NCAA Top 25 Cafe Poll - Week 5

The “preseason” is over and we are finally getting into the meat of the college football schedule. Teams across the country started their conference schedules in week four and that led to some great match ups. Alabama dominated Arkansas and showed the country they truly are back, LSU beat Auburn in a match up that has decided the SEC West champion in 7 of the last 8 years, Urban Meyer continued his winning streak against the Vols, and Wake Forest showed they are still the team to beat in the ACC. If every week the games are exciting as some of last week’s games then we are in for a great college football season.

Once again, here are 3 of the games I watched this weekend:

Florida @ Tennessee – This game was once one of the biggest rivalries in college football, but since Urban Meyer came to Gainesville this game has lost some of its luster. Meyer improved his record against Tennessee to 4-0 since coming to Gainesville and Tennessee coach Phil Fulmer has Vols fans once again wondering about his game plan. If someone just looked at the box score they would think that Tennessee’s defense stepped up and stopped the Gator’s offense, but that would not be correct. The Gator’s lower offensive numbers were due to the fact that their defense and special teams gave them a short field most of the day and Florida’s offense did not see the field much. Special teams scoring and sound football have been staples this year for the Florida Gators. The Gators have not committed a turnover this season and have scored points off of special teams in every game. Florida ran only 28 offensive plays in the first half of the game due to Tennessee turnovers and a Brandon James punt return for a touchdown. With the Gators up in the second half, offensive coordinator Dan Mullen went into a bland run-first offense to run out the clock and get out of Knoxville with a win. Coming into the season, the Gators were supposed to have one of the most explosive offenses in football, but thus far it has been their defense and special teams that have won them games.

Wake Forest @ Florida State – This was the game that Florida State was supposed to come out and atone for two consecutive loses to Wake Forest, including a 34-0 beat down in Tallahassee two years ago. Florida State was supposed to make a statement on primetime and show the country they were back and ready to dominate the ACC once again - too bad no one told their offense. Florida State’s defense, still without all of its starters, looked dominating and wreaked havoc all over the field. Their offense on the other hand looked like a High School offense going against the Minnesota Vikings defense. Florida State committed 7 turnovers in the game, including two back to back interceptions in Florida State territory late in the fourth quarter. Jimbo Fisher, FSU’s Offensive Coordinator, rotated his young quarterbacks back and forth trying to get something going, but the result was the same each drive. Florida State’s offense seems to still be a year away at least and will need to improve in a hurry if they want to have any chance at an ACC title.

LSU @ Auburn – This is one of the fiercest rivalries in football and it seemingly always comes down to the last minute. This game featured two great defenses, and two offenses that are learning on the fly. Auburn installed the spread offense before last season’s bowl game and has had some struggles making it work thus far, but the offense seemed to click in this game against LSU’s dominating defense. LSU has the same offense they have always had, but they have two quarterbacks that had never played in a game like this ever. With a minute left in the second quarter, LSU quarterback Jarrett Lee threw an interception that Auburn returned for a touchdown to go up 14-3 at halftime. LSU’s starter, Andrew Hatch, suffered a concussion in the second half of the game after a big hit from an Auburn defender. With Hatch standing on the sideline, looking like he had no idea where he was, Jarrett Lee made up for his interception earlier in the game with two touchdowns, including one to win the game. Auburn had a chance at the end of the game to drive down the field and tie, but came up a yard short on fourth down and LSU escaped Jordan-Hare with a win for the first time since 1998.

Now for our Week Four Top 25:

Rank	Change	TEAM	Avg Rank	D e e	A F F	h s k r p w r	K n a p p	V a d e r	J a y	B a g e l	M u g r i l a	B l u e B a n d i t 2 4	S a n d r o c k
1 (1)		USC	1.1	1	1	2	1	2	1	1	1	1	1
2 (3)		Oklahoma	2.8	2	4	5	3	1	2	3	3	3	2
3 (2)		Georgia	2.8	3	2	4	2	5	3	2	2	2	4
4 (5)		Florida	3.9	4	3	3	4	6	4	5	4	4	3
5 (6)		LSU	5.4	5	6	1	6	4	7	4	7	5	6
6 (4)		Missouri	5.4	6	5	6	5	3	5	6	5	6	5
7 (7)		Wisconsin	7.5	7	7	9	8	8	6	7	6	8	10
8 (8)		Texas	8.1	10	8	8	7	7	11	8	8	9	7
9 (9)		Alabama	9.1	9	10	7	11	9	9	10	10	7	9
10 (11)		Texas Tech	10.3	11	11	12	9	10	10	12	9	10	8
11 (13)		Penn State	10.5	8	9	16	10	13	8	9	12	11	12
12 (12)		South Florida	12.5	16	12	10	13	12	12	11	13	14	13
13 (15)		Brigham Young	12.6	13	14	14	12	11	13	13	11	16	11
14 (10)		Auburn	14.6	12	13	17	15	14	21	15	14	13	16
15 (19)		Wake Forest	15.4	14	17	13	19	15	17	17	16	12	14
16 (18)		Kansas	16.5	19	16	18	14	20	15	14	15	17	18
17 (20)		Utah	17.3	15	20	11	16	17	19	19	19	18	15
18 (17)		Ohio State	17.5	17	15	31	20	16	14	20	18	15	19
19 (NR)	NR	Boise State	21.1	25	25	19	17	18	20	23	22	26	17
20 (22)		Illinois	21.5	21	31	31	21	23	18	16	17	20	21
21 (NR)	NR	Vanderbilt	22.0	18	21	15	30	19	24	27	23	24	20
22 (24)		Clemson	22.3	22	22	31	26	21	23	21	21	19	22
23 (23)		Fresno State	23.9	20	31	31	24	24	16	25	20	21	26
24 (NR)	NR	TCU	23.6	23	31	21	29	22	22	22	25	23	23
25 (NR)	NR	Nebraska	26.5	24	19	22	28	31	26	31	28	22	31

Agree? Disagree? Come voice your opinion in the college forum on our rankings or who you think will win the Heisman this year. We also have a weekly games commentary thread where fans from across the college spectrum come to cheer on their team or vent about their team’s loss.

There was a sad note this week that I wanted to touch on. Last week I commented on Ball State’s Quarterback Nate Davis and how much I enjoyed watching him play. Well, during last week’s game his favorite receiving target, Dante Love, was hit hard after catching the ball and suffered a cervical spine fracture that has ended his career. The school has said he is expected to live a normal and healthy life after a rehabilitation period, but he will never be able to play football again. Love led the NCAA in receiving coming into the game and was a dynamic wide receiver who was amazing to watch. I will miss watching him play, and I hope his rehabilitation goes well and he can live a healthy and normal life.

(9 votes, average: 3.67 out of 5)  Loading ... Questions or comments for Adam? Post them in the Cafe Forums! Want to see your own fantasy wisdom published? Check out the Cafe's Pencil & Paper section!