The Short List To The Superdome: Week 7

The Shortlist to the Superdome kicks off the second half of the season with only twenty four teams left in the running for it all.  The final two dozen read as follows:

LSU, South Carolina, UK, Ohio St., Wisconsin, Purdue, Illinois, Indiana, Oklahoma, TAMU, Texas Tech, Missouri, Kansas, VT, FSU, BC, Southern Cal, Oregon, ASU, Cal, WVA, USF, Cincinnati, and UConn.

Only nine teams remain with perfect records from the BCS conferences and suddenly, the odds of a once beaten team finding it's way to New Orleans seems a lot more likely than it did just a week ago.  Two teams avoided eliminations that I predicted last week, and they happen to be coached by two of my personal least favorite coaches in the entire game, but they deserve recognition none the less and get it now:

1) Illinois ends Wisconsin's undefeated season in Champaign 31-26 as Ron Zook makes me look as foolish as he did standing on the sidelines of the Swamp in Gainesville for the second week in a row.  There is no doubt that this man can recruit, but I've always laughed at his coaching "abilities."  Will this result cause me to stop laughing now?  Of course not!  He's still the Zooker to me and I expect Iowa to salvage some pride in a misbegotten season this week against the Illini at home while they show the least popular head coach in Gator history the way off the shortlist.

2) VT rolls Clemson in Death Valley 41-23 in a game that wasn't in doubt for very long.  Beamer has found a quarterback that plays to his tendencies as a coach, not putting the ball air and boring fans of other programs to sleep with a ground based attack.  Only a Hokie fan could find pleasure in that I'm sure.

A full six teams dropped games last week that I did not call for resulting in them dropping off the shortlist.  The roll call of shame this week includes the teams below:

1) Georgia refuses to show up in Knoxville as Tennessee pummels them 35-14.  I thought before the season that Georgia was the best team in the SEC East, but this result throws that race wide open once again.  It should be an interesting battles of attrition in the most competitive division of all of college football this year, stay tuned.

2) Michigan St. drops a heartbreaker at home in overtime to Northwestern 48-41.  Mark Dantonio has his work cut out for him in East Lansing and this proves he hasn't gotten his team past it's recent history of in-game implosions resulting in grabbing defeat from the jaws of victory.  Don't write off the Spartans just yet as they might still play spoiler down the stretch in Big 10 play.

3) Kansas St. can't pull of a win against their in-state rivals Kansas as they lose at home 30-24.  For the former preeminent doormat of college football, any winning season is a victory, and Ron Prince will have the Wildcats in their second consecutive bowl when it's all said and done, but for now they fall off the list as their rivals stay unbeaten for yet another week which has to sting no matter how you slice it.

4) Clemson, as mentioned above, is soundly routed by VT.  Tommy Bowden is no stranger to the hot-seat in South Carolina and finding your way off the shortlist thanks to back-to-back flat performances will no doubt get the flame burning bright underneath him once again.  Bowden has  survived tough spots like this before, but until he pulls another escape as he has in the past, I'll be mildly surprised if he's back again next year.  Not that the termination of the Bowden Bowl is any great loss to the game, but it's always fun watching that particular post-game handshake every year in my opinion.

5) Rutgers falls again for the second week in a row at home to Cincinnati 28-23.  Greg Schiano still has a shot at double digit wins this year, but with the two game home losing streak, the chances just got a lot longer against that happening.  His job is safe after the last two seasons in New Brunswick, but the next four games will determine if this season can be considered a success after last year's breakthrough performance.

6) Miami falls to UNC on the road 33-27.  The most dominant program of the last twenty-five years is undone by turnovers and shoddy tackling and I had a creeping sensation it was going to happen last week.  I refused to wear any of my customary orange and green out to watch the game just in case, but not even I saw the total egg the QB position was going to lay.  Not that I'm surprised, the guy playing quarterback is so bad, his reign reminds me of the current president's of the United States after all, but now the real difficult teams start showing up on the schedule from here on out.  It could get ugly in Coral Gables real quickly if the play under center doesn't improve markedly and fast.  Oh well, there's always next year I suppose.

Teams that I expect to drop off the shortlist this week are as follows:

Kentucky, Purdue, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, TAMU.

I predict it will be a weekend of wreckage all across the Big 10 this weekend as it's ranks of shortlist potential invitees is drastically slashed.

Finally, I get letters.  A few weeks ago, I announced the shortlist would be guaranteed of of inviting only BCS conference schools, as the other non-BCS conferences had found all their members dispatched from losses.  It seems that I'm now being accused of overlooking one school that stands outside the BCS circle but without a blemish on it's record, Hawaii.  To tell you the truth, I'm torn.  On one hand, yes, the Warriors are undefeated, they even have a Heisman candidate playing quarterback for them, and are surely in contention for a BCS bowl bid.  However, as I scan the schedule for June Jone's "offensive force of nature from the islands," I find these results mixed in for September: Hawaii 63, N. Colorado 6, and Hawaii 66, Charleston Southern 10.  So now you see my dilemma.  I find it impossible to seriously give the Warriors any title consideration when their WAC schedule is augmented by the aforementioned teams.  Sure the Warriors host a possibly bowl bound Washington team to close the year, but that's the cream of their competition.  Even if the Warriors end up the lone I-A unbeaten, can I really call for them to play for it all in New Orleans over a more deserving one loss team from a BCS conference?  I honestly can't tell you at this juncture, but check back with me in a few weeks.  With that being said, my top ten college football teams right now reads as such:

1) LSU
2) USF
3) OSU
4) Cal
5) BC
6) ASU
7) Missouri
8) Cincinnati
9) UConn
10) Hawaii

Enjoy the games this week and I'll see you back here next week where it will all get sorted out if not made sense of on the Shortlist to the Superdome.

Copyright 2007 Christopher Whelpton for Canespace.

Comments

[Yosef]

solarcane;
I am first. You do not count.

[Yosef]

you have inside blog info.

[solarcane]

good stuff og
peace

[solarcane]

lmao yosef.
its all flax oil
peace

[orange 'n green in the vein]

solar, all that blog juice has you headed for a massive heart attack and stroke in middle age. You've got to ask yourself, is the cost in health worth the glory of always getting that first post?

[Esteban]

86, i got the breakdown on the way, its written. need to type it. just got home finally today.

[solarcane]

soup,
you must have amassed an ton of college football related pics since you birthed Canespace nice work on the articles.
peace

[orange 'n green in the vein]

Those are some nice pictures of Hawaii there 86, if I had known you were sitting on them, I'd have brought up the UH conundrum in the Shortlist weeks ago in order to get a look at them.

[SOUP]

OGV...those are my photos from Maui. My sister (MauiCane) lives there. She is UM class of 1982, me 1986.

[solarcane]

OGV,
If I could hit the lottery as easy as I hit the pole position I'd be pretty well off.
Great article as always, that was a cool idea for a series.
peace

[SOUP]

I got tons of pics! Make sure we keep Hawaii in the race for the chase so I can post them!

[solarcane]

I'm a bit miffed at lifetime ban on trophies and awards related to canespace by soup.

86 couldnt hit the 1 button on an elevator pad as often as I score here.
peace

[SOUP]

MY blog shows Yosef as FIRST! What does your show?

[SOUP]

I "highly recommend" that you click on the LSU dancer group photo at the top of the blog. Highly recommend...

[solarcane]

86 you delete my 1 hit again I'm gonna start inserting it right into the article before you post it
peace

[SOUP]

Solar...I have no idea what you are referring to?

[solarcane]

those are some My T Fine cajuns there soup
peace

[orange 'n green in the vein]

Whoa, that 86 isn't afraid to go with some underhanded Mickey Andrews-esque tactics! Speaking of Mickey, now that the Big Three in Florida are done on the Shortlist, I'm now cheering for USF to win it all. This has to be a sign that the world is coming to an end soon, isn't it? And to think that they hosted Marve during recruiting and almost convinced him to stay home.

[SOUP]

Jumbaly, crawfish pie on the bayou...

[solarcane]

Solar...I have no idea what you are referring to?

this could be your reply to almost anything I have ever posted on here.
peace

[SOUP]

OGV...don't sell me short bubba! I can go on the down low if the situation requires it. And, in most cases where senor Solar is involved, it is most certianly an option...

[solarcane]

Its all good OGV,
you know who was first, yoseph knows who was first... and bestest of all soup cheat knows who was and can be at any time, first
peace

[SOUP]

Oh me, oh my, we'll have great fun on the bayou...

[solarcane]

the dirt band has a nice version of that soupster Jeff Hanna vocals
peace

[SOUP]

Solar: I also know I can ban your clear blog juice rubbin', 'roid blog taking self anytime we vote to implement the new BTP: Blog Testing Policy!

[solarcane]

ogv you have Missouri still in it after this weekend?
peace

[GUMBO]

Of course on the bayou they don't serve SOUP, they serve GUMBO!

[solarcane]

ahh the old BTP threat, how bout I just switch keyboards with pb right before the "random" testing, pb's clean just not too stable
peace

[solarcane]

its filet gumbo to be precise
peace

[GUMBO]

Last picture above from Maui is me and my brother Jim (in the Canes Jacket) on Red Sand Beach in Maui. We will be at the game tomorrow representin' Canespace!

Go Canes, Beat GT!

[solarcane]

jambalaya, craw fish pie, fillet gumbo...
my stomach aches already
peace

[orange 'n green in the vein]

solar, I think Missouri loses the game to OU this weekend, but the rules of the Shortlist say you can drop 1 game if it's to a team from a BCS conference, or Notre Dame (as BC might have to find out this weekend) and you are also a team from a BCS conference. UH though, has to win out to stay in the race, and like it says above, can I really call for them to have a shot at it all in good faith with a pair of I-AA teams on their schedule?

[solarcane]

gumby,
how the hell are you on the road partying in Hawaii, Tally, Orlando, Miami, Vegas... Are you The transporter??
peace

[solarcane]

Thanks OGV,
I'm pulling for mizo now that strength of schedule isn't gonna effect us.
peace

[solarcane]

Gumby,
although I have the mojo to hit #1 at least 8 out of 10 times.
(Chris Angel even calls me for advice)
I'm now going to only come in at a position that I randomly choose.
peace

[GUMBO]

SJST 35, UH 21 in the fourth with 7 minutes left. Brennan has 4 INTs like our boy #3 last week.

[orange 'n green in the vein]

solar, strength of schedule did affect us, our schedule was too strong for our team, now we're kaput. Not to mention this week is where the real work begins! Even UVA is looking like the team I thought they would be before the year started, that game is no longer a gimmie. I said 9 wins would be a fair over/under for The Randy's opening campaign, but now it looks like you better have the under after last week.

[GUMBO]

Solar...life is good then you find Canespace! I'm actually the transponder, I just give off noise where ever I go. I used to go places, now I just go to Canespace!

Gotta go, getting up at 5 AM to get on the silver bird to MIA at 8 AM. I'll let you know when the eagle has landed...

[solarcane]

OGV,
Sadly I agree I was way optimistic. We are a season away from scaring anyone.
You think Notre Dame is going to play BC a lot tougher than everyone thinks?
peace

[Esteban]

86, sent the break it down to the e-mail.

[solarcane]

gumby,
have a great game and safe ride
peace

[orange 'n green in the vein]

solar, that's a rivalry game, those are always tightly contested affairs. ND wasn't supposed to be THIS bad and BC wasn't supposed to be THIS good. Jabba the Hut and Rosie O'Donnel's love child is supposed to be a more accomplished coach that JJ. BC has beaten them the last two visits so the Irish are due. So yeah, I think it'll be a tougher game than most are predicting. But BC should pull it out. Should, not necessarily will.

[pb]

Im having a hard time following all the mumbo gumbo you guys are talking here.

[solarcane]

It's cause we is talkin kajun.
Any body got some Buckwheat Zydeco??
peace

[solarcane]

pb,
you see 86 hose me on the 1 post? I gotta new can't miss scam ready for the next occasion. you will be involved but an innocent bystander
peace

[pb]

Lol, I saw them open for U2 in the Orange Bowl in 87.

[orange 'n green in the vein]

Hawaii ties it up and forces OT. They just won't go away. 86 is cycling through his pictures of himself on Wakikki Beach in a Speedo with glee right now. We are all doomed.

[pb]

I like being involved in the scam. Its the innocent bystander part I may have a problem with.

[solarcane]

How the hell you throw for over 500 yards and your still tied???
peace

[solarcane]

lmao!! your killing me
peace