Week 5 Top 25
| RANK | TEAM | W-L | PREV. | NEXT |
| 1. | Alabama | 4-0 | 1 | @ #18 South Carolina |
| 2. | Ohio State | 5-0 | 2 | vs. Indiana |
| 3. | Boise State | 4-0 | 3 | vs. Toledo |
| 4. | Oregon | 5-0 | 6 | @ Washington State |
| 5. | TCU | 5-0 | 4 | vs. Wyoming |
| 6. | Nebraska | 4-0 | 5 | @ #25 Kansas State (Oct 7th) |
| 7. | Oklahoma | 5-0 | 8 | vs. Iowa State (Oct 16th) |
| 8. | Utah | 4-0 | 12 | @ Iowa State |
| 9. | Arizona | 4-0 | 13 | vs. Oregon State |
| 10. | Auburn | 5-0 | 14 | @ Kentucky |
| 11. | LSU | 5-0 | 9 | @ #15 Florida |
| 12. | Iowa | 4-1 | 15 | @ #17 Michigan (Oct 16th) |
| 13. | Arkansas | 3-1 | 17 | vs. Texas A&M |
| 14. | Miami | 3-1 | 18 | vs. #24 Florida State |
| 15. | Florida | 4-1 | 7 | vs. #11 LSU |
| 16. | Stanford | 4-1 | 10 | vs. USC |
| 17. | Michigan | 5-0 | 20 | vs. #19 Michigan State |
| 18. | South Carolina | 3-1 | 19 | vs. #1 Alabama |
| 19. | Michigan State | 5-0 | 21 | @ #17 Michigan |
| 20. | Wisconsin | 4-1 | 11 | vs. Minnesota |
| 21. | Nevada | 5-0 | 24 | vs. San Jose State |
| 22. | Oklahoma State | 4-0 | 25 | @ Louisiana-Lafayette (Oct 8th) |
| 23. | Missouri | 4-0 | NR | vs. Colorado |
| 24. | Florida State | 4-1 | NR | @ #14 Miami |
| 25. | Kansas State | 4-0 | NR | vs. #6 Nebraska |
Dropped out of Rankings: USC, Texas, and North Carolina State
Others Considered: West Virginia, Air Force, Texas, USC, Northwestern
Updated BCS Game Predictions
National Championship – Alabama vs. Ohio State
Alabama is hands down the best team in the country. The only dispute is who they will beat in the National Championship and it seems to be between Ohio State, Oregon, and Boise State. Ohio State struggled this week against Illinois while Oregon routed Stanford and Boise State dismantled New Mexico State. While Ohio State was the less impressive team, I think if they were to play Oregon or Boise State at a neutral site right now, the Buckeyes would win. Due to that, they are the pick to lose to Alabama. Winner: Alabama
Rose Bowl – Oregon vs. Boise State
Oregon was impressive in their win against Stanford. While falling behind early, the defense stepped up and didn’t allow a Stanford point in the second half. In addition, LaMichael James had a career day with 257 yards rushing. Same story as last week goes for Boise State; the Rose Bowl Committee must take the qualifying Non-AQ team, and it appears that will be Boise State. However, this could be replaced with TCU if Boise State continues to be leapfrogged in the polls or if the Broncos lose their showdown against Nevada. Winner: Boise State
Orange Bowl – Miami vs. West Virginia
After three consecutive tough road games, Miami was able to come out of that 2-1 with impressive victories over Pitt and Clemson. I do feel a little bit less confident with Miami as the pick here as Florida State seems to have recovered from their embarrassing loss to Oklahoma. This weekend’s matchup between FSU and Miami will show to me whos the best in the ACC. As for the Big East, it’s still West Virginia. I honestly don’t know who will be able to beat them in their conference this year. Winner: Miami
Fiesta Bowl – Nebraska vs. Michigan
Nebraska faces a tough test this Thursday as they go on the road to face Kansas State with their dangerous running back Daniel Thomas. Looking at Nebraska’s schedule, they should go undefeated all the way through it until possibly the Big 12 Championship game. I had picked a second Pac-10 team in the Fiesta Bowl last week, but after Stanford’s loss, I do not know who would be the clear second choice from that conference. Rather, I think I will go out on a limb and pick Michigan to get the Big 10 a second BCS game invite. While Michigan’s defense is terrible, Denard Robinson will keep them competitive in all games and I expect them to be able to win most of them. We will have a clearer picture of what kind of team Michigan is after this weekend’s matchup against in-state rival Michigan State. Really, I just want to see Denard Robinson versus the Nebraska defense. Winner: Nebraska
Sugar Bowl – Florida vs. Oklahoma
Florida’s huge loss to Alabama gives me every reason to not put them in a BCS game, but who else will win the SEC East? I don’t have any confidence in South Carolina’s ability to win the East away from Florida. I could pick Auburn or Arkansas as the second SEC BCS team, but that would mean a team that didn’t win its own division would be in the BCS ahead of an SEC team that did win its own division. My principles do not allow that. So, due to my stubbornness, it looks like it will still be Florida in the Sugar Bowl. As for their opponent, I was expecting the winner of the Red River Shootout between Texas and Oklahoma to win the Big 12 South, then lose to Nebraska, and get selected to this game. Let’s stick with that prediction for now, so that means Oklahoma is the pick. Winner: Oklahoma
Top Heisman Candidates
- Denard Robinson, QB, Michigan
- Kellen Moore, QB, Boise State
- Cameron Newton, QB, Auburn
- LaMichael James, RB, Oregon
- Terrelle Pryor, QB, Ohio State
- Andrew Luck, QB, Stanford
- Daniel Thomas, RB, Kansas State
- Ryan Mallett, QB, Arkansas
- Kendall Hunter, RB, Oklahoma State
- Mark Ingram, RB, Alabama
5 Games to Watch – Week 6
#6 Nebraska at #25 Kansas State – 7:30 PM EST Thursday
#1 Alabama at #18 South Carolina – 3:30 PM EST
#19 Michigan State at #17 Michigan – 3:30 PM EST
#24 Florida State at #14 Miami – 8:00 PM EST
#11 LSU at #25 Florida – TBD
Image courtesy of The Quad Blog at the New York Times (http://thequad.blogs.nytimes.com/)
Leave a Reply