The Couch Power 10, Week 2
Man, it's so good to have college football back. Am I wrong? It may inevitably end in the worst postseason in sports, but its regular season is probably the best in all of sports, in my humble opinion.
Even when the ingredients don't seem ripe for a fun week, college football delivers. Both weeks of the season thus far have had one mega-noteworthy game, and an otherwise fairly forgettable slate. But that mega-noteworthy game delivered in a big way, and as for the rest of the slate? We had Clemson and Tennessee both struggling with their FCS opponents into the 2nd half. We had North Carolina and local rivals Appalachian State locked in a wild, down-to-the-wire showdown for the second consecutive season and the 3rd time in 5 years. We had Carolina's "basketball blue blood" peers Duke, Kansas and Kentucky all winning to mark a combined 8-0 start. We had Coach Prime and Colorado putting on another exciting show (and further adding to Nebraska's misery). We had two ranked teams (Wisconsin and Texas A&M) losing to unranked opponents, and another (Utah) only avoiding the same fate with 2 touchdowns in the final 2 minutes. There's always fun to be had, which is a good reminder as we head into another weekend that on the surface seems like a dud. Isn't it a shame the NCAA tries their best to ruin this great sport with their bullshit?
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. Don't be mad cuz I'm doin' me better than you doin' you:
1. Texas
It's only been two weeks (for most teams), and the jury is out on whether this Alabama team pans out to be in the SEC and playoff discussion at the end of the season the way we're used to them being under Nick Saban. But Texas has thrown an early gauntlet down for the most impressive win of the regular season. It's not just that they beat Alabama (something they very nearly did last season)... it's the fact that they did it in Tuscaloosa, handing the Tide their first non-conference home loss in 16 years (!!). They also did so comprehensively. The Longhorns jumped all over Bama early, and though the Tide stuck around until late into the 4th quarter, Steve Sarkisian's crew never really relented. This was a straight-up, toe-to-toe road victory against the best program in the land.
2. Florida State
Florida State fans may grumble a little bit about how short-lived their hold on "most impressive win of the year" was. But the good news for the 'Noles is, their blowout of LSU does not look any less impressive after the Tigers put 72 up on Grambling State this weekend. More importantly, FSU took care of business themselves, pasting Southern Miss by 53 points.
3. Utah
A home win over a pretty mediocre Florida team and a narrow escape on the road against a pretty mediocre Baylor team won't earn Utah a ton of plaudits, I suppose. But it's hard to argue any team has had a more difficult opening slate than the Utes, and they had to face it without their veteran starting QB. It took some acts of Houdini to make it out of Waco with a W last week-- not to mention doing so in regulation --but many, if not most teams would not be 2-0 in Utah's situation right now.
4. Colorado
Colorado may have a bone to pick with me-- I mean, let's face it, they seem to have a bone to pick with everyone else --for not saying they've had the toughest opening slate of anyone, but I'm still giving the edge to Utah, because until I see evidence to the contrary, I'm going to keep believing Nebraska is trash. Still, the fact of the matter is the Buffaloes were not much better off than Nebraska themselves (if at all) last season. To follow up their road upset of TCU with a dominant victory over the Cornhuskers, in front of a packed Folsom Field? It's hard not to get excited about the Colorado turnaround.
5. Duke
Is Duke a football school? They followed up their program-defining win over Clemson with a dominant win over FCS Lafayette, and probably won't be tested again until Notre Dame comes to town in a couple weeks.
6. Miami
In a showdown between two of present-day college football's most disappointing programs (in terms of the "talent level/resources : results" ratio), it was Miami who got their biggest win to date under coach Mario Cristobal, and may have officially fired up the burners under Jimbo Fisher's seat in the process. Fisher has been under much scrutiny, and deservedly so, for not seeming to know what to do with the absurd amounts of talent he has had on his Texas A&M team the last couple seasons, but take nothing from Miami. It was a dominant win from the previously unranked Hurricanes, and it feels like it's been ages since we've seen them beat even a comparable team, let alone one that is arguably better.
7. Notre Dame
I'm not sure we'll look back at season's end and argue NC State was a big-time win for Notre Dame, but it certainly marked a serious jump in quality from their first two opponents. Especially factoring in the hostile road environment and long storm delays, it's no surprise it took a little while for the Fighting Irish to get going, but it was awfully impressive how easily Sam Hartman and co. pulled away in the 2nd half.
8. Washington State
It had been a tough week for Washington State, with the news that their conference was likely on the verge of crumbling, leaving Wazzu's athletics department likely to be forced to choose between being an independent or joining a mid-major conference. But the Cougars put that behind them and delivered a huge victory for their football program. They led wire-to-wire against Wisconsin in Pullman, and the win, coupled with their Week 1 blowout of Colorado State, suddenly launches them into the increasingly-crowded Pac-12 race.
9. Ole Miss
Historically, more often than not, a win over Tulane isn't much to write home about; certainly not when they're missing their starting quarterback. But this is a Tulane team who returned most starters from their Cotton Bowl-winning team last season, are still the favorites to again crash the New Year's Six party, and had the Rebels at home in New Orleans. That the Lane Train was able to leave New Orleans unscathed was key, as it sets up for a very tasty date with Alabama in a couple weeks.
10. Oregon
Soooo Texas Tech presented slightly more of a challenge than Oregon's 81-7 victory over Portland State in Week 1. I guess that was to be expected anyway, not the least because the game was in Lubbock, and the Red Raiders were eager to get back on track after a stunning loss to Wyoming to open the season. That the Ducks were able to come out of the back-and-forth game with a key non-conference win on the road bodes well for the grind of their season. That it was this competitive, though, serves as a reminder of how thin the margin is when you play in the Pac-12, especially in a season as loaded as this one is.
Just missed: USC, Cincinnati, Washington, North Carolina, Wyoming, Tez Walker
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