The Updated SB Top 25 Poll After Week 6:
1. Ohio State
2. Georgia
3. Alabama
4. Oklahoma
5. Cincinnati
6. Michigan
7. Iowa
8. Oregon
9. Kentucky
10. Coastal Carolina
11. Ole Miss
12. Notre Dame
13. Michigan State
14. Arizona State
15. Arkansas
16. Texas
17. Penn State
18. Auburn
19. Oklahoma State
20. Texas A&M
21. Florida
22. SMU
23. N.C. State
24. BYU
25. San Diego State
Next Up: Clemson, Tennessee, Wake Forest, Baylor, UCLA
Heisman Watch:
1. C.J. Stroud
2. Bryce Young
3. Kenneth Walker III
4. Bijan Robinson
5. TreVeyon Henderson
6. Matt Corral
7. Grayson McCall
8. Desmond Ridder
9. Aidan Hutchinson
— C.J. Stroud has really come alive the past two weeks and is arguably playing better football than anyone in the country at the moment. I have seen enough to put him first in this week’s Heisman Watch. He has 10 touchdowns and zero interceptions in the last two games and is now at 18 TD / 3 INT on the year. He looks so comfortable and is making all the throws. Even though he missed a game, I still think he’s having a better year than almost everyone. He just has to get the ball to his guys and good things will happen.
— Bryce Young was rather disappointing against the Aggies. He was OK, but not good enough and was missing a lot of throws. He looked like a deer in headlights for a large portion of the game, credit to the A&M defensive line. I think he will bounce back, it was probably the worst he will play all year. For now, I have moved him to number 2 in my Heisman Watch behind Stroud.
— Kenneth Walker’s ability to break tackles and take it to the house has been unreal this season, that is why I have him at third in the race through 6 games. He is carrying the Sparty offense. It would be hard for him to top what he’s done already and he will only face tougher defenses for the rest of the season, so I don’t expect him to stay in the top five, but for this week’s column, he deserves all the praise.
TEAM ANALYSIS:
— Georgia has been the most “impressive” team so far this season, but that does not mean they are the best and that they are unbeatable. Their defense looks Godly. The offense does not move me, although I think they are easily good enough to run the table through the regular season. I’m not comfortable saying they would beat Bama yet. The Bama loss surely makes UGA the SEC favorites now, but how hungry will that loss make the Crimson Tide?
— Oklahoma with Caleb Williams back there looks like a completely different team. I’m still in shock that Lincoln Riley even put him in and that he led that insane comeback against a solid Texas team. They are a top 4 team with Williams. I expect them to win out and make the playoff. Surely Spencer Rattler is furious with how this is playing out.
— Ohio State is playing better right now than anyone. The offense looks unstoppable, dare I say 2019 LSU levels. People will be quick to bring up the Oregon game, a game in which the offense put up 600 yards, but only 28 points. CJ is hitting his stride and when he plays like that, OSU probably will not lose again. The Buckeye defense has looked worlds better the past three games and will only continue to get better. I’ll leave you with this, the past two national champions — LSU and Alabama — had the best receiving cores in the country and a stud at RB — OSU fits that mold.
— Even though Texas lost to Oklahoma, I was still so impressed with their offense. Casey Thompson should have started from day 1. Xavier Worthy is insane for a true freshman. Bijan Robinson looked amazing as usual. Texas is still a top 20 team in my opinion despite their 2 losses to Arkansas and OU. The defense is atrocious though, I still can’t get over them giving up that last-second TD to Kennedy Brooks.
— Arizona State and Jayden Daniels might be the best team in the Pac-12 now. Oregon is just so banged up, which is part of the reason they lost to Stanford and why I think the Ducks will likely lose another game. ASU is playing better ball right now and has a better QB. They will continue to rise in the AP Poll and the SB Poll if they keep doing what they’re doing.
— Iowa was surely going to lose to Penn State, then Clifford got knocked out of the game and they were able to pull off the comeback at Kinnick. The Iowa defense is forreal, they force turnover after turnover. The offense is not very good though, there has only been one game where they scored over 30 and won by more than one score. I expect them to be 12-0 by the time they face the Buckeyes in Indy. They do not deserve to be ranked No. 2 in the AP Poll though. I think OSU and Michigan are better and would beat them handily if they played.
— It’s hard to tell how good Michigan is because they dominated their non-conference games, but barely beat Rutgers and Nebraska. I still think they are a top 10 team with their stellar defense and run game, I just have qualms about the QB position. Cade isn’t bad, but he plays like a pure game manager and when J.J. McCarthy comes in, the offense looks so much more dynamic. They have a tough dilemma and for now they seem to be sticking with Cade. They should win their first 11 games.
— It is so hard to tell how good Kentucky is, we will see this weekend against Georgia. Their defense looks really good. The offense is a little questionable, but I love what I have seen from Will Levis and Wan’Dale Robinson. They are top 20 in my opinion and this week I have them at number 9 in my SB Poll, but something about them just leads me to believe they aren’t as good as their ranking says. My term for that is “fake good.”
— I think Alabama will get it together and still end up making the CFP, much like how the Buckeyes have responded after the loss to Oregon. A loss can be a blessing sometimes, it will allow them to make changes that they may not have made if they kept winning. At least, that’s what great teams do. They should easily be able to run the table until they face UGA in Atlanta (assuming Kentucky doesn’t do the unthinkable). Personally, I think they would beat UGA because they have better skill position players and I do not trust Kirby Smart in big games.