Thoughts:
1) It's great to see Alabama and Penn State do a home-and-home right now. Considering these games were probably scheduled when Saban took over the Tide, it's rewarding for everyone, even if Penn State was a little undermanned. Oh well;
2) Likewise for Michigan and Notre Dame. College football needs more legitimately fun matchups early in the year. The Oregon-Tennessee game was great to watch (in the first half, at least), and the Miami-Ohio State game was exciting, too. If you create a playoff, you will see more matchups like this in OOC games, because a loss won't kill your title hopes. Basketball has it RIGHT;
3) The James Madison-Virginia Tech game was a puzzler. The Hokies often seem to stumble early (and losing to Boise wasn't a stumble), and then they recover by the end of the year. Tech has won 62 games in the last six seasons; says here they'll still win nine games this year, at least;
4) For what it's worth now, I think my first 11 teams will supply the BCS champion this year. No one else below that has a legitimate shot;
4b) I'm joining the ranks who won't rank teams with losses right now.
Rankings:
1) Oregon: I always love watching a game on TV when the home fans think they've got a chance early, and then by the end of the game, the shots of the crowd show these shell-shocked students in a hungover stupor. Nothing kills an alcohol buzz like watching your team gets its ass handed to it on its home field. Oregon's a legitimate BCS title contender this year, if it can win three road games in its final five (against USC, Cal and Oregon State);
2) Alabama: Very yeoman-like effort in just methodically beating Penn State. If the game is played in Happy Valley, it might have been 17-10 instead, but Alabama still would have won. In truth, I was impressed with Penn State's defense. And even their freshman QB, but the Tide have a lot of talent on that roster. If they run the table again, it'll be very impressive, because it's so hard to do the second time around. Ask Florida -- oh wait, the Gators have never had a perfect season, huh?;
3) Ohio State: Not as impressed with Ohio State as others are at this point. Miami's a good team, but a flawed team. They can win the ACC, but the ACC isn't the Big Ten or the SEC or even the Pac-10. Or even the Big XII! The Buckeyes defense played well, but those special teams look terrible;
4) Florida: This ranking is too high, and I know it, but for now, I don't mind that much. The squad is having trouble in the first halves this season so far, against lesser talented teams. They need to right that ship, quick;
5) LSU: Conference road wins before mid-September are always appreciated, even if it's just at Vanderbilt. Hard to believe the SEC is so ridiculous as to put Les Miles on the hot seat just a few years after he won the BCS title; after all, he's no Larry Coker;
6) California: The Bears have been to seven straight bowl games, and while I'm sad my Buffaloes were so overwhelmed (bye, Coach Hawkins), Cal looked awesome. They also have a favorable schedule this season, with Oregon and Stanford at home. USC looks vulnerable, even in L.A., so Oregon State looks like their only tough road game. The Bears haven't been a real Pac-10 threat since blowing that shot at being No. 1 in mid-2007 at home against the Beavers. Maybe this is the year they deliver on their promise;
7) South Carolina: For all the noise about Georgia this decade and all the bluster about Steve Spurrier's return to college football, neither has been that big of a deal. Georgia is at its best when nothing is on the line anymore, and Spurrier's teams seem to always start 4-0 before finishing 7-5. Take this one with a grain of salt, and SEC fans, note the four teams from your conference in my Top 7;
8) Texas: I have to admit, I know next to no one on this team by name. Mack Brown is the coach, though. It's been ten seasons, though, since the Longhorns didn't win at least ten games. That's impressive;
9) Boise State: This ranking is more due to having the week off than anything else. Maybe the short week hurt Virginia Tech? If so, the Broncos did some smart scheduling. Could their road game at Wyoming next weekend be a trap game? I see two true traps in their schedule: the home game against Oregon State and the road game at Nevada on the Friday after Thanksgiving. Both will be tough games;
10) Oklahoma: After a rough opening game, the Sooners looked much better against Florida State. Then again, it's just an ACC opponent making the trek to Norman, right? Air Force could give OU a tough ride this weekend;
11) TCU: A road game at Utah in early November is probably the only tough game left for the Horned Frogs. But their overall schedule strength is weaker than Boise's in my eyes;
12) Arizona: Okay, they've played no one yet (The Citadel was on Florida's schedule when the Gators won the BCS title in 2008, too), but giving up only six points to the opposing offenses so far is impressive, anyway. If you're going to schedule patsies, you must bury them thoroughly, and the Wildcats are doing that;
13) Stanford: Like LSU, the Cardinal got an early road conference win, even if it was just UCLA;
14) Utah: Their win over UNLV was comparable to Wisconsin's win over the Rebels, and no one should ever doubt Utah's ability and capabilities. If Utah wasn't already moving up to the Pac-12, I'd tell Colorado to hire their coach. Oh well;
15) USC: I went to this game in person on Saturday, and it was surreal. The Trojans are such a hot mess right now, you just have no idea what they will do each week. Seriously;
16) Michigan: The defense is a concern, and they caught a big break with the Notre Dame QB situation. But tell us this, Rich Rod: even if Denard couldn't throw last year, why wasn't he on the field more as a running back?!;
17) Iowa: Beating Iowa State is one of those wins that looks better to the computers than it does to the naked eye;
18) Missouri: Same with beating Illinois. But McNeese State? I almost expect Mayor McCheese to have gone to McNeese State;
19) Texas Tech: So they've only played SMU and New Mexico, and they certainly didn't handle New Mexico like Oregon did. Heck, the Lobos scored 17 points in this one;
20) Fresno State: They had an off week, too. Heck, the WAC has two teams so far in this Top 25, and the ACC and Big East have zero combined. Ouch;
21) Nebraska: Western Kentucky and Idaho on the schedule so far is the reason why the Huskers rank so low. Come on, Nebraska! Is this the way you ramp up for the Big Ten?;
22) Oklahoma State: A three-point win over Troy isn't impressive, but now that Washington State has won a game, that first win for the Cowboys looks even better;
23) Air Force: They dismantled BYU on Saturday. That was cool. Maybe they can give the Sooners a run for their money next Saturday;
24) Texas A&M: Two wins over patsies always gets some team into the Top 25 early;
25) Auburn: The Tigers also got a road win in conference this past weekend, even if it was only Mississippi State. The score may have different than the last time these two teams played in Starkville, but the game was just as boring.
Also considered: Arkansas, Nevada, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Michigan State.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment