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About the Top 25
Downtown Magazine's NCAA College Football Top 25 is not a poll like AP or USA Today/Coach's polls, or a computer generated rating system like the BCS, but an objective ranking system based on visual and statistical observations of college football teams in Division 1-A.
The rankings, published weekly - usually on Monday - are representative of what our expert editors believe to be the best teams in college football respective of conference play and strength of schedule leading up to the traditional bowl games. Downtown Magazine strives to present the Top 25 in a manner that is objective, non-political and respectful of the standards of NCAA football. |
Top Spots Unchanged as College Football Nears Conference Climax
With a number of the top teams idle - including USC, UCLA and all of the Big 10 teams - the spotlight fell on in-state rivalry games and contests for placement in conference championships.
The winners all came from the upper echelons of the rankings. Texas, #1 in Downtown Magazine's Top 25 Rankings, survived a scare from a determined Texas A & M squad, who came within a few plays of upsetting the Longhorns' season of perfection. The Aggies, led by freshman quarterback Stephen McGee, employed an option running game and heady defense to put a scare into the undefeated Longhorns, but eventually fell 40-29.
A & M entered the game as much as four touchdown underdogs and held Heisman candidate Vince Young to his worst performance of the season - 162 yards passing and only 19 rushing. Any other team might have crumbled, but the Texas defense held up late, shutting out the Aggies in the 4th quarter after they had drawn within 5 points at 34-29. The win was the closest call for Texas since rallying to win at Ohio State 25-22 on September 10.
The Longhorns will next face Colorado in the Big 12 Championship game. The Buffaloes backed into the Big 12 North division title when Iowa State lost in overtime to Kansas, 24-21 on Saturday. The Buffaloes were completely manhandled by Nebraska a day earlier, losing 30-3 to the Cornhuskers, but took the division title by virtue of their win over Iowa State earlier in the season. Once again, the Longhorns are 4-touchdown favorites in a game which will only serve as a tune-up to their probable date with destiny in the Rose Bowl versus USC for the national championship.
The Trojans had the week off to prepare for their annual clash with the UCLA Bruins. This season, the game is meaningful, as the Bruins are 9-1 and the winner of the game will secure the PAC 10 title. The Trojans have remained undefeated despite close calls against Notre Dame and Fresno State. Critics of the USC program point to the lack of defense as a major weakness, though no team has been able to exploit that enough to produce a win.
UCLA will have one final shot at Heisman candidates Matt Leinart and Reggie Bush, as they take their high-powered offense across town. USC is seeking to become the first team to win three consecutive national championships and have been made 21-point favorites in this, their final regular season game.
In the SEC, where the level of quality play never ceases, the LSU Tigers squeaked by the upset-minded Arkansas Razorbacks, holding on late for a 19-17 win and securing a spot in the SEC title game against Georgia, who won at Georgia Tech 14-7.
The Virginia Tech Hokies, who have been mostly overlooked by pollsters since their upset loss to Miami three weeks ago, continued to demonstrate that they are a high quality program by handing the North Carolina Tar Heels a 30-3 thrashing in Blacksburg. The Hokies will move on to the ACC Championship game against Florida State. That game may be less significant now, after the Seminoles were thoroughly outclassed by the Florida Gators in Gainesville, losing the non-conference contest 34-7.
Elsewhere, Notre Dame scored a touchdown late in the 4th quarter to knock off Stanford, 38-31, and keep their BCS Bowl hopes alive. West Virginia locked up the Big East title with a 45-13 win over the Pitt Panthers and some help from UConn, who bested South Florida, giving the Mountaineers a two-game lead in the standings. West Virginia plays at South Florida on Saturday, Dec. 3.
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