College Football Update

Week #6 Top 25:
[Tuesday, October 11, 2005]

1. USC (5-0) – They survived two tough ones, now they face ND. Why can’t they play anyone with a defense, and not just high powered offenses? They have a tough game coming in cal, as well.

2. Texas (5-0) – Beginning their own streak in the Red River Shoot Out. Why doesn’t anyone say Mack Brown can’t win the big game anymore? Oh yeah, because he can. That monkey is off his back and dead.

3. Virginia Tech (6-0) – Great in every facet of the game. The BCS is headed for a nightmare at this pace. They still play BC and Miami, but should win both of those, and FSU is not on the schedule. Look out Texas.

4. Alabama (5-0) – The secret is out and, all of a sudden, I am not an idiot anymore. Losing Prothro hurts, but as long as Brodie Croyle is healthy this team is on fire. This team can beat Tennessee and LSU and Auburn. They will play for the SEC title in Atlanta, but that may be a home game for Georgia. This is getting interesting.

5. Florida State (5-0) – Apparently defense wins championships and a lot of games. Weatherford is showing flashes of greatness, but he is still a freshman—don’t count on him to be consistent. Good thing you don’t play VT.

6. Georgia (5-0) – Good win over a struggling Tennessee team. This week you have upstart Vandy, and then you play Florida for the division. The schedule is set up to have them playing in Atlanta against the Tide for a spot in the BCS.

7. Penn State (6-0) – With Michigan Illinois, Purdue, Wisconsin, and Michigan St. left on the schedule, the odds of finishing undefeated are not in your favor. Unless your defense plays like they did last week…

8. Miami (4-1) – Right now they are in the soft part of their schedule, with GT being the only real opponent in the next few weeks. That late season meeting with VT will be a tough one though.

9. Notre Dame (4-1) – You beat a Purdue team that was apparently overrated (by me too), but you could really announce your presence with authority by beating USC. Talk about your offensive shoot-outs. What is the over/under on this game, 100?

10. UCLA (5-0) – This team plays a soft schedule until they play ASU and their high scoring offense (but UCLA outlasted Cal) in the second to last week and then conclude with USC. Good luck Bruins.

11. Florida (5-1) – Crushed by Alabama, and with that, the SEC east is looking like a one dawg race. By the way, a few weeks ago I said: “[they] never proved the option against a fast defense. Surely the game plan is not to abandon your style of play for every SEC game, is it?” It wasn’t that they abandoned it, so much as the Tide beat it out of them.

12. LSU (3-1) – With a loss to Tennessee, this team better be ready for Florida followed by Auburn, and then Bama a couple of weeks later. They will not make it out of that without at least one more, probably two more losses. At #10 in both the AP and USA Today polls, they are now the most overrated team in the top ten. I shouldn’t say it, but is this sympathy for the hurricanes, or are they actually watching this team?

13. Boston College (5-1) – Very respectable. This team is over-achieving, but it may pay off for them if they can hold it together.

14. Michigan State (4-1) Tough loss to Michigan. Now get ready to try and score on Ohio State. Good defenses have a chance of beating OSU. Teams without defenses but good offenses generally get destroyed. Guess what that means…

15. California (5-1) – Tough loss to UCLA. So far, this offense seems able to put 40 up at will, even in their loss. With Oregon and USC coming up, this team has plenty of tests left before I am fully convinced they are for real. Kudos to Jeff Tedford for another great offensive year though.

16. Louisville (4-1) – Playing in the Big East is the only thing keeping you in the BCS after the South Florida debacle. If someone else goes through undefeated or with one loss, look out, you guys are watching come new years.

17. Minnesota (5-1) – Savor your win over Michigan, but you have the class of the conference left on your schedule, so make sure Maroney stays healthy.

18. Oregon (5-1) – Conference games for the rest of the year and the only tough one left is Cal in three weeks, so make sure not to have a let-down game until then.

19. Wisconsin (5-1) – Lost a heartbreaker to Northwestern of all people. Three or four more tough ones to go, but they can play with almost anybody.

20. Ohio State (3-2) – I stated: “This team has serious, and I mean serious, problems on offense. I will give props to the defense, especially the LB corps, but the O has to get better, or this team is average at best.” So I was right. Another tough one against MSU this week. Hopefully they haven’t quit on the year, because this could be a big bounceback game for them.

21. Tennessee (3-2) – Actually even though now you have one quarterback, it appears you have no quarterback. This season could be a rough one unless they find an offense. The defense is still good though. Good enough to beat Alabama soon—no.

22. Auburn (4-1) – With wins over Miss St., Ball St., Western Kentucky, and South Carolina, is there any wonder why I don’t rank this team highly? They have LSU in a week and end the year with Georgia, then Alabama. This team will lose all of those games.

23. Colorado (4-1) – Trounced A&M last week. After you lose to Texas, you have pillowfights the rest of the way out. Congrats on being the turd that floated to the top of the Big 12 North toilet bowl.

24. West Virginia (5-1) – They play Louisville for the conference title this week. From there, the toughest game is Pitt to end the season (does that count as a tough game?). Kara, you should be happy.

25. Texas Tech (5-0) – Probably sick to their stomachs on cupcakes. Three I-AA opponents! Three??? They play their first real game against Texas in a couple of weeks. I am not convinced yet.


Why I am so smart…
1. My thoughts on Alabama – The best in the SEC West this year, hands down. Just keep Brodie healthy.

2. My thoughts on Ohio State – Does anyone else notice this team can’t score points—just like last year?

3. My thoughts on Tennessee – Crazy Legs Claussen is always dangerous, and always good for two picks.

4. My thoughts on Mack Brown – He can win the big game now. They just might win the biggest one.

5. My thoughts on Oklahoma – They really are average at best this year—and I mean somewhere in the thirties through sixties in their ranking kind of average.

Why I am an absolute moron…
1. Still stands: My thoughts on Pittsburgh – I actually had them ranked at the beginning of the year.

2. My thoughts on Notre Dame – I got off the bandwagon a little too hastily. Good luck against USC.

3. My leaving Marcus Vick off of my Heisman candidates list.

4. My jumping on the Georgia Tech bandwagon—they couldn’t handle the success.

5. My thoughts on Purdue and Iowa – I argued that these teams would be involved in a three-way race for the Big Ten. Why does anyone listen to me at all?

Question of the week...

We all remember the way Josh mocked me for having Alabama in the top ten and Michigan not ranked as highly. Now that we all can see that i was right, can I get a formal written apology?