Gopher Football
There were no surprises in the Big Ten this past weekend, as the favorites won every game. I don’t have the numbers in front of me, but it seems like it’s been a while since there were this many low-scoring games in conference play. The biggest surprise to me was Penn State “œonly” scoring 20 points against Purdue. The Lion defense came up big in this game though, holding Purdue to 247 total yards, and pitched a shutout until mid-way through the fourth quarter when Kory Sheets scored a touchdown. If Penn State can keep up this type of defense they’ll be very tough to beat.
Call me a believer in Ohio State once again. The Buckeyes made the decision to practically re-invent their offense after their second game of the season, pulling out Todd Boeckman and inserting Terrell Pryor at quarterback. After beating Minnesota, I really thought that their Buckeye offense would have a tough time against Wisconsin. They looked good on the first drive, but then kind of tanked it for a while. But give Pryor and OSU credit for putting together that gusty final drive that won the game. Even though it wasn’t the prettiest football we’ve ever seen, the fact remains that Ohio State beat Wisconsin in Madison, and the Buckeyes are only going to keep getting better as Pryor matures. Now I’m not saying that they should be a top 5 nationally ranked team again, but I do think they’d have to be considered in the top two in the conference for sure.
Through the first two weekends I’d rank the top 5 teams as 1) Penn State, 2) Ohio State, 3) Illinois, 4) Michigan State, 5) Wisconsin. The reason of the teams I just don’t quite get yet. Northwestern generated a lot of buzz after their win against , but their schedule has still been too weak for me to get very excited about them. The Gophers will have another chance to prove they belong in the top half of the conference Saturday against Illinois.
National update
Top 25 rebounds
In a stark contrast to the previous weekend, the top 25 did very well this past weekend. #1, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 & 12 all won by at least 14 points.
Upset of the week:
The biggest surprise nationally this past weekend was Pitt going into South Florida and upsetting the Bulls, 26-21. After opening the season ranked #25 only to lose 27-21 to Bowling Green in their first game, the Panthers have now won four in a row and have climbed back to #24 in the A.P. poll. Pitt gets a test next weekend (October 18) when they travel to Navy, who is coming off two big road wins against then #16 Wake Forest and Air Force (Navy also has this weekend off). A win in that game for Navy, and the Midshipmen’s schedule lines up nicely for the possibility of being 7-2 when they host Notre Dame on November 15.
Runner up:
Fresno State dropped out of the top 25 after losing at home to Hawaii, 32-29 in overtime. Wisconsin’s win over them is not looking nearly as good now.
Team of the week:
The Vanderbilt Commodores. Vandy justified their top-25 ranking with a huge (for their program) 14-13 victory at home over Auburn, and as a result jumped up to #13 in the polls. The win moved their record to 5-0, the first time they have accomplished this feat since 1943. The next order of business for Vandy will be to not let their head get too big, and avoid the upset this Saturday when they travel to Starkville to take on Mississippi State.
Kick “˜em while they’re down
Missouri became the latest team to take out years of pent up frustration against Nebraska, whipping the Huskers 52-17 in Lincoln. It seems like a lot of Nebraska streaks (such as the 30 year winning steak they’d held against Missouri in Lincoln) have been coming to an end these past few years.
Watch out for:
North Carolina. Very quietly the Tarheels are 4-1 and ranked #23 after whipping previously ranked UCONN 38-12. Their only loss so far was 20-17 to Virginia Tech. If they can get past Notre Dame this weekend, there isn’t a definite loss on their schedule the rest of the way, so they opportunity will be there for them to finish with a great record in the weak ACC.
Next weekend’s big games
#5 Texas @ #1 Oklahoma ““ This should be of the top 5 matchups in college football this year. Texas is off to a 5-0 start and has won all of their games in dominating fashion, but have yet to play a ranked team. Oklahoma has won their games in similar fashion, but did prove a little bit a couple weeks ago with their win over TCU. Both QB’s, Oklahoma’s super-sophomore QB Sam Bradford and Texas’ Colt McCoy are playing as well as anyone in the nation right now.
#17 Oklahoma State @ #3 Missouri ““ Oh yeah, I almost forgot about this game. This is a dangerous game for Missouri. Even though their offense may very well be the best in the country, their defense is still a little bit unproven, and Oklahoma State is a team that might be score enough to keep up with. The Cowboys offense is on a tear, having scored at least 55 points in 4 straight games. If Missouri can limit turnovers though they should win.
#4 LSU @ #11 Florida ““ What can you say about the SEC, it seems like there is a huge game like this every week. This is the first of three tough games for Florida (Vanderbilt and Georgia being the others), so with a loss to Mississippi already on the books, this a must win game for them.
Notre Dame @ #22 North Carolina ““ Because it’s Notre Dame, the importance of this game is inflated. None the less, Notre Dame comes in at 4-1, despite not being horribly impressive this year yet. A win over a ranked team would likely vault the Irish into the top 25.
#6 Penn State @ Wisconsin ““ This could be the last hurrah for the Badgers. They’re already out of the conference title race, but a win against the Lions would keep them in position for a quality bowl game. If the Lions win, Wisconsin would be 0-3 in the Big Ten and left wondering what’s next.
GopherHole.com Top 25
| Oklahoma | ||||
| Alabama | ||||
| Texas | ||||
| Missouri | ||||
| LSU | ||||
| Penn State | ||||
| Georgia | ||||
| USC | ||||
| Ohio State | ||||
| Texas Tech | ||||
| BYU | ||||
| Vanderbilt | ||||
| Auburn | ||||
| Florida | ||||
| Kansas | ||||
| Boise State | ||||
| Utah | ||||
| Oklahoma State | ||||
| California | ||||
| TCU | ||||
| Virginia Tech | ||||
| North Carolina | ||||
| Michigan State | ||||
| South Florida | ||||
| Wisconsin |
Dropped Out:
18. Oregon (L at USC, 44-10)
23. Fresno State (L vs. Hawaii, 32-29)
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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