Miami, OSU hold spots
Longhorns, Tigers stumble on field, in Reveille polls
By Bryan Wideman, Sports Writer
1. Miami (9-0) Miami had the week off to prepare for its next three tough games against Syracuse, Pittsburgh and Virginia Tech. The Hurricanes are ready to party in the Fiesta Bowl.
2. Ohio State (12-0) For the second straight week, the Buckeyes squeaked by an underdog to keep their undefeated season alive. The offense continues its struggles without freshman tailback Maurice Clarett.
3. Iowa (11-1) Quarterback Brad Banks may get an invite to New York for the presentation of the Heisman Trophy after the season he had. He finished off the year with a four-touchdown performance in a 45-21 win over Minnesota.
4. Washington State (9-1) The Cougars are third in the Bowl Championship Series poll, and Jason Gesser is the greatest thing in the state of Washington right now.
5. Oklahoma (9-1) The Sooners blew away Baylor 49-9 Saturday. Oklahoma gets another chance to shut down a great quarterback when Kliff Kingsbury and Texas Tech come calling this weekend.
6. Georgia (10-1) The Bulldogs clinched the Southeastern Conference East championship with a last second, game winning catch at Auburn Saturday. Georgia finally gets to play in Atlanta.
7. Alabama (9-2) The Crimson Tide washed into Baton Rouge and dismantled the LSU Tigers by rolling up 300 rushing yards in a 31-0 win. This may be a better Alabama team than the 1998 SEC champions.
8. Notre Dame (9-1) The Irish had the week off after nearly losing to Navy. Notre Dame has Nov. 30 circled on their calendar. That game against USC will have major BCS implications.
9. Michigan (9-2) The Wolverines got past a pesky Wisconsin team, 21-14, to pave the way for the huge game with Ohio State this weekend. Michigan will go into that game with a lot of confidence.
10. USC (8-2) Carson Palmer keeps playing great football, but the Trojans have a tough road ahead. They still have to play UCLA and Notre Dame before they can call the regular season quits.
11. Kansas State (9-2) The Wildcats put up 28 unanswered points on Nebraska to finish with a 49-13 win over the Huskers. K-State definitely is one of the hottest teams in the country right now.
12. Texas (10-2) Kingsbury outdueled Chris Simms in this Big 12 matchup. The Longhorns’ defense better be ready for Reggie McNeil and the Texas A&M Aggies.
13. Virginia Tech (8-2) The Hokies keep overlooking their opponents to the Miami game. If that keeps up, they will finish the season 8-4.
14. Florida (8-3) The Gators were hoping for Auburn to beat Georgia Saturday, but it did not happen. Had the Bulldogs lost, the Gators would be headed to Atlanta.
15. Penn State (8-3) Larry Johnson did it again. In the Nittany Lions’ 58-25 victory over Indiana, Johnson rushed for 325 yards and four touchdowns, breaking Penn State’s single-game rushing record (for the third time this season).
16. Colorado (8-3) Chris Brown may be a better running back than Larry Johnson. He is strong and fast and keeps leading the Buffaloes to victory.
17. Florida State (8-3) Adrian McPherson threw for 237 yards and four touchdowns in the Seminoles’ 40-14 win over North Carolina. Bobby Bowden is happy he made the decision to bench Chris Rix.
18. Pittsburgh (8-2) The Panthers are awaiting their matchup with Miami. Pittsburgh may think they have a chance.
19. Maryland (9-2) The Terps totally have turned their season around after a lowly start. The win over Clemson was sweet for the Maryland fans.
20. UCLA (7-3) The Bruins are looking forward to the revenge game with USC this weekend. Last season, the Trojans humiliated UCLA, 27-0.
21. Colorado State (9-2) The Rams finally crack The Reveille’s top-25 with their 49-21 win over San Diego State. The Reveille sports staff does not like teams from small divisions.
22. Boise State (10-1) We may not like teams from smaller conferences, but we cannot deny Ryan Dinwiddie and his 399-yard, four-touchdown performance after breaking his ankle earlier in the season.
23. Texas Tech (8-4) Kingsbury put up 474 yards and four touchdowns against Texas, proving that he is the best quarterback in the Lone Star State.
24. LSU (7-3) The Tigers did not look like the defending SEC Champs in their lopsided loss to Alabama Saturday. The only bright spot for the Tigers was the return of LaBrandon Toefield.
25. Hawaii (8-2) Quarterback Jimmy Chang has Hawaii playing good football. This is another WAC team that has caught our eye. Alabama travels out to the islands for its “bowl” game. But first, Hawaii is hoping for a Boise State loss and a chance for the WAC Championship.