bukie

Again the defense lets Roundtree get behind them all.

Yeah, if that had been a catch, Michigan would have almost been in FG range.

I don't think that is the last time a team will score today.

Can't leave anybody that wide open.

Key for Illinois here will be keeping them out of the end zone and forcing their kicking team to do something.

Dimke may be the Illini's best offensive player.

TCU and UCF were the 2 teams I've heard are leading the way with mild interest in Temple and Villanova. Are they doing this as football only schools, or is that unwieldly basketball conference going to get even bigger? Not sure, but I'd imagine they're pretty desperate for good football. The implications for the basketball conference may not be the top priority. Yeah, it's common trash talk to say that a conference middling teams would be the best team in another conference, but this year this may actually be true, as their statistical best team (Pittsburgh) is lower rated than NC State, Illinois, Mississippi State, Texas A&M, and Arizona State.

As of last night's games, every team in the NBA is "connected". So, Jeff Sagarin's ratings are now a decent reflection of how well teams have played so far (in an admittedly very tiny sample size). Power rankings according to Sagarin ratings (predictor in parentheses): 1. Los Angeles Lakers (2) 2. Miami Heat (1) 3. Denver Nuggets (3) 4. Orlando Magic (4) 5. New Orleans Hornets (8) 6. Atlanta Hawks (9) 7. Portland Trail Blazers (5) 8. Phoenix Suns (6) 9. Boston Celtics (7) 10. San Antonio Spurs (11) 11. Utah Jazz (12) 12. Dallas Mavericks (10) 13. Chicago Bulls (16) 14. Memphis Grizzlies (17) 15. Houston Rockets (13) 16. Oklahoma City Thunder (21) 17. Indiana Pacers (18) 18. New York Knicks (14) 19. Golden State Warriors (20) 20. Sacramento Kings (22) 21. Toronto Raptors (15) 22. Milwaukee Bucks (19) 23. Cleveland Cavaliers (23) 24. Washington Wizards (26) 25. Philadelphia 76ers (24) 26. Charlotte Bobcats (25) 27. New Jersey Nets (29) 28. Detroit Pistons (27) 29. Minnesota Timberwolves (28) 30. Los Angeles Clippers (30) Thoughts: - The Central Division is bad this year, probably the worst in the NBA. - The East has 5 playoff worthy teams in the early going (Miami/Orlando/Atlanta/Boston/Chicago)...and the West has 11 (Lakers/Denver/New Orleans/Portland/Phoenix/San Antonio/Utah/Dallas/Memphis/Houston/Oklahoma City). - Even 3 games in, LA and Miami are the clear top of the pack.

Auburn is a team that is likely better than their results show, which is going to skew them in a ratings system. Aside...what bowl would Illinois get if they win out and finish 9-3 (6-2)? There's a distinct possibility that still lands them 5th in the Big Ten (Wisconsin, Michigan State and the Iowa/Ohio State winner can all finish 7-1, and the Iowa-OSU loser would be 6-2). Even if they pass one of the top 4 in the standings, I'd wager those four teams still get bowl priority (and possibly Michigan and PSU in addition if they become eligible).

Top 10 according to Sagarin's predictor, which takes margin of victory into account (and thus on average is a better predictor of future results): 1. Oregon 2. TCU 3. Alabama 4. Stanford 5. Boise State 6. Missouri 7. Ohio State 8. Oklahoma 9. Nebraska 10. Iowa Before any Auburn fans chime in, they're 15th. Their schedule strength is improving, but they still have had the fortune of all their tough games at home, and haven't really looked impressive in a win aside from a 20 point win over Arkansas where they pulled away late. Boise State is likely to keep sliding down this list as well as their schedule strength continues to take a dive. Aside from admitting Auburn is probably better than their predictor rating, this is a pretty accurate list in terms of my consideration, personally.

Nevada winning is mostly irrelevant for Boise now. It makes very little impact in the computers. And the way the teams have shook out a win over a 9-1 Nevada team isn't really going to move them in the polls any differently than a 7-3 Nevada team. The team that would really help them to keep winning is Va Tech. If they win out and win the ACC Championship game that would definitely be a boost in the computers and a possible boost in the polls. The game that would really, really help both Boise and TCU is Oregon and Oregon State. If Oregon State pulled off the upset, it would knock Oregon out of the picture and it would provide a decent boost in the computers to both TCU and Boise. So a perfect storm for Boise St would be Utah beats TCU, Oregon State beats Oregon. Should set up Boise St and the winner of Auburn/Bama for the Championship? Unless the SEC East winner (Florida or South Carolina, most likely) wins the SEC championship. Then it may just set up Boise State-Utah.

If Illinois can pull it out this weekend, they have a realistic shot at 9-3 (6-2), finishing with Minnesota, Northwestern and Fresno State. If there's one thing I can count on with a Zook team, though, is that just when things start looking good, they'll throw up an inexplicable L. So, I'm waiting for them to lose at home to Minnesota next week.

Very easily obviously, but how? Defensive players are allowed to grab offensive players with the exception being receivers on a pass play are they not? You're not allowed to grab and hold potential blockers to keep them from getting involved in the play.

That was some fourth quarter. 34-9 to finish with a 10 point win.

Wow, maybe Illinois really is good.

I usually go to Basketball Prospectus which, while covering both pro and college basketball, does a decent job in analysis.

Looks like all the AP voters got the memo that Hummel was out.

Picked up 4th foul midway through the third.

Cue the one-game overreaction, both on Miami and Boston.

That quarter just set back basketball by 40 years.

In their first 20 games, they play OKC twice, the Lakers twice, Denver twice, Houston twice, @ Boston twice, @ Phoenix, @ Dallas, @ San Antonio, and have home games against Orlando and Portland. If they go 10-10 after 20, they'll clear 46 easily. More likely, they'll go something like 7-13 and everybody will panic.

They'll probably struggle heavily coming out of the gate. If they can finish their first 20 games at 10-10, they'll clear 46 wins easily.

The top 3 picks are going to Carolina, Buffalo and San Fran, in some order. Oakland, Arizona, St. Louis, Tampa Bay, Jacksonville and Chicago are not good teams, despite their records. Denver, Minnesota, Detroit, Cincinnati and Washington are more along the line of teams that will battle Dallas for draft position.

I think the manager is the least of the Cubs' concerns heading into the offseason, so as long as they didn't hire a guy who will actively destroy the team, then yay.

If the Hawks win one of the next two, they're on the pace of last year's team.