Redemption Edition as Serious Play Begins

 

As the season rounds the first corner, a few true scrums have been had, blemishes have arisen, and toldjasos have begun to fill the inboxes of alumni everywhere.  Most years have slow starts:  you can’t laugh at someone for losing until they at least put their season on the line and play a competent school.  So we have finally begun in earnest:  Week Four was most yummy and delivered even more yucks than I could have hoped for.

Week Four Most OverRated Football Program Results

1           Utah, most obviously overrated, lost to unrated USC

2          Cal survived a trip to Ole Miss

3          Iowa was consumed by one of those marching band scandals

4          Washington State handled winless UCLA

5          Florida filleted hopeless Tennessee

5          Notre Dame scored one whole touchdown that wasn’t a gift from Georgia

5          UCF was outsmarted, outworked, and eventually edged at Pitt

5          Georgia made the biggest statement of the year over Notre Dame

9          Clemson destroyed former directional school Charlotte

9          Oklahoma was idle

11        Oregon had few problems with Stanford

11        Auburn managed a capable Texas A&M on the road

11        Boise State shot down Air Force

14        Texas awoke and survived Oklahoma State in Austin

 

So, we now mount that trophy on the wall as our #1 biggest takedown of the year, the largest pelt taken, the silliest ranking debunked:  Utah.  Notre Dame sold off although they lost to a highly ranked Georgia, but that’s the way it is with tulip bulb mania.

In other news,UCF lost at Pitt (our interesting team from last week) and moves from my miss column to my hit parade; I had said they seemed to be doing okay, but, suddenly, my initial disgust was proven right.  Michigan was humiliated by Wisconsin, so I’m also overturning my earlier miss on them.  Washington State is completely unranked now, so I’m moving them to my win column as well.

Off my radar, newly ranked TCU promptly lost to cross-Plex rival SMU, but I had recorded no opinion on either heretofore.  In summation, we add four pelts to the wall, at least a couple of which are fine specimens.

Next week conference play now begins in all earnestness, and we’ll see who survives the grind and who is forged in fire.  Here’s my latest ranking of puff toads.

 

Newest Week N + 1 Most OverRated Football Programs

 

1          Cal could barely hang with terrible Ole Miss; they are the newest king of hype

2          Iowa was recently added to the list but yet to disappoint

2          Virginia joins our list; this fever shall pass

4          Boise St just isn’t proving anything this year

5          Florida has yet to be disrobed

6          Clemson must run the table since they’re ranked numero uno

6          Georgia has made the best statement against being overrated

8          Texas has a comfy few weeks until the Red River rivalry resumes

8          Auburn is barely overrated if at all

10        Oregon is living up to the hype and might well not be overrated

11        Oklahoma is solid and might well not be overrated at all

 

So how has our year gone so far?

Year to Date Hides on the Wall Ratings

1          Utah lost to an unrated USC

2          Stanford was revealed by USC

2          Syracuse was unranked after Maryland

2          UCF was edged by unranked Pitt

5          Iowa State was dethroned before their decent showing against Iowa

5          Michigan State fell out of the ratings, so I was right after all

7          Texas probably over-paid for losing to titan LSU

7          Texas A&M probably over-paid for losing to titans Clemson and Auburn

9         Washington St is now unranked after becoming lowly UCLA’s first win

9          Florida was ranked down after silly pre-season enthusiasm (but are back up now!)

11        Michigan was blown out by Wisconsin

 

Year to Date It-Would-Seem Blown Calls Because They’re Doing Okay

1          LSU

2          UCF is now a skin on the wall after Pitt

3          Michigan no longer a blown call because Wisconsin

4          Washington State no longer a blown call because UCLA

 

So closes another week.

links to older opinions:               2019-09-22              2019-09-13              2019-09-06

 

 

Disclosure of sources of bias:  your writer has attended the University of Tennessee, Memphis State and the University of Memphis, Christian Brothers College . . . and he sleeps with an alumna of Georgia whose parents met at Washington State . . . and his son went to Houston . . . and he never met anyone from TCU he didn’t like . . . and he irrationally hates Notre Dame, UCF, Clemson, and Notre Dame.