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SEC Baseball: Hogs v. Rebels

Posted by Brett Kincaid on March 15, 2013

WEEKEND SKETCH

Baseball America Rankings:  #15 Arkansas, #6 Mississippi

Game Time: Friday 6:35pm, Saturday 2:05pm, Sunday 1:05pm

Game Site: Baum Stadium at George Cole Field (Fayetteville, AR)

Weather:  Friday night, Clear game time temperature of 72 degrees at game time, falling into upper 60s; Saturday afternoon, Mostly Sunny & 70 degrees at game time, holding steady; Sunday afternoon, Cloudy with rain likely & 50 degrees at game time, warming only slightly

Streaks: The Razorbacks have won 6 straight and 13 of 14 at Baum Stadium this season. Ole Miss is riding an 11-game winning streak and has won 18 of the 19 games they have played this season.

 —————————-

arkansas baseballOne month ago most observers would have described this weekend’s SEC opener for Arkansas as a “good test” against a “quality opponent” with the Hogs coming into the weekend as significant favorites. After four straight losses at the Coca-Cola Classic in Arizona, though, the Hogs found themselves at 7-5 on the season – a far cry from the preseason #1 team so many predicted Dave Van Horn to have this year. Arkansas rallied, though, for six straight wins and look poised to reclaim the nationally elite stature they enjoyed in the preseason.

Meanwhile in Oxford, Mississippi, 13-year head Rebel Mike Bianco has quickly rebuilt his baseball team. They’ve won 18 of 19 games this season and enter conference play with a ton of confidence, ready to show Arkansas – and everyone else – that this hot start is no fluke. With a team batting average near .310 and a staff ERA under 2.25, Ole Miss looks as good as ever on paper.

Instead of an emerging national power hosting a dark horse conference title contender, this weekend features a preseason #1 looking to right the ship against a hot, talented team that wants to elbow the Hogs off center stage.

 

It’s all about the pitching.

Entering the season Arkansas turned heads nationally because of its embarrassment of riches in the bullpen. Dave Van Horn and pitching coach Dave Jorn have assembled an elite group of arms. Don’t believe me? The team’s staff ERA of 1.60 should answer any doubts. The two main cogs in Arkansas’s bullpen, though, have been a drag on the staff, statistically speaking. Preseason All-American Ryne Stanek comes into the weekend as the Sunday starter with a 1-1 record and 3.71 ERA (4.24 by my scorebook; apparently I’m not as forgiving as the official scorekeeper). Fellow preseason All-American Colby Suggs is yet to record a save and sports a 3.38 earned run average.

Early this season it’s been freshman Trey Killian, Friday’s starter, and utility pitcher Barret Astin carrying the load for the Hogs. Killian has been nothing short of phenomenal this year with a 2-1 record and these gaudy numbers: 0.86 ERA, 22 strikeouts in 21 innings and a microscopic 0.33 WHIP that leads the nation.

If Killian can shut down the Ole Miss bats on Friday, the Razorbacks will put themselves in contention for a very good weekend at Baum Stadium. With senior Randal Fant scheduled to take the mound on Saturday and Astin waiting in the wings, the Hogs could very easily see Stanek taking the hill with a chance to polish of a conference-opening sweep on Sunday.

Ole Miss will counter Arkansas’s freshman phenom with veteran ace Bobby Wahl. Despite battling some blister issues on the middle finger of his throwing hand, Wahl has dazzled this year. He enters Friday’s game with a 4-0 record and looked dominant in his last outing. The Rebels follow that up with junior Mike Mayers, who has been electric in four starts this season. The Sunday starter for Ole Miss is sophomore Sam Smith, another of Bianco’s efficient and effective arms. All three starters for Ole Miss enter play this weekend with sub-2.00 ERAs.

The question for Ole Miss is whether the bullpen can hold up for all three games. It was big problem for the Rebels last season, but 2013 appears to be headed in a much different direction. Brett Huber is the Rebel closer, already accruing 6 saves on the season in 19 games. Tanner Bailey, Aaron Greenwood, and Matt Denny are Bianco’s other major bullpen weapons. The three have combined for 37 1/3 IP, and in that time they’ve surrendered only 2 earned runs. If Mississippi can continue to see solid work from the bullpen, they’ll be well suited for a big road series win against a conference rival.

 

Keep an eye on…

Ole Miss catcher Stuart Tanner. That kid may not be human. He is crushing the baseball (.479 with a best-in-the-nation 28 RBI) and has not given up a passed ball all year. Oh, and he’s gunned down 11 of 15 would-be base stealers. Arkansas has 25 stolen bases in 18 games, and the staff has a .191 BAA. This will be a battle to watch

Dominic Ficociello. The junior second baseman continues to battle a strained oblique injury that has cost him most of the season. The junior has only played in four games, and Van Horn does not believe he can help this weekend. Right now Ficociello can only bat right-handed because of the injury, and Mississippi plans to start three righties on the mound. Ficociello may be forced into spectator status for yet another weekend.

The weather. You couldn’t ask for better conditions on Friday night and Saturday afternoon. Sunday, though, promises to be wet and 20 degrees cooler than Friday or Saturday. The Hogs and Rebels may be forced to play a pair on Saturday. That would be the third double-header of the season for the Razorbacks.

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Select 17, Pre-Bowl Edition

Posted by Brett Kincaid on December 6, 2012

The regular season ended last weekend, and once again Alabama sits atop the Select 17 heading into the BCS Championship Game. Is it 2011 or 2012?

(Searching)

Yep, it’s 2012; the Razorbacks do not appear on the bowl schedule. Sad to say, for the first time since 2008 the Hogs are home for the holidays. The upside, of course, is that some smokin’ hot wife has a husband that wants to coach here. Enthusiasm is already surging throughout Razorback Nation, but we need to put a cap on this season before looking ahead to spring practice and kickoff against UL-Lafayette on August 31, 2013 – which is 267 days from now.

So back to the teams still playing…

If you ever wondered whether or not ESPN controls the world, go ahead and look at the BCS Championship Game. Alabama versus Notre Dame for all the marbles. Can you imagine two teams that mean more to the history of college football squaring off for the title? This game will KILL any previous record for ratings of a college football championship game. The Vatican may very well provide free ESPN for all American Catholics. The Alabama National Guard will likely run coax from border-to-border, stealing cable from their neighbors in Tennessee, Florida, and Georgia. (They won’t even try to get it from Mississippi for obvious reasons.)

Perhaps the price we pay for such a great matchup in the title game is a slate of crap for the rest of the bowl season. In total there may be 5 other games I care to watch. I will, of course, probably watch all or part of 90% of the games (aided by the fact that I’m on vacation during Bowl Week), but I will bitch about it all the while.

As for the final Select 17 rankings, you’ll find a theme that repeated itself all season show up once more. The SEC dominates the list, placing six teams in the rankings including three of the top four. We began the year with 5 SEC teams in the rankings with Alabama and LSU occupying the top 2 spots. The more things change, the more they remain the same.

To the numbers…

Rank Team Votes LW
1 Alabama (3) 147 2
2 Notre Dame (6) 145 1
3 Florida 122 5
4 Georgia 117 3
5 Oregon 116 4
6 Kansas St. 110 6
7 LSU 91 7
8 Texas A&M 85 8
9 Ohio St. 77 10
10 Stanford 76 9
11 South Carolina 67 11
12 Oklahoma 58 12
13 Florida St. 46 t13
14 Clemson 34 t13
15 Oregon St. 26 16
16 Northern Illinois 17 NR
17 Boise St. 9 NR

Others Receiving Votes: UCLA 7, Jeff Long 6, Nebraska 6, Wisconsin 6, Utah St. 5, San Jose St. 2, Kent St. 1, Louisville 1

 

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What the Hell Just Happened?

Posted by Brett Kincaid on December 5, 2012

A whirlwind day that started with Butch Davis and moved with near “certainty” to Mike Gundy ended with Bret Bielema as the new Arkansas Razorbacks football coach. The only universal truth associated with this hire is its shock value. The former Wisconsin head coach was never on anyone’s radar. And now he’s in Fayetteville, tasked with quickly righting the ship of what was once the nation’s fastest moving program. Of all the annoying tendencies employed by national writers, I found one theme pissed me off more than any other today. Many scoffed at Arkansas, calling this a “middling SEC program” or “middle of the pack” job. While 2012 was an obvious disappointment, the 2010 and 2011 seasons produced 21 wins and back-to-back Top Ten finishes. While Arkansas is not Alabama, it aint Ole Miss either.

While the hire certainly turned heads, there is no consensus about this being a “great” hire. The chattering class ranges from standing ovation praise to outright dismissal. I had a hard time getting my head around the move earlier today. After some perspective and a little reaserch, I’m firmly of the opinion that Jeff Long made a very strong hire. Bielema plays big boy football, puts linemen in the NFL regularly, and has the arrogance highly successful coaches need. Look at him, then look at his wife. Tell me that isn’t a guy that knows how to win big with fewer tools than his competitors.

Let’s take a look back at what others have been saying.

Yahoo! Sports – Pat Forde (who broke the story)

 It will be an interesting fit for Bielema, who has spent his entire playing and coaching career in the midwest. He was a nose guard at Iowa and an assistant coach at Iowa and Kansas State before moving to Madison. But clearly Long was less worried about getting someone with Southern ties than he was getting someone with an established winning record.

ESPN – Chris Low

But when it comes to coaching and developing hard-nosed football teams committed to running the ball and playing sound defense, Bielema has cornered the market on that brand of football in the Big Ten.

It just so happens to be the same brand that wins championships in the SEC.

CBS Sports – Tom Fornelli

As for what this means for Arkansas, the Razorbacks are getting a coach who’s a proven winner. It’s not often that coaches with three consecutive conference titles in a BCS conference are available for the taking, but Arkansas athletic director Jeff Long pulled it off. Considering the way things have gone in Fayetteville over the last year from the Bobby Petrino embarrassment to the John L. Smith disaster, things couldn’t have played out any better for the school.

Sports Illustrated – Andy Staples

 Bielema can succeed at Arkansas. If he can keep the future Darren McFaddens and Tyler Wilsons in state and then pluck the rest of his roster from Texas, Tennessee, Georgia and Florida — bringing along current Wisconsin assistant Charlie Partridge would do wonders in the Sunshine State — the Razorbacks can be competitive in college football’s toughest division. At Wisconsin, the former Iowa defensive lineman identified diamonds in the rough and put tough, disciplined teams on the field. If he continues to prefer an offense that lines up and hands off and then uses play action to set up the pass, then he’ll fit right in with Alabama, LSU, Georgia and Florida

College Football News – Pete Fiutak

Can Bielema go into a living room and get a kid to turn down Saban, Les Miles, and Will Muschamp? Maybe, but he has yet to prove he can beat the powerhouse salesman.

 

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Blog Hawgs Twitter-Style College Football Weekend Preview–11/16/12

Posted by Adam Butler on November 16, 2012

www.si.com

Our long, (Razorback) National Nightmare is almost over.These Fake Tweets (and the knowledge that the Arkansas Razorbacks should have a new head football coach in the next 2-3 weeks) are all that keep me hanging on through to the bitter end of the 2012 College Football season.

The only rules for this column are that the fake user names can’t be longer than 15 characters (but may or may not be registered, already), the Tweets cannot exceed 140 characters, and I have to end each one with a smarmy hash tag. Let’s have some hateful fun.

Iowa at Michigan: @TheLifeofPica: Most ppl know Denard Robinson is nicknamed “Shoelace”. Most ppl don’t know it’s bc Brady Hoke ate it. “ #doubleknot

Northwestern at Michigan St.: @CountinSheep: I’d rather watch “You’ve Got Mail” on a week-long loop. #atleastitfeaturesMegRyanb4shebecameanalien

Arkansas at Mississippi St.: @TonyStarkville: Even Iron Man couldn’t heal Hog fans’ wounds. #buttherighthirecouldAvengethem

Alabama A&M at Auburn: @PayDirt: Only 4 FBS teams have scored fewer points than the War Damn Eagle Tigers. #$180,000doesn’tgoasfarasitusedto

USC at UCLA: @GregggggDoyel: When King Douche is fed up with your douchebaggery, you need to seek immediate help. #butnotfromyourDad

Wake Forest at Notre Dame: @PeaSoup: The Catholics figure to perform an exorcism on the Demon Deacons. #butBrianKellywillstillbetheonecursinglikeLindaBlair. (NSFW)

Mississipppi at LSU: @RebelFail: Two meltdowns in Oxford  have put Mr. Freeze’s Bowl plans on ice. #HolyVandyMania,Batman

Sam Houston St. at Texas A&M: @JohnnyNoseFB:  TAMU freshman phenom Johnny Manziel  is walking proof of the Jersey Factor. #please,Johnny,usetheScoobymask,too

Texas Tech at Oklahoma St.: @RedRaidEars: Losing to Kansas would have been a slap in the face to Tuberville’s hopes of escaping Lubbock. #SlapDashing

Ohio St. at Wisconsin: @TomUrban&Harry: Cheese Heads vs. another kind of head. #ajerkhead,ofcourse

Utah State at La Tech: @Cameron’sCrazy: Colby Cameron & La Tech think they can win “As Long As They’ve Got Each Other“. #MattPerry’spostFriendsworkshowsKirkmayhavehad1thingright

Oklahoma at West Virginia: @Flossin: The Men from the Land Of Few Trees v. The Men From the Land of Few Teeth. #TheirBarkisMuchWorseThanTheirBite

Syracuse at Missouri: @DGBLuvsOrange: After a breakout game last week, Dorial Green-Beckham shot up to 386th in the country in rec. yards. #&has4moreyardsthantheHogs’3rdstringQB

Tennessee at Vanderbilt: @Insult2Injury: Vandy is laying 4 points to the 4-win Vols. #andshouldbe

Kansas St. at Baylor: @Smooch: A QB that didn’t kiss his Wife ’til they were married vs. a Student Body that thinks it was too soon. #CeliBCSy

Samford at Kentucky: @yUK: UK might lose this game even if it was facing one dude named Sam Ford. #thePointSpreadis:”Finda12-StepProgram”

Stanford at Oregon: @UhO: Stanford alum Tiger Woods needs to step out of the Duck costume. Now. #DriveforshowPuddlesfortheO

 

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Blog Hawgs Twitter Style College Football Weekend Preview–11/9/12

Posted by Adam Butler on November 9, 2012

It’s Week 10. Thank the College Football Gods. This will all be over, soon. Let’s just pretend it never happened, OK?

As a Hogs fan, how bad has 2012 been? So bad that this column has been the highlight of my season.

The only rules for this column are that the fake user names can’t be longer than 15 characters (but may or may not be registered, already), the Tweets cannot exceed 140 characters, and I have to end each one with a smarmy hash tag. Here we go:

Louisville at Syracuse:  @Charlie$trong: With each Cardinals win, their head coach is earning an offer he might not be able to refuse #Loyalville?

Northwestern at Michigan: @TheBIGHouse: If you cut Brady Hoke, he bleeds Maize & Blue. #thecornsnotthecolors.

Louisiana-Lafayette at Florida: @La-La: The Ragin’ Cajuns vs. a Ragin’ Caucasian. #BattleoftheSwampPeople

Arkansas at South Carolina: @Payback: Arkansas is  3-0 against USCE by a 118-64 margin since 2009. #IMissEllisJohnsonalready.

Missouri at Tennessee: @DesTROYDGB: The Vols gave up 476 more yards to Troy LAST WEEK than Mizzou ”can’t miss” WR Dorial Green-Beckham has gained ALL SEASON. #&5moreTDs

Oregon St. at Stanford: @Eldrick: Cardinal alum Tiger Woods flew straight to Palo Alto when he heard the Beavers were coming to town. #hemustlovefootball

Arizona St. at USCW: @LiarLiar: Lane Kiffin has 1 more signature win at USC than the poor student manager that took a bullet for him this week. #healwaysscrewstheVolunteers

Texas A&M at Alabama: @UpsetAlert: If Bama is gonna lose this season it will be this game. No, I haven’t gone to Colorado this week. #TheHighestState

Baylor at Oklahoma: @Y2k: Sooners QB Landry Jones fondly remembers OU’s National Championship in 2000–when he was a redshirt freshman. #leavealready

West Virginia at Oklahoma St.: @Bookit: The Over/Under for this game is 79. It may hit by halftime. #Big12Defense

Kansas St. at TCU:  @HeadyStuff: @TCU, @Baylor & Tx in Manhattan is a resume’-building home stretch. #stayhealthy,Collin

Georgia at Auburn: @AllIn: Auburn waited 54 years for a National Championship and 22 months to fire the head coach who won it. #HCBuyersBeware

Mississippi St. at LSU: @whatwastHat?: Bama pulled a rabbit out of The Hat last week. Honey Badger tried to smoke it. #FlawedLes

Vanderbilt at Mississippi: @UnbelievaBowl: The winner clinches a Bowl berth. #SEISmicactivity

Notre Dame at Boston College: @Rudy: The Luck of the Irish saved ND last week but won’t be needed in Chestnut Hill. #eventheBig10thinksthiswillbeasnoozer

Oregon at California: @FoieGras: The Ducks vs. a Lame Duck. #don’teventhinkaboutitJeffLong

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BlogHawgs Stat Geek Weekly Newsletter – Cobi Hamilton is Good.

Posted by Brett Kincaid on November 8, 2012

@CobiHam11 is good. Barring injury, which is most certainly a possibility given we are in what is now a 7-month-long April Fool’s joke that is being played on the Razorback football program, Cobi Hamilton is going to leave Fayetteville holding the most prolific reception and receiving yards season in UA history.

As has been documented in this space previously following the 2011 season, Jarius Wright held the top spots in 7 of the 9 main receiving categories: Career receptions (168) and yards (2,934), Season receptions (66), yards (1,117), and touchdown catches (12), and Single game receptions (13) and yards (281).

With his 11 catches in last week’s game versus Tulsa, Cobi passed Jarius’ season reception mark putting Hamilton at 69. Cobi now is in the UA top spot for 3 of the 9 major categories, having also passed Jarius for single game yards (303) and tying Anthony Lucas and Alton Baldwin for Single game touchdown catches (3) thanks to his monster game against Rutgers.

Cobi currently sits 40 yards shy of the top UA season yards mark, 14 receptions behind career receptions, and 338 yards behind career yards. Given that he is currently averaging 7.67 catches and almost 120 yards per game, Hamilton is on pace to surpass Jarius in all three categories.

As for SEC records, Cobi is currently on pace to end in the top 3 in season reception and receiving yards spot, as well as top 20 career receptions and top 5 career yards. He has performed in big play fashion as well, having the 3rd best yard per catch average (16.86) of the players in the top 20 career yards.

Cobi has 4 of the 14 games with 10+ receptions (all this season). He is one shy of tying Anthony Lucas and Anthony Eubanks with 5  100-yard receiving games in a season, and is third with 8 career 100-yard games, behind Lucas’ 11 and Wright and Eubanks’ nine.

Where it does get interesting, is if the Hogs could somehow pull off at least 2 wins to become bowl eligible. If that happens, Cobi would have a shot at the following:

  • 100 catch season, which would make him the first player in SEC history to reach that mark
  • 1,500 yard season, which would be the third in SEC history along with Josh Reed and Alshon Jeffries
  • 180+ career catches, which would put him in the top 15 in SEC history
  • 3,000 career yards, which would be the third in SEC history along with Terrence Edwards and Josh Reed, with a chance of posting the top mark for career receiving yards

Regardless of whether the UA becomes bowl eligible, Cobi’s season has been one of the few bright spots of the 2012 season and has placed him in rarefied air, not only at the UA, but the SEC as well.

SG +1 – Left Coast style:

  • Two weeks ago against Colorado, Southern Cal WR Marqise Lee posted the 2nd best mark in NCAA history all-purpose yards with 469. Included in that was 345 receiving yards, which is good for 5th most all time in NCAA history. This marked the 4th time this year a receiver has posted a 300+ yard game (Terrence Williams BAY – 314, Cobi ARK – 303, Stedman Bailey WVU – 303). Prior to this year, there has been just  fifteen 300+ yards game in FBS history.
  • Oregon RB Kenyon Barner’s 321 yards rushing was impressive and is the same amount that Darren McFadden shares with Frank Mordica as top SEC single game rushing mark. However it only places Barner in the 4th spot for single best rushing game in the Pac-12.

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Select 17, Week 11

Posted by Brett Kincaid on November 6, 2012

The road to football Armageddon has been cleared thanks to late game heroics by Alabama and Notre Dame, a gritty home win by Kansas State, and a dominant offensive road performance by Oregon. As noted last week, all four teams have limited challenges remaining. This week, though, Bama has a suddenly tough game against Texas A&M and their high-powered offense. How will the Tide respond after an emotional win in Baton Rouge? Notre Dame travels to Chestnut Hill to face Boston College in the Catholic Bowl. Will their luck finally run out this weekend after two near/should-have-been losses at home in the past month? Kansas State hits the road this week to take on TCU, which has struggled quite a bit in its first season as a member of the Big XII. And Oregon hits the road again, this time heading to Berkeley to take on an unraveling Cal team.

If Alabama was playing on the road again this week, I’d be tempted to call for the Aggie upset. They run a completely different offense than Bama has seen this year and are playing with a ton of confidence right now. I’ll take the Aggies and 2 touchdowns (the line is currently Bama -13.5) but Bama to win. Notre Dame hasn’t looked very good offensively, but Boston College is pretty bad. The Irish should get to 10-0 this weekend. Kansas State needs to watch out for a road letdown,  but TCU’s defense – usually its strength – is one of the worst in the country this year. Bill Snyder should pick up another road win in his magical season back in Manhattan. Oregon looks to be the safest bet for a win, even if it’s on the road. The Ducks gave up a ton of points to Southern Cal, but they can easily score enough to beat a 3-7 California team with what most believe is a lame duck coach.

Georgia made up a lot of ground this weekend, narrowing the gap between them and Notre Dame to just one point in our poll. The Bulldogs play their annually rivalry game with Auburn this week, needing only a win against the pathetic War Damn Eagle Tigers to cinch the SEC East. A Bulldog win coupled with another lackluster Irish performance against a lousy team could knock Notre Dame down to a peg despite their undefeated record. Despite having 4 teams in the Top Ten, the SEC is just one Alabama loss from being a long shot to play for its 7th consecutive BCS championship.

To the numbers…

Rank Team Votes LW
1 Alabama (9) 153 1
2 Oregon 142 2
3 Kansas St. 137 3
4 Notre Dame 113 4
5 Georgia 112 6
6 Florida 100 7
7 LSU 89 5
8 Florida St. 83 8
9 Louisville 81 9
10 Ohio St. 70 10
11 South Carolina 62 12
12 Clemson 61 11
13 Oregon St. 45 13
14 Texas A&M 42 16
15 Oklahoma 31 17
16 Stanford 28 14
17 Nebraska 10 NR

 

Others Receiving Votes: Louisiana Tech 7, UCLA 7, Rutgers 2, Texas 1, Luck of the Irish 1

 

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Select 17, Week 10

Posted by Brett Kincaid on October 30, 2012

Are we really entering the 10th week of college football? My, my time drags when you’re not having any fun at all. I feel like the season should be over by now. After their second Little Rock meltdown of the season, it appears the 2012 Arkansas Razorbacks feel about the same way. Sitting at 3-5 with four games left on the schedule, Arkansas needs to win at least three games against Tulsa, South Carolina, Mississippi State, and LSU in order to even qualify for a bowl game this year. The Hogs will certainly be sizable underdogs at Columbia and Starkville, and again at home against LSU the day after Thanksgiving. Arkansas is actually laying 7 points at home this week to Tulsa (any takers?), but winning any of the other games would be considered an upset by anyone. The point: Arkansas will very likely miss a bowl game for the first time since 2008. The Hogs also missed post-season play in 2004, got to the Las Vegas Bowl in 2000 (losing it to finish with a 6-7 record), and missed bowl games in 1996 and 1992. Presidential election years have not been kind to the Razorbacks.

Other teams – like Alabama, Oregon, Kansas State, and Notre Dame – have no such problems. All four remain unbeaten this year, and all four could definitely end the season undefeated. The Crimson Tide and Ducks both face big challenges this weekend, though. Alabama must travel to Baton Rouge to take on LSU, while the Ducks fly south to take on Southern Cal. The Fighting Irish is on let-down alert when they host Pitt on Saturday afternoon, while Kansas State has revenge on its mind Saturday night when Oklahoma State comes to the Little Apple.

Kansas State has the easiest path to perfection. If they can get past Okie State this weekend, they have road games left against TCU and Baylor, and Texas in Manhattan to end the season. After this weekend Notre Dame has a similarly weak field ahead of it with only a road trip to Southern Cal the real danger along with dates against Boston College and Wake Forest on its schedule.

The current #1 and #2 in the Select 17 poll have the most difficult schedules remaining. If Bama passes a huge test this weekend, they get a dangerous Texas A&M squad before slowing down with Western Carolina and Auburn before the SEC Championship Game – against either Georgia or Florida. Oregon plays three times on the road in the final four weeks. They’re at USC this weekend, then at Cal, home for Stanford, and at Oregon State for the annual Civil War. If they survive that schedule, they plan the Pac-12 Championship Game, likely against Southern Cal (again) or UCLA.

As you have probably realized at this point, the two teams with the clearest paths to Miami both avoid a conference championship game. If both Notre Dame and Kansas State finish undefeated, you can bet a one-loss SEC or Pac-12 champion will not make the BCS Championship Game – to the delight of many and murderous rage of many more. The good news, at least for people like me, is that this nonsense all comes to an end in the 2014 season when the 4-team playoff format finally helps college football settle its business on the field.

To the rankings…

Rank Team Votes LW
1 Alabama (9) 153 1
2 Oregon 138 2
3 Kansas St. 137 3
4 Notre Dame 121 6
5 LSU 108 5
6 Georgia 106 13
7 Florida 93 4
8 Floirda St. 84 10
9 Louisville 81 14
10 Ohio St. 68 12
11 Clemson 61 15
12 South Carolina 48 NR
13 Oregon St. 38 7
14 Stanford 29 NR
15 Mississippi St. 28 11
16 Texas A&M 26 NR
17 Oklahoma 17 8

Others Receiving Votes: Boise St. 10, Louisiana Tech 9, Southern Cal 4, Texas Tech 4, Rutgers 1

 

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SEC Media Members Expect Improvement From Hoop Hogs

Posted by Adam Butler on October 22, 2012

If the SEC media is correct, the Arkansas Razorbacks will be much improved on the hardwood this season.

Today, a panel of league pundits tabbed Arkansas 6th in the expanded 14-team SEC, and named Hogs B.J. Young  (1st Team) and Marshawn Powell (2nd Team) Preseason All SEC players.

As expected, the Kentucky Wildcat$ were picked first. Other selections of note included Missouri at 3rd (the Tigers lost 7 seniors and have 4 transfers), Vandy at 10th, Frank Martin’s USCe Gamecocks at 13 and Mississippi State in the basement.

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Select 17, Week 9

Posted by Brett Kincaid on October 22, 2012

College football took a bit of a breather last week. After a frenetic two weeks, the favorites held serve over the weekend, leading to very few changes in the polls. The Select 17 held steady with a few exceptions – most notably South Carolina falling from 3rd to 8th to Unranked in a matter of three weeks. With Cocky‘s fall Texas Tech and (future Razorback head coach?) Tommy Tubberville find their way into the poll. And while the Top Four didn’t change this week, it’s worth noting how the voting has tightened. Oregon is no longer a consensus Number Two with now only 5 poll points separating the Ducks, Kansas State, and Florida.

The coming weekend promises to shake things up a bit, though, especially in the SEC. Mississippi State visits Tuscaloosa in a surprise battle for SEC West supremacy. The winner of that game will completely control its own destiny. Florida heads to the World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party this weekend in Jacksonville to take on Georgia. The winner of this game will be in the driver’s seat for the SEC East title. Does anyone else think we’ll see at least one very controversial call in each game that benefits the Tide and the Gators?

As for Arkansas, the Razorbacks take on Mississippi this weekend. The Hogs hope a week off helped heal some of the walking wounded without sacrificing the momentum they gained the past two weeks on both sides of the ball. We’re still a month away from seeing Arkansas back in the rankings, but stranger things have happened. By mid-afternoon Saturday we’ll have a pretty good sense of whether or not this team has finally found its stride.

To the rankings!

Rank Team Votes LW
1 Alabama (9) 153 1
2 Oregon 137 2
3 Kansas St 133 3
4 Florida 132 4
5 LSU 107 6
6 Notre Dame 102 5
7 Oregon St 95 7
8 Oklahoma 70 9
9 Southern Cal 68 8
10 Florida St 61 12
11 Mississippi St 58 14
12 Ohio St 57 11
13 Georgia 53 15
14 Louisville 44 13
15 Clemson 33 16
16 Rutgers 25 17
17 Texas Tech 24 NR

Others Receiving Votes: South Carolina 22, Boise St 2, Louisiana Tech 1

 

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