NFL Power Ratings Thru Week 3

I have not psoted much regarding the NFL, but I am a huge fan, and hit the local watering hole every Sunday to watch all the games. This is where I see all 32 teams after the first 3 weeks, with a brief comment on each:

1- Indianapolis (3-0): Gotta put them on top early, but lack of a running game is going to cost them in the end
2- Cincinnati (3-0): Beating the defending champs in their own backyard is no small feat, even with Big Ben obviously still not on the top of his game
3- San Diego (2-0): Coming off bye week to face the Ravens in what should be an ultimate defensive struggle. Over/Under 24?
4- Seattle (3-0): Defending NFC champs really took it to the Giants in first half. How will Alexander injury effect them?
5- Chicago (3-0): D looking really strong, and Grossman playing above average. Benson or T.Jones has to step it up
6- Denver (2-1): Impressive win Sunday night. Started off slow last year, and remember how that turned out?
7- Baltimore (3-0): Jumped by Denver after struggle at Cleveland. Matches up with AFC West next two weeks including Monday night tilt at Mile High next week
8- Philadelphia (2-1): Offense is a juggernaut. But how long will they be able to get away with no running game?
9- New Orleans (3-0): Favorable schedule to this point, but they have done what they had to. Division games are going to key their playoff run.
10- Jacksonville (2-1): Tough schedule to this point. Front 7 is Top 5 in league. Would like to see them open up the offense a little more.
11- New England (2-1): Tom Brady is owned by Denver, so no surpise with the loss on Sunday. However, something isnt quite right this year with the Pats.
12- Atlanta (2-1): Did they have any chance of coming out of NewOrleans with a win on Monday night? Lets see how they react next week.
13- Minnesota (2-1): Gave they Bears all they wanted on Sunday. B.Johson is steady under center, and has a ring. Could challenge for playoff spot.
14- St. Louis (2-1): Jeckyl and Hyde here. Beat the Broncos, lose to the Niners, beat the Cards on road. New intensity on defense should have the challenging for playoff spot.
15- New York Jets (2-1): One of the bigger surprises this year. If Pennington can stay healthy, can they challenge Pats?
16- Dallas (1-1): Under the radar to this point. Certainly wont stay that way with the trip to Philly coming up in two weeks.
17- Pittsburgh (1-2): Super Bowl champs off to slow start offensively. No need to panic in Steel City yet, but with the Bengals and Ravens in the division, better get it going soon.
18- Carolina (1-2): Easily the biggest threat of the 1-2 teams. When Smith comes back healthy they are a different team
19- Washington (1-2): Nothing like a trip to Houston to get the offense going. But boy, Brunnell is looking old and washed up. Will we see Campbell this year?
20- NY Giants (1-2): Going down 42-7 is never a good thing. Having players calling out the coach is even worse. I smell bad things brewing in GMEN country
21- Buffalo (1-2): Bills have been better than most thought to this point, including a win in Miami. Vikings visit this weekend.
22- Arizona (1-2): Almost Leinart time in the desert. Which means no playoffs this year.
23- Miami (1-2): Who thought Miami was going to challenge New England? I certainly didnt, and we are seeing why thru the first 3 games
24- Green Bay (1-2): At least Favre is playing better after that atrocious performance in Week 1
One
25- San Francisco (1-2): Alex Smith looks like he is progressing. Nolan may have things headed in the right direction for this once proud franchise.
26- Kansas City (0-2): With Green out, things are looking bleak in the Land of Red. But a visit from SF this week may turn things around, at least for a week.
27- Tampa Bay (0-3): With Simms out, things arent looking great for the ole Bucs.
28- Cleveland (0-3): Put up a hell of a fight against Baltimore, a game they should have won. And Winslow really looks great. May be building something on the banks of the Ohio.
29- Detroit (0-3): I got one thing to say....When is Millen going to get canned?
30- Tennessee (0-3): Almost time for the Vince Young project to commence
31- Oakland (0-3): How are they this bad with that much talent on offense? Easy, they cant block anyone!
32- Houston (0-3): Defensively, terrible. Offensively, only slightly better. Give Kubiak some time to get things turned around.

Top Divisions (AFC 263, NFC 255) *Lowest is best

AFC EAST 70 6th
AFC NORTH 54 2nd
AFC SOUTH 73 8th
AFC WEST 66 4th
NFC EAST 53 1st
NFC NORTH 71 7th
NFC SOUTH 66 5th
NFC WEST 65 3rd

Week 4 College Football

Well, I usually start it off from #1 and work my way down my rankings from the previous week. This week however we have to start with the Irish for the second consecutive week. What a game that was last night in the rain of East Lansing. Down 37-21 late in the third, the Irish started a monumental comeback of their own and downed the Spartans 40-37 (W on line) in an absolute classic. Brady Quinn got back into the heisman talk with a 5TD effort, and the Irish D was very opportunistic forcing Michigan St. into a few critical turnovers, including the final 3 times the Spartans had the ball. Game turning moment in my mind was the strip and recovery by the ND safety after they had pulled to within 37-27. Another epic collapse from the Spartans as this same thing seems to happen every year to them in at least one game. A loss like this really crushes a team, and it is going to be interesting to see how they react when they kick off the Big 10 season next weekend. ND remains alive in the NC hunt, and almost has assured themselves of getting to a BCS game. They will be favored pretty big in their remaining games until the season ending tilt in the Coliseum of LA vs the Trojans. My #1 Ohio St. struggled mightily against a very average Penn St. team at home, also in the rain. Troy Smith in the end made just enough plays, and their defense ran back two picks for TDs late in the 4th to get the cover. PSU needs better QB pkay from Morelli if they hope to get some wins this year in the Big Ten. Elsewhere, #2 USC struggled (L on line) all game in a defensive battle vs. Arizona. Arizona just does not have that much talent on offense, but give them credit for bringing back memories of the Desert Swarm defenses of the early 90s last night. In the end, USC did enough in a game I did not catch any of. #3 Auburn slipped a cupcake in this week before the SEC schedule really heats up and crushed Buffalo 38-7. This was only a 10-0 game at the half, but the Tigers picked up the pace in the third quarter and rolled on. However, Auburn did not cover in a game I did not see any of. #4 Michigan also struggled through most of the third quarter against an undefeated Wisconsin team. However, in the end, and like last week, Mr. Manningham stepped up and the Wolves went on t0 the win 27-13 (W on line). Michigan D line again looking like it is the best in the nation. It will be interesting to see how focused the Wolverines stay as the season wears on. #5 Florida with a very average effort last night in a game I caught a little of, particluarly in the second half (L on line). The Gators defense can rival and in America, and with Chris Leak under center, they are a dangerous team. With their win against Tennessee, and Georgia playing a frosh QB and really struggling on offense, they appear on their way to the SEC title game (Auburn has the inside track in the West). #6 West Virginia also won yesterday at East Carolina pretty comfortably. Patrick White and Steve Slaton led the way one more time. Louisville went out to the little apple (Manhattan, KS) and rolled the Wildcats. Even with a backup QB, the Cardinal D was absolutely stifling. Gonna be a special matchup when they meet the Mountaineers later in the season. Va Tech really had their problems with the Bearcats yesterday, but in the end, they rolled relatively concvincingly. UGA, who entered my Top 10 last week for the first time, will be on the outside looking in after a 14-13 win of Colorado. Yes, the same Colorado team that lost at home to an average at best 1-AA team Montana St. Give the Buffs credit, they came in their with an attitude on D and completely shut down the Dawgs until Richt brought in Cox late in the 4th. Down 13-0, they came back with 2TDs in the last 10 minutes to pull this one out. And lastly, Texas, beat Iowa St.

Here is the way I see things after Week 4:

#1 Ohio St. (Without Troy Smith, they lose yesterday; Heisman favorite at this point)
#2 USC (Pac 10 not looking like much of a challenge at this point)
#3 Auburn (SEC schedule about to heat up after breather against Buffalo)
#4 Michigan (Killer front 7)
#5 Florida (experience, and good balance)
#6 West Virginia (solid W yesterday)
#7 Louisville (can they continue this with backup QB?)
#8 Virginia Tech (special teams still gets it done)
#9 Texas (offense coming around; get them now)
#10 LSU (solid team that could still win title)

Week 3 College Football

What a day it was in college football this third Saturday in September. Lets start in South Bend, where my Wolverines came out all sorts of fired up and rolled the Irish 47-21 (W on line). UM D was flat out stifling from their pash rush, to run stuffing LBs, and their solid DBs. Henne to Manningham 3 times in first half put the Wolverines up 27-7 in the second quarter and you kinda knew it was going to be Big Blue's day. Mike Hart had a solid game eating up the clock for most of the second half as the Wolverines earned their first victory in South Bend since 1994. Like I have been saying all year, these Wolverines are tough, smart, and will be in the National Championship hunt late into the season unlike all seasons this century. Up next for them is a revenge game against Wisconsin, so look for them to stay focused. ND has been pretty disappointing this year if you listened to all the writers pre season prognastications. Weis has these guys going in the right direction, but they still have a lot of work to do on D, in particular need more speed in the secondary. Not a bad time to lose for the Irish, and if they run the table until their season ending showdown in LA (which is very possible if they get by Michigan St. next week), they could possbily find themselves in Glendale still. On to the second biggest game of the day in Auburn where the Tigers of Auburn beat the Tigers of LSU 7-3 (W on line) in a mighty defensive struggle. Cox, Irons and company just had enough for a third quarter TD drive which turned out to be the only trip to the end zone by either team all day. Both of these teams are championship caliber, but it will now be hard for LSU to do enough to get to the SEC title game. Auburn really has a tough schedule still including another showdown on the Plains as the Gators come to town for the first time this century in a few weeks. Speaking of the Gators in a game that just ended, they came back to defeat the Vols of Tennessee 21-20 (L on line) in a very exciting game. Florida got their offense going late in the third quarter to overcome a 20-7 deficit late. Ainge still doenst look like his Freshman year self and that is costing Tennessee. Both of these teams also have a great defenses and quality special teams. The Gator WR core is solid top to bottom including Percy Harvin, the freshman sensation. Fr Tim Tebow got a lot of work at QB tonight which will bode well down the road if something was to happen to Leak. Florida looks like the real deal. USC took care of Nebraska (W on line) 28-10 in a very un-exciting game. Callahan really played this game close to the vest, and in my opinion, did not really give his kids a shot at winning this game. He seemed to be just doing damage control IMO. USC has all their tough opponents coming to the Coliseum, so dont be surprised if you see them undefeated when the Irish come to town in December. Louisville handed Miami their second loss of Sept in a big way today at Papa Johns (W on line). They have looked impressive to this point, and their match up with West Virginia (crushed Maryland on Thur W on line) down the line is going to be huge, especially if WVU can take care of Va Tech too. Speaking of Virginia Tech, they shut out Duke for the second consecutive year 36-0. Really nothing to say here, but the Hokie slate will toughen up as league play really kicks in. With these results, here is the way my Top 10 shakes out after Week 3:

1- Ohio St. (turned it on in second half for solid W)
2- Auburn (jump USC with LSU victory; will their offense cost them eventually?)
3- USC (business as usual in the Coliseum)
4- Michigan (very impressive today)
5- Florida (SEC road wins are always solid, especially in Knoxville)
6- West Virginia (seem to be on cruise control, can anyone sneak up on them?)
7- Louisville (burying Canes very impressive)
8- Virginia Tech (always in Top 10 this early; lets see what happens in November)
9- Georgia (Fr QB Stafford looks like a good one; boy, are they under the radar)
10- Texas (best of the one loss teams, or at least has the best loss at this point)

Week 2 College Football

The big showdown in Austin on Sat night didnt really turn out to be one as I predicted. OSU was my bet of the year, and they turned a 3 pt dog line into a 17 pt win. Lets take a look at what happened. Troy Smith was the difference, much like Mr Young was last year. And on defense Mr Laurnaitis was a big playmaker on d forcing the key fumble down near the goal line when game as tied at 0, and picking off Colt McCoy in the 4th. Texas is a good squad, but is not a threat to win the Title this year like the Buckeyes are. On to the rest of the Top 10 games. Auburn went on the road in the SEC to Starkville to take on the Bulldogs of Mississippi St. As expected, Auburn (W on line) dominated through the air with Cox and on the ground with Irons. The tiger defense was stifling for the second consecutive week. Big, Big showdown next week at home when they other Tigers come calling to the Plains. Notre Dame got back on track in a big way with a big win against Penn St. (W on line). Brady Quinn had a solid game, and the Irish defense has looked solid through 2 games. This was the offense we were expecting, but this clearly is not the same PSU team as last year. Another big game this weekend when they host the Wolverines. FSU (L on line) really struggled at home vs a pesky Troy team. The Noles trailed at halftime, and into the fourth quarter before forcing two late Troy turnovers to seal the deal. The Noles offense has to be a concern at this point after only putting up 37 pts on 2 games. They have a very favorable schedule, so it isnt going to take much in my opinion for them to get to the ACC title game. The Gators put up huge numbers against George Oleary's Central Florida team. As expected, but lets see what happens when they travel up to Knoxville this weekend for the key SEC East matchup. LSU (W on line) dominated the Arizona Wildcats at home in Death Valley Sat night and was not caught looking ahead to the huge matchup with Auburn. West Virginia rolled against a very weak team to move to 2-0. And lastly, the Michigan Wolverines got Mike Hart rolling early and often for the second consecutive week to roll of C. Michigan. We got some huge, huge games coming up this weekend which are sure to effect the rankings next week. But here is my Top 10 going into Week 3:

1- Ohio State (rather obvious after Sat night)
2- USC (move up even with Bye week)
3- Notre Dame (played tougher schedule than Auburn at this point)
4- Auburn (defense looking like best in America)
5- Florida (going gets tough this week in Knoxville)
6- LSU (HUGE battle with Auburn this weekend)
7- West Virginia (again, they are gonna be here all year)
8- Florida St. (fall 3 spots after Troy struggle)
9- Texas (losing to best team in America nothing to be ashamed about)
10- Michigan (has their opportunity this weekend at ND)

First Saturday

Good morning and thanks for reading. I would like to go over the Top 10 results from yesterday, and any other interesting happenings from what was basically an uneventful day. Lets start at the top with the Buckeyes, who covered and looked relatively impressive doing so. Their offense looked good, balanced, and Ginn showed why he is a top heisman candidate. Defensively, they did look a little shaky giving up nearly 200 yards rushing and 300 total yards to N. Illinois' star RB Wolfe. This is something that I was worried about (see my last blog), and if it isnt straightened out, they are obviously in trouble. Teams hoping for national titles cannot outscore teams week in and week out because that strategy eventually catches up to you. Notre Dame, the second ranked team also notched a W (L on the line) in a very tough environment on Saturday night. I think most people saw this game being a little more high scoring than it turned out to be, but a win is a win, especially on the road against a solid team. ND has to rev their offense up much, much more in the next 3 weeks (PSU, Mich, @MSU) if they hope to come out of those undefeated. They looked good on defense, but GT is known as being very inconsistent. Moving on to #3 Texas. Wow, talk about not missing a beat. They crushed the "Mean Green" from the North with their D and their new QB McCoy looking solid. Obviously, things are going to get much tougher with the Buckeyes coming to Austin, but they took care of their business in a very impressive fashion (W on the line). Auburn, the fourth ranked team in the country got a W (W on the line) by 26. Getting a visit from a PAC 10 team is usually a good thing for schedule strength (instead of playing a weak, weak team), yet they really dont pose a threat to win the game unless they are in the maroon and yellow. Tigers looked good all around, only thing that could worry you as a Tiger fan is 5 fgs. They need to figure out their offense as the field shortens a little better when they get into all those SEC tussles that are coming up shortly. Irons looked very impressive, and their defensive line is very fast. #5 West Virginia got a W (W on the line) against their in-state rivals Marshall. I didnt get a chance to see any of this game, but their offense appears to have not missed a beat. WVU is gonna kinda be on cruise control until their visit to Louisville later in the year. #6 USC, wow. They may have been the most impressive of the weekend considering all they lost. They go on the road, against a solid SEC team, and put up a 50 spot (W on the line). Again, I did not see much of this game with ND and Auburn going at the same times, but obviously they do not look to have missed a step. Give credit to Pete Carroll who just keeps plugging in top level athletes and moving along. Booty threw for nearly 300 yards, and their defense (which was thought to be really good) lived up to the preseason hype. They are a threat this year to get to Glendale, dont be fooled because they lost Bush and Leinart. The talent is there, the schedule is there, but is the luck gonna be there for a 4th straight year? Thats a tough proposition. Moving on to #7 Florida, who started very slow with only a 14-7 halftime lead, but poured it on in the end to get a solid 34-7 win (W on the line). I didnt catch any of this game, but the Gator defense didnt allow any points all game after an opening drive TD that put the Golden Eagles up 7-0. I am a BIG FAN of the Gators this year, I really like their defense, and Leak should only be better having another year under his belt. This Golden Eagle team isnt what some have been in the past, so take this victory with a grain of salt, and look forward to two weeks when they hook up with the Vols (who crushed Cal yesterday and should move up the rankings). LSU, ranked eighth, got a solid W (W on the line) against their in state rivals UL Lafayette. Didnt catch any of this game, but the Tigers have a team that will be challenging for the SEC West title. #9 was California, and they got POUNDED by Tennessee last night in Knoxville. The Vols were my selection of the day yesterday, and boy was their W on the line impressive. Where to start with CAL? Their offense looked terrible except for Lynch. Their pass defense was a sive, special teams didnt get the job done. If this is the second best team the PAC 10 has to offer, USC is on cruise control right now. The Pac 10 really got punished yesterday out of conference. I think Cal is around #20 in country, and was over ranked to start. Plus, there is NO WAY they should have been favored on the road at Rocky Top last night. And to close out the Top 10, we head to Norman. Also did not catch much of this, but this was much tighter than most of the experts thought (L on the line). For you Sooner fans, thank the heavens for Peterson cause he is the only reason you won this game. The best RB in the country really got the job done for OU last night, as Thompson was average at best. He is going to have to play a lot better if they are going to challenge Texas in the Big 12 South. OU is also going to have to tighten up their defense, or it is going to be another season of not meeting their lofty goals in Norman.

My TOP 10 after Week 1 would look like this (where they deserve to be ranked) *Includes Monday night game:

1 Texas (they are the defending champs, right?)
2 USC (see game last night if you dont agree)
3 Ohio St. (showdown in Austin next Sat night)
4 Auburn (Tigers look to be well rounded)
5 Notre Dame (a W is a W; have to improve though)
6 Florida St. (Impressive win Mon night)
7 Florida (nasty D, and second year in Meyer's offense is usually charm)
8 LSU (talent is there as usual; lots of tough games though)
9 West Virginia (will move up all year with W's)
10 Michigan (yes, my fav team; have something to play for this year)