Is it the Outback, Jack?/My AP Top 25 ballot for Nov. 30

That’s my best guess, it’s a darn good guess, and I’m sticking to it until someone persuasively convinces me otherwise.

With Oregon State rolling over like dogs instead of Beavers in their game against Oregon Saturday night, that ought to put Ohio State in the BCS (sorry, Boise State), and lift up every other bowl-eligible Big Ten team.

You know what that means, Insight Bowl. You get Minnesota!!!

So, it’s Michigan State in the Capital One Bowl, right? As Lee Corso says, not so friends, my fast. Or something like that.

Are the 9-3 Spartans a slam-dunk for the Orlando event? Not necessarily. But if Georgia is the SEC team, ticket sales ought not to be a problem. It’s a relatively short trip from the Peach State to Theme Park Hell. Plus, Michigan State fans travel well, as they say, and it will be MSU’s first New Year’s bowl in eight years.

That leaves 8-4 Iowa or 9-3 Northwestern for the Outback Bowl, and I can’t see the Outbackers passing up on Iowa and all its box office/hotel room power.

The unfortunate part for the Hawkeyes is the opponent in the Outback won’t be a ranked team. It almost surely would be either 7-5 LSU or 7-5 South Carolina. Now you know how Texas felt two years ago when it got a 6-6 Iowa team to play in the Alamo Bowl.

Iowa isn’t ranked, but should be. As you’ll see in the list below, I have the Hawkeyes 20th. I think Iowa is the most underrated team in the nation. As a result, I’d like to see Iowa get a less-glamorous bowl if it meant a better opponent. Namely, the Alamo.

However, if Missouri gets clocked by Oklahoma in Saturday’s Big 12 title game to end the regular-season with a 9-4 record and 2-game losing streak, never mind. It would be funny to see Iowa and Missouri together in Texas, though. The over/under on fights ending with drunks shoved into the canal on the San Antonio Riverwalk would be 147.

But if Iowa can’t play, say, an Oklahoma State in San Antone, just go to the Outback and play some SEC non-entity. Then the Alamo Bowl can decide between 9-3 Northwestern and 7-5 Wisconsin, with the team left over going to the Champs Sports Bowl to play some ACC also-ran.

It will all be better than that Minnesota-Kansas Insight Bowl.

And now, my AP Top 25 ballot for this week:

1. Alabama

2. Oklahoma

3. Florida

4. Texas

5. Utah

6. Penn State

7. Southern California

8. Texas Tech

9. Ohio State

10. Boise State

11. TCU

12. Ball State

13. Oklahoma State

14. Cincinnati

15. Oregon

16. BYU

17. Missouri

18. Pittsburgh

19. Georgia Tech

20. Iowa

21. Michigan State

22. Mississippi

23. Georgia

24. Northwestern

25. Oregon State

Iowa Men’s Basketball Team Isn’t As Bad As It Looked Against West Virginia Friday

How could it be?

Las Vegas to Moline is a Promotion?

In this case, yes. Sort of. It was a pro hockey transaction made Friday. Someone in the East Coast Hockey League got promoted to the American League.

Las Vegas to the Quad Cities. Yes, Las Vegas is in the East Coast Hockey League. So is a team in Alaska.

Happy Thanksgiving to Gord Baldwin. I guess.

LAS VEGAS WRANGLERS (ECHL) -Announced D Gord Baldwin has been recalled by Quad City (AHL).

Bad News for Beavers is Good News for Hawkeyes

As miserable as it is to take heart in the misfortunes of others, Iowa football fans can’t be saddened to learn Oregon State freshman running back Jacquizz Rodgers may miss Saturday’s Oregon-Oregon State game.

Rodgers is the Pac-10’s leading rusher. He has a shoulder injury.

Why is this good for the Hawkeyes? If Oregon State loses to the Ducks, it increases the chances of Iowa playing in a Jan. 1 bowl. Oregon State would get bounced out of the Rose Bowl, the Pac-10 would get just one BCS slot, and Ohio State would go into the BCS and clear room in the Capital One and Outback for two teams among Michigan State, Northwestern and Iowa.

Rodgers averages 113.9 yards per game, and is listed as “very doubtful” according to Beavers Coach Mike Riley.

Ouch.

In an unrelated matter, you can see how the American public feels about the AP Top 25 ballots cast by yours truly and the other 64 electors.

That link is http://pollspeak.com/pollstalker/pollstalker.php?s=5&p=9&t1=96&t2=&v=448&w=14&r=V

If you think my ballot is weird, take a look at some of the others. John Hunt of the Oregonian, for instance, has two-loss Ohio State ranked ahead of Texas, and only has the Longhorns seventh.

Hunt shoved shoved Texas Tech all the way down to 11th after its first loss of the year, at Oklahoma. But he has two-loss Oklahoma State at No. 9. Texas Tech beat Okie State, 56-20.

But we’re all susceptible to criticism. I didn’t rank Northwestern, and have heard about it. I can’t get past the fact the Wildcats not only were mauled at home by Michigan State and Ohio State, but lost at Indiana. Yes, lost at Indiana.

Had Northwestern played at Pittsburgh and Iowa hosted Syracuse instead of the other way around, the Hawkeyes would be 9-3, the Wildcats 8-4, and no one favoring purple would complain when one of the Big Ten’s affiliated bowls takes Iowa ahead of Northwestern.

Which is why major-college teams don’t want to schedule any good nonconference games anymore. You get punished, by the BCS and by the bowls.

Ten Heisman Voters Surveyed – Very Little Support for Shonn Greene

Oklahoma's Slingin' Sammy Bradford

If the Rocky Mountain News’ most-recent survey of 10 Heisman Trophy electors is a good sampling, Iowa running back Shonn Greene won’t be one of the five Heisman finalists.

Here is what Monday’s Rocky reported:

Oklahoma quarterback Sam Bradford is the new leader in this week’s Rocky Mountain News Heisman Trophy poll, just barely ahead of Texas QB Colt McCoy. Likely dazzled by Bradford’s four touchdown-pass performance in Saturday night’s 65-21 rout of Texas Tech, Bradford earned five of 10 first-place votes to jump from third to first with 42 total points. McCoy, who was off Saturday, remained in second place with 41 points that included three first-place votes.

The leader the previous three weeks, Texas Tech QB Graham Harrell, fell two spots to third, with defending Heisman-winner Tim Tebow of Florida remaining in fourth. The Heisman will be awarded Dec. 13 in New York City.

In its 22nd year, the Rocky poll is the longest-running weekly Heisman ranking in the country. The final poll, taken in December, has predicted the Heisman winner correctly in 18 of the previous 21 seasons. Ten voters select five players each week. The tabulations are made on a 5-4-3-2-1 basis, with five points for a first-place vote, four points for second, etc. First-place votes are in parentheses.

The Hlog notes: Heisman voters only list three players. Greene got either one fourth-place vote or two fifth-place votes. Which means he would have received zero votes had these 10 people — which include some well-known names in sports journalism — sent their Heisman ballots today.

This week’s Rocky poll, with statistics from last week:

Player, position	School	Last week	Points
Sam Bradford, QB	Oklahoma	14-for-19 passing, 304 yards, 4 TDs	42 (5)
Colt McCoy, QB	Texas	Did not play	41 (3)
Graham Harrell, QB	Texas Tech	33-for-55 passing, 361 yards, 3 TDs	27 (1)
Tim Tebow, QB	Florida	9-for-11, 201 yards passing, 3 TDs	23 (1)
Daryll Clark, QB	Penn State	16-for-26 passing, 341 yards, 4 TDs	4
Chase Daniel, QB	Missouri	Did not play	4

Others receiving votes: Knowshon Moreno (RB, Georgia) 3; Michael Crabtree, (WR, Texas Tech) 3; Shonn Greene (RB, Iowa) 2; Jeremy Maclin (WR, Missouri), 1.

Voters: Kirk Bohls, Austin (Texas) American-Statesman; Jimmy Burch, Fort Worth Star-Telegram; Dennis Dodd, CBSSports.com; Vahe Gregorian, St. Louis Post-Dispatch; Mike Griffith, The Knoxville (Tenn.) News-Sentinel; Michael Lewis, Salt Lake Tribune; Bernie Lincicome, Rocky Mountain News; John Lindsay, Scripps Howard News Service; Tom Luicci, The (Newark) Star-Ledger; John Rohde, The Oklahoman.

The link: http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/nov/24/heisman-poll-sooners-qb-bradford-soars-top-tech-tr/

Odds Still Seem Against Greene Becoming a Heisman Finalist

Probable future U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's Heisman pose

This will be edited as more information filters in, but early returns Sunday show it will be an uphill run for Iowa’s Shonn Greene to become a Heisman Trophy finalist in 2 1/2 weeks.

From sportingnews.com Sunday: “He has the numbers to get to New York, but the name recognition still isn’t there.”

In Heisman watches in the Denver Post and Pittsburgh Tribune-Review Sunday, four players were listed. None were Greene.

Before Saturday’s games, a McClatchey Newspapers panel of nine Heisman voters listed the way they would fill out their ballots (you only get to vote for three players). Only Jeff Shain of the Miami Herald listed Greene, and at No. 3. Quarterbacks Graham Harrell of Texas Tech, Colt McCoy of Texas, Sam Bradford of Oklahoma and Tim Tebow of Florida had every vote covered by the third-place vote for Greene and a third-place nod for Texas Tech receiver Michael Crabtree.

Greene’s 1,729 rushing yards lead all of Division I-A football, but it’s the Year of the Quarterback. Not that a running back with a dozen straight 100-yard games wouldn’t be a shoo-in for the Heisman ceremony had he played for a team headed for a BCS bowl, but an unranked 8-4 club has a harder time getting drum beats sounded for a Heisman candidacy.

It doesn’t help, either, that Greene isn’t glib or eager to do any self-promotion. Normally, the latter is a good thing.

Nonetheless, Greene will be making the rounds in December when national awards are handed out. He absolutely has to win the Doak Walker Award as the nation’s top running back. There will be other honors, and a first-team All-America spot. Those aren’t bad consolation prizes if he isn’t invited to New York.

Then there’s a bowl game. You know, Greene is only a 271-yard game from a 2,000-yard season …

In an unrelated matter, congratulations to former Iowa defensive lineman Howard Hodges for being a member of the Canadian Football League’s Grey Cup champion Calgary Stampeders. Hodges played for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats last year, they went 3-15, and Hodges got waived. He hooked on with the Stampeders and played a significant role for the league champs.

One Man’s AP Top 25 Ballot

In my heart of hearts, I know Oklahoma and Florida and Texas are better than Alabama. But the Crimston Tide have run the table thus far, won at Georgia and LSU, and may be better than I (and many others) realize.

I kicked around putting Florida second ahead of Oklahoma given the way the Gators have mauled their last several foes, including Georgia.

Am I a homer to have Iowa 20th with four losses and Michigan State 22nd with three defeats, when MSU beat Iowa? I wrestled with it, but the Spartans got buried at Penn State Saturday, and no one buried Iowa this season.

But I think the Hawkeyes would beat Boise State, Ball State, and one if not both of the Oregon brothers, but ranked all four ahead of Iowa. The first two are undefeated and need no explanation. I think the Pac-10 is underrated this season, and think the Oregon twins are better than people realize. Oregon State is way better than it was in September when it got smacked down at Penn State.

Look, the SEC champ will meet the Big 12 champ in the title game, so the rest of this is just window dressing, anyhow.

1.       Alabama

2.       Oklahoma

3.       Florida

4.       Texas

5.       Utah

6.       USC

7.       Texas Tech

8.       Penn State

9.       Ohio State

10.   Missouri

11.   Boise State

12.   Oklahoma State

13.   TCU

14.   Georgia

15.   Ball State

16.   Cincinnati

17.   Oregon State

18.   BYU

19.   Oregon

20.   Iowa

21.   Georgia Tech

22.   Pittsburgh

23.   Michigan State

24.   Western Michigan

25.   Mississippi

Don’t Rule Out Capital One Bowl, Iowa Fans …

If, that is, Iowa defeats Minnesota.

 

This is written five minutes before kickoff in the Metrodome. Someone I know who knows Outback Bowl people says they have told him they think the Cap One will take an 8-4 Iowa over a 9-3 Michigan State.

Michigan State didn’t help itself by getting plastered at Penn State today.

Don’t put 10 cents on any bowl scenario tonight or tomorrow, but don’t rule this one out, either. If Iowa beats/has beaten the Gophers, that is.

I Cast an AP Top 25 Ballot, But You Can Do the Campaigning

Something bizarre and potentially dangerous has happened in college football this week.

I have become one of the 65 voters in the Associated Press college football rankings.

In late November? How? Why? And most of all … me?

The how is easy. Eric Page had been Iowa’s representative on the AP panel. But he has quit his sportswriting job at the Quad City Times to take a position at a Quad Cities college. Page joins the million or so people who have left newspapering in November, but at least his departure was voluntary and for a better station in life. Good for him.

I guess it’s fitting I work in sportswriting, because I need a turnstile to count all the people I’ve seen come and go in the newspaper biz.

So last week I got a phone call. AP decided it wanted Iowa to have a vote through the final three weeks of the regular season and after the national-title game is played next Jan. 8. Would I do it?

I asked myself what was in it for me, and the answer was nothing. Then I thought some more. I could get some Hlog fodder out of it. And, of course, the threat of violence from fans of teams who felt wronged. The Hlog fodder cancelled out the fear of personal harm, so I agreed.

I did this once before, way back in 1993. My pick for the No. 1 team at the end of the season was Notre Dame. The national-champ was Florida State. I still think I made the right call.

So, tonight after the material from the Iowa-Minnesota game is shipped off to the Gazette and Gazetteonline, I’ll cobble together a Top 25. I will do so not having seen the Texas Tech-Oklahoma game, which stinks. Nor will I have seen BYU-Utah, or Michigan State-Penn State, or Pittsburgh-Cincinnati, or any other game involving a ranked team or a squad vying for a ranking.

So I’ll have to rely on the scores, and published accounts of the games. But if you want to offer kernels of valuable information you think I need to know to cast a more-informed ballot, I encourage you to post your comments here anytime Saturday.

And now, off to Minneapolis.

Javon Ringer Endorses Shonn Greene for the Heisman

AP photo

Michigan State’s Javon Ringer, a terrific running back himself, endorsed Iowa RB Shonn Greene for the Heisman Trophy on the Big Ten Network.

Thanks to our friends at www.blackheartgoldpants.com, here’s the link to the clip of an interview Ringer did with the Big Ten Network:

http://www.blackheartgoldpants.com/2008/11/18/664645/javon-ringer-endorses-shon