. . . because Collin's job depends on it.
In this space usually appears a snappy introduction, outlining some prefatory remarks before I hit the meat of the essay.
Well, there is no snappy introduction this week. Unless, of course, you count the prior two sentences as introductory.
Anyway . . . .
| Rank | Team | Delta |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ohio State | -- |
| 2 | Michigan | -- |
| 3 | West Virginia | -- |
| 4 | Texas |  2 |
| 5 | Auburn | -- |
| 6 | Louisville | 3 |
| 7 | Florida | 1 |
| 8 | Tennessee |  1 |
| 9 | California | 1 |
| 10 | Southern Cal | 6 |
| 11 | Arkansas | 4 |
| 12 | Notre Dame | 1 |
| 13 | LSU | 1 |
| 14 | Rutgers | -- |
| 15 | Wisconsin | 1 |
| 16 | Boise State | 1 |
| 17 | Oklahoma | 1 |
| 18 | Georgia Tech | 2 |
| 19 | Boston College | 2 |
| 20 | Texas A&M | 1 |
| 21 | Wake Forest | 2 |
| 22 | Washington State | 4 |
| 23 | Tulsa | 3 |
| 24 | Brigham Young | 2 |
| 25 | Clemson | 14 |
Dropped Out: Nebraska (#22), Missouri (#24), South Carolina (#25).
Notes & Commentary
- First, a brief note on the back-end of this ballot: it stinks. However, Oregon does not deserve to be ranked (I will not be swayed on this fact) and I can't think of another school -- with the mild exception of Pittsburgh -- that should have a number to the left of its name. And even Pittsburgh is pretty questionable.
- It seems like an incredible number of teams played freakishly tight games on Saturday. Whether this was the residue of just seeing good teams play poorly (such as Wisconsin) or actual indicia of significant chinks in a team's collective armor (Rutgers/Texas/Southern Cal), the actual cause is undeterminable at this time. Thus, there was little movement amongst teams that managed to win.
- This week's team to watch: Oklahoma. I also am very interested in whether Wake Forest is actually good or simply a placeholder for a spot between 20 and 25.
- Good bye, Missouri. Until the Tigers beat somebody in the next couple of weeks (or the back-end of the poll falls apart like every other week), Missouri is going to be on the outside looking in.
- Clemson takes a big drop, and deservedly so. And yes, I understand that ranking Clemson ahead of Virginia Tech smacks of indifference to Thursday night's blowout.
- Obviously this is a big shakedown weekend at the top of the ballot. I think West Virginia will win Thursday, and if they do, I may seriously consider moving Michigan and/or Ohio State back. It all depends on how the Mountaineers perform, I suppose.
Quit toying with my emotions Matt! Good or bad, I can't wait to get this game started and see where we stack up. I need a drink or seven.