Rankings after Week 2

September 12, 2010


What was so special about "Monster Saturday?" To me every weekend is Monster Saturday. There's not a single game you can overlook ever. Florida faced more adversity today and overcame another potential setback, Virginia Tech was shocked by FCS opponent James Madison, Georgia Tech lost to a ready-to-play Kansas Jayhawk team, and SEC heavyweights engaged in more slugfests. This is what we get every week. This is the greatest time of year.

About this is so-labeled "Monster Saturday" what did we get? Florida State-Oklahoma matchup was a dud. Miami needed Jacory Harris to play a flawless game to beat Ohio State, and he threw four interceptions, and Miami still only lost by 12. Imagine if those turnovers don't happen. Notre Dame-Michigan lived up to its billing, but it wasn't an integral part of Monster Saturday. Penn State failed to challenge Alabama, what a waste of a primetime slot. Tennessee held onto Oregon for 30 minutes and then gave up on the duck hunting and went fishing instead. Those Volunteers that were left behind on the football field ended up losing 48-13. Florida took advantage of South Florida mistakes to pull away in that game. South Carolina was the only team that really pulled the upset, but to me, the Gamecocks were the favorite. I had them ranked ahead of Georgia anyway.

So, this is a very different season. Obviously, Alabama and Ohio State will be favorites in every game they play and so many people think one of them will win the national championship. I don't think so. But the thing is, this year I can't even tell you who will win it. I honestly have no idea. In what could be the last year of pro football we have for a few years with the potential lockout, this could be the most wide open college football season we have in a few years. There is no clear cut favorite to me, and the rankings are top heavy. After the top 10, there's not much consistency. In a few weeks, Arkansas, Auburn, LSU, South Carolina, and company will begin to cancel each other out, Arizona can make a leap if it beats Iowa, but is Arizona really a top 15 team? Utah is climbing up, when they were supposed to be third in the Mountain West. West Virginia should still be in the 20s range, but is steadily climbing up, and depending on what the official pollsters see in Pitt, West Virginia could be the only Big East team in the rankings, but they're not the favorite to win the Big East.

Florida is a top-10 team on paper but it's about time they start playing like it. Next week's matchup with Tennessee is no time to fix some kinks. Who's going to challenge Boise State and TCU? Will Oklahoma be a top 5, top 10, or top 20 by the end of the year? Will other Big 12 teams like Missouri, Texas A&M, and Texas Tech climb into the top 20? Is Michigan really a top 25 team? Only their play in the first two weeks show that, but we've been in this position before with so many other teams that have a brief stay in my rankings.

After the performance against Alabama, should Penn State be ranked? Should Virginia Tech still be ranked while being 0-2? I answer yes to these questions, and could really give Penn State and Miami a tie at this point for the #25 spot.

And we know that USC is facing the two-year postseason ban, but what if they make their way into the top-10. That defense still has a lot to work out, but the offense has playmakers and a Heisman candidate in Matt Barkley. USC's climbed up to 12 in my book, and it's hard to imagine. And we don't know exactly what Arkansas is yet other than a high-powered offense. Is Arkansas a top SEC defensive team? We're going to find out in the coming weeks. Defense is what separates most of these teams. So many teams have high-powered offenses and so many weapons, that the defenses of each team distinguish who is where.

Week 3 has several good matchups on the slate for us, it's what I call a Monster Saturday, if that's the term ESPN wants to use. Every Saturday is a Monster Saturday. Saturday, Sept. 18 could cause some shakeups in next week's rankings.

My Week 3 Rankings
1. Alabama (1)
Beat Penn State 24-3
Next: at Duke
2. Ohio State (2)
Beat Miami 36-24
Next: vs. Ohio
3. Boise State (3)
Next: at Wyoming
4. TCU (6)
Beat Tennessee Tech 62-7
Next: vs. Baylor
5. Oklahoma (7)
Beat Florida State 47-17
Next: vs. Air Force
6. TEXAS (4)
Beat Wyoming 34-7
Next: at Texas Tech (shittt)
7. Iowa (5)
Beat Iowa State 35-7
Next: at Arizona
8. Nebraska (8)
Beat Idaho 38-17
Next: at Washington
9. Florida (9)
Beat South Florida 38-14
Next: at Tennessee
10. Oregon (10)
Beat Tennessee 48-13
Next: vs. Portland State
11. WIsconsin (12)
Beat San Jose State 27-14
Next: vs. Arizona State
12. USC (14)
Beat Virginia 17-14
Next: at Minnesota
13. Arkansas (16)
Beat Louisiana-Monroe 31-7
Next: at Georgia
14. Auburn (18)
Beat Mississippi State 17-14
Next: vs. Clemson
15. LSU (15)
Beat Vanderbilt 27-3
Next: vs. Mississippi State
16. South Carolina (21)
Beat Georgia 17-6
Next: vs. Furman
17. ARIZONA (22)
Beat The Citadel 52-6
Next: vs. Iowa
18. Utah (25)
Beat UNLV 38-10
Next: at New Mexico
19. West Virginia (23)
Beat Marshall 24-21 in overtime
Next: vs. Maryland
20. Stanford (NR)
Beat UCLA 35-0
Next: vs. Wake Forest
21. Missouri (NR)
Beat McNeese State 50-6
Next: vs. San Diego State
22. Virginia Tech (13)
Lost 21-16 to James Madison
Next: vs. East Carolina
23. Pittsburgh (NR)
Beat New Hampshire 38-16
Next: Sept. 23 vs. Miami
24. Michigan (NR)
Beat Notre Dame 28-24
Next: vs. Massachusetts
25. Penn State (17)
Lost 24-3 to Alabama
Next: vs. Kent State
On the Bubble: Miami, Georgia, North Carolina, Oregon State, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Houston, Clemson, Texas Tech, Rutgers, California, East Carolina, Fresno State, Notre Dame, Michigan State
Bubbles bursted: BYU, Tennessee