Once again, the AP Top 25 proved that its name and not deeds that determine who receives the spoils in college football.
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It was as predictable as a Jean Claude Van Damme movie. The moment the Big Ten and SEC entered the fray, the programs that have actual games on their resumes were punted to the sideline. Among them, a 3-0 Cajuns team that had two conference wins and had vanquished ballyhooed Iowa State in Ames. That meant zilch to the AP Top 25.
This week, there are more winless teams (5) on the poll than 3-0 teams (congrats, Miami). Experience means nothing. The “eye-test” is rigged. Justice is a theoretical construct. Reality is a matter of who controls the perspective.
Struggles with Georgia State and Georgia Southern didn’t help the Cajuns cause, even though both of those teams are better than projected. But the AP and the USA TODAY Coaches Poll are exposed as brand toadies interested only in propping the usual blue-bloods of the college football elite.
COVID Continues to Punch All The Nuts
The Sun Belt features a fragile handful of rivalry games, and COVID-19 doesn’t care. Troy vs. South Bama, the legendary Battle of The Belt, has been postponed due to coronavirus concerns.
Troy and South Alabama are both coming off brutal, humiliating, emasculating blowout losses, so maybe we were spared some bad football. Meanwhile, Week 5 has four Sun Belt teams left standing, with Arkansas State and Georgia State both coming off Covid cancelations. Cross your fingers, Belters.
Is Matt Viator Losing It At Monroe?
Darth Viator is 19-32 as head coach for the Warhawks and hasn’t had much luck since going 6-6 in 2017. Glory isn’t something one seeks at ULM, but surely the athletic department brass was expecting some of Viator’s success at McNeese to follow him to Monroe. Viator, whose Warhawks enter the season 0-3 while scoring a pitiful 10 points per contest, signed a 2-year extension in June with a very modest $175,000 buyout.
Viator’s seat is getting hot.
Damn You, Texas State
The Bobcats had a sweet 21-7 third quarter lead over Boston College last weekend, prompting me to make an insane bargain:
If Texas State beats BC, I’ll refrain from calling them “the Boobcats” for 72 hours.
— A-State Fan Rules 4 Mayor (@AStateFanRules) September 26, 2020
Texas State preferred to remain boobs, allowing Boston College to win the game on a last second field goal. All three of the Boobcats’ losses have been 7 points or fewer.
What Do We Make of Troy?
Both of Troy’s games have been blowouts, with the Trojans having experienced both ends. Middle Tennessee isn’t very good, and BYU is very good. But it was hard to overlook how miserable the Troy defense performed against the Cougar’s pass attack, or how ineffectual QB Gunner Watson seemed behind center. Is Troy really set to challenge Appalachian State?
Arkansas State vs. Coastal Carolina Might Be A Good Game If It’s Actually Played
The Red Wolves experienced its second consecutive COVID cancelation last weekend, granting Coach Blake Anderson plenty of time to study Chanticleer film. What he likely saw was a team that can run you right off the gridiron. QB Grayson McCall tossed a trio of TDs against Kansas, giving Coastal another wrinkled for the Red Wolves defense to worry about. Look to see big numbers at Centennial Bank Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
A former notary public, Jeremy Harper is a professional writer and Chief Instigator for Storm the Castle Creative. He spends much of his free time staring blankly into space.
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