1) Oregon (6-0) – Mighty Alabama falls to South Carolina, 35-21. Oregon picks up an unconvincing win over a weak Washington State team. Boise State and TCU win against much less competition than the Indiana Hoosiers, who lost to Ohio State. Who do you think should be number 1?
At least the Ducks have a win over Stanford, currently ranked 14th in the AP Poll and fourth behind Sagarin. Oregon, like many teams, is high on offense and low on defense. The Ducks still lead the nation in scoring offense (54+) and total offense (567+), and rank fourth in rushing offense (317+).
2) Auburn (6-0) – Among 13 other unbeaten teams remain. It beats out South Carolina, currently ranked 10th in the AP poll. He still has to face Arkansas, LSU and Alabama. It could go down fast, just like Florida and Alabama. The race for the national championship is now officially open.
3) South Carolina (4-1) – Stop screaming loud. He just beat the former No. 1 Alabama Crimson Tide, who had 18 straight wins. When was the last time your favorite team beat Alabama? The gamecocks better keep winning or they’ll drop out of here in a hurry.
4) LSU (6-0) – Again, stop cussing out loud. The Tigers are undefeated and just beat Florida, one of the best teams in the country until two weeks ago. You have to keep winning to stay anywhere near here.
5) Ohio State (6-0) – Both AP Poll and Coaches Poll voters have the No. 1 Buckeyes in the country now. This is garbage. Ohio State has NOT played or beaten a single team currently in the AP Top 25 poll. Their reputations precede them, but how good are they? The Buckeyes have yet to face Wisconsin, Iowa, and Michigan, the only 3 teams worth mentioning that will play the entire season.
I’ll throw the Buckeyes a bone here, but they sure are no better than No. 5 in my book right now. Let’s stop acting like Ohio State is a gift from the football gods.
6) Alabama (5-1) – They still aren’t pushovers even though they couldn’t beat South Carolina on the road. The Crimson Tide have already beaten Arkansas, which is ranked 12th, and Florida, which is ranked 22nd. Not bad compared to any other team in the current AP Top 25.
7) Oklahoma (5-0) – Not a big fan of the Sooners, but they’ve beaten Florida State in 16th place and the Air Force in 23rd place. Other than Alabama, Oklahoma is the ONLY team to have beaten two other teams currently ranked in the AP Top 25.
8) Michigan State (6-0): The Spartans are 6-0 for the first time since 1999, when they went 10-2. They have beaten 18th-ranked Wisconsin and just finished off the Michigan Wolverines and Denard Robinson, 34-17, who were ranked 18th before facing Michigan State.
9) Boise State (5-0) – The Broncos have won big and are undefeated thus far, but have only beaten 24th-ranked Oregon State.
10) TCU (6-0) – The Horned Frogs have won big and are undefeated thus far, but they’ve also only beaten 24th-ranked Oregon State.
Try to imagine, if you wanted to, where Boise State and TCU would be if your schedules included Penn State, Arkansas, Florida, South Carolina, Mississippi, Tennessee, LSU, Mississippi State, and Auburn. Florida will face all of these teams this season. Do you really think Boise State and TCU would win 9, 10, 11, or 12 games a season?
11) Nebraska (5-0) – Undefeated, but did you know the Cornhuskers have NOT played or beaten a single team currently in the AP Top 25 poll?
12) Utah (5-0) – Undefeated, but did you know that the Utes have NOT played or beaten a single team currently in the AP Top 25 poll?
13) Iowa (4-1): The Hawkeyes have at least beaten 17th-ranked Arizona.
14) Arizona (4-1) – The Wildcats have beaten at least 15th-ranked Iowa.
15) Nevada (6-0) – All offense, little defense. Undefeated, but did you know that the Wolf Pack has NOT played or beaten a single team currently in the AP Top 25 poll? How long before they lose their first game?
16) Oklahoma State (5-0) – All offense, little defense. Undefeated, but did you know that the Cowboys have NOT played or beaten a single team currently in the AP Top 25 poll? How long before they lose their first game?
17) Missouri (5-0) – Lots of boring wins. Jeeze Louise, will they ever play someone? Undefeated, but did you know that the Tigers have NOT played or beaten a single team currently in the AP Top 25 poll? How long before they lose their first game?
18) Arkansas (4-1) – Riding on the SEC representative. Did you know that the Razorbacks have played but NOT beaten a single team currently in the AP Top 25 poll?
19) Stanford (5-1) – It looked great until they lost to Oregon. Did you know the Cardinals have played but NOT beaten a single team currently in the AP Top 25 poll?
20) Oregon State (3-2) – Yes, the Beavers are 3 and 2, but they’ve also beaten 17th-ranked Arizona, which is more than Ohio State, Nebraska, Utah, Arkansas, Stanford, Florida State, Wisconsin, Nevada, Oklahoma State, Missouri, Florida, Air Force and West Virginia can say, because none of these teams have ever played or defeated, or played and defeated a team currently ranked in the Top 25 AP Poll.
So take that karate kick to the head and appreciate what I’m saying and sharing with you. I’m aware of these things, friend. So if Oregon State is ranked ahead of your favorite team, shut up. They need to play someone and play up, not down.
21) Florida State (5-1): Easily beat Miami-FL, 45-17. The Siminoles deserve my 21st pick.
22) Wisconsin (5-1) – The Badgers look like a pushover, but be careful, they might punch you in the face.
23) Florida (4-2): I thought the Gators were going to beat LSU up, especially since they were playing at home and Alabama had just walked all over them. Man, was I wrong, about both Florida and Alabama.
Hunting season has opened in the SEC and for the national championship. Spread the bullets and forget about the orange vests, this is THE Civil War about to happen again, only it’s the South against the South.
24) Air Force (5-1) – Just because there’s no better team on the horizon. The Falcons have played a ranked team but have NOT beaten a ranked team.
25) West Virginia (4-1) – Mountaineers like to fight in the hills of West Virginia. Like the Air Force, the Mountaineers have played a ranked team but have NOT beaten a ranked team.
That’s all for this week. Read them and cry, or open a cold beer and celebrate life, your favorite team, and college football.
Copyright © 2010 Ed Bagley