Starting off, I’d like to apologize for not posting a Top 15 last week. Unfortunately, life interferes sometimes and events happen that we’ve got no control over.
The good news is now there’s two weeks of games to talk about, and the rankings have jumped all over the place.
This week’s power rankings are brought to you by the number 556, because 555 apparently wasn’t enough yardage from Brian Brohm for Louisville to win against Syracuse on Saturday.
No. 1 – LSU Tigers (4-0, def. South Carolina 28-16) Last Week: 1
That fake field goal toss to the kicker is a play that was apparently invented by The Old Ball Coach himself. When the Tigers used it against him he had a chuckle on the sidelines. I wasn’t on the sidelines, but I definitely got a chuckle or two out of it myself.
No. 2 – USC Trojans (3-0, def. Washington State 47-14) Last Week: 2
A pair of nice wins since our last rankings might have vaulted them back into the top spot if not for LSU’s sheer dominance over the competition this year. We’ll see how good this defense is this weekend when the men of Troy take on Jake Locker and co.
No. 3 – Oklahoma Sooners (4-0, def. Tulsa 62-21) Last Week: 3
Even the most optimistic Sooners fans couldn’t have seen this season coming. Malcolm Kelly (7 TDs) has been a big part of Sam Bradfords success. Everybody knows it’s coming at this point, but can anybody stop the Bradford-Kelly hook up? Maybe, but not Colorado.
No. 4 – West Virginia Moutaineers (4-0, def. East Carolina 48-7) Last Week: 5
Does any team have more playmakers than the Mountaineers? Pat White, Steve Slaton, Noel Devine and Darius Reynaud have combined for 29 touchdowns this season. As a defensive coordinator, how do you even attempt to defend this team?
No. 5 – Texas Longhorns (4-0, def. Rice 58-14) Last Week: 4
Colt McCoy looked like his old self Saturday (333 yards, 3TD). Now let’s see if he can do it against somebody better than Rice.
No. 6 – California Golden Bears (4-0, def. Arizona 45-27) Last Week: 6
The Mountaineer defense still looks shaky, but it’s hard to argue with the Pat White-Steve Slaton backfield. The real beauty of this offense is that they’re not surprising anybody, they’re just unstoppable by opposing defenses.
No. 7 – Florida Gators (4-0, def. Ole Miss 30-24) Last Week: 9
Keep in mind that the Gators would have been higher last week, and then moved down to this spot now. SEC fans can talk about how deep their conference is until their blue in the face, but if Florida is truly elite, they need to take care of business better than they did Saturday.
No. 8 – Ohio State Buckeyes (4-0, def. Northwestern 58-7) Last Week: 10
Yes, it was Northwestern. The same Northwestern who lost to Duke. But I don’t care who you’re playing, if you hold them to 20 first half yards and take a five touchdown lead after only 16 minutes of play, it’s impressive.
No. 9 – Rutgers Scarlet Knights (3-0, idle) Last Week: 14
After their great season last year, it’s amazing that nobody (myself included) even gave them a chance this year despite the return of their best player. That player (Ray Rice) is really, really good if you hadn’t noticed.
No. 10 – Boston College Eagles (4-0, def. Army 37-17) Last Week: NR
The ACC returns to the show, and the surprising Eagles are leading the charge. Matt Ryan is the front runner for this year’s Jay Cutler Shoot-Up-The-Draft-Board award.
No. 11 – Oregon Ducks (4-0, def. Stanford 55-31) Last Week: NR
The development of senior quarterback Dennis Dixon reminds me of that of another unheralded athletic quarterback who didn’t “get it” until later in his college career: 2006 Heisman winner Troy Smith. If only Dixon had a defense backing him up…
No. 12 – USF Bulls (3-0, def. UNC 37-10) Last Week: 15
Matt Grothe is a great football player. Watching him play is so much fun because you can tell every guy on that team believes in him. As long as he continues to deliver, this team will continue to fight up the rankings.
No. 13 – Kentucky Wildcats (4-0, def. Arkansas 42-29) Last Week: NR
Andre Woodson still manages to fly under the radar a little bit because he doesn’t put up those eye-popping numbers. His NCAA record 296 consecutive passes without throwing an interception should make your eyes explode.
No. 14 – Georgia Bulldogs (3-1, def. Alabama 26-23) Last Week: NR
What a grueling win against the Crimson Tide. Mark Richt has been under fire from Bulldogs fans for years, but you have to think he’s earned a one-week reprieve after winning in Nick Saban’s house, right?
No. 15 – Clemson Tigers (4-0, def. NC State 42-20) Last Week: NR
Maybe the ACC isn’t so awful afterall, the good teams just aren’t the ones we thought they were. Hear that Dennis Green? They aren’t who we thought they were.
Dropped from the top:
No. 6 Louisville Cardinals (lost to Syracuse, 38-35), No. 7 Penn State Nittany Lions (lost to Michigan, 14-9), No. 11 Arkansas Razorbacks (lost to Kentucky, 42-29), No. 12 UCLA Bruins (def. Washington, 44-31), No. 13 Wisconsin Badgers (def. Iowa, 17-13)
On the Fringe:
Alabama Crimson Tide (3-1), Arizona State Sun Devils (4-0), Hawaii Warriors (4-0), Penn State Nittany Lions (3-1), Purdue Boilermakers (4-0), South Carolina Gamecocks (3-1), Wisconsin Badgers (4-0)
I can hear you typing furiously at your keyboard. “How on earth can you drop Wisconsin from the rankings when they’re 4-0?!”
The logic here is this. Much like Sports Illustrated’s Stewart Mandel, I’m trying to base my weekly rankings not on what I thought going into the season but on how the year has played out. Is Wisconsin a good football team? Probably. Are they a great football team? No, at least not right now.
We’re talking about a team that barely held off Iowa and needed a last second score to beat UNLV two weeks before. Those alleged-performances sandwich a game in which they allowed 31 points to 1-AA The Citadel.
The AP and Coaches Polls both have the Badgers at No. 9, but I just can’t put them there in good conscience. They haven’t had an impressive game since week 1, and there are just too many holes.
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Heisman Spotlight
What a difference a week makes, let alone two. Here’s how the Heisman contender’s stack up.
1. Andre Woodson, Kentucky
Monsterous. After finally defeating his in-state rival, he followed that up with another brialliant performance against Arkansas. If the team picking first in April needs a quarterback, it’s clear who it’ll be.
2. Pat White, West Virginia
He threw for two scores and ran for two more on Saturday against East Carolina. That’s about par for the course for White, who has six of one and a half-dozen of the other so far this season.
3. Darren McFadden, Arkansas
His team is killing him here. He has over 600 yards running, receiving and passing this season, but unless his team starts winning games, the voters won’t care.
4. Tim Tebow, Florida
No sophomore has ever won the award, but Tebow’s stellar run this season has to get people to rethink their votes. He’s the only reason the defending champs aren’t suffering a let-down season.
5. Dennis Dixon, Oregon
This week the Ducks play host to Cal at Autzen Stadium. A big game there and you can bet Dixon will be higher on this board next time we meet.
Conference Power Rankings
With conference play kicking off, as time goes by we’ll have to base the rankings more off of relativity than head to head competition. For example, if Auburn makes some serious noise in the SEC this year, that win by USF is going to keep getting more impressive.
And just a note: Two weeks worth of record will be shown in the “last week” area on the left, with overall non-conference records still on the right.
No. 1 – Pac 10 (7-3 last two weeks, 20-6 overall)
They haven’t won as high of a percentage of their games as the SEC, but the games have been impressive. USC beat Nebraska and Washington showed they could hang with the Buckeyes for a half. That UCLA loss to Utah looks suspicious though…
Up next: No non-conference games scheduled.
No. 2 – SEC (7-0, 20-3)
A pretty fancy record but not a whole lot of fancy wins. Kentucky’s upset of Louisville isn’t looking like such an upset anymore, considering Syracuse and Middle Tennessee State also had their way with the Cardinals’ defense.
Up next: Mostly patsies, but Alabama-Florida State could be interesting. Never-good Vanderbilt has to play Eastern Michigan as well.
No. 3 – Big East (8-3, 22-5)
Louisville isn’t very good apparently, but there’s still plenty of power here with West Virginia, Rutgers and USF. Pitt lost to Michigan State in a battle of mediocre BCS schools.
Up next: Louisville and NC State square off in a suckfest, while Pittsburgh and Virginia play the so-so-bowl.
No. 4 – ACC (8-2, 17-9)
There are some good teams here after all. Miami stuffed Texas A&M to highlight the non-conference action, and perpetual disappointment Florida State beat Colorado ugly.
Up next: Maryland travels to face unbeaten Rutgers and Florida State draws an angry Alabama team.
No. 5 – Big XII (16-5, 34-9)
If Nebraska is really the class of the North division, this conference is bad. After getting blown out at home by USC, the Huskers barely came back against Ball State.
Up next: No non-conference games scheduled.
No. 6 – Big Ten (9-3, 27-7)
Last year people called it the Big Two and Little Eight, but this season it’s Ohio State and everybody else. Michigan loses to a 1-AA school, then upsets Penn State and Wisconsin can’t take care of business against bad teams. That’s three of the preseason favorites right there. If not for OSU’s win at Husky Stadium, this conference wouldn’t have a single good squad.
Up next: Unbeaten Purdue takes on winless Notre Dame. This sounds like the type of game a Big Ten school would find a way to lose.
Tags:
ncaa football,
ohio state football
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