Not much poll shifting this week due to lack of separation games on the docket. This time next month we’ll have a very clear picture of who’s on track to make it to the Big Game. There is a fair chance that we could have six teams undefeated at the end of the regular season: LSU-Bama winner, OU-OSU winner, Clemson, Wisconsin-Michigan winner, Boise St. and Stanford. Heck you could even through Houston in that crowd. Don’t worry, no playoff will come of that outcome.
Oklahoma definitely looked impressive this weekend. Food for the soul. It’s always beautiful to see the Longhorns scamper away with their tails between their legs, but is OU that good or Texas that bad? The Sooners definitely are counting on the back half of their schedule to impress the computers. Florida St. and Missouri are not holding up their end of the deal and are making the Sooners’ resume look weaker than anticipated.
Take a gander at this week rankings which are not tainted by the ESPN “experts.” You can also compare with Homerism’s BlogPoll ballot.
1. Louisiana State (1) – In terms of resume there’s no doubt that the SEC holds the top two spots. However, Oregon may be LSU’s only quality win. The jury’s still out on West Virginia, despite the Mountaineers only having one loss. Florida is mediocre at best.
2. Alabama (2) – Best win is Arkansas, which is not quite as good as Oregon. Tide look equally as impressive as LSU. November 5th match-up with LSU could be the stuff of legend.
3. Oklahoma (3) – An argument could be made that Nos. 3-8 could be interchangeable in terms of accomplishments. As of now, OU has only beaten one team with a winning record – Texas – and I don’t know how much of a quality win that is.
4. Clemson (4) – Clemson keeps rolling. This is my darkhorse pick for the BCS championship game. Georgia Tech is the biggest obstacle for the Tigers to go undefeated. They’ll have to beat them twice to take the ACC crown.
5. Wisconsin (5) – Bye week for the Badgers. Like Clemson, schedule doesn’t give much resistance to an undefeated regular season.
6. Oklahoma St. (7) – Cowboys will go into the meat of their conference schedule. Next four games will give us a good indication of whether OSU is big time.
7. Boise State (6) – Weak schedule will continue to bring down Boise St. all season long. Yet another team that could realistically go undefeated.
8. Stanford (8) – Like Boise St., the Cardinal are victims of their schedule. It’s all about the Oregon game. That will determine how Stanford’s season will end up.
9. Michigan (9) – The fighting Robinsons keep taking care of business. They’ve got a green light to the Big Ten Championship.
10. Kansas State (-) – Wildcats gets some love with some gritty wins over Baylor and Missouri. Probably will be undefeated when they host OU Halloween weekend.
Dropped from rankings: Oregon (10).