Power 22
Again, due to the short week, I can do little more than rank these teams. If you have comments or disagree, please say so. Also, I may be unable to tend to this week's schedule due to time constraints and holiday travel. I have these few comments.
1. LSU could very well be looking at an upset against Arkansas. Arkansas has nothing to lose and has tons of young talent. They unloaded for 44 last week on Mississippi State. If LSU doesn't step up, the Bayou Bengals could find themselves down by too many too late.
2. Georgia should beat Georgia Tech handily. DJ Shockley looks great. Georgia Tech's two biggest wins (Auburn, Miami) were based on the "Make the New QB Beat You" philosophy. They were lucky they caught Auburn when they did. Shockley is hardly a new QB, and he will make them pay if they continue to blitz as heavily as they usually do.
Now on the rankings:
1. Texas
2. USC
3. Ohio State
4. Virginia Tech
5. Penn State
6. Auburn
7. Notre Dame
8. Michigan
9. Georgia
10. LSU
11. Oregon
12. Fresno State
13. West Virginia
14. UCLA
15. Miami
16. Iowa State
17. Iowa
18. California
19. Texas Tech
20. Clemson
21. TCU
22. Oklahoma
Honorable Mention: Minnesota, Georgia Tech, Bama.
posted by spencer @ 11:01 PM
5 comments
5 Comments:
Is this serious? A 7-4 Michigan ranked 8,Georgia at 8-2 ranked 9, and a 9-1 LSU ranked 10? Are you serious? There are far too many places to start dissecting the travesty that is this poll. LSU upset by Arkansas? LSU has one of the nation's top rated defenses in the country, and Arkansas has a (as in one) offensive playmaker in McFadden. LSU gave up 36 first half yards against Ole Miss. THIRTY-SIX. What is this poll based on? I don't want to personally attack you, but come on. There are five multiple loss teams above LSU. FIVE-including an obviously overrated Michigan. Also, you talk as if GT is Wake Forest or Kentucky. THEY JUST BEAT MIAMI. Also, Georgia isn't that great this year-once Shockley is contained in a pocket, he'll be forced to throw, which he is not exceptional at. Also, just to note, LSU beat OLE MISS, not Mississippi State, and scored 40, not 44. Noting Ohio State at 3, PSU at 5, and Michigan at 8, I'm guessing you're a Big-10 guy and did your poll by ESPN analysis. Just to let you know-the idiots at ESPN are, as always, idiots. The Big-10 is overrated just like every year, and unfortunately your poll does not comprehend that yet. However, kudos on keeping Oregon and UCLA out of your top 10-the PAC-10 sucks (yet just a little worse than the Big-10).
Where to start? First off, this poll is based on how well teams are playing right now, so records are a factor, but not a predominate one. It's my own fault for not stating that fact this week, but if you had read the previous polls, you would have seen that. My bad. On the basis of that, Michigan has played well all year and lost a bunch of close games. I am typically not a Big 10 guy. I consistently think the Big 10 is overrated. However, I've seen a lot of games this year and have been impressed by Penn State, Michigan, and Ohio State. I am an SEC guy, which is partly why I say the things I do. I am very familiar with the SEC. Georgia is better than LSU, so they are ahead of them. We can quibble about Michigan, but I think that they are playing about as good as anyone right now, and Georgia, though playing strong, is not playing as strong as Michigan (in my opinion). LSU's defense is overrated, and if you honestly expect me to evaluate it based on its performance against Ole Miss, you have got to be joking. Next, if you paid attention, the pronoun "they" was in reference to Arkansas, not LSU, and they did, in fact, put down 44 on Mississippi State. LSU is overrated. They get the win over Auburn, and I'm not disputing that, but Auburn outgained them in every statistical category and a fluke night by their kicker cost them the game. That's life, so LSU is ranked ahead of Auburn in most polls by virtue of only having 1 loss, but I have yet to be impressed by anything the inconsitent LSU offense has done this year. My last point on LSU, I think, is that LSU got burned for 218 yards by Auburn RB Kenny Irons. Arkansas can and has run the ball on everyone this year. If their new QB Casey Dick doesn't lose the game for them, it would be very easy for LSU to look past this game to a showdown with Georgia. That is why I believe an upset is possible. Georgia Tech is not a bad team, but they are not in the upper echelon in my opinion. I stress, in my opinion. As far as your comment on Shockley, he threw for over 300 yards against Auburn. Finally, I don't do my poll by ESPN analysis because ESPN pisses me off. If you read any of my past articles, you would know that. I think I covered everything, but if you want to respond, feel free. I do appreciate the feedback.
That's really funny that he called you a Big 10 guy.
My apologies for misreading the Ark-Miss. State fact. But as an SEC guy, why Arkansas over LSU? If you follow the SEC Arkansas is as bad as their conference record shows. LSU is not overrated; they rank in the top 10 in basically every national defensive ranking. They've also improved every game, especially on offense averaging about 31 per game. JaMarcus is an unreal talent and we have one of the best WR corps in the country (talent-wise, not really stats). Like every year, we get better as the year goes on (2003 NC). I cannot apologize for poor victory margins, but that's on the off. coordinator's conservative playcalling. They still execute, just in a time-consuming way which takes points off the scoreboard. Our running game is doing considerably well with a third-string back. And Georgia is not better than LSU-on either side of the ball, but we'll see in Atlanta.
Arkansas is not loaded with young talent-they probably have the best back in the SEC (or Irons), but that's it. Nutt brings in one, maybe two, stud recruits each year and that's about it. Their current QB would be a walk-on at LSU, UGA, Florida, Tennessee, Auburn or Alabama. I don't think your logic makes sense-Ark. scored a lot vs. MSU, Alabama barely beat MSU, LSU barely beat Alabama (I just read your previous posts). In contrast Alabama beat Arkansas, and LSU beat Alabama, but Ark. will beat LSU? The reasoning is inconsistent.
I still disagree with the ranking, even as current play. Michigan is still not top 10, or top 15 for that matter, nor is Georgia. If UGA is rewarded beating UK after losing to Auburn, how is LSU not ranked higher based on 8 straight wins? Auburn I get, but ND, not so much. Their game against Syracuse was barely above average-Syracuse is terrible (And really, who else has Notre Dame beaten? Navy, BYU, Washington;they might as well play in the terrifying Big East. Also,contrary to what journalists fabricate, they LOST to USC. I didn't know an almost-win counted in the W column.)
I conclude with my humblest apology for slandering you as a "Big 10 guy." Terrible on my part.
I understand your objections and rationale, I think we just disagree on several points that simply turn on our interpretation of the facts. As far as the Arkansas-LSU game, I believe Arkansas is better than their record, but much like Arizona, could never get it together. If Arizona can do it for one game, there is no reason Arkansas cannot. LSU's defense is good, I'll give you that because I never disputed it. I just think it's overrated. They aren't as good as everyone thinks they are. That doesn't mean they still aren't good. I'm not calling for an Arkansas win. I'm introducting it into the realm of possibility. If LSU doesn't take them seriously, it could happen. If LSU and Arkansas both show up and play their best games of the season, LSU wins by thirty. I don't dispute LSU's talent, I just want to see them utilize it before I jump on the bandwagon. As far as Georgia goes, it's hard to tell who'd win the Georgia-LSU game. I have more faith in Shockley than you do, which I take it partly stems from your faith in Jamarcus Russell over Shockley. (As I take it, you are an LSU fan, correct?) Both are dynamic and Russell has a cannon, but I give the edge to Shockley. I won't knock you for thinking Russell is the better QB. It's a matter of opinion, and both of ours can be justified.
As far as the logic train goes, that's not really where I was going with that. I was merely calling attention to that fact that MSU's defense is not atrocious and Arkansas matched their second best offensive performance all year. The Hogs have given every ranked team on their schedule (excluding USC) a fight. They aren't going to lie down. More importantly, Arkansas is playing well and with confidence right now. I reiterate, though, that I am not saying it will happen, but that it might.
As far as the rankings go, I disagree with your opinion on Georgia and Michigan. On a neutral field, I think Michigan can hang with just about anybody, and their play has consistently backed it up. They just keep coming out on the losing end. I would not want to catch Michigan in a bowl game. LSU is mainly down in my rankings due to style points. They haven't had any pretty wins. They couldn't even look good against Appalachian State. I know they were probably looking ahead, but come on. LSU should put at least 30 on the Mountaineers, even if they are sleepwalking. The win over Ole Miss ended up looking good, but it didn't really start that way. Basically, I have yet to be impressed by LSU, and I refuse to move them up just because everyone else does. If they beat Arkansas and Georgia, then I'll give them the respect they would deserve. For now, they aren't playing well enough, in my opinion, to get them any higher.
As far as Notre Dame goes, I feel the Irish deserve some respect simply because of how well their offense has been playing. However, if you look at my past Power 22's, you would see that ND has slid down the list due to lackluster (at best) defense, and the offensive performance in the first quarter against Syracuse was hardly noteworthy. I think Notre Dame can play with just about anybody, which is why they get the high ranking. Again, I remind you that this poll is based on how they are currently playing, with a splash of records and quality wins/losses thrown in. Based on those factors, I am not going to penalize Notre Dame because their schedule hasn't given them an opportunity to prove their worth again. I am not totally sold on the Irish, but from what I've seen, they deserve to be about where they are. As far as I'm concerned, teams 3-11 are roughly equal, and I'd pay good money to see any of them play this weekend.
So that's basically what it comes down to. I hope I've addressed your concerns, and if you have any additional comments, feel free to post them, though I may not be able to answer them for a while. Again, thanks for the input.
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