From the pressbox: AP Top 25 weekly review (Sept. 18, 2007)

By T Erickson  |   Wednesday, September 19, 2007  |  Comments( 2 )

College Football
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USC strengthened its grasp on the No. 1 slot this week. The biggest gainers include Kentucky (NR to 21), Alabama (plus-12), Boston College (plus-7) and Oregon (plus-6). South Florida (plus-3) moved up despite losing. The biggest drops were UCLA (minus-19), Nebraska (minus-10) and Louisville (minus-9).

NO. 1 USC TROJANS (2-0). USC proved how badly it wants Top Dog status by thrashing Nebraska in its Big Red Crib, 49-31. The win gave USC its 61st victory in its last 67 games, which happens to be the best run of any Division I-A college football team since the 'Huskers' run of three titles in the 1990s. The Trojan offensive line swept away the Cornhusker front line infantry as if it was Gen. George Patton's tank division racing to Berlin, compiling 313 yards on the ground at a clip of 8.2 yards per carry. "I didn't think there was any question we could run the ball at any time," Commander--er, Coach Pete Carroll said. USC hosts Pac-10 foe Washington State this Saturday.

NO. 2 LSU TIGERS (3-0). So, might we have a quarterback controversy down in Baton Rouge? That's up to coach Les Miles to manage, but the oft-troubled Ryan Perrilloux threw his helmet into the ring Saturday night with a sparkling performance against Middle Tennessee -- 20 of 26 passing, 304 yards, three touchdowns, coupled with 37 yards on the ground. Perrilloux was starting in place of Matt Flynn, who was outstanding in the first two games, because Flynn was still nursing a tender ankle. Top receiver Early Doucet was also hurt, but Jared Mitchell stepped in with eight catches for 62 yards. Be afraid, other SEC teams, be very afraid; the previous week, Middle Tennessee had rolled up 552 yards against Louisville. Against LSU? Ninety. This weekend, the Bengals entertain (perhaps that's not the right word) No. 12 South Carolina.

NO. 3 FLORIDA GATORS (3-0). The Oct. 6 Florida-LSU game at Baton Rouge could be one of the most seismic collisions in the SEC in years. In the meantime, the Gators decimated then-No. 22 Tennessee last week, 59-20. Urban Meyer showed the Vols no mercy, piling on 24 points in the fourth quarter and keeping his starters in most of the game, a decision that will no doubted be remembered on Rocky Top for years to come. This season, though, Tennessee was simply no match for Florida's team speed. QB Tim Tebow threw for two touchdowns and ran for two, while hybrid back Percy Harvin piled up 195 overall yards. This Saturday, the Gators travel to Ole Miss.

NO. 4 OKLAHOMA SOONERS (3-0). The Sooners steamrolled WAC cellar dweller Utah State 54-3 on Saturday. The Aggies collected a cool $500 grand to serve as a punching bag warm-up for this Friday's in-state game against the undefeated Golden Hurricane of Tulsa. Redshirt freshman Sam Bradford continues to light up the sky in Norman, going 19 of 26 for 255 yards and three touchdowns. The softest part of Oklahoma's schedule is now in the books, so we should start to get a good read on this team over the next three or four games.

NO. 5 WEST VIRGINIA MOUNTAINEERS (3-0). Last Thursday night, Maryland's Terrapins knew they would have to stop West Virginia's running game to have a chance against the high-octane Mountaineers. They failed. Heisman hopeful Steve Slaton galloped for 137 yards and three touchdowns and fullback Owen Schmidt averaged 11.5 yards a carry. Scariest of all, though, was freshman Noel Devine, who picked up 136 yards on just five carries -- 27.2 per play. QB Pat White did just what he had to do, the defense remained stout, and the Mountaineers won 31-14 on the road. Next, it's East Carolina at home. Beware of the Pirates, matey!

NO. 6 CALIFORNIA GOLDEN BEARS (3-0). Cal manhandled Louisiana Tech at home on Saturday, 42-12, but it was a costly win. Three defensive starters -- Zack Follett, Matt Malele, and Rulon Davis -- were all injured in the game. Surprisingly, Heisman candidate DeSean Jackson played a very subdued role in the victory, registering five receptions for just 28 yards. Teammate Lavelle Hawkins returned the opening kickoff 90 yards for the score to prove that the Bears are not one-dimensional in their arsenal of weapons. Next up: home against Arizona.

NO. 7 TEXAS LONGHORNS (3-0). The 'Horns played their first game in Florida in 34 years and barely came away with the victory over upstart Central Florida, 35-32. The game served as the grand opening for the new stadium at UCF before a packed crowd of Golden Knights fans. "It was a trap game for us and a buzzsaw," Texas coach Mack Brown said. Texas blew a 13-point lead but came back to win it in the final minutes. Jamaal Charles paced the Longhorn attack with 153 yards on 22 carries and a score. Texas can relax a bit this weekend when Rice visits Austin.

NO. 8 OHIO STATE BUCKEYES (3-0). The Buckeyes won convincingly on the road in Seattle against a very good Washington Huskies team, 33-14. That alone should convince some of the Big Ten naysayers that the conference is strong and not going anywhere. Had Michigan lived up to its expectations and preseason ranking, you'd be staring at four Big Ten teams in the top 10 this week. The Bucks take on Northwestern at home this weekend in a conference matchup.

NO. 9 WISCONSIN BADGERS (3-0). The Badgers have some explaining to do after struggling with D-IAA Citadel. The game was tied 21-21 at the half, then Wisconsin pulled ahead 45-21, before giving up two more scores to make the final scoreboard read a very unimpressive 45-31. To most folks, a win is a win, but in the big, bad world of BCS, style points count, which is why Wisconsin slipped two notches this week. Running back P.J. Hill had a monster of a game with 168 yards rushing for four TDs and two receptions, 20 more yards and another score. The Badgers host Big Ten rival Iowa this week.

NO. 10 PENN STATE NITTANY LIONS (3-0). PSU beat Buffalo 45-24 last Saturday and moved up two slots in this week's poll. That's a nice return on the victory for JoePa and his troops. It was Joe Paterno's 366th win of his career. QB Anthony Morelli passed for 202 yards and a personal-best four TDs in the win. This week's road game at The Big House in Michigan will answer many questions about this year's Nittany Lions and Lloyd Carr's Wolverines. Penn State is looking for revenge after losing a close one at home last year, 17-10.

NO. 11 RUTGERS SCARLET KNIGHTS (3-0). Greg Schiano's team gets a week off, probably exhausted from running up and down the field against outclassed Norfolk State last week. Ray Rice galloped for three touchdowns, QB Mike Teel threw for three, and it was 45-0 at halftime, 59-0 at the final gun. Enough said.

NO. 12 SOUTH CAROLINA (3-0). Here's a challenge for the Ol' Ball Coach -- in the last 17 games between Steve Spurrier's Gamecocks and LSU, the Tigers are 14-2-1. Plus, this week's game is in Baton Rouge. The Gamecocks will throw up the stoutest defense the Tigers have seen so far, allowing just five field goals over the past two games, but LSU's offense might be one of a kind in the SEC this year. Oops, excuse me, Florida -- two of a kind.

NO. 13 OREGON DUCKS (3-0). These Quackers are looking to be the real deal this year. What's strange is that they are pretty much the same team that got whacked 38-8 by BYU in last year's Las Vegas Bowl. Facing what many thought to be a pretty stern test, even if it was a home game, Oregon pasted Fresno State 52-21 behind Jonathan Stewart's 165 yards and two scores. One of those touchdowns was a nifty shifty 88-yarder. The win was Mike Belotti's 100th at Oregon. Look for the Ducks to knock Stanford off in a big romp this Saturday in Palo Alto.

NO. 14 BOSTON COLLEGE (3-0). The Eagles and Matt Ryan don't get much respect, but they earned it with a 24-10 victory over Georgia Tech last Saturday. Ryan threw for a career-high 435 yards, a veteran offensive line kept his jersey clean, and the unheralded BC defense held Tech star RB Tashard Choice to 31 yards before Choice hurt his hamstring. Not even an Army (the Cadets come to Chestnut Hill Saturday) can derail this team on a roll.

NO. 15 CLEMSON TIGERS (3-0). Before this season, Clemson QB Cullen Harper figured to spend most of his time handing off to glamour backs James Davis and C.J. Spiller. Instead, he's been airing it out -- 10 touchdown passes in his first three games as a starter (including three in a 38-10 victory over instate rival Furman last Saturday), no interceptions and a 72 percent completion ratio. His quarterback rating against Furman was an otherworldly 275. There was the matter of allowing a Division I-AA team to amass 384 yards, though -- something to think about when the Tigers travel to N.C. State.

NO. 16 ALABAMA CRIMSON TIDE (3-0). The young Nick Saban legend keeps building, and it was Sweet Home Alabama for his Tide last Saturday night. Despite adding to Darren McFadden's Heisman resume (the Razorback star rushed for 195 yards and two touchdowns), Alabama stiffened on defense when it had to, got a strong game out of QB John Parker Wilson, and won on a pass from Wilson to Mike Caddell with eight seconds left. "An exciting night, wasn't it?" said Saban. This Saturday, 'Bama hosts a Georgia team eager to get back on track after an earlier loss to South Carolina.

NO. 17 VIRGINIA TECH HOKIES (2-1). Tyrod Taylor sounds more like a NASCAR driver than a quarterback, but the Tech freshman quarterback was running on all cylinders in a 28-7 victory over Ohio University, throwing for 287 yards. It was the 200th career victory for Tech coach Frank Beamer, who now gets to play a real breather at home against William & Mary.

NO. 18 LOUISVILLE CARDINALS (2-1). There's nothing wrong with the Cardinals' offense, which played well enough to beat most teams in a 40-34 loss to instate rival (ouch) Kentucky last Saturday. Anthony Allen gained the tough yards, Harry Douglas picked up 223 yards in receptions and Brian Brohm was Brian Brohm. But new coach Steve Kragthorpe has to stop the defensive bleeding -- the Cardinals have surrendered almost 1,000 yards the last two weeks, and made Kentucky's Andre Woodson and Rafael Little look even better than they are. If they give up that kind of real estate to hapless Syracuse this week in Louisville, it will be time to panic.

NO. 19 HAWAII WARRIORS (3-0). The Warriors crushed MWC cellar-dwellers UNLV, 49-14, despite Colt Brennan being held to fewer than 300 yards passing and "only" two TD tosses. It was the first time in 14 games that Brennan had passed for under 300 yards. The win earned the only BCS buster left (except perhaps Tulsa if it can upset Oklahoma this week) a five-spot increase in the writers' poll. It should be very interesting to see how this week's patsy visiting team, D-IAA Charleston (1-2), will affect Hawaii in the polls. Everyone expects something like 77-0, so anything less will be a huge letdown.

NO. 20 TEXAS A&M AGGIES (3-0). The Aggies moved up five spots in this week's poll on the strength of a 54-14 win at home over Louisiana-Monroe. QB Stephen McGee threw for 257 yards a touchdown before giving way to the bench in the second half. A&M has a short week to prepare for a big road game at Miami. Despite Miami's humbling blowout loss to Oklahoma two weeks ago, it should prove to be a very formidable opponent for the Aggies.

NO. 21 KENTUCKY WILDCATS (3-0). Could Kentucky be this season's Wake Forest or Rutgers? Could be. The Wildcats are 3-0 and still licking their whiskers after a 40-34 upset of Louisville in Lexington last week. QB Andre Woodson (four touchdown passes against Louisville) and RB Rafael Little (151 rushing yards) are two of the best in the country at their positions. This week, though, Rich Brooks' team has to prove itself at Arkansas.

NO. 22 GEORGIA BULLDOGS (2-1). Mark Richt's team bounced back nicely from a loss at South Carolina, pummeling Western Carolina, 45-16. The Dawgs have three strong tailbacks and a budding star in sophomore QB Matt Stafford. We'll see which Georgia team takes the field against Alabama on Saturday, hoping to catch the Tide in gloating mode after upsetting Arkansas.

NO. 23 SOUTH FLORIDA BULLS (2-1). Despite a coming off a bye-week, South Florida climbed into the Top 25 rankings off their impressive win the week before. The Bulls pulled off the upset of the year, going on the road to beat the vaunted but toothless Auburn Tigers 26-23 in overtime at Jordan-Hare Stadium. QB Matt Grothe led USF with 18 of 27 passing for 184 yards and one touchdown, as well as 31 yards and another TD on the ground. After an Auburn field goal to open the extra period, Grothe won the game when he connected with WR Jesse Hester, Jr. for a 14-yard score. The perennial SEC-power knew they would have their hands full versus the fourth-best squad in the Big East and still couldn't find a way to hold off the tenacious Bulls. Just ask Louisville and West Virginia, each having lost once to USF in 2005 and 2006 respectively.

NO. 24 NEBRASKA CORNHUSKERS (2-1). It's a bit difficult to imagine the pollsters leaving Nebraska in the Top 25 this week after the home beating it took at the hands of the USC Trojans. RB Marlon Lucky saw his Heisman candidacy go down the drain in the loss with only 33 yards on 17 carries (1.9-yard average). Sam Keller fared a bit better, statistically speaking, with a line that read 36 of 54 for 389 yards, two scores and two interceptions. Next up for the woozy Cornhuskers is Ball State. In Lincoln, of course.

NO. 25 MISSOURI TIGERS (3-0). The Tigers have piled up 130 points in their first three victories this season. The latest victim was Western Michigan, 52-24. Missouri fans are finally getting to see the type of team school officials envisioned when they hired Gary Pinkel away from Toledo. Junior QB Chase Daniel racked up 328 yards in the air, good for two scores. He also gained 60 yards on the ground on five carries (12.0-yard average) and added another TD. The Tigers will host Illinois State this week, and then take a week off to prepare for Big 12 nemesis Nebraska on Oct 6.

ON THE BUBBLE: Arkansas, Georgia Tech, Arizona State, Cincinnati, UCLA, Texas Tech, Air Force, Purdue, Florida State, Appalachian State, Washington, Michigan State, Tulsa, and Kansas.

Conference Scorecard: SEC (six); Big 12 (five); Big East (four); ACC (three); Big Ten (three); Pac-10 (three); and WAC (one).
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