#Irish 17, #Sooners 13.Any team with a real defense can beat the Sooners (see below), and Notre Dame made them essentially one dimensional, allowing 15 rushing yards on 24 attempts, and allowing only three of Oklahoma's 13 drives to end in scores. I think it would be absurd for an undefeated anyone who has beaten Michigan, Michigan St., Stanford, Oklahoma, and USC to be denied a spot in the championship, but we'll see. Basically, a lot is going to be in the hands of the Trojans at the end of the season.
— Joel Wright (@joelwrig) October 28, 2012
2) Kansas State (8-0, 5-0, +16) - Speaking of defense, Kansas State held Texas Tech to 5.7 yards per play and forced three turnovers and one blocked field goal in administering a 55-24 beatdown in the town of old Manhattoes, KS. On the other side of the ball, the Wildcats scored on eight consecutive drives, with QB Collin Klein throwing 19/26, 233 yards, 2 TDs, 0 INTs, plus adding 83 rushing yards and 2 rushing TDs on 12 rushes. K-State has an easier schedule than Oregon but harder than Notre Dame ahead, with Oklahoma State, TCU, Baylor, and Texas. I think they'll need both the Ducks and the Irish to lose to get to the national championship.
3) Oregon (8-0, 5-0, +14) - Well, the Ducks did their part, beating poor Colorado 70-14 behind a balanced attack that had six different players score touchdowns and four players rushing for 67 yards are more. Next week is their big trip to L.A. to take on the Trojans. Unfortunately, losses by Oregon State and USC make Oregon's future schedule look a lot less daunting, which means that the Ducks are not going to get any love from the computers in the BCS polls.
4) Alabama (8-0, 5-0, +13) - Another day, another boring step in the march of inevitability that is the Alabama Crimson Tide's 2012 Season. In their 38-7 win over previously undefeated Mississippi State, the Tide got out to a quick 21-0 lead. They then settled in, and we got to watch the teams combine for 7 consecutive three-and-outs, 16 yards of offense on 21 plays for 11:28 of game time. Yawn.
5) Georgia (7-1, 5-1, +10) - Georgia's defense must have gotten tired of my smack-talking, as they stepped it up in a big way in a 17-9 win over Florida. Florida QB Jeff Driskel was 14/26 for 185 yards, 0 TDs and 2 INTs, and was sacked five times. On the ground, the Gator rushing attack that gashed LSU was held to 81 yards on 2.0 yards per attempt. The Bulldogs are now in the driver's seat in the SEC East, needing wins against 5-3 Ole Miss and 1-7 Auburn to get to the conference championship and what is essentially a play-in for the national championship.
6) Florida (7-1, 6-1, +11) - Florida, for their part, looked terrible. If they had won, the Gators could've clinched their division before the start of November, and coasted the rest of the year. Now, they're going to need Georgia to suffer a massive upset of some kind in order to sneak back in. On the other hand, if Florida wins out, beating Florida State, and there are no non-SEC undefeated teams left, the Gators may be the best option for an all-SEC Championship against Alabama.
7) LSU (7-1, 3-1, +11) - Going back to November of 2010, the Alabama Crimson Tide are 25-3. Two of those losses have been to LSU. The Tigers get their shot next week, and it will be interesting to see what Les Miles has planned over the course of the bye week. If LSU pulls off the upset and wins the SEC, then we could conceivably have another LSU-Alabama rematch, although I think that that would require there to be 0 eligible undefeated teams in the rest of the country.
8) Ohio State (9-0, 5-0, +9) - The Big Ten's season from Hell continues. Ohio State beat Penn State 35-23, and are one step closer to finishing the season 12-0 and sitting at home in January. (Imagine that, if they're watching 12-1 LSU vs. 11-1 Alabama!) The Buckeyes still have to play Michigan and Wisconsin, who both lost, although for the Badgers it was essentially meaningless, as they remain the only bowl eligible team in the P-Pow-I-I division with more than one conference win. The biggest loser in all of this might be the Rose Bowl, who, if the Ducks go to the NC, might end up with a match-up of 8-5 Wisconsin against 9-4 USC.
9) Oregon State (6-1, 4-1, +9) - Well, damn. The Beavers hopes of an undefeated season ended with their 17-20 loss at Washington. The Huskies are a totally schizophrenic team, but I think I've figured them out: at home, they're 4-1, with wins over Stanford and Oregon State. On the road, they're 0-3, losing 3-41 at LSU, 21-52 at Oregon, and 17-52 at Arizona. Three of Washington's last four games are on the road, but two of those are at Colorado and Washington State, so maybe they'll be able to turn it around. As for the Beavers, they've got no time to feel sorry for themselves, as they host Arizona State next week. The Rose Bowl is still very much a possibility.
10) Louisville (8-0, 3-0, +8)
11) Oklahoma (5-2, 3-1, +6)
12) Texas Tech (6-2, 3-2, +9)
13) Florida State (8-1, 5-1, +6) - Florida State whooped feel-good story of the year Duke at home, 48-7. Strangely enough, this might not be the last time these two teams meet. The Seminoles have two more conference games, at Virginia Tech and at Maryland, and if they win those they're in the ACC Championship. However, there are five teams that they could conceivably play there. And despite the loss, Duke could still meet them, if the Blue Devils can win out against Clemson, Georgia Tech, and Miami (FL). If I were to bet, though, I would guess that Duke will stumble, and that North Carolina will take their place.
14) Mississippi State (7-1, 3-1, +5)
15) Boise State (7-1, 4-0, +5)
16) South Carolina (7-2, 5-2 , +5) - It was a Pyrrhic Victory for South Carolina, 38-35 against Tennessee. Georgia's win over Florida means that, statistically at least, the Gamecocks can still win the SEC East, although they would need both the Gators and the Bulldogs to lose once. Also, RB Marcus Lattimore's horrific leg injury reminded us that we are all participating in a system in which poor Black men mutilate one another for our entertainment without compensation.
17) Kent State (7-1, 4-0, +5) - Yes, I realize that I have four MAC teams in my top 25. Don't blame me. Blame the Big Ten and Big East teams that keep losing to them. With Kent State's 35-23 win over previously undefeated Rutgers, the MAC is now 24-26 in all non-conference games, including 3-9 against the Big Ten and 3-4 against the Big East. (Although Kent State's one loss was 14-47 at Kentucky.) (Which is Kentucky's only win so far this season.)
18) Rutgers (7-1, 4-0, +4)
19) Toledo (8-1, 4-0, +4) - Toledo's only loss was 17-24 in OT at Arizona, who has also beaten Oklahoma State and USC. Their best win was two weeks ago, 29-23 versus Cincinnati.
20) Clemson (7-1, 4-1, +3)
21) UCLA (6-2, 3-2, +3) - I'm telling you guys, UCLA is good. Top 20 good, at least. They came through in a tough 45-43 win at Arizona State which, with USC's loss, created a 3-way tie in the Pac-12 South Division. The Sun Devils still have to play at Oregon State, at USC, vs. Wazzu, at Arizona. The Trojans get Oregon, ASU, and at UCLA. With their upset of USC, Arizona is a game back, with at UCLA, vs. Colorado, at Utah, vs ASU. The Bruins get to host Arizona next week, and they end their season with at Washington State, vs. USC, vs. Stanford. The announcers on Saturday were talking like UCLA can win that 'SC game. The Bruins should start believing it, too.
22) Ohio (7-1, 3-1, +2) - On the one hand, Ohio lost to Miami of Ohio. On the other, they beat Penn State, who is currently 3-1 in the Big Ten. On the third hand, this gives me four teams from Ohio in my top 25. Ohio.
23) Stanford (6-2, 4-1, +2) - Kind of lurking in the background of all this Pac-12 insanity is Stanford, who won an ugly game at home against Washington St., 24-17, and could still win the Pac-12 North. They have Colorado next week, and then back-to-back games against Oregon State and Oregon. If both the Cardinal and the Beavers can take care of business next week (never a given) then that Nov. 10 showdown could be huge, with definite BCS implications.
24) West Virginia (5-2, 2-2, +1)
25) Northern Illinois (7-1, 4-0, +1)
No comments:
Post a Comment