Conference Power Rankings: Week 2

2008-09-14T23:42:52-04:00

2008-09-08T11:44:19-04:00

2008-09-10T06:38:24-04:00

2008-09-14T23:42:52-04:00

Duhwayne

Salinas 534422

9 Why is there no accounting for record vs. non-BCS+? MWC top to bottom has trucked the PAC10 this year. 2740711

2008-09-14T16:38:27-04:00

emilatt

Bend 494119

8 Please rank the MWC this week--they should be ahead of the ACC and Big East, perhaps the Big 10, and after yesterday's 4-0 posting against the PAC-10, including a 59-0 pasting of UCLA by BYU and bottom-dweller UNLV knocking off AZ St., maybe they should be ahead of the PAC-10 as well. Without USC, no doubt the MWC is the stronger conference, based on performance to date. Of course, no one will admit that, because rankings are based on how the team looks on paper, not on the field! Please give us a playoff so we can decide things on the field, rather than the blogosphere! 2739232

2008-09-14T11:36:00-04:00

LowBalzz

Dawsonville 533486

7 USC has 1 team this season ranked in the top 25 still to play. HELL to the champ!!! WOOW Any SEC team has a min. of 5 top 25 ranked teams left to play.. When over ranked USC and OSU braggs about being #1 , I get a good CHUCKLE. 2737835

2008-09-13T14:59:39-04:00

smcgrath

Tampa 518723

6 i am a USF fan but last time i checked when you are UCONN playing in hurricane like conditions its hard to move the ball no matter how good you are or who you are playing. 2734878

2008-09-08T12:07:52-04:00

txjyhwk

Bedford 518156

And once again - Kansas is ignored. They are playing USF (Big East) . Last I knew, Big East was a BCS conference. 2690181

2008-09-12T23:43:56-04:00

http://img.fannation.com/upload/user_profile/image/471/156/thumb/wallpaper8_LG_1_.jpg 19 TN

zazzi82

Franklin 471596

And once again - Kansas is ignored. They are playing USF (Big East) . Last I knew, Big East was a BCS conference.

5 Ok Lets talk about Kansas. THEY LOST... 2732717

2008-09-12T11:36:17-04:00

sticks

Riverton 523664

4 Once again, your bias and less than accurate statements have me laughing. I think you underestimate the MWC and the WAC in your statements. What a joke! Washington played BYU virtually even for 4 quarters? Did you think to check the game states before making that statement? The only areas that UW did better than BYU in were punting and turnovers. Watch the game tapes again and be honest with yourself when counting the number of blatant calls that were never made. Washington lost it on an untimely flag that likely cost them some overtime excitement? Come on, Washington was lucky to even be in the position where anybody was even talking about that call. Play the game again, exact same plays, etc., with some NEUTRAL refs (not PAC-10 refs), and BYU wins by double digits. The only reason the PAC-10 records are as good as they are is BECAUSE they use their own refs for all their home games. If the PAC-10 were to even go with regional refs (not just from their conference) the same way most of the rest of the nation has done, and maintain their same records, then they might have a place in your top 5 conferences. 2726230

2008-09-11T20:54:37-04:00

1731

CharMit

Las Vegas 24671

3 I think OSU has lost its swagger and its confidence. I think USC will mop the floor with them. But we will see. 2721619

2008-09-11T20:01:11-04:00

D000000

White Plains 522302

2 god i love all the big ten and 12 fans that have to stretch to find ways to justify why they need to be ranked higher. You are doing just fine Trocchi, stick to the facts and the records and the sec's strength will continue to be undeniable. To the rest of you losers out there... nobody is telling you ya cant root for our teams, you can watch a bulldogs game with me whenever you want.. it'll probably be fun for you to watch a real football game. 2721274

2008-09-10T22:31:35-04:00

DLS141

Stafford 185409

1 Can I get my last 4 minutes back. What a waste of time. 2712125

2008-09-09T21:42:30-04:00

EricUSC

Tucson 488447

dbru22: Fact: 27 percent of the top 11 ranked teams is from the SEC WEST. Fact: They're meaningless preseason rankings. Ask Tennessee. Or Clemson, Or West Virginia. Since there's rarely a chance to compare teams head-to-head in college football we rely mostly on perception and names, especially early in the season. If you're a famous school with a big win early, you get ranked or you move up in the rankings. The SEC has the largest number of famous teams and when it comes to preseason or early ranking if any famous SEC school looks good they get ranked over other schools. I went to USC and if you want to see this in action just look at us in the 90s where we fielded average teams but always started ranked in the top 20. USC might benefit from this, but overall the Pac 10 doesn't since we have too many random teams that shoot up every season. Cal just got ranked this week at 23rd, and UCLA, a team that beat Tennessee, actually fell out of the rankings, even tho they beat a team from supposedly the best conference in the US. Now they will have to climb back in again. It's a much tougher/longer road for teams that aren't as famous as SEC teams. 2706290

<img style="border: 1px solid black; margin: 5px; width: 425px; height: 313px; float: right;" src="http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/images/09/08/tebow.jpg" alt="" width="425" height="313" /> The <a href="/blogs/post/242517" target="_blank">2008 debut of the Conference Power Rankings</a> generated a whopping 128 comments from the college football faithful last week, demonstrating the passion this subject generates. Here's my personal favorite from last week, which compared the rankings (which were published prior to Monday's UCLA-Tennessee game) to the history of World War II:   How can this guy call himself credible and write an article before all the games are complete? It is like writing the history of WWII just after the Germany invaded France. "The Thousand Year Reich is going to be DOMINANT for a very long time, folks. I see maybe a TWO Thousand year Reich. Nobody on the Continent can touch them and there is little chance that either the Brits or the Americans will be able to unseat Adolf's Annihilators."   What a fricken joke. Shame on SI for even letting this article see the light of day. -- protonm, Sept. 2, 2008   Keep 'em coming, folks.   Unfortunately for the rankings, there were fewer meaningful non-conference games this week as the BCS conferences mostly loaded up on patsies. Still, there was more to learn as the mother of all non-conference games (Ohio State at USC) approaches.   NOTE: The BCS+ notation reflects BCS conference teams, plus other teams ranked in the current AP Top 25.   1. SEC (17-3 non-conference, 4-2 vs. BCS+) Last Rank: 1  The Good: SI.com's Andy Staples pointed out that <a href="http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/writers/andy_staples/09/07/staples.florida.miami/index.html" target="_blank">Florida didn't look as good</a> as it should've against Miami, but I'll still give the Gators props for a 23-point win against an emotional and athletic opponent. Georgia looked scary good on offense at times against Central Michigan, and Ole Miss took ACC leader Wake Forest to the gun on the road.   The Bad: Arkansas, again. The Razorbacks survived another fourth-down situation on a game-winning drive, and had to sweat out a missed field goal against ... UL-Monroe, for a 28-27 win. The Razorbacks have to be the least impressive 2-0 BCS team in the nation. Honorable mention was Alabama's listless 20-6 win over Tulane in which the Tide were outgained by 146 yards.   The Verdict: Not an overly impressive week by the nation's best conference, but no other conference jumped up.   2. Big 12 (22-2, 3-1 vs. BCS+) Last Rank: 2 The Good: It is tough to reward such a weak schedule, but the league was 12-0 and almost every game was a blowout. Oklahoma pounded Cincinnati, and eight of the 12 wins were by 20 points or more.   The Bad: Colorado barely beat Eastern Washington, returning an interception for a touchdown in the final minutes, then picking off a pass in the end zone on the final play to preserve a 31-24 win. Not exactly how you want to head into the West Virginia game in two weeks.   The Verdict: A warm-up week before four BCS teams appear on next week's non-conference slate -- Washington (vs. Oklahoma), Washington State (at Baylor), Arkansas (at Texas) and Iowa (vs. Iowa State).   3. Pac-10 (7-3, 3-3 vs. BCS+) Last Rank: 3 The Good: Washington has to fall into this category, playing BYU virtually even for four quarters, only to have an <a href="/blogs/post/246915" target="_blank">untimely flag spoil a potential overtime</a>. Also, Cal running back Jahvid Best (384 total yards in two weeks) looks like a guy who can lift the Golden Bears into the elite of the league, and the nation.   The Bad: Oregon State was overwhelmed by a Penn State squad that dealt with more off-the-field adversity prior to the game. The Beavers should have been out for redemption after their opening loss to Stanford. Instead, they were run over.   The Verdict: The Pac-10 has had its share of conference games, and it still has seven BCS+ games. No question, this league has more guts in the scheduling department than any other major conference.   4. Big Ten (18-3, 3-3 vs. BCS+) Last Rank: 4 The Good: Penn State whipped Oregon State, and Stewart Mandel says <a href="http://www.fannation.com/blogs/post/247458" target="_blank">the Lions' offense has clicked into high gear</a> sooner than expected. Wisconsin also had a dominating win, over Marshall, and Northwestern won at Duke. An unbeaten week, but again, the competition left something to be desired.   The Bad: Ohio State and Michigan both struggled against MAC teams. While most are not worried about Ohio State, especially if it can get Beanie Wells back, Michigan is another matter. Week 2 was more of the same from Week 1 as the square pegs try to run the round-hole offense.   The Verdict: Not much to be learned with nine non-BCS opponents, but Ohio State will carry the conference's flag this week to Los Angeles against USC. Fair or not, that game will paint this league a certain way.   5. ACC (13-7, 2-7 vs. BCS+) Last Rank: 6 The Good: Wake Forest prevented some embarrassment with a last-second field goal by the clutch Sam Swank. A loss by the ACC favorite to a mid-level SEC team at home would have been another flesh wound to a hurting conference. Florida State put up some pretty numbers in a 69-0 win over Western Carolina. Hey, 69 points is a lot.   The Bad: Duke needed to beat Northwestern at home to help boost the league in these standings. Maryland, you got some 'splaining to do after a 24-14 loss to Middle Tennessee. Plus, Virginia Tech and Virginia were underwhelming against Furman and Richmond, respectively.   The Verdict: The 'Bad' is clearly outweighing the 'Good' in this conference after two weeks, though Miami looked respectable at The Swamp.   6. Big East (8-7, 0-6 vs. BCS+) Last Rank: 5 The Good: Ummm ... South Florida survived in overtime at Central Florida. That's good, right?   The Bad: UConn had to go OT vs. Temple. Cincinnati was routed by Oklahoma. Syracuse lost by two TDs at home to Akron. West Virginia looked lost against East Carolina. That enough?   The Verdict: Who is the best team in the this league? Or, worse yet, who is the second best? Four non-conference games await this week against four BCS opponents. If the league wants to shape up, Week 3 brings a big opportunity. 1221 http://img.fannation.com/upload/user_profile/image/425/01/thumb/trocchi_bill.jpg 0 GA

Bill Trocchi

Tucker 42721