Pete
Fiutak
Q:
The No. 2 team in the nation is ... ?
A:
Can I say Texas?
Obviously Texas has to be ranked No. 1 right now, but I'm hung up on
Florida. The Gators appear to be humming at just the right time. The
offense is starting to click, while the defense is maturing and
improving by the week. Of course, this theory blows up if the Gators
lose to Georgia, but I think they'll win the SEC title and go on to win
their second national title in three years.
If it's not Florida, I'm taking Oklahoma as the No. 2 team behind Texas.
Yeah, the defensive back seven has gone bye-bye, but the offense is
unstoppable and the defensive front would hold its own against, say,
Alabama. The Tide would be next in line, but to me, this seems like a
team just begging to be tagged. The Kentucky and Ole Miss defensive
lines were way too productive. And then there's Penn State. I believe in
the defense, the offensive line and the receiving corps, but I'm not
sold on the quarterback situation in the clutch. I still want to see
Daryll Clark have to throw a pass in anger.
Richard
Cirminiello
Q:
The No. 2 team in the nation is ... ?
A: Penn
State. No disrespect intended toward Alabama, but Penn State has proven
it can win any type of game, from the shootout to the defensive
struggle, which is huge in the final stages of the season.
Yeah, the SEC is better than the Big Ten, but is the Tide’s body of work
truly stronger than the Lions? Each has a win over a top 10 team on the
road (Georgia and Ohio State). Each has a blowout over a team that wound
up being overrated (Clemson and Wisconsin). And each has cruised through
a pretty soft non-conference schedule. If you’re looking for a
difference between two very similarly qualified programs, how about
this? Alabama struggled at home to put away Ole Miss and Kentucky, a
couple of middle-of-the-road SEC teams. Penn State, on the other hand,
had yet to win by less than two touchdowns before last week’s 13-6
victory in Columbus. It’s splitting hairs, which is why we can only pray
to the gods of college football that Texas, Alabama, and Penn State are
all unbeaten on Dec. 7. How cool would a cranky Joe Paterno be as the
mouthpiece for future change in the current system?
Matthew
Zemek
Q:
The No. 2 team in the nation is ... ?
A: If you asked me "who is the second-best football team"
in the nation, the answer would come down to Oklahoma and
Florida, who are both knocking the stuffing out of their
overmatched foes. The Sooners would gain a slight edge in that
comparison, because the Gators need downfield passing threats
other than Percy Harvin. The Sooners have more quality depth at
the skill positions, at least for now.
But in a debate about the team that should be RANKED second--a
different question entirely--the debate naturally involves
Alabama and Penn State.
Not that it means very much right now, but Alabama would get the
nod. A decisive win at Georgia counts for more than Penn
State's narrow win at Ohio State.
The really interesting part of an Alabama-Penn State debate
would emerge if the Tide won at LSU, but then lost to Florida in
the SEC Championship Game (assuming the Gators get there).
Alabama would have two awesome wins, compared to Penn State's
one, and the heft of the Tide's schedule would easily eclipse
Penn State's non-conference cupcakes, plus a Big Ten run
that--due to the declines of Wisconsin and Michigan (not Penn
State's fault, of course)--just wouldn't pack a punch.
12-0 Penn State versus 12-1 Alabama would make for a fascinating
debate. The football fan in me would want to see Bama go to
Miami under that scenario, but the fair-minded journalist would
find it really hard to deny Penn State its place in the
national title tilt.
The human being in me? Well, seeing Joe Paterno slide past Nick
Saban would be a case of good karma defeating bad karma.
The one thing we can all agree on in this discussion? The BCS
shows every sign of creating another nasty endgame scenario,
with a terrific 12-1 team missing the title game while a team
with a far softer schedule runs the table.
Plus-one, anyone?
Steve Silverman
Q:
The No. 2 team in the nation is ... ?
A: I have a lot of love and respect
for Penn State of the beleaguered Big Ten
and the guess here is that Penn State will
be playing for the national championship at
the end of the season because there won't be
two other undefeated teams.
But the question is not who the No. 2 team
will be at the end of the season. The No. 2
team in the nation right now is Alabama. I
don't think Texas will last much longer at
No. 1, but that's exactly where the
Longhorns stand as the 10th week of the
college football season is about to begin.
Meanwhile, Nick Saban's team has played well
since the start of the season when it served
notice to the rest of the college football
world with a convincing road win over
Clemson.
The Crimson Tide can stick it to just about
anyone. They have the No. 5 total defense in
the nation and are No. 2 in rushing defense.
Offensively, John Parker Wilson may not get
a ton of hype outside the SEC, but he can
play and is tough enough to survive the rest
of the schedule. Alabama still has to handle
LSU, Auburn and the SEC title game, but this
team has proven worthy in every one of its
eight previous games and that is not about
to stop now.