Here's my blog poll for the second week of the season. Again, tell me where I'm wrong or ask for clarification on why I put folks where in the comments section above.
EDIT: There were some teams that slid down despite wins. Georgia Tech is a prime example. I'm not a big "ladder" guy, where -- so long as you don't lose -- a team continues to move up despite the opponent or the team's performance. I prefer to use my eyeballs to tell me how good a team is or not based on what I've seen of them. Hence the inclusion of Cincinnati in the top 20 based on the fact I watched them throttle Rutgers for 47 points (and could've been more), for example. Georgia Tech, on the other hand, managed to best Jacksonville St. by only 20 at home, so while they retain their spot in the top 15, they slide three spots by virtue of other teams moving up (Cal, BYU, Boise St).
EDIT2: Moved Ohio State behind Alabama.
EDIT: There were some teams that slid down despite wins. Georgia Tech is a prime example. I'm not a big "ladder" guy, where -- so long as you don't lose -- a team continues to move up despite the opponent or the team's performance. I prefer to use my eyeballs to tell me how good a team is or not based on what I've seen of them. Hence the inclusion of Cincinnati in the top 20 based on the fact I watched them throttle Rutgers for 47 points (and could've been more), for example. Georgia Tech, on the other hand, managed to best Jacksonville St. by only 20 at home, so while they retain their spot in the top 15, they slide three spots by virtue of other teams moving up (Cal, BYU, Boise St).
EDIT2: Moved Ohio State behind Alabama.
 | ||
| Rank | Team | Delta |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Florida | |
| 2 | Texas | |
| 3 | Southern Cal |  1 |
| 4 | Alabama | 1 |
| 5 | Ohio State | 1 |
| 6 | Penn State | 3 |
| 7 | Oklahoma State | 3 |
| 8 | LSU | |
| 9 | Oklahoma |  6 |
| 10 | Boise State | 7 |
| 11 | Virginia Tech | 4 |
| 12 | California | 1 |
| 13 | Mississippi | 2 |
| 14 | Brigham Young | 9 |
| 15 | Georgia Tech | 3 |
| 16 | Utah | |
| 17 | Georgia | 3 |
| 18 | Cincinnati | |
| 19 | Miami (Florida) | |
| 20 | Nebraska | |
| 21 | TCU | 2 |
| 22 | Florida State | 4 |
| 23 | Oregon | 8 |
| 24 | Iowa | 3 |
| 25 | Notre Dame | |
| Last week's ballot | ||
Dropped Out: Oregon State (#22), Pittsburgh (#24), Michigan State (#25).
I would not move OSU up at all after barely beating Navy. All for naught anyway, as USC is going to throttle them this weekend. I definitely think Alabama should be #4. Not that VT is a top 10 team, but the defense played fairly well, and 'bama still managed to score when they needed to.
ReplyDeleteGot a few questions...how does a bad looking Ohio State move by a damn good looking Alabama. One almost lost a game to a middle of the road Navy, while the other actually took it to a good VT team with the exception of Special Teams.
ReplyDeleteAlso think BYU and OK should be closer and BYU in front.
Looking at the final statistics of the Alabama-VT game, one has to wonder how VT scored a single point. 22 first downs to 11. 500 yards of offense to 150. VT put up NC State numbers, only they managed to score more points somehow. I think Alabama's pretty solid. Ohio State doesn't need to be above them.
ReplyDeleteThanks for all the comments guys.
ReplyDeleteLooking back, I tend to agree that Bama deserves to be ahead of OSU. If anything, I suppose it could be argued that OSU should move down a spot or two in barely beating Navy; however, the triple option is extremely difficult to prepare for. If OSU is to be faulted, it's for letting up the gas at the end and not putting their foot on Navy's throat to close out the contest when up two touchdowns.
Bottom line: It's tough to fault a team too much for barely winning a game against a Navy or Georgia Tech. Just get the W and move on.
Still, Bama's win came against top 10 competition, and therefore I'm moving them up a spot into 4th.
Boise State ahead of BYU is a little confusing to me. Not to mention BYU ahead of Oklahoma. With the loss of Bradford for at three weeks or so and the tight end going down for the year things could get interesting in the Big 12. Oklahoma State just got a lot more intriguing.
ReplyDeleteDerek: Here's my thing with BYU: I don't understand the meteoric rise through the rankings on the basis of one game in which the opposing QB (last year's HT winner, no less) goes down early with a shoulder injury. They ran the ball 33 times for a whopping 28 yards. It seems like to me they're getting a ton of love for being a non-BCS squad that could become a "BCS Buster," but without a running game I don't see how they're top-10 caliber. I still need to be sold on BYU.
ReplyDeleteConversely, I don't think Oklahoma deserves to tumble too far just because their QB goes down with injury. They may not be top-10 good without Bradford, but I see him returning soon enough to where it's not an issue. I think he'll be back for the Miami game and beat the Canes in Miami, solidifying their slot in the top-10.
Now, should they lose either game (Idaho State, Tulsa) in between now and then, obviously that would change their slot in the rankings.