The Wiz of Odds

Let the Voting Begin for Poster Primary No. 7

Some gems in this bunch, making it arguably the top grouping of posters to date. Carefully consider your options before voting.

For the newbies to the site, here is the background on the contest. Each year, the Wiz displays poster schedules of Division I-A teams. But this year, in an attempt to keep things fresh, it was decided to put the posters up to a vote of fans to determine the Wiz Readers' Choice Poster of the Year.

One problem: With roughly 70 posters in hand, it was necessary to thin the herd before a final vote. Thus, the idea of poster primaries came to be, with each primary having seven posters. This is the seventh primary, and there are enough posters in hand for three more primaries. The winner of each primary will advance to the final.

Contestants in this round: Marshall, Louisiana Lafayette, Texas El Paso, Oklahoma, Syracuse, Minnesota and Tennessee. Click here to view all of the candidates on one page.

Voting for each primary will remain open until two days after the last poster has been displayed. Then the finalists will be determined and voting will begin for the Wiz Readers' Choice Poster of the Year. That poll will remain open for one week.

There have been some surprising developments this past week in other primaries, so let's update where the voting stands:

Primary No. 1: West Virginia made the strongest move of the week, surging into first ahead of Iowa State. This race remains up for grabs.
Primary No. 2: Despite a strong showing by Idaho and Northwestern, Texas Tech appears to have an insurmountable lead.
Primary No. 3: Michigan State continues to hold on to its lead over North Carolina. We will call out North Carolina State and Missouri one more time. Where are their fans?
Primary No. 4: Florida No. 1? The Gators are barely a factor, with Louisiana Tech holding a sizable lead over Colorado. Florida State is a distant third, followed by the Gators.
Primary No. 5: Who says non-BCS teams can't compete with the big boys? Middle Tennessee maintains a lead over Bowling Green. So-called heavyweights Washington, Wisconsin, Auburn and Kansas State are getting trounced.
Primary No. 6: Penn State has grabbed the early lead, followed by Iowa, Brigham Young and Houston. Utah is fifth.

Marshall

The pressure is on Mark Snyder, who is 16-31 in four seasons as Thundering Herd coach. He has 16 returning starters and a nonconference schedule that is dialed back, although there are still trips to heavyweights Virginia Tech and West Virginia. Thanks to Jeff!

Louisiana Lafayette

Granted, the Ragin' Cajuns open at home against Division I-AA Southern, but it's difficult to argue with the rest of the nonconference schedule. There's a home game against Kansas State, followed by trips to Louisiana State and Nebraska. An upset of one of the big-time teams would give Louisiana Lafayette a jolt of confidence entering Sun Belt play. A reminder to click any poster schedule for an enlarged view. Thanks to Daryl!

Texas El Paso

Mike Price got off to a roaring start, winning 16 games in his first two seasons as coach of the Miners. But his past three teams have combined to win only 14. The problem is a lack of defense. In 2008, Texas El Paso gave up an average of 37 points a game. That makes it tough to win, even when the offense averages 32.92. The Miners will be challenged early, with six 2008 bowl teams in the first seven games. Survive that and Texas El Paso could return to postseason play. Thanks to Joe!

Oklahoma

It's next to impossible to find a preseason poll that doesn't have the Sooners in the top 5, but is this team over-rated? Heisman winner Sam Bradford is back and the defensive line should be among the best in college football. However, Oklahoma returns only 29 career starts in the offensive line and that's a big concern. There are some tricky games along the way. The Sooners open Sept. 5 against Brigham Young in the new Dallas Cowboys stadium in Arlington. There is an Oct. 3 game at Miami and the Oct. 17 Red River Showdown against Texas in Dallas. Oklahoma State rolls into Norman on Nov. 28. A reminder to click any poster schedule for an enlarged view. Thanks to Scott!

Syracuse

A once-proud program has fallen on hard times. Syracuse, which had only one losing season from 1983-2001, has won only 10 games in the past four seasons. Doug Marrone, who was the offensive coordinator and offensive line coach for the New Orleans Saints, is the new coach. The team also has a new quarterback in Greg Paulus, the former Duke point guard who transferred to Syracuse as a graduate student this spring. He hasn't played football since his senior year of high school. Here's the good news: The Orange have eight home games, including seven of their first eight in the Carrier Dome. A reminder to click any poster schedule for an enlarged view. Thanks to Michael!