If you listened to this week’s Simply Awesome Sports podcast, you heard Matthew question me on my ranking of the Oregon Ducks (fifth at the time). My explanation was that the Ducks schedule had been light so far, but their heavy lifting would begin against Washington. Should they beat the Huskies handily (which they did), they would certainly vault up the rankings and likely land in the number two spot (which they also did). Now, if only my prognostication of my own rankings would translate to my fantasy football teams, I’d really have something going.
The Ducks are this week’s big winner thanks to a 21-point trouncing of the Huskies in Washington and Stanford wetting the bed against an unranked Utah squad. They now find themselves within whispering distance of the Crimson Tide with the meat of the schedule in front of them. Mark Helfrich's troop has four games remaining against teams who are either currently ranked (UCLA, Stanford) or are receiving votes in the AP ballot (Utah, Oregon State) with a likely Pac-12 Championship game to cap it off. The Ducks control their BCS destiny; now all they have to do is keep on winning.
The Rankings
1. Alabama (100.00) – Nick Saban’s squad are our pacesetters once again. The Tide whipped up on a lowly Kentucky squad 48-7 on Saturday (talk of basketball gets louder and louder each day in Paducah). Arkansas comes into town on the heels of a four-game losing streak and a self-prophesying tweet by the head coach’s wife. All evidence points to an easy win for Bama.
2. Oregon (99.20) – The Ducks likely had the most impressive victory of the weekend (Mizzou fans, I’ll address you later), with a strong win against a stubborn Washington team.
3. Florida State (96.34) – The idle Seminoles dropped due to the resounding victories of the two teams above them. However, beating Clemson this week in Death Valley would likely catapult FSU into the top spot.
4. Ohio State (95.78) – The Buckeyes used their bye week to watch the best victory of their season, a 10-point win over Northwestern, be completely undone by Wisconsin’s lambasting of the Wildcats. A win at home against 4-2 Iowa likely won’t add depth to the (yes, that’s mocking) Ohio State’s resume, either.
5. Clemson (95.54) – The Tigers have already beaten one top-five team at home this year. Another would likely push the Tigers into a virtual three-way tie at the top.
6. Missouri (90.66) – The other Tigers benefited from something my formula doesn’t compute: injured opponents. While the scorecard will show Mizzou beat the seventh-ranked team in Georgia, the truth is these Bulldogs were a shell of the team that got them there.
7. UCLA (90.59) – Just as a BCS darkhorse should, the Bruins took care of the Golden Bears with ease. Up next: a Stanford team looking for redemption.
8. Baylor (90.28) – Kansas State proved that the Bears’ offense is mortal, allowing Baylor to only score 35 points. Have opponents figured out the tricks of the Bears miraculous offense or were they simply suffering from an off day?
9. LSU (89.98) – The Bayou Bengals were another big winner over the weekend, thanks to a gritty defensive performance. As mentioned last week, Les Miles’ kids can still find themselves in the BCS National Championship if they run the table. (Side Note: This is regardless of what FSU, Clemson, and Ohio State do. A one-loss SEC team will still get the nod over any other school than Oregon, especially one with the resume LSU would have).
10. Miami (FL) (88.64) – The Hurricanes had the week off as they prepare for a not-so-hot Tar Heels squad in a Thursday night matchup. The Canes will likely need a convincing victory to stave off Louisville in the rankings.
11. Louisville (84.68) – Teddy Bridgewater struggled, but the defense was able to help the Cardinals overcome Rutgers.
12. Texas A&M (82.60) – Johnny Manziel continues to fly under the radar as his Aggies narrowly escaped the Runnin’ Rebels.
13. Texas Tech (81.92) – The Red Raiders became the latest Texas school to barely defeat the Cyclones. At least this team didn’t need a controversial call to do so.
14. Stanford (80.81) – I’d imagine Kevin Hogan and the Cardinal will be thinking about those last two plays for quite a while. UCLA on Saturday offers a chance for atonement.
15. Georgia (78.40) – The Bulldogs must have missed the memo that SEC teams were known for their defenses.
16. South Carolina (77.48) – Steve Spurrier’s Gamecocks finally put on a dominating performance in Jadeveon Clowney’s return.
17. Fresno State (76.63) – After a week off, Fresno will host a surprising 4-2 UNLV team. Don’t be fooled by the record, though, UNLV has no chance.
18. Virginia Tech (76.13) – The Hokies last five wins have come by a total of 40 points. Upsets are never far away in Blacksburg.
19. Washington (74.44) – Steve Sarkisian’s team is legitimate, but they’ve shown their still not a top Pac-12 school yet.
20. Oklahoma (74.43) – Did Bob Stoops have his Sooners too cocky? Or was Mack Brown only on his eighth life?
21. Auburn (73.98) – Last week, I had the Missouri Tigers as the SEC team people had too low. Can Auburn be the second straight SEC school to pull off an upset of the #7 team on the road?
22. Houston (71.53) – The Cougars continue to win, albeit in an uninspiring fashion.
23. Northern Illinois (69.78) – The Huskies are the Cougars of the north.
24. Nebraska (69.72) – As I predicted, the Huskers are back in the top 25, but that has more to do with Michigan and Florida than the impact of beating a one-win Purdue team.
25. Michigan (69.16) – Speaking of the Wolverines, all those close games finally caught up to them as they fell in a quadruple overtime thriller against Penn State.
AP Teams Who Didn’t Make the Cut
The Associated Press continues to show more love for Florida (31) than I do. My rankings can’t shake how abysmal the Gators’ offense is. Wisconsin had a big win over Northwestern at home, helping give the Badgers (29) another 124 ballot points to take the 25th spot. The folks in Stillwater had the weekend off, so it’s not surprising to see the Cowboys of Oklahoma State (34) continue to fall below their AP mark.
Oregon State Update
The Beavers moved up to 33rd this week thanks to a decisive victory over Mike Leach and Washington State. A win over lowly Cal won't add much to Oregon State's resume, but a win over Stanford on the 26th would likely offset the loss to Eastern Washing and propel them into the top 25 of these rankings and the BCS (which debuts this Sunday).
Other Notable Teams
Maryland just missed the cut, coming in at 26th. Ball State won again, but remained at 35. Utah, ASU, and Arizona show how deep the Pac-12 is, coming in at 27th, 30th and 36th, respectively. Boise State moved up 11 spots (49) on a bye week thanks to losses around them. Texas’ upset of Oklahoma only netted them the 46 spot. With Massachusetts finally winning (against winless Miami (OH), mind you), our bottom five saw a shakeup. It now consists of Southern Miss, New Mexico State, Western Michigan and Georgia State with Miami (OH) taking the Sacko title this week.
Check in next week to see how the FSU-Clemson battle shakes up the rankings, whether Mizzou can continue to roll while facing Florida with a backup quarterback, if Auburn can pull off the upset of A&M in College Station and if Stanford rebounds or flounders against a good UCLA team.
Mike Ridley is a staff writer for FootballOutsiders.com and co-host of the Simply Awesome Sports podcast, found on OSN. He will be providing his weekly college football rankings throughout the 2013 season. You can follow him on Twitter: @TheMikeRidley
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