SID Sports Week 6 Top 25
Breaking down my Week 6 Rankings and Player of the Slate
It’s been a few weeks since I did a poll, with the wedding and all, so let’s get back into it. There’s been a lot of big results and changes since we’ve been here last, so this poll has a lot of movements. It should stabilize as we get deeper into the season, but where’s the fun in that? Personally, I cheer for the chaos that makes this column harder to write.
Texas 5-0 LW: 3
The Longhorns get a boost based on their resume, which I discussed when I emphatically declared they were back yesterday, so we won’t get too much into it. But they have an impressive resume, with two double-digit wins against AP Top 25 teams in Alabama and Kansas, a win in Bryant-Denny over Nick Saban’s Tide, and FBS-leading five wins over FBS programs. Yeah, they’re good.Ohio State 4-0 LW: 8
Speaking of resume, Ohio State has the best win this season based on both my rankings and the AP Poll in their last-second instant classic in South Bend against Notre Dame. They get a very good Maryland team this Saturday, so don’t think the Buckeyes are safe. But the defense, headed up by Jim Knowles, kept Notre Dame in check and Kyle McCord is getting more comfortable in the offense each week.Georgia 5-0 LW: 1
The Dawgs are still perfect, but near misses against Auburn and South Carolina get them jumped. What’s concerning me is the fact that Georgia’s defense seems almost vulnerable against the run. This isn’t the same historic defenses we’ve seen in each of Georgia’s last two national championship runs, as all those players are terrorizing the NFL. I’m confident Kirby Smart will get the team figured out, but they’re looking mighty vulnerable heading fully into SEC play.
Michigan 5-0 LW: 2
They ain’t played nobody, Pawwwwwl! To be fair, the Wolverines have handedly taken care of everyone they’ve faced and have only allowed three touchdowns on the season while posting at least 30 points in each outing. That’s impressive, but less so when you see their schedule includes ECU, UNLV, Bowling Green, Rutgers and Nebraska. Circle November 11 against Penn State so we can actually find out if this is contender Michigan or pretender Michigan.Washington 5-0 LW: 6
Washington continues to obliterate everyone that dares take the field against their potent offense. Well, everyone except Arizona, who they eked out a 31-24 win last week. Michael Penix Jr is my early Heisman front runner with 1,999 yards, 16 touchdowns and only two picks already this season. Their defense is also surprisingly strong, only allowing 18.2 points per game, good for 29th in the nation.Florida State 4-0 LW: 4
Every week, Florida State’s dominating season-opening win over LSU diminishes. They did dispose of Clemson in Death Valley, though, so that counts for them. However, it did take until overtime to put away the Tigers, so that counts against them. Whichever way you chalk it up, Florida State is building a solid resume. Just ignore the near misses against Boston College(!) and Clemson.Oregon 5-0 LW: 7
Talk about a huge matchup this weekend, as Oregon squares off against Washington. The Ducks are coming off duplicate 42-6 wins over Colorado and Stanford, and Head Coach Dan Lanning has his squad rolling heading into murderer’s row in the PAC-12. Bo Nix is the best quarterback nobody is talking about, and the Ducks have only allowed 59 points this season. For those at home, that’s good for eighth in the nation.Penn State 5-0 LW: 9
It sure seems like James Franklin finally has that playoff-contending team he’s been wanting in Happy Valley. Yes, they haven’t played anybody, but a 31-0 win over Iowa is nothing to sneeze at. Well, holding Iowa scoreless isn’t too hard, but posting 31 up on the Hawkeyes defense is an accomplishment. Speaking of defenses, Penn State has only allowed 48 points this season, ranking them third nationally in scoring defense.USC 5-0 LW: 5
Who needs defense when you have the nation’s best offense? Yesterday, I touched on the fact that USC does, in fact, need defense. We saw that in their 48-41 shootout against Colorado. USC got it done because the Buffs are still very much a work in progress. When they go against PAC-12 powers like Washington, Oregon, and Utah that do have defenses, I don’t know if Caleb Williams and Lincoln Riley have that firepower. That’s why they drop behind more complete teams.Oklahoma 5-0 LW: 15
The Sooners are vaulted into the Top 10 because of their Big 12-leading defense, which sits at fourth in the nation by only allowing 10.8 points per game. That’s to be expected in a Brent Venables-led team. What’s surprising is the offensive firepower and the fact that Oklahoma has topped 50 points in three of their five wins so far. Quarterback Dillon Gabriel struggled with consistency in the past, but he appears to have put it together so far with 1,593 yards, 15 touchdowns and two picks.
Washington State 4-0 LW: 21
Even though Head Coach Jake Dickert decided to have beef with Lee Corso, the past few weeks couldn’t have gone better for Wazzu. They only played one game, but boy was it a game. In the PAC-2 Championship, the Cougars downed Oregon State in a 38-35 win that looks a lot closer than it should. That win keeps looking better as Oregon State keeps winning. Either way, Cam Ward and the Cougars are offensive powers, and the PAC-12 defenses are going to be hard pressed to stop them. Let’s see how they look at UCLA on Saturday.North Carolina 4-0 LW: 15
Washington State’s Top 25 win jumps them over the unbeaten Tar Heels, but UNC is still very much in the running for the ACC. They opened up conference play with a 41-24 win over Pittsburgh, but 24 points to the Phil Jurkovec-led Panthers is troubling. Drake Maye hasn’t looked like the surefire NFL star that we expected this year, and Omarion Hampton is taking his time getting going. There’s worry building for North Carolina, but they’ve been ahead on every one of their games so far.
Notre Dame 4-1 LW: 10
Here’s the first one-loss team in our rankings. They get the nod as best team with a loss by virtue of that quality loss. That loss, by the way, was a last second defeat by Ohio State, who I have ranked second. Not too shabby. Sam Hartman and Audric Estime are still very hard to stop, and they escaped Durham with a win over Duke. This is a very good team in Marcus Freeman’s second year at the helm, and they have plenty of resume still to build with Louisville, USC and Clemson still on the docket.Miami (FL) 4-0 LW: 22
This really is a return to the early 2000s, isn’t it? Mario Cristobal’s second season in Coral Gables couldn’t be going better for now, and that’s mostly due to Tyler Van Dyke regaining his form as a quality quarterback. His 1,042 yards aren’t that impressive, but a 11-to-one touchdown to interception ratio is all Crisobal and offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson are looking for. They haven’t really struggled yet this season, with their closest contest a 48-33 win at home against Texas A&M. Granted, their other three wins are against Miami (Ohio), FBS Bethune-Cookman and Temple, so do what you want with that.Oregon State 4-1 LW: 12
You would expect Oregon State to fall more in the rankings following a loss to Washington State, but when you rebound with a two-score win over a Utah team I had in the Top 10, you don’t lose much ground. Utah was without Cam Rising, but the Beavers shut down talented freshman Nate Johnson and the entire Utah offense. D.J. Uiagalelei had a patented DJU game, a shade under 60 percent completions, 200 yards and a touchdown and pick, but Oregon State gritted it out against one of the PAC-12’s best programs. Maybe the PAC-2 can be a power conference? The entire conference is ranked, after all.Alabama 4-1 LW: 20
Yes, Alabama took a bad loss at home against Texas. Yes, the Tide struggled against USF. But that doesn’t mean that Bama is dead, right? I don’t think they’re dead, per se, since the SEC is still in sight. But they need the defense to step up and Jaden Milroe to not have to throw the ball. This is a classic ground-and-pound Crimson Tide team, and they have to stick to that formula going forward. We’ll see if they can this weekend against Texas A&M.Ole Miss 4-1 LW: 13
Speaking of the SEC, we have Ole Miss coming off a defense-less 55-49 win over LSU. Lane Kiffin makes sure the Rebels have a good offense, but their defense is very concerning. Quarterback Jaxson Dart has done a good enough job with 1,485 yards, 11 touchdowns and two picks, but he can’t do everything. Someone on this team has to step up, both on the offensive side and defensive side if they want to stay in the SEC race.Duke 4-1 LW: 17
Duke could’ve fallen more following their loss to Notre Dame, but it was a close game and the Blue Devils lost quarterback Riley Leonard to boot. Leonard will miss some time, but should return later this month, per ESPN’s Pete Thamel. Duke certainly needs their signal caller back, as they have a well-timed bye week this weekend before jumping into the ringer against NC State, Florida State and Louisville in consecutive weeks.Utah 4-1 LW: 7
At this point, I’m concerned if Cam Rising is ever going to play this season. It’s been over a month of questions about Rising in Salt Lake City with no answers. Nate Johnson and the Utes offense got figured out and shut down by Oregon State. They need their dynamic signal caller back, but Head Coach Kyle Whittingham made it seem like Rising hasn’t been cleared yet in an interview with Deseret News. Utah is off this weekend to heal, and hopefully figure out a counter to the film on how to stop their offense.Missouri 5-0 LW: Next Five Out
Raise your hand if you thought Missouri would be good this year? There better be no hands in the air because this came out of nowhere. Regardless of expectations, though, the Tigers are rolling. Quarterback Brady Cook is thriving in this offense and wideout Luther Burden III seems to be a stud. This seems like a fever dream, though, and reality could come knocking when Missouri takes on LSU Saturday and Kentucky the week after. Wait, did I just say Kentucky was scary?Fresno State 5-0 LW: UR
There’s a new G5 Sheriff in town, and their name is Fresno State. I thought the Bulldogs would have a down year without Jake Haener, but that hasn’t been the case. Mikey Keene has taken over right where Haener left off, and the Mountain West now has a solid program holding court. They haven’t played much of anybody yet, but we can’t discount a Week 1 road upset of Purdue. I am curious how they look against Wyoming this week in what should be a sneaky good game.Louisville 5-0 LW: UR
Maybe Jeff Brohm just needed to get out of Purdue? Either way, his offense, led by Jack Plummer, is solid. They’ve put up 50 points twice, against FCS Murray State and Boston College. They’ve also shown off talent on defense, albeit against Murray State (0), NC State (10) and Indiana (14). This team is hot, but we’ll learn if they’re real or not this weekend when they take on Notre Dame.Maryland 5-0 LW: UR
To be clear, I think Maryland is also a one-and-done team with a trip to Ohio State this weekend. Either way, they’re too good to leave off the rankings right now. Mike Locksley has built a solid Maryland program headlined by quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa who’s somehow still in college. Taulia’s got 1,464 yards, 13 touchdowns and three interceptions through the air already with another 68 yards and three scored on the ground. The one-two punch of Colby McDonald and Roman Hemby in the backfield is also dangerous. Don’t sleep on the Terrapins.James Madison 5-0 LW: UR
The Dukes are ineligible for postseason play this season as part of their transition from FCS to FBS, and that’s a straight up crime because this a good team. They’re incredibly balanced on offense and their defense has played well. James Madison is a solid G5 team that I’d love to see win a conference title or a bowl game, but alas, fairness in moving up a division is not competing early. At least, that’s what the NCAA is telling me.Kentucky 5-0 LW: UR
Kentucky, a basketball blue blood, claims the final spot in this week’s rankings. They’ve got a rebuild offense with Liam Coen again running the show and Devin Leary under center, and that’s gone very well for the Wildcats. Leary has been inconsistent, but overall better than Will Levis a year ago in taking care of the football. Couple that with a solid Mark Stoops defense, and you get a good, but not great SEC team. Their dismantling of Florida a week ago is impressive, but they have Georgia this week. We’ll see how that goes for Kentucky.
Next five out: Tennessee, Colorado, Texas A&M, Tulane, Kansas State
Dropped out: Colorado (No. 16), LSU (No. 18), Iowa (No. 19), UCLA (No. 23), Clemson (No. 24), TCU (No. 25)
And, just like before, here’s my Player of the Week ballot. Now, this isn’t a running Player of the Year ballot for me, per se. Instead, I’m voting on who had the best days that particular week. At the end of the season, we’ll evaluate who my Player of the Year was based on these ballots, with point values assigned similarly to the AP Top 25 (i.e. three points for a first place vote, two points for second place, and one point for third).
Also, this one serves more as a Player of the Slate, rather than week. This is a breakdown of the three players I think had the best weeks during the past two weeks combined. While that does hurt players that had bye weeks, they have plenty of chances to make up for that as the season goes.
Caleb Williams, QB USC
Can anybody stop Williams? The answer seems to be no, since he torched Colorado and Arizona State this slate for 725 yards, nine touchdowns and only one pick. We can also throw in two rushing scores. USC doesn’t survive in Boulder without Williams, and they won’t have a chance at the playoffs unless he keeps up this level of play.Brock Bowers, TE Georgia
Bowers had a slow start to the season, but how about 278 yards and three touchdowns in two games? He was the key to Georgia’s offense in their narrow escape from Auburn, and should be going forward. Bowers is an elite talent, and these two weeks showed that off.
Brady Cook, QB Missouri
Did you know that Brady Cook still hasn’t turned the ball over? I’m thinking you didn’t. When we take his stats for the past two weeks - 736 yards, 77.3 completion percentage, six touchdowns, no picks, two sacks - we get a breakout quarterback. I don’t know how far Missouri can go, but they should certainly ride their quarterback as far as he’ll take them.
There you have it, my ballot explainer for Week 6. How did I do? Do I hate your team? Love them? Let me know on social media or in the comments!