CFR week eleven top teams list

Week Eleven Top Teams List 11/16/2005:

1. USC-Unlike Texas, their schedule didn't end after week two.  Two one loss teams remain on the schedule in Fresno State and UCLA.
2. Texas-How you know this winning thing is a new phenomena in Austin: cheesy slogans like "are you conVINCEd?".
3. Notre Dame-Not satisfied with playing catch with Jeff Samardzija, Brady Quinn now has Maurice Stovall in on the act.  Scary.  The idea of having Pete Carroll and Charlie Weis on the college landscape for a long time has to be frustrating for every big program coach.
4. Miami-Nice romp over Wake Forest last weekend.  There are things they can't improve upon all that much (Charlie Jones isn't all that talented of a back), but they are finding ways to make Kyle Wright really dangerous.
5. Virginia Tech-There's nothing wrong with being a pretty good football team.  We'll see how their week off has treated them.
6. Penn State-Who knew?  I think they wish they could take a mulligan on that Michigan game.
7. Ohio State-Surging of late.  Dismantled a pretty good Northwestern offense last weekend.  Finding ways to score with big plays instead of just marching down the field---they've changed their approach!  SweaterVest isn't so dogmatic after all.

Others:

• Georgia-Something's wrong with their defense.  Could just as easily have won that game against Auburn.  Shockley's really transformed that offense, as the coaches have opened things up and are a little less risk-averse.
• Oregon-Still not settled at quarterback, but both of them can play a little and have been given the freedom to make plays (and mistakes).  Nice night win in Siberia Pullman.
• UCLA-Weren't in the mood to punt the ball against Arizona State.  Weren't in the mood to make many stops, either.  Cheerful recipients of a few SunDevil turnovers that provided the game's margin of victory.
• Louisville-Up some weeks, down the next.  Brian Brohm had one of the better nights throwing the ball from a quarterback that I've seen this season.
• Auburn-Watch, they'll lose badly to Alabama this week to make me look stupid for putting them here.  In all honesty, they've done a good job methodically putting themselves together this year and are finishing on a high note.  This looks to be a pretty good football team that could climb CFR's rankings.
  
• Alabama-It's like they play rope-a-dope, except they forget about the whole punching back part. 

Comments

[csc]

I'm very surprised you still have bama still up there...even though they've proven since the Florida game that they don't have an offense to save their lives...yet you still have them on the list. Some would say thats hypocritcal

[CFR]

csc-They're hanging on by a thread.

Slim pickings on who else could have been added to the "others" list. I strongly considered dropping Alabama.

[Mike]

Still no LSU?

Interesting....care to give a reason why?

[CFR]

I have them just off the list.

[csc]

LSU was pretty much the team I was referring to when I questioned alabama being on there. I'm really not trying to get in a pissing match with you...but you keeping bama on that list without any sort of an offense just after they lost to LSU and leaving them off of it is a bit ridiculous.

hate to dig old stuff...but this further more proves you had an agenda against FSU...I know that team has gone into the toilet and their offense was horrid up to the point that they lost...but as soon as they lost you booted them with the quickness. I think this list shows a lack of bias...which doesn't bode well for your credibilty.

[CFR]

csc,

FSU's performance thoughout this season has proven my point about them. I never thought they were THAT good!

I expected them to lose 3-4 games, as they have.

Alabama and FSU's defense were both considered elite this year, but WATCHING them it looked like they were a consistent defense, not one that would get bludgeoned by nobodies as often as FSU's has.

I'm not a fan of Bama's style of play, but they're a team that has mostly held things together. They weren't necessarily going anywhere, but its not like they're gonna collapse.

Meanwhile, look at FSU. They're a complete mess. LSU is a school that's not to dissimilar from FSU and thus they're not on the list.

My credibility's fine, I was smart enough to sniff FSU out long before anyone else did and not have them way up in my rankings!

[LD]

LSU is, in fact, very dissimilar to FSU. FSU has 3 losses. LSU has one. FSU has beaten only two ranked (at the time) teams all year long, and none since mid-September. LSU has beaten 4 ranked teams, including three in the last 5 weeks. LSU has more wins over bowl-bound teams (and a better record against them) than FSU. LSU has played a tougher schedule than FSU according to Colley, Massey, and GBE. FSU and LSU are not the same, or even close. Under any set of objective facts, LSU is a superior team.

The fact that you have two teams on your list that LSU has already beaten and not LSU is just illogical. It's one thing to think LSU might lose to teams it hasn't played (like USC or Texas), but when things have been settled on the field, don't you feel some obligation to consider that? Excluding LSU is the about the same thing as that Harris Poll voter who had Penn State behind Wisconsin and Ohio State - and he was mocked from coast to coast.

On the other hand, I have no problem with you leaving off FSU (in fact, I'd take issue if they were on the list).

[CFR]

FSU had beaten ranked times earlier in the year when someone wanted me to add them to the list. But I didn't think they were all that good them.

I don't think LSU is all that good. For what it's worth, the two teams on my list they've beaten are hanging on by a thread on this list.

Like I said earlier, they're not far off the list. They're just not on it.

[csc]

FSU's offensive woes were never hidden...from day one everybody knew FSU's offense was suspect. I was never under any delusions that the offense was good. I was merely pointing out that you couldn't wait for FSU to lose to get them off the list...but yet you leave bama on the list even though they were basically the same team. Their record, offense and defense were inflated due to their schedule.

Evidently I was smart enough to sniff Bama out long before anyone else did.