College Football Blogpoll Week 5

This is week 5 of our participation in the CBS Sports blogpoll, and this was by far the hardest for us to rank. Feel free to go ahead and critique these selections so we can make any edits before Wednesday’s final submission. It was one hell of a week for college football, and the rankings were all tossed up in the air. Quick question though: Why can’t Penn State beat Iowa?

1) Florida (2)- Even with the flu, the Gators demolished Kentucky and answered any questions about whether this team has any chinks in the armor. If Tebow’s concussion keeps him out of next week’s game against LSU, Florida could be in real trouble.
2) Alabama (1)- I want this team to be bad, but they keep winning. Trial by fire coming up in the SEC schedule.
3) Texas- The Longhorns get bumped down to #3 after Alabama looked great against Arkansas while Texas buried an outmatched UTEP squad. They will have plenty of chances to take that spot back.
4) Boise State- The lone top 10 mid major team just keeps marching on. That win over Oregon is looking pretty good right now, but the lack of competition on the rest of their schedule is going to come back to haunt the Broncos.
5) Cincinnati- How is a Big East team creeping up this high in the rankings? Because there’s no real reason to keep them out so far. But their games are getting closer, and this ranking just feels too high for them to keep up.
6) USC- Tied with Ohio State in votes but I gave it to USC by virtue of head-to-head win. With Matt Barkley back, the Trojans seem refocused on winning the PAC 10. It will face a big test this week at Cal.
7) Ohio State- Since their loss to USC, this team has thumped their last two opponents by a score of 68-0. I would say they are ready for Big Ten play, and their defense could be one of the best in the country.
8) LSU- Yea it was close against Mississippi State, but an SEC win is an SEC win. Next two games? Georgia and Florida. Call me in two weeks.
9) Virginia Tech- I am still concerned about the offense, but you can’t argue with results. They have taken down two quality teams in as many weeks.
10) Oklahoma- Sam who? The Sooners are coming on strong, and the Big 12 should take notice.
11) Houston- They are starting to validate that high ranking with their win over a quality Texas Tech team. Unfortunately, they don’t play any more contenders to prove they belong in the top 10. Their ranking will depend on how Oklahoma State does the rest of the season.
12) TCU- Still waiting for the Hornfrogs to play someone with a resume; they could prep for a fall when they hit BYU on October 24th.
13) Miami (FL)- This team hit the ground hard, but they are still a quality team. They may not rebound immediately against Oklahoma, but they are still at or near the top of the ACC.
14) Penn State- Another Big Ten offense struggles against a solid defense. The Nittany Lions might have just had their National Championship hopes submarined once again by Iowa.
15) California- Who the hell is Cal? Could they have been looking ahead to USC? We will find out who they really are this weekend against the Trojans.
16) Iowa- They haven’t looked great in their wins, but they are 4-0 and just upset #5 Penn State at their place in front of 105,000 fans.
17) Oklahoma State- This team won’t get tested again until October 17th against Missouri. Maybe they can find a defense before then.
18) BYU- Tied with Mississippi in votes but I gave it to BYU as Ole Miss lost last week.
19) Mississippi- Jevan Snead looked no part of a Heisman candidate against South Carolina. He will have to start looking like it for this team to rebound in the SEC West.
20) Georgia- Tied with Kansas but I gave it to Georgia as they have played a much tougher schedule. That defense is still giving up a lot of yardage.
21) Kansas- Still haven’t played anyone, but they just keep winning. They could be in for a big fall once the Big 12 season starts.
22) South Carolina- This team won’t score many points, but their defense will win them some games in the SEC.
23) Michigan- This team looked ugly in their late-game win over Indiana, showing that this team has a long way to go to return to greatness.
24) Missouri- I am the only one putting the Tigers in my poll, but they get enough votes to make it in.
25) Nebraska- Tied with Oregon but all three of us included the Cornhuskers and only Windsor included Oregon, so I gave the edge to Nebraska.

Others receiving votes: Oregon, Georgia Tech, North Carolina

This week the poll was so tough to put together for all three of our ATH voters, so I had to make some poll observations this week:

Likewise we weren’t sure where to put Iowa, ranging from 13th (Falco) to 22nd (Windsor) which is odd, since Windsor has held Iowa in his rankings even as they were playing poorly, I figured he would jump them up with this win over Penn State. On California we varied as well, from 11th (myself) to 20th (Falco); and on LSU, which was a shocker as Falco put them as high as 4th (and I at 6th) and Windsor kept them low at 14th.

Big differences in ranking Michigan this time around, ranging from 19th (Falco) to 25th (myself) after their less-than-impressive win over Indiana at home.

While Windsor puts South Carolina on his poll at 17th (and I at 22nd), Falco leaves the Gamecocks off entirely. Windsor, for his part, isn’t sold on Kansas (19th in my poll and 18th in Falco’s) and leaves them off his poll.

Georgia Tech might have made the poll if I had put them in, but I am not convinced that they are a top 25 team yet- there were some tough calls this week, and I wish it was a top 27 or 28 to make the list.

After all those differences, we all still ranked Georgia 21st, our only universal agreement in the rankings. Odd, huh?