So I got a speeding ticket today.  I blame Ron Guenther.

Seriously.  After I signed the ticket and the cop walked away, I was solely focused on the failures of Illini basketball and Illini football as the reason.  I think about it while driving, I zone out into the land of tipped 2-point conversions caught by offensive linemen, and the next thing I know, I’m getting pulled over for going 74 in a 60.

I’ve been on the fence with Ron Guenther – the “he’s not that bad; look at the stadium renovations!” fence – but not anymore.  I now want newly hired President Hogan to make Ron Guenther’s retirement his first order of business. (“Whatcha gonna do, brother, when you miss a bowl and miss the tournament…”)

Granted, I’ve been in a bad mood all week.  Not sure why, exactly.  But I’ve been on edge. And then I read this.  It’s from the KentuckySportsRadio blog, listing one writer’s opinion of the college basketball “pecking order”.  Here’s his list:

Tier 1: Kentucky, UCLA, North Carolina, Duke, Kansas
Tier 2: Indiana, UConn, Michigan State, Syracuse
Tier 3: Louisville, Arizona, Villanova, Georgetown
Tier 4: Maryland, Tennessee, Ohio State, Florida, Cincinnati, Marquette, Pittsburgh, Texas, Purdue
Tier 5: Arkansas, Memphis, West Virginia, Wake Forest, Illinois, Oklahoma State, Stanford

Besides the obvious omissions (no Oklahoma or Wisconsin?), it’s a fairly good list. A good, depressing, devastating list. Tier 4 is like a collection of daggers. Purdue is in front of us? Marquette? Cincy? Tennessee??

My first reaction, of course, is to combat this. And to combat this, I always have a go-to statistic: Total # of weeks ranked in the AP poll:

1. North Carolina (772 weeks)
2. Kentucky (745)
3. UCLA (651)
4. Duke (640)
5. Kansas (591)
6. Louisville (499)
7. Indiana (498)
8. Syracuse (461)
9. Illinois (418)
10. Arizona (412)

I got yer pecking order right here.  Top 5 is the same as the “pecking order” top 5.  Next 5 is similar, with one glaring omission.

But then, the truth begins to penetrate.  It’s a recruiting pecking order list.  Which is simply a perception list.  And when you haven’t won a tournament game since 2006, in the what-have-you-done-for-me-lately world of college basketball, it means you probably are Tier 5.  Below Tennessee.

My first reaction was to write this blogger and be all “we’re 9th in all time weeks ranked in the AP poll!!”  My second reaction was to sit down and cry.  From the very moment that Virginia Tech started their comeback, we’ve walked the plank of irrelevance.

Now, thankfully, there are two things preventing me from jumping.  1) Jereme Richmond, Meyers Leonard, Crandall Head, Nnanna Egwu, Tracy Abrams, Mychael Henry. And 2) Indiana sucks.

Thank God for Jerrance.  And Kelvin Sampson.

So once I put that to bed, I should be feeling better, right?  Light on the horizon in the form of RSCI top-100 recruits, yes?

Then this hit.  The Sporting News Top-100 for college football in 2010.  I read the list something like this:

“Wisconsin at #8?  OK, I guess I could see that.  But I’m not sure they have the passing game to… wait, North Carolina and Washington in the top-25?  Guess they turned things around faster than I… wow, Georgia not in the top-25, and neither is Penn State, Missouri… whoa – Purdue #39?  Without their RB and with Miami’s failed QB? Not seeing that… now wait just a damn second – Mike Schultz’s safety-first offense at Middle Tennessee State puts them at #43 ahead of Rutgers, BYU, UCLA, and Ole Miss?  Wow, OK.  Hey there’s Illino… wait, no – Northern Illinois.  Yikes.  Ahead of Michigan State, too.  OK, we’ve cleared the top-50, should see us soon.  Wow, Clemson all the way down at #61.  Oklahoma State at #64 – my financial guy will NOT be happy.  Michigan before us?  OK, I can see it.  Third year leap.  Wait, IDAHO before us?  INDIANA?  This isn’t funny.  Kent State? Wyoming?  Troy? UTAH STATE HAS FOOTBALL? My god, there we are. #94. One ahead of Buffalo.  How many BCS teams did we beat out, anyway?  Arizona State… Minnesota… Syracuse… Washington State.  6 BCS conferences, and we’re in the bottom 5 teams.”

6 BCS conferences, and we’re in the bottom 5 teams.  #94.  Behind Indiana.  Recruiting classes in 2007, 2008, and 2009 ranked #20, #23, and #35 by Rivals… and those players make up the preseason 94th best team.

And what help has Mr. Guenther provided?  At Missouri, vs. NIU, at Fresno State.  Indiana plays Towson, Western Kentucky, Akron, and Arkansas State, Northwestern plays Vandy, Rice, Central Michigan, and Illinois State, and we play more probable bowl teams.  Yet again.

I’m not sure if anyone in the world fully understands how depressing this is for me.  Last year’s offense had 3 NFL draft picks and we scored 9.7 points per game against our first 6 FBS opponents.  We fired that coordinator, and his new team – Middle Tennessee State – is ranked 51 spots ahead of us in The Sporting News poll.

Let that one sink in for a little bit. Now think about Ron Guenther’s leadership in the athletic department from the moment he slammed the table and screamed “Warren, you idiot!” until now.

And don’t drive anywhere.

Note: I’ll be gone until Wednesday next week.  Which is probably a good thing.  After re-reading this, it sounds like I need the time off.