|
See related:Fearless Rick's College Football Picks
College Football Top 25 Week 1
College Football Top 25 Week 2
College Football Top 25 Week 3
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.
|
NCAA College Football Top 25
| Week 3 - Through 9/17 |
| Rank |
Prev Week |
Team/Record |
Latest Result |
Next Game |
| 1 |
1 |
USC (2-0) |
W 70-17 vs. Arkansas 9/17 |
at Oregon 9/24 |
| 2 |
2 |
Texas (3-0) |
W 51-10 vs. Rice 9/17 |
at Missouri 10/1 |
| 3 |
3 |
Virginia Tech (3-0) |
W 45-0 vs. Ohio 9/17 |
vs. Georgia Tech 9/24 |
| 4 |
4 |
Georgia (3-0) |
W 44-7 vs. Louisiana-Monroe 9/17 |
at Mississippi St. 9/24 |
| 5 |
5 |
Florida (3-0) |
W 16-7 vs. Tennessee 9/17 |
at Kentucky 9/24 |
| 6 |
6 |
California (3-0) |
W 35-20 vs. Illinois |
at New Mexico St. 9/23 |
| 7 |
7 |
Ohio State (2-1) |
W 27-6 vs. San Diego St. 9/17 |
vs. Iowa 9/24 |
| 8 |
8 |
LSU (1-0) |
W 35-31 at Arizona St. 9/10 |
vs. Tennessee 9/24 |
| 9 |
10 |
Louisville (2-0) |
W 63-17 vs. Oregon State |
at South Florida 9/24 |
| 10 |
12 |
Florida State (3-0) |
W 28-17 at Boston College 9/17 |
vs. Syracuse 9/24 |
| 11 |
11 |
Purdue (2-0) |
W 31-24 at Arizona 9/17 |
at Minnesota 9/24 |
| 12 |
14 |
Georgia Tech (3-0) |
W 28-13 vs. Connecticut |
at Virginia Tech 9/24 |
| 13 |
16 |
Arizona State (2-1) |
W 52-21 vs. Northwestern 9/17 |
at Oregon St. 9/24 |
| 14 |
15 |
Iowa State (2-0) |
W 23-3 vs. Iowa 9/10 |
at Army 9/23 |
| 15 |
NR |
Alabama (3-0) |
W 37-14 at South Carolina |
vs. Arkansas 9/24 |
| 16 |
9 |
Tennessee (1-1) |
L 7-16 at Florida |
at LSU 9/24 |
| 17 |
17 |
Virginia (2-0) |
W 27-24 at Syracuse |
vs. Duke 9/24 |
| 18 |
22 |
Miami (1-1) |
W 36-30 at Clemson 9/17 |
vs. Colorado 9/24 |
| 19 |
NR |
Michigan State (3-0) |
W 44-41 at Notre Dame |
at Illinois 9/25 |
| 20 |
21 |
Texas A & M (1-1) |
W 66-8 vs. SMU 9/17 |
vs. Texas State 9/24 |
| 21 |
24 |
Texas Tech (2-0) |
W 80-21 vs. Sam Houston St. 9/17 |
vs. Indiana St. 9/24 |
| 22 |
13 |
Notre Dame (2-1) |
L 41-44 vs. Michigan St. 9/17 |
at Washington 9/24 |
| 23 |
19 |
Michigan (2-1) |
W 55-0 vs. Eastern Mich. 9/17 |
at Wisconsin 9/24 |
| 24 |
21 |
Clemson (2-1) |
L 30-36 vs. Miami 9/17 |
vs. Boston College 9/24 |
| 25 |
NR |
West Virginia (3-0) |
W at Maryland 31-19 9/17 |
vs. East Carolina 9/24 |
| Honorable Mention: New Mexico, Boston College, Oregon, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Auburn, Connecticut, Iowa, UCLA |
Few Changes at the top, but Alabama, Michigan State and West Virginia crack Downtown Magazine's Top 25
Rick Gagliano | 9/18/05
As USC, Texas, Virginia Tech and Georgia rolled to easy wins over lesser opponents, the top 10 spots remained virtually unchanged in Downtown Magazine College Football Top 25 rankings.
In fact, the top 8, all winners, remained the same. #9 Tennessee fell out of the Top 10 as they dropped a 16-9 decision to fellow SEC foe Florida. The Gators retained their position at #5.
With Tennessee dropping out, Louisville and Florida State moved into positions 9 and 10. Louisville romped at home against Oregon State, 62-17. The Seminoles traveled up north and whipped well-regarded Boston College, 28-17.
California and Ohio State, both winning over non-conference opponents (Cal beat Illinois, 35-20, while the Buckeyes hammered San Diego State, 27-6) ended the week in the 6th and 7th spots, respectively. Idle LSU hung in at #8.
Further down the rankings were plenty of eye-opening changes, notably Alabama returning to national prominence with a convincing, nationally-televised victory over Steve Spurrier's South Carolina Gamecocks.
Carolina had come within a whisker of beating Georgia on Sept. 10 and were a slight underdog against the Crimson Tide despite playing at home. When it was all over, Alabama, led by quarterback Brodie Croyle and Junior running back Kenneth Darby, emerged with a 37-14 win.
Croyle was 12 of 21 passing for 115 yards and a touchdown. He also ran 15 yards for the Tide's first score and was not intercepted.
Darby carried the ball 20 times for 175 yards and a score. On Monday, he was named SEC offensive player of the week for his exceptional effort.
Alabama, now 3-0, is ranked #15.
In South Bend, the Michigan State Spartans shredded the Notre Dame defense, building a three touchdown advantage midway through the third quarter, only to see it slip away as the Irish tied the game late.
In the overtime, the Spartan defense stiffened, forcing Notre Dame to kick a field goal. When Michigan State got the ball, they needed only two plays, as running back Jason Teague scampered down the sideline for a 19-yard touchdown and the 44-41 win. Michigan State moves to 3-0 and a #19 ranking.
At Maryland, the West Virginia Mountaineers improved to 3-0 with a win over the Terrapins and filled out the Top 25 in the final spot behind Notre Dame, Michigan and Clemson. The Tigers lost a tough triple overtime tilt to Miami, 36-30, and fell three spots, from 21 to 24. The Hurricanes evened their record at 1-1 and improved from #22 to #18 this week.
For complete Top 25 results, college and pro football picks and more, visit the Downtown Magazine web site every Monday afternoon.
|
