Well, this week it's all about the Big 12. The Oklahoma/Texas debate has been raging, and honestly, I don't know what to add.
Texas fans are undeniably pissed, and have a legitimate reason to be. But if Oklahoma were shut out, they would have legitimate complaints as well.
Peter Bean, head of the college SBNation blogs and founder of Burnt Orange Nation wrote a post detailing his frustrations, specifically calling out BlogPoll founder Brian over at MGoBlog.
And in my mind, Brian had the perfect response, there is no right answer.
The entire system is totally screwed, and now, conferences are using the BCS standings to determine who goes to the conference championship game. If the Oregon/Washington/Oregon State situation of 2000 were to happen again, the team with the top BCS rating would have been used to pick the Rose Bowl representative, as the rules have changed since that time.
This is totally ridiculous, of course. With the way the season played out, it is very tough to tell which team should be number 1. Multiple teams have valid arguments for being number 1.
Are we going to judge Oklahoma/Texas based on the head to head win, effectively removing Texas Tech from the equation, or are we going to look at the entirety of the football schedule, to determine the best team.
Again, there is no right answer in this situation. Texas won a game in October between the two teams, had an overrated win over Missouri (at home), squeaked past OSU (at home), and lost to Texas Tech on the road. Oklahoma lost that game, and the proceeded to destroy everyone else on their schedule, including tougher out of conference games.
So, in my opinion, based on these results, I'm putting Oklahoma 1st. They have played a very tough schedule, and have won most of those games in very convincing fashion. I'm putting Florida #2 for a similar reason, and I'm putting Texas #3 because they have gone 11-1 with a very tough schedule, but it has not been as convincing as the others. Alabama is coming in at #4 because, while they have won all their games, they have not won in convincing fashion late in the season, and have risen to #1 overall based on an early win over Clemson, and the first half against Georgia. If they beat Florida this weekend, they deserve to be #1, but at this point, I will not put them their with their weak schedule.
Lastly, Brian makes a good point in his article. We have a playoff right now. It's a two team playoff. And as long as we have it, many teams are going to get screwed. But honestly, after 2001, I don't care much for the pain of others.
The ballot (and other Pac-10 ballots) are after the jump. As always, leave your comments. The bottom 15 or so of the Blogpoll is a ginormous mess, so leave your comments and help keep it honest.
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| Rank | Team | Delta |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Oklahoma |
 2 |
| 2 | Florida | -- |
| 3 | Texas |
1 |
| 4 | Alabama |
 3 |
| 5 | Southern Cal | -- |
| 6 | Penn State | -- |
| 7 | Texas Tech | -- |
| 8 | Oklahoma State | -- |
| 9 | Ohio State |
1 |
| 10 | Utah |
3 |
| 11 | Boise State |
3 |
| 12 | Cincinnati |
3 |
| 13 | Georgia Tech |
6 |
| 14 | Oregon |
4 |
| 15 | Missouri |
6 |
| 16 | Georgia |
5 |
| 17 | Boston College |
7 |
| 18 | Michigan State |
2 |
| 19 | TCU |
2 |
| 20 | Ball State | -- |
| 21 | Oregon State |
9 |
| 22 | Northwestern |
1 |
| 23 | Mississippi |
2 |
| 24 | Iowa |
2 |
| 25 | California |
1 |
Pac 10 Power Poll:
- USC
- Oregon
- OSU
- Cal
- Arizona
- Arizona State
- Stanford
- UCLA
- Washington State
- Washington
Pac-10 Heisman Ballot:
- Jacquizz Rodgers
- Mark Sanchez
- Nick Reed