Pac-10 Basketball = Crap

With another disappointing yet somewhat expected UCLA loss today coupled with Washington getting dominated by the Hoyas in Anaheim, I realized that this year is most definitely not a good one for the Pac-10. Actually to be fair, this seemed pretty obvious when Texas Tech beat Washington, and even earlier when Cal got embarrassed by 'Cuse. The only highlight for the Pac-10 thus far has to be Stanford's choke against Kentucky (which has still yet to lose a game). So how bad is the conference this year? Really bad. Like, when a U$C student attempts to spell SAT bad. Actually, maybe slightly better than that. Here are some disgusting numbers at how badly the conference has looked in the first month of the season:

Teams with a winning record: 5 (WSU, Cal, Washington, ASU, and Stanford)
Teams ranked in the top-25: 1 (Washington)
Teams ranked in the top-15: 0
Horrible Losses: Cal v. NMU, Stanford v. USD, Stanford v. ORU, Oregon v. Montana, OSU v. AMCC, OSU v. Sac State, U$C v. LMU, UCLA v. CSUF, UCLA v. LBSU.
Bad Losses: Washington @ TTU, Baylor @ ASU, Cal v. 'Cuse, Arizona @ SDSU.

Yeah, this is U-G-L-Y! There is no way around it. I even left out the losses by UCLA and Oregon to Portland, mainly because Portland turned out to be pretty good against other good teams. Also, it seems like the conference has like one or two wins against top-25 competition. Actually, according to what I just saw over at ESPN.com it's more like ZERO wins. As Andy Katz said in a column he wrote a few weeks ago, the conference might only get two invites come March. At the time, I thought that he was being somewhat ridiculous. Now? I might have to agree.

The Whacky Pac-10

This conference is insane. Really. How can so many teams still have a shot at a trip to Pasadena on January 1st? What more insane is that all those teams sport respectable records and a Top-25 ranking. Here is a link to a post I did two weeks ago about the state of the Pac-10 after Week 9. Now, look how the conference looks right now (courtesy of ESPN):

Here is what jumps out to me with the current state of the Pac:
1. U$C is in 5th place and will probably not finish higher than 3rd.
2. 6 teams have earned bowl eligibility, with UCLA one win away, and ASU having a shot at it too.
3. While Arizona is in 4th, they still control their destiny.
4. Stanford is 2nd, and would probably not fall beyond 5th.
5. A 3 way tie, if not 4 way tie is still not out of the question.

Oh by the way, I am pretty sure that I correctly gave props to Stanford a month and a half ago, after just 5 weeks into the college football season. Furthermore, I also knew Andrew Luck was a special player (took me a game in person to do it, but still) in addition to TG. Then again, if Cal beats Stanford in Palo Alto next Saturday, it can all change once again. How can anyone NOT love this???

September Games Not to be Missed

So yesterday I got completely hated on by folks in what I'm assuming is the Mountain time zone, and while this was a first for me to get so much hate on a blog post, it's a moment worth cherishing. However, I cannot dwell on yesterday and it is time to move on and perhaps annoy (or not) more people by picking some must see match-ups around the country for the first month of the season.

1st weekend:
Oregon @ Boise St. (Sept 3rd): The pride of the WAC shocked the Ducks in Eugene a season ago, will Oregon return the favor?
Navy @ Ohio St. (Sept 5th): Could the Midshipmen shock the Buckeyes at home who might be overlooking this game because of the lurking Trojans?
BYU @ Oklahoma (Sept 5th): As pointed out by the haters yesterday, this is a glorious match-up with a lot of pride and reputation implications.
Alabama @ Va Tech (Sept 5th): a top 10 match up on a neutral turf featuring the ACC's best and the SEC's second best.
Maryland @ Cal (Sept 5th): After the beating the Bears took on the East Coast, it will be interesting to see how they respond at Memorial Stadium.

2nd weekend:
Iowa @ Iowa State (Sept 12th): Honestly, probably not going to be too good of a game, but it's a rivarly game so all logic is out the window.
Notre Dame @ Michigan (Sept 12th): Same reasoning as the Iowa match-up.
UCLA @ Tennessee (Sept 12th): Can the Bruins win in a tough environment and erase the demons of the 59-0 thrashing at BYU? Can the Vols respond to their OT loss a year ago at the Rose Bowl? Will Lane Kiffin say something stupid? (probably)
USC @ Ohio St (Sept 12th): Does this even need a reasoning? Fine. This game is so hyped it's going to be shown in 3-D!!!

3rd weekend:
Boise St. @ Fresno St. (Sept 18th): The most marquee match-up in the WAC and two very solid teams. This is the only chance in league (except the Nevada game perhaps) for Boise St. to lose.
Cal @ Minnesota (Sept 19th): Will the Big 10 finally beat a Pac-10 team? Will Cal finally win on the road?
Tennessee @ Florida (Sept 19th): Cue up the bulletin board material and Tim Tebow's left hand (and his legs) and don't forget the stuffling Florida D.
Utah @ Oregon (Sept 19th): Will the Utes pull a Boise St. and win in Eugene? Can the Pac-10 rightfully claim itself the best West Coast conference once again? Will those silly Mountain West fans stop hating on my blog?
Arizona @ Iowa (Sept 19th): A chance for the Pac-10 to beat a Big 10 team again, or a chance for the Big 10 to win a game it's supposed to at home.
FSU @ BYU (Sept 19th): How will the altitude of Provo affect the 'Noles? Will Bobby Bowden be able to breathe at all? Can BYU beat a good team in the regular season?

4th weekend:
Miami (FL) @ Virginia Tech (Sept 26th): Can the 'Canes beat the elite in the ACC and return to their rightful place at the top of their conference?
UNC @ Georgia Tech (Sept 26th): Normally a solid basketball match-up, this football clash might also determine who is for real in the ACC.
TCU @ Clemson (Sept 26th): Will the MWC get a big win at an ACC school (even if that school is constantly overrated and underachieves)?
Cal @ Oregon (Sept 26th): Is this the game that will determine places 2-3 in the PAC or perhaps even 1-3? Who will the bandwagon Trojan fans be rooting for? And which mascot will win in a fight?

The Most Academic Conference is...

The Ivy League, but we all knew that. The real question is which conference that excels at sports other then polo, crew, and the fan fave "who has the biggest house in the Hamptons?" is the most academically great. To establish the champion in this debate I decided to use the US News rankings. Though I am not the biggest fan of these rankings (since they give an obvious bias towards private schools), it is a good system and is widely accepted. So here are the numbers for each BCS conference (the other ones are a joke, seriously, they are):

ACC:
Number of Public Schools: 8
Number of Private Schools: 4
Schools in the top 25: 2
Schools in the top 50: 6
Average Rank: 48.25

Big East:
Number of Public Schools: 7
Number of Private Schools: 9
Schools in the top 25: 2
Schools in the top 50: 2
Average Rank: 51.29
SIDENOTE: There are also 2 unranked colleges here (Nova and Providence), and 7 Tier 3 which did not have actual rankings.

Big Ten:
Number of Public Schools: 10
Number of Private Schools: 1
Schools in the top 25: 0
Schools in the top 50: 4
Average Rank: 49

Big 12:
Number of Public Schools: 11
Number of Private Schools: 1
Schools in the top 25: 0
Schools in the top 50: 1
Average Rank: 86.50
SIDENOTE: OSU and Texas Tech are Tier 3 schools.

Pac-10:
Number of Public Schools: 8
Number of Private Schools: 2
Schools in the top 25: 3
Schools in the top 50: 5
Average Rank: 62.11
SITENOTE: Oregon State is a Tier 3 school

SEC:
Number of Public Schools: 11
Number of Private Schools: 1
Schools in the top 25: 1
Schools in the top 50: 2
Average Rank: 89.10
SITENOTE: MSU and Ole Miss are both Tier 3 schools

Now, here is the formula to crown the champion:

• 6 points for highest % in each category (and 5-1)
• -2 points for each school not ranked

Final Standings:
1. ACC - (17)
2. Pac 10 - (13)
3. Big Ten - (11)
4. SEC - (2)
5. Big 12 - (1)
6. Big East - (-4)