This is Part III of our nominations for the CFBAs. For an explanation and Part I, click here. For Part II, click here. Or just scroll down, whatever.
Best ACC blog
Null set. We don't read any ACC blogs, and it would be disingenuous to arbitrarily choose one based on two minutes of reading. We're looking forward to how the voting shakes out, because it might be nice to add a couple to our Google Readers. No sense in lying, though.
Best Pac-10 Blog
(See ACC)
Best Big East/Notre Dame blog
Remember Syracuse week back at the old joint? Neither do we; we've killed those brain cells through heavy drink and new episodes of American Gladiator, brother. Anyhoo, we mentioned Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician a few times, and for good reason: it's outstanding. MariusJanulisForThree, if that is his real name, provides comprehensive coverage and relentless, totally justified derision for DOCTOR Daryl Gross. We wish all bloggers were this capable.
Best Big 10 blog
This is, of course, our favorite group of bloggers, and a remarkably strong group at that. Picking only one blog won't be very emotionally rewarding, so although there's an obvious winner, let's get in-depth about it.
- Tops:
mgoblog - Well, duh. The sheer force of hard work, creativity, and overall brilliance have made Brian a daily must-read for all college football fans, regardless of their team affiliations.
- Runner-Up:
Run Up The Score! - We're suckers for smart writers. RUTS is not excessive by any measure; there are no profanity-filled tirades, no superfluous cheesecake shots, just no displays of the usual faux-macho posturing of sports blogdom. Plus, as gimmicks go, You Found Me is top notch.
- Honor to be nominated:
Lake The Posts - Would have been higher, but they're just Northwes okay I've worn that joke out. It's been refreshing to have any NU presence in Blogfrica, much less one this thorough and fervent. After getting past the mind-boggling notion of a Cats fan with his heart on his sleeve (don't you guys have med school to go to?!), we've enjoyed LTP's work this season. And as for that Non-BCS crack, I'd worry more about getting your attendance to I-A level if I were you, punk motherfucker.
MZone - Another haven for the rabid-yet-literate Michigan fanbase. They don't do what I would do with a Michigan blog, which is just write all of Brian's stories 10 hours after he does and hat tip him on everything. Then again, I'm incredibly lazy.
Black Shoe Diaries - Any sly references to Showtime softcore pornography that featured David Duchovny are okay by me. That also goes for the as yet uncreated "Californication Golden Bears" in the Pac-10 as well.
Best Big 12 blog
With the mountains of due respect to Burnt Orange Nation and the understanding that this award will be theirs no matter what I say, I'm actually casting my nomination for the recently departed Bear Meat, a simply outstanding Baylor (yes them) blog that shook off its mortal coil in late November. We can't even wish to understand the extreme emotional duress that the writers must have been under in maintaining excellence while covering the black hole of awful that is Waco and Baylor sports, and we appreciate their efforts. To you, gents.
Best SEC blog
There's nothing I can add to the admiration already leveled at EDSBS here, so Orson wins again. Of course, EDSBS is about the SEC the way Easy Rider is about motorcycles, but the next best national blog is one I cannot omit from the BCS, so there you go.
Best non-BCS blog
With Paul Johnson's departure from Navy, so will go his glorious option attack. And to that end, the sterling Pitch Right, the world's top Navy Blog, also ceased operation a couple weeks ago. This is genuinely devastating; look no further than January 4's awesome dissection of the spread fad and its popular misperceptions. Sure, it's long, but it's got every bit a high level of critical thinking as one of SMQ's diatribes. We hope the gentleman doesn't stay away from the game too long, because this was a damned fine blog.
Best national blog
The Wizard of Odds likely doesn't need my help getting nominated for this spot, and he merits boatloads of recognition. A day doesn't pass without him breaking something or getting hat tipped, and it's a fine addition to anybody's daily links.
Having said that, Sunday Morning Quarterback must get our nod as the best national football blog. Like with Shakespeare, historians will one day argue that SMQ cannot possibly have been one man; in other words, there's nothing he can't do. He can do satire, statistical analysis, and daily linkdumps as well as anybody. And his previews are, without exaggeration, required reading before every game week.
MNC:
Every Day Should Be Saturday
Jebus: Orson's not of this world. He's a hyperkinetic force of matter that's been sent here to destroy you. Thousands write about college football but he looks at it with a different set of eyes than everyone else, and he does it all day, every day, with the willfull exuberance of a vascular surgeon on mescaline. The joyfully twisted way with which he writes about the greatest game was one of our inspirations for starting a college football blog. He doesn't just write about the game, he writes about the performers who put the show on for us, he loves doing it, and for that, we admire him more than anything else.
That's all for this year, folks. Submissions will be accepted at the mgoblog Nomination Gizmo through the end of Sunday, then the official stuff will go up after that. Personally, we're all hoping for Best Pac-10 Blog here (like Bruins Nation is any better?). As always, your input is welcome. Except if it's about yourself. Nobody likes a self-promoter. Happy voting!