Dropped Out: Florida State (#18),
Wisconsin (#20), Purdue (#22). |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
2
4It was a tossup for who to put #1 as both tOSU and USF have soft schedules but I think that tOSU has a better defense and that could be the difference. LSU drops only a few spots after their loss in Kentucky. I knew that Loud Mouth Les would make a mistake sooner or later. I thought the 4th and 2 run was the right call, but on the 3rd down play I would have tried a dump pass, as you knew Kentucky would stack the line in order to stop the run and Miles went to the well one too many times on the ground.
Cal let it slip though its grasp when their freshman QB Riley got a little ahead of himself and tried to put the world on his shoulders. I thought that the coaches didn't do enough to calm him down and keep his head in the game at the critical time. Tedford lost it on the sideline and I thought he was going to blow a gasket. I didn't see the whole game but what I did see showed me that Cal showed some weaknesses especially on the run. MeSean Jackson was a non-factor in this game showing that he too can be contained. Forsett had a great game and he will be a factor when SC plays them next month.
I am going to take a chance and put Arizona State at #3. You have to give that psycho Dennis Erickson credit for taking a team that was so unorganized under Dirk Koetter and made it a contender in the Pac-10. They still have some tough games in front them but you have give psycho credit for turning it around in Tempe. I think they will drop 2 games but you have to be impressed where they are now. Carpenter is settling into his role and finally showing us what he is made of without all the drama from last season.
I'm not sure on BC but #4 seems to be a good fit for them at least for now. They have a bit of light schedule as well but Ryan continues to impress and his leadership will be key if BC is to stay in the hunt for a major bowl game.
Oklahoma dispatched Mizzou and they are pretty much standing head and shoulders above everyone else in the Big 12 their only real competition in the future will be Texas Tech.
Oregon dispatched WSU with ease putting another nail in the coffin of Bill Doba though it looks like Oregon has lost both Colvin and Johnson for the year with injuries and that could hurt them a bit as they play through the rest of the season. Spurrier beats North Carolina and continues to move up the polls so it should be interesting to see how the do in the 2nd half of the season.
What can you say about Kentucky! That was a great game and LSU's lack of polish coming off of an emotional win against Florida exposed more vulnerabilities as they seemed to just run out of gas. Woodson reinserted himself back into the Heisman race with his great performance and Coach Brooks deserves a tone of credit for the work he has done.
SC once again played a lack luster game for three quarters until the found the spark they needed in Joe McKnight in the 4th qtr. Injuries continue to plague this team especially on the Offensive Line and that has a direct effect on how Sanchez will perform under pressure. His mobility will keep out of trouble but with the ability to set up the run it could make it a lot easier to for opposing defense to protect against the pass and unless the receivers step up and do it soon it will be a challenge to stay above water. Sanchez was hot and cold in his first start but I wasn't expecting much with only a few days to work with the first team, he still has a long way to go.
So there it is a look at the top 10. Feel free to discuss and suggest changes.