NCAA Football Rankings 9-25-6

THIS WAS ORIGINALLY WRITTEN SEPTEMBER 25, 2006

1. OHIO STATE (4-0)-
Last Week: Won vs Penn State 28-6
Next Game: 9-30 @ Iowa
Offense struggled and defense let Tony Hunt run wild. Thank goodness for Anthony Morelli, seeing him play quarterback is enough to make you sick, or so JoePa says!

2. AUBURN (4-0)-
Last Week: Won vs Buffalo 38-7
Next Game: 9-28 @ South Carolina
Ok, it was Buffalo. How many SEC schools would take this team serious? It took a while to wake up and start the game, but the Tigers did fine. It was a terrible team in between their first two conference games, you would expect them to be sloppy, they just better be ready on Thursday when they face the Ole Ball Coach.

3. SOUTHERN CAL (3-0)-
Last Week: Won vs Arizona 20-3
Next Game: 9-30 @ Washington State
Maybe this team isn’t as good as last year, but honestly who expected them to be? Give credit to Mike Stoops and his defense in shutting down the Trojan attack. Something that has been overlooked, this USC defense might be the best yet under Pete Carroll.

4. WEST VIRIGINA (4-0)-
Last Week: Won @ East Carolina
Next Game: 10-7 @ Mississippi State
NOTE to RICH RODRIGUEZ: Please SCHEDULE SOMEONE!!!!! This schedule alone may keep the Mountaineers out of the BCS Championship race. I will be real interesting when they actually have to play a good team, will they be able to turn it on, or will it be more of last weeks play, which won’t cut it against the big time players?

5. LSU (3-1)-
Last Week: Won vs Tulane 49-7
Next Game: 9-30 vs Mississippi State
Who didn’t see this one coming? After a tough loss to rival Auburn the Tigers took out their anger on the Green Wave. And how bad do you feel for the Bulldogs of Mississippi State, two straight weeks, playing top 5 teams, ouch!

6. FLORIDA (4-0)-
Last Week: Won vs Kentucky 26-7
Next Game: 9-30 vs Alabama
Not pretty, but still chalk it up as a win for Urban Meyer and Co. Alabama could be a real statement game for Meyer and his reign over SEC football. Granted Alabama isn’t quite the powerhouse it has been, but it would speak volumes if the Gators would bury the Tide in the Swamp this Saturday.

7. MICHIGAN (4-0)-
Last Week: Won vs Wisconsin 27-13
Next Game: 9-30 @ Minnesota
A little bit of a let down after the Notre Dame win, but that is expected. They got their act together and got the “W” which is big for any Big Ten game. This week will be a test though; they shouldn’t have a problem but the Gophers always play Michigan tough. Pair that with it being in Minnesota and we could have a big time upset on our hands Saturday.

8. TEXAS (3-1)-
Last Week: Won vs Iowa State 37-14
Next Game: 9-30 vs Sam Houston State
It wasn’t just rain falling form the skies in Austin last week it was Colt McCoy lighting up the Iowa State secondary. Texas has an easy road ahead, and with only an Oklahoma match-up in the Red River Shootout; the Longhorns could be looking at an easy road to the BCS in a weak Big XII.

9. LOUISVILLE (4-0)-
Last Week: Won @ Kansas State 24-7
Next Game: 10-6 @ Middle Tennessee
I thought it would be a bigger win, but this may be more impressive. With a score like 24-7 it showed me that Louisville doesn’t need the big guns on offense, it apparently has a pretty good defense too. My only question with the Cardinals is, how in the world did you get stuck play AT Middle Tennessee on a Friday?

10. GEORGIA (4-0)-
Last Week: Won vs Colorado 14-13
Next Game: 9-30 @ Ole Miss
Normally my rule is, if you win you don’t drop, but when you win so terrible close to BAD Colorado team at home you need to fall a little. The Bulldogs needed 2 4th quarter touchdowns to keep the Buffaloes winless, not acceptable in Athens; there will be lots of questions to answer about this one.

11. TENNESSEE (3-1)-
Last Week: Won vs Marshall 33-7
Next Game: 9-30 @ Memphis
Marshall hasn’t been good since the Randy Moss/Chad Pennington Era, so people need to stop thinking that this is an okay win, it’s NOT! Now they will go and beat up on Memphis and still not really improve their team before big time SEC games start. Remember they already lost to Florida, they better be ready to play when it means something come October.

12. OREGON (4-0)-
Last Week: OFF
Next Game: 9-30 vs Arizona State
After seeing Arizona State laid an egg against Cal, I fully expect Oregon to walk all over the Sun Devils. This should be a big game for the Ducks in proving that they are a top team in the overrated Pac-10.

13. IOWA (4-0)-
Last Week: Won @ Illinois 24-7
Next Game: 9-30 vs Ohio State
This is a team that I had preseason to win the Big Ten, and they have showed me NOTHING thus far this season. This team has the talent and big play ability to play a key factor in the BCS, but they need to finally show up this week against the Buckeyes.

14. VIRGINIA TECH (4-0)-
Last Week: Won vs Cincinnati 29-13
Next Game: 9-30 vs Georgia Tech
Every year it is the same thing with Frank Beamer teams, beat up on the little guys and make your record look good, then fold in November. I’m pretty sure he is right on track again this year, fortunately for him I don’t think there is a team in the ACC that will really challenge them except this Georgia Tech team. Get by the Yellow Jackets and it could be another BCS bowl, for the Hokies. Ahhh, who am I kidding, they will screw it up somewhere!!

15. NOTRE DAME (3-1)-
Last Week: Won @ Michigan State 40-37
Next Game: 9-30 vs Purdue
I give NO CREDIT at all to Notre Dame for coming back and beating Michigan State, that is all on the Spartans. If you have a team down, you need to finish them, plain and simple. Notre Dame proved that their defense is still BAD and they aren’t as good as everyone once thought. Luckily they have Brady Quinn and Charlie Weis and the 2 of them will keep them in most games.

16. OKLAHOMA (3-1)-
Last Week: Won v Middle Tennessee 59-0
Next Game: 10-7 vs Texas (in Dallas)
That is what I call a revenge game. Middle Tennessee didn’t stand a chance once Oklahoma’s team bus arrived. The Sooners got out their frustration from the Oregon game, but now need to focus on the Longhorns. They will need the officials and a bunch more people on their sides if the want to pull off that upset, good thing they have a week off to plan for them.

17. CALIFORNIA (3-1)
Last Week: Won vs Arizona State 49-21
Next Game: 9-30 @ Oregon State
I think the Bears found a QB, Nate Longshore lit up the Arizona State defense in the first half and cruised to an easy win. Wasn’t this game supposed to be a tough game to figure out who was for real in the Pac-10, I guess the Cal is for real!

18. NEBRASKA (2-1)-
Last Week: Won vs Troy 56-0
Next Game: 9-30 vs Kansas
The result we saw last week against Troy could be repeated throughout the rest of the season by this Cornhusker team. USC embarrassed them, but they want to prove their ability. They should run away with the Big XII North, but Texas still stands in their way for a spot in a BCS game.

19. TCU (3-0)-
Last Week: OFF
Next Game: 9-28 vs BYU
Longest win streak in the country. They may not play the best teams, but they win, 13 straight, enough said!

20. BOISE STATE (4-0)-
Last Week: Won vs Hawaii 41-34
Next Game: 9-30 @ Utah
Won a shootout last week, you should expect the same this week against the Utes. Urban Meyer is gone, but that offense is still in place at Utah. This should be the only remaining test for Boise State the rest of the year.

21. CLEMSON (3-1)-
Last Week: Won vs North Carolina 52-7
Next Game: 9-30 vs Louisiana Tech
This may be the best team in the ACC if they would just show up on a consistent basis. The speed and talent this team has should have them the favorite in every game from here on out.

22. RUTGERS (3-0)-
Last Week: Won vs Howard
Next Game: 9-29 @ South Florida
We all know how I feel about playing 1-AA teams, but I’m going to let Rutgers slide here. These games are scheduled years in advance, and the Scarlet Knights haven’t exactly been a powerhouse recently. This week will be interesting; Rutgers FINALLY plays someone. Should be a tough Big East opener. (Note to gamblers: I can’t figure out how Rutgers is only giving 4 here, give the points and run with this one!!)

23. GEORGIA TECH (3-1)-
Last Week: Won Virginia 24-7
Next Game: 9-30 @ Virginia Tech
The big test for Georgia Tech comes this week. This is when everyone finds out if it is just the Calvin Johnson show, or if there is a whole football team down in Atlanta. No question Johnson is a sure fire top 5 pick and maybe the most explosive player in the country, but one WR can’t single handily win games (see Pitt and Larry Fitzgerald). The rest of the team will have to step up this week and show they are for real.

24. FLORIDA STATE (3-1)-
Last Week: Won vs Rice 55-7
Next Game: 10-5 @ NC State
This team has so much talent and speed the old man just needs to let them play. The most talent and fastest team in the ACC and they are being held back by the micro-management going on on the sidelines.

25. MISSOURI (4-0)-
Last Week: Won vs Ohio 31-6
Next Game: 9-30 vs Colorado
Not sure if anyone saw this coming, even in the Show Me State. The Tigers lost the best quarterback and maybe best player in school history and now they start 4-0. The season starts this week though, with the Big XII opener against Colorado.

NEXT 5:
26. Texas A&M (4-0)- Big game this week against Texas Tech
27. Wisconsin (3-1)- Opened some eyes by playing Michigan tough.
28. Arkansas (3-1)- the surprise of the SEC?
29. Washington (3-1)- Surprise Surprise, Ty Willingham winning here too!
30. Purdue (4-0)- Haven’t really been tested, but will be in South Bend this week.