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My AP Top 10 as of October 30nd, 2022
The top 10 were pretty quiet this week. However, we still have plenty of shake ups. Let’s get into it.
#1 Tennessee- I’m not really sure how it could be anyone other than Tennessee. Georgia and Ohio State looked dominant at times, but Tennessee put together the most complete game this weekend slaughtering rival #19 Kentucky. This mean Tennessee has now beat formerly ranked Pittsburgh, Florida and Kentucky and currently ranked Alabama and LSU. Those reasons alone should get them to #1. However, I think the floor for them is #2. That way they can drum up the Georgia Tennessee match being #1 vs #2.
#2 Georgia- Georgia is probably the most complete team in the country. Their win against Oregon continues to be an archer for some of their shaking games. Georgia played a dominant first half against Florida, however two of the touchdowns were a little fluky. Still, Georgia regrouped in the 2nd half to pull away from Florida.
#3 Michigan- Part of me hopes Ohio State and Michigan remain unbeaten until they play. There’s not much of a justification here other then I trust Michigan’s run game on bad days more than I do Ohio State’s passing game on a bad day. But who truly knows yet.
#4 Ohio State– By all accounts, Ohio State deserved to lose this game through 3 quarters. When Penn State went up 21-16 with about 9 minutes left, Ohio State turned on the jets scoring 4 touchdowns in 8 minutes. There’s still reasons to be concerned here as OSU has continued to settle for field goals. It’s that inability to finish drives that makes me nervous. However, a match up between Tennessee and Ohio State sounds like the most fun matchup for a bowl game this year.
#5 Clemson- No one believes in Clemson. Admittedly their resume took the biggest hit yesterday when Wake Forest and Syraucse both lost and NC State won by 1 point. They were on bye last week and remain unbeaten. However, TCU could jump them at this rate.
#6 TCU- There was some legitimate consideration for TCU at 5. This time next week and they could be. Their over KSU got a lot prettier (but at the same time going to OT with Oklahoma State now looks worse.). Needing to pull away from West Virginia late certainly limited their jumping potential this week. Still, I feel like they’ve accomplished more than Alabama up to this point in the season
#7 Alabama– Alabama was on bye.
#8 Oregon- Oregon just keeps on winning. Nothing really to add to that. They handled Cal last week.
#9 USC– USC went on the road and escaped an Arizona team. USC still has some its harder foes ahead of them, but they are 7-1 so far.
#10 UCLA– There wasn’t too much drama this week. Oklahoma State got bounced hard and Wake Forest got upset. This allowed for UCLA, who handled business this week, to climb back in the top 10. With Penn State losing and Ole Miss getting a good scare to an awful Texas A and M team, it left little doubt who was going land at the ten spot. Utah and Kansas State are two 2 loss teams with quality wins trying to get in. For now, UCLA was clear choice for this week.
My AP Top 10 as of October 22nd, 2022
What an interesting week. Georgia Michigan and USC were all byes. TCU and Alabama faced off against fellow ranked teams and UCLA and Ogregon battled each other.
#1 Georgia- My top two teams from last week were on bye. As a result there isn’t much to write this week.
#2 Michigan- See #1 above.
#3 Ohio State– Before it was Ohio State vs Alabama for the two spot. Now it’s Ohio State vs Tennessee for the 3 spot. I’m not upset either way. Tennessee has had some horrible defensive moments, while Ohio State’s best win is Notre Dame. Again, these things will sort themselves out in the end.
#4 Tennessee- With LSU most likely joining the ranks soon, Tennessee continues to have the best overall resume. The argument for who has the best win comes down to Tennessee over Alabama or Georgia over Oregon. Tennessee’s win holds value because of its historical significance and name recognition of who they beat, despite it being a walk off field win at home. While Georgia’s gets a lot of credit for how utterly dominant they were and how good Oregon has looked since.
#5 Clemson- Let’s get the negative comments out of the way now. Clemson continues to start slow. Clemson continues to look beatable. Clemson continues to make it hard to defend a team that has now beaten three ranked opponents. Three teams that Clemson was their first loss. NC State, Wake Forest and Syracuse all watched perfect seasons die to the Tigers. Even FSU was a solid team. Still, it is the best 4 game stint the ACC has thrown at Clemson in a long time. I wish Clemson would have delivered knock out blows earlier in each match. But they’re undefeated. That counts for something. I consider Alabama the cut off for tier S. If Clemson keeps struggling early, Alabama will jump them.
#6 Alabama- Even if I think this is the worst Saban team in a long time, it’s still hard to bash too hard on this team. Alabama didn’t give Mississippi State the thrashing most teams get from Alabama. Yet, this was still one of, if not their best win of the season. With close calls against Texas, Texas A and M and Tennessee, and they allowed Arkansas to climb back in for a quarter, it must have been nice to not have to sweat a power 5 matchup. Truthfully, I’m not sure what to do with Alabama. As TCU has the better win and is undefeated. They’ve earned a higher spot than Alabama. Oregon has the worse loss, but a better resume as a whole. I feel like they’ve earned a higher spot as well. Though, I’m not sure either of those teams could win at Alabama. Yet, Alabama has been horrible on the road and would probably lose at either of their home fields.
#7 TCU- TCU has now beaten Oklahoma, Kansas, Oklahoma State and Kansas State in consecutive weeks. They are now just a win over Texas away from most likely being undefeated heading into the B12 Championship Game. I think a dominating performance against Texas could elevate them over Alabama since Alabama struggled to the Longhorns.
#8 Oregon- Oregon is probably wishing they played anyone but Georgia in week 1 as they have been rolling people. UCLA and Oregon were two of the hottest teams in the country and Oregon extinguished UCLA seemingly before the opening kickoff. It was truly a game that was never in any real doubt. Its hard to hold week 1 against them, you just wish they had shown a pulse at some point in that game. Otherwise, this team would be battling for the 5 spot.
#9 Oklahoma State– With Ole Miss and UCLA thumped, it vacated two new spots. Oklahoma State is the most deserving team to take that 9 spot. Their only loss is to unbeaten TCU. They responded to that loss by handling a red hot Texas team. They find themselves in a decent spot to make a run for the title game.
#10 Wake Forest– Wake Forest is benefitting from two things. A. Both USC and Utah are on byes (as though would be two teams gunning for this ten spot.). B. They have a QB that can play with anyone. This is supported by the fact their only loss was in overtime to Clemson. They might not quite be a juggernaut or household name, but I like them a lot up to this point in the season.
So that’s my top ten. I had a Halloween party yesterday so I don’t have a lot of other predictions. I will say the B12 probably takes a big hit as I think K State and Texas could drop out of the rankings. While the SEC will get a nice bump as LSU and South Carolina look to jump into the top 25.
Thanks for reading. Have a great day.
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.
Da_Hubbz 