NCAA Football Rankings 2015: Hits and Misses from Week 2 Polls
After five incredibly rewarding days, Week 1 of the 2015 college football season is finally in the books. It's time to stop going off preseason narratives and start judging teams based on what they've done on the field.
In other words, it's time to stop overreacting to polls.
Oh, who are we kidding? Of course there are going to be overreactions. In fact, given the narrow scope of the season, it's only natural to overreact to what we've seen thus far. The more important point is to keep those opinions malleable.
With that in mind, we're going to put our two cents in regarding the latest rankings from the USA Today Amway Coaches Poll and the Associated Press Top 25 poll. Which teams were appropriately ranked? Which ones did pollsters miss the mark on? Which ones deserved to fall out of the polls? Which ones should have been included? We provide some answers in the following slides based on Week 1 results.
Hit: Alabama
1 of 7
USA Today Amway Coaches Poll: No. 2 (previously No. 3)
Associated Press Top 25: No. 2 (previously No. 3)
Ohio State may have worried some fans by entering halftime of Monday's game against Virginia Tech down 17-14, but the Buckeyes ultimately showed why they're still the No. 1 team in the country by pulling away in the second half. There's a more compelling debate, however, for which team should be No. 2: Alabama or TCU.
Both polls believe Alabama is that second team, not the Frogs. It's a narrow margin in the coaches poll, mind you; only 21 points separate the two there. And if we're looking at the big picture, it's probably not a huge deal which one is which.
However, if we're going off Week 1 performances—and that's all we have at this point—it's tough to argue against the Tide. Their ability to completely shut down Wisconsin's running game to 1.9 yards per carry was noteworthy. It was total domination by the Tide up front, and that gives them the rightful edge.
Miss: UCLA
2 of 7
USA Today Amway Coaches Poll: No. 13 (previously No. 14)
Associated Press Top 25: No. 13 (previously No. 13)
It remains to be seen for sure, but it's at least understandable if many voters think Virginia wasn't the toughest Week 1 opponent for UCLA. That said, the Cavaliers are tougher than what some top-10 teams faced on opening weekend, and UCLA had a convincing victory in which it pulled away in the second half.
The Bruins are experienced and talented at just about every position. They have a physical defense up front that makes it hard for opposing offenses to run against.
The question mark was true freshman Josh Rosen and how he would perform in his first game. Not only did he meet high expectations, but he surpassed them by throwing for 351 yards and three touchdowns. Rosen looked confident and didn't try to force too much.
In fact, as Pro Football Focus' Wes Huber wrote, Rosen graded out higher in his first collegiate appearance than former quarterback Brett Hundley graded at any point last year: "Rosen earned a very impressive plus-4.1 grade for his performance. Just how good is that? Well, it’s higher than any grade last year’s starter (and current Green Bay Packer) Brett Hundley earned in any one game last season."
That's not to say Rosen will always be that sharp, but if we're just going on one game, I don't know how the Bruins don't at least crack the Top 10.
Hit: Texas A&M
3 of 7
USA Today Amway Coaches Poll: No. 19 (previously unranked)
Associated Press Top 25: No. 16 (previously unranked)
Given the opponent's preseason rank and the final score of the game, there may not have been a more convincing Week 1 win than Texas A&M's 38-17 victory over Arizona State. Yes, the Houston-based neutral-site matchup was very much a de facto home game for the Aggies, but this was a nice nonconference win.
Furthermore, the A&M offense, for which the Aggies are normally known, may have been the least impressive part. Sacking the opposing quarterback nine times and scoring on special teams meant A&M was winning in all three phases of the game. This was a no-brainer. The Aggies entered the season unranked but didn't stay there for long. This is a much-deserved bump in the polls.
Now, as head coach Kevin Sumlin said, via Kate Hairopoulos of the Dallas Morning News, it's about managing the newfound expectations.
"Let’s see how they handle it as a team,” Sumlin said. “We’ve got to listen to what’s inside our building, not what’s on television.”
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
Hit/Miss: Notre Dame
4 of 7
USA Today Amway Coaches Poll: No. 11 (previously No. 11)
Associated Press Top 25: No. 9 (previously No. 11)
No, Texas isn't very good right now. If we're being honest, the Longhorns seem like a long shot to go to a bowl game if the offense doesn't turn things around.
But Texas is more talented than Arkansas State and Louisiana-Monroe, USC's and Georgia's Week 1 opponents, respectively. And Notre Dame made its win over Texas look just as easy as the Trojans and Bulldogs made their openers look.
For that reason, I like the Associated Press putting Notre Dame in the Top 10 and feel the coaches poll should have shown the Irish the same type of love.
Praising Notre Dame in any way, shape or form is going to draw a lot of eye rolls, if not outright ire, but this team could be onto something special. Quarterback Malik Zaire was an efficient and impressive 19-of-22 for 313 yards and three touchdowns. To do that against a Charlie Strong-led defense in your first start is no small feat. If C.J. Prosise is able to pick up the slack in the running game because of Tarean Folston's season-ending knee injury, the offense should be just fine.
There will be greater tests for Notre Dame this season, but it's hard not to like what was on display in South Bend.
Hit: Stanford
5 of 7
USA Today Amway Coaches Poll: unranked (previously No. 21)
Associated Press Top 25: unranked (previously No. 21)
Perhaps the easiest decision in the Week 2 polls was to drop Stanford completely out of the Top 25. The Cardinal looked to be Oregon's biggest competitor in the Pac-12 heading into the season. Along those lines, some, such as ESPN's Mike Golic, even had Stanford as a possible playoff contender.
While eliminating teams from playoff contention after one week is a bad idea—we need not remind you about last year's national champion—Stanford clearly has a lot of work to do before it can be considered even a divisional contender.
Northwestern completely outmatched and outmuscled head coach David Shaw's team, which came as a huge surprise. There's been little to no development in quarterback Kevin Hogan's game, and Shaw continues to be criticized for his conservative play-calling.
Miss: Minnesota
6 of 7
USA Today Amway Coaches Poll: unranked (previously unranked)
Associated Press Top 25: unranked (previously unranked)
Voters all too often fall into easy patterns. Win, regardless of the opponent, and a team moves up the polls. Lose, regardless of the opponent, and the team moves down. How often do pollsters think it could actually work the opposite way as well? A loss can tell you just as many good things about a team as a win can tell you bad things.
That's why we're making the case for Minnesota to at least sneak its way into the bottom of the Top 25 polls. The Gophers gave TCU everything the Frogs could handle last Thursday. Though the Gophers came up just short, they defensively kept one of the best offenses (and quarterbacks) in college football in check. For the first time since 2013, TCU was held to under 30 points.
Minnesota doesn't have much offensive firepower. Its best player, tight end Maxx Williams, left for the NFL after last season. But its defense is good enough to win games. The Gophers don't seem like they're any fun to play and should give plenty of opponents fits this season.
Hit: Boise State
7 of 7
USA Today Amway Coaches Poll: No. 22 (previously No. 24)
Associated Press Top 25: No. 20 (previously No. 23)
We're still a long, long way from realistically talking about Boise State as a possible playoff buster. The Broncos would have to go undefeated and need all hell to break loose elsewhere. Luckily, this is college football, which is about as predictable as 18- to-22-year-olds allow it to be.
Which is to say, no one ever knows what's going to happen.
Anyway, the Broncos did their usual Power Five-winning thing last week, holding off a late rally from Washington to win 16-13. There are undeniably problems with the Huskies, since there's no longer a stout defensive line to anchor things. But Boise is once again showing it can hang with plenty of teams in high-profile conferences.
Who knows how pretty Boise will look this year, but this is a team that wants to run over everyone in its path. That has to be worth something for a program that, despite all its national success, still has something to prove.
Ben Kercheval is a lead writer for college football. All quotes cited unless obtained firsthand.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
