End of Regular Season Blogpoll

Games Watched: Oregon State/Oregon, Ohio/Central Michigan, Cincinnati/Pitt, Fresno State/Illinois, Florida/Alabama, Arizona/USC, Texas/Nebraska, Georgia Tech/Clemson and Wisconsin/Hawaii.

Rank	Team	Delta
1	Alabama	3
2	TCU
3	Texas
4	Cincinnati	1
5	Boise State	1
6	Florida	5
7	Oregon
8	Ohio State
9	Iowa
10	Penn State
11	Georgia Tech
12	LSU
13	Virginia Tech
14	Wisconsin	1
15	Miami (Florida)	1
16	Brigham Young	1
17	Arizona	6
18	Central Michigan	4
19	Oregon State	5
20	Utah	4
21	Stanford
22	Oklahoma State	3
23	West Virginia
24	Southern Cal	6
25	Pittsburgh	6
Last week's ballot

Dropped Out: Houston (#20), California (#21).

What a shame TCU can't play for the MNC, I think they're a far stronger team than Texas, but unfortunately the Blogpoll holds no sway in the BCS formula. Penn State ended up in a worse bowl, but stands to gain more in perception competing against LSU than they would against Georgia Tech. USC and Pitt just barely hang onto spots in the Top 25, Oregon State really disappointed and dropped as well. Really just a mess after 13 or so. Now, onto the bowl season and its surprising games. I'd love a playoff, but there is something appealing about bowls in that sometimes they're really good games that you weren't expecting (and some duds in others). Needless to say, I'm rooting for utter chaos in the end.

The Breakdown:
1. Alabama
9/5 – Virginia Tech (in Atlanta, GA) 34-24 (498/155)
9/12 – Florida International 40-14 (516/214)
9/19 – North Texas 53-7 (523/126)
9/26 – Arkansas 35-7 (425/254)
10/3 – at Kentucky 38-20 (352/301)
10/10 – at Ole Miss 22-3 (354/212)
10/17 – South Carolina 20-6 (356/278)
10/24 – Tennessee 12-10 (256/341)
11/7 – LSU 24-15 (452/253)
11/14 – at Mississippi St. 31-3 (444/213)
11/21 – Chattanooga 45-0 (422/84)
11/27 – at Auburn 26-21 (291/332)
12/5 – Florida (in Atlanta, GA) 32-13 (490/335)

2. TCU
9/12 – at Virginia 30-14 (380/177)
9/19 – Texas St. 56-21 (508/249)
9/26 – at Clemson 14-10 (388/309)
10/3 – at SMU 39-14 (418/224)
10/10 – at Air Force 20-17 (393/287)
10/17 – Colorado St. 44-6 (499/182)
10/24 – at BYU 38-7 (412/298)
10/31 – UNLV 41-0 (578/160)
11/7 – at San Diego St. 55-12 (551/279)
11/14 – Utah 55-28 (549/284)
11/21 – at Wyoming 45-10 (507/178)
11/28 – New Mexico 51-10 (430/172)

3. Texas
9/5 – Louisiana-Monroe 59-20 (562/298)
9/12- at Wyoming 41-10 (544/273)
9/19 – Texas Tech 34-24 (340/414)
9/26 – UTEP 64-7 (639/53)
10/10 – Colorado 38-14 (313/127)
10/17 – Oklahoma 16-13 (269/311)
10/24 – at Missouri 41-7 (400/173)
10/31 – at Oklahoma St. 41-14 (275/277)
11/7 – UCF 35-3 (537/151)
11/14 – at Baylor 47-14 (411/246)
11/21 – Kansas 51-20 (532/303)
11/26 – at Texas A&M 49-39 (597/532)
12/5 – Nebraska 13-12 (202/106)

4. Cincinnati
9/7 – at Rutgers 47-15 (564/293)
9/12 – Southeast Missouri St. 70-3 (578/176)
9/19 – at Oregon St. 28-18 (408/344)
9/26 – Fresno St. 28-20 (357/443)
10/3 – at Miami(OH) 37-13 (434/316)
10/15 – at South Florida 34-17 (401/376)
10/24 – Louisville 41-10 (468/275)
10/31 – at Syracuse 28-7 (422-283)
11/7 – UConn 47-45 (711/462)
11/13 – West Virginia 24-21 (437/390)
11/27 – Illinois 49-36 (420/476)
12/5 – at Pittsburgh 45-44 (371/369)

5. Boise St.
9/3 – Oregon 19-8 (361/152)
9/12 – Miami(OH) 48-0 (441/194)
9/18 – at Fresno St. 51-34 (480/507)
9/26 – at Bowling Green 49-14 (529/282)
10/3 – UC Davis 34-16 (386/234)
10/14 – at Tulsa 28-21 (380/295)
10/24 – at Hawaii 54-9 (472/307)
10/31 – San Jose St. 45-7 (430/223)
11/6 – Louisiana Tech 45-35 (507/250)
11/14 – Idaho 63-25 (458/514)
11/20 – at Utah St. 52-21 (572/363)
11/27 – Nevada 44-33 (427/383)
12/5 – New Mexico St. 42-7 (544/191)

6. Florida
9/5 – Charleston Southern 62-3 (624/323)
9/12 – Troy 56-6 (663/139)
9/19 – Tennessee 23-13 (323/210)
9/26 – at Kentucky 41-7 (495/179)
10/10 – at LSU 13-3 (327/162)
10/17 – Arkansas 23-20 (391/357)
10/24 – at Mississippi St. 29-19 (376/237)
10/31 – Georgia 41-17 (374/286)
11/7 – Vanderbilt 27-3 (375/199)
11/14 – at South Carolina 24-14 (339/247)
11/21 – Florida International 62-3 (584/189)
11/27 – Florida St. 37-10 (545/269)
12/5 – Alabama (in Atlanta, GA) 13-32 (335/490)

7. Oregon
9/3 – at Boise St. 8-19 (152/361)
9/12 – Purdue 38-36 (356/451)
9/19 – Utah 31-24 (312/297)
9/26 – Cal 42-3 (524/207)
10/3 – Washington St. 52-6 (514/158)
10/10 – at UCLA 24-10 (303/211)
10/24 – at Washington 43-19 (416/395)
10/31 – USC 47-20 (613/327)
11/7 – at Stanford 42-51 (570/505)
11/14 – Arizona St. 44-21 (388/211)
11/21 – at Arizona 44-41 (459/441)
12/3 – Oregon St. 37-33 (489/389)

8. Ohio St.
9/5 – Navy 31-27 (363/342)
9/12 – USC 15-18 (265/313)
9/19 – at Toledo 38-0 (522/210)
9/26 – Illinois 30-0 (318/170)
10/3 – at Indiana 33-14 (378/228)
10/10 – Wisconsin 31-13 (184/368)
10/17 – at Purdue 18-26 (287/361)
10/24 – Minnesota 38-7 (509/286)
10/31 – New Mexico St. 45-0 (559/62)
11/7 – at Penn St. 24-7 (353/201)
11/14 – Iowa 27-24 OT (322/300)
11/21 – at Michigan 21-10 (318/309)

9. Iowa
9/5 – Northern Iowa 17-16 (329/354)
9/12 – at Iowa St. 35-3 (426/303)
9/19- Arizona 27-17 (338/253)
9/26 – at Penn St. 21-10 (298/307)
10/3 – Arkansas St. 24-21 (420/296)
10/10 – Michigan 30-28 (367/319)
10/17 – at Wisconsin 20-10 (283/230)
10/24 – at Michigan St. 15-13 (276/310)
10/31 – Indiana 42-24 (480/306)
11/7 – Northwestern 10-17 (281/239)
11/14 – at Ohio St. 24-27 OT (300/322)
11/21 – Minnesota 12-0 (171/201)

10. Penn St.
9/5 – Akron 31-7 (515/186)
9/12 – Syracuse 28-7 (318/200)
9/19 – Temple 31-6 (359/251)
9/26 – Iowa 10-21 (307/298)
10/3 – at Illinois 35-17 (513/393)
10/10 – Eastern Illinois 52-3 (553/206)
10/17 – Minnesota 20-0 (464/138)
10/24 – at Michigan 35-10 (396/250)
10/31 – at Northwestern 34-13 (437/371)
11/7 – Ohio State 7-24 (201/353)
11/14 – Indiana 31-20 (375/346)
11/21 – at Michigan St. 42-14 (512/333)

11. Georgia Tech
9/5 – Jacksonville St. 37-17 (497/291)
9/10 – Clemson 30-27 (418/386)
917 – at Miami 17-33 (228/454)
9/26 – North Carolina 24-7 (406/154)
10/3 – at Mississippi St. 42-31 (479/487)
10/10 – at Florida St.49-44 (532/539)
10/17 – Virginia Tech 28-23 (360/334)
10/24 – at Virginia 34-9 (447/198)
10/31 – at Vanderbilt 56-31 (597/397)
11/7 – Wake Forest 30-27 (463/291)
11/14 – at Duke 49-10 (519/281)
11/28 – Georgia 24-30 (340/415)
12/5 – Clemson (in Tampa, FL) 39-34 (469/414)

12. LSU
9/5 – at Washington 31-23 (321/478)
9/12 – Vanderbilt 23-9 (326/210)
9/19 – Louisiana-Lafayette 31-3 (330/272)
9/26 – at Mississippi St. 30-26 (263/374)
10/3 – at Georgia 20-13 (368/274)
10/10 – Florida 3-13 (162/327)
10/24 – Auburn 31-10 (376/193)
10/31 – Tulane 42-0 (455/216)
11/7 – at Alabama 15-24 (253/454)
11/14 – Louisiana Tech 24-16 (246/322)
11/21 – at Mississippi 23-25 (290/426)
11/28 – Arkansas 33-30 OT (326/375)

13. Virginia Tech
9/5 – Alabama (in Atlanta, GA) 24-34 (155/498)
9/12 – Marshall 52-10 (605/252)
9/19 – Nebraska 16-15 (278/343)
9/26 – Miami 31-7 (370/209)
10/3 – at Duke 34-26 (477/397)
10/10 – Boston College 48-14 (441/163)
10/17 – at Georgia Tech 23-28 (334/360)
10/29 – North Carolina 17-20 (256/312)
11/5 – at East Carolina 16-3 (379/277)
11/14 – at Maryland 36-9 (484/236)
11/21 – NC State 38-10 (397/259)
11/28 – at Virginia 42-13 (483/295)

14. Wisconsin
9/5 – Northern Illinois 28-20 (433/274)
9/12 – Fresno St. 34-31 OT (413/468)
9/19 – Wofford 44-14 (430/259)
9/26 – Michigan St. 38-30 (436/486)
10/3 – at Minnesota 31-28 (454/328)
10/10 – at Ohio St. 13-34 (368/184)
10/17 – Iowa 10-20 (230/283)
10/31 – Purdue 37-0 (381/141)
11/7 – at Indiana 31-28 (488/386)
11/14 – Michigan 45-24 (469/265)
11/21 – at Northwestern 31-33 (334/437)
12/5 – at Hawaii 51-10 (554/214)

15. Miami
9/7 – at Florida St. 38-34 (476/404)
9/17 – Georgia Tech 33-17 (454/228)
9/26 – at Virginia Tech 7-31 (209/370)
10/3 – Oklahoma 21-20 (342/341)
10/10 – Florida A&M 48-16 (470/262)
10/17 – at UCF 27-7 (363/229)
10/24 – Clemson 37-40 OT (433/410)
10/31 – at Wake Forest 28-27 (356/555)
11/7 – Virginia 52-17 (515/149)
11/14 – at North Carolina 24-33 (435/329)
11/21 – Duke 34-16 (496/358)
11/28 – at South Florida 31-10 (4010/220)

16. BYU
9/5 – Oklahoma (in Arlington, TX) 14-13 (357/265)
9/12 – at Tulane 54-3 (527/162)
9/19 – Florida St. 28-54 (473/512)
9/26 – Colorado St. 42-23 (373/438)
10/2 – Utah St. 35-17 (431/322)
10/10 – at UNLV 59-21 (611/337)
10/17 – at San Diego St. 38-28 (512/342)
10/24 – TCU 7-38 (298/412)
11/7 – at Wyoming 52-0 (543/225)
11/14 – at New Mexico 24-19 (355/360)
11/21 – Air Force 38-21 (498/300)
11/28 – Utah 26-23 OT (265/298)

17. Arizona
9/5 – Central Michigan 19-6 (448/182)
9/12 – Northern Arizona 34-17 (559/226)
9/19 – at Iowa 17-27 (253/338)
9/26 – at Oregon St. 37-32 (388/407)
10/10 – at Washington 33-36 (461/256)
10/17 – Stanford 43-38 (553/584)
10/24 – UCLA 27-13 (456/211)
11/7 – Washington St. 48-7 (471/185)
11/14 – at Cal 16-24 (274/357)
11/21 – Oregon 41-44 OT (441/459)
11/28 – at Arizona St. 20-17 (265/303)
12/5 – at USC 21-17 (321/282)

18. Central Michigan
9/5 – at Arizona 6-19 (182/448)
9/12 – at Michigan St. 29-27 (418/316)
9/19 – Alcorn St. 48-0 (319/136)
9/26 – Akron 48-21 (523/196)
10/3 – at Buffalo 20-13 (412/433)
10/10 – Eastern Michigan 56-8 (521/255)
10/17 – at Western Michigan 34-23 (426/497)
10/24 – at Bowling Green 24-10 (406/363)
10/31 – at Boston College 10-31 (311/412)
11/11 – Toledo 56-28 (507/353)
11/18 – at Ball St. 35-3 (512/231)
11/27 – Northern Illinois 45-31 (512/332)
12/4 – Ohio (in Detroit, MI) 20-10 (381/275)

19. Oregon St.
9/5 – Portland St. 34-7 (433/351)
9/12 – at UNLV 23-21 (382/310)
9/19 – Cincinnati 18-28 (344/408)
9/26 – Arizona 32-37 (407/388)
10/3 – at Arizona St. 28-17 (295/406)
10/10 – Stanford 38-28 (463/375)
10/24 – at USC 36-42 (482/429)
10/31 – UCLA 26-19 (463/374)
11/7 – at Cal 31-14 (436/239)
11/14 – Washington 48-21 (372/274)
11/21 – at Washington St. 42-10 (567/192)
12/3 – at Oregon 33-37 (389/489)

20. Utah
9/3 – Utah St. 35-17 (519/342)
9/12 – at San Jose St. 24-14 (499/264)
9/19 – at Oregon 24-31 (297/312)
9/26 – Louisville 30-14 (416/261)
10/10 – at Colorado St. 24-17 (457/334)
10/17 – at UNLV 35-15 (327/327)
10/24 – Air Force 23-16 OT (267/318)
10/31 – Wyoming 22-10 (363/202)
11/7 – New Mexico 45-14 (557/334)
11/14 – at TCU 28-55 (284/549)
11/21 – San Diego St. 38-7 (391/262)
11/28 – at BYU 23-26 OT (298/265)

21. Stanford
9/5 – at Washington St. 39-13 (481/351)
9/12 – at Wake Forest 17-24 (391/458)
9/19 – San Jose St. 42-17 (382/228)
9/26 – Washington 34-14 (424/291)
10/3 – UCLA 24-16 (372/299)
10/10 – at Oregon St. 28-38 (375/463)
10/17 – at Arizona 38-43 (584/553)
10/24 – Arizona St. 33-14 (473/290)
11/7 – Oregon 51-42 (505/570)
11/14 – at USC 55-21 (469/334)
11/21 – Cal 28-34 (345/477)
11/28 – Notre Dame 45-38 (496/447)

22. Oklahoma State
9/5 – Georgia 24-10 (307/257)
9/12 – Houston 35-45 (434/512)
9/19 – Rice 41-24 (351/377)
9/26 – Grambling St. 56-6 (587/260)
10/10 – at Texas A&M 36-31 (448/382)
10/17 – Missouri 33-17 (351/393)
10/24 – Baylor 34-7 (445/284)
10/31 – Texas 14-41 (277/275)
11/7 – at Iowa St. 34-8 (473/242)
11/14 – Texas Tech 24-17 (333/357)
11/19 – Colorado 31-28 (400/251)
11/28 – at Oklahoma 0-27 (109/367)

23. West Virginia
9/5 – Liberty 33-20 (438/299)
9/12 – East Carolina 35-20 (509/237)
9/19 – at Auburn 30-41 (509/400)
10/1 – Colorado 35-24 (405/392)
10/10 – at Syracuse 34-13 (385/222)
10/17 – Marshall 24-7 (313/207)
10/24 – UConn 28-24 (387/501)
10/30 – at South Florida 19-30 (323/421)
11/7 – Louisville 17-9 (273/301)
11/13 – at Cincinnati 21-24 (390/437)
11/27 – Pittsburgh 19-16 (369/325)
12/5 – at Rutgers 24-21 (278/218)

24. USC
9/5 – San Jose St. 56-3 (620/121)
9/12 – at Ohio St. 18-15 (313/265)
9/19 – at Washington 13-16 (360/293)
9/29 – Washington St. 27-6 (403/229)
10/3 – at Cal 30-3 (457/285)
10/17 – at Notre Dame 34-27 (501/367)
10/24 – Oregon St. 42-36 (429/482)
10/31 – at Oregon 20-47 (327/613)
11/7 – at Arizona St. 14-9 (258/347)
11/14 – Stanford 21-55 (469/334)
11/28 – UCLA 28-7 (336/322)
12/5 – Arizona 17-21 (282/321)

25. Pittsburgh
9/5 – Youngstown St. 38-3 (390/159)
9/12 – at Buffalo 54-27 (381/500)
9/19 – Navy 27-14 (369/218)
9/26 – at NC State 31-38 (300/530)
10/2 – at Louisville 35-10 (404/305)
10/10 – UConn 24-21 (489/303)
10/16 – at Rutgers 24-17 (376/286)
10/24 – South Florida 41-14 (486/212)
11/7 – Syracuse 37-10 (481/285)
11/14 – Notre Dame 27-22 (429/349)
11/27 – at West Virginia 16-19 (325/369)
12/5 – Cincinnati 44-45 (369/371)

Dropped Out:
20. Houston
9/5 – Northwestern St. 55-7 (538/263)
9/12 – at Oklahoma St. 45-35 (512/434)
9/26 – Texas Tech 29-28 (579/484)
10/3 – at UTEP 41-58 (664/581)
10/10 – at Mississippi St. 31-24 (553/490)
10/17 – at Tulane 44-16 (516/437)
10/24 – SMU 38-15 (394/397)
10/31 – Southern Miss 50-43 (750/608)
11/7 – at Tulsa 46-45 (695/534)
11/14 – at UCF 32-37 (423/393)
11/21 – Memphis 55-14 (689/344)
11/28 – Rice 73-14 (684/377)
12/5 – at East Carolina 32-38 (557/413)

21. Cal
9/5 – Maryland 52-13 (542/303)
9/12 – Eastern Washington 59-7 (507/235)
9/19 – at Minnesota 35-21 (415/270)
9/26 – at Oregon 3-42 (207/524)
10/3 – USC 3-30 (285/457)
10/17 – at UCLA 45-26 (494/448)
10/24 – Washington St. 49-17 (559/440)
10/31 – at Arizona St. 23-21 (351/247)
11/7 – Oregon St. 14-31 (239/436)
11/14 – Arizona 24-16 (357/274)
11/21 – at Stanford 34-28 (477/345)
12/5 – at Washington 10-42 (296/463)

Longevity of worthless reporters something to marvel

It's been a while since I've dished on Ron Cook, actually where's the guy been I haven't read one of his patently horrible articles in a while. Oh, ok that's better. So typical Bobby Bowden – Joe Paterno comparison piece where the author tries to transpose the ending of Bowden's story on Paterno. That's all fine, albeit a bit obvious since it almost happened, but Cook couldn't stop there; no in the middle of it he had to get his shot in.

This season, the Nittany Lions are 10-2 and could be headed to a BCS game. They don't deserve to play in a big bowl after losing badly at home to Iowa and Ohio State, but bowl matchups aren't about fairness. They're about which teams can put the most fannies in a stadium and eyeballs on a television set.

What does that have anything to do with Bowden and Paterno? It's a low blow in the middle of an article and it has absolutely nothing to do with the subject: Paterno's longevity and Bowden's retirement. I'm not saying I disagree with the statement, I don't believe Penn State deserves to play in a BCS bowl either but if that's the point I'm going to try to make, then I'll do it in an article aimed at that subject. It's the poor journalism we've come to expect out of PA reporters especially the Post Gazette a paper that is required to beat on Penn State because of their loyalty to Pitt.

The stupidity doesn't stop there though, this statement shows the mentality that a lot of PA reporters share and it shows the significant ignorance I've come to expect.

For a long time, I've being struggling with thoughts about what Paterno's chief legacy will be at Penn State. Is it those 393 wins? The countless millions he has raised for the university? The fact his teams routinely attract game-day crowds of 105,000 or more to Beaver Stadium? I guess it has to be the wins because the successful fundraising efforts and the big crowds wouldn't have happened without them.But I'm starting to think Paterno's unfathomable longevity is his greatest achievement.

This is the problem I had with reporters back in the "dark years." They just didn't get it. Paterno's legacy isn't about wins and losses, it's not about a big stadium either, and it's certainly not about the length of his tenure as coach. Paterno's legacy is this, and I can't stress this enough: he's made a difference in the lives of thousands of young men. Paterno will be remembered for the money he's donated, for the bowl victories, and the national titles but his unyielding commitment to his players on and off the field will be his legacy. Just ask Michael Robinson whom Paterno stuck with at quarterback despite every talking head wanting him to move to wide receiver or running back the position the NFL moved him to. Just ask Adam Taliaferro who Paterno got through school despite his career ending back injury. And while you're at it, ask Brian Milne who was diagnosed with cancer in high school and the only coach to still offer him a scholarship was Paterno. In fact Paterno was going to make good on Milne's scholarship even if he never played another down of football. How many coaches would use a scholarship on a player that may never play again in this day and age? One: Joe Paterno. No his legacy won't be about the hundreds of wins he's amassed, Joe Paterno's legacy will be about the thousands of lives he's touched. It's too bad some reporters don't understand that.

So long Bobby & don’t let the door hit you in the ass, Charlie

So the coaching carousel started with a whirl with the not so surprising firing of Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis and the "retirement" of Florida State coach and Paterno win-record nemesis Bobby Bowden.

As I stated last week, Chuck Weis will be missed because watching Notre Dame flounder in mediocrity has been delicious schadenfreude. He was the gift that kept on given, every time he opened his mouth something unbelievably arrogant came out only to have mother universe bitch slap him for it. My favorite comment had to be about Paterno and coaching from the press box. When Chuck injured his knee he was asked by a reporter if he would coach from the press box like Paterno did when he injured his knee much in the same way. Charlie's response was "I'm too important to coach from the press box," as if Paterno isn't an important part of his coaching staff. The sheer joy of seeing ole' fat ass sitting in the press box the next week was something I'll never forget.

Bobby Bowden will be missed but for a much different reason. Yeah, Bowden was just a figurehead and yes he was definitely out next season but the unceremonious shove out the door is sad. Let's be realistic, Bowden wanted to come back next season but the administration had enough. Bowden's ACC record was .500 the last four seasons since the Seminoles won their last conference title. There was a lot of speculation and rumor that FSU was going to allow Bowden to come back for one more year if he was willing to give total control to coach in waiting Jimbo Fisher. Personally I think that's BS, I think the administration wanted a clean start and they weren't waiting another year. Although I've always felt Paterno deserves the win record more, because he coached at the same university his entire career and never coached at a school that is not a Div I school, I was hoping the two would go neck and neck and retire at the same time, but that's not going to happen. Say what you want about Bobby Bowden, it was a fun race and it was something that will never happen again. We will never see two life-long college coaches devote their lives to the school they are coaching, that kind of loyalty no longer exists in our "what have you done for me lately" society. We'll never see two universities put up with their head coaches going through tough years like Florida State and Penn State. No, in the future they will be canned long before they get a chance to redeem themselves. Fired, or as the talking suits like to say in the uncaring business climate of today: "go in a different direction," whatever the hell that means.

So Paterno gets his record and Florida State gets their coach and the lifelong race to the top is over not with the dignified pomp and circumstance it deserves but with a brusque whimper. The only silver lining on this dark cloud is that Bowden gets to ride off into the sun; he will coach his last game in FSU's bowl game. School officials are trying to get the ACC to allow Florida State to play West Virginia (where he coached as an OC and a head coach) in one of the Florida bowls, either the Gator Bowl or the Champs Sports Bowl. I hope for the sake of all that is still good in the world of college football, the ACC and the bowls put aside greed for once and grant Bobby his wish.