Another fun week of college football. Penn State got their revenge against Indiana, shutting them out 24-0 (first time the Hoosiers had been shut out since 2000…246 straight games). Oregon lost to Stanford in a crazy ending (a weak DPI at the end of the game gave Stanford another chance). Cincinnati beat Notre Dame. Michigan looks for real. Texas A&M lost again. Georgia and Alabama are scary good. Here are my rankings:
- Georgia (5-0)–after crushing #8 Arkansas 37-0, this team proved their defense is incredible. They have scored more points than they have given up. I seriously though Arkansas would give them a game.
- Alabama (5-0)–they gave up a bunch of late points to #12 Ole Miss, but the majority of the game was dominated by the Crimson Tide.
- Penn State (5-0)–there is a significant drop off from those two to the next group.
- Iowa (5-0)–it is weird seeing a Hawkeye team that throws the ball and can score points. Plus they have a great defense. Next week is going to be fun.
- Cincinnati (4-0)–I think they have earned the respect to be in the conversation of CFP. People keep saying they have an easy road the rest of the way, but that is not entirely true. Yeah, no one is ranked, but they still have some tough conference games.
- Michigan (5-0)–I am bumping them up pretty high. They are undefeated and they look legit. They look better than the next team.
- Oklahoma (5-0)–could barely beat Kansas State. If you take out the Western Carolina game, Oklahoma has won their other four games by a total of 21 points. That is not a dominant team. Also, the Big 12 is not that impressive of a conference, why do they get the benefit of the doubt if they go undefeated from here, but Cincinnati has an easy schedule?
- Notre Dame (4-1)–here is a funny one. They lost and move up (in my opinion). They lost to a very good team and the other losses helped them.
- Oregon (4-1)–losing to an unranked team is not good. Granted, I think Stanford was probably somewhere in the top 30.
- Ohio State (4-1)–do not forget about the Buckeyes. They lost to Oregon, but they are not out of it.
- Arkansas (4-1)–they have Ole Miss this week. This is a big test for them. How do they rebound after getting crushed by Georgia.
- Michigan State (5-0)–sneaky Spartans sitting there undefeated and just waiting to ruin someone’s day.
- Coastal Carolina (5-0)–still undefeated, still not sure if they could beat anyone.
- Ole Miss (3-1)–Matt Corral needs a good game against the Razorbacks to make me believe he is the best QB in college football.
- BYU (5-0)–they have a tough schedule. Not impossible, not overly impressive, but they play four more power-five teams. If they run the table, BYU will have a strong argument.
- Oklahoma State (5-0)–are they good? Zero clue.
- Wake Forest (5-0)–wow, the ACC is a tough conference…
- Kentucky (5-0)–they beat Florida, but all of their games have been close. They have LSU, then Georgia. We shall see if they are for real.
- Auburn (4-1)–a nice comeback at LSU.
- NC State (4-1)–not good, but a weak conference helps them.
- Pitt (4-1)–they can score points and it is a weak conference,
- Florida (3-2)–maybe the best two loss team?
- Baylor (4-1)–meh, keep them ranked so they can immediately be dropped when they lose to BYU in two weeks.
- Texas (4-1)–okay, they have been punished for that loss to Arkansas, but they have won the rest of their games. Now they have Oklahoma, I think they could win that game.
- SMU (5-0)–they beat TCU, who Texas had a tough time with, so maybe they are decent.
Honorable Mention: Oregon State, Arizona State, App State, Louisiana-Lafayette, Clemson, Texas A&M
Yep, Clemson is dropped from the Top 25 in my rankings. I am sorry, but they are just not that good. They beat Boston College 19-13. Not impressive.
This leads me to my next topic. Why does it feel like this year is full of teams that are good, but not great. I look at Penn State as a perfect example. They look very good, but I do not think their offense is a top five team, but I look around the rest of college football and I say “yeah, they are just as good as those teams, so why not have them in the top three.” That is not a knock on them. It feels like every team (minus Alabama & Georgia) has a big weakness.
Was it because of the weird 2020 COVID year? That probably hurt some things. Is it because of the transfer portal? That probably affects things. Is it just a down year for college football? Maybe. Whatever the reason, it is making for a fun year. I like the idea of a bunch of teams being in the CFP hunt.
Speaking of the transfer portal…
People act like it will ruin college football. I hear people all the time screaming about players leaving (particularly Penn State) and going somewhere else for more playing time. They also complain that the elite schools will just bolster their holes by bringing in the best players from other teams. And certainly, we have seen that a little bit. But I think the benefit has been for smaller schools. They miss out on a recruit who goes to one of the big schools, then realizes they are buried in the depth chart and find those small schools still wanting them. It is also an opportunity for players who were very good at a crappy school to maybe go play somewhere else and play for a winner.
It reminds me of the scholarship limit. Back in the day, coaches could give out 105 scholarships. The big schools would recruit players with no intention of having them play, just to keep them out of the hands of a rival. The coaches would rarely allow someone to transfer, so they would be stuck on a team without ever getting a chance to play. The NCAA put limits on those numbers over the years and by 1992 it was down to 85. Coaches that could not adapt quickly went through some lean times (and without looking at it, I would bet that we saw some more parity around college football in that era). The transfer portal helps eliminate the idea of coaches bullshitting kids that they will be starting. The coaches who cannot change will end up failing and replaced by better coaches. I think I have said all this before, but it is definitely worth repeating.
One of my favorite PSU writers, Cory Giger, asked a question recently: which will happen first, A PSU national championship or a Nittany Lion wins the Heisman Trophy. One of the first comments was so typical of our fanbase: “National title! State College is not near a media hub. Publicity gets you into the conversation and results get you the trophy. PSU players are consistently left out of the conversation in preseason where half the battle is fought for recognition.”
There is this weird inferiority complex from a certain section of the fandom. Lets look back at the Heisman winners…
2020–DeVonta Smith–WR–Alabama
2019–Joe Burrow–QB–LSU
2018–Kyler Murray–QB–Oklahoma
2017–Baker Mayfield–QB–Oklahoma
2016–Lamar Jackson–QB–Louisville
2015–Derrick Henry–RB–Alabama
2014–Marcus Mariota–QB–Oregon
2013–Jameis Winston–QB–FSU
2012–Johnny Manziel–QB–Texas A&M
2011–Robert Griffin III–QB–Baylor
2010–Cam Newton–QB–Auburn
2009–Mark Henry–RB–Alabama
2008–Sam Bradford–QB–Oklahoma
2007–Tim Tebow–QB–Florida
2006–Troy Smith–QB–Ohio State
2005–Reggie Bush–RB–USC
2004–Matt Leinart–QB–USC
2003–Jason White–QB–Oklahoma
2002–Carson Palmer–QB–USC
2001–Eric Crouch–QB–Nebraska
2000–Chris Weinke–QB–FSU
Okay, I think that is far enough back. Aside from the USC players, which of those schools is a major media market? Tuscaloosa? Anywhere in Oklahoma??? Eugene? It is such a stupid comment. Which Penn State players have had the best chances since 2000? Saquon Barkley? He finished fourth in the voting. It is hard to argue against Baker Mayfield (I think I made the case for him back then as well). You do not Saquon had national media praising him? Kirk Herbstreit was all about #26 and every Gameday he raved about how great he was. You know what else Kirk said during that era? If Trace McSorley were a little bigger that he would have been a first round pick. A national media figure absolutely loved that Penn State team.
What other players do we think got ripped off? Who were the PSU quarterbacks….Trace, Christian Hackenberg, Matt McGloin, Rob Bolden, Daryll Clark, Michael Robinson? Do any of those guys sound like Heisman Trophy winners? Kerry Collins? I think he and Ki-Jana Carter hurt their chances by being together on that 1994 team. They probably split the vote and helped Rashaan Salaam win it (or maybe it was his 2055 rushing yards and 24 touchdowns that season).
How far back do we need to go for this exercise? In the age of 24 hour sports networks and the internet, the idea of media bias focused on NYC and LA for college football is ridiculous.
