Week 2: What SM Thinks the College Football Playoff Rankings Should Be (Update: AP Has New #1, Clemson Tigers)

WEEK 2 – College Football Playoff Rankings … My predictions:

With all due respect the the AP and Coaches poll, they mean pretty much nothing as we saw by the first week’s College Football Playoff Rankings by the committee. Thankfully, the committee actually did their job for the most part and based the rankings off of what has happened on the field this year, not a bias representation of a preseason poll of last year. Also, let me just say this to every NCAA team, strength of schedule matters. Just being undefeated and running up against the score against cream-puffs means nothing. That being said, ahead of the week 2 rankings, this is what I think they will and should look like this week.

A note to the Big 12 and MSU, time to put a sock in it and play the game. Thursday and Saturday’s results show the committee was 100% correct. After this weeks games it is time to say goodbye to Michigan State, who should have already been eliminated from contention but for a BS punt play against the Wolverines. Carma has a way of evening itself out, doesn’t it? Also say goodbye to TCU and their whining after they claimed they were robbed by the committee. TCU’s 49-29 loss, which seemed even more one sided than that effectively ends their run for the playoffs. And add LSU to off the contention list. LSU was manhandled and their Heisman trophy candidate was shut down completely.

1. Clemson Tigers (9-0) [They have finally slayed their FSU demons, the Tigers are the real deal. It is more impressive to defeat a rival like FSU because to be the man, you need to beat the man. With wins over ND and FSU, who else can claim that in college football?
2. Alabama Crimson Tide (8-1) [Last night against the LSU Tigers, BAMA proved to all the haters why they are in the top 4 in the  College Football Playoff Rankings. Its time for the haters to put a sock in it, especially the Big 12 schools, as you could never have held what was the Heisman front-runner, until last night, Leonard Fournette to 31 yards on 19 carries. Oh, BTW, 18 yards came on one carry, you do the math. LSU had 54 yards rushing for the game, time to give praise where the praise is do.
3. Notre Dame (8-1) [For anyone who actually watched ND beat Pitt yesterday, which the committee does, unlike the AP and Coaches pollsters who look at final scores, you will know that it was a one sided affair and a late garbage TD with a second string QB in made it look closer than it was.  The Fighting Irish also have a top 12 SOW. If ND runs the table and defeats Stanford in the final week of the season, they are in the Final 4]
4. Ohio St. (9-0) [sorry, you don't get to be top 3 with a SOS in the 70's and only beating Minnesota by 14 at home, scoring a TD with less than 2 minutes in game. Another lack-luster performance by Ohio St as their starting QB was benched because of a DUI. The Buckeyes finish the season with MSU and Michigan. A loss to either one of those two and they are out. Call me crazy, but I think the Wolverines are pulling the upset in The Big House".]
5. Stanford (8-1) [The Cardinal rolled the Buffaloes on Saturday and proved once again they are the top PAC 12. If they run the table and beat ND, they are in the Final 4.]
6. Florida (8-1) [The Gators had the most ugliest win of the day against Vanderbilt, but it was a win and with their SOS in the 20's and winning the SEC East, they are a top 10 team]
7. Oklahoma St. (9-0) [OK State becomes the Big 12 team de jour. First it was Baylor, then TCU and now ... its the Cowboys, only because they beat TCU at home. The so-called pundits claim that if OK St or  Baylor run the table, they are in. I don't buy it. You can't just be undefeated in your conference where they play no defense and have out of conference games scheduled against  Central Michigan, Central Arkansas and  UTSA and be considered a top 4, even if you are undefeated.
8. Baylor (8-0) [Baylor is the most over-rated team in the NCAA. With a 94 SOW and coming off a 31-24 win against a K State team (3-5) with no conference wins, the Bears don't get to move and its only because some other teams lost why they are even in the top 10. The schedule they have played looks more like a big joke, that the Big 12.]
9. LSU (7-1) [I could only drop them so far, even though I think LSU could beat many of the teams ranked above them, especially in Baton Rouge.]
10. Iowa (9-0) [The Hawkeyes may be undefeated, but they have played no one and a SOS in the 60's. Yet another team who has played no one and no out of conference games against anyone.]

I will say it one final time, until some of these teams start playing out of conference games against Power 5 conferences, and not the cellar dwellers of those conferences, they have no reason to complain. One can’t play in a weak Power 5 and then also play no one … if you do that is the equivalent of playing in a non-Power 5.

UPDATE I: AP poll shamed into putting Clemson at #1 over Ohio State.

Who honestly thinks the AP poll would have put Clemson at #1 over Ohio State had the College Football Playoff rankings not put them at #1? Sorry, but the Buckeyes have not been the best team in the country all year. Suddenly, the AP has a change of heart and puts a team at #1 who has actually beat good teams. But the AP loses points with their knee jerk reaction to bump OK State, the latest darling of the Big 12, up 9 places to #5. Give me a break folks, Baylor, OK State, TCU and OK are not that good. But for some reason the AP feels the need to always have two teams in the Top 10 even though they have done nothing to deserve it. OK St finally wins a game against some one, even though it was an over-rated TCU team and they are world beaters. Meanwhile, Baylor has played a schedule less than teams in the American Conference, and they are in the top 4. BS!!!

The Clemson Tigers are the new No. 1 team in The Associated Press college football poll, knocking the Ohio State Buckeyes from the top spot for the first time this season.

The Tigers are top-ranked in the AP media poll for the first time since the final poll of the 1981 season, when Clemson won its only AP national title.

Clemson was No. 1 when the initial College Football Playoff rankings of the season were unveiled Tuesday.

The Tigers (9-0) received 31 first-place votes and 1,489 points after beating Florida State 23-13 on Saturday. Ohio State (9-0) had 26 first-place votes and 1,460 points. The defending national champions have been first since the preseason, when they became the first team to be a unanimous preseason No. 1 in the 79-year history of the AP rankings.

UPDATE II: The actual College Football Playoff ranking polls have it as follows: Clemson, Alabama, Ohio St and Notre Dame. I can’t complain with the top 4, I basically have the same with OSU being #4. However, I do have a couple of issues that the committee might have to explain. IOWA at #5, REALLY? How does that happen? Both Baylor and Iowa won games unimpressive against non-ranked opponents by 7 to 8 points and some how Iowa leapfrogs everyone? Hell, why didn’t you just put them in the top 4 while you were at it. At this point I am also not buying Utah in top 10  over Florida.

The BS of the AP & Coaches Polls … Ohio St #1 After Playing No One and Winning by Close Scores

SORRY FOLKS THESE POLS ARE TOTAL BS … THERE SHOULD NEVER BE A PRE-SEASON POLL BASED UPON LAST YEAR.

Has anyone been paying attention to what the Utah Utes have been doing this year? It would appear that the AP and Coaches poll voters are doing their best Fred Gwyn impersonations, “What’s a Ute”?  So 6 weeks into the NCAA season and we have a #1 team that has played nothing but nobodies, and played them close. How does Ohio St. hold on to the #1 spot when they have not earned it. If you don’t have the resume and you don’t pass the eyes test, why are you #1? And that goes for you too Michigan State. Oh, it’s because they have brand recognition, really? So 1 of the 4 teams to determine the National Championship is going to be picked based upon two undeserving teams in OSU and MSU when they play on 11/21? It must be nice to play in a conference where you have one difficult game to determine if you make it to the final 4.

The AP and Coaches poll voters should be ashamed of themselves. Have you watched any of the Ohio St Buckeyes games, any of them, Nunan? How does anyone give a team 38 AP 1st place votes and an even worse 50 first place coaches poll votes for a team who has played Va Tech (2-3), Hawaii (2-3), NIU (2-3), Western Michigan (1-3), and Indiana (3-1)? Making matters even more of a joke is the fact that OSU struggled to beat Va Tech, who lost their starting QB during the same. Did we mention that Va Tech has also lost to East Carolina and Pitt and only have wins against Furman and another joke in the Big Ten, Purdue. Making Ohio St and even bigger joke of being ranked #1 is their victories against NIU (20-13), Western Michigan (38-12) and an Indiana (34-27) team who has also played no one. Ohio St was a 21 point favorite over the Hoosiers, and hung on to win with the Indiana QB nearly pulling off the upset. The Buckeyes were 34.5 point favorites against NIU and 31 point favorites against Western Michigan. Needless to say they didn’t even come close to covering.

So I ask the question, why do other teams get knocked down in the rankings when they fail to provide style points and run up the score against teams they have no business playing, but those rules don’t apply to Ohio St? Just curious. Another note to the ignorant and would would seem to be bias voters, losing on the road to a ranked team would hardly seem to be a reason to lower some one in the polls 7, 8 or 9 spots. So the purpose of these polls is to only play cupcakes? Honestly, who the hell in their right mind drops a team 9 spots in the polls who goes into Death Valley in Clemson, SC and barely loses a game by 2 when they had outplayed the home team in an absolute down pour?

In any event, Ohio St is not the #1 team and to even fathom the thought that two Big Ten teams are #1 and #2  in this day and age of just how bad that conference has become, need their head’s examined and their voting privileges taken away.

The AP Ranking are as follows:

RK    Team    Rec
1    Ohio State (38)    5-0
2    TCU (5)    5-0
3    Baylor (10)    4-0
4    Michigan State    5-0
5    Utah (7)    4-0
6    Clemson    4-0
7    LSU    4-0
8    Alabama    4-1
9    Texas A&M (1)    5-0
10    Oklahoma    4-0
11    Florida    5-0
12    Florida State    4-0
13    Northwestern    5-0
14    Ole Miss    4-1
15    Notre Dame    4-1
16    Stanford    4-1
17    USC    3-1
18    Michigan    4-1
19    Georgia    4-1
20    UCLA    4-1
21    Oklahoma State    5-0
22    Iowa    5-0
23    California    5-0
24    Toledo    4-0
25    Boise State 4-1

For anyone who is fair minded and is only taking into account what has gone on the field this year, not based upon last year or some preconceived notion that they are better than they really are would have their top 10 teams as follows. Of course these polls can change depending on wins and loses from week to week and how one wins.

1. Utah
2. TCU
3. Baylor
4.Texas A&M
5. Ohio St.
6. LSU
7. Alabama
8.Clemson
9. Oklahoma
10. Michigan St.

FSU’s Dalvin Cook Charged with Battery After Punching a Woman Several Times Outside a Tallahassee Bar Clyde’s & Costello’s (Update: Suspended from Team)

FLORIDA STATE SEMINOLES CRIMINALS BACK IN THE NEWS … HEY FSU, SAY GOODBYE TO DALVIN COOK.

Thus life continues at FSU … Florida State running back Dalvin Cook has been charged with misdemeanor battery for allegedly punching a woman several times outside of a downtown Tallahassee bar June 23. The 19 year old sophomore Cook has been suspended indefinitely from the FSU football team. Cook, was FSU’s starting running back who rushed for more than 1,000 yards as a freshman last season. According to accounts, the incident occurred outside of Clyde’s & Costello’s after it closed at 2 AM, when a 21 year old female refused to give her phone number to an FSU football player. The individual was not Dalvin Cook. However, Cook was identified out of a lineup as the person who repeatedly punched the woman and gave her a bloody lip.

Read the Court Documents HERE.

What the hell is going on at FSU and better yet, more to the point, the FSU football team. Coach Jimbo Fisher should be ashamed of himself and probably fired. What are you running, a football program or a gang? The obvious thing that should be pointed out that jumps off the table is Cook is 19. Last time I checked the drinking age was still 21 in Florida. But in Tallahassee, the drinking age for FSU football players is whatever. Second, this incident and the one with QB De’Andre Johnson, who has now been dismissed from the team, happened one day apart. ONE DAY!!!

There is no way in hell that Dalvin Cook can remain on this team and Jimbo claim he gives a damn about woman and domestic violence. What does anyone expect the culture to be at FSU when Fisher, the University president and the Alumni all looked the other way with Jameis Winston?

Florida State running back Dalvin Cook turned himself into Leon County Jail Friday night hours after the State Attorney’s Office charged him with misdemeanor battery for allegedly punching a woman several times outside of a downtown Tallahassee bar June 23.

Cook, 19, was suspended indefinitely from the football team Friday afternoon.

“It is important to me that our fans and the public be aware that I do not tolerate the type of behavior that was captured on video and that was most recently alleged,” FSU coach Jimbo Fisher said in a statement released early Friday evening.

“We will do better. I will not tolerate anything less.”

The 21-year-old woman, who is not an FSU student, and a friend were speaking with a group of five to seven football players outside of Clyde’s & Costello’s after it closed at 2 a.m. when she refused to give her phone number to an FSU football player not named in court records.

Cook, a sophomore, came over originally trying to calm the situation down, court records say. At another point FSU sophomore wide receiver Travis Rudolph also joined the argument.

The woman pushed Rudolph and he did not react other than to continue arguing. Cook asked if she’d pushed Rudolph and punched the woman after she replied, knocking her into a parked car.

Cook continued to swing at her, hitting her at least one other time as he was being restrained. The blow knocked her to the ground. The group of football players then walked away, court records say.

The woman had a bloody lip and dirt on her knee and was intoxicated, police noted in court records.

 ESPN – FSU’s Dalvin Cook charged with battery, suspended from team.

Check this out, Fisher says this type of behavior wont be tolerated, yet as long as they could win a National Championship, rape meant nothing. He also goes on to say that they spend a great deal of time educating their student athletes about appropriate behavior. HAHAHA. You might want to reevaluate that Jimbo. Seems they are getting as much out of those lessons as they are the classes they don’t attend.

VIDEO of discussion of the incident from ESPN

“Recent events at Florida State University involving members of my football team have brought a lot of attention to the school and program. It is important to me that our fans and the public be aware that I do not tolerate the type of behavior that was captured on video and that was most recently alleged,” Fisher said in a statement Friday. “We spend a good deal of time educating our student-athletes about appropriate behavior and their responsibilities as representatives of Florida State. The majority of our players are exemplary, but clearly we must place an even stronger emphasis on this, and I personally promise we will.

“I remain committed to educating our young men and holding them accountable for their actions.”

In a separate statement, FSU president John Thrasher said he was “extremely disappointed” to hear about the allegations, calling them “especially disheartening” considering they came just days after Johnson’s dismissal.

“I have asked Coach Fisher and Athletics Director Stan Wilcox to develop a plan to help our student-athletes understand the consequences of these kinds of actions,” Thrasher said. “This will include Coach Fisher meeting immediately with his team to reiterate, in no uncertain terms, our expectations of them. I also plan to meet with the team, and we will be asking professionals who deal with these matters, including State Attorney Willie Meggs, to speak with them.”

UPDATE I: Jimbo Fisher bans FSU players from bars after arrests.

Banned? What the hell are 19 year old kids allowed to be in them in the first place? Maybe some one needs their liquor license revoked? Talk about putting a band-aid on a broken leg. This is a character flaw coach, not a drinking issue. Your players think they are entitled to treat people like this and obviously have no respect for woman. Maybe you might want to ban them from being around females.

After a week that any football coach would not wish on another, where two players (one now a former player) were arrested for the horrendous action of beating on women, FSU head coach Jimbo Fisher has reportedly laid down the law with his players as to what is expected.

And for the time being, that won’t involve going out to local bars in Tallahassee.

It’s one way to solve the problem, but in the end it’s going to fall right back on the players to be the responsible ones. Fisher and his staff can’t be everywhere to insure that this action occurs, so the players have to decide how they want to represent being a member of the Florida State football program.

UPDATE II: A Culture of Violence against woman … 20 FSU athletes accused of crimes against women since 2009.

According to a report, Cook is the 20th Florida State athlete since 2009 to be accused of a crime against a woman

Twenty.

In June, Outside the Lines ran a report with data from 2009 to 2014 looking into criminal allegations involving football and men’s basketball players at 10 different schools.

Among the schools studied — Florida State, Florida, Auburn, Michigan State, Missouri, Notre Dame, Oklahoma State, Oregon State, Texas A&M and Wisconsin — FSU had the most cases of sexual assault, harassment or violence against women at 18 at the time of the report.

FSU Quarterback De’Andre Johnson Dismissed from Football Team after Punk Punches Woman In The Face (VIDEO)

I GUESS NOT EVEN MIGHTY FSU FOOTBALL COULD MAKE THIS QB ASSAULT GO AWAY …

Florida State University has dismissed QB De’Andre Johnson after a video was released showing the FSU football player punching a woman at a bar. Hmm, but not for the video and of course the transfer of former Notre Dame QB to FSU, what would the Seminoles have done? Bleacher Report states that FSU coach Jimbo Fisher had no choice but to give De’Andre Johnson his walking papers. Following the drama and rape charges against former FSU QB Jameis Winston, there is no way FSU could survive another QB scandal. The State Attorney’s Willie Meggs  released surveillance video of Florida State University quarterback De’Andre Johnson punching a woman at a bar last month.  19 year old Johnson was charged with misdemeanor battery after viewing the footage from the West Tennessee Street bar Yiannis on June 24.

According to court records obtained by the Tallahassee Democrat, the woman suffered bruising near her left eye, swelling of the left cheek and upper lip, and a small cut near the bridge of her nose. The records also state she raised her knee into his midsection before trying to punch him.

De’Andre Johnson FSU Quarterback Punching Woman In The Face

But wait this case just got more interesting, De’Andre  Johnson has hired Jose Baez as his lawyer. Yes, the same Jose Baez who represented Casey Anthony in 2011. It turns out Baez is a Florida State graduate. Of course we have the obligatory BS from the defense how this individual who punches women in the face is misunderstood and a nice guy.

“While it is clear from the video that De’Andre Johnson was not the initial aggressor, his family wants to take the lead in helping him learn and grow from this experience,” read a statement from Baez issued earlier Monday.

“He is currently participating in community service, and faith-based focused on battered women, substance abuse, and the empowerment of children. De’Andre is extremely embarrassed by this situation and would like to express his heartfelt apologies to everyone, including those who were directly affected, Coach Fisher and his teammates, the entire Florida State community, as well as his family and friends.”

UPDATE I: De’Andre Johnson dismissed after video shows him punching woman.

Last week, Johnson was charged with misdemeanor battery stemming from the June incident, just days after Florida State suspended him for a violation of athletic department policy. He turned himself in and was released on a $500 bond, according to ESPN.

The decision to charge Johnson came after the state attorney’s office in Tallahassee, Fla., reviewed the security camera footage that captured the incident inside the bar.

Rapper Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Arrested after Assaulting UCLA Strength & Conditioning Football Coach Sal Alosi

HIP-HOP HELICOPTER DAD ARRESTED …

42 year old rapper, Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs, was arrested Monday on the campus of UCLA and charged with assault with a deadly weapon after an altercation with a UCLA assistant football coach. Diddy’s son, Justin, is a  football player with the UCLA Bruins. As reported at TMZ Sports, Diddy allegedly attacked UCLA strength and conditioning coach coach with a kettlebell weight. Diddy was arrested for assault with a deadly weapon, which is a felony. Diddy was supposedly confronting the assistant coach because coach Sal Alosi was “riding Justin badly” and told him not to come back until the end of the summer. Can you say “Helicopter” dad?

According to accounts, the incident was captured on video.

TMZ Sports:

P. Diddy has been arrested for allegedly getting into a fight with a football coach at UCLA … where his son is on the team, TMZ Sports has learned.

We’re told Campus Police took the music mogul into custody early Monday afternoon. Diddy’s son, Justin Combs, is a defensive back on the team. We’re told the fight went down at the UCLA athletic facility.

One source says a strength and conditioning coach was screaming at Justin on the field during a strength and conditioning session. We’re told the coach “was riding Justin, screaming intensely at him.” Diddy watched the whole thing from the sideline.

At some point later, we’re told Diddy confronted the coach in his office and grabbed him. Diddy was arrested for assault.

UPDATE I: Football coach Jim Mora issued the following statement:

“I’m thankful that our staff showed the level of professionalism that they did in handling this situation. This is an unfortunate incident for all parties involved.  While UCPD continues to review this matter, we will let the legal process run its course and refrain from further comment at this time.”

UPDATE II: Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Released on Bail After Alleged Assault.