You got to love the college football polls — even before most schools started their fall practice this past week, the USA Today Top 25 Coaches Poll was released. Yes, the poll from the very people who manage the game of big time college football was presented a full two weeks before the AP Writer’s Poll makes its debut, with not too many surprises for the football fanatic.

Though the vote wasn’t unanimous, there was no surprise when the Georgia Bulldogs received the No. 1 ranking from the college coaches followed by USC, Ohio State, Oklahoma, and Florida.  Perhaps the most notable thing is that the Southeast Conference (SEC) which has been arguably the strongest football conference over the past decade, is even stronger this year.

The SEC Continues To Dominate

With three of the top six teams in the country, the odds of another national championship showdown between the SEC champ and some other conference champion is quite good. And, with an 11-4 record in BCS games since 1998, the SEC winner has an excellent chance of taking home the national championship for the third consecutive year.

Without further delay the top teams in the preseason poll are as follows; first place votes are in parentheses and last year’s record follows:

1. Georgia (22) 11-2

2. Southern California (14) 11-2

3. Ohio State (14) 11-2

4. Oklahoma (3) 11-3

5. Florida (5) 9-4

6. LSU (3) 12-2

7. Missouri 12-2

8. West Virginia 11-2

9. Clemson 9-4

10. Texas 10-3

11. Auburn 9-4

12. Wisconsin 9-4

13. Kansas 12-1

14. Texas Tech 9-4

15. Virginia Tech 11-3

16. Arizona State 10-3

17. Brigham Young 11-2

18. Tennessee 10-4

19. Illinois 9-4

20. Oregon 9-4

21. South Florida 9-4

22. Penn State 9-4

23. Wake Forest 9-4

24. Michigan 9-4

25. Fresno State 9-4

Paterno’s Final Year?

Perhaps the sentimental favorite this year will be Penn State who, under the leadership of Joe Paterno for the 43rd consecutive season, has already sold out 107,282 seat Beaver Stadium for all seven of their home games. JoePa is now 81 year old and has had health issues of late, sparking talk that this will be his last season at the helm of the Nittany Lions.

Most Division 1 FCS teams will begin play over the Labor Day weekend with the national championship scheduled for January 8, 2009, at Dophin Stadium near Miami, FL.

(Source: USA Today)

Tags: Coaches Poll, college football, Georgia Bulldogs, Joe Paterno, Penn State, University of Georgia, USA Today

My North Carolina Tarheels were eliminated by the Fresno State Bulldogs, but it was a bittersweet loss. Bitter because the Tarheels came up short for the third consecutive year, sweet because the team that eliminated them is this year’s College World Series champion.

An All Bulldogs Final

Fresno State is the champion by knocking off the Georgia Bulldogs 6-1 this past Wednesday. This was the same team that started its season at 8-12 and had to win the Western Athletic Conference title in order to qualify for post season play. The team escaped several near-death experiences in the regional and super regional to advance to the championship round at Omaha. Once there, they knocked off a succession of heavyweights including Georgia, the favorite.

Finishing the season at 47-31, the Bulldogs of Fresno State have the distinction of possessing the most losses of any team winning the College World Series. But, this was a determined team, one that had nothing to lose and everything to gain. You could tell when watching the series that Fresno State was the most relaxed team on the field — heck, they weren’t expected to be there and seemed to be enjoying the ride.

Two Heroes and Then Some

The hero of the third championship game was Steve Detwiler who homered twice and drove in all six of Fresno’s runs. Tommy Mendoca was named series MVP on account of his four homers, 11 RBIs, and excellent defensive work.

Some might argue that Fresno State was given an advantage not previously realized at the CWS when the series was stretched out a few extra days to build in some rest time. But, that same rest was afforded all of the teams and when it mattered, the Bulldogs pulled it all together and won the series.

Kudos to Fresno State — home of the 2008 College World Series champions!

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Tags: college baseball, college world series, CWS, Fresno State Bulldogs, Georgia Bulldogs, Nebraska, Omaha