AP Top 25 Weekly Recap (week of Sept. 13, 2008)

By Todd Erickson  |   Wednesday, September 10, 2008  |  Comments( 0 )

College Football
Got something to say?

Sign Up and be the first to comment on this article!

USC retained the top spot during its bye week. The East Carolina Pirates catapulted 13 slots to No. 14, while the team it vanquished -- West Virginia -- dropped 13 spots to No. 25. California throttled Washington State and broke into the rankings at No. 23.

1. USC TROJANS (1-0). The Trojans had the week off and extra time to prepare for the Buckeye invasion this weekend. You can expect a USC blowout if Ohio State plays like it did against Frank Solich’s Ohio Bobcats.
2. GEORGIA BULLDOGS (2-0). Demolished a good Central Michigan team and their future NFL quarterback, 56-17; they begin a grueling four-game stretch this weekend on the road at South Carolina (followed by Arizona State, Alabama and Tennessee).
3. OKLAHOMA SOONERS (2-0). Annihilated Cincinnati by 26 (52-26) behind sophomore sensation Sam Bradford (395 yards passing, five TD tosses). Sooners travel to Seattle this weekend to take on a feisty, underrated Washington squad.
4. FLORIDA GATORS (2-0). Stalled the Miami Hurricane rebuilding project with a 26-3 smackdown in the Swamp; now Gators get two weeks to prepare for big SEC road game at Tennessee on Sept. 20.
5. OHIO STATE BUCKEYES (2-0). Scared the daylights out of their fans as they trailed Ohio 14-12 after three quarters before registering two late TDs. The Bucks head to L.A. for the most-anticipated cross-conference matchup of the season -- a contest only the Rose Bowl Game would traditionally offer.
6. MISSOURI TIGERS (2-0). Crushed Division 1-AA Southeast Missouri State, 52-3, last week and welcome the always dangerous Nevada Wolfpack to Columbia this Saturday.
7. LSU TIGERS (1-0). Had an extra week off thanks to the after-effects of Hurricane Gustav. LSU has the weakest nonconference schedule of all SEC ranked teams and home fans get a real treat this week when North Texas State comes to town.
8. TEXAS LONGHORNS (2-0). They added a 42-13 manhandling of UTEP in El Paso last weekend; former longtime Southwest Conference rival Arkansas storms into Austin this Saturday under new coach Bobby Petrino.
9. AUBURN TIGERS (2-0). Built a 24-0 lead and then held on to put away Southern Miss 27-13 last week. Chris Todd has emerged as the Tigers’ starting QB as they begin conference play on the road this week against Mississippi State.
10. WISCONSIN BADGERS (2-0). The Badgers came out flat against Marshall in Madison last week, trailing 14-0 early in the game. Their running game was stifled. Head coach Bret Bielema turned junior college transfer quarterback Allan Evridge loose with the passing game instead and 308 aerial yards later, the Thundering Herd had been subdued, 51-14. This week’s road game at Fresno State is one of the most important on the Top 25 docket.
11. ALABAMA CRIMSON TIDE (2-0). The Tide sputtered against the Green Wave of Tulane last week, eventually prevailing by a count of 20-6. Former Division 1-AA Western Kentucky comes to Tuscaloosa this Saturday. Wake me up when it’s over.
12. TEXAS TECH RED RAIDERS (2-0). As predicted, Nevada did manage to shut down the Red Raider air attack to some extent, holding Graham Harrell to 297 yards passing; Tech needed two fourth-quarter scores to pull out a 35-19 win in Reno. They’ll entertain June Jones’ pass-happy SMU Mustangs this weekend.
13. KANSAS JAYHAWKS (2-0). Todd Reesing was spectacular in a 29-0 drubbing of Louisiana Tech last Saturday (32-of-38 for 412 yards, three TDs). The Jayhawks visit No. 19-ranked South Florida this Friday night in one of the best games of the week.
14. EAST CAROLINA PIRATES (2-0). Ahoy, mates! The Pirate ship is still afloat and actually in possession of all the keys to non-BCS bowl game booty after stunning West Virginia, 24-3. Skip Holtz’s boys now sail to Tulane and open conference play with a huge target on their backs for the rest of the season.
15. ARIZONA STATE SUN DEVILS (2-0). The Devils proved Stanford’s rebuilding efforts still have a way to go with a decisive 41-17 victory last Saturday. They’ll face UNLV for the first time in the program’s history this weekend with superfan Landon Skinner tuning in from Albuquerque.
16. OREGON DUCKS (2-0). Steamrolled a hapless Utah State squad 66-24 last week on their way to a very intriguing Pac-10/Big Ten encounter on the road at Purdue this weekend. The Boilermakers will help us determine if the Ducks are really a force to be reckoned with this season.
17. PENN STATE NITTANY LIONS (2-0). JoePa collected win number 474 in his career with a very impressive 45-14 drubbing of Oregon State. This year’s Nittany Lion squad could really make a run for the Rose Bowl, but first another little nonconference diversion at Syracuse. Pity the Orange.
18. BYU COUGARS (2-0). If you like to drink the ESPN Kool-Aid, you’d think the Cougars didn’t deserve to defeat Washington in Seattle last weekend. On the contrary, BYU’s offense was dominating (475 total yards, 12-of-14 third-down conversions) but shot itself in the foot with two huge turnovers inside the Husky 15-yard line. They’ll host UCLA in what should be one of this weekend’s best games.
19. SOUTH FLORIDA BULLS (2-0). Jim Leavitt’s Bulls prevailed in OT over instate rival Central Florida, 31-24, last weekend and they’ll get no rest this week preparing for the No. 13-ranked Jayhawks. Certainly one of this weekend’s top matchups.
20. WAKE FOREST DEMON DEACONS (2-0). Pulled out a 30-28 squeaker over Mississippi and receive a well-deserved break this weekend before hitting the road next week against Florida State.
21. FRESNO STATE BULLDOGS (1-0). The Bulldogs had the week off to prepare for this Saturday night’s big game against No. 10-ranked Wisconsin.
22. UTAH UTES (2-0). Avenged last year’s embarrassing 27-0 loss to UNLV with a 42-21 conference victory in Salt Lake City. Utes will get a break when they face Utah State in Logan this weekend.
23. CALIFORNIA GOLDEN BEARS (2-0). Absolutely demolished Washington State, 66-3, behind sophomore running back Jahvid Best (200 yards, three TDs). They should steamroll over a very disappointing Maryland team this weekend; the Terps suffered a 24-14 loss to Middle Tennessee State last weekend.
24. ILLINOIS FIGHTING ILLINI (1-1). Defeated Division-1AA Eastern Illinois 47-21 and Juice Williams broke his own single-game rushing record with 176 yards on the ground. The Fighting Illini will host Louisiana-Lafayette this weekend.
25. WEST VIRGINIA MOUNTAINEERS (1-1). After being crushed by East Carolina last weekend, the Mountaineers will take the week off to prepare for another tough road game at Colorado on Sept. 18.

Todd Erickson is the author of Road to the Rose Bowl (Silverback, 2005), the definitive book on the last 50 years of matchups and tradition in the Rose Bowl Game. He is a member of the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) and pens the RealFootball365 weekly college football columns AP Top 25 Weekly Recap and Fourth and inches ...
Got something to say?

Sign Up and be the first to comment on this article! (0)

About Todd Erickson

Todd Erickson is a member of the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) and pens the RealFootball365 Top 25 college football power rankings and "Fourth and inches..." weekly columns from August thru January. He is currently working on the second edition of Road to the Rose Bowl...
read more
Article Tools Share!   |  RSS  |  Bleacher Report About Bleacher Report