A New & Improved College Football Top 25

Last week, the NCAA's college football playoff committee debuted their first top 25 rankings in their second season in power. I did not feel comfortable releasing a top 25 immediately for two reasons.

A. I did not have the time.

B. Alabama-LSU would have erased whatever I wrote about those two teams last week.

So, now it is time for me to come out from my two-television cellar and tell everyone how the rankings SHOULD look.

My College Football Ranks (and only mine)

(AP Photo/Paul Vernon)
Ezekiel Elliott is ready to enter Heisman conversations now.

#1. Ohio State - After a 28-14 win over Minnesota, the Buckeyes now have three underwhelming victories over less-than-stellar football universities. J.T. Barrett is back under center after a one-game suspension for operating a vehicle under the influence and in every game Barrett has started, the Buckeyes look like the same team that won the title last season. The rest of the team is loaded with talent but, they are still just as reliant on their #1 QB as every other team.

#2. Clemson - The ACC should be all theirs with a win over Florida State this past Saturday. 23-13 might not be dominant enough to convince people to keep them at #1 however, the team is still nearly fully healthy and has had one of the strongest strength of schedules so far.

#3. Baylor - I understand and kind of support the decision to keep the Big 12 leader out of the playoff since the conference doesn't have a championship game (the ONLY reason they are behind 'Bama in reality) but realistically speaking, this is a playoff team with college's best offense.

#4. Oklahoma State - After the Cowboys sneaked out a few wins over disappointments like Texas, Kansas State and West Virginia, I never saw this team upsetting TCU. QB Mason Rudolph and WR James Washington have exploded into the public eye and the team has clearly changed since the tragedy that took place at their homecoming parade.

#5. Alabama - No matter how good Nick Saban's team is, they will find a way into the playoff thanks to the importance of TV ratings. The defense is finally playing like a Crimson Tide defense and Derrick Henry is another Running Back with a legitimate chance at the Heisman. This team better hope they never fall behind though, as the passing game still leaves a lot left to be desired.

#6. Iowa - As usual, the Hawkeye offensive line is fantastic. The thing that surprises me most about the leap from 2014 to 2015 for Iowa is the progress of QB C.J. Beathard. He went from battling Michigan QB Jake Rudock for a starting job (when he was not anything special) to becoming a good game-manager that can also spread the pigskin around to multiple receivers. He's probably not up for the test of an Ohio State defense quite yet but, Iowa's defense is ready for the Big Ten Championship.

#7. LSU - Whatever flaws they had were exposed by Alabama and yet, I still believe in Brandon Harris as a college QB and obviously, this was a fluke game from Leonard Fournette.

#8. Notre Dame - I had not watched enough Pittsburgh Panther football this year and yet, the way the Fighting Irish dominated them surprised the heck out of me. This might be one of the better underrated offensive lines around as it does not seem to matter who is lined up in the backfield, success will follow.

#9. Stanford - Nobody trusts Kevin Hogan in big games but, Ed McCaffery's son Christian is finding every hole in his path and destroying teams single-handedly. If this defense suffered any type of loss, the Cardinal would be in trouble but, they breezed through Colorado this weekend.

#10. Oklahoma - It's odd seeing Oklahoma not getting enough respect when in years past, the argument could have been made that they got too much respect. When the conference is in flux, apparently the Sooners are just considered part of the problem instead of a top-ten team.

#11. TCU - With all of the injuries that I have brought up every week, it should not have been as surprising to see them crumble against a real team like Oklahoma State. Mike Gundy had the perfect gameplan for Trevone Boykin and whatever it was, it worked as he threw four picks in his worst game ever. The team is not out of the playoff chase but, with the lack of value put on Big 12 teams, it's doubtful they will ever be in the same discussions as Alabama or Notre Dame again in 2015.

#12. Michigan State - How does one rank a team that had no business defeating Michigan and no business losing to Nebraska? Are those two ties? one loss? I just don't think this team is anywhere near as good as everyone else believes. Connor Cook has taken steps backward and the running game misses Jeremy Langford. The defense is still just as alive as ever but, questions are rising after getting beaten by Nebraska's lame-duck offense.

#13. Florida - 9-7 win over Vanderbilt? Yuck. Ok. Sure. They are 100% going to lose again this season with the suspension of Will Grier.

#14. Utah - The defense did a nice job against Washington but, has looked like less of a threat than in previous battles. At least their defense isn't their shaky offense. 

#15. Michigan - The Wolverines crushing of Rutgers should surprise nobody. Rutgers is terrible. The thing that does surprise me (still) is how competent this offense is in their first year under Jim Harbaugh. He really has done amazing things with this program and has done more than saved what would otherwise be another depressing 6-6 or 5-7 year. They are 7-2 and without one botched punt, would be 8-1.

#16. Houston - Barely sneaking past Cincinnati is not going to garner them more respect but, Cincy is underrated and it should not hurt the Cougars chances at passing up the two-loss schools.

#17. North Carolina - Wasn't the Tar Heel key to success this season through their defense? A 66-31 win over ultimate-rival Duke might have given the committee a new perspective on this underrated ACC team. 

#18. Temple - Giving up 40 to SMU is sort of ridiculous. Scoring 60 points is ridiculously good. Ultimately, the Owls did nothing to their ranking in my opinion and that loss to highly-ranked Notre Dame is still the only blemish on their results.

#19. UCLA - Shutting out Oregon State would have done a lot more for the public perception of the Bruins if Oregon State weren't two less-qualified people running from the boulder in Indiana Jones. Either way, a shutout is a shutout and Josh Rosen looked a lot more like his week one self and Jim Mora's team has a real shot at a Pac-12 title once they defeat Utah on the 21st.

#20. Wisconsin - Two losses to two top-six teams. A 7-point win over Maryland gets you nowhere but, a win is a win and despite Wisconsin's Quarterback being a Punter who showed up for the wrong tryouts one day, the Badgers two losses are extremely respectable. It might not be the Badger team of old and yet, they'd have a real chance against Michigan State right now.

#21. Navy - They beat undefeated Memphis.

#22. Memphis - They lost to one-loss Navy.

#23. Florida State - The ACC still isn't the definition of tremendous accomplishment in college football but, Florida State is still really good and have only lost to #1-at-the-moment Clemson and Georgia Tech on a wild last-minute play. I could see this team winning out no matter which of the two Quarterbacks (Sean Maguire/Everett Golson) starts. Jimbo Fisher should probably feel safer in starting Maguire for the future.

#24. Boise State - Teams always look better after taking a week off and after some studying, the Broncos look a lot better with every one of their wins being dominant (outside of the opener against Washington) and two shutouts. The losses to BYU and Utah State are not great by any means but, figuring out the 24th and 25th ranked teams usually requires a dartboard at this point in the season. 

#25. Western Kentucky - I didn't think I'd be ranking this team again after they lost to LSU but, here we are. They nearly defeated Indiana (35-38) and held on for a half against one of the nation's best teams in LSU. Conference-USA might be a whole bunch of easy pushovers but, the Hilltoppers still seem better prepared for out of conference games than expected.

My Heisman Ballot

Photo by Bill Feig
Despite a bad game against a rival team, Leonard Fournette is still the only name that seems to fit the "Heisman Favorite" label at this moment.

#1. RB Leonard Fournette (LSU) - 1,383 Rushing yards-7.1 YPC-16 TD's

#2. RB Derrick Henry (Alabama) - 1,254 Rushing yards-5.8 YPC-17 TD's

#3. WR Corey Coleman (Baylor) - 58-1,178-20 TD's

#4. RB Ezekiel Elliott (Ohio State) - 1,244 Rushing yards-6.4 YPC-14 TD's

#5. QB Trevone Boykin (TCU) - 65.9%-3,373-29 TD-9 INT, 597 Rushing yards-8 TD's

Good luck to your teams and may the robots in the committee programmed by Nick Saban form opinions of their own!