Ahh the joys of finally getting exactly what you want from football. There were two things I was looking forward to happening this weekend:
- Georgia Tech beats Virginia (34-9)
- Clemson beats Miami (40-37; this was quite a game, btw)
Why the second, you ask? Am I a Miami hater? Have I developed a sudden love for the great state of South Carolina? Hardly. With Miami losing to Clemson, if Georgia Tech wins out, we have a clear path to the ACC title game (esp. w/ Wake Forest & Duke being our remaining opponents). Before Miami got its second loss, GT would have lost head-to-head in a tiebreaker. Not anymore.
That said, excitement and wish-fulfillment explain Georgia Tech's appearance in my Top 5, but, hey, I can be a little biased, right?
Additionally, I added Penn State to my Top 12 because, frankly, I thought they'd lose in Ann Arbor and they really, really thumped Michigan and looked good doing it, so they get ranked. Further, TCU's win at BYU more than confirms, for me, the fact that they are a legitimate Top 5 team: while TCU has always played great defense under Gary Patterson, Andy Dalton and that offense look really, really solid, as well.
I also dropped Houston & Central Michigan b/c, come on, what was I thinking? I think Utah & Oregon make more sense here, b/c both teams are legitimately capable of competing on a national stage (of course, Utah would need to hammer BYU for me to completely believe that; looks like I'll be watching The Holy War again this year).
One final note: despite being the better team, I don't think Alabama gets out of the season unbeaten. B/t LSU next week & Mississippi State the week after (in Starkville), I'm not sure they can pull it off, esp. after Monte Kiffin's Tennessee defense exposed their inability to move the ball w/o Mark Ingram getting big runs. While I think Mississippi State exposed the weaknesses of Florida on offense (& defense to some extent), I don't see any losses on their remaining schedule (until, maybe, Alabama in the SEC championship).
Here's my ballot this week:
Top Five:
- Alabama
- Cincinnati
- Iowa
- TCU
- Georgia Tech
Next Seven:
- Virginia Tech
- Texas
- Florida
- Utah
- Oregon
- Penn State
- Boise State