Tuesday, October 03, 2006

Feely Top 25: After Week 5

#1 Michigan (#2 LW, W @ Minnesota 28-14): Gasp. They're in the top tier in terms of the passing game, the running game, and the defense. I see no weakness, so why not?

#2 Ohio State (#4, W @ Iowa 38-17): They stopped the run! So I'm giving them credit. I still don't buy them as the supposed clearcut #1 with Troy Smith having 1/2 TD/INT games against Penn State and such, but hell, they've beat two good teams.

#3 USC (#1, W @ Washington State 28-22): Two iffy wins in a row. I think they'll be fine down the line, especially in the Pac 10, but I'll knock them down here until they murder whoever's next on their schedule. Washington at home? Yeah, that could happen.

#4 Florida (#3, W vs. Alabama 28-13): Not a thoroughly dominating win, but everything still looked good enough to keep them my SEC favorites. Plus Alabama's underrated. Thing keeping them most down here is probably the schedule.

#5 Auburn (#5, W @ South Carolina 24-17): Obviously a pretty good team, still has the outside chance to go undefeated. Brandon Cox hasn't been impressive at all, however, so that keeps them behind Florida.

#6 Texas (#6, W vs. Sam Houston State 56-3): I have a bit of a feeling of impending doom, but hey, Sam Houston State.

#7 LSU (#8, W vs. Mississippi State 48-17): What the hell was up with that Auburn game then? I still think they're a better team than Auburn, it's just that, you know, they lost the actual game and all.

#8 West Virginia (#7, BYE): Might've kept them at 7 if they didn't look so mediocre against ECU. If they go back out against...well, nevermind, Mississippi State sucks. But I was going to say if they went out and had one of the dominating days they started the year with, I might knock them back up a bit.

#9 Oregon (#10, W @ Arizona State 48-13): Very impressive win, but it's unclear how much of it was just Arizona State imploding. I'd say Oregon and Cal are about even, but Oregon's the undefeated team.

#10 Cal (#11, W @ Oregon State 41-13): Very much back on track. Still don't know about the defense, but hey, that seems applicable to the entire Pac 10.

#11 Clemson (#15, W vs. Louisiana Tech 51-0): Best team in the ACC, easy. Impressive as anyone, the loss to BC was fluky, the teams below them have a lot more questions.

#12 Louisville (#13, BYE): Schedule's easy enough where they can win until Brohm comes back against WVU (or earlier). Would be higher with him, obviously, and there's still the chance the untested guys could blow one.

#13 Georgia (#12, W @ Mississippi 14-9): Absolutely pathetic, horrid, wretched offense. Defense will probably keep them in and win them more games than they deserve.

#14 Oklahoma (#14, BYE): Adrian Peterson is very good. This team is pretty good. But they've lost a game. Kind of. So yeah.

#15 Tennessee (#16, W @ Memphis 41-7): Memphis is awful, so the Vols haven't been overly impressive since the Cal game. A pretty good team, but without the signature win, meh.

#16 Iowa (#9, W vs. Ohio State 17-38): Yeah, shine's kinda worn off Drew Tate.

#17 Notre Dame (#18, W vs. Purdue 35-21): Defense? Anyone?

#18 Boise State (#20, W @ Utah 36-3): Probably the most impressive win of the week, especially since Boise is usually better at home. They'll probably run the table and be slighted by the BCS, sigh.

#19 Nebraska (#17, W vs. Kansas 39-32): Nebraska's still a pretty good team, but as I said in the recap, a close win like this puts them closer to the pick than to Texas and OU.Plus the Huskers DID play a joke of a schedule outside of USC before this.

#20 Georgia Tech (#22, W @ Virginia Tech 38-27): God, they're the second best team in the ACC. Calvin Johnson + the wildly inconsistent Reggie Ball = good enough.

#21 Florida State (#25, BYE): I was probably too harsh on them last week. That defense is still fine. I'll give you a second chance to show a running game. Come back, baby.

#22 Missouri (NR, W vs. Colorado 28-13): A good team. I had them behind ISU before this week, but ISU's subpar showing lets me put Mizzou here with less qualms. There really aren't 25 teams worth being ranked.

#23 Virginia Tech (#19, L vs. Georgia Tech 27-38): They'll be fine in the long run. Maybe. The ACC is horrible.

#24 Pittsburgh (NR, W vs. Toledo 45-3): Michigan State game aside, they have a defense. And the offense should be good enough. And they're still my #3 team in the Big East. And the alternatives are what? 2-loss Alabama? no-defense Texas Tech? lost-to-Tulsa Navy? "is Wake Forest" Wake Forest? Or, God, even...

#25 Rutgers (NR, W @ South Florida 22-20): Basically the same principle as when I ranked BC at 25. They're not that good, they can't stop anyone, they played a weak schedule, but hey, fuckers keep winnin'.

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