Schule’s NCAAF Weekly Power Rankings Review – Week 8

Have you ever noticed that all the major polls look basically the same? Whether it’s USA Today, ESPN or the Associated Press, you won’t see any dramatic differences in where they have teams ranked. When it comes to Power Rankings, professional handicapper Jesse Schule has proven to be ahead of the curve. Since the 2011 football season he’s been going against the grain, and more often than not he’s 2-3 steps ahead of the other guys. His weekly NCAAF Power Rankings are published at Covers.com on Mondays, and every Tuesday he will review the teams that he believes are overrated, underrated, or flying under the radar.

Most Overrated Team – Michigan State Spartans (7-0 SU, 1-6 ATS)

The Spartans remain undefeated thanks to a colossal blunder by Michigan’s punter on the final play of a 27-23 win at the Big House on Saturday. As fortunate as that win was, you still have to give Michigan State credit for hanging around and keeping the game close, putting them in position to get lucky. It was the first time this season they covered the spread, and they narrowly escaped disaster in close games versus Purdue and Rutgers. Both signature wins come with an asterisk, as Oregon is no longer ranked, and the win at Michigan has been dubbed “The Big House Blunder”. I wouldn’t go as far as to say that Michigan State is a fraud, but I do think that based on their play so far, you have to question weather they could compete with the rest of the teams ranked in the Top 10.

Most Underrated Team – Florida Gators (6-1 SU, 6-1 ATS)

The Gators are coming off a loss on the road at Baton Rouge, but that game was a lot closer than most people expected it to be. Losing starting quarterback Will Grier was a big blow, but Treon Harris looked more than capable coming in last week. He threw for 271 yards and a pair touchdowns, keeping the Gators in the game. They have two weeks to recover from that loss, before hosting the banged up Georgia Bulldogs in two weeks time. A win over Georgia would put them way out in front in the SEC East, and likely a spot in the SEC Championship Game.

Flying Under The Radar – Iowa Hawkeyes (7-0 SU, 5-2 ATS)

While there is a possibility that the Buckeyes, Spartans and Wolverines could finish in a three-way tie at the top of the BIG10 East, the Hawkeyes are the clear favorites in the West. They already have a pair of road wins against ranked opponents, and the rest of their schedule looks pretty manageable. C.J. Beathard has proven to be a far better quarterback than Jake Rudock ever was in his time at Iowa. Beathard has thrown for 1415 yards with nine TDs and just three INTs, while Rudock has thrown for more picks (6) than TDs (5) at Michigan. Three of Iowa’s last five games come at home, and all five come against unranked opponents. If they run the table, and pull off an upset in the BIG10 Championship Game, that should be good enough to get them into the playoffs.

Win Big with Jesse Schule's Premium Picks