As the midpoint of college football season draws near, SI.com's Stewart Mandel took the opportunity to reboot his weekly College Football Power Rankings.
The result: A strange week. Static up top, where seven schools maintained their standing from last week (including the top six teams: Oklahoma, Alabama, Mizzou, Texas, LSU, Penn State). A dozen other teams gained ground, meaning just one of the 20 holdovers from last week's poll dropped in the rankings: Brigham Young, which slipped one spot from No. 7 to No. 8. Mandel explains the upward mobility in his introduction.
I wouldn't say I started over from scratch -- the top six teams remained unchanged from last week -- but I did adjust several teams' rankings considerably with little regard for how many spots they might be moving up or down from last week. Call it a "recalibration."
A few of the primary beneficiaries/victims:
• Illinois: Like most voters, I dropped the Illini off my ballot last week when they fell to 2-2. But their two losses came against a pair of teams (Missouri and Penn State) I now have ranked in my top six, and Illinois' offense performed well in both games. After watching Juice Williams torch Michigan for 431 total yards Saturday, I believe the Illini are a top 20 team.
• Kentucky: The preseason assumption regarding the Wildcats was that they'd fall back into obscurity without star QB Andre Woodson. But while Kentucky's offense has taken a step back, it now boasts a top 15 defense. While I withheld ranking the Wildcats during their 4-0 start, I moved them in this week following their close loss at No. 2 Alabama.
• USF and Kansas: The Bulls lost at home to Pittsburgh last week. The Panthers are not remotely a top 25 team, having lost to Bowling Green and struggled to beat Buffalo, Iowa and Syracuse. Meanwhile, Kansas, whom the Bulls previously beat, barely survived a dogfight against mediocre Iowa State. Sadly, it marked the Jayhawks' best win to date.
What are your thoughts on the rankings? Do you think Mandel got things right this week? Make sure to stop by the user rankings page to cast your ballot in the community poll.
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Comments (5) Add A Comment
Nice to see Stew being unconventional.
Redwing19: MARCH…
Ottawa, ON
Total Comments (2954)
i agree pretty much with the order. OU is unquestionably Number One right now. They will have to/get to prove it on saturday in dallas.
DoIt4Johnny
Bay Area, CA
Total Comments (153)
Your rankings are way off as usual..
svtjer
Coral Springs, FL
Total Comments (242)
OK, I've spent the last few weeks goading MWC fans (y'all really are easy to stir up) into rants of, "Hey, we don't suck anymore!" and I have called the conference historically and presently mediocre, whereupon I have been trashed as "biased" and "blind" ... these attacks obviously from readers who failed to take in my sincere compliments of the region, the people, and their recreational resources (slopes and snow). If Stu can recalibrate, I figure I'll make a little shift in my stance as well. Whereas the MWC had been moved from "Doesn't Suck so Bad" to its most recent "Mediocre" on the Toe Slide watch, I would like to now move the conference up to the "a few good teams that occasionally spike up into the top 15" status. The one thing that keeps me from hee- ho-ing them much beyond that is my memory of the Sooners last championship season and the similarities therein.
toe slide 360
Total Comments (107)
Hot off the presses ... the MWC has just been moved up the Toe Slide Watch from "A Few Good Teams" to "Respectable".
toe slide 360
Total Comments (107)
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