These look really good if you ask me. Notice NO CHOCKLAHOMA!
1. USC(1-0)
W, at Hawaii 63-17
next game: Arkansas (Sept. 17)
Norm who? O.K., so Hawaii isn’t a great test for high octane Trojan attack, but it was still an impressive performance.
2. LSU (0-0)
next game: Arizona State
How much will Katrina affect the team’s focus? Not getting a tune-up against North Texas could hurt. Having the Arizona State game moved to Tempe could be a plus.
3. Ohio State (1-0)
W, Miami Univ. 34-14
next game: Texas
Is there a big game this week? The Buckeyes did a fantastic job of focusing on Miami, and now they can finally get to the task at hand.
4. Georgia (1-0)
W, Boise State 48-13
next game: South Carolina
D.J. Shockley’s performance was exactly what Bulldog fans were dreaming of. The defense looked fast and physical.
5. Tennessee (1-0)
W, UAB 17-10
next game: at Florida (Sept. 17)
The quarterback rotation worked well early last year, but there could be a problem this season. UAB is good, but it isn’t that good.
6. Michigan (1-0)
W, Miami Univ. 34-14
next game: Notre Dame
It would’ve been interesting to see how Michigan would’ve reacted if NIU hadn’t made so many mistakes. After Notre Dame’s performance at Pitt, this becomes a big, big week.
7. Florida (1-0)
W, Wyoming 32-14
next game: Louisiana Tech
It’s scary to think how good the offense will be once everyone knows what they’re doing. Florida will be a must-see game to watch every week.
8. Virginia Tech (1-0)
W, at NC State 20-16
next game: at Duke
No mistakes, tough defense and big plays on third down. Where have we seen this before? NC State’s D is good, but the Hokies will need more offense as the year goes on. It’ll happen.
9. Texas (1-0)
W, UL Lafayette 60-3
next game: at Ohio State
The Longhorns should’ve tried throwing more against UL Lafayette to get the kinks worked out, but that’s nitpicking. The running game looked as strong as ever.
10.Florida State (1-0)
W, Miami 10-7
next game: The Citadel
Much will be made about the poor play of the quarterbacks against Miami, but the Cane defense had something to do with it. The Seminole defense was flying all over the field.
11. Miami (0-1)
L, at Florida State 10-7
next game: at Clemson (Sept. 17)
Miami will want to kick itself after the loss to Florida State, but the snap and hold will probably by botched. QB Kyle Wright looks like a keeper, but the line has to give him more than two seconds to throw.
12. Georgia Tech (1-0)
W, at Auburn 23-14
next game: North Carolina
Considering how pumped up the Auburn crowd was, the Yellow Jackets came up with a brilliant performance. If you’re looking for a confidence builder, that was it.
13. Arizona State (1-0)
W, Temple 63-16
next game: at LSU
It might not seem right to put a tragedy like Katrina into football terms, but with LSU dealing with the disaster, along with missing North Texas, ASU should get an unfocused Tiger team.
14. Boston College (1-0)
W, at BYU 20-3
next game: Army
The win at BYU is more impressive than it might appear. The defense was fantastic, while the offense was its usual efficient self.
15. Purdue (0-0)
next game: Akron
The Big 10 went 10-0 last week. Purdue has to keep up the pace.
16. Iowa (1-0)
W, Ball State 56-0
next game: at Iowa State
It was nice of Iowa to not crank the score up to triple digits on Ball State. Iowa State didn’t look good last week, but the Hawkeyes aren’t going to be fooled; it’ll be a battle of a rivalry game.
17. Virginia (1-0)
W, Western Michigan 31-19
next game: at Syracuse (Sept. 17)
That isn’t how Virginia wanted to start the season. Western Michigan’s offense moved the ball way too easily while the Cavalier attack didn’t get nearly enough from the running game.
18. Auburn (0-1)
L, Georgia Tech 23-14
next game: Mississippi State
Once QB Brandon Cox gets a little more experience, Auburn will be back to being Auburn. Georgia Tech’s defense might be one of the five best in the country.
19. Minnesota (1-0) W, at Tulsa 41-10
next game: Colorado State
Considering the final score was 41-10, Minnesota didn’t look all that smooth against Tulsa. It has to keep its foot on the gas for 60 minutes and put teams away faster.
20. Clemson (1-0)
W, Texas A&M 25-24
next game: at Maryland
Clemson could be a killer once it turns all of those field goals into touchdowns. Beating Texas A&M is nice, but it’s not as important as beating Maryland this week.
21. Notre Dame (1-0)
W, at Pitt 42-21
next game: at Michigan
Is Notre Dame really that good or is Pitt really that bad? It might be a little of both. This is still the toughest team in the nation to figure out, but a win at Michigan would mean a top ten spot and get the excitement really rolling.
22. California (1-0)
W, Sacramento State 41-3
next game: at Washington
The Bears should probably be lower considering the play of their backup quarterbacks with Nate Longshore out. Joseph Ayoob has to get a lot better in a big, big hurry.
23. Alabama (1-0)
W, MTSU 26-7
next game: Southern Miss
It would’ve been nice if the Tide offense did more against a lousy MTSU defense. The defense looked in midseason form.
24. Oregon State (1-0)
W, Portland State 41-3
next game: Boise State
OSU could be one of the big sleepers of 2005 if QB Matt Moore plays as well as he did against Portland State. Considering what happed last year against Boise State, this is a big week for revenge.
25. TCU(1-0)
W, at Oklahoma 17-10
next game: at SMU
Yeah, TCU should probably be much higher after beating Oklahoma at Oklahoma. That might be a case of OU needing more of a tune up, but TCU’s defense had a lot to do with the Sooner QBs looking so lousy.
1. USC(1-0)
W, at Hawaii 63-17
next game: Arkansas (Sept. 17)
Norm who? O.K., so Hawaii isn’t a great test for high octane Trojan attack, but it was still an impressive performance.
2. LSU (0-0)
next game: Arizona State
How much will Katrina affect the team’s focus? Not getting a tune-up against North Texas could hurt. Having the Arizona State game moved to Tempe could be a plus.
3. Ohio State (1-0)
W, Miami Univ. 34-14
next game: Texas
Is there a big game this week? The Buckeyes did a fantastic job of focusing on Miami, and now they can finally get to the task at hand.
4. Georgia (1-0)
W, Boise State 48-13
next game: South Carolina
D.J. Shockley’s performance was exactly what Bulldog fans were dreaming of. The defense looked fast and physical.
5. Tennessee (1-0)
W, UAB 17-10
next game: at Florida (Sept. 17)
The quarterback rotation worked well early last year, but there could be a problem this season. UAB is good, but it isn’t that good.
6. Michigan (1-0)
W, Miami Univ. 34-14
next game: Notre Dame
It would’ve been interesting to see how Michigan would’ve reacted if NIU hadn’t made so many mistakes. After Notre Dame’s performance at Pitt, this becomes a big, big week.
7. Florida (1-0)
W, Wyoming 32-14
next game: Louisiana Tech
It’s scary to think how good the offense will be once everyone knows what they’re doing. Florida will be a must-see game to watch every week.
8. Virginia Tech (1-0)
W, at NC State 20-16
next game: at Duke
No mistakes, tough defense and big plays on third down. Where have we seen this before? NC State’s D is good, but the Hokies will need more offense as the year goes on. It’ll happen.
9. Texas (1-0)
W, UL Lafayette 60-3
next game: at Ohio State
The Longhorns should’ve tried throwing more against UL Lafayette to get the kinks worked out, but that’s nitpicking. The running game looked as strong as ever.
10.Florida State (1-0)
W, Miami 10-7
next game: The Citadel
Much will be made about the poor play of the quarterbacks against Miami, but the Cane defense had something to do with it. The Seminole defense was flying all over the field.
11. Miami (0-1)
L, at Florida State 10-7
next game: at Clemson (Sept. 17)
Miami will want to kick itself after the loss to Florida State, but the snap and hold will probably by botched. QB Kyle Wright looks like a keeper, but the line has to give him more than two seconds to throw.
12. Georgia Tech (1-0)
W, at Auburn 23-14
next game: North Carolina
Considering how pumped up the Auburn crowd was, the Yellow Jackets came up with a brilliant performance. If you’re looking for a confidence builder, that was it.
13. Arizona State (1-0)
W, Temple 63-16
next game: at LSU
It might not seem right to put a tragedy like Katrina into football terms, but with LSU dealing with the disaster, along with missing North Texas, ASU should get an unfocused Tiger team.
14. Boston College (1-0)
W, at BYU 20-3
next game: Army
The win at BYU is more impressive than it might appear. The defense was fantastic, while the offense was its usual efficient self.
15. Purdue (0-0)
next game: Akron
The Big 10 went 10-0 last week. Purdue has to keep up the pace.
16. Iowa (1-0)
W, Ball State 56-0
next game: at Iowa State
It was nice of Iowa to not crank the score up to triple digits on Ball State. Iowa State didn’t look good last week, but the Hawkeyes aren’t going to be fooled; it’ll be a battle of a rivalry game.
17. Virginia (1-0)
W, Western Michigan 31-19
next game: at Syracuse (Sept. 17)
That isn’t how Virginia wanted to start the season. Western Michigan’s offense moved the ball way too easily while the Cavalier attack didn’t get nearly enough from the running game.
18. Auburn (0-1)
L, Georgia Tech 23-14
next game: Mississippi State
Once QB Brandon Cox gets a little more experience, Auburn will be back to being Auburn. Georgia Tech’s defense might be one of the five best in the country.
19. Minnesota (1-0) W, at Tulsa 41-10
next game: Colorado State
Considering the final score was 41-10, Minnesota didn’t look all that smooth against Tulsa. It has to keep its foot on the gas for 60 minutes and put teams away faster.
20. Clemson (1-0)
W, Texas A&M 25-24
next game: at Maryland
Clemson could be a killer once it turns all of those field goals into touchdowns. Beating Texas A&M is nice, but it’s not as important as beating Maryland this week.
21. Notre Dame (1-0)
W, at Pitt 42-21
next game: at Michigan
Is Notre Dame really that good or is Pitt really that bad? It might be a little of both. This is still the toughest team in the nation to figure out, but a win at Michigan would mean a top ten spot and get the excitement really rolling.
22. California (1-0)
W, Sacramento State 41-3
next game: at Washington
The Bears should probably be lower considering the play of their backup quarterbacks with Nate Longshore out. Joseph Ayoob has to get a lot better in a big, big hurry.
23. Alabama (1-0)
W, MTSU 26-7
next game: Southern Miss
It would’ve been nice if the Tide offense did more against a lousy MTSU defense. The defense looked in midseason form.
24. Oregon State (1-0)
W, Portland State 41-3
next game: Boise State
OSU could be one of the big sleepers of 2005 if QB Matt Moore plays as well as he did against Portland State. Considering what happed last year against Boise State, this is a big week for revenge.
25. TCU(1-0)
W, at Oklahoma 17-10
next game: at SMU
Yeah, TCU should probably be much higher after beating Oklahoma at Oklahoma. That might be a case of OU needing more of a tune up, but TCU’s defense had a lot to do with the Sooner QBs looking so lousy.
