BlogPoll Question #2

1. What's the critical game of the season on the national scene?

For the last few years, Oklahoma-Texas has had a major impact on the national scene, and this year should prove no different, although by all accounts from the other side: Texas has mroe to lose than Oklahoma at this stage. Florida-Tennesse might have implications for the top of the polls, depending on how quickly each teams quarterbacks come to the field and display all they have learned.

However, for reasons that have little to do with national championship implications for 2005 (although this is game should be a consideration), the most critical game for the next five or ten years of college football is Texas-Ohio State. Without any movement toward a playoff system, and with the BCS in continual disarray, the prospect of two top-five teams from different conferences playing each other in a regular season game may be the only thing that holds college football together in the immediate future. The real implications of this game are on scheduling: if this proves a success (and regardless of outcome, how could it not?), we might see January-style match-ups in September for a good long while. The addition of a 12th game means that there are two options: another I-AA warm-up patsy on the schedule, or a real test after only a few weeks of game-time. I would prefer the latter, and I'm sure so would the networks.

2.What's the most critical matchup for your team?

The same game that's been so entertaining and important the last several years: USC. It's at the end of the season this year, and only a week removed from our bye (we play Oregon in between). It is not impossible to imagine that this game might have national championship implications (most likely for USC, but spoiler is not a bad role to play).

Of course, if I were to sunscribe to the Tedford method of football, the most critical matchup at the this moment is Sacramento State. They are the best team we are playing at this moment. Then, the week after that, the most critical matchup is Washington, and so on. He might be right: if things don't start off on the right foot, sometimes it's hard to get going again.

3. What's your wingnut upset prediction of year?

Oklahoma-UCLA and Georgia-Boise State have already been picked as wingnuts by a number of people. So I'm going to go with something less predictable: a I-AA team over a major conference I-A team. It has happened, in the past, and will happen again in the future; this is less wingy than a certainty. (Which I-AA and I-A? I have no idea. Not Sacramento State, that's for sure.)