VICTORY!

Again, this is a homer post.  Again, I don’t care.  It’s my blog, I do what I want with it.

Like I wrote on Thursday and had posted on Friday (internet problems again?  Really?), I was too excited about the Mizzou-Oklahoma to even think about anything else, except a few Blues games.

So mostly for my own records, I’m going to recount my 36 hours or so, just for when Mizzou does eventually lose I can come back to this and remember just how perfect things really went.

Preview: Blog Poll Top 25

I thought I’d put up a quick post previewing the top 25 rankings that Bryan and I will be submitting for this week’s College Football Blog Poll. Obviously there is a big game tomorrow night between Boise State and Virginia Tech, who we ranked second and seventh last week respectively. So while putting up an entire top 25 would be rather pointless, I’m going to point out some thoughts on what will be changing from the rankings we submitted last week because of the games from yesterday. If you need a reminder of what our top 25 looked like for the preseason when we submitted it to the Blog Poll, just click here.

My thoughts in quick-hit, bullet point form after the jump:

WaB’s Thoughts on Conference Realignment

CAUSES

There has been lots of talk lately about possible conference realignment involving teams from almost every major conference in existence.  Unfortunately, I have been left without the benefit of the internet to help me with this post so you will truly be getting my completely uninformed speculation about what all is happening.  I have no inside information, but I like to think I’ve read enough articles to have some idea about what is going on.  There’s plenty of propaganda running around out there and tons of articles written with heavy bias so sifting through it all is not easy.  Plus, I’ve tried to set aside my own Missouri bias to see the facts; whether or not I’ve done a good job…well that’s for you to decide.

Bombshell

I considered not posting about this until tomorrow.  I had every intention of putting up the third Rookie Review tonight but then word came down that Lane Kiffin was bolting from Tennessee to Southern California.

I’m just shocked that this happened.  Lane Kiffin had me believing that he actually cared about Tennessee and about Tennessee football.  Obviously, he is a liar.  He lied to recruits, he lied to their parents, he lied to fans, he lied to everyone.  I hope he never wins another football game again.  Ever.

Congratulations to Alabama

I’m sure much ink will be spilled about Colt McCoy’s injury and how it affected the outcome of tonight’s National Championship Game.  I don’t really want to do that, though it’s very similar to a championship boxing match being stopped in the first round.  Garret Gilbert did a great job in McCoy’s absence but the game was already over.  It didn’t help that Texas’ wide receivers couldn’t catch anything.

If I’m being completely truthful, I flipped over to the Blues game just before halftime.  Blues-Ducks was much more interesting than Tide-Horns for me.  Anyway, congratulations to the Tide.  They stopped the media crush on Tim Tebow, so I can’t hate them too much.

Fiesta Bowl…Kind Of. (And Other Stuff!)

Tonight was the annual Tostitos Fiesta Bowl which pitted two undefeated teams, Boise State and TCU, against one another.  I know the game ended 17-10 and came down to a final drive, blah blah blah…but was I the only one who was bored?  I just couldn’t get into it.  I caught the very end of the fake punt, which from what I understand was the best play of the game.  My fiancee tried to change the channel several times and normally she enjoys watching the good games.  Heck, she usually enjoys watching the mediocre games.  Maybe it was just our apartment that didn’t feel like watching football tonight, I don’t know.

My Heisman Ballot

I’m headed off to the Missouri basketball game in a few minutes so I won’t be around for the actual presentation but I can still give my ballot.  Truth be told, I don’t care who wins this award, it’s rarely given to the right player.  I’ll cut right to the chase here because I’m walking out the door…here’s my ballot if I’m voting:

1. Ndamukong Suh – Nebraska – If the award is for the best player, this is a no-brainer.

2. Toby Gerhart – Stanford – Eye popping stats for this running back make him number two.

3. Mark Ingram – Alabama – I just never jumped on the “best player on the best team” bandwagon.  Doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to me.  Still, Ingram is in the Top 3.

4. Colt McCoy – Texas – If I was picking based on who I wanted to win, McCoy would be the choice.

5. CJ Spiller – Clemson – It’s a shame that Tim Tebow is at this presentation while Spiller is not.

Alright, I’ve Had Enough

Big 12 Commissioner Dan Beebe

For once, I am actually okay with the BCS.  I don’t like the Fiesta Bowl, but overall, I’m happy.  First, give the mid-majors a chance against one of the big boys.  Second, TCU and Boise St. played in last year’s Poinsettia Bowl with TCU prevailing 17-16.  We don’t need a rematch.  But no, this is not what this post is about.  This post is down to a more personal level.  I’m a Missouri fan and I’m sick of the Big 12.

For the third year in a row it was announced that Mizzou was going to a lower bowl than we deserve.  Three years ago we trounced Arkansas in the Cotton Bowl while Kansas, who we beat 36-28, went to the Orange Bowl.  Last year we beat Northwestern in the Alamo Bowl while Nebraska, who we beat 52-17, went to the Gator Bowl.  Now this year, we’re headed to the Texas bowl against Navy while 6-6 Iowa State will head to the Insight.com Bowl and 6-6 Texas A&M takes on Georgia in the Independence Bowl.  We’re 8-4 and beat Iowa State 34-24 just a few  short weeks ago.  There is no excuse for two 6-6 teams to jump an 8-4 for bowl placement.  None.

But the Insight.com Bowl is trying.

The Coaching Carousel

Charlie Weis has already been let go by Notre Dame

Every year it happens, a big name program fires a big name coach.  This year, some big name programs are firing some big name coaches and some programs are just firing big coaches (and some are doing both).

This part always interests me because it means programs get a whole new look.  No two coaches do things the same way, and it’s a complete craps hoot unless you get a proven guy in there and there aren’t many coaches who can claim to be proven.  Some coaches are good at recruiting and terrible at coaching (see: Zook, Ron).  Some coaches don’t have to recruit because their school does it for them (a la Pete Carroll).  I like to imagine his recruiting pitch being a whole lot like Peter Griffin’s anti-smoking speech before Congress.  I think that’s pretty accurate.

Anyway, two coaches that I know of have already been fired: Notre Dame’s Charlie Weis and Louisville’s Steve Kragthorpe. One more is on thin ice: Kansas’ Mark Mangino (funny visual there) and one has voluntarily retired: Florida State’s Bobby Bowden.

Now it’s my turn to throw out the names of who I think would be the best fit for each school and who I think will actually be hired.

College Football Week 5 – All the Good Teams Have Byes Edition

I’ll admit, I have watched very little college football today.  It seems like I’m only getting Big 10 games on the TV and that’s like watching grass grow.  Instead, I’ve been watching hockey’s opening weekend, namely my Blues two-game sweep of the geriatric Red Wings.  So now I’ll look in on whatever games are on right now and make snap judgments without seeing any highlights.

Can we finally stop saying Michigan is a good team?  One win over an overrated Notre Dame team does not make a team good.

Will the real Iowa please stand up?  They had another close call with an inferior opponent in 1-3 Arkansas State.  I really think they just have Penn State’ s number but they’ll have a hard time beating anyone else.