Inside (and outside) the Super 25

I’ve fielded calls and e-mail about the Super 25 in football that is published Mondays in the Chicago Sun-Times

There are a lot of people that think that Naperville North should be ranked No. 1 over Mount Carmel after the Caravan’s close game against De La Salle Friday

And there is also a lot of support for Bolingbrook getting back into the rankings after it beat Lincoln-Way East on Friday night

First of all, when you start with three games in the first four weeks against teams that were ranked in the preseason (Joliet Catholic (then No. 3), Providence and then No. 1 St. Rita) a close win is a win and no team can be up every week. The teams were ranked by more than just me.

Second of all, Naperville North could have the best team in the state, time will tell

But they haven’t played a team that was better than a game over .500 when they played.

If they are 14-0 in November, they will be everyone’s No. 1.

Bolingbrook is a team that has been tougher to figure than just about anyone. And I mean every year

The Raiders lost a close opener to Downers South at Benedictine

They beat both Lincoln-Ways, but lost to an H-F team that is also hard to figure, having lost to Marian Catholic.

And what about Glenbrook North?

They lost the opener to unbeaten Glenbrook South in a game where penalties played a big role

Then they beat Maine South

In my mind, that win was a reason to put the Spartans in the poll this week instead of Bolingbrook or unbeaten Geneva. The Spartans also played Woodstock, which is a pretty fair team, and Waukegan when the Bulldogs were 3-0

Crystal Lake South fell out after losing to Jacobs

But the other Super 25 losers, St. Rita and Lincoln-Way East came in higher and lost to teams that were or sued to be ranked.

It’s too bad there aren’t still five classes instead of eight

Those would be tournaments to see

Also, keep an eye on Thornton. There are three weeks to go, but the Wildcats could be the state’s first playoff team that started a season 0-4 … just saying