Six AP Top 25 teams can testify how dangerous road games are—all were upset during college football's 13th week of play, and 2 of the 6 will be facing off in the Atlantic Coast Conference championship game this week. The away losers included Georgia Tech, Clemson, Pittsburgh, Oklahoma State, Mississippi and North Carolina. These events caused changes in my Top 25 Poll. Here is how I see it this week:
1) Alabama (12-0) - Give the Crimson Tide credit. They went 8-0 to win the SEC West Division, and went 12-0 on the season after beating in-state rival Auburn on the road, 26-21. Alabama will now face SEC East Division winner Florida for the SEC title, and a shot at the national championship in a game probably against Texas. The Crimson Tide must now get done what they could not get done last year, beat Florida. Their unbeaten string last year was snapped by Florida, and the Tide never recovered mentally or emotionally, losing to Utah 31-17 in the Sugar Bowl.
2) Florida (12-0) - Give the Gators credit. They went 8-0 to win the SEC East Division and went 12-0 on the season after sending in-state rival Florida State back home with a 37-10 loss. Florida will now face SEC West Division winner Alabama for the SEC title, and another shot at the national championship in a game probably against Texas. The Florida Gators are the defending national champions, having defeated Oklahoma 24-14 for the title last year.
3) Texas (12-0) - Give the Longhorns credit. They went 8-0 to win the Big 12 South Division and went 12-0 on the season by outlasting in-state rival Texas A&M, 49-39. Just win baby, just win, and Longhorns did. Texas will now face Big 12 North Division winner Nebraska (6-2 in conference and 9-3 overall) for the Big 12 title, and a shot at the national championship game against either Alabama or Florida. No one expects Nebraska to upset Texas, and if the Cornhuskers do, TCU would likely replace Texas in the national championship game.
4) Texas Christian (12-0) - Give the Horned Frogs credit. They went 8-0 to win the Mountain West Conference title, and 12-0 on the season by opening a can of whup-um on New Mexico, 51-10, to wrap up TCU's first undefeated regular season in 71 years. The Horned Frogs are now hoping that Nebraska does the impossible so their stock will rise. They will play in a BCS game, if not for all the marbles.
5) Cincinnati (11-0) - Still unbeaten after beating up Illinois 49-36 in a poor showing, and still must face a pretty good Pittsburgh team this week. The Panthers (9-2) catch Cincinnati at home and cannot wait to hand the Bearcats their first loss of the year. Cincinnati Coach Brian Kelly led the Bearcats to 10 wins in his first year, and 11 wins last year. He already has 11 more wins this year. Let's see, how does that counting go: 10, 11 and then 12. Be ready, Panthers, Bearcats are pretty scrappy too.
6) Boise State (12-0) - Still unbeaten after outscoring Nevada 44-33 in a poor showing, and now gets a cupcake pass against New Mexico State at home this week. Yikes, it is not a good week to be a 3-9 New Mexico State team. The Aggies have no, repeat no, chance to beat Boise State on their turf.
Note: There may never be another time in the next 50 years when 6 major college teams are still unbeaten at this point in the season.
7) Oregon (9-2) - Idle this week. The Ducks set themselves up to earn a Pac-10 title and Rose Bowl berth against Ohio State (10-2) if they beat the visiting Oregon State Beavers (8-3) in a winner-take-all Civil War showdown in Eugene. The up again-down again Oregon Ducks have only lost two away games—to 11-0 Boise State and 7-4 Stanford, and they have played the 5th toughest schedule in the country among 245 Division I teams.
8) Oregon State (8-3) - Idle this week. The Beavers have only lost to Cincinnati (10-0), USC (7-3) and Arizona (6-4), and have played the 28th toughest schedule in the country. The Oregon Ducks view the Oregon State Beavers as road kill. The Beavers, one of the dirtiest playing teams in college football, are hardly impressed; they plan to legally hurt a lot of Ducks while hunting for a Pac-10 title share and trip to the Rose Bowl to face Ohio State. Despite the Beavers' dirty, the advantage is to the Ducks.
9) Ohio State (10-2) - Won the Big Ten title outright. Next stop for the Buckeyes is the Rose Bowl against either Oregon or Oregon State.
10) Pittsburgh (9-2) - Managed to lose on-the-road to an 8-3 West Virginia team, 19-16, on a Mountaineer field goal as time ran out. Give West Virginia's defense some credit, they kept the Panthers out of the end zone on 5 Pittsburgh drives inside the Mountaineers' 30-yard line.
11) Penn State (10-2) - Idle this week. Just waiting to see if they get a bid to a BCS game. It is not a lock that the Nittany Lions will as they have played the second weakest schedule (85th) among Jeff Sagarin's top 35 teams. Only Boise State from the so-weak-my-grandmother-wails Western Athletic Conference (WAC) has played a weaker schedule (91st). This is why Cincinnati, if the Bearcats beat Pittsburgh, should get a BCS shot in front of unbeaten Boise State. Penn State's only two losses were to Ohio State and Iowa.
12) Iowa (10-2) - Idle this week. The Hawkeyes are waiting in prayer and supplication for a BCS bowl bid, which they may not get. Iowa's only two losses were to Ohio State and Northwestern; Iowa beat Penn State.
13) Brigham Young (10-2) - Beat a 9-3 Utah team 26-23 in overtime, became the runner-up to TCU in the Mountain West Conference race.
14) Houston (10-2) - Stomped a mud hole in in-state rival Rice, 73-14, to tie Southern Methodist (SMU) for the Conference USA West Division title at 6-2, and notch the Cougars' 10th win for the season. Since Houston beat SMU 38-15, they should face off against East Carolina (7-1 in conference and 8-4 overall) for the Conference USA championship. Houston has the nation's best scoring offense (45 ppg) and the 83rd best scoring defense among 120 major college teams.
15) LSU (9-3) - Beat Arkansas 33-30 in overtime. Waiting for a bowl bid. Finishes as runner-up to Alabama in the SEC West Division.
16) California (8-3) - Idle this week. Travels to Washington this week. The Bears, who have only lost to Oregon, Oregon State and Southern Cal, have played the 19th toughest schedule this year.
17) Georgia Tech (10-2) - Lost on-the-road to Georgia 30-24. Won the Atlantic Coast Conference's Coastal Division with a 7-1 mark, and will face Clemson, the ACC's Atlantic Division winner, for the ACC title. Played 17th toughest schedule.
18) Clemson (8-4) - Lost on-the-road to South Carolina 34-17 to end the year. Won the AAC's Atlantic Division with a 6-2 mark and will face Georgia Tech for the ACC title. Lost to Georgia Tech 30-27 in an away game during the regular season. The Tigers have played the 29th toughest schedule.
19) Utah (9-3) - Lost to Brigham Young (10-2), 26-23, in overtime. Finishes 3rd to TCU and BYU in the Mountain West Conference.
20) Virginia Tech (9-3) - Slammed in-state rival Virginia 42-13. Finishes as runner-up to Georgia Tech in the ACC's Coastal Division.
21) Miami Florida (9-3) - Pounded in-state rival Florida State and Bobby Bowden, 37-10.
22) Stanford (8-4) - Nipped Notre Dame 45-38. Could be the best 8-4 team in the country. Played the 16th toughest schedule in its climb back to national recognition. Recorded signature wins over Oregon (51-42) and Southern California (55-21).
23) Southern California (8-3) - Beat in-state rival UCLA 28-7. Ends season by hosting Arizona. Only losses were to Oregon, Stanford and Washington.
24) Central Michigan (10-2) - Turned back Northern Illinois, 45-31, to win the Mid American Conference West Division with an 8-0 mark and finish the season at 10-2. The Chippewas made some noise this year, and will face Ohio, the Mid American's East Division champion (7-1 in conference and 9-3 overall), for the Mid American Conference championship. Central Michigan played a far easier schedule than other teams in this Top 25 Poll, but did win 10 games.
25) Fill in your own favorite team. Doing my own Top 25 this season has been fun, but it has also been a lot of work. After pretty much staying out of trouble thus far, I noticed that last week I ranked Oklahoma State both 13th and 22nd. Mistakes can happen. In my defense, Oklahoma State promptly went out and was upset by in-state rival Oklahoma, 27-0. Clearly, my 22nd ranking for Oklahoma State was the more correct one.
Author Resource:
Check out "Ed Bagley's Top 25 Poll" for Week 13 and find out why honesty and a little humor makes reading Top 25 polls so much more enjoyable. "College Football Wrap-Up - Week 12 - In a Topsy-Turvy Season, Ohio State and Oregon Earn Big Victories to Stay on Top" http://www.edbagleyblog.com http://www.edbagleyblog.com/Sports.html
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