I never thought I'd say this, but thank God for Michigan. If it weren't for the Wolverines' miraculous comeback against Notre Dame, Saturday would have been a disaster for the Big Ten. Purdue loses to Rice, Minnesota loses at home to New Mexico State (and almost loses their coach to a seizure), Indiana loses at home to Virginia, Alabama shut down Penn State in Happy Valley, Iowa lost the Cy-Hawk Trophy to Iowa State, Nebraska struggled against Fresno State, and, obviously, Ohio State barely beat Toledo. Michigan State did what they were supposed to do against Florida Atlantic, and Wisconsin made Oregon State look like the 119th best team in the country (see my bottom 10), but without the Michigan win, the Big Ten would look very weak. Last week's rank is in parentheses, and, again, these rankings are based on the first two weeks only, and are not necessarily where I see them finishing the year.
BOTTOM 10
There are three new additions to the Bottom 10, with North Texas joining after losing their inaugural game at Apogee Stadium, New Mexico falling after getting shellacked in Little Rock, and Kent State after getting embarrassed at home against a Louisiana-Lafayette team the Flashes were favored to beat by at least 9.5 points. That win lifted the Ragin' Cajuns out of the cellar, while Louisiana-Monroe moved up due to a scheduling win (35-7 over Grambling). New Mexico State contributed to the Big Ten's misery mentioned above, shocking the Golden Gophers in Minneapolis. At the bottom of the bottom, Akron, Florida Atlantic, Memphis, and UNLV all look like they are going to have a spirited competition for the title of Worst Team In The Country, while Oregon State and Duke did nothing to wash the taste of their respective losses to Sacramento State and Richmond out of our mouths. Duke again "wins" the week after getting blown out at home by Stanford.
Escaping the gutter: Louisiana-Monroe (113), New Mexico State (112), Louisiana-Lafayette (111)
111. North Texas 0-2 (NR): Lost 48-23 vs. Houston
112. New Mexico 0-2 (NR): Lost 52-3 at Arkansas
113. Kent State 0-2 (NR): Lost 20-12 vs. Louisiana-Lafayette
114. San Jose State (117): Lost 27-17 at UCLA
115. Akron 0-2 (115): Lost 41-3 vs. Temple
116. Florida Atlantic 0-2 (114): Lost 44-0 at Michigan State
117. Memphis 0-2 (118): Lost 47-3 at Arkansas State
118. UNLV 0-2 (116): Lost 59-7 at Washington State
119. Oregon State 0-2 (119): Lost 35-0 at Wisconsin
120. Duke 0-2 (120): Lost 44-14 vs. Stanford
HEISMAN WATCH
This is probably the last week pre-season favorites Andrew Luck, Landry Jones, LaMichael James, and either (or both) of the Oklahoma State beasts--QB Brandon Weeden and WR Justin Blackmon--make an appearance on the list. Ray Graham dropped out of this week's Watch due to scheduling more than production (28 carries, 121 yards, 3 TDs, 30 yards receiving vs. Maine), while Robert Woods had only a sold day (8 catches, 102 yards vs. Utah) after his spectacular opening weekend. T.Y. Hilton gets a mention after leading FIU to their first-ever win over a BCS school, while Marcus Lattimore carried the load for the Gamecocks in the most impressive win of the weekend. Russell Wilson will be mentioned as long as Wisconsin continues to roll over teams (and split carries between Monte Ball and James White), while Kellen Moore and Robert Griffin III still have the two most impressive performances of the year.
Dropping out: Ray Graham, RB, Pittsburgh (5); Robert Woods, WR, USC (3)
5. T.Y. Hilton, WR, Florida International (NR): SEASON: 551 total yards, 3 TD; LAST WEEK: 7 catches, 201 yards, 2 TD at Louisville
4. Marcus Lattimore, RB, South Carolina (NR): SEASON: 288 yards, 4 TD; LAST WEEK: 27 carries, 176 yards, 1 TD at Georgia
3. Russell Wilson, QB, Wisconsin (4): SEASON: 27-34, 444 yards, 5 TD, 73 yards rushing, 1 rushing TD; LAST WEEK: 17-21, 189 yards, 3 TD vs. Oregon State
2. Kellen Moore, QB, Boise State (2): SEASON: 28-34, 261 yards, 3 TD, 1 INT; LAST WEEK: idle
1. Robert Griffin III, QB, Baylor (1): SEASON: 21-27, 359 yards, 5 TD; LAST WEEK: Idle
TOP 25
The top 5 remains unchanged this week, as Boise State and LSU still own two impressive wins (despite Georgia's 0-2 record), Alabama again completely controlled Penn State (this time on the road), and Stanford and Wisconsin continued to roll over far-inferior competition. South Carolina moves way up after pulling out their win in Athens, dropping idle Oklahoma one spot. Oklahoma State continued to pile up yards and points, this week on Arizona, while South Florida and Michigan round out the top ten largely on the virtues of wins neither team really should have had against a Notre Dame team that I still think is pretty good (the Irish out-gained the Bulls and Wolverines by a combined 315 yards). Texas won ugly over BYU, but seemed to have answered their quarterback questions and may be poised to go on a run. Houston won what could have been a tough game handily in North Texas's opener in their new stadium, while Baylor and Texas A&M enjoyed a week off and thus dropped due to the recency effect. Florida rolled another bad opponent at home, which tells us nothing new, while Northwestern drops because they played an FCS school. Auburn jumps into the rankings after again pulling out a close one over Mississippi State (who dropped out due to the loss). Florida State falls for the same reason as Northwestern, while Virginia Tech, Arkansas, and Nebraska all make their rankings debuts following wins over each's first FBS opponents. California hangs around after a road win over Colorado, while Tennessee enters the fray after easily handling Cincinnati. Idle Maryland drops to 25 due to their laziness. Ohio State drops out after they probably should have lost to Toledo, while West Virginia, Clemson, and Pittsburgh all struggled against FCS opponents.
Dropping out: Ohio State (14), Mississippi State (17), West Virginia (21), Clemson (22), Pittsburgh (25)
25. Maryland 1-0 (16): Idle
24. Tennessee 2-0 (NR): won 45-23 vs. Cincinnati
23. UCF 2-0 (NR): won 30-3 vs. Boston College
22. Nebraska 2-0 (NR): won 42-29 vs. Fresno State
21. California 2-0 (23): won 36-33 (OT) at Colorado
20. Virginia Tech 2-0 (NR): won 17-10 at East Carolina
19. Arkansas 2-0 (NR): won 52-3 vs. New Mexico
18. Florida State 2-0 (13): won 62-10 vs. Charleston Southern
17. Auburn 2-0 (NR): won 41-34 vs. Mississippi State
16. Northwestern 2-0 (10): won 42-21 vs. Eastern Illinois
15. Florida 2-0 (15): won 39-0 vs. UAB
14. Texas A&M 1-0 (11): idle
13. Baylor 1-0 (9): idle
12. Houston 2-0 (12): won 48-23 at North Texas
11. Texas 2-0 (20): won 17-16 vs. BYU
10. Michigan 2-0 (24): won 35-31 vs. Notre Dame
9. South Florida 2-0 (7): won 37-7 vs. Ball State
8. Oklahoma State 2-0 (18): won 37-14 vs. Arizona
7. Oklahoma 1-0 (6): idle
6. South Carolina 2-0 (20): won 45-42 at Georgia
5. Wisconsin 2-0 (5): won 35-0 vs. Oregon State
4. Stanford 2-0 (4): won 44-14 at Duke
3. Alabama 2-0 (3): won 27-11 at Penn State
2. Boise State 1-0 (2): idle
1. LSU 2-0 (1): won 49-3 vs. Northwestern State
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