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Originally posted by ktsnake
As for the SEC being strong top to bottom.. they have issues also. Or didn't you notice that Oregon State sans their running game of last year took them to the wire and only lost because of a lousy kicker? Did you perhaps notice Georgia's lackluster performance against South Carolina? In my opinion, there are teams there that are just as overrated. I mean, Georgia at #3??? Preposterous.
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You missed my point - they're not 'strong top to bottom' in that every team is better than every other league . . . rather, they are 'strong-ER top to bottom' than most leagues can boast. They aren't amazing - honestly I think there's more parity than any other time in history - but I think they're definitely, 100% better than the big8, in general, comparing the entire league.
Sure, LSU looked bad at home - that happens. Georgia is certainly overrated, esp w/ a hurt, true-freshman running back to center the offense around. However, where are the losses? Barely winning is still winning.
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Originally posted by ktsnake
The Pac-10 is having issues as well. Oregon, a perennial pick for #2 in the conference just lost to a team that will probably be #11 in the Big 10 (that is just funny to say). They were probably "looking ahead" to OU. I'll be at that game. It'll be fun watching these Oregon players from temperate Pacific NW roast under the 95+ degree Oklahoma Sun/high humidity.
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The Pac-10 is worse than the Big8 in terms of being top-heavy - as a collective, and not just "USC and three minor bowls", they really haven't been relevant since Arizona was obscene half a decade ago, and even their fall was meteoric. The Pac-10 is fifth at best among major conferences, even w/ the absurd boys at USC.
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Originally posted by ktsnake
As for the Big XII, yes, Miss. U., NU and K-State have been huge disappointments so far. On the other hand, did you notice that Iowa only beat ISU, who is probably our #11 team by 7 points?
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Rivalry game, for starters - all bets are off. Also, if you watched the game, Iowa dominated on the defensive side of the ball, only to give up two key penalties, which led to one big play turning into the only touchdown (the 3 was after a turnover) . . . interesting, considering ISU had something like 160 yds total offense. Add to that some key injuries to the Iowa offense (two linemen, a running back lost for the season, and the QB getting cramps for a while), and I think you'll see context is important. Granted, my view from the 40 yd line might not be the be-all, end-all - but for the biggest game of the year (from ISU's standpoint, at least), the score was much closer than the on-the-field action indicated - I guess the short version is yes, I did notice, but I think you'll need a little closer look before you pass judgement. As an Iowa homer, though, I'll tell you that UI is slightly overrated, prob closer to 20th in the country than 10th, at least until the O-Line gels a bit (however, the defense is every bit the fourth-best in the country, as currently ranked).
Agreed with your final point re: parity, however.
EDIT: Why in the f- do you keep bringing up Toledo?? The midmajors have never proven to be overly relevant, especially in bowl games (TCU anybody?). Until that happens, no one gets credit for beating "one of the top teams in the MAC" or etc. Especially Kansas.