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The fallout from Appalachian State’s upset over Michigan extended beyond Michigan falling out of the Associated Press Top 25 poll. The AP announced on Thursday that lower division schools are now eligible to be included in the poll.
It’s great that the Championship Subdivision (aka Division I-AA) has a chance of being ranked alongside the big boys. While I highly doubt that a team even as accomplished as Appalachian State will crack the Top 25 it’s always nice knowing there is a possibility.
I know I said this last week, but this week should prove to be fairly predictable. After the upset last week most heavily favored teams will be on their toes in preparing for their opponents. West Virginia should have no problems with Marshall, California should easily beat Colorado State and Akron will be laughable against Ohio State.
But here are some more interesting games this week.
#9 Virginia Tech vs. #2 LSU. These two teams disappointed last week. Virginia Tech barely escaped their game against East Carolina with a win. The Hokies scored only 10 points on offense. That game was an upset waiting to happen. But the Hokies stout defense was up to task in keeping them in the game.
True LSU shut out Mississippi State 45-0 last week, but most of their scoring came off of seven turnovers. Offensively they looked pitiful for most of the first half. But their shut down defense absolutely controlled the game. This game will be very low scoring, but I see LSU with an edge.
Miami (FL) at #5 Oklahoma. The once strong Miami program has had a lot of problems since losing the BCS title game against Ohio State following the 2002 season. First year head coach Randy Shannon is looking to turn around the Hurricanes from the abysmal 2006 season that saw them go 6-6 in the regular season and just eking out a 21-20 win over Nevada in the MPC Computers Bowl.
The Sooners, on the other hand, are the cream of the crop in the overrated Big 12 conference. They have a great passing game, but with the loss of Adrian Petersen at tailback to the NFL their running game is a big question mark. If they loosen up the Hurricane defense with some passes early on, the Sooners can run a balanced offense and run up the score for a second week in a row.
#22 Boise State at Washington. The Washington Huskies face a tough challenge against the Boise State Broncos. The Broncos boast a run-heavy offense that will challenge the young Husky defense. The Huskies meanwhile have redshirt freshman Jake Locker starting at quarterback, and his inexperience will be put to test. On the bright side for Washington, Boise State has never won a game against a BCS conference team when on the road.
With that said, here's the LAist Homo Top 15 Rankings. Note that this is for the current week, so Thursday night's Louisville game does not affect this ranking. After each team is their overall record, conference record and their ranking last week.
1. USC (1-0, 0-0, 1)
2. LSU (1-0, 1-0, 2)
3. West Virginia (1-0, 0-0, 4)
4. Texas (1-0, 0-0, 3)
5. Florida (1-0, 0-0, 7)
6. Louisville (1-0, 0-0, 8)
7. Wisconsin (1-0, 0-0, 6)
8. California (1-0, 0-0, 11)
9. Ohio State (1-0, 0-0, 10)
10. Virginia Tech (1-0, 0-0, 9)
11. Rutgers (1-0, 0-0, 12)
12. Georgia (1-0, 0-0, 14)
13. UCLA (1-0, 1-0, not ranked)
14. Auburn (1-0, 0-0, 13)
15. Georgia Tech (1-0, 0-0, not ranked)
AP Photo by Rogelio V. Solis
