It was an interesting week, with some slow starting teams beginning to show some power.
Top 25 [Last week's position]
1. GEORGIA BULLDOGS (3-0) [1]
2. Ohio State Buckeyes (3-0) [2]
3. Alabama Crimson Tide (3-0) [3] : Much better performance, but they were playing a much weaker team
4. Michigan Wolverines (3-0) [5]
5. Tennessee Volunteers (3-0) [8] : this is a seriously powerful team. We might see some interesting games in the SEC this season!
6. Oklahoma Sooners (3-0) [6] : I'm not sure the Nebraska fans are so happy that their rivalry with Oklahoma has been reignited
7. USC Torjans (3-0) [9] : The clear strength of the Pac-12
8. Texas Longhorns (2-1) [4] : They overcame UTSA, but it was a struggle
9. Syracuse Orange (3-0) [10]
10. Penn State Nittany Lions (3-0) [NR} : Clifford finally looked decent, and their defense may keep them in games
11. Clemsin Tigers (3-0) [11]
12. Kentucky Wildcats (3-0) [12]
13. Oklahoma State Cowboys (3-0) [13]
14. Minnesota Golden Gophers (3-0) [15] : What a thoroughly dominating performance!
15. Washington Huskies (3-0) [19] : They thoroughly dominated Michigan State in the first half, but they couldn't hold it. The Spartans defense figured out their shifty manuevers, and the Huskies defense couldn't hold back the Spartans offense. If the game lasted ten minutes longer, they would have lost. A Top 25 team needs to hold large leads better.
16. Wisconsin Badgers (2-1) [NR]
17. Ole Miss Rebels (3-0) [NR]
18. TCU Horned Frogs (2-0) [18]
19. Michigan State Spartans (2-1) [7] : Impressive comeback, they just fell a bit short
20. Arkansas Razorbacks (3-0) [20]
21. Washington State Cougars (3-0) [NR]
22. Maryland Terrapins (3-0) [22] : It took a tremendous defensive effort to beat SMU
23. Iowa State Cyclones (3-0) [NR]
24. UCLA Bruins (3-0) [17] : Ugly win
25. Kansas Jayhawks (3-0) [NR] : What's this? Kansas in the Top 25? Yup. AFter two dynamic upsets, they are proving that they have tremendous punch.
Dropped off
BYU Cougars [#14], Mississippi State Bulldogs [#16], Kansas State Wildcats [#21], Miami Hurricanes [#23], Marshall Thundering Herd [#24], Toledo Rockets [#25]
On the Cusp
Duke Blue Devils (3-0), Illinois Fighting Illini (2-1), Mississippi State Bulldogs (2-1), Utah Utes (2-1), Pitt Panthers (2-1), Oregon State Beavers (3-0), Wake Forest Demon Deacons (3-0)
Upsets and Surprises
The Salukis struck down Northwestern and scored another win for the FCS! Missouri State nearly knocked off Arkansas. The MAC engineered two upsets: one by Bowling Green (who knocked off a Marshall team that engineered a great upset of Notre Dame last week), and the other by Eastern Michigan. tulane upset Kansas State to knock them out of the Top 25 and Kansas' upset of Houston brought them into the Tip 25.
Big Ten Report
Not too many surprises this week. Ohio State, Michigan, and Minnesota continued their dominance. Wisconsin and Penn State bounced back, although Wisconsin's bounce back was against a weak team. Penn State's was much more impressive, matching into SEC territory and completely out-muscling the Auburn Tigers. Iowa was impressive in a thrice-delayed game that didn't finish until after 2am Central time, but you have to realize that they were playing Nevada, who has lost to a FCS team this season. Given that, I'm not sure we are ready to proclaim Iowa back, even though their defense is one of the toughest in the conference.
Other teams had a harder time. Nebraska lost as expected, but the losses by Northwestern and Michigan State were not. Maryland and Indiana won, but they struggled against their weaker opponents. However, Purdue gave ranked Syracuse all that they could manage. All of this leads into conference play next week, and we have some interesting match-ups.
MAC Attack
I told you not to discount the MAC teams! Okay, Miami Ohio, Ohio, Toledo, and Buffalo were slaughtered, and Central Michigan and Ball State dominated weak FCS teams, but Bowling Green and Eastern Michigan really stepped it up. I'm looking forward to the start of conference play.
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