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Week 4: Top 25 Media Poll The Week 4 poll is out and what a wild week it was. Penn State (4-0) remains in control of the top spot, but the Wisconsin Badgers (3-1) dropped from the #2 spot due to their lose to Michigan State. Filling the void at the #2 spot is Oklahoma (3-1), followed by LSU (3-0), Ohio State (4-0), and USC (2-1). The Washington State Cougars fell out of the Top 25 poll, with the UAB Blazers moving up from #38 to #24 following their shocking win over the Miami Hurricanes. There are three games between ranked teams in Week 5, led by a match-up between Penn State and Michigan State.

Week 4: Recap What a great week of games that did not disappoint. Week 4 featured multiple Top-25 matches, and several surprising upsets. In a battle of ranked teams, the #18 Michigan State Spartans traveled to Madison, Wisconsin to take on the #2 Badgers in the spotlight game of the week. While the Badgers (3-1) were the heavily favored home team, the Spartans (2-2) shocked the crowd with a 27 to 13 victory. The other shocking game of the week saw the unranked University of Alabama-Birmingham Blazers (3-0) travel to South Beach and beat the #7 Miami Hurricanes (3-1) 27 to 21. Notable individual game performances shown as follows:

Was a tough year and playing the game simply didn't crack the priority list. Just fired up the game for the first time in 7 months, so I will see if I get drawn back into playing.

Boise State 27 --- San Jose State 3 Well, it was fun while it lasted... The Spartans (1-3) were simply over-matched today, and had no answer for the Boise State (3-1) RB tandem of Ronnie Campbell (90 rushing yards) and Fernando Fischer (177 rushing yards and 2 TDs). While San Jose State got out to an early 3-0 lead, it would be the only time they had the advantage and would go on to lose by a score of 27 to 3. The Broncos defense did an outstanding job of shutting down RB John Moreno, holding him to a measly 49 rushing yards on 21 carries. Other problem for the Spartans was the fact that its O-Line could not protect QB Tony Lima from the swarming Broncos defense; allowing 7 sacks, 7 stuffs, and 5 hurries. #thisisgoingtobealongseason

Week 4: Preview of San Jose State v. Boise State The San Jose State Spartans (1-2) travel to play on the blue turf of Albertsons Stadium in a Week 4 match-up against the Boise State Broncos (2-1). The preview analysis favors a Bronco team who, while not playing as well as last year, come into the game possessing a solid offense and a sneaky-good defense. If the Spartans are going to have any chance of winning this game, they will need to find a way to stop junior RB Ronnie Campbell who is averaging 126.3 yards per game on the season. The Broncos are a 17 point underdog in this one -- it should be interesting.

Nation's "Team Defense" Leaders While the offense always seems to get the attention, it is said that it is defense that wins championships. Leading the way through the first quarter of the regular season is a Memphis Tigers defense that is only allowing 227.3 total yards of offense per game. Following close behind are the Florida Gators who allowing 230.7 yards of total offense per game. The Nation's top offensive team -- Notre Dame Fighting Irish -- are ranked 12th in the Nation in Defense; allowing 271.7 yards per game.

Nation's "Team Offense" Leaders While it is still early in the season, several teams are off to dominating starts with their offensive production. Leading the way are the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, who are currently averaging 557.3 yards per game in total offense. While ranked fourth with 540 yards per game, the Wisconsin Badgers are leading the Nation with an impressive 36:05 time of possession (ToP) average. There are currently 13 teams who are averaging at least 500 yards in total offense on the season.

Week 3: Top 25 Media Poll The Week 3 poll is out and for the most part, the teams saw very little movement. Penn State remains in control of the top spot, with the Wisconsin Badgers close behind in second place. LSU, Ohio State, and Oklahoma round out the Top 5. The West Virginia Mountaineers were the only team to fall out of the Top 25 poll. The Central Florida Knights jumped into the poll, landing at #20. There are three games between ranked teams in Week 4.

Week 3: Recap While Week 3 did not feature any games between ranked teams, it did not stop from having several exciting upsets. The first of the upsets saw the #7 Georgia Bulldogs (2-1) dropping a home game to Central Florida (2-1) by the score of 48 to 33. Despite coming into the game with one of the Nation's best defenses, the Bulldogs could not stop RB Harold Wilson (253 yards on 28 carries, 2 TD's). The second big upset came when the Florida Atlantic Owls (3-0) dominated #10 Michigan State Spartans (1-2) to get the road victory by a score of 26 to 12. While FAU could not keep up on offense, it was their defense and special team play (fumble return for a TD, a Safety, and a 70 yard punt return) that made the difference. Other notable games/performances include: #11 Notre Dame (3-0) annihilating Temple (2-1) by a score of 58 to 7. #5 Oklahoma (2-1) getting the home victory over the Maryland Terrapins (1-2) by a score of 56 to 7. Troy (2-1) putting up 65 points in its home victory over Georgia Tech (2-1), with a final score of 65 to 10. Auburn RB William Perez rushing for 235 yards on 26 carries. Army ILB Jeffery Oconnor recording 4 sacks, 2 stuffs, 1 pass deflection on his 11 tackle day.

Agreed. It does show its age but still a fun, easily playable game that is relatively stable.

San Jose State 13 --- Old Dominion 3 Well, it wasn't pretty but a win is a win. Playing in difficult conditions, both teams struggled to move the ball throughout the day. Maintaining a 13-0 lead heading into the 4th quarter, the Spartans were able to stop a long Monarchs drive which resulted in a field goal. With the 13 to 3 victory, the San Jose State Spartans move to 1-2 on the season, while the loss dropped the Old Dominion Monarchs to 0-3 on the season. While the Spartans offense did not show much (QB Tony Lima's 140 yards passing 1 TD, and RB John Moreno's 63 rushing yards), the Spartans defense put on a show. Led by standout ILB Anthony Newell (4 sacks, 2 stuffs, 1 pass deflection on 12 tackles), the Monarchs' offense was limited to just 174 total net yards on the day, and were a dismal 1 of 17 on 3rd down attempts. While it was nice to get the first win of the season, the schedule just gets harder from here; playing Boise State next week. #finally

Week 3: Preview of San Jose State v. Old Dominion The San Jose State Spartans (0-2) are on the road again, this time traveling to Norfolk, Virginia for a Week 3 match-up against the Old Dominion Monarchs (0-2). After two consecutive losses, the Spartans are looking to bounce back with their first win of the season. The match-up analysis favors San Jose, along with the better national rankings on both offense and defense. Spartan RB John Moreno is off to a good start this year, and he is looking to add to his early season totals. #thisistheweek.

Week 2: Top 25 Media Poll The Week 2 poll is out and there has been a little shakeup in the rankings. While Penn State remained in control of the top spot, the Wisconsin Badgers jumped up to the #2 spot thanks to the Oklahoma loss. Michigan State also dropped in the poll due to a loss, moving from #5 to #10. The biggest jump up in this week's poll went to Texas A&M, moving 14 spots from #36 to #22 due to their 24 to 14 victory over Michigan State. There are no games between ranked teams in Week 3.

Week 2: Recap Week 2 featured six (6) games between ranked teams. The top match-up saw the #7 USC Trojans traveling to Happy Valley to take on the #1 Penn State Nittany Lions. Before a crowd of more than 107,000 fans, this high-scoring game saw both teams move the ball at will. In the end, the Nittany Lions did just enough to get the 40 to 30 victory. In leading Penn State to the victory, junior RB James Wiggins gained 94 yards on 29 carries, with 2 TD's. In the loss, Trojan DT Joseph Oconnor terrorized the opposition, recording 3 sacks and 2 tackle stuffs on his 9 tackle day. Other notable games/performances include: #20 Virginia Tech Hokies (2-0) getting the upset victory over the #2 Oklahoma Sooners (1-1) by the score of 13-9. Unranked Arizona State Sun Devils (2-0) thumping the #17 NC State Wolfpack 52 to 22. #8 Alabama Crimson Tide (2-0) topping the #21 West Virginia Mountaineers 29 to 16. Wisconsin junior RB Michael Hernandez rushed for 204 yards on 30 carries. San Diego State QB Jonathon Rodriguez passed for 439 yards and 3 TD's in the victory.

This is great -- really enjoying following along and seeing how it will turn out. Go Creighton!