Mythical National Championship Odds For 2008

The top contenders nationally:

Southern Cal +300
Florida +600
Georgia +900
LSU +1000
Ohio State +1000
Oklahoma +1000
Texas +1200
West Virginia +1400
Virginia Tech +1400
Missouri +1400

A couple things jump out: Florida at 6:1 and UGA 9:1? With the amount of love Gergia is getting from the media, I would have thought those would be switched. Besides that, the game between these two is a home game for the Bulldogs.

Secondly, I would have though Ohio State would be closer to the top. I know there is a rather large backlash from the back-to-back losses, but they still got to the BCS MNC and are, without question, the most talented team in the Big Ten. An early game at Southern Cal will be a difficult game, and a loss will hurt their chances of finishing in the Top 2, however wins are still king and, even with a loss to SC, running the Big Ten table will probably still land them in the big game; and once you're there anything can happen. Oh, and it doesn't hurt that they get Penn State and Michigan at home.

Anyway, the top Big X contenders:

OHIO STATE +1000
ILLINOIS +3000
WISCONSIN +4000
PENN STATE +5000
MICHIGAN STATE +7000
IOWA +10000

After seeing several Way Too Early Pre-Summer Polls that have Michigan State ranked ahead of PSU, this is a bit of a relief. There is always the risk that your homerism and blinders mean you don't quite know how good or bad your team will be, but even without Lee I just can't imagine a situation where we would finish behind MSU, who plays @Cal, @Ohio State and @Penn State. All in all, though, this is about what I expected. We really weren't very good last year despite winning some big games again Wisconsin and A&M, from an outsiders perception I can understand being ranked fourth in the Big Ten, especially with our five week stretch that include Illinois, @Purdue, @Wisconsin, Michigan, @Ohio State....that is brutal.

I still am shocked at how many people are on the Zooker bandwagon. They play Missouri at a neutral site (I think, definitely not home), and then play @Penn State and @Michigan in back to back weeks (although I guess Michigan could be pretty bad this year). I also don't think people realize how good Rashard Mendenhall really was. Besides rushing for almost 1700 yards, he also was the second leading receiver in terms of catchings and the third in terms of yardage. Oh, and the whole USC/Rose Bowl thing last year doesn't usually help your public perception.

Recruiting Is Creepy: 2009

I've tried to explain that I don't like to follow recruiting. Besides the fact that most of these lists simply aren't right, there is also something very strange about learning the names of high school seniors all around the country.

It wasn't until EDSBS sucked me in with their Curiosity Index that I ended up at Rivals. They have some how ranked the Top 100 players of 2009. I didn't get into names here because, like the title of the post explains, that would be creepy. But I am obsessed with stats and so here are a few:

-USC has landed the #1 recruit in the nation who, as is often the case, is a quarterback from California.

-Of the 100 "Top" recruits, only 10 have made commitments. Of the 120 D1a programs, only 5 have received commitments. You probably guessed that Penn State is not one of these programs and you are right. By School: USC 5, Ohio State 2, Michigan 1, UCLA 1, Alabama 1.

-Of the 100 "Top" recruits, 4 are from PA. All appear to be considering PSU. None appear to be driving Corvettes.

So lets review. USC is owning shit, as usual. Ohio State and Michigan are getting big name recruits, as usual. My post lacks a proper conclusion, as usual. You didn't learn anything from this post, but thanks for reading it.