Week 9 College Football Newsletter

The Bonehead Call of the Week
I'm giving this to Steve Spurrier of the South Carolina Gamecocks. I give the guy kudos for making great halftime adjustments when down 21-0 to come back like they did in the second half, but have to question a call made early in the third quarter.Carolina drove down the field and when faced with a 4th and goal from the 8-yard line with over ten minutes left in the third quarter and down 21-0, Spurrier decided to go for it. The attempt failed and those were three points that got erased from the Gamecocks' scoreboard. As the score was tied 24 all at the end of regulation, those three points became very critical.I don't understand the logic to that decision. SC hadn't moved the ball in the first half and with over 25 minutes left in the game and down three touchdowns, Spurrier felt the need to go for 6. While every coach would prefer 6 to 3 in any scenario, in that type of situation, it's critical to come away with some (any) points, so that the offense is able to build some confidence and trim the gap. If the ball had been spotted at the 1 yard line, then I could understand Spurrier going for it, but a 4th and goal at the 8, following two very poorly thrown balls by quarterback Blake Mitchell? Not the wisest of moves by the Ol' Ball Coach, and it may have cost them dearly in the end.

The Bonehead Play of the Week
This goes to Virginia Tech receiver, Josh Morgan, for his muff of an onside kick against Boston College last Thursday night. Through the first fifty-seven minutes and forty-eight seconds, Boston College didn't score a point. After scoring a touchdown to trim the Hokies' lead to 10-7, BC was in desperate need of recovering an onside kick. That was their only chance at staying in or perhaps winning the game. The ball bounced right to Morgan. The guy had both hands on the football and let it squirt away from him. BC recovered and wound up winning the game 14-10.

The Bonehead Remark of the Week
This goes to Husker play-by-play man, Jim Rose. I had the...::gulp:: "honor" of listening to Rose via Sirius Satellite Radio on Saturday. For a little while there, I thought I was listening to a 13-year old boy who was in the midst of some major changes in his life. At halftime, Rose's voice squeaked away when reviewing the first half stats. What was the dumbest remark of them all (and believe me, there were plenty...just ask Matt Davison, who had to correct him a number of times)? At halftime, with Nebraska allowing over 200 yards of offense, Rose stated that in the first half, Nebraska's defense was dominant and flawless. Granted, Texas only had three points at the break and Nebraska played solid bend, but don't break defense, but it was by no means dominant and flawless. Compared to how their defense played in recent weeks, perhaps it was, but that's not saying much. When a pitcher throws four to five innings of one run baseball, while allowing seven hits and three walks in that time span, he's said to have scattered the base runners or pitched around his mistakes/wildness. But, for those that have watched baseball will know, it's very difficult for a pitcher to continue being successful at that clip for a full nine innings of work. If the same pitcher had thrown four to five shutout innings, while striking out seven and only allowing two hits and a walk, then we can say he was dominating for half of a game. But, when the pitcher is wild, making mistakes, forced to throw a lot of pitches, chances are he's going to fatigue as the game progresses and that the opposition will cash in at some point with the opportunities they're given.

Conference Breakdown
*indicates Division I-AA opponent

ACC
Florida State 25 Duke 6 (1-1)
Boston College 14 Virginia Tech 10 (2-2)
Clemson 30 Maryland 17 (3-3)
Wake Forest 37 North Carolina 10 (4-4)
North Carolina State 29 Virginia 24 (5-5)

Big East
West Virginia 31 Rutgers 3 (1-1)
Connecticut 22 South Florida 15 (2-2)
Louisville 24 Pittsburgh 17 (3-3)

Big Ten
Ohio State 37 Penn State 17 (1-1)
Michigan 34 Minnesota 10 (2-2)
Wisconsin 33 Indiana 3 (3-3)
Purdue 35 Northwestern 17 (4-4)
Iowa 34 Michigan State 27 2OT (5-5)
Illinois 28 Ball State 17 (6-5)

Big XII
Texas 28 Nebraska 25 (1-1)
Kansas 19 Texas A&M 11 (2-2)
Kansas State 51 Baylor 13 (3-3)
Missouri 42 Iowa State 28 (4-4)
Colorado 31 Texas Tech 26 (5-5)

Pac-10
Arizona 48 Washington 41 (1-1)
Washington State 27 UCLA 7 (2-2)
Oregon 24 USC 17 (3-3)
Oregon State 23 Stanford 6 (4-4)
Arizona State 31 California 20 (5-5)

SEC
Auburn 17 Mississippi 3 (1-1)
Georgia 42 Florida 30 (2-2)
Tennessee 27 South Carolina 24 OT (3-3)
Mississippi State 31 Kentucky 14 (4-4)
Arkansas 58 Florida International 10 (5-4)
Vanderbilt 24 Miami (Ohio) 13 (6-4)

A Tale of Two Weeks
Week 8: New Mexico State 45 Idaho 31 (+14)
Week 9: Hawaii 50 New Mexico State 13 (-37)
Margin Difference: 51 points

Week 8: Colorado State 48 UNLV 23 (+25)
Week 9: Utah 27 Colorado State 3 (-24)
Margin Difference: 49 points

Week 8: North Carolina State 34 East Carolina 20 (-14)
Week 9: East Carolina 41 UAB 6 (+35)
Margin Difference: 49 points

Week 8: Fresno State 30 San Jose State 0 (+30)
Week 9 Boise State 34 Fresno State 21 (-13)
Margin Difference: 43 points

Week 8: West Virginia 38 Mississippi State 13 (-25)
Week 9: Mississippi State 31 Kentucky 14 (+17)
Margin Difference: 42 points

The Conference Yo of the Week
Big XII. In the Big XII's five conference battles this past weekend, three were decided by a single possession, a heavy favorite won by just two scores, and there was only one bad game amongst the five. The reeling Nebraska Cornhuskers, losers of three straight, came into Austin and played the Longhorns very tough for three quarters, before falling 28-25 in the end. Colorado and Texas Tech battled for a full sixty, with the Buffs coming away with a 31-26 road upset victory. Kansas led 19-0 over Texas A&M at one point, but the Aggies refused to go away, closing the gap to 19-11 and having an opportunity on their final possession to tie the game with a touchdown and two-point conversion, before ultimately falling by that score. Heavily favored Missouri was given a tougher fight than expected from the 1-8 Iowa State Cyclones, needing all of that offensive firepower to come through in their 42-28 victory. Finally, Kansas State blew out Baylor 51-13 in what was the only lopsided affair over the weekend in the conference.

The Conference Yo No of the Week
Big Ten and SEC. I can't decide between the two, so I'll just compromise and pick them both. Of the five Big Ten conference games, three were very disappointing. Ohio State went into Happy Valley to face their toughest road test of the season thus far and they pounded the Nittany Lions into submission, 37-17. Purdue beat up on then 5-3 Northwestern by the final score of 35-17. Wisconsin blew out then 5-3 Indiana 33-3. These three games matched teams with winning records: 8-0 vs. 6-2, 6-2 vs. 5-3, and 6-2 vs. 5-3. On paper, those match-ups look pretty solid, but that was anything but the case, as the team with the better record in all three games outscored their opponent by the score of 105-37 (average of 35.0 - 12.3). In other Big Ten action, Iowa defeated the reeling Michigan State Spartans 34-27 in double overtime and Michigan overcame their first half struggles (they trailed 10-0 at one point) to defeat 1-8 Minnesota 34-10. In the only non-conference game, Illinois defeated Ball State 28-17.

There was one great game in the SEC, as Tennessee needed an extra session to defeat South Carolina 27-24. But, outside of that game and the intensity of Georgia's 42-30 win over Florida in the Swamp, the SEC didn't have a good week. Kentucky, who came into their game with Mississippi State at 6-2, got steamrolled by then 4-4 MSU, 31-14, where Andre' Woodson threw three interceptions. Auburn controlled the game against Mississippi, in their 17-3 win over the Rebels. The two non-conference wins weren't too impressive either. Vanderbilt beat the 4-5 Red Hawks of Miami (Ohio) 24-13 and Arkansas trampled on the now 0-20 Florida International Golden Panthers (0-8 this year), 58-10.

Game(s) of the Week
5. Iowa 34 Michigan State 27 2OT: The Hawkeye offense was only able to muster 6 points on Purdue's defense a couple weeks back. So, to say I was surprised by their offensive output is a drastic understatement. Was it an aberration or a sign of things to come? We shall see. But, at least on this past Saturday, Iowa's offense had it in them to stay in a ball game that was not of the low-scoring variety and deliver the final blow at the end.

4. Tennessee 27 South Carolina 24 OT: The two halves were like night and day for the two teams. Tennessee led 21-0, but in scoring 24 of the next 27 points, South Carolina sent the game to overtime. The Vols were held to a field goal and with all the momentum on SC's side, most had to figure the Gamecocks would score the winning touchdown in the first overtime. But, that wasn't the case. For one of the few times this year, Tennessee's defense stood up to the challenge, held SC to a field goal attempt, which went wide right (or left, depending on where you're sitting/standing).

3. Louisville 24 Pittsburgh 17: This game probably wasn't seen by many, but was one of the better back and forth battles of the weekend. Unlike the previous game, these two clubs swapped leads back and forth for the entire duration. Just a minute after Louisville took a 24-17 lead late in the 4th, Pitt drove down to the one-yard line and had their hearts broken, as freshman tailback McCoy coughed the ball up on a handoff and the Cardinals recovered. Louisville took three kneel downs and that was the ball game.

2. Boston College 14 Virginia Tech 10: This had to of been one of the odder games I've seen this year. Virginia Tech's defense seemed to be on their game all evening, as they pitched a shut-out of the #2 and unbeaten Golden Eagles for over 57 minutes of game-time. But, a touchdown, recovered onside kick, and another touchdown later, in the final 2:11 and the Eagles found some way to upend the Hokies 14-10.

1. Oregon 24 USC 17: Another Pac-10 gem, which featured Oregon's top-ranked offense against USC's third-ranked defense. While Dennis Dixon had a solid game at quarterback for the Ducks, it was the green and yellow's defense which really rose to the challenge on Saturday, winning the turnover battle, and limiting the Trojans to 17 points, capped off by a game-clinching interception of Mark Sanchez.

Disappointment(s) of the Week
West Virginia 31 Rutgers 3: While West Virginia has looked like their typical selves at times this season, their most quality road win of the year had been an early season 31-14 victory over Maryland (4-4). Rutgers came into the game at 5-2, including their upset win a week prior at home against the then unbeaten and 2nd ranked Bulls of South Florida. With this game being played at home for the Scarlet Knights, one could only hope/assume that this would be a quality Big East match-up. Not the case. It was over at about the 19:02 point of the first quarter. Pat White was spectacular and Rutgers laid a fat egg for their hometown fans.

Ohio State 37 Penn State 17: Penn State was 6-2 going into the game, beating Wisconsin by 31 and Indiana in their most recent efforts. A "White-Out" had been planned for the night game in Happy Valley, as the hometown Nittany Lions prepared to face the #1 team in the land, Ohio State. The game was solid for about a quarter and a half, but the Buckeyes dominated from that point forward. OSU's defense has received most of the credit by "experts" and analysts this season in conjunction with their success. But, their offense ran through PSU's defense like the Indianapolis Colts would when faced against the seven dwarves.

Kudos
I'm dishing out kudos to: Ron Zook, Tom O'Brien, and Marshall.

Zook received a job at Florida post-Spurrier that he was doomed to fail (just like anyone else). He was basically run out of Gainesville and landed a job in Champaign. As he had not proved himself to be a great coach while at Florida, Zook had plenty of skeptics when he arrived at Illinois and before this season, many of those skeptics saw Zook as a solid recruiter, but poor coach. The Illini have officially gotten over the hump in Zook's third season. With Illinois' 28-17 win this past Saturday over Ball State, the Illini are 6-3 and have officially become bowl eligible. With a game against Minnesota this weekend, the Illini look to win at least seven games in Zook's third season. For how down the program was prior to his arriving, that's a tremendous feat.

Tom O'Brien's new job as North Carolina State head coach got off to a rough start, as his Wolfpack started the season 1-5, with their only victory coming against I-AA Wofford. But, they beat their first I-A opponent two Saturdays ago in defeating East Carolina 34-20. This past Saturday, O'Brien earned his first ACC conference victory as the Wolfpack head coach, upsetting then 7-1 Virginia 29-24.

Before this past weekend, there were three winless teams left in I-A: Florida International, Marshall, and Utah State. We're now down to two, after Marshall beat Rice 34-21 to improve to 1-7 on the season. Congrats to Zook, O'Brien, and Marshall.

No Kudos
This goes to Virginia Tech defensive coordinator, Bud Foster. If not for the final 2:11 in their 14-10 loss to Boston College last Thursday, I may have given serious kudos to Foster for Tech's defensive performance.

Through BC's first 24:06 with the football, they ran a total of 55 plays for just 159 yards of offense (2.9 ypp). But, on their final two possessions, BC ran four minutes and five seconds off the clock in 16 plays for a total of 158 yards (9.9 ypp). What happened? The magic of Matt Ryan? Give me a break. The guy completed 25 of 52 passes (48.1%) for 285 yards (11.4 ypc and 5.5 ypa), 2 TD's and 2 INT's. BC was 4 for 16 on third down (25.0%). They were 0-1 on 4th down (0.0%). They racked up 32 rushing yards on 18 carries (1.8 ypc). So, what happened? Foster decided to exchange yardage for time. He was willing to give up 10 yards a pop on the final two drives to chew time off the clock. He only had three guys up front, didn't blitz the linebackers at all, and basically sat back in a prevent defense. Why, when a team is up two scores and having held the opposition scoreless and to 2.9 yards per play over the course of 55+ minutes, does the coordinator decide to alter what has worked throughout the game? This was like the direct opposite of what I and others have criticized the Huskers' Kevin Cosgrove of doing (not doing) this year. It's felt at times that when the original defensive strategy wasn't successful in the first half, Cosgrove stuck with that same strategy in the second half, not making any adjustments at halftime. In this scenario, Foster had everything working for him. His defense held BC's run game in check, pressured Matt Ryan into making some bad decisions, and VT's defense controlled the game due to this. So, what's he do? Makes adjustments. That old cliche' that the prevent defense only prevents teams from winning games again rung true in this one. One would think that coaches would've learned that by now.

Player of the Week
I'm splitting it this week between Pat White (QB - West Virginia) and Jamaal Charles (RB - Texas). White was sensational in his teams' 31-3 pounding of Rutgers and without Charles in the backfield, Texas would've fallen to Nebraska on Saturday.

White was 10-16 (62.5%) throwing the football for 144 yards (14.4 ypc and 9.0 ypa) and also ran the ball 22 times for 156 yards (7.1 ypc) and a touchdown. Rushing and passing, White totaled exactly 300 yards for the Mountaineers.

Charles was fairly quiet through three quarters against the Cornhuskers, but exploded for 216 yards and 3 scores in the 4th quarter of the Longhorns' 28-25 come-from-behind victory. Overall, he carried the ball 33 times for 290 yards (8.8 ypc) and 3 TD's. The 290 yards on the ground was the 4th highest total in Texas Longhorn history.

Surprise(s) of the Week
5. Georgia 42 Florida 30: I was not surprised by the intensity depicted by both teams in the game and would not have been surprised by a close game, but was very surprised to see Georgia mount 42 points against the Gators in the Swamp. I can't say I saw that coming.

4. Colorado 31 Texas Tech 26: Colorado appeared to be a completely different team at home than on the road. They got handled by Kansas State in Manhattan not long ago, but beat Oklahoma in Boulder. With this game in Lubbock and Tech needing to rebound from their embarrassing loss the week prior in Columbia, Missouri to the Tigers, I had a tough time seeing CU come away with this one.

3. Washington State 27 UCLA 7: In my weekly predictions, I picked UCLA, but will quote myself (can I do that?) in saying, "I'm nervous about this pick, but I'm going with the Bruins." So, no, I was not completely shocked at the Bruins' loss in Pullman, but look at the score. It wasn't even close. UCLA is 5-3 this year with those three losses coming to teams with a combined 11-15 record (.423) by a combined score of 91-19 (average of 30.3 - 6.3).

2. Mississippi State 31 Kentucky 14: Kentucky has fallen and fallen hard. After having to face South Carolina, LSU, and Florida in successive weeks, the Wildcats may have forgotten that Sylvester Croom's Bulldogs aren't a team to be taken lightly and MSU proved that in a big way on Saturday.

1. Delaware 59 Navy 52: Navy was 4-3 coming into the game and head coach Paul Johnson has guided this program into the proper direction over the past few years. How does any I-A program allow 59 points to Delaware? The loss drops the Midshipmen to an even 4-4 on the season with a 59-52 (regulation time) loss to ::gasp:: Delaware.

Nebraska Game (from an unbiased perspective)
Nebraska fans may as well refer to the Texas Longhorns as their heartbreakers, because for the second year in a row, Texas found a way to beat the Cornhuskers in the final quarter. While this past Saturday's game may not have been quite as dramatic a finish as last year's, when looking at it from another angle, it may have been even more difficult to swallow, for the simple fact that Nebraska led 17-3 in the second half and appeared to be in total control of the game.

Texas came in with a very odd gameplan, going up against what was the 105th ranked rush defense in the country. The 'Horns, with their shaky pass protection, decided to attack Nebraska's secondary for three quarters. Texas quarterback Colt McCoy got beaten around like Zac Taylor a couple years ago and not until the 4th quarter did Texas finally decide to run the ball against the Huskers...and run the ball they did. Running back Jamaal Charles ran for 216 of his 290 yards in the 4th quarter alone and 3 touchdowns in the final quarter en route to a 28-25 victory for the now 7-2 Longhorns.

Nebraska defensive coordinator Kevin Cosgrove was aggressive for a change and it paid off through three quarters, but as we've seen so many times, he has a great deal of trouble adapting and adjusting. Kudos to Cosgrove for getting after McCoy when he was in the pocket. The Texas gunslinger only completed 12 of 28 passes (42.9%) for 181 yards (15.1 ypc and 6.5 ypa) and 1 interception. But, when the 'Horns decided to run the football, this created enormous problems for Nebraska. McCoy ran the ball 11 times for 55 yards (5.0 ypc). Charles was the man on the day, carrying the ball 33 times for 290 yards (8.8 ypc) and 3 touchdowns, as Texas ran for a total of 364 yards on 48 carries (7.6 ypc) against NU on the afternoon.

To make matters worse for Nebraska, starting quarterback Sam Keller injured his shoulder in the final quarter and word has it that he will be out the remainder of the season. This will give Joe Ganz some playing time, which may be beneficial in the end, but for how set Bill Callahan was with Keller playing every down in NU's first eight games of the season, it may be a bit more difficult for Ganz and the rest of the offense to generate much chemistry right away. He did show some spark at the tail-end of the Texas game, however, so who knows.

Statistically on the afternoon, Nebraska fared well offensively, especially through three quarters. They converted 20 first downs on the afternoon, but were only 6-17 on third down (35.3%). Nebraska totaled 447 yards on the day, 315 through the air and 132 on the ground. They were penalized nine times for 59 yards, committed one turnover (lost fumble), and held onto the ball for 30:28.

Texas didn't fare as well in the passing game, but more than made up for it on the ground. The 'Horns converted 25 first downs on the afternoon, were 7-16 on third down (43.8%) and totaled 545 yards of offense - 181 through the air and 364 on the ground. They were penalized 3 times for 25 yards, committed one turnover (INT) and held onto the ball for 29:32.

Keller threw the ball well on the afternoon, completing 23 of 35 passes (65.7%) for 298 yards (13.0 ypc and 8.5 ypa) and a couple scores. Marlon Lucky was productive on the day, as well, as the tailback carried the ball 24 times for 111 yards (4.6 ypc) and made 6 catches for 41 additional yards (6.8 ypr). Eight different receivers caught passes on the afternoon, led by Nate Swift, who made six receptions for 112 yards (18.7 ypr) and two touchdowns.

For Texas, I already mentioned McCoy's and Charles' numbers. In addition to them, receiver Quan Cosby caught 5 balls for 113 yards (22.6 ypr). The 290 rush yards by Charles was a career high for the talented tailback and set an all-time record for a Nebraska opponent, breaking Billy Simms' (Oklahoma) record, as he ran for 247 against Nebraska in 1979.

The loss, being their fourth straight, dropped Nebraska down to 1-4 in conference and 4-5 overall. This marks the first time since 1961 that Nebraska has lost four straight games.

Up next on the slate is a game in Lawrence, Kansas, as Nebraska faces the 8-0 Jayhawks. Nothing's impossible, but I wouldn't place any bets on the Huskers in this one. Kansas rolled two years ago in Lawrence and made things very interesting last year in Lincoln. Unless Nebraska plays the game of the year or Kansas plays dead for a full game (not just three quarters), I look for the Jayhawks to send Nebraska back home with their fifth consecutive loss.

Here are Nebraska's team rankings going into this weekend's game, both on the national and the conference level. These rankings don't include Division I-A reclassifying school Western Kentucky, so the national rankings are out of a 119 team pool, as opposed to 120. Given that fact, check out Nebraska's rushing defense:

Sagarin: #65
CBS Sportsline: #71

Rushing offense: 149.44 (69th and 7th)
Passing offense: 275.33 (21st and 5th)
Pass efficiency: 136.32 (26th and 6th)
Total offense: 424.78 (36th and 7th)
Scoring offense: 26.44 (63rd and 9th)
Rushing defense: 242.56 (119th and 12th)
Pass defense: 224.56 (63rd and 4th)
Pass efficiency defense: 118.61 (46th and 5th)
Total defense: 467.11 (107th and 12th)
Scoring defense: 31.44 (91st and 10th)
Net punting: 37.88 (18th and 2nd)
Punt returns: 5.92 (104th and 11th)
Kickoff returns: 22.50 (49th and 6th)
Turnover margin: -1.00 (105th and 11th)
Sacks: 1.00 (112th and 12th)
Tackles for loss: 5.33 (t-93rd and t-10th)
Sacks allowed: 1.44 (t-29th and t-6th)
Schedule strength: 0.61290323 (15th and 3rd)

Solich Update
Frank Solich's Ohio Bobcats inched their way closer to the .500 mark with a big 38-27 road win against Bowling Green. The win improves the 'Cats to 2-3 in the MAC and 4-5 overall. Up next on the slate is a Friday night home game against 3-5 Temple, winners of three straight. With a win on Friday, Ohio will reach .500 both in conference and overall.

Gill Update
Turner Gill's stock is rising and rather quickly, as his Buffalo Bulls beat the Akron Zips 26-10 this past Saturday, improving the club to an astounding 4-1 in conference and 4-5 overall. This upcoming Saturday, Gill's Bulls face the Red Hawks in Miami, Ohio. If they win that game, they'll be at an unprecedented 5-1 in conference and an even 5-5 overall.

Harrell and Crabtree Watch
I think I officially jinxed Graham Harrell. In his first seven games of the season, Harrell threw 31 touchdown passes, while only being picked off three times. Now, in his past two games, he's thrown four touchdown passes and been intercepted eight times.

On Saturday against Colorado, Harrell was 46-62 (74.2%) for 431 yards (9.4 ypc and 7.0 ypa), throwing three touchdown passes and being picked off four times.

For the season, Harrell is now 348-478 (72.8%) for 3,979 yards (11.4 ypc and 8.3 ypa), 35 touchdown passes and 11 interceptions.

If he were to continue at this clip, Harrell would finish the season completing 464 of 637 pass attempts for 5,305 yards, 47 touchdowns and 15 interceptions.

Freshman wideout Michael Crabtree had another solid day's work against Colorado on Saturday. The phenom caught 12 passes for 131 yards (10.9 ypr) and a touchdown.

For the season, Crabtree has caught 100 balls for 1,451 yards (14.5 ypr) and 18 touchdowns.

If he were to continue at this pace, the freshman would catch 133 passes on the season for 1,935 yards and 24 touchdowns.

Crabtree is continuing to set records. With his touchdown catch against the Buffaloes, Crabtree now owns the all-time Big XII single season record for touchdown receptions with 18, passing Oklahoma State's Rashaun Woods from the 2002 season. Also, in catching 12 passes on Saturday, which gave him a total of 100 receptions on the season, Crabtree passed ex-Red Raiders' tailback, Taurean Henderson, with the most receptions in a single season by a player at the University. Henderson caught 98 balls in the 2002 season.

The outstanding wideout also received enormous praise by his cover man after the game on Saturday. Colorado cornerback Terrence Wheatley (senior) said this following the game, "I will be the first to say that he is the best receiver I've ever covered in my whole college career. Period. To me, he is the complete package. For a freshman, he has the mentality of an NFL guy."

Random Note of the Week
Miami (Florida), Florida State, and Florida are all 5-3, while Nebraska (Callahan), Ohio (Solich), and Buffalo (Gill) are all 4-5.

Predictions
Thursday
Virginia Tech at Georgia Tech: With quarterback Tyrod Taylor's health still in question and the Hokies coming off a devastating last minute (almost second) loss to Boston College at home this past Thursday, I think Tech will suffer from a big hang over on the road against the Yellow Jackets, who are well rested coming off a bye. Jackets at home in this one.
Georgia Tech 20 Virginia Tech 13

Friday
Temple at Ohio: Coming off a bye week and three consecutive victories, Temple seems primed and ready to make that four against the Bobcats. But, not so fast! After a big road win over Bowling Green this past weekend, Ohio's offense is rolling merrily along and should boost their club to an even conference and overall record with a home win against the Owls.
Ohio 31 Temple 24

Akron at Bowling Green: The Falcons seem to be an on and off type of team this year. Every other week, they put forth a solid effort in a convincing victory and the in-between weeks where they don't do such a thing, they fall flat on their noggins in a loss. Given that they lost 38-27 last Saturday at home to Ohio, they should bounce right back up in a victory over the Zips.
Bowling Green 28 Akron 17

Nevada at New Mexico State: Nevada's very young and inexperienced team is showing signs of improvement throughout the season, as with their convincing victory over Idaho this past weekend, the Wolfpack reached the .500 mark (4-4) for the first time this year. I look for them to continue the solid football against the Aggies, who are coming off a very embarrassing 50-13 loss to Hawaii.
Nevada 38 New Mexico State 31

Saturday
Iowa at Northwestern: ::rubs my eyes:: Wait a minute, Iowa scored 34 points last weekend? Is that right? I don't care if it was in double overtime. Seventeen points would be a lot in a double overtime game for these Hawkeyes. With the big win on Saturday, Kirk Ferentz's team has won two of there last three (against Illinois and Michigan State) and are one win away this Saturday from reaching the .500 mark at 5-5 and having a great chance at bowl eligibility. I look for their defense to continue playing stingy and look for their usually inept offense to actually score some points against the Wildcats' defense, which looks worse than Nebraska's on a fairly regular basis!
Iowa 24 Northwestern 17

Ball State at Indiana: The battle for Indiana. It's funny saying that, in knowing that Notre Dame resides there also. But, the 1-7 Irish have already been knocked out of potential bowl consideration, while 5-4 Ball State and 5-4 Indiana are both one win away from attaining bowl eligibility for themselves. With the game at home and led by stud quarterback Kellen Lewis, I look for the Hoosiers to finally earn bowl eligibility with a big win against the pesky Cardinals.
Indiana 34 Ball State 28

Clemson at Duke: Duke played well (for them) early in the season, but has sputtered as of late, while Clemson looked good last weekend against Maryland in their 30-17 win over the Terps. The Tigers should have no problems disposing of the Blue Devils in this one.
Clemson 42 Duke 14

Wisconsin at Ohio State: Wisconsin fell to Penn State 38-7 not long ago and Ohio State just disposed of the Nittany Lions in Happy Valley by the score of 37-17. The transitive property of multiplication may not always be efficient in the world of college football, but I have a difficult time believing it won't be in this case. Buckeyes big at home.
Ohio State 31 Wisconsin 13

Purdue at Penn State: The question I have is, how hung over will PSU be following their very disappointing loss at home to Ohio State last Saturday night? So long as it's only a slight hangover, I think they'll be able to defeat the Boilers in Happy Valley. Purdue's defense is anything but stellar and in the only two games this year where they played formidable opponents (Ohio State and Michigan), they were beaten by the combined score of 71-27.
Penn State 31 Purdue 21

Syracuse at Pittsburgh: The battle for the bottom of Big East. But, while Syracuse has illustrated that their big upset win over Louisville earlier this year was the epitome of a fluke, Pitt has shown some signs of improvement of late, as they beat Cincinnati two weeks ago 24-17 and lost a heart-breaker to Louisville this past weekend by the same score. At home, I like Pitt to win convincingly in this one to improve to 4-5 on the season and knock Syracuse mathematically out of bowl contention.
Pittsburgh 34 Syracuse 14

Wake Forest at Virginia: Virginia actually lost a close game last week, falling by five to NC State. They led 24-23 fairly late and if they had won by that tally, would've won three consecutive games by one point each. But, fortunately, that didn't occur. Now they have to square off with a 6-2 Wake Forest club who has gone 6-0 since their rough start without Riley Skinner at quarterback. I look for Wake to continue their run in Charlottesville, notching their seventh consecutive victory of the season.
Wake Forest 27 Virginia 24

North Carolina State at Miami (Florida): Tom O'Brien finally has something to smile about on the Wolfpack sideline, as his 3-5 club are winners of two straight, including their first conference win a week ago against then 7-1 Virginia. Unfortunately for them, they take that slight win streak to Miami, where the rested 'Canes will be ready.
Miami (Florida) 28 North Carolina State 20

Vanderbilt at Florida: The Gators are ticked and in the swamp, should dismantle the pesky Commodores. Vandy is just one win away from becoming bowl eligible, but I highly doubt that win will occur at the swamp.
Florida 41 Vanderbilt 17

Kansas State at Iowa State: K-State better not go into this game just expecting ISU to lay down and allow the Wildcats to walk all over them. While the Suckclones are 1-8 on the season, they've shown some signs of improvement, especially in the past two weeks, where they've fallen to 7-1 Oklahoma and 7-1 Missouri by the combined score of 59-35 (average of 29.5 - 17.5). I do expect K-State to win this one, but if they don't stay focused, ISU could make things interesting.
Kansas State 31 Iowa State 13

Nebraska at Kansas: Kansas head coach, Mark Mangino, has had Bill Callahan's number the past couple years. The Jayhawks routed the Huskers in Lawrence two years ago and took NU to overtime in Lincoln last year. With the game in Lawrence, KU at 8-0, and NU at 4-5 and reeling, I look for Mangino to again outcoach Callahan in a Jayhawks' victory.
Kansas 45 Nebraska 10

Troy at Georgia: This game tempts me. Why do I say that? Did anyone watch the Georgia/Florida game last weekend? That was intensity on the field if I ever saw it. With the 'Dawgs coming back home to supposedly "feast" on a Sun Belt opponent, I can easily see their club losing its intensity going into this game. Meanwhile, Troy is 6-2 and winners of six straight, including a blow-out win over 5-3 Oklahoma State. Their only two losses this year? A rather close loss to Arkansas and a loss to Florida, where they put up some points on the Gators' staunch defense. Georgia head coach, Mark Richt, may prove me wrong and may have his guys geared up just as much for this game as the one in Gainesville, but I'm guessing that's not going to happen and am picking the Trojans in a big upset.
Troy 31 Georgia 28

South Carolina at Arkansas: With South Carolina's defense being as quick and aggressive as it is and Arkansas' offense being as one-dimensional as it is, I'm going with the Gamecocks' bunch on the road to end their two-game losing skid.
South Carolina 24 Arkansas 20

East Carolina at Memphis: Due to ECU actually being a decent I-A team at 5-4, I don't see Memphis beating the Pirates. Memphis may be 4-4, but those wins have come against the likes of I-AA Jacksonville State and a 28-27 win over 2-6 Tulane this past Saturday. I look for ECU to become bowl eligible with a road conference win over the Tigers.
East Carolina 38 Memphis 21

Colorado State at BYU: Like I said last week, I'm giving up on CSU. They made me proud in their 27-3 loss to Utah. So, again, this week, I'm saying the exact same thing... I've officially given up on the Rams and am picking the Cougars to improve to 6-2 with the win.
BYU 34 Colorado State 17

Navy at Notre Dame: I can't believe I'm doing this. I can't believe I'm going to say this. But, this week, Mr. Lou Holtz, I'm picking your Irish. Navy lost 59-52 (in regulation) to I-AA Delaware this past Saturday. With that kind of defense, an offense even as porous as Notre Dame's should be able to score a few points.
Notre Dame 31 Navy 17

San Jose State at Boise State: Ian Johnson looks to be healthy and ready to go for Saturday's game and on the Blue Field, that's all BSU will need to trounce the Spartans.
Boise State 45 San Jose State 17

Buffalo at Miami (Ohio): Going into this one, both MAC schools are 4-5 with the winner evening their record at 5-5 and only needing to win one of two games to become bowl eligible. With Buffalo at 4-1 in conference going into this game and coming off an impressive sixteen point victory over Akron, I look for the Bulls to improve to 5-1 in the MAC and 5-5 overall.
Buffalo 31 Miami (Ohio) 24

Texas Tech at Baylor: Red Raiders' quarterback, Graham Harrell, has struggled in his past two games (both losses), tossing eight interceptions. He had thrown just three in Tech's first seven games of the season. But, Baylor is just what the young lad needed to get back on track. Look for a lot of offense in this one (from Mike Leach's squad). Tech wins big.
Texas Tech 52 Baylor 20

UTEP at Rice: Mike Price and his gang should have enough potency on offense to counter Rice's option attack. UTEP improves to 5-4 with the win.
UTEP 38 Rice 24

Florida International at Arkansas State: How could anyone pick a team that has gone 0-20 in the past couple seasons? On that note, I'm taking Arkansas State, who hasn't played well of late, but that's not even of relevance with their opponent being who it is.
Arkansas State 35 Florida International 7

UCLA at Arizona: UCLA is one team I cannot figure out. They can beat the big boys (USC, Cal, etc.), but not the less than stellar teams (Utah, Notre Dame, Washington State). They've gone 3-1 against teams with .500 or better records and 2-2 against teams with below .500 marks. With injury problems on the offensive side of the ball and taking on a Wildcats' club, 3-6 and in desperate need of another win, in Tucson, I am going with Mike Stoops' club to win their second straight.
Arizona 27 UCLA 20

Cincinnati at South Florida: These two clubs started the year at 12-0, but are 0-4 since that electric start. Cincy fell to Louisville by 4 and Pittsburgh by 7 before a bye week allowed them to recover some this past Saturday. USF fell to Rutgers by 3 and then UConn by 7 this past Saturday. With the game at home and thinking they finally got over their week long hangover, I'm picking the Bulls in a close one.
South Florida 24 Cincinnati 17

Michigan at Michigan State: MSU has another Spartan collapse on their hands, as they fell to 5-4 last Saturday with a 34-27 loss to Iowa in double overtime. The Wolverines are going the direct opposite route, as they've won seven straight since starting the year 0-2. Unless Mr. Dantonio of MSU has some magic up his sleeve for Saturday, I expect his club to fall to 5-5 on the season.
Michigan 38 Michigan State 24

Texas at Oklahoma State: The key to stopping Texas is to limit the running game of Jamaal Charles and force Colt McCoy to throw under duress. The 'Horns' line is weak and if OSU can pressure the Texas QB, they will force some critical mistakes. While I don't think OSU is anything special, I do think they are a different club in Stillwater than they are regularly, think they have an explosive offense, and believe Texas to not be as good as their record indicates. Keeping all those things in mind, I'm going with the Cowboys in the upset.
Oklahoma State 31 Texas 27

Army at Air Force: The worst of the three academies against the best of the three...at home, nonetheless. Hmmm... Decisions. Decisions.
Air Force 27 Army 13

Marshall at Central Florida: Outside of a 3-point loss at home to Texas, UCF has dominated their opposition at home this year and I see this game as being no different with the 1-7 Thundering Herd coming to town.
Central Florida 48 Marshall 17

Maryland at North Carolina: This is a dangerous game for Ralph Friedgen's club, but at 4-4 and with his club in jeopardy of not going bowling, I look for the Terps to be extra focused on the road in this one. Maryland improves to 5-4 with a rather tough road win (against a decent 2-6 club, if there is such a thing).
Maryland 27 North Carolina 21

Louisiana-Lafayette at Tennessee: While I look for one Sun Belt team (Troy) to upset an SEC club (Georgia) on the road (Athens) this weekend, I'm not seeing this Sun Belt over SEC upset develop at all. Tennessee rolls.
Tennessee 55 Louisiana-Lafayette 10

Louisiana Tech at Idaho: The Bulldogs of Louisiana Tech improved to 3-5 after their road win against Utah State this past weekend and they're one two-point conversion away from being 4-4 on the year. They took unbeaten Hawaii to overtime and in the first overtime session, after giving up a touchdown and extra point to the Warriors, Tech decided to go for two after their score and failed. They're better than that record indicates. On the other side, Idaho may be better than their 1-8 record indicates, but what's that saying? Bulldogs improve to 4-5 on the season.
Louisiana Tech 34 Idaho 24

Utah State at Fresno State: Fresno better not sleep on this game as they did last year. Utah State may be 0-8 this season, but who did they last beat in conference? These same Fresno State Bulldogs. Fresno may be slightly vulnerable following their disappointing home loss to Boise State this past Friday night, but even then, I'm thinking they're too talented for Utah State to upset again. Fresno becomes bowl eligible with the win.
Fresno State 38 Utah State 17

LSU at Alabama: I've already picked Georgia and Texas to go down this week. Well, guess what? I'm picking more of the same here. That's right, I'm taking the Crimson Tide over LSU. Both clubs are coming off bye weeks and should be well rested for Nick Saban's first game as Tide head coach against his former club. Prior to the bye, 'Bama annihilated Tennessee 41-17 and LSU has been anything but top five like in recent weeks. They're fortunate not to have three losses at this juncture. With the game in Tuscaloosa, I see them getting to be one step closer to that feat as they lose their second of the season.
Alabama 27 LSU 24

New Mexico at TCU: The Horned Frogs received a lot of hype pre-season and were predicted by some to be this year's Boise State - a mid-major school who runs the table and earns a BCS bowl bid. Through eight games, the Horned Frogs are 4-4 and in need of winning two of their final four games just become bowl eligible. After this loss, they'll need to win two of three, as I see the streaking 6-2 Lobos winning on the road.
New Mexico 24 TCU 17

Washington at Stanford: The Huskies have officially forgotten how to win. After starting the year 2-0, including an upset win over Boise State, Washington has lost six straight, with their 48-41 loss to Arizona this past weekend. Given that they're young and talented on the offensive side of the ball and given that they've played the second toughest schedule of any college team thus far, I'm going to pick UW to win on the road and earn their third victory of the season.
Washington 31 Stanford 24

Missouri at Colorado: While Colorado is a tough opponent this season, especially in Boulder, I have a hard time believing they'll beat the 7-1 Missouri Tigers. If CU's offense plays inspired football, then they have a great chance to make this one interesting and to perhaps even pull off the upset, but their offense has been too inconsistent for me to believe that'll happen on Saturday.
Missouri 31 Colorado 20

Arizona State at Oregon: Whomever was at home in this one, I'd go with that team. With the game being played in Eugene, Oregon, I have to go with the Ducks in one of the biggest games of the season thus far.
Oregon 31 Arizona State 24

Southern Mississippi at UAB: How do I put this after seeing the Blazers fall 41-6 to East Carolina this past Saturday? UAB - they're, they're not good. Southern Miss should be able to bounce back from a disappointing Sunday night showing to upend the two-win club from Birmingham, Alabama.
Southern Mississippi 31 UAB 10

Middle Tennessee at Louisiana-Monroe: No Sun Belt team (outside of perhaps Troy) wants a piece of the Blue Raiders right now. The 4-5 club has won four of their past five, after starting the year 0-4. Monroe could make it somewhat interesting for a half or so, but I look for MTSU to pull away in the 3rd and 4th quarters.
Middle Tennessee 35 Louisiana-Monroe 21

Eastern Michigan at Toledo: Toledo looked awful early in the season, but at 4-5 and coming off their most impressive outing to date, a 70-21 shellacking of Northern Illinois, I look for the Rockets to pull even with a home win against the pesky Eagles.
Toledo 35 Eastern Michigan 24

Rutgers at Connecticut: That's it. I'm done (for now) picking against UConn. Ray Rice will probably prove me wrong, but for now, I'm going to give the Huskies some credit and am taking them to win another nail-biter at home (without "Official" aid this time).
Connecticut 24 Rutgers 20

Tulsa at Tulane: Tulsa has not played too well in recent weeks, but still has a 5-3 record to show for it. Tulane, on the other hand, hasn't played well at all and has a 2-6 record to show for their efforts (or lack there of). I'll go with the 5-3 over the 2-6.
Tulsa 38 Tulane 24

Oregon State at USC: The Beavers upset USC just a season ago and in winning three straight and playing their best ball of the season, have a golden opportunity to do so again this year. But, with the game at the Coliseum and Pete Carroll losing his vocal cords by week's end due to their 24-17 loss to Oregon on Saturday, I look for the Trojans to bounce back and win another tightly-knit Pac-10 battle.
USC 27 Oregon State 20

Florida State at Boston College: I'd be tempted to go with the 'Noles if the game were in Tallahassee, but with it being a home game for BC, I have a difficult time in picking the very inconsistent Seminoles over the 8-0 Eagles.
Boston College 24 Florida State 17

Illinois at Minnesota: Minnesota played Michigan tough for a half last weekend, before falling apart in the second half. Look for more of the same this weekend, as the GO-phers play the Illini tough for a quarter or two, before Juice Williams and Rashad Mendenhall trample the GO-phers defense.
Illinois 31 Minnesota 17

Texas A&M at Oklahoma: With the week off last Saturday to rest and with the game in Norman, I have a difficult time seeing A&M upset the Sooners. OU wins fairly comfortable in this one.
Oklahoma 27 Texas A&M 13

Wyoming at San Diego State: The 5-3 Cowboys are one win away from becoming bowl eligible. They won't have to wait long as they should win this one on the road to improve to 6-3 on the season.
Wyoming 28 San Diego State 17

Washington State at California: After starting the year 5-0, Cal has lost three straight by a combined 21 points to clubs with 18-6 record. Lucky for them, this game is at home and against a 3-5 opponent. The Bears should have no problem winning this one to end their woes and become bowl eligible.
California 31 Washington State 14

Sunday
SMU at Houston: Houston will score and score a lot at home in their big win over SMU to push them to six wins on the year.
Houston 41 SMU 24

Ineligible Games
Northwestern State at Mississippi
Western Kentucky at Chattanooga
Tennessee Tech at Auburn

Week 9 Record: 34-17 (.667)
Overall Record: 287-130 (.688)

Fact or Fiction
"Fact or Fiction: Is Hawaii this year's Boise State?"

Fiction. Going into their game on November 10th against Fresno State, Hawaii will be looking to go 9-0, with just three games remaining. Since they're from the WAC (or just a mid-major conference, in general) and have an opportunity to go 12-0 and play in a BCS bowl game, comparisons will undoubtedly be made (they already have been...) between Hawaii of this year and Boise State of last year. While there are some black-and-white similarities between the two clubs, the differences far outweigh the similarities.

Through eight games this season, Hawaii has yet to face a team with a winning record. If one were to look at their whole schedule from game one through twelve, at this current juncture, only two teams have winning records (Fresno State and Boise State) and one club is at .500 (Nevada). The rest of the opponents are below .500. The Warriors have already faced two Division I-AA teams in Northern Colorado and Charleston Southern. They've squared off against one of the two remaining winless teams in Utah State. UNLV is 2-7, Idaho is 1-8. Their top three opponents thus far have been 3-5 Louisiana Tech/San Jose State and 4-5 New Mexico State (two of the Aggies' wins are also against I-AA competition). Thus far, the Warriors' opponents are a nation worst 13-56 (.188). Their four remaining opponents are a combined 18-14 (.563). Even adding in their remaining opponents' records, Hawaii's opposition has a 31-70 (.307) record. Even with this sad schedule, Hawaii has needed an extra session (aka overtime) to win two of their games - a 45-44 win over 3-5 Louisiana Tech and a 42-35 win over 3-5 San Jose State. They've given up an average of just over 21 points a game to eight teams with a total of 13 wins. What the Warriors have pulling in their favor right now is the fact three of their final four games are at home, with their only away game coming against 4-4 Navy, with 5-3 Fresno State, 7-1 Boise State, and 2-6 Washington visiting Hawaii.

Sure, the unblemished 8-0 record is impressive and if they go 12-0, they should be rewarded for their efforts, but even if they finish the season undefeated (including a bowl win), I don't think we can state that they're just as good a team as Boise State from last year.

Last year, in Boise's 13 games, they faced seven teams with a .500 record or better (six with a winning record). Their only overtime affair was in their 43-42 bowl victory over then #11 and 11-2 Oklahoma. They also beat 10-4 Oregon State by four touchdowns at 42-14 (after falling behind 14-0 early in the contest), beat the 6-6 and pesky Wyoming Cowboys 17-10, defeated 11-3 Hawaii 41-34, 8-5 Utah by the score of 36-3, Dick Tomey's 9-4 San Jose State Spartans 23-20, and the 8-5 Nevada Wolfpack 38-7. If the Warriors go on to beat 3-4 teams with a .500+ record for the season, that'd be quite a feat for them. These bowl-worthy programs that BSU faced had a combined record of 63-30 (.677) and 57-24 (.704) if you exclude 6-6 Wyoming. Overall, BSU's opponents were 79-75 (.513) excluding the one Division I-AA team they faced, Sacramento State. Even if one includes them, their 13 opponents combined to go just a few games under the .500 mark. That won't even be close to possible for Hawaii this season. For the most part, the Broncos dominated the opposition last year. Outside of the one-point overtime win against Oklahoma, the three-point win over San Jose State, and the two seven-point wins over the likes of Hawaii and Wyoming, BSU's closest game was a 12-point win over New Mexico State.

While Hawaii's 8-0 mark is unblemished, so one can't critique them on a loss, one also can't justifiably state that these Warriors are the Boise State of this season, because even if they go on to finish the year 13-0 with a BCS bowl victory, the Warriors' resume' still won't be nearly as impressive this year as Boise State's was last year.

Inside the Numbers
-Ray Rice ran for 142 yards on 30 carries against West Virginia on Saturday, becoming the first back of the season to rush for over 100 yards against the Mountaineers' defense and in so doing, broke Rutgers' all-time record for most 100-yard rushing games with 20, breaking J.J. Jennings' (1971-1973) record of 19.

-Many firsts were made in Delaware's 59-52 win over Navy on Saturday. It marked the first time Delaware had scored 59 points since their 59-42 victory over Villanova on November 18th of 2000. The 59 points also marked the most that Navy's allowed since their 65-19 loss to North Carolina State in 2002. In a game which Navy was present, the 111 combined points were the most since 1919, when Navy beat Colby 121-0.

-Washington quarterback, John Locker, set career highs in both rushing and passing yards in Washington's 48-41 loss to Arizona over the weekend. Locker was 17-30 through the air for 336 yards, 2 touchdowns and 2 interceptions. He also carried the ball 23 times for 157 yards and two more scores.

-Connecticut's 22-15 win over #10 South Florida on Saturday marked the first time that UConn has beaten a ranked opponent in their short Division I-A history.

-With Kansas' 19-11 win over Texas A&M on Saturday, the Jayhawks improved to 8-0 on the season, the first time that's happened since 1909.

Rant of the Week: Heisman Hype
The Heisman hype at this point of the season doesn't fluster me as much as before the season even begins, but on a weekly basis, announcers and analysts love to use hyperbolic language to grab the viewers' interest, by saying so and so is now the Heisman front runner or such and such has officially knocked themselves out of the race.There was some chatter about Boston College quarterback Matt Ryan following BC's comeback win over Virginia Tech last Thursday night. Some commentators wanted to claim that due to his heroics at the end, Ryan pushed himself up to the very top of the Heisman leaderboard. The guy completed less than 50% of his passes, was picked off two times and generated less than 160 yards in offense through the first 55 minutes of the game. That's a Heisman-sealing performance? Some were writing off Michigan tailback Mike Hart following the Wolverines' 0-2 start to the season. Some also wrote off Mountaineers' star quarterback Pat White and tailback Steve Slaton after West Virginia lost to South Florida. Andre' Woodson of Kentucky, Tim Tebow of Florida, Colt Brennan of Hawaii, Brian Brohm of Louisville, Graham Harrell of Texas Tech, Matt Grothe of South Florida, Dennis Dixon of Oregon, DeSean Jackson of California, and others have all either been heralded as the leader in the Heisman race at some point in the season or crossed off the Heisman hopefuls' list. Only two players on the five unbeaten teams are even being discussed as Heisman possibles in Matt Ryan of Boston College and Colt Brennan of Hawaii. None of those players have been steady throughout the season. Ryan was shaky against Virginia Tech and outside of Tech, hasn't faced any stingy defense. Hart has been banged up off and on. The same goes for White. Slaton hasn't been a dominant presence consistently and has too battled some injuries. Woodson has struggled against quality competition (outside of the LSU game). Tebow has been inconsistent against solid opponents. Brennan was picked off 9 times in the span of two games against teams with a combined 4-13 record. Jackson's Cal Bears have already lost three games and Jackson's disappearance on offense and special teams played a role in a couple of those losses, Brohm's Louisville Cardinals are struggling to become bowl eligible, Harrell has thrown 8 interceptions in his past two games. The steadiest of the group might be Dennis Dixon of Oregon.Unlike last year with Heisman winner Troy Smith of the undefeated Ohio State Buckeyes, there is not one player that has stood out from the rest this year. While one week could hypothetically make or break their Heisman campaign, just as likely if not more likely than that is the possibility that one week won't make or break that campaign. So please, let's quit overexaggerating our claims that one player or another has officially either earned themselves a trip to New York or a trip to the boobtube to spectate the evening's festivities. This year of all years, we should know that nothing is a certainty.

Top 120 Poll
1. Kansas (8-0): 292.3
2. Arizona State (8-0): 286.9
3. Ohio State (9-0): 286.4
4. LSU (7-1): 283.3
5. Oregon (7-1): 280.0
6. Boston College (8-0): 279.9
7. Oklahoma (7-1): 272.3
8. West Virginia (7-1): 270.3
9. Hawaii (8-0): 257.8
10. Boise State (7-1): 255.6
11. Connecticut (7-1): 254.9
12. Missouri (7-1): 253.5
13. South Florida (6-2): 245.2
14. Texas (7-2): 238.3
15. Purdue (7-2): 236.9
16. Alabama (6-2): 235.8
17. Clemson (6-2): 235.5
18. Georgia (6-2): 235.0
19. Florida (5-3): 234.8
20. Michigan (7-2): 234.2
21. Virginia Tech (6-2): 234.0
22. Auburn (6-3): 230.0
23. Wake Forest (6-2): 229.0
24. Penn State (6-3): 228.9
25. Cincinnati (6-2): 228.4
25. Virginia (7-2): 228.4
27. New Mexico (6-2): 226.2
28. Wisconsin (7-2): 224.9
29. Kansas State (5-3): 222.7
30. Kentucky (6-3): 222.0
31. Illinois (6-3): 221.4
32. BYU (5-2): 220.6
33. USC (6-2): 218.6
34. Texas A&M (6-3): 217.8
35. California (5-3): 216.9
36. Tennessee (5-3): 215.9
37. Oklahoma State (5-3): 215.2
38. Georgia Tech (5-3): 214.9
39. Troy (6-2): 214.8
40. South Carolina (6-3): 214.6
41. Rutgers (5-3): 211.9
42. Texas Tech (6-3): 211.4
43. Oregon State (5-3): 209.8
44. Florida State (5-3): 209.2
45. Colorado (5-4): 206.4
46. Air Force (6-3): 206.0
47. Central Florida (5-3): 205.4
47. Wyoming (5-3): 205.4
49. Arkansas (5-3): 205.1
50. Utah (6-3): 200.6
51. Vanderbilt (5-3): 200.5
52. Fresno State (5-3): 199.0
53. UCLA (5-3): 197.1
54. Michigan State (5-4): 196.8
55. Houston (5-3): 196.6
56. Louisville (5-4): 193.8
57. Miami (Florida) (5-3): 191.1
58. Tulsa (5-3): 189.7
59. Mississippi State (5-4): 189.5
60. Ball State (5-4): 189.3
61. East Carolina (5-4): 188.6
62. Maryland (4-4): 182.7
63. Indiana (5-4): 181.2
64. Northwestern (5-4): 177.5
65. Nebraska (4-5): 177.4
66. Western Kentucky (5-3): 176.8
67. Central Michigan (5-4): 176.2
68. UTEP (4-4): 173.5
69. TCU (4-4): 173.2
70. Bowling Green (4-4): 166.6
71. Middle Tennessee State (4-5): 163.4
72. Navy (4-4): 162.6
73. Iowa (4-5): 161.9
74. Stanford (3-5): 160.9
75. North Carolina State (3-5): 160.4
76. Washington State (3-5): 155.4
77. Southern Mississippi (4-4): 155.1
78. Florida Atlantic (4-4): 154.7
79. Pittsburgh (3-5): 154.3
80. Buffalo (4-5): 153.7
81. Nevada (4-4): 152.7
82. Washington (2-6): 151.4
83. Miami (Ohio) (4-5): 149.4
84. New Mexico State (4-5): 147.1
85. Ohio (4-5): 146.6
86. Akron (3-5): 146.3
87. Toledo (4-5): 145.1
88. Arkansas State (3-5): 140.7
89. Army (3-5): 140.1
90. Arizona (3-6): 139.6
91. Louisiana Tech (3-5): 138.4
92. Louisiana-Monroe (3-5): 137.3
93. Memphis (4-4): 136.8
94. North Carolina (2-6): 135.1
95. Temple (3-5): 133.7
96. Mississippi (2-7): 131.2
97. San Jose State (3-5): 130.1
98. Baylor (3-6): 129.8
99. Western Michigan (3-6): 129.2
100. Kent State (3-6): 127.6
101. San Diego State (2-5): 126.4
102. Eastern Michigan (3-6): 123.1
103. UNLV (2-7): 121.6
104. Duke (1-7): 114.5
105. Notre Dame (1-7): 113.5
106. Syracuse (2-6): 112.6
107. UAB (2-6): 105.7
108. Tulane (2-6): 103.4
109. Minnesota (1-8): 98.1
110. Colorado State (1-7): 96.0
111. Marshall (1-7): 86.6
112. Iowa State (1-8): 86.5
113. SMU (1-7): 80.2
114. Louisiana-Lafayette (1-7): 76.6
115. Idaho (1-8): 76.4
116. Rice (1-7): 75.2
117. Utah State (0-8): 71.5
118. North Texas (1-7): 70.8
119. Northern Illinois (1-8): 63.9
120. Florida International (0-8): 60.4

Conference Strength

Mean Power Number
1. SEC: 216.5
2. Big XII: 210.3
3. Big East: 208.9
4. Big Ten: 204.4
5. Pac-10: 201.7
6. ACC: 201.2
7. MWC: 175.1
8. WAC: 158.7
9. Independents: 148.3
10. MAC: 142.4
11. C-USA: 141.4
12. Sun Belt: 127.3

Mean Ranking
1. SEC: 36.7
2. Big XII: 41.3
3. Big East: 42.4
4. Big Ten: 44.0
5. ACC: 47.2
6. Pac-10: 49.3
7. MWC: 65.0
8. WAC: 72.9
9. Independents: 83.0
10. C-USA: 84.5
11. MAC: 87.2
12. Sun Belt: 90.0

Median Power Number
1. Big Ten: 221.4
2. Big East: 220.2
3. SEC: 219.0
4. Big XII: 216.5
5. ACC: 212.1
6. Pac-10: 203.5
7. MWC: 200.6
8. Independents: 151.4
9. WAC: 147.1
10. MAC: 146.3
11. C-USA: 146.0
12. Sun Belt: 139.0

Median Ranking
1. Big Ten: 31.0
2. Big East: 33.0
2. SEC: 33.0
4. Big XII: 35.5
5. ACC: 41.0
6. Pac-10: 48.0
7. MWC: 50.0
8. Independents: 80.5
9. WAC: 84.0
10. C-USA: 85.0
11. MAC: 86.0
12. Sun Belt: 90.0

ACC (12)
6. Boston College (8-0): 279.9
17. Clemson (6-2): 235.5
21. Virginia Tech (6-2): 234.0
23. Wake Forest (6-2): 229.0
25. Virginia (7-2): 228.4
38. Georgia Tech (5-3): 214.9
44. Florida State (5-3): 209.2
57. Miami (Florida) (5-3): 191.1
62. Maryland (4-4): 182.7
75. North Carolina State (3-5): 160.4
94. North Carolina (2-6): 135.1
104. Duke (1-7): 114.5

Mean Power Number: 201.2
Mean Ranking: 47.2
Median Power Number: 212.1
Median Ranking: 41.0

Big East (8)
8. West Virginia (7-1): 270.3
11. Connecticut (7-1): 254.9
13. South Florida (6-2): 245.2
25. Cincinnati (6-2): 228.4
41. Rutgers (5-3): 211.9
56. Louisville (5-4): 193.8
79. Pittsburgh (3-5): 154.3
106. Syracuse (2-6): 112.6

Mean Power Number: 208.9
Mean Ranking: 42.4
Median Power Number: 220.2
Median Ranking: 33.0

Big Ten (11)
3. Ohio State (9-0): 286.4
15. Purdue (7-2): 236.9
20. Michigan (7-2): 234.2
24. Penn State (6-3): 228.9
28. Wisconsin (7-2): 224.9
31. Illinois (6-3): 221.4
54. Michigan State (5-4): 196.8
63. Indiana (5-4): 181.2
64. Northwestern (5-4): 177.5
73. Iowa (4-5): 161.9
109. Minnesota (1-8): 98.1

Mean Power Number: 204.4
Mean Ranking: 44.0
Median Power Number: 221.4
Median Ranking: 31.0

Big XII (12)
1. Kansas (8-0): 292.3
7. Oklahoma (7-1): 272.3
12. Missouri (7-1): 253.5
14. Texas (7-2): 238.3
29. Kansas State (5-3): 222.7
34. Texas A&M (6-3): 217.8
37. Oklahoma State (5-3): 215.2
42. Texas Tech (6-3): 211.4
45. Colorado (5-4): 206.4
65. Nebraska (4-5): 177.4
98. Baylor (3-6): 129.8
112. Iowa State (1-8): 86.5

Mean Power Number: 210.3
Mean Ranking: 41.3
Median Power Number: 216.5
Median Ranking: 35.5

C-USA (12)
47. Central Florida (5-3): 205.4
55. Houston (5-3): 196.6
58. Tulsa (5-3): 189.7
61. East Carolina (5-4): 188.6
68. UTEP (4-4): 173.5
77. Southern Mississippi (4-4): 155.1
93. Memphis (4-4): 136.8
107. UAB (2-6): 105.7
108. Tulane (2-6): 103.4
111. Marshall (1-7): 86.6
113. SMU (1-7): 80.2
116. Rice (1-7): 75.2

Mean Power Number: 141.4
Mean Ranking: 84.5
Median Power Number: 146.0
Median Ranking: 85.0

Independents (4)
66. Western Kentucky (5-3): 176.8
72. Navy (4-4): 162.6
89. Army (3-5): 140.1
105. Notre Dame (1-7): 113.5

Mean Power Number: 148.3
Mean Ranking: 83.0
Median Power Number: 151.4
Median Ranking: 80.5

MAC (13)
60. Ball State (5-4): 189.3
67. Central Michigan (5-4): 176.2
70. Bowling Green (4-4): 166.6
80. Buffalo (4-5): 153.7
83. Miami (Ohio) (4-5): 149.4
85. Ohio (4-5): 146.6
86. Akron (3-5): 146.3
87. Toledo (4-5): 145.1
95. Temple (3-5): 133.7
99. Western Michigan (3-6): 129.2
100. Kent State (3-6): 127.6
102. Eastern Michigan (3-6): 123.1
119. Northern Illinois (1-8): 63.9

Mean Power Number: 142.4
Mean Ranking: 87.2
Median Power Number: 146.3
Median Ranking: 86.0

MWC (9)
27. New Mexico (6-2): 226.2
32. BYU (5-2): 220.6
46. Air Force (6-3): 206.0
47. Wyoming (5-3): 205.4
50. Utah (6-3): 200.6
69. TCU (4-4): 173.2
101. San Diego State (2-5): 126.4
103. UNLV (2-7): 121.6
110. Colorado State (1-7): 96.0

Mean Power Number: 175.1
Mean Ranking: 65.0
Median Power Number: 200.6
Median Ranking: 50.0

Pac-10 (10)
2. Arizona State (8-0): 286.9
5. Oregon (7-1): 280.0
33. USC (6-2): 218.6
35. California (5-3): 216.9
43. Oregon State (5-3): 209.8
53. UCLA (5-3): 197.1
74. Stanford (3-5): 160.9
76. Washington State (3-5): 155.4
82. Washington (2-6): 151.4
90. Arizona (3-6): 139.6

Mean Power Number: 201.7
Mean Ranking: 49.3
Median Power Number: 203.5
Median Ranking: 48.0

SEC (12)
4. LSU (7-1): 283.3
16. Alabama (6-2): 235.8
18. Georgia (6-2): 235.0
19. Florida (5-3): 234.8
22. Auburn (6-3): 230.0
30. Kentucky (6-3): 222.0
36. Tennessee (5-3): 215.9
40. South Carolina (6-3): 214.6
49. Arkansas (5-3): 205.1
51. Vanderbilt (5-3): 200.5
59. Mississippi State (5-4): 189.5
96. Mississippi (2-7): 131.2

Mean Power Number: 216.5
Mean Ranking: 36.7
Median Power Number: 219.0
Median Ranking: 33.0

Sun Belt (8)
39. Troy (6-2): 214.8
71. Middle Tennessee State (4-5): 163.4
78. Florida Atlantic (4-4): 154.7
88. Arkansas State (3-5): 140.7
92. Louisiana-Monroe (3-5): 137.3
114. Louisiana-Lafayette (1-7): 76.6
118. North Texas (1-7): 70.8
120. Florida International (0-8): 60.4

Mean Power Number: 127.3
Mean Ranking: 90.0
Median Power Number: 139.0
Median Ranking: 90.0

WAC (9)
9. Hawaii (8-0): 257.8
10. Boise State (7-1): 255.6
52. Fresno State (5-3): 199.0
81. Nevada (4-4): 152.7
84. New Mexico State (4-5): 147.1
91. Louisiana Tech (3-5): 138.4
97. San Jose State (3-5): 130.1
115. Idaho (1-8): 76.4
117. Utah State (0-8): 71.5

Mean Power Number: 158.7
Mean Ranking: 72.9
Median Power Number: 147.1
Median Ranking: 84.0

Win Percentage
1. Arizona State (8-0): 100.0%
1. Boston College (8-0): 100.0%
1. Hawaii (8-0): 100.0%
1. Kansas (8-0): 100.0%
1. Ohio State (9-0): 100.0%
6. Boise State (7-1): 87.5%
6. Connecticut (7-1): 87.5%
6. LSU (7-1): 87.5%
6. Missouri (7-1): 87.5%
6. Oklahoma (7-1): 87.5%
6. Oregon (7-1): 87.5%
6. West Virginia (7-1): 87.5%
13. Michigan (7-2): 77.8%
13. Purdue (7-2): 77.8%
13. Texas (7-2): 77.8%
13. Virginia (7-2): 77.8%
13. Wisconsin (7-2): 77.8%
18. Alabama (6-2): 75.0%
18. Cincinnati (6-2): 75.0%
18. Clemson (6-2): 75.0%
18. Georgia (6-2): 75.0%
18. New Mexico (6-2): 75.0%
18. South Florida (6-2): 75.0%
18. Troy (6-2): 75.0%
18. USC (6-2): 75.0%
18. Virginia Tech (6-2): 75.0%
18. Wake Forest (6-2): 75.0%
28. BYU (5-2): 71.4%
29. Air Force (6-3): 66.7%
29. Auburn (6-3): 66.7%
29. Illinois (6-3): 66.7%
29. Kentucky (6-3): 66.7%
29. Penn State (6-3): 66.7%
29. South Carolina (6-3): 66.7%
29. Texas A&M (6-3): 66.7%
29. Texas Tech (6-3): 66.7%
29. Utah (6-3): 66.7%
38. Arkansas (5-3): 62.5%
38. California (5-3): 62.5%
38. Central Florida (5-3): 62.5%
38. Florida (5-3): 62.5%
38. Florida State (5-3): 62.5%
38. Fresno State (5-3): 62.5%
38. Georgia Tech (5-3): 62.5%
38. Houston (5-3): 62.5%
38. Kansas State (5-3): 62.5%
38. Miami (Florida) (5-3): 62.5%
38. Oklahoma State (5-3): 62.5%
38. Oregon State (5-3): 62.5%
38. Rutgers (5-3): 62.5%
38. Tennessee (5-3): 62.5%
38. Tulsa (5-3): 62.5%
38. UCLA (5-3): 62.5%
38. Vanderbilt (5-3): 62.5%
38. Western Kentucky (5-3): 62.5%
38. Wyoming (5-3): 62.5%
57. Ball State (5-4): 55.6%
57. Central Michigan (5-4): 55.6%
57. Colorado (5-4): 55.6%
57. East Carolina (5-4): 55.6%
57. Indiana (5-4): 55.6%
57. Louisville (5-4): 55.6%
57. Michigan State (5-4): 55.6%
57. Mississippi State (5-4): 55.6%
57. Northwestern (5-4): 55.6%
66. Bowling Green (4-4): 50.0%
66. Florida Atlantic (4-4): 50.0%
66. Maryland (4-4): 50.0%
66. Memphis (4-4): 50.0%
66. Navy (4-4): 50.0%
66. Nevada (4-4): 50.0%
66. Southern Mississippi (4-4): 50.0%
66. TCU (4-4): 50.0%
66. UTEP (4-4): 50.0%
75. Buffalo (4-5): 44.4%
75. Iowa (4-5): 44.4%
75. Miami (Ohio (4-5): 44.4%
75. Middle Tennessee State (4-5): 44.4%
75. Nebraska (4-5): 44.4%
75. New Mexico State (4-5): 44.4%
75. Ohio (4-5): 44.4%
75. Toledo (4-5): 44.4%
83. Akron (3-5): 37.5%
83. Arkansas State (3-5): 37.5%
83. Army (3-5): 37.5%
83. Louisiana-Monroe (3-5): 37.5%
83. Louisiana Tech (3-5): 37.5%
83. North Carolina State (3-5): 37.5%
83. Pittsburgh (3-5): 37.5%
83. San Jose State (3-5): 37.5%
83. Stanford (3-5): 37.5%
83. Temple (3-5): 37.5%
83. Washington State (3-5): 37.5%
94. Arizona (3-6): 33.3%
94. Baylor (3-6): 33.3%
94. Eastern Michigan (3-6): 33.3%
94. Kent State (3-6): 33.3%
94. Western Michigan (3-6): 33.3%
99. San Diego State (2-5): 28.6%
100. North Carolina (2-6): 25.0%
100. Syracuse (2-6): 25.0%
100. Tulane (2-6): 25.0%
100. UAB (2-6): 25.0%
100. Washington (2-6): 25.0%
105. Mississippi (2-7): 22.2%
105. UNLV (2-7): 22.2%
107. Colorado State (1-7): 12.5%
107. Duke (1-7): 12.5%
107. Louisiana-Lafayette (1-7): 12.5%
107. Marshall (1-7): 12.5%
107. North Texas (1-7): 12.5%
107. Notre Dame (1-7): 12.5%
107. Rice (1-7): 12.5%
107. SMU (1-7): 12.5%
115. Idaho (1-8): 11.1%
115. Iowa State (1-8): 11.1%
115. Minnesota (1-8): 11.1%
115. Northern Illinois (1-8): 11.1%
119. Florida International (0-8): 0.0%
119. Utah State (0-8): 0.0%

Opponents' Win Percentage
1. Notre Dame (49-19): 72.1%
2. Washington (47-19): 71.2%
3. Duke (45-21): 68.2%
4. Mississippi (47-26): 64.4%
5. Florida (43-24): 64.2%
6. Stanford (41-24): 63.1%
7. Colorado (47-28): 62.7%
8. Nebraska (48-29): 62.3%
9. Florida International (41-25): 62.1%
10. Tennessee (40-26): 60.6%
11. North Carolina (41-27): 60.3%
11. North Carolina State (41-27): 60.3%
13. Washington State (39-27): 59.1%
14. Auburn (44-31): 58.7%
15. LSU (40-29): 58.0%
16. Utah State (38-28): 57.6%
17. Minnesota (45-34): 57.0%
18. California (37-28): 56.9%
19. UNLV (42-32): 56.8%
20. Oregon (36-29): 55.4%
21. Maryland (36-30): 54.5
21. South Florida (36-30): 54.5%
23. Illinois (43-36): 54.4%
23. Oklahoma State (37-31): 54.4%
23. Penn State (43-36): 54.4%
26. Mississippi State (41-35): 53.9%
27. Oregon State (36-31): 53.7%
28. Akron (37-32): 53.6%
28. Kansas State (37-32): 53.6%
28. Pittsburgh (37-32): 53.6%
28. Syracuse (37-32): 53.6%
32. Iowa State (42-37): 53.2%
33. Wyoming (36-32): 52.9%
34. East Carolina (38-34): 52.8%
35. Kentucky (42-38): 52.5%
36. Florida State (34-31): 52.3%
37. Colorado State (35-32): 52.2%
38. Baylor (40-37): 51.9%
38. Michigan State (40-37): 51.9%
40. San Diego State (30-28): 51.7%
41. Central Florida (34-32): 51.5%
41. Georgia Tech (34-32): 51.5%
43. Texas A&M (39-37): 51.3%
44. Georgia (34-33): 50.7%
45. Alabama (33-33): 50.0%
45. Rutgers (33-33): 50.0%
47. Iowa (40-41): 49.4%
48. South Carolina (37-38): 49.3%
48. Virginia Tech (33-34): 49.3%
50. Marshall (32-33): 49.2%
51. Louisville (37-39): 48.7%
52. Arizona (35-37): 48.6%
52. Middle Tennessee State (36-38): 48.6%
54. Army (32-34): 48.5%
55. Ball State (38-41): 48.1%
56. Bowling Green (33-36): 47.8%
57. Louisiana-Monroe (31-34): 47.7%
57. North Texas (31-34): 47.7%
57. Wake Forest (31-34): 47.7%
60. Central Michigan (37-41): 47.4%
61. TCU (32-36): 47.1%
61. UAB (32-36): 47.1%
61. UTEP (32-36): 47.1%
61. Vanderbilt (33-37): 47.1%
65. Arkansas State (31-35): 47.0%
65. Clemson (31-35): 47.0%
67. UCLA (30-34): 46.9%
68. Northwestern (37-42): 46.8%
69. Virginia (34-39): 46.6%
70. Fresno State (31-36): 46.3%
70. Louisiana Tech (31-36): 46.3%
70. Oklahoma (31-36): 46.3%
70. West Virginia (31-36): 46.3%
74. New Mexico State (35-41): 46.1%
75. Texas (33-39): 45.8%
76. Kent State (36-43): 45.6%
76. Michigan (36-43): 45.6%
78. Buffalo (35-42): 45.5%
78. San Jose State (30-36): 45.5%
80. Idaho (34-41): 45.3%
81. BYU (27-33): 45.0%
81. Purdue (36-44): 45.0%
83. Western Michigan (35-43): 44.9%
84. Temple (30-37): 44.8%
85. Miami (Ohio) (34-42): 44.7%
86. Air Force (33-41): 44.6%
86. SMU (29-36): 44.6%
88. Tulsa (28-35): 44.4%
89. Rice (30-38): 44.1%
90. New Mexico (29-37): 43.9%
91. Arizona State (28-36): 43.8%
91. Indiana (35-45): 43.8%
93. Louisiana-Lafaytte (29-38): 43.3%
93. Navy (29-38): 43.3%
95. Boston College (28-37): 43.1%
95. Houston (28-37): 43.1%
97. Connecticut (28-39): 41.8%
97. Eastern Michigan (33-46): 41.8%
99. Miami (Florida) (27-38): 41.5%
100. Toledo (33-47): 41.3%
101. Boise State (27-39): 40.9%
101. Tulane (27-39): 40.9%
103. Missouri (29-42): 40.8%
104. Ohio State (32-47): 40.5%
104. Utah (30-44): 40.5%
106. Florida Atlantic (27-40): 40.3%
107. Kansas (28-42): 40.0%
107. Wisconsin (32-48): 40.0%
109. Arkansas (27-41): 39.7%
110. Texas Tech (30-46): 39.5%
111. Ohio (30-47): 39.0%
112. Cincinnati (25-41): 37.9%
113. Northern Illinois (30-50): 37.5%
114. Southern Mississippi (24-41): 36.9%
115. Troy (23-41): 35.9%
116. USC (24-43): 35.8%
117. Nevada (24-45): 34.8%
118. Memphis (18-49): 26.9%
119. Western Kentucky (18-52): 25.7%
120. Hawaii (13-56): 18.8%

Average Margin of Victory
1. Kansas: +32.3
2. Hawaii: +29.5
3. Oklahoma: +27.9
4. West Virginia: +25.9
5. Ohio State: +25.7
6. Oregon: +21.9
7. Cincinnati: +21.5
8. LSU: +21.4
9. Arizona State: +21.3
10. Arkansas: +20.5
11. Boise State: +19.3
12. Texas Tech: +18.9
13. Connecticut: +17.3
13. Kansas State: +17.3
13. Missouri: +17.3
16. Boston College: +15.3
17. Clemson: +15.0
18. USC: +14.9
19. Texas: +14.0
20. Penn State: +13.9
20. Purdue: +13.9
22. Florida: +13.5
23. South Florida: +13.4
24. Western Kentucky: +13.3
25. Georgia Tech: +12.6
26. Rutgers: +11.9
27. Troy: +10.9
28. Alabama: +10.8
29. BYU: +10.3
29. Michigan: +10.3
29. New Mexico: +10.3
32. Virginia Tech: +10.1
33. Kentucky: +9.9
34. Louisville: +9.7
35. Wisconsin: +9.3
36. Georgia: +8.9
37. Auburn: +8.7
38. Oklahoma State: +8.6
39. Michigan State: +7.8
40. Wake Forest: +7.5
41. Texas A&M: +7.4
42. South Carolina: +7.2
43. Houston: +7.0
44. California: +6.5
45. Illinois: +6.4
45. Utah: +6.4
47. Ball State: +6.0
48. Air Force: +5.8
48. Florida State: +5.8
50. Vanderbilt: +4.8
51. Fresno State: +4.6
52. Indiana: +4.4
53. Oregon State: +4.3
54. Miami (Florida): +3.8
55. Central Florida: +3.1
56. Virginia: +3.0
57. UTEP: +2.9
58. TCU: +2.6
59. UCLA: +1.8
60. Middle Tennessee State: +1.6
61. Colorado: +1.3
62. Wyoming: +1.0
63. Maryland: +0.9
64. Nevada: +0.5
65. Arizona: +/- 0.0
65. Tennessee: +/- 0.0
67. Southern Mississippi: -0.3
68. Ohio: -0.8
69. Iowa: -1.1
69. Pittsburgh: -1.1
71. East Carolina: -1.7
72. Tulsa: -2.0
73. Navy: -2.4
74. Mississippi State: -2.6
75. Buffalo: -3.3
76. Memphis: -3.5
77. Northwestern: -3.9
78. Arkansas State: -4.8
78. Western Michigan: -4.8
80. Nebraska: -5.0
80. North Carolina State: -5.0
82. Bowling Green: -5.1
83. North Carolina: -5.4
83. Washington: -5.4
85. Toledo: -5.7
86. Florida Atlantic: -5.8
87. Louisiana Tech: -6.0
88. Central Michigan: -6.1
89. Eastern Michigan: -6.2
90. Miami (Ohio): -6.6
91. Colorado State: -7.4
91. Kent State: -7.4
93. Army: -7.6
94. Tulane: -8.0
94. UNLV: -8.0
96. San Diego State: -8.3
96. Washington State: -8.3
98. Temple: -8.5
99. Stanford: -8.8
100. Akron: -9.1
101. Louisiana-Monroe: -9.3
102. Minnesota: -9.6
103. Mississippi: -9.8
104. New Mexico State: -10.9
105. SMU: -11.8
106. Marshall: -12.3
107. Duke: -12.8
108. San Jose State: -13.1
109. Louisiana-Lafayette: -13.4
110. Idaho: -13.8
111. Northern Illinois: -14.6
112. Baylor: -14.8
113. UAB: -14.9
113. Utah State: -14.9
115. Iowa State: -15.4
116. Rice: -16.0
117. Syracuse: -17.9
118. Notre Dame: -19.6
119. North Texas: -25.8
120. Florida International: -32.8

Sources
1. ESPN.com
2. Huskerpedia.com