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2007 was a crazy year for college football across the nation and in the state of Ohio, and the weekly Ohio college football rankings proved difficult throughout the season. As we head into the MAC Championship the Miami RedHawks are the lone Ohio team to play in a Championship Game as the Big Ten and Big East do not have the necessary 12 members to warrant a Championship match-up.

Up to 4 Ohio college football teams will likely participate in postseason bowl games as Ohio State, Cincinnati and Bowling Green seem to be bowl locks. Miami’s future depends on the result of Saturday’s MAC Championship game.

1 - Ohio State - 11-1 - At 7-1 in the Big Ten, the Buckeyes won yet another Big Ten title finishing 11-1 in 2007. Now the Buckeyes, #3 in the BCS, hope for losses by #1 Missouri or #2 West Virginia on Saturday to vault OSU into the BCS Championship game.

2 - Cincinnati - 9-3 - The Bearcats have had a fantastic season and have finished their season at 9-3 including 3 wins over ranked opponents. At 4-3 in the Big East, the UC Bearcats finish the regular season tied with South Florida for 3rd in the Big East.

3 - Bowling Green - 8-4 - BG’s 4 straight wins to end the regular season put them in great position for a bowl bid, likely in the International Bowl in Toronto against a Big East opponent.

4 - Miami - 6-6 - Despite winning the MAC East, the RedHawks proved to be rather mediocre in losing 3 of their final 5 games. At 6-6 heading into the MAC Championship, the RedHawks will receive a bowl bid should they win the MAC Championship. However, a loss would end Miami’s season at 6-7 and the RedHawks would not be bowl eligible.

5 - Ohio - 6-6 - Despite defeating the #4 RedHawks in their season finale, the Bobcats come in at #5 thanks to Miami’s MAC East title. While 6-6 is a huge disappointment for Bobcat fans, recovering from a 2-4 start is something for Frank Solich and his staff to build upon in 2008.

6 - Toledo - 5-7 - After a 2-5 start, Toledo showed signs of life with 3 straight wins in the middle of the season. But 2 losses to end the season, including a 37-10 blowout loss to rival Bowling Green, have the Toledo faithful concerned about the Rockets’ future.

7 - Akron - 4-8 - Akron had 5 losses in their final 6 games as the Zips completed a disappointing season. After an amazing 39-38 road victory @ Western Michigan, Akron’s inability to build off of their then 3-3 record proved to be the Zips downfall.

8 - Kent State - 3-9 - Picked as the MAC East favorite in 2007, the Golden Flashes impressed immediately with a opening win over Iowa State. Kent showed signs of life by defeating Ohio in late September, but followed the win with 7 straight losses to close a ugly 3-9 season.

9 - Dayton - 10-1 - The 10-1 Flyers face 8-3 Albany in Saturday’s 2007 Gridiron Classic at Welcome Stadium.

10 - Youngstown State - 7-4 - The Penguins finished the season 7-4 after a strong 4-1 start. After several fans criticized Ohio Sports Time for not including YSU in our rankings. Then, after adding the Penguins we have received nothing but harsh words including the most recent comment from John which was posted on our site and read “You are a tool. You are an idioit and know nothing about sports. YSU last is a joke. The MAC sucks your site sucks and you are just a moron. You know nothing no one reads your web sites, just stop you know nothing.” Thanks John, your classy comments show a lot about you. Also, look into the spelling of the word “idiot.”

The Cleveland Browns and Cincinnati Bengals both picked up wins on Sunday in one of the rare weeks where both Ohio NFL football teams won in the same week. The Bengals knocked off Tennessee 35-6, sending the Titans to their 2nd straight defeat and hurting their playoff chances dropping Tennessee to 6-5 on the season. The Bengals improve to 4-7 and have wo 2 of the last 3 games with a Sunday night game @ Pittsburgh next week.

The Cleveland Browns improved to 7-4 with their 27-17 win over the Houston Texans. The Texans were on the outside looking in at the playoff picture before the loss, but fall to 5-6 on the season. With the win, Cleveland remains tied with Jacksonville for 5th in the AFC and in line for a Wild Card in the AFC Playoffs.

By now everyone knows that the Ohio State Buckeyes lost on Saturday, falling at home to Illinois by a score or 28-21. Throughout the game you could see the fans were struggling with the way the game was playing out, and at the end of the game the frustration spilled over into a on-field scuffle between Ohio State and Illinois players. While watching a ESPNU replay of the game today it got me thinking. The Ohio State Buckeyes are not used to adversity. Not like this anyway. Jim Tressel may be, thanks to his many years as a top coach at both Division I-AA and I-A (FBS), but how many of the players currently playing key positions for OSU have faced true adversity in college athletics? How about in high school?

Last year Ohio State’s lone loss was in the National Championship game to Florida where the #2 Gators pounded the #1 Buckeyes 41-14. With the loss, the Buckeyes’ season was over and the only chance to “prove themselves” was in 2007 with a new cast of characters and a newly-built offense. Add to this that many of the Ohio State recruits come from the top high school football programs where losses are not common. These recruits immediately come into a atmosphere in Columbus where a single loss is a disappointment.

The point I am trying to make is this - the Buckeyes are, to a large extent, in uncharted water for most players on their football team. The saying goes that adversity builds character, and this is definitely adversity that Ohio State is facing currently. My mother has always said to me that “anyone can handle the good times, it’s the bad times that show your true character.” For Ohio State, this is one of those rare “bad times” for these players in their mature lives. How will the Buckeyes respond? How will the Ohio State fans respond? A win over arch-rival Michigan on Saturday will cure a lot of ills heading into bowl season, but a loss will eliminate a Big Ten Championship and likely a BCS Bowl berth.

Time will tell on the response from Tressel’s crew and we’ll know in less than a week. Whether you love OSU or hate them, you have to respect how good Jim Tressel is at coaching college football players. If the Buckeyes bounce back and win Saturday it will be because of Tressel. If they do not, expect the fans and media to go crazy.

The Cleveland Cavaliers were not blessed with an easy schedule to begin the season, in fact, they were handed one of the toughest schedule in all of the NBA. Beginning the season with a West Coast trip including 5 tough road games in their first 7 games, the Cavs are now 3-2 on the road trip as they finish the trip tonight @ Denver. With injuries throughout their roster and Anderson Varejao remaining unsigned, the Cavs have played short-handed all season. As a result, Cedric Simmons, Damon Jones, Devin Brown and Ira Newble have all seen significant minutes spelling LeBron and the gang. Speaking of LeBron James, the early-season stats are your typical LeBron MVP-style stats. LeBron is averaging 26.6 points, 7.7 rebounds, 7.6 assists, 2.3 steals and 1.7 blocked shots per game.

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2007 has been a crazy year for college football in the state of Ohio, as our weekly Ohio college football rankings will show. The mediocrity (or parity, call it what you like) of Ohio’s MAC teams has been disappointing as Ohio State and Cincinnati are far ahead of the rest of the pack. Meanwhile, it’s tempting to place Dayton and possibly YSU ahead of Kent State after the Golden Flashes lost to NIU, one of the Football Bowl Subdivision’s worst teams in 2007.

Look for this week to separate the teams a bit, but with so many records at 4-6 to 6-4, all it takes is a win or two to move any of the MAC schools up 3-4 spots.

1 - Ohio State - 10-1 - The Buckeyes were shocked at home by Illinois 28-21 on Saturday, dropping Ohio State from #1 to #7 in the BCS rankings and likely eliminating the Buckeyes’ shot at a National Championship. Next up for Ohio State is the annual rivalry match-up with Michigan in Ann Arbor at 12 noon on Saturday.

2 - Cincinnati - 8-2 - After 6 wins to start the season, the Bearcats followed with 2 losses to fall from the Top 25. Since that point UC has picked up consecutive Big East wins defeating ranked USF and UConn teams resulting in the Bearcats climbing to #22 in the BCS rankings. Next up for UC is a Saturday night home match-up with #6 West Virginia.

3 - Miami - 5-5 - Despite a 1-4 record out of conference (all against BCS conference competition) Miami has learned from their tough competition going 4-1 against MAC opponents and 3-1 against the MAC East. If the RedHawks win out they will represent the MAC East in the MAC Championship on December 1st, but first they have to get past Akron on Wednesday night and win @ Ohio on November 24th.

4 - Toledo - 5-5 - After an 0-3 start the Rockets have won 5 of 7 to draw even at 5-5, thus edging their rivals from Bowling Green. Toledo can make a push for a bowl berth with wins over Ball State Tuesday night and @ BG on November 23rd.

5 - Bowling Green - 6-4 - The Falcons come in at #5 thanks to 3 wins in their past 4 games, but BG needs to keep winning to ensure themselves a bowl bid from one of the 3 MAC bowl tie-ins. BG travels to Buffalo on Saturday for a 1 pm game that is essential to UB’s MAC East title hopes.

6 - Akron - 4-6 - The Zips take the #6 spot based on head-to-head competition by beating Ohio 48-37 last week, but it was tough to differentiate between these two teams. Akron looks for a 6-6 season with a Wednesday night game @ Miami and a November 23rd game against MAC West Champion Central Michigan.

7 - Ohio - 5-6 - Ohio’s 2007 season has been a roller coaster winning 3, losing 4, then winning 3 of 4. A 5-6 record at this point was not what Bobcat fans had expected after winning the 2006 MAC East title, but compared to where the Bobcats were before Solich, how can Ohio fans not be pleased with the direction of this program? A win over rival Miami on November 24th could ruin the RedHawks’ MAC East title hopes and give the Bobcats a 6-6 season.

8 - Kent State - 3-7 - Injuries or not, the Golden Flashes were supposed to be a MAC title contender in 2007. How does this team lose to Northern Illinois at home? It’s painful to even write about Kent State in 2007 so that is all I have to say.

9 - Dayton - 10-1 - The Flyers won their 6th straight by winning @ Drake by a score of 34-27 on Saturday and tied for a share of the Pioneer League Championship. As a result, Dayton will represent the Pioneer League against the Northeast Conference Champion in the Gridiron Classic bowl hosted by Dayton on December 1st.

10 - Youngstown State - 7-4 - YSU ended the regular season by picking up their 7th win of the year in defeating Western Illinois 31-24.

Past Ohio college football rankings:

• Ohio college football rankings after Week #9
• Ohio college football rankings after Week #8
• Ohio college football rankings after Week #7
• Ohio college football rankings after Week #6
• Ohio college football rankings after Week #5
• Ohio college football rankings after Week #4
• Ohio college football rankings after Week #3
• Ohio college football rankings after Week #2
• Ohio college football rankings after Week #1
• Preseason Ohio college football rankings

Since we did not release our weekly Ohio college football rankings this past week, we thought we should take the time to quickly let you know about the weekend’s upcoming games as well as the past week’s results.

Ohio State - The #1 Buckeyes host Illinois on Saturday @ 3:30 on ABC in their final game before traveling to Ann Arbor to face Michigan.

Cincinnati - The 7-2 Bearcats host #13 Connecticut, the leader in the Big East standings currently. The game will be played at 3:30 pm on televised on ESPNU.

Miami - The RedHawks have a bye this week and return to action on Nov. 14 against Akron. If Miami wins out over Akron and @ Ohio they will represent the MAC East in the  MAC Championship game on December 1st in Detroit.

Ohio - Saw their MAC East title and bowl chances eliminated with a 48-37 loss @ Akron on Wednesday night.

Akron - Defeated Ohio 48-37 on Wednesday night to improve to 4-6 on the year.

Toledo - The Rockets look for their 4th staright win on Nov. 13 @ Ball State in a battle of two of the MAC’s top offenses.

Bowling Green - Travles to Ypsilanti tonight to face Eastern Michigan. With a win, BG keeps alive their faint hopes at representing the MAC East in the MAC Championship game.

Kent State - Travels to Dekalb, Illinois to face Northern Illinois on Saturday  as they look to break a 4-game losing streak.

Dayton - At 9-1, Dayton looks to win the Pioneer League Championship if Morehead State falls again. The Flyers play @ Drake on Saturday.

Youngstown State -  YSU is 6-4 with 3 losses in thir past 5 games and close out the regular season hosting Western Illinois on Saturday.

After a trip to the NBA Finals in 2006-2007, the Cleveland Cavaliers are not a team that has been picked by many to contend for the Eastern Conference Championship in 2007-2008. Detroit, Chicago and Boston seem to be the favorites, and a healthy Miami is also a definite contender. But the Cleveland Cavaliers do not seem to get much attention from the national media and personally, I like it that way. After a opening game blowout vs. the Dallas Mavericks it seemed to increase the negativity towards Cleveland basketball. But with 2 wins in their past 3 games the Cavs have drawn even at 2-2 on the season as they look to pickup another road victory tonight @ Utah.

The Cleveland Indians have decided to bring back 3 pitchers to the 2008 team when they chose to pickup the options for starter Paul Byrd and relievers Aaron Fultz and Joe Borowski. Here’s a brief breakdown of each signing:

• Paul Byrd - Byrd went 15-8 with a 4.59 ERA in 2007 starting 31 games. At $7.5 million, the Indians are getting a bargain to sign a veteran 15-game winning starter at this price. His HGH issue does not concern me greatly and I tend to believe that Byrd had honest intentions or he would not have been so public about it in his upcoming book. Good decision again by Shapiro.
• Aaron Fultz - At $1.5 million for a left reliever with a 2.92 ERA, this does not look like a bad deal, but when the games were on the line manager Eric Wedge did not trust Fultz enough to use him much in the playoffs.  The price is right for Fultz considering the market.
• Joe Borowski - JoBo, like many closers, is not always a fan favorite, but the Indians closer did save a AL-best 45 games in 2007. At $4 million we’re talking about a steal.

Nice work Mr. Executive of the Year, Mark Shapiro!

Braylon Edwards is on fire in 2007. After a solid 2006 campaign that saw the firey Edwards catch 61 balls for 884 yards and 6 TDs, Edwards has emerged as a true playmaker for the Cleveland Browns this season. Making Browns fans and fantasy owners alike happy, Edwards already has 9 TD catches and is on pace for over 80 receptions, 1,500 yards and 21 TDs. Yes, I said 21 touchdowns. With 5 TDs in the past two games, it’s clear to see that Edwards is a favorite target of QB Derek Anderson. In fact, Edwards has also emerged as a Top 5 fantasy WR, the stat that more fans nationwide care about.

But Edwards success does not come without criticism, and Braylon has received plenty of it. Last season it was the sideline incident with the Cleveland offensive line and then-QB Charlie Frye that was broadcast on live TV which was followed with Braylon in a mini-fued with Cleveland radio host Mike Trivosonno. Then this past Sunday Edwards removed his helmet in an emotional outburst after one of his 8 catches on the day picking up a 15-yard penalty. The play has drawn a lot of criticism from Cleveland fans towards Edwards and coach Romeo Crennel alike after Romeo appeared to be laughing about the incident.

The criticism of Edwards is that he is immature and acts too often on his emotions, but often times that emotion is also what makes him an emerging All-Pro player in the NFL. But emotional players play in every NFL city and in other pro sports as well. I cannot help but wonder if the reason Edwards has been the subject of so much criticism and ridicule by the Cleveland faithful is because of his Alma Mater. Edwards, a former all-Big Ten WR and the #3 pick in the 2005 NFL Draft, came from Ohio State’s arch-rival, and there’s a strong following of Ohio State football among Browns fans. Personally, I think that it’s clear that fans have pre-judged Braylon due to his college background. Despite his generous giving through the Braylon Edwards Foundation, fans seem to be more concerned with his time at “the state up North” than what really matters. Edwards even went so far as to pledge $1 million to the Cleveland Municipal School District’s ADVANCE 100 program. Yes, I said $1 million to Cleveland schools. While Cleveland sports figures often give back to the community, it is rare to hear of a Cleveland sports star giving this much. Bernie Kosar is one of the few names that comes to mind that has given back so much, and many times his contributions came behind the scenes. But at the end of the day, a $1 million dollar pledge to the future of Cleveland seems like it should looked at a bit more positively. I am not in favor of “buying respect,” but seriously, this is a guy who has put his money where his mouth is.

So will the criticism of Braylon Edwards continue in Cleveland? Yes, but if he keeps putting up big numbers it won’t be nearly as bad as if he doesn’t. All I have to say is this: Browns fans that have a problem with Braylon - get your priorities straight.