BlogPoll Ballot: Week 5

By Alex Gleitman on September 26, 2011 at 12:00 pm
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Well you can all breathe a bit easier this week, as the Buckeyes rebounded from an awful performance at Miami to play their most complete game of the year in a win at home against Colorado.

While the win was nice, it wasn't enough to get them back in the polls this week, but that can all change next week as conference play begins and teams will be dropping like flies now that the cupcakes on their schedule are no more. 

This week there was no adds or drop outs from our Top 25 of Week 4, but there was certainly some shake up. Take a look and have at it, as we give you the 11W Week 5 BlogPoll Ballot.

1 LSU Tigers The Tigers make the jump to #1 this week after escaping the toughest first four games in America without a loss. This past week featured a 47-21 win at night against a solid West Virginia team sporting a hostile environment. Touche Tigers, but don't enjoy it too much as the meat of your SEC schedule is up next. UP1
2 Oklahoma Sooners The Sooners were impressive again this past week, taking down Missouri 38-28 after falling behind in the game early. Despite throwing 2 INTs, Landry Jones was able to lead his team for victory, tossing 3 scores and 448 yards through the air.  DOWN 1
3 Alabama Crimson Tide Alabama is another team that is making it's case to play in New Orleans at season's end. The Tide blew out Arkansas 38-14 at home on Saturday, lead by Trent Richardson's 211 yards and a score. AJ McCarron continues to look like the real deal, throwing for 200 yards and 2 TDs in the win. --
4 Stanford Cardinal Stanford was idle this week and should be able to skate through their next four games against UCLA, Colorado, Washington State, and Washington pretty easily. The real challenge will come in the last five weeks of the season in which they go to USC and Oregon State and then host Oregon, California, and Notre Dame. David Shaw's team is definitely a sleeper for a MNC bid.  --
5 Boise State Broncos Tulsa put up a fight, but Kellen Moore's 279 yards and 4 TDs helped Boise State come away with a 41-21 win over the Golden Hurricane. Moore is certainly a Heisman contender this year and the thing that has me so amazed is his ability to throw for so many yards and touchdowns while limiting the turnovers. --
6 Wisconsin Badgers Wisconsin, while playing a weak schedule so far this season, continues to be an offensive Monster. In a 59-10 drumming of lowly South Dakota, Russell Wilson threw for 345 yards and 3 TDs, while the Badgers running game churned out 269 yards and 5 scores. Up next is a telling game in Madison against Nebraska. This one should be a dandy. --
7 Oklahoma State Cowboys Down 20-3 at half, it looked like the heralded Oklahoma State offense was a pretender. That changed in the second half, as QB Brandon Weeden rallied the troops to a 30-29 comeback win in College Station over Texas A&M. Weeden threw for 438 yards and 2 TDs in the win, a game that puts OSU right up there with their in-state rivals at the top of the Big 12. --
8 Nebraska Cornhuskers Nebraska took a trip to Wyoming and left with an effortless 38-14 win. Taylor Martinez rand for a touchdown and threw for a touchdown, while Rex Burkhead chipped in with 170 yards and 2 TDs as well. The Cornhuskers go on the road again this week, this time with a much tougher Wisconsin opponent waiting. UP1
9 Oregon Ducks LaMichael James continues to have my vote for the Heisman thus far, and carried that through on Saturday with 288 yards rushing and 2 TDs as Oregon took down Arizona 56-31 in Tucson. Darren Thomas kept a stellar season in tack himself, adding 4 total touchdowns in the game. UP1
10 South Carolina Gamecocks It was ugly, but South Carolina defeated Vanderbilt 21-3 at home. Stephen Garcia did everything he could, including throwing 4 INTs and being yanked in favor of Connor Shaw, but the Gamecocks defense was just too good to let the Commodores win. Garcia remains the starter for now, but will need to step his game up big time if USC want to make a run at the SEC East this year. UP2
11 Virginia Tech Hokies The "WE ARE-MARSHALL" chants didn't get to last too long, as the Hokies went to Huntington and came away with a 30-10 road win. It looks like VT will be doing it on the ground in 2011, and that trend continued as David Wilson and Josh Oglesby combined for 207 yards and all 3 touchdowns in the victory. UP2
12 Florida Gators I was very skeptical about Will Muschamp and the Gators coming into the 2011 season, but each week they show me they are a legitimate SEC East contender. In a 48-10 win at Kentucky, Jeff Demps ran for 157 yards and 2 TDs on just 10 carries, while backfield mate Chris Rainey chipped in with 105 yards on 15 carries.  UP3
13 Texas A&M Aggies Unable to hold a 20-3 halftime lead, a late charge by the Aggies fell short, as they fell to Oklahoma State 30-29 at Kyle Field. Ryan Tannehill was the bright spot for  A&M, totaling 378 yards and 3 TDs, but his 3 INTs and Cyrus Gray's inability to move the ball on the ground ultimately doomed Mike Sherman's team. DOWN 5
14 Clemson Tigers Clemson is a nice early season story, continuing their hot streak in a 35-30 win against Florida State. Ohio State fans continue to imagine what could have been with Tajh Boyd, as the Tigers' signal caller had another sensational day, throwing for 344 yards and 3 TD and also rushing for 31 yards and a score. Up next is a road game against Virginia Tech in a contest that should tell us more about both teams. UP6
15 Baylor Bears Baylor is also a nice early season story and I can't help but find myself rooting for this team on a weekly basis. Robert Griffin III is an absolute stud and proved it once again, going 29/33 for 338 yards and 5 TDs against 0 INTs, as well as 51 yards rushing and another score in a 56-31 win over Rice. In three games this season, Griffin III is now 70/82 for 962 yards with 13 TDs and 0 INTs. He has also rushed for 167 yards and a score. This is what the perfect dual threat quarterback looks like folks. UP3
16 South Florida Bulls Skip Holz is channeling is inner Dr. Lou, as the Bulls remain undefeated after a 52-24 win against UTEP. BJ Daniels threw for 202 yards and rushed for 130, scoring 3 TDs on the day in a warm-up for next week's match-up on the road against Pittsburgh. UP1
17 Texas Longhorns The Longhorns were idle this past week, giving themselves extra time to prepare for an Iowa State team that is off to a hot start in 2011. Case McCoy got another week to get some reps in as the #1 quarterback, which should be beneficial for Mack Brown's team as they hit the road in week 5. UP2
18 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets The triple option offense is certainly padding the stats of Tevin Washington. The Yellow Jackets quarterback totaled 258 yards with 3 TDs against UNC in a 35-28 GT win against UNC. Paul Johnson's team remains unscathed and is making more noise as a dark horse team in the ACC. UP3
19 Florida State Seminoles Playing without starter EJ Manuel, Florida State dropped its second straight game to fall to 2-2 on the season. In the 35-30 loss at Clemson, quarterback play wasn't necessarily the problem, as back-up Clint Trickett filled in for Manuel admirably with a 336 yard, 3 TD performance. The Seminoles have a bye this week to recoup and get Manuel healthy before heading to Wake Forest on October 8th.  DOWN 8
20 Michigan Wolverines Brady Hoke's former team came into the Big House angry, but couldn't finish off drives that continually ended in Michigan territory. The Wolverines showed struggles passing in a 28-7 win, but Denard Robinson negated a 95 yard-2 INT throwing performance with 200 yards and 3 TDs on the ground. Up next for Michigan is Minnesota, a game that should bring UM to 5-0 on the season. UP2
21 Arizona State Sun Devils Arizona State solidified me keeping them in the Top 25 after their loss to Illinois last week, rebounding with a 43-22 win against USC. QB Brock Osweiler threw for 223 yards and 2 TDs, while RB Cameron Marshall stole the show with 141 yards and 3 TDs on the ground. UP3
22 West Virginia Mountaineers The West Virginia offense is certainly a good one, but it could not overcome a stout LSU defense in a 47-21 loss. Geno Smith tossed 2 TDs and 463 yards on the night, but also threw 2 INTs that didn't help a team that was overmatched against the SEC's best. DOWN 6
23 Arkansas Razorbacks Getting drilled 38-14 almost lead me to keep the Razorbacks off this poll, but we shall see what team this really is when they take on Texas A&M this upcoming week. There really wasn't much good that came out of the game against Alabama on Saturday, as the offense threw 2 interceptions and the running game gained just 17 yards all day. DOWN 9
24 Illinois Fighting Illini Illinois narrowly escaped Western Michigan 23-20 in what became a trap game for the Illini. Derek Dimke kicked three field goals and the U of I rushing attack notched 52 carries for 296 yards and a touchdown in the win. A game against Northwestern this weekend could end Ron Zook's undefeated season, but a win would go a far way in proving this team is a contender rather than a pretender. DOWN 1
25 Iowa State Cyclones Like their next opponent Texas, Iowa state was also idle and got an extra week to prepare for the Longhorns coming to town. I think Texas's talent is too much for the Cyclones, but the fact that the game is home and this team has a lot of confidence could make things very interesting in Ames on Saturday. --
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