The Mission Top 10, Week V

So here we are almost halfway through the college football season, and there are still a number of undefeated teams left in Division 1. It is time for a few of those to start falling as the pressure starts to mount. One thing is for sure, on Sunday morning, either Ohio State or Iowa will wake up at 4-1 in what is probably the best game of the weekend. I watched the USC game last weekend and they are not scary. Alright, the defense is scary, but the offense is in trouble. I'll be surprised if this team makes it through undefeated. In an interesting side note developing, if Ohio State, USC and Auburn all end the season undefeated, Auburn will again be shut out of the Championship Game. Ohio St. (4-0) – Beat Penn St. 28-6. The game against Penn St. was closer than the final score indicates. Either the Penn St. defense improved by leaps and bounds, or Tressell kept the offense simple in the mud. Really, it was a little of both, but that kind of offensive performance won’t work this week at Iowa. Auburn (4-0) – Beat Buffalo 38-7. This was a well-placed breather of a game for Auburn who got the rest injured starters in what was nothing more than a scrimmage. Freshman running back Ben Tate looked good in the 4th quarter going for over 100 yards and two touchdowns on only eight carries. This week: at South Carolina (Thursday). USC (3-0) – Beat Arizona 20-3. Whether the Trojans like it or not, many fans are using last week and this week’s games as measuring sticks for how USC stacks up against Auburn and LSU (it will be the same when those teams play Arkansas. Part one of this was an unimpressive 20-3 win over Arizona who LSU beat 45-3. This week: at Washington St. Michigan (4-0) – Beat Wisconsin 27-13. The Wolverines were a little lethargic in the first half, and then they awakened and dominated the second half. They need to be careful against a team that has played them well in recent years. This week: at Minnesota. West Virginia (4-0) – Beat East Carolina 27-10. East Carolina finally did what no one else on the schedule had done yet: Make Pat White win the game with his arm. While he was successful, the three interceptions are cause for concern as the Mountaineers take the week off. This week: Bye. Florida (4-0) – Beat Kentucky 26-7. An easy win, but cause for concern over the kicking game. They missed two extra-points against Kentucky. Ask Clemson, Alabama, and Boston College what missed extra points can do to a team. The Gators have a week to figure this out before the meat of the schedule really hits. This week: Alabama. Louisville (4-0) – Beat Kansas St. 24-6. While not the Kansas St. of 3-5 years ago, dominating the Wildcats defensively like Louisville did was impressive. In an unrelated note, how did the Big East make the mistake of allowing both Louisville and West Virginia, the two biggest television draws, to have the same weekend off? This week: Bye. LSU (3-1) – Beat Tulane 49-7. Poor Tulane. After the loss to Auburn, everyone knew the next game would be ugly, and it was. LSU looked good again, but they are well behind in the SEC Title chase. As for Tulane, this week they get to play at home, finally. This week (for LSU): Mississippi St. Texas (3-1) – Beat Iowa St. 37-14. What on earth is Texas doing playing a 1-AA opponent. This after complaining about having to play Ohio St. and saying that they shouldn’t schedule any more games like that so their national standing could remain higher. This is shameful since Texas should be playing big-name opponents. A look at future schedules sees TCU next year, Arkansas the two years after, and UCLA the two years after that as the only major non-conference games, and Brown didn’t want to play those. This week: Sam Houston St. Oregon (3-0) – Bye week. After watching Arizona St. play Cal, Oregon needs to not overlook Arizona St. with Cal next week. The shot to play USC for the conference title takes place the next two weeks. This week: at Arizona St. On the cusp (not in any order) Clemson (3-1), Virginia Tech (4-0), Notre Dame (3-1), Iowa (4-0), Tennessee (3-1) technorati tags: College Football, Auburn, Ohio State, USC (you know the rules. share it, steal it, challenge it, but give us credit.)