New Number One

Top 25 (CFW points in parenthesis):

1. Alabama (2.5)
2. Iowa (2.5)
3. Virginia Tech (2.5)
4. Cincinnati (2)
5. Florida (1.5)
6. Oregon (1.5)
7. Texas (1)
8. Miami (1)
9. USC (1)
10. Boise State (1)
11. Nebraska (.5)
12. Ohio State (.5)
13. Houston (.5)
14. Kansas (0)
15. South Florida (0)
16. TCU (0)
17. Wisconsin (0)
18. Auburn (0)
19. Pittsburgh (0)
20. Georgia Tech (-.5)
21. Oklahoma State (.-5)
22. South Carolina (-.5)
23. Arkansas (-.5)
24. Penn State (-1)
25. Rutgers (-1)

Week 6 Bowl Projections

We look at the bowl projections a little different here. These are based on if the season ended today.

BCS: Florida vs Texas
Orange: Virginia Tech vs Ohio State
Fiesta: Notre Dame vs Boise State
Sugar: LSU vs Cincinnati
Rose: Wisconsin vs Stanford
GMAC: Central Michigan vs Kansas State*
Alamo: Oklahoma vs Michigan
Liberty: Tulsa vs Ole Miss
Cotton: Oklahoma State vs Auburn
Papajohns.com: West Virginia vs Baylor*
International: Rutgers vs Toledo
Gator: Georgia Tech vs South Florida
Capital One: Iowa vs Alabama
Outback: Penn State vs Georgia
Chick-fil-A: Miami vs South Carolina
Insight: Kansas vs Northwestern
Sun: Arizona vs Texas A&M
Armed Forces: SMU vs Colorado State
Holiday: USC vs Missouri
Texas: Texas Tech vs Navy
Humanitarian: Idaho vs Wyoming
Champs Sports: Boston College vs Minnesota
EagleBank: Marshall vs Ohio*
Independence: Nebraska vs Kentucky
Music City: North Carolina vs Arkansas
Emerald: Wake Forest vs Oregon
Car Care: NC State vs Pittsburgh
Pizza: Temple vs Indiana
Hawaii: Houston vs Hawaii
Poinsettia: Oregon State vs BYU
Las Vegas: UCLA vs TCU
St. Petersburg: UConn vs Southern Miss
New Mexico: Utah vs Louisiana Tech

*teams that are filling in due to conference tie-in not having a team eligible

Top 25 Rankings

1. Iowa
2. Alabama
3. Auburn
4. Cincinnati
5. Virginia Tech
6. Boise State
7. LSU
8. Wisconsin
9. Miami
10. Oregon
11. South Carolina
12. Florida
13. Texas
14. TCU
15. Kansas
16. South Florida
17. Missouri
18. Stanford
19. USC
20. Houston
21. Oklahoma State
22. Nebraska
23. Arizona
24. Penn State
25. West Virginia

As noted last week, each team gets a point for a quality win and loses a point for a loss. Rankings from week to week are not related. No sliding up and sliding down in this poll.

Bet the House, Week 5

We were this close last week to hitting it big, as we went 4 for 5. We narrowly missed the Oregon/Cal game, as the Bears lost in a heart-breaker, 42-3. No worries though, as we feel very confident the Ducks will make it up to us this this week.

Utah State @ BYU -24 (9pm ET, mtn.): Aggie head coach Gary Anderson was the defensive coordinator at Utah and always had a solid game plan when he faced BYU. The Aggies might not ever be within ten points, but they won't lose by more than 20.

Virginia @ North Carolina -13.5 (noon ET, Raycom & espn360.com): The Cavs are just a bad football team. This game is as simple as that. UNC should not have any trouble putting away this game early and coasting to a 20 point victory.

LSU @ Georgia -3.5 (3:30 ET, CBS): This could end up being the best game of the day. The Bulldogs have already been tested by solid teams this season, while LSU had their hands full last week against Mississippi State. Georgia wins on a late touchdown.

Oklahoma -8.5 @ Miami (8pm, ABC): People seem to be quick to jump on, then off, the Hurricane bandwagon. Those same people should have never gotten back for OU. The same Sooner team that was embarrassed against BYU will not be able to keep up with Jacory Harris and the Miami offense. Canes win the game outright.

Washington State @ Oregon -35.5 (9:15 ET, CSN NW): We usually stay away from schizo teams like the Ducks, but just couldn't resist this one. Oregon will win this game without any question, but they will have a hard time getting started, as they will still be living the Cal game. Cougars keep it just close enough.

CFW Top 25 Rankings

Our rankings are very simple. We just ask one question: who did you beat? If you have a win over a quality opponent, you get a point. If you lose a game, you lose a point. Simple.

We are, and have always been, the only Top 25 poll that looks at every game a team plays each week. For example, Iowa has a win over Arizona. It is the only loss the Wildcats have so far. Because of that, the Hawkeyes get a point. But if Arizona tanks the rest of the season, Iowa will lose that point. Also, where a team is ranked in a given week has no bearing on the following week. We don't just "slide" teams up and down.

Make sense? Good. Here is our first Top 25 of the season:

1. Iowa
2. Houston
3. Alabama
4. Virginia Tech
5. Cincinnati
6. Kansas
7. Auburn
8. Michigan
9. Boise State
10. South Carolina
11. Oregon
12. Florida
13. USC
14. Oklahoma State
15. Georgia
16. BYU
17. Texas
18. LSU
19. TCU
20. Wisconsin
21. South Florida
22. UCLA
23. Missouri
24. Texas A&M
25. Miami

Bet the House Picks, Week 4

The games this week are a sure bet. You can feel very comfortable placing your life savings on this action.

Washington @ Stanford -7: The Huskies pulled off a stunner last week against USC, and now they have to carry that win and a national ranking into Palo Alto. They will not come close to matching the emotion from the Trojan win, and the Cardinal will win by at least 2 touchdowns.

TCU @ Clemson-2.5: Wait, aren't the Frogs the unbeaten, ranked team? They will prove their ranking correct as they continue on their path to a BCS bowl with a win in Death Valley.

Minnesota @ Northwestern -1.5: Just like last week, the Wildcats are the favorite when they shouldn't be. The Gophers will bounce back from their loss against Cal with a conference win on the road.

Boise State -16.5 @ Bowling Green: The Broncos continue their exhibition schedule, this time on the road on Ohio. Bowling Green will be lucky to keep this game within 30 points.

California -5.5 @ Oregon: The Bears are just beginning to hit their stride. They picked up a tough win on the road at Minnesota last week and won't have much of a challenge from Oregon. The Ducks are a few bounces away from being 0-3 and can't move the ball through the air at all.

Sark Steals Spotlight

A former USC assistant coach, in his first year as head coach, taking over a storied program fallen on hard times, comes up huge to stun the college football world. Too bad for Lane Kiffin we aren’t talking about him. While everyone seemed to be focused on how badly Urban Meyer and Florida would beat down the Vols, Steve Sarkisian willed his Washington Huskies to a shocking upset win over third ranked USC.


Sark took over a Husky program that didn’t win a single game last year, including losing to the Trojans 56-0, and made them believe they had a chance to knock off USC. Husky Stadium was rocking like it used to in the ‘90’s and now we will see what they can do for an encore, beginning with a tough road game on Saturday against Stanford.

Other musings from last Saturday:


Best player in the country you have never heard of: Eric Decker, a receiver at Minnesota. CFW has seen all three Gopher games this season, and this kid is unbelievable. Every person in the stadium knows the ball will be thrown in his direction and he still makes the play. If you love to watch great receivers, make sure and watch a Minnesota game this season.


Maybe We Spoke Too Soon: After all the talking the Mountain West Conference did this offseason about deserving to be in the BCS, they came right out of the gate with a huge win against Oklahoma. But all their momentum might be gone now, as seventh ranked BYU got crushed at home by unranked Florida State and 18th ranked Utah was dreadful against an Oregon team that will be lucky to win four Pac 10 games. TCU is the lone hope for this league to crash the party and the Frogs will have to play their best against Clemson on Saturday to keep the dream alive.


The Game is Boring Compared to this: Just about everyone thought Florida would crush Tennessee on Saturday. But after a 23-13 yawn-fest, coaches Meyer and Kiffin are still providing fireworks. After the game, Urb claimed the Vols weren’t playing to win, and now Lane has countered by saying they will just blame an uninspired performance on the flu. How about you two just shut your mouths and coach your teams.


Newsflash! Boise Beats WAC Opponent! And in other news, scientists discover the earth is round: The Broncos once again beat (alleged) conference challenger Fresno State. They have now won 8 out of the last 9 against the Bulldogs. Bad news for Houston, TCU, Southern Miss, and any other wannabe BCS crasher: Boise continues their exhibition schedule the next two weeks against Bowling Green and UC Davis. Does anyone outside of Idaho really think the Broncos are one of the ten best teams in the country?