Sporting News preseason poll puts Alabama at No. 1, Ohio State at No. 2.
Two Sporting News writers put the Ohio State Band's "Dotting the i" as one of the top five traditions in college football.
Y'all jus' might want to work on y'all's southern accent to prepare for the BCS title game.
The Sporting News today issued its rankings for college football's best teams, and Alabama, which finished last season at No. 1, is back in the top slot.
No. 2 is Ohio State. The Buckeyes' only chance to roll over the Tide would be in the BCS championship game in Glendale, Ariz., on Monday, Jan. 10, 2011.
In case you're curious, current airfare prices from Cleveland to Phoenix, the nearest airport, range from $389 to $591.
Y'all hurry.
Well, that makes senseThe Sporting News' rankings gain credence when you take a look at Mark Schlabach's ranking of the conferences for espn.com.
Schlabach picks the SEC -- led by Alabama -- as the best conference of the upcoming season and the Big Ten -- led by Ohio State -- to be the second-best conference of the upcoming season.
If quarterback Terrelle Pryor plays the way he did against Oregon in the Rose Bowl, Ohio State might be an overwhelming favorite to win the Big Ten championship. And if the Buckeyes can navigate their way through home games against Miami and Penn State and road games at Wisconsin and Iowa, they also might be a legitimate BCS title threat. Meanwhile, the Badgers, Hawkeyes and Nittany Lions might be Ohio State's biggest threats in the Big Ten race. But unless Michigan can pull off a complete turnaround in coach Rich Rodriguez's third season, the rest of the conference figures to be mediocre or worse.
That Michigan turnaround is unlikely. But maybe if the Wolverines practiced more, or considered hiring more graduate assistants . . .
A little tradition, please
Ohio State's "Dotting the I" and TBDBITL make the top 10 of two sportingnews.com writers' lists of best traditions in college sports.
But neither topped those lists.
Dave Curtis and Matt Hayes both put the Mardi Gras-style tailgating at an LSU home game ("It's Saturday night in Death Valley," is the way it's known) at No. 1 on their lists. Ohio State falls at No. 5 on Curtis' tally and No. 4 on Hayes.
Here's what Curtis had to say about Ohio State:
Dotting the "I", Ohio State: Anything that prompts a sousaphone player to want to attend a specific school gets automatic entry into the top five. Bonus: For postseason games, fourth- and fifth-year OSU band members compete in a "dot-off" to see who draws the assignment.
And this from Hayes:
Ohio State's band: I challenge any true college football fan to go to Ohio Stadium, watch the spectacle that is TBDBITL, see Script Ohio and not get utterly jacked. End of story.