Thayne Top 25 - October 31, 2007

1 Previous 1	OHIO STATE 9 – 0 They finally played someone worth while. The destroyed Penn State, but still don’t inspire tons of confindence.
2 2	OKLAHOMA 7 – 1 This is the best team in the country. They have had their struggles, and Sam Bradford has proved that he is mortal, but he will be better for his struggles, as will this team.
3 3	BOSTON COLLEGE 8 – 0 Big win over VaTech. BC is the real deal. They have a great quarterback, who is going to be a pro. He may also be getting some hardware come the end of the season.
4 4	OREGON 7 – 1 This team would be ranked #1 if it weren’t for a foolish fumble into the end zone against Cal, by Colvin. They played against a good USC defense and they were slowed, but not stopped. Another big game against ASU this weekend should prove who will win the Pac 10.
5 5	LOUISIANA STATE 7 – 1 A bye this past week. Good thing too, because they were coming off too many close games. Maybe the break will have helped them overcome some of their problems. I thought they were supposed to have a dominate defense, but teams keep scoring on them.
6 6	ARIZONA STATE 8 – 0 They beat Cal, not as big of a deal as previously expected. But they are definitely at the top of the Pac 10. They have a chance to be NC contenders if they win at Oregon this weekend.
7 8	WEST VIRGINIA 6 – 1 The Mountaineers are the best team in the Big East. I don’t think many people are talking about them in NC race, but with other teams losing ahead of them, it could happen.
8 10	MISSOURI 7 – 1 Mizzou is still ranked ahead of Kansas. Why? Because I still had them ranked ahead of Kansas when they lost to OU, and they haven’t lost since. They will stay there until the two teams play.
9 11	KANSAS 8 – 0 This team is good. Magino has them playing at a new level. They should continue to compete in the Big 12, and the North may have just changed its face.
10 15	TEXAS 7 – 2 Texas is back in the top 10. How, why? Because nobody else wants to be there. They should finish out their schedule undefeated, but Tech and A&M could give them problems.
11 20	GEORGIA 6 – 2 The second best team in the SEC right now. Everyone else, besides Bama has three losses. They beat Florida, something they seldom do. The other tough games on their schedule are Auburn and Kentucky.
12 18	HAWAII 8 – 0 I almost had to move them up this far. I didn’t like it, but when teams lose to teams they shouldn’t lose to, they drop. Hawaii may not be amazing, but they do keep winning games, and that is something.
13 19	BOISE STATE 7 – 1 The Bronco’s beat Fresno State. Now the only tough match up left for them is against Hawaii. That should be a good game for both teams.
14 22	MICHIGAN 7 – 2 I said it back in September and I’ll say it again. Michigan will win the Big 10 title. They have some tests before Ohio State, but that game will once again have National Title implications. Not for Michigan, but they could stop Ohio State from playing for it.
15 9	SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA 6 – 2 This is not the same team that it was two years ago. The National Media is saying that the USC dynasty is over, and I think “What Dynasty?” I guess they had a Pac 10 title dynasty.
16 7	VIRGINIA TECH 6 – 2 Their two losses come to two teams that currently sit in the top 5. They don’t have a great offense, but their defense and special teams will keep them in all their games.
17 NR	CONNECTICUT 7 – 1 Another Basketball school with only one loss. They beat South Florida, and proved they can compete in the highly competitive Big East.
18 24	ALABAMA 6 – 2 The SEC keeps beating itself up, but Bama has come out with only two losses so far. They are good, and will only get better. Tide fans should be excited for the coming years.
19 14	FLORIDA 5 – 3 Tebow seems to not want the Heisman. He isn’t making the plays he needs to, and Florida keeps losing games.
20 13	SOUTH FLORIDA 6 – 2 The Bulls are good. They are going to continue to be good. They are lead by a good quarterback. They have two losses in a row, and they need to stop the bleeding. Cincinnati normally would do that, be that will still be a tough game.
21 23	AUBURN 6 – 3 Auburn has some talent, but no stars. They get to stay here for now, but they got games against Georgia and ‘Bama coming up. They don’t appear destined to stay ranked.
22 25	BRIGHAM YOUNG 5 – 2 Their game was postponed, and normally that doesn’t merit being moved up, but this last week, as I’ve explained, gives them the right. The postponed game is actually a good thing, because their tough game against Utah will mean more now.
23 NR	TENNESSEE 5 – 3 I think I’m being fooled just like the rest of the country. This is the 6th SEC team ranked for me. Maybe I am, but Tennessee has beaten some good teams, and their losses to Florida and to ‘Bama are understandable. But what happened against Cal?
24 12	WAKE FOREST 6 – 2 They are in the same boat as Michigan. They lost their first two games, and that hurt them. They are now fighting their way back into it and are one game behind BC in the ACC. Too bad they already lost to BC.
25 21	VIRGINIA 7 - 2 They may get a chance to face BC in the ACC championship if they win out. They can, but they face Wake this week. That will be a good game, whereas in the past, nobody would have cared.

Dropped Out : California, Kentucky

Also Considering: Clemson, South Carolina, New Mexico, Kentucky

My Saturday Opinions - Part II - October 27, 2007

Dennis Dixon looked every bit the Heisman in this match up between two top ten teams. He was near perfect in the first half. He didn’t throw a touchdown, which may hurt him in the voting, but he ran for one and executed when he needed to. Jonathan Stewart also made a case for him being the most outstanding player in college football. Stewart ran for 2 touchdowns, and made big plays to keep Oregon’s offense on the field. USC played well, but made too many mistakes, especially costly turnovers, including an interception during a possible game tying drive my USC in the fourth quarter. The Ducks are for real, and should be looked at as serious title contenders.
Georgia finally gets a bye week to prepare for Florida, rather than the other way around. It paid off. Matt Stafford and the Bulldog offense made some big plays, which they haven’t had a lot of this year. They kept letting Florida back into the game through penalties and mistakes, such as a Stafford interception for a touchdown. Tebow scored 2 rushing touchdowns and passed for a third, but didn’t will his team to victory. This should affect his Heisman status.
This was the Jamaal Charles show. He scored 3 fourth quarter touchdowns to bring the Longhorns back from a 17 - 9 deficit. He ended up with 289 yards rushing. Nebraska looked like they were going to pull off the upset and perhaps save Callahan’s job for another season, but Charles was too much in the fourth quarter. This Texas team shouldn’t have been in that situation, and aren’t the same team they were last year. This could have easily been their 3rd loss.
South Florida, what are you doing? You were the second ranked team in the country two weeks ago. Then you lose a prime time game to Rutgers. That’s understandable because you haven’t been in that situation before, but now to lose to University of Connecticut, I don’t know what to say. You were a media darling, and still had a great chance to play in a BCS game. Now, you are relegated to a smaller bowl and another year without a Big East Championship. UConn is now in the lead in the Big East. Their one loss is to an ACC team, and UConn has shown that they deserve to be ranked. The Big East may not be as good as previously expected, but they are a tough conference to win, and it looks like UConn can do it. Can you imagine the Huskies in a BCS bowl? Crazy!
Michigan was down 10-0 to start this game. It looked as though my prediction of Michigan winning the Big 10 might fade today, but then they came back and stomped the lowly Gophers of Minnesota. Michigan is rolling now, and the fans that were calling for Lloyd Carr’s job, should be rethinking their stance. That team could have given up after being embarrassed in their first two game, but he motivated them, and they are playing good football. I still think that they are going to win the Big 10. It will likely come down to their end of the year game with Ohio State. Can Carr get that monkey off his back?
Virginia was rolling through the ACC. Their sole loss was to Wyoming at the beginning of the year, and they come to their game against North Carolina State, who is struggling this year, and they are expected to win. But as they say, that’s why they play the games. Virginia could not keep their winning streak going and fall to a Wolfpack team that has been struggling to find an identity all year. This gives BC an inside track on the ACC title. Had Virginia won, they would have controlled their own destiny, but now they need help. Virginia did score 24 points, and in my opinion, 24 points should be enough to win any football game, but that is not always the case. Defensively, they gave up 29 points, and the game. Virginia did take the lead in the fourth quarter, but NC State scored a final touchdown to put the game away.

Saturday Opinions - October 27, 2007

Thursday night’s game was going along as I predicted for most of the game. Boston College struggled against their first real test. Virginia Tech was leading going into the final minutes of the game 10 - 0. Boston couldn’t do much against the strong defense of the Hokies. The Hokies didn’t lead by much, but that’s not too surprising considering their weak offense. Then Matt Ryan took over with just over two minutes left in the game. He connected on his first touchdown pass, leaving the Eagles trailing by 3, with not a lot of time on the clock. Boston College opted to try an onside kick, and they recovered it. Now it was a game. Boston College drove down the field and put themselves in a position to tie or win the game. Ryan throws a touchdown pass that is negated by holding penalty. Ryan tries again, and this time, there is no penalty. Ryan put the team on his shoulders in the final minutes of a game and willed them to a victory. They proved themselves against a tough defense, and a tough conference opponent. Ryan also showed Heisman-like poise in the final minutes of the game. If he continues like this for the rest of the season, his name will be mentioned in the same sentence as Doug Flutie when referring to great BC quarterbacks. Boston College proved worthy of their ranking that night.
Why is it that Boise State doesn’t play on Saturdays? They have played 8 games, and only 3 of them have been on a Saturday. They’ve played a couple of Thursday night games, and then some very non-traditional Sunday night and Friday night games. This gives them an opportunity to be seen, but only if people realize that they are even playing. Many don’t. This could be why, they have yet to jump back onto the national stage. They suffered one loss early in the season, and since then won all of their games. They haven’t played anyone too tough, but they have proved that they are a good team. If they manage to win the rest of their games, Chris Peterson will have suffered only one loss in his first two years of coaching. That is phenomenal. Boise State was on display Friday night, normally reserved for High School football. They were playing the normally tough Fresno State. They played without their star running back, Ian Johnson. They were able to hang on and beat the Bulldogs 34-21. I like this team, and think that they are as good as most of the BCS conference teams out there. They won’t get their due until they beat Hawaii and win the WAC.
Now we reach Saturday. Most of the early games were not very interesting. There were a couple, and some that ended up being good games regardless of their irrelevance in the national scheme and even the conference scheme. But on the National scene and a key game for the Big East title, West Virginia battled Rutgers, in New Jersey. The Mountaineers came our firing. They had a healthy offense for a change. Slaton and White were in form. White rushed for 156 yards and a touchdown, while Slaton was held under a hundred yards, but tabbed 3 touchdowns. Rutgers was unable to stop West Virginia, and couldn’t get anything going on offense. Their only points came off a field goal in the second quarter. Ray Rice continued to rack up the yards, but couldn’t get close enough to the end zone. West Virginia showed that they should still be in the discussion for the national title conversation.
What is going on with Texas Tech? They have been fantastic offensively all year, and then last week they are stopped by Missouri, and today, Colorado shut them down. On the other hand, Colorado has vastly improved on their last season. Dan Hawkins is doing what he did in Boise, and is turning these Buffaloes into a good team. They need to fix some of their more confusing losses such as Florida State and Kansas State, but they are on the right track. The Big 12 North needs to keep an eye out for this team, they are returning in the next few years.
Andre Woodson made a great case for his Heisman status last week, even in a loss against Florida. He played extremely well, and threw for 5 touchdowns. This week, a should win game against Mississippi State, Woodson hurt his status dramatically. Not only did Kentucky lose, but Woodson did not perform. He threw 3 interceptions, and two touchdowns. He was also sacked 3 times. Kentucky was sporting a ranking of #14 going into this game. There is a chance that they will drop out of the rankings. This should have been their year.

Top 25 - October 24, 2007

1 Previous 1	OHIO STATE 8 – 0 Their win against Michigan State shows that this team is the class of the lousy Big 10. With not much else on the schedule, this team could be playing for a National Title, where again they will be embarrassed.
2 2	OKLAHOMA 7 – 1 Scary win over Iowa State. The offense was just off all day. That said, the only points scored by Iowa State were off a turnover in OU territory, and they were able to run the ball.
3 3	BOSTON COLLEGE 7 – 0 This Thursday they have their first real test. Who will be the best team in the ACC, BC or VaTech. If BC wins, I’ll feel a lot better about their ranking.
4 4	OREGON 6 – 1 Missing their top two receivers and a key back up running back, the Ducks offense didn’t miss a beat. They set a school record for most rushing yards in a game.
5 5	LOUISIANA STATE 7 – 1 The last of the top 5 teams not to move. Could I justify that their win over Auburn should put them higher? Yes. But LSU has shown they are vulnerable, unlike what everyone else thought at the beginning of the year.
6 7	ARIZONA STATE 7 – 0 Still undefeated. All of their tough Pac 10 games are still ahead of them. The game against Cal doesn’t seem so appealing anymore.
7 10	VIRGINIA TECH 6 – 1 Can their defense outscore BC? That is going to be what determines a win or a loss. I think the Hokies will need to score defensively in order to win.
8 13	WEST VIRGINIA 6 – 1 The Moutaineers are back in the top 10 for the first time since their South Florida loss. They are probably the second best team in the Big East, but in a big game situation, they’ve been there. South Florida hasn’t.
9 12	SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA 6 – 1 Nothing helps your confidence like a trip to South Bend, this year. A good beat down of the Irish was necessary for these Trojans to have the mentality that they could compete with the Ducks this weekend.
10 14	MISSOURI 6 – 1 The Tigers round out the top 10. They held the high flying Texas Tech Offense at bay. They not only outscored them, but played good defense.
11 15	KANSAS 7 – 0 The last team in the Big 12 to remain undefeated. They’ll have their chance to prove that they are better than Mizzou and the top in the Big 12 North.
12 6	SOUTH CARONLINA 6 – 2 They lost to Vandy. They should consider themselves lucky that they didn’t drop further. Quarterback rotation is a bad idea.
13 8	SOUTH FLORIDA 6 – 1 Until they play in a few more big prime time national games, they are going to struggle. Rutgers had experience in that last year. Despite being the best team in the Big East, they won’t compete for the National Title. They are also still the best team in Florida.
14 16	FLORIDA 5 – 2 Tebow channeled Alex Smith in order to run the Urban Meyer offense. They pulled off a big victory against Kentucky, and Tebow should be in New York during the Heisman ceremony.
15 17	TEXAS 6 – 2 Despite their off the field issues, this team is now playing well. Colt McCoy has begun to look a little like he did last year.
16 9	KENTUCKY 6 – 2 They had their chance against Florida. If they would have won, that would have put them in a great spot for a Title. Even with a loss, Andre Woodson showed he was one of the elite quarterbacks in the nation.
17 11	CALIFORNIA 5 – 2 This should have been where they asserted their dominance. Their quarterback was back and they lose again. Two in a row is ugly for a former national title contender.
18 19	HAWAII 7 – 0 Still not an elite team. They are undefeated, but are lucky to be so. They moved up one spot, because of all the madness that happened above them.
19 20	BOISE STATE 6 – 1 They should be back on the radar. They won without Ian Johnson, and will be playing without him again. I like this team, and their coach has some guts.
20 22	GEORGIA 5 – 2 The Bulldogs are good, not great. It wouldn’t surprise me to see them lose one or two more games this year. It also wouldn’t surprise me to see them win out.
21 NR	VIRGINIA 7 - 1 This team has turned it around since their loss against Wyoming. They are competing in the ACC, and still have a great shot at winning it.
22 NR	MICHIGAN 6 – 2 I believe in this team. Despite their ugly losses at the beginning, I think they should still win the Big 10.
23 18	AUBURN 5 – 3 Close, close loss to LSU. They were 1 second away from winning. It shouldn’t have come down to that. They should have been able to stop LSU on that final drive, they couldn’t.
24 18	ALABAMA 6 – 2 Rebounded back into the top 25. This is Saban’s first year. How good is this guy?
25 25	BRIGHAM YOUNG 5 - 2 The destroyed Eastern Washington, as they should have. They are playing well, and are the class of the Mountain West.

Dropped Out : Texas Tech, Tennessee, Cincinnati,

Also Considering: Penn State, Rutgers, Air Force, Texas Tech