College Football Rankings: What the Polls SHOULD Look Like
Early-season college rankings are absolutely ridiculous.
With tons of teams playing cupcake non-conference schedules and relying simply on prestige, there are always a ton of pretenders falsely impersonating good teams in the rankings.
This is how the college football polls SHOULD look like, based on what teams have shown this season, as opposed to making glaring mistakes like putting the post-Colt McCoy Longhorns in the Top 10.
No. 25-No. 21
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25. Missouri
Missouri is undefeated, but hasn’t proved much outside of a win against a much-improved (but still pretty bad) Illinois team. They’ve done enough to come in at No. 25, but not any higher until they get a true quality win.
24. Oklahoma State
Oklahoma State is also undefeated, but hasn’t beaten anyone outside of the disappointing Texas A&M Aggies by a hair, so they sit at No. 24.
23. Air Force
Air Force, the No. 1 rushing team in the nation at 373.6 ypg, hasn’t beaten anyone of note besides an okay Navy squad, but by only losing by three to Oklahoma, they’ve done enough to be penciled in at No. 23.
22. Virginia Tech
Virginia Tech might be a shocker at No. 22, but hear me out. They were very impressive in a loss to national-title-contender Boise State, beat a good team in NC State, and a decent one in Boston College. Yes, they lost to James Madison (on short week after a huge emotional game), but I’ll give them a pass because they’ve shown some signs of being an elite team, sitting atop the ACC at 2-0.
21. South Carolina
South Carolina did beat Georgia, a team that was supposed be good but really isn’t, and fought Auburn til the end, but they haven’t actually beaten anyone good. It isn’t their fault that Georgia is bad, but until they prove themselves, they won’t jump inside of the top 20.
No. 20-No. 16
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20. Wisconsin
Wisconsin beat probably the best 2-3 team in the country in Arizona State, but lost to conference foe Michigan State. They don’t have a true marquee win so far, but the lack of other teams with big wins allows them to slip in at No. 20. They’ll need to beat Ohio State in a couple of weeks if they want to hang around in the top 25. But they are safe here…for now.
19. Utah
Utah is clearly the most over-ranked team in college football. At No. 10 in both polls, their best win is over a 2-2 Pittsburgh team. Other than that, they’ve blown out poor competition, and while I don’t doubt that they can beat Air Force and Notre Dame later on in the season, they aren’t moving up until they actually do it. A win over Big-12 Iowa State this week will help a little.
18. Kansas State
As opposed to the Utes, Kansas State is probably the most under-ranked team in college football. They’ve beaten a good UCLA team, and two BCS foes in Iowa State and UCF. That isn’t enough to get them in the top 15, but they are an undefeated Big 12 team that has beaten someone, and that grants them a spot at No. 18.
17. Iowa
Iowa is a good team. But they couldn’t get their signature win against Arizona, and while they beat Penn State, the Nittany Lions are just that good. They’ve shown enough to sit at No. 17, though, and will climb up the rankings if they can beat Michigan in two weeks.
16. Miami (FL)
Their only loss came at No. 2 Ohio State, so you can’t fault them there, even though they looked awful against the Buckeyes. But outside of that, they’ve only beaten the mediocre Pitt Panthers, and an underrated Clemson squad. They have a big test this weekend vs. Florida St., and a win would cement them in the top 15, and proclaim them as the ACC-favorites.
No. 15-No. 11
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15. Florida
Florida, ranked so highly mostly because of their prestige, hasn’t been all that impressive this season. I think they are a good team, but certainly not as good as their pre-season ranking of 4 (!) indicated. They beat average teams in Tennessee and Kentucky, but were destroyed by Alabama. But since Alabama is so dominant, I think the Gators still deserve to sit as high as No. 15 for now.
14. Michigan
Michigan has been one of the most surprising stories in the nation, with Heisman front-runner Denard Robinson singlehandedly leading them to victories over a mediocre UConn team and two underrated squads in Notre Dame (yes, they are underrated right now) and Indiana (very potent offense).
But the fact is, they haven’t beaten a good team, so they don’t deserve to be any higher than 14, and they only sit this high due to the lack of other teams with quality wins. Wins against Michigan State and Iowa in the upcoming weeks would legitimize the Wolverines as a top-10 team, but we’ll see if their defense is up to the challenge.
13. Auburn
Auburn, led by transfer Cam Newton, has been impressive so far, beating a good South Carolina team, and squeezing out a win against the underrated Clemson Tigers. They’ve also taken out the decent Mississippi State Bulldogs. This is enough to sit just outside of the top-10 for now, but they’ll need a win over Arkansas in two weeks to prove they belong as an elite team. I don’t think they can pull it off.
12. Stanford
Stanford had been extremely impressive until last week, routing all of their opponents, which included UCLA, Notre Dame, and Wake Forest (listed in order from impressive to not-so-impressive). And with a 21-3 lead over Oregon in the first quarter last week, the Cardinal seemed poised to jump into the top five. But they were outscored 49-10 the rest of the way, losing in embarrassing fashion.
The Ducks offense is so good that they still deserve to sit at No. 12, but they won’t move up too much unless they run the table in the Pac-10, something that they are certainly capable of doing.
11. LSU
It pains me to put the Tigers and the 112th passing offense here, but they deserve it, based on a slew of wins over BCS competition. Their best win came against a pretty good West Virginia team, and the rest of their wins merit them near-top-10 status. But with an offense like this, look for them to free fall out of the top-25 in just a few weeks after losing to the brutal trio of Florida, Auburn, and Alabama.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
No. 10-No. 6
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10. Arizona
They have an excellent win over Iowa, but outside of that, have only beaten the pedestrian Cal Golden Bears by one (!). But the win over Iowa is enough for now, as they have done enough to be ranked as the second team in the Pac-10, possibly the deepest conference in the nation. I don’t think they’ll stay here for long, though.
9. Michigan State
Michigan State at No. 9? Well, I don’t think they’ll stay here for long, but a massive statement win over a very good Wisconsin team and a win over Notre Dame shows that for now, they should be the second-ranked team in the Big 10. And in such a deep conference, that merits them a spot in the top 10.
By the way, they’ll drop out in just a week, not able to keep up with the high-flying Michigan Wolverines on Saturday in Ann Arbor.
8. Ohio State
The Buckeyes have key win over Miami, but the Hurricanes didn’t show much in bowing down to the class of the Big 10. They barely eked out a win against Illinois, and while their defense is dominant, I don’t know if their offense can keep up with some of the Big Ten’s best, notably Michigan.
Look for them to be outscored by Michigan in their final game, spoiling their national title hopes. I do think they’ll do enough to make the Rose Bowl, though, as Michigan won’t be consistent enough to win the Big Ten.
7. Nebraska
The Huskers have only beaten Washington, so they honestly don’t deserve such a high ranking based on who they’ve beaten. But their defense is so dominant, and now that Taylor Martinez has made their offense into a serious threat, they’ll be almost impossible to stop. Look for them to ascend quickly once they play some serious competition.
6. TCU
TCU impressively took out an explosive Oregon State team, but that’s all they’ve done. It’s disappointing they couldn’t play another tough game like Boise State did, and for that reason, I’ll have a hard time putting them much higher than this until they beat Air Force and Utah. But when they do, that will go a long way in cementing their status as a BCS-Bowl team.
No. 5-No. 1
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5. Arkansas
By losing by just four and arguably outplaying Alabama, the Razorbacks deserve to be in the top five. The Crimson Tide are so dominant, that a team playing them this closely has to be a great team. Look for Ryan Mallett to lead this team to a one-loss season and a BCS Bowl.
4. Oklahoma
While I think Nebraska is the class of the Big 12, the Sooners have been more impressive so far, taking out Texas, Florida State, and Air Force. Those are three quality wins, more than almost anyone else in the country can boast. So until they have to play Nebraska in the Big 12 Championship, they may sit atop of the Huskers.
3. Boise State
The Broncos have been spectacular, beating Virgina Tech and Oregon State. Unfortunately, they won’t get to prove themselves, playing in the depleted WAC. A win against Nevada will help, but they’ll probably be stuck at No. 3 for most, if not all, of the year.
2. Oregon
Despite an early scare against Stanford last week, the Ducks have shown that they have the best offense in college football. They’ve routed all of their opponents, including a good Arizona State team, and certainly deserve to sit at No. 2 after taking out Stanford so decisively.
1. Alabama
There isn’t much to say about the Crimson Tide. They are head and shoulders above the rest of the country, beating Arkansas and absolutely manhandling Florida. They look poised for another national title, unless there is a team out there that I haven’t heard of that can stop them.
Matt Rudnitsky is a student at the University of Michigan and a writing intern at Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter at https://twitter.com/Mattrud
My Rankings Vs. AP Vs. USA Today
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My Rankings:
1. Alabama
2. Oregon
3. Boise State
4. Oklahoma
5. Arkansas
6. TCU
7. Nebraska
8. Ohio State
9. Michigan State
10.Arizona
11. LSU
12. Stanford
13. Auburn
14. Michigan
15. Florida
16. Miami (FL)
17. Iowa
18. Kansas State
19. Utah
20. Wisconsin
21. South Carolina
22. Virginia Tech
23. Air Force
24. Oklahoma State
25. Missouri
USA Today Poll | |||
| 1 | Alabama (57) | ||
| 2 | Ohio State (1) | ||
| 3 | Oregon | ||
| 4 | Boise State | ||
| 5 | TCU | ||
| 6 | Nebraska | ||
| 7 | Oklahoma | ||
| 8 | Auburn | ||
| 9 | LSU | ||
| 10 | Utah | ||
| 11 | Arizona | ||
| 12 | Florida | ||
| 13 | Arkansas | ||
| 14 | |||
| 15 | Iowa | ||
| 16 | Michigan State | ||
| 17 | Michigan | ||
| 18 | Stanford | ||
| 19 | Wisconsin | ||
| 20 | South Carolina | ||
| 21 | Oklahoma State | ||
| 22 | Missouri | ||
| 23 | Nevada | ||
| 24 | Florida State | ||
| 25 | Northwestern | ||
AP Top 25
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| AP Top 25 |
| 1 Alabama |
| 2 Ohio State |
| 3 Oregon |
| 4 Boise State |
| 5 TCU |
| 6 Oklahoma |
| 7 Nebraska |
| 8 Auburn |
| 9 Arizona |
| 10 Utah |
| 11 Arkansas |
| 12 LSU |
| 13 Miami (Fla.) |
| 14 Florida |
| 15 Iowa |
| 16 Stanford |
| 17 Michigan State |
| 18 Michigan |
| 19 South Carolina |
| 20 Wisconsin |
| 21 Nevada |
| 22 Oklahoma State |
| 23 Florida State |
| 24 Missouri |
| 25 Air Force |
USA Today Coaches Poll
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| USA Today Coaches Poll |
| 1 Alabama |
| 2 Ohio State |
| 3 Oregon |
| 4 Boise State |
| 5 TCU |
| 6 Nebraska |
| 7 Oklahoma |
| 8 Auburn |
| 9 LSU |
| 10 Utah |
| 11 Arizona |
| 12 Florida |
| 13 Arkansas |
| 14 Miami (Fla.) |
| 15 Iowa |
| 16 Michigan State |
| 17 Michigan |
| 18 Stanford |
| 19 Wisconsin |
| 20 South Carolina |
| 21 Oklahoma State |
| 22 Missouri |
| 23 Nevada |
| 24 Florida State |
| 25 Northwestern |
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
