Thoughts On: The Week 7 Top Four
By Rich Lynch
Tons of upsets and close calls punctuated this week in college football. Utah, a consistently underrated program, knocked off No. 5 Stanford. Missouri who has been flying under the radar defeated a depleted Georgia squad Between The Hedges.
Boston College, under the new leadership of head coach Steve Addazio, had Clemson on the ropes until a late turnover gave the game to the Tigers who were at home in Death Valley. Even after all of the turmoil the Top Four remains relatively unchanged.
1)Alabama Crimson Tide (6-0)
Alabama beat Kentucky in Lexington 48-7 on Saturday. The Crimson Tide did not score a point in the first quarter but then put the screws to the Wildcats over the last three quarters. Tide quarterback A.J. McCarron threw for 359-yard and one touchdown.
In most seasons, he would be a Heisman favorite because of his numbers and historical team success. This season he may have trouble making it to New York City as a finalist for the award.
Nevertheless, Alabama will roll-on next Saturday when they play Arkansas at Bryant Denney in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.
2) Louisville Cardinals (6-0)
Louisville did not play well against Rutgers on Thursday night. Despite a subpar performance from Teddy Bridgewater, the Cardinals got the home win they needed against the Scarlet Knights.
Next week the Cardinals play the Knights from UCF. It is another home game for the Cardinals, who have one of the easiest schedules in the country. Bridgewater needs to be more consistent throwing the ball if the Cardinals are going to garner the votes needed to jump into the BCS Championship Game.
3) Oregon Ducks (6-0)
Marcus Mariota went for 366 yards and three touchdowns against his rival from the Great Northwest . . . and the PAC-12 Conference, the Washington Huskies. Despite playing the game up in Washington and it being an early kickoff for the Pacific Time Zone crowd, Oregon was prepared.
The Ducks were efficient offensively, again, and defeated the Huskies 45-24. Oregon is legit. However, a home game against Washington State, a home game against UCLA and a road game against Stanford are up next on the Quackers’ schedule. Oregon will show their true colors over the next three weeks.
4) LSU Tigers (6-1)
If not for a fumbled punt inside the 30-yard line against a fully healthy Georgia in Athens a few weeks ago by O’dell Beckham the Tigers would be ranked #4 in the National Polls.
LSU beat Florida in a classic SEC sloberknocker on Saturday afternoon 17-6. LSU has a brutal schedule with games against Mississippi, Alabama and Texas A&M left to play this season. They can beat everyone left on their schedule but they will be hard fought wins. If the Tigers can stay healthy on defense they can go all the way.
Love the Tigers.
Outside Looking In
5) Clemson
6) Florida State