Polls 2021

[Lobot]

Stayed at # 2 in the AP as well. I’m a little surprised honestly.

https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll

[Carin's Dad]

Stayed at # 2 in the AP as well. I’m a little surprised honestly.

https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll

But, no additional style points this week. It will be more enlightening when the first playoff ranking comes out.

[Lobot]

I figured the AP might drop us a spot. Coaches who vote in the poll probably have a better understanding of how tough it is to play a service academy with triple option in a road game.

[Josh Rexhausen]

I figured the AP might drop us a spot. Coaches who vote in the poll probably have a better understanding of how tough it is to play a service academy with triple option in a road game.

We lost 6 votes in the AP and 28 in the Coaches from last week. Looks like we benefited from OU performance and indecision on whether Alabama and Ohio State is better. Just my analysis.

[djs]

The polls are giving us great respect. Hope we deserve it. Being rated above Alabama and Ohio State is dreamlike, although I have a hard time believing we're really better than them after seeing Ohio State's beatdown of Indiana. I'll take it.

[longtimefan]

We had a noon game against Indiana, with a slow start. After the first quarter we beat them 38-10. That’s about the same level of dominance.

[Carin's Dad]

Hate to say it, but UC is not a #2 team. I think we're over ranked because both writers (AP) and coaches (USAToday) want to get a team from the Group of 5 into the playoffs. Tuesday will burst some bubbles.

[Josh Rexhausen]

The team up 71 doesn't look like a number 2 team beating #20 Penn St at home by 9. A lot of teams are struggling.

[Jeff Burk]

Hate to say it, but UC is not a #2 team. I think we're over ranked because both writers (AP) and coaches (USAToday) want to get a team from the Group of 5 into the playoffs. Tuesday will burst some bubbles.

Maybe or maybe not but UC is still undefeated and games against Navy and Tulane were both away. This team deserves to be in the top 4.

[cafemerald]

Who is a #2 team? Oklahoma? Who beat Tulane by 5?

Maybe UC should have lost to Notre Dame so they could have a quality loss to boost their resume.

[Genester]

This made me chuckle: https://www.espn.com/college-footbal...ine-good-great

Who's in?

The College Football Playoff committee is set to release its first rankings of the season on Tuesday, but you don't need to wait that long to get insight into the committee's thinking. Let's break down all the key contenders and predict the committee's approach to each.

Cincinnati Bearcats (8-0)

Pros: They're undefeated, and they beat Notre Dame on the road.

Cons: They beat Notre Dame on the road, making it very difficult for the committee to then put Notre Dame in the playoff. Also, unlike Oklahoma's hard-fought and heroic five-point win over Tulane in Week 1, Cincinnati was only able to narrowly escape Tulane by 19 on Saturday.

Committee's take: It's a Group of Five team in a town that makes Group of Five chili.

Verdict: Cincinnati is out.

Georgia Bulldogs (8-0)

Pros: Undefeated with a dominant defense. Has wins over Florida, Kentucky, Auburn and Clemson. Plays in the SEC.

Cons: Not Alabama.

Committee's take: The Dawgs are the clear No. 1 team in the country, and we're OK saying that now because we trust Alabama will beat them in the SEC championship game (probably using its backup QB in the second half) to restore order to these chaotic times.

Verdict: Georgia is in.

Oregon Ducks (7-1)

Pros: Beat Ohio State in Columbus. Kayvon Thibodeaux is among the most feared defenders in the country. Saturday's 52-29 win against a solid Colorado defense was a reminder that the Ducks can be explosive.

Cons: Blew a lead and lost a heartbreaker against Stanford. Lack "Game Control," which is definitely a thing that matters.

Committee's take: Unfortunately, the committee forgot to assign anyone to watch Pac-12 games this season, assuming it was unnecessary.

Verdict: Oregon is out.

Notre Dame Fighting Irish (7-1)

Pros: Brian Kelly threatened to execute his team after Week 1, and yet they're still in the thick of the playoff race. The Irish have wins over Purdue, Wisconsin, Virginia Tech, USC and North Carolina and many of those teams were quite good in the 1990s.

Cons: Notre Dame is not actually very good.

Committee's take: They lost to Cincinnati, forcing the committee to wrestle with allowing a Group of Five team into the playoff. They must be punished. Brian Kelly is just lucky the committee doesn't put the same voodoo curse on him they did Scott Frost.

Verdict: Notre Dame is out.

Wake Forest Demon Deacons (8-0)

Pros: Wake has one of the most explosive offenses in the country. The Deacons are 8-0 for the first time in program history. Saturday's 45-7 thumping of Duke was the Deac's second straight game with more than 650 yards of offense. Likely to bring fresh Krispy Kreme doughnuts (founded in Winston-Salem!) to their playoff site.

Cons: Defense has been shaky at times. No signature wins.

Committee's take: Who?

Verdict: Wake Forest is out.

Alabama Crimson Tide (7-1)

Pros: Impressive wins over Ole Miss and ... hang on, we're sure there's more ... Does Tennessee count? What about Florida? Oh, two points? Hmmm. Well, it's Alabama. Don't overthink it.

Cons: Tough to decide whether to get Dreamland or Archibald & Woodrow's barbecue.

Committee's take: Alabama is the defending champion, and the Tide are very good. Most of the analysis we have we just cut and pasted from last year, so best to go with that.

Verdict: Alabama is in.

Michigan State Spartans (8-0)

Pros: Undefeated, beat Michigan, have a great running back and a terrific defense. Mel Tucker knows Georgia's defense, too. That could be interesting.

Cons: Beating Jim Harbaugh in a rivalry game doesn't really count as a big win.

Committee's take: Look, if the Big Ten wanted a team in the playoff that wasn't Ohio State, they should have voted to expand to 12. There are consequences to your actions, The Alliance. Don't make us angry. You wouldn't like us when we're angry.

Verdict: Michigan State is out.

Oklahoma Sooners (8-0)

Pros: They're undefeated. They have tons of great jokes about Texas. The offense looks fantastic with Caleb Williams at QB. They can probably lend Spencer Rattler to Georgia to help the SEC if need be.

Cons: They almost lost to Kansas. They're not in the SEC yet.

Committee's take: This is a tough one. If Oklahoma was already in the SEC and had wins over Vanderbilt or LSU, the Sooners would be a shoo-in. But West Virginia? Kansas State? Nebraska?

Verdict: Oklahoma is out.

Ohio State Buckeyes 7-1

Pros: They score 50 points any time they play a terrible team.

Cons: Playoff teams are usually not terrible.

Committee's take: They lost to Oregon at home, so how can we possibly put them in ahead of the Ducks? Oh, we can do whatever we want.

Verdict: Ohio State is in.

Texas A&M Aggies (6-2)

Pros: Beat Alabama. Plays in the SEC, where the brutal schedule includes teams like Arkansas and Mississippi State.

Cons: Lost to Arkansas and Mississippi State.

Committee's take: Look, we don't like letting two-loss teams into the playoff, but the Aggies beat Alabama, and our hands are tied.

Verdict: Texas A&M is in.

[Josh Rexhausen]

This made me chuckle: https://www.espn.com/college-footbal...ine-good-great

I missed your comments about the article, I was about to say this was a stupid take allowing TAMU in and giving the SEC a guaranteed team on the final. I agree that you can't put Oklahoma in over UC while viewing Tulane.

[regoarrarr]

If I'm anything but the Bearcat homer that I am, I can't see UC being in the Top 4 in this week's ratings.

Here are my predictions

1. Georgia
2. Michigan State
3. Alabama
4. Oklahoma
5. Ohio State
6. Cincinnati

[Genester]

I missed your comments about the article, I was about to say this was a stupid take allowing TAMU in and giving the SEC a guaranteed team on the final. I agree that you can't put Oklahoma in over UC while viewing Tulane.

It’s pretty clearly a satirical take by ESPN.

[Lobot]

Conventional wisdom says if they didn't drop in the polls after Navy, we're unlikely to drop in the poll after Tulane. Pollsters have weird logic though so hang on to your hat.