McMisanthrope's Top 25: November 28, 2010

Thoughts:

1) Fascinating weekend of college football. The argument for the BCS here is that these exciting games wouldn't have mattered with a playoff. And that's such a lie: Nevada and Boise would have been playing for the WAC's autobid, for example, and the game would have had the same intensity. In the Big Ten, all three co-champions would have been playing for the at-large bids to the tournament, too. None of them would have "thrown" those games if their spot was already assured. Same with the SEC: Arkansas and LSU would have been fighting it out for an at-large bid, too. No matter what the BCS tries to sell, it's a lie, people;

2) Auburn was impressive, but how bad is Alabama, really? A 24-0 lead at home and a 300-yard egde in the first half, and you can't win? Good for Auburn, but the Tide just didn't have it this year. Why were they ranked #1 to start the year? Something about a lot of returning starters?!;

3) Looking at Boise's loss, same thing. It just goes to show how hard it really is to run the table, no matter what your schedule looks like. Every game you play is a tough one, and no undefeated team should EVER be left out of the title picture. Which is, again, where the BCS fails so miserably;

4) And on that note, Oregon will be favored to beat the Beavers, and Auburn will be favored to beat South Carolina. I think it's more likely that Oregon will win than Auburn, in terms of probability. TCU really still has a chance, as I don't think voters can justify a conference co-champ making the title game based on a tiebreaker alone (Wisconsin), and there is no chance of a all-one-conference title game, either. If Auburn loses to the Gamecocks and the BCS tries to keep TCU out, it's going to get very ugly. Just sayin'.

Rankings:

1) TCU -- They're in already with their perfect record. No one else is. That's the only reason for this subjective ranking;

2) Oregon -- Based on what I noted above, they have the better chance to win out;

3) Auburn -- South Carolina could have beaten Auburn already. I think Auburn will be ready for this game, barring a Cam Newton breaking news event this week. But you never know with Spurrier;

4) Stanford -- Their only loss was to an undefeated team. I don't think any other one-loss team can claim that;

5) Michigan State -- Sure, they're probably not the best of the Big Ten bunch *right now*, and despite all the goofy blather on RSFC, you really can't ignore the H2H reality here. And strangely, Sagarin says the Spartans have also played the best schedule of the three, although it's a tight contest;

6) Wisconsin -- Not sure how a team that could only score 20 on Arizona State and 27 on San Jose State yet run up 70+ points in three other games. Talk about schizophrenic;

7) Ohio State -- They got their win over Michigan and another Big Ten title, but they lost to Wisconsin. It is what it is;

8) Nevada -- Gutsy win, but Boise handed it to them. That play they gave up at the end of regulation should have cost them the game;

9) Boise State -- This is where they belong, and they have to be mad about it. This was the best team they've fielded in the last five seasons. Sometimes, though, you just can't win them all;

10) Virginia Tech -- It's been a long climb back to the Top Ten, but the Hokies made it;

11) Nebraska -- Both their losses this year were somewhat mystifying;

12) Oklahoma -- Has anyone else seen that stat, how the Sooners are very good playing in-state games, but very poor playing elsewhere?;

13) Oklahoma State -- That had to hurt;

14) Missouri -- Maybe the most "blah" team in the country;

15) Arkansas -- Fluky win, because of that first-half TD. Strange that every SEC team has two losses, except Auburn. Not a strong conference this year, despite what everyone would have us believe;

16) Utah -- Not the prettiest 10-2 record, but not bad for an "off" year. Notre Dame probably just caught them at a lucky time;

17) LSU -- Not as bad as everyone thinks, but not as good as anyone thinks, either;

18) Northern Illinois -- If only there was a tournament, some at-large school from a big conference would get to face these guys in the first round. And we'd see how good they are;

19) Texas A&M -- Six straight wins have given the Aggies a pulse for the first time in awhile;

20) South Carolina -- I suspect the SEC refs will hose them in the conference title game;

21) Florida State -- They made Urban Meyer look bad, very bad;

22) West Virginia -- The Big East really isn't so bad;

23) Hawai'i -- And the WAC is pretty good, at the top;

24) Navy -- Just because;

25) Alabama -- No team that blows a 24-point lead at home against their blood rival deserves to be ranked, but ... wow, that was PATHETIC.