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2010 USA Today Coaches Preseason Poll

Sun, 08 Aug 2010 15:30:18 -0500

2010 2010 USA Today Coaches Preseason Poll

Rank Team (first-place votes) 2009 record Points Final 2009 rank

1. Alabama (55) 14-0 1,469 1
2. Ohio State (4) 11-2 1,392 5
3. Florida 13-1 1,245 3
4. Texas 13-1 1,240 2
5. Boise State 14-0 1,215 4
6. Virginia Tech 10-3 1,052 10
7. TCU 12-1 1,051 6
8. Oklahoma 8-5 1,035 NR
9. Nebraska 10-4 1,001 14
10. Iowa 11-2 952 7
11. Oregon 10-3 940 11
12. Wisconsin 10-3 778 16
13. Miami (Fla.) 9-4 728 19
14. Penn State 11-2 508 8
15. Pittsburgh 10-3 492 15
16. LSU 9-4 476 17
17. Georgia Tech 11-3 455 13
18. North Carolina 8-5 445 NR
19. Arkansas 8-5 438 NR
20. Florida State 7-6 374 NR
21. Georgia 8-5 312 NR
22. Oregon State 8-5 263 NR
23. Auburn 8-5 260 NR
24t. Utah 10-3 169 18
24t. West Virginia 9-4 169 22

Others receiving votes

Cincinnati (12-1) 135; Houston (10-4) 76; Brigham Young (11-2) 66; Arizona (8-5) 65; Mississippi (9-4) 48; Clemson (9-5) 44; Stanford (8-5) 41; Connecticut (8-5) 40; Notre Dame (6-6) 38; South Carolina (7-6) 38; Washington (5-7) 26; Missouri (8-5) 23; Navy (10-4) 12; Oklahoma State (9-4) 11; Boston College (8-5) 10; Michigan State (6-7) 10; Arizona State (4-8) 6; California (8-5) 6; Texas Tech (9-4) 5; South Florida (8-5) 4; Texas A&M (6-7) 3; Northwestern (8-5) 2; Temple (9-4) 2; Central Michigan (12-2) 1; Mississippi State (5-7) 1; Nevada (8-5) 1; Northern Illinois (7-6) 1; Southern Methodist (8-5) 1.

Alabama defends their national championship from last year by starting #1 this year, exactly like Florida did last year. The SEC has six teams in the preseason poll, the ACC has five, the Big 10 has four (not counting Nebraska yet) , the Big 12 has three, the Pac 10 two, and the Big East two.

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Who is the biggest sleeper team this year?

Sat, 07 Aug 2010 09:26:32 -0500

Tis the season for prognostication and - as I dust off the keyboard and hang tinsel on the Crystal Ball - I'm in the mood for some divinations and projections.

So... without further ado... who is the biggest sleeper team of the 2010-2011 college football season?

I'm going to go outside the BCS conferences for this one and pick the Ponies. Yep, C-USA, baby. While Houston is the sexy pick in Conference USA (and why not, with their Heisman-capable QB?), give me the mighty SMU Mustangs.

Not only does SMU return eight starters to the conference's best offense, but the Mustangs play some pretty solid defense. They held the potent Nevada running game to 200 yards below their season average last year and get 7 starters back from last year's team.

June Jones is in his 3rd season in Dallas and already has the ship righted. Not only did the Mustangs make it to their first bowl game since 1984, but they also brought home the Sheraton Bowl trophy to boot. SMU won 7 more games last year then they did in 2008 with a team of basically freshmen and sophomores. 29 of Jones's 44 players on the two-deep roster were underclassmen and they all return for 2010. QB Kyle Pardon completed 67% of his passes last season in his first year as a starter and he's got two good WRs back with him this year.

SMU will get some help schedule-wise this year. The Mustangs play rival TCU at home and catch Houston at home this season as well. This could very well be a 10-win season for SMU with a trip to the LIberty Bowl as C-USA champ.

You combine those factors and package them up in the Pony Express uniforms and maybe, just maybe, it's high times again in Big D.

So... who's your sleeper team for 2011?

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Fanblogs Open Thread: Realignment-ageddon Edition

Thu, 10 Jun 2010 12:23:46 -0500

With today's official announcement of Colorado to the Pac10 conference and the expected announcement of Nebraska to the Big10 conference (which officially makes it a Big12, don't you think?)... it would seem that the summer realignment-ageddon has officially begun.

Here's a quick what we know, what we can surmise....

- Colorado is officially joining the Pac10. It's unclear as to whether the Pac10 intends to hold at 11 teams, but we should expect the Pac10 to seek to add at least one additional member. For years the argument against expansion centered around the round-robin schedule format and - with 11 schools - that format is officially out the window for college football. Adding one more school would give the conference the option to conduct a CFB championship game in some of the largest television markets in the country. Does the Pac10 stop at 12 (Texas??) or expand further with Big12/MWC/WAC teams???

- The Big10 will have 12 teams with the addition of Nebraska. Will they stand pat at 12 teams or expand to 16 as had been rumored?

- The SEC has said that they will not sit idly by if the Big10 expands. Sports Illustrated has confirmed that the SEC has held discussions with Texas A&M. Is that prelude to further SEC expansion? Who, in addition to the Aggies, are on the SEC radar?

- The ACC & Big East seem to be awfully quiet. Are they targets or could a merger be on the table for the two conferences?

- The MWC will not offer membership to Boise State at this time, setting themselves up to be the home of any Big12 refugees. Is the MWC destined to become a BCS conference by default?

DISCUSS!!!

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New bowl rules to open more doors to 6-6 teams

Tue, 13 Apr 2010 19:53:36 -0500

The NCAA committee that oversees rules changes has approved a measure brought forward by Big 12 Commissioner Dan Beebe allowing bowl committees to give equal consideration to teams with 6-6 records when evaluating at-large bids.

At first glance, it would seem to reward teams that played a tougher schedule rather than padding their record with cupcakes. The change would also give bowls more flexibility to create the most interesting matchup, potentially boosting revenues for struggling bowl committees.

Matt Sanderson, co-founder of Playoff PAC, told the San Diego Union Times that the rule could allow bowls with open slots for at-large teams to select power-conference teams with 6-6 records over smaller-conference teams with winning records.

Sanderson points to this season's GMAC Bowl, which took 9-3 Troy as an at-large team. Under the revised rules, the GMAC Bowl could have offered the at-large slot to 6-6 Notre Dame.

While the new provision still needs an OK by the greater NCAA, most rule revisions that make it out of committee are approved.

Suffice to say... no one wants to see a bad 6-6 team stink it up in a marquee bowl game. The reality is that - with new bowls coming on in Yankee Stadium and the Cotton Bowl - there are going to be 70 teams in bowl games this year. If a bowl needs to dig deep and get an at-large team, I would prefer them to create the most interesting game they can.

No disrespect intended, but I would *much* rather see a hypothetical 6-6 Southern Cal as an at-large against Alabama, for example, over a 7-5 Louisiana Monroe.

Just sayin.

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Big 10 to expand and become Big 16?

Mon, 05 Apr 2010 10:07:57 -0500

Tony Barnhart is hearing whispers from conference commissioners indicating that the Big 10 is at least considering expanding to a superconference of 16 teams.

The Big Ten is looking at three plans: Stand pat with 11 teams, add one team (hopefully Notre Dame) or make a blockbuster move and go to 16.
"If they go to 16 and one of them is Notre Dame then we've got an entirely new ball game," a conference commissioner told me confidentially.

According to Barnhart, the Big 10 would potentially add Notre Dame and four other Big East teams. It's hard to distinguish if he has any leads on who those teams could be, but Barnhart theorizes that the target list may include Syracuse, Pitt, Rutgers, and UConn.

Of course this opens a whole host of other possibilities....

Where do the other Big East football schools go?

Would some mish-mash of Big East / Conference USA start a new conference?

Would the ACC expand to 16 as well by taking in the Big East leftovers?

Would the SEC expand to 16 to ensure that the conference doesn't lose its considerable negotiating advantage to the new Big 16? And, as Barnhart ponders, who would the SEC invite?

Does the SEC get aggressive and pick up the phone call Texas? That's the one school that would move the financial needle to improve the great deal the SEC already has. And if you take Texas, you have to take Texas A&M because of the politics. Does the SEC take another look at Florida State and Miami and see if those schools would be interested in leaving the ACC for a better financial deal?

It's hard to even imagine an SEC that adds the collective football prominence of Texas, Texas A&M, FSU and Miami. Not to mention its gains in Title IX sports and spring sports such as baseball, track, and golf.

A 16-team Big 10 would definitely be a behemoth, but the ripple effects... *that's* where superconference expansion would get interesting.

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2009-2010 College Football Bowl Game Television Schedule

Tue, 22 Dec 2009 18:09:51 -0500

Despite what you may hear from skeptics, there's no better season in all of sports than college football bowl season and the complete television schedule for the bowl games is right here on Fanblogs, brought to you by BangTheBook.com.

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Date/Time/TV	Bowl	Site	Matchup
Saturday Dec. 19 2 :30 pm ET ESPN	New Mexico Bowl Bowl Tickets Flights + Hotels Odds & Picks	Albuquerque, NM University Stadium	Wyoming vs. Fresno State
Saturday Dec. 19 8:00 pm ET ESPN	St. Petersburg Bowl Bowl Tickets Flights + Hotels Odds & Picks	St. Petersburg, FL Tropicana Field	Rutgers vs. Central Florida
Sunday Dec. 20 8:00 pm ET ESPN	R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl Bowl Tickets Flights + Hotels Odds & Picks	New Orleans, LA Louisiana Superdome	Southern Miss vs. Middle Tenn St
Tuesday Dec. 22 8:00 pm ET ESPN	MAACO Bowl Las Vegas Bowl Tickets Flights + Hotels Odds & Picks	Las Vegas, NV Sam Boyd Stadium	BYU vs. Oregon State
Wednesday Dec. 23 8:00 pm ET ESPN	San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl Bowl Tickets Flights + Hotels Odds & Picks	San Diego, CA Qualcomm Stadium	Utah vs. Cal
Thursday Dec. 24 8:00 pm ET ESPN	Sheraton Hawai'i Bowl Bowl Tickets Flights + Hotels Odds & Picks	Honolulu, HI Aloha Stadium	SMU vs. Nevada
Saturday Dec. 26 4:30 pm ET ESPN	Meineke Car Care Bowl Bowl Tickets Flights + Hotels Odds & Picks	Charlotte, NC Bank of America Stadium	North Carolina vs. Pitt
Saturday Dec. 26 5 :00 pm ET ESPN	Little Caesars Pizza Bowl Bowl Tickets Flights + Hotels Odds & Picks	Detroit, MI Ford Field	Ohio U vs. Marshall
Saturday Dec. 26 8:00 pm ET ESPN	Emerald Bowl Bowl Tickets Flights + Hotels Odds & Picks	San Francisco, CA AT&T Park	Boston College vs. USC
Sunday Dec. 27 8:15 pm ET ESPN	Gaylord Hotels Music City Bowl Bowl Tickets Flights + Hotels Odds & Picks	Nashville, TN LP Field	Clemson vs. Kentucky
Monday Dec. 28 5:00 pm ET ESPN	AdvoCare V100 Independence Bowl Bowl Tickets Flights + Hotels Odds & Picks	Shreveport, LA Independence Stadium	Texas A&M vs. Georgia
Tuesday Dec. 29 4:30 pm ET ESPN	EagleBank Bowl Bowl Tickets Flights + Hotels Odds & Picks	Washington, DC RFK Stadium	Temple vs. UCLA
Tuesday Dec. 29 8:00 pm ET ESPN	Champs Sports Bowl Bowl Tickets Flights + Hotels Odds & Picks	Orlando, FL Florida Citrus Bowl Stadium	Miami vs. Wisconsin
Wednesday Dec. 30 4:30 pm ET ESPN	Roady's Humanitarian Bowl Bowl Tickets Flights + Hotels Odds & Picks	Boise, ID Bronco Stadium	Bowling Green vs. Idaho
Wednesday Dec. 30 8:00 pm ET ESPN	Pacific Life Holiday Bowl Bowl Tickets Flights + Hotels Odds & Picks	San Diego, CA Qualcomm Stadium	Nebraska vs. Arizona
Thursday Dec. 31 2:00 pm ET NFL Network	Texas Bowl Bowl Tickets Flights + Hotels Odds & Picks	Houston, TX Reliant Stadium	Missouri vs. Navy
Thursday Dec. 31 Time TBA ESPN	Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl Bowl Tickets Flights + Hotels Odds & Picks	Fort Worth, TX Amon G. Carter Stadium	Air Force vs. Houston
Thursday Dec. 31 12:00 pm ET CBS	Brut Sun Bowl Bowl Tickets Flights + Hotels Odds & Picks	El Paso, TX Sun Bowl Stadium	Stanford vs. Oklahoma
Thursday Dec. 31 5:30 pm ET NFL Network	Insight Bowl Bowl Tickets Flights + Hotels Odds & Picks	Tempe, AZ Sun Devil Stadium	Minnesota vs. Iowa State
Thursday Dec. 31 7:30 pm ET ESPN	Chick-fil-A Bowl Bowl Tickets Flights + Hotels Odds & Picks	Atlanta, GA Georgia Dome	Virginia Tech vs. Tennessee
Friday Jan. 1 11:00 am ET ESPN	Outback Bowl Bowl Tickets Flights + Hotels Odds & Picks	Tampa, FL Raymond James Stadium	Auburn vs. Northwestern
Friday Jan. 1 1:00 pm ET CBS	Konica Minolta Gator Bowl Bowl Tickets Flights + Hotels Odds & Picks	Jacksonville, FL Jacksonville Municipal Stadium	FSU vs. West Virginia
Friday Jan. 1 1:00 pm ET ABC	Capital One Bowl Bowl Tickets Flights + Hotels Odds & Picks	Orlando, FL Florida Citrus Bowl Stadium	Penn State vs. LSU
Friday Jan. 1 5:00 pm ET ABC	Rose Bowl presented by Citi Bowl Tickets Flights + Hotels Odds & Picks	Pasadena, CA Rose Bowl	Ohio State vs. Oregon
Friday Jan. 1 8:30 pm ET FOX	Allstate Sugar Bowl Bowl Tickets Flights + Hotels Odds & Picks	New Orleans, LA Superdome	Florida vs. Cincinnati
Saturday Jan. 2 12:00 pm ET ESPN2	International Bowl Bowl Tickets Flights + Hotels Odds & Picks	Toronto, Canada Rogers Centre	South Florida vs. Northern Illinois
Saturday Jan. 2 2 :00 pm ET ESPN	PapaJohns.com Bowl Bowl Tickets Flights + Hotels Odds & Picks	Birmingham, AL Legion Field	Connecticut vs. South Carolina
Saturday Jan. 2 2:00 pm ET FOX	AT&T Cotton Bowl Classic Bowl Tickets Flights + Hotels Odds & Picks	Arlington, TX Cowboys Stadium	Oklahoma State vs. Ole Miss
Saturday Jan. 2 5:30 pm ET ESPN	AutoZone Liberty Bowl Bowl Tickets Flights + Hotels Odds & Picks	Memphis, TN Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium	East Carolina vs. Arkansas
Saturday Jan. 2 9 :00 pm ET ESPN	Valero Alamo Bowl Bowl Tickets Flights + Hotels Odds & Picks	San Antonio, TX Alamodome	Michigan State vs. Texas Tech
Monday Jan. 4 8:00 pm ET FOX	Tostitos Fiesta Bowl Bowl Tickets Flights + Hotels Odds & Picks	Glendale, AZ University of Phoenix Stadium	TCU vs. Boise State
Tuesday Jan. 5 8:00 pm ET FOX	FedEx Orange Bowl Bowl Tickets Flights + Hotels Odds & Picks	Miami, FL Dolphin Stadium	Georgia Tech vs. Iowa
Wednesday Jan. 6 7 :00 pm ET ESPN	GMAC Bowl Bowl Tickets Flights + Hotels Odds & Picks	Mobile, AL Ladd Peebles Stadium	Troy vs. Central Michigan
Thursday Jan. 7 8:00 pm ET ABC	BCS National Championship Game Bowl Tickets Flights + Hotels Odds & Picks	Pasadena, CA Rose Bowl	Alabama vs. Texas

The 2009 college football season will be capped by exciting college football bowl games, including the 2009 Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, the 2009 Fiesta Bowl in Phoenix, Arizona, the 2009 Sugar Bowl in New Orleans, Louisiana, the 2009 Orange Bowl in Miami, Florida and the 2009 BCS National Championship Game in Pasadena, CA.

The best college football teams from the major conferences, including the Big10 conference, Big 12 conference, Pac 10 conference, ACC conference, Big East conference, SEC conference, and Mountain West conference will face off in college football bowl games throughout December and into January.

If you're looking for updated matchups, odds, insights, betting lines and online wagering for the college football bowl games, please be sure to try BangTheBook.com.

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Lost and Found: Houston Has a Problem

Tue, 29 Sep 2009 18:17:58 -0500

Houston coach Kevin Sumlin has made a plea via Twitter and the media for the safe return of three Cougar football helmets that were apparently lost during an onfield celebration following the victory over Texas Tech Saturday night. Said Sumlin, apparently desperate not to receive three ongoing 15 yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalties for the removal of the helmets:

"Saturday night was fun, but it will be hard for 3 of our guys to play this week without their helmets. Please return, NO QUESTIONS ASKED."

Despite the Cougars moving up to #12 in the AP poll after big wins against Oklahoma State and Texas Tech, apparently their athletic department budget dips into the red replacing three missing $200 helmets. Maybe they might track down some leads, pushing the 'no questions asked' pledge? Seriously, you guys don't stock a few extra pieces of equipment? What do you do if a massive tsunami washes through Houston and floats all the shoulder pads out to sea?

These things are bound to happen, especially when you allow fans to roam free on the field after a game. Your fans can't act like they've been there before? I know it's been 20 years since Jack Pardee and Andre Ware lit up the likes of SMU's soccer team for 95, but I think you've supplanted that moment for most embarrassing feat in school history: the meek plea for the return of a couple football helmets so that some of your players don't have to share them, or worse, play without them.

Anyone else think that the Dread Pirate Leach is somehow behind all this? Hmmm....

h/t: Dread Pirate Ron

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simulated BCS Standings: Week 2

Mon, 14 Sep 2009 19:37:44 -0500

Our friend Samuel Chi at BCS Guru has published this weeks simulated BCS standings. For a more detailed explanation of how the ranking is simulated follow the link provided.

For an explanation for why the computers are hating on Florida see his writeup for the current week.

Bold indicates the highest ranked teams from automatic qualifying(AQ) conferences, a strike represent additional teams from the SEC and Big 12. Teams vying for a final AQ awarded to the highest ranked team from a conference without an AQ if at least one makes the final top 12 are in italics. The remaining teams (including those in italics not selected) are fighting for the last remaining BCS openings. Gaps represent large differences in the BCS standigns.

1) USC 0.8727

2) Texas 0.7882
3) Alabama 0.7870
4) ~~Florida~~ 0.7540

5) ~~LSU~~ 0.6655
6) California 0.6460
7) Boise State 0.6097
8) Penn State 0.5992
9) BYU 0.5987

10) ~~Ole Miss~~ 0.5240

11) Ohio State 0.4332
12) ~~Oklahoma~~ 0.4050
13) Georgia Tech 0.3727
14) TCU 0.3651
===BCS Eligibility Line===
15) Utah 0.3505
16) Virginia Tech 0.3500

17) ~~Oklahoma State~~ 0.2552
18) North Carolina 0.2460
19) ~~Nebraska~~ 0.2176
20) Cincinnati 0.1979
===Watch Line===
21) Houston 0.1880
22) ~~Georgia~~ 0.1697
23) Miami(FL) 0.1467
24) ~~Missouri~~ 0.1375
25) Pittsburgh 0.1284

As usual the Big 12 and SEC dominate the standings with 5 teams each, many near the top.

Currently three teams from outside the BCS AQ conferences have crossed the #14 ranking needed to become BCS eligible. Two have made it into the top 10. A total of five are present in the top 25. This all suggests that a robust push by the MWC, WAC and C-USA to earn their AQ is underway.

If BYU wins this week against FSU they should take the lead from Boise State and hold it until they lose a game.

California (or USC) and Ohio State (or Penn State) are the only obstacles blocking the BCS from being forced to take a second team from outside the six AQ conferences. Virginia Tech and North Carolina are on deck to fill any vacancies, despite the media bombardment directed at the ACC so far this year.

The ACC certainly is not looking to be as even across the board as it was last year. If they are, it will be serious trouble for them.

The Big East also advanced further into the standings with Cincinnati entering the watch list and Pittsburgh joining them in the top 25, reflecting a strong early performance against mostly outmatched opponents. This week should be a good barometer of how good the Big East really is. Have we all really forgotten 2006 and 2007 already?

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2009 Preseason USA Today Coaches Poll

Fri, 07 Aug 2009 14:41:35 -0500

The 2009 USA Today Coaches Football Poll, released August 7, 2009.

1. Florida (53)
2. Texas (4)
3. Oklahoma (1)
4. Southern California (1)
5. Alabama
6. Ohio State
7. Virginia Tech
8. Penn State
9. LSU
10. Mississippi
11. Oklahoma State
12. California
13. Georgia
14. Oregon
15. Georgia Tech
16. Boise State
17. TCU
18. Utah
19. Florida State
20. North Carolina
21. Iowa
22. Nebraska
23. Notre Dame
24. Brigham Young
25. Oregon State

Others receiving votes (with 2008 records):
Kansas (8-5) 138; Michigan State (9-4) 136; Texas Tech (11-2) 114; Cincinnati (11-3) 90; Pittsburgh (9-4) 64; West Virginia (9-4) 55; Rutgers (8-5) 51; Miami (Fla.) (7-6) 46; Missouri (10-4) 44; Illinois (5-7) 38; Clemson (7-6) 30; South Carolina (7-6) 18; UCLA (4-8) 14; Auburn (5-7) 12; Nevada (7-6) 11; South Florida (8-5) 11; Kentucky (7-6) 9; North Carolina State (6-7) 7; Arkansas (5-7) 6; Wisconsin (7-6) 6; Northwestern (9-4) 5; Southern Mississippi (7-6) 4; Wake Forest (8-5) 4; Arizona (8-5) 3; Boston College (9-5) 3; Central Michigan (8-5) 3; East Carolina (9-5) 3; Colorado (5-7) 2; Maryland (8-5) 2; Navy (8-5) 2; Tennessee (5-7) 2; Houston (8-5) 1; Michigan (3-9) 1; Minnesota (7-6) 1; Troy (8-5) 1.

I know what you're thinking? Where's the ritual preseason vote for Duke? I have no idea. Although South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier is voting this year in the coaches poll, he did not cast his annual vote for the Blue Devils. Perhaps the uproar of blaming his assistant for snubbing Tim Tebow hit a little too close to home.

And not to beat a dead horse, but I *hate* preseason polls. They are *not* accurate indicators of success. Case in point? Last year's preseason coaches poll failed to rank 14 of the 25 teams in final season coaches poll. That's right. The 2008 preseason coaches poll failed to rank 56% of the teams in the 2008 final poll.

So... if you like you're football indicators with a 44% accuracy, then - by all means - go nuts over this one.

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Will C-USA get their day?

Fri, 29 May 2009 04:33:44 -0500

Back when the BCS started the WAC was splitting into two conferences due to over expansion and there was great uncertainty over the future of each. This left C-USA as the most stable and competitive conference without an automatic qualification.

The loss of Louisville, Cincinnati and South Florida in 2005 to the Big East put a significant dent in C-USA's elite teams. TCU, who had been a member since 2001, left in 2005 for the MWC and C-USA then picked up UCF, Marshall, Rice, SMU, UTEP and Tulsa to form the conference that exists today.

The MWC has emerged as a serious contender for an eventual BCS automatic qualification but even the WAC has sent two teams to the BCS. Will C-USA get their turn at the BCS tables? What chance does C-USA have of making a BCS bowl this year?

The conference championship game is not included in conference rankings by C-USA.
Unless specified a team will likely need to go undefeated to get into the top 14.
For consideration of BCS slots for C-USA, Boise State might as well be a MWC team already.
C-USA East
East Carolina 9-3 (7-1 C-USA)
OOC: Appalachian State, @West Virginia, @North Carolina, Virginia Tech
West: @SMU, Rice, @Tulsa

West Virginia and Virginia Tech will be formidable tests but, as last year showed, they are not insurmountable. North Carolina and Tulsa will also present some problems.

East Carolina certainly has a BCS caliber schedule and has room to make waves again this year. An undefeated season, capped off with a C-USA conference championship game win, would put East Carolina in contention with an undefeated MWC team for a BCS spot. They should be in the top 14 even with one loss.

Memphis 8-4 (5-3 C-USA)
OOC: Ole Miss, @Middle Tennessee State, Tennessee-Martin, @Tennessee
West: UTEP, @Houston, @Tulsa

Ole Miss looks to be a beast this year but Tennessee looks very beatable.

Southern Mississippi 7-5 (5-3 C-USA)
OOC: Alcorn State, Virginia, @Kansas, @Louisville
West: Tulane, @Houston, Tulsa

Other than Alcorn State, the other three OOC games look very compelling.

UCF 5-7 (4-4 C-USA)
OOC: Samford, Buffalo, Miami (FL), @Texas

This might be as aggressive a schedule as East Carolina's. UCF is not East Carolina.

Marshall 5-7 (4-4 C-USA)
OOC: Southern Illinois, @Virginia Tech, Bowling Green, @West Virginia
West: @Tulane, SMU, @UTEP

The game against Bowling Green might be compelling, the rest not so much. Like ECU and UCF they have a schedule to make a statement.

UAB 4-8 (2-6 C-USA)
OOC: @Troy, @Texas A&M, @Ole Miss, Florida Atlantic
West: Rice, SMU, @UTEP

Ole Miss again is going to be tough this year. Texas A&M is going to take all they have to get an upset. Troy and Florida Atlantic should be close games.

C-USA West
Tulsa 9-3 (7-1 C-USA)
OOC: @New Mexico, @Oklahoma, Sam Houston State, Boise State
East: East Carolina, @Southern Miss, Memphis

New Mexico should be close and they should give Boise State a run for their money. A one loss Tulsa could possibly climb into BCS consideration.

Rice 8-4 (6-2 C-USA)
OOC: @Texas Tech, @Oklahoma State, Vanderbilt, Navy
East: @UAB, @East Carolina, UCF

I think Texas Tech is a bit much for them to handle but the other three games should be excellent.

Houston 6-6 (4-4 C-USA)
OOC: Northwestern State, @Oklahoma State, Texas Tech, @Mississippi State
East: Southern Miss, @UCF, Memphis

While Houston might something out of their game at Oklahoma State, Mississippi State should be interesting regardless.

UTEP 3-9 (2-6 C-USA)
OOC: Buffalo, Kansas, @New Mexico State, @Texas
East: @Memphis, UAB, Marshall

I would love to see UTEP beat Kansas, but it is a long shot. Buffalo will get a test at UTEP. New Mexico State should be a close game.

Tulane 3-9 (1-7 C-USA)
OOC: BYU, McNeese State, @Army, @LSU
East: Marshall, @Southern Miss, @UCF

Tulane should beat Army and could put a wrinkle in BYU's plans.

SMU 4-8 (1-7 C-USA)
OOC: Stephan F. Austin, @Washington State, @TCU, Navy
East: @UAB, East Carolina, @Marshall

I like SMU's chances vs. Washington State and Navy.

OOC
BCS: 25 games. While C-USA has more games against the BCS conference members than the MWC more of these are not very competitive. C-USA should be in the ball park of 8 or 9 wins over BCS conference members.

MWC: 3. With games against the top MWC teams, plus a fourth against Boise State, C-USA has an opportunity to make a statement that it is the top conference outside the Big 6. Only ne of those looks to be competitive.

Total: 48 games. I expect C-USA to go 23-25 though a winning record is not out of the question by any means.

Conclusion
Where the MWC focuses on scheduling competitive teams they can beat, C-USA plays a more challenging schedule that pushed their envelope. Part of this is that the MWC has distanced themselves from C-USA in the middle of the pack making the common opponents appear to be more challenging in C-USA.

With a few exceptions, C-USA teams need to go undefeated to even get into BCS consideration. East Carolina, Tulsa and UCF can get their with a loss but would be behind a one loss MWC team or Boise State. An undefeated MWC team or Boise State is ahead of them in any case.

This makes for very long odds for a C-USA team to make a BCS bowl this year. Even if a team performs they will likely be outranked by a MWC team or Boise State. This is not likely to change in the near future.

The best chance for C-USA to improve their odds is for the MWC to expand by adding Boise State and become an automatic qualifying conference. C-USA would then be the top non automatic qualifying conference once again, pending losses to the Big East. C-USA should still be able to draw the top WAC, MAC and Sun Belt teams to build a strong conference, even with a few losses.

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Congressional hearings on BCS prove to be a joke

Sat, 09 May 2009 07:47:18 -0500

On the day after Congress held hearings on swine flu, a House subcommittee set out to investigate the Bowl Championship Series. The results? Congressional leaders proved they know very little about college football, and even less about the BCS.

The House Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade, and Consumer Protection hosted the hearings. Of the twenty-nine House members on the committee, three showed up to participate

The hearing leader, Rep. Bobby Rush (D-Ill.), introduced the key guest, BCS coordinator John Swofford, as the commissioner of the Athletic Coast Conference. Rep. Rush, I pretty sure it's the Atlantic Coast Conference, although they do play athletics, so I guess we'll give you partial credit, Congressman.

Craig Thompson was introduced as the commissioner of the West Mountain. Seriously? The West Mountain? Is Thompson the chief ski lift operator there or something? Could someone not point out to the leader of the BCS committee hearing that MWC is an acronym for the Mountain West Conference and not West Mountain?

None of the congressmen attending the hearing was aware that all eleven major conferences are members and financial benefactors of the BCS.

I mean... seriously... is this how our congressmen prepare for an on-the-record House hearing? I cringe to think what would happen if the discussion was the future of medicare. In the words of Britney Spears, "Ding dang, y'all!"

Rep Joe Barton (R-Tex.), an outspoken advocate for scapping the BCS in favor of a playoff format, demonstrated his grasp of playoff proposals by insisting that a March Madness style bracket format may be the solution for college football.

"You could have a playoff system with 64 teams, and use every bowl that's currently in there," Barton said Friday. "You could do that."
No you couldn't.

"We'd still be playing," Alamo Bowl CEO Derrick Fox quipped.

Congressman, if 64 teams are play in a single-elimination format... then it takes 63 total games to determine the winner. That's how it works.

Barton has proposed legislation that would forbid the BCS from awarding a "national championship" trophy. Within the bill, any organization would be barred from "the marketing, promotion, and advertising of a postseason game as a 'national championship' football game, unless it is the result of a playoff system. Violations of the prohibition will be treated as violations of the Federal Trade Commission Act as an unfair or deceptive act or practice."

Let me see if I understand the implication: Since the BCS does not award a National Championship trophy... the BCS would continue unchanged. Yep. The American Football Coaches Association would still hand out the Coaches Trophy. The AP would still crown its own champion as well. In other words, Barton's legislation would permit the BCS to continue unchanged.

So... Barton's bill means nothing to the BCS... at all? Well, yeah. Congressman Barton told Swofford during the hearing that the BCS wouldn't be obligated to institute any change.

"You don't have to change it. Our bill doesn't say you have to change it."

(That said... I would still love for someone to start handing out the "Barton Cup".)

Later Barton -- who's bill was the entire basis for the hearings -- left the committee meeting to catch a flight home.

Now maybe it's just me, but when you introduce a bill to change the BCS... that you GO OUT OF YOUR WAY to explain will not change the BCS... and then you leave your own hearing to fly home... I'm going to have a hard time taking you seriously. Maybe it's just me.

Rep. Rush went on to ask the Athletic Conference and West Mountain conference commissioners if they believed the current BCS system was fair. Thompson stated that the current system was "grossly inequitable." Swofford said that the revenue distribution "represents the marketplace", which is really just a nice way of saying some BCS teams are drawing 70,000+... for their spring practice games. Blutarsky points out that Georgia drew 42,458... which would have ranked them 54th in attendance last season (pdf!), just ahead of... UTAH!

Was Thompson hoping for a federal bailout with the "grossly inequitable" comment? Seriously, man... some of your schools don't even offer ESPN on campus cable networks??

But Thompson got in his own polite comment when asked if he believed Congress should intervene in the BCS.

"The U.S. Congress represents fans and constituencies," Thompson said. "Our university presidents work with that same group of constituents."

In other words, they guy who is paying lobbyists to push for an eight-team playoff would kindly like Congress to mind its own business and stay out of college football.

Well said, Commissioner. Well said.

The full hearing is posted online at CSpan, but -- I'm warning you -- regardless of where you stand on this one, you're probably going to hate yourself for enduring this.

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2009 Preseason Rankings - Preview

Fri, 08 May 2009 22:58:48 -0500

The fine folks at lsufootball.net have collected and tabulated the published polls into an average that should be a good reflection of the initial AP poll.

They appear to update it as new polls come available, so this should be a good link to check out when the college football withdrawn pangs strike.

I have ported the data to excel to represent a more traditional vote count and compute a standard deviation. My average figures do not exclude the highest and lowest values, swapping FSU and Cal and a few ORV's.

The following data is static. For a current picture go here.

Top 25:

Team (FPV) Points, AVE, SD
1) Florida (11) 323, 1.15, 0.38
2) Texas (2) 307, 2.38, 1.12
3) Oklahoma 295, 3.31, 1.38
4) USC 276, 4.77, 1.96

5) Alabama 254, 6.46, 2.79
6) Oklahoma State 238, 7.69, 2.56
7) Virginia Tech 231, 8.23, 4.57
8) LSU 229, 8.38, 3.20
9) Ohio State 220, 9.07, 3.01
10) Ole Miss 214, 9.53, 3.60

11) Georgia Tech 176, 12.46, 1.85
12) Penn State 163, 13.46, 3.26
13) Oregon 149, 14.54, 5.75
14) Georgia 132, 15.85, 3.73
15) Boise State 130, 16.00, 6.26
16) Florida State 116, 17.08, 5.77
17) Cal 114, 17.23, 4.2

18) TCU 89, 19.15, 5.06
19-T) Utah 86, 19.38, 3.23
19-T) Iowa 86, 19.38, 5.22
21) North Carolina 74, 20.3, 6.17

[Note: If you are not one of the above teams nor play at least three of these teams you have no chance of at the 2009-2010 national title.]

22) Pittsburgh 51, 22.08, 5.19
23) Kansas 45, 22.54, 3.61
24) Notre Dame 41, 22.84, 4.88
25) Texas Tech 32, 23.54, 2.82

Others receiving votes:
Nebraska 29, Miami(FL) 23, Oregon State 19, Clemsonn 15, BYU 14, East Carolina 11, West Virginia 7, North Carolina State 6, Minnesota 5, Cincinnati 5, South Florida 5, Tennessee 5, Auburn 2, Boston College 2, Michigan State 2, Arkansas 1, Houston 1, Rutgers 1, Vanderbilt 1

Conference tallies:
SEC: 5
Big 12: 5
ACC: 4
PAC 10: 3
BIG 10: 3
MWC: 2
WAC: 1
Big East: 1
IND: 1

This looks be a fairly reasonable estimate of the staring positions for 2009, one I like a lot. I really want to see a #3 undefeated Big East champion lose to a #10 one loss MWC champion in the Orange Bowl this year. This smells like TCU's year to me.

[EDIT]: Remember, you heard it here first. - zac

Notre Dame might even go 9-3 and get a BCS Berth.

Now I am off to figure out the physics of Red Matter... (Warning, mild Star Trek spoiler)

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Twitter Accounts for College Football Coaches

Fri, 08 May 2009 08:26:37 -0500

Looking to follow the tweets of your team's college football coach on Twitter? Here's a directory list of twitter accounts for NCAA football coaches who use Twitter.

College Football Coaches who Twitter

ACC Coaches
@DavidCutcliffe - Duke Blue Devils Football Coach David Cutcliffe
@CoachSwinney" - Clemson Tigers Football Coach Dabo Swinney
@ CoachFridge" - Maryland Terrapins Football Coach Ralph Friedgen

Big East Coaches
@CoachStewart - West Virginia Mountaineers Football Coach Bill Stewart
@jimleavitt - University of South Florida Bulls Football Coach Jim Leavitt
@dougmarrone - Syracuse Orange Football Coach Doug Marrone
@coachwannstedt - Pitt Panthers Football Coach Dave Wannstedt

SEC Coaches
@CoachUrbanMeyer - Florida Gators Football Coach Urban Meyer
@LSUCoachMiles - LSU Tigers Football Coach Les Miles
@LaneKiffinUT - Tennessee Volunteers Football Coach Lane Kiffin
@rollwiththetide - University of Alabama Crimson Tide Football Coaches (collectively)
@MarkRicht - Georgia Bulldogs Football Coach Mark Richt

Big10 Coaches
@Play4brew - Minnesota Gophers Football Coach Tim Brewster
@RonZook - Illinois Illini Football Coach Ron Zook
@UM_CoachRod - Michigan Wolverines Football Coach Rich Rodriguez
@JayPaterno - Penn State University Nittany Lions Assistant Football Coach Jay Paterno
@BretBielema - Wisconsin Badgers Football Coach Bret Bielema

Big12 Coaches
@BoPelini - Nebraska Cornhuskers Football Coach Bo Pelini
@mizzoufootball - Missouri Tigers Football Coach Gary Pinkel
@CoachSherman - Texas A&M Aggies Football Coach Mike Sherman

Pac10 Coaches
@CoachSark - Washington Huskies Football Coach Steve Sarkisian
@PeteCarroll - USC Trojans Football Coach Pete Carroll
@CoachWulff - Washington State University Cougars Football Coach Paul Wulff
@JimHarbaugh - Stanford Cardinal Football Coach Jim Harbaugh

MAC Coaches
@coachbeckman - Toledo Rockets Football Coach Tim Beckman
@ron_english - Eastern Michigan Football Coach Ron English
@TUCoachAlGolden - Temple Owls Football Coach Al Golden

Conference USA Coaches
@CoachFedora - Southern Miss Football Coach Larry Fedora
@UCFFootball - University of Central Florida Football Coaches (collectively)
@CoachCollins - University of Central Florida Knights Assistant Football Coach Geoff Collins
@CoachSnyder - Marshall University Thundering Herd Football Coach Mark Snyder

Mountain West Conference Coaches
@KyleWhittingham - Utah Utes Football Coach Kyle Whittingham
@Cowboysfootball - Wyoming Cowboys Football Coach Dave Christensen
@CoachFairchild - Colorado State Rams Football Coach Steve Fairchild
@Coachlocks - New Mexico Lobos Football Coach Mike Locksley

Sun Belt Conference Coaches
@coachdavidelson - Western Kentucky Hilltoppers Football Coach David Elson

Independent Coaches
@NDHFC - Notre Dame Football Coach Charlie Weis

Know of other college football coaches who use Twitter? Send us a tweet @fanblogs!

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Florida, Oklahoma odds on favorites for 2009

Tue, 10 Mar 2009 13:57:13 -0500

The Wiz spotted BodogLife's updated odds for the college football season. Long story short... it looks like the Gators and Sooners are the early picks, followed by USC, Texas, and Ohio State.

Here's the complete rundown:

Alabama 22/1
Arizona 100/1
Arizona State 150/1
Arkansas 150/1
Auburn 150/1
Boise State 100/1
Boston College 100/1
California 60/1
Cincinnati 90/1
Clemson 60/1
Colorado 100/1
Florida 7/4
Florida State 30/1
Georgia 50/1
Georgia Tech 50/1
Illinois 80/1
Iowa 75/1
Kansas 75/1
Kansas State 175/1
Kentucky 125/1
Louisville 150/1
LSU 20/1
Maryland 200/1
Miami 35/1
Michigan 120/1
Michigan State 100/1
Missouri 90/1
Nebraska 55/1
North Carolina 45/1
North Carolina State 100/1
Notre Dame 30/1
Ohio State 17/2
Oklahoma 5/1
Oklahoma State 50/1
Oregon 20/1
Oregon State 100/1
Penn State 35/1
Pittsburgh 60/1
Rutgers 125/1
South Carolina 100/1
South Florida 80/1
Tennessee 100/1
Texas 8/1
Texas A&M 150/1
Texas Tech 60/1
UCLA 150/1
Utah 125/1
USC 5/1
Virginia 100/1
Virginia Tech 20/1
Wake Forest 80/1
Washington 200/1
West Virginia 75/1
Wisconsin 100/1
Field (Any Other Team) 20/1

And remember... entertainment purposes only... of course.

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Which teams still need a game for 2009?

Sun, 22 Feb 2009 12:10:31 -0500

Courtesy of the schedule gurus over at NationalChamps, here's a list of the teams that still need one game to complete their 2009 schedule.

Akron (MAC)
Arkansas State (SB)
Florida Atlantic (SB)
Houston (CUSA)
Kansas State (B12)
Kentucky (SEC)
Louisville (BE)
Mississippi (SEC)
Rutgers (BE)

For those of you keeping score at home, you'll note that there are nine teams on the list. While its a safe bet that two of these teams might end up being paired up, it looks like the race is on to see who can get to the cupcakes fastest.

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