The college football gave us a few more lessons as we are officially under a month from the BCS standings being released. That means we only have a few weeks left before opposing fans really freak out about a bunch of a computers even though the bets sport in the world consistently gives us the best matchups.
Either way, here are your top pretenders and contenders from the fifth weekend of the college football season.
Pretenders
Wisconsin Badgers
Blowing the 17-point lead to Nebraska on the road was dreadful and it may end up costing this team to play for the Big Ten title with the way Purdue is playing.
There are a bunch of games to be played, but Wisconsin’s defense is letting them down now as well. That is never a good sign for an offense that was able to finally muster some points, but it does not look good for what was the most consistent team in the Midwest.
Boise State Broncos
The Smurfs were favored by 26 points (they led 25-0 at half) and while covering spreads does not make or break your season, improving does.
The Broncos have looked absolutely pitiful this season on offense, and just when they make improvements it was the defense that dropped the ball.
New Mexico only threw for 44 yards and yet they ran for 330 yards against a Broncos defense that made BYU look lost.
Boise State barely makes my top 25 list, but another stinker like this and they will drop like a bad habit.
Stanford Cardinal
The Stanford offense was a joke this past Thursday against the Huskies and while Josh Nunes struggled, the running game was bottled up.
Running for 65 yards is tough to expect a victory, but this Cardinal offense is still a work in progress.
Losing Andrew Luck was mission impossible and a three or four loss team should have been the expectations. A top 10 ranking in mid-September was nice and dandy, but Oregon and Notre Dame will expose this team coming up.
Michigan State Spartans
Mark Dantonio was a likeable coach but some are getting annoyed with his immature and unsportsmanlike attitude in press conferences after losses.
We get it Mark, the entire universe (including myself) picked you guys to play in the Big Ten title and it does not look like may be playing in Indianapolis after an extremely slow start.
Contenders
Nebraska Cornhuskers
It was the second greatest deficit that the program ever overcame (17 points) and it should be stated the Huskers could be the favorites to win the Big Ten now.
That is if Purdue doesn’t take them down in the Big Ten title albeit we should not discredit the Spartans just yet.
Still, Taylor Martinez has this passing offense looking solid and Rex Burkhead will only get better in time after suffering a nagging MCL injury in the opener.
Clemson Tigers
Tajh Boyd didn’t look like he missed Sammy Watkins at all, especially since DeAndre Hopkins went bonkers against a Boston College team that was labeled as just TD underdogs.
BC is a bit better than most expected, but Clemson is still arguably the most explosive offense in the country (save WV). Plus, they will be favored in every game from here on out minus perhaps the South Carolina game. Win them all and a BCS at-large bid could be the benefits.
Texas Longhorns
The Longhorns run defense was pitiful without their best tackler in Jordan Hick, but they hung in there.
Mack Brown cannot be pleased with the defensive effort since even the secondary struggled in their close victory.
The vital part of their win in Stillwater was the play of David Ash, who put together the virtuoso performance that Texas desperately needed. The Big 12 is an absolute crapshoot right now with so many top 10 teams (not counting OU who is just inside top 17, there are three).
US Presswire)
Oregon State Beavers
Desmond Howard set the social media off the hook after saying he is drinking some beaver juice and it funny since Lee Corso of all people kept it clean by mentioning the Orange and Black juice instead.
Keeping it PG on ESPN has never been an easy thing to accomplish, but Mike Riley has turned this program into believers once again. Sean Mannion and Storm Woods has taken the No. 14 rated squad into the contender discussion.
Will they honestly finish first or even second in the Pac-12?
Not likely (not even top three with USC, UCLA, Stanford), but this team is a lot better and higher than anybody on this face of the earth had envisioned.
