A new set of college football polls have arrived, and with them comes the usual griping about who’s overrated and who’s underrated. After a week that saw a few top 25 teams put in quality performances — and a few others significantly underwhelm — there’s more than ever to try to make sense of.
Here’s a list of 10 questionable items spotted in this week’s set of polls, both from the writers and the coaches.
AP voters did too much for Florida
It would be a stretch to call Florida’s 27-20 victory over Tennessee impressive. The Hail Mary that won them the game certainly was, but it was a season-defining highlight in a game that otherwise saw neither team look particularly impressive. Nevertheless, both the AP and Coaches polls gave Florida a pretty good jump; the AP, in particular, lifted them four spots to No. 20. That’s too high — the coaches have them at a more reasonable 22. But when you take into account their loss to Michigan, it’s just not a team that has really set the world alight.
Coaches are too high on South Florida for now
Ranking the Group of Five is always a challenge, especially when the team you’re trying to place lacks a signature win against a really talented team. That is where South Florida sits. They may end up being the best team to come out of the Group of Five this season, but so far, their three wins have come against San Jose State, Stony Brook, and Illinois. None of those wins are particularly impressive, and the Bulls only managed to top Stony Brook by two touchdowns. Nevertheless, the coaches jumped them four spots to No. 17 this week. The AP has them at a more reasonable 21. They deserve to be ranked, but not quite in the top 20 yet.
Coaches need to give Oklahoma State more love
Oklahoma State isn’t easy to rank — they lack any real quality wins, but they’ve eviscerated everyone in their path, which should count for something. The AP lifted them up to No. 6 on the strength of their latest win, a 59-21 victory over Pitt, jumping them over Washington. The coaches, however, keep them behind the Huskies at No. 7. The AP has it right here — more or less — and the Cowboys deserve a little bit more love from the coaches.
Oklahoma State or USC? It’s a legitimate question
There aren’t any huge gripes about how the AP has ranked their top ten, but on the subject of the Cowboys, you have to ask yourself if they’ve done enough to justify being ranked ahead of USC in the polls. The Trojans are 3-0, yes, but they struggled against Western Michigan and needed overtime to beat a Texas team that had lost at home to Maryland to start the season. Their best win, against Stanford, keeps looking less and less impressive as the Cardinal struggle. Oklahoma State still have their lack of quality wins working against them, but Mason Rudolph’s team has looked excellent in all departments.
AP voters gave San Diego State too much love
San Diego State’s win over Stanford was a nice one, to be sure, and it was definitely enough to get them into the top 25 for the week. That’s exactly what the coaches did; they dropped the Aztecs at No. 25, a fair and deserved boost. The AP was considerably more impressed, giving San Diego State a spot at No. 22 in their poll. As nice as the Stanford win was, this seems a bit high for them, especially as Oregon and Utah continue to impress. The coaches put those two teams above San Diego State, which looks right.
Miami’s rise in the AP poll is strange
Louisville and LSU both losing created something of a vacuum in the middle of the poll, leaving room for several teams in the lower teens to rise significantly. It’s not entirely clear why one team that reaped major benefits was Miami, which was idle over the weekend. Teams that don’t play don’t necessarily deserve to be punished for it, but it’s weird to see them jump three spots in the AP poll in spite of it. Perhaps it’s something of an over-correction — the coaches had them at No. 14 all along rising to No. 13 this week. But either way, it’s a bit strange, especially when Florida State dropped a spot for not playing.
Auburn is still too high across the board
The Tigers are still ranked, as they should be, but a 24-10 home win over Mercer is not going to inspire any real confidence going forward, nor should it. It’s telling that, in spite of pretty much everyone around them getting a boost, Auburn stood pat at 15 in the AP poll. They actually gained ground with the coaches, moving up a spot to No. 16. It’s not clear if Auburn is even a top 20 team at this point — maybe they are, but top 15 is a stretch, and it would be fair to move them down a bit.
Oklahoma and Clemson are closer than it seems
It’s not really fair to punish Clemson here. They’ve beaten all comers, including two top-15 teams, one of them in convincing fashion away from home. On the other hand, Oklahoma’s win at Ohio State could wind up being one of the most impressive wins of the entire season. Oklahoma is just 14 points behind Clemson in the AP poll — after being ahead of them last week — and 30 points behind in the Coaches poll. It’s close. But the Sooners have the best win between the two.
Why the AP love for Maryland?
Perhaps the voters have been seduced by their win over Texas, which looks significantly better this week after the Longhorns nearly beat USC at the Coliseum. There is a pretty big difference between how AP voters view Maryland and how the coaches do at this point — they got just 48 points in the Coaches Poll voting, while the AP had them with 84, the third team out and less than a hundred shy of being ranked. They didn’t even play over the weekend. They’re simply not a top 25 team. They haven’t done enough yet.
Vanderbilt has offered more than West Virginia so far
The Mountaineers are the consensus first team out of the top 25, with Vanderbilt on their heels — albeit further behind in the AP poll than the Coaches. Vandy grabbed a solid win over Kansas State at the weekend, lifting them firmly into voters’ minds, and deservedly so. West Virginia has been impressive since their loss at Virginia Tech, and they’re always going to get a bonus — they started the season in the top 25, while Vanderbilt is coming up from the other direction. The Commodores have the better resume right now, and if West Virginia finds themselves ranked before too long, Vanderbilt has a good argument as well, provided they can keep it up.
