Belated Top 25

I have not been able to post in awhile, so I am late in updating this week's Subway Irish Top 25. Last week's poll must have been reasonably accurate because only two teams were upset.

1. USC (3-0, W 20-3 @ Arizona)
2. Auburn (4-0, W 38-7 vs Buffalo)
3. Michigan (4-0, W 27-13 vs Wisconsin)
4. Ohio State (4-0, W 28-6 vs Penn State)
5. Florida (4-0, W 26-7 vs Kentucky)
6. Tennessee (3-1, W 33-7 vs Marshall)
7. Louisville (4-0, W 24-6 @ Kansas State)
8. West Virginia (4-0, W 27-10 @ East Carolina)
9. LSU (3-1, W 49-7 vs Tulane)
10. Notre Dame (3-1, W 40-37 @ 18 Michigan State)
11. Oregon (3-0, idle)
12. Georgia Tech (3-1, W 24-7 vs Virginia)
13. Oklahoma (3-1, W 59-0 vs Middle Tennessee State)
14. Boise State (4-0, W 41-34)
15. Texas (3-1, W 37-14 vs Iowa State)
16. Virginia Tech (4-0, W 29-13 vs Cincinatti)
17. Michigan State (3-1, L 37-40 vs Notre Dame)
18. UCLA (2-1, L 19-29 @ Washington)
19. TCU (3-0, idle)
20. Pittsburgh (3-1, W 51-6 vs Citadel)
21. Rutgers (4-0, W 56-7 vs Howard)
22. California (3-1, W 49-21 vs Arizona State)
23. Georgia (4-0, W 14-13 vs Colorado
24. Missouri (4-0, W 31-6 vs Ohio)
25. Purdue (4-0 , W 27-21 vs Minnesota)

Dropped out: 19. Boston College

My New Top 25

Here is my updated top 25. Keep in mind that I rated the early polls based on which teams dared to play difficult early season schedules. Now that more teams are starting to play difficult teams, my top 25 is starting to shake itself out.

1. USC (2-0, W 28-10 vs Nebraska)
2. Auburn (3-0, W 7-3 vs 16 LSU)
3. Ohio State (3-0, W 37-7 vs Cincinatti)
4. Florida (3-0, W 21-20 @ 6 Tennessee)
5. Tennessee (2-1, L 20-21 vs 5 Florida)
6. Michigan (3-0, W 47-21 @ 1 Notre Dame)
7. Louisville (3-0, W 31-7 vs 15 Miami)
8. West Virginia (3-0, W 45-24 vs Maryland)
9. LSU (2-1, L 3-7 vs 3 Auburn)
10. UCLA (2-0, idle)
11. Notre Dame (2-1, L 27-47 vs 10 Michigan)
12. Oregon (3-0, W 34-33 vs 25 Oklahoma)
13. Georgia Tech (2-1, W 35-20 vs UAB)
14. Oklahoma (2-1, L 33-34 @ 8 Oregon)
15. Boise State (3-0, W 17-10 @ Wyoming)
16. Virginia Tech (3-0, W 36-0 vs Duke)
17. Texas (2-1, W 52-7 @ Rice)
18. Michigan State (3-0, W 38-23 @ Pittsburgh)
19. Boston College (3-0, W 30-23 vs BYU)
20. TCU, (3-0, W 12-3 vs 23 Texas Tech)
21. Pittsburgh (2-1, L 23-38 vs Michigan State)
22. Rutgers (3-0, W 27-7 vs Ohio
23. California (2-1, W 42-16 vs Portland State)
24. Georgia (3-0, W 34-0 vs UAB)
25. Missouri (3-0, W 27-17 @ New Mexico)

Dropping out: 14 Florida State, 15 Miami

Weekend Update

Jane, you ignorant slut. The Irish took one on the chin this weekend. The blocking was pathetic, the defensive coverage was mediocre, the receivers dropped several passes, and Brady looked like he was trying to throw the ball through a brick wall. There isn't much to rehash here tha has not been overanalyzed on other websites. Instead, lets look at what ND did well this weekend.

The Irish held Michigan to just 2.9 yards per rushing attempt. Most ND fans were worried about ND's run defense against a power running game like Michigan's. ND's linebackers are undersized and inexperienced. Yet, the defensive front 7 held up well against Michigan's ground game. That is something that defensive coordinator Rick Minter can build from.

Geoffrey Price averaged 51.9 yards per punt. Coming into the season, one of the biggest question marks was the Irish's kicking game. DJ Fitzpatrick had graduated, and no one else had much experience. Despite the inexperience, Price has established himself as one of the stars of the team. He is an outstanding punter.

ND was 2 for 2 offensively in the red zone. This is one of the areas that Coach Weis stresses. The offense, at least, did a good job in this area.

Overall, it was a bad day, and I think Coach Weis would agree with that. After all, he has had bad days before. Rest assured, Irish fans. I guarantee you that he is not playing golf this week. He is hard at work correcting this past weeks errors, and the Irish will play much better against Michigan State..

My New Top 25

I realize that this is still pretty screwed up because few teams have faced stiff competition, so I decided to continue to give a boost to those who dared to open with a difficult oponent week one. The rest of the country will just have to wait for those teams to lose.

1. Notre Dame (2-0, 41-17 vs. Penn State)
2. USC (1-0, idle)
3. Auburn (2-0, 34-0 vs. Miss. State)
4. Ohio State (2-0, 24-7 vs. Texas)
5. Florida (2-0, 42-0 vs. UCF)
6. Tennessee (2-0, 31-30 vs. Air Force)
7. Pittsburgh (2-0, 33-15 vs. Cincinatti)
8. Oregon (2-0, 31-24 vs. Fresno State)
9. UCLA (2-0, 26-16 vs. Rice)
10. Michigan (2-0, 41-17 vs. Central Michigan
11. Louisville (2-0, 62-0 vs. Temple)
12. Georgia Tech (1-1, 38-6 vs. Samford)
13. West Virgina (2-0, 52-3 vs. Eastern Washington
14. Florida State (2-0, 24-17 vs. Troy)
15. Miami (1-1, 51-10 vs. Florida A&M)
16. LSU (2-0, 45-3 vs. Arizona)
17. Boise State (2-0, 42-14 vs. Oregon State)
18. Virginia Tech (2-0, 35-10 vs. North Carolina)
19. Texas (1-1, 7-24 vs. Ohio State)
20. Rutgers (2-0, 33-0 vs. Illinois)
21. California (1-1, 42-17 vs. Minnesota)
22. Georgia (2-0, 13-0 vs. South Carolina)
23. Texas Tech (2-0, 38-35 vs. UTEP)
24. Missouri (2-0, 34-7 vs. Mississippi)
25. Oklahoma (2-0, 37-20 vs. Washington)

Michigan Sucks

I haven't had an opportunity to update the blog in awhile, but I just want to say that Michigan sucks.

Weis Drops ND in Poll

Charlie Weis has admitted that he dropped ND in his top 25 this week. Coaches typically like to keep these things secret, so I suspect that it is a motivational ploy by Weis. It's a good move. ND's players are not used receiving the accolades that they have been receiving. He needs to keep them on an even keel.

Scarcella gets it, too.

Rich Scarcella, of the Reading Eagle, echoes Jensen's article about Weis' perceived arrogance, and that it rubs some coaches wrong. However, he takes it a step futher and points out that Penn State's Joe Paterno does not seem to like Weis, also. He points out that Paterno typically refers to coaches by their first names, but coldly called Weis "Coach Weis" at this week's presser. I am sure he really won't like Weis after Saturday.

Jensen Gets It Right

Philadelphia Inquirer writer Mike Jensen has written an excellent article delineating the envy that other coaches feel towards Charlie Weis. Jensen's take is that Weis's cocky attitude rubs other coaches the wrong way, but it is a breath of fresh air when compared to the "woe is me" attitude of other college coaces. Kudos to Mr. Jensen! Weis's cockiness is not borne out of false confidence. He is every bit as good as he thinks he is, and his confidence is one of the traits that makes him so good. This article is worth a read.

Odds and Ends

Poor recruiting. Contrary to Brent Mussberger's compliment to Tyron Willingham for recruiting Brady Quinn, Willingham is to blame if ND lacks depth this year. Blue Gray Sky pointed out that twelve freshmen played against Georgia Tech. This is more than the eleven combined sophomores and juniors that saw action. It is about time ND hired a coach that is more interested in winning than his golf handicap.

Too many penalties. Charlie Weis says the Irish committed too many penalties against Georgia Tech. According to Weis:

When a guy gets physically beat, somebody beats him because the guy's a good player or the play took too long to develop, that's one thing, but it's another thing when you have double-digit mental mistakes and nine penalties. If we play like that, we're going to be stagnant every week. That's what we're going to work on this week.

Apparantely, Weis disagrees with the opinion of most Notre Dame fans, who felt that many of the penalties were unwarranted. At least, that is what he is telling the press.

Irish overrated? Rick Morrissey claims that ND is overrated, and that it is because the media has over-hyped them. He makes this claim in a newspaper article about Notre Dame. Behold the irony.

AP Top 25

1. Ohio St. (39) 1-0 1,568 1
2. Texas (7) 1-0 1,453 3
3. Southern Cal (3) 1-0 1,410 6
4. Notre Dame (8) 1-0 1,408 2
4. Auburn (3) 1-0 1,408 4
6. West Virginia (5) 1-0 1,356 5
7. Florida 1-0 1,191 7
8. LSU 1-0 1,185 8
9. Florida St. 1-0 1,130 11
10. Michigan 1-0 841 14
11. Tennessee 1-0 839 23
12. Georgia 1-0 836 15
13. Louisville 1-0 820 13
14. Iowa 1-0 800 16
15. Oklahoma 1-0 725 10
16. Virginia Tech 1-0 673 17
17. Miami 0-1 624 12
18. Clemson 1-0 564 18
19. Penn St. 1-0 467 19
20. Oregon 1-0 436 21
21. Nebraska 1-0 358 20
22. California 0-1 212 9
23. TCU 1-0 198 22
24. Texas Tech 1-0 196 25
25. Arizona St. 1-0 134 24

Let me get this straight. Blowing out North Texas at home is more impressive than beating Georgia Tech on the road. I can understand USC moving ahead of ND, but Texas did nothing to warrant moving up in polls. They played a piece of crap team and beat them as badly as the rest of the top ten would have. The voters should have waited until after Texas beats OSU before moving them up.

Top 25

Every college football website has its own top 25, and why should I be different? However, I am attempting to do my poll differently than most. Now that one week of games has been played, I intend to rate teams based on how impressive they have been this season. This means that teams that play weak opponents will not be ranked highly in my rankings until they have beaten someone of significance. Pasting North Texas, for example, is not very impressive when you consider that there are probably thirty teams that could do the same. Below are my top 25 following this week's games.

1. USC (1-0) The Trojans did something that know major contender, other than Notre Dame, dared to do. They opened with a decent, BCS conference opponent, Arkansas, on the road. Final Score: USC 50 Arkansas 14

2. Notre Dame (1-0)- See Trojans. Final Score: ND 14 Georgia Tech 10

3. Auburn (1-0)- Washington State is similar caliber to Arkansas, but Auburn played them at home. Final Score: Auburn 40 Washington State 14

4. Tennessee (1-0)- Jeff Tedford's Cal teams always play exceptional offense, but they looked like crap against UT's defense. The Volunteers even appeared to have an offense of their own on Saturday, which once again proves that David Cutcliffe is an excellent offensive coordinator. Final Score: Tennessee 35 California 18

5. Florida (1-0)- The Gators put up 34 against an excellent defense. Final Score: Florida 34 Southern Mississippi 7

6. Ohio State (1-0)- Norther Illinois is one of the best teams in the MAC, and OSU made them look like a high school team in the first half. Texas will be an even better test. How will OSU's rushing defense hold up? They allowed 4.7 yards per carry against NIU Final score: OSU 35 NIU 12

7. Pittsburgh (1-0)- I am sure they will fall later in the year, but they deserve this ranking based on handily beating a quality opponent. Final Score: Pitt 38 Virginia 10.

8. Florida State (1-0)- Miami has not been typical Miami recently, and FSU narrowly beat them. However, Miami is still above average and this game was on the road. If FSU's poor offensive line had not been exposed on national television, they would be ranked higher. Final Score: Florida State 13 Miami 10

9. UCLA (1-0)- Utah has been a pretty good team over the past few years, but they were no match for the Bruins. Final Score: UCLA 31 Utah 10

10. Oregon (1-0)- Oregon played Stanford this week, and Stanford has been terrible recently. However, Walt Harris is a good coach, and the Cardinal should be improving. Assuming that they are, Oregon's home win over them was impressive. Final Score: Oregon 48 Stanford 10

11. Texas (1-0)
12. Michigan (1-0)
13. Louisville (1-0)
14. Georgia Tech (0-1)
15. Miami (0-1)
16. West Virginia (1-0)
17. LSU (1-0)
18. Penn State (1-0)
19. Arizona (1-0)
20. Nebraska (1-0)
21. Texas Tech (1-0)
22. Mississippi (1-0)
23. UTEP (1-0)
24. TCU (1-0)
25. Northern Illinois (0-1)

I realize that this top 25 is not very accurate. However, these are the teams that have proven something this year. In other words, they either won against a division I-A opponent, or they played well despite losing to a good team. My top 25 will sort itself out as the better teams play against stiffer competition.

Things Looking Up

Much has been made of Notre Dame's poor performance against Georgia Tech on Saturday, but was it really that poor?

The Irish fell behind early, which helped to stir up criticism. Hypothetically speaking, let's reverse the order in which the teams scored. If ND had scored the first two touchdowns, they would have led 14-0. Even with Georgia Tech's ten points, the media would be saying that Notre Dame led throughout, although Georgia Tech tried to come back. Instead, Notre Dame won by the exact same score, but the media pundits are saying that Notre Dame is overrated because they trailed for the entire first half.

Personally, I feel better about Notre Dame because they trailed during the first half. Notre Dame played a solid opponent in their home stadium. Predictably, Georgia Tech played very well early with their home crowd, no doubt excited about playing the number 2 ranked team, behind them. Notre Dame weathered the storm and came from behind to win in a tough environment. That is much more impressive that jumping out to an early lead would have been if it resulted in letting the opponent close to within 4 points. Yet, as I stated, the media would not have criticized Notre Dame as much under that scenario because they would not have trailed in the ball game.

The problem that I have is that the sportswriters and television talking heads who critized Notre Dame after this game will not hold other teams to the same standard. When ND wins by 4 against an above average BCS opponent on the road, we are told that the Irish are overrated. When Ohio State or Michigan play a close game at Madison, Wisconsin or West Lafayette, Indiana, they do not say the same thing. Are not Wisconsin and Purdue typically 7 to 8 win football teams? This is clear double standard.

Some might argue that it is best to just ignore these so called "experts." However, there is one huge problem with this. These are the same people that vote in the polls that decide the participants in the BCS national championship game. Someone in the mainstream media needs to call them out and expose them for the frauds they are. If ND is overrated for narrowly winning on the road against a team that has been to nine consecutive bowl games, then every team in the country will prove themselves to be overrated by teh time this season is over.