College Football Top 25 Review

SI Staff | Nov 1, 2010

College Football Top 25 Review /

College Football Top 25 Review

Cam Newton had plenty of reasons to celebrate Saturday. Auburn's star quarterback turned in another Heisman-worthy performance, throwing for two touchdown passes and catching another in No. 3 Auburn's victory over Mississippi. Newton failed to rush for 170 yards or more for the fifth consecutive game, but did pass for 199 while gaining 45 on the ground.

Boise State played an uncharacteristically sloppy game against Louisiana Tech, but still managed a 29-point victory on Tuesday night. Doug Martin (22) powered the Broncos to their 21st straight win on a career-best 150 yards and two scores, and the nation's top-ranked defense recorded four sacks, two forced fumbles and three key stops on fourth down.

No. 1 Oregon kept its perfect season alive with a 21-point dismantling of Pac-10 rival USC on their home turf. Heisman candidate LaMichael James rushed for 239 yards and three touchdowns and quarterback Darron Thomas added four touchdowns of his own as the Ducks rallied back from a second-half deficit for the win. Oregon wide receiver Jeff Maehl had eight catches for a career-high 145 yards as the high-powered Ducks racked up 599 total yards in yet another barn-burning offensive performance.

Four different Horned Frogs scored rushing touchdowns and No. 4 TCU bulldozed UNLV in a 42-point blowout. Quarterback Andy Dalton (left) scored once on the ground and completed 16 of 23 passes for 252 yards and two touchdowns on Saturday.

A week after suffering a crushing one-point loss to Wisconsin, Iowa exploded for a 30-0 halftime lead over Michigan State and never faltered, upending the Spartans' undefeated season and throwing the Big Ten and Rose Bowl races into chaos. Iowa, Michigan State, Ohio State and Wisconsin are all still alive.

Utah's defense forced five turnovers and stopped the Falcons twice on downs in the final quarter, helping the No. 8 Utes hold off Air Force for a win Saturday and setting up a showdown with No. 4 TCU next weekend. With the victory over Air Force, Utah improved to 8-0 for the third time in seven years.

The Buckeyes took care of business Saturday, dusting off the Gophers and working their way back into national title contention. Quarterback Terrelle Pryor (left) passed for 222 yards and two touchdowns while running back Dan Herron rushed for 114 yards and a score in the victory.

Ryan Broyles (left) broke a school record with 208 yards receiving as part of the biggest passing day in Oklahoma history, and the No. 11 Sooners bounced back from their first loss of the season to beat Colorado 43-10 on Saturday. Quarterback Landry Jones threw for a career-high 453 passing yards and four touchdowns, including three to Broyles, in the win.

Andrew Luck won a much-hyped quarterback battle with Jake Locker, and it wasn't even close. Luck ran for a 51-yard touchdown the first time he carried the ball and directed Stanford to touchdowns on its first four possession as No. 13 Stanford cruised to victory.

A week after notching a program-altering win over Oklahoma, Missouri came back to earth thanks to a rude awakening from Nebraska. Behind a school-record 307 rushing yards from Roy Helu Jr., Nebraska knocked Missouri from the ranks of the unbeatens and regained control of the Big 12 North.

Arizona is off to its best start since 1998, improving to 7-1 after a tough win over UCLA. Backup quarterback Matt Scott passed for a career-high 319 yards and ran for 71 more, while the stout Wildcats held the Bruins to 299 total yards.

Bit of a rough night for Christian Ponder. The Florida State quarterback rushed for two touchdowns, but he managed just 196 passing yards and had two costly fumbles, including one at the four-yard line in the final minute. Counterpart Russell Wilson fared better, running for three scores, passing for another and connecting with George Bryan on a fourth-down touchdown pass to take the lead with 2:40 remaining.

Tennessee rallied from a 14-point deficit to tie this one at 24 a piece, but a 70-yard touchdown from receiver Alshon Jeffery put South Carolina ahead for good. The Gamecocks also kept their lead in the SEC East thanks to a career-high 184 rushing yards from star freshman tailback Marcus Lattimore, who scored his 11th rushing touchdown of the year in his first game back from an ankle injury.

Ryan Mallett topped his own school record with 409 passing yards Saturday and No. 19 Arkansas rolled over Vanderbilt for a 35-point victory. Mallett connected with eight different receivers on 27 of 44 passes and threw for three touchdows as the Razorbacks won their second straight game. In addition to Mallett orchestrating the offense to perfection, the Razorbacks' defense was sharp as well. After allowing Vanderbilt to score on its first two possessions, Arkansas held Vandy to 13 total yards the rest of the game.

With star receiver Justin Blackmon serving a one-game suspension, Oklahoma State managed just seven points in the first half. But the Cowboys rallied with 17 straight second-half points and hung on for the win thanks to a huge day from punter Quinn Sharp, who forced the Wildcats to start drives from their own four, eight, seven and one. It was also a big day for the Oklahoma State defense, which held Kansas State to 289 total yards.

Starter Jacory Harris went down, and so did Miami. Virginia intercepted Harris' backups four times and amassed 185 rushing yards to hand the 'Canes their third loss -- and all but end their hopes of a Coastal Division title.

The Bulldogs used a fierce ground attack to edge the Wildcats on Saturday. Mississippi State running back Vick Ballard rushed for 103 yards and a touchdown and quarterback Chris Relf (left) ran for 79 yards and a score of his own in the 24-17 victory.

No. 25 Baylor added to reeling Texas' woes this season with a victory in Austin on Saturday. Quarterback Robert Griffin III (left) passed for two touchdowns and ran for another in leading the Bears to their first victory over the Longhorns since 1997.

Published Nov 1, 2010

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