College Football Rankings 2011: Predicting the Top 25 After Week One

It’s been a wild, exciting and somewhat rain-soaked start to the college football season, but we’re now just one game away from putting the first weekend in the books.

The wildly entertaining TCU-Baylor game started the weekend off with a bang, but the two marquee matchups that everyone was looking forward to, LSU vs. Oregon and Boise State vs. Georgia, fell short of expectations and didn’t provide the drama we had all been hoping for.

Nonetheless, it’s great to have college football back once again and the 2011 season looks like it’s going to offer up a good deal of twists and turns on the road to the national championship game in January.

Since so many teams took advantage of playing weak opponents this weekend, it’s still tough to really get a good read on who is legit and who is over-hyped, but here is a look at how the top teams should be ranked going into Week 2 of the season.

Teams with More to Prove

Utah Utes

West Virginia Mountaineers

Arizona State Sun Devils

Notre Dame Fighting Irish

TCU Horned Frogs

Georgia Bulldogs

Northwestern Wildcats

Miami Hurricanes

Air Force Falcons

Pittsburgh Panthers

Michigan Wolverines

25. USC Trojans

It’s odd that QB Matt Barkley and WR Robert Woods both set school records yesterday, yet the USC offense still only managed to put up 19 points against a Minnesota defense that gave up an average of 33 points last season.

Barkley completed a school-record 34 passes and Woods hauled in a school-record 17 catches but the offense failed to get anything going in the second half, which allowed the Gophers to stick around.

The Trojans will need more offensive playmakers to emerge and better line play if they want to improve on last year’s eight-win season.

24. Texas Longhorns

After last year’s embarrassing 5-7 campaign, the Texas Longhorns took their first step on their quest for redemption by beating Rice 34-9 in Austin last night.

Highly-criticized quarterback Garrett Gilbert had a fair showing, throwing for 239 yards and a touchdown, but it was the performance of freshman running back Malcolm Brown, who averaged 5.4 yards on 16 carries, that was the most encouraging.

The Longhorns will need big years out of both Gilbert and Brown if they have any hope of regaining their status as one of the Big 12’s elite teams.

23. Auburn Tigers

Where’s Cam Newton when you need him?

We knew Auburn’s title defense wasn’t going to be easy, but nobody expected the Tigers to come within a missed onside kick of losing in their home opener to Utah State, a team that beat three FBS opponents last season.

Gene Chizik’s inexperienced squad found themselves trailing by 10 points with less than four minutes remaining, but with their backs against the wall, they made the necessary plays to come back and win 42-38.

That kind of effort won’t cut it against Mississippi State next weekend, though.

22. Penn State Nittany Lions

Penn State started off strong, taking the opening kickoff 95 yards for a touchdown, and the Nittany Lions never slowed up, as they cruised to a 41-7 victory over Indiana State on Saturday.

The Penn State defense was stout, holding the Sycamores to just 170 total yards and eight first downs for the game.

RB Silas Redd was the top performer on offense, running for 104 yards and two touchdowns.

Both quarterbacks, Matt McGloin and Robert Bolden, played well, although McGloin looks like he has the upper hand to start against Alabama.

21. South Florida Bulls

Mother Nature doesn’t seem to be much of a college football fan but even she couldn’t stop Skip Holtz and the South Florida Bulls from pulling off a big win over Notre Dame in South Bend last night.

In a six hour rain-delayed marathon, the surprisingly athletic Bulls took advantage of Notre Dame’s miscues and helped the Big East regain some credibility by beating the Irish 23-20.

The offense only came up with one touchdown and the Irish doubled the Bulls’ offensive output but Holtz’s bunch proved that they know how to get it done in pressure-packed situations.

20. Baylor Bears

Robert Griffin III, welcome to the Heisman race.

RG3 came up with the weekend’s best performance in the weekend’s most exciting game, as he tore through a respected TCU defense, throwing for 359 yards and five touchdowns and guiding Baylor to an eye-opening 50-48 upset of the Horned Frogs.

With Griffin III and super-speedy receiver Kendall Wright making plays, the Baylor offense should be one of the most potent in the country this year. All the Bears will need is a more consistent effort out of their defense to have a big breakout season.

19. Florida Gators

We’ve been fooled.

For about the last year or so, we’ve been led to believe that Florida RB Jeff Demps is the fastest player in college football, but as it turns out, Demps’ teammate Chris Rainey may actually have a step on him.

Rainey showed off his astonishing speed in Florida’s 41-3 win over Florida Atlantic, scoring three touchdowns - one receiving, one rushing and one off of a blocked punt.

With QB John Brantley finally showing some improvement, it looks like the Charlie Weis-led Florida offense will be one of the most explosive in the SEC this season.

18. Missouri Tigers

It’s good that new quarterback James Franklin had a game to get some of his growing pains out, because the Missouri offense certainly didn’t look all that overwhelming on Saturday.

The Tigers only managed to produce 17 points and 291 yards of offense in their 17-6 win over Miami-Ohio  but Franklin did a pretty serviceable job overall, totaling 201 yards and two touchdowns.

If the young sophomore signal-caller can keep improving, Gary Pinkel’s team should be a factor in the Big 12 race this season.

17. Michigan State Spartans

Michigan State’s 28-6 win over Youngstown State on Friday night certainly can’t be characterized as ‘convincing,’ but the Spartans didn’t necessarily do anything in that game that would lead you to believe they won’t be able to compete for a Big Ten championship this year.

QB Kirk Cousins had a strong performance, completing 18 of 22 passes for 222 yards and a touchdown, and RB Edwin Baker also played well, averaging 6.1 yards on 15 carries.

Michigan State has the type of talent it takes to give Nebraska a strong challenge in the Legends Division this season.

16. Mississippi State Bulldogs

RB Vick Ballard continues to make all the teams that passed on him when he was coming out of junior college last year regret their decision.

The senior running back ran for 166 yards on just 10 carries and scored three touchdowns in the Bulldogs’ dominant 59-14 win at Memphis on Thursday night.

Ballard and QB Chris Relf look like they’re going to be a dynamic backfield combination this season and they should have Mississippi State in the thick of the SEC West race.

15. Ohio State Buckeyes

You could tell that Luke Fickell was a little nervous for his first game as head coach of Ohio State, but Fickell’s team helped erase some of his butterflies by shutting down Akron on their way to a convincing 42-0 victory on Saturday.

TE Jake Stoneburner, who hauled in three touchdown passes, was the star of the game, and overall, you had to be impressed by the play of the Buckeyes defense, which allowed just 90 total yards.

Remember, though, this was Akron.

The competition is going to get much tougher.

14. Arkansas Razorbacks

QB Tyler Wilson showed no signs of struggling, stepping in for his first game as a starter at Arkansas on Saturday.

Wilson completed 18 of his 24 attempts for 260 yards and two touchdowns, as he led the Razorbacks to a 51-7 beat down of Missouri State.

The team obviously missed star RB Knile Davis, as they only managed to muster up 102 yards on the ground, but Wilson’s performance was encouraging and he’ll have room to improve since Arkansas faces two easy opponents over the next two weeks.

13. Oregon Ducks

Oregon’s offense just didn’t have that same type of blistering tempo and awe-inspiring explosiveness that we saw from the Ducks during their undefeated run to the title game last season.

The LSU defense kept the star duo of QB Darron Thomas and RB LaMichael James largely in check and the Ducks’ four turnovers ultimately sealed their fate, as the Tigers defeated them 40-27 at Cowboys Stadium on Saturday night.

There’s no shame in losing to a top-five opponent, but coach Chip Kelly has to figure out how to regain some of the swagger that seems to have disappeared from last year.

12. Virginia Tech Hokies

Because Virginia Tech lost its all-time leading passer, Tyrod Taylor, as well as its top two running backs, Ryan Williams and Darren Evans, the team hasn’t received as much national publicity as they have in years past, however, the Hokies could turn out to be a dark horse national title contender if QB Logan Thomas and RB David Wilson play up to their potential this season.

Thomas and Wilson both looked solid in Virginia Tech’s 66-13 blowout win over Appalachian State yesterday.

The two combined for 311 yards and five touchdowns and they showed that they could actually have what it takes to lead Virginia Tech to another ACC championship this season.

11. South Carolina Gamecocks

Steve Spurrier’s decision to start inexperienced sophomore Connor Shaw at quarterback against East Carolina turned out to be a disaster. The Gamecocks stunningly fell behind the Pirates 17-0, but long-time starter Stephen Garcia was apparently motivated by the move, and he entered the game and guided the team back to an eventual 56-37 win in Charlotte last night.

Garcia only threw for 110 yards, but you could tell that the offense was responding much better when he was in the huddle.

The team’s top two offensive weapons, RB Marcus Lattimore and WR Alshon Jeffery, combined for 204 yards, and Lattimore found the end zone three times.

10. Wisconsin Badgers

QB Russell Wilson made a fabulous Madison debut in Wisconsin’s 51-17 drubbing of UNLV on Thursday night.

Wilson totaled 317 yards and scored three touchdowns in just a little over a half of play, but he wasn’t the only big producer for the Badgers.

The dangerous running back tandem of Montee Ball and James White combined to rush for 127 yards and four touchdowns.

Wilson, Ball and White will have plenty of room to make plays this season, lining up behind one of the biggest offensive lines in the country.

9. Nebraska Cornhuskers

It will take some time to find out if Nebraska QB Taylor Martinez has matured after his up-and-down freshman campaign last year, but what we do know is that Martinez still has the tremendous mobility that made him one of the early stars of last season.  

The sophomore quarterback led the Cornhuskers in rushing with 131 yards and three touchdowns, as he helped Nebraska run out to a 40-7 lead over Chattanooga by the middle of the third quarter.

The offense took its foot off the gas after that, but the defense still stayed strong, holding the Mocs to just 1.9 yards per carry.

8. Oklahoma State Cowboys

Well, it looks like the Oklahoma State offense can still score.

Even without former offensive coordinator Dana Holgorsen calling the shots, the Cowboys still managed to put up 61 points on Louisiana-Lafayette last night.

QB Brandon Weeden threw for 388 yards and three touchdowns and star receiver Justin Blackmon came up with his 13th straight 100-plus yard receiving effort, as the Oklahoma State offense piled up a whopping 666 total yards.

Weeden and Blackmon will have the national spotlight this Thursday night as they travel out to the desert to face Arizona in a rematch of last year’s Alamo Bowl.

7. Texas A&M Aggies

Texas A&M is a team that appears to have the pieces to compete with the likes of Oklahoma and Oklahoma State for a Big 12 title this season, and the Aggies started off the year strong with a 46-14 win over SMU.

QB Ryan Tannehill showed why he’s considered one of the most dependable quarterbacks in the country by completing 21 of his 26 passes for 246 yards and two touchdowns.

The running back duo of Cyrus Gray and Christine Michael, who each scored two touchdowns, led the way on the ground, combining for 217 rushing yards.

6. Stanford Cardinal

No Harbaugh, no problem.

Stanford did more than just survive its first game without former head coach Jim Harbaugh, the Cardinal thrived, destroying San Jose State 57-3 yesterday.

QB Andrew Luck, a Heisman favorite, looked sharp, completing 17 of his 26 pass attempts for 171 yards and two touchdowns and adding another score on the ground.

Stanford didn’t have to exert too much effort against a weak Spartans squad, but you still have to be encouraged by a strong and efficient first outing under new coach David Shaw.

5. Florida State Seminoles

Sensational probably isn’t a word that you would use to describe new starting quarterback E.J. Manuel’s performance against Louisiana-Monroe, but Manuel was still quite effective yesterday, as he led the Seminoles to a 34-0 win.

Manuel finished with 252 yards passing and two touchdown strikes, but the story of the game was the tremendous play of Florida State’s defense.

Defensive End Brandon Jenkins, cornerbacks Xavier Rhodes and Greg Reid and linebackers Nigel Bradham and Vince Williams all pitched in to shut down the Warhawks offense, holding them to just 191 total yards.

4. Boise State Broncos

SEC fans had to eat some crow last night as Boise State, the team they’ve tried their hardest to disparage in recent years, proved that it had no problem handling ‘tough’ SEC competition.

QB Kellen Moore and the Broncos traveled down to SEC country and sent a message by beating Georgia, which was led by the supposed best quarterback the conference had to offer, Aaron Murray.

Moore made a Heisman-worthy statement to the country by beating his third straight BCS opponent in a season opener and he hopefully managed to quiet a lot of his doubters and critics.

3. LSU Tigers

In the biggest game of the weekend, LSU rose to the occasion and came up with a big effort to take down No. 3 Oregon at Cowboys Stadium last night.

QB Jarrett Lee stepped in and did a sufficient job of replacing Jordan Jefferson, but the real story of the night was Oregon’s mistakes.

The Tigers took advantage of four turnovers to come away with the 40-27 win.

LSU’s passing attack has to improve, but the Tigers showed that they have enough athletes on defense to shut down any offense they go up against from here on out.

2. Alabama Crimson Tide

Even though he threw two interceptions, it looks like A.J. McCarron still put a strong grip on Alabama’s starting quarterback spot by leading the Tide to a 48-7 win over Kent State on Saturday.

RB Trent Richardson only ran for 37 yards on 13 carries but his three short touchdown runs should look nice on his Heisman resume.

Five turnovers and a failure to get it done on third down should cause some concern, but the sloppy play didn’t stop the Tide from rolling, as Alabama’s defense held the Golden Flashes to just 90 yards of total offense.

1. Oklahoma Sooners

Oklahoma showed very few weaknesses in its opening-week win over Tulsa.

QB Landry Jones completed 35 passes, 14 of them to star receiver Ryan Broyles, for 375 yards and a touchdown, as the Heisman candidate led the Sooners to a convincing 47-14 victory over the Golden Hurricanes.

The MVP of the game was junior running back Dominique Whaley, who rushed for 131 yards and four scores.

The Sooners were cohesive on offense and physical on defense and they’ll have the benefit of a bye week before heading down to Tallahassee to face off against Florida State on Sep. 17.