TOP 25
Iowa, Oregon drop from top 10
With Iowa losing, and falling to No. 15, there are six undefeated teams remaining. Another national championship contender (albeit a longshot), Oregon, fell out of the picture with its loss to Stanford. The Ducks drop just three slots — can’t put them behind a USC team they beat just 10 days ago. We’ve had it all along, but it finally took close-call victories by No. 5 Cincinnati and No. 6 Boise State for the other guys to catapult TCU past them to No. 4. Long overdue. Navy, at No. 25, enters the rankings with a win at Notre Dame, then ranked No. 17.
| No. | Team (Record) | Comment | Pvs. |
| 1 | Florida (9-0) | Gators, 7-2 in SEC championship games, will play in another | 1 |
| 2 | Texas (9-0) | McCoy (470 yards vs. UCF) is making a late Heisman bid | 2 |
| 3 | Alabama (9-0) | Tide headed for Georgia Dome for the second straight year | 3 |
| 4 | TCU (9-0) | Dominant last four weeks, outscoring competition 178-25 | 4 |
| 5 | Cincinnati (9-0) | With QB Collaros thriving, Pike feeling like Wally Pipp | 5 |
| 6 | Boise State (9-0) | Familiar territory — Broncos 9-0 for fourth time in six years | 7 |
| 7 | Georgia Tech (9-1) | Can wrap up ACC Coastal Saturday at Duke; won’t be easy | 10 |
| 8 | LSU (7-2) | Missed QB Jefferson, RB Scott in second half vs. Alabama | 6 |
| 9 | Pittsburgh (8-1) | Offense has produced at least 24 points each game | 13 |
| 10 | Ohio State (8-2) | In his home state (Pa.), did QB Pryor re-discover his mojo? | 16 |
| 11 | Oregon (7-2) | Nov. 21 at No. 16 Arizona could be for Pac 10 title | 8 |
| 12 | USC (7-2) | Can Trojans fare better than Oregon against Stanford? | 15 |
| 13 | Utah (8-1) | A big opportunity Saturday for Cain, Utes at No. 4 TCU | 12 |
| 14 | Houston (8-1) | Before kicking game-winner from 51, Hogan’s long was 34 | 14 |
| 15 | Iowa (9-1) | Freshman QB Vandenberg may make debut in Horseshoe | 9 |
| 16 | Arizona (6-2) | Cal (Saturday), Oregon and USC still remain for Wildcats | 18 |
| 17 | Miami (7-2) | Interesting matchup with resurgent UNC (6-3) on Saturday | 19 |
| 18 | Oklahoma St. (7-2) | Fourth straight year with 7-plus wins, a first for Cowboys | 20 |
| 19 | Wisconsin (7-2) | Hard-chargers Clay, Ball too much for pass-oriented Indiana | 22 |
| 20 | Penn State (8-2) | Story of ’09 — Beaver Stadium stinkers vs. Iowa, Ohio State | 11 |
| 21 | South Florida (6-2) | Another ESPN Thursday game for Da Bulls, at Rutgers | 24 |
| 22 | Temple (7-2) | Owls have won seven straight for the first time since 1973 | 25 |
| 23 | Virginia Tech (6-3) | Sophomore Dyrell Roberts leads nation in KR average (38.6) | NR |
| 24 | BYU (7-2) | QB Hall has 28 career wins, one shy of Detmer (1988-91) | NR |
| 25 | Navy (7-3) | Mids’ losses have come to top-25 teams Pitt, OSU, Temple | NR |
HEATING UP
Ohio State » With a convincing win in Happy Valley, Tressel and the Buckeyes are feeling Rosy.
Also » Texas, Oregon
COOLING DOWN
Iowa » Without QB Stanzi, Hawkeyes didn’t have their comeback catalyst against Northwestern.
Also » Penn State, Oregon
TOP 25 GAME OF THE WEEK
No. 13 Utah at No. 4 TCU
The Horned Frogs are doing something that always impresses the pollsters — winning impressively. Aside from a three-point victory at Air Force on Oct. 10, TCU has won its last four contests by an average score of 45-6. That includes a 38-7 rout of BYU. Utah likely will be the final test in the Frogs’ run at a perfect season and a BCS bid. Utah is the only other team unbeaten in the Mountain West Conference, with the only blemish coming by seven points against Oregon. The Utes have had TCU’s number lately, winning the past three meetings.
PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Mardy Gilyard, Cincinnati
So … who’s the best team in Ohio? The Bearcats are making a case for state pride — and national recognition. Gilyard is a major reason they’re No. 5 in the BCS. He has 65 receptions, 908 yards and eight touchdowns. On Saturday night, Gilyard had a season-high in catches (12) as well as 172 yards in a 47-45 win against Connecticut. But the meat of the Cats’ schedule is just beginning. Cincy hosts West Virginia on Friday night and finishes with a crucial road contest against Pittsburgh on Dec. 5. Both will determine who wins the Big East. And both will be heavily affected by the conference’s best wideout.
STORY LINES
1. Leaning Zebras » Alabama had about 92,100 supporters inside Bryant-Denny Stadium on Saturday. That doesn’t take into account the men on the field dressed in black and white striped shirts, which were all for the Crimson Tide. Controversy has followed the SEC all year — the notion being that they want Florida and Alabama to face off in the conference championship game with a BCS title berth at stake. True or not, things were certainly fishy when LSU cornerback Patrick Peterson appeared to pick off a Greg McElroy pass late in the fourth quarter. However, officials said he was out-of-bounds. The Tide kicked a field goal and won by nine. Both they and the Gators locked up spots in Atlanta on Dec. 5. The SEC suits are getting their wish.
2. Buck the System » The Hawkeyes were playing with fire all year. Against Northwestern, they were burned. Iowa’s perfect season is done — and so is starting quarterback Ricky Stanzi. That means redshirt freshman James Vandenberg will make his first start against the Buckeyes — and a defense that limited Penn State to just seven points. In addition, it appears as if quarterback Terrelle Pryor and the Ohio State offense are finding a groove — just in time to potentially win the Big Ten title with a victory on Saturday. Pryor was hearing boos from his own fans in the early part of this year. But three straight wins have stirred an OSU uprising and has boosted Pryor’s confidence.
3. Lame Ducks » In a reversal of fortune, Oregon was run over by Stanford in a 51-42 Cardinal upset. Toby Gerhart was the lead ground gainer, rushing 38 times for 223 yards and three touchdowns. Oregon couldn’t keep up despite 570 yards of total offense, trailing, 31-14, at halftime. Still capable of winning the Pac-10, the loss just makes the Ducks’ task a little harder. Easing the difficulty may be the return of starting running back LeGarrette Blount, reinstated after being suspended following a post-game punch he threw on the opening night against Boise State. The schedule, though, doesn’t get much easier: home vs. Arizona State, at Arizona and hosting Oregon State.
AREA INTELLIGENCE
MARYLAND
After their fifth straight loss, the Terps (2-7) face the daunting prospect of playing No. 23 Virginia Tech (6-3) without QB Chris Turner (questionable). Turner (MCL) was hurt in Maryland’s 38-31 loss at N.C. State. The Terps have been beaten by the ACC’s other three teams with losing records.
NAVY
The No. 25 Midshipmen (7-3) enter the rankings after toppling No. 17 Notre Dame, 23-21, for the second time in South Bend in three years. Navy faces FCS power Delaware (6-3) Saturday with FB Vince Murray looking to extend his streak of 100-yard games to five in his fifth career start.
VIRGINIA
With QB Jameel Sewell out, Mark Verica (11 of 29, 75 yards) was not the answer in a 52-17 loss to Miami. The Cavaliers (3-6) will try to halt their three-game losing streak against visiting Boston College (6-3, 3-2), which is battling Clemson (6-3, 4-2) for a berth in the ACC title game.
VIRGINIA TECH
The No. 23 Hokies got another spectacular performance from RB Ryan Williams (26 carries, 179 yards), who rebounded from his costly fumble the previous Thursday night in a loss to North Carolina. Tech travels to Maryland (2-7) Saturday. The Hokies have won the last four meetings.
GEORGETOWN
The Hoyas (0-9) had their chance to win, taking a lead with 54 seconds left Saturday at Marist. But then Georgetown surrendered a 56-yard drive in 49 seconds, which led to a field goal with 1 second left in a 21-20 defeat. The Hoyas host FCS defending champ Richmond (9-1) Saturday.
