This week's BlogPoll results are out and Oklahoma and Texas are in a virtual tie with Florida barely ahead.  Basically this shows what we have all expected, if Oklahoma beats the Pokes on the road the South is theirs.

Rank	Team	PPB	StdDev	Delta
1	Alabama (55)	24.4	1.2	1
2	Florida (8)	23.2	1.1	1
3	Oklahoma (2)	23.0	1.1	2
4	Texas (8)	23.0	1.2	--
5	Southern Cal	20.4	1.1	1
6	Penn State	19.3	1.5	1
7	Texas Tech	19.0	1.6	6
8	Utah	18.3	2.5	--
9	Ohio State	15.6	1.8	2
10	Oklahoma State	15.6	1.6	--
11	Boise State	15.4	3.4	2
12	Missouri	14.1	1.9	--
13	Georgia	13.5	1.9	--
14	TCU	10.8	3.1	2
15	Cincinnati	10.2	1.9	4
16	Oregon State	10.0	1.8	2
17	Ball State	9.9	4.2	2
18	Georgia Tech	6.2	3.1	8
19	Boston College	5.4	2.2	7
20	Michigan State	5.1	2.8	6
21	Oregon	4.5	3.0	4
22	Florida State	4.4	3.1	4
23	Brigham Young	4.2	3.5	6
24	Northwestern	2.6	2.1	2
25	Mississippi	2.1	2.5	1

Also Receiving Votes: Iowa(1.3), Pittsburgh(1.3), West Virginia(0.9), California(0.4), Virginia Tech(0.2), Western Michigan(0.2), LSU(0.1), North Carolina(0.1), Miami (Florida)(0.1), Tulsa(0.1), South Carolina(0.1), Maryland(0.1), Nebraska(0.0), Rice(0.0), Connecticut(0.0),

Total Ballots: 73

Votes by blog here, votes by team here.

The BlogPoll's position on the Great Big 12 South Debate is: dude, we just don't know. Texas and Oklahoma are virtually tied at 23.0 points per ballot. And for good measure, #2 Florida edges those two schools out by 0.2 PPB. Oklahoma has the edge now, though, and takes on a much tougher opponent this weekend than Texas—it's Bedlam for Oklahoma and A&M for Texas—and controls its own destiny. Texas is basically praying for OU to lose, either now or against Missouri.

Elsewhere: mid-majors all slip, some of them despite winning, Ole Miss makes an appearance, Cincinnati cracks the top 15 just in time for Brian Kelly to bolt, and Texas Tech falls from grace.

Wack Ballot Watchdog

So: it appears the BlogPoll has very slightly gone with Oklahoma. Why? Well, not head-to-head. Definitely not head-to-head. Team Speed Kills has some sarcasm for you:

You know, I've decided that Texas-boosters who say head-to-head is a reason to rank the Longhorns above the Sooners are right. So I'm going to put Ole Miss at No. 1, because they defeated the Gators head-to-head and so are a better team, right?

Maybe I should also boost Oregon State to No. 6, ahead of Southern Cal, because they won the head-to-head match-up and are therefore the better team.

To No. 5 goes Iowa, because they beat Penn State and deserve to be ranked higher, correct?

And that guy has Texas his highest Big 12 team! This is something of a theme, even from guys going UT. Braves & Birds has Texas #1 (he's one of just two voters to do so) and spends his time bashing the idea of head-to-head, too:

Right now, just about everyone has Texas Tech as the third-ranked team in the division. The consensus is that Oklahoma and Texas are both better teams, which is a reasonable conclusion in light of the fact that the Horns and Sooners have played tougher schedules and didn't get blown out like the Red Raiders did on Saturday night. Now, assume for the moment that Oklahoma State beats Oklahoma on Saturday. Does Texas Tech jump Texas because of an Oklahoma loss? Put another way, if Texas Tech is the third-best team in a three-way tie, how can they be the best team in a two-way tie?

Okay, no head-to-head. Then what? College Game Balls goes with Oklahoma for overall resume:

I am ranking Oklahoma higher than Texas because Oklahoma played and dominated the most impressive out of conference schedule.

That's true. Oklahoma has dominating victories over Cincinnati and TCU; Texas played a nonconference schedule that was Tech-like in its lack of quality. However, that's not the whole story. I cite… well… myself, because I didn't see anyone else make this point:

I went with Texas this week because their performance in the head-to-head games seems the best (TT has a squeaker victory and a blowout loss; Texas has a solid victory that was a one-score game until six minutes left and a squeaker loss; Oklahoma has a blowout victory and a solid loss), though I can see why you might go with Oklahoma, and because a blowout of Missouri and four-point win over Oklahoma State seems more impressive than crushing TCU and Cincinnati.

It's close, though, close enough so that an Oklahoma win in Bedlam will push the Sooners to #2 (or maybe #1).

Oklahoma is currently missing two top-ten-ish teams from its schedule that Texas has beaten. It replaces one with Cincinnati and plays the other this weekend. Right now, Texas has the more impressive resume. After this weekend…

See the rest after the jump...

Continue reading this post »

Rank	Team	Delta
1	Alabama	25
2	Oklahoma	24
3	Texas	23
4	Florida	22
5	Penn State	21
6	Texas Tech	20
7	Utah	19
8	Southern Cal	18
9	Ohio State	17
10	Oklahoma State	16
11	Missouri	15
12	Georgia	14
13	TCU	13
14	Ball State	12
15	Florida State	11
16	Cincinnati	10
17	Oregon State	9
18	Boston College	8
19	Boise State	7
20	Michigan State	6
21	Northwestern	5
22	LSU	4
23	Georgia Tech	3
24	Pittsburgh	2
25	Iowa	1

I'm not sure what happened to the poll that no longer shows the team movement, but oh well, you get the point.

Ask for explanations and as always, tell me why I 'm stupid.  Only three more of these to go...

Rank	Team	Delta
1	Texas Tech	5
2	Alabama	--
3	Penn State	--
4	Texas	3
5	Oklahoma	1
6	Florida	1
7	Oklahoma State	--
8	Southern Cal	1
9	Utah	1
10	TCU	3
11	Georgia	3
12	Ohio State	--
13	LSU	2
14	Missouri	1
15	Boise State	1
16	Michigan State	7
17	Georgia Tech	9
18	California	7
19	Ball State	--
20	Kansas	2
21	Florida State	3
22	North Carolina	2
23	Northwestern	3
24	West Virginia	2
25	Pittsburgh	1

Continue reading this post »

Thoughts and comments on the early games here.  Let's go Buffs!

via assets.sbnation.com

So the CU vs Mizzou line is up to 24.5 points. I am now scared for Saturday. Can the Buffs really lose by 24.5 points? I am trying to figure out what the line would have been if Mizzou was 7 - 0. I am wondering if the betters have bought into the "be ready at 5:30" motto out of Missouri. This spread is bigger than the Oklahoma game last year. The Kansas City Star picks the Tigers 52 - 14. CollegeFootballNews.com picks Mizzou 45 - 14. That is good because most of the time I look at this site's predictions it is wrong.

Ooohhh...I am scared. How much would you like to beat these clowns just so I can see this guys reaction?:

After what has happened to Missouri on consecutive Saturdays perhaps the worst thing to be just now is a Colorado Buffalo.

"The team goals are friggin’ out the window," said Missouri quarterback Chase Daniel. "It’s do-or-die time.

.......

Because of that — if things go the way Missouri coach Gary Pinkel intends — it is the Buffaloes who may be on the list of endangered species.

A little dramatic Mike DeArmond and from what I have read this weak, he is Mr. Dramatic.

This writer from the Examiner thinks that getting Missouri running back Derrick Washington needs to get going if the Tigers are going to be successful again this year:

Against the Cowboys, the man they call D-Wash was a non-factor in the Tigers’ 28-23 upset loss, carrying the ball only eight times for 11 yards. A week later in Austin, Washington’s absence, though slightly more excusable considering Missouri’s 32-point halftime deficit, was still noticeable: 17 yards on seven carries. Eeeeek!

At one time this year, Washington led the nation in scoring earlier. I am expecting a heavy dose of Washington this weekend

I like you Josh Smith, but you are not Jeremy Maclin...

Third on the Big 12 all-purpose yards list is Smith (160.3), who compares himself favorably to Maclin.

"Very talented dude," Smith said. "We're often compared a lot. He's got the speed up to par, nice hands. And we do a lot of the same things, special teams, and just going out and making plays for your team and being depended upon and being able to deliver."

In honor of The Ralphie Report's start of college basketball previews, here is the Boulder Daily Camera's five things to watch this year in the Big 12. A weak list overall but the #5 is funny:

5. CU vs. Cupcakes. The young Buffs will try to stockpile some wins and confidence against the likes of Montana State, Prairie View A&M and Western State before Big 12 play begins. NIT or bust?

In other news, the Buffs have already lost a player, junior forward Trent Beckley will miss the upcoming season with a lumbar spine stress fracture. Beckley played in ten games last year.

It's Friday, so turn up your speakers and play this song really loud. That's what I'm going to do anyway...

Sunset Rubdown - The Taming of the Hands That Came Back to Life

We just started our Big 12 Basketball previews over at The Ralphie Report and Iowa State was up first.  All of our previews are being done by BuffZag, who runs the awesome Gonzaga blog, The Kennel Report (which will soon be joining us on SBNation).  I'm guessing we are going to have quite the battle between CU and ISU for the North cellar, but both teams are promising. Have a look and let us know what you think.

The Ralphie Report Big 12 Basketball Previews - Iowa State