Sunday, November 16, 2014

The Color & Pageantry Top 25

College Football

Top 25

1.     Florida State 10-0, 1
2.     Alabama, 9-1, 3
3.     Oregon, 9-1, 4
4.     Mississippi State, 9-1, 2
5.     Baylor, 8-1, 6
6.     Texas Christian, 9-1, 5
7.     Ohio State, 9-1, 8
8.     Ole Miss, 8-2, 9
9.     Georgia, 8-2, 13
10.   UCLA, 8-2, 15
11.   Kansas State, 7-2 12
12.   Michigan State, 8-2, 14 
13.   Wisconsin, 8-2, 20
14.   Arizona, 8-2, 17
15.   Auburn, 7-3, 10
16.   Georgia Tech, 8-2, 25
17.   Arizona State, 8-2, 7
18.   Nebraska, 8-2, 11
19.   Oklahoma, 7-3, 22
20.   Louisville, 6-3, 23
21.   Missouri, 8-2, NR
22.   Utah, 7-3, NR
23.   Southern Cal, 7-3, NR
24.   Duke, 8-2, 24
25.   Minnesota, 7-3, NR

OUT:  Notre Dame (16), LSU (17), Clemson (19) and Miami (20).

VOTES:  Notre Dame, Marshall, Miami, LSU, Arkansas, Texas A&M, Colorado Sate, Boise State, Clemson, Washington, West Virginia, and Tennessee.

NATIONAL ANALYSIS

USC got a huge lead then hung on to win at the Coliseum against a much improved Cal team...I was pumped to see Marcus Luttrell, The Lone Survivor and a real American Hero, be the guest picker on ESPN's College Gameday......Florida was about to put South Carolina away, then failed to produce a first down that would have iced the game, forcing a punt which was blocked.  The Gamecocks then scored and took the game to overtime, where the Cocks and The Ole Ball Coach got the win.  For the Gators, another mind boggling home loss proved too much as Coach Will Muschamp has been fired after four regressing seasons in Gainesville...Clemson welcomed back freshman quarterback Desahun Watson from a thumb injury, only to have him injure his knee.  It did not matter much anyhow, as Georgia Tech was roughing up the Tigers en route to a resounding victory in Atlanta....Ohio State held off upstart Minnesota in a snow storm in Minneapolis....Va. Tech won at Duke, which may open door for Ga. Tech in the ACC Coastal...UNC outlasted Pitt after falling behind early...Iowa responded from pounding by Minnesota to thump lowly Illinois....TCU barely won at lowly Kansas....Arizona held off Washington in Tuscon....Kentucky is an improved team, but Tennessee is serving notice they are on their way back, perhaps in 2015...In South Bend, Northwestern upset the Irish, a bitter loss for Brian Kelly and Notre Dame...Utah won at Stanford, which is a big deal for the Utes...Georgia obliterated Auburn, but the Dawgs have lost brilliant runner Todd Gurley to a knee....OU outlasted Texas Tech after trailing at halftime....Texas is seeming to emerge, thumping an injury riddled Okie State in Stillwater....Missouri held on to beat Texas A&M in Aggieland....Michigan State pounded Maryland in a B1G road tilt....You knew Arkansas was fixing to beat someone, so they laid the wood hosting LSU, shutting out the Tigers....Oregon State upset Arizona State up the cold of Corvallis...

NEBRASKA ANALYSIS

It does not seem you can turn over a program of national historical prominence such as Nebraska to a favorite son former quarterback who is currently in his second season as the offensive coordinator at Oregon.  After all, Scott Frost has said that Duck signal caller Marcus Mariota is the best player he has ever seen, and with that the Ducks might be 7-3 without him, which takes some shine off the coaching efforts.  Perhaps a better option would be Craig Bohl, a former Nebraska assistant who after directing 1-AA North Dakota State to three consecutive national titles is in his first season at Wyoming.  Or, maybe, Jim McElwain at Colorado State.  At any rate, after a ridiculous, most embarrassing debacle at Wisconsin yesterday, similar to the thrashing the Badgers smashed the Huskers with in Indy in 2012, major changes need to take place, and it sadly will need to include the man at the top.  After a strong start, Nebraska imploded, unable to stop Wiscy running back Melvin Gordon, running for an NCAA record 408 yards, who may still be running down I-80.  It was a complete breakdown, a defensive catastrophe under the leadership, or lack thereof, of a coach where defense is his calling card.  On defense, while the defensive line does have ability, the play lacked physicality and was poor.  Meanwhile, the linebacking core and secondary are very average.  Inept tackling was noted on the national television broadcast, and no matter the excuse, the action was and is unacceptable.   While Wisconsin was kicking our ass, one would have hoped that the defense might just spy and tackle Melvin Gordon and let the Badgers average quarterbacks try to beat us.  That adjustment did not happen, nor did any other notable adjustments.  Offensively, it is mind boggling that the staff remains married to Tommy Armstrong, who has regressed and has become a liability on the field.  Is Armstrong really our best option?  Johnny Stanton was an elite 11 recruit, and it would seem logical to give him a shot, because Armstrong is not an effective signal caller, perhaps better served at safety.  After Nebraska beat Georgia in the Gator Bowl, it seemed the 'Huskers were perhaps on the way.  But this game was not just a step backward, but rather falling off the mountain side.  Pelini is a good man, and he has won 9 games each of his seasons as head coach, matched in recent years only by Oregon  and Alabama.  But, the Big Red were not mentally engaged on Saturday, and seemed to actually give up, which cannot be tolerated.  It was far time for Nebraska to win a big B1G game, and the Big Red failed miserably on a national stage.  Again.  It is not and should not be acceptable.  Wisconsin out gained Nebraska 627-180, including 581 yards rushing!  Therefore, significant changes are necessary.

FLORIDA STATE ANALSYS

Once again, the Seminoles fell behind right out of the gate, finding themselves behind 16-0 on the road to arch rival Miami, who has been surging in recent weeks.  Miami came out with an excellent game plan, and the Seminoles were searching for answers.  But, as has become customary in recent weeks, the Seminoles gained stability of the game, found some avenues offensively and stormed back to put dagger in the heart of the Canes, who normally have about 15,000 fans but turn up about 80,000 for the biannual tilt in South Florida.  Dalvin Cook has really emerged as a potentially special player at running back, and he did find some holes behind an adjusted line which moved Cameron Irving from tackle to center.  Roderick Johnson played very well at the tackle spot vacated by Irving, and this is most encouraging moving forward.  Cane quarterback Brad Kaaya played well early, but the Nole defense stood strong, led by the play of JalenRamsey, and shut down the Canes most of the second half.  While it was once again not a thing of beauty, as Coach Fisher says, this team at 60 minutes can play with anyone, anytime.  Florida State got help from Roberto Aguayo, who came through as usual with some strong field goals. Once again, the Seminole defense parlayed in game adjustments to shut down the opponent in the second half while the offense gains production allowing the Noles to win, which they have done now 26 times in a row.  Boston College, who has in the past presented issues for FSU, is in DOAK on Saturday, where The Bandit, Burt Reynolds, will plant the spear.

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