And rightfully so! The 'Canes offense looked deflated against the Virginia Tech defense and were a far cry from the offensive juggernaut that downed Florida State and Georgia Tech. Losses on Saturday from both FSU and Georgia Tech did little to help Miami's cause.
Overall, however, Miami did not look like a top 10 team, or even a top 15 team, and voters were more than justified in dropping them in the rankings. It was up to Miami to prove they deserved the 9th spot, just as it's up to Florida, Texas and Alabama to prove every week that they deserve their spot in the top 3. Miami didn't prove it and they were put back in their place for now. Miami gets their first chance to redeem themselves on Saturday night when the 8th ranked Oklahoma Sooners visit.
Miami wasn't the only one taking a plunge. Cal dropped from 6th to 24th in the AP (19th in the Coaches') after getting rocked by Oregon. Penn State fell from 5th to 15th in the AP (13th in the Coaches') after falling to Iowa. Curiously, however, the coaches put Iowa four spots behind Penn State. I know I'm having a hard time believing that Iowa is for real after their shaky start to the season, but they've already turned a few critics after Saturday night's performance and with another solid showing I might be the next one to drink the Hawkeyes Kool-Aid.
Ole Miss was the other big loser this weekend, falling from 4th to the 21st spot in the AP (18th in the Coaches'). Watching Thursday night as South Carolina defeated Mississippi, I could only bow my head in shame after writing an article supporting the Rebels' unusually high ranking. Some may argue that Ole Miss deserves to fall out of the rankings completely, having no quality wins thus far and losing to an unranked, and still unranked, South Carolina team. Stuart Mandel brought up an interesting point in his Mailbag, one that is applicable to this discussion. He writes, "The Rebels have not accomplished a darn thing. But people like me propped them up all offseason as a BCS contender, so clearly it's going to take more than one ugly loss to bump them out."
It's clear that most voters were looking for an excuse to drop them, but because of the lofty preseason hype, and Week 3 hype courtesy of some writers, voters are having a hard time dropping the Rebels out of the top 25, even if they want to. Once again, that nasty unwritten poll ranking rule has been allowed to wreak its havoc. Maybe we should hold off on ranking teams until after the first week. Then we'll have a little basis for how they look. The Rebels play both LSU and Alabama this season, so in a way they control their own destiny as it relates to competing for an SEC title. Their preseason ranking won't help them anymore.
The polls are never an exact science. They present new questions every week and every season. For instance: If Boise State is one of two undefeated teams this season, should they play in the National Championship Game? The Broncos' defense is stout, their offense is explosive and their victory over Oregon is looking pretty good, too, after Oregon's annihilation of Cal on Saturday.
Should Utah have been given a chance to play for the title after going undefeated last season? They beat two top 15 teams in the regular season (TCU and BYU) and were able to handily defeat fourth ranked Alabama in the Sugar Bowl.
The teams that play like the two best teams in the nation should compete for the championship. It's obvious, right? Whether that means sending an undefeated team from the WAC or MWC, or sending a one-loss team from the SEC, Big Ten, Pac-10, ACC or Big 12, equal treatment should be accorded to all teams, television ratings be damned! - Danny Hobrock
Danny Hobrock is a sports journalist who primarily covers college football and professional baseball. He is a contributor for several sports related blogs and is the former editor of a political and current events website.----------
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