SNOREBOARD

You know it’s a boring day in college football when Illinois beating Michigan State is the closest thing there is to an upset.

THIS POST IS BELOW .500

So last night I was watching the local sports when the announcer said that the Milwaukee Brewers’ road record this year is 25-52. Deplorable. Also typical. What the dude said next, though, completely set me off.

You know it can’t be anything to do with baseball. I don’t care about baseball. No, what had me steaming was when he said that the Brewers were “27 games below .500 on the road.” You hear this all the time. It’s one of those basic sports equations: Losses - Wins = Number of games below .500. 52 - 25 = 27. Right?

If only it were true.

Recalling that a .500 winning percentage means the number of wins and losses are equal, it’s easy to see how that particular equation is dead wrong, particularly in a sport where (except for the 2002 All Star Game) ties aren’t possible. Every game ends in either a win or a loss. Therefore, determine how far a team is below .500, you must determine how many game results must be changed to get an equal number of wins and losses.

The catch is that, since the number of games played remains constant, that means every time you change one number, the other number changes too. Let’s try it, using the 2006 Brewers’ road record as an example. We start with their actual record of 25-52. Now let’s change one loss at a time into a win and see how many steps it take to get the wins above the losses.

Well, would you look at that! We only have to change 13.5 game results to get the Brewers to .500! So how can you say the Brew Crew is 27 below .500 on the road? The real answer is that they’re 13.5 games below .500 on the road. That’s still not good, but it’s not nearly as depressing.

It works the other way, too. You’ll hear an NFL team which finishes 10-6 described as “4 games above .500″ but the real number is only 2. See? Things in sports are never as bad (or as good) as they seem at first glance. Even if Temple goes 0-for-2006, the worst they can finish is 6 games below .500.

PICKIN’ ON THE BIG TEN, V2006.05

If these predictions suck, it’s not my fault . . . I had an allergic reaction to Michigan State’s defensive playcalling.

Nope, not a special ‘tribute’ edition of POTBT this week. Just a little note to celebrate the fact that we went 7-0 last week, making us 35-5 (87.5%) on the year and putting us one game ahead of CFN. It’s their own fault for picking Minnesota on the road against an opponent with an offense. Have you not learned that Glen Mason’s teams just don’t play defense, especially on the road?

Anyway, after last week’s slate of pretty good games, things back off this week, with only one game approaching “must watch” status . . . but it’s a killer. Enough preliminaries; on to the picks.

WISCONSIN @ INDIANA

Nobody likes to talk about the “quality loss” but if any team in the Big Ten can right now, it’s Wisconsin. Apart from horrible play in the punt-return game (on both sides of the ball), Bucky hung in there pretty well against Michigan last week. No, PJ Hill didn’t run wild, but the Badgers ran the ball against the Wolverines much better than anyone else had. Of course, that could’ve been predicted.

Indiana, on the other hand, hasn’t shown anything yet. The Hoosiers are dead last by a large margin in the conference in rushing offense, and they don’t defend the run very well either. After last week’s comedy of errors with Connecticut, IU will be glad to have Terry Hoeppner back on the sidelines, but they’re badly overmatched here. Badly.

OHIO STATE @ IOWA

Here’s this week’s College Game Day stop, formerly a sign of the most important game being played during the weekend, now a sign of the most important game not being played in the SEC. But this is the first real conference test for the Buckeyes, and Kinnick has become a major snakepit since the Hawkeyes got good again.

It’ll take a lot of Kinnick magic to overcome tOSU’s advantages in every phase of the game except maybe special teams. If Iowa can somehow implement some minor variant on the West Coast offense, exploiting 6-7 tight end Scott Chandler’s height, and the Hawks can manage to exploit tOSU’s only middling rush defense, then there’s a chance. If not, not, because Iowa hasn’t faced an offense that’s even close to Ohio State’s. I hate to say it, but I’m voting ‘not.’

ILLINOIS @ MICHIGAN STATE

Normally my Sparty pick is a metapick: Figure out what Sparty ought to do, then pick the opposite. That would make this easy. Since Illinois is a perfectly disregardable opponent, there’s no way Michigan State can win.

Last week’s Notre Dame debacle, though, introduces an unwelcome fork into the Sparty Logic Tree. There’s no question this was the annual Season-Sinking Heartbreaking Loss, but is the next branch on the tree the Total Failure To Show Up, or the Post-Traumatic Exorcism? Unable to decide, I am forced to turn to actual football considerations.

Sparty’s blitzophilia should be on full display, since it’s likely that Juice Williams will start for the Angry Indigenous Woodlands People. Williams will be dangerous in another year or so–real dangerous–but for **CLANK**!

(Huh. Where did that football come from?)

Anyway, Williams is pretty much Illinois’ only playmaker, and a consistent Sparty blitz should keep him on his heels throwing incompletions all day long. I think. With MSU, who can tell anymore?

MICHIGAN @ MINNESOTA

It’s trendy, oh so trendy, to say that Minnesota has a chance in this game because of their traditionally solid rushing attack. Bad call. Cal–Cal!–held Goldy to just over 100 yards on the ground, and megaback Amix Pinnix couldn’t find paydirt last week against Purdue, this despite rushing for a buck and three-quarters. Minnesota is also next-to-last in the conference in yards allowed per game, and it’s not like they’ve been playing WAC teams from the late 90s. Temple ran for 112 yards on Goldy. Oyd (you can’t call him Lloyd until he’s got 2 Ls) keeps the ball rolling; Minnesota starts pondering Glen Freakin’ Mason’s buyout.

PURDUE @ NOTRE DAME

Thanks to last week’s meltdown, Purdue is no longer last in the conference in passing TDs allowed. But it’s just temporary. Here comes Notre Dame, and Michigan State plays Illinois this week.

NORTHWESTERN @ PENN STATE

There’s a real easy joke here, but I’ve got too much class to make it.

Next week:

• Indiana @ Illinois: Only $14.95 on pay-per-view
• Purdue @ Iowa: Somebody gets to rebound in this one
• Michigan State @ Michigan: Since Sparty can’t win, obviously they will
• Penn State @ Minnesota: Another sop to the BWI crowd
• Bowling Green @ Ohio State: Oh, you have got to be kidding me
• Northwestern @ Wisconsin: NU has done very well against Bucky lately

BLOGPOLL BALLOT, WEEK 4/2006

Rank	Team	Delta
1	Ohio State	—
2	Auburn	—
3	Southern Cal	—
4	Michigan	1
5	West Virginia	1
6	Louisiana State	—
7	Texas	—
8	Florida	—
9	Iowa	—
10	Notre Dame	—
11	Louisville	—
12	Virginia Tech	—
13	Oregon	1
14	TCU	1
15	Oklahoma	2
16	Clemson	9
17	Nebraska	1
18	Rutgers	—
19	Georgia	6
20	Cal	6
21	Tennessee	1
22	Missouri	4
23	UCLA	4
24	Georgia Tech	2
25	Wake Forest	1

Discussion:

• Befitting a week without a lot of notable games, there isn’t a lot of movement in this week’s ballot. The only big losers are two teams that won their games in Saturday. Nebraska doesn’t move down because I think they’re bad, but rather because I felt other teams were worthy of being ranked above them. Georgia moves down because . . . uhh . . . firstly, Colorado, and secondly, hello, Two-Headed Quarterbeast.
• The Michigan/WVU flip-flop is largely due to performance against opponents different quality. ECU obviously came to play against the ‘Eers, while Michigan shut down a Wisconsin team that has looked pretty OK so far this season. However, I’m not yet sure that Michigan can beat Ohio State.
• Rutgers doesn’t move because, as someone pointed out to me, they have yet to beat a team with a I-A victory.
• Big winner this week: Clemson, pretty much just because.
• Games I watched: Iowa/Illinois, Wisconsin/Michigan, Minnesota/Purdue, Arkansas/Alabama, Notre Dame/Michigan State.

PICKIN’ ON THE BIG TEN, V2006.04

Again, I am frightened and confused by these verkokte I-AA games. Southern Illinois managed to get over on Indiana last week, and even if IU was understandably distracted, there’s no way a competent Big Ten team should lose to a I-AA opponent, ever. Which raises the question, I suppose, of whether IU is a competent Big Ten team.

It raises the question of whether I’ve been sprinkling ketamine on my corn flakes, too, as I noted last week that nothing good comes of these matchups, and IU was certainly not playing within their normal mental framework, yet still failed to call the upset. I biffed on Sparty/Pitt, severely. I also missed Iowa/Iowa State, though I was glad to be wrong. I won’t underestimate the Hawkeye defense again, I promise.

So now my season record is 28-5 (84.8%), meaning I’m currently not even good enough to pick for Yahoo Sports. I can, however, proudly say that this site matches the performance of College Football News without cramming 38,423 browser-bogging Flash ads onto every page. The day I can’t beat them will be the day I join a fantasy figure skating league.

The conference season has finally arrived, meaning that I no longer have to pick eleven games a week. This week’s total is down to a more manageable seven. And we start with a doozysnoozy:

IOWA @ ILLINOIS

Speaking of frightening and confusing, there’s the Illini and more specifically their head coach. Apparently the Zooker is uncertain whether he should start senior quarterback Tim Brasic or freshman Isiah “Juice” Williams. This could be a bit of what’s known around my house as “drama for your mama;” i.e., Zook may already have made the decision and is engaging in this soliloquy to keep the faithful faithful and to keep the Hawkeyes guessing. That would be a shrewd move. Let’s face it, Zook isn’t exactly known for making shrewd moves.

So maybe he’s really torn up about his decision. Brasic knows the system, after all, and he’s started a small passel of Big Ten games before. Williams has been a bit erratic against the fairly mellow competition Illinois has faced thus far. Throwing him into the mix against a rapidly improving Hawkeye defense might be too much to ask of the young man; a disastrous start to his Big Ten career could linger in his head for years. Juice Williams is the Illini QB of the future; Zook has to live in the present.

On the other hand, Williams is clearly a playmaker. Illinois is a team that currently is out-talented by almost every team it faces. Without somebody dangerous to make a difference, the Illini go from having little hope for victory to having no hope. Williams may get knocked around and make some mistakes but, even though I’m sure Tim Brasic is a nice guy who turns in his homework on time and always pays his share of the cable bill, he’s not a playmaker. He’s a game manager. He’s not likely to make a positive difference in this or any other game.

Thus the Zookian conundrum. If he starts Brasic, he is in effect saying that the Illini have a chance to win games in the Big Ten if they stick to their game plan and don’t make mistakes. Zook may well believe this. It’s doubtful anyone else does. If he starts Williams, though, he is in effect conceding this season and saying it’s more important to get Juice the reps he needs to be good in the future than it is to stay competitive this season. I think. I’m not really sure Illinois could win more than four games with Peyton Manning at quarterback.

Anyway, this windy digression is moot. Both Brasic and Williams will play on Sunday. That means Illinois has succumbed to the lure of the Two-Headed Quarterbeast, and you all know how much we love that creature ’round these parts. You only play two QBs if you know you don’t have one.

Oh, and Iowa? Pretty good, but just waiting to be found out, I fear. Of course, if they can win nine games with no running backs, I suppose anything is possible.

CONNECTICUT @ INDIANA

The good news is that Indiana coach Terry Hoeppner is doing much better and plans to return to the team after this game. The bad news is that Hoeppner plans to return to the team after this game. Last week’s loss to an out-of-state I-AA directional school probably doesn’t bode well for the rest of the year, but at least this off-the-field distraction is finally going to be behind IU. Know what else will be behind IU? All of UConn’s running backs. The Hoosiers gave up more than five yards a carry last week. The Huskies are running for 275 yards a game. But look at the bright side, Indiana faithful (if there are any); with all that running, this game will be over quick.

WISCONSIN @ MICHIGAN

Forgive the Badger fans for looking a bit downcast this week. Not only are the Packers a whirling vortex of agony, but (a) they all know what Michigan did to Notre Dame last week, and (b) they all sat through last week’s “will somebody please score a point so we can go home” defensive slugfest with . . . uhh . . . San Diego State. This week promises to be more of the same, for both schools, really. Michigan’s rush defense is the nation’s best; the Wolverines have given up a total of 62 yards . . . in three games. Expect the Wolverines to stymie megafrosh running back PJ Hill Jr. all day long, forcing the Badgers to throw the ball. On the other side of the ball, Michigan may not run away with this game like they did last week, as Wisconsin’s defense is notably stout and well-balanced. The Mario Manningham For Heisman campaign may lose a little steam this week, but Michigan won’t.

NOTRE DAME @ MICHIGAN STATE

Every week has one impossible-to-pick game, it seems. Here’s this week’s. Normally you’d expect a team like Notre Dame to squash Sparty like a frost-damaged tomato in this game, seeing how the Irish are coming off an embarrassing, season-altering loss to Michigan. Factor in the revenge factor, as Sparty showed up the Irish in South Bend last year, and the fear factor would look to be off the charts. Further exacerbating the possibilities for a seismic event is Michigan State coming off a big win last week against a Pitt team that suddenly doesn’t look so good–uh oh, here comes the hubris. It’s all there. Michigan State just has to lose this game.

But remember, we have three basic rules for POTBT: (1) Competition creates competitors, a/k/a the Glen Mason Cupcake Puking Postulate, (2) Nobody succeeds in the Big Ten without playmakers, but sometimes just one playmaker is enough, a/k/a the Drew Tate Theorem, and (3) figure out what Michigan State ought to do in a given game, then predict them to do the exact opposite. Because Michigan State can’t win this game, they obviously will. But that’s trumped by the fact that, since Michigan State is not ranked in the top 25, Notre Dame simply must beat them.

NORTHWESTERN @ NEVADA

At first, I thought it would be a long season for Northwestern. Then they played well in a brutal game against Fake Miami. So I thought perhaps I’d underestimated Pat Fitzgerald’s squad. Then NU lost to New Hampshire and became the first team in 73 years not to throw for a touchdown against Eastern Michigan. Meanwhile, Fake Miami lost to Purdue and–gadzooks!–Kent State. So I guess I was right anyway.

Nevada, meanwhile, has lost to Fresno State and Arizona State, two perpetually overrated West Coast teams whose continued absence from the national scene is usually cited as evidence of East Coast media bias, even though the Bulldogs and Sun Devils always seem to come up short when the college football world is watching. Last week the Wolfpack manhandled Colorado State 28-10. QB Jeff Rowe is a two-tool threat, the sort of player NU’s defense hasn’t faced and probably can’t handle. I’m not sure if Reno counts as “playing at altitude,” but I don’t see Northwestern walking away a winner. Not even at sea level.

PENN STATE @ OHIO STATE

I don’t wanna say “no chance” here. Penn State is probably not quite as good as it was last year, but last year they were quite good indeed. Still, on the road with a green QB against the #1 team in the country, you can’t like their chances. Then again, tOSU’s “bend but don’t break” defense may eventually put them at risk in an otherwise unlosable game. Could happen. It just won’t be this week.

MINNESOTA @ PURDUE

The most fraudulent 3-0 team in the conference faces the most fraudulent 2-1 team in the conference. Purdue’s offense is rolling down the field. So is their defense, with the Trainbuilders being particularly awful against the pass. How awful? Only Central Florida and Boston College have given up more yards. Only Utah State, UCF, Indiana, and Eastern Michigan have given up more touchdowns.

If only Minnesota could throw the ball.

Next week’s games:

• Wisconsin @ Indiana: Welcome back, Coach
• Ohio State @ Iowa: Why does everybody think this is a trap game for tOSU?
• Illinois @ Michigan State: Take the over
• Michigan @ Minnesota: Shattering Goldy’s delusions of adequacy
• Purdue @ Notre Dame: Pete’s season goes off track here
• Northwestern @ Penn State: Ought to temporarily quiet the BWI crowd

BLOGPOLL BALLOT, WEEK 3/2006

Rank	Team	Delta
1	Ohio State	1
2	Auburn	1
3	Southern Cal	1
4	West Virginia	1
5	Michigan	8
6	Louisiana State	—
7	Texas	—
8	Florida	1
9	Iowa	1
10	Notre Dame	9
11	Louisville	1
12	Virginia Tech	—
13	Georgia	2
14	Oregon	12
15	TCU	8
16	Nebraska	5
17	Oklahoma	1
18	Rutgers	8
19	UCLA	1
20	Wisconsin	1
21	Penn State	2
22	Tennessee	—
23	Alabama	9
24	Boston College	2
25	Clemson	1

DISCUSSION:

• Hurray, we don’t have to pretend Miami and Florida State are good any more.
• Alabama’s big drop is to bring my rating more in tune with everyone else; I realize now they haven’t been dreadfully impressive thus far and still haven’t beaten anybody.
• Now there can be no doubt; tOSU = #1. But I’ve been trying to warn you about Carrthulhu.
• Not only am I on board the Brian Kelly Greatness Express, I’m on the Rutgers bandwagon. Too bad they’re in such a tough conference. Wait a minute, did I just say that about the Big East?
• At first I had Clemson #24 and BC #25. Then I realized it should not be that way.
• Chuck Amato: DOOMED, especially after Akron got run over by the Brian Kelly Greatness Express.
• Shakiest 3-0 teams in the land: Wisconsin, Houston, Purdue, Texas A&M.

IT’S ALSO WHAT NICK SABAN SAYS IN HIS SLEEP

Buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo.

PICKIN’ ON THE BIG TEN, V2006.03

Like I’ve said before, I hate these dorkwad I-A/I-AA matchups. For the year so far, I’m 20-2 (91%), having been wrong about Northwestern twice. TWICE. Elsewhere in the conference, Illinois is terrible, just terrible, and a couple other teams in the conference (including my own) look like the only bowl they’ll be going to this year is the bowl where things swirl around real fast before disappearing down the drain hole forever.

Ohio State is #1 everywhere except on my Blogpoll ballot, or so it seems. Their victory over Texas was impressive, I think, but I still just like ND better. Or not, as you will see in just a few moments.

There are some pretty good matchups this week, with five of the eleven games approaching watchability.

SYRACUSE @ ILLINOIS

Disrespect the Cuse? What sort of chastened idiot do you take me for?

SOUTHERN ILLINOIS @ INDIANA

IU coach Terry Hoeppner will miss this game, and a couple more, due to brain surgery related to his recent bout with brain cancer. We wish him the best. As we all know, however, nothing good comes of these I-AA games lately. Fortunately for IU, Southern Illinois is a run-first team, while Indiana has been Kaopectate against the run so far this season. Yes, they’ve only played Western Michigan and Ball State. Southern Illinois has only played Lock Haven, a Division II school from Pennsylvania. This won’t be a walkover for the Hoosiers, especially with a serious off-the-field distraction, but they should win this game without trying too hard.

IOWA STATE @ IOWA

Now comes yet another impossible-to-pick game, the second of several in this last week before the conference season. Thus far, there’s much for Hawkeye fans to be concerned about. The team roundly defeated I-AA Montana in a laugher, then got the fight of their lives from Syracuse–Syracuse!–last week in a game they probably should have lost. Factor in that Dan McCarney is and has always been Kirk Ferentz’s bête noire (the Captain is 2-5 against Mac; if not for Jim Tressel, that would be Ferentz’s worst record against any coach he’s faced more than twice) and everything seems to point to an(other) Iowa defeat.

To be fair, it’s not like Iowa State has been a swirling white-hot vortex of excellence through the first two weeks of the season. The Cyclopaths needed triple OT to put away Toledo in week one, while last week’s UNLV game came down to a (supposedly) controversial call on a last-second TD which would have given UNLV a chance to win the game. In both games, the ISU offense was less than wonderful, but the defense came up big when necessary.

Still, looking at the matchups across the board, there is much which seems to favor Iowa State. In particular, they simply have more defensive playmakers right now than the Hawkeyes do. Drew Tate will start for Iowa (as of right now, at least), but you have to wonder if he’s really over that abdominal strain. It’s not like you can really rest your abs, after all. It looks very much like a long day–and a rare home loss–for the Hawks in the ‘06 iteration of what has become one of the greatest grudge matches in college football. It may not get the press of tOSU-Michigan or Auburn-Alabama, but the hate is right there, and for the last few years, these teams have been on a level playing field.

MICHIGAN @ NOTRE DAME

Welcome to the pick where I completely invalidate my Blogpoll ballot, where I still have Notre Dame over Ohio State. I can’t explain why, because I think Notre Dame is better at every position except maybe offensive line, but I just have a feeling–call it a vision–that Michigan is going to win this game. I really need to start going to bed earlier.

MICHIGAN STATE @ PITTSBURGH

Two teams, two coaches, going in different directions. John L. Smith is on so many hot-seat lists his butt cheeks have turned into welding gloves, while Dave Wannstedt has Pitt off to a good start, even though they really haven’t played anybody yet. For the benefit of typically cynical Wolverine fans, I’ll just say that I do indeed think Tyler Palko is a better QB than Drew Stanton, so stop reading your rivals’ message boards. I’m starting to get the feeling that the Big East may not be as woebegone as every preseason preview made them out to be. This will be a good game, but I think Pitt should handle Sparty.

TEMPLE @ MINNESOTA

Like I’ve said before, Temple joining the MAC is the greatest gift ever to the Big Ten.

EASTERN MICHIGAN @ NORTHWESTERN

Fresh off a sound I-AA drubbing that everyone but me saw coming, Northwestern gets one of college football’s greatest palliatives: A home date with good ol’ EMU. Eastern Michigan, through two games, has given up 9 passing touchdowns, the most in Division I-A. The second-most is 6. Northwestern this year isn’t really a passing team, but this week they probably will be.

CINCINNATI @ OHIO STATE

This could be a trap game. No really, it could. All the elements are there. tOSU is fresh off a huge road win in Austin, there’s the Big Ten season opener next week, Cincinnati is very easy to overlook, just about every other top-25 team is playing a bigger game this week . . . I mean, it could happen. But it won’t. One of the things that impresses me the most about Jim Tressel is that his teams always show up. Except against San Diego State a couple years ago, of course. Even then, they still won.

YOUNGSTOWN STATE @ PENN STATE

I never spend much time in school but I taught ladies plenty. It’s true I hire my body out for pay, hey hey. I’ve gotten burned over Cheryl Tiegs, blown up for Raquel Welch. But when I end up in the hay it’s only hay, hey hey. I might jump an open drawbridge, or Tarzan from a vine. ‘Cause I’m the unknown stuntman that makes Eastwood look so fine.

BALL STATE @ PURDUE

Don’t know if you caught it, but Ball State pretty much took it to Indiana for most of the game last week, while the Boilermakers needed overtime to get by Fake Miami, a team manhandled by Northwestern (did you know they lost to a I-AA school last week?) in week one. Of course, that IU/BSU game was in Muncie, and we all know what a snakepit that place is. Purdue being Purdue, they’ll let the Cardinals hang around for too long, but the outcome of this game is not really in doubt.

CHUCK LONG @ BRET BIELEMA

Don’t look now, but San Diego State has one of the top ten defenses through two games, and it’s not like they’ve been playing service academies. Even though SDSU has lost twice, they’ve managed to stymie UTEP and Utah, and last I checked, those were two pretty good offenses. But, since SDSU can’t beat a ‘u’ team, how can they beat a ‘w’ team? This one may be a lot closer than the Badger faithful will be comfortable with (especially after last week’s sorry effort against Western Illinois), but they’ll be partying on State Street after this one. Of course, they’d be partying after a loss, too.

Next week’s games:

• Iowa @ Illinois: You better hope I’m wrong about Iowa State, Zooker
• Connecticut @ Indiana: Big East PWN3R5H1P of the Big Ten continues
• Wisconsin @ Michigan: It was looking like such a good season for the Badgers, too
• Notre Dame @ Michigan State: Revenge is a dish best served at about room temperature
• Minnesota @ Purdue: Somebody’s bowl hopes end here
• Northwestern @ Nevada: Yeah, I know: At?
• Penn State @ Ohio State: Big Ten Championship Game

SHE’S GOT HER FATHER’S EVIL SMIRK

BLOGPOLL BALLOT, WEEK 2/2006

Rank	Team	Delta
1	Notre Dame	—
2	Ohio State	—
3	Auburn	2
4	Southern Cal	—
5	West Virginia	1
6	Louisiana State	1
7	Texas	4
8	Iowa	—
9	Florida	—
10	Louisville	—
11	Nebraska	—
12	Virginia Tech	3
13	Michigan	4
14	Alabama	2
15	Georgia	6
16	Texas Tech	3
17	Florida State	5
18	Oklahoma	8
19	Penn State	6
20	UCLA	4
21	Wisconsin	3
22	Tennessee	8
23	TCU	2
24	Pittsburgh	2
25	Miami (Florida)	2

Discussion: Yes, I would take Notre Dame in a Fiesta Bowl rematch right now.
Sticking with Iowa at #8 because (a) I’m a homer, (b) Drew Tate would not have thrown four picks, even though that first pick wasn’t Manson’s fault, and (c) that was the greatest goal-line stand I’ve ever seen. Dropped Cal even though they played well against Minnesota because . . . just because. I’m not sure they’re a top-25 team. Wisconsin drops due to poor execution. Ditto Tennessee. Iowa State drops because in two games they’ve shown little offensive greatness. Really wanted to get Rutgers in the top 25, but Pitt’s accomplishments thus far are a little more compelling. Who saw that coming after last season? Leave your snide comments for my consideration; my ballot doesn’t have to be final until tomorrow night-ish.