2013 SJ College Football Poll: FINAL POLL POSTED!!!

Re: 2013 SJ College Football Poll: STILL NEED WEEK 13 VOTES!!!



I Like to Rock

By I SHOULD COCO
Drunk on April Wine

CANUCKISTAN — This goes out to one of the SportsJournalists.com college football poll’s most faithful voters. It’s not as cool as the Stanley Cup playoff highlight reel, but here comes our salute to the final five unbeatens, set to Canadian rock. Click on the YouTube links and enjoy!

P.S. — Any rock band who slips the Day Tripper riff into one of their hits kicks ass in my book!

“Look away said they, across this mighty land; From the eastern shore to the western strand.”

As we near the end of the season, the only unbeaten left standing west of the Mighty Mississippi are the recently WAC-tacular Fresno State Bulldogs. Led by the video game-worthy stats of QB Derek Carr (3,948 yards passing and 39 TDs in only 10 games), Fresno State has squeaked its way past mediocre teams like Rutgers, Boise State and San Diego State, but there’s still a zero in the loss column. With only the defenseless San Jose State and a Mountain West title game against Utah State left to play, they don’t have a chance for a late-season statement game and may be passed up by ...

“Nothing matters but the weekend; From a Tuesday point of view ...”

While many fans ignore those midweek MAC games, Northern Illinois and their bulldozer of a QB, Jordan Lynch, has been Switchin’ to Glide ever since breaking through the mid-major ceiling and enjoying the spoils of a BCS bowl game last January. The Huskies were never really competitive with Florida State in the Orange Bowl, but they overcame a ton of hurdles just to get there. Could lightning strike twice? The current BCS standings say yes. NIU’s opening-game win in Iowa City is better than any victory Fresno State can offer. (And no, I’m not just saying that as some fanboi!)

“Held within the Pleasure Dome, decreed by Kubla Khan; To taste my bitter triumph, as a mad immortal man.”

The Ohio State Buckeyes are two wins away from back-to-back unbeaten regular season. Yet unless something happens to one of the teams below, Ohio State will have a big fat zero BCS championship game opportunities to show for that. Last year, of course, was mostly their own fault — or at least the fault of previous Buckeye coaching regimes. This year is a whole lot of bad Big 10 football teams and bad luck.

“Hit me with your flashbulb eyes; You know I’ve got nothing to hide.”

Had to be careful picking a song for Florida State. The Seminoles have dominated everyone they’ve faced on the field, and it’s hard to imagine that changing against Florida and (probably) Duke. But no one knows how Jameis Winston’s legal situation will play out, so a dark cloud remains on one of Florida State’s best seasons in recent memory.

“Oh, Alabama; The devil fools with the best laid plan.”

The stars certainly seem aligned for Satan and his Alabama Crimson Tide to roll into the final BCS big enchilada bowl and claim their third straight national title. But who knows ... maybe the Auburn Tigers have another crazy Hail Mary pass in them, or Missouri can shock the world with wins over both Johnny Football and AJ McCarron. That’s why we play the games, and we’ll all be watching.

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Here's this week's poll, and you'll notice I added spaces between groupings of teams. There's a big gap in votes between South Carolina and Oregon, and again between Oklahoma and Texas A&M.

It's also interesting that, unlike the BCS standings, our voters like Fresno State better than Northern Illinois in the race to be a BCS buster.

Here's the rest of the rankings:

SportsJournalists.com COLLEGE FOOTBALL POLL
WEEK THIRTEEN POLL — 11/25/13
RK. TEAM (1st) PTS PREVIOUS
1. Alabama (17) 569 1
2. Florida St. (5) 555 2
3. Ohio St. (1) 531 3
4. Auburn 487 6
5. Clemson 463 7
6. Missouri 454 8
7. Oklahoma St. 452 11
8. Stanford 377 10
9. Michigan St. 374 13
10. Baylor 371 4
11. South Carolina 356 12

12. Oregon 292 5
13. Fresno St. 252 15
14. Wisconsin 249 16
15. Louisiana St. 242 20
16. Arizona St. 227 22
17. Northern Illinois 222 17
18. Central Florida 205 19
19. Louisville 191 18
20. Oklahoma 184 21

21. Texas A&M 143 9
22. Southern Cal 93 23
23. UCLA 76 14
24. Duke 65 25
25. Notre Dame 25 —

Also receiving votes: East Carolina 6, Texas 5, Cincinnati 4, Arizona 2, Ball St. 1, Georgia Southern 1, Minnesota 1.

The SportsJournalists.com college football poll committee: I Should Coco (tabulator), Oz, Della9250, Huggy, Mile High, KYSportswriter, McNuggets Man, Rumpleforeskin, Songbird, Layman, albert77, Suicide Squeezer, slappy4428, dragonzo3, SportsHack1818, dparker85, Starman, ScottWColeman, Donnie, in his element, Inky_Wretch, Madhavok, Mizzougrad96, TheWritingWaffle, Tommy Dreamer. Not voting: Versatile, Dragon Steamboat, the_lorax.

 

Re: 2013 SJ College Football Poll: UPDATED; Week 13 poll POSTED on Page 13!

That's some great stuff, Coco, good to see some love for The Kings in these parts! Saw them open for Eric Clapton way back in the day. Gimme a ring if you're in Toronna!

 

Re: 2013 SJ College Football Poll: UPDATED; Week 13 poll POSTED on Page 13!

A great "rhyme," and a great song(s).

Growing up in Chicago, a DJ used to play "This Beat Goes On/Switchin to Glide" all the time on the rock station I listened to in the 1980s. Eventually I tracked down and bought The Kings LP ... will have to give a spin one of these days; it's been a while.

 

Re: 2013 SJ College Football Poll: UPDATED; Week 13 poll POSTED on Page 13!

The Kings Are Forever Here! Rockin' group that got caught up in the glut of arena rock wannabes. If rock history were just, the Kings and Shooting Star would be legends. Oh, and April Wine worked riffs from Day Tripper and Satisfaction into I Like to Rock.

 

Re: 2013 SJ College Football Poll: UPDATED; Week 13 poll POSTED on Page 13!

Amazon Beach was a solid followup to The Kings Are Here, I'm sure it has been out of print forever but I bet there is a vinyl copy in some used record store in Toronna. Also recalled seeing them on their own at the legendary El Mocambo.

 

Re: 2013 SJ College Football Poll: UPDATED; Week 13 poll POSTED on Page 13!

Top three:
1. Florida State
2. Auburn
3. Ohio State

 

Re: 2013 SJ College Football Poll: UPDATED; Week 13 poll POSTED on Page 13!

The race for No. 2 will be quite interesting this week ... in our poll and elsewhere.

With one week left to pick the last BCS title game participants, we could have anything from unbeaten Florida State-Ohio State to an Auburn-Alabama rematch.

 

Re: 2013 SJ College Football Poll: UPDATED; Week 13 poll POSTED on Page 13!

Rk...School...Rec...Prev
1...FSU...12-0...2
2...Ohio St...12-0...3
3...Mizzou...11-1...4
4...Auburn...11-1...5
5...Alabama...11-1...1
6...Michigan St...11-1...7
7...So. Carolina...10-2...9
8...Okla St...10-1...8
9...Clemson...10-2...6
10..Baylor...10-1...10
11..Stanford...10-2...11
12..Arizona St...10-2...13
13..Oregon...10-2...12
14..N Illinois...12-0...17
15..UCF...10-1...15
16..Louisville...10-1...16
17..Oklahoma...9-2...21
18..LSU...9-3...19
19..UCLA...9-3...22
20..Duke...10-2...24
21..Wisconsin...9-3...14
22..Texas...8-3...NR
23..Iowa...8-4...NR
24..TAMU...8-4...20
25..Fresno St...11-1...17

26..Cincinnati...9-2...NR

 

Re: 2013 SJ College Football Poll: UPDATED; Week 13 poll POSTED on Page 13!

1. Florida State [2]
2. Ohio State [3]
3. Auburn [5]
4. Alabama [1]
5. Missouri [6]
6. Oklahoma State [7]
7. Michigan State [8]
8. Baylor [9]
9. Stanford [10]
10. South Carolina [11]
11. Clemson [4]
12. Oregon [12]
13. Arizona State [13]
14. UCF [15]
15. Louisville [16]
16. Northern Illinois [18]
17. LSU [19]
18. Wisconsin [14]
19. UCLA [21]
20. Oklahoma [22]
21. Duke [24]
22. Texas A&M [20]
23. Texas [NR]
24. Fresno State [17]
25. Georgia [NR]

OUT: USC [23], Notre Dame [25]

 

Re: 2013 SJ College Football Poll: UPDATED; Week 13 poll POSTED on Page 13!

1] Florida State (2)
2] Auburn (4)
3] Ohio State (3)
4] Alabama (1)
5] Oklahoma State (5)
6] Missouri (6)
7] Michigan State [8]
8] Stanford (9)
9] South Carolina (11)
10] Baylor (10)
11] Clemson (7)
12] Oregon (13)
13] Northern Illinois (14)
14] Arizona State (19)
15] Wisconsin (15)
16] LSU (17)
17] UCF (16)
18] Duke (22)
19] Louisville (21)
20] UCLA (24)
21] Oklahoma (23)
22] Fresno State (12)
23] Texas A&M (18)
24] Notre Dame (25)
25] Georgia (NR)

IN: Georgia
OUT: USC (20)

 

Re: 2013 SJ College Football Poll: UPDATED; Week 13 poll POSTED on Page 13!



Hang on Sloopy, Sloopy hang on!

By I SHOULD COCO
Garage rocker

Before we begin ... a quick shout out to my man Little Steven and his “Underground Garage” weekly radio show. Many Sunday nights have been spent there over the past four falls, listening to kick-ass tunes both old and new as I type in college football poll ballots.

This weekend’s installment of the Underground Garage featured rock from the city of Cleveland and/or the state of Ohio. In one of his segments, Van Zandt gave a history of the rags-to-riches group The McCoys and their 1965 chart-topper, “Hang on Sloopy.”

Little did I know that it’s the official rock song of the both the State of Ohio and Ohio State University. Always wondered why the Script Ohio crew always plays it during Buckeye games.

It certainly was appropriate on Saturday, as Ohio State hung on for dear life to edge an inspired Michigan team 42-41 in Ann Arbor.

Most weeks, that late snuff of a 2-point conversion would have been the game of the day. But you may have heard about a more exciting finish four hours later in the Iron Bowl ...

Yes, Auburn’s 108-yard FG return to topple two-time defending champion Alabama has been discussed a wee bit in the past few days — and deservedly so. Outside of the Standford-Cal marching band ending, tough to think of a crazier finish to a college football game ... especially with such high stakes.

The fact that the Iron Bowl madness followed an almost monumental upset by Michigan over Ohio State makes Week 14 the best weekend of the season, hands down.

But wait, there’s more!

• Iowa State 52, West Virginia 44 (3 OT): Who the hell is Grant Rohach? Just some freshman QB who rallied the downtrodden Cyclones to 24 fourth-quarter points to tie the game. He also tossed the winning TD in the third overtime as part of a 331-yard, 4-TD effort in the improbable road win. Kudos to Paul Rhodes and the Cyclones for their late rally in a “meaningless” season finale.

• Georgia 41, Georgia Tech 34 (2 OT): Speaking of rallying with a backup quarterback, the Bulldogs trailed by 20 in the first half to their option-loving state rivals. But never fear, Todd Gurley muscled his way to four TDs and the Dawgs kept bragging rights in a game many SEC fans missed seeing live.

• Southern Miss wins: The Golden Eagles were on the road and staring at their second straight 0-12 season ... before a 188-pound freshman QB named Nick Mullens decided to have a career day. He tossed five TDs and ran for another as downtrodden Southern Miss smacked around UAB, 62-27. Forty-nine of those points were scored after halftime.

All that sets up one final weekend in the BCS era of big-boy college football. Up to this point, when there are two unbeaten teams from major conferences, none has ever been “leapfrogged” by a one-loss team for a spot in the Big Enchilada Bowl.

But hey ... this is the SEC we’re talking about. “Here comes Auburn, Buckeyes hang on!”

Here’s what our SportsJournalists.com pollsters think about things as we head toward the finish:

SportsJournalists.com COLLEGE FOOTBALL POLL
WEEK FOURTEEN POLL — 12/2/13
RK. TEAM (1st) PTS PREVIOUS
1. Florida St. (20) 547 2
2. Ohio St. (2) 524 3
3. Auburn 508 4
4. Alabama 474 1
5. Missouri 459 6
6. Oklahoma St. 434 7
7. Michigan St. 399 9
8. Stanford 380 8
9. South Carolina 377 11
10. Baylor 373 10

11. Oregon 296 12
12. Arizona St. 285 16
(tie) Clemson 285 5
14. Northern Illinois 252 17
15. Louisiana St. 234 15
16. Central Florida 225 18
17. Louisville 204 19
18. Oklahoma 183 20
19. UCLA 168 23
20. Duke 136 24
21. Wisconsin 135 14

22. Fresno St. 73 13
23. Texas A&M 54 21
24. Texas 46 —
25. Georgia 31 —

Also receiving votes: Cincinnati 23, Iowa 11, Miami 11, Notre Dame 6, Southern Cal 5, Ball St. 3, Washington 3, Michigan 2, Rice 2, Bowling Green 1, Vanderbilt 1.

The SportsJournalists.com college football poll committee: I Should Coco (tabulator), Oz, Della9250, Huggy, Mile High, KYSportswriter, Rumpleforeskin, Songbird, Layman, Suicide Squeezer, slappy4428, dragonzo3, SportsHack1818, dparker85, Starman, ScottWColeman, Donnie, in his element, Inky_Wretch, Mizzougrad96, TheWritingWaffle, Dragon Steamboat, the_lorax. Not voting: McNuggets Man, Madhavok, albert77, Versatile, Tommy Dreamer.

 

Re: 2013 SJ College Football Poll: NEW Week 14 poll NOW POSTED (Page 14)

Anybody know what Michigan's state rock song is?

Congrats to Sparty on the Big 10 title ... and for sparing the nation from the disgrace of the SEC champ being left out of the final BCS championship game ... :