CFR College Football Power Rankings Week One 2009

So one week of play is in, yippee!  As always these are power rankings.  Record matters, but so does talent and performance.

1. Florida -- Not much to judge by when playing extra soft cupcakes.
2. USC -- Mind you it was San Jose State but wow.  The offense has all the returning starters but the defense might be the better side of the team.  Quietly confirming what I suspected about the USC defense that it could be a top five group even after losing so many great players to the NFL draft.
3. Texas -- Slight nod over Alabama.  Call it the Colt McCoy factor.
4. Alabama -- The bowl loss set them back in peoples' eyes but man this team is going to be good.  Tough, talented, they've already shown they can run the ball against a really good defense while playing a new quarterback.
5. Penn State -- Daryll Clark just gets better each week, deserves some Heisman mention if he keeps this up after throwing for nearly 400 yards.  A little worried about their offensive line and defensive line outside of anchor Odrick but we'll learn more in Big Ten play.
6. California -- Just a notch below the big boys as far as talent but like USC they seem to have perked up this year and could be headed for a rematch of that epic 2004 game except this time it'll be up in Berkeley.
7. LSU -- Dubious start against Washington but I saw that coming.  Defense isn't like LSU defenses of old but they really, really run and tackle well.  Jordan Jefferson is steady, has a knack for making plays.
8. Oklahoma State -- Solid home beating of Georgia.  Exposed Georgia's quarterback woes even before SEC play, which is unusual.  But as we saw Georgia's defense did a great job of holding down the Cowboys' offense.  I have to believe several of the teams ahead of them here could do the same.
9. Ohio State -- Shaky start against Navy but they'll get their shot this weekend at home against USC with a lot to prove.  Terrelle Pryor hasn't made The Leap yet but he's getting closer.  Brandon Saine seems to have woken up and perhaps moved past dependable slasher Dan 'Boom' Herron.

Others on CFR's Radar:

BYU, Boise State, Cincinnati, Virginia Tech, Florida State, Miami, Georgia Tech, Ole Miss

Wait and See ...

TCU, Notre Dame, Michigan, Missouri, Baylor, Tennessee, Oklahoma

Comments

[MAS1916]

Cool list! How about the Bottom Ten? ( http://firstworstfootball.thewebinfocenter.com/funny-football/first-worst-futility-rankings-%E2%80%93-week-two-%E2%80%93-the-bottom-ten-of-college-football )

Still, we shouldn't include Florida as a matter of principle until it plays something other than a scrimmage against Charleston Southern or Troy.