Power Rankings 9/18

1) LSU Tigers (3-0, 1-0) - LSU held the Mississippi State Bulldogs to 52 rushing yards on Thursday, with an average gain per rush of 1.3 yards. I bet nobody scores more than 27 points on the Tigers this year. I also bet that they'll be 8-0 going into their Nov. 5th showdown with Alabama.

2) Alabama Crimson Tide (3-0, 0-0) - Alabama opens their SEC play against Arkansas next week in what should be the SEC game of the week. Just a hunch, but I bet that Arkansas won't have 450 yards of offense against the Alabama defense.

3) Boise State Broncos (2-0, 0-0) - Ohio State's loss to Miami ended their streak of 103 consecutive appearances in the AP Top 25 poll. The new current longest streak now belongs to Alabama, at 53. Second longest? Boise State, with 49.

4) Oklahoma Sooners (2-0, 0-0) - It's not that I think that Oklahoma is not as good or as talented as Boise State. It's that, if the National Championship were in two weeks, I would vote for the Broncos to play the SEC champ, not the Sooners. And it will probably stay that way until Nov. 5, when Oklahoma plays Texas A&M.

5) Stanford Cardinal (3-0, 1-0) - Andrew Luck was 20 for 31 in passing with 325 yards and 2 touchdowns in Stanford's 37-10 win at Arizona. More importantly, though? 0 turnovers and 0 second half points allowed. That's how Stanford's going to win the Pac-12. The Cardinal gets next week off before home games against UCLA and Colorado. Their next red-letter date will be Oct. 29, at USC.

6) Wisconsin Badgers (3-0, 0-0) - With Michigan State and Ohio State losing, and with Nebraska struggling at home, the Badgers are really separating themselves from the rest of the Big Ten. So far this season, they have outscored their opponents 135-24.

7) Oklahoma State Cowboys (3-0, 0-0) - Oklahoma State's game 59-33 win against Tulsa didn't end until 3:55 am. They better get some sleep while they can; they have to travel to College Station to play Texas A&M in the Big 12 game of the week next week.

8) Texas A&M Aggies (2-0, 0-0) - I don't know why I have A&M ranked so high. Home wins against SMU and Idaho shouldn't garner that much respect. Also, they have been causing a lot of trouble lately. Win next weekend and I'll admit that they're legit.

9) South Carolina Gamecocks (3-0, 1-0) - Watching Marcus Lattimore rush for 246 yards and 3 touchdowns against Navy, I thought to myself, "There are only two defenses in the country that can stop this guy." And he's going to have to play one of them in the SEC championship game.

10) Nebraska Cornhuskers (3-0, 0-0) - I would be starting to get nervous if I were a Nebraska fan. If you give up 29 points to Fresno State, and 38 to Washington, how many will the run happy honey Badgers put up on you? The Blackshirts have one more week to figure it out, as they have a road game next week at Wyoming.

11) Arkansas Razorbacks (3-0, 0-0) - Have fun being undefeated while it lasts, Arkansas. Four of your next five games are on the road, including at Alabama and at Texas A&M.

12) South Florida Bulls (3-0, 0-0) - This is where I am starting to deviate from orthodoxy. But the Bulls should be rewarded for scheduling tough and beating a Notre Dame team that may not be that bad. Also, they beat Florida A&M 70-17.

13) Virginia Tech Hokies (3-0, 0-0) - Virginia Tech is a tough team to get a handle on, as they have been lackluster in their last two wins against East Carolina and Arkansas State. We probably won't know much about them until Oct. 01, against Clemson, and Oct. 08, against Miami.

14) Baylor Bears (2-0, 0-0) - Like South Florida, I believe that Baylor ought to be considered a top 15 team until somebody proves me wrong on the field. Also, am I the only one who is starting to get excited Iowa State at Baylor on Oct. 08?

15) West Virginia Mountaineers (3-0, 0-0) - ESPN blogger Andrea Adelson wrote, "West Virginia is ready for LSU." She's wrong.

16) Florida Gators (3-0, 1-0) - Florida may not yet be ready-for-primetime in the SEC, and they are fast approaching back to back games against Alabama and LSU. However, some good news about their 33-23 win against Tennessee: They "allowed" -9 rushing yards, and intercepted Tyler Bray twice. The bad news? 16 penalties for 150 yards.

17) Clemson Tigers (3-0, 0-0) - Clemson ended Auburn's record 17-game winning streak - and streak of good luck - 38-24, avenging a heartbreaking OT loss last year. No time to celebrate though; Florida State is coming to town next week, followed by a trip at Virginia Tech.

18) USC Trojans (3-0, 1-0) - Matt Barkley passed for 324 yards and 5 TDs in USC's 38-17 win against Syracuse, the only Pac-12 win against an AQ team last weekend. Three of USC's next four games are on the road, including at Arizona State and at Notre Dame.

19) Texas Longhorns (3-0, 0-0) - Speaking of which... Texas got to exorcise some demons on Saturday, kicking UCLA's butt 49-20 after losing to the Bruins last year 34-12. And even though everyone thinks that the Big 12 is about to dissolve, I think that it's worth mentioning that the conference's current ten members are a combined 23-2 in non-conference play this year. Quite a way to go.

20) Illinois Illini (3-0, 0-0) - I had the surreal experience of watching Illinois' 17-14 win over Arizona State outside at a bar just a few blocks from Memorial Stadium, where the game was being played. The live sound of the roar of the crowd would reach my ears just about three seconds before the play aired on TV, so I could accurately predict whether each play was going to be good or bad for the Illini. This could be a serendipitous year for Illinois: Their next four games are: vs Western Michigan, vs Northwestern, at Indiana, vs Ohio State. They could easily be 5-1 or 6-0 going into the Ohio State game, and my question is, who will be the favorite then?

21) Iowa State Cyclones (3-0, 0-0) - The Cyclones may be my new favorite team in the Big 12. They had to rally from 10-0 to beat Connecticut 24-20, and have won their first three games by a combined total of 8 points. They host Texas next weekend, who they beat last year in Austin 28-21.

22) Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (3-0, 0-0) - My bottom five is less teams that are good, and more teams that have played well up to this point. The Yellow Jackets set a school record of 768 yards of offense in a 66-24 rout of Kansas. Over their first three games, they are averaging 675 yards of offense per game.

23) FIU Panthers (3-0, 0-0) - We'll see how long FIU can sustain success without star receiver T.Y. Hilton. But they were able to beat UCF 17-10 largely without him, and should be considered the favorites to win the Sun Belt conference.

24) Michigan Wolverines (3-0, 0-0) - Because why not, that's why. They're undefeated. They beat Notre Dame. Denard Robinson is awesome, even if he sometimes throws the ball to the wrong team. And they could be 5-1 or 6-0 going into an Oct. 15 game at Michigan State.

25) Texas Tech Red Raiders (2-0, 0-0) - See above. They beat lowly New Mexico 59-13, and host Nevada next weekend. Over/under 120?

My Top 25

Boy, I guess we learned something about the Pac-12 last night: They stink!

1) LSU (3-0, 1-0, +8)
2) Alabama (3-0, 0-0, +4)
3) Boise State (2-0, 0-0, +4)
4) Oklahoma (2-0, 0-0, +6)
5) Stanford (3-0, 1-0, +3)
6) Wisconsin (3-0, 0-0, +3)
7) Oklahoma State (3-0, 0-0, +3)
8) Texas A&M (2-0, 0-0, +2)
9) South Carolina (3-0, 1-0, +3)
10) Nebraska (3-0, 0-0, +3)
11) Arkansas (3-0, 0-0, +3)
12) South Florida (3-0, 0-0, +5)
13) Virginia Tech (3-0, 0-0, +3)
14) Baylor (2-0, 0-0, +4)
15) West Virginia (3-0, 0-0, +3)
16) Florida (3-0, 1-0, +3)
17) Clemson (3-0, 0-0, +4)
18) USC (3-0, 1-0, +3)
19) Texas (3-0, 0-0, +3)
20) Illinois (3-0, 0-0, +5)
21) Iowa State (3-0, 0-0, +3)
22) Georgia Tech (3-0, 0-0, +3)
23) FIU (3-0, 0-0, +3)
24) Michigan (3-0, 0-0, +3)
25) Texas Tech (2-0, 0-0, +2)

The State of the Pac-12

Three weeks into the season, and there isn't a whole heck of a lot that we can tell about the Pac-12. Overall, the conference's early showings have not met expectations, highlighted of course by Oregon coming out flat against LSU, but also including Oregon St.'s overtime loss to Sacramento St., Washington's last-minute "win" against Eastern Washington, and Arizona's dismantling against a superior opponent in Oklahoma St. However, it hasn't been all bad news for the conference, and I believe that today could go a long way in answering a lot of our questions about how good the Pac-12 actually is.

As of now, I break down the Pac-12 teams into four broad and vague categories:

1) The Big Two: Stanford and Oregon

2) Better than Average: Arizona St., USC, Utah

3) Middling: Washington, Washington St., California, Arizona

4) Really, Really, Bad: Oregon St., UCLA, Colorado

But these categorizations, of course, don't hold. Could Arizona St. actually be an elite team? Has Washington St. merely benefited from a weak schedule? Could UCLA actually be competitive in the South division? To try and clarify the picture a little bit, let's look at the Divisional breakdown:

NORTH:

1a) Stanford

1b) Oregon

3) Washington

4) California

5) Washington St.

6) Oregon St.

SOUTH:

1) Arizona St.

2) USC (banned)

2) Utah (not banned)

4) Arizona

5) UCLA

6) Colorado

Hopefully, after today, we will know a lot more about the state of the conference. Why? Because:

1) #23 Texas @ UCLA: Really, Texas ought to dominate this game. However, UCLA crushed the Longhorns 34-12 last year, in Austin. And Texas hasn't exactly covered themselves in glory so far this year, beating Rice and then winning a sloppy 17-16 game at home against BYU. If UCLA can pull off the upset here, it will be a huge boost for their season. Hello, Poinsettia Bowl!

2) Washington @ #11 Nebraska: Again, the Pac-12 team is coming into this game as a heavy underdog. But UW kicked Nebraska's butt in last year's Holiday Bowl 19-7. And did you see that Nebraska-Fresno St. game? The Huskies ought to be better than Fresno St. But they better be better than they were against Eastern Washington. Pull off the upset, and Washington will be ranked, and will be set as the "fourth rail" in the Pac-12. Get stomped, and it's back to the drawing board.

3) #22 Arizona St. @ Illinois: I'm putting this one on the list because it's in my backyard. Funny sidenote: The ASU alumni association has bought audio ads on all of the buses in Champaign, saying "Go Devils!" Kind of a weird FU to the community, don't you think? Still, Arizona St. should win this game, especially if they want to be considered a contender for the Rose Bowl. Illinois, I think, is better than most people realize - as in, sixth or seventh in the Big Ten - and a strong win for ASU and Brock Ostweiler will cement their status as Pac-12 South favorites.

9/11 - 9/16 Rankings

1) LSU Tigers (2-0, 0-0, +7) - LSU holds on to the top spot still based on their win against Oregon, although I feel like there's no way to discern between them and Alabama at this point. They'll be challenged next week at Mississippi State, who did them no favors by losing to Auburn.

2) Alabama Crimson Tide (2-0, 0-0, +3) - Nobody should have been surprised that Alabama put the beat down on Penn State in Happy Valley last week. 'Bama gets a pass against North Texas before starting SEC play at home against Arkansas on the 24th. I have them behind LSU based solely on strength of schedule, but consider the LSU-Alabama game a national semifinal at this point.

3) Boise State Broncos (1-0, 0-0, +4) - The boys in blue could not get a break on their week off. First Georgia loses at home to South Carolina; if the Bulldogs end up a middling SEC team, that's bad for Boise. Then Toledo can't quite get the upset at Ohio State! It will be interesting to see what happens if the Broncos demolish a team that the Buckeyes couldn't handle, though...

Top 25

1) LSU
2) Alabama
3) Boise St.
4) Oklahoma
5) Stanford

6) Wisconsin
7) Oklahoma St.
8) Texas A&M
9) Florida St.
10) South Carolina

11) Michigan St.
12) Arkansas
13) Nebraska
14) South Florida
15) Ohio St.

16) Baylor
17) Virginia Tech
18) Arizona St.
19) West Virginia
20) Florida

21) USC
22) Auburn
23) Texas
24) Michigan
25) Washington

Spring Top 25

Here are the early top 25 lists from Sports Illustrated and ESPN:

SI: (Andy Staples)

1) Oklahoma
2) Oregon
3) Alabama
4) LSU
5) Stanford
6) Texas A&M
7) Oklahoma State
8) South Carolina
9) Florida State
10) Boise State
11) Ohio State
12) Nebraska
13) Arkansas
14) Michigan State
15) TCU
16) Wisconsin
17) Missouri
18) Auburn
19) Virginia Tech
20) West Virginia
21) Notre Dame
22) Mississippi State
23) Arizona State
24) Maryland
25) Utah

and ESPN: (Mark Schlabach)

1) Oklahoma
2) Alabama
3) Florida State
4) Oregon
5) LSU
6) Oklahoma State
7) Boise State
8) Stanford
9) Texas A&M
10) Michigan State
11) Arkansas
12) Wisconsin
13) Nebraska
14) West Virginia
15) Ohio State
16) Notre Dame
17) Georgia
18) Missouri
19) South Carolina
20) Texas
21) Arizona State
22) TCU
23) Virginia Tech
24) Florida
25) Mississippi State

and ESPN (Adam Rittenberg):

1) Alabama
2) Oklahoma
3) Oregon
4) Boise State
5) LSU
6) Stanford
7) Florida State
8) South Carolina
9) Ohio State
10) TCU
11) Arkansas
12) Texas A&M
13) Nebraska
14) Oklahoma State
15) Wisconsin
16) Michigan State
17) Missouri
18) Auburn
19) Notre Dame
20) Mississippi State
21) Virginia Tech
22) Florida
23) West Virginia
24) Arizona State
25) Georgia

So there you have it. I'll add more as I find them, but so far, the consensus seems to be: 1) The Big Three are Alabama, Oklahoma, and Oregon. 2) The Pac-12 will be a two-horse race between Oregon and Stanford. 3) The Big Ten could be a mess, but it should be some combination of Nebraska, Michigan State, Wisconsin at the end. 4) Florida, Ohio State (suspensions), Texas, and USC (sanctions) should all be absent from the BCS this year.

I Am Excited About Baseball

Five World Series Match-Ups Joel Would Like to See (In Order of Descending Plausibility):

1) Boston Red Sox (25-22) vs San Francisco Giants (27-19): In 107 years, the Giants and the Red Sox have met each other exactly once in the World Series: In 1912, a 4-3-1 win for the Red Sox, marked by the great pitching of Smoky Joe Wood and an exciting 10th inning win by the Red Sox in Game 8 of the series. A match-up this year would pit the reigning NL champ against one of the most popular franchises in all of baseball, and the champions from 2004 and 2007. Also, it would highlight two awesome cities, and would be the ultimate anti-NY-LA World Series.

2) Cleveland Indians (30-15) vs Cincinnati Reds (25-23): I keep waiting for the Indians to fall apart, but it's the end of May now and and they are at a .667 winning percentage and have a 7 game lead in the division, by far the largest in baseball. Meanwhile, Cincinnati benefits from both awesome hitting and awesome pitching. And can you say "Battle of Ohio"? Or how about, "first Cleveland championship in 64 years"?

3) Tampa Bay Rays (26-22) vs Florida Marlins (26-19): I don't really know why neither of these teams have really been able to catch on with their respective fan bases. The Marlins have championships in 1997 and 2003, and Tampa Bay losing one in 2008. Combined, these teams have made the state of Florida one of the most successful in the country over the course of the past 15 years. But then, how come nobody ever comes to their games? Maybe this World Series match-up will teach everyone to love the Rays and the Marlins. More likely it will lead to record low TV ratings and mass rioting and looting along the eastern seaboard.

4) Seattle Mariners (23-24) vs Milwaukee Brewers (25-23): With the Texas Rangers' winning of the AL pennant last year, Seattle is now the only AL team never to make it to the World Series. (The Washington Nationals are the only NL team never to do so.) Milwaukee, meanwhile, used to be from Seattle, until 1969, as the Seattle Pilots, and used to play in the American League, until 1997. Also, Milwaukee has only been to the World Series once, in 1982, when they lost to the St. Louis Cardinals. So this would just be fun.

5) Chicago White Sox (22-27) vs Chicago Cubs (20-25): This would be a stupid and boring World Series between two stupid and boring teams.

The End.