Labor Day weekend provided fans with a glorious holiday weekend of college football filled with blowouts, a massive controversy at the Big House and a thrilling back-and-forth epic in the Music City.
After the dust settled, we at Sports Illustrated took a stab at what the AP Top 25 poll could look like. Well, the voters have spoken, the poll is released and naturally, it’s time for us to evaluate how they did.
Here are five teams we think they got wrong, from the overrated to the underrated.
Overrated: No. 17 SMU
Seriously, does anyone (besides SMU fans) who watched the Mustangs squeak by a poor Florida State team on Monday night think they deserved to move up two spots after such a victory? Yes, it’s a conference win on the road in pre-modern era conditions, given the power outage that wiped out coach-to-player communication and the iPads. Yes, the Seminoles showed some spunk in front of a raucous crowd that stayed through the near-two hour delay.
But SMU was practically asking for an upset at various points in this game, committing six penalties and four turnovers, three of which came on offensive drives in Seminoles territory. Don’t get me wrong, quarterback Kevin Jennings and the explosive Mustangs offense showed enough to certainly remain ranked, but No. 17 is a bit too high for my liking.
Underrated: No. 7 Miami
Miami was one of the few teams that scheduled a conference foe in Week 1—and not a nonconference cupcake—and won its conference game decisively. And look, I know we’re not talking about 2010s Stanford here, but the Hurricanes simply overwhelmed the Cardinal with an aerial attack that looks like one of the very best in the country.
Darian Mensah’s accuracy and timing is a match made in heaven with Shannon Dawson’s Air Raid-esque system. And Malachi Toney is unrecoverable in the backfield or the open field. Cooper Barkate is poised to be one of the best No. 2 wideouts in the sport. Just wait until the ‘Canes get Mark Fletcher Jr. and the running game going. Oh, and Miami’s new-look defensive line showed flashes of potential already.
Overrated: No. 19 Washington
Washington is fortunate to have emerged with a win over Washington State in the Apple Cup, given how sloppy and disjointed its offense looked at times. The Huskies scored just 10 points through the first three quarters, couldn’t keep the chains moving on third downs, had some struggles in the red zone and committed face-palm penalties. Luckily for the Huskies, the offense eventually awoke from its slumber and the defense, particularly the front seven, aided the cause by racking up three sacks and forcing three turnovers. Two thumbs up for the defense, but the offense’s struggles were a little concerning, especially for such an experienced group.
Underrated: No. 8 LSU
LSU completely dismantled Clemson on national television, so much so that Tigers coach Lane Kiffin was shooting hoops on the sideline at one point. And this is a Clemson team, I might add, that many around the country happened to like. They were ranked 23rd in the coaches poll and received 112 votes as the top unranked team.
Dabo Swinney’s Tigers couldn’t move the ball against the LSU defense and were bowled over by an LSU offense that churned out 644 total yards, 309 of them on the ground. Kiffin’s “imagine if we had pro players” halftime quip was funny, but also scary. The Tigers, with what looks like one of the best top-to-bottom rosters in the sport, don’t need them.
Underrated: No. 26 Boise State
Give Oregon credit for not ducking the possibility of adversity. And adversity is exactly what they got from Spencer Danielson’s Boise State Broncos, who took the fight to the Ducks in one of the toughest road environments in the sport at Autzen Stadium. Danielson’s offense played a clean game—just three penalties and no turnovers—and the defense came after the Ducks in waves, particularly in the first half.
And how about Maddux Madsen? He made several big-boy throws, such as his touchdown dart to tight end Matt Wagner on a fourth-and-3 with the pressure in his face. Danielson and his team showed serious guts against the Ducks and look the part of a top-25 team.
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