NCAA 2013 Top 25 - Week 11

Oregon fell from the ranks of the unbeaten, Oklahoma lost a second game by a significant margin, and Alabama cemented their hold on the top spot.  We had some other juggling, including Miami's fall from the Top 25.  Let's take a look...

Top 25 [Last week's position]
1.  Alabama Crimson Tide (9-0) [1] : They demolished LSU in what some warned could be a trap game.  It may take Missouri in the SEC Championship to knock off Alabama.

2.  Florida State Seminoles (9-0) [2] : They nearly shut out Wake Forest in another outrageously dominant performance.

3.  Baylor Bears (8-0) [5] : They demolished Oklahoma and propelled themselves into National Championship conversations.

4.  Ohio State Buckeyes (9-0) [4]
5.  Stanford Cardinal (8-1) [7] : Their defeat of Oregon, and tremendous defensive accomplishments, blast them into the Top 5.

6.  Louisville Cardinals (8-1) [6] : Another stellar Teddy Bridgewater performance, but Jameis Winston has knocked Teddy out of Heisman conversations.

7.  Missouri Tigers (9-1) [8] : It looks like Texas A&M might be the only team with a chance to keep the Tigers out of the SEC Championship.

8.  Oregon Ducks (8-1) [3] : Stanford showed that the offense could be stopped, and the Ducks' wings are clipped.

9.  Clemson Tigers (8-1) [9]
10. Texas A&M Aggies (8-2) [11] : It was a tight game for the Aggies, but another strong performance for Johnny Manziel.  Those three interceptions could make it tough for the Aggies in upcoming games, though.

11. Wisconsin Badgers (7-2) [13] : The Badgers made a strong statement against the BYU Cougars. The statement - "We are for real."

12. Auburn Tigers (9-1) [22] : Not a great defensive performance, but their offense rolled against Tennessee.  The Iron Bowl has now become interesting.

13. Michigan State Spartans (8-1) [14]
14. LSU Tigers (7-3) [10] : The Tigers may have lost a spot in a New Years bowl.

15. UCLA Bruins (7-2) [15] : They squeaked by Arizona, but they still have some tough games coming up.

16. Oklahoma State Cowboys (8-1) [21] : The Cowboys thrashed Kansas in preparation for Baylor.

17. Arizona State Sun Devils (8-2) [16] : Utah nearly claimed their second ranked Pac-12 upset.

18. South Carolina Gamecocks (7-2) [18]
19. UCF Golden Knights (7-1) [19] : UCF fans can breathe now; they got past Houston
20. Northern Illinois Huskies (9-0) [20]
21. Fresno State Bulldogs (9-0) [23] : They just keep getting better each week.  This time they spotted Wyoming 10 points and scored the next 48.

22. Ball State Cardinals (9-1) [24] : A strong victory keeps them pacing Northern Illinois for the MAC West title.

23. Oklahoma Sooners (7-2) [12] : When this team loses, they lose big!  Can they bounce back?

24. East Carolina Pirates (7-2) [NR] : The Conference USA leader leaps into the Top 25 with a dominant victory.

25. Houston Cougars (7-2) [25] : They played tough against UCF

Dropped off:  Miami Hurricanes [#17]

On the Edge: Texas Longhorns (7-2), USC Trojans (7-3), Buffalo Bulls (7-2), Nebraska Cornhuskers (7-2), Oregon State Beavers (6-3), Washington Huskies (6-3), Marshall Thundering Herd (6-3), Arizona Wildcats (6-3), Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (6-3), BYU Cougars (6-3)

Some divisional and conference races got clearer, and we crowned our first division winner.

American Athletic: UCF's tight win over Houston gives them the solo lead, and tiebreaker benefit over Louisville and Houston.  UCF doesn't play Cincinnati, who is only a game back.  UCF needs to win out, or win three with a Cincy loss, to capture the title.  Cincy needs someone to beat UCF, and their only remaining opponent with a winning record is Rutgers, who the Knights play on Thurs Nov 21st.

ACC Atlantic:  FLORIDA STATE wins this one.  They have only one more conference game, and with the tiebreaker over Clemson, essentially has at least a two-game lead over everyone else.  The Number Two goes into the ACC Championship, and maybe the National Championship after that.

ACC Coastal: Miami's loss gums up the works a bit.  The Yellow Jackets, who currently lead the division, play only one more conference game, against Atlantic opponent Clemson.  It seems likely they will lose that game.  Worse, Georgia Tech lost to both Virginia Tech and Miami, two other teams currently with two conference losses.  A loss to Clemson would be the Yellow Jackets' third ACC loss and likely a costly one.  Virginia Tech has the best road.  They beat Miami and Georgia Tech.  They lost to Duke, but face Maryland and Virginia in their remaining games; these two teams have only one ACC win between them.  Duke faces Miami this week, so a loss there knocks them out.

Big XII:  Texas and Baylor still lead the conference.  Oklahoma State is only a game back, but the Cowboys have to play BOTH of the conference leaders in the next two weeks.  Chances are they'll lose at least one of those.  Both Baylor and Texas have the same opponents to close the season:  Texas Tech, Oklahoma State, and each other.  The winner of the conference will do the better job running the table.

Big Ten Leaders: Wisconsin still trails Ohio State by only a game, but their one conference loss was to the Buckeyes.  Ohio State faces Illinois and Indiana in the next two weeks, so they are likely to clinch with those two victories.

Big Ten Legends: Michigan State leads the division with Nebraska just a game back.  They face each other this week, so a Spartan victory nearly assures them the title.  A follow-up victory over Northwestern would clinch it, even before Minnesota has a chance to weigh in.

Conference USA East: East Carolina and Marshall both lead this division.  The Pirates have only one more conference game, against lowly UAB, before facing Marshall the day after Thanksgiving.  Of course, Marshall faces Tulsa and Florida International, each with only one conference win, before then.  Chances are this title will be decided when these two meet.

Conference USA West: North Texas holds the lead, as they have tiebreaker advantage over Rice.  The Mean Green have a bye week this week before facing fiesty UTSA.  If they beat the Roadrunners, they win the division. 

MAC East: Wait, let me verify this... yes, Buffalo leads the pack!  By beating Ohio (beating?!  They trounced them!), the only competition remaining is Bowling Green.  They conclude the regular season facing each other.  Buffalo could win before that time if they win their two preceding games and Bowling Green stumbles against Ohio this week.

MAC West: Ball State and Northern Illinois are locked in battle over this one.  This Wednesday's contest between the two could decide it.  A Ball State victory clinches it for the Cardinals, who have only one more conference game (against winless Miami Ohio) after that.  Northern Illinois would still have to face Toledo.  A Huskies win over Ball State but a subsequent Toledo upset locks the three into a three-way tie, which would likely go to Northern Illinois, who would have the highest BCS rank.

Mountain West Mountain: Boise State has the advantage, with the lead and a tiebreaker edge over Utah State.  The Aggies would need to win out and hope San Diego State beats the Broncos.

Mountain West West: Thanks to San Diego State, who beat San Jose State and who fell to Fresno State earlier this season, the Bulldogs basically have it. To clinch, Fresno State simply needs to beat ONE of their two remaining foes, and they face hapless New Mexico next.

Pac-12 North: Stanford's win over Oregon makes this title within their reach.  If they beat USC this week, that basically caps it, as I don't see Cal giving them any problem.  A Trojan upset puts Oregon back in the driver's seat.

Pac-12 South: Division leader Arizona State already beat USC.  If they beat UCLA in two weeks, the division is theirs.  A Bruins win makes it tight, but of course UCLA has to get past both Washington and USC.

SEC East: If Missouri wins out, they win.  That means beating Texas A&M.  If the Aggies beat them, South Carolina would win the division, provided they beat Florida this week.

SEC West: The Iron Bowl between Alabama and Auburn will decide this one, unless Auburn slips up against Georgia.

Sun Belt: If Louisiana-Lafayette beats Georgia State and South Alabama, who have a total of one conference victory between them, they win the conference, regardless of whether they beat Louisiana-Monroe.  If they do beat the Warhawks, they win the conference.