Monday, September 17, 2007

Playoffs?! Are ya kidding me?!

I will not release my top twenty college football rankings until after week six, as should the rest of the sports world but since so much is made about rankings it likely will never happen. I have written before about the possibility of a college playoff system and how it should be run. Today I want to talk to you about how this very well may come about and how it will likely be thanked to this very football season.

We have gone through three weeks of the college football and season and a few things are clear to me. Anyone can win this season, and there are a handful of very good teams and then there is a plethora of not so very good. I believe there is a very good possibility that five to seven teams this year could end the season undefeated. We're not just talking one big and a bunch of small schools, we're talking almost one from every major conference.

The ACC has Boston College who right now looks like they will not be touched in the conference. Georgia Tech was their biggest threat in house, and they handled them fairly well. Their biggest games remaining are Virginia Tech, who isn't a very good football team this year, and probably Clemson. They will not overlook Florida St or Miami and has a real chance to finish the season undefeated.

In the Big Ten I think the season comes down to Penn St and what may surprise folks, Ohio St. Michigan may be on a mission to prove themselves, but we'll find that out Saturday as they play Penn St. Now the Big Ten is definitely in a down year, but all one team has to be is dominate to finish undefeated and both those teams has excellent regular season coaching so there is a chance.

When you look at the SEC you see LSU and you see Florida. People believe they are so dominate this year, but I am not impressed with any of their opponents yet either. Tennessee is always the most overrated team in the nation, and VA Tech wasn't as good as people thought they might be this year. They've been dominate over teams they should have been dominate over. So likely whoever wins the game between the two of them will likely go undefeated, but there are two aces this year. Their names are well known in the SEC, Saban and Spurrier. If I was a betting man, I may take the Gamecocks to beat the spread this week against LSU. Those two teams are the teams to look at to disrupt your special seasons and don't overlook them. Though, in the end I still think whoever wins the game goes undefeated.

In the Big East, which has become the more publicized version of the WAC, teams LOVE scoring and you have two possible undefeated teams in Rutgers and West Virginia. I told you all at the beginning of the season Louisville wouldn't be as good this year, but West Virginia still is, as is Rutgers whose defense has been impressive so far. Whoever wins their game could likely go undefeated as well so never count them out.

In my conference of the Big 12 it looks to be a down year, even if Nebraska is almost back to their glory days. Oklahoma no doubt has been the most impressive team, but they haven't played a soul as Miami isn't the Miami of five years ago. Texas has struggled, but it's still Texas and may have some aces up their sleeves when the Red River comes around. Whoever wins that game probably goes undefeated, though the Big 12 Championship Game tends to bring up the upset and upsets folks' National Title Dreams.

The Pac 10 could be a three dog race, though I don't think California is as good as people perceive. They have a tremendous amount of talent yes, but they have underperformed in almost every game this year in the first half. They cannot do that against USC or Oregon this year as they will be buried before the second half. I do see USC coming out on top, but this conference and the SEC are by far the most competitive conferences in college football right now, even if UCLA gets clobbered by Utah. I still think they should bring Fresno St and Boise St in to making it the PAC 12.

In the WAC I don't think anyone can outscore the Warriors of Hawaii this year and so you now have another Boise St, which as we know now, you can never underestimate in a BCS game. Colt Brennan looks like some kind of mad experiment splicing the genes of Brett Farve and Peyton Manning. Their toughest game left very well may be their last game of the season when they play a much improved Washington team at home, but home has become a play many road teams cannot win in.

So there, you have the chance of the following teams being undefeated this year because of too many mediocre teams this year. Boston College, Florida, Rutgers, Oklahoma, Hawaii, USC and Penn St. Seven teams, all deserving of playing in the national title game but because of pre-season rankings it would be USC and Florida. Now you may say that their the two best teams, but do you not consider determination, coaching and pure luck into games? No one gave Boise St a chance in hell of winning last year, never the less they beat Oklahoma. The time is now to begin enacting my playoff system and finally crown a true college champion.

1 comment:

SayHey Kid said...

I am impressed, but deep down I think WVU is gonna have a tough time, they fall apart against bad teams. Maryland and Marshall both had chances but thier own lack of depth hurt them.

I really think the ACC is better than you give them credit for. VT with Taylor gives them a better shot and renewed confidence. Of course ill pull for my Noles, but Alabama is tough and now cockie now that they are ranked. Not our year im afraid.

We do agree on one thing, everyone has a shot this year, hell Michigan can still win the Big Ten