It’s really amazing to see teams each week coming out and playing their hearts out with the passion and athleticism that, frankly, you just dont see in the pros. College Football is just where the best comes out. This weekend was no exception and we were treated to some upsets (with national title hopes implications) and good solid performances.
LSU proved that it deserved to be vaulted to the elite status, as they rallied to beat Florida, but give the Gators their due. In my mind these were truly 2 of the top 5 teams in the nation battling like heavyweights. Perhaps we’ll see them again in the SEC Championship?
USC finally let its balloon bust as they continued a downward spiral of play both offensively and defensively that started in Washington last week. Their National Title hopes are now gone. Texas, too, watched any hopes of a major bowl game disintegrate into the hot Texas sky as OU dominated late.
Wisconsin, as we’ve been hinting all along, finally went down HARD to Illinois, one of my favorite teams this year. I had said last week that Wisconsin has reminded me of Texas in that they were just trying to find a way to lose. Speaking of Texas, they are now gone from the Top 25 with a very unimpressive performance, and loss, against Oklahoma.
More and more it seems that the teams with the best fundamentals are going to win this year. And at the moment, there’s only ONE team..LSU. They ARE the best team and no one is close. With that, here’s the top 25:
1. LSU (6-0). Defeated Florida 28-24. Next week: At Kentucky.
Ok, so they proved finally against a worthy opponent that they are the #1. Fundamentals are the name of the game and when you have athletes with sound fundamentals and good coaching, there’s not much that can stand in the way.
2. California (5-0). Idle. Next week: Oregon St. at home.
Not much to say, except they didnt play and USC lost, so they move up. I dont really like these two for the National Championship tho.
3. Ohio State (6-0). Beat Purdue 23-8. Next Week: Kent State at home.
OSU pretty much the cream of the B10 and in control. Who can beat them? Illinois?
4. Boston College (6-0). Beat Bowling Green 55-24. Next Week: At Notre Dame.
I’m beginning to believe in the Golden Eagles. Their offense is averaging over 450 yards per game and Matt Ryan looks like a QB on a mission.
5. South Florida (5-0). beat Florida Atlantic 35-23. Next Week: Central Florida at home.
It wasn’t a real amazing week for the Bulls, but they played mediocre and still won against a rival. We’ll not punish them too much for that.
6. Oklahoma (5-1). Beat Texas 28-21. Next week: Missouri at home.
Well I’m surprised they are this high too, but with key losses in the bottom half of the top 10, OU kinda defaults here. Good solid effort against Texas, but there is vulnerability here.
7. Oregon (4-1). Idle. Next week: Washington St. at home
The Ducks didnt play but dropped due to other losses and OU winning. I’d love to see a rematch of OU-Oregon this year as opposed to last year.
8. Florida (4-2). Lost to LSU 28-24. Next week: Idle
No shame in barely losing to the top team in the nation on the road. I’m certainly NOT going to put them below these others. Florida really deserves to be higher cuz they played like it tonight.
9. South Carolina (5-1). Beat Kentucky 38-23. Next week: At No. Carolina.
The Gamecocks put together a great plan and executed terrific coaching in beating Kentucky. But with Tenn, Arkansas, Florida and Clemson, the road gets only harder.
10. West Virginia (5-1). Beat Syracuse 55-14. Next week: Idle.
Good comeback after a disappointment last week. The Mountaineers have a a great team they need to just concentrate and put it back together. This was a good start.
11. Hawaii (6-0). Defeated Utah St 52-37 Next week: At San Jose State.
The Warriors deserve to be ranked high with all the losses that occurred. I’m sure that the AP writers (idiots) and Coaches wont bother, but the fact is that they are undefeated and no one has come close to beating them. This week, in fact, they put up 52 pts with a backup QB!
12. Missouri (5-0). Defeated Nebraska 41-6. Next week: At Oklahoma.
The Tigers have very little time to revel in their pounding of B12 North foe Nebraska, since their next team is OU in Norman. Tough schedule. But congrats – excellent team victory here.
13. Va Tech (5-1). Defeated Clemson 41-23. Next week: At Duke.
The Hokies are gradually playing with more consistency, and managed some good offense against a tough Clemson group. I still worry about their offense coming out each game and playing hard.
14. Illinois (5-1). Defeated Wisconsin 31-26. Next week: At Iowa.
Statement made. Ron Zook’s team has made the segue into the higher echelon. Beating a tough Badger team was a testimony to how far this program has come! One of my favorite teams this year.
15. Kentucky (5-1). Lost to So. Carolina 38-23. Next Week: LSU at home.
Ouch, you get spanked on the road and then have to return home to play the #1 team in the nation? That really sucks – but oh well thats life in the top 15.
16. Wisconsin (5-1). Lost to Illinois 31-26. Next week: At Penn State.
A tough game for the Badgers, but they were just beat. It seems that they have been trying to get completely on track and hitting on all cylinders, but the wheels came off against a hot Illini team. They are still in the hunt so we wont write them off just yet.
17. Arizona St (6-0). Defeated Wash St. 23-20. Next Week: Washington at home.
You really can’t argue with anyone right now that’s undefeated being in the top 25. By the way dont look now, but Cal and Az St are tied for the Pac 10 lead. When has that happened?
18. Kansas (5-0). Defeated Kansas St 30-24. Next week: Baylor at home
From bubble to 18 is a big step, I admit. However if you look at what happened this week in the bottom 10, you’ll understand why. Also, I watched this game and think that Missouri-Kansas at the end of the year might be for the B12 North. But they have to get by a few others first. We’ll see.
19. Auburn (4-2). Defeated Vanderbilt 35-7. Next week: At Arkansas.
OK, so laugh at me that a 4-2 team is still in the top 25. Well, remember this isnt about record, but about how the team is playing. Since back-to-back losses at #5 South Florida and Ole Miss, the Tigers have strung together 3 straight wins including the upset last week against Florida.
20. USC (4-1). Lost to Stanford 24-23. Next week: Arizona at home.
We all just have to face it, that USC was on the cusp of a breakdown last week, and haven’t really gelled as a team this year as in the past. This week, they failed to make halftime adjustments to beat Stanford, a team that everyone has been pummeling. I don’t see USC in the top 25 at the end of the year.
21. Texas (4-2). Lost to Oklahoma 28-21. Next week: At Iowa State.
Sadly, the Longhorns put together their best game of the year and it wasn’t enough, so again with all the losses in the bottom here, you can’t drop them too far for losing to a top 10 team. However, it’s very questionable that Texas is around even HERE in a few weeks seeing that they still have to play Nebraska, Texas Tech, Texas A&M and Oklahoma State, all of which could beat them.
22. Cincinnati (6-0). Defeated Rutgers 28-23. Next Week: Louisville at home.
Very quietly, Cincy has joined the ranks of the “wow the oval ball is as fun as the round ball” club. The are undefeated in the Big East, tied with So Florida and of all people, UConn. Louisville could be a challenge next week.
23. Texas A&M (5-1). Defeated Oklahoma St. 24-23. Next week: At Texas Tech.
Well like it or not, A&M put together an impressive come back against a tough Oklahoma State bunch, and looked pretty good doing it. I hate their style of football, but fact is, Oklahoma might not be safe in the Big 12 South.
24. Indiana (5-1). Defeated Minnesota 40-20. Next Week: At Michigan State.
Ok its time we quit beating around the bush and invite the Hoosiers into the club. They are now just a much in the Big 10 hunt as just about anyone, and only 1 win away from bowl eligibility. In fact, their only loss was a close one against Illinois. Their remaining schedule also does NOT include Ohio State or Michigan. Hmm.
25. Texas Tech (5-1). Defeated Iowa State 42-18. Next week: Texas A&M at home.
Had all-world receiver Michael Crabtree been able to rake in a winning TD pass in the waning moments against Oklahoma State, the Red Raiders would have been in the T25 2 weeks ago. This week, I think they deserve mention. The system is one thing, but when you AVERAGE 52 points per game and almost 600 yards of total offense, you are doing very well, And dont look now, but since the Oklahoma St loss, the Tech defense has averaged giving up only 12 pts a game!
On the Bubble:
Colorado
Tennessee
Alabama
Dropping out: Georgia, Rutgers, Purdue, UCLA, Clemson, Nebraska
Most Impressive Teams: LSU, Missouri, South Carolina, Auburn
Least Impressive Teams: USC, Wisconsin, Georgia, Clemson, Nebraska
Have a terrific week!
[...] unknown wrote an interesting post today onHere’s a quick excerptNext week: Missouri at home. Well I’m surprised they are this high too, but with key losses in the bottom half of the top 10, OU kinda defaults here. Good solid effort against Texas, but there is vulnerability here. 7. Oregon (4-1). … [...]