The Hybrid: This Week Looked Cool, But I'll Tell You Why The Outcome Is Gonna Suck

After last week's low key-ness, I was really hoping this week would be one of the more marquee ones. Alas, this will not happen... despite what everyone (including myself as recent as last week) thinks. This will not happen for two reasons.

Least importantly...

1) Michigan lost to MSU last week: Michigan was clearly overrated in the polls, and MSU exposed them last week. Fair enough. But the Wolverine loss takes a lot of luster out of the Iowa-Michigan game this week. I actually thought about attending, but I guess I lost the desire. Factoring out some fourth quarter heroics, Michigan hasn't shown any sort of consistent offense against a Big Ten defense, and this year, Iowa is as good as it gets. Even if the game is close, it'll probably be boring. Will I watch the whole thing? Of course, but I've got two teams in it and I'm invested. What I'm saying is this: a great game isn't close to a sure thing.

Much more importantly...

2) Tebow. Ruins. Everything.: Florida-LSU was supposed to be this week's savior game. Now? Not so much. I think LSU beating Georgia last week was actually a bad thing. The victory perpetuated the myth that the Tigers are a Top 5 team, which they're not. I almost would have liked to see them fall to Georgia which would have immensely upped their "nothing to lose" mentality going into the Florida game. Didn't happen. Now, what will end up being billed as 'two juggernauts fighting it out!' is in all actuality more like 'one juggernaut and a team of a few great guys and some good ones...fighting it out!'

So "eh" on the pre-game hype. As for the outcome.

I'd hate to give the floor to Shanoff, especially on anything Florida/Tebow related, but he makes a great (read: awful when you think about how correct it is) point about this week's big game..."Win-Lose, Play-Don't Tebow's Injury Transcends Game Outcome":

LSU beats Florida without Tebow? "Yeah, but the Gators didn't have Tebow."

Florida beats LSU without Tebow? "Wow, the Gators won even without Tebow."

LSU beats Florida with Tebow? "Yeah, but Tebow was not Tebow."

Florida beats LSU with Tebow? "What CAN'T Tebow do?"

He's totally right. This sucks.

So the context of the outcome is bad, regardless. Combined with the fact Urban listed Tebow as a "game time decision" when he knows god damned well if Tebow is going to play or not. The speculation will run rampant all the way up until kickoff. This game has entered the Vikings-Packers game where you just. want. to. watch. it, but it's best not to think about it until the ball is physically kicked off. The pre-game coverage is just too lethal.

I'll end with this: despite my incessant bitching, I really am going to do my best to head into this weekend with some optimism. But, yeah, we'll see.

Quick, Selective Hits On The AP Top 25

1) Florida - I really love aspects of Urban Meyer as a coach, who doesn't enjoy a ballhawking defense?, Florida's play makers are stunning, and I've never had a problem getting behind talented teams in the past (USC, OU, etc.)... so why do I want to see them lose so badly?

Oh yeah... Shanoff and Tebow.

2) Texas - They need to get great at everything to be able to knock off Florida. I get the feeling that I'll be writing a "this really was a two-team college football season all along" column intro sooner rather than later.

3) Alabama - I still haven't seen enough of them. I hope they're good for real.

4) LSU - You want to prove you're good? Just win. Win this week and that's it, that's that.

5) Virginia Tech
6) Boise State

7) USC - How the hell are they ranked so high?! Didn't they just lose? This is insane. They'll be vaulting Boise State in less than a month from the looks of it.

The dynasty.

8) Cincinnati - The best team in Ohio? Yes? No?

9) Ohio State - Boring and beaten.

10) TCU

11) Miami (FL) - Man, if they just somehow could still be unbeaten. Where would they be ranked at this point? No. 2? No 1????!

12) Iowa - Does the cachet of beating Michigan -- even when Michigan is more up and down than they are dominant -- put Iowa into the Top 10 next week?

13) Oregon - Lurking, lurking, lurking... if that's actually possible from a Top 15 team. Every push they make this year enhances Boise State's resume that much more.

14) Penn State - You have got to be kidding me. How? I think at least 10 of these last 11 teams could beat Penn State on a neutral field.

15) Oklahoma State - Dez Bryant... he gone!

16) Kansas

17) Auburn - You're undefeated? Cool! Welcome.

18) Brigham Young

19) Oklahoma - The Sooners are 2-2. I probably have more sympathy for this team than anyone outside of the actual OU fan base, but they just can't be ranked this high yet. It's unfair to the teams that, you know, have actually won games instead of cruising on reputation and "what if this guy comes back!" potential.

20) Mississippi
21) Nebraska
22) Georgia Tech

23) South Florida - Interesting story I heard about on PTI today: the South Florida billboard situation (via the Sporting News). USF Coach Jim Leavitt's reaction to it is pretty great.

24) Missouri
25) South Carolina
 
Any Sweet Games This Weekend?

Florida (1) at LSU (4) - Given team rankings and national buzz, does this have a shot to be thee college football game of the regular season? In the off-season, it was a lock to be OU-Texas, but oh-so much has changed.

Still, LSU is so meh. The ranking feels so padded, and the game feels just slightly tarnished by that. As for Florida's chances, I asked my sports editor at The Trentonian, Matt Osborne (big Florida fan) for his take:

Death Valley is one of the toughest places in the country to play, especially at night. The noise will be deafening, which will be a big factor in the Tim Tebow game-time decision. He may not be able to keep his mind straight with all that noise.

Florida is right back where it was in 1997, when the Gators went to LSU ranked No. 1 and lost, 28-21. Gator fans have had this game circled since last year as the one that could stop them from the first undefeated team in school history.

Good, tough defenses are usually slump-proof, as LSU knows all too well with some of the teams they have had in recent years. This will be a hard-hitting game, all the more reason to keep Tebow on the sidelines.

That said, my gut feeling is that Florida's defense guts this one out. It won't be pretty to watch, but the defense lifts John Brantley and the offense past the Tigers - just barely.

I've gotta say, his analysis fired me up for the game quite a bit. We must keep high hopes, people.

Michigan at Iowa (12) - We'll do our best.

Nebraska (21) at Missouri (24) - Eh, kinda boring.

Alabama (3) at Mississippi (20) - Nice little test for 'Bama. It's important they harden up before they face Florida. This game could be sneaky good, at least for a half or so.

Big Ten Rant

So Juice got benched. I was going to say "I'm really surprised this isn't a bigger story," but in all reality, I have no idea if it's a big story or not. Gotta assume it's blowing up in Champaign.

Still, totally nuts. I mean, this season seems somewhat lost already. So Zook, are you really doing actual good by benching a four-year starter? The same kid who is responsible in a lot of ways for resurrecting your coaching reputation?

To get better perspective, I asked my friend Dom, a high school teacher and huge U of I fan, about his thoughts:

I think a quarterback change was relatively expected after three incredibly disappointing games, albeit against some very difficult competition, to start the season. But when you start off the season on the fringe of the top 25 and fall to 1-3, with that one win coming in a game against a DI-AA team (with your back-up quarterback playing the vast majority of the game), then it shouldn't come as too much of a surprise.

My only problem with the change is that I kind of think Jacob Charest may be a better option. He's behind Eddie McGee on the depth chart, but he's more of a pure quarterback than both Juice or McGee. I think, at this point, it might be better to play the quarterback of the future to gain some experience in games that still (for now at least) have some meaning as opposed to playing Juice Williams II. Zook's a pretty loyal guy though, and McGee's been the definition of a team player.

All in all, it's not the big deal some people are making it out to be. For those that argue that Zook's using Juice as the scapegoat, Juice isn't being singled out; plenty of changes have been made elsewhere too. Changes are made in any sport at any position when things don't go as expected; I don't see why this would be any exception.

Maybe it's not about Juice or McGee. Maybe it should just be about young Jacob Charest.


College Football Bandwagon

Every year, once my actual favorite teams have been eliminated from the national title picture (by, you know, losing just one game), my buddy Ryan and I create what we call the "College Football Bandwagon" which mostly consists of a list of all the undefeated BCS conference teams minus Notre Dame (and this year, Florida). The goal of the CFB is to fake feel good about yourself when your "team" makes the national championship. Plus it gives you invested rooting interests.

College Football Bandwagon 2009
N/A -- Michigan bit the dust this past weekend, so all that separates from us and the bandwagon is Iowa's undefeated season.

Dan Shanoff

I'm a long time reader of Shanoff, he's probably in my Top 5 online sportswriters, and he's usually the first thing I read every morning, but as a national columnist, his Florida bias has gotten out of control in recent years (most notably acknowledging no case for Michigan to play for the national title in '06 and creating TimTeblog.com in '09). We'll use this space to make fun of him when he says insane UF stuff which usually happens weekly.

Shanoff, last Thursday, on the ESS EEE SEE:

Consequently, for leagues seeking to replicate what makes the SEC successful, here's the secret: Arrogance.

Yeah, no arguments here.

Before an earnest ode to his wife last Friday, Shanoff stirred the waters a little bit with a semi-cocky Florida over LSU (without Tebow) pick:

Tebow Watch: John Brantley is prepping like he is starting a week from Saturday. More on this next week, but I think the Gators can beat LSU at LSU with Brantley at QB, rather than Tebow. Brantley is solid, plus the Gators' sick D, RBs and special teams -- more than enough to win games.

Really, DS? Really?! I thought Tebow was -- and I'm quoting you -- "the biggest superstar in the history of college football."

Commenter mangledaxle calls him quite fast:

...so as you say "plus the Gators' sick D, RBs and special teams -- more than enough to win games." is true, then how great is Tebow? Maybe he's just a good player who is lucky enough to play on great teams. I guess we'll see how important Tebow is to Florida if they play LSU without him.

Very interesting point to be made about Tebow's legacy here. If the UF defense is as godly and great as some pundits say, does that mean Tebow is just a replaceable cog in the system? I'm grasping at straws here to find Tebow negatives, but if this defense is Miami in the early 00s good, it certainly will give Tebow a lot less of a legacy down the line -- especially if multiple guys can go on to have successful NFL careers... something Timmy's not exactly guaranteed of having quite yet.

What They Said -- A Take On Others' CFB Takes

We're double dipping from Doc Saturday and BHGP this week.

1) The headline of the week:
He sure is, Pat. He sure is.

Random Picture I Came Across While Googling For This Post



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Signing off.