Top 25

After week nine, it’s time to release my initial college football top 25 rankings. By waiting until the half way point of the season, the poll is not influenced (as much) by pre season polls, but based primarily on each team’s performance on the field from week one on.


1. Boston College (9-0) – Matt Ryan’s Heisman campaign got a boost after his last minute heroics against Virginia Tech. BC at number one may be a surprise to some, but let’s face it, they’ve played a tougher schedule than Ohio State, (wins over Wake Forrest, @ Ga. Tech, and @ V Tech) and with the best O-line in the nation, they will never be out of any game.

2. Ohio State (9-0) – Wins at Purdue and at Penn State are decent, but not quite noteworthy. The Buckeye defense is one of the top three or four in the country though, and they may be the only team other than BC with a legit chance to go undefeated throughout the season.

3. Oklahoma (7-1) – Even with one loss, the Sooners are best overall team in the country. With an explosive offense putting up nearly 55 points per game, their only real test the rest of the way will be in the Big 12 Championship game against an undefeated Kansas team, or a rematch with Mizzou.

4. Arizona St (8-0)– The Sun Devils have stood up to every challenge along the way under coach Dennis Erickson, including Cal (the one team that beat Oregon). This week’s match up against the Ducks may very well determine who plays for the National Title.

5. Oregon (7-1) – The Ducks are ranked behind Arizona St. because they gave away a game at home against Cal. The general consensus is that they are better than the Sun Devils, but until they beat them, they are still the second best team in the Pac-10.

6. West Virginia (7-1) – The best of the one-loss teams, West Virginia is as explosive as any team in the country when they are healthy. A one-possession loss at South Florida is the only thing keeping the Mountaineers from being ranked #1 right now. Dismantling a good Rutgers team last week showed how dominant this UWV team really is.

7. LSU (7-1) – This may seem unusually low for those who still think that the Tigers are a shoe in for the BCS championship, but there is one thing we know for sure about LSU - they are not markedly better than UK, Auburn, or Florida (and look where those teams are ranked). For over a year now, this myth about the superiority of the SEC has been promulgated throughout college football. Here’s a reality check: the SEC is not significantly better than the other conferences. It’s not. By the way, if the Tigers lose at ‘Bama on Saturday, the SEC won’t have a single team ranked in the top 10.

8. Kansas (8-0) The Jayhawks have had little trouble running through their conference schedule, with road wins at K State, at Colorado, and at Texas A&M. How crazy is this? Their Thanksgiving match up with Missouri may be the game of the year in the Big 12. Rock Chalk Jayhawk!

9. Missouri (7-1) The Tigers only loss, a 10-point game at Oklahoma has kept them from the top 3. (Man, this is a strange year in college football.) QB Chase Daniels is one of the more entertaining players in the country. He has thrown for fewer than 300 yards only three times this season (he dropped 400 on Nebraska) and is completing 70% of his passes.

10. Hawaii (8-0) I couldn’t believe it myself when Hawaii landed in the top 10, but here they are. I know they haven’t played anybody, and Colt Brennan threw 5 picks against Idaho and 4 against San Jose St. But this is the point: We don’t really know how good the Warriors are, but we also don’t know how bad they are. If they win at Boise St on 11/23 and stay undefeated, they deserve a shot at a BCS game. And if they win it like Boise did last year, the BCS needs to lose its conference affiliations and become evenly open for everyone.

11. Michigan (7-2) – That’s right, Michigan. The fact is, the Wolverines are playing great football right now. Of course they had a couple of bad losses to some good teams to start the year, but they’ve won seven in a row since then, at this point they look like they’re going to win the Big 10. Big games still remain at Camp Randall, and against some other team from Ohio.

12. Wake Forrest (6-2) The defending ACC champs have hit their stride, winning six straight after dropping their first two to BC and Nebraska by a combined 13 points. Two daunting road games loom at Virginia and at Clemson in the next two weeks for the Demon Deacons. Those two games will make or break this season for Wake.

13. UConn (7-1) This is another team that seems to be ranked a little too high, but they haven’t lost enough to go much lower. They got sidetracked a little with a loss at Virginia, but the Huskies are the top team in the Big East right now. They are currently in the middle of a treacherous four game stretch against Louisville, South Florida, Rutgers, and Cincinnati, before a season ending tilt at West Virginia

14. Boise State (7-1) The Broncos fell of the radar after losing at Washington in the second week of the season. Other than a 69-67 win at Nevada, they have coasted since. Their 11/23 trip to Hawaii could have BCS implications

15. Georgia (6-2) At this point there are six SEC teams that are all pretty much the same. I ranked three of them, separating them primarily by who has the worst losses. A four point loss at home to South Carolina and a loss at Tennessee are tough to criticize. Georgia has as good a chance as anyone to win the SEC.

16. Alabama (6-2) ’Bama has done a nice job rebounding from a bad 2006. A home loss to Georgia wont cost them much, but losing to Florida State keeps them out of the top 15. Hosting LSU on Saturday will be a golden opportunity for the Crimson Tide to control their own destiny in the SEC West.

17. V Tech (6-2) Tech has had to deal with unrealistic expectations after being raked too high at the beginning of the season. Their defense is as good as advertised, but offensively, they don’t scare anybody. They have lost to the only two really good teams they have played, but can prove their mettle in their next four games (at Ga. Tech, Florida St, Miami, at Virginia).

18. Texas (7-2) Other than the Kansas State loss, this year’s Texas team has actually performed quite well. Colt McCoy is fourth in the nation in passing yards (though he does turn it over too much), and Nebraska was the last real test left on Texas’s schedule. Sadly, the two conference losses will likely prevent the Longhorns from finishing higher than third in the Big 12.


19. Purdue (7-2) If the Boilermakers were in the SEC they’d be ranked 12th in the AP. Come on! Their only losses are to Ohio State and at Michigan! They score 45.5 points per game! Perhaps a win in Happy Valley this week will win them a little more support, but I doubt it.

20. USC (6-2) I hear a lot about SC’s “superior athletes.” If these are superior athletes, than they should join the track team, ‘cause they aren’t great football players. I know that the Trojans have had health issues, but this offense looks like Florida State’s! They have had spotty QB play, and little help from the skill positions. USC hasn’t been able to dominate in conference for a couple of years now, and it’s finally caught up to them. With road games remaining against Cal and Arizona St, and UCLA at home to close the season, the most surprising thing I could think of right now would be if this team were to loose fewer than two more conference games this year.

21. South Florida (6-2) The Bulls were a great Cinderella story two weeks ago, but the Big East is too good a conference for any team to run through undefeated. Two tough road losses to Rutgers and UConn dropped USF all the way from the number two spot. Unfortunately, there is little left on the Bulls’ schedule to redeem them much this season.

22. Florida (5-3) Loosing 38% of your games through nine weeks would drop just about anyone else in the country all together. The Gators are still here likely to Bias, but also because there aren’t many teams that have stepped up to take their spot. That being said, Florida is as good as LSU, and they’re ranked 7th. Tim Tebow and Percy Harvin keep Florida as explosive as anyone offensively. Now, if they could just cover someone…

23. Virginia (7-2) The Cavaliers looked like they were all but trying to get Al Groh fired after their pathetic week one showing at Wyoming. But now, even after a close loss at NC State, they still control their own destiny leading into a season ending clash with chief rival Virginia Tech, with the winner likely playing for the ACC title, and a BCS birth.

24. Tennessee (5-3) The Volunteers are another one of those SEC teams that look like everyone else. If not for their inability to win on the road, they would be one of the most feared offenses in football. This shouldn’t be a problem until their next road game, 11/23 at Kentucky.

25. BYU (5-2) After two tough early season losses, The Cougars and their young offense have rebounded with four straight wins. The two time defending MWC champs, BYU has won 15 of their last 17, (dating back to last season) and 12 consecutive conference games.

Conference Breakdown: Pac 10 – 3 teams, Big 12 – 4 teams, Big 10 – 3 teams, Big East – 3 teams, ACC – 4 teams, SEC – 5 teams, Non-BCS – 3.