Chaos in The BCS: A New Number One

The Fighting Irish of Notre Dame are the new number 1

Last Saturday the college football world was turned completely upside down as the number one and two teams in the nation suffered their first losses. Kansas State was completely embarrassed by Baylor, losing to the Bears 52-24. Oregon fell to Stanford, 17-14 in overtime. This catapulted the third ranked Irish to the top in this weeks rankings. Notre Dame has never been ranked first in the BCS standings, and hasn't been number one since it was ranked first in the AP Poll in 1993. The top 10 looks like this:

1. Notre Dame

2. Alabama

3. Georgia
4. Florida
5. Oregon
6. Kansas State
7. LSU
8. Stanford
9. Texas A&M
10. Florida State

The major issues with this poll is how far Oregon and Kansas State fell. Kansas State is better than Florida. Florida will have its hands full with Florida State this weekend. Florida will have to shut down the high powered offense of Senior quarterback EJ Manuel. Manuel has completed 68.8% of his passes, while also throwing for 21 touchdowns. The Seminoles have averaged 42.9 points per game while giving up just 13.1. The Gators average 25.8 points per game, while giving up 11.7. This game will probably be a low twenties to mid thirties game. Look for The Seminoles to have to find a running game to open up passing lanes. The Gators are 3-1 against the Top 25 this season.

Oregon lost to a tough Stanford team to get their first loss. Oregon fell much further than necessary as well, as they should be sitting at number four instead of the Gators. Notre Dame has gotten very lucky in two games this season that it should have lost. The Fighting Irish were a blown call away from a loss to Stanford, and the luck of the Irish continued against Pittsburgh as they pulled out a 29-26 victory in triple overtime.USC is looking less likely to upset the Irish this weekend without quarterback Matt Barkley who suffered an injury last weekend against UCLA, but with the receivers that the Trojans have I can see them giving Notre Dame a run for their money. The Top 10 in the polls should be like this:

1. Notre Dame
2. Alabama
3. Georgia
4. Oregon
5. Kansas State
6. Florida
7. Stanford
8. LSU
9. Texas A&M
10. Florida State

Games of the Week:

(1) Notre Dame vs USC

(4) Florida vs (10) Florida State

Teams On Upset Alert:

(4) Florida vs (10) Florida State

(1) Notre Dame vs USC

(18) Rutgers vs Pittsburgh






Credits:

Everett Golson Photo:
http://news.yahoo.com/golson-leads-no-4-nd-29-26-3ot-000453374--spt.html

Information and Stats from:
http://espn.go.com/college-football/



 

BCS Week 12 Rankings: The New Number One

Kansas State is the new # 1 in the BCS

Thanks to Texas A&M, there was some madness in the new BCS Standings. Texas A&M pulled out a huge upset over the number one Alabama Crimson Tide in Tuscaloosa. Johnny Manziel played a great game, and shocked the Crimson Tide. With the loss, Alabama fell in the polls, and shook things up a bit, opening the door for controversy. This week's top 10 looks like this:

1. Kansas State
2. Oregon
3. Notre Dame
4. Alabama
5. Georgia
6. Florida
7. LSU
8. Texas A&M
9. South Carolina
10. Florida State

There are a couple controversial things about these rankings. First, Oregon should be number one, not Kansas State. The next problem is Texas A&M jumping from 15 to number eight in just one week. Sure they upset the number one team in the nation, but they just jumped too many teams in one week. Don't get me wrong, they were very impressive against Alabama, but they still have two losses, and a few teams they jumped would be very competitive with the Aggies.

Oregon should be the top team in the BCS Poll. They continue to impress by putting up points and rolling over teams. Though they will face another tough test on their schedule as they finish up the year with Stanford and will play their rivalry game known as the Civil War, against in state opponent Oregon State. If Oregon can finish the year undefeated they should be playing for the championship, which they will do if they manage to stay unbeaten. Kansas State has a rougher schedule, but they don't dominate the game like Oregon does. I really want to see Kansas State matched up with Oregon. Either team could really come out on top. Both teams have great offenses; Oregon's being the more explosive offense. Oregon's defense scares me though, as they have given up 51 points to USC, 34 points to Arkansas State, 25 to Fresno State, and 26 to Washington State. Kansas State on the other hand is a very solid defensive team and wouldn't allow Oregon to put up the 54.8 points that they average per game.

Notre Dame is really favored by the computers and with that help if they can go 12-0 they may be able to jump Kansas State to play Oregon in the Title, assuming that all three teams go 12-0. Notre Dame isn't as good as Kansas State or Oregon but may be able to get a good push from the computers to get them there. That is the problem with the BCS. Ever since its installment issues like that have come up many times. The four team playoff next season can't get here soon enough. Though to put that in perspective, if there was a playoff, the 1 and 2 seeds would host the 3 and 4 seeds. So Kansas State would play Alabama at home, and Oregon would get Notre Dame at home. The problem? Alabama is MUCH better than Notre Dame. How things will come into shape will be interesting to say the least. Until then, enjoy college football, and get ready for what is hopefully a great bowl season.

Games of The Week:

(18) USC vs (17) UCLA

(2) Oregon vs (14) Stanford

Upset Alert:

(2) Oregon vs (14) Stanford

(3) Notre Dame vs Wake Forest







Credits:


Photo From:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/13/kansas-state-football-collin-klein-iowa-state_n_1963938.html

Information from:
http://espn.go.com/college-football/

BCS Polls Week 9



Oregon continues to get no respect, as Collin Klein and Kansas State move ahead in the BCS Polls



This week's BCS Polls are surprising, just as last weeks. Some big games have some teams on the move in the Top 10, and the standings look like this:

1. Alabama

2. Florida

3. Kansas State

4. Oregon

5. Notre Dame

6. LSU

7. Oregon State

8. Oklahoma

9. USC

10. Georgia

There are some serious issues in this week's BCS Polls. Alabama is the best team in the nation, no doubt about that, but I still disagree with Florida at number two. The Gators gave fans a strong reason to believe that they should belong in the top five, after crushing #7 South Carolina 44-11 at the Swamp. Gator quarterback Jeff Driskel only threw five in-completions in the game, going 11-16, 93 Yds, 4 TD. The team may have finally put up some passing scores, but they still can't rack up many pass yards, and if they fall behind against a decent team, they will lose that game. The defense continued to bail out Florida, forcing four turnovers, and ball control was yet again great for Florida, who committed no turnovers.

Kansas State does deserve to be number three. They are a very good team, and crushed what is now starting to look like what was a very overrated West Virginia team. West Virginia quarterback Geno Smith was amazing through the first six games but has struggled ever since. West Virginia's team relies on that offensive attack and without it; they have fallen to Texas Tech 49-14, and to Kansas State 55-14. Collin Klein is leading this Kansas State Wildcat team, as he scored seven total touchdowns in last week’s statement win over West Virginia. He completed 90.5 percent of his passes, only threw two in-completions, and threw for 323 yards, four touchdowns, and as if that wasn't enough, he ran for another three scores. Kansas State will play Texas Tech in a very tough game, as Tech plays very solid defense, and Kansas State will have to play hard to stay undefeated.

Oregon comes in this week at number four. Why do they keep slipping in the BCS? Somebody please tell me that, because I just don’t understand it. Oregon should still be number two, and never should’ve fallen this far. Oregon absolutely dismantled Arizona State 43-21 last Thursday night. The Oregon Ducks running back Kenjon Barner started the game out with a 71 yard rushing touchdown and it was all downhill for Arizona State from there. Barner finished with 143 yards on just 16 carries, which comes out to be an astonishing 8.9 yards per carry. Why people keep disrespecting Oregon? I don't know. Oh, and did I mention, that Oregon scored these 43 points in the first 18 minutes of the game? That is just unreal. They got up early and just cruised the rest of the game until the score became final. This game really wasn't that close at all. Yes, Arizona State scored 21 points but 14 of those points came in the final quarter. 

Notre Dame has survived some scares, but they still come in the polls at number five, which is honestly where Florida should be. They face a tough match up against (#8) Oklahoma tonight so they will have to play very hard to stay undefeated. 

What the Top 5 Should Be: 

1. Alabama

2. Oregon

3. Kansas State  

4. Notre Dame

5. Florida

Games of the Week:

(#14) Texas Tech vs (#3) Kansas State

(#2) Florida vs (#10) Georgia

(#11) Mississippi State vs (#1) Alabama

(#5) Notre Dame vs (#8) Oklahoma

Upset Alert:

Penn State over Ohio State

Georgia over Florida

 Credits:

Picture from:

http://www.cbssports.com/mcc/blogs/entry/24156338/32520113

Stats from ESPN:

http://espn.go.com/college-football/

BCS Polls Week 8, Florida over Oregon?

The Florida Gators were a surprise in the first release of the BCS Standings 

The time has finally come. This is the first week of the BCS Polls, and man are they controversial. The top 10 looks like this:

1. Alabama
2. Florida
3. Oregon
4. Kansas State
5. Notre Dame
6. LSU
7. South Carolina
8. Oregon State
9. Oklahoma
10. USC

Now, most people are really up in arms about the fact that the SEC has four of the top ten teams. I don't see this being an issue because these teams are all good enough to be Top 10 teams in my opinion.

I don't agree that Florida is the second best team, even though the computers are in love with the Gators. The Gators aren't a bad team, but I'm not convinced that they are back to being the team they were under Urban Meyer and Tim Tebow. They scare me with their lack of a passing game. Their defense and running game are the heart and soul of their team. Through six games they have thrown only four touchdown passes. Four. That is absolutely horrible. They are completely one-dimensional on offense. Florida also raises some questions with their blocking. They have allowed the second-most sacks in the SEC. They also can't move the chains on third down. This is a huge problem for any team that wants to be great, let alone a Top Five BCS team.

The key to Florida's success is their ball control. They have turned the ball over just four times all season, and they are a good team at forcing turnovers and getting stops on defense when they need them. Senior running back Mike Gillislee is leading this team on offense with his ability to run the ball. He has rushed for 615 yards and seven scores over six games. He has demonstrated why he should be the main runner in the backfield for this team.

Saying all that, I believe that Oregon is the second best team in the country. They just continue to rack up the points, averaging 52.3 points per game. Incredible. Florida had a rough game this season against Bowling Green. Oregon has a couple tough games against Oregon State and USC, and they will be able to make a strong case that they are the better team by going 12-0. Alabama is truly the only powerhouse this season, and because only one SEC team can come out undefeated, whoever that is will be in the National Championship. I don't think any team will knock off the Crimson Tide this year. They are just so much better than everyone else. They allow only 7.5 points per game. Unbelievable.

I agree with the rest of the Top 10 for now, although it will be interesting to see how the rest of this season plays out.

Key Games this week:

(7)South Carolina vs (2)Florida

(4)Kansas State vs (13)West Virginia

Upset Alert:

(15)Rutgers vs Temple

(14)Florida State vs Miami

USF vs (16)Louisville







Credits:
Stats from:
http://espn.go.com/college-football/

Picture taken from:
http://gamedayr.com/wp-content/slideshow/2012/08/the-cold-hard-truth-why-the-gators-will-be-better-in-2012/full/2012-Florida-Gators-Football-Preview-570x379.jpg