The Color & Pageantry Top 25

College Football

Top 25

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

OUT: Southern Cal (20 and Washington (25).

VOTES:  Stanford, Southern Cal, Washington, Miami, South Carolina, Texas A&M, Marshall, Oklahoma State, North Carolina, Arkansas, Kentucky, Georgia Tech and Missouri.

NATIONAL ANALYSIS

Miami, behind a stellar effort from RB Duke Johnson, smashed Virginia Tech at Blacksburg, a place the Canes have found little success over the years.  Tech looked lethargic and slow, particularly on the lines of scrimmage....East Carolina looked average in getting a win at UCONN.....Oregon won a track meet at Cal, who kept scoring all night and is obviously very much improved from a year ago...Wisconsin played their best game of the season and pounded Maryland, who is treading water...Illinois in grey Galloping Ghost tribute unis upset Minnesota.....North Carolina got a big win at Virginia, and the ACC Coastal is a mess......Texas was shut out at Kansas State, and they road back for the Horns looks long while the Wildcats are on the verge of the top ten....Colorado is finally making some strides, but they shockingly took UCLA to two overtimes before falling in Boulder....Georgia Tech used five lost fumbles by Pitt, in the first quarter, to bash the Panthers at Heinz Field....TCU scored 82 points on Texas Tech, and the Frogs look stellar on offense.....Michigan State dominated the lowly Wolverines in East Lansing....Miss. State played from ahead against an improved Kentucky team that would not quit, but the win was not all that impressive for the Bulldogs.....Clemson is not much on offense without frosh QB DeShaun Watson, outlasting a pesky Syracuse in Death Valley....Stanford pounded Oregon State, playing their best game of the year ahead of tilt with Oregon....Arizona jumped all over Wazzu quick, and held on, but could Rich Rod be a candidate at Florida?.....Ole Miss fell at LSU, as many before them have, not able to generate any points, and the Tigers, despite some critical turnovers and losing the turnover stats 0-4, found a way to win with stellar D and a strong running game....Auburn won a track meet at home against South Carolina, and while the offense was strong, the defense was not....Behind a record performance by WR Amari Cooper, Alabama got by Tennessee, who had to go without starting QB Worley....Down 0-17, Penn State battled back to lose in two overtimes to Ohio State, somewhat exposing the Buckeyes....Utah found a way to upset USC in Salt Lake, and if only the Utes had not fallen to Wazzu....In rain and high winds in Seattle, Arizona State got by Washington 24-10, and the Sun Devils are looking very good these days.

NEBRASKA ANALYSIS

Behind Ameer Abdullah, it was a record breaking afternoon as Nebraska beat Rutgers 42-24 on homecoming at Lincoln.  Abdullah, a Heisman candidate, set the school record for all purpose yards in a game, leading the Big Red to victory.  Abdullah rushed for 225 yards and had a kickoff return of 76 yards, moving to second behind Wisconsin Heisman winner Ron Dayne for the most all-purpose yards in Big Ten history.  WR Kenny Bell had six catches, and became the all time leader in number of receptions for the Big Red.  Along with the offensive line, QB Tommy Armstrong played very well at times as well, and the offense looks on the verge of really being potent, but there are the misfires, through execution failures, penalties and mental breakdowns that get in the way. CB Josh Mitchell had a long day, and there were breakdowns at linebacker and in the secondary.  The defensive front is a real strength for Nebraska, and they dominated the line of scrimmage. "We got the win and I'm happy about that. That's all I'm happy about," Nebraska coach Bo Pelini said. "I didn't like the way we played. I thought we were sloppy, inconsistent and we didn't play up to the standard we need to."  Agreed.  It was an 11AM kick, and this somewhat sleep walking effort was more than enough to beat Rutgers, but it will not  work when the competition steps up.  Another opportunity to fine tune comes next week as Purdue visits Lincoln, but having started the season a dumpster fire, the Boilers have extinguished the fire and have improved considerably in recent weeks.  That said, the Huskers should use the game as a chance to get firing on all cylinders.

FLORIDA STATE ANALYSIS

The Seminoles had a much needed bye week, as they were awful banged up.  Florida State will be at Louisville for a Thursday night ESPN matchup.  The 'Noles will have their hands full to be sure.