Sunday, September 28, 2014

College Football Power Rankings (Post Week-Five Edition)

1. Oregon Ducks (4-0)  -- The Ducks and their Heisman candidate, Marcus Mariota, were off this week before what will be a very interesting matchup against high-scoring and undefeated Arizona on Thursday night. It will be the Ducks first significant test since their major victory against Michigan State at home.
Christion Jones
2. Alabama Crimson Tide (4-0) -- The Tide were also gifted with a bye a week before a pivotal matchup for them, a SEC West battle with the dangerous Ole Miss Rebels. While the Rebels will bring their explosive offense to the table, the way Alabama has been passing the ball, this could be a shootout.
3. Florida State Seminoles (4-0) -- Somehow the Seminoles are still undefeated. After a scary opener scare against Oklahoma State, escaping at home against Clemson and playing bad against NC State, the 'Noles are still 4-0 and top the AP Poll. The offense has hits its stride but defensive questions still loom, and FSU could easily be 2-2 right now.
4. Oklahoma Sooners (4-0) -- Tennessee losing to Georgia this weekend didn't help the Sooners at all, who were also off. A win by the Vols (who did play very well) would have given Oklahoma a legit win on their schedule to compare with other Playoff contenders, something they somewhat lack.
5. Texas A&M Aggies (5-0) -- Arkansas is a much different team this year than last year's 3-9 bunch, and its not even close. The Razorbacks and running back Alex Collins gave the Aggies al they could handle, but the clutch ability and poise of Kenny Hill shown through. Was that the Heisman moment for the redshirt sophomore?
6. Auburn Tigers (4-0) -- Like the bulk of the Top 10, Auburn had a bye this week. And, also like much of the Top 10, they have a huge conference battle upcoming. Can the Tigers rejuvenate their rushing attack against Les Miles and LSU? This game is just one of many others with huge SEC West implications.
7. Baylor Bears (4-0) -- To nobody's surprise, Baylor and Bryce Petty had no issues with the Iowa State defense, winning by three scores. While the Bears have dominated their competition, their lack of a big win at this point is worrisome and could hold them back.
8. Notre Dame Fighting Irish (4-0) -- The Irish completely outplayed a decent Syracuse team, winning 31-15 this past week. Everett Golson continues to look more and more like a real Heisman threat, while the defense has been stout.
9. Michigan State Spartans (3-1) -- Its kind of a weird time in East Lansing. Not only are the Spartans rolling, they are rolling big time. But, it isn't just the defense doing the work, it is the offense which has put up 73 and 56 in their last two games. Granted, Eastern Michigan and Wyoming aren't exactly elite teams, but it is a great sign for Mark Dantonio and MSU.
10. UCLA Bruins (4-0) -- The Bruins finally looked them the team that many picked to win the Pac-12, manhandling a ranked Arizona State team. Though, the win was with a banged up ASU team, and we really don't know how good the Sun Devils are. The win was impressive, but UCLA still has to prove themselves to rise much higher.
11. Ole Miss Rebels (4-0) -- While they didn't exactly run up the score, Ole Miss was able to get a nice victory over Memphis, improving to 4-0. It was important, as they weren't caught looking ahead to their huge battle with Alabama this week.
12. Georgia Bulldogs (3-1) -- The SEC East has been crazy weird already this season, so Georgia has emerged as my favorite. Tennessee is a nice conference win, and Todd Gurley and the Bulldogs were inches away from taking down South Carolina at home.
13. Mississippi State Bulldogs (4-0) -- It has been a long time since we saw a Mississippi State team thrash LSU like they did last week. Now, Dak Prescott and the Bulldogs need to carry that momentum on against Texas A&M, who brings a much scarier offense to the table than the Tigers of LSU.
14. Stanford Cardinal (3-1) -- Since their loss to USC, Stanford has really played well, beating Army 35-0 and then absolutely shutting down Washington this weekend. We don't have any clue how good Chris Peterson's Huskies are, but a Pac-12 North win helps the Cardinal no matter what.
15. USC Trojans (3-1) -- The Trojans have also recovered from their lone loss of the season very well, pummeling Oregon State yesterday. Cody Kessler continues to impress through the air, while USC has found their running game once more, after it disappeared in that loss to Boston College.
16. Wisconsin Badgers (3-1) -- Another team with one early loss, the Badgers are re-emerging as Playoff contenders behind superstar Melvin Gordon. After a rough first half, Gordon ran all over South Florida and right back into the Heisman chase after a slow start to the year.
17. LSU Tigers (4-1) -- It appears LSU has found an offensive spark, after they put up 63 points this past Saturday. While it was against New Mexico State, a strong performance like that can give the Tigers hope as they enter the meat of their SEC schedule.
18. Nebraska Cornhuskers (5-0) -- Quietly, the 'Huskers have easily been the Big Ten's most impressive team, improving to 5-0 this weekend. Though, their soft schedule has stopped them from rising too far up the polls. A huge meeting with Michigan State this weekend could be a Big Ten Championship game preview.
19. Ohio State Buckeyes (3-1) -- Cincinnati is not a bad football team by any means, so to see Ohio State outplay them the way they did was impressive. Redshirt freshman J.T. Barrett is really starting to figure things out, now surpassing 1,000 yards and racking up 13 touchdowns.
20. BYU Cougars (4-0) -- It is hard to know what to think of the Cougars. They have played extremely well to this point and sit at 4-0, but their schedule has been average at best. They need Texas, Virginia and some other teams on their schedule to play well to end the year to help out their Playoff resume.
21. East Carolina Pirates (3-1) -- With Cincinnati losing to Ohio State, the Pirates have emerged as the front runners in the American Athletic. Their offense is just too dangerous, led by QB Shane Carden and electric wide receiver Justin Hardy.
22. Missouri Tigers (4-1) -- What a wild ride it has been for Mizzou. One week they fall out of Playoff contention with a loss to a wacky Indiana team. Then, a week later, they beat what we think is a good South Carolina team, a team that has wins over East Carolina and Georgia. Anyways, the play of workhorse back Russell Hansbrough has been the perfect complement to QB Maty Mauk.
23. Oklahoma State Cowboys (3-1) -- The Cowboys have won three straight since their season-opening loss to FSU under a new quarterback in Daxx Garman, who has been great since taking over for J.W. Walsh, leading Oklahoma State to a nice Big 12 victory over Texas Tech.
24. TCU Horned Frogs (3-0) -- Also pretty quietly, the Horned Frogs have been absolutely superb. It is hard to know how good they are considering, outside of Minnesota, they have beat lowly SMU and Samford. Still, Trevone Boykin is having a huge year, passing and throwing the ball.
25. South Carolina Gamecocks (3-2) -- On one hand, South Carolina has looked pretty good. Wins against East Carolina and Georgia are impressive, and they probably outplayed Missouri. Still, an uninspired performance against Vandy was worrying, and the defense still looks worrying. Two losses this early in the conference season really hurts.

Others Receiving Votes
Arizona
Arizona State
Kansas State
Clemson
Marshall
Boston College
Minnesota
Georgia Tech
Arkansas
NC State

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