2021 Couch Power 10, Week 1
What's that? College football is back? Yes, it's true. You might have missed it amidst a neverending pandemic, natural disasters, and celebrity pregnancy announcements, but it's almost Fall again, which means you can utter those sweet 5 words again: it's time for college football.
Week 1 of America's greatest regular season in sports and worst postseason in sports did not disappoint. With the return of fans filling the cathedrals of college football, we could have had a full weekend of 45-0 slogfests, and it still would have put a smile on my face. Instead, we were treated to a long holiday weekend of emotional storylines, dramatic overtime and comeback victories, huge upsets, near-upsets and all in all, 8 ranked teams losing. Not a shabby start!
Just a refresher, since it's been nary a year since you've heard from this ranking: 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. That being said, I'm gonna hit you with some familiar faces right off the top:
1. Alabama
Last season it became increasingly clear throughout the season that it was Alabama, then waaaay further down was everyone else. If Week 1 of the 2021 season is any indication, we may be in for the same exact story. Miami is perennially overrated, but this was still a talented team that returned a lot more experience than Alabama did, and yet the Tide, freshman QB and all, absolutely ripped the Hurricanes to shreds. The game was over by the end of the first quarter, and it looks like not only have Alabama not lost a step from their record-setting offense last season, they've revamped their defense as well. Yikes.
2. Georgia
In my opinion, the verdict is still out on Kirby Smart as an elite coach, but there's no denying how quickly he returned Georgia to the upper echelon of contenders, and for the first time since at least 2017, the Bulldogs might actually deserve the hype this year. The fact that Georgia's offense only scored 3 points in their opener against #3 Clemson might bring up the annual concerns about whether their offense is a liability, but considering JT Daniels and Zamir White are known assets at QB and WR, I think for now it's safe to assume that performance was more about Clemson's absurdly good defensive line. And how about that Dawgs defense? It was an absolutely suffocating display against an inexperienced but extremely talented Tigers offense, and that defense is likely to be the reason this probably won't be Georgia's last top 5 win this season.
3. Penn State
Penn State, like some of their Big Ten heavyweight counterparts, started last season miserably, but ended sneakily hot, winning their last 4 games to salvage a .500 season. The Nittany Lions continued that red-hot momentum into the 2021 season, with a huge, gritty upset on the road at #12 Wisconsin. The Badgers had come into the season as the Big Ten team not named Ohio State with the most hype, but in the epitome of a bend-but-don't-break performance, Penn State proved they might be the Buckeyes' chief competition in the conference.
4. Iowa
Or does that honor fall to Iowa? The case of the Hawkeyes is eerily parallel to that of Penn State. Iowa also finished 2020 red-hot after a catastrophic start, also opened their season against a conference opponent with a good amount of preseason buzz, and also put a resounding halt to that buzz with a victory over fellow Top 20 team Indiana. Iowa's win was actually much more resounding, as they completely demolished the Hoosiers to the tune of 34-6. They slot in just behind Penn State, though, because not only did they have home-field advantage, I'm more skeptical about whether Indiana's hype will prove to be justified than I am about Wisconsin's.
5. UCLA
Speaking of big upsets over teams who may not have warranted the hype...UCLA! I'm sure I'm not the only one who's a bit baffled why LSU, fresh off a 4-5 season, was ranked in the Top 15 preseason. But there's no denying the talent that still exists on the roster, and there's also no denying just how impressive UCLA was on both sides of the ball in their 38-27 romp in the Rose Bowl. Is this the year Chip Kelly finally puts it all together in L.A.?
6. Virginia Tech
Virginia Tech had to listen all preseason about how North Carolina were the challengers to Clemson's throne, and how their own coach was on the verge of getting fired. So naturally, they relished the opportunity to welcome the Top 10 Tar Heels to the season with a suffocating 17-10 defeat. Like Indiana, the jury will be out on whether UNC's hype from the 2020 season is warranted. And unlike any of the teams ranked ahead of them, the Hokies spent a good chunk of the game (the 2nd half in particular) being outplayed. But their quick start and domination on the lines of scrimmage were enough to get them a huge victory to kick off the season.
7. Texas
The Steve Sarkisian era at Texas couldn't have gotten off to a better start, with a dominant win over a ranked team. Sure, the ranked team was Louisiana-Lafayette, and no Texas fan in their right mind would expect to lose to Louisiana-Lafayette at home. But still, both units looked about as cohesive as a new coach could hope from their first game at the helm.
8. Texas A&M
Having accounted for all the teams with ranked victories in Week 1-- all the FBS ones, that is; apologies to Montana, whose stunning win over Washington would in an ideal world give them standing to make noise about crashing the College Football Playoff --we now reach the part of the Power 10 where we celebrate the heavily favored teams that demolished their competition as they were supposed to. This year more than ever, that is no small deal. And Texas A&M's opponent was no slouch either. Beating Kent State might not turn many heads, but beating the preseason MAC favorite 41-10 bodes well for the Aggies' high hopes this season.
9. USC
See above, but with San Jose State instead of Kent State. The Spartans are one year removed from a 7-0 seasons, and USC made them look foolish in a 30-7 romp.
10. Florida
ISee above, but with Florida Atlantic instead of San Jose State. The Owls came into as Conference USA co-favorites, but Florida, after a bit of a slow start, ended up beating them easily.
Just missed: Cincinnati, Ohio State, Oregon, Coastal Carolina, Utah, sophomore sensation Ja'Qurious Conley
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