Week 12 rankings

1. Alabama (10-0): They put Mississippi State away a lot easier than Florida did, and also did it a lot easier than Florida put away South Carolina. The waffling continues, because as of right now, Alabama is the top team in the country. After an off week (i.e. game against Chattanooga) the Tide faces Auburn in the Iron Bowl.
2. Florida (10-0): As a Florida fan, I was dying for about 2 and a half quarters. I'd never been happier than when Justin Trattou grabbed that ball out of the air, separated biceps and all. The Gamecocks are good, but the Gators shouldn't have had the problems they did. A game like that against Alabama won't cut it.
3. Texas (10-0): Another week, another chance for Texas to beat up on a cellar-dweller. Nebraska could end up making it an interesting game should they meet in the Big 12 championship game.
4. Texas Chrisitian (10-0): I'm really surprised that Utah managed as many points as they did, but it wasn't enough. While TCU has only two games left, Boise State has three. Will that hurt the Horned Frogs? I doubt it.
5. Cincinnati (10-0): The Bearcats have what should be a laugher against Illinois coming up before the big showdown with Pitt. If the Panthers beat WVU, then it will be for the Big East title and  BCS bid, because fo some reason, if Pitt wins, I think the Bearcats will be left in the cold by the BCS.


6. Boise State (10-0): They have three games left, but the poor Broncos can't catch any breaks, even though they punish their opponents each week. Maybe it's because all five of the teams above them would punish those same teams even more if they played the same schedule?
7. Georgia Tech (10-1): Duke was winning that game for a few minutes. Unfortunately for the Blue Devils, games last more than a few minutes. The Yellowjackets have an off week to get ready to run all over Willie Martinez's defense. Then again, the Dawgs did just beat Auburn...
8. Pittsburgh (9-1): Two big matchps against two of the Big East's better teams remain. If they can get past WVU, the Panthers have a shot at BCS glory when they end the season by hosting Cincinnati.
9. Louisiana State (8-2): What the heck was that? A team that has only lost to Alabama and Florida shouldn't struggle against competition like Louisiana Tech. A chance at an 11-2 season is still there, but the matchup against Ole Miss looks a little more challenging than it did last week.
10. Oregon (8-2): No room for a second letdown game in a row. Oregon got back on track against Arizona State and will win the Pac 10 if they beat Arizona and Oregon State. If they do, they'll get to beat up on Ohio State in the Rose Bowl.
11. Ohio State (9-2): Is there no justice in this world? BCS doormat Ohio State beat Iowa to win the Big 11. They did it using a kicker who has played professional soccer. I didn't know that was allowed, but apparently so. I think the BCS should just stick them into a bowl with Oklahoma so Tressel and Stoops will finally win a BCS game. Actually, I don't. I hope Michigan and Oregon both romp.
12. Oklahoma State (8-2): They beat Texas Tech, and are in a position to go to the Cotton Bowl. A game there against LSU would be pretty fun. Of course, they have to get past Colorado (not hard) and Oklahoma before that happens. Who cares that Oklahoma is missing half their team- they always seem to find a way to beat the Cowboys.
13. Penn State (9-2): The lose-fest by the teams ahead of the Nittany Lions last weekend means they move up the rankings. An 11 point win against Indiana isn't anything to get excited about though, especially with a much more decent Michigan State team coming up. Still, Sparty did just allow 37 points to lowly Purdue.
14. Iowa (9-2): Oh how the mighty have fallen. If Ricky Stanzi had been able to play, Iowa may have come away with the win against the Buckeyes. Alas, it wasn't to happen, and Iowa will be flying to sunny Florida, pending a win against the Golden Gophers of Minnesota.
15. Wisconsin (8-2): Wait, where did the Badgers come from? The two close losses earlier in the season bumped them out of the rankings, but they've been winning and winning even since, their latest victim being Michigan. Northwestern is next up, followed by a game against (formerly good) Hawaii.
16. Stanford (7-3): They're feelin' hot hot hot! After beating Oregon last week, the Cardinal stayed on a tear and beat the living hell out of USC. I haven't had such a warm fuzzy feeling since UF took the lead in the championship game last year... They get a good Cal team before finishing against Notre Dame and outgoing head coach Charlie Weis. Wait, that's not official yet? Well, it will be after this game.
17. Houston (8-2): Houston should've looked out for those Florida athletes... Sure, they may be rejects from UF, UM, FSU, USF and most other SEC and ACC schools, but they're still Florida athletes, for the most part. My guess is that Houston was just caught unprepared. Still, my C-USA darlings are now in danger of not winning their division, and slide down nine spots in the rankings.
18. Virginia Tech (7-3): Playing Maryland is just the tonic ye' need for struggling teams to right the ship. The Hokies have had a letdown season, but they can still win ten games. Two bad teams, NC State and Virginia, lie ahead, as well as their bowl game.
19. Clemson (7-3): I was in South Carolina for the UF-USC game this weekend, and man, they hate Clemson even when they're playing UF. Aside from Virginia this week, those Gamecocks are the only thing standing between Clemson and a shot at a BCS game and 11 win season. However, they travel to Columbia, so maybe the Gamecocks can show some SEC pride.
20. Miami (FL) (7-3): This team is seriously bi-polar. Some weeks I think they're legit BCS contenders, other weeks they lay eggs against North Carolina. The 'Canes are a good football team, and next year, they'll probably be favored to get to a BCS bowl. They're tremendously talented, so I can see why. Duke is their punching bag this weekend, and then we'll see if USF is better than TWO of the state's powerhouse programs.
21. Ole Miss (7-3): No, the experts do not have Ole Miss ranked, but 7-3 in the SEC is better than 7-3 in the Pac 10 (ahem, Southern Cal). You may gripe, but if they lose to LSU, they'll be right back outta the rankings. So sit tight.
22. Oregon State (7-3): Two teams from Oregon are ranked and only one from California? What's going on in the Pac 10? Well, in Oregon State's case, they can run the ball like something crazy. I will laugh and laugh if Oregon State wins out (and wins the Pac 10). Cause then USC will be something like FOURTH in the pac 10 pecking order for bowls. I don't think it will happen, but I'd laugh if it did.
23. Utah (8-2): Well, they only lost to Oregon and TCU. If they played in a BCS conference they'd probably be a top 15 team. But they play Utah State. So sorry Utah, no dice. At least you're still ranked!
24. Nebraska (7-3): After a mid-season skid, the Cornhuskers can get to 9-3 overall and 6-2 in conference play before a trip to the Big 12 championship game. With their strong defense, Nebraska could give Texas a run for their money. Kansas State and Colorado stand in the way of Nebraska ruining Texas' season.
25. BYU (8-2): Fine, Mountain West teams that are 8-2 with loses to TCU and a .500 Florida State team should probably be ranked in the top 25, sheesh.

Dropped from the rankings:
Arizona (formerly #14): It may seem like a precipitous fall, but they lost to another simply mediocre team. Maybe they and Cal can climb back into the rankings next week.
Southern Cal (formerly #18): After five bad games in a row, including the two biggest blowouts since Pete Carroll arrived, why do the experts still have this team ranked? THEY'RE NOT A VERY GOOD FOOTBALL TEAM THIS YEAR! The "Southern Cal Trojans" written on their uniforms do not make them good, sorry.
Texas Tech (formerly #21): What the hell Mike Leach, did you let those fat little girlfriends come around again? Ridiculous.
South Florida (formerly #22): Retraction- South Florida loudly announced that Rutgers is, in fact, the third best Big East team. Jim Leavitt apologizes for the misunderstanding.
Auburn (formerly #25): I really wanted them to kill Georgia. With their offense and Georgia's defense, they should have. Gene Chizick has one strange team.

Matchup of ranked teams this weekend:
Just one this weekend. #9 Louisiana State travels to Oxford to play #21 Ole Miss. If I can't manage a preview of this one, I should just stop blogging.