Blogpoll Roundtable: Coming to America

Blogpoll number six is up over @mgo. If you didn't see it already, the House Rock Built won "Mr. Bold" (for highest deviation from the rest of the poll) for the third week this season. Any day now, Brian's going to cave in and rename that award after me. I stand by my ballot to the death. Texas is barely worthy of top 25 consideration until they win a real-life football game, and anyone who has West Virginia in the top 10 cannot bitch and moan about me having Boise State in the top 10. Go ahead, try to convince me that wins over Marshall, Maryland and ECU are more impressive than wins over Oregon State, Wyoming, Hawaii and Utah. I'll be waiting.

Anyway, this week's roundtable is also up, hosted by CrossCyed, who took some time off of his meth lab to host this roundtable (sorry, that's the only Iowa sterotype I know...) There's a lot of questions about "conference play", so obviously I'm going to have to be creative to address some of them. I often forget that many of those great unwashed programs who aren't independent often trouble themselves with things like their "conference". Weirdos.

1. We're about halfway through the season at this point. Have you gotten a gauge on your team's chances this year to make noise in conference play, or is the team still a total freaking mystery?

I think we've all got a pretty good read on this year's Irish team. Our hopes that we'd catch lightning in a bottle and find a magnificent championship-caliber defense have more or less fizzled, and we're left with the reality we were trying to avoid all offseason with our irrational exuberance. At the end of the day, the Irish defense is decent enough to hold off inferior teams long enough for the soul-crushing behemoth robot-monster offense to put the game away, but they've shown some slips and regressions against superior offensive squads.

The Irish are going to roll through the squishy part of their schedule with their offense, and are going to have to get into shootouts with the more adept teams. Fortunately, there's really only two big tests left on this season's schedule, so hopefully everybody will be able to pull together a great game against the Trojans in LA, then regroup and strap one on and win their bowl game.

2. Many of the bigger conferences such as the Big 12 and the Big 10 use a rotating schedule to determine conference games each year. What are your feelings on the current system used in your conference? Does a rotating schedule work? Has your team always caught a break?

Um... pass.

3. In an effort to get to know more about college football, both nationally and regionally, what have you done to expand your college football horizons? Have you caught yourself watching games from other conferences, or taking an interest in games that show up on ESPNU or Fox Sports?

While some folks begrudge it, I'm a big fan of midweek football, as it has has really helped open my horizons to mid-majors and ACC teams desperate for some notoriety. It's also great background noise for my late-night blogging sessions. I feel like I know Southern Miss better than my own mother.

Is that you, mommy?

4. What would you change about the current exposure your team gets, either on the radio, television, print, or on the internet?

Let's see: national television contract, syndicated radio broadcasts, regular appearances as "game of the week" for road games, the tireless abuse of legions of haters in print, television, and broadcast, a ton of bloggers (and more sprouting every day), and a violent, seething mob of internet trolls spouting vitriol about Notre Dame any opportunity they get. I love it and wouldn't dream of changing a goddamn thing.

5. During last Saturday's game against I-AA Northern Iowa, Iowa State trailed 21-7 at the half. The Cyclone Marching Band played a variety of songs from animated shows, including selections from South Park titled "Blame Canada" and "What Would Brian Boitano Do?" Needless to say, the Cyclones outscored the Panthers 21-6 in the second half. If you had to pick one song for your favorite team to rally to, what would it be? Because we all know what they did for the 2005 White Sox, Journey and "Don't Stop Believing" are not to be considered.

Generally, I think marching band arrangements of popular songs are pretty weak and forced. That being said, when I'm feeling blue, there is only one man in the whole world who can slap me in the face, throw me out of bed, dunk my head in the toilet, smoke all my cigarettes, and inspire me to march my scrawny ass out there and take on the world. Neil Fucking Diamond. Plus, his initials are "ND", so he's got that going for him.

Why, oh why, do you kick so much ass?