Gordon's Ducks Get Some Love

Gordon e mailed me the other day asking for a little love for his beloved Oregon Ducks, now that they have beat everyone in sight with the exception of that little team from CAL. Well Gordon, this is your week. They made the Mission Top Five! Now just tell your boys not to screw it up and maybe they can move up a notch or two in the next poll. Last time they were on ESPN Gameday, we all saw how that panned out. Lose this week and you'll be known as just another PAC 10 pretender, just like USC. The Mission Top 5 (W-L) (Computer Ranking is in the brackets)* 1. Ohio St. (9-0) (3) – Stewart Mandel on SI.com had an interesting observation about the Ohio St. win over Penn St. It was similar in all facets from buildup to result to quality of the opponent as the Iowa game last year. While I won’t go that far, the Ohio St. defense still hasn’t really been tested, and it won’t be this week either. 2. Arizona St. (8-0) (7) – The Sun Devils earned some more respect last week, but with the quarterback ailing this week, a win at Autzen just doesn’t seem to be in the cards. 3. LSU (7-1) (1) – The Saban Bowl this week marks the Tigers last big game until the SEC Title Game. Win this one and it’s on to Atlanta. Lose and it’s root for Auburn and hope for a victory in the three-way tiebreaker. 4. Boston College (8-0) (8) – Matt Ryan was great in the end, but there is one big problems left on the schedule. Schizophrenic Clemson who could kill this team by 30 or lose by 40 to them on any given day. 5. Oregon (7-1) (5) – College Gameday visits Oregon for the second time this year. Ducks fans hope it goes better than the last visit (loss to Cal). (*thanks to Shadow Sports for their rankings. for the complete top 25, visit the blog. also, you know the rules, take all you want, just give us credit!)

The Mission Top Five

Here it is and this week we have another pretender to the Top Five throne. Let's face it. The top four teams are virtually inseperable so everyone else in the country is fighting for the number five slot. Today that honor falls to West Virginia, who will probably lose this week. Gordon, I am sure that if Oregon wins their big Game Day battle against Cal in a couple of weeks, they just might finally crack the top five. The bigger question will come when one of the big four loses. Will pollsters drop them or will they acknowledge that even with a loss, these four are head and shoulders above the rest of the college football fraternity. 1. LSU (4-0) – LSU replaces USC at number one in part because of another strong performance against a ranked team and in part because of Ball St hanging 600 yards and 40 points on Nebraska making USC’s win last week a little less impressive. 2. USC (3-0) – Remember that the top 2 play for the title. There is little difference between numbers one and two. USC will get a stiff test on the road against Washington this week. 3. Oklahoma (4-0) – Another week, another 50 points. The streak may end against a stout Colorado defense this weekend, but an easy win will still be there for the taking. 4. Florida (4-0) – The defending national champs get their shot at revenge this week. Struggling Auburn is the opponent and my guess is that it will take some offensive touchdowns to pull the upset this year. 5. West Virginia (4-0) – This is the week for West Virginia. During this great run over the past few seasons, they still haven’t knocked off a highly ranked foe on the road. The win won’t be coming this week because the defense still hasn’t been tested and will fail this week.

The Mission Top Ten

As regular interlopers of "the mission" know, I post a weekly NCAA Top Ten during the college football season. Our thanks to Shadow Sports for their generosity in providing our rankings. For their complete rankings and comments, check "em out over at The Sporting News Blogosphere. 1. USC - There's just so much talent coming back. I don't think they are going to win it all, but they seem like the best team right now. 2. LSU - The same as USC. So much talent and no other outstanding early contenders. They have a better chance in the end than USC. 3. Louisville - I don't know why they aren't ranked higher in the polls I have seen. They are still loaded and the coaching change isn't going to be that big of a deal. Brohm is still there and there are no huge landmines early. 4. Michigan - While they will return to pre-2006 form and lose an early game they shouldn't, the offense is going to be as good as any in the country. Too bad the defense stinks this year. 5. Oklahoma - As long as the quarterback is not a complete idiot, Oklahoma has a shot as an undefeated season. Everything else is loaded. 6. Wisconsin - I really have no idea how accurate this is. The Badgers played nobody last year and won't play and strong teams until October this year. 7. Virginia Tech - They have tons of talent, but there is no telling how the shooting tragedy will affect them. A win over LSU week 2 could launch a national title run. 8. Florida - The Gators are going to have loads of problems. They are only here because it's tough to rank the defending champions too low until they start losing, which could happen as early as the Tennessee game in week 3. 9. UCLA - 20 starters and loads of experience could make UCLA this year's Arkansas, except the preseason polls have picked up on this. An 11-0 start is possible if they get good quarterback play. 10. Tennessee - The Vols are finally going to be Tennessee again after some down time. The road game at Cal to start the year is worrisome, as is the Florida game, but this team feels a lot like the 2003 team that beat Miami on the road and was better than its 10-3 record would indicate. (you know the local rules. take whatever you want, but give us credit, got it?) technorati tags: NCAA Top Ten, College Football, Sporting News