The AP Top 25 and Coaches Top 25 College Football polls are nationally recognized, but after more than 50 years of watching and/or covering college football games, and being a sports editor for a daily newspaper, here’s another opinion:
Between Oregon and Auburn you could flip a coin, they’re that close. I’m staying with Auburn until they lose.
1) Auburn (10-0): Beat AA Chattanooga 62-24, a poor choice of opponent at this point in the season, or at any point in the season. With that said, Auburn now has to get serious. The Tigers host Georgia and must travel to Alabama for their final two games. If Auburn wants to advance to the national championship game, they must win. You may like Oregon at No. 1 (AP and Top 25 Coaches Polls like the Ducks over Auburn), but the Tigers can claim no other team can, they’ve beaten 4 Top 25 opponents: Mississippi State, South Carolina, Arkansas and LSU.
2) Oregon (9-0) – It just wiped out Washington 53-16 after the Huskies tried to keep them in the first half. The Ducks lead the nation in scoring offense (54+) and total offense (567+) and rank 13th in scoring defense (17+). Oregon has had an offense in recent years, now the Ducks have a defense as well. Oregon has beaten only one ranked team, Stanford. Oregon will earn their stripes: The Ducks are yet to host Arizona and travel to California and the state of Oregon for their annual Civil War game against the Beavers.
3) LSU (8-1) – Upset Alabama (now 7-2) 24-21 in a key SEC matchup. He has now beaten 3 currently ranked opponents – Mississippi State, Florida and Alabama – losing only to Auburn. He faces Louisiana Monroe next, and he must win big to stay here. Sorry Boise State and TCU, you need to wait in line until you play and beat some ranked teams instead of easy ones.
4) Wisconsin (8-1) – Badgers won a road game against Purdue, 34-13, which isn’t a big deal, but they’ve also done something undefeated Boise State and TCU haven’t: beat two Top 25 teams, Ohio State and Iowa. The next host will be Indiana.
5) Boise State (8-0) – Had an impressive home win over Hawaii, 42-7, but has only beaten 1 ranked team, Virginia Tech. Travels to Idaho this week for another easy win against another easy opponent.
6) TCU (10-0) – Tied undefeated Utah on the road, 47-7, proving Utah really wasn’t very good for an undefeated team. It then hosts the state of San Diego. He has beaten only 1 ranked team, Utah, and we saw how good the Utes are, they are not. You can argue that the Horned Frogs are much better than Utah, but who knows. Until Utah, TCU has played a lot of collective stiffs.
7) Michigan State (9-1): Rebounding from the first loss of the season to beat Minnesota, 31-8. He has beaten a ranked team, Wisconsin. Only 3 other teams have 9 wins so far: Auburn, Oregon and TCU. The Spartans are inactive this week.
8) Stanford (8-1) – Defeated 13th-ranked Arizona, 42-17. Travel to the state of Arizona next to take on the Sun Devils, who are in a frenzy after losing en route to Southern Cal 34-33.
9) Nebraska (8-1) – The Cornhuskers had a very poor win over Iowa State, 31-30, in overtime. They were lucky to win. After leading 24-10, they moved into the 4th quarter, letting Iowa State score twice to send the game into overtime. Cornhuskers have split personalities: good and bad. That said, they have also beaten two ranked teams: Oklahoma State and Missouri.
10) Alabama (7-2) – Lost close en route to LSU, 24-21. He still has a chance to show his stuff as he hosts two ranked teams: Mississippi State and Auburn. He has wins against two ranked teams: Arkansas and Florida.
11) Iowa (7-2) – Slightly bettered by Indiana on the road, 18-13. Has a win over a ranked team, Michigan State. He then travels to Northwestern, and they better get their air defense together.
12) Arkansas (7-2) – Just beat South Carolina in a road game, 41-20, their first victory over a ranked team. It has only lost to Auburn and Alabama.
13) Mississippi State (7-2): Was inactive this week. He has only lost at Auburn 17-14 and in one road game at LSU. Not many other 7-win teams can say that. Has a win over a ranked team, Florida. Now he must travel to Alabama and take on the Crimson Tide, which will tell us a lot about the Mississippi State Bulldogs.
14) Arizona (7-2) – Just lost en route to Stanford, 42-17. They have beaten a ranked team, Iowa. The next host will be Southern California. Good luck, wildcats. SC (6-3) has decided it can win games again, and just became bowl eligible.
15) South Carolina (6-3) – Just lost to Arkansas. The Gamecocks season is starting to unravel. They have a win over Alabama, a ranked team, which is more than many teams can say. He then travels to Florida and cannot afford another loss.
16) Texas A&M (6-3) – Defeated 11th-ranked Oklahoma 33-19 and made the Sooners look bad. Lost to Oklahoma State, Arkansas, and Missouri, all qualifying teams. He decided to beat a ranked team for a change. He has played the 26th toughest calendar. He then travels to Baylor and must beat the Bears.
17) Hawaii (7-3): Just got a heavy loss on the road at Boise State, 42-7. Inactive this week, then hosts San Jose State, a real weakling. He has beaten a ranked team, Nevada.
18) Ohio State (8-1) – Inactive last week. He was supposed to be a big deal, but he hasn’t beaten a ranked team yet. It then hosts the Penn State Nittany Lions, who have lost to Alabama, Iowa and Illinois. So how good are the Buckeyes? I’ll let you know when you play and beat someone. Ranked higher by others on reputation only, not performance. He has played only the 87th toughest schedule, second-worst among AP’s current top 25 teams.
19) Oklahoma State (8-1) – Defeats Baylor 55-28. Does not have a win over a ranked team. Travel to Texas next and you must win to stay here. Ranked higher by others on reputation only, not performance.
20) Missouri (7-2) – Lost to Nebraska on the road, and now Texas Tech on the road, 24-17. Is Missouri really good? The Tigers have yet to beat a ranked team. Up next is host Kansas State, and they had better be ready to win. Kansas State is back on the map at 6-3, and could give a shit about Missouri.
21) Oklahoma (7-2) – I just suffered an embarrassing loss to Texas A&M, 33-19. The Sooners aren’t that tough, they haven’t beaten a ranked team yet. You have defeated 4 weaker opponents for a total of 20 points. Next, it houses Texas Tech.
22) Nevada (8-1) – Just had an away practice against Idaho and beat the Vandals, 63-17. Has not beaten a ranked team. You then travel to Fresno State and need to win to stay in this poll.
23) Utah (8-1) – TCU just beat him at home, 47-7. Has not beaten a ranked team. Travel to Notre Dame next and you better win or I’ll kick you out of this poll.
24) Florida (6-3) – The Gators are still spinning after losing to Alabama, LSU and Mississippi State in back-to-back weeks. Give them credit. The sixth win makes them eligible to bowl. He has yet to beat a ranked team. The next host is South Carolina and they must beat the Gamecocks to stay viable.
25) Central Florida (7-2) – Just beat Houston, 40-33. He hasn’t beaten a ranked team, but neither has Ohio State, Oklahoma State, Utah, Oklahoma, Missouri, Nevada or Florida. Central Florida receives southern Mississippi below.
Next week may be the most boring of the entire season because there are only two games facing ranked teams: 17th-ranked Mississippi State travels to 11th-ranked Alabama and 11th-ranked South Carolina. 22, travels to Florida, ranked 24th. Whoever loses the last game can fly out of the AP Top 25 poll.
Copyright © 2010 Ed Bagley