Here’s the ballot for Week 11, your thoughts in the comments.

Rank	Team	Delta
1	Alabama
2	Florida
3	Texas
4	Boise State
5	Cincinnati
6	TCU
7	Georgia Tech
8	Pittsburgh	1
9	LSU	1
10	Oregon
11	Ohio State	1
12	Penn State	5
13	Oklahoma State	5
14	Stanford	11
15	Wisconsin	5
16	Virginia Tech	6
17	Iowa	4
18	Utah	3
19	Brigham Young	2
20	Southern Cal	9
21	Oregon State	3
22	Miami (Florida)	6
23	Clemson
24	Nebraska
25	North Carolina
Last week’s ballot

Tennessee’s football season has been tumultuous at best this year and has frequently descended into downright hilarity.  Most of this is thanks to Lane Kiffin, but they’re branching out. 

Typically, there isn’t anything to chuckle about when it comes to armed robbery unless you’re talking about a dumb criminal story or the victim comes out unscathed and has done something ridiculous.  Well the recent alleged incident involving three Vols football players is full of win.

First, the players rob some guy at a convenience store at gunpoint wearing their Tennessee football gear.  Always the great ambassadors for the university.  So the players are idiots and will undoubtedly be kicked off the team, which is quite a feat in the SEC by the way. 

This is where the victim picks up the ball and takes it in for six.  Corey Zickefoose is the 20-year-old that had the pleasure of a gun in his face during the heist.  To say he is a die-hard Vol fan would be an epic low-balling of the situation.  Check out his quotable material:

Corey Zickefoose: I think they should still be able to play football, regardless. Tennessee is my place. You know, it’s my football team.

Reporter: Even after they put a gun in your face, you say let them play football?

Corey Zickefoose: Yeah. It’s Tennessee. That’s the way it is sometimes.

Of course, it’s Tennessee, where sometimes, that’s the way it is.  I think this is a good time for some self assessment.  The best time for self assessment is when someone does or says something outlandishly idiotic; woo, self esteem.  So, if I was held at gunpoint by Tate Forcier, would I want him kicked off the team?  Absolutely.  Whew!  Though there is a better than slight chance that any Wolverine would bungle the operation entirely anyway.

Anyway, this kid is obviously awesome and you can get further proof by checking out some video at Dr. Saturday.  I’m not positive, but if you substitute Derrick Rose, Chicago Bulls, Stormin’ Norman, and modify the accent to something not so southern, the quotes from the victim may still be very believable.

Here’s the final poll for Week 10, as the Blogpoll once again employs more logic and fairness than the three major polls, who all moved USC ahead of Oregon.  Seriously.  Full poll with analysis at CBS Sports. 

NQTC gets mention again for the “Mr. Numb Existence Award” which goes to the five blogs that have the least divergence from the average ballot.  As the writer at CBS Sports has pointed out,

Yea, truly, the Mr. Numb Existence award has devolved to the teams that cause so much pain for their fans that all they can do when it comes time to put some teams in a top twenty-five is dully click the “chalk” button before moving on to the next pointless exercise in their meaningless lives.

Being a Michigan fan following Illinois, this is doubly true.  Anyway, here’s the poll, and I’m off to count ceiling tiles.

Rank	Team	PPB	StdDev	Delta
1	Florida (32)	24.0	0.8	–
2	Alabama (37)	24.0	1.0	1
3	Texas (24)	23.8	0.9	1
4	TCU (1)	21.4	1.0	1
5	Cincinnati	21.3	0.8	1
6	Boise State	20.0	1.4	1
7	Georgia Tech	18.9	1.3	3
8	Pittsburgh	15.8	2.8	5
9	LSU	14.6	3.4	–
10	Oregon	14.2	2.6	2

Can’t believe we’re 10 weeks in.  Here’s this week’s ballot:

Rank	Team	Delta
1	Alabama	1
2	Florida	1
3	Texas
4	Boise State
5	Cincinnati
6	TCU	1
7	Georgia Tech	3
8	LSU	1
9	Pittsburgh	5
10	Oregon	2
11	Southern Cal	1
12	Ohio State	5
13	Iowa	7
14	Houston	1
15	Utah
16	Miami (Florida)
17	Penn State	6
18	Oklahoma State	1
19	Arizona	1
20	Wisconsin	3
21	Brigham Young	3
22	Virginia Tech	3
23	West Virginia
24	Oregon State
25	Stanford
Last week’s ballot

A few things:

• Florida moves down to #2.  I did this a long time after everyone else did, and a lot of people have moved Texas up and have gone back to the Gators, but Bama has so many quality wins that they’ll likely keep this spot until they play Florida in the SEC Championship.
• Georgia Tech soars to #7.  Bow to the triple option!  Bow to it!
• Iowa couldn’t make it through their brutal home games against Indiana and Northwestern, as their hopes for a NC blew out in the endzone with Stanzi’s ankle/knee. 
• Ohio State and USC are creeping back toward the top 10.  The Buckeyes will probably return with a win over Iowa Saturday. 

Florida eye-gouges Bama and Texas to jump to the top spot, while Texas gets the most first place votes.  What does it mean?  Bad time for a bye week, Bama.  Also, don’t almost lose to Indiana.  Full poll and analysis at CBS Sports.  NQTC gets a mention!  Apparently I am very much in agreement with everyone else.

Rank	Team	PPB	StdDev	Delta
1	Florida (33)	24.1	0.8	1
2	Texas (34)	23.9	1.1	1
3	Alabama (20)	23.6	1.1	2
4	Cincinnati	20.6	1.5	–
5	TCU	20.1	1.8	1
6	Iowa	20.1	1.9	1
7	Boise State	19.8	1.6	–
8	Oregon	18.9	1.5	1
9	LSU	16.8	1.8	1
10	Georgia Tech	16.2	1.3	1

Rank	Team	Delta
1	Florida
2	Alabama
3	Texas
4	Boise State
5	Cincinnati
6	Iowa
7	TCU	1
8	Oregon	4
9	LSU	2
10	Georgia Tech
11	Penn State
12	Southern Cal	3
13	Houston	1
14	Pittsburgh	1
15	Utah	4
16	Miami (Florida)	1
17	Ohio State	1
18	Arizona	3
19	Oklahoma State	6
20	Oklahoma	2
21	California
22	Notre Dame	3
23	Wisconsin
24	Brigham Young
25	Virginia Tech	9
Last week’s ballot

• Florida stays at number one for now, with a blowout of Georgia.  Texas and Alabama really haven’t done anything to avoid the top spot, Florida just stays there because I think they’d win heads-up against either team. 
• I’m keeping Boise State at #4.  Their big win against Oregon looks even better now.  If teams slip up, I think Boise deserves strong consideration for the title game.  Cincy and Iowa keep playing well, but Iowa will need a big win at Ohio State to make me put them higher and I’m not sure that Cincy has a tough enough game left to impress. 
• LSU drops a couple spots, but I think TCU deserved to be up there and Oregon has been great. 
• Again, the bottom half of the poll is tough to classify, but I did my best.

The Blogpoll is out and Alabama remains #1. Looks like the first place votes are starting to spread out a bit though, with even Iowa and TCU picking up a couple.  Full poll with analysis at CBS Sports.

Rank	Team	PPB	StdDev	Delta
1	Alabama (46)	24.2	0.9	–
2	Florida (24)	23.9	0.9	–
3	Texas (17)	23.4	1.2	–
4	Cincinnati	20.4	1.9	–
5	Iowa (2)	20.3	2.1	–
6	TCU (2)	19.8	2.1	2
7	Boise State	19.2	2.0	–
8	Southern Cal	19.1	2.1	2
9	Oregon	16.2	1.8	2
10	LSU	16.2	2.1	–

Here’s the Week 8 ballot, your thoughts in the comments.  Florida or Bama #1?

Rank	Team	Delta
1	Florida
2	Alabama
3	Texas
4	Boise State
5	Cincinnati
6	Iowa	4
7	LSU	1
8	TCU	1
9	Southern Cal	2
10	Georgia Tech	1
11	Penn State	1
12	Oregon	3
13	Oklahoma State
14	Houston	2
15	Pittsburgh	7
16	Virginia Tech	1
17	Miami (Florida)	9
18	Ohio State
19	Utah	1
20	South Carolina	1
21	Arizona
22	Oklahoma	3
23	West Virginia	2
24	Central Michigan
25	Notre Dame
Last week’s ballot

Some thoughts:

• Well, I’m sticking with the Gators at #1.  It goes against my philosophy for the rest of the poll since Alabama has a more impressive overall resume, but I really think the Gators would beat Alabama.  Maybe if the Tide had a better showing against Tennessee. 
• Finally, some respect for Iowa.  I know beating MSU is not that impressive, but it was time to move the Hawkeyes up.  If they can take care of business the next couple of weeks, a game at Ohio State in November will be gigantic.  If Iowa beats Penn State, Wisconsin, Michigan State and Ohio State all on the road, they deserve some consideration for the national title game, no matter how down the conference is.  Nail biters against Arkansas and Mississippi State don’t make you look all that invincible Florida. 
• A couple of teams are dropping even after wins, but Iowa had to move up.  I jumped TCU over USC also.  TCU had a big win, but I think this is mostly backlash over USC’s jump in the BCS.  How do they pull this crap every year?  They have done nothing impressive outside of a close win at Ohio State.  A narrow escape at home against Oregon State should not move you ahead of three unbeaten teams regardless of how much whining your coach does. 
• Arizona and CMU move into the poll.  There aren’t too many good candidates in the mid-twenties, no offense to these two teams though. 

Blogpoll is out and Alabama has extended its lead in first place with 73 first place votes against Florida’s 16.  Check out the full poll with analysis at CBS Sports.

Rank	Team	PPB	Delta
1	Alabama (73)	24.8	–
2	Florida (16)	24.0	–
3	Texas (1)	22.9	–
4	Cincinnati	20.6	3
5	Iowa	19.9	4
6	Boise State	19.5	1
7	Southern Cal	19.5	1
8	TCU	17.3	3
9	Miami (Florida)	17.2	1
10	LSU	15.1	2

Here’s the draft for this week, your thoughts in the comments.

Rank	Team	Delta
1	Florida
2	Alabama
3	Texas
4	Boise State
5	Cincinnati	1
6	LSU	1
7	Southern Cal	1
8	Miami (Florida)	1
9	TCU	2
10	Iowa	2
11	Georgia Tech	2
12	Penn State	4
13	Oklahoma State	4
14	Brigham Young	4
15	Oregon	5
16	Houston	7
17	Virginia Tech	12
18	Ohio State	8
19	Oklahoma	4
20	Utah
21	South Carolina	1
22	Pittsburgh	2
23	South Florida	2
24	Auburn	1
25	West Virginia
Last week’s ballot

• So I’m back to thinking that pretty much everyone sucks.  Florida, Bama, and Texas seem to have separated themselves as teams that really deserve to be at the top, but after that you have big question marks in Boise and Cincy, then LSU is really the next team that has proven it can beat the teams it should. 
• I’m not really sold on Iowa, but I still feel I’m being a little unfair to the Hawkeyes at 10.
• Penn State looked pretty good shutting out Minnesota last week, but we’ll see what happens as the games start to get a little tougher after their tour of handicap schools to start the season. 

Alabama barely keeps the top spot this week.  Check out the full poll with analysis at CBS Sports. 

Rank	Team	PPB	StdDev	Delta
1	Alabama (56)	24.4	0.7	–
2	Florida (40)	24.4	0.6	–
3	Texas (2)	22.6	1.8	–
4	Virginia Tech	21.2	1.8	1
5	Boise State	19.6	3.1	1
6	Southern Cal	18.9	2.5	2
7	Cincinnati	18.8	2.6	–
8	Miami (Florida)	16.4	2.7	1
9	Iowa	16.4	3.3	3
10	Ohio State	16.2	2.8	1

Blogpoll is up.  Check out the analysis at CBS Sportsline. While not as bold as last week’s, the Blogpoll voters have shown more willingness to reevaluate each week and you know, think than the AP and Coaches’ Poll voters. 

Rank	Team	PPB	Delta
1	Alabama (50)	24.2	–
2	Florida (43)	23.8	–
3	Texas (4)	23.0	–
4	LSU	19.9	3
5	Virginia Tech	19.8	–
6	Boise State	19.7	2
7	Cincinnati	18.5	1
8	Southern Cal	18.2	–
9	Miami (Florida)	15.5	6
10	TCU	15.3	–

Ron Zook called QB Eddie McGee into his office of intensity on Sunday night and told the junior that he would be starting for the Illini Saturday against Michigan State.  The move will end a streak of 38 straight starts for Juice Williams and is something Zook hopes will spark the Illini after their 1-3 start. 

Juice was mentioned in the preseason as a possible Big Ten Offensive POY and in just four games he has been sent to the pine and given the clipboard.  McGee has seen plenty of action in his career filling in for Juice and while he’ll certainly have some butterflies, you wouldn’t think he’d be scared to perform. 

The change comes at a critical time for Illinois, with plenty of winnable games left on the schedule.  After a tough game against the Spartans Saturday, Illinois plays Indiana, Purdue, Michigan, Minnesota, and Northwestern.  If Zook’s move pays off, the season is savable. 

I can see it doing just that.  McGee is good enough to allow the Illini to compete with anyone in the Big Ten.  The offense is still filled with talent and has its explosive playmaker at wide receiver in Benn.  While optimism isn’t something easy to find in Illini fans and replacing a somewhat proven QB with a very similar type player who hadn’t shown himself to be better doesn’t seem like a great idea, this thing can work out in a couple of ways.  McGee could step up and prove that he can lead this team and ignite something and get them rolling for an easy stretch of schedule.  Or, this could serve to motivate Williams and he could take over sometime in the game Saturday and return to his form of two years ago.

Don’t count Juice out yet.  This is the same guy that led Illinois to a win in Columbus two years ago and you’d think he has en0ugh pride to earn this job back in his final year. 

Nonetheless, it’s the Eddie McGee show on Saturday and it should be exciting to watch (11am ct. on BTN).  Key to the game?  Get Benn the ball early and often. He has ten catches this year and should double that total after Saturday.

A little hurried this week, so it gets a little murky after 12 or so. 

Rank	Team	Delta
1	Florida
2	Alabama	1
3	Texas	1
4	Boise State
5	LSU	1
6	Virginia Tech	1
7	Cincinnati	1
8	Southern Cal	1
9	Ohio State	1
10	Miami (Florida)	5
11	TCU
12	Iowa	2
13	Kansas
14	Penn State	2
15	Oklahoma	8
16	Oklahoma State	1
17	Georgia Tech	2
18	Brigham Young	4
19	Auburn
20	Missouri	5
21	Mississippi	2
22	Oregon
23	Nebraska	1
24	Georgia	3
25	Wisconsin
Last week’s ballot

 Some thoughts:

• I’m on the Alabama bandwagon.  Their defense is outstanding and they blew out Kentucky before they got a couple TDs in garbage time.  Texas will move up when they do something impressive. 
• Virginia Tech and LSU swap spots as Va Tech had a letdown game in a close win over Duke, while LSU avoided looking ahead to Florida next week beating Georgia. 
• Houston drops out after a tough loss to UTEP.  One less non-BCS spoiler. 
• Miami (that Miami) moves back into the top ten after a one point win over Oklahoma.  The way they made it through the start of their schedule has been very impressive. 

Your thoughts?