College Football Rankings 2011: 5 Underrated Teams That Will Shine

The first week of the 2011 college football season is in the books. While certain ranked teams, such as Notre Dame and TCU, felt the wrath of unranked foes, most ranked teams were able to avoid disaster. Here are five underrated teams that will shine moving forward.

No. 7 Stanford

The Cardinal opened their season with a resounding 57-3 victory over the San Jose State Spartans. Andrew Luck was on target, completing nearly two-thirds of his passes for 171 yards and two touchdowns before getting removed from the game.

Stanford showed off its tremendous depth as 10 different players caught at least one pass, led by Chris Owusu who caught seven for 76 yards. When you give an NFL-caliber quarterback like Luck that many options, he's going to make things happen.

While it's tough to call a team ranked within the top 10 underrated, it should be ranked within the top five. If they can get a little more production from their running game, the Cardinal will definitely be in the national title mix at the end of the season.

No. 15 Arkansas

With the departure of Ryan Mallett to the NFL, it was an uncertain summer for the Razorbacks. Things got off to a good start though, with Tyler Wilson and Brandon Mitchell both playing extraordinarily well against a weak Missouri State defense.

While things will get infinitely more difficult against the SEC, it was good for Arkansas' psyche to know it has two capable gunslingers to replace Mallet. De'Anthony Curtis was the most impressive of the trio of running backs used by head coach Bobby Petrino.

The Razorbacks have two more gimme victories against New Mexico and Troy before the schedule picks up. A Sept. 24 clash with Alabama will be a great measuring stick. While the schedule means they won't be in the national title hunt, a top 10 finish is a definite possibility.

No. 18 Ohio State

After a tumultuous offseason that saw their head coach and starting quarterback head to the NFL because of a scandal, expectations were all over the place for the Buckeyes. A 42-0 win over the Akron Zips should calm the fears a bit, for now.

Joe Bauserman played very well against an over-matched MAC defense and showed some good athleticism. He might be a better replacement for Terrelle Pryor than most people expected—not to mention a strong performance from Braxton Miller.

The biggest strength of the Buckeyes and the main reason they can still finish in the top 10 without Pryor and Jim Tressel is the running game. Carlos Hyde and Rod Smith don't have name recognition around the nation, but they can work together to carry the offense when the passing game is struggling.

Unranked Texas

The Longhorns should be the beneficiary of losses by Notre Dame and Georgia. As the first team left out of the preseason AP poll, Texas will likely join the party when the new poll is released thanks to a 34-9 win over Rice.

Garrett Gilbert will need to lead the charge if the Longhorns are going to be contenders in the Big 12. They should be 4-0 heading into a Titanic clash against top-ranked Oklahoma on Oct. 8. That is the first of four games against ranked teams in 2011.

Texas' defense is going to be tested against the high-powered offense of the Big 12. If it can withstand the pressure, the Longhorns should finish somewhere inside the top 15. If not, it will be a season to forget in Austin.

Unranked Penn State

The Nittany Lions took care of an undermanned Indiana State Sycamores in Week 1. They now begin preparations for a visit from second-ranked Alabama in Week 2. It will be a chance for Penn State to shoot up the rankings.

It relies on a myriad of running backs to control the clock. Silas Redd had 12 carries for 104 yards against the Sycamores and appeared to separate himself from the pack with several nice bursts. If Penn State can keep the Crimson Tide offense off the field for extended periods next week, anything can happen.

In the long run, though, the Nittany Lions are going to need Matt McGloin or Rob Bolden to step up and make big third-down throws. If they can get those big plays, a top 20 finish is in the cards. It would be nice if they put a scare into Alabama to put Joe Paterno back into the spotlight for awhile.