RF365 Sweet Sixteen - week of Nov 14 2009

By Todd Erickson  |   Saturday, November 14, 2009  |  Comments( 0 )

College Football
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More shockers marred the leader board last weekend as Oregon choked at Stanford, Iowa sputtered and lost at home to Northwestern, and Penn State collapsed and handed over the keys to the Rose Bowl Game to Ohio State. Navy knocked off Notre Dame for the second time in three years and Oklahoma fell to Nebraska and tumbled out of the rankings for the first time in eleven years.

1. FLORIDA GATORS/SEC (9-0). The Gators continued their march toward a showdown against undefeated Alabama in the SEC title game with a 27-3 win over Vanderbilt. Florida heads to South Carolina this weekend to take on former coach Steve Spurrier.
2. ALABAMA CRIMSON TIDE/SEC (9-0). Another controversial SEC officiating call marred the Tide’s 24-15 decision over LSU, clinching the conference’s Western Division for Alabama. Up next: At Mississippi State.
3. TEXAS LONGHORNS/Big 12 (9-0). Texas handled Central Florida easily, 35-3, and head to Waco this weekend to take on Baylor in Big 12 action. Colt McCoy can tie Georgia’s David Greene for most victories by a college quarterback with the win.
4. CINCINNATI BEARCATS/Big East (9-0). The Bearcats struggled to put away Connecticut and pulled off a 47-45 squeaker to stay perfect and in control of the Big East. West Virginia will prove to be one of Cincy’s toughest tests of the season, especially if RB Noel Devine is healthy.
5. TEXAS CHRISTIAN HORNED FROGS/MWC (9-0). TCU smashed San Diego State 55-12 in a tune-up for their final major hurdle of the season. The Frogs host MWC rival Utah this Saturday.
6. GEORGIA TECH YELLOW JACKETS/ACC (9-1). The Wramblin’ Wreck toyed around with Wake Forest last weekend and barely escaped with a 30-27 win. They take on Duke this weekend.
7. BOISE STATE BRONCOS/WAC (9-0). The Broncos struggled with Louisiana Tech, finally putting the Bulldogs away, 45-35. They’ll go for their eleventh consecutive win over Idaho this weekend.
8. PITTSBURGH PANTHERS/Big East (8-1). The Panthers rolled over the Orangemen of Syracuse, 37-10. They could hasten Charlie Weis’ exit from the Notre Dame helm with a win over the Fighting Irish this weekend.
9. UTAH UTES/MWC (8-1). The Utes rolled over New Mexico, 45-14, and can take the helm of the Mountain West Conference with a road win in Fort Worth over Texas Christian. It should be the best game of the week in college football.
10. LSU TIGERS/SEC (7-2). The Tigers played Alabama tough. They weren’t tough enough on the officials, though. In fact, Les Miles has never looked softer. Louisiana Tech visits the bayou on Saturday night.
11. MIAMI HURRICANES/ACC (7-2). The ‘Canes devastated Virginia 52-17 to remain in contention for the ACC’s Coastal Division crown, but they’ll need some help from Duke this weekend to make it happen. Highly unlikely. Meanwhile, Miami will have to take care of business on the road against North Carolina. Likely.
12. OREGON DUCKS/Pac-10 (6-2). The Quacks experienced the shock and awe of a team with a pine tree mascot to the tune of 51-42. Ouch. Arizona State visits Eugene this weekend. Oregon needs a win to stay in contention for a Rose Bowl berth.
13. USC TROJANS/Pac-10 (7-2). Speaking of ASU, the Sun Devils came close to knocking the Trojans into irrelevance last Saturday night, losing 14-9. The USC offense looked pathetic. There is a real chance the Trojans don’t have enough gas to keep up with the high octane offense that Stanford will bring to the LA Coliseum Saturday afternoon.
14. OHIO STATE BUCKEYES/Big Ten (8-2). The Buckeyes surprised a lot of people by going into Happy Valley and dominating the Nittany Lions last week, 24-7. They host Iowa this weekend and you can be sure that the Rose Bowl Game officials will be on hand to pass out roses following an Ohio State victory. Sorry Hawkeye fans, but without Ricky Stanzi, Iowa doesn’t have a chance.
15. ARIZONA WILDCATS/Pac-10 (6-2). One down, four to go. Arizona took care of Wazzu, 48-7. They take on Cal in Berkeley Saturday night in a must-win for both programs. Following that: Oregon, ASU and USC.
16. HOUSTON COUGARS/C-USA (8-1). Houston survived another high scoring shootout—this time over Tulsa, 46-45—behind Case Keenum’s 522 yards passing and three TD passes. The Cougars play on the road at Central Florida this weekend.
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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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