Saturday Snoozer
Tuesday, October 13, 2009 11:20
‘Twas the day before Sunday, and all through the land, not a creature was stirring, not even the fans.
That’s kind of how last Saturday felt in college football. Slow. Very, very slow. No major (Top Ten) upsets. Only a handful of ranked teams in the back half of the polls went down. Just one marquee match-up, #1 Florida vs. #4 LSU, and that went according to course (Florida won). The game was a yawner to boot, due to LSU’s distinct lack of offense.
Most of the games I caught any of weren’t any more exciting than the Gators and Tigers. Snoozers.
It’s pretty sad when unusual movements in the rankings turn out to be more interesting than the games the predicated them.
#2 Texas fell to #3 in the AP poll despite beating Colorado 38-14; Alabama surpassed them after whipping a (superior to the Buffalos) twentieth-ranked Mississippi team. Also in the win-the-game, lose-the-rankings department was TCU whose 20-17 victory over Air Force in absolutely blistery conditions was not enough to save them from dropping two spots in the AP–while moving up one slot in the coaches’ poll and staying the same in the Harris Interactive.
Neither USC nor Boise State, and yet the Trojans leap-frogged the Broncos in the USA Today Coaches’ Poll. At least Ohio State played in jumping over Cincinnati in the AP, as did Virginia Tech, now in the fourth spot in all three rankings after passing idle Boise State in the Harris Interactive (and, of course, the no longer undefeated LSU Tigers).
That’s a lot of movement beyond the typical “win and move up” only if someone ahead of you “loses and goes down” (else stay the same) weekly ranking adjustments that usually characterize the college football polls.
Considering that the 2009 season had been as wild and wacky a one as ever leading up to this past weekend, it was due to have a letdown. Expect the excitement to return as the big rivalry showdowns intensify.
Gairzo
says:
October 13th, 2009 at 8:47 pm
I think it's catching up to them–them being the BCS apologists. The maneuvering in the polls is designed to do one thing, okay two–keep the obsolete, boring bowl system as it is, and to create a match-up involving two marquee schools to insure the highest ratings for the network.
Nothing else matters to these people.
I admit I watch the Pittsburgh Panthers if they get into a bowl game. Otherwise, I boycott most every other game. It's so bogus, I won't give the networks my time.
Nate Barlow
says:
October 13th, 2009 at 9:19 pm
I definitely believe manipulation is at work in the Coaches and USA Today. Interestingly, TCU and Texas dropped in the AP, which doesn't factor in B(c)S system.