2019 Couch Power 10, Week 4
This time last week, I wrote about a fairly pedestrian slate of college football games. This time next week, barring any major upsets, I'll likely be doing the same, as Saturday sees only two matchups between ranked teams, with only one Top 10 team involved. However, sandwiched between those gamedays was last weekend, which was the first real "Separation Saturday" of the season. Such is the nature of this sport.
Yes, the madness started last weekend before we even got to Separation Saturday, as USC upset Pac-12 flavors of the week Utah on Friday night in L.A., despite gaining less yards and committing more turnovers. The next day, SEVEN ranked teams lost, four of them to unranked teams! New kids on the AP Poll block Arizona State and TCU were quickly ushered right back out, as they lost at home to Colorado and SMU, respectively. Washington State, you might have heard, blew a 32-point lead to previously winless UCLA. And, sadly, 2018 National Champions UCF's remarkable 26-game regular season win streak came to a close, ending with a trick play in Pittsburgh. Meanwhile, the College Gameday's incredible streak continued, with yet ANOTHER exciting, down-to-the-wire affair in Athens. Somewhere in that wild day, Appalachian State beat their first Power 5 opponent in 12 years but hahahahaha we don't need to talk about that!!! The point is, there was a lot of movement and a lot of excitement near the top of the rankings for the first time all year.
Just a reminder, as you are preparing to shout "Daniel, it's been 4 WEEKS and you're STILL sleeping on [insert undefeated team]!!!!" , this is not a statement on who I think have the most talent and quality, or on who I think will be/deserves to be in the playoff at the end of the year. Rather, it's more of a "What if preseason rankings and bigwig bias didn't predetermine the top teams" kind of thing, an ideal ranking of the country's teams based on what they've proved on the field.
1a. Clemson
1b. Alabama
That being said, the Saban-Dabo Rule dictates that until Clemson and Alabama lose and/or give us reeeeeeeeally good reason to drop them from the joint top spot, we're keeping them here. Why? Because drawing from every year since 2014, we're working off the assumption that it doesn't really matter how these teams look during the regular season. Alabama and Clemson will make the playoff, and one of them will win the title.
Nothing happened in Week 4 to change the status of these two teams. They both sleepwalked to 90-point victories over Charlotte and Southern Miss, respectively. It's a shame Clemson's 19-game winning streak will come to an end next week...
3. Auburn
Auburn is far from the flashiest team in the SEC, and there's no reason to think they can go the distance. They currently have 3 rivals alone that are ranked ahead of them. They're starting a true freshman quarterback. They haven't put together two consistent halves against a quality opponent so far. And yet- here the Tigers sit at 4-0, with two terrific wins: the season-opening comeback against Oregon, and now a road win at Texas A&M. They still play a remarkable FOUR games against current Top 10 sides, but they've gotten two of their five most difficult games out of the way, and have an unblemished record. Keep sleepin' on 'em.
4. Wisconsin
Bad news: Wisconsin finally conceded points. The good news: they pitched a shutout for nearly 11 quarters, and they've outscored South Florida, Central Michigan, and previously-Top 10 Michigan 145-14. That's an average scoreline of 48-5 against FBS opponents, for those keeping score at home. And sure, was Michigan a tad overrated? It seems likely, and it's one reason why they had yet to crack the Couch Power 10. But don't be fooled: Wisconsin is for real. As in "they might actually make the Big Ten Championship vs. Ohio State interesting" for real.
5. LSU
All LSU did this week was drop 66 points on opponents Vanderbilt, becoming just the 3rd SEC team in history to score 65+ in consecutive weeks. The Tigers don't drop in these rankings as a result of doing anything wrong; rather, they're a victim of Auburn and Wisconsin's ever-so-slightly superior body of work. Make no mistake, though, these Tigers are different. After years of miring through futile offenses, they have themselves a quarterback, playing at a Heisman level.
6. Georgia
Georgia got the win in the biggest game of the weekend, besting #7 Notre Dame, but it was not easy. The Dawgs proved their toughness by making adjustments at the break to largely dominate Notre Dame in the 2nd half, but also might have showed the Auburns and Alabamas of the World their weaknesses, allowing the Irish to move the ball quickly on them, both in the first half and at the end of the game.
7. Ohio State
Justin Fields and Ohio State continued their ridiculous beatdown tour with a 71-point win over Miami (Ohio). Yes. 71-point win. I think everyone is ready to see how they match up to an opponent somewhere in the same galaxy of the talent the Buckeyes have.
8. Oklahoma
Jalen Hurts and Oklahoma got a bye week to take a break from their ridiculous beatdown tour. I think everyone is ready to see how they match up to an opponent somewhere in the same galaxy of the talent the Sooners have.
9. Boise State
UCF's loss to Pittsburgh wasn't just a loss for the greater Orlando area. It was a loss for all supporters of having a smaller program crash the playoff party. Now, the eyes of a weary nation of Group of Five fans turn to a familiar face: Boise State, who was UCF before UCF was UCF. The Broncos have had a stellar start to the season, rallying to stun Florida State in Tallahassee, and since then, grinding out tough games against likely bowl teams in Marshall and now Air Force.
10. California
Welcome back to the Power 10, Cal! I briefly kicked the Golden Bears out last week, due to them keeping North Texas around in an ultimately close game. Upon further reflection, and amidst another impressive Cal road win (this one at Ole Miss and with the aid of some strange end-of-game officiating), I realized I was being harsh. North Texas is a decent team, and Cal kept them scoreless until the 4th quarter. The Bears still have that road win against Washington, who proved their mettle by destroying a motivated, and momentum-possessing BYU team. And you know what? Cal is unbeaten, which is something that no other Pac-12 team can say. West Coast, beware!
Just missed: Iowa, Florida, Kansas State, SMU, Wake Forest, human wrecking ball Javonte Williams