i have still not fully comprehended this one. how do you lose a game when you're favored by 41 points? i'm not really sure. i don't even know if pete carroll himself knows the answer. (that is, by the way, the biggest upset ever in the history of sports, in terms of point spread. incredibly, the second-biggest happened just a month ago when syracuse beat louisville. and if you're wondering, the appalachian state vs. michigan game officially had no point spread.) i'm a little disappointed that USC fell only to 10th in the AP poll. yes, i get the whole "they would beat Team X in a head-to-head matchup, so let's rank them ahead of them" argument. but when you get beaten by a conference bottom-feeder, on your home turf no less, you deserve punishment. and quite honestly, if you lose to Stanford, i don't know that you can at all say with any certainty who you could and couldn't beat. in terms of talent, they could probably beat anyone. but the poll is not just about talent, it's about execution as well. and frankly, the trojans have just seemed unmotivated and flat out-coached at times. my own personal theory, not that i have any insider knowledge of any kind, is that pete carroll has already half-way mentally checked out on this season, and it's showing on the field. i think he's become bored at the lack of challenge he faces now in the college ranks, and he longs to once again scratch the NFL itch. it also helps that there's more money in the pro game. if he returns to USC in 2008 i'll be really surprised.
here be this week's rankings:
| record | prev | ||||
| | | ||||
| 1 | LSU | 6-0 | 1 | ||
| 2 | Ohio St | 6-0 | 5 | ||
| 3 | California | 5-0 | 3 | ||
| 4 | S. Florida | 5-0 | 4 | ||
| 5 | Oklahoma | 5-1 | 9 | ||
| 6 | Oregon | 4-1 | 6 | ||
| 7 | S. Carolina | 5-1 | 10 | ||
| 8 | W. Virginia | 5-1 | 11 | ||
| 9 | Missouri | 5-0 | 17 | ||
| 10 | Kentucky | 5-1 | 8 | ||
| 11 | Cincinnati | 6-0 | 12 | ||
| 12 | Boston Coll | 6-0 | 15 | ||
| 13 | Florida | 4-2 | 7 | ||
| 14 | Arizona St | 6-0 | 20 | ||
| 15 | USC | 4-1 | 2 | ||
| 16 | Virginia Tech | 5-1 | 22 | ||
| 17 | Illinois | 5-1 | -- | ||
| 18 | Texas | 4-2 | 14 | ||
| 19 | Kansas | 5-0 | -- | ||
| 20 | Wisconsin | 5-1 | 13 | ||
| 21 | Auburn | 4-2 | -- | ||
| 22 | Tennessee | 3-2 | -- | ||
| 23 | Florida St | 4-1 | -- | ||
| 24 | Colorado | 4-2 | 25 | ||
| 25 | Hawaii | 6-0 | 21 |
they gone: clemson, georgia, kansas state, rutgers, nebrask
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