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If teams were ranked by how much they improve from the beginning of the season to now, then No. 15 Auburn would have a much higher profile. And if teams were ranked by how much they regress from the start of the season -- my own wrinkle on the Bottom 10 -- then Stanford and Georgia would be neck and neck, and watch Houston coming fast on the rail. Success at the top of college football is a lot more fragile than Alabama and Clemson make it appear.1. Once you process the shock of Penn States upset of Ohio State, theres the surprise of seeing a team coached by Urban Meyer lose because of a late-game breakdown of fundamentals in special teams. But it has happened before, Buckeyes, and with an ending that should give you hope. In 2008, Ole Miss knocked off Florida 31-30 by blocking an extra point with 3:28 to play. Thats the game which prompted Tim Tebows postgame pledge now immortalized in bronze outside the Swamp. And as every Gator fan can tell you, Florida rebounded to win the BCS title.2. This nugget from Sharon Katz, our FPI expert, data miner and all-around creator of Did You Knows: The average top-25 team would have a two percent chance of going through Alabamas first eight opponents undefeated. The Crimson Tide have won seven of their eight games by at least 19 points, thanks to a strong performance out of the halftime locker room. Alabama has outscored its opponents 100-23 in the third quarter. The Crimson Tide is off this week before resuming against another ranked team on Nov. 5 at No. 19 LSU, which is 3-0 under interim coach Ed Orgeron.3. We could go on and on about Texas Techs epically bad defense, which allowed more points to Oklahoma (66) on Saturday than No. 2 Michigan has given up all season (62). And Oregons defense isnt much better; its?allowing an average of 30 first downs per game. But put those thoughts aside for a moment, and?lets gaze in wonderment at the defenses that create the fewest takeaways. You would think that would be the sign of a losing team, right? This season, you would be wrong. Tied for first with only three takeaways: No. 13 Boise State (7-0) and Toledo (6-1). Among the teams tied for fourth with five takeaways: No. 16 Oklahoma (6-2), which has what looks like the worst defense in Bob Stoops 18 seasons in Norman.4. The lack of defense in the Big 12, and the lack of tough nonconference opponents on the schedules of No. 8 Baylor and No. 10 West Virginia, helps explain how the conferences last two unbeatens are in a pile with three one-loss teams (No. 5 Louisville, No. 6 Ohio State and No. 9 Texas A&M) and well behind the front-runners in the playoff race. The AP poll is for amusement purposes only, and really, so are all the ratings by the College Football Playoff committee, which cranks up next week. An unbeaten record will go a long way, but the Big 12s play thus far means its best teams are being viewed more like No. 13 Boise State, the best Group of 5 team, than Alabama and Michigan.5. At some level, the Stanford football brass could appreciate the celebration of the Colorado players and coaches in the moments after the Buffaloes 10-5 victory Saturday. Seven years ago, Stanford went 8-5 and qualified for its first bowl in eight seasons. The 6-2 Buffs will go to their first bowl since 2007. After the game, Colorado senior quarterback Sefo Liufau twice stressed how his class had stuck together through winning 10 games combined in their first three seasons. Its easy to not like people and go out and do your job, Liufau said. The fact that we like each other, it just helps us stay strong. We told each other were going to do something special, and here we are now, our senior year.6. For most new coaches, the toughest challenge is winning with their predecessors talent. For one thing, the players may not be good enough to win. For another, they may neither fit nor buy into the new coachs style, on and off the field. Thats what made Tim DeRuyters first two seasons at Fresno State so impressive. In 2012-13, the Bulldogs went 20-6 with two Mountain West titles. As Pat Hills talent moved on and DeRuyters recruits came in, Fresno State began sliding. In the past two-plus seasons, the Bulldogs are 10-24, including 1-7 this year. Fresno State fired DeRuyter on Sunday. Hes a good defensive coach. There will be a coordinators job available when hes ready.7. Chad Morris left Dabo Swinneys staff at Clemson two years ago and joined SMU as the Next Big Thing among head coaches. Morris and every other newbie has operated in the shadow of Tom Herman at Houston ever since. That helps make the Mustangs 38-16 rout of the Cougars stand out. And even though Morris was hired for his offensive brains, SMU won with defense. The Mustangs held the Cougars to their fewest points and yards (303) under Herman. SMU hasnt been very good defensively under Morris, which is what makes this game so encouraging. New head coaches have a tendency to tilt the roster toward their side of the ball, a la Kliff Kingsbury at Texas Tech. Air Max 1 Clearance Canada . Defenceman Yannick Weber scored the go-ahead goal early in the third period and the Canucks breathed a sigh of relief with a 2-1 win on Saturday night. Air Max 1 Canada Sale . The news was first reported on Gonzalezs Twitter account and confirmed by the Rockies. Gonzalez has a six-week window before position players have their first workout at spring training in Arizona. http://www.airmax1clearancecanada.com/ . -- Derrick Rose shook off poor shooting early to hit clutch shots late and Carlos Boozer had 20 points and 13 rebounds to lead the Chicago Bulls to a 104-95 preseason victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday night. Wholesale Air Max 1 Cheap Air Max 1 Mens . -- An ugly goal by Nick Bonino helped the Anaheim Ducks overcome the defensive-minded Phoenix Coyotes on a night when their ragged power play continued to struggle. LONDON -- After two days filled with rain, the sun actually made an appearance at Wimbledon on Thursday, allowing for plenty of play all around the grounds, a chance to finally conclude the first round -- and several surprises, the biggest of which was French Open champion Garbine Muguruzas exit.No. 2 Muguruza, who reached her first Grand Slam final at the All England Club a year ago and won her first Grand Slam title less than a month ago, was one of 18 seeded players who lost on Day 4, including 11 women.Admittedly lethargic, and displaying none of the verve or confident shotmaking shes known for, Muguruza lasted less than an hour in the second round Thursday, beaten 6-3, 6-2 by Slovakias Jana Cepelova, a qualifier ranked 124th.My energy was not really there, Muguruza said. I was trying, but (it) didnt work at all.That same sentiment might have been expressed by some of the other players who joined her on the way out of the tournament, including No. 31 Kristina Mladenovic in a weather-delayed first-round match, and No. 7 Belinda Bencic, No. 14 Sam Stosur, No. 15 Karolina Pliskova, No. 16 Johanna Konta, No. 17 Elina Svitolina, No. 20 Sara Errani, No. 22 Jelena Jankovic, No. 30 Caroline Garcia and No. 32 Andrea Petkovic, all in second-round matches.That group includes a Grand Slam champion (Stosur), major finalists (Errani, Jankovic), the first seeded British woman at Wimbledon since 1984 (Konta, eliminated by 2014 runner-up Eugenie Bouchard) and a top-10 player considered a possible future star of the sport (Bencic, who retired because of a left wrist injury while trailing American qualifier Julia Boserup).There was nearly another big name gone. But No. 3 Agnieszka Radwanska, the 2012 Wimbledon runner-up, saved three match points, then took advantage when her opponent, 18-year-old Ana Konjuh of Croatia, twisted her right ankle by accidentally stepping on a tennis ball during a point. That happened at 7-all in the third set and, although Konjuh continued to play after a medical timeout, Radwanska was able to finish off a 6-2, 4-6, 9-7 victory.The seven seeded men who lost, all in the second round, were No. 8 Dominic Thiem, No. 13 David Ferrer, No. 16 Gilles Simon, No. 23 Ivo Karlovic, No. 25 Viktor Troicki -- who launched an epic tirade at the chair umpire because of a call two points from the eend of his five-set defeat -- No.dddddddddddd 26 Benoit Paire and No. 30 Alexandr Dolgopolov.Muguruza was never able to get going, making 22 unforced errors and managing to produce only nine winners.She said she felt tired and on the verge of an illness.She also wished she had taken more time to rest after the grueling two weeks at Roland Garros that culminated with a victory over Serena Williams in the final.Asked whether coming into Wimbledon as the owner of a major trophy made her feel a weight on her shoulders, Muguruza replied: No, not pressure. I think, for sure, more expectations from other people.Honestly, for me, I just had very clear it was going to be a rough tournament for me after winning a Grand Slam and coming here, she continued. Everybody, you know, like, looking at me.Cepelova equaled her best showing at a major by reaching the third round, but this was not her first significant result. She beat Simona Halep in the first round at Wimbledon a year ago, also on No. 1 Court, and defeated Serena Williams at a tournament in Charleston, South Carolina, in 2014.Yeah, Cepelova said, I like to play on the big courts.As the owner of seven Grand Slam singles titles, including five at Wimbledon, Venus Williams is accustomed to being -- and succeeding -- on those stages. But on Thursday, she found herself on Court 18, with its seating capacity of 782 -- a far cry from the nearly 15,000 at Centre Court.Williams, seeded eighth, had some trouble and needed 2 1/2 hours, but wound up getting past 20-year-old qualifier Maria Sakkari 7-5, 4-6, 6-3 -- one of 10 singles victories for Americans on Thursday.Afterward, Williams did not complain about her placement at that venue. But she did offer some thoughts on the topic.Its not the ideal schedule for the women. Wed like to see equal amount of matches. We dont want more, just the same amount, thats all, said Williams, who was a leading voice in the push to get Wimbledon to offer equal prize money to men and women.Asked whether she could imagine a five-time mens champ being on a smaller court, Williams replied: I havent seen that in the scheduling yet.---Follow Howard Fendrich on Twitter at http://twitter.com/HowardFendrich ' ' '