The top schools actually played like top schools this week. For the most part that is. Seven of the top 9 teams are undefeated. Oregon and LSU are the only 1 loss teams in that realm. Here's how they rank:
1. Alabama Crimson Tide - The Tide enjoyed the week off. They'll face a monster test next week against LSU.
2. Texas Longhorns - The Longhorns once again played an impressive game this week. Texas had no problems knocking off Oklahoma St. on the road. It's clear that this team is the class of the Big XII. Every remaining game on UT's schedule is extremely winnable.
3. Florida Gators - Florida played their first real impressive game since their win against Kentucky. The Gators stay at number three, however, due to Texas' very big win over Ok St. The Gators should roll again next week against Vandy, They've held up their end of the SEC Championship rematch vs. Bama.
4. Cincinnati Bearcats - Cincy is rolling right along despite the absence of Quarterback Tony Pike. Zach Collaros is proving to be more than capable of filling in for the injured Pike. His touchdown pass on a botched field goal against Syracuse was the play of the day for the Bearcats. Even though it shouldn't have counted due to the entire offensive line being down field.
5. Boise St. Broncos - Another weak WAC opponent, another big win for the Broncos. Boise St. had no trouble with San Jose St., just as they should have no trouble with the remained of their schedule. It will be real interesting to see what the BCS does with an undefeated Boise St. and an undefeated TCU.
6. Iowa Hawkeyes - Another weak Big Eleven opponent, another close victory for the Hawkeyes. Iowa is proving to be the captain of fourth quarter comebacks. We'll see how long they can keep it up. The rest of their schedule is extremely manageable. Which means we're in for more slim victories.
7. Oregon Ducks - The Ducks jump a few teams in this week's poll. Jeremiah Masoli and LaMichael James were very impressive in the huge win over the Trojans. The Ducks are now the best one loss team in the country.
8. LSU Tigers - LSU slides a few spots. That's what they get for playing Tulane. I know the annual match-up with the Green Wave is supposed to be an in-state rivalry game, but come on! It's never going to be competitive. Time for the Tigers to opt out of that one.
9. TCU Horned Frogs - TCU dominated UNLV this week. Beating up on one of the worst teams in the nation is not all that impressive. That's why TCU is the lowest ranked unbeaten team in my poll.
10. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets - Ga Tech allowed Vanderbilt to hang in the game for nearly 3 and a half quarters. That's when Paul Johnson's bunch unleashed a fury of points to pull away from the Commodores. The Yellow Jackets are clearly the best team in a very weak ACC right now.
11. Penn St. Nittany Lions - Penn St. beat up on another out matched Big Eleven team this week. We'll get to see how good the Nittany Lions are when they take on the Ohio St. Buckeyes next week.
12. USC Trojans - USC slides out of the top 5 after being throttled by Oregon on Saturday night. The only thing that kept the Trojans from sliding further is the fact that there aren't really too many teams that are worthy of being moved up.
13. Miami(FL) Hurricanes - Miami escaped from Winston-Salem with a slim win over the Demon Deacons on Saturday. If Wake's starting QB Riley Skinner doesn't take on a defender without a helmet, the Deacs probably win the game. Still, a win is a win for Miami.
14. Pittsburgh Panthers - The Pitt Panthers move up a few spots after having a bye week. USF's win over West Virginia makes the Panthers' win over the Bulls all the more impressive.
15. Utah Utes - Utah struggled offensively against a much improved Wyoming team this week. The Utes were able to pull away late, but the game showed how much the offense has slipped for Utah. That's not a good sign with TCU still on the schedule.
16. Houston Cougars - Houston has the exact opposite problem that Utah has. Their offense is fine, but their defense looked terrible against an average Southern Miss squad. Houston is obviously the best team in C-USA, but their defense will keep them out of any top notch bowl games.
17. Ohio St. Buckeyes - Ohio St. moves up a few spots after destroying New Mexico St. this week. The win might provide the Buckeyes with the confidence they need heading into the showdown against Penn St. next week.
18. Arizona Wildcats - Arizona enjoyed a bye week. Nick Folk is strongly getting consideration for PAC-10 passer of the year.
19. Oklahoma St. Cowboys - The Pokes slide a few spots after shitting all over themselves vs. Texas. So much for OSU showing up in big games. I guess we have to wait another year for that to happen.
20. California Golden Bears - Cal needed a last second field goal to get past Arizona St. on Saturday. Cal is starting to get some of the respect back that they loss with competitive blowouts to Oregon and USC.
21. South Florida Bulls - The Bulls climb back into the top 25 after their Friday night victory over West Virginia. The win takes some of the sting off of their blowout loss to Pitt the week before.
22. Wisconsin Badgers - The Badgers re-appear in the top 25 after shutting out an improved Purdue team. 'Sconsin has beating the teams that they were supposed to. Could you really ask for anything more?
23. Notre Dame Fighting Irish - Believe it or not, but this is the first appearance for the Irish in my top 25 ever! Granted I've only been doing this for two years. The Irish finally break into the top 25 after beating Washington St. in San Antonio. Obviously, that game alone isn't the only reason why the Irish are at number 23. The rest of the schedule, outside of Pitt, seems pretty easy.
24. Virginia Tech Hokies - The Hokies nearly slide out of the top 25 after their loss to North Carolina on Thursday. I still think Frank Beamer's team is a top 25 team, but they are no longer among the nation's elite.
25. West Virginia Mountaineers - West Virginia stays in the top 25 despite losing to South Florida. This is mainly because of the lack of good teams behind them. The Mountaineers get the nod for the 25th spot over Oregon St., Clemson, Boston College and Idaho.
1. Alabama Crimson Tide - The Tide enjoyed the week off. They'll face a monster test next week against LSU.
2. Texas Longhorns - The Longhorns once again played an impressive game this week. Texas had no problems knocking off Oklahoma St. on the road. It's clear that this team is the class of the Big XII. Every remaining game on UT's schedule is extremely winnable.
3. Florida Gators - Florida played their first real impressive game since their win against Kentucky. The Gators stay at number three, however, due to Texas' very big win over Ok St. The Gators should roll again next week against Vandy, They've held up their end of the SEC Championship rematch vs. Bama.
4. Cincinnati Bearcats - Cincy is rolling right along despite the absence of Quarterback Tony Pike. Zach Collaros is proving to be more than capable of filling in for the injured Pike. His touchdown pass on a botched field goal against Syracuse was the play of the day for the Bearcats. Even though it shouldn't have counted due to the entire offensive line being down field.
5. Boise St. Broncos - Another weak WAC opponent, another big win for the Broncos. Boise St. had no trouble with San Jose St., just as they should have no trouble with the remained of their schedule. It will be real interesting to see what the BCS does with an undefeated Boise St. and an undefeated TCU.
6. Iowa Hawkeyes - Another weak Big Eleven opponent, another close victory for the Hawkeyes. Iowa is proving to be the captain of fourth quarter comebacks. We'll see how long they can keep it up. The rest of their schedule is extremely manageable. Which means we're in for more slim victories.
7. Oregon Ducks - The Ducks jump a few teams in this week's poll. Jeremiah Masoli and LaMichael James were very impressive in the huge win over the Trojans. The Ducks are now the best one loss team in the country.
8. LSU Tigers - LSU slides a few spots. That's what they get for playing Tulane. I know the annual match-up with the Green Wave is supposed to be an in-state rivalry game, but come on! It's never going to be competitive. Time for the Tigers to opt out of that one.
9. TCU Horned Frogs - TCU dominated UNLV this week. Beating up on one of the worst teams in the nation is not all that impressive. That's why TCU is the lowest ranked unbeaten team in my poll.
10. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets - Ga Tech allowed Vanderbilt to hang in the game for nearly 3 and a half quarters. That's when Paul Johnson's bunch unleashed a fury of points to pull away from the Commodores. The Yellow Jackets are clearly the best team in a very weak ACC right now.
11. Penn St. Nittany Lions - Penn St. beat up on another out matched Big Eleven team this week. We'll get to see how good the Nittany Lions are when they take on the Ohio St. Buckeyes next week.
12. USC Trojans - USC slides out of the top 5 after being throttled by Oregon on Saturday night. The only thing that kept the Trojans from sliding further is the fact that there aren't really too many teams that are worthy of being moved up.
13. Miami(FL) Hurricanes - Miami escaped from Winston-Salem with a slim win over the Demon Deacons on Saturday. If Wake's starting QB Riley Skinner doesn't take on a defender without a helmet, the Deacs probably win the game. Still, a win is a win for Miami.
14. Pittsburgh Panthers - The Pitt Panthers move up a few spots after having a bye week. USF's win over West Virginia makes the Panthers' win over the Bulls all the more impressive.
15. Utah Utes - Utah struggled offensively against a much improved Wyoming team this week. The Utes were able to pull away late, but the game showed how much the offense has slipped for Utah. That's not a good sign with TCU still on the schedule.
16. Houston Cougars - Houston has the exact opposite problem that Utah has. Their offense is fine, but their defense looked terrible against an average Southern Miss squad. Houston is obviously the best team in C-USA, but their defense will keep them out of any top notch bowl games.
17. Ohio St. Buckeyes - Ohio St. moves up a few spots after destroying New Mexico St. this week. The win might provide the Buckeyes with the confidence they need heading into the showdown against Penn St. next week.
18. Arizona Wildcats - Arizona enjoyed a bye week. Nick Folk is strongly getting consideration for PAC-10 passer of the year.
19. Oklahoma St. Cowboys - The Pokes slide a few spots after shitting all over themselves vs. Texas. So much for OSU showing up in big games. I guess we have to wait another year for that to happen.
20. California Golden Bears - Cal needed a last second field goal to get past Arizona St. on Saturday. Cal is starting to get some of the respect back that they loss with competitive blowouts to Oregon and USC.
21. South Florida Bulls - The Bulls climb back into the top 25 after their Friday night victory over West Virginia. The win takes some of the sting off of their blowout loss to Pitt the week before.
22. Wisconsin Badgers - The Badgers re-appear in the top 25 after shutting out an improved Purdue team. 'Sconsin has beating the teams that they were supposed to. Could you really ask for anything more?
23. Notre Dame Fighting Irish - Believe it or not, but this is the first appearance for the Irish in my top 25 ever! Granted I've only been doing this for two years. The Irish finally break into the top 25 after beating Washington St. in San Antonio. Obviously, that game alone isn't the only reason why the Irish are at number 23. The rest of the schedule, outside of Pitt, seems pretty easy.
24. Virginia Tech Hokies - The Hokies nearly slide out of the top 25 after their loss to North Carolina on Thursday. I still think Frank Beamer's team is a top 25 team, but they are no longer among the nation's elite.
25. West Virginia Mountaineers - West Virginia stays in the top 25 despite losing to South Florida. This is mainly because of the lack of good teams behind them. The Mountaineers get the nod for the 25th spot over Oregon St., Clemson, Boston College and Idaho.
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