Upsets continued, and two more unbeaten teams fell. Two other barely escaped with their records intact (Miami and Fresno State). Ironically, Ohio State, who many national analysts felt was ripe for an upset, ended up with the second-highest margin of victory of all unbeaten teams, behind only Baylor.
Top 25 [Last week's position]
1. Alabama Crimson Tide (8-0) [1] : The Tide continue to roll, and they are finally starting strongly
2. Oregon Ducks (8-0) [2] : It took the fourth quarter for the Ducks to pull away from UCLA, but they have established themselves as the Pac-12 team to beat.
3. Florida State Seminoles (7-0) [3] : They cruised after one of the most productive first quarters by any team all season.
4. Ohio State Buckeyes (8-0) [4] : The Buckeyes may have quieted their critics with a colossal defeat of Penn State, handing the Nittany Lions their worst defest in over 115 years!
5. Baylor Bears (7-0) [5] : Another blowout victory, but the Bears enter their toughest stretch of their schedule. If they survive the next three weeks, they deserve the Big XII title (although Texas may have something to say about that to end the season).
6. Louisville Cardinals (7-1) [6] : Another brilliant performance by Teddy Bridgewater keeps the Cardinals in the American Athletic hunt.
7. Stanford Cardinal (7-1) [8] : A tremendous defensive performance in Corvallis keeps Stanford on Oregon's heels.
8. Miami Hurricanes (7-0) [7] : Were they distracted by the NCAA ruling this week? Who knows, but the 'Canes barely escaped Wake Forest.
9. LSU Tiges (7-2) [10]
10. Missouri Tigers (7-1) [9] : Missouri seemed to have South Carolina's number, but the Gamecocks scored 17 fourth quarter points to tie the game, and then a field goal attempt in the second overtime hit the post, knocking the Tigers from the ranks of the unbeaten.
11. Michigan Wolverines (6-1) [11]
12. Oklahoma Sooners (7-1) [13] : The Sooners handed Texas Tech their first loss of the season and start to redeem themselves for the shocking loss in the Red River Rivalry.
13. Clemson Tigers (7-1) [15] : The Terps fought hard, but the Tigers emerged victorious to continue their march to a New Years (or later) bowl.
14. Wisconsin Badgers (5-2) [14]
15. Texas A&M Aggies (6-2) [16] : Another 400+ yard performance for Johnny Manziel, but concerns about the Aggies defense are growing.
16. UCLA Bruins (5-2) [12] : The Bruins held tough with Oregon until the fourth quarter. They may have lost, but that was a better achievement than anyone has been able to muster against the Ducks this season.
17. Arizona State Sun Devils (6-2) [17]
18. South Carolina Gamecocks (6-2) [19] : They pulled off one of the best fourth quarter comebacks of Coach Spurrier's career, but they were helped by an upright.
19. UCF Golden Knights (6-1) [20] : The kings of the American Athletic Conference keep rolling along.
20. Northern Illinois Huskies (8-0) [25] : Everyone talks about Johnny Football, but maybe they should be talking about Jordan Football, as Huskies QB Jordan Lynch scored five touchdowns in three different fashions: passing, rushing, and receiving. He IS the Northern Illinois offense, even more so than Manziel is A&M's.
21. Michigan State Spartans (7-1) [24] : Okay, I guess we don't have doubts about their offense now.
22. Texas Tech Red Raiders (7-1) [18] : The Sooners defense was too tough for them, and the Longhorns defense is even tougher. It looks like two probable losses for the Raiders.
23. Oklahoma State Cowboys (6-1) [22] : They won big, but still dropped thanks to better play from Northern Illinois and Michigan State.
24. Fresno State Bulldogs (7-0) [23] : They almost lost that game and fell from the unbeaten ranks. That still seems likely to happen.
25. Auburn Tigers (7-1) [27] : The Tigers blow past Florida Atlantic and land in the rankings for the first time all season.
Dropped out: Nebraska Cornhuskers [#21]
On the Edge: Ball State Cardinals (8-1), Houston Cougars (6-1), Oregon State Beavers (6-2), BYU Cougars (6-2), Notre Dame Fighting Irish (6-2), Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (5-3), East Carolina Pirates (5-2), Iowa Hawkeyes (5-3)
With some division slots becoming clear (for instance, Missouri could have nearly clinched theirs had they beaten South Carolina), next week I will begin including the conference and division races at the end of this column.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment