College Football Week 5: Top 25 Winners and Losers From Saturday's Action
There were a handful of great games in college football last weekend. And the polls endured a minor shakeup as a result.
It's still pretty early in the season. But we're starting to see both the contenders and pretenders emerge.
Who gained the most this weekend? Who endured some hardships. Let's find out.
No. 25: Florida State’s Future
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It took a long time for Bobby Bowden to finally hand Jimbo Fisher the keys to the program. But the timing seems to be fairly good.
At 4-1 they are a viable candidate to win the ACC. In fact, had they not squared off with the top-10 ranked Oklahoma Sooners so early in the season, they might be undefeated at this point.
Granted, Virginia is not a great team but the Seminoles went on the road, took a 27-0 lead and cruised to their second straight conference win.
No. 24: Mack Brown, Loser
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After the horrific performance last week against UCLA, the Longhorns were not expected to play up standard in this season’s edition of the Red River Shootout.
Surprisingly, they hung with the Sooners throughout most of the game but a loss is a loss. At 3-2 the Longhorns are allowed to have a down season. But Brown has set the bar so high that any loss—close or not—is a concern for the future.
No. 23: Nevada, Winner
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With all the talk about the other non-major conference elites –TCU and Boise State—Nevada has stayed under the radar. For one, they have yet to defeat a Top 25 team.
Still, they have beaten quality programs in Cal and BYU. And by thumping in-state rival UNLV last week, the Wolf Pack climbed into the national rankings for the first time since 1948.
Their schedule doesn’t get much easier, with road trips to Hawaii and Fresno State on the horizon. But if they can win out until Thanksgiving, they are set for a tremendous reward: a home game against Boise State that can all-but guarantee them a BCS appearance.
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No. 22: Oklahoma, Loser
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The Sooners notched another victory in the Red River Shootout last weekend and retained their undefeated record and top 10 ranking.
Still, the fact that Texas lost at home to UCLA degrades their victory. If perception is everything in the college football landscape these days than the Sooners needed to crush Texas by five touchdowns in order to gain some ground in the rankings.
No. 21: Big Ten Rebirth, Winner
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Ohio State carried the conference flag for practically the entire decade of the 2000s. But this year, a handful of teams have really been powerful. Northwestern is undefeated, yet unranked.
But, in addition to the No. 2 ranked Buckeyes, Michigan, Michigan State, Iowa and Wisconsin are also ranked in the top 25. Slowly, the conference is climbing into the second spot for the race for deepest conference. Second to the SEC, of course.
No. 20: Les Miles, Loser
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LSU moved to 5-0 with their win last week against Tennessee. But, in the process, head coach Les Miles suffered avoided another last-second, clock mismanagement episode.
Miles has a great record and a national championship to hang his hat on, although those types of errors help us forget.
No. 19: TCU’s Defense, Winner
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More so than any single player on the Horned Frogs, the defense has carried them to a 5-0 record and a fifth ranked spot.
But in the win over a SMU two weeks ago, TCU trailed in the third quarter and allowed 24 points to a pretty pedestrian offense.
They returned to top form, this weekend, shutting out their Mountain West rival Colorado State. More to the point, yielded just eight first downs and 161 total yards to the Rams.
No. 18: Andrew Luck, Loser
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Luck certainly didn’t cost the Cardinal their shot at a climbing into the top-five with a win over the Ducks. His stats (342 yards passing) were fantastic and that game won’t hurt his NFL Draft status.
But the Cardinal spent all their offensive magic in the first two quarters. After halftime, Stanford couldn’t score a single point. Luck deserves some of the blame, however. His two interceptions were incredibly costly and one of the reasons the game started to get out of hand in the fourth quarter.
No. 17: Cameron Newton, Winner
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Newton’s breakout game came a week earlier, in the thrilling win over Clemson. And because the Tigers are undefeated and ranked 10th in the nation, he has earned some Heisman Trophy consideration.
This weekend, against Louisiana-Monroe, Newton totaled 245 yards, three touchdowns and just five incompletions. For him to end up in New York City as a Heisman finalist, he’s going to have to put up those kinds of impressive individual stats and he isn’t going to do that against LSU and Alabama.
No. 16: N.C. State, Loser
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It took N.C. State eight years to return to the top 25. But it finally did thanks to a 45-28 win over Georgia Tech two weeks ago. Its stay there didn’t last very long.
Virginia Tech came to Raleigh and squashed the home team, 41-30. As a result, the NC State Wolf Pack fell out of the ranking, allowing the Nevada Wolf Pack to slide in ... after a much longer hiatus.
No. 15: Iowa’s Defense, Winner
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The Hawkeye’s certainly rebounded after surrendering 34 points and 303 yards passing to the Arizona Wildcats two weeks ago.
In subsequent wins over Ball State and Penn St. Iowa has allowed just three combined points. With that type of defense, the Big Ten title will always be a possibility.
No. 14: Wisconsin’s BCS Bowl Hopes, Loser
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Since they were ranked 11th going into this weekend, it would be a fast fall, but the Badgers could be headed for a major collapse by season’s end. Why?
Because four other Big Ten teams are also ranked. Should the Badgers finish as the fifth best team in the conference, they will not be headed for a great bowl.
No. 13: Michigan State Interim Coach Don Treadwell, Winner
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His decision-making at the end of the game against Wisconsin helped keep the Spartans undefeated.
At 2-0 as the defacto head coach, you’ve got to figure, that with every win, he moves closer to a prominent head coaching spot of his own. Plenty of universities will be coach shopping this winter and Treadwell could be at the top of plenty of AD’s lists.
No. 12: Julio Jones, Loser
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Nothing against Jones here; he made plenty of big plays in the impressive win over Florida. He caught four more balls and had a very nice punt return.
But with the unparalleled dominance of Mark Ingram Jr. and Trent Richardson, the Crimson Tide don’t seem to need to throw the ball. Regardless, NFL scouts will notice him this spring.
No. 11: Ben Chappell, Winner
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We’ll have to wait to see if he turns out to be highly coveted by the time of the NFL Draft. But Indiana’s quarterback has put up some wonderful numbers this the early season.
No doubt Michigan’s defense has been terrible for most of this season. But credit Chappell for the numbers he put up (45 of 64 for 480 yards and three touchdowns) to keep the Hoosiers within striking distance of the Wolverines last week.
No. 10: Boise State’s Momentum, Loser
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With several games last weekend vital to the national rankings—Florida vs. Alabama, Stanford vs. Oregon, Penn State vs. Iowa, even Texas vs. Oklahoma—few took notice of the Broncos matchup with New Mexico State.
Forget the fact that every contender has a “cupcake” on their schedule at some point, even midseason. As of today’s rankings, Boise State doesn’t play a ranked team until late November.
They were the hot topic early in the season, with the wins over Virginia Tech and Oregon State. They might be forgotten over the next two months.
No. 9: Leonard Hankerson, Winner
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Miami defeated Clemson to gain a critical first win in the ACC competition and set up a great showdown with Florida State next week.
Miami fell behind 14-7 early in the second quarter but charged back thanks to three second quarter touchdown passes by Jacory Harris, two of which went to senior Leonard Hankerson.
Hankerson has been Harris’ favorite receiver this season and with six touchdown catches already, he is a safe bet to be all-ACC. More than that, at 6’3 and 205 pounds he fits the NFL frame and could be a first-round choice next April.
No. 8: Ohio State’s Guaranteed BCS Championship Appearance, Loser
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If the Buckeyes win out, they should be a shoo-in for the National Championship Game. But that doesn’t appear to be as easy as it might have been six weeks earlier.
Aside from the resurgence among other Big Ten teams like Michigan, Michigan State and Iowa, the Buckeyes struggled mightily with Illinois last week.
Terrelle Pryor ran with the same type of efficiency that has made him a Heisman favorite. But he did not look all that sharp throwing the ball. He completed 10 of 16 passes for 277 yards and three TDs.
No. 7: Denard Robinson, Winner
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It’s beginning to sound like a broken record but “Shoelace” was the most electric player in college football again last week.
Of course, he also added 217 more yards on 19 carries. And it was his touchdown in the final minute that let Michigan move to 5-0.
No. 6: Pac-10 Defense, Loser
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No one expect Stanford or Oregon or Washington or USC to toss a shutout this week. But, once again offense seems to be the only thing that matters in the Pac-10.
Yes, Oregon did a very good job keeping Stanford scoreless in the second half but does any Pac-10 coach have faith in their unit getting a defensive stop late in the game?
UCLA’s tremendous output against Texas suggests that the Bruins—not the handful of conference title contenders—have the top defense in the Pac-10.
No. 5: Jake Locker, Winner
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On the same day that his Pac-10 counterpart/potential top quarterback draft choice in 2011, Andrew Luck, struggled against Oregon, Locker added to his impressive resume.
For the second straight season, Locker and Washington upset USC, this time at the Coliseum. The Trojans defense might not be what it used to, but Locker’s 310 yards passing and 110 yards rushing almost singlehandedly brought on the victory.
No. 4: SEC Parity, Loser
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Top-to-bottom, it’s still the best conference in the nation. But the SEC doesn’t seem to be as deep as it used to. Alabama has distanced themselves from everyone. A second crushing win over Florida in less than 365 days only cemented that fact.
Yes, LSU is undefeated and Arkansas started strong, but who else is out there to contend with the Tide? Not former rivals, Georgia and Tennessee, for sure.
The Tide will have tough tests with South Carolina and LSU but if they come up short, only Auburn will have a real chance to unseat Alabama before the SEC title game.
No. 3: Trey Burton As Tim Tebow, Loser
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CBS’s broadcasters and dozens in the media were very eager to say that John Brantley and Trey Burton were the equal of the Chris Leak-Tim Tebow pairing that led Florida to the title in 2006.
Burton's five-touchdown effort two weeks ago against Kentucky suggests that he might eventually blossom into the unbelievable goal line threat that Tebow was. But when Burton tried the patented Tebow-jump pass and was nearly intercepted the comparisons were clearly shown to be a bit premature.
No. 2: The BCS System, Loser
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Not to harp on an issue that has been debated for decades but considering how great several top-25 teams played this past week, we are headed for another sad end to this season. One in which the championship is not entirely decided on the field.
We all know that Boise State and TCU will probably be shut out of the BCS Championship Game, even if they are undefeated. But so might Oregon or Michigan State or Oklahoma.
Ohio State and Alabama probably are the best teams in the nation. But a playoff system would be the best way to determine that.
No. 1: Oregon, Winner
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Darron Thomas was great last week. So was LaMichael James. And Chip Kelly earned some major points in the media for trying that onside kick. But the Ducks defense turned in the most important stat.
Shutting out Stanford has to do a lot for their confidence. It’s not like they shut out some out-of-conference school that no one’s ever heard of. They kept a top, 10 Pac-10 team and Heisman Trophy candidate without a point in the second half.
That should scare the rest of the conference. And if it keeps up, the Ducks will scare whoever they play in the national championship game.
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