| 03 October 2011
It's ok, I already know what you're thinking: "Umm Aaron? What does Johnny Drama have to do with a college football, and why is his ugly mug on the front of your website?"
Good question. I'm glad you asked.
Actually, Johnny Drama really has nothing to do with this week's Top 25. However, I also couldn't get his indelible, goofy image out of my head, as I put together what is undoubtedly my goofiest Top 25 poll of the season.
Honestly, looking at my Top 25 this week, I was shocked at how highly ranked I had a handful of teams that I don't think are actually that good. Take for example, ohh I don't know, Michigan? Go ahead, and raise your hand if you had them in your preseason Top 25. Anyone? Yeh, me neither. I still don’t think they are a Top 25 team, but at 5-0, how can you not rank them there? Speaking of which, if I told you that I had three teams in my Top 15 which had all lost by at least 25 points in the last two weeks, you’d call me crazy, right? Only how can you justify not having Florida, Arkansas and West Virginia somewhere in the mix? Even if they're not deserving, who has been better?
So by now I’m guessing you know what I mean when I say it’s a goofy year. At the very least, this poll certainly had more conjecture and opinion to it than any other this season. After all, trying to rank all these one loss teams, is like trying to figure out which girls at the bar are the cutest after you’d have 10 beers. Quite frankly, it’s impossible to tell.
Anyway, below is the Top 25 ballot that I submitted to OnsideKick.com’s poll this week. As always, there is a notes segment on the bottom to further explain some of my picks, and as always you’re also encouraged to share your thoughts, opinions and disagreements in the comments section as well.
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Anyway, here’s the Top 25:
1. Alabama Crimson Tide (5-0, 2-0)
2. LSU Tigers (5-0, 2-0)
3. Oklahoma Sooners (4-0, 1-0)
4. Wisconsin Badgers (5-0, 1-0)
5. Boise State Broncos (4-0, 0-0)
6. Oklahoma State (4-0, 1-0)
7. Stanford Cardinal (4-0, 2-0)
8. Clemson Tigers (5-0, 2-0)
9. Oregon Ducks (3-1, 1-0)
10. Florida Gators (4-1, 1-1)
11. Texas Longhorns (4-0, 1-0)
12. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (5-0, 2-0)
13. Arkansas Razorbacks (4-1, 0-1)
14. Michigan Wolverines (5-0, 1-0)
15. West Virginia Mountaineers (4-1, 0-0)
16. Nebraska Cornhuskers (4-1, 0-1)
17. Kansas State Wildcats (4-0, 1-0)
18. Illinois Fighting Illini (5-0, 1-0)
19. Arizona State Sun Devils (4-1, 2-0)
20. Baylor Bears (3-1, 0-1)
21. South Carolina Gamecocks (4-1, 0-1)
22. Virginia Tech Hokies (4-1, 0-1)
23. Florida State Seminoles (2-2, 0-1)
24. Michigan State Spartans (4-1, 1-0)
25. Georgia Bulldogs (3-2, 2-1)
News and Notes:
- Again, I told you this week was goofy, and I told you it was subject to conjecture. So let’s try to make some sense of this.
- First off, I moved Alabama past LSU to No. 1. I know I’m going to get some argument and disagreement, but all I’ll say is that as impressive as LSU has been, Alabama has been downright terrifying the last few weeks. Both have played tough schedules, and both have been unbelievably impressive in doing so, but for this week, I give the slight edge to Alabama. Two straight wins, over two Top 15 teams, both by 30+ points…are you kidding me?
Speaking of which, who has an extra ticket for the LSU-Bama game November 5? Anyone?
- What I found most interesting about this week, is that it seems like the top nine teams have separated themselves, and then after that, there’s a massive cliff that everyone falls off of. Really, that was the toughest part of the poll: It seemed like there were about 15 teams that should be ranked in the 15-25 range, yet some snuck as high as No. 10. I guess that’s just how it is this time of year though.
So let’s beyond Oregon at No. 9 (where I think the “top tier” ends), and start with No. 10 Florida.
Most of you probably are surprised to see the Gators that high, and honestly, I’m surprised I put them there myself. But at the end of the day, I looked at the Gators loss to Alabama, coupled it with their win against Tennessee, and decided that it was more impressive than anything that any of the other undefeated teams (Texas, Georgia Tech or Michigan) had done to this point. Also, it’s important to note that I tried not to project too much on what Florida will look like going forward if John Brantley doesn’t play, and instead focused on what we know now. And what I know now is that Florida is still a darn good football team.
- Arkansas also snuck back into the Top 15, and ahead of Michigan, which is probably surprising itself.
In my personal opinion this is another case of degrees of “good.” And to me, Arkansas win over A&M is more impressive that anything the Wolverines have done this year in getting to 5-0. Speaking of which, here’s an idea: Hey Michigan, why not play a road game? Huh?
- As for the other one loss teams, I gave Nebraska a much bigger cushion than I did with South Carolina or Virginia Tech, simply because they were on the road, as opposed to at home.
- In regards to South Carolina in specific, I know that I dropped them further than most other voters would, but the more I thought about, the more I couldn’t put them any higher.
There are two main reasons for this. The first is that, of their four wins, couldn’t South Carolina have pretty much lost any of them? Plus, let me ask you this: Put South Carolina on a neutral field against Arizona State or Baylor, and are you confident they beat either one of those teams? Me neither. That's why South Carolina is below them.
- I dropped Virginia Tech further than most too, mainly because, well, they haven’t beaten anyone. Clemson quite literally might be the first team they played all year that will be bowl eligible, and the Hokies got beat like they stole something. Quite frankly, I would’ve dropped Virginia Tech out entirely if I could’ve found a team that was more deserving than them. Like I said, this is a goofy week, and right now there aren’t 25 teams deserving of these spots.
- Teams that dropped out of the poll this week included Texas A&M (Gag ‘Em!), South Florida (Considering they probably should’ve lost to Notre Dame, was this the most overrated team in college football), TCU (no strong opinion one way or the other) and Ohio State (hide the women in children. This offense is insufferable).
- Also, we’d like to welcome four new teams to the poll, including Ron Zook’s Illinois club. Much like Clemson a week ago, I didn’t want to put Illinois here, but it’s pretty hard to keep them out at this point. Believe me, I will not be shocked if the Illini go out and lose by 30 to Indiana this weekend.
- And finally, let’s talk about old No. 25, the Georgia Bulldogs.
Like South Carolina, this was more of a “feel,” pick than anything, and right now, Georgia feels like one of the Top 25 teams in the country. They looked awesome in their win over Mississippi State, Isaiah Crowell is coming on strong, and for the first time in maybe forever, they’re actually playing with some emotion.
And with all that said…right as I submitted my poll, word also broke that Cornelius Washington was suspended for the Tennessee game. As much as things change in Athens, they stay the same, huh?
Needless to say I don’t expect the Dawgs to be in the Top 25 when I do my poll next week.
Until then…
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