Garnet and Cocky’s College Football Top 25 poll
Sept 27, 2012; Seattle, WA, USA; Washington Huskies tight end Austin Seferian Jenkins (88) celebrates a 17-13 upset victory over the Stanford Cardinal at CenturyLink Field. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-US PRESSWIRE
At Garnet and Cocky, we like to put out one of the earliest college football top 25 polls around. We also like to rank some teams higher than most publications out there.
This week is no different.
25. Ohio That’s right. No Nebraska, no Cincinatti, no Iowa State, Texas Tech or UCLA. I’ve got the undefeated Ohio Bobcats in my top 25, and I expect them to stay there the entire season. These guys get no love, even though they brought back almost everyone from a 10 win team last year. Their biggest win of the year will probably be their week one triumph over Penn State, but it’s the whole season that counts, and this could be one of the only undefeated teams of 2012.
24. Stanford Some people might have them out of the top 25 after a loss like theirs to Washington. I still think they’re a good team, though, and a win against Southern Cal goes a long way in my book.
23. Washington I debated leaving them out, but their only loss was at LSU. Knocking off No. 8 Stanford Should put them in the top 25.
22. Texas A&M The Aggies only loss is against a very good Florida team, and while they haven’t really played any good team except the Gators, they’re seventh in points for, and eighth in points against. That, my friends, is a recipe for success.
21. Mississippi State The Bulldogs were off this week, and they face two beatable opponents starting next weekend; Kentucky, and Tennessee. Then comes a reality check. They play Alabama on October 27th.
20. Northwestern They just beat Indiana by 15, and they don’t play a tough opponent for another two weeks. This could be the team that represents the Big10 in the Rose Bowl this year.
19. Rutgers The Scarlet Knights were off this weekend. They’ll take on UCONN next weekend in the Huskies Big East opener.
18. Oregon State I knew this team was good three weeks ago when I was one of the only people to put them in the top 25. This week, they proved they can win close games against desperate teams, knocking off Arizona 38-35.
17. Southern California The Trojans got an off-week, and tavel to Utah to face the Utes on Thursday night this week.
16. Louisville How long will it take the Big East to crack the top 15? Well, if the Cardinals keep on winning, it could happen soon. They barely got by Southern Miss, but their BCS Bowl hopes are still alive.
15. Ohio State I’ve picked many teams to be the best in the Big 10 this year, but it looks like that conference’s number one team is also the only team in the conference that the NCAA won’t let play in the post season.
14. Clemson They had a lot of trouble with Boston College, but they got the job done, and with some help, they can still make it to the ACC Championship Game.
13. Oklahoma The Sooners got an extra week to sit around and steam over their loss to Kansas State. They’ll try to explode on Texas Tech next weekend.
12. TCU Wouldn’t you know it? The Horned frogs barely beat SMU on Saturday, in a game that should’ve been won by two or three touchdowns.
11. Texas The Longhorns, like a lot of top 25 teams this week, played a close game against an opponent who really had no business hanging around with them.
10. Notre Dame They were off this week, but next weekend the Miami Hurricanes come calling.
9. Florida The Gators got a bye this week, and they needed it. Next weekend they play LSU at home.
8. Kansas State The Wildcats got a well deserved bye-week after knocking off Oklahoma. Their next two games are against Kansas and Iowa State. Then they get West Virginia on the road in what could be a top 10 battle.
7. West Virginia A lot of people are going to want to see them jump teams ahead of them in the polls after their performance at home against Baylor. Why? Because they almost lost to a middle of the road Big 12 team at home? All that game proved to me is that Geno Smith is the Heisman front runner, and teams like Texas and Oklahoma can beat the Mountaineers if they play just a tiny bit of defense.
6. Florida State Another top 10 team (top 5 in the AP), another close game with bad opponent. Sure, their game against South Florida was on the road, but half the lower deck was full of Seminole fans.
5. Georgia Another team who played a bad game against an inferior opponent. Georgia had big leads on Tennessee in the first and second halves of that game in Athens. Still, the contest wasn’t secure in UGA’s favor until Tyler Bray coughed one up with a minute left around the Bulldogs 30 yard line. The Dawgs’ win, coupled with SC’s come-from-behind blowout of Kentucky, assured a trip to Columbia, SC for ESPN’s College GameDay.
4. Gamecocks After a terrible start that had some Gamecock fans scrambling to find a speakeasy at one Kentucky’s new booze-free tailgate zones, Carolina destroyed the Wildcats in the second half, winning the game by three touchdowns (and still covering some spreads depending on which book you look at). I’ve said it all year, and I’ll say it again after UGA’s near loss at home to Tennessee: The Bulldogs haven’t beaten South Carolina in two years, and I won’t put them ahead of the Gamecocks in the rankings until they do.
3. LSU Did they really just beat Towson by 16 points? The same Towson team that, instead of letting that Kent State guy run into his own endzone on the craziest punt return I’ve ever seen, tackled him? After looking like world beaters in the young season a few weeks ago, LSU has showed us all they’re a football team made up of human beings.
2. Oregon It wasn’t a shutout performance, but unlike many top teams, the Ducks didn’t falter against weaker competition.
1. Alabama They just played their sloppiest game of the year against one of the worst teams they’ve played this season. If you’ve read from the top down, I think you’ve noticed a trend by now.