Let chaos reign

Week 4 of the college football season is in the books and it looks more and more like this will be another season of upheaval. This is great for college football and great for us fans that every week there seems to be some great game worth watching because you never know when the upsets will happen and this weekend was certainly filled with plenty of them.

To some degree this "chaos" is caused by too much credit being given where it isn't deserved. Let's take two cases in point -

One - Ole Miss - preseason ranked #8 in the AP and made it up to #4 before coming crashing down this week by losing to South Carolina. Now I'm not going to say that Ole Miss is a bad team but they never deserved this #8 ranking. They finished last season ranked #14 with a 9-4 record. They got their preseason ranking based on their win over Florida last year and the hype of Jevan Snead. In other words, their ranking was based on smoke and mirrors and no true results. They had trounced 1-AA Southeastern Louisiana (is the Waterboy on that team?) and Memphis (who might as well by 1-AA). Which means nothing. I'm not sure who was surprised by their loss but anyone who saw SC play against Georgia knew what the Gamecocks were capable of and had to know that Ole Miss was in trouble coming into this one. A ridiculous preseason ranking allowed this game to be considered an upset of a Top Five Team instead just a good game between two fairly even opponents.

Two - Miami (FL) - unranked in the preseason and made it up to #9 based on victories against Florida State and Georgia Tech before being physically dominated by Virginia Tech's defense this week and losing in Blacksburg. True, Miami had looked good for two weeks with good victories over FSU & GTech and despite the hype over Jacory Harris I wasn't ready to nominate him for the Heisman. These victories were given so much credit due to high expectations for their opponents (FSU was #18 when they played and GTech was #14), but in retrospect those opponents don't look quite so mighty. FSU has fallen out of the AP poll after a loss to South Florida and looked bad in beating 1-AA Jacksonville State two weeks prior and GTech just reentered the poll this week (at #25 mind you) by beating a suspect North Carolina team. Hardly the murderers row of opponents that people were making it out to be at the beginning of the year and certainly not the quality of opposition that deserves to bring a team from unranked to #9 in the nation. How did those wins vault them past Virginia Tech who had a tough first week loss to Alabama followed up by a destruction of Marshall and a good victory against a tough Nebraska team? I guess this is why they play the games, to expose the frauds and the inflated rankings that teams get based more on the jersey they wear (how many times this past week did we hear the question "Is the U back?" - VTech's answer is "NO!") than their play on the field.

Both of these cases prove a point. Perhaps we should be waiting until a few weeks into the season before allowing any polls to be created. I know they get people excited about their teams and their seasons but the fact is, these early polls are ludicrous. Rankings based on what someone did last year is inadequate. Even if a team has mostly the same personnel, there are always changes and just removing one person from playing on the field does not tell you the whole picture on what a difference that will make off the field for some of these kids. Let's play a few weeks and then base rankings on what was actually accomplished on the field, then we will have rankings on results and not on expectation. The other downside is it keeps teams down that deserve to be elevated.

Case in point - Houston. For the second straight week, Houston defeated a Big 12 opponent. Granted this time it was on their home field as opposed to their victory in Stillwater last week but that should not diminish what they accomplished. Houston has beaten Oklahoma State who is ranked #14 on the road and defeated a Texas Tech team that gave Texas all they could handle the week before. Yet somehow they are still ranked below Penn State (who has beaten no one of consequence) and even ranked below Oklahoma State in the coaches poll (if any coach can give me a good reason for this I would LOVE to hear it).

Houston was the only team to come in and actually win their "Prove-It" game. From Ole Miss and Miami as rehashed above, to Cal's embarrassment at Autzen, to Penn State losing to Iowa at home, to Washington following up their big victory over USC with a loss to Stanford, to North Carolina proving they aren't ready to be an ACC front runner. They all fell flat when they had their chance. Yet Houston does not get the respect they deserve for their accomplishment. For beating two teams that were unranked, Miami because #9 and people were talking national title. For beating a national title contender and another respectable opponent Houston gets #12 and "maybe" making the BCS. Next week, Houston has UTEP which should be an easy win for them but it still sits as a potential trap game considering they have another high-profile matchup with an SEC foe, Mississippi State, in two weeks. Maybe two more victories will put them where they belong.

So far, I am enjoying this season and all the exciting games and storylines which have unfolded. But let's take with a grain of salt the talk of "big upsets" when the teams falling were probably a little too high to begin with.

- On a side note, kudos to Frank Spaziani and the Eagles on their stirring victory against Wake Forrest this weekend. After the shame from the Clemson loss, you have to give the coaching staff and the players credit for pulling it together and getting a much needed victory.

R.I.P. Fred Cusick

Just a brief moment of silence for the passing of long time voice of the Bruins Fred Cusick. He was 90 years old. He brought his passion for the sport and for the Bruins (he grew up in Brighton and went to Northeastern) to his broadcast every night and helped instill a love for the sport of hockey and the Bruins in particular that still burns strong in this writer's heart. Bruins broadcasts have not been the same since he retired. We'll miss you Fred.

Football, sweeps, and more football

The second week of the college football season kicked off this weekend and what a second week it was. There were thrilling last second victories, impressive breakout performances, and surprise upsets. Here's some of my impressions from the action:

- The ACC is still bad - Yes I know they went 8-1 against non-conference opponents but Wake Forest, Mayland, North Carolina, and Florida State all needed late heroics to get victories against Stanford, James Madison, UConn, and Jacksonville State respectively. Not exactly a murderers row of opponents. The only two teams that have looked consistent for two weeks has been Georgia Tech and BC. Jury is still out on Miami.

- Speaking of the Eagles, they came within 2 minutes of posting back-to-back shut outs to start the season. Still a question mark on the offensive side of the ball, the BC defense has looked stout though against lesser opponents. They'll need it as they get their first real test on Saturday when they travel to Death Valley for a meeting with the Clemson Tigers who looked pretty good despite the loss to Georgia Tech.

- Houston has a chance - The Houston Cougars have suddenly played themselves into a position to make some real noise this season. They have a talented offense led by underrated Case Keenum and they pulled off the upset of the week with their 45-35 shocker against Oklahoma State in Stillwater. With a big showdown at home against Texas Tech in two weeks, a win there will instantly make the Cougars relevant and start people talking BCS buster as their remaining schedule is filled with winnable contests. Keep your eyes and ears open for this year's flavor of the week.

- Injuries are the order of the day - First it was Sam Bradford and Jermaine Gresham costing Oklahoma their national title hopes now promising starts for USC and UCLA may be in jeopardy as word has come down that USC QB Matt Barkley is nursing a bruised shoulder and UCLA QB Kevin Prince will miss 3-4 weeks with a broken jaw. It will be interesting to see how true freshman Barkley deals with the injury, luckily for Pete Carroll and the Trojans they have back to back games against Washington and Washington State which shouldn't be heavy lifting for them before their October 3rd showdown at Cal. For the Bruins, losing Prince is much more damaging as they do not have the wealth of talent that USC has even to face the likes of Kansas State and Stanford.

- Ohio State still can't get it done - There has been a lot of talk over the past few years about Ohio State not being able to live up to the challenge of a big game and they proved it again this weekend with the loss to USC. Some have tried to defend them and say that their last two losses have been close (Texas in the BCS last year being the other one). But the fact of the matter is that good teams step up and make the play to win those close games. Both Texas and USC were able to convert 4th downs on late game winning drives and Ohio State simply could not come up with that big stop when it mattered. Despite all their success in the past few years, until they win another of these big non-conference games they will be rightfully haunted by these past losses.

College football was not the only story this weekend as the Red Sox completed a rain soaked (and shortened) sweep of the Rays at Fenway. The combination of those wins with Texas' two losses to Seattle has reduced the magic number to 17 with 20 games to play. There are still reasons for concern with the Sox but if Beckett, Bucholtz, and Lester continue to pitch like they did this weekend the Sox can be considered serious contenders for the post season no matter who the #4 starter turns out to be.

And no I have not forgotten about the beginning of the NFL season this weekend. Matt Ryan and the Falcons got their first victory of the season, there were thrilling finishes in Cincinnati and Green Bay, rookie Mark Sanchez continued the trend started last year by Ryan and Joe Flacco that rookie QBs can start from day 1 in the NFL, and Michael Vick may be playing much sooner that anticipated now that Donovan McNabb has suffered a rib injury. As for Mr. Vick, I have to agree with the ESPN panel that the injury to McNabb is probably the worst thing that could have happened to him. He needed the time to ease back into the game and instead because he is in the sports frenzy that is Philadelphia Eagles football he and coach Andy Reid will feel the pressure to have him play especially if McNabb is out for an extended period and if his backup struggles.

Slow day

So it has been a slow day at work today and I really want to write something here but I find myself at a loss or what to say. Nothing earth shattering has happened in the world of sports since my last post and I find myself trying to drudge up anything (Oudin in the quarters at the US Open - don't really care, Seymour not reporting to Oakland after the trade - bigger deal being made by the media than it actually is, Mangini being a girl and acting like his starting QB is the greatest secret in the world - boring). You know its a slow day in sports when a headline on Boston.com is about a high school kid becoming the starting QB for his high school. Granted the kid is the son of Gerard Phelan receiver of the most famous pass in college football history, but still... this is news?? No wonder I can't find anything to talk about even when I'm bored at work.

I can't wait for hockey season to start. Particularly college hockey season. Please come back so I have something to talk about!!!

What a mess...

The first week of college football is almost fully in the books and the ACC is once again the laughing stock of the NCAA. Let's recap...

SEC 2 v. ACC 0 - The weekend began with a pathetic performance by NC State versus South Carolina. There was hype that this was the year that NC State would start to turn the corner but they managed only a paltry 133 yards in offense and Russell Wilson did not look like the leader that this team needs. This was followed by the ABC game of the week and, just like last year, the ACC was unable to top Nick Saban and the Alabama Crimson Tide. Virginia Tech hung tough for much of the game but the close store does not tell the real story of the game as Alabama outgained the Hokies 498-155 in total offense. Tyrod Taylor was a pathetic 9-20 for 91 yards and no touchdowns. Without turnovers and special teams this would have been as much of a slaughter as last year's pounding of Clemson.

Middle Tennessee St. is the only D-I victory - Clemson is the only team that succeeded in beating a D-I opponent (Monday night's Miami (FL) v. Florida St. doesn't count as it is two ACC teams facing each other) and it was only Sun Belt member Middle Tennessee State. No offense to the Blue Raiders but I would be more impressed if they beat Tennessee. BC, Georgia Tech, and North Carolina had victories against I-AA teams. These were the only teams that actually performed as expected this weekend. One would even say that BC performed above expectations with their 54-0 rout but its too early to say how good BC is or Northeastern is not so I'm not going to get too hyped up about it. Which leads us to...

Duke & Virginia lost to I-AA teams - With Virginia you have to almost feel bad. They lost a lot last year and were anticipated to really struggle. BUT a 26-14 loss to William & Mary is not exactly what the Cavalier faithful were hoping for. Especially painful was the game clinching Pick 6 as Virginia was attempting to make a game saving drive late in the game. Duke is another story. They finished 4-8 last year but there were signs that this might be a team building up to its first bowl game in some time. There was decent hype around their quarterback and the offense. Now a major set back with a loss to Richmond. Granted Richmond is the defending I-AA national champion but it still does not look good for the ACC to have two losses in the opening weekend to teams that aren't even in your division.

All in all - it looks like another painful year for the ACC. Should Miami win tonight it will complete the upheaval of the first week and maintain the national reputation of the league as one that does not belong in the BCS. When teams like Boise State and BYU make firm statements with big victories the ACC continues its tread of mediocrity.

Poetic justice

And just like that, Coach Jags is without a job. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers officially fired Jeff Jagodzinski today from his role as offensive coordinator. Apparently they offered him the QB coaching job but he didn't want it. Now he has nothing.

He left BC because he had to check into the NY Jets coaching vacancy and was rightly terminated for it (as I expressed at length in this space). He wanted to get back in the NFL. Did not like the smallness of the college game (and probably the smaller salary). Now that may be the only place he can go for work. Waiting on the sidelines for that first D-I coaching vacancy - of maybe even a I-AA vacancy (that's right I said I-AA and not FCS - as Patty would say on Family Guy, "Want to fight about it?").

I hope he does have to stoop that low. Good luck Jags. Guess being head coach of the Eagles doesn't look so bad now, does it, even with our QB problems.

Goodbye Tedy

I realized that I neglected in this space to say a heartfelt goodbye to one of the greatest Patriots of all time - Tedy Bruschi.

For 13 seasons, Bruschi was a terror on the field with a nose for the ball carrier. In his early seasons he always seemed to be in on every tackle. He was the heart and soul of a nasty defense that shocked the world in 2002 and went on to win two more Super Bowls. Always professional, never one to make trouble off the playing field, Bruschi was the epitome of what we want to see in our professional athletes. Great on the field but a good role model off as well.

Good luck with your future Tedy and thanks for all the memories while you were in Foxboro.

Joyous occasion

Yes - I will be cold. Yes - it's outdoors in January. But its BC versus BU in hockey at Fenway Park. How can this not be one of the greatest sports memories? As long as BC wins of course.

Thankfully, season ticket holders did get first crack at the tickets (was a little worried about that considering BC's track record of not being the most generous of sorts). They went on pre-sale today and I got two tickets for Mrs. Pike and I for the Pavillion seating in the BC section. It will be like watching the game from the balcony at the Garden. How can that possibly be bad?

I debated - loge, pavillion, maybe wait for general sale and go with Monster Seats. I think I chose wisely. In the end does it really matter where you sit as long as you get seats to such a historic event?

Now I can only hope to be as lucky for Fenway seats when the Bruins play.