The Ocho
The Ocho gets a minor facelift this week, much less verbal surgery than in past weeks. I had a tough time coming up with an eighth team this week after South Florida’s loss- which is further evidence to me that this is a mediocre year for college football (aka “parity”).
Before I get to the poll this week, I want to address a beef I’ve got with the AP voters. I have a lot of beefs actually, but one in particular simply cannot go unrecognized. I understand that for many people Virginia Tech is a sentimental favorite this year, but are any of the voters actually watching them play?
The Hokies are 6-2 which on the surface is top 15 material (this year). The two losses deserve a little shame- a blowout loss to LSU and the “come from ahead” loss to BC last week. The wins are utterly worthless- victories over East Carolina, Ohio University, William (& Mary), North Carolina, Clemson, and Duke. The statistics are shield your eyes ugly- the defense is pretty good but that Hokie offense is unwatchable- 65th in scoring, 96th in rushing, and 102nd in passing. That’s approaching Notre Dame territory.
Va Tech started the season at # 9 in the AP poll, dropped to # 18 with the 2nd week loss to LSU, and slowly rose up to # 8 last week. Following the loss to Boston College, Virginia Tech dropped only three spots to # 11 in the AP poll (also good for # 11 in the BCS). So I ask again- is anybody actually watching any football games this year or are people just sending in their ballots based on what they see on Sportscenter? Consider the teams currently ranked below Virginia Tech and tell me if the Hokies could beat any of them- Hawaii, USC, Texas, Michigan, Uconn, Alabama, Florida, Auburn… My answer is probably no. Maybe Uconn. I’m not even sure VT even belongs in the top 25 anymore, let alone # 11.
Wow, I feel better after getting that off my chest. Thanks.
Who’s Up?
Arizona State- I moved them up (swapped with BC) after their win over Cal. The real Cal Bears are different from the “conceptual Bears” that people envisioned at the beginning of the season. Still, Cal’s a good team and that was a pretty good win. The Sun Devils are a solid team getting balance on both sides of the ball. I think ASU is going to lose at Oregon this week, but I still like ‘em.
Kansas- With South Florida’s loss, Kansas makes their first appearance in the Ocho. Their strength of schedule is still a complete joke (Sagarin # 101), but they are a solid team on offense and defense, and well-coached.
Who’s Down?
South Florida- Back-to-back road losses puts South Florida out of the Ocho. Sorry Bulls. You’ve got to beat Connecticut if you want to stay on my radar.
Boston College- I moved BC down one spot, despite their win Thursday night over Virginia Tech. Why? They can’t run the football and their pass defense is horrible. The run game was painfully bad last week getting only 32 yards against Virginia Tech. Nationally, their rushing offense is ranked at # 85. How bad is their pass defense? Nationally, ranked # 100. Some of their biggest trouble signs came against the # 41 ranked passing offense (NC State, gave up 351 yards), the # 85 passing offense (Army, gave up 215 yards), and the # 91 ranked passing offense (Wake Forest, gave up 366 yards passing). I don’t care if the Eagles are undefeated and # 2 in the BCS, on a neutral field against more balance teams, they will lose. Scoreboard.
Who’s on High Alert?
Ohio State- The Buckeyes passed their first “High Alert” test last week in State College. This week, they get part one of a two part series titled “Big Ten Pre-season National Championship Contenders”. Wisconsin was pre-season top 10 and many peoples pick for a sleeper NC contender. They’ve looked lackluster for most of the season, including losses to Illinois and Penn State, and their defense has disappointed frequently. Both the offense and defense have gotten back on track the last two weeks and the Badgers have enough talent to pull of the win. They won’t. I’m just saying they can.
LSU- LSU travels to Alabama for the first installment of the Saban Bowl. Alabama is coming off a 41-17 loss to Tennessee and has been horribly inconsistent all season long. They’re pretty good at nearly everything (39th scoring offense, 33rd scoring defense), but not really great at anything. A potential area of concern is their # 60 pass defense- a healthy Early Doucet might be too much for Alabama to handle, that is if Matt Flynn can get him the ball. The game’s in Tuscaloosa which should help. LSU is dealing with the suspension of backup QB Ryan Perriloux and probably a few other related internal distractions. Alabama gets the coaching advantage. All of this adds up to a possible upset. I think Alabama is going to need a few breaks to win the game but it could be very close.
Oregon- The game of the week is in the Pac-10 where Arizona State comes to Eugene on Saturday. The winner leaves the stadium in control of the conference. I think Oregon is going to win but it should be one hell of a game.
Boston College- Not really. I’m just messing with you. BC plays Florida State this weekend. In this decade, the Seminoles stink. The ‘noles should be able to get some pressure on Matt Ryan though which could make things interesting.
Here’s the Ocho for November 1:
1.) Ohio State
2.) LSU
3.) Oregon
4.) Arizona State
5.) Boston College
6.) West Virginia
7.) Oklahoma
8.) Kansas
If the season ended today, these would be your first round tournament pairings:
# 8 Kansas at # 1 Ohio State
# 7 Oklahoma at # 2 LSU
# 6 West Virginia at # 3 Oregon
# 5 Boston college at # 4 Arizona State
