AP Top 25:
- Ohio State (39) 1-0 1,568
- Texas (7) 1-0 1,453
- USC (3) 1-0 1,410
- Notre Dame (8) 1-0 1,408
- Auburn (3) 1-0 1,408
- West Virginia (5) 1-0 1,356
- Florida 1-0 1,191
- LSU 1-0 1,185
- Florida State 1-0 1,130
- Michigan 1-0 841
- Tennessee 1-0 839
- Georgia 1-0 836
- Louisville 1-0 820
- Iowa 1-0 800
- Oklahoma 1-0 725
- Virginia Tech 1-0 673
- Miami (FL) 0-1 624
- Clemson 1-0 564
- Penn State 1-0 467
- Oregon 1-0 436
- Nebraska 1-0 358
- California 0-1 212
- TCU 1-0 198
- Texas Tech 1-0 196
- Arizona State 1-0 134
Alabama 96, Wisconsin 35, UCLA 29, Georgia Tech 27, Boise State 25, South Carolina 13, Texas A&M 11, Boston College 11, Pittsburgh 9, Purdue 9, Rutgers 7, Tulsa 7, Arizona 6, Fresno State 3, Missouri 3, UTEP 2.
Nebraska dropped one spot to #21 in the AP, apparently no one gave us credit for looking like we know what we're doing on offense, or they have little faith that Bill Callahan might know what he's doing. Callahan doesn't seem to have much respect among the nation's writers - that will only come after he wins some big games and even that is doubtful. We won't gain anything for beating up on Div IAA Nicholls State this weekend either.
We'll drop out if we get blown out by USC, but if we play close we should rise since someone is bound to notice. If we win, well, that's obvious. Losing Isaiah Fluellen for the season doesn't help matters.
We'll probably post a few items about Nicholls State throughout this week, and then start teaming up with Conquest Chronicles, another SBNation blog site to start discussing the upcoming Nebraska/USC matchup.
Florida State/Miami Notes:
Last week I mentioned that Iowa State would be running onto the field out of an inflatable football helmet resembling a Mothra-larvae. I noticed Miami has one too - Mothra must be the "in" thing. Miami ran onto the field through fake fog, then proceeded to squash a bunch of little model buildings resembling downtown Tallahassee to get themselves pumped up for the game.
I couldn't help but notice one of the Miami offensive lineman kept looking down as he was running through the fog, apparently unnerved because his feet had disappeared. It must have bothered him most of the game, given the performance of their offensive line.
At least Miami had an excuse. Didn't matter whether either team called run or pass, the defensive penetration was the same. Both defensive lines made their offensive counterparts look sluggish - on a few plays defenders didn't need swim or rip moves, they simply ran past the tackles while they were coming up out of their stance.
In the second half, Florida State wisely chose to abandon the running game and stick with the pass to the result of 10 points and a win. Miami chose to abandon offense all together - while simultaneously looking confused and unprepared in hopes that Florida State would choke on a field goal once again.
Funny how people complain about offensive coordinators being predictable but then complain because Jeff Bowden choose to pass instead of run time off the clock late in the game. The 'Noles were having some success in the short passing game - the problem wasn't the lack of running plays (that weren't working anyway), but that there were zero completions on that drive.
Holly Rowe abandoned her first-half outfit for something different - her fashion consultant must have told her she looked a little too much like Honey from Doonesbury with a hat - I wonder if she got the outfit idea from Lesley Visser?
