THE HOME OFFICE — Part of me can’t believe I’m writing this because it’s really not my style, but Oklahoma is not getting its due respect three games into this college football season.
Because I’ve always looked for the cracks, always taken the long view, always sought not to overreact in the positive, especially when nagging issues persist, like John Mateer throwing interceptions.
Nonetheless, I’ve factored it in and here we are.
The headline’s the headline.
I’m convinced I’m right.
What else am I going to write?
What happened was I had an idea and this was it:
I would look at a whole bunch of SEC Power Polls from different outlets and see how the apparent juggernaut Sooners were fairing in the eyes of the coverers of the alleged best conference in America.
I honestly thought OU might show up in everybody’s top four..
I mean, the Sooners have looked just great, right? They’ve taken down a still-ranked team, right? Their defense has given up 19 points, total, and would have pitched two shutouts had it not been for Mateer’s picks, right?.
Hard to be a whole lot better than that.
About those power polls, here’s five I checked out and, for convenience, we’re limiting them to each one’s top eight.
Roll Tide Wire
1. Georgia
2. Texas
3. LSU
4. Texas A&M
5. Tennessee
6. Ole Miss
7. Oklahoma
8. Alabama
Inside Texas (On3 Network)
1. Georgia
2. LSU
3. Oklahoma
4. Texas A&M
5. Alabama
6. Texas
7. Ole Miss
8. Tennessee
Tuscaloosa News
1. Georgia
2. LSU
3. Texas
4. Ole Miss
5. Oklahoma
6. Texas A&M
7. Vanderbilt
8. Tennessee
Yahoo Sports
1. LSU
2. Georgia
3. Texas A&M
4. Texas
5. Ole Miss
6. Auburn
7. Oklahoma
8. Alabama
Saturday Down South
1. LSU
2. Georgia
3. Texas A&M
4. Oklahoma
5. Tennessee
6. Missouri
7. Ole Miss
8. Vanderbilt
SEC Network
1. Georgia
2. LSU
3. Texas A&M
4. Oklahoma
5. Alabama
6. Ole Miss
7. Missouri
8. Tennessee
Generally speaking, here’s what’s going on here:
Most of the lists are heavily influenced by their preseason predictions or by the Associated Press Top 25 and the coaches’ poll. You know, as long as a team wins, they don’t lose their spot, which is inane, as though all wins are created equal.
As long as we’re here we might as well list the SEC teams in those polls.
AP Top 25
3. LSU
5. Georgia
8. Texas
10. Texas A&M
11. Oklahoma
13. Ole Miss
14. Alabama
15. Tennessee
20. Vanderbilt
22. Auburn
23. Missouri
Coaches’ poll
3. Georgia
4. LSU
7. Texas
10. Texas A&M
11. Ole Miss
12. Oklahoma
14. Alabama
15. Tennessee
22. Missouri
23. Vanderbilt
24. South Carolina
25. Auburn
Two initial observations:
One, Georgia deserves it.
The Bulldogs deserve their high spot on all the lists. Two comfortable victories over Marshall and Austin Peay may not have told us much, but a 44-41 overtime victory over Tennessee, at Tennessee, which I thought was underrated at No. 15 — where it remains despite the loss — going in. So, after beating a team like that away from home, Georgia deserves its lofty perch.
LSU, on the other hand, deserves far less than it’s getting.
The Tigers beat Clemson, which just lost to previously unranked Georgia Tech, 17-10 (and almost lost to Troy the week before); a Florida team that’s dying before our eyes 20-10; and in between, the fighting Terry Bradshaws and Karl Malones of Louisiana Tech 23-7. How can a team that can’t score points be thought of so highly?
Another thing, Texas A&M also deserves high praise. If history is a judge, topping UTSA 42-24 and Utah State 44-22 may be better wins than they appear, and going on the road to beat then-No. 9 Notre Dame is a fabulous victory.
The Irish have lost twice in two tries, yet their other loss was a three-point decision at fourth-ranked Miami, which looks like a juggernaut itself after what it did to 18th-ranked South Florida, a team with victories over Boise State and Florida.
After that, if not higher, you’ve got to put OU in there, perhaps not because the Michigan win was so, so, so, so, so good, but because the Sooners appear to be a very complete team and who else in the SEC can make the same claim?
Arch Manning’s been a huge disappointment as Texas’ new quarterback and the Longhorns aren’t scoring points.
Ole Miss gets credit for topping two SEC teams already, yet those teams are Kentucky and Arkansas and both were one-score games.
Meanwhile, Vanderbilt is clearly getting dissed, two of its wins coming against Virginia Tech (44-20) and then-No. 11 South Carolina (31-7).
Missouri and Auburn are both unbeaten, though the Tigers’ best win is a 42-31 victory over Kansas and the other Tigers’ best a 38-24 decision over Baylor.
Hard to know what to make of that, though Auburn will be in Norman on Saturday, Jackson Arnold behind center in a different uniform.
Given all that, I’ve made a power poll of my own. There won’t be a new one every week, yet if it makes sense to repeat the process, we’ll do it again.
Here, at least, is the first one.
Oklahoma Columnist
1. Georgia
2. Oklahoma
3. Texas A&M
4. Vanderbilt
5. Tennessee
6. Texas
7. LSU
8. Ole Miss
Power polls should be about what teams have done or failed to do given their opportunities to do them or not do them.
They should not give huge benefits of the doubt to highly-regarded and highly-ranked teams that have fulfilled none of their promise despite managing not to lose.
So, LSU’s taken a big tumble, having proven nothing, even against teams it should roll over.
Texas is LSU light.
The Longhorns have an average offense — better than LSU’s at least — and a possibly stellar defense. Texas may have all the talent in the world, too, but I can’t care about that because this is a power poll and not a what-they-ought-to-do poll.
Tennessee remains high enough because it’s only sin is a three-point overtime loss to the No. 1 team on the list.
Ole Miss is No. 8, but that spot could just as easily have been given to Auburn or Missouri.
And if you think A&M deserves a spot in front of OU, you might be right, because I thought about that, too.
Still, I’m good with it.
For many, it remains hard to believe the Sooners have done what they’ve done as well and as easily as they’ve done it.
But they have.