Sunday, October 19, 2014

The Color & Pageantry Top 25

College Football

Top 25

1.    Florida State, 7-0, 1
2.    Mississippi State, 6-0, 2
3.    Mississippi, 7-0, 3
4.    Alabama, 6-1, 10
5.    Oregon, 6-1, 6
6.    Michigan State, 6-1, 7
7.    Notre Dame, 6-1, 4
8.    Georgia, 6-1, 8
9.    Auburn, 5-1, 9
10.  Texas Christian, 5-1. 11
11.  Kansas State, 5-1, 13
12.  Nebraska, 6-1, 14
13.  Arizona State, 5-1, 19
14.  Ohio State, 5-1, 22
15.  Baylor, 6-1, 5
16.  Arizona, 6-1, 20
17.  Oklahoma, 5-2, 12
18.  Clemson, 5-2, 17
19.  West Virginia, 5-2, NR
20.  Southern Cal, 5-2, NR
21.  Louisiana State, 6-2, 25
22.  East Carolina, 5-1, 20
23.  Utah, 5-1, NR
24.  Duke, 6-1, NR
25.  Washington, 5-2, 24

OUT: Oklahoma State (15), Stanford (16), Texas A&M (18) and UCLA (23).

VOTES:  UCLA, Texas A&M, Stanford, Louisville, Minnesota, Missouri, Marshall, Oklahoma State, Maryland, Iowa, Virginia, Arkansas, Kentucky, Georgia Tech, North Carolina, Miami and Boston College. 

NATIONAL ANALYSIS

Pitt got a home win against Va. Tech, who after winning easily at Ohio State, has looked average at best....Utah got by at Oregon state.....Alabama, struggling in recent weeks, served notice those signaling their demise were mistaken by taking Texas A&M to the woodshed, handing Aggie coach Kevin Sumlin his fist shutout loss as a head coach, pounding the Aggies 59-0....North Carolina, favored by some to win the ACC Coastal and off to a horrendous start due to a pitiful defense, outlasted Georgia Tech in Chapel Hill....Georgia may be without Todd Gurley, but they are smashing the opposition and would be really good if they had an elite signal caller.....UCLA outlasted an obviously much improved Cal, escaping with a much needed win....Arizona State cemented their position in the PAC 12 by gaining a controlling win over reigning conference champ Stanford....Oregon did not give the Washington Huskies a chance at an upset, winning going away...Ole Miss smothered the aerial attack of Tennessee in most impressive fashion....West Virginia, behind the arm of Clint Trickett, in spite of two costly turnovers, upset Baylor 41-27 and the fans lit Morgantown on fire; literally....Louisville dumped NC State...TCU drubbed a decent Oklahoma State team, and although the Pokes have their back up QB for the rest of the year, this was a eye opening beating....Colorado is seemingly improving, but that did not stop USC from pounding the Buffs with QB Kessler throwing a record 7 TD's....Kentucky is improving, but so is LSU, and in Baton Rouge, the Tigers blasted the Wildcats 41-3, and look to be a preseason top ten if not five team to start  2015....Texas outlasted Iowa State, but these days, a win for the Horns is huge...Colorado State snuck by Utah State to go to 6-1 on the year.....Ohio State dominated Rutgers, and they look to be finding their way behind backup QB JT Bartlett...Iowa jumped out 14-0 at Maryland, and could not hold on, losing 38-31.....Florida, on homecoming, got hammered by Missouri despite only giving up 120 total yards and 7 first downs, as the Tigers got touchdowns on a kickoff return, a punt return, a pick six and a fumble return for a touchdown.  The Gators are a dumpster fire, and it would be a miracle if Will Muschamp survives the bye week.

NEBRASKA ANALYSIS

Nebraska was at Northwestern, a team that has given the Big Red fits since the NU joined the B1G.  Last season, it took a Hail Mary for the Huskers to win.  Northwestern got off to a bad start, but had been playing well in recent weeks, which included beating Wisconsin. This would be a real test for the Huskers.  The Huskers started slow, with Northwestern scoring first and holding a field goal lead at the half.  After the break, Nebraska seemed to wear the Cats down and got the running game going.  In addition, the Nebraska held Northwestern to only 28 second half yards.  Ameer Abdullah found yardage tight early, but kept pounding away and finished with 146 yards rushing.   The bye week gave Nebraska more time to get freshman flanker De'Mornay Pierson-El comfortable with the playbook, and he responded with 3 catches for 66 yards, and throwing a touchdown to quarterback Tommy Armstrong on a tight spiral off a reverse.  Kenny Bell had a good game also, with 5 catches for 89 yards.  Armstrong finished 18 of 29 for 221.  While he increased his completion percentage, the passes averaged 8 yards per catch.  It is important to note the Huskers did not have a turnover, with protection of the football, a concern with the Big Red, pivotal to any B1G championship run.  The 38-17 win at Northwestern was a good win for Nebraska to be sure.  The Huskers will be favored the rest of the way to Indianapolis.  They need to continue to improve, protect the football, and make it there.

FLORID STATE ANALYSIS

Florida State was not very good on Saturday night, nor were they very lucky.  Up until the last play, that is.  I thought the Seminoles would come out and play the best game of the season, but they did not.  FSU looked flat, lethargic and passive on defense and, outside of an easy, quick touchdown drive, were outplayed in the first half, going to the locker room down 17-10.  FSU quickly tied the game as the second half began, but FSU had trouble stopping the Irish all night and Notre Dame quickly answered the score.  Late in the third, FSU tied the score at 24.  The Seminole defense did come up with some critical stops, two on fourth and short, when it looked like Notre Dame may run away with the game.  The Seminoles did not allow much yardage after contact, which was game saving.  Notre Dame was held to a field as the fourth period began.  With the game on the line, FSU responded with a touchdown drive, which included a beautiful pass from Jamies Winston in the face of a blitz.  FSU would have to hold on.  Notre Dame got down into FSU territory but was forced to punt, and did so, pinning FSU inside the Seminole five.  FSU ran three inexplicable running plays, and was forced to punt.  Converting a 4th and 18, the Fighting Irish got the ball down to FSU 2, inside of a minute to go, and seemingly scored the winning touchdown on a pass to the tight end.  However, the Irish were cited for holding, an illegal pick at the point of attack, which negated the score.  From the 18 on fourth down, Irish quarterback Everett Golson, who played very well all night, missed on a throw into the end zone, which was intercepted, as the game expired.  In fact, FSU, outplayed much of the game, was lucky to win this one.  The crowd was electric and intense, and played a role in FSU gaining this victory.  Notre Dame looked much better than people thought, and although FSU did not look sharp, they found a way to win the ball game, which was a major hurdle in the march to playing for the national championship.  The 31 points is the lowest offensive point total for FSU since Winston began the season at quarterback last year.

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