As expected, there was a considerable amount of shuffling
about in the Top 25 Rankings of the AP and Coaches’ Polls after last weekend’s
games. You’ll see those changes
reflected in the new rankings.
Let’s look at the games pitting ranked teams against each
other this week:
3/3/3/3 South Carolina (6-0) @ #9/8/8/8 LSU Tigers (5-1)
6/5/5/7 Kansas State (5-0) @ #NR/25/25/24 Iowa State
Cyclones (4-1)
7/7/7/4 Notre Dame (5-0) host the #17/17/16/14 Stanford
Cardinal (4-1)
13/10/13/15 Oklahoma (3-1) host the #15/15/15/12
Texas Longhorns (4-1)
22/21/23/NR Texas A&M (4-1) @ #23/24/24/25 Louisiana
Tech Bulldogs (5-0)
Once again, considering these five games and three or four
others that will likely go either way, there will be plenty of moving around
when this week is over.
This week, I’m adding the Harris Poll and Projected BCS
rankings. (The latter may be an attempt to predict the future, like Jerry Palm’s
CBSSports rankings, but it seems to be more in line with reality, shall we
say.)
(This week’s rankings from the AP, Coaches’, Harris Interactive,
BCS (Projected). Rankings given last week are of the AP and Coaches’ an appear
in parentheses. NR = Not Rated. Numbers
in parentheses after the team’s name are the records.)
1/1/1/1 (1/1) Alabama (5-0) The Crimson Tide is back in
action this week and heading on the road to play the Missouri Tigers (3-3).
Roll Tide!
2/2/2/2 (2/2) Oregon (6-0) The Ducks are off this weekend.
3/3/3/3 (6/6) South Carolina (6-0) The Gamecocks are on the
road to play the #9 LSU Tigers (5-1) on Saturday night. Tough place to play as
a visitor, but South Carolina should be able to pull it off.
4/6/6/5 (3/4) Florida (5-0) The Gators are on the road to
play the Vanderbilt Commodores (2-3). Gators will prevail.
5/4/4/6 (8/7) West Virginia (6-0) The Mountaineers take
their #2 passing offense (#3 overall) on the road again. This time they face
the nation’s #1 pass defense (#2 overall) in the Texas Tech Red Raiders (4-1).
Could be another shootout and so far, the Mountaineers have proven to have the
big guns. No reason to believe they won’t do it again.
6/5/5/7 (7/8) Kansas State (5-0) The Wildcats are on the
road to face the Iowa State Cyclones (4-1). They could get their tail caught in
the twister in what looks to be a very competitive game. Collin Klein better be
on ball.
7/7/7/4 (9/10) Notre Dame (5-0) The Fighting Irish will host
the #17 Stanford Cardinal (4-1). Should be a good game but the Irish in South
Bend? The way they are playing? Come on!
8/NR/NR/NR (12/NR) Ohio State (6-0) The Buckeyes are going
to Indiana to play the Hoosiers (2-3). Should be no problem for Braxton Miller
and crew.
9/8/8/8 (4/3) LSU (5-1) The Tigers host the #3 South
Carolina Gamecocks (6-0). The Gamecocks have too many weapons and should win.
10/14/12/10 (14/17) Oregon State (4-0) The Beavers are on
the road to play the BYU Cougars (4-2). The Cougars don’t have the tools to
stop the Beavers. Or the offense to keep up.
11/9/10/13 (13/12) Southern California (4-1) The Trojans
head north to play the Washington Huskies (3-2). USC will head home with a win.
12/11/9/11 (3/4) Florida State (5-1) The Seminoles will host
the Boston College Eagles (1-4) and should have a fun afternoon.
13/10/13/15 (17/14) Oklahoma (3-1) The Sooners will host the #15 Texas Longhorns (4-1). I’m looking for the Longhorns to rebound this week. Sooners lose.
14/12/11/9 (5/5) Georgia (5-1) The Bulldogs have the weekend
off.
15/15/15/12 (11/9) Texas (4-1) The Longhorns may be on the
road against the #13 Oklahoma Sooners, but they will win this one.
16/13/14/16 (15/15) Clemson (5-1) The Tigers have the
weekend off.
17/17/16/14 (18/18) Stanford (4-1) The Cardinal are on the
road against the #7 Fighting Irish of Notre Dame (5-0). The Cardinal have
struggled through some of their wins (and, obviously their loss), the Irish…not
so much. Cardinal will lose this very tough road game.
18/16/18/18 (19/16) Louisville (5-0) The Cardinals are on
the road against the Pitt Panthers (2-3). Regardless of which Pitt team shows
up, the Cardinals will continue their perfect season.
19/18/17/17 (20/19) Mississippi State (5-0) The Bulldogs
will host the Tennessee Volunteers (3-2) Saturday night. The Bulldogs should
enjoy themselves.
20/19/19/19 (22/21) Rutgers (5-0) The Scarlet Knights (MY
Scarlet Knights) will be hosting the Orange of Syracuse (2-3). These two have
played some close games in the recent past. It shouldn’t be close this time as
Rutgers, birthplace of college football, continues to move up in the polls.
21/20/20/21 (NR/23) Cincinnati (4-0) The Bearcats will be hosting
the Fordham Rams (3-2) in what should be an easy game for Munchie Legaux and
crew. It’s one of those games where, if you’re third string, you better be
ready to play…a lot.
22/21/23/NR (NR/NR Texas A&M
(4-1) The Aggies head on the road to face the #23 Louisiana Tech Bulldogs
(5-0). This should be a good game with lots of scoring. The Aggies are 12th
in the nation in offense. The Bulldogs are 11th. This one could go
either way.
23/24/24/25 (NR/NR) Louisiana Tech (5-0) The Bulldogs will
host the #22 Texas A&M Aggies (4-1). Pick ‘em.
24/22/22/23 (NR/25) Boise State (4-1) The Broncos host the
Fresno State Bulldogs (4-2). The Broncos have the advantage of the Blue Carpet
and some rabid fans and that should be more than enough.
25/NR/NR/NR (NR/NR) Michigan (3-2) The Wolverines host the Fighting
Illini (2-4) whom they should have no difficulty defeating.
NR/23/21/20 (15T/13) TCU (4-1) The Horned Frogs will be
hosting the Baylor Bears (3-1). Can they keep up? I don’t think so.
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