Here we go folks. I did these rankings late Saturday night as the Michigan game was wrapping up. I have witnesses who will verify that timing.
- ALABAMA 12-1 Seen this before haven’t we?! Guess I will also add that I have to vote for BRYCE YOUNG/QB as the Heisman Winner.
- MICHIGAN 12-1 JIM HARBAUGH has finally broken through. Beat Ohio State and won Big 10.
- GEORGIA 12-1 Their one weakness was exposed against ‘Bama… their rebuilt secondary.
- CINCINNATI 13-0 I cannot ignore the only major undefeated team left. Congrats to the Bearcats and all the non-Power 5 teams out there.
- NOTRE DAME 11-1 Join a Conference, you egotists. As Champs in the ACC, you might have been ranked 1 slot higher.
- OHIO STATE 10-2 Still stinging from that loss to Michigan, their Bowl opponent might get a whoopin’ at their hands.
- OLE MISS 10-2 LANE KIFFIN is still an ascending Coach and the Ole Miss program played a tough schedule.
- OKLAHOMA STATE 11-2 Given the roster composition of this team, you might have to consider MIKE GUNDY as Coach of the Year.
- MICHIGAN STATE 10-2 And MEL TUCKER has to be in that talk as well. No one saw this coming for the Spartans, except perhaps TUCKER himself. Then he sold it to his players.
- OKLAHOMA 10-2 Their poor Defense and overall softness bit them big time this season, and Loss of HC RILEY isn’t gonna help them rebound. Unless…
- BAYLOR 11-2 Talk about another surprise team. This is a big surprise and DAVE ARANDA is looking like another rising star in the coaching ranks.
- PITTSBURGH 11-2 An eleven Win season; an ACC Championship; a likely First Round QB in the NFL Draft. Wow!
- LOUISIANA/LAFAYETTE 12-1 Another big Win season for the Ragin’ Cajuns, and the keys to the Florida program for BILLY NAPIER.
- UTAH 10-3 A bunch of injuries cost this team a slow start, but as we should have known, HC WHITTINGHAM pulled them together. They could beat Oregon 4 out of 5 times right now.
- U.T.S.A 12-1 The 3rd non-Power 5 in my Top 15… pretty impressive, and well deserved.
- BRIGHAM YOUNG (BYU) 10-2 Head Coach KALANI SITAKE isn’t going anywhere soon, but should start to get some belated recognition in the coaching field. And after losing WILSON to the No. 2 spot in the last NFL Draft, another double digit Win total.
- WAKE FOREST 10-3 Very solid season, but they did fade in the final month of play.
- OREGON 10-3 Too many key injuries, and a UTAH team they just don’t match up against. Now they have to find a new coach.
- HOUSTON 11-2 DANA HOLGORSEN often puts on a sideshow on the sidelines on game day, but he can also put together a solid team.
- IOWA 10-3 KIRK FERENTZ, and family, always gets his guys to develop and play tough against more talented teams. They play old-fashioned football and make it work most Saturdays.
That’s it, boys and girls… at least for now. Time for that good old NCAA game called Bowling For Dollars.
Besides surprise teams on this list, I was also impressed that 4 of my Top 20 are Non-Power 5 programs. (I consider Notre Dame & BYU to be Power 5, just not in Conferences). Also interesting that 4 of these 20 teams are looking for new Head Coaches.
I’ll do this one more time after the Championship Game has been played amongst those Final 4 Teams.
Cheers
Pigskin