Monday, September 1, 2008

Check out SI's Conference Power Rankings for Week 1

Conference Power Rankings: Week One

By Bill Trocchi, SI.com

The Conference Power Rankings have returned for Year Two, only now they will live in The Sweep, our esteemed college football blog. These initial rankings do not include Monday night's Tennessee-UCLA game, which could potentially give the Pac-10 a nice boost.

1. SEC (10-1 nonconference, 3-0 vs. BCS)

The Good: Anyone who witnessed Alabama's thrashing of Clemson came away impressed with the Crimson Tide, including SI.com's Cory McCartney. And how could you not? A team picked third in the SEC West thrashed the consensus ACC favorite. Could Nick Saban's squad already be among the SEC's elite with Georgia, Auburn, LSU and Florida? That spells Y-I-K-E-S for anyone hoping the mouthy SEC would dip this year.

The Bad: Mississippi State's loss to Louisiana Tech was the lone blemish -- and a bad one at that -- but don't forget Arkansas' escape job against Western Illinois. The Hogs needed to convert a fourth-and-10 during an 83-yard touchdown drive in the final minutes to win 28-24. Would Bobby Petrino have been faxing his resume around if the Razorbacks had lost?

The Verdict: There were no dents in the armor atop the conference. Alabama's statement win puts the SEC in its familiar position atop these rankings.

2. Big 12 (10-2, 2-1 vs. BCS)

The Good: Missouri's solid performance against Illinois was the Big 12's signature win, validating not only the Tigers' inclusion in the national championship discussion but also Chase Daniel's Heisman candidacy. Stewart Mandel observed that Missouri's defense needs to be better, but the Tigers were never in danger of losing to last year's Rose Bowl representative. Oklahoma State also recorded a solid road win against Washington State in Seattle.

The Bad: Mike Sherman didn't exactly wow anyone in his debut in College Station. Texas A&M lost 18-14 to Arkansas State in a game the always-neutral Associated Press said will "likely will go down as one of the most embarrassing losses in school history." Arkansas State was 0-14 vs. the Big 12 before that game.

The Verdict: The Big 12's traditional fluffy nonconference slate actually had some beef this week with Wake Forest (who whipped Baylor), Illinois and Washington State. The conference, already loaded with top QBs, may have another in Kansas State's Josh Freeman, who threw for three TDs and ran for two in a blowout of North Texas.

3. Pac-10 (4-1, 2-1 vs. BCS)

The Good: USC had no trouble with its cross-country flight to Virginia or Mark Sanchez's sore knee. The Trojans looked good from the get-go and added plenty of fuel to the hype for its battle with Ohio State in two weeks. Cal's 38-31 win over Michigan State was a nice feather in the cap.

The Bad: Not much to point to except Washington State's loss to Oklahoma State in coach Paul Wulff's debut. Remember, however, that this is being written before UCLA's game with Tennessee. I fear for the Bruins in that one.

The Verdict: Thumbs up. When you look at in-conference play, Stanford and Oregon both have to be happy with strong performances at home and Oregon State has to feel good about the return of Sammie Stroughter, who had 157 yards and two touchdowns. The Beavers were two unusual fumbles away from winning at Stanford. USC is the class of the league, but opening week showed there's depth, too.

4. Big Ten (7-3, 1-2 vs. BCS)

The Good: At the top of the league, Ohio State, Penn State and Wisconsin all took care of business against inferior opponents, while Illinois put up a fight against Missouri. Northwestern finally buried a weak Syracuse team in the second half.

The Bad: Michigan did not look good against Utah and the Wolverines had a slew of Utah penalities to thank for even being in the game. SI.com's Gennaro Filice says Michigan fans need to be patient with Rich Rodriguez's new offense. Minnesota needed a touchdown on fourth down in the final minute against Northern Illinois to avoid its second loss to a MAC team in two years, and Michigan State showed it was not the equal of an upper-division Pac-10 squad in Cal.

The Verdict: Michigan confirmed it does not belong in the Top 25, which is bad news for a league trying to shake its Ohio State-only image. For the good of the league, Penn State needs to avoid an upset against Oregon State next week and Northwestern can't lose to Duke.

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