NCAA: Top 25 Analysis

On Sunday, ESPN will debut the season’s first BCS rankings, which, according to BCS expert Brad Edwards, will look a little something like this. Boise State will be #1 by virtue of their reasonably difficult non-conference schedule, followed by Oregon, TCU, Oklahoma, and Ohio State. I have no quarrel with that, considering Ohio State has the 117th toughest schedule in the country, and Oregon’s offense is legitimately gangbusters. This got me thinking, if I had a vote, what would my poll look like. Without further ado, my completely narcissistic and irrelevant top 25:

1. Oregon (6-0) – 54-16…the average score of an Oregon game this year, which includes two quasi-quality road wins (@Tennessee, @Arizona St), and a home demolition of #9 Stanford. My number one team until further notice
2. Ohio State (6-0) – Terrelle Pryor: 15 TDs, 3 INTs. This weekend is an opportunity for Pryor to make a statement in a hostile environment and for the Fighting Sweater Vests to earn their keep among the nation’s elite.
3. Boise State (5-0) – Since Sparty solved Shoelace’s Rubik’s cube, Kellen Moore has the inside track on the Heisman, until you remember that the nation will get to see SmurfTurf one more time this year, and that’s if they feel like staying up past midnight.
4. TCU (6-0) – Write it down (or not), but TCU will be better positioned at the end of the year for a national championship birth than Boise…unless Utah takes them out.
5. Nebraska (5-0) – Call me crazy, but I have a lurking suspicion that Nebraska is going to shut out Texas this weekend. Awesome defense vs. Mercurial offense + bitter Cornhuskers x Taylor Martinez = 23-0.
6. Auburn (6-0) – This ranking may be a tad high, and the Tigers seem like the upstart SEC team that grabs the nation with a great start and then loses 3 of its last 4 for a Cotton Bowl bid. I hope I’m wrong.
7. Oklahoma (5-0) – Unless Missouri is actually good (which they’re not), Oklahoma can realistically eat Thanksgiving dinner undefeated before finally being tested by Oklahoma State and then the Big 12 Title game, which will presumably be against Nebraska.
8. Utah (5-0) – The ultimate BCS wild card, a team that for some reason never loses big games, who by season’s end may have wins over 4 ranked teams, which may be two more than Ohio State (4 is a bit of a stretch, but Notre Dame, Pittsburgh, Air Force, and TCU could all be ranked by season’s end, right?).
9. Michigan State (6-0) – Little Giants. Dantonio’s heart attack. Tripping up Shoelace. This has been quite a season for the Spartans, and their fans, and they avoid Ohio State, which may prove both blessing and curse. They should handle Illinois before road games at Northwestern and Iowa, and by All Hallow’s Eve the cement should have set on the 2010 Michigan State football season.
10. LSU (6-0) – Where to even begin on Les Miles…well, eventually the law of averages will catch up to him, right? After a grueling game against McNeese State, the Mad Hatter only has to travel to Jordan-Hare Stadium, and take on Cameron Newton and Auburn, then turn around, go home, and prepare for Alabama. Nothing exciting should happen.
11. South Carolina
12. Alabama
13. Stanford
14. Arkansas
15. Wisconsin
16. Iowa
17. Arizona
18. Nevada
19. Oklahoma State
20. Florida State
21. Michigan
22. Air Force
23. Oregon State
24. Missouri
25. Miami (FL)