Texas moves up to the 5th spot in the BCS, still leaving a glimmer of hope for making its way back to the BCS National Championship game. They are neck and neck with Florida, right behind Louisville, who could still lose to Rutgers or Pitt. If Louisville does lose, Texas could make up the .0020 needed to pass Florida, mainly because Florida’s schedule is getting weaker and Texas still has A&M left.
Who knows what is going to happen in the SEC West. Arkansas will have to lose 2 games for Auburn to play in the title game, which is a good possibility because the Hogs still have Tennessee and LSU left on their schedule. If Arkansas does make it to the title game, Auburn may be sitting in the best position in the SEC, just sitting there waiting and easing into a BCS match-up.
| Harris Poll | USA Today | Computers | BCS | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ohio State | 1 | .999 | 1 | 1.000 | 2 | .960 | .9865 |
| 2 | Michigan | 2 | .958 | 2 | .954 | 1 | 1.000 | .9706 |
| 3 | Louisville | 3 | .885 | 4 | .878 | 3 | .910 | .8907 |
| 4 | Florida | 6 | .798 | 6 | .797 | 5 | .810 | .8017 |
| 5 | Texas | 4 | .883 | 3 | .887 | 10 | .630 | .7998 |
| 6 | Auburn | 5 | .813 | 5 | .831 | 8 | .700 | .7814 |
| 7 | USC | 7 | .736 | 7 | .729 | 7 | .770 | .7449 |
| 8 | California | 9 | .684 | 9 | .665 | 4 | .850 | .7330 |
| 9 | Notre Dame | 8 | .700 | 8 | .685 | 6 | .810 | .7316 |
| 10 | West Virginia | 10 | .612 | 10 | .631 | 14 | .480 | .5742 |
| Brian | Matt | ESPN Experts |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Troy Smith | 1. Troy Smith | 1. Troy Smith |
| 2. Mike Hart | 2. Steve Slaton | 2. Brady Quinn |
| 3. Steve Slaton | 3. Ray Rice | 3. Steve Slaton |
| 4. Brady Quinn | 4. Brady Quinn | 4. Ray Rice |
| 5. Colt McCoy | 5. Ted Ginn Jr. | 5. Mike Hart |
Our Thoughts
Brian – When Texas started the season everyone thought the running game would carry them and the QB situation would be the team’s weak point. Redshirt freshman quarterback Colt McCoy went from question mark to seriously deserving Heisman consideration. He’s just a freshman won’t win it but you’re starting to hear his name pop up every now and then, he’s currently climbed up to ninth of SI’s Heisman Watch. It’ll be interesting to see if he can play well enough through Texas’ last three (or four) games to earn a trip to New York. Not bad for somebody who still looks like he’s about twelve.
Matt – Well, with Ray Rice not doing much against UConn, he is basically out of the running for the Heisman. Troy Smith continues to dominate, although that isn’t too hard when you are playing the worst of the Big 10. And I don’t really see why everyone has Mike Hart in the Heisman race. He doesn’t put up great numbers and he is playing on an offense that struggled to score 17 points against Northwestern. He has to be the most overrated player in the hunt.
Related Links
| Matt | Brian | Master Coaches | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ohio State | Ohio State | Ohio State |
| 2 | Michigan | Michigan | Michigan |
| 3 | Texas | West Virginia | West Virginia |
| 4 | West Virginia | Texas | Texas |
| 5 | Louisville | Tennessee | Auburn |
| 6 | Auburn | Auburn | Louisville |
| 7 | Florida | Florida | Florida |
| 8 | Tennessee | Louisville | Tennessee |
| 9 | California | USC | USC |
| 10 | Notre Dame | California | Notre Dame |
| 11 | Boise State | LSU | California |
| 12 | USC | Notre Dame | LSU |
| 13 | LSU | Boise St. | Arkansas |
| 14 | Arkansas | Arkansas | Wisconsin |
| 15 | Rutgers | Rutgers | Rutgers |
| 16 | Boston College | Oklahoma | Boston College |
| 17 | Wisconsin | Wisconsin | Boise State |
| 18 | Oklahoma | Boston College | Clemson |
| 19 | Oregon | Clemson | Oklahoma |
| 20 | Clemson | Wake Forest | Texas A&M |
| 21 | Texas A&M | Texas A&M | Georgia Tech |
| 22 | Wake Forest | Georgia Tech | Oregon |
| 23 | Georgia Tech | Oregon | Wake Forest |
| 24 | Virginia Tech | Virginia Tech | Virginia Tech |
| 25 | Missouri | Nebraska | Nebraska |
Our Thoughts
Brian – USC has flirted with disaster all year and it finally caught up to them. Their loss helps clear up the murky BCS picture (that abomination always seems to manage to clear up by the end of the year) and is one less obstacle in Texas’ path on the way to a chance to repeat as national champions. Of course Texas is going to have to play a lot better than they have the last two weeks against Nebraska and Texas Tech if they plan on their slow climb up the rankings.
Matt – Man, what an embarrassing loss for USC, who go into Oregon State and just get throttled. Yeah, they came back and made it close, but they were getting dominated through almost 3 quarters. I think this was a long time coming though, as they were eeking out wins before this loss. Texas narrowly escaped the same disaster, with Colt McCoy leading the Horns to a tremendous comeback. I am still in shock when I think about some of the plays he made. Hook ’em.
Related Links
USC understandably caused some shifting in the top of the BCS, though there were a couple of changes that I really don’t understand. Why does an idle Louisville jump all the way from 8 to 5. Why does Florida jump ahead of Auburn with Auburn holding a win against Florida? Doesn’t make much sense if you ask me, but luckily we still have a few weeks ahead to narrow things down a bit more. Your thoughts?
| Harris Poll | USA Today | Computers | BCS | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ohio State | 1 | .999 | 1 | 1.000 | 2 | .960 | .9864 |
| 2 | Michigan | 2 | .957 | 2 | .952 | 1 | 1.000 | .9697 |
| 3 | West Virginia | 3 | .906 | 3 | .912 | 13 | .540 | .7862 |
| 4 | Florida | 7 | .746 | 7 | .741 | 4 | .850 | .7791 |
| 5 | Louisville | 5 | .799 | 5 | .807 | 9 | .680 | .7621 |
| 6 | Auburn | 6 | .773 | 6 | .784 | 7 | .720 | .7589 |
| 7 | Texas | 4 | .853 | 4 | .855 | 12 | .560 | .7562 |
| 8 | USC | 9 | .680 | 9 | .666 | 6 | .800 | .7152 |
| 9 | Notre Dame | 10 | .671 | 10 | .654 | 5 | .820 | .7151 |
| 10 | California | 11 | .628 | 11 | .622 | 3 | .890 | .7133 |
Posted October 27th, 2006 by Brian
Filed under: Basketball, Quick Hits
Texas debuts at number 19.
| Brian | Matt | ESPN Experts |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Troy Smith | 1. Troy Smith | 1. Troy Smith |
| 2. Mike Hart | 2. Ray Rice | 2. Brady Quinn |
| 3. Steve Slaton | 3. Steve Slaton | 3. Steve Slaton |
| 4. Brady Quinn | 4. Brady Quinn | 4. Ray Rice |
| 5. P.J. Hill | 5. Ted Ginn Jr. | 5. Mike Hart |
Our Thoughts
Brian – With Adrian Peterson now off the list due to his injury and Calvin Johnson’s zero catch performance against Clemson I’ve got two new names in my top five this week. The new guys are Brady Quinn and P.J. Hill. Quinn has steadily crawled back into the race and with a last minute drive against UCLA put his name back in the mix. Troy Smith is back on top and unless he has a bad performance in an Ohio State loss there’s really no one that can catch him. He still could lose it, but there’s no way anyone else can do anything to win it.
Matt – Troy Smith is basically running away with this Heisman trophy. Unless he has a horrible game against Michigan and Rice or Slaton do something crazy, Smith has this locked up. I finally have Brady Quinn back in the Top 5 after his nice comeback performance against UCLA. Ted Ginn Jr. stays at my dark-horse #5 spot, although it will be really hard for him to get much further.
Related Links
| Matt | Brian | Master Coaches | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ohio State | Ohio State | Ohio State |
| 2 | Michigan | USC | Michigan |
| 3 | USC | West Virginia | USC |
| 4 | Texas | Texas | West Virginia |
| 5 | West Virginia | Michigan | Texas |
| 6 | Louisville | Tennessee | Auburn |
| 7 | Auburn | Auburn | Louisvile |
| 8 | Florida | Florida | Florida |
| 9 | Clemson | Louisville | Tennessee |
| 10 | Tennessee | California | California |
| 11 | California | LSU | Clemson |
| 12 | Notre Dame | Clemson | Notre Dame |
| 13 | Boise State | Notre Dame | LSU |
| 14 | LSU | Boise St. | Arkansas |
| 15 | Arkansas | Arkansas | Wisconsin |
| 16 | Rutgers | Nebraska | Rutgers |
| 17 | Boston College | Rutgers | Boston College |
| 18 | Wisconsin | Oklahoma | Boise State |
| 19 | Oklahoma | Wisconsin | Nebraska |
| 20 | Nebraska | Boston College | Oklahoma |
| 21 | Oregon | Wake Forest | Texas A&M |
| 22 | Texas A&M | Georgia Tech | Missouri |
| 23 | Missouri | Georgia | Oregon |
| 24 | Wake Forest | Texas A&M | Wake Forest |
| 25 | Georgia Tech | Missouri | Georgia Tech |
Our Thoughts
Brian – Louisville drops for me as they haven’t looked like a top 10 team since they took out Miami over a month ago. Hopefully each of the top four Big East teams (West Virginia, Louisville, Rutgers, and Pittsburgh) find some way to lose a game and knock themselves out of the national title hunt. The top of the BCS rankings are getting interesting and the Longhorns could become a factor again soon.
Matt – My Top 8 remains totally unchanged, with Ohio State holding down 1st place with ease. Not too many other changes either, just a few minor adjustments based on how teams played. Many teams escaped with some close calls this weekend, with Texas kicking the game winning field goal late, Notre Dame getting the impressive 3 play 80 yard drive, and Tennessee closing out a close one.
Related Links
| Brian | Matt | ESPN Experts |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Adrian Peterson | 1. Troy Smith | 1. Troy Smith |
| 2. Troy Smith | 2. Calvin Johnson | 2. Calvin Johnson |
| 3. Mike Hart | 3. Garrett Wolfe | 3. Steve Slaton |
| 4. Calvin Johnson | 4. Steve Slaton | 4. Brady Quinn |
| 5. Steve Slaton | 5. Ted Ginn Jr. | 5. Garrett Wolfe |
Our Thoughts
Brian – This is the Adrian Peterson Memoriam Heisman List. He had a great game against Iowa State before breaking his collarbone in what might have been his final collegiate carry. He’ll be off the list next week. With Peterson gone, this now becomes Troy Smith and a bunch of scrubs. Garrett Wolfe’s embarrassing performance against Western Michigan knocks him off my list for good. Sorry but if you play for Northern Illinois you can’t afford to have any weeks like that. It’ll be interesting to watch if Mike Hart or Steve Slaton can make any sort of run at Smith in the season’s final half.
Matt – Ok, so putting Garrett Wolfe in the number spot must have put some sort of major jinx on him. I now have back in the #3 spot, where he should feel comfortable and put up some big yards this weekend. It is definitely a shame what happened to Adrian Peterson this past weekend, and he probably would be my front runner for Heisman if he didn’t get hurt.
Related Links
| Matt | Brian | Master Coaches | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ohio State | Ohio State | Ohio State |
| 2 | Michigan | USC | Michigan |
| 3 | USC | West Virginia | USC |
| 4 | Texas | Texas | West Virginia |
| 5 | West Virginia | Michigan | Texas |
| 6 | Louisville | Tennessee | Auburn |
| 7 | Auburn | Louisville | Louisvile |
| 8 | Florida | Auburn | Tennessee |
| 9 | Tennessee | Florida | Florida |
| 10 | California | California | California |
| 11 | Clemson | LSU | Notre Dame |
| 12 | Notre Dame | Notre Dame | LSU |
| 13 | Boise State | Nebraska | Clemson |
| 14 | Nebraska | Boise St. | Georgia Tech |
| 15 | LSU | Georgia Tech | Oregon |
| 16 | Georgia Tech | Clemson | Wisconsin |
| 17 | Arkansas | Arkansas | Nebraska |
| 18 | Oklahoma | Oregon | Arkansas |
| 19 | Oregon | Oklahoma | Rutgers |
| 20 | Rutgers | Iowa | Boise State |
| 21 | Iowa | Rutgers | Oklahoma |
| 22 | Boston College | Wisconsin | Boston College |
| 23 | Wisconsin | Boston College | Iowa |
| 24 | Texas A&M | Pitt | Georgia |
| 25 | Missouri | Georgia | Texas A&M/ Wake Forest |
Our Thoughts
Brian – The SEC is screwing up my top 25. All sorts of movement thanks to Florida and Georgia losing, and because what I thought was a good Iowa team losing to freaking Indiana. I had real trouble with my top 5. The only spot I’m sure of is Ohio State at #1 and then I’ve got no clue. USC was impressive early in the year against Arkansas and Nebraska but has looked pretty beatable the last few weeks. West Virginia at #3 is a crime but at the same time I had trouble putting them behind one-loss Texas. All I know is that I’m praying that the national title somehow doesn’t feature either WVU or Louisville.
Matt – Unfortunately Texas did not fare so well in the first BCS poll. Being 9th means that we have a lot of ground to make up, and a lot of teams ahead of us have to lose. Texas has a big matchup against Nebraska this weekend, which will hopefully add to their strength of schedule. I am not really impressed with my #2 and #3 teams, but I feel that is the only logical place you can put them right now. I am still not convinced about West Virginia and Louisiville, but it is hard to place them any lower than I already have them.
Related Links
| Brian | Matt | ESPN Experts |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Troy Smith | 1. Garrett Wolfe | 1. Troy Smith |
| 2. Garrett Wolfe | 2. Troy Smith | 2. Adrian Peterson |
| 3. Adrian Peterson | 3. Adrian Peterson | 3. Garrett Wolfe |
| 4. Mike Hart | 4. Calvin Johnson | 4. Steve Slaton |
| 5. Calvin Johnson | 5. Mario Manningham | 5. Calvin Johnson |
Our Thoughts
Brian – My entire list is new, not a single person stays in the spot they occupied. Adrian Peterson missed his opportunity to put himself in the driver’s seat for the award by putting up yet another solid but unspectacular game against the Longhorns. When he gave up on Paul Thompson’s lateral he may have also lost any chance he had to win the Heisman. Troy Smith moves to number one and Garrett Wolfe is now at number two. As long as Ohio State keeps winning, it’s going to take something remarkable for anyone to jump Smith.
Matt – I am leaving Garrett Wolfe in the #1 spot. He is just too exciting on the football field and continues to rack up the yards. As with Brian, this week I am moving Troy Smith up ahead of Adrian Peterson. Peterson had a decent game, but nothing that was inspiring. I always like to have a dark horse in my #5 spot, and this week I am putting Mario Manningham there. He has just been sick this season, already catching 9 touchdown passes. It is ashame that he will be out for a few weeks, but if he has a big enough game against Ohio State, watch out, he just might have a chance to win this thing.
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