Top 25
1. Ohio State
(Change from last week: 0)
2. Oklahoma (Change: 0)
3. USC (Change:
0)
4. Florida (Change: 0)
5. West Virginia (Change: +1)
6. Georgia
(Change: +1)
7. Missouri (Change: -2)
8. Texas Tech (Change: 0)
9. LSU
(Change: +4)
10. USF (Change: -1)
11. Auburn (Change: -1)
12. Texas
(Change: +3)
13. Penn St. (Change: -1)
14. Wisconsin (Change: -3)
15.
Alabama (Change: +5)
16. Utah (Change: +1)
17. Cal (Change: +1)
18.
Clemson (Change: -4).
19. Notre Dame (Change: +2)
20. BYU (Change:
+2)
21. Oregon (Change: +2)
22. Virginia Tech (Change: -7)
23. Kansas
(Change: +3)
24. Arizona State (Change: +2)
25. Wake Forest (Change:
+1)
Dropped: Michigan, Pitt,
Tennessee
Added: Kansas, Arizona State, Wake
Forest
Rising and
falling:
Missouri, I had to drop you. You gave up over 400
yards passing to JUICE WILLIAMS. It felt like he completed 39% of his passes
last year. But Saturday night in St. Louis, it looked like Juice was
throwing to Usain Bolt.
Virginia Tech's drop
really needs no explanation. Losing to East Carolina, I should drop you
out of the poll, but sadly, no one else deserves to be included.
Alabama's rise follows their royal beatdown of O-VER-RA-TED
Clemson. More on 'Bama below.
There's just no way I can keep LSU
out of the top ten right now. Their overall talent level is staggering and
it looks like they've plugged in the equivalent of a "bend-but-don't-break"
option at QB.
Finally, Michigan and Pitt fall out. More on Pitt
below. Michigan had an up and down game against Utah that they just
couldn't pull out. In the words of former Card coach Denny Green, "they
are who we thought they are."
The Lucky Seven: Key Takeaways from
Week One
Injuries tick me off and make college football
less fun to watch: So during the first weekend of the season, we've
already seen a rash of injuries, including WR Jeremy Maclin (Missouri), RB
Beanie Wells (Ohio State), and Georgia’s DT Owens, OL
Trindon Sturdivant and RB Knowshon Moreno's cramps. I can't remember an opening weekend with more
high-profile injuries. This is unfortunate not only for their respective
teams (Ouch Georgia, AP preseason No. 1), but also for college football
fans. College football just isn't as fun to watch without its high profile
stars. I know this is selfish, but I'd still like to see the best players
on the field (as would their respective coaches, no doubt).
Pitt still stinks...: I hesitated to
include Pitt in my top 25 preseason. Wannstedt has never made a believer
out of me. Yes, he has talent, see LeSean McCoy. But he appears to
be the stereotypical NFL-to-college head coach. We've seen zero talent
development out of him during his years at Pitt. I wouldn't' be surprised
if he's fired by the end of the season. I believe it's a hopeless
situation there.
...as does the entire ACC: Also, while
we're on the topic of ineptitude, let's not forget the ACC as a whole. Of
all the ACC teams in action Saturday, only Wake Forest and Duke won. Read
that sentence again. Wake Forest and Duke. This isn't the NCAA
lacrosse championships. That conference is so abysmal, it’s like the
inverse SEC. Inept coaches and big-time flops, instead of brilliant
coaches and big-time performances. Leading into my next point….
Saban is the man: Nick Saban should be
being paid in gallons of gasoline, because at today’s prices, they'd be worth
more than his current contract. That's how strong he's been through
one game this season. Alabama just straight up kicked the snot out
of Clemson. They blew Clemson off the line in impressive fashion. QB
JP Wilson, who I've never heard anyone get excited over, massively outperformed
preseason ACC Offensive POY Cullen Harper. The most telling stat: Clemson's offense, featuring the duo
of James Davis and CJ Spiller, was held to ZERO yards rushing. If you give
Saban enough time, he'll figure out how to beat you. Alabama fans should
be thrilled: he's improved the overall talent level, the gameplanning is
ruthlessly effective, and they are fundamentally sound. I will drive this
Nick Saban bandwagon for the time being.
LSU might still be really, really good:
The talent stockpiled there is staggering, as I said before. Les
Miles appears to be a more-than-capable coach and they may have found another
serviceable QB. Facing a 10 a.m. (!) kickoff, they mauled Appalachian
State, building a 31-0 halftime lead. Despite Alabama and Auburn's
impressive showings, LSU will gel and has to be the odds-on-favorite in the SEC
West with their lethal combination of attributes.
If Beanie really is hurt, expect to hear "Fight
On!" about 72 times: Ohio State won their game this weekend, but it
could almost be counted as a loss. Losing Beanie Wells for any stretch
could prove disastrous. He gives them an undeniable edge in terms of
controlling the clock and game tempo; he truly is a back that can wear down a
defense. On the other hand, USC was nothing but impressive going to
Charlottesville and absolutely embarrassing Virginia. Most importantly,
Mark Sanchez looks like the next great USC QB, the real heir apparent of the
Palmer-Leinart legacy (Sorry John David Booty, you don't count. Beating
Michigan in the Rose Bowl isn’t that impressive anymore). His long TD toss
traveled around 55 to 60 yards in the air, quite impressive. If Wells is
truly hurt, I'm ready to swap OSU and USC at 1 and 3 and switch my prediction
for the Sept 13th game.
Illinois might be pretty good, and the Big Ten
might not be a one-team league: Okay, Illinois lost and their defense
did give up 52 points. It wasn't my first reaction either. However,
they allowed all of those TDs to one of the nation’s most prolific offenses and
probably the second-best QB in the nation. It would be more surprising if
Mizzou hadn't put up 52 points. So the fact that Illinois and Juice Williams could keep their offense on the lead lap, especially without Rashard Mendenhall, bodes well for them. Williams will be really tested during
conference play, but if they can build on this performance, they may be in the
mix with Wisconsin and Penn State for second place in the Big Ten. They sure
don't see another offense at the level of Mizzou's during conference
play.
And finally, for my favorite part of the
Sweep….
Stick to your day job:
I’m calling my big
game predictions that, because humility has pleased the college football gods in
the past. I was 24-15 last year, both straight up and against the spread, which
is 61.5 percent winners. But, worry not, deities of the pigskin, I am indeed
sticking to my day job, and have not started that tout-service 900 line
yet.
Here goes..
1. Pac-10 Game of the Week: Oregon State
(+16.5) at Penn State
Joe Paterno probably didn’t make too many
Stanford fans happy with this bit on the Card’s season opener: "Oregon State was
the better team. They just blew it. They made a couple of mistakes and took
themselves out of the football game." I still have to go with The Fighting
Octogenarians here, because Oregon State simply could not run the ball against
Stanford (86 ground yards). Penn State will run for about 400 yards against
Oregon State, which has to mean they’re in the 40s. Meanwhile, the Lion
secondary is too good for OSU to score much more than 21.
Penn State 45,
Oregon State 20
2. Miami (+21) at Florida
The
most novice mistake in handicapping is to always take the prohibitive favorite,
no matter the odds, and I’ve learnt my lesson. Florida will win, but I think
their weak secondary is the difference, and allows the Canes a late touchdown or
two and a backdoor cover.
Pick: Florida 45, Miami 31
3. East Carolina (+8) at West
Virginia
Las Vegas must be giving us an early Christmas bonus with
this line. One week a season does not make, East Carolina. (And, if anything,
teams that pull a huge upset often lose the next week, such as Stanford after
last year’s USC win.) The average guy on West Virginia played for a high school
team that beat the ECU guys’ teams by 30. Thirty sounds about right at the
college level too.
Pick: West Virginia 45, East Carolina 14
Last year: 24-15 straight up, 24-15 against the
spread
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