“The Dirty Dozen” College Football Rankings Week 3

 


By: Chris Dyer (Dirty)


I had a feeling we would see some movement in the rankings this week and we damn sure did. Lots of teams played down to their competition or lost. This coming Saturday we will see more jockeying as the postseason picture becomes clearer and clearer as late season big games are played. We have some heavyweight games being played this weekend and it is going to be an awesome day for college football fans. Let’s get into this week’s rankings.


1. Alabama Crimson Tide (6-0) – Alabama sputtered a little out of the gate last week against Kentucky but was very dominant in the game. It ended up 48-7 and could have been as bad as Bama wanted it. They play Arkansas at home this week and expect a beat down of epic proportions as Brett Bielema ran his mouth about the SEC and Saban at a fundraiser and Alumni dinner right after he got hired. Saban has a habit of shutting people’s mouths by ramming his foot so far up their asses they never do it again.


2. Clemson Tigers (6-0) – Clemson struggled with Boston College which was somewhat expected considering they had FSU this weekend. They showed the mettle of a quality team by winning by double digits even when they were not playing their best football. This weekend will tell the tale for this version of the Tigers as they play the Criminoles in “Death Valley”. This win could propel Taj Boyd near the top of the heap in the Heisman race if he shows out on national TV against the very talented FSU team.


3. LSU Tigers (5-1) – LSU proved they can still win with defense. In a huge rivalry game with the Florida Gators the defense stepped up and held the Gators in check. This was needed as starting QB Zach Mettenberger tweaked his knee early on and played hobbled all day and didn’t have the mobility he usually does. LSU travels to Ole Miss this weekend and should not have much trouble especially with their top defensive end, Robert Nkemdiche, out with a knee injury.


4. Oregon Ducks (6-0) – Oregon leapfrogs FSU this week by virtue of FSU not playing couple with them going into a volatile environment and winning by 20 points. The Ducks went into Washington and played a whale of a game. The game was closer to the score but Mariota and company answered every score that Washington made and broke it open late in the 4th quarter. They play a Washington State team at home this weekend and probably will name the score after Washington State got hammered by 30+ by a mediocre Oregon State ball club.


5. Florida State (5-0) – Florida State was off this past weekend so they have had two weeks to prepare for Taj Boyd and Sammy Watkins of the Clemson Tigers. This is going to be the biggest game in the ACC since the old FSU/Miami battles of the 80’s and 90’s. The winner of this game puts themselves in great position to play for a National Title if someone slips up. Bobby Bowden came out over the past couple of days and said Jameis Winston is as good a QB as FSU has ever had and I agree with him. Kid is very good as he is completing 73% of his passes and 1441 yards and 17 TDs and only 2 interceptions. Clemson will have their hands full with this kid.


6. Texas A&M Aggies (5-1 ) – I don’t know how long Johnny Manziel and the A&M offense can keep bailing that awful defense out but this team just keeps winning. No matter how many points it gives up they just are outscoring opponents. They went into Ole Miss and should have lost and pull out a 41-38 win. Can this team beat one of the top 5 teams in my list? Most likely not as those teams have good defenses and high powered offenses but they are the better of the 2nd tier at the moment. They play an undefeated Auburn team at home this weekend and should have little trouble winning even though the War Eagles cracked the top 25.


7. Stanford Cardinal (5-1) – The Cardinal ran into a buzz saw last week when they traveled to Utah to play the Utes and ended up getting beat 27-21. This was a good game against an underrated Utah team. I saw this game as a possible upset with UCLA on the Horizon with the winner playing Oregon to basically decide the PAC-12 Championship. Let’s see how they come out this week against the Bruins at home.


8. Ohio State Buckeyes (6-0) – The Buckeyes rose to 8 this week by default. They were off this past weekend and with UGA, Oklahoma and losing ahead of them and lackluster performances by Louisville they had nowhere to go but up. This team has yet to play anyone and will not until they play Michigan to end the season. They have had two weeks to prepare for Iowa at home. Let’s see if they slap the taste out of their mouth like they should.


9. South Carolina Gamecocks (5-1) – South Carolina would have cracked The Dirty Dozen last week if Conner Shaw were not hurt. He came back with a bang and after falling behind 7-0 to Arkansas early they responded with a 52-7 asskicking. Clowney is back and seems to have his head on right again and all this Shaw kid does is win. Gets no respect and that is one of the great things about it as they will come out of nowhere to bite you in the ass. They easily could be undefeated if it weren’t for a late costly turnover against UGA early in the season. This team is the best in the SEC East right now and they go to Knoxville to play the Tennessee Inbred Volunteers this Saturday at noon. Don’t be surprised to see another banner day from Shaw against the sponge the Vols call a defense.


10. Miami (Fla) (5-0) – The Hurricanes have their best team in over a decade after probation decimated them. Al Golden has done a great job building this team thru adversity and they sit undefeated with a week off before they travel to play UNC this Thursday night on ESPN. This is a great showcase for Miami to show the nation they are almost back to elite status. Expect them to kick ass and take names in primetime.


11. UCLA Bruins (5-0) – The UCLA Bruins fell from the rankings last week but are back with a vengeance this week as all Jim Mora’s team does is keep on winning. They went into Utah and win 34-27, go to Nebraska and kick the Huskers ass from pillar to post 41-21 and then they do what you’re supposed to against a bad team and annihilated Cal 37-10 last week when they could have been looking ahead to Stanford this weekend on the road. This may be the 2nd best team in the PAC-12 behind Oregon and this Saturday we will have that answer.


12. Louisville Cardinals (6-0) – The luster just keeps on wearing off of the Cardinals. They are like the fake diamond ring a dumbass gives his fiancée and then 3 months later it turns her finger green. They started off like gangbusters but Charlie Strong’s Club just doesn’t look as good after watching them play for a couple of months. They are still a very good football team but not in that upper echelon. They have a habit of playing down to their competition which was evident last Thursday when they played Rutgers and won 24-10. That is a respectable score on the road, but not at home. They should have beaten Rutgers handily and put up at least 40+ points against that bad defense. If they come out flat again Central Florida may take a bite out of that Cardinal ass this coming Friday night in primetime on ESPN.


Baylor almost made the rankings again after they pulled away from a pesky Kansas State team this past weekend but their week schedule keeps them off of it for now. We will find out what they are made of in November and early December when they play Oklahoma, Texas Tech, Okie State, TCU and Texas all in a row. Their Schedule maker needs fired. Let’s hear some feedback ladies and gents and get ready for another week of awesome college football.



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“The Dirty Dozen” College Football Rankings Week 3