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USC Sports Media Poll: Week 9 College Football Top 25

Shotgun Spratling |
November 3, 2010 | 3:00 a.m. PDT

Associate Sports Editor
Oregon Ducks' LaMichael James scores one of his three touchdowns against USC Saturday October 30, 2010 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Oregon won 53-32 to remain No. 1. (Shotgun Spratling)
Oregon Ducks vs USC Trojans (Shotgun Spratling)

The ESPN College GameDay curse is officially dead. USC couldn't keep up with the Oregon Ducks. After taking a 32-29 lead in the third quarter, the Trojans were outscored 24-0 the remainder of the game.

There was still a pair of previously unbeatens knocked off though.

Michigan State was trounced on the road by Iowa, setting up the potential for a three-way tie atop the Big 10 standings. Missouri fell to Nebraska, which springboards back into the top 10 following the win.

Undefeated Utah needed two late fourth down stops to hold off Air Force. And the state of Florida's ranked teams didn't fare well either. Florida State and Miami were both upset in ACC action.

Another week means another evaluation of the top teams in the USC Sports Media College Football Top 25 poll.

This week our poll represents five different USC campus media outlets and two successful USC-focused blogs.

The voters (in alphabetical order): Whitney Blaine from USC's television-multimedia news operation ATVN, Dave Dulberg representing USC's student run radio station KXSC, Joey Kaufman of the SB Nation blog Conquest Chronicles, Kenny Legan from the student newspaper Daily Trojan, Alejandro Madrid of the Fansided blog Reign of Troy, Tommy Morris from the sports debate television show Platforum on Trojan Vision and Shotgun Spratling from Neon Tommy.

Note: The "high" and "low" columns represent the highest and lowest individual ranking each team received this week.

Rank Team High Low W-L Comment
1 (1) Oregon Ducks 1 2 8-0 The Ducks' no-huddle offense wore down the USC defense. With its superb conditioning, it is questionable whether any defense can handle the pressure of the 'Quack Attack.' (Madrid)
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2 (2) Auburn Tigers 2 4 9-0 Cam Newton runs (he's the SEC rushing leader). He throws (SEC leader and third nationally in pass efficiency). And now he catches (Newton hauled in a 20-yard touchdown pass in the back corner of the end zone Saturday). Auburn rolled 51-31. (Spratling)
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3 (3) Boise St. Broncos 1 4 7-0 Another year, another perfect start. Yet again, Kellen Moore -- who leads the nation in passing efficiency with a 188.3 rating -- and his Bronco teammates look primed get overlooked by the BCS in favor a one-loss SEC team. (Dulberg)
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4 (4) TCU Horned Frogs 2 5 9-0 TCU's 45-10 win over Baylor earlier in the season is looking pretty good right now, especially after Baylor's win at Texas this weekend. (Legan)
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5 (7) Alabama Crimson Tide 4 7 7-1 No Rolondo McClain. No Javier Arenas. No problem. The 2010 version of the Crimson Tide defense is allowing a meager 12.5 points per game. It's as good, if not better, than last year's version that won the BCS National Championship. (Dulberg)
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6 (8) Utah Utes 5 11 8-0 Heading into Saturday's nationally televised MWC clash against TCU at Rice-Eccles, all the headlines have been colored purple and black. But that's exactly how Kyle Whittingham and his under-the-radar, undefeated Utes like it. (Dulberg)
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7 (9) Wisconsin Badgers 6 8 7-1 If there ends up being a three-way tie atop the Big Ten, Wisconsin is the leading candidate for the trip to Pasadena based on their current BCS ranking. (Spratling)
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8 (15) Nebraska Huskers 6 13 7-1 Taylor Martinez was injured, but senior Roy Helu Jr. filled the void against Missouri with a school-record 307 yards rushing. The Huskers vault back into the top 10 after knocking off a pair of previously unbeaten squads in back-to-back weeks. (Spratling)
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9 (10) Ohio St. Buckeyes 7 11 8-1 The Buckeyes have outscored their opponents 101-10 since losing to Wisconsin three weeks ago. (Morris)
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10 (12) Stanford Cardinal 9 12 7-1 After beating Washington 41-0, Stanford coach Jim Harbaugh told his players, "We kicked their ass every which way!” It was more than apparent. The Cardinal limited the Huskies to 107 yards of total offense while gaining 278 yards on the ground. Stanford could end up in Pasadena for New Year’s if Oregon finishes undefeated. (Kaufman)
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11 (11) Oklahoma Sooners 9 15 7-1 Landry Jones threw for a career-high 453 yards with 208 going to Ryan Broyles. Broyles rested his sore ankles during the week and then set the school-record for receiving yards in a game. Three of his nine receptions went for touchdowns. (Spratling)
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12 (13) LSU Tigers 9 17 7-1 The Tigers come off a tough loss to Auburn and a bye week with the opportunity to redeem themselves against Alabama. A win could propel them back into national championship contention. (Morris)
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T13 (6) Missouri Tigers 10 16 7-1 Missouri flopped a week after one of the biggest wins in program history. Even without Taylor Martinez, Nebraska was able to run all over the Tigers' defense. (Spratling)
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T13 (14) Arizona Wildcats 9 15 7-1 A tough schedule remains for the Wildcats. They still have road trips to Stanford and Oregon with a home showdown with USC sandwiched in between. If Arizona comes out unscathed, it can make a case to be in the national title game. (Legan)
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15 (5) Michigan St. Spartans 13 17 8-1 For the first time, the Spartans had to travel a significant distance. The results were disastrous. Iowa blew Sparty out and exposed weaknesses. (Madrid)
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16 (18) Iowa Hawkeyes 13 19 6-2 Iowa is the best two-loss team in the nation. The Hawkeyes are better than some one-loss teams. They only lost by a touchdown to Arizona and one point to Wisconsin. I expect them to beat Ohio State. (Legan)
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17 (17) South Carolina Gamecocks 12 21 6-2 If they want to keep their BCS bowl hopes alive, South Carolina will need to plug the holes in its secondary. They allowed Tennessee's lackluster passing attack to throw for 312 yards and Ryan Mallett is coming to Columbia this weekend. (Spratling)
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18 (20) Oklahoma St. Cowboys 16 19 7-1 If not for the Year of the Dual Threat QB -- Yes We Cam, Shoelace and T-Magic, please stand up -- the Cowboys' gunslinger Brandon Weeden would be a Heisman frontrunner. The 27-year-old junior has led Oklahoma State with 2,547 yards passing, good for third nationally, and 23 touchdowns, second in the nation. (Dulberg)
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19 (19) Arkansas Razorbacks 16 21 6-2 QB Ryan Mallett destroyed Vanderbilt, bumping his own school-record 408 passing yards up to 409. But Arkansas has reason to worry about its second-ranked passing attack. Star receiver Greg Childs is out for the season with a patella tendon injury. (Blaine)
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20 (24) Mississippi St. Bulldogs 18 23 7-2

The bye week couldn't have come at a better time for the Bulldogs. They were dealt the tragic blow of Nick Bell's sudden death after emergency surgery failed Monday. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the Bulldogs and the Bell family. (Spratling)

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21 (25) Baylor Bears 20 23 7-2 Who would have thought? The Baylor Bears control their own destiny in the Big 12. They showed they are legit, ending a 12-game losing streak against Texas and winning at Texas for the first time in 19 years. (Spratling)
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22 (21) Virginia Tech Hokies 20 25 7-2 September may have been just an aberration for a Frank Beamer team that may once again be the class of the ACC. Virginia Tech has notched six consecutive wins and in five of those games its Tyrod Taylor-led offense has tallied at least 40 points. (Kaufman)
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23 (NR) Nevada Wolfpack 22 24 7-1 The Wolfpack showed their offensive prowess, taking a 35-0 first half lead over Utah State. But they also showed their defensive deficiencies, allowing 42 second half points to the Aggies. (Spratling)
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24 (16) Florida St. Seminoles 21 NR 6-2 Florida State jumped ahead 21-7 thanks to two great touchdown runs from quarterback Christian Ponder, but a late red zone fumble gave North Carolina State the win. The Seminoles seem to inevitably disappoint each time they get some momentum going and may struggle against Clemson or Florida in future weeks. (Blaine)
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25 (23) San Diego St. Aztecs 22 NR 6-2 Two years ago, before hiring coach Brady Hoke, the Aztecs were 2-10. After last year's 4-8 season of growing pains, Hoke has SDSU bowl-eligible for the first time since 1998. Hoke's former team, Ball State, went from being 12-2 in his final season to 4-17 after his departure. (Spratling)

Others receiving votes: North Carolina State, Northwestern, Syracuse

Dropped Out: USC (LW: 22), Miami (LW: 23)

To reach reporter Shotgun Spratling, click here, or follow him on Twitter @BlueWorkhorse.

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