Week 4 College Top 25

What a week in college football. Lots of upsets and close games around the college landscape. Several teams began conference play last week and even more this week. We’re learning that there is more parity in college football than we thought and if Florida and Texas falter, it will set up a BCS scandal for the ages. Here’s my updated top 25 with thoughts on each team.

Rank. (My Previous Rank) Team Record
1. (2) Texas, 4-0: The throttling of UTEP displayed what Texas can do when they don’t start out slow
2. (1) Florida, 4-0: The Gators have several questions that need to be answered. We will know more about Tebow in the next two weeks before they face LSU. What we won’t know is who will step up and take some weight off of Tebow’s shoulders.
3. (3) Alabama, 4-0: The Crimson Tide has been steamrolling opponents since their week 1 win over Virginia Tech.
4. (7) LSU, 4-0: LSU was one team to escape a close call in a conference game. Their defense is tough and will need to be in the next couple of weeks.
5. (8) Boise State, 4-0: That week 1 win over Oregon is looking better now, eh? This team has a solid defense and an efficient offense. If they run the table, a lot of talk will happen with all the one-loss teams we have now.

Week 3 NFL Picks

Last week I went 10-6 with my picks mostly because some teams have figured out how to close out the close games (Dallas, Tennessee, San Diego, Pittsburgh) and my other two losses just got flat out beat down (New England and Cleveland). Here come the week 3 picks along with the fantasy players to sit or start.

Washington (1-1) at Detroit (0-2)
My pick: Detroit
Fantasy X-Factors: Last week was supposed to be a statistical eruption for Redskins QB Jason Campbell but they couldn’t do anything against the St. Louis defense. Avoid playing Antwaan Randel El, Santana Moss or Chris Cooley until Campbell shows he can pick apart lesser teams. I’m intrigued by the Lions because they are markedly improved over last year. Their linebackers are solid and their offense puts up points. The Redskins have a solid defense, especially against the run with Albert Haynseworth so avoid playing Kevin Smith unless you are short on running backs. It’s always better to field someone guaranteed to touch the ball. Matthew Stafford is a risky play while Calvin Johnson is a no-brainer.

NCAA Week 4 Predictions

Week 4…the last week for most non-conference games which means after this week teams like Florida and Texas have to quit running from quality opponents. In the meantime Miami is looking to take on its 3rd ranked opponent in as many games (#18 Florida State, #14 Georgia Tech and now #11 Virginia Tech) and they have Oklahoma coming up the week after. California faces a test in Oregon to prove they belong at the top of the Pac-10. I think Houston falls to Texas Tech this week after watching Tech play in Austin, although I think Houston is better than people think. I think BYU barely gets by Colorado State. And for some more upsets I’m going out on a limb. For the 3rd week in a row I am picking North Carolina to lose. Also, Arizona State to pull off a shocker at Georgia and Stanford to defeat Washington.

Heisman Watch

I was checking out the weekly barrage of information in the sports world, and I came across the following two pieces of content over at ESPN.

Firstly, the Forde Yard Dash, written by Pat Forde, is one of my favorite weekly articles because he covers a large swathe of the college football landscape. While reading this article he discusses two specific AP pollsters that ranked Florida at #5 and why they are not as crazy as most would presume. Each AP pollster explains that most rankings (Florida, Texas and USC) are set based on what college preview magazines say back in April. So because Florida garnered pre-pre-season #1 accolades most voters are on auto-pilot when they fill out their Top 25 each week and automatically put Florida and Texas as 1 and 2 respectively.

Then I clicked over to check out ESPN’s “Heisman Watch” and got to thinking, the same theory applies here. Tim Tebow and Colt McCoy were equally amazing in 2008 and therefore were on the preseason watch list. But once the games start, voters should be focusing strictly on 2009 stats, right?

Big 12 Thoughts After Week 3

A lot has happened in the much ballyhooed Big 12 conference. The conference was supposed to challenge the SEC for supreme dominance, but has faltered several times so far.

• Sam Bradford went down in the first half of the the Sooners first game. The Sooners BCS Title hopes are not dead thanks to the faltering of teams like USC, Ohio State, BYU, Oklahoma State and others
• Oklahoma State came out the gates and rocked Georgia. The letdown against Houston in Stillwater was obviously a case of overlooking an opponent following a big win
• Texas hasn’t seemed invincible early in the 2009 season
• Colorado opened with losses to Colorado State and Toledo; so much for 10 wins Dan Hawkins
• Iowa State and Kansas State are struggling against weaker non-conference opponents
• Baylor surprised many with a win over Wake Forest and then gave it back with a close loss to Connecticut
• Kansas has shown its dominating offense and surprisingly strong defense, albeit against weaker opponents
• Texas Tech’s offense is not skipping a beat and their defense is once again decent
• Nebraska’s offense has sputtered some, while their defense is as stout as expected; the close loss at Virginia Tech cannot make Bo Pelini happy
• Missouri’s offense has been surprisingly efficient, especially in their season opening win over Illinois
• Texas A&M has improved, but it remains a question if they will climb out of the gutter

Week 3 Warriors

Week 3 in college football had some major bowl implications. USC lost to unranked Washington, BYU’s BCS-bursting bubble burst. Utah faltered losing the nation’s longest winning streak. The updated AP and Coaches Top 25 were released this afternoon and I’m going to take a minute to get on my soapbox.

USC was ranked #3 and lost to an unranked opponent. After Oklahoma State’s week 1 win over Georgia they jumped to 5 (AP) and 6 (Coaches). Then in week 2 they lost to unranked Houston and fell to 16 and 17 respectively. So what happens to the lovable Trojans of USC? A day after losing to a team they beat 56-0 last year they fall from #3 to 12 (AP) and 10 (Coaches). I understand that USC beat Ohio State (and consequently are still ranked ahead of Ohio State in both polls) but the difference is simple. OSU’s loss came to a team ranked #3 at the time of the game. USC’s loss came to a team that was NOT ranked. I’m normally not a conspiracy theorist, but in my opinion it breaks down like this because: a) USC brings in a lot of $$ to whatever bowl they are chosen for, and b) they need to be ranked decently to get a better bowl. Since the human polls factor into the BCS computations this is ridiculous. Hopefully they lose 1 or 2 more so there is no way the NCAA can tamper.

On to the outstanding performances of Week 3.

Updated College Rankings – Week 3

I went 19-4 during the third week of action missing on USC, BYU, Utah and Eastern Carolina.

My overall record through Week 3 is: 53-9
% correct: .855

My updated Top 25 with their previous ranking in parentheses.

1. (1) Florida, 3-0: up next, @ Kentucky
2. (2) Texas, 3-0: up next, vs. UTEP
3. (4) Alabama, 3-0: up next, vs. Arkansas
4. (5) Penn State, 3-0: up next, vs. Iowa
5. (5) Mississippi, 3-0: up next, @ South Carolina

Week 2 NFL Picks

Week 1 Results: 11-5 on game picks. I missed on the Bengals cause of Stokley’s tip drill; Texans, Redskins and Buccaneers cause I’m stupid; and Cardinals cause Warner forgot how to throw the ball.

On to week 2.

Carolina (0-1) at Atlanta (1-0)
My pick: Atlanta
Fantasy X-Factors: DeAngelo Williams and Jonathon Stewart. Look for Carolina to take the ball out of Jake Delhomme’s hands and lean heavily on the two-headed backfield. It’s hard to say “sit” Steve Smith but don’t expect huge numbers with Delhomme this week. Atlanta’s offense didn’t excel last week as Miami was focused on stopping Michael Turner, who should rebound with a much stronger week and find pay dirt. The Falcons D/ST is a tempting play this week given the number of turnovers Carolina committed in week 1.

Minnesota (1-0) at Detroit (0-1)
My pick: Minnesota
Fantasy X-Factors: Obviously Adrian Peterson should dominate against a leaky Detroit defense. I would still keep Chester Taylor on the bench. It’s just too risky to play a back-up hoping the game is out of hand that he can poach some carries. Since it is Detroit, Minnesota might give Brett Favre more leeway with the passing game, which can only help Bernard Berrian and Visanthe Shiancoe. For Detroit, they should be able to build on the connection between Matthew Stafford and Calvin Johnson. Kevin Smith should still start since he is a #2 quality fantasy starter.

For a very funny video on the Detroit Lions, check out the link below:
NFL Players Mentor Troubled Detroit Lions

MLB you did what?

I found this article via Twitter from @mashable.

http://mashable.com/2009/09/16/little-girl-throws-ball-back/

If you don’t want to read the article yourself (it’s very short) I’ll give you a short synopsis.

A Phillie fan caught a foul ball and promptly gave it to his 3-year-old daughter. She, like any grown man would if he were hopped up on apple juice, throws it back. This absolutely adorable moment was quickly posted all over sites like YouTube.

MLB, in all its infinite wisdom, decided to place copyright restrictions on the video forcing YouTube to remove the video. Then, it uploaded the video here on MLB.com without an “embed” code so the video can only be seen on MLB.com.

I understand wanting to drive traffic to your site as a business and company, but in this digital age trying to “control” the medium will only cause backlash against your brand. A better solution is to create a better quality video of it, then make it distributable, so the top quality videos out there are your’s and not user-generated. As cute as the video is, users do not want to, or regularly, search a site like MLB.com for videos. There is already a site for stuff like that. It’s called YouTube.

NCAA Week 3 Predictions

I didn’t get around to updating my rankings after week 2, so we’re rolling with the Coaches poll for this one.

There are several potential upsets this week, and yeah I’m looking at you Texas. Also, the BCS Busters have some hurdles to jump this week as BYU meets Florida State, Boise meets Fresno, Cincy travels to Oregon State and Utah travels to Oregon. California also travels to face a scrappy Minnesota team. Texas and Texas Tech face off to rematch last year’s game that caused a 3-way tie, this time in Austin. North Carolina, down their starting center and tight end, face East Carolina. And finally, the two marquee games this week. Thursday’s matchup, that’s right I have my shit together this week, between Georgia Tech and Miami could showcase the rebirth of the ACC, and Virginia Tech has the opportunity to notch a win against the Big XII, while Nebraska is fighting to show the Big XII is not overrated.

Picks below – judge them. Tell me what I got wrong and what I got right. And why I’m an idiot (or brilliant – I’m looking at you Miami and ECU fans).
#1. Florida 35 vs. Tennessee 17
#2. Texas 42 vs. Texas Tech 30
#3. USC 42 @ Washington 21
#4. Alabama 42 vs. North Texas 14
#5. Mississippi 35 vs. Southeastern Louisiana 3
#5. Penn State 42 @ Temple 3
#7. BYU 31 vs. Florida State 21
#8. California 28 @ Minnesota 24
#9. LSU 34 vs. Louisiana-Lafayette 7
#10. Boise State 17 @ Fresno State 14
#11. Ohio State 35 @ Toledo 28
#12. Oklahoma 42 vs. Tulsa 7
#13. Virginia Tech 31 vs. #19. Nebraska 24
#14. Georgia Tech 27 @ #20. Miami 31
#15. TCU 35 vs. Texas State 0
#16. Oklahoma State 49 vs. Rice 21
#17. Cincinnati 37 @ Oregon State 35
#18. Utah 27 @ Oregon 21
#21. Houston – Off this week
#22. Kansas 45 vs. Duke 17
#23. Georiga 24 @ Arkansas 21
#24. North Carolina 17 vs. East Carolina 21
#25. Michigan 38 vs. Eastern Michigan 14