College football rankings should have USC No. 3, Oregon unranked

Sep 1, 2024; Paradise, Nevada, USA; Southern California Trojans wide receiver Ja’Kobi Lane (8) and wide receiver Makai Lemon (6 celebrate after a touchdown in the fourth quarter against the LSU Tigers at Allegiant Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

People are going to see the headline and freak out. At least, people in Eugene are going to have a few things to say about this. If you’re an Oregon Ducks fan and you’re reading this sentence, we can understand that you might think we’re in la-la land over here at Trojans Wire in response to the latest US LBM Coaches Poll, in which Oregon was rated eight spots above USC. In truth, we’re just trying to do college football rankings properly. That’s it. That’s all.

If USC had just beaten Idaho by 10 points at home, you can bet your bottom dollar that the Trojans would not deserve to be ranked in the top 25 of the college football polls. You can be that Lincoln Riley would be buried by an avalanche of criticism … and rightly so. It would be appropriate. USC beating Idaho by only 10 points at home after leading by only three in the fourth quarter would merit a tidal wave of harsh evaluations. It would be the logical, natural thing to do. USC wouldn’t deserve to sniff the top 25, Duck fans.

Why should it be any different for Oregon in the college football rankings? This isn’t anti-Duck; it’s anti-bad rankings. We don’t like bad rankings. We shouldn’t like bad rankings. We shouldn’t approve of a terrible process by which to engage in college football rankings.

Let’s explore how to do it right, and more precisely, what the top 25 should be after Week 1.

SHORT INTRODUCTION

Sep 1, 2024; Paradise, Nevada, USA; Southern California Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley with wife Caitlin Riley after the game against the LSU Tigers at Allegiant Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/college-football-rankings-usc-no-201655248.html

Author : Trojans Wire

Publish date : 2024-09-03 20:16:55

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