Top 25
1. Alabama, 8-0, 1
2. Florida State, 8-0, 2
3. Oregon, 8-0, 3
4. Ohio State, 8-0, 4
5. Baylor, 7-0, 5
6. Stanford, 7-1, 7
7. Clemson, 8-1, 8
8. Auburn, 8-1, 9
9. Missouri, 8-1, 10
10. Louisiana State, 7-2, 11
11. Texas A&M, 7-2, 12
12. South Carolina, 7-2, 13
13. Miami, 7-1, 6
14. Oklahoma, 7-1, 14
15. UCLA, 6-2, 15
16. Oklahoma State, 7-1, 18
17. Central Florida, 6-1, 17
18. Arizona State, 6-2, 19
19. Wisconsin, 6-2, 20
20. Michigan State, 8-1, 25
21. Louisville, 7-1, 24
22. Texas Tech, 7-2, 16
23. Northern Illinois, 9-0, 22
24. Fresno State, 8-0, 21
25. Notre Dame, 7-2, 23
OUT: None
VOTES: Georgia, Washington, Texas, Houston, Minnesota, BYU, Ole Miss, Nebraska, Duke, Southern Cal, Florida and Michigan.
NATIONAL ANALYSIS:
Ohio State, looking for BCS support, bombed Purdue in West Lafayette, a place which has been troublesome in the past....Missouri bounced back by smothering Tennessee....South Carolina defeated once emerging Mississippi State....Auburn continues to roll winning at Arkansas....Oklahoma State got their most impressive victory of the season winning big in Lubbock versus Tech......Wisconsin pulled away late to get big win at Iowa.....Michigan State smothered Michigan, holding the Wolverines to -48 yards rushing, which is unheard of......USC got a big road win at Oregon State....Boston College upended Va. Tech, who is most disappointing this fall.....Arizona State continues to post big wins......Georgia jumped all over Florida only to hold on for victory over the offensive Gators....Clemson throttled Virgina...West Virgina got most impressive victory over slumping TCU....Notre Dame won very late over Navy....UNC won at NC State, snapping a string of recent series losses....Minnesota, fresh off upset win over Nebraska, moved to 7-2 outlasting Indiana in Bloomington.
FAU Coach Carl Pelini, who came to the Owls after serving as defensive coordinator under his brother Bo at Nebraska, resigned, along with co defensive coordinator Pete Rekstis, and was escorted from the facilities after admitting to illegal drug use when confronted with evidence. What a complete idiot. Perhaps an individual can engage in these activities in their personal life if it fails to conflict with their job responsibilities. However, if being the head coach of the football team at a university is your profession, this behavior is completely unacceptable and FAU did exactly the correct thing in removing Pelini immediately. It is hard to imagine this type of behavior was typical during his tenure at Nebraska, but if such activity should come to light, that would no doubt be a deal breaker for his brother Bo, who is already on very shaky ground in Lincoln due to performance. We hope Pelini and Rekstis can get some help and move on, but this was an irresponsible and moronic move by these individuals whose leadership the development of young men were placed under.
NEBRASKA ANALYSIS:
Staring another mind boggling and crushing defeat in the eyeball, one which would have turned the heat on Coach Bo Pelini to boil, the failure to accept defeat allowed a stunning turn of events to unfold as Nebraska snatched victory from defeat as Jordan Westerkamp hauled in a 49 yard hail mary pass from Ron Kellogg III to beat Northwestern 27-24 with time expired. With starting quarterback Taylor Martinez injured and unavailable, Tommy Armstrong II got the start and like last week at Minnesota, the Cornhuskers took the opening drive down for a touchdown with a low degree of difficulty. The defense, however, looked lost and coupled with the offense beginning to sputter, Northwestern got out to a 21-7 lead. Although Armstrong, a redshirt freshman, has played well most of the time, he is certainly not to be confused with Jameis Winston, and the contingent of Husker nation clamoring for Armstrong to play ahead of a healthy Martinez, even if the team prefers it, is in error. Interceptions thrown by Armstrong provided an assist to the Wildcats in grabbing a lead a depleted Big Red team was likely unable to overcome. Amidst the struggles of Armstrong, Ron Kellogg III came in and promptly tossed an interception. Perhaps a heavy dose of Ameer Abdullah would have been the prefered option, but with guard Spencer Long out for the season, along with injuries suffered up front including one to Jake Cotton, one questioned how effective Abdullah could be. Jamal Turner was out, and all the sudden we looked up and Kenny Bell was in street clothes with a hammy. With the O in trouble, the defense rose to the occasion. Avery Moss and Randy Gregory became disruptive forces, and Moss got a pick six game changer. However, with the game tied, the Huskers had a chance to lead a game winning drive, but Armstrong tossed his third interception, setting Northwestern up first and goal on the Nebraska 7. But, the defensive preformance as the game reached conclusion was edging on dominant down the stretch, holding the Cats to a only a field goal. This presented Nebraska with an opportunity for a game winning drive, and it was Ron Kellogg III at the helm. Faced with a 4th and 15, with an individual effort to be all, Ameer Abdullah got 16 yards, seemingly cementing his spot as preseason first team All America in 2014. Three plays amount to almost nothing, leaving four seconds and one hail mary attempt to win the game.
Man, Women and Child that got them out of their seats. The pass by Ron Kellogg III was collected for a touchdown off deflection by Jordan Westerkamp! Nebraska wins! This was huge on so many levels, including the tenure of Coach Bo Pelini, who likely would not have survived this home loss. Pelini looked spent after the game, almost a statue in disbelief. As Coach Pelini said, it is tough to call either team a loser after that game, but it was the Huskers that prevailed. Perhaps this game could be a catalyst to something not yet known? After a real shaky start, the defense became smothering. It is hard to win with so much offensive firepower missing, but the collection of pieces, most notably starting with Ameer Abdullah, could be molded into increasing production. The division is there for the taking, starting at Michigan on Saturday. I have confidence, and so might the Huskers given the opportunity that fell from the sky on Saturday, one Chicago native Jordan Westerkamp secured.
FLORIDA STATE ANALYSIS:
Always troublesome, Florida State welcomed undefeated and seventh ranked Miami to town for another contest in the long and historic rivalry. Behind Hesiman contender quarterback Jameis Winston, the Seminoles used a balanced offensive arsenal and an attacking defense to blast the Hurricanes 41-14 and propel the Seminoles directly into the national title conversation. Florida State opened the game driving for a touchdown, but Jamies Winston tossed two first half interceptions which gave Miami the opportunity to keep it close. Coupled with strong running from Duke Johnson, Cane quarterback Stephen Morris hit touchdowns on stellar throws to help Miami go in at the half behind only 21-14. However, as Miami got the ball to begin the second half, the Seminole defense, fresh of halftime adjustments, began to smother the Hurricanes. Mario Edwards Jr. made some big plays and the secondary was equally strong in pass coverage and run support. Additionally, Winston and the offense, with a balanced attack of running by Devonta Freeman and screen passes with timely stretch the defense mid range throws, FSU scored 27 second half points to win going away with relative ease, terms not customarily utilized in this series.
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| Devonta Freeman/Florida State Photo/Melina Vastola-USA TODAY Sports |
While Miami is a good team to be sure, they are not at the level of the Seminoles, who established themselves among the elite on both sides of the ball. It looks like we may see another matchup in the ACC title game in Charlotte; however, Miami will be without the outstanding Duke Johnson, who broke an ankle late in the game. Johnson is an All America candidate back, and his loss will hurt the Canes. Sadly, his injury brought out the worst by those on the extreme of the UM fan base, most notably former player and vagabond Miami local radio talk show host Dan Sileo, who placed threatening messages about FSU running back Devonta Freeman on Twitter, who is from Miami. Not only can we see why he fails to hold radio gigs across the state, but might he face a police inquiry for this kind of action? There can be no doubt Winston is a special player, perhaps one of those once in decades talent, who can lift teams to the pinnacle of the sport. It remains to be seen how far FSU can go, but with Winston at the helm of a balanced offensive attack displaying veteran type leadership and a fast, attacking and smothering defensive unit, the Seminoles are set to challenge for the national title for the foreseeable future.
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