It's Monday!

Ate at Gorat's this weekend - the Omaha steak house where the Oracle of Omaha himself sits down and tucks into a T-bone.

God Almighty I like meat. So does Warren Buffett, apparently. Good times.

Your football rankings (W-L and last week's ranking in parentheses)

1. Texas (7-0, 1)
2. Alabama (7-0, 2)
3. Boise State (6-0, 3)
4. Penn State (8-0, 5)
5. Texas Tech (8-0, 6)
6. Utah (8-0, 4)
7. Ohio State (7-1, 10)
8. Georgia (6-1, 13)
9. Oklahoma (6-1, 8)
10. Ball State (7-0, 9)
11. Tulsa (7-0, 18)
12. Florida (5-1, 16)
13. USC (5-1, NR)
14. Oklahoma State (6-1, NR)
15. Georgia Tech (6-1, 25)
16. TCU (7-1, 21)
17. Minnesota (6-1, 22)
18. Pitt (5-1, 23)
19. USF (6-1, NR)
20. LSU (5-1, NR)
21. Florida State (5-1, NR)
22. BC (5-1, NR)
23. Northwestern (6-1, NR)
24. Cincinnati (5-1, NR)
25. BYU (6-1, 7)

Dropped out - Missouri (5-2, 12), Michigan State (6-2, 11), Kansas (5-2, 20), Virginia Tech (5-2, 15), North Carolina (5-2, 17), Vanderbilt (5-2, 19), Wake Forest (4-2, 14), Cal (4-2, 24)

Other teams of note...

47. Nebraska (4-3, 46)
50. Iowa (5-3, 50)
80. UTEP (3-4, 71)
107. Iowa State (2-5, 101)
119. Idaho (1-7, 118)
120. North Texas (0-7, 120)

Weekly rankings

Seriously - is there anything better than savoring an unexpected blowout road win by my beloved Hawkeyes while listening to the Husker nation cry about having their hearts RIPPED out by Texas Tech?

Probably, but let me have my moment.

This week's Top 25 (with record and last week's rank)

1. Texas (6-0, 3)
2. Alabama (6-0, 2)
3. Boise State (5-0, 7)
4. Utah (7-0, 9)
5. Penn State (7-0, 8)
6. Texas Tech (5-0, 10)
7. BYU (6-0, 13)
8. Oklahoma (5-1, 4)
9. Ball State (7-0, 12)
10. Ohio State (6-1, 19)
11. Michigan State (6-1, 15)
12. Missouri (5-1, 1)
13. Georgia (5-1, 20)
14. Wake Forest (4-1, NR)
15. Virginia Tech (5-1, 14)
16. Florida (5-1, 25)
17. North Carolina (5-1, 17)
18. Tulsa (6-0, 16)
19. Vanderbilt (5-1, 5)
20. Kansas (5-1, NR)
21. TCU (6-1, NR)
22. Minnesota (6-1, NR)
23. Pitt (4-1, 23)
24. Cal (4-1, 21)
25. Georgia Tech (5-1, 32)

Dropped out - Northwestern (5-1, 6), USF (5-1, 24), LSU (4-1, 11), Notre Dame (4-2, 18), Kentucky (4-2, 22)

Other teams of note...

46. Nebraska (3-3, 35)
50. Iowa (4-3, 57)
71. UTEP (3-3, 90)
101. Iowa State (2-4, 100)
118. Idaho (1-6, 115)

I'm interested to see how accurate this formula is over the long haul. I was a little surprised at how far a couple of schools dropped.

Interesting that the top 2 match the consensus top 2 in the polls. Interesting that North Texas ranks as the worst team in the country (#120). Good times.

A new blog institution

With time on my hands here in the wilds of Omaha, I've had time to put the finishing touches on my college football ranking system.

I'll post the rankings each week just to see how close my formula comes to matching whatever you want it to match.

Enjoy!

1. Missouri
2. Alabama
3. Texas
4. Oklahoma
5. Vanderbilt
6. Northwestern
7. Boise State
8. Penn State
9. Utah
10. Texas Tech
11. LSU
12. Ball State
13. BYU
14. Virginia Tech
15. Michigan State
16. Tulsa
17. North Carolina
18. Notre Dame
19. Ohio State
20. Georgia
21. Cal
22. Kentucky
23. Pitt
24. USF
25. Florida

For the locally curious...

57. Iowa
100. Iowa State

Inspiration

Inspired by a comment on my latest post, I have decided to officially retire from the NFL. Unfortunately for the league, teams did not want to give me a chance to compete for a starting job at (FILL IN POSITION HERE).

I was not satisfied to be a backup, and so I'm putting my NFL career aside to chase new and exciting projects.

Yes, this week is Iowa/Iowa State. I've chosen to forgo cheap shots and humor this year. All business.

(Do they even have a business school at Clown U? Agri business does not count...)

(Yes, I know they have a business school. Law... (human) medicine... those things are right out, but they do have a business school. Go Moo U!)

Uhh...

I have just now read a news article informing me that Daunte Culpepper has retired from the NFL.

To, umm, retire from the NFL, don't you need to be in the NFL?

At this point isn't he acknowledging that his employment opportunities in his chosen field are nil and he's moving to a different ... oh, nevermind.

Maybe, Daunte, if you had rehabbed your knee injury under the supervision of, oh, I don't know, team doctors and not at a strip mall (That's mall, you dunder heads), you might still be an NFL QB?

Hmm?

Maybe?

Yeah, I'm probably right, aren't I?

Land of Confusion

The Hon. John McCain:

Sarah Palin?!?

Really, Sen. McCain? I was underwhelmed with Sen. Obama's choice for a running mate, but you sir have finally lowered the bar to the floor.

Nothing I read about your running mate impresses me, sir.

I will now require a MUCH larger check - or perhaps a condo - before I even consider filling in the broken arrow next to your name on the ballot.

Good day sir!

Respectfully,

Your RHS

She got the gold mine

Your Redheadedstranger was in the shower today, a-latherin' and a-scrubbin' and listening to the radio news when the final throwaway item in the top-of-the-hour news update upset the delicate balance of his shower ritual...

Jerry Reed was dead.

Emphysema, they said. 71, they said.



Here's Jerry on the Porter Wagoner show (note the Nudie suits in play here!) picking one of my favorite old timey country tunes and putting his own spin on it.

Jerry Reed was by no means a terribly influential country artist - most people under 40 know him better for his turns in Smokey and the Bandit and The Waterboy than his recordings - but there was something about a Jerry Reed tune that set it apart.

Maybe it was the guitar style. Maybe it was the blues influence. Or maybe, just maybe, it was the way every song he did seemed to say, "Listen, pal - I don't give a flying f*&$ if you want to hear Adios, Amigo. That dude in the back wants to hear When You're Hot You're Hot again and he's the one buying the beer."

Dropped out of high school to tour with Ernest Tubb and Faron Young. Lordy.