Blogpoll Roundtable 4.5

The latest blogpoll roundtable is brought to us by Corn Blight from Corn Nation. For those unfamiliar, the blogpoll is the vision of Brian @ Mgoblog. He's kicked down the main stream media door to have the blogpoll right beside the AP and Coaches poll over at CBS Sports. As an aside, we have roundtable discussions from time to time to put our finger on the pulse of this great game we call college football. Keep an eye on that link to Corn Nation in the comments to see everyone's answers. On to the questions....

1. We’re about half way through the season. Has your team met your expectations, wildly exceeded them, or are you about to light the torches and storm your athletic department demanding blood?

Certainly, my expectations were much higher for West Virginia. I have to admit, that the final prediction I had of 11-2 is still very much possible. But the level of play, especially on offense, has been a disappointment. However, if you told me the defense would be holding opponents to 14.7 points a game I would have asked if I could have a sip of that cool-aid. So in a sense, my expectations have been exceeded and unrealized. Still, the team is undefeated in conference and has just as good a shot as anyone to win the Big East.

2. In an election year, all sorts of promises will be made, few will be kept. What is one promise or item you thought you could count on that hasn’t come to pass yet this season? Is there still a chance?

The promise to attack the middle of the field in the passing game and not a gazillion bubble screens was the promise that excited me the most. It represented an addition to the offense that would seemingly make it more potent. But we aren't passing over the middle, we're bubble screening the shit out of people but not in a good way, and the running game isn't OMG! great this year.

3. Georgia #1... No, USC #1.… No, Oklahoma #1.… No, Texas #1! Who’s the real #1 team, and who do you think will make it to the big BCS National Title game?

A question like this tends to make me think about each teams schedule down the stretch, and that Oklahoma or Texas won't play in the Big 12 championship and we know how that worked out for Georgia last year. But it could very well be that #1 and #2 at the end of the year will both play in the Big 12 south. That's not to take anything away from any of the other teams, but if they end up #1 & #2 are you willing to watch that as your title game? I wouldn't complain because you know it will be a great game. But the Big East has no dog in that fight, so don't pay attention to me. The great thing is that most of those teams have a challenging game this weekend. A thinning of the herd is right around the corner.

4. In only a few weeks, college football fans get to be treated with the obligatory and annual “We Need a Playoff” screaming. Well, you don’t get a playoff, but I’ll let you make one change to the BCS (and no, you can’t cop out and have the BCS commit suicide) to make the world a better place. What is your change?

Add the blogpoll to the point system!!! I don't think I'm great at rankings, but records and margin of victory don't matter as much to me as what I'm able to watch, and given my position here and at AOL I'm exposed to the entire country. We have the advantage of covering our favorite team as little or as much as we want. Unlike reporters that have to report extensively on their beat, we're free to switch between as many games as the coax allows. We also hold grudges and we're biased. But it's one of the few things I put up every single week. I take pride in it and I know the majority of the blogpoll voters do as well. We tell dick jokes and make fun of team x, but this is something I think we as a group are just as capable as anyone else in the equation.

5. Using this year ONLY - no historical references - respond to the statement “The Big 12 is a better conference than the SEC”. There’s nothing sillier than conference wars, but then again, there’s nothing sillier than how SEC fans respond to any challenge to their supremacy. Aim, Fire!

The Big 12 has a historic supply of great quarterbacks this year. Oklahoma St. is the big surprise, but Alabama is the big surprise in the SEC. We thought they would be good, but not like that, Poppy! Top to bottom, I don't see either being measurably better. That's a victory for the Big 12 in a sense. But I can't put the Big 12 past the SEC, because there is defense to go around. Mississippi St. and South Carolina are both top tier defenses and those aren't exactly the big boys of the conference. Oh yeah, Tennessee is like 14th in total D.