We are midway through the college football season and you
know what that means?
The Bowl Championship Series rankings are finally here!
Now while for the most part, I like some of the placing of
most of these teams on the original copy, there are some things I do beg to differ on.
Here is my list on how the top 10 should have gone…
1) LSU (7-0): It is only right that the
LSU Tigers are the No. 1 in the BCS polls. Looking at their body of work you
can see why. Beating Oregon, Mississippi St. and West Virginia away from Baton
Rouge is no easy task and seeing that the Ducks and Mountaineers are still
doing well, it adds on to the Tigers’ case. With an efficient offense and even
better defense LSU has set itself up nicely for the epic showdown against
Alabama on Nov. 5—as long as they do not overlook Auburn this week. THIS WEEK: vs. Auburn. RANKINGS: 1 (BCS), 1 (AP), 2 (Coaches),
1 (Harris), 3 (Computers).
2) ALABAMA (7-0): With all due respect,
the Alabama Crimson Tide is a close No. 2 on my poll. Alabama impresses
everyone thanks to its running game and stifling defense. Junior running back
Trent Richardson already has 15 rushing touchdowns this season while the
defense has only allowed seven points a game—best in the nation. Like the
Tigers, the overall strength of schedule is strong with the Tide beating Penn
State and Florida on the road, and Arkansas at home. The Tennessee Volunteers
are next and Alabama will be looking to beat them by more than 31 (like LSU
did). THIS WEEK: vs. Tennessee. RANKINGS: 2 (BCS), 2 (AP), 3 (Coaches),
2 (Harris), 2 (Computers).
3) OKLAHOMA (6-0): Almost as impressive as
LSU and Alabama have played, the same can be said about the Oklahoma Sooners.
The preseason No. 1 team has a lot of talent on the field and it continues to show.
The Sooners boast the nation’s sixth-best scoring offense thanks to junior
quarterback Landry Jones spreading the ball around. Oklahoma might have started
sluggishly against Kansas, but the second half was where the team took care of
business. With games against Kansas State and Texas A&M looming in the
horizon, the Sooners must take care of business against Texas Tech first this
week. THIS WEEK: vs. Texas Tech. RANKINGS: 3 (BCS), 3 (AP), 1 (Coaches),
3 (Harris), 4 (Computers).
4) OKLAHOMA ST. (6-0): Oklahoma State is
finally living up to being a true dark horse candidate as the team comes in at
No. 4 on my list. The Cowboys have not blown away ranked teams like LSU,
Alabama or Oklahoma, but they do have the wins to show for it and a lofty No. 1
computer ranking. One of those wins came against Texas A&M, where Oklahoma
St. trailed by 17 before taking the game in the second half with a 30-29
victory. With one of the best QB-to-WR tandems in Brandon Weeden and Justin
Blackmon, the Cowboys look to keep the wins coming this week at Missouri. THIS WEEK: at Missouri. RANKINGS: 4 (BCS), 6 (AP), 6 (Coaches),
6 (Harris), 1 (Computers).
5) WISCONSIN (6-0): Wisconsin seems to
have taken a page out of defending national champion Auburn’s playbook this
year—have a talented quarterback for one year to guide the program to a championship. Auburn
did it last year with Cam Newton and this year the Badgers landed North
Carolina State transfer Russell Wilson to rejuvenate their offense. As a
result, they are the highest-scoring team in the nation while Wilson is
currently a Heisman candidate. However, the debate is who have they played? A
soft non-conference schedule gives them no love from the computers and they
have not played a true road game this season (Sept. 17’s game against Northern
Illinois is designated as a neutral-site game). All of this will change as
Wisconsin travels to East Lansing to take on Michigan St. this week. THIS WEEK: at Michigan State. RANKINGS: 6 (BCS), 4 (AP), 4
(Coaches), 4 (Harris), 11 (Computers).
6) BOISE ST. (6-0): For now, I have Wisconsin
just ahead of Boise, based on who all Boise has played this season. The Broncos
best opponent was a Georgia team that might be in the middle of the pack in the
SEC but is improving, yet no one else on is really a team to lose sleep over.
However, Boise St. helps out its case with back-to-back 50-point blowouts
against Fresno State and Colorado State. Senior quarterback Kellen Moore is
still running the offense and is still accurate with his passes despite
breaking in some new receivers as main targets. The rest of the season might be
one where Boise needs style points—and a lot of them—for a shot at the title,
but for now, they appear to be BCS bound. THIS
WEEK: vs. Air Force. RANKINGS: 5
(BCS), 5 (AP), 7 (Coaches), 5 (Harris), 6 (Computers).
7) CLEMSON (7-0): Clemson nearly reverted
back to its old self last week against Maryland, yet the team found a way to
win once again. Last week’s game against the Terps marked the fourth time that
Clemson trailed or was tied at halftime only preserve its perfect 7-0 start
thus far. It has not been pretty, but the Tigers’ stretch of wins against
Auburn, Florida State and Virginia Tech while each team was ranked is a good
reason why they are at this spot. Anything is possible in the unpredictable
ACC, but Clemson must play more consistently at the beginning of games if they
want to stay undefeated. THIS WEEK: vs.
North Carolina. RANKINGS: 7 (BCS), 8
(AP), 8 (Coaches), 8 (Harris), 5 (Computers).
8) STANFORD (6-0): Another team that no
one is really talking about as a whole is Stanford. Sure, they have Heisman
hopeful and possible No. 1 pick Andrew Luck quarterbacking them, but not many
people know much about them. Quietly, the team is 6-0, but like Wisconsin they
get little to no love from the computers (Kenneth Massey has the Cardinal ranked
No. 20 in his ratings).
Part of this is that Stanford has yet to face a team that is above .500 at this
point, but the second half will be much tougher. Games against Washington, USC,
Oregon and Notre Dame will determine if this team is indeed a title contender. THIS WEEK: vs. Washington. RANKINGS: 8 (BCS), 7 (AP), 5 (Coaches),
7 (Harris), 8 (tie) (Computers).
9) OREGON (5-1): There are two great
one-loss teams in college football so far, but in my opinion the Oregon Ducks narrowly
take the cake here at No. 9. The Ducks have shaken off their season-opening
loss to LSU in Cowboys Stadium quite well, by scoring many points with the
quickness. Only one computer ranking has Oregon in the top 10—Richard Billingsley
has the team at No. 7—but
it did not stop the team from beating then-No. 18 Arizona State without Heisman
candidate LaMichael James and Darron Thomas for most of the second half. The
Ducks should have no trouble against Colorado and Washington State if both
players decide to nurse their injuries, but if all’s not well for back-to-back
road games at Washington and Stanford, they could be in trouble. THIS WEEK: at Colorado. RANKINGS: 10 (BCS), 9 (AP), 8
(Coaches), 9 (Harris), 12 (Computers).
10) ARKANSAS (5-1): The Arkansas Razorbacks
have not missed a beat without Ryan Mallett, but they will come in at No. 10 in
my poll. Like Oregon, Arkansas lost to a top team for its only loss, but games
against Troy and Texas A&M show that this team can be vulnerable at times.
The Razorbacks do have a pair of road game coming up against Ole Miss and
Vanderbilt, so all they must do is take care of business and everything will
follow. THIS WEEK: at Ole Miss. RANKINGS: 9 (BCS), 10 (AP), 10
(Coaches), 10 (Harris), 8 (tie) (Computers).
\ NEXT FIVE UP: Kansas State (6-0), Virginia Tech (6-1), Nebraska
(5-1), South Carolina (6-1), Texas A&M (4-2)
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