No pep talks, spit showers, or ignorant, condescending, USC-slanted opinions here, just my thoughts on another great NCAA football weekend.

Misery loves company alright, and as a Michigan fan, I couldn't be happier with alll the upsets and great games we've seen this year. They help take some of the sting off of those...unfortunate events I saw at the beginning of the year.

But the fact that OSU is back on top of the BCS is very unsettling for me. It's like they're not even trying anymore and yet they still are poised for another shot at the title game. This was supposed to be a rebuilding year for the Bucks and a culmination/coronation for the senior-led Wolverines, yet here we are in mid-October and UM is out of contention again while the Buckeye machine just keeps on churning.

Ohio State is number one in the first BCS rankings, but do they deserve that spot? Yes and no.

Yes because they have taken care of business and beaten the teams they should beat, which you can't say for most other teams, but no because South Florida has done more to deserve the ranking.

Now, are the Bulls a better team than OSU? Probably not. But OSU is ranked no.1 based mainly on a combination of performance and reputation from past succes, and in this rollercoaster year you can't be sure just how good anyone is until they've been tested by a big-time opponent or two.

In past years I would have been fine with OSU at number one, but in the spirit of this season and the parity we've seen, putting the Bulls at number one is the right call because they've won at Auburn and against West Virginia. If OSU can go into Happy Valley at night and beat Penn State in two weeks, then they should be moved up to the top spot.

Other assorted thoughts:

-Actual headline on ESPN.com's college football section today: "Matt Ryan's win over Notre Dame helped his Heisman bid."

Sure, I suppose winning the game is a good thing, but I feel like I'm having a flashback to 2004 when Kyle Orton lit up the Irish and prompted the all-knowing college football seer Beano Cook to say "You win Heismans by beating Notre Dame" to which Rece Davis chimed in: "This isn't 1943" or something to that effect.

Ryan's having a great year, sure, but the Heisman goes to the most outstanding player and he is not really a guy that jumps out at you with his overwhelming skill.

-So who's my Heisman front-runner? For now, give the nod to Andre Woodson of Kentucky. That cracked-in-the-back while delivering the winning TD pass play against LSU was legendary and his numbers are also incredible.

Darren McFadden has to slip after a poor performance against 'Bama, and Mike Hart is still in the running after tearing up Purdue in the first half. If he can get healthy and get near 2,000 yards while leading UM to the Big Ten title, he has a great shot at stealing the award, especially since Kentucky figures to lose another game or two.

Throw Dennis Dixon in there too if he can lead the Ducks to the Pac-10 title. He is as dangerous and highlight-worthy as we've seen at the QB spot this year.

-I try not to get too worked up over the polls each week since it's so easy to find fault with them, but is anyone else disgusted that Oklahoma is ranked ahead of LSU?

The Tigers beat Florida, annihilated Virginia Tech, and gave top-ten team South Carolina their only loss.

They lost a triple-OT game against a top-ten Kentucky team in perhaps the biggest game in that program's history while Oklahoma lost to Colorado.

Not to mention the fact that OU has an all-freshman backfield and plays in a far weaker conference. Should I go on?

Can anyone here give me a legimate argument as to why Oklahoma deserves to be ranked ahead of LSU?

-Another former 4-star recruit, offensive lineman Matt Carufel, has abrubtly left Notre Dame. He was the third such young player to leave already, and another offensive linemen named Chris Stewart left the team earlier in the year before returning.

Granted, these guys have been losing their starting jobs, but it makes you wonder a little bit what's really going on in South Bend. Wouldn't these guys expect Charlie Weis to tinker with the lineup a little bit considering how bad ND has been?

From my vantage point it's tough to tell for sure, but it seems like Weis is having a hard time getting through to his players and getting them to buy into his system as a head coach. Some guys are just better off as coordinators.

Time will tell if Weis is one of those guys or not.

-Sign of the Apocalypse no.929,290 from this season: Kansas is ranked ahead of USC in the BCS standings.

-After a couple weeks with the Big Ten Network, I'm not sure whether it's good or bad for the conference.

I enjoy watching all the shows like "Big Ten Extra Points," which shows every big play from every conference games, as well as the game replays and the extra Saturday games I wouldn't normally have a chance to see, but you have how to wonder if the lack of national games is hurting the league's overall profile.

Fans used to be able to catch 3-4 national Big Ten game telecasts every week and now that number is down to 1-2 tops while SEC games are all over the TV across the nation.

The Big Ten Network will provide some extra cash lesser programs like Northwestern and Indiana could really lose, but the lack of exposure could hurt recruiting nationally.

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JEH45 said:

	I don't know Nick-with this season being as it is, I don't know if you can predict or rate anything. OSU will get a chance to be a legit #1 here in awhile.
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October 15, 2007
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Lloyds Apple said:

	If you are a real college football analyst, does that mean you are going to leverage us for real ESPN type of cash?
	report abuse vote down vote up

October 15, 2007
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Lloyds Apple said:

	....or are we thinking Big Ten Network type of cash.
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October 15, 2007
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ItOffishul said:

	Jim Delany is probably a rich SOB right about now
	report abuse vote down vote up

October 15, 2007
Votes: +0

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