I spent the Bye Week, and a good part of this week, playing the recursive, transient football game: who beat who, by how much. What do the advanced stats say? Head to head? What does the conference look like? And, with the season about 70% done, we actually know now who’s decent now (quite a few), who’s elite (a very passing few, and they all have questions), and who’s flaky in this season that has been almost as incontinent as 2011.
Usual caveats: The criteria are nebulous, far-ranging, and capricious — strength of schedule, bad and good coaching, injuries, exigent circumstances, home/away results, defense or lack thereof, offense or lack thereof, line play, power poll-ishness, can you cover a spread (Vegas is pretty smart about how good a team is), head-to-head where possible or prudent, and my own lying eyeballs.
2021 Blog Poll: Week 9
RANKING | TEAM | LAST WEEK |
---|---|---|
RANKING | TEAM | LAST WEEK |
1 | Georgia | 1 |
2 | Alabama | 5 |
3 | Ohio State | 3 |
4 | Michigan State | 8 |
5 | Oklahoma State | 14 |
6 | Cincinnati | 2 |
7 | Wake Forest | 13 |
8 | Oregon | 17 |
9 | Texas A&M | 16 |
10 | Baylor | 15 |
11 | Auburn | -- |
12 | Oklahoma | 4 |
13 | Notre Dame | 18 |
14 | Michigan | 6 |
15 | UTSA | 19 |
16 | Houston | 22 |
17 | Ole Miss | 11 |
18 | Kentucky | 24 |
19 | ULL | 23 |
20 | Coastal Carolina | 21 |
21 | SMU | 23 |
22 | Air Force | -- |
23 | App State | -- |
23 | Nevada | -- |
24 | Pitt | 11 |
25 | Fresno State | -- |
UP NEXT | SDSU, UTEP, Liberty, BYU, Iowa, Minn. |
The Big Ten is mercilessly loaded — though not perhaps to the extent that the Committee wishes to pretend.
Cincinnati really drew the short end of the stick here. They’ve dicked around with some bad teams the past two weeks, and that’s unfortunate — they’re not in the good division this year, so yawning through the Navies and Tulanes of the world is a bad look when you need style points.
The Mountain West may be more competitive week-in and week-out than the AAC this season. There are striking few outright bad teams, and home field has mattered a lot more there than in many places.
Anyone else get the feeling that the first passing game that Georgia sees is going to shellshock them? Me too.
Oklahoma State has done a lot of squeaking by this year, but they’ve done it against a lot better competition than the Sooners. I don’t like anything about that Dirt Burglars team. I still think Baylor is the best team in the Big 12. They’ll get a chance to prove it this month.
Speaking of scraping by, as expected, the first defense that OSU saw in two weeks not only pushed back, but the Buckleyes defense still has its own issues. The trip to Lincoln this week isn’t a gimme...nor is Sparty...nor is Purdue...nor is Michigan — Okay, I lied they’ll probably kill the Wolverines, as usual.
And in the “there’s no body I like”- category; the ACC almost in toto applies here. I occasionally like Pitt; ditto NC State. But Wake is the only team I’ve liked all year, from Week 1. Glad to see they reward my faith. When Clawson gets poached this year, the Deacs will lose a very good one.
Speaking of shit weasels: Midmajors have some very strong teams. A FG loss at Boone doesn’t mean Coastal suddenly sucks. Ask Miami if they want to play Appalachian State again. Getting out-talented by the Longhorns doesn’t mean the Cajuns aren’t going to wreck someone come New Year’s Day. Quietly pasting your entire schedule has to be worth something for the Roadrunners. Wish someone had told the committee that.
The SEC West isn’t its typical elite self this season, but it is the Division of Very Good. Ole Miss and Auburn and Aggie are all very good, at times. In flashes. Mississippi State is quietly good. And Arkansas is...erratic, but occasionally good Home only)! And LSU. LOL. Enjoy that decade in the desert, fellas!