THE SEASON AFTER 5 WEEKS

[olympicoscar]

Top Tier: LSU, Oklahoma, Alabama, Wisconsin
2nd Tier: Stanford
3rd Tier: Boise St, Clemson, Oklahoma St, Oregon
Waiting in the Wings: Texas, Michigan, Georgia Tech

Biggest Surprises: Texas, Michigan, Clemson, Georgia Tech, Illinois, Kansas St.
Biggest Dissapointments: Utah, Boston College, Arizona, South Carolina (looked just so-so even in wins).

The bottom portion of the Big 10 is AWFUL. Minnesota, Purdue and Indiana are terrible. Penn St is not much better, barely beating Indiana at home.

National Championship: Winner of Alabama-LSU looks like a lock for 1 berth. Wisconsin, Oklahoma, and Stanford favorites for other. I would pick Wisconsin at this point. If all 3 lose 1 game, then Clemson and Oregon have the best chance to sneak in.

Heisman: Lattimore hurt his chances this past weekend. Luck still out in front followed by Landry and Robinson. Richardson still has a chance. Russell Wilson cannot be overlooked. Same for LaMichael James.

 

[KansasSooner]

Add A&M to the biggest disappointments list, they were supposed to compete for the Big 12 title but have shown they can't finish a game.

 

[olympicoscar]

Add A&M to the biggest disappointments list, they were supposed to compete for the Big 12 title but have shown they can't finish a game.

I was thinking about it, but they did lose to two good teams and both games were close.

 

[IrishFutbol]

OSU has been disappointing as well.

I didn't expect them to be a powerhouse this year, but calling them mediocre might be an overstatement. 59 minutes with no score on a sub-par Sparty defense?

They might be looking at a 0-0 overtime showdown against State Penn.

 

[BigAppleBadger]

Ohio State definitely disappointing. Even with all they've lost, they usually re-load pretty well with top recruits / talent. I figured two losses to us and Nebraska. Looks like it'll be way more than that.

 

[starbigd]

Ohio State definitely disappointing. Even with all they've lost, they usually re-load pretty well with top recruits / talent. I figured two losses to us and Nebraska. Looks like it'll be way more than that.

It's not the talent.

If it's one thing I learned from last season as a Texas fan, it's that coaching MATTERS

Fickell needs a sweater vest or something STAT

 

[olympicoscar]

OSU has been disappointing as well.

I didn't expect them to be a powerhouse this year, but calling them mediocre might be an overstatement. 59 minutes with no score on a sub-par Sparty defense?

They might be looking at a 0-0 overtime showdown against State Penn.

As an OSU fan I am disappointed. Braxton Miller can't throw and it would be better to start Bauserman. I agree with your assessment.

 

[olympicoscar]

It's not the talent.

If it's one thing I learned from last season as a Texas fan, it's that coaching MATTERS

Fickell needs a sweater vest or something STAT

Fickell will be somewhere else next year. Urban Meyer will be the new coach. 3 more suspensions today including 2 of the 5 that were suspended for the first 5 games. What a mess there.

 

[BigAppleBadger]

As an OSU fan I am disappointed. Braxton Miller can't throw and it would be better to start Bauserman. I agree with your assessment.

No. Starting Bauserman is completely pointless unless you really think it's the only way to be bowl eligible. Not making a bowl game is embarrassing (cough, Texas), but OSU isn't going to a BCS or even top non-BCS bowl (e.g., Cap One) this year.

Better to see if Miller can figure things out by the end of November and beat Michigan than to start a career backup senior that'll be gone next year anyway. At least if you play Miller, you know whether he's worth time in camp next spring.

 

[MarkOU]

Wisconsin schedule is supect and they havn't left home.

I want to see them win at MSU before I believe the hype. Nebraska was a pushover and I picked Wisconsin, by double digits, over the huskers.

With Ohio State down, their schedule is weak. They can only hope for the BIG 10 CCG be against an undefeated Michigan to give them a real signature win.

 

[Spruce Moose]

Top Tier: LSU, Oklahoma, Alabama, Wisconsin
2nd Tier: Stanford
3rd Tier: Boise St, Clemson, Oklahoma St, Oregon
Waiting in the Wings: Texas, Michigan, Georgia Tech

Biggest Surprises: Texas, Michigan, Clemson, Georgia Tech, Illinois, Kansas St.
Biggest Dissapointments: Utah, Boston College, Arizona, South Carolina (looked just so-so even in wins).

The bottom portion of the Big 10 is AWFUL. Minnesota, Purdue and Indiana are terrible. Penn St is not much better, barely beating Indiana at home.

National Championship: Winner of Alabama-LSU looks like a lock for 1 berth. Wisconsin, Oklahoma, and Stanford favorites for other. I would pick Wisconsin at this point. If all 3 lose 1 game, then Clemson and Oregon have the best chance to sneak in.

Heisman: Lattimore hurt his chances this past weekend. Luck still out in front followed by Landry and Robinson. Richardson still has a chance. Russell Wilson cannot be overlooked. Same for LaMichael James.

I'd move Georgia Tech into that 3rd tier and bump Oregon down.

 

[BigAppleBadger]

Wisconsin schedule is supect and they havn't left home.

We've played a neutral site game, but yeah, not a true road game.

 

[Edisto_Tiger]

As of this past weekend, we are definitely 2nd tier.

 

[Vadered]

We've played a neutral site game, but yeah, not a true road game.

Does it really matter where you play North Illinois?

For me, Wisconsin's road this season has a series of questions. First question was could they be dominant (not simply beat) some cannon fodder. They were. Second was could they prove themselves against much better at home. They did. The next question will be can they prove themselves on the road @OSU, @MSU. After that will be Illinois. After that will hopefully be the CCG, and after that will hopefully be the NC/Rose Bowl.

We certainly look like the class of the conference right now, but there's a reason they play the games rather than just ending the season after week 5. We need to focus every week, even against bad schools like Indiana and Minnesota. First of all, if you lose to them, you are out of the NC hunt immediately and could even cost yourself the conference title shot. Secondly, because the Big Ten is not exactly tearing it up this year, we aren't going to have any wiggle room when it comes to strength of victory. If we win a close game rather than a blowout against anyone but MSU, Illinois, another team in the Big Ten title game, and MAYBE Minnesota-because-they-are-our-rivals-but-probably-not-because-they-suck, we could play ourselves out of the title hunt right there. "Look," the other coaches will scoff, "they couldn't pull away from PENN STATE. How could they possibly compete against <insert other team here> for a national title? How can we put them in over a dominant Stanford/Boise/Clemson?" We don't have very much margin for error. Our non-conference schedule was 4 cupcakes, and we play Indiana, @Minnesota, Purdue, and Penn State. Our four decent games are Nebraska, @MSU, @Illinois, and @OSU, and that last one is looking not so decent anymore. We ARE guaranteed a semi-decent team in the conference title game, but it might not be enough without some help, and it certainly won't be enough without help and without us continuing to win big.

Sorry for the wall of text.

 

[olympicoscar]

I'd move Georgia Tech into that 3rd tier and bump Oregon down.

Oregon is scoring a ton of points, but also giving up too many. Can't see them losing to Georgia Tech though. Game would be decided by 7 or fewer.

 

[BigAppleBadger]

"Look," the other coaches will scoff, "they couldn't pull away from PENN STATE. How could they possibly compete against <insert other team here> for a national title?

On the other hand, Alabama "only" beat Penn State by 2 TDs. What's your definition of a blowout?

 

[Vadered]

On the other hand, Alabama "only" beat Penn State by 2 TDs. What's your definition of a blowout?

Alabama can afford to win a few close games though. They play a rougher schedule than we do; their strength of schedule can compensate for strength of victory to some extent. Obviously this doesn't mean they are better than us if they win every game by 1 and we win every game by 100. I'm just reiterating that we have fewer excuses than other teams if we stop blowing other folks out. What are we gonna say, we got tired from scoring 48.4 points a game in the first five? We are just being considerate toward the guy in the Bucky suit, because 250+ pushups every week is just cruel.

And also, they won by 16 in Happy Valley, but we get Penn State at home, so it would behoove us to win by at least 17. 56-0 sounds good.