big daddy russ
09-02-2007, 04:28 PM
Simple as it sounds, rate the conferences.
1. SEC
Elite teams (teams with a legit shot at the NC... top-five-caliber teams):
-LSU
-Florida
Great teams (teams that should finish with double digit wins if they were playing in the Big East... A win against an Elite Team would only be a minor upset)
-Georgia
-Arkansas
-Auburn
-Tennessee
Good teams (a notch below "great" ones... Eight wins and a third-tier bowl game is a very realistic goal... A win against an Elite Team would be considered a fairly-major upset)
-Alabama
-Kentucky
-South Carolina
Better-than-average teams (Would have no less than a .500 winning percentage in the Big East)
-Vanderbilt
Below-average teams
-Ole Miss (the talent's there, but it's gonna take some time to turn that program around in this conference)
-Mississippi State
2. BIG 10 (Great teams at the top)
Elite Teams
-Wisconsin
-Ohio State
Great Teams
-Michigan (it's going to take more than one upset for me to start taking them lightly... Check back next week after they go up against a tough Oregon squad)
-Penn State (Another Big Ten Championship for JoePa? They're my pick... Very underrated team... They should move up to Elite Team status soon... We'll see where they stand after a Sept 22 showdown against Michigan)
Good Teams
-Northwestern (Forget about their reputation, they're better than most people think)
Better-than-Average
-Iowa
-Purdue (That's right, I'm not giving either of these traditional bowl teams much respect)
Average
-Michigan State
3. BIG XII (Not much between the two elites and the Good teams, but tons of depth with five Good teams)
Elite Teams
-Texas
-Oklahoma
Great Teams
-Nebraska
Good Teams
-Mizzou (My pick to win the north and finish the season as a "Great Team")
-Texas Tech
-Texas A&M
-Oklahoma State
-Kansas State
Better-than-Average
-Colorado ("Russ, come on. You don't expect me to buy this, do you? They went 2-10 last year and lost to I-AA Montana State." It's Dan Hawkins' second year in Boulder, they upgraded from Bernard Jackson to Cody Hawkins {the coach's son and a true freshman} under center, and they beat a tougher-than-you-think Colorado State squad yesterday. Sure, they've loaded up out of conference with CSU, Arizona State, and Florida State, but the only two tough games in the middle of the season will be Oklahoma and K-State {a winnable game}... That'll give young Cody and Hawkins' offense plenty of time to find their groove going into the stretch run of Tech, Mizzou, Iowa State, and Nebraska.)
4. ACC (Just a notch below the Big XII this year... Lack of another legit title contender and fewer Good teams hurts this conference)
Elite Teams
-Virginia Tech
Great Teams
-Boston College
-Georgia Tech
Good Teams
-Clemson
-Florida State
-Miami (We'll get to see them against TAMU in a couple of weeks... That'll give us a better gauge of the conferences)
Better-than-Average
-Maryland (More than enough talent to go bowling this year)
-Wake Forest (Last year's champs will have to be perfect again this year just to be considered 'good,' and I just don't see it happening)
5. PAC-10 (USC is the best team in the country and Cal may be an Elite team before long, but the good teams in the PAC-10 just don't measure up to the good teams in the Big XII or ACC.)
Elite Teams
-USC
Great Teams
-Cal
Good Teams
-UCLA
-Oregon State
-Oregon
Better-than-Average
-Washington
-Arizona State
-Wazzu
6. BIG EAST (They're officially on the map now and getting closer to the PAC-10. I almost want to throw Louisville in the "Elite" category, but decided to hold off for a couple more weeks. Now if they could just get some depth from teams like USF, Pitt, Cincy, and UConn, they may be moving up in the standings sooner than you think.)
Elite Teams
-West Virginia
Great Teams
-Rutgers
-Louisville
Good Teams
-Southern Florida
-Pitt
Better-than-Average
-Cincy
There's my opinion. Feel free to disagree.
1. SEC
Elite teams (teams with a legit shot at the NC... top-five-caliber teams):
-LSU
-Florida
Great teams (teams that should finish with double digit wins if they were playing in the Big East... A win against an Elite Team would only be a minor upset)
-Georgia
-Arkansas
-Auburn
-Tennessee
Good teams (a notch below "great" ones... Eight wins and a third-tier bowl game is a very realistic goal... A win against an Elite Team would be considered a fairly-major upset)
-Alabama
-Kentucky
-South Carolina
Better-than-average teams (Would have no less than a .500 winning percentage in the Big East)
-Vanderbilt
Below-average teams
-Ole Miss (the talent's there, but it's gonna take some time to turn that program around in this conference)
-Mississippi State
2. BIG 10 (Great teams at the top)
Elite Teams
-Wisconsin
-Ohio State
Great Teams
-Michigan (it's going to take more than one upset for me to start taking them lightly... Check back next week after they go up against a tough Oregon squad)
-Penn State (Another Big Ten Championship for JoePa? They're my pick... Very underrated team... They should move up to Elite Team status soon... We'll see where they stand after a Sept 22 showdown against Michigan)
Good Teams
-Northwestern (Forget about their reputation, they're better than most people think)
Better-than-Average
-Iowa
-Purdue (That's right, I'm not giving either of these traditional bowl teams much respect)
Average
-Michigan State
3. BIG XII (Not much between the two elites and the Good teams, but tons of depth with five Good teams)
Elite Teams
-Texas
-Oklahoma
Great Teams
-Nebraska
Good Teams
-Mizzou (My pick to win the north and finish the season as a "Great Team")
-Texas Tech
-Texas A&M
-Oklahoma State
-Kansas State
Better-than-Average
-Colorado ("Russ, come on. You don't expect me to buy this, do you? They went 2-10 last year and lost to I-AA Montana State." It's Dan Hawkins' second year in Boulder, they upgraded from Bernard Jackson to Cody Hawkins {the coach's son and a true freshman} under center, and they beat a tougher-than-you-think Colorado State squad yesterday. Sure, they've loaded up out of conference with CSU, Arizona State, and Florida State, but the only two tough games in the middle of the season will be Oklahoma and K-State {a winnable game}... That'll give young Cody and Hawkins' offense plenty of time to find their groove going into the stretch run of Tech, Mizzou, Iowa State, and Nebraska.)
4. ACC (Just a notch below the Big XII this year... Lack of another legit title contender and fewer Good teams hurts this conference)
Elite Teams
-Virginia Tech
Great Teams
-Boston College
-Georgia Tech
Good Teams
-Clemson
-Florida State
-Miami (We'll get to see them against TAMU in a couple of weeks... That'll give us a better gauge of the conferences)
Better-than-Average
-Maryland (More than enough talent to go bowling this year)
-Wake Forest (Last year's champs will have to be perfect again this year just to be considered 'good,' and I just don't see it happening)
5. PAC-10 (USC is the best team in the country and Cal may be an Elite team before long, but the good teams in the PAC-10 just don't measure up to the good teams in the Big XII or ACC.)
Elite Teams
-USC
Great Teams
-Cal
Good Teams
-UCLA
-Oregon State
-Oregon
Better-than-Average
-Washington
-Arizona State
-Wazzu
6. BIG EAST (They're officially on the map now and getting closer to the PAC-10. I almost want to throw Louisville in the "Elite" category, but decided to hold off for a couple more weeks. Now if they could just get some depth from teams like USF, Pitt, Cincy, and UConn, they may be moving up in the standings sooner than you think.)
Elite Teams
-West Virginia
Great Teams
-Rutgers
-Louisville
Good Teams
-Southern Florida
-Pitt
Better-than-Average
-Cincy
There's my opinion. Feel free to disagree.