The Game Prediction (you know, THE GAME)

I'm going to go out on a limb here and predict the monster game from Prescott Burgess that Michigan fans have given up on waiting for. He has looked good against teams that force him to make plays out in space (Texas, Northwestern) and bad against teams that line up and run the ball right at him. If you ask me, this has a lot to do with his being a safety (albeit a big safety) playing linebacker. I think that he will deliver when asked to track down Troy Smith on the QB scramble.

This year's Michigan team is a desperate one. Last season the team had largely overachieved heading into the OSU game and were ready for a let down. With a win, Michigan either heads to a BCS bowl or to the Citrus (or whatever the hell they call it now). A loss sends them to somewhere in Texas. I'm betting that Mike Hart plays and plays well and that the Michigan Defense has its best game of the season, just when it counts most. Make it Michigan 28, Ohio State 17.

Other Predictions
Michigan State 35, Penn State 31
USC 42, Fresno State 17
Auburn 18, Alabama 17

Last Week: 2-4 Season: 19-24

Some Rankings

Well, I've been busy working on grad school applications, but in my spare time, I've been experimenting with a subjective ranking system that I hope will give me some perspective on how to rank teams, as I'm really struggling right now with any team between, say, 13 and 25. As a caveat, right now the system has a propensity to overrate mid-majors with one quality win, no bad losses and a pretty weak schedule. I'm working on fixing that, but for the time being, here goes:

Power16
1. Texas
2. USC
3. Miami
4. Penn State
5. Louisiana State
6. Virginia Tech
7. Alabama
8. Ohio State
9. Notre Dame
10. Auburn
11. Georgia
12. Oregon
13. Fresno State
14. West Virginia
15. Texas Christian
16. UCLA

Next9
17. Wisconsin
18. South Carolina
19. Florida
20. Michigan
21. Louisville
22. Minnesota
23. Iowa
24. Florida State
25. Texas Tech

I promise I'll work hard to find a way to fix the problems and get back to you next week with an even better ranking system. In the meantime, Go Blue.

Some Saturday Picks

First off, how about those Pistons? 6-0 to start the year, although tonight was far less enjoyable, with it being a close game and Bill Walton being the worst commentator in all of sports. At least they won. Ovid-Elsie's surprise playoff run ended tonight at Muskegon Oakridge. Congratulations to the team, it was an excellent year. The Marauder's berth in the regional finals marks the furthest that O-E has advanced since 1991 when the Marauders lost to Battle Creek Pennfield, also in the regional finals. On to the college picks:

Michigan 40, Indiana 17
California 28, USC 17
Alabama 17, LSU 10
Georgia 31, Auburn 23
Ohio State 35, Northwestern 16
Arizona State 41, UCLA 28

Last Week: 1-2 Season: 17-20

Thursday=Emergency Rankings

So, I've been busy with other stuff and haven't updated the blog lately. If time had been on my side this week I would've written a post about how Prescott Burgess is Michigan's best defense against spread offenses because he is good "in space." This has something to do with his being a safety in high school. Hopefully I'll have time to develop this concept a little more, but if it's true, it will be the only good thing to come out of Michigan's fanatical desire to switch player positions (see Will Paul's drops, Steve Breaston's inability to catch a deep ball, etc.). Anyway, on to some rankings, more on this next week:

Power16
1. Texas
2. USC
3. Alabama
4. Miami
5. Penn State
6. Georgia
7. Virginia Tech
8. Louisiana State
9. Ohio State
10. Notre Dame
11. Oregon
12. West Virginia
13. Florida
14. UCLA
15. Auburn
16. Colorado

Next9
17. Texas Tech
18. Michigan
19. Fresno State
20. Florida State
21. Georgia Tech
22. Wisconsin
23. Boston College
24. Louisville
25. Texas Christian

Yup, that's it. I hope that Ovid-Elsie beats Muskegon Oakridge tomorrow night. Go Marauders!

Friday Night Fun

First off, congrats to my alma mater (the first one) the Ovid-Elsie High Marauders on their win over Allendale tonight to capture the football district crown. This is easily the best O-E team since 1991 and perhaps the best in the school's ~40 years history (Ovid and Elsie merged in 1966). Best of luck in the next round.

Michigan has a bye week, but here are some other predictions for the weekend:

Virginia Tech 31, Miami 26
Penn State 21, Wisconsin 7
California 27, Oregon 17

Last Week: 2-1 Season: 16-18

I'll be away for a good chunk of the coming week, so don't expect much output here. I'll try to get some rankings up in the middle of week. Keep your stick on the ice.