News-Record.com

Wow, I'm feeling the power of democracy today. Because me - little old me! - LSU sits alone atop the AP national rankings. I was one of 33 people who voted the Bayou Bengals No. 1. The other 32 voters picked USC. LSU ended up with just two more points than Southern Cal. Switch LSU and USC on my ballot and we've got a tie atop the standings.

So LSU fans, you can send checks and congratulations care of Jim Young at the News & Record. As for Trojan fans, I'll stick with the excuse that it was a butterfly ballot and I was really just trying to vote for Pat Buchanan.

The usual reminder - This is an explanation of how I voted in my ballot. The actual final AP poll position of each team is listed in parentheses.

1. LSU (1) - Maybe I'd felt a little guilty about not moving up the Tigers after they killed Virginia Tech. Maybe I was just waiting for USC to give me an excuse ...

2. USC (2) - ... Which the Trojans did by eking out a win over Washington. I know, I know, a blocked punt late made this one a little closer than it really was, but it also illustrated that this Southern Cal team, while still supremely talented, is a little sloppy.

3. Cal (3) - Granted, a lot of teams lost to help the Bears move up to this spot, but you could have made an argument for putting them here even if Oklahoma and Co. had won. Winning at Oregon may be the most impressive victory of the season for anyone.

4. South Florida (6) - Shhh! Hear that? That's the sound me patting myself on the back ... again. Did I mention that I actually ranked the Bulls in my preseason AP ballot. Granted, I also had Michigan No. 5, but still. With a road win over Auburn and a win over then No. 5 West Virginia, the Bulls have the best resume in the country right now.

5. Ohio State (4) - Well, I'm ready to admit that the Buckeyes are better than I thought, but I don't know if they're top five-worthy. Of course after last Saturday, there are a lot of things about this college football that I don't know this year.

6. Boston College (7) - Not exactly an inspired effort against UMass was it? This week though, that gets you moved up four spots.

7. Kentucky (8) - Take note, Clemson basketball fans. If a basketball school like Kentucky can crack the Top 10, then why couldn't a football school do the same in basketball?

8. Wisconson (5) - I had to wash myself repeatedly after moving the Badgers into my top 10. I just feel ... dirty.

9. West Virginia (13) - I punished the Mountaineers the least of the other top 10 losers because they lost to the best opponent. Way to go, guys.

10. Florida (9) - Tim Tebow may still be able to cure cancer according to Gators fans, but he cannot play pass defense. That's the problem right now in Gainesville.

11. Oklahoma (10) - How did the Sooners get upset by Colorado. Maybe, just maybe the forgot that what they were playing was DIVISION I FOOTBALL!!!!

12. South Carolina (11) - Apparently the rest of the AP voters heeded my call and jumped the Gamecocks over Georgia, the team it beat on the road. Gosh, I feel powerful.

13. Oregon (14) - I thought about doing what SI's Stewart Mandel did, which was actually move up the Ducks after losing a tight one to Cal. I just couldn't do it. Sorry, Stew.

14. Georgia (12) - I have nothing to say here, so I'll just thank the Dawgs for beating Oklahoma State, indirectly leading to the benching of Cowboys QB Bobby Reid and leading to Mike Gundy's rant heard 'round the world.

15. Texas (19) - Were the Longhorns caught looking ahead to the Sooners, or where they reall just not that good? I vote for the latter. I probably should have dropped them down more. ..

16. Rutgers (21) ... except I certainly couldn't move Texas down below the Scarlet Knights. I'm having fun imaging the taunting text messages that John Swofford sent Mike Tranghese on Saturday night.

17. Clemson (22) - Death, taxes and another inexplicably bad performance by a Tommy Bowden-coached Clemson team that people were just starting to get behind.

18. Arizona State (18) - I know it was just Stanford, but when was the last time before Saturday that the Sun Devils held a BCS team to just three points? I'll bet Pat Tillman was playing linebacker at the time.

19. Cincinnati (20) - The win over Oregon State is looking less impressive after the Beavers got smoked by UCLA, but I'm impressed with how consistently dominating the Bearcats have been.

20. Virginia Tech (15) - Did I move the Hokies down a spot even though they won? Yes, yes I did. Did you catch that offensive .... umm, performance? against UNC?

21. Nebraska (25) - I really should have punished the Huskers more last week for their narrow escape last week against Ball State. Unfortunately, due to the poll upheaval, this was the best I could do.

22. Hawaii (16) - Maybe I have a bias against the Warriors. Maybe I have a mental block about moving them up. Or maybe I still don't think they've played anyone and I'm a little less than impressed by the 5 ints that Colt Brennan threw against Idaho.

23. Missouri (17) - I started to move the Tigers up more in the polls, but I still don't know how impressive that 4-0 start is. We'll find out more next week when they take on Nebraska.

24. Kansas State (24) - Winning by 20 at Texas gets you major kudos. And now, losing at Auburn doesn't look so bad either.

25. Florida State (NR) - I really, really didn't think I'd be putting the Seminoles back in my poll. But I think their wins at Colorado and over Alabama have more merit than Purdue's 5-0 start against .... no one.

Dropped out: Penn State and Alabama

Surprisingly in a few cases, not so much in others, there remain five unbeaten high school football teams in the News & Record coverage area. Thus, the Mighty Nine poll stays unchanged at the top. The question now: Who can get through their conference schedule and enter the playoffs without a loss?

Reidsville? The Rams are 6-0 and should have little problem this week at West Stokes. The question here is: Can Eastern Guilford (Oct. 12) or Southern Guilford (Oct. 26) win at Reidsville if they catch the Rams on a slightly off-night? Doing it on the road will be tough. If Eastern keeps playing as well as it is on defense and Gerrod Herbin gets 100% healthy, I could see the Wildcats rolling into Community Stadium on a 4-game winning streak and giving it a go. Southern had a good win over a top-10 1-A team, West Montgomery, before last week's bye. William Graves and the Storm's linebacker corps are playing well, but I'm still a little more skeptical of their chances.

Western Alamance? At Northeast on Friday, at Dudley on Oct. 26. It could get interesting. It took a blocked punt to close out the Rams last year. This time, Northeast is really banged up, so it'll be interesting to see if the Rams can contain QB Donald Britt and WR Levon Curtis for four quarters.

The big news out of McLeansville: Standout QB Kendall Bratcher sprained a medial colateral ligament in his knee against Western Guilford on Sept. 21, didn't play a Southern Alamance and is questionable at best for Friday's home game against Western Alamance.

That will put a lot on freshman Maurice Harris' shoulders. It's your second varsity game, kid. It could take 40 or 50 points to beat the Warriors. Good luck. Northeast has also lost two halfbacks to injury and will be short-handed on defense. More on that in Friday's News & Record, plus an update on Bratcher.

Back to the unbeatens:

Grimsley? The Whirlies have lost stud athlete Keenan Allen for Friday's game at High Point Central because of a taunting ejection last week. Grimsley survived without QB Zach Maynard at Northern Durham -- winning in OT -- but beating the Bison without his brother could be a little trickier. Page is next week. If the Whirlies get caught looking ahead, look out.

Glenn? The Bobcats' wins get more and more lopsided each week, it seems. Carver next week appears to be their biggest obstacle in the Piedmont Triad 3-A.

Thomasville? This is turning into quite a story. Imagine another perfect season with what the Bulldogs and coaches Brown & Brown have gone through in the past few months. West Montgomery will be a tough test Friday, then a trip to Siler City to face Jordan-Matthews. Win those, and T'ville will be well on its way.

We know it was impossible to stay in suspense until Friday to see the N&R's latest Mighty 9 area high school football poll. So we began publishing it Wednesdays last week. And, because there's so much movement in the poll and we don't want you to have to wait until the paper hits the driveway, thought I'd unveil the poll online, with a few comments. My AP votes follow.

N&R MIGHTY NINE (coincidentally, this reflects my top 9, too)

1. Reidsville (6-0)
2. Western Alamance (7-0)
3. Grimsley (6-0)
4. Glenn (6-0)
5. Northeast Guilford (5-1)
6. Thomasville (6-0)
7. Dudley (6-1)
8. Ragsdale (5-2)
9. Eastern Guilford (4-2) *

Also receiving votes: Southern Guilford (4-2), Southeast Guilford (4-2), Ledford (5-2).

* The No. 9 spot is where we've seen the most turnover. It's basically reserved for the hottest team at the time. We've had Western Guilford, Ragsdale, Ledford, Southeast, Southern and now Eastern Guilford in this spot. The Wildcats jumped ahead of the rival Storm, catching them in an off week and winning impressively over Southwest Guilford, 41-21.

See below for my AP votes. Let me know if you feel there's too much local bias ... or not enough. Without being as familiar as I should be with schools in, say, Wilmington or Asheville, I try to be fair and balanced, maybe slipping a vote or two to a borderline area school that might otherwise be neglected by voters elsewhere ...

At 3:30 p.m. Saturday, ABC (WXLV-45) is showing N.C. State at Florida State. The rest of the country gets either Iowa-Penn State or Texas-Oklahoma on its ABC affiliates. The Disney monster, which owns ABC and ESPN, makes sufficient use of its properties by bringing ESPN2 into the package. In this market, we get the Hawkeyes and Nittany Lions on ESPN2 even though you've got to figure the Longhorns-Sooners tilt would have greater appeal.
Explanations are not forthcoming from Bristol.
It's not the only quirk. You'd think N.C. State-FSU would be seen throughout the ACC "footprint," but you'd be wrong. The Seminoles and Wolfpack are available on ABC from North Carolina through Florida and in Massachusetts and southern New Hampshire. Virginia and Maryland, however, get OU-Texas.
Further proof that you find a blog devoted to anything is here. It provides the coverage maps of each week's ABC-ESPN contests.
Most amazing factoid of the week: UCLA-Notre Dame will be seen by only 17 percent of the country. The rest will get Ohio State-Purdue. Only two counties in Indiana will see the Fighting Irish by conventional (over-the-air ABC affiliate) means. Viewers in Chicago, perhaps Notre Dame's greatest stronghold, will have to tune to a subsidiary of their normal ABC affiliate to find the contest. Who would have thought the Irish would be confined to a WB-level station? Purdue fans must be loving this.

.... like me (Hey, I flipped back and forth. The Braves aren't in it. Sue me.) you got a chance to see a game that was pretty important to ECU. Previously winless Rice walked right into Southern Miss' house and pounded the Golden Eagles for three quarters before holding on for dear life in a 31-29 win. It didn't help the Golden Eagles' cause that their No. 1 quarterback was hurt and their No. 3 quarterback broke his ankle three plays into the game, forcing their No. 2 quarterback to play with an abdominal strain. He threw four picks. Coincidence?

Anyway, that loss brings Southern Miss back to the pack in the C-USA East Division. It still has the tiebreaker over ECU thanks to the Golden Eagles' win in Greenville, but it still has to play against Central Florida, the same guys who knocked off N.C. State and nearly upset Texas.

And who would UCF happen to be playing today? None other than ECU. So that makes the game today a huge one. A win over UCF keeps the pressure up on a Southern Miss squad that has looked very vulnerable the last two weeks. A loss, though, and the Pirates' hopes of reaching the C-USA title game go up in smoke. No way ECU's going to be able to leapfrog both Southern Miss and UCF in the remaining conference games.

So enjoy the game all of you that have CSTV (Do any of you actually have it, by the way?).

11:09 to go, fourth quarter

A finicky blog platform has kept me from posting for the last 30 minutes, during which a whole lotta stuff has happened. First, Kyle Wright throws a 97-yard TD pass to Darnell Jenkinsk, the longest pass player ever in Kenan Stadium to make it 27-20. But just when you thought the Hurricanes were on their way to a historic comeback, Wright regained his original identity, taking a silly sack and throwing an even sillier INT.

30-20 UNC, with the Heels on the move.

8:06 to third quarter

Well, things sure did change in a hurry. After forcing an Anthony Elzy fumble, Miami goes for it on fourth and three from the four and converts. Kyle Wright's suddenly figured out how to make his passes go toward his own teammates and the 'Canes are actually able to exploit the UNC secondary.

27-13 UNC and the air is rapidly escaping from this stadium.

12:38 to go third quarter

If you're a Miami fan, you've got to be asking "Where the @#@! was this in the first half?" First drive of the second half, 7 plays, 62 yards, TD in 2:28. It looked really, really easy. Which is really, really different from what it looked like in the first half.

We'll chalk it up to great halftime adjustments by the Miami coaches. Or maybe the Canes slept through the first half. 27-7.
Halftime

This may be one of the toughest game stories I ever write. Why? Because I'm speechless. And if I have nothing to say, how can I have anything to type.

27-0 UNC.

Wow.

Don't worry, I'll pull something together. But ... wow.

9:59 to go, 2nd Quarter

Well, one of my posts was lost in cyberspace. That was after UNC's blocked punt and subsequent 11-yard drive that made it 20-0.

Now, Burlington Cummings' own Brandon Tate just strolled 54 yards with a reverse for a touchdown. It's now 27-0 UNC. That's not a typo, people. And really, it's been that easy.

I'm having a hard time figuring out how Miami came into this game 4-1 and UNC came in 1-4.

End of 1st Quarter

If you had UNC and gave 12 points, you're in good shape. 13-0 UNC after a 51-yard field goal for Barth. That's 17 in a row now for Barth who now moves ahead of Ohio's Michael Braunstein (16 in a row) for the longest current streak of FGs made in the nation. Many years from now we will still be talking about the famed field goal duel of Barth and Braunstein.

But I digress. Folks, UNC's not doing it with mirrors right now. The Heels are just dominating. It's 133 total yards for UNC to 39 for "The U." Miami has a whopping -6 yards rushing on 6 carries. Anthony Elzy has 81 yards on 11 carries, which is already a single-game high for UNC.

But remember, Miami is still "The U"

4:23 to go, first quarter

Thanks in large part to a roughing the passer call that appeared to fall in the "Phantom" category, UNC tacks on 3 more points in a Connor Barth 33-yard field goal. That brings Barth's streak to 16 straight FGs, setting a new school record. Barth got a few hugs from his teammates, but sadly, they did not stop the game for a ceremony.

10-0 UNC.

10:33 to go, first quarter

Well this is going exactly as expected. Joe Dailey made a big grab on third down to keep UNC's drive alive and Anthony Elzy rumbled 39 yards up the middle for the touchdown.

7-0 UNC and the first "We should have rehired Butch" comment has been made by the Miami cheering section, which is roughly 700 strong.

8 minutes to game:

Where Herald-Sun UNC beat writer Nolan Hayes and I are in agreement that there was no need to fire off fireworks during the national anthem. Granted, it was timed with the "rockets red glare" part of the song, but c'mon people - just let the song stand on its own. It is, you know, the national anthem and all.

** The point total of 36 was the highest Wake has allowed in victory since a 42-38 decision over Auburn in 1979.
** Wake Forest has now scored 41 or more points in each of its past four trips to Duke, all of which it has won. The Deacs are averaging 40.8 a game in Wallace Wade Stadium over the past six visits.
** For the first time since 1979 and 1980, the Deacons have produced a three-game winning streak in consecutive seasons.
** Wake has won six of its past seven ACC games away from home. That string includes the 2006 conference championship game in Jacksonville, Fla. The lone loss was at Boston College to start this season.
** Alphonso Smith's interception return for a touchdown was his third this season and the fourth of his career. Both stand one short of NCAA records. Smith now has a school record for INT return yardage (201), having surpassed the 176 yards by Ronnie Burgess, who played from 1981-84.
** The Demon Deacons have scored six non-offensive touchdowns this season.
** Four of those are by interception return. That's believed to be an ACC record.

Last week there was a ton of turmoil at the top of the poll. This week there was carnage at the bottom. I found myself facing a similar situation to the one I've run into in the Mighty Nine preps poll - scraping around to come up with enough team to fill the poll.

Before we get to the poll, here are the teams I actually considered for the final spot in my ballot: Wyoming, Indiana, Texas Tech and Boise State. Not exactly a murderer's row, is it?

Who did I pick? Well, you'll just have to read on.

That, for all you kids at home, is what we call "foreshadowing" in the writing business.

Again, as always, this is my ballot. The final AP Poll rankings are in parentheses.

1. LSU (1) - It seems that every season, the eventual national champion has to go through a major crisis on its way to the title. The Florida game may have been that moment for the Bayou Bengals.

2. Cal (2) - If LSU doesn't come back, I probably have Cal as my No. 1 team in the country. I like the Bears, but that just doesn't seem right.

3. Ohio State (3) - Everyone's making the comparisons between this Buckeyes team and the one that won the national title in 2002. If so, let's hope Chris Wells only mirrors Maurice Clarett on the field.

4. South Florida (5) - Yeah, the Bulls didn't look like top five material in struggling against Florida Atlantic, but those wins over West Virginia and at Auburn are still impressive.

5. Boston College (4) - I'll be honest. I just don't think the Eagles are this good. And being 6-0 isn't really enough of a reason to put them this high (see, Hawaii, for example). All I can do is write this one off to the quirks of the poll. Eventually it will correct itself - or the Eagles will prove themselves worthy.

6. Oklahoma (6) - The Sooners' win over Texas established them as the best of the one-loss teams. I have a feeling that will be a valuable spot to be in at season's end.

7. West Virginia (8) - The Mountaineers aren't likely to lose again, but they'll need some help to overcome South Florida in the Big East after their head to head loss.

8. South Carolina (7) - I get the feeling other coaches don't like Spurrier that much. South Carolina is only ranked No. 12 in the coaches poll.

9. Oregon (9) - Idle week for the Ducks. More time to ponder that goal line fumble against Cal...

10. Southern Cal (10) - Now that South Carolina is ranked above Southern Cal, can it lay claim to the "USC" moniker?

11. Missouri (11) - The rout of Nebraska was convincing. And the season-opening win at Illinois is looking better each week.

12. Florida (13) - I know the Gators have two losses. But they were one fourth-down stand from knocking off LSU in the Swamp. These guys are legit.

13. Arizona State (14) - Granted, the Sun Devils escaped at Washington State. But did you know these guys whacked Colorado 33-14 earlier this season? And they won at Stanford 41-3 a week before the Cardinal knocked off Southern Cal.

14. Cincinatti (15) - Ben Mauk missed Wake's dream year in 2006, but the whole transfer idea seems to be working out well anyway.

15. Virginia Tech (12) - Well, we now know Tyrod Taylor can run, but until he also proves he can pass, I'm still not sure the Hokies are ready to claim ACC supremacy.

16. Illinois (18) - Vegas had the Fighting Zookers favored over then No. 5 Wisconsin. Turns out those guys know what they're doing. Who knew?

17. Kentucky (17) - The Wildcats made a ton of mistakes against South Carolina, yet still had their chances. That's a fancy way of saying I still think they're a good team.

18. Kansas (20) - The Jayhawks were one of those unbeaten teams that needed to prove they were worthy of their record. Winning at K-State for the first time in 18 years pretty much did that.

19. Florida State (21) - Maybe, just maybe, Xavier Lee is the answer for the Seminoles at QB. If so, the ACC title game is still a real possibility.

20. Hawaii (16) - Slowly but surely the Warriors keep creeping up my poll. I still don't think they've played anyone. If not for the Colt Brennan hype, I really wonder if I'd have them ranked at all.

21. Wisconsin (19) - Believe me Badger fans, it doesn't make me feel good to see that my skepticism about your team was proven correct. Okay, maybe it does just a little.

22. Colorado (NR) - Hear me out here folks. The Buffs have a win over the No. 6 team in the country and losses to No. 21 and No. 14. These guys are as worthy as anyone at this spot in the polls ... which is still tepid praise, I admit.

23. Auburn (22) - Winning at Florida overcomes losing at home to Mississippi State. If the Tigers running game gets going, they'll give LSU a strong test.

24. Boise State (NR) - The winner of my "Who the heck am I going to rank?" game that went on well into the night on Saturday. Basically, the Broncos get in because they beat Wyoming and they lost on the road to a respectable team by a respectable score. I know, I know, it's weak. You work with what you have, people.

25. Texas (23) - Which is why the Longhorns are still on my ballot. Only lose by seven? Congrats, you've got a spot in the rankings!

DROPPED OUT

Rutgers, Clemson, Kansas State, Nebraska, Georgia.

Is this really worth it?
Penn State's athletics department is auctioning off two press credentials for this weekend's game with Wisconsin. Apparently, holders of press credentials no longer need to meet conventional standards of working journalists. There's a clause in the deal that says you can be tossed out for improper dress or behavior, but that's sort of beside the point for those of us who approach such things with a modicum of professionalism.
Two questions:
1) If you're a fan, why would you want to pay eight to 10 times face value of a ticket to be in an environment in which you can't cheer?
2) The bidding is approaching $1,000 as I type. That's a lot of money for two people to fork over for this, but it's financially inconsequential to an operation as vast as Penn State's. If you're going to prostitute yourself, you should at least get paid.

The Aggies have lost 22 straight games. That's the fifth-longest run of futility in NCAA Division I-AA history.
Rank Team Streak Years
1 Prairie View A&M 80 1989-98
2 Columbia 44 1983-88
3 St. Francis (Pa.) 30 1999-2002
4 Canisius * 24 1999-2001
5 N.C. A&T 22 2005-

* Canisius has since dropped football

Here's how things stand among active streaks in all Divisions of NCAA ball (629 teams in all):
Becker College of Leicester, Mass., earned the first win in the program's three-year history over the weekend by defeating Gallaudet 30-6. Other downtrodden teams lost.
St. Anselm College, a Division II school in Manchester, N.H., has dropped 24 in a row. A&T is tied with D-II Oklahoma Panhandle and D-III Lewis & Clark College at 22. Hiram College has 21 consecutive defeats.
The good news for Oklahoma Panhandle is that the Aggies -- yeah, them, too -- play Bacone this week. That's the only team they've come close to beating in their streak.

First off, I'll supply a sneak peek at my Mighty Nine poll for this week in high school football. It's the same as the overall voting. Don't believe me? Check Wednesday's News & Record or Thursday's RFS preps podcast with Jim Young and yours truly.

1. Reidsville (7-0) 2. Western Alamance (8-0) 3. Grimsley (6-0) 4. Glenn (6-0) 5. Thomasville (7-0) 6. Dudley (7-1) 7. Northeast Guilford (5-2) 8. Ragsdale (6-2) 9. Southern Guilford (5-2)

Not quite: Southeast Guilford (5-2).

Obviously, not a lot of movement at the top -- yet again. #1 Reidsville and #2 Western Alamance are just that good. They remain at the top of the state AP 2-A and 3-A polls, respectively, as well. More on the Warriors in a minute.

Grimsley is up to #3 with Northeast Guilford's loss to Western, and unbeaten Glenn is the new #4 going into its home showdown with Carver in the game to essentially decide the Piedmont Triad 3-A. The Whirlies, of course, will be playing Page -- considered by a few around here to be a pretty big rivalry game (note understatement) -- on Friday night at Jamieson.

As Pirates defensive lineman Jamar Lynch put it: "We can't come out there and just play around and tippy-toe. We have to go in there and bust them in the mouth and get it done." Straight to the point, the way we like it. The game should be a good one.

On to #5 Thomasville: Jordan-Matthews, playing at home, will likely be the Bulldogs' toughest test before the playoffs. Don't be entirely surprised if this is the week The Streak ends. Hey, coach Allen Brown noted a few weeks ago that the streak can't live on forever. We're not convinced ... yet. Neither are AP voters: The Bulldogs remain #1 in the state 1-A poll.

Dudley is #6 and takes the week off. Northeast drops to #7 and should rebound from last week's loss to now-hated Western Alamance with a home win over Morehead this Friday. The Rams go to Dudley in a week.

Ragsdale stays at #8. And back at #9 -- a position that has been held by six different schools in 8 weeks -- is Southern Guilford, coming off a 34-3 thumping of McMichael. That's three wins in a row for the playoff-hungry Storm.

OK, to follow up on the post-game shouting match in McLeansville last Friday: I have received a few emails and had some conversation with folks who were there or listened in. The consensus seems to be that Warriors coach Hal Capps was at least right to go for a first down, if not necessarily to hit NE with a surprise TD pass, up 21-14 with 1:42 on the clock and the Rams out of timeouts. I agree: Kneel-downs would not have put the game away, even though it was 2nd down and not 3rd, as Capps recalled after the game. Take a knee and assume 25-30 seconds off for each instance, and the Rams get it back with at least 20 seconds left. Albeit deep in their own end needing a TD.

Northeast's Tommy Pursley is an old-school coach who perceived a pass in that situation legal, but hardly ethical. It felt to him like someone was running up the score on him at the end of a hard-fought game. In the heat of the moment, he pointed fingers and said some things to Capps & Co. By now, cooler heads have likely prevailed. We'll give Tommy another day before calling ... just in case.

It's been a weird year, to say the least, regarding votes cast in the Associated Press' top 25 poll. The guys at Radio Free Sports explain why. (10:54)

... Sandlapper is a nickname for folks from South Carolina, in case you were wondering. There are other nicknames out there, but most of them aren't very flattering.

Anyway, I'm in danger of getting kicked out of the club because reader Louis Cook, a Palmetto State native who somehow wondered all the way off to Oakland, Calif., correctly noted that I screwed up the hometown of Darrien Durant (apologies to UNC fans as well). I wrote yesterday that Durant is from Orangeburg, S.C. when he actually hails from Florence.

To make up for it, I promise to leave a framed photo of Myrtle Beach native Vanna White at the foot of the Giant Peach in Gaffney as an offering of atonement.

It's an article from Le Anne Schreiber, the Ombudsman at ESPN. Unlike her predecessor in that position, Schreiber's pieces on The Worldwide Leader have some real bite to them. This one probably has the most.

I won't go into too much depth on it here, because Schreiber makes her case so eloquently on her own. I'll just leave it at this: I wholeheartedly agree with her. And I think a lot of my fellow journalists feel the same way. I just wanted you, the reader, to know that when you rail against "the media," not all of us think or act the same way. It's just that, with a monolith like ESPN out there, the rest of us often get swallowed up in the shadows.

Without further ado, here's the link.

When Josh Adams, bottled up entirely in the first quarter, bolted for an 83-yard TD, he delivered the longest run by any Deacon since the school-record jaunt of 90 yards by Freddie Summers against Maryland on Nov. 2, 1968.
Longest Wake runs
90 Freddie Summers vs. Maryland, 11/2/68
89 Tony Gallovich at MIami, 106/39
87 John Mackovic at Virginia, 9/19/64
83 Josh Adams vs. Florida State, 10/11/07
83 Dickie Davis vs. North Carolina, 10/27/51
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The Seminole defense is not being fooled by Wake's trickery. FSU has already thwarted two reverses for losses and has made four tackles for loss overall against the Deacon running game.
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They just finished a curiously officiated first quarter. Let's just say the ACC video staff and the league's supervisor of officials will be busy trying to ascertain what happened.
I can't explain it.

The Mighty Nine high school football poll has become the mighty eight plus one very controversial nine. Jim Young and Jeff Carlton explain. (8:52)

For those who follow high school football in the area, last week's clash between Western Alamance and Northeast Guilford produced a great game, as expected. What followed the game, an ugly exchange between two of the area's best and most respected football coaches, was not expected.

And, to their credit, Northeast's Tommy Pursley and Western Alamance's Hal Capps did not allow the hard feelings to fester. Pursley said he didn't call Capps directly because he was afraid the coach would hang up on him. Instead, he asked Western AD Carter Gerlach on Monday about setting up a meeting to hash out their differences. A sitdown, as they'd call it in Sopranos world. Coincidentally, Capps had asked Gerlach the same thing. Really, they each wanted to apologize for the misunderstanding.

So the coaches got together later Monday for about 10 minutes.

The controversy: The Warriors, up 21-14, threw a wide-open pass on 2nd-and-6 from Northeast's 29 with 1:40 left. They scored easily as the Rams expected QB Donald Britt to simply take a knee 2 or 3 times. Pursley told Capps after the game he thought it was a "low-class" move. After cooling off over the weekend, he realized he was probably in the wrong about Western's intentions.

"To me, it was sort of a slap in the face is how I took it," Pursley said today. "And obviously that’s not how he meant it. He was showing us respect by scoring. He thought if he gave us the ball back it could be like two years ago, and we’d come down and beat them."

So Pursley apologized. Capps, too, said he was sorry if it appeared to be a piling-on situation.

Did he fear Northeast would get the ball back and, even with less than a minute to go, march down and tie or win the game?

"Exactly," Capps said today as his Warriors prepared to face Bartlett Yancey and likely improve to 9-0.

Northeast (5-2) is home to Morehead tonight. The finish shouldn't be nearly as stressful.

Folks, if you still somehow think that AP voting is an easy task, may I direct you to poor Stewart Mandel of SI.com, whose head exploded on Saturday night while pondering who to put in his top 25.

Every week, I too put my head on the line. Why? For you, gentle readers. For you.

Okay, on to the polls. One little twist - I'm including this week's vote then a / then where I voted that team last week, then the AP final tally for this week in parentheses. Got it? (Example, 1/5 South Florida (2).

1/5 South Florida (2) - Yep, I was one of 11 brave voters who put the Bulls on top of the polls. Remember, voting is a mix of the resume as well as the "who would win on a neutral field question." I'd probably make Ohio State a slight favorite on a neutral field, but I absolutely know the Bulls have a better resume. That's why they're No. 1 on my ballot.

2/3 Ohio State (1) - Here's what happens when your non-conference schedule is weak and the Big Ten is also lame: you can go through an entire season unbeaten and still be a bit of an unknown. That's sort of how I feel about Ohio State. Well, at least about its offense. I firmly believe in the Buckeyes' D.

3/6 Oklahoma (4) - In "The Year of The One-Loss National Title Contenders" (or TYOTOLNTC) the Sooners are at the head of the pack, thanks to their recent wins over Texas and Missouri.

4/1 LSU (5) - Call me a softie, but I just didn't feel like I should penalize LSU for losing in triple overtime at Kentucky a week after playing a gut-wrenching game against Florida. Again this is TYOTOLNTC, folks. Should be an easy enough to remember acronym.

5/5 Boston College (3) - No, I just didnt feel like the Eagles deserved to be placed ahead of one-loss Oklahoma and LSU. Not after a wholly unimpressive win over Notre Dame (anybody else pumped for that Notre Dame-Duke matchup? I know I am.)

6/2 Cal (10) - Don't get me wrong. A home loss to Oregon State is nothing to be proud of. But when you lose without your starting quarterback, you get a soft landing, in my book. Cal remains a part of TYOTOLNTC.

7/9 Oregon (7) - I felt a little funny about this. Something tells me that Ducks are probably better than the Bears. But I just can't ignore that home loss to Cal. That's why Oregon's one spot lower. But I reserve the right to leapfrog them over Oski and Co. later if I so choose. I have that power ... don't mess with me.

8/7 West Virginia (9) - Bye week so there's nothing pithy to say here.

9/8 South Carolina (6) - Is there another top 10 team that can look as impressive and as vulnerable as the Gamecocks all in the same game? If this team ends up playing for the SEC title, better keep the portable defibrillators handy at Williams-Brice Stadium, because the number of last-second outcomes will be very high.

10/12 Florida (14) - If this was "The Year of the Two-Loss National Title Contenders", or TYOTTLNTC for short, the Gators would be at the head of the list.

11/13 Arizona State (12) - Yes, the Sun Devils got a vote for first in the nation, from Neal McCready of the Mobile (Ala.) Press-Register. . Seems a little bizarre to me, but no more bizarre than the way this season has played out, I guess.

12/17 Kentucky (8) - What's weird is that I got a little flack for having Kentucky too high before they lost to South Carolina. Now those same people will probably say I have the Wildcats too low. I'm telling you, this poll stuff isn't easy.

13/15 Virginia Tech (11) - What's the best way to restore Sean Glennon's fragile confidence? Have Tyrod Taylor go out with an "injury" against Duke and then have Glennon come in to save the day against the Blue Devils. Well played, Frank Beamer. Well played.

14/18 Kansas (15) - Finally, a team follows up its entry into the polls with an emphatic win. Thank you, Jayhawks. Thank you. By the way, think Baylor coach Guy Morris wishes he'd stayed at Kentucky?

15/10 USC (13) - I wanted to give the Trojans the benefit of the doubt after their shocker against Stanford, I really did. But after struggling against nondescript Arizona, they left me no choice but to boot them out of the top 10.

16/11 Missouri (15) - The Tigers' big win over Nebraska holds less weight now, but keep in mind Mizzou had a lead against Oklahoma heading into the final quarter in Norman.

17/23 Auburn (18) - When these guys play LSU, the first team to 10 wins. The Tigers' D is that good. The offense? Not so much.

18/NR Kansas State (25) - In this new age of college football, smacking around Colorado at home gets you right back in the top 20.

19/25 Texas (19) - Am I comfy with the Longhorns here? Not really. Do I like asking rhetorical questions? Most definitely.

20/NR Texas Tech (22) - When I found out the Red Raiders' lone loss was to Oklahoma State, I threw up my arms and shouted "That's not true!" (Mike Gundy joke, in case you were wondering).

21/NR Tennessee (20) - In the old days, teams that lost games by 39 never made it back into the top 25. I kinda miss those days.

22/14 Cincinnati (23) - Don't worry Bearcats, your BCS dreams are still alive. I can't believe I just wrote that.

23/24 Boise State (NR) - Someone please tell the Broncos to stop playing on Sunday night. This just has to stop. As I type this, Boise St. is tied at 41 with Nevada in the 4th quarter.

24/NR Georgia (21) - Lose by 21 to a team that lost by 39 and then barely survive Vanderbilt and ... return to the top 25. I'm getting numb to this ...

25/NR Michigan (24) - ... and if I wasn't numb before, welcome back Wolverines!

Dropped out: Hawaii; Illinois; FSU; Wisconsin; Colorado

Addendum: Thank you ESPN for showing the Hawaii game on Friday night. I was finally able to see that, despite that unblemished record, the Warriors just aren't a top 25 team - at least when they're on the main land. I may have to wait until the Boise State/Washington games at the end of the season before I consider bringing them back in. I was that unimpressed.

Jim Young's vote to put South Florida at the top of the Associated Press poll this week is debated in today's episode of Radio Free Sports. (11:16)

Sizing up the Mighty Nine high school football poll in today's show.

OK, Jim couldn't be with you this morning as he's attending a wedding in Nova Scotia. Or New Delhi. Maybe it was New York. I really can't remember.

But he did manage to find time to submit his AP football poll to us as well as the Associated Press. Here it is. (Feel free to bash him for ranking South Florida #1 last week. Clearly Rutgers brought him to his senses ... sort of. And how about South Carolina losing to Vandy ... at home? Ouch.)

Rank/School/Last week 1/LSU/4

2/Ohio State/2

3/Oregon/7

4/Oklahoma/3

5/Boston College/5

6/West Virginia/8

7/Florida/10

8/South Florida/1

9/Arizona State/11

10/Kansas/14

11/Virginia Tech/13

12/Missouri/16

13/USC/15

14/South Carolina/9

15/Kentucky/12

16/Cal/6

17/Alabama/NR

18/Texas/19

19/Georgia/24

20/Michigan/25

21/Virginia/NR

22/Wake Forest/NR

23/Penn State/NR

24/Rutgers/NR

25/Auburn/17

Dropped Out:

Boise State, Tennessee, Cincinnati, Texas Tech

What? Virginia #21? The Cavs are now the worst 7-1 team in the nation. OK, it'll be a lively podcast topic this week.

Before I start, let me just say that Carlton has been giving me flack about having South Florida high all season long. Apparently he just goes by a team's tradition. I believe he was surprised that I didn't also have Notre Dame ranked.

Reminder we go my ranking/my ranking last week then (how the AP poll totals came out).

1/4 LSU (3) - The Tigers have a better resume than Ohio State, regardless of its one loss, and it wins the "neutral field" test. Yet I'm one of only five voters who have them No. 1. Genius is never understood in its own time, I'm afraid.

2/2 Ohio State (1) - I really don't have anything against the Buckeyes, I swear. If they actually beat a worthy opponent sometime soon, I'll seriously consider bumping them up to No. 1.

3/7 Oregon (5) - I know that allegedly defense wins championships, but if by chance an offense can win a national title, the Ducks would be at the top of the contenders list.

4/3 Oklahoma (4) - Just allowing Iowa State to stay remotely close was enough to boot the Sooners down a spot in my poll.

5/5 Boston College (2) - Look, I think the win over Wake Forest was great and all. But is that really enough to justify being ranked No. 2? I don't think so. Win at Virginia Tech and then we'll talk.

6/8 West Virginia (6) - The Mountaineers aren't out of the national title picture, at least in my book.

7/10 Florida (9) - I know the Gators have two losses, but I also know they're really, really good.

8/1 South Florida (11) - Apparently moving South Florida down this low wasn't good enough for Jeff Carlton. What does he have against the Bulls?

9/11 Arizona State (7) - I like the Sun Devils, but apparently not as much as the computers do. No. 4 in the BCS standings?

10/14 Kansas (12) - Believe me, I'm stunned I have the Jayhawks in the top ten as well. But I can only go by the evidence I have in front of me.

11/13 Virginia Tech (8) - Hey, BC isn't the only team with something to prove when it comes to Blacksburg.

12/16 Missouri (13) - My brother-in-law Sterling Price would like to thank the Tigers for proving his contention that Texas Tech was no Top 25 team.

13/15 USC (9) - I'm feeling a little bit better about the Trojans. But it will take a bit more for them to win back my trust completely.

14/9 South Carolina (15) - I told other writers at the UNC game that South Carolina was the most vulnerable top 10 team out there. Darned if the Gamecocks didn't prove me right.

15/12 Kentucky (14) - After beating LSU and narrowly losing to Florida, I'll betthe Wildcats are wondering how in the heck they lost to South Carolina.

16/6 Cal (18) - Okay Bears, you had your starting QB back this week. What's your excuse now?

17/NR Alabama (22) - I thought last week that I probably should have had Alabama in the poll. I wasn't about to make that mistake a second time.

18/19 Texas (17) - Nothing to say here. A win over Baylor. Yeah.

19/24 Georgia (20) - Have a bye week, move up five spots. Welcome to college football in 2007.

20/25 Michigan (19) - Lost to a I-AA team and make it back into the rankings just a few weeks later. Again, welcome to college football in 2007.

21/NR Virginia (21) - Perhaps now, my UVA alum brother-in-law can sleep in peace. Personally, I'd feel better about the Cavs if they hadn't needed a last-second field goal to beat Middle Tennessee State. But hey, at some point 7-1 is 7-1. (Unless you're unbeaten Hawaii).

22/NR Wake Forest (NR) - Bear in mind that the Deacs have won five in a row and that one of their losses came without starting QB Riley Skinner. The other came at Boston College.

23/NR Penn State (24) - It looks like the Nittany Lions have gotten their offense on-track. They should finally produce the first real test of the season for Ohio State.

24/NR Rutgers (25) - The win over my previous No. 1 South Florida was enough to push the Scarlet Knights past a group of others vying for top 25 status.

25/17 Auburn (23) - Ladies and gentleman, the best three-loss team in the nation!

Dropped Out:

Boise State, Tennessee, Cincinnati, Texas Tech

A few additional notes. Boise State was always an iffy top-25 team for me. Giving up 67 points to Nevada just won't cut it. I don't care how many OTs you play. And my position on Hawaii may soften soon, not necessarily because I think the Warriors are that great, but because the other teams ranked 21-25 have so many flaws.

Jim Young's votes in the AP top 25 poll are put under the microscope. (10:45)

A closer look at ACC football including predictions for the rest of the season. (8:26)

We've established who the best teams are but there are still some tweaks in the Mighty Nine high school football poll. (8:03)

Before I get to my ballot for this week, I'm going to rant a bit about two conferences that are making my voting life very difficult.

Yeah, I'm talking about you, SEC and PAC-10.

The SEC is insane. Other than LSU on one end and Ole Miss on the other, the other 10 teams are just impossible to predict. A simple demonstration: Tennessee lost to Florida by 39, but the Gators lost by 12 to Georgia, who lost by 21 to ... Tennessee, which lost by 24 to Alabama, which lost at home to ... Georgia, which lost at home to South Carolina, which lost to ... Vanderbilt?

I could go on, but you see what I'm getting at. In a conference where everyone can seemingly beat everyone else, how do you really know who's any good. Is this a conference of unparalleled depth? Or just unremitting mediocrity. I honestly just don't know any more. I will tell you that my doubts about the SEC are starting to increase. If Alabama keeps rolling, how do we explain its loss to Florida State? If Tennessee wins the SEC East, what do we make of the Vols loss to Cal?

Speaking of Cal, I was up at 2 a.m. this morning watching the Bears get rolled by Arizona State because I really needed to see the Sun Devils play and if you want to watch big PAC-10 games, you frequently must forego sleep on the East Coast. Something has to give. Either the PAC-10 needs to stop coming up with top-notch teams that don't start their games until 10 p.m. EST, or my wife needs to get up with the kids on Sunday morning. The former option is much more likely, sadly.

But enough angst. On to the ballot. Again the format is My current ranking/My ranking last week and (the national AP poll released this afternoon).

1/2 Ohio State (1) - Hey, you can't be a good AP voter if you're not flexible. My chief reason for not putting the Buckeyes at No. 1 before was that I felt I needed more proof. Whipping Penn State soundly in a night game at Happy Valley was proof enough.

2/1 LSU (2) - Please don't feel I'm penalizing the Tigers, LSU fans, because I'm really just rewarding the Buckeyes. However, part of my argument for the Tigers - best team in the best conference - is starting to sag a bit as my doubts about the SEC increase.

3/3 Oregon (4) - The Ducks impressed me again. This time they actually won with their defense. Next up is a huge game with Arizona State. I haven't checked on the game time, but I'm assuming it's 10 p.m. EST. No, wait it's 6:45 !!! Woo hoo!!!!

4/5 Boston College (2) - I spent 56 minutes of the Thursday night game thinking "Hey BC fans, guess your team still can't win the game. Maybe it's not all Tom O'Brien's fault!" Then Matt Ryan turned into superhero Matty Ice. A great win, but I'm still having a hard time shaking those previous 56 minutes. I really thought long and hard about putting Arizona State in this spot ...

5/9 Arizona State (6) - ... and I would have except BC's win came on the road and Arizona State beat Cal at home. But what a performance. The Sun Devils scored the game's final 24 points and did it with precision passing from Rudy Carpenter as well as a power running game and a swarming defense, two things I didn't know they had. Color me impressed.

6/6 West Virginia (7) - Speaking of impressed, have you been watching what the Mountaineers have been doing lately? A week after mauling a Miss State team that now owns road wins at Auburn and Kentucky, the Mountaineers rolled into New Jersey and rolled over Rutgers - a week after the Scarlet Knights knocked off South Florida. Unfortunately for West Virginia, there was really no place to move them ...

7/4 Oklahoma (5) - ... just ask the Sooners. They ended up getting bumped down three spots on a bye week. Let's just call it a delayed penalty for sleepwalking past Iowa State.

8/10 Kansas (8) - I gotta admit I'm still a little clueless about the Jayhawks. Do I have a really good reason for why they're not up there with the other unbeatens in the top five? No, not really. But don't worry, KU. If you win impressively in the regular-season finale against Missouri, you'll be rewarded. Just be patient.

9/12 Missouri (9) - Quietly the Big 12 is pushing the PAC-10 and the SEC. Missouri, KU and Oklahoma all in the top nine. Plus K-State and Coloradio are no pushovers. Wait, am I really saying that the Big 12 North is superior to the South? Yes, yes I am.

10/19 Georgia (10) - Man, that was impressive work against the Gators. Tell me again how these guys got rolled by Tennessee?

11/17 Alabama (17) - Somewhere, Jeff Carlton is rolling his eyes. I'm not wild about having the Crimson Tide here. It's really an indication of just how nuts things are here in the AP Poll from week to week.

12/22 Wake Forest (21) - I kept staring at the screen this morning to see if I'd really just put the Deacs at No. 12. But I'm telling you, this week if you won impressively (which the Deacs did) you had an opportunity to move up. There were that many teams dropping down at the same time.

13/20 Michigan (15) - Yes, this is the same Wolverines team that lost to an App State squad that is currently in the middle of the Southern Conference standings. At least, that's what I've been told.

14/7 Florida (18) - Typical SEC team. Just when I felt I had a feel for the Gators, they threw me a curveball. If Tebow's shoulder gets worse, watch out.

15/11 Virginia Tech (11) - After watching Tech's D befuddle BC for almost the entire game, I can't help but wonder - how good could this team be with any sort of offense?

16/13 USC (13) - I sat here at the computer for five minutes and I've got nothing much to say about the Trojans. The Dynasty has definitely taken a downturn.

17/18 Texas (14) - I'm just not very impressed by the Longhorns. Three point win over Nebraska? Wow.

18/25 Auburn (19) - Remember when none of us could figure out how Auburn lost at home to Mississippi State? Well, maybe it wasn't such a stunning loss after all.

19/NR Clemson (25) - Be concerned Tigers. You've just posted an impressive win over Maryland and reentered the national rankings. This is usually the time when you suffer an inexplicable loss.

20/NR Tennessee (24) - I'm ranking a team that has lost one game by 39 points and another by 24. Yep, this has been one crazy season.

21/NR Hawaii (12) - I finally came around to the idea of the Warriors in the top 25. Being undefeated in this insane season means something, even if it's against no competition. I have no idea how the rest of my pollsters contributed to rank these guys at No. 12.

22/NR UConn (16) - Remember back in the preseason, when we all thought UConn might be the team that Duke had its best shot at beating? Boy were we stupid.

23/8 South Florida (20) - I was there for you Bulls. I believed in you before no one else did. I even voted you No. 1!! I feel so betrayed.

24/14 South Carolina (23) - Here's how weird the SEC is. Two weeks ago, the Gamecocks were a threat to play in the conference title game. Now, they really could finish 6-6.

25/NR Wisconsin (NR) - The spot that I gave the Badgers in my poll went to Boise State in the national poll. I thought long and hard about the Broncos here. Well, not that hard. It is the No. 25 spot.

Jim Young's picks in the top 25 Associated Press poll, including making Ohio State number 1, are dissected in today's podcast segment. (10:15)