NC&QB Rankings: Shake Up

In our bi-weekly rankings system, we saw some remarkable movement.

Indiana, West Virginia and Oregon fell out of the rankings.

Penn State, Ohio State and Virginia Tech moved in.

And Miami served notice (beating down free falling TAMU) that it is next in line should one of the top 10 falter.


10- Arizona (3-1): The 'Cats suffered an upset loss to New Mexico, but came back in true non-white QB fashion with a big win over UCLA this past weekend. Willie Tuitama, of non-Northern European descent, threw 2 TD's and no INT's against the Bruins.

9- East Carolina (3-1): The Pirates BCS hopes became tenuous after a close call with Tulane; and then shattered after falling to talent poor NC State. With Houston, Virginia, Memphis and UCF on the immediate schedule, the Pirates are poised to climb back up should the teams above them falter.

8- Ohio State (3-1): After the blowout loss to NCQB #1 USC, the Buckeyes made the only logical move they could to save their season: They turned to Negro QB Terrelle Pryor. Pryor threw 4 TD's and rushed for 66 yards as the Bucks began the long journey back down the road to respectability. Many say that Coach Tressel's conservative nature is a fault. But, in this case, returning his team to the lead of a Negro QB seems to be the only option to get back to the success his team previously enjoyed.

7- Illinois (2-1): The Fighting Zooks dropped a few spots during and idle week. Their previous unimpressive victory over one of the many doormat University of Louisiana teams did not help them. However, Juice Williams will have a chance to move his squad back up to the top 5 when Illinois travels to newly ranked Penn State next Saturday in the marquis match up of the weekend.

6- Ball State (4-0): The Ballers are the best team in the Big Ten region. Hands down. A three touchdown victory over previously #10 Indiana certainly shored up many of the questions about this squad. Heisman-eligible QB Nate Davis is throwing at over a 72% completion rate and over 10 yards per attempt. Add in his 10 TD completions, and you can clearly see why we are touting him as the Heisman front runner to this point.

5- Georgia Tech (3-1): The Wramblin' Wreck is slowly putting together a season to remember. Only a close loss to #4 VA Tech separates the Jackets from an undefeated record. Unfortunately, tremendous non-drop-back-passer QB Josh Nesbitt was injured in the victory over Mississippi State. Coach Paul Johnson's choice of Jaybo Shaw, rather than Calvin Booker, as his replacement could have future implications on Tech's rankings.

4- Virginia Tech (3-1): The Hokies continue to march on after the opening day loss to ECU. In perhaps the best coaching tactics we've seen from Frank Beamer, Tyrod Tayler was pulled back from what was to be a redshirt season, and now seems to be the go to player for the Hokies. Taylor engineered a stunning come from behind victory to knock off previous ACC Coastal Division front runner North Carolina.

3- Penn State (4-0): Despite being trapped in the petrified forest that is Joe Paterno's offense, NQB Daryll Clark continues to shine as the Lions have steam rolled through the first third of their schedule. A showdown with Heisman hopeful Juice Williams in Happy Valley next weekend looms as a make or break game for both teams.

2- Oklahoma (3-0): After hanging half a hundred for the third time this season, the Sooners enjoyed an off week to prep for TCU. Sam Bradford has been the model of efficiency. His work is single-handedly making most question the notion that drop back passing is the realm of the white QB.

1- USC (2-0) The Trojans hit the field this week with revenge on their minds against Oregon State. With no legit contenders left on their schedule, look for Mark Sanchez and the Men of Troy to put up some big numbers week after week as they defend their ranking and work to win the BCS formula battle.