Week 14 Top 25

Sorry about the lack of update last week, but we're back now after the holiday.  Not much has changed near the top.  I still have Oregon in the third spot based on the entire body of work, but a win in the SEC title game would surely launch the dogs ahead of the Ducks into the second spot (so keep your red panties in your lap).  Of course, none of that matters because my vote means nothing.  After teams 15-21 all lost last week, I am stopping at 15 this time because going beyond that would be pointless.

Week 14
1. Notre Dame	Notre Dame has finished the season undefeated and will play in the National Championship game.  I repeat, Notre Dame has finished the season undefeated and will play in the National Championship game.  Notre Dame versus SEC for the title…ESPN just spontaneously combusted.
2. SEC	The Tide have clearly not lost focus after their loss to aTm.  They've taken care of two 1-AA caliber opponents as a warm up for the SEC title game to earn a trip to play Notre Dame in Miami.
3. Oregon	The Ducks rebounded just fine from their OT loss to Stanford by running away from Oregon State in the second half.  It was a close game for a while, but Oregon did what everybody was waiting for them to do last week.  Unfortunately for NikeU, there is no chance of climbing back into the title game.
4. SEC	It's really a wonder why Aaron Murray hasn't been in the Heisman discussion.  He leads the nation in pass efficiency and is a win away from leading his team to the BCS title game.  This isn't to say that he has had a more spectacular season than Johnny Manziel or Collin Klein, but he has exceeded expectations.  Of course, the big game monkey still looms, and he has a chance to end that in a big way on Saturday.
5. SEC	The Gayta have somehow played their way into an almost certain Sugar Bowl berth.  Nick Saban apparently takes exception to this, since it will knock the loser of the SEC championship game down to the Citrus Bowl, or worse.  Will Muschamp, your response?  "We'll switch places if Nick doesn't like it."
6. SEC	I think it's officially time to 5150 the Hatter.
7. SEC	Johnny Manziel continues to be ridiculous.  Clearly, I love Collin Klein as much as anybody, but Johnny Football is my leader in the clubhouse for the Heisman.
8. Collin Klein	Speaking of Collin Klein, he got a much needed week off to rest after a terrible outing against Baylor.  Clearly, the shot he took against OK State had a lingering effect, as he just wasn't the same in the ensuing two games.  Hopefully he has fully recovered and can finish strong against Texas to clinch the Big?.
9. Stanford	Stanford took care of business against UCLA to clinch their spot in the Pac-12 title game against…UCLA.  The Pac-12 title game is off to a rough two-year start.
10. SEC	The Gamecocks have once again finished remarkably without Marcus Lattimore.  This time it was without Connor Shaw as well.  As happy as they are to have beaten Clemson for the fourth straight year, Gamecock fans have to be frustrated by what could have been yet again.
11. Oklahoma	The Sooners won a wild one against OK State to stay alive in the Big? title race.  It's really getting old seeing this same story year after year with OU.  They certainly have the athletes, but something is just not right.  OU may be the biggest proponent of a playoff, because it affords them the chance to choke away a regular season game every year and still play for a title, which they certainly could win.
12. Florida State	E.J. Manuel is the Oklahoma of college QBs.  He passes the eyeball test.  He has all the physical ability you could dream of.  He makes spectacular plays and puts up huge numbers…when it doesn't matter.  Despite all his talent, he finds a way to lose in the big games, and he did it again against the Gayta.  FreeShoesU looked like they were about to run away after coming back from a 13-3 hole.  Then, just like that, they started turning the ball over again, and it was 37-20 almost instantly.
13. Nebraska	Nebraska has quietly turned in a strong season after a rocky start.  Taylor Martinez is still frustratingly inconsistent, but he has really matured a lot this year.  An ugly victory over a terrible Iowa team is not the strongest way to go into the B1G title game, but at least they weren't 3rd in their division like their opponent Wisconsin.
14. Clemson	Yet again, Clemson falls to a tougher team.  The Gamecocks have clearly gotten in their heads, as Clemson should have run the wounded chickens off the field.  But no, the vaunted Tiger offense folded under pressure again, and their defense remained incapable of stopping anybody in a big game.  This makes them a virtual lock to return to Atlanta for the Peach Bowl.
15. Kent State	Fresh off a College World Series appearance, the Golden Flashes are in position now to make a BCS game.  All they need to do is beating Northern Illinois and finish higher in the BCS standings than the Big East champ.  Kent State would almost certainly land in the Orange Bowl in this scenario.  That means we could see an Orange Bowl featuring Kent State and 7-6 Georgia Tech.  Actually, that's not true, nobody would actually see that as long as anything else is on TV that night.

Week 12 Top 25

Ran out of time for a full update this week, but here you go.  Obviously, the big event was A&M's upset of the Tide.  Johnny Manziel added to his growing legend with a big game in Tuscaloosa.  I think people are overreacting to this one, though.  It's not like the Aggies went in and blew them out.  Bama had the ball inside the five yard line with a chance to win the game before throwing an interception on a poor 4th down play call.  They then forced a three-and-out but jumped offsides before the Aggies could punt.  That said, the Tide fall only to fourth despite the loss.  Oregon, Collin Klein, and Notre Dame still remain undefeated and in the lead for the title game.  Don't be surprised though if at least one of them loses a game and the SEC winner gets back in.

Week 12

1. Oregon

2. Collin Klein

3. Notre Dame

4. SEC

5. Florida State

6. SEC

7. SEC

8. SEC

9. Clemson

10. SEC

11. Oklahoma

12. SEC

13. Stanford

14. Nebraska

15. Oregon State

16. USC

17. Rutgers

18. Louisville

19. Texas

20. UCLA

21. Lousisiana Tech

22. Oklahoma State

23. Texas Tech

24. Michigan

25. Kent State

Week 11 Top 25

We're back with a real update this week.  The season is entering the stretch run, and with four undefeated teams at the top, we should see lots of drama over the next month.  We will soon have answers to all the big questions.  Who will get screwed out of the title game (let's hope Notre Dame)?  How badly is Collin Klein injured (trick question, Collin Klein doesn't get injured)?  Will Duke win the ACC (basketball season is officially starting)?  When will Less Miles blow a big game with ridiculous calls (too late)?

Week 11
1. SEC	We watched A.J. McCarron grow up big time in Baton Rouge.  All the Heisman talk was within two minutes of ending, then McCarron led a flawless game winning drive against a defense which had been dominant the entire second half.  It's also nice to see his genuinely humble and emotional reaction to the win as opposed to a certain Carolina Panthers QB.
2. Oregon	Oregon put up record numbers against USC in the Coliseum.  Kenjon Barner did his best Prefontaine impression running for almost a quarter mile against the Trojans.  What's not so great, however, was the 51 points the Ducks gave up.  Yes, USC has a powerful offense, but as Oregon has learned in recent years, they can't rely on outscoring opponents in BCS games, especially if that opponent is coached by Nick Saban.
3. Collin Klein	I really wanted to move Collin Klein up to the number 2 spot, but his injury against Oklahoma State scares me.  KSU is keeping mum about the severity of the injury, but I don't imagine Bill Snyder would take Klein out of the game without good reason.  We will see how this plays out in the next few days.
4. Notre Dame	The Irish played with fire and won again.  With BC and Wake up next on the schedule, it is extremely likely Notre Dame will be 11-0 when they head to LA in the season finale.  The offense better get going because they will probably need to score to beat the Trojans.
5. SEC	Here is where I piss off the dog fans.  The Tiger offense had its best game of the year rolling up more yards on the Tide than anybody has dreamt of and taking the lead into the final minute of the game.  If not for the return of the Mad Hatter, they may have won the game and be back in the title picture.  For those reasons, Less & Co. hold at #5 this week.
6. Florida State	Free Shoes U got the week off before what was supposed to be a big showdown with VPISU.  Instead, the Noles are big favorites to hand the Turkeys their sixth loss of the season.  Not only will Frank not win 10 games this year, but he may have to cry all offseason about not making a bowl game.
7. SEC	The dogs avoided the trap against Mississippi but things could have been drastically different if not for a ridiculous touchdown to close the first half.  As it was, the dogs ran away from the Black Bears in the second half and should clinch their spot in the SEC title game against the team formerly known as Cam Newton this week.
8. SEC	The Gayta did not respond well to their loss in Jacksonville by barely coming away with a home win over Mizzou.  If Mizzou had anything resembling an offense, it would have been two straight losses for the Gaytas.  Will Muschamp has been unable to generate any consistent offense this year, and relying on QB draw every other play is really coming back to kick them in the jorts.
9. Clemson	Clemson continued to do what they do by blowing out Duke.  There probably won't be much interesting to say about Clemson until they play the Gamecocks in a few weeks.
10. SEC	Johnny Manziel has flown under the radar for much of the year, but he is putting up huge numbers in Kevin Sumlin's offense and doing as much with his legs as with his arm.  Just a freshman, he plays with total reckless abandon and may be the first team SEC QB.  Clearly nobody warned him about SEC speed.  A&M will be a lot of fun to watch for the next few years.
11. Oklahoma	The Sooners got a decent win over Iowa State.  At this point, the season has to be considered a major disappointment, as the Sooners and Landry Jones are basically out of the national, Big 12, and Heisman race.  Big Game Bob strikes again.
12. Louisville	Louisville is 9-0, but I'm still not quite impressed.  The most significan win was over UNC, and they almost blew a huge lead in that one.  We may not know what the Cardinals are really made of until the last game of the year against Rutgers.
13. SEC	Spurrier got a much needed week off.  What promised to be the best team in school history has turned into the walking (mostly) wounded.  Marcus Lattimore is gone again, and Connor Shaw looks like he's about to break.  Fortunately, the schedule is soft until closing the year with Clemson, so the Cocks should be able to avoid totally blowing it.
14. Oregon State	Oregon State got back to winning against Arizona State.  It still feels weird seeing them up here, but they just find ways to win games.  The closing schedule is unkind with Stanford and Oregon still up, so we will probably see the Beavers slip further.
15. Stanford	Stanford got their licks in against Colorado before facing a stiffer test against the Beavers this week.  We're really going to find out who Stanford is in the next few weeks, as they close the season with Oregon State, Oregon, and UCLA.  I have a feeling they're about to really start missing Andrew Luck.
16. Nebraska	Nebraska has turned it around, winning three in a row after their beatdown from Ohio State.  Barring a Taylor Martinez implosion, the Huskers are in good shape to make the B1G championship game, most likely against Wisconsin.  Of course, Taylor Martinez implosions have become an annual event, so stay tuned.
17. USC	We've already addressed the Cocks and the Beavers.  Now we have to talk about the Trojans.  I don't know when this turned into health class.  After giving up a million points and yards to Oregon, it's safe to say everyone got too excited to early about USC.  The defense has been soft and failed to keep up their end of the bargain, which has clearly left Matt Barkley frustrated.
18. SEC	The Bulldogs may be proving the critics right.  As good as Dan Mullen's squad looked against a soft early schedule, they have equally gotten their tails kicked against tougher competition the last couple weeks.  I will still give them some benefit of the doubt for now, but they need to pull it back together down the stretch.
19. Rutgers	Rutgers got a week off, which clearly helped because they jumped three spots.  They get to rebound against Army before returning to the toughest stretch of their Big East schedule.  The Scarlet Knights, whose helmets are awesome, close the season with Munchie Legeaux, Pitt, and Louisville.  We will see how good that defense really is.
20. UCLA	I just don't know what to make of UCLA.  They've looked as good and as bad as anyone in the country this year.  The only thing I can guarantee is that with Stanford and USC left on the schedule, they won't finish the year ranked 20th.
21. Louisiana Tech	Look how far LaTech has come since they got rid of Derek Dooley three years ago.
22. Texas	Texas has pulled themselves back together after three straight wins.  David Ash is returning to his early season form, and the defense is actually starting to show up.  It's too little too late for this year, but Longhorn fans have to be encouraged the season didn't totally go down the drain.
23. Texas Tech	The magic eventually had to run out.  Texas Tech has exceeded expectations so far, but reality is that they are probably a bordline top 25 team.  Last year, the Red Raiders collapsed after a great start.  Let's see if they do the same this year.  They need to start by taking care of business against KU.
24. Oklahoma State	The Cowboys hung tough with Collin Klein, so they won't drop too far.  Similar to Texas Tech, they are who they are.  Last year was clearly an anomaly, and OK State will return to 8-9 win seasons as long as they don't play defense.
25. Northwestern	Northwestern gets back in the rankings this week for no particular reason other than they won and other teams didn't.  Let's not pretend we're that interested in Northwestern.