CFR College Football Power Rankings Week Six 2009

Ohhhhh kayyyyyy, things seem to have sorted out a bit more this week.  Things get extremely dicey after the top 10 or so, reasonable given most schools are about five games in.

1. Alabama -- Not perfect on the road against Kentucky, but good enough given all the playmaking on an otherwise sleepy outing
2. Texas -- See last week's notes
3. Florida -- Big showdown Saturday against LSU, likely without the baby rhinocerus at quarterback
4. USC -- Solid win against a reeling California, offense still very much a work in progress
5. Virginia Tech -- Playing quality football, got a career passing day from quarterback Tyrod Taylor against Duke
6. Miami -- Huge rebound after falling to VaTech in beating an Oklahoma team that was catching stride
7. Ohio State -- Seem to have found their identity, although not getting quite what they would like out of Terrelle Pryor yet
8. Oregon -- Red hot, can reasonably place the Boise State loss in context at this point and argue for what they've done since
9. Cincinnati -- Alabama lite, that isn't a bad thing
10. Boise State -- Defense a little leaky in games that probably could have been shutouts against Bowling Green (14 points allowed) and UC Davis (16) Quibbles, we know

Others: LSU, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Penn State, Arizona, UCLA, Notre Dame, TCU, Michigan, Wisconsin, Georgia Tech, USF, Fresno State (don't laugh!), BYU, Kansas, Nebraska, Auburn, Iowa

CFR College Football Power Rankings Week Five 2009

All but belated.  Really tough picking this week, there's just not much order after those first three teams.  Thank heavens the season is 12 weeks.

1. Alabama -- They're baaaaaack!
2. Texas -- Extremely inconsistent run game, vulnerable defense, but may have caught stride in the passing game which makes them near impossible to stop.
3. Florida -- Slow out of the gate, pretty much as anticipated.  Still loaded with or without Tebow.
4. Oklahoma -- Nice recovery.
5. Boise State -- The story here, oddly, is defense.
6. Virginia Tech -- Ehhhh.
7. Cincinnati -- Probably a bit high but they win and are extremely well coached.
8. USC -- The defense is ridiculous, high contrast with that shaky offense.
9. Ohio State -- Another fine defensive program.
10. Penn State -- There's something about Iowa.

Oregon, Auburn, Houston, Iowa, LSU are all on the cusp.  Watch how much this changes in just a few weeks.

CFR College Football Power Rankings Week Four 2009

Every week, some changes.

1. Florida -- Playing sort of how I felt they would, looking like a No. 1 but not the impregnable machine everyone sort of fears they'd be.
2. Alabama -- The 'Tide do almost everything right.  If McElroy ever develops into a powerhouse quarterback they'll be ridiculous.
3. Texas -- May have finally found a running back.  About time.
4. Penn State -- Went in hiding for a few weeks but GameDay's out for their revenge game against Iowa.
5. Cal -- Shaky at times against Minnesota but rallied.  Can Jahvid Best ever stay healthy for a full game?
6. Miami -- The challenge this year will be performing consistently once the rough early schedule passes and excitement wanes.
7. USC -- Still hasn't figured out how to play consistent offensive football since the split with Norm Chow.  Disappointing.
8. Ohio State -- Went to the air last week to positive results while pitching a shutout against an explosive (albeit MAC) offense.
9. Cincinnati -- Defense has surprised and they're playing hard.
10. Ole Miss -- Jevan Snead is the star but the defensive line really gets after it.

Tier II (no particular order): LSU, Florida State, Oklahoma, Michigan, Notre Dame, TCU, Boise State

Tier III: Auburn, Clemson, Virginia Tech, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma State, Washington, Oregon State, Fresno State, Houston, BYU

CFR College Football Power Rankings Week Two 2009

As always, these are power rankings.  Its good to see some early sorting out and shaking out going on.  Apologies for the lateness of this.  D'oh.

1. Florida -- Default.
2. USC -- A shaky No. 2, hmm?  And now Matt Barkley's hurt and probably won't play Saturday.  Taylor Mays may get shelved, as well, as Pete Carroll goes up against the understudy.
3. Alabama -- Shaky last week, but ...
4. Texas -- Lots of slow offensive starts last week in the top three.
5. Ohio State -- Letdown week?
6. Penn State -- Not much separation between them and the Buckeyes.
7. California -- Sneaky.
8. Cincinnati -- They're a machine early on.

Tier II -- Miami, TCU, BYU, Boise State, Oklahoma, Virginia Tech, Oklahoma State, Notre Dame, Michigan, Auburn, LSU

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