Top 25

College Football

Top 25

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

OUT:  Cincinnati (22) and Texas Christian (25)

VOTES:  Boise State, Ohio, Texas Christian, Oklahoma State, Wisconsin, Arizona State, Northwestern, Tulsa, North Carolina State, Michigan State, UCLA, Northern Illinois, Cincinnati, Toledo, Arizona, Penn State, Baylor, and Duke.

At Evanston, Illinois within eye shot of Lake Michigan, a sea of red invaded Ryan Field as the Nebraska Cornhuskers, in desperate need of a win, took on a good Northwestern team. Trailing at the half, with the biggest ovation from the Husker faithful was to salute the fielding of a punt without fumbling the ball away, the Husker season, and perhaps much more, seemed destined for collapse. Fumbles, missed blocking assignments and costly penalties, all signs of a lack of  discipline for which the coaching staff was responsible and would have been held accountable, were the rule rather than the exception. The Big Red went down 28-16 with about 9 minutes remaining, and Pelini was hot on the sideline, nothing compared to the inferno in Husker Nation. Then, Taylor Martinez bailed out Boo Pelini, leading a comeback for the ages through the air as the 'Huskers won 29-28. After the game, all were emotional, reasonable considering Pelini may have been among the very few out of work due to something other than the policies of President Obama. The trend was spiraling  downward, but after the Martinez led comeback, new life and perhaps a shifting of the mental and political winds may get behind this team which controls their destiny in winning the Big Ten. On Saturday, the defense played well and the Big Red outgained Northwestern 543 to 301, and it is reasonable that Nebraska can win out. Nebraska is their own worst enemy, and if mental discipline can be gained, eliminating the aforementioned issues, a Rose Bowl berth awaits. We are fixing to find out.

For about 20 years, nothing was more important in national championships discussions than Miami-Florida State. Unfortunately, for a myriad of reasons, although it remains meaningful statewide, much of the luster has been lost. Certainly, on the field performance, issues with the Hurricane fan base and Miami moving away from the old Orange Bowl have been significant contributors. However, it remains a rivalry with plenty of top athletes on either side. Therefore, when a team commits errors a plenty, it provides a recipe for defeat. Florida State fumbled, botched a punt and had numerous missed assignments early on, and you had to wonder if FSU had ever been here before. Finally, and I mean finally, a steady running game wore down the 'Canes and FSU won easily, 33-20. It was weird, the game was scoreboard close for much of the night but you thought FSU was winning by three touchdowns, accurately surmised by ESPN analyst Kirk Herbstreit The Seminoles have a very strong team, but they play to the level of the opponent, are not well coached and open themselves up for defeat much too often. You have to wonder how many points the 'Noles would rack up if they unshackled themselves. Defensively, FSU is a s good as anyone, but they are an offensive enigma, with an extremely talented onslaught of elite receivers, an improving and deep line and a stable of top notch running backs.  A statement needed to be made if the Seminoles had any hope of getting back in the BCS title mix, but even though this was a rivalry game, the Seminoles again failed to meet expectations.

Running backs Rex Burkhead of Nebraska and Chris Thompson of Florida State injured knees, and both injuries looked serious. Both of these players are heart and soul team leaders, and I am hoping for the best for each of them.  Thompson is the FSU MVP for 2012 at this point.

It is amazing to note that Auburn, just two years removed from a perfect season and a National Championship, is 1-6 and 0-5 in the SEC, and the fires must be spreading on the plains....Texas, outstanding on defense in past seasons, is seemingly giving up 50 a game....Taking nothing away from the Florida Gators, with an emerging offense and a championship defense, South Carolina gave the Gators three touchdowns with ineptitude, impossible to overcome in The Swamp for the best of college football outfits....Offensively, Oregon simply puts enormous pressure on defenses playing fast and utilizing every inch of the gridiron; and some think the philosophy is the future of football.....Duke upset North Carolina, and no, we are not talking hoops, and considering the job David Cutcliffe has done there one has to wonder what Ole Miss was thinking firing him....Clemson thumped Va. Tech, and the Hokies decade long string of 10 win seasons seems over....Maryland doinked the goalpost missing a last second field goal and fell to visiting NC State, while Michigan hit a chip shot FG to nip visiting Michigan State as it seems the Big Ten is full of slightly above average teams....Purdue, who historically has given Ohio State trouble, has to be sick. The Boilermakers had the Buckeyes beat, but with under two minutes to, played not to lose, got tied, and then lost in overtime; poor late game coaching......West Virginia got blasted by Kansas State in Morgantown, showing the Mounties to be a pretender and the Wildcats a contender.....Where is Phil Fulmer when you need him? On this third Saturday of October Alabama blasted Tennessee, and have undefeated Mississippi State next week....Georgia got by a very poor Kentucky team, and limps into the Worlds Largest Cocktail Party already hungover.....A&M's Johnny Manziel, "Johnny Football", continues to amaze..RGIII is in the NFL, but Nick Florence of Baylor is not too shabby himself...OU welcomes Notre Dame, who escaped BYU at home..A few weeks back we questioned why Kirk Ferentz of Iowa is so well respected, and then the Hawks dumped Michigan State, but last night they were blasted by Penn State, at home, and one has to wonder if he will be on the way out.... College Gameday introduced America to Tarin Moses, the girlfriend of Gator quarterback Jeff Driskel of Orlando Hagerty and even this Seminole was quite impressed... Stephan Taylor helped Stanford run over Cal in the Big Game and my vote for the Heisman would go to Collin Klein of K-State.