We are really getting into the meat of the conference schedules now, and this is when the herd starts to leave the stragglers behind for the lions. The pretenders get exposed, the contenders knock people out, and all the fans in the land live a blessed life...or see some great football anyway.
So, what happened week 5? Well.......
1. The Gators got exposed. Boom will have them playing well, and they have some great playsers. What they don't have is the meat up front to compete like they had during the best years of the Urban Meyer run. They are in big trouble in Baton Rouge this week with Brantley out.
2. Boise showed the difference between themselves and a mid-major that builds to a big year and then has to start over. The Broncos reload, they don't rebuilt. Nevada? Well, they had a nice couple years, and we'll see them again soon.
3. Once again, Russell Wilson in the man, and the Badgers are the best team North of the Mason Dixon. Nebraska is a good team, with gamebreaking talent on both sides, and they. got. dominated. That said, all the quips about "welcome to the Big Ten", hell this ain't much different than what happened with the Huskers played OU or Texas the last few years either. The scores were closer, but the Huskers were 1-3 in their last 4 games against the flagship teams in the Big 12. As much as the Big Red Faction (they shall not be called a nation) likes to cry about how they were second class citizens in the Big 12, well hell, they didn't win anything, so of course they were. That said, the point is, the Big 12 has been better than the Big 10 in football for a quite a few years, and I would not be surprised if the Huskers are a solid #2 in their new league at the end of the year.
4. There was an old-SWC shootout in Forth Worth and I want to see it every year. Big 12, I know you made the call, again, to TCU (UT...you just shut your mouth unless you are saying welcome to the family, you F'd this one up last time), but can you PLEASE make this a yearly affair. Come on, they hate each other all over again, and they are in the same damn city. This could be a huge rivalry. Oh, and June Jones runs the Run-N-Shoot which is awesome to watch.
5. Minnesota would totally be relegated if this was soccer. Can we hook that up? Please, maybe move Northern Illinois into the Big 10? maybe? no....damn
6. Speaking of the Big 10 (1 more time), Illinois won again, in another tight one, to move to 5-0 on the season. They are not a great team, but ol Zook looks to actually be coaching them up a bit. They could, feasibly, be 9-0 when Denard Robinson comes to town.
7. Arizona State continues to confuse. They are pretty damned talented but they just let teams hang around. Oregon State is not good this year, they should have never been in this game, but ASU kicked it around a little bit and gave them a shot. Them leading the Pac-12 South is terrible for that conference.
8. Uhm, the Aggies choked......again. That's back to back weeks with double digit leads that you let get away, and you want to scream that you are a top team and you deserve more consideration? Hey, have fun in the SEC, I am sure they will be more accomodating to your delusions of grandeur. Oh wait.....that's right. It's a meat grinder.
9. Bill Snyder is a great coach. It's true that he has gotten a lot of high profile transfers to come in and raise the talent level, but not even the Wildcat faithful dreamed that they would be 4-0 after the Baylor game. There were real questions about whether they could be bowl eligible this year. Well, looking at it now, they could win 9 games if they can pull one more upset, but 8 is a pretty realistic number. That said, they are not #20 in the country
10. Right now, the Clemson Tigers are the best team in the ACC, and possibly on the eastern Seaboard. Just let that marinade a bit.
And for my weekly thoughts on conference expansion. I LOVE the Big 12's move to look to expand. If TCU comes in as expected, and predicted, that gives them real momentum. It relaces the Aggies with a team that has been better over the past several years. It brings in a team with natural rivals and shows to the other potential teams that the conference's demise was reported prematurely. There is talk of them having interest in BYU, Louisville, and West Virginia as well. BYU and Louisville I could see, but the geographic leap to West Virginia seems a big far with schools like Houston, and Tulsa in the existing area. That said, how fun would it be to see Dana Holgerson coaching against OSU? One interesting rumor is them looking at Tulane. That would actually be a move to expand into what is traditinally SEC country, but it could work. If Tulane could start being the solid #2 recruiting school in the state of Louisiana, well hell, that would a powerhouse. Very interesting days we live in as college sports fans.
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