Gopher Football
With Michigan’s 20-6 victory over Iowa on Saturday, it has almost become assured that Michigan and Ohio State will both be 11-0 when the two teams meet on November 18th in Columbus. Ohio State plays the worst 3 teams in the conference (Minnesota, Illinois & Northwestern) before then and Michigan plays Indiana, Northwestern and Ball State. If either of the teams loses a game before then it would be an upset of monumental proportions. It has been 33 years since both Michigan and Ohio State were undefeated and untied going into their final games, and they have never met as the #1 and #2 teams in the nation while being undefeated.
The big story in the Big Ten today is that Minnesota is no longer the national record holder for biggest lead blown in a game. The Gophers had been tied with Miami (Fl) for the biggest blown lead since 1989 after they blew a 31-0 lead to Ohio State. The new holder of this distinction is the Northwestern Wildcats after blowing a 38-3 third quarter lead to Michigan State. The interesting thing about this result is that we saw both extremes of Michigan State football all in one day. Speaking of the Gophers”¦ If you needed any confirmation that they were as bad as you feared, you probably got it today. The Gophers got thoroughly whipped in the trenches by NDSU on both sides of the ball, and if not for about 5 huge NDSU mistakes would’ve lost this game. To the Gophers credit, they played tough red zone defense and didn’t give up when they were behind in the second half. So the positive I’m taking from this game is that the team hasn’t quit just yet. They’ll need that fighting attitude when they go on the road to face #1 Ohio State next week.
Around the nation
Clemson was the most impressive team of the day; they put a 31-7 thrashing on #13 ranked Georgia Tech. The Tigers rushed for 321 yards, and have thus established themselves as the clear #1 team in the ACC for now. A brawl suspension-depleted Miami team almost lost to Duke and needed a last play defensive stand to seal the win, 20-15. Boston College proved their ranking is warranted by defeating Florida State 24-19, in Tallahassee. Rutgers ran their record to 7-0 with a very impressive 20-10 win at Pittsburgh. It’s hard for me to be a complete believer in Rutgers just yet, but they’ll have a chance to prove themselves later on when they both Louisville and West Virginia. In the Big 12, Texas went into Lincoln and defeated Nebraska 24-22 on a last second field goal. That kick negated a furious 4th quarter rally by the Cornhuskers.
Next Weekend
It’s a pretty quiet week in college football next weekend. The Big Ten does not have any matchups that are too important (other than fighting for some lower tier bowl spots), and in the top 25 six teams have the week off (West Virginia, California, Clemson, Louisville, LSU and Boise State). There are a couple games of note though, and here are the ones I’ll be paying most attention to:
5. Oklahoma @ Missouri: The first of two games for Mizzou to prove they’re for real (along with the week after @ Nebraska). This does have implications in the Big Twelve but Texas is the class of that conference and will be very tough to beat in the end either way.
4. Georgia @ Florida: This is a game Florida should win, but if Georgia wants to make anything of their season they need to win this game (since they have 2 more games against ranked opponents coming up). This is last gasp time for the Bulldogs.
3. Tennessee @ South Carolina: Spurrier has the Gamecocks playing some pretty good ball. This will be a very tough game for Tennessee, and if the Vols lose Florida takes a commanding lead in the SEC East.
2. Note Dame @ Navy: The Midshipmen are 5-2 and Notre Dame is struggling a wee bit. Is this the year that Navy finally ends the 40 year losing streak to Notre Dame? Probably not, but we still can cheer for it!
1. Clemson @ Virginia Tech: Va Tech wants to get back into the Top 25 and Clemson needs to avoid a letdown after a big win against Georgia Tech. VERY dangerous game here for Clemson., on ESPN in prime time on Thursday night.
Looking even farther ahead
2. It’s very early to think about this, but one of the scenarios I’m interested in seeing is what would have to happen for Michigan AND Ohio State to meet in the national championship game? Obviously USC would have to lose, and chances are that either West Virginia and/or Louisville may have to fall at some point as well. But as it stands right now, Michigan (at #3) is far ahead of #4 (Auburn) so I’d have to guess that it’s a possibility that regardless of who loses when Michigan & OSU play, they could end up playing again in the national title game. How freaky would that be?! I don’t know if there’s a rule prohibiting two teams from one conference to meet in the national title game (has it ever come up?), but if there’s not this will be a fun story line to follow.
1. The game of the year in Big East takes place two weekends from now (actually on Thursday, 11/2) when undefeated West Virginia visits undefeated Louisville. Interestingly, both teams have this week off so they’ll both have time to think about it and rest up.
Top 25
There’s not a ton of changes this week in the Top 25. I moved Clemson up a couple spots after their impressive win against Georgia Tech”¦. Rutgers and Wisconsin each move up a couple spots after impressive wins, and South Carolina replaces Iowa at #25.
| Ohio State | ||||
| Michigan | ||||
| Southern Cal | ||||
| West Virginia | ||||
| Texas | ||||
| Arkansas | ||||
| Auburn | ||||
| Florida | ||||
| Clemson | ||||
| Tennessee | ||||
| California | ||||
| Louisville | ||||
| LSU | ||||
| Notre Dame | ||||
| Wisconsin | ||||
| Oklahoma | ||||
| Rutgers | ||||
| Nebraska | ||||
| Georgia Tech | ||||
| Boise State | ||||
| Boston College | ||||
| Oregon | ||||
| Texas A&M | ||||
| Missouri | ||||
| South Carolina |
Dropped Out:
25. Iowa (L @ Michigan, 20-6)
These rankings are GopherHole.com’s vote in the CollegeRivals.org Top 25 poll. Its voters are staff members from various independent college football websites just like GopherHole.com. Check back each week throughout the season to see the newest poll. Click Here to view the latest CollegeRivals.org Top 25. (This poll will be updated every Tuesday afternoon through out the sesaon.)
Click Here to view last weeks top 25.
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