Week 9 Thoughts

I went 3-2 with my picks for Week 9, bringing my overall year-to-date record to 19-8.

1. Ohio State impresses in defense of #1 ranking, but is still overrated
Penn State in the upset was a trendy pick this week, and I myself fell victim to underrating the Buckeyes. As I said earlier in the season, Penn State hasn't done much to impress me in recent history, especially in big games. In what's becoming a sad trend, PSU decided not to show up in a nationally televised primetime game. I didn't think Ohio State was that good of a team, and even after this weekend's drubbing of the Nittany Lions I still don't think the Buckeyes are a contender. They'll hold on to their #1 ranking until they lose to Michigan and will be bypassed by the likes of Oklahoma, Oregon and LSU when it comes to the BCS national title race.

2. Boston College, Arizona State, Kansas and Hawaii...all undefeated, but how good are they?
Boston College is very good. National title contender good (unless its raining). Kansas is stronger than most people are giving them credit for, even after a win over Texas A&M. Arizona State is proving why the Pac-10 might be catching up to the SEC in terms of the "toughest conference" crown. And Hawaii...well...they have Colt Brennan. I believe Boston College and Hawaii finish undefeated, with Kansas hanging around until a loss to Oklahoma in the Big 12 championship. Arizona State will lose 2, both to USC and Oregon. Hawaii might sneak in as an at-large to a BCS bowl, but won't be considered above even a 2-loss team for the national championship game due to an embarrassingly weak schedule. To sum up in one sentence: Boston College and Kansas are ranked where they should be (#2 and #8, respectively) while ASU and Hawaii aren't as good as their positions indicate.

3. BCS National Championship game prediction
Boston College vs. LSU. Once again there will be controversy as the Big 12 (Oklahoma), SEC (LSU), Big Ten (Ohio State) and Pac-10 (Oregon) will have a one-loss delegate. Ohio State will suffer because of a weak schedule, but the other three teams all have an impressive resume. Boston College will win the ACC and finish undefeated, making them a lock to play in the game. But who do they face of the remaining three? The SEC is still the strongest conference in the country and the voters know that. The Pac-10 has closed the gap considerably this season, but would have to have another season or two like 2007 to really be able to compete with the SEC in the eyes of the media.

Heisman Watch
A little bit of a change this week. As the season has progressed, the majority of Heisman hopefuls have been weeded out and only a few still remain as possibly recipients. It's no longer just about numbers, but now team losses come in to play, automatically nullifying players like Tim Tebow, Andre Woodson, Ray Rice and Darren McFadden. To reflect this, instead of listing 5 possible winners I'm reducing my list to 3.

1. Matt Ryan, QB Boston College (2,433 passing yards, 19 passing TD's)
2. Dennis Dixon, QB Oregon (2,377 total yards, 24 total TD's)
3. Mike Hart, RB Michigan (1,078 rushing yards, 12 rushing TD's)

I consider Mike Hart a candidate despite two losses because he has single-handedly turned Michigan's season around. The Wolverines might be winless without Hart, who, to be terribly cliche, is the heart of that team.

Golden Top 25
1. Ohio State
2. Boston College
3. LSU
4. Oregon
5. Oklahoma
6. Arizona State
7. Kansas
8. West Virginia
9. Missouri
10. Georgia
11. Hawaii
12. Michigan
13. Virginia Tech
14. Texas
15. USC
16. Auburn
17. Florida
18. Alabama
19. Connecticut
20. Wisconsin
21. South Florida
22. Wake Forest
23. Tennessee
24. South Carolina
25. Boise State