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AP Poll Top 25, Week 12: LSU No. 1 with a bullet, Alabama overrated, Oregon underrated

By Sean Watterson

TUSCALOOSA, ALABAMA - NOVEMBER 09: K'Lavon Chaisson #18 of the LSU Tigers attempts to tackle Najee Harris #22 of the Alabama Crimson Tide during the second half in the game at Bryant-Denny Stadium on November 09, 2019 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
TUSCALOOSA, ALABAMA - NOVEMBER 09: K'Lavon Chaisson #18 of the LSU Tigers attempts to tackle Najee Harris #22 of the Alabama Crimson Tide during the second half in the game at Bryant-Denny Stadium on November 09, 2019 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) /
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The AP Poll in Week 12 is out, and it is no surprise that there was a shakeup at the top. Here is a look back at the wild Week 11 and the overrated and underrated in the AP Poll Week 12 Top 25.

In Week 11, we were treated to some delightful November football. Did you guys see that Baylor/TCU game? Once you get into the overtime periods that require two-point conversions, it’s well beyond getting your money’s worth. And when the… what’s that? You don’t care about Baylor/TCU? Of course, you don’t. Baylor won by the skin of its teeth to stay atop the Big 12. Neat.

No. Let’s talk about Week 11, the week that was all about the fall of undefeated teams in pole position to make the CFB Playoff.

To start the day, the undefeated Minnesota Golden Gophers upset the inexplicably ranked Penn State Nittany Lions. The game started with Sean Clifford looking like a poor man’s Trace McSorley and ended it looking like a middle-class man’s Christian Hackenberg. Ticky-tack offensive PI’s aside, Penn State was reckless with the ball early, and they dug a hole too deep to climb out of.

That game hurt Penn State’s slim chances of making the Playoff, but it was the football fan’s appetizer to the feast that was Alabama/LSU: an exciting and very fun game that was never as close as the final score made it look.

Joseph Freaking Burrow went off in the first half against an Alabama squad that looked over-matched and unprepared. Alabama’s defense hasn’t looked this bad since the National Championship game. LSU’s offense hasn’t looked this good since… JaMarcus Russell? Earlier? That the Tigers have a competent offense is maybe the biggest surprise of the season. Well, except:

This LSU team is incredibly exciting to watch. They have looked every bit the part of a national title contender, although it’s defense has left a little to be desired. If they can round into form on that side of the ball, the Bayou Bengals will be holding the Playoff Trophy in January. Although the thought of an Ohio State-LSU offensive explosion is exciting.

Meanwhile, Ohio State and Clemson continued their scorched earth campaigns against lesser talent. November football is the best football. The season-long playoff starts to come to a head This year has been no different.

Here is a look at the AP Poll Week 12 Top 25 and the overrated and underrated teams in that list.

Note: just because a team is overrated does not mean that they aren’t good. It just means there isn’t enough of a reason to think they are as good as the love they have been given. Underrated doesn’t mean they would win the title either.

AP Poll Top 25

  1. LSU
  2. Ohio State
  3. Clemson
  4. Alabama
  5. Georgia
  6. Oregon
  7. Minnesota
  8. Utah
  9. Penn State
  10. Oklahoma
  11. Florida
  12. Baylor
  13. Auburn
  14. Michigan
  15. Wisconsin
  16. Notre Dame
  17. Cincinnati
  18. Memphis
  19. Boise State
  20. SMU
  21. Navy
  22. Texas
  23. Iowa
  24. Indiana
  25. Oklahoma State

Overrated

No. 4 Alabama — Okay. This is probably not the majority opinion, but it’s just very, very hard to think that this Alabama team deserves a spot in the Top 4. They lost at home to LSU, and though the score was close, the game wasn’t all that close. The team looked sloppy on offense, and this Alabama defense fits better in the bottom half of the AP Top 25 than at the top. Furthermore, the Crimson Tide have not played many top-tier teams. If they win out, their premier win will be against Auburn.

Alabama’s offense puts them in the Top 6-8 range, but leave them out of the Playoff, please.

No. 7 Minnesota — The Golden Gopher’s upset win against Penn State is the kind of win that will get PJ Fleck hired to Arkansas or USC. It was an exciting win for a team in the Top 4 that is a much better fit at No. 9 than they were at No. 4. Minnesota is a team that does everything well but does not wow you in any phase of the game. Coming into Saturday, they had not played a team in the FEI Top 50. Now they have played one team in that range.

Minnesota is having an incredibly fun year, but they will still end up with at least two losses. Utah and Oklahoma would be favored against them head-to-head.

No. 11 Florida — The Gators are taking care of business, and there is a lot to be said of that. They beat the teams that they should, but don’t really have the juice to beat the teams that they shouldn’t. That’s the kind of the team that should be ranked a bit lower than No. 11, especially with an undefeated squad from a Power Five conference sitting there at No. 12.

This year is tough. Baylor wouldn’t beat Florida in the Swamp, but it would be close in Waco. The record should matter to some extent, though. And it’s hard to justify two L’s that high.

Underrated

No. 6 Oregon — The Ducks have to be wondering what has to happen in the SEC for them to get any love in the AP Poll. First of all, their lone loss came in a neutral site, early in the season in an all-time performance by Auburn. If that game is played ten times, Oregon wins it more often than not. But the Ducks shouldn’t get credit for almost. They should get credit for playing a ranked SEC team in a neutral location. Since that game, the Ducks have dominated on defense and its receivers have remembered that they are allowed to use their opposable thumbs to catch the ball, which has brought the offense up to respectability.

One has to think that Oregon is rooting for LSU to win out and Auburn to upset Alabama in the Iron Bowl, because it’s looking like the Ducks will be on the outside looking in, even with a win against Utah in the Pac 12 title game.

No. 8 Utah — Maybe it’s biased against the West Coast, but the Utes have looked like a better team than Minnesota. When Tyler Huntley is slinging it, the Utes look better than Oregon. It’s difficult to understand why Utah is being crushed for losing at USC when the Trojans were expected to beat up on Oregon last week. Much like Oregon, the Utes have a tough loss against a very tough opponent and are being penalized much worse than teams like Georgia. Maybe Utah shouldn’t be in the Top 4, but they should be able to rest assured that if they win out that they will be in the Playoff. At this point, that looks like a long shot without help.

No. 10 Oklahoma — The Sooners should be in the Top 8. Their offense is incredible while their defense looks mediocre. It’s hard to imagine many teams immediately in front of Oklahoma being Vegas favorites. Oklahoma struggled against the always tough Iowa State at home, and their loss to Kansas State in Manhattan is a much better loss than, again, Georgia’s home loss to a team that will not play in a bowl game.

If the AP Poll is intended to reward achievement, these are the overrated and underrated teams. If it intended to be predictive, it’s even further off. Only if the AP Poll is intended to reward legacy and the ghosts of the past three seasons does it make sense for these teams to be where they are.

Next. Week 11 takeaways: It's Joe Burrow's world. dark

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