SoonerBOI
9/19/2007, 09:56 AM
Here's an article from CNNSI Stewart Mandel. We are still his No. 3.
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/writers/stewart_mandel/09/17/power.rankings4/index.html
Contender, pretender
It's early, but there are lurkers behind the 'Big Five'
Posted: Tuesday September 18, 2007 12:13PM; Updated: Tuesday September 18, 2007 3:40PM
It's only three weeks into the season, way too early to have weeded out the contenders from the pretenders, right? Maybe not.
Filling out the top five on my ballot this week -- No. 1 USC, No. 2 LSU, No. 3 Oklahoma, No. 4 Florida and No. 5 West Virginia -- was easy, seeing as the first four have already delivered "statement" blowouts against quality opponents. And while West Virginia's 31-14 win over Maryland last week wasn't quite as overwhelming, it did confirm at least one preseason prophecy: Freshman Noel Devine would turn the Mountaineers' already electrifying offense up even another notch.
Then, I got to No. 6 and went ... yikes. There was Texas, fresh off its latest scare from a non-BCS opponent, UCF. It's never a good sign when two of your first three games come down to recovering an onsides kick. The Longhorns probably aren't the sixth best team in the country -- but who is?
Cal, whose opening win over Tennessee doesn't look quite so impressive after what Florida did to the Vols and whose defense currently ranks one spot below Northwestern's? Rutgers, which hasn't been remotely touched but hasn't played anyone either? Wisconsin, which barely escaped UNLV two weeks ago and allowed three first-half touchdowns against The Citadel last weekend?
These are my choices? Seriously?
It's entirely possible one or two of those teams will go on to great things, but my guess is, the next rung of contenders below the current "Big Five" are probably lurking somewhere lower in the rankings right now. Boston College? Oregon? Alabama? All are off to sizzling starts, but I don't yet feel confident enough to move them into the top 10.
That's OK. It's only Week 3. Over the next three weeks, No. 2 LSU faces No. 4 Florida, No. 3 Oklahoma faces No. 6 Texas, No. 5 West Virginia faces No. 21 USF and No. 7 Cal faces No. 13 Oregon. These things will sort themselves out soon enough.
NCAA Football Power Rankings
Rank LW Team
1 1 USC Trojans (2-0)
Defensive tackles usually have to do something pretty special to get noticed; Sedrick Ellis was USC's most noticeable defender throughout Saturday's rout of Nebraska. At one point, he surged through the line so quickly he hit Huskers QB Sam Keller as he released -- on a three-step drop.
Last game: Beat Nebraska, 49-31.
Next game: Saturday vs. Washington State.
2 2 LSU Tigers (3-0)
The Tigers have been so dominant (allowing seven points in three games) that even their backup QB, Ryan Perriloux, put up huge numbers last week (20-for-25 for three touchdowns). There is one potential downer: WR Early Doucet may miss the next several games with an undisclosed injury.
Last game: Beat Middle Tennessee, 44-0.
Next game: Saturday vs. South Carolina.
3 3 Oklahoma Sooners (3-0)
Sam Bradford and the Sooners' offense (whose line has gone from question mark to one of the nation's best in the course of a year) have certainly proven themselves. Now it's the defense's turn, as it goes up against an explosive Tulsa offense that put up 55 points on BYU last week.
Last game: Beat Utah State, 54-3.
Next game: Friday at Tulsa.
4 4 Florida Gators (3-0)
You've read enough about Tim Tebow and the Gators' offense. Florida's ultra-green defense is also coming along much quicker than anticipated. "I don't want to say shocked, but I was awful impressed with the way they played against the run [against Tennessee]," said coach Urban Meyer.
Last game: Beat Tennessee, 59-20.
Next game: Saturday at Ole Miss.
5 5 West Virginia Mountaineers (3-0)
Human highlight reel Noel Devine stole the show against Maryland last Thursday (mute button recommended), but the game also included an encouraging performance from the Mountaineers' oft-criticized defense, which produced five sacks, three turnovers and held the Terps to 269 yards.
Last game: Beat Maryland, 31-14.
Next game: Saturday vs. East Carolina.
6 6 Texas Longhorns (3-0)
Texas should not be penalized for a closer-than-expected road game against UCF (if anything, they should be rewarded for actually scheduling the game), but there's definitely some issues with that team. They might want to start cutting down on arrests, turnovers and buses breaking down.
Last game: Beat UCF, 35-32.
Next game: Saturday vs. Rice.
7 8 California Golden Bears (3-0)
Cal's offense continues to shine, with running back tandem Justin Forsett and Jahvid Best doing their best Steve Slaton/Devine impression. But with a trip to high-flying Oregon just two weeks away, the Bears have got to be concerned with their 78th-ranked passing defense.
Last game: Beat Louisiana Tech, 42-12
Next game: Saturday vs. Arizona.
8 9 Rutgers Scarlet Knights (3-0)
By now, the Scarlet Knights, which scored six touchdowns in an 11-play span against Norfolk State, have quieted most skeptics -- except AP voter Jon Wilner of San Jose, who has Rutgers ranked just 24th. He also has West Virginia below Nebraska. Call it Reverse East Coast bias.
Last game: Beat Norfolk State, 59-0.
Next game: Sept. 29 vs. Maryland.
9 7 Wisconsin Badgers (3-0)
Two straight weeks, two strange performances by the Badgers. After barely escaping UNLV, Wisconsin found itself tied 21-21 with The Citadel at halftime. P.J. Hill (25 carries, 168 yards, four TDs) helped the Badgers pull away from there, but there's still something fishy about this team.
Last game: Beat The Citadel, 45-31.
Next game: Saturday vs. Iowa.
10 14 Ohio State Buckeyes (3-0)
The Buckeyes gave the Big Ten its first convincing non-conference victory last week in Seattle. Not only did James Laurinaitis (two INTs) and the defense play well, but new QB Todd Boeckman (14-for-25, 218 yards, two TDs, no INTs) was surprisingly effective in his first career road start.
Last game: Beat Washington, 33-14.
Next game: Saturday vs. Northwestern.
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/writers/stewart_mandel/09/17/power.rankings4/index.html
Contender, pretender
It's early, but there are lurkers behind the 'Big Five'
Posted: Tuesday September 18, 2007 12:13PM; Updated: Tuesday September 18, 2007 3:40PM
It's only three weeks into the season, way too early to have weeded out the contenders from the pretenders, right? Maybe not.
Filling out the top five on my ballot this week -- No. 1 USC, No. 2 LSU, No. 3 Oklahoma, No. 4 Florida and No. 5 West Virginia -- was easy, seeing as the first four have already delivered "statement" blowouts against quality opponents. And while West Virginia's 31-14 win over Maryland last week wasn't quite as overwhelming, it did confirm at least one preseason prophecy: Freshman Noel Devine would turn the Mountaineers' already electrifying offense up even another notch.
Then, I got to No. 6 and went ... yikes. There was Texas, fresh off its latest scare from a non-BCS opponent, UCF. It's never a good sign when two of your first three games come down to recovering an onsides kick. The Longhorns probably aren't the sixth best team in the country -- but who is?
Cal, whose opening win over Tennessee doesn't look quite so impressive after what Florida did to the Vols and whose defense currently ranks one spot below Northwestern's? Rutgers, which hasn't been remotely touched but hasn't played anyone either? Wisconsin, which barely escaped UNLV two weeks ago and allowed three first-half touchdowns against The Citadel last weekend?
These are my choices? Seriously?
It's entirely possible one or two of those teams will go on to great things, but my guess is, the next rung of contenders below the current "Big Five" are probably lurking somewhere lower in the rankings right now. Boston College? Oregon? Alabama? All are off to sizzling starts, but I don't yet feel confident enough to move them into the top 10.
That's OK. It's only Week 3. Over the next three weeks, No. 2 LSU faces No. 4 Florida, No. 3 Oklahoma faces No. 6 Texas, No. 5 West Virginia faces No. 21 USF and No. 7 Cal faces No. 13 Oregon. These things will sort themselves out soon enough.
NCAA Football Power Rankings
Rank LW Team
1 1 USC Trojans (2-0)
Defensive tackles usually have to do something pretty special to get noticed; Sedrick Ellis was USC's most noticeable defender throughout Saturday's rout of Nebraska. At one point, he surged through the line so quickly he hit Huskers QB Sam Keller as he released -- on a three-step drop.
Last game: Beat Nebraska, 49-31.
Next game: Saturday vs. Washington State.
2 2 LSU Tigers (3-0)
The Tigers have been so dominant (allowing seven points in three games) that even their backup QB, Ryan Perriloux, put up huge numbers last week (20-for-25 for three touchdowns). There is one potential downer: WR Early Doucet may miss the next several games with an undisclosed injury.
Last game: Beat Middle Tennessee, 44-0.
Next game: Saturday vs. South Carolina.
3 3 Oklahoma Sooners (3-0)
Sam Bradford and the Sooners' offense (whose line has gone from question mark to one of the nation's best in the course of a year) have certainly proven themselves. Now it's the defense's turn, as it goes up against an explosive Tulsa offense that put up 55 points on BYU last week.
Last game: Beat Utah State, 54-3.
Next game: Friday at Tulsa.
4 4 Florida Gators (3-0)
You've read enough about Tim Tebow and the Gators' offense. Florida's ultra-green defense is also coming along much quicker than anticipated. "I don't want to say shocked, but I was awful impressed with the way they played against the run [against Tennessee]," said coach Urban Meyer.
Last game: Beat Tennessee, 59-20.
Next game: Saturday at Ole Miss.
5 5 West Virginia Mountaineers (3-0)
Human highlight reel Noel Devine stole the show against Maryland last Thursday (mute button recommended), but the game also included an encouraging performance from the Mountaineers' oft-criticized defense, which produced five sacks, three turnovers and held the Terps to 269 yards.
Last game: Beat Maryland, 31-14.
Next game: Saturday vs. East Carolina.
6 6 Texas Longhorns (3-0)
Texas should not be penalized for a closer-than-expected road game against UCF (if anything, they should be rewarded for actually scheduling the game), but there's definitely some issues with that team. They might want to start cutting down on arrests, turnovers and buses breaking down.
Last game: Beat UCF, 35-32.
Next game: Saturday vs. Rice.
7 8 California Golden Bears (3-0)
Cal's offense continues to shine, with running back tandem Justin Forsett and Jahvid Best doing their best Steve Slaton/Devine impression. But with a trip to high-flying Oregon just two weeks away, the Bears have got to be concerned with their 78th-ranked passing defense.
Last game: Beat Louisiana Tech, 42-12
Next game: Saturday vs. Arizona.
8 9 Rutgers Scarlet Knights (3-0)
By now, the Scarlet Knights, which scored six touchdowns in an 11-play span against Norfolk State, have quieted most skeptics -- except AP voter Jon Wilner of San Jose, who has Rutgers ranked just 24th. He also has West Virginia below Nebraska. Call it Reverse East Coast bias.
Last game: Beat Norfolk State, 59-0.
Next game: Sept. 29 vs. Maryland.
9 7 Wisconsin Badgers (3-0)
Two straight weeks, two strange performances by the Badgers. After barely escaping UNLV, Wisconsin found itself tied 21-21 with The Citadel at halftime. P.J. Hill (25 carries, 168 yards, four TDs) helped the Badgers pull away from there, but there's still something fishy about this team.
Last game: Beat The Citadel, 45-31.
Next game: Saturday vs. Iowa.
10 14 Ohio State Buckeyes (3-0)
The Buckeyes gave the Big Ten its first convincing non-conference victory last week in Seattle. Not only did James Laurinaitis (two INTs) and the defense play well, but new QB Todd Boeckman (14-for-25, 218 yards, two TDs, no INTs) was surprisingly effective in his first career road start.
Last game: Beat Washington, 33-14.
Next game: Saturday vs. Northwestern.