| NCAA Football Top 25 Rankings – Week 7 - by Neil Kogut |
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| Articles - NCAA Football Articles |
| Written by Neil Kogut |
| Wednesday, 10/14/09 October 2009 09:42 |
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NCAA Football Top 25 Rankings – Week 7 - by Neil Kogut For the second weekend in a row, things seemed pretty normal on the college football landscape. The top two teams in the SEC emphatically suggested that they should belong there, while a few teams around the top 25 struggled to victories against lesser opponents. Most of my top 25 remains the same; however it is time for the Heisman list to get turned upside down, if not just for one week. Did Florida’s win in Death Valley vault them back into the top spot? Or was Alabama’s win at Ole Miss enough to keep them #1? Let’s find out…. 1. Alabama (1) – Alabama made their win at Ole Miss look way too easy. Although the defense did their job and they got the W, ‘Bama needs to finish drives with touchdowns, not field goals, if they want to go undefeated this season. 2. Florida (2) – I know Florida only won by 10. I know their offense was held to a paltry 13 points. I also know that Florida dominated this game from the opening kick. It wasn’t even close. 3. Texas (3) – Once again the ‘Horns started off slow, but Jordan Shipley refuses to lose and in the end Texas rolled. 4. Virginia Tech (7) – The Hokies scored on offense and defense and at the half was up 34-0, limiting BC to 3 yards. Total. 5. Miami (9) – Miami easily rolled to victory in their first game this season against an opponent that wasn’t ranked. 6. USC (5) – USC had a week off to work on their downfield attack in what might be shaping up to be a shootout with Notre Dame this weekend. 7. Boise State (6) – Boise State had a week off to work on their victory formation with a matchup with Tulsa looming. 8. Cincinnati (8) – Cinci had a week off to get their heads on straight with a possible BCS berth on the line this Thursday as they travel to South Florida. 9. LSU (4) – LSU has one of the most boring, ugly offenses I have ever seen. I would rather watch Big Ten football then have to sit through another game with JJ at the helm. They couldn’t run it, they couldn’t throw it and the defense had multiple offsides calls within a couple plays of each other that just killed them. 10. Ohio State (10) – Looking at the stat sheet you wouldn’t know that Ohio State won this football game. Wisconsin QB Scott Tolzien singlehandedly lost the game for his team throwing two pick sixes. 11. Oregon (11) – Oregon seemed to lose some offense with Masoli sidelined, but the defense and special teams played like they were wearing Virginia Tech uniforms. A much needed Bye week before heading to Washington. 12. TCU (12) – TCU had three turnovers but held on for a gutsy win against Air Force in freezing cold temperatures. TCU had the #1 rush defense before the game, and allowed over 200 rushing yards to Air Force. 13. Iowa (14) – Ricky Stanzi bounced back from an early pick six to throw two touchdown passes and escape a gritty Michigan team to remain unbeaten this season. 14. Oklahoma State (13) – Oklahoma State squeezed by Texas A&M in college station without Dez Bryant and Kendall Hunter. They are going to need to get Hunter back if they want to contend in the Big XII South. Dez Bryant’s season long suspension is going to hurt as bad as any loss in the country. 15. Georgia Tech (15) – GT rushed for over 400 yards in outscoring the disappointing Seminoles. They gave up over 500 yards of offense but escaped with a nailbiting victory. 16. Penn State (16) – Here is how I imagine the Nittany Lions’ day went. Wake up, eat breakfast, get dressed, score, score again, score six more times, eat lunch, eat dinner, go to sleep. 17. South Carolina (17) – Stephen Garcia had a hand in all four touchdowns as Steve Spurrier continues to be undefeated against Kentucky in his career. 18. Houston (18) – Case Keenum kept Houston’s offense running as they went on the road and defeated a SEC school. Just in case you are keeping score at home, UH is 3-0 against the Big XII and the SEC. Damn you UTEP. 19. Nebraska (24) – With a national television audience tuned in Thursday night, Nebraska overcame a slow start in a driving rainstorm to score three touchdowns in the fourth quarter and steal a win on the road from rival Missouri. This was the first win versus a ranked opponent in Nebraska’s last 11 tries. 20. Kansas (20) – Dezmon Briscoe and Kerry Meier combined for 28 catches and 328 yards with two touchdowns a piece as Kansas snuck by a pesky Iowa State team. Meier, a former KU QB set a school record with 16 receptions and broke Briscoe’s career reception mark in the same game it was set. 21. Oklahoma (21) – Sam Bradford returned from missing four games with a 389 yard day and one touchdown. The defense is in full swing right now and this weeks Red River Rivalry should be what we were hoping to see when the season started. 22. BYU (23) – The BYU offense was in sync, the defense was firing on all cylinders and UNLV never had a chance against Unga, Hall and Co. 23. South Florida (25) – USF had the week off to think about how to stop Cincinnati’s high scoring attack. This game is right up there with TX-OU as game of the week. 24. Notre Dame (NR) – Notre Dame had the week off, but since they didn’t lose they move into the top 25. They had nothing but time to think about hosting USC this weekend. 25. Arkansas (NR) – Arkansas jumps into the top 25 because I really didn’t think any other one loss teams deserves it at this point. Arkansas has beat a ranked Auburn team, won at A&M and held its own against a ranked Georgia team. Ryan Mallet has been really impressive thus far and I just like them over my other options, Utah, Pitt and West Virginia who don’t really have any impressive wins. This USC-Notre Dame game is going to be very interesting to me. I think we will learn more about USC than we will Notre Dame. Notre Dame is going to be in every game based on their ability to score points, but their defense will leave other teams in the games as well. USC’s strong point is obviously their defense but will they be able to hold down Notre Dame’s offense? This game will either be a lopsided USC victory at 24-10 or a shootout where whoever has the ball last will have a chance at victory. I am guessing that Pete Carroll used his bye week better and that the athletes at USC will bring home the victory. The best decision I made when deciding to travel to LSU this weekend was to bring my binoculars. It really enabled me to see all the little things that Tim Tebow does well. He has great footwork and impeccable timing. On one play that was an option pitch, he made 2 or 3 great small jukes that offset the defense allowing his WR to make a block and after the pitch, his tailback made a first down. Without those jukes the play would have been strung out to the sideline and there would have been no gain. I know Tebow’s numbers are down this season, but it’s the little things that make him such a great QB and leader. Jordan Shipley is going to make an appearance on my Heisman ballot today because, well it’s my ballot and I can do as I please. It’s hard to say that Colt McCoy is struggling because his numbers have been pretty good, but it’s a far cry from the numbers he had last year. I really think the MVP so far this season for the Horns has been Shipley. He has taken over Quan Crosby’s role as possession receiver who can catch balls all night long or burn the defense long. He also has two punt returns for touchdowns this season. He just seems to bring the spark to the horns when they need it the most. I remember when he was in high school setting every single Texas 5A receiving record possible. He had multiple surgeries in his early seasons at Texas, using a couple redshirts. He was patient, stayed the course and it is now paying off, for the benefit of the University of Texas. The Pac 10 is getting increasingly interesting to watch these days. The league has more parity than any other conference and while it may hurt the strength of the league it keeps every game exciting and unpredictable. It is clear that it is USC and Oregon as the class of the league with Washington State playing the role of the dunce. In between there are seven teams that are all pretty equal. There are teams like Arizona State and UCLA that have great defenses but nothing by way of offense. Then there are teams like Arizona, Stanford, Oregon State and California that are pretty balanced on offense and defense. Then you have Washington. They are much improved this season with the return of Jake Locker. They have a great offense, but a questionable defense. This should make for a whole bunch of interesting games as the season winds down. I truly believe that every team will have a chance to win every game from here on out, just as long as you are not Washington State. With all the things that have gone wrong for Oklahoma this season, I have a feeling a lot of people in the college football landscape are going to predict an easy big win for Texas. I do not see it this way. Oklahoma’s defense is playing at a very high level, and since the loss to BYU the offense has played better as well. They still have two great tailbacks and now with Sam Bradford returning they are almost at full strength. Whether or not WR Ryan Broyles plays this weekend is going to be integral to an OU win. The truth is they have lost two games by a combined two points. They didn’t play well vs. BYU even when Bradford was in the game and you can chalk that up to first game jitters. The second game they lost was to a very impressive Miami team, at Miami. The point is, don’t read too much into the fact Oklahoma has two losses because they might just be the best two losses in the country. They are still a dangerous football team and have a chance to win this ballgame this weekend. As for my thoughts, the pick is below. And in case you were curious about the time, it is 1:07 CST and OU still sucks. If the season ended today, my Heisman ballot would read… 1. Tim Tebow2. Mark Ingram 3. Jordan Shipley 4. Tony Pike
Week 5 predictions: *Projected Winner in CAPS CINCINNATI @ South Florida Oklahoma vs. TEXAS USC @ Notre Dame CALIFORNIA @ ucla VIRGINIA TECH @ Georgia Tech Stanford @ ARIZONA Missouri @ OKLAHOMA STATE
UPSET SPECIAL: TEXAS TECH @ Nebraska
Last Week: 6-1 Overall: 25-20
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