Sun 21 Oct 2007
LSU and Oregon each advance 2 spots: Florida, USC both move up to #9, as Rankings look more stable
Posted by Russell Loede under Polls
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Another #2 arises: Will it be the 4th in as many weeks to fall? The Boston College Eagles, who were off this week, get ready to face the Virginia Tech Hokies (#8) in what will likely be a Thursday Nite showdown (Oct. 25), featuring the two top, premiere ACC teams going head-to-head in what should determine who will be in the Top 5 in next week’s polls. BC will be travelling down south to Blacksburg with a different ranking as the new #2 in the Top 25, a ranking that’s been more of a problem place for teams than a high spot where you’d like to be, as recently three teams have been upset in succession at #2: South Florida (Rutgers), Cal (Oregon St.), and USC (Stanford). - Memo to Matt Ryan and the crew: You better watch your step closely this week at V.T.
P.S. Don’t forget about the Hokies extremely “special” Special Teams Unit.
1st Place Votes don’t define, nor determine much in on-the-field play: Ohio State is still #1 (Show me More!), as they had a late scare offensively in a 24-17 victory over MSU at the ‘Shoe. But do they really deserve this ranking legitimately with such a “Little Debbie”, cupcacke-like schedule that they’ve been playing up until now? Do they have this #1 spot in the poll because of a lack of dominate-type team, with all the upsets and movings, or does this really show their talent, resilience, and effort on the gridiron, meaning they are the best that College Football has to offer?
Well the Spartans, a mediocre Big Ten middle-of-the road pack, had an explosive offense was downright awful and it was stopped by the best defense in the land, but if this week hasn’t already been a reminder for Buckeye fans in Columbus, than I’ll tell you it once again - #1 Ohio State still has a long ways to go in securing their top position, trying to make it back to the National Title for the second straight year in a row, as they looked very unimpressive and lackadaisical towards the latter part of the game, making simple errors (forgetting to pick up blitzes and to change the play at the line of scrimmage), as a lack of audible hurt them, while loosing the football twice with those costly miscues - resulting in 14 “gift” points to the opposition. Chris Wells, on the other hand, had his best game as a collegiate athlete, rushing for 221 yards and a TD, showing glimpses of the talent that made him the top RB recruit in ‘06, as he played the role of a workhorse on bad ankle, carrying the Buckeyes on offense, along with Brian Robiskie’s 50-yard scoring haul. Ohio State did not catch my eye as a team that was absolutely worthy of the #1 spot and ready to make plans for Louisiana, January 7th (but who is, really?), but they did enough in winning the game this week, holding on to the position at least for one more week, as they stayed pat by default - receiving 57 first-place votes.
Saturday Nite’s Match-up looking like Upset City: College Station will be pandemonium as they prepare for the Buckeyes of Ohio State as the last time OSU played their at nite they lost (2005 - 17-10). This will be a tough test for ‘em offensively and it will definitely be their 1st “true” battle in the trenches, going up against a stout Nittany Lion defense, as this game will show us not just how good Ohio State may be, but also where Penn State’s level of play is at. It should, and will be a great Big Ten game to watch, as I see it coming down to the wire, so expect lots of hitting between these evenly-matched squads, with Upset Alert on Watch again, like it always is - for another week for another highly ranked team - you gotta’ love NCAA Football! OSU/PSU will be the equivalent to LSU/Auburn’s classic battle, one that resulted in a GW TD (above) - it will be very close and fun to watch!
Rankings shake - Out with the Old, In with the New:
LSU, Oregon, WVU, and OU all look like the “Real Deal”, being Contenders to make it to January 7th’s big game. The LSU Tigers moved up two spots, jumping over #4 Oklahoma, and received two first-place votes after triumphing over the Auburn Tigers in literally, a last-second victory, 30-24, on a Demetrius Byrd 22-yard catch. The most underappreciated, team next to Oregon(Auburn), fell five spots to No. 23 after the crushing, heart-breaking defeat. Oregon, 55-34 winners over Washington away from home, is at #5, after getting a career-best, 252-yards and 2 TD performance from RB Jonathan Stewart. The Ducks are far and away the best offense in all of College Football, being led by ultra-athlete QB Dennis Dixon, as they are the only team that I think has both, a superior passing attack and running game The #6 ranked West Virginia Mountaineers got a healthy, key component back in QB Pat White, moving up three places, beating Miss State, 38-13 in Morgantown. The unstoppable, electrifying, speed-thrilling dynamic 1-2 duo of Slaton and White are leading a team, that if they win out, should make it to the National Championship Game in Louisiana, as they control their own destiny (how many times has that been said)? After four top 10 teams lost last week, four new teams moved up to replace USF, South Carolina, Kentucky and Cal.
No. 7 Arizona State (Flukes - OVERRATED Chant is going on as I write this in), which received one first-place vote, moved up five places without playing this week. The unbeaten Sun Devils (7-0), who have their highest ranking since “Jake the Snake” ended the 1996 season under center at No. 4, play Cal on Saturday.
Virginia Tech jumped three spots and Florida and Southern California also moved back into the top 10. The Gators and Trojans are tied for ninth. South Florida dropped nine spots to No. 11 after its first loss of the season. No. 12 Kansas Jayhawks, one of the five remaining unbeaten teams in major college football, has its highest ranking since finishing the 1995 season No. 9.
No. 13 Missouri Tigers (41-10 shellacking over the Texas Tech Red Raiders) is followed by Kentucky, which lost 45-37 to Florida, and South Carolina, which was upset 17-6 at home by Vanderbilt and fell nine spots. No. 16 Hawaii (7-0) is the lowest ranked of the unbeaten teams.
No. 17 Texas, California, which dropped eight spots, Michigan and Georgia round out the top 20.
Four new teams entered the rankings this week, including No. 21 Virginia. The Cavaliers are in for the first time since 2005.
No. 22 Alabama, No. 24 Penn State and No. 25 Rutgers moved back into the rankings after victories.
Falling out this week after loses were Texas Tech, Cincinnati, Tennessee and Kansas State.
