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I don’t think I’ve had a week like this one, where I had split screens going to quite this extent. At one point, I had a tablet running three, a television running four, and was listening to another game.
Here are your rankings after week two/three (the pre-week games really screwed the numbering up.)
As usual, the Blogpoll takes into account some combination of a power poll, SOS, injuries, derpy playcalling and/or coaching, luck, consistency, and the oh-so-nebulous “eyeball test.”
Week 3 Blogpoll.csv
Rank | Team | Last week |
---|---|---|
Rank | Team | Last week |
1 | Alabama Crimson Tide | 1 |
2 | Oklahoma State Cowboys | 3 |
3 | Clemson Tigers | 4 |
4 | Oklahoma Sooners | 11 |
5 | USC Trojans | 14 |
6 | Penn State Nittany Lions | 5 |
7 | Florida State Seminoles | 7 |
8 | LSU Tigers | 10 |
9 | Michigan Wolverines | 8 |
10 | Wisconsin Badgers | 9 |
11 | Washington Huskies | 12 |
12 | Ohio State Buckeyes | 2 |
13 | Georgia Bulldogs | 17 |
14 | Virginia Tech Hokies | 16 |
15 | Stanford Cardinal | 6 |
16 | Washington State Cougars | 18 |
17 | West Virginia Mountaineers | 20 |
18 | Louisville Cardinals | 21 |
19 | Auburn Tigers | 15 |
20 | Iowa Hawkeyes | 22 |
21 | TCU Horned Frogs | 24 |
22 | Utah Utes | 23 |
23 | Tennessee Volunteers | -- |
24 | Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets | 25 |
25 | Miami Hurricanes | 13 |
Dropped out | ||
Boise State Broncos | ||
Also Considered | ||
UCLA Bruins | ||
Navy Midshipmen | ||
Memphis Tigers | ||
Miami Hurricanes | ||
Texas Tech Red Raiders | ||
USF Bulls | ||
UF Knights | ||
Mississippi State Bulldogs | ||
South Carolina Gamecocks | ||
Boise State Broncos | ||
Oregon Ducks |
NB: A note on the ‘Canes: This team is likely much higher than No. 25, but they need to play a football game against FBS competition to show that.
Banished: Boise State was, for my money, the best non-AAC G5 team. Well, on the road, with a big lead, against a local rival, after knocking out Wazzu’s Luke Falk, the Broncos had to seal the deal -- they lost in 3OT. San Diego State takes their place in-waiting.
Logjam: Good luck sorting out the AAC. Tulsa, Navy, UCF, USF, Memphis and perhaps even Houston can all win the conference and be a good Top 25 team...or fall on their face (as Navy nearly did) or finish in the middle of the division (as must mathematically happen at some point.)
Who knew it would come so soon? Literally last week we wrote:
Great teams, but you’re going to need to pass at some point: Alabama, Ohio State -- you are who we thought you were.
Who knew that week would be the second full one of the season for the Buckeyes? Oklahoma probably isn’t as good as their 21-unanswered points would indicate, but Ohio State may be that bad. The same issues that plagued Meyer’s Florida teams (and prior losses at OSU, and even last week) were apparent: lifeless game plan, lack of discipline, mistackles, blown coverage, abandoning the running game, an inability to throw the ball. You’ll win under Meyer, but you have to take diminishing returns and the inexplicable loss as part of the deal. With Penn State, an improved Maryland, and rebuilding Sparty in the division and a weak overall schedule, the Buckeyes’ have zero margin of error. Oh, and they finish the season at Michigan.
JT Barrett is drawing the blame for this team’s problems, but he’s not responsible for a defense that has given up over 900 yards of defense and 523 points in two weeks and has been hopeless in pass coverage. Just throwing that out there.
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Haven’t played a bad quarter: Penn State, Oklahoma State, LSU have been lights out. Everyone can molly-whomp a cupcake or marginal FBS team, or get up for a huge game, but consistency sets these guys apart so far.
Going to need to put together a complete game soon: Michigan, Wisconsin, Alabama, Auburn, Iowa. All of these teams have struggled at various points for various reasons. You can understand nearly all of those reasons, including Alabama and Wisconsin, both of whom return deep, veteran offenses. But, identities must emerge soon.
It’s not that you won, it’s how you won: Dominance division: Clemson, USC, Georgia and TCU all dominated along the line of scrimmage in games that, frankly, weren’t as close as the final scores indicated.
It’s not that you win, it’s how you won: Gritty determination division: Iowa and Washington State both overcame double digit late margins to go on and prevail in overtime shootouts against rivals.
Quietly kicked butt: West Virginia is going to break some hearts this season. Mississippi State has vastly improved on defense too. Utah is the most boring good team you’ll ever see. They’re on pace to win 9 games while putting you asleep.
Teams to keep an eye on: Houston looked great in their opener in Tucson. Purdue will make a bowl (there, I said it.) South Carolina may be the second best team in the SEC East; in fact, they probably are. San Diego State is just so fundamentally solid. UCLA could will themselves to a pretty good season on the basis of Josh Rosen’s moxie and a game plan that has wisely gone all-in on his arm.
If anyone needed a cancelled game, it was the Seminoles. A true freshman quarterback, an offensive line that needs work, and the hangover from a tough physical game weren’t recipes for success this week.
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Finally, as I type this, Hurricane Irma is making landfall in the Florida Keys with devastation expected in Miami and Tampa and throughout the entire state. Gov. Rick Scott ordered an evacuation of 5.6 million people. And, if you’ve seen images of the Virgin Islands or Cuba, you’ll know why -- those islands are moonscapes of unparalleled loss.
We’re sending our thoughts and prayers your way, and we’ll be here any way we can to help. Godspeed to you and yours. Be safe.
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