| NCAA Football Top 25 Rankings – Week 9 - by Neil Kogut |
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| Articles - NCAA Football Articles |
| Written by Neil Kogut |
| Tuesday, 10/27/09 October 2009 09:14 |
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NCAA Football Top 25 Rankings – Week 9 - by Neil Kogut The top three teams in the country switched identities this past weekend as Alabama struggled in a rivalry game and Texas and Florida finally got their offenses rolling in some easy wins. My top three are going to stay the same this week as I don’t think any of these teams did anything to change my perception of who they are and how they have performed this season. This was really the first hiccup for Alabama; in a rivalry game no less. As for Texas and Florida, a win hasn’t come this easy for either team in some time. There is plenty of time for more confusion, so for now… 1. Alabama (1) – I do believe that Alabama over the course of the season has been the nation’s most complete team. However, over the last few weeks they have gotten shaky QB play and haven’t been able to turn red zone opportunities into touchdowns. Can I get some Terrence Cody for Heisman love?2. Florida (2) – The only thing that hurt the Gators on Saturday was Tim Tebow throwing interception returns for touchdowns. UF’s defense was very good and held Mississippi State to 3 total points on offense. 3. Texas (3) – Texas finally got the jump start on an opponent taking a 35-7 lead into halftime. The offense was clicking and the Defense was its usual stout self in a dominating victory at Missouri. 4. Iowa (6) – It wasn’t pretty, but it was gutsy and that’s my favorite part about college football; the guts it takes to win some ball games. (see: Alabama/Terrence Cody.) I count 5 very solid wins for Iowa this season so far. 5. USC (5) – USC still has the talent everywhere, but they just are not their dominant self. They should have never let Oregon State back into the ball game. 6. Cincinnati (7) – Zach Callaros was accurate and effective in leading Cincinnati to another easy win. I only count 3 good wins for Cinci, but they win by an average of 27 points per game. No Dan, Rutgers does not count as a good win. 7. Boise State (8) – I actually got to watch Boise State this weekend and they made it look way too easy. They scored early and often in easily disposing of Hawaii. I count two good wins for the Broncos. 8. TCU (9) – TCU made their case for best non-BCS team a good one by easily handling BYU in Provo. I count two good wins for TCU and if they can stay undefeated after playing Utah in mid-November, they will jump Boise State then. 9. Oregon (10) – Oregon has been using their defense and special teams to look like the most complete team in the Pac-10. We all knew the offense would be awesome and it has yet to disappoint since that fateful night in Idaho. A win this weekend could jump Oregon into the top 5. 10. Georgia Tech (11) – Georgia Tech held possession for 42 minutes as the triple option continued to impress in an easy win at Virginia. It might be time to hype Jonathan Nesbitt in the Heisman discussion. 11. LSU (12) – LSU used their bye week to straighten out the kinks in their offense. It worked to a tee as Jordan Jefferson had a career day at quarterback and they had a pretty easy win against a decent Auburn squad. 12. Penn State (14) – Following Michigan’s opening touchdown drive of the game, Penn State’s defense held down the wolverines as the offense fired on all cylinders for Penn State’s first win in Ann Arbor in 13 years. 13. Virginia Tech (13) – The Hokies had an off week last weekend following a loss to Georgia Tech. They get a national TV audience as they host UNC on Thursday. 14. Miami (4) – Miami let C.J. Spiller run up and down the field in a shootout that see-sawed into overtime. Since 1985 this is only Miami’s second loss when scoring more than 37 points. 15. Oklahoma State (15) – With a big time showdown with Texas looming on all hallows eve, Oklahoma State took care of Baylor in an easy 34-7 win. They have done well without Bryant and Hunter in the past few weeks, but haven’t faced a team as good as Texas without them. 16. Houston (16) – Houston is still living off of wins over Oklahoma State and Texas Tech, as Case Keenum keeps up his bid for a free trip to New York City. 17. Pittsburgh (21) – Pittsburgh rode a stifling defense to an easy win against South Florida. The defense held USF to 212 yards and Dion Lewis ran for another 111 yards and two touchdowns. 18. South Carolina (18) – The Gamecocks had to come from behind in yet another defensive struggle to pull out the home win. Wins against Georgia and Ole Miss are helping them stay in the top 20. 19. Utah (20) – Utah made a defensive stand on 4th and goal to beat Air Force in overtime. I have Utah ranked, but am not sure which wins of theirs are worthy enough to write home about. 20. West Virginia (22) – West Virginia’s home crowd just oozed class, showing respect for Jasper Howard, UCONN’s cornerback who was stabbed to death this past week. Noel Devine showcased the speed that made him a top recruit and the Mountaineers barely squeaked by an emotional Connecticut squad. 21. Oklahoma (NR) – Landry Jones bounced back from the loss in the Red River Rivalry, taking KU to task in Lawrence. I still believe this Oklahoma team can compete with anyone in the country. 22. Ohio State (25) – The Buckeyes started slowly once again, but Terrelle Pryor bounced back with three touchdowns to defeat Minnesota. Ohio State’s best win to this point is at Wisconsin. 23. Notre Dame (NR) – The Fighting Irish had a clutch defensive performance to wrap up their first win over Boston College since 2000. Golden Tate continues to impress me as he went over 100 yards again with two more touchdowns. 24. BYU (NR) – BYU forgot to show up to the stadium as TCU pounded them from the opening gun. BYU is really hanging their hat on that one point victory over Oklahoma to start the season. 25. Arizona (NR) – Arizona had five turnovers, but luckily UCLA has no offense and the Wildcats became one win away from bowl eligibility with an easy win. Since Nick Foles became the starter, Arizona had been surging on offense and looking like one of the more complete teams in the Pac-10. What is going on in the Big XII? In what seemed to be the second best conference in the nation, there has only been one consistent team; Texas. I would say the next best teams are Oklahoma State and Oklahoma, but after that it is impossible to trust any of these teams. If you would have told me at the beginning of the year that Kansas State and Iowa State would be leading the North Division, I would have sent you straight to the insane asylum. However, with six weeks left that is exactly what we are looking at. I thought this was going to be the year that between Kansas, Nebraska and Missouri, one of those teams would make a stand and be the best in the North, able to contend with the South, but after some of the performances I have seen I think it’s time to put TCU, Boise State, Utah, Fresno State, Houston and BYU in the North Division. Nebraska, Kansas and Texas Tech should not be even considering losing to Iowa State, Kansas State and Texas ATM, but that is exactly what is happening, morphing the Big XII into a conference that is weak and inconsistent at the bottom, which happens to be their 4-12 teams. The marquee matchup of the week is without a doubt my #5 team USC against #9 Oregon in Eugene. In my Pac-10 preview I didn’t have the chutzpah to knock USC off of the perch as perennial Pac-10 champion, but today I am ready to make a stand and say that I think Oregon will win this game and be in line for a Rose Bowl. Oregon has the better special teams and offense and quite possibly the best defense on the field. Since their loss to Boise State to open the season, they have gotten better and better and are clicking on all cylinders and in all facets right now. They have the experience at Quarterback and the home field advantage. I have at times seen teams that could compete with USC flop and get destroyed by the Trojans, but Oregon defeated USC two years ago at home, so they have the experience to pull the upset. While USC’s defense has been good, it hasn’t been great and a good performance will not be enough to stop the best offense in the Pac-10. I am ready for a great game Saturday night and think that Oregon will prevail by 10. In the other game of the week, Texas will travel to Stillwater, for a date with Oklahoma State. In the past, Texas has had problems with this game, needing miracle comebacks by Vince Young and stifling defense to shut down the potent Cowboys attack. The difference with this year is Oklahoma State will most likely be without Kendall Hunter and Dez Bryant. The way that Texas is playing defense, I just cannot see Oklahoma State moving the ball consistently without its best skill players on the field. I think Texas will start fast and be in control for most of the game. It is going to be a great scene in Boone Pickens’ front yard with all the orange and black on Halloween, but I think Texas has more tricks then treats, running away with a two touchdown victory. The big stink about this week’s rankings is surely to come at the top, where I still have Alabama ranked in front of Texas and Florida. People are going to be quick to jump at the fact that Alabama barely squeaked by an overmatched Tennessee team, but they need to factor in that Alabama has still been the most solid team over the entire season, and one game isn’t going to change the landscape of the top three teams too much. The main worry for Alabama is their inability to finish drives with touchdowns, which if they cant fix will hurt them, most likely in the SEC championship against Florida. I think the top three teams are very even, and in a head to head match, I think they would all beat each other if they were to play twice. We need to quit looking at each individual game and look at their body of work in the season as a whole. Sure, if the trends keep up there will be movement at the top of the polls, but based on the fact that Texas and Florida just had their cleanest wins in weeks and Alabama was really pushed to the limit for the first time all year, the status quo must remain. As much as I would love to see Boise State or TCU go heads up with the giants of the sport, I would love to see Boise State and TCU matched up in the Rose Bowl, or any BCS bowl for that matter. These teams have been the best non-BCS teams, with Utah, over the past several years. It would be a great battle to have Boise State’s perennially great offense face off against TCU’s perennially great defense. I am very torn, as I think everyone would like to see these teams take on the big boys and if they played themselves it wouldn’t prove whether or not they can compete on the highest echelon. It is going to get interesting if both are undefeated. In that scenario, TCU will jump BSU. But what if Oregon wins out? A possible National Championship or Rose Bowl berth for a team that lost to an undefeated Boise State squad. With the way that the top teams are beating each other up I think that TCU and BSU should make the BCS over two loss teams at this point. As for them playing each other in a BCS bowl that is never going to happen, but I wouldn’t count out both TCU and Boise State making it to a BCS bowl. In fact I think the team standing in the way of that happening is Notre Dame, who if they win out, might climb high enough to get into the BCS. In the world of Heisman Trophies I think this year is going to come down to the last minute to decide who will take home the hardware. At this point I have Mark Ingram as my hands down favorite, with youngster Dion Lewis closing fast from the running back spot. I put Colt McCoy in front of Tebow based on the fact that Colt had the better game last weekend and Colt has more total yards and touchdowns. The Heisman to me right now is just a mess, so I wouldn’t take much stock in these rankings. I foresee them changing consistently from week to week over the next month and a half.
If the season ended today, my Heisman ballot would read—
Week 5 predictions: OLE MISS @ Auburn Georgia vs. FLORIDA Iowa State @ TEXAS ATM Kansas @ TEXAS TECH TEXAS @ Oklahoma State Usc @ OREGON Upset Special: South Carolina @ TENNESSEE  |
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