Wednesday, September 9, 2009

The College Football Blog: 2009 Power Rankings (After Week 1)

Power Rankings after Week 1

1. Florida 1-0 (1st)
2. Texas 1-0 (3rd)
3. USC 1-0 (5th)
4. Mississippi 1-0 (4th)
5. Alabama 1-0 (6th)
6. Oklahoma State 1-0 (8th)
7. Oklahoma 0-1 (2nd)
8. Penn State 1-0 (9th)
9. Cal 1-0 (10th)
10. BYU 1-0 (15th)
11. Michigan 1-0 (14th)
12. Virginia Tech 0-1 (7th)
13. LSU 1-0 (11th)
14. Ohio State 1-0 (12th)
15. Tennessee 1-0 (NR)
Out: Georgia (13th).

Explanation: No reason to move the Gators from the top spot obviously. Texas moves into the spot held by their rivals to #2. I moved USC ahead of Mississippi because I was frankly not that impressed by Jevan Snead and the Rebels on Sunday. I’ve got Bama only 1 spot up to 5 because the limitations of the passing offense were quite evident in my opinion. Oklahoma State took a big step in disposing of Georgia at home in the opener. They definitely have a lot of talent.

Now the big issue most people are going to have with my rankings right away is the placement of Oklahoma at #7. But recall that my power rankings are not a “fairness” poll. We all saw Sam Bradford get knocked out of the game late in the 2nd quarter and we all know that he is expected to be back within the next 2 to 6 weeks. I believe Oklahoma would have gone on to beat the Cougars if Bradford had not been knocked out of the game, and really, that’s exactly how my poll works. I consider a head to head matchup on a neutral field with both squads relatively close to full strength. And I like Oklahoma over BYU in that situation. However, it’s obvious that the losses on the offensive line are going to be a challenge for Oklahoma to overcome, and the loss of Jermaine Gresham for the entire season is a serious blow.

I have BYU coming in behind Penn State and Cal. I was impressed with BYU’s defensive effort, even if Bradford was out for the 2nd half. Plus, the Cougs did not have their entire offense healthy either. I dropped VT all the way to 12th because their offensive limitations were abundantly clear in their loss to Bama at the Dome. I’m not a big Tyrod Taylor fan. LSU came away with a win in a tough place to play but the Tigers weren’t that impressive. The Buckeyes were sloppy and unimpressive again in their opener against a lesser foe.

I dropped the Dawgs from my power 15, as they do not appear to be nearly as strong as many had hoped they would be. They played an impressive game defensively, but their offense looked inexperienced and limited. I know many people would look at Tennessee’s appearance in the top 15 this week and think it is in an overreaction to their 63-7 win over Western Kentucky. I was most definitely impressed by the Vols’ dominance of the Hilltoppers, including a 34-6 edge in first downs and a ridiculous 657-83 edge in total yards. But I picked Tennessee to win 8 games this year and I think they may be better than I expected. This wasn’t a big jump; they were just off the board before.

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