Week 8 saw some contenders take a few steps back in my rankings. With that a few teams that are off the beaten path have risen to notoriety. I clearly don’t expect this to be the field come December, but there are a few squads that can wreck the party as the smoke clears in conference play. Let it be a lesson that no one is safe once games kickoff on the weekend. Strap up those chinstraps because my bracket makes its first appearance for the season.
| Abrasive Rank | Team | Record | Week 9 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Indiana | 7-0 | UCLA |
| 2 | BYU | 7-0 | @ Iowa State |
| 3 | Ohio State | 7-0 | Bye |
| 4 | Texas A&M | 7-0 | @ LSU |
| 5 | Georgia Tech | 7-0 | Syracuse |
| 6 | Navy | 6-0 | Florida Atlantic |
| 7 | Alabama | 6-1 | @ South Carolina |
8. Cincinnati
The Bearcats pulled a shocker early in September when they knocked off then undefeated Iowa State in impressive fashion. They’ve since rolled off 3 more Big 12 wins; the latest was a rout of conference staple, Oklahoma State in Stillwater. The game wasn’t much for fireworks outgaining the Cowboys in yardage 427 to 377. Two turnovers helped them hold the home team off. Brendan Sorsby (top 5 in passing yards) completed 70% of his passes and tossed four touchdowns to put him at 18 on the season. Cincy will look to keep the streak going when Baylor comes to town this week, but they will need to stay hot if they want to contend for the conference title especially with a BYU match up late in the season.
I’d like to think that as long as Notre Dame is not a top 12 team, that more than one none-Power 4 team could get into the field. James Madison is as good a pick as any of them right now. They’re riding nationally ranked top 5 defense, giving up just under 240 yards per game. The Dukes lone loss came at the hands of a rather hot Louisville team at the start of the season. Wayne Knight is the Sun Belt’s second leading rusher, but he didn’t get off on ODU like Alonza Barnett III, who went for north of 150 with 4 touchdowns. Nick DeGennaro added another 100+ in receiving with two scores himself as they ran away with a 63-27 win last week. Their biggest obstacle will be the schedule with their remaining opponents being conference foes and a late season game against Washington State.
If my rankings haven’t gone of the rails of reality, they definitely have with the Bulls being the 3rd non-Power 4 program on my list. They were outclassed by Miami weeks after pulling a stunner in Gainesville, but if they can ride to the top of the American Conference, I see no reason to consider them as a contender at this point. They were powered by the do-everything QB, Byrum Brown (top passer in the American and accounting for 36 points this season). He tuned up FAU with 256 passing yards, 111 rushing, and four total scores. Two big road games, first at Memphis this week and later at Navy, can solidify them as a team to notice. If they can avoid a letdown and outpace some high powered opponents, I’m fine with them sliding up a few spots to challenge in one of the campus site games.
| Abrasive Rank | Team | Record | Week 9 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | Arizona State | 5-2 | Houston |
| 12 | Virginia | 6-1 | @ North Carolina |
Games to Watch
Ole Miss @ Oklahoma; Missouri @ Vanderbilt
