Week 5 Top 25

Week 5
1. Oklahoma	OU struggled early against Mizzou but pretty much dominated from the 2nd quarter on.  After the physical game with FSU, that was understandable.  OU gets a warm up game against Ball State before getting all the fried food you can eat at the Texas State Fair.
2. SEC	Is A.J. McCarron ready to step in at QB for a national title contender?  Well, he went 15-20 for 200 yards and 2 TDs in his first start against SEC speed.  The Tide defense looks every bit as dominant as it did in 2009.
3. SEC	It's time to give Jarrett Lee credit (gasp).  WVU's defense isn't exactly Alabama, but Lee played mistake free and made big plays.  The Tiger defense continued to prove its merit by physically dominating the previously high flying WVU offense.
4. Boise State	Boise beat (insert mediocre team name here) by (insert double digit number here).  The real story is that Kellen Moore is completing an absurd 80% of his passes on the season.  That's good no matter who you are playing.
5. Stanford	Andrew Luck took a break to study architecture over the weekend.  Up next is a chance to further pound the nail into Rick Neuheisel's coffin at UCLA.
6. Wisconsin	We finally get a chance now to see what Wisconsin can do against a big time opponent with Russell Wilson added to the mix.  Nebraska brings their sea of red to Camp Randall, which will also be…well, pretty much a sea of red.  Wilson may seriously enter the Heisman conversation with a big win.
7. Oklahoma State	Oklahoma State showed a level of toughness not even T. Boone Pickens could by when they came back from down 20-3 against A&M.  Georgia Tech's offensive records against Kansas may be wiped out by the time the Jayhawks leave Stillwater on Saturday night.
8. Nebraska	We finally get a chance now to see what Nebraska can do against a big time opponent with Taylor Martinez's added experience.  Nebraska brings their sea of red to Camp Randall, which will also be…well, pretty much a sea of red.  Martinez may enter the Heisman conversation with a big win.
9. Oregon	Oregon proved it can still score 50-plus points on mediocre defenses (as opposed to just terrible defenses).  That really doesn't do anything to solve the problem that anytime Oregon faces a good defense, their 120 pound backs get kicked all over the field.
10. Texas A&M	A&M blew a huge lead against Ok. St., which is a major indictment on their readiness to contend for a title of any sort.  The Aggies need to reassert themselves against a reeling Arkansas team this week.
11. SEC	The Gayta have finally found a way to maximize the potential of Chris Rainey and Jeff Demps.  Kentucky is terrible, but the Gayta have continued to be dominant.  We'll find out just how far they have come under Will Muschamp when Saban comes to the Swamp this week.
12. Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University	VPISU is about to move up to the majors from their minor league schedule, but Logan Thomas is still playing at a AAA level.  The Turkeys better be ready for a different class of athlete with Clemson this week…more on them to come.
13. Clemson	Sammy Watkins is the best looking freshman receiver I've seen since Calvin Johnson, and he may be even better at this point in his career.  Clemson is loaded with big time playmakers on offense.  Their defense and head coach still remain major question marks.
14.SEC	Stephen Garcia is as Stephen Garcia does.  Unfortunately for the Chickens, so is their season.  If Vandy had anything resembling an offense, we're looking at an ugly loss, but, as it is, we will have to settle for an uninspiring win and a slight drop here.
15. Robert Griffin III	RG3 continues to do what he does (put up ridiculous numbers).  Kansas State will probably be the best defense they've seen so far this year, but Griffin should continue to roll and take his team into College Station undefeated on October 15.
16. USF	B.J. Daniels is putting together a Heisman quality highlight reel this year.  After his coming out party against FSU in 2008, Daniels has been underwhelming, but he is back in a big way this year.  His playmaking ability should put USF in the driver's seat to win the Big East.
17. Florida State	FSU is in trouble as long as E.J. Manuel is out.  In fact, they are in trouble as long as Manuel is not making big plays.  The Noles flat out can't run the ball.  It's hard to penalize them too much for the two injury riddled losses to Clemson and OU, but they better start showing improvement soon.
18. Texas	Texas took a week off before a revenge game this week against Iowa State.  ISU embarassed Texas last year (which hardly makes them unique), but there's a new McCoy in town to replace Gabbert…who replaced McCoy.
19. Arizona State	I feel vindicated for having given ASU the benefit of the doubt last week.  USC is not a world beater, but they definitely went back to South Central with a healthy fear of the Fork.
20. Georgia Tech	GT finally played somebody with a pulse on defensive, and the results were more or less the same.  Stephen Hill has grown up a lot and is now making the difficult catches look easy…and the easy ones look…difficult.  The offense is executing at a level not yet seen in the Paul Johnson era, and the defense has improved to the level of "adequate" after sitting squarely in the "bad" territory the last couple years.
21. TCU	TCU's already disappointing defense took a big hit when leading tackler Tanner Brock went down for the season on Saturday.  There's not much else to say about TCU.  SMU and SDSU could prove to be dangerous games coming up.
22. Michigan	Brady Hoke took care of his old team with no trouble, and Denard Robinson proved he can still be dangerous with the ball in his hands outside of the spread.  Robinson still isn't running the offense efficiently, though they should be able to get by against Minnesota and Northwestern before Michigan State in a few weeks.
23. SEC	Can we please put to rest the idea that Tyler Wilson is just as good as Ryan Mallett?  It's no great offense to get knocked around by Bama, but the Pigs have clearly taken a step back on offense this year, and they are not even close to competing for the SEC title.
24. Michigan State	Michigan State rebounded well against CMU, but, really, who cares?  It gets a lot tougher against Ohio State this week, in a battle of two teams at risk of falling into a mediocre season.
25. West Virginia	WVU is going to hang on to a spot here because of the strength of LSU, but their upward mobility is going to be very limited.  It's one thing to lose to a top 5 team.  It's another when you don't even compete.  No, I don't care about all the meaningless yards WVU put up on LSU.

Why the 10 second rule exists (not food related)

For those that missed it, the GT/UNC game ended when Bryn Renner spiked the ball with 9 seconds left on the clock while Jehranie Boyd lollygagged (what does that make him?) back to the line.  Of course, Boyd couldn't be troubled to actually line up on the offensive side of the ball before the snap, which resulted in a UNC penalty.  Under a new rule this year, a 10 second runoff was made, and the game was over.  Why was this rule instituted?  It should be pretty clear from the video below of the ending of the 2010 Music City Bowl featuring none other than UNC in an epic clock management meltdown.  Apparently I'm the only person who remembers this, so I figure this should serve as a refresher.  UNC should now be considered to have settled its debt with karma...at least from that instance. 

Top 25- Week 4

Week 4
1. Oklahoma	The question I, along with many others, have asked about Oklahoma is if they are tough enough.  Big Game Bob's Sooners showed up big time in a big game against FSU.  It wasn't pretty, but both teams played at a high level, and OU showed a championship mentality in icing the game away after FSU made a late comeback.
2. SEC	The Tide made short order of North Texas just as they should have.  Bobby Petrino comes to town now with the most complete offensive and defensive team Saban has faced this season.  We will find out how dominant the Tide defense really is.
3. Boise State	It's almost not worth watching Boise State for the next month or so.  I can tell you what will happen.  Doug Martin will put up 100 yards rushing, and Kellen Moore will complete 80% of his passes until eventually they win 35-10.
4. SEC	Low Standards University has raised the bar even higher on defense this year.  The 11 guys lining up on that side of the ball don't just want to shut your offense down.  They want to beat up on your offense until they quit.
5. Stanford	This just in: Andrew Luck is not a one man show.  Chris Owusu is a big time receiver, and the Cardinal has a powerful running game with big play potential.  That said, Andrew Luck could still be a one man show if he wanted to.
6. Wisconsin	The Russell Wilson machine keeps rolling.  It will be another 2 weeks before the Badgers get a real test when Nebraska comes to town.
7. Florida State	FSU is the real deal.  No, that doesn't mean the Noles of the 90's are back, but going toe to toe with OU should remove a lot of doubts about the potential of this team.  E.J. Manuel needs to become a more consistent playmaker if the Noles are going to make a run for a national title.
8. Oklahoma State	It's a good thing Mike Gundy is a man, because he had to stay up way past bed time to play Tulsa.  The Cowboys didn't kick off until after midnight but still gave Tulsa an Eric Clapton style beat down, jumping out to a 45-6 lead before going to sleep for the rest of the game.
9. Texas A&M	Of course, nobody cares that A&M has beaten up on SMU and Idaho to start the season, and that's all I have to say about that.  The real fun starts now with Oklahoma State and Arkansas up next on the schedule.
10. Nebraska	Nebraska has serious issues on defense.  The offense has proven it can score points, but giving up 29 to Fresno and 38 to Washington is not Bo Pellini style defense (more like Bill Callahan).
11. Oregon	In a shocking turn of events, Missouri State only gave up 56 points to Oregon on Saturday.  Oregon won't see much resistance against Arizona this coming week before they get a semi-revenge game against Cal.  We'll find out then if Chip Kelly is one to hold a grudge.
12. Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University	VPISU continues to float around that line between pretty good and thoroughly unimpressive.  A number of ACC teams have been more impressive this year than the Turkeys, but history tells us Little Baby Frank will still find a way to get to Charlotte.
13. SEC	The Gamecocks are running away with the worst utilization of talent award again this year.  Vandy rolls into Columbia this week with momentum and a lot of confidence (that's actually not a joke).  This is the type of game USC-east tends to lose.
14. SEC	The Pigs had a little too much trouble with Troy on Saturday than they should have.  After a very soft schedule to start, we're about to find out if Tyler Wilson really is a top flight QB and if the defense really has improved.  The intensity turns up to ten with Bama and A&M up next.
15. West Virginia	West Virginia passed a big test when they held on for dear life against a solid Maryland team.  While Maryland isn't exactly LSU, WVU does get to play exactly LSU this week in Morgantown.  The defense better come ready to play a full game this week, because two touchdowns may be all they get to play with.
16. SEC	The Gayta let the Vols hang around a little too much to say they dominated, but you can go ahead and call that the first big win for Will Muschamp.  The jorts army invades Lexington this week before a sickening back to back stretch of Bama and LSU.
17. Robert Griffin III	RG3 put up 48 on some poor team in just three quarters before lightning stopped the madness on Saturday.  The Robert Griffin Heisman campaign has a good chance to really get rolling the next few weeks before the Bears head down to College Station one last time.
18. USF	Is putting up 70 points on FAMU impressive?  No, but it is noteworthy when you are USF and have had trouble scoring points the last couple years.  Without any big time games on the schedule, USF may be undefeated when Miami heads to Tampa in November.
19. Texas	Texas has finally found a replacement for McCoy and Shipley: McCoy and Shipley.  It just wouldn't be right if anybody other than Case McCoy and Jaxon Shipley led Texas back into the top 25.
20. Clemson	Do I really think Clemson will stay at 20th or higher?  Aboslutely not.  In fact, this insanity should end after FSU finished with the Dabos this week.  That said, give Clemson credit for starting 3-0, putting up big numbers on offense, and getting a convincing win over the defending BCS winners.
21. TCU	TCU continues to be shaky on defense, and that will eventually come back to bite them.  When that is, I don't know, because the schedule is very soft until they play on the Blue Field in November.
22. Arizona State	Yes, that's right, I'm keeping Arizona State in the top 25 and leaving out Illinois.  ASU dominate Illinois everywhere but the scoreboard, and their 2-1 is more impressive than Illinois's 3-0.  The Sun Devils have a chance to redeem themselves in a big way against USC this week.
23. Missouri	It could be that Missouri has found their groove on offense after their big comeback against ASU.  It could also be that they played Western Illinois.  Either way, we'll have a definitive answer when they leave Norman Saturday night.  OU will be out for blood.
24. Michigan	Except for a ridiculous finish over Notre Dame, Michigan hasn't done much noteworthy so far.  Here's a game to watch coming up this week though…San Diego State will be in Ann Arbor to face off against Brady Hoke.
25. Michigan State	Notre Dame was due for a win after two very close losses to start the year and losing to the Spartans on a fake field goal last year.  Sometimes games like this happen, so I won't hold it against MSU too much.  This does cast some doubt over the Spartans, and another loss will be much harder to forgive.

Week 3 Observations

·         Ohio State really misses Devier Posey, Boom Herron, and, oh yeah, Terrelle Pryor.  Miami is a quality team, but they absolutely dominated an Ohio State University.  The Buckeyes are completely inept on offense.

·         Andrew Luck is not the only big time quarterback in the Pac-12.  Nick Foles, despite going down 37-10 to Stanford has first round ability, though he is stuck on a pretty mediocre Arizona team.

·         Boston College is really bad…really bad.  So far, the Eagles are 0-3 with losses to Northwestern (who just lost to Army), UCF by a score of 30-3, and Duke.  The Frank Spaziani experiment has to be in its final stages.

·         Lamar Miller is a future first round pick.  Miami’s success will hinge entirely on giving him the ball.  It shouldn’t be too hard to see that bad things tend to happen when Jacory Harris does anything besides hand the ball off.

·         With Syracuse and Pitt being accepted into the ACC, the seismic shift we keep hearing about may finally be about to happen.  Once OU and Texas A&M make their move, all hell could break loose.

·         BYU and Ole Miss are also really bad.  Both teams have continued to be woefully unimpressive after their week one pillow fight.  At least BYU has been losing to respectable teams, unlike Ole Miss, who just lost 30-7 to Vanderbilt.

·         Mario Cristobal has built a legitimate program at FIU.  Beating UCF is no reason to tear down the goal posts, but the Panthers have learned to stop using their crutches as weapons and are playing real football now.

·         Auburn’s defense remains awful.  They better plan on scoring 40 points per game the rest of the way to even make a bowl game.  Something tells me LSU and Alabama won’t be having any of that, and Arkansas may just put 70 on the board.

·       Kansas solved the option a year ago but has clearly forgotten.  Not only did they give up 66 points to the high school offense, but they allowed 768 total yards, including 604 on the ground (that’s 164 yards passing for those keeping track).  Georgia Tech averaged an NCAA record 12.1 yards per carry, with three players averaging over 20 yards per carry.  Two Tech players also averaged over 50 yards per reception.  Despite being outgained by over 400 yards, the most shocking stat may be that Kansas actually won time of possession. 

Week 3 Top 25

Week 3
1. Oklahoma	Move along, nothing to see here.  Check back in a week.
2. SEC	Going to Penn State was the first big test of the season for the Tide, and they passed with flying colors.  Somewhere, Harvey Updyke is smiling knowing his team should make another run at the national title this year.
3. Boise State	Boise took the week off before getting Toledo this coming week.  Boise doesn't take teams lightly, so don't expect them to have as much trouble as Ohio State.
4. SEC	The Tigers' matchup with Mississippi State is a little less appealing after the Bulldogs choked against Auburn.  It will still be a good indicator of how the Grasseater's squad will fare against a more physical team.
5. Stanford	Duke fans can usually say "Oh yeah, well our academics are better than yours" after getting drilled in football…such was not the case on Saturday.
6. Florida State	Playtime is over.  FSU finally gets the chance to make up for last year's beatdown in Norman and prove they belong in the top 5.
7. Wisconsin	Oregon State is bad this year, but Wisconsin has a real shot at a national title.  Russell Wilson looks more and more like the missing link.
8. Oklahoma State	After a rocky opener, the Cowboys played like full grown men while dominating Arizona.  Tulsa is up next before a huge showdown with A&M.
9. Texas A&M	The Aggies took the week off, presumably to get their legal situation in order.  They get another easy one against Idaho before starting their Big 10 farewell tour against Oklahoma State.
10. Nebraska	Nebraska will not stay here is they continue to give up nearly 30 points to teams like Fresno.  This week is redemption time against UW.
11. Oregon	Once the level of competition drops, the point total goes up for Oregon.  The Ducks will probably still find a way to get 9 or 10 wins, but they will need to start making more than a fashion statement in the big games.
12. Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University	Holding ECU to just 10 points is an accomplishment.  Scoring just 17, however, is a different sort of accomplishment.  We're all still waiting for the great Logan Thomas to start his Heisman run.
13. SEC	Georgia fans will be having nightmares of Melvin Ingram.  Marcus Lattimore is now 2 for 2 having big games against the Dogs, who may soon have a lame duck coach.
14. SEC	The Pigs continue their Charmin schedule this week against Troy before joining the big boys in Tuscalloosa in 2 weeks.  We will reserve judgement until after that one.
15. Michigan State	Michigan State had no trouble against FAU.  Nothing spectacular, just another dominating performance against a weak team.  The Spartans rolls into South Bend this week for what is sure to be an entertaining game, if nothing else.
16. West Virginia	West Virginia actually played a full game against Norfolk State, though I'm not sure that counts as a full game.  The next 2 games get interesting when the party bus goes to Maryland before welcoming Less Miles to town for the Redneck Bowl.
17. SEC	Will Muschamp's defense continues to dominate after shutting out UAB.  It's now that time of year again when we get to see Derek Dooley implode on the sideline.
18. Arizona State	People like me who were up until 2AM on Friday got to see Brock Osweiler's coming out party against Missouri.  Osweiler has cemented himself as one of the top QBs in the Pac-12, if not the entire country.
19. Ohio State	Toledo was not pretty.  In fact, it was ugly (like Charlie Weiss ugly).  I would recommend gamblers stay the hell away from the matchup with Miami this weekend.
20. UCF	UCF announced their presence with authority against BC.  They didn't just get a win against a BCS conference team.  They embarrassed BC.  The Knights have a very interesting matchup against Ty Hilton and FIU this week.
21. Robert Griffin III	Robert Griffin took a well earned week off after lighting up TCU.  Here's hoping he won't need to repeat that effort to beat Stephen F. Austin.
22. TCU	TCU bounced back with a strong win over Air Force.  The schedule stays soft for a while, and TCU shouldn't be pushed hard again until BYU comes to town in late October.
23. Missouri	Much like TCU's performance against Baylor, Missouri's rank was saved by a big comeback against Arizona State.  James Franklin has a good chance against Western Illinois to get comfortable before playing OU in 2 weeks.
24. USF	USF followed up their win over ND with a blowout over Ball State.  We still haven't seen enough to know if USF is good, or if Dane Crist is really that bad (he is pretty bad).
25. Maryland	Maryland wasn't overly impressive against Miami on Labor Day, but they looked very solid (no, that's not a uniform comment) and were a few red zone conversions away from blowing out the Canes.  Let's see if they can keep it up against WVU this week.

Week 2 Top 25

Week 2
1. Oklahoma	As expected, Oklahoma had little to no trouble with Tulsa.  The real news out of Norman is that an exit from the University of Texas Conference seems imminent.  All signs seem to be pointing to the Pac-16 becoming a reality sooner than later.  OU gets a week off to think about its future before heading to Trailerhassee on the 17th.
2. SEC	A.J. McCarron appears to have the upper hand in the ongoing QB competition for the Tide.  As expected, Kent State didn't push back much, but that should change this weekend at Penn State.  We'll get a chance to see if Nick Saban's only question mark really is a question mark.
3. Boise State	Boise showed no early season rust as they handled the Mighty Morphing Bulldogs with little trouble.  Kellen Moore continues to be outstanding and is a birth mark away from being a mirror image of Drew Brees.
4. SEC	Lester didn't allow the artifical turf in Dallas to throw him off his game, though he probably thought the grass tasted funny.  If the Tigers can continue to run the ball like they did against Oregon (and be gifted 4 turnovers) it won't matter if Keanu Reeves is playing QB for them.
5. Stanford	Andrew Luck wasted no time getting in the end zone this season with a powerful run at the goaline.  Rumor has it that he still throws the ball pretty well too.
6. Florida State	FSU didn't exactly look like a well oiled machine against UL-Monroe.  The Noles have one more scrimmage against Charleston Southern before Big Game Bob and the Stache roll into town.
7. Wisconsin	While not exactly Chuckie Keeton, Russell Wilson did not disappoint in his debut for Wisconsin.  The only question about Wisconin is if the D-Line can continue to dominate once the level of competition picks up.  This team can make some serious noise.
8. Oklahoma State	New year, same story.  OSU has a big time offense and a small time defense.  They have an interesting stretch of games coming up against Arizona, Tulsa, and aTm.  The defense better grow up quickly, because giving up 34 points to Louisiana-Lafayette is poor.
9. Nebraska	Taylor Martinez put up big numbers against Chattanooga, but honestly we shouldn't care about that.  Fresno State is up next, and then Martinez will get to earn his man card back against Washington in a Holiday Bowl rematch.
10. Texas A&M	A&M looked the part on offense against SMU, but they better start working on hiring some of that SEC speed before making the jump (or do their current players inherit SEC speed upon joining?).
11. Oregon	Of all the new Nike uniforms, Oregon's looked the best.  Hands off to you, Phil Knight.  Outside of that, Oregon looked like a high school team on Saturday night.  Mr. Knight might want to start investing some of that money in a weight room.
12. Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University	I know we're supposed to treat App State like they're Alabama since they beat Michigan, but don't get carried away by VPISU's blowout win.  Congrats to them for finally winning a season opener, but Logan "the next Cam Newton" Thomas was very underwhelming.
13. SEC	I'm not sure what kind of message the Visor was trying to send by starting Connor Shaw, unless it was "This is why we keep letting Stephen Garcia back on the team."  ECU will score a lot of points on a lot of teams this year, but that was a less than stellar defensive effort for a team hoping to win the SEC.
14. SEC	There's not much interesting to say about beating Missouri State by fifty points, so I'm just going to restate that Bobby Petrino is a scumbag.
15. Missouri	Mizzou had a lot of issues early against MiamiU, but the defense continued to look strong after last season.  For a team known for its offense, however, scoring just 17 points against a MAC team is not a great way to start the year.  QB may become an issue here before too long.
16. Michigan State	Michigan State is moving into that space previously occupied by Wisconsin for the most boring team in the country.  Boring, however, will continue to win games up north, and Kirk Cousins may be the most underappreciated QB in the country.
17. West Virginia	So we're still just three quarters into the Dana Holgerson era at West Virginia.  It's probably not fair to judge without having seen a full game, but Marshall probably made life more difficult for the Hillbillies than they should have.
18. SEC	Go Gayta.  John Brantley still looked rough against FAU.  The Revolting Blob still has some work to do with the offense to get the Gayta back where they need to be on offense.  Defense doesn't look like it will be an issue.  Go Gayta.
19. Ohio State	Ohio State didn't miss a beat against Akron after their less than ideal offseason.  Then again, it was Akron.  They get another warm up game against Toledo before heading down to South Florida for the Probation Bowl.
20. SEC	The SEC's Bulldogs who actually still have teeth took a big bite out of Memphis to kick off the season.  Given the way Utah State took it to Auburn's defense, Chris Relf could be leading his team to another big day this week.
21. Arizona State	Arizona State started out fast against UC-Davis, and they have a very interesting game coming up this week against Missouri.  There will be a lot to learn about both teams, and the Sun Devils have to feel pretty good about themselves going in.
22. UCF	There's not much worth saying about UCF's opener against Charleston Southern (though George O'Leary does have a 62-0 win to add to his resume).  The Knights get Boston College in Orlando this week and an opportunity to prove they can compete with BCS teams.
23. Robert Griffin III	For those that missed it Friday night, RG3 ripped apart TCU's vaunted defense.  Baylor's defense is probably going to keep them from climbing much higher than this, but Griffin may be the most exciting player in college football.
24. TCU	TCU barely hangs on to a top 25 spot this week.  As noted just above, Robert Griffin and Baylor abused their normally stellar defense, especially the secondary.  The only thing keeping me from completely writing off TCU this year is the fight they showed in coming back before eventually giving up the last second field goal to lose.
25. Penn State	The assumption here is that Penn State's young players from last year have grown up.  The talent at the skill positions was on full display against Indiana State.  But then again, it was Indiana State, and the Tide is heading into Happy Valley this week for the big test.

Week 1 Observations

A few things worth noting from opening weekend….

·         After opening night on Thursday, Georgia Tech led the nation in passing.  Robert Griffin ended that in the 2nd quarter against TCU.

·         Auburn is terrible.  If Utah State had any semblance of a secondary, they would have won by 30.  Chuckie Keeton is the man.

·         Mark Richt is getting that Randy Shannon glazed over look on the sidelines, and no, that’s not referring to his tan.  The reverend looks as lost as a Georgia football player at the DMV.

·         It’s now or never if you want to see Rick Neuheisel on the sidelines at UCLA.  The good news is he should be able to join any March Madness pool he wants to this offseason.

·         The state of Kentucky needs to just give up football.  Kentucky versus Louisville should be quite the pillow fight this year.

·         The wheels may have come off at Oregon State.  After a very disappointing losing season in 2010, the Beavers started off 2011 by losing to Sacramento State.

·         Under Armor has clearly hired a blind Scandinavian to design Maryland’s uniforms.

·         For those that didn’t watch Ole Miss/BYU (which was almost as bad as Kentucky/WKU) you missed learning from the sage Bob Davie that the SEC invented man to man defense.  SEC speed doesn’t play zone defense, and you’re not allowed to play man defense if you’re not in the SEC.  Of course, that didn't stop BYU from winning the game anyways.

Top 25 Week 1

Week 1
1. Oklahoma	This is a boring pick, and I'm not completely sold on OU.  Big Game Bob did finally win a BCS game last year, but let's not kid ourselves, it was against UCONN.  Clearly, OU has the most talent returning, but they do have a history of blowing games against weaker teams, and this group of players has not demonstrated a national championship mentality.  This, however, is not a prediction of what will happen down the road, so OU will sit at #1 for now.
2. SEC	Julio Jones and Mark Ingram are gone, as is Greg McElroy (who, we should all be reminded again, only got an SEC scholarship because Tebow decided to bless the Gators with his presence).  Waiting in the wings, however, are two quarterbacks with first round potential, Trent Richardson, and a host of talented receivers.  The defense brings back everybody but Marcel Dareus, which means they should be even better.
3. Oregon	Oregon lands here on the merit of returning virtually every important skill player.  Owner Phil Knight's team will have major holes to fill up front on both sides of the ball, which could spell trouble.  On top of that, top CB and Returner Cliff Harris is suspended for being stupid.  While that's probably not a legal term, he was going over 100MPH and told the cop he did not have any weed in his possession because he already smoked it all.  Oregon will still score scores of points, but chances of repeating last year's results are not likely.
4. Boise State	Chris Peterson is still the head coach.  Kellen Moore is still under center, and the field is still blue.  Boise has yet another opportunity to run the table with a marquee game to start the season.  Even though they are lacking SEC speed, they should take care of UGA and their stupid Nike uniforms (seriously, will Mark Richt ever learn?).  Now playing in the Mountain West, Boise has hope that an undefeated season with wins over UGA and TCU will carry more wait with the BCS.
5. Stanford	There are two Pro Bowl caliber quarterbacks in the state of California: Phillip Rivers and Andrew Luck.  You may have noticed that Andrew Luck does not play in the NFL but for Stanford.  As long as Luck is on campus, the Cardinal will have a chance to win any game they play.  There are not many stars surrounding Luck, but they are solid everywhere, and this team demonstrated a nasty attitude last year.
6. Florida State	Christian Ponder was drafted 12th overall by the Vikings (yes, I'm still shocked too).  The good thing for Free Shoes U is that they are replacing a 3rd-4th round talent with an actual 1st round talent in E.J. Manuel.  The question about Manuel is if he has the stuff between his ears to succeed on the highest level.  We should have a good read on that when Landry Jones brings the stache to town in a couple weeks.  If the light bulb comes on for Manuel, then this year could be a return to days gone by when Bobby Bowden was still just old.
7. SEC	It seems that Fewer Miles has been wasting Jordan Jefferson's kicking talent by playing him at QB.  I would say that sitting Jefferson could turn into a net gain for the Tigers if they weren't starting Jarrett Lee in his place.  For those that don't remember, Lee through seven pick-sixes in 2008...SEVEN.  Tiger fans also had reason to choke on their corndogs a month ago when new OC Steve Kragthorpe suddenly stepped down for health reasons.  With little hope of improvement on offense, a win over Oregon doesn't seem likely, and neither does a win over Nick Saban.
8. Wisconsin	Wisconsin has cornered the market on boring since Barry Alvarez showed up at the nation's biggest party school.  This year, however, they are expanding their offering with the addition of Russell Wilson: a real playmaker at QB.  If they can score all those points with "Insert name of forgettable QB here," just imagine what Brett Bielema's system can do with a player like Wilson.  There is no reason to believe we will see a drop off on either line, so put your Red Bull down, the Badgers could be interesting this year.
9. Oklahoma State	By my estimation, Mike Gundy is 44 or 45 now, which should make him even more of a man than he was in 2007.  Fortunately for the T. Boones, Brandon Weeden and Justin Blackmon played like grown men last year and have come back for some more.  Unfortunately, their defense did not, and we're not sure if they've come back for more.  If the defense grows up, OSU could make a run at OU for both the Big 10 and national title.
10. Nebraska	As we all know, Nebraska has sought a change of scenery and will now be playing in the Big 12.  Whether they are legends or leaders, I have no idea.  Bo Pelini's temper, however, has become legendary, and for Nebraska to move into national title contention, Taylor Martinez will have to become a leader for this team.
11. Texas A&M	Consider me someone who is not sold on the 13th SEC team.  Von Miller is an enormous loss for the defense, and Ryan Tannehill imploded in the Cotton Bowl.  Christine Michael is a potential Heisman candidate at RB, and plan A, B, & C need to involve getting him the ball.  A&M has a lot of potential, but I remain skeptical that last season was an anomaly.
12. TCU	TCU could be poised for a huge drop off.  Gary Patterson has built a consistent winner and always fields a great defense, but he has not yet seen a talent exodus like this one.  Not only is Andy Dalton gone, but so is their top playmaker, Jeremy Kurley, along with a host of linemen on both sides of the ball.  Patterson has earned benefit of the doubt, but this could be an off year.
13. Virginia Polytechnic Institue & State University	Poor little baby Frank finally had a team that could make a national title run last year.  Then they lost to Boise…then James Madison…then they had to watch the highlights from James Madison on ESPN…then, after running off 11 straight wins, Jim Harbaugh delivered them one final ass kicking before going to the 49ers.  Now, we are expected to believe Logan Thomas is the next Cam Newton and VPISU will not miss a beat.  I know, find that funny too.  That said, Beamer has built a consistent 10 win team, and it just wouldn't be fair to him if the Turkeys didn't start in the top 15.
14. SEC	Arguably, the best RB and WR in the country reside in Columbia, SC. Unfortunately for the Cocks, so does the dumbest QB in the country.  That's not arguable.  You can win big if you have to overcome a physical deficiency at QB (see Wisconsin), but you cannot over come intelligence deficiencies at QB.  A load of talent returns on both sides of the ball, and Spurrier has put all the pressure on Stephen Garcia.  If, by some miracle, Garcia responds positively to this pressure, the Gamecocks can make a run at the SEC title.  I wouldn't hold my breath.
15. Missouri	Nobody really pays much attention to Missouri except for Missouri fans (and Kansas fans) until all of a sudden, they've just beaten Oklahoma.  That being the case, it's easy to see that they lost Blaine Gabbert and forget about them again.  What you would be missing is that they return nearly everybody from a much improved defense and every meaningful skill player on offense.  Gary Pinkel has proven that he can plug talented QBs into his system and still win.  Mizzou has a chance this year to make some noise in the Big 10 before they leave for the SEC or Big 12 or whatever conference to which they will inevitably move.
16. SEC	Ryan Mallett has gone to the NFL, and everybody seems to think that will hurt the drug dealers in Fayetteville moreso than it will the Razorbacks offense.  Tyler Wilson has certainly proven he can put points on the board in place of Mallett, but the Hogs' will have a very difficult time replacing RB Knile Davis, who is out for the year with an injury.  Without Davis, we will be returning to the Air Petrino offense which will score a lot of points but won't be as effective when it comes to winning games.  The 7:30PM ESPN2 games should be entertaining if nothing else.
17. Michigan State	Michigan State had a breakout year in 2010.  They then had a breakdown to kick off 2011 in the Citrus Bowl.  With Mark D'Antonio on the sideline, Michigan State should remain a consistent winner, last year was probably as good as it gets.
18. West Virginia	Coaches Gone Wild: Morgantown will be hitting the field this fall to much anticipation.  The drama that took place in Morgantown this off-season can only be rivaled by the Real Housewives of "Insert city name here."  Once the hangover passes, however, we are left with a talented football team and a coach who knows how to score points.  Dana Holgerson is now officially the head coach, and the talent is there for WVU to make a run at double digit wins again...couches beware.
19. SEC	Before we start, just let me say, "Go Gayta."  Coach Urban Mayaz has left to spend time with his family at ESPN and Will Muschamp has stepped in.  Though he has no experience as a head coach, Muschamp has won everywhere he's been and will not put up with losing, especially to the alma mater he spurned to take this job.  With Pizza the Hutt returning to college to call plays, the Gayta offense should thrive with John Brantley under center.  If Muschamp learns on the job quickly, the Gayta won't be down for long.
20. Ohio State	Since it looks like Ohio State has successfully hidden behind Jim Delaney and been spared the wrath of the NCAA, they will find a spot in the top 25.  Their troubles have been well documented, and with a full roster they would likely be a top 5 team.  There is enough talent on campus to at least weather the storm this year if the team does not revolt.  Having to quash an uprising of support for Jim Tressell over the summer, however, is not a good sign.
21. SEC	After stepping in as a freshmen, this was supposed to be the breakout year for super-recruit Tyler Russell in Dan Mullen's offense.  The only problem is that last year was Chris Relf's breakout year, and Russell has now been relegated to the bench.  Mullen's team probably overacheived last year, especially when you consider the context of their bowl beat down of Michigan.  While the hype may be a little too much right now, get used to hearing cowbells this year.
22. SEC	Gene Chizik should win GM of the year in college football for 2010.  His free agent signings of Cam Newton and Nick Fairley certainly proved to be good investments.  They have now gone on to make even more money in the NFL.  Four starting offensive linemen are also gone, which means Barrett Trotter better reserve his own person whirlpool for the season.  Guz Malzahn's offense will still put up points this year, but it will look more like 2009 when Chris Todd was playing QB.  Unfortunately for Chizik, so will the win total.
23. UCF	Jeff Godfrey may be the best quarterback nobody has ever heard of.  Yes, that's cliché, but, seriously, have you ever heard of Jeff Godfrey?  Godfrey is a serious playmaker who can have a breakout year after a very solid freshman season.  What really makes UCF a top 25 team is there defense.  They closed out 2010 by shutting down June Jones's SMU offense as well as A.J. Green and everybody's All-American Aaron Murray in the Liberty Bowl.
24. Notre Dame	The 11th Commandment: If Notre Dame wins their crappy bowl game, they must be ranked in the pre-season.  Brian Kelly may be a world class jerk, but he is evidently a good football coach.  Kelly is taking a big risk by naming Dayne Crist as starting QB this season.  It was only when Tommy Rees took over following Crist's injury that the Irish went on a run last season.  Mantei Te'o may be the best LB in the country, leading what should be Notre Dame's best defense in at least a decade.
25. Arizona State	Maybe it's the cool new uniforms.  Or maybe it's the 20 returning starters.  Arizona State took a step forward last season, and Dennis Erickson has a shot this year to take a leap forward.  Vontez Burfict is an animal at middle linebacker, and everybody should know his name by the start of October.