The Blogpoll and Big 12 Ralphie Report Rankings - Week 2

by Jon Woods on Sep 8, 2008 10:47 AM MDT

Rank	Team	Delta
1	Southern Cal	--
2	Oklahoma	2
3	Florida	--
4	Ohio State	2
5	Georgia	1
6	Missouri	1
7	LSU	1
8	Auburn	3
9	Wisconsin	3
10	Texas	--
11	Texas Tech	2
12	Oregon	2
13	East Carolina	13
14	Brigham Young	1
15	Kansas	1
16	South Florida	1
17	Penn State	7
18	Clemson	1
19	Wake Forest	1
20	Fresno State	--
21	Utah	--
22	Alabama	--
23	Arizona State	--
24	California	2
25	West Virginia	18

Dropped Out: Cincinnati (#19), Illinois (#25).

Explanations on the movement and my Big 12 Rankings after the jump...

Other teams that I considered for my rankings (in order):

26) Tennessee
27) Virginia Tech
28) Georgia Tech
29) UCLA
30) Arizona

Breakdown:

Oklahoma jumped over Florida and Ohio State after dismantling Cincy. Yes, Florida won, but without Miami's miscues on special teams the game would have been closer and I would take the Bearcats to beat The U on a neutral field right now (assuming Grutza was healthy). Ohio State dropped 2 spots after totally sleepwalking through the matchup with Ohio, but I still think they come out and beat USC this weekend. Call me crazy. Auburn and Wisconsin both jumped over Texas and Texas Tech because when they turned it on both teams were able to impose their will against some decent oppenents and I didn't see that from the two Big 12 squads. East Carolina made their debut at number 13, the highest spot for a Mid-Major at this point. It would be a shame if they dropped a game against either NC State or Virginia because I would love for them to be able to claim a 3-0 record against the ACC. KU and South Florida swapped places again as the Jayhawks crushed a good Louisiana Tech team. Penn State jumped seven spots due to the terriffic showing of their "Spread HD" offense and California made their debut at the poll at number 24.

College football is great because of the weekly rankings and the ensuing debate over who should be ranked where so chime in and let me know where I screwed up and who you think I should move. As always you can view the chart showing the picks for the entire year and below you can see how I rank the Big 12.

Week 1 Big 12 Rankings

Take away the Sooners' horrendous special teams play and they might have beaten a very good Cincy squad by 50 points. Now can OU prove that their road struggles from last year are gone?

Not much to say here. The Tigers rolled as expected. How they handle Nevada's high flying offense this weekend will help us get a better read on Missouri.

Texas was actually out gained by the Miners, but still won the game by 29 points. They took a bit too long to get going. If they don't ROLL a very bad Razorback squad in Austin we should be worried.

The Red Raider offense didn't look like the juggernaut we have come to expect. Way too many mistakes. Hard to believe that the defense was the unit get cheers at the end of the game.

KU completely shut down a La Tech team coming off a SEC victory. If they can go into Tampa and pull off a Friday night victory over S. Florida then they are a top ten squad in my book.

Houston kept it close for awhile, but once the Cowboy attack got rolling it was not to be stopped. Think they are looking forward to the revenge game with Troy in two weeks?

The Wildcats are the surprise team of the Big 12 so far. Not that they weren't expected to beat N. Texas and Montana State, but they have come out on fire to start the season.

Until a 21 point 4th quarter outburst, the Huskers were entirely too close to a San Jose St team that struggled to beat FCS team UC-Davis the week before. I have no idea what to make of this team right now.

Phew. That's all I can say. After what many thought was a fantastic victory over in-state rival CSU the Buffs laid an egg against the Eagles of EWU. There are a lot of questions to be answered before WVU in two weeks.

The Shermanator has a little bit of breathing room after a win at New Mexico. I am very scared to see the Miami defensive line manhandle the Aggie line in two weeks.

Good wins for both the Bears and Cyclones this week. Both have some interesting measuring stick matchups this weekend against Iowa and Washington State respectively.

See above.

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Comments

I am calling you crazy for the OSU pick to

beat USC. Maybe you weren’t watching the same game last week. The line has already moved up to 10 points and it is at USC. Sounds like a slam dunk for USC to me. I hate having CU that low but they need to prove themselves after that performance. I still think CU is better than OSU, Kansas State and Nebraska. I can’t wait until these three teams play somebody. We saw how good Wazzou was this weekend getting blown up by Cal 66 – 3 so OSU has played no one either. Still have big questions about their defense as Houston was able to put some points up on them.

Shoulder to Shoulder...The Ralphie Report - All CU, All the Time http://www.ralphiereport.com/

by Bob_Bell on Sep 8, 2008 11:01 AM MDT reply actions

Meaningless...

Ohio State ALWAYS plays their opponents close. It’s just what they do.

OSU, Kansas State and Nebraska have played no one. Well neither has Colorado. At least the other three took care of business. I unfortunately cannot say the same for our Buffs.

RalphieReport.com - University of Colorado Athletics

by Jon Woods on Sep 8, 2008 1:03 PM MDT up reply actions

Eastern Washington was better than all the teams those 3 have played.

Shoulder to Shoulder...The Ralphie Report - All CU, All the Time http://www.ralphiereport.com/

by Bob_Bell on Sep 8, 2008 1:25 PM MDT up reply actions

Possibly...

RalphieReport.com - University of Colorado Athletics

by Jon Woods on Sep 8, 2008 1:29 PM MDT up reply actions

I agree OSU shouldn't even be top ten

Their defense looked very soft, and their offense worked only after 3 quarters against a team that they should be able to physically dominate. Penn State and Wisc looks a lot better than Ohio State.

"How do the berries taste Ralph?" Bart Simpson
"They taste like burning." Ralph Wigam
Broncoman

by Broncoman on Sep 8, 2008 4:01 PM MDT up reply actions

In the overall top 25...

I’m a bit surprised at the enormous drop by West Virginia, I think that game is more of a reflection of a previously underrated East Carolina than a overrated WVU…In terms of the big 12 I think at this point you’ve nailed it but we will definetely learn a lot more in the next couple weeks.

by Owen on Sep 8, 2008 11:23 AM MDT reply actions

It’s more of how they lost as opposed to just the fact that they lost. Stewart is a sham and will be exposed as such. I would pick Cincy to win that conference straight up had Grutza not gotten hurt.

RalphieReport.com - University of Colorado Athletics

by Jon Woods on Sep 8, 2008 1:04 PM MDT up reply actions

Right about WV

regardless of East Carolina’s rightful standing, you can’t play like that against even a top fifteen opponent and stay highly ranked. West Virginia isn’t in the same league as East Carolina right now, and the rankings rightfully reflect that.

As for your Stewart comment, I think you should prove correct on this too. Bowl game syndrome effects too many decisions, from draft picks to coaching hires… eventually, you have to take a complete look at the process. I’m not sure Stewart’s past is enough to warrant his pick here, and recruiting will be the ultimate tell.

by David OhNo on Sep 8, 2008 10:20 PM MDT up reply actions

Stewart has no past except VMI...that has to be concerning. It was an unjustified hire

The Ralphie Report - Shoulder to Shoulder...All Colorado Buffaloes on SBNation - http://www.ralphiereport.com/

by Bob_Bell on Sep 8, 2008 10:34 PM MDT up reply actions

Especially when you consider

that Skip Holtz, the coach who just smoked em, wanted to take the job…

RalphieReport.com - University of Colorado Athletics

by Jon Woods on Sep 9, 2008 9:19 AM MDT up reply actions

Atta Boy Bill...

Bill Stewart on West Virginia fans. From the Hartford Courant…

“If we’ve got fans worried about what motel they’re going to get in January, they better be worried about Week 1, 2, 3 first. If they jump off the bandwagon, they jump off.”

RalphieReport.com - University of Colorado Athletics

by Jon Woods on Sep 9, 2008 1:53 PM MDT reply actions

Just some thoughts on the OSU win over Ohio

They got very, VERY lucky. I believe Ohio had 5 turnovers, and two of those (I think, anyway. I’m trying to recall this from a few days away now) were from tipped passes. The punt return for a touchdown they had in the end included a blatant block in the back right in front of the runner that wasn’t called. There was something else, but for the life of me I can’t remember. If it bothers me enough, I’ll go back through the play-by-play to try to figure it out, but for now, I’ll just say that Ohio State caught a ton of breaks in the end of that game that opened the door for them to pull it out. They don’t look very good.

by A.J. Haefele on Sep 9, 2008 3:11 PM MDT reply actions