Ohio State was the unanimous No. 1 in the preseason, but the Buckeyes have hardly looked the part. Alabama lost at home to Ole Miss, who moved up to No. 3 then proceeded to get blown away at Florida, an unranked team heading into the season. Oregon ranked in the Top 10 to start the year, but has lost twice at home - once by 42 points to preseason unranked Utah (Now No. 4) and this weekend to beleaguered Washington State. I could go on, but you get the point.
Here's how I see the Top 10, or as I call it The Ben Ten, as of the completion of Week 6 of the College Football season. Keep in mind this is not a "How I think it will shake out come Dec. 7." I will do my best to play Playoff Committee Member and rank the teams based on their resume to date. I'll say this now, I'm a big proponent of you can only beat the teams on your schedule. It's unfair to punish a team when they can't control what everyone else on their schedule does. All they can do is line up and beat the team in front of them.
Without further ado...
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| The Utah Utes head up the first ever Ben Ten. Photo courtesy SI.com |
2) Baylor (5-0) - Once again, the Bears offense looks to be unstoppable. How unstoppable? 56, 66, 70, 63, 66 - Baylor's points scored by game this season. While they are still untested in my opinion, they've been one of the few teams to line up and smash everyone standing in their way. The one test was Texas Tech, whom TCU needed a miracle play to beat. The Bears boat-raced the Red Raiders, 63-35. It won't be until November before we find out if the Bears will be here in December, but until someone finds a way to stop them, they're here to stay.
3) Clemson (5-0) - The Tigers have a win over then No. 6 Notre Dame and dominated both lines of scrimmage with the exception of one quarter. They struggled against Louisville with five days to prepare for their road and conference opener, but put those struggles aside in a thrashing of reeling Georgia Tech. Along the way, Dabo Swinney and Co. put to rest a certain word that must not be said. Deshaun Waston and the offense are just settling in. Take care of business before Nov. 7 when the Noles come to town and it sets up another epic clash in Death Valley.
4) LSU (5-0) - Leonard Fournette is a man among boys. Heck, he's a man among men. My skepticism with the Bayou Bengals is if they have anything else on offense. When they face physical teams, such as Florida (this week) and Alabama, it will be interesting to see how the Tigers handle if Fournette gets bottled up. On the plus side, LSU's schedule sets up with a chance to impress voters over the latter half of the year - on deck are No. 8 Florida, No. 10 Alabama, No. 13 Ole Miss, and No. 9 Texas A&M.
At this point, you can see my match-ups for the College Football Playoff: No. 1 Utah vs. No. 4 LSU in the Goodyear Cotton Bowl (Arlington, Texas), and No. 2 Baylor vs. No. 3 Clemson in the Capital One Orange Bowl (Miami Gardens, Fla.). We're far away from New Year's Eve, so take it with a grain of salt.
5) TCU (6-0) - My knock on the Horned Frogs is their struggles on the road. There was the aforementioned miracle tipped pass TD needed to beat Texas Tech. This past weekend, TCU rallied for an 18-point halftime deficit at Kansas State and needed a last-minute touchdown to defeat the SnyderCats. Trevone Boykin and that offense can score in a hurry. The Frogs still must visit the state of Oklahoma - Stillwater and OSU Nov. 7; Norman and OU Nov. 21 - plus finish the year with Baylor at home on Black Friday. As with LSU, the schedule sets up with a huge change to jump up the rankings. Just need to see TCU do better away from home.
T6) Ohio State (6-0) - Sure the Buckeyes have won a nation-best 19 games in a row. But A) They've only played six games this season, not 19, and B) They haven't exactly looked like the world-beaters the experts told us they were. They trailed at the half against Virginia Tech and Indiana, and were tied at intermission with Northern Illinois. Maryland, who lost by 21 to Bowling Green and was throttled 45-6 by West Virginia, gave OSU fits well into the second half. I'm not saying this team can't repeat as a National Champion, I just want them to prove it. And so far, they haven't done that.
T6) Florida (6-0) - Surprise, surprise. Here are the mighty Jim McElwains. Florida struggled to beat East Carolina and Kentucky and overcame a 13-point deficit to beat Tennessee (who hasn't done that this year? - Oh right, Georgia...). Since that emotional win over the Vols, the Gators have dominated in wins over then No. 3 Ole Miss and on the road at Missouri. With UGA on the downswing and the rest of the SEC East in shambles, UF should be in Atlanta on championship weekend. Their trip to LSU this weekend will tell us what we need to know about the Gators.
8) Michigan State (6-0) - Not much has gone right for the Spartans since their marquee win over Oregon in Week 2. Michigan State's biggest win margin-wise is a 20-point victory over Central Michigan. Sparty fought to the end with both Purdue and Rutgers (a combined three wins between the two teams), beating Purdue by three and Rutgers by seven. A rude reality check is likely to come in the form of a Maize and Blue beatdown this weekend in the Big House.
9) Texas A&M (5-0) - Quietly, Kevin Sumlin has Texas A&M as one of just three unbeatens remaining in the SEC (LSU and Florida the others). The Aggies have a Top 25 win over Arizona State to open the season and have separated themselves from the bottom of the SEC West with wins over Arkansas and Mississippi State. Can they remain atop the division? We find out the next two weekends when they host Alabama and travel to Ole Miss. Later down the road is a trip to Baton Rouge. Will that game determine who goes to Atlanta to represent the West? Stay tuned.
10) Florida State (5-0) - Perhaps the ugliest of the unbeatens, Florida State rounds out my Top 10. The Noles scored one offensive TD at Boston College, nearly let Wake Forest tie the game in the final minute, and trailed Miami (who lost to Cincinnati) in the fourth quarter. RB Dalvin Cook should be in New York for the Heisman ceremony, if he can stay healthy. He's the ACC's version of Fournette. FSU's toughest games ahead are all on the road. The trip to Death Valley in November to face Clemson will likely decide the ACC Atlantic Division once more.
Next three up:
- Michigan - The lone loss to Utah in the season opener looks better and better (if that's a thing). Plus, the Wolverines have allowed just two touchdowns in the last 20 quarters of football. Think about that. I beg the question again, how did Utah score 24 on these guys?
- Alabama - A home loss to Ole Miss isn't terrible, especially considering how the Tide bounced back at Georgia. Scoring three points at home in the first half against Arkansas, however, doesn't have me feeling great about Bama with A&M and LSU still to come.
- Notre Dame - If not for Hurricane Joaquin and a dominating performance by the Tigers, who knows where the Irish would be ranked. Kudos for nearly battling all the way back from a large deficit at Clemson and following it up by not falling to upset-minded Navy.
-BtW
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