College Football Top Ten Wrap Up 5

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What in the name of the Michigan Wolverines happened last week? Can anyone explain to me why the Trojans lost to the Stanford Cardinal but are still in the top ten? I was under the impression that the precedent had been set – that if you lose a game to a vastly underrated opponent, you not only lose your position in the top ten but you get booted all the way out. That seems only fitting, but there sits USC at #10, in flagrant violation of the ouster of Michigan in week one. What gives? Is Michigan really that poorly respected? Is USC and their Golden Boy coach Pete Carroll really that well-liked? No matter the answer, this is a travesty, plain and simple.

The BCS rankings will be released next week, so this will be the last week I use the AP poll as my baseline for this column. Things should look a bit different compared to this week’s rankings. It should be fun.

This week I bring you an abbreviated version of the wrap up. I hope fans of the column (both of you) don’t mind that I’m skipping the “Rest of the Ranked” section this week. Time does not allow it, but I promise it’ll be back in weeks to come.

And now, on to the rankings…

 
#1 – Louisiana State Tigers
Last Week: Florida – win, 28-24. This was perhaps the best game of the year. Two heavyweights of college football going toe-to-toe, duking it out for the lead in the SEC. The Tigers came out on top and staked their claim to the title of King of College Football – at least for now. The SEC title game is still coming up, and we could see a rematch of this game if Florida can win out.
Coming Up: At #17 Kentucky. LSU can lose this game. I’ve maligned the Wildcats in this column in the past, but to their credit they appear to be a legitimate team. Those who follow the game this year know a win here is not a foregone conclusion for LSU. Les Miles, get your kids ready for a tussle.

 
#2 – California Golden Bears
Last Week: Idle. Team Tedford sat back and watched USC lose, then sauntered up to second in the polls when the dust cleared.
Coming Up: Oregon State. It’s highly doubtful that the Bears will be looking ahead to UCLA, so expect the Beavers to get Cal’s full attention in this game. Lord have mercy.

 
#3 – Ohio State Buckeyes
Last Week: At Purdue – win, 23-7. While I was not terribly impressed with OSU’s 23 points against a relatively weak Boilermakers defense, holding a relatively gifted Boilermakers offense to seven points was noteworthy. You have to like the way the season is shaping up for the Buckeyes so far. They’ve struggled a bit on offense, sure, but their defense is rounding out to fine form once again. We’ve seen enough teams stumble along the way to know that it’s not impossible to imagine Ohio State back in the title game.
Coming Up: Complacency. Boredom. Ennui. I’m just wondering if the Buckeyes starters will get more than 15 minutes worth of work against Kent State this week. Let’s just hope that nobody gets hurt.

#4 – Boston College Eagles
Last Week: Bowling Green – win, 55-24. This was a brief but brutal beating by BC. Barely breaking a sweat, Matt Ryan threw four touchdown passes to lead the rout. BC is enjoying their highest ranking since Doug Flutie roamed their halls, and they’ve started 6-0 for the first time in 65 years. Even though they haven’t played a single team I’d consider impressive, this kind of beat-down of an overmatched opponent is exactly what we expect from the #4 team.
Coming Up: At Notre Dame. Dreams of dropping the Irish to 0-7 have been dashed by a woeful effort by UCLA, but BC should be able to easily handle Notre Dame anyway. Of course, with games against Virginia Tech and Florida State looming, this could also be a look-ahead trap game. Could the Irish suddenly have a winning streak on their hands?

#5 – South Florida Bulls
Last Week: At Florida Atlantic – win, 35-23. Cinderella may need to readjust her crown. For the second straight week the top ten’s favorite ingénue wins a turnover-riddled game. With a showdown against Rutgers looming in two weeks, it looks like there is still some work to do before this ranking looks secure for the Bulls.
Coming Up: The Golden Knights of UCF. With Rutgers looming on the horizon this could be South Florida’s trap game. Remember that UCF took Texas to the wire, losing 32-35 to the former #6 team. The carriage may leave early if USF isn’t focused on this game.

#6 – Oklahoma Sooners
Last Week: At Texas – win, 28-21. The Sooner world is back in order, as Oklahoma survives the Red River war once again, as Sam Bradford regained the poise he lost in last week’s bizarre loss to Colorado, tossing three touchdowns and generally looking good against a staunch Longhorns defense. The Sooners have a lot of work to do, starting this week against Missouri, before we’re ready to put them back in contention for the Mythical National Championship, but if you look at the schedules of everyone ahead of them, there’s no reason to believe they can’t make it back to the BCS #2 spot before season’s end.
Coming Up: #11 Missouri. However, they may face their toughest test yet when the Tigers come to town. Missouri started the season unranked and earning very little respect, but as the season has progressed and the wins have mounted, Missouri has earned their way into the national spotlight once again. This could be a very good, very close game.

#7 – South Carolina Gamecocks
Last Week: #17 Kentucky – win, 38-23. Two weeks after a tough loss to now top-ranked LSU, the Cocks enter the top ten with a win over former #8 Kentucky. Steve Spurrier gave Kentucky all the bulletin-board material they needed after dissing Kentucky’s win over Clemson, but in the end the Gamecocks proved more game than the Wildcats, who were held to half of their season points average and harassed into several turnovers by the Gamecock’s defense.
Coming Up: At North Carolina. This is not a gimme for the Gamecocks. UNC just knocked off a Miami team that is better than average, so going on the road to Chapel Hill is not exactly an easy game. Still, I think SC should be able to pull this one out.

#8 – West Virginia Mountaineers
Last Week: At Syracuse – win, 55-14. Talk about a wake-up call. One week after their devastating loss to USF, West Virginia puts a royal beat-down on the Orangemen of Syracuse, allowing them to climb back into the top ten once again. WVU scored on offense and defense, throwing a bewildering barrage against an obviously overmatched Syracuse squad. It was not all sun and daisies for the Mountaineers, though – Pat White was once again banged up (he left in the third quarter and did not return), and Steve Slaton was held far below his average to only 69 yards rushing. Still, this win and their resurgence into the top ten had to go a long way to mollifying the Mountaineers after losing a game they easily could have won.
Coming Up: Sloth. Laziness. Idolatry– err… that’s something else. WVU gets the week off before hosting MSU in two weeks. The way things are going so far this season, they could very well be ranked higher than #8 by the time they snap the football again.

#9 – Oregon Ducks
Last Week: Idle. Sometimes it pays to sit around and loaf for a while. One week after losing to Cal at home, the Ducks sneak their way into the top ten simply because of the ineptitude of the teams previously ranked ahead of them.
Coming Up: Washington State. The Cougars should pose no problem to Oregon. Heck, even USC can beat them.

#10 – USC Trojans
Last Week: Stanford – loss, 23-24. Let me get this straight – Michigan loses to an Appalachian State team that, despite being a Div-II school, is pretty good. Michigan then gets booted out of the top 25 (legitimately so, I might add). So what in the name of Pete Carroll’s patootie is USC doing not only still in the top 25, but still in the top ten??? This loss to one of the worst teams in Div-IA football may legitimately be the biggest upset ever in the history of college football! This is a complete sham. I never, ever want to hear one more person gripe about the perceived “East Coast Bias” in college football rankings. I’m frankly disgusted by this.
Coming Up: Arizona. Should the Trojans somehow manage to lose this game as well, they’ll most likely get booted all the way down to #15.

 
That’s it for this week, kids. Next week I’ll be using the BCS rankings, so expect a different look to the teams we focus on.

In two weeks, I promise, I’ll trot out my list of the five most worthy candidates for the Heisman Trophy.

Until then, have a good week.

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