College Football Top 25

By Matt Smith

I’m not a supporter of how LSU jumped so many spots after the SEC title game, so I have decided not to alter my ratings because it played in the BCS title game. Instead, I will keep my rankings the way they were and base them on how each team did individually.

1. Georgia (11-2): I really feel the Bulldogs were playing the best football in the country for the last two months. It would have been a heck of a matchup with USC had they been the Rose Bowl, which should have happened.

2. USC (11-2): Probably playing the second best football in the country. I think a USC/Georgia game would have opened up for a lot of criticism for the BCS, which is probably why it was avoided.

3. Missouri (12-2): They took their aggression for being snubbed out on a very good Arkansas team in the Cotton Bowl.

4. LSU (12-2): I don’t support how they got to the title game and I don’t support the fact that they didn’t have to beat anyone to win the title.

5. Kansas (12-1): The fact that Virginia Tech is not very good has made Kansas look better than it really is. Still, it was a big win for the program and a great season.

6. West Virginia (11-2): West-fucking Virginia. There’s no doubt the Mountaineers are the most talented team in college football, and they looked terrific. If they could have only avoided one of the two let downs, I have a feeling they would have won the national title.

7. Ohio State (11-2): They aren’t very good, but they stayed with LSU somewhat because the Tigers aren’t all that special either.

8. Oklahoma (11-3): Compared to WV’s athletes, the Sooners looked slow. That’s saying a lot for the Mountaineers because OU has some great athletes.

9. Texas (10-3): The Horns put a hurtin’ on a pretty good Sun Devils team. It was a good way to end an up and down season for an elite program.

10. Virginia Tech (11-3): The Hokies had a great season for what they were, and that was just a pretty good team. They weren’t elite, so going 11-3 and making a BCS game should be enough for them.

11. Boston College (11-3): Held on for their seventh straight bowl win after edging Michigan State. The Eagles are turning into a pretty solid program, but now it’s time to replace Matt Ryan. That won’t be easy.

12. Tennessee (10-4): Had the Vols blown it against Wisconsin, Phillip Fulmer might have got axed, but barely holding on after dominating for most of the game bought him some time to get Tennessee where it used to be and that’s a perennial top ten team.

13. Cincinnati (10-3): If anyone would have told you before the season that Cincy was going to win 10 games, you would have thought them crazy.

14. Auburn (9-4): They showed some different things in their bowl win over Clemson, and Tiger fans should be excited for next season after slugging out nine wins in what is considered a down year.

15. Florida (9-4): I’m surprised that nobody is talking about what a horrible season Florida had after winning the national title. Four losses. It’s because everyone knows how frickin talented they are.

16. Illinois (9-4): Don’t get me wrong, Illinois is a pretty good team, but I don’t think they belonged in a BCS game and they for sure didn’t belong against a team like USC.

17. Hawaii (12-1): Georgia beat them like a red-headed stepchild. June Jones, gone. Colt Brennan, gone. The future is not bright at Hawaii after taking three lumps like that.

18. Arizona State (10-3): You think they let down after being snubbed? Their run defense did, that’s for sure.

19. Clemson (9-4): It’s a good thing Auburn beat them, because I couldn’t have dealt with the Tigers being ranked in the top ten to end the year.

20. BYU (11-2): The Cougars are one piece of the football away from being irrelevant in these rankings. They got a break, beat UCLA and end the year in the top 20.

21. Wisconsin (9-4): The Badgers nearly came back to beat Tennessee, but showed that most of the time a Big Ten team isn’t going to have enough offense. There are exceptions….

22. Michigan (9-4): Anyone of importance to Michigan football played extremely well, which I predicted would have to happen to beat Florida. They looked like the team they could have been all year.

23. Texas Tech (9-4): Heck of a comeback against Virginia. The Red Raiders have a lot coming back as well and should open the year as a top 25 team.

24. Oregon State (9-4): The Beavers quietly put together a very good season, despite having horrible quarterbacks.

25. Oregon (9-4): It was good to see the Ducks look more like the team they were in the middle of the season.

BCS Championship Game LSU v Ohio St.

Well it's the one that some of us have been waiting for. After countless hours of watching, reading, writing, analyzing and talking about college football from some Mediterranean restaurant in Berkeley back in July where Matt and I both thought that Chad Henne was John Navarre over a plate of chicken shish kabob to December when West Virginia wasn't able to muster an ounce of offense at home to Pitt. In a year of wackiness the dust settled and a couple of 800 pound gorillas were playing in the BCS championship game. Do they deserve it? Probably about as much as any of the other teams. Are we happy to see them here? The answer is a decisive no.

It was LSU's defense that had the experts drooling coming into the year. But they underperformed and while much of that has been blamed on the injury to tackle and sure fire top two pick Glenn Dorsey, one man, no matter how amazingly talented cannot account for the defense giving up 43 and 50 points in their two losses, even if those games did go to OT.

In actuality it is the Buckeyes who come into the game with the nation's number one defense. Many will discount this because of the weakness of this year's Big 10, but having watched their performance on a rainy Saturday in Ann Arbor there is no denying that they are one of the top defenses in the country, starting with Vernon Gholston on the line.

It's the Ohio State running game of various Wells' most importantly Beanie/Chris/whoever that will be the key. If they can get him going as they did against Michigan, Todd Boeckman won't have to win the game by himself. He's thrown 12 interceptions this season, and after Tressel saw that Michigan's offense wouldn't be able to muster a first down, he kept the ball out of his junior quarterback's hands.

LSU's wide receiver threat Early Doucet is supposed to be ready to go. His presence will help the dual quarterback attack that Les Miles has said he will go with. The Tigers' more balanced offense and healthy defense should be enough to beat the Buckeyes, even if the game is closer than a lot of Big 10 hating fans would like to believe. If you believe in the law of averages, Les Miles' team is due for a few 4th down conversions in crucial situations not working. As college football fans trying to make the best out of what will be our last game until September, we can only hope the game comes down to one of those famous Les Miles fourth down calls.

Predictions:
Matt- LSU
Ben- LSU
Mike- LSU