40 Acres Sports

Great video analysis from ESPN of what [tag]Oklahoma State[/tag] did defensively last Saturday in their upset win over [tag]Missouri[/tag]. They look at how the defensive line did such a good job getting pressure on quarterback Chase Daniel and at how the OSU secondary took away Daniel’s options if he did have time. Watch:

With the athleticism of the Texas defensive tackles a similar strategy would be effective at getting to Daniel both up the middle and around the edge. It will be interesting to see what wrinkles Texas defensive coordinator [tag]Will Muschamp[/tag] will use to shut down Mizzou’s high powered offense and if their coaches have any answers now that a team has them “figured out”. We’ll find out Saturday at 7pm.

For the second time this year 3 of the Top 4 teams in the nation lose. No one is safe at the top, and most of the Top 10 will be playing each other in the next few weeks so expect to see even more changes. So far this year is looking even crazier than last year.

1. [tag]Alabama[/tag]

   
   LW: 3

   Even though they didn’t play, I don’t think they deserved to be bumped down below Texas.

2. [tag]Texas[/tag]

   
   LW: 5

   Texas won with Colt’s leadership and the defense stepping up at the right times. Will Muschamp has the defense improving every week. It was kind of nice cruising through the season unnoticed, but that time is definitely over.

3. [tag]Penn State[/tag]

   
   LW: 7

   I guess I to move up Penn State after their blowout win. It looks like they are definitely the class of the Big 10, though that is not saying very much.

4. [tag]Oklahoma[/tag]

   
   LW: 1

   Sam Bradford threw for 5 touchdowns and still lost. Oklahoma has a great team and their schedule is setup to keep them in a BCS bowl game.

5. [tag]Florida[/tag]

   
   LW: 11

   I had watched Florida play a few times this year, but I have never seen the speed and precision they displayed against LSU. They have some of the fastest running backs in the nation, and if they can keep Tim Tebow from making mistakes they should be good.

6. [tag]Texas Tech[/tag]

   
   LW: 8

   Texas Tech played like crap but was surprisingly still able to come out with a win against Nebraska. They have a pretty easy road before playing Texas at home.

7. [tag]Oklahoma State[/tag]

   
   LW: 15

   Not sure if was too much of an upset, but Oklahoma State managed to put a hurting on Mizzou. Oklahoma State has proven they definitely have the offense, but do they have the defense to hang with the big boys.

8. [tag]Missouri[/tag]

   
   LW: 2

   I am actually pretty disappointed that Mizzou lost, because that would have meant Texas would play two #1 teams in a row. Now that Mizzou has lost, Texas will definitely be expected to beat them this Saturday.

9. [tag]USC[/tag]

   
   LW: 10

   Looks like USC is getting back into form after totally dominating Arizona State 28-0. They probably have the easiest schedule left of any Top 10 and will probably somehow backdoor their way into the national championship.

10. [tag]Georgia[/tag]

    
    LW: 9

    Georgia had a solid win against Tennessee but I am still not very impressed with this team. I expect them to lose 2 more games this season.

11. [tag]BYU[/tag]

    
    LW: 6

    I have decided to not leave BYU so high up in the polls. They play nobody, and until they beat Utah I will not move them any higher.

12. [tag]LSU[/tag]

    
    LW: 4

    You either smoke, or you get smoked, and LSU got smoked. That was a pretty weak performance against Florida, and if they don’t get someone to play quarterback they will struggle all season long.

13. [tag]Kansas[/tag]

    
    LW: 12

    Kansas continues to plod along and will probably go relatively unnoticed the rest of the way unless they can beat one of the big teams in the Big 12. Don’t expect that to happen.

14. [tag]Utah[/tag]

    
    LW: 13

    Utah and BYU really don’t seem much different to me. They will have to prove their ranking by beating both TCU and BYU.

15. [tag]Boise State[/tag]

    
    LW: 16

    Thank goodness we didn’t have to see them play on their ugly blue field this weekend.

16. [tag]Ohio State[/tag]

    
    LW: 17

    Luckily Ohio State beat Purdue because they are about to lose two in a row. I can’t wait to drop them out of the Top 25.

17. [tag]Michigan State[/tag]

    
    LW: 19

    Again, the only thing they have going for them is their running back, but man is he awesome. Can we trade for him?

18. [tag]Virginia Tech[/tag]

    
    LW: 18

    Does anyone really care about anyone in the ACC. They will probably all beat each other and end up with a conference champion that has 3 losses.

19. [tag]South Florida[/tag]

    
    LW: 20

    Bye week

20. [tag]North Carolina[/tag]

    
    LW: 21

    It took a last minute play, but North Carolina thankfully kept Notre Dame out of the Top 25. North Carolina is making the most out of their spot, but see Virginia Tech.

21. [tag]Wake Forest[/tag]

    
    LW: 22

    Another so-so ACC team barely holding on to their spot in the Top 25.

22. [tag]California[/tag]

    
    LW: 24

    Bye week

23. [tag]TCU[/tag]

    
    LW: –

    TCU has another huge game coming against BYU. Can they prove BYU is overrated, or will they fall back out of the Top 25?

24. [tag]Vanderbilt[/tag]

    
    LW: 14

    It was only a matter of time before Vanderbilt came back down to reality. They couldn’t handle the pressure of the being a top team and now they will probably struggle the rest of the way.

25. [tag]Tulsa[/tag]

    
    LW: 25

    They struggled a little only scoring 37, but I am sure they will get back on track and put up 60+ on UTEP.

Well lookie here, the Texas Longhorns are the new number one team in the land. After the team’s big win over [tag]Oklahoma[/tag] the team vaulted from number five in both polls to the very top. Huge shakeup this week with losses in the top five by OU, Missouri, and LSU, but in the AP poll the Sooners surprisingly only fell to number four. [tag]Alabama[/tag] is a very close second in both polls followed by [tag]Penn State[/tag].

This week’s opponent [tag]Missouri[/tag] fell out of the top ten with a loss, but they’re still a very good team and it doesn’t get easier after them. Due to the way the schedules lay out, the Longhorns could actually face two more top five teams in [tag]Oklahoma State[/tag] and [tag]Texas Tech[/tag] if they win the games they should and stay undefeated.

Check out this week’s rankings or view the top 10 teams below:

	AP Top 25		USA Today Poll
1	Texas (39) 6-0 1,599		Texas (44) 6-0 1,505
2	Alabama (26) 6-0 1,582		Alabama (14) 6-0 1,452
3	Penn State 7-0 1,492		Penn State (3) 7-0 1,416
4	Oklahoma 5-1 1,306		USC 4-1 1,198
5	Florida 5-1 1,284		Texas Tech 6-0 1,195
6	USC 4-1 1,247		Oklahoma 5-1 1,147
7	Texas Tech 6-0 1,210		Florida 5-1 1,145
8	Oklahoma State 6-0 1,184		Brigham Young 6-0 1,143
9	Brigham Young 6-0 1,131		Georgia 5-1 1,010
10	Georgia 5-1 1,081		Oklahoma State 6-0 958

This could be one of the biggest weekends of the year in terms of national title implications. Arguably the top four teams in the Big 12 are playing each other, #1 Oklahoma vs #5 Texas and #3 Missouri vs #17 Oklahoma State (I think Texas Tech is probably a little overrated). Then you have the two powerhouse teams in the SEC squaring off with #4 LSU traveling to the Swamp against #11 Florida. And if you feel like checking out the boring Big 10, you get to see #6 Penn State playing at Camp Randall Stadium against Wisconsin.

Let’s take a look at a game in each of the big conferences. Remember, I did go 3-1 last weekend against the spread (for around the 4th straight weekend).

#5 Texas at #1 Oklahoma (-6.5) – 12:00 PM EST on ABC. For a #5 team in the nation, Texas has managed to keep a relatively low profile this year. I think that has been a blessing in disguise since it has let the team grow without a lot of added pressure. Honestly if you asked me to pick this game at the beginning of the season, I would probably have said Oklahoma without even a doubt. But with the way Texas has played this season and their improvement on defense, they have a legitimate shot of coming out of this one with a victory. Both offenses have overpowering stats and high profile quarterbacks. Neither quarterback has faced any adversity, and I think that will change greatly for Sam Bradford this week. Will Mushcamp has something going here in Austin, and I think that will be the difference in the game. I don’t bet on this game, but the Texas moneyline looks good.

#17 Oklahoma State at #3 Missouri (-14) – 8:00 PM EST on ESPN2. The O/U is set at 77 in this one and features the #2 and #3 scoring offenses in the nation, so you know some points will be scored. Both teams are undefeated when scoring 40 or more points since 2001, but that should change this weekend. This is basically a matchup of one of the nations best rushing attacks (OSU) versus one of the nations best passing offenses (Mizzou). I always prefer a better running game since it moves the ball more consistently and wears down the defense. This game should come down to whoever has the ball last. OSU might now win this one, but I think they easily cover the 14.

#4 LSU at #11 Florida (-6.5) – 8:00 PM EST on CBS. Tim Tebow has not impressed me much this season. And losing to Ole Miss at home? Come on now. LSU also has big questions at the quarterback position, but they have the defense to win them games in the SEC. I think they key here is LSU was off last week so they have had extra time to prepare and get some players healthy. Don’t take the points on this one, take LSU moneyline.

#6 Penn State at Wisconsin (+6) – 8:00 PM EST on ESPN. Yawn. Two more boring Big 10 teams playing each other. Not sure who is really going to watch this game with the two games above starting at the same time. Maybe if both games are at commercial? Penn State did not fair well in their last trip to Camp Randall Stadium (remember Coach Pat’s broken leg?), but it should be a much different game this year. Penn State is better than Wisconsin in every phase of the game and will dominate this game. You know what, don’t watch this one, just take Penn State and win some money.

In the first week of conference play every team that was supposed to win did just that. [tag]Iowa State[/tag] gave [tag]Kansas[/tag] a heck of a run so they move up one spot even after a loss, but no one else moves. This week should be much more interesting as four of the top five teams in the conference go head to head.

Check out this week’s Big 12 power rankings below:

1. [tag]Oklahoma[/tag]

   
   LW: 1

   The Sooners throttled an overmatched Baylor team and ended the game quickly by putting up 28 first quarter points. Baylor QB Robert Griffin ran well against them so maybe [tag]Colt McCoy[/tag] can do the same this week when the Sooners and Longhorns face off.

2. [tag]Missouri[/tag]

   
   LW: 2

   Mizzou wins in Lincoln for the first time in thirty years in a rout. The Tigers’ defense continued to give up big yards (particularly through the air) but only gave up 17 points to the Cornhuskers. This week the Tigers face Oklahoma State.

3. Texas

   
   LW: 3

   The Horns took care of business easily against CU in their conference opener. The offense wasn’t perfect but the defense nearly was in the team’s win. This week the Longhorns will try to take down rival and top ranked Oklahoma.

4. [tag]Texas Tech[/tag]

   
   LW: 4

   Tons of points for both Tech and Kansas State. The game was never in doubt for the Red Raiders but the team’s defense still is. The team faces a good passing offense this week in Nebraska and we’ll see if they’re up to the test.

5. [tag]Oklahoma State[/tag]

   
   LW: 5

   The Cowboys whooped the Aggies and at 5 – 0 are climbing up the national rankings. The team advantage of five Aggie turnovers and won easily despite giving up a lot of yards. The Cowboys face a big time defensive test this week against Missouri and I don’t think they’re up for it.

6. [tag]Kansas[/tag]

   
   LW: 6

   Uh oh. I was tempted to drop Kansas even after squeaking by with a win against Iowa State. They had to rally from a 20-point halftime deficit to the Cyclones but surprisingly held their #16 national ranking. Should be an interesting game against Colorado this week.

7. [tag]Colorado[/tag]

   
   LW: 7

   Colorado coach Dan Hawkins desperately needs to find offensive line help or he’s going to get his own son killed. The line was completely dominated by the Longhorns and therefore couldn’t get anything started on offense. They travel to Kansas this week for a battle to be the North’s second best team.

8. [tag]Nebraska[/tag]

   
   LW: 8

   They ran their mouth during the week and then spit on Missouri QB Chase Daniel before the game but got blown off the field once the game started. They make way too many mistakes (penalties and turnovers) to be a good team. Up this week is Texas Tech.

9. [tag]Baylor[/tag]

   
   LW: 9

   They’re still Baylor, in case you were wondering. Despite looking like an improved team early in the season they didn’t put much of a fight against Oklahoma. The defense surrendered nearly 600 total yards and 49 points in game that would have been much worse if OU hadn’t started taking it easy after just one quarter. This week the Bears have a winnable game against Iowa State.

10. [tag]Iowa State[/tag]

    
    LW: 11

    The Cyclones move up one spot despite losing. They jumped out to a big halftime lead but just couldn’t hold onto it once KU got going in the second half. The game could have been either a sign the team is getting better or a backbreaking loss that sends them into a tailspin. We’ll find out Saturday against Baylor.

11. [tag]Kansas State[/tag]

    
    LW: 10

    The Wildcats put up some yards against Texas Tech but were bad on third downs and couldn’t put up nearly enough points to make up for their defense. KSU needs to win their next two games against A&M and then Colorado if they hope to pull themselves up from the bottom tier of the conference.

12. Texas A&M

    
    LW: 12

    As predicted, the Aggies got their butts kicked against Okie State. The offense did put up a ton of yards but turned the ball over five times in the first half. This week they face a pretty average Kansas State at home so we’ll find out if they’re as bad as we think they are. Should be fun(ny).

Finally a week were pretty much all of the top teams went out and took care of business. There is a lot of shuffling around towards the bottom of the Top 25 as many teams have dropped out.

1. [tag]Oklahoma[/tag]

   
   LW: 1

   Went out and took care of business and didn’t look ahead to playing Texas. I was actually somewhat surprised they only scored 49 points against Baylor.

2. [tag]Missouri[/tag]

   
   LW: 3

   Missouri hadn’t won in Nebraska in 30 years. Apparently they were a little tired of losing there and put a whooping on the Cornhuskers. Pretty sure Bo Pelini is a little embarrassed after that one.

3. [tag]Alabama[/tag]

   
   LW: 2

   Alabama actually showed some of their first signs of struggling, but they were still able to pull out the victory. Things will get a lot tougher for them as teams will be gunning to knock them off.

4. [tag]LSU[/tag]

   
   LW: 4

   Bye week

5. [tag]Texas[/tag]

   
   LW: 5

   I was actually a little nervous playing at Colorado, but thankfully Texas jumped out to the early lead and never looked back. Texas’ defense looked better than ever and might possibly be prepared for OU.

6. [tag]BYU[/tag]

   
   LW: 8

   Still feels weird to have BYU up here so high, but they have been absolutely killing teams lately. Because of their week schedule though, they probably won’t move much past this spot.

7. [tag]Penn State[/tag]

   
   LW: 9

   Penn State continues to dominate in the weak Big 12, and will face their first tough test playing at Camp Randall against Wisconsin.

8. [tag]Texas Tech[/tag]

   
   LW: 10

   I actually thought Kansas State would give Tech a game, but Tech just scored at will. Graham Harrell threw for 450 yards and 6 touchdowns. Not a bad day.

9. [tag]Georgia[/tag]

   
   LW: 12

10. [tag]USC[/tag]

    
    LW: 11

    Starting off, USC looked like they might be losing another one to a team from the state of Oregon. But in the end they reeled off 40+ straight points and cruised to victory.

11. [tag]Florida[/tag]

    
    LW: 13

    Florida was lucky to have a bye week, oh wait, they did play Arkansas, which is just like having a bye week. Now they have to play LSU in a showdown in the SEC.

12. [tag]Kansas[/tag]

    
    LW: 14

    Kansas struggled a little bit at Iowa State but were able to squeak out of there with a win. Todd Reesing is a seriously talented QB.

13. [tag]Utah[/tag]

    
    LW: 15

    Utah is quietly hanging around in the Top 15 and beating all the teams they should. I guess we will just have to wait until they play BYU.

14. [tag]Vanderbilt[/tag]

    
    LW: 16

    Vanderbilt continues to be the surprise of the SEC. They are actually leading the SEC East! I doubt this will last much longer.

15. [tag]Oklahoma State[/tag]

    
    LW: 17

    Hard to tell if Oklahoma State is really that good or if A&M is just that bad. It’s probably a little bit of both and I am really scared of playing this team later this month.

16. [tag]Boise State[/tag]

    
    LW: 18

    I can’t stand to watch this team playing on that bright blue field, but they continue to win impressively and dominate their opponent. They have a legitimate shot at going undefeated this season.

17. [tag]Ohio State[/tag]

    
    LW: 19

    Ohio State pulled off an impressive win at Wisconsin proving the whole Big 10 is just a joke. Everyone pretty much just sucks equally.

18. [tag]Virginia Tech[/tag]

    
    LW: 21

    They don’t win big and they don’t win pretty. They somehow just manage to play just good enough to get the win. They will have to play better if they want to make it through the ACC schedule.

19. [tag]Michigan State[/tag]

    
    LW: –

    The only thing they have going for them is their running back, but man is he awesome. Can we trade for him?

20. [tag]South Florida[/tag]

    
    LW: 6

    South Florida of course had to ruin their dream season and go lose to a crappy Pittsburgh team. Does anyone want to step up in the Big East?

21. [tag]North Carolina[/tag]

    
    LW: –

    Not sure the last time North Carolina was ranked in football, but it has to be a while. They have a solid team and have a pretty favorable schedule the rest of the way.

22. [tag]Wake Forest[/tag]

    
    LW: –

    Hmm…not really sure what to make of this team. Sometimes they look really good, and sometimes they look really awful. Week to week it is tough to tell which team will show up.

23. [tag]Auburn[/tag]

    
    LW: 7

    Auburn losing to Vanderbilt? Who would have guessed that in the beginning of the season? Luckily for them they have a bye week next week, oh wait, they play Arkansas.

24. [tag]California[/tag]

    
    LW: –

    Doesn’t seem right to have a Pac-10 team in the Top 25 that’s not USC, but California is quietly putting together a nice season.

25. [tag]Tulsa[/tag]

    
    LW: –

    Tulsa seems to score 60 points every time they play, and that will usually get it done. They play SMU this week, which means they will probably score 80.

With the Horns and Sooners set to do battle at the Cotton Bowl on Saturday, there’s another reason for fans of the two teams to argue and spit at each other. The Big 12 has released the men’s basketball preseason coaches poll and Texas is at number two right behind [tag]Oklahoma[/tag].

The Horns lost their best player in [tag]DJ Augustin[/tag] but returns a ton of talent and depth everywhere but point guard. With defending conference and national champs [tag]Kansas[/tag] losing so many players the conference is wide open this season. If either [tag]Dogus Balbay[/tag] or somebody can step up to man the point the Longhorns should have another shot to win the conference and make a deep tourney run.

2008-09 Big 12 Preseason Poll

See how the coaches think the league will turn out below:

	Team	Points
1	Oklahoma (3)	109
2	Texas (4)	107
3	Baylor (2)	103
	Kansas (3)	103
5	Texas A&M	79
6	Oklahoma State	69
7	Missouri	51
8	Kansas State	50
9	Nebraska	49
10	Texas Tech	39
11	Iowa State	20
12	Colorado	13

There were several of teams off last week in the conference but there was still a lot of movement in the power rankings. Losses by Colorado and Nebraska and a shaky home win by Texas A&M sent all those teams down a bit. Meanwhile Oklahoma State continues to win in impressive fashion. The Cowboys are undefeated and putting up big offensive numbers so have moved up three spots to number five. Conference play starts Saturday so things should be much clearer in next week’s rankings.

Check out this week’s Big 12 power rankings below:

1. [tag]Oklahoma[/tag]

   
   LW: 1

   The Sooners jumped to a huge first quarter lead against [tag]TCU[/tag] and then just road that through the end of the game. QB Sam Bradford threw for a ton of yards but had by far his least accurate performance of the season. More troubling for OU is the complete ineffectiveness of the running game. They tried to force the issue but manage to only rush for an abysmal 25 yards on 36 carries.

2. [tag]Missouri[/tag]

   
   LW: 2

   Bye week. The Tigers face Nebraska this weekend to open Big 12 play.

3. Texas

   
   LW: 3

   Another week and another 52 – 10 win for the Longhorns, this time over SEC rival [tag]Arkansas[/tag]. The Texas offense has been impressive all season but for the first time all season the defense was dominant. The front seven was able to sack the Razorbacks’ QBs seven times and the Horns are now top five nationally with 16 sacks on the season. Texas faces Colorado Saturday at 6pm on FSN.

4. [tag]Texas Tech[/tag]

   
   LW: 4

   Bye week. Red Raiders open Big 12 play against Kansas State.

5. [tag]Oklahoma State[/tag]

   
   LW: 8

   Okie Lite put another 50 spot on the scoreboard this past weekend against Troy. The Trojans aren’t exactly a national power but [tag]Ohio State[/tag] struggled to get past them while the Cowboys racked up 612 total yards. They host the Aggies Saturday at 7pm.

6. [tag]Kansas[/tag]

   
   LW: 7

   Bye week. KU opens conference play with a virtual bye against Iowa State.

7. [tag]Colorado[/tag]

   
   LW: 5

   Colorado didn’t show up well in a surprisingly thorough loss to [tag]Florida State[/tag]. QB and coach’s son Cody Hawkins was inaccurate and inefficient and the running game didn’t do enough to pick him up. The FSU offense wasn’t much better but thanks to terrible kick coverage was able to play with a short field on several possessions. The Buffaloes face the Longhorns Saturday.

8. [tag]Nebraska[/tag]

   
   LW: 6

   Nebraska fans may be disappointed in a home loss to [tag]Virginia Tech[/tag] but Bo Pelini’s team fought hard till the end and almost came back and won it. This week Nebraska has a tough one when they host #4 Missouri.

9. [tag]Baylor[/tag]

   
   LW: 10

   Bye week. Next up are the number one ranked Sooners.

10. [tag]Kansas State[/tag]

    
    LW: 9

    Another shaky week for the Wildcats, barely beating a 1 – 3 Louisiana-Lafayette team in Manhattan. QB Josh Freeman and the offense again looked solid but the defense looked like swiss cheese. The Ragin’ Cajuns ran all over them to the tune of 335 total rushing yards in the game. Not good. Up this week is Texas Tech.

11. [tag]Iowa State[/tag]

    
    LW: 12

    Bye week. This week the Cyclones face off against Kansas.

12. Texas A&M

    
    LW: 11

    Just how bad are the Aggies? Army wasn’t just winless but they were winless against mediocre competion, and at Kyle Field the A&M needed a fourth down stop to escape with a win. Their match-up with Oklahoma State Saturday night will be an interesting one to watch (but not actually watch because it’s embarrasingly not being televised).

Talk about a crazy weekend in college football. Three of the top four teams go down in upsets, with unbeatable #1 of all-time USC losing to an unranked Oregon State team.

1. [tag]Oklahoma[/tag]

   

   The clear #1 in the nation after other teams in the Top 5 seemed scared to win. The Texas game in two weeks looks bigger than ever.

2. [tag]Alabama[/tag]

   

   Maybe even more of a butt-kicking than the USC/Ohio State, Alabama got out to a 31-0 lead at Georgia. I think this was a combination of Alabama having a solid team and Georgia being ridiculously over-hyped.

3. [tag]Missouri[/tag]

   

   Good time to have a bye week. Their schedule gets tough now as they open Big 12 play.

4. [tag]LSU[/tag]

   

   LSU didn’t look all that impressive in their win against Mississippi State. They will need to improve their quarterback play if they want to continue to win in the SEC.

5. [tag]Texas[/tag]

   

   Talk about slaughtering the pig against Arkansas. The Texas defense finally showed up and held them to only 3 points for most of the game.

6. [tag]South Florida[/tag]

   

   The class of the Big East continues to look good. Now they start conference play, so we will see if they can keep it up.

7. [tag]Auburn[/tag]

   

   They don’t win pretty, but their defense can keep them in any game. If they actually had a good quarterback they would probably be #2 in the nation.

8. [tag]BYU[/tag]

   

   BYU in the Top 10? Just doesn’t seem right somehow but they are playing great football right now. Two shutouts in a row will usually give a team some confidence.

9. [tag]Penn State[/tag]

   

   I hesitate to put a Big 10 team so far up in the rankings because they will soon get smashed by some other crappy Big 10 team. Will this happen to Penn State? No doubt.

10. [tag]Texas Tech[/tag]

    

    Not sure what to say about Tech except that they probably won’t last much longer with no losses. In fact, they will probably lose to Kansas State.

11. [tag]USC[/tag]

    

    On cue, USC has their one “bare-minimum” game of the season and somehow loses to Oregon State. Now they can cruise for the rest of the season with their easy Pac-10 schedule.

12. [tag]Georgia[/tag]

    

    Not really surprised that they lost to Alabama, more surprised about how they lost. Down 31-0 at the half at home? I knew they were over-rated, just didn’t know it was that bad.

13. [tag]Florida[/tag]

    

    Rounding out the upsets this weekend is Florida. If Tim Tebow was an actual quarterback and could throw the ball, maybe they wouldn’t lose to a mediocre Ole Miss.

14. [tag]Kansas[/tag]

    

    Bye week

15. [tag]Utah[/tag]

    

    Utah continues to sneak up the polls relatively quietly. Now they have to play the vaunted Oregon State Beavers.

16. [tag]Vanderbilt[/tag]

    

    With Georgia and Florida losing, Vanderbilt now leads the SEC East. If they beat Auburn this weekend is it time for them to start thinking national championship? Ha.

17. [tag]Oklahoma State[/tag]

    

    The Big 12 is absolutely stacked this year. Oklahoma State’s offense can hang with anyone. Too bad they play @Missouri, @Texas, and @Texas Tech.

18. [tag]Boise State[/tag]

    

    Bye week

19. [tag]Ohio State[/tag]

    

    Not sure that a 13 point win over Minnesota is very impressive, but a win is a win. Terrelle Pryor looks like a legit college quarterback. I bet they are wishing he played more against USC.

20. [tag]Oregon[/tag]

    

    Hard to get a read on just how good or bad the Pac-10 is. My guess is that Oregon will be dropping soon as they play USC this weekend.

21. [tag]Virginia Tech[/tag]

    

    Man, Virginia Tech has an incredibly weak schedule this season. If they didn’t lose to East Carolina they would easily be in the Top 10.

22. [tag]Wisconsin[/tag]

    

    The Big 10 is just awful and I think Wisconsin proves that. Not sure how a Top 10 team loses to a horrible Michigan team. Oh yeah, it’s the crappy Big 10.

23. [tag]Maryland[/tag]

    

    Maryland actually looks like they have a good team this year. The ACC is wide open right now and Maryland should be near the top at the end.

24. [tag]Fresno State[/tag]

    

    Pretty impressive win at UCLA.

25. [tag]Connecticut[/tag]

    

    Impresive win at Louisville. They will be tested in next two games of three straight road games. If they can make it through that, they will be looking good.

No movement at the top but the teams in the bottom half of the rankings are starting to drop games. Last weekend Kansas State, Baylor, Texas A&M, and Iowa State all had losses. The most impressive team last week may have been the Colorado Buffaloes, who if they keep the running game going might be able lay claim to be the best team not named Missouri in the Big 12 North.

Check out this week’s Big 12 power rankings below:

1. [tag]Oklahoma[/tag]

   
   LW: 1

   Off week before facing number 24 [tag]TCU[/tag] this weekend.

2. [tag]Missouri[/tag]

   
   LW: 2

   Tigers made a lot of mistakes and let lowly Buffalo hang in there for a long time. Chase Daniel’s career day eventually allowed them to pull away in the second half. The Tigers are off this week in prep for Big 12 play.

3. Texas

   
   LW: 3

   The Horns clobbered an overmatched [tag]Rice[/tag] squad with another near perfect performance from [tag]Colt McCoy[/tag]. The defense wasn’t great but may have turned a corner when they put up an epic goalline stand. This week Texas hosts former SWC rival [tag]Arkansas[/tag] in their last non-conference outing.

4. [tag]Texas Tech[/tag]

   
   LW: 4

   The Red Raiders put on a good ol’ thumping of Division 1AA UMass. They have off this week but their real season will finally begin when they stop playing Pop Warner teams and start playing Big 12 foes.

5. [tag]Colorado[/tag]

   
   LW: 5

   Impressive overall performance for the Buffs on national television against top 25 ranked West Virginia. He might not get the pub his fellow freshman running back does but the miniature Rodney Stewart looked lightning quick while rushing for 166 yards. Next up is another tough one against Florida State.

6. [tag]Nebraska[/tag]

   
   LW: 7

   Bye week for Nebraska before they face Virgina Tech this Saturday.

7. [tag]Kansas[/tag]

   
   LW: 8

   Not exactly impressive but the win over Sam Houston State was never in doubt either. Former car detailer and OU quarterback Rhett Bomar threw for 340 yds but was also picked off three times. Kansas is off this week.

8. [tag]Oklahoma State[/tag]

   
   LW: 9

   Oklahoma State was off last week. This week they get Troy State.

9. [tag]Kansas State[/tag]

   
   LW: 6

   First real opponent of the season and Kansas State didn’t look good against a Louisville team that isn’t of the caliber of recent years. It was only a nine point loss but the Wildcats never stood a chance. Up this week is Louisiana-Lafayette.

10. [tag]Baylor[/tag]

    
    LW: 11

    UConn isn’t some chump team and the Bears played them very tough on the road. Losses like this would be wins at home and might lead to future wins from freshman QB Robert Griffin. Baylor has an off weekend to prepare to attempt a huge upset of OU on October 4th.

11. Texas A&M

    
    LW: 12

    Aggies got blown out of the water by the Miami Hurricanes and it could have been much worse. If they had wanted to the Hurricanes could have ran off tackle every play for 300 yards and never attempted a pass. This week they host Army.

12. [tag]Iowa State[/tag]

    
    LW: 10

    I thought head coach Gene Chizik might have turned things in the right direction in Ames but maybe not. Iowa State has now lost 13 straight road games and unless they beat Baylor in a few weeks they might not win one away from home this season either. The Cyclones have a much needed bye this Saturday.