Thursday, October 16, 2008

The College Football Blog: Power Rankings (After Week 7)





Power Rankings After Week 7

1. Texas 6-0 (2nd)
2. Alabama 6-0 (4th)
3. Oklahoma 5-1 (1st)
4. Penn State 7-0 (5th)
5. USC 4-1 (7th)
6. Florida 5-1 (9th)
7. LSU 4-1 (6th)
8. UGA 5-1 (8th)
9. Oklahoma State 6-0 (NR)
10. Texas Tech 6-0 (10th)
11. Ohio State 6-1 (11th)
12. Missouri 5-1 (3rd)

-Previous week’s ranking in parenthesis;

Out: Vanderbilt (12th);
Next Three In: BYU, Utah, Boise State.

Explanation: I had a feeling that things might change drastically in my power rankings after week 7 and sure enough they did. Only one team fell out of my top 12 but there were changes to 9 of the 12 spots in my rankings. I had said that I might keep Oklahoma and Texas in the top 2 spots if the game was close and I almost did after Texas won a classic over the Sooners, 45-35, in the Cotton Bowl. I moved Texas up from #2 to #1 of course but I decided to move the Sooners from #1 to #3 and moved idle Bama up to #2 from #4. I think the loss of defensive captain and stud MLB Ryan Reynolds is a major hit to the Sooners. With that in mind I moved Bama ahead of them. I was very, very impressed by Penn State’s 48-7 win at Wisconsin but I decided to move them up just 1 spot from 5th to 4th because I still wouldn’t take pick them to beat Oklahoma or Bama at a neutral site. There were two openings in the top 6 of my rankings after #3 Missouri lost at home to Oklahoma State and #6 LSU got throttled by the Gators on the road. I decided to move USC up a couple of spots from 7th to 5th after their shutout of ASU at home. The Trojans have been dominant in their 4 wins. I moved Florida up 3 spots from 9th to 6th after their 51-21 dismantling of the Bayou Bengals. I thought the Gators were the most talented team in the country going into this season and they finally looked like it in week 7. The Gator offense was explosive in a way that it had not been thus far this year. They were able to get the running game going with their running backs and that could be a pretty significant development. That will open things up for Tebow and the receivers if they can continue to run the ball with their backs. While a lot of people are now really down on LSU, I moved them down just one spot from 6th to 7th. Yes, they have inexperienced QB’s, and knowing what we do about Auburn, LSU really hasn’t beaten anybody worth a shit this year. But the Swamp is a tough place to play and they happened to catch the Gators on a night when they were primed for a breakout. I still think LSU is one of the more talented teams in the country. I kept Georgia right where they were at #8 after their somewhat ugly win over Tennessee at home. The Dawgs have a lot of talent but they have yet to really put it all together on the field. Plus, they suffered another major injury on the offensive line, which is becoming a serious concern. The only new team in my top 12 is Oklahoma State after the Cowboys shocked Missouri on the road, 28-23. Oklahoma State had been in my next 3 in and they enter the list at #9 this week. I still don’t know how for real they are but they’ve been impressive so far. I kicked previously #12 Vandy out of my top 12 after they choked against Mississippi State on the road. My number 10 and 11 spots stayed exactly the same after unimpressive wins by #10 Texas Tech and #11 Ohio State. The Red Raiders had to go to overtime to beat a lousy Nebraska team at home, while the Buckeyes failed to score an offensive touchdown in their 16-3 win over Purdue at home. Missouri had been #3 in my rankings but after they lost at home by 5 points to Oklahoma State I had to rethink my opinion of the Tigers. I had been concerned about their defense but I didn’t think they’d lose at home to the Cowboys. I dropped Missouri all the way from 3rd to 12th; a drop of 9 spots. I still think they are one of the best teams in the country but I have to admit that I think much less of them today than I did a week ago. Some might wonder why I don’t have any of the undefeated teams from non-BCS conferences in my rankings. I have Utah, BYU, and Boise State as my next 3 teams in but I’m not ready to put any of them in my top 12 just yet. All 3 of them held serve in games they were supposed to win in week 7 but I need to see more. I don’t move teams ahead of 1-loss teams just because they stay undefeated, particularly if they are coming out of one of the lesser conferences.

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