Plenty of Football Yet To Be Played Before Settling Who Is No. 1

One thing is apparent after this past week's college football games. No matter what the polls say, there is no apparent, lead pipe lock for a #1 team. There are several really good teams that have a chance to be national champs, there are some teams that often look good but are not terribly impressive in doing so, and there are some who put up wins and good stats, but the perception of their overall body of work is jaded because they lack strong weekly competition.

What makes college football so much fun is its unpredictability each weekend. What makes college football so maddening is attempting to interpret the value placed on wins and losses, and the effect that value has on rankings.

The first BCS rankings of '09 came out today and the top five are Florida, Alabama, Texas, Boise St., and Cincinnati. The defending national champion Florida Gators were afforded the top spot in all polls all the way from pre-season right through this weekend while SEC counter-part Alabama continued to gain ground in votes for the top spot.

By virtue of a late fourth quarter FG Saturday afternoon, Florida narrowly escaped defeat, 23-20 at home against an improving Arkansas team. A week ago the Gators went into the hostile environment of LSU to pass their biggest test of the season vs. the Tigers. But, sloppy turnovers in the red zone by their offense and an uncustomary yielding of a couple of big plays with their defense, the Gators provided a shadow of a doubt for BCS voters to allow Alabama to be within shouting distance. Over the last two years Florida's offensive production looked like video game numbers. With two key skilled offensive players (Louis Murphy & Percy Harvin) from last year's team now playing for pay in the NFL, the Gators offense has not had that "point a minute" potential like last year. The defense returns everyone from last year and expectations are extremely high for that unit.

'Bama does not have a player who already owns a Heisman Trophy like the Gators' Tim Tebow, but they do have a running back who is beginning to get enough national attention to enter the conversation for this year's award. Mark Ingram rambled for 246 yards against South Carolina last night. Ingram, his offensive line, and a talented defensive unit helped lift their team to a 20-6 win. The Crimson Tide overcame four turnovers and 10 penalties against the #22 ranked Gamecocks. An oddity is that in this age of inflated passing stats and the game geared to offenses throwing the ball, the Tide passed for just 90 yards on a beautiful, dry night against South Carolina. The question is, can Alabama throw it effectively if they are forced to do it? There's nothing wrong with winning with a strong running game, a stingy defense and a solid kicking game, it just doesn't get you those style points--it just allows you to win! But, if needed, can the Tide move it through the air?

Third-ranked Texas managed to get by a depleted Oklahoma team in the Red River Rivalry, 16-13. The 2008 Heisman Award winner, OU QB Sam Bradford, was knocked out of the game with another throwing shoulder injury, leaving after just eight plays. Longhorns QB Colt McCoy, who was a Heisman finalist last year, is having a good, but not great year, to date. Can the Longhorns continue their quest for an undefeated season and a Big 12 title? Only time will tell. But, if the 'Horns don't pick it up right away, it won't be a shock if they stub their toe with so much conference football yet to be played.

The general concensus is that #4 Boise St., because of their weak confernce schedule, would not be granted a ride in Cinderella's coach to the championship game. Cincinnati, also on a magic carpet ride of their own, still has a couple of challenges in the not-so-intimidating Big East. Unless they pour on a ton of style points and some teams above the Bearcats get toppled, Cincinnati's place in the top five is just a nice story like Boise's.

Iowa appears to be the best in the Big Ten at this point, but what does that mean when pre-season favorite Ohio State loses to a 1-5 Purdue team? Even though they suffered an upset on the road at Washington, USC is still lurking at #7 . By beating a solid Notre Dame team in South Bend Saturday, USC showed that if they finish strong and someone above them takes a hit, they could step right into the championship picture.

One thing to keep in mind is that some of the bigger "super conferences" have a 13th game which pits their two divisional champs against each other for the outright conference title--i.e. the ACC, the Big 12 and the SEC. Teams like USC of the PAC 10 and undefeated Iowa of the Big Ten would not have to prove themselves in a 13th game like a Florida, Alabama or Texas.

Whereas last year Florida was the wire to wire winner, the excitement this year is really just beginning to simmer. There are clearly some very good teams, but there is not a great deal of separation between those teams and some of their better conference rivals. The top teams all wear a big target on their back each week. Every one of their opponents zeroes in on their preparation in order to give their best effort and performance when they play the top-ranked teams. A lesser school from within the same conference as these top schools can make their entire season with a big upset victory. Let's stay tuned the next 5-6 weeks and see how it all develops.