Top 25 Week 5

Not that many shake-ups in the Top 25 this week, but two new newcomers should spice it up a little bit.

Top 25

1. Alabama (4-0) I always knew Alabama was the real deal after they won the National Title last year, but was very surprised with Arkansas in the first half last saturday. Arkansas came out swinging, but when Alabama started running their power running game and their defense sufficated Mallett, the game was over. Alabama has a tough strech of game, but I think they will be able to survive it all.
Projected Record: 13-0

2. Ohio State (4-0) Eastern Michigan isn't that much of a contest for the Buckeye. Pryor had a field day against Eastern Michigan, and the Buckeyes scored 73 points. Ohio State has their first conference game this year against Illinois, which shouldn't trouble the Buckeyes at all.
Projected Record: 11-1

3. Boise State (3-0) The Broncos had to hold a fiesty Oregon State team off last saturday night. Kellen Moore look like he still has his All-American talent working, and the Boise State awesome was on it's game. The only game they will have to worry about on their schedule now is Nevada. They play New Mexico State next week which means Kellen Moore will have a BIG game.
Projected Record: 12-0

4. Oregon (4-0) It was eventually going to happen. Because Oregon plays tougher competition than TCU, the Ducks passed the Horned Frogs in the polls. They will eventually pass Boise State also if they go undefeated. Oregon played Arizona State and was tested throughout the game. The Ducks offense still scored 42, but their defense struggled against the Sun Devils' Air Raid offense. The Ducks play a tough Stanford team in Eugene.
Projected Record: 12-0

5. TCU (4-0) The Horned Frogs went down in the polls despite the win. They played SMU last friday and gave up 24 points to really potent offense. They need to play exceptionally well agaisnt their ranked opponents this season if they want to overtake any more spots this year. They face a Coloroda State team that got their first win of the year last week against Idaho. Horned Frogs won't have any trouble with CSU.
Projected Record: 12-0

6. Nebraska (4-0) The Cornhuskers played South Dakota State last saturday and only put up 17 points. A really disappointing week for Nebraska and they are lucky they didn't fall down in the rankings. I still think they are one of the best teams in the Big 12. Second best. Nebraska has four tough opponents left on their schedule and should get past all of them. They have a bye week this week.
Projected Record: 12-1

7. Florida (4-0) After struggling the first couple weeks of the season, the Gators seem to have things going again. They are lucky they didn't schedule anybody good for a while. This week they play somebody good. #1 team in the country good. The Gators travel to Alabama this saturday hoping to upset the Tide. Unless their D-line and LB's are up to stop Ingram and Richardson, they will have no luck.
Projected Record: 11-2

8. Oklahoma (4-0) The Sooners had to hold off a struggling Cincinnati Bearcat team last saturday. Oklahoma has been struggling in little games this year, but has played exceptionally well against ranked competition. The Sooners face the Longhorns in the Red River Rivalry, and will look to bounce Texas out of the Top 25. I think Oklahoma will slip up against one team this year, and lose a regular season game, but it is not to Texas.
Projected Record: 12-1

9. Stanford (4-0) The Cardinals has had pretty good competition the whole year and have been coming up big. They played the Irish last saturday and tore Notre Dame apart 37-14. They jumped up 7 spots in the rankings with a win against a below .500 Irish team....They will fall back down after this week after they go into Eugene, Oregon to face the highly powered Ducks.
Projected Record: 10-2

10. Auburn (4-0) The Tigers showed that they have one of the best QB's in the SEC this year. I rank Cam Newton #2 in the SEC behind Arkansas' pro QB. He was more than impressive against South Carolina delivering the ball for short passes, and using his legs to pick up key first downs and touchdowns. The Tigers play Louisiana Monroe this week and well go 5-0. They will have a real good chance to finish 2nd in the SEC West.
Projected Record: 10-2

11. Wisconsin (4-0) The Badgers played a BAD Austin Peay team last week and put up 70 points against them with half of those points coming in the 2nd quarter. The Badgers face their first stiff competition this week as they go into East Lansing to face the Greg Jones and the Spartans. The Badgers will look to their running attack to get past Michigan State in their first conference matchup.
Projected Record: 11-1

12. LSU (4-0) LSU jumped up 3 spots in the AP poll this week after defeated a ranked West Virginia team by 6. The Tigers got up on the Mountaineers early as they had a 17 points lead to start off the game. Patrick Peterson proved he is the most explosive returner in college football once again. The Tigers have many tough games left on their schedule including Alabama, Auburn, Arkansas, Florida, and South Carolina. They face Tennessee this week in the Tigers third conference game this year.
Projected Record: 9-3

13. Utah (4-0) Utah stayed at #13 in the poll after defeating San Jose State 56-3. Utah has a bye week this week, but they still have to Air Force, TCU, and Notre Dame this year. The Utes have looked impressive this year, and made me question what I thought they were going to go this season.
Projected Record: 10-2

14. Arizona (4-0) Arizona also stayed at the same spot in the polls this week after escaping California. That was my BIG upset pick last week and almost had it right, but the Wildcats came up big in the end and were able to beat the Golden Bears. The Wildcats have a bye week along with Utah this week before facing Oregon State.
Projected Record: 9-3

15. Arkansas (3-1) The Razorbacks played really tough against the Tide last week, but fell short to the best team in college football. Ryan Mallett looked like the best QB prospect in a couple of years in the first half, but then showed that he is sometimes very inconsistent. The Razorbacks also have a bye week before facing Texas A&M.
Projected Record: 10-2

16. Miami(FL) (3-1) The Hurricanes dominated Pittsburgh in the Thursday night matchup last week. Jacoby Harris still looks inconsistent in every game that he plays in. Eventually it will catch up to Miami and will hurt their chances to win the ACC. The Hurricanes play a dangerous Clemson team this week that almost defeated Auburn two weeks ago.
Projected Record: 9-3

17. Iowa (3-1) The Hawkeyes shutout Ball State last week after losing to Arizona one week before. The Hawkeyes have a tough matchup this week as they face Penn State. Iowa is till one of the top teams in the Big 10 and need a win this week to get their engine running again.
Projected Record: 9-3

18. USC (4-0) The had their first good win of the season last saturday by dominating Washington State. That helped the Trojans from falling down once again in the polls. The offense is starting to get a real hold of things for Lane Kiffin's offense. USC plays Jake Locker and a struggling Huskies team this week.
Projected Record: 8-4

19. South Carolina (3-1) South Carolina played really tough against Auburn, but were unable to find any consistent QB play. Garcia played really well in the first half, but gave up two KEY fumbles that changed the game around. Connor Shaw stepped in for the offense in the 4th quarter, but threw two picks including one in triple coverage. The Gamecocks have a bye week this week, before playing the top ranked Alabama Crimson Tide.
Projected Record: 8-4

20. Michigan (4-0) Even though Denard Robinson went out quickly in the game against Bowling Green, the offense was still fantastic against their MAC opponent. Michigan face Indiana in their first conference matchup. Shoelace should have no problem scoring on the Hoosiers who will be fighting Minnesota for the worst team spot.
Projected Record: 8-4

21. Texas (3-1) Texas was demolished by UCLA's Run? game. Yes I meant to put the question mark. I didn't know the Bruins had a running game. The Longhorns were exposed last week and Mack Brown apologized for it. He is going to have to apologize a lot more this year if the Longhorns are going to play like that. They play Oklahoma this week and then Nebraska.
Projected Record: 8-4

22. Penn State (3-1) The Nittany Lions have a chance they are one of the top teams in the Big 10 this year as they face Iowa. If they were to upset the Hawkeyes, they will be looked to challenge Ohio State for the title. The only loss on the Lions' schedule is to the Tide. Lets see how they do against a tough Iowa team.
Projected Record: 9-3

23. North Carolina State (4-0) Three new teams in the Top 25 this week and both of them are the wolfpack. NC State can be described as a one man wolfpack with Russell Wilson leading the show. The Wolfpack host the Hokies from Virginia Tech who are trying to get things back on track after struggling in the beginning of the season.
Projected Record: 8-4

24. Michigan State (4-0) The Spartans defeated Northern Colorado last week, and look to pull off a huge upset that will shake up the Big 10 agaisnt Wisconsin. The Spartans need a this win to jump start their season. They are going to have to keep the game more defensive if they want to win this game.
Projected Record: 8-4

25. Nevada (4-0) The other new wolfpack in the Top 25 is Nevada. Boise State's next toughest competition that has a good chance of going undefeated if they pull off the upset further down the road. The Wolfpack beat defeated BYU last week by 14. They have to face the same competition Boise faces this year.
Projected Record: 11-1