TBCS Edition 3 - Changes At The Top

It was quite an interesting and entertaining college football weekend.  The Ducks flew south to Tucson but decided not to come back.  Playing uninspired football, Oregon was soundly defeated by the Arizona Wildcats.  Realization of a non title game appearance set in on the Ducks' mindset.  I guess a possible appearance in the Rose Bowl wasn't enough incentive.  Pity. 

The real Baylor Bears showed up in Stillwater, Oklahoma.  Pistol Pete got his shotgun out, and these Bears made for easy target practice.  For the first nine games on the schedule, Baylor won all of their games by a wide margin.  I gave some credit for their win over Oklahoma,  but aside from the Sooners, the schedule for Baylor has been mostly pastry.  To borrow from a sign I saw on college game day, "Sucks to B U."

Florida State scored 80 in a victory over a tough Idaho squad.  Sorry, I couldn't make it through that sentence without a chuckle.  People, it was IDAHO.   The Seminoles must have needed a break from their grueling ACC schedule.  Coming up next is a watered down Florida Gators roster, whom were just Muschamped by Georgia Southern.  I may have just coined a new phrase; whenever a Division 1 school loses to a Division 2 school, it will be known as Muschamped.  After the win over the Gators will be the ACC championship game, possibly against Duke.  Okay, I'm laughing again.  The conference championship game opponent might be DUKE!   And Ohio State plays the easy schedule.

Speaking of the Buckeyes, it was a relatively easy 42 - 14 victory over the Indiana Hoosiers.  Honestly, I was expecting more from the Indiana offense.  Or, has Ohio State finally figured out how to play defense?  We will find out this weekend.  Memo to Urban Meyer:  Ohio State has to play Michigan before the Big 10 championship game.  The most dangerous type of animal is a wounded animal, and the Wolverines are hurting.  Other than The Game, the only item left for Michigan is an invitation to the Kraft Macaroni & Cheese Bowl, so I am certain that a win over Ohio State, ending the Buckeyes current winning streak and possible NCAA championship game appearance would set aside all the disappointments up to this point.

As always, the following rankings are for recreational purposes only. Feel free to discuss them with your families at the table during your Thanksgiving feast.  Mmmmm turducken.

  1.          ALABAMA                    402.31
  2.          OHIO STATE                 348.34
  3.          FLORIDA STATE           341.82
  4.          OREGON                      321.01
  5.          CLEMSON                    314.43
  6.          STANFORD                   284.59
  7.          LSU                              200.68
  8.          LOUISVILLE                 199.65
  9.          OKLAHOMA STATE      195.46
10.          BAYLOR                       194.39

Happy Thanksgiving everyone.

TBCS Edition 2 - No Major Changes

Even though there were some upsets, the TBCS remains similar to last week.  The following is for recreational purposes only.  Print it out and take it to the bathroom with you.


  1.      ALABAMA                349.69
  2.     OREGON                   311.04
  3.     OHIO STATE              299.81
  4.     FLORIDA STATE        290.60
  5.     STANFORD               279.12
  6.     CLEMSON                 269.73
  7.     TEXAS A&M             181.83
  8.     LOUISVILLE             176.51
  9.     LSU                          167.44
10.     BAYLOR                   163.42

  
The top ranked team in the country, Alabama, defeated a good LSU team by a score of 38 - 17.  Up to this point, there has been concern about Alabama's defense, but not anymore.  Auburn should provide a test, but I see the Tide rolling into the SEC championship game undefeated.

Oregon, ranked # 2 last week, suffered a 26 -20 defeat to Stanford.  Normally a loss would hurt a team's ranking, but a 6 point loss to the # 5 team does not do any significant damage.  Remember, the TBCS is a points earnings system that covers the entire season, not just one week.  The other schools gained some ground, but the Ducks have earned enough up thus far to remain in second. 

Ohio State was on a bye week.  The gap between the Buckeyes and Oregon closed a little bit thanks to the Ducks' loss but not enough for OSU to climb into second.  If these two schools were to win out, I don't see any possible way Ohio State overtakes Oregon.  It really depends on how high Michigan State climbs in the polls and then a Buckeye victory over the Spartans in the Big 10 championship game. 

Florida State remains at # 4 despite a 59 - 3 blowout victory Wake Forest University.  For those of you that think this win should carry more significance, I borrow a saying from Cris Carter....C'mon Man.  If you think Oregon and Ohio State wouldn't have given the Demon Deacons the same kind of beat down, I again say C'mon Man! Why are we overvaluing Florida State's stroll thru the ACC garden?   

Stanford, thanks to their win over Oregon, jumps to the 5 spot in our rankings.  The Cardinal (yes, it's a color, not a bird) took control of the Pac-12 North and should play in the championship game against UCLA.  Baylor moved into the top ten.  They looked good in their victory over Oklahoma, but I see no possible way the Bears play for the national championship. 

I admit, the TBCS is probably not the best method to decide a national championship game based on the current NCAA system.  However, imagine if you will an eight team playoff and the TBCS was used to determine the seeding.  There would be a few very entertaining match-ups.

See you all next week. 

The TBCS - 1st Edition

For those of you wanting a more precise version of the BCS, I have created my own formula to rank the 2013 college football teams.  The following is for recreational purposes only.

  1.     Alabama          310.48
  2.     Oregon            297.10
  3.     Ohio State       276.81
  4.     Florida State   265.04
  5.     Clemson          249.73
  6.     Stanford          234.06
  7.     Texas A&M    165.73
  8.     Louisville        162.30
  9.     LSU                 160.65
10.     Oklahoma        152.95

My formula takes into account a team's position in the polls throughout the entire season, not just for one week.  This is why you don't see Baylor in the top 10.  Even though they are undefeated, Baylor is #13 in my system and will need to continue to impress in order to move up in the rankings.  Strength of schedule is another important component of the calculation.  Margin of victory/defeat comes into play, but it's a small fraction of the overall picture. 

If the season were to end today, my bowl games would be as follows:

Championship:      Alabama vs Oregon
Rose:                     Ohio State vs Stanford
Orange:                 Florida State vs Oklahoma
Sugar:                   Clemson vs Texas A&M
Fiesta:                   Louisville vs Baylor

The Fiesta is the biggest clunker on the list.  It's unfortunate that the NCAA has a rule that only two teams from any one conference can participate in a major bowl.  But, if you like offense, the final score of this game might be 84 to 77, as both teams play defense about as good as our government's website allows people to purchase health insurance. 

The upcoming week offers a couple of games that will have an impact on the rankings: Oregon vs Stanford, and Alabama vs LSU.  If both of the favorites win, Oregon can close the gap on the Tide. 

Check back next week for an updated version. 

Jets Select QB Geno Smith

     As Geno Smith sat in the Green Room, aka the depression tank, player after player heard their names called during the opening night of the 2013 NFL Draft.  When the first night came to a close, Smith remained undrafted.  On the next night, the New York Jets selected Smith with the 7th pick of the second round.  Dream come true?  Hardly.  For Smith, this is a nightmare scenario.  The New York Jets, after the release of Tim Tebow, have four other quarterbacks on their roster.  The legendary John Madden always said, "if you have two quarterbacks, you don't have any."  Two is too many, three is a turducken, so what would Madden call five?  Another issue for Smith is the Jets head coach, Rex Ryan.  Ryan is to offense what Dan Quayle was to spelling.  The man is clueless, as evidenced by the lack of any offensive weapons on the roster.  Ryan has destroyed the confidence of Mark Sanchez, former savior, and it's only a matter of time for Smith.
    During his senior year at West Virgina, Smith passed for 4,205 yards, 42 touchdowns and 6 interceptions.  These are incredible stats, video game-like stats.  However, college quarterbacks from pass happy offenses usually don't translate into franchise NFL quarterbacks.  There's Andre Ware, David Klingler, Tim Couch, and perhaps the worst of all, Akili Smith.  All of these men were sensational college quarterbacks, but their NFL legacy is being labeled a bust.  The only saving grace here for Geno Smith is that he was selected in the second round, not the first, so he won't be as big a bust as the other aforementioned quarterbacks.  Perhaps if Smith was drafted by New England or Denver, and was able to be tutored by the likes of Tom Brady or Peyton Manning, his future might turn out differently.  But this is New York, where the fans don't have the patience and the media is far more critical than those in the smaller markets. This new Jet is expected to soar, but I'm afraid he'll never make it off the tarmac.

    
    

Milwaukee Roadkill

The other day, Brandon Jennings of the Milwaukee Bucks tweeted that his team will win their playoff series against the Miami Heat in six games.  After being demolished in game one by a score of 110 to 87, Jennings may need to re-tweet.  May I suggest "We're going to get swept!" or "Did anyone get the license plate of the truck that just ran us over?" as a couple of options for you.  Lebron James was phenomenal, and it pains me to write that as he should be doing it in Cleveland, not Miami.  James played like an MVP should, dominating the game with 27 points, 10 rebounds and 8 assists.  Milwaukee may steal a game at home, but for the series, these Bucks are already dead, stuffed and mounted on Lebron's wall.

Indian Fever

Spring is here, and so is the start of a new baseball season.  It's the time of year that my beloved Cleveland Indians are not yet mathematically eliminated from post-season play. I have to admit, this past offseason had me somewhat excited for the season to begin.  That's not normally the case - a friend and I have a standing bet before the start of a new season.  We each select 3 teams that we think will finish with the worst record in baseball.  For the first time in three years, I didn't draft the Indians.  Why?  Because the Dolans finally spent some money.  I don't know where this money came from, and I don't care.  Now, some of the "experts" believe the Indians were spending just to spend and didn't get any real value.  I disagree.  Let's take a look at the moves. 

1. Terry Francona - finally a manager who not only has major league experience, but championship experience.  Francona knows how to win, and he did it in Boston, a city where you have to win or they will show you the door in a hurry.  Just ask Bobby  Valentine.

 2. Michael Bourn - a true leadoff hitter and a player with speed - a walk or a single is usually followed up with a steal of second.  Bourn has some pop in his bat as well, as evidenced with the 9 home runs from a season ago.  Bourn also helps the Tribe with his defense.  He can cover a lot of ground in center field, and his addition allows Michael Brantley to move to left field.  Gone are the days of Shelley Duncan and Trevor Crowe.  Cleveland, watch Michael Bourn play and remember the glory days of Kenny Lofton.

3. Nick Swisher - perhaps the Indians overpaid, but the emotion, excitement and joy to play the game are the intangibles that Swisher brings to Cleveland along with his bat.  Intangibles don't show up in the box score, but are so necessary for a winning club.  Swisher will move from the outfield to first base, and thank goodness.  No longer will we have to watch Casey Kotchman pretend to be a major leaguer. 

4. Mark Reynolds - what the Indians have here is their new team leader in home runs, no doubt about it.   Reynolds will start out as the designated hitter, replacing long time fan favorite Travis Hafner.  I also expect Reynolds to eventually be the everyday third baseman, as Lonnie Chisenhall is not yet ready for the job.  Reynolds will also be the new team leader in strikeouts.  With the good comes the bad, so enjoy the bombs off of his bat, but be ready for the cool breeze when he swings and misses.  Nonetheless, a major improvement over Jack Hannahan, another starter from a year ago pretending to be a major leaguer. 

5. Brett Myers - probably the most underappreciated of all of the free agent signings.  Myers is expected to be the number three starter for the Indians.  If Myers can produce the type of season like the two he recently had as a starter in Houston, it could mean an extra 5 to 10 wins for the Tribe. 

The Indians head into the 2013 season better in every aspect than the 2012 squad. The roster has more talent, and the new additions bring a culture of winning to the clubhouse.   They won't win the division, that title belongs to Detroit.  But with solid managerial leadership from Francona, and a little bit of Progressive Field magic, this Cleveland Indians team could make the playoffs as one of the wildcards.  Go Tribe!