2020 Couch Power 10, Week 4
Well, in case you've been living underneath a rock, this is the weekend we finally get Big Ten football back. I understand there are some heavy hitters in the Big Ten, and I am as excited as anyone that more teams are jumping into this college football season, but there sure has been a lot of hype about the restart of a conference that has a 2-4 record in six years of the College Football Playoff.
The last weekend before the Big Ten teams decided to throw themselves into the fray was, well, a fray. Just about every edition of the Power 10 has remarked on some wild turn of events in this college football season, and this one will be no different. 5 more ranked teams suffered losses this week, and though that total number may be lower than weeks prior, consider this: 4 of those 5 losses were to unranked teams, and 3 of those 5 were teams dropping their first L of the season. And the sole game between ranked teams this past weekend? Not just any old ranked matchup. #2 faced #3 as Alabama played host to fellow unbeaten SEC foes Georgia, and edged them out in a thriller.
I would be remiss if I didn't acknowledge that one of the chaos' victims were my beloved Tar Heels. I appreciate your thoughts and prayers. It was inevitable, but that doesn't make it hurt any less.
Just a reminder that this is not a definitive ranking on how good the teams are, 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 actually proved on the field to date:
1. Clemson
One might wonder why this spot is not reserved for fellow unbeaten Alabama, who just offed the team that previously held The Couch's #1 spot? With the Tide also owning a win over current Top 10 team Texas A&M, there can be no question Clemson's resumé to date does not match up. But the eye test does still play a factor here, friends; Alabama deserves all the credit in the world for beating a very good team in Georgia, but they were favored to do so, and still managed to make a mediocre offense look better-than-mediocre in the process. Clemson, meanwhile, set an ACC record for margin of victory against a team that had spent most of the 2020 season being surprisingly better than expected. So, am I saying that beating Georgia Tech is as impressive as beating Georgia? Absolutely not. Am I saying that beating Georgia Tech on the road by 67 points is as impressive as beating Georgia at home by 10? I am.
2. Alabama
I spent most of the above ranking explaining why Alabama is ranked here and not #1. But if Clemson is a clear #1 team, Alabama is very clearly the next team in line. Their defense is still considerably more leaky than we've become accustomed to from Nick Saban's teams. But their offense hasn't missed a step in life after Tua Tagovailoa, and as we saw this past weekend, that is good enough to beat just about anybody.
3. BYU
One week after their most unimpressive showing to date, BYU got back to doing what they do best: dominating a thoroughly decent football team. Their surprisingly comfortable road win over Houston, coupled with some high-ranking losing tams, makes the Cougars a no-brainer at the #3 spot.
4. SMU
SMU's overtime win over Tulane was not the most convincing, but hey, gutting out a tough road win over a decent team is what good teams do. Lest you think it's a fluke the Mustangs come in at #4 in these rankings, a 5-0 record with a nicely-aging win over Memphis would beg to differ.
5. Coastal Carolina
That terrible thing above is a "chanticleer," apparently, and I won't blame you if you've never seen one before. Not only have the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers never even sniffed the Couch Power 10 before this week, they've only played Division 1 Football for three years. But in the wake of their road upset over previous Couch Top 5 team Louisiana-Lafayette, Coastal is now 4-0 with other wins including an upset of Kansas and a blowout win over Arkansas State, who had previously upset Kansas State. Laugh all you want about this ranking, but that's a legitimately solid body of work.
6. Oklahoma State
Oklahoma State's game against Baylor got called off due to positive COVID-19 tests, but at the risk of sounding insensitive, the Cowboys are continuing to look good by just not playing. It's been over two weeks since their blowout win over Kansas, but in that time, many teams' losses have left them the sole undefeated team in the Big 12, and one of just four unbeaten active Power 5 teams.
7. Marshall
Marshall was another team that saw an unintentionally long layoff after their big win, in their case having three weeks between their upset of Appalachian State and their next game. However, they have since returned to play, and have not missed a beat. The Herd's two big road wins over Western Kentucky and Louisiana Tech, two teams that have been annual Conference USA contenders, show that they're likely the team to beat in the conference but also a potential New Year's Six contender.
8. Notre Dame
Speaking subjectively, one good thing about North Carolina's upset loss is that perhaps the media will focus their attention on a different overrated ACC team now? The Gameday crew and commentators alike took a whole lot of pleasure in constantly discussing the fact that Carolina had somewhat lucked into a Top 5 ranking, but weren't actually a Top 5 team, and while that was true, not once has the same been said about Notre Dame, the apparent contenders for Clemson's throne. The Irish deserve a little credit for staying unbeaten, a feat that is already proving hard in this young season. But other than a 59-point massacre of a terrible South Florida team, their resumé consists of three very competitive wins over Duke, Florida State, and Louisville, arguably the three worst teams in the conference.
9. Cincinnati
Yet another team that has felt the effect of a long COVID-induced break, Cincinnati's game at Tulsa last weekend got scrapped, meaning the Bearcats will be entering their AAC battle royale against SMU three weeks removed from their last game. Cincy is still right where they want to be, at 3-0, but will be hoping to quickly shake off any rust against the best opponent they've played to date.
10. Georgia
For the first time in 2020, a team with a loss on their record crashes the Couch Power 10. Honestly, Georgia should feel lucky that I'm not including any teams that are yet to play. I know that probably sounds harsh for a team that has only lost to Alabama, and don't worry, I don't suddenly think the Dawgs are a bad team. But that futile 2nd half against Bama, and the shock losses by both of their signature wins (Auburn and Tennessee) do have me questioning just how good this side actually is.
Just missed: Texas A&M, Florida, Miami, Iowa State, North Carolina, whatever the polar opposite of North Carolina's special teams is
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