The Color & Pageantry Top 25

College Football

Top 25

1.      Florida State, 5-0, 1
2.      Auburn, 5-0, 3
3.      Ole Miss, 5-0, 11
4.      Mississippi State, 5-0, 12
5.      Baylor, 5-0, 7
6.      Notre Dame, 5-0, 9
7.      Alabama, 4-1, 2
8.      Michigan State, 4-1, 10
9.      Texas Christian, 25
10.    Arizona, 5-0, NR
11.    Oklahoma, 4-1, 4
12.    Oregon, 4-1, 5
13.    Texas A&M, 5-1, 6
14.    Georgia, 4-1, 13
15.    Kansas State, 4-1, 21
16.    Clemson, 3-2, 19
17.    Oklahoma State, 22
18.    UCLA, 4-1, 8
19.    East Carolina, 4-1, 20
20.    Nebraska, 5-1, 14
21.    Stanford, 3-2, 15
22.    Arizona State, 4-1. 23
23.    Ohio State, 4-1, 24
24.    Georgia Tech, 5-0, NR
25.    Missouri, 4-1, NR

OUT:  Louisiana State, Brigham Young and Wisconsin.

VOTES: Louisiana State, Florida, Utah, Louisville, Iowa, Arkansas, Washington, Brigham Young, Marshall, Virginia, Southern Cal, Duke and Wisconsin.

NATIONAL ANALYSIS

What an incredible Saturday of college football we had as our #2, #4, #5, #6 and #8 teams all lost, and #3 Auburn flexed muscle by blasting a down LSU team on the plains....We sold the stock on Rich Rod's Arizona Wildcats after they needed a Hail Mary pass to beat Cal, but the Cats rolled up into Eugene and dumped the high flying Oregon Ducks for the second consecutive season. Although Oregon has major OL issues, this was no fluke...Houston was en route to paydirt to beat UCF at the last second, but in an effort to reach the goal line, the ball was knocked lose, resulting in a touchback, giving the Knights the win. My Goodness....Louisville, injured at QB, defeated a pesky Syracuse at the Dome...Tennessee has numerous opportunities to beat Florida, but thanks to a stout D, the Gators hung around, got a spark from backup QB Treon Harris, and escaped Knoxville with a 10-9 win....Mississippi State unleashed some offense on the Texas Aggies, and ran and passed away with a resounding win over a team many thought was among the nations best. This was a huge win for Dan Mullin and his Bulldogs, and they look very strong.....Brigham Young QB Tayson Hill broke his leg shortly before the half, and BYU fell at home to Utah State.  Hill's season ending injury is a real blow to the Cougars...North Carolina is very disappointing, and got handled rather easily at home by Virginia Tech..Clemson destroyed NC State in Death Valley, and have found themselves a quarterback for the next few seasons to be sure.....Baylor controlled Texas, and the rebuilding of the Horns may take some time.....Let the rebuilding begin at troubled Michigan, who fell on the road at Rutgers, and for the Wolverines, the wheels appear to have fallen off...Northwestern, despite giving up over 250 yards rushing to the Badgers Melvin Gordon, won over Wisconsin, who have issues at quarterback and wideout....TCU outslugged OU at Fort Worth, knocking the Sooners from the unbeaten...Stanford was unable to protect a late lead in foul weather at South Bend, and Notre Dame remains unbeaten...Georgia Tech beat Miami in Atlanta, and has taken current control of the ACC Coastal....Memphis bombed Cincinnati, and don't look now but the Tigers are a pretty good football team....Kentucky upset South Carolina, and while the Wildcats under Mark Stoops are improving for sure, the Gamecocks now have three losses with some tough games yet to play....Arizona State scored on a Hal Mary pass to win at Southern Cal.....Virginia thumped Pitt...Utah, fresh off losing to Washington State, scored late to win at UCLA in a surprise... Cal outlasted Washington State 60-59, but Wazzu QB Connor Holiday threw for 734 yards, if you can believe that.

FLORIDA STATE ANALYSIS

If you did not see it, looking at the score, you would think the Seminoles blasted Wake Forest 43-3 at Tallahassee on Saturday.  That is not the real story.  Wake Forest is a decent team defensively, with a woeful offense.  FSU came out lackluster, again, and behind turnovers, fell behind 3-0.  The Seminoles continued to shoot themselves in the foot, but got some groove going offensively and were able to take a 13-3 lead at the half.  At one point, the Seminoles were averaging just under 6 YPP, with Wake a 1.7 YPP, but the game was tied.  That is what turnovers will do for you. LB Terrance Smith was held out of the game (coaches decision), and the Seminoles also lost center Austin Barron to a broken hand and All America wideout Rashaad Greene to a concussion early in the contest.  As the game wore, on FSU was able to establish a running game and began mounting points.  Defensively, the Seminoles prohibited Wake from running the ball, and placed extreme pressure on the Deacons young signal caller.  A slew of youngsters got serious playing time, and some are really looking good.  The talent of RB Dalvin Cook is on display, and young receivers Ermon Lane and Travis Rudolph also got action.  Defensive end Lorenzo Featherston is a future star, and his play is very reminiscent of Nebraska DE Randy Gregory, a future top ten draft pick.  On a day when most of the top ten lost, an ugly win is quite alright.  In many ways, Florida State did not look like a top ranked team, but then again, in many ways the win was dominating.  The Seminoles need to continue to work and develop cohesion, as the talent is on hand.  FSU extends the win streak to 21, and provided they continue to grow, remains a strong contender for the championship.

NEBRASKA ANALYSIS

On a rainy, windy and cold evening in East Lansing, Nebraska had a chance for an early lead thanks to a Spartan turnover, but the Big Red failed to take advantage.  After an injury to corner Daniel Davie, Spartan QB Connor Cook hit WR Tony Lippett for a 55 yard TD for an early MSU lead.  But, it was beginning to unravel for the 'Huskers, as the previously potent rushing attack was getting stuffed at the line of scrimmage. Over and over again. Early in the second, MSU back Jeremy Langford broke lose for a 31 yard score and a 14-0 lead.  With the 'Husker OL unable to block anyone, the Big Red would have to establish some sort of passing game to release the pressure.  Injuries to the aforementioned Davie and senior receiver Kenny Bell were significant. On the stop side, DE Randy Gregory and the defensive line did their part, and are as advertised.  While Tommy Armstrong does some nice things and was playing tough, there was no room for errant throws and misfires, which sadly were sprinkled in with some very nice completions.  The misses were drive killers on a night with no wiggle room.  With Sparty on the cusp of humiliating the Big Red, leading 27-3, Nebraska got a few breaks, and a wonderful pun return touchdown from Demornay Pierson-El, and chipped the lead down to 27-22, which was unimaginable.  With the ball and a minute to go, Armstrong hit Alonzo Moore for 43 yards.  On the next play, from the MSU 37, Moore dropped a nicely placed pass from Armstrong in the end zone which would have won the game.  On the next play, Armstrong threw an unfortunate interception.  For the 'Huskers to win this game, they needed to be turnover free.  Instead, the 'Huskers had four, inclusive of a costly fumble by Ameer Abduallah inside the Spartan five.  With the performance last night, Abdullah is likely out of the Heisman discussion.  As far as Armstrong, he has his supporters, and I like a lot about him, but he is not where you need your quarterback to be if you want to win championships.  If Nebraska had Jameis Winston, they would have won as receivers were open all night.  The Big Red might just get another crack at Sparty, and if there is continued improvement in Armstrong, and some development of the offensive line, a B1G Title could be waiting.