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Every season, as the leaves turn, college football fans get an unofficial holiday: The Saturday Massacre. October 4th 2014 was this year's bloodbath, and it may be the fastest that I've seen the implosion occur - where highly ranked teams get into the heart of conference play and the wheels absolutely fall off in so-called "upsets." Usually, these upsets are nothing more than the product of "elite" teams' failures to address or correct season-long issues.
Yesterday was no different.
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Alabama's issues at RG and C; the lack of a special teams coach for little things like kick coverage; miscommunication and blow assignments in the secondary; LB corps inability to play in pass coverage; penalties; fumbles.
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Oregon's makeshift offensive line not able to stem the tide; Oregon's overall softness against teams willing to pound the middle against them; a secondary that thrives on a pass rush, yet is toothless without one.
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Texas A&M's revamped defense is in mid-season form, with all the recruiting being a bandage that masks the deeper problem: Sumlin just doesn't care too much about that side of the ball. Front seven were helpless against the run, and the secondary was blowing assignments like they earned commission for allowing yards after the catch. Freshman quarterback that has been as erratic and errant as he has brilliant. Receivers that don't understand they must catch the ball.
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UCLA's offensive line and inconsistency; a defense that misses Anthony Barr and simply lacks depth.
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An Oklahoma team where the secondary is suspect, where the mental lapses are as serious as LSU and Alabama, and a Memorial Stadium that holds their breath when the quarterback passes
Ad nauseam, ad infinitum...
We are now exiting the sixth week of the season, and we have taken off the tux so that our blushing bride can see the warts, wrinkles and all. Since this year seems to be following 2007's pattern, and that it is highly likely we end with just one or two (or no) undefeateds, I thought I'd switch it up this week.
Below, we are going to start anew; give the Blog Poll a remix with no regard to prior week's rankings. As usual, I do make snap judgments on a weekly basis as to "power," but also consider the body of work a team has compiled. This means I don't particularly care if someone is undefeated, has multiple losses, or lost a head-to-head.
Feel free to chime in below and spit your hot takes. I'm particularly interested in who you think will finish the season undefeated, if anyone:
Rank |
Team |
Last Week |
1 |
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2 |
- |
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3 |
- |
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4 |
- |
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5 |
- |
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6 |
- |
|
7 |
- |
|
8 |
- |
|
9 |
- |
|
10 |
- |
|
11 |
- |
|
12 |
- |
|
13 |
- |
|
14 |
- |
|
15 |
- |
|
16 |
- |
|
17 |
- |
|
18 |
- |
|
19 |
- |
|
20 |
- |
|
21 |
- |
|
22 |
- |
|
23 |
- |
|
24 |
- |
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25 |
- |