|
|
College Football Rankings - Top 30
by Gregory
Cox
College
Football Director
9/3/08
1-10 I 11-20 I 21-30
There were more
surprises and the SEC was in the middle of the action again. First
Alabama dismantling dark horse national title contender Clemson 34-10
and then in the final game of the weekend UCLA stunned Tennessee 27-24
in overtime. Someone forgot to tell Bowling Green they were #80 in the
consensus rankings because they thoroughly outplayed AP #25 Pittsburgh
in a 27-17 win. The other ranked team to fall was Virginia Tech, but
East Carolina was #55 and playing on their home field making it less
surprising than some results.
As you will see, my rankings are fluid especially in this opening week.
I won’t simply advance a team for winning and drop them for losing.
Some of these teams impressed me and others left me with doubts. I have
no reservations shuffling teams up and down the rankings.
#1 (previous 2) USC (1-0): Yes, there is already a change at the top.
The only question I had was quarterback Mark Sanchez due to
inexperience and his recent injury. I would say after his completing
74% of his passes for 338 yards and 3 touchdowns I no longer have
doubts. Virginia is not up to their 9-4 record from last season, but
they are still in a major conference and the Trojans traveled across
the country to destroy the Cavs 52-7. Other than penalties, every
statistic went comfortably in USC’s favor and they punted just twice.
While Ohio State started out kicking field goals at home to a much
weaker opponent, this team scored touchdowns. Next: off (vs. Ohio State
9/13)
#2 (1) Oklahoma (1-0): There isn’t much
to look at when you
play a team like Chattanooga.
However, in a rain “shortened” game they dominated completely. Their
first
seven possessions ended in touchdowns and the outmatched Mocs finished
with
only 1 first down and 36 total yards. The second half was called a
glorified
scrimmage due to the conditions and considering OU was up 50-0 at the
break. I
would consider the whole game a scrimmage. The competition level goes
way up
this week, but it will surprise me to see this team not start 5-0 with
relative
ease. Next: vs. Cincinnati
#3 (5) Missouri (1-0): I was afraid the
Tigers might be
overconfident in the opener and fall victim to Illinois quarterback Juice Williams.
He had
his moments with 451 yards passing and 5 touchdowns, but Missouri was
always in control of this game.
Even when they trailed 13-10 it lasted only as long as it took receiver
Jeremy
Maclin to return the kickoff 99 yards and propel them to an eventual
31-13
halftime advantage. The defense certainly can be tightened up although
some of
it can be blamed on playing with a lead against a very athletic
quarterback.
Six of their first seven meaningful possessions Illinois gained no more than 12
yards and
punted. The team can exhale now with three cupcake opponents at home
giving
them plenty of time to tighten up the defense. Next: vs. Southeast Missouri State
#4 (3) Ohio State
(1-0): Everyone wants to talk about the injury to Wells and certainly
their
national title hopes rest on his health. I am concerned about the
offense’s
inability to finish after four consecutive first half drives ended in
field
goals. They were obviously in control of this game from start to
finish, as
they should be against Youngstown
State.
I prefer my
juggernauts to score touchdowns or in boxing terms knock the opponent
out
rather than peppering them with scoring blows to earn a win on points.
The
defense did their thing and there is one more practice game before the
trip to
USC. Next: vs. Ohio
#5 (4) Georgia (1-0): Their
opening victory over Georgia
Southern went pretty much as they wanted it to go. There was no reason
to exert
a lot of effort and running back Knowshon Moreno had only 8 carries yet
still
scored 3 touchdowns. Stafford was
just 13/21
passing, but had 275 yards and a pair of touchdowns. They built a 38-0
lead
before the dogs were called off and Uga VII’s first showing was a
success.
Perhaps only the 11 penalties were of any concern. From a
prognostication
standpoint though, they have to be worried that the two SEC teams who
looked
bad (Mississippi State, Arkansas) are off the schedule while one who
looked
great (Alabama) and another dangerous on defense (South Carolina) are
slated
for later this month sandwiched around a trip to Arizona State. It
won’t be
easy and first they have to tame quarterback Dan LeFevour. Next: vs. Central Michigan
#6 (7) Auburn
(1-0): Knowing their rival had lost to Lousiana-Monroe last year there
was
little chance of them taking the Warhawks lightly. Still, it certainly
wasn’t
easy early as they punted on their first 6 possessions which covered a
total of
62 yards on 26 plays. Fortunately the defense and special teams staked
them to
a 14-0 lead before the closed the half with a 63 yard march for a field
goal.
Their running game took over in the second half, finishing with 321
yards. This
was little more than a walkthrough for them and it continues this week.
Next:
vs. Southern Miss
#7 (8) West Virginia
(1-0): So far so good as the Mountaineers look to put Rich Rodriguez in
the
past. Turns out Pat White can actually throw the football which is why
the guy
plays quarterback I think, but some had doubts anyway. He completed 76%
of his
passes for 5 touchdowns while running for another 63 yards. In total
the team
had just 86 yards he wasn’t responsible for. It wasn’t a perfect effort
against
a weak opponent in Villanova, but they certainly proved that the Pittsburgh
strategy from
last season will not necessarily work in 2008. Now they hit the road to
play a
team hot off an upset of Virginia Tech. It should be interesting. Next:
at East Carolina
#8 (10) Florida (1-0): First of all this
Hawaii
opponent is a shadow of the BCS busting team from a season ago who
wound up
getting dismantled 41-10 by Georgia.
Three quarterbacks tried to replace Colt Brennan and finished a
pedestrian
21/39 for 181 yards, taking 4 sacks and throwing 4 interceptions. Tyler
Graunke
wasn’t one of them due to injury, and of course the top quartet of
receivers
has moved on. Meanwhile, defending Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow had
less
than 200 yards of total offense and just one touchdown. Star playmaker
Percy
Harvin did not play, but true freshman Jeffrey Demps busted a 62 yard
touchdown
run that should have opposing defensive coordinators sweating. Just
months ago
Demps set a national high school record with a 10.01 run in the 100
meters at
the U.S. Olympic Trials, advancing to the semifinals. Imagine him with
Harvin
in the backfield and Tebow at the controls. The best is yet to come for
the
Gators. Next: vs. Miami,
FL
#9 (11) LSU
(1-0): A lot of things were different for visiting Appalachian State in
this
season opener. Gone was the element of surprise and playmaking receiver
Dexter
Jackson who now wears a Tampa Bay Buccaneer uniform. Mix in a suddenly
earlier
start and in my opinion much more hostile environment and the result
was easy
to seeing coming. Quarterback play was a big question mark for LSU
after
Flynn’s graduation and his replacement’s dismissal. Lee and Hatch went
13/24
for 193 yards and 3 touchdowns against 1 interception to somewhat quiet
those
concerns. Charles Scott chipped in a healthy 160 yards rushing and a
pair of
touchdowns. The defense lost star tackle Glenn Dorsey among others yet
still
held the Mountaineers to 1.9 yards per rush and 2/14 on third down
conversions.
The West should be a three team race and the Tigers have two more weeks
before
being thrown into the fire at Auburn.
Next: vs. Troy
#10
(13) Texas
(1-0):
With Vince Young in the house clearly Colt McCoy was feeling the
pressure to be
at his best against Florida Atlantic. His play certainly resembled VY,
especially the 103 yards rushing including a touchdown. He completed
83% of his
passes for 222 yards and three more touchdowns. I would say he is ready
to take
this team on his back and lead them after the offensive losses of
Charles,
Sweed and Finley. The defense was a little suspect in the first half
allowing
drives of 40, 74, 47 and 68 even as they built a 28-10 lead, but any
problems
were resolved in the second half. After the break the visitors totaled
a mere
44 yards on 26 plays and never threatened. With Arkansas
sputtering past Western Illinois
28-24 their
path is pretty clear to a 5-0 start. Next: at UTEP
1-10
I 11-20 I 21-30
|
|
