NCAA Football '16: What The Top 25 Should Be

Every year seems to get around to the same doom-and-gloom revelation that "Oh yeah, Alabama is going to win this whole thing and nobody else matters". I'm typically more reluctant to buy into the strengths of the Crimson Tide until the committee announces their final four but, this season seems to truly be Nick Saban's to lose and nobody comes close to this iteration of Alabama's team. They've already taken care of all the overhyped SEC teams like Ole Miss (RIP Chad Kelly's college career), Arkansas, Tennessee and Texas A&M and 'Bama just locked in a postseason spot with their 10-0 shutout win over LSU. So, what now? Auburn certainly provides a challenge but, are there any other teams in contention that could take them to task? It's still going to be a few weeks before we figure the answer to that semi-vague question so, it's time to figure out what other teams might have a chance at breaking up the obvious and see who might control their own destiny in the college playoff in my first installation of what this year's college football top 25 SHOULD look like.

My Top 25 College Football Teams (as of 11/7/16)

#1. Alabama Crimson Tide - Just accomplished their first shutout of a ranked team since they shutout Nick Saban's 2002 LSU Tigers. QB Jalen Hurts needs to show up earlier in games than he did in this one.

#2. Michigan - Jim Harbaugh is being lauded for his ability to turn any mediocre quarterback into an NFL-caliber athlete (see: Jake Rudock) with Wilton Speight's sudden success but, I'm still more impressed by his recruiting as he seems to be the strongest in that particular skill now. Maryland never stood a chance.

#3. Clemson - Clemson actually shutout Syracuse (which Michigan could not do to Maryland) and that is not as easy a feat had Syracuse QB Eric Dungey remained in the game. The Tigers schedule has been slightly easier than Michigan's although this is a season chock full of sloppier football from the big-name schools. Hopefully DeShaun Watson's shoulder is healed in time to face Pitt on Saturday.

#4. Washington - It did not take long for me to fall in love with this Washington team. The faux outrage expressed over their #5 seeding last week was fun but, did not matter then and will not matter now if the committee decides to rip them off again despite dropping 66 on California.

#5. Ohio State - Whether Tommy Armstrong Jr. suffers a scary injury or not, the Buckeyes were going to demolish Nebraska with ease. Urban Meyer's team caught many off guard after a few weeks in a row of looking underwhelming and then BAM! 62-3 over former #10 Nebraska. They will not be underestimated again any time soon.

#6. Louisville - Lamar Jackson is so fun to watch that I kept tuning back into their 52-7 rout of Boston College Saturday afternoon just to see how many more touchdowns he had left in his arms and legs. At the end of the day, he had his third seven touchdown game of the season. It's a shame we haven't gotten one of those perfectly-timed Heisman pose photos yet...

Jamie Rhodes - USA TODAY Sports
Oh. So, it does exist.

#7. Wisconsin - Five top ten opponents and two losses by a touchdown. This team has really dedicated themselves to that "next man up" mentality and I am impressed by the defensive depth created in the Badgers first season post-Dave Aranda as defensive coordinator. The road to the Big Ten championship game is the easiest part of their schedule now (Illinois, Purdue, Minnesota).

#8. Auburn - Completely reliant on their running game, Auburn should still hand Georgia an L and the last challenge will be in Tuscaloosa on the 26th. I'm not buying much of this team but, that o-line is the real deal.

#9. West Virginia - The Mountaineers have one loss and it came to my #10 team. Outside of that game, Dana Holgersen's defense has performed stupendously and will be tested in the next month more than it has at any point up to this date.

#10. Oklahoma State - I do not count the Central Michigan loss for anything because it was a joke of a finish that absolutely should have been replayed at some point no matter how unrealistic that conclusion actually taking place is/was. The Big 12 is the weakest it has been in years but, that's no reason to have West Virginia and OK State as low as the committee did last week.

#11. Texas A&M - This team should not have been in the playoff last week. The defense is far flashier (Myles Garrett is a top five NFL pick) than the offense now and should dominate a Chad Kelly-less Ole Miss team this weekend.

#12. Western Michigan - In a year with plenty of weaker teams at the top of power conferences, why not have an undefeated MAC team with an exciting pass offense near the top ten? Throw logic out and bring on the "We Want 'Bama" chants!

#13. Boise State - With how well Washington State has played lately, that early season victory over the Cougars keeps Boise State hype alive despite their two-point loss to Wyoming. 

#14. Utah - There is nothing sexy about the PAC-12 in 2016 and yet, the fact that Utah had to go through a thousand different injured running backs (including Joe Williams) just to call back on Joe Williams after he retired and go on the run that they have gone on is fascinating. Minus one loss to California where they had to reach deeper than ever before or since on their depth chart for bodies, this team's one blemish is a loss to my #4 Washington Huskies. Kyle Whittingham is doing one of the nation's best coaching jobs this season and is somehow in charge of the best team in the PAC-12 not located in Washington.

#15. Florida - Much like last season, no matter how many games the offense blows, the Gator defense will always push forward and win three more well-fought games in response to a poor showing. 

#16. Washington State - Mike Leach's air raid offense is fun to watch and seems like something we need in the NFL to freshen up the game and regain viewers. The Packers have tried something similar in recent weeks with the absence of a true running back and it was a delight to watch. Washington State exposed Arizona's terrible pass defense in the Cougs' 69-7 victory this past weekend and as a result, Rich Rodriguez's job is now in jeopardy. The power of Mike Leach's reluctance to lay off of the passing game knows no bounds. I fully embrace the chaos.

#17. Oklahoma - The Sooners' defense has looked shockingly bad some weeks and there is no reason they should have given up 24 to Iowa State (The annual Big 12 cupcake game). This is a team clearly in transition on one side of the ball while the other side sees everyone reaching their college primes (QB Baker Mayfield, WR DeDe Westbrook, RB Joe Mixon, TE Mark Andrews) and that is always sad to see as it results in multiple years of contending but never being good enough unless your head coach is Nick Saban or Urban Meyer. 

#18. Penn State - Yes, the defense is playing like a Big Ten defense is expected to despite losing DE Carl Nassib and the offense has finally opened up to running more often and sucking a whole lot less with QB Christian Hackenberg gone but, what is it that the committee loves about this team that I am not seeing? They caught Ohio State sleeping and lost by 39 in Michigan. This is a team that has yet to define their season.

#19. Colorado - Outscoring your opponents 30-15 over the last two weeks is a sign of both a strong defense and weak offense. The good news is that the Buffaloes' two latest victims were Stanford and UCLA. The bad news is that neither of those teams are any good this season thanks to injuries.

#20. Virginia Tech - If they wouldn't have inexplicably dropped a 17-31 stinkbomb against Syracuse, this team would have legitimate top-10 potential. QB Jerod Evans is one of the best quarterbacks in the nation that nobody is talking about and I am impressed by this team in their first season post-Beamer.

#21. North Carolina - The Tar Heels' 37-35 win over Florida State seems like it happened years ago but, this is still the top team in the ACC Central and they only have to beat Duke and NC State for a long-shot chance at the top ten.

#22. Baylor - Everybody knew how terrible Baylor's defense was this season but, the offense looked completely uninspired in their 24-62 loss to an unpredictable TCU squad. QB Seth Russell might not be at 100% and RB Shock Linwood has just been suspended for pushing a coach so, this is clearly a team headed in the right direction when it comes to both on and off the field decision making. (HOLY SARCASM, Batman!)

#23. Nebraska - The loss to Ohio State is a fresh, gaping wound on an otherwise resurgent season. Now that Tommy Armstrong Jr. is in concussion protocol and backup QB Ryker Fyfe inspired nobody with his play Saturday night, this is another team likely headed off this list.

#24. LSU - Holding Alabama to 10 points was really nice. Scoring 0 points of your own was not as nice. More and more questions begin to surround RB Leonard Fournette which could lead to him falling in the NFL Draft and becoming a steal for someone like Carolina.

#25. San Diego State - They're 8-1 so why not? I'm not anti-Mountain West and I'm certainly not anti-Donnell Pumphrey. That dude could have been a Heisman candidate had the Aztecs not dropped one game to Southern Alabama.

Andy Todd's Heisman Ballot

#1. QB Lamar Jackson (Louisville) - 59.0%-2,753-26 TD-6 INT, 1,181 Rushing Yards-19 TD's
#2. QB Jake Browning (Washington) - 67.7%-2,273-34 TD-3 INT, 77 Rushing Yards-4 TD's
#3. QB DeShaun Watson (Clemson) - 64.4%-2,497-24 TD-10 INT, 370 Rushing Yards-2 TD's
#4. RB Donnell Pumphrey (San Diego State) - 1,581 Rushing Yards-6.5 YPC-13 TD's
#5. WR Corey Davis (Western Michigan) - 61-1,011-14 TD's

Good luck to you and your teams and may the completely predictable endgame (Alabama) be broken up by chaotic moments of pure entertainment and joy!