Oh the polls, how much I love to argue with you but I take delight in the real voters FINALLY getting on board the Western Michigan bandwagon with me. Here’s how I stack ’em up, hypocritical and all.
Real AP Poll:
- Alabama (56)
- Ohio State (2)
- Clemson (2)
- Michigan (1) – Do 70 points skew offensive stats or defensive stats more?
- Washington – Yeah, we’re asking the same question as you right now, Michigan fans!
- Texas A&M
- Louisville – Dominated bye week U last Saturday. Although they weren’t the only program to get a jump with the off week.
- Wisconsin – We were off, too!
- Tennessee
- Nebraska – Yup, we were off!
- Baylor – Us, too!
- Ole Miss – We were sleeping in as well!
- Houston
- Florida State
- Boise State
- Miami – After Wide Right, Wide Left, Wide Right, etc., etc., etc. if must feel strange to lose to FSU on a special team’s gaffe.
- Virginia Tech
- Florida
- Oklahoma
- West Virginia
- Utah
- Arkansas
- Auburn – I had them ranked a week ago, too. Not that I’m bragging…
- Western Michigan – I had them ranked WEEKS ago. Okay, that was bragging.
- Navy – Air Force has to be like, “Wait, what?!”
My Top 25:
- Alabama
- Clemson
- Ohio State
- Louisville
- Michigan
- Washington
- Texas A&M
- Tennessee
- Wisconsin
- Houston – Three points on this. 1) Navy is really underrated. 2) Navy is difficult to prepare for in a single week. 3) Houston is going to get everyone’s best shot so they can’t play down to the competition. I still think UH is really damn good.
- Baylor
- Nebraska – They pass the eye test, but look at who they have played. Actually it is more dramatic if I just say: Fresno State (1-5), Wyoming (4-2), Oregon (2-4), Northwestern (2-3), and Illinois (1-4). That adds up to 10-18 with Wyoming as the only team above .500. Yeah, call me when they beat somebody.
- Florida State
- Ole Miss
- Western Michigan
- Boise State
- Miami – This is quite a drop, no? Well I had them 13th so only a drop of 4 versus the real poll dropping the U six. So what gives? Frankly Miami hadn’t played anybody all year and when going against FSU they were held to just 276 yards against a Noles defense that had been in shambles. UM also had a ton of penalties and penalty yardage. Simply put, they didn’t look very good against their first competition of the year.
- West Virginia
- Auburn
- Florida
- Troy – Hey, I had ’em 25th a week ago and they were idle so by the way I fill this ballot out, they stay safe and even move up!
- – 25. SEE BELOW – Final Verdict
See Below – What the hell is that?
This is the most prestigious rankings on the internet, I can’t just give teams the final spots all willy nilly. I had a reader say that this section wasn’t very clear so I’ll try and state the process more clearly. Since many leagues will have a ton of teams on my radar, I only take one team from each league to start with. On rare exceptions, I’ll take more than one team but for the most part, I really try and weed out within leagues first. Then I see if my final selections have played any FCS teams or have had a bad game (for example a 3-0 win by a SEC school over a Sun Belt team would qualify or a lopsided loss). After those first two criteria, I take the remaining teams and examine their best win, worst win, best loss, and worst loss to make the final selections.
American Athletic Conference
Navy obviously stole the show with their win over Houston but let’s also take a look at USF and Memphis. The Bulls are 5-1 with a win at an ACC school (Syracuse) but lost to Florida State by 20. Memphis has a win over a power league team (Kansas) but lost to Ole Miss by 20. Navy has only faced AAC competition outside their trip to Air Force, which they lost by 14. USAF is the same 4-1 as the Middies so while not a bad loss it doesn’t stack up to FSU or Mississippi. Still, that Houston win is very, very impressive.
AAC Nominee: Navy
Atlantic Coast Conference
What a shocker, the ACC is a jumbled mess. NC State, Virginia Tech, and Wake all have one loss while North Carolina and Pitt have had flashes but each have two losses so far. The Wolfpack’s best win in their 4-1 mark is Wake Forest but lost to an ECU team that has now fallen to 2-4. Wake has two road wins (Indiana and Duke) and bounced back from the NC State game by dominating Syracuse. Their 5-1 record is overall the best. Virginia Tech hadn’t beaten anyone until UNC and they crushed them 34-3. The Heels have the best victory of anyone in this group, at Florida State, but like I said were crushed by the Hokies. Pitt beat Penn State (good) but lost to UNC and Okie State (not so good) and have played Marshall and Georgia Tech the last two weeks to remain an enigma. I broke with my usual rule a few weeks ago by advancing two Big 12 teams. I’m going to break with tradition here too because these three teams honestly could all be ranked once you compare all the resumes nationally. Wake, Tech, and UNC all survive this initial test.
ACC Nominee: North Carolina, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest
Big 12
I’ve defended TCU (4-2) for quite a while but they just beat Kansas by a single point in a game they were trailing for most of. Oklahoma State, also 4-2, has looked better but their best win of the year is still just Pitt. Oklahoma just won the Red River Shootout but their best win remains TCU which continues to lose its luster. Knocking off woeful Texas does not give much of a boost, especially when it only brings you to 3-2.
Big 12 Nominee: No One
Big Ten
Penn State knocked off undefeated Maryland to get to 4-2 and Iowa won at rival Minnesota to get to 4-2. Unfortunately the improved record won’t be reflected in the rankings yet as both teams are much too flawed to make it past a momentary glance.
Big Ten Nominee: No One
Mountain West Conference
Air Force (4-1) beat Navy so they deserve a look. Wyoming (4-2) beat Air Force so I even gave them a glance. But these two teams still lag well behind San Diego State who got back on track after that South Alabama loss by crushing UNLV and moving to 4-1.
MW Nominee: San Diego State
Pacific 12 Conference
I had Stanford a week ago (gave them the benefit of the doubt all last year and they bailed me out) but after 86 points allowed the last two weeks, they are well outside the poll. Everything else is really confusing. Washington State just crushed Stanford and Oregon but has a FCS loss. I’m not sure their 3-2 mark despite the stats is good enough so far. The South is even less clear. Arizona State is 5-1, but lost to USC. Utah is 5-1, but lost to a struggling Cal team. Colorado (ranked last week) is 4-2, but lost to USC. And USC beat two of these teams but is 3-3 overall.
As a result it is clear that ASU and Utah are most deserving. ASU’s combined opponent W-L is 16-18. Utah’s is 15-20. Looks like ASU has the same record despite a tougher schedule……barely.
Pac 12 Nominee: Arizona State
Southeastern Conference
Arkansas or Georgia. Hmm, both are 4-2. Arkansas though is 0-2 in league and holding onto that TCU win for dear life. Meanwhile UGA is 2-2 in league, both road wins, and still has the win over North Carolina in their back pocket.
SEC Nominee: Georgia
Elimination Time
The above seven teams join BYU, Middle Tennessee, North Dakota State, and Toledo to form a monster list of 11 in order to pick the last four spots in the poll. The first criteria I will look at is who has played FCS teams and then look at any bad games.
FCS Much?…Everyone but BYU (who will play one later) has faced a FCS club. Everyone beat them with ease but Georgia. UGA escaped with a 2 point win over Nicholls State. If I’m going to ding UGA for a narrow win over a lower level team then North Dakota State is also out. Their first two wins over the year against FCS level competition required overtime.
Bad Game(s)…Arizona State lost to USC by three TDs AND escaped Texas San Antonio, goodnight! Middle Tennessee lost by 23 to Vandy, adios! SDSU lost by 18 to South Alabama, see ya!
Final Six
From a sizable list down to just BYU, Navy, North Carolina, Toledo, Virginia Tech, and Wake Forest to pick the final four spots. For this I try to just look at a couple of games: each team’s best win, worst win, best loss (i.e. a moral victory), and worst loss.
- BYU
- BW: at Michigan State
- WW: Arizona
- BL: at Utah (by 1)
- WL: UCLA
- Navy
- BW: Houston
- WW: FCS
- BL: at Air Force
- WL: N/A
- North Carolina
- BW: at FSU
- WW: FCS
- BL: Georgia
- WL: Virginia Tech
- Toledo
- BW: at Eastern Michigan
- WW: FCS
- BL: at BYU
- WL: N/A
- Virginia Tech
- BW: at North Carolina
- WW: FCS (or Boston College)
- BL: Tennessee
- WL: N/A
- Wake Forest
- BW: TIE at Duke or at Indiana
- WW: FCS
- BL: at NC State
- WL: N/A
Well BYU may be a scrappy gang and the best 3-3 team around the fact that they have three losses including one to Utah who can’t get out of the league level of criteria thanks to that Cal game, they are history. That doesn’t bode well for Toledo who lost to BYU, but honestly when your signature win at this point is Eastern Michigan, you weren’t long for this poll anyway.
So we got our four. That’s pretty nice. It is obvious that VT will be ahead of UNC because of the head-to-head. but how else will the order go? Navy hasn’t beaten a power conference team and have had just two road trips. Wake has had three road trips and won two of those games so it looks like Wake is better than Navy, no?
I think that puts Navy at 25th, despite still feeling the love for Houston so by extension loving that win. North Carolina’s win over Florida State is better than anything Wake has done so if I have the Heels ahead of their rival, that shakes out the rest of the standings.
FINAL VERDICT:
22. Virginia Tech
23. North Carolina
24. Wake Forest
25. Navy
League Breakdown:
7 – ACC
6 – SEC
4 – Big Ten
2 – American, Big 12
1 – MAC, Mountain West, Pac 12, Sun Belt
Big Ten and Counting 