No One Is Safe - Top 25 (9/23/11)

WOW.
That's really all that needs to be said about the end of the Wisconsin v. Michigan State game. In case you weren't watching, the Badgers jumped out to an early lead before Russell Wilson made the first few "bad" decisions I've seen this year out of the N.C. St. transplant, including an interception and a safety from intentional grounding. MSU carried that momentum into the 2nd half and led by 14 with about 11 minutes left in the game. But Wisconsin fought back, and tied things up with just 90 seconds left. The Spartans tried to get into FG range, but the final drive sputtered after a Kirk Cousins fumble brought up 2nd & 21. He then completed a mid-range pass bringing up 3rd & 6 when suddenly everything changed...

Pre-BCS Top 25

Tonight the first BCS rankings will come out. Pretty sure we all know the top 3 schools, and the order is a little irrelevant since LSU plays Alabama in a few short weeks. What will be interesting is where the Boise (Blowout) Blue Broncos fall. Odds are good they will be short of all the undefeateds from the major conferences, possibly including Clemson and Wisconsin. Speaking of undefeated teams, a few ran into problems yesterday which results in a new team in the Top 10.

It is so....

Put up or Shut up!

Conference play is in full swing, and there were some heavy-hitting matchups among top 25 teams this weekend. A little redemption for Nebraska and Taylor Martinez against Big Ten perennial powerhouse Ohio State. Who cares if the Buckeyes are down this year due to the scandals? The Huskers are trying to hold onto a respectable season after the defense has vastly underperformed so far this year. Also, the Red River Rivalry was not close, and that's why I think Oklahoma continues to be the obvious number 1.

So, without further adieu...

The Big 12

With all the talk of the craziness in the Big Ten, I thought I'd wander a bit and focus on the Big 12. 

If you've been reading the blog (or not) you're aware that Kansas is really good.  You might also have heard since being annointed the #1 team in the country Texas is 2-5.  Unfortunately the rest of the conference has taken a back seat to these noteworthy performances.
Here are the standings as of 2/10/10:

 

	Conf.		Overall
Kansas	23	1	9	0
Kansas St.	19	4	6	3
Texas A&M	17	6	6	3
Missouri	17	6	5	3
Texas	19	5	5	4
Baylor	17	5	4	4
Oklahoma St.	16	7	4	5
Texas Tech	16	7	4	5
Oklahoma	13	10	4	5
Iowa St.	13	10	2	6
Nebraska	13	10	1	7
Colorado	11	12	2	7

 

• Kansas is truly an elite team as they rank second in both adjusted (tempo-free) offense and defense.  They've nearly locked up a one seed and have to be the favorite to earn the number one overall seed.
• Kansas St. now has to be considered the second best team in the conference. With wins over Xavier and on the road at UNLV they have a decent non-conference resume.  If there were still doubters after starting 17-3, taking Kansas in OT should have convinced them this team is for real.  They are currently sitting in the 2-4 seed range.  

Read about the other teams after the jump.