From the pressbox: AP Top 25 weekly review (Sept 26, 2007

By T Erickson  |   Wednesday, September 26, 2007  |  Comments( 3 )

College Football
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USC and LSU remained a solid 1-2 and Oklahoma leap-frogged over Florida to assume the #3 ranking. Kentucky took another huge move forward (plus 7) with Georgia following right behind with their own (plus 7) move upward. Louisville took the biggest tumble, falling more than 20 slots and completely out of the rankings. Penn State fell hard (minus 11) and Arizona State and Cincinnati both made their first appearance in the AP poll this year. Don't look now, but Michigan is charging hard to get back in the rankings.

NO. 1 USC TROJANS (3-0). The Trojans opened Pac-10 play gunning for their sixth straight conference championship -- a feat never attained by any team in the Pac-10 -- with a thorough 47-14 trashing of Washington State. The win gave USC a 59-8-4 historical record against the Cougars. John David Booty made a statement that he still needs to be considered in the Heisman Trophy balloting, passing for 279 yards and four touchdowns. Next on the hit list: Upset-minded Washington will entertain the Trojans in Seattle.

NO. 2 LSU Tigers (4-0). The Tigers were nothing if not entertaining in a 28-16 victory over South Carolina in Baton Rouge last Saturday. Among other things, Les Miles' team scored on a fake field goal (kicker Colt David running it in from 15 yards out after getting a no-look flip from holder/QB Matt Flynn) and got a 33-yard touchdown run from 5-5, 160-pound RB Trindan Holliday (you know he's really fast, or he'd be dead by now). Of course, there was the usual dose of Tigerish defense and Miles' two-headed quarterback, with Ryan Perrilloux reprising Tim Tebow's 'designated runner' role at Florida last season. It wasn't a blowout, but it was convincing enough to keep the Tigers in second place nationally. This week's Tiger bait is cross-state rival Tulane in New Orleans (hint: that's really not an away game for LSU).

NO. 3 OKLAHOMA SOONERS (4-0). Oklahoma scouted Tulsa's upset win over Brigham Young and learned all the tricks in their book. Then, they stopped them cold on the gridiron, 62-21, in an impressive performance that allowed them to jump ahead of Florida in the poll. Allen Patrick rushed for 145 yards and 2 TDs, and DeMarco Murray scored three times (once on a kickoff return) to pace the Sooners. Bob Stoops' troops don't seem to have much of a test left on their schedule, except for #7 Texas, and the Longhorns aren't exactly playing like gangbusters these days. The Sooner show goes on the road to Boulder to take on Colorado this week. Yawn.

NO. 4 FLORIDA GATORS (4-0). Speaking of Tim Tebow, he enlarged his budding legend in a 30-24 victory over Ole Miss, throwing for 261 yards and two touchdowns while rushing for another 166 yards and a pair of scores. The Gators, on the road for the first time this season, spent Friday night in Elvis Presley's hometown of Tupelo, and Vaught-Hemingway Stadium almost turned into Heartbreak Hotel the next day. Rebel QB Seth Adams exposed some flaws in the Florida pass defense, and it took a late interception to keep Urban Meyer's Gators unbeaten. This week, Florida hosts underachieving but always dangerous Auburn.

NO. 5 WEST VIRGINIA MOUNTAINEERS (4-0). Meanwhile, Pat White also put on his best Tim Tebow impression -- or maybe Tebow was impersonating White -- scampering for two touchdowns and throwing for two more in a 48-7 thrashing of East Carolina. The Mountaineer defense completely throttled the Pirates, and given Louisville's meltdown, West Virginia is looking more and more like an unbeaten team come season's end. BCS pickers, get ready for your nightmare scenario. Of course, there is the little matter of playing South Florida in Tampa on Friday night.

NO. 6 CALIFORNIA GOLDEN BEARS (4-0). If Cal had a defense, they could actually challenge USC for the Pac-10 title this year and have a legitimate shot at the national championship. They have no problem registering scoreboard, but then neither do their opponents. Last week, they put Arizona in their place with a 45-27 smack-down that shouldn't have been that close. They need to learn to put their opponents away early. The true test of where this Golden Bear team is headed will come on the road this week against #11 Oregon. It's a must-see game for college football fans.

NO. 7 TEXAS LONGHORNS (4-0). The Longhorns demolished Rice 58-14 in a yawner. It was one of those games that could only have been interesting to Texas fans. It tells us little about Texas, but a lot about Rice. Yes, they are that bad this year. Texas has had this coming week's game against Kansas State circled on their calendars for a year now. In their last meeting, the Wildcats pulled off a wild and improbable upset of the Longhorns. Payback is coming. It could get really ugly for KSU fans.

NO. 8 OHIO STATE BUCKEYES (4-0). The Buckeyes' story for last week is about the same as the Longhorns. There wasn't much to be learned about Ohio State as there was about how bad Northwestern is this year. You gotta feel for Pat Fitzgerald. 58-7 tells much of the story. 45-0 at the half is even more telling. For Buckeye fans, it represents the natural order of the Big Ten as they know it. They will be visitors in Minneapolis this weekend to take on the Golden Gophers of Minnesota. They will treat the Dome like their own home.

NO. 9 WISCONSIN BADGERS (4-0). The Badgers are barely hanging on to their Top 10 ranking and they just don't look that deserving of it ... yet. They struggled at home against a good, but rebuilding Iowa team 17-13 last week. Undefeated Michigan State comes to Madison this week and it should be one heckuva scrap. Wisconsin does not have an easy schedule with away games at Penn State and Ohio State looming in the future. They need to win convincingly now and gain more confidence.

NO. 10 RUTGERS SCARLET KNIGHTS (3-0). This week, we'll know a little more about whether Rutgers will emerge as a legitimate challenger to West Virginia's Big East hegemony. The Knights, who soundly defeated Open Date last Saturday, host a Maryland team that is capable of giving them a test. The Terps shut down Pat White rather effectively two weeks ago, only to be run over (and around, and through) by running backs Steve Slaton and Noel Devine.

NO. 11 OREGON DUCKS (4-0). The mighty Ducks have demolished some fairly tough teams already with big wins over Houston, Michigan and Fresno State. Their road victory at Stanford last week was expected, but still, it was an important step towards their Pac-10 title hopes. The schedule is in their favor this year with USC, ASU and Cal all visiting Autzen Stadium. This week is #6 Cal. It should be a high scoring battle.

NO. 12 BOSTON COLLEGE EAGLES (4-0). The Eagles have just about everybody back from a strong 2006 squad, and are knocking on the door of the Top 10. Early in last Saturday's game, however, head coach and former Green Bay Packers' offensive coordinator Jeff Jagodzinski looked out on the field and saw an offense that was decidedly uncoordinated. BC was up just 16-7 on Army at halftime, and Jagodzinski let his team have it. Final score, 37-17, with Matt Ryan throwing for 356 yards. Chances are the Eagles won't take Massachusetts lightly this week, because they don't want Jagodzinski to yell at them again.

NO. 13 CLEMSON TIGERS (4-0). Clemson is another team loaded with veterans -- except for quarterback. That hasn't been a problem, though, as newbie Cullen Harper threw his 11th and 12th touchdown passes of the season in a 42-20 romp past North Carolina State. The Tigers' twin backfield studs, James Davis and C.J. Spiller, also did their 'thunder and lightning' thing. This Saturday, though, Clemson is on the road against a Georgia Tech team that is in none too good a mood after its promising 2-0 start devolved into two straight losses.

NO. 14 KENTUCKY WILDCATS (4-0). Holler it from the hollows: The Kentucky Wildcats are for real. A week after upsetting Louisville (which, it now turns out, has no defense), Rich Brooks' team put on a late surge, fueled by QB Andre Woodson, and blew past struggling Arkansas, 42-29. Woodson is working his way onto the Heisman short list, where Razorback RB Darren McFadden has resided for two years. More and more, though, opponents are able to give McFadden his 175-200 yards per game and force the other Hogs to beat them. It's not happening. This week, Kentucky hosts Florida Atlantic, a surprising 3-1.

NO. 15 GEORGIA BULLDOGS (3-1). Mark Richt's team threw itself under Nick Saban's bandwagon last Saturday, edging Alabama 26-23 on a Matthew Stafford to Mikey Henderson touchdown pass in overtime ... obviously, it was the sort of game either team could have won -- what's impressive is that Georgia did it on the road. With the exception of Florida's Tebow (and maybe Kentucky's Woodson), Stafford is emerging as perhaps the SEC's top quarterback.

NO. 16 SOUTH CAROLINA GAMECOCKS (3-1). We've already talked about the South Carolina/LSU game. Close, no cigar. But if Steve Spurrier's Gamecocks want to play their way into a major bowl this year, they need to beat the teams they're supposed to beat -- like Mississippi State, also 3-1, this Saturday.

NO. 17 VIRGINIA TECH HOKIES (3-1). . Ah, there's nothing like a tasty Division 1-AA opponent (sorry, Michigan) to get over the psychic shock of a serious butt-kicking down in Baton Rouge. The Hokies gave visiting William & Mary a good taste of Beamerball, scoring on a long punt return by Eddie Royal and a 49-yard interception from Brandon Flowers. It was 27-0 after the first quarter, 44-3 at the final gun, and everybody played., This week, Frank Beamer's team stays at home to meet 1-3 North Carolina.

NO. 18 SOUTH FLORIDA BULLS (3-0). This Friday night, with West Virginia coming to Tampa, offers an up-and-coming program a chance to make a statement. Matt Grothe might be the best quarterback you never heard of, and the Bulls are prickly on defense. Can they stop Pat White, Steve Slaton and Noel Devine? The way this season is going, you never know.

NO. 19 HAWAII WARRIORS (4-0). Here's what we learned about Hawaii last week when they steamrolled hapless Charleston Southern, 66-10: Hawaii's a good football team and they don't miss a beat when they change quarterbacks. The game actually says more about the Warriors program and less about Colt Brennan's chances at the Heisman this year. It just ain't gonna happen. WAC doormat Idaho is next on the table--the first of four bottom tier WAC schools that will be devoured by Hawaii during the next month of conference match-ups.

NO. 20 MISSOURI TIGERS (4-0). The Tigers put Illinois State in their place last week (38-17) and now get to enjoy a well-needed extra week off to prepare for a huge home game tilt with Nebraska on Oct 6. It's a "do or die" game for Missouri and head coach Gary Pinkel. The Tigers have never been better prepared with talent and with the Cornhuskers being so vulnerable. Columbia will be rocking in two weeks.

NO. 21 PENN STATE NITTANY LIONS (3-1). Penn State's offensive woes at Michigan last week might just be the tip of the iceberg of what we will see the rest of the year. All the fluff on PSU's schedule is in the rear view mirror, except for Temple on Nov 10, so they better find some firepower quickly or the Nittany Lions will tumble out of the rankings faster than you can say Joe Paterno. They are on the road against dangerous, upset-minded Illinois this week.

NO. 22 ALABAMA CRIMSON TIDE (3-1). Sometimes it's the close losses, like Alabama's 26-23 setback at the hands of Georgia in overtime last Saturday, that are the toughest to bounce back from. Now that Nick Saban's undefeated honeymoon is over, let's see how well he motivates his Tide to face Florida State in Tallahassee. After some slippage the past two seasons, Bobby Bowden's Seminoles are now 3-1 and capable of giving 'Bama a battle.

NO. 23 ARIZONA STATE SUN DEVILS (4-0). The Sun Devils could be for real, but a comeback victory at home over Oregon State and an easy away game at Stanford this weekend will not tell an accurate tale. We'll have to wait for a grueling five-game stretch starting Oct 13 that will pit ASU against Washington, Cal, Oregon, UCLA and USC in successive weeks. Dennis Erickson seems to have injected a much needed return to tradition in Tempe, and no matter what, the Devils will make a lot of noise this year as long as they can keep Ryan Torain healthy.

NO. 24 CINCINNATI BEARCATS (4-0). The fourth Big East team in the Top 25 (and that's without Louisville), the Bearcats have beaten up on four largely nondescript opponents so far. This Saturday, they're on the road -- way on the road -- to face San Diego State on the Left Coast.

NO. 25 NEBRASKA CORNHUSKERS (3-1). A Ball State missed 55-yard field goal with 17 seconds remaining is the difference between Nebraska being 3-1 and ranked and 2-2 and out of the polls. Following the Cornhusker meltdown on defense for a second week in a row (yielding 40 points at home to 23-point underdog Ball State?) coach Bill Callahan says he's not happy with the way the Big Red are playing. No, really? The last time the Huskers gave up 40 points in consecutive weeks was back in 1990. Dangerous Iowa State visits this weekend, and they are capable of landing a knockout punch to the Huskers ("knockout" as in knocking them out of the Top 25).

ON THE BUBBLE: Purdue, Miami, Michigan State, UCLA, Michigan, Texas A&M, Arkansas, Kansas, Florida State, Central Florida, Connecticut, Tennessee, Virginia.

The AP Top 25 weekly review is written by senior editors Darrell Laurent and Todd Erickson.
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