College Football Rankings 2013: Hyped Teams That Are Vastly Overrated
The latest AP Top 25 has been released after yet another week of fantastic college football, complete with some notable changes.
But while a few Top 15 teams are still ranked in a relatively similar position, their rankings do not match their abilities.
Whether it's a team starting the wrong quarterback or a team that can't seem to stop anyone, here are my most overrated teams through Week 6 of the 2013 college football campaign.
*Statistics courtesy of CFBStats.com
Ohio State (4)
Ohio State is 6-0, and the Buckeyes deserve credit for that.
I just don't know if they deserve enough credit to be considered a Top 5 team.
Michael Felder of Bleacher Report said that he liked Kenny Guiton as the starter over Braxton Miller before the Week 5 game against Wisconsin, highlighting Guiton's ability in the pocket. At first, I was a little skeptical, but I'm beginning to come around to Felder's point of view.
We saw Miller's limitations as a pocket passer against Northwestern last week. He went 15-of-26 for 203 yards with an interception against the Wildcats, finishing with a QBR of 24.6.
Ohio State's running game, complete with senior running back Carlos Hyde, is mighty dangerous, but I'm interested to see the Buckeyes offense when it faces teams with better run defenses like Iowa and Michigan down the stretch. If teams can slow down the run and force Miller to pass, they have a shot at downing Ohio State.
Georgia (7)
I obviously have no qualms with Georgia's offense, but that defense still bothers me.
Tennessee scored 31 points against South Alabama...then scored 31 points against the Bulldogs.
The Bulldogs have been gashed through the air and on the ground in the past two weeks. It took overtime to beat the Volunteers 34-31. Every quarterback, including Aaron Murray, will have his off days, and we've seen what happens when he has off days: a narrow win over Tennessee and a loss to Clemson to begin the season.
I'm interested to see what happens to the Bulldogs when they face Florida in Gainesville. Florida ranks third in the nation in yards allowed per pass attempt and ninth in the country in yards allowed per carry. The Gators are also breaking in dual-threat quarterback Tyler Murphy, who I like better than previous starter Jeff Driskel.
South Carolina (14)
The big story is the apparent drama between Jadeveon Clowney and the Gamecocks, but there are more questions surrounding the team.
You gotta love sophomore running back Mike Davis, and quarterback Connor Shaw appeared just fine against Kentucky after suffering a shoulder injury against UCF, but the defense is worrisome. Clowney is, no doubt, a part of that, but it's still disappointing to see the Gamecocks ranked 65th in the nation in yards allowed per play.
Since the Week 1 victory over North Carolina, the Gamecocks have lost to Georgia and defeated Vanderbilt, UCF and Kentucky by an average of 6.7 points. That's not exactly eye-opening play unless you are talking about it from a negative angle.
Unless something changes quickly, I wouldn't be surprised if South Carolina's regular-season finale against Clemson resembles the 41-30 loss to Georgia.
