Week 6 College Football Top 25

1. LSU - Still the #1 team in my eyes, thanks to an impressive start to the season. It was nice to see Jordan Jefferson get some playing time. He provides an element no one else on their roster can give to their offense. Tyrann Mathieu is the clear front-runner for the Thorpe Award right now. He's all over the place for the Bayou Bengals. 
Next: vs. Florida, October 8

2. Alabama - Nick Saban sure knows how to coach up that defense, doesn't he? His whole team is a bunch of big, fast freaks of nature. They completely throttled Charlie Weis's offense. The Tide rolled up more rushing yards than the Gators could manage as a team on offense. That LSU meeting is must-see TV. No excuses. 
Next: vs. Vanderbilt, October 8

3. Wisconsin- For years, we've been forced to watch Wisconsin football with almost-good-enoughs or true game managers like Scott Tolzien or Jim Sorgi at QB. The results with an elite college QB under center are absolutely frightening (for opposing defensive coordinators). Russell Wilson was simply too good for the Blackshirts on Saturday Night. Montee Ball was too tough for the Huskers. The offensive line is filthy. They'll miss DE David Gilbert defensively, who is out with a broken foot for about a month and a half, according to reports. Even without him, the Badgers are the clear class of the Big Ten and the strongest threats to Alabama or LSU in a bowl game, in my opinion. 
Next: vs. Indiana, October 15

4. Oklahoma - The Sooner Schooner was pretty busy last week watching their boys pile up nearly 60 points on hapless Ball State. That likely won't be the case as the next target in Stoops and Co.'s crosshairs has long horns and no love for Oklahoma. 
Next: vs. Texas, October 8

5. Oklahoma State- The Pokes had a bye week and treated us to an enjoyable/awkward week of watching their coach dance or socialize with Lou Holtz and Mark May at ESPN for a day. It's weird to think that Mike Gundy played with Barry Sanders back in the day. 
Next: vs. Kansas, October 8

6. Stanford- Is there anything Andrew Luck cannot do? Seriously? If they played on the East Coast, they'd be higher ranked nationally. 
Next: , October 8

7. Boise State- The effort wasn't Heisman-worthy from Kellen Moore (2 INT's), but the result (whooping up last year's thorn-in-the-side Nevada) had to be very satisfying for the Broncos. 
Next: at Fresno State, October 7

8. Clemson- Who would've thought that these guys would be leading the ACC after a month of action? Put your hands down, you liars. This team has some serious mojo going right now. They're too hot to handle. Winning in the manner they did in Blacksburg is no mean feat. I can't wait to see their game with Georgia Tech.  
Next: vs. Boston College, October 8

9. Oregon - The Ducks had a bye week to get prepped for their game Thursday with a team that has given them trouble historically, Cal. 
Next: vs. California, October 6

10. Illinois- In a bitter rivalry game, Nathan Scheelhaase was everything you could've wanted and more. The Fighting Zooks are off to the best start in school history since the 22nd Amendment was ratified. (Look it up.)
Next: at Indiana, October 8

11. Michigan- The Wolverines are undefeated and have done it by feasting on some weak teams. 
Next: at Northwestern, October 8

12. Georgia Tech- The Coastal Division is now theirs for the taking after demolishing NC State on Saturday. Paul Johnson's triple option looks unstoppable. The Ramblin' Wreck takes their wrecking ball offense to Maryland next. Their defense will be tested again by Danny O'Brien in another roadie for the Techies. 
Next: vs. Maryland, October 8 

13. Arkansas- Alabama one week. Texas A&M the next. Now the Hogs get to rumble with Auburn fresh off their upset of the Gamecocks. Don't expect too much defense here. 
Next: vs. Auburn, October 8

14. Texas - It's a good thing that Mack Brown made the QB change a few weeks ago, or this matchup wouldn't be nearly as interesting if the 'Horns weren't undefeated. Do they have enough on offense to rumble with their hated rivals? I say no, but we'll see. 
Next: vs. Oklahoma, October 8 (in Dallas)

15. Arizona State - It wasn't a pretty win against Oregon State, but they got the job done. Dennis Erickson has to be pleased with the effort his team has given so far. The early favorite to win the Pac-12 South right now 
Next: at Utah, October 8

16. South Carolina- That loss has to cost Stephen Garcia his starting job. It took a few weeks, but his inconsistency finally cost the 'Cocks. Time to get the Connor Shaw jerseys out in Columbia. 
Next: vs. Kentucky, October 8

17. West Virginia- They finally got some help for Geno Smith in the running game last week. Granted, Bowling Green ain't LSU, either. We'll see if that continues for the Mountaineers 
Next: vs. UConn, October 8

18. Nebraska- It's been a long time since we've seen a Bo Pelini defense get pushed around, stomped on, and dominated by an opposing offense. Taylor Martinez needs to grow up as a passer or this team will not be going anywhere in the Big Ten. 
Next: vs. Ohio State, October 8

19. Virginia Tech - Ouch. Getting punked at home by Clemson is not what Beamer's boys were expecting when many expected them to ride their easy schedule to the top of the ACC molehill. They need to get more from Logan Thomas. 
Next: vs. Miami, October 8

20. Kansas State- It's been a long time since the Wildcats were ranked (4 years specifically), but this is the second straight 4-0 year for them since Bill Snyder got back on the sidelines. They could give the Big XII South powers some trouble when they inevitably cross paths. Nebraska's departure really opened the division up for them this year. 
Next: vs. Missouri, October 8

21. Auburn - It's amazing how good the Tigers are in close games. Cam Newton or not, they've been able to come through big in crunch time recently. They've beaten South Carolina three times over the past year and held Marcus Lattimore in check every time. 
Next: at Arkansas, October 8

22. Baylor- So RGIII is human after all? Even with his big day, the Bears still lost a tough road game. I'm interested to see how a program unaccustomed to success will respond to that kind of loss. 
Next: vs. Iowa State, October 8

23. Florida- Life in the SEC just ain't fair. One week after getting pummeled, battered, and beaten into submission by Alabama, the Gators have to head to Baton Rouge to rumble with the Bayou Bengals in Death Valley. Ouch. The ice tub is going to be popular in Gainesville for a while. Good luck to whoever gets the unfortunate task of playing QB for the Gators. 
Next: at LSU , October 8 

24. Florida State - The bye week couldn't have come at a better time for the 'Noles. Getting E.J. Manuel back and the rest of their injured players will be a huge boost to the team. 
Next: at Wake Forest, October 8

25. Houston - Case Keenum's assault on the NCAA passing records is well under way and off to a fine start: he's completing nearly 70% of his passes and has over 2000 yards passing already. 
Next: vs. East Carolina, October 8

Just missed:
SMU, Notre Dame, Michigan State, USC, Washington, Texas Tech, USF

NFL Surprise Teams

Through three games of the 2011 NFL Season, we've seen some pretty remarkable things- Cam Newton's back-to-back 400 yard games, Tom Brady trying to annihilate every individual single-season passing record by week 8, and two former doormats in Buffalo and Detroit rising up the NFL's totem pole. After both teams scored impressive comeback wins last week against divisional foes, everyone wants to know if they're legitimate contenders or pretenders. Let's dive in and take a look at them.

Buffalo Bills 
Offensive Rank: 3
PPG: 37.7 (1st)
Defensive Rank: 26
PA: 24.3 (21st)






Team Leaders
Offense:
QB Ryan Fitzpatrick (Harvard): 72 of 111 (65%), 9 TD, 3 INT, 10 carries, 20 yards
RB Fred Jackson (Coe College): 47 carries, 304 yards (101 ypg, 6.4 ypc), 3 TD, 8 receptions, 115 yards
WR Steve Johnson (Kentucky): 20 receptions, 256 yards (85.3 ypg, 12.8 avg.), 3 TD

Defense:
LB Nick Barnett (Oregon State): 29 tackles (17 solo), 2 TFL
2 tied with one sack apiece
CB Drayton Florence (Tuskegee): 8 tackles, 2 INT, 4 passes defended

A couple things jump out to me statistically about the Bills. The first and most alarming to me is that they've only managed a whole two sacks in three games so far, on pace for a total of 12. It's clear they'll need more from Shawne Merriman if they want to sustain their success as a team. The second stat I found was that the Bills have scored on an insane 50% of their possessions this year. (I can't remember where I saw this. I'll look for it later and add the link once I find it.)

Offensively, I think the Bills are better right now than every team in the league save New England and Green Bay. You have to give Chan Gailey a ton of credit for what he's been able to do with this group of unheralded players. Look at where these guys went to school- their QB went to an Ivy League school, their top RB went to a Division III school, their top defensive back went to a D-II school and their top wide receiver went to one of the SEC's bottom feeders. Regardless, Gailey has taken these players and expertly crafted an offensive system tailored to these players' strengths. Ryan Fitzpatrick is no Mike Vick when it comes to arm strength, but he is a highly intelligent QB whose great mental capacity when it comes to reading the coverage and getting the ball out on time is on par with the game's best at the position. I'm not going to be so arrogant as to claim I predicted Fitzpatrick would be a success, but considering who drafted him (Mike Martz) and when (7th round), I remembered to keep my eyes on him. Remember, Martz discovered and developed Kurt Warner and Marc Bulger while in St. Louis. He has a good track record of acquiring QB's and has an eye for talent at the position.

WR Steve Johnson

At WR, everyone knows Steve Johnson, he hasn't been alone at WR either- David Nelson has a catch-to-target ratio of nearly 75% and provides a great red zone target at 6-5, 215. Shawn Chandler has been effective down the middle for Fitzpatrick. Having a great set of route runners like Johnson and Nelson to go along with a couple of security blankets in Chandler and RB Fred Jackson are a huge help to the Bills' mediocre offensive line.
Speaking of Jackson, he doesn't look like an elite back at all but during his career, he's beaten out two former high-first round picks who were given starting roles ahead of him. He's had a fantastic year and is one of the NFL's best yards-after-contact runners in the game. He seldom gets stuffed and has great hands out of the backfield, too. Former Bills RB Thurman Thomas nailed it this week when he commented on Jackson: 

"People should be kicking themselves in the butt right now and saying 'Why didn't we take a chance on this guy?' He's just an outstanding leader for the Buffalo Bills. He fits the Bills. He fits the Buffalo, New York area,  as far as being a blue-collar guy. He's a perfect example of what hard work and heart will get you." 

Outstanding stuff, Thurman.

DT Kyle Williams

Defensively, Buffalo has few good pieces, specifically guys you've heard of like Nick Barnett and former 1st round pick Leodis McKelvin. Neither one of them is their best defensive player, though. DT Kyle Williams has blossomed into one of the NFL's very finest interior linemen in the league, and rookies Marcell Dareus and Aaron Williams are slowly becoming solid NFL players in their own right and Jairus Byrd is a starting-caliber safety. Buffalo's biggest issue on defense stems from their lack of a pass rush. As stated above, they have just two sacks for the whole season, and that simply won't cut it for a team with playoff aspirations, either. They've been gashed in two of their three wins too, escaping the Raiders and Patriots. They can't expect to sustain that for an entire season, especially when Buffalo's weather turns sour and the passing game slows down.

Unfortunately for the Bills and their fans, the schedule is about to get a great deal more difficult for them. After this week's tilt with the Bengals, they face the entire NFC East and the Jets sandwiching their week 7 bye week. After those games, they face the Dolphins twice, the Jets again, the Chargers, Broncos, and Titans before finishing the season off at New England in the season finale. That's pretty rough. The Bills should be favored in about six of those games and probably lose the rest of them. How they fare within their own division will decide their season.

Verdict: They're for real, but should be taken with a grain of salt. There is still a decent chance they finish 3rd in their division come December. 

Detroit Lions 
Offensive Rank: 10
PPG: 33.7 (4th)
Defensive Rank: 6
PA: 15.3 (3rd)






Team Leaders
Offense:
QB Matthew Stafford (Georgia): 79 of 118 (67%), 977 yards (325.7 ypg), 9 TD, 2 INT, 3 carries, 0 yards
RB Jahvid Best (California): 49 carries, 143 yards (47.7 ypg, 2.9 ypc), 1 TD, 15 receptions, 182 yards (60.6 ypg, 12.1 avg), 1 TD
WR Calvin Johnson (Georgia Tech): 16 receptions, 225 yards (75 ypg, 14.1 avg.), 6 TD

Defense:
LB Justin Durant (Hampton): 21 tackles (18 solo), 3 TFL
DE Kyle Vanden Bosch (Nebraska): 3 sacks
CB Chris Houston (Arkansas): 12 tackles, 2 INT, 5 passes defended

If Buffalo built their team through sneaky front office moves and unheralded guys, the Lions are the complete opposite. One look at their offensive leaders tells the story: Stafford, Johnson, and Best were all 1st round picks. This is a team built on "hype" and highly-regarded talent. To that end, they've evaluated and drafted their talent well.

RB Jahvid Best

Offensively, you know what to expect from Detroit- a heavy dose of underneath passes to RB Jahvid Best and TE Brandon Pettigrew or Tony Scheffler. Oh, and they'll probably throw to that Calvin Johnson guy once in a while, too. Nate Burleson is a serviceable possession WR and Titus Young has shown plenty of promise a slot wide receiver for their offense. Detroit has had plenty of issues on their offensive line. Like Buffalo, this is Detroit's weakest offensive link. Unlike Buffalo, their schedule has Jared Allen, Julius Peppers, or Clay Matthews on it six times a year. By comparison, Buffalo's division has one elite pass rusher in it- Miami's Cameron Wake. This issue is even more troubling when you consider the injury history of Matthew Stafford.

FS Louis Delmas

When people talk Lions defense, you know who to talk about, first and foremost. The "House of Spears" provides the spirit and intensity the rest of the defense feeds off of. Going along with Suh is pass-rusher extraordinaire Kyle Vanden Bosch and eventually first-round pick Nick Fairley, who was the nation's most dominant defensive player a year ago at Auburn. However, once you move back through the Lions defense, some problems crop up. Eric Wright and Chris Houston, their starting corners, don't scare opposing passers. SS Amari Spivey is a solid run-support type safety, but his limited range in passing coverage can be exploited. FS Louis Delmas is their lone back-7 stud. In spite of their perceived talent deficiency, this group has played well, held together by their glue, Delmas.
The LB's for Detroit are about as unknown as they come but they're serviceable, especially tackling machine Stephen Tulloch.

Just like Buffalo, the Lions' schedule is about to get a lot stiffer. The rest of the schedule doesn't feature a three-week stretch like the one the Lions have enjoyed over the first three weeks. Apart from games against Denver, Minnesota, San Francisco, and Carolina, the Lions will be slim favorites or underdogs in the rest of their games. Games against the Saints, Packers, Falcons, Bears, Raiders and Chargers will reveal the destiny of these "new" Lions. To that end, we'll see how the former perennial losers of the NFC North handle their new-found success and whether they can adjust to playing with much larger expectations they've ever faced in their brief NFL careers.

Verdict: A fine team but the schedule and division do them no favors. Plenty of promise for the future. I think they're a year away from solid, consistent playoff appearances. The road to the Wild Card is just too difficult in the NFC for Detroit considering that A. the NFC East has three (maybe four) quality playoff-worthy teams this year and B. The NFC South has another 3 playoff-worthy teams and C. The Bears are still a threat in this division. 

NFL Week 4 Power Rankings

Rank	Team	Last Week	Off. Rank	Def. Rank
1	Green Bay Packers	-	8	29
The Packers have been giving up boatloads of passing yards on defense, but their red zone defense has been stingy. They just had their first turnovers of the season in last week’s game against the Bears. They will need Clay Matthews to get going on defense, though.
2	Baltimore Ravens	-	11	13
If Torrey Smith can keep taking the top off of opposing defenses the way he did last week in St. Louis, they will become an even better offense. They have had some issues against the pass, but I’m not worried about a secondary led by Ed Reed just yet.
3	New England Patriots	-	1	32
They can score with anyone, but so do their opponents. Tom Brady was a victim of Bill Belichick’s egotistical playcalling. They threw the ball too much despite leading 21-0. They let the Bills right back into the game. What are the odds Tom Brady has another 4 INT game the rest of the year? Less than 2%? Under 1%? If they don’t fix that defense, they could find themselves going home early in the playoffs for the 3rd straight year.
4	New Orleans Saints	-	2	21
Including the Week 1 loss to the Packers, they have blistered 3 solid opposing defenses in the first month of the season. Once they get Mark Ingram and their running game going, they’ll be even more unstoppable. I think they would do well to blitz less and help their secondary out more, instead of exposing them so often.
5	Buffalo Bills	-	3	26
They looked like the Bills of old when they fell behind 21-0 last week. You had to be wondering if they were a fluke, then the 2nd half happened. Wow. Chan Gailey is absolutely on fire as a playcaller and Ryan Fitzpatrick looks like Joe Montana right now. They have the offensive firepower, but their secondary has had major issues so far.
6	Detroit Lions	-	10	6
They passed the road test at the Metrodome last week and Matt Stafford has been dominant. They’ll go as far as he’ll carry them. The schedule has been kind to them as they still haven’t faced an elite QB.
7	New York Jets	-	16	11
Where is the running game? For a team that prided itself on smashmouth, “ground and pound” football, the running game has been pedestrian at best. Mark Sanchez can’t win games by himself, especially when he can’t get the ball into Santonio Holmes’s and Plaxico Burress’s hands on a consistent basis. Was the loss of Nick Mangold that devastating to their offense?
8	Houston Texans	-	9	14
So much for that top-ranked defense. Granted, New Orleans can do that to a lot of defenses. Unfortunately, there are a lot of good offenses in the playoffs, should the Texans make it that far. The offense’s red zone woes have to be fixed. It cost them last week.
9	Pittsburgh Steelers	-	13	2
Despite their god-awful offensive line play, they still remain one of the AFC’s elite teams. Sure, Warren Sapp would have you believe they’re too old to dominate on defense, but after the Ravens debacle, they’ve been merciless against opposing offenses.
10	San Diego Chargers	-	4	8
They haven’t impressed at all, barely beating two bottom feeders in Minnesota and Kansas City at home and getting whooped at New England, but a 2-1 start is miles ahead of where they usually are this time of year.
11	New York Giants	-	20	18
Beat them now, because that defense and Eli Manning are only going to improve as the year goes on. They dominated the Eagles last week.
12	Dallas Cowboys	-	5	5
The most-discussed team in the NFL silenced a few (but not all) naysayers with a nice comeback win on Monday night.
13	Tampa Bay Bucs	-	22	24
Their offense has been mightily struggling but the Bucs have played scrappy football well enough to start with 2 wins. The offsides penalty induced by Josh Freeman at the end of the Falcons game was one of the cleverest plays of the week. As he improves, the Bucs will. They need to do a better job running the ball, though.
14	Philadelphia Eagles	-	6	12
They can’t stop the run, Mike Vick can’t stay healthy, and their offensive line is a mess. Other than that, the Eagles are a solid team. The secondary had been playing well until they got shredded by Eli Manning and Victor Cruz last week.
15	Atlanta Falcons	-	19	22
1-2 wasn’t the start they were hoping for, but a schedule featuring the Bears, Eagles, and Bucs isn’t fun for any team, no matter how good. They need to get Michael Turner in a rhythm to help Matt Ryan.
16	Oakland Raiders	-	14	28
No team is more impressive when they step on the field for pregame warm-ups. They’ve got a ton of big and fast guys. Hue Jackson has been pushing all the right buttons so far and training camp sensation Denarius Moore has lived up to the hype in limited duty. They’re one defensive meltdown at Buffalo away from 3-0 and have to be causing shudders down south in San Diego.
17	Chicago Bears	-	23	25
I continue to hold out hope that the Bears will one day fix their offensive line, which has been truly offensive to Jay Cutler all year. So much for committing to the running game- Cutler was the leading rusher against Green Bay with a whopping 11 yards. Mike Martz needs to protect his quarterback, not get him killed. Must the defense do everything for the Bears?
18	Washington Redskins	-	15	16
THAT looked a little bit more like what we expected from Rex Grossman at the beginning of the year. Still, He’s worked well under Mike Shanahan and sudden QB development after age 30 isn’t unheard of- guys like Rich Gannon, Trent Green, and Brad Johnson all improved their accuracy well after the big 3-0. Maybe Rex is one of the next members of that group. If he is and can keep it up, that defense will keep them in the thick of the NFC East. The early win over the Giants could be huge down the stretch.
19	Tennessee Titans	-	17	1
Chris Johnson has been awful and Kenny Britt is done for the year. They’ve outperformed expectations on defense. They might’ve been good enough to sneak into the playoffs but the loss of Britt is devastating to their offense and I frankly wonder how they’ll move the ball if Johnson can’t get it going.
20	Carolina Panthers	-	7	17
Cam Newton is human, after all. And finally gotten that first win too. They are now his team. Jerry Richardson has to be thrilled about the youngster’s development and what he means for the team both financially and football-wise. DeAngelo Williams has proven to be totally unworthy of his big contract.
21	San Francisco 49ers	-	32	7
They are this close to being 3-0. That’s all with Mr. Checkdown at QB, too. Can Jim Harbaugh still play QB? The pass defense has been spotty, but overall their defense has been decent.
22	Arizona Cardinals	-	18	27
1-2 with losses to Rex Grossman and Tavaris Jackson. That’s not what the Cardinals expected when they traded for Kevin Kolb. He has to play better or someone else in the division will get hot and pass them by while they’re stuck in neutral.
23	Cleveland Browns	-	26	9
Quick, name any 2 of their WR’s. You couldn’t do it, either? They need to get Colt McCoy some weapons, and fast. Montario Hardesty looked pretty solid for a guy making his NFL debut last week.
24	St. Louis Rams	-	21	31
Is this too high for a winless team? Maybe, but their schedule has been brutal and they do have talent.
25	Miami Dolphins	-	12	30
Tick…tick…tick….the time-bomb attached to Tony Sparano’s coaching position keeps on ticking. When it’ll blow, no one knows!
26	Jacksonville Jaguars	-	28	4
How Jack Del Rio has stayed their coach is quite beyond me. They aren’t going to the playoffs so coddling Blaine Gabbert only hurts them more. Which is probably exactly what they’ll do. That’s why they’re the Jaguars.
27	Cincinnati Bengals	-	25	3
Classic Bengals- show some promise one week, then end up with your starting RB facing a suspension and your #2 WR facing a police investigation the next. I’m half-impressed, half-shocked that Marvin Lewis has managed to stick around as long as he has.
28	Minnesota Vikings	-	24	20
No team has been better for the first halves of games so far this year. Correspondingly, no team has been worse in the second halves of games this year either. You have to wonder why Adrian Peterson got 5 carries in the second half. You don’t see elite offenses taking the ball out of their best player’s hands.
29	Denver Broncos	-	27	15
The Tim Tebow debate is slowly killing this team. Although they haven’t shown it, John Fox and John Elway have to be privately steaming about the public relations mess it is making. The more they lose, the louder the pro-Tebow sentiment gets. The real loser in the whole mess is Kyle Orton.
30	Seattle Seahawks	-	31	10
The good news: they won a game! The bad news: Tavaris Jackson stays at QB for another week.
31	Indianapolis Colts	-	29	19
Peyton Manning to Andrew Luck might be the best timing for the release of a franchise QB in league history, should the Colts land the #1 pick. With this offense, they’re heading that way.
32	Kansas City Chiefs	-	30	23
They have put the suck in the “Suck for Luck” campaigns so common in the NFL right now, sadly.