Week 8 Top 25 and SEC Power Poll

Here they are. You'll notice the nosedive Auburn took out of my top 25 and out of the top half of the Power Poll. Losing to Kentucky will do that to you. After giving it some thought, though, I'm not quite as upset with the loss as I was immediately after Chris Todd's 4th-and-11 pass fell to the turf. This is a rebuilding season; we started 5-0 and everything was awesome, but we just need to get back in the mind frame that we're building for the future. Alabama lost to Louisiana-Monroe in Nick Saban's first season in Tuscaloosa. The next season they ascended to #1 in November. I'm not saying to expect Auburn to get so good so fast, but the difference between 2009's and 2010's teams should be huge. We just have to stick it out for the team this season.

Top 25

1. Alabama
2. Texas
3. Florida
4. Cincinnati
5. Boise State
6. Miami
7. Southern California
8. Texas Christian
9. Iowa
10. Oregon
11. West Virginia
12. Virginia Tech
13. Louisiana State
14. Georgia Tech
15. Houston
16. Penn State
17. Kansas
18. Brigham Young
19. Oklahoma State
20. Utah
21. Pittsburgh
22. South Carolina
23. Texas Tech
24. Arizona
25. Idaho



SEC Power Poll

1. Alabama
2. Florida
3. Louisiana State
4. South Carolina
5. Arkansas
6. Kentucky
7. Tennessee
8. Mississippi
9. Auburn
10. Georgia
11. Mississippi State
12. Vanderbilt

Week 7 Top 25 and SEC Power Poll

Sorry for the lack of content lately. I've been busy drowning my sorrows over the Cardinals being swept out of the NLDS and Auburn getting beat down by Arkansas (more on that in an upcoming post). Here's my rankings:



Top 25

1. Alabama
2. Florida
3. Texas
4. Cincinnati
5. Boise State
6. Virginia Tech
7. Miami
8. Southern California
9. Texas Christian
10. Kansas
11. Iowa
12. Nebraska
13. Oregon
14. West Virginia
15. Louisiana State
16. Ohio State
17. Georgia Tech
18. Houston
19. Penn State
20. South Florida
21. Brigham Young
22. Auburn
23. South Carolina
24. Oklahoma State
25. Utah



SEC Power Poll

1. Alabama
2. Florida
3. Louisiana State
4. South Carolina
5. Arkansas
6. Auburn
7. Tennessee
8. Kentucky
9. Mississippi
10. Georgia
11. Mississippi State
12. Vanderbilt

Week 5 Top 25 and SEC Power Rankings

1. Alabama
2. Florida
3. Texas
4. Cincinnati
5. Boise State
6. Virginia Tech
7. Miami
8. Louisiana State
9. Southern California
10. Kansas
11. Texas Christian
12. Oregon
13. Iowa
14. West Virginia
15. Georgia Tech
16. Ohio State
17. Auburn
18. Missouri
19. Houston
20. Nebraska
21. Brigham Young
22. Penn State
23. Wisconsin
24. South Florida
25. South Carolina



SEC Power rankings

1. Alabama
2. Florida
3. Louisiana State
4. Auburn
5. South Carolina
6. Georgia
7. Mississippi
8. Mississippi State
9. Kentucky
10. Arkansas
11. Tennessee
12. Vanderbilt

Week 4 Top 25 and SEC Power Rankings

Not alot to say here. I've had a pretty busy week. Here's my stuff.

1. Alabama
2. Florida
3. Texas
4. Cincinnati
5. Boise State
6. Houston
7. Virginia Tech
8. Louisiana State
9. Miami
10. Kansas
11. Texas Christian
12. Southern California
13. Oregon
14. Oklahoma
15. Iowa
16. Georgia Tech
17. Ohio State
18. West Virginia
19. Missouri
20. Auburn
21. Oklahoma State
22. Nebraska
23. Penn State
24. South Florida
25. UCLA



SEC Power Poll

1. Alabama
2. Florida
3. Louisiana State
4. Auburn
5. South Carolina
6. Georgia
7. Mississippi State
8. Mississippi
9. Tennessee
10. Kentucky
11. Arkansas
12. Vanderbilt

Week 3 Top 25 and SEC Power Rankings

Before you read my top 25, allow me to explain a few things:

• That's right, I have a team that I didn't rank last week who lost by 11 points to a team that was ranked last week ahead of the team they lost to. I truly believe that the winner of the Auburn-West Virginia game wasn't the better team; just the team that got the most breaks and capitalized on mistakes. The only team in the country that can stop West Virginia is West Virginia (Okay, and maybe Florida, Alabama and Miami). Auburn doesn't move up because I'm still not convinced we're better than anybody in slots 1-21.
• I'm sold on Miami. Their offense looks legit, and they have enough talent on defense to get it done this season. I am expecting them to go undefeated and play for the national championship game (as long as they can get past Virginia Tech and Oklahoma the next two weekends, which I think they will).
• LSU finally starts playing like the team I expected them to be this season, and thus moves ahead of undead Ole Miss in the top 25 and the SEC Power Ranking. Arkansas drops significantly for letting Georgia's offense go 11-on-7 (this may not actually be true; I just assume it is since I didn't get to watch the game).
• Washington and Michigan still aren't ranked because all they have to hang their hats on are home upsets over overrated teams. I'll rank Washington before Michigan as it stands right now, and Notre Dame will have to win out for them to sniff my top 25.
• I'm not putting Georgia back into my top 25 until Kyle from Dawg Sports gets over his Auburn hatred and puts the Tigers into his top 25 (or when I feel that Auburn doesn't deserve to be in the top 25). What's that worth? Probably nothing, but it seems like something I should point out (and maybe it will somehow get my blog some more traffic!)
  

1. Florida
2. Alabama
3. Miami
4. California
5. Texas
6. Cincinnati
7. Penn State
8. Boise State
9. Houston
10. Louisiana State
11. Mississippi
12. Oklahoma
13. Southern California
14. Virginia Tech
15. Kansas
16. North Carolina
17. Texas Christian
18. Ohio State
19. Brigham Young
20. West Virginia
21. Missouri
22. Auburn
23. Oklahoma State
24. Georgia Tech
25. Nebraska



SEC Power Poll

1. Florida
2. Alabama
3. Louisiana State
4. Mississippi
5. Auburn
6. Georgia
7. South Carolina
8. Arkansas
9. Tennessee
10. Kentucky
11. Mississippi State
12. Vanderbilt



Major post on Gene Chizik coming later this week, get excited!!!

Week 2 Top 25 and SEC Power Rankings

Once again, for my five readers' entertainment, my view of the country in ranking form, with SEC rankings as well.

1. Florida
2. Alabama
3. Southern California
4. Texas
5. California
6. Brigham Young
7. Miami
8. Penn State
9. Cincinnati
10. Boise State
11. Houston
12. Mississippi
13. Georgia Tech
14. Kansas
15. Louisiana State
16. Ohio State
17. Oklahoma
18. Virginia Tech
19. Nebraska
20. Arkansas
21. Utah
22. Auburn
23. Missouri
24. Oregon State
25. Texas Tech

Bullish on: Alabama, BYU, Miami, Cincinnati, Houston, Auburn
Bearish on: Notre Dame, North Carolina, Georgia, South Carolina, Oklahoma State

SEC Power Rankings

1. Florida
2. Alabama
3. Mississippi
4. Louisiana State
5. Arkansas
6. Auburn
7. Georgia
8. Kentucky
9. South Carolina
10. Tennessee
11. Vanderbilt
12. Mississippi State

Week 1 Top 25 and SEC Power Poll

One blogger's (likely horrible) opinion of how the nation and the SEC shake out. Comments and criticisms welcome as always.

Top 25

1. Florida
2. Alabama
3. Texas
4. Oklahoma State
5. Southern California
6. Brigham Young
7. California
8. Miami
9. Penn State
10. Boise State
11. Mississippi
12. Louisiana State
13. Ohio State
14. Georgia Tech
15. Virginia Tech
16. Kansas
17. Oklahoma
18. Cincinnati
19. North Carolina
20. Nebraska
21. Missouri
22. Arkansas
23. Utah
24. Oregon State
25. Georgia



SEC Power Poll

1. Florida
2. Alabama
3. Mississippi
4. Louisiana State
5. Arkansas
6. Georgia
7. Auburn
8. Tennessee
9. Kentucky
10. South Carolina
11. Vanderbilt
12. Mississippi State

Entirely too early College Football Top 25

Hey, if Athlon and Lindy's can do it, why can't I? Of course, I haven't spent every work day (and probably more) since the end of the National Championship game preparing my notes for this moment, but here goes anyways. I'll list all the teams, with a short sentence or two explaining the pick (or something that's hopefully insightful about the team). Come back in late September to see how wrong I was!

1. Florida - If you gave me even money on Florida vs. the entire field for who would win the national championship, I'd take Florida every time; anybody who doesn't have them as #1 at this point is a fool.

2. Texas - The team that deserved to be in the national championship game last year gets its shot at Florida this year, with McCoy and company coming back for more.

3. Ohio State - I cannot stand anything about this team, except that Terrell Pryor is the most baller shit ever!! As a true freshman last year he played like Vince Young did in the 2005 Rose Bowl, so I suspect great things from him going forward.

4. Oklahoma - The one team I may hate more than Ohio State for my #2 (outside of UAT, natch) least favorite team, they'll be good again; they're talented enought again to probably win all games outside of the Red River Shootout, then choke again in a BCS bowl game.

5. Virginia Tech - Call it a hunch, but I see good things from the Hokies this year, starting with an ACC payback game in tha Dome versus Alabama. Tyrod Taylor will continue to improve, and Sean Glennon won't be around to Daniel Cobb things up for Beamer's bunch. Expect another Orange Bowl victory for the Hokies.

6. Louisiana State - Ole Miss is the trendy pick for SEC West champion, but to me, LSU is the team to beat. Jordan Jefferson asserted himself as a solid starter in LSU's waxing of Georgia Tech in the Chick-fil-A Bowl, and with John Chavis taking his defensive prowess down to the bayou, expect the Purple Tigers to bounce back in a big way.

7. Southern California - Maybe I should have put them higher, but losing an entire LB corps and Mark Sanchez will hurt the Trojans. They still figure to be the class of the Pac-10, and will probably win their 27th (accurate number) Rose Bowl in a row. Aside: You probably won't find a bigger USC (or Pac-10, for that matter) sympathizer than me this side of the Mississippi/Mason-Dixon.

8. Mississippi - Houston Nutt took Ed Orgeron's recruits and worked his Nutt magic to a New Year's Day bowl win over previously once-beaten Texas Tech. Many people think the Rebels, with ace QB Jevan Snead, will win the SEC West; I'm not buying it. Houston Nutt is a good coach, but he's ten kinds of crazy, and not in a good way when he's predicted to be good. They'll lose a game or two that they should win (hmm, Auburn maybe?????), and Miss out (see what I did there?!) on the program's first trip to Atlanta.

9. Oklahoma State - Mike Gundy will be 42 pretty soon (if not already), and he's a pretty solid coach. Not national champion or even Big 12 champion material, but good enough for 8-10 wins a year. With Zac Robinson coming back to the Cowboys' explosive offense, expect another high-scoring, zero-defense year from the Pokes from Stillwater.

10. Alabama - I had to fight off my hatred for this team (to a certain extent) to give them a fair ranking. Some people will have them in the top 5, where I see a team with no QB with starting experience, and holes to fill on the offensive line. They'll be good, no doubt, but probably not good enough for better than 3rd in the SEC West.

11. Boise State - The little team that keeps on winning. Chris Petersen is in charge of a fantastic small-school program, and don't be surprised to see them back in the mix for a BCS bowl game with an experienced QB and a weak conference slate.

12. Oregon - The Ducks have turned into a solid #2 Pac-10 team. It will be interesting to see how the transition from Mike Belotti to Chip Kelly goes, but I have a hunch that the explosive offense we've seen from this program won't be going anywhere with the regime change.

13. Georgia Tech - Paul Johnson proved that the triple option can work in the weakest BCS conference. With another year of practice an experience, can it translate into an ACC title? I say no, but he's getting there; unfortunately for the Jackets, most skill position recruits won't want to come play in that offense, so we may be seeing the best of the Paul Johnson years right now.

14. California - Jahvid Best is a beast. Jeff Tedford could probably get ten San Francisco Chippendale dancers to fill out the rest of the offense and the Golden Bears would still make a bowl game.

15. North Carolina - Butch Davis was the coach I wanted Auburn to replace Tommy Tuberville with more than any other, because he is a beast of a recruiter and has a fantastic defensive mind. Imagine if we'd hired him, then still gotten Malzahn, Trooper Taylor, et al. We'd feel much better about the upcoming season, no doubt. Anyways, Davis should have UNC back in ACC title contention in 2009.

16. Georgia - No Stafford and no Moreno equals growing pains between the hedges for the Bulldogs. Expect Joe Cox to be the starter for the first few games, but the reins will be handed over to Logan Gray a la Tereshinski III/Stafford in 2006. This will be a rebuilding year for the Bulldogs, but still a solid 8- or 9-win campaign.

17. Penn State - Joe Paterno is still doing a fantastic job "coaching" the Nittany Lions; not bad for someone who lost in a run-off to William Henry Harrison in the 1840 general election. At least you outlived him, JoePa! Expect the Lions to compete for the Big 10 crown again this year.

18. Brigham Young - These white boys know how to play some football. With Utah taking a step back after graduation losses, BYU will step to the front of the MWC and challenge for a BCS berth. I personally hope they make the Sugar Bowl, so I can go and see a Mormon's expression when he sees his first flashing on Bourbon Street.

19. Kansas - Mark Mangino said he'd eat me if I didn't put the Jayhawks in my top 25. Expect the Jayhawks to win the Big 12 North and get beat by triple digits in the championship game by Texas' third string.

20. Michigan State - I don't know why, but something about Mark D'Antonio makes me believe he can build MSU up into a top-tier Big 10 program. Chalk this pick up to random optimism.

21. Florida State - Jimbo Fisher Bobby Bowden is turning around the Seminoles' program, one felon at a time. They'll challenge for a New Year's Day bowl.

22. Iowa - The loss of Shonn Greene will hurt the Hawkeyes, no doubt, but expect them to continue to be a solid team.

23. Arkansas - I thought the Razorbacks were the most improved team in the SEC from week 1 to bowl season, and I expect that improvement to continue into 2009. The same team that started the year with near upsets to Western Illinois and Louisiana-Monroe came back to beat Auburn and LSU later in the year. There's no doubting that Bobby Petrino is a fantastic college coach; the only question is, how long will he stay in Fayettenam?

24. North Carolina State - This was another team that improved throughout the year last season, starting with the offensive offensive (redundancy on purpose; if you saw them play South Carolina last year, you know their offense was offensive in that game) performance in Columbia, and finishing with a bowl game. Tom O'Brien is a solid, if not spectacular, head coach, and he has the Wolfpack headed in the right direction.

25. Oregon State - I really wanted to include Auburn in this ranking, if only because it's something I want to see, but my better judgment told me that the Tigers aren't a top 25 team this year. I hope I'm proven wrong, but until then, the last spot in this top 25 goes to the midget little person-filled Beaver squad from the Pacific Northwest.