ZN's CFB Top 25 :: Week 13 2009

The Big Ten's regular season is finished, except for Illinois and Wisconsin who think they have to be special. But now the real fun begins. Rivalry week offered up a bunch of fantastic finishes, along with a few blowouts sprinkled into the weekend slate. The top teams had virtual bye weeks, while a few teams actually played opponents with a pulse. Some left happy; others not so much. It's all here in this week's top 25.

Rank. Team (LW), [Record, LW Result].

1. Texas (1), [11-0, W 51 - 20 Kansas]
2. Alabama (2), [11-0, W 45 - 0 Chattanooga(FCS)]
3. Cincinnati (3), [10-0, DNP]
4. Florida (4), [11-0, W 62 - 3 Florida International]
5. Texas Christian (5), [11-0, W 45 - 10 Wyoming]
6. Georgia Tech (6), [10-1, DNP]
7. Boise State (7), [11-0, W 52 - 21 Utah State]
8. Ohio State (8), [10-2, W 21 - 10 Michigan]
9. Pittsburgh (9), [9-1, DNP]
10. Penn State (11), [10-2, W 42 - 14 Michigan State]
11. Oregon (10), [9-2, W 44 - 41(2OT) Arizona]
12. Iowa (14), [10-2, W 12 - 0 Minnesota]
13. Oregon State (16), [8-3, W 42 - 10 Washington State]
14. North Carolina (19), [8-3, W 31 - 13 Boston College]
15. Oklahoma State (18), [9-2, W 31 - 28 Colorado]
16. Clemson (24), [8-3, W 34 - 21 Virginia]
17. Virginia Tech (17), [8-3, W 38 - 10 NC State]
18. Miami(FL) (20), [8-3, W 34 - 16 Duke]
19. California (22), [8-3, W 34 - 28 Stanford]
20. Wisconsin (13), [8-3, L 33 - 31 Northwestern]
21. Brigham Young (21), [9-2, W 38 - 21 Air Force]
22. Mississippi (NR), [8-3, W 25 - 23 LSU]
23. Louisiana State (12), [8-3, L 25 - 23 Mississippi]
24. Northwestern (NR), [8-4, W 33 - 31 Wisconsin]
25. Nebraska (NR), [8-3, W 17 - 3 Kansas State]

Dropped Out:
Stanford (15), [7-4, L 34 - 28 California]
Arizona (23), [6-4, L 44 - 41 Oregon]
Rutgers (25), [7-3, L 31 - 13 Syracuse]

On the Cusp:
Southern Cal (NR), [7-3, DNP]
Houston (NR), [9-2, W 55 - 14 Memphis]
Utah (NR), [9-2, W 38 - 7 San Diego State]
Central Michigan (NR), [9-2, W 35 - 3 Ball State]
Temple (NR), [9-2, W 47 - 13 Kent State]
Navy (NR), [8-3, W 35 - 18 Delaware(FCS)]
West Virginia (NR), [7-3, DNP]
South Florida (NR), [7-3, W 34 - 22 Louisville]

Notes: For the second straight week, none of my top 10 teams fell. You can chalk that up to my being awesome. I wasn't fooled by Louisiana State, so it wasn't a surprised when the Tigers fell to Ole Miss. Overall, though, this week wasn't epic by any means. Teams rose and fell as expected. I'm not handcuffed by the transitive property when it comes to rankings, so I'm keeping Penn State ahead of Iowa. The Northwestern upset of Wisconsin was huge for the Big Ten, as it gives the conference to finish the bowl season with three 11-win, one 10-win, and a nine-win team. That would be the best top-half of a conference in all of college football. But the bowls are still weeks away, and the Big Ten has offered no indication that this will be the year it shows well in bowl games.

Past weeks:
WEEK ONE/PRESEASON
WEEK TWO
WEEK THREE
WEEK FOUR
WEEK FIVE
WEEK SIX
WEEK SEVEN
WEEK EIGHT
WEEK NINE
WEEK TEN
WEEK ELEVEN
WEEK TWELVE