Taking A Look At The Preseason AP Top 25

It's back again 

We are back in business, and college football is about to become the #1 story each week. Every week we all will look at the rankings and check to see who is #1 in the AP poll. Where are the Buckeyes? Will we be complaining about media or coach bias? How often will we say that there is too much SEC love in the rankings? Well let’s take a look at the first set of AP rankings that have come out. 

These are preseason rankings, so they really are not based on a lot. They are based on more what could happen that what has happened. It is almost guaranteed that by the 3^rd or 4^th week of the season these current rankings will be turned on their heads and new teams will be climbing and some of the blue bloods will have fallen. 

ITS's Top 25: Week 13

#1 Oregon (-) - BYE

#2 Auburn (-) - BYE

#3 TCU (-) - BYE

#4 LSU (-) - A close win over Ole Miss moves LSU to a 10-1 record.

#5 Boise State (-) - Easy 51-0 win over Fresno. Broncos face their final test against Nevada, so we'll see where they land.

#6 Wisconsin (-) - A bigger win over Michigan than some folks realize. They've beaten Iowa, OSU, and Michigan in same season since awhile!

#7 Ohio State (-) - Big win at Iowa 20-17. Pryor had good leadership in the 4th quarter, willing their way to victory.

#8 Stanford (-) - The Cardinal demolished the Bears defense, 48-14.

#9 Oklahoma State (-) - Justin Blackmon isn't getting enough credit for this team, as they continue to roll.

#10 Michigan State (-) - The third Big Ten team in the Top Ten since about Week 5. MSU has won every game since their loss to Iowa

Buckeye's Adjustments Foils PSU's Upset.

Howard seals the deal
AP Photo/Al Behrman

The Nittany Lions gave the Buckeyes everything they had in the first half. It was enough, but they had to continue with the domination. They couldn't. The first drive in the 2nd half set the momentum for Ohio State from the get-go. Down 14-3, Tressel and the Buckeyes rode on the back of Daniel "Boom" Herron for the second straight game. He finished with 21 carries for 190 yards and a score. The score was the one that cut the 11 point deficit (biggest comeback for Tressel in his 10 years at OSU). Right away, the crowd went from booing and quiet, to loud and cheering. McGloin threw, Torrence picked, and the rest was history.

After that score, there was no looking back for the Buckeyes, as they would score 3 more times, winning 38-14. Terrelle Pryor was decent, but only threw the ball just 13 times, completing 8 passes for 139 yards with 2 touchdowns against 1 interception. In the first half, he struggled to find a rhythm, and it showed, as the offense itself wasn't ready to play physical, Ohio State football. Tressel improved to 27-4 in November games as Ohio State's head coach -- and 3-4 in the week after a bye. Joe Paterno who was closing in on his 401st win, instead got his 133rd loss.


With this win, the Buckeyes moved to 9-1 on the season and remain in a three-way tie with Wisconsin and Michigan State atop the Big Ten standings. The Buckeyes have two tough games remaining, as they travel to Iowa next week and come home to face Michigan the week after. Wisconsin heads to Ann Arbor next week and plays Northwestern at home the following week, while MSU has the easiest schedule, hosting Purdue and traveling to Penn State.

ITS Blog Update, etc

First off, the recap for the Wisconsin game should be up by today, if not it will be up tomorrow.

Inside The Shoe is looking for a football writer to join our staff, and if you think you fit the bill, please leave a comment below or email us at insidetheshoe2009@hotmail.com. Looking forward to hearing from you!