The Mission Top 10, Wk XI

Here it is, our first post election Top 10. All eyes seem to be pointing towards the looming Big Ten showdown. Like most, I am really looking forward to that game. And the bands. There is just something magical about a crisp fall day, a great game, the Ohio State Script and the Michigan Band's Block "M" all coming together. My old high school band director, (yeah, I was a band geek!) John Barnhart was a Sousaphone player from Ohio State. He always told us one of the highlights of his life was dotting the i at one of those games. That kind of stuff is what makes college football great. Anyways, Thursday night we have Rutgers vs. Louisville. Should be a good game. For me, this Saturday I'll be in Vegas cringing, because I think Oregon is going to beat the rebuilding Trojans of USC. Enjoy. Ohio St. (10-0) – Beat Illinois 17-10. The Buckeyes looked great at the beginning of the Illinois game. They just seemed to get bored and disinterested in the second half. This week: at Northwestern (3-7). Michigan (10-0) – Beat Ball St. 34-26. The Wolverines did one better and slept through their entire game against Ball St. It makes no difference though. Ohio St. and Michigan are so far in front of everyone else that only the loser drops at this point. This week: at Indiana (5-5). Louisville (8-0) – Beat West Virginia 44-34. Why is everyone complaining about the lack of defense in the Louisville-West Virginia game. I seem to recall that USC and Texas scored a ton of points and played very little defense against each other in last season’s title game. This week: at Rutgers (8-0). Arkansas (8-1) – Beat South Carolina 26-20. When looking at the top ten, why not Arkansas as the highest one-loss team? The teams ranked behind them have not been very impressive. USC might could make a case if Arkansas is this high and if the Trojans win out (possible, but not probable), that will be adjusted. This week: Tennessee (8-2). Auburn (9-1) – Beat Arkansas St. 27-0. Another sleepwalking win over an inferior opponent killed the Tigers in the computers even more. Two teams ranked above Auburn in the BCS have lost, yet Auburn has dropped two spots since the initial BCS rankings. This week: Georgia (6-4). Cal (8-1) – Beat UCLA 38-24. The Bears were never really challenged on the scoreboard against UCLA, but the amount of yards given up (over 500) is troubling with road trips to Arizona and USC coming in the next two weeks. This week: at Arizona (4-5). Florida (8-1) – Beat Vanderbilt 25-19. Another uneven offensive performance from Florida. There have been quite a few of those lately. There will be another this week and two more after that before the SEC Title game. This team seemingly peaked too early. This week: South Carolina (5-4). Texas (9-1) – Beat Oklahoma St. 36-10. Why is there all of this outcry that Texas deserves to go to the national championship game. The only two things they have going for them are that their loss was early and it was against the number one team. Everyone seems to forget that they were one fumble by a Nebraska receiver from losing that game, gave up over 500 yards to Texas Tech, and then over 30 points to Baylor. This week: at Kansas St. (6-4). USC (7-1) – Beat Stanford 42-0. Before anyone claims USC is back after the strong offensive performance, it needs to be noted that almost everyone has killed Stanford this season. The Cardinal only came close against San Jose St. Even Navy and Arizona St. destroyed them. This week: Oregon (7-2). LSU (7-2) – Beat Tennessee 28-24. This team showed that they are one of, if not the most talented team in the country in the win over Tennessee. They also showed why they have two losses. They tried everything they could to give the game away to a backup quarterback seeing his first significant college action. This week: Alabama (6-4). On the cusp: Tennessee (8-2), Rutgers (8-0), West Virginia (7-1), Notre Dame (8-1), Wisconsin (9-1).