6l 12A - The Michigan Daily - Thursday, November 7, 2002 advertisement CAL TOPS'CANES IN LATEST POLL _____17 NEBRASKA 1 CAL 2 MIAMI (FL) 3 OKLAHOMA 4 COLORADO 5 TENNESSEE 6 TEXAS 7 FLORIDA STATE 8 FLORIDA 9 UCLA 10 UNIV. OF TOLEDO 11 WASHINGTON STATE Just avenge the CU mauling and beat the Oklahoma Sooners for all to be right in Huskerland. 18 Usc 6 I Must turn off "Injuries" for the thin Trojans to succeed. Con- trolling the playbook is crucial with USC's quarterback. 19 BOISE STATE Say hello to the first "Houston Bowl" winner. Increased frame rates show that this year these boys are on their way up. 20 AUBURN Can the 'Canes repeat? Can the Sooners make it two out of the last three? Who will win the Heisman? How many polygons does a Butkus Award winner get? Where is Berkeley? The answers to these (No. No. Look to Texas. Thousands. Take I-80 west and follow the signs.) and other pressing ques- tions can be found in this year's College Football Top 25 poll: 1 CAL So they went 1-10 last year. Big deal. Serious time spent in the Blue Chip Recruiting Mode has made this team into a rough bunch on the gridiron. That combined with a new Power I forma- tion adds an unexpected threat for this turn-around team. 2 MIAMI (FL) 7 FLORIDA STATE 11 WASHINGTON STATE A strong passing offense makes them a team to beat. Explosive gameplay makes this perennial Pac 10 little brother into a legit- imate head-turner. WAZZU is ready to play with the big boys. Old coach sacked in Career Mode. Team should improve. 21 SOUTH CAROLINA 0 12 ALABAMA 12 ALABAMA 13 OREGON 14 OHIO STATE 15 WASHINGTON 16 LSU 17 NEBRASKA 18 USC 19 BOISE STATE How good is this team? Eight or nine of their starters should be in NFL GameDay"next year. The 'Canes may have the toughest schedule in football, with games against the Florida Gators, Tennessee Volunteers, Virginia Tech Hokies and Florida State Seminoles. About the only qual- ity teams not on their schedule are in the NFL. 3 OKLAHOMA New Hot Routes can put the 2000 NCAA champs right back at the top. Which means almost as much to this Oklahoma Sooner team as beating their heated rival, the Nebraska Cornhuskers. But, kicking game may be a chink in the armor. 4 COLORADO Will the Buffs defend their Big 12 crown using the wishbone? The flexbone? The full house? Only the coach controlling the playbook knows for sure. 5 TENNESSEE New high-low tackling may allow the Volunteers to field their toughest defense in years. And defense wins champi- onships. The question is: will their offense underachieve? A 0-0 game doesn't go down in the win column. 6 TEXAS Can their quarterback capture the Heisman Trophy against what may be the toughest conference in Division I football? Can the defense come up Texas big? Not even our highly evolved artificial intelligence can answer that one. New coach. Same expectations. Same potential: Nothing but a national championship will do. 9 UCLA 20 AUBURN Same coach. Same expectations. Same potential: Nothing but a national championship will do. 8 FLORIDA The Crimson Tide not only has the polygons but also the offen- sive line to outmuscle anyone in college football. Not to men- tion an impressive amount of depth in the backfield. If that's not enough, new high-low tack- ling gives their defense the bite it needed. Roll, Tide, roll. 13 OREGON Blue Chip recruiting made the loss of their 2001 Heisman can- didate easier to stomach. A new wishbone offense could help the 2002 Ducks rain on just about anyone's parade. 14 OHIO STATE More control over the running game puts them at the top of their conference. But they must beat archrival Michigan for the Big 10 Conference title first, which won't be easy, but defi- nitely a possibility for the Ohio State Buckeyes. 15 WASHINGTON Unproven defense must come through for a Rose Bowl berth. Total Control Passing gives this Husky team a very potent attack. 16 LSU Tigers are looking to claw their way to.another SEC title. Louisiana State University's pass- and run-blocking is top- notch this year. Lots of excitement building for 'Cocks this year. Volatile offense could be a threat with the addition of a full-house formation. 22 MARSHALL A weak schedule equals strong wins. Will Keith Jackson, in GameBreaker's booth, call them "rumbling" or "bumbling"? 23 TEXAS A&M Several players converted to defense. Too bad they're in the country's toughest conference. 24 LOUISVILLE Gamebreakers on both sides of the ball. Look for the Louisville Cardinals to go to their Wing T offense for big points. 25 PENN STATE 21 SOUTH CAROLINA 22 MARSHALL 23 TEXAS A&M 24 LOUISVILLE Look for the Bruins to utilize a sensational receiving core and Hot Routes to vie for a nation- al championship. Then expect the Bruins to vie for a champi- onship all over again in the NCAA7 Final Four'2003 edition. 10 UNIV. OF TOLEDO A great run in Career Mode gets these overachievers a major BCS Bowl bid and a Top 10 finish. And their coach the chance to take over a major college pow- erhouse. Enjoy that animated contract, coach. Same classic CGI uniforms. Same classic spot in polls. 40 25 PENN STATE Ah