Last week's game in a word -- UGH. To make the state of the offensive line worse, starting right tackle Skyler Burkland is out for the season after breaking a bone in his leg on Saturday. Fou Fonoti will most likely replace Burkland at right tackle, and if the line is anything like it was last week, the Notre Dame game might not be the only time this year Kirk Cousins has more than 50 pass attempts in a game.
Now, the BlogPoll. Explanations after the jump.
The Only Colors Ballot - Week 4
| Rank | Team | Delta |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | LSU Tigers | -- |
| 2 | Oklahoma Sooners |
 2 |
| 3 | Boise St. Broncos |
 -1 |
| 4 | Alabama Crimson Tide |
-1 |
| 5 | Stanford Cardinal | -- |
| 6 | Wisconsin Badgers |
6 |
| 7 | Texas A&M Aggies |
-1 |
| 8 | Oregon Ducks |
2 |
| 9 | Florida St. Seminoles |
2 |
| 10 | Virginia Tech Hokies |
-1 |
| 11 | Oklahoma St. Cowboys |
-4 |
| 12 | Nebraska Cornhuskers |
2 |
| 13 | Florida Gators | -- |
| 14 | Arkansas Razorbacks |
-1 |
| 15 | South Carolina Gamecocks |
-7 |
| 16 | West Virginia Mountaineers | -- |
| 17 | Baylor Bears |
2 |
| 18 | Illinois Fighting Illini | -- |
| 19 | South Florida Bulls |
1 |
| 20 | Texas Longhorns |
5 |
| 21 | USC Trojans | -- |
| 22 | Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets | -- |
| 23 | Michigan Wolverines | -- |
| 24 | TCU Horned Frogs |
-3 |
| 25 | Fla. International Golden Panthers | -- |
| Dropouts: Michigan St. Spartans, Arizona St. Sun Devils, Ohio St. Buckeyes, Auburn Tigers, Central Florida Knights, Northwestern Wildcats | ||
SB Nation BlogPoll College Football Top 25 Rankings "
The rationalization:
1-5 I think LSU's wins over Oregon and MSU (not our MSU) are more impressive than OU's win over FSU, so the Tigers hold on to the top spot. Oklahoma's win over Florida State is more impressive than any of Boise's, so they're at number two. I think Boise's looked just a bit sharper than Alabama, so they're ranked number 3 for one more week. Stanford continues its boring domination.
6-10 Wisconsin's absolutely dominated its three opponents so far, and I've under ranked them. NO MORE! Texas A&M hasn't lost, and that's about the only reason they're ahead of Oregon and Florida State -- I refuse to demote them too heavily for losses to the two top teams in the poll. I'm still on the Virginia Tech bandwagon, even with the iffy win against East Carolina last week.
11-15 It's not that I hate Oklahoma State, I just trust the ten teams ahead of them more than I do the Cowboys. Nebraska has looked iffy, but that win against Washington may be better than it looks in the future. Florida stays put after a decent victory against Tennessee. Arkansas failed to beat Troy convincingly, and South Carolina has needed to pull two wins out of its behind against Georgia and Navy, and gets the biggest downgrade amongst teams who won this week.
16-20 This is where the adventure starts. I don't know if I'm having pity on the Big East, but West Virginia and South Florida are still 3-0. Illinois beat a top 25 opponent in Arizona State to strike a blow for the Big Ten's honor, and are rewarded. Baylor took another step to legitimacy by pummeling an inferior opponent. If Texas has solved their quarterback controversy, this may be the lowest you see the Longhorns this season.
21-25 Yikes. While USC almost lost to Minnesota, they do have wins over the Golden Gophers, Utah, and Syracuse; that resume is good enough to get them in the top 25. Georgia Tech is the opposite of USC, having an iffy resume but absolutely waylaying their opponents. I still think TCU might be good despite the loss to Baylor, and a team I thought I'd never see here -- Florida Internationl, with wins over Louisville and Central Florida, has earned a spot in the top 25. No foolin'.
Also, Michigan because I hate myself.
NEXT IN: Clemson -- Not sold after the Auburn win; Iowa State -- barely beat UConn, California -- needed overtime to beat Colorado in week two, Vanderbilt -- also barely beat UConn this year, Auburn -- because Clemson might be good?
What do you think? The BlogPoll's final at 9 AM tomorrow, and I'm open to arguments, especially about any team in the 15-25 range.