If you are like me, then you cannot wait for the college football season to get going. Well, here is a countdown to the first game of the year for the BYU Cougars, who will play the Washington Huskies on September 4 at 5 pm in Provo. Go Cougars!!!
Monday, May 17, 2010
Sunday, April 11, 2010
MWC 2010 Football Schedule Breakdown
The MWC has been pretty great lately with the stellar play of Utah, TCU and, perhaps to a lesser extent, BYU. They sent five teams to bowl games last season and went 4-1 with wins over Oregon State, California, Houston, and Fresno State. Heading into it’s twelfth year and with expansion debates raging across the country, the MWC looks to add another great year to its BCS conference application.
Even with some big name losses to the TCU‘s defense, they are a team that ranked VERY high statistically on both sides of the ball and seem poised for another great year. Utah returns 8 offensive starters and both Cain and Wynn are working with plenty of game-time experience. BYU faces the challenge of replacing Max Hall, BYU’s all-time winningest QB, but has two good options in Nelson and Heaps.
The conference’s continual struggle has been depth and needs at least 3 other teams to get bowl eligible to give the conference a little more swagger. AFA and Wyoming are both coming off bowl wins of their own last season and the potential third candidate seems to be a toss up between UNLV (who went 5-7 last year and were fighting right up to the last couple of games to get bowl eligible) and SDSU (who returns 16 starters on offense and defense).
The next step I expect from this conference on a BCS/national level is the possibility of a one loss team making a BCS game. (ie If TCU loses to OSU, Utah, BYU, or otherwise they could/should still make it to a BCS game is they play well before/after)
Game of the year: (non-conference) Oregon State vs. TCU, Sep 4. TCU appears to be the team in the best position to m
ake a BCS run, and maybe even a championship run. However, it all starts here for the Horned Frogs, who face their toughest non-conference opponent in the opening week of the season. Fortunately, for TCU, the game will be played in Dallas where TCU hasn’t lost a game since Utah's win back on Oct. 18, 2007. The loss of Daryl Washington and Jerry Hughes hurts, but if they win, then they won’t really be tested again until BYU comes to town on October 16 (at which point TCU should be 6-0 and ranked in the top-10).
Honorable Mentions: Utah @ Notre Dame Nov 13, Boise State @ Wyo Sep 18, & BYU @ FSU Sep 18
Game of the year: (conference) BYU vs. Utah, Nov 27. Usually the round robin winner of BYU-TCU-Utah goes on to be the MWC champion. By the time this game rolls around I expect TCU to be undefeated against both teams and for BYU and Utah to both have two losses. That being said, this is the biggest rivalry game in the MWC and with TCU being out in front this will be a big time pride game for both teams. If, by some fluke, BYU beats Washington AND FSU and Utah beats Pitt AND ND, then this game becomes a battle between pretty hi
ghly ranked one-loss teams where, depending on BSU’s status at this point, the winner could be looking at a BCS game and the loser a trip to Vegas. All kinds of cards would have to fall just right for that situation, but even without it this game is always the best conference game of the year.
Honorable Mentions: BYU @ TCU Oct 16, Utah @ TCU Nov 6
Team on the spot: Brigham Young. After a big win over then number three Oklahoma in Dallas, BYU went on to get waxed by both FSU and TCU. They remain the only member of the MWC “Big Three” who has yet to crack the BCS. BYU’s defense will be hurt with only 4 returning starters, but 3 are defensive backs and back-up defensive linemen have had plenty of playing time. BYU’s defense should be no worse than what it was in 2009. The offense loses All-American TE Dennis Pitta and All-MWC TE Andrew George who were numbers 1 and 3 respectively on the team in both receptions and yards. The offense also loses veteran QB Max Hall, but has options with Riley Nelson (USU transfer who saw limited game time last season as Hall’s back-up) and Jake Heaps (highly touted QB recruit out of Washington state, number one QB recruit according to some websites). BYU is on the spot this year, and probably years following, until they can prove that they belong in the BCS discussion along with Utah and TCU.
Honorable Mention: TCU (Can they make the NCG?)
Toughest non-conference schedule: Wyoming. No team in the conference this year has more than two difficult games on their schedule. TCU has SMU and Oregon State (no, Baylor doesn’t count), Utah ha
s Pitt and ND, BYU has Washington and FSU, and UNM has Oregon and Texas Tech. That being said, nobody in the conference plays two teams as tough as the one’s on Wyoming’s schedule. The Cowboys open against Southern Utah before taking a trip to Austin to take on UT. Seven days later the Cowboys will be in Laramie for a showdown with Boise State before finishing their conference play at Toledo. Like I said, two fluff games, but nobody has two tougher non-conference games than UT and BSU back-to-back. Good luck Cowboys, I think you are going to need it.
Honorable Mentions: Utah, TCU, AFA, & BYU
Easiest non-conference schedule: San Diego State. The Aztecs will open against Nicholls State (3-8 last year in Div 1-AA) before heading off to face WAC bottom dweller NM State (3-10 in ‘09). The Aztecs then face their only non-conference foe that had a winning record last year traveling to face Missouri (8-5 in ‘09) before finishing their schedule at home against Utah State (4-8 in ‘09).
Even with some big name losses to the TCU‘s defense, they are a team that ranked VERY high statistically on both sides of the ball and seem poised for another great year. Utah returns 8 offensive starters and both Cain and Wynn are working with plenty of game-time experience. BYU faces the challenge of replacing Max Hall, BYU’s all-time winningest QB, but has two good options in Nelson and Heaps.
The conference’s continual struggle has been depth and needs at least 3 other teams to get bowl eligible to give the conference a little more swagger. AFA and Wyoming are both coming off bowl wins of their own last season and the potential third candidate seems to be a toss up between UNLV (who went 5-7 last year and were fighting right up to the last couple of games to get bowl eligible) and SDSU (who returns 16 starters on offense and defense).
The next step I expect from this conference on a BCS/national level is the possibility of a one loss team making a BCS game. (ie If TCU loses to OSU, Utah, BYU, or otherwise they could/should still make it to a BCS game is they play well before/after)
Game of the year: (non-conference) Oregon State vs. TCU, Sep 4. TCU appears to be the team in the best position to m
ake a BCS run, and maybe even a championship run. However, it all starts here for the Horned Frogs, who face their toughest non-conference opponent in the opening week of the season. Fortunately, for TCU, the game will be played in Dallas where TCU hasn’t lost a game since Utah's win back on Oct. 18, 2007. The loss of Daryl Washington and Jerry Hughes hurts, but if they win, then they won’t really be tested again until BYU comes to town on October 16 (at which point TCU should be 6-0 and ranked in the top-10).Honorable Mentions: Utah @ Notre Dame Nov 13, Boise State @ Wyo Sep 18, & BYU @ FSU Sep 18
Game of the year: (conference) BYU vs. Utah, Nov 27. Usually the round robin winner of BYU-TCU-Utah goes on to be the MWC champion. By the time this game rolls around I expect TCU to be undefeated against both teams and for BYU and Utah to both have two losses. That being said, this is the biggest rivalry game in the MWC and with TCU being out in front this will be a big time pride game for both teams. If, by some fluke, BYU beats Washington AND FSU and Utah beats Pitt AND ND, then this game becomes a battle between pretty hi
ghly ranked one-loss teams where, depending on BSU’s status at this point, the winner could be looking at a BCS game and the loser a trip to Vegas. All kinds of cards would have to fall just right for that situation, but even without it this game is always the best conference game of the year.Honorable Mentions: BYU @ TCU Oct 16, Utah @ TCU Nov 6
Team on the spot: Brigham Young. After a big win over then number three Oklahoma in Dallas, BYU went on to get waxed by both FSU and TCU. They remain the only member of the MWC “Big Three” who has yet to crack the BCS. BYU’s defense will be hurt with only 4 returning starters, but 3 are defensive backs and back-up defensive linemen have had plenty of playing time. BYU’s defense should be no worse than what it was in 2009. The offense loses All-American TE Dennis Pitta and All-MWC TE Andrew George who were numbers 1 and 3 respectively on the team in both receptions and yards. The offense also loses veteran QB Max Hall, but has options with Riley Nelson (USU transfer who saw limited game time last season as Hall’s back-up) and Jake Heaps (highly touted QB recruit out of Washington state, number one QB recruit according to some websites). BYU is on the spot this year, and probably years following, until they can prove that they belong in the BCS discussion along with Utah and TCU.
Honorable Mention: TCU (Can they make the NCG?)
Toughest non-conference schedule: Wyoming. No team in the conference this year has more than two difficult games on their schedule. TCU has SMU and Oregon State (no, Baylor doesn’t count), Utah ha
s Pitt and ND, BYU has Washington and FSU, and UNM has Oregon and Texas Tech. That being said, nobody in the conference plays two teams as tough as the one’s on Wyoming’s schedule. The Cowboys open against Southern Utah before taking a trip to Austin to take on UT. Seven days later the Cowboys will be in Laramie for a showdown with Boise State before finishing their conference play at Toledo. Like I said, two fluff games, but nobody has two tougher non-conference games than UT and BSU back-to-back. Good luck Cowboys, I think you are going to need it.Honorable Mentions: Utah, TCU, AFA, & BYU
Easiest non-conference schedule: San Diego State. The Aztecs will open against Nicholls State (3-8 last year in Div 1-AA) before heading off to face WAC bottom dweller NM State (3-10 in ‘09). The Aztecs then face their only non-conference foe that had a winning record last year traveling to face Missouri (8-5 in ‘09) before finishing their schedule at home against Utah State (4-8 in ‘09).
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
BYU Basketball and P.O.Y. Fraud
Well, the college basketball season has ended for the Cougars of BYU. This year’s BYU team broke the school’s record for the most wins in a season (going 30-6) and were able to grab a handful of other records as well. Jimmer Fredette set a BYU record by scoring 49 points at Arizona (passing Bob Skousen’s mark of 47 set against UCLA in 1961). This feat was also a McKale Center record and tied the record for the most points in a game by a MWC player. Also in that game he hit 9 three pointers which passed Mike Rose’s mark of 8. In addition to these records, many individual awards were given to BYU players. Jimmer Fredette was awarded All-American Honorable Mention by the Associated Press and All-American 3rd Team by Sporting News. He was also named District VIII Player of the Year by the US Basketball Writers Association. In addition to their making the all MWC team (Tavernari also made this squad) Fredette and Emery were included on the All-District Team put out by the USWBA and the NABC. In addition to these accolades, BYU got the monkey off their back ending a 7 game NCAA tournament losing streak with a first round win over the University of Florida.
In all, the year has been good for BYU, beginning with the football team’s surprise upset of then #3 Oklahoma at Cowboy Stadium and ending with the first NCAA basketball win in over a decade (also the women‘s basketball team made the Elite 8 in the WNIT).
The only thing that could have made the year better would have been a MWC championship and Jimmer’s being named MWC Player of the Year.
We now enter the rant portion of this post, so prepare yourself.
During the 2009-2010 Men’s Basketball season there were 11 individual players who took the 20 MWC Player of the Week awards (3 co-players of the week). BYU and UNM each took 6 with the rest being split up among 5 other teams. Jimmer led the way winning the award 5 times, Kawhi Leonard of SDSU (Freshman) won 3 and 3 other players won twice. These other players include Roman Martinez of UNM, Tre’von Willis of UNLV, and Darington Hobson of UNM.
It seems logical that the player most deserving of the player of the year award be the player who won the most player of the week awards, right? Well, instead it went to Hobson whose two on the year was not even the most received on his own team. (Roman Martinez won two also).
Well, then it must be more about what they accomplish during the conference schedule, right? Wrong again. Hobson won the award only once during the months of conference games falling behind Fredette (2), Willis (2), and Leonard (2). In fact, two other players (Dairese Gary and AJ Hardeman) from his own team won it once over that time period.
When you compare their stats, Jimmer Fredette and Darington Hobson are almost identical in steals, blocked shots, turnovers, and assists. Jimmer scored just over 6 more points per game and Hobson rebounded about 6 more per game. Fredette also shot a higher percentage in each category (FG, FT, and 3PT).
In a form of fantasy basketball that I participate in, a statistic (TDX) is calculated to provide an idea of the “per minute” impact of an individual player. As such, I took the total stats of these two players, divided by minutes and added them up, subtracting turnovers and personal fouls from the total, and these were the results.
Fredette -- 0.880
Hobson -- 0.789
These scores mean that in 30 minutes of play Fredette would assemble some collection of stats totaling 26.4 (losing points for fouls and turnovers, but gaining them for rebounds, assists, points, steals, and blocks) while Hobson would tally 23.7 in the same amount of time.
This being said, the past cannot be undone and Darington Hobson is the MWC player of the year for 2010; the best player on the best team. However, but I feel it impossible to say that he is truly the best player in the MWC while the stats seem to imply otherwise.
In all, the year has been good for BYU, beginning with the football team’s surprise upset of then #3 Oklahoma at Cowboy Stadium and ending with the first NCAA basketball win in over a decade (also the women‘s basketball team made the Elite 8 in the WNIT).
The only thing that could have made the year better would have been a MWC championship and Jimmer’s being named MWC Player of the Year.
We now enter the rant portion of this post, so prepare yourself.
During the 2009-2010 Men’s Basketball season there were 11 individual players who took the 20 MWC Player of the Week awards (3 co-players of the week). BYU and UNM each took 6 with the rest being split up among 5 other teams. Jimmer led the way winning the award 5 times, Kawhi Leonard of SDSU (Freshman) won 3 and 3 other players won twice. These other players include Roman Martinez of UNM, Tre’von Willis of UNLV, and Darington Hobson of UNM.
It seems logical that the player most deserving of the player of the year award be the player who won the most player of the week awards, right? Well, instead it went to Hobson whose two on the year was not even the most received on his own team. (Roman Martinez won two also).
Well, then it must be more about what they accomplish during the conference schedule, right? Wrong again. Hobson won the award only once during the months of conference games falling behind Fredette (2), Willis (2), and Leonard (2). In fact, two other players (Dairese Gary and AJ Hardeman) from his own team won it once over that time period.
When you compare their stats, Jimmer Fredette and Darington Hobson are almost identical in steals, blocked shots, turnovers, and assists. Jimmer scored just over 6 more points per game and Hobson rebounded about 6 more per game. Fredette also shot a higher percentage in each category (FG, FT, and 3PT).
In a form of fantasy basketball that I participate in, a statistic (TDX) is calculated to provide an idea of the “per minute” impact of an individual player. As such, I took the total stats of these two players, divided by minutes and added them up, subtracting turnovers and personal fouls from the total, and these were the results.
Fredette -- 0.880
Hobson -- 0.789
These scores mean that in 30 minutes of play Fredette would assemble some collection of stats totaling 26.4 (losing points for fouls and turnovers, but gaining them for rebounds, assists, points, steals, and blocks) while Hobson would tally 23.7 in the same amount of time.
This being said, the past cannot be undone and Darington Hobson is the MWC player of the year for 2010; the best player on the best team. However, but I feel it impossible to say that he is truly the best player in the MWC while the stats seem to imply otherwise.
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Vegas Baby! Vegas!!
On March 10 I left Provo, UT to attend a family trip to Las Vegas. It was a trip centered around seeing my dad, two of my three brothers, my wife's grandparents, and the BYU men's basketball team make an attempt at the MWC tournament title. This was my second trip to Las Vegas and the first since getting married. The last time that I went was to meet my sister's husband (though we were also able to sneak in a BYU-UNLV football game). Since there were no new people meet this weekend I was forced to pretend to meet one. While waiting in the airport for the rest of my family to show up I became familiar with Chaun. Chaun is from Texas and owns a small fluffy dog. He also happens to be a Chippendale's dancer.
Chaun is identified by the arrow and circle. I didn't get familiar enough with the rest of the crew to provide you with there names, but Chaun became an important part of the remainder of our trip.Often when the family gets together something happens early on which becomes a running joke for the rest of the time that we are together. This means that if you know you are going to be around each other for any amount of time longer than a few days than it is important not to allow yourself to become the target of said joke. As may be imagined by the inclusion of the picture above, I failed. So, Chaun became a constantly referred to part of our group. We joked about cropping him in to family photos, saving space for him at restaurants, and, of course, not taking my wife (the only non-male member of our party) to the Rio for fear that Chaun would steal her away. However, as with all jokes of this nature, Chaun will be forgotten soon enough, so consider this a farewell. "Chaun, we will surely miss you."
Most of our non-Chaun morning time was spent at the Original Pancake House. I don't have pictures of the goods, but you can rest assured that the plain and chocolate chip pancakes, ham n' eggs, bacon, sausage, crepes, orange juice, and dutch oven pancakes were delicious... all three times that we got them. Big time thanks go out here to Pay-Pay and Grandfather Smith for their kindness in filling my belly and the belly of my wife and siblings.
We spent much of our non-Chaun down time playing cards, watching the old Mission Impossible TV show, and stuffing our faces with Jack in the Box. There are no JitB's in Utah Valley (where I reside) or in the greater Denver area. In fact, the only known JitB in all of Utah is in St. George (a four hour drive from Provo). This wouldn't be a big deal except that it is easily my favorite fast food burger place. So, during our trip, I ate a marvelous Bacon Ultimate Cheeseburgers and found time to squeeze in another trip to get milkshakes after a BYU game. Which leads me back to whole point of the trip.
The first round of the MWC tournament featured a rematch of BYU-TCU (a match-up that had happened only a week earlier in Provo) that was far closer than it needed to be. The other first round games were close as well, though the second game we attended, UNLV-Utah, was the most one sided of them all. The next day we got to see UNM play SDSU (SDSU won) and BYU-UNLV. The BYU game was exciting, but in the end the home town Rebels took the victory. UNLV then lost to SDSU in the title game, but we didn't buy tickets for that game. Instead, we went to dinner at the Texas Station Gambling Hall and Hotel. Naturally I ate until I couldn't imagine eating ever again, and could not have been happier about it.
The trip was great and I must say thanks to everyone who came and who helped make it possible (mostly that means our uncle, but dad and brothers get some consideration in their help planning). Also, thanks to my wife for coming and thanks to her grandparents and sister for making it fun for her as well. I can't wait until next year to see if we can't do it again, though maybe next year BYU makes it to the title game.
However, it really won't be the same without Chaun...
Thursday, March 4, 2010
BYU 2011 Preview
I thought that Utah game really showed how good, if not better, BYU might be next year. Freshman Brandon Davies and his rookie teammate Tyler Haws combined for 27 points, 13 rebounds, and 3 assists. The team's Sophomores, not wanting to be outdone, combined for 25 points, 17 rebounds, and 4 assists of the their own (Noah Hartsock, Michael Loyd Jr, James Anderson, and Charles Abouo). The rest of the team had 19 points, 12 rebounds, and 3 assists (Miles, Fredette, and Emery).
Haws leaves on a mission to the Phillipines after the season is over, but Davies, I believe, will be back next year. I expect Fredette to test the waters of the draft, but not to hire an agent, and when he sees he won't get first round money, to come back for his senior season. We graduate Lamont Morgan Jr, Jonathan Tavernari, and Chris Miles. Two former starters (Tavernari has got to 6th man of the year in the conference, if they even give out that award) but we add Chris Collinsworth (F) back from a mission (started games in the 07-08 campaign), his brother Kyle Collinsworth (G) a top-100 high school recruit, Anson Winder (G) from Bishop Gorman High, and Nick Martineau (G) also returning from a mission.
With players coming in to fill the gap left by Haws and Tavernari (the Collinsworth brothers) and Loyd playing well enough to be an upgrade offensively to replace Morgan Jr off the bench, BYU is in a position to be as good or better next year with both Hartsock and Davies being an offensive upgrade at the 5 and guard play on level with this year's.
Leaving Position Points Rebounds Assists Reason
Miles C 5 3.6 1 Grad
Tavernari F 10.1 4.7 1.5 Grad
Morgan G 2 0.6 1.5 Grad
Haws G 11.7 4.5 1.6 Mission
Coming
K. Collinsworth G/F 23.2 10.8 8.7 Freshman* (Utah 4A SC as yet undecided)
A. Winder G 17 7 NA Freshman* (Nevada 4A State Champion)
C. Collinsworth F 3.2 4.8 0.45 RM
Martineau G 0.7 0.4 0.7 RM
* Stats are from High Scool games in their senior season only
I am happy that Haws has opted to go on a mission, he will be a big time contributor in the future. Davies opts to stay as he stands to get considerable playing time with Hartsock and Anderson the only other big men around. C. Collinsworth started 6 games in his 07-08 season with BYU and played well on a team that went 28-7 overall. Martineau was on that team as well, averaging about 5 minutes per contest.
The optimal replacements for those leaving are, in my opinion, as follows:
Hartsock for Miles (Davies has a pretty tough time playing solid defense and this will keep him from starting)
Loyd for Morgan (Loyd has shown in his extended minutes with Morgan out that he can score prolifically when Jimmer or Jackson are on the bench)
K. Collinsworth for Haws (Collinsworth is arguably the best player in Utah and one of the best BYU recruits in many years, he might have beaten out Haws to start had he opted not to leave on a mision)
C. Collinsworth for Tavernari (At 6'9", 205 lbs Collinsworth is more likely to play a true PF over Tavernari's version, which will be good for a team that needs more offensive rebounds because of how many shots the guards take)
Charles Abouo may become the most important player off the bench (maybe second to Loyd) and will need to step up big.
I know it is too early for post/preseason looking ahead, but I think that whatever this team accomplishes the rest of the way, it is likely that they will out-perform themselves next year. I just hope CSU beats Utah on Saturday so UNLV might go for the trifecta, losing to Utah for the third time this year in the MWC tournament so we can play Utah instead of UNLV. (A man can dream can't he?)
Haws leaves on a mission to the Phillipines after the season is over, but Davies, I believe, will be back next year. I expect Fredette to test the waters of the draft, but not to hire an agent, and when he sees he won't get first round money, to come back for his senior season. We graduate Lamont Morgan Jr, Jonathan Tavernari, and Chris Miles. Two former starters (Tavernari has got to 6th man of the year in the conference, if they even give out that award) but we add Chris Collinsworth (F) back from a mission (started games in the 07-08 campaign), his brother Kyle Collinsworth (G) a top-100 high school recruit, Anson Winder (G) from Bishop Gorman High, and Nick Martineau (G) also returning from a mission.
With players coming in to fill the gap left by Haws and Tavernari (the Collinsworth brothers) and Loyd playing well enough to be an upgrade offensively to replace Morgan Jr off the bench, BYU is in a position to be as good or better next year with both Hartsock and Davies being an offensive upgrade at the 5 and guard play on level with this year's.
Leaving Position Points Rebounds Assists Reason
Miles C 5 3.6 1 Grad
Tavernari F 10.1 4.7 1.5 Grad
Morgan G 2 0.6 1.5 Grad
Haws G 11.7 4.5 1.6 Mission
Coming
K. Collinsworth G/F 23.2 10.8 8.7 Freshman* (Utah 4A SC as yet undecided)
A. Winder G 17 7 NA Freshman* (Nevada 4A State Champion)
C. Collinsworth F 3.2 4.8 0.45 RM
Martineau G 0.7 0.4 0.7 RM
* Stats are from High Scool games in their senior season only
I am happy that Haws has opted to go on a mission, he will be a big time contributor in the future. Davies opts to stay as he stands to get considerable playing time with Hartsock and Anderson the only other big men around. C. Collinsworth started 6 games in his 07-08 season with BYU and played well on a team that went 28-7 overall. Martineau was on that team as well, averaging about 5 minutes per contest.
The optimal replacements for those leaving are, in my opinion, as follows:
Hartsock for Miles (Davies has a pretty tough time playing solid defense and this will keep him from starting)
Loyd for Morgan (Loyd has shown in his extended minutes with Morgan out that he can score prolifically when Jimmer or Jackson are on the bench)
K. Collinsworth for Haws (Collinsworth is arguably the best player in Utah and one of the best BYU recruits in many years, he might have beaten out Haws to start had he opted not to leave on a mision)
C. Collinsworth for Tavernari (At 6'9", 205 lbs Collinsworth is more likely to play a true PF over Tavernari's version, which will be good for a team that needs more offensive rebounds because of how many shots the guards take)
Charles Abouo may become the most important player off the bench (maybe second to Loyd) and will need to step up big.
I know it is too early for post/preseason looking ahead, but I think that whatever this team accomplishes the rest of the way, it is likely that they will out-perform themselves next year. I just hope CSU beats Utah on Saturday so UNLV might go for the trifecta, losing to Utah for the third time this year in the MWC tournament so we can play Utah instead of UNLV. (A man can dream can't he?)
Sunday, January 24, 2010
This Week in College BAketball
The past seven days have seen several titans of college basketball fall. On Monday U-CONN fell out of the top-25 after suffering a 3 three game losing streak. UNC fell far as well, landing at 24 before suffering a loss to Wake Forest in their only game this week. Texas? Well, after losing to Kansas State the Longhorns encored with a loss to currently un-ranked U-CONN.
So, how did the top-25 fair this week overall? Not well.
1. Texas - loses twice to KSU and U-CONN
7. Duke - lost to NC State by 14
8. Tennessee - lost by 15 to Georgia
9. Pittsburgh - lost to Georgetown and Seton Hall
10. Kansas St - lost to Oklahoma State
17. Clemson - lost to Georgia Tech and Duke (both ranked)
19. Georgia Tech - lost to Florida State
20. Northern IA - lost to Wichita State
21. Ohio State - lost to West Virginia
23. Miss State - lost to Alabama
24. UNC - lost to Wake Forest
25. Baylor - lost to #3 Kansas
So, numbers 17, 19, 20, 21, 23, 24, & 25 all lost at least once. Eleven of the top-25 lost once with three of them losing more than once.
The cougars? A home win over Wyoming followed up by a road victory over San Diego State. BYU currently sits at 14 in the AP and 13 in the Coach's. Five teams ahead of them lost with Pittsburgh and Texas losing twice. Kansas State had a case to jump up in the ranks, but after beating then number one Texas they lost to un-ranked Oklahoma State. I expect BYU to move up past three of those teams, if not four, and if they can get wins over New Mexico (who WILL be ranked as of tomorrow) on the road and rival Utah at home next week they could easily be a top-10 team for the first time in a very long time. (I wonder when the last time might have been...) Anyway, just thought you might like to see how these "elite" teams have done this last week before we get a new wave of one week wonders like Baylor, UNI, and Mississippi State.
So, how did the top-25 fair this week overall? Not well.
1. Texas - loses twice to KSU and U-CONN
7. Duke - lost to NC State by 14
8. Tennessee - lost by 15 to Georgia
9. Pittsburgh - lost to Georgetown and Seton Hall
10. Kansas St - lost to Oklahoma State
17. Clemson - lost to Georgia Tech and Duke (both ranked)
19. Georgia Tech - lost to Florida State
20. Northern IA - lost to Wichita State
21. Ohio State - lost to West Virginia
23. Miss State - lost to Alabama
24. UNC - lost to Wake Forest
25. Baylor - lost to #3 Kansas
So, numbers 17, 19, 20, 21, 23, 24, & 25 all lost at least once. Eleven of the top-25 lost once with three of them losing more than once.
The cougars? A home win over Wyoming followed up by a road victory over San Diego State. BYU currently sits at 14 in the AP and 13 in the Coach's. Five teams ahead of them lost with Pittsburgh and Texas losing twice. Kansas State had a case to jump up in the ranks, but after beating then number one Texas they lost to un-ranked Oklahoma State. I expect BYU to move up past three of those teams, if not four, and if they can get wins over New Mexico (who WILL be ranked as of tomorrow) on the road and rival Utah at home next week they could easily be a top-10 team for the first time in a very long time. (I wonder when the last time might have been...) Anyway, just thought you might like to see how these "elite" teams have done this last week before we get a new wave of one week wonders like Baylor, UNI, and Mississippi State.
Thursday, January 21, 2010
NBA All Star Game
Ken Berger of CBSSports.com wrote,
So, in an effort to share my opinions with all the world concerning professional and collegiate sports I wrote back to him with the following."The All-Star starters will be revealed Thursday night on TNT before the nationally televised rematch of the Cavs' Christmas Day blowout of the Lakers. Presumably, Tracy McGrady will be watching from home, where he's spent the majority of the 2009-10 season. Hopefully, if T-Mac is awarded a starting spot in the Western Conference back court alongside Kobe Bryant, he will do the right thing. The right thing would be to thank his fans for their support and respectfully decline.
He needs to be a team player and politely decline."
Be a team player? Not in T-Mac's character. In fact, I am pretty sure that his unwillingness to play less minutes in a more reserve type role is why the Rockets aren't playing him so I wouldn't expect THAT to happen.
Setting that reason aside, McGrady has EVERY reason to go ahead and accept this offer to play in the All-Star Game. While it isn't exactly heavy on defense the All-Star Game hosts the best players in the league and has the attention of every manager and coach. McGrady is TRYING to get traded and the Rockets are not playing him in the mean time. So, if you are a player who's team is trying to trade you and not playing you what other venue is there for you to make a case for yourself? I can't think of a single one.
I am a Rocket fan, but I am NOT a T-Mac fan so I didn't/wouldn't vote for him, and would encourage all fans not to vote for him either, but to think that he should give up his spot if he gets it is just plain silly.
Why do reporters feel the need to bash the fans for their voting? Isn't this supposed to be a game between those players that the fans want to see face off against each other? Why should we be upset at T-Mac should he decide to make a GOOD career decision? However, I would like to say here and now that anyone who votes for him probably doesn't know much about how the season is going and who really should be there and they should be restricted in their ability to vote like crazy. That's the problem here, not McGrady.
So, that being said is there a way to fix the All-Star Game?
Option 1: Make people log in to something to vote and then only once each, but this can be circumvented by creating an endless supply of email aliases.
Option 2: Sportswriters vote. This creates similar problems as exist in college sports with biased reporters and lack of exposure between Eastern and Western teams.
Option 3: Players vote. This seams like the best option available, but if the fans are taken out of the equation then the fans choose not to watch because they care significantly less.
Conclusion: This whole event is fun for some fans, but those fans can't be trusted to vote so the verdict? Who cares. I care so little about the whole thing that I refuse to state my position. Take that!
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Bad AP Rankings "Crossover" from Football to Basketball
So I sit down this morning to read the recap of the BYU-CSU game (I was there, but wondered what stats I might have missed) and happened upon the Top 25 Breakdown on CBSSports.com. I couldn't help but notice the UCONN 3-game losing streak that could be matched by UNC's own version. So I said to myself, "Self, what's the big idea? Why isn't UNM or some other deserving team ranked when these teams are losing games left and right (and left again in some cases)?" Well, the debate will end tomorrow when the new rankings appear, but for now I took the chance to compare the RPI Breakdown for several teams that are either ranked or COULD be ranked depending on the voters.
Team - Rank(Rec) - vs Top-100 - 101+ Losses - Worst Loss - Best Win
Purdue - 6 (14-3) - (6-3) - 0 - Northwestern (60) - West Virginia (11)
UNC - 12(12-6)- (5-6) - 0 - Coll of Charleston (96) - Mich State (17)
U-CONN-15(11-5)-(5-5) - 1 - Michigan (150) - William & Mary (28)
BYU - 18(18-1) - (7-1) - 0 - Utah State (85) - UNLV (41)
Miami - 23(15-3)- (3-2) - 1 - Boston College (117) - Wake Forest (27)
UNM - NR(16-3)-(5-2) - 1 - Oral Roberts (143) - California (25)
UNLV - NR(14-4)-(6-3) - 1 - Utah (127) - New Mexico (19)/Louisville (39)
U-CONN is 0-4 against teams in the top-25 and 2-5 overall against top-50 programs. So, there best win is William & Mary (28) and they have gone 0-4 against teams better than that and 1-1 against team worse than them but better than 50. So there #15 ranking is a thing that makes me say, "Huh?" Add that to their current three game losing streak, which includes a loss to RPI 150 Michigan, and you are left asking, "Yeah, they're U-CONN but who have they BEAT to get up so high in the rankings?"
UNC is 1-3 against teams in the top-25, 0-2 against teams in the 26-50 range, against the 51-75 range they hold a 4--0 record, and 0-1 agaisnt teams in the 76-100 range. So at #12 they are easily the most over-rated team in the country. Do they have a VERY difficult schedule? Absolutely. They have already played Texas, Mich St., Clemson, GA-Tech, Ohio State, Syracuse, and Kentucky. However, the point is not "who they can schedule" but "who they can beat" and so far they haven't proved that they can beat the big boys so how is it possible that they are ranked with the big boys? I understood early this year when they lost to Syracuse and beat MSU and OSU, but now they have added losses to Clemson, GA-Tech, Kentucky, Texas, and Col of Charleston without beating anyone better than Marshall (53) and going 5-5 in their last 10. They should drop heavy and, in my opinion, out of the rankings until they can find a way to beat a decent team again.
Purdue is definitely a team that shoudl be ranked, but at 6? I think not. Not with 2 straight losses. However, these losses came this week so I give the pollers until tomorrow to get this straightened out.
BYU is the team that I love to follow so I can't help but be a little biased, but with 12 wins in a row since their only loss, a streak that includes wins over Arizona State, Arizona, Nevada, and UNLV. This team is deservedly ranked and should even rise a couple spots with teams above them losing (some more than once) and commanding victories over CSU and AFA.
Miami would have 2 losses if the category had been 100+ and not 101+ with their most recent loss to Virginia. The Hurricanes have only 3 wins over top-100 schools with a 1 point win over Wake Forest (@ home), a 5 point win over Minnesota (@ home), and 15 points over South Carolina (Neutral). Going 7-3 in their last 10 and with a two game losing streak in hand the Hurricanse should be done with the top-25 for now.
UNM and UNLV are both teams with pretty good resumes. Though if UNLV hoped this would be the week to get back into the top-25 those dreams were lost with a home loss to Utah (127 RPI). However, UNM picked up the pieces after a 2 loss week and beat Utah and Wyoming (though the Wyoming game was WAY too close) and have wins over 4 top-50 teams in TX-A&M, TX-Tech, Dayton, and California. In my opinion, they look better on paper than UNC right now and really should be ranked again this week, but if not, they could be back next week with wins over AFA and CSU.
When I say bogus of course I mean UCONN/UNC/etc get the love even when they lose much like the FLA's/Bama's/UT's/OU's of the football world. That is why I really like the RPI rankings because it is unbiased by conference and awards a varying strength of schedule as the season progresses while calculating based on your opponent's record and THEIR opponent's record.
RPI
Purdue-15 (A more accurate spot than 6 for a team like this one)
UCONN-16 (Still too high for me, but with the Michigan loss they should fall a good deal)
UNM-18
BYU-24
UNLV-41
UNC-42 (ranked among the class of teams they have beaten and behind those they have loss to.
Seams fair to me)
Miami-69 (Not even close to top-25 right now, but with some more ACC wins they could get
right back)
So, will UNC fall out of the rankings? Could U-Conn share a similar fate? Doubtful. With those names they will be given some slack, but lose a few more times (maybe even just one more loss next week) and they will be done with the top-25 for a while themselves.
Team - Rank(Rec) - vs Top-100 - 101+ Losses - Worst Loss - Best Win
Purdue - 6 (14-3) - (6-3) - 0 - Northwestern (60) - West Virginia (11)
UNC - 12(12-6)- (5-6) - 0 - Coll of Charleston (96) - Mich State (17)
U-CONN-15(11-5)-(5-5) - 1 - Michigan (150) - William & Mary (28)
BYU - 18(18-1) - (7-1) - 0 - Utah State (85) - UNLV (41)
Miami - 23(15-3)- (3-2) - 1 - Boston College (117) - Wake Forest (27)
UNM - NR(16-3)-(5-2) - 1 - Oral Roberts (143) - California (25)
UNLV - NR(14-4)-(6-3) - 1 - Utah (127) - New Mexico (19)/Louisville (39)
U-CONN is 0-4 against teams in the top-25 and 2-5 overall against top-50 programs. So, there best win is William & Mary (28) and they have gone 0-4 against teams better than that and 1-1 against team worse than them but better than 50. So there #15 ranking is a thing that makes me say, "Huh?" Add that to their current three game losing streak, which includes a loss to RPI 150 Michigan, and you are left asking, "Yeah, they're U-CONN but who have they BEAT to get up so high in the rankings?"
UNC is 1-3 against teams in the top-25, 0-2 against teams in the 26-50 range, against the 51-75 range they hold a 4--0 record, and 0-1 agaisnt teams in the 76-100 range. So at #12 they are easily the most over-rated team in the country. Do they have a VERY difficult schedule? Absolutely. They have already played Texas, Mich St., Clemson, GA-Tech, Ohio State, Syracuse, and Kentucky. However, the point is not "who they can schedule" but "who they can beat" and so far they haven't proved that they can beat the big boys so how is it possible that they are ranked with the big boys? I understood early this year when they lost to Syracuse and beat MSU and OSU, but now they have added losses to Clemson, GA-Tech, Kentucky, Texas, and Col of Charleston without beating anyone better than Marshall (53) and going 5-5 in their last 10. They should drop heavy and, in my opinion, out of the rankings until they can find a way to beat a decent team again.
Purdue is definitely a team that shoudl be ranked, but at 6? I think not. Not with 2 straight losses. However, these losses came this week so I give the pollers until tomorrow to get this straightened out.
BYU is the team that I love to follow so I can't help but be a little biased, but with 12 wins in a row since their only loss, a streak that includes wins over Arizona State, Arizona, Nevada, and UNLV. This team is deservedly ranked and should even rise a couple spots with teams above them losing (some more than once) and commanding victories over CSU and AFA.
Miami would have 2 losses if the category had been 100+ and not 101+ with their most recent loss to Virginia. The Hurricanes have only 3 wins over top-100 schools with a 1 point win over Wake Forest (@ home), a 5 point win over Minnesota (@ home), and 15 points over South Carolina (Neutral). Going 7-3 in their last 10 and with a two game losing streak in hand the Hurricanse should be done with the top-25 for now.
UNM and UNLV are both teams with pretty good resumes. Though if UNLV hoped this would be the week to get back into the top-25 those dreams were lost with a home loss to Utah (127 RPI). However, UNM picked up the pieces after a 2 loss week and beat Utah and Wyoming (though the Wyoming game was WAY too close) and have wins over 4 top-50 teams in TX-A&M, TX-Tech, Dayton, and California. In my opinion, they look better on paper than UNC right now and really should be ranked again this week, but if not, they could be back next week with wins over AFA and CSU.
When I say bogus of course I mean UCONN/UNC/etc get the love even when they lose much like the FLA's/Bama's/UT's/OU's of the football world. That is why I really like the RPI rankings because it is unbiased by conference and awards a varying strength of schedule as the season progresses while calculating based on your opponent's record and THEIR opponent's record.
RPI
Purdue-15 (A more accurate spot than 6 for a team like this one)
UCONN-16 (Still too high for me, but with the Michigan loss they should fall a good deal)
UNM-18
BYU-24
UNLV-41
UNC-42 (ranked among the class of teams they have beaten and behind those they have loss to.
Seams fair to me)
Miami-69 (Not even close to top-25 right now, but with some more ACC wins they could get
right back)
So, will UNC fall out of the rankings? Could U-Conn share a similar fate? Doubtful. With those names they will be given some slack, but lose a few more times (maybe even just one more loss next week) and they will be done with the top-25 for a while themselves.
Sunday, January 10, 2010
BYU Basketball Weekend Wrap-Up
This week the BYU faced conference foe UNLV in Provo before finishing the week with a Saturday night game in El-Paso against the Miners of UTEP. Since the 49 point outing of Jimmer Fredette at Arizona the BYU team has to play without his usual pizazz and 2 of the 3 games he never got off the bench. Sidelined with a bout of Strep Throat he was left on the bench as the Cougars handled Eastern New Mexico (or perhaps better known as "Who?"). He is averaging 20.7 pts, 5.3 assists, 3.0 rebounds, 1.7 steals and shooting 93% from the free throw line. He is a truly irreplaceable player leading the conference in several statistical categories (including scoring) and leading the pack as the favorite for conference play of the year. Now that his dominance has been established lets see how the Cougars fared without his normal brilliance.
UNLV:
BYU entered the game 68-3 at home under Coach Rose and did not disappoint edging out the Rebels by 4 points. Jimmer got in the game in this one and managed only 7 points in 25 minutes. He also added only 1 assist, 1 rebound, and found the time to commit 3 turnovers. How is it possible that the cougars won this game? Well, much of the theatrics of the victory belonged to Michael Lloyd, Jr who's quickness helped him find his way to the hoop twice in the waning minutes of this game. He also added a three point field goal giving himself 7 points in 16 minutes of play (all seven in the second half when it was needed most). Then there was Jonathan Tavernari who scored 17 points, 14 in the second half and Noah Hartsock who also had 17, 13 in the first half to keep us in it. However, another unsung hero of this game and, as you will see, the game against UTEP was freshman Tyler Haws. On a night where the cougars shot 37% from the field Haws grabbed 4 offensive rebounds, to lead all cougars, and 6 overall. He also 12 points, 2 steals, and 3 assists. While he started the year off slowly he has been improving with each game played in both scoring, shooting, assisting, and rebounding. He is making a strong case for freshman of the year, especially if BYU wins the conference.
UTEP:
I was able to watch much less of this game than I would have liked, so I have little to report on the impact of players outside of the stats. However, in a game where Jimmer Fredette didn't make it off the bench, on the road, against a team that just might make the tournament (may need to win the conference after losses to BYU and TX-Tech) BYU found a way to get it done. Once again, BYU was able to rely on freshman Tyler Haws and former starter Jonathan Tavernari with additional scoring coming from another unlikely place. Against UNLV Hartsock was the hero, but El Paso proved to belong to another big man, Brandon Davies. Davies added 14 points to the 19 by Tavernari and the 20 from Haws to give BYU a 7 point victory. Haws built on the success against UNLV adding 11 rebounds to his 20 points along with a steal and 2 assists. BYU scored over 80 for the 11th time this year and are looking like a team that (with a couple wins in the conference tournament) that could win 30+ games and make a splash in the NCAA tournament, especially if they can get a good draw at a 5 or 4 seed and in the SLC regional.
UNLV:
BYU entered the game 68-3 at home under Coach Rose and did not disappoint edging out the Rebels by 4 points. Jimmer got in the game in this one and managed only 7 points in 25 minutes. He also added only 1 assist, 1 rebound, and found the time to commit 3 turnovers. How is it possible that the cougars won this game? Well, much of the theatrics of the victory belonged to Michael Lloyd, Jr who's quickness helped him find his way to the hoop twice in the waning minutes of this game. He also added a three point field goal giving himself 7 points in 16 minutes of play (all seven in the second half when it was needed most). Then there was Jonathan Tavernari who scored 17 points, 14 in the second half and Noah Hartsock who also had 17, 13 in the first half to keep us in it. However, another unsung hero of this game and, as you will see, the game against UTEP was freshman Tyler Haws. On a night where the cougars shot 37% from the field Haws grabbed 4 offensive rebounds, to lead all cougars, and 6 overall. He also 12 points, 2 steals, and 3 assists. While he started the year off slowly he has been improving with each game played in both scoring, shooting, assisting, and rebounding. He is making a strong case for freshman of the year, especially if BYU wins the conference.
UTEP:
I was able to watch much less of this game than I would have liked, so I have little to report on the impact of players outside of the stats. However, in a game where Jimmer Fredette didn't make it off the bench, on the road, against a team that just might make the tournament (may need to win the conference after losses to BYU and TX-Tech) BYU found a way to get it done. Once again, BYU was able to rely on freshman Tyler Haws and former starter Jonathan Tavernari with additional scoring coming from another unlikely place. Against UNLV Hartsock was the hero, but El Paso proved to belong to another big man, Brandon Davies. Davies added 14 points to the 19 by Tavernari and the 20 from Haws to give BYU a 7 point victory. Haws built on the success against UNLV adding 11 rebounds to his 20 points along with a steal and 2 assists. BYU scored over 80 for the 11th time this year and are looking like a team that (with a couple wins in the conference tournament) that could win 30+ games and make a splash in the NCAA tournament, especially if they can get a good draw at a 5 or 4 seed and in the SLC regional.
Friday, January 8, 2010
End of Another Football Season
I think that when I show this blog to Gnat she might just roll her eyes.
Speaking of rolling, the Alabama Crimson Tide rolled its way to a National Championship yesterday, obtaining the 4th straight national title for the SEC (nobody will be taking away THEIR automatic bid any time soon) and, though it comes amongst some controversy with Colt McCoy's injury early in the game, it has left me wondering about the differences between strengths of conferences today. Partially I am curious because the new AP and Coach's polls came out today (the final one for the year) and I was shocked by the new rankings. Here is a link should you like to go take a look yourself.
http://www.cbssports.com/collegefootball/polls
The top 10 are Alabama, Texas, Florida, Boise State, Iowa, Ohio State, TCU, Iowa, Cincinnati, Penn State, Virginia Tech. (BYU was 12th... since I know you were wondering)
What is this? Texas gets pasted by Alabama by 16 and doesn't move even one spot? Florida jumps Boise State while Boise State plays, and beats, a legitimate National Title contender while Florida shellacs a very over-rated Cincinnati? Why all the love for the Big 6 conferences (Cincinnati over TCU)? Florida and Texas get special treatment for playing an AQ conference opponent while BSU moves up only one spot (had to move up a little because TCU and Cincinnati lost) for not, but didn't Texas lose?
Well, I am crying foul.
The BCS's bowl game system creates a whole slew of meaningless games. Meaningless in the sense that it fails to determine a consensus national champion while playing 30+ games and including 60+ teams. What it does do, is require teams to put up, or shut up. What I mean but this is that while teams are responsible for their schedules before conference play begins, somebody else makes those calls for their post season. This means that while people may claim the SEC is the deepest conference in the country at some point the Arkansas of the world will have to prove it on the field. My question is, why all the SEC love? Are they really that much better than the MWC or Boise State?
So here is how these conferences/teams did in the put up/shut up part of the season.
SEC
People argue that this is the deepest and most difficult conference to play in. However, the fact that only 3 team had winning records in conference play says that they are as top heavy as anyone else. The conference went 6-4 in bowl games this year, good for second best bowl record among conferences. The conference's 1 and 2 teams both won BCS games and one was for the "title", whatever that means, but how about number 3? (Remeber, the conference only had 3 teams with winning records in conference play) They lost Penn State. No 4 won but the 2 teams tied at number 5 (4-4 in conference) split games losing to VA Tech and beating TX A&M (a big who cares on that one). The four teams tied for 7 (3-5 in conference) split games as well with wins over powerhouses like Northwestern and East Carolina (each by 3 in OT) and losses to UCONN and Clemson. For a conference touted for their depth they Alabama and Florida really seemed to be swimming in a pretty shallow pool...
MWC
Openly criticized for its lack of depth, yet the conference with the best bowl record (4-1). In the final ranking even with a loss by TCU the conference has 3 teams in the top-20 and AFA was even on a few people's ballots. Wyoming won its bowl game against a Fresno State team that beat Illinois and lost to Cincinnati and Wisconsin by a combined 11 points. 5/9 teams ended the season with winning records and the non-conference schedule across the conference included, Oklahoma, Florida State, Clemson, Virginia, Texas Tech, Texas, Colorado, Oregon, Oregon State, California, UCLA, Tulsa, Boise State, Navy and TX A&M (some were played more than once including bowl games). Is the conference deep? Not really, but they have gone 6-9 since 1999 against the SEC including a Wyoming win at Tennessee in 2008.
Boise State
The WAC is weak. There is not case to be made for them. What they do have, however, is a great team in Boise State. This year Alabama had wins over 5 ranked teams. BSU had 2. Florida had 2 and Texas had 2. They finished the season with 14 wins, ranked #1 in scoring offense, #10 in total offense and #14 in both total and scoring defense. They were a top 30 team in a slew of other categories including Rush Defense, Pass Offense, Rush Offense, Pass Defense, and in several special teams categories. They also finished third in turnover margin. Kellen Moore threw 39 TD's and only 3 Int. They have a decent case to have played in the title game and with only one graduating starter they are poised to have another great year with non-conference games against Oregon State at home and Virginia Tech on the road. The other games are against Toledo and Wyoming.
Speaking of rolling, the Alabama Crimson Tide rolled its way to a National Championship yesterday, obtaining the 4th straight national title for the SEC (nobody will be taking away THEIR automatic bid any time soon) and, though it comes amongst some controversy with Colt McCoy's injury early in the game, it has left me wondering about the differences between strengths of conferences today. Partially I am curious because the new AP and Coach's polls came out today (the final one for the year) and I was shocked by the new rankings. Here is a link should you like to go take a look yourself.
http://www.cbssports.com/collegefootball/polls
The top 10 are Alabama, Texas, Florida, Boise State, Iowa, Ohio State, TCU, Iowa, Cincinnati, Penn State, Virginia Tech. (BYU was 12th... since I know you were wondering)
What is this? Texas gets pasted by Alabama by 16 and doesn't move even one spot? Florida jumps Boise State while Boise State plays, and beats, a legitimate National Title contender while Florida shellacs a very over-rated Cincinnati? Why all the love for the Big 6 conferences (Cincinnati over TCU)? Florida and Texas get special treatment for playing an AQ conference opponent while BSU moves up only one spot (had to move up a little because TCU and Cincinnati lost) for not, but didn't Texas lose?
Well, I am crying foul.
The BCS's bowl game system creates a whole slew of meaningless games. Meaningless in the sense that it fails to determine a consensus national champion while playing 30+ games and including 60+ teams. What it does do, is require teams to put up, or shut up. What I mean but this is that while teams are responsible for their schedules before conference play begins, somebody else makes those calls for their post season. This means that while people may claim the SEC is the deepest conference in the country at some point the Arkansas of the world will have to prove it on the field. My question is, why all the SEC love? Are they really that much better than the MWC or Boise State?
So here is how these conferences/teams did in the put up/shut up part of the season.
SEC
People argue that this is the deepest and most difficult conference to play in. However, the fact that only 3 team had winning records in conference play says that they are as top heavy as anyone else. The conference went 6-4 in bowl games this year, good for second best bowl record among conferences. The conference's 1 and 2 teams both won BCS games and one was for the "title", whatever that means, but how about number 3? (Remeber, the conference only had 3 teams with winning records in conference play) They lost Penn State. No 4 won but the 2 teams tied at number 5 (4-4 in conference) split games losing to VA Tech and beating TX A&M (a big who cares on that one). The four teams tied for 7 (3-5 in conference) split games as well with wins over powerhouses like Northwestern and East Carolina (each by 3 in OT) and losses to UCONN and Clemson. For a conference touted for their depth they Alabama and Florida really seemed to be swimming in a pretty shallow pool...
MWC
Openly criticized for its lack of depth, yet the conference with the best bowl record (4-1). In the final ranking even with a loss by TCU the conference has 3 teams in the top-20 and AFA was even on a few people's ballots. Wyoming won its bowl game against a Fresno State team that beat Illinois and lost to Cincinnati and Wisconsin by a combined 11 points. 5/9 teams ended the season with winning records and the non-conference schedule across the conference included, Oklahoma, Florida State, Clemson, Virginia, Texas Tech, Texas, Colorado, Oregon, Oregon State, California, UCLA, Tulsa, Boise State, Navy and TX A&M (some were played more than once including bowl games). Is the conference deep? Not really, but they have gone 6-9 since 1999 against the SEC including a Wyoming win at Tennessee in 2008.
Boise State
The WAC is weak. There is not case to be made for them. What they do have, however, is a great team in Boise State. This year Alabama had wins over 5 ranked teams. BSU had 2. Florida had 2 and Texas had 2. They finished the season with 14 wins, ranked #1 in scoring offense, #10 in total offense and #14 in both total and scoring defense. They were a top 30 team in a slew of other categories including Rush Defense, Pass Offense, Rush Offense, Pass Defense, and in several special teams categories. They also finished third in turnover margin. Kellen Moore threw 39 TD's and only 3 Int. They have a decent case to have played in the title game and with only one graduating starter they are poised to have another great year with non-conference games against Oregon State at home and Virginia Tech on the road. The other games are against Toledo and Wyoming.
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