I've been doing a list of the top 100 most popular songs of each year here since I left college in 2014. About halfway through this year, I decided it wasn't that fun anymore. I still worked on a list for 2022, and could have it finished within the next hour. But I just didn't want to put any effort into finishing and publishing the list, for a number of reasons.
What I have been doing for several years in addition to making a Top 100 list for each current year is compiling similar list for each year preceding my first list in 2014. So what I think I'll do is publish a list, maybe each month, for different years. I'm going to do this at random.
Maybe eventually I'll post the 2022 list too, but I'm going to play with a different process in 2023 and if I like that better I may rescore 2022 and post it retroactively in the next few years.
With that said, introducing: The Top 100 Songs of 1970!
The top artist of 1970 was, unquestionably, the Jackson Five. They scored four number ones that year, including the year's top song "I'll Be There." "ABC," "The Love You Save," and "I Want You Back" all finished among the top 25 songs of 1970 as well.
This quintet from Gary, Indiana absolutely owned pop music in 1970. (Michael Ochs // Getty)
Among other stars of the opening year of the '70s, the Carpenters hit number two overall with "(They Long To Be) Close To You" and number five with "We've Only Just Begun." The Beatles also saw their last two Hot 100 toppers in 1970; one of my all-time favorite songs "Let It Be" reached number four for the year and their final number one song "The Long And Winding Road" finished the year 49th overall.
I personally have always enjoyed the overall sound of 1970. Music was beginning to modernize along with technology, but artists by and large still were able to incorporate many natural instrumental and vocal tones too.
Some of my other favorite 1970 songs are "War" by Edwin Starr, "Spirit In The Sky" by Norman Greenbaum, "Signed Sealed Delivered" by Stevie Wonder, and "House of the Rising Sun" by the Animals.
Here are 98 of the top 100 songs from 1970, all in one convenient Spotify playlist:
I'm pretty sure everyone is in consensus over the top four teams in FBS football after Championship Week. Two unbeatens will top the bracket, and the two one-loss teams will fill out the playoff.
Deuce Vaughn led Kansas State to a Big 12 title and a top 10 spot this week. (Matthew Pearce // Icon Sportswire)
1. Georgia (13-0) 2. Michigan (13-0) 3. Texas Christian (12-1) 4. Ohio State (11-1) 5. Southern California (11-2) 6. Clemson (11-2) 7. Penn State (10-2) 8. Washington (10-2) 9. Kansas State (10-3) 10. Utah (10-3) 11. Tennessee (10-2) 12. Alabama (10-2) 13. Tulane (11-2) 14. Florida State (8-3) 15. Oregon State (8-3) 16. Texas San Antonio (11-2) 17. Troy (11-2) 18. Oregon (8-3) 19. South Alabama (10-2) 20. California Los Angeles (8-3) 21. Louisiana State (9-4) 22. North Carolina (9-4) 23. Cincinnati (8-3) 24. Texas (8-4) 25. Illinois (8-4)
Remember a couple years ago when Jim Harbaugh couldn't win the big games? Safe to say that's over. It's also safe to say that the city of Los Angeles will be receiving the John Heisman Memorial Trophy for the ninth time, and the first time in 17 years.
As this week's *official* rankings come out later today and on Tuesday night, I'll leave you with one more tidbit: Tennessee. Beat. Alabama.
Michael Penix and Washington have quietly put together a phenomenal season and could earn a New Year's Six nod. (Oliver McKenna // Icon Sportswire)
1. Texas Christian (12-0) 2. Georgia (12-0) 3. Michigan (12-0) 4. Southern California (11-1) 5. Ohio State (11-1) 6. Penn State (10-2) 7. Washington (10-2) 8. Clemson (10-2) 9. Tennessee (10-2) 10. Alabama (10-2) 11. Kansas State (9-3) 12. Tulane (10-2) 13. Florida State (9-3) 14. Utah (9-3) 15. Oregon State (9-3) 16. Louisiana State (9-3) 17. Texas San Antonio (10-2) 18. Oregon (9-3) 19. South Alabama (10-2) 20. Troy (10-2) 21. North Carolina (9-3) 22. California Los Angeles (9-3) 23. Central Florida (9-3) 24. Cincinnati (9-3) 25. Coastal Carolina (10-2)
With six unbeatens remaining, it feels like the perfect time for College Football Playoff projections. It's not surprising the six unbeaten teams make up my top four and first two out, but it may be surprising who's fitting in where right now (Two MAC teams AND Tennessee Martin? You're hurting yourself, Vols).
The Wolverines won the Battle of Michigan and a top five spot this week. (Twitter // @UMichFootball)
1. Ohio State (8-0) 2. Texas Christian (8-0) 3. Georgia (8-0) 4. Clemson (8-0) 5. Michigan (8-0) 6. Tennessee (8-0) 7. Oregon (7-1) 8. Southern California (7-1) 9. Alabama (7-1) 10. Mississippi (8-1) 11. Illinois (8-1) 12. North Carolina (8-1) 13. California Los Angeles (8-1) 14. Penn State (6-2) 15. Kansas State (6-2) 16. Syracuse (6-2) 17. Louisiana State (6-2) 18. Utah (6-2) 19. Washington (6-2) 20. Oklahoma State (6-2) 21. Maryland (6-2) 22. Tulane (7-1) 23. Oregon State (6-2) 24. Liberty (7-1) 25. Wake Forest (6-2)
Keep streaming Midnights, and see you between the hedges at the only college football game that really matters next week.
Question..? Which of these teams will be Bejeweled with championship trophies in two to three months, and which ones will be left crying in the Midnight Rain?
Kendre Miller and TCU are no Anti-Heroes; they're the best team in the Big 12. (Tim Heitman // USA Today)
1. Clemson (8-0) 2. Ohio State (7-0) 3. Texas Christian (7-0) 4. Georgia (7-0) 5. Michigan (7-0) 6. Tennessee (7-0) 7. Alabama (7-1) 8. Oregon (6-1) 9. Mississippi (7-1) 10. Southern California (6-1) 11. Penn State (6-1) 12. Illinois (6-1) 13. Syracuse (6-1) 14. Oklahoma State (6-1) 15. Wake Forest (6-1) 16. California Los Angeles (6-1) 17. North Carolina (6-1) 18. Cincinnati (6-1) 19. Louisiana State (6-2) 20. Washington (6-2) 21. Tulane (7-1) 22. Kansas State (5-2) 23. Liberty (7-1) 24. Maryland (6-2) 25. Oregon State (6-2)
There's obviously no Glitch in this post, Dear Readers. Stream Midnights before you wish you Would've, Could've, Should've.
With the only major shakeup this week being Kansas dropping to the ranks of the one-loss teams, not too much has changed from last week. The blue bloods continue to make their case and a few non-traditional Power Five squads remain unbeaten.
Emeka Egbuka and Ohio State have put up 45 or more in each of their last five contests. (Carlos Osorio // AP)
1. Southern California (6-0) 2. Ohio State (6-0) 3. Alabama (6-0) 4. Georgia (6-0) 5. Clemson (6-0) 6. Michigan (6-0) 7. Tennessee (5-0) 8. Mississippi (6-0) 9. Penn State (5-0) 10. California Los Angeles (6-0) 11. Texas Christian (5-0) 12. Syracuse (5-0) 13. Oklahoma State (5-0) 14. Kansas (5-1) 15. Oregon (5-1) 16. Mississippi State (5-1) 17. Kansas State (5-1) 18. Coastal Carolina (6-0) 19. James Madison (6-0) 20. Illinois (5-1) 21. Wake Forest (5-1) 22. North Carolina (5-1) 23. N.C. State (5-1) 24. Minnesota (4-1) 25. Cincinnati (5-1)
As the list of unbeatens begins to get dramatically smaller, the Kansas Jayhawks keep staying on it. As the only team through five weeks with four tier one wins (not to mention going 5-0 and +72 against the spread), they're the no brainer at number one.
Jordan Addison and USC are back! (Kevork Djansezian // Getty)
1. Kansas (5-0) 2. Southern California (5-0) 3. Ohio State (5-0) 4. Alabama (5-0) 5. Penn State (5-0) 6. Syracuse (5-0) 7. Clemson (5-0) 8. Georgia (5-0) 9. Michigan (5-0) 10. Mississippi (5-0) 11. Tennessee (4-0) 12. California Los Angeles (5-0) 13. Texas Christian (4-0) 14. Oklahoma State (4-0) 15. Oregon (4-1) 16. Florida State (4-1) 17. Mississippi State (4-1) 18. Coastal Carolina (5-0) 19. Kansas State (4-1) 20. Illinois (4-1) 21. James Madison (5-0) 22. Duke (4-1) 23. Utah (4-1) 24. Minnesota (4-1) 25. Washington State (4-1)
We'll see you here next week, same time same channel!
Look, I'm not thrilled that my top team only scored one touchdown in a Friday night win. Quite frankly, they looked ugly. But I'm going with the system here, and Syracuse is the only team to have beaten three Power 5 teams and one from the Group of 5 through the first month of the season.
Lawrence Arnold and the Jayhawks won the battle of the basketball blue bloods to reach my number 2 spot. (Evert Nelson // Topeka Capital-Journal)
1. Syracuse (4-0) 2. Kansas (4-0) 3. Florida State (4-0) 4. Southern California (4-0) 5. Penn State (4-0) 6. Ohio State (4-0) 7. Tennessee (4-0) 8. Alabama (4-0) 9. Minnesota (4-0) 10. Washington (4-0) 11. Georgia (4-0) 12. Clemson (4-0) 13. Michigan (4-0) 14. Mississippi (4-0) 15. Texas Christian (3-0) 16. Kentucky (4-0) 17. Oklahoma State (4-0) 18. North Carolina State (4-0) 19. California Los Angeles (4-0) 20. Texas Tech (3-1) 21. Oregon (3-1) 22. Iowa (3-1) 23. Coastal Carolina (4-0) 24. Texas A&M (3-1) 25. Arkansas (3-1)
Kansas, Kentucky, Duke, and North Carolina are all 3-0 in football in the same season for the first time ever (as well as some other traditional men's basketball powerhouses). Let's see where they all rank this week!
Oronde Gadsden and the Orange are looking unstoppable through three weeks. (Bryan M. Bennett // Getty)
1. Syracuse (3-0) 2. Penn State (3-0) 3. Kansas (3-0) 4. Georgia (3-0) 5. Florida State (3-0) 6. Arkansas (3-0) 7. Southern California (3-0) 8. Tennessee (3-0) 9. Oklahoma (3-0) 10. Ohio State (3-0) 11. Alabama (3-0) 12. Mississippi (3-0) 13. Duke (3-0) 14. Minnesota (3-0) 15. Washington (3-0) 16. Kentucky (3-0) 17. Iowa State (3-0) 18. Texas Christian (2-0) 19. Washington State (3-0) 20. Rutgers (3-0) 21. Oklahoma State (3-0) 22. North Carolina State (3-0) 23. Wake Forest (3-0) 24. Indiana (3-0) 25. Clemson (3-0)
Check back next week for more outrageous college football takes!
In week 2, just about every top team playing in a tier 2 (vs. Group of 5) or 3 (vs. FCS) game failed to cover their spread. Several lost right out. So here's where I have things through two weeks.
KJ Jefferson and the Razorbacks are the only team with two tier 1 wins through two weeks. (Michael Woods // Associated Press)
1. Arkansas (2-0) 2. Syracuse (2-0) 3. Duke (2-0) 4. Southern California (2-0) 5. Kentucky (2-0) 6. Brigham Young (2-0) 7. Mississippi State (2-0) 8. Tennessee (2-0) 9. Penn State (2-0) 10. Oklahoma State (2-0) 11. Alabama (2-0) 12. Ohio State (2-0) 13. Kansas (2-0) 14. Kansas State (2-0) 15. Rutgers (2-0) 16. Texas Tech (2-0) 17. Texas Christian (2-0) 18. Georgia (2-0) 19. Wake Forest (2-0) 20. Iowa State (2-0) 21. Florida State (2-0) 22. Washington State (2-0) 23. Indiana (2-0) 24. Clemson (2-0) 25. Illinois (2-1)
That's what we call a major shakeup. As I always say in the early weeks: play better opponents, get better rankings.
After an exciting opening to the 2022 college football season, I have no choice but to ruffle some feathers with another round of independent rankings. Just remember, I value teams' opponents above all else. In other words, you're not getting to number one from the jump beating an FCS team, no matter how badly.
I am going ahead and considering next year's new Big 12 teams (BYU, UCF, Cincinnati, Houston) as top-level (aka Power Five) programs, which ultimately will make them eligible for potentially higher rankings than if I continue to consider them on the same level as their AAC competition.
How do you begin a National Championship defense? Dominate a Power Five opponent in the season opener like Christopher Smith and Georgia did (Joshua L. Jones // Online Athens)
Four years ago my favorite YouTube channel, Secret Base (before the rebranding, but whatever) published a video about the NCAA men's basketball tournament.
Here's the video, part of Jon Bois's currently dormant Chart Party series:
I'll be honest, I didn't care much for this particular video when I first watched it. I felt like it was forced out because the sponsors demanded a video about March Madness. One point, however, stuck with me.
In the video, Jon suggested the NCAA should just re-seed the tournament between rounds, claiming that by not re-seeding some teams that should advance further end up getting eliminated earlier because they play better teams before - in his opinion - they should. While watching March Madness this year I revisited this idea.
Considering the current format of the tournament, it would be a logistical nightmare to attempt to re-seed after every single round. I do think, however, there's a possibility that reseeding between weekends could be feasible. After all, teams that advance to the Sweet 16 already play in a different city than their first and second round games; likewise, the Final Four and Championship are in a different locale than the regional semis and finals.
With this in mind, I decided to see what a re-seeded tournament would look like based on what's happened so far in 2022.
The methodology
I used two different mindsets in deciding how to re-seed this year's group of regional semifinalists. The first, probably more logistical approach, was to keep each set of four teams in the regions into which they were originally seeded on Selection Sunday. This means that, for instance, Purdue, UCLA, North Carolina and St. Peter's would all remain in the East region (the region that likely had the most unexpected first weekend results this year).
Re-seeding within regions would provide little change from the current Sweet 16 matchups. In fact, just half of the regional matchups change at all if the teams get re-seeded this way.
To create more difference (and some incredibly interesting Sweet 16 pairings), I used the overall seeding at the start of the tournament to re-re-seed the field. In other words, the top four remaining seeds are now the top seeds in each region. With the top three seeds all remaining, there's not much change to begin with, but Villanova changes from the second seed in Kansas's region to the top seed in its own.
The full re-seed sorts teams much more competitively in my opinion, and since it was Jon's suggestion, I'll go ahead and assume it does so in his opinion too. Following are the results of this experiment, by tournament region, as well as some thoughts to go along with the new seeds. Enjoy.
West Region
Drew Timme and Gonzaga remain the top overall seed. (Ezra Shaw // Getty)
In the only region with each of the top four seeds still in it, both Sweet 16 matchups remain the same. This isn't interesting.
The second re-seed brings St. Peter's and UCLA in from the East and Providence from the Midwest. This, of course, pits the best team in the tournament against the lowest-seed team left. That makes Gonzaga's road to the Final Four significantly easier, especially considering the Bulldogs' Elite Eight matchup will be against either Duke or Texas Tech. UCLA-Providence would be an intriguing matchup against teams both currently seeded fourth.
South Region
Christian Koloko dropped two double doubles - with season highs in blocks and assists against Wright State - to help Arizona advance to the second weekend. (Ronald Martinez // Getty)
Re-seeding within this region, unlike with the West, swaps the two matchups. In my opinion, it makes the South's Sweet 16 a little less interesting, but not much.
Like in the intra-regional re-seeding, Arizona and Michigan remain the 1-4 matchup in the South. That Purdue-Arkansas pairing looks incredibly appealing to me, though. As we'll continue to see, however, re-seeding the bracket this way would ensure that a maximum of one team from the Big 10 Conference would make it to the National Semis.
Midwest Region
Remy Martin and Kansas were the most dominant one-seed in the first weekend, winning by an average of 17 points per game. (Tony Gutierrez // Associated Press)
I think this is the most logical of the intra-regional re-seeds. Instead of Sweet 16 matchups between two teams with six or fewer losses and two that were on the bubble coming in, the potential Kansas-Providence game would not come until the regional final.
Once again Kansas would be facing Iowa State in an all-Big 12 Sweet 16 game. What's interesting is that the third Big 12 team in the bracket, Texas Tech, would also move into the same region. Texas Tech-Houston would be a phenomenal pairing in the championship as the bracket currently looks, so the two of them facing in the Sweet 16 would take away that potential.
East Region
The Boilermakers are taking advantage of an upset-ridden region to become the East's best remaining team. (Sara White // Purdue Exponent)
Just like the West, the East has no significant change if the bracket were to be re-seeded within the region.
Eric Dixon and Providence are the fourth-best remaining team in the Dance. (Gene J. Puskar // Associated Press)
The East Region likely provides the most exciting game in this whole experiment. Fitting in theme, all three remaining ACC teams would make their way to this region.
Additional thoughts
I honestly don't know how I feel about this whole thing. The whole point of the video that inspired it was that the tournament produces one winner and 63 losers; re-seeding between weeks won't change that.
The most significant thing that stands out to me is of the two conferences with three teams still in the tournament, all three teams from each conference are sorted in the same region. Both remaining teams from the Big Ten, which once again underperformed in the Tournament, were sorted into the same region too.
While I think part of the intention of seeding teams in the first place was to avoid having teams from the same conference face each other until absolutely necessary (i.e. the Elite Eight and onward), I don't hate having a potential maximum of one team per conference making it to New Orleans.
I do think this specific re-seeding would make the Sweet 16 more enticing to viewers. I would particularly like seeing 2/3 matchups between North Carolina and Duke, Texas Tech and Houston, and Purdue and Arkansas.
Does this end up making things less intriguing down the stretch? Possibly. But I don't think the final three rounds of the Tournament would be any less competitive. In fact, it could make things more competitive the closer we get to the championship.
One last thing to dwell on is the whole situation about bracket challenges. If the tourney re-seeded between weekends, how would that affect the way we would pick brackets? I know for most people, that's the only reason this Tournament is fun in the first place.
I think ultimately what could work is if these challenges worked in a three-part process. In the week between Selection Sunday and the first round, fans would make their first round of picks. This round would stop with 16 teams left. After the first re-seeding, they'd make picks for the Regional Semis and Finals. The final set of picks would be for the Final Four and Championship after the second re-seeding.
I almost guarantee this may be too much work for the casual basketball fan. The intricacies of having to make three separate sets of predictions may make more people apprehensive to play these silly betting games and office pools than they already are (I am in two bracket groups with people I actually know. One has four members. One has two).
However, of those who do fill out brackets, I imagine many stop caring after one round if, like this year, a 15-seed with almost zero prior postseason experience knocks out the most historically dominant basketball team of all time on the very first night of the tournament. Doing three sets of predictions may ultimately lead more casual fans to pay attention to more games because they have more chances of winning those aforementioned bets and pools.
Anyway, those are just a few random thoughts during the middle of March Madness. Am I just scratching the surface with this whole re-seeding craziness, or should I never revisit it again? Who's to say.
If you read through this whole thing, do me a favor and visit my twitter page because I've been talking A LOT about this tournament over there and no one is paying me a bit of attention. Super big thanks to the folks over at Secret Base for always being there with incredible video content. Follow them too, you'll enjoy their stuff a lot more than you will mine.
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