Week #6 - NCAA Ruminations

Week #6 Ruminations begins with a list of things you can count on:

ULTIMATE BILL'S LIST OF  THINGS YOU CAN COUNT ON!

1. Sun rising in the east
2. Florida State will "BE BACK" each year, only to lose and then "BE BACK" the next year
3. Somebody will not make a full week's worth of picks in the BUCFP Main Pool
4. A defensive unit will make a 4th down stop late in the 4th quarter, celebrate like they've won the Superbowl, watch their O go three and out, and then give up the go ahead score (see Florida State)
5. Hollywood WILL remake "Breakin' II: Electric Boogaloo"
6. Every day, somebody from the state of Florida WILL make the news on a for doing something amorous with an animal, putting illegal narcotics in a bodily orifice, ruining a national election, or eating someone's face. That's just the reality of Florida. I know - I've lived here over 10 years
7. PAC12 teams WILL score like Brad Pitt at a Sorority Ball
8. Shady things will always be afoot in the BCS world (see LSU-based AP voter who has 3-2 Washington ranked ahead of Notre Dame)
9. College student athletes, with every opportunity in the world, will make you scratch your head: See Casey Pachall, TCU.
10. Many college coaches will make you scratch your heads as they respond to their student athletes head-scratch inducing activity. See Kirk Ferentz

I Digress for a moment
Living in SEC territory where sports talk show hosts field questions like, "If Alabama played in the AFC South, by what point in the season would they lock up the playoff spot?", I tend to get a little tired of the SEC Can't be beat mantra. (Take it from me SEC fans, the longer things stay the same, the more likely they are to change - Virginia Tech's bowl streak, for example.) That said, while the SEC may not dominate forever, it is hard to argue with the theater it provides. To wit, take a gander at South Carolina right now. It's reward for thumping #5 Georgia? A trip to Baton Rouge to faced the wounded #9 LSU Tigers. At least they get a break after tha...no wait. Next up, the #4 Florida Gators...in Gainesville. Then Tennessee back in Columbia. Show me a four week stretch like that ANYWHERE else in college football.

Mountaineering
From 2006 through 2009, West Virginia rode on the shoulders of a quarterback named Pat. Today, it rides on the shoulders of a Quarterback named Geno. Hmmmmmm???


I did time in Philly so this is meaningful to me. Some other players are familiar with the terrain so they should also appreciate this.

On that note - loathe though I am to give Mountaineers credit for anything more than couch burning skills, I've got to look at the following line and think he's the most exciting player to watch:

166 completions on 204 attempts, 1,996 yards, 24 TDs, NO INTs, and a rushing score to boot.

How fun would it be to watch him carve up the rest of the Big 12 secondaries (look for him to throw for 750 against Kansas at the end of the year) on WVU's way to the title game against say, Alabama? I've got to say, right now, since Oregon has had its chance against an SEC titan in a title game - give the 'NEERs a shot.  If they go unscathed through the season it means they will beat #6 Kansas State in Morgantown and #13 (for now) Oklahoma in Norman. Let's face it, the Sooners have another huge loss ahead of them. It ALWAYS happens.


Poll Perplexities

Looking at the coaches poll this week:

1. USC, on the strength of its shaky wins over Utah and Cal, and its loss to Stanford, sits comfortably at #9, 8 spots ahead of...one loss Stanford.
2. Georgia, on the strength of its wins over Buffalo, Mizzou (3-3), Florida Atlantic, Vanderbilt, and Tennessee, and its shellacking at the hands of South Carolina, merits a #12 ranking ahead of #14 Oregon State which is undefeated with wins over two ranked teams and Arizona.
3. Oklahoma is ranked #10 because it beat UTEP, Florida A&M, and Texas Tech and lost to Kansas State.

A Serious Note

One of our own, Springfield Atoms, suffered a loss when his father passed away unexpectedly this week. He is personal friends with a few of the players that brought him in and I've had the pleasure to get to know him over the years he's played in this pool. Please keep him and his family in your thoughts and prayers.