Week 11 - All the Marbles

Friday Night Special!

#25 West Virginia vs. #5 Cincinnati

Gomer: I'll go ahead and admit it; Cincinnati is pretty good. Do I think they'd hang with "the big boys", probably not, but we should get to find out sometime in early January. West Virginia has quietly put themselves in position to win the Big East if they win out, but the national attention has been on the Bearcats. Since the tandem of Pat White and Steve Slaton left the Mountaineers, they really haven't been the same team, or received the same amount of attention. Noel Devine has been able to dazzle from time to time, but unless WVU QB Jarrett Brown is a threat as well, it could be a long night for the WVU offense and another night of passing and running at will for the Bearcats. WVU: 28--UC: 41

Chief: I really want UC to take a dive, but I don't think WVU (especially with a banged up Noel Devine) can stop them. The UC offense is hitting on all cylinders (when playing Big East defenses), but the defense is mediocre at best. Last week was way too difficult against a subpar UConn team at home at night to inspire confidence in this team. Regardless, the UC offense should be more than good enough to take the Mountaineers out. Watch out for Pitt next week. Kelly should be very distracted with the calls from South Bend and Ann Arbor rolling in. WVU: 31 UC: 45

Saturday's Games

#16 Utah vs. #4 TCU

Gomer: My defense of TCU all season has been just that, their defense. As many wise coaches have said too: Defense wins championships. The TCU defense has been outstanding in wins @ Virginia, @ Clemson, and @ BYU. They look to get revenge for last year's loss to the Utes and claim a spot in the BCS. I'm not going to throw a bunch of names and opinions out here when I really don't know a ton about other team other than watching their premiere games from earlier in the season. I like TCU a lot and frankly don't think that Utah has the horses on offense to offset that mismatch. Utah: 19--TCU: 28
Chief: Utah was the team of the year last year and even with the 1-loss record, everyone is expecting a big upset this week. Not so fast my friend. TCU has been destroying teams since the near miss at Air Force. I think Jerry Highes and the Frog defense smother the Ute attack while Andy Dalton (TCU QB) racks up some solid numbers as he's been under the radar. TCU rolls toward the BCS. Utah: 10--TCU: 31

Stanford vs. #9 USC

Gomer: Let's see, USC is coming off a tough win in Tempe while the Cardinal are coming off of a massive upset and offensive explosion against the Oregon Ducks. USC has been up and down this year, not really knowing week to week which team will show up. Stanford will look to repeat the huge upset they pulled two years ago in Los Angeles, but Pete Carroll's boys will be ready to roll and hope that someone else can pull an upset or two over the Ducks to get back in the BCS. Stan: 14--USC:31
Chief: This game is very interesting as Stanford has quietly put together a great team behind the arm of freshman QB Andrew Luck and the white lightning RB Toby Gerhardt. USC always wins these type of games historically even given the recent struggles. I don't know if this Trojan team is as solid as the past editions, but the revenge factor is strong in this one. Remember, the Cardinal upset the Trojans 2 years ago on their turf. I honestly wouldn't be surprised with a Stanford upset that caps the USC stranglehold on the Pac-10, but I think they come just short in a must see game. I'd love for the Cardinal to end the Trojans hopes, but we'll see. Stan: 23--USC: 24

#10 Iowa vs. #11 Ohio State

Gomer: Well I was thankfully wrong with last week's pick. The Lions proved to be a hollow shell, and TP didn't make mistakes that let PSU stay in the game. Kudos to the whole team. Iowa comes in reeling after going 9-0 and losing to Northwestern at home. It should be noted that the Hawkeyes not only lost the game, but starting QB Ricky Stanzi AKA Mr. Clutch. James Vandenberg came in relief and played as expected in his first ever game action... not good. He should be improved this week, but it won't show against the outstanding Buckeye D. As with last week's game, if TP does not turn the ball over to an underrated Hawkeye defense the Bucks should be able to control this one and celebrate with Roses in hand afterwards. Iowa: 10--OSU: 27
Chief: Now that's what I'm talking about. There's the Buckeye team we've been waiting for. TP comes up with the most important stat of his career on the road vs. the Lions: 0 turnovers. Iowa limps into the Shoe with a Rose Bowl berth on the line, but they are just too banged up to take advantage. OSU is firing like mad with the defense playing at a whole new level. The freshman QB of Iowa has not played significantly on the road and was awful at home vs. a mediocre NU defense...uh oh. The Bullets fire to completely shut down teh Hawkeye O. While the Iowa D is stout, they will not be able to overcome the bad position they're put in time and time again by the defense. Iowa will force at least one turnover and turn it into points, but it won't be enough to keep Tressel from his first Rose Bowl berth. GO BUCKS!!! Iowa: 6--OSU: 24

The Leftovers

Michigan vs. Wisconsin: Gomer: UW Chief: UW
Michigan State vs. Purdue: Gomer: PU Chief: MSU
Miami vs. North Carolina: Gomer: Miami Chief: UNC
Auburn vs. Georgia: Gomer: AU Chief: UGA
Notre Dame vs. Pittsburgh: Gomer: Pitt Chief: Pitt
Arizona vs. California: Gomer: Cal Chief: Arizona

Draper Index Week 10

There are 2 polls listed below--the first is constructed with bowl games and conference championships included and the second without (so as to not punish teams for earning a bowl bid or reward teams for lower level matchups). The poll itself is based on past year rankings so this does indeed have an effect.

Draper Index Top 25 (Bowls included)
1. Florida
2. Texas
3. Alabama
4. Cincinnati
5. USC
6. TCU
7. Georgia Tech
8. Boise State
9. Ohio State
10. Oregon
11. Iowa
12. Utah
13. Pittsburgh
14. LSU
15. Oklahoma State
16. Virginia Tech
17. Penn State
18. BYU
19. Oklahoma
20. Houston
21. Miami (FL)
22. Oregon State
23. Texas Tech
24. West Virginia
25. Wisconsin

Draper Index Top 25 (Bowls not included)
1. Alabama
2. Florida
3. Texas
4. Cincinnati
5. Georgia tech
6. Boise State
7. TCU
8. Ohio State
9. USC
10. Iowa
11. Oregon
12. Pittsburgh
13. Utah
14. LSU
15. Oklahoma State
16. Penn State
17. BYU
18. Virginia Tech
19. Oklahoma
20. Miami (FL)
21. Houston
22. Wisconsin
23. Texas Tech
24. Boston College
25. Oregon State

Notice in the first poll teams with high bowl success rate (like USC) are higher ranked. Overall, I believe the poll that includes bowls is more accurate. Only USC appears to stick out as an outlier in the "bowl poll".

The TS Poll - Week 11

Here is my computer poll for week 11.

1. Texas
2. Alabama
3. Florida
4. Cincinnati
5. TCU
6. Iowa
7. Boise State
8. Houston
9. Georgia Tech
10. Ohio State
11. Pittsburgh
12. Oregon
13. LSU
14. Virginia Tech
15. USC
16. Penn State
17. Oklahoma State
18. Utah
19. Clemson
20. Miami (Fl)
21. BYU
22. Nebraska
23. Central Michigan
24. Arizona
25. South Florida