Monday, October 11, 2010

The College Football Blog: 2010 Power Rankings (After Week 6)

Power Rankings after Week 6

1. Oregon 6-0 (2nd)
2. Ohio State 6-0 (3rd)
3. Alabama 5-1 (1st)
4. Oklahoma 5-0 (4th)
5. Boise State 5-0 (6th)
6. TCU 6-0 (7th)
7. Nebraska 5-0 (8th)
8. Auburn 6-0 (10th)
9. South Carolina 4-1 (11th)
10. Arkansas 4-1 (12th)
11. Iowa 4-1 (9th)
12. Stanford 5-1 (13th)
13. Michigan State 6-0 (14th)
14. LSU 6-0 (NR)
15. Florida 4-2 (5th)

Out: Arizona (15th).

Explanation: The first major shakeup in my power rankings this week. While only 1 team fell out of my rankings this week, 14 of the 15 spots changed. Starting with the biggest story, Alabama fell out of 1st after being ranked #1 in my preseason power rankings and the first 5 power rankings of the season. I only dropped the Tide 2 spots to 3rd. While I have to admit that I was surprised that they fell to South Carolina, it was the 3rd consecutive very tough game for Bama, and I still think they are one of the very best teams in the country. I might have even considered keeping Bama at #1 if they had been in the game until the final play, but they ended up losing by 14. Again, I was a bit surprised that Bama lost, and I was shocked that they lost by 14 points.

Even if Bama had lost a very tight game at South Carolina, I probably still would have moved them down to 3rd because there were 2 legitimate teams right below them. Oregon is now #1 in my rankings, moving up a spot from 2nd after their somewhat lackluster win over Washington State. I moved Ohio State up a spot from 3rd to 2nd after the Buckeyes ran over Indiana at home. The only team who stayed in place this week was Oklahoma, as the Sooners were idle last week.

Clearly I would not be popular with the fans of non-BCS teams this week. Boise State crushed Toledo to get to 5-0 but I only moved them up 1 spot from 6th to 5th. Similarly, TCU destroyed Wyoming to move to 6-0, but I only bumped them up 1 spot from 7th to 6th. I’ve said all along that I think both TCU and Boise State are great teams, but I still think the top teams from the bigger conferences are a little bit better.

I gained confidence that Nebraska is as good as I thought they were last Thursday, as the Cornhuskers smashed KSU on the road. I moved the Cornhuskers up 1 spot in my rankings from 8th to 7th. Nebraska is 5-0 and they have a surprise Heisman candidate in Taylor Martinez. Auburn held off Kentucky to get to 6-0 and move up 2 spots in my rankings from 10th to 8th. South Carolina got one of the biggest wins of the season last week, knocking off Bama by 14 points. I moved the Gamecocks up 2 spots from 11th to 9th in my rankings. Arkansas won on a neutral field over Texas A&M and I moved the Hogs up 2 spots in my rankings from 12th to 10th.

Iowa was idle last week but I moved the Hawkeyes down 2 spots from 9th to 11th. The SEC teams that I moved ahead of the Hawkeyes have all been impressive so far this season. Also, Iowa’s only impressive win so far this season has been over Penn State, and the Nittany Lions just got blown out at home by Illinois. Iowa’s loss this season came at Arizona, and the Wildcats just lost at home to Oregon State.

Stanford just barely survived at home against USC last week to move to 5-1 and I bumped them up a spot in my rankings from 13th to 12th. Michigan State moved to 6-0 with a huge win over Michigan. I moved the Spartans up a spot in my rankings from 14th to 13th.

LSU jumped back into my rankings this week after yet another close win. They are now 6-0 and their win at Florida was impressive enough to get to 14th in my rankings. It might seem like I’m being a little hard on the Tigers, but two weeks ago they needed a penalty to beat Tennessee at the buzzer at home. The Gators lost their 2nd straight game last week, and they are clearly having a harder time adapting to life without Tim Tebow than I expected. Still, I think the Gators are one of the most talented teams in the country, and they were a lucky fake field goal away from beating LSU last weekend. The Gators plummeted 10 spots in my rankings this week, falling from 5th to 15th, but they stayed in my power rankings. The only team to fall out of my rankings was the previous #15 team, Arizona. The Wildcats proved again that they are not ready for primetime, as they fell at home to Oregon State for their first loss of the year.

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