Saturday Blitz
Fansided

AP Top 25 Poll: 25 thoughts on the Top 25 for Week 6

By Patrick Schmidt

facebooktwitterreddit

After four teams ranked in the top 10 lost in Week 5 the new AP Top 25 poll for Week 6 sees a lot of changes near the top.

Week 5 provided the best weekend of the college football so far this season after Ole Miss, Notre Dame, UCLA and Georgia lost as half the teams ranked in the top eight all suffered their first losses of the season.

More from Alabama Crimson Tide

Meanwhile, Florida, Clemson and Alabama had some of the most impressive wins of the weekend. The defending national champions and No. 1 Ohio State Buckeyes remained undefeated but it was far from impressive as they needed a fourth down stop in the final seconds to win at Indiana. There was some speculation they could drop from the top spot, but they remain No. 1, although the gap is closing with TCU and Baylor closing in.

With the new AP Top 25 released on Sunday afternoon, here are my rapid-fire thoughts on each team in this week’s poll.

1. Ohio State – Ezekiel Elliott is the best way to fix a Buckeye offense that hasn’t had much success with Cardale Jones at quarterback. Elliott had a career-high 275 yards, with more than 230 coming when they made him the focal point of the offense in the second half. Take the ball out of Jones’ hands who puts it in the hands of the opposing defense too much and into the belly of the Zeke.

2. TCU – Trevone Boykin – Josh Doctson is the most dangerous quarterback-receiver duo in the nation. The attrition on defense gives me concerns but against Baylor and Oklahoma they can win 56-52.

3. Baylor – Seth Russell to Corey Coleman and KD Cannon is the best quarterback and wide receiver duo in the nation. Plus, Shock Linwood is a candidate to go for 100 yards every game.

4. Michigan State – LJ Scott looks like the next great Spartans running back but how is Connor Cook only 13 of 19 for 139 yards and 1 TD vs Purdue?

5. Utah – Kyle Whittingham is one of the three most underrated head coaches every single year. Can’t wait to see what they do with GameDay in attendance this week.

6. Clemson – Protect Deshaun Watson and the Tigers are winning the ACC. Dabo Swinney is on the cusp of something special if the franchise quarterback can stay upright.

7. LSU – Leonard Fournette may win the Heisman, he may not, but he’s the best player in college football and it’s not too soon to think he’s an all-timer.

8. Alabama – Who was the underdog? Alabama destroyed Georgia in their place and Jake Coker played his best game of his career and a star is being born in true freshman (even though he’s 20) Calvin Ridley.

9. Texas A&M – Kyle Allen is going to lead the SEC in passing. I’ve said that all year. Christian Kirk is best freshman in the nation and could be the best receiver in the SEC.

10. Oklahoma – Sooners passed their second big test of the year with a comfortable win against West Virginia now get to feast on the rotting carcass of rival Texas and they could win 70-0. Release the hounds, Stoops.

11. Florida – Why can’t Florida win the SEC East? Will Grier came to life overnight with four touchdowns to four different receivers on 24 of 29 passing for 271 yards.

12. Florida State – Dalvin Cook‘s hamstring injury could make or break the Seminoles ACC title hopes. The defense is suffocating but Everett Golson can’t lead this offense without Cook.

13. Northwestern – Pat Fitzgerald is the Coach of the Year after five weeks. The Wildcats have the best defense in the Big Ten and one of the nation’s best. But big tests remain. Justin Jackson at RB is the truth.

14. Ole Miss – Where was the defense? The loss of Tony Conner to knee surgery hurt them more than most anticipated and Rebels need to get a resolution on Laremy Tunsil‘s status.

15. Notre Dame – Can’t shut the door on the Irish after they were a two-point conversion away from forcing overtime in Clemson. They have a schedule that will allow them to get back in the Playoff conversation, but playing perfect football with so many key injuries seems unlikely.

16. Stanford – I don’t trust this team to win the Pac-12 yet. I don’t know what Kevin Hogan I’m getting one game to the next. But I do think Christian McCaffrey is one of the best players in the country and they’re the Pac-12 North favorite.

17. USC – I don’t think USC loses again this regular season. I also should no better than to say that but it’s easy to look at the talent on the roster and get swept up with seeing players like Adoree Jackson and JuJu Smith-Schuster come in to their own at the same time. Cody Kessler has a run for the Heisman in him.

18. Michigan – Jim Harbaugh has this team playing much better than everyone thought. The defense is good enough to get Michigan 8 wins and it’s not a crazy thought to think they can upset Michigan State with average quarterback play.

19. Georgia – Quarterback questions loom for the Dawgs after Greyson Lambert was benched for Brice Ramsey in the blowout loss. Ramsey didn’t do any better, completing 1 of 6 passes with 2 interceptions. Nick Chubb broke Herschel Walker’s record with his 13th straight 100-yard game.

20. UCLA – Speaking of injuries, the Bruins defense was crippled by the injury bug and the loss of players like Myles Jack and Eddie Vanderdoes. Freshman quarterback Josh Rosen is going to have his growing pains and some freshman mistakes cost him in the 15-point loss to Arizona State. The Pac-12 South is wide open though.

21. Oklahoma State – I’m a firm believer in quarterback Mason Rudolph and he delivered in a big way in the two-point win against Kansas State with 437 yards and three touchdowns. Don’t be surprised when they upset one of either Baylor, TCU or Oklahoma this year.

22. Iowa – The Hawkeyes still haven’t allowed a rushing touchdown this year after and forced four turnovers while improving to 5-0 on the year in the 10-6 win against Wisconsin.

23. Cal – Jared Goff is playing like he wants to be the No. 1 pick in the 2016 NFL Draft. The junior quarterback was 33 of 45 passing for 391 yards and four touchdowns. If he can dominate at Utah next week you’ll start to hear more talk about him being in the Heisman conversation and the Bears as a real Pac-12 North contender

24. Toledo – Matt Campbell’s team looks like the team to beat in the MAC after improving to 4-0. Alabama transfer QB Phillip Ely looks comfortable under center and the rushing attack behind Damion Jones-Moore and Terry Swanson is among the three best in the MAC. But it’s the defense that has this team poised to win the MAC and in the top 25, leading the MAC in scoring defense.

25. Boise State – True freshman quarterback Brett Rypien has stepped in for the injured Ryan Finley and looks like the next superstar signal-caller for the Broncos and the defense is dominant, allowing an average of only 12.4 points per game.

Next: 50 Greatest College Football Rivalries of All-Time

More from Saturday Blitz

Home/Alabama Crimson Tide