Looking at the CFB AP Top 10: On Castles and Clemson before Week 4
Looking at the CFB AP Top 10: On Castles and Clemson before Week 4
I wish that I could tell you that I had a well-thought out reason to start this series after the second week of the season instead of before week one, or at least after the first games had been played. Maybe I didn’t feel like it was important to record the top 10 so early. There was going to be so much change and so little known well-thought-out, what was the point? The first week didn’t even see that much change anyways. A week one top-10 review would have basically been the same as a preseason review.
Unfortunately, my real reason had nothing to do with a master plan. In reality, it’s because I’m writing from Europe. As a university student, I’m studying abroad in Austria, living in a monastery-turned-hotel-and-school called the Kartause (Car-Tau-Za). The adjustment and constant schedule made writing difficult, and so we got our first Top 10 check two weeks in. Why am I telling you this? Mostly to explain the delay and slight change in format between last week and this one, in which I’ll be more focused on the changes and single week performances of each team. But also to get to brag that last week, I wrote this column in the shadow of a 900-year-old castle in Austria.
You know, the more that I think about it, that gives some decent perspective for this season. College Football is always going to be cyclical, but it’s also always going to have top programs. They’re usually going to be from the same twenty-five programs or so. But nothing is permanent. Alabama and Ohio State both had times where they weren’t very good. Clemson had exactly one national championship before Dabo Swinney. Things will change eventually. But for now, enjoy the current landscape. It will never be exactly like this again, and we should enjoy the fact that the top teams are quite possibly the best college football teams in history. They’ll be gone soon, and when the season ends the castles will still be there.
Did that make sense? I blacked out for a second. Anyways, enough about Europe. Let’s jump in.
Clemson
AP Poll Ranking: 1
Last Week’s Ranking: 1
Week Three Result: 41-6 Win vs. Syracuse
Change: No
Analysis: Many were predicting this to be one of the most interesting games Clemson played all season. The ACC is looking weak and Syracuse, though it had just lost to Maryland, had beaten the Tigers in 2017. Texas A&M had proven incapable of defeating the reigning national champions but maybe, just maybe the Orange could do it. The problem was that nobody told Clemson. Trevor Lawrence had almost 400 passing yards and 3 touchdowns. Travis Etienne had over 100 yards from scrimmage. The game had a final score of 42-6. Maybe we’ll see an interesting game in the playoff.
(Side note: I can’t remember or find the exact first time I saw people predicting this game to be close, but here’s an MSN.com article previewing the game and mentioning the history. It was all pretty common knowledge and common opinion.)
Alabama
AP Poll Ranking: 2
Last Week’s Ranking: 2
Week Three Result: 47-23 Win vs. South Carolina
Change: No
Analysis: Another week, another Alabama victory. It was 14-10 Alabama after the first quarter, but that was as close as it got as Alabama outscored the Gamecocks 23-13 for the rest of the game. Tua Tagavailoa had 444 passing yards and 5 touchdowns, and the fact that you are only kind of impressed by those numbers is exactly the point.
Georgia
AP Poll Ranking: 3
Last Week’s Ranking: 3
Week Three Result: 55-0 Win vs. Arkansas St.
Change: No
Analysis: What is there to say about a dominating victory over a Sun Belt team not named Appalachian State? D’Andre Swift had over 60 yards rushing and receiving, and Jake Fromm had a completion percentage of 77.3. Water is wet and the sun is hot. On the bright side, this Saturday should be more fun, with a game against Notre Dame in the “Playoff Contender Outlier Bowl” (Trademark still pending). The winner will get a huge boost to their resume that could mean big things in December.
LSU
AP Poll Ranking: 4
Last Week’s Ranking: 4
Week Three Result: 65-14 Win vs. Northwestern State
Change: No
Analysis: Ah, well now that we’re done talking about Georgia’s cream puff game, let’s look at LSU’s...FCS opponent. The Northwestern State Demons don’t even have a sports-reference page, so I’m going off of Wikipedia and the fact that, according to Google, their next game is against Houston Baptist. Actually, how did they even score two touchdowns in the first half? I wasn’t watching. Anyways, Joe Burrow had 373 passing yards and 3 touchdowns, while Justin Jefferson had 124 receiving yards and a 24.8 yards per catch average. If this game changed anything it would be terrible news for LSU. Let’s talk next week against Vanderbilt.
Oklahoma
AP Poll Ranking: 5
Last Week’s Ranking: 5
Week Three Result: 48-14 Win vs. UCLA
Change: No
Analysis: In a victory over a Bruins team that has yet to win a game, the real story was that Jalen Hurts posted his season-low passer rating of 245.9. Will this be the beginning of a season-long decline or just one bad game? In all seriousness, the ex-Alabama quarterback had 439 combined yards rushing and passing yards, and it’s very possible that things only get crazier as the Sooners now enter into their Big 12 stretch. Can Texas Tech slow down OU? I wouldn’t bet the farm on it. I don’t even think I’d bet a single cow on it.
Ohio State
AP Poll Ranking: 6
Last Week’s Ranking: 5
Week Three Result: 51-10 Win vs. Indiana
Change: No
Analysis: This was another game that some had tagged as a potential upset, similar to Purdue last year and Iowa two years ago. But Ohio State rode J.K. Dobbins and his 193 yard rushing effort to a 41-point victory. Ohio State usually starts their season slow, and has to convince everyone that they’re a contender later in the season. That hasn’t been the case, 193-yards far, as the Buckeyes have yet to win a game by less than 24 points and Justin Fields is responsible for 13 touchdowns through three weeks. But a Purdue game could still come; be patient, everybody.
Notre Dame
AP Poll Ranking: 7
Last Week’s Ranking: 9
Week Three Result: 66-14 Win vs. New Mexico
Change: No
Analysis: Notre Dame has still only played two games so far, but thus far have won both by solid margins. Ian Book had 360 passing yards and 5 touchdowns, and the fact that when I looked at those numbers I thought “eh, it’s not 400 yards” is exactly the point. The college football passing scene is straight-up ridiculous. Next week against Georgia will be a great gauge for how good this Irish team really is.
Can someone please play a real opponent soon? I’m starting to re-use jokes and it’s getting uncomfortable.
Auburn
AP Poll Ranking: 8
Last Week’s Ranking: 8
Week Three Result: 55-16 Win vs. Kent State
Change: No
Analysis: This is utterly unscientific, but I refuse to buy into Auburn until they win a few games against an SEC opponent for the precise reason that I swear they start every year in the top-25 and drop out by week 6. Prove me wrong Auburn. In regards to the actual game itself, Auburn had three 100-yard rushers in the game. I didn’t watch this game either, can somebody tell me exactly how that happened? Something seems broken.
Actually, I can’t really watch games from Europe...that would cost money I don’t have. I just have an unhealthy attachment to college football research and numbers on basic HTML charts. So I’m happy to find the numbers for you. We’re all about helping around here.
Florida
AP Poll Ranking: 9
Last Week’s Ranking: 9
Week Three Result: 29-21 Win vs. Kentucky
Change: No
Analysis: Finally, an actual game with an actual competition! Kentucky came into this game having beaten two MAC teams, and Florida came into the game with higher expectations but about the same schedule results so far. Kentucky was actually leading 21-10 going into the fourth quarter, and had knocked out the Gator’s starting quarterback, Feleipe Franks. Wildcat fans were probably already trying to figure out where this would put them in the Top 25. But, led by backup Kyle Trask, Florida began a comeback that consisted of three rushing touchdowns in the final period, including a 76 yard run with 33 seconds left to take the lead and the game. How Trask does in a full game will be something to watch moving forward, but they have two weeks to get something figured out before they play Auburn. And if any Kentucky fans just need someone to talk to, I’m here for you guys.
Utah
AP Poll Ranking: 10
Last Week’s Ranking: 11
Week Three Result: 31-0 Win vs. Idaho State
Change: Improve by 1
Analysis: With the Utes moving into the top 10, we actually have our only movement in the Top 10 for the Week. Utah outgained Idaho State 543-116 behind the 282 passing yards of quarterback Tyler Huntley and the 106 rushing yards of running back Zack Moss. Next week they go to USC to play a 2-1 Trojans team that’s looking to bounce back after a loss to the other Utah team (BYU). It would be a real shame if USC went 0-2 against Utah universities, but it’s not looking promising now. If Utah keeps winning, the Pac-12 may actually have a playoff contender this year. Stay hopeful, west-coasters.
Unless noted or hyperlinked, statistics and rankings from Sports-Reference.com
-By: Alex Spieldenner
Twitter: @aspieldenner
Instagram: @alex_spieldenner