Since we're mostly clear of all the OOC games (aside from a few cupcakes for SEC, Pac 12, and Big 12) so here's my rankings after the end of September.
1. LSU - Still think Alabama's better, but 3 wins against WVU, Miss. St (even though they seem very flawed now) and Oregon is more impressive then anyone else. The game against Bama will be the SEC West Championship Game, for sure.
2. Alabama - Have looked equally impressive, capping it off with a dominating performance against a better-then-they-looked Arkansas team. I wouldn't be surprised if the game against LSU was a 13-10 type affair.
3. Oklahoma - These guys, unlike the first two teams, have a passing offense that, as expected, has lit up most of their competition. Plus, holding EJ Manuel and Florida State to 13 points at Florida State was impressive.
4. Boise State - I might take them over any other team in the country in a one game scenario with Kellen Moore under center, but the Georgia win would've looked better if they pulled off the win against South Carolina. This is probably their ceiling until the other teams drop.
5. Stanford - Andrew Luck has played as well as expected, although their toughest test has been Arizona (which, if you haven't heard, isn't all that good). Their schedule looks very, very manageable as well, with no Arizona State as Crossover and Oregon coming to Stanford.
6. Wisconsin - Russell Wilson has given the Badgers the playmaking threat and talent that they expected when he got here. However they, like Stanford, haven't faced a stern test yet, which will change next week against Nebraska.
7. Oklahoma State - Beating Texas A&M in college station is no joke, even though the Aggies screwed themselves over with all of the turnovers they had in the 2nd half. Brandon Weeden to Justin Blackmon has been just as effective as last year, as well.
8. Nebraska - They have had some issues defensively (mainly Fresno State hanging 20+ on them) but they are still undefeated now will be able to show how good they really are with Big 10 play starting up this week.
9. Oregon - I know they looked bad against LSU Week One, but this offenses will still be in the upper echelon this season with LaMichael James and Darron Thomas at the helm. The showdown against Stanford will be for the Pac-12 North crown, for sure.
10. South Carolina - Cocky rounds out the top ten with Marcus Lattimore leading the way. Stephen Garcia is quite the enigma, though, and I'd be surprised if the Ol' Ballcoach has any confidence with him. Their D-Line as well is crazy good.
11. Virginia Tech - The Hokies, like some others, have fed up on weak OOC competition, but have done what they're supposed to do and have won all of them. It will be interesting to see how they fare against what appears to be their biggest divisional competition - the triple option Yellow Jackets.
12. Georgia Tech - So yes, I have the Yellow Jackets right behind their divisonal rivals, just because the triple option is clicking like it was when they won teh ACC two years ago. Tevin Washington has been accurate with the deep ball and its one of the main reasons why these guys are 4-0 for the first time since 1990.
13. Florida - This team also hasn't shown much, but they are 2-0 in SEC play (granted, those wins were over Tennessee and Kentucky, but it's still two). Will Muschamp has a lot of talent that he can work with, starting with RB Chris Rainey, and will no doubt be the Gamecocks toughest test in the SEC East.
14. Texas A&M - They did, indeed, blow it against Oklahoma State yesterday. The game had all of the makings for them taking the reigns and getting the first lead in the Big 12, but they shot themselves in the foot constantly in that 3rd quarter. Are now the 3rd horse in a 3 team race, and will have to pull an upset on OU to keep their hopes alive.
15. Clemson - The Tigers have really made a name for themselves over these last two weeks, picking up an upset win over SEC foe Auburn and an upset over ACC favorite Florida State. Tajh Boyd has played big in both of these games and with the talent hotbed that they're in they might be finally playing to their potential.
16. South Florida - BJ Daniels and crew have reeled off 4 straight wins to start the season, with none of them being against top competition after their week 1 win against ND. Still, they and WVU appear to be the class of the Big East and should be the teams fighting for the BCS spot at the end of the season.
17. Baylor - I'd put money on RGIII being the best dual threat QB in the nation, and he could carry this team on his back for an 8 or 9 win season, which no doubt would be a huge success when you consider most people think they're the fourth or fifth best team in their own STATE.
18. West Virginia - They hurt themselves with mental mistakes last night against LSU, and when you make as many mistakes as they did against a top 5 team in LSU, you're chances of winning are very, very low. Geno Smith still should have no problem lighting up the Big East, and I'd still tab them as my favorites in the league, despite having them below South Florida.
19. Illinois - Somewhat of a dropoff here between the top 2 teams in the Big ten and #3. I don't think the Fightin' Illini are the 3rd best team in the conference, mind you, but out of the teams involved in that discussion (MSU, UM, OSU, Iowa) they have the best win (vs. Arizona State) and still have a perfect record, which 3 of the 4 don't have. I don't think they'll maintain this spot, but from what we've seen, the Zookers are on track to go bowling for back to back season.
20. Arkansas - Probably a little bit too big of a dropoff for a team they did get beaten by one of the three best teams in the nation, but they put up only a few jabs before the Crimson Tide hit them with the knockout punch early and often. They still have an offense to be dynamic, but there appears to be a steep step between them and the top 2 in the division.
21. Arizona State - Yes, they lost to Illinois, but it was in Champaign and they did just dominate a pretty solid USC team. Brock Osweiller is leading the best team in their division and I'd be absolutely shocked if they weren't the ones fighting Oregon or Stanford for the Pac 12 championship.
22. Florida State - Two straight losses in games where they were supposed to show they were back have hurt their ranking. While they did limit the OU offense for the most part, losing a key ACC matchup against Clemson is never good. They're gonna be playing catch up for quite some time now.
23. Michigan - The Wolverines still have many question marks, but they have beaten everyone on their schedule so far, 3 of them quite handily and one with late heroics. However, now going on the road, it will be interesting to see how this team plays. They have Northwestern and MSU coming up on the road (after Minnesota this week), which will be true tests to see how they stack in the Big 10. Like Illinois, i don't think they'll stay, but they've beaten who they've been thrown at so far.
24. Texas - I don't wanna say the Longhorns are back, because I don't think they're better then the 5th or 6th team in the conference right now, but they do have Garrett Gilbert out of there (he wasn't good) and have rekindled the McCoy to Shipley combination, just with Colt and Justin's younger brothers, respectively. They'll have to rely on the defense to win many of their games, though.
25. Michigan State - Homer alert, I know. They lost their only test, on the road against ND, and have filled up on cupcakes since, but this team still has a strong defense (who really shouldn't be blamed for all 31, since 7 were on KO return and NDs FG was off a long INT return). They may have to rely on that to win them some games, because their offensive line is still a question mark, but I think Le'Veon Bell should be getting slightly more carries then Baker for now, because he's a bruiser and can shed some arm tackles and take slight pressure off the line. I still like Baker, and he could get going in the big ten play since he hasn't had a boatload of carries and should be relatively fresh, but Bell can punch it inside the 10 and has breakaway speed. This team will have to show up this next month if they wanna take seriously in the Big 10, with a stretch of games looking like - @OSU, vs. UM, vs. UW, @ Nebraska. The Big 10 schedule makers didn't do them much help, but there is a bye in between those games and I don't think 3-1 is unrealistic, should the run game produce.
