisville and W. Virginia are better than Texas...and that they've both proven it on the field so far this season??

Truly, some of you people are on crack.

[Van]

Truth be known outside of tOSU no one deserves to be in the top 5. So far I have seen a lot of medicore football.

In spirit I agree with you but I'd make exceptions for Michigan and Florida. They've both handled their business with a decent degree of aplomb.

[Vito Corleone]

Right now these are the teams that I think would beat Texas

tOSU obviously
USC not sure
Florida
Auburn maybe

I will answer this question by the end of the year, cause if Colt improves each week like I think he will I don't think anyone outside of maybe tOSU and an improving USC squad will hang with Texas.

[Van]

Vito, off of what's transpired on the field so far this season I think you're doing a disservice to Michigan.

Auburn's showed a whole lot less than Michigan. Michigan's looked just as good as Florida so far.

[socal]

1. OSU
2. Michigan
3. Florida
4. Notre Dame
5. USC
6. Texas
7. Tennessee
8. Cal
9. West VA
10. Louisville

[Terry in Crapchester]

1. tOSU
2. Florida
3. Michigan
4. West Virginia
5. USC
6. Texas
7. Tennessee
8. Notre Dame
9. Kal
10. Louisville

USC gets knocked down a few pegs for me because they've been living awfully dangerously of late.

[Van]

1. OSU
2. Michigan
3. Florida
4. Notre Dame
5. USC
6. Texas
7. Tennessee
8. Cal
9. West VA
10. Louisville

:-) :-) :-)

Yeah, like I wasn't going to notice that little bit of hubris...

[Harvdog]

1. Ohio State
2. Florida
3. Michigan
4. USC
5. Texas
6. Louisville
7. West Virginia
8. Tennessee
9. Cal
10. Auburn

[Van]

1. tOSU
2. Florida
3. Michigan
4. West Virginia
5. USC
6. Texas
7. Tennessee
8. Notre Dame
9. Kal
10. Louisville

USC gets knocked down a few pegs for me because they've been living awfully dangerously of late.

Where USC is concerned, fine, sorta. Just remember they do already sport a road shellacking against the otherwise undefeated and 3-0 in the SEC (including wins over Alabama and Auburn) Arkansas Razorbacks plus a blow out win over the also otherwise undefeated Nebraska Cornhuskers.

That's two quality wins so far, in reasonably impressive style.

What's W. Virginia been doing of late, or at all? Really, exactly what is the difference between W. Virginia, Missouri and Boise St? They're all undefeated and none of 'em have played anybody worth a crap yet, though Missouri can at least argue that Taco Tech on the road is somewhat of a real game. Despite this fact Boise St and Missouri linger on the fringes while the nation inexplicably nips at Mountaineer 'Nad.

Even smart guys like you are doing it now. I just don't get it. Doesn't a team have to line up on a football field and actually do something before we elevate them over teams that actually have done something??

I dunno. Maybe you guys aren't actually aware of who W. Virginia's played so far, so here ya' go. Go ahead and use this schedule to build W. Virginia's case over a team like Texas, much less undefeated USC...

W. Virginia's 2006 Murderer's Row Schedule

Marshall
Eastern Washington
Maryland
East Carolina
Mississippi St

Yeah, W. Virginia's been a regular Carl Hubbell this season, knocking down one HOF-er after another...

This is reality here, folks. All the excuse making in the world as to why the Big East is as sorry as it is these days doesn't matter a hill of beans when the object is simply to rank the best teams in America right now. Your conference is now utter dogshit? Great. Better start scheduling well OOC, rather than loading up on Marshall, Eastern Washington and East Carolina. See, for all we know W. Virginia may actually be better than Texas or USC but c'mon, don't they have to at least somehow prove it on the field against real football teams before we go and give them a top 5 ranking?

Meanwhile, compare W. Virginia's schedule so far against Boise St's...

Sacramento State
Oregon State
Wyoming
Hawaii
Utah
Louisiana Tech

...and Missouri's...

Murray State
Mississippi
New Mexico
Ohio
Colorado
Texas Tech

Yeah, granted, all three schedules are laughable. Nonetheless the point still stands that an unbeaten W. Virginia has done nothing more on the football field this season than either undefeated Boise St or undefeated Missouri and in fact I think a very strong argument could be made that both teams have done more this season than W. Virginia.

We're not ranking Missouri and Boise St up there near the Top 5 and above Texas and USC, and rightfully so, obviously, so why do it with W. Virginia and Louisville?

[socal]

:thumps chest:

[Van]

Shit, SoCal, UCLA also only has one loss so far...at least for one more week, anyway.

So, if you really wanna thump your chest and wax insouciant like that, hey, why not include them somewhere in there too??

:P

[Degenerate]

Texas looked okay against the #1 team in the nation,

Getting outclassed in every phase of the game does not translate into looking "okay."

Truly, some of you people are on crack.

I can think of at least one person on here who is.

[Shine]

1- tO$U
2- Florida
3- Michigan
4- USC
5- West Virginia
6- Tennessee
7- Texas
8- California
9- Louisville
10- Notre Dame

[Terry in Crapchester]

1. tOSU
2. Florida
3. Michigan
4. West Virginia
5. USC
6. Texas
7. Tennessee
8. Notre Dame
9. Kal
10. Louisville

USC gets knocked down a few pegs for me because they've been living awfully dangerously of late.

Where USC is concerned, fine, sorta. Just remember they do already sport a road shellacking against the otherwise undefeated and 3-0 in the SEC (including wins over Alabama and Auburn) Arkansas Razorbacks plus a blow out win over the also otherwise undefeated Nebraska Cornhuskers.

That's two quality wins so far, in reasonably impressive style.

Point taken. The Arkansas win looks much more impressive after last week than it did before. I just don't see USC running the table unless they improve quite a bit.

What's W. Virginia been doing of late, or at all? Really, exactly what is the difference between W. Virginia, Missouri and Boise St? They're all undefeated and none of 'em have played anybody worth a crap yet, though Missouri can at least argue that Taco Tech on the road is somewhat of a real game. Despite this fact Boise St and Missouri linger on the fringes while the nation inexplicably nips at Mountaineer 'Nad.

Even smart guys like you are doing it now. I just don't get it. Doesn't a team have to line up on a football field and actually do something before we elevate them over teams that actually have done something??

I dunno. Maybe you guys aren't actually aware of who W. Virginia's played so far, so here ya' go. Go ahead and use this schedule to build W. Virginia's case over a team like Texas, much less undefeated USC...

W. Virginia's 2006 Murderer's Row Schedule

Marshall
Eastern Washington
Maryland
East Carolina
Mississippi St

Yeah, W. Virginia's been a regular Carl Hubbell this season, knocking down one HOF-er after another...

This is reality here, folks. All the excuse making in the world as to why the Big East is as sorry as it is these days doesn't matter a hill of beans when the object is simply to rank the best teams in America right now. Your conference is now utter dogshit? Great. Better start scheduling well OOC, rather than loading up on Marshall, Eastern Washington and East Carolina. See, for all we know W. Virginia may actually be better than Texas or USC but c'mon, don't they have to at least somehow prove it on the field against real football teams before we go and give them a top 5 ranking?

Meanwhile, compare W. Virginia's schedule so far against Boise St's...

Sacramento State
Oregon State
Wyoming
Hawaii
Utah
Louisiana Tech

...and Missouri's...

Murray State
Mississippi
New Mexico
Ohio
Colorado
Texas Tech

Yeah, granted, all three schedules are laughable. Nonetheless the point still stands that an unbeaten W. Virginia has done nothing more on the football field this season than either undefeated Boise St or undefeated Missouri and in fact I think a very strong argument could be made that both teams have done more this season than W. Virginia.

We're not ranking Missouri and Boise St up there near the Top 5 and above Texas and USC, and rightfully so, obviously, so why do it with W. Virginia and Louisville?

I think Mgo summed up pretty well (albeit, admittedly, while discussing another topic) the difference between West Virginia, on the one hand, and Missouri and Boise State, on the other. Simply put, it's last year and the ensuing poll positioning West Virginia earned this year as a result. There's an argument to be made that last year is irrelevant, and that each year should begin with a completely clean slate. As long as the human polls run pre-season polls, though, that argument will never completely hold water. That's not to say that the human polls do or should completely carry over last season's final rankings, of course, but a team that finishes strong and brings back a number of returning starters logically will benefit in the pre-season polls, particularly if last season's finish was surprising.

More specifically as to Boise State, that is an apples-to-oranges comparison to West Virginia. West Virginia plays in a conference which still receives an automatic BCS bid, while Boise State does not. Bad as you think the Big East might be, compare strength of schedules between West Virginia and Boise State at season's end and I think you'll see a substantial difference, at least insofar as the computers rank them. Boise State needs to go unbeaten to get a BCS bid. A bid in the national championship game is all but out of the question for them.

As for Missouri, I think the difference between West Virginia's season last season and Missouri's season last season accounts for a major part of the difference between them for the reasons I set forth above. Missouri gets something of a break from the schedule-maker in conference play this year, with the most difficult game apparently being a roadie to Nebraska (although they also get Oklahoma at home). Nevertheless, if Missouri goes through the entire season unbeaten, including the Big 12 championship game (where, presumably, they would meet Texas), they might very well get enough respect from the BCS to wind up in the championship game.

[MgoBlue-LightSpecial]

I fall somewhere in the middle (although my result will side with Van).

I would pick WVU to beat USC on a neutral field right now, but knowing what we know right now, as it relates to who WVU has played and beaten and who USC has played and beaten, I can't put WVU ahead. Not with any fairness or integrity, I can't.

In the end, what I think might happen is irrelevant. I would still need to actually see it happen, otherwise I'd be doing SC a disservice, that is, having them leapfrogged by WVU. And since I doubt SC and WVU will play each other this season, I have to take SC by default over WVU, considering their strength of schedule (and who they've beaten) is more impressive than WVU's.

[socal]

Shit, SoCal, UCLA also only has one loss so far...at least for one more week, anyway.

So, if you really wanna thump your chest and wax insouciant like that, hey, why not include them somewhere in there too??

:P

If you insist...

27. Taco Tech
28. UCLA
29. Sherman Oaks Notre Dame

[Van]

Texas looked okay against the #1 team in the nation,

Getting outclassed in every phase of the game does not translate into looking "okay."

Truly, some of you people are on crack.

I can think of at least one person on here who is.

Texas didn't get completely rolled. They only gave up 24 points and they were still in the game for most of the game.

They looked okay; not good enough to beat #1, but at least okay, all things considering.

[Van]

Terry, just about everything you said there runs counter to the premise of this thread. I asked that we throw out all the conference nonsense and the often useless W-L records in favor of stating who we think the best teams are right now (right now, not at season's end, and not last year either), based on what they've shown so far on the field.

USC has shown much more than W. Virginia so far, and so has Texas. In terms of SOS so far, all parties involved in this discussion have shown better than W. Virginia, even including Missouri and Boise St.

By season's end W. Virginia will likely "earn" a BCS berth, true...and we still won't know a damn thing about them. All we'll know is how they fared in their Super Bowl (to them) BCS bowl game, where they'll be pitted against some team who fell short of their season's goal; a team who then got stuck with a lose-lose match up against W. Virginia...

[Van]

I do too, especially when we're looking at paper tigers like Louisville and W. Virginia replacing them in the discussion.

OU just...matters. Hell, I guess if it means getting rid of the riff raff I'd even welcome a return to the top by Nebraska and 'Bama.

[SoCalTrjn]

1. Ohio State
2. Michigan
3. Florida
4. Louisville
5. USC
6. West Virginia
7. Tennessee
8. UCB
9. Texas
10. Arkansas

[StrandedTexan]

1. OSU: Real deal
2. Florida: Monster schedule. 2 down, 3 to go plus a championship game
3. Michigan: Looking great. I thought they were FotM, if they make it through PSU, I'll be sold
4. USC: Even with the injuries, they're finding a way to win
5. Texas: Best one loss team in the country
6. WVU: Pre-season polls count...I guess
7. Louisville: Undefeated and beat Miami
8. Tennessee: beat Georgia and Cal
9. ND: If Michigan is for real, then there's no shame in the loss
10. Cal: Tearing a path through the Pac-10 that USC would be envious of

[War Wagon]

Hell, I guess if it means getting rid of the riff raff I'd even welcome a return to the top by Nebraska and 'Bama.

riff raff? :?

So no other schools athletes need apply to this exclusive club that you've got all set in stone as being traditional powers?

Please to elaborate on just which schools qualify as being "riff raff", and which 10 teams or so that you feel should make up the new NCAA Division I Big Time Power College Football that you've created.

Nah, don't bother.

Instead, go stuff a gax sock in your arrogant pansy-assed mouf, because I for one don't give a fuck who you think is or is not worthy of respect.

Bitch.

[Van]

Hell, I guess if it means getting rid of the riff raff I'd even welcome a return to the top by Nebraska and 'Bama.

riff raff? :?

So no other schools athletes need apply to this exclusive club that you've got all set in stone as being traditional powers?

Pretty much, yup, especially if they wish to gain entry via running through an entire schedule's worth of creampuffs.

Please to elaborate on just which schools qualify as being "riff raff", and which 10 teams or so that you feel should make up the new NCAA Division I Big Time Power College Football that you've created.

"Riff raff" would include the likes of W. Virginia, Boise St, Louisville and all other teams who simply don't play anybody all season long. You know, teams who want to have their W-L records and nothing else gain them an invitation to sit at the table with the big boys who actually risk losses somewhere along the way.

I really don't give a fuck either that in some cases it's the conferences fault for splintering. This may be true but it doesn't change the current reality. Also, those teams are still among the very worst at scheduling OOC so they've simply got nothing on which to hang their hats.

Nah, don't bother.

Instead, go stuff a gax sock in your arrogant pansy-assed mouf, because I for one don't give a fuck who you think is or is not worthy of respect.

Bitch.

Right. That's why you dedicated a post to specifically ask me about it.

News flash, hero. Not all the news is good news. Life ain't always fair either. Don't like it?

WGARA.

[War Wagon]

News flash, Van.

If USC played Boise State, Louisville, West Virginia, and yes, Missouri...

...then USC wouldn't have a cream-puff Pac 10 schedule either.

Is any of this sinking in yet?

Your myopia is disgusting.

No wonder you don't post in the NFL forum. You'd get raped.

[Van]

Big XII Honk talking about the Pac 10's SOS is just plain funny.

USC's in conference schedule smokes Boise St's, Louisville's, W. Virginia's and Missouri's.

USC's OOC schedule utterly destroys the OOC schedules of all those other teams, as well as that of most any other team in America.

You were saying, little yapper?

I'd do just fine in the NFL forum or any other forum in which I chose to post. Always have, always will. You know it as sure as you're sitting there. You of all people know it.

I simply don't care enough anymore about the current NFL to post about it. Looking around the landscape of MLB these days, same deal. Both entities have gotten so watered down in the last decade that I just don't care all that much about either one anymore.

Fuck, seeing all of USC's prized juniors bolting early to the NFL (along with other key players from other teams), ruining what would've been some phenomenal teams this year, man, I'm hard pressed to even maintain my usual enthusiasm for this new watered down version of CF.

[Felix]

"Riff raff" would include the likes of W. Virginia, Boise St, Louisville and all other teams who simply don't play anybody all season long.

not a college board poster (read more. post less), but this is a seriously fucked up statement........

[Dinsdale]

"Riff raff" would include the likes of W. Virginia, Boise St, Louisville and all other teams who simply don't play anybody all season long.

not a college board poster (read more. post less), but this is a seriously fucked up statement........

What's wrong with it?

Perfectly accurate, imo.

Come on...what's Boise's tough game this year? Oregon State?

Guess what? Every PAC10 team has to face Oregon State. And just about every PAC10 team is going to beat them.

If THAT'S the game Boise is hanging their hat on...

Just STFU, BSU fan. Play somebody, or STFU.

Sure, a lot of bigtime teams end up with an OOC creampuff here and there. And every single D1 team gets a dog or two in the conference schedule, since every conference needs its patsies. Shit happens, and there's finances to take into consideration, and regional allies to prop up. But, making an entire freaking season out of creampuffs?

Join a real conference, or enjoy being laughed at, every time you demand your "respect."

Just because you won the junior AAU lightweight title, it doesn't automatically grant you a title fight with the WBC heavyweight champ.

[Felix]

Just STFU, BSU fan. Play somebody, or STFU.

Join a real conference, or enjoy being laughed at, every time you demand your "respect."

you play the hand you were dealt...... (s'up somebodys that refuse to make it a home/home deal)

nobody is "demanding respect"......I for one can't stand when overrated teams from overrated conferences always get the "benefit of the doubt" (LSU much).......