Well here we are team - a month into the college football season and what a season its been so far! There have been so many big upsets and week four did not disappoint. I thought now that we've seen enough teams compete in some legitimate games it was time to break down where we are at and what I think about the season to come.
Top 25
Please review the top 25 as of September 25th. Link here: http://collegefootball.ap.org/poll
All caught up? Great. Let's bullet point some takeaways.
- Alabama still reigns #1 which really doesn't surprise anyone
- I'm also in agreement with Ohio State at No. 2 right now
- Stanford needs to regroup. That game was too close for comfort and should not have been so challenging. They're young though and if you look at the depth of their talent, they could get scary good next season.
- Wisconsin came in HOT this week. At 4-0 with a win against Michigan State don't sleep on this team currently at No. 8. I'm excited to see how they fare against Michigan this weekend
- Texas A&M at No. 9 is a toss up for me. They could be a sleeper and they could fizzle. I need to see a better test than Arkansas to form a better opinion
- Georgia doesn't deserve Top 25. If you think any differently you're drunk.
- Ole Miss had a big win, just demolished Georgia - but I'm not sure I agree with a 7 spot jump. Georgia is plagued with injuries and doesn't belong in the Top 25 so while it was a blowout game, was it really against a big team?
- TCU is always one of those teams who's really strong and one big win away from being something special. I love watching them continue to be competitive
- Realistically there was very little movement in the top so nothing too crazy to report
- Houston at 6 is great and all but have you looked at their remaining schedule? No real big games coming up. Not sure they have enough challenges to lift them much higher.
- The longhorns are MY TEAM. At 22 we had that BIG early win in one of the best games in the history of the program but the remainder of the schedule isn't super competitive. We should win most all - but finishing at the top 5 isn't in the cards this year. I'll tell you though, Charlie Strong is HUGE for this program. Excited to see where we go!
Next Week and Beyond: What the experts are saying vs. What I'm saying
Experts
- Early predictions show an Alabama vs. Michigan championship.
- Other teams at the top are Ohio State, Louisville, Stanford, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Ole Miss, Washington, and Houston.
- Michigan beats Wisconsin this week
- Stanford beats Washington
- Clemson over Louisville
Me
- The biggest question is who can challenge Alabama? I don't want to see an Alabama Ohio State championship. In fact, I'd love to see both out entirely.
- Wisconsin had a huge game but with two tough games coming up - can they hang on? If they can, the momentum is huge and they could have a shot at it all. If not - they'll drop back to good but not great.
- Florida State is irrelevant. In general they're inconsistent and I'm not willing to put much behind them.
- Ole Miss let's get real - you had a big win but you blew it in two big games against two top 5 teams. I don't see them making it top 5 but they might land top 10.
- Bless Oklahoma's heart but ya'll aren't doing much in 2016. (Irv if you're reading this I love you please don't hate me)
- Ignore LSU entirely.
- Stanford will beat Washington but really needs to work on its passing game
- I think Michigan will beat Wisconsin but I want to see Wisconsin win. They have the potential and the momentum but Michigan is hot right now
- I'll disagree with the experts and go Louisville. Their offense is too good.
Final Thoughts
It's early. Not AP Poll preseason irrelevant rankings early - but still plenty of time to make or break a season. I'd love to see Alabama challenged soon but I don't think they'll have much real competition until Texas A&M - and that's still weeks away. Now that we are in the thick of Fall I vow to include more college breakdown and thoughts. And if you thought I would do this for the NFL, sad to say - it won't happen. The NFL is dead to me right now. But we'll get into that later. In the meantime - talk to me about your college predictions and what you're hoping for. With all the upsets and unexpected injuries so far - its a heck of a time to be a college football fan!
