UPDATE: Apparently, a lot of people didn’t get the full effect of the video below, probably due to not having the latest version of Flash (version eight). I’ve added a link to the video in .wmv format, which should work for most people. If you see a hat floating in the air, you’re not seeing the whole thing. Thanks for those who responded with feedback.

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Yes, blogging has been light the last week or two. Keep reading and you’ll find out why.

First, the context. About two weeks ago, I voted for the first time in MGoBlog’s BlogPoll. My poll is here. For my effort, I earned this rebuke from whip-wielding Brian, MGoBlog’s publisher:

Mr. Bold is the . . . newbie The View From Rocky Top, who, um, really likes the SEC: UGA #4, LSU #5(!), Florida #6(!), Auburn #12, Alabama #14… okay. Florida State is #9, GT #11… er, okay. Perhaps the ballot entry form was excessively confusing? Perhaps the Tennessee Season of Doom has sent our newest poller into a nervous breakdown where this year never happened and it’s 1967 or something? It is the mystery. Explain yourself! Try not to say the words “Southern Speed,” lest you feel the lash of my whip!

Here’s my response:

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Southern Speed! Southern Speed!! SOUTHERN SPEED!!! Being a very public Volunteer fan over the past four months has made me impervious to pain. So lash away, Brian! Lash away, all! SOUTHERN SPEED!!!!

Actually, though, it’s not really about southern speed. It’s more due to the gradual poisoning of a Tennessee fan’s mind, season by season, game by game, evolving into full-blown lunacy by the end of the 2005 season. Let’s just say I’m not fit to stand trial.

Press play below for the full explanation. WARNING: The video below has sound, and the controls are a bit buggy. Hitting the No Music button will stop the music, but will not prevent the other sounds embedded in the video from playing. [Note to self: separate audio from video in future Flash projects.] Plus, if you want to watch it again, you’ll need to reload the page. Sorry, still learning.

And now . . . View from Rocky Top presents . . . a VollumTears production . . . a film by [insert-your-own-play-on-words-fictional-movie-production-company name here] . . . [and another] . . . [and another] . . . .

To see the video in .wmv format (good for most readers, but might be very small, depending on your settings), follow the Vollum link.

To see the Flash Version, click the play button below:

UPDATE: Just to clarify, I didn’t intend to game the poll. It was in fact, temporary insanity. Yeah, Florida beat two BCS and conference champion teams, and I couldn’t think of another team that had done that, but ranking them No. 6 is, well, crazy. And I do think the Big 10 has an advantage by not having to play a championship game — which only adds one more loss to at least one of the top two teams in the conference and doesn’t much help the winner — but weighting that fact as much as I did was, well, ludicrous.

Anyway, my poll was screwy, but not on purpose. And the fact that it wasn’t on purpose was more embarassing than if I had gamed it. Thus, the video and the insanity defense. But I’m feeling much better now, and you should expect more sanity from me in the future.

Vollum.

UPDATE II: I’m concerned about College Football Resource’s comment that “the black nothing is 99% of the story.” I’m hoping this doesn’t mean that a bunch of people can’t actually see the whole video. The video has text, music, film footage, and an “oddly brown Tennessee hat,” so if you don’t see all of that, something’s wrong. Try upgrading to the latest version of the Flash player. Please email me if you notice anything unusual. Well, anything that doesn’t work right.

1. Texas: UT gets nod over USC only because of USC’s would-be loss to Notre Dame
2. USC: Basically neck and neck with the Longhorns
3. Notre Dame: Two bad calls on final two plays cost them victory over USC
4. Georgia: SEC champ
5. LSU: SEC runner-up
6. Florida: Lost three games, but beat both SEC champ and ACC champ
7. Penn State: Only one loss, but docked for not having to play a championship game
8. Ohio State: Only losses to Texas and Penn State
9. Florida State: Yeah, four losses, but still champ of tough ACC conference
10. Virginia Tech: ACC runner-up
11. Georgia Tech: Four losses, but beat both Auburn and Miami
12. Auburn: Stumbled out of the gate and lost to SEC runner-up LSU, but beat SEC champ Georgia
13. Miami: Throttled ACC runner-up Virginia Tech
14. Alabama: Only losses to SEC runner-up LSU and number 12 Auburn
15. Oregon: Only one loss, but docked for relatively weak conference
16. West Virginia: Received a BCS berth while never cracking the top ten
17. Michigan: Beat Big 10 champ Penn State, but lost four games
18. UCLA
19. Clemson: Beat ACC champ FSU, but who didn’t?
20. South Carolina: Wins over Florida and Tennessee not as impressive in hindsight
21. TCU
22. Northwestern
23. Iowa
24. Iowa State
25. Louisville

Okay, so the season has lost some appeal. But there is the Tennessee-Vanderbilt game today, and a 22-year winning streak and a 16-year bowl game streak is on the line. And it’s Senior Day, so that’s a good reason to watch.

But usually at this time of the season, Vol fans are not only watching their team, they’re watching other teams and games that might impact where Tennessee goes bowling.

No such luck today, but there are still good college football games to watch:

• Ohio State at Michigan. 1:00 p.m., ABC. College Football News’ take on the game:
  

  As it’s supposed to be in a Midwestern-karma kind of way, this game could, again, be for a share for the Big Ten title. With a Penn State loss, the winner of this game picks up a share of the title. Ah, the more things change, the more they stay the same. The one key not mentioned is how QB Chad Henne handles the heat and the Ohio State defense. The Buckeyes will miss Donte Whitner at safety, but it won’t be enough to knock out the Buckeyes. Michigan has played well lately, but Ohio State is catching their stride on offense. And, that’s scary with a capital S-C-A-R-Y. It hasn’t happened lately on the road in this rivalry, but the Buckeyes will party like it’s 2001. Ohio State – 29 vs. Michigan – 26

  Get the fans’ perspective from Michigan blogger mgoblog and Ohio State blogger Around the Oval.

• Alabama at Auburn. 3:30 p.m., CBS. College Football News’ take:
  

  Could you make an argument for Auburn as the best team in the SEC? They ‘booted’ every opportunity imaginable at Baton Rouge, but arguably outplayed LSU on their turf. They manhandled a dysfunctional South Carolina team (at the time that is). They beat Georgia and outplayed them for the most part in every facet of the game. But, all that being said, it’s all moot if they don’t keep that level of intensity against Alabama. Not intensity from a “get-ready-to-play-your-rival intensity”, but a focus on offense that has helped get them to this point. This is the perfect position for Alabama – underdog, no one giving them a chance, seeking revenge for last year’s tough loss at home. However, Bama may have run out of juice after the crushing loss to LSU. War Eagle, one more time. Auburn – 21 vs. Alabama – 17

Scout.com’s Jeffrey Stewart draws Notre Dame in the site’s weekly Devil’s Advocate feature. For those unfamiliar with the column, Stewart and Randy Moore, both excellent sports writers, take sides, each making the case for a win by the team they draw. For his part, Stewart starts out with a bang:

Making a case for Notre Dame beating Tennessee in South Bend on Saturday is a little like vouching for Bill Gates’ credit. In other words, the only real obstacle to overcome is — where to begin?

These are two teams headed in opposite directions at the speed of light. The Fighting Irish are reborn under first year head coach Charlie Weis, the mastermind behind a potent offensive attack that is putting points on the scoreboard in bunches. With a 5-2 record that includes victories over Pittsburgh, Michigan, Washington, Purdue and Brigham Young, Notre Dame is best known for its instant classic cliffhanger last month against defending national champion and undefeated USC. That near victory propelled the Irish back into the top ten where they remain today at No. 9.

Conversely, Tennessee is in the depths of a spiraling free fall from a preseason ranking of No. 3 through a 3-4 start, until it was finally spit out of the bottom of national polls last week, following a 16-15 defeat to that other USC. The one with the roosters on its helmet and no national championships under its belt.

The Vols dramatic demise is the result of an offense that rarely has a pulse and produces points at the pace of the Tunisian national ice hockey team. If you say it’s not fair to compare Tennessee’s offense to a team that doesn’t exist. Well, I rest my case.

Pretty much nails it, doesn’t it?

On the other side, Moore is hanging his hat on this week’s offensive shake-up.

Moore does an admirable job, but you’ve got to go with Stewart and Notre Dame this week.

Pete Fiutak of College Football News says the Tennessee Volunteers’ schedule is as brutal as it gets:

Well, there is some excuse for Tennessee. I don’t care what any formula says, playing at Florida, at LSU, Georgia, at Alabama, and at Notre Dame is as brutal as it gets. Based on winning percentage, the teams with the toughest schedules played so far are: 1) Arkansas, 2) Oklahoma, 3) Tennessee, and tied for fourth are South Florida and Michigan. Going into this weekend, if you want to go by the teams with the toughest schedules yet to be played, they are 1) Cal, 2) Stanford, 3) Iowa, 4) USC, 5) Kansas.

John Pennington has examined teams’ perceived recruiting successes in the past few years and compared them with those teams’ current rankings.

Here are Pennington’s top ten recruiters over the last five years and their current BCS rank:

1. Southern Cal: #2 in BCS
2. Michigan: #25 in BCS
3. LSU: #8 in BCS
4. Oklahoma: NR in BCS
5. Florida State: #10 in BCS
6. Miami: #7 in BCS
7. Tennessee: NR in BCS
8. Texas: #1 in BCS
9. Florida: #19 in BCS
10. Ohio State: #13 in BCS

Pennington’s info is much more exhaustive than the above list. His data brings to light several interesting facts. On one hand, the current top two BCS teams — Southern Cal and Texas — have excelled in recruiting, so that would suggest that there is a positive correlation between recruiting success and winning games.

On the other hand, Michigan, Oklahoma, and Tennessee have recruited well, and have been terrible disappointments so far this season. Plus, some of the other data shows the vast disparity between the current success of teams that have enjoyed about equal recruiting success.

My take is that we fans too often fall victim to the old necessary-sufficient fallacy. In order to win regularly, a school must have a certain level of success in luring top players to the team, but simply having good players is not enough. There are just too many other factors that come into play.

College Football News’ John Harris is bucking CFN’s official pick (Tennessee 16, Alabama 13) and making his own.

According to Harris, the key matchups in tomorrow’s game between the Volunteers and the Crimson Tide are:

• the ability of Tennessee’s defensive line to beat Alabama’s offensive line and the Bama run attack
• the Alabama wide receiver corps (which has lost Tyrone Prothro, its best receiver) against the Tennessee secondary (which has lost Jason Allen, its best cover corner and tackler)
• the Vol offensive line, which has been struggling, against the Tide front seven, which has been exceptional.

Harris’ conclusion?

After the close call at Ole Miss last week, the Tide returns this week to Tuscaloosa, where they played an almost flawless game against Florida. They’ll need to continue to harness the emotion and passion of the Tide faithful to knock off a desperate Tennessee team. Similar to the way that Michigan fought back against undefeated Penn State, expect Tennessee to take Bama’s best shot and hang around for four quarters. Brodie Croyle will be the difference as he’ll continue to find open receivers and move the ball as they have this season. He’ll need a big play from one of his receivers, and expect him to get one that wins the game for the Tide. Alabama – 21 vs. Tennessee – 20

The Tennessee Volunteers arguably didn’t get the bump they deserved for beating the LSU Tigers last Monday night (because the win was after last week’s Coaches’ Poll), but they survived a potential let-down game against the Ole Miss Rebels.

Here are the horses after Week Five:

The Gators fall out of the top ten to number 15 after getting thumped by the Alabama Crimson Tide, who enter the race at number 10. The Gators’ loss makes the Vols’ loss to the Gators look worse, but it’s a necessary evil because the Vols have virtually no chance at the Rose Bowl without winning the SEC Championship, and they can’t do that unless the Gators lose two SEC games. The Gators losing to Bama is a good start, and they play both Georgia and LSU in the next several weeks, so it’s not out of the question. Plus, the Vols can redeem themselves by beating the Crimson Tide if Bama is still in the top ten at that time.

Again, look at UT’s schedule:

• Play Florida when the Gators are ranked, what was it, number 5?
• Play LSU when the Tigers are ranked number 4.
• Play Georgia this week when the Bulldogs are ranked number 4.
• Play Alabama and Notre Dame later, who are now numbers 10 and 12, respectively.

Potentially 5 top ten teams. Maybe another in the SEC Championship. If the Vols can come out of that schedule with only one loss, should they be ranked above even some no-loss teams with lesser schedules?

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See the Race to the Rose Bowl from the beginning:

• Week Four
• Week Three
• Week Two
• Week One
• Preseason

Okay, the Tennessee Volunteers didn’t play, but there sure were some good football games this weekend. The Big Ten got spanked, with Ohio State getting torched by Vince Young and the Texas Longhorns, Michigan fumbling its way to a loss to Notre Dame, and Iowa on the other end of a route, losing big to Iowa State.
Here’s the top ten of the Coaches’ Poll:So Southern Cal and Texas stay ahead of the pack, and LSU overtakes the Volunteers and Michigan, who, having dropped the football at the goal line, drops out of the top ten. Iowa also drops out of the top ten. Georgia and Florida move ahead together, while Ohio State drops to the back after losing a close one to the Longhorns. Newcomers FSU and Louisville enter the race at numbers 8 and 10, respectively.

Just look at the Vols’ schedule: they play number 7 Florida next week and number 3 the following week. A few short weeks later, they play number 6, but at least that one’s at Neyland Stadium. Oh, and by the way, UT plays Notre Dame, which is now ranked number 10 in the AP poll, a bit later on as well, at South Bend. And even Vanderbilt (VANDERBILT!) is 2-0.

The Rocky Road is shaping up to be even bumpier than anticipated.

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See the Race to the Rose Bowl from the beginning:

• Preseason
• Week One

Well, the Week One Coaches’ poll is out, and here’s how the top ten shakes out:So, the Wolverines edge past Tennessee to take up the number 3 spot behind USC and Texas, but the Vols only fall to number 4. Not bad, considering their less than impressive performance. Oklahoma and Miami fall out of the race after losses and are replaced by newcomers Florida and Georgia, who are at numbers 10 and 9 respectively.

This does not bode well for the Volunteers, who barely squeaked out a victory over Alabama-Birmingham, as three of their future opponents are now in the top ten. The Big Questions about Florida were whether the team would catch on to Urban Meyer’s offense soon enough and whether it would work in the SEC. A 32-14 win over Wyoming tends to confirm that the answers are in the affirmative. The Big Question for Georgia going into the year was whether quarterback D.J. Shockley could replace David Greene. Consider the answer to this question a resounding YES!, as Shockley threw five touchdown passes and ran for another in a 48-13 thumping of Boise State.

Tennessee’s questions were whether it could survive games at Florida and at LSU on consecutive weekends. Those questions remain, but now there are more. Can it beat Georgia at home?

And if that were not enough, the game later in the season at Notre Dame looks tougher now after the Fighting Irish clobbered Pitt 42-21.

My preseason Race to the Rose Bowl post is here.