Not as exciting a weekend as last week with no big upsets but more so a week that brought clarity. There is just one weekend left of college football and more than half the teams ended their regular seasons today and there are 50 FBS teams that won't be playing in the postseason.
Among those teams will be a 10-2, top ten USC team that is still under NCAA sanctions and ineligible for the postseason this year. The Trojans beat UCLA 50-0 tonight to put the nail in the coffin of Rick Neuheisel's coaching career at UCLA while Matt Barkley threw six touchdown passes. Yet, UCLA and Oregon (two teams the Trojans beat) will play for the Pac-12 Championship and when UCLA loses, they will be 6-7 and ineligible for a bowl game, although the school is expected to file for and be rewarded a bowl game waiver.
Some more clarity in the college football landscape as Virginia Tech shut out Virginia 38-0 to claim its rematch against Clemson in the ACC Championship Game. Wisconsin also rolled over Penn State 45-7 to get a rematch with Michigan State in the Big Ten Championship Game. Wisconsin running back Montee Ball ran for four touchdowns.
During the week, Texas beat Texas A&M in what may be the last Lone Star Showdown for many years in dramatic fashion as A&M scored the go-ahead touchdown with a minute to go and Texas went down the field to get into field goal range for Justin Tucker to kick the game winner as time expired.
On Friday, Houston dominated Tulsa in the second half showing it's defense as well while West Virginia hung on beat Pittsburgh 21-20 in maybe the last Backyard Brawl for the foreseeable future.
Speaking of Pitt and West Virginia and the Big East, the five-way tie for first place is now a four-way tie with Pitt being eliminated. West Virginia, Cincinnati, Louisville and Rutgers.
Here's how the Big East can be won:
-West Virginia and Louisville have the best chances.
West Virginia needs Cincinnati to win and then must be ranked highest in the BCS (highly likely).
Cincinnati needs Rutgers and West Virginia to lose.
Rutgers needs wins from Cincinnati and Louisville and needs to be ranked higher than both of them in the BCS (not likely).
Louisville just needs a loss by Cincinnati.
In other news, LSU asserted itself against Arkansas, outscoring the Razorbacks 41-3 after an early 14-0 deficit. Alabama staked its claim for the No. 2 spot in the BCS by dominating Auburn 42-14.
A lot of people have already said that Alabama has locked its spot in the national championship game and I disagree. I'm not saying Alabama won't finish No. 2, but should it? I'm flip flopping because I was anti-rematch to pro-rematch to now back to anti-rematch.
If Oklahoma State loses to Oklahoma, discussion is over. But if the Cowboys win, and win convincingly, should they be No. 2? Are they the 2nd best team in the country? No. It's clearly LSU and Alabama, but the computers love Oklahoma State and already have them at No. 2 and will keep them there, so it's up to the human voters to move Oklahoma State up and it's going to take style points, a lot of style points against Oklahoma for that to happen.
Here's a review of my week 13 picks. I came close to nailing some scores and completely whiffed on others: http://on.fb.me/rtYeOm
My New Top 25 after Week 13
1. LSU (1) 12-0
Beat Arkansas 41-17 - Next: vs. Georgia (SEC Championship Game)
2. Alabama (2) 11-1
Beat Auburn 42-14
3. Oklahoma State (4) 10-1
Next: vs. Oklahoma (de facto Big 12 Championship Game)
4. Arkansas (3) 10-2
Lost to LSU 41-17
5. Virginia Tech (5) 11-1
Beat Virginia 38-0 - Next: vs. Clemson (ACC Championship Game)
6. Oregon (6) 10-2
Beat Oregon State 49-21 - Next: vs. UCLA (Pac-12 Championship Game)
7. Wisconsin (11) 10-2
Beat Penn State 45-7 - Next: vs. Michigan State (Big Ten Championship Game)
8. USC (14) 10-2
Beat UCLA 50-0 - Season over due to NCAA sanctions
9. Stanford (7) 11-1
Beat Notre Dame 28-14
10. Oklahoma (8) 10-2
Beat Iowa State 26-6 - Next: at Oklahoma State
11. Houston (12) 12-0
Beat Tulsa 48-16 - Next: vs. Southern Miss (C-USA Championship Game)
12. Boise State (9) 10-1
Beat Wyoming 36-14 - Next: vs. New Mexico
13. Michigan State (10) 10-2
Beat Northwestern 31-17 - Next: vs. Wisconsin (Big Ten Championship Game)
14. South Carolina (17) 10-2
Beat Clemson 34-13
15. Michigan (15) 10-2
Beat Ohio State 40-34
16. Georgia (18) 10-2
Beat Georgia Tech 31-17 - Next: vs. LSU (SEC Championship Game)
17. Nebraska (19) 9-3
Beat Iowa 20-7
18. Baylor (21) 8-3
Beat Texas Tech 66-42 - Next: vs. Texas
19. Kansas State (20) 9-2
Next: vs. Iowa State
20. TCU (22) 9-2
Next: vs. UNLV
21. Clemson (13) 9-3
Lost to South Carolina 34-13 - Next: vs. Virginia Tech (ACC Championship Game)
22. Penn State (16) 9-3
Lost to Wisconsin 45-7
23. Texas (NR) 7-4
Beat Texas A&M 27-25 - Next: at Baylor
24. West Virginia (NR) 8-3
Beat Pittsburgh 21-20 - Next: at South Florida
25. BYU (NR) 8-3
Next: at Hawaii
Dropped: Notre Dame (23), Virginia (24), Tulsa (25)
Bubble: Florida State, Southern Miss, Tulsa, Cincinnati, Arkansas State
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
College Football, I love you. What an unbelievable day. What an unbelievable night. Overtimes, fantastic finishes and upsets. That is what college football is all about.
It all started on Tuesday when Northern Illinois clinched the MAC West Division by beating Ball State 41-38 on a Mathew Sims field goal at the end of the game. Then Wednesday, Ohio clinches the MAC East Division with a Matt Weller field goal as time expired to beat Bowling Green 29-28.
Thursday night, Southern Miss was upset by UAB on a field goal in the final minutes, but Southern Miss still clinches the C-USA East Division and Virginia Tech able to hold off North Carolina's final drive to hang on to win 24-21 and still control its own destiny in the ACC.
Friday night, No. 2 Oklahoma State went down in double overtime to Iowa State to a redshirt freshman quarterback.
That brings us to today, Saturday, the greatest day of the week during college football season.
Most of the SEC thought it had a bye week with South Carolina struggling with The Citadel, Florida struggling with Furman, Alabama struggling with Georgia Southern and Auburn struggling with Samford, but all four won big in the end. Georgia, on the other hand, kept Kentucky in the game until the end but with the win, clinch the SEC East Division.
My upset pick of Rutgers over CIncinnati turned out to be good as Rutgers beat Cincy 20-3 and created a, wait for it.... a five-way tie for first place in the Big East. It might end up being Louisville that comes out of it and they might finish 6-6.
In the afternoon games, Arkansas State clinched the Sun Belt Conference and accepted a bowl bid to the GoDaddy.com Bowl. BYU also accepted a bid to the Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl.
Clemson, with the ACC Atlantic Division already clinched, laid an egg at NC State, giving up 30 unanswered points to lose 37-13. After how the rest of the day played out, Clemson is kicking itself now because they might have been in the best 1-loss team conversation.
Houston's defense rose to the occasion. After a sluggish first half leading 13-0, Houston beat SMU 37-7 as Case Keenum broke Graham Harrell's record for most career completions.
Penn State kept its Rose Bowl dreams alive with a win in the Horse Shoe as Ohio State's last attempts to win the game failed. Around the same time as Penn State's defense clinching the win, South Florida's defense allowed Miami into field goal range tied 3-3 and the Hurricanes' Jake Wieclaw kicked the game-winning field goal as time expired. After that, Missouri came back to beat Texas Tech and pick off Seth Doege's pass in the interception to hold onto the 31-27 win. Awesome finishes. But that was just the beginning.
Louisiana Tech clinched a share of the WAC Title by beating Nevada on a Taulib Ikharo touchdown pass with 51 seconds to go. Staying in the WAC, Utah State rode Robert Turbin into double overtime to beat Idaho 49-42 and then Utah's Coleman Petersen kicked the game-winning 38-yard field goal in overtime after Washington State sent the game to overtime with Andrew Furney's field goal as time expired.
Then Tennessee got us warmed up for the classic finishes to come as the Vols beat Vanderbilt in overtime on a pick-six.
Virginia hosts Virginia Tech next week in the game that will decide the ACC Coastal Division as the Cavs beat Florida State 14-13 with a chaotic ending. If you missed it, FSU had no timeouts and were driving into field goal range. Bert Reed caught an out route but didn't get out of bounds and time expired as FSU couldn't get the kick off and Virginia won. But wait, there's more. The catch was reviewed and it was ruled incomplete that Bert Reed did not maintain control of the ball so it worked out great for FSU that the clock stopped and Dustin Hopkins was able to kick what could be the game-winning 47-yard field goal. But wait, there's a flag! Neutral zone infraction on Virginia and now it's a 42-yard field goal to win for Dustin Hopkins who's usually money. And he MISSED and after that, Virginia won.
Texas tried its best comeback against Kansas State getting within 17-13 with a chance to drive down the field in the final minutes but again, the quarterback play has been bad for Texas and was again tonight and Case McCoy couldn't manage the clock and time expired before Texas could take a shot at the endzone.
Then it looked like we were having two more overtime games tonight, but no! Oregon comes back from down 24 points and it looked like the game was going to overtime if Alejandro Maldenado could make the 37-yard field goal as time expired and he hooked it left. The Oregon Ducks went down in Autzen. But, still have the Pac-12 North Division clinched and will face....UCLA. Or Arizona State. Or Utah.
And then Baylor capped off greatness with not settling for overtime. Oklahoma tied the game 38-38 on Blake Bell's fourth rushing touchdown of the night with 51 seconds to go and Baylor scored the game-winning touchdown with eight seconds left. Mayhem.
And to finish the night, Stanford was able to hold off California 31-28 by recovering Cal's onside-kick attempt.
So what now?? Three of the top five loses and four in the top ten.
My New Top 25
(x) = previous ranking
1. LSU (1) - beat Ole Miss 52-3; Next: vs. Arkansas
2. Alabama (2) - beat Georgia Southern 45-21; Next: at Auburn
3. Arkansas (6) - beat Mississippi State 44-17; Next: at LSU
4. Oklahoma State (3) - lost to Iowa State 37-31 (2OT); Next: vs. Oklahoma (Dec. 3)
5. Virginia Tech (8) - beat North Carolina 24-21; Next: at Virginia
6. Oregon (4) - lost to USC 38-35; Next: vs. Oregon State
7. Stanford (9) - beat California 31-28; Next: vs. Notre Dame
8. Oklahoma (5) - lost to Baylor 45-38; Next: vs. Iowa State
9. Boise State (10) - beat San Diego State 52-35; Next: vs. Wyoming
10. Michigan State (15) - beat Indiana 55-3; Next: at Northwestern
11. Wisconsin (10) - beat Illinois 28-17; Next: vs. Penn State
12. Houston (16) - beat SMU 37-7; Next: at Tulsa
13. Clemson (7) - lost to NC State 37-13; Next: at South Carolina
14. USC (17) - beat Oregon 38-35; Next: vs. UCLA
15. Michigan (19) - beat Nebraska 45-17; Next: vs. Ohio State
16. Penn State (13) - beat Ohio State; Next: at Wisconsin
17. South Carolina (18) - beat the Citadel 41-20; Next: vs. Clemson
18. Georgia (14) - beat Kentucky 19-10; Next: at Georgia Tech
19. Nebraska (12) - lost to Michigan 45-17; Next: vs. Iowa
20. Kansas State (23) - beat Texas 17-13; Next: vs. Iowa State (Dec. 3)
21. Baylor (NR) - beat Oklahoma 45-38; Next: vs. Texas Tech
22. TCU (21) - beat Colorado State 34-10; Next: vs. UNLV (Dec. 3)
23. Notre Dame (22) - beat Boston College 16-14; Next: at Stanford
24. Virginia (NR) - beat Florida State 14-13; Next: vs. Virginia Tech
25. Tulsa (24) - beat UTEP 57-28; Next: vs. Houston
Dropped: Florida State (20), Southern Miss (25)
Bubble: West Virginia, Georgia Tech, Rutgers, Auburn, Southern Miss, BYU
BCS Mess:
LSU and Alabama will probably be No. 1 and No. 2. No. 3 could be Arkansas or Oklahoma State. Even though Oklahoma State just lost, thanks to the other losses around the country, the Cowboys are still in the national championship mix because they shouldn't fall farther than No. 4. Oklahoma State has its final game in Bedlam, Dec. 3. vs. Oklahoma.
LSU and Alabama are the two best teams, hands down. And the goal of the BCS is to match up the two best teams. There's no rule saying it can't be a rematch. There's just never been a rematch before. I was anti-rematch because hypothetically, if Alabama wins then they go 1-1 against LSU and that means nothing. But now I'm for it. I want to see these two teams again, they are clearly the two best teams.
If LSU loses to Arkansas, Arkansas could jump to the No. 1. spot because of strength of schedule with Alabama being No. 2 and LSU at No. 3, but Alabama would go to the SEC Championship Game. If LSU beats Arkansas (which they should), there's a great chance for LSU-Alabama in the title game. Even if LSU loses to Georgia in the SEC Championship, they should only drop to No. 2 (unless they get dominated) and Alabama will be No. 1 with LSU No. 2.
But what if the voters don't want a rematch? The human voters are two-thirds of the BCS. The computers will pull for the SEC schools but there are two other one-loss teams could get consideration: Oklahoma State if it wins the Big 12 and Virginia Tech if it wins the ACC. The computers love Oklahoma State so OkSt has that going for it. For Virginia Tech, they'd have to really impress the human voters in the next two games. Not saying it'll happen, but don't rule out the possibility.
Who is the best one-loss team in the country? Oh wait, Alabama. Let me rephrase that, who is the best one-loss team not named Alabama? Oklahoma State, Virginia Tech and Boise State are your candidates. Stanford is out because they were dominated by Oregon. Could Virginia Tech also be ruled out because they were dominated by Clemson?
LSU and Alabama are the two best teams, but this is the BCS we're talking about and they rarely get it right.
Click Here for my Bowl Projections
It all started on Tuesday when Northern Illinois clinched the MAC West Division by beating Ball State 41-38 on a Mathew Sims field goal at the end of the game. Then Wednesday, Ohio clinches the MAC East Division with a Matt Weller field goal as time expired to beat Bowling Green 29-28.
Thursday night, Southern Miss was upset by UAB on a field goal in the final minutes, but Southern Miss still clinches the C-USA East Division and Virginia Tech able to hold off North Carolina's final drive to hang on to win 24-21 and still control its own destiny in the ACC.
Friday night, No. 2 Oklahoma State went down in double overtime to Iowa State to a redshirt freshman quarterback.
That brings us to today, Saturday, the greatest day of the week during college football season.
Most of the SEC thought it had a bye week with South Carolina struggling with The Citadel, Florida struggling with Furman, Alabama struggling with Georgia Southern and Auburn struggling with Samford, but all four won big in the end. Georgia, on the other hand, kept Kentucky in the game until the end but with the win, clinch the SEC East Division.
My upset pick of Rutgers over CIncinnati turned out to be good as Rutgers beat Cincy 20-3 and created a, wait for it.... a five-way tie for first place in the Big East. It might end up being Louisville that comes out of it and they might finish 6-6.
In the afternoon games, Arkansas State clinched the Sun Belt Conference and accepted a bowl bid to the GoDaddy.com Bowl. BYU also accepted a bid to the Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl.
Clemson, with the ACC Atlantic Division already clinched, laid an egg at NC State, giving up 30 unanswered points to lose 37-13. After how the rest of the day played out, Clemson is kicking itself now because they might have been in the best 1-loss team conversation.
Houston's defense rose to the occasion. After a sluggish first half leading 13-0, Houston beat SMU 37-7 as Case Keenum broke Graham Harrell's record for most career completions.
Penn State kept its Rose Bowl dreams alive with a win in the Horse Shoe as Ohio State's last attempts to win the game failed. Around the same time as Penn State's defense clinching the win, South Florida's defense allowed Miami into field goal range tied 3-3 and the Hurricanes' Jake Wieclaw kicked the game-winning field goal as time expired. After that, Missouri came back to beat Texas Tech and pick off Seth Doege's pass in the interception to hold onto the 31-27 win. Awesome finishes. But that was just the beginning.
Louisiana Tech clinched a share of the WAC Title by beating Nevada on a Taulib Ikharo touchdown pass with 51 seconds to go. Staying in the WAC, Utah State rode Robert Turbin into double overtime to beat Idaho 49-42 and then Utah's Coleman Petersen kicked the game-winning 38-yard field goal in overtime after Washington State sent the game to overtime with Andrew Furney's field goal as time expired.
Then Tennessee got us warmed up for the classic finishes to come as the Vols beat Vanderbilt in overtime on a pick-six.
Virginia hosts Virginia Tech next week in the game that will decide the ACC Coastal Division as the Cavs beat Florida State 14-13 with a chaotic ending. If you missed it, FSU had no timeouts and were driving into field goal range. Bert Reed caught an out route but didn't get out of bounds and time expired as FSU couldn't get the kick off and Virginia won. But wait, there's more. The catch was reviewed and it was ruled incomplete that Bert Reed did not maintain control of the ball so it worked out great for FSU that the clock stopped and Dustin Hopkins was able to kick what could be the game-winning 47-yard field goal. But wait, there's a flag! Neutral zone infraction on Virginia and now it's a 42-yard field goal to win for Dustin Hopkins who's usually money. And he MISSED and after that, Virginia won.
Texas tried its best comeback against Kansas State getting within 17-13 with a chance to drive down the field in the final minutes but again, the quarterback play has been bad for Texas and was again tonight and Case McCoy couldn't manage the clock and time expired before Texas could take a shot at the endzone.
Then it looked like we were having two more overtime games tonight, but no! Oregon comes back from down 24 points and it looked like the game was going to overtime if Alejandro Maldenado could make the 37-yard field goal as time expired and he hooked it left. The Oregon Ducks went down in Autzen. But, still have the Pac-12 North Division clinched and will face....UCLA. Or Arizona State. Or Utah.
And then Baylor capped off greatness with not settling for overtime. Oklahoma tied the game 38-38 on Blake Bell's fourth rushing touchdown of the night with 51 seconds to go and Baylor scored the game-winning touchdown with eight seconds left. Mayhem.
And to finish the night, Stanford was able to hold off California 31-28 by recovering Cal's onside-kick attempt.
So what now?? Three of the top five loses and four in the top ten.
My New Top 25
(x) = previous ranking
1. LSU (1) - beat Ole Miss 52-3; Next: vs. Arkansas
2. Alabama (2) - beat Georgia Southern 45-21; Next: at Auburn
3. Arkansas (6) - beat Mississippi State 44-17; Next: at LSU
4. Oklahoma State (3) - lost to Iowa State 37-31 (2OT); Next: vs. Oklahoma (Dec. 3)
5. Virginia Tech (8) - beat North Carolina 24-21; Next: at Virginia
6. Oregon (4) - lost to USC 38-35; Next: vs. Oregon State
7. Stanford (9) - beat California 31-28; Next: vs. Notre Dame
8. Oklahoma (5) - lost to Baylor 45-38; Next: vs. Iowa State
9. Boise State (10) - beat San Diego State 52-35; Next: vs. Wyoming
10. Michigan State (15) - beat Indiana 55-3; Next: at Northwestern
11. Wisconsin (10) - beat Illinois 28-17; Next: vs. Penn State
12. Houston (16) - beat SMU 37-7; Next: at Tulsa
13. Clemson (7) - lost to NC State 37-13; Next: at South Carolina
14. USC (17) - beat Oregon 38-35; Next: vs. UCLA
15. Michigan (19) - beat Nebraska 45-17; Next: vs. Ohio State
16. Penn State (13) - beat Ohio State; Next: at Wisconsin
17. South Carolina (18) - beat the Citadel 41-20; Next: vs. Clemson
18. Georgia (14) - beat Kentucky 19-10; Next: at Georgia Tech
19. Nebraska (12) - lost to Michigan 45-17; Next: vs. Iowa
20. Kansas State (23) - beat Texas 17-13; Next: vs. Iowa State (Dec. 3)
21. Baylor (NR) - beat Oklahoma 45-38; Next: vs. Texas Tech
22. TCU (21) - beat Colorado State 34-10; Next: vs. UNLV (Dec. 3)
23. Notre Dame (22) - beat Boston College 16-14; Next: at Stanford
24. Virginia (NR) - beat Florida State 14-13; Next: vs. Virginia Tech
25. Tulsa (24) - beat UTEP 57-28; Next: vs. Houston
Dropped: Florida State (20), Southern Miss (25)
Bubble: West Virginia, Georgia Tech, Rutgers, Auburn, Southern Miss, BYU
BCS Mess:
LSU and Alabama will probably be No. 1 and No. 2. No. 3 could be Arkansas or Oklahoma State. Even though Oklahoma State just lost, thanks to the other losses around the country, the Cowboys are still in the national championship mix because they shouldn't fall farther than No. 4. Oklahoma State has its final game in Bedlam, Dec. 3. vs. Oklahoma.
LSU and Alabama are the two best teams, hands down. And the goal of the BCS is to match up the two best teams. There's no rule saying it can't be a rematch. There's just never been a rematch before. I was anti-rematch because hypothetically, if Alabama wins then they go 1-1 against LSU and that means nothing. But now I'm for it. I want to see these two teams again, they are clearly the two best teams.
If LSU loses to Arkansas, Arkansas could jump to the No. 1. spot because of strength of schedule with Alabama being No. 2 and LSU at No. 3, but Alabama would go to the SEC Championship Game. If LSU beats Arkansas (which they should), there's a great chance for LSU-Alabama in the title game. Even if LSU loses to Georgia in the SEC Championship, they should only drop to No. 2 (unless they get dominated) and Alabama will be No. 1 with LSU No. 2.
But what if the voters don't want a rematch? The human voters are two-thirds of the BCS. The computers will pull for the SEC schools but there are two other one-loss teams could get consideration: Oklahoma State if it wins the Big 12 and Virginia Tech if it wins the ACC. The computers love Oklahoma State so OkSt has that going for it. For Virginia Tech, they'd have to really impress the human voters in the next two games. Not saying it'll happen, but don't rule out the possibility.
Who is the best one-loss team in the country? Oh wait, Alabama. Let me rephrase that, who is the best one-loss team not named Alabama? Oklahoma State, Virginia Tech and Boise State are your candidates. Stanford is out because they were dominated by Oregon. Could Virginia Tech also be ruled out because they were dominated by Clemson?
LSU and Alabama are the two best teams, but this is the BCS we're talking about and they rarely get it right.
Click Here for my Bowl Projections
Sunday, November 13, 2011
Week 12 Top 25
1. LSU (1) - beat Western Kentucky 42-7
Next: at Ole Miss
2. Oklahoma State (4) - beat Texas Tech 66-6
Next: at Iowa State
3. Alabama (2) - beat Mississippi State 24-7
Next: vs. Georgia Southern
4. Oregon (7) - beat Stanford 53-30
Next: vs. USC
5. Oklahoma (6)
Next: at Baylor
6. Arkansas (8) - beat Tennessee 49-7
Next: vs. Mississippi State
7. Clemson (9) - beat Wake Forest 31-28
Next: at North Carolina State
8. Virginia Tech (10) - beat Georgia Tech 37-26
Next: vs. North Carolina
9. Stanford (3) - lost to Oregon 53-30
Next: vs. California
10. Wisconsin (11) - beat Minnesota 42-13
Next: at Illinois
11. Boise State (5) - lost to TCU 36-35
Next: at San Diego State
12. Nebraska (12) - beat Penn State 17-14
Next: at Michigan
13. Penn State (13) - lost to Nebraska 17-14
Next: at Ohio State
14. Georgia (18) - beat Auburn 45-7
Next: vs. Kentucky
15. Michigan State (14) - beat Iowa 37-21
Next: vs. Indiana
16. Houston (15) - beat Tulane 73-17
Next: vs. SMU
17. USC (16) - beat Washington 40-17
Next: at Oregon
18. South Carolina (17) - beat Florida 17-12
Next: vs. The Citadel
19. Michigan (22) - beat Illinois 31-14
Next: vs. Nebraska
20. Florida State (21) - beat Miami 23-19
Next: vs. Virginia
21. TCU (NR) - beat Boise State 36-35
Next: vs. Colorado State
22. Notre Dame (NR) - beat Maryland 45-21
Next: vs. Boston College
23. Kansas State (NR) - beat Texas A&M 53-30 (4OT)
Next: at Texas
24. Tulsa (NR) - beat Marshall 59-17
Next: at UTEP
25. Southern Miss (25) - beat Central Florid 30-29
Next: at UAB
Dropped: Arizona State (19), Texas (20), Cincinnati (24), Ohio State (25)
Bubble: Texas, Virginia, Baylor, West Virginia, Cincinnati, Arkansas State, Rutgers
Next: at Ole Miss
2. Oklahoma State (4) - beat Texas Tech 66-6
Next: at Iowa State
3. Alabama (2) - beat Mississippi State 24-7
Next: vs. Georgia Southern
4. Oregon (7) - beat Stanford 53-30
Next: vs. USC
5. Oklahoma (6)
Next: at Baylor
6. Arkansas (8) - beat Tennessee 49-7
Next: vs. Mississippi State
7. Clemson (9) - beat Wake Forest 31-28
Next: at North Carolina State
8. Virginia Tech (10) - beat Georgia Tech 37-26
Next: vs. North Carolina
9. Stanford (3) - lost to Oregon 53-30
Next: vs. California
10. Wisconsin (11) - beat Minnesota 42-13
Next: at Illinois
11. Boise State (5) - lost to TCU 36-35
Next: at San Diego State
12. Nebraska (12) - beat Penn State 17-14
Next: at Michigan
13. Penn State (13) - lost to Nebraska 17-14
Next: at Ohio State
14. Georgia (18) - beat Auburn 45-7
Next: vs. Kentucky
15. Michigan State (14) - beat Iowa 37-21
Next: vs. Indiana
16. Houston (15) - beat Tulane 73-17
Next: vs. SMU
17. USC (16) - beat Washington 40-17
Next: at Oregon
18. South Carolina (17) - beat Florida 17-12
Next: vs. The Citadel
19. Michigan (22) - beat Illinois 31-14
Next: vs. Nebraska
20. Florida State (21) - beat Miami 23-19
Next: vs. Virginia
21. TCU (NR) - beat Boise State 36-35
Next: vs. Colorado State
22. Notre Dame (NR) - beat Maryland 45-21
Next: vs. Boston College
23. Kansas State (NR) - beat Texas A&M 53-30 (4OT)
Next: at Texas
24. Tulsa (NR) - beat Marshall 59-17
Next: at UTEP
25. Southern Miss (25) - beat Central Florid 30-29
Next: at UAB
Dropped: Arizona State (19), Texas (20), Cincinnati (24), Ohio State (25)
Bubble: Texas, Virginia, Baylor, West Virginia, Cincinnati, Arkansas State, Rutgers
Saturday, November 5, 2011
Records fall, special teams wins and a new top five.
Congratulations to Boise State quarterback Kellen Moore who passed former-Texas quarterback Colt McCoy as the NCAA's all-time winningest player by getting his 46th career win tonight in Las Vegas 41-14 against UNLV. Again, Moore did not play in the fourth quarter and finished 18-of-31 for 219 yards and five touchdown passes.
As you know, I've been on the Boise Bus for a few years now and want the Broncos to keep winning, but it's bittersweet for me to have Boise win but Colt McCoy lose his spot as college football's all-time winningest quarterback to Kellen Moore. Moore wasn't facing the Big 12 schedule every year though, that's the only shot I'll take at Boise State's schedule, they can't help who they play as long as another conference doesn't extend an invitation to them for them to join.
Houston quarterback Case Keenum also set more records tonight as he passed Timmy Chang for the most passing yards of all-time. Houston is currently ranked No. 13 in the BCS and look to crack the Top 12 in the next BCS Standings, which is the coveted ranking to crash into the BCS, except for Houston, there's Boise State blocking the way. The biggest difference between Houston and Boise State is defense. Boise State has it, Houston doesn't exactly.
Boise State continues to state its case for a national championship bid, mostly with the play of its defense and as we saw tonight, defense is what really counts.
The highly anticipated LSU-Alabama lived up to all of the hype in a battle of the nation's two best defenses. LSU won the game 9-6 in overtime on a Drew Alleman 25-yard field goal. Not only were these the two best defenses, but I think quite clearly the nation's two best teams. So it's time to start talking rematch for the national championship. Well, actually the talk of the rematch started a month ago and I'm tired of it. We might very well be headed towards a rematch but I'll just say it right now that I'm against it.
Yes, Alabama missed four field goals and simply making any one of them would have won the game for the Tide but seriously, you can't say the better team didn't win tonight. On paper, LSU is better and they won. Special teams are a part of the game and it's a phase where LSU is significantly better than Alabama. You don't think special teams plays a role in games? Just ask West Virginia who lost to Louisville today on a blocked punt that was returned for a touchdown. You want to win games, you have to play all three phases of the game. So I don't want to hear Alabama should have won if that field goal wasn't missed.
South Carolina and Nebraska are two other top ten teams that lost today. South Carolina was expected as it faced a loaded Arkansas team that gets LSU to finish the regular season. I think this is where South Carolina's late-season plummet begins without Stephen Garcia and Marcus Lattimore and also having Alshon Jeffery missing in action. The Gamecocks get Florida to finish the SEC schedule and finish the season with Clemson.
Nebraska had a shocking loss to Northwestern at home in Memorial Stadium. Taylor Martinez threw for 289 yards and Nebraska lost. Why? Because Northwestern stopped the run. They stopped Rex Burkhead and kept Martinez from beating them with his legs. Nebraska gets Penn State next and what can Penn State do? Stop the run. Nebraska must win out to capture the Big Ten Legends Division title.
Still alive in that division is Iowa, surprisingly. Thanks to the Hawkeyes' upset of Michigan today, they control their own destiny en route to Indianapolis. The Hawkeyes have both Michigan State and Nebraska left on the schedule and need to beat them both.
In the Leaders side, don't count out Ohio State who controls its destiny along with Penn State being in the driver's seat. Ohio State beat Indiana 34-20 today while Penn State was on its bye week.
The big shocker to me today was Arizona State's loss late to UCLA 29-28. Rick Neuheisel was clinging for dear life to his chair in his office but now all of a sudden his UCLA team controls its destiny in getting to the inaugural Pac-12 Championship Game. And for an Arizona State team ranked No. 21 in the BCS that I have been so high on putting them at No. 13 in my rankings, it has to be very disappointing. A win today would have clinched the Pac-12 South Division but now the Sun Devils need to win out and have UCLA lose (which they likely will. Rick Neuheisel will find a way).
Now that LSU-Alabama is over, it's almost easy to just look past the rest of the season and move on, but there's still a lot to play out and Oklahoma State and Stanford have to lose before a rematch becomes remotely close to reality. The losing could start this upcoming week: Stanford hosts Oregon in a top ten matchup. Penn State is undefeated in conference and will host Nebraska in a Top 15 matchup. Virginia Tech and Georgia Tech will also face off on Thursday night in a Top 20 battle. And there's more big games like Florida-South Carolina, Michigan State-Iowa, West Virginia-Cincinnati, Texas-Missouri, Washington-USC and Boise State-TCU.
It's looking to be another great Saturday but until then, let's rest easy with my new rankings.
My New Top 25
(x) = last week's ranking.
1. LSU (1) – beat Alabama 9-6 in overtime; Next: vs. Western Kentucky
2. Alabama (2) – lost to LSU 9-6 in overtime; Next: at Mississippi State
3. Stanford (4) – beat Oregon State 38-13; Next: vs. Oregon
4. Oklahoma State (3) – beat Kansas State 52-24; Next: at Texas Tech
5. Boise State (5) – beat UNLV 48-21;Next: vs. TCU
6. Oklahoma (6) – beat Texas A&M 41-25; Next: at Baylor (Nov. 19)
7. Oregon (7) – beat Washington 34-17;Next: at Stanford
8. Arkansas (8) – beat South Carolina 44-28; Next: vs. Tennessee
9. Clemson (10) – off week; Next: vs. Wake Forest
10. Virginia Tech (11) – off week; Next: at Georgia Tech (Thursday)
11. Wisconsin (14) – beat Purdue 62-17; Next: at Minnesota
12. Nebraska (9) – lost to Northwestern 28-25; Next: at Penn State
13. Penn State (15) – off week; Next: vs. Nebraska
14. Michigan State (16) – beat Minnesota 31-24; Next: at Iowa
15. Houston (18) – beat UAB 56-13; Next: at Tulane
16. USC (19) – beat Colorado 42-17; Next: vs. Washington
17. South Carolina (12) – lost to Arkansas 44-28; Next: vs. Florida
18. Georgia (21) – beat New Mexico State 63-16; Next: vs. Auburn
19. Arizona State (13) – lost to UCLA 29-28; Next: at Washington State
20. Texas (23) – beat Texas Tech 52-20; Next: at Missouri
21. Florida State (NR) – beat Boston College 38-7; Next: vs. Miami
22. Michigan (17) – lost to Iowa 24-16; Next: at Illinois
23. Southern Miss (24) – beat East Carolina 48-28; Next: vs. Central Florida
24. Cincinnati (25) – beat Pittsburgh 26-23; Next: vs. West Virginia
25. Ohio State (NR) – beat Indiana 34-20; Next: at Purdue
Out: West Virginia, Texas A&M
Notes:
-Chris Owusu suffered a concussion for Stanford, would be huge for him to miss time. Stanford's only big-time target.
-Oklahoma leading receiver Ryan Broyles is out for the season with a torn ACL. That could have a huge impact in the Bedlam game and the BCS.
-Not saying we should have a rematch, I'm just saying clearly LSU and Alabama are still the top two teams.
Review of my Upset Picks this week: 3-3
Northern Illinois over Toledo ….. Won 63-60
Iowa over Michigan ….. Won 24-16
Syracuse over UConn ….. Lost 28-21
Troy over Navy ….. Lost 42-14
Pittsburgh over Cincinnati ….. Lost 26-23
LSU over Alabama ….. Won 9-6 (OT)
AP2011
As you know, I've been on the Boise Bus for a few years now and want the Broncos to keep winning, but it's bittersweet for me to have Boise win but Colt McCoy lose his spot as college football's all-time winningest quarterback to Kellen Moore. Moore wasn't facing the Big 12 schedule every year though, that's the only shot I'll take at Boise State's schedule, they can't help who they play as long as another conference doesn't extend an invitation to them for them to join.
Houston quarterback Case Keenum also set more records tonight as he passed Timmy Chang for the most passing yards of all-time. Houston is currently ranked No. 13 in the BCS and look to crack the Top 12 in the next BCS Standings, which is the coveted ranking to crash into the BCS, except for Houston, there's Boise State blocking the way. The biggest difference between Houston and Boise State is defense. Boise State has it, Houston doesn't exactly.
Boise State continues to state its case for a national championship bid, mostly with the play of its defense and as we saw tonight, defense is what really counts.
The highly anticipated LSU-Alabama lived up to all of the hype in a battle of the nation's two best defenses. LSU won the game 9-6 in overtime on a Drew Alleman 25-yard field goal. Not only were these the two best defenses, but I think quite clearly the nation's two best teams. So it's time to start talking rematch for the national championship. Well, actually the talk of the rematch started a month ago and I'm tired of it. We might very well be headed towards a rematch but I'll just say it right now that I'm against it.
Yes, Alabama missed four field goals and simply making any one of them would have won the game for the Tide but seriously, you can't say the better team didn't win tonight. On paper, LSU is better and they won. Special teams are a part of the game and it's a phase where LSU is significantly better than Alabama. You don't think special teams plays a role in games? Just ask West Virginia who lost to Louisville today on a blocked punt that was returned for a touchdown. You want to win games, you have to play all three phases of the game. So I don't want to hear Alabama should have won if that field goal wasn't missed.
South Carolina and Nebraska are two other top ten teams that lost today. South Carolina was expected as it faced a loaded Arkansas team that gets LSU to finish the regular season. I think this is where South Carolina's late-season plummet begins without Stephen Garcia and Marcus Lattimore and also having Alshon Jeffery missing in action. The Gamecocks get Florida to finish the SEC schedule and finish the season with Clemson.
Nebraska had a shocking loss to Northwestern at home in Memorial Stadium. Taylor Martinez threw for 289 yards and Nebraska lost. Why? Because Northwestern stopped the run. They stopped Rex Burkhead and kept Martinez from beating them with his legs. Nebraska gets Penn State next and what can Penn State do? Stop the run. Nebraska must win out to capture the Big Ten Legends Division title.
Still alive in that division is Iowa, surprisingly. Thanks to the Hawkeyes' upset of Michigan today, they control their own destiny en route to Indianapolis. The Hawkeyes have both Michigan State and Nebraska left on the schedule and need to beat them both.
In the Leaders side, don't count out Ohio State who controls its destiny along with Penn State being in the driver's seat. Ohio State beat Indiana 34-20 today while Penn State was on its bye week.
The big shocker to me today was Arizona State's loss late to UCLA 29-28. Rick Neuheisel was clinging for dear life to his chair in his office but now all of a sudden his UCLA team controls its destiny in getting to the inaugural Pac-12 Championship Game. And for an Arizona State team ranked No. 21 in the BCS that I have been so high on putting them at No. 13 in my rankings, it has to be very disappointing. A win today would have clinched the Pac-12 South Division but now the Sun Devils need to win out and have UCLA lose (which they likely will. Rick Neuheisel will find a way).
Now that LSU-Alabama is over, it's almost easy to just look past the rest of the season and move on, but there's still a lot to play out and Oklahoma State and Stanford have to lose before a rematch becomes remotely close to reality. The losing could start this upcoming week: Stanford hosts Oregon in a top ten matchup. Penn State is undefeated in conference and will host Nebraska in a Top 15 matchup. Virginia Tech and Georgia Tech will also face off on Thursday night in a Top 20 battle. And there's more big games like Florida-South Carolina, Michigan State-Iowa, West Virginia-Cincinnati, Texas-Missouri, Washington-USC and Boise State-TCU.
It's looking to be another great Saturday but until then, let's rest easy with my new rankings.
My New Top 25
(x) = last week's ranking.
1. LSU (1) – beat Alabama 9-6 in overtime; Next: vs. Western Kentucky
2. Alabama (2) – lost to LSU 9-6 in overtime; Next: at Mississippi State
3. Stanford (4) – beat Oregon State 38-13; Next: vs. Oregon
4. Oklahoma State (3) – beat Kansas State 52-24; Next: at Texas Tech
5. Boise State (5) – beat UNLV 48-21;Next: vs. TCU
6. Oklahoma (6) – beat Texas A&M 41-25; Next: at Baylor (Nov. 19)
7. Oregon (7) – beat Washington 34-17;Next: at Stanford
8. Arkansas (8) – beat South Carolina 44-28; Next: vs. Tennessee
9. Clemson (10) – off week; Next: vs. Wake Forest
10. Virginia Tech (11) – off week; Next: at Georgia Tech (Thursday)
11. Wisconsin (14) – beat Purdue 62-17; Next: at Minnesota
12. Nebraska (9) – lost to Northwestern 28-25; Next: at Penn State
13. Penn State (15) – off week; Next: vs. Nebraska
14. Michigan State (16) – beat Minnesota 31-24; Next: at Iowa
15. Houston (18) – beat UAB 56-13; Next: at Tulane
16. USC (19) – beat Colorado 42-17; Next: vs. Washington
17. South Carolina (12) – lost to Arkansas 44-28; Next: vs. Florida
18. Georgia (21) – beat New Mexico State 63-16; Next: vs. Auburn
19. Arizona State (13) – lost to UCLA 29-28; Next: at Washington State
20. Texas (23) – beat Texas Tech 52-20; Next: at Missouri
21. Florida State (NR) – beat Boston College 38-7; Next: vs. Miami
22. Michigan (17) – lost to Iowa 24-16; Next: at Illinois
23. Southern Miss (24) – beat East Carolina 48-28; Next: vs. Central Florida
24. Cincinnati (25) – beat Pittsburgh 26-23; Next: vs. West Virginia
25. Ohio State (NR) – beat Indiana 34-20; Next: at Purdue
Out: West Virginia, Texas A&M
Notes:
-Chris Owusu suffered a concussion for Stanford, would be huge for him to miss time. Stanford's only big-time target.
-Oklahoma leading receiver Ryan Broyles is out for the season with a torn ACL. That could have a huge impact in the Bedlam game and the BCS.
-Not saying we should have a rematch, I'm just saying clearly LSU and Alabama are still the top two teams.
Review of my Upset Picks this week: 3-3
Northern Illinois over Toledo ….. Won 63-60
Iowa over Michigan ….. Won 24-16
Syracuse over UConn ….. Lost 28-21
Troy over Navy ….. Lost 42-14
Pittsburgh over Cincinnati ….. Lost 26-23
LSU over Alabama ….. Won 9-6 (OT)
AP2011Friday, November 4, 2011
My Rankings after Week 9
It finally happened. That statement can cover so many moments from today, another epic Saturday of college football. And a great game between Arizona and Washington is still going on.
Kansas State finally lost. I’ve been predicting this to happen for about the last three weeks and Oklahoma finally brought Kansas State back to reality with a dominating 58-17 win over the Wildcats. And as I said on ComRadio this week, Kansas State will lose at least three of its next four games (vs. Oklahoma State, Texas A&M and Texas). K-State’s No. 8 ranking in the BCS Standings was just ridiculous. I never had K-State higher than No. 18.
Both Oklahoma schools cruised as Oklahoma State romped Baylor 59-24. Vegas has to be disappointed after setting the over/under at 83 points, the highest ever.
With Oklahoma and Oklahoma State both winning by 35+ points, man, I really can’t wait until Bedlam on Dec. 3. Oklahoma State could still be undefeated by then.
Elsewhere in the Big 12, Texas A&M is out of the race for the Fiesta Bowl as Missouri officially eliminated them with an overtime win today that included yet another second half collapse by A&M.
Michigan State came out flat in a noon game against Nebraska. After three big wins in a row over Ohio State, Michigan and Wisconsin, Michigan State couldn’t get itself motivated to play another big game. I know it’s difficult but I don’t understand why. I’d be so fired up to play another big game. But I’m not the one taking the field and going through the emotional and physical roller coaster. The Nebraska defense really showed up today with a solid gameplan to stop Kirk Cousins.
Clemson came out flat too and that cost them in the long run when they tried to make their second half comeback. Not this time. Clemson’s dream season is over at the hands of Georgia Tech who had over 300 yards rushing. It’s very difficult to blame Clemson for losing this game since the triple-option is impossible to defend when you don’t have extra time to prepare for it. You could tell with a lot of missed assignments that Clemson really wasn’t prepared. But with that said, Clemson’s defense has come back down to earth, they’re good not great. 30+ points allowed in the last three games.
Georgia Tech stays alive in the ACC Coastal Division with a showdown against Virginia Tech looming.
Speaking of points, the Houston Cougars put up a lot on Thursday night – 73 against Rice. Case Keenum broke Graham Harrell’s record of career touchdown passes, and not only that, Keenum ended up throwing NINE touchdown passes on the night to give him 139 for his career.
And speaking of career record, Penn State had a dramatic win over Illinois to give Joe Paterno his 409th career win for most all-time in all Division-I passing Eddie Robinson, formerly of Grambling State, who had 408 career wins at the Division I-AA level.
Not only did Penn State win dramatically in the snow, they got help from Ohio State in dramatic fashion too as Braxton Miller, the true freshman, heaved one into the end zone and for the second straight week Wisconsin lost on a prayer of a throw in the endzone. With Wisconsin’s loss, Penn State takes a two-game lead in the Leaders Division of the Big Ten and can have the division clinched with wins over Nebraska and Ohio State before playing Wisconsin. Of course, that’s a lot to ask for a Penn State team that still has a lot of figuring out to do on offense. Now they get a bye week to regroup before Nebraska and if 2011 has showed anything, it’s shown that bye weeks are bigger than ever.
Texas Tech and Iowa were two teams shocked today. Iowa lost to Minnesota, yes, Minesota. Texas Tech was dominated by Iowa State. After upsetting Oklahoma last week, Texas Tech climbed to No. 20 in the BCS Standings and there’s a reason why I didn’t have Tech ranked and this loss to Iowa State showed why.
Elsewhere in the state of Texas, the Texas Longhorns shut out Kansas 43-0 and outgained Kansas 590-46. But that was Kansas. That’s an average to decent win for Texas. Coming to Austin next is Texas Tech.
Wins don’t come easy, so South Carolina’s 14-3 win over Tennessee today might have been its last of the season against an FBS opponent. I just sense a South Carolina collapse coming up with Arkansas, Florida and Clemson left on the schedule. Luckily for Carolina, there’s a cupcake in Citadel sandwiched between Florida and Clemson.
Kansas State and Clemson are no longer undefeated, leaving us with LSU, Alabama, Oklahoma State, Stanford, Boise State and Houston.
Minnesota, Iowa State and Boston College picked up their first wins in their respective conferences today. And for Boston College, Rolandan Finch is putting his name out there becoming a bigger part of the offense with the injury to Montel Harris and slump of Andre Williams. Finch has 39 carries for 243 yards today in the upset over Maryland.
Here’s my New Top 25 After Week 9
(x) = last week’s ranking
1. LSU (1) – off week; Next: at Alabama
2. Alabama (2) – off week; Next: vs. LSU
3. Oklahoma State (4) – beat Baylor 59-24; Next: vs. Kansas State
4. Stanford (3) – beat USC 56-48 (3OT); Next: at Oregon State
5. Boise State (6) – off week; Next: at UNLV
6. Oklahoma (9) – beat Kansas State 58-17; Next: vs. Texas A&M
7. Oregon (7) – beat Washington State 43-28; Next: at Washington
8. Arkansas (8) – beat Vanderbilt 31-28; Next: vs. South Carolina
9. Nebraska (12) – beat Michigan State 24-3; Next: vs. Northwestern
10. Clemson (5) – lost to Georgia Tech; Next: vs. Wake Forest (Nov. 12)
11. Virginia Tech (13) – beat Duke 14-10; Next: at Georgia Tech (Nov. 10)
12. South Carolina (14) – beat Tennessee 14-3; Next: at Arkansas
13. Arizona State (16) – beat Colorado 48-14; Next: at UCLA
14. Wisconsin (11) – lost to Ohio State; Next: vs. Purdue
15. Penn State (18) – beat Illinois 10-7; Next: vs. Nebraska (Nov. 12)
16. Michigan State (10) – lost to Nebraska; Next: vs. Minnesota
17. Michigan (20) – beat Purdue 36-14; Next: at Iowa
18. Houston (24) – beat Rice 73-34; Next: at UAB
19. USC (19) - lost to Stanford in triple-overtime; Next: at Colorado
20. West Virginia (22) – beat Rutgers 41-31; Next: vs. Louisville
21. Georgia (21) – beat Florida 24-20; Next: vs. New Mexico State
22. Texas A&M (15) – lost to Missouri in overtime; Next: at Oklahoma
23. Texas (23) – beat Kansas 43-0; Next: vs. Texas Tech
24. Southern Miss (NR) - beat UTEP 31-13; Next: at East Carolina
25. Cincinnati (25) - off week; Next: at Pittsburgh
Dropped: Kansas State
Bubble: Ohio State, Georgia Tech, Kansas State, Auburn, Florida State, TCU
BCS Update
If Stanford would’ve lost, it would have been a great day for Boise State to have Clemson and Stanford be knocked off. Regardless, Boise State would likely be left out of the national championship game but Stanford still has a shot. I’m still 95% set on Oklahoma beating Oklahoma State in Bedlam but I also think Stanford loses to Oregon still, which would leave the winner of LSU/Alabama and Boise State as the only teams left atop of the BCS. In that case, I seriously think we’ll have an LSU-Alabama rematch (if the game is close) before we ever see Boise State in the national championship game. If Stanford goes undefeated, you’ve got to believe they’d be in the national championship game with the LSU-Alabama loser ranked at No. 3 by a slim margin.
NO. 1 LSU AT NO. 2 ALABAMA SATURDAY, NOV. 5, 8PM ON CBS
College Football's Most Difficult Remaining Schedules
Arkansas: vs. South Carolina, vs. Tennessee, vs. Mississippi State, at LSU
Baylor: vs. Missouri, at Kansas, vs. Oklahoma, vs. Texas Tech, vs. Texas
Boston College: vs. Florida State, vs. NC State, at Notre Dame, at Miami
Central Florida: vs. Tulsa, at Southern Miss, at East Carolina, vs. UTEP
Cincinnati: at Pittsburgh, vs. West Virginia, at Rutgers, at Syracuse, vs. UConn
Colorado State: vs. San Diego State, at TCU, vs. Air Force, vs. Wyoming
Florida: vs. Vanderbilt, at South Carolina, vs. Furman, vs. Florida State
Iowa: vs. Michigan, vs. Michigan State, at Purdue, at Nebraska
Kansas State: at Oklahoma State, vs. Texas A&M, at Texas, vs. Iowa State
Michigan: at Iowa, at Illinois, vs. Nebraska, vs. Ohio State
Missouri: at Baylor, vs. Texas, vs. Texas Tech, vs. Kansas
Nebraska: vs. Northwestern, at Penn State, at Michigan, vs. Iowa
New Mexico: at San Diego State, vs. UNLV, at Wyoming, at Boise State
Oklahoma: vs. Texas A&M, at Baylor, vs. Iowa State, at Oklahoma State
Oregon: at Washington, at Stanford, vs. USC, vs. Oregon State
Penn State: vs. Nebraska, at Ohio State, at Wisconsin
South Carolina: at Arkansas, vs. Florida, vs. The Citadel, vs. Clemson
South Florida: at Rutgers, at Syracuse, vs. Miami, vs. Louisville, vs. West Virginia
Syracuse: at UConn, vs. South Florida, vs. Cincinnati, at Pittsburgh
Texas: vs. Texas Tech, at Missouri, vs. Kansas State, at Texas A&M, at Baylor
Texas Tech: at Texas, vs. Oklahoma State, at Missouri, at Baylor
Tulane: at SMU, vs. Houston, at Rice, at Hawaii
UNLV: vs. Boise State, at New Mexico, at Air Force, vs. San Diego State, at TCU
UTEP: at Rice, vs. East Carolina, vs. Tulsa, at Central Florida
Wyoming: vs. TCU, at Air Force, vs. New Mexico, at Boise State, at Colorado State
Kansas State finally lost. I’ve been predicting this to happen for about the last three weeks and Oklahoma finally brought Kansas State back to reality with a dominating 58-17 win over the Wildcats. And as I said on ComRadio this week, Kansas State will lose at least three of its next four games (vs. Oklahoma State, Texas A&M and Texas). K-State’s No. 8 ranking in the BCS Standings was just ridiculous. I never had K-State higher than No. 18.
Both Oklahoma schools cruised as Oklahoma State romped Baylor 59-24. Vegas has to be disappointed after setting the over/under at 83 points, the highest ever.
With Oklahoma and Oklahoma State both winning by 35+ points, man, I really can’t wait until Bedlam on Dec. 3. Oklahoma State could still be undefeated by then.
Elsewhere in the Big 12, Texas A&M is out of the race for the Fiesta Bowl as Missouri officially eliminated them with an overtime win today that included yet another second half collapse by A&M.
Michigan State came out flat in a noon game against Nebraska. After three big wins in a row over Ohio State, Michigan and Wisconsin, Michigan State couldn’t get itself motivated to play another big game. I know it’s difficult but I don’t understand why. I’d be so fired up to play another big game. But I’m not the one taking the field and going through the emotional and physical roller coaster. The Nebraska defense really showed up today with a solid gameplan to stop Kirk Cousins.
Clemson came out flat too and that cost them in the long run when they tried to make their second half comeback. Not this time. Clemson’s dream season is over at the hands of Georgia Tech who had over 300 yards rushing. It’s very difficult to blame Clemson for losing this game since the triple-option is impossible to defend when you don’t have extra time to prepare for it. You could tell with a lot of missed assignments that Clemson really wasn’t prepared. But with that said, Clemson’s defense has come back down to earth, they’re good not great. 30+ points allowed in the last three games.
Georgia Tech stays alive in the ACC Coastal Division with a showdown against Virginia Tech looming.
Speaking of points, the Houston Cougars put up a lot on Thursday night – 73 against Rice. Case Keenum broke Graham Harrell’s record of career touchdown passes, and not only that, Keenum ended up throwing NINE touchdown passes on the night to give him 139 for his career.
And speaking of career record, Penn State had a dramatic win over Illinois to give Joe Paterno his 409th career win for most all-time in all Division-I passing Eddie Robinson, formerly of Grambling State, who had 408 career wins at the Division I-AA level.
Not only did Penn State win dramatically in the snow, they got help from Ohio State in dramatic fashion too as Braxton Miller, the true freshman, heaved one into the end zone and for the second straight week Wisconsin lost on a prayer of a throw in the endzone. With Wisconsin’s loss, Penn State takes a two-game lead in the Leaders Division of the Big Ten and can have the division clinched with wins over Nebraska and Ohio State before playing Wisconsin. Of course, that’s a lot to ask for a Penn State team that still has a lot of figuring out to do on offense. Now they get a bye week to regroup before Nebraska and if 2011 has showed anything, it’s shown that bye weeks are bigger than ever.
Texas Tech and Iowa were two teams shocked today. Iowa lost to Minnesota, yes, Minesota. Texas Tech was dominated by Iowa State. After upsetting Oklahoma last week, Texas Tech climbed to No. 20 in the BCS Standings and there’s a reason why I didn’t have Tech ranked and this loss to Iowa State showed why.
Elsewhere in the state of Texas, the Texas Longhorns shut out Kansas 43-0 and outgained Kansas 590-46. But that was Kansas. That’s an average to decent win for Texas. Coming to Austin next is Texas Tech.
Wins don’t come easy, so South Carolina’s 14-3 win over Tennessee today might have been its last of the season against an FBS opponent. I just sense a South Carolina collapse coming up with Arkansas, Florida and Clemson left on the schedule. Luckily for Carolina, there’s a cupcake in Citadel sandwiched between Florida and Clemson.
Kansas State and Clemson are no longer undefeated, leaving us with LSU, Alabama, Oklahoma State, Stanford, Boise State and Houston.
Minnesota, Iowa State and Boston College picked up their first wins in their respective conferences today. And for Boston College, Rolandan Finch is putting his name out there becoming a bigger part of the offense with the injury to Montel Harris and slump of Andre Williams. Finch has 39 carries for 243 yards today in the upset over Maryland.
Here’s my New Top 25 After Week 9
(x) = last week’s ranking
1. LSU (1) – off week; Next: at Alabama
2. Alabama (2) – off week; Next: vs. LSU
3. Oklahoma State (4) – beat Baylor 59-24; Next: vs. Kansas State
4. Stanford (3) – beat USC 56-48 (3OT); Next: at Oregon State
5. Boise State (6) – off week; Next: at UNLV
6. Oklahoma (9) – beat Kansas State 58-17; Next: vs. Texas A&M
7. Oregon (7) – beat Washington State 43-28; Next: at Washington
8. Arkansas (8) – beat Vanderbilt 31-28; Next: vs. South Carolina
9. Nebraska (12) – beat Michigan State 24-3; Next: vs. Northwestern
10. Clemson (5) – lost to Georgia Tech; Next: vs. Wake Forest (Nov. 12)
11. Virginia Tech (13) – beat Duke 14-10; Next: at Georgia Tech (Nov. 10)
12. South Carolina (14) – beat Tennessee 14-3; Next: at Arkansas
13. Arizona State (16) – beat Colorado 48-14; Next: at UCLA
14. Wisconsin (11) – lost to Ohio State; Next: vs. Purdue
15. Penn State (18) – beat Illinois 10-7; Next: vs. Nebraska (Nov. 12)
16. Michigan State (10) – lost to Nebraska; Next: vs. Minnesota
17. Michigan (20) – beat Purdue 36-14; Next: at Iowa
18. Houston (24) – beat Rice 73-34; Next: at UAB
19. USC (19) - lost to Stanford in triple-overtime; Next: at Colorado
20. West Virginia (22) – beat Rutgers 41-31; Next: vs. Louisville
21. Georgia (21) – beat Florida 24-20; Next: vs. New Mexico State
22. Texas A&M (15) – lost to Missouri in overtime; Next: at Oklahoma
23. Texas (23) – beat Kansas 43-0; Next: vs. Texas Tech
24. Southern Miss (NR) - beat UTEP 31-13; Next: at East Carolina
25. Cincinnati (25) - off week; Next: at Pittsburgh
Dropped: Kansas State
Bubble: Ohio State, Georgia Tech, Kansas State, Auburn, Florida State, TCU
BCS Update
If Stanford would’ve lost, it would have been a great day for Boise State to have Clemson and Stanford be knocked off. Regardless, Boise State would likely be left out of the national championship game but Stanford still has a shot. I’m still 95% set on Oklahoma beating Oklahoma State in Bedlam but I also think Stanford loses to Oregon still, which would leave the winner of LSU/Alabama and Boise State as the only teams left atop of the BCS. In that case, I seriously think we’ll have an LSU-Alabama rematch (if the game is close) before we ever see Boise State in the national championship game. If Stanford goes undefeated, you’ve got to believe they’d be in the national championship game with the LSU-Alabama loser ranked at No. 3 by a slim margin.
NO. 1 LSU AT NO. 2 ALABAMA SATURDAY, NOV. 5, 8PM ON CBS
College Football's Most Difficult Remaining Schedules
Arkansas: vs. South Carolina, vs. Tennessee, vs. Mississippi State, at LSU
Baylor: vs. Missouri, at Kansas, vs. Oklahoma, vs. Texas Tech, vs. Texas
Boston College: vs. Florida State, vs. NC State, at Notre Dame, at Miami
Central Florida: vs. Tulsa, at Southern Miss, at East Carolina, vs. UTEP
Cincinnati: at Pittsburgh, vs. West Virginia, at Rutgers, at Syracuse, vs. UConn
Colorado State: vs. San Diego State, at TCU, vs. Air Force, vs. Wyoming
Florida: vs. Vanderbilt, at South Carolina, vs. Furman, vs. Florida State
Iowa: vs. Michigan, vs. Michigan State, at Purdue, at Nebraska
Kansas State: at Oklahoma State, vs. Texas A&M, at Texas, vs. Iowa State
Michigan: at Iowa, at Illinois, vs. Nebraska, vs. Ohio State
Missouri: at Baylor, vs. Texas, vs. Texas Tech, vs. Kansas
Nebraska: vs. Northwestern, at Penn State, at Michigan, vs. Iowa
New Mexico: at San Diego State, vs. UNLV, at Wyoming, at Boise State
Oklahoma: vs. Texas A&M, at Baylor, vs. Iowa State, at Oklahoma State
Oregon: at Washington, at Stanford, vs. USC, vs. Oregon State
Penn State: vs. Nebraska, at Ohio State, at Wisconsin
South Carolina: at Arkansas, vs. Florida, vs. The Citadel, vs. Clemson
South Florida: at Rutgers, at Syracuse, vs. Miami, vs. Louisville, vs. West Virginia
Syracuse: at UConn, vs. South Florida, vs. Cincinnati, at Pittsburgh
Texas: vs. Texas Tech, at Missouri, vs. Kansas State, at Texas A&M, at Baylor
Texas Tech: at Texas, vs. Oklahoma State, at Missouri, at Baylor
Tulane: at SMU, vs. Houston, at Rice, at Hawaii
UNLV: vs. Boise State, at New Mexico, at Air Force, vs. San Diego State, at TCU
UTEP: at Rice, vs. East Carolina, vs. Tulsa, at Central Florida
Wyoming: vs. TCU, at Air Force, vs. New Mexico, at Boise State, at Colorado State
Four New Teams enter my Top 25
"Folks, this is why we love college football. It's unbelievable." Those were the words of ESPN/ABC commentator Brent Musburger and truer words have never been spoken. It was another wild week in college football that will be marked by one wild moment.
Tuesday night, Thursday night and Friday night each featured an upset as Arkansas State beat Florida International, UAB shocked Central Florida and Syracuse dismantled 15th-ranked West Virginia.
The upsets continued into Saturday with No. 23 Illinois going down to Purdue, No. 22 Georgia Tech being stuffed by Miami and the big one, No. 6 Wisconsin losing on a Hail Mary as time expired to No. 16 Michigan State on what the Spartans call "The Rocket Play".
Michigan State and Wisconsin went back and forth in the second half in what could be a preview of the Big Ten Conference Championship Game, but for right now, Penn State is on collision course with Michigan State. Yes, Penn State currently leads the Leaders Division with a one-game lead over Wisconsin after today's games.
If Michigan State's Keith Nichol wouldn't have crossed the goal line, the Spartans and Wisconsin would have headed to overtime. Another game was on the fringe of overtime and nobody watched. Buffalo went toe-to-toe with Northern Illinois and scored what would have been the game-tying touchdown in the final seconds but the missed extra point by Peter Fardon failed to send the game to overtime and the Huskies got the win.
Then there's Oklahoma, the Oklahoma Sooners that like to choke every year. All they needed to do was win and play for a national championship. Tonight, the Sooners lost at home to Texas Tech who got off to a hot start and never looked back. With Tech's passing attack carving up Oklahoma, the Bedlam vs. Oklahoma State has its hype raised up a lot more. Oklahoma State will have a chance to double Texas Tech's passing production, but Oklahoma will have a chance to prevent Oklahoma State from playing for a national championship and turn the BCS into a mess again.
Elsewhere in the top ten, Arkansas overcame a 17-0 deficit to Ole Miss to survive 29-24 while Alabama turned a 6-6 game at halftime against Tennessee into a 37-6 rout. Oklahoma State survived its trip to Columbia, Missouri using four turnovers (three interceptions by James Franklin) to pass the road test.
Boise State pulled away late from Air Force in a 37-26 win. I don't put too much stock into this performance by Boise's defense because seeing the triple-option offense of Air Force for the first time with no bye week is tough for any defense. Boise did a good job of playing bend but don't break defense. Air Force is a very physical football team too and Boise showed its physicality with tough running by Doug Martin. Boise State is just as physical as any team in the country. The only question with Boise in the national picture is if they have the speed to keep up with LSU and Alabama. Nothing is a guarantee yet for the Broncos yet with two big games against TCU and San Diego State on the road still left in the Mountain West schedule.
No LaMichael James? No Darron Thomas? No problem for the Oregon Ducks. Bryan Bennett and Kenjon Barner stepped right in to beat Colorado 49-2 following coach Chip Kelly's "next man in" philosophy.
What happened to the Big East? West Virginia should be bowl eligible by now but instead was picked apart in the Carrier Dome by Syracuse Friday night. Syracuse provided a formula to beat West Virginia, which was to add a lot of pressure on Geno Smith and then send your tight end over the middle and throw to him. Another Big East favorite by some experts, South Florida, dropped to 0-3 in conference play by losing a shootout to Cincinnati today. Cincinnati in Butch Jones' second year now leads the Big East at 6-1 and is the only bowl eligible Big East team at this point.
With week eight of the season completed, other teams joining Cincinnati in turning bowl eligible today are Michigan State, Nebraska, Oregon, Arkansas, Southern Miss and BYU.
Some upsets that got overlooked are North Carolina State over Virginia, UTEP over Colorado State, Bowling Green over Temple, Southern Miss over SMU and Western Kentucky, with 206 rushing yards from Bobby Rainey, beating Louisiana-Lafayette.
I went 5-4 in my Upset Picks this week getting Ball State, Miami, NC State, California and USC right while getting Kansas, Duke, Tulane, and Fresno State wrong.
Records fell today as well with Houston quarterback Case Keenum becoming the NCAA's all-time leader in offensive yards and East Carolina quarterback Dominique Davis setting the NCAA record with 26 straight completions by going 26-of-26 in the first half.
Boise State quarterback Kellen Moore tied former-Texas quarterback Colt McCoy for the most wins all-time by a player with 45 and Penn State coach Joe Paterno tied former-Grambling State coach Eddie Robinson for the most wins in Division I Football history with 408.
And then there was the End of an Era. Howard Schnellenberger, the coach that built Miami into a power house and current coach of Florida Atlantic, announced before the season that 2011 would be his last. However, there will be no last hurrah for Coach Schnellenberger as his FAU Owls lost today to Middle Tennessee to fall to 0-7. The Owls had to win six straight to end the season to become bowl eligible and have a chance to send Schnellenberger out with a postseason win. Sadly, it won't happen and Schnellenberger's last time on the sideline in a college football game will be Dec. 3 vs. Louisiana-Monroe.
My New Top After Week 8
(x) = last week's ranking
1. LSU (1) - beat Auburn 45-10; Next: at Alabama (Nov. 5)
2. Alabama (2) - beat Tennessee 37-6; Next: vs. LSU (Nov. 5)
3. Stanford (7) - beat Washington 65-21; Next: at USC
4. Oklahoma State (6) - beat Missouri 45-24; Next: vs. Baylor
5. Clemson (8) - beat North Carolina 59-38; Next: at Georgia Tech
6. Boise State (4) - beat Air Force 37-26; Next: at UNLV (Nov. 5)
7. Oregon (9) - beat Colorado 45-2; Next: vs. Washington State
8. Arkansas (10) - beat Ole Miss 29-24; Next: at Vanderbilt
9. Oklahoma (3) - lost to Texas Tech; Next: at Kansas State
10. Michigan State (15) - beat Wisconsin 37-31; Next: at Nebraska
11. Wisconsin (5) - lost to Michigan State; Next: at Ohio State
12. Nebraska (12) - beat Minnesota 41-14; Next: vs. Michigan State
13. Virginia Tech (13) - beat Boston College 30-14; Next: at Duke
14. South Carolina (14) - off week; Next: at Tennessee
15. Texas A&M (16) - beat Iowa State 33-17; Next: vs. Missouri
16. Arizona State (22) - off week; Next: vs. Colorado
17. Kansas State (18) - beat Kansas 59-21; Next: vs. Oklahoma
18. Penn State (NR) - beat Northwestern 34-24; Next: vs. Illinois
19. USC (NR) - beat Notre Dame 31-17; Next: vs. Stanford
20. Michigan (19) - off week; Next: vs. Purdue
21. Georgia (21) - off week; Next: vs. Florida
22. West Virginia (11) - lost to Syracuse; Next: at Rutgers
23. Texas (25) - off week; Next: vs. Kansas
24. Houston (NR) - beat Marshall 63-28; Next: vs. Rice (Thursday)
25. Cincinnati (NR) - beat South Florida 37-34; Next: at Pittsburgh (Nov. 5)
Out: Notre Dame (17), Auburn (20), Washington (23), Georgia Tech (24)
Bubble: Southern Miss, Texas Tech, Florida State, TCU, BYU, Iowa, Wake Forest
Quick Glance at Week 9's Big Games
BYU at TCU (Friday)
Saturday:
Michigan State at Nebraska - the winner likely gets the Big Ten Legends Division crown
Illinois at Penn State - can Penn State keep a hold on the Big Ten Leaders Division?
Missouri at Texas A&M - two really good offenses and two pretty good defenses
Baylor at Oklahoma State - Robert Griffin gets more time to shine, will he take advantage of it and shake up the BCS?
Georgia vs. Florida - the world's largest cocktail party. Gators must rebound. The winner of this game can still take the SEC East.
SMU at Tulsa - SMU needs the win to stay in the Conference USA race
South Carolina at Tennessee - This might be the only game South Carolina wins for the rest of the season...if they win. The bye week should help.
Wisconsin at Ohio State - Ohio State should be ready coming off the bye week. Will Wisconsin be ready?
Clemson at Georgia Tech - Clemson doesn't get a bye week to prepare for the triple-option. That always spells danger.
Stanford at USC - How good is Stanford? The Cardinal have yet to be tested with Washington being the only win against a team with a winning record.
Additional upset alerts to...
Virginia Tech - at Duke
Maryland - vs. Boston College
West Virginia - at Rutgers
Washington - vs. Arizona
My BCS Update:
Had Wisconsin beat Michigan State, it likely would have jumped Boise State for the No. 5 spot in the BCS Standings. But Wisconsin lost, and so did No. 3 Oklahoma while Boise State sits at No. 5. No. 4 Oklahoma State still has room to lose and undefeated Stanford has tough games against USC and Oregon and maybe a Pac-12 Championship Game left to play. And of course, LSU and Alabama, one will eliminate the other. Boise State has a legitimate shot to finish No. 2 in the BCS Standings for a right to play the SEC Champion.
No. 1 LSU at No. 2 ALABAMA COMING TO A TV NEAR YOU ON NOV. 5, 2011.
Tuesday night, Thursday night and Friday night each featured an upset as Arkansas State beat Florida International, UAB shocked Central Florida and Syracuse dismantled 15th-ranked West Virginia.
The upsets continued into Saturday with No. 23 Illinois going down to Purdue, No. 22 Georgia Tech being stuffed by Miami and the big one, No. 6 Wisconsin losing on a Hail Mary as time expired to No. 16 Michigan State on what the Spartans call "The Rocket Play".
Michigan State and Wisconsin went back and forth in the second half in what could be a preview of the Big Ten Conference Championship Game, but for right now, Penn State is on collision course with Michigan State. Yes, Penn State currently leads the Leaders Division with a one-game lead over Wisconsin after today's games.
If Michigan State's Keith Nichol wouldn't have crossed the goal line, the Spartans and Wisconsin would have headed to overtime. Another game was on the fringe of overtime and nobody watched. Buffalo went toe-to-toe with Northern Illinois and scored what would have been the game-tying touchdown in the final seconds but the missed extra point by Peter Fardon failed to send the game to overtime and the Huskies got the win.
Then there's Oklahoma, the Oklahoma Sooners that like to choke every year. All they needed to do was win and play for a national championship. Tonight, the Sooners lost at home to Texas Tech who got off to a hot start and never looked back. With Tech's passing attack carving up Oklahoma, the Bedlam vs. Oklahoma State has its hype raised up a lot more. Oklahoma State will have a chance to double Texas Tech's passing production, but Oklahoma will have a chance to prevent Oklahoma State from playing for a national championship and turn the BCS into a mess again.
Elsewhere in the top ten, Arkansas overcame a 17-0 deficit to Ole Miss to survive 29-24 while Alabama turned a 6-6 game at halftime against Tennessee into a 37-6 rout. Oklahoma State survived its trip to Columbia, Missouri using four turnovers (three interceptions by James Franklin) to pass the road test.
Boise State pulled away late from Air Force in a 37-26 win. I don't put too much stock into this performance by Boise's defense because seeing the triple-option offense of Air Force for the first time with no bye week is tough for any defense. Boise did a good job of playing bend but don't break defense. Air Force is a very physical football team too and Boise showed its physicality with tough running by Doug Martin. Boise State is just as physical as any team in the country. The only question with Boise in the national picture is if they have the speed to keep up with LSU and Alabama. Nothing is a guarantee yet for the Broncos yet with two big games against TCU and San Diego State on the road still left in the Mountain West schedule.
No LaMichael James? No Darron Thomas? No problem for the Oregon Ducks. Bryan Bennett and Kenjon Barner stepped right in to beat Colorado 49-2 following coach Chip Kelly's "next man in" philosophy.
What happened to the Big East? West Virginia should be bowl eligible by now but instead was picked apart in the Carrier Dome by Syracuse Friday night. Syracuse provided a formula to beat West Virginia, which was to add a lot of pressure on Geno Smith and then send your tight end over the middle and throw to him. Another Big East favorite by some experts, South Florida, dropped to 0-3 in conference play by losing a shootout to Cincinnati today. Cincinnati in Butch Jones' second year now leads the Big East at 6-1 and is the only bowl eligible Big East team at this point.
With week eight of the season completed, other teams joining Cincinnati in turning bowl eligible today are Michigan State, Nebraska, Oregon, Arkansas, Southern Miss and BYU.
Some upsets that got overlooked are North Carolina State over Virginia, UTEP over Colorado State, Bowling Green over Temple, Southern Miss over SMU and Western Kentucky, with 206 rushing yards from Bobby Rainey, beating Louisiana-Lafayette.
I went 5-4 in my Upset Picks this week getting Ball State, Miami, NC State, California and USC right while getting Kansas, Duke, Tulane, and Fresno State wrong.
Records fell today as well with Houston quarterback Case Keenum becoming the NCAA's all-time leader in offensive yards and East Carolina quarterback Dominique Davis setting the NCAA record with 26 straight completions by going 26-of-26 in the first half.
Boise State quarterback Kellen Moore tied former-Texas quarterback Colt McCoy for the most wins all-time by a player with 45 and Penn State coach Joe Paterno tied former-Grambling State coach Eddie Robinson for the most wins in Division I Football history with 408.
And then there was the End of an Era. Howard Schnellenberger, the coach that built Miami into a power house and current coach of Florida Atlantic, announced before the season that 2011 would be his last. However, there will be no last hurrah for Coach Schnellenberger as his FAU Owls lost today to Middle Tennessee to fall to 0-7. The Owls had to win six straight to end the season to become bowl eligible and have a chance to send Schnellenberger out with a postseason win. Sadly, it won't happen and Schnellenberger's last time on the sideline in a college football game will be Dec. 3 vs. Louisiana-Monroe.
My New Top After Week 8
(x) = last week's ranking
1. LSU (1) - beat Auburn 45-10; Next: at Alabama (Nov. 5)
2. Alabama (2) - beat Tennessee 37-6; Next: vs. LSU (Nov. 5)
3. Stanford (7) - beat Washington 65-21; Next: at USC
4. Oklahoma State (6) - beat Missouri 45-24; Next: vs. Baylor
5. Clemson (8) - beat North Carolina 59-38; Next: at Georgia Tech
6. Boise State (4) - beat Air Force 37-26; Next: at UNLV (Nov. 5)
7. Oregon (9) - beat Colorado 45-2; Next: vs. Washington State
8. Arkansas (10) - beat Ole Miss 29-24; Next: at Vanderbilt
9. Oklahoma (3) - lost to Texas Tech; Next: at Kansas State
10. Michigan State (15) - beat Wisconsin 37-31; Next: at Nebraska
11. Wisconsin (5) - lost to Michigan State; Next: at Ohio State
12. Nebraska (12) - beat Minnesota 41-14; Next: vs. Michigan State
13. Virginia Tech (13) - beat Boston College 30-14; Next: at Duke
14. South Carolina (14) - off week; Next: at Tennessee
15. Texas A&M (16) - beat Iowa State 33-17; Next: vs. Missouri
16. Arizona State (22) - off week; Next: vs. Colorado
17. Kansas State (18) - beat Kansas 59-21; Next: vs. Oklahoma
18. Penn State (NR) - beat Northwestern 34-24; Next: vs. Illinois
19. USC (NR) - beat Notre Dame 31-17; Next: vs. Stanford
20. Michigan (19) - off week; Next: vs. Purdue
21. Georgia (21) - off week; Next: vs. Florida
22. West Virginia (11) - lost to Syracuse; Next: at Rutgers
23. Texas (25) - off week; Next: vs. Kansas
24. Houston (NR) - beat Marshall 63-28; Next: vs. Rice (Thursday)
25. Cincinnati (NR) - beat South Florida 37-34; Next: at Pittsburgh (Nov. 5)
Out: Notre Dame (17), Auburn (20), Washington (23), Georgia Tech (24)
Bubble: Southern Miss, Texas Tech, Florida State, TCU, BYU, Iowa, Wake Forest
Quick Glance at Week 9's Big Games
BYU at TCU (Friday)
Saturday:
Michigan State at Nebraska - the winner likely gets the Big Ten Legends Division crown
Illinois at Penn State - can Penn State keep a hold on the Big Ten Leaders Division?
Missouri at Texas A&M - two really good offenses and two pretty good defenses
Baylor at Oklahoma State - Robert Griffin gets more time to shine, will he take advantage of it and shake up the BCS?
Georgia vs. Florida - the world's largest cocktail party. Gators must rebound. The winner of this game can still take the SEC East.
SMU at Tulsa - SMU needs the win to stay in the Conference USA race
South Carolina at Tennessee - This might be the only game South Carolina wins for the rest of the season...if they win. The bye week should help.
Wisconsin at Ohio State - Ohio State should be ready coming off the bye week. Will Wisconsin be ready?
Clemson at Georgia Tech - Clemson doesn't get a bye week to prepare for the triple-option. That always spells danger.
Stanford at USC - How good is Stanford? The Cardinal have yet to be tested with Washington being the only win against a team with a winning record.
Additional upset alerts to...
Virginia Tech - at Duke
Maryland - vs. Boston College
West Virginia - at Rutgers
Washington - vs. Arizona
My BCS Update:
Had Wisconsin beat Michigan State, it likely would have jumped Boise State for the No. 5 spot in the BCS Standings. But Wisconsin lost, and so did No. 3 Oklahoma while Boise State sits at No. 5. No. 4 Oklahoma State still has room to lose and undefeated Stanford has tough games against USC and Oregon and maybe a Pac-12 Championship Game left to play. And of course, LSU and Alabama, one will eliminate the other. Boise State has a legitimate shot to finish No. 2 in the BCS Standings for a right to play the SEC Champion.
No. 1 LSU at No. 2 ALABAMA COMING TO A TV NEAR YOU ON NOV. 5, 2011.
BCS Standings are out and my New Top 25
The BCS is out! The BCS is out! The BCS still sucks. And I'm sure the authors of "Death to the BCS" waited until this week to release the new revised and updates version of "Death to the BCS" for a reason. The bright side? Oklahoma isn't No. 1. this time...because that was a joke, but 2011's got some jokes too.
Here's the new BCS Standings: Click Here
The top ten is: 1. LSU 2. Alabama 3. Oklahoma 4. Oklahoma State 5. Boise State 6. Wisconsin 7. Clemson 8. Stanford 9. Arkansas 10. Oregon.
To me, the right teams are in the top ten, just not in the correct order.
Of course, everyone's already talking about the de fact "Plus One Playoff" we have waiting to happen with LSU, Alabama, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State being the top four. LSU and Alabama play each other on Nov. 5 and Oklahoma and Oklahoma State will meet in Bedlam. The winners will end up meeting for the national championship game. In other words, what a boring year in the BCS and people are going to say once again the BCS works.
Does the BCS really work? Not a chance. Oklahoma State is no where near the No. 4 team in the nation. Boise State and Wisconsin will go undefeated (and we could have Stanford and Clemson undefeated too) and they're all better than Oklahoma State. So why does Oklahoma State get to participate in this "de facto Playoff."
It's also worth noting that Wisconsin is ranked No. 6 behind Boise State but expect that to change in the next two weeks. Boise State's schedule is light the rest of the way and so is Wisconsin's but they do have two ranked opponents, Michigan State and Penn State, left to boost their resume and strength and schedule.
Either way, Boise State can go 12-0 and be left out of the national championship game. If the computers don't do it, the human voters will because they've been dropping Boise State every week. Seriously, Boise State beats Colorado State 63-13 and sets a school record in total yards and drops in the rankings. If that was Oklahoma (the BCS's darling), they would've jumped 25 spots to No. 1.
Outside of the BCS Top Ten is Kansas State at No. 11. Yes, Kansas State. Yes, what a joke. K-State's average computer ranking is No. 7. Their highest is No. 6 and lowest is No. 10. Are you kidding me? I can't wait until Kansas State plays Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and Texas A&M and gets blown out by 40 points.
For the most part, the rest of the BCS Standings look pretty good, Nos. 12-25. But that part always looks good, right? Because the rest of the BCS outside the top 15 doesn't really matter. Exactly.
Some slight surprises are Houston at No. 19 (got a lot of help from the computers with a No. 11 ranking), Penn State at No. 21 (thanks to strength of schedule and not losing to Iowa) and Texas in at No. 24 despite losing two straight and being dropped in the human polls.
Of those three teams only Texas is a legitimate Top 25 team. (Yes, I'm a die-hard Texas fan. Yes, I kind of like Houston too. Yes, I go to Penn State. All three of these facts are irrelevant.)
Moving forward, LSU and Alabama are only separated by .0003 percent for the No. 1 or No. 2 spot. Again, it doesn't matter who's No. 1 or No. 2 since they'll play each other and settle it on the field, but that's interesting that Alabama gets the edge in the computers over LSU despite the schedule that LSU has played.
After Oklahoma at No. 3 comes the big dropoff. Oklahoma has .9301% BCS average while Oklahoma State at No. 4 is at .8568. That's a .0796 difference. And like I said, Oklahoma State should not be No. 4.
We could talk BCS all day, but we're not since it's been a long day already.
___________________________________________________________________________
This past weekend was costly for a lot of teams. Michigan, Georgia Tech and Illinois were all eliminated from the undefeated pool while South Carolina got by Mississippi State but not without the expense of its star running back Marcus Lattimore who is now out for the season with a torn knee ligament. Oregon suffered injuries for the second straight week. Last week is star running back LaMichael James and this time it was quarterback Darron Thomas.
For those returning from injury, Clemson's Tajh Boyd looked pretty darn good, especially in the second half, in that huge comeback to beat Maryland.
Clemson true freshman receiver Sammy Watkins set the school record with 345 all-purpose yards and had two huge touchdown catches in the third quarter and the 89-yard kick return score that put Clemson ahead for good in the 56-45 win. Just give Watkins the National Freshman of the Year award right now. Every week, he gets better and better.
But as you see, Maryland scored 45 against Clemson. All year I've talked about how bad Clemson's defense is until last week. Last week I talked about how Clemson's defense is gelling and it's pretty good now. I guess I spoke too soon. But what Maryland did was a lot of zone-read option with CJ Brown at quarterback and gashed Clemson in the running game, which is actually the strength of Clemson's defense. The Tigers defensive line was just too aggressive and that can be easily fixed in the future against a zone-read. The Tigers aren't ready to stop dreaming about being undefeated yet.
Speaking of undefeated, Kansas State is still undefeated. How does that happen? They've beaten Baylor, Missouri and Texas Tech. And scored a lot of points in those games too. Collin Klein used to be the laughing stock of the Big 12 as a wanna-be quarterback but now he is playing really really well, but at some point Kansas State has to lose right? Ranked No. 11 in the BCS is ridiculous. I'm not sold on K-State just yet despite how great of a coach Bill Snyder is.
Others I'm not completely sold on yet: Oklahoma State. Texas moved the ball all too well against the Pokes. Oklahoma State's offense will help win a lot of games but when it comes down to facing the better offenses, Oklahoma State's defense needs to step it up. Oh hey, what a coincidence, they play a better offense this week: Missouri. On the road. Missouri just crushed Iowa State 52-17 in a statement game with quarterback James Franklin (while Vanderbilt's coach James Franklin almost fought Georgia coach Mark Richt) had 373 total yards and five total touchdowns. Columbia, Missouri is where the Tigers knocked off then-No. 1 Oklahoma the week after the BCS Standings came out last year. Can Missouri do it to Oklahoma State this year?
Also looking ahead on the schedule is LSU hosting No. 20 Auburn Saturday and Alabama hosting Tennessee. This is the last game for both teams before they collide with each other on Nov. 5 as they'll both get bye weeks.
Getting bye weeks at the right time this week are Florida and South Carolina. Carolina needs to figure out how to replace Marcus Lattimore's production while Florida just lost its third straight as the big rivalry against Georgia up next where they hope the extra week off will get John Brantley back on the field.
And one last thing before we get to my new rankings, how bad was the Big East this week? I'm glad I didn't watch any of these games.
Pittsburgh got manhandled by Utah, the same Utah team whose coach said his team wasn't physical enough or big enough. I guess that means Pittsburgh isn't either.
Cincinnati and Louisville played maybe the ugliest Big East game so far this year. Cincy lost a lot of style points.
Rutgers survived by one point against Navy.
And well, South Florida lost...to....UConn. UConn scored 10 points off four South Florida turnovers to win 16-10 but here is UConn's last 5 drives in the second half and I remind you that they won: Fumble Return for Touchdown. Punt. Punt. Punt. Punt. Yeah, that sounds about right.
So here's My New College Football Top 25.
And I warn you, it doesn't look like the BCS Standings.
Last week's rankings
My Method: Record/Resume, Eye Test, if they played today who would win.
1. LSU (1) - beat Tennessee 38-7; Next vs. Auburn
2. Alabama (2) - beat Ole Miss 52-7; Next: vs. Tennessee
3. Oklahoma (3) - beat Kansas 47-17; Next: vs. Texas Tech
4. Boise State (4) - beat Colorado State 63-13; Next: vs. Air Force
5. Wisconsin (6) - beat Indiana 59-7; Next: at Michigan State
6. Oklahoma State (7) - Texas 38-26; Next: at Missouri
7. Stanford (5) - beat Washington State 44-14; Next: vs. Washington
8. Clemson (10) - beat Maryland 56-45; Next: vs. North Carolina
9. Oregon (8) - beat Arizona State 41-27; Next: at Colorado
10. Arkansas (9) - off week; Next: at Ole Miss
11. West Virginia (11) - off week: Next: at Syracuse (Friday, Oct. 21)
12. Nebraska (13) - off week; Next: at Minnesota
13. Virginia Tech (14) - beat Wake Forest 38-17; Next vs. Boston College
14. South Carolina (15) - beat Mississippi State 14-12; Next: at Tennessee (Oct. 29)
15. Michigan State (21) - beat Michigan 28-14; Next: vs. Wisconsin
16. Texas A&M (19) - beat Baylor 55-28; Next: at Iowa State
17. Notre Dame (20) - off week: Next: vs. USC
18. Kansas State (22) - beat Texas Tech 41-34; Next: at Kansas
19. Michigan (12) - lost to Michigan State; Next: vs. Purdue (Oct. 29)
20. Auburn (NR) - beat Florida 14-6; Next: at LSU
21. Georgia (NR) - beat Vanderbilt 33-28; Next: vs. Florida (Oct. 29)
22. Arizona State (17) - lost to Oregon; Next: vs. Colorado (Oct. 29)
23. Washington (25) - beat Colorado 52-24; Next: at Stanford
24. Georgia Tech (18) - lost to Virginia; Next: at Miami
25. Texas (24) - lost to Oklahoma State; Next: vs. Kansas (Oct. 29)
Out: Illinois (16), Baylor (23)
Bubble: Illinois, Houston, USC, SMU, Penn State, Rutgers, Florida State, Cincinnati, Toledo
Comments
-Texas still a top 25 team after giving Oklahoma State a good challenge and holding them under 300 yards passing.
-Penn State needs some wins over Northwestern and Illinois to crack the Top 25
-Houston is a few ranked teams losing away from cracking the Top 25
-Auburn is back into the rankings. They're up and down but getting better.
-West Virginia at No. 11 is the Big Eats's only hope of staying relevant
-Georgia Tech's improvements on defense keeps them in the top 25 although I always say they're overrated
-Stanford's resume not as strong as Oklahoma State/Wisconsin. They haven't played anybody.
Here's the new BCS Standings: Click Here
The top ten is: 1. LSU 2. Alabama 3. Oklahoma 4. Oklahoma State 5. Boise State 6. Wisconsin 7. Clemson 8. Stanford 9. Arkansas 10. Oregon.
To me, the right teams are in the top ten, just not in the correct order.
Of course, everyone's already talking about the de fact "Plus One Playoff" we have waiting to happen with LSU, Alabama, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State being the top four. LSU and Alabama play each other on Nov. 5 and Oklahoma and Oklahoma State will meet in Bedlam. The winners will end up meeting for the national championship game. In other words, what a boring year in the BCS and people are going to say once again the BCS works.
Does the BCS really work? Not a chance. Oklahoma State is no where near the No. 4 team in the nation. Boise State and Wisconsin will go undefeated (and we could have Stanford and Clemson undefeated too) and they're all better than Oklahoma State. So why does Oklahoma State get to participate in this "de facto Playoff."
It's also worth noting that Wisconsin is ranked No. 6 behind Boise State but expect that to change in the next two weeks. Boise State's schedule is light the rest of the way and so is Wisconsin's but they do have two ranked opponents, Michigan State and Penn State, left to boost their resume and strength and schedule.
Either way, Boise State can go 12-0 and be left out of the national championship game. If the computers don't do it, the human voters will because they've been dropping Boise State every week. Seriously, Boise State beats Colorado State 63-13 and sets a school record in total yards and drops in the rankings. If that was Oklahoma (the BCS's darling), they would've jumped 25 spots to No. 1.
Outside of the BCS Top Ten is Kansas State at No. 11. Yes, Kansas State. Yes, what a joke. K-State's average computer ranking is No. 7. Their highest is No. 6 and lowest is No. 10. Are you kidding me? I can't wait until Kansas State plays Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and Texas A&M and gets blown out by 40 points.
For the most part, the rest of the BCS Standings look pretty good, Nos. 12-25. But that part always looks good, right? Because the rest of the BCS outside the top 15 doesn't really matter. Exactly.
Some slight surprises are Houston at No. 19 (got a lot of help from the computers with a No. 11 ranking), Penn State at No. 21 (thanks to strength of schedule and not losing to Iowa) and Texas in at No. 24 despite losing two straight and being dropped in the human polls.
Of those three teams only Texas is a legitimate Top 25 team. (Yes, I'm a die-hard Texas fan. Yes, I kind of like Houston too. Yes, I go to Penn State. All three of these facts are irrelevant.)
Moving forward, LSU and Alabama are only separated by .0003 percent for the No. 1 or No. 2 spot. Again, it doesn't matter who's No. 1 or No. 2 since they'll play each other and settle it on the field, but that's interesting that Alabama gets the edge in the computers over LSU despite the schedule that LSU has played.
After Oklahoma at No. 3 comes the big dropoff. Oklahoma has .9301% BCS average while Oklahoma State at No. 4 is at .8568. That's a .0796 difference. And like I said, Oklahoma State should not be No. 4.
We could talk BCS all day, but we're not since it's been a long day already.
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This past weekend was costly for a lot of teams. Michigan, Georgia Tech and Illinois were all eliminated from the undefeated pool while South Carolina got by Mississippi State but not without the expense of its star running back Marcus Lattimore who is now out for the season with a torn knee ligament. Oregon suffered injuries for the second straight week. Last week is star running back LaMichael James and this time it was quarterback Darron Thomas.
For those returning from injury, Clemson's Tajh Boyd looked pretty darn good, especially in the second half, in that huge comeback to beat Maryland.
Clemson true freshman receiver Sammy Watkins set the school record with 345 all-purpose yards and had two huge touchdown catches in the third quarter and the 89-yard kick return score that put Clemson ahead for good in the 56-45 win. Just give Watkins the National Freshman of the Year award right now. Every week, he gets better and better.
But as you see, Maryland scored 45 against Clemson. All year I've talked about how bad Clemson's defense is until last week. Last week I talked about how Clemson's defense is gelling and it's pretty good now. I guess I spoke too soon. But what Maryland did was a lot of zone-read option with CJ Brown at quarterback and gashed Clemson in the running game, which is actually the strength of Clemson's defense. The Tigers defensive line was just too aggressive and that can be easily fixed in the future against a zone-read. The Tigers aren't ready to stop dreaming about being undefeated yet.
Speaking of undefeated, Kansas State is still undefeated. How does that happen? They've beaten Baylor, Missouri and Texas Tech. And scored a lot of points in those games too. Collin Klein used to be the laughing stock of the Big 12 as a wanna-be quarterback but now he is playing really really well, but at some point Kansas State has to lose right? Ranked No. 11 in the BCS is ridiculous. I'm not sold on K-State just yet despite how great of a coach Bill Snyder is.
Others I'm not completely sold on yet: Oklahoma State. Texas moved the ball all too well against the Pokes. Oklahoma State's offense will help win a lot of games but when it comes down to facing the better offenses, Oklahoma State's defense needs to step it up. Oh hey, what a coincidence, they play a better offense this week: Missouri. On the road. Missouri just crushed Iowa State 52-17 in a statement game with quarterback James Franklin (while Vanderbilt's coach James Franklin almost fought Georgia coach Mark Richt) had 373 total yards and five total touchdowns. Columbia, Missouri is where the Tigers knocked off then-No. 1 Oklahoma the week after the BCS Standings came out last year. Can Missouri do it to Oklahoma State this year?
Also looking ahead on the schedule is LSU hosting No. 20 Auburn Saturday and Alabama hosting Tennessee. This is the last game for both teams before they collide with each other on Nov. 5 as they'll both get bye weeks.
Getting bye weeks at the right time this week are Florida and South Carolina. Carolina needs to figure out how to replace Marcus Lattimore's production while Florida just lost its third straight as the big rivalry against Georgia up next where they hope the extra week off will get John Brantley back on the field.
And one last thing before we get to my new rankings, how bad was the Big East this week? I'm glad I didn't watch any of these games.
Pittsburgh got manhandled by Utah, the same Utah team whose coach said his team wasn't physical enough or big enough. I guess that means Pittsburgh isn't either.
Cincinnati and Louisville played maybe the ugliest Big East game so far this year. Cincy lost a lot of style points.
Rutgers survived by one point against Navy.
And well, South Florida lost...to....UConn. UConn scored 10 points off four South Florida turnovers to win 16-10 but here is UConn's last 5 drives in the second half and I remind you that they won: Fumble Return for Touchdown. Punt. Punt. Punt. Punt. Yeah, that sounds about right.
So here's My New College Football Top 25.
And I warn you, it doesn't look like the BCS Standings.
Last week's rankings
My Method: Record/Resume, Eye Test, if they played today who would win.
1. LSU (1) - beat Tennessee 38-7; Next vs. Auburn
2. Alabama (2) - beat Ole Miss 52-7; Next: vs. Tennessee
3. Oklahoma (3) - beat Kansas 47-17; Next: vs. Texas Tech
4. Boise State (4) - beat Colorado State 63-13; Next: vs. Air Force
5. Wisconsin (6) - beat Indiana 59-7; Next: at Michigan State
6. Oklahoma State (7) - Texas 38-26; Next: at Missouri
7. Stanford (5) - beat Washington State 44-14; Next: vs. Washington
8. Clemson (10) - beat Maryland 56-45; Next: vs. North Carolina
9. Oregon (8) - beat Arizona State 41-27; Next: at Colorado
10. Arkansas (9) - off week; Next: at Ole Miss
11. West Virginia (11) - off week: Next: at Syracuse (Friday, Oct. 21)
12. Nebraska (13) - off week; Next: at Minnesota
13. Virginia Tech (14) - beat Wake Forest 38-17; Next vs. Boston College
14. South Carolina (15) - beat Mississippi State 14-12; Next: at Tennessee (Oct. 29)
15. Michigan State (21) - beat Michigan 28-14; Next: vs. Wisconsin
16. Texas A&M (19) - beat Baylor 55-28; Next: at Iowa State
17. Notre Dame (20) - off week: Next: vs. USC
18. Kansas State (22) - beat Texas Tech 41-34; Next: at Kansas
19. Michigan (12) - lost to Michigan State; Next: vs. Purdue (Oct. 29)
20. Auburn (NR) - beat Florida 14-6; Next: at LSU
21. Georgia (NR) - beat Vanderbilt 33-28; Next: vs. Florida (Oct. 29)
22. Arizona State (17) - lost to Oregon; Next: vs. Colorado (Oct. 29)
23. Washington (25) - beat Colorado 52-24; Next: at Stanford
24. Georgia Tech (18) - lost to Virginia; Next: at Miami
25. Texas (24) - lost to Oklahoma State; Next: vs. Kansas (Oct. 29)
Out: Illinois (16), Baylor (23)
Bubble: Illinois, Houston, USC, SMU, Penn State, Rutgers, Florida State, Cincinnati, Toledo
Comments
-Texas still a top 25 team after giving Oklahoma State a good challenge and holding them under 300 yards passing.
-Penn State needs some wins over Northwestern and Illinois to crack the Top 25
-Houston is a few ranked teams losing away from cracking the Top 25
-Auburn is back into the rankings. They're up and down but getting better.
-West Virginia at No. 11 is the Big Eats's only hope of staying relevant
-Georgia Tech's improvements on defense keeps them in the top 25 although I always say they're overrated
-Stanford's resume not as strong as Oklahoma State/Wisconsin. They haven't played anybody.
College Football Rankings after Week 6
One more week until the BCS Standings come out and there’s still a log jam with seven undefeated teams holding the top seven spots of the polls. Then there’s Clemson, Michigan, Illinois, Georgia Tech, Kansas State and Houston that are all undefeated. Which is the most surprising of that group: Georgia Tech? Michigan? Clemson? Kansas State? Houston?
Could Houston bust the BCS? Boise State and BYU were the preseason favorites to make some noise in a run for a BCS Bowl. BYU has since left the picture but there seems to be nothing stopping the Boise Bus.
Boise State rebounded from a non-Boise performance the week before against Nevada by destroying Fresno State 57-7 on Friday night. Geraldo Boldewijn, Boise’s 6-3 receiver, made his season debut after sitting out due to NCAA sanctions, and had some big touchdowns to add another weapon for Kellen Moore. The bigger storyline was Boise’s defense going against a Fresno State offense led by Derek Carr, the younger brother of David Carr. Boise did not allow an offensive touchdown. Fresno broke the shutout with a punt return late in the game.
As for Houston, the defense is why they’re not receiving any recognition. At 6-0, the Cougars might finally break into the Top 25 but haven’t showed they are a top 25 team yet. The win over UCLA looks blatantly bad now and Houston almost lost to Louisiana Tech and UTEP. The 56-3 win over East Carolina today was impressive and angered some Vegas betters for sure with the over/under but ECU shot itself in the foot too many times. Today was a fluke. Houston’s defense would never hold East Carolina to three points again.
Another impressive defense this weekend has to be Kansas State. I thought for sure that Missouri would prove it is the better team and finally hand Kansas State a loss. Instead, Kansas State’s defense gave a really good Missouri offense all kinds of fits and resulted in a 24-17 win and the Wildcats are still undefeated. Next, Kansas State gets Texas Tech so we’ll find out how good this defense really is, but so far they beat Baylor and Missouri.
But today wasn’t a great day for everybody. I’m a Texas fan so we can go ahead and refrain from discussing today’s Red River Rivalry. Oklahoma pummeled Texas 55-17, taking advantage of five Texas turnovers.
Texas was clearly dominated but it’s hard to judge just how good (or bad) they are because of the mistakes. I’d like to see both teams play a clean game and see the margin of victory for Oklahoma then. As if things couldn’t be worse for Texas, they get Oklahoma State next week.
By the way, just how bad is Arizona? Bad enough that Arizona lost its 10th game in a row to an FBS opponent. “Just how bad is Oregon State?” is the question we were asking a couple weeks ago, but well, Oregon State just beat Arizona.
Clemson won big over Boston College again but still not a great day for the Tigers. Clemson lost it’s star quarterback Tajh Boyd to a hip/leg injury. It’s unsure if Boyd will be ready to go next week at Maryland, which has “trap game” written all over it for the undefeated Clemson Tigers.
Speaking of Maryland, what happened to the Terps? Ever since the loss to West Virginia, the offense has disappeared. For the second time in three games, Maryland quarterback Danny O’Brien, with loads of talent and potential, was benched. But nothing came of that benching either as backup CJ Brown didn’t give Maryland the spark Randy Edsall wanted. The Terps have a good roster but sit at 2-3 and need to turn things around soon.
Also sitting at 2-3 is Florida State. Yes, FSU lost again, this time to Wake Forest. Are the Seminoles this bad or are they simply underachieving? It’s hard to tell but Jimbo Fisher is at a crossroads now where he might be losing command of his team if the ‘Noles can’t get things together soon.
Teams that are getting things together: Notre Dame, South Carolina, Georgia and Rutgers. Yes, I said Rutgers.
Rutgers is sitting at 4-1 with its lone loss being 24-22 to North Carolina. The Scarlet Knights just routed Pittsburgh 34-10 and have an overlooked offense and an underrated defense. Rutgers is my sleeper team in the Big East and soon they might be waking up.
South Carolina replaced Stephen Garcia with Connor Shaw today and what a day Shaw had going 26-of-39 for 311 yards and four touchdowns in the 54-3 win over Kentucky. Kentucky’s quarterbacks did their best job of doing the opposite of what Shaw did. Kentucky finished 4-of-20 for 17 yards and four interceptions.
Georgia is making noise again after beating Tennessee in Neyland Stadium, winning it’s fourth straight after back-to-back losses to Boise State and South Carolina to start the season. I still think Georgia is overrated, but it is fair to say they can win the SEC East. It is still wide open.
Let’s not forget about Notre Dame either. The Fighting Irish beat Air Force 59-33 and all of a sudden Notre Dame has a lot of opportunity to move up the rankings and compete for a BCS Bowl. It’s not over yet.
And with that, here is my New Top 25.
My College Football Top 25 After Week Six
Last Week's Rankings
1. LSU (1) – beat Florida 41-11; Next: at Tennessee
2. Alabama (2) – beat Vanderbilt 34-0; Next: at Ole Miss
3. Oklahoma (3) – beat Texas 55-17; Next: at Kansas
4. Boise State (5) – beat Fresno State 57-7; Next: at Colorado State
5. Stanford (6) – beat Colorado 48-7; Next: at Washington State
6. Wisconsin (4) – off week; Next: vs. Indiana
7. Oklahoma State (7) – beat Kansas 70-28; Next: at Texas
8. Oregon (8) – beat California 43-15; Next: vs. Arizona State
9. Arkansas (9) – beat Auburn 38-14; Next: at Ole Miss (Oct. 22)
10. Clemson (10) – beat Boston College 36-14; Next: at Maryland
11. West Virginia (12) – beat Connecticut 43-16; Next: at Syracuse (Oct. 21)
12. Michigan (14) – beat Northwestern 42-24; Next: at Michigan State
13. Nebraska (16) – beat Ohio State 34-27; Next: at Minnesota (Oct. 22)
14. Virginia Tech (15) – beat Miami 38-35; Next: at Wake Forest
15. South Carolina (20) – beat Kentucky 54-3; Next: at Mississippi State
16. Illinois (17) – beat Indiana 41-20; Next: vs. Ohio State
17. Arizona State (19) – beat Utah 35-14; Next: at Oregon
18. Georgia Tech (22) – beat Maryland 21-16; Next: at Virginia
19. Texas A&M (18) – beat Texas Tech 45-40; Next: vs. Baylor
20. Notre Dame (NR) – beat Air Force 59-33; Next: vs. USC (Oct. 22)
21. Michigan State (NR) – off week; Next: vs. Michigan
22. Kansas State (24) – beat Missouri 24-17; Next: at Texas Tech
23. Baylor (25) – beat Iowa State 49-26; Next: at Texas A&M
24. Texas (11) – lost to Oklahoma 55-17; Next: vs. Oklahoma State
25. Washington (NR) – off week; Next: vs. Colorado
Out: Florida, Florida State, Auburn
Bubble: Florida, Georgia, Houston, South Florida, SMU, North Carolina, Rutgers, Cincinnati, Wake Forest.
Comments
-It was good to see Boise State play a perfect game again after a tad bit of a struggle against Nevada even though they dominated that game. If Boise’s defense plays like it can and should, I like its chances over Wisconsin and Stanford.
-Wisconsin picked a bad week to have a bye week because while they were off, Boise State, Stanford and Oklahoma State were all more than impressive.
-Clemson has a “trap game” coming up in College Park against Maryland and might not have Tajh Boyd for that game.
-I’m still not convinced Georgia Tech and Michigan are for real.
-Washington hasn’t missed a beat without Jake Locker. Keith Price has been very good. Washington lost big to Nebraska as its only loss, but competed for four quarters.
-Texas will drop out if it loses to Oklahoma State this week but for now, the Longhorns have the potential to still be a top 25 team.
-Florida is another team that should stay in the Top 25 but lost two straight games – to Alabama and LSU. Florida and Texas both have really good defenses, but Texas’ offense has the edge right now. That’s why Texas is in and Florida is out.
-Washington and Rutgers have really good resumes.
-Houston is still out at 6-0. I don’t like to rank teams that don’t play defense, especially non-BCS teams that don’t play defense. East Carolina was a fluke.
-When will Kansas State lose? The Wildcats have a tough one against Texas Tech this week.
Could Houston bust the BCS? Boise State and BYU were the preseason favorites to make some noise in a run for a BCS Bowl. BYU has since left the picture but there seems to be nothing stopping the Boise Bus.
Boise State rebounded from a non-Boise performance the week before against Nevada by destroying Fresno State 57-7 on Friday night. Geraldo Boldewijn, Boise’s 6-3 receiver, made his season debut after sitting out due to NCAA sanctions, and had some big touchdowns to add another weapon for Kellen Moore. The bigger storyline was Boise’s defense going against a Fresno State offense led by Derek Carr, the younger brother of David Carr. Boise did not allow an offensive touchdown. Fresno broke the shutout with a punt return late in the game.
As for Houston, the defense is why they’re not receiving any recognition. At 6-0, the Cougars might finally break into the Top 25 but haven’t showed they are a top 25 team yet. The win over UCLA looks blatantly bad now and Houston almost lost to Louisiana Tech and UTEP. The 56-3 win over East Carolina today was impressive and angered some Vegas betters for sure with the over/under but ECU shot itself in the foot too many times. Today was a fluke. Houston’s defense would never hold East Carolina to three points again.
Another impressive defense this weekend has to be Kansas State. I thought for sure that Missouri would prove it is the better team and finally hand Kansas State a loss. Instead, Kansas State’s defense gave a really good Missouri offense all kinds of fits and resulted in a 24-17 win and the Wildcats are still undefeated. Next, Kansas State gets Texas Tech so we’ll find out how good this defense really is, but so far they beat Baylor and Missouri.
But today wasn’t a great day for everybody. I’m a Texas fan so we can go ahead and refrain from discussing today’s Red River Rivalry. Oklahoma pummeled Texas 55-17, taking advantage of five Texas turnovers.
Texas was clearly dominated but it’s hard to judge just how good (or bad) they are because of the mistakes. I’d like to see both teams play a clean game and see the margin of victory for Oklahoma then. As if things couldn’t be worse for Texas, they get Oklahoma State next week.
By the way, just how bad is Arizona? Bad enough that Arizona lost its 10th game in a row to an FBS opponent. “Just how bad is Oregon State?” is the question we were asking a couple weeks ago, but well, Oregon State just beat Arizona.
Clemson won big over Boston College again but still not a great day for the Tigers. Clemson lost it’s star quarterback Tajh Boyd to a hip/leg injury. It’s unsure if Boyd will be ready to go next week at Maryland, which has “trap game” written all over it for the undefeated Clemson Tigers.
Speaking of Maryland, what happened to the Terps? Ever since the loss to West Virginia, the offense has disappeared. For the second time in three games, Maryland quarterback Danny O’Brien, with loads of talent and potential, was benched. But nothing came of that benching either as backup CJ Brown didn’t give Maryland the spark Randy Edsall wanted. The Terps have a good roster but sit at 2-3 and need to turn things around soon.
Also sitting at 2-3 is Florida State. Yes, FSU lost again, this time to Wake Forest. Are the Seminoles this bad or are they simply underachieving? It’s hard to tell but Jimbo Fisher is at a crossroads now where he might be losing command of his team if the ‘Noles can’t get things together soon.
Teams that are getting things together: Notre Dame, South Carolina, Georgia and Rutgers. Yes, I said Rutgers.
Rutgers is sitting at 4-1 with its lone loss being 24-22 to North Carolina. The Scarlet Knights just routed Pittsburgh 34-10 and have an overlooked offense and an underrated defense. Rutgers is my sleeper team in the Big East and soon they might be waking up.
South Carolina replaced Stephen Garcia with Connor Shaw today and what a day Shaw had going 26-of-39 for 311 yards and four touchdowns in the 54-3 win over Kentucky. Kentucky’s quarterbacks did their best job of doing the opposite of what Shaw did. Kentucky finished 4-of-20 for 17 yards and four interceptions.
Georgia is making noise again after beating Tennessee in Neyland Stadium, winning it’s fourth straight after back-to-back losses to Boise State and South Carolina to start the season. I still think Georgia is overrated, but it is fair to say they can win the SEC East. It is still wide open.
Let’s not forget about Notre Dame either. The Fighting Irish beat Air Force 59-33 and all of a sudden Notre Dame has a lot of opportunity to move up the rankings and compete for a BCS Bowl. It’s not over yet.
And with that, here is my New Top 25.
My College Football Top 25 After Week Six
Last Week's Rankings
1. LSU (1) – beat Florida 41-11; Next: at Tennessee
2. Alabama (2) – beat Vanderbilt 34-0; Next: at Ole Miss
3. Oklahoma (3) – beat Texas 55-17; Next: at Kansas
4. Boise State (5) – beat Fresno State 57-7; Next: at Colorado State
5. Stanford (6) – beat Colorado 48-7; Next: at Washington State
6. Wisconsin (4) – off week; Next: vs. Indiana
7. Oklahoma State (7) – beat Kansas 70-28; Next: at Texas
8. Oregon (8) – beat California 43-15; Next: vs. Arizona State
9. Arkansas (9) – beat Auburn 38-14; Next: at Ole Miss (Oct. 22)
10. Clemson (10) – beat Boston College 36-14; Next: at Maryland
11. West Virginia (12) – beat Connecticut 43-16; Next: at Syracuse (Oct. 21)
12. Michigan (14) – beat Northwestern 42-24; Next: at Michigan State
13. Nebraska (16) – beat Ohio State 34-27; Next: at Minnesota (Oct. 22)
14. Virginia Tech (15) – beat Miami 38-35; Next: at Wake Forest
15. South Carolina (20) – beat Kentucky 54-3; Next: at Mississippi State
16. Illinois (17) – beat Indiana 41-20; Next: vs. Ohio State
17. Arizona State (19) – beat Utah 35-14; Next: at Oregon
18. Georgia Tech (22) – beat Maryland 21-16; Next: at Virginia
19. Texas A&M (18) – beat Texas Tech 45-40; Next: vs. Baylor
20. Notre Dame (NR) – beat Air Force 59-33; Next: vs. USC (Oct. 22)
21. Michigan State (NR) – off week; Next: vs. Michigan
22. Kansas State (24) – beat Missouri 24-17; Next: at Texas Tech
23. Baylor (25) – beat Iowa State 49-26; Next: at Texas A&M
24. Texas (11) – lost to Oklahoma 55-17; Next: vs. Oklahoma State
25. Washington (NR) – off week; Next: vs. Colorado
Out: Florida, Florida State, Auburn
Bubble: Florida, Georgia, Houston, South Florida, SMU, North Carolina, Rutgers, Cincinnati, Wake Forest.
Comments
-It was good to see Boise State play a perfect game again after a tad bit of a struggle against Nevada even though they dominated that game. If Boise’s defense plays like it can and should, I like its chances over Wisconsin and Stanford.
-Wisconsin picked a bad week to have a bye week because while they were off, Boise State, Stanford and Oklahoma State were all more than impressive.
-Clemson has a “trap game” coming up in College Park against Maryland and might not have Tajh Boyd for that game.
-I’m still not convinced Georgia Tech and Michigan are for real.
-Washington hasn’t missed a beat without Jake Locker. Keith Price has been very good. Washington lost big to Nebraska as its only loss, but competed for four quarters.
-Texas will drop out if it loses to Oklahoma State this week but for now, the Longhorns have the potential to still be a top 25 team.
-Florida is another team that should stay in the Top 25 but lost two straight games – to Alabama and LSU. Florida and Texas both have really good defenses, but Texas’ offense has the edge right now. That’s why Texas is in and Florida is out.
-Washington and Rutgers have really good resumes.
-Houston is still out at 6-0. I don’t like to rank teams that don’t play defense, especially non-BCS teams that don’t play defense. East Carolina was a fluke.
-When will Kansas State lose? The Wildcats have a tough one against Texas Tech this week.
Top 25 after Week 5
We are two weeks away from the first release of the BCS Standings and a lot of discrepancies between the AP Poll, the USA Today Coaches' Poll, the Harris Poll and my personal rankings, the BCS couldn't come sooner to attempt to solve things about who is better than who in college football (they're so good at that, aren't they?).
While Oklahoma State and Oregon both had bye weeks, the top six teams all won in dominating fashion with LSU, Alabama and Wisconsin being the most impressive. Boise State's defense dominated Nevada allowing only 155 total yards but an off day from the Boise Bus offense cost them style points that will be crucial in the long run with teams like Wisconsin continuing to prove they're better than we think.
October 2, 2011
From last week's rankings, my teams ranked 9-13 all lost...all five of them. That creates a lot of shuffling and moving up and down in the rankings all those some of those losing teams have a right to still be in the top 15 while others proved they're not a top-tier team at this point in the season.
Virginia Tech can't find any consistency on offense with Logan Thomas, Florida lost quarterback John Brantley to injury, Nebraska still has issues on defense despite the loaded amount of talent and Taylor Martinez continues to regress rather than make progress, and Texas A&M has yet another fourth quarter collapse for the second week in the row drawing some concerns of that defense.
As much as everyone loves the flashy offenses and how many points you score every week for the rankings, I put a lot of stock into the defensive play of teams. If you're not a good defensive team, you're not getting ranked higher. Georgia Tech is a defense that really impressed again but I'm still not sold. Michigan is a bad defensive team that has played well lately and the other results around the nation have allowed Michigan to creep up the rankings, but how long will they stay there? Either way, new Defensive Coordinator Greg Mattison is taking that Michigan defense in the right direction.
Clemson's defense was outstanding in flustering Virginia Tech and all of a sudden Clemson is a top 10 team. All the Tigers needed was for the defense to come around and what was a shaky defense and the weak link of the team is starting to gel together and could become a strength. However, I still think Clemson is a year away from competing for the elite spot in the ACC so there has to be somewhere that Clemson falters on this schedule they have remaining. The obvious choice would be at Georgia Tech but don't be surprised if Clemson gets knocked off before then.
And with that...here is my New Top 25 after Week 5.
My College Footbal Top 25
(x) = my ranking for them last week1. LSU (1) - beat Kentucky 35-7; Next: vs. Florida
2. Alabama (2) - beat Florida 38-10; Next: vs. Vanderbilt
3. Oklahoma (3) - beat Ball State 62-6; Next: vs. Texas
4. Wisconsin (5) - beat Nebraska 48-17; Next: vs. Indiana (Oct. 15)
5. Boise State (4) - beat Nevada 30-10; Next: at Fresno State (Friday)
6. Stanford (6) - beat UCLA 45-19; Next: vs. Colorado
7. Oklahoma State (7) - off week; Next: vs. Kansas
8. Oregon (8) - off week; Next: vs. California (Thursday)
9. Arkansas (14) - beat Texas A&M 42-38; Next: vs. Auburn
10. Clemson (16) - beat Virginia Tech 23-3; Next: vs. Boston College
11. Texas (18) - beat Iowa State 37-14; Next: vs. Oklahoma
12. West Virginia (22) - beat Bowling Green 55-10; Next: vs. Connecticut
13. Florida (9) - lost to Alabama; Next: at LSU
14. Michigan (25) - beat Minnesota 58-0; Next: at Northwestern
15. Virginia Tech (12) - lost to Clemson; Next: vs. Miami
16. Nebraska (11) - lost to Wisconsin; Next: vs. Ohio State
17. Illinois (NR) - beat Northwestern 38-35; Next: at Indiana
18. Texas A&M (13) - lost to Arkansas; Next: at Texas Tech
19. Arizona State (20) - beat Oregon State 35-20; Next: at Utah
20. South Carolina (10) - lost to Auburn; Next: vs. Kentucky
21. Florida State (17) - off week; Next: at Wake Forest
22. Georgia Tech (NR) - beat NC State 45-35; Next: vs. Maryland
23. Auburn (NR) - beat South Carolina 16-13; Next: at Arkansas
24. Kansas State (NR) - beat Baylor 36-35; Next: vs. Missouri
25. Baylor (19) - lost to Kansas State; Next: vs. Iowa State
Dropped: South Florida (15), TCU (21), Michigan State (23), Ohio State (24)
Bubble: Notre Dame, Michigan State, Washington, Cincinnati, Houston, Georgia, Missouri, North Carolina, Pittsburgh
Notes:
-Big Ten teams, Michigan and Illinois, starting to make some noise.
-Auburn is overachieving after good wins over Mississippi State and South Carolina, still not a Top 20 by any means though.
-Texas has improved every week but hasn't really proved anything. Still think Florida, Virginia Tech, etc. are better than Texas. Texas' next two games against Oklahoma and Oklahoma State will set the tone for the rest of the season.
-South Carolina has a top ten roster, but a bottom five showing on the field almost every week.
-When will Clemson stumble?
A note from last week...go back and see my post, I wrote that Baylor would stumble soon. And the stumble came right away against Kansas State.
Why the Changes?
Clemson into the Top 10
Clemson has to wake up from this dream soon, right? I had Clemson as a fringe Top 25 team to start the season (ranked exactly at No. 28) and I know the Tigers are loaded with potential, but that potential is supposed to be a year away from developing into an ACC Title contender. The process has sped up and Clemson is into the top ten with an impressive resume so far with - not just wins, but convincing wins - over Auburn, Florida State and Virginia Tech.
Texas is BACK...in the top half of the rankings
Is Texas back as a national power? It's hard to tell right now, but the next two games will tell all for the Longhorns. Texas has clearly rebounded from the 5-7 record in 2010 and has improved every week, but Texas hasn't really proved anything on the field. How will the quarterbacks Case McCoy and David Ash fare when the heats gets turned up against bigger opponents? That will be the difference between a Top-10 Texas team and a Top 15-25 Texas team because the defense is there for Texas, the offense has to complete the team.
South Carolina needs a spark
Stephen Garcia has gone back to his 2009 form after a much improved 2010 season. 2009 Stephen Garcia is not going to take the Gamecocks anywhere, but a 2010 Stephen Garcia will. When the opponents stop Marcus Lattimore (which Auburn did) and it all falls on Garcia to make plays, he fails. As long as that's happening, South Carolina can't be among the nation's top-level teams despite the loaded roster.
9-13 all lose
That's the biggest reason for the drastic changes in these rankings like West Virginia and Michigan moving up 10 spots and South Carolina falling. Florida, South Carolina, Nebraska, Virginia Tech and Texas A&M were five teams in a row in the rankings that all lost that caused mass movement in the rankings.
The Newbies
Illinois is back in my Top 25 and this time even higher at No. 17. I had the Illini in at No. 24 two weeks ago before dropping them out last week despite the win. This time, Illinois had an awesome comeback win over Northwestern and these guys play hard and don't quit. At 5-0, it's hard to deny the Illini right now.
Georgia Tech debuts in my rankings after a 5-0 start to 2011. I'm still very skeptic of them because the offense can be slowed if a team has enough time to prepare and I know Al Groh has worked wonders in improving this defense but it's still the Georgia Tech defense of old. They do give up big plays and that's going to hurt them. Both polls have Georgia Tech ranked at No. 13. I don't think Georgia Tech is a Top 25 team but undefeated at this point in the season with other teams faltering gets them a spot for a week.
Auburn doesn't quit. This team was supposed to go 6-6 or 7-5 at best. Now they could go for 8 or 9 wins. They beat Mississippi State and South Carolina, two games they weren't supposed to win. There's no question the offense still has playmakers without Cam Newton, and they have Gus Malzahn calling the plays, but the Auburn defense grew up fast against South Carolina. Was it just a fluke? They get Arkansas now so Auburn can either surprise again or enjoy a short stay in the rankings.Kansas State? Kansas State? Wait...Kansas State? The Wildcats will get a test as they play Missouri next but what a job Bill Snyder has done this year with Kansas State leading them to wins over Miami and Baylor.
Who's Too High?
This would have to be Texas. The Longhorns are rejuvenated and seeking redemption from 2010 but they haven't proved anything other than that they're not going to go 5-7 in 2011. They have improved each week but haven't shown they're back among the national powers. The next two weeks against Oklahoma and Oklahoma State will bring truth.Clemson might be too high too but they've built a great resume. Texas' best win? BYU.
Who's Too Low?
South Carolina still has a load of a talent. They just need someone to provide a spark to this team. With the tiebreaker over Georgia and Florida still on the schedule, Carolina still controls its own destiny in the SEC East. This team looked like a mess against a decent Auburn team and have convincing wins this year yet you can't deny the talent on the roster.
While Oklahoma State and Oregon both had bye weeks, the top six teams all won in dominating fashion with LSU, Alabama and Wisconsin being the most impressive. Boise State's defense dominated Nevada allowing only 155 total yards but an off day from the Boise Bus offense cost them style points that will be crucial in the long run with teams like Wisconsin continuing to prove they're better than we think.
October 2, 2011
From last week's rankings, my teams ranked 9-13 all lost...all five of them. That creates a lot of shuffling and moving up and down in the rankings all those some of those losing teams have a right to still be in the top 15 while others proved they're not a top-tier team at this point in the season.
Virginia Tech can't find any consistency on offense with Logan Thomas, Florida lost quarterback John Brantley to injury, Nebraska still has issues on defense despite the loaded amount of talent and Taylor Martinez continues to regress rather than make progress, and Texas A&M has yet another fourth quarter collapse for the second week in the row drawing some concerns of that defense.
As much as everyone loves the flashy offenses and how many points you score every week for the rankings, I put a lot of stock into the defensive play of teams. If you're not a good defensive team, you're not getting ranked higher. Georgia Tech is a defense that really impressed again but I'm still not sold. Michigan is a bad defensive team that has played well lately and the other results around the nation have allowed Michigan to creep up the rankings, but how long will they stay there? Either way, new Defensive Coordinator Greg Mattison is taking that Michigan defense in the right direction.
Clemson's defense was outstanding in flustering Virginia Tech and all of a sudden Clemson is a top 10 team. All the Tigers needed was for the defense to come around and what was a shaky defense and the weak link of the team is starting to gel together and could become a strength. However, I still think Clemson is a year away from competing for the elite spot in the ACC so there has to be somewhere that Clemson falters on this schedule they have remaining. The obvious choice would be at Georgia Tech but don't be surprised if Clemson gets knocked off before then.
And with that...here is my New Top 25 after Week 5.
My College Footbal Top 25
(x) = my ranking for them last week1. LSU (1) - beat Kentucky 35-7; Next: vs. Florida
2. Alabama (2) - beat Florida 38-10; Next: vs. Vanderbilt
3. Oklahoma (3) - beat Ball State 62-6; Next: vs. Texas
4. Wisconsin (5) - beat Nebraska 48-17; Next: vs. Indiana (Oct. 15)
5. Boise State (4) - beat Nevada 30-10; Next: at Fresno State (Friday)
6. Stanford (6) - beat UCLA 45-19; Next: vs. Colorado
7. Oklahoma State (7) - off week; Next: vs. Kansas
8. Oregon (8) - off week; Next: vs. California (Thursday)
9. Arkansas (14) - beat Texas A&M 42-38; Next: vs. Auburn
10. Clemson (16) - beat Virginia Tech 23-3; Next: vs. Boston College
11. Texas (18) - beat Iowa State 37-14; Next: vs. Oklahoma
12. West Virginia (22) - beat Bowling Green 55-10; Next: vs. Connecticut
13. Florida (9) - lost to Alabama; Next: at LSU
14. Michigan (25) - beat Minnesota 58-0; Next: at Northwestern
15. Virginia Tech (12) - lost to Clemson; Next: vs. Miami
16. Nebraska (11) - lost to Wisconsin; Next: vs. Ohio State
17. Illinois (NR) - beat Northwestern 38-35; Next: at Indiana
18. Texas A&M (13) - lost to Arkansas; Next: at Texas Tech
19. Arizona State (20) - beat Oregon State 35-20; Next: at Utah
20. South Carolina (10) - lost to Auburn; Next: vs. Kentucky
21. Florida State (17) - off week; Next: at Wake Forest
22. Georgia Tech (NR) - beat NC State 45-35; Next: vs. Maryland
23. Auburn (NR) - beat South Carolina 16-13; Next: at Arkansas
24. Kansas State (NR) - beat Baylor 36-35; Next: vs. Missouri
25. Baylor (19) - lost to Kansas State; Next: vs. Iowa State
Dropped: South Florida (15), TCU (21), Michigan State (23), Ohio State (24)
Bubble: Notre Dame, Michigan State, Washington, Cincinnati, Houston, Georgia, Missouri, North Carolina, Pittsburgh
Notes:
-Big Ten teams, Michigan and Illinois, starting to make some noise.
-Auburn is overachieving after good wins over Mississippi State and South Carolina, still not a Top 20 by any means though.
-Texas has improved every week but hasn't really proved anything. Still think Florida, Virginia Tech, etc. are better than Texas. Texas' next two games against Oklahoma and Oklahoma State will set the tone for the rest of the season.
-South Carolina has a top ten roster, but a bottom five showing on the field almost every week.
-When will Clemson stumble?
A note from last week...go back and see my post, I wrote that Baylor would stumble soon. And the stumble came right away against Kansas State.
Why the Changes?
Clemson into the Top 10
Clemson has to wake up from this dream soon, right? I had Clemson as a fringe Top 25 team to start the season (ranked exactly at No. 28) and I know the Tigers are loaded with potential, but that potential is supposed to be a year away from developing into an ACC Title contender. The process has sped up and Clemson is into the top ten with an impressive resume so far with - not just wins, but convincing wins - over Auburn, Florida State and Virginia Tech.
Texas is BACK...in the top half of the rankings
Is Texas back as a national power? It's hard to tell right now, but the next two games will tell all for the Longhorns. Texas has clearly rebounded from the 5-7 record in 2010 and has improved every week, but Texas hasn't really proved anything on the field. How will the quarterbacks Case McCoy and David Ash fare when the heats gets turned up against bigger opponents? That will be the difference between a Top-10 Texas team and a Top 15-25 Texas team because the defense is there for Texas, the offense has to complete the team.
South Carolina needs a spark
Stephen Garcia has gone back to his 2009 form after a much improved 2010 season. 2009 Stephen Garcia is not going to take the Gamecocks anywhere, but a 2010 Stephen Garcia will. When the opponents stop Marcus Lattimore (which Auburn did) and it all falls on Garcia to make plays, he fails. As long as that's happening, South Carolina can't be among the nation's top-level teams despite the loaded roster.
9-13 all lose
That's the biggest reason for the drastic changes in these rankings like West Virginia and Michigan moving up 10 spots and South Carolina falling. Florida, South Carolina, Nebraska, Virginia Tech and Texas A&M were five teams in a row in the rankings that all lost that caused mass movement in the rankings.
The Newbies
Illinois is back in my Top 25 and this time even higher at No. 17. I had the Illini in at No. 24 two weeks ago before dropping them out last week despite the win. This time, Illinois had an awesome comeback win over Northwestern and these guys play hard and don't quit. At 5-0, it's hard to deny the Illini right now.
Georgia Tech debuts in my rankings after a 5-0 start to 2011. I'm still very skeptic of them because the offense can be slowed if a team has enough time to prepare and I know Al Groh has worked wonders in improving this defense but it's still the Georgia Tech defense of old. They do give up big plays and that's going to hurt them. Both polls have Georgia Tech ranked at No. 13. I don't think Georgia Tech is a Top 25 team but undefeated at this point in the season with other teams faltering gets them a spot for a week.
Auburn doesn't quit. This team was supposed to go 6-6 or 7-5 at best. Now they could go for 8 or 9 wins. They beat Mississippi State and South Carolina, two games they weren't supposed to win. There's no question the offense still has playmakers without Cam Newton, and they have Gus Malzahn calling the plays, but the Auburn defense grew up fast against South Carolina. Was it just a fluke? They get Arkansas now so Auburn can either surprise again or enjoy a short stay in the rankings.Kansas State? Kansas State? Wait...Kansas State? The Wildcats will get a test as they play Missouri next but what a job Bill Snyder has done this year with Kansas State leading them to wins over Miami and Baylor.
Who's Too High?
This would have to be Texas. The Longhorns are rejuvenated and seeking redemption from 2010 but they haven't proved anything other than that they're not going to go 5-7 in 2011. They have improved each week but haven't shown they're back among the national powers. The next two weeks against Oklahoma and Oklahoma State will bring truth.Clemson might be too high too but they've built a great resume. Texas' best win? BYU.
Who's Too Low?
South Carolina still has a load of a talent. They just need someone to provide a spark to this team. With the tiebreaker over Georgia and Florida still on the schedule, Carolina still controls its own destiny in the SEC East. This team looked like a mess against a decent Auburn team and have convincing wins this year yet you can't deny the talent on the roster.
Top 25 after Week 4
September 25, 2011
It's almost time for the rankings to start mattering as most teams head into conference play. The top six is pretty much solid, it's the rest of the top ten that is hard to figure out. There might be a surprise top ten team in my rankings and that team might be top ten in the future or maybe I have them ranked way too high but right now I don't see a better team than then for that spot in the rankings. Of course, that's why the rankings aren't so important right now until we let the season play out a little more but for now, I have room for them in the top ten. Next week, this team has a huge game that will certainly drop them out of the top ten and put them back into reality's perspective or vault them higher up. Find out who below.
My College Football Top 25
Last Week's Top 25
1. LSU (1) - beat West Virginia 47-21; Next: vs. Kentucky
2. Alabama (2) - beat Arkansas 38-14; Next: at Florida
3. Oklahoma (3) - beat Missouri 38-28; Next: vs. Ball State
4. Boise State (4) - beat Tulsa 41-21; Next: vs. Nevada
5. Wisconsin (5) - beat South Dakota 59-10; Next: vs. Nebraska
6. Stanford (6) - had a bye; Next: vs. UCLA
7. Oklahoma State (8) - beat Texas A&M 30-29; Next: vs. Kansas (Oct. 8)
8. Oregon (10) - beat Arizona 56-31; Next: vs. California (Oct. 6)
9. Florida (13) - beat Kentucky 48-10; Next: vs. Alabama
10. South Carolina (12) - beat Vanderbilt 21-3; Next: vs. Auburn
11. Nebraska (14) - beat Wyoming 38-14; Next: at Wisconsin
12. Virginia Tech (15) - beat Marshall 30-10; Next: vs. Clemson
13.Texas A&M (7) - lost to Oklahoma State; Next: vs. Arkansas
14. Arkansas (11) - lost to Alabama; Next: vs. Texas A&M
15. South Florida (17) - beat UTEP 52-24; Next: at Pittsburgh
16. Clemson (20) - beat Florida State 35-30; Next: at Virginia Tech
17. Florida State (9) - lost to Clemson; Next: at Wake Forest (Oct. 8)
18. Texas (18) - had a bye week; Next: at Iowa State
19. Baylor (21) - beat Rice 56-31; Next: at Kansas State
20. Arizona State (24) - beat USC 43-22; Next: vs. Oregon State
21. TCU (22) - beat Portland State 55-13; Next: vs. SMU
22. West Virginia (16) - lost to LSU; Next: vs. Bowling Green
23. Michigan State (NR) - beat Central Michigan 45-7; Next: at Ohio State
24. Ohio State (NR) - beat Colorado 37-17; Next: vs. Michigan State
25. Michigan (NR) - beat San Diego State 28-7; Next: vs. Minnesota
Dropped: USC, Illinois, North Carolina
Bubble: Illinois, Utah, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Houston, Cincinnati, North Carolina, Missouri
Notes:
South Florida may be too high at No. 15. I still think West Virginia is the favorite in the Big East and better than the Bulls.
Florida State did not have EJ Manuel at quarterback, Greg Reid at corner and lost Brandon Jenkins in the first half against Clemson. It could have been a different game and Florida State could be the better team but Clemson has more offensive playmakers and a more balanced offense. Florida State needs Manuel to be good and healthy and is still searching for a running game.
Baylor is a team I'm waiting to stumble somewhere. I know the Bears have Robert Griffin and Kendal Wright but I can't picture them being anything more than a Top 25 team.
For those who didn't bother to watch Boise State or turned it off at halftime, remember the Broncos were up 34-0 and then Tulsa scored those meaningless points when Boise State was deep in the depth chart with the game in hand. Don't judge the Broncos by the final score and boxscore which is what is done too many times with a lot of teams.
Why the Changes?
Florida into the top ten ahead of South Carolina
All the Florida Gators have done this season in year one under Will Muschamp is win impressively, including the last two in SEC play over Tennessee and Kentucky. The Gators played a complete game every time they stepped onto the field and the top five ranked teams are the only other teams that I can say that about. South Carolina has found ways to win but has been shaky and John Brantley is clearly better than Stephen Garcia right now. South Carolina might be losing its edge in the SEC East as Florida emerges.
Arkansas stumbles but doesn't fall
It looked like a rout that Alabama had over Arkansas but until the end it really wasn't. Yes, Arkansas's offenisve line could do nothing against Alabama's defense and Tyler Wilson got beat up but Alabama scored three non-offensive touchdowns. If you take those out of the equation, it's only a 17-14 win. Arkansas hung around and they're still much better than some of the teams that will be ranked ahead of them but for now stumbling a few spots down to 14 is very reasonable for the Razorbacks rather than falling five or six spots.
Illinois out despite winning
Illinois is off to their best start since 1951 by being 4-0 right now but they've played Arkansas State, South Dakota State and now Western Michigan. The Illini had a good three-point win over Arizona State last week but the Sun Devils beat themselves rather than Illinois winning and this week the Illini struggled to get by Western Michigan.
The Newbies
Michigan State and Ohio State are both back into the Top 25 after falling out last week and ironically now they play each other this week so one of them will have a very short stay in the rankings. Michigan State has more weapons on offense and the better defense but Ohio State should be coming around pretty soon now that Braxton Miller has been given the keys to the offense full-time. Both are top 25 teams, and could move much higher as the season progresses. It's good for college football to have them back.
Michigan is the team I left out in favor of Illinois last week because of the gap between the defenses of Illinois and Michigan. I don't like to rank teams with miserable defenses like Michigan has but the Wolverines are 4-0 and have beat Notre Dame and held San Diego State to just seven points. That's a much more impressive resume than any other under-the-radar undefeated team right now.
Who's Too High?
You could say Florida while I say Nebraska. I'm not sure Nebraska is a good football team at all. The defense has been exposed at times and there's no passing game in the offense. Taylor Martinez is an improved quarterback but he doesn't have consistent weapons to throw to. Nebraska will ride its running game as long as it can and hope the defense wins them games, but soon they will falter and it could be this week in Wisconsin.
Who's Too Low?
This has to be Michigan State which returns more than half its starters on both sides of the ball from last year's team that went 11-2. It's duly noted that the only good opponent Michigan State faced in Notre Dame, they were dominated but the Spartans have so many weapons and just need the running game to get established like it was last season and Kirk Cousins is going through a funk right now that he's bound to get out of eventually, soon infact and they're going to need that against Ohio State this weekend.
It's almost time for the rankings to start mattering as most teams head into conference play. The top six is pretty much solid, it's the rest of the top ten that is hard to figure out. There might be a surprise top ten team in my rankings and that team might be top ten in the future or maybe I have them ranked way too high but right now I don't see a better team than then for that spot in the rankings. Of course, that's why the rankings aren't so important right now until we let the season play out a little more but for now, I have room for them in the top ten. Next week, this team has a huge game that will certainly drop them out of the top ten and put them back into reality's perspective or vault them higher up. Find out who below.
My College Football Top 25
Last Week's Top 25
1. LSU (1) - beat West Virginia 47-21; Next: vs. Kentucky
2. Alabama (2) - beat Arkansas 38-14; Next: at Florida
3. Oklahoma (3) - beat Missouri 38-28; Next: vs. Ball State
4. Boise State (4) - beat Tulsa 41-21; Next: vs. Nevada
5. Wisconsin (5) - beat South Dakota 59-10; Next: vs. Nebraska
6. Stanford (6) - had a bye; Next: vs. UCLA
7. Oklahoma State (8) - beat Texas A&M 30-29; Next: vs. Kansas (Oct. 8)
8. Oregon (10) - beat Arizona 56-31; Next: vs. California (Oct. 6)
9. Florida (13) - beat Kentucky 48-10; Next: vs. Alabama
10. South Carolina (12) - beat Vanderbilt 21-3; Next: vs. Auburn
11. Nebraska (14) - beat Wyoming 38-14; Next: at Wisconsin
12. Virginia Tech (15) - beat Marshall 30-10; Next: vs. Clemson
13.Texas A&M (7) - lost to Oklahoma State; Next: vs. Arkansas
14. Arkansas (11) - lost to Alabama; Next: vs. Texas A&M
15. South Florida (17) - beat UTEP 52-24; Next: at Pittsburgh
16. Clemson (20) - beat Florida State 35-30; Next: at Virginia Tech
17. Florida State (9) - lost to Clemson; Next: at Wake Forest (Oct. 8)
18. Texas (18) - had a bye week; Next: at Iowa State
19. Baylor (21) - beat Rice 56-31; Next: at Kansas State
20. Arizona State (24) - beat USC 43-22; Next: vs. Oregon State
21. TCU (22) - beat Portland State 55-13; Next: vs. SMU
22. West Virginia (16) - lost to LSU; Next: vs. Bowling Green
23. Michigan State (NR) - beat Central Michigan 45-7; Next: at Ohio State
24. Ohio State (NR) - beat Colorado 37-17; Next: vs. Michigan State
25. Michigan (NR) - beat San Diego State 28-7; Next: vs. Minnesota
Dropped: USC, Illinois, North Carolina
Bubble: Illinois, Utah, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Houston, Cincinnati, North Carolina, Missouri
Notes:
South Florida may be too high at No. 15. I still think West Virginia is the favorite in the Big East and better than the Bulls.
Florida State did not have EJ Manuel at quarterback, Greg Reid at corner and lost Brandon Jenkins in the first half against Clemson. It could have been a different game and Florida State could be the better team but Clemson has more offensive playmakers and a more balanced offense. Florida State needs Manuel to be good and healthy and is still searching for a running game.
Baylor is a team I'm waiting to stumble somewhere. I know the Bears have Robert Griffin and Kendal Wright but I can't picture them being anything more than a Top 25 team.
For those who didn't bother to watch Boise State or turned it off at halftime, remember the Broncos were up 34-0 and then Tulsa scored those meaningless points when Boise State was deep in the depth chart with the game in hand. Don't judge the Broncos by the final score and boxscore which is what is done too many times with a lot of teams.
Why the Changes?
Florida into the top ten ahead of South Carolina
All the Florida Gators have done this season in year one under Will Muschamp is win impressively, including the last two in SEC play over Tennessee and Kentucky. The Gators played a complete game every time they stepped onto the field and the top five ranked teams are the only other teams that I can say that about. South Carolina has found ways to win but has been shaky and John Brantley is clearly better than Stephen Garcia right now. South Carolina might be losing its edge in the SEC East as Florida emerges.
Arkansas stumbles but doesn't fall
It looked like a rout that Alabama had over Arkansas but until the end it really wasn't. Yes, Arkansas's offenisve line could do nothing against Alabama's defense and Tyler Wilson got beat up but Alabama scored three non-offensive touchdowns. If you take those out of the equation, it's only a 17-14 win. Arkansas hung around and they're still much better than some of the teams that will be ranked ahead of them but for now stumbling a few spots down to 14 is very reasonable for the Razorbacks rather than falling five or six spots.
Illinois out despite winning
Illinois is off to their best start since 1951 by being 4-0 right now but they've played Arkansas State, South Dakota State and now Western Michigan. The Illini had a good three-point win over Arizona State last week but the Sun Devils beat themselves rather than Illinois winning and this week the Illini struggled to get by Western Michigan.
The Newbies
Michigan State and Ohio State are both back into the Top 25 after falling out last week and ironically now they play each other this week so one of them will have a very short stay in the rankings. Michigan State has more weapons on offense and the better defense but Ohio State should be coming around pretty soon now that Braxton Miller has been given the keys to the offense full-time. Both are top 25 teams, and could move much higher as the season progresses. It's good for college football to have them back.
Michigan is the team I left out in favor of Illinois last week because of the gap between the defenses of Illinois and Michigan. I don't like to rank teams with miserable defenses like Michigan has but the Wolverines are 4-0 and have beat Notre Dame and held San Diego State to just seven points. That's a much more impressive resume than any other under-the-radar undefeated team right now.
Who's Too High?
You could say Florida while I say Nebraska. I'm not sure Nebraska is a good football team at all. The defense has been exposed at times and there's no passing game in the offense. Taylor Martinez is an improved quarterback but he doesn't have consistent weapons to throw to. Nebraska will ride its running game as long as it can and hope the defense wins them games, but soon they will falter and it could be this week in Wisconsin.
Who's Too Low?
This has to be Michigan State which returns more than half its starters on both sides of the ball from last year's team that went 11-2. It's duly noted that the only good opponent Michigan State faced in Notre Dame, they were dominated but the Spartans have so many weapons and just need the running game to get established like it was last season and Kirk Cousins is going through a funk right now that he's bound to get out of eventually, soon infact and they're going to need that against Ohio State this weekend.
New Rankings after Week 3
September 18, 2011
This week, a dropped a personal record FIVE teams from my Top 25 and it could've easily been six. We've got some teams in the rankings now that are pretty much serving as "fill-ins" until the real Top 25 teams rebound from losses. The bottom of these rankings won't stand for long but it's always good to get these teams some recognition after a wild weekend of college football.
Oklahoma survived it's Road Test in Tallahassee with a 23-13 win over then-No. 5 Florida State. Boise State rolled in Toledo as did LSU in Starkville while Stanford pulled away from Arizona in Tucson in the second half. Oklahoma State and Tulsa had a 3:15am ET kickoff and even though Oklahoma State obviously was going to win, they still played well into the early morning. These Top 10 teams all survived Road Test Weekend.
Some other teams weren't as lucky like Ohio State, Michigan State, Arizona State and Auburn.
Two offenses came alive in Los Angeles as USC finally lit up the scoreboard in the Coliseum against Syracuse while Texas went to its home away from home in the Rose Bowl and scored 49 on UCLA with Case McCoy assuming the leadership at quarterback. Even late in the game when true freshman David Ash took over in mop-up duty, Garrett Gilbert didn't enter the game. It seems that Texas has moved on from the Garrett Gilbert Era that never lived up to the hype when he was the No. 1 quarterback recruit in the nation three years ago.
So here it is, the new Top 25.
Official Rankings
My College Football Top 25
(x) = previous ranking
1. LSU (2)
Beat Mississippi State 19-6
Next: at West Virginia
2. Alabama (3)
Beat North Texas 41-0
Next: vs. Arkansas
3. Oklahoma (1)
Beat Florida State 23-13
Next: vs. Missouri
4. Boise State (5)
Beat Toledo 40-15
Next: vs. Tulsa
5. Wisconsin (7)
Beat Northern Illinois 49-7
Next: vs. South Dakota
6. Stanford (6)
Beat Arizona 37-10
Next: at Arizona (Oct. 1)
7. Texas A&M (8)
Beat Idaho 37-7
Next: vs. Oklahoma State
8. Oklahoma State (10)
Beat Tulsa 59-33
Next: at Texas A&M
9. Florida State (4)
Lost to Oklahoma 23-13
Next: at Clemson
10. Oregon (11)
Beat Missouri State 56-7
Next: at Arizona
11. Arkansas (9)
Beat Troy 38-28
Next: at Alabama
12. South Carolina (14)
Beat Navy 24-21
Next: vs. Vanderbilt
13. Florida (18)
Beat Tennessee 33-23
Next: at Kentucky
14. Nebraska (12)
Beat Washington 51-38
Next: at Wyoming
15. Virginia Tech (13)
Beat Arkansas State 26-7
Next: at Marshall
16. West Virginia (17)
Beat Maryland 37-31
Next: vs. LSU
17. South Florida (21)
Beat Florida A&M 70-17
Next: vs. UTEP
18. TEXAS (20)
Beat UCLA 49-20
Next: at Iowa State (Oct. 1)
19. USC (22)
Beat Syracuse 38-17
Next: at Arizona State
20. Clemson (NR)
Beat Auburn 38-24
Next: vs. Florida State
21. Baylor (NR)
Beat Stephen F. Austin 49-0
Next: vs. Rice
22. TCU (NR)
Beat Louisiana-Monroe 38-17Next: vs. Portland State
23. Illinois (NR)
Beat Arizona State 17-14
Next: vs. Western Michigan
24. Arizona State (19)
Lost to Illnois 17-14
Next: vs. USC
25. North Carolina (NR)
Beat Virginia 28-17
Next: at Georgia Tech
Dropped: Ohio State, Michigan State, Central Florida, Auburn, Mississippi State
Bubble: Michigan, Mississippi State, Missouri, Michigan State, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Central Florida, Houston, Miami, Auburn, FIU
Why the Changes?
Shuffling the Top 3
I've shuffled the Top 3 again. There are three teams that are the most complete in the nation: LSU, Alabama, and Florida State. Yes, Oklahoma (the former No. 1) is not one of them. Yes, Oklahoma won, but Florida State found a way to lose. I didn't see the No. 1 team in the nation in Oklahoma Saturday night. The No. 1 teams I saw where LSU against Oregon in Week 1 and again in Week 3 and Alabama at Penn State in Week 2. Oklahoma was impressive against Tulsa, but that's Tulsa's defense.
LSU has two big wins over Alabama's one so they currently have the better resume and both have big games in Week 4. The two defenses are dominant, but LSU's receivers have a slight edge over Alabama's.
Florida moving up into the Top 15
The Gators are a scary, scary team. Will Muschamp keeps the intensity up and the team responds and Charlie Weiss has worked wonders with the offense. We didn't know before the season started if Florida would be an 8-4 team or a 10-2 team and right now they look like the 10-win team that has what it takes to reclaim the SEC East from South Carolina.
The Newbies
Clemson enters the Top 25 after it's domination of the second half over Auburn. But Auburn is the only quality win and the Tigers almost lost to Wofford in week two but the potential on paper is there for Clemson to challenge Florida State in the ACC.
Baylor has been ranked for a while in the official rankings but its defense has been my biggest concern. The defense will let Baylor down in a lot of games, but right now with everything else going on, Baylor should be ranked team.
TCU is back in the Top 25 but the 50 points it gave up to Baylor is still lingering in the back of my mind.
Illinois is win after a nice win over Arizona State although the Sun Devils beat themselves but the Illinois defense made impressive plays. AJ Jenkins torched Arizona State's secondary which should be scary when he gets to facing the Big Ten secondaries.
North Carolina doesn't wow you when you watch them but they're very consistent. Bryn Renner rebounded from a three interception performance against Rutgers (they still won) and there's playmakers on offense with Dwight Jones and Erik Highsmith. The North Carolina defense lost so much to the NFL but still has more NFL first round draft picks waiting to happen.
Who's Too High?
Clemson's only quality win is against Auburn and they avoided the upset against Wofford but on paper Clemson has the potential to shock a lot of teams. The offense is explosive now with new coordinator Chad Morris and QB Tajh Boyd and the defense makes plays. Clemson has a test hosting Florida State this weekend and then hit the road at Virginia Tech. We'll find out how good this Clemson team is in the next two weeks.
Who's Too Low?
I'm going to have to say Arizona State again even though they just lost to Illinois. This team has such a loaded roster that I'm very high on and the Illinois loss puts a big dent in it but the Sun Devils get USC next and that game will decide the Pac-12 South Division. Arizona State still has a lot of time to make noise although the dream undefeated season is over.
This week, a dropped a personal record FIVE teams from my Top 25 and it could've easily been six. We've got some teams in the rankings now that are pretty much serving as "fill-ins" until the real Top 25 teams rebound from losses. The bottom of these rankings won't stand for long but it's always good to get these teams some recognition after a wild weekend of college football.
Oklahoma survived it's Road Test in Tallahassee with a 23-13 win over then-No. 5 Florida State. Boise State rolled in Toledo as did LSU in Starkville while Stanford pulled away from Arizona in Tucson in the second half. Oklahoma State and Tulsa had a 3:15am ET kickoff and even though Oklahoma State obviously was going to win, they still played well into the early morning. These Top 10 teams all survived Road Test Weekend.
Some other teams weren't as lucky like Ohio State, Michigan State, Arizona State and Auburn.
Two offenses came alive in Los Angeles as USC finally lit up the scoreboard in the Coliseum against Syracuse while Texas went to its home away from home in the Rose Bowl and scored 49 on UCLA with Case McCoy assuming the leadership at quarterback. Even late in the game when true freshman David Ash took over in mop-up duty, Garrett Gilbert didn't enter the game. It seems that Texas has moved on from the Garrett Gilbert Era that never lived up to the hype when he was the No. 1 quarterback recruit in the nation three years ago.
So here it is, the new Top 25.
Official Rankings
My College Football Top 25
(x) = previous ranking
1. LSU (2)
Beat Mississippi State 19-6
Next: at West Virginia
2. Alabama (3)
Beat North Texas 41-0
Next: vs. Arkansas
3. Oklahoma (1)
Beat Florida State 23-13
Next: vs. Missouri
4. Boise State (5)
Beat Toledo 40-15
Next: vs. Tulsa
5. Wisconsin (7)
Beat Northern Illinois 49-7
Next: vs. South Dakota
6. Stanford (6)
Beat Arizona 37-10
Next: at Arizona (Oct. 1)
7. Texas A&M (8)
Beat Idaho 37-7
Next: vs. Oklahoma State
8. Oklahoma State (10)
Beat Tulsa 59-33
Next: at Texas A&M
9. Florida State (4)
Lost to Oklahoma 23-13
Next: at Clemson
10. Oregon (11)
Beat Missouri State 56-7
Next: at Arizona
11. Arkansas (9)
Beat Troy 38-28
Next: at Alabama
12. South Carolina (14)
Beat Navy 24-21
Next: vs. Vanderbilt
13. Florida (18)
Beat Tennessee 33-23
Next: at Kentucky
14. Nebraska (12)
Beat Washington 51-38
Next: at Wyoming
15. Virginia Tech (13)
Beat Arkansas State 26-7
Next: at Marshall
16. West Virginia (17)
Beat Maryland 37-31
Next: vs. LSU
17. South Florida (21)
Beat Florida A&M 70-17
Next: vs. UTEP
18. TEXAS (20)
Beat UCLA 49-20
Next: at Iowa State (Oct. 1)
19. USC (22)
Beat Syracuse 38-17
Next: at Arizona State
20. Clemson (NR)
Beat Auburn 38-24
Next: vs. Florida State
21. Baylor (NR)
Beat Stephen F. Austin 49-0
Next: vs. Rice
22. TCU (NR)
Beat Louisiana-Monroe 38-17Next: vs. Portland State
23. Illinois (NR)
Beat Arizona State 17-14
Next: vs. Western Michigan
24. Arizona State (19)
Lost to Illnois 17-14
Next: vs. USC
25. North Carolina (NR)
Beat Virginia 28-17
Next: at Georgia Tech
Dropped: Ohio State, Michigan State, Central Florida, Auburn, Mississippi State
Bubble: Michigan, Mississippi State, Missouri, Michigan State, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Central Florida, Houston, Miami, Auburn, FIU
Why the Changes?
Shuffling the Top 3
I've shuffled the Top 3 again. There are three teams that are the most complete in the nation: LSU, Alabama, and Florida State. Yes, Oklahoma (the former No. 1) is not one of them. Yes, Oklahoma won, but Florida State found a way to lose. I didn't see the No. 1 team in the nation in Oklahoma Saturday night. The No. 1 teams I saw where LSU against Oregon in Week 1 and again in Week 3 and Alabama at Penn State in Week 2. Oklahoma was impressive against Tulsa, but that's Tulsa's defense.
LSU has two big wins over Alabama's one so they currently have the better resume and both have big games in Week 4. The two defenses are dominant, but LSU's receivers have a slight edge over Alabama's.
Florida moving up into the Top 15
The Gators are a scary, scary team. Will Muschamp keeps the intensity up and the team responds and Charlie Weiss has worked wonders with the offense. We didn't know before the season started if Florida would be an 8-4 team or a 10-2 team and right now they look like the 10-win team that has what it takes to reclaim the SEC East from South Carolina.
The Newbies
Clemson enters the Top 25 after it's domination of the second half over Auburn. But Auburn is the only quality win and the Tigers almost lost to Wofford in week two but the potential on paper is there for Clemson to challenge Florida State in the ACC.
Baylor has been ranked for a while in the official rankings but its defense has been my biggest concern. The defense will let Baylor down in a lot of games, but right now with everything else going on, Baylor should be ranked team.
TCU is back in the Top 25 but the 50 points it gave up to Baylor is still lingering in the back of my mind.
Illinois is win after a nice win over Arizona State although the Sun Devils beat themselves but the Illinois defense made impressive plays. AJ Jenkins torched Arizona State's secondary which should be scary when he gets to facing the Big Ten secondaries.
North Carolina doesn't wow you when you watch them but they're very consistent. Bryn Renner rebounded from a three interception performance against Rutgers (they still won) and there's playmakers on offense with Dwight Jones and Erik Highsmith. The North Carolina defense lost so much to the NFL but still has more NFL first round draft picks waiting to happen.
Who's Too High?
Clemson's only quality win is against Auburn and they avoided the upset against Wofford but on paper Clemson has the potential to shock a lot of teams. The offense is explosive now with new coordinator Chad Morris and QB Tajh Boyd and the defense makes plays. Clemson has a test hosting Florida State this weekend and then hit the road at Virginia Tech. We'll find out how good this Clemson team is in the next two weeks.
Who's Too Low?
I'm going to have to say Arizona State again even though they just lost to Illinois. This team has such a loaded roster that I'm very high on and the Illinois loss puts a big dent in it but the Sun Devils get USC next and that game will decide the Pac-12 South Division. Arizona State still has a lot of time to make noise although the dream undefeated season is over.
Top 25 after Week 2
September 11, 2010
Note: Rankings are unofficial and not built off of any official college football polls.
Components of my rankings: 1a. Record 1b. Eye Test 2. Projection of if they played today, who would win?
My Top 25 after Week Two
(x) = my previous ranking
Last Week's Rankings
1. Oklahoma (1)
Next: at Florida State
2. LSU (2)
Beat Northwestern State 49-3
Next: at Mississippi State (Thursday)
3. Alabama (3)
Beat Penn State 27-11
Next: vs. North Texas
4. Florida State (4)
Beat Charleston Southern 62-10
Next: vs. Oklahoma
5. Boise State (5)
Next: at Toledo (Friday)
6. Stanford (6)
Beat Duke 44-14
Next: at Arizona
7. Wisconsin (8)
Beat Oregon State 35-0
Next: vs. Northern Illinois
8. Texas A&M (7)
Next: vs. Idaho
9. Arkansas (9)
Beat New Mexico 52-3
Next: vs. Troy
10. Oklahoma State (14)
Beat Arizona 37-14
Next: at Tulsa
11. Oregon (11)
Beat Nevada 69-20
Next: vs. Missouri State
12. Nebraska (10)
Beat Fresno State 42-29
Next: vs. Washington
13. Virginia Tech (12)
Beat East Carolina 17-10
Next: vs. Arkansas State
14. South Carolina (13)
Beat Georgia 45-42
Next: vs. Navy
15. Ohio State (15)
Beat Toledo 27-22
Next: at Miami
16. Michigan State (16)
Beat Florida Atlantic 44-0
Next: at Notre Dame
17. West Virginia (18)
Beat Norfolk State 55-12
Next: at Maryland
18. Florida (19)
Beat UAB 39-0
Next: vs. Tennessee
19. Arizona State (22)
Beat Missouri 37-30 (OT)
Next: at Illinois
20. Texas (20)
Beat BYU 17-16
Next: at UCLA
21. South Florida (24)
Beat Ball State 37-7
Next: vs. Florida A&M
22. USC (23)
Beat Utah 23-14
Next: vs. Syracuse
23. Central Florida (NR)
Beat Boston College 30-3
Next: at Florida International
24. Auburn (NR)
Beat Mississippi State 41-34
Next: at Clemson
25. Mississippi State (17)
Lost to Mississippi State 41-34
Next: vs. LSU
Dropped: Missouri (21), Penn State (25)
Bubble: Baylor, TCU, Missouri, Michigan, Tennessee, FIU, Houston, Maryland, Clemson, BYU
Bubbles Bursted: Iowa, Northern Illinois, Southern Miss, Georgia, Notre Dame
Why the Changes?
Oklahoma State into the Top 10
Oklahoma State is finally in my Top 10 after the defensive performance against Arizona on Thursday night. No doubt that Oklahoma State has one of the best offenses in the country but despite Arizona’s terrible offensive line, the defense prevented Arizona from scoring like they can. Nick Foles did move the ball which is still a concern for the Oklahoma State secondary that lost Johnny Thomas to ineligibility. Nebraska and Virginia Tech both struggled which opened up the No. 10 spot for Oklahoma State.
The Newbies
Auburn enters my Top 25 at No. 24. Yes, I’ve been saying that Auburn is a 6-6 team at best and shouldn’t be in the Top 25 and criticized the official rankings for putting Auburn in but now looking at the big picture and because of how early in the season it is, Auburn IS CURRENTLY a Top 25 team. Will they be later on? Probably not. The Tigers survival against Utah State and big win over Mississippi State make Auburn a Top 25 team at this moment, one that could probably beat some of the teams ahead of them like USC.
Central Florida never gets the respect they deserve. I have a history of giving non-AQ teams (in the past: Central Michigan, Northern Illinois, Houston) some love at the bottom of my rankings. This week the non-AQ love goes out to Central Florida who clobbered Boston College in Chestnut Hill 30-3. That was an upset I called but I thought it would be a 17-13 game. Instead UCF dominated. This defense is outstanding, remember they shut down Georgia in the Liberty Bowl last year? Central Florida can hang in there with a lot of other teams in the nation but has a tough road game at FIU coming up and then a tough C-USA slate, but this team had the best record in the state of Florida last year, don’t forget that.
Who’s too high?
At this moment it might be Nebraska at No. 12. They were almost upset by Fresno State and the score doesn’t indicate just how close that game was. Nebraska still needs to find an identity on offense and gel on defense. Once they get Alfonzo Dennard back, the defense should be better but right now, Nebraska might be a 15-22 caliber-team. Next week, they get a Holiday Bowl rematch with Washington at home.
Who’s too low?
Arizona State. Same pick as last week for me with the Sun Devils. This time I’ve moved them up to No. 19 but this is a team that could finish in the 12-15 range and maybe they belong there now. A lot more opportunities for Arizona State to pick up big wins but today they could be capable of beating South Carolina and Ohio State so they could make a case for that No. 14 spot.
A lot of huge games coming up in Week 3. I can't wait.
Components of my rankings: 1a. Record 1b. Eye Test 2. Projection of if they played today, who would win?
My Top 25 after Week Two
(x) = my previous ranking
Last Week's Rankings
1. Oklahoma (1)
Next: at Florida State
2. LSU (2)
Beat Northwestern State 49-3
Next: at Mississippi State (Thursday)
3. Alabama (3)
Beat Penn State 27-11
Next: vs. North Texas
4. Florida State (4)
Beat Charleston Southern 62-10
Next: vs. Oklahoma
5. Boise State (5)
Next: at Toledo (Friday)
6. Stanford (6)
Beat Duke 44-14
Next: at Arizona
7. Wisconsin (8)
Beat Oregon State 35-0
Next: vs. Northern Illinois
8. Texas A&M (7)
Next: vs. Idaho
9. Arkansas (9)
Beat New Mexico 52-3
Next: vs. Troy
10. Oklahoma State (14)
Beat Arizona 37-14
Next: at Tulsa
11. Oregon (11)
Beat Nevada 69-20
Next: vs. Missouri State
12. Nebraska (10)
Beat Fresno State 42-29
Next: vs. Washington
13. Virginia Tech (12)
Beat East Carolina 17-10
Next: vs. Arkansas State
14. South Carolina (13)
Beat Georgia 45-42
Next: vs. Navy
15. Ohio State (15)
Beat Toledo 27-22
Next: at Miami
16. Michigan State (16)
Beat Florida Atlantic 44-0
Next: at Notre Dame
17. West Virginia (18)
Beat Norfolk State 55-12
Next: at Maryland
18. Florida (19)
Beat UAB 39-0
Next: vs. Tennessee
19. Arizona State (22)
Beat Missouri 37-30 (OT)
Next: at Illinois
20. Texas (20)
Beat BYU 17-16
Next: at UCLA
21. South Florida (24)
Beat Ball State 37-7
Next: vs. Florida A&M
22. USC (23)
Beat Utah 23-14
Next: vs. Syracuse
23. Central Florida (NR)
Beat Boston College 30-3
Next: at Florida International
24. Auburn (NR)
Beat Mississippi State 41-34
Next: at Clemson
25. Mississippi State (17)
Lost to Mississippi State 41-34
Next: vs. LSU
Dropped: Missouri (21), Penn State (25)
Bubble: Baylor, TCU, Missouri, Michigan, Tennessee, FIU, Houston, Maryland, Clemson, BYU
Bubbles Bursted: Iowa, Northern Illinois, Southern Miss, Georgia, Notre Dame
Why the Changes?
Oklahoma State into the Top 10
Oklahoma State is finally in my Top 10 after the defensive performance against Arizona on Thursday night. No doubt that Oklahoma State has one of the best offenses in the country but despite Arizona’s terrible offensive line, the defense prevented Arizona from scoring like they can. Nick Foles did move the ball which is still a concern for the Oklahoma State secondary that lost Johnny Thomas to ineligibility. Nebraska and Virginia Tech both struggled which opened up the No. 10 spot for Oklahoma State.
The Newbies
Auburn enters my Top 25 at No. 24. Yes, I’ve been saying that Auburn is a 6-6 team at best and shouldn’t be in the Top 25 and criticized the official rankings for putting Auburn in but now looking at the big picture and because of how early in the season it is, Auburn IS CURRENTLY a Top 25 team. Will they be later on? Probably not. The Tigers survival against Utah State and big win over Mississippi State make Auburn a Top 25 team at this moment, one that could probably beat some of the teams ahead of them like USC.
Central Florida never gets the respect they deserve. I have a history of giving non-AQ teams (in the past: Central Michigan, Northern Illinois, Houston) some love at the bottom of my rankings. This week the non-AQ love goes out to Central Florida who clobbered Boston College in Chestnut Hill 30-3. That was an upset I called but I thought it would be a 17-13 game. Instead UCF dominated. This defense is outstanding, remember they shut down Georgia in the Liberty Bowl last year? Central Florida can hang in there with a lot of other teams in the nation but has a tough road game at FIU coming up and then a tough C-USA slate, but this team had the best record in the state of Florida last year, don’t forget that.
Who’s too high?
At this moment it might be Nebraska at No. 12. They were almost upset by Fresno State and the score doesn’t indicate just how close that game was. Nebraska still needs to find an identity on offense and gel on defense. Once they get Alfonzo Dennard back, the defense should be better but right now, Nebraska might be a 15-22 caliber-team. Next week, they get a Holiday Bowl rematch with Washington at home.
Who’s too low?
Arizona State. Same pick as last week for me with the Sun Devils. This time I’ve moved them up to No. 19 but this is a team that could finish in the 12-15 range and maybe they belong there now. A lot more opportunities for Arizona State to pick up big wins but today they could be capable of beating South Carolina and Ohio State so they could make a case for that No. 14 spot.
A lot of huge games coming up in Week 3. I can't wait.
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