HogManInLA’s Top 25 College Football Poll: Week 14
By Ryan Wright
Nov 24, 2012; Tallahassee, FL, USA; Florida Gators players celebrate at the end of the game against the Florida State Seminoles at Doak Campbell Stadium. The Gators defeated the Seminoles 37-26. Mandatory Credit: Melina Vastola-US PRESSWIRE
After several weeks of exciting games, upsets, and monumental changes in the BCS landscape, week 13 in the 2012 college football season only solidified the top teams in the nation while the best of the rest fought for positioning behind the nation’s elite teams.
Several ranked teams lost in week 13 but few loses should truly be called upsets.
Unranked TCU bested renewed in-state rival Texas 20-13 on Thanksgiving in Austin, Washington State got the biggest win in years beating in-state rival Washington 31-28 in overtime, and Arizona State knocked off Arizona 41-34. Unless a fan of said program(s) none of the losses really scream upset.
Two Big East teams fell to unranked opponents. Pitt cleaned Rutgers clock to the tune of 27-6 and Louisville lost in overtime to a subpar Connecticut team 23-20. This only hurts the Big East as each year something seems to happen to keep a once solid college football conference from regaining glory.
In-state match-ups during rivalry week went as planned although one could make a case for South Carolina beating Clemson as a small upset especially considering the Gamecocks did not play Connor Shaw due to injury. South Carolina head coach Steve Spurrier got the win with backup quarterback Dylan Thompson.
The 27-17 USC victory in Death Valley highlighted defensive end Jadeveon Clowney’s future All-Pro NFL abilities. He was unstoppable registering 4.5 sacks on Tigers quarterback Tajh Boyd.
Florida State head coach Jimbo Fisher can no longer complain about the BCS set-up or preseason college football polls; perhaps Will Muschamp can. Fisher had a chance to cap the season with a win over an in-state rival, an SEC opponent, and one that is ranked in the Top 10 in all major polls. All of these attributes were rolled into one when the Gators took the field in Tallahassee.
When the clock rolled zeros the Gators had pulled off an impressive 37-26 win leaving FSU as the state’s second best college football team after back-to-back impressive wins over Florida.
Does any college football team have a record more impressive than the Gators this year? Florida has taken down five then ranked Top 25 teams four of which were Top 10 teams. This does not include then unranked Texas A&M, a team now in the Top 10.
A 17-9 loss to Georgia on Oct. 27 more than likely will keep the Gators from playing in Miami for the national championship.
Notre Dame did what they had to do, win. The game was not pretty but the Irish took care of business in Los Angeles beating the Trojans 22-13. The win wraps up a berth in the national championship game against either Alabama or Georgia.
Week 14 in college football will close out and crown a Big East Champion and Big 12 Champion, both without benefit of a conference championship game. Louisville travels to Rutgers with a BCS bowl on the line.
If Louisville wins a three-way tie for the Big East conference title will occur with Syracuse joining the mix with each team knotted at 5-2. The Orange has played their last game of the season beating Temple 38-20. The Cuse can only sit back and watch.
Texas was perhaps caught looking ahead against TCU to this week’s showdown against Kansas State. Oklahoma now faces the resurgent Horned Frogs with a chance to win the Big 12 title.
If KSU or OU loses and the other team wins, the winning team is the conference representative in the BCS. Should both teams end their conference season tied at 8-1 the Wildcats will win the tie-breaker due to their 24-19 win on Sept. 22 over the Sooners.
Stanford and UCLA will meet again for a second consecutive week in Los Angeles only this time with a BCS berth up for grabs. Stanford jumped out early on UCLA and never looking back on Saturday winning 35-17.
The letdown game of the week might be the Big Ten Championship Game. The top two teams in the Leaders Division, Ohio State and Penn State, cannot compete due to NCAA infractions allowing Wisconsin (7-5) a shot at not only the conference title but also a BCS bowl game when they meet Nebraska on Saturday.
The game of the week is Alabama verses Georgia. The winner should play for the national championship against Notre Dame.
HogManInLA’s Top 25 College Football Poll
1. Notre Dame 12-0
2. Georgia 11-1
3. Alabama 11-1
4. Oregon 11-1
5. Florida 11-1
6. LSU 10-2
7. Texas A&M 10-2
8. Kansas State 10-1
9. Ohio State 12-0
10. Stanford 10-2
11. South Carolina 10-2
12. Oklahoma 9-2
13. Nebraska 10-2
14. Florida State 10-2
15. Clemson 10-2
16. Utah State 10-2
17. Oregon State 8-3
18. UCLA 8-3
19. Boise State 9-2
20. Kent State 11-1
21. San Jose State 10-2
22. Vanderbilt 8-4
23. Louisville 9-2
24. Northern Illinois 11-1
25. Rutgers 9-2
New to the Poll:
No. 21 San Jose State 10-2
No. 22 Vanderbilt 8-4
No. 24 Northern Illinois 11-1
Dropped Out of Poll:
No. 20 Texas
No. 22 Louisiana Tech
No. 25 Mississippi State