Top 25 after Week 3: Who's in? Who's out?

It was quite a rollercoaster ride for the top 25 this Saturday.  Let's take a look at how each team faired each week and what's the future has in store for them.

1. LSU Tigers

That's right.  I went there.  USC didn't show me a #1 team type defense Saturday night.  USC gave up more points against Idaho than LSU did against all 3 of their opponents combined.  LSU was without QB Matt Flynn, WR Early Doucet, and OG Will Arnold on Saturday and still managed to put up 44 points Saturday.  However, the performance that really convinced me that LSU was a #1 caliber team was their showing 2 weeks ago Virginia Tech.  The Tigers almost shut out the Hokies and the offense looked flawless against a solid VT defense.  Back to last Saturday.  Ryan Perriloux filled in nicely for Flynn and showed LSU some glimpses of the future as he was 20 of 25 for 298 yards and 3 TDs.  Perriloux also gained 37 yards with his feet.  The defense is better than ever and clearly the best in the country.  They've allowed 7 points in 3 games.  The Recieving core has 2 great starters in stud Early Doucet and Brandon LaFell, who has drastically improved and stepped up this year.  They face Steve Spurrier's #12 South Carolina Gamecocks, and Les Miles better prepare catiously because they will get USC's best shot.

2. USC Trojans

The supposed #1 team allowed 31 points on Saturday.  That just doesn't cut it for me.  However, the Trojans handled the Cornhuskers and Rushing was the name of the game.  They tore up NEB's defense for over 300 yards on the ground!  Stafon Johnson racked up 144 of those yards on just 11 carries.  He also took in one of USC's 5 rushing Touchdowns.  However, John David Booty had an average night.  Nothing more.  He was 19 of 30 for 144 yards, but did throw 2 TDs.  This was one game that many predicted that USC may lose, but USC took care of business.  USC better watch their back in the Pac-10.  Unlike the past, there are a few teams that are up to their talent level.  The one game that I'd circle on their schedule is at Cal.  Cal's cracked the top 10 and only getting better.  USC hosts Washington State next week in what should be a cakewalk.  USC shouldn't have too much trouble with any game until they play Oregon in a few weeks.    

3. Florida Gators

Urban Meyer's Gators really solidified their #3 spot after their showing against Tennessee, in which they blew out the Volunteers in the Swamp, 59-20.  Of course, there are areas for improvement like the youth starting on defense, but offensively, the Gators looked incredible.  Tim Tebow proved that he can be a starting QB against SEC defenses.  Tebow threw and ran for a pair of touchdowns, bringing his total TD amount up to 4 on the game.  He threw for 299 yards and ran for 61.  All in all, he was superman.  If Tebow was Superman, Percy Harvin must have been Batman.  He led the team in rushing and recieving, gaining 75 on the ground and 120 through the air.  He took one carry in for a 19 yard TD play after Florida had broken the game open.  The Gators go to Oxford next week, where they should win.  2 weeks from now, they start a 5 game stretch where 4 of those teams are ranked, so they better be ready.

4. Oklahoma

The Sooners had a cupcake last week, but didn't let it get the best of them.  The offense was great again, putting up 54 points.  OU has put up at least 50 points every game this season, 79 against North Texas, 51 against Miami, and 54 on Utah State.  They have a Heisman candidate at QB in Sam Bradford.  He has an 11/1 TD/INT ratio and is already on pace to reach 1,000 yards on the year this week. RB DeMarco Murray is filling the void left by Adrian Peterson and has succeeded so far.  He only had 4 carries last week, but took them for 100 yards.  That's 25 YARDS PER CARRY.  OU's big uglies on offense are killer, but the recieving core could be better.  Their defense doesn't need to do well with the way the OU offense is playing, but they do anyway.  The most points they've allowed all year is 13 against Miami.  OU has 2 fairly easy games on the horizon, but looks forward to the Red River Shootout with Texas in 3 weeks.  

5. California Golden Bears

This is another move that some may call a stretch.  I really loved them against Tennessee.  Nate Longshore hasn't been spectacular, but has been good enough to get his Bears to 3-0.  If the Bears are going to be exceptional this year, they'll have to exceed on special teams.  LaVelle Hawkins and Desean Jackson are the leaders of this team.  They're going to have to make some plays in order to keep Cal in a position to win some important games, primarily USC.  I had the Bears in my preseason top 10 and everybody was talking about the loss of Marshawn Lynch.  Justin Forsett has done a beatiful job of taking carries for the Bears.  The defense looked dismal 2 weeks ago against Colorado St., but they will have to get better in order to beat Oregon and USC later down the road. 

6. West Virginia

I didn't put the Mountaineers in my top 5 because their defense is very minimal.  24 and 23 points to Western Michigan and Marshall?  Come on.  They can do better than that.  Another thing is their strength of schedule.   West Virginia plays 3 contender this year and that's counting South Florida.  Aside from the Bulls, the only other worthy teams they play are Rutgers and Louisville.  West Virginia is going to have to schedule some better opponents to crack my top 10.  Of course, they have that deadly duo of Pat White-Steve Slaton, but Freshman Noel Devine has shown signs of being better than Slaton.  They have a very weak East Carolina team scheduled for next week (3/4 of the schedule is weak), but they have USF the following week and should be challenged by the Bulls.  

7. Ohio State Buckeyes

Wisconsin and Texas are here in some polls, but neither has blown away their cupcake teams.  The Buckeyes beat their 2 weak teams by an average of 20 points, which is good enough for me.  They looked pretty impressive last week against Washington in a 33-14 win.  Chris Wells had a great game with 135 yards and a TD while Todd Boeckman added 2 more scores through the air.  The Buckeyes are flying under the radar this season after being pounded by Florida in the national championship.  They don't have another key matchup until 10/27 when they play Penn St. with Wisconsin the next week and Michigan, who will have hopefully turned it around by then, the week after that.


8. Penn St. Nittany Lions

Joe Pa's got it going again in Happy Valley.  Penn St. has shown up every opponent they've faced thus far, including not so good Notre Dame.  Some people have them nearing the top 10, but I threw them in there because I think they're better than many may think.  They're going to contend for the Big 10 title.  They whooped the most overrated team in the country (Notre Dame) and play the 2nd most overrated team this week (Michigan).  This was supposed to be a marquis matchup, but Michigan has plundered to sub-zero temperatures.  Anthony Morelli has had a good year after taking reign as starting QB last year.  He could break 1,000 yards against Michigan.  Their next big matchup is October 13th hosting the Badgers of UW.

9. Wisconsin Badgers

The Badgers have loads of talent, but haven't necessarily showcased it.  They've struggled the past 2 weeks against UNLV and The Citadel, beatins the two only by an average of about 10 points.  Offensively, PJ Hill is just a flat-out stud.  Hill scored a school record-tying 5 TDs.  4 rushing and 1 recieving.  This guy may carry them all year.  Tyler Donovan has been good enough at QB and TE Travis Beckum is one of the country's best.  The defense is going to have to get better after allowing 31 points to The Citadel if they want to beat offenses like Penn St. and Ohio St.  They certainly are subject to dissapointment, but Brett Beilema is going to get all he can out of Wisconsin.

 

10. Rutgers Scarlet Knights

What I don't understand is how Texas is in the AP top 10 and Rutgers isn't?  Rutgers won 59-0 against Norfolk St.!  Texas only beat Central Florida 35-32!  Mike Teel, Ray Rice and Tiquan Underwood have been astounding for this Scarlet Knight offense.  Teel and Rice each have 8 TDs on the year while Underwood has 3.  I have West Virginia 4 spots ahead of RU, but I really think RU is going to be atop the Big East come conference championship time.  They could win their first BCS bowl in school history!  West Virginia, Louisville and possibly South Florida and Maryland will be some speedbumps along the way.  Rutgers looks better than they were last year.  Their Oct. 27th game against WVU is the probable Big East-deciding game.  Look out for the Scarlet Knights.  

11. Texas

The Longhorns started off in my preseason top 10, but gave lackluster performances against Arkansas St. and Central Florida.  Those teams should not have been able to hang with Texas as long as they did. Colt McCoy has thrown more interceptions than touchdowns.  That's not going to win football games when they start their conference season.  Jamaal Charles has been great for Texas running the ball.  He has 100+ yards in every game this year.  He posted 153 yards on Central Florida.  Nate Jones leads an a little better than average receiving core in receptions and yards.  The defense was a problem last week, giving up 32 points to Central Florida.  The defense will have to rally around big man Frank Okam.  By big, I mean 6'5, 320.  Next, Texas has 2 very winnable games in Rice and Kansas St..  Down the road, Oklahoma, Nebraska and Texas A&M could pose some problems for the Longhorns.

12. Boston College

It may be a little risky to put the eagles this high early in the season, but I like the direction that coach Jeff Jagodzinski has the team headed in.  BC, unlike most programs, is yet to play a real "cupcake."  Some may consider Wake Forest one, but they won the ACC last year.  BC pulled off a very important and impressive win against Georgia Tech on Saturday.  QB Matt Ryan had one of the best games from a QB this year as he went 30 of 44 for 435 yards and one score.  He's already surmounted 900 yards with his main target, Brandon Robinson.  RB Andre Callender blew up against NC St., but struggled against GT's stingy rush defense.  The defense has been fairly solid.  They struggled against Wake Forest, allowing 28 points, but succeeded in holding GT to 10 to help BC to a 24-10 triumph.  Boston College has games coming up vs. Army, Massachusetts and Bowling Green.  The Eagles don't have any more major tests until they face Virginia Tech on October 25th.  

13. Oregon Ducks

Oregon has just looked flat out impressive on offense this year, averaging over 46 points per game, thanks in large part to Jonathan Stewart and Dennis Dixon.  Stewart is one of the best backs in the country with a good combination of size and speed and really helped Oregon in their 52-21 win over Fresno State.  Dixon had a 292 yard game against Michigan but, other than that, he has excelled more on his feet.  His mobility really keeps defenses guessing.  The Oregon D was great against Michigan, only allowing 7 point but has been nothing to brag about since.  The Ducks travel to Palo Alto, CA next week to play Stanford, but have a huge game at home against Cal following that.  Another big one is October 27th against USC in Eugene, Oregon.

14. South Carolina

South Carolina is looking good, but I don't think its fair for a team to ascend as fast as they have since their 16-12 upset at Georgia.  Blake Mitchell has really been dismal this year as he has only amassed 321 yards on the year.  He has as many interceptions as he does touchdowns (3).  Cory Boyd and Mike Davis have really formed a nice RB tandem for the Gamecocks.  They both have good breakaway speed.  Kenny McKinley has dominated all Gamecocks at his WR position with 17 receptions, which is 12 more than any other receiver.  This may be a reflection of Blake mitchell only having completed 34 passes this year.  Spurrier has a huge test this week as he travels down to Baton Rouge for a showdown with the #2 LSU Tigers.  Expect him to pull out all the stops.  They also square off with Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas and Florida later on.

15. Alabama

I hate the guy, but Nick Saban wins no matter what logo he's wearing, what stadium he's playing in, what the weather's like, what team he's playing, or what color his socks are.  The guy can flat out coach football.  He had to come back from a 7 point 4th quarter deficit against Arkansas, but 'Bama got the job done and won 41-38.  Saban's now 3-0 in his return to the Southeastern Conference.  The offense didn't look like it had any problems against the Razorbacks as they put up 40+ points, but the defense is a different story.  Darren McFadden ran all over the Crimson Tide for 195 yards and 2 scores.  Felix Jones added 96 yards.  In other words, the 'Bama rush defense needs improvement.  On offense, Terry Grant has been a trememdous bright spot as he lead Alabama to a 24-10 win over Vandy 2 weeks ago with 173 yards and 2 TDs.  John Parker Wilson really stepped up against Arkansas, throwing for 327 yards and a season high 4 touchdowns.  Next week, 'Bama gets Georgia at home, then has to travel to Florida St..  Later on, the Tide get Tennessee and LSU in Tuscaloosa, and you can bet the emotion will be there when the Tigers come knockin'.

16. Clemson

Clemson had their only test of the early season week 1 against Florida St.. The Tigers passed with flying colors as they defeated The Seminoles in the Bowden Bowl 24-18.  The score looks much closer than the game actually was.  Clemson was winning 24-3 at the half, but FSU posed a small comeback in the second half.  Since, Clemson has handily defeated Furman and Louisiana-Monroe.  The Clemson RB tandem of James Davis and C.J. Spiller was supposed to be one of the best in the nation, but we're still waiting for Spiller's arrival.  Davis has performed well as he went for over 100- yards against FSU.  The Clemson offense is very one-dimensional.  QB Cullen Harper is not hurting his team, but he's not helping them either.  Clemson is obviously a run-oriented offense.  The defense struggled in week 2, but has been pretty good in other weeks.  Clemson starts off their ACC season next week at North Carolina St., then has 2 pivotal ACC games after that in Georgia Tech and Virginia Tech.  Their end of the year matchup against South Carolina looks to be a great one.  

17. Virginia Tech Hokies

I'm sure the Hokies' crushing 48-7 loss in Baton Rouge 2 weeks ago got them down for a period of time, but not for long.  No Frank Beamer-coached team is going to dwell on anything.  They bounced back last week with a 28-7 win over Ohio.  Their QB situation is a huge mess.  Tyrod Taylor was just named the starter after the LSU game and former starter Sean Glennon is pondering whether he should file for a transfer.  The entire Hokie offense has really been a dissapointment thus far, especially RB Brandon Ore.  Ore was supposed to be all of that and a bag of chips, but he only has 180 yards and 1 TD in 3 games.  The defense was supposed to be the best in the country, but totally flopped in giving 48 points to LSU.  The VT defense is going to have to rely on LBs Xavier Adibi, Vince Hall and CB Brandon Flowers to be playmakers to prevent scores and maybe do a little scoring of their own.  With games against Boston College, Florida State, at Georgia Tech, and at Clemson, the Hokies may be looking at a 4 loss season.

18. Texas A&M Aggies

I really like this Aggie offense that Dennis Francione has put on the field this year.  QB Stephen McGee is a hard-nosed kid that doesn't put up jaw-dropping statistics, but is a good leader and does what it takes to lead his team to victory.  McGee is also great at making plays with his feet as he leads the team in rushing.  That doesn't mean that A&M doesn't have good RBs.  Sophopmore Mike Goodson had over 100 yards last week and his 2 TDs on the year while Jovorskie Lane is an absolute bruiser.  He leads the Aggies with 7 touchdowns, 4 against Fresno St..  As for receivers, the best one is a Tight End.  They don't have any standout receivers, but they have one hell of a Tight End in Martellus Bennett.  He's the go-to guy on 3rd and long.  I hope the Fresno St. game was a fluke for this defense because they gave up 45 points.  They can't do that if they want to beat teams like Nebraska, Oklahoma, Missouri and Texas.  If the Aggies' offense has success, so will the rest of the team.

19. Kentucky

Another bold move putting the Wildcats up here at this point, but I think the Wildcats really do have a good enough team to maybe even finish 2nd in the SEC East and in the top 15. I predicted their upset of formerly #9 Louisville, and the Big Blue came through for me.  In last week's upset of Louisville, All-SEC QB Andre Woodson tossed 4 TD passes to help the UK offense score 40 points.  Woodson's already tossed 9 TDs this season.  Despite Woodson's great success, another great hero on the offense is Rafael Little.  He's gone for over 100 yards in EVERY GAME THIS YEAR.  Most recently, 151 against Louisville.   WRs Keenan Burton, Dicky Lyons and Steve Johnson have also made sizeable contributions to the UK offense.  Most notably Burton.  The defense did let Louisville score 34 on them, but that's a bad night for the cardinals.  They'll be looking forward to their pretty important SEC matchup against Arkansas this Saturday.  They also have to travel to South Carolina and Georgia while they get LSU, Florida and Tennessee at home.  The Wildcats have a tough road.  

20. Louisville Cardinals

Louisville quite obviously has a very talented offense.  They've put up 73, 58 and 34 points in their 3 regular season games.  Brian Brohm has been better than good.  His performance is beyond words.  He's already thrown for 1,192 yards in 3 games and 11 TDs in 3 games.  His Wide Receivers, Harry Douglas and Mario Urrutia are obviously the best in the Big East and possibly the nation.  The two have already caught for a a combined 743 yards and 6 touchdowns.  Running the ball, they have Anthony Allen who has done a very good job in replacing Michael Bush.  Allen is averaging over 7 yards per carry and has 5 TDs.  The Cardinal defense has been the exact opposite of the offense.  They've been atrocious.  If they had a better defense, they'd quite easily be in the top 5 or 10.  Giving up 42 points to Middle Tennessee St. and 40 to Kentucky is not going to win Steve Kragthorpe championships.

21. South Florida

Jim Leavitt's South Florida team really opened some eyes last week as they pulled the upset plug on the SEC's Auburn Tigers.  Consider my eyes opened.  QB Matt Grothe hasn't been great statistically, but he's been very clutch, calm and poised.  "We were hoping for it all night long," Grothe said. "We tried to run that play all night. It was a (heck) of a call by coach and a big-time play."  Grothe was referring to his game winning TD pass to Jessie hester in OT against Auburn.  No single individual has been spectacular on USF's offense, but the group always performs well together.  The offense has another oppurtunity against West Virginia in 2 weeks.  Facing West Virginia, Rutgers and Louisville in the Big East season will give us an oppurtunity to see how good these Bulls really are.  

22. Georgia Bulldogs

Georgia has performed exceedingly well in the odd numbered weeks this year, but looked flat offensively in week 2, which led to a 16-12 loss to Steve Spurrier's Gamecocks at home.  Georgia would be nowhere offensively if they didn't have QB Matthew Stafford, RB Knowshon Moreno, and WR Sean Bailey.  The real shocker in that group is true Freshman Knowshon Moreno.  Moreno looked to be the lone knight on the Bulldog offense that was giving 110% on the field.  Stafford's numbers against SC look decent on paper but, if you watched the game, you could tell he had some questionable decisions against a better than average Gamecock defense.  The defense looks alright as they are giving up about 15 points per game.  Coach Mark Richt has closed all doors to practice for the 'Bama game this week, which is an interesting way of preparing.  Richt vs. Saban ought to be one hell of a coaching battle.  

23. Arkansas

The Razorbacks had a last second melt-down against Nick Saban's Tide last week as they surrendered a 38-31 4th quarter lead and let Alabama win 41-38 on a last second touchdown.  Casey Dick had an unusual par performance agains the Tide as he tossed 3 touchdowns.  On a normal day, Dick will throw a little over 100 yards and maybe 1 score to Marcus Monk.  Arkansas' RB tandem was incredible as usual on Saturday.  Darren McFadden has 33 carries for 195 yards and 3 TDs while his counterpart, Felix Jones amassed 96 yards to help ARK..  The Arkansas D picked off John Parker Wilson 2 times last peformance.  One by Jerell Norton and one by Matteral Richardson.  Arkansas has a game of pretty big SEC importance this Saturday as they host the UK Wildcats.  They also host South Carolina, and travel to South Carolina and LSU. 

24. Missouri Tigers

Missouri is the 3rd team in my top 25 with a tiger mascot, LSU and Clemson being the other 2. Chase Daniel has been absolutely great for this Missouri offense as he's already passed for over 1,000 yards and 10 touchdowns.  Daniel has also made a notable contribution on his feet, amassing over 100 yards on the year.  RB Tony Temple has made plenty of good plays for the tigers this year.  He exploded against Ole Miss in week 2 for 123 yards and had 2 TDs last week in a 52-24 win against Western Michigan.  WR Martin Rucker has kind of been the silent assassin on this team.  He's quietly putting up some very nice numbers to help make the offense more 2 dimensional.  The D is going to have to improve from allowing almost 28 points per game against teams like Illinois, Ole Miss and WMI in order to pull off some upsets in the Big 12.  The next marquis matchup is next week vs. the Nebraska Cornhuskers.  That game will have huge Big 12 North implications.

25. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets

This pick is not really a reflection of how much GT deserves a spot in the top 25 as much as it is a reflection of how much I think Hawaii doesn't deserve a top 25 slot.  Georgia Tech really beat the hell out of Notre Dame (who didn't?) and Samford in their first 2 games before losing 24-10 to Boston College in their ACC opener.  RB Tashard Choice has put up arguably some of the best statistics in the nation in the first 3 weeks.  He racked up 196 yards and 2 scores on Notre Dame.  QB Taylor Bennett really hasn't been much to brag about, but I don't think anybody expected him to excel much.  He has time to turn it around.  GT is sorely missing Calvin Johnson this year as their leading receiver doesn't even have 10 receptions.  GT's stingy defense should play a positive factor as the season unravels.  Marquis matchups include: Clemson, Virginia Tech and Georgia.  All of those games are in Atlanta.

Barely Missed Out: Hawaii, Nebraska, Arizona.