The Top 10 as I See Fit

A lot of time I look at the way people vote and wonder how the heck they came up with their rankings. Especially when I look at some votes for the Coaches and AP Top 25. I wonder what games they watched if they watched any at all. Each week In The Bleachers puts out a weekly top 10 (shown in the right side bar), and that votes consists of everyone that is on the podcast. This week I am going to make my votes public, but hopefully I will give good enough reasoning why my votes are accurate. 1. Michigan - I got to see the Wolverines from field level and I was impressed not only with their size but their speed at all positions. Their offensive and defensive lines might be in the top 5 in the nation. Michigan has beaten the likes of Notre Dame, Wisconsin, and Penn State, each game they controlled the tempo and physcially controlled the game. Hart is running the ball efficient and Henne showed last week that they can win without Mario Manningham. They should be able to beat Iowa this week in Ann Arbor, and if they do so they will set up a huge match up against Ohio State at the end of the season. Who ever said the Big Ten doesn't have a conference championship game? 2. Ohio State - I think the main reason why Ohio State is ranked #1 in both polls is because of the momentum they rode from end of last year. Before I get yelled at, yes they beat Texas, but that is the only Top 25 team they have beaten. They showed signs of weakness at home versus Penn State before pulling away late in the fourth quarter. If I were to pick a winner right now in the UM/tOSU game I would have to go with Michigan. I think the Wolverines would be able to exploit the weakness the Buckeyes have defending the run. Ohio State should breeze through their next few games against the bottom tier teams of the Big Ten. Does Troy Smith have any other tricks in his bag when the men from Ann Arbor come to town? 3. West Virginia - I don't understand why everyone is so down on this team. They are getting no love from anyone. Yes I realize that their schedule has been really easy, but they have done everything they've had to do, win big each game. In the upcoming weeks they play Louisville, Rutgers, and Pitt. Three teams with a combined one loss, which isn't too shabby. If you haven't had a chance to watch this team, I think you should. Pat White and Steve Slaton are a dangerous duo on offense. They more than make up for the lack of a solid passing game with the way they run the ball. Plus if everyone is voted Ohio State so high based on what they did at the end of last year, don't forget that WVU beat Georgia in the Sugar Bowl. Be consistant fellas. 4. USC - USC is a loss waiting to happen. They have struggled the past three games against Washington State, Washington, and Arizona State. I was most surprised with their stuggles against Arizona State since for one they were in So. Cal for the game and number two Cal and Oregon both dropped over 40 points on them. I think finally the injury bug has caught up to them and it will be tough for them to go to their third National Title game in as many years. I firmly believe that USC will lose to either California or Oregon this year. That does not diminish the stellar job Pete Carroll has done, but they just aren't going to get it done this year. 5. Auburn - Yes they got beat by Arkansas at home, but I really believe that it was a fluke. I think that game just goes to show you how good the SEC really is. There are as many as six teams (Auburn, Florida, LSU, Tennessee, Arkansas, and Georgia) that could be ranked in the top 25 by the years end. Five of those teams could be put in the ACC (or even Big 12) and end up in that conference's championship game. Kenny Irons is a force and so is their defense. It will be up to the play of Brandon Cox as to how far the Tigers go this year. 6. Texas - The Longhorns have bounced back nice after their early season loss to the Buckeyes. Colt McCoy is maturing nice and their defense did a good job holding down Oklahoma both on the rushing and passing front. What might hurt the Longhorns is that there is no other team in the Big 12 that is anywhere near top 10 worthy. They should be able to make it to the Big 12 championship game with easy but it would be nice for them to beat another big name team to help their BCS chances. 7. Louisville - Louisville has been a mystery for me. With Bush and Brohm I thought they were a great team and when they beat Miami like they did, I thought they were a really good team. Now let's fast forward a few weeks; we know that Miami is not good, Bush is out for the year, and Brohm is back but still not 100%. Where does that leave Louisiville? The lowest ranked BCS undefeated team, and after their next game we can strike undefeated from their resume. 8. Tennessee - The Vols have one minor slip up against the Gators and have defeated a really good California team. Let's not forget the impressive victory over Georgia where they came back from down 21-7 to score 51 points and take the game. Erik Ainge is really developing into a good quarterback. The Vols have three tough games left against Alabama, LSU, and Arkansas, and if they can get through those undefeated a BCS Bowl game should come calling. 9. California - I wanted to rank Cal at #8 but I couldn't since Tennesse did beat them in the first game. I do think if these teams played again it would be a lot closer and Cal might even come out on top. Their defense really impressed me in their victory over Oregon. Nate Longshore, Marshawn Lynch, and DeSean Jackson are enough to give any defensive coordinator fits. The USC-Cal game should be a good one. 10. Florida - I can't penalize Florida too much since they only have one loss in the SEC and I know I am ranking them below Tennessee, who they beat but this is where I think they fit in. Is Chris Leak a good QB, yes but he is not a championship caliber QB. He needed to make that step Saturday against Auburn but fell short. They still sit in the drivers seat for the SEC East but they can't lick their wounds for too long because they have Georgia next. If they get past the Bulldogs they should be fine until the SEC Title game. If for some reason they lose again, expect it to become Tim Tebow's team.