HogManInLA’s Top 25 College Football Poll: Week Eight
By Ryan Wright
Jan 10, 2011; Glendale, AZ, USA; Detailed view of a BCS game logo during the game between the Oregon Ducks against the Auburn Tigers during the 2011 BCS National Championship game at University of Phoenix Stadium. The Tigers defeated the Ducks 22-19. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-US PRESSWIRE
After the dismantling of every College Football Top 25 Poll in week six, week seven only provided one true upset loss curtsey of unranked Texas Tech routing West Virginia 49-14. Sure Texas lost big and South Carolina lost a close one but most college football fans were not surprised by either loss, except for how badly the Longhorns lost.
The Mountaineers were picked apart by Tech quarterback Seth Doege for 499 passing yards and six touchdowns. Geno Smith is now confirmed human. Smith has torn apart every other college football defense he has faced this year until the Red Raiders kept him in check to the tune of 275 passing yards with zero touchdowns.
FSU bounced back from their 17-16 upset loss to N.C. State to beat up on Boston College 51-7. In a similar fashion, how will WVU respond with KSU coming to town? WVU appears to be out of the running for the national championship with their loss but to make matters worse will Smith be able to prevent a two-game skid? In two weeks the Mountaineers could go from BCS championship game hopeful to out of the running for the Big 12 title.
Georgia had a week to stew over their loss to South Carolina. With the Gamecocks losing to SEC West team LSU, Florida takes over as kingpin of the SEC East. South Carolina and Florida square off this weekend. Bulldog fans need a Gamecock victory in the Swamp causing a three-way tie at the top of the SEC East. Georgia travels to a beat up and beat down Kentucky Wildcat team; notch another win for UGA.
The LSU offense will make them an iffy team on the road but their defense will keep them in every game they play in the foreseeable future. They bounced back from a loss to a good Florida team by beating a really good South Carolina team to stay in contention for the SEC West division title.
Life does not get any easier for LSU the rest of the way. They travel to A&M this weekend, host Alabama, MSU, Ole Miss, then travel to Arkansas to end the season.
Let the Gene Chizik goodbye tour begin. The Tigers might get three more wins this season if they can beat Vanderbilt on the road this weekend; New Mexico State and Alabama A&M would be the other two possible wins before Chizik gets booed out of Auburn.
Ole Miss tore Auburn apart this week 41-20. Rebel fans have to be happy with the one-season turn around head coach Hugh Freeze has performed. Mississippi is 4-3 but have played tough in all three losses and came three points shy of upsetting Texas A&M, something that would not have come close to happening under Houston Nutt a year ago.
Stanford’s road loss to Notre Dame did not help a conference struggling with an identity. Oregon State (Wisconsin), UCLA (Nebraska), and Arizona (Oklahoma State) are the only Pac-12 teams with a quality paper win and of the three teams beaten none are currently in the AP Top 25. USC will get a shot at Notre Dame Nov. 24. The Notre Dame vs. USC matchup will be the last time the Pac-12 can prove themselves outside of conference until postseason play, which is always a mixed bag of results.
Paul Rhoads, cannot say enough about Mr. Rhoads. ISU lost a heartbreaker to a Kansas State team that might have been looking ahead to WVU. Either way, Iowa State is a tough team to play and the Cyclone fan base should be extremely proud.
Hats off to Notre Dame, they are winning games they would lose in prior years. The defense is good enough to win most games with little help from the offense. If the Irish offense ever clicks this could be a dangerous team in the post season.
The best matchups next weekend include:
South Carolina at Florida
LSU at Texas A&M
BYU at Notre Dame
Kansas State at West Virginia
FSU at Miami
HogManInLA’s Top 25 College Football Poll
1. Alabama 6-0
2. Oregon 6-0
3. Florida 6-0
4. Kansas State 6-0
5. LSU 6-1
6. South Carolina 6-1
7. Georgia 5-1
8. Notre Dame 6-0
9. Ohio State 7-0
10. Florida State 6-1
11. Clemson 5-1
12. West Virginia 5-1
13. USC 5-1
14. Louisville 6-0
15. Mississippi State 6-0
16. Oregon State 5-0
17. Oklahoma 4-1
18. Rutgers 6-0
19. Cincinnati 5-0
20. TCU 5-1
21. Texas A&M 5-1
22. Texas Tech 5-1
23. Texas 4-2
24. Arizona State 5-1
25. Boise State 5-1
New to the Poll:
No. 22 Texas Tech
No. 24 Arizona State
No. 25 Boise State
Last Week’s AP Top 25 Teams that Lost:
No. 3 South Carolina 21 at No. 9 LSU 23
No. 15 Texas 21 at No. 13 Oklahoma 63
No. 17 Stanford 13 at No. 7 Notre Dame 20 OT
No. 5 West Virginia 14 at Texas Tech 49
No. 23 Louisiana Tech 57 vs. No. 22 Texas Tech 59
Dropped Out of Poll:
No. 20 Stanford
No. 24 Louisiana Tech
No. 25 Iowa State