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Let's talk polls. We now have some actual football under our belts and separation is starting to occur. Ha ha. No, it's not. It's all an illusion. We still don't know anything. As the ballots will quickly reveal.
Here's how all of the blogs collectively see it:
Results for Week 4
SB Nation BlogPoll College Football Rankings 2011
Capable commentary provided by Andy Hutchins. You'll note that Barking Carnival won a Homer Award mention for ranking Texas #18 instead of the BlogBorg's average #20. WE ARE OUT OF CONTROL! Actually, the real reason is that the deviations get pretty small once you get past the Arkansas and Nebraska homers.
Here's how I see it:
Barking Carnival Ballot - Week 4
| Rank | Team | Delta |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | LSU Tigers |
 1 |
| 2 | Alabama Crimson Tide |
 -1 |
| 3 | Oklahoma Sooners | -- |
| 4 | Boise St. Broncos |
1 |
| 5 | Wisconsin Badgers |
1 |
| 6 | Oklahoma St. Cowboys |
3 |
| 7 | Stanford Cardinal |
4 |
| 8 | Arkansas Razorbacks | -- |
| 9 | Florida St. Seminoles |
-5 |
| 10 | Texas A&M Aggies |
2 |
| 11 | Oregon Ducks |
3 |
| 12 | Nebraska Cornhuskers |
-2 |
| 13 | South Carolina Gamecocks | -- |
| 14 | South Florida Bulls |
2 |
| 15 | Virginia Tech Hokies |
-8 |
| 16 | West Virginia Mountaineers |
1 |
| 17 | Florida Gators |
1 |
| 18 | Texas Longhorns |
2 |
| 19 | USC Trojans | -- |
| 20 | Illinois Fighting Illini | -- |
| 21 | Michigan Wolverines | -- |
| 22 | Baylor Bears |
3 |
| 23 | Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets | -- |
| 24 | TCU Horned Frogs | -- |
| 25 | Houston Cougars |
-2 |
| Dropouts: Arizona St. Sun Devils, Tennessee Volunteers, Michigan St. Spartans, Central Florida Knights, Ohio St. Buckeyes | ||
SB Nation BlogPoll College Football Top 25 Rankings "
My primary bones of contention:
- LSU is my new #1 because they've beaten two solid to good football teams handily on the road and at a neutral site. They're also physical as hell. Now they play West Virginia and tackle a brutal SEC West schedule. Hats off to the Hat. LSU schedules like men.
- Oklahoma's win over FSU was good stuff, but you can't help but wonder if it revealed vulnerability (Landry's early performance wilt, OL play) as much as revealed OU's strength (defensive hitting, high quality of WRs).
- The BlogPoll, AP, and Coaches polls are all beguiled by Clemson for beating Auburn at home (Clemson rose 20 spots from last week's ranking in BlogPoll). I continue to have them unranked. First, as I've detailed, I don't think Auburn is all that good. They play zero defense. The Clemson Tigers are 3-0 with three home wins as follows: Troy (surged late), beat the dreaded Wofford Terriers by 8, and mediocre Auburn. I'll hold off on my crush for Clemson.
- If you counter my argument with "What about Baylor? Or "What about Texas?" I can only say...good point. Clemson is just very Clemsony. They reek of an embarrassing road loss just waiting to happen. Isn't that what Clemson IS?
- Everyone likes Nebraska and South Carolina more than I do. Nebraska's defense is surprisingly porous and South Carolina seems to struggle mightily with every opponent. I forgive all teams that struggle with Navy to some extent, but South Carolina REALLY struggled. They could have easily lost that game at home. They will ride a surprisingly forgiving SEC schedule to an inflated ranking for a few weeks longer.
- I ranked Houston out of sheer stubbornness though I dropped them two spots. Another weak performance, even in victory, will put them out of the top 25. Edging out Louisiana Tech? Really, Houston.
- I also severely punished Virginia Tech for its continued underachievement against a feeble schedule. The ACC feels like a giant confidence game. Virginia Tech has a real shot at building up a strong record on tomato cans, but a quality bowl opponent will provide an epic pantsing unless they can create some offensive focus. They have the tools. The offense just seems to operate with a natural governor on its speed. Governor Frank Beamer?
- Ranked Georgia Tech for the sheer wonder of a football team rushing for 600+ yards in a college football game. Poor Kansas.
Thoughts? Comments?