College Football Top Ten Wrap Up 2

Well, we had a couple of questions answered in week three of our season. We know USC belongs at or near the top spot in the polls. We know that LSU has a defense that can hold the mighty mighty Blue Raiders scoreless, unlike some other (formerly) top ten teams I could mention. We know that Ohio State really can play well when they have to – and later on, they’ll have to, believe me. We know that Louisville’s week two game wasn’t an aberration, and we know that they still have no defense. Finally, we know that the voters are having a tough time making up their minds, as evidenced by the Sooners and Gators switching spots, USC taking away a number of first place votes from LSU, and Texas, West Virginia, and Wisconsin all dropping in the poll despite wins.

This is precisely why we shouldn’t have polls prior to October.

#1 –Southern California Trojans
Last Week: At #14… errrr…#24 Nebraska. With the pollsters getting antsy and giving twenty votes to LSU after their win over Va. Tech, the Trojans knew they needed a big win to hang on to their top spot in the polls. Pete and the boys came through in fine fashion. If there was any doubt about the outcome of this game, it was answered in USC’s opening drive, where they went 90 yards on two plays on the ground, capping off the 94-yard, four-play drive with a quick six to set the tone. Yes, they gave up some garbage time points, but anyone watching knew there was zero doubt as to who was the best team on the field Saturday night in Lincoln, NE. The Trojans earned back several of those first-place votes with the very impressive win.
Coming Up: Back home vs. Washington State. The Cougars of Wazoo should pose no trouble for this multi-faceted attack. The schedule looks reasonably easy for the next few weeks, Trojans. Better keep yourself in high gear or you’re going to start losing points to LSU again.

#2 – Louisiana State Tigers
Last Week: Middle Tennessee – win, 44-0. Speaking of statement games, this is the third such game this year for the Tigers. So far on the season, LSU has outscored their opponents 137-7, giving up points only to the #17 team in the nation. The problem as I see it is that there is only one top spot in the polls, but both LSU and USC have legitimate claims to the spot. It is not inconceivable that LSU could put up a similarly dominating performance against Florida three weeks from now. If they do, these rankings are going to get a LOT more interesting.
Coming Up: Home vs. #12 South Carolina. Steve Spurrier comes to town, but somehow the legend of “the ol’ Ball Coach” just doesn’t make me concerned for the Tigers. Don’t expect this game to be close.

#3 – Florida Gators
Last Week: #22 Tennessee – win, 59-20. Any doubts as to whether Tim Tebow is the real deal were answered as he once again demolished an opponent, this time amassing total 360 yards of offense and four touchdowns against division rival Tennessee. So thorough was the Florida victory that the Vols went from #22 to out of the rankings – and I mean out of the rankings, as in receiving zero points. Folks, even Kansas has one point in the “others receiving votes” section. The Gators leapfrog West Virginia and Oklahoma, going from #5 to #3 with this win.
Coming Up: At Mississippi. The worst part about this game is that it could cost the Gators their #3 spot to Oklahoma. If both teams win handily, don’t be surprised to see the Gators drop back down again.

#4 – Oklahoma Sooners
Last Week: Utah State – win, 54-3. Clearly Oklahoma stinks. I mean, they didn’t score a touchdown on one of their drives, people! That’s pathetic! Add yet another win to the legend that is fast becoming Sam Bradford. The Fresh Frosh threw three more scores this week in what is becoming a laughably easy debut season for this guy. It’s supposed to be harder than this, Sam. Really. The loss in position may make their potential “trap game” this week into another laugher.
Coming Up: At Tulsa. The Golden Hurricane put up 55 points on BYU last week – but they gave up 47, too. That’s not going to work against a Sooners team that is averaging better than 60 points per game.

#5 – West Virginia Mountaineers
Last Week: Maryland – win, 31-14. Maybe the football world is being too hard on West Virginia. Maybe it’s not fair to judge them through the lens of the accomplishments of Florida and Oklahoma. But such is the landscape of major college football where top teams play head-to-head so rarely that we are forced to judge teams using style points. And baby, the Mountaineers aren’t earning many of those this year. I get that they’re undefeated. I get that they’ve beaten two straight better-than-average teams on the road in the past two weeks, but let’s be honest, neither game has been impressive. Last week against a decent Terps defense the Mountaineers went in to halftime leading only 14-7. The whole win was unimpressive compared to your top five brethren, and with the sky-high stats Oklahoma and Florida are putting up every week, what do you expect, WVU?
Coming Up: East Carolina. Here it is, West Virginia. Here’s your patsy game. Tee off on these guys and you can stop the hemorrhaging of points to the Gators and Sooners. Do anything other than win impressively and you’ve got no room to gripe.

#6 – California Golden Bears
Last Week: Louisiana Tech – win, 42-12. Yes, you won, Cal. Yes, you moved ahead of Texas, Cal. But don’t get all cocky on us – Texas moved down more than you moved up. This was a decent win against a decent team (remember, La. Tech just about beat Hawaii two weeks ago), but aren’t you supposed to beat teams like this by scores like this if you’re in the top ten? Yes. Yes you are. So enjoy your spot for the time being. You’ve got the Ducks coming up in two weeks. That’s where we’ll find out if you belong here.
Coming Up: Southwestern Middle School for the Athletically Unimpressive, aka, Arizona. Be nice. Keep it under 100.

#7 – Texas Longhorns
Last Week: UCF – win (barely), 35-32. I watched significant portions of this game, and the whole time I kept wondering when I was going to see Texas play. Turns out I never did. Give credit to the Golden Knights – they played their hearts out and they’ve got a better team than most realize, which the Longhorns found out far too late. Texas never put this game away and only barely survived a furious comeback by UCF in the opener of their new stadium. Texas trailed in the fourth quarter this week. Let me repeat that. They trailed. In the fourth quarter. Yes, they won. Yes, this is a surprisingly good Golden Knights team. But Texas, you’re supposed to be “good.” You’re allegedly a top ten team. Your archrival Oklahoma is starting a true freshman, you’ve got Wonder Boy at quarterback, and the Sooners still look like a better team. What’s your problem?
Coming Up: Rice. Seriously. The same Rice that got walloped by Baylor. By 30 points. If this game is remotely close, look for Texas to push the down button on the elevator once again.

#8 – Ohio State Buckeyes
Last Week: Washington – win, 33-14. I don’t know what to make of this game. The Huskies led 7-3 at the half, then the Buckeyes blew it open with 30 second half points. OK, so you won. Why were you trailing at halftime? I can’t imagine how this win catapulted Ohio State over Wisconsin (oh, wait… yes I can. See below). If it wasn’t for several crucial mistakes by Washington’s Jake Locker deep in OSU territory this game could have gone the other way. The win ties an Ohio State school record with 21 straight regular season wins.
Coming Up: Northwestern. The same Northwestern that just lost to Duke. The same Duke that hadn’t won a game since the Nixon Administration. That’s a tough schedule you got there, Buckeyes.

#9 – Wisconsin Badgers
Last Week: The Citadel – win, 45-31. OK, Wisconsin Fan. You took umbrage to my comments about your school last week, and I’ll admit I was pretty tough on them. But can you tell me why your Badgers were tied with The Citadel at halftime? Can you? You realize this is the same Citadel team that scored a grand total of 35 points against Charleston Southern (that’s a real school, honest). Now do I look like “The Bad Guy”, or maybe, just maybe, I was a bit right about the questions surrounding your team? Yeah, you can say it.
Coming Up: Redemption in the form of the Iowa Hawkeyes. Let me tell you something about the Hawkeyes – they just lost to the worst team in the history of teams. Ever. And by that I mean Iowa State. If the Badgers don’t win this by 500 points they should drop out of the top 25.

#10 – Penn State Nittany Lions
Last Week: Buffalo – win, 45-24. I still think the jury is out on this PSU team. Yeah, they demolished Buffalo (21 of Buffalo’s 24 points came late in the fourth quarter), but Buffalo is really, really bad. I know a bit about Buffalo – former Husker quarterback Turner Gill is the head coach there. They stink. So what has Penn State done to impress us this year? Scoring 135 points in three games against what amounts to D-IAA schools isn’t all that impressive. Penn State is ranked this high mostly because the pollsters really, really got Louisville and UCLA wrong, and they’ve moved up by default. By the way, before you go getting all offended that I’m not respecting this win, remember that Rutgers beat Buffalo 38-3 two weeks ago. And they’re ranked behind you, Penn State Fan.
Coming Up: Michigan. After the Wolverines win this game we can finally realize that the Big Ten is a Big Mess this year. Why will Michigan win? I don’t know. Call it a hunch. But they will.

The Rest of the Ranked:
#11. Rutgers – It is a crime against college football that if Penn State loses to Michigan, there will be not one but two teams from the Big East in the top ten. Good luck against the Terps.
#12. South Carolina – You didn’t by any chance get to see the USC game last week, did you? If you missed it, you’ll get to see a replay, only it’ll be LSU putting on the pounding this time. I’ve reserved a spot for you at #20. Right this way…
#13. Oregon – Last week’s comment about beating two patsies was more a jab at Michigan than you, Ducks. You’ve got Cal in two weeks. You could really make a splash with a win there.
#14. Boston College – I was not just wrong about last week’s BC/Georgia Tech game, I looked foolish in predicting a BC exit from the rankings. The road ahead looks smooth, Eagles. Enjoy your run.
#15. Clemson – One more week in the rankings ought to about do it for you, Clemson.
#16. Alabama – Welcome to the party! From unranked to 16th in one week, not bad. You’re going to have to beat Georgia to show it wasn’t a fluke, and you’re going to have to play better defense, too.
#17. Virginia Tech – Maybe you were a little hung over after getting pasted by LSU. Maybe you’re just not that good. We sure won’t find out this week against William & Mary, that’s for sure.
#18. Louisville – You may figure out a way to hang around the top 25 until November, but after that you’re gone. That defense is atrocious. Kentucky? You lost to Kentucky? Wow.
#19. Hawaii – I look at your schedule and I see… nobody. Too bad you’ll lose to one of those nobodies.
#20. Texas A&M – This game is in Miami, not Norman, and you’re not the Sooners. Better make sure your chin strap is tight, because the Hurricanes are still ticked at getting smacked by the Sooners.
#21. Kentucky – It is entirely unjust that the team you just beat is still three spots ahead of you. Nobody said these polls make sense.
#22. Georgia – After looking so impressive against Okie State, then losing to South Carolina, I have no idea if the Bulldogs can beat Alabama. I’m guessing not, since it’s at Alabama.
#23. South Florida – Welcome to the party, Bulls! North Carolina should provide no trouble, but look out in two weeks. You may not be staying long.
#24. Nebraska – See that cliff two spots down? You’re going over it if you play like that against David Letterman’s Alma Mater, Huskers. You’re lucky to be ranked. Consider it a gift.
#25. Missouri – Were you taking notes from Saturday night? If you can run against the Huskers you’ve got the keys to the North Kingdom. Hopefully Pinkel doesn’t submarine his own team. Again.

 
Heisman Hopefuls
In a couple of weeks I’ll start talking about guys who have a shot at the hardware.

Hope you enjoyed the column. See you next week.

 
Lance Knapp is one of a growing number of volunteers who write for the Cafe. Lance’s devotion to football is second to 742 Cafe members – but his willingness to write about football is second to none. Lance posts under the name of knapplc.
 

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