We got a good slate of games this last week. With the conference seasons really firing up, we starting to separate the wheat from the chafe.
What did we learn?
Well, Maryland is not near a complete team.
Northwestern is a legitimate Big 10 contender, or were before they lost a tough one to the Buckeyes.
OU is a different team with Blake Bell at quarterback.
Georgia State's AD is a sadist who scheduled a vicious gauntlet for his young program.
These games did give us a bit of a shuffle in the rankings, so without further ado........
Showing posts with label Ranking. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ranking. Show all posts
Thursday, October 10, 2013
Tuesday, October 23, 2012
College Football Week 8 Rankings
As good as some of the matchups were on paper this week, there were not a lot of terribly exciting games. That said, there is always something to talk about in College Football, and this week's drama is humming out of the Pacific Northwest where their beloved Oregon Ducks were leapfrogged in the BCS standings despite a convincing road win over a solid conference opponent.
Personally, I get it. Oregon has been the most convincingly dominant team I have seen this year. There is some question about their schedule with them not having a significant non-conference win, but they have blown everyone out. Honestly, most of their games have been over by halftime. With that in mind, I totally understand their complaints, but if you want to be #1, in today's college football, you have to beat the big boys. In recent years, the big boys have been the SEC, with the Big 12 coming in 2nd. Oregon's only opponent from east of the Rockies was Arkansas State. That said, the Pac-12 is getting some love this year, and if they can run the table, I will be absolutely shocked if they aren't in the title game. Course, if K-State does the same in the Big 12, I might end up being shocked.
ON TO THE RANKINGS!!!!
1. Oregon Ducks 6.064
Speed kills. The Ducks are the fastest team in the country, especially on offense, and they appear to have built an opportunistic defense.
Fun stat for the day, De-Anthony Thomas is averaging over 9 yards a touch, and he is one of 6 Ducks who is averaging over 4 yards a carry with double-digit carries on the season. Noone to this point has even been effective enough slowing down their rushing attack to make them pass, but Marcus Mariota has a completion percentage over 68% anyway. If they are what they appear to be and they can run the table, it would be a crime to leave them out of the title game.
2. Alabama Crimson Tide 5.790
The Tide is the favorite for the national title, and it's not without good reason. This is, at worst, the second best defense in the country. With AJ McCarron becoming increasingly more effective, highlighted by his game against Tennessee with a 17/22 for 306 yard and 4 TD's. If that is a sign of things to come, rather than a sign of how average Tennessee's defense is, Bama might well be head and shoulders above everyone else.
3. Florida Gators 5.780
How good are the Gators? That's the 64 thousand dollar question. Well, they looked awfully good against the Gamecocks last weekend, that's for sure. This defense is for real, and this team is truly a reflection of their coach. 'Boom' Muschamp built a great defense at Texas, and he has done the same in Gainesville. Toss in Jeff Driskel looking like he might have turned the corner, and this is looking like a damned solid team. They don't have the scary playmakers on offense that they have had in recent years, but they are beating good teams.
4. Kansas State Wildcats 5.754
The feel good story of the season made a big statement last weekend. You can say what you want about West Virginia's defense, noone expected to see them get shut down on offense in back to back weeks. KSU dominated them from start to finish, and Collin Klein has his signature game for his Heisman campaign. There is work left to do though, and this week's game against a better than expected Texas Tech team is huge in the Big 12 conference race. If Tech wins, we have another logjam at the top of the Big 12, if KSU wins, they have, effectively, a 2 game lead on everyone.
5. Notre Dame Fighting Irish 5.646
The Irish just keep winning, and most of the credit has to go to that defense. What would worry me, if I were an Irish fan, is how they tend to squeak by. If you take the Miami game out, as an outlier, you see a series of relatively close games. I tend to think that OU is going to find a way to score some points, and that Notre Dame is going to need more out of their offense than they have been getting.
Personally, I get it. Oregon has been the most convincingly dominant team I have seen this year. There is some question about their schedule with them not having a significant non-conference win, but they have blown everyone out. Honestly, most of their games have been over by halftime. With that in mind, I totally understand their complaints, but if you want to be #1, in today's college football, you have to beat the big boys. In recent years, the big boys have been the SEC, with the Big 12 coming in 2nd. Oregon's only opponent from east of the Rockies was Arkansas State. That said, the Pac-12 is getting some love this year, and if they can run the table, I will be absolutely shocked if they aren't in the title game. Course, if K-State does the same in the Big 12, I might end up being shocked.
ON TO THE RANKINGS!!!!
1. Oregon Ducks 6.064
Speed kills. The Ducks are the fastest team in the country, especially on offense, and they appear to have built an opportunistic defense.
Fun stat for the day, De-Anthony Thomas is averaging over 9 yards a touch, and he is one of 6 Ducks who is averaging over 4 yards a carry with double-digit carries on the season. Noone to this point has even been effective enough slowing down their rushing attack to make them pass, but Marcus Mariota has a completion percentage over 68% anyway. If they are what they appear to be and they can run the table, it would be a crime to leave them out of the title game.
2. Alabama Crimson Tide 5.790
The Tide is the favorite for the national title, and it's not without good reason. This is, at worst, the second best defense in the country. With AJ McCarron becoming increasingly more effective, highlighted by his game against Tennessee with a 17/22 for 306 yard and 4 TD's. If that is a sign of things to come, rather than a sign of how average Tennessee's defense is, Bama might well be head and shoulders above everyone else.
3. Florida Gators 5.780
How good are the Gators? That's the 64 thousand dollar question. Well, they looked awfully good against the Gamecocks last weekend, that's for sure. This defense is for real, and this team is truly a reflection of their coach. 'Boom' Muschamp built a great defense at Texas, and he has done the same in Gainesville. Toss in Jeff Driskel looking like he might have turned the corner, and this is looking like a damned solid team. They don't have the scary playmakers on offense that they have had in recent years, but they are beating good teams.
4. Kansas State Wildcats 5.754
The feel good story of the season made a big statement last weekend. You can say what you want about West Virginia's defense, noone expected to see them get shut down on offense in back to back weeks. KSU dominated them from start to finish, and Collin Klein has his signature game for his Heisman campaign. There is work left to do though, and this week's game against a better than expected Texas Tech team is huge in the Big 12 conference race. If Tech wins, we have another logjam at the top of the Big 12, if KSU wins, they have, effectively, a 2 game lead on everyone.
5. Notre Dame Fighting Irish 5.646
The Irish just keep winning, and most of the credit has to go to that defense. What would worry me, if I were an Irish fan, is how they tend to squeak by. If you take the Miami game out, as an outlier, you see a series of relatively close games. I tend to think that OU is going to find a way to score some points, and that Notre Dame is going to need more out of their offense than they have been getting.
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