College Sports Feed’s Preseason Top 25 continues this week, and as the numbers get lower, the competition gets fiercer and the teams have greater chances of playoff contention. Here to kick off Week 2 is:

20. Stanford

“While the departure of #1 overall NFL draft pick Andrew Luck will definitely hurt Stanford this fall, head coach David Shaw picked up right where Jim Harbaugh left off, not only with the team’s performance, but also in recruiting. Despite Stanford’s elite academic standards, they fielded a top 5 recruiting class last year, and they will give Pac 12 foes fits again in 2012. With a ton of weapons gone at Oregon, look for the Cardinal to make a serious run at the Pac 12 North Title.”

Jeff Dunbar, CSF Senior Editor

“Stanford has proved in the last couple of seasons that they aren’t simply a school known for their academics. They have shown that they can play football as well. I don’t think that they will do anything extremely amazing during this season like make it into the top 10, but I do expect them to do well in the rest of the polls. I think that in the next few years they have the potential to really be good but they are still working on it this season.”

Allie Balog, CSF Associate Editor

19. Texas

“After underachieving since their National Championship appearance in the 2009 season, the Longhorns look to return to form in 2012. Sophomore QB David Ash will enter the season as the starter after showing promise during his first year in Austin. He will have help in the backfield with the RB duo of Malcolm Brown, a former 5-star recruit, and Jonathan Gray, the top ranked freshman RB in the country.”

Anthony Manzella, CSF Writer/Contributor

“After a rough 5-7 season in 2011, Texas is looking to rebound and be a much stronger force in 2012. David Ash will be the day 1 quarterback with Case McCoy right behind him. They have the number 1 ranked freshman running back in Jonathan Gray, according to the ESPN 150.”

Garrett Mayers, CSF Writer/Contributor

18. Clemson

“Tajh Boyd and Sammy Watkins put up a ton of offense last season. The only problem was that their defense was gashed against any decent offense they faced, ranking 81^st in points allowed in 2011. Unless the defense improves dramatically, look for the Tigers to finish behind Florida State in the Atlantic Division in 2012.”

Jeff Dunbar, CSF Senior Editor

“Their toughest matchup may be against South Carolina, but with Brent Venables joining the coaching staff, they have just as much competition as Oklahoma did when they had him. They may not immediately be looked at as a BCS Championship contender, but they can definitely make a run and will hopefully finish with a higher winning record.”

Elizabeth Garabedian, CSF Writer/Contributor

17. Ohio State

“The Buckeyes enter this season after a very disappointing 6-7 season in 2011. Urban Meyer presents a breath of fresh air and a new look on offense that Buckeye fans have never seen with past coaches. Meyer already has taken recruiting by storm. Although they have to replace a few leaders, Braxton Miller showed some great flashes last season of what he could do in the spread offense. The bowl ban will sting this season, but they will definitely be playing with a purpose and have a very bright future under Urban Meyer.”

Garrett Mayers, CSF Writer/Contributor

“Good ol’ Ohio State. It’s plain and simple with them. They are out to prove that they are better than they were last season and that regardless of the NCAA restrictions that have been placed on them that they can be great. They have a new coach and a crop of new players. It’s time for this team to show what they are really made of and that they aren’t a team that is willing to be stomped on.”

Allie Balog, CSF Associate Editor

16. Nebraska

“Although Taylor Martinez had only 57.4 percent of his passes completed, with enough practice, he can easily build that up in the off-season. And with receivers looking deeper into more dynamic plays and covering more ground, Bo Pelini and the Cornhuskers may be on their way to a Big Ten title game.”

Elizabeth Garabedian, CSF Writer/Contributor

“Bo Pelini may be feeling pressure in Lincoln, but the Cornhuskers will remain competitive for the fourth time in his four years as head coach. QB Taylor Martinez should continue to play better and 1,300-yard rusher Rex Burkhead will provide a sensational option in the backfield. The defense will be solid once again, and will face competition early and often within their conference schedule. Look for Nebraska to contend for a championship in the tough Big 10.”

Anthony Manzella, CSF Writer/Contributor

Week 5 of college football is officially in the books, and we had several bigtime match ups, the results of which have given us a clearer picture of who is legit and who isn’t. CSF breaks down last weekend’s action in our weekly College Football Recap.

Russell Wilson has officially thrown his hat into the Heisman race: The knock on the Badgers going into last weekend’s bigtime match up against Nebraska was that they hadn’t played anyone of substance yet. No one, however, argued the fact that Wilson had been lights out–he entered the weekend with 11 TDs and only one pick. Although he may not rip off as many highlight reel plays as Denard Robinson or Robert Griffin III, consistency is the name of the game, and Wilson has been consistent ever since he started his college football career at NC State. Wilson made critical play after critical play on Saturday night and led the Badgers to a convincing 48-17 victory to open conference play. On the year, he is completing just under 75% of his passes for 13 TDs and just one interception. He has also added two rushing TDs as well. The forced transfer from NC State head coach Tom O’Brien may have been the best thing for Wilson, who now has a shot at a BCS title and a Heisman…neither of which would have been on the table had he stayed in Raleigh.

Bama imposes their will: The highly anticipated clash between Nick Saban’s defense and Charlie Weis’ offense turned out to be all hype with zero substance. The Crimson Tide held Florida’s speedy backfield tandem of Jeff Demps and Chris Rainey to a measly 8 yards rushing on their way to a 38-10 rout in the Swamp. The Bama defense is holding opponents to less than 40 yards rushing per game, which is the tops in the FBS. They also rank first in scoring defense, they are #3 in total defense and #5 in passing defense.

Clemson passes another big test: Although the Tajh Boyd and Sammy Watkins connection was held in check for the first time this season, it was the Clemson defense that took care of business as the Tigers passed their first road test at Virginia Tech 23-3. And here is a name for all the folks that are already taking a peak at the 2012 NFL Draft–Dwayne Allen. The junior is the best TE in the nation and has presented match up problems for every defense the Tigers have faced. He currently has 291 receiving yards and four touchdowns. Dabo Swinney’s team has now beaten three ranked teams in three consecutive weeks.

Andrew Luck lights up UCLA: The most NFL-ready quarterback from last year’s class shocked everyone when he announced that he would play his senior season at Stanford. While other college football players may have more flash, Luck has led the Cardinal to one of the most quiet 4-0 starts in recent memory. The signal caller shredded the Bruin defense last weekend, going 23-27 for 227 yards and three touchdowns. A bye week in week 4 and a pretty weak schedule has kept Luck’s stats under the radar, but when the dust settles, he will be one of the last men standing in the Heisman race.

Ohio State hasn’t earned any free tattoos this year: The Buckeyes were expected to struggle a bit through the first few games because of the suspensions from last year, but very few people would have thought they would be 3-2. The quarterback play simply hasn’t been there for OSU, and it is about to get much worse. The meat of Big Ten schedule has now arrived, with the Buckeyes traveling to Nebraska, a surprising Illinois team and playing host to Big Ten favorite Wisconsin. If things don’t change fast, OSU could easily be 3-5 going into November. Those kinds of results won’t even cover the most basic body piercing.

Image courtesy of thexlog.com

Week 4 of the College Football season is officially in the books, and the dominant players and teams are beginning to separate from the rest of the pack. CSF breaks down last weekends action in the Week 4 Recap.

Sooners fall out of #1 spot: Once a Heisman front-runner, Oklahoma quarterback Landry Jones has been very average the last two weeks, throwing for 4 TD’s and 4 picks. The Sooners still won, but they didn’t exactly get the payback they were looking for against Mizzou, who upset OU last season in Columbia. Wins against Florida State and Mizzou, who are both 2-2 with no big wins against major programs, along with LSU’s dominance against top-tier competition allowed the Tigers to jump ahead of the Sooners in the AP Poll. Luckily for Sooner fans, LSU and Alabama square off in Tuscaloosa in a month, so one of those teams will drop a few spots.

LSU’s Tyrann Mathieu may be the best DB in the country: LSU and Alabama have the two best defenses in the country–and it’s not even close. The Tigers have forced 12 turnovers against top-flight competition, all away from Death Valley. Their defense is full of elite talent that will be playing on Sundays in the near future, but the guy that always seems to make the biggest plays on the biggest stages is cornerback Tyrann Mathieu. In last weekend’s bigtime match up against West Virginia, the sophomore DB had a key interception and a forced fumble, in which he literally ripped the ball right out of the hands of WV wideout Brad Starks. That makes twice that Mathieu has brought his A-game to a national television audience–in week one, he stripped the ball from Oregon punt returner Kenjon Barner and promptly took the fumble in for a touchdown, and the Ducks never recovered.

Oklahoma State’s Brandon Weeden continues to light it up: We anticipated a shoot out, and that’s exactly what we got last weekend, when Oklahoma State traveled to Texas A&M. Weeden threw for 438 yards (a new school record) and two TDs against the Aggies. The senior quarterback completed a whopping 47 passes in 60 attempts and spread the ball around nicely–he had three different receivers with ten or more catches, led by dynamic wideout Justin Blackmon, who had 11 catches for 121 yards and a touchdown. Weeden currently leads the nation in passing yards per game with 398.0 per contest.

Florida could be back: After a disappointing 2010 season, first year head coach Will Muschamp has the Gators off to a 4-0 start, 2-0 in SEC play. Quarterback John Brantley looks much more comfortable in Charlie Weis’ pro-style attack versus Urban Meyer’s spread attack that made Tim Tebow a household name, although they didn’t need much passing last weekend against Kentucky, as both Jeff Demps and Chris Rainey rushed for over 100 yards a piece. More importantly, Muschamp has brought his attitude to the Gator defense, who created four turnovers last weekend. We’ll see just how far Florida has come very soon–the Gators host Alabama this weekend and travel to LSU next weekend.

The ACC is not good at tackle football: I’m not sure how the intramural flag football programs in the ACC are, but several programs proved their conference still isn’t ready for big boy football. After giving then #1 Oklahoma all they could handle, Florida State’s defense was gashed by the Clemson QB-WR combo of Tajh Boyd and Sammy Watkins. The ‘Noles gave up 455 yards to the Tigers, 366 coming through the air. FSU was supposed to be the ACC’s hope for a title-contender in 2011, but that’s not going to happen. Miami lost to Kansas State, NC State was destroyed by Cincinnati, and Maryland had the ugly knocked out of their uniforms by Temple 38-7. Until the ACC can beat quality out of conference opponents, they will not be taken seriously in the BCS title talk.