1. Boise State
2. Alabama
3. Ohio State
4. TCU
5. Miami
6. Texas
7. Oregon
8. Arkansas
9. Stanford
10. Virginia Tech
Just missed the cut: Georgia, Wisconsin, Iowa, Florida State, Michigan, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Florida
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About Author
Chris Huston, A.K.A. ‘The Heisman Pundit‘, is a Heisman voter and the creator and publisher of Heismanpundit.com, a site dedicated to analysis of the Heisman Trophy and college football. Dubbed “the foremost authority on the Heisman” by Sports Illustrated, HP is regularly quoted or cited during football season in newspapers across the country. He is also a regular contributor on sports talk radio and television.
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Owen McDonnell
Are you kidding? (Number 1?) Boise State is good but would never survive in the SEC. They have at best a 2 game season. But I forget that Boise State is the “Darling” of the media!
Dawgy
HP it’s hard to argue your Boise State as #1.
The problem I have is not that Boise is not a good football team but, that at least 10-12 teams directly under them could go undefeated with their schedule. The only game they have remaining with the possibility of losing is OSU.
It’s not a question of are they good enough to play with anyone. The question is are they good enough to play and beat 4-6 good teams in a row?
After last night V.T. has to play games with N.C., Miami, Ga.T., B.C. etc. and Boise gets to play Idaho, Utah State, San Jose State, New Mexico State, etc.
Doesn’t seem right to me.
HP
I think Boise, at this point in the season, would beat all the teams ranked below it in one game on a neutral site. That’s how I come up with my rankings.
HP
Dawgy, if playing San Jose State is disqualifying, then we can count Alabama out, too.
Ed Newman
Unfortunately we’ll never know if this Boise team can withstand a tough schedule. I really hope OSU cleans their clock so we can get back to some semblance of reality in the polls.
I’m not against the Boise States and TCUs of the world. It sucks that they have only 3 or 4 games to prove their worth. It sucks that upper tier BCS schools refuse to schedule fair home-and-home series against these type of teams (seriously, so many of these BCS teams are two-faced p*ssies in this regard, accepting only home dates or two or three-to-one arrangements to play non BCS schools). But the fact remains that Boise State and TCU, no matter how good they are, don’t have to worry as much about the depth of their football teams as do their counterparts in major conferences. There is no way I believe that Boise State is the best team in the country or that they would escape a real schedule unscathed, and I don’t believe they would beat all the teams below them on this list, but for now, under the current format, I won’t argue with their placement.
Ed Newman
You’re quick to drink the Michigan Kool-Aid. I think I’d like to see a few more games before putting them or ND in the top twenty. I guess we’ll see which is more overrated this week when they meet head-to-head in South Bend.
And if you’re going to go on only one game, then Florida shouldn’t be in the top fifty much less the top twenty. They looked brutally bad. I do think they will pull it together, but I will be shocked if they win the SEC East this year.
Dawgy
HP my point is not that Boise is playing San Jose State. My point is that their schedule could be ran by at least 10-15 other teams.
Alabama also plays Penn State, Arkansas, Florida, LSU, Auburn, etc. My point is let’s assume Boise plays a schedule like this and has to get up and play well for more than 1-2 games a year.
HP said, “I think Boise, at this point in the season, would beat all the teams ranked below it in one game on a neutral site. That’s how I come up with my rankings.”
It’s fine for you to think it. It’s your rankings. Me, I would take Alabama, Texas, Ohio State, Miami, even USC.
Alex
I don’t have any problem with having Boise State #1 at this moment as long as you’re willing to reevaluate that opinion once we get to see more of the other top teams play each other. If we see a couple BCS conference teams put up dominant undefeated seasons while Boise State has a close call or two against lesser teams, and Boise State stays where they are, then we have a problem.
Alex
Another thing I think people miss is that Boise State never has to game plan for great opponents on a weekly basis. They always have a month or so going into their big games. Give them only a week to prepare for some of these teams and I think the talent of the players starts to become more important that the talent of the coaches (which is where Boise State really shines).
Dawgy
Alex you are spot on. Boise also never has to play a tough team after just playing two or three tough teams and have half their team banged up or out.
Anonymous
I don’t understand how Boise St sky rockets to the top by squeaking out a win over a non-top ten opponent. And how does Virginia Tech simultaneously move into the top 10 by losing? Something’s wrong in this mutual admiration society.
Last year Alabama played 7 top 30 opponents, Boise State played 2. Boise State got 8 months to prepare for the first and 4 months to prepare for the second. It really is a huge difference from playing tough teams several weeks in a row.
TP
your rankings dont mean anything. lol boise? you have to to be joking. they are a hawaii type of team which georiga (sec) ran off the field a couple years ago in the sugar bowl. VT had a young defense and should have won
Kevin
Duron Carter is a great loss for Ohio State, they need to strengthen there offenses to break through.
Boise State will be tightening-up surely.
Bucknut
All due respect for Boise, but if they played an SEC, Big Ten, Pac 10 or Big Twelve schedule I doubt they’d come through unscathed. I mean come on HP, don’t you think the fact they play two good teams and the rest are cupcakes, gives them an advantage to rest good players for the end of the season then running through all the other “power conferences.”
Anonymous
What is so hard to understand?
Boise State was ranked #3 in the preseason AP Poll. They beat a top 10 team on a neutral site. Who else had a better win? Boise State has shown more than any other team.
#1 beat unranked (D-1AA) San Jose St. at home.
#2 beat unranked Marshall at home.
#3 beat #10, and prennially ranked Virginia Tech in Virginia. Practically a home game for Tech.
Without knowing the names of 1, 2, and 3, who would you rank #1? If you say Alabama you are the reason this whole system is flawed.
So far, Boise State has the most impressive performance.
When week 7 comes around and they are still #1 over an undefeated Alabama, Miami or Ohio State, then complain.
Roby
That last comment was me. And P.S. I do agree that Boise plays a soft schedule and it is much easier to get up for 2 games per year than 7 or 8. That is the problem with the system.
AUman76
Guess what HP? Other good teams don’t always play each other on a neutral site! Seems you think the schedule my Tigers played in 2004 wasn’t worthy of #2 much less #1 but Boise is with it’s 10 cupcakes? Yeah, there’s some damned fine logic. Boise nor TCU deserve shit till they play several tough OOC games to balance their pitiful conference schedules. Kinda the opposite of what everyone says about SEC teams. Must be nice to only have to play your best twice a year and get that kinda kudos, huh? So far as Michigan? Just who the hell did they play? Even I know my Tigers were just gettin ready for State on Thursday against a team we shouldn’t be playin. Same should be said for most of the top teams. Just a glorified scrimmage for all. Well…with the exception of ole piss. Dem Cocks from Allibammer didn’t suck did they? But they did bust a Nutt at the Grove!
Anonymous
Roby -
HP didn’t have Virginia Tech in the top 10 until after they lost. Boise St needed significant help from the refs to squeak out a last minute victory over unranked Virginia Tech. The real question is what did Boise St do that caused them to leapfrog 3 other teams? Last year Alabama beat a better Virginia Tech team much more convincingly and didn’t budge from 4th in HP’s rankings.
Justin
This is ridiculous. Nebraska isn’t even in your top 10? What a joke. Ya Taylor Martinez is young but he looked a hell of a lot better behind the wheel than Zac Lee and Cody Green. The Defense may have had a relapse or two during the WKU game but Bo will have them ready for week 2. I just love how Texas is on EVERYBODY’S list. They went 34-17 against RICE! Gilbert struggled and it looks as if it is going to be a long season for him. Don’t be surprised if Texas has 3 loses by the end of the season. There is no way they will win in Nebraska with the Sea of Red calling for Mac Brown and Colt McCoy’s heads to be used as ornaments on the top of the goal posts. You know about as much about football as my girlfriend.
Michael
Seriously HP, if you’re not going to use the proper metric – what a team’s record would be three months from now against a hypothetical alternate schedule – then don’t do it all.
Dawgy
WOW HP you took a beating on this one….and you still have Lame Kitten as a coach. In spite of that I’d still take USC straight up against the Masters of the Lame Schedule.
Bucknut
If Boise is still undefeated after week 7 it is because of the schedule.
AUman76
What a thought…now it’s up to a pac-1 team to prevent BSU from coasting into the BCS Bowl. Must be nice to get that kind of respect when other teams are judged so harsh for their one or two cupcakes. If my Tigers played Boise’s schedule HP, all writers, coaches and the damn computers would crusify us for such a weak schedule. Think we’d get a sniff of the crystal ball? HELL NO! But BSU and TCU are suddenly media darlings? Hell fire what’s next? Notre Dame back in a BCS Bowl getting their asses handed to em by a real football team? Unfortunately the answer is yes.
Alex
And VT loses to James Madison. Boise State’s MNC dreams may have just come crashing back to earth without them having even stepped on the field.
Rob
VAtech got bea in virgina by James Madison so now JMU shoudl be number 1 right “HP Logic”
Tide detsroys PSU AND beat the dof out of SJSU and drops in the rankings? What the hell happened to havign the spot and not doing anything to lose it? Why in the hell can the Tide win imppressivley vbtw with near 600 yards and run all over someone and lose the top spot its not liek they have control over who they take the field against be a top contender every week every team DOES NOT play a top contender or considered a top contender every week. Why in the hel should a team be penalized for soing what they are supposed to do all because they played BSU style competition shitty teams from shitty conferences.
AUman76
BINGO! We have a winner and it’s Alex. So how good does Boise’s win look now HP? Also does this mean JM will now eplace VT in your top ten? lol Miami ain’t back and the ACC is still a basketball conference. FSU is still drawing votes from it’s past reputation. dahOSU is still an overated average team and beat noone in Miami. Michigan beats ND and their QB goes off on the Domer defense? Big fn deal…who doesn’t light up dem boys? Hell even Navy run over, through and around the Arish. Stanford is the best lookin team in the pac1 and USC is a pretender these days. UCLA should stick to roundball and hire a footballcoach not an egotistical big mouth. Nebraska is a wanna be and will fall as soon as they play a decent team. Oregon looks like the only team between Standford and a special season. bammer proved once again the big11 + 1 is still a couple of steps behind a better SEC. As for me…I know more about football than HP and most sports writer ever will. Oooops, that’s just how they think about us lil people who watch the same games they do, huh? lol Boy are the owners of papers, tv networks and online sites stupid or what? They pay morons for their opinions when they could get us fan’s for free! lmao