On rankings

I can’t even begin to imagine how difficult it is to be Stewart Mandell, or any AP poll voter for that matter. While the Bowl Championship Series has made major college football more of a national sport than it ever was in the pre-BCS days, it still remains largely a regional sport. As a voter, is it really possible to know enough about the 120 major football programs to be able to pull the 25 top teams and put them in order?

Consider Mandell’s recent “Five Things We Learned This Weekend” post. He notes that “reports of the Pac-10’s ascendancy were premature,” based on recent losses Cal has suffered to Oregon State and UCLA as well as USC’s loss to Stanford.

This is quite puzzling, considering that the common justification of the strength of the SEC is that it’s almost impossible for teams to make it through the season undefeated. It certainly was the rational last year, when a one-loss Florida team creamed Ohio State in the National Championship game.

The general consensus of the Pac-10 the past few years has been that it’s USC and nobody, therefore it’s easy for the Trojans to get to the big game. Yet this year, when any Pac-10 team can beat any other on a given Saturday, it’s just proof that the conference is weak.

Let’s just ignore the fact that previously No. 6 South Carolina, who was leading the southeastern division of the SEC, lost to lowly Vanderbilt(see photo). Let’s also ignore the fact that two-loss UCLA, in their loss to Notre Dame (ND’s only win on the season), was starting a walk-on at quarterback because of injuries.

Fans and the media alike were floored by USC’s loss to Stanford, yet they seem to conveniently forget (or are simply unaware of) the large number of injuries the Trojans had picked up in the last few games. They’d loss several linemen, two running backs (including their leading rusher, Stafon Johnson), two great linebackers and a number of cornerbacks.

The Pac-10 is tough this year, I guarantee that. Just wait until bowl season.

Damn Beavers

Oregon State is the first Pac-10 team to make a serious blunder this season by losing badly to the Cincinnati Bearcats. The Beavers were completely dominated, throwing six interceptions, losing one fumble and getting only 30 yards on 16 attempts (less than two yards per carry) from running back Yvenson Bernard. This is following a 165-yard two-touchdown performance against Utah a week earlier.

Leave it to one of those Oregon schools to screw the conference. By comparison, the Big East and the Pac-10 are very similar in their status among the other BCS conferences. Both are currently sporting three ranked teams, one of which is considered a serious championship contender (USC and West Virginia), and both sport some electrifying offensive talent (Steve Slaton, DeSean Jackson, Pat White, Brian Brohm, John David Booty). And by the way, all five are generally considered to be on the this year’s Heisman-watch list.

Losing to a mediocre Big East team is unacceptable. The Big East gets little respect, and this will lead to the Pac-10 getting even less. It’s not like OSU was playing a powerhouse team like Louisville or West Virginia — it was Cincinnati. They’ve been a part of the Big East for only two years; previously they were a Conference USA team.

The most important part of building a strong conference is consistency from the better teams in non-conference play. Thirteen-ranked UCLA is regarded as the third-best team in the Pac-10, and it’s their consistency in non-conference that will play a huge part in defining just how tough the Pac is this year. This week they match up against BYU, a team fresh off of pounding those pussycats to the south. The following week they’ll travel to Utah, where OSU had their promising start. A loss to either team would be a devastating blow to the Pac-10, the logic being that one of our better teams can’t even handle these softies in weaker conferences. As much as I hate those dirty Bruins, I have to cheer for them.

What many fans don’t understand is that college football is a regional sport. You always support your conference, even if the team is your bitter rival. Ohio State fans were shown cheering last week during the final moments of the Michigan loss to Appalachian State. What those boneheads don’t realize is that loss makes their conference look like crap. Sports Illustrated college football analyst Stewart Mandel moved the Buckeyes down a few spots in his power rankings, despite the team’s victory over Youngstown State, commenting that Michigan’s loss has revealed the Big Ten to be highly overrated.