Marquee Matchups Alter Polls
A slew of top 25 matchups this week changed the landscape of college football. One major upset took out another BCS title contender, and a couple of top ten matchups made for a week of big shakeups. Top ranked Alabama was off this week, and maintained their position as college football’s top team. With a couple of top contenders going down, the Crimson Tide’s grip on the top only got stronger.
The big upset this week was #3 Florida State falling to North Carolina State 17-16. This is not the first time the Wolfpack has derailed a Seminole season. NC State rallied back from 16 down to beat FSU, who had climbed to #2 in the North Mobile Post’s poll. FSU had been coming back down to Earth following its impressive win over Clemson, and it appears the team is still not quite ready for prime time.
LSU, which started the season at #1 in some polls but was now #4, fell to #10 Florida. The Gators used a stifling defense to upend the Tigers 14-6. The impressive win was enough to push the Gators to #4 in the AP poll, taking LSU’s place. It appears the hangover from the Tim Tebow era is over, and Florida is back in the spotlight. If they wish to reclaim the SEC East title, they will have a bit of competition.
South Carolina continued their upward climb with an impressive 35-7 victory over #5 Georgia. The Gamecocks, ranked #6 themselves, jumped ahead 21-0 in the first quarter and never looked back. In prior weeks, Georgia had been putting a lot of points on the board. South Carolina kept Georgia down by holding QB Aaron Murray in check, reducing him to 11-31 passing for a mere 109 yards. The road gets no easier for South Carolina, though, as they face LSU next week.
Oregon continued its dominant run with a 52-21 win over #23 Washington. With FSU’s defeat, the Ducks now move into second place in the North Mobile Post poll. At this point it appears unlikely that any other team is going to challenge Oregon in the regular season. USC seems to be the only team that can compete with them. A date in the national title game, possibly with Alabama, seems eminent.
Power Rankings
1. Alabama Crimson Tide
2. Oregon Ducks
3. South Carolina Gamecocks
4. Florida Gators
5. West Virginia Mountaineers
6. Kansas State Wildcats
7. Ohio State Buckeyes
8. LSU Tigers
9. USC Trojans
10. Notre Damme Fighting Irish
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The North Mobile Post was founded in April of 2011. The site serves as a blog covering Mobile County as well as news from around the world.
