Thoughts on the AP Poll, Week 3

1. Why isn’t Alabama a unanimous number one?

Was anybody outside of Wallace Wade watching this weekend? Because Alabama was absolutely dominant. The spread was 24.5—the Crimson Tide covered that in the first quarter. Granted, they were playing Duke (and as much progress as the Blue Devils have made, they’re still legitimately seen as a cupcake opponent for a national powerhouse). But that could’ve been a 75-point game if Alabama didn’t run in their second-team offense in the second half because they, unlike Boise State, don’t have to run up the score to impress people. Alabama is king as far as I’m concerned.

2. Pac-10 makes a statement.

Last week I wrote about how great the Big Ten was. This week, the Pac-10 caught my eye as a conference that could be in the running for second-best behind the almighty SEC.  No. 14 Arizona beat then-No. 9 Iowa in primetime—the Hawkeyes always seem to lose games like this—to jump 10 spots up. Oregon blew out another bad team by enough to justify its spot in the top-five, Stanford demolished Wake Forest to move up to No. 16, and No. 18 USC and No. 24 Oregon State did enough to win and maintain their position in the top-25. Even Arizona State, which is in the also-receiving-votes category, impressed me by coming within a blocked PAT of tying No. 11 Wisconsin in Madison.

3. Why does Notre Dame still get attention?

I know Notre Dame used to be a powerhouse—for decades the Fighting Irish were the class of college football. Then Lou Holtz retired, and the Spice Girls made their breakthrough—yes, it was that long ago. Since then, Notre Dame has had just three seasons of more than seven wins and four losing seasons. In each of those three seasons, superior opponents blew the Fighting Irish out of their bowl game because Notre Dame still gets selected based on its television ratings rather than its actual teams. Prior to their 2008 victory in the Hawaii Bowl, the Fighting Irish lost eight straight bowl games dating back to 1993.

Bottom-line: Notre Dame is a has-been in college football. So why does beating them get a new team (first Michigan, now Michigan State) into the top-25 for two straight weeks? The same reason that Notre Dame is the only team with a losing record to get a vote in the AP poll, I guess—history.