If there’s one thing I hate about college football year-in, year-out, it’s the preseason polls. Continually they reward subpar teams early in the season for having name recognition (Michigan and Texas A&M are examples this year) while penalizing teams (i.e. Kansas State) who weren’t expected to be as successful this season.
What’s the point of having meaningful rankings before October 1st? So that the TV outlets can publicize games that might not be as impactful early on?
It’s simply not fair to those teams who have to play catch up because of voters’ opinions in the preseason.
Last week I mentioned some scheduling changes I’d implement as the Czar of College Football. Here’s another change I’d make: no AP or Coaches polls before Week 5 of the season.
In that spirit, here is what my top-25 would look like based on what I’ve seen thus far this season. These rankings display no preseason bias…simply who I believe deserves the accolades based on what they’ve accomplished this season + talent and potential.
- Clemson
- LSU
- Alabama
- Ohio State
- Oklahoma
- Georgia
- Wisconsin
- Auburn
- Texas
- Oregon
- Florida
- Iowa
- Notre Dame
- Iowa
- California
- Penn State
- Washington
- Boise State
- Kansas State
- USC
- Utah
- UCF
- Virginia
- Oklahoma State
- Army
Sorry Michigan fans…Army had you beaten at home if not for a missed field goal attempt at the end and therefore I rank them ahead of your squad.
A rough week for most of us in Week 4…though JB successfully navigated through the upsets to a 9-3 record.
Week 5 Picks
| Eric Cohen | Jon Bell | Steve Malina | Wesley Franco | |
| Twitter: | @cohencurse1580 | @koshercoach | @beardownsteven | @producerwes |
| Last Week (SU) | 6-6 | 9-3 | 7-5 | 7-5 |
| Last Week (ATS) | 4-8 | 7-5 | 7-5 | 8-4 |
| Season (SU) | 30-19 | 30-19 | 31-18 | 29-20 |
| Season (ATS) | 24-25 | 26-23 | 19-30 | 24-25 |
| ASU at Cal (-4.5) | CAL 19-14 | CAL 24-17 | ASU 27-24 | ASU 42-35 |
| UCLA at Arizona (-7.5) | AZ 41-35 | UCLA 41-38 | AZ 38-34 | AZ 35-24 |
| Northwestern at Wisconsin (-23.5) | WISC 34-7 | WISC 32-10 | WISC 31-6 | WSC 45-14 |
| Clemson (-26.5) at North Carolina | CLEM 45-24 | CLEM 42-16 | CLEM 44-20 | CLEM 42-21 |
| Iowa State (-2.5) at Baylor | BAY 34-28 | BAY 24-20 | ISU 33-21 | ISU 28-25 |
| USC at Washington (-9.5) | WASH 34-17 | WASH 24-10 | USC 31-27 | WASH 35-27 |
| Virginia at Notre Dame (-11.5) | ND 27-21 | ND 41-10 | ND 28-13 | VA 45-24 |
| Kansas State at Oklahoma State (-4.5) | OKST 34-24 | OKST 32-24 | OKST 41-24 | KST 30-21 |
| Mississippi State at Auburn (-10.5) | AUB 26-20 | AUB 24-14 | AUB 28-15 | AUB 62-10 |
| Stanford (-3.5) at Oregon State | STAN 27-24 | STAN 10-7 | STAN 20-14 | STAN 21-7 |
| Ohio State (-17.5) at Nebraska | OHST 48-24 | OHST 41-20 | OHST 45-17 | OHST 48-21 |
| Washington State at Utah (-4.5) | UTAH 27-21 | UTAH 31-20 | UTAH 27-21 | WSU 38-17 |
This Week’s Bold Predictions
EC: Nebraska fans go into hiding after Ohio State wallops them for yet another season. The Huskers should be good in a year or so…but the game on Saturday proves they’re not even close to ready for the prime time accolades they received.
JB: They may be 2-1, but the start of the season for Michigan reminds me a lot of Harbaugh’s last season in San Francisco. Expect a change in Ann Arbor next fall.
SM: Jayden Daniels puts together another impressive drive with his arm and legs (a la the Michigan State game) to win the game on the road vs a tough defense. He throws a jump pass (similar to Tim Tebow) to take the lead with 15 seconds left in the game on Friday Night. Even though ASU wins, it’s like I always say…F&@$ ASU!
WF: ASU continues its luck in the state of California, with a solid performance from its Cali native QB. ASU has won its last three road games in the state of California against ranked Pac-12 teams: 2013 UCLA (clinched the South), 2014 USC (Jael Mary), and 2015 UCLA (Ballage Moonwalk) as pointed out by @WiredDevils.
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