I'm yet to participate in one of these BlogPoll roundtables, but the topic seemed right and I liked the questions, so we'll use this to do a midseason review.
1. We’re about half way through the season. Has your team met your expectations, wildly exceeded them, or are you about to light the torches and storm your athletic department demanding blood?
I don't think any of these options quite fit. Expectations have not been wildly exceeded, but they were pretty high to begin with. Had the Deacs not blown up at Maryland last weekend I would have picked "met expectations" but clearly that option is out at this point. Unfortunatley, Option three doesn't quite fit either. I'm not demanding blood, just an offense that can get in the endzone.
Look, at 4-2 this team is still in okay shape. The loss to Maryland leaves me one win short of being happy at this point, but I don't have a lot of confidence that I'll be happy at the end of the season. That being said, it would only take one good offensive performance for much of my confidence to be restored.
2. In an election year, all sorts of promises will be made, few will be kept. What is one promise or item you thought you could count on that hasn’t come to pass yet this season? Is there still a chance?
Over the summer the big concern was "who will catch passes?" Implicit in that question was the assumption that, despite a young offensive line, returning ACC Rookie of the Year Josh Adams and equally talented freshman Brandon Pendergrass would be able to run the ball. So far, the only running game has come from the gimmicky "wild Deac" formation, and even that for only one game against Clemson. I don't see there being a whole lot of chance of things changing, either. The tough sledding is going to continue for the offensive line and the run game (poor pun intendend)
3. Georgia #1... No, USC #1.… No, Oklahoma #1.… No, Texas #1! Who’s the real #1 team, and who do you think will make it to the big BCS National Title game?
If Texas can make it through the next two games (Oklahoma State and Texas Tech) then they probably won't let go of things. That's easier said than done, and they could easily lose on of those games. Add in a likely rematch with Mizzou in the conference championship game and it's clearly not smooth sailing for the Longhorns. Alabama still has LSU on the schedule, and the Iron Bowl is never a gimmie. They have a tough SEC championship game to play, too.
Penn State may be the most likely to backdoor their way into the National Championship game if they can take care of Ohio State on Saturday. Ultimately I think we'll see two of these three teams in the championship, but Oklahoma State has a shot if they stay undefeated, and we have to consider a bunch of other one loss teams if all of these teams fall.
Since we're talking BCS, and this is a Wake blog, let's talk about Wake, the ACC, and the BCS. It's clear the ACC will only be sending one team to the BCS, baring a monumental collapse by every other conference. The champion will go the Orange Bowl, and that will be that. The Atlantic division race is wide open, with Maryland most clearly in the driver's seat. I don't think anyone expects them to run the table, though, and it's really anyone's race. Wake is still in good shape if they can win out, but I know none of us are particularly confident in that right now. In the Coastal Virginia Tech is the team to beat, but if they falter Georgia Tech is definitely capable of winning the rest of their ACC games and returning to the ACC championship game two years after their last appearance there against the Deacs. Right now, I predict VT will win the ACC.
4. In only a few weeks, college football fans get to be treated with the obligatory and annual “We Need a Playoff” screaming. Well, you don’t get a playoff, but I’ll let you make one change to the BCS (and no, you can’t cop out and have the BCS commit suicide) to make the world a better place. What is your change?
The BCS is what it is, and there is no one change to fix it. A plus-one would certainly be a nice start, but that's been talked about everywhere. I guess one thing I don't like is that the bowls themselves get to pick who they want to come play in there games, using some weird heirarchy. This leads to some teams getting the shaft, others getting incredibly lucky, and a general decrease in "fairness." I realize it wouldn't solve things entirely, but a "placement committe," a-la the basketball selection committee, might be able to make some improvement in this area. It's a somewhat minor thing, and it might even backfire, but it sounds alright in theory
Stealing from Dr. Strangelove, Dr. Saturday has said it best "Dr. Saturday, or: How I learned to stop worrying and love the BCS." Look, I want a playoff. 16 teams. 11 conference champions, 5 at larges. I think it would be awesome. Nearly perfect. Lots of fun. And I'll be lucky to see it happen in my lifetime. So I've given fup. Sure I'll have the discussion with anyone who wants to, but I might as well just enjoy the BCS for what it is, tweaks or not.
5. Using this year ONLY - no historical references - respond to the statement “The Big 12 is a better conference than the SEC”. There’s nothing sillier than conference wars, but then again, there’s nothing sillier than how SEC fans respond to any challenge to their supremacy. Aim, Fire!
So what happens if I decide to respond to the statement "The ACC is a better conference than the Big 12 or SEC" instead? Well I start by talking about how good Clems....er...Wake Fore...er...Virginia Te...uh...er...Crap.
The ACC loses some out of conference games early, wins some and looks a bit better, then beats itself up. The Big 12? They don't play any conference games early and avoid beating each other up until October while the SEC loses some games, beat themselves, and watch Alabama beat everyone. PARITY! IT'S EVERYWHERE!
So that's that. Feel free to leave your thoughts in the comments below.
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