Week 5 AP/Big Ten Rankings

Week 5 AP rankings are out, and it shows that yesterday was a big one in college football. Geno Smith and West Virginia survived a shootout against Baylor, racking up over 1,500 yards between the two teams. Smith passed for almost 700 yards and 8 TDs, practically vaulting himself into the front spot of the Heisman trophy race. Louisville survived in a torrential downpour against Southern Mississippi. LSU looked to be quite mortal against the Towson Tigers in a game that the score was a lot closer than just 38-22.

Ohio State shut down Michigan State's vaunted running game, and following the loss against Ohio State, State's defensive coordinator, Pat Narduzzi, made complaints concerning "doctored" game tape from Meyer. Northwestern improved to 5-0, while Minnesota came in undefeated and were exposed against Iowa. Purdue gave up a lot of points against Marshall while Illinois was blown out again versus Penn State, probably giving them the title of worst in the Big Ten next to Indiana. Nebraska had their biggest comeback ever against Wisconsin, setting Wisconsin back to 3-2 on the season. Here's the poll:

The Spread Offense Doesn't Work

I mainly cover basketball on Hoke's Mad Magicians, but once in awhile I like to comment on a football related topic.  Earlier this year, I wrote an article called "When Will Michigan Be Michigan Again".  In the piece, I attacked the argument that Michigan isn't as good as Michigan used to be under coaches like Lloyd Carr and the notion that fans should want to go back to the old ways of Michigan football.  Today, I'm looking at another argument frequently made by Michigan fans and others on an almost routine basis.

Before I actually discuss the topic, I want to go through a few reasons why I actually decided to take the time to address it.  I have been in numerous conversations over the past few years that ended in someone telling me about the spread offense and its failures.  Whether it was the classic argument, "the spread doesn't work in the Big Ten", the "spread quarterbacks can't throw" argument, or the "spread offenses don't work against good defenses" argument, it always seemed to revolve around the failures of spread offenses and about how teams that use them will never succeed.

I would hope that most readers would realize the massive logical flaws in these arguments, but there is a strong faction that believes in these theories.  However, I'm not talking about just fans.  We all know there are some lunatic fans and predictions out there, but I'm talking about people who get national coverage.  I actually exchanged a few tweets last weekend with a nationally televised sports personality who told me that the spread offense doesn't work against athletic defenses.  This argument is out there and I really feel the need to address some of its points.

The SEC Fallacy And The Big Ten

There are a variety of reasons I am writing this article today, but chief among them is a recent article I read on ESPN regarding the Big Ten's current state (yes, I know it's ESPN).  After numerous upsets over the past two weekends, fans and writers have begun their annual write-off of the Big Ten and anointment of the SEC as the nation's greatest college football conference.  Granted, it's only two weeks into the season and the Big Ten still has several undefeated teams, but the momentum already seems to be going towards ripping on the Big Ten.

Before I address this argument and whether I believe it has merit, I want to point out a few things.  First, what determines the "best" college football conference.  Let's look at last season and particularly the bowl season.  The SEC clearly had the top teams.  Sending two teams to the national championship game and having several others in pretty big bowls.  However, they did not send the most teams to bowls for any conference and did not have the highest winning percentage of any conference.  For a conference that is anointed as the best on a yearly basis, those shed at least some doubt.

Preseason Rankings Breakdown For Michigan & The Big Ten

Every major media outlet this time of year has come out with their own preseason rankings, whether it's overall or conference standings. ESPN has their list, Sports Illustrated has their list. For the most part, it looks like some of them are looking over and cheating off their classmates since they look so similar. I'm going to examine the AP poll first, since that's the one primarily used by ESPN and fans nationwide.

Here you will find a link for ESPN Big Ten bloggers that have given their predictions for the season. I've already given mine a few months ago. Now, obviously, if you compare the two, I disagree with them both since I don't agree with Michigan State beating Wisconsin. I had predicted Michigan beating Wisconsin, and I stand by that. So the poll says Michigan is the top Big Ten team and I won't dissent to that. Wisconsin at 12 should be above West Virginia and Arkansas, but not South Carolina. Marcus Lattimore drives that team and should have a stellar season back from injury. I'm good with Michigan State right behind them. Nebraska at 17 and Ohio State at 18 make sense, yet USA Today doesn't even have the Buckeyes ranked. Postseason ineligible or not, they should be ranked above Auburn, Boise St, etc...