NEWS

Slip Sliding Away

Written by Geeves
Published October 19, 2008
Part of BC Tailgate

Don't let anybody tell you that college football isn't interesting. It may be frequently sloppy, and just as often excruciating for the fans of numerous teams, but it is always interesting at the very least. Let me put it into simpler terms.

What I Saw:

  • The Big East getting a huge boost. When college football fans see the latest polls on Sunday evening or Monday morning, they may be a bit surprised to see not one but two Big East teams back in the top 15. It was simple process of elimination, as No. 19 South Florida and No. 23 Pittsburgh won their respective games against Syracuse and Navy, while the teams ranked at 16, 17, 18, 20, 21, and 22 all lost. Add in Missouri's embarrassing loss to Texas, and USF and Pitt could find themselves ranked as high as 15th and 16th in the newest poll. Still a bit strange that South Florida could continue to be ranked ahead of the only team that has beaten them, but the bump is a good thing nonetheless.
  • Some incredible offense. Eleventh-ranked Missouri was one of seven teams to score at least 30 points and lose. Perhaps the most unusual was the game between UTEP and Tulsa. The Miners and the Hurricane combined to gain 496 yards of total offense in the first quarter (plus a measly 94-yard kickoff return) on their way to a 28-28 score after only 15 minutes of play. The tide changed soon after, as UTEP was outgained 564-99 the rest of the game on the way to what quickly became a 77-35 blowout win for Tulsa. The Golden Hurricane totaled 791 yards of offense. I think I'll go ahead and pick them to win Conference USA now.

What I Didn't See:

Any truly dominant performances outside of Texas. Alabama barely held on to beat Ole Miss, and Penn State started slow before they remembered they were playing Michigan. USC was dominant, but it was a weak opponent, and Texas Tech took their sweet time pulling away from a subpar Texas A&M squad. I'm not certain that any of the teams in the top 10 outside of Texas, USC, and either Ohio State or Penn State (we'll see next Saturday) truly belongs there.

What I'd Like to See:

A little bit of sympathy. I'm sorry, but I can't help but feel at least a little bit bad for Washington State. Nobody was expecting big things from the Cougars this season, but I'm sure at least a few people were hoping for something. After a 69-0 thrashing by USC today, not only are the Cougars 1-7, but their seven losses have been by an average score of 54-9. Their only glimmer of light beyond the tunnel is the next to last weekend against an equally wretched Washington team.

Keep an eye out next weekend for Texas Tech looking to knock Kansas down another peg, Georgia heading to LSU for the "SEC Slobberknocker of the Week", Oklahoma State trying to avoid becoming Texas' latest victim, and Penn State travelling to Ohio State in a game that will decide the Big Ten title.

Geeves is mainly a critic of the sports and entertainment arena, recently shifting his time and resources away from his own middling blogs and into the Blogcritics realm at something resembling full time. You can catch him in the ACC and Big 10 sections of the BC Tailgate, the NCAA weekly roundup, or over in the TV section in his advertising series called "I Don't Buy It."
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Slip Sliding Away
Published: October 19, 2008
Type: News
Section: Sports
Filed Under: Sports: Football (American)
Part of a feature: BC Tailgate
Writer: Geeves
Geeves's BC Writer page
Geeves's personal site
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