The AP and BCS polls are out after a relatively light weekend in college football. While it wasn’t a Saturday marked by marquis matchups, there were three happenings over the past few days that are worthy of note.

The first is Jeremiah Masoli rallying Oregon from a 4th quarter deficit at a very tough Arizona team to eventually win the game in overtime. Not only was this a huge win for the 8th-ranked Ducks, it kept alive Oregon’s PAC-10 and Rose Bowl hopes. Donovan McNabb should watch tape of that game and see Masoli’s poise both on the field and on the sidelines. He put on a leadership clinic.

Secondly, Les Miles’ ineptitude in the LSU/Ole Miss game. After making about 4 clock management mistakes on their final possession, Miles and his coaching staff delivered the self-inflicted coup de grace by instructing quarterback Jordan Jefferson to spike the ball with 1 second on the clock. Needless to say the game ended, LSU lost and the SEC looked stupid.

And the greatest/worst occurrence surrounding this week’s college football is reports that Jimmy Clausen was punched in the face by an irate fan upon leaving a restaurant with his family on Saturday night. Of course, the Notre Dame quarterback is hardly the scapegoat in South Bend: he completed 67% of his passes against Connecticut for 329 yards and 2 TDs. Regardless, someone has to pay the price for this fan’s frustration, though if I were that guy I would have punched Les Miles.

Ok. Time for my weekly beef: in a sign that the AP voters simply cannot shake their old boys club bias, they have Penn State ranked ahead of Iowa. For my part, I think Penn State is probably playing better football than Iowa at this point but if fairness and demonstrated performance mean anything, this is an absolute farce.

How can a PSU team with the same 10-2 record as Iowa be ranked ahead of the Hawkeyes when Iowa beat Penn State at Happy Valley? How can Penn State who is behind Iowa in the Big Ten standings be ranked ahead of Iowa? How can Penn State, who lost to Big Ten leader Ohio State 24-7 at home be ranked ahead of an Iowa team who took Ohio State to overtime at the Horseshoe, be ranked ahead of Iowa?

The AP voters are like a bunch of second rate criminals who can’t get their story straight. They flub around, hoping nobody will notice that all they really do is rank their traditional favorites as high as they can and hope it’ll slide. Of course, their inability to do their jobs correctly may be part of the reason their poll isn’t used in determining a national champion.

In one of the more sensible adjustments to the AP rankings this year, Alabama has moved from number 2 to the top spot in this week’s poll. Of course, there’s lots to love about things that come in pairs in ‘Bama but I’m sure most Crimson Tide fans are happier with the number 1 next to their school’s name. The crowned king of college football, Florida, had held this spot all season but their two recent sub-par performances and Alabama’s strong play of late have resulted in a re-shuffling of the order of merit.

One of the compelling things about the way the poll works is its reliance on assumptions about the relative strength and weaknesses of the conferences. It has been a given all season that the SEC is the top conference and that (among other things) the Big 10 isn’t so hot. Because of this, the voters need to have lots of SEC teams in the top 25 to validate their assertion that Florida and Alabama are the greatest things since co-eds in tight shirts. While I agree that these two teams are the best in the country, the over-rating of their conference brethren and under-valuing of the Big 10 will go a long way in describing our gripes with this week’s AP Poll.

LSU. The Tigers are the team most indicative of the SEC bias that defines this week’s top 25. As we mentioned last week, LSU has no business being in the top 10. After a dismal performance against Florida, the Tigers found themselves ranked #10. And after not having played yesterday, they’re now #9. LSU is the 112th ranked offense (out of 120 teams) in the country and lags behind schools like Arkansas State, Temple, Middle Tennessee State and Rice in offensive production. If they were the #2 team in total defense there might be room for overall balance. But they’re not. Their defense ranks a mediocre 35th in the nation. LSU is a top-10 team because voters need the SEC to look strong. Keep in mind that the over-the-top adulation voters have for Florida, Alabama and the SEC is so strong that there is a real possibility that the SEC title game (assuming Florida and Alabama play in it) will be played again in January under a different name: the BCS championship game. And that, my friends, would be a disgrace.

Oklahoma. Oklahoma is 3-3 after losing a close game to Texas 16-13 at a “neutral site (the Cotton Bowl)” and they are ranked 25th. The predicate here is the hangover from last year’s strong performance (and unjust inclusion in the title game at Texas’ expense). Oklahoma has played a tough schedule but has failed to win any of their big games. They lost to BYU and Florida State early in the season and have as their three wins victories against Idaho, Tulsa and Baylor. The assumption here is two-fold: one, that memories of Sam Bradford are enough to keep them afloat (despite the fact he’s been a partial ghost this year) and two, that close losses against good teams mean OU can play with anyone. A good example of the last assumption’s inconsistency is that the Sooners are ranked with a worse record than a 4-2 Notre Dame team that has lost on last-second plays to USC and Michigan. I’m not saying the Irish should be ranked at this point but their season serves as a good counterpoint to the absurdity of Oklahoma being in the top 25.

Ohio State. Ah, we go back to the Ohio State well as we seem to every week. Two numerical realities should help to define why their #18 ranking is an absolute joke: 91 and 26-18. The first number is their national ranking in total offense (come to think of it, after seeing an LSU team ranked 9 spots ahead of them with a 112th ranking in total offense, this actually looks good). And the second number is the score of their losing effort yesterday against a Purdue team that came into the game with a 1-5 record. Ohio State did put up a decent effort against USC in a home loss but if there’s one thing that Notre Dame teaches us, it’s that a quality loss to the Trojans will do nothing for you ranking. So why reward the Buckeyes who can’t even beat Purdue? Simple answer: because Ohio State is a program that will receive any benefit of the doubt voters will give them. I really can’t wait until #7 Iowa goes into the Horseshoe in November and beats the stickers of the Buckeyes’ helmets.

Normally we go with three gripes but I have a third-and-a-half beef this week: Cincinnati at #5. Now I know that they’re undefeated and that they play in a nominal BCS conference in the Big East, but come on. Ranked ahead of the Big Ten leader Iowa? Ranked ahead of Boise State? The Bearcats’ 6-0 record has come against teams with a combined record of 17-20 and the only team in the top-25 they’ve beaten is South Florida (ranked #21 at the time). Cincinnati is the definition of an untested team and they play in a truly weak conference (they’re the only Big East team in the top-25). Because I assume the AP voters have a collective agenda, this is one ranking I really can’t figure out.

The first installment of the BCS computer rankings comes out today so I’ll post those when they materialize (I guess that omniscient computer they use is still on a 56k modem). Until next Sunday when even more crimes are committed in the name of the SEC, enjoy your week.

UPDATE: The first BCS standings are out. Wow, what a joke.

Week 6 just came to a conclusion and there’s plenty to complain about in the AP Rankings. Some of our questions about last weeks rankings were answered yesterday as Oklahoma, Notre Dame and Ohio State all either showed something better or had their rankings more appropriately adjusted. (Here are the rankings.)

Oklahoma proved they are at least a stonger team with Sam Bradford under center as they beat a 3-1 Baylor team handily. Yes, they are still a question mark as the only top-25 team with 2 loses but the voters did drop them a spot this week to #20. As for Notre Dame, they break into the top-25 by not playing. Obviously a weekend without the Irish is a week of sunshine for the Catholic-hating national sports media. And Ohio State moved up two spots to #7 with a win against a previously unbeaten Wisconsin team. Clearly the voters took to heart our Week 5 gripes.

But it’s not Week 5 anymore so here are the three injustices that stand out the most:

Penn State at #14. I’m sorry, folks, but Penn State is playing the easiest schedule in memory for a team with national title hopes. Yesterday’s 52-3 win over Eastern Illinois at home proves nothing, much in the same way as none of their wins this year have been anything other than walk-overs against hideous teams. Akron, Syracuse, Temple and Illinos (plus EIU) are a combined 11-15 playing in conferences that are either mid-majors or experiencing down years. Penn State’s chance to do something impressive was a failure as they lost handily at home to Iowa. In fairness, Penn State isn’t entirely to blame as schedules are made years in advance and it’s not their fault the Big Ten isn’t great this year. But their out-of-conference scheduling is weak and (as it turns out) they’ve waltzed over doormat teams and have lost to the one quality opponent they’ve faced. They’ll have another home game against a 4-2 Minnesota team next week;I’m not sure that will tell us much either but at least the Gophers have a winning record in a BCS conference.

Iowa at #11. I just got done saying the Big Ten is relatively weak this season but Iowa is the class of the conference so far, at least by record. Both they and Ohio State are undefeated in-conference but the difference between the two is the one loss on OSU’s record against a clean 6-0 mark for Iowa. Iowa’s big test was a road game against Penn State and (despite my opinion that PSU isn’t worthy of a #14 ranking) they passed it. Ohio State lost its test at home against USC. Sure, USC is a better team than Penn State but one team had its toughest game on the road and the other (Ohio State) lost their tough one. I guess the general point here is that the team with the best record in the Big Ten (overall + in-conference) is ranked 4 spots behind the #7 Ohio State team with one loss. Everyone in the media likes to talk about how every game matters each week; if that’s true then Iowa should be ranked ahead of its Big Ten rival as they have a better record. Ohio State benefits perennially from name recognition to bolster its ranking and Iowa does not. We’ll find out who’s better on November 17 as they’ll meet in Columbus.

LSU at #10. Anyone who watched their game last night against Florida saw a team with one of the worst offenses in the country. Yes, Florida is ranked #1 in total defense in the nation. But a team ranked #4 going into the game that can’t manage more than a field goal had no business being ranked that high last week and has no business being ranked in the top-10 after that loss (at home, mind you, in an environement where they’d won over 30 Saturday night games in a row before last night). The LSU offense ranks 109th in the country. How anyone can honestly put a team with an offense that bad in the top-10 is beyond me. The reason, of course, is that the Kool Aid is flavored SEC this year so voters need teams like LSU, Ole Miss and Georgia to be factors despite the clear lack of dominance of any team in the SEC other than Florida and Alabama. When you add their offensive woes to how mediocre their defense is (ranked 40th nationally), it’s a mystery how anyone can think of them as a top-10 team. Give them credit for hanging in there against a terrific Florida team but you’re going to have to do a little more than beat Vanderbilt, Louisiana-Lafayette, Mississippi State, Georgia and Washington and post disgraceful offensive numbers if you want to be in the top-10.

It is now the civic responsibility of every red-blooded American to cry foul the absurdity that college football’s system for determining a national champion is. The well-documented, monopolistic and exclusionary practices of the BCS selection process are so blatantly unfair that they’re being debated at the highest level of government. The computer program that spits out the predetermined BCS ranking later in the season takes into account both the AP Poll as well as the Coaches Poll (the later has been shown to be so out-of-touch that in several cases the coaches themselves aren’t even voting: members of their staffs are).

The polls’ biases are quite natural (let’s take the AP poll alone since its voters at least watch more than 1 game per weekend); sports writers determine before the season whom they think should be ranked where and then they do their best to justify the continued inclusion of their forecasts in the rankings. The problem with this is that each week’s rankings overdetermine how the teams are thought about the next week and that snowballs all the way until the rankings are computerized, in other words when the rankings matter.

With that said, we’ve taken it upon ourselves to document the three biggest AP Poll inconsistencies each week until the end of the season. After the Poll came out today, here’s what stands out:

Ohio State is ranked number 9. The combined record of the 4 teams OSU has beaten is 10-9 and that includes Toledo, Illinois, Navy and Indiana. The only truly challenging team they’ve played is USC and they lost. At home. While OSU does rank #9 in total defense, its ranking of 68th in total offense hardly warrants such a high overall standing. Furthermore, the Big Ten has only 3 teams ranked in the top-25 (the other two are Iowa and Penn State) and in a year when that conference is relatively weak, there’s no reason to force a 4-1 team that can’t win the big game at home into the top-10.

Oklahoma. This one is a real joke. They’re ranked #19 with a 2-2 record, having lost both games against good opponents in BYU and Miami (granted, both games were lost by 1-point margins). They’re without Sam Bradford which shouldn’t mean the voters are holding a spot for them in the rankings until he comes back. And their two wins? They came against Tulsa and Idaho State, an 0-5 team. Without Bradford, Oklahoma has achieved a ranking of 26th in total offense and has scored 20 and 14 points in its losses. While they were great last year and could be worthy of a top-25 ranking with Bradford under center, the fact is that he’s not and they’ve struggled. They’re being grandfathered into the rankings and that just ain’t right.

The exclusion of Notre Dame. I’m not going to make the argument that the Irish should be a top-10 team but the fact they’re on the outside looking in is absurd. Notre Dame is ranked 4th in the nation in total offense and has won 4 of its 5 games (the only loss a last second defeat at a 4-1 Michigan team). The Irish quarterback, Jimmy Claussen, leads the nation with a 179.3 passer rating. He’s 4th in total yards passing, averaging 309 per game. He has a 68% completion percentage and has thrown for 12 touchdowns against only 2 picks. In yet another come-from-behind win against Washington yesterday, Claussen threw for 422 yards while completing 74% of his passes. The Irish are led by the nation’s best quarterback and are scoring points in droves, despite being without their top receiver, Michael Floyd, for the season. Their biggest test will be in 2 weeks when they face USC in South Bend (a team that has the same 4-1 record as Notre Dame and is ranked 7th but has as its loss the University of Washington, a team Notre Dame just beat).

The plight of the Irish is demonstrative of what’s really wrong with the polling: at this point in the season a 4-1 team that’s not ranked has a lot more work to do than a 4-1 ranked team is. Take USC for example: they have the same record as Notre Dame and yet their 1 loss came against Washington, a team Notre Dame just beat. So in sum, both teams have identical records, the measuring stick of a common opponent and yet USC is ranked 7th while the Irish are unranked. They play each other in two weeks which will settle the question of which of these two particular teams is better but even if Notre Dame wins, can they be expected to overtake USC in the rankings, in other words an 18-spot jump?

The college football season is going to kick-off in a few weeks and the only thing I’m hearing about it in the media is that Urban Meyer got a $750,000 raise from the University of Florida. Ah, the NCAA and the purity of amateur athletics. Only the NCAA could thinly veil and weakly justify using the barter system to compensate football and basketball players who generate 8 and 9-figure revenues annually for big programs. And only the NCAA is capable of putting its football championship in the hands of alcoholic sports writers, rigged computer programs and blatantly exclusionary and financially lopsided post-season pairings.

But enough with this social consciousness crap. After all, does anyone in Texas, Alabama, Florida or Oklahoma really even know how to spell “amateur?” No, what’s really exciting is the game on the field. So to give all 8 of our readers the perspective they crave, we’ll be doing a little season previewing, focusing of course on your Penn State Nittany Lions. While I’d like to focus on Notre Dame, I realize that most people in this area are mysteriously hostile to the Irish, much in the same way they’re hostile to the Red Sox and Buffalo Sabres. With all the persecution I feel, it’s a wonder I still live in the area.

Anyway, be on the lookout for our predictions for PSU’s season, the Joe Paterno bicuspid valve watch as well as our top-10 and the iSportacus National Champion forecast. What will be unique about our predictions is that it will include at least 1 team from the Mountain West or WAC who will get screwed-out of a shot at the title because they play in a state with a population smaller than the capacity of the Swamp. So until then, adieu!

A few days before the ultra-thrilling Eagles training camp begins, Andy Reid announced that Sean McDermott, the acting defenive coodinator, has been granted that position on a permanent basis. I have no idea what this portends; probably more of the same but I feel compelled to point it out because I know how you Eagles fans are.

The circumstances surrounding this, of course, are no laughing matter. A member of the Eagles’ staff since 1998, McDermott’s promotion from secondary coach was necessitated because of the difficult health problems facing Jim Johnson. We wish Johnson and his family the best as they battle his cancer.

McDermott is a local guy, having attending LaSalle College High School where he was named All-Southeastern PA at defensive back in 1992. While I prefer Johnson’s pedigree (Notre Dame, Buffalo Bills), I’m sure McDermott will continue to do what Johnson has for the past 10 years: facilitate defensive success by out-athleting opposing offenses.

I had to use this picture because Phils’ closer and fellow Notre Dame alumnus, Brad Lidge, has been placed on the 15 day DL with a sprained right knee. I guess we all knew this was coming, but a few hours before the pivotal series with the Mets begins..wow, I’m kind of in shock. I feel like for as much sense as this makes (unfortunately), I thought he’d have a chance to redeem himself on the big stage against the Mets. Two likely explanations for this: a.) his knee is actually hurt enough that he needs to sit for a while (the DL activation date is retroactive to June 7) or b.) Manuel thinks the series with the Mets is too important to allow Lidge’s crap-shooting performance to potentially ruin it.

I like Joe Paterno a lot but I’m going to have to rip him for this one. At an alumni event yesterday, Paterno expressed his interest in seeing the Big Ten expand. Specifically, he feels that Syracuse, Pitt and Rutgers would be good fits as they would represent expanded TV exposure on the East Coast. One team that would not be a good fit, according to Joe Pa, would be Notre Dame. “There’s some pressure, I suppose, to maybe go back to Notre Dame and ask again, which I would not be happy with,” said Paterno “I think they’ve had their chance.”

Their chance at what, exactly? For one thing, Notre Dame is a much more logical Big Ten member than Penn State as it’s actually a midwestern school. To boot, the Irish have historic rivalries with Michigan State, Ohio State, Purdue, Indiana and Michigan largely because (unlike Penn State) South Bend, Indiana is right smack-dab in the middle of Big Ten country. For another, it would be helpful for Paterno to remember that Penn State’s joining the Big Ten in 1990 was a result of the conference’s desire to do exactly what is being proposed by the Notre Dame pursuit: expand the market by signing-on a new, big name school.

The reason Notre Dame is not in the Big Ten is not because the Big Ten doesn’t want them, it’s because Notre Dame doesn’t want to be in the Big Ten and there’s a reason for that: money. If Paterno is so interested in expanding the Big Ten’s TV market, why look to Rutgers or Syracuse when you can look to the most-watched college football team in the nation, Notre Dame? Again, the Big Ten would love Notre Dame’s inclusion in their conference for the natural reason mentioned above (i.e. geographical and historical relevance) but the most appetizing part about a merger would be the instantly-elevated TV market that would come with Notre Dame’s inclusion.

Paterno’s position is idoitic for two reasons: one, Notre Dame is not going to join the Big Ten. The money’s flowing in and ND can still have it’s big games against Big Ten schools without having to revenue-share with schools like Northwestern, Iowa and (oh yeah) Penn State. And second, it reveals what seems to be a common thread amongst Penn State people: a hatred of Notre Dame. The good news for Paterno is that the Notre Dame schedule doesn’t include Penn State all the way through the 2016 season so he won’t have to be bothered by the Irish until (at soonest) he’s 91.

In what is becoming a tradition of newly-elected Presidents speaking at the Notre Dame graduation, Barack Obama will be in the house this year. Any time you get a President as your graduation speaker you should be happy (when I graduated from Notre Dame the commencement address was given by Mark Shields-what a rush that was).

Unfortunately some members of the Notre Dame community are protesting Obama’s presence because of his reproductive politics. Living in the Northeast, it always blows my mind that Obama is not received as the Buddha everywhere else in this country. I do know that some Catholics don’t like abortion and stuff but come on, if there’s one man who’s shown he’s willing to use his Presidential power for the betterment of sports it’s Barack Obama. And the Irish definitely need some help so maybe they can get the Prez to legislate favorable recruiting or to close Ohio State (sorry, The Ohio State University). It’s worth a shot: after all, Jesus hasn’t helped with a National Championship since 1988.

Everyone will be watching tonight as Notre Dame hosts Villanova in a critical game for both schools. While all but assured a tournament berth at this point, Nova will have its sights set on a top-4 seed for the upcoming Big East tournament. After a wretched performance Saturday against Georgetown, the Wildcats (23-6, 11-5) will need a win tonight if they hope to get the double bye in the conference tournament that comes with one of the top 4 seeds.

Notre Dame (16-12, 7-9) most certainly will need a win tonight if it holds any hope of making the Dance. The Big East is so strong that a team like the Irish will have some consideration by the committee if they can get a few more wins in conference. That starts tonight at home vs. Villanova.

Game notes:

Villanova was 3-16 in 3-point shooting in their loss to Georgetown, a team coming off 9 losses in its previous 11. They need to do better tonight.
Luke Harangody leads the Big East in scoring at 23.6 ppg. In Notre Dame’s last 3 games, he’s averaging 17.3 points on 36.5% shooting. He needs to do better tonight.
Nova is ranked #11 in the AP poll and #16 in the ESPN/USA today poll. ND, once ranked #6, is unranked. US News and World Report ranks Notre Dame as the 18th best National University. Villanova is unranked.