Tag: ncaa rankings

Where Auburn softball lands in national polls following series win at Alabama

Winning a crucial series on the road has its perks.

Getting hot in April is usually a good sign for softball teams across the country.

That is the case for Auburn (35-14, 11-7 SEC), as they have won four of their last five SEC series, with their last two being against ranked foes. Auburn earned its first series win over a ranked opponent at home two weeks ago when they took two of three from LSU. They accomplished the feat for the second week in a row last weekend but did so in style by taking down Alabama on the road.

Because of their recent success, Auburn is ranked in all four major polls ahead of this week’s action, seeing significant strides as they crack the top 20 across the board.

How much did Auburn rise in the national polls following last weekend’s series win at Alabama? Here’s a look at Auburn’s place in the USA TODAY Coaches poll, D1Softball poll, Softball America poll, and the ESPN/Team USA poll:

Where Wisconsin lands in ESPN’s “way too early” Top 25

Where Wisconsin lands in ESPN’s “way too early” Top 25

Following Georgia taking home the national championship, ESPN released the first iteration of their “way too early” top 25.

Wisconsin landed just outside of the top teams, but was still listed in the “just missed” section.

Iowa barely slid into near the end of the rankings, while Penn State, Michigan, and Ohio State were near the top of the rankings. It’s no surprise that back-to-back champion Georgia ended up at the top of the rankings.

Who else ended up in ESPN’s first rankings of the offseason? Here is a complete look at the top 25, with a bonus of ten teams in the “just missed” section of the rankings:

Where Florida lands in Sports Illustrated’s preseason top 25

Three Florida football programs made Sports Illustrated’s preseason top 25, but the Gators aren’t the highest ranked one.

Florida has placed just outside the top ten in both the Coaches’ Poll and SP+ rankings, but Sports Illustrated senior writer Pat Forde has the Gators at No. 18 on his preseason top 25 list.

While Gators fans may find this ranking a bit low, Forde has confidence in the program, especially head coach Dan Mullen.

“This ranking is a direct reflection of faith in Dan Mullen, who isn’t just a program builder but a program sustainer,” according to Forde. “The Gators lost elite talent… but there shouldn’t be a precipitous drop-off. New QB Emory Jones has talent and got some seasoning last year; now he has to prove he’s ready for the full-time job against quality competition.”

Forde also expects the defense to improve this year. Early returns have been positive for the Gators but the loss of Jaydon Hill for the season will need to be worked around.

The top of Forde’s list plays out as expected with Alabama, Ohio State, Georgia, Clemson and Oklahoma taking the top five spots. While it may be in a different order, the Coaches’ Poll agrees that these are the top five teams heading into the season.

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The first surprise comes at sixth with Cincinatti, which makes it less surprising to see the Miami Hurricanes three spots above the Gators. The inclusion of UCF and Nevada also differs from major polls but doesn’t take value away from the rankings.

The Gators are set to play three games against other teams in the top 25: Alabama (Sept. 18), LSU (Oct. 16) and Georgia (Oct. 30).

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247Sports lists Colt McCoy, Kevin Durant as one of the top football-basketball duos in NCAA

Colt McCoy, Kevin Durant are listed as one of the top five football-basketball duos in the NCAA since 2000.

Colt McCoy and Kevin Durant are two of the most beloved student-athletes to ever attend the University of Texas. Continue reading “247Sports lists Colt McCoy, Kevin Durant as one of the top football-basketball duos in NCAA”

Michigan State Basketball ranks No. 26 in NCAA.com’s Power 36 Rankings

Michigan State Basketball ranks no. 26 in Andy Katz of NCAA.com’s most recent power-36 rankings. Read why MSU ranks in this spot here.

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Michigan State Basketball suffered a heartbreaking loss at the Breslin Center to Maryland. As a result, Andy Katz of NCAA.com ranks MSU no. 26 in his power-36 rankings. Note, the Spartans also ranked no. 26 in last week’s power-36 rankings.

Here is what Andy Katz had to say about the Spartans:

“The Spartans were on the verge of their most important win of the season before Maryland got scorching hot.”

Well, Andy Katz is certainly not lying. Michigan State could have swung this season’s narrative with a comeback victory over the Terpins. Instead, critiques now have even more ammunition and the remaining games look bleak.

The best-case scenario now is for Michigan State to develop some type of offensive groove before the end of this season. Is this possible? Very much so. Is it going to happen? Only time will tell.

The Spartans are back in action against Nebraska this Thursday, Feb. 20 on FS1.

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Michigan State Football falls to no. 72 in latest USA TODAY NCAA 1-130 re-rank

MSU continues to fall in USA TODAY’s 1-130 NCAA re-rank after their huge loss to Michigan Saturday.

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Do you guys remember when Michigan State Football was still hanging around in the top-25 in the NCAA? Well, it’s been well over a month since MSU’s last win and that has led them to continue their catastrophic fall down almost every conceivable type of college football rankings. That includes the USA TODAY 1-130 NCAA re-rank, where MSU has fallen three more spots to number 72.

After losing to Illinois, MSU tumbled to number 69. After getting beatdown by Michigan they are now 72. A win versus Rutgers this weekend probably won’t do much more than stop the bleeding for now.

Not much more to say on this right now aside from it just being incredibly depressing for us diehard fans.

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Latest CFP Rankings: 10 Thoughts

Georgia is rated over Alabama.  Does anyone in their right mind actually think Georgia is a better football team outside of Athens?

The latest College Football Playoff rankings came out Tuesday night as much drama surrounded how far Alabama would fall after losing at home to LSU, if LSU would jump previously No.1 Ohio State and how far Minnesota would rise after upsetting previously No. 4 Penn State this weekend.

Well, the wait is over and the committee’s new rankings are out and they go as follows:

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

My initial ten thoughts immediately upon release:

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