Who Needs a Blog Poll 2020: Week 3 sees favorites fall flat

Dear reader, you being more intelligent about the sport of American football, learned in the arts of the oblong spheroid, and more sexually virile than other fanbases, are aware of the primacy of offensive line play. Teams with good offensive lines and veteran line play are not guaranteed to win, no. But you do like their odds better than otherwise.

Last week, some much ballyhooed teams in our WNABP fell completely flat on their faces, and in most cases, it was attributable to injured linemen or poor line play — or, in the case of Oklahoma State it was both. It was a theme we saw play out with fugly consequence in Week Two, as Florida State and Miami both looked putrid, as well. Week 3 saw wobbly lines doom Louisville, Appalachian State (I called that one, dinnit it?), Georgia Tech, and almost Okie Lite. This week keep an eye on that Miami-Florida State game. The Noles’ coach has The ‘Rona, and both of the offensive lines are still looking a might-bit fraudish, despite their collective undefeated record.

On the other side of the ledger, I suspect ULL is better than I am giving them credit for — much as I undervalued Notre Dame. I asked the Fighting Irish to prove it, and through two games, they have. Granted, Duke and USF aren’t world beaters, and the offense is a joyless slog, but this team is winning with a defense that has been absolutely salty. You can say the same about BYU and Army; though the Black Knights take a significant step up in class this week when they travel to Cincy. Ignore the FSU-Miami game, that midmajor tilt between two defensive bruisers may be your game of the week. And, if you’re looking for a potential upset? Keep an eye on the West Virginia Mountaineers traveling to Stillwater. If the offense can’t get Chuba going, these quarterbacks can’t do it alone. And the Mountaineers have a significantly better front four than Tulsa.

Without further ado, here is your Week 3 Blog Poll.