Power Rankings after Week 7
1. Alabama 7-0 (1st)
2. LSU 7-0 (2nd)
3. Oklahoma 6-0 (3rd)
4. Boise State 6-0 (4th)
5. Oregon 5-1 (5th)
6. Stanford 6-0 (6th)
7. Oklahoma State 6-0 (7th)
8. Wisconsin 6-0 (8th)
9. Clemson 7-0 (9th)
10. Arkansas 5-1 (10th)
11. Texas A&M 4-2 (12th)
12. Arizona State 5-2 (NR)
13. Kansas State 6-0 (NR)
14. Virginia Tech 6-1 (NR)
15. Auburn 5-2 (NR)
Out: Florida (11th); South Carolina (13th); Georgia (14th); Texas (15th).
Explanation: Well I definitely feel less confidence in this set of rankings than I have about any previous top 15 this season. Again, I have a great idea of who I think the top 10 or so teams in the country are, but after that I’m less certain. In fact, I’m convinced that there are only about 9 or 10 really good teams out there this season.
My top 10 remained exactly the same this week but there was a lot of change in spots 11-15. Texas A&M made the biggest move of any team remaining in my top 15, climbing 1 spot from #12 to #11. 4 teams dropped out of the rankings this week. 4 new teams come in at spots 12-15. The 4 teams jumping into my rankings haven’t done much to convince me that they are worthy of being in these rankings. However, the 4 teams falling out of the rankings had done plenty to show me that they were not worthy of being in these rankings. I do worry that my rankings are becoming more like the traditional top 25 polls, with teams rotating in and out based on who had the most recent loss. Then again, it’s plain to see that my power rankings aren’t anything like that even in the final 4 spots, as one team moves into the top 15 despite losing last weekend, and 2 of the 4 teams falling out of the rankings won last weekend.
1. Alabama: 7-0 (won at Mississippi, 52-7). Bama stays as my top team, as they obliterated their occasionally pesky “rivals” in Oxford to get to 7-0. Bama should steamroll Tennessee at home this week. They are 7-0 (all games against FBS teams) and have won all 7 games by at least 16 points. Bama has outscored opponents by 32.7 points a game. The Tide are 14th in the nation in scoring offense and 12th in rush offense. They lead the country in scoring defense, rush defense, and total defense. They are 5th in pass defense.
2. LSU: 7-0 (won at Tennessee, 38-7). LSU remains #2, as they crushed the Vols at Neyland Stadium to go to 7-0 on the year. The Tigers will tempt fate this week at home against Auburn, with 3 players (including 2 very key players) suspended for a game that has a tendency to be really close. The Tigers are 7-0 (6-0 against FBS teams) and have won all 7 games by at least 13 points. They have outscored opponents by 26.7 points per game. LSU is 20th in the nation in scoring offense; 7th in scoring defense; 15th in pass defense; 6th in rush defense; 4th in total defense; and 4th in average turnover margin.
3. Oklahoma: 6-0 (won at Kansas, 47-17). Oklahoma stays at #3, as they took care of business on the road against the hapless Jayhawks to remain unbeaten. The Sooners won on the road by 30 against a conference opponent, but their performance was actually less impressive than many anticipated. In week 4, it took a while for Oklahoma’s powerful offense to get rolling at home against Mizzu, and the same sort of thing happened last Saturday in Lawrence. The Sooners are 6-0 (all games against FBS teams) and have won all 6 games by at least 10 points. They have outscored opponents by 29.5 points per game this season. The Sooners are 6th in the nation in scoring offense; 5th in pass offense; 4th in total offense; and 11th in scoring defense.
4. Boise State: 6-0 (won at Colorado State, 63-13). Boise State stays at #4, as the Broncos torched CSU at Fort Collins last weekend to stay perfect. No one would claim that Boise State’s schedule matches up with BCS conference slates, but they simply destroy any team that challenges them, regardless of location. Playing Colorado State on the road is not the same as playing at LSU, but it’s also not the same as playing a home game against Grambling. Fort Collins is not an easy place to play and the Rams are an average MWC team, yet the Broncos come in there and just trample them like it’s nothing. The Broncos are 6-0 (all games against FBS teams) and have won all 6 games by at least 14 points. They have outscored opponents by 29.8 points a game so far. Boise State is tied 7th in the nation in scoring offense; 13th in pass offense; 12th in total offense; 8th in scoring defense; tied 11th in pass defense; 10th in total defense; and tied 5th in average turnover margin.
5. Oregon: 5-1 (won vs. Arizona State, 41-27). The Ducks remain at #5, as they got past ASU at home without LaMichael James and despite losing QB Darron Thomas to an injury early in the 2nd half. There’s a chance both players will be back this week at Colorado. At the very least it seems that Thomas should be ready to go. In truth, Oregon would probably beat the Buffs by 3 touchdowns without both players. The Ducks have a +25.4 average scoring margin this season. They are 3rd in the nation in scoring offense; 5th in rush offense; and 5th in total offense.
6. Stanford: 6-0 (won at Washington State, 44-14). Stanford kept rolling on Saturday with a blowout win over Wazu in Pullman to go to 6-0 and remain at #6. Stanford is 6-0 (all games against FBS teams) and they have won all 6 games by at least 26 points. Stanford has outscored opponents by 34.6 points per game. They are 5th in the nation in scoring offense; 14th in pass offense; 16th in total offense; 5th in scoring defense; 2nd in rush defense; and 14th in total defense.
7. Oklahoma State: 6-0 (won at Texas, 38-26). Oklahoma State won convincingly over Texas on the road last week to go to 6-0 and stay at #7. The Cowboys are 6-0 (all games against FBS opponents) and have outscored opponents by 21.9 points per game so far. They are 2nd in the nation in scoring offense; 2nd in pass offense; 2nd in total offense; and 2nd in average turnover margin.
8. Wisconsin: 6-0 (won vs. Indiana, 59-7). Wisconsin smashed Indiana at home last week to remain undefeated and stay at #8. The Badgers are 6-0 (5-0 against FBS teams) and have won all 6 games by at least 31 points. They have outscored opponents by a ridiculous 40.5 points per game this season. The Badgers are 1st in the nation in scoring offense; 7th in rush offense; 8th in total offense; 3rd in scoring defense; 4th in pass defense; 7th in total defense; and tied 11th in average turnover margin.
9. Clemson: 7-0 (won at Maryland, 56-45). Clemson survived a shootout on the road against Maryland to get to 7-0 and remain at #9. The Tigers are 7-0 (6-0 against FBS teams) and have outscored opponents by 14.9 points per game. They are 21st in the nation in scoring offense and 15th in total offense.
10. Arkansas: 5-1 (Idle). Arkansas was off last week and they remain #10. The Hogs have a +17.9 average scoring margin this season. They are 17th in the nation in scoring offense and 8th in pas offense.
11. Texas A&M: 4-2 (won vs. Baylor, 55-28). The Aggies finally put a decent team away last week, beating Baylor at home by 27, and they move up a spot in my rankings to #11. The Aggies have a +14.9 average scoring margin this season. They are tied 11th in the nation in scoring offense; 21st in pass offense; 16th in rush offense; 7th in total offense; and 5th in rush defense.
12. Arizona State: 5-2 (lost at Oregon, 27-41). ASU lost by 2 TD’s at Oregon late Saturday night, but they jump into my rankings at #12. This may seem like a truly bizarre move by me, and to be honest I don’t have a lot of faith in the final 4 teams in my top 15. However, I was actually impressed by Arizona State’s performance playing in one of the tougher environments in college football, as they took a lead early in the 2nd half against the Ducks (#5 in my rankings). The Sun Devils have a +11.5 average scoring margin and they are 10th in the nation in average turnover margin.
13. Kansas State: 6-0 (won at Texas Tech, 41-34). Never thought I’d be saying this, but KSU jumps into my rankings at #13 this week, as they won a huge road game last week to improve to 6-0. Even last week I would have thought it highly unlikely that Kansas State would ever show up in my power rankings this season. But many other contenders have convinced me that they aren’t top 15 worthy. I keep waiting for the Wildcats to stumble and they just keep on winning. KSU is 6-0 (5-0 against FBS teams) and they have outscored opponents by 9.8 points per game. The Wildcats are 16th in the nation in rush defense and tied 11th in average turnover margin.
14. Virginia Tech: 6-1 (won at Wake Forest, 38-17). VT jumps back into my rankings this week at #14, as they won handedly on the road against WF last Saturday. Again, the Hokies are back in the rankings mostly because they were one of the few candidates out there who haven’t already proven to be less than top 15 material. VT has a +14.7 average scoring margin this season. The Hokies are 14th nationally in scoring defense; 8th in rush defense; and 15th in total defense.
15. Auburn: 5-2 (won vs. Florida, 17-6). Auburn climbs back into the rankings at #15 this week. The Tigers disposed of the Gators last Saturday but they claim the final spot in these rankings basically by default. In the end, it wasn’t so much about being able to defend placing the Tigers in the power rankings, as it was about not being able to defend putting other teams in the final spot. Auburn has an average scoring margin of just +0.4.
Teams Falling Out of the Rankings
Florida: 4-3 (lost at Auburn, 6-17). The Gators fall out of my rankings from #11 this week, as they lost their 3rd game in a row on Saturday, this time at the hands of the Auburn Tigers. Losing to Alabama and at LSU in non-competitive fashion did not cause me to drop the Gators out of the top 15. I gave them the benefit of the doubt, as they had to play with totally inexperienced QB’s due to John Brantley’s injury. Brantley is likely to return for Florida’s next game (vs. Georgia in week 9) but Florida’s performance against Auburn last week left me little recourse.
Even without Brantley, the Gators should have been able to score more than 6 points against an Auburn team that allowed 38 points to Utah State at home and 34 points to Mississippi State at home earlier in the year. While the injury to Brantley clearly changed their season dramatically, I just don’t think the Gators were as good as thought. They could no longer be allowed to stay in the top 15.
South Carolina: 6-1 (won at Mississippi State, 14-12). Despite eking out a road win in the SEC to move to 6-1 on the year, SC falls out of my rankings from #13 this week. Several factors led to my decision to drop the Gamecocks from the top 15. For one, like Florida, I just don’t think South Carolina is as good as I thought they were. Also, had this victory come early in the year I would have looked at it as a very good win. At this point, however, a 14-12 win at Miss State is not all that impressive.
But the QB and RB situations for South Carolina were much more important factors in my decision to drop the Gamecocks from the power rankings. When Stephen Garcia was kicked off the team and Connor Shaw replaced him as the starting QB, it looked like a loss on paper, but there was reason to believe it could be addition by subtraction. Shaw played great against Kentucky, but it was a different story against Miss State. Shaw completed 20 of 28 passes but South Carolina was much more limited in the passing game, with Shaw averaging around 5.5 yards per attempt. He also threw a pair of interceptions, one in the end zone, the other at the goal line. He was sacked twice and SC was only 3 for 15 on 3rd downs. To be fair, Shaw did fire the game winning TD with 3:50 left in the 4th quarter, but their offense is just not going to be as capable with him under center.
The QB situation, however, pales in comparison to the importance of the season ending knee injury suffered by Marcus Lattimore during Saturday’s game. Lattimore is what gave South Carolina a chance to be a great team. Without him--along with the limitations at QB and the defense which hasn’t been quite as good as expected—the Gamecocks just aren’t special.
Georgia: 5-2 (won at Vanderbilt, 33-28). The Dawgs narrowly escaped what would have been an absolutely devastating upset at the hands of the Dores last Saturday night, but they fall out of my rankings from #14 this week. It’s pretty simple: the Dawgs were a tipped ball in the end zone away from losing to Vandy. We really don’t need to discuss things any further. They are simply not a top 15 team.
Texas: 4-2 (lost vs. Oklahoma State, 26-38). The Longhorns fall out of my rankings from #15 this week, as they lost decisively at home against Okie State last Saturday. It was the 2nd straight week in which they were really not able to compete talent wise. As with many other teams this season, I’m afraid Texas just isn’t as good as I thought they were.
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