College Football Rankings 2011 Week 6: Clemson and 3 Teams We Must Respect

Preseason notions are often wrong. So far, a lot of what we expected has not come to pass.

These teams have a combined zero losses. They are all a long way from winning the National Championship, but we need to start paying attention to them.

Clemson

We knew that Clemson could play well at home. But in Week 5, they took their show on the road. Not only did they go on the road, but they played in front of a very tough Virginia Tech Crowd. How did they do?

They did just fine. For the third week in a row, Clemson handily beat a ranked opponent.

Now, the schedule gets much easier for Clemson. They do have to play on the road against Georgia Tech and South Carolina, but they should easily win their other games.

Of course, Clemson does have a recent history of losing games that they should easily win. But right now, they are more than just a viable ACC threat. Clemson is an actual National Championship contender.

Texas

While Iowa State didn't enter the game ranked, they were undefeated. They are not undefeated anymore. Texas handled the Cyclones in Ames.  

After seeing what happened last year, it's understandable to be a little apprehensive about Texas. We will get a much better sense of how good they are next week against Oklahoma, and then the following week against Oklahoma State.

But right now, this is a team that deserves our respect. They may or may not be genuine National Title contenders, but they're genuinely worthy of a Top 15 ranking.

Georgia Tech

The Yellow Jackets are very much flying under the radar this year. But their offense is an absolute machine this year.

I don't know that we can genuinely look at these guys and expect too much. Not yet, anyway. But at this point, their status as a Top 25 team is not on doubt.

We'll get a better sense of how good this team is later in the season.

In a five-game stretch, they face Miami, Clemson, Virginia Tech, and Georgia (they also play Duke).

We'll get a better sense of how good they actually are then. But from what we've seen, we certainly can't assume that Georgia Tech will lose them all.