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NittanyWhiteOut’s Top 25
Posted by Devon2012 on Oct 08, 2008 |
Okay, guys and gals, we here at NittanyWhiteOut are completely unassociated with the blogpoll (seriously, congrats for joining forces with CBS), but I’ve always wanted to put out my personal rankings and have someone read them. I also don’t think that having preseason rankings mean anything, and that we should wait until midseason before polls start. You look at a team like Wisconsin, they’re #24 in the coaches poll but have looked pretty bad the last couple of weeks, especially in a devastating loss at Michigan. Hell, Auburn is at #21 in the AP and #20 in the Coaches Poll, and I’ve seen peewee teams with more offense. But because of the high preseason rank, you can’t bump them down too far. So after week 6 is a great time to start your rankings.
1. Alabama
2. Oklahoma
3. Missouri
4. Penn State
5. Vanderbilt
6. Texas
7. BYU
8. Texas Tech
9. LSU
10. USC
11. Florida
12. Georgia
13. Utah
14. Ohio State
15. Boise State
16. Illinois
17. South Florida
18. Virginia Tech
19. North Carolina
20. Michigan State
21. Oklahoma State
22. Kansas
23. Northwestern
24. Notre Dame
25. Tulsa
Let’s take a look at where I differ from the major polls:
First, I have Alabama at #1, based on who they’ve beat. That’s the most impressive resume in college football. Oklahoma hasn’t been tested yet, so they’re relegated to #2. I drop Texas a little bit, and bump up PSU, because Texas’s best win is against Colorado. I’m not impressed. I also give LSU a big drop, down to #9, because they somehow managed to give up 21 points to Auburn. Vanderbilt probably isn’t the 5th best team in the country, but I have trouble putting them below LSU, Texas Tech, or BYU on the basis of two real good wins.
The biggest difference between my rankings and any other poll is my placement of Illinois at #16. They have two losses, but they were both close games and both to top-6 teams. I have trouble faulting them too much for that. They dismantled a good Michigan defense and could well run the table in the Big Ten the rest of the way. I like USF, and I’m not going to totally kill them for losing without their top player. My other big bumps go to UNC, who will get some real national recognition after beating the Irish, who I not-so-coincedentally have ranked #24. That offense is coming together pretty well, and I’m pleasantly surprised with the play of Jimmy Claussen. Tulsa puts up plenty of points, why not have them at #25.
Kansas looked good last week in a comeback win against Iowa State, but a good team doesn’t go down 21-0 to Iowa State. That’s why I’m critical of them. Oklahoma State’s best win might be against Troy. Missouri will handle them easily. Northwestern is a team I’m high on, and Tyrell Sutton is a beast. They haven’t looked too impressive, but I have to credit an undefeated team in a major conference.
You won’t see Wake Forest or Pitt on these rankings for a while, at least. Both play in awful conferences (the Big East is straight up awful, the ACC is just purely mediocre) and have bad losses. I was high on Wake coming in, but Riley Skinner has been pretty underwhelming, and the running game is averaging 2.4 yards per carry. As for Pitt, they lost to Bowling Green. That’s just awful. The aforementioned Wisconsin just isn’t a complete football team, and PJ Hill seems to have regressed. I’m not a fan.
A few teams I like, and to keep a look out for making it onto these rankings next week: Minnesota, Cal, Ball State, Cincinnati, and Kentucky.
by formerlyanonymous, on October 9 2008 @ 12:18 am
I disagree with BYU so high. Who have they beaten? UCLA? They are awful. The win against Tennessee is meaning less and less these days. Washington? They are possibly even worse. Add the fact BYU barely scraped by Washington and it looks worse. Utah State on the road? Is that their best win? The other two are Wyoming and Northern Iowa at home. Tell me how that team looks any stronger than, say, Northwestern, Texas Tech, or Oklahoma State?
Just curious. thanks
by Anonymous, on October 9 2008 @ 6:17 am
Notre Dame! Really?! You won’t rank Pitt because of their weak conference schedule though they did beat a mediocre South Florida team, but you put in Notre Dame? It is hard enough to hope Notre Dame doesn’t get a BCS at-large bid this year (even though they very might get in with just 2 losses with an extremely weak schedule), but to rank them already just 6 weeks into their season doesn’t help either.
by Devon2012, on October 9 2008 @ 10:06 am
Notre Dame is coming together more than I expected. Claussen is starting to look like a real good QB. Their one loss is to a good Michigan State team, and they handled Michigan, Purdue, and Stanford. For the record, Notre Dame beat Purdue by a bigger margin than we did. Pitt has a better win, but a far worse loss, and if ND and Pitt played, I’d pick ND. Notre Dame won’t sniff the top 10, especially if they lose to UNC (a game I’m actually pretty excited to watch) but they deserve to be ranked.
BYU is being ranked so high not because of who they’ve beat but because of how they’ve won. They beat UCLA 59-0. UCLA is struggling, but Penn State couldn’t even beat Coastal Carolina 59-0. I know they struggled against Washington, and only looked decent against Utah State (don’t make that game closer than it was, they led 34-0 before letting up a little) but their wins are still more impressive than Northwern or Okie State. Tech is right up there, but I don’t like teams without defenses.
by formerlyanonymous, on October 9 2008 @ 2:10 pm
I made it to a Tech game already this year. I think the defense will be better than normal, but again, I’ve seen it against inferior opponents. We’ll see.
by Devon2012, on October 9 2008 @ 5:10 pm
That’s fair. They haven’t been in a shootout yet, but they haven’t really played anyone. Really, 4 through 9 is pretty interchangeable.