Former Assist. Rec. Coord. Ouimet’s Top 25

Mark Ouimet was Bobby Morrison’s assistant recruiting coordinator from 1997-2001. He gives us his top 25 college teams for this week, including a prognosis on tomorrow’s games.

Ouimet’s Top 25
Week 11, going into Nov. 2 games

1. Oklahoma – Will the Sooners under Stoops win for the first time versus Colorado? With the bye week Stoops defense should stop the Buffalos' running game.

2. Miami (Fl.) – Hurricanes extended winning streak to 29, which ties the record from 90-92, and will get another one against Rutgers.

3. Virginia Tech – With Randall becoming confident as we go deeper into the season, he will need to bring his “A” game against the strong defensive unit of Pittsburgh.

4. Georgia – Trying to win their first conference title since 1982; this will be another test against Florida.

5. Texas – 245 yards rushing against Iowa State with Cedric Benson having 199 of them. Nebraska will come to play at home and will test the Longhorns.

6. Ohio State – Passed the test against Penn State and won’t have a problem against Minnesota, which is a team that has beaten noting except losing teams and Toledo.

7. N.C. State – A team that doesn’t look past anybody and just keeps it rolling towards that ACC championship.

8. Notre Dame – They took a step I thought undoable in beating FSU, but with Boston College coming to town it will be a hard-fought game like the one against Pittsburgh.

9. Iowa – A win over Wisconsin will give them the at least a share of the Big Ten title with their last two games against Northwestern and Minnesota.

10. Alabama – I witnessed their Tennessee win this past weekend; with only two losses to Oklahoma and Georgia this year the Tide have been under -ranked all year.

11. Washington State – Have only beaten three teams with a winning record and with a loss at Ohio State, this team must beat Arizona State to make the top 10.

12. Kansas State – Have lost two close games to Texas and Colorado, but did beat USC. With RB Darren Sproles with four consecutive 100+ games they should continue to run -- right through Kansas.

13. USC – Snapping a four game losing streak against Oregon and 448 yards passing has jumped the Trojans into this ranking.

14. Oregon – Settling for field goals in the Red Zone four times against USC has brought the Ducks two straight losses for the first time since 1997.

15. LSU – Too many turnovers and bad field position slowed the Tigers down against Auburn last weekend, which means that this is a must win at Kentucky.

16. Michigan – Hawkeye’s first win since 1990 in the Big House; now a must win against MSU to stay in the title hopes.

17. Colorado – The leading rusher Chris Brown had his fifth straight 100-yard game, and this is a must versus Oklahoma this week to have a chance in this Big 12 battle.

18. Arizona State – Terrell Suggs had four sacks as the Sun Devils beat Washington, which gives him the nation’s-best 17 for the year.

19. Penn State – Another close call by the officiating crew last weekend against OSU delivers another tough loss for the Lions, but they should become bowl eligible in the next couple of weeks with wins against Illinois and Virginia.

20. Bowling Green - Just keeps on winning, but will be tested with three straight road games.

21. Florida State – Still has ACC title hopes, but must win three games to get that chance against North Carolina State.

22. Iowa State – Lack of big plays in the big games have dropped the Cyclones down in the polls.

23. Florida – A must win against Georgia or they will drop out of the Top 25. The bye week should make this game a great match up in the SEC.

24. Maryland – Losses only to Notre Dame and Florida State plus five straight wins gives the Terps my nod in the Top 25. We’ll find out with two opponents in North Carolina and North Carolina State the next two weeks.

25. Tennessee – Will be out of the top 25 in two weeks with Miami coming into town.

OTHERS:

Marshall – Only loss is to Virginia Tech and will make this Top 25 with back to back road wins for the first time this year.
Colorado State – If they beat Air Force on the road they will make my top 25.
Air Force – With a big win against the Rams they might sneak back in the top 25.
Minnesota - My new over-ranked team in the country, which should not be in the Top 25 in any poll. Six wins over teams with losing records and the seventh coming against Toledo. The next four games will prove this ranking.
Kentucky – Losses to three good teams keep them on this list.
Arkansas – With the next three games winnable they could sneak back into this poll.
Boise State - They keep on winning and with only one loss to Arkansas you never know.
Pittsburgh – Can they beat the Hokies on the road this week?
Wisconsin – A win against Iowa can put them back on the map.