Power Rankings after Week 6
1. Alabama 6-0 (1st)
2. LSU 6-0 (2nd)
3. Oklahoma 5-0 (3rd)
4. Boise State 5-0 (4th)
5. Oregon 4-1 (5th)
6. Stanford 5-0 (6th)
7. Oklahoma State 5-0 (7th)
8. Wisconsin 5-0 (8th)
9. Clemson 6-0 (10th)
10. Arkansas 5-1 (11th)
11. Florida 4-2 (9th)
12. Texas A&M 3-2 (14th)
13. South Carolina 5-1 (15th)
14. Georgia 4-2 (NR)
15. Texas 4-1 (13th)
Out: Florida State (12th).
Explanation: Well I suppose if anyone actually read this blog they would crinkle their brow at the sight of this seemingly dubious top 15. However, as you imaginary readers well know, this is no ordinary, run-of-the-mill power poll. I will say this: I’ve got a pretty good handle on the top half of my top 15. The top 8 spots in my rankings remained the same this week, with Bama retaining the #1 position.
I’m much less certain about the rest of the top 15. I’m not entirely sure that there are 15 really good teams out there, but my power rankings go to 15, so I gotta come up with 15. It may come as a surprise that only 1 team fell out of my rankings this week (previously #12 FSU), considering that a couple of other teams towards the back of my top 15 had ugly losses on Saturday.
However, the fact that I picked my Georgia Bulldawgs (back in the rankings at #14) as a replacement team might be the aspect of my rankings most difficult to defend (especially when that other team from the Peach State is sitting at 6-0). But we’re not talking about the #5 team during a season when the pool of great teams is really deep; we’re talking about the #14 team in a season when the pool of great teams is shallower than I can remember.
So, when I’m doubting my head, I usually go with my gut and my heart, and they tell me that Tech, Kansas State, and Illinois aren’t special teams. This year’s Georgia squad is hardly special either, but even with the conference more ordinary than it’s been in a decade, I’ll still lean towards the SEC over middling teams from the ACC, Big XII, and Big Ten.
4 teams moved up my rankings this week, with South Carolina and A&M each moving up spots. Of the 14 teams that remained in my top 15 this week, only Texas and Florida moved down, each dropping 2 spots. I’ll defend my decision to keep those teams in my rankings later on.
1. Alabama: 6-0 (won vs. Vanderbilt, 34-0). Bama stays as my top team, as they shutout Vandy, 34-nil. The Tide are 6-0 (all games against FBS teams) and have won all 6 games by at least 16 points. Bama has outscored opponents by an average score of 37.7 to 7, having held each opponent to 14 points or less, including a pair of shutouts. They lead the country in scoring defense, averaging 7.0 points a game. No other defense is averaging fewer than 10 points per game. Think about that. Bama is 1st in the nation in rush defense, 4th in pass defense, and 3rd in total defense.
2. LSU: 6-0 (won vs. Florida, 41-11). LSU remains #2, as they whipped the Gators (#11 in my rankings) by 30 points. The Tigers are 6-0 (5-0 against FBS teams) and have won all 6 games by at least 13 points. They’ve outscored opponents by an average of 38.5 to 12.5, holding 4 of 6 opponents to 11 points or less. LSU is 8th in the country in scoring defense, 4th in rush defense, and 5th in total defense. They are 4th in average turnover margin, having given the ball away only 3 times all season, while causing 14 takeaways.
3. Oklahoma: 5-0 (won vs. Texas, 55-17 [Dallas]). Oklahoma stays at #3, despite absolutely obliterating their rivals (Texas) in the Red River Rivalry (#15 in my rankings). The Sooners are 5-0 (all games against FBS teams) and have won all 5 games by at least 10 points. They won their 2 most recent games by the combined score of 117 to 23.
4. Boise State: 5-0 (won at Fresno State, 57-7). Boise State stays at #4, as the Broncos sexually assaulted Fresno State last Friday night. If Boise State hadn’t called the 2nd string dogs off early in the 2nd half the score would have been 108 to nothing. Only a kick return for a TD kept this from being a shutout. The Broncos are 5-0 (all games against FBS teams) and have won all 5 games by at least 14 points. They’ve scored at least 30 points in each game. They are 10th in the country in scoring defense and 12th in total defense.
5. Oregon: 4-1 (won vs. California, 43-15). The Ducks ran over Cal last Thursday to stay at #5. The victory appeared to come at an extremely heavy price, as LaMichael James was knocked out of the game with an arm injury that was straight out of a horror film. But James is apparently as tough as he is fast, quick, and shifty, as he was smiling in the locker room after the game and swore he wouldn’t miss a week. Since losing to the LSU Tigers in the opener, the Ducks have gone 4-0 (3-0 against FBS teams), averaging 56 points a game.
6. Stanford: 5-0 (won vs. Colorado, 48-7). Stanford steamrolled the Buffs on Saturday to get to 5-0 and remain #6. Stanford is 5-0 against FBS teams, having won each game by at least 26 points. They’ve put up 37 points or more in all 5 games and have yet to allow an opponent more than 19 points in a game.
7. Oklahoma State: 5-0 (won vs. Kansas, 70-28). Oklahoma State bulldozed the Jayhawks to move to 5-0 and stay at #7. This was one of the more deceiving scores of the season, as the Cowboys scored 56 unanswered points after falling behind 7-0, and had their backups in before halftime. Oklahoma State leads the nation in scoring offense and they are 2nd in total offense.
8. Wisconsin: 5-0 (Idle). Wisconsin had the week off and remained in the #8 spot in my rankings. The Badgers are 5-0 (4-0 against FBS teams), and have outscored opponents by an average of 48.4 to 10.2. They’re 3rd in the country in both scoring offense and scoring defense.
9. Clemson: 6-0 (won vs. Boston College, 36-14). Clemson moves up a spot to #9 this week, as the Tigers showed no signs of a lack of focus in their beat down of BC last weekend. They’ve now beaten Auburn, FSU, VT on the road, and BC over the last 4 weeks, outscoring opponents by an average of 33 to 17.75 over that stretch.
10. Arkansas: 5-1 (won vs. Auburn, 38-14). Arkansas moves up a spot to #10 this week, winning handedly over Auburn on Saturday for their 2nd consecutive impressive victory. They were roughed up by Bama in week 4, but since then they have come from behind to defeat A&M (#12 in my rankings) in Arlington and whipped the defending national champion Auburn Tigers by 24 points. A couple of weeks ago I thought I might have overrated the Hogs this season but they’ve bounced back. The schedule the rest of the way is very, very favorable (for an SEC team), and they could easily be 10-1 going into the season finale in Baton Rouge.
11. Florida: 4-2 (lost at LSU, 11-41). Florida drops 2 spots to #11 this week as they were trounced in a showdown with an SEC West power for the second straight Saturday. So why are the Gators my #11 team, despite being unranked in the traditional top 25 polls? Let me start by saying that the biggest flaw of the CFB top 25 polls is that they rely way too much on W-L records. How many teams can beat Boise State? Not many. But I think they’d probably lose back to back games against Alabama and at LSU. That doesn’t mean they should fall out of the rankings. They shouldn’t even fall out of the top 5.
As I’ve said many times, logic tells us that a really good team will lose to a truly elite team most of the time, so why should we conclude that any team with multiple losses can’t be one of the top 25, 20, 15, 10, or even 5 best teams in the country? Florida couldn’t beat LSU or Bama, but I don’t need to rank them behind Georgia Tech just because the Jackets haven’t figured out a way to lose against any of the mediocre at best teams that they’ve played.
Moving on, while this may not be the best way to go about doing things, I have always taken into account injuries and eligibility issues. The fact of the matter is that Florida has had to play the last game and a half without their SR QB, who was having an excellent season before he went down with a leg injury late in the 2nd quarter against Bama.
John Brantley was 11 of 16 for 190 yards, a TD, and a pick getting knocked out. His replacement was true freshman Jeff Driskel, who had taken a few snaps during blowouts in the previous 4 games, going 5 for 10 with 2 picks and no touchdowns. Now he was in to face the best defense in the country (if not 2nd best behind only LSU). He went 2 of 6 for 14 yards and ended up with an ankle injury. Brantley had 190 yards passing before going out; the Gators finished the game with 222 total yards of offense.
I thought that Brantley had blown out his knee, and I was prepared to judge the Gators as if he was gone for good, but it turned out not to be a season ending injury. Last week the Gators were without Brantley and Driskel, and thus Jacoby Brissett (true freshman) had to make his career debut starting against the top defense in the nation (if not 2nd best behind only Alabama), on the road, in one of the toughest places to play. He was 8 of 14 for 94 yards, 1 TD, and 2 picks.
Look, I don’t think Florida would have won either game even if Brantley had taken every snap. But I doubt they would have lost by the combined score of 79-21. We know that Brantley will be back at some point, and I’ve always considered each team at full strength when doing these rankings.
Again, it would be different if the Gators were going to be without Brantley from now on. For example: in 2009 Oklahoma lost Sam Bradford to injury in the season opener. It was not supposed to be a season ending injury. I kept Oklahoma in my top 15 despite several losses, because I knew that with Bradford they were capable of beating any team in the country. He came back against Texas but was knocked out after only a few plays and eventually he was ruled out for the year. Once he was ruled out, I took Oklahoma out of the top 15.
The QB position is immensely important in college football, and there’s simply no question that the Gators are a totally different team with Brantley under center.
12. Texas A&M: 3-2 (won at Texas Tech, 45-40). Texas A&M snapped a 2-game nightmare streak with a win over Texas Tech on Saturday, and the Aggies move up 2 spots in my rankings to #12 this week. I realize that I’m holding onto this one a bit longer than most people, and perhaps it’s because I don’t want to admit that I was wrong about A&M. Still, their 2 losses are heartbreakers against the teams ranked #7 and #10 in these rankings.
13. South Carolina: 5-1 (won vs. Kentucky, 54-3). South Carolina moves up 2 spots to #13, as the Gamecocks rebounded from the loss to Auburn by smooshing UK on Saturday. More importantly, Steve Spurrier finally whacked Stephen Garcia, giving sophomore Connor Shaw the start. In the season opener, Shaw played the entire 1st quarter and SC fell into a major hole against ECU. This time, however, Shaw threw 4 TD’s with no picks and led the Gamecocks in a route, as South Carolina outgained the Wildcats 639-96. On Tuesday it was announced that Garcia had been dismissed from the program. SC won’t be as good as they could have been if Garcia had reached his potential. But they may end up being better than they would have been if he had remained quarterback of the team for the rest of the season.
14. Georgia: 4-2 (won at Tennessee, 20-12). The Dawgs jump back in the rankings at #14 this week, as they held on to beat the Vols in Knoxville Saturday night for their 4th straight victory. It wasn’t the most impressive performance; none of Georgia’s victories have been pretty this season (except for the 59-0 win over Coastal Carolina of course). Georgia has allowed only 35 total points over the last 4 games, with the last 3 games coming against SEC opponents, 2 of those on the road.
15. Texas: 4-1 (last vs. Oklahoma, 17-55 [Dallas]). Texas drops 2 spots to #15 this week. The Longhorns were drubbed by their rivals from Norman over the weekend for their first loss of the season. Clearly, they are not anywhere near as good as the Sooners at this point. However, there aren’t that many really good teams this year, and I still think Texas is better than most.
Teams Falling Out of the Rankings
Florida State: 2-3 (lost at Wake Forest, 30-35). FSU falls out of my rankings from #12 this week. Like that other team from the state of Florida, the Noles have been greatly affected by the loss of their star QB over the last few weeks. He was knocked out of the Oklahoma game, which the Noles ended up losing 23-13. He was listed as questionable the following week, but in the end he missed the big game at Clemson, which FSU lost 35-30. Those are two quality losses, and with Manuel being hurt, I was giving FSU the benefit of the doubt.
I was surprised, however, when he wasn’t in the starting lineup against WF this Saturday even after a bye week. Apparently the Noles got caught taking the Deaques lightly, as Manuel entered the game late in the first half when FSU realized it was in a major fight. Even if Manuel had missed the game, I wouldn’t have given FSU any kind of a break for losing to WF. The fact that he played the rest of the way and they still lost makes me realize that I got fooled once again.
I’ve probably bit on the “FSU is gonna be back this year” line 7 or 8 times since the program slipped back in the early 2000’s. They still aren’t back.
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