Week 6 reveals we have a new number one.
Also receiving votes: Auburn, Mississippi State, TCU, Florida State, all with 4 votes each. I could’ve put Auburn in as a 25 tied with these four, but I’m not ranking Auburn in top 25 of anything good.
Dropping out: Texas (11), Penn State (14), Florida State (16), Mississippi State (20)
Regarding the bonus question – which undefeated teams are most likely to appear in the national championship game:
Miami – 77%
Ohio State – 70%
Oregon – 40%
Ole Miss – 5%
Texas A&M – 4%
Oklahoma – 5%
Can Miami keep it going? How couldn’t they? They have a Charmin soft schedule for the rest of the season, get the ACC Championship against Tech or Virginia, and should get past those…but…but…growing rumor in South Beach is that Beck is back with the Cavinder twin…unleash the interceptions!
You guys have more faith in Miami than me. This is the coach that cost his team a game by not taking a knee last year against GT. Do we really trust him to make more important decisions as the pressure increases down the stretch?
I don’t, but that doesn’t mean they haven’t looked the best or one of the two best teams to date this season. They are good on both lines and have to most complete team/roster I have seen thus far.
Amazing what Beck can do when he has time to throw and receivers who catch the ball. I do think his personality fits in better in Coral Gables. I don’t think he was disliked by his teammates in Athens, but I do think he didn’t quite fit in as well as he does at Da U.
In interviews I’ve watched and what I have gathered from a few places/sources, it seems like Beck learned a lot and matured a good bit from last year’s results and injury induced introspection.
I also agree that having a decent Oline and receivers catch the ball go a long way toward team unity in general. Everyone, including us at GTP refugees, had to be frustrated with that last year. I am sure it created friction in the locker room.
Week by week, I am starting to believe that Miami is the best team in college football and that the national champion this year will come from the trio of Oregon, Ohio State and Miami. This Miami team is a different team. Last year’s defense was atrocious. This year’s defense is elite. Cam Ward did things that no other player in college could do, but he also did things that hurt his team from time to time and cost them games. Carson isn’t special like Ward but he is playing so incredibly efficiently. And both lines of scrimmage for Miami are dominant. The run game is very good. I despise the U, so I hope that Mario makes some bonehead decision that costs them, but right now they look like one of, if not the, best team in college football.
Looks likely the SEC will be shut out of the Natty for a 3rd straight season. Been a long time since that happened.
With our current team I’m not worried about the Natty, I’m worried about even getting in the playoffs.
I mean, anything is possible, and this isn’t exactly the SEC’s best year, but apart from Miami (who I would agree is at least currently playing like the best team in the country), all of these teams have some pretty glaring weaknesses. I hate that Oklahoma is in the SEC, but they’re a legitimately good team behind Mateer. More than trying to pick the best SEC team, though, I think it’s likely true that the BIGPAC75 teams at the top could easily lose to decent competition.
Any given Saturday, after all…
My belief that the SEC era of dominance is coming to an end is primarily due to the attrition suffered during the conference schedule. So many of these teams can rest starters for a half during about 8-9 games a season. This is simply not the case in our league. With everyone having big, fast and talented players the collisions incurred result in the chance of many more injuries over the course of the season. See UGA 2024. We couldn’t even field an OL by the ND game.
That’s a good point, and I hadn’t considered that in my response above…