Top 25

College Football

Top 25

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

OUT:  Oklahoma State, (21), Texas Christian (22) and Texas (24).

VOTES:  Penn State, Cincinnati, Baylor, Rutgers, Oklahoma State, San Jose State, Texas Christian, Boise State, Michigan State, Kent State, Texas, Ole Miss, Fresno State, Mississippi State, West Virginia, Tulsa, North Carolina and Arkansas State.

FLORIDA STATE

Florida State, behind very average quarterback play and inept play calling, failed to mash the gas after jumping to a very early 14-0 lead versus Georgia Tech in The ACC Championship game and then had to hold on to defeat an inspired but very average Yellow Jacket team 21-15.  The game had a very familiar, but unwelcome feel to it.  FSU jumps out early, plays not to lose running a vanilla offense and then rolls the dice on a late collapse. A home loss late in 2011 to Virgina, the inexcusable loss at NC State and a last second escape at Va.Tech this fall appears to have had little or no impact on the coaching staff.  Thankfully, FSU won this game, for a loss would have resulted in a significant financial hit for the Seminoles, and the Orange Bowl,  The defense played well, no doubt wanting to send DC Mark Stoops, who has taken the job at Kentucky, off with a great effort.  Job well done.  This is the first championship for FSU since 2005, so the win is very meaningful and a notable step in returning the Seminoles to greatness.  However, issues remain.  Fisher needs an offensive coordinator to help expand the utilization of the playbook and top level athletes the Seminoles have offensively.  In addition, the quarterback play, which has been an issue for over a decade, must improve.  FSU is off to the Orange Bowl, perhaps to meet Louisville, and should be heavily favored.  A great precursor for 2013 would be to exceed expectations with a high octane performance.  Time will tell.  Off the field, hopefully the FSU brass recognize the ACC is totally unstable.  I expect the Big Ten to raid another team or two from the ACC, so FSU officials need to be preemptive and make a move to increase stability and financial opportunity.  Remaining in the ACC with Big East castoffs waters down significantly the value of the University, so rather than lose value, FSU should seek to increase the brand and platform.  Again, time will tell the level of leadership.

Sadly, Maj. Billy Smith, the Florida State Highway Patrolman who served as Coach Bobby Bowden's escort for some four decades, passed away last weekend. Smith was a mainstay for the Seminoles, a good man whose service to our country and the Seminoles is greatly appreciated.  The Tallahassee Democrat reported on the death of Smith. RIP Billy Smith.

NEBRASKA

In perhaps the worst performance of a Nebraska football team in my 48 years of existence, the Cornhuskers got freight trained in The Big Ten Championship game by a Wisconsin team fortunate to be in the game.  Nebraska gave up 42 first half points, and a quick check of the record book shows from 1956 to 2001, the Cornhuskers did not give up more than 42 points in a game! Yes, you read that correctly. 

Wisconsin trampled Nebraska 70-31, and it was not that close.

Under Bill Callahan, Nebraska lost 70-10 at Texas Tech, but that was not on a conference championship stage.  In addition, Pelini, a defensive guru, was hired primarily to fix the defensive woes under the Callahan regime, and they were substantial.



Issues and no answers for Pelini/Photo Brian Spurlock-US PRESSWIRE

After significant early success in his tenure at Nebraska, given hat we witnessed last evening, the defensive issues remain far from  resolved and Pelini appears to be vacant of any answers.
 

Nebraska defeated Wisconsin earlier in the season in a dramatic comeback 30-27 at Lincoln, after which Pelini commented "Contrary to what you guys think, I haven’t forgotten how to coach defense and how to stop the run ". 

 

The next weekend Nebraska suffered a blowout at Ohio State in which the 'Huskers surrendered 650 yards.  Nebraska responded by winning six games in row in to win the Legends division, beating some good football teams.

 

Then came the debacle last night.  Stopping the run?  Are you kidding me.  The Badgers had a pedestrian at best signal caller, but ran like the wind in piling up some 539 yards rushing.  "Obviously we didn't play well enough," Pelini said. "We came unglued. I wish I had the answer, but I don't."  Knowing what Wisconsin does offensively, and having no answers, is of great concern.

Tom Shatel of The Omaha World Herald has it right.  "Nebraska looked ill-prepared, lackluster and like it had no business being on a championship field. This, in the fifth year of Pelini's tenure, with his guys, his seniors, his way of football".  Shatel was not finished.

 

With a defense ranked in the top 15 in the nation, how on earth could Nebraska get clocked in such fashion.  Over at The Bleacher Report, they have some analysis.

 

Pelini, whose hire I strongly supported, seems in quick sand.  After Wisconsin burned Nebraska badly on a pair of jet sweeps, no adjustments to close the corner were made. The Blackshirts were excellent at arm tackle attempts, and the secondary was embarrassing.  In fact, the whole effort was embarrassing and nobody on defense dreamed of playing well.  Nobody.

 

Sadly, although the offense should be very good next year, Taylor Martinez cannot be counted on to bail Nebraska out on a weekly basis.  There appears to be limited talent returning on the stop side; again, Pelini's supposed wheel house.  Without question, this is problematic to be sure.  Recruiting is not going all the well either.

 

I suspect Pelini will be back next fall, but performances similar to what we witnessed last night are inexcusable and if they continue, we will have to part company.  Significant improvement will have to be witnessed, for the standards of excellence we demand are failing to be met.
 

As Shatel accurately pointed out, this one goes directly on the head coach's tab, a tab Husker Nation may soon pick up in the name of a buyout.

OFFICIATING

Something has to be done about the helmet to helmet rule.  Certainly, we all recognized the issue of repeated concussions and the long term impact they can have.  But football is a violent sport, one the players choose to participate in.  If you are worried about being hit, stay on the couch. At least for the time being, America remains a free country.

As it currently stands the officials are very inconsistent in flagging the hits, and it is having a negative impact on games.

I would do away with the rule, perhaps adding yardage to unnecessary roughness penalties.  One such penalty should have been applied to an Alabama player who targeted Georgia quarterback Aaron Murray in the SEC Championship game which went unflagged.

Then came Nebraska wideout Kenny Bell, who unleashed the frustration of an ass kicking.  See the legal hit:



That was a completely legal hit and was not helmet to helmet.  I am not a fan of FOX Analyst Charles Davis, but I am in agreement with him on this one.  This is football, not four square.  You are flagged for blocking low or hitting high.  Apparently, hitting anywhere when you have a block for the ages draws a flag, which in this case, negated a Nebraska touchdown. @AFRO_THUNDER80 can  ring the bell anytime! As Keith Jackson would say, that was a decleater, and a completely legal hit and one of the few things the Huskers did right on Saturday night. 
 

NATION

 

Georgia play a valiant game, but came up just short in taking down Alabama in the SEC Championship game, where there were no empty seats.  The Dawgs were right there, but Alabama used a powerful rushing attack, controlling the line of scrimmage, to win the game.  Bama now goes on to face Notre Dame in the BCS Championship game......Tulsa dumped UCF for the CUSA championship, with Nebraska transfer Cody Green directing the attack.......OU outlasted TCU but K-State handled Texas and wins the Big XII.....Stanford held strong and defeated UCLA for the PAC 12 title....No BCS controversy, it is Notre Dame-Alabama....Colorado terminated Coach Jon Embree, a former player.  Immediately, former CU Coach Bill McCartney claimed racism.  Did McCartney consider Embree was 4-21, without a home victory this fall and a home loss to Sacramento State?  Everything that goes wrong for a minority person is not racism.  Embree seems like a nice guy, but he had never been a coordinator before and was in over his head.  Results, not racism.....Pitt beat down USF, and Skip Holtz has been fired....It will be interesting to follow the coaching hires and fires, and a good place to that is HERE>