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SNAP CENTRAL | PREVIEWS: NCAA Top 25 | NFC East | NFC North | NFC South | NFC West | AFC East | AFC North | AFC South | AFC West NFL: Preseason: 1 2 3 4 Reg. Season: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 Playoffs: Wild Card Division Conference Super Bowl NCAA: Week: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Bowls Weeks 1 2 3 4 BCS National Title |
2007 NCAA Top 25 rankings - Week 7
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Downtown Magazine Home NCAA Week 7 Picks - early games NCAA Week 7 Picks - late games
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NCAA Top 25 (through games of 10/6)
Week 7 - Through games of 10/6/07
See Week 6 notes below
LSU Retains #1 Rank
With a thrilling victory over a determined conference foe, the LSU Tigers certainly deserve to remain atop the Downtown Magazine rankings, where they've been for the past four weeks. At last, the major polls (AP, USA TODAY/coaches, Harris) have finally caught on, naming LSU as the #1 team in the nation thanks to Stanford's wild win at USC on Saturday. More on that below.
The Tigers, while a unanimous #1 in the major polls, aren't exactly what we'd call bullet-proof. Every team in the Top 25 has more than its fair share of flaws, and LSU barely beat the Gators, 28-24, and needed 5 4th down conversions - including a fake field goal - to do so. Of course, the Tigers were without wideout Early Doucet, and that surely made some difference, but QB Matt Flynn is still a work-in-progress, as are the wideouts, though the continued development of Ryan Perrilloux and the heart and all-out grit of running back Jacob Hester are strong positives.
The next two weeks will be critical for LSU as they travel to Kentucky on the 13th and then host Auburn on the 20th. The Tigers will get a week off before their final real road test, at Alabama, November 3, now coached by former LSU head coach Nick Saban. There are story lines aplenty for that game.
Damaged Goods: USC, Kentucky, Florida, Wisconsin, Rutgers
With the 24-23 upset by Stanford, AT the HOME of the Trojans, USC finally lived down to their reputation as underperformers. The loss was tragic in light of Stanford's previous record - 1-3, all losses at home to PAC-10 opponents. The Trojans were supposed to hammer the Cardinal, instead they were shocked by a second string QB and pretty awful play on their own part. John David Booty (sorry, this guy is not the second coming of Carson Palmer or even Matt Leinart) tossed up 4 picks, was sacked 4 times and the USC kicker missed an extra point which turned out to be Stanford's margin of victory.
USC may prove to be only the 2nd or third best team in the conference. Cal, Oregon and Arizona State all play the Trojans down the line.
The the SEC, Kentucky's loss to South Carolina (which has only one loss on the year, to LSU), wasn't all that shocking. Neither was Florida's defeat at LSU. Both games were on the road and good teams win at home. LSU and South Carolina are GOOD teams. Not that Florida and the Wildcats are not. The SEC is the toughest conference in the nation, with the Big 12 gaining fast.
Wisconsin and Rutgers might as well be scratched off the list of possible BCS teams and replaced with Illinois and Cincinnati, the teams that dumped them this week. Cincy's 28-23 victory was especially notable in that it came on the road. The Bearcats are well-coached and could be the class of the Big East, despite protestations from South Florida and West Virginia, both of whom are on the Bearcat schedule. Cincy travels to South Florida on November 3 and hosts the Mountaineers on November 17.
Wisconsin faces an uphill battle in the Big 10. With Ohio State looking somewhat unbeatable with not only the best defense in the conference by far, the Badgers also must contend with with Nittany Lions in happy Valley next week, and play at Ohio State November 3. After that they welcome Michigan into Badgerland on November 10. Following their 31-26 loss at Illinois, Wisconsin will be lucky to finish the season with less than three losses.
Copyright 2007, 2008, Rick Gagliano, Downtown Magazine. All rights reserved. Downtown Magazine is located in the Uinted States of America and is not affiliated with the National Football League or the NCAA. For more information, contact us here. Use of this site is for entertainment purposes only.  |
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