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My AP Top 10 Today! October 16th, 2022!
Just a heads up guys. My work schedule has been all over the place and I’ve been busy on my off days. As a result, post have been infrequent and probably will be this week too. Anyway, I won’t bore you with the details. Let’s get into the post!
#1 Georgia- For two weeks, Georgia looked very beatable. This was coming off a dominant month of football. After sleepwalking through Missouri into their near demise, Georgia has finally woken up. It’s a good thing, too. Tennessee looks to fit the billing of a top 4 team. That matchup looms big now. Georgia is the only team with two shutout victories this season. They’ve played complete football for two weeks. And they still have that win over Oregon in their back pocket.
#2 Michigan- I’ve made the case before on this blog Michigan is the 2nd best team in the country, they just lacked the quality win to go with their slaughtering of lesser teams. Then, a lot like Georgia, the wins got uglier. They weren’t just going for the throats of their opponents. And at halftime against Penn State yesterday, Michigan looked like maybe they weren’t ready to play another top 10 team. They still seemed to be in control. Penn State couldn’t do anything on offense and Michigan could move at will. Suddenly, Michigan was settling for field goals while Penn State popped off some major boom plays. A long run by QB Clifford followed by a Pick Sick score for the Lions. Penn State actually had the lead despite their QB being 1-3 for 8 yards midway through the 2nd, 14-13. Then, if you blinked, Michigan was up 41-17 and the game was over. As if it was never in any doubt. As if the game was never close, not even once.
#3 Ohio State– You could certainly make the case for another team being here. After all, Ohio State was on bye while another team was out getting one of the best wins of the season. Time will tell in the end.
#4 Tennessee- Some people will have Tennessee #1 or even #2 after the game they put on Alabama. My problem with Tennessee is they still almost choked. Texas and Texas A and M showed how beatable Alabama was but how hard they are to kill. Tennessee almost joined that club. The fireworks started early. Tennessee jumped up 28-10 at one point. Well, Tennessee forgot how to play not only offense but defense as well. And soon, Alabama was up 35-34. There was another point where Tennessee put it on the ground and Alabama scooped and scored to go up 49-42. All signs pointed to Alabama houdining their way out of another loss. Alabama still has not found a reliable kicker in Sabans near two decade reign. As a result, Tennessee was able to get their own field foal attempt off. Winning the game 52-49.
#5 Clemson– Clemson has been silently impressing me this season. They aren’t outright obliterating teams like Michigan and Ohio State. They dont really have a signature out of conference win like Georgia or Alabama. However, Clemson is in the midst of a “Monster of the Week” ACC schedule. They beat Wake Forest, NC State and Florida State in 3 straight weeks. And the heat continues when they play an unbeaten Syracuse team. People will scoff at those names who do not follow the ACC or take it seriously. However, Wake Forest has one of the most electrifying QBs in the nation. Florida State beat a quality LSU team. I’ll admit NC State as been a little underwhelming this year. But their only two losses are to undefeated Clemson and undefeated Syracuse. They even sniffed the top 10 til Clemson got them. The problem, I think, for them is the nation at large doesn’t respect those other schools I named, so Clemson needs to be dismantling those schools, not letting them hang around. Next week should again be very telling.
#6 Alabama- I’m sure people will be outraged with the #6 spot for Alabama. But I actually think it’s the perfect spot for a multitude of reasons. The teams that could have been breathing down their necks, USC and Oklahoma State, both lost. That helps soften their fall. Secondly, the polls were already moving Alabama down. Since becoming #1, Alabama fell in back to back weeks. Its means the polls were starting to get worried about Alabama. And how could you not. I don’t have the stats in front of me, but they have to be one of the most penalized teams in the nation. The turnovers are scary, too. And the kicking game continues to give Saban heart attacks on a yearly basis. Alabama has two things going for them. A. Saban. It’s hard to envision a Saban team getting 3 losses. B. The sheer talent found on that roster. All Alabama fans wanted to say last year was their rebuild. I rolled my eyes at that and now you see why. This is the year that feels like a rebuild. Saban and Young are doing everything to hide the glaring flaws of this squad. But what I learned about this team is simple. If you take Young and Gibbs off this team, they easily have 3 losses already. But when Young and Gibbs decide its go time, the rest of the team plays better. They just finally messed around too much.
#7 TCU- What a turn of events for the hornfrogs. They go from utter destroying Oklahoma to scratching back against Oklahoma State. But you get to make crazy leaps like jumping from 13 to 7 when the number 7 and 8 team lose and you are the one who sent 8 home. TCU has weathered most of what the B12 can throw at them. Though, Kansas State and Texas still look for the Hornfrogs.
#8 UCLA- I may be the person highest on UCLA right now. They were on bye, but they had one of the best two week stretches of any team when they bounced Washington and Utah. They got a bye week to prepare for Oregon. That game will decide a lot.
#9 Ole Miss- Ole Miss is waiting for their shot to get a few more quality wins under their belt. The bad news is Mississippi State and Texas A and M have dropped, while Kentucky Arkansas and LSU all took steps up this weekend.
#10 Oregon- The Pac 12 always seems to be lingering for the 10 team spot. As right now it could go to UCLA, Oregon or USC. Oklahoma State could also have a claim at it. Considering their only loss came in OT at fellow undefeated TCUs home turf. A game in which they were up 30-16. Not to mention Still I’m going Oregon. They’ve looked solid since bouncing back to the thumping they took last week. It also sets up a top 10 matchup next week, Oregon and UCLA.
So that’s my top 10. There were still plenty of teams that have an argument for the ten spot. Which is why this reveal will be one of the more interesting ones to watch.
Thank you guys so much for reading. Have a great day.
My AP Top 10 as of October 10th, 2021
Yesterday gave us maybe the most insane week yet. Cincinnati took care of business Thursday. Michigan survived against Nebraska, Georgia cemented they are the new number 1. Oklahoma rallied back to rip Texas’ heart out again. And oh yeah, Alabama lost to an unranked Texas A and M team. Here’s my new top 10.
Georgia- Georgia has been the most impressive and complete team all year. It was just hard to take that spot from Alabama with all they had accomplished this year and last.
Iowa- Full disclosure, in my opinion, Penn State would have won if Clifford had stayed healthy. Still Iowa won an ugly 3 point game that came down to the fact Iowa made the plays when they needed to.
Cincinnati- if you hate Cinderella stories or football outside of the South, this pick has your eyes rolling. However, Cincinnati continues to look the part, and should all year. The question will become will being undefeated keep UC in the top 4 all year. Bama and Oregon losing helps. If the power five schools don’t have undefeated teams at the end, this could be the year a group of five school gets in.
Oklahoma- Oklahoma continues to be underwhelming and must see football. If Rattler continues to start and struggle, the ceiling is low. But if Williams balls out well against ISU, Baylor and Oklahoma State, skies the limit for maybe the most interesting team in the country.
Penn State- Penn State with Clifford for four quarters beats that Iowa team. That would solidify them as a top 2 team. Sadly for them, that’s not how the ball bounced. Penn State without Clifford will continue to lose and fade from the top 25 with how intense that division is. Losing Clifford in a game that felt like a playoff game was a terrible twist of fate.
Alabama- Alabama has been impressive, no doubt. However, they looked beatable against Flordia before smacking Ole Miss. Another trip on the road leads to less than desirable results. Still Alabama had moments in both the Florida game and Texas A and M game where they looked like the clear dominate force. A loss is a loss and this loss stings. Texas A and M was on a two game losing streak with their back up QB in. They blew a 14 point lead but rallied back to win with a walk off field goal, delivering Alabama their first loss. I think Alabama would beat PSU if they played today, but Penn State got the better lose Saturday.
Ohio State- OSU made the jump over Oregon in the rankings when Oregon stumbled at Stanford. With Oregon on bye and OSU cruising to another win today, no reason to change things here.
Oregon- a bye week keeps them from jumping the losing teams in front of them. The Ohio State win is still a quality win to keep them here.
Michigan State- Personally, at this point I think MSU has done enough to jump Michigan for now. Michigan State is roughing up the teams they are suppose to.
Michigan- I said it last week I was a skeptic of UM this high. They keep winning which is more than the likes of BYU can say. I don’t think they could beat Ohio State, MSU or PSU with a healthy Clifford but they have looked more complete than say Oklahoma. Michigan needs that first quality win to really validate this top 10 spot after struggling against Nebraska.
So there’s my list. Thank you guys for reading. Have a great day guys!