College Football: Charlotte Has Died And A Top 25
Oh football, how I missed you
College football is back! The NFL starts tonight! What a time it is.
I’m going to focus on the former, both in this post and for most of the year. The Cleveland Browns signing you know who has really lessened my excitement for the season, but I still love fantasy football and will be following it plenty.
But the college football, that has mostly rocked through two weeks of games, even if the team I care about the most has been, by analytics and by what I have seen with my own two eyes, the worst team in the FBS.
Of course, I am talking about the Charlotte 49ers, who started the year by getting murdered by a Florida Atlantic team that just lost to Ohio, then followed it up by getting rinsed, 41-24, by FCS team William & Mary. Sure, Charlotte was without starting quarterback Chris Reynolds in the second defeat, but giving up 41 points to an FCS team is what I would call Extremely Bad.
The 49ers had one of the worst defenses in the country last season, brought in a largely new staff, and seemed to have fix none of the problems. It’s not great, and they now get to play Maryland to try and bounce back. A Charlotte win in that one would be deeply funny and we should all hope for that level of comedy.
For now, Charlotte ranks:
Tied for 114th in scoring defense (42.0 PPG)
119th in total defense (520.5 YPG)
122nd in yards allowed per play (7.49 YPP)
Last in 30+ yard plays allowed (eight)
And remember, this came against an FCS team, and a team that just lost to Ohio. Really good.
Top 25
I didn’t do a preseason poll because I think they can be harmful for the brain, or at least for my brain. Obviously I had some pre-existing thoughts about which teams will be good this year in college football, but I think that making a ranking before any games happen can lead to teams not getting the proper recognition during the actual year.
So, this is my first rankings. It is where I consider these teams after each of them has played at least one game. Below the ranking will be some general thoughts.
Hoopla Top 25: Sept. 8
1.) Georgia
2.) Alabama
3.) Ohio State
4.) Michigan
5.) Texas A&M
6.) Baylor
7.) Oklahoma
8.) Clemson
9.) Arkansas
10.) NC State
11.) BYU
12.) Oklahoma State
13.) USC
14.) Florida
15.) Notre Dame
16.) Miami (Fla.)
17.) Wisconsin
18.) Houston
19.) Michigan State
20.) Utah
21.) Pittsburgh
22.) Kansas State
23.) Oregon State
24.) Wake Forest
25.) Air Force
Just missed: North Carolina, Tennessee, Florida State, UCF
Thoughts:
After one week I have Georgia at the top based pretty strictly on what I think of Georgia and Alabama’s opponents. Utah State is a solid team (at least I think so, but man that UConn game was iffy), but I think Oregon will still be very solid in 2022. That said, the Bulldogs completely decimated the Ducks from start to finish, with Stetson Bennett playing the game of his life against Georgia’s former defensive coordinator. That puts Georgia at No. 1 for now.
Ohio State is third pretty comfortably. The Buckeyes looked a tad shaky against Notre Dame, but the big takeaway should be the defense, which looked so much better than it has the past two seasons. The offense can and will figure it out as the schedule gets easier, there’s too much talent for it not to.
Michigan dominated enough to be solid at 4, but Nos. 5-8 are a crapshoot. I sure as hell won’t put Clemson top five yet after proving very little against Georgia Tech, so I guess I’ll have Texas A&M there? I like Baylor a lot, and its next game against BYU will tell us a lot.
Arkansas earned a very good win against a Cincinnati team that absolutely is still good, and the Hogs deserve credit for that. NC State also deserves more credit for beating East Carolina on the road than it will get. Yes, bad kicking played a role, but ECU is a good team with, from what I saw, a great home atmosphere. A win is a win, and the Wolfpack won’t drop out of the top 10 for it in my book.
BYU is disgusting and will get a chance to prove it against Baylor on Saturday. That game has all the makings of an early banger, and will almost definitely launch one of these teams into my top five depending on the outcome.
I struggled with where to put Florida. This feels too high, but it also feels deserved because I really like Utah and thought the Utes would go in and beat the Gators rather easily. They didn’t, Anthony Richardson is so much damn fun (leave your NFL takes about him out of here I couldn’t care less) and Florida deserves a high spot one game in.
Notre Dame is the first team with a loss in here, as I punish not winning games harder than the AP Poll (good lord guys, 0-1 Notre Dame at 8????). Yes, the Fighting Irish battled with a very, very good Buckeyes team for most of the game, even leading at halftime. But the offense went completely silent in the second half, which is a problem. The Irish gets North Carolina and BYU in a few weeks. Win both of those and I move you up plenty.
Houston survived against UTSA and deserves credit for it. The Roadrunners won 12 games last year! This was one of the best games last week and put two excellent G5 teams on display. The Cougars have the talent to run the table.
Saved some of the backend spots for teams I love this year. I already spoke on Kansas State two weeks ago, but I think the Wildcats can and will compete for a Big 12 title. Oregon State rinsed Boise State, a tough victory that makes the Beavers a top 25 team right now. Air Force ran for nearly 600 yards, do I need to say anything more?
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