iBoldin's Top 25

[The Great iBoldin]

Hope you guys at least try to read them all, haha. I really wanted to do a full article for once, I hadn't for so long. Probably some mistakes here and there. Enjoy.

 

 

I’ve always been a big proponent of waiting for the first few weeks of the college football season to truly gauge where a team stands. As we saw with teams like Ohio State, they can be completely flat and look equally as lost and incompetent against teams like Toledo and that will knock what was a pre-season top twenty pick out of the top 25 altogether. Injuries bite you in the ass, your schemes lose their touch, you play ridiculous non-conference schedules (of both the national contender and cupcake variety). As we know, the landscape of college football is ever emerging and change is now accepted and never unbelievable.

 

These rankings stray from the norm. I don’t care about pre-season rankings or what some company man from USA Today says to pump Notre Dame’s tires. I couldn’t care less about Bob Stoops’ ineptitude in big games and propensity to piss away bowl wins against mid-major opponents. LSU was the luckiest team in the nation last year, continually staying afloat in games they should never be in, and they dominated who I thought was a better team in Texas A&M in the Cotton Bowl. So views are incredibly subjective, but I’m not one to let anything except on-field performance and variables cloud my judgment.

 

Before getting into it, a couple of more thoughts. This is a barren wasteland for talent this year. Simply put, there are not 25 “good” teams right now. I would estimate about half of that are teams I would usually have in my top 25. Whatever college football is doing cracking down on programs, it’s working for the benefit of the game, but it certainly isn’t helping some of these programs.

 

See, there are two ways of looking at it. On one hand, you can say that the parity of college football is immense and because of that you’re getting a lot of middle of the pack teams hovering the end of the year with four losses and a decent bowl game. Or you’re in the belief that a team like Texas isn’t actually all that good, whether it be because of lack of talent, coaching, whatever. Texas isn’t a top 25 team and shouldn’t be ranked there based on prestige and program strength.

 

On the other hand, that’s not to say the popular mid-major picks like Boise State are going to get the benefit of the doubt. To be quite honest, I don’t think Boise State plays enough good teams. They took the right approach in moving to the Mountain West conference, but only gets one year of the potential quality of the MWC as TCU moves to the Big East at the end of the year. This is a program who is going to be swept up in the under wave of conference realignment; there is a huge need for the Broncos to try to get into the potential Pac-12 Super Conference. It would likely not happen if Texas and Oklahoma decide to make their move, but these mid-major programs will never be taken seriously until they play, at bare minimum, teams like Colorado and Washington on a weekly basis.

 

This WILL change from week to week. If a team has a God awful performance one week, they’re going to fall down the charts accordingly. Of course, this is because my rankings don’t change the landscape on a national scale. The hope is to correctly peg talent levels and accurately judge teams, good or bad.

 

 

1 Oklahoma Sooners

Tested by a quality Florida State defense, Oklahoma passed with flying colors. So scheme diverse, they beat you a variety – despite with their best offensive looks coming from splitting only one receiver out wide and run the ball between the tackles. If they were to take their multiple offensive sets and simplify it to more of a ground and pound team, Oklahoma probably wins the National Championship this year. Landry Jones isn’t a game manager by any stretch of the imagination – he’s likely a second round pick in the NFL draft because he’s a good football player – but Dominique Whaley has come in and run strong behind an experienced offensive line, and there is no reason to stray away from that. He picked up good chunks of yards against FSU and that accounted for a large part of the offenses overall production.

 

The Sooners are a very good football team. Simply put, they have the make-up of a national champion, like noted before. All of the elements of a championship program are in place; gamebreakers all over, loaded with talent and experience in the trenches. It’s a veteran group and veteran groups win football games – why was Auburn so successful? Cam Newton came in and immediately became the gamebreaker the Tigers seeked. Better yet, Newton made players like Darvin Adams, Kodi Burns and Michael Dyer better players. Auburn’s team was littered with seniors and key contributors already.

 

It’s not hard to see why Oklahoma has been a consensus favorite since the start. Overall, they really don’t play an incredibly difficult schedule, only two really tough road games in the Red River Rivalry and a trip to Stillwater in the last game of the season. They host Texas A&M and should use LSU’s blueprint to put away the Aggies in that game. Potential roadblocks come this week against Missouri (doubtful) and a trip to Baylor to play a suddenly media darling in the Bears.

 

Tough not to see this team in New Orleans come January.

 

This Week – v. Missouri Tigers

 

2 LSU Tigers

Last year I hated LSU for two reasons: They had their tires pumped so much by ESPN and media outlets alike it made me sick, and they didn’t deserve two or three of the games they snuck out. They pounded a Texas A&M team that had every reason to play hard – pre-season ranking, pride, Ryan Tannehill got to see his progression as a quarterback against a traditional SEC team. After pounding Texas A&M, I took a vested interest in looking at LSU objectively and without the clear bias I had for them. As they said on Seinfeld, “yada yada yada” the Tigers are now ranked second in my polls.

 

This defense is legit. John Chavis has groomed a team that gives up virtually nothing (they held a Dan Mullen team to 52 yards rushing) and creates plays. They rattled a cool and complex Oregon offense and gave Darron Thomas nightmares all night. Chavis has a budding star in interior lineman Mike Brockers and a linebacking core that features three seniors. The secondary buzzes around the line of scrimmage and creates turnovers. It’s electric, pure football bliss, some would say.

 

Another kid to watch for is running back Spencer Ware. A remix to the old school days, he blends speed and power and is tough to stop. He reminds you somewhat of Ray Rice, thick, hits the hole hard and thrives on contact. Still powerful after initial contact, Ware is going to be a huge clog in the LSU offense that features two mediocre quarterbacks in Jordan Jefferson and Jarrett Lee. Zach Mettenberger is the logical candidate, and likely going to be the best option the bayou bengals have to compete with the likes of Alabama, Arkansas, South Carolina for the SEC championship.

 

This Week - @ #12 West Virginia Mountaineers

 

3 Alabama Crimson Tide

The questions and uncertainty about the quarterback situation in Tuscaloosa wasn’t enough at first to bump LSU over their rival foes, but with LSU’s signature win over another top-five ranked team is enough to leap the Tide for the time being. November 5th can’t come fast enough for either of these two teams as they will likely duke it out for the SEC East.

 

For now, AJ McCarron needs to cut his mental mistakes like he’s been able to. Alabama survived their first test of the season – going to Happy Valley with an inexperienced quarterback – but now is on the road of several more, the SEC gauntlet beginning this weekend against the AP 14th ranked Arkansas Razorbacks. It’s an interesting test for Alabama. Penn State put pressure on Alabama at times but the Tide is simply a better and deeper program then the Nittany Lions. If the Razorbacks were to try and make a statement in SEC play, this is the game to do it. Tyler Wilson, a popular breakout pick coming into the season will have to play relatively error free. Without Knile Davis it’ll likely be difficult to be more than a one-dimensional passing team, playing straight into the Tide’s defensive strengths.

 

This would be an underrated win for Alabama. Many still don’t have a great read on the Tide. We heard a lot during pre-season about how this defense is chomping the bit and ready to get after it. Of course, playing their normally weak non-conference schedule doesn’t allow us to get a proper look at what Alabama could potentially be, prompting me to almost pull them back to four and five. However, I can give a Nick Saban coached, SEC durable team the benefit of the doubt any day of the week.

 

This Week – v. #18 Arkansas Razorbacks

 

4 Oklahoma State Cowboys

Am I crazy doing this? For sure, but hear me out for one second here. The Cowboys have a tremendous defense but the offensive is the cream of this teams crop. Branden Weeden, despite being a man amongst boys (literally, Weeden is 28 this year) is a leader who knows the offense, can execute it and has some savvy potential. Not to mention the bevy of playmakers he can throw to, including an absolute monster in Justin Blackmon.

 

Some would say I have Oklahoma State up here just to make these rankings differentiate then all of the other ones that are written each week. However, the offense has took off right where they left off last season and that’s scary given the extra year some of these players have had to soak up a new coordinator. Kendall Hunter is gone and so is the hammering emphasis on a power running game out of the gun, but you have to trust a guy who has coached in the NFL before. This is a team that almost dropped 60 on a formidable Tulsa football team. It’s impressive all around. The Cowboys have that swagger about them.

 

A huge test with Texas A&M this weekend awaits them. It’ll be a rough ride into College Station, Kyle Field being one of the most feared places to play in the nation. If the ‘Boys come out of this with a dubya, we’ll know they’re for real.

 

This Week - @ #10 Texas A&M Aggies

 

5 Stanford Cardinal

Another offensive guru (of a different scheme variety) left for arguable greener pastures (greener being the color of the money showered upon Harbaugh) but both Oklahoma State and Stanford don’t seem any worse for wear. Partly because Stanford has the most impressive quarterback in the country manning their offense in Andrew Luck, partly because of a ridiculous defense that will keep games low in scores and Stanford high in the win column.

 

Realistically, Stanford doesn’t have to worry about any tough, tough teams until they host Oregon. They play two tough road games before that showdown will take place in USC and Oregon State, but these two teams won’t pose much of a threat in the long run, Oregon State getting dominated by Wisconsin and USC a much worse program than they were five years ago.

 

As long as the Cardinal have Andrew Luck in place, with that offensive line and defense, Stanford can very likely go all in for a National Championship.

 

This Week – v. UCLA Bruins

 

6 Boise State Broncos

Still don’t know where Boise State stands. Yes, they went into the Georgia Dome, historically a tough to play. Playing a nationally televised game against a recognizable school in Georgia in basically a home game, the Broncos outplayed the Dawgs from start to finish and finished very convincingly. This weekend they just went into Toledo and trounced the Rockets, and while they may not seem like such a big feat, it is an across country game against a team who has not lost to a top-25 team at home before.

 

That being said, I’m not that convinced that Boise, if undefeated, should go to the National Championship. They’ll likely go undefeated (although they do play a tougher schedule then in years past). Sorry if I’m not totally convinced that they beat a very average SEC team, a down year TCU and a bunch of mid-level teams like San Diego State. To me, and a lot of others, I’ll take a two loss LSU over Boise State any day of the week.

 

This Week – v. Tulsa Golden Hurricanes

 

7 Oregon Ducks

I don’t pay much attention to Oregon losing a game and still being ranked seventh. I’ve watched the UO-LSU game three times, and a couple things are clear to me about this edition of the Ducks.

 

For one, I believe Chip Kelly put too much into the hands of Darron Thomas. They came out throwing the ball and when that didn’t work, LSU was patiently waiting for the Ducks to run the football. They were ready, they had all Summer to prepare for the brutal attack the Ducks can unleash on teams. When Thomas threw his first interception, it was clear he was rattled. He didn’t have the same senior laden offensive line protecting him, the LaMichael James safety net wasn’t all that safe, the explosive playmaker hampered by cramps (as were a lot of the Ducks offensive players).

 

Secondly, Kelly put too much in the hands of a freshman who simply looked overmatched playing a vicious special teams unit. He didn’t protect the football like he should of, and ultimately turnovers were the demise of Oregon. They still put up significant points on one of the best defenses in the country, which is a great feat in itself. Winning the Pac-12 should be the objective for the Ducks, the potential showdown with Stanford should be circled on the calendar already.

 

This Week - @ Arizona Wildcats

 

8 Florida State Seminoles

Suddenly bursting on the national landscape again, the ‘Noles hung tough with the best team in the country, trading shot for shot with a great Oklahoma. The defense was buzzing all night – it’s clear to see the talent Jimbo Fisher has assembled in Tallahassee. What needs work, and a lot at that, is the offense. EJ Manuel ended the game on the bench due to injury, but throughout the game he was off, underthrowing receiver and getting happy feet in the pocket. The offensive line did a decent job of protecting but too many mistakes by FSU allowed Oklahoma to put the game away.

 

It still should be expected for FSU to win the ACC. With the recruiting classes Fisher has coming in, it’s no mistake to expect FSU in the top ten annually once again.

 

This Week - @ #21 Clemson Tigers

 

9 Wisconsin Badgers

With Russell Wilson coming, Wisconsin doesn’t stand to lose much on the offensive side of the ball. They’re still running the football with authority, challenging defense to stack the deck and stop their vaunted ground attack. With Wilson, Brett Bielma and the offensive coaches can open the playbook up a little more, dialing up more rollouts, bootlegs and deep balls, something Scott Tolzien had trouble throwing.

 

The likely Big 10 favorite after seeing Ohio State faltering, Michigan not ready for the big stage under Brady Hoke. and Nebraska in an understandable transition year, Wisconsin should maintain a top-ten ranking throughout the year.

 

This Week – v. South Dakota Coyotes

 

10 Texas A&M Aggies

I wasn’t sure how Mike Sherman would have his team play in the wake of getting blown out in last year’s Cotton Bowl. They responded by pounding a potential top-25 team in SMU and allowing just seven points in a subsequent blowout of the Idaho Vandals. They play host to two quality teams in the next two weeks in Oklahoma State (a game with monstrous implications) and Arkansas (who may be looking to bounce back or coming in high and mighty after a tussle with the Tide). It’s early in the season, so to say that these two games will define the Aggies season is probably a bit of an overstatement, but there is no other definitive game until the Aggies play the Sooners that means as much then these two do.

 

This Week – v. #4 Oklahoma State Cowboys

 

11 Florida Gators

John Brantley would probably be one of the first people to tell you his performance last season was below average en route to a particularly disappointing season. Sweeping changes came about in the off-season with Urban Meyer ‘retiring’ from coaching, defensive guru Will Muschamp coming in from Texas, and a Charlie Weis hire with an eye more towards a traditional style offense. All of these have helped Brantley become the more polished product he has looked like this year. Brantley wasn’t a spread player and Weis bringing him back under center is pivotal for his development. The Meyer saga and Muschamp hiring both helped relieve some of the unneeded pressure on Brantley’s poor performance.

 

The Gators have been awfully impressive the first three weeks of the season, posting big wins over FAU and UAB and pushing around the Volunteers on their way to a workmanlike 10-point win. And that’s exactly what the Gators need to go out and play like – bring your lunch pails and hard hats to the football field every day and outwork your opponents. This change in philosophy could be key in the Gators erasing last year’s disappointing season. The dynamic freshman talent the Gators brought in a year ago have had a year to mature, the defense sounds sure to get after it under the creative Muschamp schemes and the offense has to believe it will take care of itself.

 

Florida plays back-to-back brutal games against Alabama and LSU, respectively (on the road at LSU) then plays Auburn again. This stretch will likely give us the real story behind what the Gators are all about this season.

 

This Week - @ Kentucky Wildcats

 

12 West Virginia Mountaineers

What can be said about Dana Holgorsen? Of the top-six passers in the nation right now, three of them are protégé’s of the offensive guru (Brandon Weeden, Case Keenum and his own Geno Smith). His passing concepts are that of sheer brilliance and innovation and his team’s offensive outputs reflect that. Holgorsen inherited a trio of extremely talented receivers in Tavon Austin, Tyler Urban and Stedman Bailey that gives the offense more explosion. For that reason, it’s hard to bet against West Virginia a lot of times this season.

 

Coming off a good character win against Maryland, WVU sets up for a pivotal showdown with the No. 2 team in the nation, LSU. If WVU has done any game tape study (rhetorical question) they’d know about the swarming Tiger defense. Despite playing well, Geno Smith has been prone to turnovers in the past. To dust off LSU in an upset win, Smith will need to take care of the football and make conscientious decisions. If he plays a flawless game, unlike Darron Thomas, there is no doubt West Virginia has a chance, or at the very least, stay within ten points.

 

This Week – v. #2 LSU Tigers

 

13 Nebraska Cornhuskers

The ‘Huskers are getting a lot of national media attention, and a lot of love is tagging along. Bo Pelini’s fiery personality has effectively rubbed off these past few years. Last year in came in an offensive revelation, Taylor Martinez stepping up to the plate and bringing Nebraska into the national spotlight. However, he was also the demise – Martinez was brutal down the stretch and struggled against great defenses like Texas A&M and Oklahoma.

 

With a pivotal game in two weeks at Camp Randall against the Badgers, Nebraska needs to brush up some things; most notably the defense. If the defense can come to the sort of epiphany beforehand and start playing inspired ‘blackshirts’ football, this is a team that can go places. It’s a potentially big ‘if’ though and I wouldn’t be surprised whether it happened or it didn’t.

 

This Week - @ Wyoming Cowboys

 

14 South Carolina Gamecocks

To say I’m a little worried about South Carolina is an understatement. Since the beginning of the season when Steve Spurrier found his team down by double digit points against East Carolina, the Gamecocks haven’t exactly found themselves to be world beaters. Predicted to roll through the SEC East and give one of their western foes a run for their money, the Gamecocks need to get themselves together before they suffer an upset to a team like Vanderbilt this weekend, or Auburn the next. Colour me unimpressed, simply put.

 

Despite not looking in top mid-season form, the Gamecocks have several individual talents such as Marcus Lattimore, Alshon Jeffrey, Jadaveon Clowney, etc. If players like Stephon Gilmore and Stephen Garcia can step up (amongst others) it’s easier to see South Carolina reaching their desired potential. Again the SEC is wide open for a team to step up and contend, and Scar looks like a good bet to do so again.

 

This Week – v. Vanderbilt Commodores

 

15 Virginia Tech Hokies

It may seem like a fairly uninhibited road to the ACC Championship for Beamer ball, however you can never underestimate the competitiveness of the ACC. Teams like Miami, Maryland will be looking to make their own mark.

 

This Week - @ Marshall Thundering Herd

 

16 Baylor Bears

While the Gamecocks look largely unimpressive through three weeks, Robert Griffin and Kenny Wright have this Bears offense in fine mid-season form. They destructed the blitz intensive 4-2-5 TCU defense with precision and ease. They’ll look to continue the trend against an easy stretch of Rice, Kansas State and Iowa State before they get into the real meat of the schedule – Oklahoma State, Texas A&M and Missouri. This will test the true character and likely clear up Robert Griffin’s Heisman potential.

 

This Week – v. Rice Owls

 

17 Michigan Wolverines

Brady Hoke has the Wolverines playing inspired football. A great comeback win against Notre Dame sets the tone for games against teams like San Diego State before they end the season on a Big 10 gauntlet.

 

This Week – v. San Diego State Aztecs

 

18 Arkansas Razorbacks

Losing Knile Davis will prove more costly then the Razorbacks may have once feared. Tyler Wilson will have to come up big against Alabama for Arkansas to rise up these rankings.

 

This Week - @ #3 Alabama Crimson Tide

 

19 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets

An intriguing team because Paul Johnson’s has thrown new wrinkles into the triple option. No one has been able to stop their vaunted ground attack. If Nevada can gain notoriety for their pistol running attack last year, Georgia Tech can certainly do so for a more explosive attack.

 

This Week – v. #25 North Carolina Tar Heels

 

20 South Florida Bulls

I would like to see more of this revamped USF team before I move them ahead of teams like Georgia Tech and Michigan. They always have plenty of talent all over due to the Florida pipeline. BJ Daniels could be the dual-threat gunslinger the Bulls need.

 

This Week – v. UTEP Miners

 

21 Clemson Tigers

Look like a very up and down team. It’s going to depend on what kind of team comes out to play – this year’s Jekyll and Hyde team. We saw a very good example of this last weekend. Came out flat against a terrible Auburn team, clawed back into it and won a game they shouldn’t have. Luck or a good team win? Remains to be seen.

 

This Week – v. #8 Florida State Seminoles

 

22 TCU Horned Frogs

It will be interesting to see if Gary Patterson can coach his way into another double digit win season based on the talent (or lack thereof) TCU has compared to recent years – including last year’s Rose Bowl winning team.

 

This Week – v. Portland State Pilots

 

23 Penn State Nittany Lions

On one hand, they’re look like such an awful team at times. They have inexperienced quarterbacks and receivers, but the defense is stifling at times and littered with talent. Face a hellacious end to their schedule, can get their feet wet throughout the year with teams like Eastern Michigan this weekend.

 

This Week – v. Eastern Michigan Eagles

 

24 Illinois Fighting Illini

Nathan Scheelhaase looks like a wily veteran and is executing the spread offense to a tee in what is a make or break year for coach Ron Zook. Huge win over Arizona State last weekend.

 

This Week – v. Western Michigan Mustangs

 

25 North Carolina Tar Heels

One of the most elite and talented defenses in the nation. Litmus test this weekend against Georgia Tech.

 

This Week - @ #19 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets

Edited September 22, 2011 by iBoldin

[fish7718]

Boise got robbed! Even in your top 25! lol