The Color & Pageantry Top 25

College Football

Top 25

1.      Stanford, 5-0, 1
2.      Alabama, 5-0, 2
3.      Oregon, 5-0, 3
4.      Clemson, 5-0, 4
5.      Ohio State, 6-0, 5
6.      Florida State, 5-0, 6
7.      Louisville, 5-0, 7
8.      Georgia, 4-1, 8
9.      Texas A&M, 4-1, 9
10.    UCLA, 4-0, 10
11.    LSU, 5-1, 11
12.    Miami, 5-0, 13
13.    Baylor, 4-0, 16
14.    South Carolina, 4-1, 12
15.    Oklahoma, 5-0, 14
16.    Washington, 4-1, 16
17.    Northwestern, 4-1, 15
18.    Florida, 4-1, 18
19.    Michigan, 5-0, 19
20.    Nebraska, 4-1, 21
21.    Texas Tech, 5-0, 22
22.    Missouri, 5-0, NR
23.    Fresno State, 5-0, NR
24.    Northern Illinois, 5-0, 25
25.    Virginia Tech, 5-1, NR

OUT: Ole Miss (20), Arizona State (23), Wisconsin (24)

VOTES: Wisconsin, Notre Dame, Arizona State, Michigan State and Oklahoma State.  

NATIONAL ANALYSIS:

With the once mighty Texas Longhorns knocking on the door at the Iowa State 2 yard line, the Cyclones needed someone to make a play to seal the upset victory.  ISU linebacker Jeremiah George, who was all over the field on this night, stole the ball from Longhorn running back Jonathan Gray and began racing to paydirt. But, the zebras had other ideas, calling Gray down.  Multiple replays, inclusive of one with sound indicating the whistle had not blown prior to George grabbing possession, convinced everyone it was ISU ball.  Except the officials.  Texas, who retained possession after fumbling again on the next play, scored a TD to win 31-30 at Ames.  ISU Coach Paul Rhoads was not pleased, blasting the officials.  Rhoads has since been reprimanded, but I stand with him.  This was big for the 'Clones, and the officials blew it.  Everyone, except the officials, know it.




The Hurricanes outscored Georgia Tech in the scorching sun at SunLife Stadium, and while Miami is climbing the latter with confidence in the aftermath of their win over Florida, Georgia Tech, with 18 starters returning, is a major disappointment.....As is North Carolina, who got bombed by East Carolina last week and stumbled at Va. Tech on Saturday....Minnesota Coach Jerry Kill missed the Gopher game at Michigan after having yet another seizure, reportedly his fifth since 2011.  Kill has the Gophers playing their best football in a decade or more, but the seizure business is becoming troublesome.....As my friend Ashley accurately pointed out, Vanderbilt is a good team experiencing some internal turmoil, but few thought visiting Missouri would take them to the woodshed....South Carolina All American DE Jadeveon Clowney informed Coach Steve Spurrier he would not be playing this weekend, causing Spurrier to answer media questions....Clemson blasted Syracuse at the Carrier Dome and awaits FSU to Death Valley....OU defeated TCU at Norman, and will face Texas in the Red River War at the Texas State Fair in Dallas on high noon Saturday....The Florida Gators handled Arkansas at The Swamp, but a trip to LSU, who came back to blast Mississippi State, where Florida is matched in the trenches, is next....Michigan State found some offense and beat Iowa, who had been playing better...Oregon has scored over 56 in each of their first five games, overcoming a slow start to win at Colorado...UCLA won at Utah...Indiana blasted Penn State for their first win over the Lions, and the Hoosiers are better than most people think....Ball State throttled Virginia in Charlottesville, and that will put the coaching staff on the hot seat even though recruiting is going very well....Another unexpected ACC outcome was in Wake Forest winning comfortably against NC State....After getting smothered at Alabama, Ole Miss then got punked at Auburn...Georgia barely defeated Tennessee at Rocky Top, losing RB Keith Marshall perhaps for the season and two top receivers for the game if not much longer. The Vols fumbled away a potential score in overtime, which gave UGA a chance to kick and win it, which the Dawgs did....Ohio State went out on the road and took care of business beating a strong Northwestern team, and now the Buckeyes should be undefeated to the B1G Tile game.....UCF was pitiful in front of a sparse crowd at Memphis but came back to win in dramatic fashion, scoring a TD then knocking out the ensuing kickoff returner to cause and recover a fumble returning it for a score.  Knight fans were clamoring for QB Bortles and RB Storm Johnson to get going, but could only manage light precipitation.....Baylor is flat lethal on offense, and the Big XII may be theirs for the taking...Make no mistake, Washington is a very good football team, and the Huskies almost won at Stanford, but the Cardinal responded to meet the challenge and remain top ranked.

For those who may be new readers, we offer game analysis of the two teams we have allegiance with; Florida State and Nebraska, in the order their games were played over any given weekend.

NEBRASKA ANALYSIS: 

In advance of the game, HLN TV's Morning Express with the lovely Robin Meade hosted their new segment "Rivalry Express" which highlighted among other things the hair of WR Kenny Bell and the delicious Runza, fan favorites to be sure.

In the real estate appraisal business, it is noted that one sale does not a market make, and certainly, one game does not define a college football season, but one has to credit the much maligned staff at Nebraska for making noticeable strides on the defensive side of the ball after the volatile high beta efforts during the non conference schedule.  Coming off a bye week, the defensive staff went back to basics with the young group, working on the mental aspects and personnel evaluation.  As I have been critical, I must credit the staff for the bye week adjustments. Illinois is not Oregon, but the Illini have a seasoned signal caller and have demonstrated the ability to move the football.  While it was not always, pretty, plays were made when necessary, turnovers were created and it was well into the third quarter, with the game seemingly decided, before Illinois found paydirt.  The first road trip is at struggling Purdue next week, so the development of the defensive unit can continue.  Offensively, QB Taylor Martinez was out again, and Tommy Armstrong put in another strong performance in his place.  Ameer Abdullah ran strong, and WR Kenny Bell responded from a poor outing last week with an ESPN on handed catch for a TD.  The offensive line has their best game of the year.  For whatever reason Nebraska failed in alarming fashion hosting UCLA, the offense cane score and the defense is showing signs of coming together.  Several defensive youngsters have caught our eye, and the talent is there for this unit to be difference makers down the road.  The B1G Championship is still achievable, maybe more; however, progress will have to continue to be made, particularly on defense.  Those adjustments seemed to take a significant step forward against Illinois, although one decent outing is only a building block and not a season maker.  The place kicking, which missed 2 XP, is becoming an area of concern.

FLORIDA STATE ANALYSIS:

Over at ESPN, both Dari Nowkah and Mark May predicted Maryland would upset Florida State in Tallahassee. So much for the fear of the turtle.  The Seminole defensive unit had by far their best game, using their athleticism to cover the field, helping to curtail the high flying wide receiver tandem Maryland has.  After a quick score, FSU seemed to bog down offensively again, but then got going again building a 21-0 halftime lead. Behind brilliant quarterback Jameis Winston, who again provided ESPN with several highlight film exhibits, when the Seminoles get going, they get going scoring in bunches. FSU has a bevy of talented and tough running backs, and an elite receiving core.  The line is emerging, but was hampered on this day as Byron Stork, the starting center, left the game early with a concussions.  Defensively, the Seminoles were stingy, and two deeps were contributing early and often, helping to build a deep, talented and experienced unit.  FSU played their best game on both sides of the ball heading into a bye week before traveling to Death Valley in Clemson, where FSU has not won in over a decade.  This game will be of the utmost importance, with the winner having the ability to reach stellar heights.  From what we have seen from Winston, with media folks exceeding seat limits on the nationwide bandwagon, he may be the difference maker.  Make sure to buckle the chin strap on October 19.  8PM.