Games I saw (some of):
(3) Michigan 24-15 (10) Penn State
A sludge of a game, felt like the ball was gonna live between the 30-yard lines all day, but there were bursts of offense. The Wolverines were the better team but both sides are defensive monsters with little rays of offense sneaking through the clouds. Penn State's QB play just wasn't as good as Michigan's, that was the difference on the whole season. Both of these teams are really good, Michigan was a little better.
Top 25
Handled their business
(1) Ohio State, (2) Georgia, (3) Michigan, (4) Florida State, (5) Washington, (6) Oregon, (8) Alabama, (12) Oregon State, (14) Missouri, (17) Oklahoma, (19) Louisiana State, (21) Arizona, (22) Iowa, (25) Kansas State
Won but did not impress
(7) Texas
Conference road W's normally impress me a priori, but if Texas really fancies itself a full on playoff contender, then I'd like to see them to put the wood to an in-state conference foe, instead of just hanging on against a sub-par Texas Christian. Perhaps I'm being too hard on the Longhorns but I wanted a solid victory and this isn't it.
(11) Louisville
Ditto for the Cardinals. Virginia is not good--especially on the road--and yet the Cards had to scramble late to steal the victory. At this time of the season blowouts and decisive victories are influential and I want to see the better teams separate themselves from the lesser teams. Louisville got lucky here, never looked like a top tier squad.
(23) Tulane
I shouldn't be so hard on Tulane, they are a bettor's dream: always a favorite, never a cover. I dunno, I should be more generous to such a reliable team.
(24) North Carolina
I'm surprised the Tar Heels are still in the top 25 and this scuffling OT victory over a decimated Duke team that is already far past their peak didn't change my mind. I dunno, I'm not impressed.
Bad beat
(9) Mississippi
UGA was waiting for the Rebels and they got got. Yeah, they could've played better but they were clearly outclassed and we all knew this was coming.
(10) Penn State
Penn State may be the 10th best team in the country but they're only 3rd best in their own division. Tough place to find yourself, the Nittany Lions are a good squad but just not good enough unfortunately.
(16) Kansas
Normally an L at home to a lesser conference team would go in the Not So Good category, but the Jayhawks lost their QB early in this game and though it took them forever to get any offense going, they still almost won. Yeah, I'm getting kinda soft on this one but even after this match I'm quite convinced that Kansas is better than Texas Tech, they just got unlucky.
(18) Utah
Like Penn State, Utah is a really good team in a really really good division. Tough break but I'm still convinced Utah is one of the better teams in the nation.
Not so good
(13) Tennessee
An L on the road in conference to a team that is better is normally a Bad Beat, but the Vols were the fave and they surely thought they were going to win. But they kinda got stomped (yo, Missouri is actually pretty good!) and soon enough they'll take their whoopin' from UGA (oh man, they better beat Kentucky!), the Vols are in full-on flail mode.
(15) Oklahoma State
Whoa! They got straight destroyed at Central Florida! I was in on Oklahoma State but you can't whooped like that in conference and continue on in the top 25. I suspect we've seen all we're gonna see of the Cowboys this year.
My top 12
(1) Georgia (they're just getting going, but I'm among those that thinks Alabama is ready to give them a for-real match)
(2) Ohio State (the Buckeyes have a top tier defense, still a little worried about that offense but they've got good W's and all they have to do is beat Michigan)
(3) Washington (probably can't get ahead of the Big 10 winner, but should still firmly ahead of the Big 10 runner-up if they hold on @ Oregon State and take care of (presumably) Oregon in the championship; if they win their next 3 games they'll have to be in the semifinals)
(4) Florida State (Seminoles are eagerly waiting to see whether it's Ohio State or Michigan ahead of them, but they've got 4th place pretty well sewn up)
(5) Michigan (okay, finally got a signature W against Penn State, just need to finish off Ohio State and (presumably) Iowa and they'll be in the semifinal; if not, Ohio State will, right?)
(6a/6b) Oregon/Alabama (these two can still play their way in and they're both balling well enough to think they can get it done; I'll be keeping an eye on them)
(8) Texas (I guess they're still alive and as the teams ahead of them clash, the Longhorns will have their chance to sneak in, but outside of an early season W at Alabama, what else have they done this season? Yeah, they've got a nice record, 1 top tier W and they'll likely win their conference, but I don't see them higher than #5--especially considering that if Alabama beats UGA, I don't think UGA completely falls out; I think Texas is rooting for Ohio State, Washington, Georgia to keep winning and they need the Seminoles to fall to....Louisville? They are still in the discussion but it's mostly a peas-and-carrots thing for the Longhorns)
(9a/9b) Louisville/Oregon State (gotta leave these two up here because they've still got meaningful games left--in fact, I guess Louisville is still alive for the 4-team playoff and technically I think the Beavers are still alive for the Pac-12 Championship; I think these two need to be rooting for each other (and against Texas and Alabama) and they could still crash the party--though it's massive longshot for either
(11/12) Penn State/Utah (I think these are these two best of the also-rans; Arizona is technically not out of it but as well as they've played lately, I don't see them wormig their way into the big dance so I don't see them as a top 12 squad)
(6 more for good measure) Missouri, LSU, Arizona, Iowa, Mississippi, Notre Dame
Next week's intriguing matches
(18) Utah @ (21) Arizona (probably not that meaningful but should be a fun one)
(2) Georgia @ (13) (does anyone think the Vols can beat UGA? I for one *yawn* ....do not)
(24) North Carolina @ Clemson (I'm only throwing this in because I think Clemson has a good shot at sticking the Tar Heels; well see, could be some fun)
(25) Kansas State @ (16) Kansas (if KU doesn't have their QB, then this one is probably already over, right?)
(5) Washington @ (12) Oregon State (the marquis match right here; is Corvallis where empires go to die?)
(7) Texas @ Iowa State (the Cyclones over the years have handed out many unexpected late season upsets lately, the Longhorns better gird them loins)
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