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Before I start talking about real football, I have to get a word in about last night’s awful football game that was played in the Coliseum. While Bruins fans are bitching about that last touchdown pass and Trojan fans are rebutting with, “Well you shouldn’t have taken that timeout,” all of that is moot.
The game was awful.
A game between Cal Tech and Occidental probably would have been more entertaining.
Both teams played pretty evenly on offense which meant they punted the ball away about the same amount of times. The only difference was the UCLA turnovers which made the final score look somewhat compelling.
USC fans are now running amok in the streets of Los Angeles with their chests puffed out in the glory of victory. But there should be no struts from the fans. Paper bags would be more appropriate. One week after the best Pac-10 games, these two teams brought the Pac-10 down a notch.
It was embarrassing to watch, even more so that inane timeouts and taunts had to occur for anyone to talk about this game.
Not so embarrassing to watch: Stanford running back Toby Gerhart. Notre Dame went to Stanford Stadium with much more fight than anyone could have anticipated. The Fighting Irish were leading throughout much of the game.
But Gerhart had what should be a Heisman clinching game running for 205 yards on 29 carries with three touchdowns putting him on top of the Football Bowl Subdivision in touchdowns scored. In fact in the fourth quarter down 38-30 Gerhart even threw an 18-yard touchdown pass to Ryan Whalen for the game tying score after the two-point conversion.
Not only is Gerhart the soul of the Cardinal, his bruising running style has given him 1,736 rushing yards this season - second in the FBS.
If his performance on Sunday wasn’t impressive, then his back-to-back demolitions of Oregon and USC should impress.
Now on to the rankings!
1. Florida Gators (12-0, 8-0 SEC)
2. Alabama Crimson Tide (12-0, 8-0 SEC)
2. Texas Longhorns (12-0, 8-0 Big 12)
4. TCU Horned Frogs (12-0, 8-0 Mountain West)
5. Cincinnati Bearcats (11-0, 6-0 Big East)
6. Boise State Broncos (12-0, 7-0 WAC)
7. Oregon Ducks (9-2, 7-1 Pac-10)
8. Ohio State Buckeyes (10-2, 7-1 Big Ten)
9. Iowa Hawkeyes (10-2, 6-2 Big Ten)
10. Oregon State Beavers (8-3, 6-2 Pac-10)
10. Penn State Nittany Lions (10-2, 6-2 Big Ten)
12. California Golden Bears (8-3, 5-3 Pac-10)
13. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (10-2, 7-1 ACC)
13. Pittsburgh Panthers (9-2, 5-1 Big East)
13. Virginia Tech Hokies (9-3, 6-2 ACC)
16. Stanford Cardinal (8-4, 6-3 Pac-10)
Also receiving votes: Arizona, LSU, BYU, USC
Jimmy’s Bowl Picks
BCS Championship: Florida vs. Texas
Rose Bowl: Oregon vs. Ohio State
Fiesta Bowl: Boise State vs. Iowa
Orange Bowl: Georgia Tech vs. Cincinnati
Sugar Bowl: Alabama vs. TCU
Adam’s Bowl Picks
BCS Championship: Alabama vs. Texas
Rose Bowl: Oregon vs. Ohio State
Fiesta Bowl: Cincinnati vs. TCU
Orange Bowl: Georgia Tech vs. Boise State
Sugar Bowl: Florida vs. Pittsburgh
