By
Derrik Klassen on Wednesday, September 3
rd 2014
1. Florida State
Though their week one win may have been by a lesser margin that they had envisioned, it was a victory nonetheless. Florida State has stunning talent all over the field and will prove to have just had a shaky week one, as opposed to the team falling off indefinitely. They most certainly deserve to remain atop the rankings.
2. Alabama
Alabama is used to smashing on teams in week one, but West Virginia gave them a run for their money. Now, part of that is because West Virginia’s offense is so unlike most SEC offenses that ‘Bama was not designed to beat them. Once conference play picks up, Alabama will prove their worth once again.
3. Oregon
Unlike many top teams, Oregon played a low level school and smashed on them. They did not have the same challenge or opportunity to prove much, but at the least, they will keep their ranking.
4. Oklahoma
The Sooners faced a division one team, but said team was LA Tech. LA Tech has some talent, such as Kenneth Dixon, but not nearly enough to compete with a squad like Oklahoma. There is no reason to believe Oklahoma should be ranked any higher/lower based on last week.
5. Auburn
Gus Malzahn decided to start the year with a conference matchup against Arkansas, and took the win. Arkansas put up a fight, especially early on, but ultimately, Auburn’s tempo and superior talent prevailed, and will continue to as the season goes on.
6. Georgia
Georgia, surprisingly, came out and put a beat down on Clemson. Their 45 points were a shock to some, especially with a first year starter at quarterback and an entirely new offensive line. That said, it is not likely that Georgia can sustain their success against other top SEC teams.
7. Michigan State
Michigan State took the easy road and played a non-division one team and, as expected, annihilated them. The Spartans will have a tough game ahead of them as they are set to play Oregon, but for now, they deserve to be where they are.
8. Ohio State
Braxton Miller or no Braxton Miller, Ohio State came out and proved to be one of the best in the nation. They, as most do, struggled to get a feel for Navy’s offense early on, but made adjustments and continued to thrive on offense. Young quarterback JT Barrett may cost them a game in the future, but he looked good in his first game.
9. Texas A&M
Coming in to the year, many had underrated the Aggies because of their losses on offense. If the names on the back of the jerseys were the same as last season, not many would have noticed the difference in how well the offense functioned. Texas A&M could prove to be a wonderful program in its entirety.
10. Baylor
Baylor’s offense is simply too fast and explosive for most teams to keep up with, and it will prove to be problematic for opponents down the road. Baylor could quite easily climb the rankings as the year goes on.
11. UCLA
12. LSU
13. Stanford
14. USC
15. Ole Miss
16. Notre Dame
17. Arizona State
18. Wisconsin
19. Nebraska
20. Kansas State
21. South Carolina
22. North Carolina
23. Clemson
24. Missouri
25. Louisville