Top 25 rankings - Sep 22

September 22 top 25 rankings

1. Alabama 3-0 - I'm a believer in giving the defending champs the benefit of the doubt til they prove otherwise, even if they lost half of their dominant defense. They've dominated so far but played no one. Is that young defense ready for a road trip to Arkansas this weekend? The offense better be ready to put up 30 to win.
2. Oregon 3-0 - This team is just destroying it right now, averaging over a point a minute. Only legit win is at Tennessee where they scored 45 unanswered. Let's see how they do against a real opponent on the road in Arizona State this weekend before we get too excited though.
3. Boise St 2-0 - I don't care what James Madison says, the Broncos still have the best win of the season, a road victory (in my opinion) at Virginia Tech. The "trap game" at Wyoming was a 51-6 blowout, and they'll roll in the "big game" against Oregon State this weekend. Will 12-0 be enough this time?
4. Nebraska 3-0 - I'm awfully impressed so far, even with no Suh, because it looks like they have a real offense now too. A win by 35 in Washington is nothing to sneeze at, and it's time to take the Huskers seriously as title contenders. The only ranked opponent all season is a home game against Texas, plus a potential rematch in the Big 12 title game. Look out.
5. Ohio St 3-0 - The Buckeyes crushed a couple crappy teams, but that's a change from usual, and they were very good in a win over Miami. They should keep winning easily for now minus a speed bump in Wisconsin mid October, with a strong chance they are 9-0 with the final three games against Penn St, at Iowa, and home in the last legit "the game" against Michigan. Those three games will determine Pryor's Heisman status and Ohio St's title contending status too.
6. Arkansas 3-0 - The Hogs look great so far, dominant in 11 of 12 quarters and hanging on for an exciting win at UGa. Now they have their shot at home against Bama, and Ryan Mallett will have this offense ready to look for holes that seem to be there in Bama's possibly overrated defense. Oh my.
7. LSU 3-0 - Quietly dominant 11 of 12 quarters this year and may sneak their way into the national title picture yet again. A big home win against West Va this weekend should push them further into the spotlight. Could this potentially be the most complete SEC team out there?
8. Arizona 3-0 - What a huge win against Iowa, great to see all those fans going crazy at like 1 in the morning here. The Wildcats crushed their other opponents and have been very strong early on. One of many very good looking Pac 10 teams right now. Pac is back?
9. Stanford 3-0 - Speaking of the Pac, how about some love for the Cardinal? Oregon Lite right now with Andrew Luck lighting up an offense that is not your grandfather's Stanford squad. Jim Harbaugh's boys won 35-0 at UCLA in a rivalry game, but their road mettle will be tested in Notre Dame this weekend and a huge one in Oregon the week after.
10. Utah 3-0 - If you ask me, people are talking about the wrong M West team right now. Utah knocked off Big East favorite Pitt, and I'm already getting excited for Nov 6 when TCU comes to town. Utah may have the best chance of anyone not named Boise to go undefeated right now. They'll be a deserved favorite in that game and are a darkhorse title contender.
11. Texas 3-0 - The Big 12 looks a little overrated so far to me. Texas won by 10 at Tech, no small thing, but they've struggled some so far with no run game and Garrett Gilbert only sort of getting things going. Things get interesting soon with Oklahoma in two weeks and at Nebraska two weeks later.
12. TCU 3-0 - They beat Oregon State, though I suspect Boise will do so much more handily this weekend. They're not the #4 team in the nation right now but still very strong and will either go 11-1 or 12-0 depending on the showdown in Utah. Road game there may actually be a blessing in disguise - that road win over a top 10 squad late in the year would trump anything Boise can do all year and push the Toads to top-non-BCS status again.
13. Auburn 3-0 - They just survived against Clemson and at Miss State but the wild season could just be getting started. The defense is not great but Gus Malzahn's Cam Newton-led offense is, and Newton could be a sleeper Heisman candidate with this wide open schedule. Auburn gets all the toughies at home until the final game, where they could legitimately be 11-0 heading to Alabama in what would be the biggest Iron Bowl ever.
14. Oklahoma State 3-0 - This is another of those teams that hasn't played much of anyone yet but sure looks beastly on offense, scoring 65 in two of three games so far in Dana Holgerson's steroid offense. They should start 6-0 but will get a reality check with Nebraska, Texas, and Oklahoma looming in the second half.
15. Iowa 2-1 - My top ranked team with a loss already since they almost overcame a monster road game at a weird time where everything went wrong and still were a play or two away from victory. No huge shame in that. They're still favorites the rest of the way and have a very solid chance to run the table in the Big Ten. Would that be enough? Depends on Arizona now.
16. Penn St 2-1 - There's really no shame losing at Alabama even by 21 compared to the Tide's other games, especially when you are starting a true frosh QB in a crazy road game. Unfortunately for the Nittanies, they still have monster roadies coming up in Iowa and Ohio State later on. We'll see if Bolden learned enough to come through later on. JoePa's plan?
17. Florida 3-0 - Overrated right now with a truly struggling offense, but probably the best defense in the nation. That, a very special teams, and Urban Meyer should take them a long way. But will they really be able to move the ball enough in big games, like the road test next weekend in Alabama? That remains to be seen, and the defense can only score so many points.
18. Michigan 3-0 - They look pretty special right now and Denard Robinson wins the Heisman hands down if the season is over. But wasn't that true last year with Big Blue and Tate Forcier too? Color me a bit skeptical.
19. Oklahoma 3-0 - Not sure what to do with this team yet. They crushed Florida State but realllly struggled at home against far inferior Utah State and Air Force. What to make of this team? Looks like another Stoops squad that chokes in a game it should've won easily.
20. Miami 1-1 - Yeah so they lost by 12 in Ohio State but it's still the most talented and best team in the ACC. That may not matter if they don't rebound fast though, travelling to Pitt tomorrow and then Clemson next weekend.
21. South Carolina 3-0 - I'm never much of a believer in Spurrier's boys. They haven't left home yet and, despite beating Georgia, haven't impressed me a ton. A loss in Auburn this weekend should bump them out of my rankings and back to reality in the coach's polls.
22. Pittsburgh 1-1 - Can't really penalize them much for an overtime road loss in Utah. Plenty of chance to rebound tomorrow against the Hurricanes, and this is still a heavy favorite in the Big East for me. Pitt could still win 10-11 games and really push Utah to great heights if they keep winning. Utah could potentially have victories over two top 10-15 squads at season's end and a spot in the BCS title game if Wanny's boys play well.
23. Kentucky 3-0 - The Wildcats have been dominant so far with a big offense, though they haven't played much. This weekend in Florida is an interesting one. They'll be big underdogs, but their offense is going to score some points. Will UF keep up?
24. Nevada 3-0 - They're cruising so far and really dominated Cal last weekend on national tv. Actually a legit BCS shot this year and they're the only team with a chance to beat Boise, getting them at home later on. Important that Colin Kaepernick and his squad keep winning for now.
25. Wisconsin 3-0 - They probably should've lost at home to Arizona State this week and haven't been great in their other games, but the Sun Devils are pretty good too. Looks like another 8-10 win season in Badgerland.