Top 25

College Football

Top 25

1. Oklahoma, 4-0, 1

2. Alabama, 5-0, 2

3. LSU, 5-0, 3

4. Stanford, 4-0, 4

5. Oklahoma State, 4-0, 5

6. Wisconsin, 5-0, 7

7. Boise State, 4-0, 6

8. Clemson, 5-0, 14

9. Oregon, 3-1, 11

10. Arkansas, 4-1, 15

11. Michigan 5-0, 18

12. Florida State, 2-2, 19

13. Auburn, 4-1, NR

14. Texas A&M, 2-2, 8

15. South Carolina, 4-1, 10

16. Texas, 4-0, 20

17. Georgia Tech, 5-0, 21

18. Nebraska, 4-1, 9

19. West Virginia, 4-1, 23

20. Virginia Tech, 4-1, 12

21. Georgia, 3-2, NR

22. Florida, 4-1, 13

23. Illinois, 5-0, 24

24. Arizona State, 4-1, 25

25. Michigan State, 4-1, NR

OUT: South Florida (16), Baylor (17) and TCU (22)

VOTES: USC, North Carolina, Notre Dame, Kansas State, Baylor, Washington and Missouri.

Brigham Young defeated Utah State in a thriller Friday night with their backup quarterback, a UTST Aggie transfer, leading a 96 yards drive in under two minutes to win the ball game. Utah State has lost some heartbreakers already in '11, but they should not hang their heads as they are a decent football team....South Florida got pummeled by Pitt on national television Thursday night, and Pitt running back Ray Graham looked fantastic...Auburn found a way to turn the tables on South Carolina, who amazingly have quarterback issues under the direction of the old ball coach....The Gators came out firing against Alabama, but once the Tide settled in a shut down the run, it got ugly, including Gator QB Brantley suffering a potentially serious knee injury....NCST could not stop Ga. Tech, although Orlando Boone tailback James Washington had a big day for the Pack....Ohio State is really struggling offensively, and Michigan State, who won at the Horseshoe Saturday, is not much better.....Clemson smothered Virginia Tech, and will now be favored the rest of the way. History says the Tigers stumble, but if not, they could be in the national title game....Robert Griffith Jr. played a brilliant game once again, but threw his first interception of the season at a critical time, giving K-State the ball in the rend zone. The Cats scored and with one last shot, RGII could not generate a first down allowing the Cats to steal the victory at home from Baylor.....Texas A&M, a very good football team, followed up blowing a 17 point lead last week to blowing an 18 point lead this week, as Arkansas came back to dump the Aggies 45-42. A&M is very good, but these losses are tough to overcome...Illinois remains undefeated, but barely got by Northwestern at home....Washington pounded Utah at Utah, and the Huskies are steadily improving....With South Carolina losing and Florida uncertain, Georgia is now, as surprising as it is, in the SEC East drivers seat....Mark Mississippi State down as the best three loss team so far in 2011....SMU got a very big victory, defeating TCU at Fort Worth......Texas avenged last years loss to Iowa State, and gets OU Saturday in The Red River War.

Nebraska was welcomed into the Big Ten by getting hammered by Wisconsin. Certainly, having followed Russell Wilson in his days in the ACC, his skills as a signal caller, particularly extending plays, are well advertised. While Nebraska was their own worst enemy much of the game, Wisconsin beat the 'Huskers in each facet of the game. Surprisingly, the 'Husker Blackshirt defense, a staple under the Pelini brothers, got pushed around and had no answer for Wilson. As Nebraska Coach Bo Pelini correctly noted in the post game, it was an embarrassing performance. Nebraska has some fine young running backs and receivers, but the offensive line has been pedestrian for some time and it seems as though quarterback Taylor Martinez is regressing, which is most concerning. The Blackshirt defensive line is stout, however, outside of the tackling machine known as Lavonte David, the linebackers played very average. The secondary, supposedly a strength behind Alfonso Dennard, a cornerback NFL scouts are drooling over, looked lost most of the night. I conclude this game performance lies squarely on the back of the coaches, from Bo Pelini on down. Next week, Ohio State comes to Lincoln and presents another opportunity for the Big Red. Should the 'Huskers play poorly once again, Bo Pelini and the coaching staff will have some answering to do.