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News-Gazette Top 25

After a long break, The News-Gazette again is voting in The Associated Press poll. Here are the teams staff writer Bob Asmussen rates as the nation's best:

TEAM AP/ESPN SATURDAY'S GAME

1. Florida (8-0) 1/1 vs. Vanderbilt

2. Texas (8-0) 2/2 vs. Central Florida

3. Alabama (8-0) 3/3 vs. LSU

4. Boise State (8-0) 5/5 at Louisiana Tech (Fri.)

5. TCU (8-0) 6/6 at San Diego State

6. Cincinnati (8-0) 4/7 vs. UConn

7. Iowa (9-0) 8/6 vs. Northwestern

8. Oregon (7-1) 7/8 at Stanford

9. LSU (7-1) 9/9 at Alabama

10. Penn State (8-1) 11/10 vs. Ohio State

11. Georgia Tech (8-1) 10/11 vs. Wake Forest

12. Houston (7-1) 13/15 at Tulsa

13. Pitt (7-1) 14/14 vs. Syracuse

14. Utah 17/16 vs. New Mexico

15. Southern Cal (6-2) 12/13 at Arizona State

16. Ohio State (7-2) 15/12 at Penn State

17. Arizona (5-2) 21/19 vs. Washington State

18. Notre Dame (6-2) 19/21 vs. Navy

19. Wisconsin (6-2) 24/22 at Indiana 20. Cal (6-2) 23/23 vs. Oregon State

21. BYU (6-2) 25/25 at Wyoming

22. South Florida (6-2) –/– Idle

23. Auburn (6-3) –/– vs. Furman

24. Texas Tech (6-3) –/– Idle

25. West Virginia (6-2) –/– vs. Louisville

Game of the Week

LSU at Alabama. Last chance for Les Miles and the Tigers to convince us they have the ability to beat a good team. They whiffed on an earlier home chance against Florida. Despite the loss to the Gators, LSU can win the SEC West with a win against the Crimson Tide. Alabama keeps moving up and down in the polls among the top three. They had the weekend off and dropped a spot. Alabama's defense is considered great, but the offense isn't thought to be national championship calibert. Let's see what happens against the Tigers.

Game of the Weak

Furman at Auburn. Sure, everybody gets to play a game against a Division I-AA school. But in Auburn's case, it is a struggling I-AA school. The Paladins have lost three of their last four and are coming off a 52-27 loss to Appalachian State. In an earlier game against a I-A team, Furman lost by 40 to Missouri. Auburn will win its second consecutive game after losing three in a row. The Tigers have played a mostly soft nonconference schedule, though a home game against West Virginia was accidentally slipped in there.

NCAA Football 2010 says ...

Minnesota 45, Illinois 14. The Minnesota defense dominates the Illini, forcing three turnovers and recording seven sacks, four by defensive tackle Eric Small. Adam Weber hits 15 of 21 passes for 141 yards and two touchdowns. Both of Weber's scoring passes come in the first half as Minnesota builds a 28-7 lead. Arrelious Benn catches four passes for 97 yards, including a 67-yard touchdown. (NCAA Football 2010 record: 5-3).

Coach on the hot seat

J.D. Brookhart, Akron. It has not been a good year at the new InfoCision Stadium. The Zips are 1-7 overall, with the lone win coming against Division I-AA Morgan State. Akron is last in the MAC East with an 0-4 record. The only likely win left is the finale against Eastern Illinois and that will likely be too little, too late for the sixth-year coach. He's got plenty of talent on his staff, with former I-A head coaches Walt Harris and Shane Montgomery running the offense and former Illini defensive coordinator Vince Okruch helping on defense.