Sunday, November 04, 2007

Sunday 11/04 (Very) Quickie: Who's No. 2?

The question of the day in college football: Who's No. 2?

With Boston College losing, the door is open for a new contender to reach the BCS Top Two. The presumption is that Ohio State will be No. 1 (although many -- including me -- don't think they should be there). So who will it be... and who SHOULD it be?

Oregon? LSU? Kansas? Oklahoma? West Virginia?

The list is narrowing, and every one of those six contenders has a red-letter game against a very tough opponent -- including Ohio State, which should make no presumptions about a spot in the BCS until they beat a Michigan team that is seemingly on a mission.

For the record, my top two this week on my BlogPoll ballot will be LSU and Oregon, in that order, with Ohio State at No. 3 and Kansas at No. 4. Like most of the nation, I didn't watch the Buckeyes play, but I did watch both LSU and Oregon and both are better than the Buckeyes.

-- D.S.

48 comments:

Justin Kadis said...

LSU barely won...again

Oregon won by a safe margin

Ohio State hasn't lost and covered the spread...again

I'd put OSU 1 and Oregon 2

David Kippe said...

sigh, sniffle sniffle. why? why? why? Why do we have to choke games away like this? this freakin losers mentality is retarded! why are you hitting a guy out of bounds who is almost sitting down on the bench?

futurelegendvinceyoung said...

Wow LSU better than Ohio St. I have not been impressed this year with LSU. They may have the most talent in the country but Les Miles is not a good coach and they be one of the most undisciplined teams in the country. How many penalties did they have last night? I know you hate OSU but when are you going to give them some credit for being undefeated? The top 2 teams right now are tOSU and Oregon. Even though Oregon and LSU both have bad losses to Cal and Kentucky.

As a Nebraska alum this season has gone from making me angry to just shaking my head at how sad they are. 76 points to freakin Kansas. Callahan is setting all the wrong records and if they fire him today it won't be soon enough.

Steve said...

LSU are posers.

1 Ohio St.
2 Oregon
3 West Virginia
4 Kansas
5 LSU

Dan, stop basing you ballot on simple hatred. You say Ohio St. hasn't beaten anyone good and therefore aren't that good, yet you don't even watch their game. Isn't that what's wrong with media voters? Preconceived biases? In your case your love for the SEC blinds you to the fact that LSU is a very poorly coached team.

jhawkjjm said...

I wasn't very impressed with LSU last night. They very easily could have 3 losses right now.

We might also be heading towards a situation where a BCS conference has an undefeated team that gets left out of the BCS title game. Should Kansas win out by beating OU in the Big XII title game, they'll have significant wins over OU and Missouri. However I don't see them jumping either LSU or Oregon if they win out. This could be the best thing to happen to the BCS.

SF said...

LSU squeaks by again. OSU blows out another pretty decent team in Wisco. Alabama is no monster and they put up 30+ points on LSU's "shut-down" defense. I hate OSU with a passion, but they are comfortably beating everybody in their path. While LSU might have more talent, OSU, with Sweater-Vest (a.k.a Tressel) are the best-coached and most disciplined team in the country. The poll should read, OSU, Oregon, LSU.

Also, I am not sure why Oklahoma is getting so much love. They lost to a terrible Colorado team, and have had a few other uninspiring efforts along the way.

Go Blue (they will need all the help they can get the rest of the way)

p.s. Looking at the Big 10 standings, it is now a lock (even if Michigan loses to Wisco) that the Big Game in Ann Arbor will be for the Big 10 title and a trip to the Rose Bowl.

Geoff said...

I really don't think LSU is all that good. They struggle almost every week. I think OSU could shut them down and I think the Ducks are better than both OSU and LSU.

pv845 said...

You have LSU at the top when they barely win? Stop taking the SEC happy pills. The SEC is weak and LSU is a huge poser.

As others have said, you claim that OSU is overrated and you haven't even watched them play. SO how can you say this from the box score? Was it the 17 points they gave up? LSUck gave up 34.

Seriously, I thought you were nuts when you started the UF Danwagon, but you love of all things SEC now just looks retarded.

Unknown said...

Dan you are entitled to your opinion of course, but I just want to know who these "many others" are that agree with you that Ohio State isn't number 1??? It's not last year, and whatever happened at the end of last year shouldn't be factored into what is happening this year, the fact simply is Ohio State is taking care of its business week in and week out, and LSU for one week, did not. Speaking as a fan of an SEC team(certainly not UF for the record) OSU belongs at no.1 until they lose.

kway34 said...

Are you sure you don't want to put Georgia and Auburn at #2 and #3? Just because LSU beat Florida does not make them the best team...

Joey said...

Dan, all I can say is you clueless and in danger of losing a lot of readers of your blog. How can you know anything about OSU if you don't watch them play. LSU is not that good.

The only reason I continue to come here is for the comments. The posters in here are much more informed and don't have general mistakes every single day.

SF said...

And for the record, I am not saying that LSU could not and would not beat OSU, all I am saying is that right now, I do not think Dan is justified in saying that LSU deserves the top spot over OSU. I think a game betwen LSU's talent and OSU's grit and coaching would be unreal. Oregon is damn good too. So is Kansas.

Travis said...

OK a few things...

Dan how can you say LSU and Oregon are better then Ohio State after saying you didn't see Ohio State play?

Anyone else want to see Dr. Tom on the sideline this weekend?

eska said...

definitive statements usually require examination of the evidence, but hey, you're a blogger, not a journalist.

colorado is mediocre this year, up from terrible last year.

having watched lsu and many other sec games, i must say they do not impress me anymore than the pac 10 or big 12 this year.

CMFost said...

My Top 5
1 Ohio State
2 Oregon
3 Kansas
4 LSU
5 West Virginia

CMFost said...

Oh yeah,and did I not say that FSU would beat BC.

jhawkjjm said...

I can actually forgive Dan for not seeing OSU, at least yesterday. The Big 10 is hurting themselves with the Big 10 network. Yesterday would have been a good game to show OSU against a ranked team, but no it put on a network not available to a large portion of the country. I've only seen OSU once this year (in KC area- Big 12 area) once and that was the game against Penn State I believe.

This is the same thing that has happened to Oregon this year. I can only remember 2 of their games being on, and ESPN had to negotiate with the Pac 10 to get the rights to last night's game. I wouldn't have seen it otherwise because of the Missouri-Colorado game. Without the exposure it will be more difficult to determine whether these teams are for real or not.

setherton22 said...

I would have a lot more respect for Dan's blog if he just called it an SEC blog and not tried to act like it was a national sports thing.

Let's compare OSU and LSU at quarterback, the most important position on the field:

Todd Boeckman had a 160.7 QB rating, Matt Flynn 122.4. Flynn has had one game all year with a rating as high as Boeckman's AVERAGE rating.

Boeckman's completion % is 65.8%, Flynn hasn't had a completion percentage that high in any ONE game all season.

Each have 8 picks, but Boeckman has 23 TDs to Flynn's 11.

Last year, you could argue that between Tebow and Leak that FLA had as good of QB as Ohio St, and their defense was better. Not so with LSU this year.

setherton22 said...

Don't forget, when you rip on OSU for this year over last year's BCS title game, that their second best player got hurt on the 1st play of the game.

Supposedly, Tressel had a game plan when Ginn was going to take the snap in the first 5-10 plays of the game, and had all kinds of tricks planned for that fast FLA front 7. He went down and the game plan was bust; they had to run the base offense, seemed generally flustered and confused, which was at least partially from Ginn going down.

Unknown said...

LSU barely beat a very average 'Bama team.
Had LSU lost, you'd still have them at #2.


the worst part is that you admit that you don't watch Ohio State, and you don't care to. Cmon Dan! You're regressing to your ESPN roots!!

Unknown said...

Actually, if Kansas runs the table, including beating Oklahoma, they'd be a top 2 team in the BCS, imo.

Ohio State v Kansas for the National Title?
...

Interesting

(for the record, my top 5 is:
Ohio State
Oregon
LSU
Kansas
Oklahoma)

Johnny b said...

oh come on everybody

While LSU is barely winning, they're playing against a tough as Chuck Norris SEC. They beat Tim Tebow, AKA Superman after all, and the best 3 lost team in the nation. Ohio State just blows people out in the weak as Arod in the playoffs Big Ten (plus 1). They're nowhere nearly as battle tested as LSU so they must be worse.

End Sarcasm

CorrND said...

"Like most of the nation, I didn't watch the Buckeyes play, but I did watch both LSU and Oregon and both are better than the Buckeyes."

Who can take you seriously when you say things like that?

The heroin sheik said...

I really don't think any team is really good enough to make a legit claim at #1. Then again I haven't seen Kansas or OSU play. I liked Dan's idea of a 6 week playoff he proposed on Deadspin the other day. I just think that this year is so screwy with how everyone seems to be so mediocre that it will make for an interesting bowl season. Still imagine if we had the old bowl system with conference tie-ins and such. there would be no way any team could make a legit claim at being the best. However an OSU Oregon Rose bowl would probably be the de facto natl championship game in such a scenario.

Biff said...

Either you have the opinion that the entire season is a "playoff" and have to vote OSU 1st, OR you should be supporting the concept of a true 16-team playoff, and say "We'll see who is better after they play each other." Saying one team is "better" than the other without actually having them play each other is the STUPIDEST thing in the world.

I hate the BC$, I hate their stupid poll, I hate the politics involved in the media and coaches polls. I hate the fact that Division IA football is the only sport in the whole freaking world where you can go undefeated in the pre-season and the post-season and not win a championship.

I hate the posturing and speculation. Let's just put the 11 conference champions with 5 at-large teams into a 16-team playoff. The playoffs go for 4 weeks starting the saturday before Christmas (when bowls are already starting) and go through mid January.

Winner takes all...

danwise1856 said...

I would like to know what Dan's reaction will be if OSU does beat Michigan, "OSU does not deserve to be #1. They beat no one and dont start with Michigan, they lost to Appy State."

Is that about right? Come on DS, please provide an in-depth look at why you think OSU does not deserve to be #1 other then you did not watch them?


Here is a question. Say OSU wins out and every other team loses two games going into the bowl games. Then OSU loses on a last second play to Oregon, LSU, etc... how would the voters react?

Would OSU still be #1 based on a better overall season, losing a tough game where everyone else lost twice?

Brad said...

Dan, I used to take your OSU and Big Ten bashing with a grain of salt. You're entitled to your opinion and if you want to slurp the SEC that's fine. But your latest post just show's how much of a moron you are.

1) LSU, 2) Oregon, 3) OSU????
Are you F$*#ing kidding me?!?!?!?

I'm sure if Florida was undefeated you would NEVER, EVER rank a 1-loss team ahead of them.

You seem to think that going undefeated in college football is easy, but only if it's OSU. Well, if it's so easy to go undefeated, then how come no one in your precious SEC is undefeated??

You say that Ohio St. hasn't beat anyone good yet. But then they go on the road and beat a ranked Penn St. team. Then they convincingly beat a ranked Wisconsin team and they continue to get worse in your mind? Where's the logic in that?

Just because Florida has lost 3 games doesn't mean you need to keep acting like a bitch. Maybe you should take your dick out of Tebow's ass long enough to actually watch OSU play.

If they finish the season 12-0, they are the #1 team. No questions asked!! Maybe for your next birthday you should ask for a brain...

The Mark Show said...

It's amazing to me that you people whine and cry every week when Dan does his usual Ohio State bashing. He's not gonna change his mind and he has no influence on that fact that Ohio State is, in all the polls, the number 1 team in the country so why get riled up?

David Kippe said...

i can careless for OSU, but I will love to see them win just so I can see Dan eat crow

danwise1856 said...

One of the main criteria, IMO, for ranking a team is going on the road. Lets look at LSU this year shall we.

Tulane in New Orleans (does that actually qualify as a road game)
- Did not even need to get on a plane

Kentucky - This looked like a quality road game until Kentucky lost at home to Florida and Miss St
- However, I have to give them credit, they actually had to get on a plane to play

Alabama - This one I will give them credit for however, Alabama had so much more on the line then LSU

Ole Miss - This is like Oklahoma playing Baylor, does it even count as a road game

Compare that to both Oregon and Ohio State and it so a no brainer. LSU - PLAY someone on the road. I know next year you go to Florida and Auburn. Great, that is next year.

OSU #1
Oregon #2
Oklahoma #3
West Virginia/LSU #4/5

starkweather said...

Dan, I'm dying to see the SEC destroy the Big 10 again, and I love Oregon (my favorite team to watch this year, btw) but I think right now I actually have to put Ohio State #1 and Kansas #2. Saying they've "played nobody" is dis-ingenuous - Hawaii has played nobody. I'd put Oregon over LSU, West Virginia at #5, Oklahoma #6. And, hey, I've watched at least one game from all those teams!

Side bar: Where is the love for the Big 12, a conference featuring a grand total of one team I can even sort of stand (Texas Tech)? They have 4 teams with a legit claim to top-10 status, and a guy having one of the best freshman seasons of all time (TT's Michael Crabtree) but no Heisman talk and completely left out of the "best conference" argument. I know Nebraska is horrible but I'm starting to think Jamaal Charles is the best, most "clutch" (shudder. I hate that word more than anything since the first time I heard "edgy") player in the country.

P.S. - I'm predicting Colts by 10 today.

Blakers said...

Hey man, I read your blog pretty frequently and enjoy your content. I guess, like everyone else, don't understand what scraping by an average Alabama team does to impress you....after giving up 34 pts no less.

You may say that's a "solid" team they played on the road in the later half of the season when more is on the line. I would say, rewind the tape one week ago to Happy Valley and find Ohio State winning 37-17 against another "solid" team on the road in front of 107,000.

Maybe I'm alone on this...but I don't think Alabama is superior to Penn state at this point.

Nelvis said...

Man you gotta get off your anti-Ohio St. kick. Those guys are kicking asses and taking names. LSU has the talent to beat 5-6 teams in the NFL, but that have a average coach in Les Miles. There was no reason for them to struggle aganist Alabama, but the Tide had a better coach.

Its not Ohio St's fault that the SEC is so "tough" that LSU will have no team on their schedule (besides VA Tech) that hasn't lost more 3 games. If the teams in the hunt win out (Kansas and OU play in the title game) there's no way in hell LSU should even be #3 in the BCS.

My top 5
1. Ohio St.
2. Oregon
3. Kansas
4. LSU
5. Oklahoma

Unknown said...

Well, for weeks now, Dan has spewed forth his babble about how the Pats are by far the best team in the NFL. While there is no doubt about that, they only beat the colts by 4, so how many people wanna take the bet that Dan won't eat any humble pie by saying that he was wrong about them winning by 30, are that there is such a HUGE difference between them and all other teams?
Let's face it, the Colts and the Pats are THE two premiere teams in the NFL, and difference isn't that great...particularly considering the Colts were without 3 starters...

Mike said...

Fuck CMfrost and Dan Shanoff for their "37-3" and "30 point win" predictions respectively. But hey, according to cmfrost hes not a homer because the patriots won.

Steph said...

All I have to say is O~H~I~O!!!! GO Bucks! Real football players bleed scarlet and gray.

The Mark Show said...

Woo! That game was intense. Addai freaking KILLED the Pats and Colts defense really had Brady out of rhythm. Glad to see the Pats gut that one out even though they struggled for a lot of the game. Great win, great game. See you in the playoffs, Indy!,

Travis said...

how about the petheticness of the officiating in the game>

Absolouty horrible.

Johnny b said...

I was hoping somebody would notice that too travis; they did an absurdly poor job in that game. i still don't know if they were incompetent or trying to pile on the patriots; some of those interference calls were head scratching to say the least

The Mark Show said...

The officiating was terrible.

Natsfan74 said...

In our picks pool, where we have to rank the games for points, I gave max points to the Pats winning today. Man, that was scary.

But, for the record, I also picked FSU, Oregon, tOSU, and Virginia this week-end.... in Friday's blog.

Matt said...

honestly i dont even care about shanoff and his bullshit anymore. his hypocracy continues to grow by the day. fuck him and fuck all the osu haters. LSU hasnt beaten anyone good, oregon is a solid 2. fuck shanoff and his bullshit comments. go get in a all SEC gangbang and make sure tebow saves the money shot right for your face

marcomarco said...

@ david

Perhaps. But, a Win is a win, and things will be much different during a New England January.

Officials definately had Indy +5.

I was slightly off of my 52-31 predicition. Couldn't imagine that both teams would've ran so much.

Indy's D is very good, probably underrated. That being said, the Pats D probably had their best game this season, penalties and all.

Evil Bill triumphs over Good Dungee. Eff Easterbrook.

"Your feeble skills are no match for the power of the Dark Side."
- The Emperor, 1983.

pv845 said...

After the latest BCS rankings, is there any love for the Big XII? 4 teams in the top 6. Don't have that in the vaunted SEC!

Matt said...

lsu needed a gift wrapped to to beat bama and osu thumps wisky but yet lsu is the better team??? great defense lsu

fuck the sec

john (east lansing, mi) said...

pv845 -
I'm pretty bad at counting, but I've tried and tried and I only get 3. Is Ohio State, Oregon, or LSU the 4th Big XII team?

Furthermore, I hate the Big XII so much because super-shitty teams make somewhat-shitty teams look great. Fuck Nebraska in 1997 (and the lousy 11 teams that made them look good), and fuck Nebraska now, for bending over and making Kansas look like a Steve Spurrier Florida team.

Furtherfurthermore, Dan is just a joker at this point. Settle down everyone - there's no way in the damn universe that anyone could seriously say "I didn't watch the Buckeyes play, but I did watch both LSU and Oregon and both are better than the Buckeyes," and actually mean it, especially given the lucksack ways LSU needs to win, even in the pathetic SEC.



...is there?

john (east lansing, mi) said...

P.S. - I told you Matt Ryan sucked.

Darklawdog said...

Dan Shanoof you are a flippen moron.

OSU #1

Oregon #2

And for all who say Florida is the best 3 loss team in the country. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. Who gives a fuck about 3 loss teams.