Top dogs LSU and California were upset over the
weekend so now there are only 6 undefeated teams left: Ohio State,
South Florida, Boston College, Arizona State, Kansas and Hawaii.
Three
weeks ago there were 23 undefeated teams, now 17 of them have come up
sucking pond water on their way to a national championship. It is
possible that several of those teams with only one loss could win the
national championship when it is all said and done.
Trust me when
I say that 5 of the 6 teams left undefeated are in rarified air, only
Ohio State is used to being in the hunt for the national championship.
The Buckeyes hosted and dispatched a weak Kent State team 48-3 on
Saturday. Keep in mind that Ohio State's 7-0 mark comes playing the
72nd weakest schedule among Division I teams. They do have a defense,
but they have not played the best competition.
South Florida
extended its record to 6-0 by easily beating Central Florida 64-12. At
least the Bulls have played the 31st most difficult schedule among all
242 Division 1-A and 1-AA teams.
Boston College went 7-0 by
downing a pathetic 1-6 Notre Dame Fighting Irish squad 27-14. The
Eagles may look and sound like a big deal, but given the fact that they
have the 79th toughest schedule they probably are not. At least Notre
Dame has played some competition; its strength of schedule is currently
No. 2 nationally. Arizona State was trailing Washington 17-13 at the
half, but the Huskies collapsed again in the 3rd quarter giving the Sun
Devils 21 points as Arizona State went on to win 44-20.
Arizona
State has played the 54th toughest schedule; the Huskies (now 2-4) have
played the toughest schedule in the country for the past 4 weeks.
Nonetheless, first year Coach Dennis Erickson stretches his record to
7-0. Kansas took care of the woefully weak Baylor Bears 58-10, but the
Jayhawks 6-0 mark has come from playing the 126th toughest schedule.
Remember that there are only 119 Division 1-A teams.
That leaves
Hawaii as the last undefeated team at 7-0. The Warriors beat San Jose
State 42-35 in overtime. Hawaii's strength of schedule is 149th among
119 Division 1-A schools. San Jose State's schedule strength is 52nd
nationally which might explain why the Warriors were probably lucky to
win in OT.
I believe that South Florida (31st toughest schedule)
and Arizona State (54th toughest) have the best chance of continuing
undefeated. When Boston College, Kansas and Hawaii start playing
someone worth talking about, they are going to have their hands full.
Boston College plays only 1 of the current AP Top 25 teams in its last
5 games. Kansas plays only 1 (Missouri) and Hawaii plays none. Hawaii's
toughest competition appears to be 5-1 Boise State.
The Cowboys
nipped (and I do mean nipped) Nevada 69-67 Sunday night in what I would
not even consider a football game. Sure, it was exciting, but get
serious, this is WAC (as in wacky) football at its best, all offense
and no defense. Both defenses on the field were all but irrelevant. The
combined 136 points in this Western Athletic Conference game tied the
all-time NCAA record for the most points scored in a game. Call it WAC
pride.
So who upset LSU? Kentucky won 43-37 in the 3rd overtime
playing at home. Up till now, LSU appeared to have one of the best
defenses in the country. The Cal Bears lost at home to Oregon State,
31-28.
The AP Top 25 Poll late Sunday showed Ohio State No. 1,
South Florida No. 2, Boston College No. 3, Arizona State No. 12, Kansas
No. 15 and Hawaii No. 17.
So who is rising in the AP Poll? Ohio
State, South Florida, Boston College, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Oregon,
Kentucky, Virginia Tech, Arizona State, Kansas, Auburn, Texas,
Tennessee, Georgia, Texas Tech, Michigan and Kansas State. Many of the
teams that are back on the rise now were there earlier and dropped
lower in the poll or out of the poll. This reflects parity and the
overall weakness of the teams involved.
So who is dropping? LSU,
West Virginia, California, USC, Florida, Missouri, Hawaii and
Cincinnati. The top 5 teams that I believe are not overrated are Ohio
State, South Florida, South Carolina, Oregon and Arizona State. I am
not as impressed with the rest despite their record, and where they are
ranked.
Copyright © 2007 Ed Bagley
Ed
Bagley's Blog Publishes Original Articles with Analysis and Commentary
on 5 Subjects: Sports, Movie Reviews, Lessons in Life, Jobs and
Careers, and Internet Marketing. My intention is to inform, educate,
delight and motivate you the reader.
Read my articles on "How to
Predict When Teams Are Overrated and Due for an Unexpected Loss", "The
Sagarin Ratings: What They Are, How to Read Them and What to Do With
Them" and my 14 consecutive weekly wrap-up articles on the 2007 College
Football Season.
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