Sunday, December 04, 2005
THIS WEEK'S SMQ TOP 25
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First, a pause to mourn the regular season.
Now, let's look ahead with some optimism to The Greatest Game in the History of the Sporting Universe, the Unidisputed No Matter What National Championship Game between undefeated and dominant Southern Cal and undfeated and perhaps more dominant Texas. Much, much more is to follow on this sensational collision over the next month, here and everywhere else, so much so that the game - like last season's similarly terrific-looking Orange Bowl mythical title game - is sure to be a letdown. But for now, we can be satisfied in that the 2005 mythical champion will be unanimous and unchallenged; the 'Horns and Trojans are, far and away, the best two teams in the country, have never had any serious competition for that distinction, and are probably farther in front of the competition than any other two teams in a single season than any other teams that have ever squared off for a championship, mythical or otherwise. Even we fervent BCS haters/playoff boosters must admit: the Rose Bowl should be among the top sporting spectacles of the decade, at least.
 In honor of the Trojans' massacre of previously once-beaten crosstown rival UCLA, which was even worse than 66-19 would indicate (OMG Reggie Bush is fast!), SMQ raises USC back to No. 1, where they deservedly share his top spot with their January opponent.
The venerable BCS Committee welcomed some good fortune for a change Saturday.
Onwards: What the hell happened to Florida State? At first glance, the fading 'Noles' championship seems an injustice predicated by a winner-take-all format that robs the conference's clearly superior teams (Miami and Virginia Tech) and awards one good performance by a team SMQ had ranked sixth in the league (also behind Boston College, Clemson and Georgia Tech) and moved up only to fifth after Saturday's upset. But FSU can now claim wins over both of those "superior" teams this season, as well as over BC, the league's number three team. SMQ doesn't vault Florida State, sticking it at 23, just behind the Clemson team that beat FSU by 21 less than a month ago and still behind Tech, Miami and BC. But he doesn't fault their automatic inclusion in the big-money Orange Bowl, either; the 6-3 league mark is only a game back of the ACC's two best in-conference records, and FSU beat both of those teams. If they're lucky, or flukey, the 'Noles picked the perfect times to have the ball bounce their way.
The re-admittance of Florida State means the removal of Georgia Tech. In other poll news, SMQ has arbitrarily raised idle Florida over idle TCU based mostly on whim, and the high probability in his mind of a Gator win should the two meet. Georgia's big win vaults the 'Dogs over Notre Dame; Auburn, overlooked after a slow start all season, climbs all the way to No. 6. SMQ remains unswayed by Oregon's resume and keeps the Ducks out of the top ten despite the sufferings of LSU and Virginia Tech.
The last effort for a month:
THIS WEEK'S SMQ TOP 25
1. TEXAS
1a. SOUTHERN CAL
3. PENN STATE
4. OHIO STATE
5. MIAMI
6. AUBURN
7. GEORGIA
8. NOTRE DAME
9. VIRGINIA TECH
10. LSU
11. OREGON
12. WEST VIRGINIA
13. ALABAMA
14. LOUISVILLE
15. FLORIDA
16. TCU
17. WISCONSIN
18. MICHIGAN
19. BOSTON COLLEGE
20. UCLA
21. TEXAS TECH
22. CLEMSON
23. FLORIDA STATE
24. IOWA
25. OKLAHOMA
Waiting: Georgia Tech, Northwestern, South Carolina, Minnesota, Iowa State
Out With the Old... Georgia Tech (25)
...In With the New: Florida State
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WELCOME...
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And don't let the name fool ya - second guessing the phenomenal athletic feats and split-second decisions of college kids under extreme physical duress is for every day of the week.
AWWW!! The totally nicest people, like, ever!...
How much football does he watch? Dude's got insights on -everybody-, and by everybody, I mean everybody. Throw in some of the best writing in the blogosphere, and we're talking about a daily must-read.
- Burnt Orange Nation
SMQ starts to sound more and more like the Gregg Easterbrook of our ideal memories every day - whip-smart, systematic, omnivorous in his intellectual tastes and yet unafraid of the cheap joke.
- Every Day Should Be Saturday
Sunday Morning Quarterback is one of our favorite football blogs on the internet.
- State Fans Nation
Sunday Morning Quarterback is a killer football blog if you are a college football junkie. It is run by one of the most thoughtful, intelligent, and analytical writers in the college football blogosphere...The guy is thorough and detailed and provides a level of analysis you are not going to find anywhere else .
- Bruins Nation
Just another hack writer who hasn't done one lick of research...
- SOT2
...the pride of Southern Mississippi ever since Brett Favre turned into an ESPN soap opera, has the sort of prose knack that can keep you riveted to a preview about any one of D-IA's scrubbier members ... should be given gifts.
- MGoBlog
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e-mail Sunday Morning Quarterback at sundaymorningqb@yahoo.com
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PREVIOUSLY FROM SMQ:
2006 Preview
Anatomy of an Underdog
BlogPoll: 1-10/11-25/Roundtable
The ACC
The Big Ten
The Big XII
The Sun Belt
Running Departments
The Rap Sheet
July 29/Aug. 1/Aug. 9/Aug. 16/Aug.19/Aug. 25/Sept. 28/Oct. 4/Oct. 5/Oct. 18/Oct. 26/Nov. 2/Nov. 7/Nov. 8/Nov. 28/Dec. 2/Dec. 8/ Dec. 11/Dec. 18/Dec. 21/Feb. 6/Feb. 10/April 7/April 14/April 21/April 29/May 6/May 12/May 19/May 26/June 2/June 10/June 16/June 24/June 30/July 8/Aug. 4
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SMQ-APPROVED
COLLEGE FOOTBALL PAGES
News from the Big Guys
ESPN/ College Football News Wire
Sports Illustrated
FOX
CBS Sportsline
USA Today
Opinion: Columnists and bloggers
Around the Oval (Ohio State)
Badger Sports (Wisconsin)
The Blue-Gray Sky (Notre Dame)
Block U (Utah)
BoiFromTroy (Southern Cal)
Bruins Nation (UCLA)
Burnt Orange Nation (Texas)
The Corporate Headquarters of the San Antonio Gunslingers
Dave Sez (Virginia)
Dawg Sports (Georgia)
ESPN: Ivan Maisel/Pat Forde
Every Day Should Be Saturday (Florida)
FOX: Pete Fiutak
Golden Tornado (Georgia Tech)
Heisman Pundit
I'm a Realist (Georgia)
Journalism is for Rock Stars (Alabama)
Mark May Be Wrong
MDG CFB (Fresno State)
Mountain Lair (West Virginia)
MGOBlog (Michigan)
Orange::44 (Syracuse)
Paradigm Blog (Michigan)
Paul Westerdawg (Georgia)
Pitch Right (Navy)
Rammer Jammer Yellow Hammer (Alabammer)
Section Six
Sexy Results (Virginia)
SI: Stewart Mandel/John Walters
Sporting Fools (Florida State)
Straight Bangin' (Michigan)
Texas A&M and Baseball, In No Particular Order (Texas A&M)
The 614 (Ohio State)
The House That Rock Built (Notre Dame)
The Sporting Gnomes (Clemson)
Tiger Pundit (Clemson)
We Must Ignite This Couch (West Virginia)
The Wizard of Odds
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The Blog Poll
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WANNA DO SOME RESEARCH? NERD! HERE'S SOME QUICK REFERENCES:
College Football Data Warehouse
College Football Research Center
College Football News
cfbstats.com
Football Commentary
THE STANDINGS
THE POLLS
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing
Passing
Receiving
All-Purpose
Scoring
Tackles
Sacks
Interceptions
Tackles For Loss
Field Goals
Punting
Kickoff Returns
Punt Returns
TEAM STATISTICS
Rushing Offense
Passing Offense
Total Offense
Scoring Offense
Rushing Defense
Passing Defense
Total Defense
Scoring Defense
Turnover Margin
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Past Seasons
2005
Thursday Morning Quarterback
Sept. 29/Oct. 6/Oct. 20/Oct. 27/Nov. 3/Nov. 10/Nov. 17/Nov. 24/Dec. 1
Sunday Morning Quarterback
Oct. 2/Oct. 23/Oct. 30/Nov. 6/Nov. 13/Nov. 27
Stat Relevance Watch
Part One/Part Two/Part Three
SMQ Bowl Blitz
New Orleans/GMAC/Las Vegas/Poinsettia/Motor City
SMQ's [Hurricane-Abbreviated] 2005 Preview
Top 25 Countdown/Methodology
All-America Team
ACC
BIG EAST
BIG TEN
BIG XII
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