BYU Football finally took down Utah after 12 years and as a reward they move up in this week’s Lawless Republic Top 25
Well, that didn’t take long.
I’ve been saying this for weeks but the AP Top 25 voters always give “automatic votes” to teams like Texas, USC, and other P5 teams that quite honestly probably shouldn’t be there. Granted, USC on paper actually seems pretty good, but Texas had no business being in the Top 15. This was made manifest with the Longhorns did essentially nothing against Arkansas until garbage time late in the fourth quarter.
With my Top 25, I choose who I believe are the Top 25. Fortunately, not everyone is paid and sponsored by the P5, including Lawless Republic (even though BYU will be a P5 soon). As a fan of the game, I watch hours upon hours of game footage to gain a grasp of who I believe is truly in the Top 25.
For the entire 2021 season I will put out my Top 25 poll, whether BYU Football is in it or not. Again, my polls are based off of what I see, not what the AP/Coaches Poll says. In fact, I don’t even reference them while making my ranking.
Below are my Week Three rankings with the preseason rankings in parenthesis.
WEEK TWO RANKINGS
1. Alabama (1)
2. Cincinnati (2)
3. Georgia (3)
The top three remain the same as all three got impressive wins that were never in doubt.
4. Oklahoma (4)
5. Penn State (7)
6. Texas A&M (6)
Penn State jumps ahead of Texas A&M as the Aggies struggled to score points against Colorado. Penn State has looked solid in their first two games, and with an injury to A&M’s starting QB, they may find themselves in a free fall very soon.
7. Oregon (14)
What a win by Oregon! While Ohio State was a little overrated in the preseason, to go into Columbus and pull off a win is a huge feat. Oregon has a very clear path ahead of them with no games left that should be too challenging. Their two toughest remaining games, UCLA and Utah both come on the road.
8. Coastal Carolina (8)
9. Florida (9)
10. Clemson (10)
11. UCLA (12)
12. Ohio State (4)
13. Iowa (19)
Iowa State did not look like they ever had a real chance against Iowa as the Hawkeyes completely controlled the tempo and momentum of the game. Iowa is set up real nice to make a good long run this year and has the easiest path to the CFP out of all the Big 10 teams.
14. BYU (16)
They did it! The streak is over! BYU didn’t play a perfect game, but they played a very complete and defensively sound game. With the exception of one drive early in the fourth quarter, Utah was unable to get anything going offensively. The Cougars will have to stay focused though to avoid an upsetting loss to Arizona State this weekend.
15. Virginia Tech (17)
16. Liberty (18)
17. Arkansas (NR)
Woo Pig Sooie! The only “Texas is back” that is going on is the Longhorns desire to maybe return back to the Big 12. Arkansas may be really good this year, but they probably won’t finish in the top three of their division. This was a dominating performance that saw the Razorbacks run for over 300 yards, giving flashbacks to Taysom hurdling the Longhorn defense.
18. UCF (23)
19. Ole Miss (NR)
20. TCU (24)
21. Arizona State (25)
22. Notre Dame (20)
Yes, I have Notre Dame at 22 while the rest of the nation still worships them in the Top 10. The reality is, the overtime game against Florida State is looking pretty bad now after the Seminoles fell at home to an FCS squad. If Toledo had any defense at the end of the game yesterday, the Irish would have lost an embarrassing game to Toledo. This team has shown me nothing to support a Top 20 ranking.
23. Auburn (NR)
24. Oklahoma State (22)
25. UTSA (NR)
Watch out for the Roadrunners! This team has one tough game against Memphis, otherwise we may see UTSA finish with 11 or 12 wins.
On the Fringe: Kentucky, Miss St, Boise St, Michigan, Iowa State and Virginia
Dropped Out: USC (11), Iowa State (13), Texas (15), and Utah (21)
________
What do you think? Which teams did I miss, are there any teams ranked too high or low? Let us know in the comments!