The undefeateds

[Spence]

Looks about right to me. Michigan State could be a trap game for Ohio State, but it could have been a trap game for Michigan and it didn't turn out that way. After that it looks pretty good for Ohio State going into "the game".

[mountainman]

5. West Virginia (5-0): Having seen West Virginia play, I think they are one of the five best teams in the country. That won't really be settled until after they go to Louisville, however.
Good wins: None
Outlook: The Mountaineers' problem is that the media perceives them as playing essentially a one-game season; the game at Louisville will make or break their BCS hopes. The game at Pitt is a potential trap as well. If two of the teams ahead of them go undefeated, though, WVU won't be playing for the national championship either way.

The knocks on the Mountaineers are .... their offense is one dimensional, their defense is questionable, and their schedule is weak.

There's not a whole lot they can do about what folks think and say, but what they can do is to strive to win every game, become conference champion and let the chips fall where they may.

Just keep on keepin' on and remember that just a few short weeks or a few short days or a few short hours ago these same folks were so sure they knew which two teams were the best in the land.

[Eric]

I agree a lot, TDDVandy. I disagree about Boise State though. Watch them get beat by one of those teams you listed; NMSU, SJSU, and Nevada. NMSU doesn't look as possible after a loss to Idaho , but weird stuff happens on the road in WAC play.

Keep in mind they did play New Mexico pretty close and almost beat UTEP on the road. I think you're going to see a different team come out considering they'll be on national TV (ESPN, Sunday night) with a chance to stun a top 25 team. Now, I'm too chicken to say NMSU wins, but it will go down the wire.

And I do think they lose at Nevada.

[Eric]

Rutgers is an average football team, IMO. They have not beat anybody yet! The only win where they have looked really impressive so far is against Illinois (who is flat out terrible; half of the teams in the country could look impressive against Illinois) and Howard. Guess who Howard lost to today? They got shut out by Winston Salem. So, yeah, you see my point.

I'm going to say that Navy will lose to Rutgers by a field goal or less and Rutgers gets destroyed by Pitt, West Virginia, and Louisville.

[Jason G]

TDD Vandy,

I pretty much agree with all of your assesments as well with only a few differing points. I don't think Michigan will have much trouble at all with Penn State even though PSU will certainly have the revenge factor on their side after the controversial clock game from last year. The best chance they would have if that crowd could somehow get into the Wolverines collective head. I have just thought from the beginning of the season on that the Nittany Lions are college football's most overrated team. Sometimes people base their perceptions of a team on their name and not as much on their talent.

I also think along with some of the other posts above that Boise State may fall once in the regular season although I hope not. I also think Rutgers is capable of pulling off at least one upset in the Big East. I think Florida has a 50/50 chance of making it through Georgia and Auburn unblemished.

[Eric]

I'm afraid that may not be the case this year, Jason G

Michigan is due for a slip-up, and if they win this week, I will be convinced that Big Blue and the old the Buckeyes will be undefeated going into The Game. Even if Michigan loses to Penn State, I think we have a good shot at the BCS as an at-large. If Boise got in ahead of Michigan this year, I would be irritated.

[Jason G]

Well, living in Columbus you know what I'll be rooting for despite the fact that it seems like some of my OSU fan co-workers and neighbors are starting to become so overconfident that it is bordering on arrogance and being annoying.

It is truly brutal being an Akron (or any MAC school) fan in Columbus. Most of the people here think if you are not a winning team in a BCS league or in the top 25 that you can't possibly be any good and that you should be playing in 1-AA or something. It drives me nuts! While rooting for OSU to win yesterday I was truly hoping that Bowling Green would have made the Buckeyes sweat profusely. By the 3rd quarter I actually found myself rooting for the Falcons to come back make it competitive.

[Eric]

Yeah, those Buckeyes can be that way

Bowling Green did score to make it a 2 score game, but BGSU is not the class of the MAC either. If those OSU fans think that MAC teams are pushovers, they should look no farther back than 2003. I believe that was the season where (was it Nugent? I couldn't remember if he had been drafted or not) OSU made a last second field goal against Marshall and almost got beat by Bowling Green.

[Eric]

That Marshall game was 2004, so that was Houston or whatever the kicker's name is.

[Jason G]

True, there are some short memory spans here.

To be honest though I shouldn't have singled out OSU fans. They are just the most prevalent here. I know a couple of Iowa, Michigan, Alabama, Tennessee, and UCLA fans and they kind of dismiss the thought that a MAC school could ever be any good too. For the record, I do know an Indiana alum that is worried about their upcoming matchups with my Zips the next couple years.

[Eric]

Yeah, I understand, there are fans out there who only pay attention to big-time programs.

I was just having some fun with it too

[Spence]

Well, living in Columbus you know what I'll be rooting for despite the fact that it seems like some of my OSU fan co-workers and neighbors are starting to become so overconfident that it is bordering on arrogance and being annoying.

It is truly brutal being an Akron (or any MAC school) fan in Columbus. Most of the people here think if you are not a winning team in a BCS league or in the top 25 that you can't possibly be any good and that you should be playing in 1-AA or something. It drives me nuts! While rooting for OSU to win yesterday I was truly hoping that Bowling Green would have made the Buckeyes sweat profusely. By the 3rd quarter I actually found myself rooting for the Falcons to come back make it competitive.

Hopefully the Ohio State players don't become that overconfident. Most of the really rah-rah overconfident guys are the bandwagon guys you don't hear from much when Ohio State has a couple of losses. I still remember 1998 when an undefeated Ohio State went into East Lansing brimming with confidence against an unranked Michigan State team and came home with their bravado stuffed in their suitcases and their national championship hopes blowing in the wind.

Ohio State will have one game going into Michigan when they have to fight for their lives. It may be Michigan State, it may be Minnesota. I don't know which, but one will take it to us. Next week seems the most likely scenerio. It looked like we lost a starting guard and a starting D-lineman. Given Ohio State's problems stopping the run this year, the Michigan State game is setting up to be the trap game. It will be John L.'s last hurrah at MSU. It will be the last real chance for the MSU seniors to make a statement, and it will be in front of their home crowd. I look for Michigan State to come out of the gate very strong, how Ohio State responds to that will be the difference in the game.

[Vileborg]

Michigan seems to be taking the season one game at a time. I don't think anyone here has any reason to worry. Penn St. is getting Penn St. hype, but they just aren't there this year. If you look closely, teams show signs of problems before they stumble. If your non bias enough to see them than it's easy to call em, and I assure you Michigan is looking like the Adamantium juggernaut that they are. Ohio St. v. Michigan is gonna be the game of the year. I'm gonna find a seat belt for my recliner, an ice chest for drinks, and pop quite a few bags of popcorn so I don't have to move from the tube that whole game. I won't be rooting for either team that day as I think they both deserve the love.

[Spence]

I agree. Lloyd Carr looks like he has a team this year. They are playing simple fundamental defense and letting their talent win games for them. On offense, Henne and Hart are playing well. Manningham is an all world NFL prospect. He, if he was allowed to come out, would be a first round pick this year.

[mountainman]

That ole Ohio State/Michigan pot stays hot ..... but after the Ohio State/Texas game and the Michigan/Notre Dame game it started to simmer ..... and now it's starting to bubble with a little steam coming off the top .... you can bet your boots it will be at a full boil before much longer.