Sunday, October 21, 2012

Week 8 College Football Recap: Rankings, Heisman, BCS Projections

There has been quite a shakeup in the past couple weeks. West Virginia represented one of the National Championship and Heisman favorites, and that is all but dead now. Florida is just taking care of business. Texas apparently has no defense. Notre Dame is struggling to score. It will be an interesting couple weeks coming up. Check out how I break down the national landscape as of right now:


Top 25

Others receiving votes: Michigan, Nebraska, Nevada, Northern Illinois, TCU, Wisconsin

25. Toledo (7-1) – Their only loss came against a pretty solid Arizona squad in overtime. This team can really score.
24. South Carolina (5-2) – A couple losses in a row, the last one being a beatdown in the Swamp. They get Tennessee at home next week to prevent their team from unraveling.
23. Stanford (5-2) – Their loss to Notre Dame was nothing to be ashamed about. They are still a tough out for anyone.
22. West Virginia (5-2) – A couple straight blowout losses to a couple great teams in obviously the best, deepest conference in America. It happens. Welcome to the Big 12.
21. Louisiana Tech (6-1) – They passed the test against A&M with flying colors, losing on a failed 2-point conversion in the final moments. This team is going to be a scary bowl matchup for a big conference team.
20. Georgia (6-1) – They are such a fraud. Just because they have NFL prospects on defense doesn’t mean that they are great. They almost blew a game against the 1-7 Kentucky Wildcats. Their offense is potent at time, however.
19. Clemson (6-1) – They still cannot stop anyone, but Tajh Boyd is becoming one of the more reliable QB threats in the country.
18. Ohio (7-0) – They are a tough team. Their win against Penn State is looking more and more impressive.
17. Texas A&M (5-2) – They looked incredible for about a quarter against the stout LSU defense. If they can keep that tempo for the duration of their SEC games, they could finally squash that myth about the SEC dominating the sport.
16. Texas Tech (6-1) – They are always a tough home team, but that win at TCU was very impressive, even if their top-ranked D got shredded.
15. Louisville (7-0) – They keep finding ways to win. That conference is going to have a bunch of interesting games in the coming weeks.
14. Oklahoma (5-1) – They are still overrated, but when their running game is clicking, they are scary.
13. Boise State (6-1) – No one wants to give them as much credit as they deserve. They have a top 10 defense and Southwick is finally getting the hang of that offense. That meeting with Nevada is going to be huge again.
12. Rutgers (7-0) – This is the best defense in the nation other than Alabama. They may well run the table and create a little welcomed chaos.
11. Mississippi State (7-0) – I still do not buy in completely, but they are a good team. That second half against Middle Tennessee State was very impressive.
10. Florida State (7-1) – They may slip up another time or two because of immaturity, but their defense is going to keep them from really taking one on the chin.
9. LSU (7-1) – Shutting down that prolific A&M offense was great, but LT scored 57 on the Aggies. You could only manage low 20s? Bama will rape this team.
8. Ohio State (8-0) – They keep finding a way to squeak out wins. They are a fluke, but I can’t see them losing a game this year, even with Miller out for a while. Big Ten is that bad.
7. Oregon State (6-0) – Credit will not be given to this team unless they go unbeaten and beat USC in the Pac-12 Title game. And they still probably won’t play for the BCS Title.
6. USC (6-1) – The Trojans are the only real legitimate chance there is of Oregon getting beaten in the regular season, but I just can’t see that happening this year. The rematch will be a war.
5. Notre Dame (7-0) – Their defense is keeping them in the picture, but they just do not pass the eye test on offense. Neither QB option is good enough to keep up with some of these teams.
4. Florida (7-0) – They have laid the wood on their last two teams, so now they can coast until that inevitable in-state rivalry game and take their best shot at the Tide in the SEC Title game.
3. Oregon (7-0) – They almost seem to be getting better, if that is possible. I can start to see how this team could maybe give Bama a real shot.
2. Kansas State (7-0) – That win in Morgantown was the most impressive win any team has had this year. Shows that they have the athletes on defense to stop even the most prolific of offenses.
1. Alabama (7-0) – What else is there to say? They have potential trap games, so they take it easy and squeak past with a 31 point romp at Tennessee. It’s just not fair.

Heisman Trophy Watch

5. Matt Barkley, QB, USC – He appeared to be out of the race a few weeks ago, but his record-breaking numbers are always something the voters look for. He is playing some of the best football of his career right now.
4. Marcus Mariota, QB, Oregon – He is better than anyone thought he could have been. He is already potentially the best spread quarterback Oregon has had.
3. AJ McCarron, QB, Alabama – He is the most under-the-radar quarterback in the SEC. He hasn’t thrown a pick yet, and it is not all handing the ball off. He is the key to this offense…other than Barrett Jones and Chance Warmack.
2. Manti Te’o, LB, Notre Dame – The voters like awarding undefeated squads. He is just everything for the Irish. His stats match up with the best linebackers in recent years.
1. Colin Klein, QB, Kansas State – There is no doubt who is leading this race at the moment. Add 7 more touchdowns to the ledger and another incredible win. He is passing the ball so much more accurately than anyone thought he could. He is the real deal.

BCS Projections

Rose Bowl – Nebraska (Big Ten) over Oregon State (At-large)
Orange Bowl – Florida State (ACC) over Rutgers (Big East)
Sugar Bowl – Florida (At-large) over Oklahoma (At-large)
Fiesta Bowl – Kansas State (Big 12) over Notre Dame (At-large)
BCS Title Game – Alabama (SEC) over Oregon (Pac-12)


What do you think? Give me your rankings in the comments!

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