Another weekend of college football, another satisfying meal for the Chaos gods. Sure, the top of the rankings mostly did what they were supposed to do and win. Five more undefeated teams went down this weekend, and we’re here with 11 perfect teams left, fighting it out. The only new entrant to the top five (coaches poll) was Washington, who put 70 on Oregon and forever settled the question – 1 horse sized Duck, please. The Huskies showed everyone how to win that battle. Texas A&M beat Tennessee, and Miami dropped a lot of spots based on a one point loss to Florida State. Outside of the Top 25, there were also some amazing games. BYU beat Michigan State somehow, and Washington State whipped Stanford 42-6, and is setting up for a hell of an Apple Cup in a few weeks to prove who is the dominant team in the state of Washington. Utah was able to beat Arizona for the first time in modern times, Connecticut THUMPED Cincinnati, and NC State managed to beat Notre Dame as Hurricane Matthew raged around them. If there is any image from this weekend that will last, it’s that game that probably would’ve been higher scoring if it were played on an actual slip-n-slide.
The Rankings
5. Navy Midshipmen
Navy can’t be the new Boise State, because they’re too damn busy being their awesome selves. Sure, they’re an option team, but a damn good one. They’re fast, and really frustrated Houston defensively last weekend. Stay undefeated in conference and they’ll meet USF in the champ game no problem. Sorry, South Alabama, but one of the perils of being in the Fun Belt is having the bye week beat ya in the rankings. Navy owns this spot now.
4. South Florida Bulls
There’s gonna have to be one loss teams on this list, because staying undefeated is difficult. Just understand – USF is not likely to find themselves playing New Years weekend. However, they have won all but one game so far, are undefeated in conference and are in the drivers seat to meet either Navy or Memphis in the AAC Champ game. Notice a team missing from that list of possible champions?
3. Western Michigan Broncos
Western Michigan doesn’t give a damn. They’re out there to eat, and have done a damn good job beating everyone that came across their path. “Row the Boat” is an odd theme for a team that seems to have installed a big block in their vessel, but they’ve entered the top 25 this week and who am I to question what works?
2. Houston Cougars
I know, I know. They’re really good and sometimes really good teams lose to a team they “shouldn’t.” However, this ranking doesn’t forgive teams for losing to the option offense because it’s hard to defend, and now here sits Houston, with one loss and probably not going to be in a place to win their Champ game and get in to the playoff. Sorry, bros. Start lobbying for that at-large bid now. Beating the option means assignment defense has to be played very well. Maybe they could take some notes from…
1. Boise State Broncos
Stay undefeated – check
Beat an option team using excellent defense – check
Show that the offense isn’t broken – check
Get some revenge on a team who beat Boise at home at the last second last year – check
Are the Broncos a better team than Houston? Dunno. There are a few bowl projections that seem to want to find out. The one thing the Broncos are is 5-0, and sitting in their new shiny #15 slot in both polls. The offense is clicking, defense is quite intense, and we may be back to those halcyon days when Boise State is Boise State and beats everybody.
G5 Games To Watch This Weekend
Feeling Bullish – UConn @ USF – Saturday, 7p Eastern – CBSSN
USF is looking to keep freaking winning against UConn, and improve their run defense stats. They’re also looking to improve their crowd participation. Tune in to watch some great offense, but stick around to marvel at the empty stands around a pretty good team.
Fire Up That Onboard Motor – Western Michigan @ Akron, 3:30p Eastern – CBSSN
Akron is a pretty good team, sitting at 2-2 with losses only to Wisconsin and Appalachin State. If the Broncos aren’t ready to go, this could be a fight. MACtion, baby!
RAM TEARS – Colorado State @ Boise State, 10:15p Eastern – ESPN2
Colorado State and Boise State don’t really match up that well, and that is going to be a big issue for CSU. Boise will just be relieved to play against a normal offensive look again, and fans would love nothing more than to make a team with unfounded Big 12 aspirations remember what it’s like to play big boy football. Expect BSU to put up, like, all of the yardage and touchdowns, since it is the weekend they’re celebrating the anniversary of the university’s first Fiesta Bowl and 40 members of the 2006 team should be around. Nothing brings the party out in the Broncos like thinking about that fiesta bowl finish, and CSU is going to have to beat not only the team on the field, but the home crowd.
Hana hou, Warriors – UNLV @ Hawaii – Sunday, 12a Eastern – Probably televised on some guy’s Periscope feed
Hawaii has the worst television contract of all time. This is unfortunate because they’re a hell of a lot of fun to watch! Currently 3-3 and most recently off a win at San Jose, the Warriors are back and ready to protect Pride Rock from all comers. This week, its UNLV, who while not technically a good team, can be dangerous. The last game from Hawaii, I literally watched on a periscope feed with a guy and his son doing the most chill, hawaiian color commentary. It was a marvel of modern tech and a nice f-u to whoever decided that the Warriors needed to play on Oceanic Time Warner Pay Per View. Hopefully he’s got season tickets, because there’s nothing better than being lulled off to sleepy-land after 17 hours of binge watching than by football from the islands.