Reminder, go here to participate or lurk on a chat among and with some of your favorite Big East bloggers.

There won’t be a liveblog for the City Game. I just don’t trust that between the streaming video feed and trying to do a liveblog, I wouldn’t spend half the game rebooting and re-launching. That or my laptop might just fry itself.

Assuming the game ends around 9 tonight, head over to the Syracuse blog, Orange 44. Brian will be hosting a confab of some of the Big East bloggers. Tonight’s line-up consists of:

— Brian Harrison of the aforementioned, Orange 44.

— Sean Keeley, another Syracuse fellow from the recently rennovated Troy Nunes.

— John Radcliff, the man from Mountainlair.

— And myself (though, unless Pitt is killing the Stage Magicians, not until the final whistle).

It will be about all things Big East. From the wrap-up of football season to the emerging Armageddon of Big East basketball.

We will be discussing things and taking questions in a moderated (so keep it clean) chat. Expect plenty of snark, sarcasm, bitterness and maybe even an insight or two.

So, not a bad weekend.

Rank	Team	Delta
1	Oklahoma	—
2	Alabama	—
3	Florida	—
4	Texas	1
5	Texas Tech	1
6	Southern Cal	—
7	Utah	—
8	Penn State	—
9	Ohio State	—
10	Boise State	—
11	Cincinnati	2
12	Ball State	—
13	Oklahoma State	2
14	TCU	3
15	Oregon	5
16	Georgia Tech	5
17	Brigham Young	2
18	Georgia	4
19	Missouri	4
20	Pittsburgh	5
21	Oregon State	5
22	Michigan State	—
23	Boston College	3
24	Northwestern	—
25	West Virginia	7

Texas and Texas Tech flip-flopped, but that was about it for my top-10. Really the Tech struggle against Baylor was  a classic hangover performance, but it does matter.

I know, the big meme is Oklahoma or Texas and how can anyone put Oklahoma ahead of Texas since Texas won head-to-head on a neutral field. I don’t disagree that it matters, but it isn’t the only factor. At least not in a poll where you are ranking the teams.  Not only do I think that Oklahoma is playing better than Texas and that Oklahoma is a better team. I’ll fall back on a favorite in college basketball: non-con strength of schedule.

Texas’ non-con: FAU, Rice, UTEP and Arkansas

Oklahoma’s non-con: TCU, Cinci, Washington, Chattanooga (1-AA)

Oklahoma at least challenged itself in the non-con. Yes, Washington and Chattanooga were worse than FAU and Arkansas. But that was more than offset with TCU and Cinci as compared to UTEP and Rice. I’ll reward putting a couple decent games with some risk on the schedule versus staying with all teams that are well below weight class and have little chance of something going awry.

The ACC is… something. The team playing and looking best — GT isn’t even playing in the ACC Championship game. Just like Georgia last year in the SEC. Must be a Georgia thing. Instead it is BC-VT again. The ACC officials must be thrilled with the Big East afterthoughts to get Miami meeting yet again. Really going to make Tampa a lively place this week.

Pitt didn’t disappoint by being ranked by me last week. Don’t blow it this week when everyone puts you in their blogpoll.

Just a seemingly random rotation in and out of ACC and Big East teams.

Rank	Team	Delta
1	Oklahoma	4
2	Alabama	—
3	Florida	—
4	Texas Tech	3
5	Texas	1
6	Southern Cal	—
7	Utah	—
8	Penn State	—
9	Ohio State	—
10	Boise State	—
11	Oklahoma State	—
12	Ball State	—
13	Cincinnati	3
14	Georgia	—
15	Missouri	2
16	Oregon State	2
17	TCU	2
18	West Virginia	2
19	Brigham Young	4
20	Oregon	2
21	Georgia Tech	5
22	Michigan State	5
23	Florida State	3
24	Northwestern	2
25	Pittsburgh	1

Yes, after Pitt loses I rank them. Nothing to hold it back any longer.

Not that much movement near the top. Other than Texas Tech out at the top, and swapping in Oklahoma to the top spot. The two SEC teams will work themselves out soon enough.

There aren’t 25-top teams. There really aren’t. Way too many 3-loss teams on this list. But that’s because there aren’t that many 1-, 2-loss teams.

Rank	Team	Delta
1	Texas Tech	—
2	Alabama	—
3	Florida	—
4	Texas	—
5	Oklahoma	—
6	Southern Cal	—
7	Utah	—
8	Penn State	—
9	Ohio State	—
10	Boise State	—
11	Oklahoma State	—
12	Ball State	—
13	Missouri	1
14	Georgia	1
15	Brigham Young	—
16	Cincinnati	2
17	Michigan State	—
18	Oregon State	3
19	TCU	—
20	West Virginia	4
21	LSU	1
22	Oregon	4
23	Maryland	3
24	Miami (Florida)	2
25	Connecticut	1

No, not a lot of movement this week. Just not a lot of shake-out in the top half.

Yes, especially this week am I not taking any chances.

It’s bad. That 3-loss teams are making it into the rankings just speaks to the lack of worthy teams.

Rank	Team	Delta
1	Texas Tech	2
2	Alabama	1
3	Florida	2
4	Texas	—
5	Oklahoma	1
6	Southern Cal	1
7	Utah	1
8	Penn State	6
9	Ohio State	2
10	Boise State	—
11	Oklahoma State	2
12	Ball State	2
13	Georgia	1
14	Missouri	2
15	Brigham Young	4
16	North Carolina	10
17	Michigan State	6
18	Cincinnati	2
19	TCU	6
20	Florida State	6
21	Oregon State	4
22	LSU	7
23	California	5
24	West Virginia	7
25	South Carolina	1

You bet I’m not ranking Pitt. They haven’t shown they can handle the success of being ranked in the BlogPoll. Granted there is no rational reason not to rank them. Just irrational fear on my part.

UNC took the biggest leap. I actually like the way they are playing a lot. Butch Davis has gotten results quickly. I just get hesitant to trust them with all of their injuries and an erratic pass defense.

Okay, here’s the latest in my initial ballot for this week’s blogpoll.

Rank	Team	Delta
1	Alabama	1
2	Penn State	1
3	Texas Tech	5
4	Texas	3
5	Florida	2
6	Oklahoma	2
7	Southern Cal	1
8	Utah	1
9	Oklahoma State	3
10	Boise State	—
11	Ohio State	—
12	Georgia	7
13	TCU	—
14	Ball State	—
15	LSU	—
16	Missouri	4
17	West Virginia	2
18	California	6
19	Brigham Young	2
20	Cincinnati	6
21	Georgia Tech	5
22	Northwestern	4
23	Michigan State	3
24	Maryland	2
25	Oregon State	1

I am simply scared to death to rank Pitt at this point.

This is the flattest season in college football I can remember. I can be convinced that any of the final six teams in the rankings shouldn’t be there. The problem is finding a team worthy of being there instead.

We are now 7-8 games into the season. Records really come into play, not just how a team looked in the last or past couple games.

There aren’t 25 teams worth ranking. Maybe 20 teams legitimately should be in the rankings, but then it’s almost random. Teams with horrible warts, bad losses, just big problems. I actually found myself weighing a ranking of Virginia and Maryland. Neither team should be ranked, but I had one spot I had been unable to fill. Ultimately it feels like a crap shoot.

Rank	Team	Delta
1	Texas	—
2	Alabama	—
3	Penn State	—
4	Oklahoma	—
5	Georgia	—
6	Southern Cal	—
7	Florida	—
8	Texas Tech	—
9	Utah	2
10	Boise State	3
11	Ohio State	2
12	Oklahoma State	2
13	TCU	3
14	Ball State	3
15	LSU	3
16	Tulsa	7
17	Minnesota	3
18	Oregon	6
19	West Virginia	7
20	Missouri	1
21	Brigham Young	1
22	Florida State	4
23	South Florida	8
24	California	2
25	Notre Dame	1

Why does Pitt drop out and USF stay? Well, USF lost on the road and it was a close game.

Reasoned arguments always welcome. I drafted this late last night, so there’s a good chance I missed something obvious.

Jon from Bleed Scarlet and I did the Blogger Q&A this week.  You can read my responses to his interrogatories.

Here’s what he had to say in response to my queries.

Obviously Rutgers has to lead with its defense (I’ll get to the offense in a minute). In the last 3 games, the defense has held WVU, Cinci and UConn to all of 17 points in the second half (versus a collective 30 in the first half). This after the defense just appeared to wear out in the first two games. How has the defense been able to stay so strong — even look stronger — in the second half of games, given the amount of time it spends out on the field. Is it simply halftime adjustments or something else?

A lot of the defense’s effectiveness owes to the poor gameplanning or execution by opposing offenses. The way to wear them down isn’t much of a secret – the defensive line averages 260 lbs. The rush does a very good job of getting after pocket passers, but if an opposing team commits to running between the tackles, they’re certain to wear down in the second half, even with Greg Schiano’s constant use of subs on the defensive line. It’s pretty much exactly what RU’s gameplan was on offense during the past three seasons.

As you pointed out, the offense (and some horrific special teams play) have really put the defense in some nearly impossible situations this year. I’m surprised they have been effective as they have been to this point. The defensive line, led by another undersized DT with a big motor in Pete Tverdov, have usually been effective in generating pressure on opposing QBs. The linebackers look far improved this year, and a major reason has been the return of Ryan D’Imperio at MLB from injury. He’s excellent against the run, which has freed up the ouside linebackers to make more plays on the edges.

As good as the front seven has looked at times, the secondary has been a major disappointment. Jason McCourty in particular has made many mistakes in coverage, seemingly biting on every pump fake or double move. Subsequently, the defensive backs have been giving opposing receivers a little more cushion, which let teams like Cincinnati dink and dunk down the field. Safety Courtney Greene has been a little miscast in coverage. That was really the forte of graduated senior Ron Girault. Both Greene and the team’s other top safeties; Lefeged and Kitchen, are all more-suited towards playing inside the box. When the secondary is playing zone coverage, Greene has frequently missed assignments. More importantly, he hasn’t had the freedom to come up with as many big plays as he has in the past. That’s really been a problem for the whole secondary, as they have consistently failed to generate turnovers this year.

On defense, Rutgers lives or dies with the pass rush. If the opposing offense can hold their own in pass protection, it’s a question of when, not if, the coverage downfield will break down.

(more…)

Good god, it’s a mess.

Rank	Team	Delta
1	Texas	1
2	Alabama	1
3	Penn State	—
4	Oklahoma	—
5	Georgia	—
6	Southern Cal	—
7	Florida	—
8	Texas Tech	1
9	Ohio State	2
10	Oklahoma State	3
11	Utah	1
12	LSU	4
13	Boise State	6
14	Pittsburgh	12
15	South Florida	2
16	TCU	10
17	Ball State	3
18	Kansas	4
19	Georgia Tech	6
20	Minnesota	4
21	Missouri	6
22	Brigham Young	10
23	Tulsa	3
24	Oregon	2
25	Virginia Tech	7

Utah didn’t deserve to fall a spot, but Oklahoma St. deserved to be higher. Teams that deserved to fall out, but couldn’t because there was no other team that was worth plugging in, included VT, BYU and Missouri.

I have to admit being very uncomfortable having Pitt so high. I really don’t feel they should be up that high, but there was no one behind them I could say with real certainty should be in front. I do understand why Pitt is lower in most other polls. Looking at body of work — which should be a factor — that BGSU loss has increasingly become a bigger millstone around the team. The Falcons lost again over the weekend to fall to 3-4. There’s no good way to spin a bad home loss like that for purposes of rankings and polls.

Oregon got back into the poll on the bye week, because well, their two losses were at least to ranked team. A close loss to Boise St. and getting abused by USC — the week after Oregon St. upset the Trojans.

Georgia Tech gets a big bounce from all the teams losing. Plus, they pulled out a win over a very emotional Clemson team in Clemson. That counts for something to me, especially with mental toughness. Paul Johnson is doing a great job there.

There’s no way I’m putting Florida St. in there. They may be 5-1, but with 2 1-AA wins and a few close escapes — including the NC State game — they are not good enough.

I hate having Texas Tech that high. I find them an entertaining team, but reality will hit soon. They at least seemed more convincing than LSU.

Last week I noted that BYU just didn’t look like a team to trust. I was right with that. Of course, I was also very high on UNC moving up and then they blew it against Virginia.

As always reasoned arguments are welcome. Just remember, if you think a team should be lower or removed, I need a replacement and/or good reasons why the teams below should be higher.

UPDATE: Here’s what the full draft poll looks like. Pitt comes in at #17 at the moment.

Okay. This week there is some shake-up.

Rank	Team	Delta
1	Alabama	2
2	Texas	3
3	Penn State	3
4	Oklahoma	3
5	Georgia	2
6	Southern Cal	2
7	Florida	4
8	LSU	4
9	Texas Tech	—
10	Utah	5
11	Ohio State	1
12	Brigham Young	2
13	Oklahoma State	13
14	Kansas	—
15	Missouri	13
16	North Carolina	3
17	South Florida	—
18	Virginia Tech	2
19	Boise State	1
20	Ball State	—
21	Wake Forest	1
22	Michigan State	1
23	California	2
24	Minnesota	2
25	Georgia Tech	1

Have to concede that Penn State looks pretty damn good. Yes, they beat up a lot of cupcakes, but they did it without any mercy. Wisconsin may have been overrated, but they had lost two straight and were at home and desperate. PSU just dismantled them.

Okay, now I believe that Oklahoma State is a pretty good team.

Essentially swapped spots for Utah and BYU. The Cougars may have had a final of 21-3 vs. New Mexico, but I actually watched a lot of that game. BYU was very unimpressive at home against a mediocre MWC opponent.

Vandy gets Croomed and out they go. Buh-bye Northwestern.

Another impressive turnaround is coming out of Minnesota as Tim Brewster has that team going after a hideous 1st season.

UNC has lost their starting QB and now their star receiver and return guy. Yet they are still winning. Butch Davis definitely didn’t lose anything as a college coach while doing time in Cleveland and the NFL Network.

As always reasoned arguments about teams will help shape the final ballot.

Texas Tech is uncomfortably unchanged. It’s just that I don’t feel much better about anyone behind them.

Thanks for the constructive comments. I did make some changes from my draft ballot.

Rank	Team	Delta
1	Oklahoma	—
2	Missouri	2
3	Alabama	—
4	LSU	2
5	Texas	—
6	Penn State	1
7	Georgia	1
8	Southern Cal	2
9	Texas Tech	3
10	Brigham Young	1
11	Florida	2
12	Ohio State	2
13	Vanderbilt	5
14	Kansas	1
15	Utah	1
16	Virginia Tech	3
17	South Florida	11
18	Boise State	2
19	North Carolina	7
20	Ball State	1
21	Northwestern	3
22	Wake Forest	1
23	Michigan State	1
24	Georgia Tech	2
25	California	1

It was with some hesitation that I put Cal in at #25. Pac-10 teams outside of USC tend to gak as soon as I trust to put them in the poll.

I thought a bit about having Michigan St. and Northwestern ranked, but feel better about it with the knowledge that one of them will be out when they face each other this weekend.

I ended up swapping LSU and Missouri at #2 and #4. Through schedules and hurricanes, there just hasn’t been enough seen of the Tigers for me to justify keeping that at #2.

According to the final BlogPoll this week, Pitt came in about #29. Up a couple more spots from where they were.

The Navy game is more than 10 days away. Of course with a bye week, there’s plenty of time to wonder.

The game will be on CBS Sports channel (formerly CSTV) at 3:30.

Navy is also off this week, so they will have plenty of time to prepare as well.

The Birddog is the Navy blog to check for all your opposition research.

Oh, and this game is Navy’s homecoming game to boot.

There have been some changes to the BlogPoll (as the logo attached may suggest). Now I need to have a draft on Monday and a final ballot by Wednesday. The idea being that bloggers can be influenced by rational arguments for and against teams. Note that, “you are a flippin’ moron, how can you…” is not an argument that I will find persuasive.

I couldn’t bring myself to pull the trigger on putting Pitt in the ballot. I thought about it, and they are close. Still the body of work so far has not done it. The loss to BGSU is still huge — especially given that they are 1-3 since then. Add in Iowa going from 3-0 to 3-3 really fast.

Rank	Team	Delta
1	Oklahoma	—
2	LSU	—
3	Missouri	1
4	Alabama	1
5	Texas	—
6	Penn State	1
7	Georgia	1
8	Southern Cal	2
9	Texas Tech	3
10	Brigham Young	1
11	Florida	2
12	Ohio State	2
13	Vanderbilt	5
14	Kansas	1
15	Utah	1
16	Virginia Tech	3
17	South Florida	11
18	Auburn	7
19	Boise State	1
20	Ball State	1
21	North Carolina	5
22	Northwestern	2
23	Wake Forest	—
24	Michigan State	2
25	Georgia Tech	1

Standing by/In the discussion: Pitt, Notre Dame, Oklahoma St., Florida St.,

UNC has really impressed me. Especially when you realize they have kept rolling without their starting QB.

Oklahoma St. may be unbeaten, but good god, when your best win is probably over Houston well I’m not buying.

Yes, I know there are plenty of teams that are rated too high. The problem as always is finding teams that legitimately deserve to be ranked ahead of them.

UPDATE: You can see the full draft poll (Pitt is unranked) and links to all voters, here.

Rough sketch right now. There are some changes a-coming to the BlogPoll.

Rank	Team	Delta
1	Oklahoma	1
2	LSU	3
3	Alabama	6
4	Missouri	1
5	Texas	2
6	South Florida	4
7	Penn State	4
8	Georgia	4
9	Brigham Young	5
10	Southern Cal	9
11	Auburn	2
12	Texas Tech	3
13	Florida	7
14	Ohio State	2
15	Kansas	3
16	Utah	1
17	Connecticut	3
18	Vanderbilt	1
19	Virginia Tech	3
20	Boise State	3
21	Ball State	4
22	Michigan State	4
23	Wake Forest	15
24	Northwestern	2
25	Fresno State	1

I might be kind of hard on Wisconsin, but blowing that game and the way they have struggled has me hesitant. Some other teams should have fallen further, but with all the upsets over the weekend it kept them from falling further. After all, that would mean moving other teams that I’m just not sure deserve to go too much higher.