I caught a few TV talking heads Saturday night after watching the Cal game on tape. Several of them made the case that with USC losing, there was no doubt about the new No. 1.
I agreed with the no-doubt-about-it part, but not on the team. To me, the new No. 1 is clearly Alabama, not Oklahoma.
Yes, the Sooners have looked the part with so many blowouts and all that offense. But the quality of their wins can’t match the quality of Bama’s wins.
The Crimson Tide’s victory at Georgia was, by far, the best win by any team in the country this season — both because of the quality of the opponent and the dominance (31-0 at halftime).
Combined that with the thumping of Clemson, and Alabama’s resume is far superior to Oklahoma’s (yes, even with Clemson’s loss to Maryland). Moving the Tide to the top of my ballot was easy.
I spent far more time on USC’s situation.
The Trojans have a road win over an awful team (Virginia), a quality home win (Ohio State) and a borderline-bad road loss (Oregon State).
How much do you credit them for the OSU win and how much do you ding them for the OSU loss? And how much weight do you give subjective evaluation (ie: they’re obviously one of the most talented teams in the country)?
We’re five weeks in, which means subjectivity shouldn’t count for much. I went through each spot on the ballot and compared USC’s resume to the competing teams.
Not until the No. 15 hole did I conclude the Trojans had the best case.
1. Alabama (5-0)
Last week: 2
Result: Beat Georgia 41-30
Current AP rank: 2
Next up: vs. Kentucky
Comment: Get used to Tide being on top: It doesn’t face a ranked team until a Nov. 8 trip to LSU. (Think the Tigers will be ready for Saban? Oh, my.)
2. Louisiana State (4-0)
Last week: 3
Result: Beat Mississippi State 34-24
Current AP rank: 3
Next up: Bye (then at Florida)
Comment: As long as Auburn keeps winning, LSU deserves a spot at/near the top of the rankings.
3. Oklahoma (4-0)
Last week: 9
Result: Beat TCU 35-10
Current AP rank: 1
Next up: at Baylor
Comment: Moved the Sooners up because TCU represents a quality victory (their first, since I’m not sold on Cincy quite yet).
4. Missouri (4-0)
Last week: 4
Result: Bye
Current AP rank: 4
Next up: at Nebraska
Comment: Compared Mizzou to Oklahoma and concluded that TCU’s a better win than Illinois at this point, so I gave OU the edge.
5. Georgia (4-1)
Last week: 5
Result: Lost to Alabama 41-30
Current AP rank: 11
Next up: Bye (then Tennessee)
Comment: Yep, kept the Dawgs right where they were. ‘Bama game was, based on last week’s ballot, a loss to a higher-ranked team. Admittedly, it was a resounding loss, but not many teams have two road wins over BCS opposition (South Carolina and ASU).
6. South Florida (5-0)
Last week: 6
Result: Beat N.C. State 41-10
Current AP rank: 10
Next up: vs. Pittsburgh (Thursday)
Comment: Bulls have two games in the next three weeks, Pitt and Syracuse. A good time for Coach Jim Leavitt to take some vacation.
7. Penn State (5-0)
Last week: 12
Result: Beat Illinois 38-24
Current AP rank: 6
Next up: at Purdue
Comment: Moved the Nittany Lions up five spots after 1) they beat Illinois and 2) Oregon State toppled USC. (Penn State’s 45-14 win over the Beavers looks a lot better now than it did at the time.)
8. Utah (5-0)
Last week: 13
Result: Beat Weber State 37-21
Current AP rank: 15
Next up: vs. Oregon State (Thursday)
Comment: As with Penn State and the Oregon State-USC result, I moved the Utes up because they won at Michigan and Michigan beat Wisconsin.
9. Boise State (3-0)
Last week: 10
Result: Bye
Current AP rank: 17
Next up: vs. Louisiana Tech (Wednesday)
Comment: As long as Oregon keeps winning, BSU will be a top-10 candidate every week. (The Broncos have to keep winning too, of course.)
10. Auburn (4-1)
Last week: 11
Result: Beat Tennessee 14-12
Current AP rank: 13
Next up: at Vanderbilt
Comment: Wouldn’t have pegged Auburn at Vandy as an important game in the SEC race, but it’s turned out that way.
11. BYU (4-0)
Last week: 14
Result: Bye
Current AP rank: 8
Next up: at Utah State (Friday)
Comment: I don’t feel good about this ranking. It’s probably a bit high, given BYU’s schedule to date.
12. Vanderbilt (4-0)
Last week: 21
Result: Bye
Current AP rank: 19
Next up: vs. Auburn
Comment: When do you move a team up nine spots after a bye? When that team has a victory at Ole Miss and Ole Miss wins in The Swamp.
13. Texas (4-0)
Last week: 18
Result: Beat Arkansas 52-10
Current AP rank: 5
Next up: at Colorado
Comment: ‘Horns have looked good, sure, but against second- and third-rate opposition. In two weeks: Oklahoma.
14. Texas Tech (4-0)
Last week: 15
Result: Bye
Current AP rank: 7
Next up: at Kansas State
Comment: TTU and UT have basically the same profile. Longhorns won the coin toss.
15. USC (2-1)
Last week: 1
Result: Lost to Oregon State 27-21
Current AP rank: 19
Next up: vs. Oregon
Comment: The Trojans are only three spots behind Penn State in the AP and Coaches polls. Is it possible some voters still have USC ranked higher, despite the comparative score vs. Oregon State?
16. Wisconsin (3-1)
Last week: 7
Result: Lost to Michigan 27-25
Current AP rank: 18
Next up: vs. Ohio State
Comment: Didn’t think Wisconsin deserved to be ranked ahead of USC, although it’s close. But Badgers definitely belong above …
17. Florida (3-1)
Last week: 8
Result: Lost to Mississippi 31-30
Current AP rank: 12
Next up: at Arkansas
Comment: Miami’s home loss to North Carolina didn’t help the Gators, who are lacking in quality wins (ie: they have none).
18. Kansas (3-1)
Last week: 16
Result: Bye
Current AP rank: 16
Next up: at Iowa State
Comment: Best result remains close loss at USF, and that will be true this time next week.
19. Oklahoma State (4-0)
Last week: 20
Result: Beat Troy 55-24
Current AP rank: 21
Next up: vs. Texas A&M
Comment: Had to rank OSU-Stillwater ahead of OSU-Columbus based on comparative performances vs. Troy.
20. Ohio State (4-1)
Last week: 19
Result: Beat Minnesota 34-21
Current AP rank: 14
Next up: at Wisconsin
Comment: At least the Buckeyes didn’t wait until the fourth quarter to take charge against worse-than-their-record Gophers.
21. Texas Christian (4-1)
Last week: 17
Result: Lost to Oklahoma 35-10
Current AP rank: NR
Next up: vs. San Diego State
Comment: Would have kept the Frogs steady, and maybe moved them up, if the Oklahoma game had been at all competitive. But 28-3 at halftime …
22. Virginia Tech (4-1)
Last week: N/R
Result: Beat Nebraska 35-30
Current AP rank: 20
Next up: vs. Western Kentucky
Comment: The loss to East Carolina doesn’t look so good with ECU’s freefall. But that’s offset by Hokies’ win at Nebraska, by North Carolina’s victory at Miami and by Georgia Tech’s solid play. (VaTech beat both UNC and GaTech.)
23. Fresno State (3-1)
Last week: N/R
Result: Beat UCLA 36-31
Current AP rank: 22
Next up: vs. Hawaii
Comment: Schedule turns soft, real soft, with Hawaii, Idaho and Utah State. So FSU’s ballot position depends on how Rutgers, Wisconsin and UCLA fare over the next few weeks.
24. Oregon (4-1)
Last week: 25
Result: Beat Washington State 63-14
Current AP rank: 23
Next up: at USC
Comment: From the wouldn’t want-to-be-you file: After all the QB problems, Ducks get angry USC in the Coliseum.
25. Maryland (4-1)
Last week: N/R
Result: Beat Clemson 20-17
Current AP rank: N/R
Next up: at Virginia
Comment: Also considered Wake Forest, Michigan State, Ball State, Illinois, North Carolina, Cal and Tulsa.
The post My AP top-25 football poll: Week Five (A new No. 1, USC plummets) appeared first on College Hotline.
