NCAA Football Rankings 2014: Hits and Misses from Week 3 Polls
Week 2 is in the books, and it's time to release the polls...and the hounds champing at the bit to scrutinize said polls.
The latest Associated Press and Amway coaches polls are out, as is the Bleacher Report Top 25. Peruse them with great passion—and, likely, utter disbelief. Some of the rankings are major head-scratchers.
Most teams have played, at max, two games, so now is still the time when rankings can be dramatically shuffled from the week before. It's OK to overreact. It's OK to put Oregon at No. 1, keep Virginia Tech in or near the Top 10 or drop Ohio State and/or UCLA.
Things will be sorted out eventually, and polls will get less crazy from week to week. For now, voters should go off what they see and throw out any preconceived notions about preseason rankings.
With that in mind, here are the hits and misses from the polls after Week 2.
Miss: Oregon Ducks
1 of 8
Ranking Last Week: Coaches, No. 4; AP, No. 3
Current Coaches Poll: No. 4
Current AP Poll: No. 2
Current B/R Poll: No. 2
Overall Record: 2-0
UCLA was the trendy pick from the Pac-12 to make it to the first College Football Playoff, but Oregon still looks to be the class of the conference. The Ducks showed two things in a 46-27 win over Michigan State.
First, this team has an ability to handle adversity. Yes, the environment was the safe confines of Autzen Stadium, but Oregon overcame a 24-18 halftime deficit to outscore the Spartans 28-3 in the second half.
Second, Oregon can still be Oregon in the face of a good defense. Michigan State head coach Mark Dantonio and defensive coordinator Pat Narduzzi are two of the best in the business, but the Ducks ran the ball better in the second half and caught the Spartans off guard multiple times in the passing game.
But despite having easily the best victory of any team two weeks into the season, Oregon is still ranked No. 4 in the coaches poll behind Oklahoma, Alabama and Florida State, who have played one team (Oklahoma State) of note combined.
The AP poll did slightly better, putting the Ducks at No. 2.
If teams are going to play tough games, voters have to start rewarding them for wins. Oregon should be No. 1. It's that simple.
Hit: Notre Dame Fighting Irish
2 of 8
Ranking Last Week: Coaches, No. 15; AP, No. 16
Current Coaches Poll: No. 11
Current AP Poll: No. 11
Current B/R Poll: No. 11
Overall Record: 2-0
In a week of mostly misses, it's nice to see at least a couple of correct calls—with Notre Dame being one of them. The Irish took care of Michigan in the last game between the two for the foreseeable future in a 31-0 rout.
Notre Dame quarterback Everett Golson was as sharp as ever with 226 passing yards and three touchdowns, and the Irish defense put to bed any talk that the Wolverines offense was on the mend.
In time, the Michigan win may look less impressive if the Wolverines can't rebound, but this was a solid showing for the second week in a row for Notre Dame. Considering that several teams haven't played anyone of note yet, Notre Dame's 2-0 resume looks all right by comparison.
It feels right that the Irish are hovering around the Top 10.
Miss: Virginia Tech Hokies
3 of 8
Ranking Last Week: Coaches, NR; AP, NR
Current Coaches Poll: No. 19
Current AP Poll: No. 17
Current B/R Poll: No. 17
Overall Record: 2-0
Is Virginia Tech for real? We'll find out over the long haul, but in the meantime, shouldn't the Hokies be getting a little more credit? They're 2-0 and coming off an impressive 35-21 win over Ohio State in the Horseshoe, where the Buckeyes haven't lost since November of 2011.
And yet, in the coaches poll, Virginia Tech comes in at No. 19—one spot behind Ohio State. At least the AP poll has more common sense, putting the Hokies at No. 17 and the Buckeyes at No. 22.
The Buckeyes have their share of problems, starting up front with their protection of quarterback J.T. Barrett. Hokies defensive coordinator Bud Foster saw that as clear as day and got all kinds of pressure on Barrett.
Still, winning in Columbus is no easy task, and it's not like Ohio State is without talent. At the end of the day, Virginia Tech beat Ohio State on the road in a tough environment. Under no circumstances should the former be ranked behind the latter.
The Hokies are appropriately ranked in the middle of the Top 25—they just can't be behind Ohio State. Since this team doesn't have to face Florida State, Clemson or even Louisville, the Buckeyes may be the toughest opponent it gets during the regular season.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
Hit: Stanford Cardinal
4 of 8
Ranking Last Week: Coaches, No. 10; AP, No. 13
Current Coaches Poll: No. 16
Current AP Poll: No. 15
Current B/R Poll: No. 15
Overall Record: 1-1
In this playoff era, a loss shouldn't instinctively mean dropping a team down the Top 25. That said, it's clear Stanford has a lot to work on following its 13-10, mistake-riddled loss to USC.
The Cardinal actually played the style of football they are accustomed to playing. The defense, after replacing defensive coordinator Derek Mason as well as several key members of the front seven, held USC's offense to 59 plays and less than 300 yards.
Both teams had nine offensive drives, and Stanford had all its drives go into Trojan territory. From there, though, it was a different story. Missed field goals, penalties and turnovers plagued David Shaw's team. The inability to finish is something you'd expect from a program with a lot of new faces.
Those mistakes should be correctable over time.
It feels like Stanford could hang with anyone in the Pac-12—and lose to just about anyone in the Pac-12 at the same time. Dropping the Cardinal down a few spots makes sense, but this is still a tough team. Both polls have Stanford at about the right ranking.
Miss: BYU Cougars
5 of 8
Ranking Last Week: Coaches, NR; AP, NR
Current Coaches Poll: NR
Current AP Poll: No. 25
Current B/R Poll: No. 25 (tie)
Overall Record: 2-0
Just as the ACC and SEC don't consider BYU an opponent from a power-five conference, voters in the coaches poll apparently don't consider the Cougars a Top 25 team.
And that's after BYU beat Texas 41-7. Yet North Carolina (31-27 over San Diego State), Nebraska (31-24 over McNeese State) and UCLA (42-35 over Memphis) are apparently good enough to remain ranked over BYU.
Even Bruce Feldman of Fox Sports is confused about this.
Yes, the Longhorns are still getting outclassed and have a long way to go before being considered a great program, but the Cougars can't even get consensus Top 25 consideration? What, exactly, have the Tar Heels or Huskers done to indicate they're Top 25 teams?
Voters basing in-season rankings off preseason rankings has to stop. AP voters were smart enough to include the Cougars, but it still feels like they are several spots too low.
Miss: UCLA Bruins
6 of 8
Ranking Last Week: Coaches, No. 11; AP, No. 11
Current Coaches Poll: No. 12
Current AP Poll: No. 12
Current B/R Poll: No. 13
Overall Record: 2-0
Did voters go to sleep without watching UCLA play? For the second straight week, the Bruins barely escaped with a win. On Saturday, it was a 42-35 win over Memphis that, on more than one occasion, made fans hold their breath.
The Tigers look to be heading in the right direction under head coach Justin Fuente, but UCLA is still considered a team just outside the Top 10? This doesn't pass the smell test at all.
UCLA has easily been one of the more disappointing teams over the first two weeks. In Week 1, the offense couldn't get it together against Virginia. On Saturday, the defense struggled. There are simply too many questions for the Bruins to be getting Top 15 consideration.
Some might say this isn't a Top 25 team the way the Bruins are playing. Things need to start turning around soon.
Hit: Nebraska Cornhuskers
7 of 8
Ranking Last Week: Coaches, No. 18; AP, No. 19
Current Coaches Poll: No. 21
Current AP Poll: NR
Current B/R Poll: NR
Overall Record: 2-0
There just aren't many other ways to look at Nebraska's 31-24 win over McNeese State in Week 2. The Cornhuskers needed running back Ameer Abdullah to go full beast mode in the final seconds to beat the FCS opponent.
Not surprisingly, voters in the AP poll dropped Nebraska out of the Top 25, while the coaches poll dropped the Huskers three spots to No. 21.
Scares against FCS teams happen far more often now than they used to. No team is immune to getting caught in sluggish performances. For that, Nebraska deserves to fall out of the Top 25.
Perhaps this team can climb back up the polls, as the Big Ten West appears to be wide open. For now, though, dropping Nebraska, even after a win, is the right call.
Miss: Oklahoma State Cowboys
8 of 8
Ranking Last Week: Coaches, NR; AP, NR
Current Coaches Poll: NR
Current AP Poll: NR
Current B/R Poll: NR
Overall Record: 1-1
Again, I'll stick my neck out for the Cowboys, who are a glaring omission from the Top 25. Oklahoma State had little trouble taking care of Missouri State in a 40-23 win.
In fact, the Pokes may have found a quarterback who is better suited to run the offense than starter J.W. Walsh: Daxx Garman.
The junior passed for 244 yards and a pair of scores while Walsh was sidelined with an injury. As David Ubben of Fox Sports Southwest explains, this team could be more dangerous with Garman going forward. At the very least, Garman can stretch the field vertically in a way Walsh can't:
"Tougher opponents will tell us more about Garman's real accuracy and decision-making under pressure, but he showed a ton of unsurprising upside, considering the constant reports of his fantastic arm strength since he came to campus in 2012. Since Brandon Weeden left, only Wes Lunt had a bigger arm in Stillwater than Garman, but his skill set is much more fitting to Oklahoma State's preferred offense and talent. Receivers Jhajuan Seales, Brandon Sheperd and Marcell Ateman can be much more useful with a guy like Garman who gets the ball down the field.
"
The Pokes should have been in the Top 25 after losing to Florida State. Nothing in the win over Missouri State indicated otherwise.
Ben Kercheval is a lead writer for college football.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
