Smoking Musket Ballot - Week 10
Rank | Team | Delta |
---|---|---|
1 | LSU Tigers | -- |
2 | Alabama Crimson Tide | -- |
3 | Stanford Cardinal | 1 |
4 | Oklahoma St. Cowboys | -1 |
5 | Oregon Ducks | 3 |
6 | Oklahoma Sooners | 7 |
7 | Boise St. Broncos | -- |
8 | Nebraska Cornhuskers | 7 |
9 | Arkansas Razorbacks | -4 |
10 | Georgia Bulldogs | 8 |
11 | Penn St. Nittany Lions | 8 |
12 | South Carolina Gamecocks | -1 |
13 | Michigan St. Spartans | -4 |
14 | Clemson Tigers | -8 |
15 | Cincinnati Bearcats | 5 |
16 | Houston Cougars | 1 |
17 | Kansas St. Wildcats | -5 |
18 | Wisconsin Badgers | -8 |
19 | West Virginia Mountaineers | 5 |
20 | Virginia Cavaliers | -- |
21 | Virginia Tech Hokies | -7 |
22 | Texas Longhorns | -- |
23 | Michigan Wolverines | -- |
24 | Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets | -- |
25 | Ohio St. Buckeyes | -- |
Dropouts: Texas A&M Aggies, Arizona St. Sun Devils, USC Trojans, Auburn Tigers |
SB Nation BlogPoll College Football Top 25 Rankings "
Rationale and sloth after the jump
The calm before the storm: LSU and Alabama having the week off only adds to the expectations for this weekends match-up. No one did anything impressive enough to pass either one of them, obviously. Looking ahead, how far down do you move the loser this weekend? Like Ohio St. and Michigan a few years ago, what do you do if it's 41-38? It is incredibly possible that the loser of this game won't lose again. Outside of Boise St., I wouldn't be surprised if every other team in the top 10 loses at least one more game. We could be looking at a dilemma we haven't seen before with the BCS. Factor in an undefeated Boise and there's going to be some tough decisions made that will leave someone screwed...again.
These guys aren't so freaking bad: It's been hard to get a handle on Stanford this year. I'm pretty sure the USC game was only their second game against a team with a winning record. At least offensively, they seem to be hitting their stride at just the right time. I'm really starting to believe that Luck and the Stanford offense are good enough to make up for whatever shortcomings their defense has. So me having said that should prompt you to put all your money on whomever Stanford plays this weekend. I have that kind of touch.
One day, the Sloths will rule the world: I can't get over the slow crawl up the polls Penn St. and Georgia have made since early season losses. It's been nothing short of matriculus. Just good enough usually runs out sooner or later. But somehow, I think Vince Lombardi would be proud.
Can anyone be good? The ranked teams that played this past weekend mostly lost or just barely avoided an upset. Wisconsin seems to have fallen off the mojo wagon with a resounding thud. I'd put Virginia Tech in with Georgia and Penn St., but Duke? Things are just not clicking on offense for the Hokies. But things not clicking for ACC teams was a theme played out over and over on Saturday. Which seems to be the legacy of that football conference. Arkansas stumbling to a win two weeks in a row leaves me no other choice. Why did I move West Virginia up? The phrases I heard all week following the Syracuse game were along the lines of "no enthusiasm" and "no heart". Well, coming back against a team that was jacked with emotion in the worst playing conditions we've seen since the last time we played in New Jersey is all about heart. Can't blame anyone for no enthusiasm in that weather. But their efforts in the second half against a team that was used to winning showed a lot of desire.