Week 3 in process, questions of home field advantage...

I'm watching Wisconsin v ASU and Minn v USC and I'm finding myself very confused which team is favored in either game.  I realize that USC is playing at Minnesota, but last I checked, that is not a home field advantage of any kind.  The Dakota schools sure don't think so, but as it stands now, the game is 19-14 USC in the 3rd and very tight.  Wisconsin, meanwhile is at home, where they are traditionally very tough to beat, and they are tied 13 all with what I've considered to this point a middle of the road Pac 10 team.
At least Tennessee is holding up, tied 10-10 right now in the second half.
It seems to me that the real home field advantage at this point belongs to anyone at home watching - that's three very close games all at once.
Florida must use a fake punt to set up scoring drive to take the lead in Neyland Stadium.  Somethings wrong with the gators - they're all gimmick now and now heft.

What I'm watching tonight:
Michigan State over Notre Dame
I don't know how confident I am with this pick, but Michigan State is a pretty strong football team.  I don't believe Notre Dame's lost last week was to a quality Michigan team, especially not after today's game against Massachusetts.  However, I've yet to watch MSU this year - if they have a traditionally soft MSU defense, then it is really anyones game.  24-21
Clemson over Auburn
I never like picking Clemson to win, they're choke artists, but I think they have a good shot here.  Neither of these teams is as good as people may think, but they do have talent.  I think Clemson puts together a better game - showcases some speed - and comes away with a victory.  34-27
Iowa over Arizona
Arizona can put up points against most teams, but Iowa boasts one of the best defenses you've never seen.  Seriously, have you been watching this team play?  The fact that the game is so late, and in Tucson is the only reason I won't be expecting a blow out. 22-16

What I'll be flipping over to:
LSU over Mississippi State
I don't like either of these teams.  LSU has Louisiana talent, but piss poor coaching - ask anyone who remembers Les Miles at Oklahoma State.  I always kind of want to see Mississippi State do well.  I always thought of that as the most backward school in the SEC and then they went and hired the first African American coach in that conference.  Who woulda figured that?
30-13

Boise State not as much over Wyoming as they want
On a day that Virginia Tech finally won a game and TCU is rolling over Baylor, Boise needs to put up big numbers on Wyoming.  They very well may, but teams don't always go into Laramie and play as well as they'd like.  Boise will win comfortably, but the score won't look as strong as Bronco fans would like.
42-24.

-Jabari

WGRF College Football Power Poll 2010 vol 1

The intent of a power poll is clear, rank the teams in terms of ability showcased on the field rather than including concerns such as schedule strength or conference reputation.  While seemingly more subjective, I find power polls to be more satisfying, more accurate in their ideas of who is better than whom.  So, with that rationale for their existence, here's the WGRF power poll after week 2.

1. Alabama

This is the best team in college football.  They beat a very good Penn State team (yes, at home) and beat them bad.  They lost the hesiman trophy winner from last year for the first two games of this season and now have one of the best problems to have, they now have too few carries to go around for two elite backs.  Julio Jones remains one of the best receivers in the college game and I'm always impressed with Mclheney's leadership.  Plus, the defense looks superb, so there's that.

2. Ohio State

Talk about a letdown for Miami.  They came up to Columbus looking to get respect, they played well enough (mostly) and came up short.  This Ohio State defense is vintage Jim Heacock.  They give up yards, especially in the short passing game and wait for an opportunity.  Four interceptions is very impressive and several of them were off of tips, showing that the defense is quick to the ball and always alert.  Other than a few spectacular plays, Terrelle Pryor did not impress as a passer; he should've had 2+ picks himself.  We'll learn more about this team when they play an offense that will control the ball and actually wear down that defense - like when they play in Madison.

3. Oklahoma

I'm jumping on this bandwagon pretty hard after that dismantling of Florida State.  The defense looks better than ever, and that's what's really important.  Plus, perhaps I will be wrong about Landry Jones, he really put it together for that game.

4. Boise State

Yes, the Virginia Tech loss to James Madison is damning.  Voters are going to lay off of Boise State in the last week of the season like they have leprosy - and it's really not Boise's fault.  That was still a quality win over the Hokies.  Virginia Tech (if they don't implode now that they started 0-2) is capable of winning the ACC.  This team looked impressive enough that I'm keeping them top 5.  I'm not ESPN, I don't forget teams during bye weeks.

5. (blank)

This could be TCU, but I only saw a bit of the Oregon State game, and I wasn't that impressed (although Dalton looked good from what I saw).
This could be Texas, but I've yet to see them play this year.
This could be Nebraska, but I'd like to see them in conference play, before I start commenting.
This could be Iowa, but I want to wait til after this weekend to comment on that squad.

I realize that this is a bare bones power poll, but I wrote it in the airport on Tuesday and don't have the energy to add to it now that I'm back in the world of technology.  And considering how little we've seen from any team thusfar, I don't see why it should be any longer than this.  I like South Carolina's win over Georgia, but I've seen them fade too many times to jump on that bandwagon.  I'm not sold on Florida yet.

Expect more next week, and also our first WGRF pro power poll.

-Jabari

This weeks AP and how new additions will be affecting their conferences

AP Top 25
RK	TEAM	RECORD	PTS
1	Alabama (52)	2-0	1466
2	Ohio State (5)	2-0	1410
3	Boise State (1)	1-0	1306
4	TCU	2-0	1235
5	Oregon	2-0	1172
6	Texas (1)	2-0	1150
7	Oklahoma	2-0	1123
8	Nebraska	2-0	1083
9	Iowa	2-0	1037
10	Florida	2-0	1036
11	Wisconsin	2-0	855
12	Arkansas	2-0	755
13	South Carolina	2-0	642
14	Utah	2-0	627
15	LSU	2-0	595
16	Auburn	2-0	538
17	Miami (FL)	1-1	530
18	USC	2-0	481
19	Stanford	2-0	446
20	Michigan	2-0	437
21	West Virginia	2-0	197
22	Penn State	1-1	171
23	Houston	2-0	169
24	Arizona	2-0	138
25	Oregon State	0-1	75

*from espn.com


Let's note some interesting facts here.
1) The SEC has 6 teams in the top 16.  5 of these are between 10 and 16.  This tells me two things.  First is that after the top 10 (maybe just the top 5), all the rest of the teams in the rankings are hardly separated at all.  If somebody had Arizona at #11 right now, while I may not agree, I wouldn't be able to say definitively that Wisconsin is much better than Arizona.  Penn State looked bad against Alabama, but may be just as good or better than the next ten teams ranked ahead of them.  We've been prepared for more upsets in college football over the last decade, but this early season seems particularly unknown.  Second, pollsters are still under the impression that the year is 2008, when the SEC was king and deserved to have 6 teams ranked.  They'll catch on eventually, that the SEC is still in a lean period (starting last season), but it may take them a while.
2) Nebraska and Utah are both making the Pac 10 and Big 10 look like they'll be solid additions in their first year.  I don't see a repeat of Penn State's entry to the Big 10 (when they went undefeated), but Wisconsin should finish top 3 in a tough league next season.  And Utah may very well compete for a title in their first year (I doubt it).  If we redrew leagues today, the Big 10 would have 4 teams in the top 11, making it clearly the best at the top.  The Pac 10, meanwhile, would have another respectable top 20 team.  We can call that conference weak this year.  But will we be able to next year if Utah can compete consistently with the big boys of that league?
3) 16 out of 25 teams are from 3 leagues.  The Pac 10, the Big 10 and the SEC.  These leagues are probably the most balanced (although the ACC may feature a mix of equally awful teams), so this trend may persist even though I know not why Arizona, Michigan or Auburn (or Houston or West Virginia) are ranked at this point.  Again, maybe it's just a weak year, a handful of great teams at the top and a myriad of mediocrity below.


My apologies for recommending that you watch Nadal v Djokovic as it was delayed.  Watch today instead.  An extra day to think about his legacy may hurt Nadal a bit, but, then again, Djokovic hasn't won a major in two years and went from tennis celebrity to overlooked participant in the time since.  It's nice to see him back on top of his game.  I'm still picking Nadal.  Djokovic may steal one set, I'd be surprised if it goes five.  As long as Nadal is healthy, who can beat him?


Michael Vick looked very good in his return as a real QB (as opposed to the gimmick of last year).  Houston may actually be better than Indianapolis - I never really thought I would say that.  Is Houston the favorite for the Wild Card now?  Dallas giftwrapped a win to the Redskins, while Detroit didn't have balls to take it when they had it.


Durant put up 28, that's enough for me.  Great win.


What I'm watching tonight
Baltimore over NY.  The Jets are the sexy pick to go to the Superbowl this year.  I know this because both Sportcenter and the New York Times had features on Rex Ryan this week.  But this isn't the Superbowl and I don't believe in NY off of just promises.  Baltimore IS a good football team.  I don't know about NY just yet.


-Jabari