Once again the MAC proved my undoing, as I correctly predicted only two of their games. Other upsets through off the rankings, making an interesting week despite the large number of ranked teams who had a bye week.
Top 25 [Last week's position]
1. Georgia Bulldogs (7-0) [1]
2. Cincinnati Bearcats (6-0) [6] : A Gang of Five team arrives at Number Two, as they have proven to be one of the most consistent unbeaten teams not from Georgia
3. Penn State Nittany Lions (5-1) [3]
4. Michigan Wolverines (6-0) [4]
5. Ohio State Buckeyes (5-1) [5]
6. Alabama Crimson Tide (6-1) [7]
7. Michigan State Spartans (7-0) [8]
8. Coastal Carolina Chanticleers (6-0) [9]
9. Oklahoma Sooners (7-0) [17] : The Sooners have proven to be stronger than their early start belied. They are the team to beat in the Big XII now.
10. Oregon Ducks (5-1) [11]
11. Kentucky Wildcats (6-1) [10] : They scored more against Georgia than any other opponent this season
12. Iowa Hawkeyes (6-1) [2] : Their defense couldn't stop Purdue and their offense was absent
13. Notre Dame Fighting Irish (5-1) [13]
14. Wake Forest Demon Deacons (6-0) [14]
15. Oklahoma State Cowboys (6-0) [NR]
16. Ole Miss Rebels (5-1) [16]
17. Baylor Bears (6-1) [29] : With Oklahoma State, there are two new Big XII teams in the rankings
18. SMU Mustangs (6-0) [18]
19. NC State Wolfpack (5-1) [23]
20. Texas A&M Aggies (5-2) [20]
21. Auburn Tigers (5-2) [21]
22. Arizona State Sun Devils (5-2) [15]
23. Florida Gators (4-3) [12]
24. UTSA Roadrunners (6-0) [NR]
25. Houston Cougars (5-1) [25]
On the Edge: Air Force Falcons (6-1), San Diego State Aztecs (6-0), Pitt Panthers (5-1), Oregon State Beavers (4-2), Fresno State Bulldogs (5-2), Texas Longhorns (4-3)
Dropped off: Texas Longhorns [#19], BYU Cougars [#22], Arkansas Razorbacks [#24]
Big Ten Report
There were surprises in the conference this weekend. Wisconsin tightened their belt and knocked off Army. Indiana gave Michigan State everything they could handle. Northwestern found their strength and blew away Rutgers. But perhaps the biggest surprise was delivered by Purdue, who found success with three different quarterbacks and tore apart the conference-leading defense of the Iowa Hawkeyes, handing them their first loss of the season and dropping them WAY down in the rankings. Despite that, Iowa still leads the West Division and has the easiest path to the conference championship game, since they don't face any of the Top Ten teams (since they have already faced Penn State).
Upset Report
I've mentioned how the MAC has frustrated me the past two weeks. The performance of Western Michigan is an excellent example. Here was a team who had averaged less than fifteen points per game in their previous conference matches. This week they score 64 points in a thorough thrashing of the division-leading Kent State Golden Flashes.
Florida faced their third loss, falling to LSU. The Tigers have struggled this season, and they allowed the Gators to score 42 points, but Florida couldn't figure out what the LSU offense was doing, and they lit up the scoreboard. Stanford suffered their FOURTH loss at the hands of Washington State, who had a negative point differential coming into this game. The Cardinal now have no shot at the Pac-12 title.
Liberty, an independent who had only one loss coming into this week, suffered their second loss at the hands of pathetic UL Monroe, who had given up TWICE as many points as they had scored. That didn't stop them from sending the Flames home with their tails between their legs. Lastly, Arizona State found their ranking in jeopardy as they completely fell apart in the second half against Utah, and allowed the Utes to score 28 unanswered points.
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