Lack of depth causes fluidity in the bottom half
This week’s poll takes a somewhat unusual turn once you get past the top 14. That’s because the teams I had previously ranked 16th (Virginia Tech), 17th (Wake Forest), 18th (North Carolina), 19th (Michigan State), 21st (Vanderbilt) and 22nd (Kansas) all lost last weekend.
The lucky beneficiary of all that carnage? Georgia Tech, which jumped 10 spots, from 25th to 15th, following an innocuous 21-17 win at Clemson. I can’t say I was entirely comfortable with it, but at the same time, the surprising Jackets have been the most consistent team in the ACC so far (a bizarre 10-7 win over Gardner-Webb in which Tech played with an emergency third-string QB notwithstanding).
Meanwhile, five teams made somewhat high debuts (or returns) this week: No. 14 TCU, No. 16 Pitt, No. 17 USF, No. 18 Boston College and No. 19 Florida State. All in all, there’s a general lack of depth across the country. Most of the teams in the bottom half of this poll still have much to prove.
si.com
10/21/08
Magnolia Tribune
