Two Holy Wars, Two Days

Boston College vs. Holy Cross. Boston College vs. Notre Dame. Three Catholic schools, two days. It is going to be interesting.

The first matchup will come on Friday night.  BC basketball will take on Holy Cross in Worcester at the DCU Center. The Eagles will field a roster of youngsters that started the season 1-0 with a narrow win over New Hampshire on Monday. Holy Cross is 0-2 but has looked solid in close losses to a pair of good teams (College of Charleston and Harvard). Holy Cross will have an opportunity to get a boost with a win over an ACC team. BC has a chance to start 2-0, something last year's veteran-laden squad failed to do. I think this game will go down to the wire. If Holy Cross gets out to a quick lead, it could be the difference in the game. For BC, the goal will be to knock down jump shots and avoid freshman mistakes.

The second matchup will come from South Bend, Indiana when the 3-7 Eagles take on the 7-3 Fighting Irish. The Eagles are 24.5 point underdogs, but I doubt Notre Dame will cover the spread. If you ask me, I think BC might even have a shot to win the game. We know this year's BC team is not very good. 3-7 teams rarely are. That being said, BC has not played horribly on the road and for a team that will miss out on a bowl for the first time in the 2000s, the game against rival Notre Dame should be their Super Bowl. Also, I do not think Notre Dame is all that great. They fumbled their opener to a USF team that has one win since September, and their only quality wins came against a Michigan State team that has a tendency to go long stretches without scoring and a Wake Forest team that has won one of their past five games with the one win coming by one point against mediocre Duke. Notre Dame's offense is not consistent (they only scored 15 points against fast-paced Pitt) nor is their defense (they let up 33 against Air Force). Notre Dame will probably fall to Stanford, and I think they might lose to BC if they don't have a quality offensive performance (I would say 24+ points against a good BC defense would qualify). This game will be close, and I would not be stunned if they Eagles get what probably would be their last win of the season in this Holy War.

Somehow, I doubt BC will go 2-0 in the Holy Wars of the weekend, but I'd be pleased if they did. Holy Cross is a decent team that could give BC some trouble. Notre Dame just broke into the AP top 25, but I don't think they are that good. In fact, I think BC has a much better shot at knocking off the Irish than beating Miami in a week. Regardless of how it all shakes out, It'll be fun to sit back and watch some Catholic clashes on the hardwood and the gridiron this weekend.

Year Two Under Donahue Begins Tonight!

The Eagles are young. They are inexperienced. And their season begins tonight. The 2011-2012 Boston College Men's Basketball season will begin at 7:00 against New Hampshire at Conte Forum.

The Eagles enter the season without a whole lot returning from last season, coach Steve Donahue's first at BC. Zero starters from that team return and only three players (Danny Rubin, Gabe Moton, and Peter Rehnquist)  who played last season are back. Moton and Rubin were freshman last season and both could be poised for decent seasons. Rubin is a knock-down shooter and Moton is a solid passer. Of the newcomers, there is some potential. The Eagles brought in a recruiting class that was considered to be one of the better classes in the ACC during the off season. Perhaps the most exciting recruit is 6-5 guard Patrick Heckmann who is from Germany. Another freshman, Dennis Clifford, is a seven-footer, and Lonnie Jackson is expected to be good. Among the other freshman, KC Caudill and Eddie Odio are considered to have potential, but it is tough to tell which of the freshman are going to step up once the season begins. Matt Humphrey will be playing for the first time with BC. Humphrey transferred to BC from Oregon and sat out last season. He did some good things in two years in Eugene but shot 35% both seasons from the field (yikes!). He has good size (6-5) and will play the wing. Tonight's game should show somewhat which players are going to be important players this season.

The Eagles' opponent tonight, New Hampshire, should offer an intriguing test. With all the new faces, it is absolutely a losable game for BC. New Hampshire is 1-0 (but the win  was against Suffolk University) and gave eventual National Champs, UCONN, a run for their money last season when UNH lead by one at halftime before eventually falling by seven. Many Eagles players will probably be a bit nervous what with it being the first collegiate game for many of them.  BC probably is not headed for another 20 win season, but a win against UNH would be a good sign. In the coming games it will also be fun to see who will be the likely Eagles' stars during the next few seasons.

Week Eight Power Rankings

1. (Last Ranking: 3) LSU
LSU made the defending national champion look like a FCS team with a 45-10 win over Auburn.

2. (2) Alabama
Alabama's next game is against LSU.

3. (4) Stanford
Stanford breezed by Washington and their prolific offense. If anyone is going to stop Stanford from making it to the BCS Championship Game USC,who hosts the Cardinal this Saturday, probably has the second best shot (after Oregon).

4. (6) Clemson
The Tigers beat UNC by 21 and the game was not as close as the score.

5. (8) Oklahoma State
The Cowboys keep passing test after test. At this point, they have to be the Big 12 favorite.

6. (7) Orgon
Oregon not only has outrageous talent, they also have tremendous depth.

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Week Seven Power Rankings

1. (Last Ranking: 1) Oklahoma
It took a little longer than expected, but the Sooners pulled away from Kansas to get to 6-0.

2. (2) Alabama
The Crimson Tide keep on rolling.

3. (3) LSU
LSU will face Auburn this weekend. It should be a great SEC battle.

4. (4) Stanford
Stanford still has not played a close game. Washington is likely hoping to spring the upset.

5. (5) Wisconsin
The Badgers scored 59 against Indiana. They will probably be lucky to get half that against Michigan State this weekend. The Spartans defense has been incredible this season.

6. (6) Clemson
Clemson was eventually able to overtake an inspired Maryland team, but it wasn't easy. The Tigers 56-45 win had plenty of offensive fireworks.

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Week Six Power Rankings

1. (Last Ranking: 1) Oklahoma
The Sooners hammered Texas last weekend.

2. (2) Alabama
Alabama's defense continues to dominate. Ole Miss shouldn't trip them up.

3. (3) LSU
To this point, the Tigers have not had a close game yet. In four of their six games, their opponent has been a top 25 team in the AP Poll.

4.(4) Stanford
Stanford hasn't had a close game yet either, but the best team they have faced so far might be Duke.

5. (5) Wisconsin
I highly doubt anyone will give Wisconsin a run for their money until the Badgers' final two games (when they will face Illinois and Penn State).

6. (6) Clemson
Clemson star QB Tajh Boyd is expected to suit this week against Maryland  after getting hurt in a win over BC. Even if he doesn't, Clemson should win big.

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Week Five Power Rankings

1.(Last Ranking: 1) Oklahoma
The Sooners will take on Texas this weekend in the Red River Rivalry.

2. (2) Alabama
After dominating Florida in the Swamp, the Crimson Tide are 5-0.  They look fairly unbeatable at the moment.

3. (3) LSU
The Tigers don't look overly beatable either. They'll host Florida this weekend.

4. (4) Stanford
Stanford has rolled to a 4-0 start.

5. (6) Wisconsin
The Badgers gave Nebraska a rude welcoming to the Big Ten, beating a very good Cornhuskers team 48-17.

6. (9) Clemson
The Tigers had no problems coming into one of the toughest environments in college football and beating one of the best teams in the country in Virginia Tech. The Tigers still have Georgia Tech and and South Carolina left on the schedule, but 13-0 doesn't seem too far off for the Tigers. Balk Talk's favorite team, Boston College, is up next for Clemson.

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Week Four Power Rankings

1. (Last Ranking: 1) Oklahoma
Oklahoma took care of Missouri to get to 3-0. Look  for them to keep on winning.

2. (2) Alabama
The Crimson Tide looked awfully good in a 38-14 win against Arkansas. Now they'll face an even tougher test as they head into "The Swamp" and take on Florida.

3. (3) LSU
The Tigers are 4-0 after crushing West Virginia in Morgantown.  Already with three wins against top opponents, LSU now heads into the meat of their SEC schedule.

4. (4) Stanford
Andrew Luck and Stanford got an off weak to prepare for UCLA.

5. (5) Virginia Tech
The Hokies' defense has looked great so far. Will it hold up against Clemson's potent offense?

6. (6) Wisconsin
The Badgers have not played a close game yet. Expect their battle with Nebraska to be really close.

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Week Three Power Rankings

1.(Last Ranking:1) Oklahoma
The Sooners only beat an elite team on the road in a hostile environment last weekend. Next they will face Missouri in their second straight 8:00 Eastern Time start.

2. (2) Alabama
Are you ready for Alabama-Arkansas? I sure am.

3. (3) LSU
The Tigers' defense held Mississippi State to six points on Thursday. They will need an equally huge defensive performance on the road against West Virginia. The Mountaineers offense may be as potents as any in the country.

4. (4) Stanford
While they are number four on this ranking, I am still loving Stanford as a pick to win a BCS Title. They are solid on both sides of the ball and have rolled to a 3-0 start with very little resistance. Oregon and USC stand in their way on the back end of their schedule, but 13-0 does not seem so far off.

5. (5) Virginia Tech
The Hokies face their final non-conference cookie before hitting ACC play on October first against Clemson.

6.(9) Wisconsin
Through three games, the Badgers have outscored opponents 135 to 24.

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Week Two Power Rankings

1. (Last ranking: 1)Oklahoma
The Sooners are coming off an off week. They'll face FSU on the road this weekend.

2. (4) Alabama
The Crimson Tide dominated Penn State at Beaver Stadium. A very good sign for their title hopes.

3.(3)LSU
Is any defense more intimidating than the Tigers'?

4.(2) Stanford
They were solid in beating a Duke team that played pretty well. Luck is looking like the Heisman favorite.

5.(5) Virginia Tech
It wasn't pretty, but Virginia Tech was able to muster a 17-10 win against an underrated ECU team with a potent offense. The Hokies' defense is for real but their offense will need to improve by the time they get into ACC play.

6.(6) Florida State
ESPN's College GameDay will be in Tallahassee for the Seminoles' huge game against Oklahoma.

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Week One Power Rankings

This is the first that of what will be a weekly series of college football power rankings for the 2011 season. Each one will have the top 25 teams and a few that just missed the cut. I will try to keep them relatively early in the week (Monday or Tuesday). Enjoy!

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