Before we begin a new week of games, here are five thoughts from the past seven days: 1. Time to drop Illinois, Alabama, Texas A&M and Vanderbilt from the polls. There’s certainly no shame in losing, but getting absolutely shellacked is something totally different. Illinois was embarrassed in a 64-48 loss to UNLV in Chicago. Ugly as the game was, the score could be even more lopsided when Bruce Weber’s squad takes on unbeaten Missouri this week in St.
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King’s five observations from the week
Filed under Basketball by on Dec 19th, 2011. Comment. 
ESPN.com’s Gregg Found asked a question many of you ask: Who votes in the polls that decide the BCS standings? That would be the coaches and Harris polls, not the AP poll. You can learn more on their official sites — the coaches poll here with USA Today and the Harris Poll here . Found provides this Q&A: Q: How many coaches vote in the coaches poll? A : 59 head coaches of FBS teams. So of the 120 FBS teams, 49.2 percent — almost half — have a coach with a vote. Q: How many voters vote in the Harris poll
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Inside scoop on BCS polls
Filed under Football, News by on Oct 12th, 2011. Comment.
DALLAS — Oklahoma has been the more experienced, more prepared and more aggressive team through the first half. As a result, the Sooners have opened up a big lead and looked dominant while doing it. If not for early red-zone struggles, this could be even more lopsided. Even still, at 34-10 , this looks ugly for the Longhorns and it’s a strong statement for Oklahoma to try and gain back some of the ground it lost in the polls in past weeks. Turning point: Trailing 13-3, Texas quarterback David Ash threw an interception downfield to Tony Jefferson, who returned it 13 yards to the Texas 33-yard line to set up an eventual five-yard touchdown pass from Landry Jones to Ryan Broyles . That put Oklahoma up 20-3 and the game began looking out of reach for Texas. It still looks out of reach. Stat of the half: Texas had 60 yards of offense in the first quarter. The Longhorns had 38 in the second quarter, including 18 on a pass to Mike Davis on the scoreless final drive of the half. Oklahoma’s defense is playing physical, pressuring the quarterback, and making big plays. Demontre Hurst already returned David Ash’s second interception of the day 55 yards for a touchdown. Best player in the half: Jones. The Sooner signal caller has made a good Texas defense look bad for most of the first half, racking up 305 yards and three touchdowns on 23-of-35 passing and kept the Sooners offense humming throughout the half. Unbelievable stats against a pretty good, albeit inexperienced, Texas secondary. What Oklahoma needs to do: Quit giving up big plays. Oklahoma looked like it was ready to send the Longhorns back to Austin after going up 27-3 late in the second quarter, but the Longhorns stuck around when Fozzy Whittaker took the ensuing kickoff back 100 yards for a touchdown. He also cued the Oklahoma critics crying for a special teams coordinator. Texas’ offense isn’t built like Oklahoma’s and can’t sustain consecutive systematic drives. It doesn’t have the experience. Big plays are all that can keep Texas in it, and if Oklahoma prevents them, it’s over. What Texas needs to do: Petition the Big 12 to vacate the results of the first half on account of … uh … something. Then figure out a way to shoehorn Philadelphia Eagles backup QB Vince Young into its 2011 lineup. After that, find a way to help its young core freshmen to come out of the tunnel with another year or two of experience.
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Halftime analysis: Oklahoma 34, Texas 10
Filed under Football by on Oct 8th, 2011. Comment.
On the other hand if the Sooners somehow lose to the Texas Longhorns, they will plummet down the polls and could fall out of the top ten. Sooners head coach Bob Stoops should have his troops… Source: Bleacher Report
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College Football Rankings: Red River Rivalry Could Change the Polls
Filed under Football, News by on Oct 8th, 2011. Comment.
Someone voted Wisconsin No. 1 in this week’s USA Today coaches’ poll. Bret Bielema has a vote in that poll, but we might never know for sure if it was his ballot that had his Badgers ranked on top. The coaches aren’t required to reveal their votes except on the final poll of the season, and Bielema said Tuesday that he’ll never tell how he votes in that poll during the year. What is clear is that Wisconsin is becoming more popular, both in the rankings and in the national media. Coming off their thrashing of Nebraska last week, the Badgers are ranked No. 4 in The Associated Press Top 25 and fifth in the coaches’ poll, while Russell Wilson has been garnering lots of Heisman attention. Bielema isn’t ignoring the hype. “What I do know is that the polls matter,” he said. “I think that was brought to our attention last year more than ever with three teams tying within our conference for a chance to go to the Rose Bowl.” Wisconsin will almost certainly need some help to get to the BCS title game since it is behind Oklahoma, Alabama and LSU in the AP poll and also trailing Standford in the coaches’ poll. Bielema said he’d be watching this week’s Texas-Oklahoma game from his couch while the Badgers are on a bye week, though he said an Oklahoma loss might only mean that Texas jumps his team in the polls. “We just have to play each week as it goes,” he said. “The last two or three weeks will probably be the biggest factors.” After resting this week, Wisconsin returns Oct. 15 against Indiana, a team it squeaked by 83-20 last season. Then come perhaps the two biggest tests of the season: back-to-back road games against Michigan State and Ohio State. The Badgers have yet to play a true road game this season. Bielema said he has stressed to his players that this week is an important time to heal up and get their minds right. He told them to be wary of people who want to slap them on their back or lead them down the wrong path during their down time. But it’s pretty clear right now that Wisconsin is in the most enviable position of any Big Ten team. “There’s no question that is the football team we’re all chasing,” Illinois coach Ron Zook said. “They’re the football team to beat.”
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Badgers sitting pretty in bye week
Filed under Football by on Oct 5th, 2011. Comment.
Other than Texas fans, have the Texas Longhorns impressed you at all this season? This team nearly lost to BYU and let UCLA keep up with them for most of the game. You can… Source: Bleacher Report
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AP and Coaches’ Poll: 4 Teams That Are Always Overvalued in the Polls
Filed under Football, News by on Oct 1st, 2011. Comment.
Other than Texas fans, have the Texas Longhorns impressed you at all this season? This team nearly lost to BYU and let UCLA keep up with them for most of the game. You can… Source: Bleacher Report
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AP and Coaches’ Poll: 4 Teams That Are Always Overvalued in the Polls
Filed under Football, News by on Oct 1st, 2011. Comment.
After the first month of the season, we’re starting to get some answers to our preseason questions. Here’s a look at what we learned in Week 4 in the SEC: 1. Alabama and LSU reign: It looked like the Big Two from the time this season began. Now, we can say with certainty that it’s the Big Two. You’ve got Alabama and LSU, and then you’ve got everybody else in the SEC. The Crimson Tide and Tigers are clearly the class of this league and on a collision course that culminates on Nov. 5 in Tuscaloosa. LSU has accomplished more than anybody in the country to this point with its three wins over Top 25 teams away from home and deserves to be the No. 1 team in the polls, but Alabama is right there in that same elite group. After that, it’s hard to say that there is an elite team in the SEC. That’s also not to say that Alabama or LSU won’t slip up somewhere along the way. To think that a team will come out of this league unbeaten for a third straight season is probably against the odds. But then you watch Alabama and LSU play and think, “The only team strong enough to beat either of these teams is the other one.” 2. Defending LSU’s defense: The numbers weren’t pretty Saturday in Morgantown, but you can’t argue with the results. LSU’s defense, which had been dominant coming into the game, was shredded by West Virginia quarterback Geno Smith to the tune of 463 passing yards. Smith also wasn’t sacked in the game. No defense ever wants to give up more than 500 total yards in a game, but one thing to keep in mind is that West Virginia threw the ball 65 times.
Filed under Football by on Sep 25th, 2011. Comment.
Letâs take a look at three of those teams. The Texas Longhorns are ranked No. 23 in the country heading into their Week 3 matchup against UCLA, and a win against the Bruins would allow… Source: Bleacher Report
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College Football Predictions Week 3: 3 Teams That Will Soar Up the Polls
Filed under Football, News by on Sep 17th, 2011. Comment.
Letâs take a look at three of those teams. The Texas Longhorns are ranked No. 23 in the country heading into their Week 3 matchup against UCLA, and a win against the Bruins would allow… Source: Bleacher Report
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College Football Predictions Week 3: 3 Teams That Will Soar Up the Polls
Filed under Football, News by on Sep 17th, 2011. Comment.
