AP Top 25 Weekly Recap (week of Oct. 18, 2008)

By Todd Erickson  |   Sunday, October 12, 2008  |  Comments( 2 )

College Football
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Upheaval among the top-ranked continues as expected and Longhorn burnt orange is now the latest flavor at No. 1 in college football. Every ranked team, with the exceptions of Boise State and Ball State, still face stiff contests on their schedules during the remaining seven weeks. Oklahoma State (plus-9), Florida (plus-6) and Texas (plus-5) were this week’s biggest gainers and Vanderbilt (minus-9), LSU (minus-9) and Missouri (minus-8) were the biggest losers.

1. TEXAS LONGHORNS (6-0). Say hello to your new No. 1, America. The Longhorns surprised everyone but themselves with an impressive 45-35 victory over Oklahoma. Next up: No. 11 Missouri in Austin this Saturday.
2. ALABAMA CRIMSON TIDE (6-0). The Crimson Tide had the week off and it was timely with three other top five teams losing. They’ll take on Mississippi at home this Saturday.
3. PENN STATE NITTANY LIONS (7-0). JoePa collected career win number 479 as the Nittany Lions mauled Wisconsin 48-7 in Madison last week. They host Michigan this weekend. Having never defeated the Wolverines in Big Ten play this will be their best chance ever to end that streak.
4. OKLAHOMA SOONERS (5-1). The Sooners’ two-week reign at the top of the polls ended abruptly at the Red River Shootout when their defense failed to show up against Texas in a 45-35 loss. They get 5-1 Kansas at home this weekend—the first meeting between the two teams since 2005.
5. FLORIDA GATORS (5-1). The Gators munched on LSU to the tune of 51-21 and shot right back into the national championship equation. The Kentucky Wildcats venture warily into the Swamp this weekend.
6. USC TROJANS (5-1). The Trojans blanked Arizona State 28-0 and there’s nobody left in the Pac-10—save California—that can keep USC from playing in their seventh consecutive BCS bowl game.
7. TEXAS TECH RED RAIDERS (6-0). Mike Leach and Red Raider Nation breathed a collective sigh of relief after surviving an overtime scare with Nebraska. They’ll get a break with Texas A&M this week and then Tech is living on borrowed time (check its schedule).
8. OKLAHOMA STATE COWBOYS (6-0). The Cowboys zoomed up the rankings after shocking previous No. 3 Missouri in its own crib, 28-23. They’ll entertain the Baylor Bears at home this weekend.
9. BYU COUGARS (6-0). Brigham Young shook off a strong effort by New Mexico and neutralized the Lobos’ rushing attack, ultimately prevailing 21-3. The Cougars’ sternest test of the year is just a few days away on Thursday night against TCU’s top-ranked defense in Fort Worth, Texas.
10. GEORGIA BULLDOGS (5-1). The Dawgs struggled a bit in their 26-14 home victory over Tennessee. The Mississippi State Bulldogs come to Athens this Saturday fresh off their upset win over Vandy.
11. MISSOURI TIGERS (5-1). Mizzou blew its chance to become king of the mountain when former No. 17 Oklahoma State dropped them in Columbia, 28-23. It doesn’t get any easier. The Tigers must now go to Austin this Saturday to take top-ranked Texas.
12. OHIO STATE BUCKEYES (6-1). The Buckeyes struggled to finish off Purdue last weekend, 16-3. Ohio State’s next two games will decide the Big Ten title as it travels to East Lansing this Saturday to take on Michigan State. Next week: No. 3 Penn State.
13. LSU TIGERS (4-1). Louisiana State deserved its drop-off in the polls after getting worked over by Florida, 51-21. The Tigers get to face former Florida head coach Steve Spurrier and his South Carolina Gamecocks in Columbia this weekend.
14. UTAH UTES (6-0). The Utes staged their own Little Big Horn in Laramie and trounced the Wyoming Cowboys, 40-7. This weekend Colorado State visits Salt Lake City. The Rams are very tough at home, but they’re still looking for their first road win.
15. BOISE STATE BRONCOS (5-0). The Broncos knocked off 2-4 Southern Miss late Saturday night, 24-7. They scored all 24 points in the second quarter of that game. They will welcome Hawaii to their puke blue smurf turf playing surface this weekend in WAC action.
16. KANSAS JAYHAWKS (5-1). The Jayhawks knocked off a tough Colorado squad, 30-14, and will travel to Norman, Okla., this Saturday to duel the No.4 Sooners.
17. VIRGINIA TECH (5-1). V-Tech had the week off to prep for a road game against Boston College this Saturday. This game has major implications in the ACC title race.
18. NORTH CAROLINA TAR HEELS (5-1). The Tar Heels prevailed over Notre Dame in a key nonconference contest last weekend. They have to hit the road this Saturday to take on a rapidly improving Virginia team.
19. SOUTH FLORIDA BULLS (5-1). The Bulls had a week of rest after being dropped by Pitt on Oct. 2. Look for them to absolutely shred a woeful Syracuse team this Saturday.
20. MICHIGAN STATE SPARTANS (6-1). The Spartans vanquished Northwestern in Evanston, 37-20, and now face defending Big Ten champion Ohio State this weekend in their biggest game of the year to date.
21. WAKE FOREST DEMON DEACONS (4-1). Wake Forest virtually eliminated preseason ACC favorite Clemson from the conference title picture with a tense 12-7 victory. They travel to dangerous territory this Saturday to take on the Maryland Terrapins.
22. VANDERBILT COMMODORES (5-1). The Commodores kissed their undefeated season goodbye against Mississippi State last Saturday. It doesn’t get any better this weekend as Vandy faces No. 10 Georgia.
23. PITTSBURGH PANTHERS (4-1). Pitt had the week off and will take its four-game winning streak on the road to Annapolis to face the Navy Midshipmen this Saturday.
24. BALL STATE CARDINALS (7-0). Ball State knocked off Western Kentucky on Saturday, 24-7. Next up: Eastern Michigan.
25. CALIFORNIA GOLDEN BEARS (4-1). Cal is coming off a bye week and travels to Tucson to take on Pac-10 foe Arizona. Believe it or not, Cal is the only undefeated team remaining in the Pac-10 and the Bears control their own destiny to make it to a BCS bowl game this season.

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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 ...
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