Garnet and Cocky’s Top 25
Up and Over: Kansas State hurdled Oklahoma on the field, Saturday, and they jumped them in the rankings, too. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Emmons-US PRESSWIRE
This was by far the best weekend of the early college football season.
Upsets, near-upsets, and great games were the day’s trend, and as a result of all the madness on Saturday, we have a new top 25 to issue.
25. Minnesota I did it with Oregon State (granted after an upset), and I’m doing it with Minnesota. The Golden Gophers don’t play an (AP) ranked team until week nine. 8-0 by then is possible. I also date a girl from Minneapolis, so…..
24. Mississippi State 4-0 and looking good. I doubt they challenge LSU or Alabama this year, but with just two (AP) top 25 teams left on their schedule, the Bulldogs could be a 10 win team this season.
23. Northwestern Crazy question, but since the Big 1o is, you know, awful this year… Could Northwestern be the team that represents that conference in the Rose Bowl? Maybe?
22. Oregon State Again… I don’t tend to call myself an expert, but this is the third straight week I’ve had them in Garnet and Cocky’s top 25.
21. Rutgers Yeah, I am putting them this far into the top 25. Why not?
20. Tennessee After heading into the half tied against Akron, the Vols exploded, and won going away.
19. Michigan State The Spartans looked great against Eastern Michigan… A fact that was not surprising.
18. Southern California That’s how you shake off a yet another loss to Stanford. Am I right?
17. Louisville A close win over FIU isn’t moving you up in the rankings, sorry.
16. Ohio State They barely beat UAB, a team that Carolina beat like a drum. The Big 10 (B1G?) might be the fourth best conference this year if they can hold off the pathetic ACC.
15. Clemson I thought of dropping them out of Garnet and Cocky’s top 25 completely, but decided that’s not a level of trolling I’m ready to reach, despite my latest hijinks.
14. Oklahoma Not a bad loss this weekend, but BCS Title contenders are supposed to win those games at home, nonetheless.
13. TCU I called ESPN “experts” stupid for picking Missouri to upset South Carolina. I don’t claim to be an expert on much of anything, but still, I can’t believe I picked Virginia to beat TCU at TCU.
12. Stanford This weekend? A bye. Next weekend? Washington. Then? (AP) No. 22 Arizona and No. 11 Notre Dame. If this Cardinal team is going to make a run at a Pac 12 championship (yes, I know ND isn’t the Pac12, but the Cardinal still needs the confidence boost they’d get for beating them), Stanford should win their next three games.
11. Texas After this weekend’s bye, the Longhorns get Oklahoma State next weekend. Should be fun to watch.
10. Notre Dame This might be the year. I hate overreacting, but they’ve looked great against two relatively highly ranked teams. For once, if the Irish go through their schedule undefeated, they deserve a shot at the National Championship.
9. Florida SEC homer? Maybe. SEC best conference in the country? Definitely.
8. Kansas State What a great win in a tough environment for the Wildcats. I have a feeling most of the country will be pulling for them to win that conference the rest of the year. Oh, and as a side note: Best CFB trending twitter topic of the night? #OptimusKlein.
7. West Virginia They squeaked by Maryland, and I have a feeling this team is a few years away from its first Big 12 title. Still, until they lose, I can’t demote them.
6. Florida State E.J. Manuel pushed himself into the national Heisman conversation with a sensation performance when the Seminoles ran right through Clemson’s … I don’t want to call it a defense, I feel like that would be an insult to defenses everywhere… uh… not-defense?
5. Georgia They stomped Vandy at home, but unlike the Gamecocks in their route of Mizzou, Richt kept his starters in on both sides through the third quarter.
4. South Carolina Before the haters call me crazy, let me explain. Until Georgia beats the Gamecocks this decade, I can’t put the Dawgs ahead of SC. Florida State did just manhandle Clemson, but all that proves to me is the Tigers were over-hyped, and FSU won’t lose a game the rest of the year in a very, very weak ACC. South Carolina’s defense could finish the year as the best in the country. It could. Connor Shaw looked great, even with a hairline fracture in his shoulder. Marcus Lattimore is still Marcus Lattimore. Stop hating.
3. LSU Just because they’re not No. 2 anymore, it doesn’t mean they can’t win the title. A win over Alabama, and a victory in the Georgia Dome to end the season would assure the Tigers of birth in the BCS Title Game.
2. Oregon Alabama jumped Southern Cal after an impressive performance against a ranked opponent, so I have no shame putting the Ducks ahead of LSU after the Tigers squeaked by Auburn on The Plains.
1. Alabama Still scary, still the best in the SEC, still the best in the country.