I'll admit that of the last four seasons of college football, this is the one I've paid the least amount of attention to. Not out of choice (the season has been an amazingly wild ride), but out of circumstance. Oh well. Nonetheless, as I've hit the blogging trail pretty hard since getting cable back, I figure it's time to start doing this again.
The BCS starts its rankings the second week in October. I, on the other hand, stopped ranking teams on October 7th. So the one good thing is that - I'm certainly not basing my Week 12 rankings on where the teams were last week :p
My top 25:
1. LSU - They may be more dramatic than dominant, but they have the best collection of talent which should become more evident as they heal from injuries.
2. Missouri - Arguably one of the top two offenses in the country, this unit has great talent at every 'skill' position. The defense is terrible, but in a season like this who cares?
3. Kansas - If my poll actually counted for something, I'd probably rank them higher out of respect for going 11-0. Doesn't really matter because if they can beat Missouri, they're moving up to #1.
4. Ohio State - Holding Michigan to 3 points in The Game is something that just doesn't happen. Woody would have tacked on 8 points at the end, a score which would have better reflected the on-field dominance shown by Ohio State.
5. West Virginia - Finally a defense has arrived in Morgantown. The Big East sure bottomed out, though.
6. Arizona State - Unfortunately for them, Cal continues to tank so they will have to beat USC to get a signature win.
7. Virginia Tech - Had Tyrod Taylor been the starter with a few games' experience, maybe they wouldn't have lost so badly to LSU. Both of their losses have been with Glennon starting.
8. Georgia - Is there a hotter team in the country right now? Oh yeah, Kansas.
9. USC - With players coming back from injury, they are beginning to find their usual form.
10. Florida - Tebow is hands down the best player in the nation. Imagine if they had a defense...
11. Texas - Even I had my doubts, but UT turned their season around following the OU game.
12. Oklahoma - Bradford will be back, but how do you lose to Colorado and get shut down until the 4th quarter by Texas Tech?
13. Oregon - Yes, this is a "without Dixon" modified ranking. With him in they'd be higher... actually, had he not been injured they'd still be in the top two having beaten Arizona. It's a real shame, but frankly this is not that great of a team with Leaf at QB.
14. Illinois - Had they not fallen in a trap game against Iowa, they'd be the conference champion.
15. Virginia - Yes, Virginia, there is a... no wait, that's been done to death.
16. Tennessee - Looking like a far cry from the team that started the season 1-2.
17. Boston College - Whether it's luck or a flair for the dramatic, their last two wins have come right at the end.
18. Hawaii - They have the #857 ranked schedule in the nation. Mind you, there are only 712 official college teams, but I also included intramurals.
19. Boise State - Now having found their game offensively, you have to wonder if they'd still lose to Washington?
20. Clemson - Surely there was a reason for throwing the ball 40 times while giving Spiller and Davis a combined 23 carries in a game where you lead for 45 minutes? Like perhaps a desire to join Lloyd Carr in retirement?
21. Wisconsin - It's their two tough road wins - UNLV and Minnesota - that really impress me.
22. Connecticut - It's their two tough road wins - Duke and Pittsburgh - that really impress me.
23. South Florida - They've rebounded from a trio of consecutive close losses with back to back blowout wins.
24. Auburn - I'm not sure that losing 45-20 is the statement to hold onto a top 25 ranking, but then again look at everyone else.
25. Notre Dame - You know a team is exceptionally well-coached and well-lead when despite being ranked they still take a team like Duke very seriously. The Irish just massacred the Blue Devils to let the rest of the nation know they're still a force to be reckoned with and that God still likes them more than Boston College. Jimmy Clausen could become the second player in NCAA history to win the Heisman on a losing team, and believe me, Navy, the next time you get a win over this program, we'll have elected a woman president!
