Our weekly look at the individual AP Ballots is back again for this season. Who was the biggest homer? Who doesn't make any sense? Who actually (gasp!) deserves some credit?
This week's beef: Punishing Kentucky too much for Florida loss, anyone putting Oklahoma over LSU, and most using a loss on the road to Rutgers as an excuse to plummet South Florida.
Jon Wilner (San Jose Mercury News)
1. LSU
2. Oklahoma
3. Oregon
15. South Carolina
I have to admit I'm a little surprised Jon didn't put Vanderbilt into his top 10. I mean, they beat the juggernaut Gamecocks on the road. If each team brings their A-game every week, I agree those are the top three teams in the country.
Neal McCready (Mobile Press-Register)
1. Arizona State
2. Ohio State
9. Oregon
McCready asserts that the Pac-10 being a great conference is why he puts ASU #1 despite no wins against the other top rivals. So why then is Oregon at #9?
Kevin Pearson (Riverside Press-Enterprise)
3. Oklahoma
5. LSU
This isn't a knock against the Sooners, but I don't see how anyone could evaluate OU as a better team than LSU. The Tigers lone loss is on the road against a very good Kentucky team, and have several big wins against ranked opponents (Virginia Tech, Florida, Auburn).
John Moredich (Tuscon Citizen)
23. Kentucky
So much for beating LSU.
Chip Scoggings (Minneapolis Star-Tribune)
6. West Virginia
14. South Florida
Here's a common example throughout the rankings this week. Whether you think the Bulls are great or not, you still can't ignore the win over West Virginia earlier this season. You've got to keep these two very close.
Rich Kaipust (Omaha World-Herald)
2. West Virginia
3. LSU
6. Boston College
11. Arizona State
Here's the Mountaineers quality wins this season:
Molly Yanity (Seattle Post-Intelligencer)
25. Cincinnati
Ever since the Bearcats beat Oregon State, Molly has been extremely high on Brian Kelly's boys. The last two weeks they've lost to Louisville and Pittsburgh. Should they really be ranked?
Dough Doughty (Roanoke Times)
12. Michigan
I'm on board with the Wolverines being a very good team again, but this might be a touch too high.
My #1: Ohio State Sticking with the Buckeyes for having the most underrated defense in the country. Who would I pick to win between LSU and Ohio State? LSU, but the Buckeyes consistency should stand for something. For at least another week Ohio State gets the edge at #1. They're a better team than most believe.
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