Week 14 Top 25

Actually, that headline is a lie.  After careful review, there are not 25 worthy teams in the country this week, so we are stopping at 20.

Week 14
1. SEC	In case there was any question who the number one team in the country is, the Tigers answered that on Friday.  Take care of business in the SEC title game, and at least half of the BCS title game is easy.
2. SEC	The Tide did exactly what they were supposed to do in the Iron Bowl: Dominate a far inferior football team.  Of course, somehow, somebody will still vote for Auburn to be a top 25 team despite the fact that they are terrible.  Nick Saban is now at the mercy of the voters.
3. Houston	Houston locked up their undefeated regular season with a big win over Tulsa.  Tulsa is certainly not a world beater, but to beat them 48-16 is pretty impressive.  With a win over Southern Miss in the C-USA championship, Houston will have closed out the year with three straight wins over quality opponents.  The Cougars have only allowed an average of 13.25 points in the month of November
4. Stanford	Stanford took care of a Notre Dame team that thought they had something going for them.  They too will be playing the waiting game next weekend.  Regardless, they should find themselves in a BCS game as an at large team.
5. Oklahoma State	Here lies the only team besides LSU that can make a move to get into the BCS title game.  The Cowboys have to beat Oklahoma (and probably convincingly) to have a shot.  Most likely, their fate depends on how many voters are against a rematch.
6. Wisconsin	Clearly, I think more highly of the Badgers than the rest of the polls.  They are about 30 seconds away from being undefeated and absolutely unloaded on Penn State by dropping 45 points on a very good defense.
7. Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University	UVA had a chance to step up and win a big game against VPISU.  Instead, what did they do?  Well, Colin Cowherd definitely saw this coming…
8. SEC	The Pigs showed their true colors against LSU.  They are a good team but are nowhere close to competing for anything meaningful…and Bobby Petrino is still an ass-hat.  Go ahead and book your New Year's ticket to Dallas for the Jerry Bowl.
9. Oregon	Oregon stomped Oregon State to secure their spot in the Pac-12 title game against……UCLA.  UCLA?!?!?  It should also be noted that game will be played in Eugene.  UCLA is 6-6, and after Oregon beats them by 80, they will be 6-7 and not eligible for a bowl game.  I hope the Pac-12 South is proud of itself.
10. Oklahoma	Oklahoma still has a chance to impact the national championship race, though not in the way they hoped.  Still, the Sooners would love to kick the Cowboys out of the race for good.
11. Michigan State	Michigan State stayed solid in their win over Northwestern, even though the division was already theirs.  After the events in East Lansing earlier this year, the matchup with Wisconsin looks huge.  Not only will the Spartans be playing for a trip to the Rose Bowl but a chance to prove that win was not a fluke.
12. Boise State	What does Boise's 36-14 win over Wyoming mean?  Absolutely nothing.
13. Kansas State	Kansas State had the week off and has a chance to finish a remarkable season with a win over Iowa State.  Of course, Oklahoma State had a chance to continue a remarkable season against Iowa State, and we all know how that went.
14. SEC	Mark Richt did exactly what he was supposed to do on Saturday.  They were not spectacular, but they took care of business and left Atlanta with a solid win…again.  Life will get tougher for Aaron Murray this week in Atlanta, though they have the chance to make the biggest mess of the BCS.
15. Michigan	This is why they hired Brady Hoke.  Another loss to the worst Ohio State team in over a decade would have sent depression levels to an all-time high in Ann Arbor…and it almost happened.
16. TCU	TCU didn't play anybody on Saturday, and with UNLV on the schedule, they don't play anybody this week either.
17. South Carolina	Connor Shaw is really pulling this team together.  His ability to run made the offense go against Clemson.  This team has struggled for most of the year, but Spurrier may have finally found the answer on offense.  With Lattimore back next year, the Cocks could finally be a real threat to win something.
18. Nebraska	This was obviously not the season Nebraska had hoped for, but they closed out with a solid win over Iowa.  Next year is do or die for Taylor Martinez to step up and become a real leader for this team.
19. Robert Griffin III	Texas Tech took RG3 out of the game with a cheap shot to the head, but that still didn't stop them from losing their fifth game in a row since beating Oklahoma.  It's about time for Tubberville to pack it in for good.
20. Penn State	Getting blown out with the division on the line is not good, and it's been long enough that we can stop feeling sorry for the players.  That said, Penn State has only lost to Bama, Wisconsin, and Nebraska this year, and they are still in position to win 10 games.

Week 13 Top 25

Week 13
1. SEC	On a weekend when nobody was safe, the Tigers left no doubt against Old Miss.  Of course, the events of this weekend all but guarantee a loss to Arkansas.
2. SEC	Nick Saban has solved the option, or does that only apply when Paul Johnson loses?  Actually, Georgia Southern put up more points on the Tide than anybody else this season.  In the end, though, the Eagles never posed any real threat to the Tide.
3. Houston	Houston beat SMU, but nothing that happened in the game was as important as what happened a few hours beforehand:
4. SEC	The Hogs had no trouble with the other terrible Mississippi team.  They are poised to turn a mess into a disaster zone with a win over LSU on Friday.  Speaking of disaster zones, the Egg Bowl will be on ESPNU Saturday night, and may provide a few good laughs if you don't gouge your eyes out from the terrible football being played.
5. Stanford	Stanford barely avoided a disastrous loss to Cal.  It's normal to expect a hangover after losing to Oregon, but they need to have their act together for Notre Dame this week.
6. Oklahoma State	This is what happens when you don't play defense.  It's a miracle that it didn't happen sooner.
7. Virgina Polytechnic Institute and State University	VPISU has might as well change their name to "Ranked here by default."   Nobody really believes they are a top ten caliber team, but their opponents just keep losing to them.
8. Wisconsin	For those not paying attention or blinded by Russell Wilson, the real star of the Wisconsin offense has turned out to be Montee Ball.  Ball now has 30 touchdowns on the season.  Wisconsin will face Penn State to decide who goes to the Big 12 championship game.
9. Oregon	Saturday night's results bring more legitimacy to a question people have been afraid to ask.  Is Matt Barkley better than Andrew Luck?  We can say for sure that USC's DL is better than Stanford's.  Barkley went 26/34 with four touchdowns against Oregon, considerably better than Luck's performance.
10. Oklahoma	Something was indeed wrong with OU.  After Oklahoma State's loss, Oklahoma had a chance to get back in the BCS title race, but Big Game Bob showed up again.  Even without Ryan Broyles, talent is not an issue for the Sooners.  It is, and always has been toughness.
11. Michigan State	The Spartans ripped Indiana just as they should have.  More important is that they clinched the Legends division and a spot in the Big 12 title game.
12. Boise State	Kellen Moore had no issues rebounding against San Diego State.  The same can't be said, however, for the Broncos defense.  Boise will continue to succeed with Chris Peterson, but once Kellen Moore is gone, the days of even thinking about a national title are probably over.
13. Penn State	The Nittany Lions are the leaders of the Leaders division still.  Did Jim Delaney not think about how ridiculous that would sound when they chose division names?  It all comes down to the matchup with Wisconsin this weekend.  Penn State better plan on scoring, because the Badgers are clicking again on offense.
14. Kansas State	They just win.  A week after winning a 4OT shootout, KSU beat Texas while being outgained 310-121.  Colin Klein had 26 carries four a total of 4 yards, but 3 of those yards came on a touchdown run, allowing the Wildcats to win 17-13.
15. SEC	That was one of those wins that should almost count as a loss.  Instead of coming out and taking care of business, the dogs screwed around and barely beat one of the worst teams in the country, and this wasn't an example of the underdog coming out and playing over their heads.  In the end, however, Mark Richt is going back to the SEC title game.
16. Michigan	I don't think anybody saw this one coming.  There is clearly a new regime in Ann Arbor, and the Wolverines are showing more toughness this year than they did in three years combined under Rich Rodriguez.
17. TCU	TCU rolled over Colorado State and should do the same to an awful UNLV team to finish the year undefeated in conference.  Congratulations on winning the Mountain West?
18. Clemson	Dabo is as Dabo does.  There is absolutely no excuse for getting blown out by NC State.  It doesn't matter if Sammy Watkins was hurt or the Tigers lost focus after clinching the division, they should be embarassed.
19. SEC	The Cocks didn't make it easy against the Citadel, but they pulled away in the end.  In fact, the entire SEC managed to look like crap against I-AA teams on Saturday, except for Bama (who still allowed 7.7 yards per carry against GSU).
20. Nebraska	There's the Taylor Martinez we all know and love.  Martinez can make exciting plays, but the truth is that he's not a championship caliber player.  Bo Pelini's has failed to meet expectations for the second year in a row.
21. Virginia	There must be something magic in Mike London's tears, because UVA just keeps winning.  They now have a chance to do something special with a win over VPISU.
22. Georgia Tech	Time for the obligatory Paul Johnson is a genius comment.  This team lacks a killer instinct, and they are fortunate it didn't bite them against Duke.  With the ACC out of reach, UGA is once again the Super Bowl, and they cannot get away with the same mistakes they made against Duke.
24. Robert Griffin III	It's too bad Baylor doesn't have a defense.  RG3 is having one of the most spectacular seasons in recent memory, but it has mostly been meaningless because his teammates can't stop anybody…except Oklahoma.
24. Notre Dame	There was absolutely nothing impressive about their win over BC, but Notre Dame has won 8 of their last 9.  They have a chance to legitimize themselves against Stanford or finish with yet another average season.
25. Tulsa	They still don't play much defense, but they can still score.  Tulsa has lost 3 games this year to Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, and Boise State.  Nobody has a more impressive collection of losses.  They now have a chance to finally beat a top ten team and ruin Houston's season.

Week 12 Top 25

Week 12
1. SEC	The Bayou Bengals were less than spectacular against Western Kentucky, especially in the first half, but they eventually pulled away in the second half.  A hangover after the Field Goal Fest of the Century is understandable, though a potential matchup with Oklahoma State will require one of the Tigers' mediocre quarterbacks to actually make some big plays.
2. Oklahoma State	We've now seen the Cowboys play defense twice this year after their 66-6 win over Texas Tech.  Iowa State is the only thing standing between OSU and an epic matchup with Oklahoma.  If they can continue to play mean on defense, the Cowboys should be able to book their ticket to the national title game.
3. SEC	Speaking of hangovers, Alabama looked like they did a few too many car bombs before playing Mississipip State before eventually pulling away.  A.J. McCarron looks like he's lost confidence since the LSU game and may be in danger of coming down with Kyle Wright syndrome.  Seriously though, ordering car bombs at last call is a terrible idea.
4. Oregon	Oregon was as impressive as I've ever seen them against Stanford.  It was the first time I've seen them use their speed to play the agressor.  Instead of playing finesse and using that speed to run away from people, the Ducks used it to attack Andrew Luck and Stanford.
5. Oklahoma	Oklahoma got a much needed week off.  Hopefully, they've gotten their act back together to give us the game we're all hoping for on December 3rd.
6. Houston	Maybe Houston isn't just  a one trick pony.  It wasn't just the Case Keenum show in the Super Dome, as Charles Sims ran for over 200 yards, mostly in the 2nd quarter.  The next few weeks get interesting, as the Cougars have SMU and Tulsa to finish the regular season, with the Tulsa matchup likely deciding who will go to the Conference USA championship game.  Houston is in good shape to make a BCS game, but they're not home free yet.
7. Stanford	Oregon exposed Stanford's lack of speed, especially on defense.  No matter how tough and hard-nosed Stanford is, you can't hit what you can't catch.  Andrew Luck came back down to Earth without his favorite targets available, which has left the Heisman race wide open.
8. SEC	After a few shaky wins recently, the Hogs unloaded on Tennessee, probably making Derek Dooley hate his job even more.  They can really make a mess of things with a win over the Hat to close the regular season.
9. Clemson	Dabo is going back to the ACC Championship Game for Clemson's second appearance in his third full season, but Wake didn’t make it easy on them.  The meaningful takeaway from that game is that Taj Boyd was forced to perform in crunch time and delivered, unlike against Georgia Tech.
10. Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University	Logan Thomas could've made a fortune charging Georgia Tech defenders for rides on Thursday night, but I suppose that would be some sort of NCAA violation.  The Turkeys now have one less team to worry about in the division, on their way to a rematch with Clemson.
11. Wisconsin	Wisconsin dealt with Minnesota just as they should have and have the chance to give Illinois their fifth straight loss this week.  After starting 6-0, it looked as if Ron Zook had saved his job again, but it may be tough to survive a five game losing streak after that start.  If they win out, Wisconsin will still find its way to the Big 12 title game.
12. Nebraska	Nebraska walked into a tough situation and came out with a win while also exhibiting the highest level of sportsmanship and class.  It was a powerful moment when both teams kneeled together at midfield prior to kickoff.  Yet again, on Saturday, Bo Pelini kept the ball out of Taylor Martinez's hands in a tough game.
13. Michigan State	Michigan State continued to finish strong by drilling Iowa.  With only Northwestern and Indiana left on the schedule, the Spartans should hold their lead over Nebraska in the division.
14. Boise State	It finally happened.  Boise's 35 game home win streak is over, as are their chances for a national title.  With Kellen Moore graduating, this may have been Boise's last chance to make a run at a title, but their defensive issues finally caught up to them.
15. Penn State	I'm not going to discuss the Penn State scandal.  Give a lot of credit to the players for hanging together and almost pulling out a near impossible win over Nebraska.  Penn State still holds the lead in their division, but chances are Wisconsin will end that when they play to close the season.
16. Kansas State	Kansas State finally got their 8th win and had to earn it in four overtime periods against A&M.  After the way they lost to Oklahoma State, you have to feel good for Colin Klein.  I've said before and will say it again.  Klein is this team, and what he's done this season is really remarkable.
17. SEC	Mark Richt is a win over Kentucky away from an SEC Championship game appearance.  The blowout win over Auburn is impressive no matter how bad the Tigers are right now, but it's still hard to get a read on the dogs.  They still haven't beaten anybody with a pulse but have continued to get better over the course of the season.
18. Southern Miss	Disaster almost struck against UCF, as Southern Miss escaped with a one point win.  The Eagles have clinched a share of the division and just have to beat one of UAB and Memphis to clinch a spot in the title game.  Even if they reach the C-USA title game, Southern Miss's lack of defense could mean trouble against either Houston or Tulsa.
19. Michigan	Michigan rolled over Illinois to continue the Illini's slide.  With the division likely out of reach, the Wolverines have one goal: Beat Ohio State.  Actually, that may have been their only goal regardless of the division race.
20. TCU	TCU still has the magic.  Gary Patterson made the gutsiest call of the year when the Horned Frogs went for two to take the lead over Boise.  After a hurrendous pass interference call kept the Broncos drive alive, karma kicked in and sent Boise's field goal attempt wide right.
21. SEC	The Gamecocks still have major issues, but at least they are finding ways to win.  With their SEC schedule complete, they need to hope Kentucky recruits a real football team and beats Georgia if they want to get to Atlanta.  Otherwise, the season will hinge on spoiling Clemson's dream season.
22. Texas	I'm not sure Texas really deserves to be here after being dominated by Jekyll and Hyde Missouri, but I don't feel inclined to forgive West Virginia or Notre Dame of their sins just yet.  Texas has a chance to prove if they belong or not with Kansas State, A&M, and Baylor left on the schedule.
23. Virginia	I can't believe I'm doing this, but UVA is 7-3 and controls their own destiny in the ACC Coastal division.  It won't be easy, though, with FSU and VPISU left.  To offset this positive statement on Mr. Jefferson's university, I will yield to Colin Cowherd.
24. Florida State	FSU won one of the worst played and officiated games I've ever seen, so I guess they should get some sort of credit but not much.  I'm going to stop here to avoid any unintentionally crediting.
25. Georgia Tech	Forget the 26 points they scored on a very good VPISU defense, Paul Johnson has been figured out.  All you need is a couple extra days to prepare and he can't win.  The option is dead, and no player will ever want to play at Georgia Tech.

Week 11 Top 25- Gary Danielson edition

Clearly, Bob Davie has taken a good deal of flack on here.  The truth is though, it's just because he's an easy target, and if you filter through the nonsense he spews, he does provide good analysis.  Gary Danielson, on the other hand, has to be the worst in the business.  Fortunately, due to the number of crappy teams in the SEC this year, I've managed to pretty much avoid having to suffer through a CBS broadcast.  That came to an end on Saturday with the Bama/LSU game.  In honor of Gary, who taught us all that the SEC is unique because offensive tackles have to both run and pass block in that league (and only in that league), all coaches will be referred to by just their first names this week.

Week 11
1. SEC	Leslie did it again, and the Tigers are in the driver's seat for the SEC West and national title.  If ever there was an example of the importance of special teams, we saw it in Tuscaloosa Saturday night.  The last time the Tigers sat in this position, they lost to Houston Nutt's Arkansas team.  Who is left on the schedule this year?  Houston's Ole Miss and the Razorbacks.
2. Stanford	Andrew Luck did what he does, Stanford did what they do, and Oregon State did what they do.  The next big game is upon us as Oregon comes to Palo Alto this week.  Stanford took a big hit when Chris Owusu went down with a concussion against the Beavers.
3. Oklahoma State	…and the old Cowboys defense is back.  Despite how good the offense is, it's hard to consider Oklahoma State to be a real threat for the national title as long as they can't stop anybody.  LSU and Bama didn't set the world on fire offensively, but does anybody think they can't get one more stop on defense than Oklahoma State?
4. SEC	Place right hand around throat.  Place left hand over right hand.  Squeeze.  Nick's Crimson Tide perfected those steps on Saturday night.  The Tide had a physically better team, but neither the players nor the coaches could handle the pressure.
5. Boise State	Unless something extraordinary happens, you can count me as someone who won't be voting Boise over a one-loss team for the BCS title (since my vote counts, of course).  You can't screw around with teams like UNLV and be considered a real national title contender.
6. Oklahoma	Despite the final score against A&M, something just isn't right about Oklahoma right now.  A team expecting to compete for the national title with a Heisman candidate at QB doesn't suddenly start rotating Blake Bell into the game in November.  Ryan Broyles's great career is over, and Landry Jones will miss that go to receiver when they need to win a shootout with Oklahoma State.
7. Oregon	Oregon beat UW just about how they should have, even if it was unspectacular.  The Ducks clearly aren't clicking on offense like they were last year, but the defense is making plays.  The Ducks will need to force turnovers off of Andrew Luck, or Chip's offense may not get enough possessions to get rolling against Stanford.
8. Houston	I would go ahead and chalk up another W against Tulane this week for Houston, and you should probably take the over.  The last two weeks of the season, however, get interesting with SMU and Tulsa (who is undefeated in conference) on the schedule.
9. SEC	There was absolutely nothing remarkable about Bobby's win over Steve.  If anything, it showed that the Razorbacks still have issues on defense, because the Gamecocks should not be scoring 28 points on anybody right now.
10. Penn State	Penn State had a week off, so there's nothing new to say on the football front, though their two game division lead may quickly disappear with Nebraska, Wisconsin, and Ohio State left on the schedule.  The real news, for those who haven't heard, comes about Jerry Sandusky (who I had forgotten was even alive).  If you don't know the story, there's this cool interweb thing called a Google that has all the answers.
11. Clemson	After a week off, Dabo faces a must win game against Wake.  The winner of this game controls its own destiny in the Atlantic division.  A loss here after starting undefeated, and Dabo will have to start trying on clown shoes again.
12. Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University	Speaking of controlling your own destiny in the ACC, here we go again.  Assuming Virginia loses to one of FSU and VPISU, the winner of Thursday's VPISU/GT game will have control of the Coastal.  Good news for the Turkeys is that Frank had a weekend off to start coming up with things to whine about.
13. Wisconsin	This conference is a mess right now.  Penn State somehow has a two game lead in whatever stupid division name they are in, and Wisconsin, Nebraska, and Michigan State are turning into a rat king.  So, how have I come up with this ordering?  Wisconsin killed Nebraska, and both of its losses came on ridiculous last second touchdowns.  Nebraska, while getting drilled by Wisconsin, also killed Michigan State.  Their second loss to Northwestern came by just three points.  Finally, though Michigan State beat Wisconsin and Ohio State (who beat Wisconsin and almost beat Nebraska), both of their losses came in blowout fashion against Notre Dame and Nebrsaka.  I will not be taking questions.
14. Nebraska
15. Michigan State
16. Texas	Texas had a chance to make a statement, and, after two years, they finally did.  Texas Tech have a well below average defense, but Texas has struggled to run the ball against air for a few years now, and they ran right over the Red Raiders.
17. Kansas State	Colin Klein has to be the MVP of college football this year.  Klein has carried this team on his back all year, including 29 carries in the 52-45 loss to Oklahoma State.  No player has taken his further with less help this season.
18. Southern Miss	Southern Miss all but clinched a spot in the Conference USA title game by beating up on ECU.  If the Eagles and Houston both win out, this could turn out to be a really interesting game.
19. SEC	Runningbacks are overrated.  While there was apparently plenty of smoke in Athens last week, there is no fire on Mark's seat.  Given the weakness of the SEC East, it's not hard to believe the dogs are now in control of the division.  The hedges at Sanford Stadium are clearly a safety hazard.  They should be uprooted.
20. Georgia Tech	Georgia Tech had a weekend off to prepare for VPISU.  Surely, Paul had his team working on perfecting their signature dirty cut blocks so as to injure as many Turkey legs as possible.
21. Michigan	Michigan might have gotten screwed against Iowa.  Watching Denard Robinson run the two minute drill, however, it's hard to feel sorry for them when they couldn't complete a pass at the goaline.  Seriously, though, how successful can we expect them to be when Norm from Cheers is the head coach?
22. Cincinnati	Somebody has to win the Big East, right?  Could we maybe change the title of "Big East Champion" to "Big East Team With the Fewest Losses or Winner of Ricidulous Tie Breaker?"
23. TCU	We get to see just how far TCU has come from their loss to SMU.   They also have a chance to play hero or villain against Boise this week, depending on who you ask.  They didn't exactly have an awe-inspiring win over Wyoming this week.
24. Florida State	FSU was left for dead after losing three in a row earlier this year.  In terms of winning anything meaningful this year, they're still pretty much dead.  Jimbo has won four in a row, however, and none of their losses are to bad teams.  Of course, whenever an ACC team enters the rankings, you can pretty much guarantee a loss will ensue.  So, you may want to take Miami this week.
25. An Ohio State University*	I really wish there was an alternative here, but I couldn't find one…not even the Miami Dolphins.  This is still not a highly functioning football team, but they've won three in a row, and Braxton Miller is starting to make some plays.  Odds are still good an Ohio State will be looking for a new coach soon.