The Color & Pageantry Top 25

College Football

Top 25

1.    Ohio State, 2-0, 1
2.    Alabama, 2-0, 4
3.    Texas Christian, 2-0, 5
4.    Southern Cal, 2-0, 7
5.    Michigan State, 2-0, 8
6.    UCLA, 2-0, 11
7.    Notre Dame, 2-0, 3
8.    Ole Miss, 2-0, 13
9.    Baylor, 2-0, 6
10.  Oregon, 1-1, 9
11.  Florida State, 2-0, 10
12.  Georgia, 2-0, 12
13.  Auburn, 2-0, 2
14.  Texas A&M, 2-0, 14
15.  LSU, 1-0, 15
16.  Clemson, 2-0, 16
17.  Georgia Tech, 2-0, 17
18.  Oklahoma, 2-0, 20
19.  Oklahoma State, 2-0, 20
20.  Wisconsin, 1-1, 24
21.  Arizona State, 1-1, 23
22.  Utah, 2-0, 25
23.  Tennessee, 1-1, 18
24.  Brigham Young, 2-0, NR
25.  Missouri, 2-0, 22

OUT: Arkansas (19)

VOTES: Arizona, Temple, Nebraska, Arkansas, Toledo, West Virginia, Mississippi State, Iowa, Boise State, Memphis, Houston, Northwestern, Stanford, Duke, NC State, Minnesota, Michigan, Miami and Louisville.

FLORIDA STATE ANALYSIS

In 2009, Florida State entered a noon home game against South Florida (wearing all white uniforms at home?) sleepwalking.  The Seminoles proceeded to get whipped at both lines of scrimmage and had a devil of a time keeping containment of USF scrambling quarterback BJ Dainels and got spanked 17-7, a devastating loss that got the wheels turning regarding the retirement of legendary coach Bobby Bowden. On Saturday, it had the makings of the same thing. There was the 11:30 AM kick, heavy pregame rain and some early issues with the offensive line and a team that looked like they were sleepwalking, However, there was one Seminole who knew what time it was; RB Dalvin Cook.  Cook put in a brilliant performance, becoming the first FSU back since the great Sammie Smith to run for over 200 yards in a game.  In fact, Cook's 266 yards rushing was the second most in FSU history behind Greg Allen's 322 over Western Carolina in 1981.Cook kept FSU in the game early and won it for the Seminoles late. The defense was pretty good most of the day, and that was good news. There were breakdowns, but overall, it was a decent day for the stop troops.  There were a handful of ghost targeting penalties during the game, the first of which resulted in S Lamarcus Brutus being tossed from the game. It was a clean hit.  It seemed Fisher was coaching QB Everett Golson to protect the ball and not force any plays that were not there, and that goal was accomplished with one major success; no turnovers.  Golson and the offense eventually opened up, with some decent throws.  The offensive line made some strides over the course of the game, and it is noted South Florida has some strong and fast defensive lineman. Outside of Cook, FSU appeared lethargic and it is evident this team has some growing to do.  However, with no injuries, no turnovers and a controlled game for the most part, the Seminoles will take this 34-14 victory and continue to effort to maximize efficiency. While Boston College is not a great team, the trip to Chestnut Hill next Friday night will not be an easy game, and FSU will have to play well to win the ball game.

NEBRASKA ANALYSIS

Nebraska responded to the home loss to Brigham Young by putting away a over matched South Alabama team at Lincoln Saturday night. The 'Huskers, after a poor rushing performance against BYU, were committed to improving in that area, and did so, with Terrell Newby running for 198 yards. The offensive line played better, but there are still issues in the interior.  Tommy Armstrong played another solid game, and it is noted the Nebraska really needed to Armstrong to play well out of the gate for the Big Red this fall and he has done exactly that.  He appears to have improved across the board.  The receivers played well as well, and appeared to have stepped up after the loss of DeMornay Pierson-El. Defensively, while South Alabama only put up 10 points, they did move the ball through the air. The DL has really not exhibited any disruptive force so far this season as expected, and I am not sure what is going on there; although it is noted the rush defense has been very strong.  They will have to do so against Miami.  Josh Banderas and Dedrick Young missed the game due to injury, but the Big Red did get back Michael Rose-Ivey, who played well.  Luke Gifford, Chris Weber and Marcus Newby played good games.  CB Daniel Davie did not.  Davie was decent in 2014, but he has been horrible in 2015, giving up several long pass plays.  On two of them, Davie was right there, but did not make the play. Davie was dusted on another, and late in the game the coached put in Chris Jones. This is concerning, and must be address prior to facing Hurricane QB Brad Kaya, who with the speed of the Miami receivers, will torch Davie.  Joshua Kalu continues to play well, as does Nate Gerry.  Nebraska got the much needed win, but it get serious with the trip to South Florida next weekend. I hope Nebraska has an expanded playbook for the game, perhaps with Armstrong using his legs and some disruptive attacking packages for the defense.  The game is very key for Nebraska.  Miami looked terrible on the lines of scrimmage last week, so the opportunity is there.  But the Canes have a fast fleet of receivers with a a good strong armed quarterback, and the Big Red must shore up the secondary unless they plan on keeping Cane QB Kaya on his back.