Who Needs a Blog Poll Week Four: Your Conference is Terrible Edition

Yesterday was the day where no one wanted to win, apparently. So many programs at the top of the charts looked bored, sloppy, with several teams pulling away late for a cushier margin. Then there were the upsets of note, and none loom larger than Boston College's pummeling of the Trojans. For all the talk of USC over UGA, that result should surprise no one, nor the weirdness in which it was comfortably ensconced: That's just the nature of the series.

There are some predictable shakeups as we move further into the season and we know a little bit more about teams. I'm not going to explain every one of these, as I assume you watch football and can eyeball teams on your own.

But, I think we should briefly touch on the SEC West teams in the Top 10, at least: LSU moves up on the merit of back to back shutouts and suddenly remembering they can possess a dominant running game. Auburn eases ahead of the Aggies, because while neither have a defense that's MAC-worthy, Auburn appears to be able to make half-time adjustments. Alabama stays at four because we still don't know what this team can do. We do know, however, that the offense was about 60% new last night, and that Blake Sims is without question your starting quarterback. The good (and bad) thing about this four-way circular firing squad is that we can at least settle it on the field, as everyone marches to the most confusing 10-2 season ever.

O, Hai! Cincinnati Bearcats - Offense is good enough to win the AAC assuming the defense comes along. East Carolina- That Hokies game wasn't a joke; also gave South Carolina absolute fits. The Cincy-ECU game should be a barn-burner for the AAC title. South Carolina - Returns to good graces after a balanced gameplan that left Georgia's defense a smoking crater in Williams-Brice. Spurrier's decision to go for it on 4^th was vintage SOS. The post-game explanation was just as good.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>This is just beautiful OBC. <a href="https://t.co/0vxKDsfEad">https://t.co/0vxKDsfEad</a></p>&mdash; Adam Kramer (@KegsnEggs) <a href="https://twitter.com/KegsnEggs/status/511156356879888385">September 14, 2014</a></blockquote>

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Be Gone! Tennessee Volunteers - Worley played well; secondary held up pretty decently too. But, the lines with four new starters on each side? Not so much. Still, the Vols gave the Sooners fits in a game that was more competitive than the final score. Iowa Hawkeyes - Stop if you've heard this one before: Ferentz's end-game conservatism, followed by feisty underdog spirit dooms Hawkeyes. This guy has a $14m buyout, FWIW. USC Trojans - Maybe still a top-25 team when all is said and done, but giving up 467 yards rushing to a mediocre BC tea m damned sure didn't look like it. The offense is nothing special when you hit them in the mouth. Oregon would do pornographic things to this team.

Social Promotion: Arizona State - Barring just a tremendous amount of bungling, this seems to be the most consistent of the P12 South teams. Offensive line eats, physical up front on defense. Give a guy like Graham some JUCO talent and he'll do some work. Nebraska - Of course they've not played anyone, but the bounce-back blowouts following the near miss is encouraging, as are the different ways they're winning. Ole Miss: - Not ready to take them that seriously, except two facts: Bo Wallace leads the nation in pass completion percentage, and they absolutely worked a ULL team most expected to be pretty decent. Missouri Tigers - Given the kitten pawing defense USC and UGA played last night, coupled with the brain-dead Florida team effort, I'm not sure that this won't be your eventual SEC East Champion...again.

Held Back: Florida - Precipitous drop is not for struggling against a much-improved Kentucky team. It's for the not-awesome OL, an offense with a bizarro identity, and all those mistakes. Georgia - So much for that improved defense. Stuttering at best against the run game, lack of pressure on an average QB, and the secondary was eviscerated like a sea cucumber. And, hey, what UGA game is complete without an absolutely baffling coaching decision. Make no mistakes, the better team won and the better coach was the difference. UCLA - Remember the first week, when I said Hundley may get killed by October. Well, it wasn't a sack, it was pressure forcing him to take off. Injury results. And, here we are on Sept. 14. Why anyone thought this was a playoff team is just baffling.

On Deck: Kansas State Wildcats, Clemson Tigers