Week 5 Top 25

No time for much commentary this week, but here is the new top 25.  Oregon made a big statement to solidify their spot at #2, while Less Miles barely escaped with a win against a mediocre team from Auburn.  FSU and Collin Klein also made big statements with wins over Clemson and Oklahoma.  Big Game Bob is officially back.  FSU is starting to look like a real contender, but there’s still a long way to go.  Notre Dame followed up their domination of Michigan State with a domination of Michigan.  News out of the Vatican is that the state of Michigan now owes an additional 2% sales tax to the Catholic Church.  West Virginia looked a little shaky against Maryland, which isn’t a good sign, but they hold at #5.  I briefly jumped the dogs over them, but then asked myself “How much is a blowout win over Vandy really worth?”  About as much as HP stock.  A week after falling limp against Stanford, USC recovered by sticking it to Cal.  Silas Redd has started hitting the hole with authority, which could help the Trojans work their way back up by the end of the year.  Tim Tebow.  

Week 5

1. SEC

2. Oregon

3. SEC

4. Florida State

5. West Virginia

6. SEC

7. Collin Klein

8. Texas

9. SEC

10. Notre Dame

11. Stanford

12. Oklahoma

13. TCU

14. Clemson

15. USC

16. Nebraska

17. SEC

18. Michigan State

19. Louisville

20. Rutgers

21. Oregon State

22. Cincinnati

23. Northwestern

24. SEC

25. Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University

 

OOC Records

Now that the first three weeks of the season are complete, a large part of the out of conference schedule is done.  Because a lot of people care about overall conference OOC records, I thought I would gather the records so far to see how each conference is doing as a whole. 

What does this tell me? 

Northwestern is bailing out its Big 10 brethren.  The Wildcats are 3-0 against BCS conference teams.  That means without them, Big 10 teams a 1-5 against the big boys.

The numbers backup negative perception of the ACC.  Losing 3 games to Big East teams on Saturday definitely moved the meter.  The good news is no embarassing losses to FCS teams this year.

The SEC is not head and shoulders above the competition.  In fact, they're about average.  Yes, they have 4 top ten teams, but there is a big drop off after that.  The conference has also lost 2 games to powerhouses like UL-Monroe and Western Kentucky, and Auburn was lucky to escape with a win over ULM, or else it would be 3 losses.

The sample size is still small, but the Big 12 has outperformed everyone else.  Big 12 teams are 22-2 OOC and 3-1 against other BCS teams, with the only loss coming to undefeated Arizona.

	FBS W	FBS L	FCS W	FCS L	BCS W	BCS L
ACC	4	7	14	0	3	7
Big 10	18	10	8	0	4	8
Big 12	13	2	9	0	3	1
Big East	6	4	7	1	4	4
Pac-12	13	8	8	1	6	4
SEC	15	6	8	0	4	4

Week 4 Top 25

The top 25 is up in a more timely manner this week.  Not a lot of huge changes occurred this week.  Of course, Stanford beating USC is the one that really rocked the boat.  Stanford comes in at #12 after being unranked last week.  The first few weeks of cupcakes are coming to a close, which means conference schedules are starting, and the games we will start to find out what everybody is really made of.  Last week, I feared I had Michigan State rated too highly, and they responded by getting their tails kicked by Notre Dame.  The Gamecocks are making me nervous in the top ten and may not last much longer.

Week 4
1. SEC	The idea that John L. Smith could step in seamlessly for Bobby Petrino was and has been proven to be laughable.  A 52-0 beat down, however, is nothing to laugh at.  There's a long way to go, but right now it looks like the Tide are even better than last year.
2. Oregon	Oregon only scored 35 points in the first half against Tennessee Tech.  Sound the alarm.  Things only got worse in the second half when they only scored 28 points.  Fire Chip Kelly.  This week's game with Arizona should be sufficiently entertaining.
3. SEC	LeSU has yet to be tested, and they likely won't be tested when they make a trip to Awbarn this week.  Fresh off a thrilling OT victory against ULM (the powerhouse who just took down mighty Arkansas), Gene Chizik's Tigers should be ready to get rolled this week.
4. Florida State	Speaking of 52-0, FSU got the Wake monkey off their back.  The big deal here is not that FSU is so much more talented than Wake.  They always have been.  The difference is that FSU kept it together mentally and absolutely demolished a team that has had their number lately.  That is a big sign they are closer to competing at the top.
5. West Virginia	WVU beat JMU 42-12.  Yawn.  They may exceed that against Maryland.  If they really belong in the top 5, they   will.
6. SEC	FAU gave the dogs a bit of a scare by keeping it close in the first half.  That changed quickly, though.  Mark Richt is now 3 for 3 letting teams hang around early before turning it on late.  With the Dores up next on the schedule, don't be surprised to see it again.  Vandy is just good enough to almost beat a lot of teams.  No better and no worse.
7. Oklahoma	After a week off, the Sooners get a big test as Collin Klein comes to town.  We will see in this game if the Sooners have really toughened up with the other Stoops running the defense again.
8. Texas	Get ready to crown Texas.  They put up 66 points on an SEC defense.
9. SEC	The Gamecocks are in trouble if Connor Shaw can't stay healthy.  As good as Marcus Lattimore is, you can't lean on an RB coming off ACL surgery.  The defense has been very good so far, but they're going to need Shaw to compete in conference.
10. Clemson	Sammy Watkins came back and announced his presence with authority against Furman.  After feasting on the weak to start the year, Clemson goes to Tallhassee this week for the 4th annual Ex-Bowden Bowl.  This may be the biggest one yet with both teams in the top ten.
11. Collin Klein	Collin Klein won another game by himself against North Texas, but it wasn't pretty.  If he can do the same against Oklahoma this week, he will officially move in RG3 territory.
12. Stanford	Maybe the Trojans just have bad luck, but Stanford can offically claim ownership of USC.  The year got off to a rocky start, but it looks like there maybe life after Andrew Luck in Palo Alto.
13. Notre Dame	Notre Dame took a big step forward on Saturday when they dominated Michigan State.  Toughness has really held Notre Dame back but not in East Landing where they beat the Spartans at their own game of physicality.  The Irish will need to keep up that level of play to get through the tough upcoming schedule.
14. USC	When the schedule got hard the Trojans got soft.  Everybody was concerned if the defense could hold up for the whole year, but it was Matt Barkley who couldn't keep it up against Stanford.  National title hopes are likely gone for USC.
15. TCU	TCU beat Kansas 20-3.  Status quo for the Horned Frogs is still boring.  They're not going anywhere until they play somebody.  Fort Worth better stock up on Zima with UVA coming to town this week.
16. Michigan	Michigan came to life against UMass on Saturday.  Not exactly a revelation but at least a positive step.  The Woleverines need to be ready to take a big positive step against Notre Dame this week or risk the season snowballing on them.
17. UCLA	UCLA continued their strong start by rolling over an awful Houston team.  This Saturday presents an interesting matchup when the Bruins face Oregon State to open up the Pac-12 schedule.  We will learn a lot more about the Beavers as well, whose only game so far this season was a 10-7 victory over Wisconsin.
18. Nebraska	Nebraska pulled it back together with a blowout over Arkansas State.  They get Idaho State next for a final warmup before the conference schedule begins against Wisconsin.  If Nebraska is for real, they will roll over struggling Wisconsin.
19. SEC	I've resisted putting the Gayta in here as long as possible.  They struggled against Bowling Green and A&M before blowing out the Vols in the second half on Saturday.  That was the first time under Will Muschamp that the Gayta have looked like a team that can contend in the East.  I'm still skeptical.  Go Gayta.
20. Arizona	Now it gets interesting.  We saw Arizona outscore Oklahoma State in a big way, but Oregon is a very different animal.  The Wildcats will need to be nearly perfect to win up in Eugene.  Either way, there should be plenty of fireworks.
21. Michigan State	Andrew Maxwell struggeld again against a solid defense.  The Spartans havea great defense and a strong running game, but if Maxwell can't start making the basic plays at QB, Michigan State won't be making a run at the Rose Bowl.
22. Louisville	Louisville jumped out to an impressive 36-7 lead at halftime over UNC.  They then had to hang on for dear life to win 39-34.  That's not exactly a championship level performance.  It may be a Big East championship level performance though.
23. Cincinnati	The Munchies didn't exactly blow away Delaware State on Saturday.  They get an interesting matchup in two weeks with VPISU, who just got blown out by Pitt- a team Cincy beat 34-10.
24. Northwestern	Northwestern may be the only team to have recorded three wins over three BCS conference teams to start the year.  Granted, those teams are Syracuse, Vandy, and BC, but give Northwestern credit for scheduling real games.  And hey, they beat an SEC team.  That counts for at least 2 wins, right?
25. Boise State	Boise beat up on MiamiU, which isn't all that impressive, but nobody did anything worth unseating them.  The matchup with BYU on Thursday is interesting.  We will get a better feel for where the Broncos stand after that one.

Notre Dame to Join ACC; Big East to Join XFL

Notre Dame has officially made the first step towards joining the ACC.  They will join in all sports except football, in which they will play 5 ACC games each year.  That means each ACC team will play ND every three years. 

This can be viewed from two angles:

1. The ACC conceded to ND just like the Big East
2. This is the first step to ND joining as a full member.

I think the latter is closer to reality.  The fact that ND has agreed to play 5 ACC teams each year is a big step up from the Big East deal.  Eventually, ND will be forced to join a conference in football, and we now know that will be the ACC.  Until that time comes, however, ND will squeeze their NBC contract for all that it's worth, and who could blame them.  ACC schools also now get the benefit that Big East schools never did: extra revenue from having ND regularly on the schedule.  Poplular opinion also states that ND doesn't want to give up rivalries with USC, Michigan, Michigan State, Navy, and Purdue by joining the ACC.  Whether they join a conference or not, those games will go away as conferences move to 9 game schedules.  There just won't be capacity for teams to schedule ND every year. 

While this has a long term positive impact on the ACC, it puts yet another nail in the Big East's coffin.  Everybody said "as long as ND has a home for its Olympic sports in the Big East, they won't have to join a conference in football."  This makes it clear that Notre Dame had no faith in the future of the Big East even in the Olympic sports.  Having been one of the strongest basketball programs in the Big East the last couple years, the ACC has now poached yet another to add to their basketball strength.  This also allows the ACC to even out divisions in baseball because Syracuse does not field a team.

Overall, this move bodes well for the future of the ACC and the demise of the Big East.  Eventually, Notre Dame will be part of a 16 team ACC, and the Big East will join the XFL six feet underground.

Week 3 Top 25

Here is the definitive ranking of the top 25 teams after two weeks of play.  A lot changed this week.  Wisconsin and Oklahoma State took big falls out of the ranking.  The SEC sufered an embarassing loss to ULM.  Clearly, this is a reflection on all 14 teams.  A bunch of new teams enter the top 25 this week, so we will see if any of them have staying power.  Most of the country is still playing warm up games, which means we still don't know much about anyone, so a lot will be changing in the upcoming weeks. 

Week 3
1. SEC	No news here.  A.J. McCarron had a big game against Western Kentucky, otherwise nothing notable really occurred.  Expect the Tide to have little trouble against Arkansas this week.  That matchup looks even less intimidating after ULM gave the SEC a kick in the ass last week.
2. USC	In the defense of the defense, Syracuse has a pretty good offense.  The Trojans will need to stiffen up, though if they want to win a national championship.  Matt Barkley and the offense continued to do what they do.
3. Oregon	Oregon must have worn themselves out in the first half against Fresno State, because they took a nap in the second half.  Kenjon Barner was there to kick it back into gear, though, before it got close.  It is the second week in a row that the Ducks have only scored once in the second half, which they hope is not the start of a trend.
4. SEC	Apparently having a live tiger on the scout team is not an effective method of preparation.  Less Miles and the Tigers unleashed the fury on a weaker than expected Washington team.  With Idaho up next, it should be another boring week in Baton Rouge.
5. West Virginia	WVU had the week off and get James Madison this week.  So, they pretty much have another off week.
6. SEC	Things got scary in Missouri until a series of turnovers busted the game open for the dogs.  Apparently Gary Pinkel hasn't received his full alotment of SEC speed yet.  The dogs get FAU as another tune up before the full conference schedule starts.
7. Oklahoma	The offense woke up against whatever glorified high school team OU paid to beat up.  This doesn't mean all is well in Norman, but it is a step in the right direction.
8. Florida State	Sound the alarm…FSU failed to cover the spread against Savannah State.  FSU probably could have easily covered the 70 point spread but was smart enough not to.  The Noles get Wake on Saturday, which will be their first opponent with a pulse.
9. SEC	Connor Shaw still doesn't appear to be ready to go, which could be a problem when not playing ECU.  With UAB up next, Shaw gets another week to heal before Missouri comes up on the schedule.
10. Michigan State	The Spartans get another big test this week against Notre Dame.  Top ten feels a little high right now for Michigan State, but they have a chance to validate themselves after treating the ball like a hot potato against Boise State (pun not initially intended).  If Le'Veon Bell continues to show up big, they should move to 3-0.
11. Texas	Texas continues to rise as they continue to feast on the weak.  The schedule gets really tough this week when Bob Davie and the Fighting Lobos come to town.  After that tough matchup, they face a ferocious SEC team in Oxford, MS.  They'll be lucky to get out of those alive before the conference schedule begins.
12. Clemson	Andre Ellington had another huge game against Ball State while the Tigers put up 52 points.  The defense gave up more than it should have, though most of that came in the second half.  Sammy Watkins returns this week against the Furman University Christian Knights.  Furman provides a nice easy game to get Watkins back into the fold before a huge matchup with FSU next week.
13. Collin Klein	Collin Klein was responsible for 281 yards and 4 touchdowns against Miami.  Miami's entire team was reponsible for 262 yards and 1 touchdown.
14. TCU	TCU actually played a game last week, though it was against Grambling.  The competition may or may not get tougher against Kansas this week.  I don't feel great about having TCU so high but they could be undefeated going to Stillwater at the end of October.
15. VPISU	The Turkeys had a much easier time against Austin Peay on Saturday, so there was no JMU repeat.  They have an interesting game against future ACC opponent, Pitt this week.  Pitt is terrible, though, so it won't be interesting for long.
16. Michigan	Michigan didn't exactly set the world on fire in their rebound game against Air Force.  Air Force is touch, but Michigan had to be hoping for better than a 31-26 win.  The Wolverines get a chance to finish licking their wounds against UMass this week before going to Notre Dame in 2 weeks.
17. Notre Dame	Speaking of Notre Dame, here they are, coming off a scare against a pretty solid Pudue team.  Clearly there are still kinks to work out, but Notre Dame will have a chance to sink or swim in the coming weeks with 5 of the next 6 games against ranked teams.
18. UCLA	Here's a new face.  I'm still skeptical about UCLA's ability to sustain their early success, but that was a big win against Nebraska.  I think this is a case of getting hot quickly under a new coach, but I will give them credit for work done thus far.
19. Nebraska	The old Taylor Martinez struck again on Saturday, throwing for no touchdowns and one interception in crunch time.  The real issue, though, is that the defense gave up 31 points and has shown no signs of improvement.  I probably shouldn't, but I'll continue to give Nebraska the benefit of the doubt, especially when they get Rex Burkhead healthy.
20. BYU	BYU had another easy game against Weber State, and they continued to perform accordingly.  The Utah game was more attractive before the Utes lost to Utah State, but this will still be a good test for BYU.
21. Arizona	Consider me someone not surprised how quickly Arizona has taken to Rich Rod.  He was born to coach in the Pac-12, where defense is optional and winning is a bonus.  They won't be great, but this will be a fun team to watch.
22. Cincinnati	Their quarterback is named Munchie Legeaux.  I think we're done here.
23. SEC	Derek Dooley has brought the Vols back to the promised land.  Okay, maybe not yet, but they have had a good start.  The Vols have lost a shocking 7 games in a row to the Gayta.  Ending that streak is a big step in re-establishing Rocky Top.
24. Louisville	Charlie Strong is doing good things in Louisville.  They're not exactly knocking on the door of the top ten, but they've come a long way quickly from the Steve Kragthorpe disaster.  If they can get over the Munchies, they should win the Big East without too much trouble.
25. Boise State	This is 100% giving them credit for hanging so close with Michigan State who, for the moment, is a top ten team.  The ceiling is low for Boise though.

Week 2 Top 25

We're a bit late this week due to the Monday night game, but here we are.  Not a lot has changed, but there has been some shuffling. As a general rule, I try not to put too much weight on what happens in week one.  That means Michigan doesn't get punished too badly for their loss to the Patriots, and those who barely escaped are granted some level of amnesty.  That said, a lot of warning shots were fired in the opening weekend, and a lot of teams will need to step it up in the coming weeks.

Week 2
1. SEC	I think it's safe to say that Nick Saban's defense has reloaded.  The Tide made a mockery of Michigan and Denard Robinson and physically beat the Wolverines into submission.  What may be even more frightening to opponents is the debut of freshman RB T.J. Yeldon who is already legitimizing Trent Richardson comparisons.
2. USC	USC looked dominant over Hawaii just as they should have.  The schedule gets just a little bit tougher with Syracuse up next but not much.  Stanford comes to L.A. next weekend for the first real pushback.  USC should cruise until they play Oregon late in the year.
3. Oregon	The starting RB and QB are gone, and Oregon may have gotten better.  DeAnthony Thomas has grown to full on freak status, and Marcus Mariota was nearly perfect in his debut at QB.  Yes it was Arkansas State, but the Ducks put up 50 points in the first 22 minutes of the game.  That's hard to do against air.
4. SEC	Breaking News: Tyrann Mathieu is boldly going somewhere no LSU football player has gone before…class.
5. West Virginia	Geno Smith and the WVU offense picked up right where the left off: In the end zone.  The defense is more or less in the same spot as well…les favorable.  Given the performances of the other teams around them, the Couchburners climb a couple spots on the merit that they can simply outscore most everyone they play.
6.   SEC	The dogs were uninspiring against Buffalo, a game they clearly weren't amped for.  Todd Gurley was inspiring and gives Richt hope at the RB spot.  Many more questions will be answered at Mizzou this week.
7. Oklahoma	My fears about OU came true on Saturday.  The massive injuries, suspensions, and departures on offense rendered the Sooners largely ineffective in an ugly win over UTEP.  If they don't get their act together, this could be a long hard fall.
8. SEC	The Dores are just good enough to scare teams, and that's what they did to the Chickens in Nashville.  Connor Shaw played through an injury, and Marcus Lattimore wasn't quite back to form yet but showed flashes.  This wasn't a surprising result, but the offense will need to get going to stay up here.
9. Florida State	The Noles performed as expected in their opener.  The bad news is that Brandon Jenkins is out for the season, which deprives FSU of their top pass rusher.  Of course, they have lots of athletes on the roster to fill in, so we will see what the drop off is.
10. Nebraska	Something strange happened against Southern Miss in week one.  Taylor Martinez threw five touchdown passes, completing 26 of 34 attempts.  Southern Miss isn't Wisconsin, but that's definitely a step in the right direction.
11. Michigan State	Michigan State didn't make it easy against Boise.  Le'Veon Bell lived up to the hype, but Andrew Maxwell almost blew it by turning the ball over.  The defense looks up to par.  Maxwell will have to improve quickly for the Spartans to challenge for a BCS game.
12. Wisconsin	Wisconsin barely escaped with their lives against Northern Iowa.  Montee Ball still put up his numbers, but the rest of the team struggled.  I won't dock them too much for now but they can't continue to struggle.
13. Oklahoma State	Yes, the Cowboys can still score points.  All other analysis on hold until they play someone not called Savannah State.
14. Arkansas	The Hogs didn't exactly blow Jacksonville State out of the water.  Tyler Wilson and the offense eventually got it going, but the defense gave up a lot.  Things could get ugly against Bama in a couple weeks if they don't improve in a hurry.
15. Michigan	Well, the good news is that Denard Robinson wan't seriously injured or killed.  That's really about it.  I will grant amnesty given how good Bama is, but this has a chance to snowball on the Wolverines.
16. Texas	You will notice a trend of solid but unspectacular wins.  The same applies for Texas.
17. TCU	TCU did not have a solid but unspectacular win.  They didn't play at all.
18. Clemson	Clemson's win was very solid, perhaps even approaching spectacular.  Andre Ellington more than made up for the loss of Sammy Watkins.  He was spectacular, which makes the offense even more scary to know that Clemson has the propensity to commit to the running game.  The defense also looked much improved, but Auburn may also be severely defficient on offense.
19. Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University	Here we have a less than solid and nowhere near spectacular win.  The Turkeys were fortunate to come away with a win.  Good news is that the defense looks great and may in fact live up to the hype.  Logan Thomas, however, is not living up to his hype.  Another 10 win season is very possible if not likely.
20. Notre Dame	There's some sort of joke here about Notre Dame dismantling Navy in Ireland, but it is eluding me.  Navy appears to have regressed significantly, but that was an impressive performance, especially by a team with supposed offensive issues.  The schedule gets much tougher quickly, so we will see how the Irish hold up.
21. Collin Klein	Collin Klein is always solid and always spectacular.
22. Utah	The Utes got off to a good start by beating the crap out of UNC (Northern Colorado).  Competition gets a little tougher this week against Utah State before a big matchup with BYU the following week.
23. Washington	Washington isn't exactly inspiring confidence going into Baton Rouge this week.  The high powered offense only managed 21 points against SDSU, which definitely won't cut it against the Tigers.  This is a big year for Sark, but it's not off to a roaring start.
24. BYU	BYU abused Mike Leach then shoved him in the closet in his Wazzu debut.  The defense was physically dominant, and Riley Nelson looked in mid-season form. Of course, this could all mean that Wazzu has gotten even worse.  For now, though, I give the Mormons the benefit of the doubt.
25. SEC	All that new SEC speed is already paying off in the Midwest with a dominating victory over Directional Louisiana.  They even managed to find a running game.  The third Tigers in the conference get thrown in the fire quickly as Aaron Murray and the dogs come to town on Saturday.  Signs indicate that they at least have a shot.