An exciting four weeks of the college football season have gone by headlined by the SEC's continued reign of dominance. The Alabama Crimson Tide are the #1 team in the nation and almost all polls have four SEC teams in the top eight spots. Besides the SEC, the Oregon Ducks seem like the team to beat in the Pac-12 after USC suffered an early and disappointing loss to Stanford in Week 3. Rounding out the top-5 is the Florida St. Seminoles. After easily winning their first three games, including a 55-0 thrashing of Savannah State, the Seminoles came out victorious against what will probably be their most difficult opponent of the season, the Clemson Tigers. From the Big-12, both the West Virginia Mountaineers and Kansas State Wildcats have looked impressive. Notre Dame has surprised many, but with tough upcoming games, will the Irish have enough to make it to the BCS? Among the new coaches this season, some have had early success while others have struggled. Urban Meyer has the Ohio State Buckeyes at 4-0 and in the #15 in most polls. The Pac-12's Jim Mora and Rich Rodriguez have led UCLA and Arizona respectively to 3-1. Bill O'Brien and Penn State struggled early, losing their first two games of the season, but have rebounded nicely, despite all the defections, by winning their past new games. We are all in for an exciting rest of the season as Oregon's game vs. USC on November 3rd and Alabama vs. LSU, also on November 3rd, will very likely determine who is the best in college football and has the clearest path ahead to the BCS National Championship Game.
5 Surprises
1. Notre Dame Fighting Irish- The 4-0 Irish have been the biggest surprise in the country this season. With one of the nation's best front 7's including All-American hopeful linebacker Manti Te'o, they have looked convincing in wins over Michigan and Michigan St. this season. Their defense can only take they so far as the effectiveness of their quarterbacks Tommy Rees and Everett Golson will determine how far the Irish go this season.
2. Florida Gators- Everyone expected Florida to be decent, but after disappointing last year, few though that the Gators would be 4-0 at this point in the season. They have won important games against Tennessee and SEC newcomer Texas A&M. Led by running back Mike Gillislee and quarterback Jeff Driskel, the Gators play the LSU Tigers this Saturday in a game that could potentially make or break their season.
3. Oregon State Beavers- The Oregon St. Beavers, an afterthought even in the state of Oregon, have only played two games so far this season. In the first game they week a ranked Wisconsin team and in the second, they went down to Pasadena and beat a ranked UCLA squad. Sophomore quarterback Sean Mannion has been a surprise this season as he teams with running back Storm Woods, wide receiver Markus Wheaton and a stellar defense to lead the Beavers. The question that remains is, do the Beavers have enough to compete with Oregon in the Pac-12 North?
4. Rutgers Scarlet Knights- After beating Arkansas last weekend, the Rutgers Scarlet Knights are 4-0. The Scarlet Knights should be favored in every game the rest of the season until they play Louisville on November 29th in a game that could determine the winner of the Big-East. Quarterback Gary Nova leads Rutgers as they attempt to regain the national recognition they have not had since the Ray Rice era.
5. Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks- Although they are 1-2, the Warhawks have been somewhat of a cinderella story. After providing the first big upset of the season in which they beat a top 10 ranked Arkansas team, the Warhawks played Auburn and Baylor tough, only to lose on their final possession. Quarterback Kolton Browning has helped the Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks become somewhat of a household name.
5 Disappointments
1. Arkansas Razorbacks- The 1-3 Razorbacks, once ranked in the top-10, have been the biggest disappointment this season. Not only have they lost to Louisiana-Monroe, but they also got slaughtered by Alabama and lost to Rutgers. What was once a team with BCS bowl game aspirations will be lucky to finish 6-6 and make a bowl game appearance. What a mess!
2. USC Trojans- Although they have only lost once, this season will be considered a disappointment if the Trojans don't make it to the BCS National Championship. To do so, they will face the tough task of having to defeat Oregon twice and receive help from elsewhere. Matt Barkley will lead the men of Troy in this uphill battle and try to bring himself back into the Heisman conversation.
3. Michigan Wolverines- The Wolverines are 2-2 and have lost to top teams Notre Dame and Alabama. The problem isn't the loses though, the problem is the offense. When put in the national spotlight Denard Robinson and crew have looked stagnant and haven't been able to put points on the board. Robinson has lost any hope he had for the Heisman and the Wolverines are in danger of finishing in the middle of the Big-10 this season.
4. Wisconsin Badgers- The Badgers record is decent at 3-1, but they've lost to the only team they've played in a power 6 conference, Oregon State. Wisconsin has also looked bad in wins against Northern Iowa, Utah St., and UTEP. Montee Ball has been unable to get going this season and quarterback is a position of uncertainty. The Badgers should be alright, but only because of the fact that the Big-10 is having a down year.
5. Oklahoma Sooners- The once National Championship hopeful Sooners are 2-1 after losing a close game to Kansas State. Like Michigan the offense doesn't look good and what has happened to Landry Jones? Oklahoma will try to rebound but the lose to Kansas St. may have ended any BCS hoped they had.
Top 25
1. Alabama Crimson Tide- They Crimson Tide have been the most dominant team in the country this season. Quarterback A.J. McCarron just doesn't make mistakes and freshman running back T.J. Yeldon has teamed with Eddie Lacy to form one of the best backfields in the country. Alabama will face a tough test come November 2nd but the question is no longer, will they make it to the championship game? It is, who are they going to play?
2. LSU Tigers- The Tigers survived a scare from Auburn last weekend but still seem to be the second best team in the country. The defense is stellar once again and so are the running backs, including Michael Ford and Spencer Ware. Quarterback Zach Mettenberger seems to be a slight improvement over Jordan Jefferson. The outcome of their game on November 2nd against Alabama will determine their season.
3. Florida State Seminoles- The 4-0 Seminoles are riding high after beating Clemson last weekend. The offense, lead by quarterback E.J. Manuel looks explosive, and the defense looks solid too. Florida State won the hardest game on its schedule and must avoid being upset as they continue towards the National Championship.
4. Oregon Ducks- The offense has always been tremendous, but it was the defense that was spectacular in the drubbing of Arizona last weekend. The 4-0 Ducks led by the most explosive player in the NCAA, De'Anthony Thomas and quarterback Marcus Mariota look to remain unbeaten, but will face a tough test on November 2nd against USC. It looks as if it may be the Ducks year once again.
5. Georgia Bulldogs- Aaron Murray leads the dominant offense the 4-0 Bulldogs. They will face a tough test against South Carolina on October 6th. Georgia looks good this season and may win the SEC West.
6. South Carolina Gamecocks- The Gamecocks easily defeated Missouri last week in what was there first test off the season. Led by quarterback Connor Shaw and running back Marcus Lattimore, we will see just how good South Carolina is when they play Georgia on October 6th. A trip to the SEC championship game could result from the outcome of this game.
7. Kansas State Wildcats- The Wildcats impressively beat the Oklahoma Sooners last weekend. They may be the best team in the Big-12 and play West Virginia on October 20th. This game may determine who wins the conference. Quarterback Collin Klein leads this unorthodox style offense which puts up many points.
8. West Virginia Mountaineers- The Mountaineers have put up a lot of points this season but haven.t really been tested. The next two weeks they play Baylor and Texas and we will see how good they really are. Wide receiver Tavon Austin and quarterback Geno Smith lead the offense.
Best of the Rest
9. Notre Dame Fighting Irish
10. Stanford Cardinal
11. Florida Gators
12. USC Trojans
13. Texas Longhorns
14. Clemson Tigers
15. TCU Horned Frogs
16. Oklahoma Sooners
17. Ohio State Buckeyes
18. Mississippi State Bulldogs
19. Oregon State Beavers
20. Louisville Cardinals
21. Michigan State Spartans
22. Rutgers Scarlet Knights
23. Nebraska Cornhuskers
24. Baylor Bears
25. Boise State Broncos
Most Honorable Mention: Northwestern Wildcats
*The author apologizes for having Stanford at #10, as the rankings portion of this article was done before they lost on Thursday.
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