Power Rankings

1) Clemson Tigers - I am very close to becoming a straight up Clemson fan.  They are fun to watch, they have cool traditions and an eccentric coach, and they have won 3 out of their last 4 games against SEC teams.  Unfortunately, two of those games happened to be sponsored by a certain homophobic chicken restaurant chain. Also, I visited South Carolina for the first time this Summer, and really liked the (touristy) parts that I saw.  In their 38-35 win over Georgia, QB Tajh Boyd went 18 for 30 for 270 yards, 3 TDs and 0 INTs, and receiver Sammy Watkins caught 6 of those passes for 127 yards and 1 TD.  I know that Clemson and Washington are not the two best teams in the country, but, at this point in the season, they are the most deserving of playing for the National Championship.  Besides, wouldn't it be fun to see Boyd matched up against Washington's quarterback Keith Price?  Maybe in the Sun Bowl, sponsored by Hyundai, which is well known for subsidizing ethical medical research in South Korea, rather than for discriminating against homosexuals?

2) Washington Huskies - Consider this: Since 2008, the Boise State Broncos had lost exactly 5 games, by a combined score of 114-126.  Over that span, they were 5-0 against Pac-10/12 teams.  Last night, they lost to Washington 38-6.  Huskies quarterback Keith Price was 23 for 31 with 324 passing yards, 2 TDs and 1 INT, and running back Bishop Sankey ran for 161 yards and 2 touchdowns on 6.4 yards per carry.  This pretty much means that the Broncos will not be busting the BCS one last time, and that Washington now replaces Oregon State as the 3-seed in the Pac-12 North.  They get next week off before playing the hapless Illinois Illini at Soldier Field in Chicago on September 14th.

3) Utah Utes - Again, I know.  Utah is not the #3 team in the country.  But they are 1-0, beating Utah State 30-26 in an ugly game, and Utah State went 11-2 last year and won their conference. Utah is now the stalking deer for the Pac-12, as whoever can beat them will move up dramatically in these rankings.  The most likely candidate to do that will be the Oregon State Beavers, who visit Salt Lake on Sept. 14th.  That's the beginning of a rough stretch for the Utes, as they play vs. OSU, at BYU, vs. UCLA, vs. Stanford, at Arizona, at USC.  They also play at Oregon later in the season.  7-5 looks like Utah's ceiling to me.

4) Alabama Crimson Tide - Alabama beat Virginia Tech 35-10, and is still probably the best team in the SEC and the country.  However, they are not without their flaws.  Of their five touchdowns scored, only two came on offense, with two coming on kick returns and one on a pick-six.  They only had 96 rushing yards on 3.3 yards per carry, and AJ McCarron was sacked four times.  The offensive line must and will get better.  I'm not worried though.  They get a week off before their showdown with Texas A&M, who just gave up 509 yards and 31 points to Rice, and have a quarterback with a giant "Kick Me" sign taped to his back.  After that, their opponents have the following 2012 win percentages: .333, .538, .090 (FCS), .167, .333, .416, Bye Week, .769, .615, .545 (FCS), .250.  So, yeah.  I'm not worried about Alabama.

5) Oregon Ducks - Yes, I'm giving Oregon exactly as much credit for beating Nicholls State 66-3 as I am to Alabama for beating Virginia Tech 35-10.  Because screw you, that's why.

6) Notre Dame Fighting Irish - In many ways, this season will be a judgment on Notre Dame's last season.  Was that 12-0 team a fluke, or will the Irish once again be a force in college football, week in and week out?  They looked good dismantling Temple, 28-6.  Next up is a visit to what looks like a much improved Michigan team.  And, just like last year, games against Oklahoma, USC, and Stanford loom on the horizon.  Oh, and Pittsburgh.  Don't forget about Pittsburgh.  Practice your field goals.

7) Texas A&M Aggies - Oh, Johnny Manziel.  You are a problem.  Yes, I agree that the NCAA's enforcement of "amateurism" in college football is hypocritical and inconsistent, at the least.  But that does not make you some kind of hero for standing up to them.  Unlike Cam Newton, Reggie Bush, and Terrelle Pryor, you've got two big things going for you, Johnny: Football-independent wealth and White privilege.  You're benefitting from that old Johnny Unitas bigotry: That the quarterback of the team ought to be handsome and charismatic and White.  So while you're flashing money signs after touchdowns and getting penalized for taunting and when you're out partying with Drake, remember: JaMarcus Russell was once arrested in Alabama for possession of codeine syrup without a valid prescription.  This will never happen to you.

Also, Texas A&M plays three teams this year named "Tigers." What's up with that?

8) Florida Gators - If I had to pick an upset of the week, I might go with Miami over Florida next week.  Not saying that I'm making that pick.  I'm just saying that I'm thinking about it.

9) Ohio State Buckeyes - Like most of the elite teams in Week 1, Ohio State showed that they have some areas in need of improvement.  It took them a while, but they eventually put away the Buffalo Bulls 40-20, even though they had let a 23-0 lead get cut to 30-20 in the third quarter.  Most pundits have pencilled in an Alabama-Ohio State final, but I am not quite as sanguine on the Buckeyes.  They just seem kind of ... meh.  What can't hurt them is a resurgence in the quality of Big Ten teams, who went 10-2 in Week 1. If Ohio State can play ranked teams in Northwestern and Michigan, and maybe even Wisconsin or Penn State, then that will help their case a lot should they find themselves amongst a slew of one-loss teams at the end of the season.

10) South Carolina Gamecocks

11) LSU Tigers - LSU became the first team to win 2 Cowboy Classics with their 37-27 win over TCU.  The winner of that game has gone on to play in the National Championship the past 2 years, and we'll see if the Tigers can make it three.  I would argue that LSU, not Texas A&M, has the best chance to knock off Alabama when they visit the Tide on Nov. 9th.  Unfortunately, LSU also has conference games against Georgia and Florida, two teams that Alabama avoids.  I also expect to see TCU back in the Top 25 sooner than later.  They had cut the lead to 30-27 in the 4th quarter before giving up a 77-yard kickoff return that lead to an LSU touchdown.  60 seconds later, they had a 2nd and 2, then went: Incomplete pass, incomplete pass, punt.  Why?  Down 10 with 5:26 and a 4th and 2?  You go for it, man.  Instead, the Horned Frogs punted, and never touched the ball again.

12) Oklahoma Sooners - Once again, I have no idea who is going to win the Big 12.  I think that you could make an argument for at least five different teams (including TCU) to come out on top by the end of the season.  The Sooners are generally a safe bet, and we'll know pretty quickly how they'll do: After a Sept. 28th visit to Notre Dame, they host TCU, and then play Texas in the Red River Shootout.  If they get to 6-0, I think that they'll be playing in the BCS at least as an at-large, maybe more.

13) Northern Illinois Huskies - With Boise State's loss, NIU now becomes the best hope for a BCS-buster this season.  They outlasted Iowa 30-27 behind Jordan Lynch's 331 all purpose yards and 3 passing touchdowns.  They play one more BCS team, Purdue, on Sept. 28th.  If they can run the table, then they should be able to force the Fiesta Bowl to send them an invitation.  Also, in an unrelated note, the wife and I are planning on adopting a black lab/husky mix.  I doubt we'll name him Jordan, though.

14) San Jose State Spartans - I'm curious to see if San Jose - a team that went 10-2 last year and lost to Stanford by 3 - could challenge for the Mountain West crown and possibly a trip to the BCS.  They make their annual trip to Stanford next week.  The Cardinal, meanwhile, suddenly have a very interesting schedule that includes vs. San Jose State, vs. Washington, at Utah, vs. AP No. 21 UCLA, at Oregon State, vs. No. 3 Oregon, at No. 24 USC, and vs. No. 14 Notre Dame.

15) Texas Longhorns

16) Kent State Golden Flashes

17) Arkansas State Red Wolves

18) UCLA Bruins

19) Cincinnati Bearcats - Purdue may not be a powerhouse of a Big Ten team, but Cincinnati sure looked good against them, forcing four turnovers and outgaining the Boilermakers 425-226 en rout to a 42-7 route.  Most folks have picked Louisville to win the American Conference, but don't sleep on Cincinnati.  The two play each other in the season finale on December 5.

Let me take this opportunity to talk about Illinois.  They play Cincinnati in Champaign next week.  Then, the week after that, they play Washington in Chicago in a showdown between two of the country's elite Library Schools.  In fact, the Illini play exactly one game outside of the state of Illinois between August 31 and November 1!  They play four true away games all season long - and two of those are in Indiana!

20) Michigan Wolverines - Who would win in a fight between a red wolf, a bruin, a bearcat, and a wolverine?

21) Nebraska Cornhuskers - Definitely not a cornhusker.

22) Arizona Wildcats

23) Texas Tech Red Raiders

24) Ball State Cardinals

25) Northwestern Wildcats - Wildcat.  It's kind of an ... obsolete vernacular.