Here's how I would have ranked them. Click the little link below the rankings for some reasoning.
25. Virginia Tech
24. Hawaii
23. Texas A&M
22. South Florida
21. Tennessee
20. Ohio State
19. UCLA
18. Clemson
17. Nebraska
16. Boston College
15. South Carolina
14. Louisville
13. Arkansas
12. Georgia Tech
11. Oregon
10. Wisconsin
9. Cal
8. Penn State
7. West Virginia
6. Texas
5. Rutgers
4. Florida
3. Oklahoma
2. Southern California
1. LSU
Observations:
- I really hated my flip-flop pick when I took Georgia last weekend, it felt like one of those tricky SAT questions where you put down the right answer and think "Man, the answer could also be 'Sniffing Glue: Parking Lot.'" Oh well, I left South Carolina where I ranked them preseason. A win over Georgia maybe should have given them more credit in my poll, but I was a little lukewarm on the Dawgs from the start. We'll see what Spurrier does with his boys.
- How much do you love those behind-the-back handoffs Oregon's been flashing? If you have no ties to Ann Arbor, then you probably love them a lot. Campus Confidential started them at 18 preseason and they'll soon be Top 10 if the offense keeps terrorizing people.
- Yes, Rutgers is at No. 5. Ray Rice isn't a fluke. The passing game is better. And we all know Greg Schiano has his team playing defense. The Jerz just might have a presence in the BCS this year.
- Penn State is going to win the Big 10. So they should be the highest-ranked Big 10 team. The same goes for Georgia Tech.
- I went to Baton Rouge. I saw how fast LSU is. I saw how on-point Matt Flynn is. I saw the mistake-free defense. This team should play for the title. Now, if USC comes out and mollywops Nebraska the same way LSU did to Virginia Tech, I'll put USC back at No. 1.
- Until Louisville shows me it can play defense, it will not be a Top 10 team.
- I would have dropped Virginia Tech out of the rankings, but I wasn't sure who I could replace them with. There's a lot of "eh" out there right now.
Comments (2)
I love this ranking. So much more accurate than AP. I think rankings should always be, literally, how the teams rank in terms of power. I think No. 1 should be able to beat No. 2, No. 2 should be able to beat No. 3, and so on. You don't deserve to hold on to a spot just because you haven't lost. Extra props on Oregon and USF rankings.
I think CC should devote a post to this topic: Who is the best 0-2 team in the land? Michigan? Notre Dame? Colorado St.?
My vote: Wake Forest. They have put in very solid performances against two top 25 teams.
Sniffing Glue is to Parking Lot as Lloyd Carr is to next job.