Chris "Rankman" Dufresne's top 25 college football teams

Yeah, it’s the same old teams at the top. This season has been as sleepy as Texas quarterback Colt McCoy’s tiny hometown of Tuscola, TX, where it’s always Friday night lights (out at 9) and the joke is the hunting gets better the closer you get to city center. Maybe this is the weekend some dust gets kicked up. Auburn, Florida State, Nevada, Texas A&M — any of you guys have it in you to make this a November to remember for you and a November to forget for your Thanksgiving weekend opponents? We’ll be watching, and eating, and watching and watching ... and eating.

1  TEXAS 11-0  Bevo leaves game to thunderous cattle calls on Bovine Senior Night. (Last week: No. 1)

2  FLORIDA 11-0  Meyer interested in Notre Dame if they move spring training to Vero Beach. (2)

3  TEXAS CHRISTIAN 11-0  Looking to, biblically, knock New Mexico back to Old Testament. (3)

4  ALABAMA 11-0  Dream nonconference schedule: Chattanooga, B&O Railroad, Marvin Gardens, Park Place. (4)

5  CINCINNATI 10-0  Person responsible for scheduling Illinois is sentenced to watch it. (5)

6  BOISE STATE 11-0  We need a fair system, you know, like penalty kicks deciding MLS national champion. (6)

7  GEORGIA TECH 10-1  Jackets take on the real Ramblin’ Wrecks: this week: 6-5 Georgia. (7)

8  OREGON 9-2  Shaping up to be the best Civil War game since 0-0 tie in 1983. (8)

9  OHIO STATE 10-2  Working on Rose Parade float entry: “Ode to a Red Sweater Vest.” (9)

10  IOWA 10-2  Orange Bowl wants to at-large select Iowa’s defense and Penn State’s offense. (11)

11  OKLAHOMA STATE 9-2  Upset alert: Cowboys have beaten Oklahoma 8 times! Since 1945. (12)

12  PENN STATE 10-2  Paterno actually knew “Sherman” of the Sherman Anti-Trust Act. (14)

13  PITTSBURGH 9-1  Jimmy Clausen will watch Friday’s “Backyard Brawl” out of his good eye. (15)

14  VIRGINIA TECH 8-3  School founded by “Hokies” plays at school founded by Thomas Jefferson. (16)

15  BRIGHAM YOUNG 9-2  Quarterback Max so good he should have a Hall named after him. (17)

16  TEMPLE 9-2  School has won 10 games countless times but it was in basketball. (18)

17  NAVY 8-3  Army game moved to Dec. 12 to allow opponent time to reinstitute the draft. (19)

18  OREGON STATE 8-3  Last year’s Rose bid game vs. Oregon ended more like “Rose Bud.” (21)

19  CALIFORNIA 8-3  Stanford game will not be replayed Friday on Versus “Classic” Channel. (22)

20  STANFORD 7-4  Harbaugh says “what’s your deal?” in argument with local car salesman. (13)

21  CLEMSON 8-3  Late-to-party Rankman discovers Clemson is actual team in actual conference. (NR)

22  USC 7-3  Carroll’s Trojans haven’t lost home conference game in almost two weeks. (20)

23  HOUSTON 9-2  Winner of annual game with Rice takes home coveted Enron Trophy. (23)

24  MIAMI 8-3  GPS company says it’s not liable for weekend trip north to South Florida. (24)

25  LOUISIANA STATE 8-3  Rankman wanted to move team higher but ran out of time. (10)

Dropped out:  Arizona (25). Moved in: Clemson.

Photo: Texas Longhorns mascot Bevo stands in the corner of the endzone prior to kick-off of the game against Kansas on Nov. 21. Credit: Matthew Emmons, U.S. Presswire

Chris "Rankman" Dufresne's top 25 college football teams

Rankman read the shampoo bottle this week and decided to go lather, rinse and repeat with the top eight. There was no change at the top, unlike what might soon happen at Notre Dame.

Consideration was given to dropping USC out of the top 25 after the Trojans gave up 55 points in a home loss to Stanford, but we hearkened to Pete Carroll’s credo — “always lather, rinse and compete” — and granted them a late checkout from Hotel California.

1; Texas 10-0; Team stuck to game plan at Baylor and never broke a sweat. (1)

2; Florida 10-0; Four “Ws” and two SEC replay reversals from first perfect season. (2)

3; Texas Christian 10-0; Andy Dalton Gang challenges Colt McCoy to duel in Waco. (3)

4; Alabama 10-0; Hard to believe school has never won a Heisman or a chili cook-off. (4)

5; Cincinnati 10-0; Why would coach leave powerhouse to coach Notre Dame? (5)

6; Boise State 10-0; Broncos sent Idaho back to Moscow in a giant can of caviar. (6)

7; Georgia Tech 10-1; Trailed Duke by 10 before whipping up some blue-deviled eggs. (7)

8; Oregon 8-2; Blount: not playing against Arizona State a punch in the gut. (8)

9; Ohio State 9-2; Tressel secures Rose Bowl lodging at Marriott Courtyard Monastery. (13)

10; Louisiana State 8-2; Trailed Louisiana Tech by three at half and moved up in three polls? (9)

11; Iowa 9-2; There’s definitely no quit in this team and no “I” in Hawkeye. (12)

12; Oklahoma State 8-2; Pilot for Colorado titled, “Thursday Night Lights Out.” (16)

13; Stanford 7-3; Lumps in coffee? Harbaugh tells waitress: “Let’s go for two.” (18)

14; Penn State 9-2; Paterno told BCS at-large picture has nothing to do with his prostate. (19)

15; Pittsburgh 9-1; Will try Dec. 5 to avoid third football loss to Cincinnati this year. (20)

16; Virginia Tech 7-3; Hokies enjoyed a rare bye weekend that included playing Maryland. (21)

17; Brigham Young 8-2; Three Hobos greet plane after five-point win at winless New Mexico. (22)

18; Temple 8-2; Ran so hard over Akron the Zips had to replace all four tires. (25)

19; Navy 8-3; Not sure everyone is well aware how hard it is to beat Delaware. (24)

20; USC 7-3; Coach says true frosh crisis manager good “as anybody we’ve ever had already.” (10)

21; Oregon State 7-3; Most dangerous part about Washington State this week is getting there. (23)

22; California 7-3; Student climbs tree to protest scoring only three points against USC. (NR)

23; Houston 8-2; NASA, HUD and PETA shocked by losses to UTEP and UCF. (11)

24; Miami 7-3; North Carolina loss would have been easier to take had it been basketball. (14)

25; Arizona 6-3; Holds Guinness record for “weirdest ways to lose games.” (17)

Dropped out: Utah (17).

Moved in: California.

Disagree with the rankings? Leave a comment and Rankman will respond.

chris.dufresne@latimes.com
twitter.com/LATDufresne

Photo: Colt McCoy of Texas. Credit: Brett Davis, U.S. Presswire.

Bill Hancock named first executive director of the BCS

Former NCAA executive Bill Hancock was named today as the first permanent executive director of college football's Bowl Championship Series.

Hancock was promoted from his role as BCS administrator. The BCS is the governing body of college football and had previously rotated the role of coordinator from conference to conference every two years. Atlantic Coast Conference Commissioner John Swofford will remain BCS coordinator through this year's title game at the Rose Bowl on Jan. 7.

Before joining the BCS in 2005, Hancock had served as director for the NCAA men's basketball tournament for 13 years. He is a 1972 University of Oklahoma graduate.

"I'm thrilled and humbled to move into this new role," Hancock said in a statement. "I love the special place college football occupies in our society, and I am proud of the great benefits the BCS has brought to student-athletes, college football fans and others. It's an honor to be working on behalf of this wonderful game."

-- Chris Dufresne

chris.dufresne@latimes.com

Photo: Bill Hancock. Credit: Associated Press via BCS

Wait: There IS a way USC makes the Rose Bowl, if you also believe in goblins

After further review, a popular term in college football this year, there is an extremely remote chance USC could still earn the Pac-10's Rose Bowl bid this year.

Earlier Sunday, Pac-10 spokesman Jim Muldoon said he could not find a scenario in which USC could qualify for the Rose Bowl. But, Muldoon said, sportswriter Bud Withers of the Seattle Times found a route for the Trojans.

It involves, get this, a six way at 6-3.

How it works:

Oregon loses to Arizona and Oregon State

Stanford loses to Cal

Oregon State loses to Washington State, beats Oregon

Arizona beats Arizona State and Oregon, loses to USC

USC beats UCLA and Arizona

Cal beats Stanford and Washington

All teams finish 6-3, then you compare records against the others. Arizona, Oregon State and USC are 3-2. Cal, Oregon and Stanford at 2-3 are eliminated.

USC wins a three-way tiebreaker against Arizona and Oregon State.

See how easy it is? Of course, the dealbreaker in this scenario is Oregon State losing to Washington State.

-- Chris Dufresne

chris.dufresne@latimes.com

For what it's worth: USC officially eliminated from Rose Bowl race

USC football's sky and status kept falling when the Trojans dropped 11 positions to No. 22 in today's Associated Press poll while it was confirmed that Pete Carroll's team had been officially eliminated from the Rose Bowl race.

"I can't find any scenario where USC gets to the Rose Bowl," Pac-10 spokesman Jim Muldoon said in an e-mail today.

The Trojans (7-3, 4-3) could still claim a share of the Pac-10 title in a multiple-tie situation but cannot earn the automatic bid to Pasadena.

Thus, USC's streak of seven straight Bowl Championship Series appearances is over, but you might have guessed that after Saturday's 55-21 home loss to Stanford.

The best postseason game available to USC appears to be the Sun Bowl on Dec. 31. Oregon and Stanford, which both defeated USC, can finish no worse than 6-3 in the Pac-10, while 6-3 is the best USC can finish.

USC is currently tied with Cal for fifth place in the conference race, with the Pac-10 having arrangements with six bowl partners.

Other options for USC include the Emerald Bowl, against an Atlantic Coast Conference opponent on Dec. 26, the Las Vegas Bowl versus the Mountain West on Dec. 22 or the Poinsettia Bowl against the Mountain West on Dec. 23.

-- Chris Dufresne

Chris "Rankman" Dufresne's top 25 college football teams

 Rankman is starting to wonder whether he’s had the wrong Texas at No. 1 all season, what with Texas Christian having won at Virginia and Clemson and Brigham Young this year and with Texas having won at Wyoming. But one thing you learn in this business is never look back unless you’re Oregon’s defense trying to chase down Stanford’s Toby Gerhart. We salute Navy’s poll debut this week after the Midshipmen punched Notre Dame in the mid-section. And here’s a Rankman first: having to come up with a comment ... for Temple.

1; Texas 9-0; No truth that Longhorns added UCF to schedule after UNICEF backed out. (1)

2; Florida 9-0; SEC says USA Today’s $4 million salary for Meyer too high by $30,000. (2)

3; Texas Christian 9-0; Frogs haven’t lost a home game since, gulp, 2007 to Utah. (7)

4; Alabama 9-0; Wonder if Tide is now looking up at the three teams it can’t beat. (6)

5; Cincinnati 9-0; Coach asks cell phone server to block all calls from “574” area code. (3)

6; Boise State 9-0; Sorry: Rankman works Friday nights and saw the La. Tech game. (4)

7; Georgia Tech 9-1; Watch out warning this week at Duke — yes, we said Duke. (9)

8; Oregon 7-2; Ducks’ unstoppable offense meets its unstoppable defense. (5)

9; Louisiana State 7-2; Has USC boxed out for now because of victory at Washington. (10)

10; USC 7-2; Stats for Stanford’s Tavita Pritchard: two completed passes for one yard. (11)

11; Houston 8-1; Call the cops: Cougars move up after allowing 88 points in two wins. (12)

12; Iowa 9-1; Interesting how team exhausted its nine lives against the NW ‘Cats. (8)

13; Ohio State 8-2; Peaking just in time to do lose another BCS bowl game. (15)

14; Miami 7-2; Off to North Carolina to face a coach whose name may ring familiar. (14)

15; Utah 8-1; Going to Fort Worth to BCS bust Texas Christian in the chops. (16)

16; Oklahoma State 7-2; Still alive for a BCS bid but no one really wants to see that. (18)

17; Arizona 6-2; Second fastest Pac-10 unit behind Arizona State fans leaving home games. (19)

18; Stanford 6-3; Rankman is with Harbaugh: it’s “put up or shut up time for Stanford football.” (NR)

19; Penn State 8-2; New “Sammy Sosa cream” gets uniforms even whiter. (13)

20; Pittsburgh 8-1; Wannstedt and Weis meet downtown to swap coaching hot seat stories. (20)

21; Virginia Tech 6-3; Give Beamer a big Hokie Hug for notching career win No. 225. (21)

22; Brigham Young 7-2; Game plan for New Mexico trip starts with coach spelling “Albuquerque.” (24)

23; Oregon State 6-3; Doing the little things Beavers do to build dams and win games. (25)

24; Navy 7-3; Notre Dame asked after game how it could become a service academy. (NR)

25; Temple 7-2; It once took Owls from 2002 through 2005 to win seven games. (NR-ever!)

Dropped out: Notre Dame (22), Oklahoma (17), California (23).

Moved in: Stanford, Navy, Temple.

Disagree with the rankings? Leave Chris a comment and he will respond to you.

-- Chris Dufresne

Photo: Wide receiver Malcolm Williams of the Texas Longhorns stiff arms cornerback Justin Boddie #23 of Central Florida in the second quarter on Nov. 7. Texas won 35-3. Credit: Brian Bahr/Getty Images.

Chris Dufresne: LeGarrette Blount got what he deserved ... and maybe more

Eight games were enough for suspended Oregon tailback LeGarrette Blount, who was reinstated Monday by the Pacific 10 Conference.

Blount will be eligible to play in the Ducks' home games Saturday against Arizona State.

In hindsight, eight games may have too many for Blount, who paid a steep price for punching Boise State's Byron Hout after Oregon's Sept. 3 loss in Idaho.

Last week, Florida suspended star linebacker Brandon Spikes for one half against Vanderbilt after he tried to gouge the eyes out of a Georgia player.

Florida later "stiffened" the punishment to a full game.

Blount deserved serious discipline for what he did on that Thursday night before Labor Day, but his situation was complicated and compounded by the fact that the game was nationally televised and that the YouTube video of the punch whirled around the world.

Pac-10 approves reinstatement of Oregon's LeGarrette Blount

The Pacific-10 Conference today approved Oregon's request to have tailback LeGarrette Blount reinstated for the rest of the season.

Blount was originally suspended for the season by Oregon Coach Chip Kelly after the running back punched Boise State player Byron Hout following the Ducks' season opening loss on Sept. 3.

"After a thorough review of the situation, I am convinced LeGarrette Blount paid a significant and appropriate price for the mistakes he made on the field, and that he has learned important life-long lessons," Pac-10 Commissioner Larry Scott said in a statement.

Blount has been reinstated immediately, meaning he can play in Oregon's home game this week against Arizona State.

Oregon (7-2) is coming off a 51-42 loss at Stanford but will claim the conference's Rose Bowl bid if it wins its last three games against Arizona State, Arizona and Oregon State.

-- Chris Dufresne

Photo: LeGarrette Blount. Credit: Steve Dykes / Getty Images

Chris Dufresne: USA Today coaches reverse call on secret ballot decision

It's been a tough year in the replay booth, but college football finally got one right when coaches in the USA Today poll today  overturned a decision made last off season to quit making their final ballots public in the final Bowl Championship Series standings.

There was "irrefutable proof'' this was the correct call and that the coaches had no choice but to do this or risk getting tossed out of the BCS starting in 2010.

The American Football Coaches Assn. last January commissioned Gallup to  find ways to improve the USA Today poll. Gallup suggested the AFCA could produce a more accurate index if the coaches made their votes anonymously.

Well, isn't this just what the coaches wanted to hear!

Most coaches never wanted their votes made public to begin with. They were forced into transparency after some suspect secret vote juggling in 2004 involving a BCS bowl berth battle between Texas and California. In one of the BCS's darkest chapters, Texas edged Cal by a slim points margin for the Rose Bowl berth, setting off arguments and cries of conspiracy. In the aftermath, the Associated Press pulled its poll out of the BCS formula.

After four years of having to their final votes exposed, and sometimes ridiculed, the coaches were all too happy to have Gallup recommend going under ground again.

But it was never going to fly with the BCS, which immediately sent signals that the AFCA had better reverse field or risk no longer being part of the BCS formula.

Today,  the AFCA wisely acted and acted wisely.

"The AFCA agreed to be a part of the BCS selection process when we were asked by the commissioners in 1998,” AFCA Executive Director Grant Teaff said in a released statement. “As with past decisions by the AFCA and the FBS head coaches, we are again acting in what the coaches believe to be the best interest of the game.”

That's just mumbo-jumbo for saying we got it wrong before, but now we got it right.

-- Chris Dufresne

Photo: Bowl Championship Series on Jan. 4, 2008. Credit: Charlie Riedel / Associated Press.

 

Chris "Rankman" Dufresne's top 25 college football teams

Rankman cleaned house with the extra time he had this week not having to move USC below Oregon in his rankings order. Anyone else already have Oregon ahead? Nothing personal, Trojans, but we had seen both defenses play. We originally ruled on the field that Iowa’s knee was down at No. 12, but the Big Ten replay crew overturned it and placed the team inside the 10. And, remember kids, have an ophthalmologist picked out in advance before jumping into a pile with Florida’s Brandon Spikes.

1; Texas 8-0; Looks like clear sailing until a stunning upset loss at Texas A&M. (No. 1 last week)

2; Florida 8-0; Gator rules: Eye gouge: one-game suspension: Maiming: extra wind sprints. (2)

3; Cincinnati 8-0; Tony Pike’s injury has slowed team’s progress down to a grinding sprint. (3)

4; Boise State 8-0; Second best Friday night show after “Washington Week with Gwen Ifill.” (4)

5; Oregon 7-1;Shaken ABC cameraman not ready to talk about trying to keep Masoli in frame. (5)

6; Alabama 8-0; No one can dispute huge away wins against…three loss Virginia Tech and Mississippi?  (6)

7; Texas Christian 8-0; Maybe being “Frogs” is reason team can’t draw flies for home games. (7)

8; Iowa 9-0; Somebody is definitely watching over this team…from the replay box? (9)

9; Georgia Tech 8-1; Never thought Jackets could knock jeans off of the Gloria Vanderbilts. (10)

10; Louisiana State 7-1; Plot to kidnap Alabama’s kicker foiled by cop in houndstooth hat. (12)

11; USC 6-2; Appeared last Saturday the Trojans had 11 true freshmen on defense. (8)

12; Houston 7-1; Police have given up the search for the “y” in Case Keenum’s first name. (13)

13; Penn State 8-1; Rose Bowl unveils “Operation Cantankerous” just in case Paterno comes back. (14)

14; Miami 6-2; Rankman would rig a BCS computer to get Miami/Notre Dame in Orange Bowl. (16)

15; Ohio State 7-2; If only New Mexico State had been opponent in those BCS title games. (18)

16; Utah 7-1; Alabama threatens restraining order if Utes moves any closer in the polls. (20)

17; Oklahoma 5-3; Instead of playing Nebraska, schools will watch an old game on scoreboard. (19)

18; Oklahoma State 6-2; Owner Pickens has reached his “Austin City limit” on losing to Texas. (11)

19; Arizona 5-2; Controls own Pac-10 destiny…and when have you ever heard that? (24)

20; Pittsburgh 7-1; Panthers deserve to be higher? Oh cry me three rivers. (25)

21; Virginia Tech 5-3; Dean Wormer considers putting Hokies on double secret ranking probation (15)

22; Notre Dame 6-2; WR Floyd returns just in time to swab deck against Navy.  (22).

23; California 6-2; “Jersey” Jeff Tedford gets off mat after gut punches from Oregon and USC. (NR)

24; Brigham Young 6-2; Twenty-five players enjoyed bye week by renewing their wedding vows. (NR)

25; Oregon State 5-3; Any team that holds off UCLA deserves to be ranked last in some poll. (NR)

Dropped out: Mississippi (23), West Virginia (21), South Carolina (17),

Moved in: California, Oregon State, Brigham Young.

Don't like the rankings? What would you change? Leave a comment and Chris Dufresne will respond.

-- Chris Dufresne

Photo: Earl Thomas of the Texas Longhorns runs for a touchdown after an interception in the third quarter against Oklahoma State. Credit: Ronald Martinez, Getty Images.