Sometimes, a "bad" week of football, with few marquee games surprises you as lesser-knowns put on a helluva show. And, sometimes, a "bad" week of football is nothing more than football played badly. This week gave us both, with a heaping helping of terrible sportsmanship thrown in for flavor (looking at you Baylor, Miami, Louisville and Ohio State).
This was the hardest poll to put together to date, in part because weaknesses revealed in the top teams have not gotten better since Week One -no, they've only become more apparent. This feels like an inevitability year of 2009...or the reincarnation of 2007's chaos. No one is complete. All have weaknesses. Accordingly, all assumptions have been shelled; all expectations shelved -and the shakeup is evident. For clarity's sake, I'll also put last week's poll position in parens. But, clearly the best team presently resides in Baton Rouge.
Rank |
Team |
LW |
1 |
LSU Tigers (Alabama) |
3 |
2 |
Oregon Ducks (Clemson) |
4 |
3 |
Alabama Crimson Tide (LSU) |
1 |
4 |
Stanford Cardinal (Oregon) |
7 |
5 |
Florida State Seminoles (FSU) |
5 |
6 |
Ohio State Buckeyes (tOSU) |
6 |
7 |
Texas A&M Aggies (Stanford) |
10 |
8 |
Miami Hurricanes (Michigan) |
13 |
9 |
Clemson Tigers (UGA) |
2 |
10 |
Georgia Bulldogs (TAMU) |
9 |
11 |
South Carolina Gamecocks (So. Car.) |
11 |
12 |
Ole Miss Rebels (Ok. St.) |
16 |
13 |
Baylor Bears (Miami) |
14 |
14 |
Oklahoma Sooners (Baylor) |
15 |
15 |
Oklahoma State Cowboys (Okla.) |
12 |
16 |
UCLA Bruins (Ole Miss) |
23 |
17 |
Florida Gators (Wash.) |
18 |
18 |
Michigan Wolverines (UF) |
8 |
19 |
Washington Huskies (NW) |
17 |
20 |
Fresno State Bulldogs (Mich. St.) |
--- |
21 |
Louisville Cardinals (Louis.) |
21 |
22 |
Maryland Terrapins (VT) |
--- |
23 |
Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (UCLA) |
--- |
24 |
Wisconsin Badgers (Ariz. St.) |
--- |
25 |
UCF Knights (Auburn) |
--- |
O, Hai! Maryland Terrapins - The best team no one is talking about. I suspect that's how Edsall wants it. Defense does work, and they have a functional offense this year. UCF Knights - I hate that I have to put them here, but I'm not sure that they're not a Top-25 FBS team...especially given what's below them. Wisconsin - Dominant on both sides of the ball against Purdue. Maybe the 3rd, perhaps 2nd, best team in the B1G. Fresno State: - Wins against Rutgers and Boise? Why not. It's better than others have done. A very fun team to watch. Georgia Tech - Undefeated on the strength of a better-than-you think defense and the usual grinding ground game.
Be Gone! Va. Tech - Love the defense...at times. Special teams shined (sort of) when it mattered. This team will probably hit the skids in conference play though. Michigan State - The corners got abused against ND...by the officials. Hard to ignore awful quarterbacking and unproven ground game. Northwestern -After further review, this team has done nothing to justify ranking them. Arizona State - Absolutely bullied and mangled by Stanford, who could have named their score if not letting off the gas in the second half. Auburn -Whew, glad that charade is over. Played with some heart, made some big plays on both sides of the ball, but very much a 6-7 win team at this point.
Social Promotion: LSU - Let there be zero doubt: This is the best team in the country. Linebackers can be picked on, and you can hit them deep, but good luck making hay at those odds. Oregon - Fast. Efficient. Lethal. Plenty of weaknesses on the lines, but those may not be exploited until Stanford or the BCS-MNCG. Stanford - Nasty, nasty team. Passing game had no troubles, running game was grinding. Needs to work on killer instinct. Aggies - Given the state of the game this year, hard to argue that this team isn't among the elite. UCLA - Also upon further review, this team is probably undervalued. PAC12CG appearance is not out of the question. Ole Miss - Look at the teams below them: tell me one that you know for an iron-clad certainty would beat the Rebels. Miami - With those skills guys, that team speed, a very good head coach and a drool-worthy defensive line, the ‘Canes are going to be a very tough out for most teams in the country.
Held Back: Alabama - I don't care about the starters missing, the CSU game illuminated all of the ugliness we feared going into the season: Uncertainty at PK, way too many mental mistakes, complacency, liability at corner, an offensive line that either lacks talent or is just poorly coached. The LBs were the best players on the field last night. OJ Howard is a revelation, and the WRs may be the best in America, but that's no way to win the SEC. Clemson - Having seen them play three times this year, those ugly defensive lapses aren't an accident. Sure, they can score on anyone, but I can name about a dozen teams that would outscore them. Michigan - I'm not afraid to admit I am wrong. And, boy, was I wrong. Al Borges is a steamy plate of doo-doo, and the offensive line is worse. Take Alabama's tendency to play down to its competition and amplify by a factor of elebenty.
Last Out: Notre Dame Fighting Irish - Ref-assisted win against a Sparty team that couldn't find an offense if you spoon-fed it to them. Arizona Wildcats - Holding steady for the UW game to see what they're made of. Rutgers - Just as good, and maybe better, than most other above-average 3-1 teams. Then, you have a muddle of Virginia Tech, Sparty, Washington State, Northwestern, and North Dakota State University -the latter of whom could probably beat at least 10 of the teams on this list.