Top 25

College Football

Top 25

1.     Alabama, 4-0, 1
2.     Florida State, 4-0, 3
3.     Oregon, 4-0, 4
4.     LSU, 4-0, 2
5.     Georgia, 4-0, 5
6.     South Carolina, 4-0, 8
7.     Kansas State, 4-0, 10
8.     West Virginia, 4-0, 7
9.     Stanford, 3-0, 9
10.   Notre Dame, 4-0, 15
11.   Florida, 4-0, 16
12.   Texas, 3-0, 12
13.   USC, 3-1, 13
14.   Clemson, 3-1, 11
15.   Ohio State, 4-0, 16
16.   Oklahoma, 2-1, 6
17.   Oregon State, 2-0, NR
18.   Louisville, 4-0, 21
19.   Michigan State, 3-1, 19
20.   Nebraska, 3-1, 20
21.   Texas Christian, 3-0, 22
22.   Mississippi State, 4-0, 24
23.   Rutgers, 4-0, NR
24.   Baylor, 3-0, NR
25.   Northwestern, 4-0, NR

OUT: UCLA (14), Michigan (18), Oklahoma State (25), and Arizona (23).

VOTES: UCLA, Oklahoma State, Wisconsin, Iowa State, Virginia Tech, Michigan, Arizona, Ohio, Tennessee, and Cincinnati.

ESPN Gameday at Tallahassee Saturday. Don't Hate!

The Sunshine Scooter, Lee Corso

It was a pleasure to take in ESPN College Gameday Saturday in Tallahassee with Chris Fowler, Desmond Howard, Kirk Herbstreit and The Sunshine Scooter, Lee Corso. ESPN does this right, and this family friendly event captures the color and pageantry of NCAA College Football in fun and fine fashion. Do attend one if given the chance.

Chris Thompson in prayer after scoring

Florida State tailback Chris Thompson gets the gameball as Florida State, after a slow start, demolished Clemson at Tallahassee Saturday. Clemson has a quartet of skill people, in quarterback Taj Boyd, back Andre Ellington and receivers DeAndre Hopkins and Sammy Watkins, that rival anyone in the country, and I do mean everyone. The Tigers threw everything and the kitchen sink at the Seminoles, inclusive of halfback passes, reverses and fake field goals. With FSU off balance, Clemson held the lead until early in the third quarter, when FSU unleashed 20 minutes of warpath, outscoring the Tigers 35-3 in an approximate 20 minute period. It was something to behold. Chris Thompson was spectacular, James Wilder Jr. ran strong and EJ Manuel stepped up his game big time, something all Seminoles had been hoping to see. FSU has a stellar defensive unit, and if the offense is what we saw Saturday night, the Seminoles should run the table provided they maintain a high level of maturity and focus, something recent teams have failed to accomplish.

 

Nebraska had a breather, welcoming in Idaho State, who left town with rug burns after getting blasted 73-7. Rex Burkhead was back for the Big Red, and the game provided an opportunity to get some younger defensive players work as the 'Huskers welcome in Wisconsin Saturday night for the ABC Game. The game will feature new uniforms for both teams, which I am not pleased about by any stretch of the imagination.

 

In a very odd early contest, after we blasted the 'Canes last week, they bolted out to a 19-0 lead at Georgia Tech, only to give up the next 36 before charging back to win in overtime. With all the issues at UM, this win may have got them into a bowl game......Ohio State and Michigan State both struggled with much inferior opponents, but somebody will need to step up as they play each other this week...LSU struggled at Auburn, and lost spots because of it,...while Oregon blasted upstart Arizona....South Carolina destroyed Missouri, who travels to UCF this weekend, who might just beat them...Arkansas is in real trouble, and although many expected issues in the aftermath of losing Coach Petrino, the season is about to be lost....Florida controlled Kentucky, a very bad team with a horrible quarterback, who could not hit the side of a barn Saturday, or any open receivers the Cats had either.....Michigan could not generate any offense at an improved Notre Dame, but they did assembly line plenty of turnovers and a four or five loss season is now a possibility for this preseason top ten team....TCU crushed Virginia, who was thought to be solid if not spectacular.....Oregon State shut down UCLA at the Rose Bowl in surprising fashion, and no doubt the Beavers are well coached....Terry Bowden and his Akron Zips took Tennessee late at Rocky Top, and Bowden ball is gaining momentum in Ohio ....Ohio, meanwhile, could run the table under former 'Husker boss Frank Solich, which would be yet another black eye for Pitt AD Steve Pederson.....Oklahoma falters again, losing to a very good K-State team at Norman, and while OU has issues, K-State does not and could be on the way to the BCS...Kirk Ferentz at Iowa has always been very highly thought of, and I have never been sure why. After the Hawkeyes stumbled badly and lost at home to Central Michigan, others are wondering the same thing....Big weekend for many, including Mich. State, Ohio State, Nebraska, Texas, Virginia Tech, West Virgina and Miami.

No Nole Sticker Shock in 2012

Florida State Head Football Coach Jimbo Fisher was seen handing out Tomahawks to the ESPN Gameday Crew.



The Sunhsine Scooter can't get any love, and Desmond is living a dream.

The color and pageantry of college football begins this weekend.

Florida State is highly ranked again, and there will be no sticker shock in 2012. Go Seminoles!

Top 25

College Football

Top 25

1. Louisiana State, 10-0, 1

2. Oklahoma State, 10-0, 2

3. Alabama, 9-1, 4

4. Oregon, 9-1, 6

5. Oklahoma, 8-1, 5

6. Arkansas, 9-1, 8

7. Clemson, 9-1, 9

8. Virginia Tech, 9-1, 10

9. Stanford, 9-1, 3

10. Michigan State, 8-2, 12

11. Kansas State, 8-2, 11

12. Wisconsin, 8-2, 13

13. South Carolina, 8-2, 14

14. Georgia, 8-2, 15

15. Boise State, 8-1, 7

16. Southern Cal, 8-2, 16

17. Houston, 10-0, 17

18. Florida State, 7-3, 19

19. Michigan, 8-2, 22

20. Nebraska, 8-2, 23

21. Texas Christian, 8-2, NR

22. Southern Miss, 9-1, 24

23. Penn State, 8-2, 18

24. Notre Dame, 7-3, 25

25. Baylor, 7-3, NR

OUT: Georgia Tech (21) and Texas (20)

VOTES: Texas, Missouri, Iowa, Wake Forest, Georgia Tech, Florida, Auburn, Cincinnati, West Virginia, Virginia, Utah, Ohio State, Vanderbilt, Texas A&M, Washington and BYU.

Yet another honors candidate players is lost for the season as RB Henry Josey of Missouri tore up his knee versus Texas on Saturday...Houston, held scoreless in the opening quarter, still put 73 on Tulane....Colorado got a big win, blasting Arizona...Arizona State's hopes for a big season hit the floor as they were dumped at Wazzu...Toledo lost 63-60 to Northern Illinois last week, but got the win this week 66-63 over Western Michigan wearing out the scoreboard operator....UCF fired their AD under allegations of violations, just as a Big East invite is looming...Oregon laid a smack down on Stanford, and seemingly damaged Andrew Luck's walk away Heisman win...Florida is woeful on offense and will be dogs at home versus FSU for potential sixth loss...Michigan State got a big road win at Iowa....Georgia spanked Auburn is surprising fashion and the Dawgs seem to be peaking after 0-2 start....Ole Miss got punted by LA Tech, and Houston Nutt is gone at seasons end....It does not appear anyone is interested in winning the Big East....Ohio State, just getting their footing in 2011, fell at Purdue for the fourth time in six seasons.....Kentucky is really having a poor season, as is Tennessee....Okie State smashed Texas Tech at Lubbock....The Texas Aggies lost another close one....Early promise of a good season has crashed at Mississippi State and Maryland.

It was perhaps the worst week for the game of college football with the horrific events that have occurred at Penn State coming to light. Former Defensive Coordinator Jerry Sandusky set this all in motion with the alleged heinous acts he committed, and the cover up has led to the arrest of school administrators and the firing of the school President and legendary football coach Joe Paterno. Chris Fowler of ESPN nailed it by saying the situation is simply incomprehensible.

With deep sadness across the land, a game was to be played on Saturday at State College, and it was the Nebraska Cornhuskers, a program know for its great fan base, as the opponent. Nebraska receivers coach Ron Brown, a former executive with the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, led the two teams in prayer before the game in a very touching gesture.

It was difficult to predict how this game would go, with all the mind boggling levels of emotion engulfing both squads. Against Penn State's strong defensive unit, the 'Huskers navigated their way through, and threw out some strong defense as well, to lead the whole way winning a close game 17-14. The 'Huskers needed the victory, and are happy to have escaped this ordeal with the win, saved in part by LB Lavonte David stuffing a Lion tailback on 4th and 1 and the NU 37 late in the ball game.

The horrendous Penn State story will continue to unfold, and it is likely to get much worse before it gets any better. This is an unprecedented story, which will permanently damage Penn State University on every front. Perhaps the game Saturday could begin the healing process for all involved.

Florida State held of the Miami Hurricanes, not withstanding a frontal assault by a horrendous officiating crew, 23-19 in Tallahassee. While the weather was top notch, the officiating was not. The Seminoles had three touchdowns taken off the board and numerous bogus personal foul penalties late kept Miami in the game. Defeating the Hurricanes is tough enough, but having to beat the officials on top of it is a real challenge.

Leading Seminole tackler Nigel Bradham was ejected for the following classic, and quite legal, hit, with ABC's Matt Millen once again with solid analysis.

Miami brought their A game, and I would expect nothing less. Florida State quite obviously remains a work in progress, as they did not play anywhere near their best football. But, a win against the Hurricanes, given the heartbreaking defeats over the years, is sweet no matter the score. A great evening in Tallahassee indeed!

Corso's Color and Pageantry

This past weekend, with the ESPN Gameday crew at East Lansing for the Wisconsin at Michigan State game to be played later in the evening, Lee Corso made his 200th heaadgear pick of the day. This has become tradition for us college football faithful, and part of the color and pageantry that makes this game so special. ESPN's Tom Renaldi takes a look back:



Corso, a former star at Florida State and head coach at Indiana and Louisville and our local Orlando Renegades of the World Football League among others, is a fixture on ESPN Gameday and gameday. Corso, who has battled back from a very serious stroke a few years back, is well loved from conference to ever changing conference.

Congratulations to Lee Corso for his 200th pick, his great success and for being such a well respected and beloved ambassador for the color and pageantry of college football and gameday in stadiums, sports bars and households across the fruited plain.