Jeff Dantzler’s Top 25 It was another exciting Saturday of college football, full of marquee match-ups. Most of the best games have been at night, and this past week was no exception. LSU was dominant in the fourth quarter. Oklahoma was the story of the day. Or was it Texas? The Longhorns got humiliated yet again by the Sooners. The SEC remains the class of college football. The PAC-12 and Big XII are very strong and deep though. And then of course there is Notre Dame. Say what you will about the Irish, but they have a lot of impressive wins. 1. Alabama – Coming off an open date, the Crimson Tide jumped all over Missouri in Columbia. The game was delayed for 40 minutes because of lightning and then Bama had special teams problems to tighten things for a bit. T.J. Yeldon and Eddie Lacy are a stellar tailback duo. Nick Saban has flat out reloaded the defense. Bama has big play thunder all over the field. A.J. McCarron is a fantastic quarterback. 2. Florida – It was a little scary for the Gators, but Jeff Driskel had an awesome performance and Florida was great on special teams in a 31-17 victory at Vanderbilt. The Gators hit list is the most impressive of any team in America to this point. This is a huge couple of weeks with South Carolina and then Georgia. 3. Oregon – The Ducks are flying high, perfect at 6-0 and the class of a stout PAC12. Oregon has it all. Despite losing high end backfield talent, Chip Kelly has reloaded the offense and it is still one of college football’s most explosive. The Ducks defense has bill. They specialize in pick-sixes. Oregon appears to have the best shot at ending the SEC’s run of six straight national champions. 4. Kansas State – Bill Snyder’s rebuilding job – Round Two – is one of college football’s great stories. The Wildcats survived a scary game at Iowa State, which has pulled off several impressive wins over highly ranked teams over the last few years. There’s a lot of heavy lifting remaining, but K-State is undefeated halfway home. 5. LSU – The Tigers defense, offensive line and running game pounded away and made the big plays in a huge victory over South Carolina. Les Miles’ teams have done a great job bouncing back through the years – now 18-1 following a loss. Another tall order awaits, as the Fightin’ Tigers visit the Aggies in College Station. 6. South Carolina – Coming off that 35-7 blowout of Georgia, the brutal Gamecocks schedule continued in Baton Rouge and they came up short. No time to worry about it. South Carolina now goes to Florida, and the winner sits in the catbird’s seat of the SEC East. 7. Notre Dame – The Fighting Irish have put together a mighty impressive hit list against a slew of teams that have posted a bunch of wins against Notre Dame over the past couple of decades. The Notre Dame defense is tremendous. The unit hasn’t allowed a touchdown since the second week of the season. 8. Oregon State – This is the undefeated team that has gotten the least attention. But Oregon State has proven itself against tough competition and pulled out an impressive victory at Brigham Young despite losing its quarterback. 9. Ohio State – The Buckeyes survived a 52-49 scare at Indiana and still appear to be the best team in the Big Ten. Ohio State is ineligible for the postseason because of cheating. Urban Meyer has a great quarterback to run his spread in Braxton Miller. Meyer has to be licking his chops at what he can do in Columbus over the next few years. 10. Oklahoma – Once again Bob Stoops led the Sooners to a flat our rout of Texas in the Red River Shootout. This one goes down as one of the ‘Horns most embarrassing losses in the program’s history. To win the league outright, Oklahoma needs to win the rest and have Kansas State drop a pair. 11. Mississippi State – Tyler Russell is the best quarterback Mississippi State has had in several years. The Maroon Bulldogs are sitting at 6-0 and host upset minded Middle Tennessee. Then comes a potential undefeated vs. undefeated showdown with Alabama. State is one tough team with Dan Mullen leading the way. 12. Southern Cal – The Trojans got a nice win over Washington, and they’ve bounced back from that humbling loss to Stanford. Matt Barkley is a terrific quarterback and the Trojans can boast the country’s most dynamic one-two punch at wide receiver.
13. Georgia – You never like to lose heading into an open date, but Georgia needed the break badly after getting drubbed 35-7 at South Carolina. Todd Gurley is a special freshman tailback. The defense has a long ways to go. Georgia should handle Kentucky in Lexington, then comes the big showdown in Jacksonville. 14. Boise State – Chris Petersen has done phenomenal job as the head man at Boise State, and they have been fortunate to keep him this long. They have developed a tough defense and running game to accompany the high octane passing game. 15. Florida State – They really blew a golden opportunity at a dream season, doing what they do, falling to N.C. State. You can kiss any national title dreams goodbye. Florida State came back strong to blister Boston College. Can they stay focused, take care of business and make it to the ACC Championship Game? 16. Clemson – After that disappointing second half that cost the Tigers at Florida State, the Tigers have come back with a couple of impressive wins. They had this past Saturday off and now Virginia Tech comes to Tiger Town. This could really get Clemson back on a roll. 17. Texas A&M – The Aggies survived a scare against Louisiana Tech in a wild Shreveport shootout. Johnny Manziel is one of the most exciting players in the country. Now comes the grind of the SEC and a huge showdown with LSU at Kyle Field. Texas A&M has an outstanding offense. 18. Texas Tech – It’s all about double letters for Tommy Tuberville’s Texas Tech Red Raiders, and they put a beatdown on West Virginia – a stone cold bludgeoning. Texas Tech is in the midst of a brutal stretch, but this walloping puts plenty of gas in the tank. 19. Louisville – Charlie Strong is doing excellent work at Louisville. And that’s not a shocker. He was a high end defensive coordinator for South Carolina and Florida, and has taken advantage of his shot. The Cardinals are one of three unbeatens in the Big East and maybe the best. There will be a lot of interest expressed in the Cardinals head coach from floundering programs. 20. Rutgers – It was a dangerous game for Rutgers, and the Scarlet Knights were locked up with Syracuse in a 7-7 halftime tie. But Rutgers took over, jumped in front 23-7 and held on to win by eight. Like Kansas State, this program has come light years from where it once was. 21. Cincinnati – Say hello to the third undefeated team in the Big East. Much like Rutgers, the Bearcats lost an elite coach – Brian Kelly to Notre Dame – but have remained relevant. There are some big games coming up in this small conference that really needed this kind of boost. 22. Northwestern – Not since the glory days of the mid-1990’s when Gary Barnett was coaching, and Darnell Autry and Pat Fitzgerald were starring for a Big Ten Championship and Rose Bowl team, have the Wildcats been flying this high. But they are 6-1, bowl eligible and in the mix for a berth in Indianapolis. 23. West Virginia – Even on a charter flight, it can’t be easy to get from Morgantown to Lubbock. Welcome to life in a major conference. After winning a thriller at Texas, and with a huge showdown looming with Kansas State, Lubbock was a classic trap. And they flat out got smoked. This is going to be a tough recovery. 24. Stanford – The loss at Notre Dame is one that will sting for a while. The Cardinal had third and goal inside the one in overtime and twice couldn’t punch it in. Stanford has a tough defense, but the offense isn’t close to what it was with the great Andrew Luck behind center. 25. UCLA – Jim Mora Jr. likes his running attack and the solid start the Bruins have gotten off to. UCLA’s defense isn’t awful, as it often has been over the past decade. The PAC-12 is strong and the Bruins are an up-and-comer.
Kevin Butler’s Players of the Game
photo by Rob Saye
Kevin Butler, former University of Georgia legendary kicker and a member of the Georgia radio broadcast team, will each week during the 2012 football season select his offensive, defensive and special teams players of the week for Bulldawg Illustrated. Here are Butler’s selections and reasons why for the Bulldogs’ 35-7 loss to South Carolina on Oct. 6. OFFENSE – Sophomore tailback Ken Malcome, who came off the bench near game’s end and sparked the Bulldogs’ only touchdown drive by running for a team-high 45 yards on just five carries and scoring on a 3yard run. “Ken has been a very good leader this year with the success of the freshman running backs but in this game when you’re playing against one of the best defenses in the SEC, a running back with the size of Malcome and his experience led him to a nine-yard average for 45 yards on only five carries and was the one and only bright spot for the offense,” said Butler.
DEFENSE – Sophomore inside/outside linebacker Amarlo Herrera, who recorded 11 total tackles to pace the Bulldogs’ defense in the one-sided loss to the Gamecocks. “After great success at inside linebacker over the first four games Herrera has transitioned to his second starting position on the defense and still continues to give great effort and production,” said Butler. “In a game where the rush was going to be the whole factor, Herrera was a bright spot on our defense.” SPECIAL TEAMS – Sophomore kick returner Malcolm Mitchell, who returned South Carolina’s first kickoff 48 yards and also caught three passes for 52 yards. “Malcolm is a great athlete and with the focus on offense now, his skills as a kickoff return specialist can be utilized,” said Butler. “His long return on the first kickoff against South Carolina provided Georgia with a great counter punch to their 85-yard touchdown drive. Unfortunately, the offense turned the ball over and nullified Mitchell’s return. We can look for more great things from him as a kickoff return guy.”
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