Top 25

College Football

Top 25

1.    Alabama, 1-0, 4
2.    LSU, 1-0, 1
3.    Southern Cal, 1-0, 2
4.    Florida State, 1-0, 3
5.    Oregon, 1-0, 9
6.    Oklahoma, 1-0, 5
7.    Georgia, 1-0, 6
8.    West Virginia, 1-0, 10
9.    Arkansas, 1-0, 11
10.  South Carolina, 1-0, 8
11.  Nebraska, 1-0, 12
12.  Clemson, 1-0, 13
13.  Michigan State, 1-0, 14
14.  Texas, 1-0, 15
15.  Ohio State, 1-0, 17
16.  Michigan, 0-1, 7
17.  Virginia Tech, 1-0, 18
18.  Wisconsin, 1-0, 16
19.  Oklahoma State, 1-0, 21
20.  Kansas State, 1-0, 19
21.  North Carolina, 1-0, 20
22.  Notre Dame, 1-0, 23
23.  Washington, 1-0, 24
24.  Tennessee, 1-0, NR
25.  Louisville, 1-0, NR

OUT: Florida and Stanford.

VOTES: Florida, Texas Christian, Boise State, Auburn, Baylor, Texas A&M, Georgia Tech, Missouri, South Florida, UCF, Northwestern, Brigham Young and Utah.

Certainly, LSU played very well and does not deserve to be dropped in the poll; however, it is simply inevitable considering the way Alabama dominated a good Michigan team.  Although I thought the Tide would beat Michigan, in the preseason poll, I ranked Bama fourth thinking it would take some time for them to get their footing on defense.  Ouch.

We get quite a bit right here on blog, evidenced by predicting Miami would lose to Maryland and then upset Ohio State last year, or the following statement from 2008:

"Everyone is talking about Ohio State true freshman quarterback Terrell Pryor, but Robert Griffin III is putting on a real show at Baylor, one you should take notice of." October 27, 2008

Nebraska was not given much of a chance to figure in the Big Ten championship, primarily due to the nation thinking Taylor Martinez was a poor player, unable to throw accurately.  In our Nebraska preview, we stated the following:



T-Magic

"Taylor Martinez, who is often criticized and did not show improvement in his sophomore season, has all the tools to lead an experienced offense, balanced by Nebraska standards, to a level not seen at Nebraska in some years. Many feel Martinez is a liability, but I see him making big strides in 2012, improving each aspect of his game."


Martinez was 26 of 34 for 354 yards and five touchdowns, through the air, as the 'Huskers spanked Southern Miss, a team that won 12 games a year ago.  We know Martinez can run, and we will find out much more about his improvement, and the entire offense, when the Big Red takes on UCLA at the Rose Bowl.  There were some breakdowns, including giving up a 102 yard kickoff return, but it was good opening game for the 'Huskers.

Florida State got off to a great start, bombing outclassed Murray State.  I was in attendance, and the Seminoles looked sharp, particularly on defense.  With that said, on somewhat of a freak injury, DE Brandon Jenkins, a preseason All American, injured his foot and is lost for the year.  Jenkins, who has a bright NFL future, came back to be part of something special, and this is a painful loss the Seminoles.  He has the opportunity to redshirt, so we will see.  Jenkins is a good young man, and we wish him a speedy and full recovery.  With West Virginia buying a game in Tallahassee out, that big game for this weekend now has Savannah State, who gave up 84 to Oklahoma State last week, entering DOAK.  Hide the women and children.

Clemson, behind Andre Ellington, got by Auburn for a big win for not only the Tigers, but the ACC.....N.C. State was not as fortunate, as they got blasted by a very much improved Tennessee team.... Georgia, Oklahoma and Wisconsin each looked terrible, and there could be trouble upcoming....South Carolina escaped at Vanderbilt, and looked surprisingly bad on offense, although Marcus Lattimore looked good returning from his knee injury....Baylor came out of the gate strong after losing RGIII, behind Nick Florence.....Ohio State looked good in Urban renewal, while Florida stunk up the Swamp in the aftermath of Urban decay.....Michigan State utilized the ground game to dump Boise State in a close game....Notre Dame was strong in defeating Navy...Southern Cal and LSU looked good as well, and so did Oregon, at least on offense.....Houston got bombed 30-13 by Texas State, and although we noted the Cougars were descending in our preview, we had no idea this could happen....Penn State wanted a feel good day, but a very solid Ohio Bobcat team, coached by former Nebraska boss Frank Solich, spoiled the day, and the Nittany Lions are in for a long year, or decade....Speaking of Nebraska, former 'Husker AD Steve Pederson, who was appropriately fired after the Bill Callahan experiment, landed at Pitt and it has been nothing short of a disaster ever since.  Forget that the basketball team is descending, but the beyond the coaching carousel, the promise of a new season has resulted in a humiliating home loss to Youngstown State on Saturday, by 14 points, had to have the Panther faithful scratching their heads.  Been there, done that.