The Couch Power 10, Week 6
- Daniel Woodiwiss
- 5 days ago
- 5 min read
As I mentioned in my review of the Saturday Night Live premiere yesterday, October is the month that feels like the college football season really ramps up. December is the postseason. November we tend to know most everything we need to know about the various teams, and now in the era of the expanded playoff, there's less urgency down the home stretch. September has plenty of fun games, but no team has found their final form yet. But October? October is when we start to see teams come into their own, the landscape of the postseason start to shift, the wheat start to separate from the chaff.
We got our first dose of that in the very first October weekend this season, both in the form of statement-making big games, and also in the form of some big upsets. If there was one disappointment from a wildly entertaining and chaotic Saturday, it was that the biggest games all pretty much ended up being busts. The 3 big "all-ranked" affairs of the weekend ended up to be relative snoozers: Texas A&M ran away from Mississippi State in the second half, as did Alabama from Vanderbilt in the 4th quarter (after a very entertaining and competitive first half), and in the primetime affair, Miami put Florida State to sleep before halftime. But plenty of drama could be found in the games involving a ranked team vs. unranked foes; Mississippi State and Vandy weren't the only teams to lose their first games of the season, as Virginia continued their dream start to the season with a thrilling overtime win over previously unbeaten Louisville. The number of Big 12 undefeateds were halved, too, with Houston comprehensively losing the Battle of the Unbeatens to Texas Tech, and Iowa State being stunned on the road at Cincinnati. And speaking of road stunners....the two biggest results of the day might also have been two of the most noteworthy results of the season thus far, as preseason #s 1 and 2 Texas and Penn State both suffered their second losses of the season in shocking fashion. The Longhorns were beaten comprehensively in the Swamp by the 1-3 Florida Gators, and simultaneously Penn State (one week removed from a near-victory over Oregon in the game of the season thus far) were blindsided in the Rose Bowl by previously winless UCLA, likely knocking the Nittany Lions out of the Big Ten race, and possibly out of the playoff picture altogether.
These are the days of college football splendor! Drink it up! Savor it!
Just a refresher, in case you forgot: 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. Ohio State
2. Miami
Ohio State and Miami have had very different seasons but I feel I have to address them both at the same time, here. Because the fact of the matter is, there's not a team in America now that has had a better start to the season than Miami has. Not even close. Florida State marked the 4th once-ranked opponent the Hurricanes have dispatched of this season, and since Notre Dame in the opener, no others have come remotely close to toppling them. Based on every metric from this season alone, Miami deserve to be the #1 team. But I don't know, it just doesn't sit right with me to bump Ohio State from their perch until there's ample reason to do so. One season's results do not beget the next season's, but the Buckeyes left no reason to believe they weren't the best team at the end of last season, and unless or until someone actually beats them this year, there's no reason to doubt they are still the best.
3. Oregon
Oregon picked a rough week to take a bye. Not only did a crazy weekend take all the attention off of their huge win the weekend prior while they rested, Penn State's immediate capitulation at UCLA put a real damper on their resumé to date as well. There's no question the Ducks have been one of the most impressive teams in the country to date, but it's also reasonable to ask just how good the competition they've faced to date is.
4. Ole Miss
Ole Miss enjoyed a bye week last weekend, giving them more time to celebrate their big win over LSU and lock in for this weekend's potential trap game against Washington State; a huge stretch in the last couple weeks of October awaits.
5. Texas A&M
They haven't had quite as many buzzy wins, and their style has generally been a lot less dominant, but A&M's start to the season really could only be matched by Miami. In fact, ESPN still has the Aggies with the # 1 strength of record in America, and it's no surprise why, given their dismissal (on the road) of Notre Dame and Auburn, and now a comprehensive win over previously unbeaten Mississippi State. A lot of football against a lot of good teams remains, but what a job Mike Elko is doing in College Station.
6. Indiana
Contrary to their next opponents, Indiana had a very well-timed bye week, as they enjoyed a chance to catch their breath from back-to-back clutch wins against Illinois and at Iowa, and prepare for the game of their season, a cross-country trip to Oregon. Win that one, and you can probably go ahead and pencil the Hoosiers into the playoff for a 2nd straight year.
7. Oklahoma
The good news? The bye week and lack of starting QB didn't seem to affect Oklahoma at all as they cruised to a 44-0 win over Kent State in their return to action. The bad news? Starting QB John Mateer is still questionable as the Sooners begin their murderers' row, which now kicks off against an archrival Texas that will be surprisingly fighting for their playoff lives. This next month will be a test of their mettle.
8. Texas Tech
Texas Tech had earned some preseason buzz as a Big 12 contender and early on very much looked the part, but didn't have a particularly stern test to fall back on. Well, enter back-to-back undefeated conference opponents Utah and Houston, who the Red Raiders dispatched of, each by 24 points. The conference is a minefield of tricky opponents, but there's no question Joey McGuire's crew is the toast of the Big 12 at the moment.
9. Missouri
Believe it or not, beating UMass by 36 does not by itself get you your first appearance in the Couch Power 10. However, a 5-0 record and a Top 15 strength of record per ESPN will do the trick. Quite the gamut awaits Mizzou, though, starting with a visit from Alabama this weekend.
10. Georgia Tech
Georgia Tech also enjoyed the weekend off, which was probably needed after the narrow escape at Wake Forest last week. A very clear path to 11-0 heading into the Georgia game awaits the Yellow Jackets, but they have to be able to keep their focus in these next several winnable games.
Just missed: Alabama, Georgia, BYU, Memphis, Arizona State, Ludacris concerts at 10 A.M.
The Playoff Picture according to The Couch:
(5) Texas A&M v (12) Memphis
(6) Indiana v (11) Alabama
(7) Oklahoma v (10) Georgia Tech
(8) Texas Tech v (9) Missouri
ROSE BOWL: (1) Ohio State v TT/MIZZ winner
ORANGE BOWL: (2) Miami v OU/GT winner
COTTON BOWL: (3) Oregon v IU/BAMA winner
SUGAR BOWL: (4) Ole Miss v A&M/MEM winner
Comments