UCLA Football: Breaking Down the AP Poll

After losing at home to the Oregon State Beavers, UCLA dropped out of the top 25, but didn’t fall too far from the minds of the voters. At 3-1, UCLA is just the second team out of the poll, coming in at 27. After one week out of the polls, it is quite possible the Bruins could climb back into the top 25 with a victory this weekend against the lowly Colorado Buffaloes. UCLA will likely need a few teams ahead of them to lose, which is inevitable, and will need to beat Colorado by a large enough margin to convince the voters to have the faith in them to warrant a ranking. Let’s look at some teams ranked ahead of the Bruins.

#16 Oklahoma– Coming off of a loss to Kansas State at home, they play this week on the road at Texas Tech. Once again the Sooners could be on upset alert. Texas Tech hasn’t got much publicity since Mike Leach was fired, but they are quietly 3-0 this season.

#17 Clemson- At 17, Clemson is extremely underrated. With an early loss, however, to potential National Championship contender Florida State, the Tigers find themselves lower in the rankings than they belong. Clemson has excellent skill position players and will claw back into the top 10 this season. Boston College doesn’t stand a chance this week.

#18 Oregon State- The Beavers, coming off of the big win at UCLA, have another tough task this week at Arizona. If the Beavers get blown off the field, they could drop below UCLA despite beating them(makes no sense, just the way it is). Arizona just got humiliated on national TV against Oregon and will need to rebound in a big way. I like Oregon State as a team and think they are legitimately top 25 quality, but I like Arizona on Saturday.

#19 Louisville- Louisville is 4-0 and hitting on all cylinders. They play at Southern Mississippi this week, who is 0-3 and has one of the worst offenses in the country. Louisville big.

#20 Michigan State– In possibly the game of the week, the Spartans take on Ohio State at home. The game could go either way. It depends on which star shines brightest. La’veon Bell will face a tough Ohio State run defense and Braxton Miller will face a tough Michigan State pass defense. Braxton Miller’s legs could be the difference.

#21 Mississippi State– Bye

#22 Nebraska– The Cornhuskers face off against Wisconsin in Lincoln. It’s well documented that Wisconsin has struggled this season and they could be without last year’s Heisman finalist, record-setting running back Montee Ball.

#23 Rutgers– Bye

#24 Boise State– The Broncos head to New Mexico this week in what should be a snooze-fest. Without Kellen Moore, the Broncos aren’t the TV attraction they were in previous years despite still being a solid team. New Mexico is horrible.

#25 Baylor– No RGIII? No problem! Not so fast. The Bears take on #9 West Virginia on the road this week. In the battle of unbeatens, Baylor will have to play a near perfect game to come away victorious.

Predictions:

Oklahoma and Nebraska both win close games.
Clemson, Louisville, Boise State and UCLA all win big.
Oregon State gets upset on the road by Arizona.
Michigan State and Baylor lose to higher ranked teams and both fall out of top 25.
Northwestern enters the polls at #24.
UCLA re-enters at #25.