RF365 Sweet Sixteen - week of Nov 28 2009

By Todd Erickson  |   Friday, November 27, 2009  |  Comments( 0 )

College Football
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The top eight ranked teams remain unchanged but Rivalry weekend came early in Palo Alto and Stanford choked at home to bitter rival Cal despite another 100-plus rushing game and 4 TDs by Heisman candidate Toby Gerhart. Also dropping out of the rankings, Wisconsin got nipped on the road in Evanston by a very good Northwestern Wildcat team. LSU tumbled seven spots after losing to Ole Miss. Utah and BYU moved into the rankings, just in time for their "Holy War" this weekend--one of the best rivalry games in college football.

1. FLORIDA GATORS/SEC (11-0). The Gators overwhelmed Florida International, 62-3, but now they have to get down to business with Florida State coming to the Swamp this weekend and the SEC title game next week vs Alabama.
2. ALABAMA CRIMSON TIDE/SEC (11-0). ‘Bama had a breather against Tennessee Chattanooga to the tune of 45-0. It won’t be the same this weekend on the road against instate SEC rival Auburn.
3. TEXAS LONGHORNS/Big 12 (12-0). The Longhorns crushed a fading Kansas Jayhawk squad at home, 51-20, and then struggled but prevailed against Texas A&M on the road, 49-39.
4. TEXAS CHRISTIAN HORNED FROGS/MWC (11-0). The Frogs took care of business over Wyoming, 45-10, and can wrap up a perfect regular season, the MWC title, and an automatic BCS bowl invitation by defeating New Mexico this Saturday.
5. CINCINNATI BEARCATS/Big East (10-0). The Bearcats had the week off and get a tune-up for their showdown with Pitt by hosting a dangerous but error prone Illinois team this weekend.
6. GEORGIA TECH YELLOW JACKETS/ACC (10-1). The Yellow Jackets had the week off and host instate rival Georgia. They need a win to keep the luster on their solid season as they head into the ACC title game next weekend.
7. BOISE STATE BRONCOS/WAC (11-0). Boise State romped over another easy WAC opponent, the Utah State Aggies, 52-21. Because they played on the road vs Hawaii this season the NCAA allows them to play an extra regular season game, so they still have Nevada this Friday and New Mexico State next week.
8. PITTSBURGH PANTHERS/Big East (9-1). The Panthers had last week off and take on West Virginia in the Backyard Brawl on Friday night. They cannot afford to look past the Mountaineers just because they clash with Cincinnati next week.
9. OHIO STATE BUCKEYES/Big Ten (10-2). The Buckeyes continued their domination over rival Michigan with a 21-10 victory in The Big House last weekend. Michigan finished in last place in the Big Ten and Ohio State is heading to the Rose Bowl as conference champs. Did anyone think Rich Rodriguez would struggle this much in Ann Arbor? He might not even be back next year with an NCAA investigation looming over the program.
10. OREGON DUCKS/Pac-10 (9-2). The Quacks outlasted Arizona in two overtimes, 44-41, and can claim a Rose Bowl berth if they knock off Oregon State in the most important Civil War game ever played (Dec 3).
11. PENN STATE NITTANY LIONS/Big Ten (10-2). Penn State dominated Michigan State in impressive fashion, 42-14. The Nittany Lions’ regular season is over and they’ll have to wait for the BCS bowl game announcements on Dec 6 to see where they are heading for the holidays.
12. OKLAHOMA STATE COWBOYS/Big 12 (9-2). The Cowboys had the weekend off and need a win over Oklahoma to secure a Cotton Bowl invitation. They still have a chance at a BCS bowl game at-large bid, but it’s a long shot.
13. IOWA HAWKEYES/Big Ten (10-2). Once again, Iowa relied on their defense to deliver a win, and this time it was a second consecutive shutout (12-0) over Minnesota. Iowa stands a very good chance of receiving an BCS at-large bid based on their road win over Penn State and going into OT with Ohio State.
14. BRIGHAM YOUNG COUGARS/MWC (9-2). BYU looked strong in a 38-21 win over Air Force as they scored more points on the Falcons than any other team this season. The Cougars have a lot more than pride on the line when they host rival Utah this weekend.
15. UTAH UTES/MWC (9-2). The Utes romped over San Diego State, 38-7, and quickly turned their attention to preparing for their contest against BYU this weekend. The winner of the BYU-Utah game will earn second place in the conference and a better bowl payout.
16. LSU TIGERS/SEC (8-3). The Tigers dropped a 25-23 heartbreaker to Mississippi last weekend and Les Miles and his staff took a lot of heat for mismanaging the last few minutes of the game clock. The clock mismanagement prevented LSU from getting a shot at a game-winning field goal attempt off before the final gun sounded.
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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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