Week one has come and gone in the 2011 college football season and it was exciting as anyone could have hoped for. Our beloved Buckeyes got the job done in convincing fashion against the lowly Akron Zips, but some other teams weren't as fortunate.
We now head into week two where we get to see a little bit more from those vying to make a trip to New Orleans this January. In the polls, there was already some shake up and with some big time match ups set for this upcoming weekend, there's bound to be some more.
Take a look at our latest breakdown of the top 25 teams in the nation and let us know how we did. Into our polls this week goes Baylor for their impressive offensive output in beating TCU, as well as USF for their road victory in South Bend. Out go the Horned Frogs and the Fighting Irish for miserable defensive and offensive performances respectively.
All of your input is greatly appreciated, so commentary is highly encouraged. The more the merrier folks!
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The nation's #1 team sure looked like it in a 47-14 victory over Tulsa. Landry Jones had 375 yards passing with a touchdown, but the real show stopper was Dominique Whaley, who rushed for 131 yards and 4 scores on just 18 carries. | -- |
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'Bama made Darrell Hazell's coaching debut a rough one, as the Tide rolled to a 48-7 victory over Kent State. Trent Richardson started his Heisman campaign by notching 3 rushing touchdowns, while Marquis Maze has 8 catches for 118 yards and a TD. Nick Saban's team travels to Happy Valley in a slightly tougher game in week two. |
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Jarrett Lee didn't look too good, but it didn't matter as LSU's defense and running game helped the Tigers take care of Oregon 40-23. Ohioan Spencer Ware had 99 yards and a touchdown and Michael Ford had 96 yards and 2 scores to lead the running game. |
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The David Shaw era started off on the right foot as the Cardinal took down lowly San Jose State 57-3. Andrew Luck tossed 2 touchdown passes and RB Stepfan Taylor had 2 rushing scores to contribute to the cruise control win in Paolo Alto. | -- |
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Next to LSU, Boise State had the most impressive victory in the opening week of the season. Kellen Moore went 28/34 for 261 yards and 3 touchdowns, as the Broncos went down to Atlanta and knocked off a ranked Georgia team 35-21. Although they're in tougher Mountain West Conference this year, BSU's toughest game is now behind them. |
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The Seminoles defense pitched a shut out and EJ Manuel threw for 252 yards and 2 TDs in a 34-0 win over Louisiana-Monroe. It looks like Jimbo Fisher's team is coming together nicely early on in the season and this may be the year FSU finally takes back the ACC. |
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Taylor Martinez has 135 yards and 3 TDs on the ground to go with 116 yards through the air in Nebraska's 40-7 win over Chattanooga. Rex Burkhead also rushed for 75 yards and a score on 11 carries for the Corn Huskers in an easy victory in Lincoln. |
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Mike Sherman's team looked impressive in dismantling an SMU team trying to join the Big 12 by a score of 46-14. The backfield tandem of Cyrus Gray and Christine Michael combined for 35 carries for 217 yards and 4 TDs, while QB Ryan Tannehill threw for 246 yards and 2 scores in an impressive first game as a top 10 ranked team. |
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America's greatest air show didn't disappoint as the Cowboys took down Louisiana-Lafayette by a score of 61-34. QB Brandon Weeden threw for 388 yards and 3 TDs, with 8 passes and 144 yards going to All-American WR Justin Blackmon. RB Joseph Rade had 129 yards and 2 touchdowns to make sure fans knew OSU can hurt you on the ground as well. A tougher Arizona match-up awaits Mike Gundy's team next week. | -- |
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Russell Wilson's debut was a successful one, but Montee Ball wasn't too shabby either in the Badger's 51-17 win over UNLV. Wilson threw for 255 yards with 2 TDs and ran for 62 yards and another score, but it was Ball who did it all, tallying 130 yards and 4 TDs in the Thursday night match-up. Wisco faces a much tougher Oregon State team in week two so we'll see their new offense a bit more tested this coming weekend. |
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A disappointing start for Chip Kelly and the national runner-up Ducks as they fell to LSU 40-23. The offense turned the ball over way too many times and the defense seemed to really miss the departure of key players including Kenny Rowe and Casey Matthews, among others. The Ducks are still a front-runner in the Pac 12 so they can't drop too far as it's not unrealistic they can win out their remaining games this season. |
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The east coast USC trailed East Carolina early, but Stephen Garcia came off the bench to save the day in leading the Gamecocks to a 56-37 win over the Pirates. Garcia likely took back the starting job as he threw for 110 yards and a TD, while rushing for 56 yards and 2 TDs after coming in for the ineffective Connor Shaw. South Carolina goes down to Athens to take on Georgia next week in what should be one of the best games in week two. | -- |
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Just over 4 years after upsetting Michigan in The Big House, Appalachian State came far from replicating that surprising feat as they fell to the Hokies 66-13. In true Frank Beamer form, the VT defense forced 4 turnovers and scored a touchdown, while David Wilson helped the offense move the chains, rushing for 162 yards and 3 TDs on just 16 carries. | -- |
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It wasn't always pretty, but the end result was defining as the Buckeyes got Luke Fickell his first head coaching win in a 42-0 victory over Akron. Joe Bauserman connected with Jake Stoneburner three times through the air, while Carlos Hyde and Rod Smith stepped in admirably for a suspended Boom Herron and Jordan Hall and an injured Jaamal Berry. The defense was pretty impressive too, registering 5 sacks and forcing an interception on the day. |
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MSU drops a spot after a less than impressive effort in beating Youngstown State 28-6. If you watched the game, the Spartans continually let the Penguins deep into their territory before YSU squandered a bunch of opportunities and the offense struggled to put up a ton of points despite moving the ball well at times. One highlight from this contest was that WR BJ Cunningham tied a school record for career receptions and will likely pass Matt Trannon in the team's next game. |
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Arkansas certainly looked impressive, be it with a 51-7 win against a Missouri State team that didn't even belong on the field with the SEC power. Tyler Wilson picked up where Ryan Mallet left off, throwing for 260 yards and 2 TDs, while Kody Walker had two rushing scores in place of Kniles Davis who is out for the season due to injury. |
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Dan Mullen's team is on a mission to silence the doubters and started off the right way in taking care of Memphis 59-14. The Bulldogs' defense forced 3 turnovers and Vick Ballard rushed 10 times for 166 yards and 3 TDs in the victory. MSU goes to Auburn next week in a game that should make it more clear if they are contenders or pretenders this season. |
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Brock Osweiler threw for 262 yards and 2 TDs, both to Aaron Pflugrad, as the Sun Devils skated in a 48-14 win against UC-Davis. ASU plays host to Missouri next week in another week two match up that should be exciting to watch. |
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Missouri probably should move down after only beating Miami (OH) 17-6, but we decided to let them hang onto the #19 spot until after their trip to Tempe next week. If Missouri can take down the Sun Devils they deserve to move up in the rankings, but unless James Franklin has a repeat week one performance (129 passing yards,TD; 72 rushing yards, TD) it looks like that won't be an easy task for the Tigers. | -- |
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The Gators helped Will Muschamp get a win in his first game as head coach in the town he grew up in as a child. UF took care of Florida Atlantic 41-3 in The Swamp and Chris Rainey scored three times on a reception, a rush, and a return off a blocked punt. Jeff Demps also had a nice day with 12 rushes for 105 yards and 2 TDs. |
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Dana Holgorsen continued the trend of first year coaches recording victories on Sunday, as WVU beat in-state rival Marshall 34-13. The Big East favorite were lead by QB Geno Smith, who was 26/35-249-2 on the afternoon. The rushing game did struggle though, as the Mountaineers only recorded 42 total yards on the ground for the day. |
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In one of the more exciting college football games in recent memory, Baylor took down Rose Bowl champs TCU by a score of 50-48. Robert Griffin III launched himself right into the Heisman race, connecting on 21 of 27 passes for 359 yards and 5 touchdowns, with a more impressive 0 turnovers. His favorite target was WR Kendall Wright who had 12 catches for 189 yards and 2 TDs in shredding what was the nation's top ranked defense for the last three seasons. | -- |
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Like Baylor, it's an uncertainty to how long South Florida will remain in these rankings, but traveling to South Bend and beating a ranked (and over-rated) Notre Dame team certainly deserves them getting some credit. The Bulls' defense force 3 interceptions and returned a fumble 96 yards for a touchdown, while kicker Maikon Bonani connected 3 of his 4 field goal attempts in the 23-20 win. | -- |
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I expected Georgia to be more competitive in a game against Boise State in Atlanta, but can't fault them too much for falling to one of the nation's best teams the last five years. Despite the loss, Georgia has a chance to redeem themselves in a week two game against South Carolina at home, where Aaron Murray (16/29-236-2) will have a national audience to see what he can do. |
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Auburn looked horrific in trailing for most of their game against Utah State, but rebounded when it mattered most and picked up a 42-38 win over the Aggies. Barrett Trotter went 17/23-261-3 in replacing Cam Newton, but the defense didn't fair as well in replacing those departed on that side of the ball. Overall the Tigers had to replace 16 of 22 starters and it certainly showed as they now hang on a thread for their top 25 life heading into a second week match-up at home against Mississippi State. |
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| Dropouts: TCU Horned Frogs, Notre Dame Fighting Irish | |||
| SB Nation BlogPoll College Football Top 25 Rankings » | |||
