January 15, 2008

Big Ten Power Poll - Week 2

The good news this week is that we are growing. Last week's poll had 13 votes, in one week's time we have added 5 bloggers giving us a more respectable 18 votes. The bad news is that we still have no representation from Wisconsin or Illinois, but on good note we added another gopher blogger (can't have enough of those)!

Post of the Week - This week Off the Tracks compared the B10 schools to Bands of the 90s. I'm not a huge music guy so I think I didn't get much of it but comparing Illinois to Britney Spears actually made me lol and I got looks from my co-workers.

Homer(s) of the Week - tie - Enlightened Spartan and MSU-Sparty. Despite Michigan State struggling in their home wins, then suffering the worst loss of the BigTen season @Iowa they still thought the Spartans were worthy of #2 in the power poll. Since we have only 18 voters, I think homerism should be encouraged but it won't go without recognition.

My Favorite Blogger of the Week - BlackHeartGoldPants, for putting Minnesota 3rd in their poll. Not even I was that bold, but they clearly recognize superiority when they see it.

I Hate my Rival Blogger of the Week - Eleven Warriors wins this hands down for giving Michigan their only last place vote, despite beating Northwestern at Evanston last week. I love it, don't give in to the pressure of actual results!

On to the Power Poll with 16 submitted ballots...



Avg. Pts
Tot Pts
1. Indiana (12)
10.75 172
2. Wisconsin (4)
10.06 161
3. Michigan State 8.75 140
4. Ohio State 7.25 116
5. Purdue 7.13 114
6. Minnesota 7.00 112
7. Penn State 5.00 80
8. Iowa 3.81 61
9. Illinois 3.13 50
10. Michigan (-1)
2.06 33
11. Northwestern (-15)
1.06 17

NOTES:
Michigan State lost their grip on 1st place this week. I guess losing to Iowa will do that. So the top 3 really is no surprise. Indiana moves up to #1, Wisconsin then takes #2 with a smattering of first place votes.

The interesting battle was for 4th place. Ohio State lost to Purdue but managed to hold on to 4th. Minnesota went 2-0 but actually dropped a spot to 6th (but gained votes on OSU). Purdue made the leap to 5th but was unable to overtake tOSU despite beating them. As I was entering the votes those 3 teams took turns in the coveted 4th position, but Ohio State managed to hang on for this week.

PARTICIPATING BLOGS
Big Ten Chronicle - Big 10
Hoopraker - Big 10
Hoosier Report - Ind
Hoosier Fun Ball - Ind
Black Heart Gold Pants - Iowa
Maize n Brew - Mich
MSU Sparty - Mich St
Enlightened Spartan - Mich St
Gopher Nation - Minn
Down With Goldy - Minn
Paging Jim Shikenjanski - Minn
Lake the Posts - NW
Around the Oval - Ohio St
Eleven Warriors - Ohio St
Buckeye Battle Cry - Ohio St
Black Shoes Diary - Penn St
Nittany White Out - Penn St
Off the Tracks - Pur

3 comments:

Hawkeye State said...

Tom, you gettin' down with the Asian persuasion?

I still can't believe I ranked Minny higher than either Minnesota blogger. Next week they're in ninth, damn it.

TheES said...

Homerism? Of course... but, this is basketball and not football. I think we Spartans know our Izzo pretty well. Tonight you see why we continue to rank MSU at #2. Iowa wuz nothing more than an aberration. Izzo is Mr. March. You ain't seen nothin' yet.

Weeeeee're BAAAAAACK!

Give us Spartys a little more credit here....

Tom said...

while I encourage homering for the power poll. This isn't a prediction of future success. 2-1, struggling at home with middle pack teams then losing at Iowa does not equate to being better than 3-0 IND and WIS (imho). While everything points to MSU FINISHING near (or at) the top, as of week 2 my rankings reflect where they should be.