Archive for the ‘LSU Tigers’ Category
TAW CBS Blogopoll Week 3
This week presented the first real challenges in ranking
- Do you rank OU ahead of BYU?
- Do you rank Ohio State ahead of USC?
- How can you not rank FSU ahead of BYU?
- How high do you rank the young Canes?
- What’s more important how you lost, or how you won?
As always comments are appreciated and like last week will be integrated into the final ballot that I have to submit Tuesday night.
Just a reminder, here’s the criteria that I’m using
The prior Top 25 will have no significant impact on the new one. Teams won’t hold positions playing scrubs in OOC play over teams with real wins in September. Just because a team is 18th doesn’t mean it moves up because the 17th ranked team loses. Teams resumes will go up and down as the season goes on.
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Taw Poll |
Rationale |
| 1. Bama | Smashed a bad UNT team. Would appear right now to have the edge on the Gators with a better run defense. |
| 2. Cal | Went on the road, and while struggled against Minnesota got quality win over a BCS conference team. |
| 3 Miami | Beat FSU on the road. Smashed GA Tech at home. Win at Blacksburg makes the Canes our new number one |
| 4. UF | Really struggled against Tenn. Tenn D really contained UF’s offense, while Tenn even with real limitations at QB managed to move the ball on Florida’s D. |
| 5. UT | Didn’t look great against Tech. McCoy struggled for second game in a row. Secondary still looks vulnerable. Still their best win of the year. Win over Wyoming doesn’t look so great with CU beating them. |
| 6. LSU | Their road win at Seattle looks a whole lot better now. Udub in Seattle with Locker is not the 0-12 disaster of last year. |
| 7. Boise State | Good road win at Fresno State. Schedule is opening up. Possible horror matchup for OU fans if OU can run the Big 12. Fiesta Bowl rematch with Boise |
| 8. Cincinnati | Beat a good Oregon State team on the road. Clearly appear to be the class of the Big East. Can they run the table and create some BCS chaos. |
| 9. Penn State | Won again. Season starts for real next week. |
| 10. Mississippi | Play someone, anyone so we have some clue how good you are. Your OOC schedule is a total embarrassment. |
| 11. Virginia Tech | Struggled to beat Nebraska at home. Really NU lost that game more than Hokies won it. Still it’s a win over a team that was ranked in the polls (TaW validated by NU’s new QB play) |
| 12. TCU | Still winning. And with losses to BYU and Utah they are now the flagship of the Mountain West. |
| 13. USC | If I have one huge game to win, I’d hire Pete Carroll. If I also had one small game to lose, I’d hire Pete Carroll. The usual early loss, run the table, whine excessively out being left out of the title game process maybe derailed by Cal however. |
| 14. OSU | Dominated a previously unbeaten Toledo team. Exactly where was that offensive playcalling last week? |
| 15. Kansas | Still undefeated. Reising looks as effective as ever. Cannot overestimate the value of a veteran playmaker at QB |
| 16. Michigan | Extra practice continuing to show solid on the field results. Injury to Forcier is a worry as Robinson is pretty one dimensional |
| 17. FSU | Close loss to Miami, nearly lose to Jacksonville State, dominate BYU on the road. Seminoles are up this week, who knows next week. |
| 18. Oklahoma | OU seems to have rallied from their terrible debut along the way finding a QB for 2010, WRs for 2009, and their new OL appears to be rounding into form. Defense appears to be in top form. Beat Miami in two weeks and OU will be back in the Top Ten. |
| 19. BYU | Okay BYU did beat OU. But all that goodwill gets cashed out when you get completely dominated at home by FSU. And even without Sam Bradford if they played tomorrow at JerryWorld who do you think is going to win? |
| 20. Houston | Beat Texas Tech this weekend, and Houston joins the BCS buster conversation. |
| 21. Oklahoma State | Rice scored 24 points. Meaningful points, not 2 late TD garbarge points. OSU defense looking very vulnerable. |
| 22. UGA | I thought the SEC played defense? UGA scores over 40 again in conference play and barely holds on to beat Arkansas. SEC defenses looking like Big 12 defenses from 2008. |
| 23. Auburn | Auburn beat previously undefeated WVU at home. Nice test for the young War Eagles. |
| 24. Washington | Could easily be 3-0 and in the top ten. Seriously. |
| 25. Iowa | Undefeated and beat Arizona last week. |
On verge of entering the poll
- UNC: I’m just not convinced that they are any good. Sure UConn’s win over Baylor makes UNC’s struggles there seem more legitimate.
- USF: season hopes of winning Big East took a huge shot with loss of QB Matt Grothe
Bring on the Army
Continuing their great scheduling of future non-conference opponents, OU announced today that it will play a home-and-home with Army in 2018 and 2020.
The Black Knights will come to Norman in 2018 and the Sooners will return the trip to West Point in 2020. As someone who loves going to kickassed road games and making a vacation out of them, I’m already making plans to roadtrip via hovercraft and anti-gravity boots.
The 2018 non-con slate also has LSU (site to be announced). Given that the present world we live in places a premium on strength of schedule, Joe Cash is doing a great job of getting marquee opponents out of conference.
Here’s a reminder of that impressive list of non-con games in the next 10 years. Notice that there aren’t any swampland directional schools on there, although given the quality of these teams, I wouldn’t be surprised to see some cupcakes to balance them out:
2010 – Florida State
2011 – @ Florida State
2012 – Notre Dame
2013 – @ Notre Dame
2014 – Tennessee
2015 – @ Tennessee
2016 – Ohio State
2017 – @ Ohio State
2018 – LSU, Army
2019 – LSU
2020 – @ Army
Nick Saban: Friend or Foe?
I’m not gonna lie—I’m starting to like Nick Saban.
Call me crazy.
I know that most people outside Tuscaloosa think he’s a colossal douche, but hear me out:
1. He’s buddies with Stoops.
Last week Stoops paid Saban a visit in Tuscaloosa. The two obviously have a mutual respect for each other if not a genuine friendship, and are likely sharing ways to take down the Gators.
Yes, it’s possible that Saban spied on OU’s practices at the Superdome before the 2004 BCS National Championship Game. But although Stoops admits he may have made a mistake by practicing there, he’s been clear that he has no beef with Saban.
2. He’s the head coach at ‘Bama.
These two powerhouse programs go way back.
In Bear Bryant’s autobiography he talks about Bud Wilkinson as a close friend and mentor. That’s serious old school.
It’s also become well known that during the recent home-and-home series between Oklahoma and Alabama, fans from the two schools developed a healthy (and strongly heterosexual) college football man crush. Bama’s knowledgeable and classy fans and ridiculous history have earned the respect of the majority of Sooner Nation.
3. LSU sucks.
LSU has the least respected fan base in college sports. There’s no debate.
Granted they hate everyone, but they pretty much want Saban dead. Any human being that’s as hated by LSU has to be alright.
So, am I crazy? Is Nick Saban back in the good graces of Sooner Nation?
