By Charlie Campbell
Pass along your thoughts on the rankings. I’ll put together a mail bag periodically that answers questions/comments sent via email [email protected] or on Twitter @draftcampbell.
Updated Sept. 4, 2013
- Alabama
- Oregon
- Stanford
- Ohio State
- Clemson
- Louisville
- Texas A&M
- Florida
- South Carolina
- Florida State
- LSU
- UCLA
- Notre Dame
- Michigan
- Georgia
- Oklahoma State
- Oklahoma
- Texas
- Washington
- Baylor
- Nebraska
- Northwestern
- Fresno State
- Ole Miss
- Arizona State
Top 1-10 Analysis
Alabama handled Virginia Tech, but the Crimson Tide definitely showed signs of being beatable. The offense is going to have to play a lot better versus Texas A&M. Oregon destroyed some garbage opponent it had no business playing. Stanford was off this week.
As stated last week, Ohio State and Louisville should both go undefeated during the regular season. Both schools have easy schedules, especially the Cardinals.
Clemson really made a statement with its win over LSU to close out the 2012 season and has made another one with the win over Georgia to start 2013. I predicted Clemson would knock off Georgia, and the Tigers should cruise against easy opponents until hosting Florida State. Clemson then has to finish the year with South Carolina.
I think Texas A&M could bag two in a row against Alabama if the Aggies can get their defense to stop the run. Texas A&M also needs to have Johnny Manziel to have his head in the game.
I think the Gators are being underrated nationally, and they controlled Toledo last week even though they had some of their best talent suspended. Florida will see a quality test from Miami, but I like the Gators’ chances.
South Carolina is a strong team, but the Gamecocks always seem to have some let downs. Georgia lost a ton from its 2012 defense and I’m not a big believer in Aaron Murray. With Clemson, South Carolina and LSU in the Bulldogs’ first four games, I could see them having two losses before October.
Florida State started a little slow defensively, but eventually took care of business against Pittsburgh. Seminoles quarterback Jamies Winston was phenomenal in his first start. It will be interesting to see how he performs against good teams.
Top 11-20 Analysis
LSU could also be underrated. With the talent of its passing attack, the team will have a good, balanced offense. If the Tigers’ young defensive players step up, LSU could challenge Alabama when they meet in November. LSU has a really tough schedule this year, so the progam needs those players to mature in a hurry.
UCLA beat Nevada by 38 points, and the Bruins are going to have a good season. They should be ranked higher nationally.
Notre Dame and Michigan beat easy opponents in preparation for their grudge match. The winner should see a nice boost in the polls. If you want my prediction, I’m going with the Wolverines.
Georgia played Clemson tough in Death Valley, and I give the Bulldogs respect for playing a good team on the road to start the season. However, Georgia has a very tough schedule and I think the team is likely to start 0-2. I think the Gamecocks are going to destroy the Bulldogs’ offensive line on Saturday.
Oklahoma State had a solid win over Mississippi State. Oklahoma, Texas and Baylor cruised against weak opponents. Washington made a big statement by dominating Boise State. That was an impressive win, and the Huskies look massively improved on both sides of the ball.
Close but not close enough: USC, Wisconsin, Michigan State, Miami, Northern Illinois, Georgia Tech, Arizona, Cincinnati
Top 21-25 and Close-Calls Analysis
I think Nebraska and Northwestern will be solid teams this year. The Wildcats beat California by 14 and were one of the few Big Ten teams to schedule a halfway decent opponent. I was surprised that the Cornhuskers only won by three against Wyoming, so I bumped Northwestern ahead of them. In my opinion, the Wildcats played the most consistent football in the Big Ten last year and are excellently coached by Pat Fitzgerald. Ohio State better not sleep on them.
Fresno State was my final pick last week and deserve to move up after topping Rutgers in overtime. I think with quarterback Derek Carr lighting up the scoreboard, the Bulldogs probably only lose one or two games this season.
I wanted to rank Ole Miss and Arizona State, but ran out of space last week. They both are quality, underrated programs. The Rebels had a strong comeback win on the road at Vanderbilt.
Best of the rest: Penn State, Virginia Tech, Vanderbilt, North Carolina, Oregon State.
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