Power Rankings (Week 5)  

Antonio Pittman may lead off this week's Power 10,

#1 Ohio State

Walter: No doubt the Buckeyes are the top team in the land after a thoroughly dominating performance against Iowa at Iowa. Though Ohio State may very well go wire to wire as the #1 team, I think it is very interesting how this season has played out. While Troy Smith has been as good as the hype, the other Buckeyes with all sorts of preseason hype have been outshoned by others on the team: Quinn Pitcock (James Laurinaitis), Ted Ginn (Anthony Gonzalez), Chris Wells (Antonio Pittman).

Frazier - I told my esteemed co-blogger that we had to say nice things about Ohio St. this week. Every time they go out there, they win, and yet every time we find a way to question them. Well, I think they may have put a stop to that for the time being. They have played night games in two of the most intense environments in the country, and they have simply dominated the opposition. Their defense has been an absolute revelation, and their aggressive style has created turnovers and easy scoring opportunities for an already potent offense. I think Pittman is probably the overlooked centerpiece on a team full of starts. His success allows the rest of the offense room to operate.


#2 Auburn

Walter: Auburn's win at South Carolina is a better win that they are being given credit for. Steve Spurrier authored an absolutely virtuoso offensive gameplan, it was executed to near perfection, and Auburn still won the game in hostile territory. The Auburn defense is the fastest and most physical in the nation, and Will Herring outdesiring Sidney Rice for the ball in the endzone is the defining play for this Tigers team thus far.

Frazier - Although South Carolina played them close, Auburn's defense stood tall when it had to and turned back the tide. The SEC is never a picnic, and wins usually don't come easy (unless Mississippi St. or Kentucky are prominantly involved) so this game can't be too surprising. Now that Spurrier has found a quarterback, his team will be dangerous, especially at home. The Auburn defense is playing inspired football, and Irons continues to carry the load (literally) offensively. The absolute class of the SEC.

#3 Michigan

Walter: Another great win for the Wolverines at Minnesota. The Gophers always play Michigan tough, especially at home, but the Wolverines just marched in there and took care of business with ruthless efficiency. I will tell you right now, there are no two more balanced offense in the nation than the Wolverines and Buckeyes. Seriously folks, I hate OSU but I hope they both go undefeated and set up the game of the century at Ohio State in Nov.

Frazier - The battle for the Little Brown Jug has been extremely tight in recent years, well, until the 2006 version of the Wolverines rolled into town. This team is playing up to its' enviable talent both offensively and defensively. They have a balanced attack, and are destroying opponents at the line of scrimmage on the defensive side of the ball. The lights have gone on for this team, and out for anyone trying to go up against them.

#4 USC

Walter: Make no mistake, Dwayne Jarrett is the best offensive player on this team and they are going nowhere without him. That said, Steve Smith is pretty damn good too as evidenced by his monster outing against Wazzou (186 yards, 2 TD). Still, if I am a Trojans fan I am very worried the ease at which Alex Brink and the Cougar passing game torched my secondary, especially with the meat of the Pac-10 schedule still to come.

Frazier - Lots of people got excited by the Washington St. game. But just remember that USC dominated the majority of the play without their best (by far) offensive weapon, and they are significantly banged up on defense. The secondary either needs to get better in a hurry, or the offense better return to their days of hanging half a hundred on just about everybody. Still, they have the talent and coaching to do both.

#5 Florida

Walter: I like this team a lot less after watching this game. Though they won the game by 15 points, it wasn't overly impressive especially given that it was played at the Swamp. The defense was great (only giving up 6 points), but it's hard to get excited about shutting down an Alabama offense that only managed to score 13 points against Vanderbilt. The offense, on the other hand, looked soft. The Gator O-Line was outplayed by the 'Bama front 7 for most of the game. Take away Chris Leak's 45 yard run (which was a flukey play) and Florida managed only 88 rushing yards on 32 carries. That is an ugly number, and it could be even uglier this weekend against MUCH tougher LSU defense.

Frazier - As I've said before, the Gators aren't the type of team to be blowing out their opponents. The defense has been more or less as advertised, although Alabama moved the ball pretty effectively at times. It makes you wonder if things might have been different if Kenneth Darby got more than 14 carries (which he lugged for a very respectable 76 yards). Also, once again a quarterback was able to dink and dunk for plenty of yards (240 to be exact). But the defense stiffened at the crucial moments, and generally held Alabama down when it mattered. They also created turnovers which helped add to the total. After the LSU game we'll see if they just play teams close, or if they aren't really that good.

#6 Louisville

Walter: The Cardinals are perhaps the best story in college football that nobody is talking about. I mean, think aboutt the attention Notre Dame would be getting if they were undefeated after losing Brady Quinn and Darius Walker for large portions of the season. Sadly for the Cardinals, even a win over West Virginia and an 11-0 record may not be enough to get them into the BCS Championship game. Since Miami has stunk so much this season, that win looks less impressive every day.

Frazier - Not a whole lot to say about this team this week. What they've done this season is prove to the country that they have much more depth than anyone gave them credit for. Their defense has really been excellent this year, and will be the key to their matchup against WVU.

#7 Oregon

Walter: Alright, I've endured my penance for consistently denigrating the Ducks. I've learned my lesson, and now the Football Gods can see that they get what they deserve. Guess who I'll be picking in their matchup against Cal this Saturday.

Frazier - The Ducks are having a really good year, and they will probably be playing the "no respect" card all season. Well, they should. They are literally getting "no respect" from most of the national pundits. Well, fuck it. They played the games, and they all have W's next to them, and the players can't do anything about all that other shit. Cal has rebounded nicely from the disaster in Knoxville and will prove a real test for Oregon. If the Ducks do what they've been doing (winning games) then they may finally be able to silence their critics.

#8 West Virginia

Walter: While West Virginia is going to have a hard time moving up in the rankings during this stretch when they are playing the East Carolinas and Mississippi States of the world, they will have their opportunity to march into the top 3 in the polls during the final leg of their schedule which features games at Louisville, at Pittsburgh, and at home against Rutgers and South Florida (a very good defensive team). As a side note, I am somewhat interested in the Mountaineers' game this weekend against Mississippi State. The Bulldogs are a very solid defensive football team, and it will be illuminating to see the spread attack against a true SEC defense.

Frazier - Ok, I think most of the nation will collectively space out on the Mountaineers until their monster showdown with Louisville, unless they do something stupid and blow a gimme game. Barring a shocking loss, it looks like WVU will be setting up shop at this spot in the power 10 for some time to come.

#9 LSU

Walter: Congratulations Tigers, you are the first 1 loss team to crack the power 10. Just how great have they been this season? Well, take away the Auburn game and the Tigers have won each of their other four contests by an average score of 47-8. This tells me two things: (1) LSU is one of the best teams in the nation, and (2) that Auburn defense is really, really, good. I love LSU to beat Florida this weekend, in a true statement game. Consider their placement in the top 10 a preemptive strike.

Frazier - The Tigers are back. They are clearly the cream of the one loss team crop. They played an incredibly tight game against Auburn on the road, and other than that they have been mauling their opposition. They also avoided the dreaded #10 spot which has spelled doom for the last couple of weeks. The matchup with Florida will tell us a lot about the SEC. An LSU victory, and it becomes clear that they and Auburn are the elites. A loss would make us question just about everything.

#10 Georgia

Walter: Shutting out South Carolina in Columbia was impressive but lets take a look at the other teams the Bulldogs have played: Western Carolina, UAB, Colorado, Mississippi. Western Carolina is a division 1AA team. UAB is 108th in the nation in scoring offense, Colorado is 114, and Mississippi is 111. If that's who you've played you damn well better have the top defense in the nation! Georgia is the King of the overrated teams. Their defense is overrated and they have serious offensive concerns. Let's put it this way, if Joe Tereshinski is the answer to any of your teams' problems, well that's not a good thing. Plus, apparently there is a curse on the #10 spot in our power rankings.

Frazier - Georgia got dropped because I am downright sick of them. They are so inept offensively that it makes me want to hurl things at the tv. Also, while their defense has looked impressive, they might as well have been playing the Athens, Ga. pee-wee squad. I think the #10 spot curse takes them out this weekend. Well, more likely it will be Joe T. throwing lame ducks into quadruple coverage. Because that's how he rolls.

Probably the only Bulldog that can come down with another one of Joe T.'s lame ducks.