KU Lands Offensive Lineman: Ben Lueken

The big start paid off for KU with a verbal commitment from two-star offensive lineman Ben Lueken (6-5/31, 5.1 forty time) out of Chaminade in St. Louis, Missouri. Lueken attended the Toledo game on Saturday and is the first offensive lineman to commit to the 2008 class.

Rivals Link
LJW Link

2008 Recruiting Class

PS  STAR Player/Location/Ht/Wt/40/Signed
DT    **** Ryan Glazer/El Cajon, CA (JUCO) -- 6-3/285/5.1 -- 6/3/2007
TE     ***  Tim Biere/Omaha, NE -- 6-4/235/4.8 -- 6/18/2007
TE     ***  Tanner Hawkinson/McPherson, KS -- 6-6/230/4.8 -- 6/16/2007
WR   ***  Daymond Patterson/Mesquite, TX -- 5-8/165/4.43 -- 6/9/2007
OL   **    Ben Lueken/St. Louis, MO -- 6-5/318/5.1 -- 9/17/2007
DT    **   Zach Stadther/North Little Rock, AK -- 6-2/275/4.9 -- 6/19/2007
WR   **   Jamaal Johnson/Houston, TX -- 6-2/180 -- 5/25/2007
ATH  **   Sean Ransburg/Harrisonville, MO -- 6-1/185/4.5 -- 4/10/2007

Rating Source: Rivals

HD Player of the Week: Aqib Talib

Player of the Week

It was a tough week as there were a few good candidates, but Aqib Talib has an advantage in that he can be (and is) a factor on both sides of the ball. This week he had six tackles and an interception on defense. His open-field tackle early might actually have been the best play he's made all year. On offense, he had two catches for 62 yards and a TD. Of course, the TD dive should have been on ESPN, but no TV = no exposure. Oh well, he'll get a chance to shine on TV plenty of times this season.

Honorable Mention: James McClinton (9 tackles), Marcus Henry (7 rec, 133 yards, 1 TD), Jake Sharp (13 carries, 127 yards)

Play of the Week

Again, another difficult choice, but this one has to go to Aqib Talib's highlight TD. The man seems pretty comfortable at the college level right now.

Honorable Mention: John Larson's theft and return to the one-yard line. It's been fun to watch the local walk-on develop at defensive end. Let's hope that upward progression continues and he becomes a factor in more games later this season.

Team of the Week

Kentucky ends a four-game losing streak by shocking #9 Louisville with a 57-yard TD pass with just 28 seconds left in the game. The 40-34 win got the Wildcats a #21 ranking in the AP Poll. It was Kentucky's first win over a top-10 team since 1977 (Penn State).

Best Coach to Party With -- Big 12

In honor of the thread ranking the Big 12 coaches on the Gridiron board, I thought we'd try something different. Rank the coaches based on how fun they'd be for a night on the town.

1. Mark Mangino -- Hey, he's the ultimate wingman with cash to burn. Plus, he's a KU man. No contest.
2. Mike Leach -- Adding alcohol to this personality kind of scares me, but so what, at least it will be interesting. I envision sort of a Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas sort of evening.
3. Mike Gundy -- Does he have a fake I.D.?
4. Mack Brown -- If he can dial-in the UT cheerleaders, then maybe.
5. Guy Morriss -- I'll bet this guy's had a few. In fact, he had to have been sauced when he accepted the job.
6. Bob Stoops -- Not if he's going to wear that visor.
7. Gene Chizik -- See Mack Brown.
8. Dan Hawkins -- Okay, but only if Bluto, Otter and D-Day come along as well.
9. Bill Callahan -- Sure, we can bring the minivan and not talk to a female all evening. I'll have to see if I can find my Dockers.
10. Ron Prince -- Have you seen his wardrobe? I don't like to go out to get my ass kicked. If we could get Gary P. to come along, I'd probably be asleep in about four minutes.
11. Dennis Franchione -- Yep, for a for rousing game of Jenga.
12. Gary Pinkel -- Mr. Personality? No way. Two drinks and I bet he's like, "Hey, are you talkin' to me? Are you talkin' to me?"

Opponent Update -- Week #3

Probably the most discouraging news of the weekend was the CMU perfomance against Purdue (L 22-45). Anyone that got a chance to watch the first half of that one knows that the Chippewas didn't even belong on the field with Purdue. SE Louisiana stepped down a notch and posted a ludicrous 79-7 score agains Kentuckey Wesleyan, doubling the win total for KU's non-cons (2-10).

So, 0-3 Florida International is another cupcake right? Maybe, but they've played an insane schedule and only the only blow out was at Penn State (59-0). Keeping the scores respectable against Maryland and Miami should be an indicator that the 'Hawks need to bring their "A" game. Are the Panther's beat up emotionally after that stretch or are they getting better? We'll see on Saturday.

Non-Con prediction -- Last week, I went out on a limb to predict the SLU win. This week, I'll say that Toledo drops one in the Glass Bowl to ISU, which will frustrate KU fans.

Central Michigan #86 (1-2)
L @ Kansas 7-52
W Toledo 52-31
L @Purdue 22-45
Next: N. Dakota St.

SE Louisiana #188 (1-2)
L @ New Mexico St. 14-35
L @ Kansas 0-62
W Kentucky Wesleyan 79-7
Next: @Tulane

Toledo #121 (0-3)
L Purdue 24-52
L @ Central Michigan 31-52
L @ Kansas 13-45
Next: Iowa State

Florida International #144 (0-3)
L @ Penn State 0-59
L Maryland 10-26
L @Miami (Fla) 9-23
Next: @Kansas

# = Sagarin Ranking

Around the North | Week #3

Rivals Are 3-0

Well, cancel the plans for a College Gameday visit to Lawrence on November 3rd. Nebraska took a 49-31 beating from #1 USC that wasn't as close as the score indicated. The Huskers get credit for taking their shot, but it seems like at this stage in the Callahan era, they should be able to better protect the home turf against anyone ...

Missouri fans were suffering from a severe case of cupcake envy as they endured chatter from KU fans. They got a belly full of sugar on Saturday, smoking Western Michigan 52-24 in Columbia. Again the defense showed some weakness, but the offense is a machine. Jeremy Maclin had 275 all purpose yards. Chase Daniels did throw two INTs including one that turned into a pick six ...

Over in Lawrence, the score was pretty much the same, but the reviews weren't quite as favorable as in previous weeks. Kansas beat Toledo 45-13, but muffed punts, dropped balls and a few wild pitches by Todd Reesing spoiled a little bit of the fun. Aqib Talib made up for it with an impossible dive/flip into the endzone for his third TD reception on the year ...

Kansas State also got the chance to devour a nice little treat as Missouri State visited Manhattan for a 61-10 beating. Jordy Nelson appears to be 100% as he had 209 yards on 15 catches and a TD. The Cats will now take a bye week to prepare for a trip to Austin for a game that is looking more and more winnable ...

This is what college football is all about. One week ago, it was time to talk about shutting down the program, but when you have your in-state rival at home ... the emotions of rivalry can take over. Still, the 15-13 Iowa State victory over Iowa is hard to figure. Do we have to take the Clones seriously again? Comparison game coming as ISU heads to Toledo next Saturday ...

Colorado frustrated Florida State on Saturday with a stifling defense, but still lost at home 16-6. FSU managed just one TD against the Buffs. CU's Cody Hawkins threw for 306 yards and a TD, but also was intercepted twice. Is the old CU plan starting to work? You know -- improve against tough competition in the non-con, then beat up on questionable north teams in conference play.

North Sagarin Rankings -- Rank/Schedule
Missouri -- 16/82
Nebraska -- 18/17
Kansas -- 28/166
Colorado -- 67/26
Kansas St -- 72/150
Iowa St -- 101/73

Full Rankings

Payback? KU 45, Toledo 13

The Not-So-Feel-Good Blowout

The score seemed about right at 45-13, but as predicted, a sub 50-point output has the Jayhawk Nation in a critical mood. The defense is still on an upward trend, but the offense was not the well-oiled machine that we enjoyed in weeks one and two. Perhaps it was the chill in the air, but wide receivers cast a huge shadow on the rout with a multitude of dropped balls. Factor in Raimond Pendleton's fumbled punt that temporarily allowed the Rockets back into the game and it was a rough first half for Tim Beck's crew. Really, since about 1997, KU fans are used to watching KU receivers drop balls, but it was a nice two-game reprieve as the 'Hawks caught everything within reason for the past two games. Again, let's blame it on the cold and assume they'll be back on track against the Golden Panthers.

Overall, KU had the game under control for the entire evening by dominating the line of scrimmage. Jake Sharp (127 yds) and B-Mac (52 yds) pretty much ran at will and the KU defense stuffed the Toledo offense for the most part. It was actually a little surprising to see that Toledo amassed 174 yards on the ground. The front seven on "D" is starting to look pretty comfortable out there. Definitely aggressive and very successful at disrupting the Rocket offense. We only gave up 77 passing yards which is a world away from where we were last year.

Things I Like

• Aqib Talib for Heisman. Six tackles, an interception and a 58-yard ESPN highlight TD reception. Of course, the TD won't be on ESPN, but it should be. He jumped from the 5 -1/2 yard line. Duplicate this stat line against KSU with a win and seriously ... he needs to be on the list.
• Speaking of Talib, maybe the play that impressed me the most was the open-field tackle he made early in the game that saved a TD. It wasn't pretty, but Talib openly admits that isn't necessarily his game. He's a cover guy, not a hitter. The point is he made the play and it was a big one.
• Jake Sharp was all that we were promised -- 9.8 yards per carry is a stat that will stick in my mind all week.
• James McClinton leads the team with nine tackles. We all know he's a monster, but it sure is fun to watch him disrupt the backfield.
• Mike Rivera is improving. Six tackles on the night.
• Marcus Henry and Dezmon Briscoe both had multiple drops early. Both were able to redeem themselves. That really does speak to Mangino's motto about learning how to handle adversity.
• Henry over 100 yards for the third straight game. 19 receptions, 355 yards and 2 TDs for the year.
• Todd Reesing has a 300+ yard game and another four TD passes.
• Three interceptions. Put pressure on the QB and the fun starts.
  

Areas of Concern

• Todd Reesing's inaccuracy at times is something to eliminate. The receivers share some blame on this but Reesing was off at times and ended up with a 45.7% completion rate last night. Sometimes he steps on the field for a drive and it's automatic. Other times, not so much. We know he's got the confidence and the skills, so let's chalk this up to a lack of focus against a weaker opponent. I assume we'll only see Air Reesing during conference play.
• The drops by the receivers tend to spread throughout the entire unit once it starts. An occasional drop is understandable, but a game-wide epidemic isn't really acceptable.
• The offense had the ball on the field way too much.
• The 45-yard miss was only concerning in that it barely had enough distance with a slight wind. I would have liked to see some more leg into that one.
• Kyle Tucker. Not a good night. Again, he can boom it, but it's all about consistency.
• Kerry Meier re-creates the zone read fumble from the Glass Bowl. I don't enjoy this kind of nostalgia.
• The front seven did have a great night, but early on they missed a few tackles. Once Talib made his open-field tackle the unit seemed to wrap up a little better throughout the rest of the night.

"I saw the ball coming, and I made the play.  Then I figured I should go ahead and run for the end zone.  I was just trying everything I could to get in.  Everyone was blocking and pulling for me.  I just came up a little bit short, but the offense punched it in, and that's what it is all about."
--DE John Larson

Game Notes: Kansas-Toledo

--The 3-0 start means the Jayhawks will be playing for their first 4-0 start since 1995 next week against FIU.
--KU has 13 straight home wins against non-conference teams.
--KU has gone over 500 yards on offense in each game this season.
--The 557 yard performance was the most since KU gained 586 yards against Colorado in 2003
--The defense should expect to spend some time on the field. The six scoring drives last night took less than two minutes and KU has had 23 scoring drives this season under the two-minute mark.
--Kansas' two scoring drives of 81 yards and 92 yards in the first quarter marked KU's fourth and fifth scoring drives of 80-plus yards this season.
--The game attendance was 48,112.
--Wide receiver Marcus Henry had 133 yards on seven receptions which ties a KU record with three consecutive 100-yard receiving yards game. (the other KU players that hold the record -- Isaac Byrd in 1996, Willie Vaughn in 1988 and Bob Johnson in 1983).
--Aqib Talib's has a TD reception in four straight games. The longest streak for a Jayhawk since Mark Simmons in 2003.
--Talib now has nine career interceptions.
--Todd Reesing's 313 passing yards for the game rank as the 16th most in school history.
--Reesing now has 10 TD passes on the year versus zero inteceptions.
--Sophomore Jake Sharp rushed for 127 yards, the second 100-yard perfomance of his career.
--Sharp averaged 9.8 yards on his 13 carries
--Dexton Fields has at least two catches in each of his last 14 games, plus eight career TD receptions.
--Senior DT James McClinton led KU with nine tackles.
--The 45-yard miss by senior kicker Scott Webb ended a streak of eight straight successful attempts.

Kansas 45, Toledo 13 -- Box Score

Score by Quarters     1  2  3  4   Score
-------------------- -- -- -- --   -----
TOLEDO..............  0  7  0  6 - 13 Record: (0-3,0-1)
Kansas.............. 10 14 21  0 - 45 Record: (3-0)

Scoring Summary:
1st 06:01 KU - Webb, Scott 25 yd field goal, 15-81 5:51, UT 0 - KU 3
00:00 KU - Talib, Aqib 58 yd pass from Reesing, Todd (Webb, Scott kick), 3-92 0:51, UT 0 - KU 10
2nd 11:27 KU - Henry, Marcus 42 yd pass from Reesing, Todd (Webb, Scott kick), 5-61 1:22, UT 0 - KU 17
01:53 UT - OPELT, Aaron 21 yd pass from MOORE, Nick (STEIGERWALD, A. kick), 1-21 0:09, UT 7 - KU 17
00:41 KU - Briscoe, Dezmon 26 yd pass from Reesing, Todd (Webb, Scott kick), 5-60 1:05, UT 7 - KU 24
3rd 05:31 KU - McAnderson, Bra 26 yd run (Webb, Scott kick), 5-52 1:46, UT 7 - KU 31
02:58 KU - McAnderson, Bra 3 yd run (Webb, Scott kick), 3-1 1:24, UT 7 - KU 38
01:45 KU - Fields, Dexton 26 yd pass from Reesing, Todd (Webb, Scott kick), 3-66 0:41, UT 7 - KU 45
4th 00:05 UT - COLLINS,DaJuane 7 yd run (STEIGERWALD, A. kick failed), 4-13 1:53, UT 13 - KU 45

                               UT         KU
FIRST DOWNS................... 9          29
RUSHES-YARDS (NET)............ 37-174     46-232
PASSING YDS (NET)............. 77         325
Passes Att-Comp-Int........... 27-14-3    39-18-0
TOTAL OFFENSE PLAYS-YARDS..... 64-251     85-557
Fumble Returns-Yards.......... 0-0        0-0
Punt Returns-Yards............ 2-7        3-3
Kickoff Returns-Yards......... 5-96       3-75
Interception Returns-Yards.... 0-0        3-30
Punts (Number-Avg)............ 10-42.0    4-38.8
Fumbles-Lost.................. 1-1        5-3
Penalties-Yards............... 9-79       1-5
Possession Time............... 29:28      30:32
Third-Down Conversions........ 3 of 16    4 of 15
Fourth-Down Conversions....... 2 of 3     1 of 3
Red-Zone Scores-Chances....... 1-2        2-2
Sacks By: Number-Yards........ 4-24       2-14

RUSHING: TOLEDO-COLLINS,DaJuane 14-102; PARMELE, Jalen 16-88; OPELT,
Aaron 4-9; TEAM 1-minus 8; COCHRAN, Clint 2-minus 17. Kansas-Sharp, Jake 13-127;
McAnderson, Bra 12-52; Boyd-Anderson 6-24; Reesing, Todd 11-19; Fields, Dexton
1-16; Meier, Kerry 3-minus 6.

PASSING: TOLEDO-OPELT, Aaron 10-19-3-38; COCHRAN, Clint 2-6-0-11; MOORE,
Nick 1-1-0-21; KERN, Brett 1-1-0-7. Kansas-Reesing, Todd 16-35-0-313; Meier,
Kerry 2-4-0-12.

RECEIVING: TOLEDO-HOPKINS, Chris 4-20; MOORE, Nick 3-12; PARMELE, Jalen
2-6; OPELT, Aaron 1-21; ALLEN, John 1-7; COLLINS,DaJuane 1-5; WASHINGTON, D.
1-3; HAWKINS, Andrew 1-3. Kansas-Henry, Marcus 7-133; Briscoe, Dezmon 3-56;
Talib, Aqib 2-62; Fields, Dexton 2-45; Fine, Derek 2-17; Herford, Marcus 1-7;
Brorsen, Russel 1-5.

INTERCEPTIONS: TOLEDO-None. Kansas-Talib, Aqib 1-18; Larson, John 1-12;
Stuckey, Darrel 1-0.

Stadium: Memorial Stadium Attendance: 48112
Kickoff time: 6:05 pm End of Game: 9:26 pm Total elapsed time: 3:21
Officials: Referee: Clete Blakeman; Umpire: Richard Brown; Linesman: Al Green;
Line judge: David Oliver; Back judge: Richard Jordan; Field judge: Derrick R.-Dunn;
Side judge: Lo Van Pham; Scorer: Beau White;
Temperature: 56 F Wind: SE 9 mph Weather: Cloudy

DEFENSE

SACKS (UA-A): TOLEDO-HAY, Greg 0-1; SHUMAKER, Matt 1-0; FAITHFUL, B. 1-0;
POLLARD, Tyree 0-1; UNDERWOOD, Joe 1-0. Kansas-Onyegbule, Max 1-0; Laptad, Jake
1-0.

TACKLES (UA-A): TOLEDO-ATKINS, Walter 8-1; BRUDZINSKI, B. 4-3;
RICHMOND,Lester 3-3; CHURCH, Barry 4-1; UNDERWOOD, Joe 3-2; FAITHFUL, B. 3-2;
PETTIS, Myshan 3-1; MURPHY, Chris 2-2; SUMMERS,Derrick 1-3; POLLARD, Tyree 1-3;
SHULER, Joe 0-4; JOHNSON, Alex 2-1; FORESTAL, Keith 1-2; HILL, Maurice 1-1; HAY,
Greg 1-1; SHUMAKER, Matt 1-1; CONSTANT, S. 1-1; PREE, Drey'Lon 1-0; HAWKINS,
Andrew 1-0; KRISPINSKY,Mike 1-0; OPELT, Aaron 1-0; MCGUIRE, DARION 1-0; DEWALT,
Jared 0-1; KING, Anthony 0-1; MOORE, Nick 0-1; COLE, Nate 0-1. Kansas-McClinton,
Jame 3-6; Talib, Aqib 6-0; Rivera, Mike 3-3; Mortensen, Joe 2-4; Holt, James
3-2; Laptad, Jake 3-1; Springer, Justi 2-2; Schermer, Jake 1-3; Stuckey, Darrel
1-2; Larson, John 2-0; Strozier, Phill 2-0; Thornton, Justi 2-0; Muhammed, Sadiq
1-1; Bacheyie, Tang 1-1; Onyegbule, Max 1-1; Haselhorst, Tod 0-2; Blakesley,
Cale 0-2; Brown, Raymond 0-2; Dudley, Drew 0-2; Brown, Micah 1-0; Harris, Chris
1-0; Oguntodu, Olait 1-0; Wright, Arist 1-0; Brorsen, Russel 1-0; Green, Gary
0-1; Lewis, Dakota 0-1.

Game Day Notes -- Toledo @ Kansas

This Time It's Personal

Series: KU leads 2-1
Line: KU (-25)

The Rundown
There were a lot of painful losses in 2006, but the Toledo game was the one that kept on giving -- national TV embarrassment, one game shy of getting into a bowl, another road loss, 4-0 start wiped away, etc. You can't re-write history, but the KU football team will attempt to erase the memory tonight. It'll be interesting to see if the Memorial Stadium crowd displays the same passion.

The Key
You could probably start with not turning the ball over five times. It would be good to avoid the pick 6/14-point swing scenario as well. Maybe skip the fourth down end-of-half TD pass giveaway as well. Our defense has improved, so we should be able to stifle the Rockets, but don't underestimate this squad. QB Aaron Opelt did throw for 350 yards last week against CMU with WR Stephens Williams collecting 157 of those yards. Toledo has an experienced secondary with three All-Mac candidates that theoretically would challenge Air Reesing and the massive fleet of Jayhawk wide outs. However, CB Nigel Morris and free safety Tyrrell Herbert have been injured and the Rockets gave up 244 passing yards to CMU and another 244 to Purdue. Toledo also gave up 200+ rushing yards to both teams, so the KU backs should plan on a big day.

Prediction

• KU fans are already spoiled and anything less than 50 points will probably have people asking questions -- the price of success
• Marcus Henry -- 200 yards
• 46K for attendance based on two factors -- revenge for the fans and a lot of local press for the Jayhawks after two blowouts
• Somewhere today, I'll run into a tailgate or party where KU fans will abuse or destroy some sort of Rocket type object
• Aqib Talib gets his first pick of the year
• KU's first TD of the game -- Brandon McAnderson (add your guess to the comments, winner is awarded status as a legend)

Sooners Lead the Big 12 Charge

Conference Looking For Respect

Two weeks in and the Big 12 seems to be headed in right direction versus the other BCS conferences. OU and Nebraska had the marquee wins this past Saturday as the conference now stands at 18-6 overall. Further breakdown:

BCS -- 4-3
ACC -- 2-0
Big 10 -- 1-0
Big East -- 0-0
Pac 10 -- 0-1
SEC -- 1-2
Non BCS -- 12-3

Celebrating Hawk Digest

Hawk Digest 9/13/2006

One Year Later

Today marks the one-year anniversary of Hawk Digest, yet for the fast-paced Web 2.0 world, it seems so long ago. I turned the decision to start a football-only blog for KU over in my mind for several years before finally committing last September. At the time, the source for KU football news, photo, audio and video was kusports.com -- as it is now. The Phog.net gridiron board was the community and Rivals provided the best recruiting info. On the peripheral, you had the usual newspaper sites -- KC Star, Topeka Capital-Journal and the Wichita Eagle plus the Phog Blog which was pretty focused on hoops. You pretty much had the same beat stories then that you have now with KUsports.com, but they were already starting to toy with blogs like the Greene Room. The columns seemed infrequent and really the best place to be was the Gridiron board. Stories about or related to KU football pretty much went up there first and still do. Plus, a handful of posters there really provided good content.  Yet, the experience was frustrating with the club of nuisance posters (anti-Mangino's, anti-KU football, KSU flamers and Mizzou flamers) trashing up the place. It became a time-consuming chore to weed through the trash. I was an infrequent poster (damage_96 -- 300 posts), but a daily reader. I secretly hoped one of the regulars would start up a blog. During those searches, I found the Kansas State Football blog. Pride kicked in and I immediately went into action. If KSU had a football blog, then KU football would have one no matter if I posted once a day or once a month. Besides it really felt like there just wasn't enough football content.

One year later and we've gone 180 degrees. A new blog covering all of KU sports arrived in early 2007 -- Rock Chalk Talk (with extensive football coverage). Plus, I'm not sure why, but KUsports.com has gone into overdrive with Ryan Wood adding his Sawin' Wood blog and the columnists are kickin' out at least one article per day. Since the season started, there are multiple items posted every day. Even Phog Blog was getting into the action with several football posts earlier this month (though that may have been strictly a surge due to the HotDog YouTube moment). The Gridiron Board is still the same, but faster paced and more trash than ever.

In other words, it's a great time to be a KU football fan on the internet. Here at Hawk Digest, I'm building on the original plan. The focus is to consolidate and present all of that KU football content in a single source while throwing in my thoughts and opinions. Basically, simplify the KU football internet world for the fans. In addition, lately I've been working to build more of a community here at Hawk Digest. The stories are coming in so fast, I could use some help getting out the breaking news on the Jayhawk Network Forum which feeds into the left column. Rather than the free-for-all on the Gridiron board, I envision a forum for fans that are ultimately more supportive of KU football. Well-supported criticism and cordial debate is welcome, but the childish tirades and flamers will be eliminated. So, if you've been on the fence, join the game and post away in the comments or on the Jayhawk Network Forum. HD is a full-fledged one-year old now, and it's time to start crawling.

HD Big 12 Power Rankings -- Week #2

1) Oklahoma (2-0, 0-0) #3 CBS
OU throws down a nice blowout against the talent crew from Miami. Nice work by the Sooners leading the Big 12 to a great weekend in non-con play.
CBS Schedule Rank: 49
Results: W N. Texas 79-10 | W Miami (Fla) 51-13
Next: Utah State (0-2)

Week-by-Week:
HD: 1-1
CBS: 10-3

2) Texas (2-0, 0-0) #9 CBS
It looks like the Longhorns found themselves in the fourth quarter against the Frogs, but McCoy's 3 to 4 TD to INT ratio thus far is not a good sign. Texas seems merely mortal post VY.
CBS Schedule Rank: 7
Results: W Arkansas St 21-13 | W TCU 34-13
Next: @ UCF (1-0)

Week-by-Week:
HD: 2-2
CBS: 8-9

3) Nebraska (2-0, 0-0) #13 CBS
I wouldn't say it was pretty, but it was a road win against the defending ACC champs. Now you've got USC coming into Lincoln ... not a bad deal really. If you're going to challenge a heavyweight, do it on your own turf.
CBS Schedule Rank: 84
Results: W Nevada 52-10 | W @Wake Forest 20-17
Next: USC (1-0)

Week-by-Week:
HD: 3-3
CBS: 19-13

4) Missouri (2-0, 0-0) #36 CBS
This time the Tigers get a road win versus the SEC. Not bad, but again the defense lets up just enough to leave a little doubt. Still, the strength of schedule moves them up a slot.
CBS Schedule Rank: 4
Results: W Illinios 40-34 | W @Mississippi 38-25
Next: Western Michigan (0-2)

Week-by-Week:
HD: 5-4
CBS: 41-36

5) Texas A&M (2-0, 0-0) #17 CBS
Fresno State isn't exactly chopped liver, but you'd expect the Aggies to be able to settle matters at Kyle Field without multiple overtime periods. The evidence is mounting against McGee as a passer.
CBS Schedule Rank: 113
Results: W Montana St 38-7 | W Fresno St 47-45
Next: ULM (0-2)

Week-by-Week:
HD: 4-5
CBS: 21-17

6) Kansas (2-0, 0-0) #47 CBS
Just can't ignore the way the Jayhawks have been playing regardless of the competition. KU moves up two spots and it could get ugly again on Saturday as the 'Hawks are motivated.
CBS Schedule Rank: 33
Results: W Central Michigan 52-7 | W SE Louisiana 62-0
Next: Toledo (0-2)

Week-by-Week:
North: 8-6
CBS: 52-47

7) Texas Tech (2-0, 0-0) #41 CBS
I'm not sure how CBS determines strength of schedule but #9 seems a little high. Like KU, the jury is still out until the Raiders play a BCS team. Seems like Tech should have dispatched the Miners with a little less difficulty ... 484 passing yards sounds about right though.
CBS Schedule Rank: 9
Results: W SMU 49-9 | W UTEP 45-31
Next: @Rice (0-2)

Week-by-Week:
HD: 6-7
CBS: 45-41

8) Oklahoma St (2-0, 0-0) #34 CBS
OSU did what they were supposed to, but the new development at the QB position changes things. Zac Robinson played well after the Reid injury, but the defense is not solid enough to withstand hiccups on the offensive side of the ball.
CBS Schedule Rank: 61
Results: L @Georgia 14-35 | W FAU 42-6
Next: @Troy (0-2)

Week-by-Week:
HD: 7-8
CBS: 37-34

9) Kansas State (1-1, 0-0) #50 CBS
It was good to end the three-game skid. The score looks right, but it was a little closer than that final score indicated. The Cats lose linebacker Antwon Moore for the season and also have a couple of injuries in the secondary. Missouri State should be a nice rest game despite the 2-0 record.
CBS Schedule Rank: 88
Results: L Auburn 13-23 | W San Jose St 34-14
Next: Missouri St (2-0)

Week-by-Week:
HD: 9-9
CBS: 54-50
 
10) Colorado (1-1, 0-0) #59 CBS
Okay, so I guess Cody Hawkins may not be an instant success story. Florida State comes to town for an interesting match up between two teams that would love to reclaim former glory.
CBS Schedule Rank: 51
Results: W Colorado St 31-28 OT | L @ASU 14-33
Next: Florida St (1-1)

Week-by-Week:
HD: 10-10
CBS: 53-59

11) Baylor (1-1, 0-0) #78 CBS
Grrr! Don't count the Bears out yet. All of the sudden with 412 yards and 6 TD passes against Rice, Blake Szymanski looks like he might be a leader.
CBS Schedule Rank: 89
Results: L @TCU 0-27 | W Rice 42-17
Next: Texas St (1-1)

Week-by-Week:
HD: 11-11
CBS: 80-78

12) Iowa State (0-2, 0-0) #113 CBS
It's not good. Right now, the 'Clones have the cellar position locked. Be careful. If you stay here too long, they talk about trading you for Arkansas, CSU or TCU. Ask Baylor.
CBS Schedule Rank: 112
Results: L Kent St 14-23 |  L N. Iowa 13-24
Next: Iowa (2-0)

Week-by-Week:
HD: 12-12
CBS: 70-113