Top 25

College Football

Top 25

1. Oregon, 10-0, 1
2. Auburn, 11-0, 2
3. Boise State, 10-0, 3
4. Texas Christian, 11-0, 4
5. Wisconsin, 10-1, 5
6. Stanford, 10-1, 8
7. LSU, 10-1, 6
8. Ohio State, 10-1, 9
9. Oklahoma State, 10-1, 9
10. Alabama, 9-2, 12
11. Michigan State, 10-1, 11
12. Arkansas, 9-2, 12
13. Virginia Tech, 9-2, 14
14. Oklahoma, 9-2, 16
15. Nebraska, 9-2, 7
16. Missouri, 9-2, 15
17. South Carolina, 8-3, 17
18. Texas A&M, 8-3, 19
19. Nevada, 9-1, 18
20. Arizona, 7-3, 23
21. North Carolina State, 8-3, NR
22. Florida State, 8-3, 25
23. Mississippi State, 7-4, 24
24. Iowa, 7-4, 21
25. Florida, 7-4, NR

OUT: Northwestern (20) & Southern Cal (22)

VOTES: Miami, West Virginia, UCF, Northwestern, Southern Miss, Southern Cal, Northern Illinois, Baylor & Hawaii.

North Carolina State got a huge victory at North Carolina behind the legs of All-ACC QB Russell Wilson.....Iowa lost at home to Ohio State, failing to meet lofty expectations for 2010 while Wisconsin continues to use a powerful running game to mash opponents....Michigan State almost lost to Purdue, but survived...Oklahoma stampeded a decent Baylor squad which got my attention...Stanford blasted Cal-Berkley and served notice....Virginia Tech dumped Miami, giving the Hokies 9 wins in a row and giving the Hurricanes another disappointing setback....Meanwhile, Boise State continues to roll along toward the BCS title game.

It has not been a good year for the officiating crews across the country. Beyond missing calls, the new helmet hit rule is out of control and is having a negative effect on the game. Unfortunately, this weekend hit a new low as my teams were on the short end the blind zebras.

First, Florida State cornerback Greg Reid, dripping wet a buck 75, blasted a Maryland wideout, deflecting the ball which was intercepted and returned for a pick six by Mike Harris. Reid was ruled with hitting a defenseless player, the touchdown (which would have put Maryland in a big hole at 17-3) was erased and Maryland was given a first down 15 yards down the field to continue a drive the Terps later scored on. Looks like a clean pop in the right chest to me. Take a look:



Later in the evening, Nebraska fell to Texas A&M at Kyle Field, home of the 12th Man. Who knew the 12th Man was the officials? First off, although the Blackshirts are among the nations best, Nebraska is not a good offensive team without a healthy Taylor Martinez. T-Magic was not healthy Saturday night, and it showed.

On this evening, however, the Big Red would nee to do more than beat Texas A&M; it would have to out fox the zebras as well. Texas A&M is among the most penalized teams in the Big XII, but finished the night with two penalties for 10 yards. Nebraska was flagged 16 times for 165 yards. Big XII officials targeting Pelini and the Big Red?

On this play, Nebraska tight end Ben Cotton was flagged for two personal fouls totalling 30 yards. Check out why Cotton, #81, was torqued and what the officials missed:



With the game tied 6-6, two pass interference calls on 3rd and 10+ kept a late A&M drive alive. Nebraska was off the field once again after a big third down stop, but safety Courtney Osborne was flagged for personal foul roughing the passer, keeping the drive alive in which A&M converted the winning field goal. Check it out:



While Florida State was able to overcome the idiocy of the officials, Nebraska with a sluggish offense was not. While the FSU call appears to have been in error, the wide disparity of calls against Nebraska, including 3 on the game winning field goal drive at Collage Station seem to be much more than a handful of errors.

I was not the greatest player back in the day, but when I got loose to zero in on the quarterback, I never had the luxury of adjusting my contact point a few inches in hopes of not injuring the player I was tackling, which was never intended.

The protection of the players has gone too far, is out of control and is affecting the outcomes of games, unless of course what I thought I saw at A&M is what I thought I saw, which I found most unfortunate. So did Tom Shatel of the Omaha World Herald.

Both the hit by FSU's Reid and Nebraska's Osborne were legal and the kind of game changing plays that win games. If you are a quarterback and don't want to be sacked, take it up with your big uglies, the coaches, get rid of the ball or get off the field. And a note to the officials at A&M: Pelini had every right to verbally assault you and as your performance was embarrassing.