Week 2 College Football Rankings

Rankings a combination of how good I believe teams are right now and resume so far. Teams that have no wins are ineligible until they win a game. Next week will require a win over an FBS opponent (which everyone under any consideration will have).

1 LSU (1-0) – The best win of week one belongs to LSU, but the offense was atrocious, even with 40 points on the board. With Jarrett Lee in at quarterback instead of Jordan Jefferson, there is less ability for gamebreaking plays (and there wasn't much in the first place).

2 Boise St. (1-0) – Easily the second best win, if you want to put Boise St. number one because of style points, I wouldn't argue. They dominated. If you want to have them lower because you believe there is no chance they would beat Alabama or Oklahoma, I might argue before giving you the point. Either way, this is a top 5 team again.

3 Alabama (1-0) – Beating Kent St. proved exactly nothing we didn't already know. One possible snag: no deep threat at all offensively. If that gets figured out in practice this week, I expect a Penn st. skid mark on Saturday. There may be one anyway.

4 Oklahoma (1-0) – Week 2 and the Sooners already have a bye week. The lack of a conference title game and games in December means the Big 12 gets two of them. In this case, Oklahoma gets its practice week for the big showdown against Florida St.

5 Wisconsin (1-0) – If Russell Wilson is as good against Big Ten defenses as he looked against UNLV, this team is playing for the National Title unless Oklahoma and the SEC Champ go undefeated.

6 Florida St. (1-0) – The defense did its job shutting out Louisiana-Monroe (this is like a badge of honor for presumed national contenders who play them including 2010 LSU, 2008 Auburn and Ole Miss). The offense has a week to get everything working before Oklahoma.

7 Texas A&M (1-0) – Easy win over SMU. Now its on to the bye week and the official defection to the SEC, followed by Armageddon.

8 Nebraska (1-0) – Looked good against FCS Chattanooga, even throwing some Tom Osbourne triple option into the system. Who knows how that will work against more competent defenses with more athletes. I wold say we will see soon, but upcoming opponents Fresno St. and Washington look awful on that side of the ball.

9 Stanford (1-0) – Andrew Luck looked really good and so did Stanford. I'm still not sold on them and San Jose St. is in the running for worst FBS team, but that was as impressive a first week beatdown as anyone had.

10 Mississippi St. (1-0) – The impressive beatdown against a team among the worst in FBS also applies here. The victim was Memphis though. Things get tougher, at least in theory, this week against Auburn in what could be a track meet.

Vuelta a Espana Daily – Final GC Power Rankings

1 Juan Jose Cobo (Geox-TMC, LW: 10, position: leader, leads Chris Froome by 20”) - Cobo's performance the last two days was borderline inhuman. Some are saying its doping (I might be inclined to believe them), but he was riding a differently geared bike than everyone else on Angliru and that very well could have made the suffering less (I actually believe its a combination of the two). No matter, Cobo leads the Vuelta, is a climber by trade with only one summit finish left, and has no race ending time trial to kill him because the Vuelta organizers decided to only have one ITT day in the race.

2 Chris Froome (Team Sky, LW: 6, position: 2^nd overall, trails Cobo by 20”) - Froome was pacing teammate Bradley Wiggins up the climb and then had to go when Wiggins couldn't follow. I still don't know who the team leader actually is, but I believe that Wiggins won't take 26” back on Froome without a stage win that he has seemed incapable of getting.

3 Bradley Wiggins (Team Sky, LW: 2, position: 3^rd overall, trails Cobo by 46”) - Wiggins finally cracked as expected on Angliru. He now trails his teammate by 26”. I think he is headed for the podium, but the lack of time trial miles did him in.

4 Bauke Mollema (Rabobank, LW: 3, position: 4^th overall, trails Cobo by 1'36”) - Mollema had himself a bad day on Angliru as well. Of course that was to be expected, but he also had some gear problems (lending credence to the Cobo gears advantage stance). I think he is currently in better form than Wiggins after the last two days (he had no teammates to help), but 50” is a lot of time to reach the podium.

5 Denis Menchov (Geox-TMC, LW: 10, position: 6^th overall, trails Cobo by 3'01) – Menchov finally appeared in the front group on the Angliru stage. I think his legs were very good and he very well might have attacked had his teammate Cobo not been the person up the road. He has certainly been instrumental in his team leading the team classification. I think he will take some time on 5^th placed Maxime Monfort before the race is over to finish in the top 5.

The rest – Other than Monfort (Leopard-Trek), nobody else even deserves a mention here. Their legs are shot and done for without question (thanks Giro).

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Vuelta a Espana Daily – GC Power Rankings

These rankings are still now ranked in order of predicted overall finish in the Vuelta. Next to each rider, you will find their team, where I ranked them last time, and how far off the lead they are.

1 Vincenzo Nibali (Liquigas-Cannondale, LW: 1, Position: 4^th overall, 31” behind leader Chris Froome) – The defending champion, Nibali has looked the best among the early favorites in this race. Any stages he has lost time on have been ones not suited to his skillset. At this point, he is an overwhelming favorite to win this race overall, especially with most of the better climbers now way back after the time trial. If he survives the Angliru stage on Stage 15 without major losses on another climb not suited to him, he should win the race overall.

2 Bradley Wiggins (Team Sky, LW: 5, Position: 3^rd overall, 20” behind Froome) – Wiggins climbed really well during stage 9 and then followed it up with a great run in the stage 10 time trial, finishing 3^rd. He is more of a time trial specialist than a climber and with no more time trials, he will lose some time in the mountains. I expect him to be in contention all the way to Madrid though.

3 Bauke Mollema (Rabobank, LW: NR, Position: 7^th overall, 1'07” behind Froome) – It turns out I had the wrong Rabobank rider in my last rankings (Steven Kruijswijk is 18^th, 3'52” behind Froome). Mollema has been a revelation after a disappointing Tour de France (for himself and really the whole team). He has already led the race for a day and while he lost time in the time trial, it wasn't enough to put him in a very deep hole. His climbing has been as good as it was in the Tour de Suisse, where he was 2^nd overall before a late puncture on the second to last stage derailed him. I expect a strong race from here out and possibly even a stage win for Mollema.

4 Jakob Fuglsang (Leopard-Trek, LW: NR, Position: 2^nd overall, 12” behind Froome) – Fuglsang led the race after the Team Time Trial on Stage 1, but I left him out as this was his first Grand Tour as a GC leader. That was a mistake. He has climbed very well thus far in addition to his strong time trial skills. I view him as a bit of a poor man's Nibali in the mountains and think that will cost him a bit though.

5 Fredrik Kessiakoff (Astana, LW: NR, Position: 5^th overall, 34” behind Froome) – This man has been a revelation thus far in just his third year as a road cyclist after a strong mountain biking career. I honestly had never heard of him before looking at the overall standings and seeing him 4^th overall after stage 9. His time trial was good, his climbing has been good and the mountain biking background most certainly worked for Cadel Evans, so I will slot him here knowing there are major reservations about everyone else in the field.

6 Chris Froome (Team Sky, LW: NR, Position: Overall leader by 12” over Fuglsang) – Why, might you ask, is the leader of the race this far down after a very difficult first 10 stages? There are two reasons. First, he is unproven and second, he is still a domestique. When everything really matters, Froome will be working for Wiggins, much like Pierre Rolland was for Thomas Voeckler at the Tour de France despite having his own ambitions. That means lots of pacemaking at the front and extra expended energy. If given the opportunity, I expect Wiggins to gift him a stage win, but I also expect Froome to crack in a big way at least once and tumble down the standings, possibly on the Angliru stage.

7 Joaquim Rodriguez (Katusha, LW: 9, PositionL 14^th overall, 3'23” behind Froome) – Rodriguez had his expected terrible time trial. In fact, he is right where I expected him to be when I ranked him 9^th last week, but Scarponi and Anton's struggles have raised his ranking a bit. Rodriguez really has no chance at the overall barring some sort of crazy long distance attack and break survival. It is most like to happen on the Angliru stage. Even if it doesn't, Rodriguez should get another stage win and place highly enough on the remaining mountain stages that he retains his points jersey considering the lack of sprint stages to allow a sprinter back into the competition.

8 Jani Brajkovic (Radio Shack, LW: 4, Position: 9^th overall, 2'04” behind Froome) – Could Brajkovic make up the deficit to Froome? Absolutely. Could he jump everyone else along the way? Doubtful at best with no time trial. His form has been just slightly off, enough to remove him from victory contention and enough that I don't think he is a threat to win a stage. Even so, Brajkovic will finish in the top 10 as others around him crack and fall back.

9 Jurgen Van Den Broeck (Omega Pharma-Lotto, LW: 6, Position: 12^th overall, 2'21” behind Froome) – Copy everything I said about Brajkovic and paste it here. They are similar riders who both crashed out of the Tour de France and both showed up at the Vuelta in good, but not great form following their injuries.

10 Juan Jose Cobo (LW: NR, Position: 8^th overall, 1'47” behind Froome) and Denis Menchov (LW: 8, Position: 13^th overall, 2'35” behind Froome) – These two riders from Geox-TMC are listed together because I have no idea which one will be the leader of the team from here out. Cobo has been better of late (and really all season), but Menchov was the designated leader before the race and has won two Vueltas and a Giro. I expect the team to continue to support Menchov or try and protect both, but I believe only one will finish in the top 10 and I don't have the slightest idea which one it will be. I f I had to bet, I would say Cobo with his better form and the lack of a time trial remaining to carry Menchov back.

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Vuelta a Espana GC Preview

Now that we've seen the riders race with their team in the Team Time Trial, it's time to take stock of the overall race and rank our favorites. Consider this a power ranking of who is most likely to win the Vuelta. This will be updated on each of the two rest days during the race.

1 Vincenzo Nibali (Liquigas-Cannondale) – Nibali is the defending champion at the Vuelta and looked in good form in the Team Time Trial. The harder nature of this race with six summit finishes works against him a bit, but he is a good time-trialer and does a good job of limiting his losses on most climbs. The 30 seconds he gained today on the other contenders could be huge.

2 Igor Anton (Euskatel) – Anton crashed out of last year's Vuelta while leading the race. He is among the stronger climbers in the field and he will be extra motivated with the race going through his and his team's home Basque country for the first time in over 30 years. He has some time-trial deficiencies though that could really hurt him on the Stage 10 time trial.

3 Michele Scarponi (Lampre-ISD) – Second overall in front of Nibali at the Giro d'Italia, he had basicall disappeared since. His great early season makes him a contender here, but where is his form at. Riding into shape won't work here with a mountaintop finish at the Sierra Nevada on stage 4.

4 Jani Brajkovic (Radio Shack) – While Andreas Kloden is the designated leader for Radio Shack, I believe Brajkovic is in much better shape following his tour crash than Kloden is after his crashes. If the team really believed in Kloden over Brajkovic at this point, I think they wold have left Brajkovic when he has his mechanical issues at the start of the Team Time Trial.

5 Bradley Wiggins (Team Sky) – Was in great form going into the Tour, but crashed out. Now nobody knows and his team seemed really disorganized during the TTT. Of course, dropping so many teammates that you have to wait in a TTT is just absurdly bad and a sign of disorganization, possibly total dysfunction.

6 Jurgen Van Den Broeck (Omega-Pharma Lotto) – Another Tour crash victim, his form was also very good entering the Tour. I suspect he is in good form, but he rides for Lotto, notorious for being a terrible support team for GC Grand Tour contenders.

7 Steven Kruijswijk (Rabobank) – The next big hope for Rabobank, Kruijswijk climbed really well at the Giro, finishing in the top 10 overall. I have to say I am rooting against him, or at least for invisibility because I don't want to try to type his name a billion times over the next 3 weeks.

8 Denis Menchov (Geox-TMC) – Former Double Vuelta champion, Menchov has had an awful season. I would rank him higher except I thin his chief lieutenant, Carlos Sastre, has mountain stage hunting ambitions and he already is well behind Nibali after an awful TTT.

9 Joaquim Rodriguez (Katusha) – I like his form, his support and his climbing. Sadly, he is already over 3 minutes back because he is the worst GC contender in the time trial I have ever seen. Had a good shot at the podium, but I think there is a 0% chance at overall victory.

10 Nicholas Roche (Ag2r-La Mondiale) - 6^th overall last season, Roche has had an injury riddled year of misery. I expect him to bounce back, at least somewhat and contend for a top 10 finish.

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Pre-Spring Top 25 - LSU and Oklahoma start on top

Some programs have started college football spring practice and most will have done so within the next couple of weeks. With that said, its time for a very early look at the top 25. This will change as we get closer to the season and position battles are completed and players drop off of teams for whatever reason.

1LSU (11-2, 7^th last season) – The Tigers return most of the roster and the entire core aside from Steven Ridley who foolishly entered the NFL Draft. As long as LSU gets average quarterback, the difficult schedule won't be a problems with the possible exception of the trip to Alabama.

2Oklahoma (12-2, 8^th) – Sooners are loaded again, but where will they blow it this time? It happens every year. The only question is which game and then can a one-loss Oklahoma make it through this season?

3Oregon (12-1, 2^nd) – Suffer heavy losses, but get the stars back for another run at the title. The schedule is a whole different animal this year though with Stanford on the road and a neutral site game against LSU to open the season.

4Ohio St. (12-1, 6^th) – If the Buckeyes survive the suspensions, they will be better for it down the stretch and in future seasons. The question is if Ohio St. can get through the first six (five with suspended players and the re-adjustment game) undefeated with Miami, Michigan St. and Nebraska all on the schedule.

5Texas A&M (9-4, 14^th) – Why so high? The Aggies lost only one game after Ryan Tannehill was inserted as the starter (against LSU) and 19 starters return. I expect the best Texas A&M team since the 1998 Big 12 Champs.

6Alabama (10-3, 11^th) – I'm not as sold as every analyst seems to be that Alabama is just going to plug any old inexperienced quarterback and win the national title again. I just don't believe that is happening with consecutive quarterbacks.

7Florida St. (10-4, 17^th) – Loads of talent returning and the quarterback position will be just fine without Christian Ponder.

8Boise St. (12-1, 10^th) – Only really lost the receivers and some of the line. Kellen Moore and much of the nasty defense return. Might be starting with a slightly lower profile but very much still a title contender.

9Oklahoma St. (11-2, 12^th) – With all its draft eligible stars back, the Cowboys should be plenty good, depending on how well the offense works with former coordinator Dana Holgerson in West Virginia.

10Stanford (12-1, 4^th) – Offense will be explosive, but I'm not sold on the defense at this point and Owen Maricic will be missed greatly.

11Wisconsin (11-2, 5^th) – The Badger running game will be revved up and ready to go with all its guys back. Just beware of a week 3 date with Northern Illinois, not coached by former Wisconsin defensive coordinator Dave Doersen.

12South Carolina (9-5, NR) – The SEC East title came a year early because of the down division. This season is actually the year the Gamecocks were built for and it will show, as long as Spurrier doesn't play musical quarterbacks again.

13Missouri (10-3, 22^nd) – How does a team lose a first-round early entry quarterback and move up to start the next season? When the team was built for next season and everyone is returning except for said early entry quarterback. If Gabbart had stayed, this team is in the top 5.

14West Virginia (9-4, NR) – Beware the Mountaineers. With Dana Holgerson in the fold calling plays and a favorable Big East schedule, a national title run is possible if West Virginia can pull a home upset of LSU in late September.

15Arkansas (10-3, 13^th) – Despite Tyler Wilson's great performance in relief at Auburn, I need to see him against a real passing defense before I anoint this team a contender like some are. The Auburn secondary was a joke until late in the season last year.

16Maryland (9-4, 19^th) - Randy Edsall is in an unfortunate position (though he placed himself there). The last coach won nine games and was considered to be boring and stuck at a ceiling so he was forced out. Edsall is much the same in personality and style of offense and has capped out at eight wins for UConn. There will be little to no grace period here, but the team is good enough that it shouldn't matter.

17Florida (8-5, NR) – Gators problems were less lack of talent and more bad coaching, execution and play calling. Will Muschamp and Charlie Weis will get that fixed to some degree, but it will take a couple of years to fully get away from spread offense jitterbug, speedster athletes.

18Penn St. (7-6, NR) – The team was incredibly young last season and Joe Paterno knows it. When they mature next season, JoePa is going to get his one last shot at a national title. As for this season, nine wins and a solid ranking look doable.

19Virginia Tech (11-3, 16^th) – The Hokie defense slipped last season while the offense picked up the slack. With a new starter, the defense needs to regain its previous form.

20Notre Dame (8-5, NR) – Quarterback controversy at the Golden Dome: take the super talented guy who put up good numbers but lost and is coming off two major knee surgeries or the guy who lacks the same overall skills but won four games in a row down the stretch. It's a truly tough call.

21TCU (13-0, 3^rd) – Frogs will be plenty good, but top ten isn't happening this season, even if it takes until the Boise St. road trip at the end of the year to figure that out.

22Mississippi St. (9-4, 15^th) – Bulldogs should be improved again under Dan Mullen. Of course with the East in a little better shape this season, the record could be the same or a game worse.

23Michigan St. (11-2, 18^th) – Sparty just isn't that good. Ranked because I would feel bad not ranking an 11-2 team with most of the roster back from a year ago. That said, Spartans were incredibly lucky last season and were steamrolled in the two toughest games (at Iowa and Alabama in the bowl game)

24Nebraska (10-4, 21^st) – Who knows what we are going to get out of this offense. It still has no identity. If they find one, look out because the defense will be strong again.

25Louisville (7-6, NR) – Year two is quantum leaf year many times and while this isn't a national title run waiting to happen, the Cardinals could win the Big East if West Virginia falters.

Others Considered (in no certain order)

Auburn (14-0, 1^st) – Just lost too much to be ranked in the preseason. Beat Mississippi st. in week two and that will be rectified.

Arizona St. (6-6, NR) – Just didn't accomplish enough to be ranked despite returning virtually the entire team.

Georgia (6-7, NR) – Make or break year for Mark Richt. Georgia could easily win the SEC this season or could be coach hunting in December. Either would please many Georgia fans.

Arizona (7-6, NR) – After a five game losing streak to finish the season, Wildcats must be wondering what they did to deserve the punishment they are about to receive. Rematches with five of the six team Arizona lost to happen before the end of October including another game against bowl opponent Oklahoma St.

USC (8-5, NR) – Trojans still ineligible for post season and still insufferable.

Syracuse (8-5, NR) – Orange reclamation project is in full swing after bowl berth last season. Now the goal is to protect the home field where Syracuse was run over all season.

Georgia Tech (6-7, NR) 0 The Triple-option hit a speed bump last season, but Georgia Tech shouldn't be down to long.

Texas (5-7, NR) – The problems here run much deeper than Florida. Until they prove they have the talent, Texas will remain here (and clubbing UCLA early doesn't count).

San Diego St. (9-4, NR) – Team is fairly loaded for new coach Rocky Long. Would be ranked easily if Brady Hoke had stayed.

NC State (9-4, 20^th) – Still unknown exactly what Russell Wilson is doing. Whether its baseball or football, Wolfpack should be decent still

Week 10 Top 25

1 Oregon (8-0) – Ducks offense might be the best we've ever seen in college football. The real test will be when a team gets a full month to prepare. This offense failed against elite defenses twice in that situation last year.

2 Auburn (9-0) – Cam Newton probably shouldn't even play this week as Auburn hosts a disgraceful game against Chattanooga. When I was a student there I hated the annual 1AA patsy and I hate it even more now. You're telling me Louisiana Tech wasn't available this year?

3 Boise St. (7-0) – Broncos continue to win and continue to fall further out of the national title race. Really need Virginia Tech to continue playing good football as it hits the meat of its schedule.

4 TCU (9-0) – Baylor's continued strong play propped TCU up past Boise St. in the BCS a week earlier than expected. The question now is can they hold it by winning one of the biggest games of the season so far.

5 Wisconsin (7-1) – Why are they top one-loss team? Beat Ohio St., also beat Iowa on road (not much better than that this season) and Michigan St. just got killed by Hawkeyes making head-to-head loss less relevant. They also have a one-two punch at running back that is having a better season than the one at Alabama.

6 Alabama (7-1) – They are good, but the resume isn't great yet. Florida and Penn St. fell off the map making Arkansas the only win of note thus far. Win out over LSU, Mississippi St. and Auburn and the resume will be in line with the ranking.

7 Utah (8-0) – Utes have still played nobody, but the test from Air Force will help a lot when the TCU game is close in the 4^th quarter.

8 LSU (7-1) – Tigers should be ready to play as Alabama comes to town, but the 230 CT start hurts as does the lack of any real offense should they need to come from behind.

9 Nebraska (7-1) – Get a lucky bump because of head-to-head win over Missouri and my belief that Missouri is still pretty good. The loss to Texas is garish.

10 Missouri (7-1) – Gave a good effort after being run out of the building in the first quarter, but a good effort doesn't always win games, especially when the execution is bad.

11 Ohio St. (8-1) – Buckeyes blew up Minnesota as expected. Everything rides on the Nov. 20 game at Iowa for them.

12 Oklahoma (7-1) – Sooners smoked Colorado at home (who doesn't) and now await winner of Oklahoma St.-Baylor game to determine co-front runner in Big 12 South. Yes it really has come to that.

13 Stanford (7-1) – Andrew Luck has looked flawless most of the season so far. He was even good in the loss at Oregon. I don't expect this week's big home test against Arizona to be any different.

14 Arizona (7-1) – The question in that Stanford-Arizona game is who will be the Arizona quarterback and will he be effective. Matt Scott has been good, but Washington and UCLA are among the worst in the conference on defense while Nick Foles is still hurt but may play Saturday night.

15 Iowa (6-2) – I think the Hawkeyes are better than this, but they can't be ranked in front of a team they lost to who also has a better record.

16 Oklahoma St. (7-1) – I am starting to believe after this team won without its star receiver and with its defense.

17 Michigan St. (8-1) – Sparty finally got nailed at Iowa. Now they need to refocus and smoke the teams they need to. Style points are now necessary to win a BCS tiebreaker that will be likely.

18 South Carolina (6-2) – Marcus Lattimore is the offense and he was needed after the defense took the second half off allowing the inept Tennessee offense back into the game.

19 Mississippi St. (7-2) – It is a legit question: how will the team react to the death of teammate Nick Bell? The Bulldogs are in the midst of a bye week to grieve right now before playing Alabama.

20 Virginia Tech (6-2) – There are some making good points that Va. Tech hasn't played anyone of note during its six game winning streak. While that may be true, the streak has been impressive as the Hokies offense has exploded for the first time since Michael Vick was the quarterback.

21 Arkansas (6-2) – Ryan Mallett broke the school record for passing yards again. This is either a sign that there is no passing tradition at all at Arkansas or the Razorbacks are playing way too many patsies.

22 Baylor (7-2) – Four wins from one of the most improbable conference title seasons ever. Of course, a case can be made these are all tougher than anything the Bears have seen other than TCU.

23 NC State (6-2) – Gut check win at home for Wolfpack throws ACC Atlantic into chaos and puts NC State in control of the division.

24 Florida St. (6-2) – Seminoles may have just coughed up the Atlantic division with Christian Ponder's fumble. Ouch. Same old ACC.

25 Illinois (5-3) – Best three loss team in country is surprising Illinois. Beat Michigan on Saturday and its likely the Illini will finish with nine wins. A shocking development since coach Ron Zook used the hire a new staff to keep a job for an extra year plan in the off season. This appears to be a rare time where it will work for longer.

Others Considered

USC (5-3) – The loss to Washington is awful so, despite playing well in every other game, the Trojans can't be ranked with three losses.

Hawaii (7-2) – Carrying a loss to USC and one bad one to Colorado. Ouch.

Nevada (7-1) – The best case of any of these teams, but a home win over Cal is virtually worthless right now.

Maryland (6-2) – The West Virginia loss looks worse right now and while Clemson is probably forgivable considering the schizo nature of that program, 31-7 is not.

Florida (5-3) – The debacle in the swamp on offense against Mississippi St. is still too fresh to re rank the Gators, especially since the win was over Georgia and that almost shouldn't count.

Mountain West Power Rankings - Week 3

Because this blog is located in Las Vegas in the middle of Mountain West territory, we cater in some areas to those people. You will see more of this once we hit basketball season, but along the way, some love needs to be shown this underrated league. Hence, every week I will post conference power rankings in the league for your enjoyment.

In these rankings, there is a mix of past results and projections being taken into account.

Utah – I believe the Utes are only slightly behind TCU and the home game later this season will allow them to make the gap up. That said, the JV portion of the schedule is really getting boring at this point.

TCU – The Frogs are looking like they did in October and November last year when they were obliterating everyone. Only Air Force and Utah can even hope to challenge them this season.

Air Force – The Falcons looked very good at Oklahoma and had a legit chance to win the game. This is a very scary team with a very balanced running game and an underrated, scrappy defense.

BYU – Yes the Cougars have looked awful in their last two games and th Washington win doesn't look very good right now, but they are still better than any of the dregs in this league. San Diego St. could challenge them, but the Aztecs are a year away from being able to handle the challenges that BYU presents.

San Diego St. - Make a tackle guys and all would be well. Should have finished off Missouri.

Wyoming – Got housed by Boise St., but that is to be expected. Week 3 of the early season death march awaits with Air Force on Saturday.

UNLV – Bombed at Idaho and looking terrible. Only being in the game at halftime against Wisconsin is keeping them from being considered with New Mexico and Colorado St.

New Mexico – Yes the Lobos have bee awful, but at least all three games have been against major conference or ranked teams. Nobody expected a win or even a close game in any of these games anyway.

Colorado St. - The offense is putrid. The defense isn't much better. Getting blown out by Miami (OH) is not a good thing. Nor is carrying a 12 game losing streak since starting 3-0 and getting some fringe top 25 consideration last season.

Mountain West Power Rankings - Week 2

While this blog covers the national college football scene, it is, on some level a Mountain West, SEC and Pac-10 based blog. Hence, we have this post, the first conference Power Rankings of the season, starting with the Mountain West. Note that these rankings contain quite a bit of projection in them because it is so early in the season and may disagree with where I have teams ranked in my top 25.

1. Utah (2-0 overall, 1-0 in league play) – The Utes stomped UNLV and now continue with the easy portion of the schedule though they traditionally haven't played very well at New Mexico (even to 2008 undefeated team struggled for awhile there against a bad Lobo squad)

2. TCU (2-0) – Ranked below Utah here because I don't believe they will win at Utah this season. Simple as that. Frogs are the most talented team though

3. Air Force (2-0, 1-0) – Finally got the BYU monkey off their back. This week's game against Oklahoma represents a nothing to lose, everything to gain situation. Win and jump into the national rankings easily. Lose and nobody really cares since it was expected. Get blown out and BYU still forms the baseline for where you are perceived in the conference after beating them last week.

4. BYU (1-1, 0-1) – The brutal early schedule continues for the Cougars. First Washington, then at Air Force and now at Florida St. Not good for a team with a quarterback controversy in full force. On the plus, still way more talented than any of the others ranked below them here.

5. San Diego St. (2-0) – A good start to the season, but nobody really knows much about them. Nicholls St. and New Mexico St. have a way of keeping us from learning about a team.

6. Wyoming (1-1) – Good luck for the next few weeks against this schedule. You will need it Cowboys. At this point, surviving to the San Diego St. game at the end of October with bowl hopes intact would be an accomplishment.

7. UNLV (0-2, 0-1) – It hasn't been a good start for the Rebels against a really difficult schedule. Wisconsin and Utah are ranked highly for a reason and while this weeks opponent, Idaho, isn't nearly as good as those team are (see the Vandals loss to Nebraska as evidence of that), they were a bowl team a year ago that UNLV must play on the road.

8. New Mexico (0-2) – It has been as bad a start as possible for New Mexico having given up more than a point per minute. On the plus side Oregon is a national title contender and Texas Tech is really good (an underrated) so maybe there is some hope to win a few games soon (UNLV, UTEP and New Mexico St. are all on the slate before the middle of October and while there is no way the Lobos win them all, one or maybe even two is possible)

9. Colorado St. (0-2) – This team is headed towards smoking crater territory. Nevada scored on every possession except the kneel down at the end of the game last week and Colorado who smoked these guys two weeks ago was incinerated at Cal. Also, there is no offense to speak of. 9 points in two game won't cut it anywhere.

Week 2 Top 25

My week 2 rankings are a combination of do I think the team is good after what we saw in week one and did that team meet expectations based on their opponent. Also, there wasn't a ton of movement this week because many coaches say teams make their biggest improvement between weeks 1 and 2. I expect a much different set of rankings after next weeks game where many teams have major showdowns.

1. Alabama (1-0) – We didn't really learn much about the Crimson Tide against San Jose St., but there is no reason to drop them after an easy blowout win. I expect to have a much better grip on this team after the Penn St. game Saturday night.
2. Boise St. (1-0) – We learned a lot about Boise St. Despite the usual opening game snafus that most teams have (Virginia Tech had them too), the Broncos were well-prepared and took advantage of Va Tech mistakes, just like an experienced and talented bunch should do in an even game.
3. Ohio St. (1-0) – Shut out for the defense against Marshall (Marshall scored on a blocked field goal return). Ho hum. Bring on Miami.
4. Oregon (1-0) – 59-0 at halftime and 72-0. I hope for the sake of the rest of the Pac-10 that New Mexico really is that bad (highly probable).
5. Oklahoma (1-0) – That secondary has some major issues. I am already starting to rethink them as my championship pick considering losing a non-conference game is a likely kiss of death in the national title chase and the strength of Saturday opponent Florida St. is the passing game behind Christian Ponder.
6. TCU (1-0) – The toughest one for quite some time is now out of the way. Unless something unforeseen happens against SMU or Baylor, it will be smooth sailing until Utah in early November.
7. Texas (1-0) – While not nearly as questionable as Florida or Oklahoma's performances, the Longhorns weren't very impressive and for a team re-emphasizing the running game, I think there are some major problems in that area.
8. Nebraska (1-0) – Gave up more yards that expected against bottom dweller Western Kentucky but its really nitpicking when you win 49-10.
9. Florida (1-0) – That was unspeakably bad until the middle of the fourth quarter. A competent MAC and the Gators would have been in serious trouble. The obvious talent keeps them here for now.
10. Wisconsin (1-0) – Scott Tolzien had the INT bug in the first half against UNLV keeping the Rebels close. In the second it was a different story. He just didn't throw much.
11. Iowa (1-0) – A nice easy win over the over matched FCS foe. Just what the doctor ordered after last years miraculous escape.
12. Virginia Tech (0-1) – The Hokies are going to really mad at themselves for quite some time for blowing this game. That had every opportunity to win despite falling behind 17-0.
13. Utah (1-0) – Another ugly first game, but a win over a ranked team is a win over a ranked team. The Utes can now put it on cruise control for awhile too.
14. Miami (1-0) – The only notable thing that happened at Miami's opener was fans brawling in the stands. Bring on Ohio St.
15. Georgia (1-0) – Did what teams are supposed to do to over matched Sun Belt foes: Blow them up and shut them down.
16. Arizona (1-0) – Took an interesting opening road trip to Toledo (first Pac-10 school to ever play in a MAC stadium) and systematically took the Rockets apart. While that was expected on offense, it certainly wasn't on defense.
17. Florida St. (1-0) – Wonder if they will have any consistency this season after last season's up and down campaign. Also wonder if the offense will be as good on the road against a quality opponent as it seemed on Saturday.
18. Auburn (1-0) – Did half of what team are supposed to do to over matched Sun Belt opponents. Blew them up but the 26 points is cause for concern with a team that didn't really stop anyone last season.
19. Texas Tech (1-0) – The Air Raid lives as the Red Raiders threw 53 times and even played some defense until mental lapses (and a 61 yard field goal) let SMU back in the game in the 4^th quarter.
20. BYU (1-0) – Impressive second half defensive display to beat Jake Locker and Washington. Also, the two quarterback system worked well in the opener.
21. West Virginia (1-0) – Boring easy shutout over FCS foe. Marshall next. Wake me when they get to LSU at the end of the month.
22. Penn St. (1-0) – Paterno starts a true freshman quarterback for the first time overshadows some other problems. Penn St. was in some trouble against FCS foe Youngstown St. until the freshman was allowed to start throwing. Lack of running game won't fly in Tuscaloosa.
23. Georgia Tech (1-0) – Josh Nesbitt only completed 1-6 passes. Even if the option game is working he will have to be better than that once ACC play starts (though evidently not against Kansas this week).
24. Kansas St. (1-0) – Daniel Thomas is a heck of a running back and Kansas St. got a lot better as the season went on last year. In Snyder I trust. Now back to cupcakes after beating UCLA.
25. Oregon St. (0-1) – Certainly could have beaten TCU and probably would have with a veteran quarterback, but Katz wasn't quite ready to win that kind of game yet.

Dropped Out of Rankings

Cincinnati (0-1) – After giving up eight sacks at Fresno St., I expect the Bearcats to not be returning anywhere near these rankings this season.

LSU (1-0) – Nearly blew it against the carcass of North Carolina. Les Miles might want to consider ordering his offensive staff to run the score up on everyone the entire game because no lead is actually safe with these guys.

Pittsburgh (0-1) – Were lucky to even get to overtime against Utah. Have plenty of high-profile chances later in the season

Others Considered for the Rankings

Clemson (1-0) – I think they are good, but they don't play anyone to prove it for another week and I can't possibly root for them in that game since they are playing Auburn.

USC (1-0) – The defense didn't show me enough to believe they are anything but a 9-4 team against this schedule.

Arkansas (1-0) – Played an over matched FCS foe but at least the defense played well. That wasn't the case in last season's FCS slaughter.

Michigan (1-0) – Found themselves a quarterback and a defense that, at the very least, can stop the run. The walking wounded secondary should be tested this week.

Notre Dame (1-0) – An interesting and surprisingly conservative game against Purdue, but an easy win that was never really in doubt.

South Carolina (1-0) – Finally destroyed lesser competition. This team has been unable to do that for quite some time. Maybe they finally turned a corner.

Preseason College Football Top 25

1. Alabama – I don't believe they will win the national title, but unless completely decimated, the defending champion should start on top and this team, at least on offense wasn't completely decimated.
2. Boise St. - We can debate whether they deserve this according to the schedule all anyone wants. All I know is any major conference team that brought back 21 of 22 starters off of a top ten team would easily be ranked this high in almost any season, especially one devoid of an overwhelming favorite like this one.
3. Oklahoma – Yes, I am drinking the Phil Steele Kool-Aid. Oklahoma is more than ready to take this step after enduring injuries all over the place last season. With the exception of the odd blowout loss at Texas Tech (where the Sooners haven't played well in recent years), there was no unwinnable game last season.
4. Ohio St. - I don't really believe in this team. Pryor is good but I think there is a major gaffe game in there again this season like last season's loss to Purdue. Best in the Big Ten, absolutely, best in the nation, probably not.
5. Oregon – I do believe here though. Nearly everyone of consequence except the quarterback is back and this team has turned into an offensive machine no matter the quarterback by about the fourth or fifth game every year. There is no Boise St./Cal caliber team before that point on the schedule this season with Tennessee's program meltdown so all systems are go.
6. Virginia Tech – The Hokies have to replace most of the defense, but I have faith in them to do that. Its nearly a given. The rankings is this high because of what's returning on offense: everything.
7. Florida – Questionmarks everywhere but so much talent it may not matter and a new quarterback too. Wait and see.
8. Texas – Ditto Florida except we have an idea what Garrett Gilbert is going to play like after his national title game appearance.
9. Nebraska – The defense will be fine if a half step below last season. The offense won't be much better but Nebraska would have been ranked about here by the end of last season had the offense not turned it so much against Iowa St. last year.
10. Wisconsin – The best offense in the Big Ten last season is going to roll with ten starters back. A real threat to win the league.
    

World Cup QF Preview + Rankings

We have our World Cup quarterfinals set to begin in the morning with Brazil-Netherlands in the match that I believe will produce the tournament winner. In these quarterfinals, we have a good mix of traditional powers and interlopers with one former power resurgent.

Let's get to the power rankings. Remember that these are to this point in the tournament. I believe the Netherlands are going to win the tournament, but they haven't been the most impressive team meaning they aren't number one here... yet

1. Argentina - The machine rolls on. Despite getting a controversial goal to open the scoring against Mexico, Argentina was clearly the better team and deserved to win. Messi has been driving this team despite not scoring. What happens if he starts to find the bag of the net?
2. Brazil - Only a meaningless, scoreless draw with Portugal stains the records of the Brazilians who did their usual job of taking Chile apart (just the same as in qualifying). In Brazil, the question if this team wins the tournament is will they be beloved like many of their predecessors or looked upon with disdain like the defensive minded 1994 champs?
3. Netherlands - This has not been a typical Dutch tournament. No massive goal scoring barrage in the group stage and no displays of 'Total Football' yet the Dutch are in the quarterfinals with no blemishes on the record. Can this team really do what its much more heralded predecessors failed to?
4. Germany - Quarterfinals for Germany and now the tournament really starts. This is 13 trips to this stage in a row for the Germans who looked very strong in two of their four games and average at best in the other two. Which German team will show up for the Argentina challenge?
5. Spain - Spain seem to not really have it all together. They aren't scoring with their usual panache but the defense looks nearly impenetrable. Only Chile with its super power attack and Switzerland with one of the flukiest goals scored in the tournament have even managed to score so far.
6. Uruguay - Looked shaky against South Korea and somehow managed to gift France a point with a 0-0 draw at the start of the group stage. Should continue to enjoy living on the easy side of the bracket.
7. Ghana - Fortunate to survive the United States, Ghana seems to be on borrowed time. Only the lack of a true powerhouse in the next round gives the Black Stars a chance.
8. Paraguay - That game against Japan was pathetic. Can we send them home with the Japanese? Too bad someone had to win, even on penalties. After that display, one can only hope they go home soon. Welcome in the tournament: OVERSTAYED

World Cup Power Rankings

Rankings all the teams at the World Cup 1-32 based on performances so far

1. Argentina - still all sorts of questions at the back, but have only conceded one goal so far while dismantling South Korea and Nigeria
2. Brazil - still the most talented team and probably the favorite to win, the defensive lapses allowing late goals in both games is a bit of concern
3. Netherlands - Haven't really gotten it going but have gotten two wins. If this team improves its form throughout the tourney, my pick to win has a really good chance
4. Chile - against both Switzerland and Honduras, the Chileans had the two most dominating 1-0 wins anyone will ever see. Neither team seemed to belong on the pitch with the Chileans
5. Spain - Here is the proof of this tourney's mediocrity. I am rewarding Spain's possession and acknowledging their dominance earlier today in the easy win over Honduras. Nobody has really had better results and the Swiss were incredibly lucky.
6. Denmark - Yes, I know the Danes lost 2-0 to the Dutch, but the attacking display they put on against Cameroon was stunning and the loss to the Dutch isn't really punishable in these rankings considering I picked the Netherlands to win the whole tournament
7. Ghana - No they haven't been impressive and should have gotten more than a draw against 10-man Australia, but they are atop a difficuklt group with one game to play. Results do matter here.
8. South Korea - The first game against Greece was a clinic. The second against Argentina was a clinic against them, but they showed well until the avalanche at the end.
9. United States - The US is getting a bump up for the terrible call that went against them, but they have played smart, strong soccer, at least in the second half of both matches, which is more than can be said of most teams.
10. Paraguay - Had a beautiful set piece goal against Italy and dominated Slovakia. With only New Zealand left, passage to round two seems assured
11. Portugal - One awful 0-0 draw and a destruction of a team leave many thinking Portugal is on track. I beg to differ though they will be progressing to round two barring a catastrophe.
12. Germany - Ranked higher than their results dictate because the result against Serbia was a loss because of bad refereeing. They might now make it out of round one despite being the best team in the group.
13. Uruguay - Considering they won a match 3-0 they probably should be higher, but 0-0 against France in the state they are in leaves them ranked here.
14. Mexico - The Mexicans have been fine in the tourney but a 1-1 draw against host minnow South Africa is concerning, espcially the lack of detail defensively late in that game.
15. Slovenia - Lucky to have not blown a two goal lead against completely against the United States, Slovenia needs just a draw to advance
16. Serbia - Beaten by Ghana and lucky against Germany, Serbia still is in good shape. Just win against Australia and go through to round two
17. Japan - An upset of Cameroon was nice, but a 1-1 goal differential after two matches is throughly average and boring
18. Greece - Terrible against South Korea and better against Nigeria, the Greeks are still in huge trouble: Argentina is next
19. Switzerland - Yes they beat Spain, but they looked awful against Chile and basically didn't want to have the ball against Spain. This ranking is as much about their negative football as it is their form
20. England - Pretty much awful since Gerrard's goal early against the USA. They are not in full meltdown mode like their French neighbors, but  the tabloids will be fun to read if they fail to advance
21. Australia - Unfortunate victims of two red cards thus far, they need lots of help to advance because of the shoddy goal differential from the 4-0 beating at the hands of Germany.
22. Slovakia - The Swiss with less defense and no big upset to prop them up
23. Ivory Coast - Unlucky. Probably going out of the tourney no matter what unless they can score at least 6 against North Korea
24. Algeria - Awful offensively, but a goalkeeping howler away from total control of own destiny. Likely needs at least one goal against the attack happy United States
25. Italy - Old and tired, read my last post and it will explain everything
26. New Zealand - No talent but still a couple of 1-1 draws. At least entertaining on the way out of the tourney
27. Nigeria - Somehow still have a chance to get out of their group despite playing terrible football all tourney long.
28. South Africa - The hosts just don't have the offensive horses. Probably will get a win against France though to save face.
29. Honduras - No real chance to get out of the group, but the Swiss do offer a chance at a win.
30. Cameroon - Out of the tourney in a rash of awful defending. While the attack was strong and a victory would have been taken with better finishing, really should have lost to Denmark by a score of 8-6. Yes, the defense really was that bad
31. North Korea - Great showing against Brazil keeps North Koreans out of the cellar despite 7-0 thrashing at the hands of Portugal
32. France - really who else could it be. This is exhibit A in bad team chemistry, selfishness and bad coaching in soccer for generations to come. I'm rooting for them to somehow go through only so the entertaining infighting can continue