Monday, October 28, 2013

Top 25 (Week 9)

1. Alabama Crimson Tide (8-0) LW 1
Business as usual for the Crimson Tide in their win over Tennessee as Alabama rolled to an easy 35 point victory.  The road should get tougher for the Crimson Tide as LSU is coming up after a bye week.  But it's clear they are the best in the land.

2. Oregon Ducks (8-0) LW 2
Even despite how talented UCLA is, they were no match for the Ducks who now have jumped back into the #2 spot in the BCS with their dominating win over the Bruins.  Oregon will take this upcoming weekend off before a huge showdown with Stanford on a Thursday night.

3. Florida State Seminoles (7-0) LW 3
Last year it was NC State that ruined Florida State's perfect season, but this year they wanted nothing to do with that.  Jameis Winston and the Seminoles score early and often and made the game out of reach early.  But Miami is next which should be another epic showdown.

4. Ohio State Buckeyes (7-0) LW 4
Plain and simple the beat down they gave to Penn State was a statement to voters who were doubting how good the Buckeyes were. The 63-14 win gave the Nittany Lions their worst beating since 1908 and allowed Ohio State to move up to the #4 spot in the BCS. Only a slip up should prevent them from going undefeated again.

5. Baylor Bears (7-0) LW 5
It's fair to question who the Bears have played so far, but you can't question the method of how they've won. Baylor has done exactly what you've asked for when playing bad teams and that's to pummel them. Yeah they didn't score 70 points, but beating Kansas by 45 points is impressive. However their next opponent Oklahoma, should tell us more.

6. Stanford Cardinal (7-1) LW 8
Stanford was on upset watch again this past weekend, but survived against a talented Oregon State team. The Cardinal were able to survive a late touchdown forcing OSU QB Sean Mannion to throw four straight incomplete passes. Stanford can now turn their attention to Oregon on a week from Thursday to decide the Pac 12.

7. Miami Hurricanes (7-0) LW 7
For a second straight week the Hurricanes needed a late touchdown run to get the go ahead touchdown in the final seconds of the game. This time it was against Wake Forrest who they should have routed. But none the less the Hurricanes are undefeated their showdown with Florida State this weekend could be epic.

8. Auburn Tigers (7-1) LW 9
Auburn got the win, but in the process lost QB Nick Marshall to a shoulder injury. Luckily freshman backup Jeremy Johnson was able to come in and keep the offense rolling. Auburn may be able to get by next couple of weeks against Arkansas and Tennessee without Marshall, but they'll need him at full stregth aganist Georgia and Alabama.

9. Clemson Tigers (7-1) LW 10
Maryland was exactly what the Tigers needed coming off a crushing loss to Florida State. The banged up Terrapins stood no match to Clemson as they went wild scoring 40 points and getting their confidence back. That will be needed if the Tigers want to run the table to get back to another BCS Bowl.

10. LSU Tigers (7-2) LW 11
Up only four points at half the Tigers used 28 unanswered points to pull away and get the win over FCS Furman. LSU better hope that they don't have repeat performances like their first half in the next two weeks, otherwise they'll lose big to Alabama and Texas A&M.

11. Missouri Tigers (7-1) LW 6
For those of you who aren't familiar with Missouri football, the Tigers this past week introduced you to the term Big 12 teams know as "Pinkled." The term "Pinkled" refers to the Tigers losing games due to the coaching mistakes of Gary Pinkle. Hopefully this is the only case of Pinkled this season, otherwise the Tigers dream season will come crashing down.

12. Texas A&M Aggies (6-2) LW 12
With a banged up Johnny Manziel, the Aggies were still able to run thought Vanderbilt in route to their sixth win of the season. With shoulder problems Manziel stayed in the pocket, but that didn't limit his effectiveness throwing for 305 yards. With UTEP up next the Aggies might be wise to get Manziel fully healthy before games against LSU and Missouri.

13. South Carolina Gamecocks (6-2) LW 22
It took Connor Shaw returning in the second half to rally the Gamecocks past the top five ranked Tigers. The win puts South Carolina in the drivers seat to win the SEC East. However they've been widely inconsistent all year. Is this the changing point, or another example of inconsistency?

14. Fresno State Bulldogs (7-0) LW 15
Despite their record, San Diego State has been a tough team to beat and that was no more evident in Fresno State going to overtime to get the win. The win continues the Bulldogs undefeated streak and keeps their BCS Bowl dreams in tact. But can they keep winning these close games? Or is one bound to get them?

15. Central Florida Knights (6-1) LW 23
Louisville was famed as the only good team in the American Athletic Conference at the beginning of the year, but as the season has unfolded it's Central Florida that is rolling. Their lone loss comes to SEC's South Carolina and that was only by three points. Their game against Houston in two weeks should be a good one.

16. UCLA Bruins (5-2) LW 14
Not only is tough having your cross over games be Oregon and Stanford, but to play them in back to back weeks doesn't make it any easier. UCLA was right there tied with Oregon at half, but they just couldn't keep it going in the second half allowing 28 unanswered points.

17. Oklahoma Sooners (7-1) LW 20
Just think. If Oklahoma wouldn't have lost to a bad Texas team, we could be talking about them as a top 10 team. Now their win over Texas Tech is still big considering they knocked an unbeaten team off, but the stink of that Texas loss is going to be hard to shake.

18. Oklahoma State Cowboys (6-1) LW 16
Lead by RB Desmond Roland's 219 rushing yards and 4 TDs the Cowboys got a much needed confidence booster with a big win over Iowa State. Hopefully that confidence can help as they go into their game against Texas Tech and hope they still have a shot at winning the Big 12.

19. Michigan State Spartans (7-1) LW 17
As each week continues, the Michigan State Spartans look like the best team in the Big 10 Legends. Their 39 point victory over Illinois gives them their fourth conference win and has them as the only Legends team without a conference loss.

20. Texas Tech Red Raiders (7-1) LW 13
It was good as it lasted, but the Red Raiders undefeated streak has ended. Also happens that Oklahoma was the first good team that Tech has played. It doesn't get much easier as they face off against Oklahoma State next and still have Baylor left.

21. Wisconsin Badgers (5-2) LW 21
The Badgers had their final week off before the rest of their Big 10 schedule. Wisconsin along with Michigan State look like the next best teams behind Ohio State. Their schedule looks pretty manageable, but their game on November 9th against BYU looks like a really good one.

22. Louisville Cardinals (7-1) LW 24
After losing to Central Florida, the Cardinals got back on track by beating down South Florida 34-3. They looked like the team we saw at the beginning of the year. Was that enough or was it just taking advantage of a bad team. With UConn next we should see much the same.

23. Brigham Young Cougars (6-2) LW NR
Two early losses to Virginia and Utah hurt this team early on, but they've bounced back and have played like one of the best teams in the nation since. They've given Houston their only loss and then beat Boise State easily this past Thursday. They get a weekend off before traveling to Wisconsin.

24. Michigan Wolverines (6-1) LW NR
Even though they haven't always played the greatest, the Wolverines are six and one and keep winning. This up coming week they get a good test facing in state rival Michigan in a game that could decide who wins the Legends Division. A win puts them in the drivers seat and a loss likely ends their hopes.

25. Northern Illinois Huskies (8-0) LW 25
Even with another win and an 8-0 record, the Huskies really haven't moved in the polls for a while. I'm still not buying them. They've played nobody and beat up on bad MAC teams. I'll wait to see how they do against Ball State before moving them up.

Dropped Out: Nebraska Cornhuskers, Virginia Tech Hokies

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