5 of the preseason top 10 have already lost.


#3 OU loses opening weekend, 14-13 to # 20 BYU

#8 Va Tech loses opening weekend to #5 Alabama

#5 Okie St loses last week at home to unranked Houston

#8 Ohio St loses to #3 SC last week

#3 SC loses this week to unranked Washington.

#7 BYU loses this week at home to unranked FSU


FLA looks very avg without Harvin this year.
Texas struggled last week in Wyoming for 3 qtrs
Penn St doesnt play anyone, so we wont know until they play OSU.
Cal looks pretty good

I think Alabama looks like the best team in the country right now.



Could this year be like the year 2 loss LSU got into the NC game.

Most of these teams it was only a matter of time before they lost. Cal looked so so against Minn today. I agree about Florida. I think we'll see the real Gators when they get deeper into the season and play some tougher SEC opponents. I don't really care for Penn St. but 'Bama hasn't done much this season either besides handing out the loss to Va. Tech the first week. I had a lot more faith in OK St and was looking at them to give a pretty strong run at winning the Big 12 until they played......Whouston? Texas is in the same boat, they looked like garbage last week but we'll see in a few minutes how they come out tonite. I'll let you know after week 5 what I think about the preseason's top 10. Just too hard to really judge right now.

Gotta admit, I was thinking the same thing about the top ten and a couple years ago. In fact, I just got on to see if anyone was talking about it.

Now if only USF can keep it going after they get into the top 10 this year.

Looks like we will be adding BYU to this list. I thought they were over rated to begin with, but you know you cant say that when they beat your team, or you get accused of sour grapes. I happen to like BYU, but not at the expense of the Sooners like week 1.

Utah - Out of the BCS conversation now
BYU - will be out as well, if this 37-14 score holds up

Oh how I want Boise St if we make a BCS bowl and not the NC game. I think Stoops would put 100 on them if he gets a chance.

My Nittany Lions are not the 5th best team in the nation right now, unfortunately. They've played three garbage teams and though the scores look o.k., this team is not as good as it was last year. The offensive line is awful and will get exposed against better competition. Their defense is tough and they have a great RB & QB, along with solid receivers, but, the O-Line will lose a game or two for them, when all is said and done. It wouldn't shock me at all if Iowa came in and beat them next Saturday night.

Penn St is there by default. Default they havent played anyone yet, and so many others have lost already.

True, but, as someone who has watched every play, I'm just confirming that I don't think they have what it takes to run the Big 10 table, even though the Big 10 Table is pretty down right now.

[Oh how I want Boise St if we make a BCS bowl and not the NC game. I think Stoops would put 100 on them if he gets a chance.
[/quote]



Please.....

Wow, that's really saying something right there. I mean, seriously, if you think they can't run the table in the Big 10.

I don't think we should make too much about FL "only" beating Tenn by 10 pts. They won the game and it's not like UT is some directional state.

Regardless of how much FL tried to downplay the fact that they wanted to ram it down UT's throat, they're only kids and they likely couldn't entirely escape the reality that the entire free world was counting on and expecting them to deliver a biblical ass-whooping. When UT showed up and actually played, maybe they got a bit tight. Not tight enough, mind you to lose, just tight enough not to deliver what so many, it seems, were hoping for.

At this point, you still have say FL is the team to beat.

Penn State gets a visit from my Hawkeyes in Happy Valley next week. I would suggest that is there first test of the year. Iowa's defense has improved each week thus far, with the defensive line FINALLY showing a pulse against Arizona this week. Penn State will be out for blood after last seasons' game though. The key for Penn State will be to do what they didn't do last year, and that is keep Daryl Clark clean. If Iowa is able to put him down as often as they did in last year's game, I really like Iowa's chances, especially if we get Bulaga back to get our offensive line to full strength for the first time this season. He hasn't been cleared to play though as of this week. But like I said, as we saw with Texas last night vs Tech, this is a vendetta game for Penn State. I can't wait! Great way to kick off Big Ten conference play, for both teams.

Iowa will get to Clark, no doubt about that. Penn State couldn't keep Temple off of Clark.

Should be a great one, 16 points might be enough to win this game. Special teams and turnovers could determine who gets the upper hand.

Here is my preseason rank of how I thought the year would end. This factors PSU beats OSU and IOWA, CAL beats SC, FL stumbles somewhere (Baton Rouge). What I know so far...I might have dropped OU and SC out ofthe top 7, seeing as they should both get beat one more time.

In addition to the above, you also can't overlook the fact that in the 4th qtr the Gators turned the ball over inside the Vols 10. Florida was dominating at that point and were about to go up 30-6. It is frequently pointed out in here, as well, how difficult it can be to judge teams by conference/rivalry games. Tennessee is not a great team but not a bad one either(particularly on D) and this was by far the most important game on their schedule. Even in losing to UCLA last week, probably looking ahead, they held the Bruins to something like 185 yds of total offense. Tennessee played as well as they probably could have considering the competition and still never really had a shot at beating Florida.

What I have learned thus far this season. It's early but...

1.) Just maybe LSU is worthy of a top 10 ranking considering Washington beat USC.

2.) Oklahoma might be worse than we thought after what happen to BYU at home

3.) Miami looks abit like the Miami of old which should have Coach Stoopid worried.

4.) Cincy should be ranked higher considering their two dominating road wins.

5.) Coach Paterno might say he doesn't care about beating out Bowden, but his OCC schedule says differently Akron, Temple and Syracuse.

JoePa has always scheduled patsies in the OOC portion of our program. It has nothing to do with his total number of victories, it has to do with buiilding confidence for his team. Patsies or not, a win is a win and it helps build the psyche of these kids, especially the freshmen and sophomores.

That being said, I honestly don't think anyone knows what kind of team Penn State has this year, least of all JoePa. They haven't looked at all dominant in their victories, they're just taking care of the things they should, nothing more. We'll find out more this week when Iowa comes to town. Their #5 ranking right now is courtesy of being ranked so highly to begin with (re: our conversation on the pre-season polls), if they had been ranked 15th to begin with they'd have only moved up to 10th or so by now. However because of this, should they win out they will play for the NC, regardless of what people think of the Big Ten.

solid W for Iowa in what was a painful game to watch for UA peeps....... Matt Scott may be the worst starting QB in the country - he was beyond horrible

- the play calling when Grigsby went out at the 1 was horrible - punch the frigging ball in to the endzone - 6 there would have been hugh.

UA's D is legit, however they need to get Foles in there bc they are not going to beat anyone with that piss poor QB play.

To top it off Gronkowski, one of the best TE in the country is out for the year - good times

Auburn is the 2nd best team in the country right now.

You mean the 2nd best team in that state, right?

Auburn will beat Bama by 10.

Couple of quick points

What does LSU have to do with Washington. Washington beat a hapless offense this past Saturday. Does this mean Washington is better than Ohio St as well. My guess if Barkley plays Washington doesnt get the W.
I think we will find out about LSU soon enough, and you maybe disappointed with the results.

OU loss had more to do with shakey OL play and the loss of QB, than BYU

Miami looks real good, I doubt anyone would relish the opportunity to play them right now

Cincy should be ranked higher

Why again are Paterno and Bowden still coaching? Both schools are hostage to these 2. I dont see this as good for their program having some iconic figure at the top, but has little to do with the X's and O's at this point. Wouldnt it be better to have a coach like Saban or Meyer who is completely in control. You think the assistant coachs dont tell the players not to worry about what the old man says, he doesnt have a clue anymore.

Um, 'cause when LSU had trouble with them, it was viewed as LSU having trouble with a team that sucked last year. Now it's LSU having trouble with a team that just knocked off USC and, I believe, is now in the top 25. I would say that's a pretty big difference. Sure, maybe USC beats them with their starting QB, but it's still USC. Washington is obviously, at very least, a good team and one that you shouldn't feel bad about not being able to name your score on.

You do know LSU did beat Washington, right?

Down in Baton Rouge LSU fans were anxiously awaiting to see how Washington played against USC to get a better gauge on whether or not their LSU team played a quality opponent or simply beat an 0-12 ballclub. Washington winning the game was simply icing on the cake. Most fans around here thought LSU looked like crap against Washington and were saying USC would have beaten Washington by 3 or 4 td's that night which obviously turned out wrong.

As far as the rest of the season goes for LSU, I'm less likely to be as disappointed as you would think if LSU stumbles a couple of times. I'm a fan, but also a realistic one that understands there is a good chance the Tigers will be a td underdog in at least 4 games this season.

Im fully aware LSU had trouble with Washington. My point is SC looked like crap Saturday and had no QB play. 0-10 on 3rd downs is unthinkable by any team. Plus Washington knew SC better than anyone else, with their former OC and DC at Washington now.

You maybe doing the same thing after week 3, you did after week 1. Overreacting. First its uh, oh we struggled with them, now its Ah Hah, we struggled with THEM

SC isnt near as good as we thought, and Washington is better. But again, I do not see that makes LSU any better or worse as a result.

Obviously you aren't connected to either of these two schools and I'd say you're the one without a clue. I can't speak directly to Bowden but all the interviews that I've seen with him recently make it clear that he isn't clueless. In JoePa's case, he not only isn't clueless, but after a couple of lackluster years, clearly he has the program moving in the right direction again with bowl appearances (two of them BCS bowls) in the last four years, three of them wins with last year's loss in the Rose Bowl the only blemish in that time.

2005 Orange Florida State 26-23 W
2006 Outback Tennessee 20-10 W
2007 Alamo Texas A&M 24-17 W
2008 Rose USC 24-38 L

There are plenty of coaches who'd give their left nut for that kind of post season opportunity, never mind success.

Ever here of SOS?

They were the favorite in 3 of those 4 games. And they won. And last yrs game wasnt nearly as close as the final score.

Penn St plays no one, and is this just to pad Joe Pas record. Because it certainly isnt helping them nationally.
The Big 10 is down, one would think if this program wanted to prove something, they would play someone outside the conference.

Ok, so how is SOS going to help LSU win games? I thought this was about judging the LSU team.

I don't know what they have to prove. If the Big Ten is down like you say, and there is no championship game, and the biggest games you have all year are scheduled home games (Iowa and Ohio State come to mind), why take a chance on a loss to a big name team when running the slate gets you a shot at the NC game? It seems like smart scheduling to me.

Whether you like the BCS system or not without a quality SOS you don't even get a chance to win BCS bowl game if you stumble a couple of times.

aka LSU 2007 National Championship was in large part due to Virginia Tech's success outside of their game vs. LSU.

Dude, UW didn't win a freaking game last year. So, when LSU had trouble with them, it was hard to think that reflected very well. Now, maybe UW was better than last year, or maybe LSU just plain wasn't good. One couldn't say for certain either way based on that game alone. Now, it appears, that UW, is, in fact, better than last year. Sure USC laid an egg, but USC could have laid an egg on them last year and still gotten away with a W.

This Washington team, however, appears to be too good for a team like that not to bring it's A game.

That sort of rules out the bit about LSU not being all that good.

It's really not that hard to figure out. Now, does this alone mean LSU should be #1. Certainly not. However, if UW keeps it up, that week 1 win is going to become a nice asset on LSU's resume if they end up in the mix. I can't see how any reasonable person could see otherwise.

BCS or no, SOS will be a massive factor. Given the number of teams and the lack of head to head match-ups between the major powers, SOS will remain one the most important factors in determining who plays for all the marbles. Whether you're determining the top 2, top 8, or even top 16.

None the less, he's all yours now. I'm done trying to argue with this guy.

What's nice from LSU's point of view is that their ooc scheduled going into the season looked on paper to be very very weak especially considering their only big name ooc opponent this season Washington was coming off their worse season ever.

Now only a couple of weeks into the season LSU's ooc schedule doesn't look all that bad. In fact it's actually one of the better ones considering it includes a PAC 10 road win over a team who beat the PAC 10 favorite. Heck even LSU's win over ULL looks a little better since ULL just beat Big 12 Kansas State last week.

Im not arguing SOS, so why are we chaning the original point.

This is what was said "Just maybe LSU is worthy of a top 10 ranking considering Washington beat USC."

Washington played a great game, and as I said before they new intimately the coaching style of Pete Carroll, as the Wash HC and DC were former OC and DC at USC, just last yr. Dont you think they knew how to attack and defend Sc better than anyone else. So I do not see how Sc playing its backup QB, who has never played a game, on the road against its former OC and DC makes LSU a better team because Washington knocked off SC and LSU knocked off Wash.

I also said we will find out soon enough on LSU, I think people are now over reacting the other way, after this win, as some did when LSU struggled with Washington in week 1.

So tell me again, how any of this you spew has anything to do with what Rocker said, and I countered. If LSU loses 3 or 4 games, are they still going to be in the top 10, because they beat Wash who beat SC. And what if Sc loses 4 games this yr, how nice will this win look in SOS later.

Its early.

Just like he saying because BYU got creamed by FSU, it means OK is worse than originally thought. You ever think OU went into panic mode during the game when it lost its QB, and got a little too conservative with the young Qb. The score was 14-13, hardly a convincing win for BYU. But a win none the less. OU looks pretty good since, pitching 2 shutouts, albeit against lesser competition. But the backup Qb sure looks poised for someone starting its 1st and 2nd game of his college career. I bet OU wish it let him do more in the BYU game, and they are kicking themselves for that. OUs future rests in its remaining schedule, as does LSU. Not what happens week 1, if they dont back it up with Ws.

Let's be fair. Since both those coaches worked for Coach Pete Carroll, don't you think Coach Carroll knows intimately the coaching style of his former employees. Don't you think Pete knew how Washingtn would attack and defend?

And blaming the game on USC's backup QB is pretty funny considering USC so called starter was playing high school ball last season and only has one game under his belt.

Arizona has some athletes though. Very quick all over the place, particularly on defense, and they had Iowa scouted out good in the first half. I'm just happy to get the W, and now worry about an angry Nittany Lion team next week.

And btw, (not directed at you wildcat but a general statement) JoePa and Bobby Bowden have earned the right to call there own shots, especially when you look at some of the low character a$$holes at other schools like Nick Saban, Charlie Weis, and Rich Rodriguez. Let the men leave on there own terms and shut up about it. They are college football, whether you like their teams or not.

Oh Im not blaming the backup QB for the loss, though message boards in Cali certainly are. This poor kid is getting crucified in the media as well.
I think Sark and Co. dialed up the perfect gameplan. excellent win for that program.

But I do not think you can say because one team beat one team, they could also beat a team they beat. Nor do I think this validates Washington as a power. Have they improved, obviously. But if they get beat by Stanford this week, then what..... So again, its too early to tell.

Penn State starts a home and home with Alabama next year.

I don't like PSU's OOC schedule either, but, what can you do....I'm glad they get Alabama the next two years.

You do realize that Rocker is talking about LSU deserving a top 10 ranking right now. That, right now, they have a win vs a team ranked in the top 25, right now on their resume. Dude's as big a homer as they come, but I'm pretty certain that if they lose 3-4 times, as you suggest, he won't be pointing to the win vs UW and saying that means they should be in the top 10.

Obviously we'll find out soon enough about LSU and we'll find out soon enough about UW. But as long as they're doing rankings in week 3, LSU has a fine argument to be in the top 10 and part of that argument is a win vs a team that, going into the season looked like a laughable speed bump but now appears to be at least good, and perhaps quite good.

It astounds me that you can't see this and it doesn't surprise me that, lacking anything remotely solid to lean on, pretend that you're arguing against guys who feel any team with 3-4 losses as deserving a top 10 ranking.

uh, schedule someone legit out of conference??

it hasn't been as big of a deal when the Big 10 was stronger, I just don't think anyone trusts the Big 10 conference as a way to gauge the best teams of late...........Big 10 teams have to sack up - nice to see PSU playing Bama

could be a case this year where PSU runs the table and a 1L team would probably be ranked ahead of them in the BCS

As Ive said before, I do not think just because LSU beat Washington and Washington beat USC, this gives them top 10 credentials.


LSU is in the top 10 because 6 top 10 teams have already lost, more than this win. Ive also said repeatedly lets not over react here. Just as some did when they struggled with Washington to now after Washington beat SC.


Detlef is clueless. He goes on about Wash being a top 25 team, to SOS, to head to head matchups to tiebreakers.

Guess what Boise beat a top 25 team and they are not in the top 10. So no, a win over a top 25 teams does not mean you are a lock for a top 10 ranking.

Penn State since 2002 has played home and homes with Boston College, Nebraska, Notre Dame, and Syracuse, and also played Oregon State last year, not sure if they will make the trip out to Corvallis in the next couple years or not. Yes, we all know Syracuse has been down, but it's hard to ignore the fact how many years in advance these schedules are made. Hard to say they schedule weak. As for the postseason, Penn State is 1-1 as underdogs W vs Tennessee, Loss vs USC. They covered vs Texas A & M, in a virtual road game, not to mention playing Florida State in Miami for a great Orange Bowl game between the two legendary coaches. Lay off Penn State.

Yes Sir. Can your boys kindly eliminate them from BCS NC contention this week.

Thanks in advance.

Trust me, I wish they would. I'm thrilled they have Bama the next two season. They may lose one or both of those games, but, I like seeing them play tougher competition. If I were scheduling, they would have Pitt & Notre Dame every year, one other good team and keep Temple for your opener. However, in this stupid system that doesn't reward you enough for winning tough OOC games, that won't happen.

whatever - Penn State has been notorious for a soft NC slate in recent years

I just don't see how you can justify Akron, Syracuse, Temple and E Ill in any way shape or forrm as being a legit NC schedule

As Menudo said, the Syracuse game was scheduled before they dropped into the crapper. Temple is the only in state rivalry that continues on a regular basis. Go ahead and bash away though, that's what you guys do best.

And there it is, right there. OSU has shown the way and there's absolutely no logical reason to do otherwise. Hell, most of the SEC plays crap OOC and has to lean on the fact that their conference is regarded as stronger than most (but who ultimately knows). Provided you are in one of the conferences deemed worthy and either run the table or have one loss, you're in the mix. There's simply no reason for anyone who's not in the WAC or other outside-looking-in conferences to schedule anyone legit.

If the NCAA wants to sack up and make who you play matter, then I'm sure schools will start playing ball. Until then, why bother.

bashing? how about reality......uh gawd your Big 10 honks and Paterno jockeys live in a bubble - do you honestly think this is not a nation-wide opinion shared by many about the Big 10 and Penn State?? I got news for you - it is.

I love Paterno as much as anyone but cmon. Are you seriously defending this sched? it is laughable

Syr had been awful for quite a while now - and Syr/Temple/Akron/ - are currently 92, 137 and 128 respectively in the nation -