College Football General

[Jungle Rat]

May he not rest in peace.

[THE_WIZARD_]

I'm very sorry to all of you for killing Talent. It had to be done. Some people just need killin'. He was one.

[10ac]

He had it coming.

[Regelbuck]

Jason...thanks for that.

Wiz...now you shall know why Madison is not a pleasant place.....

[THE_WIZARD_]

shaddup

[Regelbuck]

really? I don't even speak much these days...

[dave_rickart]

and we aren't complaining 'bout that....

[THE_WIZARD_]

Cool...Talent is dead......regal has stfu...now if we could only get rickart to stfu...

[JRB]

If only Talent were dead...

Still, we can wait and hope.

[crashcourse]

talent is dead because kstate>miami>ohiost

his hair exploded at the reality of this and several more years to come

RG3 will destroy thos good vibes by 430 tommorrow though

[JRB]

1. Alabama. Poor, poor Florida. The last time they got punked in their own building like that, Ron Zook was in his first year(South Carolina came close last year, but that wasn't the sort of physical beating the Gators got in this one). It speaks volumes for this Alabama team's focus and preparation that they were able to shrug off getting hit with a big play on the first official play from scrimmage and commence a virtual pistol-whipping of the Gators the rest of the way. Now Florida gets its bones picked over by LSU, while Alabama faces a much-improved Vanderbilt team that, much like the rest of the SEC, might be able to slow Alabama down for a while, but probably won't be able to score much at all.

2. LSU. The Tigers took care of business against overmatched Kentucky, and now get the hated Gators coming in...with a bunch of freshman QBs. I know Jeff Driskel and Jacoby Brissett are supposedly very talented guys, but their lack of success in passing situations last week seems to indicate that Florida might do just as well quick-kicking on any third down longer than, say, four in this one. That's an exaggeration, of course, but unless Florida finds something in the running game they couldn't find against Alabama, this will be ugly.

3. Oklahoma. OU beats Texas tomorrow(actually, make that today, but never mind) because I don't think Texas can stop the big plays from Broyles and Stills, and assuming that proves to be true, I don't think Texas' freshman QBs can keep up. It wouldn't surprise me if Texas kept this close into the fourth quarter, but I think a late mistake from Texas' offense allows the Sooners to slam the door.

4. Boise State. After they bogged down a bit against Nevada while Wisconsin and Stanford were looking extremely impressive, I wanted to move them down a bit. After seeing Boise State go to Fresno State and obliterate the Bulldogs again, I just couldn't. Geraldo Boldewijn gives them the outside presence in the passing game they've been missing, and as a result, the Broncos probably played their most complete game of the season tonight. How do they keep this up? For one thing, they count on everybody-- the Broncos had 26 completions against Fresno State...to eleven different receivers.

5. Stanford. UCLA did better against the Cardinal than I thought they would. The Bruins might even have finally found themselves a QB in Richard Brehaut. They've likely found him too late to save Rick Neuheisel's job, but the next UCLA head coach will start ahead of the curve in rebuilding if Brehaut continues to improve this season. As for Stanford, it's a mark of how good they've become over the last three seasons that they could face a team playing the best it had all season and still blow them out easily. David Shaw let Andrew Luck call the plays for this game. I'd stick with that strategy if I were him.

6. Wisconsin. For all the praise Wisconsin has deservedly gotten for its woodshed job on Nebraska, the game was still close in the second quarter when Nebraska seemingly forgot its QB struggles as a passer and had him throw repeatedly. Up until that point, Nebraska had consistently moved the ball on the ground. I don't think that any team in the Big Ten can handle this bunch, but Wisconsin's defense might not be the equal of its dominant offensive attack. If a team will commit to running the ball and can avoid the big mistakes(like the ones Taylor Martinez made), I could see Wisconsin getting a challenge before bowl season. They won't get one this week, however-- Indiana comes to Camp Randall on Saturday, and will likely leave Camp Randall battered, bruised, and broken.

7. Clemson. I'm not sure Clemson is as good as Virginia Tech made them look last Saturday night, particularly on the defensive side of the ball, but Clemson's last three results mean that I don't have to put too much stock in any one performance. Having beaten Auburn, Florida State, and Virginia Tech in consecutive weeks, the Tigers have made by far the best case in the ACC to this point. This is also about the point in the season where fast-starting Clemson teams in the recent past have thrown up all over themselves, but happily for Clemson, they're at home this week facing a Boston College offense that barely has a pulse. I could see them struggling at Maryland, though, and Georgia Tech will give them all they want.

8. Oklahoma State. My opinion of this team remains unchanged. They didn't play last week, and they get Kansas and the porous Jayhawk defense at home this week. Let's move on.

9. Oregon. The Ducks turned it up a notch in the second half and buried Cal, and their offense has more or less looked the part of a Pac-12 championship team since the opening loss to LSU. The more I've seen of this team, however, the less I like the defense-- they're small, they're not particularly fast, and they're not especially adept at filling holes. Cal left a lot of plays on the field against the Ducks. Better QBs ought to be able to put up points in bunches on this team.

10. Texas. I believe in this Texas revival, on the whole. I believe in their newfound dedication to running the ball with the tailbacks, I believe that Manny Diaz is turning around a Texas defense that had all kinds of speed and precious little hitting last year, and I believe wholeheartedly in Bryan Harsin's ability as an offensive coordinator-- I think that guy will be one of the hottest head coaching candidates in the country in a year or two. I just don't believe in these Texas players at this time against this Oklahoma team. I like their chances much better against oSu a week from today...provided that OU doesn't blow them out.

Next Five: Arkansas, Georgia Tech, Auburn, Illinois(?), and Michigan(??)

[AlabamAlum]

Winless teams:

New Mexico
FAU
UAB

Undefeated teams:

Oklahoma
LSU
Alabama
Boise
Oklahoma State
Wisconsin
Stanford
Michigan
Clemson
Houston
Illinois
Kansas State
Georgia Tech

[AlabamAlum]

The last time this happened, Reagan was in his first term in the White House, Paul Bryant was the coach at the University of Alabama, the SEC had 10 teams, and John Cougar's "Jack and Diane" was on every radio you turned on:

[youtube]zjMwrXGk4xU[/youtube]

MIAMI -- Florida is out of The Associated Press Top 25 poll.

Not just the Gators -- the entire state.

For the first time since Dec. 6, 1982, no Sunshine State team was among the AP rankings on Sunday, marking the end of 472 straight polls where either Florida, Florida State or Miami -- and usually all three -- were on the list. Florida and Florida State both lost Saturday, the Gators losing at No. 1 LSU 41-11 and the Seminoles continuing their freefall with a 35-30 setback at Wake Forest.

[dave_rickart]

"Suckin' on chili dog, outside the Tastee freeze..."

that was back when Nebraska was relevant and UNC was following the rules....

[10ac]

Great song.

[AugustWest]

UNC was following the rules....

no they weren't.

[It's me Karen]

Yep, great song.

[dave_rickart]

Karen, dribble off those Bobby Brooks and let me do what I please....

[THE_WIZARD_]

Has Virginia ever been relevant in anything but lacrosse? Ever? Anything?

Tires. Heh.

[TheBigMook]

Ralph Sampson.