10 things I learned from Top 25 Week
One of the great things about Top 25 Week was that it was a way for me to prep for 2019. Believe it or not, I don’t break down Group of 5 running backs every day. That’s like a once-a-week deal for me.
Doing research for my own Top 25 stories and reading other Top 25 stories from our great team here at SDS was a bit of a learning experience. I didn’t realize that there were only 2 running backs in the country who had 1,200 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns each of the past 2 seasons. I also didn’t realize that Ian Book put up such impressive numbers after taking over the starting job at Notre Dame last year.
(Insert “The More You Know” GIF here.)
As we put a bow on Top 25 Week and head into SEC Media Days, I thought it’d be fitting to share some of the things I learned from taking part in this series. And hey, maybe you’ll be learning these things, too.
1. I sort of forgot just how good Grant Delpit was last year
In my defense, I felt like the past few months, the conversation with the LSU secondary was all about Greedy Williams’ draft stock, Kristian Fulton’s decision to return and Derek Stingley’s arrival. Lost in that hoopla was the fact that the Tigers return an All-American who does everything well from the safety position. I knew I was going to have him as a top 5 guy in my SEC player rankings, but looking a little closer at what he did last year, I bumped him up to No. 2.
I will never forget about Delpit’s greatness again. You have my word.
2. Ranking the Top 25 SEC players was super difficult
It really was. I can admit that.
There were guys like Lamical Perine and Lynn Bowden who I thought were going to be locks to make the Top 25. Then I went through it and realized that they were just outside of my Top 25.
That says a lot about the talent the SEC has this year. Even after it sets a record for most NFL Draft picks, the amount of individual talent across the board is staggering. I had second-team All-Americans who I left off. That probably upset some people, but that’s a reminder that it ain’t easy finding the best of the best in the SEC.
3. But I bet coming up with the Top 25 moments that defined the decade was even tougher
Lucky for me, I didn’t have to do that! Les East, an SEC veteran, had to.
Based on the email chain that we had going, narrowing that list to 25 had to be extremely difficult. It’s easy to forget that Urban Meyer “retiring” from Florida and Cam Newton having essentially a perfect season were part of this decade. It’s been a wild, totally unpredictable decade in the SEC with some classic moments that we’ll be talking about 30-40 years from now (looking at you, 2nd-and-26).
So thank you Les for doing something that would have made me pull my hair out.
4. The non-SEC nonconference slate is woeful
It’s bad, y’all. Like, real bad. Outside of Notre Dame-Michigan, the non-SEC nonconference headliners are lacking in a major way. Part of it could be luck, but part of it could be based on my theory that with a lot of these games scheduled shortly after the switch the Playoff was announced, there was a bit of a feeling-out process. Teams like Ohio State and Washington with 9-game conference schedules changed their nonconference slates so that they wouldn’t have a headliner. I don’t think that’s a coincidence.
5. The top 6 coaches are more obvious than ever
In some order, it seems like the consensus top 6 coaches in America are:
- Nick Saban
- Dabo Swinney
- Jimbo Fisher
- Kirby Smart
- Lincoln Riley
- Chris Petersen
Some would throw in a Brian Kelly or perhaps a Mike Leach, but to me, those coaches have put themselves in a different kind of position. All of them elevated their programs in significant ways (Jimbo at FSU), all of them have been to a Playoff and all enter 2019 with national title aspirations. Well, A&M and Washington might not be quite at that level, but both are expected to start in the top 15 and be in the Playoff hunt.
But still. If I had to start my program tomorrow, those are the 6 coaches who are at the top of my list.
6. But Kirby vs. Lincoln is a super interesting debate that isn’t going away
Besides Saban vs. Swinney, the coach rank debate I find most interesting is Smart vs. Riley.
I gave Smart the nod ahead of Riley just because of the 2017 Rose Bowl. That gave Smart a national championship berth, which Riley obviously doesn’t have yet. But man, that’s the only thing Riley doesn’t have. To be 35 with a pair of Heisman Trophy winners and No. 1 overall picks after just 2 seasons on the job is unprecedented. He also has the 2 Playoff berths compared to 1 for Smart.
Because of where Riley and Smart are at in their careers, this discussion feels like it’s going to be relevant in college football for a long time. If either were to win a ring this year, that would clearly give one the edge over the other. In a perfect world, we’d get to watch these teams face off every year in the Playoff again instead of waiting until 2023 when Georgia travels to Norman.
7. There’s no right way to rank Justin Fields
I would have felt wrong ranking someone without a career start as a top 10 quarterback. I would have felt wrong ranking someone who I’ve argued has my favorite preseason Heisman odds (+1,100 had me intrigued) outside of the top 20 quarterbacks. So naturally, I hedged. I had Fields at No. 16 among my quarterbacks, which probably wasn’t as high as some expected.
But because of how he was used at Georgia, it is still a bit of an unknown how he’s going to pick up blitzes and read coverages. Then again, we’re talking about one of the highest-rated quarterback recruits ever who had experts like Trent Dilfer gushing about him. So yeah, no preseason ranking for Fields feels right.
8. The SEC’s best position group this year might actually be wide receiver
Weird, right?
And I’m not just saying that because of Alabama’s wideouts, though that certainly doesn’t hurt. Jerry Jeudy is considered by many as the top returning wideout in America, and Henry Ruggs and Jaylen Waddle aren’t very far behind him.
But in doing the SEC Top 25 Players Rankings, I realized I had 4 receivers in my top 20, and I easily could have had the aforementioned Bowden, Ruggs and Bryan Edwards in that group. The sneaky depth is guys like Justin Jefferson and Kalija Lipscomb, who had extremely prolific breakout seasons as the go-to targets for their respective teams.
That doesn’t even include the wealth of Florida receivers who seem poised for big years, nor is that accounting for the promising former 5-star guys that Georgia has who are looking to become stars.
A prediction? The SEC sets a new decade record with 6 receivers hitting the 1,000-yard mark in 2019.
9. I beefed up the Larry Rountree ranking or lack thereof
I can admit when I’m wrong. Last year when I went on record saying I thought Mississippi State would win 10 games, I owned it when that didn’t happen. When Jalen Hurts didn’t quit Alabama in the middle of the season, I owned that, too.
So yes, I can admit that I messed up by not putting Rountree in my top 25 running backs nationally … as many of you told me. In hindsight, I shouldn’t have put a pair of true freshmen on that list over someone who rushed for 1,200 yards and was dominant down the stretch last year. That’s on me.
I do have questions about Rountree’s usage with Kelly Bryant dipping into some of those carries, but I’ll admit that a mistake was made. Forgive me, Mizzou fans.
10. Y’all really, really like rankings
The interaction across all of our social media platforms this week was tremendous. That’s a credit to you, person who consumes our content. Our goal was to entertain the diehard who finished reading their Phil Steele magazine 3 times and was in that awkward, pre-Media Days stretch. Hopefully this week kept you busy and interested.
And if not, well, football is coming in a hurry.
Nicely done Connor. If you were paying attention to the comments here though, you surely should have learned that no one here likes the new format for this site.
When they changed it a couple years back it was a horrible decision. One of the writers was like, “Just get used to it and you’ll like it.”
Nope.
There are periods of times where I don’t come back here for like 6 months. And even then it only with the strongest of as blockers because of those horrible autoloading videos.
I wasn’t here a couple of years ago, so this is my first format change. I was fine with the previous one. With this change, it is harder to find new articles. Hiding news doesn’t seem like a great idea for a media site.
True words LSUSMC. New format is terrible.
I agree with the above comments, and I also think the new color-tinting of the photos is horrible. No other sports site I’ve seen does that, and if you’re trying to make your site look “distinctive,” you’ve found the Butch Jones trash can of visual presentation.
Literal LOL at that last line.
Agreed, LSUMC
Agreed. The old format wasn’t perfect, but this was a step in the wrong direction.
Good article. I must respectfully disagree about Reilly, however. Much of what he has is inherited, including QBs. He had a legendary coach in front of him and will always be more equal than others.
Following the Big-8 and ultimately B-12 for years as a Mizzou fan, it becomes readily obvious that Oklahoma is the Alabama of the Big 8/12.
#10 is debatable. These Top 25 rankings were all click bait and extremely subjective, which you admit to, and for that I am appreciative. Journalism at its finest can do without subjective rankings that incite senseless arguments.
Sorry, but your take is senseless. The writers are simply giving their opinions. That invites other opinions. That’s how this works.
That’s your opinion. I understand giving takes and people having quality and intriguing debates, but with the clientele that this website serves, it’s more senseless bashing and trolling.
You see the same problem in popular media outlets such as ESPN. They moved away from having a majority of their shows presenting objective pieces, and now have multiple (too many) shows based upon unqualified opinions. These shows promote “debate” which in reality is senseless yelling. I don’t know who is to blame, the media who pushes subjective debates that accomplish nothing, or the people who eagerly soak it up.
Why are YOU calling out others for stating THEIR opinion?
Your obsession for posting has lowered you to the depths of the more ignorant on here.
I thought you had some ‘smarts’ at one time but I guess when the truth came out about your lying, it unbalanced you.
So keep slandering everyone who doesn’t agree with you.
Read you page of recent posts.
My lying? All I am stating is that it is humorous to me that the comments resulting from these subjective posts are considered debates. Opinions on this site are not often given with reason or stability, but with anger, hatred, and abrasiveness. I’m sorry I disappointed you. I promise I will strive to rise above the mire of ignorance.
He’s talking about me VFH. You’re good.
Paris 10 is an 75 year old man! He is a grumpy bitter pitiful old man. Best to ignore him. He is toxic
So they post a listicle about a series of listicles, and we all click on it. That hurts my head to think about, although obviously I did too.
The list-ception has officially begun.
Goody goody.
Change back the website format for the love of God.
Can I not post?
This is some stuff, you guys need to work on you mediation.
Obnoxious
Stupid
Trying to figure out why my comment, that HAS NO EXPLICIT OR THREATENING LANGUAGE,is apparently being moderated.
This is juststupid. And that is supposed to be moderation, not mediation
Yeah, every once in awhile it just won’t let me post.
And often, it’s nothing even slightly controversial. It seems like if a post is longer than about 4 sentences, no matter what it’s about, most of the time it doesn’t post. It’s bizarre.
This site has a lot of problems.
It looks like you posted.
I’ve had times when my posts won’t go through, too. I’ve laid out some real pearls of wisdom for you guys that you’ve all missed out on because of the intermittent posting problems.
LOL
Seriously, wtf is going on
This you’ll post!?!?
Im done
You’re not the only one. It’s an embarrassment. Anything longer than 4 sentences just doesn’t post, and sometimes shorter ones. It’s freaking bizarre and obnoxious. This happens literally nowhere else on the internet.
It’s an ongoing problem for me too
4. I get that it’s hard to admit as a big10 guy, but maybe the easiest explanation for the dearth of good non-SEC non-conference matchups is that most of the good teams are in the SEC. So unless they’re playing against the SEC (like Clemson, Texas, ND, Oregon, Miami), there really aren’t many opportunities for good matchups.
And of mine trumped yours. While my focus is narrow my opinion is irrefutable. But alas most of them never made it also.
Kirby is definitely a top 6 recruiter, but top 6 coach? I’ll have to respectfully disagree with that opinion. He still has a lot to prove in the X’s and O’s category before he can be placed at this level. He’s choked in too many big games in his very short tenure to be considered top 6. There’s a lot of coaches in college football that could take over that team and win as many games. Put him in charge of a team like Miss St., and I have no doubt he doesn’t have nearly the same success.
If not for their elite recruiting, Saban and Dabo would not make the list. You have to get the players first. Doesn’t winning SECG, Rose Bowl, SEC East two years in a row mean he is doing a lot right in only three years? And he is 2-0 vs Mullen in those three years…..