This weekend’s slate of games has some interesting match-ups, but overall, this does not look like a Saturday that will shake up the college football landscape.
Umm, that sound you now hear is that of the football gods waking up and plotting utter chaos upon hearing that utterance.
After the monumental match-ups that hallmarked last week, the objective this week for the top teams in the FBS – other than winning, of course – is avoiding the dreaded letdown, a trait that is almost inure to these types of supposedly unexciting weekends. Two teams near the top of the BCS Standings stand out in trying to not fall through the trap door.
Stanford cemented its status as the best one-loss team in the country with their win over previously unbeaten Oregon last week, along with keeping its national championship hopes alive. A trip to The Coliseum to take on USC should not deviate the Cardinal’s path to a Pac-12 North title, win or lose, but the Trojans have been a much better team after the firing of head coach Lane Kiffin after a loss to Arizona State in late September. With much better quarterback play, a running attack that rivals the best in the conference and a sense of playing to remove the interim tag from coach Ed Orgeron, the Trojans are 4-1 since their embarrassing showing in Tempe, defeating bowl-eligible teams Arizona and Oregon State along the way. If anything, playing this sort of team is perfect to avoid any sort complacency. Well, for an even better example then, let’s go down to JerryWorld in Arlington, Texas.
Baylor, fifth in the BCS, is in line to win its first outright conference championship since 1980 (as a member of the Southwest Conference), and its 41-12 demolition of Oklahaoma last Thursday was the latest sign that its march to a championship may not come with that much resistance. With Oklahoma State and Texas still on the schedule down the road, Baylor now heads to Cowboys/AT&T Stadium to take on a Texas Tech team that has lost three straight after a 7-0 start, including two home losses to Oklahoma State and Kansas State. Baylor has won the last two match-ups against the Red Raiders, but Texas Tech, more than almost any other team since the formation of the Big 12, has given the Bears fits. Between 1996 and 2010, Texas Tech won every meeting between the two teams (15 straight wins for those counting at home), and even Baylor’s win last season against Tech came in overtime, 52-45.
Even Alabama, the juggernaut that they are, need to avoid playing down to the competition in Starkville against Mississippi State. Although unlikely to let the Bulldogs in the game for a long stretch, the Tide have gotten off to slow starts in games this season, and doing so against a desperate Mississippi State team that acquitted themselves well in a loss at Texas A&M last week only will make things harder for Nick Saban than they have to be.
Speaking of Saban, one of the former schools where he was a head coach, Michigan State, is at Nebraska after its demolition of arch rival Michigan two weeks back. Any hope of the Spartans playing for the Big Ten Championship – and keeping Ohio State relevant in the national championship race to boot – is contingent on Sparty’s continued success, so a letdown in Lincoln is out of the question.
There’s no letdown when it comes to the A Lot Of Sports Talk College Football Top 25, as former TCU standout running back and Green Bay Packer Basil Mitchell rejoins us after a one-week hiatus to make us whole again. He joins the rest of the merry men and women, including: Lisa Horne (CFB/NASCAR writer and on-air personality), James Bates (former All-SEC linebacker, captain on the 1996 Florida Gators national championship team, on-air television host and color commentator for Fox Sports 1), T.J. Basalla (super fan, marketing professional, WJPZ Alumni Association President), Matty J. (ThrowTheFlagBlog.com, gifsection.com), Adesina Koiki (ESPN The Magazine/A Lot Of Sports Talk reporter/writer) and an anonymous staff member at a Division I-FBS school.
1. 
Alabama (175 points, 7 first-place votes)
It was a little bit of a struggle for the Crimson Tide in the first half but then they rolled over LSU in the second half. Seeing head coach Nick Saban jump into quarterback AJ McCarron’s arms after the end of the game proves he is human, despite his robot-like persona. (Lisa Horne)
2. 
Florida State (168)
Noles fans, book your Pasadena tickets. (T.J. Basalla)
Florida State is playing like a team with a chip on its shoulder. Jameis Winston and the FSU offense rolled Wake Forest, and the halftime score (42-0) looked like it was the final score of any other game this season. (Matty J.)
3. 
Baylor (158)
After eight games last season, Baylor had allowed 313 points – an average of 39.2 points per game. They then proceeded to allow 42 points in their ninth game, a loss at Oklahoma. After defeating the Sooners 41-12 in Waco last week, the 2013 Bears have so far allowed only 123 points after eight games – an average of 15.4 points per game. Phil Bennett’s defense might be the most improved unit of any – offense or defense – in the country. (Adesina Koiki)
4. 
Ohio State (154)
Unless the three teams above them falter, it looks like Ohio State will be in Pasadena on January 1, not January 6. (Lisa)
5. 
Stanford (147)
The Cardinal beat Oregon last week but they will be facing a very dangerous USC Trojan team at The Coliseum Saturday; this is not the same team that lost to Washington State, Arizona State and Notre Dame. (Lisa)
Stanford is really embracing the “nerd” stigma with some of the players wearing special Revenge of the Nerds-style glasses to the post-game press conference after the Oregon win. (Matty J.)
6. 
Oregon (134)
It is a very realistic possibility now that the Ducks could have their fourth consecutive 12-win season but nothing really to show for it on a national scale. Well, except for launching a uniform revolution in college football. But brighter days should be ahead in Eugene on the football field…and their wardrobe may literally be brighter also. (Adesina)
7. 
Auburn (131)
As some may know, Auburn running back Tre Mason – the SEC’s second leading rusher – is the son of Vincent “Maseo” Mason, one of the members of the legendary hip-hop trio De La Soul. With that said, take it away James Bates!
8. 
Clemson (126)
This could end up being the quietest 11-1 college football team in a long time. (T.J.)
9. 
Missouri (120)
Simply put, the Tigers control their own destiny in terms of reaching the SEC Championship Game. If you ask any Mizzou fan, that’s a scary thought. (Lisa)
10. 
Texas A&M (109)
Head coach Kevin Sumlin and defensive coordinator Mark Snyder were spotted at a Drake concert in Houston on Wednesday night. Both the Aggies and LSU are on a bye week before their big showdown next weekend, which leads me to think: what were Tigers head coach Les Miles and defensive coordinator John Chavis up to on Wednesday night? (Anonymous D-1 FBS staffer)
11. 
South Carolina (95*)
Should the Gamecocks actually be rooting for Missouri to win all of its remaining regular-season games? If both Missouri AND Alabama do just that, it would mean two fellow BCS aspirants from the SEC (Auburn, Texas A&M) would have late November losses. And if Alabama then defeated Missouri, the Tigers would have a December loss. Add all of that with South Carolina possibly winning out – including a victory against Clemson – and Cocky could very well be in the BCS without having to step foot in Atlanta for the SEC title game. (Adesina)
12. 
Oklahoma State (95)
The most important game of this weekend may be in Austin, as the winner between bright orange (OK State) and burnt orange (Texas) becomes the main threat to Baylor for the Big 12 title, with Baylor still having to play both later on. New defensive coordinator Glenn Spencer has turned around a Pokes defense that currently ranks in the top 10 nationally in takeaways, third down defense and red zone defense. (Adesina)
13. 
Fresno State (90)
Down 10-0 to Wyoming, the Bulldogs then ripped off 48 unanswered points. Derek Carr is one of the best quarterbacks in the country. This team is legit. (Lisa)
14. 
Michigan State (81)
Sparty travels to Nebraska this Saturday after a bye last week. If Michigan State were to lose, the conference’s reputation may not be salvaged until next season. This is a must-win for Michigan State. (Lisa)
I am quite confident that the Spartans will win the rest of their regular-season games. They don’t turn the ball over and play lights out defense. I just don’t see Nebraska, Northwestern or Minnesota being able to score points on them. (Anonymous D-1 FBS staffer)
15. 
UCLA (77)
So what do you do when your top three running backs are all banged up and you need a spark? Turn to your starting outside linebacker, of course! Myles Jack, a true freshman who had played exclusively at linebacker, stepped into the backfield at Arizona and ran for 120 yards on only six carries, including a game-sealing 66-yard TD run. Oh, he also had eight tackles and a fumble recovery for a touchback against the Wildcats. Bear Down, indeed! (Adesina)
16. 
Northern Illinois (61)
If you’re a Heisman Trophy candidate and you have only one guaranteed national television appearance, here is how you make an impression: 345 passing yards (on 26-of-32 passing), 123 rushing yards, four total touchdowns and memorable highlight-reel plays of carrying/running over defenders. All that is what Huskies quarterback Jordan Lynch did last night against Ball State. (Adesina)
17. 
UCF (60)
The Knights are four games (and four wins) away from making their first season in The American a special one in 18 million different ways. A matchup next Thursday vs. Rutgers and a season-ending trip to Dallas to play SMU will be tough, but UCF’s defense won’t be fun for those teams to go up against, either. (Adesina)
18. 
LSU (59)
No shame in losing to that Bama team. But boy, oh boy how things might have been different without that first quarter goal-line fumble. (T.J.)
19. 
Louisville (54)
The Cardinals just do not impress me that much despite their almost perfect record. Louisville beat UConn 31-10. Meh. UCF beat UConn 62-17 and Cincinnati beat UConn 41-16. I like quarterback Teddy Bridgewater but the team did not deserve its early lofty rankings by the AP. (Lisa)
20. 
Oklahoma (45)
The 7-2 Sooners can still play in a great bowl but having a resurgent Kansas State and Oklahoma State as potential road blocks ahead of them should give fans pause. (Lisa)
21. 
Wisconsin (42)
It didn’t get the attention it deserved, but that was an impressive performance by the Badgers over a good BYU team last week. (T.J.)
22. 
Arizona State (36)
The Sun Devils managed to beat Utah 20-19 in Salt Lake City, a very inhospitable environment. Just ask Stanford. Take the win and get out of Dodge. (Lisa)
23. 
Miami, Fla. (20)
Is it possible that when running back Duke Johnson was lost for the season to a broken ankle suffered in the Florida State defeat two weeks ago, the collective heart and soul of the team left with him? Virginia Tech held the Canes to 28 rushing yards in defeating Miami last week, and now a match-up in Durham against Duke, a fellow 7-2 team, could result in a third straight loss. (Adesina)
24. 
Texas (10)
This might be the end of the line for the magical run that Texas has been on since getting pummeled by Ole Miss. Last week, the Longhorns were able to take advantage of some huge breaks (starting four drives inside the WVU 30 yard line, two of those starting on the 7-yard line) to squeak by the Mountaineers. They finish their season with games against Oklahoma State, Texas Tech, and Baylor. The Longhorns have the talent to beat all three of those teams but the injuries are starting to really take their toll. (Anonymous D-1 FBS staffer)
25. 
North Dakota State (7)
The unanimous No. 1 team in the Football Championship Subdivision – as well as the two-time defending FCS champions – makes its debut in our poll. (Welcome, Bison!) After coming back from a 13-point fourth-quarter deficit at home against Northern Iowa on Oct. 5, NDSU has won its next four games by a combined 156-56 scoreline. A stiff road test awaits on Saturday against FCS No. 15 Youngstown State, who lost a heartbreaker at Northern Iowa last week on a field goal on the last play of the game, 20-22. (Adesina)
Others receiving votes:
Minnesota (6 points), Ole Miss (5), Georgia (3), Notre Dame (3), Ball State (2), Cincinnati (1), Duke (1)
* – To break ties, we used a three-step criteria; 1) higher number of first-place votes, 2) higher number of ballots (out of six) the teams appeared in, 3) highest single ranking by an individual pollster (e.g. if Team A and Team B are tied cumulatively and appeared in all six polls, but Team A’s highest ranking by an individual pollster was No. 7 and Team B’s highest ranking by an individual pollster was No. 9, Team A wins tiebreaker)
